Preconceptions/Lessons from this semester

Preconception time! Let's see if I remember most of these...
Warning, they may get a little sappy. I'm definitely reminiscing about the past semester right now.

1. I would watch a lot of Aussie Rules Football- Hmmmm, nope. The game is really difficult to follow, and actually quite boring. The compilations you see on YouTube are the best of the best, and have probably come from 100+ games. Plus, the cheap tickets are for Port Adelaide, and that team is not very good, so it's not really worth it to go and watch.
2. I'd make friends with mostly Australians- Negatory. Australian students already have their groups of friends. It is the international students who are so keen to go out, meet new people, and explore. It's actually really great, because now instead of just knowing people from 1 country, I know people from dozens. Maybe this means I'll have dozens of beds to sleep on during a round-the-world tour? We can hope :)
3. I was going to be super chill with meeting people- I honestly thought I wouldn't make that many close friends here. Considering I wouldn't see anyone after a year (at the latest) it seemed like a smart plan, but emotions have this tricky way of getting to you even if you try to build a wall. Eh, whatever. It's been worth it. I hope some of the people I've met here will be life-long friends, but even if that doesn't happen, I am glad I was able to put my heart out and make some real connections with people
4. Australians are super nice- Now, this one is tricky. I've met plenty of lovely Australians, but seeing as I am living in a city, I feel like I am surrounded by the nastiest, most negative people alive. I see so many people swearing at each other at the top of their lungs, making rude hand signs, etc etc. This might be because most of them are drivers, and driving brings out the worst in anyone, but it's still left a bad impression on me. Sorry, Aussies.
5. The wildlife would try to kill me- Considering I haven't seen much real wildlife at all, I'd say this myth is a bust. We will see after the surfing trip, though- it's going to be jellyfish AND shark season! Maybe I will have to be careful then.
6. I was going to focus really hard on schoolwork- I had originally planned on doing some research in Adelaide. Gosh, was that a mistake. For some reason, I guess I had assumed that I didn't really want to explore much. People, this is false.
7. I was going to get HDs all around- Lulz. HDs are extremely rare here, at least that is what I hear from the professors and other students. When they hear my scholarships require an average of 85 in my classes, their jaws drop and they usually say something along the lines of "I'm sorry." I've had the humbling experience of not automatically being the top student in any of my classes. I think it has been really valuable.

If I had to give suggestions to someone about to study abroad, I would say to work on school in moderation and make sure you leave enough time to explore your city/country/possibly even continent. Failing shouldn't be an option, but you will be learning so much that is not academically based, and you shouldn't miss out on those opportunities because your head is buried in a book. And don't worry about money! Trips will probably run you a pretty penny, but they will a) be worth it and b) be more expensive when/if you ever decide to do them at a later age. Plus, you never know if you will ever be back in the country again. Don't let the opportunity pass you by.

Second piece of advice to study abroad students- don't freak out about grades. Try your best, but if you don't do as well as you usually do, there are probably reasons for it. Take them, learn from them, but don't let them get you down. In the end, a story about the leadership skills you learned while abroad might even impress an interviewer more than some bragging about how you've gotten all As in college. And, as a (eh, I guess I'll say he's wise) man once said to me, "A 4.0 is failure." Push yourself! And don't look back!

Third piece of advice- meet as many people from as many different places as possible. I know of some groups here who hang out with mostly people from the same nation. Usually, the countries have large groups of students here, which is nice in the beginning but I can imagine that it would hold the students back. You can meet other Texans/Americans/wherever you're from back at your home uni. Take this opportunity to meet people who are different from you, and you might be surprised at what you learn :) And if you are worried that you won't have much in common, don't be! Conversations might be a bit awkward at first, but after a few weeks you'll find your best friends.

This is a long post! But I figure that, since some friends are studying abroad next semester, this might help them out a bit...or confuse them, I don't know.

Summer Break Pt 1

It feels so good to be free! I know right now most people back home are wrapping up their classes and (starting to? Maybe?) get ready for exams. Here is a picture of me being jealous about their school calendar:












For the past week, I've been travelling- we went to Flinders Ranges this week and hiked at Wilpena Pound, which is a kind of annoying mountain arrangement that  looks like it was the result of an asteroid or volcano but really isn't. Dang. One of the trip members got sick right before our excursion, kind of a bummer, but I still had a good time. We got to take this nice hike up the mountain that involved climbing what would probably be a 5.2-5.3, which is nice because it wasn't strenuous going up, but the descent was awful. There is something about not knowing if rocks will stay where they are that freaks me out.
 

I did take pictures this time! But they were all with my Holga, so I have 8 pictures to go before I get the roll developed. The sun was great during the entire trip, so I am excited to see how all the colours have turned out.

Now, I just need to get everything together before my Gold Coast trip. Guys, I'm so excited. 2 weeks with 3 amazing people, and getting to meet up with other awesome friends along the way? Yes please. Going on a sailboat cruise to the Whitsunday Islands and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef? Sure, why not. Surfing along the coast? Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. Fish and chips? Is that even a question?

