A bit of home on the other side of the world

Well, it has essentially been a week since I last posted. I apologize for this- much has happened and I have been very busy. I had my first week of classes this past week, and I actually really enjoy everything that I am taking. I have a really good timetable as well, leaving me with Mondays, Fridays, and much of Tuesday off, making it very easy for me to go on weekend excursions. One of my subjects, "Migrants, Refugees, and Modern Australian Society" (which I'm taking instead of Exploring Central Australia due to the fact it conflicted with Silverchair) is very reminiscent of subject matter I had with Lazda, and the lecturer is also very Lazda-esque in her mannerisms. It's really nice just to have a sense of purpose again. Prior to this week it felt as though I was on some extended vacation with people who were actually doing things. Despite the fact I will actually have to do some work now, it will help me figure out some sort of schedule, meaning I won't be as inclined to sleep, wander, spend money, etc in the way I had been doing before.

In addition to the "Migrants" class, I am taking the previously mentioned subjects. Conall's dad is pretty brilliant and actually reminds me quite a bit of Tratner. It should be an interesting class, and hopefully I can switch into his tutorial without any problem.

I continue to find the comparisons between Melbourne Uni and Bryn Mawr somewhat astonishing. During my first free Friday, I decided to wander around Melbourne and take some pictures. (And buy books! It's so nice to have books again!) I spoke with my mom on Friday and she was keen to see what my life was like. So, without further ado, here is a large set of pictures displaying not only what I see on a daily basis, but also some striking similarities to what I left at home.

This is the side of Old Arts, where I have a few classes and is in the center of campus. Next to Old Arts is Old Quad, which bears a striking resemblance to the Cloisters. Here are some pictures:

Here is another picture of this set of buildings, as well as a picture of South Lawn, where many students congregate and have lunch, and also a picture of the Student Union building.

The architecture around Melbourne in general is really interesting, since it's got a lot of very classic buildings and then a lot of very modern ones. Melbourne Uni has both, and somehow it works. But as you can see, I like to spend most of my time in the buildings that have the "Bryn Mawr" feel.

I also decided on my walk to take pictures of a few of the residential colleges. Janet Clarke Hall, Ormond College, and Queens are probably the prettiest. Queens still looks remarkably like the Pems. Here are a few pictures:

<-- Janet Clarke Hall

The top of Ormond

(looks a bit like Taylor Hall) --->

Queens College

(see it has an arch with poles and everything!)

Sadly, I did not luck out in terms of getting assigned to the "pretty" residential college, but the donut has its charms. Thursday night we had our first CRD which was to dress up as something that started with the first letter of our first name. I of course had to break out my spandex silver leotard and go as an alien. I may or may not put up pictures from that later, but for now, here are a few pictures of what I see on the way to and from Uni everyday, concluding with what I now call home.

Oh, and just because this really freaks me out, here is a picture from the center of the city, that looks remarkably like center city Philadelphia -->

Greased Lightening

So things have DRASTICALLY improved since last time I wrote. I went out with the Whitley crew on Wednesday after the Bush Dance and afterwards bonded with a good number of them. I actually have friends now, which is nice, and have recently joined in the chorus for their production of Grease. There is something really hilarious about Australians putting on a show about 1950s suburban America. They even include singing "American style" in their vocal warm-ups, which basically equates to a really badly exaggerated southern accent.

Speaking of misconceptions and misinterpretations, I've found it very interesting that Australians have a really hard time pronouncing "Ada" as ODD-A. They have a much easier time saying Adrianna correctly, which is basically the reverse of what it's like in the States. So several of them have opted to call me "ABomb," which is actually one of the better nicknames I've had in my life.

So, basically after a week of trying to figure out my classes, getting ridiculously sick, and being lonely and awkward, I have settled in to Whitley, decorated my room some, joined a musical, killed the common cold with mass amounts of alcohol, and have gone running and exploring all over the city.

Tonight is "Piss in the Pond" which is the one day of the year when Whitley residents are allowed to drink outside of their rooms in the Donut. In preparation, I went today to Victoria Market to buy some cheap wine and ended up buying the best donuts I have ever had in my entire life. Victoria Market has ridiculously cheap produce, meat, cheese, etc. I now know exactly where I am going to get supplies for my wine and cheese party. While I was at the market I ran into a couple people who did Melbourne Welcome with me, which reminds me of the fact that I am not entirely alone in this city. It seems as though everywhere I go I see someone I've met, either randomly or through the Welcome program. The city is very navigatable, so it's really not a surprise that I see them, but it's still nice.

Things are getting a bit more lively in Whitley due to the fact everyone is coming back to night. I may go check what's happening then, but I'll update soon after I begin my first week at Uni!

