Classes are finally underway (verrry long compared to UWEC since we only have class once per week here, but for 3 hours each!) Other than that, my class load seems definitely manageable; I'm taking Interpersonal Communications, Foundations in Media Studies, and a Biology lab science. Unfortunately, no slack-off classes for me, but these all transfer over for my major so I'm lucky. I think that once we get more in depth in the subjects, my interest will perk up more and more. However, on Tuesday in Interpersonal Communications we did "icebreakers" for 3 hours...it got a little intense when cultural bingo started!! :)
On Tuesday night, everyone got dressed up and went to the Commencement Dinner sponsored by the Uni. It was a blast to see everyone and the food was actually pretty decent (not a Leo or Diana Finley meal...but what can I expect?!) We've met some really interesting people from all over the world and are becoming really good friends with a lot of the Aussies, which is fun (last night they were laughing at us for the way we pronounce certain words- Aussies call shopping carts 'trollies' and clothespins 'pegs'...)
On Saturday, we're going for to Evanshead for the day for beach games and a BBQ and then on Saturday night (Dad, you'll be a little jealous of this!), my friend Cathy asked a group of us to go to a footy game!!! I'm so excited for that!!
On Sunday, Ben and I signed up to go to an Australian house and have lunch with a family in the area. I heard that it's a nice way to meet different people and get acquainted with families from Lismore!
That's about all for now, but I'll update more later!
PS: I'm playing on a Netball team on Wednesday nights, so I'll let everyone know how that goes!!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Well, we finally start school tomorrow...but I don't have class! (I don't have class on Mondays and I am actually a little bummed, haha!!) Anyways, in honor of our last day of the "Aussie Summer Vacation", some of the girls and I drove down to Byron Bay and spent the day at the beach. The ocean was amazing, clear blue, and the perfect temperature for swimming...my roommate Francie (she drove us) couldn't believe that we don't have a beach down the street from us at home, haha!
Yesterday, the International Office arranged for the entire group of exchange students to go to a Wildlife Reserve near the Gold Coast. We got to see koalas close up, pet kangaroos and see dingos (I definitely thought of "The dingo ate your baby!" from Seinfeld, haha!) It was actually a really fun day and interesting to learn about the different animals (Mom, you would have been amazed at my zoo patience!!) Last night, Ben and I made a great dinner (Dad, you would've been proud of it!). We had grilled chicken, rice, and mixed veggies...it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! Then we went to a friend's unit and did karaoke with a huge group of people (with a little bit of liquid courage from the "goon and juice" we were drinking!) It's been so much fun to meet a variety of people from so many different backgrounds!
Tomorrow I'm going to finish buying my textbooks and get things ready for my first class (Tuesday at 3!!) We'll see how it goes- wish me luck!!
PS: The sushi that we made a couple of nights ago was amazing and something I am definitely going to make when I get back to the States!! :)
Yesterday, the International Office arranged for the entire group of exchange students to go to a Wildlife Reserve near the Gold Coast. We got to see koalas close up, pet kangaroos and see dingos (I definitely thought of "The dingo ate your baby!" from Seinfeld, haha!) It was actually a really fun day and interesting to learn about the different animals (Mom, you would have been amazed at my zoo patience!!) Last night, Ben and I made a great dinner (Dad, you would've been proud of it!). We had grilled chicken, rice, and mixed veggies...it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! Then we went to a friend's unit and did karaoke with a huge group of people (with a little bit of liquid courage from the "goon and juice" we were drinking!) It's been so much fun to meet a variety of people from so many different backgrounds!
Tomorrow I'm going to finish buying my textbooks and get things ready for my first class (Tuesday at 3!!) We'll see how it goes- wish me luck!!
PS: The sushi that we made a couple of nights ago was amazing and something I am definitely going to make when I get back to the States!! :)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Sorry, sorry, sorry I haven't updated in a few days!! Things have been crazy-busy here during our orientation week! I have been busy meeting all of the people that I can and the Aussies are amazingly welcoming. So where should I start...
I have 6 roommates in a college that is just up the hill from campus (and yes, it is definitely a hill!) One girl is from UW Stout, another girl is from Japan, 2 others are from Australia, and the only guy in our unit is also from Australia. We all decided that we lucked out because we really enjoy each other's company; we also are basically roomates with the group across the hall as well. I actually have to get back tonight quickly because Waukana (my Japanese roommate) is showing us all how to make sushi for dinner, YUMM :) My college also has the perk of having a pool a couple of feet from my door, so we can lay out and go swimming whenever...especially because it was 30 C or 86 degrees fahrenheit here today!!!
Last night, we all bought tickets and went down to the Unibar on campus for their RockStar theme night. Of course we all dressed up (I got this obnoxiously bright dress with stars all over it to wear) and the girls and I all got ready before drinking some "goon and juice" and going out. It was fun but extremely crowded (I don't know how much Uncle Don would go for the Unibar!)
