Day 60-62: Rocks and Sunsets and Rocks and Sunsets

OK I need to get this up before my Internet time runs out and because I'm not sure what kind of Internet connection I will have when I get up into the Outback. So let's get started.

Day 60 was Day 2 of my trip. We moved on from Port Campbell and onwards to the Grampian's National Park in Victoria, Australia. Obviously in Australia because I haven't left the country. But I feel like if I just said Victoria you'd be sitting there like "wat". OK I'm just rambling.

This park was absolutely beautiful. Surprise surprise. And we saw..... MORE ROCKS. I have seen so many different rock formations here it makes my head spin. Like the London Bridge, the Australian Version.

How come erry' time u come around, my London London Bridge wanna fall down

After the rocks on the Great Ocean Road, we head up into the Grampian's. Our first stop was the Brambruk Cultural Center, which is is all about the Indigenous people who lived and do live in this part of the Grampians. We watched a movie that described these specific groups(I forgot their names, I feel like an awful Anthropologist student. But they were really difficult to remember and I didn't have anything to write with) creation myth. It was interesting, albeit the production quality was... well. Let's just say I felt like a Cub Scout again. 

Arts and Crafts time included. My skills haven't improved in the last 13 years. 

Before we checked into our(awesome) accommodations for the night, we stopped at the Mackenzie Falls. Not a rock formation, and just as beautiful, if not MORE beautiful. I would add a picture but I honestly don't have much time so I want to add other pictures sorry. As usual look at my Facebook! And we watched the sunset(get the title now?) at... uh. Crap. I don't remember. BUT I got surprised by this little fella while turning around.

 For the record he was much cuter in person. He kinda looks like an overgrown rat here. 

Mr. Wallaby here was just chilling in the bush next to where our bus/van was parked. Needless to say I was surprised to find him hanging out like 6 feet behind me. I legit jumped and almost crapped my pants. We ended the night in the Grampian Motel which was amazing and not a hostel. Own bed in a room with 3 people I knew, 1 bathroom, it was just perfect. And the motel itself was nice on its own. If you ever find yourself in the Grampian National Park, stay at the Grampian Motel!

Day 61 was Day 3 of my trip, and the last day of the Melbourne to Adelaide portion of the trip. Today was mostly driving, but there was 2 major points of interest. The first being the 4 kilometer(2.5 miles for y'all back in the States) to Pinnacle.. Point. Or Peak. Eek I need to write these things down. 

I forgot how much I like hiking. 

And then we continued driving, onto Adelaide. But on the way we took a quick stop in Bordertown. I'm pretty sure there has been some TV show named that before. Just Googled. Yes, there was. It was a Western Drama that aired between 1989 and 1991 that took place in 1880 when the Western border between the US and Canada was surveyed. Must have been riveting stuff. But anyways, we stopped here for white kangaroos.

WHITE KANGAROO

Apparently it isn't albinism either. Just.... white kangaroo. Unless my heavy research on Google was for naught. 

Day 62 was our Free Day in Adelaide, Day 4 of my trip. Otherwise known as the "Well you're trip is actually two trips and this is the day inbetween them and we don't know what to do with you so FREE DAY!" I spent most of the day relaxing, and walked along the Torres River, the Botanic Garden, and down Rundle Mall with some mates from the tour. No pictures because I haven't taken a whole lot and I don't feel like uploading. 

I really really really like what I've seen of Adelaide. I think I might... *gasp* like it more than Sydney :x Granted I've only been here for a day and a half, and I haven't seen TOO much. But if I ever make my way back to Australia, I plan to spend a lot of time here in Adelaide. For sure. 

So tomorrow we set of for Quorn, where we will spend 2 Days. Not sure what to expect, but I think its more mountainy but thats OK because the day after will be COOBER PEDY. But I will talk about that when the time comes. 

So some leaving thoughts about Hostels: I'm still not quite sure how I feel. I mean, I've seen like families and older couples(I mean senior citizen status) staying here and I'm like o_O. It's really not an environment for people like that(wow that sounds awful). I guess I can't really judge others choices without knowing their circumstances but... idk. It just feels weird. And it's better when you know someone. I don't think I could ever backpack alone, staying in hostels alone. It would drive me crazy in all sorts of ways. But I think if I went with a friend or two, it would be the most amazing thing ever. Seriously. Amazing. And I would love to backpack across Europe but like... money. Oh well. 

Til next time, adios!

Day 59: Road Trippin'

Hey everyone! This will be another short post, only because 1 day has passed. Anyways, I'm sitting here in Port Campbell, Victoria, Australia. This has been the first day of my 10/11/12 day trip. I'm not sure exactly how many days. Kinda of out of it right now, sorry.

