Sydney
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Monday: I slept sooooo much the night before. It was glorious. Then, I woke up and did a ton of muddy laundry from the weekend and cooked some food for the week. I also read some articles for school before I left for campus to study more. I spent some time studying and got back in the evening. I watched some TV and just relaxed since I was so sore from Frisbee that weekend. Then, I went to bed early because I was pretty sleepy. Tuesday: I woke up early and got ready for the day by making lunch and putting away some clean clothes. I headed to campus and studied while watching some Netflix before my sustainable communities lecture. It was about equity and inclusion, and it was pretty interesting. I walked back to the apartment after that because I was really cold. I cooked some food and worked on writing a report for my nutrition class. We had Ultimate Frisbee training which was good. I was pretty sore and running around with blisters still fresh from the weekend, so it wasn’t as fun as usual. This wasn’t the best day for me. I got really homesick and wasn’t very motivated to study or do anything, but that happens sometimes when you’re away from everything familiar. I’m just hoping that I bounce back so that I can enjoy every moment of this adventure in Australia. Wednesday: I woke up and got ready fast to try to beat the rain. It didn’t start raining for another 2-3 hours, so I was safe. There were 3 speakers that presented in my nutrition lecture about food wastage and how there are so many people that are food insecure. I really enjoyed learning about it because wasting food is something that really makes me mad. Saving food provides food to those who don’t have money to purchase nutritious food for themselves, and it helps the environment by reducing greenhouse gasses emitted from food waste. Then, I studied at the library a little before meeting someone to talk about volunteering at the garden on campus for my sustainable communitites class. I walked home in the rain and studied a lot after that. I have a report for nutrition due in a little over a week, and I had several weekly things to do as well. Thursday: I went to the gym in the morning and then studied and did laundry before eating lunch and heading to campus. I studied for my nutrition quiz and worked on a paper. Then, I had my nutrition tutorial where we signed up for groups for the final presentation on food security/sustainability. I think the project will be pretty interesting especially since I don’t know much about these programs in Australia. After that, I went back to the apartment to see the finale of The Bachelor Australia with Kiley. I was kind of mad about who won, but I got over it. Friday: This week it has been hard to find motivation with the cold and rainy weather every day. However, I finally woke up to a sunny morning on the way to the gym after getting groceries. I showered, cooked, did laundry, and ate lunch before walking to campus with Kiley for some studying. I took my nutrition quiz which went alright. It wasn't the best, but it’s not my major, so I can’t complain. I worked on my blog (for all you reading…you’re welcome ;), and then Kiley and I planned some stuff for our trip over spring break coming up. We headed back to eat, study, and relax by watching some TV. Saturday: When I woke up, I read my book a little, which was a nice way to start off the day. I continued to attempt getting the mud out of a white shirt I wore for the Frisbee tournament last weekend, but I finally gave up and accepted the shirt’s fate of staying mud spattered. Then, I read an article about the effects that food availability and environment have on what people eat, and consequently, their nutrition. I worked on school stuff for a while. Kiley and I went for a walk around the lake to enjoy the first sunny day in a while. It was a nice change and a must needed break. We talked about the future and how it’s interesting how the more we learn in college, the more we realize we don’t know. It’s kind of a funny thing. Megamind was on TV, so we had to bring out the inner child and enjoy that. Sunday: Kiley and I went to church in the morning and followed with Body Balance. It’s kind of like Yoga. It was a nice relaxing start to the day. Then, we ate lunch and got our stuff ready to walk through the rain to the mall. We didn’t want to walk all the way to campus, so we used the Wi-Fi at the mall. I opened some pages to use when I got back to the apartment where I don’t have Wi-Fi, and I worked on my nutrition report. It was raining harder on the walk back, so I got all comfy in warm clothes to study some more, watch TV, and do some chores. It was a pretty chill but productive day which was much needed. Orientation at the University of Canberra The first weekend after orientation week, I went to Sydney, Australia and the Blue Mountains with a bunch of other exchange students. Here are some ways to make the most of your first week in a new country and adjusting to a new lifestyle.
