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.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Alive and Kicking
I'm sorry again for not updating, but the internet is basically nonexistant at the Carlton. I hope that it will be better at the beginning of April, when the Carlton buys new bandwidth for the month. I am at school right now so I can't write much, but I'll give you a very quick update.
I went to the airshow at the Avalon Airport, and new pictures will follow on Flickr when I get the chance. On the way back from the airshow, the train I was on ran into a car that was on the tracks. Nobody was injured, but I'll leave you intrigued. The next day, I went to watch some world-class water polo at the 12th FINA World Championships. I'll tell you what teams played and what the scores were when I have some more time. I can tell you now that Japan played, and they played horribly. It's okay though, it was a capital effort. After water polo, I met Lindsay (the girl on the plane ride here) in Melbourne completely by accident. Strange, the way that works.
Hopefully I can elaborate soon, but I just wanted to let you all know that, I, contrary to popular belief, am not dead.
I went to the airshow at the Avalon Airport, and new pictures will follow on Flickr when I get the chance. On the way back from the airshow, the train I was on ran into a car that was on the tracks. Nobody was injured, but I'll leave you intrigued. The next day, I went to watch some world-class water polo at the 12th FINA World Championships. I'll tell you what teams played and what the scores were when I have some more time. I can tell you now that Japan played, and they played horribly. It's okay though, it was a capital effort. After water polo, I met Lindsay (the girl on the plane ride here) in Melbourne completely by accident. Strange, the way that works.
Hopefully I can elaborate soon, but I just wanted to let you all know that, I, contrary to popular belief, am not dead.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Mmm, Power Ballad
So much for updating on Wednesdays I guess. The internet here at the Carlton is about as reliable as, well, my updates. Lately, I've been working on balancing school with travelling and getting all my plans together.
Easter Holidays are coming up, and we get a week off from classes. I wanted to fly up to Cairns and take a 14-day bus tour all the way south to Byron Bay, which I think would be absolutely amazing, but I can't find anyone to go with. Instead, I think I am going to Brisbane for the week with a few friends. I will be close enough to Byron Bay (2 hours) and I might even recruit someone to take a 2-3 day trip up to the Whitsunday Islands. Google it, and you'll see why I want to go there. You know what, I'll even Google it for you.
I've booked a trip to Tasmania for the weekend after Easter break, and will be there for 5 days. We have a pretty large group, and are renting 2 Holden Commodores, so I'll get to experience driving on the opposite side of the road. I am also in the process of booking a trip to New Zealand, which is heaps less expensive than I expected.
As far as classes go, I'm really enjoying CAD. I really like to sit in the library with my MP3 player and figure out how to efficiently create a 3-dimensional image of some random mechanical entity. And, also, if you haven't noticed, I'm into the whole HTML thing.
I'm looking for someone to buy some Dave Matthews tickets with me for the concert in Melbourne on May 1st. If anyone reading this wants to go with me, leave me some lovin' here or give me a call. I now have a cell phone so I am considered to be "in existence", according to Donald.
I emailed the guy that gets people together to play hockey on Wednesdays and Sundays, but I haven't heard a response back from him yet. I was hoping to be able to play tonight, but I don't think that it's going to happen. Possibly on Wednesday, because I only have his work number and work email. I'm getting excited though, because I don't feel like ice hockey is too far out of reach anymore. In the wise words of Cinderella (the band, not the princess) said: Don't know what you got till it's gone, I guess.
Easter Holidays are coming up, and we get a week off from classes. I wanted to fly up to Cairns and take a 14-day bus tour all the way south to Byron Bay, which I think would be absolutely amazing, but I can't find anyone to go with. Instead, I think I am going to Brisbane for the week with a few friends. I will be close enough to Byron Bay (2 hours) and I might even recruit someone to take a 2-3 day trip up to the Whitsunday Islands. Google it, and you'll see why I want to go there. You know what, I'll even Google it for you.
I've booked a trip to Tasmania for the weekend after Easter break, and will be there for 5 days. We have a pretty large group, and are renting 2 Holden Commodores, so I'll get to experience driving on the opposite side of the road. I am also in the process of booking a trip to New Zealand, which is heaps less expensive than I expected.
As far as classes go, I'm really enjoying CAD. I really like to sit in the library with my MP3 player and figure out how to efficiently create a 3-dimensional image of some random mechanical entity. And, also, if you haven't noticed, I'm into the whole HTML thing.
I'm looking for someone to buy some Dave Matthews tickets with me for the concert in Melbourne on May 1st. If anyone reading this wants to go with me, leave me some lovin' here or give me a call. I now have a cell phone so I am considered to be "in existence", according to Donald.
I emailed the guy that gets people together to play hockey on Wednesdays and Sundays, but I haven't heard a response back from him yet. I was hoping to be able to play tonight, but I don't think that it's going to happen. Possibly on Wednesday, because I only have his work number and work email. I'm getting excited though, because I don't feel like ice hockey is too far out of reach anymore. In the wise words of Cinderella (the band, not the princess) said: Don't know what you got till it's gone, I guess.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Updates, Classes, and Fire Alarms
Sorry for my recent inactivity... I just started class last Monday, and I've had a little bit of trouble keeping up with the blog. I know that I will at least make a post every Wednesday, since I have off that day. Wednesday really means Thursday for everyone that is reading in the States. Hopefully I'll be able to make more than one post a week though, I feel bad when I don't write in here for a while.