We saw a lot, driving from Melbourne to here in Port Campbell. But part of that is because we stopped, took photos, stopped, took photos, etc. It turns out that when I was talking about how many people are on the tour, I knew nothing. There are 11 of us on the Melbourne to Adelaide portion, and only 8 of us are going to Alice Springs onwards. But we may pick up more in Adelaide I really don't know.

The first of the main highlights of today was driving along the Great Ocean Road. Basically, the drive was right along the close ocean and it was amazing. The view was.... amazing. Right along the Southern Ocean. Granted I tried really really really hard not to nod off a bit, but alas I did. Here are some pictures.

Ooooooooh

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Next, we stopped at the Otway Fly Treetop Adventures. Basically, we walked on these platforms more than 100 feet up in the air of a rainforest that looked like it was right out of Jurassic Park. And once again, it was amazing. Now the drive here was just as beautiful as the rainforest. Rolling green hills as far as the eye can see. Being from Arizona, rolling green hills are only seen on the golf courses. And then it got really foggy, which was terrifying for me because the tour guide driving was keeping normal speed because obviously he knows how to drive in the fog but fog isn't common in Arizona so I was having a silent mini-panic attack in the back there. But other than that, it was amazing.

See? Jurassic Park!

And the final part I'm going to talk about is the 12 Apostels, a famous rock formation here. Spoiler Alert: There are only 8 of them. We watched the sun set here, and once again, amazing. Beautiful. I'm sure we have stuff like this in Arizona, but when you live someplace you don't really appreciate it you know? That's why I love traveling. I feel like everything will fill more special when I get back. 

Pretty right?

Sorry I'm so scatterbrained. I'm tired, but I want to get these up as soon as possible so I don't fall behind. 

If you want to see all the pictures I've taken, look at my Albums on Facebook! If you are reading this from my personal blog, and aren't a Facebook friend yet, talk to me over there! If you're reading this from some other outlet and I don't know you.... sorry. 

Days 55-58: Flyin' Solo

OK. As I sit here on the questionable carpet of my room at a hostel, I figured I should really talk about all the traveling I've done in the last 3 days before running off on my Outback Adventure.

Let's start with Saturday, Day 55- It was the day after Conception Day, and I woke up in a much better state than most others did. I had to be up and out of my room at DLC before 10 AM, and I managed. This day would also be the very first time I stayed in a hostel. But of course, I had to get there first. I knew where I was suppose to go. Let's just say.... it didn't happen the way it was suppose to.

Shoutout to Google Maps because I'm pretty sure I have to credit them for legal purposes.

See the Black X? That was where I got off the train. See the Red Circle? That's the hostel. See the blue squiggly line? That was the route I took to get there. Now that I think about it, it doesn't look squiggly enough. For the record, I checked out all of this beforehand. I checked it multiple times, and still got hopelessly lost. I never talked about this til now because if my Mom found out it probably would have given her an aneurysm when coupled with the fact that a few days after that I would be flying to a city I have never been to in a country I'm not from and have to travel even farther. Don't worry Mom, I didn't get as lost in Melbourne! But I'm getting ahead of myself. I need to talk about what I did on Sunday first.

Sunday, Day 56, I went and visited the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are a mountain(duh) range that are located behind the Sydney area. They are called the Blue Mountains because due to some freaky effects with how light reflects and bends and all the oil eucalyptus trees give off, it makes it look like a blue haze floats all around the mountains.

See. Blue! 

The train ride took 2 hours, each way. And I was quite impressed with myself because I was able to make the 7:18 AM train TO the Blue Mountains. I mean, thats a big deal. I had to wake up really early for that. Being the smart cookie I am, I planned it so I would get there for the first round of the Hop On, Hop Off explorer bus that takes you around the sites. Of course I had to pay, but y0iA0(you're only in Australia once that's the motto homie y0ia0). Now I can tend to be a loner sometimes, staying holed up in my room. Ask my family or Ashrew. They knew. But I've never really DONE anything on my own before. And especially nothing as big as taking a 2 hour train ride to the mountains and just walking around site-seeing. So this whole experience has been terrifying. And exciting. But mostly terrifying. But more on that later. Now, more Blue Mountains talk. Basically this part of Australia mixed foresty forest with rainforest, and it was amazing. I took some epic rides across the mountains and down to one of the valley floors, and it was incredible. It reminded me so much of some of the things my family would do when we did our little mini-vacations. Totally the type of place my parents and brothers would LOVE. While there, I saw a really important part of the local Aboriginal people's culture and spirituality, the Three Sisters.

Each of my fancy pictures takes like 5 minutes to upload here and now I regret uploading this one because I have at least 1 more from the Blue Mountains I want to get up ugh #firstworldproblems

I actually got stuck at this lookout point for a bit because it was lunch break for the bus drivers. Then I realized I missed the music/dance performance put on by some of the Aboriginal people from the local clan and cried on the inside not only because of the obvious reasons of missing something awesome but for the fact in a couple weeks I have a project about Aboriginal Art/Music/Dance so this was perfect. I made myself feel better by spending cash I shouldn't have on absolutely amazing gelato that I only got to eat half of because the bus driver wouldn't let me take a half eaten cone on the bus. Needless to say I was quite upset. 

