Sydney & O-Week

Good day, mates! I’m working on my Aussie lingo... it's harder than I thought to pick up on!

 

While it's nighttime back home, it's just getting to be the afternoon here on the Gold Coast. The time difference has me all sorts of confused-- though after a week I think I'm finally over the jet lag. It's been so hard to find time to write a post. I'm hoping I can remember everything that's happened so far! I thought this post could kind of be an update on what I've been up to and whatever other random thoughts are in my head. :)

 

So a week ago I was on my 14 hour flight to Sydney, which was KILLER on my legs. I'm definitely not looking forward to that flight home in December (unless I get lucky and get upgraded to first-class!) Get this-- on every single one of my flights, I sat next to people who hardly spoke any English. I was hoping maybe I'd sit by some people from my program, but no. I couldn't understand anyone! I watched 3 movies, a whole season of Big Bang Theory, and passed out for a couple hours from my extra drowsy dramamine though, so it wasn't completely awful. 

 

THANK THE LORD I MADE ALL MY CONNECTIONS!! Sure I looked kind of foolish sprinting through LAX, but at least I didn't get left behind! Once I arrived in Sydney after 20 hours of travelling, I had to go through customs and immigration. I stood in the line to scan my passport and take my photo for a solid 15 minutes, finally signed in, and when the cameras took my photo they said I didn't look like my passport. I didn't know what to do, so I decided to try again. After another 10 or so minutes, a girl in front of me (Shout-out to Amelia from Virginia!!) didn't get through either, so I just followed her through to the line to get help from airport personnel. We stood in the line chatting for another half hour till we were finally able to make our way to the baggage claim. Poor Amelia got quarantined though because she was in Ecuador before coming to Australia. But anyways, I waited for about 35 minutes and my bag never came around the carousel because someone had taken it off and put it on the ground. After about 3 hours of trying to make it through customs I finally got together with some people from my group for orientation! 

 

We spent 3 days in Sydney doing various things as a group: A scavenger hunt through the city, a walk on the Sydney harbor bridge, exploring the cliffs at Bondi beach, kayaking in the ocean near Manly beach, and a farewell celebration at the Argyle. I've never wanted to take a nap so badly in my entire life! Thank goodness for caffeine. Along with the group activities we were given free time to explore the city. On our second night I grabbed dinner with 4 other people from CIS and then we wandered around down by the harbor, admiring the Opera House up close. Sydney's beauty definitely did not disappoint! At the CIS farewell dinner we danced the night away and had a BLAST! I'm so thankful to have spent time with this group of people.

By the time Monday came around, however, I was ready to just be at Bond and get settled in. We had been living out of our suitcases in a hostile and were all ready to unpack and explore our home for the next 4 months. We flew out on several different flights, and arrived at the Gold Coast in style. We walked out of the airplane straight onto the landing strip... it was like something you see in movies--Beautiful weather, palm trees everywhere, and the sun shining down! We collected our bags and eventually caught a shuttle to Bond-- and let me tell you, I've never seen such a beautiful campus. We have outdoor offices, balconies, a lake in the middle of campus with steps all around it, bridges, huge archways, green grassy picnic areas, and sky-walks. Did I mention the olympic-sized pool, free workout classes, coffee shops, and Don's Tavern on campus? And the marketplace with cute shops and restaurants a 3 minute walk away? It should be a pretty fun semester. :)

 

Currently it's Thursday afternoon, and we've almost made it through O-Week. As an official Bond student, I've gotten an ID card and my room keys, but settling in and getting used to the way things work here is a little difficult. It doesn't quite feel like home yet... maybe once classes start on Tuesday (did I mention I have 5 day weekends?! Class only on Tuesday and Wednesday... Wow.) I will start to adjust. So far I've met some pretty cool people from all over the world! I've met tons of US students, a boy from Taiwan, one from Norway, another from Africa, and a few from Australia! If orientation week is an indicator for the way the rest of the school year goes, I think I'm going to have some pretty cool friends. :)

 

Some of the weirdest things so far are the social norms. I've learned that bathrooms are called "toilets" or "the dunny," french fries are "hot chips" and ketchup is "tomahhhhto sauce"(yeah not tomAYto... tomAHto.) When an Aussie says, "Yeah, no" it means no, and when they say "Nah, yes" it means yes. Aussies say "no worries" even in situations when we should be worried, and they ask how we are "going" not how we are doing. Dorm rooms are called "accommodations," and if you want to meet someone for lunch at 1 in the afternoon, it's 1 in the "arvo." You're not supposed to tip servers or bartenders, and it's completely normal to go anywhere without shoes on (or a shirt for that matter.) Hopefully I can get used to this new way of life! 

 

The thing I'm most excited for this semester is the travelling. I have plans to visit Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand, Bali, and Fiji... Hopefully I can fit some studying in there too. ;) 

 

For now I'll post the pictures I've taken during orientation-- Can't wait to keep you updated on the Adventure! 

 

Cheers!