I've also been looking into getting a job on campus; they're kind of hard to come by but I talked with a couple of the coffee/sandwich shops in the University Plaza and it looks like there's a good possibility of picking up some hours at one of the coffee shops (I'll just keeping crossing my fingers!)
We also went to a presentation on campus about trips that we can book through the University travel agent. So many places, so little time!!!! I'm thinking of definitely going to Cairns, Sydney, and New Zealand, as well as visiting Crock in Adelaide. A friend of ours that lives about 4 hours from Fraser Island also said that we can take a road trip with some girls and cruise to her house first, stay the night, and then drive the next 4 hours to Fraser!!...Like I said, so many exciting opportunities, so little time!!
Also, like I said in my last post, internet is really limited here for right now. I went to the mall today to purchase my own wireless router but the store was out of what I needed. Hopefully by next week, I will be able to have internet in my room and then I can update this every night and hop on the Skype bandwagon. Until then, though, this is all I have. I hope to hear from you all soon!!
I have 6 roommates in a college that is just up the hill from campus (and yes, it is definitely a hill!) One girl is from UW Stout, another girl is from Japan, 2 others are from Australia, and the only guy in our unit is also from Australia. We all decided that we lucked out because we really enjoy each other's company; we also are basically roomates with the group across the hall as well. I actually have to get back tonight quickly because Waukana (my Japanese roommate) is showing us all how to make sushi for dinner, YUMM :) My college also has the perk of having a pool a couple of feet from my door, so we can lay out and go swimming whenever...especially because it was 30 C or 86 degrees fahrenheit here today!!!
Last night, we all bought tickets and went down to the Unibar on campus for their RockStar theme night. Of course we all dressed up (I got this obnoxiously bright dress with stars all over it to wear) and the girls and I all got ready before drinking some "goon and juice" and going out. It was fun but extremely crowded (I don't know how much Uncle Don would go for the Unibar!)
I've also been looking into getting a job on campus; they're kind of hard to come by but I talked with a couple of the coffee/sandwich shops in the University Plaza and it looks like there's a good possibility of picking up some hours at one of the coffee shops (I'll just keeping crossing my fingers!)
We also went to a presentation on campus about trips that we can book through the University travel agent. So many places, so little time!!!! I'm thinking of definitely going to Cairns, Sydney, and New Zealand, as well as visiting Crock in Adelaide. A friend of ours that lives about 4 hours from Fraser Island also said that we can take a road trip with some girls and cruise to her house first, stay the night, and then drive the next 4 hours to Fraser!!...Like I said, so many exciting opportunities, so little time!!
Also, like I said in my last post, internet is really limited here for right now. I went to the mall today to purchase my own wireless router but the store was out of what I needed. Hopefully by next week, I will be able to have internet in my room and then I can update this every night and hop on the Skype bandwagon. Until then, though, this is all I have. I hope to hear from you all soon!!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
We finally made it!!
So we finally made it to Lismore!!! Fiji was amazing, but I think we were all ready to get to our rooms and not live out of a suitcase. Anyways, I'm going to be keeping this kind of short for right now (we have an internet quota on the amount of time that we can use, so until we get that figured out, these are going to be short and sweet) Last night, we got into Brisbane and waited for our bus to Lismore. It was a long bus ride (about 4.5 hours) but the country is beautiful with a ton of rolling hills and greenery). We met our roommates (so far, I have one from UW Stout named Sara and one from Japan named Wakana). They're both really nice and I think we have 3 more people arriving today or tomorrow, so we'll see!! There was also a welcoming BBQ last night (with VEGGIE burgers; i love these aussie ways!). After that, we hung out with some of our flat-mates and played cards and met a ton of new people (i think we should all wear name tags, haha!!) We also went to the store for bedding and we are going again today for groceries, ect. Everything is extremely expensive though, so I will definitely be spending wisely!! Hope all is well with everyone else (has anyone that's read this figured out how to leave comments or if you can?) I'll update again soon!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I will definitely be adding more to this later, but a quick Fiji update is definitely in order (the internet is $7 Fijian for 15 minutes). Basically, all that needs to be known is that I cannot believe that we are in paradise right now; it is so beautiful here that the entire 4 days is surreal! Today, we took a daytrip with our entire group of 16 from Eau Claire to a neighboring island for a tribal ritual with a chief, a view of the island's village and school (really an eye-opener). Then, we went to another island...but not just any island- it was where Castaway was filmed and we snorkeled there. This was after an entire day yesterday of laying on the beach, going in the perfectly clear blue water and just relaxing...seriously, these Fiji is amazing!! Well, that's all for now and I'll update once we get to Lismore- BULA! (that's the welcoming greeting used throughout Fiji)
Sunday, February 8, 2009
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