The first day of Uni started yesterday! I only had one class which was Australian Studies. The class is mainly for students from other places to learn about Australia so it consisted of all international students. We did a quick overview of how the country of Australia came about and what it is like today. Throughout the semester we will take a few trips to different locations around Perth and Fremantle. It seems like it will be a very enjoyable class. Today, I only had one class which was Marketing 100. The professor is American so it is easy to understand her and she refers to American things a lot. It is weird only having one or two classes a day. In my whole week I only have six lectures/tutorials that I need to attend. It is hard getting into the hang of going to classes and having homework but it will eventually sink it and reality will hit me.
February 2012 Archives
I am sorry I have been so busy with everything! Orientation Week has been crazy busy and I have been meeting a lot of people. Wednesday was the biggest day of O Week because all the groups and organisations on campus set up booths and give away free stuff. There were so many people on campus and it was a super hot day! It was at least over 100 degrees. (They do Celsius here so we just estimate.) The Tav is an on-campus pub and every Wednesday night they have music going on there for the students so we headed there for music and dancing. On Thursday, my buddy through the buddy exchange program took us to Hilary's Harbor where they have a small shopping center and MANY boats docked! After, we went to Kings Park which overlooks Perth. There are many hiking trails and information about the land, wildlife and city along the walks. It is really cool how they have such a beautiful park in the middle of a huge city. On Friday, we went to a shopping center with a couple of friends from campus. They don't say "mall" here so I got yelled at every time I said it. It is hard to sum everything up but I hope this gives you an idea of what I have been up to. I have been super busy getting ready for classes, trying to see attractions and meeting people!
I have not blogged for a while because I have been busy this week with O-Week! (Orientation Week). On Monday, they had a breakfast for all students in the Guild, which is the program that puts on student events. In the afternoon, all the study abroad students met for a welcome function. We got free food and got to mingle with the other study abroad students. They also started a buddy program this year so we met our buddies there. My buddy's name is Alex and he is from Australia. Him and his friend brought Kerryn (my friend from UMD) and I to the beach that afternoon. It was beautiful there and we swam in the ocean the whole time. After, we got fish and chips (aka fries). On Tuesday, we walked around campus and got our units and student information stuff taken care of. In the afternoon Scott took us to the beach. I met Scott through my sister Laura because his mum used to work with all the UMD students at Curtin. Laura became close with both Scott and his mom, Lyn, when she was here. We sat on the beach and watched the sunset on the ocean. It was so peaceful. Just been busy with orientation and seeing as much as I can!
Not many people have been on campus lately because I arrived a little early. I have two other flatmates here though so that has been nice to have people around. One is from Papua New Guinea and the other is from Macedonia. I know of one boy that is moving in today who is an Aussie so hopefully he can show me around. It has been weird trying to adjust to all of the changes. They drive on the left side of the road so everytime I cross the street I have to look both ways a couple of times to make sure I am looking the right away. They also walk on the other side of the halls/sidewalks which is hard to get used to. The time difference hasn't been so bad but I still wake up every morning around 7. The weather is beautiful here! It gets very warm during the day but it isn't too humid. (Very good otherwise my hair would be outrageously big!) At night it gets a little chilly but only sweatshirt weather. Everybody can tell right away that I am from America from my accent. Yesterday a man said hello to me and I responded and he instantly said, "Oh, you're from Canada!" I said that I was from America and but he was close. Everyone here is so friendly and nice. They start conversations just randomly on the street. It is very welcoming. Orientation starts next week so I am looking forward to that! Thank you all for reading my blog! It is a great feeling to know people are interested in my life abroad!
I am finally settled in! My trip ended up being around 30 hours long so when I got here I was very tired. I made a couple of friends on my flights and learned a little about Australia, too. I arrived here and was picked up by Lyn, who used to work with the UMD students. She picked me up because she knew Mary Kate and Laura very well. I got settled into my flat and went through orientation. The flats consist of a main kitchen and TV room. Then there are two doors, one for the girls and one for the boys. Each side has it's own bathroom, showers and 4 individual bedrooms. So I am sharing my kitchen with 7 other people but my bathroom and shower with only 3 other girls. I went to the shops yesterday to get my groceries, came back, ate dinner and then went to bed because I was so tired and trying to get used to the time change. It is around 90 degrees here and very nice out. Not much has gone on yet but I will be sure to continue posting about everything!
