I finally got to break out my shorts and sundresses last week. Which is a great thing since somehow I only ended up packing three pairs of jeans. And when you have to pay $4 to do your laundry unless you can coax someone in a townhouse to let you use their washing machine and dryer, laundry only gets done every few weeks.
Before I talk about warm weather events, I should back-track a bit because it's been quite a while since my last post! I'm just going to make a list of the cool and not so cool things that have gone on since then.
Not so cool will be first, since it's best to end things on a good note, even on a blog post.
1. Internet on res (aussie term for residential campus) is really terrible. My computer didn't work for ages here, but luckily my amazing housemate Marcus was able to fix it. Thanks to him I can type this blog on my laptop instead of the computer lab!
2. It's REALLY windy in Penrith. Which maybe isn't always a bad thing, but if it's not warm, you left your trashbag outside because you didn't feel like taking it to the bin yet, your clothes are on a line outside, you're walking back from train station, or it's raining, it's not a good thing. Last night I went to a 21st birthday party and the wind knocked down a pole that was holding up a tarp, and the birthday boy's grandpa got hit in the head with it. Don't worry, he's fine, but just an example of how vicious the wind can be.
3. Everything is really expensive. Spent $18 dollars on sunscreen the other day, the same brand I usually get at home. To be expected though, minimum wage here is like $12, so to a girl who gets a wage of $8 an hour at home everything seems ridiculously high priced. Transportation isn't too high though. To get from res to the Penrith Plaza for shopping, it costs $3.20 round trip on the bus or train. Buses come more frequently than trains, so they're the way to go. Luckily the student center here gave me a student concession sticker on my student card, so I get discounts on all transportation. The system is very strange for concessions for internationals though. I was told if you are on exchange, then you are eligible. But out of all my American friends, I'm the only one on exchange instead of study abroad, but several of them were able to get a sticker, while others were not. IMPORTANT ADVICE: It's a really bad idea to buy a student ticket if you don't have that special sticker. Security does come on the train at times to ask for tickets and IDs. So far all my friends who have been caught so far have been able to talk their way out of it, but if you can't it's a $200 fine. I wouldn't risk it!
4. Classes are taught way differently at UWS. You have a lecture (usually 2 hours) and a tutorial (usually 1 hour). Some lectures are huge, held in auditoriums with like 400 or 500 people. Luckily, they usually post these online. Since I can't pay attention in a room with that many people, one of my lectures I only do online, because I can concentrate better and if I physically went to that lecture then I'd be in classes for four hours straight. You only have two or three assignments in each class, but they are worth a lot so they are very important. Some classes have final exams, some don't. Professors here are not much like the ones we are privileged to have at Maryville College. I definitely miss the humor and casual environment of learning at MC, and having likeable, helpful professors. Not to say that all instructors here are terrible, I only have one that is a nightmare, and the rest are just a bit bland.
Alright, now on to the wonderful things about Oz!
1. The Blue Mountains are sooo pretty. I'll post some more pictures up later so you all can see what I'm talking about. Unfortunately when I went it was freezing and windy, but I'll go back later when it's warmer.
2. Rugby! I got to go to a Panthers vs. Rabbitohs game a few weekends ago! The Panthers are from Penrith, so that's the team I was going for. Cool fact: Russell Crowe owns the Rabbitohs rugby team. Even cooler: He came to the game! Not as cool: He was really far away and I never really got to see him. The Panthers smashed the Rabbitohs. Russell Crowe was probably a bit embarrassed. Next weekend I am going to an All Blacks (NZ) vs. Wallabies (AUS) rugby game! It's going to be amazing, these two teams are huge rivals and I've always wanted to see the Haka performed by the All Blacks in person.
