Hello blogging world! I decided to make it easier to fill everyone in with all of the fun things I’m doing I would go ahead and make a blog. I’ve been here in Wollongong, Australia for 3 weeks now so my first few posts will be catching everyone up!
Leaving was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I think I said goodbye to some of my friends at least 8 times before it finally sunk in that I was actually leaving. I packed the day before I left because I was in denial of the fact I was going to be gone for five months. It finally hit me that I was leaving the morning of July 14th when my sister woke me up on her way to work to tell me goodbye. From there on out it was a lot tears. I had to say bye to my animals which was near impossible. I can’t Skype them or write them letters and snuggling is impossible from halfway across the world. I know it seems dumb to non-animal lovers but it was hard! The tears kept coming when two of my friends met up with me in Chicago to say goodbye. Kate and Travis-thank you! Turning to go into security was horrible. I had to leave my parents. I’m really close to them and it was hard knowing that I wouldn’t be able to talk to them everyday like I usually do. They didn’t cry at all which I wasn’t expecting-it made me feel like a baby. Miles was really nice and supportive, however, and put up with all of my tears. After finally making it through my goodbyes I was ready to head off to Australia!
I left July 14 and was supposed to arrive the 16th. My flight in Chicago was a delayed about 2 hours which caused me to miss my flight out of San Francisco. The next flight they could get me on was 48 hours later! I finally arrived in San Fran at about 1 in the morning and had a horrible time finding a hotel room. It seemed like every hotel was booked and ones that weren’t were extremely expensive. The airline gave me a $60 voucher for a hotel and nothing for food--thanks a lot United. After finding a room for $278 (yikes!) I crashed. Friday during the day my traveling partner, Miles, and I saw all of the fun sights of San Francisco. Our luggage was still at the airport but we still had our carry ons. Miles knows a man that works in San Francisco so we left our bags with him so we could explore the city like proper tourists. I finally got to see the famous bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombard street, Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company, and Ghirardelli square. After sampling the chocolates (have we met?) Miles and I headed off to my sorority sister’s house to stay the night. Sarah took us out to see Harry Potter with her friends Friday night and Saturday we walked around her town of Pleasanton and just relaxed. She drove us to the airport and we were finally on our way!
The flight from San Francisco to Auckland was about 13 hours, but thanks to Ambien I slept most of the way. We then flew from Auckland to Sydney where we were met with my two bags and only one of Miles’. (It arrived in Wollongong a few days later). A driver met us at the airport and drove us to our new home. Wollongong is absolutely beautiful. It means “where mountains meet sea” and lives up to its meaning. The beach here is gorgeous and is an easy motivator when it comes to running. It’s nice waking up and hanging out at the beach for a few hours before class. The water is still pretty cold but as the outside air temperature warms up it makes braving the cold a little easier. The mountains are lush and green, something I was not expecting from Australia. I’m living in a dorm called Campus East. Within Campus East there are separate dorm buildings with names like Trench Town, Hospital, Slums, and Alcatraz. I’m a happy resident of Trench Town. I share a unit with two Australians-Danielle and Kelsey. I’m lucky that they are both so nice and helpful! I have my own room which is pretty sparse, seeing as I could only bring so much over here with me. The one thing my room is not lacking is blankets! I didn’t realize how cold the nights would be over here. Granted, it’s winter and it will warm up, but for now I’m snuggling under 4 blankets at night.
I eat my meals here at Campus East. I’m on a meal plan and most of the foods are the same as back home. There is a little less flavor over here and they are addicted to meat! One of the things I can’t get over is that if you go out at night to a pub and enter a raffle you’re entering to win a tray of raw meat! It’s on my bucket list to win one while I’m over here. I’ve tried Vegemite (disgusting) and Tim Tams (addicting) and had my fair share of kiwis. There is a little place in Wollongong called the Fruit Market and as you probably guessed there is a plethora of fruit. The other day I got 5 apples, 5 kiwis, 1 orange and ½ of a cantaloupe for $2.98. My addiction to fruit may grow over here!
Another great thing about Campus East is that it has a free bus to the University of Wollongong. The “uni” as they call it over here is not close enough to walk so I take a bus to and from each day. Uni is gorgeous as well-gives IU some competition. I love walking to class and hearing the Australian crow. (I advise youtubing this). Waking up to the noise is another story. I’m taking 12 credit hours and my classes include Locating Australia, Literacy in Early Childhood, Nutrition, and Gender and Society. They have been very similar to classes back home so far and I think I should do okay. The hardest part is in my nutrition class when they talk about kilojoules and kilograms instead of calories and pounds. I have a 30 minute presentation due this Wednesday. Since I’m the first person in my class to go and I’m the only American I’m hoping my professor will cut me a little slack. Cross your fingers!
While I’m over here I have an Australian phone plan so I pay monthly to be able to talk and text to Australians only. Skype and Facebook have been nice to stay in touch with friends back home. While I do miss my American friends I am certainly not the only one with an American accent over here. There are probably close to 100 kids living in Campus East from America-another thing I wasn’t expecting.
I would be taking hundreds of pictures but my camera broke about a week ago. I shipped it back to the US in order for my warranty to kick in so hopefully it will be back soon! I have a list of pictures that need to be taken in order to share with everyone back home. People here have been really generous about letting me borrow their cameras so I can capture my memories. I needed my own the other day, however, when I was in my room and there was a spider about 4 inches across chilling right next to my bed. When I told my roommate to look at it she told me it was not poisonous but it was a baby spider and pretty small for whatever kind it was-yikes!
I’ve been hanging out with two American girls a lot- Liz and Anna. Liz is from IU and Anna is from North Carolina. They’re both a lot of fun and we get along really well. Together we’ve made some fun Australian friends as well as more American friends. I could go on about each of them for days but I think knowing they are both a lot of fun will suffice. We are planning a lot of adventures together and have already had our fair share. They have made the transition much easier. It’s difficult going to a huge school where you know hundreds of people to going somewhere halfway across the world where you know two people. I’m excited for all that Wollongong has to offer and I can’t wait to explore this beautiful place even more. Until next time- g’day mate.
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