Margaret River.
Basics:
We planned this trip on our own, so it had nothing to do with the school. We tried to keep it cheap and stay in hostels and rent a van... but it didn't quite turn out that way.
12 US students went - 6 from Elon, 2 from SMU, and 4 from Trinity
We picked up 1 18 year old aussie boy that lives with a girl from Elon, Jarred... he's a life saver.
We were suppossed to drive down in a big van... that didn't happen so we took 3 cars instead and thank god I rode with Jarred, the aussie.
We went down on a Thursday and ate in town that night and then went back to hang out at the hostel. We had 2 rooms that each had 1 double bed and 4 bunk beds so space was tight, but we made due.
Friday was our beach day and we went to 2 different beaches. The first beach we went to for the surfers and boogie boarders because the waves were better. This is where we got in trouble with the lifeguard because the people that went in the water (not me this time) didn't pay attention to the rip tide signs where they weren't suppossed to swim because the water gets trapped and heads back to sea in this one particular place right where all of my friends went in the water. They learned the hard way and had to swim themselves out of it while me and a few others just listened to the leather tanned lifeguard. After a bit there we went back to the hostel, made lunch, and headed to another beach. After the 15 minute walk to the actual beach we realized we were the only ones there and it was gorgeous. There was a cove to go snorkeling in and a ton of rocks to climb on. There was also a huge rock that we could climb up on and out toward the ocean with little pools of water, creatures, and splashing waves. That was the best part! I went all the way out to the edge, but went when the tide was coming in (not so smart) and so on my way back up the rocks I got soaked by a pretty big wave coming in and almost fell but thank god didn't or I would have been in trouble... So we went back up the rocks and took some pictures and hung out a bit on higher ground then back for the night.
Saturday was for 3 of my favorite things... wine, chocolate, and cheese. We had a driver come pick all 13 of us up in a van and drive us around all day. That was the best idea anyone ever thought of. We went to 2 small wineries, then the chocolate factory, then the cheese factory, and finished out with 2 larger scale wineries. We each had about a bottle and a half of wine and the samples weren't stingy at all! Especially since we downed about 14 wine samples in 30 mins. at one winery because they had a wedding about to take place. Usually we had about 8 samples in a span of 40 minutes, so that was fun. The first 2 smaller places were a lot more informative than the larger scale places, but overall we enjoyed it and I tasted some excellent wine! I've ruled out Pinot Noir from my list though... I didn't like a single one of those that I tasted or the dessert wine... that I could have spit out. Most of the whites I liked and one was really good that had a limey taste to it at one of the smaller wineries, different than a lot I had tasted before. As for the reds... well none of us were huge fans but I did find a couple milder ones that I liked.
Overall it was a fun trip but I did learn a few lessons...
1. Never travel with 13 people. Too many differing opinions and strong personalities don't work well together.
2. Even though I already know this... your mother is not on this trip with you to remind you to do things like take your jewelry off before you get into the ocean...
3. Don't wear rings into the ocean. (I was about waist deep and not planning to even get my hair wet when we didn't see a fairly large wave come in and of course it caught me off guard and crashed over me only so that I could stand up and realize that I was missing a ring... very frustrating)
4. Don't assume that you have something if you are unsure where you put it. (Again realizing someone isn't around to remind you that you left something somewhere) I go to pull my pillow out of the suitcase, where I would have bet my life that it was, and realize it's not there meaning it got left in the hotel back when I first arrived... again even more frustrating.
5. Plan your own trip if you want to have any say in what you are doing!
What I'm realizing most is not the fact that my mom isn't here to tell me to grab something or be smart about this or that... but just the fact that even though I know people here on the trip does not mean that they are going to look out for me. I've always valued my friends and appreciated them a lot, but nothing compares to how much I wish I had a good friend here with me on this trip. It's nice to have someone around that will look out for you in a hotel room and be like, "Ok... did 'we' get everything?" and not just look out for themselves. It's not that I'm not capable of doing things by myself because I've always been fairly independent, but you don't realize how much you genuinely appreciate the little things like a friend saying, "maybe we better take off our rings so we don't lose them just incase..." Those are the things that I miss. I can deal with not having my own bed, and not having Olive Garden salad dressing or breadsticks, and even not having my car. But not having someone that you can count on or trust is a million times worse than missing anything else from home.
