New Address

Officially my new address is:

Unit 204D
161 Broadway
Broadway, NSW 2007

So now you can write me or send me gifts or... best yet, surprise visit me anytime.

Student Housing- A Friendly Place

I finally have a place to live! As I mentioned previously, I was accepted to live in student housing. It might be interesting to know that although the university has over 35,000 students, they only have four student housing residences which contain 400 beds. Apparently in Australia it is very uncommon to live on campus. Typically, one of the advisers told me, students pick the uni that is closest to their parents house so they can live at home.

So I guess I am very luckily to have received a spot. The residence I live in is called Gumal Ngurang, this is an Aboriginal word for "friendly place". And Gumal is the largest of all the student residences.

Gumal is located on on Broadway Street, which happens to be the same street as my school. Here is a picture of the street I live on and as you can see UTS's tower building, in the background, is very close.From Broadway you turn into a little alley way. This is the main entrance to Gumal.This opens up to a huge courtyard which has a fountain and statue in the center. Straight ahead is the entrance to my building. I live on the second floor (more details on my room and roommates later), but on the top floor of Gumal there is a game room. I haven't yet had the pleasure of hanging out there, but I did sneak up early this morning to take a couple pics. There is a TV room, pool table, full kitchen and of course the laundry room.
But the best part is the roof top terrace. It over looks the city and there are a bunch of tables and even a grill so I can "put another shrimp on the barbie", if I ever get the courage to go to the roof with other people!
Overall, the accommodations are quite nice. Its close to school, close to the main train station and close to shopping. Plus its pretty inexpensive compared to Sydney housing and I just found out that we get free wireless internet.

I will be posting pics of my apartment soon enough, and also my roommates... when I'm certain they will not think I'm creepy for taking their pictures.

First Day of Class

On Monday I had my first two classes. Since each class only meets once a week, they were both three hours long which I wasn't exactly prepared for, but I made it through.

1:00pm- Accounting for Managerial Decisions
When I arrived there were only about ten of us in the lecture hall. I thought this was very strange especially coming from UT where classes had anywhere from 100-500 students. But I am a graduate student now and I guess classes are going to be smaller.

The professor ended up being late and around 1:30 someone decided to call the student office to see what was up. Apparently the class had changed rooms at the last minute and now I was late to my first class.

So we move to our actual class and this one has about 40 total students- much more like it! But the professor is one of those guys who is a loud and wants to make sure everyone is "on their toes" by randomly calling names from the roster. (He reminds me of Prof. Wilkinson from London- Catherine that one is just for you!)

Now this class, let me remind you, is accounting. And all the accounting I have is an intro course I took at UT five years ago! So now I'm really nervous and trying to pay very close attention in case I get called on. And to make it even more interesting he is Australian and speaks very quickly, plus the overhead is messing up, all of this is making it hard for me to take fast notes.

Of course he did call my name! And immediately my hand started shaking- I didn't know what he was about to ask me, but I was still trying to take notes and now my hand was unusable. He asked me something fairly simple so it didn't turn out to be a big deal, but still...

Now I am going to be spending three hours a week constantly nervous. Surrounded by smart MBA students, who think this class is a cake-walk. But that also probably means I will do good in this class because I will actually have to study and be prepared.

6:00pm: Applied Research Methods
When I walked in I was pleased to see that the class was about twice the size of my last, which probably meant that I was in the correct room. But just to be sure I asked the girl next to me. This girl, Laura, was from Milan and she was studying Tourism Management. We talked for awhile before class started and she was cool... and I realized how much I was looking forward to making friends.

The class was okay. My professor seems nice and easy-going, but the class seems like it will probably be boring.

After class another girl came up to me and asked if I was in the events faculty. She was studying event management too and apparently she was also in my first (accounting) class. So I definitely need to make friends with her!

All in all, my first day of class went okay. I already have tons of homework and readings, but what was I expecting right?

Sydney Tip #4: This one is less a tip and more just good knowledge to have. I learned today in class that the Australian prime minister is named Kevin Rudd.

Going to Uni

I realize that I haven't said much about my school. So I will do so, briefly, here. The "uni" (aussie slang) I am attending is called University of Technology Sydney, better known as UTS. And I am working towards a post-graduate business degree in Event Management (of course!).

