School, School, School!

I have officially started "Uni" as they call it here! I started classes last Monday, July 19. I'm enrolled in 4 classes, each worth 6 "UoC" or units of credit. My student Visa requires me to be in a minimum of 24 UoC and my program allows me a maximum of 24, so 24 it is! That's basically equivalent to 16 hours in the U.S., 4 credits for each class.

Australian schooling is very different in some aspects, yet similar in others. The campus is much the same as a typical college campus in the U.S. Lots of big buildings, lecture halls, auditorium style seats with the little table that folds on the side. My Uni - University of New South Wales - happens to be build on a gigantic hill, so we have "upper campus" and "lower campus" and there's a few massive staircases connecting the two. At this rate, my legs should be pretty toned by the end of the semester! This campus has a lot more little stores and shops throughout. They have quite a few cafeteria/buffet type areas to grab a bite, LOTS of coffee shops (Australians love their coffee. And they don't brewed coffee - only expressos!), plus convenience stores, and even a hair salon! Class structure is basically the same: Lecture for 2-3 hours a week and a tutorial. Tutorials are classes of about 20 students from the lecture where topics are discussed further, much like a recitation for those of you who have/had those in college.

The biggest difference in schooling is how we are assessed. Each class is basically the same: one essay, one exam, and participation. That's it. That's the entire grade. I see it as both a blessing and a curse. It's really nice that we don't have to spend our time studying for little quizzes that end up not counting for very much, and there's no weekly homework like I'm accustomed to, but there is SO much weight on one project. I'm definitely going to have to adjust my study habits to accommodate. I'm definitely a procratinator, and that is definitely not going to fly in this system. I've already been surprised by the amount of reading required before each class... I'm quickly learning that I definitely need to leave myself enough time to be thourough.

My favorite class so far is entitled "Innovation and Entrepreneurship." I'm in a team for the entire semester and together we build our own business, and by the end of the semester we will be pitching it to real executives, who will it turn critique our pitching style and our business. I'm looking forward to this for a number of reasons... Dad will know one in particular! =) But in this class I'm actually getting to meet a lot of locals and get a sense of what they're like. The tutorials for this class are pretty fun. Instead of small discussion groups, we have real entrepreneurs come and give talks about how they started their businesses, tips for success, troubles they had, etc.

On the topic of non-school related issues, my roommates and I took a walk along the eastern coast from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. (See pictures at the bottom.)You might think if you've seen the ocean once, you've seen it a million times, but the coast here is like nothing I've ever seen. It was breathtaking! It was amazing looking out to the ocean and knowing that there's nothing out there for thousands and thousands of miles. We were hoping to see some dolphins or whales, but no such luck! I can't wait for it to warm up a bit so we can lay out and go swimming!

One more thing to comment on before I go. Most Australians are very environmentally conscious. People take canvas bags to store and grocery stores all the time. ALL the time. Some stores (i.e. Target) even charge if you want to put your things in a plastic bag. Sydney is honestly the cleanest city I have ever seen. Walking along the streets downtown, where you would expect to see little in the drains, and little specks of garbage on the sidewalk, there is none! It's great! I was really impressed walking along the coast as well. I thought trash might be thrown in the ocean and wash up against the rocks, but nope! I love it! The city transportation is amazing and highly used. They don't have big SUV's and literally no trucks (but they do have lots and lots and lots of little cars!).

Here are your promised pictures! If you have any questions for me or anything, please comment and I will answer them in the next blog! Hope everyone back home is safe and well =) Love, Em.

My roommates and I at Bondi Beach.
From left to right: Me, Vessie, Hannah, Hali, Halana

Bondi Beach - where the first bikini was worn in Australia!

A lap pool right next to the Pacific Ocean!

Me in a natural sandstone cave along the coast.

A portion of the path we walked on, right next to an oceanside cemetary.

Beautiful Gordon's Bay! What clear, blue water. My favorite.

Pictures! Finally!

Well it's been quite a while since my last post, and I've been quite busy! The orientation with Study Australia is complete unfortunately. We had a wonderful stay at the World Tower and have moved to our apartment at Bondi Junction.

In the past week or so I've done some exploring of the city. I went to a little part of Sydney called Glebe with a friend, Carlie. We wanted to try a Mexican restaurant she found there, but they didn't open until dinner and we were there for lunch. We ended up eating at a restaurant that I think my have been operated by an Italian family. It was a cute little place, but we were the only people there at 3 in the afternoon.

