Busy week. I've had all my classes now, and they look pretty good. The timetables here are crazy... I blame JCU.
I'm not very impressed with JCU's organizational prowess, as you've probably noticed. There was no reason whatsoever that they couldn't have given us international students our logon information before we arrived (as they did for the domestic students), so that I would have known what classes I was registered for, when they met, what books they required, etc, but they didn't. As a result, I didn't receive an email from one of my classes about registering for discussion classes, and also I didn't bring The Secret Garden or The Golden Compass with me, so now I may have to buy them all over again.
Anyway, JCU's timetables are very difficult to follow- classes typically meet two hours a week, and these two hours can be at different times and in different rooms. One of my classes meets at 1:00 on Wednesday and 3:00 on Thursday, in different rooms in different buildings.
There are three types of class sessions here- lectures, tutorials (which are like discussion groups, I think), and practicals (which are science labs).
It's not a big deal if you don't stay for the whole practical, either. I have two practicals scheduled at the same time (granted, one of them only meets three times the whole semester), and neither professor seemed to think it was a big deal. They also tell you that if you have a lecture in the middle of a practical to just leave, go to the lecture, and come back. Compare this to MoHo, where skipping a lab without a doctor's excuse is an automatic fail for the course.
Also, we're required to wear labcoats in the labs at all times, so I now own a labcoat, and it's sexy in the way that only science can be.
So, my classes are as follows:
Plant Survival and Climate Change: (Meets Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:00, plus a very optional prac on Tues from 10-1.) It's mostly about plant adaptation and less about global warming than my advisor at MHC and I hoped.... but it's still interesting and something that's probably pretty useful, and I'm excited about it. Instead of labs we have a week-long field trip during spring break, where we go out to the desert and look at acacia trees.
The professor who's given our lectures thus-far (and there are I think three all together) is a middle-aged guy with a long braid. He came to lecture on Wednesday wearing a bright green shirt that said "You can't drink all day unless you start in the morning," cargo shorts, bright red and black striped socks, and leather clogs. I just thought you should know.
Rainforest Ecosystems: (Meets Wednesday at 1:00 and Thursday at 3:00, plus a practical that meets twice all semester) I'm really excited about this one. It's more plant ecology stuff. We take two field trips to the rainforest, one of them all weekend, and it looks amazing.
Marine Plants and Algae: (Meets Wednesday at 11:00 and Friday at 10:00, plus a practical on Friday afternoon that meets every week). This is the only 200-level (intermediate) class that I'm taking, which would worry me at MHC but here things seem a little easier. Anyway, this is mostly about algae and identifying them... so kinda like Invertebrate Zoology all over again, but without Stan. How did I make this mistake twice?
Actually, it looks like it'll be fairly doable (I did survive Inverts, despite my constant whining), and algae is cool.
Children's Literature: (Meets Thurs from 12:00-2:00, plus an hour of tutorials) Well, you see, it's impossible for non-majors to get into Children's Lit at MHC and I'm an English minor who wants to read kids' books all the time. But the course looks interesting and fun. They're reading a lot of Australian children's books that I haven't heard of before. Next week we're doing The Coral Island as part of the historical children's lit unit. It's about three young men who get stranded on a coral island and have swashbuckling adventures, as all healthy British boys of the 1800's dreamed of.
I talk a lot more about my English and history classes than my science ones, I've noticed. I guess I just figure humanities are more entertaining to the general population.
(I told my Children's Lit prof that I was an international student, to explain why I hadn't gotten her email, and she got very nervous and now smiles really widely at me when she sees me. My other subjects tend to draw international students, but I don't think this one does very often. Also I think she thinks that English is my second language.)
Also went to the anime club on Wednesday. It was fun, and the people seemed nice, so I'll probably keep going. Met an American student who's in my Marine Algae class, and we hung out, despite my conviction that I wouldn't get along with any of the other American students.
One of the guys at the club got really excited when he heard me speak and asked where I was from. It's weird having someone say "ooh, an accent!"when you talk to them, especially when they say it in what you consider a thick Australian accent. I still haven't quite gotten to the point where everyone else sounds normal and I sound weird.
Although, sometimes when I start to talk I realize that I'm going to pronounce things differently than the person I'm talking to would. It trips me up. I also still haven't gotten used to referring to MHC as a university rather than a college (a college here is a dorm. A school is a high school.)
Oh, and one of the other guys at anime night told me my accent sounded very Vancouver. So I can pass for Canadian if I ever have to.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Chocolate, Animals, Classes
Candy bar update:
Since my last post, I've had
1) A Mars bar- it's a lot like a milky way, except with a little more caramel overtone to the nougat.
2) A white "Bubbly"- So, a Bubbly is a candy bar with a truffle center (I had white chocolate, but they also come in plain chocolate and mint) that's been "aerated"... so it's got a lot of little airpockets. It's kind of hard to describe... I've decided that I like them.
I also bought a lamington (which is a cake filled w/ whipped cream and dipped in chocolate and coconut) at the local bakery... and tried to pay with a nickel, because I'd somehow convinced myself that it was worth $5 instead of 5 cents. I am an idiot. The lamington was ok, but they're better homemade (I know, 'cause I've made them.) I may or may not avoid the bakery after the coin debaucle...
This weekend we got a bed set up for me, so that's well and good. I also went to the mall, where it is *not* more expensive than any other store. This blew my mind. No recognizable chain stores, there, either- there was a McD's and a Subway in the food court, and that's it.
Animal update:
I almost stepped on a snake the other day... I was cutting across the grass in a not-very-traveled area and stepped over it before noticing it was there. It didn't seem too bothered by me, which is good, because it may have been incredibly poisonous (I found two possible things it could be- one perfectly harmless and one really dangerous.) Anyway, it didn't bite me, and I didn't call anyone because I figured it was minding its own business in the grass.
There are lizards in the house. Not many of them, and you don't see them very often, but they walk up the walls and it's pretty cool.
Apparently the magpies attack people here during breeding season, which is next month. The major defense is to wear a bucket on your head with eyes painted on the back. I think this is hysterical.
Pool party on Saturday, where I was taken in by a group of freshman girls who felt sorry for me standing on my own in the corner. They were cool. We swam... I got a little bit sunburned, but nothing too painful. (This seemed more interesting when I started writing this paragraph).
I had my first class today - Plant Survival and Climate Change. We're going on a field trip to the desert for a week in April! Sounds like fun, and I think one of my other classes is taking a trip to the rainforest, so there's two of my Things To See already taken care of for me, which is nice 'cause I'm lazy.
Since my last post, I've had
1) A Mars bar- it's a lot like a milky way, except with a little more caramel overtone to the nougat.
2) A white "Bubbly"- So, a Bubbly is a candy bar with a truffle center (I had white chocolate, but they also come in plain chocolate and mint) that's been "aerated"... so it's got a lot of little airpockets. It's kind of hard to describe... I've decided that I like them.
I also bought a lamington (which is a cake filled w/ whipped cream and dipped in chocolate and coconut) at the local bakery... and tried to pay with a nickel, because I'd somehow convinced myself that it was worth $5 instead of 5 cents. I am an idiot. The lamington was ok, but they're better homemade (I know, 'cause I've made them.) I may or may not avoid the bakery after the coin debaucle...
This weekend we got a bed set up for me, so that's well and good. I also went to the mall, where it is *not* more expensive than any other store. This blew my mind. No recognizable chain stores, there, either- there was a McD's and a Subway in the food court, and that's it.
Animal update:
I almost stepped on a snake the other day... I was cutting across the grass in a not-very-traveled area and stepped over it before noticing it was there. It didn't seem too bothered by me, which is good, because it may have been incredibly poisonous (I found two possible things it could be- one perfectly harmless and one really dangerous.) Anyway, it didn't bite me, and I didn't call anyone because I figured it was minding its own business in the grass.
