I got a used bike today, it was only $30. By far the best deal I've run across so far in this country. We have been using the bus system lately, which is great but with all the stops, a short distance can take a long time. Our friends from the Study Australia program who are living in beach housing are only about a 20 minute bike ride away, but the bus ride is closer to 45+ minutes. Nicole got a used bike too and on our way back her pedal fell off :(
And don't worry mom I am being (and will be) very careful. I am paranoid about traffic because everyone drives on the other side of the road. Also, pedestrians don't have the right of way here like at home, so you have to be careful at intersections in general.
Maybe I'll put up a picture of my cool new ride later!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Internship
I got the internship with the admissions office - yay! It is only five hours a week but it will be a good fit with my schedule and not too demanding on time. I start on Wednesday and they will start giving me projects to work on though the semester.
Last night I went with a friend to Surfers Paradise and then Broad Beach for dinner. It is only about 20 minutes from here, but takes longer on the bus. I am starting to like the buses here. I don't know the schedules yet but they are easy to use and cheap with your student ID.
Some people were talking about getting used bikes to get to the beach and around the area, but I don't know if I'll use it enough. I picked up a local paper so I could look through the listings and see if there was anything good.
I am also on a mission to try and figure out Australia sports, AFL, Rugby...."footy"? It's on the TV right now but I'm pretty clueless.
Last night I went with a friend to Surfers Paradise and then Broad Beach for dinner. It is only about 20 minutes from here, but takes longer on the bus. I am starting to like the buses here. I don't know the schedules yet but they are easy to use and cheap with your student ID.
Some people were talking about getting used bikes to get to the beach and around the area, but I don't know if I'll use it enough. I picked up a local paper so I could look through the listings and see if there was anything good.
I am also on a mission to try and figure out Australia sports, AFL, Rugby...."footy"? It's on the TV right now but I'm pretty clueless.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Bond Week and Sydney Orientation Update
Hello again!
Orientation week (Bond Week) has been going really well. My schedule is still a little out of whack but getting better. This morning I had an interview on campus for an internship with the admissions office. They take on a study abroad student each semester to help with various projects for their international/exchange team. I thought it went well, but I have no idea how many people applied for the spot. I should know by the end of today if I got it.
I promised in my last post to share stories from the Study Australia orientation which was held separately just for our program in Sydney last week.
We arrived in Sydney and I cleared the notorious tough Aussie customs although they did question what food I was carrying in my luggage (Jiff peanut butter). We stopped first at the apartments we were staying in for the week, the Tiffany at Bondi Junction. The apartments were really nice and in a great location, right above the train station and a bus stop. Across the street is the Westfield Mall, which was also pretty amazing. It had 6 floors of shopping and was ridiculously huge - I didn’t even get to see all the shops. They had electronic maps where you could type in what store or store type you were looking for and it would give you directions from where you were standing. I found it interesting in Australia that everyone closes fairly early, even in the city. The stores in the mall usually close around 6 during the week or maybe earlier outside of the mall, weekend times are even earlier than that. Each state does designate one late night shopping night. Sydney is in New South Whales so Thursdays are their night (open until 9pm). Still early compared to home!
We had some free time during orientation and then also scheduled activities. The first night we took a walking tour of the city followed by dinner at a restaurant on Darling Harbour. A lot of us ordered the kangaroo, which was actually very good
The next day was possibly one of my favorites because it was zoo day. We went to a wildlife park about an hour outside of Sydney. Part of it was setup just like petting zoo only instead of goats and sheep you could pet and feed kangaroos and emus. The rest of the zoo was fun too. They had a lot of birds and I got to pet a koala bear.
Another adventurous orientation activity was abseiling (rappelling) and rock climbing. In morning everyone had a chance to abseil three different heights. In the afternoon you could choose to either rock climb or abseil a final (and even higher) rock face. I went abseiling and as you can see from the look on my face, I was both thrilled and terrified to be there. It was a great feeling at the end of the day. I felt like I had accomplished something even though tons of people abseil those same rock faces everyday. It was a great feat for me.
As I mentioned earlier, we did have some free time so, Jenny, Nina and I took advantage of that Saturday morning and went on a tour of the Sydney Opera House. We had walked by it on our tour the first night, but it was worth going on the tour to see the inside concert halls.
There was still so much to do and see in Sydney that we didn’t have time for in our short stay. I really want to try and make it back there during the semester. I thought it was beautiful. It was weird because it was a big city but didn’t have an intimidating big city feel to it. The trains were easy to use and I imagine the bus system was similar. People do drive here but gas is expensive so you saw fewer big cars and SUV vehicles on the road.
