So this was the first week of classes! My schedule is very conducive to sleeping in, which I am a huge fan of! Cell bio was the class that I had the most this week, since lecture meets twice, and lab and tutorial meet once each. We didn't have tutorial this week, though. The lecture itself is fairly boring. I can't really understand the professor because he has an indian/australian mixture of an accent, and he doesn't really say things the way that I am used to. He kind of just puts up slides and says what each slide is. I am hoping the book will be able to teach me a little bit more of what I need to know. Lab was very basic. We "learned" how to use a microscope, which I already know how to do from years of experience, and looked at some onion and ciliated protista. The microscopes are Olympus, so Rick would approve!
We didn't do much in sexology, which meets only once a week. The class is considered a psychology class and, from what I understand so far, we talk about various subjects such as sex slaves, differences in gender..ect ect.
Indiginous Australian Sport should be interesting. We learn about aussy-rules sports and how the differ from other sports and also why the athletes who play these sports are successful at what they do. We have a few short presentations to do in this class, but nothing huge.
Other news:
-My friend Kelsey and I went out and got a printer this week. We think it's probably a good investment because printing at the library is a) expensive and b) very hard because it is nearly impossible to find a computer to use. The printer itself cost 70 dollars, plus we got an extra ink cartridge and a stack of paper. We each paid about 50 dollars for it. Hopefully that will save us money in the long run. Talking with a girl who is in my cell bio class, she paid 15 dollars to print out the lab/tutorial/lecture notes just for this week. And thats only one class.
-The smoke detector in my room is going off because the battery is dying. I told the office but no one has been by to replace the batteries yet. It's very annoying because the intervals at which it beeps are becoming smaller. It's also loud.
-I am going to a Coldplay concert tomorrow (friday) night!! That should be very fun and entertaining!
-My room mate Stephanie (who is at Elon) has her 21st birthday on Sunday...so if you know her say Happy Birthday to her!!
-I gave up candy for lent. We'll see how that works out..so far so good, but it's only been a day and a half.
-I got a new phone (camara!!) because the free phone that I was given finally bit the dust. It was old and broken anyway. At least it was free.
-I ate a kangaroo hot dog. It was not good. I don't recommend it.
-The weater really cooled off this week...from the 100s down to upper 60s and lower 70s. I finally had to shut my bedroom window which had been open since the day I got here. I also had to break out the jeans and a sweatshirt. You all and probably thinking "I only wish it was that warm here at home" while we are all saying "why is it soo cold all of a sudden!". That's what happens when you become accustomed to very hot weather!!
-My tan is coming along. Believe me...it's better than any tan I get in the states!
That is all I can think of for now!!
Love,
Me
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Rottnest Island
ok just to clarify:
Waterford - bar/restaurant next to campus that does Karaoke wednesday nights..very interesting
The Tav - oncampus bar/restaurant that sometimes has awesome bands and such playing and where Beach Bash will be held in March!!!! SOO excited!!
The aussies love to abbreviate..I am a fan.
Onto Rottnest (Rotto) Island:
Two of my friends (Benedikt from Germany and Sebastion from Sweden) and I went to Rottnest Island today. We caught the bus at 825 this morning and headed for Fremantle, which is about an hours bus ride. Once there, we figured out how to purchase tickets to the ferry (thank you student discount!), and waited around to board. Bene and I rode on the deck but Sebastion decided to ride inside because he gets seasick and also didn't want to get wet from the waves/sea mist. Lame!
The ferry ride was only about 30 minutes, so we got to the island plenty early. We rented bikes for the day (again, thank you student discount!) and were on our way. The island is only about 25K the whole way around and has about 40 beaches. We rode a few K (mostly uphill) to one of the first beaches we came to and went for a quick swim. It wasn't too hot out, but the water was refreshing anyway. The water was SO crystal clear for a ways out and there were absolutely NO waves...perfectly calm.
Once we were done swimming, we rode to the general market and got some lunch. This is where I found out that my debit card was not going to work anymore. I don't know why yet. But it was rejected and I was stranded on this resort island with ten dollars. Lunch cost 14. I found something really cheap and ate that. I soon discovered the forgotten banana that I tossed into my bag before running out the door this morning and ate that too. Then we saw the animal for which the island is named!! It's reallly cute...it looks like a HUGE rat..its about the size of my cat Mikee...if you know how big he is. This thing (which I don't know how to spell) was just hanging out under the picnic bench that we were eating at...not at all phased by all the tourists staring and flashing camaras in its face. It was awesome.