I could go on and on about how awesome the Blue Mountains were but my butt is starting to hurt from sitting on the ground so I'm gonna move on.

It's a backscratcher. Made out of a kangaroo paw. Just let that sink in.

Day 57 I stayed within the confines of Sydney. I was going to hit up Oceanworld at Manly Beach and Shelly Beach(solely because they were visited on The Amazing Race 18 but whatever), but the weather was kinda gloomy and rainy, so I decided to hit up the Australian Museum instead. And if you know me(wow I say that a lot), you know I love learning. Doing work, no way. But actually learning? I love it. So I love museums. Now the Australian Museum wasn't HUGE, but I still spent a good 3 hours wondering, exploring. Wow I thought I had more to say about the museum but I guess not. 

I don't know why I keep uploading pictures this is taking forever.

Day 58, today, I flew to Melbourne. I got to the airport fine. The lax security measures surprised me. I'm use to expecting to take off shoes and take everything electronic out of the bag and get yourself patted down/checked out by TSA. And I got to Melbourne safe and sound... although I made an arm and a leg to get here to the hostel. And this time, I only got a little lost on my way. I just walked up and around. But I guess it speaks to my merit I keep finding my way... eventually. 

So that leads me to here. Sitting on the ground. Now listening to some heavy Irish accents and catching only every 4th word and adjusting so I don't lose feelings in my buttcheeks. To be honest, the whole "staying in hostels on a solo trip" has pushed me out of my comfort zone. I mean, the environment just doesn't... I'm not sure. I think most of it has to deal with the fact that I'm alone. If I had a friend with me, I think I would enjoy this 10000000x more. That way I wouldn't feel so lost and alone. I also miss talking. I've hardly ever talked to anyone the last 4 days. It's weird, you know. Don't get me wrong, I love this whole travelling thing. I just don't think I like travelling alone. 

Which leads me to my last bit, what I've been alluding to in the last post and in this post- In less than 10 hours I will be leaving for my trip through South Australia and the Outback! 

This is the route. I'm so freakin' stoked. 

11 Days, I will be traveling with Top Deck. Who was booked through Adventure Tours. Who I booked through STA Travel. Complicated, I know. Now this trip is hitting a lot, but 2 of my MAJOR, MUST DO items on my Australian Bucket List- Coober Pedy and Uluru. It's going to be interesting. It's a travel group/tour, and I think there will be 20-25 of us. And again, I will be traveling alone in the sense it's noone I know. Yet. I think this will be really good because I will get to know the people on the tour really quick- I mean we'll be on a coach bus traveling across the country. And it's an 11 day trip, which is a really long time when you think about it. So I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I'm excited and ready. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to study abroad in Australia. The idea of the Outback and Uluru played a major part in building my fascination with Australia forever ago. 

But now, I need to get into bed. And I don't know how much Internet I wil have on the trip, or how much time I will have to make a nice post about it. But give me about 2 weeks, I will have something. I won't leave you hanging. I promise. 

Days 12-54: Yeah, sorry bout that...

I know, I know. You're thinking "what the hell happened to Christian's blog". I don't really have a good excuse. BUT I'm back and updating right before my upcoming trip though the Outback(more on that in a few posts in the future). A lot has happened since I last updated a month and a half ago(yikes). So I will try to condense it into a few main key events or topics.

Classes

So since I last abandoned the blog classes started up for me. While as an International Student I am only required to take 9 credits, or 3 classes. But because ASU requires me to have 12 credits to stay full time, I have to take 12 credits, or 4 classes. Now That seems like a no brainer having to take 4 classes, but in reality the classes here at Macquarie transfere differently. I know one of my classes should be coming back as 4 credits, and that's a 100-level intro course(which reminds me, I'm so far behind on the Online Lectures and Quizes. Whoops.)! But I can't risk ONE class coming back as 3 credits, and then screwing myself majorly. So 4 classes it is. They aren't too hard.. except my Ancient Egyptian Religion's class. But I'm not too too worried about my grades. The grading system here is way different, but I think bringing back at the very least 4 B's is pretty much a given. Oh yeah, the classes I'm taking- Introducing Indigenous Studies, The World Since 1945: An Australian Perspective, Myth in the Ancient World, and like I mentioned already Ancient Egyptian Religions. It is definitely an interesting mix. 

The Ball

So not too long ago, Dunmore-Lang College held it's annual Ball. Which is basically like Prom all over again. Everyone dressed up, there was a nice fancy dinner with a dance floor, and then an after party at a club afterwards. It was an absolute blast. Wow I'm really blanking right now. I'm just tired I guess. 

