Finally a second to breathe

I finally have a second off from all of this crazy orientation to sit down and right a proper blog post. From the moment that we landed they have kept us so busy! I still haven't even finished unpacking everything, whoops. It is hard to even write about anything that exciting considering we have only been here for one week. As I said in earlier blogs the first couple of days consisted of basic orientation information for all international students. There are so many exchange and abroad students here! Luckily we were able to escape on day and head out to the beach. The beach that we went to has these really cool colorful sheds all along it. Also, you can see the complete city from the water; it is so pretty! Once we finished up with those sessions we jumped right into more orientation with all Monash University students. They take the first week of orientation even more seriously here then the evergreens at Loyola! Each dorm building has various activities planned throughout the entire week. Including bbqs, trivia nights, casino nights, toga nights and pizza parties. One day we had an intense scavenger hunt throughout the entire city. The list included everything from cartwheeling across the street to getting a tattoo. It was pretty intense. The city itself is so beautiful! Its hard to compare it to a place in the United States but I guess its pretty similar to NYC except its much, much cleaner and has much less foot traffic. Last night everyone went to "host party night". It was at a club that had three different stories! The Australians definitely like to have a good time!

 

Finally here!

I finally made it and have internet access! The weather here is unbelievable! After a long beach day yesterday we are all already very burnt haha. Everyone here is so nice and helpful! I have been told many times that I talk too fast and have a New York accent (which is interesting considering I am from upstate.) The Australian accent is also taking some getting used to. They call french fries- chips, ketchup- sauce, sneakers- trainers and sweat pants- trackies. Instead of saying "how are you" they say "how are you going". After some embarrassing answers of "bus or walking" I think I am finally starting to remember what it actually means. Besides the different expressions, Australia has many similarities to America including McDonalds everywhere you go. We just finished the first week of orientation for international students and now have another week of orientation for everyone. So that is two weeks of orientation before classes even start! It doesn't seem like school is very intense here considering most people have Mondays and Fridays off.  I also have already deposited money for two trips! Sydney March 3rd and a trip to northern Australia April 22 for spring break! Cannot wait!

No more snow!

It is safe to say that the weather in Albany, New York is much different than the beautiful Australian climate. After spending countless days and nights snowed inside my house living vicariously through everyone’s abroad photos, I could not wait to escape to Australia’s sunny beaches. Winters in Albany are usually freezing but this one has been especially cold. Sad to say goodbye to my parents but looking forward to swim suits and sun tans, I stepped into the security line and was finally on my way. My mom and dad arrived home to twelve inches of freshly fallen snow.