We finished lunch and rode on. We came to a beach called City of York Beach. This is the prettiest beach I have ever been to. EVER. Blue/green waters, no waves, and boulders jutting out of the water everywhere. We all layed on the boulders for about 2 hours or so. There were little snails burrowed into the crevices. Neither Sebastion nor Bene knew what they were, so I had to explain to them their name and what they were.
Onward to the Lighthouse!! This was a few K away from where we were at the York Beach...and ALL UPHILL. By the time we were only a few hills away, I was walking. I didn't think I was going to make it. Soo many hills for soo many K!! Definitely a great workout...for someone who is in shape!! I will be way sore tomorrow for sure!! The lighthouse was pretty neat though. It's the highest point on the entire island, so we got a great view of tons of beaches. We couldn't see any of the shoppes, inns, or any other structures, though. After a 20-or-so minute rest on the benches, we resumed our journey. This time, the entire trip was downhill. Thank God because I don't think I would have made it if there were any hills!!
Once we got back from our ~15K ride over the island, we returned our bikes (which had to be in by 5pm). We had a little over an hour to kill, so we found a really neat outdoor beach bar and got some water (yes...water at the bar). We relaxed in the shade until it was time to board the ferry again.
The ferry ride back was realllllly great!!! Bene and I sat out on the deck again. There was a whole group of people on the other side of the deck from us and only 4 (including the two of us) on our side of the deck. About 2 minutes into the ride we decided that we made the right choice of seats. The way that the wind was blowing caused the waves to come barrelling over the side of the ferry, water pelting everyone full-blast on the opposite side of the deck. It was probably the funniest thing that happened in a LONG time!! After about 3 minutes of pelting water, everyone on that side was absolutely soaked as if they had jumped into the ocean themselves!! 2 of them actually got out their snorkles and masks!! SOO funny!! At least they were all really good sports about it and laughed the entire time...as did they dry ones (us)!! We barely even got misted!!
The ferry arrived in Fremantle and we RAN to catch the bus back to school. We had planned on taking the bus that was a half hour later than this bus, but that was when we thought that the ferry was going to take an hour instead of a half hour. We got to the bus and were taping on the door when he started pulling away. NOPE. Not gona happen. We ran after and eventually got on.
Once I got back to my room, I discovered that I was sunburned in just about every spot that i was not sunburned last time. Even after reapplying sunblock numerous times!! I am going to have some very interesting tan lines...that's for sure!! But hey, at least I have them!! Woo!! Even the flipflop tan line got burned...no more flipflop tan line!! Darn..
Well that is all for now!! I am beat from cycling/swimming/sunburning all day so I am going to bed relatively soon. Plus, classes begin tomorrow. The only one I have is Cell Bio from 3-4pm. I think I am going to go to campus a few hours early and figure out where my class is held and buy my text books and such. If I can even walk at that point...
Love,
me
Waterford - bar/restaurant next to campus that does Karaoke wednesday nights..very interesting
The Tav - oncampus bar/restaurant that sometimes has awesome bands and such playing and where Beach Bash will be held in March!!!! SOO excited!!
The aussies love to abbreviate..I am a fan.
Onto Rottnest (Rotto) Island:
Two of my friends (Benedikt from Germany and Sebastion from Sweden) and I went to Rottnest Island today. We caught the bus at 825 this morning and headed for Fremantle, which is about an hours bus ride. Once there, we figured out how to purchase tickets to the ferry (thank you student discount!), and waited around to board. Bene and I rode on the deck but Sebastion decided to ride inside because he gets seasick and also didn't want to get wet from the waves/sea mist. Lame!
The ferry ride was only about 30 minutes, so we got to the island plenty early. We rented bikes for the day (again, thank you student discount!) and were on our way. The island is only about 25K the whole way around and has about 40 beaches. We rode a few K (mostly uphill) to one of the first beaches we came to and went for a quick swim. It wasn't too hot out, but the water was refreshing anyway. The water was SO crystal clear for a ways out and there were absolutely NO waves...perfectly calm.