Well, that’s my update for now. I am playing tennis with my roommate later today and possibly going on a job hunt. More to come from down under :)
Orientation week (Bond Week) has been going really well. My schedule is still a little out of whack but getting better. This morning I had an interview on campus for an internship with the admissions office. They take on a study abroad student each semester to help with various projects for their international/exchange team. I thought it went well, but I have no idea how many people applied for the spot. I should know by the end of today if I got it.
I promised in my last post to share stories from the Study Australia orientation which was held separately just for our program in Sydney last week.
We arrived in Sydney and I cleared the notorious tough Aussie customs although they did question what food I was carrying in my luggage (Jiff peanut butter). We stopped first at the apartments we were staying in for the week, the Tiffany at Bondi Junction. The apartments were really nice and in a great location, right above the train station and a bus stop. Across the street is the Westfield Mall, which was also pretty amazing. It had 6 floors of shopping and was ridiculously huge - I didn’t even get to see all the shops. They had electronic maps where you could type in what store or store type you were looking for and it would give you directions from where you were standing. I found it interesting in Australia that everyone closes fairly early, even in the city. The stores in the mall usually close around 6 during the week or maybe earlier outside of the mall, weekend times are even earlier than that. Each state does designate one late night shopping night. Sydney is in New South Whales so Thursdays are their night (open until 9pm). Still early compared to home!
We had some free time during orientation and then also scheduled activities. The first night we took a walking tour of the city followed by dinner at a restaurant on Darling Harbour. A lot of us ordered the kangaroo, which was actually very good
The next day was possibly one of my favorites because it was zoo day. We went to a wildlife park about an hour outside of Sydney. Part of it was setup just like petting zoo only instead of goats and sheep you could pet and feed kangaroos and emus. The rest of the zoo was fun too. They had a lot of birds and I got to pet a koala bear.
Another adventurous orientation activity was abseiling (rappelling) and rock climbing. In morning everyone had a chance to abseil three different heights. In the afternoon you could choose to either rock climb or abseil a final (and even higher) rock face. I went abseiling and as you can see from the look on my face, I was both thrilled and terrified to be there. It was a great feeling at the end of the day. I felt like I had accomplished something even though tons of people abseil those same rock faces everyday. It was a great feat for me.
As I mentioned earlier, we did have some free time so, Jenny, Nina and I took advantage of that Saturday morning and went on a tour of the Sydney Opera House. We had walked by it on our tour the first night, but it was worth going on the tour to see the inside concert halls.
There was still so much to do and see in Sydney that we didn’t have time for in our short stay. I really want to try and make it back there during the semester. I thought it was beautiful. It was weird because it was a big city but didn’t have an intimidating big city feel to it. The trains were easy to use and I imagine the bus system was similar. People do drive here but gas is expensive so you saw fewer big cars and SUV vehicles on the road.
Well, that’s my update for now. I am playing tennis with my roommate later today and possibly going on a job hunt. More to come from down under :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Settling In
I am back and alive! I would have updated sooner but I didn't have internet in Fiji or in Sydney for very long during orientation. These last few weeks have flown by and so much has happened. I might need to break up my posts into a few separate entries.
First, Fiji...after my 9 hour layover in LA we flew to Fiji where we met our group leader. Most of our group had already met in the airport while waiting for the flight. We just sat in a circle and started learning names and where everyone was from. I met my roommate Sarah at the airport before we left too, we recognized each other from our facebook photos. The flight was long but bearable, I tried sleeping for some of it.
When we got to Fiji we took a bus to the resort we were going to stay at on the last night of the trip and left most of our luggage there. Then they took us to a ferry that transports people to all the different islands (someone told me there are about 300 of them). It was a couple hour ride out to our island and resort, but it went quick because we were busy enjoying the view.
When we reached the island we were staying a smaller boat came out to meet us and we transfered to that. When we pulled up they sang us a song and gave us flower leis that they had made earlier that day and a fruit drink. It was an awesome welcome :)
The next few days kinda blur together for me because I was so tired and jet lagged and I don't know what days we did what. We went snorkeling in the reef and swam with giant manta rays on the other side of the island. We walked to the village twice on the other side of the island. You had to hike up and over the mountain and then along the beach to reach it. It took about 30-40 minutes and we kept complaining about how tired we were. The Fijian who guided us that day said he walks it at least 3 times a day maybe more - Ha!
The picture above is Sarah, me and Jenny outside our hut or "burre" we stayed in. Ours had 9 people in it, with bathrooms out back. We didn't have to many bug problems although someone said they killed a coach roach. There were little geckos everywhere, but they are supposed to be good to have because they eat the insects.
Our last night in Fiji, we went back to the mainland and stayed in a five-star resort. It was really nice, but we weren't there for very long, our flight to Sydney was early the next morning.
Right now I am at Bond and I have to go get ready for dinner and our first night of orientation. I still want to share about orientation and this first week so I will update more later today or tomorrow!
