Australia 2008!

Settled in Kooloobong!

2008-07-24T02:13:00.000-07:00

Hey! So I am now fully settled in my new housing at Kooloobong! It is on campus housing set up in apartments so I have my own room and share a common room and kitchen with 3 other people. I have one apartment mate from Afghanistan who is pretty nice and another from Pakistan who is ok . . . they are both a bit weird but im sure they will be fine to live with! I have another girl named Rita from China who doesn't speak much English as well as an Australian guy who is my Resident Advisor who lives next door (He is pretty weird/quiet/looks like a ghost). Although my apartment is pretty unsocial I think everyone is generally nice . . . my only problem is that the kitchen and bathroom are really dirty and despite spending a whole night trying to clean it, its still dirty . . . oh well! I have a friend from home who lives near by so I can cook at his place!! The people here seem to be pretty nice but I still haven't met many people, not many girls living near by but I have been hanging out with a really cool girl named Kelsey from CAL who lives off campus. We met at orientation for all the UC students and she really reminds me of Amy and Mom and Dad so it is really nice to hang out with her! We are going to go to Sydney this weekend and stay with Nate to watch the Australia vs. New Zealand Rugby game at a sports bar!! Im starting to like Wollongong more and more as time goes on. The town in cute and the beaches are really nice but it's still very cold and raining here right now! In addition I have bed bugs that keep giving me these really bad bites that ich a lot, but I put in a request to have my room bombed so hopefully that will happen soon! I still don't have my own internet in my room yet, so sorry communication has been so limited but I hope to get it up and running soon and can post more often! until then! cheers!

Hey Hey!

2008-07-15T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hey! So I am finally here at university of Wollongong! Im not going to lie, it has been really hard for me. After spending 3 great days in Sydney I came to my dorms at Campus East housing and it was nothing like I expected. This place, despite just being an hour and a half south of Sydney, is very desolate and rural. There is nothing around me but grass and weird homes. The dorm situation is very, well . . . dirty. The buildings are very old and it kind of looks like a mental institution crossed with a jail. My building is called hospital, but its much nice than the other building across the way named "Slums." The drinking culture here is really really big and Im not going to lie, its just too much for me. I kind of freaked out with how dirty it is here and how loud the partying is everyday. But there is good news!!! I just got word that they think there might be a spot opening up for me at the on campus housing which is much smaller and quieter, but I think it is going to be a better fit for me because I will be able to really focus on studying rather than having parties shoved in my face 24/7. I really am experiencing culture shock with how rural it is here compared to back at home and even compared to Sydney, but I have heard that the beach is amazing and so beautiful so I am excited to go check it out. I know that it is just my first week here and I shouldn’t have such a negative attitude about the experience, so I am going to go on good faith and expect that once I have seen everything here and gotten settled in that it will be much better. I can see my self really liking this place, I just need to be in a place that isn’t trashed with beer cans everywhere and smells like throw-up all the time. The school campus itself it really pretty and although there really is not much of a large city at all, especially compared to Sydney, I think the beach culture is pretty prevalent which I am excited about. Its been hard to meet other international students that I could see myself being good friends with, especially at campus east, but all the Australians have been really really nice. However, I have made one really good friend so far that lives in different housing and I have been spending my time with her, so its really nice to know I have her here with me. I am sure that as the time goes on I will meet some really amazing people, its just always hard in the beginning. I am eager to get a real feel of the whole place before I make my final judgements (which I am sure will be much happier and excited than currently). Im sure my uneasy feelings of this whole experience are normal and it will get much better as time goes on! Also, things are sooo expensive here! I had to pay $20.00 for a 6 min. cab ride today, not to mention $15.00 for almost every meal! YIKES! Im going to look for a short time job on campus, and hopefully I can find something! Anyway, I miss everyone at home so much and Im sure my next blog post will have a ton of positive things to say about my experience once I have gotten a real feel for this place. It is so comforting to know I have Nate close by! Ill post next once I have gotten settled into my new place, and until then g’day!

More to come!

2008-07-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
Im really sorry I haven't been able to post much of anything!! There is really limited internet service at my hotel because you have to pay for everything! I am currently in Sydney at a hotel with my EAP program and am off to Uni Wollongong tomorrow! I have been doing so much here!! I went on a cruse of the Sydney harbor and then to the aquarium and then later to a Sydney Roosters rugby game! Today I went to the Sydney zoo which was soooo cool and currently am getting my stuff together so I can be off to Wollongong tomorrow! I really love Sydney, despite it being so cold, yet really can't wait to get to my school! I hope to update it soon when I have more time! Until then...

Ive never done one of these before . . .

2008-07-08T01:38:00.000-07:00

Yikes, ive never done a blog before. I dont even know if I set this page up in the right way so here is my tester blog post. Can't write much now, I leave for Australia tomorrow at 11:00 pm and I still have so much to do!! The weight limit of 50lbs for each bag is killing me, I so far have each one at 49.5 . . .ahh! Anyway, much to do, next post comes from the land down under! come visit me