February 28

Right now, Jenna and I are organizing a 10 day trip to New Zealand for spring break. I’m getting more and more excited as we plan it. So far, we are spending a few days in Wellington with our friends from UT and then taking a 6 day adventure trip of the south island. I can’t wait! If you have any “must sees” to recommend, let me know! It’s kind of absurd; we have class for 3 weeks and then our spring break starts over Easter. How dumb is that?! But I’m not complaining.

I got my school schedule figured out yesterday. It’s not the best schedule because it’s kind of spread out, whereas most of my friends condensed their classes into 3 days, but it’ll do. I have Monday off which means I get a 3 day weekend, wahoo! Then I have a marketing class from 10-12 on Tuesday, followed by a class from 3-5 called Indigenous Sport, Education and Culture. Then on Wednesday, I have Sociology of Sport from 9-11 and 1-2, and Marketing from 11-12. Thursdays I only have Social Construction of Difference from 12-2. And Friday I have it again from 11-12. Unfortunately, I’m taking very particular classes that don’t have multiple times to choose from, so I’m stuck with it the way it is. But I don’t think it’s TOO bad. Yesterday was the first day of “O-week” which is what they call their orientation. And let me tell you, it’s a party!! I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s like a carnival and it goes from 9am til 1am with different events all over. I had some cotton candy which they called fairy floss, haha! And apparently, there’s no such thing as a dry campus here because they put on events that serve alcohol literally on the front lawns of school! There are pubs next to the cafeteria too. It cracks me up. They don’t take their drinking lightly here. So I went to this carnival thing, signed up for a whole bunch of activities and clubs, listened to live music, ate BBQ, and played with the animals in the petting zoo. It was a lot of fun. It goes on for the next 2 days but I’ll probably be skipping out on most of it since we had our international orientation a week ago. But classes finally start this coming week, so it’ll be nice to get started.

I hear I’m getting a roommate sometime today. They came in and made up her bed so I’m assuming she’ll be arriving soon. I have no idea what to expect so it should be interesting. (yikes!)

I had a very interesting experience the other night at a pub. My friends and I were sharing a pizza and drinks around 8pm and someone comes over the loudspeaker announcing the crab race was about to begin and to place your bets on a crab. We were utterly confused and we stayed around to check it out. So about an hour later, they come out with a big tin bowl and they set it upside down on this board game looking thing. Everyone has crowded around to root on their crab and when they take the tin off, the crabs start racing! Each crab has a number on its back and whoever gets to the end first wins. They give away t-shirts, free drinks, and more to the winners. It was quite the site to see. You never know what you’re going to come across in the Land of Oz.

Well, today I’m going to have lunch with a guy from Houston. We have a mutual friend at UT that hooked us up so I’m going to show him around the city, (as if I’m some pro). Hope you all are enjoying my journal.

February 26

I have officially moved into my own place and it is such a relief! I have a share room but my roommate doesn’t come for another few days. I’m back to having a twin bed which I thought I left back in the dorms but oh well. There isn’t a lot of storage space, so my stuff is inevitably all over the floor. (some things never change). The place I’m living is kind of like an international or boarding house. It has about 15 rooms filled with 1, 2 or 3 people. The kitchen, lounge, deck, bathrooms, etc are all communal. Everyone is students between 20 and 30 years old. I’ve noticed how common it is here to be a student in your 30s or 40s. I’ve only been here 2 nights but so far the people seem really cool. It’s located on cute street called Glebe Point Rd and it’s filled with restaurants, fruit markets, book shops, and anything else you can think of. It’s a cute area but just like everywhere else, difficult to get around.

The traveling has been especially hard on me because Jenna and I spend so much time together. She is staying with her cousins right now and is going to another Uni (university). To get to her it will take me and hour and a half at least. It’s very time consuming and eats up a lot of energy figuring out how to get around. Yesterday, we were trying to figure out which bus line to take and we asked a police officer. He told us where to go and then offered us a ride as well. So I experienced my FIRST ride in the back of a cop car. They don’t have bars separating the front from the back and you can open the doors from the inside. It’s amazing how much safer this country is than America. In fact, mace, pocket knives and anything else is illegal here. So that was a different experience. Everyone is so nice here and goes out of their way for you, it’s really cool.