I keep telling myself that I'll do a ton of things once I "get settled in", but it still doesn't feel like I am. There is always laundry to do, food to buy, or homework to do... Very rarely am I just hanging out in my room. I suppose it's a good thing though, because it doesn't really leave me any time to be homesick. I still manage to feel a little homesick at times, but it's usually only at night when I am talking to friends online or writing emails.
Classes started last week, and I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if the professors were more strict, or what the format of a normal class was. After a week, I've found that it is pretty similar to college in the US. There are a few differences, but for the most part, it's the same thing. There are 3 different types of classes; lectures, tutorials, and practicals. Lectures are just like the lectures I am used to at home, with a professor speaking in front of the class. Tutorials are more interactive, with a much smaller class size and are occasionally given by graduate students. Practicals are laboratory experiments that last 2-3 hours. It isn't much different, and consistent with uni back at home, books are more expensive than they need to be. If I buy all my books this semester, it will cost me about $565.
Typically, I'll head to Deakin early in the morning and stay until the last bus leaves at around 9:15pm. This gives me 10-12 hours on campus at least 4 times a week. I'll do homework, study, and just hang out in the dorms. During all this time on campus, something interesting is bound to happen. Last weekend, Nick was cooking dinner, and everyone was just watching TV and relaxing, and I was sitting at the kitchen table playing solitaire. It was a pretty quiet night with nothing much going on. Nick and April were bickering, as always, and April decided to put some ice down Nick's shirt while he was cooking. Nick pulled the ice out and turned to throw it at April. April ran away and ducked, and the ice sailed over her head and hit the little tiny pane of fire alarm glass behind her. The fire alarm went off in every housing unit in the vicinity. Everyone had to evacuate and wait while not 1, but 3, fire trucks came to the school. We all thought it was really funny, even the fire fighters were amused. Nobody got in trouble, and now it is really easy to poke fun at Nick and April... But mostly Nick.
I have been doing a lot of searching to find a place to play some hockey. I'm almost certain that the ice rink in Geelong has been taken out, and now the closest one is on the east side of Melbourne. I called them today, and the guy told me that it will take a 20 minute train ride from Flinders Street Station and then a 25 minute bus ride from the second train station. There is no drop-in hockey, only public skating. He did give me the number of a guy that has the ice on Wednesday nights, and always gets a group together to play hockey. I'm going to give him a call to see if he'll let me come out and skate with them. I haven't played for a month now, and it is really starting to wear me down.
I'm glad to hear that everyone enjoys reading my blog, and I'm sorry that it takes me so long to update sometimes. I haven't taken many pictures in the past week, but I'll try to get some of my older Lorne and Melbourne pictures up. Maybe I'll go for a walk and take some pictures of Geelong to give everyone a better picture of the city that I live in. It is a great place, and I love living here. I'm doing really well and I am having a great time.
I keep telling myself that I'll do a ton of things once I "get settled in", but it still doesn't feel like I am. There is always laundry to do, food to buy, or homework to do... Very rarely am I just hanging out in my room. I suppose it's a good thing though, because it doesn't really leave me any time to be homesick. I still manage to feel a little homesick at times, but it's usually only at night when I am talking to friends online or writing emails.
Classes started last week, and I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if the professors were more strict, or what the format of a normal class was. After a week, I've found that it is pretty similar to college in the US. There are a few differences, but for the most part, it's the same thing. There are 3 different types of classes; lectures, tutorials, and practicals. Lectures are just like the lectures I am used to at home, with a professor speaking in front of the class. Tutorials are more interactive, with a much smaller class size and are occasionally given by graduate students. Practicals are laboratory experiments that last 2-3 hours. It isn't much different, and consistent with uni back at home, books are more expensive than they need to be. If I buy all my books this semester, it will cost me about $565.
Typically, I'll head to Deakin early in the morning and stay until the last bus leaves at around 9:15pm. This gives me 10-12 hours on campus at least 4 times a week. I'll do homework, study, and just hang out in the dorms. During all this time on campus, something interesting is bound to happen. Last weekend, Nick was cooking dinner, and everyone was just watching TV and relaxing, and I was sitting at the kitchen table playing solitaire. It was a pretty quiet night with nothing much going on. Nick and April were bickering, as always, and April decided to put some ice down Nick's shirt while he was cooking. Nick pulled the ice out and turned to throw it at April. April ran away and ducked, and the ice sailed over her head and hit the little tiny pane of fire alarm glass behind her. The fire alarm went off in every housing unit in the vicinity. Everyone had to evacuate and wait while not 1, but 3, fire trucks came to the school. We all thought it was really funny, even the fire fighters were amused. Nobody got in trouble, and now it is really easy to poke fun at Nick and April... But mostly Nick.
I have been doing a lot of searching to find a place to play some hockey. I'm almost certain that the ice rink in Geelong has been taken out, and now the closest one is on the east side of Melbourne. I called them today, and the guy told me that it will take a 20 minute train ride from Flinders Street Station and then a 25 minute bus ride from the second train station. There is no drop-in hockey, only public skating. He did give me the number of a guy that has the ice on Wednesday nights, and always gets a group together to play hockey. I'm going to give him a call to see if he'll let me come out and skate with them. I haven't played for a month now, and it is really starting to wear me down.