So I'm working on it. It's kind of reverting back to how I felt freshman year at college (which isn't the best experience looking back). Then I knew I had to look out for myself no matter what. I had to get home safe from the bar, I needed to know the bus schedule, and I had to have a phone and ID and cash on me at all times just in case. Not to mention, I have to be open to meeting new people in a foreign world where everyone is not always nice. Not to mention, I'm only going to be here for 5 months, and you don't exactly make great friends in that amount of time when they know that you are going to be leaving.
But I'm realizing all of these things and working with it. I can look after myself, it's not a problem... it just takes being more aware and doing things to ensure that I'm safe even if everyone else isn't doing it. I think I'm the only person that carried my bag along the beach when we went for a walk because my passport and money was in there... everyone else left theirs sitting on the beach (passport and money included) saying that they "trusted it"... and somehow I'm the one with the bad luck?! So hopefully karma will come around and keep me on the lucky side from now on... but most importantly I'm just learning how to prepare for anything when we head out for a weekend, a day trip, or even a night in Perth. So life goes on, I live and learn, and can only try to do better next time and not wear my rings in the ocean!
Love and miss everyone at home and would love to hear from you!! My email is athomas8@elon.edu
xoxox
Monday, February 23, 2009
Rotto Island and the Quakkas
Rottnest Island... was almost a week ago, last Tuesday.
As part of our program, the director said he would pay for our ferry ride over to the island for the day. So we get up early and make our way into the city to catch the ferry over which took about an hour, and since it was 8:30 in the morning... we were all asleep. However when I did go up on the boat deck and checked over the side of the ship you could see huge swarms and pods of jelly fish... disgusting! There were also a few dolphins that we saw swimming by so that was cool but we didn't get any really good pictures of them
Since my friends had gotten pretty badly sunburnt the day before we decided to take it easy, wear t-shirts for the day, lather in sunscreen, and ride bikes around the island. There are very few cars on the island, so bikes are the main form of transportation for everyone (including the couple hundred residents on the island). So for 20 bucks for the whole day we rented some bikes and helmets and biked around the island. We actually only made it half way because we would have died doing the whole thing... They said it would be a nice leisurely trip... WRONG. Huge hills, seemed like mountains to me while the bus was passing me huffing and puffing up the huge hills. But we did it and it was a good change from being stuck inside somewhere or just laying around. We got some gorgeous pictures that are on my photobucket account and also stopped a few different places along the way.
We first stopped to take pictures of a few different shipwrecks that had either gotten lost on the way to perth or freemantle and some that had drifted that far into the island and crashed on the rocks. Next we saw the quakkas. Quakkas can only be found on Rottnest Island (I'm pretty sure...) and they have a tail like a rat, hop like a kangaroo, a little smaller than a groundhog, and have fur that is a light bown shade and they have hair a little coarser than a rabbit. Yeh... they are kinda a mix of things to say the least, but there are pictures online. We actually got to touch them even though that is illegal. They're really friendly and kind of hop around and are all over the island and they have a pouch like a kangaroo and are nocturnal.
After the quakkas we cut through the center of the island to get a wiff of an awful odor that we found out later came from the salt lakes. When we came down the hill on our bike we saw what looked like huge purple and pink lakes of water that had crystals all around the outside. The pictures don't do it justice, the best comparison is to a game level in mariobros on nintendo in the purple and pink ice worlds.
After passing that and stopping for some water we finally took a break at a swimming area that was actually a rock/reef area we could walk out on to that was about knee deep then you could jump into crystal clear water up to about my shoulders. It was perfect! We swam for a little bit and then hopped back on the bikes and went back to town to return the bikes, meet up with the group, and take the ferry ride back.
