Chelsea's Australian Blog

28 February 2009

Sunny day! Not much new happened today but we did take the Ferry to Manly beach instead of trying to get there via the bus system. It was so much easier taking a train then the Ferry! We ended up buying a day pass that is good on the bus, trains, and ferries. They don’t give concessions (discounted priced tickets) on the day pass but the lady was super nice and gave me a child’s ticket in place of a concession ticket! I get concession because I am an exchange student, not a study abroad student. So the day pass costs $17 but I got it for $8.60.

We did stop at Starbuck’s before we got on the Ferry, which was very nice. We then loaded the Ferry and sat down on the second deck inside. The Ferry ride was about 25 minutes and very smooth, minus some minor rocking.

Once we got to the beach, I was surprised at how busy yet how not busy it was. Manly is definitely big enough to accommodate all the people who want to go there for a day. We ended up sitting at about the halfway point. We did apply sunscreen (I did SPF30). I looked around for Rachel because she was supposed to be there and it turns out she was only a few feet to our right diagonal.

We layed out for about three hours and then the sun went behind the trees that were behind us and we got cold. We then decided to head up to the corso and get some ice cream from Copenhagen’s. Once again, it was delicious. We went back out to the beach and hung out with Rachel and her friends for a little bit.

Towards the end of our stay, there was a public announcement regarding Blue Bottles. Blue bottles look like jellyfish, but they really aren’t, I tried to figure it out on Wikipedia, but it was slightly confusing. There more common name is the Portuguese Man o’ War. The announcement said that there is no immediate cure for stings and the only effective way to even help it a little bit was to remove the stinger and rinse with fresh water. However, I checked on Wikipedia and it said that washing it with fresh water actually made it worse. I am not about to experiment.

Apparently, the blue bottles were washing up on shore quite frequently. There was a onshore wind that aided in that and the surf was going out. We saw about three people get stung. It did not look fun.

Around 5 o’clock we headed back via the fair and train. We were so tired and just went right back to my apartment and made dinner. During dinner we watched “Kiss the Girls” with Morgan Freeman. It was kinda scary but not too freaky. Carrie then went home around 10pm and I crashed.

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 27 2009

What an exciting day! Carrie, Dana, Hannah, and I all went into Sydney. We took the free train line from Macquarie University to Chatswood to transfer over to Western line to get to Wynard Station. However, when we go to Wyndard station, we did not have a ticket since we boarded on the free line. Oops! So we made Dana talk to the rail security guy and he let us through the gate. Well, we learned.

The trains on the new Chatswood to Epping line are really nice. They, like all the trains in Sydney, are double deckers and the seats flip around so you can either sit facing each other or it can be traditional row seating. You might just have to see it. I am not sure if I am explaining that well enough. Anyways, since the line was new, the trains was super comfy and smooth. The train stations were also new and very nice. The Macquarie University one reminded me of a theatre or concert hall. It is very big.

So we got into Sydney and then it was time to hunt down a Starbucks for my mug. We walked down George Street until we got to the Wharf and turned right. There it was. My first Australian Starbucks. Thank goodness! I splurged and ordered an iced mocha (skim milk of course). However, they did not have the Starbuck’s city mugs. I asked the guy at the counter and he said they were very hard to find, so if I did find one, I should definitely buy it. We resolved to try and find another one later.

Carrie ordered a white mocha frappucino, it was so good! The barista suggested getting the whip cream blended in, I think that sounds fantastic! We then walked down along the street that Starbucks was on and found a souvenir shop that sold Australian Uggs. Now, Australian Uggs have a different tag on them but they cost the same and are apparently made by the same people. Later that day we also found a “traditional” Ugg store and boy was it amazing!

We then had lunch at this café on the same street. I had this really good chicken sandwhich on Turkish bread (which is pretty much an obsession here) and it came with a small salad. The sun started to come out about this time and it started to warm up.

After lunch, we headed down to McDonalds to get 30 cent ice cream. Yep, it is the cheapest dessert you can buy in Australia, I am pretty positive. They actually give you a pretty good amount of ice cream for how much you pay! I was extremely happy.

We then went to the opera house. Oh my gosh, the first time I saw it was running by it trying to catch a cruise. It was nice to take in the site and revel in the moment. The building is gorgeous in its own artistic sense and it was great to walk up the steps and get close to it. We went in to see if we could get tickets for a show. The box office lady was really nice and we ended up getting tickets for the 21st of March to see “The Best of the West Side” which is a compilation of songs played by the Sydney Orchestra from famous musicals. It should be very fun. We have the last row however, but at least it is just music and it only cost us $35AUD! I will let you know how it goes.

We then continued on our walk and went back up George Street. We basically just wandered until we found a street that looked somewhat interesting and then turned up it. By chance, we found the shopping district so we stopped in at Tiffany’s, Chanel, and George Jones (? a kind of Australian Saks).

Next, we came across this park that had a really cool mythical fountain in the middle (see Facebook album soon) and a church off to the side. We walked around the park for a little bit and then went into the church, St. Mary’s. It was absolutely gorgeous. The rafters were gorgeously cut and styled wood and it was styled in true Catholic fashion. The outside was made of what I believe is sandstone and it was so pristine that I could not believe my eyes.

At this point, we picked another street to walk up and ended up walking past the hospital, which was in this older style building, it looked like a very scary hospital. We also found two museums and the banking district.

So, we headed back to George Street after awhile and tried to find the next Starbucks,. Little did we know that it was way up this huge hill directly across form the next train station. It was a very long walk. So we went into that Starbucks and I was able to find the Sydney city mugs. They also had an Australian one, but I figured I could buy that one if I ever went to a city that did not have their own city mug. So I picked up two and then we headed back to the train station to go home.

Along the way we crossed this enormous amount of people waiting outside of this theatre. On the scrolling screen above them it said that McFly was showing/coming that day. I have no clue who this is, I will do some research. They were all teenage looking and carrying signs or wearing t-shirts that said McFly.

The train ride home was not bad at all, I am so happy that we have the line that connects to Macquarie now, it is cheaper and much more comfortable. Once we arrived back at the station, Dana, Carrie and I went to the store to pick up some stuff while Hannah went to go on her run. After a long day it was nice to relax and watch some tv.

Overall, I have to say Sydney is a really easy town to get around. I really enjoyed just wandering because eventually you will get tired of walking up a hill or you will hit the water. Makes it easy for navigation and horrible map-readers like myself! I think the next trip into the city will have to be to the Botanical gardens. I might make a day of it and take a nice book! I might also have to explore some of the museums but I think I will save that more for the rainy days that I am sure are to come.

Tomorrow is Manly beach again! Talk to you soon!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 26, 2009

Today was the day I had nothing to do but go to the gym and make dinner. I have no class today so I got up around 10am after my night out and went to get coffee. I then proceeded to sit outside of McDonald’s using their internet. I checked my e-mail and stalked people on Facebook. Oh yeah, it was productive. Wait! It was! I did do my probability quiz minus the last three questions which looked scary.