Conception Day

Conception Day is the biggest event at Macquarie University. No, it has nothing to do with procreation. Intentional procreation at least. It's celebrating the founding of Macquarie University(43rd anniversary in case you were wondering). Naturally, this is celebrated all day long starting at 6 in the morning. At least, that's how DLC does it. It was cool seeing everyone I lived with wearing the same hilariously and insanely inappropriate shirt that would make almost every mother cringe. And it was a lot of fun. I'm not sure how many of you reading this are familiar with ASU events, but Conception Day reminded me  of the Undie Run. Except in this case, most the people were dressed instead of the other way around. 

I know this must seem like such an awful post, especially since I'm covering so much time. But in all honestly, things definitely got really routine here. Going to class, eating meals, watching movies with friends. Wash rinse repeat. And I haven't really had the chance to do a lot of traveling(which is changing as I type this), and I haven't really gone out and partied much. Mostly because it only appeals to me so much, and partly because I have better things to spend my money on. It turns out, those random expenses you never account for in real life back home also pop up here in Australia. Who knew? But yeah. Sorry for this entire leaving you hanging and posting a crappy post when I finally came back. But tomorrow. tomorrow I will have a post that talks about days 55-58. Which includes walking. Lots and lots and lots of walking. And flying too. And... well, you will just have to read that one too.

Days 7-11: Let's Get Together and Do It Again

If anyone gets the title of this entry and posts what it's from in the comments area, you get a post card. I mean I will be sending out a lot of post cards anyways but you get an extra post card. NO GOOGLING THAT'S CHEATING.

With that out of the way, I'm gonna break it down a little different this time since we have a second dis-orientation type week PLUS the first week of classes. So the day by day breakdown of DLC life will be a bit shorter and then there will be a general part about classes here so far and then another just general feelings about Australia bit. If you don't feel like reading it all, here's the abridged version: It's been really fun, I'm taking really interesting classes, and I can already feel the time flying by so I need to get on the things I need and want to do ASAP.

Sunday, Day 7, saw most of the old DLCers moving back in. After having a week to the college to ourselves basically, it was kinda weird for us freshers to watch all of these people come in. And I'm sure it was weird for all of them to come in and see all these random new people living in the rooms that their friends lived in not so long ago. Again, it was another lazy day for me.

Day 8 was a bit more exciting. It was the first day of class, but seeing how I do not have any classes on Monday or Friday, it didn't really affect me. Monday night was the East Wing vs. West Wing vs. New Wing... er games. Before the competitions we had a mini floor party in our RA's room, which was nice. Seeing as at this point I didn't really know the people outside of the new freshers, it was nice to start to get to know the others. At the games East Wing, where I live, pretty much sucked and came in last(I think). But it was still a great time, and it was a lot of fun pre and post games.

Day 9 was a bit more relaxed after the events of Monday. It was trivia night, which was awesome. I love trivia. Except I kinda sucked for once. My team tied for 3rd so w00t.

Day 10 was a giant patriotic party at The Ranch, the club/bar I talked about in my last post. I decided not to go because 1. I didn't want to spend money and I knew I would because I have no will power and 2. I had a lot of work I needed to(and still need to) get done. I want to get as much done before Friday night so I can have the weekend off and not worry about much school work.

Day 11 is today. Uh, yesterday since it's after midnight here. Whatever. Tonight was ANOTHER patriotic party at the UBar. The UBar is the bar located on campus, since Macquarie is not a dry campus. It was actually pretty nice, except no one(including myself) really dressed up. And it was kinda empty and no one was dancing and the DJ was just alone doing his thing. You know those high school dances you went to(or put on in my case) where it actually looked nice and the DJ was good but no one was really there so it made the whole atmosphere feel kinda lame? That was basically how my first time at the UBar was. But I managed to get 2 vouches for free drinks. Free anything=good. Free drinks=amazing. So I didn't end up spending money, which is awesome since I don't really have a whole lot at the moment. I lied I bought a piece of pizza for $4 even though it was advertised as $2 but I was hungry so I was fine with it. Plus I had $5 bills and I need a $1 coin so I can do laundry. It all worked out.

Now tomorrow night should be a lot of fun. We're going into Sydney tomorrow night for a pub crawl. For obvious reasons I've never bar hopped or been on a pub crawl, so it's going to go down as another first. And I will probably end my streak of not spending money this week. Anyways, onto the scholarly bit.

I forgot to add a picture last time and I don't really have a picture that fits this time so here, have a pygmy hippo.

