First Week!

G'day mates! This first week has been AMAZING! I am having the best time.

Out of the six people who will be living in the apartment, only four are here so far. We have Christian from Germany, Elisabeth from Norway, and Sarah from Holland. I'm the only native speaker, though Sarah's father was Irish, so she has an Irish accent. It's pretty amusing. Christian and I are pretty close so far, and Elisabeth is such a sweetheart. Sarah got here a bit late and has been doing her own thing, so I haven't had much of a chance to get to know her.

Almost all of my friends are from Europe right now. Charolette is from France; David, Germany; Rikki, Sweden...I've found myself being the only native English speaker more than a few times, so I'm the human dictionary for everyone. I've explained so many English words. In return, though, Christian has been teaching me phrases in German. I now know hello, goodbye, my name is, your name is, and I like feta cheese. I would like to take German, especially with a native speaker in the house, but it won't fit into my schedule (boo hiss).

Speaking of classes, I am registered and enrolled in Astronomy and Queer Theory, no problems. I have two lectures on Monday (astronomy at 11, then Queer Theory at 3), astronomy lecture Tuesday at 11, astronomy lecture then practical (lab) Wednesday at 10 (4 hours of astronomy might be rough), and Queer Theory tutorial (smaller classroom setting, like a seminar) at 4 on Thursday. I now need another 3 credits. I'll be adding one of my WGSS-approved classes, or I will be applying for an internship in music management. If I decide to do that, I'll be working for an independent record label. I think it sounds like a great opportunity. I just need to figure out if the credit will transfer.

There are so many Asian students and people here! The Asian influence is very prevelent. For example, the shopping center across the street is filled with Asian resturants, both nice sit-down and fast food. I was able to get a box of sushi for AU$5.20. (P.S. All prices are in Australian dollars, unless otherwise noted.)

I bought two cookbooks, one normal and one Australian cuisine, so that I could eat well without having to pay for resturants every night. I think I've been eating better than I ever have in my life, being able to control what food I want, when I want it. For example, I love dark, leafy lettuce, so I've been having a salad every night because I bought the salad mix that I want. I've basically been having 6 tiny meals every day, and they're all so healthy. Going back to d-hall is going to KILL me when I get back...ugh.

The second night I was here, Christian, Elisabeth, and I made pasta with tomato and basil and had Charolette over. We bought a box of wine (called "goon" in Australia), so we had goon with our dinner. Afterwards, we went out on our "patio," and Elisabeth and Charolette smoked cigarettes and drank some goon while I tried Victoria Bitter (V.B.), one of the cheap beers here. I had to see how this beer with my name was. (It was enjoyable.) Our neighbors from Apartment 1 came over, so we all relaxed outside. Next door, they have four Americans, one Brit, and a Japanese guy named Takashi. I was able to remember his name very easily since Aunt Kathy had hosted a Japanese student with the same name before.

Every night since then, there's been a big party somewhere. Wednesday, Apartment 1, Charolette, and my apartment went to a club called The Ranch that's walking distance from campus. It was a lot of fun, though we were happy when there was nothing planned on Thursday--we thought. Elisabeth, Christian and I were sitting around our table, talking about women's rights in our countries at 9 PM, when Charolette came in and asked if we were ready to head to SAMbar, the bar on campus. We all threw on some nice stuff and headed over. I met a cool guy named Derek, from D.C., there. He also lives in the Herring Road apartments, haha. He's the first American I feel a need to hang out with...Tonight the international clubs are hosting a party in downtown Sydney. They rented out a club from 8 to 11 and are busing anyone who needs a ride down there. Just about everyone is going.

We've had a lot of conversations about the differences between our cultures. Did you know that the German and American sounds for most animals are the same (for example, we both say moo for a cow), except for roosters? David and Christian got a kick out of my "cock-a-doodle-doo!" They say "ki-keh-ki-keh-kiiii!" I thought that was even more ridiculous. Norway's rooster sound is closer to the American than the German sound.

Wow, this is a really long entry. Sorry, everyone. I'm just so excited about everything that I've been experiencing! Also, I finally talked to Will today, which was probably one of the highlights of the week...it seems like most people have a significant other back at home, so I'm definitely not alone in that plight. Well, I'll see ya later peeps. Love you all!