"Did you really just compare the global financial crisis to Swine Flu?"

11:00PM Friday

My favorite class so far is my American Foreign Policy class. Which sounds silly, but every international relations class I've taken has been centered around how US policy affects us domestically... i.e. "this deal with this country caused our gas prices to react in such-and-such a way" or what have you. But the reason people study American policy here is to understand how it affects the rest of the world. Which is fascinating. The course is a 3000 level course, which means you aren't supposed to take it until your third or fourth year, I'm taking it as a second year but I'm always up for a challenge. Any way, the first day of class the lecturer (who we're supposed to call by her first name but honestly can't remember it at all) dove right into discussing the misconceptions and truths behind anti-Americanism. One thing she reckons is that the American ideology is far more optimistic than the Australian way of thinking. "Australians tend to be far more cynical of the world than the average American" She used this to explain why the American public feels so passionately one way or another about intervening in another nations affairs... because Americans believe the world can be changed and that terrible things- like genocide and tyrannical governments- can and should be stopped. Australians, on the other hand, tend to default to the assumption that the way people are and the way of the world can't be changed... it simply changes of it's own accord. She says one of the goals of the course is to make students more aware of American Foreign Policy and the factors that shape it. I'm very excited. There are only 2 Americans in the class... me and another kid, James, and after class we were discussing how, even though there isn't a huge "culture shock" that occurs coming to Australia from the US, we are both frequently blindsided by the reality of American isolationism... and how little we really do know about the rest of the world. 

Global awareness just doesn't prevail in our culture like it does here or in Europe. 

I love that the village has such a diverse international population... discussion of a simple issue becomes so enlightening when it takes place between 2 Americans, an Australian, someone from Sweden and a guy from Germany. 

The other day, Ken, Aja, Ken's Australian friend (Peter?) and I were sitting around the table discussing voting and the validity of democracy and the effectiveness of the U.S. system v.s. the Australian system. For example, Australia has compulsory voting... when you turn 18 you must register (like guys in the U.S. have to do for the draft) and at every major election you show up to vote and your name gets ticked off a list... if you don't show up and your name isn't checked off you get a HUGE fine. Thus, Australia has a 100% voter turn-out. Aja loves this system because she says it ensures that everyone has a voice... aborigines, islanders, rich, poor... they ALL vote. The way Aja sees it, the US system is flawed because minorities (etc.) feel that they don't have a voice and their vote doesn't count, so, they don't vote... thus the system is able to be run by a select few and nothing ever changes. I agree with that, sort of. My major disagreement with compulsory voting is that everyone votes because they have to... not because they want a voice. Then you get people showing up to vote who know nothing about the candidates or the issues and just pick whichever name jumps out at them first in order to not get a fine. This creates exactly what our founders feared in the early days of the constitution- which lead to the creation of the electoral college. SPEAKING OF WHICH, trying to explain the electoral college is probably the most difficult thing I've tried to do recently... and that includes surfing. lol. But I was trying to explain to Aja how it is that a candidate wins a state... and how a candidate can win the presidency without winning the popular vote. (To be fair, I also added that this has only happened twice in history) I'm not sure if the fact that it was so hard to explain is a poor reflection on the system itself or just my understanding of it. 

(Also, speaking of Swine Flu... apparently like 5 or so people in the village have it... greeaaaatttt.... )

Now, to get away from politics for a moment (for all of you who pretty much tuned out in the previous 2 paragraphs) 

The other night Ken made chili and all of us (Marshall, Ken, Aja, Aja's boyfriend Aaron, Bay and I) sat around the table and ate dinner together. It was really cool... we just talked and learned Australian slang and had a family style meal. I really enjoyed it. 

Last night was "Uni Night" at the Tavern. Most of us don't have class on Fridays (yay) so we all went out to the Tavern that's near by. I "pre-gamed" (drank cheap alcohol so we don't have to spend money at the bar) with Mark, Amber, Kristen, Nicki and George. It was so funny. We were supposed to go get free pizza, but then we found out that in order to get the free pizza you had to listen to a guy give a speech about cricket (the sport, not the bug) for an hour and a half. I was all for it but only because I was hungry, no one else was down though so Mark said if I gave up on the pizza he would cook for me and it would be healthier. He then attempted to use my eggs and his rice to make egg fried rice and it was... interesting. Haha, it really wasn't bad at all but the processes was hilarious. The tavern was super crowded but it was really cool... everyone was there and people were dancing and goofing around. An interesting note on "youth culture" Australians and Europeans don't grind-dance like Americans do... when people dance together it's less sexual and more "yeah! let's have a great time...party!!!!" (So, Erin, you might actually enjoy yourself!) If you can picture it from that. "Grinding" usually means you are going home with that person. 