I'm glad to hear that everyone enjoys reading my blog, and I'm sorry that it takes me so long to update sometimes. I haven't taken many pictures in the past week, but I'll try to get some of my older Lorne and Melbourne pictures up. Maybe I'll go for a walk and take some pictures of Geelong to give everyone a better picture of the city that I live in. It is a great place, and I love living here. I'm doing really well and I am having a great time.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Melbourne, Round 2
I just got home from Melbourne, this time with a much smaller group than before. I left the Geelong Train Station with Nick, Jeff, Donald, and Scott. We headed out at about 10:30am, and arrived in Melbourne at about 11:30am. We really had no concrete plan in mind for the day, just to go in and see where the city takes us. We walked around the city and hung out for a bit in Federation Square while we waited for Risa, an international student that attends Deakin's Burwood campus. Risa, Nick, Jeff, and Scott went to the Melbourne Aquarium while Donald and I went to a screening and Q&A for the popular (and nerdy) Red vs. Blue machinima series. It was good fun, and I got to sit in a room with about 200 incredibly nerdy Australians for 2 hours.
Afterwards we met up at the Crown, a large casino on Southbank. We decided to try our hand at a little bit of gambling. I came out on top, with my overall winnings being a whole 8 dollars. It was definitely a very different experience, but it was a lot of fun, especially the fact that I paid for my dinner with the casino's money.
We had to catch the 8:30pm train back to Geelong because of classes in the morning, so we didn't get to see Melbourne at night which I am really looking forward to. There are tall marble columns lining Southbank that shoot fire upwards every once in a while, and the lights on the buildings are supposed to be spectacular. We are planning to head back within the next few weeks and possibly spending the night at the Burwood campus so we can experience a little bit of the Melbourne night life.
I've got a class tomorrow morning at 10:00am, and then I will probably spend the rest of the day hanging out on campus... And studying. Ok Mom?
Afterwards we met up at the Crown, a large casino on Southbank. We decided to try our hand at a little bit of gambling. I came out on top, with my overall winnings being a whole 8 dollars. It was definitely a very different experience, but it was a lot of fun, especially the fact that I paid for my dinner with the casino's money.
We had to catch the 8:30pm train back to Geelong because of classes in the morning, so we didn't get to see Melbourne at night which I am really looking forward to. There are tall marble columns lining Southbank that shoot fire upwards every once in a while, and the lights on the buildings are supposed to be spectacular. We are planning to head back within the next few weeks and possibly spending the night at the Burwood campus so we can experience a little bit of the Melbourne night life.
I've got a class tomorrow morning at 10:00am, and then I will probably spend the rest of the day hanging out on campus... And studying. Ok Mom?
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Queenscliffe
I haven't posted in a while, and I know that it must be pretty frustrating for everyone that is reading. I have been very busy in Australia so far with things like class registration, meeting new friends, and travelling, so it hasn't left me much time to post. These first two weeks have been absolutely wonderful, and have been like a once in a lifetime holiday. (You can't say vacation in Australia... They don't use that word.) I am loving the Australians, the campus, the city of Geelong, the beaches, and anything that can relate to Australia in any way. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and I will have to start classes on Monday. It will still be good, just not nearly as carefree.
On Friday, my new friend Nick and I went to the town of Queenscliffe for a bit of shark fishing. It is about 15 minutes from Geelong, and supposedly has excellent fishing. Our Aussie friend April drove us and stayed for some fish and chips before we went out to the pier. Then, Nick and I proceeded to sit on the pier for the next two and a half hours not catching a single thing. It was good fun though, just sitting there and enjoying the ocean and birds. We packed up and went into town to see what the nightlife looked like. It was nonexistant. There was not a single person on the streets, and only a handful in the 2 pubs that sat on the main road. We explored the town a little and only saw about 5 cars pass. We ended up just going to the hostel and sleeping. The next morning, the plan was to go rent a boat on the opposite side of Swan Bay and take it out to catch a Gummy Shark. We thought the rental place was right down the road within walking distance, but it turned out that it was about 13 kilometers away. (8 miles.) No bus passed the rental shop, and a taxi would have been too expensive and more trouble than it was worth. We hopped on the next bus home to Geelong. The fishing trip was a bit of a bust, but I had a good time.
We are heading into Melbourne tomorrow to check out the city for our last day of freedom. It is supposed to be a smaller group of people this time, but we may have a few more people than we originally planned for. I have noticed that there are heaps more views for pictures that have people in them than the ones of the landscape. The picture with me at the Twelve Apostles has generated more views than any other picture, and I am flattered. I need to try harder to take more pictures of my friends and myself, because I can tell that everyone likes them a lot more. I'm sure I'll be shoving all my landscape pictures down your throats when I get to see you again anyways.
