After, we went to meet Nadine, another exchange student who needed to go to Bondi Junction to get her phone/SIM card set up. We took the bus there and got acquainted, and arrived at a stunningly beautiful junction.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Getting down to business
Today was a bit of a blur. I woke up early enough for breakfast as usual (jetlag?...) and then watched some American shows in the television room with Phil. We came across shoes like The Simpsons, Ellen Degeneres Show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and Jersey Shore. One pillow fight later, I was left with a hurting head and a fat lip. THANKS PHIL. >>
After, we went to meet Nadine, another exchange student who needed to go to Bondi Junction to get her phone/SIM card set up. We took the bus there and got acquainted, and arrived at a stunningly beautiful junction.
Me derpin' and herpin'.
The market.
Super windy.
Waiting with the guys at the bus stop to Coogee, where Seb (the French man on the right) has his flat. We went there so he could cook up some lunch.
In case y'all didn't catch that, I said "Ew, look at that douchebag smile. Chills." LOL Sorry... In this next video, Phil does the impossible. After trying to use the can opener for so long, Phil... takes a crack at it himself.
Time to clean the flat! :D LOOK HOW CUTE. And he wanted me to delete this photo...
Orange juice, orange slices, two slices of toast, cut up tomatoes, corn with tuna, yogurt... "Yeah, this is a regular meal. Too much?"
They live near Coogee beach. ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL? Mind you, this is at 4pm already, so the sun is setting.
This one legged seagull was hopping around on one foot... Sad story, right? He goes hop, hop, hop, hop-*RUNS WITH BOTH LEGS* ... -__- We've all been fooled.
WELL HELLO THERE, AUSTRALIA!
OH **** the water totally just soaked my legs...
One camwhoring picture, for those who came here for these.
After we picked up some food, it's back to the bus stop to get home.
After an official dinner back at the International House, we headed out again towards Seb's place. We decided to go out to a bar and chose Beach Palace Hotel. GORGEOUS place that is huge and has FANTASTIC music!(They listen to a load of American music, btw.) Here's a shot of us playing pool! :D
Seb and I lost because although we were ahead, he got the black ball into a hole he didn't call. D: OH WELL! Then we went to play this arcade game. SO FUNNN, thanks for making me do it!
After picking up some groceries and being let down that the supermarket didn't sell alcohol so late, we went back and had gourmet and authentically French crepes and salami sandwiches.
After, we went to meet Nadine, another exchange student who needed to go to Bondi Junction to get her phone/SIM card set up. We took the bus there and got acquainted, and arrived at a stunningly beautiful junction.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Registration Day
After a night of great ping pong with new friends, I set off to sweet sleep... at 10pm. But it was rainy and I was dead exhausted, so it's okay. The bed here is pretty frickin' bouncy, but it was comfortable nevertheless. I slept soundly until 7am to a bit of construction outside.
I got up at 8:30 because I would have registration orientation at 10. It was kind of a useful presentation, but... not really. The rest of the day was spent chasing down administrators who had to sign off your classes. Kind of inefficient, even if it's being more careful for exchange students, given the fact that maybe 1/5 of the students at UNSW are international. I'm starting to miss the good management of UCLA! And I definitely felt that throughout other instances that I won't mention here.
Beautiful computer lab for students, next to the also beautiful Study Lounge.
In the bathroom. Dry your hands on these thick towel-ish sheets, then pull on them to roll the bottom up (automatically) so you leave dry clean sheets for the next user. AT LEAST I THINK THAT'S WHAT THIS IS... it doesn't rip off...
At least while I was roaming finding teachers, I was able to explore a bit more. I found this cute quiet place in a corner.
After that, the Exchange program coordinated an afternoon tea, where maybe 50 international students and "Aussie Mate" participants came out to mingle while enjoying Australian treats like ham & honey flavored chips, Tim Tams, and others that I can't name.
It was my first time doing the Tim Tams correctly! You bite off one corner of the rectangle, then you bit off a bit of the opposite corner, then you put one corner down into milk, coffee, or tea, and you suck off the other end. Once you taste the drink, you can put the whole bar in your mouth. DELICIOUSSSSS! I did it with coffee, of course. >>
Later, a group of us went to UNIBAR, the bar on campus.
