Category: Australia

Orientation Week!

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Hi all! Australia has been so amazing and fun… and I’ve only been here for a week!

I am so thankful for the friends I have met already and the experiences we’ve shared. I was blessed with the 3 best roommates: Michael (from Australia), Chelsea (from Australia), and Luke (from New Jersey). All 4 of us have gotten along so well and have already clicked. Along with my roomies, Erin (the girl I met from the airport who goes to Concordia) and I have still been hanging out and adventuring together! I have met loads of other people from all over, including a large amount from the United States, Norway, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, and of course Australia. This area is filled with so much diversity and I have had so many amazing intercultural experiences.

Monday kicked off the first day of Orientation Week (or O Week as it’s known here) and has been continuing throughout the week with new activities every day. As the week comes to an end, I look forward to starting classes Monday. But for now, I’d love to share with you all a bit about how O Week went in the land Down Under!

 

Sunday : At 7:30am Michael, Luke, Erin and I decided that a morning adventure was in store. As you all know, adventures never go as planned (but always make for the best memories). We drove 1 ½ hours into the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands in search of a 2 km hike to a waterfall. The drive was stunning and the landscape was breathtaking, I suggest looking it up on Google Images. Unfortunately, we got a little lost and were unable to start at the trailhead that we wanted to. Instead, we had the option of doing a 20 km hike (which wasn’t really an option for us haha).               So we decided to leave that adventure for another day! Instead, we headed about an hour back towards Sunshine Coast to a waterfall called Wappa Falls, which was just as beautiful. The area was a perfect way to spend a sweltering hot day in the sun – with cliff jumping, sliding down waterfalls, sitting in natural pools and lakes, and enjoying the company of great friends (well, besides seeing a spider in the rocks about the size of my hand…) made for a great adventure!

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(from left to right: Luke, Erin, Michael & me at Wappa Falls)

After we returned from waterfall adventuring, we had an International Student BBQ to attend. This is where we met a lot of the people from countries I named above! Free food and talking other international students was a great way to spend a Sunday evening. Plus, there were some animals from the zoo that came to visit so I got to see my first Koala and Wallaby! What was not so thrilling was holding a Python for the first time, I think I held it for a total of 5 seconds. After this gathering, I have made a point to learn and get better at using the metric system and Celsius degrees as we had with our phone calculators to help convert temperature so people would be able to understand how cold Minnesota really was!

Monday : Market Day and Academic Study Skills Sessions were today. The day entailed events like the official welcome to USC and group photo, intro to Blackboard, discover the library, and approaches to study at USC (specifically for international students). Easily the best part of Monday’s O Week festivities was the Market day which included lots of free things from clubs on campus, entertainment, and a free BBQ.

That evening Michael brought us to Activate event (outdoors/adventure club on campus). We set up a slack line on Mooloolaba beach, and I can definitely say I’m only good at slacklining when someone helps me across. We then got to meet other adventurous members of the Activate club. And my personal favorite part – Luke, Erin and I took our first swim in the ocean since arriving! The waves were quite large and so fun to jump, but definitely exceeded my daily salt intake after that. Then we headed to The Good Bar which is a social bar/restaurant, got a table, ordered food, and then I ordered my first legal drink. We spent over 2 hours just getting to know other Activate members and talking until the bar closed. It was a good end to Monday!

Tuesday : Faculty Day was today. So I started off by attending the International Student Orientation Session with Luke and Alex (who attends Concordia as well) and Lane (from North Carolina). We then just hung out and chatted until I left for my 10:30-12:00 School of Communication and Design Faculty session. It was extremely interesting to begin to learn more about the differences and similarities in education from the US within my program, and great to meet the department lecturers and tutors (what we call professors except one person does lectures and one does tutorials).

After that, I of course had to go get the free BBQ and met up with Luke, Lane and Sara (a member of Activate). Soon after I finished eating, I got to try out playing Quidditch (Harry Potter fangirling right now) with the 2 biggest club teams on campus. Not to brag but they both were recruiting me after they saw me play… let me tell you, I make a mean Chaser! Then all of us just hung out in the tents, sheltered from the rain, and talked for a few hours. That evening I just spent the night hanging out with friends which included a lot of singing to Disney music!