After all of this

OMG! I just saw a cockroach! I am all alone in the sitting room and it ran across the floor! Ah! I threw my post it note carrier that Tati gave me (which I am using!) at it. It ran under the couch. Ew ew ew.

Anyways, after all of the internet time at McDonalds, I went to Woolworth’s, got more Turkey and an onion bagel and headed back to the apartment to make my lunch. During lunch and for about 2 hours afterwards, I watched tv and surfed the internet. I did not feel very productive. However!!!! I did get to talk to Emma, Tati, and Robbie either on gmail or skype, which was very nice; I needed a little dose of back-home friendship.

Around 5:30 I went to the gym to meet up with Carrie. We did Cardio for about an hour and then went up to the group fitness room and did the Ab Blaster class. Liesal as teaching it, she taught the body step class that nearly killed me. It was a very nice class.

On the way back, I stopped at the Co-op bookstore and bought all my books for the semester. Thank goodness for only three classes! It only came to $130AUD! Not bad for a semester of books! It helped that my probability class does not have a book, just lecture notes we have to print off.

I then came home, made my usual dinner, and then watched a very old episode of Grey’s Anatomy that was labelled new for here. I am now sitting here doing next week’s homework and listening to Kanye West.

Tomorrow Carrie, Hannah, and I are going to Sydney to check for a Starbuck’s mug. We are taking the new train line to Chatswood because it is free for the first 100 days, and then we are going into the town. We might go to the beach afterwards if it is nice. If not, Saturday is supposed to be gorgeous so we might wait until then.

Goodnight everyone and I will talk to you soon!

P.S. No news on the internship yet. Sad day.

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 04:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 25, 2009

The second day of classes came with somewhat of a scare. I got up, got coffee, went to the gym and walked home. When I got home, I had a lovely e-mail sitting in my inbox about my transfer credits. I got the dreaded .75 credits. I literally went into panic mode because if I could not take my internship I might just loose it.

So I started collecting information and unite outlines and sent the registrar and Stacy West, the international advisor at my home institution. The very long e-mail detailed pretty much everything about the courses I am taking, I have to say it was pretty impressive. I then Facebooked Ildi, who was here two semesters ago, about how many credits she got hers to transfer as, which of course was a full Willamette credit.

After I e-mailed all of this off I got an auto-reply message that the head registrar would be out of the office until Monday. Why is this a problem you may ask? The add/drop deadline is this Friday. I then called mom, because my phone would not let me call the registrar for some reason, and asked her to call them when they opened up. Hopefully this will all get worked out.

Anyways, good news, my internship application got sent off yesterday morning! I should hopefully hear back soon. Also, Carrie agreed to go get Tim Tams at the mall because she had to pick up the pictures from her underwater camera that she used in Cairns. I, unfortunately, forgot my wallet so Carrie spotted me the $3 I needed to buy my stress-relieving Tim Tams. I will buy her the next coffee we have together in exchange.

Oh! I forgot to mention my first tutorial. It was pointless. It was for Australian Media and we did not have our regular tutor there, it was, instead, a grad student doing his dissertation on Turkish theatre. He read from the unit outline in a monotone, slightly choppy, voice. This torture came after he made us talk to the person next to us and then introduce them. The whole class put me right back in high school. I sat next to Elise who is from the North Beaches, has lived in Sydney her whole life, and she has an orange cat named George. There.

I have also officially memorized my MQ student ID number. It is not as cool as my Willamette ID number though they do share some things in common:

1. They consist of only number.
2. A lot of those numbers repeat.
3. I use that number for identification purposes.
4. The ID card that has my ID number on it has cash behind it.

I have yet to figure out the printing situation on campus. I say this because my probability class requires that I print off the lecture notes before each class. I will have to do that soon.
More on my probability class, the lecture is pretty big. There are grad students there who have to take the lectures for another statistics course they are taking but I am not the only girl, thank goodness. The lecturer, which they call conveners here, is probably around 30 and is foreign as well. He wore a purple headband/scarf thing to keep his very nice hair back. The lecture was a little bit elementary and the content was easy to understand. I hope the rest of the lectures are like that because the final is worth 60% of my grade. Ah!

I have been asked to explain the difference between tutorials and lectures. Here it is:

Tutorials: this is a smaller class where you discuss topics that were mentioned in lecture and get your assignments. You are assigned a tutor who leads these discussions and clarifies any question about the class. Sometimes the tutor is the convener or lecturer but not always. It can be a grad student. You also do any presentations for the class during the tutorials. You usually only have one tutorial a week for about an hour.

Lecture: these are usually held in a larger room or lecture hall (called theatres here) and can range anywhere from 50-500 people. These are usually not a forum to ask questions but more of a time to simply listen and learn.

After my lectures were over, I went home and my roommates were getting ready to go over to the Ranch. For those who do not know what the Ranch is, imagine a bar/club style place in a hotel. Wednesday is Uni night so all university students get in for free or something like that and then between 8 and 11 the drinks are cheaper.

I decided, since I don’t have class tomorrow, to go out with them and some of the friends that they had made in the Parklands, wehre I live. It was tons of fun and lot of the girls came over to our apartment to get ready and hang out beforehand. It has been great getting to know some of them. It is also interesting to go into other peoples’ apartments and see the differences. Some of them are a little bit nicer than others… Rachel, Dana, and I decided ours was somewhere in the middle due to the ants in the bathroom.

Anyways, I buddy-ed up with Dana because she has class tomorrow and we set a time limit to be home by 12:30am. Everything went well, there were two dance floors, lots of people and an outside patio that was packed but nice mainly because of the breeze.

I then came home, had water, milk, and oreos (not all at once) and then finally headed to bed. All in all, it was a pretty good day. I am not sure what I am going to do tomorrow considering I have no classes but I think I will find something.

Ta ta for now! Mwah!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 06:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 24, 2009

Today was my first day of classes! There was nothing major that really happened. I went to my first class, International Communication Campaigns, and this was the one class that I was not registered for the lecture. There were so many people in the lecture and I stayed afterwards to talk to the professor. She sounded as though she was not willing to accommodate me and I had a hard time getting the point across that I wanted to be in the class and could not change anything due to my Study Abroad status.

Anyways, the tutorial was not compulsory this week but I went to the tutorial that I want to see if I could schmooze my way into that tutorial. I finally explained the situation without a whole bunch of people around and got the TA to take down my name and ID number. Hopefully it all works out, I think I will drop this class if I don’t get the Tuesday tutorial and I get my internship. We shall see.

I then went to the mall with Carrie to do some grocery shopping. I resisted the temptation to buy Tim Tams but did get a bottle of Fuze. Now Fuze is different than the Fuze in the states. IT is 99% fruit juice with bubbles. It is so good. I have the passionfruit one. Carrie suggested them to me and I think I might have biceps of steel after carrying them up the hill to my apartment.

Afterwards, I got to talk to Mom and Dad for a little bit, with a brief hello from Kyle. It was good to talk to them after such a stressful morning trying to figure out my class.