It was quiet and pretty empty at first, but it's good because we got seats! :)
First beer in Sydney! Cheers~
Then a whole herd came near happy hour. :D It was PACKED.
I headed back to IH for dinner. I will one day take a picture of the dining hall for you guys, but for now, just my dinner plate.
This is chicken, mashed potatoes with chives, cooked zucchinis, corn, and pickled-ish cabbage and mushrooms. :D The guys were like "This food really sucks," but I thought it was pretty frickin' delicious! :9
Might go out clubbing tonight at some Gypsy place, but I will update later if that happens. I've decided I might just live off my suitcase for the rest of the year... 9__9 It's not that I don't want to unpack, it's that my closet seems pretty dirty, and I feel too lazy to line it and find/buy tape to fix it up. Living off the suitcase so far has been pretty nice, actually. LOL! ...
Other things I've noticed about Australia:
- Their coffees are not only more expensive, but the sizes are smaller. Their "regular" is our Starbucks "short". (The new cup that's smaller than the tall.)
- The cost of a latte, etc... are the same price, as opposed to in the U.S., where a cappuccino is some price, a latte is some different price, and regular coffee is different price.
- They also have what's called "long black" and "flat white" type coffees. :)
- The people are super nice and chill! My obsession with chill-ness commences! There are people who would really walk like 5 minutes with you to show you directions so you don't get more lost. (This is uh, what others have told me, not from experience.... >> 6__6)
- I met a French man while with an American guy, and they were like "Hi, nice to meet you." ::handshake:: To me: "Hi, nice to meet you." He sticks his head next to/in front of mine waiting. Me: O________O!?! Him: Oh, you don't-.. okay! ::shakes my hand::
I totally missed the cues for la bise (pronounced like "bees"). I finally got to do it after my beer today though. LOL. *checks off bucket list*
- The dining hall is a great place to meet people. I don't know if it's for all colleges (dorms), but at the IH, people always fill up one table before starting a new one. There's very little sitting-by-yourself. :) I've had great conversations so far!
- I am able to say I'm from San Francisco, without having to say only U.S. or California for people to understand. We're THAT famous, yay! I can also say I go to UCLA, and people will recognize that it is a super prestigious school! :D Go Bruins! Sorry, I didn't know what UNSW was though. :X
- Tons. Of. Fobs. As mentioned before, this school (and Sydney Uni) is super international. I thought UCLA was getting a bit out of hand. But here, it's like Chinatown.
That's it for now! :DDD
I got up at 8:30 because I would have registration orientation at 10. It was kind of a useful presentation, but... not really. The rest of the day was spent chasing down administrators who had to sign off your classes. Kind of inefficient, even if it's being more careful for exchange students, given the fact that maybe 1/5 of the students at UNSW are international. I'm starting to miss the good management of UCLA! And I definitely felt that throughout other instances that I won't mention here.
After that, the Exchange program coordinated an afternoon tea, where maybe 50 international students and "Aussie Mate" participants came out to mingle while enjoying Australian treats like ham & honey flavored chips, Tim Tams, and others that I can't name.
This is chicken, mashed potatoes with chives, cooked zucchinis, corn, and pickled-ish cabbage and mushrooms. :D The guys were like "This food really sucks," but I thought it was pretty frickin' delicious! :9
Might go out clubbing tonight at some Gypsy place, but I will update later if that happens. I've decided I might just live off my suitcase for the rest of the year... 9__9 It's not that I don't want to unpack, it's that my closet seems pretty dirty, and I feel too lazy to line it and find/buy tape to fix it up. Living off the suitcase so far has been pretty nice, actually. LOL! ...
Other things I've noticed about Australia:
- Their coffees are not only more expensive, but the sizes are smaller. Their "regular" is our Starbucks "short". (The new cup that's smaller than the tall.)
- The cost of a latte, etc... are the same price, as opposed to in the U.S., where a cappuccino is some price, a latte is some different price, and regular coffee is different price.