First, Fiji...after my 9 hour layover in LA we flew to Fiji where we met our group leader. Most of our group had already met in the airport while waiting for the flight. We just sat in a circle and started learning names and where everyone was from. I met my roommate Sarah at the airport before we left too, we recognized each other from our facebook photos. The flight was long but bearable, I tried sleeping for some of it.
When we got to Fiji we took a bus to the resort we were going to stay at on the last night of the trip and left most of our luggage there. Then they took us to a ferry that transports people to all the different islands (someone told me there are about 300 of them). It was a couple hour ride out to our island and resort, but it went quick because we were busy enjoying the view.
When we reached the island we were staying a smaller boat came out to meet us and we transfered to that. When we pulled up they sang us a song and gave us flower leis that they had made earlier that day and a fruit drink. It was an awesome welcome :)
The next few days kinda blur together for me because I was so tired and jet lagged and I don't know what days we did what. We went snorkeling in the reef and swam with giant manta rays on the other side of the island. We walked to the village twice on the other side of the island. You had to hike up and over the mountain and then along the beach to reach it. It took about 30-40 minutes and we kept complaining about how tired we were. The Fijian who guided us that day said he walks it at least 3 times a day maybe more - Ha!
The picture above is Sarah, me and Jenny outside our hut or "burre" we stayed in. Ours had 9 people in it, with bathrooms out back. We didn't have to many bug problems although someone said they killed a coach roach. There were little geckos everywhere, but they are supposed to be good to have because they eat the insects.
Our last night in Fiji, we went back to the mainland and stayed in a five-star resort. It was really nice, but we weren't there for very long, our flight to Sydney was early the next morning.
Right now I am at Bond and I have to go get ready for dinner and our first night of orientation. I still want to share about orientation and this first week so I will update more later today or tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Almost Ready
My flight leaves on Thursday and of course at this point I have nothing packed. Although I did bring my suitcases into my room, which I thought was a step in the right direction. Emma spent most her day packing today too. They are taking her tomorrow so she can move in early the following day (Wednesday morning). Nora will soon be celebrating having the house to herself!
Friday night I went out with Frances, Colleen and Gina to Lure/Scooters in Willoughby for our last hurrah. Then, Saturday, Gina and I went to Columbus and I saw all my friends from Otterbein and Matthew. It was a fun weekend :)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
My Living Situation
I found out my housing assignment and roommate today. She is my year from the Univ. of Pitt, she seems lovely but that is based on a short message she sent me and her facebook picture. So we'll have to see ;-)
I also got my room number. I am on the top floor (7th) of Varsity Towers, which are the apartments right across the street from Bond. There were 31 other students on the list for housing (going through the Study Australia program and going to Bond).
There will be other American students there too that used other study abroad programs, or that went independently of a program. I am really anxious to meet everyone. A girl from Otterbein who studied at Bond last year told me that you end up becoming close with a lot of other Americans when you study at Bond. I thought that sounded limiting at first, but I don't think it will be that big of a deal now. I am sure I'll meet lots of Australians in my classes and around campus still.
I also got my room number. I am on the top floor (7th) of Varsity Towers, which are the apartments right across the street from Bond. There were 31 other students on the list for housing (going through the Study Australia program and going to Bond).
There will be other American students there too that used other study abroad programs, or that went independently of a program. I am really anxious to meet everyone. A girl from Otterbein who studied at Bond last year told me that you end up becoming close with a lot of other Americans when you study at Bond. I thought that sounded limiting at first, but I don't think it will be that big of a deal now. I am sure I'll meet lots of Australians in my classes and around campus still.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
3 Weeks...
This summer has gone by entirely too fast. It didn't help that my quarter didn't end until June and now I'm leaving on the early side for Bond University.
I had two internships this summer plus hostessing on weekends. I think it was a good learning experience for me, and not just what I learned in the office. Taking the bus downtown and how to go to bed earlier were important lessons too!
My classes for Bond are scheduled, but I think I finalized them when I arrive for orientation. I am taking Australian Film Analysis, Sport Public Relations, Australia: Dreamtime to Dust (basic history and culture course) and Intro to Photography. I'm especially curious on what we will cover in Sport Public Relations. Who knows, maybe I'll discover a whole new passion within my field to pursue.
I had two internships this summer plus hostessing on weekends. I think it was a good learning experience for me, and not just what I learned in the office. Taking the bus downtown and how to go to bed earlier were important lessons too!
My classes for Bond are scheduled, but I think I finalized them when I arrive for orientation. I am taking Australian Film Analysis, Sport Public Relations, Australia: Dreamtime to Dust (basic history and culture course) and Intro to Photography. I'm especially curious on what we will cover in Sport Public Relations. Who knows, maybe I'll discover a whole new passion within my field to pursue.
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