Scando parties and zoo fun!

So after staying up til 4am on Saturday morning to register for classes I slept until brunch. Normally I don't like sleeping in here, but I figured I deserved at least 6 hours of sleep. I went down to get some food and then worked on homework for the next five hours. Jolly leaves to stay with friends in the city every weekend and Dana was out with friends doing karaoke in Chinatown so I had the room to myself. I was actually productive and got my second case study written... two down, two more to go. I finally got out of my pjs at 5pm to go down for dinner. It was a lazy, but productive day. I decided to treat myself to a night out with the girls.

I cleaned up and had some wine before heading into the city. There was a Scando party at Side Bar. I didn't really know what to expect, but the Swedes were pretty excited about it. We took the 10:15 ferry and caught a taxi to the bar. It was a great night! The bartenders had viking helmets on and Swedish or Norwegian flags painted on their faces. There were people with flags and jerseys, and others dressed in blue/yellow or red/blue. We didn't wear any special attire but it was fun anyway. Every now and then the DJ would play a popular Swedish song and you could definitely tell who was actually Swedish because they were the only ones who knew the words. Also, the DJ was my marketing professor... that was kind of weird. We took a break from dancing and some guy told me I looked European. I was surrounded by blonde Swedes, but am pretty sure I look about as American as you can. When 2:30 rolled around we called it quits and got a taxi back to Manly.

Ellinor, Helena, Melissa, and I before we went out. I got to wear my new dress and Dana straightened my hair for me:) Too bad it didn't last long... it was misting outside.

Notice the Scandinavian decor

I woke up at 8:30 Sunday morning to go to the zoo with Brittany and Candace. I've had several people tell me Taronga Zoo is well worth the trip, and after going, I'd agree. The zoo is huge! Much bigger than Como Zoo which is the only zoo I've been to in the past five years. To my utter disappointment, it was penguin breeding season so they were not in their normal showcase habitat. I did catch a glimpse of them from far away, and also through a little underwater glass viewing spot swimming around. I love penguins. I had to settle for entertainment from the gorillas. They were really funny to watch.

The gorillas I watched for about 20 minutes

The real koalas were sleeping, so I settled for this guy

Side note: they have bandicoots in the zoo here. It'd be the equivalent of having a racoon in a zoo back home. While endangered, they're still just nocturnal rodents. I thought it was kind of odd. We walked through the entire park and then headed back to the city for Pancakes on the Rocks before catching the ferry home. I realized how much time I spend on boats here... with all the ferry travel on Sunday it was 1 1/2 hours. I spent the night relaxing and watching the Office with Deb.

After the heaps of food I ate on Sunday, I felt the need to get some exercise. This morning I woke up at 8am to go to the gym with Deb and Chelsey before starting on homework for the day. I'm ready to hand in two reports to McRae tomorrow morning that are worth 80% of my final grade. Little scary, but its nice to be done. I also found out that I got 25/30 on the midterm I thought I failed!! Its not a great score, but much better than I was anticipating. Nothing too exciting going on this week just more case study and group work for classes. Friday night they are having a karaoke night at the school bar (which I thought was closed? maybe they just won't serve alcohol?) and Saturday we are going out for Deb's birthday.

The weekend was a little chilly and it looks like it'll be overcast and raining most of the week. It would be nice to finish up all of my final reports ahead of time so I can spend a full two weeks preparing for finals at the beach. We'll see if that happens or not.

Hope all is well back home:) Have a great week!!

Another week flies by

Once again its Friday and I don't know where the week has gone. Since Tuesday I've managed to spend a few hours at the beach, write one of my final papers, give a presentation, and go to all of my classes. Its nice to be able to cross a few things off my laundry list of assignments due in the next three weeks. I keep telling myself that I'll do more homework, but somehow I always end up talking to people from back home or hanging out with people here. Maybe this weekend I'll find some motivation. I have plans to go to the zoo on Sunday... that won't help much.

I just finished registering for classes back home. It really hit me that I've been gone for more than two months already. I have a lot to look forward to in my last month here, but the time is going quick. People keep mentioning flight dates home and planning reunion trips. I have to realistically start job hunting and hopefully find a job or two before I actually get home. These things are not much fun to think about.