 

Wednesday : Today started out great because I went to another free BBQ and then got to Skype my Logan! It was so good to chat with him almost in person and see his face J When I got done chatting with Logan, I checked to see what Erin, Michael and Luke were up to and they were all Skyping their partners as well – the best way to spend a rainy day, I guess! Yes, it was raining again… and it’s predicted to rain until next Tuesday. I heard it is pretty rare for this much rain for a straight week, but I’m ready for the sun to come back out so I can head to the beach! Since it was raining so much, the roomies, Erin & I decided that a Disney movie marathon was what we were going to do. So we made some food and drinks, and then watched Moana, Road to El Dorado, and Pocahontas for the rest of the day!

 

Thursday : Today was Student Guild Day on campus, which is a group that organizes events for students. Luke, Erin & I headed over there and got (yet again) another free BBQ, meet some campus clubs, and then (my favorite) hung out with some adorable dogs! Afterwards, Erin & I had to run into the Sunshine Shopping Plaza to get some art supplies for one of our classes. We took the bus all by ourselves and surprisingly managed to do everything right. We then had about a 30 min walk to the store we needed to go to, but thankfully it wasn’t raining at this point. We spent too long looking for art supplies and eventually got what we needed… I think. Unfortunately, by the time we were done it was (yet again) down pouring. We unanimously decided that we didn’t want to walk another 30 minutes in that rain to get on a 40 minute bus ride back to Uni… we were very grateful for the wonderful invention called Uber, which picked us up from the store and we were back in about 15 minutes. At 5pm we had trivia night at the Student Guild which we rocked at the beginning (but not so much at the end), and for some questions our group was very thankful to have 4 Americans on their team! We also got free pizza and dessert… I think I’m just going live off free food while I’m here. After that, we decided on another Disney movie night (this time it was Tangled) because movie nights are the best on rainy nights.

 

The first week living in Australia has definitely flown by. I’ve learned so much and I’m excited to learn more. Here’s just a few other random things before I sign off:

  • Classes start on Monday (I haven’t had class since December 15th… we’ll see how this goes)
  • Wifi is actually kind of horrible here. You have to pay for a certain amount of GB, for example, I pay $30 AUS for 100 GB per month. And yes, it cuts out a lot during the rain.
  • I’ve seen kangaroos everywhere. Actually, one just hopped by as I was writing.
  • You know the saying, “when it rains, it pours”? Yeah, that’s Australia.
  • This country is amazing.

 

That’s all for now! Have a lovely week, everyone 🙂

Go Time!

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Wow. Day one in Australia has been amazing! From flying internationally for the first time, getting lost in Mooloolaba, & seeing my first Kangaroo, it has been a great adventure already.

6:40 am (MN time, Thursday) : Up and at ‘em! Time for my Australia adventure to finally begin.
12:40pm (MN time, Thursday) : By this point I have officially cried 5 separate times… it’s so hard to say goodbye! But Dad & Logan just dropped me off as MSP, I got my bags all checked, and now sitting at my gate and letting it sink in that soon I’ll be flying to Australia! It’s a crazy mix of “what the heck did I get myself into” and “I’m so excited for this”.
4:50 pm (LAX time, Thursday) : Hello LA! I’m getting a beautiful breath of the fresh, 65° air while I ride the shuttle bus over to Terminal 2. It’s so beautiful here… the sun is setting on the mountains & palm trees! I’m really just grateful in this moment realizing that I don’t have to see snow for a long time!
So turned out they changed my terminal on me, but hey I can’t complain, I get to enjoy the fresh air again! So aboard another shuttle bus to Terminal B. Grabbed a quick (but painfully expensive) dinner… airport food, figures. Now I’ve just set up camp at my gate and planning on spending the next 5 hours texting Logan & watching The Office!
9:05pm (LAX time, Thursday) : Met another student studying abroad, Bri, but she’ll be headed to Sydney. We’ve been chatting and exchanging stories, and unofficially have decided that we’re in this flight together! Definitely will be nice to have someone to go through boarding, baggage claim & customs with. And as soon as we know it, Bri & I are on another shuttle bus that’s taking us to our airplane, about a 5 minute ride out there. The airplane is HUGE. Especially nice because there’s no one in the middle seat between another lady & myself. (Small world: the lady has relatives in Holdingford!). As soon as I know it, it’s 10pm and I’m saying my final goodbyes, flipping my phone into airplane mode & ready to take off for the 13 hour and 30 minute flight to Brisbane, Australia!
11:45pm (LAX time, Thursday) : Dinner is served! Beef, potatoes wedges & green beans in some type of red sauce (actually fairly delicious). Side of a bread bun with Land ‘O Lakes butter (Minnesota represent!), cheese & crackers. Then for dessert red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting that looks like it was served in a makeup container, but surprisingly good as well!