- They also have what's called "long black" and "flat white" type coffees. :)
- The people are super nice and chill! My obsession with chill-ness commences! There are people who would really walk like 5 minutes with you to show you directions so you don't get more lost. (This is uh, what others have told me, not from experience.... >> 6__6)
- I met a French man while with an American guy, and they were like "Hi, nice to meet you." ::handshake:: To me: "Hi, nice to meet you." He sticks his head next to/in front of mine waiting. Me: O________O!?! Him: Oh, you don't-.. okay! ::shakes my hand::
I totally missed the cues for la bise (pronounced like "bees"). I finally got to do it after my beer today though. LOL. *checks off bucket list*
- The dining hall is a great place to meet people. I don't know if it's for all colleges (dorms), but at the IH, people always fill up one table before starting a new one. There's very little sitting-by-yourself. :) I've had great conversations so far!
- I am able to say I'm from San Francisco, without having to say only U.S. or California for people to understand. We're THAT famous, yay! I can also say I go to UCLA, and people will recognize that it is a super prestigious school! :D Go Bruins! Sorry, I didn't know what UNSW was though. :X
- Tons. Of. Fobs. As mentioned before, this school (and Sydney Uni) is super international. I thought UCLA was getting a bit out of hand. But here, it's like Chinatown.
That's it for now! :DDD
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
FIRST DAY!
I'm finally here in Sydney, and I am SO EXCITED. Everything has been going pretty well so far! Here are the details of my day.
My flight was at 11pm July 2nd (U.S. time). My family sent me off at SFO airport.
Boarded the plane and settled in on my aisle seat of the middle section of 4. At the other end was a very nice lady, Lucy. The two seats between us were empty, THANK GOD.
We got pillows and blankets, but Lucy and I got an extra set from the empty seats, of course. :) I ended up laying across this area and slept long ways. "Wait wait... you said 'sleep'?" YES, I SLEPT ON THE PLANE. O___O!! Miraculous, I know. I dozed off for 10 hours and woke up to the screen saying we were about 3 hours away! I recommend those round blow-up neck pillows for travelers... I think that saved me.
They served two meals, dinner and breakfast. They also offered a "midnight snack" of a tin-foil wrapped turkey-cheese sandwich with a packet of pecan cookie, pretzels, and a brownie.
Dinner: Pasta-something (pesto?), garden salad with ranch, dinner roll with butter.
Breakfast: Egg (with a flat sausage underneath it), cheese quiche, cantaloupe & melon.
Food was overall really good! I might have low standards though. Otherwise, there were no personal movies I could choose because there were no personal screens. They showed general movies for Economy class, and they were pretty frickin' bad movies. I only watched the first one, A Thousand Words, with Eddie Murphy. Pretty bad. >>
But finally, I landed & went through customs pretty smoothly. Got picked up by a UNSW representative, met some nice Danish girls, then got introduced to my new room at International House, one of the dorms here.
Desk + window + chair.
Door + mirror + guest chair
Closet + end of the bed
Top of the bed + shelf + landline + boxy lamp
I'll post bathroom pictures if people care, otherwise this is my living space for the next 4 months! It's a pretty frickin' old place, and the building is older than Dykstra (for you UCLA people) but... it just makes me realize how lucky I was to have gone to school in California/U.S.
International House, the dorm (they call it a 'college') that I am staying at.
Food/recreation room nearby.
The rest of that room.
A... building.
It's like Bruinwalk. :) Leads right up into campus.
Anza Parade. (It's like Westwood Blvd/Village.)
Building for UNSW Global + horrible photography attempt by me.
First cup of Joe! The barrista taught me all about the different kinds of coffee! Super nice. This is a regular 8 oz. latte.
Spent the day walking up and down one side of the Parade. Surprised to find so many Asian restaurants and supermarkets.
We have this in the states, don't we?
Went into McDonald's (because it's fun to see what different countries sell there) to find a whole separate section for the McCafe line. This has a whole menu of coffees and pastries next to the main McDonalds restaurant.
Decided to try the simple Chicken-Cheese sandwich for $2 AUD. Their dollar menu is, I believe, their "spare change" menu. x) You can't buy jack for $1 AUD.... In this picture, I'm holding up my receipt to the screen in the background that reads off the numbers they call.