Once we were done swimming, we rode to the general market and got some lunch. This is where I found out that my debit card was not going to work anymore. I don't know why yet. But it was rejected and I was stranded on this resort island with ten dollars. Lunch cost 14. I found something really cheap and ate that. I soon discovered the forgotten banana that I tossed into my bag before running out the door this morning and ate that too. Then we saw the animal for which the island is named!! It's reallly cute...it looks like a HUGE rat..its about the size of my cat Mikee...if you know how big he is. This thing (which I don't know how to spell) was just hanging out under the picnic bench that we were eating at...not at all phased by all the tourists staring and flashing camaras in its face. It was awesome.
We finished lunch and rode on. We came to a beach called City of York Beach. This is the prettiest beach I have ever been to. EVER. Blue/green waters, no waves, and boulders jutting out of the water everywhere. We all layed on the boulders for about 2 hours or so. There were little snails burrowed into the crevices. Neither Sebastion nor Bene knew what they were, so I had to explain to them their name and what they were.
Onward to the Lighthouse!! This was a few K away from where we were at the York Beach...and ALL UPHILL. By the time we were only a few hills away, I was walking. I didn't think I was going to make it. Soo many hills for soo many K!! Definitely a great workout...for someone who is in shape!! I will be way sore tomorrow for sure!! The lighthouse was pretty neat though. It's the highest point on the entire island, so we got a great view of tons of beaches. We couldn't see any of the shoppes, inns, or any other structures, though. After a 20-or-so minute rest on the benches, we resumed our journey. This time, the entire trip was downhill. Thank God because I don't think I would have made it if there were any hills!!
Once we got back from our ~15K ride over the island, we returned our bikes (which had to be in by 5pm). We had a little over an hour to kill, so we found a really neat outdoor beach bar and got some water (yes...water at the bar). We relaxed in the shade until it was time to board the ferry again.
The ferry ride back was realllllly great!!! Bene and I sat out on the deck again. There was a whole group of people on the other side of the deck from us and only 4 (including the two of us) on our side of the deck. About 2 minutes into the ride we decided that we made the right choice of seats. The way that the wind was blowing caused the waves to come barrelling over the side of the ferry, water pelting everyone full-blast on the opposite side of the deck. It was probably the funniest thing that happened in a LONG time!! After about 3 minutes of pelting water, everyone on that side was absolutely soaked as if they had jumped into the ocean themselves!! 2 of them actually got out their snorkles and masks!! SOO funny!! At least they were all really good sports about it and laughed the entire time...as did they dry ones (us)!! We barely even got misted!!
The ferry arrived in Fremantle and we RAN to catch the bus back to school. We had planned on taking the bus that was a half hour later than this bus, but that was when we thought that the ferry was going to take an hour instead of a half hour. We got to the bus and were taping on the door when he started pulling away. NOPE. Not gona happen. We ran after and eventually got on.
Once I got back to my room, I discovered that I was sunburned in just about every spot that i was not sunburned last time. Even after reapplying sunblock numerous times!! I am going to have some very interesting tan lines...that's for sure!! But hey, at least I have them!! Woo!! Even the flipflop tan line got burned...no more flipflop tan line!! Darn..
Well that is all for now!! I am beat from cycling/swimming/sunburning all day so I am going to bed relatively soon. Plus, classes begin tomorrow. The only one I have is Cell Bio from 3-4pm. I think I am going to go to campus a few hours early and figure out where my class is held and buy my text books and such. If I can even walk at that point...
Love,
me
Friday, February 20, 2009
Orientation/Kings Park
Ok so the past few days:
Wednesday was Orientation day, so everyone came on campus to sign up for clubs/get free things/hangout. It was fun for the hour or so that I was there. After, there was a party at the Tav. A local band out of Perth played. They are really decent..I hear people at home have heard of them so I guess they're fairly well-known. After, a group of us hung out at a friends house and then moved on to the Waterford.
Thursday was a relatively boring day. Nothing too much was going on, so I just did some laundry and hung out. Around dinner time, there was a Welcome Party for Vickery House, where I live. They had free pizza and more clubs and trips to sign up for. Afterwards, a few of us went to a friends house in Erica Underwood, which is clear across campus from Vickery House. We ate more dinner there and watched tv until it was time to go home. It was nice to have a down day since every other day has been pretty packed with things to do.