 

Airplane Dessert
I figured I should probably not try to sleep just yet since it is 6pm (Friday) in Sunshine Coast and I want to start following their time zone. (Makes more since now why we were served dinner at almost midnight my time). So I think a movie is next on the docket!
4:33 am (Brisbane time, Saturday) : Breakfast is served! After getting about 5-6 hours of on-and-off sleep, we’re woken up for food. Cheese omelet with bacon (which I quickly learn is what Australians call ham) and asparagus, blueberry yogurt, and a blueberry muffin. Not the best breakfast I’ve ever had…

 

6:30 am (Brisbane time, Saturday) : Got off the plane with Bri and we headed to customs which took about 10 minutes, actually quite a quick process. Then we went to baggage claim and hauled our luggage to claims. At this point Bri and I had to head out separate ways, but while I was going to the information desk to find my shuttle I saw a girl with a Concordia-Moorhead sweatshirt on, small world! Erin is also studying at USC so we got new SIM cards for our phones and then headed to our shuttle together. It is incredibly hot out and we were sweating just standing there! The hour bus ride to UniCentral (our apartments) went very fast as Erin and I talked the whole way and got to know each other!
9:30 am (Brisbane time, Saturday) : After dumping our luggage in our rooms and finally getting to take a shower – I was able to meet 2 of my roommates Michael (from Australia) and Luke (from New Jersey). Both are very nice & are super easy to get along with! Michael offered to take Erin, 2 other girls from MSUM and NDSU, and myself to the grocery store. Let me tell you, grocery shopping in another country is hard! (And everything is a bit more pricey here). And just because I could (legal drinking age is 18 here) I bought some boxed wine which they call “goon”.
1:00 pm (Brisbane time, Saturday) : Erin & I decided to head over to campus, which is just a short 3 minute walk from our back yard, and do the “Hop on, Hop off” bus tour of the city. We go off in Mooloolaba, met Darcy who joined us, and then we all immediately decided that we needed to grab lunch! The restaurant was so amazing because it was right on The Warf and all the windows were open so you could feel the warm breeze while sitting inside. Of course, I had to get Fish & Chips for my first real meal in Australia!
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(Darcy, Erin & I having lunch)
Darcy had to head off to a job interview, so Erin & I set out to find Mooloolaba Beach. We were walking for quite a while with no success, only finding the area with a lot of boats docked. When we saw someone with a boogie board, we were laughing at ourselves because the ocean was literally just across the street… we were on the wrong side! Putting our feet into the ocean felt amazing. We both agreed that currently it feels like we’re on vacation in Florida, it doesn’t seem real yet that this is our home for 4.5 months. As we walked along the beach we were amazed by the big waves and the beautiful area.
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We decided it was time to head back to UniCentral and maybe go for a swim… but things never go as planned! We got a bit lost finding our way back to the bus stop, but thanks to technology we were able to find our way back. We soon discovered that the bus stop we were dropped of wasn’t the one we would be getting picked up at… so after 45 minutes of waiting we finally were on our way back. Unfortunately, on our bus ride back Erin realized she left her phone at the bus station, but to our relief a USC representative was at the bus stop and able to grab it. We had an hour to kill while we waited for Erin’s phone to be brought back so we decided to take a walk around campus. We ran into a security guard and started chatting with him, and asking him where the kangaroos normally were. (Since campus is on a wildlife reserve there are lots of animals that wander around the area) He was very kind & actually used his walkie-talkie another call another guard and ask if he’d seen any. And sure enough, we headed over to the “footie field” and there were about 7 there! The security guard told us a bit about the kangaroos, how to not get in the way of the males and females, pointed out a mother and a joey, and then told us how close we could get to them (which was quite close since these ones are tame)! Kangaroos might be my new favorite animal… they are so cute, scratch they stomaches and backs like a human, and roll around in the grass like a dog. Needless to say, hanging with the Kangaroos was a highlight of our day!
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6:00 pm (Brisbane time, Saturday) : Erin & I were both quite tired so we each headed back to our separate apartments. I got to meet my 4th roommate, Chelsey, who is from Australia. Her, her friend, and my other roommate, Luke, were watching Russell Coight’s All Aussie Adventures – which is basically just a humorous TV show of a guy who is horrible at surviving in the Outback. They invited me to join in so I ate dinner, got to know my roommates a little better, and watched the show for about 2 hours before I could barely keep my eyes open any longer. At 9pm I called it a night and headed to bed after my first, eventful day in Australia!
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(On the far right, beyond the lake is my apartment complex)
Note: Normally my blog posts won’t be this long, but after having such an eventful first day I wanted to be able to look back and remember it all and share with you guys!
Note (pt. 2) : While I am in Australia, calling and texting my phone will not work. The best way to contact me is through WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Snapchat.