There are lizards in the house. Not many of them, and you don't see them very often, but they walk up the walls and it's pretty cool.
Apparently the magpies attack people here during breeding season, which is next month. The major defense is to wear a bucket on your head with eyes painted on the back. I think this is hysterical.
Pool party on Saturday, where I was taken in by a group of freshman girls who felt sorry for me standing on my own in the corner. They were cool. We swam... I got a little bit sunburned, but nothing too painful. (This seemed more interesting when I started writing this paragraph).
I had my first class today - Plant Survival and Climate Change. We're going on a field trip to the desert for a week in April! Sounds like fun, and I think one of my other classes is taking a trip to the rainforest, so there's two of my Things To See already taken care of for me, which is nice 'cause I'm lazy.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
More pictures and not much else.
Not much to report today... rain is only occasional and very light, so the walk here was dry and relatively cool. I've signed up for an Australian bank account, but I think I'm going to wait until I've had my big shopping trip tomorrow before I wire my money over, just to make sure I don't overdraw anything.
I hate banks. Really hate them.
The SGA gives out free loaves of bread every Monday and Friday, so I've got a loaf of bread in my backpack. They've also got a student organic vegetable co-op thing going... details are a little fuzzy, but the signs say students can get a week's worth of veggies (also eggs) for real cheap, so that's pretty cool. I figure the more money I save on food, the more money I can spend on wild weekend trips.
There's supposed to be a pool party either today or tomorrow, so I've got my swimsuit and I'm going to go see if it's today. In the meantime, have the rest of my pictures from arrival! (which have been up on facebook for ages already).
The Brisbane airport (Brisbane is sub-tropical. Townsville is tropical)
On campus:
This is the library. You can't see it very well, but that pyramid structure is a fountain- after it rains they pour the water down it, so the drainage looks pretty.
Stream in the middle of campus (that makes it really easy to get lost, I must say)
Footpath/drainage ditch on my walk back to the hotel. You have to walk through the stream no matter what...
Between two science buildings:
Sculpture outside my hotel:
Turtle!
Bridge across the Ross River outside the hotel:
More from the bridge:
I hate banks. Really hate them.
The SGA gives out free loaves of bread every Monday and Friday, so I've got a loaf of bread in my backpack. They've also got a student organic vegetable co-op thing going... details are a little fuzzy, but the signs say students can get a week's worth of veggies (also eggs) for real cheap, so that's pretty cool. I figure the more money I save on food, the more money I can spend on wild weekend trips.
There's supposed to be a pool party either today or tomorrow, so I've got my swimsuit and I'm going to go see if it's today. In the meantime, have the rest of my pictures from arrival! (which have been up on facebook for ages already).
The Brisbane airport (Brisbane is sub-tropical. Townsville is tropical)
On campus:
This is the library. You can't see it very well, but that pyramid structure is a fountain- after it rains they pour the water down it, so the drainage looks pretty.
Stream in the middle of campus (that makes it really easy to get lost, I must say)
Footpath/drainage ditch on my walk back to the hotel. You have to walk through the stream no matter what...
Between two science buildings:
Sculpture outside my hotel:
Turtle!
Bridge across the Ross River outside the hotel:
More from the bridge:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
CeeCee's Grocery Store Adventure
Yesterday was an exciting step forward in becoming a Real Grown-up Person.
I had a tour of the library, which is currently under construction but otherwise seems pretty library-like. On the tour were a couple of the American girls that had been on the welcoming bus with me- they told me how sorry they had felt for me when I got dropped off at a motel alone in the pouring ran (rather how I felt). Then one proceeded to tell me that her room wasn't air-conditioned and was full of bugs, and also that Australia doesn't have the same anti-hazing laws of the US. And since they're at JCU for the first time, they've been getting hazed. Also the drinking age here is 18, so this usually involves booze. Apparently they made a freshman who was allergic to wheat chug some beer the other night and the kid ended up in the hospital. (She said it's more the guys- the girls watch and feel belitted.) So I'm feeling a lot better about being off-campus.
I'm not really here for the culture at all, anyway, I've noticed. I mean, I'm sure Australia has a lot to offer and a cool history and all that, and you study abroad to expand your horizions and become a global blah blah blah. I'm honestly just here for the plants. And as a bio major I feel nice and justified in saying that.
Which isn't to say that I can avoid culture, which brings me to my real topic, which is my first grocery shopping trip.
The grocery store is just a bus ride down the road (it's a little bit far to walk), and it's part of an enclosed mini-mall (which probably has something to do with how hot and sticky it is down here all the time), which includes a dollar-store type deal (except not because nothing in Australia costs a dollar), a hair salon, an eye doctor, a pharmacy (which sells the same stuff US pharmacies do), a café, and a donut shop.
I really do know better than to go shopping on an empty stomach, but... well...
First off, fruit is in-season here right now... as compared to Ohio, which according to what I've gathered from facebook statuses, is currently buried under about four feet of snow but bravely continues to have classes.
They also have more fruit than the US. The papayas are huge (which I guess isn't odd if you're from, say, Georgia, but I'm not). They have fresh figs and fresh dates, for reasonable prices. I think Giant Eagle (my home grocery store) had figs once, and they were $4 a pop. They had something called "dragon fruit", which I intend to eat at some point just because.
The fruit is a little smaller here, too. I bought some peaches and an onion, and they were tiny. I suppose Australia does more organic? Maybe?
(I also bought some navel oranges, Product of the USA, and felt very very silly about it.)
The deli is cheaper than pre-packaged meat here... something that was difficult for me to figure out, because all the weights are in kilograms, so the signs say "Black Forest Ham- $24.85 kg."
I'm still not very comfortable with Australian money. An AUD is worth slightly less than a USD, and also things are just a little more expensive here in general (possibly because I'm used to rural Ohio prices). I'm also not used to shopping for one, so I can't really gauge how much I should be getting just in my own language. And I'm really bad with the metric system.
It's pretty embarrassing. For one, I knew they used the metric system here (and everywhere else- the US just likes being difficult ‘cause we're mavericks). For another, I'm a science major. We never use anything but the metric system. I'm perfectly comfortable with the metric system in lab. In fact, I'm really fond of the metric system in lab. (Except temperatures. I never did figure out Celsius. I don't need to know it here because it's always only one temperature, and that temperature is "sweltering".) But it turns out that when you're shopping in a different measuring system, you really do need to know how to convert between the two, or at least have a vague idea of what the conversion rate is.
I ended up going to the prepackaged meat, finding a package the size I wanted, checking the weight (100 g), and ordering that much of the deli ham. 100 g is a lot of ham, as it turns out. Also $3.75 a kg for peaches isn't really that expensive.
Weights aside, I had to cope with the product differences, which is a little daunting, too. Of course, part of the problem could be that I'm used to small-town grocery stores that don't carry anything too exotic, and Townsville is a fairly large city where you expect more variety. They had little single-serving cups of tiramisu in the yougurt section, and I do believe I will have to look into that some time.
They keep the eggs on the shelves, as compared to refridgerated, which makes sense because the store is air conditioned. (I'm keeping mine in the fridge, but we don't use the AC where I'm staying.) Also, all the eggs are brown, which makes me feel very gourmet when I use them. (Eggs, by the way, are the best thing ever if you're cheap and living alone.)
The major difference that can't be attributed to population was the candy. I noticed this earlier, but they don't have Hershey's here- they have Cadbury's. So the good news is that Cadbury creme eggs are readily available this time of year.