Today (Friday), I went with a few friends up to Kings Park in downtown Perth. It is a really pretty park (and REALLY big) that over looks the entire city. It's really cool because downtown is relatively small, so you can see the entire thing and then some. It also sits right on top of the Swan River. When we left, we went to the Carousel Shoppes to get some groceries and such, then went home.
I am currently getting ready for another Orientation day party at the Tav. I don't think there is a band or anything, just a big hang out. Should be pretty fun because alot of people go to it.
The past few days have been cooler...around 25 celcius (80F), but today it spiked again to about 35 or 40 (100-110), so it's REALLY hot out!! But that's why I am here!!!
Classes start Monday!
-Me
Wednesday was Orientation day, so everyone came on campus to sign up for clubs/get free things/hangout. It was fun for the hour or so that I was there. After, there was a party at the Tav. A local band out of Perth played. They are really decent..I hear people at home have heard of them so I guess they're fairly well-known. After, a group of us hung out at a friends house and then moved on to the Waterford.
Thursday was a relatively boring day. Nothing too much was going on, so I just did some laundry and hung out. Around dinner time, there was a Welcome Party for Vickery House, where I live. They had free pizza and more clubs and trips to sign up for. Afterwards, a few of us went to a friends house in Erica Underwood, which is clear across campus from Vickery House. We ate more dinner there and watched tv until it was time to go home. It was nice to have a down day since every other day has been pretty packed with things to do.
Today (Friday), I went with a few friends up to Kings Park in downtown Perth. It is a really pretty park (and REALLY big) that over looks the entire city. It's really cool because downtown is relatively small, so you can see the entire thing and then some. It also sits right on top of the Swan River. When we left, we went to the Carousel Shoppes to get some groceries and such, then went home.
I am currently getting ready for another Orientation day party at the Tav. I don't think there is a band or anything, just a big hang out. Should be pretty fun because alot of people go to it.
The past few days have been cooler...around 25 celcius (80F), but today it spiked again to about 35 or 40 (100-110), so it's REALLY hot out!! But that's why I am here!!!
Classes start Monday!
-Me
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Perth Zoo/Fremantle Excursion
This week, we had off a few days to go off and do our own thing around the city. On Saturday, two friends and I decided we would try out the public transportation system on our own and ventured to the Perth Zoo. The trip required us to take two different buses. The first bus we were to get off at Henley Street after Axford Street. We asked the bus driver to let us know when this stop was since the bus does not stop unless someone hits the 'stop' button or unless someone is at the stop waiting to get on. The bus driver was no help because he had absolutely no idea where this bus stop was, so it was up to us to figure out where we were. We eventually saw Axford street and got off at the next stop. Woops! We went one stop too far and had to literally run a mile or so back to the previous bus stop in time to catch the next bus to the Zoo. This bus was somewhat easier because there is a stop designated for the Zoo itself.
So after all that bus drama, we arrived at the zoo. It was a really nice zoo with animals from all over the Australian outback, among other places. I saw some animals I have never seen before including a wombat, dingo, and wallabe. After the zoo, we took the two buses back to campus, this time with less stress. We rented a movie and hung out for a while and then went our separate ways for the evening.
Sunday, a large group of us went to Fremantle to meet Amanda, one of our student mentors. She lives there and was able to give us a pretty good tour. Fremantle, or "Freo" to the locals, is a really neat, hippyish town with tons of shoppes, restaurants, and pubs. We first went to the Round House, which is right on the water. They have a cannon here that is fired everyday at 1pm. We ate lunch at a fish and chips place. I had chicken. After, we went into town for some shopping and meat pies. I do no suggest meat pies. Once we finished up at the shoppes, the group met at a local pub for some snacks. The pub was called Little Creatures and sits right on the water. It was a really neat, open air place. After, we took the bus back to campus and hung out and watched movies for the night. Tomorrow, a group of us are planning a day trip to the beach about halfway between Curtin and Fremantle called Cottesloe, or "Cotto" as the locals call it. We are also planning on getting proof-of-age cards so that we don't have to carry passports around the city, and a quick trip up to Kings Park!