I've met so many friends from so many places and they're all so awesome in their own way. Today, after the BBQ that happened, Mark (my awesome new British friend who can't make egg fried rice- lol :P ), Nicki, Kristen, George, Amber and a bunch of people went to watch a movie in Kristen's apt, they picked Friday the 13th and Mark and I literally made it through the first 2 scenes of the movie before we decided to go down to the rec room to watch Twilight with the girls who were in there instead :P 

Tomorrow is Race Day, which is apparently a big tradition similar to the Kentucky Derby. We all dress up really nice and spend they day at the races with free food and free drinks. (Except it's not REALLY free since we already paid for our tickets... but shhhhh) I'm charging my camera now so I'll be sure to take pictures! 

First day at the Uni

12:19 AM Tuesday

First- I decided not to change rooms because I've finally got some more roommates (well, flat-mates)! Marshall is from Maryland, although he goes to school in Denver, and he's very cool. Also, Aja is from Australia originally although she grew up in Dubai and just moved to Gold Coast from Brisbane. Finally, Bay who is from Malaysia. It works out really well because everyone is very laid back so it's a very calm atmosphere. It's nice, we can all go be loud and rowdy at other peoples apartments then come back and sleep where it's quiet. Today, Aja (who has her car) took Bay and I to Pacific Fair, the really big shopping center, and we got some mats for our bathroom and some cups and little things to make it feel like OUR place. I also printed a bunch of pictures of friends from here and from home and put them up all over my room. It was really exciting actually, I finally feel like there are some things here that are mine. 

Now, first day of class! It was awesome to walk on campus as see it alive for the first time. There are people and coffee shops everywhere and the energy level was so high you could almost taste it! I also must have heard at least six different languages on my way to class this morning. I only had one class today it was a humanities class called Performing Culture. I'm really very excited for it. There are about 30 people in the class (one of whom is my friend George- the one doing the headstand in the crazy cool pants in my pictures below; it was really reassuring to recognize a face). The professor is actually American, which for some reason I find endlessly entertaining. It strange the things I notice... like at one point he was describing something as being about a meter wide then, a little later, he described a person as about 6 ft. 10 in. and 300 pounds. I didn't think much about it until I noticed about 3 other students look around, confused. 

 The class itself focuses on the emphasis of everyday actions as art and a comment on culture. We looked today at how people take meaningless objects or actions and manipulate them to send a message and how that is a form of art.

Tomorrow, I have another humanities class called "The Critic: arts and culture". Also, tomorrow I begin my job search (wish me luck!) Here, you don't fill out applications, you are expected to have a resume for every job you apply for, even something like Baskin Robins! 

Byron Bay (and other such adventures!)

So, last week, as part of an "adventure orientation" for international students, I went on a trip to Byron Bay. Byron is this rather small beach town about an hour from Gold Coast - it is also "the eastern most point of the Australian mainland" (very exciting, I know :P) I loved it though! The beach was... BEAUTIFUL and in the distance you could see blue mountains painted across the horizon. The town itself was also very cool... it was like a little hippie town, honestly. (((Magda & Meg- you both would have LOVED it, I thought of you two the entire time.))) We stayed in a hostel that had direct beach access!

First, we went to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where we got to hold Koalas and feed Kangaroos... it was a lot of fun, although a little strange to think that I had eaten kangaroo only a few nights before ;) 

 This is the view of Byron bay we got on our hike to the lighthouse (below). The hike took us about an hour and went up a large hill (although, being from NW Ohio, I considered it a mountain) and through part of a rainforest, it was ridiculously exhausting but an absolutely amazing experience. I trailed way behind the rest of the group (which spread out pretty quickly anyway) and just let myself meld with nature- it was an indescribable feeling... I was at absolute peace with myself and the world.

The lighthouse- behind it is the path to the "most easterly point of the Australian mainland" Which, of course, I hiked to as well. 

On the way back I was walking with Evan and Jesse and we watched another group of kids decide to walk along the beach, what they didn't realize was that the beach they were on was separated from the beach our hostel was on by a huge peninsula of rocks... at one point on our walk back Jesse, Evan and I could see them at the rocks from a path that was much higher up. I have to admit watching the problem solving process was morbidly fascinating. First, they tried to climb the rocks- that was very uncomfortable to watch because it was clearly dangerous but we were too far away to yell to them, let alone do much if something happened. Eventually, they gave up and we kept walking- I assume they turned around and went back the way they came although I do wonder if they tried to climb up to the path next, they probably could have done it. 