So I am taking 4 classes here at Macquarie. History Since 1945: An Australian Perspective, Introducing Indigenous Studies,  Myth in the Ancient World, and Ancient Egyptian Religion. Each class is worth 3 credits here, but there is a good chance that some will come back as 4 or even 5 credits so that's a plus. See, the classes here at Macquarie are set up a bit different than back at ASU. Each class is split up into Lectures and Tutorials. You have 1-2 lectures a week, sometimes even online. You then have 1 tutorial a week, where the class is smaller and you discuss what's going on in lectures and talk about your assignments for the class. So even though I have 4 classes, I go to more than a couple lectures during the week.  There is a good chance I can bring back all A's in these classes, but that depends on how well my studiousness translates to Australian university expectations. I only have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Which is awesome. This would give me awesome opportunities to travel, if I had the money to do so. But I'll talk about that soon.

Since I am new here, I had no idea where anything was. It doesn't help that all the buildings are labeled like W6A and E4B instead of simple names. I've gotten lost quite a few times. And I have three classes in this building way out on the far end of campus. Luckily two of them are back to back, so it isn't too bad.

So far all my classes seem really interesting. I think part of that has to do with the fact I can't really find any of these classes back home at ASU. Of the four classes, three are 100 level classes and one is a 300 level class. Here the university system is done in 3 years, so my Ancient Egyptian Religion class is equivalent to a 400 level class at ASU. That class is gonna be a bit more difficult since I have no real background in Egyptian history, but I'm gonna give it my best. Hopefully my keen eye for analyzing, synthesizing, and understanding history will pull me through. I only had to spend around $150 on textbooks. I was expecting at least double that, so I was pleasantly surprised. Each class only has 3 assignments/tests throughout the semester, and that makes up your overall grade. It doesn't sound too hard since I'm usually pretty good at papers and decent on tests. The hard bit will deal with scheduling when I turn them in. A bunch of the assignments I can do at different times during the semester, so I gotta coordinate them to make sure I make the best use of my time and make sure I have plenty of time to focus on my major essays latter on in the semester. So there isn't a whole lot to say quite yet about class. But do expect to see a lot more talk of school here, since I am STUDYING abroad (technically I'm not a StudyAbroad student I'm a Student Exchange student but I'm not one to argue semantics. Well, most of the time).

So now for segment of the show/blog where I talk just about random things not really related to DLC/Student life. As I continue to adjust, I'm still finding those little differences between here and the States. Like the food. It's not totally different and out there, but it's not the same. Like it's not like we're eating koalas and wallabies, but things like chicken are cooked and put in sauces that I haven't had before. And if you know me you know I'm an extremely picky eater. But I'm proud to say that I've been trying everything offered, and I have only really disliked a few dishes. That's an accomplishment right there. And it seems that the people here are a lot more laid back and relaxed. Although, I'm not quite sure if that's coming from my actual experiences and interactions here or because that's part of the pre-conceived notion I came into this with based on stereotypes.

I also really need a job. Preferably on campus. I haven't really had time to go in and talk to Career Services, but I plan to tomorrow. All of my work experience comes from working on campus at ASU or at Sierra Linda High School. I don't have any working at a fast food place, a retail store, or a restaurant. I don't have any of those skills needed to get hired. And it doesn't help that I kinda have issues with pride and being in control. It makes me extremely uncomfortable to just walk up to places and ask if they have any openings or if they are hiring. To me it kinda feels like I'm putting my life into others hands and that I have to go and beg for something, which I HATE doing. But its something I need to get over because if I don't get a job soon, I don't know what I will do. And it's not just because I want money to go out, I want money so I can travel.

It's now August, and I leave here in December. To me, that sounds and feels like no time at all. I only have about 7 weeks until the Mid-Semester break, and I don't have someplace to live during that time so I NEED to go out and travel. But I need to figure out where I want to go and what I want to do, how I'm going to get there, who I can go with. And then not to mention figuring out how and what do do in December after the semester is done. I mean, it's looking like my decision to wait to book a return flight home until I knew what I was gonna do is gonna bite me in the ass. As of know, flights back home will be between $1500-$2000 dollars. Yikes. So if you happen to be reading this and you need someone to work for you and you are around the area of Macquarie University hit a brother up.

PS- In case you didn't get it the post title is referencing the fact we're kinda having another orientation this week at DLC and I feel like a freshman all over again at a new campus.

PPS- Have you seen some of the ads that appear on my blog? It's not on this page but go to the main page and you will see it. Some of them are hilarious. One I'm looking at right now is advertising beautiful Chinese women.

Days 2-6: Dis-Oriented

Before you compliment me on my clever title for this post, let me tell you that I didn't come up with the name. I stole it from DLC's name for Orientation- Dis-O week. The catch phrase of DLC's Orientation: "It's not how deep you fish, it's how you wiggle your worm. Catch a Big O this week." Hehehe.


A lot has happened since the last time I updated this blog, so be prepared for a massive post. If you don't feel like reading all of it, that's fine. Here is the abridged version: It's been amazing and fun, Sydney is amazing, the people are awesome, and I am exhausted.