So after all that bus drama, we arrived at the zoo. It was a really nice zoo with animals from all over the Australian outback, among other places. I saw some animals I have never seen before including a wombat, dingo, and wallabe. After the zoo, we took the two buses back to campus, this time with less stress. We rented a movie and hung out for a while and then went our separate ways for the evening.
Sunday, a large group of us went to Fremantle to meet Amanda, one of our student mentors. She lives there and was able to give us a pretty good tour. Fremantle, or "Freo" to the locals, is a really neat, hippyish town with tons of shoppes, restaurants, and pubs. We first went to the Round House, which is right on the water. They have a cannon here that is fired everyday at 1pm. We ate lunch at a fish and chips place. I had chicken. After, we went into town for some shopping and meat pies. I do no suggest meat pies. Once we finished up at the shoppes, the group met at a local pub for some snacks. The pub was called Little Creatures and sits right on the water. It was a really neat, open air place. After, we took the bus back to campus and hung out and watched movies for the night. Tomorrow, a group of us are planning a day trip to the beach about halfway between Curtin and Fremantle called Cottesloe, or "Cotto" as the locals call it. We are also planning on getting proof-of-age cards so that we don't have to carry passports around the city, and a quick trip up to Kings Park!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Yanchep National Park
Here are the goings-on of the past few days at Yanchep National Park:
Tuesday we arrived at Yanchep and went to the beach for a few hours. The water there is crystal clear and waist deep until you reach a rock barrier about 100 meters out. The barrier is apparently dangerous because little tiny octapi like to hang out there are if you irritate them, they will sting you.
After the beach, we headed back to the hotel we were staying at for dinner and such. We played a quiz game about Australia. They asked us random questions about common Aussy sayings and various cultural things, among other things. My team came in last place :(.
My room mates and I went to bed relatively early..around ten or so. The next morning was an early one. We got up and had to be at breakfast by 645am. We left at 730am to drive about an hour to go surfing!! The waves were really tiny, but it was soo much fun!! They water was really shallow...waist deep for hundreds of meters out and crystal clear. 2 dolphins came within feet of me! I only stood up one time and fell off right away, but I got up to my knees a couple of times, so it's progress!
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch, we had to meet with some counselors from Curtin University for about an hour to talk about safety on the campus. Then, a group of us went to the beach for about 4 hours. I found this really neat shell on the ocean floor so I picked it up and there was a starfish on it! It was really tiny, about the size of a quarter, so I found another shell, stuck him on it, and threw him back. I kept the neat shell for a decoration in my bomb shelter.
After the beach, we ate dinner and played a get-to-know-you game with the group. 2 truths and a lie is the name and the rule. You write 2 truths and a lie about yourself and someone else reads your paper, tries to figure out whose paper it was, and which statement was the lie. I learned some very interesting things about the people on my trip! My room mates and I called it another early night. The sun here really takes all your energy out of you.
Thursday we got to sleep in a little bit. Breakfast was at 8. Afterwards, we went to learn how to throw a spear and boomarang, do an aboriginal dance, and learn about the aboriginies. It was all very interesting!! Once we were done, we ate lunch, packed the vans and headed back to campus.
On Thursdays, Carousal, a relatively large mall a few minutes ride from school, is open late. "Later" is 9pm. We got back around 130pm, so 3 friends and I hoped on the bus and went to the mall. We got some fun stuff like shoes and movies, and headed back to school around 830pm. On the bus ride back, there was a lady sitting in front of me and one of my friends. She was clearly on some kind of drug because shortly into the ride she began talking to herself about absolutely random things. I quote: "They can't f*cking knock on my door and they say 'I'm staying my sister lives here' and I can't f*cking believe that they can't knock. I'm feeling sick. I'm going to vomit on you all (pointing to everyone around) BLAHHHH. Get off this bus. No don't. He knows. He knows. He knows." This went on for about...twenty minutes. I was really uncomfortable but wasn't able to move because the bus was very full and I was at the back. Once the bus got to our stop, all the students ran off the bus to get away from her. Clearly, she was scaring some people.
I just met one of my new room mates. Her name is Kellie and she is from about 2 hours south of Perth!! Apparently another room mate, Emily, is also from about 2 hours south of Perth. I have aussy roomies!! YAY!!!
