Hey everyone!
It's Saturday afternoon here and I have just gotten back from the first inter-uni swim meet of the semester. Actually, they call it a swimming carnival (thanks Alex) and it is composed of a bunch of different swimming events. Most of them are taken seriously, expect the last race which is a relay consists of people swimming with a noodle in between their legs - it was actually really funny to watch.
The swim carnival was the first time I really got to see all the different colleges within James Cook interact. Everyone showed up in their colors (mine are black and gold) and people were painted, had banners and were really getting into it. Everyone had obnoxious cheers, and I still have yet to master mine.. lets just say none of them are well written but funny regardless.
Prior to the swim meet we had a BBQ outside in front of our volleyball courts which was nice - I actually enjoyed a meal here (yay!). Although I had a chicken burger.. and I don't know what it is about James Cook and chicken, but for some reason they can't seem to get pieces that aren't 75% skin and fat. Yum.
Anyway - I finished my first week of classes and bought most of my books - completely forgot I had to buy books here, what a buzz kill. My class on Thursday was environmental history and I think out of all my classes that will be the toughest. The material itself should be easy enough and the projects don't seem that bad, however it's a class taught at James Cook in Cairnes and the lecturer is actually located there and we see her via a large projection. Let me just tell you, that will be quite the adventure. It's such a weird concept and in the one experience I've had so far I think it's going to be hard to concentrate.. it just feels so much more laid back and takes the seriousness out of the class for me. It will be a challenge and test my Hey everyone!
I guess I'm going to go lay down and watch a movie - relax after being in the sun all afternoon!
Miss you & love you all
Ps. remember to think of behaviors and ideas for photography for me! thanks :)!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
First Classes Down!
Hey all!
I have finished two days of classes and have one more to go to finish off my first week of Uni! Yesterday my day began at 8:00am with social psychology which is a lecture type class that I think I'm really going to enjoy. The Professor (lecturer) is very funny and she seems like she will be fun to learn from. Also she went over the syllabus and the topics we will go over actually interest me and the assignments seem fun! For one of them we get to compare Disney movies and another I can compare social psychology to movies such as Remember the Titans (one of my personal favorites!)
Today I had a much busier day - starting at 9:00am with photography lecture. My lecturer in that class is very artisty and is from Columbia. I would describe him as a free spirit, who likes to talk about the feeling and expression of things. After the lecture I had photography practical during which I was shown the Mac lab where we will work (amazing!) and the studios (also amazing!). I'm so excited to start working, we get to rent out cameras and lenses and just play around. The assignments seem exciting and we can use props, all sorts of crazy lighting, backgrounds - you name it! This is the real deal! I have to come up with a couple of different portfolio themes so if anyone has any ideas let me know! :)
After photography I had learning and behavior which was.. interesting. The lecturer is really funny and interesting, however she is having a student currently working on his Phd teaching the class and he seems to be a bit flustered and nervous. He talked really fasted and was a little confusing when speaking but hopefully he will settle in. I also am pretty good at learning from the text book so I'll just rely on my reading skills for that class. We do have a cool project in that class though - where we have to change one of our behaviors throughout the semester by implementing learning techniques. So again, any behaviors you want me to get rid of or add on? Let me know! :) Haha
Just one more to go tomorrow, environmental history, which is a huge class and is actually taught through video (I believe). I'm looking forward to going and seeing what that's like. As far as my schedule is looking I'm in class from 8-10 and 11-1 on Tuesdays, 1-12, 1-3 and 4-6 on Wednesday (yuck!) and then Thursday 12-3 which really isn't that bad! I only have one more practical to sign up for so hopefully I'll get a good time and will have Monday and Friday off! That would make for amazing weekend trips!
Anyway - I have to go organize my life.. I'm so excited about photography I've already started brain storming for my portfolios and I'm trying to come up with themes between Disney movies concerning stereotyping (I'm thinking of doing Toy Story and Toy Story 3 and looking at how stereotypes may have changed since the original movie came out!) Haha - I love being excited about school again!
Love you and miss you!!
xoxo
ps. let me know about my behaviors and photography ideas! shoot me a message on facebook - it would be greatly appreciated!! :) THANKS!
I have finished two days of classes and have one more to go to finish off my first week of Uni! Yesterday my day began at 8:00am with social psychology which is a lecture type class that I think I'm really going to enjoy. The Professor (lecturer) is very funny and she seems like she will be fun to learn from. Also she went over the syllabus and the topics we will go over actually interest me and the assignments seem fun! For one of them we get to compare Disney movies and another I can compare social psychology to movies such as Remember the Titans (one of my personal favorites!)