Cadbury's makes hot chocolate mix and candy bars, too, as it turns out. I picked one up (a "dairy milk bar" which I think means milk chocolate), and it was pretty tasty. They have a lot of flavors and different candy bars I'm uncertain about (including ‘bubbles", which I think are like poprock chocolate?), and chocoholic that I am, one of my goals to experience Australian culture is going to be to eat as many of these as I can without having a hideous allergic reaction, so more on candy as I get to it.
On the Welcome Bus, the other girls (who had all been in Australia for a few days, sight-seeing) were munching on these chocolate cookies called "Tim-Tams," and they all assured me that I needed to try them. So I picked up a package, and let me tell you, they are the richest cookie I've ever bought in a grocery store. I don't quite know how to describe them. They're two crisp milk chocolate cookies sandwiched together with what tastes like chocolate Oreo filling, then covered with chocolate frosting. I can't eat more than one at a time, and yet.. they're strangely addictive.
I only bought enough food for the next couple of days, since I got there and realized that I was never going to survive without a very detailed grocery list. Last night I had a ham, cheese, and onion omlette... which is also on the menu tonight.
I've found a couple of really cool cake-related blogs on here, and I was going through hoping to find some recipes for myself, but they're mostly gourmet, fancy type things (or else pastries. Or both), which I'm in favor of, but... I'd like to see a blog that's just new things for singles on budgets- stuff that's cheap, easy, different, and serves one person. It probably already exists somewhere, but if I ever get my act together, I may start one. I mean, looking at fancy food and drooling is nice, and trying to make an awesome cake from time to time is fun, but when I have to plan a menu for the week and I just want food that tastes pretty good and isn't too unhealthy, I don't really have a practical resource.
So, my culinary nerdery aside, it's raining really hard today... probably because I want to take my laptop to Uni today. I was going to take a self-defense course, but it was just a fun filler thing to do, and I couldn't really bring myself to catch the bus in the pouring rain at 10:00, so that's that. I can't wait for rainy season to be over.
I had a tour of the library, which is currently under construction but otherwise seems pretty library-like. On the tour were a couple of the American girls that had been on the welcoming bus with me- they told me how sorry they had felt for me when I got dropped off at a motel alone in the pouring ran (rather how I felt). Then one proceeded to tell me that her room wasn't air-conditioned and was full of bugs, and also that Australia doesn't have the same anti-hazing laws of the US. And since they're at JCU for the first time, they've been getting hazed. Also the drinking age here is 18, so this usually involves booze. Apparently they made a freshman who was allergic to wheat chug some beer the other night and the kid ended up in the hospital. (She said it's more the guys- the girls watch and feel belitted.) So I'm feeling a lot better about being off-campus.
I'm not really here for the culture at all, anyway, I've noticed. I mean, I'm sure Australia has a lot to offer and a cool history and all that, and you study abroad to expand your horizions and become a global blah blah blah. I'm honestly just here for the plants. And as a bio major I feel nice and justified in saying that.
Which isn't to say that I can avoid culture, which brings me to my real topic, which is my first grocery shopping trip.
The grocery store is just a bus ride down the road (it's a little bit far to walk), and it's part of an enclosed mini-mall (which probably has something to do with how hot and sticky it is down here all the time), which includes a dollar-store type deal (except not because nothing in Australia costs a dollar), a hair salon, an eye doctor, a pharmacy (which sells the same stuff US pharmacies do), a café, and a donut shop.
I really do know better than to go shopping on an empty stomach, but... well...
First off, fruit is in-season here right now... as compared to Ohio, which according to what I've gathered from facebook statuses, is currently buried under about four feet of snow but bravely continues to have classes.
They also have more fruit than the US. The papayas are huge (which I guess isn't odd if you're from, say, Georgia, but I'm not). They have fresh figs and fresh dates, for reasonable prices. I think Giant Eagle (my home grocery store) had figs once, and they were $4 a pop. They had something called "dragon fruit", which I intend to eat at some point just because.
The fruit is a little smaller here, too. I bought some peaches and an onion, and they were tiny. I suppose Australia does more organic? Maybe?
(I also bought some navel oranges, Product of the USA, and felt very very silly about it.)
The deli is cheaper than pre-packaged meat here... something that was difficult for me to figure out, because all the weights are in kilograms, so the signs say "Black Forest Ham- $24.85 kg."
I'm still not very comfortable with Australian money. An AUD is worth slightly less than a USD, and also things are just a little more expensive here in general (possibly because I'm used to rural Ohio prices). I'm also not used to shopping for one, so I can't really gauge how much I should be getting just in my own language. And I'm really bad with the metric system.
It's pretty embarrassing. For one, I knew they used the metric system here (and everywhere else- the US just likes being difficult ‘cause we're mavericks). For another, I'm a science major. We never use anything but the metric system. I'm perfectly comfortable with the metric system in lab. In fact, I'm really fond of the metric system in lab. (Except temperatures. I never did figure out Celsius. I don't need to know it here because it's always only one temperature, and that temperature is "sweltering".) But it turns out that when you're shopping in a different measuring system, you really do need to know how to convert between the two, or at least have a vague idea of what the conversion rate is.
I ended up going to the prepackaged meat, finding a package the size I wanted, checking the weight (100 g), and ordering that much of the deli ham. 100 g is a lot of ham, as it turns out. Also $3.75 a kg for peaches isn't really that expensive.
Weights aside, I had to cope with the product differences, which is a little daunting, too. Of course, part of the problem could be that I'm used to small-town grocery stores that don't carry anything too exotic, and Townsville is a fairly large city where you expect more variety. They had little single-serving cups of tiramisu in the yougurt section, and I do believe I will have to look into that some time.
They keep the eggs on the shelves, as compared to refridgerated, which makes sense because the store is air conditioned. (I'm keeping mine in the fridge, but we don't use the AC where I'm staying.) Also, all the eggs are brown, which makes me feel very gourmet when I use them. (Eggs, by the way, are the best thing ever if you're cheap and living alone.)
The major difference that can't be attributed to population was the candy. I noticed this earlier, but they don't have Hershey's here- they have Cadbury's. So the good news is that Cadbury creme eggs are readily available this time of year.
Cadbury's makes hot chocolate mix and candy bars, too, as it turns out. I picked one up (a "dairy milk bar" which I think means milk chocolate), and it was pretty tasty. They have a lot of flavors and different candy bars I'm uncertain about (including ‘bubbles", which I think are like poprock chocolate?), and chocoholic that I am, one of my goals to experience Australian culture is going to be to eat as many of these as I can without having a hideous allergic reaction, so more on candy as I get to it.
On the Welcome Bus, the other girls (who had all been in Australia for a few days, sight-seeing) were munching on these chocolate cookies called "Tim-Tams," and they all assured me that I needed to try them. So I picked up a package, and let me tell you, they are the richest cookie I've ever bought in a grocery store. I don't quite know how to describe them. They're two crisp milk chocolate cookies sandwiched together with what tastes like chocolate Oreo filling, then covered with chocolate frosting. I can't eat more than one at a time, and yet.. they're strangely addictive.
I only bought enough food for the next couple of days, since I got there and realized that I was never going to survive without a very detailed grocery list. Last night I had a ham, cheese, and onion omlette... which is also on the menu tonight.
I've found a couple of really cool cake-related blogs on here, and I was going through hoping to find some recipes for myself, but they're mostly gourmet, fancy type things (or else pastries. Or both), which I'm in favor of, but... I'd like to see a blog that's just new things for singles on budgets- stuff that's cheap, easy, different, and serves one person. It probably already exists somewhere, but if I ever get my act together, I may start one. I mean, looking at fancy food and drooling is nice, and trying to make an awesome cake from time to time is fun, but when I have to plan a menu for the week and I just want food that tastes pretty good and isn't too unhealthy, I don't really have a practical resource.
