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.

Bond University

So so gorgeous. I love the campus and how it's a small school that is in fact a university so there young and old people from all over the world studying here which is pretty cool.

The last two days have been dedicated to being on campus and just meeting people and figuring out our lives here. We  spent some time in the library figuring out our class schedule and course requirements. 

It rained a good portion of the day but at night a bunch of us went to the hypnotist event on campus which was really funny. It was a comedy show but I was a little creeped out by what you can do with hypnotism. These people were completely under the control of the hypnotist and had no idea what they were doing, they were just doing it. It was definitely interesting though. My friend Liz really wanted to participate but was too excited to "go under". But based on the show, it was probably for the best!

Arriving in Sydney and Pro-Guard Water Safety

This post is a few days old but getting the wifi situated has been a real struggle. So while I will be playing catch up the next few days (finally finally moved into my apartment!), I will try to post as much as I can.

Thurs Jan 2, Technically this is all the same day….

So after arriving at the airport and sailing through customs, I had to wait for the group flight to arrive. I had taken a separate plane and hung out in Arrivals like I was instructed, anxiously looking for a program rep.

Someone finally came up to me and asked if I was with TEAN and it turns out there were 2 arrivals areas. So I then got to meet up with a few other kids that also had arrived early and chatted nervously about our upcoming adventure.

The next few hours were simply waiting for everyone to arrive/go through customs/ get checked in and corralled into one area. It was pretty sticky outside and we were all dragging our huge bags around to get to the buses that would take us to our accommodations in Sydney, the International College School of Management, Sydney. It is a private university and the building we are actually staying in is the same building used for Mr. Gatsby’s home in the recent re-make of The Great Gatsby.

It is a very old building and the rooms are very old. No AC. Sticky. Not glamorous at all. But they serve their purpose.

We had a presentation by the Pro-Guarding founders Kobi & Aaron about Water Safety, Rips, Lifeguarding, etc. Apparently they are pretty well known here and have a hit tv show on them.

After getting briefly settled in and having a quick lunch, we set off to enjoy Manly, the area in which we are staying. It is really hill-y here so we set off to see the beach. The weather got kinda cold though and it was sprinkling but we walked up and down the streets lined with shops until we decided to get celebratory drinks at the Manly Club.

In hindsight I should have gotten a picture because it was a cool looking place. I was with Alex, a guy who goes to Tampa U and Katherine, a girl from Quinnipiac. We enjoyed our drinks with a gorgeous view of the ocean. It was perfect. After a quick dinner of fish and chips, I have to go to bed because it has just been the longest day ever.

Castle on a Hill

International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS). The building was used for the recent re-make of The Great Gatsby! Also our accommodations for while we are in Sydney for the next few days!

More soon! Wifi is spotty. 

The Longest Trip Of My Life

In my opinion, traveling to your destination, specifically by plane, is the worst part of traveling. The only thing getting you through the flight is that knawing excitement on the inside of where the plane will land. The hope that your life is going to go topsy-turvy and be altered by an entire culture and perspective on life keeps you fighting to stay alive.

My first 2 flights were quick but rough. Unhappy babies, more unhappy mothers, middle seats and akward travelers seated next to you (Amy Farrah-Fawcett anyone?), I re-dialed my brain.

I am on my way to Australia, a place most people never get to see. This is the first test. Getting there relying on others. I have no control of whether or not there are crying babies, late pilots, and what times the planes leave. So therefore, I cannot freak out and stress about it. I can only do what I can do. (This is one of my goals for my trip!)

The pilots on my second flight were late but made it up in the air so I was able to jump on my LAX to Sydney flight quickly after. And since it is a New Year’s flight, there is no one on it. Maybe 50-60 people. A lot of people got a whole row to themselves and could just lay out.

This was my plan. I had stayed awake for the other flights so I could pass out for this 15 hour last trek across the Pacific.

I slept for awhile and was convinced I had been out for 10 hours. CONVINCED. I had been keeping track of the time at home, in LA and in Sydney but I wasn’t sure which was the right one I should be looking at because I don’t know what the time actually is. I may have crossed the dateline before midnight meaning I never see JAN 1, 2014. I completely skip it altogether.

 But it somehow occurred to me that I had only slept for 2 or 3. BOY that realization was rough. The longest flight I had been on to that point was 7 hours. And this flight was double. GAH what now?

Plus I forgot my kindle. (I left it on the counter before I left the house. L)

With all this time, I have been reflecting on the previous year and brainstorming for the year to come. I realized how fortunate I am to have friends and family that support me in everything I do. I am so grateful for you all.

I wish you all a wonderful, happy and successful new year!