On Friday, my new friend Nick and I went to the town of Queenscliffe for a bit of shark fishing. It is about 15 minutes from Geelong, and supposedly has excellent fishing. Our Aussie friend April drove us and stayed for some fish and chips before we went out to the pier. Then, Nick and I proceeded to sit on the pier for the next two and a half hours not catching a single thing. It was good fun though, just sitting there and enjoying the ocean and birds. We packed up and went into town to see what the nightlife looked like. It was nonexistant. There was not a single person on the streets, and only a handful in the 2 pubs that sat on the main road. We explored the town a little and only saw about 5 cars pass. We ended up just going to the hostel and sleeping. The next morning, the plan was to go rent a boat on the opposite side of Swan Bay and take it out to catch a Gummy Shark. We thought the rental place was right down the road within walking distance, but it turned out that it was about 13 kilometers away. (8 miles.) No bus passed the rental shop, and a taxi would have been too expensive and more trouble than it was worth. We hopped on the next bus home to Geelong. The fishing trip was a bit of a bust, but I had a good time.
We are heading into Melbourne tomorrow to check out the city for our last day of freedom. It is supposed to be a smaller group of people this time, but we may have a few more people than we originally planned for. I have noticed that there are heaps more views for pictures that have people in them than the ones of the landscape. The picture with me at the Twelve Apostles has generated more views than any other picture, and I am flattered. I need to try harder to take more pictures of my friends and myself, because I can tell that everyone likes them a lot more. I'm sure I'll be shoving all my landscape pictures down your throats when I get to see you again anyways.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Torquay and Bells Beach
Last weekend was a busy one for me. On Saturday, I went with a group of about 30 other students to Melbourne, and on Sunday went to Torquay and Bells Beach with about 60 others. I can tell I'm exhausted, because this is the first day that I've been here that I woke up after 9:00am.
Melbourne is an awesome city. It's a lot larger than Geelong, but still has a small town feel. We were lucky, because Melbourne was doing a Chinese New Year festival. I wish that I wasn't with a group, because I would have loved to spend some more time at the festival. Street performers lined the sidewalks, and vendors sold some really great food. I paid $2 for Chicken Satay not knowing exactly what it was, and it turned out to be the best thing I ate that day.
Later, we took a river cruise on the Yarra and they served lunch on the boat. It was very pricey, as I spent $38 on lunch. The cruise went out of the city and along the highway, so it was not as scenic as I would have liked it to be. The river cruise was cool, but I don't think I would do it again. It did offer some relief from the 35 degree weather, which is about 95 degrees Farenheit. We are heading back next weekend in a smaller group of about 5 so we can see the city the way we like. I think I'll enjoy it even more.
On Sunday, we all went to Torquay and Bells Beach. We were originally planning to spend some time on the back beach of Torquay, but there were an incredible amount of people there. I'll post the picture I took while I was on the bus. I think you could see more people than you could water. We never even got off the bus there, and left for Bells Beach. Bells was much less crowded, probably because it is not a patrolled beach. There, we all split up and did our own thing. Some played soccer, footy, and cricket, and others just walked on the beach or went swimming. It was a lot of fun, and Bells Beach is gorgeous. There was not much wind on Sunday, so the surf wasn't very good even though Bells is known for it's surfing. We stopped in Torquay on the way out, and checked out the surf shops. I'm seriously considering buying a surfboard and a wetsuit. I wouldn't need the wetsuit now, but it will soon be too cold to surf without one. I could get a used surfboard for about $200, and a wetsuit for $100. We are probably heading back out to Torquay sometime this week, so I'll gauge how easy it is for me to get there and surf.
While heading home to Geelong, we stopped along the side of the road near a golf course. There were about 50 kangaroos munching on the grass of the golf course. They all looked completely identical, with their tails pushing against the ground and their heads arched down eating. It was great to be able to see kangaroos in the "wild" like that. It is a defining moment of any trip to Australia. I'll post some pictures of them on the Flickr site.
My room in the Carlton is incredibly hot, and I am going to head out and buy a fan at the Target down the street. After that, I'll probably head for campus to check out the O-Week activities and meet some new Australian students now that they have all moved in.
Melbourne is an awesome city. It's a lot larger than Geelong, but still has a small town feel. We were lucky, because Melbourne was doing a Chinese New Year festival. I wish that I wasn't with a group, because I would have loved to spend some more time at the festival. Street performers lined the sidewalks, and vendors sold some really great food. I paid $2 for Chicken Satay not knowing exactly what it was, and it turned out to be the best thing I ate that day.
Later, we took a river cruise on the Yarra and they served lunch on the boat. It was very pricey, as I spent $38 on lunch. The cruise went out of the city and along the highway, so it was not as scenic as I would have liked it to be. The river cruise was cool, but I don't think I would do it again. It did offer some relief from the 35 degree weather, which is about 95 degrees Farenheit. We are heading back next weekend in a smaller group of about 5 so we can see the city the way we like. I think I'll enjoy it even more.