So, my culinary nerdery aside, it's raining really hard today... probably because I want to take my laptop to Uni today. I was going to take a self-defense course, but it was just a fun filler thing to do, and I couldn't really bring myself to catch the bus in the pouring rain at 10:00, so that's that. I can't wait for rainy season to be over.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Bus tour and plant pics
Last night my landlord/roommate asked me where Ohio was. Ohio is the only state that belongs to absolutely no region. It's not really in the north, it's not really in the south, it's not really on the east coast but it's not really the midwest. It's not really part of Appalachia (although, most people in AU don't know where or what Appalachia is anyway). It's just there. So I've got a map in the back of my planner that I showed him. I'm sure he didn't really care, but it's the only way I know to describe it.
This morning on my way to the next phase of O-week I stumbled across two stray dogs- a shiz tsu and some kind of mutt puppy. They followed me for a while, which was a bit worrisome as I was headed for a major highway and the puppy seemed exceptionally unafraid of cars. Fortunately they found a house with a dog in the backyard and left me to bark at it- so here's hoping the owners were home and called up the number on the tags. (I still don't have a phone- it's getting increasingly more annoying.)
Took a bus tour of Townsville today, courtesy of the student travel association. REALLY pretty downtown (sorry, no pictures- my camera doesn't like working in vehicles). The museums have free admission to students, so that's on my to do list. I need to make some friends so that we can hang out there some weekend. (Actually, what I need to do is import friends from home that I *know* would enjoy being here, but I suppose making friends is an acceptable solution.)
Missed signing up for a chocolate-eating contest at noon. Which is fine, but just know that I would have nailed it. The winner ate 4 chocolate bars in 3.5 minutes. Amateur.
Here are my Excited-American-Botany-Nerd pictures:
Weird mushrooms:
Trees with really cool bark: (these guys are everywhere.)
These were growing alongside the highway on my walk back to my motel. I think they're what my advisor would call "trashy".
This morning on my way to the next phase of O-week I stumbled across two stray dogs- a shiz tsu and some kind of mutt puppy. They followed me for a while, which was a bit worrisome as I was headed for a major highway and the puppy seemed exceptionally unafraid of cars. Fortunately they found a house with a dog in the backyard and left me to bark at it- so here's hoping the owners were home and called up the number on the tags. (I still don't have a phone- it's getting increasingly more annoying.)
Took a bus tour of Townsville today, courtesy of the student travel association. REALLY pretty downtown (sorry, no pictures- my camera doesn't like working in vehicles). The museums have free admission to students, so that's on my to do list. I need to make some friends so that we can hang out there some weekend. (Actually, what I need to do is import friends from home that I *know* would enjoy being here, but I suppose making friends is an acceptable solution.)
Missed signing up for a chocolate-eating contest at noon. Which is fine, but just know that I would have nailed it. The winner ate 4 chocolate bars in 3.5 minutes. Amateur.
Here are my Excited-American-Botany-Nerd pictures:
Weird mushrooms:
Trees with really cool bark: (these guys are everywhere.)
These were growing alongside the highway on my walk back to my motel. I think they're what my advisor would call "trashy".
Monday, February 15, 2010
More Orientation. Also Clotted Cream.
Last night was an orientation show (w/ free sausages, which is what got me there). I ended up sitting next to an older woman named "Bev" who's going back for a degree in something (the music was kinda loud, I couldn't really hear what she said). Anyway, she has a car and offered to give me lifts if I ever need them, so here's one friend that it would be to my advantage to keep in touch with. (INTJs do not do 'friendship' without a valid reason. Or maybe that's just me?)
There was a speech and performance by an Aboriginal elder (I got one picture, which will eventually be up). Australia's very respectful of Aborigines... kind of a "So, we screwed you over and took your land, and now that we've sobered up, we're really, really sorry about that. No, really, we are. We're going to make sure that everyone knows you were here first and have you at opening ceremonies for schools and all that. It doesn't make up for it, but..." As compared to America, which says "So, we screwed you over and took your land... if we let you open casinos, will you shut up about it?"
Then there was a comedian-type guy pretending to be an American professor... his accent was pretty atrocious. I've never heard anyone from Australia attempt an American accent before. It's really... bizarre. I don't know how to put it. He also made a couple of Arnold jokes, so I knew then and there that he wasn't from Sacramento, in any case. (Alisa assures me that nobody in Sacramento makes Arnold jokes because it's too depressing to them.) Anyway, it turned into a long show about drinking in college and making good choices and seek help if you need it and all that. It was actually pretty entertaining, but it was SWELTERING out (the guy had to keep toweling himself off), I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos, it was about 2 hours long, and it was nothing I hadn't heard before because I've done this whole orientation thing before and I know my way around college. It's getting a little frustrating, to be honest. Sure, the computer sites are set up a little different and have different names, but it's still the same thing as Mount Holyoke.
Did learn ONE new thing: Apparently peeing on people's lawns is a serious problem here, because the guy saw fit to mention that it's a bad idea.
Bev gave me a ride home, which was nice 'cause it was dark out and I wasn't super-sure how to get back home. My landlord/roommate was going to bed when I got there, but he says he might be able to set up a bunkbed for me this weekend, so Saturday is furniture-assembly time! He's very helpful. I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to talk to him a bit more this week, 'cause right now I feel a little like a very sketchy houseguest.
Today I stopped at the student coffee shop and got tea and a scone with clotted cream and jam. This was exciting for me, even if it isn't particularly for you. I've been seeing a lot of stuff around that I'd previously only seen in the British baking cookbook that Micah got me for Christmas (which, among other things, insists that Americans call blueberrys "huckleberries"). There seems to be a lot ofwhipped cream flying around. I kinda just want to live here forever. Or until my heart explodes.
The Anime Club had a table out today, and they seem very enthusiastic (I've decided that the VP is basically their Hannah, but don't tell him that). They said they're watching Black Lagoon this semester, so that should appease you guys. Let's face it, the fastest, most comfortable way for me to make friends with people is to hunt down some reasonably well-adjusted anime nerds, and I don't have a lot of time here to spend making friends any other way.
Also, they gave me a bottle-holder-thing from their sponsor, GameTraders Stockland... which is probably a branch of GameTraders Robina, which, as devotees may recall, is where Yahtzee
gets his blackmarket games. So I've already accumulated some gaming cred for when I get back to the States.
That's all for now, sorry, no pictures. I've got some, but it's a pain in the neck to add them to an entry and I just don't feel like it at the moment.
There was a speech and performance by an Aboriginal elder (I got one picture, which will eventually be up). Australia's very respectful of Aborigines... kind of a "So, we screwed you over and took your land, and now that we've sobered up, we're really, really sorry about that. No, really, we are. We're going to make sure that everyone knows you were here first and have you at opening ceremonies for schools and all that. It doesn't make up for it, but..." As compared to America, which says "So, we screwed you over and took your land... if we let you open casinos, will you shut up about it?"
Then there was a comedian-type guy pretending to be an American professor... his accent was pretty atrocious. I've never heard anyone from Australia attempt an American accent before. It's really... bizarre. I don't know how to put it. He also made a couple of Arnold jokes, so I knew then and there that he wasn't from Sacramento, in any case. (Alisa assures me that nobody in Sacramento makes Arnold jokes because it's too depressing to them.) Anyway, it turned into a long show about drinking in college and making good choices and seek help if you need it and all that. It was actually pretty entertaining, but it was SWELTERING out (the guy had to keep toweling himself off), I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos, it was about 2 hours long, and it was nothing I hadn't heard before because I've done this whole orientation thing before and I know my way around college. It's getting a little frustrating, to be honest. Sure, the computer sites are set up a little different and have different names, but it's still the same thing as Mount Holyoke.
Did learn ONE new thing: Apparently peeing on people's lawns is a serious problem here, because the guy saw fit to mention that it's a bad idea.
