Week 1: Animals, Accents & Aussies

Update from Abroad

If you've been keeping up with my blog at this point, you've probably noticed that I happily moved into my new home.  Here are some photos of my room, which is in an apartment or "share house" with 21 other people.

You'll hear lots more about my Westella housemates as the semester goes on.  I'm happy to say that they've all been very friendly, welcoming, and just fun people in general.  It's so much fun to be in a place where almost everybody has a different accent.  I love talking to everyone, getting to know their personalities, and hearing about the major differences and similarities between our countries and lifestyles.  Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm with my camp friends again, but I get the interesting experience of being the foreigner this time.

Week 1

I've been in Brisbane for almost a week now, and every day has been pretty eventful so far.

Saturday

My first day we had a barbeque at a gorgeous park a few bus stops away.  I got acquainted with the Ibis birds who LOVE to steal food, but luckily they did not steal mine.  My contribution to this party was potato salad... guess I was feeling extra American.

Apparently I'll have to watch out for these around campus while eating my lunch!

We also rode the ferris wheel and just walked around the city, exploring and trying to figure out the buses, which are incredibly helpful.  After 9 rides, we even get the rest of the week FREE!

Sunday

We relaxed at South Bank which was where I took the hammock pic in my previous blog post.  We call it the "fake beach," and sure, it's not the ocean, but I love the fact that I can walk here in less than 15 minutes and feel like I'm on a real beach.

Aerial of South Bank Parklands.

How Americans call Sunday Funday is what Australians (& many other countries) call "Sunday Sesh."  It wasn't a big thing this first weekend, but I'm looking forward to having some Sundays where I get to relax and have a drink with friends or just chill out instead of doing the amount of homework I'm used to.

(Disclaimer: I have not started classes yet, so I might regret this comment if my classes are actually really difficult.  Fingers crossed that they're very worthwhile & interesting but not TOO tough :) )

Monday-Wednesday

We had our orientation events where we went to a huge student expo and checked out all the clubs and travel agency tables!  A lot like USC's Student Organization Fair, but definitely some more adventurous options.  I'm looking forward to actually climbing some real rocks, maybe playing some tennis on our campus's beautiful courts, and hopefully kayaking the Brisbane River and doing a little surfing.  Who needs to work out when I can just play and go to the beach?

(Also, shout out to Strom for free gym memberships... the membership at UQ is a bit pricey.)

Full moon over the river at South Bank as I sipped on a nice peach tea.

(I do really miss sweet tea, though!!!)

Tuesday we also went out to a UQ party put on by QUEST, a great club for international students and current students who organize the events.  It was a lot of fun, but the weirdest part was that a school group actually advertised an event at a bar.  That they rented out.  And wanted students to come and meet each other and drink.  It's quite a nice change to go out and just have fun with friends, never worrying about getting in trouble or being told that we aren't allowed to drink.  Definitely takes the pressure off and just makes the experience different.

UQ: A Great Choice

It was so nice to get acquainted to campus and finally see the place I've been looking up online and dreaming about for months now.  I'm definitely still getting lost every once in awhile and trying to get my bearings on where things are, such as my classrooms, the best cafes, and the good spots to sit out by the lake or put up my hammock, of course.  The UQ Nav app has been so helpful, and all the staff and current students have been giving us good advice.

I absolutely love USC and will tell people for the rest of my life how amazing it is and how lucky I've been to go to school there and be part of the Gamecock community. However, that doesn't mean I can't also be proud of being involved in another school's community! UQ is ranked in the world's top 50 universities, which I find pretty remarkable, and I'm very grateful to be a part of their campus life for a semester.

Me on my first day of orientation, in the Great Court

(bigger than the Horseshoe at USC and just as beautiful!)

My friends at USC and around America know how much I miss them, but I'm INCREDIBLY grateful to have met such wonderful new people here so far, and I know it's just the beginning.

This was another day of exploring campus and watching the freshers (freshmen) do their induction dances on the Great Court.  There are hardly any dorms here compared to USC, and all the new students living there do some kind of initiation where they have to perform a funny dance in front of everyone!  A highlight was hearing a lot of group do the AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OY OY OY chant.  People used to say it all the time at camp, so I was excited to hear it actually be used here!

(SO Australian, am I right?)

Breaking out the selfie stick on the Great Court.

Another disclaimer: People on campus here dress WAY nicer than on American campuses.

Only 2 fraternity pocket tees were spotted all day, and no Comfort Colors shirts.

Siobhan & I got some juice at a market on our

walk back from the CBD (downtown) to West End.

Being touristy and fabulous as always.

A restaurant called Jo-Jo's at Queen Street Mall.

Today, I slept in late for the first time all week.  As wonderful as Australia is, I've still had a few days where I've felt sick, getting adjusted to the food and the heat.  And I've woken up at 6am every day except today. Don't get to thinking everything is that perfect all the time.  ;)

Then we went to campus and I met a wombat, one of the cutest and cuddliest animals found in Australia... and it will NOT kill me.

And you're like, what the heck is a wombat? Wikipedia will tell you.

I cannot WAIT to hold a koala, but this was pretty cool.

My friends and I all keep saying we still feel like our lives are a never-ending vacation, but that will change a little bit once classes start on Monday.  Beach days and traveling will still be a common occurrence, but yes, I AM actually going to go school.  They don't call it study abroad for nothin'.

If you know me well, you know I actually enjoy school and generally look forward to the start of each semester, so I'm kind of excited to go to my first week of classes!

Goodbye for now, friends & family!

Next week I'll tell you about sailing, pub crawl, and watching Dance Marathon online from across the ocean (so many emotions).

Be Excellent,
Jo Jo