My group went Sea Kayaking at 8 o'clock in the morning... it was rough let me tell you. The waves we had to go through trying to get out were intense. Although, I have to brag for just a moment, my partner Joe and I were one of the only pairs who did NOT flip over once :) That being said, the ocean still pretty much managed to kick my ass. We were searching for wales and dolphins but, unfortunately, we didn't find any. I would do it again in a heartbeat though, like I said, it was intense. 

Surfing lessons! Once again, the ocean DESTROYED me. haha. Although, I did manage to stand once. It was funny though, even the one of the instructors made fun of me; after about my third nose dive he came over and said "I keep watching you eat shit, and it's really rather funny" (now read that in an australian accent and you will understand why I laughed so hard I was nearly knocked out by the next wave) It's exciting though, trying to learn something you never thought you could do... it seriously became a mission for me, I was DETERMINED. I have a friend here, too, who surfs and says if I rent a board he'll continue to teach me. 

I also attempted to learn how to skim board from some people at the beach who were doing it. That was also quite interesting :P 

I love being here, I feel like everything and everyone around me radiates adventure and it's awesome. Almost anyone here is up for anything. As soon as I get a job, my first paycheck has already been designated for skydiving. :D

Pretty much loving life today....

10:40PM Tuesday

Don't forget your sunnies!

1:37PM Monday

The sun is so intense here. You can feel it as soon as you walk outside. Also, there are skin cancer clinics on nearly every corner, that and Baskin Robins. haha

I've spent the last few days meeting people and exploring the town and buying necessities. I've met quite a few awesome people. Sarah, Noelle and Jenny have adopted me as a roommate, since I still have no new flat-mates. Although, on that subject, I am working on that, I went to the main office today to inquire about moving into an apartment with more students and they're trying to find something for me today or tomorrow- so lets all keep our fingers crossed.

On Saturday night I went out on the "pub crawl" and I mentioned to ONE PERSON that I had never drank before and soon the ENTIRE BUS was offering to buy me drinks and/or take care of me if I got wasted. It was pretty hilarious. Drinking is a really big part of the youth culture here, more so even than in the U.S. because the drinking age is only 18, but it's more about going out to bars than it is about having house parties. Boxed wine is really popular among college kids, mostly because it's cheap (and alcohol is EXPENSIVE here), but boxed wine is called "Goon" and the thing to do is drink Goon before you go out then just have a few cocktails at the bar. For those of you who are wondering, I did NOT get "wasted" lol. With the tour I was on I got one free drink at each bar we went to and I drank less than half of each drink. Also, shots are half the size here that they are in the U.S. I had a really great time though, the clubs play mostly American dance music and Sufers Paradise (the big club/tourist district here) has a really big international population. I had a funny moment though, when I was standing in the bathroom talking to Sarah and Jenny, and this girls comes out and goes "WOAH! You all have accents! Weird... where are you from?" Another guy came over and asked us if we were Canadian, because we sounded like we had Canadian accents. I told him I was from Ohio, so it's close enough. Overall, I had a blast, let me tell you- you haven't partied until you've partied in Australia. :P

Yesterday, I spent most of the day at the beach- loving my SPF 50. My adoptive roommates and I went down to Main Beach, it's less tourist-y than Surfers, and laid out. Australian people are SO friendly, everyone who walked by said hello to us and wanted to know where we were from. Australian guys are also really competitive with each other. There was a wooden platform that hung over one of the sand dunes and one guy was doing back-flips off of it and soon enough there were seven of them up there all trying to show each other up. It was rather interesting, Noelle has a picture that I'll try to steal so you can see what I'm talking about.

((MAGDA- Sarah, Noelle and Jenny have a roommate from Germany named Nieko and he and I were talking about how Germany has American T.V. shows but they get them a few seasons behind and he told me that in Germany they are only on season 4 of House! So he hasn't seen the finale yet! ))

Today I got my Griffith I.D. and a GOCARD for the bus, I also joined the student guild so I can get discounts on my books and such. I'm not sure what is going on tonight, I know that the village is having an orientation BBQ around 5PM. I'm going to head back over to Sarah, Jenny and Noelle's apt soon.