All in all it was a fun day trip and I'd love to go again and do the other half of the island and bring my snorkeling gear for the next time!
As part of our program, the director said he would pay for our ferry ride over to the island for the day. So we get up early and make our way into the city to catch the ferry over which took about an hour, and since it was 8:30 in the morning... we were all asleep. However when I did go up on the boat deck and checked over the side of the ship you could see huge swarms and pods of jelly fish... disgusting! There were also a few dolphins that we saw swimming by so that was cool but we didn't get any really good pictures of them
Since my friends had gotten pretty badly sunburnt the day before we decided to take it easy, wear t-shirts for the day, lather in sunscreen, and ride bikes around the island. There are very few cars on the island, so bikes are the main form of transportation for everyone (including the couple hundred residents on the island). So for 20 bucks for the whole day we rented some bikes and helmets and biked around the island. We actually only made it half way because we would have died doing the whole thing... They said it would be a nice leisurely trip... WRONG. Huge hills, seemed like mountains to me while the bus was passing me huffing and puffing up the huge hills. But we did it and it was a good change from being stuck inside somewhere or just laying around. We got some gorgeous pictures that are on my photobucket account and also stopped a few different places along the way.
We first stopped to take pictures of a few different shipwrecks that had either gotten lost on the way to perth or freemantle and some that had drifted that far into the island and crashed on the rocks. Next we saw the quakkas. Quakkas can only be found on Rottnest Island (I'm pretty sure...) and they have a tail like a rat, hop like a kangaroo, a little smaller than a groundhog, and have fur that is a light bown shade and they have hair a little coarser than a rabbit. Yeh... they are kinda a mix of things to say the least, but there are pictures online. We actually got to touch them even though that is illegal. They're really friendly and kind of hop around and are all over the island and they have a pouch like a kangaroo and are nocturnal.
After the quakkas we cut through the center of the island to get a wiff of an awful odor that we found out later came from the salt lakes. When we came down the hill on our bike we saw what looked like huge purple and pink lakes of water that had crystals all around the outside. The pictures don't do it justice, the best comparison is to a game level in mariobros on nintendo in the purple and pink ice worlds.
After passing that and stopping for some water we finally took a break at a swimming area that was actually a rock/reef area we could walk out on to that was about knee deep then you could jump into crystal clear water up to about my shoulders. It was perfect! We swam for a little bit and then hopped back on the bikes and went back to town to return the bikes, meet up with the group, and take the ferry ride back.
All in all it was a fun day trip and I'd love to go again and do the other half of the island and bring my snorkeling gear for the next time!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Day Trip to Freemantle and my pictures are all online now!
First off - for parents and family and those that don't have facebook I've uploaded all my pictures to ->
http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/ss337/amelia_thomas/
If you click on that link and then look on the left hand side of the web page there will be 4-5 different albums and if you click on the different albums you can see my pictures and most of them have descriptions as to what they are, so enjoy! (I hope it works!)
Other than that, my most recent excursion was about 20 minutes outside of Perth to Freemantle or as the Aussie's say... Freo. They shorten all of their words - like McDonald's is Macky's and board shorts are 'boardies'
Freemantle was a really nice city and there were markets and lots of shops on the street as well as a "Cappuccino Row" with a bunch of coffee and deli shops. There was also a harbor with more shops and markets, too. So we did some bargain shopping, got some trinkets and 'Australian knick knacks' and also toured around the city. In my pictures you can see where we went to round house where they publicly humiliated prisoners when it was first built. There was also an old tunnel that the whaling companies used with secret passage ways and old whale vertebrae on the inside. It was all pretty interesting but after the long day we were exhausted from walking around so we headed to the popular beer brewery, "little creatures" for "sunday sesh"
Sunday sesh here in Australia is basically the Aussie's favorite day of drinking activities and relaxing on the beach because hardly any businesses or stores are open. So we went to the brewery and shared some nachos and beers and had a good time for our first "sunday sesh" Although we'd love to do that every Sunday, with a pint of beer costing $9... it is definitely not in our budgets!
