Classes have begun!

Monday, March 3rd

Classes started today. On Mondays, I have Making the Australian Landscape lecture, Intermediate Macroeconomics tutorial, Brain and Behavior lecture, along with the lecture for Australian Politics. The good news for the first week: no tutorials or practicals!

The day started at 1 PM with geology. Somehow I thought taking a science class on Australia might make things better. Nope. I still hate science with a passion. Geology ends at 2 PM and across campus also at 2 PM psychology begins. However, everyone is in the same position so I guess professors tend to end their lectures early and start them late. Why the university does not factor in travel time is beyond me…as with many things they do here. I do not understand why it is so hard to put a 15-minute gap between class times, and then professors could lecture the whole hour…CRAZINESS! But back to the psychology class…it was OK. It is a second year course, which is supposedly equivalent to a third course in America (side note: Australian degrees are only three years. They tend to only take courses in their majors or classes they need to understand the classes in their major). However, the first few lectures have been discussing things I have learned numerous times (it is getting somewhat boring…). On a cool note, we will be training rats in our tutorials for the first six weeks. That should be interesting. Psychology ends at 3 PM, and of course Australian Politics begins at, yes, 3 PM. It is a bit of a shorter walk though, which I am thankful for. What I am not thankful for is the ghetto-fabulous building that my lecture is in. For two hours I get to sit on oh-so-comfy old-wooden benches. And, goodness, if someone in the middle wants out, the whole row has to stand up and walk out of the row because there is literally no room for them to walk by and nowhere to put your feet (if you are a person sitting). I hope the class is good. The professor does not seem too bad, so I am hoping it will be interesting. I am sure I can enjoy the class fully once I get pass the venue, which will happen…I am now adjusted to my dorm room and its lack of amenities (however, I will NEVER complain about GW Housing Programs again…there is something about having your bathroom, kitchen, living room, etc. My roommate here who goes to Bucknell tells me I am just now experiencing “real” dorms…and if this is what dorms are, I am not sad I have missed out the last two and half years).

Government ended at 5 PM. It was a pretty quick walk back to John’s, where I relaxed for a few moments and then got ready for the formal dinner. Formal dinners require one to dress up and wear this graduation-like robe (pictures to come, I promise). We proceed, single-file, into the Harry Potter dining hall, stand, and wait for the High Table to enter. Once they sit, we can sit. Then, dinner is served, we eat, then come announcements and random impromptu speeches about the most ridiculous, off-the-wall topics. Hopefully, I am never chosen to give one. Some were quite funny though. The Rector then spoke, gave some words of wisdom, and made some comments (good and bad) about O-Week, and said grace, in Latin after which, the High Table leaves and everyone follows.

Tuesday, March 4th

My classes, or rather class does not begin until 4 PM on Tuesdays! I plan to usually do readings during the day, but being only the second day of classes, I had none. So, I woke up rather late, ate lunch and then made my way down to Newtown on King Street. I went to Newtown Variety as directed by an American from my hall. I am a bit upset I did not know of this place earlier. Why? Because it is CHEAP. It is a random collection of things much like a dollar store. And, I was able to get some good buys – like a drying rack that goes for around 40 bucks at the local Kmart. Newtown Variety - $15. Can’t beat that. 5 meter Ethernet cord, Office Works, $20, Newtown Variety…a low $5.50. The place is a gold mine! I was also able to get to the bank while in Newtown, which was good considering I was about to be money-less, and I was able to find a pharmacy as I had been feeling a bit under the weather the past several days.

Class was rather uneventful. I already have learned the topics the lecturer covered…hopefully this changes in coming lectures.

Wednesday, March 5th

Usually, Wednesday will be a long day. A psychology tutorial, geology lecture, and a four hour geology practical (shoot me now…oh, yes, that’s right, guns are illegal here, along with handcuffs and pocket knives…honestly WHAT are you going to do with a pocket knife. You can do just as much harm with a pen. Perhaps those will be outlawed soon.). Anyways, luckily the psychology tutorial and geology practical do not start until week 2! So, today was good. Of course, there was a formal dinner in the evening. It was much of the same. Only tonight, I got to sit next to an “OMG I LOVE BEING A JOHNSMAN” fresher who was a strong enforcer of the rules of Meniscus, or dare I say…Kool-Aid. I could have lived without this experience. Moral of the story: I guess stereotypical frat boys are plentiful at every university.

