1st Week of Classes? More like 2 days of class and a 5 day weekend! That's right-- My lectures & tutorials lined up perfectly so I only have class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which leaves lots of time for travelling & exploring! ...oh right. And studying I guess. ;)
So basically I had an open semester at Concordia and that's why I was able to fit this adventure into my schedule. The 3 classes I'm taking here are Australian Popular Culture (a class about culture throughout Australian history), Adventure Tourism (about the tourism industry with a few special field trips included!), & Wine Studies (yes, you read that right. BUT the class teaches about the history of Australia's wine industry & the making of wines with a little tasting thrown in... And I apparently the class is H.A.R.D. so I definitely won't be slacking!) The first week of classes went well! The professors here remind me of the ones I have back home. They're very personable and genuinely want us to do well in their classes. I'll be taking one lecture and one tutorial for each class, which means one large group lecture for two to three hours, then one smaller group discussion for another hour or two depending on the class. The classes may be only two days a week, but they'll definitely take a lot of work to keep up on!
Aside from classes, I'm looking forward to all of the adventures I'm yet to have! Mission work isn't a huge thing in Australia, but I'm actively searching for opportunities to get involved. I'm very excited to meet up with Chris, the DCE in Brisbane, and see what he has to say. So far I've been on a few little adventures while we're planning out the bigger trips. A few of the girls and I took a day trip to Broadbeach which is a short bus ride from campus. We played in the waves and laid in the sun, then explored the city a little! It began to rain so we had to catch a bus back to campus where we got ready for a night of trivia at my favorite little restaurant in the Marketplace, The Hub. We didn't do very well at trivia because the questions were all about comics, but we had a GREAT time anyways! This Wednesday will be a different category so hopefully we'll check it out again.
The other day I went with my roommate Kiersten and our friend Meg back to the Robina Town Center (a HUGE mall where we've been times and gotten lost and absolutely cannot stand because it's so confusing) to do some shopping. Let me tell you- people in Australia dress. up. They wear dresses and skirts to class and even to places like pizza hut! We had to get a few things for themed events on campus and clothes to wear on the weekends, because I certainly didn't pack for fancy city life!
Today I went with the CISabroad crew & our fearless leader Kieth to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. I got to hold a koala, lounge with kangaroos, see a crocodile show, and chase an emu! Australia is GORGEOUS and the animals are some of the most interesting (and scary) I've ever seen. The boa constrictors and pythons are huuuuuuge!! However, the koalas and kangaroos were super cuddly and fun. We also saw an Aboriginal dance show before the bus picked us up-- Keith even went down front to bust a move! Today was definitely a fun day. I can't wait to see what this week of classes will bring!
Oh and before I go, I have a new Australian phone number! If you've tried to text/call my old number and I haven't responded, I promise I'm not ignoring you. You can still reach me by email, facebook message, or my new number +61410610975.
Cheers :)
I'm so happy you're having a good trip! Keep up the blogs and the pictures. They are fun to read and look at. Have you found it at all challenging to understand the locals or is the accent not too bad? I remember when I went to London, many of them were hard to follow although I usually was able to keep up with the conversation. Not to mention most of my interaction with locals was on walks where they basically just lectured us.
ReplyDeleteLove you, Aunt Chelle =)
p.s. The Huskers are struggling without you!
My adventure tourism professor is actually pretty hard to understand.. He is from Australia but lived in Scotland for 14 years and travelled Europe as well so his accent is kind of a mix of them all! Other than that I can understand most things as long as people don't talk too fast. ;)
DeleteOh my goodness I miss the Huskers so much! I can't live stream the games but hopefully I'll be able to start listening to them. Otherwise dad just has to text me updates. :)
Love you bunches! Tell Jim I say hello! <3