Lets see…then I went to my next class, Australian Media. I think I am going to enjoy this class. It sounds exactly like Persuasion, Media, and Propoganda, a class that is offered at WU. It was so funny though. The professor asked how many of us had just been in Australia for a week, about 40 of us raised are hands and there was this slight sound of brief astonishment. I guess it is not that surprising because it is a 100 level class and most, if not all, the Australians there are freshmen. I am excited for the section on Americanisation it should be interesting! Oh, did I mention that there are 500 in that class!?

The next class was right across the way. It was Introduction to Reading Contemporary Music. I sat next to this really nice Australian girl and she asked me my age and after I replied she said “Wow, you are a lot older than me!” Yeah, that made me feel good. What are you? 15? Oh well.

The first thing the professor did was have us listen to 11 contemporary songs and try and name the song and artist. I sucked. I guessed part of a remix/blend of Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious,” a Beetle’s song, and a Beach Boys’ song. I think that earned me about 2 points which was slightly below the average. There was one song by the Carter family and another by Bob Dylan. I failed.

Furthermore, in my last two classes we got a hand out called a course outline. It was printed all nice and had the MQ logo. It had the syllabus in it and everything. It will be very nice to take back to the registrar at Willamette. It also had the books and suggested readings. My plan is to go early in the morning on Thursday or Friday and get all of my books. They only have one small store for all 30,000 students. I will also be trying to share a book with my roommates for one of my classes!

Overall, my classes were pretty fun. I hope the music class is not too challenging and that being an American does not hinder me too much in my Australian media class.

After my music class, I went to a Revmaster (cycling) class with Carrie at the Gym. Wow. I have been to some hard cycling classes and this one was right up there. We had to do jumps (sitting for four, standing for four) through an entire song. I thought I was going to die. I just have to keep reminding myself: “Legs of steel, legs of steel.”

Next it was home for a well-deserved dinner of pasta, spicy sauce, and half a chicken burger. I am now obsessed with chicken burgers. They taste so good and are very filling. Although I do cook them in olive oil on the stove…

Well, tomorrow is another day. I have my first math class and an Australian Media tutorial. I have an awkward 3-hour break in between them tomorrow since I don’t have my music tutorial.

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 23, 2009

I would be completely happy if I never had to see another hill again! Between walking all over campus and going to the gym for hard cardio workouts, I think that my legs just might actually fall off.

Monday I have no classes so I pretty much had to fill my day with nothing. However, I did have an internship orientation meeting at 9am. I went with my roommate Rachel and we got there just in time to get the comfy seats. I don’t think anything starts on time here. But that is beside the point.

The meeting was fine, I didn’t really learn anything I did not know but I am excited to see if I get an interview at my #1 choice. I should hopefully find out early this week. After the meeting, my next scheduled appointment was never. So, I went and got coffee and was fortunate enough to talk to Emma and Tati while using the free WiFi at McDonald's. It was so good to see them and make fun of their adventures! I then sauntered back to my apartment so I could watch the Oscars and have lunch.

It was pretty nice to be on this side of Australia! We got to watch the Oscars live from Hollywood at noon our time, before even the west coast could. It seemed like they were slightly obsessed with the Oscars because Hugh Jackman was hosting and Heath was up for an Oscar. Way to go Australia!

After that, I met Carrie outside of the gym to walk to the pond on campus. We laid out there for about an hour (with plenty of sunscreen) and then went back to her place. We then watched the end of the Oscars and headed to the gym for our 4:30pm BodyStep class.

I don’t think I have every worked so hard in a step class before. Yikes! I about died! I really did not think I was going to make it up the hill to my apartment! But I did. Then it was pasta and chicken burgers for dinner followed by a dessert of Tim Tams. And don’t forget the results show of “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Tomorrow school begins, finally. I am ready to start exercising my brain and not just my legs! I hope I can find the third floor of W6B!

I will let you know how it goes!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

February 22 2009

Today was not a very exciting day so I might actually get to write a short blog entry! I first went to the mall a little early this morning to get coffee but first I went looking for Yoga pants and a sweat towel. I ended up just going to Target and getting a fun colored hand towel hoping it works fine and to Big W for the sweat pants. At least I won’t have to worry about those things now.

I then had lunch and went ot the gym to meet up with Carrie at 2:30pm. Three days in a row! Here we go! I like the gym here, it is big enough for me and they offer tons of amazing and free classes.

At the end of my workout, I try to go and open my locker and it says I have the wrong pin. I always use the same one so I know this could not be true. I then went to the front desk to ask for help. As it turns out, I had the one locker that does not work. Oh well, at least I know it was not my fault!

After the gym I came home, took a shower, and watched the end of Fight Club which is a movie I am going to have to watch again to make sure I get all of the finer details. After that I was getting really bored because I have absolutely nothing to do and no one who I can call. So I turn on the television and “Biggest Loser: Couples” and “So You Think You Can Dance” are both on. Of course they are the Australian versions, but the set up is the same.

On “SYTYCD” they have the same style host with blond hair, tall, and fashion forward. They were all pretty good dancers. It is at this time that I learned that the Oscars would be shown live from Hollywood here in Australia at noon my time! Yay! Something to do tomorrow afternoon since I have nothing better to do!

I have an internship meeting tomorrow so I will let you know how that goes.

Anyways, ta ta for now!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 01:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 21 2009

Today was a very good day. We had the whole day planned out and I was excited from the beginning. First, we went to the gym for a Fat Burning class. The instructor was really cool. The class was not that intense but it was a nice break from the harder workouts that we have been doing. I only got a slightly nasty look when I did not have a gym towel. I will have to go and buy one tomorrow before I have to face her again!

So then we went to catch the bus to Manly. We caught the 290 and headed towards Manly. We asked the bus driver to point out our stop. It is quite irritating that none of the stops are marked. I would not know when to get off the bus to transfer to 143 unless I lived nearby!

We caught the transfer bus just fine and made it to Manly, although there was a lot of traffic. We got off the bus and there was this really nice guy who pointed us in the right direction.

I believe they called the main road through town (which is al pedestrian traffic) the Corso. We met up with Carrie’s friend Danielle by Coles, a sort of supermarket, right when it started to thunder and rain. Perfect day to go to the beach, right? Danielle goes to APU with Carrie and is studying abroad at Macquarie’s business school in Manly. There are only international students there and they have to wear uniforms. Also, their school is a castle. Pretty legit.

Danielle showed us to this place that she wanted to go for lunch, which she had not tried, called “fresh at Manly.” I ordered my non-fat latte and a tuna sandwich and on a brown roll.. The coffee was great and the sandwich was pretty good as well except for the slightly sweet taste to the sauce they put on the tuna.

By then, the sun had cleared up a little bit and so we walked down the middle of the corso to the Westpac ATM to withdraw money. Here we ran into one of Danielle’s friends from school and she went with us to the ice cream place that had a German name. I cannot remember what it was called but it was delicious! They dip their cones in chocolate right in front of you. It was so good!