Bev gave me a ride home, which was nice 'cause it was dark out and I wasn't super-sure how to get back home. My landlord/roommate was going to bed when I got there, but he says he might be able to set up a bunkbed for me this weekend, so Saturday is furniture-assembly time! He's very helpful. I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to talk to him a bit more this week, 'cause right now I feel a little like a very sketchy houseguest.
Today I stopped at the student coffee shop and got tea and a scone with clotted cream and jam. This was exciting for me, even if it isn't particularly for you. I've been seeing a lot of stuff around that I'd previously only seen in the British baking cookbook that Micah got me for Christmas (which, among other things, insists that Americans call blueberrys "huckleberries"). There seems to be a lot ofwhipped cream flying around. I kinda just want to live here forever. Or until my heart explodes.
The Anime Club had a table out today, and they seem very enthusiastic (I've decided that the VP is basically their Hannah, but don't tell him that). They said they're watching Black Lagoon this semester, so that should appease you guys. Let's face it, the fastest, most comfortable way for me to make friends with people is to hunt down some reasonably well-adjusted anime nerds, and I don't have a lot of time here to spend making friends any other way.
Also, they gave me a bottle-holder-thing from their sponsor, GameTraders Stockland... which is probably a branch of GameTraders Robina, which, as devotees may recall, is where Yahtzee
gets his blackmarket games. So I've already accumulated some gaming cred for when I get back to the States.
That's all for now, sorry, no pictures. I've got some, but it's a pain in the neck to add them to an entry and I just don't feel like it at the moment.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
O-week and Bird watching
I've moved into my new place and unpacked! It's not too bad at all- lots of closet space. Also, while walking to school at noon (poor life choice in Australian summer), I found out that it's about a minute's walk from a bakery (and a butcher and a pharmacy and a lot of other helpful things to be one minute away from). So YAY. (Living my dream, here.)
Lots more students around, since this is the official Orientation week. There was only one event that I absolutely had to go to- the meeting with my department (that's Science & Engineering, by the way). The brochure said 9:30 to 4, so I assumed they meant "stop in any time and we'll set you up," but no. They meant, "Be there at 9:30 sharp 'cause we need all 7.5 hours with you. Also we'll be walking around and you'll never find us if you're late." So I missed that, but one of the guys at the International Student Center told me that it wasn't a big deal.
...I'm just killing time until the big concert at 6:00 now. Checked out the shops on campus- there's a cafeteria, a bar, a few coffee shops, a convenience store, and a bookshop. (Fun fact, Alisa- an English class is reading The Golden Compass, only here it's called The Northern Lights.)
Right now I'm taking advantage of the still-free internet. Turns out the school does keep track of how much you download and charges if you go over your limit... I don't know how to deal with that. I know I sound like an addict. I am. I'm ok with that. They say it's free for international students between 8 pm and 8 am, though, so I may be staying here a little late once in a while. (I'm pretty sure that maps to 5am to 5pm your time. So, while you have class/work. Great.)
AUSSIE SLANG OF THE DAY: Capsicum = bell pepper
So, here are some more pictures:
WEIRD BIRDS!
(Anyone know how to put a jump in a blog post so people don't have to wait for all my pictures to load?)
These are Kookaburras:
And I almost walked right over these guys: (the middle one is a baby!)
Cockatoos by the side of the road:
And ducks:
Lots more students around, since this is the official Orientation week. There was only one event that I absolutely had to go to- the meeting with my department (that's Science & Engineering, by the way). The brochure said 9:30 to 4, so I assumed they meant "stop in any time and we'll set you up," but no. They meant, "Be there at 9:30 sharp 'cause we need all 7.5 hours with you. Also we'll be walking around and you'll never find us if you're late." So I missed that, but one of the guys at the International Student Center told me that it wasn't a big deal.
...I'm just killing time until the big concert at 6:00 now. Checked out the shops on campus- there's a cafeteria, a bar, a few coffee shops, a convenience store, and a bookshop. (Fun fact, Alisa- an English class is reading The Golden Compass, only here it's called The Northern Lights.)
Right now I'm taking advantage of the still-free internet. Turns out the school does keep track of how much you download and charges if you go over your limit... I don't know how to deal with that. I know I sound like an addict. I am. I'm ok with that. They say it's free for international students between 8 pm and 8 am, though, so I may be staying here a little late once in a while. (I'm pretty sure that maps to 5am to 5pm your time. So, while you have class/work. Great.)
AUSSIE SLANG OF THE DAY: Capsicum = bell pepper
So, here are some more pictures:
WEIRD BIRDS!
(Anyone know how to put a jump in a blog post so people don't have to wait for all my pictures to load?)
These are Kookaburras:
And I almost walked right over these guys: (the middle one is a baby!)
Cockatoos by the side of the road:
And ducks:
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Almost to Orientation
Turns out there's a subway in the hospital shops, which is good, because I've been living off complimentary continental breakfast for a few days now.
Fun facts about Australian subways: turkey is more expensive here ('cause turkey is an American thing), bell peppers are called something I can't pronounce, so I didn't order any, and Italian dressing isn't on the menu.
I've figured out how to walk to my motel- it's not too bad, about 40 minutes. Anyway, tonight is my last night there.
Orientation today, at 3:00, which hopefully will get me sorted out a bit.
Got to school this morning to find that the anime club has posted tiny flyers all over campus. I mean ALL over. I think they must have a Hannah in their club. Not sure if I'm going to join or not- on one hand, I speak nerd better than I speak Australian. On the other hand, I didn't come here to watch cartoons all the time.
So, some pictures of my room:
Me in my man outfit.
Windows
Room came w/ some kitchenette supplies... and RICE BUBBLES. I think that's such a better name than Rice Krispies. (Also, Cocoapops are Cocoa pebbles.)
Breakfast. It's tasty.
View from my room (with rain.)
And the hotel from across the river on a nice day. Inn't pretty?
Fun facts about Australian subways: turkey is more expensive here ('cause turkey is an American thing), bell peppers are called something I can't pronounce, so I didn't order any, and Italian dressing isn't on the menu.
I've figured out how to walk to my motel- it's not too bad, about 40 minutes. Anyway, tonight is my last night there.
Orientation today, at 3:00, which hopefully will get me sorted out a bit.
Got to school this morning to find that the anime club has posted tiny flyers all over campus. I mean ALL over. I think they must have a Hannah in their club. Not sure if I'm going to join or not- on one hand, I speak nerd better than I speak Australian. On the other hand, I didn't come here to watch cartoons all the time.
So, some pictures of my room:
Me in my man outfit.
Windows
Room came w/ some kitchenette supplies... and RICE BUBBLES. I think that's such a better name than Rice Krispies. (Also, Cocoapops are Cocoa pebbles.)
Breakfast. It's tasty.
View from my room (with rain.)
And the hotel from across the river on a nice day. Inn't pretty?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Best news possible.
Since my last update, I spent so much time on the computer that I failed to get dinner. (Not entirely my fault- the only places to eat are in the student union, which doesn't open properly until classes start.) I know, I know, I came to Australia to use the internet, but I have nowhere to go until orientation gives me a general idea what's going on.
So I headed back to the International Student Center, which was the center of my day, and when he found out I hadn't eaten anything but toast all day, one of the guys made me a ham sandwich on the sly. (THANK YOU SO MUCH. I CRIED.) So I ate outside. I have to say, it is BEAUTIFUL here. When I wasn't online, I was taking pictures. I promise to upload them soon. Possibly tomorrow?
Realized that the buses don't run at night, so I caught the last one back to my motel. My motel room has been growing on me- despite the fact that it is near impossible to find someone to ask questions to. It's really just some rooms over a sports bar and a liquor store, next to a bridge across the Ross River, which is also Very Beautiful. It smells like Marietta there, in a good way. I guess rivers all have the same basic scent about them.
