First Days at the Uni

My first few days of school have been insane. I made it to zero of four classes on Monday haha! I got lost and I had to change my entire schedule because all of my classes "clashed." After I got that all figured out, everything has been really exciting. I rigged my timetable (schedule) so that I have 5 day weekends! wooo hooo! As of right now, I am enrolled in Australia: Colonies to a Nation, Modernity in Asia, and Sports in Australia. I am trying to get into an art workshop called Object Designs where we make stools, but it is completely full right now.
The campus is absolutely beautiful! There is an entire building that looks like Hogwarts and the hallways are even called corridors.... LOVE IT! Inside the Hogwarts building (AKA the quadrangle), there is an amazing art museum called the Nicholson Museum. Right now, they have an Egyptian history exhibit going on. I looked at some mummified cats, humans, and crocodiles on my way to class? It was very interesting and I don't think I will be able to say that I can stop by a mummification exhibit on my way to class ever again.
I went grocery shopping last night at a place called Cole's. I pretty much had no idea what anything was. They had some American foods, but they also had weird names for the American food. Instead of Raisin Bran, they have Sultana Bran for example. On my way to the grocery store, I saw a man getting arrested by undercover cops. That was eventful. People were taking pictures of him too haha! I'm guessing he was a drug dealer or something? After grocery shopping, I went to a cute little bar down King Street called the Marly Bar. We saw a college initiation going on and the boys had to dress up like girls and the girls had to dress like boys. It reminded me of something that would happen at TCU. Oh and colleges are social groups that are like sororities and fraternities.
On Saturday, I am going to my first little league rugby game for my Sports in Australia class. I bet it is going to be so cute! On Sunday, my IES Abroad group is going to the Blue Mountains. We will get to see koala bears and feed kangaroos and see platypuses, etc at Featherdale Wildlife Park which is on the way to the Blue Mountains. Once we get to the Blue Mountains, we will just hike around and explore.
I absolutely love every minute of my time here and can't wait to experience soooo much more! Love and miss y'all!

                                                              My Beautiful Campus

I'm Never Coming Home.

Last night, I slept without any sheets on my bed. Instead, I wrapped myself in a snuggy because I couldn't get ahold of the girl who had my sheets in her room, but I didn't even care that I was freezing because I was so tired! I woke up this morning at 6:30 am... gotta love jet lag. We were picked up from our apartment at 9am and we went to the Rydges hotel to meet our IES abroad supervisor, Thais (Tie-ease). She studied abroad in Australia for six months when she was in college and never left... I can understand why. We spent a couple of hours at the hotel learning about Australia and discussing what would be going on this week... I start school tomorrow! Crazy!

Fun Facts About Australia:
     - 20% of Australia's population wasn't born here.
     - There is a hold in the ozone layer directly over Australia = skin cancer capital of the world.
     - Sydney is Australia's oldest city... but NOT THE CAPITAL (Canberra is the capital).
     - Sydney is one of the most desirable places to live and work in the world.
     - Maroubra (just south of Sydney) is the founding city of a violent gang called the Bra Boys.
     - The Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, made the Guinness Book of World Records because    
        he drank a pint of beer super fast.
     - An Australian invented the concept of boxed wine.

We went to Darling Harbour today for lunch and it was gorgeous... even though it was overcast and cold. After lunch, we went and had a glass of wine at the Helm Bar which overlooks Darling Harbour. The whole time they played cheesy 80's music and then randomly they decided to play The Beatles' "She Loves You" and Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire"? Soooo random. Anyway, I'm soooo excited about all of the different things that are available to do in Sydney. I want to do EVERYTHING, however, that's impossible... but I am going to try! I'll leave y'all with some funny Australian words that I have learned so far:

Barbie = barbecue
Dodgy = sketchy
Root = sex
Arvo = afternoon
Brekkie = breakfast
Reckon = I think..
Lippy = lipstick
Mozzie = mosquito
Pash = hooking up (Pash and Dash = one night stand haha...)
Pissed = drunk or mad
Rego = car registration
Sickie = calling in sick when you aren't (used in the phrase "chuck in a sickie")
Bogan = redneck, white trash
Crack onto = flirt with

                                                           Beautiful Darling Harbour

                                                            Artsy Pic at the Helm Bar

                                                Sitting in the Fun Chairs Before Lunch

Longest, Most Amazing Day of My Life

I finally got my internet to work at 9pm. It is 6am in Texas. I haven't slept in roughly 30 hours... yet, I am having suchhhh an amazing time!
It's crazy how I have been planning for this trip to Sydney since last November and dreaming about it since I was 5... and now it's finally here! I don't think I really realized that until we were landing in the Sydney airport. I actually started to tear up because I was so happy! I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to go on such an exciting adventure like this one. Anyway, once I got to the airport, I met 3 other girls who are studying at USyd with me (the Australians call it USyd haha... or the Uni). We all got our bags and went out to the shuttle that would take us to our apartment. Of course, I had to be super obnoxious, so I sat up front with the driver and asked him all sorts of crazy questions. Here is what I learned:
      1. If someone offers me horse, kindly decline. because horse is a slang term for heroine.
      2. When eating out, be sure to check if the kitchen is clean, otherwise... leave.
      3. Kingstown (where I live) is the number one gay area in Sydney.
      4. There are a lot of "crooks" in Sydney.
      5. Shelby mustangs are an extremely popular car in Australia. 

So after that little adventure... we arrived at the Sydney University Village where I live! I had to carry my 140 lbs of luggage up 3 flights of stairs haha... thank goodness no one saw me because I'm sure I looked completely ridiculous doing this. I live in an apartment with 4 other people. I've still only met three of them though and only had about .0005 seconds to introduce myself before I was off to find food, bedding, and a cell phone with the rest of my group. They have a Target and Kmart here.... but they are really really reallllllyyy small and don't really carry much besides home decor, clothes, and toys. I got a super awesome Go-phone... it's a litttttttttle bit different than my iPhone.

After shopping, we took a cab back to our apartment and got ready for dinner. We ate at a place in Sydney Harbor called City Extra - I had delicious ravioli and a glass of the house red wine (the drinking age is 18 here... I swear I saw a 12 year old with a 12-pack when we were shopping earlier). We walked around the harbor for a little bit and saw the opera house and the bridge and then headed back to the apartments once again. On the way home, we passed a loft in downtown Sydney that had a huge Texas flag draped over the window - so proud. I wish I had brought my Texas flag shorts.
Now I am sitting here falling asleep at my computer. I'll be more exciting tomorrow.. maybe. We are waking up at 8am tomorrow to walk across the entire city... which should be really fun! but probably really exhausting too!
Love and miss y'all!