Another popular Aussie trend is eating 'fish and chips' or fried fish filets and french fries. So we had a traditional lunch down at the harbor today as well and it was delicious! But again, not in my daily budget since it was about $15 for a filet of fried fish and fries.
So that concludes traveling for this week. We have one more week before class starts so we are going to an island to snorkle and southern western australia so we can do some wine tours and surfing... I'll be exhausted and broke by the time school starts so I'm on the hunt for a job starting tomorrow!
I miss everyone tons and hope you enjoy the pictures and I'd love to hear from you all my email is athomas8@elon.edu if you didn't already have it!
xoxo,
Amelia
http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/ss337/amelia_thomas/
If you click on that link and then look on the left hand side of the web page there will be 4-5 different albums and if you click on the different albums you can see my pictures and most of them have descriptions as to what they are, so enjoy! (I hope it works!)
Other than that, my most recent excursion was about 20 minutes outside of Perth to Freemantle or as the Aussie's say... Freo. They shorten all of their words - like McDonald's is Macky's and board shorts are 'boardies'
Freemantle was a really nice city and there were markets and lots of shops on the street as well as a "Cappuccino Row" with a bunch of coffee and deli shops. There was also a harbor with more shops and markets, too. So we did some bargain shopping, got some trinkets and 'Australian knick knacks' and also toured around the city. In my pictures you can see where we went to round house where they publicly humiliated prisoners when it was first built. There was also an old tunnel that the whaling companies used with secret passage ways and old whale vertebrae on the inside. It was all pretty interesting but after the long day we were exhausted from walking around so we headed to the popular beer brewery, "little creatures" for "sunday sesh"
Sunday sesh here in Australia is basically the Aussie's favorite day of drinking activities and relaxing on the beach because hardly any businesses or stores are open. So we went to the brewery and shared some nachos and beers and had a good time for our first "sunday sesh" Although we'd love to do that every Sunday, with a pint of beer costing $9... it is definitely not in our budgets!
Another popular Aussie trend is eating 'fish and chips' or fried fish filets and french fries. So we had a traditional lunch down at the harbor today as well and it was delicious! But again, not in my daily budget since it was about $15 for a filet of fried fish and fries.
So that concludes traveling for this week. We have one more week before class starts so we are going to an island to snorkle and southern western australia so we can do some wine tours and surfing... I'll be exhausted and broke by the time school starts so I'm on the hunt for a job starting tomorrow!
I miss everyone tons and hope you enjoy the pictures and I'd love to hear from you all my email is athomas8@elon.edu if you didn't already have it!
xoxo,
Amelia
Friday, February 13, 2009
Besides seeing the sites, what it's really like...
Overall, being here so far has been stressful and frustrating despite all the fun and amazing sights we have seen.
It's obviously going to be hard moving to a different university, not to mention another city, and another country. It has been trying on all of us just getting settled and figuring out how we are going to make our lives happen here in Perth.
One of the biggest boundaries is money and setting up bank accounts and exchanging money. It's complicated and new, and you are never fully sure if you are doing the right thing and money is something that is hard to risk when you're in a foreign country!
Next, public transportation... is a whole new world. It's nice to be able to jump on the bus or train and pretty much get anywhere in the city but it is a big time contstraint and danger as we are all learning. It's just another thing that we have to consider before going out, which takes away a lot of freedom especially since I'm used to being able to take my car anywhere. I think this is the biggest thing that I am struggling with because I am so dependent on my car in the states, not having it here forces me to depend on other people that I don't know or trust.