The picture above is of one of the buildings at the main "city campus". This building actually houses one of the libraries, coincidentally the same library I am typing this blog right now. I'm waving at you- can you see me?

Some facts about UTS:
- Approximate student population of 32,000 students
- Majority of the students, close to a third, are in the business school faculty
- Business school is ranked in the top 10% of schools worldwide
- Hugh Jackman, the actor, received a BA in communications from UTS
- Nicole Kidman's father, Dr. Anthony Kidman, is on staff

This building is UTS's main tower building at the city campus. Not only is it the tallest educational building in Australia (at 32 floors), but it is also the ugliest (as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, during an Oct 2006 poll).

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

It's now 11:30pm on Sunday night and when I wake up my real Australian life will begin. I will no longer be the tourist living in hotel rooms and spending my days sightseeing and waking up late... well maybe not as much. Tomorrow I will officially be a student and flatmate. I am moving into my student housing tomorrow morning, meeting my new (teenage) flatmates and I will go to my very first class in five years!

I feel scared and anxious, but I can only hope it will be great and I will not fall down on my butt.

Wish me luck... I need it! :)

My First Australian Hangover

One thing that I haven't been doing much in Sydney, believe it or not, is drink. I've had a few beers, usually alone in my room, but its just not as fun unless you have friends to drink with. And last night I did!

I met up with Josh's friend Mark at Darlo Bar in Surry Hills. I found out that Mark came to Sydney, much like me, from Dallas to start a new life. We hit it off great and I got to meet a couple of his friends. After Darlo Bar we went to a couple other places, but I can't really remember where. Unfortunately, with my recent sobriety, my tolerance level has gone down, and that coupled with the fact that I didn't eat barely anything all day- I got sick. Fortunately it was in my hotel, but still... not great. And now I'm paying for it today.

I feel like crap, but hey at least I have friends! :)

Sydney Aquarium

I spent Thursday getting to know my city a little better. I decided to walk through the CBD (City Business District, i.e. downtown) to Darling Harbour. This is where they have the world's largest IMAX theater, lots of cafes and shops and of course the Sydney Aquarium. (I asked another tourist to take the above picture of me- brave or pathetic?)

Anyway, in one of the walk-thru aquariums they had these sting rays that were probably 6 feet across and I tell you, things in the water really creep me out! Don't get me started on whales. But my favorite exhibits were probably the crocodiles, penguins, and of course the sharks. Oh, and guess what? I found Nemo- check out slide show below:

Finally... a Place To Live!

You know how one of the best parts about going on vacation is getting to stay in hotels? Well, after about a week that novelty began to wear off for me. I am SO sick and tired of digging in my suitcase to find clothes, always having to pack up everything I own before I leave my room in case the housekeeper comes in, eating take-away for every single meal and wearing smelly clothes because I have no washing machine. But I guess what I'm most sick of is looking for a place to live.

So far I have visited four different flats that have rooms available for me. They were all nice and one that I really liked, but its just taking forever. They have more people to show the flat to, or it won't be available for awhile, or whatever... and meanwhile I am spending a small fortune to finance my hotel living. So needless to say I have become very frustrated with the whole thing.

So you can imagine my delight when I found out yesterday that I was accepted to student housing- just like I'd originally planned. I sent the housing office a desperate email the other day and they just had a cancellation so they offered it to me. It works out kind of great because it is below my budget, I will have my own room and I will be sharing with three other UTS students. The housing adviser told me that they are all Australian and there are two boys and another girl. And I move in on Monday... which is kinda perfect!

The only thing I am really worried about is that they are all undergraduate students... so I am not sure what it will be like living with 18 year olds again. But hey, it could be fun and will make me feel young again... or I could end up being the "mother-figure" to these kids. Me, mother-figure? ...Doubtful!

Some other good news: I got into all my classes and am now officially enrolled. I only have classes on Monday and Thursday (two each day), so I will have to figure out what I'll be doing the other five days, but its all working out as planned. So far so good!

Tourist in the City

Matty says he will stop reading my blog if I continue posting pics without people in them, so here you go.. real life Australian Aborigines. I took this picture at Circular Quay (pronounced "key") Station where there were several performers.

