Study Abroad Blog

It is not good to be home ALONE on a dark and rainy night in a 150 year old house in Petersham, NSW. Unless of course you aren't afraid of the dark.... unfortunately, I AM!

With that said, let me set up the scene for you. It is about 8 p.m. Friday night. It rained ALL DAY Friday (even though I wore a white shirt... boo crappy weather!) I went straight home (with my jacket zipped ALL THE WAY UP) instead of going out in the yucky weather. It was very cozy at home, so I decided to watch some movies. My roommate came home halfway through the second movie. She sat down and we both watched the movie. All of a sudden, without any prior warning, the lights cut completely off.

Now, imagine being in our shoes: two foreign, young women in a pitch black house at night. Yea... IT WAS SCARY. I will admit to being a scared-y cat. It is actually quite liberating to get it out in the open ;) We did not know what to do. We couldn't use the phone because it is cordless. We couldn't find a flashlight or any candles. So, what do you do when this happens? Well, if you are like me, you walk outside in your pajamas without shoes into the (deadly, poisonous) spider infested backyard.  Smart, I know. When we decided that was a stupid idea, we went to find a flashlight. Every squeak we heard around the house in our minds was someone coming to get us. We finally found a few flashlights and some candles. We lit up the kitchen and made Milo (Australian drink) since we did not have any marshmallows to roast over the candle fire. So for 2 hours, we sat in the kitchen with a flashlight in one hand and a butcher knife in the other. Nothing was going to get us. We were fully prepared with the needed kitchen utensils to ward off any attackers.

Now for your enjoyment, here is a glimpse into what my Friday night consisted of... not exactly what I thought my Study Abroad experience would be like...

 Notice the candles and knives (which were used for protection!) 

Hanging around

Nothing to do but frown

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

I learned something new today:

Some days I will hate Australia. Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I do hate public transportation. I did not have school today, yet I went to school anyways to check my email and drop a class (ballroom dancing did not measure up to my expectations). The sky looked dark and I thought it might rain. I was right... it did rain. Actually, it did not rain at first. We walked from school to the bus stop without any problems. As soon as we got to the stop and realized we had 20 minutes to wait for the bus, the SKY fell. The rain poured and poured. Although I had an umbrella, it did not cover all of me. We stood in the pouring rain for 20 minutes. Every time a car drove by it SPLASHED us. I think people just thought it would be fun to SOAK the poor, cold Americans. By the time the bus came, I was about to chase a car down and beat up the driver. Why would people drive so close to the side of the road!?! JERKS! If I ever see people on the side of the road in the rain, I will make sure I slow down and get on the other side of the road.

It seems like this week has been a little harder than last week. Suddenly the realizations of the changes I have to make are coming to the forefront. I am here for school, not just fun. I am very excited about learning, but at the same time I want to experience Australian culture. Turning down fun experiences for school work is hard. I would rather spend all my time submerged in Australian culture, but that is not my only purpose for traveling to the other side of the world. I am sure I will learn much more about Australian culture by studying the culture, but I wish we could have class on the beach! (WISHFUL THINKING) Well, I have chapel so I'll update more later!!!

If you are wondering how my parents are holding up during this adventure, I have a feeling they are putting on a good front for me. I mean who really wants their child to be on the other side of the world with deadly animals? They are accepting of my desire to travel, but I can tell that deep down they really would rather me stay within a days drive (or closer!) So to show their care and concern for my well-being, they compiled a list. This is a list which explains what I should avoid while in Australia. I thought you might enjoy it... it is pretty entertaining.        

1.  Don't go near the water. Take sponge baths.

2.  Check your shoes every day before inserting feet.

3.  Don't sit on the ground.

4.  Don't sit on a log sitting on the ground.

5.  Don't climb trees. (They have snakes in trees that will bite your face off)

6.  Don't stick your hands in holes or places you can't see into.

7.  Don't venture off by yourself.

8.  Don't venture off with anyone else.

9.  Don't venture off period.

10. Drink plenty of water, how you do this without getting close is your problem.

11. Stay with your group.

12. If there are any Idiots in your group stray with the non-idiots

13. Be aware of your surroundings at all times.

14. Never try to pet a Dingo, unless in the presence of a professional.

15. Never pick up a male Duck Billed Platypus.

16. Treat all snakes as if they are deadly poisonous.

17. Treat all spiders as if they are deadly poisonous.

18. Don't eat the yellow snow.

19. Know what nationality and what food group your food is before inserting into mouth. (Make sure it never slithered or crawled before it wound up on your plate.)

20. Do all these things and you should be safe.

I hope it made you laugh as much as it made me laugh :)

Disclaimer: Mom and Dad... if ya'll read this, I promise I am adhering to every word written on this very important document. In no way should either of you worry about my safety. ;)

This weekend has been a whirlwind of adventures. Saturday morning I went to Hillsong Church for my service placement. We are each required to serve for 35 hours during the semester. After staying up late chatting, it was hard to wake up at 7 a.m. to go to my service placement. I haven't yet gotten used to the public transportation system. It takes forever to get anywhere because I have to take trains and buses everywhere. I ignored my desire to sleep in and went anyways. It was an information session telling us that we will be spending time with the people in the neighborhood: building relationships, helping with minor problems, etc. I am a little disappointed in my placement because it sounds like something I have already done in the past, but I am going with an open mind and heart thinking I will grow from the experience anyways.

After going to Hillsong, one of my roommates and I went to explore the town. We found a wonderful little market full of overpriced fresh fruits. It was a nice area of town. A perfect place to go to enjoy the scenery.

Speaking of scenery: After Hillsong, we went to a couple beaches. They were GORGEOUS!!! I have never seen clearer water. The only hard part was walking past the women without tops on... bit of a culture shock. YIKES!!! I am proud to say that I walked away from a day at the beach without a sunburn... despite the sun being seven times hotter here.

The weekend ended with a boxing lesson. No, you didn't read that wrong. I actually went to a boxing class and I am going back. It was so much fun to be able to punch someone in the face without any anger or rage attached to it. I think it will be a new Sunday tradition for me!

Monday night I went to an "American Civil War Round Table" meeting. Pretty much it was a bunch of Australians with a strange fascination in the American Civil war. We listened to a lecture on the medals of the Civil War. After the lecture, the priest I attended with introduced me to the other members. They were freaking out because my last name is Lee (as in General Robert E. Lee). It was great... I felt like royalty or something.

Well, this has been a great weekend... but now it is time for class.