Hey loyal followers! Sorry I've been neglecting you for a few days...they have a lot scheduled for us to get to know our surroundings and the people we will be living with so I haven't had a lot of time to do devote to writing about my experiences but now I do so bear with me as this may be a semi long one but hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed doing all of it. Oh and I met one of my roommates! She's from Indiana and she's super cool. She came here with 2 other girls who we've started hanging out with. They are all pretty cool, and are present for all of my adventures thus far.
So on Sunday I climbed Mt. Kiera and boy was it a hike! We started at 10am and didn't finish until 2:30pmish it was a long one. I should probably start out by saying that the night before we went out to our first Australian pub and got a little on the tipsy side. We walked back and drank lots of water so it wasn't like we were hungover this morning but it's probably not the best idea to drink alcoholic beverages and then go out and hike in a million degree weather with a million % humidity....life lessons to be learned :).
Just a short side note so that you understand what we're working with here. These Australians are the hardest partyers I think I've ever met! They start at 2 or 3 and don't stop until at least 11pm! WOW they make Zoomass look like amateurs. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday they started directly after lunch and didn't stop until well after my bedtime...I can only hope to learn their ways in the next four months and bring them back to the states where I will gladly teach anyone who is interested...for a small fee ;).
Saturday. There was a free bbq at a pub in town called the Charles, we thought "great free food, some cheap beers, awesome! Then we can come back eat dinner and get ready for tonight." We all got dressed in shorts and t-shirts and little to no make up and some flip flops (which they call thongs haha you can imagine my reaction sitting on the lawn during our bloc meeting while our RA's are telling us that shoes and thongs are acceptable in the dining room hahahaha I'm not sure but I think I was the only one immature enough to actually let out a short chuckle...gooood times). We got to the room where we were meeting a few of the people we were going to go with and they were all dressed up for a night out on the town, I'm talking dresses with full on make up and all did up hair...needless to say we were a bit underdressed, but we left with them anyway. We walked to a bus stop about 7 mins away and waited for about 10 mins for the bus to get there then the bus took us to literally the next bus stop where we got off and walked another 3 mins to the bar...the buses are air conditioned and it was a million degrees celcius so I guess it made sense. We got there at like 3ish and JO and I then realized we had forgotten our ID's haha woops...that's not like me you know to forget things =D. So we walked back and got them o and as we were leaving I tripped a little bit so I changed my shirt, hair and make up so no one would remember me haha by the time we were ready to go it was time for dinner so we waited for Jill and Erica to come back and we ate with them and then left again. (ps Erica and Jill and Jo are my friends from Umass that have made the trek around the world with me) We got to the pub and went straight to the bar where I got a cider beer which tasted like spiked apple juice yum. Only 4.20$. Stuff's expensive! There's was a live band outside in the back...yard i guess and lots of people dancing a little strangely but still dancing so that was fun. Then it started raining and the America crew that I came for ran for cover while the rest of the people cheered and kept going....we have a lot to learn.
Sunday. We woke up Sunday morning and went and ate some breakfast and then got ready for the hike. Oh and for a few of you loyal followers who probably read about me forgetting my socks well good news! I found 2 more pairs when I was unpacking so I was able to wear one of them on the hike. Sweeeeeet. We started by taking the free bus to campus and walking to the base of the mountain from there, a quick short walk. When we got to the start the RA's leading the way informed us that the hike is very strenuous and you need to stay hydrated and if you need to stop don't go down on you're own because you might get lost so you and a buddy will need to wait for everyone to come back down and get you...o and watch out for leaches....coooooool. Thank God I've been running like a hundred miles a week. O and ps we have to get back in time for your area meetings at 2:30 so this is going to be a fast hike. First group is the fast hikers aka the runners aka the insane people who want to die on the mountain...guess which group I was in...yuuuuup the first. Not that I'm complaining it was a great workout and totally worth it AND I got to be one of the first to the top which, if you know me, is a big deal...I like to be the first at everything =). Anyway we start our run with Jill and I in the faster than fast group and Erica and Jo and my water bottle in the normal smarter more enjoyable group. Well planned, well planned. We got about halfway up the mountain...at a 90 degree angle and stopped for a short rest. Luckily the RA's told us then that our meetings had been moved back to 4pm so we could slow down and enjoy ourselves...who said we weren't already?? I've always wanted to set a record for fastest mountain climb in HELL! The next half of the climb wasn't too eventful except for the part where we were literally rock climbing in a dried stream, not for beginners, and when the guy in front of us had an ant sink it's teeth into his thumb and latch on for a little bit, and the couple of leeches that found their way on to a few people, not me though thank God, I probably would have fallen off the mountain jumping around trying to get it off. We made it to the top and saw that there was a wedding going on, which was cool to see until I realized, WE COULD HAVE DRIVEN UP HERE?? NOT COOOOL! But even while I was thinking that I was looking at the most amazing view of Wollongong...which you are also now looking at. Gorgeous right??