I'd gotten off at this stop because I was planning on taking the ferry across the harbor to see an apartment, I mean flat that I'd found. I'd gotten to the station extra early, and lucky I did because this is actually the stop where you can visit the Opera House. I didn't realize this until I got there and I even stopped at a nearby outdoor cafe to have lunch. This was my awesome view:

(Sydney Opera House, #1 Tourist Attraction)

(Sydney Harbour Bridge, 2nd most famous architectural structure)

It was pretty cool... I felt like a total tourist, but I don't care because I am. So much of a tourist in fact that I caught the wrong ferry and was late to see the flat. Oh well... at least I got a heck of a work-out today walking around the city from noon until 8pm. Tomorrow I think I will try and see the beach. I've been here far too long and I haven't even been to the beach!

Happy Valentines Day from across the ocean! -Muah!

Call Me!

If you're feeling like you miss me too much and can't sleep without hearing the sound of my voice... now you can. My new Australian cell phone number is:

(011 61) 0413 846 821

My phone is pre-paid and incoming calls are free to me, so as a broke uni student the ball is pretty much in your court.

(The pic above was taken just before I left home, instead of a family portrait we took a picture of all our cell phones)

Orientation: Day Two

Luckily I made the last minute decision, while packing, to bring an umbrella with me because today it rained in Sydney. Unluckily, I woke up late for orientation today and the rain did not make my travel easier. I missed the bus that takes me from the train (subway) to campus and the next one wasn’t coming for an hour. I heard that the walk to campus was only about 20 mins and I kind of remembered the directions from the bus ride yesterday, so I decided to walk in the rain to campus. Huge mistake!

When I finally got to campus my pants were drenched almost to the knees (I was wearing flip-flops), my new leather purse had changed colors from green to black, I was sweaty because I walked uphill the entire way and it took a lot of effort to keep myself from slipping out of my plastic shoes, and my hair had now grown twice its size from when I left the hotel. So much for straightening my hair this morning!

Needless to say I was not at my best and my orientation session (called “Study Success”) was really lame, so I decided to blow it off. Instead I went to the library and did some research online.

The good part of my day was I finally got a new cell phone, sorry mobile phone (no one calls it a cell… what an American!). Also I stopped in a pub and had my very first Australian beer, called Hahn (recommended by bartender). Sure it was lonely sitting in the pub alone at a table surrounded by couples and groups of friends, but I survived and the beer was excellent!

Sydney Tip #3: There is no sales tax in Sydney, the price on the label is exactly what you pay. That's nice!

Does This Make Any Cents?

Australian Money, also called Dollars and symbolized like this AU$, has coins for $0.50, $1 and $2, so change can get pretty heavy in my pocket. Also the bills are different sizes and, from what I can tell, the bigger the better.

Orientation: Day One

I haven’t been in school for almost four years so I thought maybe I would be different this time, but as soon as I got to campus all my old insecurities came running back to me. Typically on “first-days” I am the girl standing alone pretending to look busy and secretly hoping someone will come talk to me. And I regret to say that once again I was that girl… at first.

After our first session ended we had a break (“morning tea”), and instead of socializing with other students I went to hide out in the bathroom trying to pass time. While I was in there I had a conversation with myself that went a little something like this:

“What are you doing? You moved all the way to Sydney and you’re hiding in a bathroom! Stop it!”

“How?”

“Just get out there and stop being such a baby. Start being the person you wish you were.”

So with that I walked out to a room full of strangers and surprisingly one of the students came up to me. Technically he was one of the peer mentors and was supposed to talk to new students, but I found myself talking a lot and feeling really comfortable. Then when he left I must’ve been feeling really good because I approached the first person I saw who was standing alone.

This person I approached was named Tim, I think. I don’t really remember because the moment he spoke and I actually looked at him, was the moment I fell in love. This hot Aussie was so nice and cute and I have no idea what we talked about, because I was too busy trying to be flirty/cool girl. Later I noticed that he was holding a D&G book bag, which may mean that he plays for the other team, but either way I want to be the mother of his children.

After this the day went pretty well, I found out that my “in” was just talking about how I’m an American. Most of them are Sydneysiders so they ask a bunch of questions like “How long was the plane ride?” or “Texas? Oh, George Bush….”. And I play the role of the ignorant American and ask them questions like “How much is bus fare?” or “What’s a good neighborhood to live in?”.