The ice cream is slightly different here because it is not as sweet. I think I actually prefer it this way because then you can add sprinkles and fudge sauce to make it that much better. At the ice cream parlour in Manly you could get unlimited sprinkles and fudge sauce. It was delicious!

After this the rain was still holding off so we decided to walk along the beach. It was actually very nice weather to do this. We started at the far end and walked towards the rocks at the other end. We saw dead jellyfish and birds eating fish they had just caught.

I was surprised at how little space there was for swimming and how much there was for surfing! You can only swim between the red and yellow flags and the rest if for surfers. I guess it makes sense since the surfing culture is huge here and you can still dip your feet in the water along the whole beach.

So we walked down the stretch of the beach and came to the end where there were rocks that you could climb around. We went up a few stairs and looked back at the beach. It was gorgeous.

Near these rocks, right at the end of the beach before they begin, there is a swimming pool. Now this swimming pool is filled with sea water that is let in by a drain in the middle that is level with the ocean on the outside. So anything that gets shoved to the far corners stays. The water was disgusting. I would never even set foot in it if someone paid me.

After the rocks, we went back up the beach and checked out the market off one of the side streets. There were these really pretty handmade dresses and pearl jewellery. There were also these really cool oil paintings that were way too big to carry home but still gorgeous.

When you get up off the beach in the main section of town, there are these water “fountains” that come up from the ground. You can wash your feet off or your surfboard right there. It is so nice. They also have fresh water dispensers to fill up your water bottle with right in the middle of the street. They were “provided” by Culligan Water. Carrie tried it and said the water was okay but warm.

I am pleasantly surprised at how sustainable Australia is as a whole. There are a lot of recycling cans next to garbage cans in the cities and you can find places to fill up your water bottle relatively easy. They seem to be very water and energy conscience. I think Willamette could actually learn a few things from the Aussies!

We then sat on the boardwalk for a little bit before heading home. We met Hilary and…another one of Danielle’s friends from school and then walked to the bus. The bus ride back was much shorter since the traffic had cleared up and we made it back to the Macquarie Centre relatively easy.

We then went to the grocery store where I picked up Tim Tams, Tupperware, pasta, sauce, and apples for the next week. And then said goodbye to Carrie, made plans for tomorrow, and went our separate ways.

I was so exhausted when I got back to my apartment that I made dinner, watched a little bit of Junior with my flat mates, then went to bed. I also watched the beginning of fight club to make sure that I could fall asleep and stay asleep until at least 8am. All in all, it was a very nice day.

There is something that I am not sure people realize before they travel to Sydney and the surrounding areas. There are a lot of hills. One is constantly walking up and down the hills. I guess I thought that being a coastal town that Sydney would be pretty flat, at least in some parts, but it is not. Macquarie along has hills that, as Carrie and I say, will cause us to have thighs of steel by the time we are done with our studies here!

I also learned today that they have a Biggest Loser Australia. I believe it is on Wednesday nights and is filmed near Manly Beach. The host is blond (surprise!) and they are on a couples season as well. One more thing we Americans and Aussies have in common!

NOTE: I am using English AUS because that is how all of my papers for school will have to be written. Goodbye ‘z’ in organisation!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, today was a refreshing day. I got up early, took a shower, and met Carrie at the mall to go to coffee at Georgia Jean’s. It has been my goal to find a nice and level headed bistro while here and I think I found one! I think the trick is that the good ones work in the morning. The lady was so nice, gave us punch cards, talked to us, asked where we were from, etc. I ordered my usual regular non-fat latte and a slice of blueberry bread. It was delicious!

After ordering, we went over to McDonald’s to use their internet. I uploaded pictures onto Facebook and got my card all ready for the next tourist attraction.

We then left the mall and went to go get the final few signatures we needed for our classes. I had to get two. First, I went to the Music Department (which is included with media stud ies. The professor seemed amazingly cool and was more than reassuring that my tone deafness and lack of rhythm would not hinder me. Phew.

The next stop was International Communication. The building was a little tricky to find, but I managed. The professor was on the phone when I got there and so Carrie and I waited next to the air conditioning unit. It felt so good after such a hot day. I did not want to leave.

All in all, enrolling in classes went fairly well. I am not sure if a class every truly fills up here or if they just adjust the location as need be. I will let you know how that goes.

So as it stands, I will be taking:

MUS100: Introduction to Music Theory
ICOM202: International Communication Campaigns
STAT273: Intro to Probability
MAS104: Australian Media

I will have to drop either the ICOM or MAS class if I get an internship. I am really happy with my schedule and I do not have classes on Monday! Yay!

So after dropping off our Add/Drop forms in the office, we decided to check out the international student chill out zone and have the free bbq lunch they provided. It was pretty chill (ha! The irony!) Not many people were there. I had a piece of multigrain bread with tomato sauce/ketchup, and a sausage. Yep, that was my lunch!

Next it was off to the gym to get our memberships! It was a fairly easy process and the $40 a month covers a lot of stuff! The gym has programming that is free to members, the lockers are free, the classes are free, and the water fountains have a special spigot for water bottles. It was a great workout to. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

After our wonderful workout, we parted ways and I decided to try the wireless on campus. I actually got it to work on the first try, which was impressive. I proceeded to check e-mail, facebook, etc. then Dad skyped me! Yay! But I had no battery left so I headed back home to change and get ready to head back to Carrie’s to watch a movie with friends.

Tomorrow is the beach, or at least that is the plan. We will see how the weather goes. The new train station opens on Sunday at the Macquarie center so we might try that out too.

Talk to you soon!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

February 19th

Today is a day that just seemed to drag on and on. First it was Orientation day. We got a lot thrown at us but it was all pretty useful information. The day opened with a Welcome to Country talk from a man of the Dark People. He was an elder and who had worked in the community his whole life. His speech seemed to have no point and the main element I remember is him saying a few sentences about the importance of respect. I am sure he meant well, but the talk was slightly disorganized.

They continued to talk about Australian culture and about the importance of meeting Aussies. There was even a Vegemite challenge where five people ate a piece of bread that had a thick layer of vegemite on it. It was disgusting but hilarious to watch them down it. We then adjourned for lunch where they served us Subway.

The second half of the day was much more dense. We learned about enrolling and registering and how to get everything settled to actually go to school. I am currently enrolled in only one class but that is going to change!

We talked about concession cards and how to get one. Concessions are subsidized public transport by the Australian Government. Study Abroad students are not eligible for them but as an Exchange student, I am. They are free to get and offer you 50% on all public transport.

We also learned about the gym. It is $40AUD a month but after the conversion rate it really is not that bad. There are a lot of different things that the gym offers so I think I will get my money’s worth.

At the end, my program adviser talked about the cruise that was happening that night on the Sydney Harbor and asked the ISEP Exchange students to stay. At this point we finally received our food stipends! Yay! I can use them at the grocery store and a few places like Target.

It was around three o’clock when this all ended, and I decided to try and get some of the professors’ signatures in order to add and drop classes. It is a process very similar to Willamette’s but on a MUCH bigger campus.