On Sunday, we all went to Torquay and Bells Beach. We were originally planning to spend some time on the back beach of Torquay, but there were an incredible amount of people there. I'll post the picture I took while I was on the bus. I think you could see more people than you could water. We never even got off the bus there, and left for Bells Beach. Bells was much less crowded, probably because it is not a patrolled beach. There, we all split up and did our own thing. Some played soccer, footy, and cricket, and others just walked on the beach or went swimming. It was a lot of fun, and Bells Beach is gorgeous. There was not much wind on Sunday, so the surf wasn't very good even though Bells is known for it's surfing. We stopped in Torquay on the way out, and checked out the surf shops. I'm seriously considering buying a surfboard and a wetsuit. I wouldn't need the wetsuit now, but it will soon be too cold to surf without one. I could get a used surfboard for about $200, and a wetsuit for $100. We are probably heading back out to Torquay sometime this week, so I'll gauge how easy it is for me to get there and surf.
While heading home to Geelong, we stopped along the side of the road near a golf course. There were about 50 kangaroos munching on the grass of the golf course. They all looked completely identical, with their tails pushing against the ground and their heads arched down eating. It was great to be able to see kangaroos in the "wild" like that. It is a defining moment of any trip to Australia. I'll post some pictures of them on the Flickr site.
My room in the Carlton is incredibly hot, and I am going to head out and buy a fan at the Target down the street. After that, I'll probably head for campus to check out the O-Week activities and meet some new Australian students now that they have all moved in.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Photo Website
Putting photos on blogspot is a terribly hard and tedious thing to do, so I got a Flickr account. The internet is slow here, so it takes a long time to upload the photos. I'll try to keep up with it the best I can. You can find the photos in my profile under the "My Web Page" link under my picture.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcsaustralia/ Here are a few photos to start.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcsaustralia/ Here are a few photos to start.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Finally Here
I have finally made it to Australia and gotten settled in to my new apartment. I haven't been able to update because I've been staying on campus where I didn't have any internet access.
I've done so many things and met so many people over the last week, and I don't even know where to start. The flights from home took roughly 23 hours, with stops in Dallas, San Francisco, and Sydney.
Dayton to Dallas was uneventful, and on a very small plane. I sat quietly for 3 hours thinking about what the bloody hell I had just gotten myself into. Right before I got on the flight, I had lost my boarding pass within 3 minutes of getting it. The worst part is, I did it in view of my poor parents. I was off to a rocky start, but I think it was a really great thing to happen to me because I have been incredibly vigilant ever since.
The Dallas Airport was more like a gigantic mall, but I had no trouble finding out where I was supposed to be even though they switched the gates on me. On the plane, I talked hockey with this woman that had a son that played. She seemed really interested in my plans to go to Australia, and told me that after meeting me, she really wants her son to do the same thing. I stuck with her after getting off the plane in San Francisco to pick up my bags. She offered me a ton of travel tips and was very caring and motherly.
The San Francisco to Sydney flight really as bad as you'd think, but that could be due to the fact that I had some great people to sit with. I was in the aisle seat, and the girl named Lindsay by the window took sleeping pills, drank wine, and passed out for about 10 of the 13 hour flight. She was going to live just outside Melbourne for the next 2 years for school. The woman in the middle seat was an Australian woman named Gail who had just spent 18 days in Canada skiing. She was pretty happy about being the first Australian that I got to talk to on my trip, and she was incredibly nice. She's the kind of woman that I spent a short time with, but I know that I will probably remember her for the rest of my life. We went our seperate ways in Sydney, she took a different plane to Melbourne than Lindsay and I.
I got off the plane in the Melbourne International Airport and met several other exchange students and the Deakin International Student Advisors. I was greeted by Jess, who immediately confused my already tired mind by saying "How you going?" as soon as she saw me. I was caught off guard and gave her a bit of a blank stare, which wouldn't be the last blank stare I give the Aussies. A few of them are incredibly hard to understand, but I'll get better.
We took a bus to Geelong, and I was amazed by how different the trees and plants are from home. Spindly Eucalyptus trees lined the highway, and I was driving on the opposite side of the road. This definitely was not Ohio anymore. I set up temporary housing on campus and went out to dinner with the other international students that got there that day. None of us had any time to sleep, so we were all very tired.
Over the next 2 days, I explored the city and quickly made friends with all of the students going to the Warrnambool campus that is about 2 hours from Geelong. They were all staying in the same college as myself, along with a few more that were only on campus temporarily. An English guy named Pete, a German named Peter, and an American named Ben all moved about 15 minutes away to Torquay to live permanently. Torquay is one of the best spots around for surfing and fishing.
After a few nights on campus in Geelong, we all packed a few things and went to Lorne. The school set us up in some great accomodation and fed us 2 meals each day we were there. I played some footy (Aussie Rules Football) and surfed. I have never gone surfing before, but I must say, I'm pretty amazing at it. I got up on my first try and even had the instructors telling me that it looked like I had done it before. I met a ton of people in Lorne and had a great time.
We left Lorne to go on a sight seeing trip on the great ocean road. We went to the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard, the Otways, and Gibson's Steps. I took some really great pictures that I will have to load up for you to see. (The internet here is really slow, so I won't get to upload all 466 photos, but I'll try to put on the best ones.)
After Lorne, I moved my things from the Deakin campus to Carlton Central. It is one of the older buildings in the city, so it's a little run down. I have a little room with a dresser, bed, desk, fridge, and sink. There are shared toilets and showers right across the hall from me. I like it here with the exception of the incredibly loud and annoying Indian kids that live on my floor. They will be moving out on Saturday, which is a very good thing.
