Settling in

Well I'm finally feeling routine in my life again. Its not much, but it works. I wake up at 7am every morning, fill my day with class, reading textbooks, spending lots of time online, and going to the beach when its nice enough. I actually spend a decent amount of time in my room since everywhere else I'd have to be in uniform. Dana and Jolly both have mostly morning/early afternoon class so I have the room to myself. Most people love having downtime... I never was a huge fan, or felt the need for it, but I'm learning to like it here (I have an awful lot of it). Dinner is at 5:30 and after that I walk for an hour, do group projects, more homework, or hang out with friends. I eat three meals a day (at normal meal times, never snacking) and usually get a good 6-8 hours of sleep.

Before I left people told me time would fly by in Australia... and maybe by the end I'll feel it did, but right now I feel like life is crawling. Not in a bad way, but I don't have student groups or 25 hours of work, I'm taking 4 classes instead of 7, and school is isolated on the top of a hill, so even walking to a coffee shop or grocery store is at least a 30 minute round trip. Last semester I'd leave my room at 7am and return at 1am... it was kind of crazy. I'm enjoying my break from reality for a little bit. I'm sure by December I'll be ready for fast paced life again. I've definitely adopted the Aussie lifestyle of working (or in my case school) 8-5 Monday - Friday, and leisure after 5 and on weekends. Its kind of nice having time to do homework during the week so I can pack my weekends with sightseeing, traveling, and anything else non-school related.

Learning people's perceptions of America has been interesting. Most people have never been to the States, so they get their perceptions from Hollywood movies and our government. I'm not from Hollywood or DC, so explaining the differences takes a bit of time. The current financial crisis is a popular topic of conversation right now. It still surprises me that they talk about American politics in class, some people here pay more attention to our candidates and issues than people in America. We take voting rights for granted, some people don't even exercise their rights, to elect one of the most influential world leaders. The decision impacts economies and societies around the world, but all they can do is watch and hope for the best.

Now I'm not one to talk much about politics... but my roommates asked me about Wallstreet and the election the other day. I explained the basics of the American government system and voting process to them. Needless to say, its a bit different in China. Its relatively easy to adapt to Australia being from another Western culture. I can't imagine what it is like for them to be learning language and grammar in higher education courses, and becoming familiar with Western ways and foreign politics all at once. I'm trying to answer their questions and help with vocab/grammar as much as possible. Their dedication amazes me. They showed me where they're from in China and we talked about food a little bit... I'm looking forward to learning more.

Now for a few fun/interesting Australian things...

Mate= friend, stranger, chick, dude... basically anyone you know or don't know
Bloke= man, its a respectable term... if you're not a bloke you're a pansy
Shiela= girl
Rubbish= trash... I haven't heard the word trash once, you throw things away in a rubbish bin
Bugger= polite way of swearing, "He's such a bugger" "bugger off" "bugger!" ... you get it
Schooner= regular glass of beer

1 in 5 Aussies was born overseas... 1 in 3 have parents born overseas

Kinda forgot to follow up on the last few blogs... I'm pretty sure what I had was bed bugs, whatever it was is gone now. Classes are seeming more manageable (maybe its because I have so much time for reading) but I think I just freaked out a little bit the first week. Also, kind of random, but we have housekeeping that cleans our room every week. Apparently they also do a midweek check to make sure our rooms are tidy...two ladies from the "professional conduct" staff just walked into my room, thankfully they didn't say anything about my desk.

Hope all is well! I promise more pictures this weekend:)