Author:  Jessica Hanson

Location: Newcastle, Australia

Hey friends!

So so sorry I haven’t posted in what, at least to me, seems like forever! I had intended to post an update during this last week, but a philosophy essay kicked my butt and I didn’t get around to it. For anyone who wants to talk about informed consent ethical issues, I’ve got you covered!

Many of you may be surprised to hear that my semester is already half way over! We just finished week 8 of classes (out of 13, with 3 weeks of finals) and it is officially my 2-week semester (spring) break here! Woo-hoo!! I am heading off to Sydney later this afternoon so I can fly out at 7AM Monday morning for a week adventure down in Tasmania! I’ll be travelling solo and staying in hostels for the whole thing, so I’m hoping it will be a wonderful experience! For those of you who are not familiar with Australian geography, Tasmania is one of Australia’s 6 states and is a little island off the southeastern corner of the mainland. I’m pretty sure it’s like 75% national park- and yes, you can find Tasmanian Devils there!
Image result for tasmania
(this is a Tasmanian Devil)
Following my adventure in Tazzie, I will be heading up to Melbourne for the second week to explore what I have heard is a beautiful city. I’ll be on the lookout for the street-art-filled alleyways that seem to be a rather famous aesthetic and likely spending a good amount of time in lovely coffee shops to warm up from the colder weather. Otherwise, I haven’t planned anything else in the city yet except booking a ballroom lesson while I’m there, which I couldn’t be more excited about! Shout out to all of my ballroom loves back home- I miss you guys! <3

Before I (potentially) go MIA for two weeks, I wanted to give everyone a little update of my semester now that the half way point has officially passed. The first month here I was definitely feeling nostalgic for my Wisconsin/Indiana family, friends, and routines! It wasn’t particularly difficult getting adjusted to schoolwork over here or other ways of Aussie life in general, but it was weird that nothing was familiar- people, city, shopping etc. Even worse, I quickly realised how I definitely take my car for granted at home- being at the liberty of public transportation can be frustrating, but I’m glad I’ve learned how to use public bus systems to make my way around! I also was able to rent a bike while I’m here that allows me to make it to the nearest shops and back really easily- thank goodness I can fulfill those late-night ice cream cravings! 😉 Anyway, the past few weeks I’ve finally found my groove- I’ve been meeting a lot of amazing and lovely people, and I’m starting to be sad that I have to go back to the states now…if I didn’t have obligations at home, there’s a chance I might have chosen to stick around! ;P Either way, I am definitely enjoying my time here and will make sure to take full advantage of the time I have left with the lovely people I have met- it is shaping up to be quite a lovely semester 🙂

As for classes, they are definitely different than what I am used to…Instead of having class MWF or TR like they do in Valpo, I have each class only once or twice a week. I have a one- or two-hour lecture and then a few of my classes have what is called tutorials- what is similar to what I believe is called recitation at other universities in the states? It’s a small group class that typically has discussions/time for presentations, therefore not interfering with the lecture time! So, here’s what my schedule looks like:
Monday- 9AM Lecture (Sustainable Society) w/ 11AM Tutorial; 2-4 pm Lecture (Innovation/Entrepreneurship)
Tuesday- No class!
Wednesday- No class!
Thursday- 8AM Lecture (Ethical Debates); 12-2 PM Lecture (Biology)
Friday- 10AM Tutorial (Ethical Debates); 2-4PM Lecture (Biology)

The best part is that if you miss a lecture, such as the dreaded 8 am, all of the lectures here are recorded and posted on Blackboard! This may or may not minimise my motivation to go to some of my classes…but I make sure I am caught up and do the work I need to! The grading system here is also different. First of all, instead of letter grades, they use HD (High Distinction, 85%+), D (Distinction), C (Credit), P (Pass), FF (Fail, <50%)….and sadly, many Aussies seem to be content with simply aiming for a P in their classes, which makes me definitely feel like a try-hard with my American-bred school motivation! Additionally, my total number of assignments (for all my classes) is only: 1 group presentation, a total of about 6 essays, weekly quizzes in biology, a handful of quizzes in innovation, and two finals- and that’s it! It definitely allows plenty of time for exploring, or as I’ve started to do, personal time for doing things I don’t normally get time to do, such as practice guitar and piano again, listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, or even go for the occasional (very occasional) run!

Alright, well I’m going to be late for my train if I keep rambling about my adventures! Last weekend I did hike to the bottom of a waterfall in the Blue Mountains, and yesterday I went to the horse races with a bunch of lovely ladies (they even had the fancy hats, called Fascinators!!) but I will have to update you on those when I get back to campus in a few weeks! I will try to post all my pictures as soon as possible- I take way too many, but with a broken laptop, I forget to upload them when I’m in the library, so will get around to it eventually.

Here’s a sneak peek of the blue mountains!
PC: Cole Wesselman

I will try to post an update post-Tazzie adventures, but that of course will depend on my access to Wi-Fi in the hostels…until then, enjoy the fall weather back home and I will see you in a few weeks <3

Love,
Jessica