I ended up only getting to go to talk to one professor in the Statistics department. He was very nice and helped me find the right class to take. I decided on STAT273 which is still theory but more applied. He said unless I wanted to be doing calculus my whole weekend, I should take this class.

So then I went to the mall to grab a few things from the grocery store and headed home to get ready for the cruise. Carrie met me at my apartment at 5 and we walked to the bus stop in front of E3A to meet up with my Blue Mountain friends. We had a very hard time getting the right bus. We finally got on a bus around 6:10pm with about 30 other people going to the same spot. We were cutting it close.

Did I mention that this cruise had an 80’s theme? Oh yes, we had about the whole bus dressed in 80’s outfits. I decided not to dress up, I really don’t have anything that works well enough!

So we get finally across the Sydney Harbor Bridge and to our stop. It is 7:00pm: the boat was supposed to leave promptly at 7. We start running towards the Opera House. So there is a group of about probably 25 running from one side of the Opera House to the other. We estimated that it was probably 1.2 km full out run.

Luckily, they had held the boat for us. We got on all sweaty and went upstairs to enjoy the wind and the sites. I have never seen anything quite like it before. I have to say it is the prettiest harbor I have every seen. The bridge was phenomenal and people who were doing the bridge walk waved to us and there was something so surreal about the whole situation that I think I need to go back a few times to wear off the shock.

The Opera House is SO much better in person. The color looks much better in person. I personally think that the Opera House looks a little dingy in pictures, no offense. It is big but not too big. There must have been a concert going on because there were people in suits wandering around. Carrie and I both want to go to a play there, just to say we did.

The harbor side of the Opera House was gorgeous, the glass is slightly tinted but you can see the grandeur that is inside. While it still may look like a stegosaurus, it is more an art piece than a building.

Travel suggestion: Take a cruise on the harbour that departs around 7 in the summer. That way you get a daytime shot and a nighttime shot of the Sydney Harbor. There is a true beauty to the harbor during the day and a stunning brilliance to the harbor at night that is worth experiencing as a transition.

It was lovely to hang out with some of my friends that I have met along the way and to see the sights and take some pictures (which are now on Facebook). We docked back around 10pm and then had another adventure…

So, we found the bus stop within 15 minutes. However, the next bus that came arrived in 15, so we waited. During this time, about 70 people, who had been on the boat with us, showed up, making the line excessively long. The first bus came by and did not stop. The second bus came by and tried to stop but people were too close to the curb so it pulled away. The third bus came by and did not stop. It was now 11:40pm.

Then, by some miracle, I got a phone call from one of my friends and she said that we needed to go to QVB (Queen Victoria Building) to get on the last 188 bus to Epping that left at 12:10am. Well, we got there and the bus arrived just as we were getting there but there was about 40 other people waiting to get on this bus.

Luckily, we thought, the bus was empty, but as people started filing in we realized that not all of us were going to fit and we were at the back of the line. So that bus filled up, left, and we were stranded.

Someone had asked the bus driver if there was anything we could do but he said that he would call another bus to come and get the 20 people who were stranded. I was not sure this could actually be done so I called the 131500 number for transport information and asked. They did not have it in their records. So our only option would be to take a cab that would be about $15 each.

Carrie and I decided to wait for a while longer to see if someone did come to pick us up. Other stayed with us but most caught a cab. Some of Carrie’s friends who we were with decided about 10 minutes after the last bus left to get a cab. Right as they were pulling away, another 188 bus pulled up. I was so ecstatic I could not even believe it!

Out of all of this I learned to always carry a timetable, travel in groups of multiples of 4, and to be patient. A group of guys were with us on the last bus and as it turns out they live upstairs from me in Unit 18. They were very nice and walked me home. There was one thing wrong with them however, they did not know what a Tim Tam was, shame.

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 08:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is February 18th. I got up early this morning to take a shower and jumpstart my day and it turns out that was a good thing. Hannah and I had breakfast together and she invited me to go to the mall to see if we could get some free Wifi from the McDonalds.

While sitting there enjoying the use of wifi on my laptop finally, I tried to fix my phone. Apparently, there was something wrong with my activation and so I had to call around to get things all sorted out.

I ordered a coffee today at this place and I said that I wanted a 12oz latte. The cashier looked at me at asked what size, I said 12oz and she asked “Small?” To this I replied yes, and she charged me for 12 small lattes! I never really thought about the fact that Australia does not use ounces, they use liters.

Anyways, while I was sitting there, I was next to the Macquarie Center ice skating rink. There were these elderly men and women practicing their skating moves. It was very fun to watch!

Not much exciting happened on this day. I am kind of grateful that I had a day without any major issues or events. I am excited to start school and get going.

I would like to comment on the traffic here. I have no real issue with it. I have actually gotten used to the fact that they drive on the left hand side. Perhaps it is because they have notices on the ground at the beginning of cross walks telling you which way to look. It definitely helps. Apparently, cars hit a lot of tourists during the year because they looked the wrong way! I am determined to not be one of them!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is February 17th and I had a horrible nights sleep. I know I slept but it feels like I did not. I can remember laying in my bed thinking. My roommate came in late from Sydney and I was awake before she got there. I can hear the road from my room and any conversation that someone is having within a block radius. I am going to try earplugs tonight.

I went to Target today. It is a lot more expensive to buy stuff here. I went and got a pillow, throw blanket, and a hair dryer and straightner. I also found a coffee shop that was pretty good and reasonably priced. I am excited to try all of them to see which one is my favorite.

They call Rice Crispies Rice Bubbles here. It is interesting to see how they change the names of certain things. I will be sure to write them all down.

I had my interview today for my internship. It went really well. They had some really cool and exciting places for me to choose from. They gave me about five options and then I had to rank the top three.

My first choice was to work at Westpac Bank which is the largest bank in Australia and I would help with their corporate cocktail parties (I am really glad I brought my red dress) and their awards ceremony. I really want this one because it is EXACTLY what I am thinking about doing with my life. I would work in their office in downtown Sydney with their Communications and Events Committee.

The other two I ranked (they were both about the same for me) were for the Cancer Council of NSW and O2 Speakers, a small business that brings in speakers from the US. All of the internships were exactly what I have been looking for. I was beyond happy that they were able to find internships that fit my specifications just perfectly.

The only thing I am worried about is the commute. It will take at least an hour to get to all of these places. However, they are about to open a new train station about three blocks from my apartment that should cut the amount of time it takes to get to Sydney down.

After my interview, I had lunch with Carrie and we walked to building C5C to get our ID cards. Like the horrible people we are, we did not have our acceptance letter from Macquarie on us and so we got the stink eye. They still gave us the ID card. We are going to get a Concession stamp I think tomorrow so we can get discounted prices on our bus tickets! Yay!

We then went back to my apartment where I misplaced my black jacket. I will find it eventually. I had never seen The Duchess so we watched that before heading to Woolworths to meet up with my friends that I met in the Blue Mountains. We planned the day before to get together and have dinner. We bought spaghetti makings and then headed to Amanda’s apartment in the Village to make it.