Today I had a much busier day - starting at 9:00am with photography lecture. My lecturer in that class is very artisty and is from Columbia. I would describe him as a free spirit, who likes to talk about the feeling and expression of things. After the lecture I had photography practical during which I was shown the Mac lab where we will work (amazing!) and the studios (also amazing!). I'm so excited to start working, we get to rent out cameras and lenses and just play around. The assignments seem exciting and we can use props, all sorts of crazy lighting, backgrounds - you name it! This is the real deal! I have to come up with a couple of different portfolio themes so if anyone has any ideas let me know! :)
After photography I had learning and behavior which was.. interesting. The lecturer is really funny and interesting, however she is having a student currently working on his Phd teaching the class and he seems to be a bit flustered and nervous. He talked really fasted and was a little confusing when speaking but hopefully he will settle in. I also am pretty good at learning from the text book so I'll just rely on my reading skills for that class. We do have a cool project in that class though - where we have to change one of our behaviors throughout the semester by implementing learning techniques. So again, any behaviors you want me to get rid of or add on? Let me know! :) Haha
Just one more to go tomorrow, environmental history, which is a huge class and is actually taught through video (I believe). I'm looking forward to going and seeing what that's like. As far as my schedule is looking I'm in class from 8-10 and 11-1 on Tuesdays, 1-12, 1-3 and 4-6 on Wednesday (yuck!) and then Thursday 12-3 which really isn't that bad! I only have one more practical to sign up for so hopefully I'll get a good time and will have Monday and Friday off! That would make for amazing weekend trips!
Anyway - I have to go organize my life.. I'm so excited about photography I've already started brain storming for my portfolios and I'm trying to come up with themes between Disney movies concerning stereotyping (I'm thinking of doing Toy Story and Toy Story 3 and looking at how stereotypes may have changed since the original movie came out!) Haha - I love being excited about school again!
Love you and miss you!!
xoxo
ps. let me know about my behaviors and photography ideas! shoot me a message on facebook - it would be greatly appreciated!! :) THANKS!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Last day of Christmas Break!
Hey all!
So today is my last day of Christmas break which is kind of insane! I've been out of school for just about two months! If you want to get technical I do have tomorrow off too because as of right now I don't have classes on Monday or Fridays so I don't really start until Tuesday.
I've been drawing schedules and color coding all my classes, trying to organize my life a little bit. Between lectures, tutorials and practicals things can be a bit confusing. Also, some lectures don't require you to go to tutorials every week - which just makes things that much more confusing! Hopefully I'll catch on within the first week or so. I'll make sure to write after my first class on Tuesday which is at 8:00am! Yippieee! :)
Today was a pretty relaxing day, everyone hung low and prepared themselves for the beginning of the semester. I watched 10 Things I Hate About You and some episodes of It's Always Sunny, took a nice long nap and went down to the River with some people. The River is about a ten minute walk away and was where I was trying to go the time I fell and cut open my chin. I made it this time, and although I slipped a couple of times I didn't fall over - thank God!
The part of the river we all head to is in front of this large building used for the rowing club in Townsville. There is a giant dock with two levels for loading large rowing boats into. What most people do is swim around the dock, sit on the lower part or bring big inner tubes and float around. The trees surrounding the river are amazing (mom, you'd appreciate them!) with really long limbs that people climb on and jump off. There were a bunch of younger boys there literally swinging between branches and hanging off the tree, doing backflips and other insane things. I was pretty impressed because they were jumping from very high.
After the river we all headed to dinner which was this beef with weird tasting gravy, peas and salad. There are literally no options for food, you get what they give you and let me tell you my stomach hasn't felt settled since I've gotten here. Although some of the meals are decent the majority aren't. I had the chicken once and will never go there again.
Last night we had a formal dinner, where people dressed up and the college ordered us a ton of Dominos pizza. Awards were given out and I was in the running for top Fresher coming in first on Monday because of my fall on the way to the river. It was kind of embarrassing but funny - I had to stand up in the middle of the dining hall and show off my scar - yay!
I'm not sure what I'm going to do tonight - maybe watch another movie and hit the hay early. I need a good night rest after all the O week festivities. My friends and I were counting today and we literally did something every single night for seven nights straight - which is exhausting! At JCU there is this application that you can download and it allows everyone to share files like movies, music and tv shows. It's absolutely amazing, and has pretty much anything you could want so I think that's where I'll be spending my night!
Miss you & love you all!
xoxo
So today is my last day of Christmas break which is kind of insane! I've been out of school for just about two months! If you want to get technical I do have tomorrow off too because as of right now I don't have classes on Monday or Fridays so I don't really start until Tuesday.
I've been drawing schedules and color coding all my classes, trying to organize my life a little bit. Between lectures, tutorials and practicals things can be a bit confusing. Also, some lectures don't require you to go to tutorials every week - which just makes things that much more confusing! Hopefully I'll catch on within the first week or so. I'll make sure to write after my first class on Tuesday which is at 8:00am! Yippieee! :)
Today was a pretty relaxing day, everyone hung low and prepared themselves for the beginning of the semester. I watched 10 Things I Hate About You and some episodes of It's Always Sunny, took a nice long nap and went down to the River with some people. The River is about a ten minute walk away and was where I was trying to go the time I fell and cut open my chin. I made it this time, and although I slipped a couple of times I didn't fall over - thank God!