So, it's over a bar, right, so my room smelled like cigarette smoke for part of the evening- fortunately I'm not one of my severely-asthmatic friends.
The buses don't run on Saturday (it's Saturday here), so I woke up this morning and attempted to walk to JCU to meet my "take the students around to look at houses" tour. I tried to get ahold of reception, but, like I said, it's not really a motel so much as a bar that lets rooms, and at 8:00 on Saturday morning, there was no one around. So, armed with a very uninformative google map, I set off. I actually managed to go the right direction, but the roads were absolutely deserted. (Save a couple of dead toads. Toads are the squirrels of Australia- I see them flat on the road everywhere. Also there was a snakeskin that doubtless had once been poisonous.) Anyway, I got nervous and went back... this time got ahold of someone at reception, who 1) showed me that I had gone the right way in the first place, 2) offered to give me a lift. (I told him that 2 kilometers was not that bad a walk- and it isn't, I walk 2 miles to work in the summer and I'm fairly certain that's further, but it's humid out and I'm not going to say no when an attractive guy offers to save me 40 minutes.)
So after all this, I meet up with the other tour-takers- a couple of grad students from Maladives, a comp sci major and his father from India, some guys I think were German but who didn't introduce themselves, and a couple of US grad students. I may be the only semester-abroad student in the whole school looking for off-campus housing. T_T (For those not familiar with the internet, that's a sad face.)
The tour guide was 30 minutes late (he also had dark glasses and was still a little hungover...). The other, who had the huge bus, was much later, but I had appointments, so me and the American girls climbed into the car and drove off to look at places.
My first place had been advertised as a house sit (where you watch the house while they're away), but it was actually a room with a family. They were *really* nice, don't get me wrong, but it was a little pricey for sharing with a whole family. The next place, however, was absolutely perfect- it's ridiculously cheap (which is good 'cause I am stingy like nobody's business), it's a 1/2 hour walk to the school and also close to grocery shopping. (I was so happy I could have cried- my motel is in the middle of a group of gated communities full of upper-middle-classers who don't like their food source to be visible for fear it'll bring in the riff-raff.)
The guy who owns it is really nice- he's looking for one more student. He's also looking for a better internet plan- which I will be more than happy to assist him with, 'cause Ol' Cee wants to Skype and she doesn't want to do it in JCU's computer lab.
Anyway, I took the room instantly- I've got until Thursday to transfer my money to an Australian bank so Chase doesn't swindle me blind... although it occurs to me that I have enough cash on me to pay my rent... yeah. That's how cheap it is. *so happy* ...I DO still need to find a bed, but he says he can give me a mattress... I'll work something out.
That leaves me free for the rest of the day. More pictures, I guess. The way internet works here, you pay based on how much you're allowed to download, so I think how I'm going to work the pictures is load them onto the laptop, then take the laptop to school and post them... this goes for pretty much anything I do online. Sorry, am I talking too much?
It's occured to me that I should just get a diary and write everything in there, so I can stop writing 3-page updates. But that wouldn't be any fun, would it?
So I headed back to the International Student Center, which was the center of my day, and when he found out I hadn't eaten anything but toast all day, one of the guys made me a ham sandwich on the sly. (THANK YOU SO MUCH. I CRIED.) So I ate outside. I have to say, it is BEAUTIFUL here. When I wasn't online, I was taking pictures. I promise to upload them soon. Possibly tomorrow?
Realized that the buses don't run at night, so I caught the last one back to my motel. My motel room has been growing on me- despite the fact that it is near impossible to find someone to ask questions to. It's really just some rooms over a sports bar and a liquor store, next to a bridge across the Ross River, which is also Very Beautiful. It smells like Marietta there, in a good way. I guess rivers all have the same basic scent about them.
So, it's over a bar, right, so my room smelled like cigarette smoke for part of the evening- fortunately I'm not one of my severely-asthmatic friends.
The buses don't run on Saturday (it's Saturday here), so I woke up this morning and attempted to walk to JCU to meet my "take the students around to look at houses" tour. I tried to get ahold of reception, but, like I said, it's not really a motel so much as a bar that lets rooms, and at 8:00 on Saturday morning, there was no one around. So, armed with a very uninformative google map, I set off. I actually managed to go the right direction, but the roads were absolutely deserted. (Save a couple of dead toads. Toads are the squirrels of Australia- I see them flat on the road everywhere. Also there was a snakeskin that doubtless had once been poisonous.) Anyway, I got nervous and went back... this time got ahold of someone at reception, who 1) showed me that I had gone the right way in the first place, 2) offered to give me a lift. (I told him that 2 kilometers was not that bad a walk- and it isn't, I walk 2 miles to work in the summer and I'm fairly certain that's further, but it's humid out and I'm not going to say no when an attractive guy offers to save me 40 minutes.)
So after all this, I meet up with the other tour-takers- a couple of grad students from Maladives, a comp sci major and his father from India, some guys I think were German but who didn't introduce themselves, and a couple of US grad students. I may be the only semester-abroad student in the whole school looking for off-campus housing. T_T (For those not familiar with the internet, that's a sad face.)
The tour guide was 30 minutes late (he also had dark glasses and was still a little hungover...). The other, who had the huge bus, was much later, but I had appointments, so me and the American girls climbed into the car and drove off to look at places.
My first place had been advertised as a house sit (where you watch the house while they're away), but it was actually a room with a family. They were *really* nice, don't get me wrong, but it was a little pricey for sharing with a whole family. The next place, however, was absolutely perfect- it's ridiculously cheap (which is good 'cause I am stingy like nobody's business), it's a 1/2 hour walk to the school and also close to grocery shopping. (I was so happy I could have cried- my motel is in the middle of a group of gated communities full of upper-middle-classers who don't like their food source to be visible for fear it'll bring in the riff-raff.)
The guy who owns it is really nice- he's looking for one more student. He's also looking for a better internet plan- which I will be more than happy to assist him with, 'cause Ol' Cee wants to Skype and she doesn't want to do it in JCU's computer lab.
Anyway, I took the room instantly- I've got until Thursday to transfer my money to an Australian bank so Chase doesn't swindle me blind... although it occurs to me that I have enough cash on me to pay my rent... yeah. That's how cheap it is. *so happy* ...I DO still need to find a bed, but he says he can give me a mattress... I'll work something out.
That leaves me free for the rest of the day. More pictures, I guess. The way internet works here, you pay based on how much you're allowed to download, so I think how I'm going to work the pictures is load them onto the laptop, then take the laptop to school and post them... this goes for pretty much anything I do online. Sorry, am I talking too much?
It's occured to me that I should just get a diary and write everything in there, so I can stop writing 3-page updates. But that wouldn't be any fun, would it?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
And now RECENT news
Nothing to report on the flight to Townsville, except I did finally a window seat in daylight, and Australia from above is very pretty. Australia from the ground is pretty, too, come to that. (I've been taking a few pictures, but I'll post them much later.)
It was absolutely pouring rain when I got here (around 4:00, local time). A bunch of other foreign students (mostly from the US) got picked up alongside me... but they were all going to live in dorms that had been booked months ago. I got dropped off at a hotel and left. No explanation, no map, nothing. They just left me at a hotel on my own.
Also the hotel didn't have internet at all, so there went any way of contacting them. Also the hotel only knew that I was another person with a reservation, nothing more.
JCU is recieving an angry review if they ever ask about my experience here.
The room is nice enough. I have it for four days. The woman I talked to this morning seems to think I'll need it much longer, as well. She also says that they abandoned international students there last year, too, so apparently nobody has explained to them that this isn't very welcoming of them.
