Well, we're attempting to find a routine here at Macquarie University. We're all moved in, starting to get the lay of the land, figuring out public transportation...we've been busy girls!
We've had some big discoveries since our last post. A train station just a 2 minute walk from our room means we can easily get to the city whenever we want. Across from the train station...wait for it...THE LARGEST MALL EVER!!!! 4 stories, ice skating rink, movie theater ($17 tickets?! What?!), food and shopping galore! We're talking a mall so big that it has supermarkets inside of it. What else is inside? A Mexican restaurant we're thinking can be our stand-in Chipotle and a TARGET!!!!!! Hallelujah! We have yet to actually go inside the Target (it was closed when we discovered it), but it's on today's agenda. We'll let you know how it goes.
We've had some big discoveries since our last post. A train station just a 2 minute walk from our room means we can easily get to the city whenever we want. Across from the train station...wait for it...THE LARGEST MALL EVER!!!! 4 stories, ice skating rink, movie theater ($17 tickets?! What?!), food and shopping galore! We're talking a mall so big that it has supermarkets inside of it. What else is inside? A Mexican restaurant we're thinking can be our stand-in Chipotle and a TARGET!!!!!! Hallelujah! We have yet to actually go inside the Target (it was closed when we discovered it), but it's on today's agenda. We'll let you know how it goes.
Things at Macquarie are going to take some getting used to, but as we've learned things aren't wrong they're only different. We have a meal plan at Dunmore Lang College (where we're living), but mealtimes are specifically set. So if we want munchies outside of those times, we're out of luck. It has been wonderful not having to shell out cash for food every day, though! We enrolled in 4 classes: Australian Media, Intercultural Relations, Contemporary Australian Arts, and Music Theater (this one should be entertaining--we'll keep you posted). We conveniently worked our schedule so we only have class on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Jackpot! We're foreseeing lots of beach days in the future on Wednesday and Friday when we have zero school obligations. Life is just so rough.
Speaking of the beach, we spent the day at Bondi Beach yesterday. The weather was much better than our first Bondi trip (although this time there was no hope of spotting Zac Efron--bummer) so we just lazed around and soaked up some sun. Infact, we might have soaked up a little too much sun. Just a little FYI: the Australians aren't kidding when they tell you that there's a hole in the ozone over us and you really need to lather on the sunscreen. Apparently yesterday we missed some spots during that important sunscreen application process. The evidence? Lots of red blotches all over and blazing pain. Lesson learned!
Last night we went on a harbor cruise with the other Macquarie International students. The theme of the party was "When I grow up..." You were supposed to dress up in style with whatever your dream job was when you were little. Naturally, Becky and Becca were fairy princesses. There were only about 10 other people on the entire boat who dressed up, but we were quite proud to be 2 of the 10. On the boat, we got to watch the sunset over the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Then we had the perfect view from the water of the entire CBD lit up at night. What a gorgeous city! It was fun to meet other people who have come from all over the world to study in Australia. After the boat docked, we explored some of Sydney with a few new friends. The funniest part of the night was when we were trying to get back to school from somewhere around Town Hall. First we couldn't find the train station. When we finally did, we discovered that our train was leaving in 1 minute. The chaos that followed consisted of 9 international students running around in various directions trying to locate the right train. Oh, and did I mention we were still in costume? 2 fairy princesses, 2 Playboy bunnies, 1 fairytale prince, 1 jedi, and 3 uncostumed (but equally crazy) kids running rampant through the train station. We caused quite a disturbance, to say the least.
It's hard to believe we've been away from the U.S. for 2 weeks. We keep waiting for it to sink in that this is all real. We're not tourists, we're Australians! Based on all the fun we've had so far, it's going to be a great semester. Thanks so much for taking the time to keep up with us! We love sharing our adventures with you all!
Hugs,Becky and Becca
Your fairy princesses!
Fairy Princesses enjoying the Harbor Cruise
Sydney Opera House
Opera House and Bridge at Sunset
Luna Park lit up at night
Opera House at night
OMG. Fairy princesses? Yes, you surely are doing the USA proud. And "Contemporary Australian Arts?" WTF? That'll surely look good on the ol' resume when looking for a marketing job in the US of A.
ReplyDeleteLove reading your blog and seeing your photos. Keep it coming. And we're so glad you were able to do this. What incredible memories you're building! When you're 59 (like we are), you can say, "When I was in the Sydney harbor, looking out at the Opera house, with the stars above..." Gee. We just don't have any memories that compare.
Bill and Bonnie (well, maybe just Bill).