People... a whole other story. The group of students that I am here with are nice to start, but very "clique-y" which makes planning trips and excursions difficult because I don't want to step on anyone's toes. Also everything is different when it comes to people in Australia as well. The actual Aussie's for the most part have been really nice, but there actually aren't a ton of actual Australians on campus. Most of the people living on campus are international students, mainly from Asia. As a majority they very much keep to themselves and aren't extremely friendly. The only problem is that most of us are living with at least a couple asian students, and the living accomodations are very difficult for them. Most of the flats and dorms are co-ed suites of 6-8 individual rooms. A lot of the international students not from the U.S. or Western Europe have gotten upset and angry because they have to live in co-ed dorms and it just is not comfortable for them. I feel bad because Americans and Australians generally are more outgoing and obnoxious, especially when it comes to nightlife and drinking, and I can't imagine how much of a culture shock it must be for those students that come from cultures where those type behaviors are unacceptable. So while I haven't experienced a huge culture shock (obviously because Americans and Australians have a lot of similarities) it will definitely be a great experience for me not only to meet Australians, but friends from all over the world.
Currently in my flat it is me and one other guy from Elon, one 1st year Australian guy, 1 sophomore guy from Jersey, and we just got 2 exchange students from Japan that speak excellent english and are very nice. So we'll see how the rest of the flat fills up and enjoy the experience as I can.
So despite the fact that we are running around the city getting identification cards, bus cards, getting living supplies at the mall, carrying groceries in backpacks on the bus home, and walking 30 minutes across a HUGE campus... I think I'll make it :-) It's going to take a while to adjust to this lifestyle and the different daily things that I need to take care of but hopefully it won't turn out to be a huge mess!!
It's obviously going to be hard moving to a different university, not to mention another city, and another country. It has been trying on all of us just getting settled and figuring out how we are going to make our lives happen here in Perth.
One of the biggest boundaries is money and setting up bank accounts and exchanging money. It's complicated and new, and you are never fully sure if you are doing the right thing and money is something that is hard to risk when you're in a foreign country!
Next, public transportation... is a whole new world. It's nice to be able to jump on the bus or train and pretty much get anywhere in the city but it is a big time contstraint and danger as we are all learning. It's just another thing that we have to consider before going out, which takes away a lot of freedom especially since I'm used to being able to take my car anywhere. I think this is the biggest thing that I am struggling with because I am so dependent on my car in the states, not having it here forces me to depend on other people that I don't know or trust.
People... a whole other story. The group of students that I am here with are nice to start, but very "clique-y" which makes planning trips and excursions difficult because I don't want to step on anyone's toes. Also everything is different when it comes to people in Australia as well. The actual Aussie's for the most part have been really nice, but there actually aren't a ton of actual Australians on campus. Most of the people living on campus are international students, mainly from Asia. As a majority they very much keep to themselves and aren't extremely friendly. The only problem is that most of us are living with at least a couple asian students, and the living accomodations are very difficult for them. Most of the flats and dorms are co-ed suites of 6-8 individual rooms. A lot of the international students not from the U.S. or Western Europe have gotten upset and angry because they have to live in co-ed dorms and it just is not comfortable for them. I feel bad because Americans and Australians generally are more outgoing and obnoxious, especially when it comes to nightlife and drinking, and I can't imagine how much of a culture shock it must be for those students that come from cultures where those type behaviors are unacceptable. So while I haven't experienced a huge culture shock (obviously because Americans and Australians have a lot of similarities) it will definitely be a great experience for me not only to meet Australians, but friends from all over the world.
Currently in my flat it is me and one other guy from Elon, one 1st year Australian guy, 1 sophomore guy from Jersey, and we just got 2 exchange students from Japan that speak excellent english and are very nice. So we'll see how the rest of the flat fills up and enjoy the experience as I can.
So despite the fact that we are running around the city getting identification cards, bus cards, getting living supplies at the mall, carrying groceries in backpacks on the bus home, and walking 30 minutes across a HUGE campus... I think I'll make it :-) It's going to take a while to adjust to this lifestyle and the different daily things that I need to take care of but hopefully it won't turn out to be a huge mess!!