Something that IS fun to think about is my sister being accepted to the U of M:) I'm so excited to have her join me in Minneapolis next year. Other fun things include the package of Halloween candy I got from my Mom today. It was really exciting to get an email that I had a package, even though I knew it was coming.

Sending warmth from Australia... I know Minnesota could use some right now. Hope you all have a great weekend:)

Today I learned...

Australian's don't know what rootbeer floats are... the concept of rootbeer itself is foreign.

Veterans Day is called Remembrance Day here. Also, I was told the only thing that happens in America on Veterans Day is mattress sales.

Everyone here assumes and expects to work overseas at some point. Actually work overseas and not just travel to do business overseas. A lot of people do "gap year" just to live in a different country and work to sustain themselves. Sounds kinda fun... maybe after I graduate?

Being overseas is a bonding experience, no matter where in the world you are. Thanks Heejin:)

Every time I say I miss food (example: lasagna) we have it for lunch the next day, it doesn't taste good, and makes me miss it even more. Australian's spell it "lasagne"...weird.

PepsiMax might just taste better than Diet Coke.

I guess its true, you learn something new every day! So its not my normal ramblings, but that might be a relief for you all at this point. Have a good day:)

PS--I walked from Spit Bridge to Manly today. It was a good 4 hour excursion with my classmate Kah Mun. There are pictures on my Flickr site.

Australia is becoming normal

My friend Danielle came to Manly on Friday with her friends from Bond University at Gold Coast. We walked from the wharf where their ferry came in, through the shops on the Corso, and to the beach. They had been told by people in the city that it was worth seeing... and I guess they were impressed. I showed them my castle on top of the hill and their reaction, like many others, was "Its just like Hogwarts!" Yes, ICMS does look a little bit like Harry Potter-ish. We talked a bit more before they caught the ferry back to the city. I proceeded to lay out on Manly Beach, as usual. When I was walking back through the Corso and up the hill to school I got really annoyed with the tourists standing about in my way. I shouldn't have been annoyed, it's not their fault they have no idea where to go. Not that there are many places to get lost here. I realized I've gotten used to living here. Not that I'm taking it for granted, but I think the transition back home might be a little more difficult than my adjustment to living here.

Things I don't think twice about:

-Greeting people with a hug and/or kiss on the cheek
-Being able to get into bars/clubs
-Being able to walk to two beaches within 5 minutes
-Living in a world class city
-Guys wearing speedos, mostly old men
-Women tanning topless
-Taking ferries instead of buses
-Having palm trees, cockatoos, lizards, and bandicoots everywhere
-Walking along the beach every night watching surfers
-Not tipping (anywhere)
-Going to Coles instead of Rainbow
-Waking up at 7 am
-Drinking at least two bottles of water a day, rarely drinking soda
-Listening to Chinese and having no idea what it means
-Listening to digeridoos (Aboriginal music)

Ok so those are just a few random things... I'm sure there are more. I haven't picked up on much of the Aussie slang since there aren't that many Aussies at school. A few words/phrases that I do use quite a bit: "No worries" and "heaps" once I also used "reakon" that one even caught me by surprise.

Lately I've had people ask me if I'm coming home. Australia is great... I'd definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation or fun place to study abroad. It's made me appreciate a few things back home that I look forward to upon my return, such as:
-US academic system and organization
-Using the letter z
-Having a campus to walk around and a city to live in
-Beef
-Lasagna and Mexican food
-Living space (besides a bedroom)
-Being able to call people up without worrying about a 17 hour time difference
-Having pedestrian rights
-Being busy (working/student groups/coffee dates)
-Having access to various websites (Hulu, pandora, etc)

I was talking to people back in Minnesota where it was 20 degrees and snowing. Seems kind of unreal...I'm looking out my window and its currently 76 degrees, sunny, with a calm wind. I think I stay in contact with more people now that I'm overseas than I did back home. It's different than physically being there, but even people from high school or others living outside of Minneapolis that I normally didn't see or talk to on a regular basis. It's been nice. For those of you that I haven't been contacting, feel free to send an email or letter... I haven't forgotten about you either:)

Ok, time for class. I'm sure there are more things I could add to the lists, I'll update if I think of them. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Time is flying!