The part of the river we all head to is in front of this large building used for the rowing club in Townsville. There is a giant dock with two levels for loading large rowing boats into. What most people do is swim around the dock, sit on the lower part or bring big inner tubes and float around. The trees surrounding the river are amazing (mom, you'd appreciate them!) with really long limbs that people climb on and jump off. There were a bunch of younger boys there literally swinging between branches and hanging off the tree, doing backflips and other insane things. I was pretty impressed because they were jumping from very high.
After the river we all headed to dinner which was this beef with weird tasting gravy, peas and salad. There are literally no options for food, you get what they give you and let me tell you my stomach hasn't felt settled since I've gotten here. Although some of the meals are decent the majority aren't. I had the chicken once and will never go there again.
Last night we had a formal dinner, where people dressed up and the college ordered us a ton of Dominos pizza. Awards were given out and I was in the running for top Fresher coming in first on Monday because of my fall on the way to the river. It was kind of embarrassing but funny - I had to stand up in the middle of the dining hall and show off my scar - yay!
I'm not sure what I'm going to do tonight - maybe watch another movie and hit the hay early. I need a good night rest after all the O week festivities. My friends and I were counting today and we literally did something every single night for seven nights straight - which is exhausting! At JCU there is this application that you can download and it allows everyone to share files like movies, music and tv shows. It's absolutely amazing, and has pretty much anything you could want so I think that's where I'll be spending my night!
Miss you & love you all!
xoxo
Friday, February 18, 2011
Mix & Match
Hey!
I'm really starting to get into this whole blogging thing - it's a great way to start my morning! I woke up a little while ago to great ready for breakfast, only to realize that it's the weekend so breakfast runs later and I could have slept in! Oh well, I guess that gives me time to get other things done - like blog! :)
Yesterday was incredibly humid and hot, potentially the most uncomfortable since I've been here. I was lucky enough to choose yesterday as the day I would finalize all my classes and organize myself for next week. This would be all well and good expect that the office to do this is about a 10-15 minute walk from my dorm and I quickly realized how brutal the sun can be. Regardless, I was happy to get everything sorted out and I now am officially enrolled in Environmental History, Social Psychology, Photography and Learning and Behavior. I'm just getting excited to actually start school and get things moving! It should be interesting trying to learn in this new method.
After my walk to the main campus I got back and was completely sticky and hot, but instead of heading to my nice air conditioned room I had to head to the dining hall for a college meeting. We were told in this meeting that the festivities of the night before had caused quite a little bit of commotion. That night all the fossils (older students) woke up all the freshers (younger students) at 3:00am and had them go on a run throughout campus. This type of things tends to be a tradition here and is actually pretty funny - however when my college was running by another college (dorm) they started throwing glass and chairs down at us. Apparently in retaliation someone from my college threw a beer bottle back and actually hit someone with it. The purpose of the meeting was to differentiate between harmless fun and danger. Also, those responsible were asked to step forward and if they didn't our whole college would be forced to pick up garbage around the other college for one hour. Surprisingly enough no one took the blame so I made the sticky walk back towards main campus and picked up trash for an hour. Yippie!
When I first came here I wasn't sure about this whole college (dorm) rivalry thing but after yesterday I'm starting to understand. It's a completely different approach then in the states but here the unity is between colleges within universities. This actually makes JCU seem much much smaller than Quinnipiac and it's something I think I'm going to enjoy while I'm here. I mean, you literally do everything with your college. We walk to places at night together, have sporting events together, everyone eats all their meals together, it's a real community feel.
Anyway, after our community service I headed back to my dorm to skype for the first time since I've been here! It was so nice to be able to communicate with people finally! It's weird because since I've been here I have had such little contact with people back at home so it almost feels like I'm living in two completely separate worlds that don't exist at the same time. It wasn't until yesterday that I was reminded of everything at home and my life there.
While I was skyping some people ran out to get outfits for last nights festivities. We were having a costume-type party, but instead of customs you find outfits at a thrift shop and wear the most ridiculous stuff. I had them pick me up something to wear which turned into a Chinese inspired, bright red and gold top with the shoulder pads and everything - it was interesting haha. I wore it with some black leggings and my sneakers and I have to say it was quite the outfit.
Today should be a pretty relaxing day for the most part. Tonight is Presentation night or something like that where we all get dressed up nice, almost like a semiformal.
Love you and miss you!
xoxo
I'm really starting to get into this whole blogging thing - it's a great way to start my morning! I woke up a little while ago to great ready for breakfast, only to realize that it's the weekend so breakfast runs later and I could have slept in! Oh well, I guess that gives me time to get other things done - like blog! :)
Yesterday was incredibly humid and hot, potentially the most uncomfortable since I've been here. I was lucky enough to choose yesterday as the day I would finalize all my classes and organize myself for next week. This would be all well and good expect that the office to do this is about a 10-15 minute walk from my dorm and I quickly realized how brutal the sun can be. Regardless, I was happy to get everything sorted out and I now am officially enrolled in Environmental History, Social Psychology, Photography and Learning and Behavior. I'm just getting excited to actually start school and get things moving! It should be interesting trying to learn in this new method.