I chatted with some other people throughout the day, but the orientation was mostly undergraduate students (i.e. straight out of high school) so I’m not too concerned about finding my SBF (Sydney Best Friend) just yet. It was a good day. Plus I got to try my first lolly (see side bar under Dingo Lingo), and after orientation I managed to find a shopping mall a bought a hair straightener. This means tomorrow will probably be even better since my hair won’t be a hot mess.

Home Sweet Hotel

For my first few nights in Sydney I'm staying at Citigate Central Sydney Hotel. Pros- its right around the corner from my school's main campus, its across the street from the main Central Station (train/subway), and its really nice inside. Con- I couldn't get into my room for four hours after I tried to check in, my school orientation is actually at a satellite campus 30 minutes away, and internet is not included.

So when I tried to check-in at 10am today I was told my room wasn't ready- I thought this might be an issue and was expecting that I would have to wait a couple hours (until noon) to get my room. However, I was told it wouldn't be ready until 2pm! Under normal circumstances this would have been okay, but I was sweaty from moving around my luggage, smelly of airplane stink and my teeth were in bad need of a brush. Plus I knew I would have to carry around my 20lb bag since it had all my valuables. But with no other options, I washed my face in the hotel bathroom, pulled my hair back in a ponytail, and set off to explore my new city.

First thing on my list was to visit the City Campus, right around the corner from my hotel. I wanted to check in with the International Student Office to confirm that I was all set for my orientation and enrolment (thats how its spelled here)- I was. Then I decided to do a trial run to the satellite campus where I will be having orientation tomorrow. So this meant that I had to navigate the City Rail (subway) on my own. It wasn't too bad, and someone even asked me for directions so I must've looked like a natural. The trains here are actually double-deckers, so I sat on the top level in hopes of getting a better view.

The ride to Kuring-Gai Campus was 30 minutes long and we went over the harbor where I got a clear view of the Opera House- beautiful! Unfortunately when I got off at my stop, I had absolutely no idea where I was going so I just roamed the streets like a vagabond... a vagabond carrying a bag that was so heavy it was slowly giving me scoliosis.

I needed a break and fortunatley it was time for lunch. I was too intimidated to enter one of those small cafe places so I ate at KFC (ha- I know, I am a total loser!) and read my magazine all alone. I never actually found my campus, but figured I was close enough so I headed back.

Luckily my room was available. So as soon as got in I got online, turned on the TV, fought the urge to fall asleep and eventually took a shower. Thank goodness.

Hours later I went out again to grab dinner... in my exploration I found a tasty little bistro called McDonald's (ever heard of it?) and brought it back to my room to eat in front of the TV. What? It's getting dark out and my feet are tired and I am still jet-lagged. So now I'm ready for my first night in Sydney. Goodnight!

Sydney Tip #2: They drive on the wrong side (or left side) of the road here, so you have to look right-left-right instead of left-right-left before you cross the street if you want to avoid getting run over. Trust me on this!

How To Pass 14.5 Hours in a Plane

After surviving an excruciatingly long wait at the airport, where I had way too much time to think about what I was about to get myself into, it was finally time to board the plane. The time was 9:45pm in Los Angeles, on Monday, Feb 9th.

The plane was actually too big to pull up directly to the airport, so after checking in at the gate we had to board a shuttle bus. The bus took us out to the largest plane I'd ever seen in my life! Everything started to sink in when I boarded the plane and the flight attendants were speaking "Australian" to me.

Even though I got a window seat, I was hoping that no one would be sitting right next to me. This way I wouldn't suffer a claustrophobia attack. Luckily my wish came true and there was no one sitting in the middle seat. Plus the guy sitting on the aisle seat was cute, had an sweet accent and and he helped me get my bag into the overhead compartment. So far so good...

Here is how I spent the next 14.5 hours:

10:45pm- Plane pulls away from the gate. I am simultaneously trying to clear the lump out of my throat, trying not to let my seatmate see me tear-up, and contemplating whether or not to take Imodium AD and/or Unisom (I took neither).

11:30pm- Dinner time. I choose the chicken meal and for entertainment watched "My Best Friend's Girl". Both we're surprisingly good.