Today, I went to the zoo with one of my Canadian friends. We took the ferry there and spent the day with the kangaroos, pandas, and koalas. It was great and I have tons of pictures! Then I went to the beach because it’s so hard to resist here. It was hard to get used to all the topless women and tight Speedos.

The nightlife has been great. There are so many areas to go out and I’ve made sure to try them all. The other night, we attended a film festival with around 10,000 people. It’s held in a huge park and it reminded me of 4th of July fireworks at Gilson Park. Everyone sets up picnics and watches 16 independent short films on these huge screens. The tradition started at a local bar where they had contents for the best short film. And over the years, it has become super popular. It was really neat.

That’s been all that’s going on these days. I start school in a week so I have to get as much in before then as possible! Until next time…

February 21

Sorry I haven’t written in awhile. I have a lot to catch you up on. Right now I’m sitting at an apartment right on a beach called Coogee. Litterally ON the beach, it’s amazing. This is where I’m staying for the next 2 nights until I move into my place. Yes, I found a place finally in a town called Glebe. Its about 15 minute walk from my school. It’s a big Victorian house with a bout 15 rooms filled with students. I’m sharing a room with someone, but haven’t met her yet. That should be interested. Anyway, I’m staying with my friend Daniel Major from New Treir for the next couple nights, small world, right?! He’s on a program with kids from all different universities so I’ve met a lot of his friends. Jenna is going out of town with her cousins and her brother left yesterday so I’m fending for myself tonight.

Aside from still living out of a suitcase, things have been really good here. We went to the Sydney Aquarium, it was so cool. They had this tunnel set up underwater where sharks, fish, sting rays, and other scary looking things swim all around you. It was so scary to be so upclose to them. But I better get used to seeing sharks for when I go scuba diving (just kidding, mom).
One of the things I haven’t liked about Sydney is how expensive everything is. It says a lot that I had a McDonalds meal and it cost me $8 bucks. That is pathetic. It’s near impossible to find a meal under $15 bucks. I also hate how early everything closes here. All stores close around 6pm and even some pubs close around 11pm which is just weird for a big city. Also, the transportation system basically stops at midnight so if you’re out past then, you have to take a heaping expensive cab back home. And yes, that is Aussie lingo. When you’re talking about a lot of something, everyone says “heaps”. It’s funny.

Let’s see, what else… Jenna’s brother was dying to see the movie There Will Be Blood so we saw that the other day. I didn’t think it was that good even though it got great reviews. I found it a little ubsurd and that it didn’t have much of a plot. After that, I had this really good Thai meal but it quickly turned sour when it gave me my first dose of heartburn and then got me sick. That was not so fun, but I lived.

The sun here is soo strong! I practically have to bathe in sunscreen. But I’m getting some color which is really nice! I’m sick of my white legs reflecting the sun into people’s eyes. But somehow I’ve still managed to make a lot of friends from all over. We had an orientation for international students and I met a group of people from Germany and Canada and I’ve been hanging out with them a bunch. We all just signed up to go on a weekend trip to surf camp!!! How cool is that?!?! I can’t wait. Yesterday was the most beautiful day since I’ve been here, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. So we spent the day at the beach swimming in the ocean. About midday, they make an announcement that there are blue-bottles coming in and to stay out of the water because 50 people were stung in the last half hour!! Jenna and I looked at the sand and there were about 100 washed up on shore. It was so crazy. They’re very weird looking and see through with blue tentacles about a foot long. Thankfully, I didn’t get stung! Last night, Jenna and I went to a bar and met a crew from Northwestern. I dropped the name Norris Center Bookstore (their sschool’s bookstore which I worked over break) and they were like woahhh, how do you know that?!!! It was funny.

I can’t think of what else I’m forgetting to mention but I’m going to go have lunch now. Hope everyone is doing well!!