Everything Australian at Yanchep National Park: Roo's, Koala's, Surfing, Forest Fires
After arriving in Perth and moving in we took an "orientation trip" an hour north of Perth to Yanchep National Park for a couple nights.
We arrived and immediately went to the beach which was gorgeous! I could make my own postcards from some of the sights and the water was perfect, too.
While we were at the park we learned how to throw boomerangs (mine went directly down into the dirt and didn't work) and how to throw spears (I was better at this one!). Then we had a lesson in aboriginal culture and some of the plants they used for medicines and soap etc. while looking at the koala bears in the trees.
The next day we got up really early and headed an hour north to go surfing! (Again, I wasn't that great) It was actually a really calm day in the ocean where we were so we weren't doing big things haha but it was fun and I think we all at least managed to stand up on our boards at least once. I'm ready to rent one and try again!
Also while we were there we saw a ton of kangaroos and lots of wildlife and the "bush" of Australia. There was a large protected lake and across the lake we could see huge forest fires burning every day. They had huge helicopters flying and sucking water out of the lake and dumping them on the fires. I was surprised how close the fires seemed to our hotel and how unconcerned most of the Australians were, but to them this is a natural occurence that the forests are prepared for since we learend that a lot of the plants grow only from the ashes of the fires.
So our trip to Yanchep was a huge success and all of us had a blast. Sorry, and all of us means the group of about 35 American students that are all part of the same program. We aren't the only US students here, but our schools (Elon, Kalamazoo, Trinity, and SMU) all do a program with Curtin and we are grouped together for orientation and everything.
We arrived and immediately went to the beach which was gorgeous! I could make my own postcards from some of the sights and the water was perfect, too.
While we were at the park we learned how to throw boomerangs (mine went directly down into the dirt and didn't work) and how to throw spears (I was better at this one!). Then we had a lesson in aboriginal culture and some of the plants they used for medicines and soap etc. while looking at the koala bears in the trees.
The next day we got up really early and headed an hour north to go surfing! (Again, I wasn't that great) It was actually a really calm day in the ocean where we were so we weren't doing big things haha but it was fun and I think we all at least managed to stand up on our boards at least once. I'm ready to rent one and try again!
Also while we were there we saw a ton of kangaroos and lots of wildlife and the "bush" of Australia. There was a large protected lake and across the lake we could see huge forest fires burning every day. They had huge helicopters flying and sucking water out of the lake and dumping them on the fires. I was surprised how close the fires seemed to our hotel and how unconcerned most of the Australians were, but to them this is a natural occurence that the forests are prepared for since we learend that a lot of the plants grow only from the ashes of the fires.
So our trip to Yanchep was a huge success and all of us had a blast. Sorry, and all of us means the group of about 35 American students that are all part of the same program. We aren't the only US students here, but our schools (Elon, Kalamazoo, Trinity, and SMU) all do a program with Curtin and we are grouped together for orientation and everything.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Officially in my new "home" down under!
Wow... What a trip!
So the flights were hectic, and we almost didn't make our flight from Sydney to Perth, but thankfully there were 4 students traveling together and they actually let us cut some lines in the airport so that we would make it on time. When we finally landed we got our luggage and came back to a hotel in Perth for the night. I've never appreciated a shower more...
For our first night in Perth we went downtown to a walking mall with shops and then out to an Asian food place for dinner. Food is more expensive here for sure. The restaurant was nice very open because what looked like huge windows in the front were actually just frames so it was all open to the outside. The weather is absolutely gorgeous! It is about 95 during the day and there is a slight breeze with clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight! In the evenings it is a little cooler, but with the sunburns I know we will be getting I know that it will feel great! So we went to dinner then out to a place called the Brass Monkey to meet up with the students from SMU that are doing the same program that we are. By that time I was pretty much exhausted and a few of us found our way back to the hotel. Then we woke up today and walked around Perth and got to see the huge "Bell Tower" I believe is the name, that apparently most Australians think is a waste of money and space that was meant to be a tourist attraction. We went down to the waterfront and saw some more shops and passed some parks as well as took the classic tourist pictures with the statues of kangaroos around the city. We decided we might as well go ahead and get that picture out of the way on our first day so we didn't look so tacky later on in the trip haha!
