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Published: March 13th 2013
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Windsurfing
My first try at windsurfing! I loved it so much that I'm going again this upcoming Saturday. Everyone remembers their first moment on campus. That second that they set foot on where they will be studying for an extended period of time. While I found college life an easy adjustment, it was still a change from high school, even though my high school and college back in the states are roughly the same size at 2000 students. So you can imagine how I felt last Monday, when orientation started for new students (remember that it is the first semester here in Australia), and all of the sudden I was lost in a crowd of 49,000 students. What?? There are over 700 exchange students alone, which is basically 1/3 of my entire college. I almost feel like I’m studying abroad in America because I think this school is more similar to traditional American schools than mine is.
Orientation here was much different from my home college in that it was very optional and very relaxed. That being said, millions of clubs and societies lined the entire main walkway with stalls for sign ups. I decided to take it easy this semester so I still have time for exploring, so I just joined the wakeboarding, ultimate Frisbee, and windsurfing
1st Day of School!
It's hard to be inside all day when outside is gorgeous and sunny! and sailing clubs. I’m debating about the underwater club but it’s pretty expensive and most of their events seem to take place during the break so I’m still undecided. I totally lucked out with my schedule though—I only have class two and a half days a week and I accidentally picked all classes that don’t have finals so I’ll be done with school at the end of May/early June. My plane ticket home isn’t until July so I’ll have to think of something to entertain myself for the month where everyone else on campus is studying and taking finals. I’m the only one I’ve met so far that’s this lucky with scheduling, but that’s what I get for planning ahead and taking all my general credits abroad!
I had my first round of classes this past week, and while I enjoyed all of them, it reaffirmed my confidence that Babson was the absolute right choice for me. I can do a semester of a big school, but I’m not sure I could do much more. To the professors, you are just one of 300, and you are simply a number not a name. In one of my accounting classes
Coogee Beach
This is the beach I frequent the most. It's about a 15 minute walk from my apartment. It's going to be hard going back to Boston next semester! sophomore year, my professor would pull out his cell phone and call you in front of the entire class if you weren’t in your seat at 8 am when class started. Needless to say, I never missed that class. Here, the professors use microphones and just talk at you for two hours, and after about 10 minutes the entire class is either asleep or on Facebook.
That being said, I did pick out really good classes, if I say so myself. I’m taking Advanced Chinese, Multiculturalism, Intro to Australian Politics, and Globalization. I’m a little concerned because I have papers in the last three of those classes, but I don’t know how to write in Australian. In my Intro to Politics class, my professor said three whole sentences in which I understood none of what he said. Unfortunately I was sitting next to an American who also had no idea what he was talking about and we kind of just gave him a blank stare. I also find myself frequently asking the local students to repeat what they just said about 5 times. Thank goodness for British spell check in Microsoft Word and for Google translate.
On the Way to Snorkel
This was part of the walk we took to get to Clovelly Beach to snorkel. It was beautiful! Over the weekend, my friend Emily and I went to Clovelly Beach to snorkel. I’m not sure it completely counts as a beach—I’d describe it as more of a cross between a beach and a swimming pool. It was enclosed with cement walls on either side of the beach, which made it really protected and calm, and thus great for snorkeling. We spent the time following a huge blue grouper, which let us swim right up to it and touch it! There are rumors of octopi there, but we didn’t see any. We did see lots of colorful fish and it was a great chance for me to play around with my GoPro a little more—Spring break is in 2 weeks which is crazy since we just got here! Emily and I are going to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Cairns. I can’t wait to see the Great Barrier Reef!
Sunday was windsurfing day, as wakeboarding didn’t work out (rough life, I know). We had a great view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge in the background. I got up on my first try, as soon as I remembered that you had to actually hold onto
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
This picture does not do this guy justice. He was massive and tried to eat my GoPro, but then again I did stick the camera in his face. the sail the entire time. I’m not sure why that was such a difficult concept for me to grasp, but after 2 times of picking up the sail and then dropping it, I had an epiphany that I should probably stop doing that.
Overall, Australia has been awesome thus far. This is my first abroad experience where I spend most of my days with Australians, not Americans. While it makes it a bit difficult to find people to travel with on the weekends since all the locals have been there done that, I think overall it’s a much more rewarding experience to be truly immersed within the local culture. I can’t wait for what the next 3 months have in store for me!
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Wally
non-member comment
Okay, so besides the fact that\'s you\'re pretty much the coolest person on the planet right now on an amazing continent, I see you mentioned joining Ultimate?! I have no doubts you\'ll be pro at it by the time you come back to the states so I say we should meet up and play when you come back! =]