Now for the rest of you reading the whole thing, let's start off where I left off last time, Day 2. So on the second day we had a scavenger hunt throughout Sydney. But it wasn't just about finding things. Oh no, we had to complete a bunch of insane tasks. This included but was not limited to: Proposing to a stranger, ordering food without a shirt on, eating a 1 pound hamburger, kissing someone in a uniform, having a rap battle with a stranger, reenacting a scene from a famous musical on the steps of the Sydney Opera house, becoming street performers begging for money, offering strangers a piggy-back ride across the street, dancing in public, and some other tasks I'm not gonna publish on this blog. It was gray and rainy the entire time, but that didn't dampen our spirits. It was a great time, and we ended the night with a Gender-Bender Party. Ladies and Gentlemen, I wore a dress for this occasion and I'm hoping there aren't any pictures floating out there to show it. But overall, my first time in drag wasn't so bad. 


Day 3 was the International Student's Orientation. I spent most of the morning and afternoon learning about academic life at Macquarie University, hearing about different opportunities on campus, and started organizing my schedule. I am currently enrolled in 3 100 level classes, which is the minimum needed for an Exchange Student. And I currently have Monday, Thursday, and Friday off from class. Epic. But I need to take at least 4 classes to keep up with ASU's requirements. I'm hoping to get in a 300 level(the highest level undergraduate classes at Macquarie) class, but it isn't guaranteed. They are usually reserved for students in their last years, and I'm starting my third back in the States. But since I took 2 Third-Year history classes last year and got A's in both, an exception will be made for me. If not, it's gonna be tough finding another class that will fit in the narrowish box I have to bring back classes that fit my major. That night I had to go through a DLC Orientation tradition that I won't go into details about since hey, maybe someone reading this will decide to go to Macquarie and stay at DLC and then BAM I've ruined the surprised. After that, we went out to the bar/club up the road. This was my first time being able to go to a club and legally drink at the same time. It was a lot of fun, and before you ask no no trouble came about for me. I'm a responsible young man thank you very much.


Day 4 was a trip to the Taronga Zoo, which lies on the opposite side of the harbor where the Sydney Opera House is. While I nearly crapped my pants when I realized the Ferry and Ticket would cost $50, it was well worth it. Not only is it an amazing zoo, but it offers some epic views of Downtown Sydney. Also, it was an insane amount of walking around. That night was the International Students Party Cruise, put on by Macquarie. The theme was Olympics/Sports, so I went dressed in some running cloths and American flag tights. Women's tights. Yes, I realized that I've worn articles of women's clothing twice this week and frankly I'm alright with that. Basically this trip was ANOTHER party with more dancing. By the end of the night, those of us who had gone to the zoo AND the party cruise were absolutely exhausted and 


Day 5's events was an afternoon picnic right outside DLC, and it was wonderful weather. Sunny and warm, just how I like it. That night we went to a Sydney Rooster's Rugby game. That is seriously the team name. Sydney Roosters. The Rooster's lost, but that wasn't a major disappointment to be seeing how I'm kinda use that kind of thing already. But I really liked the rugby game. It went fast and easy to understand, which are both major positives in my book. Afterward we went to a pub in the city. I didn't stay that long, and decided to head back with some friends, Rob and Daan. Getting back the Macquarie was an adventure that involved trains, taxis, and a decent amount of walking. By this time my entire body was just sore, after an entire week of walking and dancing and being active.


Day 6 was the day of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics. I tried to wake up at 5:30 to catch the entire thing, but it took forever to get back home the night before so I ended up watching from 6:15 our time on. After that I promptly fell back asleep. So I've been relaxing all day. I got some cleaning done, got some laundry done, plan to do some reading. I know a lot of people went out tonight, but I'm pretty exhausted. I'm not the type who can handle a lot of going out all week long. And supposedly this starts all over again next week. And the fact that I am seriously running out of money. But I do like some "me" time, as anyone who knows me knows. I just have to be careful to not take too much of it.


So that's the recap of this week. Now onto the next part, where I'm gonna talk about some general feelings about this whole experience so far. If you read through the first part and have decided you don't want anymore, I understand. The abridged version: Things here are really similar and really different at the same time, I'm kinda obsessed with learning about the way of life here and from the others from different countries and I hope that's not annoying others, and I pretty much have loved every second of it. 