So she got me on a bus and now I'm at the university. It's not pouring rain, which is a very nice change from last night. There are a lot of cool plants around- I'll get pictures.
I made my way to the International Student Center, and they were much more helpful than the Welcoming Committee lead me to believe they'd be. They're taking international students without accomodations out to look for housing tomorrow. I've been through the listings and found a few places. And a nice guy from Wisconsin who'd been through orientation already (the next session is Sunday and all my hopes and dreams for the future are riding on it), showed me where and how to get WiFi, so I can check my various internet hangouts, which is a relief.
So I'm all right, now. Once I have a place of my own and have been through orientation I think I'll be much less stressed.
It was absolutely pouring rain when I got here (around 4:00, local time). A bunch of other foreign students (mostly from the US) got picked up alongside me... but they were all going to live in dorms that had been booked months ago. I got dropped off at a hotel and left. No explanation, no map, nothing. They just left me at a hotel on my own.
Also the hotel didn't have internet at all, so there went any way of contacting them. Also the hotel only knew that I was another person with a reservation, nothing more.
JCU is recieving an angry review if they ever ask about my experience here.
The room is nice enough. I have it for four days. The woman I talked to this morning seems to think I'll need it much longer, as well. She also says that they abandoned international students there last year, too, so apparently nobody has explained to them that this isn't very welcoming of them.
So she got me on a bus and now I'm at the university. It's not pouring rain, which is a very nice change from last night. There are a lot of cool plants around- I'll get pictures.
I made my way to the International Student Center, and they were much more helpful than the Welcoming Committee lead me to believe they'd be. They're taking international students without accomodations out to look for housing tomorrow. I've been through the listings and found a few places. And a nice guy from Wisconsin who'd been through orientation already (the next session is Sunday and all my hopes and dreams for the future are riding on it), showed me where and how to get WiFi, so I can check my various internet hangouts, which is a relief.
So I'm all right, now. Once I have a place of my own and have been through orientation I think I'll be much less stressed.
A long flight update
(This was written 2/11, 9:00. I'm posting it 2/12, 2:00, now that I have internet.)
While writing this, I'm in the Brisbane airport (but internet here is $5 an hour, so it'll be posted from somewhere else... and here I'm hoping that I mean in a nice, safe Townsville hotel/hostel that I was shuttled to by a kind and understanding welcoming committee, but I'm not really holding my breath on that.)
I woke up at 8:30 2/9, Ohio time, to find that both my domestic US flights had been cancelled because about a foot of snow had fallen in the night... also O'Hare is completely incapable of going for a week without cancelling flights, on principle. So we made some panicked calls and got a flight to Phoenix, AZ.
That was all well and good. There were babies on the flight! Three of them! They were adorable!
I'm a little put-off, because I was looking forward to seeing the desert/mountains/geography besides rolling hillside, but no, the entire flight managed to take place in the dark. Phoenix does look pretty cool from above at night though, as does LA.
(I realize, before I type this, that I sound like the biggest bumpkin of all time, but LA is HUGE. It's definitely the largest city I've ever seen, but I mean it's ENORMOUS. It's just absolutely sprawling. You can't see the end of it out one airplane window, even if you crane your neck around.)
(Also, quote from the flight to LAX, "This flight is to LA, not Orange County. No princesses." ~Stewardess to passenger refusing to turn off her phone.)
LAX was not particularly kind to me. I had to change terminals, which meant a lot of running around looking for the right place. Then I had to go through security again, and the kid doing the X-ray thought my CD case was a bomb, so they had take it out and dust it for explosive powder.
If Beth was there at the same time I was, I missed her. I suspect her plane had already boarded before I got through security, and I also suspect that it was in yet another terminal, so it wouldn't have been worth the effort probably, but at 1:00 Cee-time (11:00 LA time), this was horrible, the killing blow to a horrible misadventure in international travel.
The airport shops were closing down, too, so I barely grabbed a meal at BK and settled down at my gate... at which point of COURSE they tell us to come weigh our carry-on luggage because we're only allowed 15 lbs. My backpack (which contained my very valuable laptop and my very important bomb-like CD collection) didn't make the cut, so I checked the other bag, thereby depriving myself of clean clothes if my luggage got lost.
(That was all right, though, really. As of writing this, my luggage is all accounted for and I don't forsee any problems in the Townsville transfer.)
So, overweight backpack on hand, I board the 14-hour flight to Brisbane. Please keep in mind that this was roughly 2:00 Cee-time and I hadn't slept since that morning. I was in the aisle seat of the four-seat middle section. The seat next to me was occupied by a middle-aged man who seemed disinclined to talk to me, which was fine. Then his wife sits down next to him and starts haranguing him shrilly.
Here's what happened: They called people to line up to board. She told him to line up, and he got in line, thinking she was right behind him. She thought he had gone to the bathroom. She got on the plane late to find him there.
So she sits down, snapping, "How could you do something like that?" as though she had caught him having a quicky with the stewardess and it was their anniversary. He tells her his side of the story and goes back to reading, and she grabs his magazine out of his hand and starts demanding an explanation. See, in my book, "Sorry, I thought you were behind me." is an explanation and an apology. They carried on like a sitcom couple for about ten minutes while everyone else boarded, him trying to ignore her, her trying to make this into a major issue with their relationship. She eventually got some wine with the beverage service and calmed down a little, but I was just waiting to see if she would nag the entire 14 hours. I bet she could have. They proceeded to ignore each other and me for the rest of the flight.
After the plane took off (3:00, Cee-time), I plugged in my "Brad's Mixed CD to Be Sad To" and fell asleep... only to be awoken roughly an hour later for dinner. All I really wanted was to get some sleep, instead of fiddling with utensils and hot plates in a tiny space with no elbow room and a henpecked, antisocial gentleman next to me bumping me with his elbows and not apologizing.
Also, I am pleased to announce that everything they say about airplane food is 100% true. I was served a slightly-functional roll and hot tin containing some vegetables and a lump of something that had started its life as a chicken. There was also a salad that seemed to feature a massacred tomato on a bed of lettuce, but I hate tomatos on the best of days and left that alone.
AUSSIE SLANG OF THE DAY: "Lemonade" means Sprite or similar beverage. Forutnately, I like both Sprite and US!Lemonade, so everything worked out.
After eating the roll and some of the deceased chicken, I went back to sleep... the rest of the flight was uneventful. I slept or zoned out for most of it, since it was dark for the majority of flight (not that I had a window seat.) Concluded the flight by reading the end of Ella Enchanted... to distract from how anxious I was about landing in a foreign country with no one around to help me out or tell me that it was ok to be a dumb cute American.
I was so nervous about the Customs form that I ended up declaring a pencil as a "wooden object"... also I ate half a bag of chocolate-covered expresso beans at once because you're not supposed to take food into the country. So no sleeping for me at the moment.
It is SWELTERING in Brisbane, so I was forced to remove Marissa's "Don't Touch Me ‘Cause I'm Poisonous Like The Rest of Australia" scarf. Sad times. Also the guy at Customs thought I was a dude. So much for pulling off the dumb, cute American.
(MoHos: I suspect that the person playing me used the XP she got for the flight to buy "androgony" for me. )
I already ran into one "Bruce" at the airport. Also, everyone here has Australian accents. I suppose I should have been prepared for that. But Australian accents are supposed to be used to quote YuGiOh: The Abrigded Series and pretend that you're hunting crocodiles, not for just talking to people.
I'm trying very hard to keep my American accent so people know why I'm so lost. Also so they don't think I'm mocking them. But it's hard. I imitate people. It's part of my desperate need to be the center of attention at all times (which, incidentally, is why my blog updates are all three pages worth of pointless anecdotes).
