“No worries, mate!”

“No worries, mate!” A common saying...Stereotypical but true based on my experience

Today is day 10 in Australia. I have found a place to live, made friends, met some Aussies, started classes and beginning to slowly integrate myself here.  

A few things...

International events: Last Friday the university put on an event for new international students at an outdoor adventure park called Treetop adventures: This event was totally up my alley considering I am a low and high ropes course facilitator back in the states (as many of you know). This park was a bit different though in the sense that it was mostly a recreational course (“just for fun”) rather than for team building and teamwork type building skills. It had a series of levels that the participant could take part in (red, green, blue, and black). Black was the most difficult and was quite challenging in some parts for me! One example: “Tarzan” was where you had to swing from a rope about 50 meters high in the air into a spider web looking net and then proceeding to climb to the nearest wooden platform. Oh and there were tons and tons of flying foxes (we call them zip lines). Pretty fun J  

Campus life: The campus has a myriad of events it puts on for the students. One of those is tomorrow a back to school party at a place called bar on the hill. Yes, this is an actual bar on the campus (we actually have two). It seems to me that in the U.S we are very formal and perhaps more “uptight” about drinking in a social setting compared to what I have found here. It makes me think that the strict rules we have in America actually end up causing more negative than if there were moderation and more of a mutual understanding between parties. Just some observations…(my sociological mind at work).

Another event happening is an AFL game is Sydney this Saturday which I will be attending. AFL stands for Australian football league. It is similar to rugby (“footy”) but with quite different rules. I honestly have no idea of the rules of the game so this will be an interesting experience. 

“Beach bums”: The beach is constantly occupied and full of life. There are always people surfing, jogging, biking, walking, playing beach volleyball, hang gliding, boogie boarding and laying by the beach (Hang gliding is something I would love to try!!). There are even ocean baths that people swim in that simply fill up every day with the natural ocean water providing a safe place for people to swim in. Do people work here I ask myself? The answer is yes, of course. Many people just make sure to hit the beach before the end of the day. Although with it getting dark around 5:30pm it makes the timing of things a bit difficult. That being said though….this is the life y’all.

I have seen some of the most beautiful sunsets here in Newcastle.

The other day I saw a boogie board competition happening on the beach outside my house! Never a dull moment. My roommate has a surf board I am going to try surfing with sometime soon!

Home sweet home <3

I reckon I better save heaps of things for a later post ;) I hear the words reckon and heaps all the time! I love the slogans here. There are some people with extremely think Aussie accents where I have to ask over and over what they are actually saying......