School?!?

Wow, so a lot has happened in the past week! I’m doing alright, just a bit exhausted I guess. One reason I wanted to come here was to challenge myself, and I think that’s happening, so I guess that’s a good thing, right?! Anyway, classes have finally started so I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, it’s pretty difficult though. So far I feel like I’m on one big vacation! And I’ve learned more than I could ever imagine already without my classes.

So last week O-Week finished off pretty great. Thursday night we went out to a couple clubs for the last night they had planned. There was a lot of dancing and it was a great time. I loved it all except standing in line! I got really tired at the second club, after hours of dancing I was worn out! But nobody else was quite ready to go, so I went to stand by the wall for a bit. Some little Chinese guy with glasses came up to me and asked if I had a partner for the night! I said yes, and he didn’t seem to get it. He told me I was just like his ex-girlfriend and asked where my boyfriend was, I said the next room to try to get him to leave me alone. He did. For a couple minutes, then he came back to me and asked if I was sure I didn’t want to leave my boyfriend right then to be with him! I said I was quite good actually. Then he left me alone. So I have been hit on once down here, great thing it was the dorkiest guy around. It made me laugh though. Anyway, my feet were killing me and it was so blasted hot in there! So we left and went home after a bit, but it was probably the best night I’ve been out. Then Friday Loretta and I went into town just to have something to do and to get a few groceries. We stopped in at the visitor’s info center in the National Wool Museum and got tons of brochures and info. It was actually pretty refreshing and exciting to see all the things we could do around town and quick little weekend trips or something. We got a bunch of ideas. And we’re definitely planning on hitting up the wool museum sometime, you get entrance into the Ford museum as well for $9!! How awesome. So that was a good day. I haven’t gone out at all since then. O-week was a lot for me, I’m more of a homebody and just like to hang out around home, so it was quite tiring! But we still had a good weekend. Saturday during the day we headed down to Torquay to go to the beach. It was too cold for that, so we just hung out at our friend’s house. Our international friends English Pete and German Pete live there so we watched some TV and a movie and had a barbeque. We also got some fish and chips from the local shop, it was delicious. Their house is across the street from the beach literally and they have the best view I’ve ever seen. That whole one side of the house is windows so you can see so much, I could watch the ocean all day from there, it was amazing. There were a whole bunch of international students who were there, and a lot of them were staying for the night, but Loretta and I decided we’d had enough and wanted to come back here. So we did. And we went over to the Wookey 4 unit where our friend Nick from New Jersey lives. There were some people there and we all just hung out and watched a lot of Family Guy, I’m a little sick of it as it is all they seem to watch! But it was fun to sit around and talk with a bunch of aussies and such. Although I haven’t gotten to know my roommates too well, I know the people in Wookey 1 and Wookey 4 quite well, so I guess that’s good. Everyone seems really nice, but I can’t wait to get to know them better.

School started this week!! I have no class on Monday so I didn’t do much. I had to clear up a problem with my schedule. I had to go talk to my professor for that class! I was scared, I’ve never done that!! But I succeeded, so that was exciting. I’m really surprising myself every day with my strength and independence. I’m kind of proud of myself! This week we only have lectures, no tutorials(tutes) or practicums(pracs) so I only had one class Tuesday and one today. I had International Econ with Loretta, then Business Communications today. They seem pretty interesting, I think I’ll learn a lot so that’s good. I can’t really tell how challenging the work is going to be, it’s really hard not knowing what to expect. Their system is different than ours and it will take some time to adjust to a different way of learning. They have a lot less homework and such and it’s more independent learning I think. Yikes, I will have to really discipline myself! Tomorrow I have my Finance lecture and Australia Today. I also have a second Finance lecture on Friday morning, yuck. They split up the two hour lecture into two parts I guess because they didn’t have enough time slots for the one big lecture hall. The classes are so small compared to what I’m used to. Our international econ class only has 20 people max, it’s crazy. And that is the only time it’s offered! But the whole campus only has about 6000 people I think. Tutes are smaller classes where you can ask more questions and go into more depth, like recitations I guess. But every lecture has one. And some have labs or pracs as well. I have a tute and a prac for my communications class. I’m not sure what exactly that means, I guess I’ll find out when they start! The lectures are all two hours, so it feel like forever! And it’s hard to get used to only going to lecture once a week, but I guess that’s what the tutes are for. It seems so different for some reason that I can’t exactly figure out. I think the teachers seem a little less formal as well. We had to go around the room and introduce ourselves in econ and I felt like I was in elementary school or something! So I only have 4 classes and I think I will be in classes for 11 hours during each week. That’s crazy, I don’t know what I’ll do with myself! I think I will have a lot of reading and such to do all the time though. Books are really expensive here as well, but I’m splitting two of them with people so that helps. One of the buildings I have a class in is even more confusing that Seaton back home!!

