Field trip!

Time Out: Sydney

When: feb 20 around 1:45

Where: Adria bar, darling harbor, Sydney,AU

Why: taking a smoothie break

Sitting in some cute wicket chairs with my feet up, looking out into the harbor. Totally exhausted and trying to reflect on this past week. Other than studying for my test, I've learned two major lessons these past 2 weeks.

1) life is about taking chances. I'm not talking about taking an opportunity to go skydiving necessarily, but making your heart and soul vulnerable. It's easy to sit and make decisions that aren't emotionally risky. But opening up to new people, accepting a date invitation, taking control over bad situations or going after a new idea. These are the hard choices we sometimes don't make. For me, uncertainty doesn't sit well with me- if I'm not confident in a decision I won't make it. Bit sometimes these decisions need to be immediate. Life is too short too simply default. I have really learned to put myself out there and it's an amazing feeling when the people around you embrace you for you and that creates trust. Trust is the glue to real and true friendships and meaningful connections.

2) I have learned the difference between being alone and being lonely. To be lonely is to have self pity for your separation from a group for whatever reason. To be alone is an incredibly freeing experience. To rely on only you for direction and mental stimulation allows you to develop a deeper appreciation for shout own self worth and also gives you time to settle things out in your head without distractions and other influences.

This weekend I have taken a solo trip to Sydney and I am incredibly excited for what will become of this trip. I have already checked off so many things on my to do lost I wasn't sure I would accomplish. It's been nice to let my brain work for itself and be here. I have determined that I want to move to Sydney because I love it so much. The mix of history, harbor side culture and city infrastructure is totally wonderful. 

J'adore Sydney ❤️

RACV Volvik Ladies Master's Tournement

Spent last weekend at the RACV Ladies Masters Tournement which was seriously cool. A lot of the women playing in it were 20-25 and it was amazing to see so many young professionals. I also learned that golf is not a huge sport in Australia, especially for women. A lot of people turned out for the env vent but it was nothing compared to even minor tournaments in the US. 

I was really excited to follow Cheyenne Woods around who was the leader for the Tournement for all 4 days. Yes, she is the niece of Tiger and she also went to my dads alma mater, Wake Forest Univ. It ended up being her first major Tournement win as a LPGA player which is really exciting for her! I was so lucky to have the opportunity to be able to watch her play.

Springbrook National Park

Woah Week 1 is over?

So after staying in Sydney, we took a flight to Brisbane and made our way to our housing in Broadbeach. We had a couple of days to do our own thing.

• Went to Bond for Orientation Week, Attended our first Bond night event aka party. Bond then bussed us over to a night club  but it was really crowded and overwhelming so a group of us left.
• Enjoyed Iced Chocolate at Bond, explored the campus and watched the Hypnotist Show
• Shopping with Liz and went to the casino with my friend Alex! I only went with $15 and came home with 3x that so I'd say it was a good day!
• Had a movie night (watched the Wolf of Wall Street. Almost watched this at home with my parents before I left. THANK GOD I didn't. If you've seen it, you know why)
• Went to Surfers Paradise to the outdoor market and got gelato!
• Went to a club for our friend's birthday (event was called Illegally Bond) SUCH A FUN TIME!
• BEACH :)

And then before we knew it, it was Monday and it was the first day of school! So this week has pretty much been going to the pool in the morning and then heading to school in the afternoon (except Wednesday I have a morning and evening class).

Class here is 3 hours but only meets once a week. The classes I am taking are:

• Sustainability Science
• Sustainable Development & Society
• Restoration Ecology
• Environmental Science
• This class is kind of funny because there are only THREE people in it, including myself! This is definitely the smallest class I will ever have.

Tomorrow I am really excited for club expo day! WEEEE! I will try not to get too crazy.

Sydney and the Gold Coast!

SO I know I have been meaning to write have update of what I have been up to. The last few posts I have put up have been from my phone so I couldn't write too much.

But there is so much NEW stuff going on that it is hard to keep track and experience it all at once. Part of me wants to document everything I do and part of me just wants to live/experience it and enjoy that moment. It's a struggle to balance.

All these pictures are from my friend Katie who is an amazing photographer and singer!

Prior to class starting, we had less than a week to get adjusted to our new home. I will put up pictures soon of the apartment because it is beautiful. We are staying in a 5 star accommodation in Broadbeach where we have access to the beach, tons of shopping, the bus stop and hotel amenities such as a great pool, garden and workout facility within a block. I live with 3 other people and all of us are attending Bond University and part of the TEAN program. We are living in luxury that is for sure. Every day here we tell ourselves how lucky we are and that each day is a gift.

Of the four, two of us (including myself) have really only lived in dorms whereas the other two have been living on their own in an apartment before. We all have gotten a long really well and keep up with the housework on a regular basis. This is really imperative because the whole apartment is WHITE and if it gets dirty, it is really obvious and drives us all crazy. I think this is a good habit to get into though, especially as we all are getting older and ready to live on our own.

Most of the days leading up to school have been filled with time at the beach, rubbing in aloe for our sunburns, going grocery shopping (seriously too many times in one week) and checking out the local area.

Some of the things we have done since our arrival:

• During Orientation Week in Sydney
• Tour of Sydney
• Had my first legal drink in Australia (gin & tonic!)
• Went to the zoo
• Climbed the Harbor Bridge of Sydney
• This was a really special experience. We actually climbed up on top of the bridge (yes, the top part) and you could see the entire city for miles and miles. It was so fun and a little scary but my friends Alex and Champ kept me laughing and it was such a fun time! (pictures to come!)
• Amazing Race in Sydney!
• This is exactly what is sounds like. My team: Parth, Jay, Liz and I ran throughout the city of Syndey gathering clues and completing different tasks. I t was an actual race, we ran almost the entire time, fighting for our chance to win a really great prize to have the chance to have a dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in Australia. It was really exciting and something I probably won't ever do again but WE WON! I don't think we were ever more excited because it was really hard and stressful but together we got through it. We ultimately became a little family and they have been some of my greatest friends since I have been here.

More soon about my first week at Bond!

Iced Chocolate

There are a lot of things the Aussies do a bit differently than Americans that seem the same at first.

Primarily, they love their coffee. Prob more than us. We walk around and there are ao many coffee shops with people all over the place. Their coffee is crazy expensive though, much more than in the States.

Their iced coffee is a bit different because they add ice cream instead of ice. They don't even really have iced coffee the way we know it which is kinda odd because it is so hot there. This is an iced coffee with chocolate syrup and a scoop of ice cream and it is SO GOOD.

Luckily it's pretty expensive so I won't be getting another one anytime soon, but I was told it's something I had to try.