I have now been in Australia for over 4 weeks and I am loving it more and
more everyday. I have been working my through the city and am getting
more and more acquainted each day.
One thing I regretted about my time in France was that I was afraid to
get involved and join clubs. I am no longer afraid to get involved with
what I enjoy. I joined the performing arts society last week and I am
now the current secretary of the club. I am also to help run a thing
called a sausage sizzle which has been explained to me as a fundraiser
where you sell cheap hot dogs with pieces of wonder bread In place of a
bun.
I also have started to participate in this mock trial like competitions
for lawyers in training. I am a client with a set of facts and each week
I am interviewed by a pair of lawyers who try to asses my situation and
extract facts from their client. It has given me many flashbacks to my
Mock Trial days and all the fun we had.
I have also started classes at my university, ACU (Australian Catholic
University). So far it is a pretty light work load, however I am taking a
level 200 3D art class which has been proven to be quite time
consuming. The class, however time consuming, also has reinvigorated my
love of art and its many facets. I have bought a sketchbook and has been
doodling non stop.
Another interesting adventure I had was going to the city casino. I have
never gambled before but the atmosphere in the casino was unlike
anything I have felt. When I got home I immediately watched each of the
Ocean's movies. I decided to stick to black jack and won a large amount
of $25.
I also happened across a bar that sold PBR, which was quite a surprise.
And I am just going to say that I think that PBR is the worst beer ever.
Over the weekend I also has my first taste of Sake which I am just
going to say taste a little bit like cloudy water. Hot cloudy water. It
wasn't unbearable but it wasn't the most enjoyable experience. I think
it got worse with every drink.
Between my first sake and my first footy (Australian football) this has been a few good week.
Overall I have had a blast and I am eager to continue my journey.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Week 1 - Katelin in Australia
In 2012, I went on a 10 month long journey to study in the north of France. Now, in 2016, I have decided to study abroad for 4 months in Australia. Therefore I have decided to resurrect my exchange blog for my four month excursion to Australia.
I arrived in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday July 24th. However, I had left San Jose on Friday, July 22nd. So technically I am living in the future.
I arrived after a very, very long flight in Australia at about 8 am. I then proceeded to wait through customs for about two hours. Typical. I arrived at my apartment around 10 am and found that I live right across the street from this awesome outdoor farmers market-like place called the Queen Victoria's Market (to the right). It is kind of a love child between a flea market and a farmers market. It is open everyday of the week (apart from Mondays and Wednesdays) from around 9 to 3pm-ish. It is gigantic and a place you could spend hours upon hours in. I have already several hours there despite me only being here for less than a week.
On top of that I have made many trips to the Melbourne city center and the city proper. F.Y.I. In Australia if you are not within the 10 or 15 blocks that is downtown you live in the suburbs which is a unique way to put it. So I, technically not in downtown, live in a suburb of Melbourne.
The next day I decided to go on a solo adventure into the city to buy groceries and other necessities like a bath towel. I walked through the streets and started to get my bearings. I have found that Melbourne has the most diverse kinds of Asian food ever. And there is such a large quantity of them. On every block is a dim sum, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese place. Melbourne and I assume the rest of Australia is really big on take away sushi. Places where you walk in and there are large trays of pre-made sushi and you pick and choose what you want and they give it to you to-go. I had some and it was pretty good despite it making my stomach hurt after. But I have found that about many food that I have eaten here. Part of me thinks my stomach is still getting used to Australia as well as I am. On my excursion I went to Target to buy towels, yes Target does exist. (K-mart does as well) I also happened upon this fast food place called Hungry Jack's on the sign it said "Home of the Whopper." So what I have deciphered is that Hungry Jack's is Burger King.
On Wednesday we had our orientation at the University for the exchange students who were going to be attending the school this year. I got to meet many new people and I ran into some familiar faces. There is quite a large group of DePaul students who go to ACU and it was comforting to see some faces that I had seen around Chicago. That night we decided to do some school bonding and went to Winter/Night Market, which is a night event that happens at the Queen Victoria Market from about 5 to 10pm. The night market has much more hot food and drinks. There was a stall at the Night Market where they sold emu sausages, crocodile burgers, and kangaroo fillets. I, of course, had to try it. I decided on the crocodile burger. It was actually really good. The thing that surprised me was that the meat was white almost. It was quite good and I think next time I will have to get the kangaroo.
The one overwhelming feeling I have of this city is that is very up and coming and lively but somehow relaxed and not too congested. Despite there being hundreds of people on the street constantly, there is a calm nature to the city which I enjoy.So far it has been an exciting first week and I can't wait to see what the rest of my trip has in store. I am already planning trips across the country. I have plans to visit Perth, New Zealand, and of course the Great Barrier Reef.
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