Feb 15th

I’ve only been here for 3 days but it feels like a lot longer because I’m doing so much. I’ve been to a welcome session at my school, looked for accommodation, got a phone set up, seen the Sydney Opera house, and more. I know this city’s public transportation system like that back of my hand. The family I’m staying with is in Vaucluse which is a bus and train ride away from my school. And the family doesn’t really do sit down meals so every night Jenna, her brother, her cousin Robert, and me go out for dinner. But tonight we had our first dinner with them because it was Shabbat and they had guests over and it was delicious. Mom, I even did the dishes! As for night life, lately, Robert’s friend Andrew has really shown us around. Last night, he took us out for a Valentines Day dinner and then to a Pub with him and his friends. The night before, we all watched a movie together. Tonight, we’re venturing to a new part of the city. I’ve been very proud of myself lately. I get up around 9 every morning and don’t go to bed until about midnight. So my days are packed and by the end I’m ready to collapse.

I’ve been a little disappointed with the weather though. Apparently the entire summer has been like this and it’s supposed to be like this for the next few months. It’s overcast every morning, if we’re lucky the sun breaks through in the afternoon, and then at night it rains. Ugh. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon walking around downtown, through the most amazing Botanic Gardens, and then to the Opera House and I managed to get my first glimpse of sun. And today I spent 3 hours at one of the beaches called Bondi and it was beautiful. But when the sun isn’t out, it’s pretty chilly out.

The whole housing search has been really difficult mostly because I don’t have internet access. Also, all the rooms available are being leased out by families or a working couple in their 30’s. Not exactly what I had in mind. So now, I’m thinking about finding people to just rent an entire place with me. This should be interesting. I’m going tomorrow morning to a slew of open houses. And real estate here is unbelievably expensive. It’s equivalent to living in downtown Chicago. I went to see a place yesterday that was being leased for $160 a week and it was the size of my walk-in closet. I could stretch my arms out and they would just about touch the walls. It was so old and decrepit looking, that I stayed for about 30 seconds and then ran the other direction.

Aside from all the troubles of trying to settle in, this is probably the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I hope to be getting you pictures in the days to come so that you can see for yourself.

Day 1

FINALLY, I’ve arrived safely! It’s so great to be here, I cannot stop smiling. Amazingly enough, the jet leg hasn’t really affected me. I slept for a good amount on the plane. Watched a couple movies, ate, and slept. The airline gave me a nice kit with a blanket, a sleeping blindfold, and a pair of socks. I wasn’t sure about the socks but the Aussie’s next to me found it normal so I pretended to also. I arrived at 2:30 Sydney time and was so excited, I had enough adrenaline pumping to last me until 11pm.

When I first got in, I took a bus to central Sydney and then took a cab from there to my friend’s family’s house where I am staying. I looked like a struggling fool with all my bags and whoever took pity on me helped me out here or there. I’ve already been introduced to the forward manner of the people here. This one man on the bus was exiting in front of me and says “that’s a lot of luggage for one little lady. If I were a gentleman, I’d help you but I’m not… I’m homosexual.” Then he just walks off the bus. So that was a bit startling of an introduction. It was also a little bizarre when the cab driver didn’t get out and help me with my bags. A stranger saw this and helped me instead, haha, but in a country with no tipping, what can you expect.

I finally arrived to Jenna’s at 5pm. Her cousin’s house is absolutely beautiful. It’s very modern looking and immaculately clean. It’s in a town called Vaucluse and it’s on a hill that overlooks the water and you can see the skyline of all of Sydney. You can even make out the Sydney Opera House. Unfortunately though, there is no wireless internet so I’m only able to go online on the host’s computer which is hard to do cuz she works from it.

For my first evening here, Jenna, her brother, and I jumped a bus and went to Bondi Beach which is supposed to be a very happening, hip place. Walking along the water, and into the quaint town, parts of it made me think of vacation spots in Mexico. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and then when to a bar where we met her cousin Robert for a drink. Other than that, I haven’t been able to explore too much yet, the weather is very temperamental. It was sunny when I got in, raining by the time I got to Jenna’s and sunny when we went out and now it’s very rainy and windy this morning. I haven’t experienced the hotness of Australia yet but I’m sure I will. (mom- I think I'm going to need the warm clothes so I’m glad we got them.)

Ok well I think it’s time for me to wake up Jenna and get the day started. Hope everyone is doing well, miss you guys!

Pre-departure

Hi everyone! This will be my journal for the next 6 months. So if you care to keep up with my travels, check back here every so often to stay up to date.
Miss you already :)