Yesterday night the campus had a welcome international students coffee and cake thing at the restaurant on campus. So we went to that and had desserts, they were alright. They also had us play a trivia game about a lot of Australia stuff plus some worldly things, and I must say I did pretty well! I knew the most on our team I think. But we didn’t win. I got some hot chocolate as well, and they had TimTams, they’re favorite cookie. It is quite delicious, but they act like it’s the best thing ever! Anyway, some of the other internationals were talking about the TimTam Slam and I had not heard of this yet. So they said I had to try it. You’re supposed to bite off just the tip of opposite corners of the cookie, and then stick it in your hot chocolate and then sip until you feel the liquid come through the cookie, and then slam it all in your mouth. Well, first off I took too big a bite out of one corner, so I overcompensated and took a tiny bite out of the other and had to get some more off. Then I had already drank some of my hot chocolate so I tried to tip the mug so I could actually get the cookie in far enough to get it in liquid, but that wasn’t working too well. I really couldn’t suck it up!! So they just told me to slam it in my mouth anyway after a minute. It was melted enough from my trying and so with the hot chocolate and the melting TimTam it was complete and total chocolate goodness. It was great. But a little messy, I got it all over my face! So I failed I guess, I’ll have to practice! It was kind of embarrassing, as both one of the RA’s and the manager of the residences were taking pictures of me trying to do this!! An experience I guess!

Today Loretta and I went into Geelong to get out a little and pick up a few groceries. We got on Bus 16, the one that goes into town. The driver asked Waurn Ponds? We didn’t understand so just said yes and sat down. Well we still have NO idea what happened, but the bus didn’t turn the way it usually does out of campus. But we thought, okay, we’ll see where it goes and get off somewhere when we get to town. But it didn’t go into town. It went to the closest shopping center, which we didn’t think any busses went to, and then on into the neighborhoods over there. We went all through the little suburb to the south of our campus and then it came back! The driver must have thought we were crazy. We decided to stay on the bus and we’d just get off at the shopping center because that would work fine. But when we left campus the second time, the bus took the normal route it always has!! So we don’t know why it was different or anything. It was funny though, the longest bus ride ever I think. But we made it into town and walked along the waterfront for awhile to the little beach down there. It was really pretty and calm and peaceful, I enjoyed it a lot. Today was kind of rainy for awhile, so it was a little cloudy and the perfect temperature, a nice day. It’s funny, when it rains here, it always seems to be sunny somewhere, and it doesn’t get really dark and dreary and depressing. It’s nice. Anyway, we didn’t stay long because we had to get back for dinner. So far it’s been alright I guess, nothing exciting, but it’s not gross so that’s good. I definitely miss food from home though, everything is different here even if it’s the same kind of food. Most of it’s good, but it’s not comfort you know. Tonight is the big night at The Pond’s again, but I don’t feel much like going out, so I’m taking it easy and doing nothing, it’s kind of nice I guess. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying Kansas. I miss you, let me know what’s been going on in your exciting life.

Love, Alissa