After my walk to the main campus I got back and was completely sticky and hot, but instead of heading to my nice air conditioned room I had to head to the dining hall for a college meeting. We were told in this meeting that the festivities of the night before had caused quite a little bit of commotion. That night all the fossils (older students) woke up all the freshers (younger students) at 3:00am and had them go on a run throughout campus. This type of things tends to be a tradition here and is actually pretty funny - however when my college was running by another college (dorm) they started throwing glass and chairs down at us. Apparently in retaliation someone from my college threw a beer bottle back and actually hit someone with it. The purpose of the meeting was to differentiate between harmless fun and danger. Also, those responsible were asked to step forward and if they didn't our whole college would be forced to pick up garbage around the other college for one hour. Surprisingly enough no one took the blame so I made the sticky walk back towards main campus and picked up trash for an hour. Yippie!
When I first came here I wasn't sure about this whole college (dorm) rivalry thing but after yesterday I'm starting to understand. It's a completely different approach then in the states but here the unity is between colleges within universities. This actually makes JCU seem much much smaller than Quinnipiac and it's something I think I'm going to enjoy while I'm here. I mean, you literally do everything with your college. We walk to places at night together, have sporting events together, everyone eats all their meals together, it's a real community feel.
Anyway, after our community service I headed back to my dorm to skype for the first time since I've been here! It was so nice to be able to communicate with people finally! It's weird because since I've been here I have had such little contact with people back at home so it almost feels like I'm living in two completely separate worlds that don't exist at the same time. It wasn't until yesterday that I was reminded of everything at home and my life there.
While I was skyping some people ran out to get outfits for last nights festivities. We were having a costume-type party, but instead of customs you find outfits at a thrift shop and wear the most ridiculous stuff. I had them pick me up something to wear which turned into a Chinese inspired, bright red and gold top with the shoulder pads and everything - it was interesting haha. I wore it with some black leggings and my sneakers and I have to say it was quite the outfit.
Today should be a pretty relaxing day for the most part. Tonight is Presentation night or something like that where we all get dressed up nice, almost like a semiformal.
Love you and miss you!
xoxo
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Internet is a wonderful thing!
Hey everyone!
So I finally have internet (yay!) so I will be updated this much more frequently! I hope you are all doing well at home. I'm personally very much enjoying the wonderful weather every day here - I don't think I've even thought about putting on something other than shorts and a t-shirt.
It's 8:00am here right now and I'm absolutely exhausted! I feel like I have been non-stop since I got here. It's as if there is something planned all the time here - from going to the River, volleyball games and Toga parties it has been quite the week! I can't believe I haven't even started classes yet - but Tuesday will come soon enough. I'm actually heading to the faculty office today (that's what they call the head of your department at the Uni) to make sure all my classes are perfect.
Classes and school here in general is so different than the states it's kind of overwhelming. For each class you have a lecture and a tutorial, while some also have a practical. The lecture is typically in a large room with a ton of people, while tutorials are typically not taught by the lecturer, but rather an older student or teaching assistant. During the tutorials everyone does activities, asks questions about the material and has the opportunity to be in a smaller group setting. As for the practicals, I believe they are labs but I'm not entirely sure.
So far it looks like I have no class on Monday or Friday (depending on what tutorials I get because there are multiple per lecture). Wednesdays are going to be rough since I'm in class literally all day beginning at 9 and ending at 6 with only a few hour long breaks in between. The whole process is just so different from Quinnipiac that I'm excited to finally start and see which method of learning I like better.
Oh I forgot to mention that on the 14th I received beautiful flowers from Dad, Melissa, Dan and Kathleen and it was such a nice surprise! I was in the office (like I am everyday!) trying to get my internet to work and lights to turn on when someone walked in carrying flowers. I was so happy and they were just what I needed - so a huge thanks to them, I absolutely loved them. They are sitting on my rather large, very white desk right now and add a nice pop of color to the room!
Alright well I think I'm going to grab some breakfast with the girls next door - keep your eyes out for new updates now that I have internet! :)
Love and miss you all!
So I finally have internet (yay!) so I will be updated this much more frequently! I hope you are all doing well at home. I'm personally very much enjoying the wonderful weather every day here - I don't think I've even thought about putting on something other than shorts and a t-shirt.
It's 8:00am here right now and I'm absolutely exhausted! I feel like I have been non-stop since I got here. It's as if there is something planned all the time here - from going to the River, volleyball games and Toga parties it has been quite the week! I can't believe I haven't even started classes yet - but Tuesday will come soon enough. I'm actually heading to the faculty office today (that's what they call the head of your department at the Uni) to make sure all my classes are perfect.
Classes and school here in general is so different than the states it's kind of overwhelming. For each class you have a lecture and a tutorial, while some also have a practical. The lecture is typically in a large room with a ton of people, while tutorials are typically not taught by the lecturer, but rather an older student or teaching assistant. During the tutorials everyone does activities, asks questions about the material and has the opportunity to be in a smaller group setting. As for the practicals, I believe they are labs but I'm not entirely sure.