I promised myself that if I started a blog for my semester I would update at least twice a week. I've been doing pretty good, but lately it seems like the days fly by and I forget about it. After skydiving on Tuesday, I promised myself Wednesday would be a productive day. Election results started coming in around noon here and I was glued to my computer for the next four-five hours (minus the 15 minute break for a fire drill). I could hear people discussing the election in the hallways, everyone seemed to be watching it. There was quite a bit of celebration when Obama won. Someone told me that 76% of Australia was backing Obama (not sure if that was legitimate or not) but it seems about right. It has been interesting reading about it in the Sydney papers and hearing reactions from my classmates from around the world. The general consensus is that the right decision was made.

So Thursday I had class all day, as usual. I walked into my 8am with McRae and she told me to sit in front so I could sing the Star Spangled Banner to the class. I thought she was kidding and refused. Eventually she let me off the hook, but made sure to refer to me as "America" throughout class. I got to my 4pm class with her and she asked all the Americans to stand at the front of the room. She then proceeded to have us sing the Star Spangled Banner. Turns out she was serious and did this in the rest of her classes. I didn't sing, but I stood there while everyone in the class laughed at us. I'm not sure why I didn't just leave class... probably because I'm still terrified of failing her classes... but I'm about done with the public humiliation. I'm looking forward to being in lecture halls with 100 students and professors that actually lecture and give normal tests again. Small colleges are good for some people, I'm quite alright being a 7 digit number at the U.

My marketing class got cancelled this morning so I've been able to get some homework done before lunch. It's a beautiful sunny day, so I'm planning on the beach after lunch. My friend Daniell from St. Thomas who is visiting Sydney this weekend just called and said they were going to check out Manly Beach today. Conveniently, I'm a 5 minute walk away. I'm so excited to see a familiar face!! Tomorrow is Whale Watching, and Sunday (if I can get some homework done before then) I'm thinking about making my way to Bondi Beach in the city. Its one of those places I just need to see before I leave.

Hope all is well in the States (or whereever you're reading from)... I hear the Minnesota weather hasn't been as brutal as most years. I'm sure the minute I return, the temperature will fall dramatically. Have a great weekend!

I'm kind of in love with skydiving...

It would be raining the day I decided to go skydiving again. Luckily it was a light drizzle and by the time we made it to Wollongong, it was clear skies. I went with Brittany, Candace, and Jenna... there were also three study abroad students from the States going to a school in Sydney that rode with us there. We got out of the bus and were suited up on our way to the runway within 15 minutes. There was little time to think, but that was ok. I was so ready to go, and I'm not sure the other girls would have made it if they had any more time to think about it. My tandem instructor was Dan. He's done over 2000 jumps and also does BASE jumping which is much more intense than skydiving. I'm not sure why I trust strangers with my life, but I did and it was well worth it.

The result:

Me, Candace, Brittany, and Jenna all suited up

Me, Dan, and the plane I jumped out of. I didn't actually scream, it was more of a "wow this is amazing sort of look. Hard to tell when you're falling at 250 km/hr.

More free falling:)

And then there was parachuting... oh yeah, I was floating over the ocean and an amazing beach!

There are few words to describe how much I enjoyed skydiving. The view was incredible and it was so cool to free fall for a minute and then enjoy parachuting down. They give you a voucher for a discounted or free dive if you bring friends with next time. There are a few more Americans that want to book, if its a day that I don't have class, I might seriously go again. I was really bummed when the weather didn't work out the first time, but I think it was for the best. It was so much more fun having the other girls along. The weather was 100% better today too... bright sun, still too windy to land on the beach (we landed right behind it), but we got to jump from the maximum height of 14,000 feet. The view was breath taking, and honestly, the only time I was really nervous was when the first guy fell out of the plane. You can see it in the video... fun to laugh about it now. The day was truly amazing.