I am going to go food shopping tomorrow morning, which I am pretty excited about. I've never done it before for myself, so it should be fun. I'm making a list of things to buy that I've thought of over the past few days.
I'll update again when I get the chance, but I will be pretty busy for the next few days. Melbourne on Saturday and the Surf Coast on Sunday. It should be a good time.
I've done so many things and met so many people over the last week, and I don't even know where to start. The flights from home took roughly 23 hours, with stops in Dallas, San Francisco, and Sydney.
Dayton to Dallas was uneventful, and on a very small plane. I sat quietly for 3 hours thinking about what the bloody hell I had just gotten myself into. Right before I got on the flight, I had lost my boarding pass within 3 minutes of getting it. The worst part is, I did it in view of my poor parents. I was off to a rocky start, but I think it was a really great thing to happen to me because I have been incredibly vigilant ever since.
The Dallas Airport was more like a gigantic mall, but I had no trouble finding out where I was supposed to be even though they switched the gates on me. On the plane, I talked hockey with this woman that had a son that played. She seemed really interested in my plans to go to Australia, and told me that after meeting me, she really wants her son to do the same thing. I stuck with her after getting off the plane in San Francisco to pick up my bags. She offered me a ton of travel tips and was very caring and motherly.
The San Francisco to Sydney flight really as bad as you'd think, but that could be due to the fact that I had some great people to sit with. I was in the aisle seat, and the girl named Lindsay by the window took sleeping pills, drank wine, and passed out for about 10 of the 13 hour flight. She was going to live just outside Melbourne for the next 2 years for school. The woman in the middle seat was an Australian woman named Gail who had just spent 18 days in Canada skiing. She was pretty happy about being the first Australian that I got to talk to on my trip, and she was incredibly nice. She's the kind of woman that I spent a short time with, but I know that I will probably remember her for the rest of my life. We went our seperate ways in Sydney, she took a different plane to Melbourne than Lindsay and I.
I got off the plane in the Melbourne International Airport and met several other exchange students and the Deakin International Student Advisors. I was greeted by Jess, who immediately confused my already tired mind by saying "How you going?" as soon as she saw me. I was caught off guard and gave her a bit of a blank stare, which wouldn't be the last blank stare I give the Aussies. A few of them are incredibly hard to understand, but I'll get better.
We took a bus to Geelong, and I was amazed by how different the trees and plants are from home. Spindly Eucalyptus trees lined the highway, and I was driving on the opposite side of the road. This definitely was not Ohio anymore. I set up temporary housing on campus and went out to dinner with the other international students that got there that day. None of us had any time to sleep, so we were all very tired.
Over the next 2 days, I explored the city and quickly made friends with all of the students going to the Warrnambool campus that is about 2 hours from Geelong. They were all staying in the same college as myself, along with a few more that were only on campus temporarily. An English guy named Pete, a German named Peter, and an American named Ben all moved about 15 minutes away to Torquay to live permanently. Torquay is one of the best spots around for surfing and fishing.
After a few nights on campus in Geelong, we all packed a few things and went to Lorne. The school set us up in some great accomodation and fed us 2 meals each day we were there. I played some footy (Aussie Rules Football) and surfed. I have never gone surfing before, but I must say, I'm pretty amazing at it. I got up on my first try and even had the instructors telling me that it looked like I had done it before. I met a ton of people in Lorne and had a great time.
We left Lorne to go on a sight seeing trip on the great ocean road. We went to the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard, the Otways, and Gibson's Steps. I took some really great pictures that I will have to load up for you to see. (The internet here is really slow, so I won't get to upload all 466 photos, but I'll try to put on the best ones.)
After Lorne, I moved my things from the Deakin campus to Carlton Central. It is one of the older buildings in the city, so it's a little run down. I have a little room with a dresser, bed, desk, fridge, and sink. There are shared toilets and showers right across the hall from me. I like it here with the exception of the incredibly loud and annoying Indian kids that live on my floor. They will be moving out on Saturday, which is a very good thing.
I am going to go food shopping tomorrow morning, which I am pretty excited about. I've never done it before for myself, so it should be fun. I'm making a list of things to buy that I've thought of over the past few days.
I'll update again when I get the chance, but I will be pretty busy for the next few days. Melbourne on Saturday and the Surf Coast on Sunday. It should be a good time.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Cold Ohio
I've been getting acquainted with my new camera by taking pictures of things that I think might interest someone from Australia. Considering that Ohio is one of the most boring place on the face of the Earth, I don't have much to choose from.So, I decided that I would play on the fact that, as of now, Ohio is an inhospitable tundra. Australians are used to their sun, surf, and clear blue water. I took a few pictures to show them what less-than-perfect weather looks like. It hit -13°C the other night, while I was taking out the trash. (I have to start getting used to the metric system. It's 9°F.) It wouldn't be too bad, but the wind makes you feel it in your bones. If I could get a game of pond hockey together before I leave, I could take some really interesting pictures that I'm sure my new Aussie friends would enjoy.
