Best of Abroad

February 27, 2007
Classes have finally started

So, it's been a few weeks since I have written about my adventures. I got all moved in to the correct room, went on the excursion with the Willamette group, went through all of the orientations and started classes. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but I am so glad to be here. Our excursion was great. We set off in a 22 passenger van with a guide/driver to travel down south. We went on a boat that took us out to swim with the dolphins in the Indian Ocean. It was so great because we saw a lot of wild dolphins and we hopped in the water to see if they would come over. It seemed like every time we got in they swam in a different direction. Apparently this isn't how it usually works. We were told that about 70% of the time people are able to touch the dolphins and about 40% of the time people can actually play with them. The best part is, the dolphins are in no way coerced. They come over because they are curious and love people. Some dolphins did swim under us and get within about 10 feet of us. Even though we didn't get to touch them, it was still a great experience....

We stopped at a lot of scenic areas along the way and even saw several kangaroos and a group of emus crossing the street. We went to this huge wooden jetty that had glass windows at the end that extended deep into the ocean. We were able to see all of the coral and fish that live under the jetty. It was really beautiful out on the jetty and we were blessed with gorgeous weather. We went on a canoe trip on the Margaret River which was so much fun, but an extreme workout. Once we got to the end, we took a bush hike up to a cave. We also ate kangaroo, emu, bush turkey and lots of wild fruits that grow in the bush. We also climbed up this huge tree to an observation tower and went on a tree top walk. There were huge metal suspension bridges so that we were able to see down through the canopy. The view was spectacular. On our trip we also took a tour through Mammoth cave. We visited a lighthouse and a museum where they used to catch and slaughter whales. We were going constantly from beginning to end for four days, and it was so much fun. I felt like we really got to know each other as a group, and it was great to see some areas of Western Australia that are more rural than Perth. I guess if there was one downside to the trip, it would be that I got sick. I had been travelling for a month, so it was inevitable that I was worn down and going to get sick eventually. I got a really bad sore throat the first night on the excursion and it's almost completely gone now. It was one of those sore throats that makes you want to cry if you have to take a sip of water. So, it makes you feel really far away from home when you think you need to go to the doctor and noone is there to take you. Luckily, I fought it on my own and didn't need to go. Since then, we have had a ton of orientations. We had St. Catherine's Fresher orientation, international student orientation, etc. During all of that, I was frustrated because I felt like we were getting a lot of information but I was stil really lost as to how to enroll and other important processes. Luckily, we asked a lot of questions and got it figured out. After that, we had a lot of free time. I met some great girls from college, some American some Australian and some from other countries like Singapore and Malaysia. We have spent a significant amount of time at Cottesloe beach which is just a short busride away. We've also gone shopping in the city, out to dinner, to pubs and clubs. I've really enjoyed the times that we've gone to pubs, but the club scene is out of control. I seem to get hit on by the sleeziest of guys and they all seem to think that American girls are easy. Anyway, I prefer something a bit tamer.
Classes started yesterday and they are going to be a breeze. For one of my classes, the professor said we have about 80 pages of reading all semester. I almost fell over - I am used to doing 80 pages of reading between each class! So, I'm certainly not worried about school stuff. Some of the classes I'm taking seem interesting. I'm taking a politics class on Parties, Elections and Mass Media in Australia, U.S and U.K. The Prof. is American and I think he and I have very different views on politics in America. I'm taking Aboriginal Ways of Knowing which most of the Willamette students are also taking. It's a revisionist class on history from the Aboriginal perspective. I'm really excited about it. I'm also taking Middle East Economies and the prof is the sweetest old man. I haven't gone to my women's studies class yet, but I'm really looking forward to it. It's called something like Sex, Bodies, Spaces: Gender and Pop Culture. Anyway, classes will give me something to keep me occupied, but I'm not going to overexert myself. I don't know if I've ever spent this much time relaxing in my whole life. I love this laid back life style, and I'm planning on spending my entire semester this way.

Posted by Erica H Morbeck at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)