Sep 2008

First of all, I'd like to point out that I'm writing this outside in the Geegal courtyard, at a picnic table, in the shade of the trees, and it's about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I just remembered why I came to Sydney...

I've been an Aussie uni student for eight weeks now and so far, I'm happy with my decision to study abroad here. Sydney life is much more relaxed than what I'm used to, so it's been a bit of an adjustment. In SF, I was used to balancing work, classes, interviews for journalism assignments, Alpha Phi, the occasional internship, family gatherings and outings with friends; here, I have only three classes, a once-a-week internship and no job (yet, hopefully), so the amount of free time I have has been a foreign concept. Still, I'm enjoying it!

The classes here are structured very differently compared to SF State. The humanities courses consist of two major assignments and a final paper, wrapping up at the end of October, while my business class has weekly assignments, a major paper, and a final exam in mid-November. It certainly puts a lot of pressure on the big assignments! My online journalism class is a bit different than I was expecting: it's pretty much centered around creating a blog site, crafting two well-researched blogs per week, and ending with a final 1,400 word feature story. It's been fascinating to learn about the medium and I've gained a whole new respect for it, and as a bonus, I've found that I reflect more deeply on my experiences when I write about them. What a concept.

My Aboriginal representation class has been very eye-opening, showing me a whole new side to Australian history that I probably wouldn't have been nearly as aware of had I not taken the class. The case studies we've read, movies we've watched, and class presentations we've listened to have made me realize how unfairly Indigenous Australians have been portrayed and how, even under current government regulations, their situation has not improved much. For my final paper, I'm thinking about writing about the Stolen Generation - the period during which white settlers kidnapped Aboriginal children from their families and set them up in Christian camps in order to "purify" the race and instill white values within them. (The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, publicly apologized to all Aboriginal families for this earlier this year.)

My international business class has been great, but I just spent a week writing a 3,200 word paper about importing water-saving bathroom technology into Japan from my hypothetical Australian company, citing the political risks and business opportunities available there, and creating a four-year financial forecast. It was fascinating to learn about Japan's water conservation policies and the country in general. Consider this passage from my paper: "Statistics in 2007 show that 91.5 percent of households are equipped with a flushing toilet, and 95.8 percent have a bath or shower. Toilets alone account for 28 percent of household water use, but by using a water-efficient toilet, a family of four can save the equivalent of a bathtub of water every two days, totaling approximately $115 per year." (I know you're intrigued.) Fascinating as it was, putting the paper together took forever and I'm more ready than ever for some solid beach time.

I'm officially on spring break for the next two weeks and am heading to Cairns on Monday for some Great Barrier Reef snorkeling and (careful) sunbathing, then we're working our way down the coast towards Brisbane/the Gold Coast, Byron Bay, and back down to Sydney. Bonnie and I have booked some places to stay, researched the sightseeing opportunities available, and just need to throw our bikinis and sunscreen in our suitcases and hit the road!

You know me - I'll bring back stories.

Wow, haven't written anything for a while - sorry about that! No wonder this feels a little ancient...

It's finally spring in Australia and that means two important things: WARM SUN (so far we've been lucky) and...SPRING BREAK!! I know I know, most American universities are gearing up for the start of the fall semester and I'm already planning my break. Suckers. Anyway, I have two weeks off in late Sept/early Oct for break, so after throwing around ideas and looking at lots of student trip packages, I decided I wanted to spend my break traveling the eastern coast and especially hit up the Great Barrier Reef. Bonnie was thinking the same thing, so last week we finally sat down with our computers and booked a flight to Cairns, then bought a Greyhound bus pass from Cairns to Sydney. Basically, we're going to fly to Cairns early on in the break, spend a few days there, then bus it down to Airlie Beach (two hours south; a gorgeous area and the central place for people to access the reef) to stay with Paul in the BEACH HOUSE he rented for the week. We'll have the whole first week to snorkel around the reef, chill on the beach, sail around the Whitsundays (74 breathtaking islands near the reef), and enjoy the nightlife. I may never leave.

We have the beach house until the 27th (Saturday), so when Paul heads back to Sydney, Bonnie and I will board the bus and head down the coast. There are 15 stops between Airlie Beach and Sydney, but we're thinking about stopping to check out Noosa (ritzy resorts and nice beaches), Hervey Bay/Fraser's Island (biggest sand island in the world!), Brisbane/the Gold Coast and Surfer's Paradise (a guy I met in SF last semester actually lives there and he's been giving us ideas on where to go), then down to Byron Bay (great surfing), possibly hit some other surf spots, then on to Sydney! We're being pretty spontaneous about this trip, but I think that'll make it all the more memorable. Gear up for the stories and photo albums to follow (I'm considering setting up a Flickr account or something.)