1:15am- My first movie is over and I know I probably should try and get some sleep, but my nerves are keeping me up. So I select my second movie, "The Women".

2:30am (ish)- I fell asleep during the movie, I'm guessing around 2:30am, because I don't remember how it ended, but I know I watched a lot of it.

5:30am- Now I'm awake and a little spooked because the entire cabin seems to be asleep. It is pitch black except for a few scattered TV screens I can see. Even though I knew it would probably creep me out more, I decided to watch a documentary about Madeline McCann (the British girl abducted in Portugal).

6:30am (ish)- Man! I fell asleep again (probably around 6:30) and that's weird because I really wanted to see how the documentary ended, and I wanted to stay awake when we crossed over the International Dateline. But I did neither and now its Feb 11th and I will never know what it feels like to exist on February 10th. That's right I technically never existed on Feb 10, 2009- I just went straight from the 9th to the 11th- Creepy!

9:40am- I don't feel tired anymore so the next movie I choose is "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People". Very funny!

11:00am- Breakfast time. Perfect because I'm really getting hungry. I choose the continental breakfast with coffee, but then as I was in the middle of my coffee I realized that I had not yet used the bathroom and did not want to jinx myself so I stopped.

11:20am- Potty break. I felt guilty bothering my seatmate who has to let me out, but luckily he was awake.

11:45am- I checked the flight map on the TV and it says we will be landing in just over an hour and a half. Should I start a new movie even though I might not finish it? Yea, better that than be left alone with my thoughts. I chose "Nights in Rodanthe".

12:30am- Just when they are about to fall in love... the movie is cut off. I guess I will never know how it ends. We are now making our descent to Sydney and should arrive in 45 minutes!! So, fill out my immigration card, and take out my US Weekly to pass the time.

1:00pm- My seat is partially over the wing and my view is very limited. I'd practically given up hope of seeing Sydney as we landed, but then for some reason I looked out the window and got a quick view of the Opera House. OMG! What am I doing?

1:15pm (or 8:15am on Wednesday February 11th Sydney time)- We touch down at the Sydney airport and I catch myself smiling like a crazy person. My new life has just begun.

After departing the plane, going through customs, and collecting my luggage (which took forever, but at least they arrived) I head off to catch my very first Australian taxi.

Sydney tip #1: You don't have to tip the taxi driver... I did anyway. I'm such a sucker!!

Last Night in America

So, I've spent the last few months (more specifically the last few weeks) planning, organizing, packing and crossing things off my "to-do list"... and now time is up! Tonight is my last night (at least for awhile) in America and its a very strange thought.

What's stranger still is that I was actually able to get all my crap packed without having a nervous breakdown. Yes, I was able to fit, just barely, all of my clothes, shoes, school stuff, electronics and toiletries into the 4 allowable bags (2 checked, 1 carry-on, and 1 personal item). How is this possible you ask? I don't know either. I still feel, even with 171 pounds of luggage including 16 pairs of shoes, that I am forgetting something. What could it be? I guess I will find out when I actually get there.
I already said goodbye to Austin, and I'm actually sitting in a hotel in Los Angeles right now. I flew in earlier with my mom and little sister. For my last dinner we went to Santa Monica pier and had Mexican food and Margaritas. As I was looking out onto the Pacific Ocean I realized that probably the next time I look out onto the Pacific it will be from the other side of the world, looking towards California. Weird!
I will be leaving to Sydney tomorrow night... scary!

Goodbye Dallas!

The going away party seemed to be a success as it had all the elements of a great party. There was Grey Goose and vodka, kanagroo confetti, a posh hotel suite, Mexican food and margs, Beyonce dance-off competitions, table service at the Ghost Bar, (almost fist) fights with bouncers, laughter, tears... and most importantly, it had many of my closest friends in the world there to see me off.At one point during the party I was thinking, if only I could meet friends in Sydney that are even one percent as wonderful as my American friends, I would be so luckily, I would never be lonely and I would have the time of my life. Of course, I realize that this is very unlikely especially given that I am already so blessed to have met people like them in the first place. And I'm even more blessed that they actually stuck around even after they got to know the real me! :)





Goodbye Dallas, goodbye friends... see you soon (hopefully in Sydney). And please don't forget about me!