This picture is a view from the patio in my dorm.
My uni pictured below. The layout is very open and outdoor. Even to do the laundry I had to walk out of dorm and walk into a different room to get to them. The water pressure is amazing in the showers too!
My friend and I also booked a trip to go to Byron Bay in less than two weeks! On campus they have a student travel center that help with trips and have planned ones too. We were told that professors expect students to travel and usually understand when you have to miss class. The trip we booked is for 3 days and 2 nights. We are driving through the hippie capital of Australia on this hippie looking bus! (pictures to come). Then we go to Byron bay and we will kayak with dolphins, do a waterfall tour and have a barbeque with live music. Sounds very fun! I've never booked a travel where it is so soon. Usually when you plan a trip its like 10 months away.
The days were mainly spent shopping and trying to get situated. My friend and I had to go to the store and we went to the bus stop and hopped on the the first bus that pulled up. We were planning on going to the local Target. About 20 minutes on the bus we asked someone when the Target stop was... that's when we found out that there is more than one bus and we were on the wrong one. So we got off the bus and ended up walking to a grocery store where we found some things. We wandered the area that we were in and then went back to campus. We are slowly figuring out this whole public transit thing.
Note that neither of us have an Australian phone so we can only use our phones when we have wifi which is only on campus.
This week was also orientation week so there were some planned events but for the most part we had the days to do what we wanted. Two of the nights they had themed parties and were at the campus bar and those were fun to go to.
The campus food is very good. However, like everything here... expensive! A bagel $5, a typical sandwich $14, and a small soda is $3.
On Thursday my friend and I went to Burleigh heads beach which is suppose to be more of a local beach that is scenic. It was so pretty! We tanned for a bit and then decided to walk around because there was a hiking trail. The views were so pretty on the trail and then on the other side there was a calmer part of the ocean with a lot of people at that beach.
When hiking I had to be very aware to walk on the left side of the path. Since they drive on the left side they also move over to the left when walking toward someone which is different.
As you can see in my photo there is a bridge. Many kids were jumping off
the bridge into the ocean. Obviously, I couldn't just watch people
doing this and not join. So I walked over and jumped off the bridge! It
was neat.. but while getting out of the water I grabbed onto a sharp
rock and cut my hand up a bit. (I'm okay). But I had some rock pieces in
my cuts and I wanted to buy hydrogen peroxide. We were at the beach for
a good 5 hours... haha we originally planned on going for only a
couple. After leaving the beach we decided to go straight to Target since last time was a fail. Everything is close by, but not walking distance. So we took the bus there. The Targets here a much different than back home. The store is mainly clothes and feels more like a department store. They didn't sell hydrogen peroxide nor any bandaids! But I did buy a frisbee, a blow dryer, and a small portable speaker for when we go to the beach.
Anyway, we left the Target and decided to walk to the liquor store which was about a 10 min walk away. Again, everything is crazy expensive... besides wine! Wine is cheap. The beer I bought was the cheapest beer there... 30 cans for $38. Most beer is a pack of 24 for $45. So we leave the store and are walking back to the bus stop (10 min walk). We felt like homeless people wandering around. haha. the 30 pack was sooo heavy and that black bag was what I was given from Target was heavy as well. I felt like someone in New York City selling purses with my black garbage bag from Target.
Then today we had a scavenger hunt planned for us in the day. We met on campus and were given the things we had to find with the amount of points you would receive. It was 4 hours and the end meeting spot was a bus ride away. The point was to get more familiar with the nearby cities. I paired with 3 other competitive people and we were booking it. There was a $100 prize for first place so of course I wanted to win. Things included take a picture with someone wearing a Bond Uni shirt. Do a silent disco in the campus library, do the macarina infront of the Starbucks in the city. Order something creative at McDonalds. Finding different restaurants and taking pictures of them, etc. At the end we met at a restaurant to tally up the points... needless to say, my team won! We each got $25! I don't know what I'm going to do with all my winnings!
It still doesn't feel fully real that I am here. I talked to Bari (roommate from home) on Face time the night before she was leaving for abroad. She was very nervous, but I told her not to be. I was just as nervous and just as afraid before I left but looking back it is only the fear of the unknown. I was saying how honestly I will be sad when I have to leave to go back home. Everything is just so new and exciting and it'll be weird at the end to be leaving and not knowing the next time you will return and see all the people you have met again.
I also am starting to realize the underlying benefits of studying abroad. You meet so many people from all parts of the world. Everyone has different beliefs and understandings of the world. I think it is important to get out of your hometown and learn what others think and believe.
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