Made my way back on campus to explore the buildings. This is the "Bruinwalk" again.
I'll be going out tonight, hopefully, so I'll have more pictures next time from today. But a serious problem that I have right now is that I still can't find an adapter that works! So my phone, camera, and laptop are running on the battery I arrived with. >> I've tried two, and they both don't work. Maybe the outlets in my room don't work....
UPDATE Y'ALL LATER! :Dv
My flight was at 11pm July 2nd (U.S. time). My family sent me off at SFO airport.
Boarded the plane and settled in on my aisle seat of the middle section of 4. At the other end was a very nice lady, Lucy. The two seats between us were empty, THANK GOD.
We got pillows and blankets, but Lucy and I got an extra set from the empty seats, of course. :) I ended up laying across this area and slept long ways. "Wait wait... you said 'sleep'?" YES, I SLEPT ON THE PLANE. O___O!! Miraculous, I know. I dozed off for 10 hours and woke up to the screen saying we were about 3 hours away! I recommend those round blow-up neck pillows for travelers... I think that saved me.
They served two meals, dinner and breakfast. They also offered a "midnight snack" of a tin-foil wrapped turkey-cheese sandwich with a packet of pecan cookie, pretzels, and a brownie.
Food was overall really good! I might have low standards though. Otherwise, there were no personal movies I could choose because there were no personal screens. They showed general movies for Economy class, and they were pretty frickin' bad movies. I only watched the first one, A Thousand Words, with Eddie Murphy. Pretty bad. >>
I'll post bathroom pictures if people care, otherwise this is my living space for the next 4 months! It's a pretty frickin' old place, and the building is older than Dykstra (for you UCLA people) but... it just makes me realize how lucky I was to have gone to school in California/U.S.
I'll be going out tonight, hopefully, so I'll have more pictures next time from today. But a serious problem that I have right now is that I still can't find an adapter that works! So my phone, camera, and laptop are running on the battery I arrived with. >> I've tried two, and they both don't work. Maybe the outlets in my room don't work....
UPDATE Y'ALL LATER! :Dv
Monday, July 2, 2012
Dedication post!
It's the night before I have to leave, and the nerves are coming out! But as stressed out as I am about forgetting something or encountering trouble abroad, what I'm finding the hardest to accept is leaving my sister behind.
My older sister is actually who really inspired me to study abroad. If she does it, I want to do it! I'm hoping I can go and learn how to be more independent so I don't bother her as much, and so she won't have to worry about me too much anymore. :) This trip is dedicated to you, sis! <3 Thanks for being the most positive influence in my life! I wouldn't be the person I am today without your guidance.
(Note: This drawing was done ~4 years ago. xD)
This probably doesn't count as a card for you, and you'll probably beat me in creativity and all that as usual, but.... 9__9 It's the love and thought that counts, right? :D
------------
For other news, I just need to pack my backpack and clean up my desk, and I think I'll really be ready to leave! I've been hearing about peers all around the world arrive at Sydney this week, so it's really exciting! (We have a fb group.)
So the next blog entry will PROBABLY be one made when I'm actually beginning this trip. Finally, right? But there's still one full day that I have to spend here in SF. Time for Purple Kow with the sister? :9
My older sister is actually who really inspired me to study abroad. If she does it, I want to do it! I'm hoping I can go and learn how to be more independent so I don't bother her as much, and so she won't have to worry about me too much anymore. :) This trip is dedicated to you, sis! <3 Thanks for being the most positive influence in my life! I wouldn't be the person I am today without your guidance.
(Note: This drawing was done ~4 years ago. xD)
This probably doesn't count as a card for you, and you'll probably beat me in creativity and all that as usual, but.... 9__9 It's the love and thought that counts, right? :D
------------
For other news, I just need to pack my backpack and clean up my desk, and I think I'll really be ready to leave! I've been hearing about peers all around the world arrive at Sydney this week, so it's really exciting! (We have a fb group.)
So the next blog entry will PROBABLY be one made when I'm actually beginning this trip. Finally, right? But there's still one full day that I have to spend here in SF. Time for Purple Kow with the sister? :9
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