I have been here almost 3 months! Crazy! Here are some things I have grown to love about Oz.
in no particular order...
Tim Tams, Weet-Bix, Solo soda and ice cream on pancakes
These chocolate biscuits, yummy cereal, lemonade soda and the fact that Aussies put a big scoop of ice cream on top of pancakes have ALL been a joy to experience.
Public transportation
I cannot count how many bus rides I have taken since being here. Yes, sometimes it is a pain not being able to drive (like the other day when I was walking back from work and it was raining sideways) but the bus system here is relatively easy to figure out and pretty cheap. I have definitely taken some trips where I ended up NOT in the place I thought I was headed or that took waaaayyy too long, but I feel pretty confident in my ability to get on the right bus finally!
$2 coins
They make the aforementioned bus trips and doing laundry so much easier because I have to carry around less change! It's a great thought, the $2 coin.
Being a 3 minute walk from my classes
Especially on the rainy/windy/cold days, it is super nice to be able to be at any of my classes in usually under 5 minutes flat. Even when I lived on campus at UT it took me awhile because you have to factor in the size of the campus and crossing the street in front of the library. Which can take years.
Skype, the Internets, and "the network"
I have LOVED getting to catch up with my family and friends with Skype. Both times I have talked to my grandparents they have loved it even more and it made me laugh at how mesmerized they were to be talking to me :) Even though I am so far away and almost an entire day ahead, it is nice to feel the slightest bit connected. The Network is a file sharing database that almost all my Aussie friends are on, and is how I have been able to watch Entourage! No one can find the Office though...and I have been pretty bummed about that.
Old Res
Yeah its old, pretty basic and kinda dirty...but we all know each other! I would say that Old Res is the Hess of Canberra. Everyone's door is always open and people are always milling around the halls and hanging out on the picnic tables between my building and B-Block. It's been a lot of fun to meet so many cool Aussies this way! The girls on Ayla's floor have had much entertainment asking the 2 of us random questions about America and Canada. To date, I have explained the concepts of Homecoming, cheerleaders, class officers, block scheduling, skim milk v. full cream, tomato sauce v. ketchup, sororites and fraternities and other aspects of university and school life. They always ask "Is it like how it is in the movies?" Those conversations are so much fun.
Floriade!
Ahhh it is amazing! It is a massive spring festival where there are thousands and thousands or flowers planted at Commonwealth Park in Canberra. Two of my friends won tickets to the "Floriade Nightfest" last week and couldn't go, so they gave them to me! The Night part was only a few select nights where there was more entertainment and movies playing on a big screen and all kinds of vendors and markets. I took my friend Emma and we had a great time! I am excited to go back in the daytime during one of these hopefully nice days we have coming up!
words and phrases like...
heaps, dodgy, sunnies, arvo, crook, banana-bender, bugger off, brekky, doona, bogan, trackies, jumper, the alternate pronunications of tomato and banana, full stop, How'd ya pull up?, Howya goin?, Oi! and rubbish. Whew! The Australians love their abbrev.s' too, so most of the time people call me Mel, which I like!
I can't believe I have been here this long! This has been the best experience of my life. I miss everyone at home so so much, but I will be sad to leave my Australian friends and No Worries life here come November.
Hopefully there is some nice spring weather just around the corner for Canberra! It has been so crazy here; storming for the first time in months and months, raining like crazy, dust storms...its been so weird.
I literally only have 4 more assignments left for this entire semester, and it is still crazy to me that I haven't had any exams and have no finals. What a way to go out!
