Lovin' Life!

Hey all, sorry for the delay in my weekly update! Life has been crazy lately, although much of it is due to schoolwork. It seems that this week school has really started picking up and we are spending a lot of time studying. It sure is hard to focus on homework when the sun soaked beach is just a short walk away! Aside from hitting the books, I have just been having fun enjoying every minute! A group of kids on campus have started playing a lot of volleyball, we bought a net to take down to this beautiful cove on the beach to play in the sand. Nothing like starting your morning by listening to the waves and watching the sun come up as you play beach volleyball! We also joined a competitive league in the next town over where we will play in tournaments every Tuesday night. It has been a great way to make friends and stay active. We have also started an intense, ongoing Scattergories challenge in our room, and I am yet to lose a game :) We are working hard to learn all of the Australian slang so that we can minimize the communication breakdowns with the Aussies. My new favorite word is "tweasy," which is somehow translated into "see you later." This weekend is Harbour Cruise in Sydney, and we are going up before to go to the Wildlife Reserve where you can pet Kangaroos and other native Australian animals. Upcoming events include several backpacking trips, one along the cliffs next to the beach, learning to surf, a trip to my roommates farm in Wagga Wagga and the 17 day adventure! Aside from that, I am completely content hanging out with the wonderful people of UoW. The time is flying, I can't believe its been 6 weeks! The picture attached is of Bondi Beach, one of the most beautiful and hip coastal towns I have ever seen. Love and miss you all! xx

It is finally beginning to warm up! Hooray! Running on the beach and watching our friends surf has been one of my favorite activities lately. The surfer atmosphere is so much fun, such a laid back, peaceful way of life. Life has been full of wonderful experiences lately. Classes are becoming more interesting as we progress deeper into the material, and the tutorials have been very intellectually stimulating.

The UoW Harbor Cruise is fast approaching, so campus is preparing to head up to the Sydney Harbor for a school-wide party on a boat! It is supposed to be one of the most fun events of the year. We recently had a "characters" party at a local pub, it was very fun to relive our childhoods and wear costumes of our favorite cartoons. This upcoming week is the final "footie" game of the season and we are looking forward to going and cheering on the Wollongong Lions! I am definitely going to miss footie when I return to the states, it is great fun to watch.

This weekend we created a movie theater in my living room and we had nearly a dozen people come for a movie night! So much fun, lots of laughing and group naps. An Australian friend was house sitting her uncle's condo on Bondi Beach in Sydney this past weekend and we spent Friday and Saturday in Bondi Beach. It is an incredibly beautiful place, although a bit expensive :/

The midsession break is the time in which most of my traveling will take place, and me and three other girls are solidifying the plans on a 17 day road trip! We plan to travel to Perth, Bali (!!!!!), Darwin, and roadtrip in a camper from Brisbane to Sydney as the final leg of the trip. Experiencing such different places in a short period of time is bound to be an exhilarating and life changing trip.

As friendships continue to blossom and the weather gets warmer, Oz just keeps gettin' better! Love you all, stay happy :) xx

School Days

Hello All! School has been in session for two weeks already, certainly hard to believe! The academic structure is very different from that at DU, there are large lectures for every class twice a week accompanied by smaller tutorials once a week. The lectures are overwhelming and impersonal, but the tutorials have been wonderful thus far. It has been an excellent opportunity to talk to other people about the issues brought up in the lectures and the readings and the tutors tend to be hip young professors interested in what they are doing. Interestingly, in all of my classes we have talked extensively about the United States and I have been the only American in my tutorials so I have been able to add a unique perspective to debates. We went to Sydney for the day last weekend which was amazing. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and I can't wait to go back and explore it in more depth. There has been some nice weather lately so campus seems to migrate to the beach in the afternoons. The beach is totally packed with surfers, sunbathers and people playing various sports, it is such a fun environment! I absolutely love it here and can't wait to continue adventuring through the country as well as just living the slow, coastal lifestyle they have here in Wollongong. We have been planning trips for spring break, and many weekend trips such as camping in the blue mountains, going to the great barrier reef and hiking from Sydney to Wollongong! Our Australian friends are also planning home visits for us, and my roommates are taking us to a horse race as the weather gets warmer. Its all good down under! Keep in touch xx