Make the most of your time abroad, and start it off on a good note. There are several other ways to take advantage of opportunities, but hopefully these are helpful! Monday:
We got up early to go for a walk on the beach with Kiley’s parents before they had to leave for Cairns. It was a lovely morning outside. We cleaned up the apartment and finished packing up our stuff before checking out. We said goodbye to Kiley’s parents where they waited for their bus to the airport. It was hard to say goodbye, but Kiley was going to see them the next weekend in Sydney. Kiley and I headed to Gloria Jean’s (a coffee shop) with all our stuff to use their Wi-Fi for planning our spring break trip. We talked with some friends on the computer. After sitting for a while, we decided to take advantage of being at the beach by changing into swim suits and getting in the ocean. It was pretty chilly with the sun behind the clouds and the wind blowing, so I sat on the beach for a little bit while Kiley inched her way into the ocean. When the sun came out, it was much warmer. I ran into the ocean because I knew from Saturday that getting in slowly is much worse. Once in the water, it didn’t feel very cold which was nice. We had a blast jumping over the waves and trying to swim with them. Then, we showered and changed in the lockers by the beach. We did some more stuff on the computer before heading to the stop where the shuttle to the airport picked us up. From the time we arrived at the airport till the time we got to our gate, it took twenty minutes. It’s so different from the US where that can take 1-2hours if it’s busy. Our flight was short and sweet. We got to Canberra at 9pm and took a taxi back to our apartment in Belconnen. We unpacked our stuff and got some things ready for the week before going to sleep. The trip to Mooloolaba was overall awesome, and I can see why it’s such a popular holiday destination. Tuesday: I got groceries in the morning and then did a little laundry before heading to campus. I worked on school stuff until my sustainable communities lecture about industrial agriculture. I learned about permaculture and how a compromise between natural ecology and technology works better than the current monoculture agriculture that’s going on around the world. It was pretty interesting for me since I’m from a state that basically lives off of agriculture. Then, I headed back to the apartment to read some articles another class. Ultimate Frisbee training was fun. It makes me want to play again when I get back, but I wish ISU had a team that was less competitive and more for fun. After ultimate, we were supposed to meet for trivia night, but it was already over. I was sad we missed it, but we usually see that group of friends at cooking class and on weekends too. I worked on my blog and read some more articles before bed. Wednesday: I had a horrible night of sleep the night before, so I just got up early since I couldn’t fall back asleep. I did some laundry that morning and got ready for the day. I had my nutrition lecture where the professor goes through everything super fast as usual. However, it’s still interesting. I wish I had more time to soak in what she was talking about rather than just taking notes the whole time. Then, I talked with my parents before my sustainability tutorial. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do for my volunteering project in this class, but I’m making some progress. After class, I spent some time at the library and then headed back to the apartment. I wanted to go to Body Attack at 6:30, but I realized when I got there that it started at 5:45, so it was almost over. So sad. Anyway, I just did my own workout and then came home and watched TV and studied a little before bed. Thursday: I got up a little later than normal because I wanted to recover from the lack of sleep the night before. I felt much better that morning. I headed to the gym and lifted weights before going to a fitness class. Then, I came back to the apartment to shower, get ready for the day, and work on my blog. I did some laundry actually in the washer this time (I know…don’t freak out). I had to clean my sheets and things that don’t fit in my sink. I also cleaned a lot and took out the trash and recycling. I cleaned my room and cooked a little. Then, I studied before leaving for cooking class. This week was “Spring Italian,” so naturally, loving Italian food, I was quite excited. We made a basil based pesto to go with our homemade pasta. It was soooo good. We all enjoyed our dinners and thanked the chef who is in charge and taught us how to cook everything. We were so sad that we won’t have any more cooking classes because they’re pretty expensive for the university. After we left, we watched some TV and then went to bed. Friday: I woke up without much energy, so I started the day by doing some household things. Then, I headed to campus. I read some articles and worked on my blog a little. I spent quite a bit of time in the library before walking home in the rain. I got home pretty wet and cold, so I cuddled up in warm clothes and made some dinner. I read some more for school and did some laundry. Then, I went to bed early in preparation for the Ultimate Frisbee tournament that started the next day. Saturday: Our first game started