The Best Kangaroo

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I moved out of Queens College (leaving behind all of my newly found Melbourne Welcome friends) and into Whitley, where I have now settled for the duration of the semester. Whitley College is affectionately known as the donut due to the fact that the entirety of the college is encompassed in an ugly, round brick building with a palm-tree filled courtyard. Needless to say, it's no Bryn Mawr, but it will serve as home for the next few months. It's pretty quiet now because not everyone is back for the semester yet, but hopefully once they all arrive I will be able to adjust better to living here. It is thankfully not dry and there is no curfew, two rules that I had read about and had initially feared would be true. The people are nice, just very involved in their own activities, and the few Americans here all became friends through another program, leaving me pretty much on my own.

Luckily, I have made a couple very good friends in the very close, next door International House. Sophie, Katie, Todd, Lisa, and Nick have all been wonderful, especially Sophie who has listened to my mid-day crisis for the entire week. It has been really nice to see them, and when I'm with them I don't feel quite so alone. The other day we went to see Harry Potter, which made me REALLY nostalgic for Bryn Mawr (and home), but it was just really nice to spend a day with the girls.

Today I attempted to register for my subjects, which went all kinds of wrong. Hopefully, if my one class gets approved tomorrow, I should be taking Australia and America, Art/Pornography/Blasphemy (etc) in Literature, Social Theory and Psychoanalysis with C. Cash's pop, and Exploring Central Australia, which, if all works out, will serve both as a history credit and a field trip to the middle of Australia.

Travel is another thing I'm starting to work out. I am currently scheduled to go to Phillip Island, the Great Ocean Road, and Baw Baw National Park. I will hopefully be able to stay with Rafal in Sydney and hike up to Cairnes and the Great Barrier Reef after the semester. I also really want to go to New Zealand during my spring break, except I've realized that Silverchair is playing on the Tuesday of that week, making it difficult for me to plan a longer trip. I may do some sort of six day tour, but I'm not quite sure yet. If I can pull that all off, that will mainly leave Western Australia unexplored, which wouldn't be too bad.

This evening Sophie and I attended a "Bush Dance" run by one of the overseas student organizations. It was a RIDICULOUS amount of fun, because it was really corny and I had no shame. I played the didgeridoo, cracked the whip, and was selected as the Best Kangaroo during the bush dancing. I have decided that I want to hire the band to play for my 21st and have them teach all of my friends how to do Australian country dancing and basically have an Australian/American hoe-down. I'm pretty excited. Here is a picture of me in the Ned Kelly helmet cracking the whip:

Sleep Deprevation and Dehydration

I think my body is finally starting to hate me. My schedule has been packed since I've been at Queens, and I don't know if I remember what it feels like to be well rested anymore. Since last time I wrote I have met heaps more people and have gone on several trips in and around the city. Thursday we went to Eureka tower, which is the highest building in Melbourne, and had a fantastic view of the city. I found where the Rod Laver arena is- which is a good thing since I'll be there in a few months for Silverchair. Here is a photo of the tower and some of the views of the city:

As you can see, it's really quite lovely here. The weather is cool but refreshingly so, and, although it is true that you experience four seasons in a day, for the most part it is pretty dry too.

Later on we had a formal dinner and went out to more pubs. I think I may officially be pubbed out at this point, but we'll see what happens.

Friday we woke up EARLY and were taken to the Healesville animal sanctuary where we saw all kinds of Australian wildlife. It was a pretty grey day, but we had an amazing time. Here is me petting a kangaroo:

Following the animals we went to a winery, where I did Dad proud by buying four bottles of really nice wine. I'm hoping to find a way to ship a few bottles home once I get settled. Friday night was also our Scribble Crawl, which mainly consisted of us bar hopping in white tshirts and drawing all over each other. I met a couple of really nice French guys who bought me drinks and complimented me on my French. I would really like to hang out with them again and hope that the opportunity will prevent itself in the not too distant future.

Saturday was FOOTY DAY. Considering I've never been one for sports games, I was not that excited about spending the entire day in an arena with sports fans. But let me say that Footy is by far the most exciting and entertaining spectator sport I have ever seen. There is punching and tackling and hearts being ripped out. It is violent and fun. The arena was right across from the Rod Laver too, so I have an idea of how I'm going to get there in September. There were 85,500 people at the game- all of whom were chanting, screaming, and huddling in support of their respective team against the cold. Here is a picture:

Last night we went out to dinner and a finally pub for goodbyes. I have had an amazing time so far thanks to the program, and although it's sad that I'm about to lose all of the friends I just made to a number of living accomodations, it's nice to know that I am not as socially awkward as I feared. There are definitely certain people I will be seeing more of in the next few months, but I am definitely ready to separate myself from the large mass of Americans and other international students and get into the swing of being a student in Australia. I will write more once I settle into Whitley, since I'm sure my adventures are only beginning.