Carrie and I cooked it all up. It was so much fun to talk with friends with an Australian Shiraz by Oomoo. We had such a great time and I was glad that Carrie got to meet the people who I went on the Blue Mountains trip with. After dinner, we learned the lyrics to Land Down Under. Those are the most interesting lyrics I have ever heard. I usually, like most people, simply mumble the parts I do not know and wait for the amazing chorus. We had so much fun just hanging out and joking about being exchange students and about our different backgrounds. It is amazing how much we have in common.

Carrie and I then went back to her place, ate Tim Tams, and I checked my e-mail. We started to watch Twilight, but alas, we fell asleep and that was the end of the night…

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 02:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Woot! I am back from the Blue Mountains! It was so much fun! On Sunday, we went to the Jenolan caves and toured the Lucas cave named after the government official who wrote the law that no one could take anything from the caves (i.e. snap off crystals). It was a lot of fun.

Our tour guide was a little interesting but he was young and I think he will make a great one in about a year or two. He told us about the chapel chamber where concerts are held. There was a light show in the chamber to the Symphony of Mettalica. It was pretty cool.

There was also this slide section with a “Full Stop Rock” at the end. IN the olden days when people would go into the caves they used to slide down this particularly smooth section. Their lunch would go between their legs and then they would hold onto the gunny sack with their left hand, the rope in their right and a candle in their mouth to light the way. Men with beards were in danger of being incinerated and if your candle blew out the guide would not be able to see you so you would run right into full stop rock.

The Lucas cave is the largest of all the Jenolan caves, 10 of which are open to the public. In total there are over 100 caves in the Jenolan cave system. The most famous rock structure is in the Lucas cave and is called the broken column.

Next we went to the Bindi Cabins to see Kangaroos in the wild. It was so awesome!!! We were walking down the road in the middle of a forest and you look over and there one is! It really messed with my sense of reality. I have always thought of Kangaroos as animals that lived out in the sunny desert, not in the forest. There was about 15 of them and they just hopped along. I have never seen anything like it.

We then went to this lookout point called Govett’s Leap. We really could not see much but there was this gorgeous waterfall that, once the fog cleared, we could see the top.

We then when back to the hostel to have a sausage sizzle for dinner. But beforehand, some friends and I ended up having an impromtu chocolate party. We all had some form of chocolate that we put in the middle and shared. It started with Nutella and then we had chocolate covered macadamia nuts and chocolate with hazelnut., etc. There was so much to eat! We had a great time.

Speaking of chocolate, Tim Tams are my new favorite cookie, much like Principes were in Spain. They are utter chocolate (and sometimes caramel) deliciousness. I will have to bring some home.

After dinner, we talked to Leigh, our driver, about Aussie slang and we had a really great time making fun of him. It was six girls against one man and so I think he was slightly outnumbered. We also tried VB, Victoria Bitter, which is an Australian beer that might be comparable to our Bud or Miller.

The next morning, on the 16th of February, we had to check out of our hostel after breakfast at 10. But afterwards we went on a bushwalk. We began at Echo point. We were actually able to see the three sisters and the sky opened up a little so we could see the sun.

Legend of the three sisters: One legend goes that the three sisters were turned to stone by there father to protect them from a strange beast. But the father lost the magic bone he used to transform them and he is still looking for the bone today.

The walk we did was the Giant Staircase. It starts out at the Echo Point and then heads to the first sisters after which there are frightening steel and sandstone stairs. It took us about 25 minutes t get down them. When we got to the bottom we headed towards the scenic railway.

This trail lead around the sisters and then followed the curve of the valley over to the next section of the mountain. We stopped after a waterfall to eat lunch. The sandwhich they gave us had beet root on it, it stained my turkey and bread pink and I am not sure if I could ever eat it.

At the end, we encountered Scenic World, a place that has great views of the Three Sisters. Included in Scenic World is the cable car, a sky cart, and the scenic railway. The scenic railway is one of the steepest railways in the world with the largest degree measurement of 50.

Here people had the option of taking the scenic railway up or taking the Furbor (spelling) steps back up the side of the mountain. Seeing as I did not have my wallet, I took the hard option. The Furbor steps climb had a lot of stairs but the lookouts were definitely worth it. The waterfalls are truly gorgeous and majestic.

On this hike we were able to see Tea Tree trees, gum trees, eucalyptus, and leeches. I have never seen a leech before and several people had them on their legs. Our guide poured salt over them to get them off.

After this long day of hiking, we went to a pub, true Aussie style. The thought of drinking any form of alcohol after that long trek was repulsing so I settled for watching others drink and then suggested we go find something to eat..

We ended up walking towards Subway, but they had no chips. However, across the street was this Cupid Cupcakes shop that was too enticing to pass up. We stopped in and the shop was small but the ladies were very nice. I got a large Hazelnut Chocolate Cupcake for 3.80 and a latte for 2.70. The cupcake’s frosting was so thick and the cupcake was dense, making for a great combination. If you are ever in Katoomba, you should definitely check it out, it is just up from the train station.

We then hopped on the bus for the last time to head back to Sydney. Debbie, our tour guide, put on 27 Dresses for us to watch and the time flew by so quickly. My friends and I made plans to go to the mall at 6:15 and so I headed back home. Note about the mall, it closes at 5pm everyday except for Thursday but Woolworth’s, the grocery store, stays open until 10. It is the weirdest thing ever and quite annoying.

I walk to my apartment building and get out my key. I try one and it does not fit, simply too big. The other one fits perfectly but the door will not unlock. I am so tired I just start to cry because I have no idea who to call. So I call home and the parents are waiting up for Kyle and Dad (thanks Dad!) helps to calm me down. I end up calling the number that was given to us for the pick up service and get this really nice lady who says she will call my RD.

Within a minute, Kim, my RD, walks around the corner and I catch her attention and tell her I am locked out and I start crying again. Ugh, I was so tired and the whole housing situation was getting worse by the minute. Apparently, they changed the lock without changing the keys to the back door. So there was physically no way for me to get in the back door. Kim informed me of the front door at that point and my key worked there.

I thank her profusely for helping me, got her number just in case this happened again, and went inside to meet my roommates for the first time with a teary-eyed face. I was in a rush though and simply dropped my stuff and ran out.

I got there just in time to meet my friends to go to the mall. We walked there and went to the grocery store. I found my multi-grain cheerios! I am a little nervous about the milk here, I will let you know how it goes.

We then went to Hungry Jacks, aka Burger King. I had chicken nuggets which were burnt and fries which were perfectly salty. We made plans to do a group dinner tomorrow at 5:30. I am really looking forward to it.

We parted ways because the colleges were having a get together and I needed to get over to see Carrie. Amanda, one of my Blue Mountain (BM) friends, showed me the way to the Village. It was a long walk but it was definitely worth it.

