I finished those assignments I was talking about, and now I'm just waiting for the bus to take me back to the Carlton.
Tonight is the night of the Deakin College Ball, of which everyone is currently at. Well, not everyone, but most people. Those that don't have proper ball attire, such as myself, were not able to go. Everyone was completely decked out in suits and ties and formal dresses when they left. They are heading to Torquay for the night and are coming back into Geelong for an after party at Home House, a club just down the street from the Carlton. Those of us who were unfortunate enough to not have any formal clothing are heading out to Home House around midnight to meet up with everyone else. Everyone finds their own way home, which is quite easy for myself, and wakes up with a massive hangover. Not to worry though, tomorrow is what is known as "Recovery Day", which includes happies at the Ponds (the closest bar to campus, just a 10 minute walk from res) starting at 10:00am-2:00pm. This is just another instance of watching Aussies drink early. They were serving rum in the coffee during ANZAC day at around 7:00am.
I'm not really sure what the actual name of "the Ponds" is, I know it by several different names, including "Dodgies", "Dodgie Disco", "Dirty Disco", and many other variations. It is said that you can tell if a girl has been to Dodgies just by looking at her ankles. Because girls legs are usually not as protected as guys, they are susceptible to "Pond Scum", the strange black substance that crawls all over everything in the Ponds.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Marx
I've been busy getting all my final assignments done, of which I have 2 due today. Lately it has been extremely hard to motivate myself to do anything that relates to school. I think it is just the fact that I know that I am going to be leaving in the next few weeks (which is a pretty depressing thought) and I want to do all the things that I'm never going to be able to do again rather than schoolwork.
Finals here in Australia are just a bit different than from home. At home, you would have 3-4 exams throughout the semester and then a large final at the end of the semester which counts for about 20% of your grade. Here, you have almost no exams during the semester, and very few assignments which count for a surprisingly low percentage of your final marks. Then, at the end of the semester, you get hit with all your assignments at once, on top of the fact that you have to study for your exams which are worth 60-70% of your whole semester grade. I'm lucky to only have finals in 2 of my classes, but the other 2 have huge assignments due in the next few weeks.
Grading is a bit different as well. You get a "High Distinction" for anything over 80%, "Distinction" for 70-79%, then "Credit" (60-69%), then "Pass", and then "Fail". In American grading standards, anything over a Distinction is counted as an A. I figured that it would make my job much easier as a student, but it just means that they grade much harder here. A 65% in Australia is actually pretty respectable, where at home it is a failing mark.
I should probably stop procrastinating and do my assignments, I know.
Finals here in Australia are just a bit different than from home. At home, you would have 3-4 exams throughout the semester and then a large final at the end of the semester which counts for about 20% of your grade. Here, you have almost no exams during the semester, and very few assignments which count for a surprisingly low percentage of your final marks. Then, at the end of the semester, you get hit with all your assignments at once, on top of the fact that you have to study for your exams which are worth 60-70% of your whole semester grade. I'm lucky to only have finals in 2 of my classes, but the other 2 have huge assignments due in the next few weeks.
Grading is a bit different as well. You get a "High Distinction" for anything over 80%, "Distinction" for 70-79%, then "Credit" (60-69%), then "Pass", and then "Fail". In American grading standards, anything over a Distinction is counted as an A. I figured that it would make my job much easier as a student, but it just means that they grade much harder here. A 65% in Australia is actually pretty respectable, where at home it is a failing mark.
I should probably stop procrastinating and do my assignments, I know.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Almost One Month Later...
Ok, good. He's posted. He isn't dead. Even though he said he would post a week ago.
All I have to say is that school, as well as the social aspect of school, has definitely picked up a bit. You'll all be glad to know that I've been working pretty hard over the past few weeks, trying not only to make my stay here in Australia a good growing experience, but a good academic experience as well.
I woke up this morning at around 6:00am to proofread and complete a paper, and now I am just waiting for the Faculty of Arts building to open so I can turn it in and be done with it. It was an extensive look into the various nuances of Australian Rules Football, along with it's social and economic impact. I also gave a presentation in class about the different sport associated with different groups in Australia. I picked similar topics for each assignment, so I could knock out two birds with one stone, as they say. I'm clever like that.
As far as my intellectual curiosities go, I'm taking a huge interest in the natural sciences. I'm thinking of the environment, like how plants and animals work. I haven't had much time to really sit down and think about it as a career path yet. I just hope that it isn't too late for such a radical revelation. There's not much correlation between biology and civil engineering. I suppose that I have only really finished general education courses, and I'm really not that far into the civil engineering aspect of my schooling. If anything, I've taken more advanced chemistry courses than anything else.