OK. So Sydney as a city is massive. When I mentioned we did a scavenger hunt through Sydney, it was just through a small part of the city. The Downtown area is enormous, and it has got to be like 10 times the size of Downtown Phoenix. Maybe less I'm not sure but it sure feels that way. And not to mention there are so many train lines and taxis all over. That is basically nothing like Arizona at all. I think it would be a lot easier to adjust if I lived in some of the bigger cities on the East Coast. It's just so radically different, but I'm sure I will get use to it in no time. Although getting use to the money here has been pretty easy. Except the smaller the coins are worth more money than the bigger coins, which is kinda cool and kinda confusing. Speaking of money... everything is so expensive here. It's hard to to spend money when that's kind of necessary to really get into O Week. I need to find a temporary job here, and the pay rate is pretty awesome. Sure cost of living is higher, but I've already paid for my housing so more money=more travel and other activities. It's hard to explain how being here mixes familiarity and difference all in one. Sometimes the parallels are super clear, other times it's hard to fathom how different things are. When I found out not even gets a chance to go to University, I was shocked. I mean, back home the opportunities are there in some way or form. Here in high school you already start a track that will lead you on a career path. I'm so glad that's not the case back home, because who knows where I'd be probably not here. But I love learning about the differences. I love to ask questions about even the most minute things. And that doesn't just go for the Australians and the culture here, but from some of the other international students as well. Daan is from the Netherlands, and we've talked a lot about the similarities and differences between there, the US, and here in Australia. And I'm such a nerd when it comes to history and geography and culture. I'm just hoping others are willing to listen and answer my questions, and it doesn't come off as pestering. 


Being here has taken some adjusting, and will continue to take some more. But honestly thats just part of the whole experience, and I feel like I'm doing a good job so far. Classes start next week, and I have a lot of errands to run still and a lot to figure out with my classes. As fun as it's been, I am definitely looking forward when things calm down a bit. But for now, I gotta recharge my batteries and get ready for the next week. 


Oh, yeah. I don't really have a picture to go with this post, sorry. But if you're friends with me on Facebook you can see them all uploaded into albums. Hopefully next time I will have a video or a picture to go with the post. 

Day 1- A Sign of Things Come

OK, just so y’all know this isn’t actually being posted at the end of my first day in Australia. I do not have an Ethernet cable yet and the WiFi doesn’t reach my room. But it IS being written at the end of my first day. I just have no idea when this will actually be published.

With that out of the way, let me start from pre-Day 1. Flying out of LAX was a lot less complicated than I thought it would me. It was a teary goodbye from my family, but not on my side. I guess I was too excited and anxious to feel focus on leaving my family and friends for 5 months, and I kinda felt bad that I wasn’t crying like some of my other family members. But back to my flight. My seat was 81A, but  I accidently took seat 82A. By the time the actual 82A arrived, the people next to me had got settled in. Luckily the man was kind and just took my seat. Whoops. I sat next to Annette and Ann, a mother and daughter from Southern California. We had a few nice conversations. It wasn’t one of those awkward share every life detail type of arrangements, but it wasn’t an awkward silence either. I was luckily able to see The Hunger Games on the flight.  The DVD has not come out yet, so as a rabid THG fan there was no why I was NOT watching it. I was flying on a QANTAS flight, and I was bombarded with food and drinks for the first half of the flight. Not that it was a bad thing really. The dinner was actually pretty good. It was a struggle to stay up, but I managed to try to sync up my sleeping to that of Sydney time while in the air. Even on two melatonin tablets, I still didn’t sleep that well. I woke up numerous times, and I just couldn’t get comfortable. And eventually I was woken up for good when Breakfast was being served, which was around 4 AM Sydney time. Mind you, it’s about 11:30 PM as I write this. It’s been a long day.

Clearing customs was a lot quicker than I expected I had virtually no issues, which was a pleasant surprise. I think arriving at 6:10 AM really helped with the lines not being long. I was shuttled to Dunmore Lang College (PS- I am studying at Macquarie University, but living in Dunmore Lang College. It is a residence hall just like what we have Stateside, so I hope you don’t get confused with the names.) by a Macquarie University, and their were 4 others on the same shuttle. It was actually a van with a little wagon attached at the back for luggage. I had some really nice conversations with the other 4 people. One girl was from Germany, the other from Gerogia(USA Georgia, not the country). One guy was from Canada, the other from Japan/Tennessee. We were greeted to the country by a double rainbow, hence the picture at the start of the post.  Double rainbows aren’t the most common things in the world (I think), so I took it as a good omen of things to come. Driving over the Harbor Bridge was amazing.  I could see the tips of the Sydney Opera House, but didn’t catch a full view. But I will, soon.

I arrived and checked in into DLC at about 9:40ish. Orientation started at 10 AM. So I had very little time to settle in before being thrown right into the mix of things. I was feeling pretty tired, so listening to others present important information about the university was not the most exciting. But I did my best to stay focused and keep concentrating on what was being said. Afterwards I got some unpacking done, and went to the Macquarie Center just up the street to pick up some much needed supplies. I spent $50, and I barely got what I need. I am defiantly gonna need a part time job while here.

There was an activity this night, and Aerobics themed get together in the common room of the college. It was aerobic themed because one of the activates was learning a special dance for the Freshers at DLC. All of the other activities were drinking games.