I am about to head over to hang out with some friends across the courtyard for the evening!! Yay friends!!
Tuesday we arrived at Yanchep and went to the beach for a few hours. The water there is crystal clear and waist deep until you reach a rock barrier about 100 meters out. The barrier is apparently dangerous because little tiny octapi like to hang out there are if you irritate them, they will sting you.
After the beach, we headed back to the hotel we were staying at for dinner and such. We played a quiz game about Australia. They asked us random questions about common Aussy sayings and various cultural things, among other things. My team came in last place :(.
My room mates and I went to bed relatively early..around ten or so. The next morning was an early one. We got up and had to be at breakfast by 645am. We left at 730am to drive about an hour to go surfing!! The waves were really tiny, but it was soo much fun!! They water was really shallow...waist deep for hundreds of meters out and crystal clear. 2 dolphins came within feet of me! I only stood up one time and fell off right away, but I got up to my knees a couple of times, so it's progress!
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch, we had to meet with some counselors from Curtin University for about an hour to talk about safety on the campus. Then, a group of us went to the beach for about 4 hours. I found this really neat shell on the ocean floor so I picked it up and there was a starfish on it! It was really tiny, about the size of a quarter, so I found another shell, stuck him on it, and threw him back. I kept the neat shell for a decoration in my bomb shelter.
After the beach, we ate dinner and played a get-to-know-you game with the group. 2 truths and a lie is the name and the rule. You write 2 truths and a lie about yourself and someone else reads your paper, tries to figure out whose paper it was, and which statement was the lie. I learned some very interesting things about the people on my trip! My room mates and I called it another early night. The sun here really takes all your energy out of you.
Thursday we got to sleep in a little bit. Breakfast was at 8. Afterwards, we went to learn how to throw a spear and boomarang, do an aboriginal dance, and learn about the aboriginies. It was all very interesting!! Once we were done, we ate lunch, packed the vans and headed back to campus.
On Thursdays, Carousal, a relatively large mall a few minutes ride from school, is open late. "Later" is 9pm. We got back around 130pm, so 3 friends and I hoped on the bus and went to the mall. We got some fun stuff like shoes and movies, and headed back to school around 830pm. On the bus ride back, there was a lady sitting in front of me and one of my friends. She was clearly on some kind of drug because shortly into the ride she began talking to herself about absolutely random things. I quote: "They can't f*cking knock on my door and they say 'I'm staying my sister lives here' and I can't f*cking believe that they can't knock. I'm feeling sick. I'm going to vomit on you all (pointing to everyone around) BLAHHHH. Get off this bus. No don't. He knows. He knows. He knows." This went on for about...twenty minutes. I was really uncomfortable but wasn't able to move because the bus was very full and I was at the back. Once the bus got to our stop, all the students ran off the bus to get away from her. Clearly, she was scaring some people.
I just met one of my new room mates. Her name is Kellie and she is from about 2 hours south of Perth!! Apparently another room mate, Emily, is also from about 2 hours south of Perth. I have aussy roomies!! YAY!!!
I am about to head over to hang out with some friends across the courtyard for the evening!! Yay friends!!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Updates
Just a few things you might like to know-
Units (classes) for this semester:
Monday - Cell bio 3-4pm
Tuesday - Sexology 1-4pm
Wednesday - Cell bio 11am-12pm
Indiginous Australian Sport 2-3pm
-tutorial 3-5pm
Thursday - Cell bio lab 2-4pm
-tutorial 4-5pm
Friday - no class!
My address:
Jenn Kirchner
unit 15
Vickery House
Hayman Road
Bentley
WA 6102
Australia
**DON'T PUT CURTIN UNIVERSITY**
I am leaving in a few hours for camping/surfing/beaching! I will update when I get back to campus!
Units (classes) for this semester:
Monday - Cell bio 3-4pm
Tuesday - Sexology 1-4pm
Wednesday - Cell bio 11am-12pm
Indiginous Australian Sport 2-3pm
-tutorial 3-5pm
Thursday - Cell bio lab 2-4pm
-tutorial 4-5pm
Friday - no class!