Hopefully I can periodically keep up with small updates. All of my previous posts are pretty long and detailed, which is why I think that it has been so hard for me to keep up. With a small post here and there, I can at least give you guys a hint that I still care about letting you know what I'm up to.
All I have to say is that school, as well as the social aspect of school, has definitely picked up a bit. You'll all be glad to know that I've been working pretty hard over the past few weeks, trying not only to make my stay here in Australia a good growing experience, but a good academic experience as well.
I woke up this morning at around 6:00am to proofread and complete a paper, and now I am just waiting for the Faculty of Arts building to open so I can turn it in and be done with it. It was an extensive look into the various nuances of Australian Rules Football, along with it's social and economic impact. I also gave a presentation in class about the different sport associated with different groups in Australia. I picked similar topics for each assignment, so I could knock out two birds with one stone, as they say. I'm clever like that.
As far as my intellectual curiosities go, I'm taking a huge interest in the natural sciences. I'm thinking of the environment, like how plants and animals work. I haven't had much time to really sit down and think about it as a career path yet. I just hope that it isn't too late for such a radical revelation. There's not much correlation between biology and civil engineering. I suppose that I have only really finished general education courses, and I'm really not that far into the civil engineering aspect of my schooling. If anything, I've taken more advanced chemistry courses than anything else.
Hopefully I can periodically keep up with small updates. All of my previous posts are pretty long and detailed, which is why I think that it has been so hard for me to keep up. With a small post here and there, I can at least give you guys a hint that I still care about letting you know what I'm up to.
Tasmania
Coming. I won't say "soon", but it's coming.
Includes:
Port Arthur
Cadbury Factory
The "Tree House"
Spelunking
Tesselated Pavement
Driving on the Opposite Side of the Road
Mount Wellington - The Coldest Place I Have Been so far in Australia
and...
One Extremely Dirty Rental Car
Includes:
Port Arthur
Cadbury Factory
The "Tree House"
Spelunking
Tesselated Pavement
Driving on the Opposite Side of the Road
Mount Wellington - The Coldest Place I Have Been so far in Australia
and...
One Extremely Dirty Rental Car
Monday, April 23, 2007
Easter Break
As far as intermissions go, that may have been the longest one ever. It was less of an intermission and more like leaving the theatre, discussing which show to see next, ordering your tickets, waiting for them to be delivered, and then going to a completely other show. You may have actually done that in the time it took for me to update.
I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but there have been plenty of things going on around here. I have only a day until I pack up again and leave for Tasmania. I'll be there for 5 days, exploring the apparently harsh Tasmanian countryside. I was told that it is exceptionally easy to get lost and die in the more remote areas of Tassie, so luckily we are basing ourselves in Hobart and making day trips out from there. It's funny though, when I was younger, I always had this notion that Tasmania was incredibly remote and out of the way. My, what a bright child I was. Spot on. Although most Australians speak highly of the beauty of Tasmania, they have a completely different view on the inhabitants. While renting shoes for my white water rafting trip (We'll get to that later), I was told that they are "$4. Works out to be 40 cents a toe, unless you're from Tasmania."
Easter Break was incredible. I had a few life altering experiences, met some great people, had second thoughts about my future career choice, and saw the biggest spider ever. We departed Melbourne for Brisbane, and landed late at night. We grabbed a taxi and headed to our hostel. In the morning, Donald, Jeff, and I went out to explore Brisbane with no real plan in our heads. I loved being in Brisbane, because I knew that my dad had been there long ago and I could imagine how it had changed since then. Well, I can tell you that all the dinosaurs have died, and there is now a modern city there.
Brisbane is incredibly clean, and it's architecture interestingly contrasts itself. There are heaps of old cathedrals (St. John's was amazing) and churches with a backdrop of modern skyscrapers dotting the city. We met up with Rachael and Lauren and went on a bus tour of the city that took us to some nice vantage points over Brisbane. We also visited the town hall and art museum. It was the first time that I stood there and actually read the placards and analyzed the art. For the most part, it was pretty fascinating. That night, we took Donald to a restaurant for his birthday. We had a very nice dinner with an expensive bottle of wine, of which I enjoyed greatly. Soon after we left the restaurant, we all agreed that it was pretty strange that we were doing the same thing that our parents would do for someone's birthday. I guess it was good though, because most people our age would head straight to the clubs and wake up the next morning completely broke and regretting something that they can't even remember they did the night before.