Pub Central

So I figured I'd do some sort of a brief update of what has been happening since I've been here. I arrived in Australia on Monday, July 9th and was checked into the Miami Hotel in the northern part of the city. I met a few girls there, Mallory, Amy, and Stephanie, and the four of us decided to bunk together so that it was cheaper. Along the way we met Kelly, who is the epitome of the all-American girl (but she's such a sweetheart it's ridiculous), and since then the five of us have become something of a group and rather close considering how short of a time it has been. We have become footy fans, namely rooting for the Magpies and are looking forward to seeing them live on Saturday!! We also hung out with a couple of guys from New Zealand, mainly Mani, Caleb, Jason, and Lee at the hotel. Mani has the hots for me and has been persistently trying to contact me since I've been here. It's actually rather annoying now.
After our first two days of shopping, pubbing, exploring, more pubbing, etc, we arrived at the University, and are now staying at Queens College. It looks so much like the Pems and Bryn Mawr- I am going to miss being at home so much when fall semester starts there. I have met heaps more interesting people, one of my favorites being Justin who is a senior at Gettysburg. He is the sweetest guy and a big dork which makes him 100 times better in my book.
The welcome has been good so far- although the food is not as good as it was when we were going out to restaurants. I had the most amazing hot chocolate on Tuesday that my expectations for everything are very high.
I met up with Conall yesterday on main campus, and it was surprisingly nice to see a familiar face, even if it was Conall Cash. He gave Mallory and I an unofficial tour of main campus. Later last night the program took us out to yet another pub, leaving me moderately tired and hung over today.

I will attempt to upload some photos later, but for now that is a (brief) overview of what has been happening. I miss you guys.

This entry is a few days old due to lack of internet access- but here we are! The start of the blog begins now!


July 7, 07

Welcome to my official travel blog dedicated to the duration of my stay in Australial! It would be divine if I could post this on the web right now, but sadly I am in LAX with no internet and five hours or so to kill. It’s somewhat surreal that I am finally going to Australia. Considering I have wanted to go since I was about thirteen, it is definitely a big deal that it is actually happening. My stomach has been bothering me all day (hopefully not from my Indian feast at Coriander last night). I should probably eat something, but I’m afraid of getting sick on the plane, so I’m going to wait awhile. It is only six after all, and my flight leaves at 11:40. I really hope that I’ll be able to sleep and not have to spend the fifteen-something hours trying to entertain myself as my entire concept of time is altered.
I am a little bit anxious about studying at Melbourne, in particular with my living accommodations. Until about four days ago, it was pretty uncertain as to where I was going to live. Now I have been assigned to live in Whitley College, a residential college about ten minutes from the main campus. It will be somewhat equivalent to living in Brecon, except without the hill (I hope). Whitley is Baptist affiliated, meaning, most significantly, that it is a dry campus. We’ll see how “dry” it is when I get there, but it will certain put a damper on my wine and cheese parties if it is enforced. I am also a little concerned about something I read saying that the buildings are locked at 11 every night. If that is the case, I may invest in a portable tent, because I will be sleeping outside a lot. Hopefully everything will be okay and I am just worrying about nothing.
It’s curious how popular I became the last week I was home. After a summer of working two jobs, a wedding road trip, and very little contact/ “fun” with my friends, the last week before my departure was filled with Fourth of July madness, a shore trip, numerous phone calls, an invitation to a concert, and a kidnapping. Tom, Paul, and Kevin made my departure very difficult by giving me a fantastic going away “party” involving Laurel Lanes, the Cherry Hill diner, and Wii golf. I am awesome at Wii golf, but terrible at bowling. It made me realize that while I outwardly loathe Cinnaminson and most of South Jersey, I will actually miss being home and seeing the few friends I have there. Hopefully they will follow through with their plans to come visit me for my birthday.
I’m going to miss my sister a ton too. She is consistently my saving grace and my closest friend, and not being able to randomly get lost in Deptford or watch the movie classic “Pizza” is going to be hard. Alicia! I just remembered you never gave me back “Science of Sleep,” which makes me realize I forgot to pack my DVDs entirely. I guess you guys will just have to ship them to me (please?). And American Gods too, please.
Anyway, I’m thinking I might have food, or read, or watch “Heroes.” I will write again upon my arrival, or possibly sooner if I get really bored on the airplane. I am really excited for what the next five months have in store for me, and will update regularly with pictures and stories from down under. See you all in December!