My address:
Jenn Kirchner
unit 15
Vickery House
Hayman Road
Bentley
WA 6102
Australia
**DON'T PUT CURTIN UNIVERSITY**
I am leaving in a few hours for camping/surfing/beaching! I will update when I get back to campus!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Landed, grounded, moved in
Hey all--
I am finally here and all settled into my (tiny) room at Curtin University!! The past few days have been crazy busy!! Flying was...put simply...long and exhausting. 5 of the people in my program were on my (13 hour) flight from Brisbane to Perth. We were greeted at baggage claim by a current graduate student named Ashley. She is from Texas and did this same program a few years ago and loved it enough to return for grad school (good to know?!). Anyway, she took us all to our hotel that we were staying in for the night. We were given some time to shower (yes it had been 2 days =/) and get ready for a night out in the city of Perth. It only took about half a second to realized that the outlets in the rooms didn't work. That was very unfortunate for the 10 girls who were looking foward to drying and straigtning their hair, using a computer, or charging a cell phone.
We walked probably around 2 miles to an asian restaurant downtown and stayed there for a few hours. Australian waiters do not work for tips, so things get accomplished on their time. For example, we were sitting for at least 20 minutes before we were waited on, then waited a good hour until the first entree was served. Not everyone at the table was served at the same time. In fact, two were served first and had completely finished with their meals with time to spare before the others were served.
After the meal, we hung out for another hour or so until the check came. After we paid, 4 of us took a cab back to the hotel while the rest went on to a bar to hang out for the rest of the night. It is not commonplace to wear flip flops out to bars and restuarants, so I wore heels. Big mistake. By the time we reached the restaurant I had blisters SO bad that walking across the street to the ATM was like...I don't know...Hell. I am paying for that now, and I have (nasty) pictures to prove it!
Today we all met at 10 am (most of us were up by 6am because of jet lag/time difference) to go back into town to the "shoppes" to do some shopping. We went to some tourist attractions first, like the Bell Tower and a Ferris Wheel similar to the London Eye. 2 of the girls and I went on the Ferris Wheel and got a great view of the city. The city is built on the water, so there are some great strips of city jutting out into the water connecting to the land by bridges.
After the tourist attractions, we made it to the "shoppes", which is how the Australians refer to closed off portions of streets littered with malls and stores with everything you could possibly think of to buy except a hair straightner. It figures that the one thing I was looking for is no where to be found.
We checked into our rooms this afternoon. I am living in an 8-person suite called Vickery House. I am told that it is all girls, but currently I am the only person here. Many others are co-ed. The suite literally looks like a bomb shelter. Its kind of scary actually, but I think once I get some colors and such up it won't be so bad. The suite contains a common room with 8 chairs and a table (no tv), a kitchenette with a sink, oven, stove (scary thing), 2 fridges, a microwave, and lots of cabinets. There is also a kitchen table with a bunch of chairs. Everyone has their own bedroom, which is nice because I can't imagine trying to stuff 2 people into this room! There are 2 toilet rooms (not bathrooms), and in a separate room there are 4 sinks and 2 showers. It's very basic, but will work for the semester. There is no AC, but it cools down at night and I do have a personal room fan.
I already got sunburn. Sunscreen is DEFINITELY necessary!! The only exposed place that was not affected was my face and that is only because my moisturizer has SPF in it! Good thing I used that this morning...
I don't know when I will next update because I hear that our orientation is taking us camping/beaching/surfing for the next few days!!!! SOO exciting!!
Love me!
***I think that pictures are going to have to be a once-a-month deal because internet here is not free. You pay by the month and pay for MGBs and everything, which get wasted fairly easily.
I am finally here and all settled into my (tiny) room at Curtin University!! The past few days have been crazy busy!! Flying was...put simply...long and exhausting. 5 of the people in my program were on my (13 hour) flight from Brisbane to Perth. We were greeted at baggage claim by a current graduate student named Ashley. She is from Texas and did this same program a few years ago and loved it enough to return for grad school (good to know?!). Anyway, she took us all to our hotel that we were staying in for the night. We were given some time to shower (yes it had been 2 days =/) and get ready for a night out in the city of Perth. It only took about half a second to realized that the outlets in the rooms didn't work. That was very unfortunate for the 10 girls who were looking foward to drying and straigtning their hair, using a computer, or charging a cell phone.