So this is the point where I talk about a big issue about my time abroad- Alcohol. See, the drinking age here is 18. I’m 20. I’ll let you make the connection. On top of that, neither of DLC or Macquarie University are dry campuses, which means alcohol may be served at some or most of the events on campus and through the college. ASU is a dry campus (I’m talking about labels and names, not reality). So this is a totally different thing for me. So I’m sure some of you may be thinking that this means that all the university students are gonna be drunk 24/7. And I guess that could be the case, seeing as I’ve been here less than 24 hours. But based on the event tonight, I don’t really think that is the case. It seems like the attitude towards alcohol is realistic. They know these young adults are going to drink, so some events provide safe places to drink and enjoy the company of others. As far as I could tell(I left the event sort of early, since I wanted to get this typed up and hopefully not sleep through tomorrows events), no one was getting totally wasted. There were two options of punch, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. You could have either or. I ended up having a blast, just playing games, talking to others, and learning the Fresher Dance. It was exactly how I expected it to be honest. And it was awesome.

There is a lot more I can and wanted to say about my first day here. But I’m already at 1,000 words for this post, so I don’t wanna keep dragging on. I’m sure I will hit on some of these thoughts soon enough. I have a long week of orientation ahead of me, both through DLC and Macquarie. Hopefully I will have a lot more pictures here and on Facebook too. But right now I’m exhausted, and need some sleep. Hopefully not too much because I want to wake up in 8 hours. Retrospectively wish me luck. 

Less than 1 Hour...

I LIED. I GOT THIS UP TONIGHT. I HOPE YOU CAN HEAR ME.

I thought I was crunched for time so I didn't get to thank everyone who sent me well wishes. I appreciate it all!

24 Hours

OK, so technically it's less than 24 hours. But whatever.

I'm in California right now, so I officially won't see Arizona again for another 5 months. Tomorrow is all about seeing some family and family-friends for the last time, and being nervous and anxious of course. Surprisingly, I'm not too nervous or anxious. I feel excited, but I thought I would be a lot more worried about all of this. I guess it doesn't feel much different than moving into the dorms at ASU again. Except this time I am moving much, much farther away. In the last week I said all of my goodbyes to my family and friends out in Arizona. Well, as many goodbyes as I could get with people being gone and all.

But I'm all packed and ready to go, so I think. At this point, there isn't a lot I can do about that. It's hard to think about literally packing my life for 5 months into 2 suitcases and a carry-on bag. But that's part of the reason why this is so exciting. It's an adventure from start to finish.

10 Days

Packing Round 1: 37.5 Pounds, Not folded nicely at all. Still plenty of space. Not all my clothes were in it though. Not a bad start, if I do say so myself.

11 Days

Yeah.... it's been awhile. Sorry, I've definitely been caught up in that lazy summer mood. Which isn't the greatest thing to happen when you're getting ready to leave the country.

But overall, I got just about everything ready. My housing is all taken care of, I figured out what I am going to do banking and money wise, I have all my documents I need to make it through customs without a problem(hopefully). Basically the only thing I need to do is pack and organize all the things I'm not taking so they aren't lying around the house for 5 months.

I've hit the point where I'm nervous for leaving. Beyond excited and ecstatic, but nervous. But it's gonna be awesome. And only 11 days and a couple hours before the plane taking me to Sydney takes off...

37 Days

I keep meaning to get Vlog #1 up, but its hard to do when everyone is always around the house you know?

Anyways, I FINALLY got my confirmation paperwork sent to Dunmore-Lang College(side note for those of you who don't know- In Australia the dorms are called residential colleges. And DLC is where I've chosen to live for my semester abroad). I had major issues sending it back in. I tried for days, but for some reason I was getting delivery notices for the emails, and when I tried faxing the paperwork back it still wouldn't work. Finally the people at University Accommodations at Macquarie were able to help me out and send my info along.

So with that (hopefully) taken care of, it's time to start focusing on the what I'm doing when I get there. I need to figure out what I need to take over, figure out what I NEED to see in and around Sydney, find someone(or multiple people) to travel with during the Mid-Semester Recess so my mother doesn't worry about me exploring the country alone, figure out an itinerary for my Mid-Semester travels, and probably another 223462663 more things I haven't even thought of yet. Hmmm. Maybe my next post should be a new To-Do List.

Anyways, if you have ever been to Sydney or any parts of Australia, or ever studied abroad, I would appreciate some advice/tips. So leave a comment or contact me on Facebook, I would really appreciate it!

Until the next time I write a post,
-Christian

OK here I go!

Hi there! Welcome to my blog. This is the place where I am going to document all my Adventure's Abroad. Posts will include videos, photos, and text one like these. I really want to travel and see as much of the world as possible, and I want to be able to have some sort of documentation of everything that will last for pretty much forever. So this intro post is really short, and I will have a video post coming up soon!

Again, thanks for checking out my blog and joining me on my adventurers!