In early August, I purchased a concert ticket to Homebake, a music festival featuring Australian artists (The Vines, Sneaky Sound System, Crowded House, The Potbelleez, etc.) that's held at The Domain (a big field near the Royal Botanical Gardens) in December. The fact that I even got a ticket was amazing: the concert sold out in a record-breaking TEN MINUTES. Since then, I've been raiding my friends' computers for local music. Awa knows a lot about the Aussie music scene and Paul's been brushing up on his knowledge as well, so between them I've learned a lot about the Homebake artists and about other festivals coming this summer (soooo excited!) My friend James hooked me up with a ton of albums and random singles he thought I'd like last week, and Matt's collection gave me even more Aussie tunes (Faker, The Wombats) with a few English and American artists (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Strokes) thrown in as well. Let's just say I'm getting a musical education here.

Last weekend, Geegal hosted the inFusion festival, where several students prepared dishes from their native countries, participated in a cook-off and a photo competition, danced, sang, etc. It was cool to see so many nations represented and try all their food, most of which was delicious. I didn't contribute anything American (what would I have brought, hot dogs and hamburgers? Haha), but I did help my friend Dylan prepare his appetizer (essentially white bread with cream cheese, bacon and a girkin - sounds weird, but it's actually not bad) and I tasted his cook-off entry: kangaroo meat pie (very tasty; he received an Honorable Mention). Janett, Kevin and I decided to walk off our huge lunch afterwards, so we headed up to Victoria Park and walked around the University of Sydney. This place looks like an American ivy league university, or a spread-out version of Hogwarts - either way, it's absolutely beautiful. That night, we celebrated Matt and Anja's 20th birthdays with a big party in Geegal before heading out to a club/bar called Jackson's on George St. It was fun to get dressed up and party with so many of my friends in one place, but man were we tired the next day!

This past weekend was pretty epic: on Friday, Bonnie and I ventured out to Bondi Beach for Artie's birthday party (Artie is a fellow SF State student who lives in a sweet house five minutes from the beach - with seven flatmates.) It was a costume party, so we went as retro/70s girls, which basically consisted of Bonnie wearing red American Apparel pants, a leather jacket and a scarf wrapped around her head, and me wearing a flowy yellow hippie-ish dress with boots and a couple bright scarves. No one believed we had dressed up at all, but it was still a lot of fun. I was able to meet tons of new people and score an invite to a Bondi BBQ - yes!

On Saturday, Bonnie, Artie and I went to Biennale, a free contemporary art festival on Cockatoo Island (which reminded me a lot of Alcatraz - probably because it used to be a prison.) There were chalk portraits, films, papier-mache looking sea creatures suspended from the ceiling (god I'm deep...) and this one display that featured a bunch of boat sails draped around the room (we spent a long time in that room). Some of the art was really strange and accompanied by creepy music, but we had a blast walking through the galleries and taking our own "artsy" photos of each other. I encourage you to check out the website: http://www.bos2008.com/app/biennale

I've also had class, but there's nothing worth mentioning about that. We're still blogging in Online Journalism, discussing Aboriginal representation in movies and literature (actually, that's pretty interesting to talk about, but not in class), and I'm gaining a better understanding about international business (despite the fact that I had to call my dad to help me with a homework assignment last week!) My professors are decent, but everything's just so darn laid back! I have three big assignments in each class (little weekly ones in business) and THAT'S IT. I'm not used to having so much free time...

For the most part, I'm adjusting to the "no worries" lifestyle. I admit, it gets frustrating when I can't find a store that sells q-tips (a random challenge) or don't know how to recharge my phone with more minutes, but in the end I realize it's all a learning experience. I know I can get through all the necessary adjustments and learn to live here comfortably.

Even though I'm older than a lot of my friends in Geegal (some are in their early 20s, but a lot are 19-20), I feel WAY younger in terms of cultural experience. I have friends who have traveled or studied abroad (as high school students) all over Europe, Asia, Africa, and friends who speak multiple languages fluently. It makes me realize how sheltered I've felt living in the US, where I haven't even visited three quarters of the states and haven't been in many situations where I've needed to speak in anything but English. Granted, it's much easier in Europe to hop from country to country, but I still wish I had a few more stamps in my passport. In due time!