One more observation- very few things are taboo here. For example, in the U.S. adult stores are kept off main streets and have no windows and require ID to get in- they're really shady, right? Well here it's a big market and they're just open stores on the streets or in the mall anyone can come or go and people carry around shopping bags clearly marked "Condom Kingdom" and such- there is no discretion. Which I found interesting. It's just a cultural difference.

But anyway, that's all for now! :)

New Friends, Night Out, Beach

8:44PM Sunday

I'm rather tired so I will give a more detailed and analytical update at a later date, however, for now I give you this:

Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh...

7:32AM Saturday

Good news: I just woke up. Despite having gone to bed around 5PM last night.

So, yesterday, I did not fall back asleep but instead eventually took a shower, learned the hard way that my adaptor does not have a built-in voltage transformer (RIP hairdryer) and ventured outside. As I was headed out, I met a bunch of other USAC kids who had just come in on the group flight, I helped one kid named Austin find his building then headed over to the Uni. It's not a far walk, just over this big bridge that crosses the highway and says: "GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY".
I have to say being on campus made me feel a little more comfortable, it reminded me why I'm here and I felt a little familiar. I wandered around following maps and random directions looking for the student centre. People here are so friendly and willing to be helpful... it's virtually impossible to really phase anyone, it's always "No worries, Mate".
After finding the student centre I wandered my way into the international student office (It's a little strange for me to be called an "international student" I feel like I should be much more exotic and speak another language :P) After a long process involving many helpful people I was able to register for classes. As I was standing at a computer terminal doing so, I saw Austin standing in the line I had just been through. He waved and after getting his Student ID card (I can't get mine until Tuesday due to the complications that made me unable to register until then) he came over to the computer next to me. "I have no idea how to do this." I was so elated to have just figured it out for myself that I gladly walked him through the process. We talked and I found out he was from Las Vegas and his girlfriend was visiting a friend in Spain. We both had plans to do some shopping and find phones next so we walked out to the bus stop and met a couple of other guys. We all to the bus into town to Australia Fair- the big shopping center. It's like a mini-city all on its own and there's a mall with an open-air food court. We split up from the other guys, who needed to find a bank and Austin and I went into the mall to find phones, adaptors and groceries. We had a really good time and we bonded over being homesick and, in particular, boyfriend/girlfriend-sick.
Grocery carts here, are so cool. Seriously, all the wheels rotate 360 degrees steering is hilarious. Also, there are screaming children and difficult customers ahead of you in line no matter what country you're in. Then we ate in the open-air food court and watched the birds eye our food threateningly. My first meal in Australia was Vietnamese food :P
Over the course of that grand adventure we met a few other girls from our program- exchanged phone numbers etc. The plan was for everyone to take a little nap then we were going to go out or hang out... however, all of our little naps turned into, never mind, I freaking exhausted.

Yesterday was a lot of fun, when I'm busy and with people I'm so happy to be here but as soon as I get a minute to myself or let my mind start to wander, I get incredibly homesick. I'm excited for classes to start, I really think that will make this easier. At this point though, I've put myself in the mindset that I'm only going to do one semester, it makes it easier... and if that changes as I get settled in then rock-on. But we'll see.

My plan for today is to find some people to go down to the beach... but we'll see. I do have plans to go out tonight so I'll probably have to fit an actual nap in there somewhere.

Funny thing about Jet Lag...

Well, It's about 6AM friday here and I have given up on trying to fall back asleep.
Thanks to crossing the international date-line, I completely skipped wednesday and am all turned around.

I arrived in Gold Coast airport around 11AM and made it through customs... The people here were much more helpful and encouraging that the customs officers in Europe, it took me a minute to understand that though. One of the questions they ask you is if you've been near a farm, farm animals or any sort of freshwater lake or river within the last 30 days, I said "yes" because, well, I have. The customs officer replied "Ah, well, we don't let farmers in Australia" I quickly explained that I lived near the Great Lakes and it was swimming that I was referring to. To this the customs officer gave me a strange look and asked "why would anyone have a lake farm?" I just looked at him for a minutes, a complete loss for words when he laughed and said "I'm just giving you a hard time, no worries mate." ha?

I was picked up by a gentleman whos name I honestly don't remember who was there to take me to my apartment (or, Flat, as they call it here). First thing, I tried to get in the wrong side of the car, then, I nearly had a panic attack when he made a left hand turn into what I felt like should have been on-coming traffic. Oh, right, that whole driving on the other side of the road thing. Got it.

