The bed bugs bit

Well they might have... I either got bed bugs at our backpacker hotel in Cairns, or I'm allergic to something. I washed all my clothes (its $6 a load!) and housekeeping steamed my room so hopefully after today all will be well. Its irritating more than anything else... everyone in housekeeping was really helpful with the whole ordeal.

I started school! After a few changes, the registrar (also a very nice lady, even with the hundreds of kids lined up for schedule changes these first few days) I finally have 4 classes I think will transfer back home. I am taking Strategic Management, Conflict in the Workplace, Cross Cultural Management, and Principles of Marketing. My lecturer for Strategic Management was very interesting and made a 2 hour class fly by... it seems very similar to a class I'd take back in MN, except the student population is actually diverse, and we talk about Qantas instead of Northwest Airlines... Hungry Jacks instead of Burger King. I'm beginning to realize how much American brands and our economy affects the rest of the world. Its brought up in each class, always in a respectful manner... even if they are negative comments. My lecturer for Conflict Management and Cross Cultural Management is very strict and academic. She has several degrees, including a PhD in education from Harvard. While her classroom is a bit more formal than I'm used to, I think I'll have a lot to learn from her and really enjoy the classes. One of my assessments is mentoring a first term student of opposite gender and culture. Seems a bit odd that I will be mentoring as I am a first term student as well, but I am taking 3rd year (equivilent to senior year) classes. I'm already used to wearing my uniform... actually feel a bit odd right now sitting in the study area with street clothes (as its only 2:15pm).

One of the interesting things I've noticed with the different cultures, and even lecturers, is how ignorant I am to the outside world. I occasionally read the newspaper and browse world news, but everyone here keeps close tabs on the rest of the world, speaks several languages fluently, and is so incredibly nice to visitors/outsiders. In our business classes back home, we hear about Target, General Mills, Best Buy, and 3M all the time... along with various other Minneapolis based companies. They may be global companies, but what about companies based outside the US. Or the locations and events happening outside the US. As I walk around the residential floors or after hours (its against college policy to speak foreign languages in front of house) I hear people speaking in their native tongue and wonder how I ever got by learning just English. I have an incredible amount of respect for international students that come here with English as their second language. My roommates came back exclaiming how fast lecturers taught and the jargon they were using... they've been taking English since age 12, but its such a tough language to learn, I can't imagine.

One of the reasons I chose this school was its size. When deciding on colleges, I wanted a big school in a big city... Minnesota was the perfect fit, don't get me wrong, I love it there. However, I'm always looking for a new experience/environment... toursity, college town (Manly), close to the beach, and school of 1200 seemed about as different from the Midwest as I could get. Oddly enough, I'm loving this too. It makes a huge difference as an international student to have a small college with caring faculty to help you out. I can't imagine being an international student at the U with a simple problem like bed bugs, or I need someone to help me with registration and picking the right classes. Even "Minnesota Nice" doesn't give you 1:1 help in those situations. Here I can ask anyone my question, and they'll either answer it on the spot, or show me exactly who can answer it. They always ask for your name (or know it already) and ask how you are doing, or chat about something... they're never too busy to help.

After my first class today, I went into town to look for a job. I know I said I wasn't going to work, but weekday pay is $16-18 an hour, and $24-27 on the weekends. I will not let it interfere with my experience here, and made sure to let them all know upfront, I was looking for about 10 hours a week... I'm only here for one term, and I'm available some weekends but will also be doing some traveling. I handed out about 6 resumes. If I don't hear back by the end of the week I may had out a few more this weekend, otherwise I'll get by without. It would be really nice to have some extra cash to go out or travel more... even going into Sydney gets expensive.

I know this is getting long, I appreciate whoever is still reading at this point. I feel that every day I learn something new or have something I want to share. My lifestyle here is very different from home, despite being here less than 2 weeks. I am always in bed by 1am, and wake up between 6 and 6:30 every morning. I don't drink soda, and rarely have coffee (if I do, its instant)... I carry my water bottle with me everywhere. I eat much healthier food, always 3 meals a day without snacking. Since I live and attend class in the same building, Melissa and I have started power walking down the beach and back up the hill to get some exercise. I still have no ambition to go to the gym. However, I have started yoga. There are classes every Monday night. I've heard there are ab workouts Tuesday... I might have to check that out later. I feel a lot more alert and energized during the day, even without heaps of caffeine. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up when I return to the States.

I'm done now... hope everyone is having a fantastic week:)