Help Meg Run

We arrived in Sydney on Saturday and had a full week of orientation and such before classes start tomorrow. Sadly we don’t get the full-blown orientation experience because although this is the start of first semester for US students, it’s the second semester for Aussie kids since their seasons are switched. But we learned our way around the campus (which is lovely…it looks just like Hogwarts!) and finally got enrolled in our classes.

A normal course load for Aussie kids is four classes (as opposed to five back home( but I’m doing an internship that counts for a class credit so I only have three academic classes: a government class, a history class, and a gender/cultural studies class that’ll hopefully be really fun. And the best part is that with how my schedule is structured right now, I have no classes on Monday or Friday. Of course I will use a lot of that time for my internship, but it will be great to have more time to travel and explore.

Speaking of exploring, I’ve been doing a lot of that lately! The area of Sydney we live in is super cute. We’re right near this main road that has coffee shops and restaurants galore (many of the Thai variety, interestingly). It’s only about a 15 minute walk down to a big shopping mall with stores, Kmart, a grocery store, and a movie theater. I’ve spent quite a lot of time just walking up and down and all around this area.

We’re also pretty close to downtown. The public transit system is very extensive and very widely used here (maybe because gas is more than $5/gallon?) and there’s a bus stop super close by that’s a straight shot downtown. Last Friday I went down there with a couple of friends and saw the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House for the first time. It was awesome! We also wandered all around the Royal Botanical Gardens, which are right between downtown and the water. We saw all sorts of wildlife, including a huge spider (ick), bats, and even parakeets.  We got to eat dinner outside with a glorious view of the bridge, too. Plus a stop at a glorious chocolate shop that’s just a minute away from our complex…that could be trouble.

I went back downtown today with a friend and we went to the Aroma Festival! It was a huge outdoor festival with tons of coffee, chocolate, tea, spices, snacks, and more. The stands went on and on; I think we wandered for a good two to three hours. I spent a chunk of change today…but what can I say, chocolate is my weakness. We also saw some of the regular markets that are here on the weekends–I can’t wait to come back next weekend and explore some more.

I really do love Sydney the city. It’s big and diverse like NYC (to which it gets lots of comparisons) but it isn’t as cramped and doesn’t have that manic energy that NYC can have, which I suppose is good or bad depending on your perspective! I love that it’s right on the water and that there’s so much greenery. The city is pretty sprawling, as well, which I’m used to.

Interesting fact of the day about the University of Sydney: Sydney Uni (established in 1850, it’s the oldest university in Australia) was meant to be a combination of Oxford and Cambridge. Our coat of arms is the books of Oxford and the lion of Cambridge set on top of the Southern Cross, stars you can only see at night in the Southern Hemisphere. And our motto is Latin for “the heavens change, but the mind does not.” Very cool!

Other notes of interest: they really do have BBQ’s all the time. It’s kinda strange. They also really do say “no worries” all the time. I think I’m starting to pick it up. They also drive on the left side of the road, obviously, which is so strange. Actually, the strange part is walking on the left side at all times instead of the right and remembering to look left when you cross streets.

There’s a pretty good rainstorm going on right now, and I’m comfortably settled in my room getting ready for classes to start tomorrow. Well, class starts for everyone else tomorrow. I plan on going for a run and doing laundry (you wouldn’t believe how much $$ it costs).