So far it looks like I have no class on Monday or Friday (depending on what tutorials I get because there are multiple per lecture). Wednesdays are going to be rough since I'm in class literally all day beginning at 9 and ending at 6 with only a few hour long breaks in between. The whole process is just so different from Quinnipiac that I'm excited to finally start and see which method of learning I like better.
Oh I forgot to mention that on the 14th I received beautiful flowers from Dad, Melissa, Dan and Kathleen and it was such a nice surprise! I was in the office (like I am everyday!) trying to get my internet to work and lights to turn on when someone walked in carrying flowers. I was so happy and they were just what I needed - so a huge thanks to them, I absolutely loved them. They are sitting on my rather large, very white desk right now and add a nice pop of color to the room!
Alright well I think I'm going to grab some breakfast with the girls next door - keep your eyes out for new updates now that I have internet! :)
Love and miss you all!
Feb 13, 2011
Hello again!
So unfortunately I have no internet, so I will post this whenever my internet decides to start working again – but I feel like I should still keep up with my blog through Word so I can just post a bunch as soon as my internet does get fixed. Plus without internet it can sometimes be very boring (like early in the morning before everyone else is up!).
Since being in Townsville I have just been exploring the city and the university itself. We did a little bit of shopping at this mall area just down the street. They have a very easy bus system that stops right in front of my dorm and takes us to a bunch of different places around Townsville. Besides picking up some snacks and small things for my room I also decided to grab a few dresses because it has become very obvious that Townsville weather is just too sticky for shorts and a tank top!
Last night I took a walk around campus with a couple of friends and although we got lost we had a nice walk and ended up finding our way eventually. What I’ve noticed the most about this campus is that it’s in no way set up logically. It’s as if whenever they decide to build a new building they just cut down a few trees in a random location and place it there. Small paths connect the buildings, however the cyclone has made a lot of these paths unusable. Also, they absolutely do not cut down any plants or trees unless absolutely necessary, and I know this because there are trees and plants everywhere! Once more of the destruction from the cyclone has been cleaned up I’ll take some pictures and upload them so you all can see.
On my walk I also noticed how big the sky is here – which sounds a little strange. But as we were walking it began to get very dark and I noticed when you look up at the sky it’s as if it goes on for years and years. I’ve never seen a more open and star covered sky – it was absolutely beautiful.
Oh, and I’ve finally got my roommates! I have two “freshers” (that’s what the new students are called here, the older ones are called fossils!) and one is a girl named Bree-anna and one is a guy named Mark. Bree-anna moved in yesterday and I guess we missed each other because I didn’t run into her late last night when I came back to my room and she was hanging out! She is a 17 year old med student and seems very sweet. I haven’t actually met Mark yet, but his mom is here now unpacking his stuff and she seems very friendly. She tells me Mark is a 18 year old physical therapy major (I believe..) – Oh and they are both Australian! Which is awesome! And both of them have internet in their rooms, so I guess it’s just me ☹! Hopefully I get it soon!
Anyway – I guess I’ll get going, off to grab some lunch and then we are heading to the beach for awhile with some girls we met the other night!
Miss you all & love you!
So unfortunately I have no internet, so I will post this whenever my internet decides to start working again – but I feel like I should still keep up with my blog through Word so I can just post a bunch as soon as my internet does get fixed. Plus without internet it can sometimes be very boring (like early in the morning before everyone else is up!).
Since being in Townsville I have just been exploring the city and the university itself. We did a little bit of shopping at this mall area just down the street. They have a very easy bus system that stops right in front of my dorm and takes us to a bunch of different places around Townsville. Besides picking up some snacks and small things for my room I also decided to grab a few dresses because it has become very obvious that Townsville weather is just too sticky for shorts and a tank top!
Last night I took a walk around campus with a couple of friends and although we got lost we had a nice walk and ended up finding our way eventually. What I’ve noticed the most about this campus is that it’s in no way set up logically. It’s as if whenever they decide to build a new building they just cut down a few trees in a random location and place it there. Small paths connect the buildings, however the cyclone has made a lot of these paths unusable. Also, they absolutely do not cut down any plants or trees unless absolutely necessary, and I know this because there are trees and plants everywhere! Once more of the destruction from the cyclone has been cleaned up I’ll take some pictures and upload them so you all can see.
On my walk I also noticed how big the sky is here – which sounds a little strange. But as we were walking it began to get very dark and I noticed when you look up at the sky it’s as if it goes on for years and years. I’ve never seen a more open and star covered sky – it was absolutely beautiful.
Oh, and I’ve finally got my roommates! I have two “freshers” (that’s what the new students are called here, the older ones are called fossils!) and one is a girl named Bree-anna and one is a guy named Mark. Bree-anna moved in yesterday and I guess we missed each other because I didn’t run into her late last night when I came back to my room and she was hanging out! She is a 17 year old med student and seems very sweet. I haven’t actually met Mark yet, but his mom is here now unpacking his stuff and she seems very friendly. She tells me Mark is a 18 year old physical therapy major (I believe..) – Oh and they are both Australian! Which is awesome! And both of them have internet in their rooms, so I guess it’s just me ☹! Hopefully I get it soon!
