Week 3

Week 3 started off kind of crappy because I was real sick. I dealt with it though and on Sunday went to Byron Bay with some Aussies and 2 of my girlfriends. We shopped and went to some cool bars and what not. One guy stole all of the pillows from every single room and put them all on the floor. It was hilarious. The next morning we got grub and then walked up to the lighthouse in Byron. It was GORGEOUS!! At the lighthouse are really cool look-out points. We saw some whales in the ocean and stood at the most eastern part in all of Australia. It made me feel happy and blessed to be alive. It was truly gorgeous. Then we got back and I don't even remember what I did the rest of the day.

I went to classes all week and got some medicine which helped right away. I got my jeans fixed! Now I just need to get my camera fixed and everything will be all good. I got a new phone- Thank goodness! :)

Thursday I went dancing and drinking at Don's and then Varsity Tavern. It was sooo fun! My boy and I were dancing up a storm. It's so nice to chill with people who like to dance with girls. And by dance I don't mean stand there grinding, but like swinging and jumping and stuff.

Friday I was supposed to go to the rain forest but it was bad weather out so I just chilled and then was really bored. I ended up going to Varsity Tavern and drinking alot. It was cool. Danced and what not.

Saturday was Race Day where we all got real dressed up and went to the horse races near Surfer's. Everyone looked so nice in their suits and dresses. They didn't feed us enough food but oh well. It was open bar then entire time which was kind of crazy. We then all took buses to a club but half of the people weren't even allowed in. I then took a taxi home chilled with some people and went to bed extremely early for a Saturday night. The races were cool though and I know some people who won alot of money.

Yesterday was so great. I went on a 12k hike through Stoneybrook rainforest. It was beautiful!! It was tough but so well worth it. I went with this guy I have been hanging around with since like my 4th day here. He is a very nice boy and has a creative and energizing mind. At the bottom of the hike were natural pools that were collections from the waterfall (which are part of Queenslands drinking supply). We went swimming in it and it was FREEZING!! We were swimming when it started to thunder and lightening like crazy. We then had to walk the 6k hike up the the starting point. It was really cool. Then we ate at this Mexican joint and he bought me a cool shot glass. Then we went to the natural bridge but it was too rainy and cold to deal with so we came back got some wine and just chilled outside talking world politics and what not.

Week 2

Week 2 has come and gone. Week 2 here was amazing! I started classes. They are
1. Australian Pop Culture: It is kind of boring.
2. Love, Sex, and Relationships: It is very interesting and at the same time, graphic.
3. Drugs and Behavior: It is so much harder than I expected because it is more like a Pharmacology class, as it discusses how, for example, neurotransmitters are effected by drugs in the brain and what not. We have to chose a topic to write a paper on worth 35% of our grade and I think I am going to write about 'Inherited Alcoholism.'
4. Terrorism: This class is extremely detailed. Over 75% of our grade will be based on a specific terrorist organization. Of course I didn't get assigned to Hamas or Hezbollah, the two groups I know the most about.. I have to research the Tamil Liberation Fighters based in Sri Lanka. The more I think about it though the more I think maybe it's better off that I learn about a different group in order to see different perspectives of terrorism.

Besides classes I have done alot of social activities this week. Bond Uni sponsors a ton of drinking-oriented social activities. "Drink The Pub Dry" was on Tuesday. We went to the club "21" and were expected to literally drink the pub dry. It use to be that the school would get together a group of students and randomly show up at a pub and drink it dry because the pub wouldn't be expecting a mass influx of drinkers on a random Tuesday night.

I went to Burleigh Beach one day. It was calmer waves than Coolangata so it is a good spot for beginners. The water is still pretty cold, although the outer temperature is definitely heating up. It feels great! I wish I was more tan but the sun goes down early and it's hard to lay out past 2ish because it does get real windy on the beach.

Thursday I went to Q1 which is the 77th floor of the tallest building in the area. It is specifically in the city Surfer's Paradise, which is a pretty cool name, true because of the waves, and has a ton of nightclubs, although I am almost sick of them already.. The building itself is the #1 tallest residential building in the world. One of my friends talked to the CEO and we ended up being invited to the 78th floor to a private function hosted by the Queensland professional basketball team, which was pretty cool. We didn't stay long because everyone seemed old and all the players were actually short and either had girlfriends or we weren't interested.

Friday afternoon was club sign-on day. I signed up for 3 clubs: ACES which is short for Australian Culture Exploration Society (or something), BASIC - Beer Appreciation and Social Intercourse Club, and the Exploration Club which focused on outdoor sporting adventures. The school even had 5 kegs of beer for the event which is crazy because not only did it start at 11 AM but the school also sponsored something right afterwards....

Bond sponsored its tri-annual pub crawl for the students. There are 2 groups of 500 students who were bused to 6 different pubs/nightclubs. It was a crazy insane experience. I have never seen so many drunk people in my life. Unfortunately the zipper on my jeans broke and my jeans were very loose. Not only is this a travesty in and of itself but then my brand new phone fell out of my pocket, along with my brand new camera. The cell phone was subsequently broken and lost and now the camera won't turn on. I know I can't blame it completely on the broken pants as I had been drinking.. but it still really sucks. I will have a new phone tomorrow so it's all good I guess... Besides all this it was a crazy insane night of fun.

Saturday I took it easy and laid out in the sun at the pool. I then watched my first ever FOOTIE, or rugby, game with a few Australians from my building. The game featured the New Zealand All-Blacks and the Australian Wallaby's. Unfortunately the Aussies lost in a very close game.

I have alot planned for week 3 including a trip to Byron Bay, the most eastern point of land in Australia; a trip to the rain forest (I hope), and I plan to go to my first horse race at the track.

Week 1

I have been in Australia for one full week. It has been some of the best times I have ever had in my life. I lucked out and got a really chill and fun roommate. I feel as though I have known her forever at this point. The campus is absolutely gorgeous. There is a lake right outside of my window. I went in the Pacific Ocean several times, although it is cold, it is beautiful. The waves are huge.

I have been partying alot, but is exhausting, but fun. I have met real cool and down-to-earth people, but more non-Aussie's than Aussies it seems.

I initiated an adventure halfway through the week. Several of us took a bus to Curumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. We saw many cool animals such as crocodiles and koalas, but the highlight of the trip was feeding kangaroos. There were at least 100 of them just hanging out begging us for food. It was amazing!

I met some guy and he took my girls and me to Coolangata (sp?) beach area today. It was so gorgeous because we were standing on cliffs overlooking the ocean.

Everything here is really expensive, including alcohol, so everyone pre-games on boxed or bottled wine. I am already sick of it.

Also, everyone here is soooo nice, but after being here you can see why: beautiful weather, beautiful beaches, beautiful buildings, beautiful everything!

Campus life rocks and I am lucky to be living in the building I am in, North Tower. It is right next to the best (which isn't really that tasty) food spot on campus, and the tavern and everything. This is the view from my room >>>>

Classes start in two days. I am taking 1. Australian Pop Culture 2. Love, Sex, and Relationships 3. Terrorism and 4. Leadership.