3. Self-catering apartments. My living unit here on res is on the verge of perfect. I live in a brand new apartment building with two housemates. We each have our own bedroom, which are pretty decent size. Katie and I share a bathroom, while Marcus has his own in his ensuite. We have a full kitchen, complete with an electric tea kettle. One flick of a switch and hot water is ready for tea! I hope we have these in the U.S., I want one when I get home! We have a fairly large living area with two couches, a coffee table, and a flat screen tv. Not very many channels, but we don't watch much tv anyways so it's not such a big deal. Unfortunately our apartment is right above the common room, where a lot of parties are held, which sometimes makes sleeping difficult since people like to party on Thursday nights when I have 9 a.m. class on Fridays. One thing I thought I would miss but really don't is the dining hall. I'm learning to cook and I really like it! I eat a lot healthier now and Katie and I love making dinner together every night. I'm keen on Asian food too now, since Marcus is Chinese and makes an Asian dish every night. I've even eaten sushi and liked it! Last night I learned how to make fried rice. I will be making lots of it in Carnegie when I get back to MC!
4. Sydney. Best city ever, hands down. It has so much to offer, no matter what kind of person you are. If you love elegance, luxury, and perfect scenery, the Rocks and Circular Quay is the place to be. Lots of lovely restaurants and shops in this area, just be prepared to pay the price. Also, the only place that I've seen a Starbucks in! This is the place where the Aroma Festival I wrote about earlier was held.
Darling Harbour is also a really neat place for a tourist. I went with some friends and saw Inception on the largest IMAX screen in the world! There are a lot of cool looking fountains here and it's a great place to be at night. I've heard the nightclubs are good too, but I haven't been to any in this area.
One of my favorite places is Royal Botanic Gardens. It's a must to go to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair and take some photos standing on the rocks that jut out from the shore. You can see both the bridge and Opera House in the background of this area, so it's the perfect place to go if you want to get a few postcard-worthy photos.
Kings Cross is pretty hopping at night! This is the central hub where backpackers and party-goers hang out all night. Some of the known clubs in this area are Soho, World Bar, and Candies. There's also a really good place in this area that sells New York Slice Pizza. Kind of pricey for $6 a slice, but the slices are pretty large and delicious. There are lots of hostels in this area too. Two of my friends and I spent a weekend in the city and stayed at a hostel in the Cross. Not the nicest accomodation, but at $18 it wasn't terrible.
There's so much more to talk about, but I'll have to save it for a later time. Good luck to all of you starting a new semester at MC, and also to those who are studying abroad in other countries!
Before I talk about warm weather events, I should back-track a bit because it's been quite a while since my last post! I'm just going to make a list of the cool and not so cool things that have gone on since then.
Not so cool will be first, since it's best to end things on a good note, even on a blog post.
1. Internet on res (aussie term for residential campus) is really terrible. My computer didn't work for ages here, but luckily my amazing housemate Marcus was able to fix it. Thanks to him I can type this blog on my laptop instead of the computer lab!
2. It's REALLY windy in Penrith. Which maybe isn't always a bad thing, but if it's not warm, you left your trashbag outside because you didn't feel like taking it to the bin yet, your clothes are on a line outside, you're walking back from train station, or it's raining, it's not a good thing. Last night I went to a 21st birthday party and the wind knocked down a pole that was holding up a tarp, and the birthday boy's grandpa got hit in the head with it. Don't worry, he's fine, but just an example of how vicious the wind can be.
3. Everything is really expensive. Spent $18 dollars on sunscreen the other day, the same brand I usually get at home. To be expected though, minimum wage here is like $12, so to a girl who gets a wage of $8 an hour at home everything seems ridiculously high priced. Transportation isn't too high though. To get from res to the Penrith Plaza for shopping, it costs $3.20 round trip on the bus or train. Buses come more frequently than trains, so they're the way to go. Luckily the student center here gave me a student concession sticker on my student card, so I get discounts on all transportation. The system is very strange for concessions for internationals though. I was told if you are on exchange, then you are eligible. But out of all my American friends, I'm the only one on exchange instead of study abroad, but several of them were able to get a sticker, while others were not. IMPORTANT ADVICE: It's a really bad idea to buy a student ticket if you don't have that special sticker. Security does come on the train at times to ask for tickets and IDs. So far all my friends who have been caught so far have been able to talk their way out of it, but if you can't it's a $200 fine. I wouldn't risk it!