Anyway – I guess I’ll get going, off to grab some lunch and then we are heading to the beach for awhile with some girls we met the other night!
Miss you all & love you!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Townsville - Day 1!
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to check in quickly. At 6:45 this morning I (along with about 70 other AustraLearn students) boarded a plane from Brisbane to Townsville. The plane ride was only about an hour and a half and I was lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me. I have honestly had the best luck with flights thus far - I'll keep my fingers crossed things go that well on the way back!
Anyway - once in Townsville we loaded up our luggage for the last time in awhile and took two large coach buses to the campus. I am living in a dorm called George Roberts hall and we were the first to be dropped off. I live on the second floor of a suite type building. The buildings are split into what are called blocks and I live in block D. I have my own room which is actually very nice and cozy (and has AC!). I share a common room with a small fridge, microwave and bathroom with two other people. They have yet to show up and will most likely be moving in within the next couple of days. I heard that I will most likely be the only American in the room, as they try to split up the Americans within each dorm. I could have a roommate that is 17 or a roommate that is 23, but I guess we will see. Also, they are co-ed dorms so I could potentially get guy roommates - although I'm pretty positive there cannot be more guys than girls per room so at most I'd be living with one guy roommate.
Although I have yet to completely explore the campus from what I have seen it looks like a really nice place. It seems that the campus was hit kind of hard by the cyclone and is not in the best condition at the moment. We do have a dining hall right in front of our dorm and a pool as well as a small (very small) gym all which we have to purchase memberships for. Oh, and the food so far has been pretty good - I had lunch and dinner at the dining hall today and it wasn't bad at all - although it's not anything like a dining hall from the states that gives you options, instead you basically get what they are serving that day and that's it - no choices. Also, the cafe is only opened for about an hour and a half per meal time so if you don't eat during the times it's opened you are pretty much out of luck.
After eating lunch we headed into the town (by bus - picks us up right outside our dorms) to the supermarket and shopping center. We went to Kmart and bought a bunch of stuff to spice up our rooms (aka hangers, towels and a few other things). I have come to realize I'm going to have to get over the fact that Australian's completely over price EVERYTHING - a tube of mascara.. $16.00, face wash? $16.00.. Should be a fun semester! I'm looking forward to all the packages from home so I don't have to buy all that stuff!
We have a few free days until Orientation week starts on Monday so I think tomorrow we are heading down to the river by the school and just soaking up some sun (I'll remember my sunscreen!) I'm actually really proud of myself because I have hardly (if at all!) gotten burned since being here - which is quite an accomplishment!
Anyway - I suppose I should be going. You'd all be proud of me as I have completely decorated my room and it actually feels a bit like home! I have pictures everywhere and I brought all my crazy flowers from QU. I think I'm going to really enjoy my time here!
Love and miss you!
Sara
p.s.. did I mention how insanely hot it is here? it's like 10 degrees warmed and 20 times more humid than in Brisbane - bring on the sunscreen, hats and sticky heat! Yay!
Just wanted to check in quickly. At 6:45 this morning I (along with about 70 other AustraLearn students) boarded a plane from Brisbane to Townsville. The plane ride was only about an hour and a half and I was lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me. I have honestly had the best luck with flights thus far - I'll keep my fingers crossed things go that well on the way back!
Anyway - once in Townsville we loaded up our luggage for the last time in awhile and took two large coach buses to the campus. I am living in a dorm called George Roberts hall and we were the first to be dropped off. I live on the second floor of a suite type building. The buildings are split into what are called blocks and I live in block D. I have my own room which is actually very nice and cozy (and has AC!). I share a common room with a small fridge, microwave and bathroom with two other people. They have yet to show up and will most likely be moving in within the next couple of days. I heard that I will most likely be the only American in the room, as they try to split up the Americans within each dorm. I could have a roommate that is 17 or a roommate that is 23, but I guess we will see. Also, they are co-ed dorms so I could potentially get guy roommates - although I'm pretty positive there cannot be more guys than girls per room so at most I'd be living with one guy roommate.
Although I have yet to completely explore the campus from what I have seen it looks like a really nice place. It seems that the campus was hit kind of hard by the cyclone and is not in the best condition at the moment. We do have a dining hall right in front of our dorm and a pool as well as a small (very small) gym all which we have to purchase memberships for. Oh, and the food so far has been pretty good - I had lunch and dinner at the dining hall today and it wasn't bad at all - although it's not anything like a dining hall from the states that gives you options, instead you basically get what they are serving that day and that's it - no choices. Also, the cafe is only opened for about an hour and a half per meal time so if you don't eat during the times it's opened you are pretty much out of luck.
After eating lunch we headed into the town (by bus - picks us up right outside our dorms) to the supermarket and shopping center. We went to Kmart and bought a bunch of stuff to spice up our rooms (aka hangers, towels and a few other things). I have come to realize I'm going to have to get over the fact that Australian's completely over price EVERYTHING - a tube of mascara.. $16.00, face wash? $16.00.. Should be a fun semester! I'm looking forward to all the packages from home so I don't have to buy all that stuff!
