Nearing the end of semester

Yes, I have been slacking on my blogging- but for a very good reason. Seems as if the second half of semester is much busier than the first. Papers and exams have taken over my life! But I have managed to fit in a few exciting events:

Familiar Faces
When I first found out I was moving to Sydney, suddenly a lot of connections from Iowa started popping up. A member of the church congregation has a daughter that moved to Sydney last October. Sarah and her boyfriend and I finally met up during the last part of my break to meet each other. Its always nice to see someone from back home- even if its thousands of miles away! The company was great and we had a great time comparing Australia to the States. We ate at a restaurant called Pancakes on the Rocks. Hands down the best crepes and pancakes I have ever had. Chocolate pancakes with strawberries and creme topped my meal off for dessert- definitely a recommendation for anyone who comes to visit! My flatmate Ally joined us for our lunch (I needed her excellent navigational skills!) It was a gorgeous day and we walked around the harbor afterwards

My new best friend

The aboriginal's performing

Tawnya visits Sydney

My cousin Tawnya trekked back to Sydney with a few of her friends from Minnesota. I stayed with them on their first day in Sydney. Unfortunately, mother nature did not cooperate and it was rainy and cold for the majority of the day. But we didn't let that stop us and decided to go to Paddington Market- another must do in Sydney. The market is full of lots of vendors that sell everything from jewelry and clothes to handmade dishes and chocolate (so good!) I decided I'm definitely going back before I leave for some Christmas gifts! After that we went back to their motel and rested a bit before we went out for the night. We went to the Rocks- the oldest area in Sydney- but known for its bars. I decided Tawnya and her friends can still party like they are in college!

The Weather...

Sadly the warm weather is long gone and the cold has arrived. Sydney is lucky enough to be having an early winter- I think I brought Iowa's weather with me! When I first arrived I told everyone, "I've survived many Iowa winters, I can get through a little cold in Sydney." I was completely wrong- the cold here is much different and the houses we live in have zero insulation or heat. So I have pulled out my blankets and boots and scarves. It's going to be a long winter- but luckily I will be in Bali for part of it! We officially booked our trip and I cannot wait to get finals over with and get on the plane (we leave the morning after I finish my tests- don't know if that was a good idea??) When I return to Sydney, I'll get to see more familiar faces when Tawnya visits again with my Aunt and Uncle. 

Holiday Break

Hello All! It's been a while since I have updated my blog- but I don't know if anything blog worthy has happened in a while! (Or things that I would want my family to read...) I survived midterms and my first two papers. The grading scale is much different from the states as it goes: High Distinction (HD) Distinction (D) Credit (C) Pass (P) and Fail (F) I never thought I would be so excited to see a D+ marking on my paper!

Holiday break started this past Monday. I've learned it is very necessary to go somewhere over breaks as all is very quiet in the village. Although I have 4 papers to write, I can't seem to get the motivation to begin writing them. The weather has been gorgeous and it seems like a crime to hole up in my room when I could be outdoors enjoying what's left of the nice Fall weather.

I have some exciting travel plans coming up. During my semester break in July, my flatmate and I are planning on going to Bali for a few weeks for some sun and relaxation. I'm very excited to travel to another new country and experience their culture! In September, a friend of mine will be studying abroad in Fiji so my plan is to go visit him during our mid semester break.

Between my studying and nights of going out, I have been on the job hunt. I've learned that it is not easy competing with the many other uni students looking for jobs. Keep your fingers crossed that something works out soon!

Our latest theme at the college bar was superhero night- never before have I seen so much spandex. From Avatar to a Transformer- every superhero was there. I borrowed a costume from my flatmate and went as superman- I even had a cape! Here are a few photos from the night:

Last weekend I attended my first ever music festival. And I discovered festivals are not my thing. Lots of crowds and standing around in tight spaces (I sound like my mother...) It was a good experience but I'll save my money for something else!

Ally, Sharan, and I at the music festival

Next week Tawnya, my cousin is coming to Sydney again with some of her friends. I'm excited to see her do some typical Sydney tourism things.

Destination: Procrastination

You all should be very happy that Uni is in full swing and I am finding any way to procrastinate. I have even washed my sheets and semi- picked up my room. As promised- I have long delayed pictures of my fabulous apartment. I really enjoy living here (except there's no air conditioning) and have come to call it my home.

Possibly my most prized accomplishment- a full cupboard

The seldom used eating area

The kitchen

Our living room/common area

My messy bedroom

Again...But notice the decorated bulletin board!

That is my apartment in a nutshell- I believe it's the nicest college accommodation I have ever seen- no shared bedrooms or bathrooms!