Well, I have about four hours to kill here. There are some overpriced shops to paw through with my sweaty, disgusting hands, and maybe I'll take some pictures, since I'm in Australia and all. They have passionfruit yougurt here... which may sound boring to you, but to culinary-nerd me, it's something of note.
While writing this, I'm in the Brisbane airport (but internet here is $5 an hour, so it'll be posted from somewhere else... and here I'm hoping that I mean in a nice, safe Townsville hotel/hostel that I was shuttled to by a kind and understanding welcoming committee, but I'm not really holding my breath on that.)
I woke up at 8:30 2/9, Ohio time, to find that both my domestic US flights had been cancelled because about a foot of snow had fallen in the night... also O'Hare is completely incapable of going for a week without cancelling flights, on principle. So we made some panicked calls and got a flight to Phoenix, AZ.
That was all well and good. There were babies on the flight! Three of them! They were adorable!
I'm a little put-off, because I was looking forward to seeing the desert/mountains/geography besides rolling hillside, but no, the entire flight managed to take place in the dark. Phoenix does look pretty cool from above at night though, as does LA.
(I realize, before I type this, that I sound like the biggest bumpkin of all time, but LA is HUGE. It's definitely the largest city I've ever seen, but I mean it's ENORMOUS. It's just absolutely sprawling. You can't see the end of it out one airplane window, even if you crane your neck around.)
(Also, quote from the flight to LAX, "This flight is to LA, not Orange County. No princesses." ~Stewardess to passenger refusing to turn off her phone.)
LAX was not particularly kind to me. I had to change terminals, which meant a lot of running around looking for the right place. Then I had to go through security again, and the kid doing the X-ray thought my CD case was a bomb, so they had take it out and dust it for explosive powder.
If Beth was there at the same time I was, I missed her. I suspect her plane had already boarded before I got through security, and I also suspect that it was in yet another terminal, so it wouldn't have been worth the effort probably, but at 1:00 Cee-time (11:00 LA time), this was horrible, the killing blow to a horrible misadventure in international travel.
The airport shops were closing down, too, so I barely grabbed a meal at BK and settled down at my gate... at which point of COURSE they tell us to come weigh our carry-on luggage because we're only allowed 15 lbs. My backpack (which contained my very valuable laptop and my very important bomb-like CD collection) didn't make the cut, so I checked the other bag, thereby depriving myself of clean clothes if my luggage got lost.
(That was all right, though, really. As of writing this, my luggage is all accounted for and I don't forsee any problems in the Townsville transfer.)
So, overweight backpack on hand, I board the 14-hour flight to Brisbane. Please keep in mind that this was roughly 2:00 Cee-time and I hadn't slept since that morning. I was in the aisle seat of the four-seat middle section. The seat next to me was occupied by a middle-aged man who seemed disinclined to talk to me, which was fine. Then his wife sits down next to him and starts haranguing him shrilly.
Here's what happened: They called people to line up to board. She told him to line up, and he got in line, thinking she was right behind him. She thought he had gone to the bathroom. She got on the plane late to find him there.
So she sits down, snapping, "How could you do something like that?" as though she had caught him having a quicky with the stewardess and it was their anniversary. He tells her his side of the story and goes back to reading, and she grabs his magazine out of his hand and starts demanding an explanation. See, in my book, "Sorry, I thought you were behind me." is an explanation and an apology. They carried on like a sitcom couple for about ten minutes while everyone else boarded, him trying to ignore her, her trying to make this into a major issue with their relationship. She eventually got some wine with the beverage service and calmed down a little, but I was just waiting to see if she would nag the entire 14 hours. I bet she could have. They proceeded to ignore each other and me for the rest of the flight.
After the plane took off (3:00, Cee-time), I plugged in my "Brad's Mixed CD to Be Sad To" and fell asleep... only to be awoken roughly an hour later for dinner. All I really wanted was to get some sleep, instead of fiddling with utensils and hot plates in a tiny space with no elbow room and a henpecked, antisocial gentleman next to me bumping me with his elbows and not apologizing.
Also, I am pleased to announce that everything they say about airplane food is 100% true. I was served a slightly-functional roll and hot tin containing some vegetables and a lump of something that had started its life as a chicken. There was also a salad that seemed to feature a massacred tomato on a bed of lettuce, but I hate tomatos on the best of days and left that alone.
AUSSIE SLANG OF THE DAY: "Lemonade" means Sprite or similar beverage. Forutnately, I like both Sprite and US!Lemonade, so everything worked out.
After eating the roll and some of the deceased chicken, I went back to sleep... the rest of the flight was uneventful. I slept or zoned out for most of it, since it was dark for the majority of flight (not that I had a window seat.) Concluded the flight by reading the end of Ella Enchanted... to distract from how anxious I was about landing in a foreign country with no one around to help me out or tell me that it was ok to be a dumb cute American.
I was so nervous about the Customs form that I ended up declaring a pencil as a "wooden object"... also I ate half a bag of chocolate-covered expresso beans at once because you're not supposed to take food into the country. So no sleeping for me at the moment.
It is SWELTERING in Brisbane, so I was forced to remove Marissa's "Don't Touch Me ‘Cause I'm Poisonous Like The Rest of Australia" scarf. Sad times. Also the guy at Customs thought I was a dude. So much for pulling off the dumb, cute American.
(MoHos: I suspect that the person playing me used the XP she got for the flight to buy "androgony" for me. )
I already ran into one "Bruce" at the airport. Also, everyone here has Australian accents. I suppose I should have been prepared for that. But Australian accents are supposed to be used to quote YuGiOh: The Abrigded Series and pretend that you're hunting crocodiles, not for just talking to people.
I'm trying very hard to keep my American accent so people know why I'm so lost. Also so they don't think I'm mocking them. But it's hard. I imitate people. It's part of my desperate need to be the center of attention at all times (which, incidentally, is why my blog updates are all three pages worth of pointless anecdotes).
Well, I have about four hours to kill here. There are some overpriced shops to paw through with my sweaty, disgusting hands, and maybe I'll take some pictures, since I'm in Australia and all. They have passionfruit yougurt here... which may sound boring to you, but to culinary-nerd me, it's something of note.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Good. We can begin.
Somehow or another you've come across my blog. (In all likelihood, you're a relative of mine who had the link emailed to them.) Well, since you're here, and since you seem to intend to keep reading, I might as well fill you in.
I leave for Australia this Tuesday (Feb. 9th), so at the moment I'm packing and trying to figure out where to live. This entry is more of a test-run, to make sure that my layout looks pretty and readable.
I'm a little colorblind, so please let me know if it's too hideous for words.
Tuesday I fly from Columbus to Chicago, then from Chicago to LA (where, with any luck, I'll be able to meet up with my friend Beth, who will be en route to New Zealand), and from LA to Brisbane. I leave LA before midnight and arrive in Brisbane on the 11th, so techincally I will not exist on Feb. 10th. Never fear, rumor has it that my friends at Mount Holyoke are having a candlelight vigil for me, to make sure that I don't disappear entirely.
Aside from the 12+ hours spent in airports and on short flights, I have to prepare myself for a 20-hour overseas flight. Twenty hours is a *really* long time, something I'm trying not to contemplate. I'm bringing a blank 5-subject notebook and a sketchpad, plus a supply of batteries and my (admitedly meager) CD collection, so hopefully I will survive.
I also do not have a place to stay as of yet. I have a hostel sort-of room booked for when I first arrive. I've been looking into permanant housing via James Cook's online database of people looking for roommates. I've got my eye set on the two male seniors looking (specifically) for a female international roommate. That sounds both safe and promising.
Well, that's what's happening right now. Theoretically, my next update will be from Australia, or at least an airport on my way to Australia, if I get bored enough and the internet access is free.
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