Although we could still remember our lovely evening the night before, we still woke up broke. We set out in a money-saving state of mind. We met up with Rachael and Lauren again and went to the Roma City Park. Truthfully, it was one of my favorite spots we visited on our whole trip. It had sprawling green fields (something I hadn't seen in quite a while) and beautiful winding gardens filled with odd plants of assorted colors. We spent all day there just wandering around. We also had a run in with some extremely dangerous playground equipment. They had a simple premise, they were a rotating pole with a seat at the bottom. As one person sits on the seat, another spins the pole. It doesn't look bad, but the person sitting on the seat is spun at incredible speeds, causing their brain to be pressed against the occipital side of their skull. This, in turn, causes erratic movements of the eyes, dizzyness, and a severe disability to function properly for several hours thereafter. We had pretty much discovered an entirely new drug, and it was absolutely free.
--------------------
I have to go do some homework, but I'll finish updating again in a few hours.
Still to come:
Surfer's Paradise
Australia Zoo
Port Douglas (including reef diving and rainforest walks)
Cairns (with white water rafting)
I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but there have been plenty of things going on around here. I have only a day until I pack up again and leave for Tasmania. I'll be there for 5 days, exploring the apparently harsh Tasmanian countryside. I was told that it is exceptionally easy to get lost and die in the more remote areas of Tassie, so luckily we are basing ourselves in Hobart and making day trips out from there. It's funny though, when I was younger, I always had this notion that Tasmania was incredibly remote and out of the way. My, what a bright child I was. Spot on. Although most Australians speak highly of the beauty of Tasmania, they have a completely different view on the inhabitants. While renting shoes for my white water rafting trip (We'll get to that later), I was told that they are "$4. Works out to be 40 cents a toe, unless you're from Tasmania."
Easter Break was incredible. I had a few life altering experiences, met some great people, had second thoughts about my future career choice, and saw the biggest spider ever. We departed Melbourne for Brisbane, and landed late at night. We grabbed a taxi and headed to our hostel. In the morning, Donald, Jeff, and I went out to explore Brisbane with no real plan in our heads. I loved being in Brisbane, because I knew that my dad had been there long ago and I could imagine how it had changed since then. Well, I can tell you that all the dinosaurs have died, and there is now a modern city there.
Brisbane is incredibly clean, and it's architecture interestingly contrasts itself. There are heaps of old cathedrals (St. John's was amazing) and churches with a backdrop of modern skyscrapers dotting the city. We met up with Rachael and Lauren and went on a bus tour of the city that took us to some nice vantage points over Brisbane. We also visited the town hall and art museum. It was the first time that I stood there and actually read the placards and analyzed the art. For the most part, it was pretty fascinating. That night, we took Donald to a restaurant for his birthday. We had a very nice dinner with an expensive bottle of wine, of which I enjoyed greatly. Soon after we left the restaurant, we all agreed that it was pretty strange that we were doing the same thing that our parents would do for someone's birthday. I guess it was good though, because most people our age would head straight to the clubs and wake up the next morning completely broke and regretting something that they can't even remember they did the night before.
Although we could still remember our lovely evening the night before, we still woke up broke. We set out in a money-saving state of mind. We met up with Rachael and Lauren again and went to the Roma City Park. Truthfully, it was one of my favorite spots we visited on our whole trip. It had sprawling green fields (something I hadn't seen in quite a while) and beautiful winding gardens filled with odd plants of assorted colors. We spent all day there just wandering around. We also had a run in with some extremely dangerous playground equipment. They had a simple premise, they were a rotating pole with a seat at the bottom. As one person sits on the seat, another spins the pole. It doesn't look bad, but the person sitting on the seat is spun at incredible speeds, causing their brain to be pressed against the occipital side of their skull. This, in turn, causes erratic movements of the eyes, dizzyness, and a severe disability to function properly for several hours thereafter. We had pretty much discovered an entirely new drug, and it was absolutely free.
--------------------
I have to go do some homework, but I'll finish updating again in a few hours.
Still to come:
Surfer's Paradise
Australia Zoo
Port Douglas (including reef diving and rainforest walks)
Cairns (with white water rafting)
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Intermission
I am leaving for Brisbane tonight at 9:15. I still have a little more packing to do and I have to finish an assignment before I leave, but for the most part, I'm ready. During all the preparations I was doing to book flights and hostels for break, I felt like I was back at home getting ready to leave for Australia. It is by far the worst part, but I will most likely be rewarded with an amazing holiday.
Over the past few days, pretty much all I've been doing is getting ready for break. I'm getting pretty excited about it, after reading about Cairns and Brisbane in Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country. If you've never read it (which you probably haven't, Australia isn't one of the most popular topics in America, it's kind of tucked away and forgotten about) and have an interest in learning about Australia in an informal and entertaining way, I'd highly recommend that you read it.
