Surf Camp

So last weekend I went on a surf trip down south of Wollongong in Gerroa at Seven Mile Beach. It was lots of fun, except for the weather/air temperature. It was SO COLD. Once I got over the fact that I was not going to be able to feel my hands or feet though, I caught some good waves and had a good time. Although, I still felt it fair to complain excessively about being numb. I met people from all over the world, only the instructors were Australian, the rest were from the U.S., Canada, Norway, the U.K., Thailand, and a bunch of other places that I don't remember. Lots of new friends! This picture to the right is my favorite from the weekend. FYI just before that I high-fived the guy in the white rashguard and that's why I fell....haha. I think it captures my true self. Throughout the weekend they took a ton of high quality photos and videos of all of us surfing. We had the option to buy them at the end, but I was too cheap so I took pictures of the pictures on the computer screen, (which is why the quality is crap). Haha! Instead of paying for those pictures I am buying a used surfboard to use while I am here. There are some guys in my building who run a business out of their dorm rooms repairing, renting and selling boards. They seem pretty cool and they said they will buy it back from me when I leave if I don't want to take it with me. Sounds like a good deal to me!

Classes started this week. Since we only have lectures the first week and no tutorials (which are the equivalent to our sections) I only had class Monday through Wednesday. Not a bad week! Usually I will have one class on Thursday, but today I am enjoying the day off. My classes seem like they will be pretty good. I am taking 3 psych classes and Intro to Indigenous Australia. My favorite so far is Abnormal Psych, it is really interesting and the lecturer is interactive and fun to listen to.

It is funny that I came to Australia to hang out with Australians and experience their culture, but find it very refreshing to occasionally be surrounded by Americans. I am really happy to be living with all Aussies so I can get to know them and meet other Aussies, but have some American friends to explore and adventure with. I think I am getting the best of both worlds.

Well, it's finally a beautiful sunny day, time to go explore the local beaches!

Finally Settled

Look Mom, new tattoo! Yep, it's a kangaroo...fitting right?

Finally found a place to live! Managed to get a room in Campus East, which is basically off campus apartments/dorms. I am not so excited to have to eat dorm food again (the self-catered units were all full), but it's so much better than being homeless! I have my own room in a suite of 5 rooms. All of my roomies are Australian and really nice. My room still needs some homey touches, but it is great. Moving in was a bit of a fiasco, I had stayed with some girls I met at another housing unit and I decided to take two trips to get all of my stuff over here. I had to take two different buses and on the second trip over the first bus was on a long break so I had to trek about a mile with my humongo suitcase to catch the second bus. Didn't help that it was pouring rain all day, but I made it eventually!

Had orientation the other day. It was pretty standard, they told us everything they think we need to know, took pictures for ID cards, and gave us a bunch of free stuff. I met a bunch of girls that are from the US, it is nice having friends who are in the same boat as me. I am going on a surf trip this weekend. I hope the weather clears up, I'm tired of the rain already!

Backpackers Keiraleagh House

I made the trek down to Wollongong today via one bus, one train, one taxi and a lot of wrestling with my luggage. I have been miserably homesick all day. Coming to a place where I don't know a single person seemed really cool until I actually did it. In reality, it's quite lonely and intimidating. People are really nice here though, I got a little bit lost today and the bus driver sorted me out. I also met a very kind older lady on the train. I must have looked pretty pathetic sitting there crying because she offered me a napkin and told me everything will be ok. Right before I got off the train she also reminded me to have some fun (made me think of you, Kirsten!).

The other people staying at this hostel are....interesting. So far I have only seen one other girl roaming around. The rest are guys of all ages. The hostel itself is kinda cool. It's a quirky old house with a funky backyard and a few goofy dogs running around. 

I am looking forward to orientation tomorrow so that I can start meeting other students. By getting lost today I scoped out how to get to Uni from the hostel. There is a free bus that makes a big loop around Wollongong. It's really convenient! (Well, if you know which stop is which...)

Homeless and Happy

While I dine on my gourmet dinner of top ramen and watch Shrek 3, I thought I would update y'all on the day's events. My friends Marc, Brittany and I drove down to Wollongong on the Australian equivalent of the PCH. It was a beautiful drive that went through the Royal National Park and then dumped us out on the coast. The first photo is of Marc and me at the first glimpse of the ocean. Unfortunately the weather was pretty crappy today, but as you can see in the second photo, which is of a beach in North Wollongong, the sun did come out for a bit! I like Wollongong a ton, it feels kind of similar to Santa Barbara.

I am still hunting for housing, so Marc drove me around and made me knock on some random doors and if they have any rooms available. The method didn't have much luck finding a room, but I think I made some new friends! I did see some notice boards with lots of rooms available, so one or two of those might prove to be successful. We'll see...

Made it!

After almost 24 hours of traveling and completely skipping Wednesday (and the U.S. women's soccer game...glad they won even without me cheering), I made it! Flying was pretty standard: sleeping was uncomfortable, food was gross, babies were crying...one perk was that the flight safety video was done by Richard Simmons! It was a hoot to say the least. I ended up sitting by guys, which means that no one talked to me. I have never been so quiet for so long.

I am in Sydney now, staying at my friend James' place. I am meeting up with a couple other friends, one from UCSB and the other from here, and we are going exploring in a bit. Woot Woot!

T-One Week!

Somehow in the next week I have to figure out how to pack for 5 months into 2 suitcases and a backpack... it will be interesting to say the least. I didn't realize how much I still have to do until I actually started working on it. I guess it's time to set aside the summer arts 'n crafts and get to work!