Blogs from Bundoora, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

Hey everyone. This is the beginning of a long awaited trip; the first solo trip I'll be embarking on, and hopefully it will be the beginning of a new me. Yes it sounds cliche, but in the end, travel changes people. 9 weeks on my own, away from family, friends and creature comfets will bring about a change in me. No, USA shouldnt be a big culture shock, but simply being on my own and meeting new people will be a shock. My journey begins on the 27th of December, but I thought I'd give a bit of background info on the trip, where I'll be going and what I will be doing. I know the map looks confusing, but basically what I'm doing is flying into Denver, staying there for 6 nights, then flying to ... read more

Well, I had to call this entry something cooler than "Week 3 at La Trobe." While that would have been accurate, it would have made it sound like this week was just more of the usual, which is only partially true. First of all, I did end up going to the Melbourne International Film Festival. Marieke and an Australian guy named Nathan, who is also in our screenwriting class, went with me to see a British comedy called 'Wild Target' and have dinner in the city. The movie was about a hit-man who grows a conscience and consequently has to deal with the kleptomaniac girl he allowed to live, and Rupert Grint (the actor who plays Ron Weasley) is his aspiring apprentice. It was hilarious, and I'd say the whole experience was well worth the $17 ... read more

So, I'm a real La Trobe student now. Classes started on monday, and I now have some sort of idea how they work here in Australia. Almost every class seems to have two reading lists, one for required reading and one for optional supplementary reading. This is quite different from Hope, as is the fact that many lecturers have rendered actual attendance somewhat obsolete by recording their lectures and posting them online. All the same, I don't plan on skipping-- unless I'm sick or something, in which case I think it will be quite a handy feature. And at any rate, there's still tutorials, which are the smaller classes where we actually talk, more like what I'm used to. I know it took me a while to actually write anything about school, but in my defense, ... read more