This past Sunday we moved from downtown Sydney to Bondi Junction. Bondi Junction is closer to school for me, about a 10 minute bus ride compared to a 25 minute bus ride. The apartment we're staying in is much nicer than I expected! There are 3 bedrooms, and 5 girls living here. There is supposed to be a sixth, but we hear she's having some trouble with her Visa. Once she gets here she'll be moving into my room, but for the time being I have a room to myself.

It's funny how different things are here. The t.v. shows are at least 2 seasons behind. Right now Dharma and Greg is on t.v. and one channel plays old Simpsons episodes in marathons. Going to the grocery store is surprisingly different. There aren't many of the same brands as in the States. I've seen a few Kraft products, limited Yoplait yoghurt (Australian spelling, of course), and their corn chips are pretty difficult to find. The grocery store near us is really nice and has a lot of specialty products. The nutrition facts are also different. Instead of calories, it's kilojoules.

The weather here is surprisingly cool. I had my first day of class yesterday and just wore a sweater to campus and I ended up freezing! Yesterday it sprinkled a little bit, which did not help the temperature. Today is a little warmer, and the sun is peaking through the clouds. The locals have said that the temperature usually starts warming up in August, so that's not far off!

Sorry this post is kind of all over the place and not very well written. Hopefully more soon!

Love, Em.

A wild cockatoo at the Sydney Botanical Gardens

With a lively koala at the Featherdale Wildlife Park

On a hike through the Blue Mountains, just West of Sydney

The Sydney Opera House at night

Literally halfway around the world

Well, I made it! Right now I'm in an internet cafe in the World Square area of Sydney. We're staying at an incredibly nice hotel/apartments complex. I'm staying with two girls who seem pretty nice, but I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with them yet.

The flight from IND to LAX went by quickly because I didn't have any idea of what time it was. Picked up my baggage and went to the international terminal to recheck it. Went through security just fine. Boarding the plane took a while because there was a lady on a stretcher that had to board through the back. That delayed our flight about 45 minutes. It was so weird being served dinner after we had started the flight! I suppose it really was dinner time in Australia, but in Indy it would've been about 4 a.m.

I slept on and off throughout the flight, but never very well. Once we landed in a rainy Sydney, we got our bags and went through customs. All my bags made it, but my friend (and future roomie) Hannah had a bag missing. Although a hassle, she was compensated for it! From there we were taken to where we're staying and had some time to put ourselves together before meeting for lunch. We received our international cell phones and tried to put them together. We had a few more hours to ourselves so Hannah and I went and set up a bank account for her.

We met back up with our group and had an information session regarding culture and our schedule for the rest of orientation. Really they were just trying to keep us awake so we can better adjust to the time change. We went to dinner at a place called the Bluebird Cafe. Nice casual restaurant with good food. I ate Kangaroo!!! (They suggested eating it before we go play with kangaroos Sunday) It was surprisingly good. It was served rare - medium rare with a Jack Daniel's sauce on it. The sauce was not the greatest, but the emat itself was pretty tasty. They said kangaroo meat is really healthy - 100 g of kangaroo meat has between 20 and 25 g of protein and little to no fat! Eating kangaroo has been endorsed by the Australian department of Health and the department of conservation. The department of health for the above listed reasons and that department of conservation because kangaroos are overpopulated. Any kangaroo killed for eating is from the wild and only from areas of overpopulation. Here's a fun fact: The human population in Australia is approximately 22 million whereas the kangaroo population is approximately 40 million!

Not much time left here at the internet cafe! Tomorrow we're going on a walking tour of Sydney. Sunday going to some kind of animal place where we can play with kangaroos and pet koalas as well as going to the Blue Mountains ( described as the Grand Canyon filled with trees, and if you know me you know I am in LOVE with the Grand Canyon! ). More meetings and a dinner cruise Monday and then the end of orientation Tuesday. Hopefully more to come in the near future.

Love, Em.

Less than 48 Hours

It's hard to believe, but it's getting down to the wire! This time Wednesday, I'll be on a plane heading to LA. From there I hope on a plane to Sydney and many hours later I will arrive!

Not much to say right now... still haven't started packing. No biggie. Had a nice little going away party today. I'm really thankful for all the close friends and family who were able to come!

Stay tuned for more to come from AUSTRALIA!!!

Emily