Finally now we have moved into our rooms and seen some of the campus. It's honestly not a very pretty campus, but it is huge! With over 600 and some buildings, I am most definitely going to get lost trying to find my way around. I live in what's called Vickery House, and it looks like a bomb shelter. Cinder block walls, not too many windows, and gross showers and bathrooms. There is a kitchen and living room though and 8 of us living here in the suite style room which is co-ed. Oh, and I forgot to mention that there are bars on the windows too... not cute haha, but I know that I won't be in my room a ton (at least I hope not) so I'm not that worried. Ross from Elon is also in my sweet so I'm not worried and at least I'll know one person to start out with.
For the next 2 weeks we have orientations and are going to travel around and hopefully go to the beach some if I can make my way on the busses and trains. Public transportation here is absolutely amazing and we have found that out already. It'll be a fun change this semester living in a city with plenty of things to do, beautiful weather, and beaches near by. I know getting work done is going to be challenging, but I don't know how I'm not going to enjoy everything here it is too amazing!
More updates after orientation and for everyone reading this I miss everyone and not that I want to be back there... but honestly I want you all to come here and live with me because it won't be the same without you all to hang out with!!!
So the flights were hectic, and we almost didn't make our flight from Sydney to Perth, but thankfully there were 4 students traveling together and they actually let us cut some lines in the airport so that we would make it on time. When we finally landed we got our luggage and came back to a hotel in Perth for the night. I've never appreciated a shower more...
For our first night in Perth we went downtown to a walking mall with shops and then out to an Asian food place for dinner. Food is more expensive here for sure. The restaurant was nice very open because what looked like huge windows in the front were actually just frames so it was all open to the outside. The weather is absolutely gorgeous! It is about 95 during the day and there is a slight breeze with clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight! In the evenings it is a little cooler, but with the sunburns I know we will be getting I know that it will feel great! So we went to dinner then out to a place called the Brass Monkey to meet up with the students from SMU that are doing the same program that we are. By that time I was pretty much exhausted and a few of us found our way back to the hotel. Then we woke up today and walked around Perth and got to see the huge "Bell Tower" I believe is the name, that apparently most Australians think is a waste of money and space that was meant to be a tourist attraction. We went down to the waterfront and saw some more shops and passed some parks as well as took the classic tourist pictures with the statues of kangaroos around the city. We decided we might as well go ahead and get that picture out of the way on our first day so we didn't look so tacky later on in the trip haha!
Finally now we have moved into our rooms and seen some of the campus. It's honestly not a very pretty campus, but it is huge! With over 600 and some buildings, I am most definitely going to get lost trying to find my way around. I live in what's called Vickery House, and it looks like a bomb shelter. Cinder block walls, not too many windows, and gross showers and bathrooms. There is a kitchen and living room though and 8 of us living here in the suite style room which is co-ed. Oh, and I forgot to mention that there are bars on the windows too... not cute haha, but I know that I won't be in my room a ton (at least I hope not) so I'm not that worried. Ross from Elon is also in my sweet so I'm not worried and at least I'll know one person to start out with.
For the next 2 weeks we have orientations and are going to travel around and hopefully go to the beach some if I can make my way on the busses and trains. Public transportation here is absolutely amazing and we have found that out already. It'll be a fun change this semester living in a city with plenty of things to do, beautiful weather, and beaches near by. I know getting work done is going to be challenging, but I don't know how I'm not going to enjoy everything here it is too amazing!
More updates after orientation and for everyone reading this I miss everyone and not that I want to be back there... but honestly I want you all to come here and live with me because it won't be the same without you all to hang out with!!!
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