4. Classes are taught way differently at UWS. You have a lecture (usually 2 hours) and a tutorial (usually 1 hour). Some lectures are huge, held in auditoriums with like 400 or 500 people. Luckily, they usually post these online. Since I can't pay attention in a room with that many people, one of my lectures I only do online, because I can concentrate better and if I physically went to that lecture then I'd be in classes for four hours straight. You only have two or three assignments in each class, but they are worth a lot so they are very important. Some classes have final exams, some don't. Professors here are not much like the ones we are privileged to have at Maryville College. I definitely miss the humor and casual environment of learning at MC, and having likeable, helpful professors. Not to say that all instructors here are terrible, I only have one that is a nightmare, and the rest are just a bit bland.
Alright, now on to the wonderful things about Oz!
1. The Blue Mountains are sooo pretty. I'll post some more pictures up later so you all can see what I'm talking about. Unfortunately when I went it was freezing and windy, but I'll go back later when it's warmer.
2. Rugby! I got to go to a Panthers vs. Rabbitohs game a few weekends ago! The Panthers are from Penrith, so that's the team I was going for. Cool fact: Russell Crowe owns the Rabbitohs rugby team. Even cooler: He came to the game! Not as cool: He was really far away and I never really got to see him. The Panthers smashed the Rabbitohs. Russell Crowe was probably a bit embarrassed. Next weekend I am going to an All Blacks (NZ) vs. Wallabies (AUS) rugby game! It's going to be amazing, these two teams are huge rivals and I've always wanted to see the Haka performed by the All Blacks in person.
3. Self-catering apartments. My living unit here on res is on the verge of perfect. I live in a brand new apartment building with two housemates. We each have our own bedroom, which are pretty decent size. Katie and I share a bathroom, while Marcus has his own in his ensuite. We have a full kitchen, complete with an electric tea kettle. One flick of a switch and hot water is ready for tea! I hope we have these in the U.S., I want one when I get home! We have a fairly large living area with two couches, a coffee table, and a flat screen tv. Not very many channels, but we don't watch much tv anyways so it's not such a big deal. Unfortunately our apartment is right above the common room, where a lot of parties are held, which sometimes makes sleeping difficult since people like to party on Thursday nights when I have 9 a.m. class on Fridays. One thing I thought I would miss but really don't is the dining hall. I'm learning to cook and I really like it! I eat a lot healthier now and Katie and I love making dinner together every night. I'm keen on Asian food too now, since Marcus is Chinese and makes an Asian dish every night. I've even eaten sushi and liked it! Last night I learned how to make fried rice. I will be making lots of it in Carnegie when I get back to MC!
4. Sydney. Best city ever, hands down. It has so much to offer, no matter what kind of person you are. If you love elegance, luxury, and perfect scenery, the Rocks and Circular Quay is the place to be. Lots of lovely restaurants and shops in this area, just be prepared to pay the price. Also, the only place that I've seen a Starbucks in! This is the place where the Aroma Festival I wrote about earlier was held.
Darling Harbour is also a really neat place for a tourist. I went with some friends and saw Inception on the largest IMAX screen in the world! There are a lot of cool looking fountains here and it's a great place to be at night. I've heard the nightclubs are good too, but I haven't been to any in this area.
One of my favorite places is Royal Botanic Gardens. It's a must to go to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair and take some photos standing on the rocks that jut out from the shore. You can see both the bridge and Opera House in the background of this area, so it's the perfect place to go if you want to get a few postcard-worthy photos.
Kings Cross is pretty hopping at night! This is the central hub where backpackers and party-goers hang out all night. Some of the known clubs in this area are Soho, World Bar, and Candies. There's also a really good place in this area that sells New York Slice Pizza. Kind of pricey for $6 a slice, but the slices are pretty large and delicious. There are lots of hostels in this area too. Two of my friends and I spent a weekend in the city and stayed at a hostel in the Cross. Not the nicest accomodation, but at $18 it wasn't terrible.
There's so much more to talk about, but I'll have to save it for a later time. Good luck to all of you starting a new semester at MC, and also to those who are studying abroad in other countries!