Even though it is cold, it makes for some decently pretty landscapes. I want to go and take pictures of some more Ohio landscape to show that there is some beauty
here, just a different kind than theirs. The problem is, it's beginning to get harder to find an untouched piece of nature to photograph now that everything is getting some sort of housing or store built on it. Ohio originally belonged to Native Americans, like the Miamis, Wyandots, and Delawares, yet there is nothing that shows that they were ever even here. It would be nice to be able to take pictures of historic Ohio, but there is not much history to be seen near my house. The oldest thing we have here is Wal-mart.I'm starting the packing process now, and it's pretty daunting. I need to take so many things, but not over-pack. I also need to make sure I have all my important travel documents, like my passport. If I forgot anything like that, it would put a stop to my Australia trip very quickly.
I'll leave you with a few more pictures of cold Ohio.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Finishing Up
For the last few days, I've been finishing things up. As far as paperwork and flights and classes go, everything is set. Now I'm working on the more tangible things like buying travel items and getting everything together. Every new thing I buy makes me feel a little closer to finally going.
It still hasn't totally hit me yet, and I don't know if it will until I'm on the plane. The only time I really feel like I'm leaving is when I have to say goodbye to people that I know I won't see again for the next few months. I really hate saying bye to people, even if I'm not really even that close to. The people that I know provide me with a sense of familiarity that I know that I won't have when I'm on the other side of the world (at least for the first few weeks). I know that it is only a temporary goodbye, but I still hate doing it.
I promise that you can all expect more frequent updates as soon as I leave and my life gets a little more interesting. I can't wait to tell everyone about my trip.
It still hasn't totally hit me yet, and I don't know if it will until I'm on the plane. The only time I really feel like I'm leaving is when I have to say goodbye to people that I know I won't see again for the next few months. I really hate saying bye to people, even if I'm not really even that close to. The people that I know provide me with a sense of familiarity that I know that I won't have when I'm on the other side of the world (at least for the first few weeks). I know that it is only a temporary goodbye, but I still hate doing it.
I promise that you can all expect more frequent updates as soon as I leave and my life gets a little more interesting. I can't wait to tell everyone about my trip.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Update Much?
Alright, alright, I'll update. Without school, I seem to have forgotten how to make a deadline. It's been a while, so I've made a lot of progress. I am now booked for two flights on February 7th, one from Dayton to Dallas to San Francisco, and the second from San Francisco to Melbourne. I'll be in the air for a total of about 26 hours. I invested in an MP3 player and I am in the process of beefing up my music collection for the flight. Since I am going west I'll kind of be moving forward in time, so I'll get there on the 9th. The strangest will be the flight back, when I leave Melbourne at around noon, and get to Honolulu earlier than I left.
As for housing, I decided that I am going to stay at Carlton Central Accommodation. I couldn't really find anything else online, so it's better that I get a room now than be stuck without one when I get there. I have to stay for at least 4 weeks, but I can leave after that if I find something better. There are shared amenities, so it's cheap. The bottom floor of the building is a hotel for people visiting for a short period of time, and the top floor is strictly for student housing. When you get the room, you get a key card that allows you to use the elevator and open the door to the stairwell. I've been researching the area around the hotel, and it seems to be right in the city center. It is also right on the water. The beach isn't more than a 3 minute walk away, and there is a park on the nearby coast as well. I'll have to take a 15 minute bus ride to school everyday, so I'll probably be hanging out on campus a lot. There is also a hockey rink about 5 minutes away.
I am 15 days away from leaving, and it honestly hasn't hit me yet. I'm not nervous, but I am a little scared. The only thing I really think about is the fact that I'll have to buy and cook my own food. Other than that, living by myself doesn't scare me much yet. I'm more worried about not knowing what to do at the airport or losing something important while travelling. I know that about 2 days before I leave I'll start to get really jittery and nervous.
Sorry about the slow update, and I promise I'll keep up with it more, especially when I start my travels. I will also update my profile, because I see that I have quite a few views. Also, expect to see some pictures, now that I've bought a memory card for my new camera.
As for housing, I decided that I am going to stay at Carlton Central Accommodation. I couldn't really find anything else online, so it's better that I get a room now than be stuck without one when I get there. I have to stay for at least 4 weeks, but I can leave after that if I find something better. There are shared amenities, so it's cheap. The bottom floor of the building is a hotel for people visiting for a short period of time, and the top floor is strictly for student housing. When you get the room, you get a key card that allows you to use the elevator and open the door to the stairwell. I've been researching the area around the hotel, and it seems to be right in the city center. It is also right on the water. The beach isn't more than a 3 minute walk away, and there is a park on the nearby coast as well. I'll have to take a 15 minute bus ride to school everyday, so I'll probably be hanging out on campus a lot. There is also a hockey rink about 5 minutes away.
I am 15 days away from leaving, and it honestly hasn't hit me yet. I'm not nervous, but I am a little scared. The only thing I really think about is the fact that I'll have to buy and cook my own food. Other than that, living by myself doesn't scare me much yet. I'm more worried about not knowing what to do at the airport or losing something important while travelling. I know that about 2 days before I leave I'll start to get really jittery and nervous.
Sorry about the slow update, and I promise I'll keep up with it more, especially when I start my travels. I will also update my profile, because I see that I have quite a few views. Also, expect to see some pictures, now that I've bought a memory card for my new camera.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Winging It
I haven't written anything in here for a while, so I figured I'd give everyone an update. I am still working on both the plane ticket and housing, and I am also now working on the courses I'll take while I'm there.