I won't be able to update for the next few weeks, but I may be able to get online at some point and check comments and add a few of my own. I've been fighting valiantly with the internet and adding photos all morning, so hopefully I'll be able to get another 10 or 15 up. I'm sure I'll take no less than 1500 more on this trip, and I wish I could put them all up for you to see.
Wish me luck!
Over the past few days, pretty much all I've been doing is getting ready for break. I'm getting pretty excited about it, after reading about Cairns and Brisbane in Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country. If you've never read it (which you probably haven't, Australia isn't one of the most popular topics in America, it's kind of tucked away and forgotten about) and have an interest in learning about Australia in an informal and entertaining way, I'd highly recommend that you read it.
I won't be able to update for the next few weeks, but I may be able to get online at some point and check comments and add a few of my own. I've been fighting valiantly with the internet and adding photos all morning, so hopefully I'll be able to get another 10 or 15 up. I'm sure I'll take no less than 1500 more on this trip, and I wish I could put them all up for you to see.
Wish me luck!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Haberdashery
I've been absolutely swamped with school work for the past few days. I've been working ahead a little in preparation for my Easter Break, which I finally have planned. I've booked flights to Brisbane and Cairns, and I'll be gone for a total of 14 days. I am going with Donald, Jeff, Jess, and Brandon.
We are flying to Brisbane on the 4th, and spending 5 days there. We'll spend a night in Surfer's Paradise, and check out Steve Irwin's zoo. I've been told that the zoo is incredible, and to plan to stay there for the whole day. We're flying out on the 9th, and heading to Cairns. Once we get there, we'll pick up the rental car (I'll get to drive on the opposite side of the road!), and drive to Port Douglas. We're spending 4 days there, and it is supposed to have some of the nicest reefs in the whole country. Hopefully I'll get to do a little SCUBA Diving. We're heading back to Cairns and finishing up there. We fly back on the 17th.
As far as the train accident goes, I, along with everyone else, am fine. I was in the first car, and all I felt was a little bump and then it just felt like we were slightly derailed. We were all pretty worried when they told us that we'd hit a car on the tracks, but about 10 minutes later they said that there was nobody in the car. Apparantly, it was a brand new car (just bought a few days earlier) and the driver stalled it on the tracks at the intersection. They bailed, and got away before the train hit. It was late at night, and delayed our trip by about 2 hours, but I didn't mind. We actually had a pretty good time of it.
The water polo match was a great time. I've never been to any sort of international competition, and it was a lot of fun to see all the different countries represented by their fans. I don't have all the scores right now, but the US played Croatia and lost 8-10. Serbia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, and China were also there. I still don't understand why there are so many Serbians and Croats in Australia. They were all over the place, and were really good at water polo.
I'll start putting up pictures when the internet gets better, which is supposed to be very soon. I've also found out that grocery stores have a whole aisle devoted to "haberdashery". It's fantastic.
We are flying to Brisbane on the 4th, and spending 5 days there. We'll spend a night in Surfer's Paradise, and check out Steve Irwin's zoo. I've been told that the zoo is incredible, and to plan to stay there for the whole day. We're flying out on the 9th, and heading to Cairns. Once we get there, we'll pick up the rental car (I'll get to drive on the opposite side of the road!), and drive to Port Douglas. We're spending 4 days there, and it is supposed to have some of the nicest reefs in the whole country. Hopefully I'll get to do a little SCUBA Diving. We're heading back to Cairns and finishing up there. We fly back on the 17th.
As far as the train accident goes, I, along with everyone else, am fine. I was in the first car, and all I felt was a little bump and then it just felt like we were slightly derailed. We were all pretty worried when they told us that we'd hit a car on the tracks, but about 10 minutes later they said that there was nobody in the car. Apparantly, it was a brand new car (just bought a few days earlier) and the driver stalled it on the tracks at the intersection. They bailed, and got away before the train hit. It was late at night, and delayed our trip by about 2 hours, but I didn't mind. We actually had a pretty good time of it.
The water polo match was a great time. I've never been to any sort of international competition, and it was a lot of fun to see all the different countries represented by their fans. I don't have all the scores right now, but the US played Croatia and lost 8-10. Serbia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, and China were also there. I still don't understand why there are so many Serbians and Croats in Australia. They were all over the place, and were really good at water polo.
I'll start putting up pictures when the internet gets better, which is supposed to be very soon. I've also found out that grocery stores have a whole aisle devoted to "haberdashery". It's fantastic.
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