We have a few free days until Orientation week starts on Monday so I think tomorrow we are heading down to the river by the school and just soaking up some sun (I'll remember my sunscreen!) I'm actually really proud of myself because I have hardly (if at all!) gotten burned since being here - which is quite an accomplishment!
Anyway - I suppose I should be going. You'd all be proud of me as I have completely decorated my room and it actually feels a bit like home! I have pictures everywhere and I brought all my crazy flowers from QU. I think I'm going to really enjoy my time here!
Love and miss you!
Sara
p.s.. did I mention how insanely hot it is here? it's like 10 degrees warmed and 20 times more humid than in Brisbane - bring on the sunscreen, hats and sticky heat! Yay!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Hey!
Tonight is my last night in Brisbane and we will be leaving the hostel at 4:00am tomorrow morning to catch a 6:00am flight. I don’t even think I’ll sleep tonight – more like take a quick nap! The flight itself wont be too bad, we are flying right into Townsville and will be arriving there at around 8:00am. After touching down in Townsville we will head to JCU and get settled into our dorms. Orientation or “O week” begins on Monday (I believe) so we will have a couple days to get our feet on the ground and figure things out around campus.
Today we went to the Koala Sanctuary and I had the chance to hold a koala and pet kangaroos! I also fed a baby goat from a bottle but I suppose that’s not quite as interesting. Oh, and I saw a platypus! What a funny animal – very weird looking but cute in its own way.
It rained today by the way – and when I say it rained I mean it poured. Everything in Australia seems to be in extremes, extreme heat, extreme humidity, extremely wet rain! Is it possible for rain to be wetter here than in New England because it sure feels that way! Regardless, I had a great time and a pretty good lunch of chicken, rice, fruit and salad. It was the first time I was able to have fruit since being there (other than the fruit I bought because I had a craving!) Fruit here is extremely expensive right now because of the recent flooding. Also, we had salad dressing which was a first – since I’ve been here all my salads have consisted of wet lettuce – yum!
After the Koala Sanctuary we headed to a placed called “RiverLife” where we watched an aboriginal dance and were able to ask some questions and learn a bit about their culture. After we discussed tomorrow’s flights and were given the opportunity to kayak or repel down a small cliff. Due to the fact I didn’t have closed toe shoes and it had poured all day me and a couple friends opted to take a nice leisurely walk back to the hostel. We meandered down the road and walked across a huge walking bridge and throughout the whole city. The city of Brisbane is actually a very clean and beautiful city – I personally like it better than many of the cities I have been to in the states.
I’m getting so excited to go to JCU and have a routine. I’m looking forward to getting some roommates and not living out of a suite case! We found out today we will most likely be sharing dorms with freshmen and it is actually their first semester of the year here. In Australia the schooling system is much different and most students start at 17. We also found out that they have gyms but you have to pay for the use, we are limited to 40 hours of internet access per month and can only download 5 GB per month. We are so spoiled in the United States!
Since being here I have also learned so many new phrases and words for the craziest things. Also, I didn’t realize that Australians are quite the sarcastic bunch. Literally everyone will be sarcastic with you, no matter what you say. Every single interaction I have had with an Australian since being here has begun (and pretty much consisted of) sarcasm. Good thing I have such a sarcastic family to give me some practice in communicating with them!
We also learned about how to save some money through discounts and stuff. They told us as soon as we get to JCU we need to make a list of all the places we want to visit because the earlier you book flights the cheaper (but I guess that’s obvious!). We were also told that most Australian grocery stores have fresh bakers and if you want a discount on bread, muffins ect go towards the end of the afternoon because they have to sell everything by the end of the night and make a new batch fresh the next day. And finally, there are apparenty farmers markets everywhere that sell fresh fruits and veggies at much, much cheaper prices – for instance at the grocery store a red bell pepper (they call them something ridiculous here) is $16.00 a pound and at the market you can find it for around $7.00 a pound.
Anyway – I guess I’m going to go get ready for our last dinner here! We are walking down to a hotel near by and enjoying a meal as a large group. Ta, ta for now!
<3 Sara
Week 1 - Brisbane!
Hello from down under!
I just wanted to write a quick first post in case some of you were interested in what I have been up to since coming to Australia four days ago. I arrived at 7:17am in Brisbane (pronounced “Brisbin”, if you say it differently you will be harassed) and was immediately hit with a wave of thick heat – yes even in the airport!
I was lucky enough that on the airplane I had no one sitting to my left and I was on the aisle – so I found the 14 hours very comfortable. I watched a movie and slept for the rest, which made the flight bearable.
Once off the flight we were all ushered to large (air conditioned!) coach buses that drove us to our hostel about an hour and a half away. The hostel itself is actually really nice – there is a pool on the roof and a café with giant TV rooms. We are all bunking up in six person rooms which can be a little crowded but I really like my roommates and lucked out.
The first day here we had a BBQ on the roof and went swimming then all went out for dinner at a nice restaurant down the street. I had charred chicken with rice, olives and asparagus – an awesome start to my experience with Australian cuisine!
