Monday: Orientation and Toga Party
I got my classes finalized (or finalised I guess is how it would be spelled down here), got my student e-mail, student id, and purchases multiple orientation packages to attend some fun events. After the logistics were finished, we ended up going to the mall to buy some essentials: towel, laundry detergent, and boxed wine. Once we got back and settled into the room, we went to the Uni Bar called Don's. (Uni is short for University... I attend Bond Uni). We had a good time and Don's and then buses took the crowd into the city to go to a club.
Tuesday: Hypnosis Fail
I had the opportunity to see another school's campus tour. It goes without saying that the Saint Louis University Ambassadors are far superior than the tour guides I had here at Bond Uni. Regardless, I got a little more comfortable with campus before classes start on Monday. We also had a formal orientation welcome planned this evening. The dress was cocktail or business attire. It was very interesting to see the mix of outfits there. Evidently, many people forgot to bring dress shoes and had to resort to their bright tennies (that or I haven't caught on to that Australian fashion statement yet). It was quite different from the SLU 101 orientation I worked over the summer. We were greeted by a bar serving wine, beer and champagne. Gotta love Australia. We saw some great aboriginal dances, heard the chancellor speak, and enjoyed some nibblies (snacks). Tuesday's evening event was a popular Australian Hypnotist. For some reason, I felt the need to get hypnotized. I went up on stage with about 20 other volunteers. He pulled out the watch, told us to concentrate, and then proceeded with a few other steps to get us hypnotized. Somehow, I failed to get hypnotized. I had to return to my seat and join my friends who were all visibly disappointed that they wouldn't see me embarrass myself in the show. After the hypnotist, we were all feeling the effects of jetlag still and went to bed early.
Wednesday: Australian Barbecue and American Drinking Games
Sorry for the title, Mom. But we had lunch by the pool where we enjoyed Australian burgers, and turkey sausages (bratwurst... kind of). Australians tend to put mayonnaise on everything here. No one here eats ketchup (or tomato sauce as they call it). After lunch we walked around trying to find ourselves 18+ I.D. cards (so we can enjoy Australian night life to the fullest extend.... responsibly of course). We arrived at the Queensland DMV equivalent, where the employees are FAR friendlier than any American DMV. We got our I.D. cards and proceeded to use them immediately at a nearby liquor store. We returned to our dorm with our purchases and since we did not have enough room in the fridge, we just had to open them now right? Since the whole complex is full of students that are of legal drinking age, we are allowed to have the door open. Naturally, we took this opportunity to blast a mix between rap, the Lion King Soundtrack, and Celine Dion. (Since then we have had multiple people approach us as "The Celine Dion Boys". We're more than okay with this reputation. We eventually went to dinner and enjoyed a nice trivia night put on by the Student Association. We came back and introduced a few locals to American Drinking games. All in a days work.
Thursday: Tight and Bright
After being in Australia for 4 days now, we decided it was about time we went to the beach. We went to a beach and enjoyed some nice 70ish degree water, the distant Gold Coast Skyline, and of course, fish and chips (fried fish and fries... kind of the Australian fast food). We returned home, went to the gym to try burn off some of the effects of our social habits, relaxed in the hot tub, and went to dinner. After dinner we all got together and had a few drinks before the party. There is a couple that lives in the building that is in charge of looking after us. They heard the commotion and stopped by to see what was going on. They are a middle aged couple, incredibly friendly, and are wanting us all to have a good time. The man, Robin, even took a shot at our little beer pong match we had set up. Introduction of beer pong to Australia: complete. The theme of the party was the Tight and Bright party. It is one of the most popular events that takes place at Bond all year. Everyone goes, and everyone dresses up in their tightest and brightest clothes. There was quite the range of outfits, many I will be happy to never see again. But everyone was having a good time. Buses picked us up from campus and again bussed us into the city. When we got off the bus at around 11, we were told that another would be back to pick us up. At 3:30. Yikes. But the time flew by and we all had a great time.
Friday: Relaxation and Refocus
All of us had a nice night's sleep, finally getting over the jetlag with a little help from the previous night's endeavors. We played some sand volleyball, swam a lap in the pool (yes, a lap... gaining a large amount of respect for swimmers), relaxed in the hot tub, and then came back to our rooms to clean up and finish unpacking. We are all looking forward to classes starting and developing some type of routine. It has been a great week thus far, however.
So I know it sounds like all we are doing is parting and drinking. I did want to ease any concerns that anyone has (cough... Mom.. cough) by saying that we all eat all our meals together, spend some time talking and relaxing, and just having a good time before classes start. We all have talked about how this week is an exception to the rest of the semester in regards to the amount of free time we have to fill with nonsense. (At least that's what we're hoping... for the sake of our bank accounts). The meals here in the cafeteria are wonderful. Everything is very fancy and healthy. The only problem is that a typical meal is about $11. We are slowly seeing our cafeteria credit wind down. I ended up buying some Frosties (Frosted Flakes) and Milk to help save a meal every now and then.
Campus is beautiful. I have taken a few pictures and will try and find a way to post them on here soon. My roommate's name is Chris from Pittsburgh. Our room is decked out in Pittsburgh Steelers fanfare and I am overhearing the Superbowl XL video as I'm writing this. I have met a nice mix of Americans, Australians and a few people from other countries as well. My close friend group so far is mostly new people from SLU that I have met this week.
The culture shock has been exciting, humbling and expensive. It took us a day or two to realize that we get a student discount on the bus. Beer here is incredible expensive. $19 for a six pack of Budweiser. The drink of choice among college students is Goon (boxed wine). We can hardly go anywhere without being pegged as the Americans. Mostly by our twangy accents and loud voices. Although I don't think the Celine Dion soundtrack to our games of beer pong does much to disguise that fact either. Everyone here is so relaxed and friendly that it has been a very welcoming atmosphere. I am very excited to see where the next few months will take me.
I love you all and hope you stayed awake while reading this novel. Cheers mates!
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