Deakin is finally back in session and have contacted me. I have to choose which courses I'll want to take while I'm there. The thing is, I am a more complicated case than most of the people that go abroad. Although I am registered as a student at Wright State now, I'm not taking any classes there while I wait to leave (which is actually really nice). After I come home from Australia in July, I won't even have time to unpack before I leave for the University of Toledo to finish up my Civil Engineering degree (or start it really, so far it seems like I'm going for Bachelor of Gen Eds). So I have to talk to not only Deakin and Wright State, but possibly most importantly, the University of Toledo. Studying out of the country is already complex enough, but dealing with 3 different schools with different courses makes it ten times worse.
I received an email from an international advisor at Deakin, and she told me that I won't be able to get any on-campus housing. I will probably get an apartment, maybe find a roommate to split the cost with. She gave me the link http://www.carltoncentral.com/. I haven't looked at it too much yet, but it seems like any other college dorm, but it's just off campus. It's a single room and I would share a bathroom, lounge, and kitchen with other students. It is also cheaper than living in on-campus accomodation. I've never done anything like that before, so I guess it would be a new experience. I don't plan on staying there much anyways, just to sleep and study (not that I won't be studying). I am also considering the possibility of a host family. I would automatically know people that could show me around, and I'd really learn a lot about Aussie culture while I stayed with them. It would probably feel like home, too.
I realize now that I really have nothing to worry about as far as getting everything done goes. One of my friends asked me today if I was almost all ready to go. I have a lot of work to do and I know I'll get all the paperwork and packing done, but I don't think I'll ever really be ready for it. I don't know if anyone is ever completely ready for huge changes like this, but I think what we learn and how we deal makes us who we are. I'm just winging it, really.
Deakin is finally back in session and have contacted me. I have to choose which courses I'll want to take while I'm there. The thing is, I am a more complicated case than most of the people that go abroad. Although I am registered as a student at Wright State now, I'm not taking any classes there while I wait to leave (which is actually really nice). After I come home from Australia in July, I won't even have time to unpack before I leave for the University of Toledo to finish up my Civil Engineering degree (or start it really, so far it seems like I'm going for Bachelor of Gen Eds). So I have to talk to not only Deakin and Wright State, but possibly most importantly, the University of Toledo. Studying out of the country is already complex enough, but dealing with 3 different schools with different courses makes it ten times worse.
I received an email from an international advisor at Deakin, and she told me that I won't be able to get any on-campus housing. I will probably get an apartment, maybe find a roommate to split the cost with. She gave me the link http://www.carltoncentral.com/. I haven't looked at it too much yet, but it seems like any other college dorm, but it's just off campus. It's a single room and I would share a bathroom, lounge, and kitchen with other students. It is also cheaper than living in on-campus accomodation. I've never done anything like that before, so I guess it would be a new experience. I don't plan on staying there much anyways, just to sleep and study (not that I won't be studying). I am also considering the possibility of a host family. I would automatically know people that could show me around, and I'd really learn a lot about Aussie culture while I stayed with them. It would probably feel like home, too.
I realize now that I really have nothing to worry about as far as getting everything done goes. One of my friends asked me today if I was almost all ready to go. I have a lot of work to do and I know I'll get all the paperwork and packing done, but I don't think I'll ever really be ready for it. I don't know if anyone is ever completely ready for huge changes like this, but I think what we learn and how we deal makes us who we are. I'm just winging it, really.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Time to Freak Out Again
My two main concerns right now for Australia are housing and a plane ticket. News that I've learned in the past hour has sent me back into a dizzying panic.
One of the other students that I'm going to Australia with told me that she tried to get a plane ticket, and the travel agency, VSR Travel, is sold out on the dates of February 7th and 8th. This means I may not be able to get a flight from them, or a flight at all. Hopefully they still have them for the 4th-6th, or maybe even the 9th.
I thought I had finished everything that I could possibly do for housing, but I found that I missed the most important step. I needed to fill out a second online housing form that nobody told me about. This one asked for a reference and required a payment. I'm planning to have my manager at work fill it out, but it also has to be mailed to Deakin by January 11th. I asked someone at USAC if I could fax or email it in, so I could get it in on time.
After a few somewhat worry-free days, I find that I should have been worrying all along. That just makes me worry even more. I am going to need a nice long 5 month vacation at the beach after all this stuff has been figured out.
One of the other students that I'm going to Australia with told me that she tried to get a plane ticket, and the travel agency, VSR Travel, is sold out on the dates of February 7th and 8th. This means I may not be able to get a flight from them, or a flight at all. Hopefully they still have them for the 4th-6th, or maybe even the 9th.
I thought I had finished everything that I could possibly do for housing, but I found that I missed the most important step. I needed to fill out a second online housing form that nobody told me about. This one asked for a reference and required a payment. I'm planning to have my manager at work fill it out, but it also has to be mailed to Deakin by January 11th. I asked someone at USAC if I could fax or email it in, so I could get it in on time.
After a few somewhat worry-free days, I find that I should have been worrying all along. That just makes me worry even more. I am going to need a nice long 5 month vacation at the beach after all this stuff has been figured out.
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