Even more exciting is the fact that I get to celebrate my 21st birthday in yet another country! So far, my major birthdays have all been in new locations:

              16th: My first year in North Carolina (hey now, it was a big deal for me)
              18th: Limoges, France
              21st: Town of 1770, Australia

It's kind of sad that there really aren't many other major birthdays; it would have been nice to have the excuse to travel some more :) Travelling is addicting! I really enjoy living in different places- I have met amazing people and done so many things. I hate to think that, once I get older, this might stop, so for now I would like to make travelling a part of my future life. But we all know how planning for the future turns out...

Almost done! And by that I mean less than halfway through.

I had my first final out of three yesterday. It was honestly one of the more miserable experiences I have had. The room in which every takes their tests is basically a warehouse- concrete walls and tin ceiling. They crank up the air conditioner so that you hear this constant whirring sound, and since there are at least four hundred students in the same room, there is no end to the sound of paper shuffling.

I don't know about anyone else, but when I study or take a final, I need silence. I get angry when the person behind me has a cold or chomps on their Doritos too loudly, so there was no way I could concentrate well with all the noise. But I got through it...for two and a half hours and five essays.

I'm glad my English final is over, but I dread the idea of doing this twice more for Integration and Cryptology. At least the rest of my exams are only two hours long. Right now, I need to study more for Integration, and my Cryptology exam is on Saturday morning. Saturday morning! Who thinks of these things?

These British-style finals are no good for me. I truly think that having one test count for the majority of your grade isn't logical or healthy. I've been so stressed for the past two weeks. My skin is getting bad, I've gotten antsy and unsociable, and my eating habits have gone out the window- right now, I've been eating Wheaties, fruit and salad because those are the only things that don't make me feel miserable. I feel myself getting meaner, too, even to my friends. I don't like what I'm becoming. I know, though, that once Saturday rolls around I will feel much better. I can't wait.

The worst thing about all the stress, though, is that it's so difficult for me to avoid. I need to do well on these tests by American standards, and "doing well" in that way just doesn't happen save for a few super-genius people. I have not been one of those people this semester- blame it on trying to discover a new country or whatever. Yet, if I am not, I stand the chance of losing my scholarships. It wouldn't happen this semester, but the idea of not having any money for school is so frightening...

Fear strikes the heart: Halloween and finals

Happy November, everyone! I'm pretty sure I can say that, considering it should be November 1st just about everywhere now.

Yesterday was Halloween. If this comes as no surprise to you, you're probably American. Apparently, Halloween isn't a big thing over here in Australia. It's slowly been picking up as a holiday, but even so, Halloween decorations only come up in stores about 2 weeks before- that is, if they're even put up at all. In comparison, there have been Christmas decorations for over a month (I don't understand how this makes sense). I invited some Australians to come to a Halloween party, and someone actually asked me what day Halloween is. I guess it just takes a while for these things to catch on.

Only 1.5 more weeks until final exams start for me. I have never, ever, ever prepared for tests this far in advance. But when a test is basically worth your entire grade (60-70%!), then yeah, it's necessary. I'm a bit worried- finals definitely aren't like this at all back home. It's going to take some major study time for me to do decently, so hopefully I can pull through.

The weird thing about final exams here (besides the fact that they count for so much) is that they're all off campus-kind of like the old AP tests we took in high school. In its ultimate wisdom, Aussie/British higher educational culture has decided that it is most efficient for the argest universities in Adelaide (Adelaide Uni, Uni SA, and Flinders Uni) to ship all of their students to the same facility for testing during these two weeks. Never mind that there should theoretically be enough space at each uni's own campus, or that it will be a logistical nightmare for any student to catch a bus or a train to the Showgrounds on those days, or that it might be helpful to have the professor of the course actually monitor the final...no, this is obviously the best choice.  I don't get it.

It all seems a bit illogical to me. Make the test so heavily weighted so that the courses are off-balance and every student resorts to cramming, and then literally cram hundreds of them into a room to take a test. There's no use fighting the system, but still. Kinda weird.

At least there's heaps of travelling to be done after finals! I'll be going up to Flinders Ranges immediately after, then stay in Adelaide, pack, and then go on a road trip from Cairns to Brisbane. There will be surfing and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. It's amazing to think that I'll be doing all of this, especially when I think that there are so many people who dream of having these experiences. I'm quite lucky. And after all of that, I get to go home. I didn't think I'd be too excited to go back to the states, but it'll be nice to return to some familiarity. That is, of course, assuming that I will still feel familiar with everything. There's apparently something called "reverse culture shock" that a lot of study-abroad students have once they go home. It sounds miserable, so I hope I can avoid it.

And, while we're talking about the States, a note for anyone back home- if you're ever keen on texting people around the world, it's really easy to do so with this thing called Whatsapp. It only uses a bit of data on your phone regardless of the country you are texting, and it's completely free. If you'd ever want to chat, just download it and I can give you my number. It sucks having to wait for good Skype times or Facebook chat times, and so this might be easier. I had no idea about this until I got here, so I figured I'd relay the message :)