Let the Adventure Begin.

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22 days until I embark on the adventure of a lifetime. 22 days until I hop on a plane to travel 8,578 miles from my home. 22 days until I land in Sunshine Coast, Australia.

 

From February 15th through July 2nd I will be studying abroad for a semester in the “land down under”. As I think of the adventure that lies ahead of me, I have mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness. I am most nervous about leaving my family, boyfriend, and friends for 4 ½  months. The fifteen-hour time change might prove to be difficult in communicating back home. Being a “home body” and not having the ability to come back to tater tot hot dish and the comfort of family is what I’m most apprehensive about.

That being said, there is so much to be excited about. The Glasshouse Mountains to my left and the Pacific Ocean to my right will be a combination of my two favorite things. Because my school schedule allows me to have 4-day weekends, there will be plenty of time to explore the area. I am excited for the kangaroos roaming on campus, new food, Australian Zoo, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, visiting Sydney with a friend from the US, spending break exploring the East coast with my aunt, meeting new people, and much more. Oh, and the 100-degree temperature change from Minnesota to Australia won’t be bad either!

Although studying abroad involves a lot of exploring a new country, it also involves school. I will be taking 4 classes at University of the Sunshine Coast which is just a short, 3-minute walk from my apartment. I am most excited for a Marine and Coastal Ecology class, something that I wouldn’t have previously experienced in land-locked Minnesota. As a Communication Studies major, I have always been interested in learning how people communicate and I look forward to studying communication cross-culturally. Visual Storytelling, The Language of Design, and Creativity & Communication are the other three classes that will complete my schedule.

The time spent preparing for this semester abroad has finally paid off, and in just a few short weeks, I’ll be boarding a plane to another country. I am incredibly grateful for the people who have encouraged me along the way. I want to keep up with all of you, but that will nearly impossible, hence, why I’ve created this blog. I want to share my experiences with you and be able to look back and remember this adventure. And I promise that you’ll see some amazing photography and sweet videos as I’ll have my camera and GoPro along for the ride. An easy way to be notified of my newest blog posts is entering your email on this screen and follow Another Point of View. My Instagram page, with a focus on sharing more of my photography, is the other way that you can keep up with me @anotherpointofviewblog.

 “If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it”.