I found Carrie’s apartment quickly, thanked Amanda for showing me the way, and then knocked. Luckily, Carrie heard my knock and voice and came running down the stairs. It was so good to see her. She had just gotten back from Cairns and was so burnt it was almost funny. She showed me around her apartment. Wow. Nice.

And then I started to walk home. Wow, what a long walk. I did not get lost however. It took me about 40 minutes to walk back to my apartment. I should really see how much it is to take a cab! It was not too bad. It was mostly down hill going back.

I then reached my apartment at lord knows what hour and met one of my flat mates. Her name is Dana (not sure on the spelling) and she is super nice. She goes to Boston University and was super friendly. She helped me decide how to rearrange my room.

I also found out that Hanna Vietmeyer, who also attends Willamette, is one of my flat mates. Sweet!

I am not sure how I am going to fit all my stuff in my closet seeing as how I have no dresser. I might be living out of a suitcase for five months. I will have to upload pictures soon so you can see what I mean.

Well, tomorrow is another day.

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, here I am sitting in the Blue Mountains. It is pouring down rain like God has been holding all the water back until I got here. There is so much fog that ou cannot see the beautiful valleys that the limestone rocks create. I will have to make a point to get back up here.

Before I begin a big long section on the Blue Mountains, I think I should mention something about the arrival of what seemed to be m never ending flight. We finally landed in Sydney. I got through customs, got my bags, went through quarantine. No problems. However, I must say that the American customs agents (even the German ones) are nicer than the Australian ones. No offense, it is just an observation.

Did I mention that the last leg of the flight was the best! The guy who was going on to Melbourne for business that had visited a ranch in Argentina but was from Omaha, Nebraska did not show up. So I had a row of four with only one other person on the far end of the row. It was very nice.

It only took me a few seconds to orient myself outside of the gate to find my pick up point. There were about 15 maybe 20 of us going to Macquarie. I was glad I got there earlier because I got on the first car. Otherwise I am not sure if I would have made my pre-trip!

Driving on the wrong side of the road was, for lack of a better word, weird. I kept bracing myself for a longer turn when we were turning left and getting nervous when we were turning right and someone was coming at us in what I thought was the correct lane. But besides the driver being on the other side of the car, it really was just fine. I don’t think I could drive here though without some practice in the back roads.

So we get to Macquarie and drop everyone else off before we head to the Parklands. The outside looks like a compound. And I think that is a fair assessment. The inside is a little dreary but okay. The living room, kitchen, and dining room, are spacious. Then it turns south. I am in a shared double, have ZERO closet space and have a bed on wheels with no linens. Get me out of here. I promised myself I would be totally honest in this blog so here it goes. I cried, I cried because I was upset that the one thing I wanted most in the world right then besides peace was a nice room to come home to. I think after I calm down a little it will be fine, maybe. I am still going to see if I can change, at least to a single. Oh, and four people have to share one bathroom. Yeah, I might be showering at the gym a lot.

So after my temporary break down on the phone with mom (I love you!) I quickly packed for my trip to the Blue Mountains. I did not really prepare for rain so I had to do some quick improvising but I think it worked out. I am wearing my OSU sweat pants right now because my jeans are wet. But they are also very comforting.

My first challenge while in Australia: finding the bus stop where Colourful Tours would meet us. I found it! Without getting too lost! I was pleased to see that the buildings were marked clearly and in several locations. I brought my trusty map and found my way on the first shot. Take that Dad! No repeat of our tour at OSU!

The first place we went was Featherdale Wildlife Park. I got to pet a Koala, hang out with Wallabees and Kangaroos and all sorts of different marsupials. I saw a wombat which I promised myself that if they ever find a way to domesticate them I would buy one. (Note to readers who are against domestification: I really don’t want one.) After that I went to the Reptilian Pavilion and saw the worlds most deadly snake, safely behind glass. The sign says that there chance of extinction is little to none right now and that there venom paralyzes the prey almost instantly. Scary stuff mate!

Speaking of mate, my new favorite word has to be rubbish. It is a much better word than garbage. But it might just be the accent that helps it. I find that the accent here is hard to understand at times, especially men who are at a slight distance.

The second stop we made was for lunch in a small rim village called Leona (check). It would have been much cuter if it had not been raining cats and dogs. In this town I bought my secret valentine gift. I pulled the drivers name so I got him a pez dispenser with a car on top and a heart shaped chocolate piece.

I then walked up and down both sides of the street looking for a place to eat that had a latte and soup. I found it at the very end of the opposite side of the street. Its name was Stockmarket Café. It was the smallest one on the strip and the hours posted on the door were titled “trading times.” Beyond that, the stockmarket theme was not carried on. But I sat at the end of a long bench and had an amazing latte ($3AUD) and a great bowl of vegetable soup ($12AUD). I really could have just had a cup but they only served bowls. The people there were really nice and I enjoyed listening to them banter with the regular costumers.

I paid and then did the bravest thing I have done yet: using a public restroom. I was pleasantly surprised. It was on the same level as the states but there were no towels. For those of you who do not know, I never once used a public toilet in Greece unless Carol preapproved it.

Next we got back on the bus and were informed that our 2-hour bushwalk would be canceled due to the impending doom that occurs when rain and steel stairs combine. We still went up to Echo point and tried to see the three sisters but the fog was too dense. Then we persisted, the few who decided to brave the wet and cold, and to walk down the beginning part of the hike we would have done. We stopped at the lookout, which was very windy and then returned up top.

During this hike, I was able to talk to Jennifer from Seattle who goes to UW. We had a nice conversation about the NW rains and how much this resembled the worst of our falls or springs usually. I made fun of her for never having gone to the Ape Caves in Oregon seeing as how we are going spelunking tomorrow in some cave that starts with a G (don’t worry I will figure it out).

We then headed to our hostel. While waiting for one of the receptionists to tell us the rules, Carrie from Arizona and Jennifer asked me to be in there picture. I am really beginning to like this situation there are so many people who just wan tot sit and talk for a little bit and then you are instant friends just out of circumstance. I think this was the first moment I started realizing that I could do this. I can get through five months.

I have never stayed in a hostel. I must say that this one is really fun! It is like a big dorm room. I unfortunately, or fortunately, am rooming with two guys from Mexico, Aldo and Eduard, who are really nice and a Paula from Finland. They all speak really good English and it has been fun so far. Katoomba YHA hostel is the name of the place I think. There is a communal kitchen and a fireplace. I could get used to this.

So now I am sitting here on a couch in the main area. I know no one around me besides this nice guy from Finland. We have said about ten sentences to each other. I am no longer breaking out in random cries and can face the next few hours. We are going to an IMAX movie on the Blue Mountains (since we cannot see any of them except for what is under our feet) and then to Pizza for dinner. A pub after which I plan on sleeping until I have to get up to take a shower will follow this adventure. If that last sentence sounds weird I apologize, word suggested it and I had to leave it. It sounds so British.

Brief shout out to Mom, Dad, Kyle: I love you and miss you tons already. Traveling alone always reminds me of how much more fun it is to have family around.