We made it down with no hitches and walked back to the buses and back to our rooms to get ready for our theme party that night.....looooooooong day! So where I am living is called Campus East and in the area are different what they call blocs, I live in Slums with Jo, and Jill and Erica live in Hospital and then there is Trenchtown, and Alcatraz (I know right!!!). So my theme was superheroes, and Jill and Erica's theme was yup hospitals, then tribal trenchtown and yuuup cops and robbers for Alcatraz. It would have been really cool if they had told us about it maybe more than an hour before it was happening and if everything here didn't cost like a thousand million dollars. Needless to say we threw some stuff together, I went as Clark Kent in shorts, and a white t shirt tucked in with suspenders and my top sider shoes with Jo's glasses, and to top it off I drew the superman sign on a shirt that I wore underneath. I know...GENIUS! We went to a bar that was called a hotel and party hardied with other peeps I had a 5 dollar strawberry daquiri o and we played this ice breaker game where we each got nametags with half of a saying or pair on it and had to find our match. Mine was "G'day"....guess who I was looking for! yuuuup mate! :) It only took my all night to find him and when I finally did he wasn't nearly as excited to find his match as I was. Party pooper! We left after that and got back and all passed out. A night well spent :)
Monday. Pub Crawl. Nice. We bought super cool shirts that say "Quiet please, I'm trying to drink" perfect right??? Jill and I went shopping earlier in the day and got some necessities, like peanut butter, saltines, salt and vinegar chips, chocolate, o and the most important, 10$ boxed wine with some store brand sprite to mix it with...talk about classy with a k! We got back got ready, which was easy because everyone was wearing the same shirt, cut in some different fashion because it was not as fun regular like, and then pregamed...pregamed for a pub crawl...see we are learning! The bus picked us up at 3:45 from the front of the office and we headed to the north gong pub. The bus is definitely worth talking to it was like a limo with the way the seating was along the sides instead of in rows and it had lights on the top that changed colors sooo sick! We got to the pub and went upstairs and straight to the bar...duh :) I got a Pure Blonde....why you ask? because I liked the name. I budgeted one beer per bar...just FYI. We stood out on the porch, we danced, we watched some professional cricket on the telly and then we bounced, to the next bar, who's name has slipped my mind =D. This bar was the most fun after we got there and got our drinks, Toohey's New for me. We headed to the back where there was loud music dim lights and lots of dancing. SAAAWEEEET! We danced for an hour and a half and then headed to the next bar, there was nothing really spectacular about these bars but except the next one which had karaoke...hehe awww yeeeeyaahh! I got there and went straight to no not the bar to the karaoke line and chose a song, R-E-S-P-E-C-T nice right, after I forced my friends to do it with me, by putting their names on the card with mine then we got our drinks. Perfect timing because right after our names were called and we were up. All I have to say is that if Aretha Franklin had been in that bar last night, she would have looooooved our rendition...I JUST KNOW IT! We left to stage to a mixture of cheers and encores, ok maybe not encores but definitely cheers and headed to the back of the bar where we were told there was a free bbq. LIARS! After standing there pressed against sweaty, drunk college kids for at least 7 mins there was no more food left. So in our tipsy glory we decided to look elsewhere for food, and where is the best place to go for some drunk eats at 9 o'clock at night?? O yes Mickey D's! 4.75 for a cheeseburger, medium fries, small coke and a sundae?? Don't mind if I do! Best money I've spent so far. Then we made our way to the last bar where I chose not to buy another drink because I was already feeling good and because I had just eaten Mackey's (McDonald's to the Australians) We danced some more, sang loudly, not into a mic and then left, before the Australians....again...damn it! O well, Tuesday, orientation 9am...be there!
Tuesday. Orientation....well scheduled UOW (University of Wollongong) pub crawl the night before a mandatory orientation, that's just mean! Anyway they signed us in gave us a bag of papers with some free stuff and ushered us into a lecture hall where they talked at us for 2 and a half hours. Niceeee. Side note Campus=gorgeous! Sooo much green its ridiculous, like going to school in a rain forest, o wait that's what it is. Trees everywhere, natural shade, really cool looking and colourful (Australian spelling...dubbya tee eff??) plants. There were lots of booths set up ready to give out free stuff which was awesome, cause who doesn't like free stuff right?? We got our student ID pictures taken, heinous! and then ate lunch, pizza and fries or chips I should say, I know super healthy right? Then we left because we had to concede to our tired beat up bodies...oye. When we got back we decided to go for a run just to map out a route to do while here. Jill and I went one way while Jo and Erica headed toward the beach...did I mention it's about a 7 min walk, and maybe a 2 min run...rough life huh? Jill and I ran a route I made up as we went, we didn't get lost at all =D Then when we got back to campus we decided to run to the beach and meet Jo and Erica. The beach was gorgeous and empty. Blue water forever, some clouds overhead adding to the atmosphere, a cool breeze, and waves licking the sand where we were running. It was picturesque...wonderful, I'm pretty lucky :)
Nice right?? Welp That finishes it up for now. I hope you weren't too bored with it, because it was a little long. I'll try not to let so much time go by next time. Tomorrow I may go running again all the way down the beach to a light house but then again I might not cause I'm really looking forward to sleeping :) Adios US of A.
~Toni =)
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