at 9, and we did pretty well all day. We won three out of four of our games. It was a lot of fun except for the constant rain. It was a little cold, but it wouldn’t have been bad at all if my clothes hadn’t soaked through and made me colder. The mud was fun though; it made for good cushioning when people dove for the disc. Our team played pretty great most of the day considering we had never played together before. Some people on my team *cough* Josh and Ryan *cough* wanted me to write about them in my blog. So, they’re on my team and they call Kiley and I “Kilyssa” and they’re pretty obnoxious but fun. Anyway, after all our Frisbee games, we all went home to shower before meeting for dinner at an outdoor area with a bunch of food trucks. It was an entertaining and interesting night out in the city. We met Kiley at the bus stop where she came in from Sydney with her family, and then some of us took a bus back to our place. We went to bed ASAP, but we still didn’t get a lot of sleep since we were picked up the next morning around 7:45. Sunday: For the second night in a row, I didn’t sleep well at all, but I got up anyway. We got ready and were picked up by some fellow Frisbee players. They served some breakfast at the fields, so we had some fruit. Our first game started at 8:30. We scored the first point pretty easily with Kiley and me working together. Our team won two out of our three games on Sunday. It was heaps of fun despite all of us being a little stiffer and some of us having stomach aches. For our last game, we played a team we had played the day before, and it was lots of fun because that team is good and tries hard without being too serious or intense as far as fouling or calling unnecessary fouls. We finished up and got a ride home since we were exhausted and had lots of studying and other stuff to do. Lucky me, I found two blood blisters on my feet when I took off my borrowed cleats (thank goodness for Sam’s extra cleats). I would’ve been slipping around all weekend, but borrowed cleats tend to leave you with blisters. Kiley and I got groceries after showering and did laundry and studied the rest of the night before going to bed early. It was a great weekend of Frisbee and meeting new people! Monday: I was going to wake up early to workout, but I found out that my alarm was set for the evening instead of the morning, so I woke up at 7:45. We met Kiley’s parents at The Chatterbox which is an espresso bar across the street from Weeden Lodge. It was so cute, and I had the richest hot chocolate of my life with some delectable homemade marshmallows. I also had avocado toast with a poached egg, some basil, and tons of feta cheese. Yummmm. Kiley also had a delicious chai tea latte that made me want to go back so badly. After breakfast, we said goodbye to Kiley’s parents until the next weekend. We headed to campus from there to study at the library. I did some reading and a quiz for sustainable communities. We were on campus for quite a while trying to get ahead on things. Then, I went home and did laundry and ate dinner before watching some TV and studying a bit before bed. Tuesday: In the morning, I got up early to swim at the gym. Then, I went back to the apartment and got my stuff ready to head to campus. I worked on some stuff for my Food, Health, and Environment class. I researched and wrote some discussion posts. It was good to get some school stuff done before my sustainable communities lecture. We learned about politics and economics and how those things are most of the reason that we aren’t making very much progress with a more sustainable world. After class, I worked on some more school stuff and then headed home to eat dinner before ultimate Frisbee training. It was super fun again. I just love that game, and I have missed it a lot. I’m excited to play in an upcoming tournament with some new Aussie friends. After ultimate, Kiley and I met some friends at The Well (a restaurant on campus) for Harry Potter trivia. We were over an hour late, so our team wasn’t doing the best, but it was pretty fun to see what I could remember from the books and movies. We headed to bed after trivia because it had been a pretty full day. Wednesday: It was pouring when I left for campus, so I wore my raincoat. Little did I know, it didn’t actually work to reflect rain if it’s more than sprinkling. Lucky me, I got to wear wet clothes all day with my shoes and socks soaked through. I had my nutrition class and sustainable communities tutorial in the morning through afternoon. I talked with my parents on the phone a bit in between classes which was nice, and I got to see my dog on Facetime. On the way home, it was sunny which was nice. I put on fuzzy socks right away and cooked some food. I also did a bunch of laundry, worked on my blog for my new internship with the study abroad center at ISU, and studied for some classes. Thursday: I woke up super early for Body Attack and such. Then, I came back to the apartment to do some laundry and school work. I packed a little for the weekend and headed to campus to study and for my nutrition tutorial. I learned a lot and then walked back to the apartment to meet Nicola, Kiley, and some other exchange students for the cooking class that evening. There were a lot more people than the week before