I got back and played Monopoly with Sop and Lou before my 6pm class. I won! It's taken me five times to even get close. I went to class with McRae (mind you I skipped her 8 am to go skydiving) and surprisingly she didn't give me too much shit. Just a "yeah its easy to get sick for those 8 am classes." There were 18 people missing out of 45 in our night class because of the Melbourne Cup horse races. A few people that did come were still dressed up for the races (they dress up to go to the pub and watch the race) and she nearly flipped out on them for being out of uniform. I figured she can't say anything to me anymore.

My midterm was reevaluated and we have two substitute questions for the vocab that we didn't learn before the test... we'll see how that goes on Thursday. Other than that, I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. Danielle, my friend from St. Thomas studying at Gold Coast, is in Sydney this weekend so I'm hoping to meet up with her. I'm also going whale watching on Saturday! I love Australia. Don't worry, eventually I'll run out of money and have to come home. I miss you all, but having time for myself to relax and enjoy everything this country has to offer has been more than I could have ever imagined.

Tomorrow I get to go to the beach and watch election coverage... if you're reading this and haven't voted yet, please stop and do so!

Halloween and more

Well I didn't go to any spectacular destinations this weekend, but it was still full of adventures. Friday I only have one class, but spent the afternoon doing homework. I started to transcribe a 60 minute interview that is due on Tuesday. This may not sound like much, but 10,256 words (16 pages) and about 15 hours later, I'm finally done. Now if I had really concentrated on it I probably could have been done in 10 but the task was seriously mind numbing. I needed AIM and facebook to keep me sane. Back to Friday...the students visiting from Cairns made us a traditional aboriginal dinner and did some cultural dances for us. I ate kangaroo! Australia is the only country that legally kills the animal on its national seal. Tasted a lot better than I was expecting, very similar to beef. Definitely tasted better than the lamb they usually feed us.

Students dancing

Friday was also my friend Mia's 25th birthday. Since it was Halloween and we all planned on going out anyway, we got dressed up and went to a tapas restaurant. Everyone looked at us like we were nuts walking in. Halloween is recognized here, just not nearly as popular as in the States. There were a few kids trick or treating in the afternoon, none out at night. The only people in costume were in the bars that had Halloween parties. One big difference between Halloween here and back home: they actually dress scary here. People wear masks and actual costumes, not "sexy (insert profession here)" The party was a great time, I'm glad I decided to dress up and go out.

Marica, myself and Helena out for Mia's birthday

Saturday I slept in until brunch and spent the entire afternoon transcribing the interview. At 5pm all the study abroad students hopped on a bus and got to go on a cruise of Sydney Harbour. The bus dropped us off at Mosman Bay and we cruised from 6-10. The boat had two levels with outdoor decks on the front and back, a bar on the first floor, and two dancefloors and DJs. It was awesome to be sailing around as the sun set. It was a little chilly but inside the boat it didn't matter. Everyone had a great time putting the stressful week of midterms behind us and just hanging out for the night. As time went on there were dance parties and dance offs, it was quite the sight. They gave us the option of getting off in Darling Harbour if we wanted to stay in the city. I left with a group of seven other Americans. We went to Cargo in Darling Harbour and a few places in Kings Cross before taking a taxi back to Manly. Kings Cross is known as the party place of the city, a lot of bars and strip clubs... we found a few decent places, but it was a bit much for me. I enjoyed the night though, it was good to go out with some different people.

City at night

Today was a homework day. It was cloudy and windy again so I had no temptation to go outside. A bunch of people got together for the Texas Tech vs University of Texas football game, but we couldn't figure out how to get the live game on and ended up just listening to it. I had very little interest in the game and was surrounded by girls from Texas Tech who were decked out in school colors cheering like crazy. I never realized how seriously Texans take their football. At halftime I decided to finish transcribing my interview and get my reading done for the week. I was really productive for a change. At 10 I stopped to go watch The Office in Deborah's room. It's becoming our weekly Sunday night routine.

I might have sky diving pictures to put up the next time I blog. So excited for sky diving on Tuesday:) I put a ton of pictures up on my Flickr site, feel free to check them out. Hope everyone had a great weekend!