Thursday, March 6th

Another short day! At least this week. Normally, I have four hours of class – government tutorial, two hours of economics (YAY!), and a psychology lecture. I didn’t have the tutorial and I skipped the psychology lecture (don’t worry Mom and Dad, I can stream it on the Internet whenever I want) in favor of some shopping. However, it was shopping with a purpose.

See, I am going to the Outback for nine days (I can hear you all laughing…) and during this trip I do not want to ruin any of lovely things. I was in the market for some cheap, plain white t-shirts, a new duffle bag, a sleeping bag, a small day-pack, and flashlight.

The first stop was Kmart. Sleeping bags were 60 bucks, and having done some previous online browsing this was a bit too rich for my blood. However, I thought I would be able to get some cheap Fruit-of-the-Loom t-shirts. 3 for $10, right? WRONG. Try, ONE for $10. I would have fallen off my chair, had I been sitting. This country needs a Walmart! I do not know why I was so shocked by this ridiculous price for a plain, white, undershirt, in a country that charges $2.35 for a pack of M&Ms, but I was. Refusing to pay this, I went onward, towards my final destination, Paddy’s Market.

Along the way, I stopped at a few travel agencies to pick up information on the Great Barrier Reef. I also stumbled across a whole-in-the-wall camping store. I almost walked by it, but luckily I didn’t. What did I find a sleeping bag on sale for $25 (which I happily returned to buy on Friday)!

I thought Paddy’s Market would be more of an artsy market that sold nice jewelry, clothes, photography, etc. Again, I was wrong. It was more like a Trader’s World…junk, so I thought. Then, after going through a few booths I realized Paddy’s was a gold mine for my current needs. I was able to purchase a duffle bag, a day-pack, and a flashlight, all at a very economical price. I also found a coin purse, random I know. But, here they do not have one-dollar bills, they are coins, and there is also a two-dollar coin. It is annoying to hunt for those at the bottom of my bags. Hence, I have been in desperate need of a coin purse. In general though, Paddy’s is filled with same junk booth after booth. On the way home, I stopped at Broadway, did some more shopping, and also picked up some of my textbooks.

Friday, March 7th

Today, I got a bit of a late start. I had planned to get up and going by 9 AM. It was a nice thought. I was about ready to leave college at noon, when I realized it was lunch time…hey, a free lunch, I was not going to pass that up. So, I finally left college around 12:30 PM. My first stop was a Jockey store in hopes that I could find some plain white t-shirts cheaper than $10/each. I never found the store, but stumbled upon Paddy’s again. Remembering they had booths and booths of t-shirts, I figured they would have some souvenir –y shirts at 3 for 10 deals…after all they do in NYC. Wrong…again. But, I did find a random booth that had my white t-shirts, 4 for 18, a bit more than 3 for 10, but not too much more. Thinking this is the best I am going to do, so I made my purchased. Overall, I’m happy. If these get gross, dirty, and stained out in the wildness I don’t care and that was my goal.

After making my discovery at Paddy’s I went on to Darling Harbour. I went to the Sydney Aquarium. I definitely recommend it! Highlights: the giant salt water crocodile, the seals, shark and stingray tank (the stingray is mammoth. Hopefully I can figure out how to upload my video of it because it is the largest stingray I have ever seen,), and the exhibit on the Great Barrier Reef.

While at Darling Harbour, I stopped for Pancakes on the Rocks. This time is was the Chocolate Devil Delights…the best I have had so far. It is chocolate pancakes, chocolate ice cream, cream (if you want, I did not), chocolate syrup, and strawberries. DELICIOUS!

After a wonderful snack, I began the walk back to campus, stopping to purchase my sleeping bag. At college I went to dinner, and chatted the night away with an Aussie and my roommate. Random fun Australian fact: it is a law that everyone must vote. If you do not take part in the election, you get fined.

Saturday, March 8th

Today, Sarah and I went to the Glebe Markets. Definitely my favorite markets thus far! Surprisingly, it was only a couple blocks off campus so it took no time to get there (a major plus), and there were so many cute booths. It is probably a good thing it is only open on Saturdays. We spent a good two hours there. It is what I think of when I think of a market – clothes, jewelry, accessories, books, etc. It was a thousands times better than Eastern Market (in DC). I ended up buying two t-shirts and made mental notes of other items that will be purchased in the future.

I spent the rest of the night doing nothing of real excitement. Mostly just getting things together for class. It seemed like a good night to do it. The weekends don’t really seem to be the weekends here – I saw a lot of people staying in…but on Wednesdays they go crazy. Its odd and it is throwing my sense of time off.