I have a few updates and stories to share with you- I realized my blog may become a bit boring as I am trying to be a good student and focus on my studies!  I finally made it to the dentist and got my retainer glued back in. I had about a 15 minute walk to the dentist from my apartment and as I was stopped at a very busy intersection waiting to cross the street, a middle aged Indian man starts to make polite conversation. I responded with quick answers but was very distracted because I was running late to my appointment. The next thing I know, he has asked me out for the weekend and I am left speechless- instead of responding I pretend to take a phone call and have a one sided conversation with myself the rest of the way to the dentist. That should teach me never to talk to strangers!

My first package from the states arrived today and I could not be more excited- it felt like Christmas morning when I opened the box! I finally received clothes that I ordered a month before I left the states (although it is now turning too cold for most of them- guess I need to do some more online shopping!) I also received some necessities- band aids (for my now infected feet) bobby pins (they are ridiculously expensive here!) and reusable shopping bags. And to my surprise I received some extra goodies- Twizzlers and a book I've been waiting to read. The other day in the mail I also received some recipes from home- although I have yet to cook them!

Yesterday was Toga Night at Ubar and I am glad I experienced the stereotypical college toga party (although we were legally drinking.) It was a very fun night, and I discovered making a toga is a lot harder than it seems.

Before toga party (the middle one is my flatmate Ally)

All in all, I have really started to feel finally settled and in my element. I have become very close to the girls in my apartment and am truly grateful to them for showing me the ropes. I am beginning to learn the very fine tuned balance of uni, study, and social-although I think social will always outweigh the others!

Just an Update

Hello All, as I promised, I am going to do a better job of keeping you informed. And I realized- updating my blog is just another way of procrastinating from all those pesky readings and assessments I need to do. Oh don't you miss the college life? I'm going to back track a bit to the first week I got here. I finally found my camera amongst the clutter that has covered my room and discovered that I actually have some photos to share!

What the weather was like 2 days before I left...

The weather 2 days after I arrived at Manly Beach

As you can see- I'm not missing the Iowa weather, but sadly, it is turning a bit cold here and I am in need of the cold weather items I left at home! I also have a few pictures of the Harbor Bridge and my cousin Tawnya and I in front of the beautiful scenery...

And lastly, I had to get a picture with the name of my school (Does this count as the annual first day of school picture mom??)

It has been quite an eventful week as I have experienced a lot of unexpected problems. My computer crashed and I luckily had internet on my phone so I could find a tech expert nearby to come and fix it. It ended up being quite easy, but my bank account is a little lighter because of it! A few days later I was eating a carrot and ended up breaking off my permanent retainer. I still have yet to fix this problem, but I have found a dentist near by! 

This past weekend my flat mates and I went into the city to attend a going away party for a friend. The restaurant, Black Bird Cafe is set right on Darling Harbor and had amazing views of the city. The food was delicious- entrées, cocktails, and dessert (needless to say I hit the gym the next day.) Sydney was also celebrating Marti Gras that day and because of the celebration, a huge fireworks display was shot off right in front of the restaurant we were at. The fireworks were amazing, and I was told that the display was nothing compared to what Sydney does for New Years. Afterwards we went to the casino for a bit (no worries- I did not gamble.) I just wanted to go because I was finally legal! Although I find when asked for an I.D. to get into a bar or casino, the bouncers look very confused with my Iowa license- I don't think they believe it's a real I.D. 

I had to learn my lesson the hard way about wearing heels in the city. Our trek involved lots of walking, and the next morning, I woke up with what looked like battle wounds all over my feet. I won't go into detail- but it's very disgusting and I'm definitely going to think twice about my choice of shoes next time! 

Tonight, we went to a chocolate restaurant called Max Brenner. Everyone in my apartment is addicted, and when one person craves it, suddenly everyone else does! Words cannot describe how good the chocolate is. I had a chocolate lava cake with molten chocolate in the middle- the best dessert I have ever had! Once again, I'm going to have to hit the gym. 

I have finally begun to test my cooking skills. After a full trip to the grocery store, my cupboards are stocked with cooking essentials and I have meat in the freezer ( I was basically a vegetarian for the first few weeks) I am not much of a chef, but have been craving a lot of meals from home. So far I have mastered sausage and am working my way up to Parmesan chicken. I have yet to burn the apartment down with our gas stove- although I have come close a few times! 

A few randoms for you:

I experienced the pain of paying for laundry last week- not something I'm looking forward to doing again in the very near future.

Ubar (the bar on campus) is notorious for its themed parties. Last week was pajama themed, this week it's toga party. I am very excited as I feel like it's every college students goal to go to a toga party

I started my small group tutorials last week and have almost all Australians in them- I find it makes discussions very interesting and I have already learned so much about their way of life and how they were raised

I have a bad habit of getting coffee every morning. Not only are the sizes much smaller than in the states, but the prices are much higher. I made myself feel better by getting a punch card...Only 9 more coffees to go to receive a free one!

Well I supposed I should hit the books and do at least one productive thing today. Stay tuned for more updates!