On Saturday we woke up bright and early and all met in what is called the “Rainforest Room” for breakfast. They had all these weird kinds of cereal but I found one that looked the most like Raisin Brand and ate that along with some toast – had to look but I found some Fiber induced wheat bread! I was very pleased J.
After breakfast we were shuffled onto giant buses again and drove about an hour and a half away to the rainforest. Oh, did I mention they drive on the other side of the road here? It is potentially the weirdest thing to look at – it makes crossing the street a life threatening activity for me personally! Anyway, the rainforest was absolutely amazing. We went on a two hour hike and saw a ton of different water falls and the most breathtaking views. As soon as I get to school I’ll upload the pictures so you can check them out if you’re so inclined. It was also nice because we split into two groups for the tour and I ended up being in a small group of about 30 people so we had a chance to get to know one another (the whole group is about 100 people).
The rainforest walk ended with a bunch of us heading to dinner down the street at this place called Queen Street – which is almost like an outdoor mall but not quite as busy. They had a lot of outdoor bars, small shops and restaurants. We ended up going to this place called JoJo’s. The funny thing about going to eat in Australia is that you don’t really get a waitress assigned to your table, in fact you have to go up to the kitchen and order your food yourself! So trying to blend in we all decide what we want and head up to the kitchen to order. After we order we come back to the table and there is a group of Australian men sitting there! We find the waitresses who had seated us and she seemed extremely confused and flustered. She ended up seating us someone different which actually turned out to be a better spot on the deck with a nice breeze. Did I mention it’s unbelievably hot here? The air is so thick!
Anyway – Sunday was our free day and a bunch of us decided to get a cruise to this island about an hour away. Fully stocked with SPF 70 (there’s a hole in the Ozone layer right above Australia! Or atleast that’s what they keep telling me) a hat and bathing suits we all headed out to meet our bus that drove us to the dock. The cruise itself was a bit touristy (but that’s to be expected) and we found some great seats at the top of the boat and enjoyed the breeze and soaked up the vitamin D! When we finally got to the beach it was absolutely gorgeous! We bought some lunch (did I mention the RIDICULOUS prices of everything here?!?! I wont even start..) and laid on the beach. The water was so clear and the beach was basically empty. The beach itself was surrounded by beautiful trees and almost yellow sand that was so soft and smooth. It was the first time I truly felt like I was in Australia – and don’t you worry I applied my sunscreen every hour on the dot and did not get burned! Actually, that’s a lie… I did get burned – on my CHIN! How funny! It was because I was wearing my hat and that’s the only place I didn’t put sunscreen – I have to say I look pretty silly!
After the beach we headed back to the hostel and after discussing the fact none of us wanted to spent insane amounts of money on dinner we decided to stop by a 7 Eleven and grab some pasta and sauce to cook back at the hostel. I was tempted to get some Subway (they have them on like every corner!) but there is absolutely no such thing as a 5 dollar foot long – more like 10 bucks! What is this!! I paid 4 dollars for a bottle of water (never again!) and that was how much it was everywhere! If you’re buying lunch – expect to pay a good $20+ for anything (including a simple salad!)
But enough about how completely insane the pricing is here, today was our community service day which consisted of us planting small trees in a forest about a half hour away from the hostel. We were again split into two smaller groups and the planting of the trees actually wasn’t bad at all – I really enjoyed myself. We did have this horribly long ecowalk thing that actually went throughout a cemetery because apparently that’s where the best foliage grows – go figure.
We got back from the community service at around 2:00pm and had a information session about academics and just general stuff about Australia. I pretty much had a heart attack when they were going over the academics here – so completely different than the United States! The final is at least 60% of your grade, participation is about 20% and the rest is a final paper that is often more than 60 pages! Also the grading system boggled my mind – apparently anything from an 85% to 100% is an A+ but don’t get too excited because it’s almost IMPOSSIBLE to get above a 70% on anything because that’s what they consider good here. I’ll be calling Quinnipiac ASAP to find out about converting grades because it looks like QU is one of the ONLY schools that doesn’t do pass/fail and actually factors our abroad grades into our GPA… I’ve gotten quite a bit of crap for that already!
Anyway – tonight I’m just hanging low, we had a pizza dinner and I’m so exhausted. I just wanted to get my first post out there because it has been virtually impossible to communicate since I’ve been here. Hopefully (everyone PLEASE cross your fingers) there will be wireless internet at JCU otherwise I’ll talk to you all in five months! I know for a fact that there isn’t wireless in the dorms – you have to plug your computers in but there is a limit to the amount of internet you can use and amount you can download – Oh how spoiled I now realized I am! Another thing – high speed internet, not so much here!
Well – I’m off to get some sleep. I’ll write again when I get to JCU because tomorrow and Wednesday will most likely be very busy. Tomorrow we are going kayaking and heading to the zoo to hold koalas and pet kangaroos! Yay! OH, I forgot to mention – I tried kangaroo steak and it was actually very good!
Sending my love from down under,
CHEERS!
<3 Sara
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)