So far, I only have one flat-mate his name is Kenneth and he is an older gentleman who is from the U.S. and studying as an MBA student. He is very friendly and was very helpful. We are supposed to get a few more later this week. The apartment has five individually locking bedrooms and a common area... it's sort of like a mini dorm. Then I met a bunch of people signing people up to go out pub crawling saturday night, I signed up because I figure it'll be a good way to see what goes on, what's around, and of course, to meet people. I've already met a few people, names I still can't remember. But one guy took me and Note, a kid from Canada who is actually from Thailand and is traveling the world, to the bank to exchange currency and look showed us the grocery store and a place to buy a phone... the last two of which I will probably do tomorrow (today). I also need to go over to the Uni (as they call it here) tomorrow to get help registering for classes since no one of met here seems to be able to figure out why mine is different either.

Woah, right now, outside my window, I hear a Kookaburra... it's the strangest thing. It sounds like it's laughing.

Anyway, I went to be around 7PM, thanks to jet-lag, but now I'm AWAKE. I think I'll try to nap again shortly.

It's all very cool and exciting... but to be totally honest, I'm more than a little homesick at this point. I was almost a little disappointed when I woke up and wasn't back in my own bed.

Tomorrow (today) I'm going to go out searching for friends, lol, I think it will be easier when I don't feel so lonely.

Waiting on a plane in New Zealand...

6:45AM July 16th 2009 (Auckland, New Zealand)
It’s about 2:30 in the afternoon on the 15th in Ohio… I believe.
Well, I am currently sitting in an international connections lounge in an airport in Auckland, NZ. I still have about two hours until my flight to Gold Coast begins boarding… I don’t even have a gate number yet.
The flight from Detroit to L.A. was about four hours; I sat next to a husband and wife who make a living doing underwater film and photography. They were on their way to Bangkok then out to the middle of the Indian Ocean. Behind me, I met a woman with her 10-year-old Granddaughter, Alex, who were also going to New Zealand. They had a different flight but also needed Air New Zealand so they adopted me long enough for us to find the gate together. It was a good thing too because LAX airport is ridiculously complicated. We had to actually leave the airport and take a bus to another area of the airport and go through security all over again. I made it though! On the shuttle bus, I met a guy from UK who had spent 2 months road-tripping through the US. He had spent a lot of time in the Southwest and talked about how boring, hot, dry and huge Texas is. :P
For the 14 or so hour flight across the Pacific Ocean I sat next to two… rather interesting individuals. They were coming from Salt Lake City, UT and were leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ and the latter day saints. God had called them to serve the Mormon faith in New Zealand. They were very friendly, but I had to laugh when The woman (who’s name tag read “Sister Mary of the Latter Day Saints” chose the Hannah Montana Movie as the first thing she watched. When we landed, they announced congratulations to the Captain in the last flight of his career and wish him luck on his retirement, the crew and passengers all applauded and as we taxied to the gate a line of fire trucks had their lights on and sprayed the plane as a ceremonial symbol of congratulations. It was cool, although it would have been way cooler if it weren’t dark and already raining. :P
In the airport bathroom, as I was brushing my hair, I met a girl names Lauren from Memphis. She’s 25 and going to a ministry school in Sydney. We ate breakfast together and talked about relationships and life. I’m going to look her up on facebook later.

Less than 3 days...

I am less than three days away from the beginning of what I hope to be my year-long adventure in Australia. Since this is the first entry in this blog, I will begin with the basics. 

For anyone who doesn't know, I just recently completed my first year of college at Bowling Green State University and will soon begin my sophomore year studying abroad at Griffith University in Gold Coast Australia. The first thing to note is that Australian semesters run differently than American semesters; first semester runs Feb-June and second semester runs July-Nov, with Summer vacation taking up Nov, Dec and Jan. I will be attending Griffith for 2nd and 1st semester, with summer in between. Hopefully, I will be able to find a job over there, that's the plan anyway. My student visa allows me to work 20 hours during school and unlimited hours during school vacations, provided I am still enrolled at a University. 

I leave Detroit airport on Tuesday (7/14/09) sometime in the evening and will fly to L.A. international airport. From L.A. I will fly to New Zealand, and because I'm crossing the international date line, I'll sort of miss out July 15th, weird, right? I have a 6 hour lay-over in NZ then I'll fly straight into Gold Coast, Australia! I'm not entirely sure how long the flight is, I haven't done the math and, quite frankly, I don't really want to know. 

I suppose that's all for now, I just wanted to get this blog started- I've got lots of packing that I haven't started yet. Be sure to check back, hopefully I'll have lots of adventures to share!

<3 Lauren