HWSUC Australia Fall 'o9: The Basics
I'm doing a term abroad in Brisbane, Australia for 3 months.
I go to the University of Queensland and take 4 classes with 32 other American students (From Union, Hobart and William Smith Colleges).
We all take the same classes together and have all four classes in one room.
These classes are:
-Marine Ecology
-Terrestrial Ecology
-Australian Geology
-Australian Culture
Our schedules are different every day and every week. We have 4 trips that are about a week long each. We go to N. Stradbroke Island (Week2), Lamington National Park (Week4), Heron Island (Week7) and Saddler Springs (Week 10).
One of the many lakes on campus at University of Queensland
As for my home stay:
I live 25 minutes outside of Brisbane in the Smith household with:
host mom (Jacqui)
host dad (Ian)
host brother (Nick)
home stay sister Kayley (from Minnesota)
home stay sister Michy (from Switzwerland)
home stay brother Ryan (From Hobart College, NY)
ohh yea and 3 cats (Jasper, Amy and Max?) and one dog (Tiger!)
**strange coincedence: My host father is cousins with my Union geology professor's wife !
host parents (Ian and Jacqui) and our lovley Halloween/ Thanksgiving dinner/party :) -thank youuu!! you guys are the BEST!
A yield sign in Australia
the Jackaranda trees in bloom nationwide
theres also a little Magpie bird (at the bottom of the pic)
down the block from the house
The foreign kids in the Smith House
(left to right: Me, Kayley, Ryan and Michy)
The Smith Residence (aka my home for 3 months)
My room!!
Books on the bed- ya know, im super studious
Tiger
i think he likes my bed haha
Jasper!
amy
max
Beautiful Brisbane!
Political/Cultural Art on UQ Campus
Moorhen @UQ Lakes
Birds are super friendly, huh
jumping spiders
they're terrifying, I know from experience
sunrise down the block
What makes this place different from home??
1-they drive on the other side of the road!! the driver is on the right side of the car and they drive on the left side of the street. yeah weird, i know! im still not used to it...in the car i still think we're going to crash into the people on the right side of the road lol
-sidewalk traffic, people walk on the left side of the sidewalk. except for in the city...i dont know why, but they dont walk on one distinct side. Walk on the right side of the sidewalk at a festival or something and EXPECT to run into a lot of people. Or get run over by baby carriages ( i know from experience).
2- almost all toilets that i have encountered have duel flushes- one for peeing and one for..uhh well ya know. This country has been in a drought for 5 years. The resources here arent meant to support an abundance of people. Therefore people are very environmentally conscious here. Most people dont take more than 4 minute showers and all sinks have something attached to the faucet so that not a lot of water comes out (surprisingly though, most bathrooms have paper towels). Its probably because driers use more energy (?).
3-When leaving a store, instead of saying "Thanks, have a nice day" they say "Thanks, See you later." They also say "Thank you" when receiving your money at a store instead of saying it after they give you your change (which is nit-picky but weird). Oh and instead of saying "How are you?" they say "How you going?" (I think, intended to be 'How ARE you going?'). Other lingo differences are "crumbs"=sketchy people; "dodgy"=sketchy lol ; "verdinkum"=really?
4-One of the most surprising things is that they think that PB&J is weird!!!! When they're the ones who put butter and relish in every sandwich they make.
5-BBQs (Barbies)-no hamburgers or hot dogs but steak and beef sausages. Hot dogs are actually really uncommon. But Asian food (Thai, Chinese and Indian food) is very popular.
Other general stuff...they're paper money is according to size and color and they're cents are 5, 10, 20, 50, $1 coin and $2 coins. I really like the $2 coins because its always nice that when you think you have no money, you can rummage around your wallet and add up the $2 coins to make $10 lol
Also, buses are a main way of transportation. Speaking of buses, I gotta go catch mine!!! Till next time!
