This past week I moved into Bond University (they call it Uni here)! The campus is gorgeous and even has a lake that comes through a part of the campus. The lake is said to have bull sharks in it but many of us Americans still aren’t sure if the Aussies are lying to us. Aussies do have a sense of humor here so it can be hard to know when they are being sarcastic or not.
The week consisted of relaxing, exploring, and settling in. This past week I made a few trips to the mall. This mall here is huge! It is so frustrating because the layout of the stores is all over the place and everyone really just wants to get in and out of there. I did not buy an insane amount of things it was just essentials like laundry detergent (nothing too fun to buy). I made another stop at the mall to buy a SIM card for my phone. Basically what a SIM card is, is it has your carrier in it (like Verizon). So I got a new SIM card at Vodofone which is an Australian carrier. They have a packaged discount for students at Bond University. That deal allowed me to get unlimited calling and texting to Australian numbers as well as international numbers. I also got more data (internet) for being a student. I will have plenty of data which will be nice when traveling.
A group of us took the bus to Burleigh Heads to visit the national park and the beach. Another great thing about being a student is that I get a discount for the bus. So I got a card that I load money onto and it can take me to several beaches, a train station, and many other places. Anyways, we first went to the national park which is on the edge of the beach. Entering the park, the trail starts to go up on an incline that leads you up to beautiful lookouts. On the way up to the lookouts we spotted turkeys and lizards. The turkeys were a little different looking so we asked a worker in the park what they were called and he said they are called brush turkeys. When we reached the top lookout you could see the edge of the water and farther down where cities were along the coastline. My group were rebels and jumped the fence to be on the rocks to take some cool pictures and to soak in the sights of Australia.
We then headed back to the beach. Going up the trail in the park we got pretty hot so we thought getting in the water would be refreshing. I thought it might be cold but it was like the lake. I just eased in the water and it felt great! We wanted to go and ride the waves, so we did! The only bad thing is when you get out to the waves the current takes you with it. They have flags where the swimming area is so I just made sure I stayed in that area. I was having trouble getting out to where the rest of my friends were but they told me that I just had to get a little farther out to not get taken by the current as much. After swimming I went to lay on the beach but the weather was starting to get cold and we were all hungry so we stopped at a local restaurant and took the bus home.
This week there were events going on for O-Week (orientation week). I went to a themed party called Tight and Bright at Don’s Tavern on campus. I had an outfit in mind but then my roommate gave me these tie dye pants to wear and it was perfect! The party was nice because I was able to talk to a few Australians which is always nice.
Something about Australia to note is that they are for the most part pretty chill. The service here though isn’t as rushed as it is in America. They aren’t rushing around trying to get everyone’s order out if there is a line. Like I said earlier a lot of them have a good sense of humor. For the most part our service at restaurants has been good. Two things to note about when going out to a restaurant: do not tip and food is not brought out all together. In Australia they are getting paid however much the restaurant is paying them. That can obviously have its pros and cons but that is just how it is here. Many places I have been to in Australia the food doesn’t all necessarily come out at the same time. For instance, in America they usually wait until all the entrees are ready to be served to the table. Those are just some things I have noticed since I have been in Australia. I’m sure I will have more to tell you in the future.
This week is my first week of classes. I am taking Public Relations, Australian history, Crime and Deviance in Australia, and Design Communications (Adobe software using Photoshop and Illustrator). I have classes Monday, Tuesday, Wedensday, and do not have classes on Thursday and Friday. So far the classes have been very interesting. All my professors are Australian and have great backgrounds of the field of which they are teaching. I can’t wait to see what this semester brings!
Talk to you later,
Emily
Leave a Reply