Robbie: I brought the OSU Bear you gave me for Christmas. It is the one thing that is decorating my room right now.

Emma: Yay for a little little! AH!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I am sitting on my flight right now, maintainance issues. Unfortunately, they put us all in our seats and then they told us that there was a maintainance issue so we have to wait for an hour, sitting on the flight. Oh well, it gives me a chance to write this and watch an episode of Charmed.

Packing was a bear. But I finally finished and the end count was 48 and 47 pounds in each of the bags respectively. I only packed about 7 pairs of shoes, maybe more and three pairs of jeans. I was so worried that the suitcase with all of my clothes would go over the weight limit.

The flight to LA was fine, right before the landing there was this huge surge of turbulence. I had never felt anything like that right before landing. I did sit next to a very nice lady from Newport Beach, CA who was a major Steelers fan. She was wearing a Steelers sweatshirt and a Steelers scarf. She was very nice and when the turbulence came I apologized for my nervousness and she was really nice and we talked about the Super Bowl. We both agreed that the halftime show was boring.

When I was sitting, waiting for my flight to Sydney to board, they called me up to the counter. That has never happened to me before. The story goes that I had an aisle seat but there was this older couple who wanted to sit next to each other. They asked if I would mind moving. The first place they offered me was an aisle all the way back in 44. I said I could not give up my Economy Plus seat. They then offered me a middle seat with an empty seat next to me. I accepted this one. Unknowingly, I was given a $150 travel voucher. BUT, I was so nice to the lady that she gave me two travel vouchers. So with the $300 I have in travel vouchers, I can fly somewhere basically for free while in Australia! Pay it forward.

But WAIT! It gets better. The couple was so nice that they thanked me profusely in the waiting area. So, when I got on the flight, the gentlemen came up to me and said thank you again, asked where my final destination is, and then shook my hand and gave me $50AUD. He said “My wife and I would like to buy you lunch.” I cannot say how much this little moment meant to me. I really would have done this for anyone who needed it. I actually don’t like being on the window or aisle. Windows scare me because of the heights. Aisles your shoulder gets hit, although you do have more legroom. Anyways, the situation turned out to be a win-win for everyone.

Now I have to figure out how to get my contacts out discretely. There is an episode of Grey’s Anatomy on… Charmed it is.

As I was talking to mom and dad, American Idol was on. I was hoping that Tatiana would get booted off. There are just some people who should not be on that show.

We just got an announcement that we have another 45 minutes until our flight takes off. It is currently 11:46pm and it has been about 20 minutes since that was announced. I am exhausted. My flight was supposed to leave at 10:13pm and I was hoping to be asleep by now. They did mention that we could extend beyond our allotted time to take off. It would just be my luck. Especially on this big of a plane., to administer all of those vouchers would be an absolute disaster. Luckily I am in row 20 if anything happens.

Flying continued…so we ended up landing in Honolulu, Hawaii because the maintainance issue that kept us on the ground in LA persisted. So we got hotel and food vouchers. We got off the flight and picked up our bags. The worst part was waiting for the busses to come and pick everyone up. But the nice people who I changed seats with got a taxi and offered it too me, so I hitched a ride with them.

I walked over to the Alo Moana shopping center to get some coffee and I don’t think I have ever been in such a big mall! It was a Friday morning and it was packed! I decided to go to the Starbucks that was by Sears not by Macy’s to get the few extra steps in. (See mom, one more thing I have learned from you.) I then wandered around, getting lost a few times, and then went to get a subway sandwich and a manicure. I really wanted to stop in at CPK and get a bottomless pear or peach Italian soda.

Back at the Honolulu airport after taking a bus from the hotel at 8:15pm Hawaiian time, we get in a line to check back in. I am so happy that I was on the first bus and got in the front of the line. At the beginning there was only one person at the beginning checking us in. As soon as everyone got there, they opened up more stands for us but by that time the line had wrapped around the lobby and out the doors all the way up to the street.

It is almost 10pm right now and our flight leaves at 11:30pm and there is literally no one in the gate area. At this point I wonder if it is supposed to be delayed.

While standing in line I met three people, two of which talked. The one was from Melbourne and was flying from Tucson where he attended a gem conference. He was very nice and we made fun of his trolley. One of the two girls was from Canada and she was flying to Australia for her spring break. With all of the flight delays her trip is cut down to about four days. I am not sure this flight is worth that!

So it is 10:17pm and I am sitting in the gate area and I was fortunate enough to find an outlet so my computer won’t die. I still don’t think that every one is checked in.

Exciting news of the day: I have a little little now! I am so excited about who it is too! Congrats Emma! Way to continue the line!

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Basics:
University: Macquarie University
Location: North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia
Distance to Sydney: 20 minutes w/o traffic
School Dates: 24 February - 27 June
Travel Dates: 11 February - 30 June
Spring Break: 11 April - 26 April

While I have not left yet, I think that traveling truly begins before you leave. There have been so many things to do and make sure are in order before I step on that plane on the 11th of February that I am beginning to wonder if I have forgotten anything. Let's see:

1. Prescriptions filled.
2. Australian money ordered.
3. Passport out of safety deposit box.
4. Visa.
5. Enrollment code.

Well, I think those are the big five. I do also have a place to live, thank goodness. I also have begun to research a little bit more about Australian culture and history. My Grandma Dolores got me this really cool book on the founding of Australia and I have been sifting through it, gleaning small bits of information as I go. One thing I know I will be watching out for is how being such a young country like America will affect the differences in cultures between the US and Oz. (Note to reader: My first Aussie slang word! Oz=Australia.)

I don't think I need to buy anything else for my trip, I have traveled too much to not have all the travel essentials. Not to sound like the stereotypical girl, but I am definitely concerned about packing the right shoes. How many heels? What about brown flip flops? For me, shoes have always been the hardest thing to pack because they do take up so much room and weight yet bringing the wrong ones can totally ruin a trip. I am sure it all will work out in the end, but I will keep everyone updated with what I bring. Don't worry.

So, for all my concerned family and friends, I leave PDX on February 11th at 6pm and fly to LA and then leave there at 10pm to fly to Sydney. I arrive at SYD on Friday, February 13th at 8am and will be picked up by the University. And yes, I have noticed that I land on Friday the 13th but remember, it is really only the 12th in my mind. I feel that I am safe...

Best new purchase of the month: eye shades, ear plugs, and a neck pillow. I have never been able to sleep on planes so I have never bothered to purchase them, but this long flight at night has me hopeful. I have been practicing sleeping with my eyeshades to get used to them, so far they have been amazing. Perhaps I can at least get 4 hours of "shut eye."

The classes I was put in are not liberal arts so I will have to change them once I get there. Although Organisational (yes, spelled with an 's') does sound VERY interesting, I must switch to the much more exciting topic of Probability. I will let you know how that goes.

Well, the next blog entry will probably happen either right before I leave or right after I arrive. So wish me luck and I will see you in 5 months! (Scary.)

Posted by Chelsea J McLennan at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)