So...I actually have to study?

It's been awhile since my first post and I've been getting some nagging from home, so I'm here to fill you in on my classe and what I've been up to the last few weeks.

Classes:
I had enrolment, registration, and orientation this past week. I was told before coming this process would be very easy and I would have lots of help-whoever told me that was completely wrong! After being shuffled from building to building and standing in infinite lines, I finally filled out my proposed classes form and learned how to fill out a timetable. I just needed to get my advisor's signature and I would be good to go. Unfortunately since my major of sociology is apparently very rare, my academic advisor decided to take the day off. After walking across campus multiple times and getting lost, I convinced a professor to sign off on my sheet. By the time I got this done, most of the times I wanted for classes were completely full so I had to do a bit of revising- and I still have not completely figured out my class schedule. International orientation was up next-it was interesting to say the least. I have never seen so many Asians in my life. Most of them just spoke their native languages to one another and ignored anyone else- but I got a free meal out of the day!

I am taking four classes this semester- 12 credit points. For each class I have one or two large lectures and a small group tutorial. The classes I am taking are: Intro to Social Science, Drugs Across Cultures, Intro to Linguistics, and Australia and Global Societies: An intro to sociology. My schedule ended up working out well. I have classes on Monday through Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday is Ranch Night ( college bar near by) so it works out well not having class on Thursday! (Sorry parents...)

I am still learning the Australian way and slowly but surely feeling more settled. To say I haven't missed everyone from home would be a lie, but I'm having a great time here and am so happy I decided to come. I received a letter from home at the beginning of this week and it reminded me of how much support I have back home.

I'm quickly learning that a job is highly necessary. I've completed my resume and have some connections through my flatmates at some local stores, so fingers crossed something works out! I joined the gym this week and realized I now have no excuse to be lazy! I paid enough for the membership so I might as well get something out of it!

Some Randoms:
- Australia has assigned seating at the movie theatre. When you receive your ticket, it gives you a seat...the people I went with thought it was strange that America didn't have this!

- Realized I need to change my spelling of some words- apparently most professors don't like seeing American spelling in papers

- My flatmates think its strange I eat sandwiches with peanut butter and jam on it- I told them it's the American way!


I'm going to try and do a better job of keeping you all informed- I've had a lot of nagging and hints dropped from Mom about updating my blog. I'll try and get some pictures up soon of my apartment and campus etc.

Arriving

I finally have my Internet connected, so I can update all of you on my first 3 days in Australia. I happened to arrive on the hottest day Sydney has had since 2004. 108 degrees. When I left home it was about 5 degrees and covered in snow- so it was quite a shock when I stepped off the plane in jeans and a sweatshirt! After getting through security I went to get my bags- all 4 of them. It was quite a workout getting all of my suitcases off the luggage carousel. When I walked out of international arrivals, Tawnya was there to greet me- and take a picture of all my bags. After a quick change into cooler clothes, we got a taxi and found our way to check into my apartment. We found the apartment, showered, and then headed off to get some things for my room. Hopefully I can remember what all we did the rest of the weekend- Tawnya kept me very busy!

The rest of Saturday was spent walking (a lot) and seeing the sights of Sydney. The Opera House and Harbor Bridge looked amazing lit up during the night. We found a restaurant and had some wine and pizza- Yes I can finally legally drink! But after about half a glass I was exhausted and nearly fell asleep at the dinner table.

On Sunday we headed back into the city to go para sailing. A train and ferry ride later, we found out we needed a reservation. So we decided to make the best of the day and go to beach near Manly. After soaking up some sun and getting into the refreshing water, we ate lunch and had drinks at the Manly Wharf Hotel. For dinner we met up with some of Tawnya's friends. I had a great time hearing about all of her world travels! Unfortunately my jet lag caught up with me again and I barely made it through dinner.

Monday we headed back to Manly to go para sailing. Tawnya and I have had this plan since we went to Mexico in 2006- para sailing over Sydney was much better than para sailing anywhere in the Midwest! We forgot to tell them that we didn't want to get wet, so we got soaked and nearly fell out of our harnesses when we hit heads. That night Tawnya flew back to Melbourne and I was left to go grocery shopping and find my way back to my apartment (quite a feat with my directional sense) Grocery shopping was quite an adventure as I didn't know where anything was or what type of foods they had. No worries- I found what I needed and took the right bus back to my apartment.

Things I've learned since arriving:

-Public transportation is an essential- I really need to figure out all the different stops!
-Sydney has 4 seasons in one day. The weather changes very quickly here so I now always carry an umbrella
-Ketchup is called tomato sauce- and tomato is not pronounced how we say it
-At crosswalks, I now need to really look in both directions because I always forget which way the cars are going to be coming
-Grape jam or jelly does not exist

Up next- Orientation week and classes!