We walked probably around 2 miles to an asian restaurant downtown and stayed there for a few hours. Australian waiters do not work for tips, so things get accomplished on their time. For example, we were sitting for at least 20 minutes before we were waited on, then waited a good hour until the first entree was served. Not everyone at the table was served at the same time. In fact, two were served first and had completely finished with their meals with time to spare before the others were served.
After the meal, we hung out for another hour or so until the check came. After we paid, 4 of us took a cab back to the hotel while the rest went on to a bar to hang out for the rest of the night. It is not commonplace to wear flip flops out to bars and restuarants, so I wore heels. Big mistake. By the time we reached the restaurant I had blisters SO bad that walking across the street to the ATM was like...I don't know...Hell. I am paying for that now, and I have (nasty) pictures to prove it!
Today we all met at 10 am (most of us were up by 6am because of jet lag/time difference) to go back into town to the "shoppes" to do some shopping. We went to some tourist attractions first, like the Bell Tower and a Ferris Wheel similar to the London Eye. 2 of the girls and I went on the Ferris Wheel and got a great view of the city. The city is built on the water, so there are some great strips of city jutting out into the water connecting to the land by bridges.
After the tourist attractions, we made it to the "shoppes", which is how the Australians refer to closed off portions of streets littered with malls and stores with everything you could possibly think of to buy except a hair straightner. It figures that the one thing I was looking for is no where to be found.
We checked into our rooms this afternoon. I am living in an 8-person suite called Vickery House. I am told that it is all girls, but currently I am the only person here. Many others are co-ed. The suite literally looks like a bomb shelter. Its kind of scary actually, but I think once I get some colors and such up it won't be so bad. The suite contains a common room with 8 chairs and a table (no tv), a kitchenette with a sink, oven, stove (scary thing), 2 fridges, a microwave, and lots of cabinets. There is also a kitchen table with a bunch of chairs. Everyone has their own bedroom, which is nice because I can't imagine trying to stuff 2 people into this room! There are 2 toilet rooms (not bathrooms), and in a separate room there are 4 sinks and 2 showers. It's very basic, but will work for the semester. There is no AC, but it cools down at night and I do have a personal room fan.
I already got sunburn. Sunscreen is DEFINITELY necessary!! The only exposed place that was not affected was my face and that is only because my moisturizer has SPF in it! Good thing I used that this morning...
I don't know when I will next update because I hear that our orientation is taking us camping/beaching/surfing for the next few days!!!! SOO exciting!!
Love me!
***I think that pictures are going to have to be a once-a-month deal because internet here is not free. You pay by the month and pay for MGBs and everything, which get wasted fairly easily.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Just a start
I am leaving tomorrow (the 5th) for Australia! AHH! How crazy!! Here is the plan...my flight out of Philadelphia is at 4pm. I land in LA at 704 pm LA time, and take off for Australia at 1150pm LA time. I arrive in Brisbane at 745am Brisbane time on the 7th (yea I totally miss the 6th..I am in the air and cross the international dateline before then). I have a good 5-or-so hour layover until 120pm, at which time I leave for Perth!! Once I land in Perth at 535 pm, I will be picked up from the airport and taken to Curtin University where I will be studying for the semester!
I don't know what courses I will be taking because I cannot sign up until I actually get to the university. I am living in Vickery House, which is a house owned by the university. I will have either 5 or 7 room mates, all of which are international. We will have 2 weeks of orientation...1 with just American students and 1 with all international students. We begin classes on Feb. 25th. I am not sure what the schedule for the semester looks like yet, but I will find all that out soon enough!
I will miss you all, but I am sure that I will be able to find things to occupy myself!!
Next time you hear from me, I will be in Australia! How exciting!!
I don't know what courses I will be taking because I cannot sign up until I actually get to the university. I am living in Vickery House, which is a house owned by the university. I will have either 5 or 7 room mates, all of which are international. We will have 2 weeks of orientation...1 with just American students and 1 with all international students. We begin classes on Feb. 25th. I am not sure what the schedule for the semester looks like yet, but I will find all that out soon enough!
I will miss you all, but I am sure that I will be able to find things to occupy myself!!
Next time you hear from me, I will be in Australia! How exciting!!
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