O-Week and classes

Well I officially survived Uni's O-Week and my first week of classes! O-week, also known as orientation week, was seven straight days of themed parties, scavenger hunts, relaxing by the pool, and going to the beach. I met so many wonderful American friends, as well as Aussie friends from my floor! I'm referred to as, "hey, American!"

My lovely corridor mates at the cowboys and Indians trivia night!

It's so interesting to just sit and talk with the people in my corridor and compare traditions, foods, families, and dialect. There are so many differences between two English speaking countries. They had me try Vegemite, which is really not that good! It's this salty, yeast extract eaten with butter on top of toast or a crimpet. People eat it for brekky all the time, or just as a snack! According to my corridor mates, I have never even lived until I try milo and kebabs.

Milo is a chocolately malt powder mixed with milk, and kebabs are not your ordinary chicken and shrimp on a stick. Apparently, they are complete "wonderfullness," consisting of chicken, sauce, veggies, and meat, stuffed inside some sort of burrito. One of my Aussie friends told me he couldn't wait to introduce me to milo, and I responded in the most American way by saying, "Yay, I can't wait to meet him!"

So after a week of sun bathing, relaxing, and meeting new people, I joined a Christian group for brekky on the beach. It was amazing. Saturday morning we took a bus to Nelson Bay and had eggs and bacon on the grill, tons of watermelon and grapes, and Tim Tams!! These chocolate wafer cookies are absolutely amazing and I WILL be bringing them home to the states. We also tried a Tim Tam Slam. To successfully experience the goodness of a Tim Tam, you bite off a tiny bit of each end of the cookie. Then you use it as a straw to slurp up hot chocolate. The drink melts and hollows out the cookie, and just as it's about to fall from your fingers and into the pool of hot chocolate, you shove it all in your mouth. Voila, you have just experience complete heaven in your mouth!

So back to the Christian group I met. They were so generous, kind, and awesome. There were a few students from Uni, but it mostly consisted of families and their children. We sat on the beach all day and watched the guys play water rugby and just talked. Then one of the older men brought out his guitar and played. On our way home, we made a pit stop at the Sand Dunes. All I can say is wow. It looked like vast desserts that ran on forever. It was so beautiful.
 
I've kept in touch with the woman in charge of the group, Yvette and I definitely plan on continuing Sunday worship with them. Every Sunday, she picks me up and we go to mass together, then have a giant potluck style dinner after. She even brought me homemade chocolate chip cookies, and offered to make me a pumpkin pie so I don't get too homesick. It's the small gestures like hers that can really make you appreciate life and good, down-to-earth people.

I then ventured into my first week of lectures. What a difference from Etown. My lectures consisted of three hundred students, and the campus is about four times the size of my familiar bubble at Etown! Luckily, I came across very friendly Aussies who could clearly see my sense of confusion. "Are ya alright, darling?" I heard this about three times from random people, who then directed me to the correct building. After this week though, I have a pretty good grip on where I'm heading, so no worries!

Well, tonight we have our formal dinner and I get to wear an ever so dreamy Harry Potter robe! I must say, I'm pretty pumped. I'll be posting about it soon, so check back.

Until then, I'm gonna have to bugger out and clean myself up. Hopefully this pissy weather clears up soon!