because we all invited more people. We made some healthy Mexican food. We had burritos with chicken, homemade salsa, homemade guacamole, rice, smoked yogurt, peppers, and a sauce with several yummy ingredients. It was delicious as usual. I love the new tradition we have of going there, cooking food, hanging out with friends, and enjoying a free meal together. After cooking class, we watched some TV and finished getting ready for the weekend before going to bed. Friday: We woke up at 5am to catch our 5:30 cab to the airport. Someone took the cab we had called for the night before, but we called and got one soon enough. Our flight left around 7, and we arrived in Brisbane around 9. We had to wait until 10:30 to catch the bus to Mooloolaba. When we got there, we put our stuff in the apartment Kiley’s parents were staying in by the beach. It was so nice outside. We hung out and walked around for a little while before meeting Kiley’s brother for lunch. Then, we walked around and explored all the triathlon things going on. For dinner, we went to the banquet for the half iron man athletes where they had a little cultural show about the area and talked about past iron man winners and venues. We were in a giant circus-like tent which was pretty cool. After dinner, the athletes had a meeting with information about the race on Sunday. Kiley and I left before the meeting and got some peanut butter ice cream before heading back to the apartment for bed. Saturday: We woke up somewhat early to jog and walk along the beach. Then, we ate breakfast and went to a coffee shop to use the Wi-Fi for some future traveling and such. We got some stuff done and then went to the beach for some ocean time! The water was quite chilly, but when the sun was out, it didn’t feel too bad. The worst part is always getting in the water; that took a while. After we were in, we were fine and enjoying all the waves. We tried to swim with the waves and ride them into the beach even though we didn’t have body or surf boards. It was a fun challenge, and it got me really excited for surf camp. As always, there’s the salt in the eyes and throat that burns, but you got to do what you got to do. It was super fun to float over the waves before they broke over and tumbled into shore. We left the ocean wet, cold, salty, and a little tanner than before. Who can complain? From there, we went back to shower and change. We met everyone at Kiley’s brother’s apartment where he stayed with his girlfriend and her parents. It was really nice with a beautiful view of the beach. They made chicken, quinoa, and salad for dinner which was all very tasty. We had a fun time telling stories and talking about the race the next morning. We headed back to the apartment after dinner and watched a movie while getting ready for bed. Sunday: We got up early for the Iron Man 70.3 World Championship. Although, all of the athletes got up much before we did. We caught Kiley’s brother on the beach before his wave started. As we watched them swim, I couldn’t imagine trying to swim 1.3 miles in the ocean with all the waves. We spent most of the race in a spot where we could see the competitors bike out, bike in, and run their two laps. It was crazy to see the best iron man athletes in the world race so fast. It was a great thing to see, and the weather was perfect. It was around 75 degrees Fahrenheit with a breeze and mostly sun the whole day. Kiley’s brother and his girlfriend both finished the race. They both had some complications, but they did it which is what matters most. I was impressed by everyone that participated. After the race, we got some food. We talked about the race and hung out a bit before going back to the apartment to change into warmer clothes for the evening. We had dinner at a well-known burger place in the area. It was pretty busy, so it took a long time to get our food, but it was delicious once we got it. There were some fried pickles and fried Oreos ordered by Kiley’s brother. They were celebrating after the race and rewarding themselves for all the hard work they did that day. Kiley and I shared some drinks in honor of her 21st birthday since her parents won’t be here for it. We said goodbye to Kiley’s brother, his girlfriend, and her parents. Then, Kiley, her parents, and I got some ice cream to enjoy since it was our last full day together. We packed most of our stuff and then headed to bed.
The south island of New Zealand is much different than the north. While you could list several things they have in common, I’d rather go both places and experience a wider range of natural wonders. The biggest difference that I noticed was the south island is covered in mountains with beautiful fjords leading to the ocean while the north has more green rolling hills and rainforests. Both islands are great. I would suggest if you go there someday, and you really should, that you take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way and make the most of every moment!
These are just a few of the awesome things there are to do in New Zealand. I would go back in an instant if given the opportunity. There are endless natural wonders, and spontaneous adventures in places like this are often the most fun and exciting of them all. Monday: I spent most of the day in the library studying and trying to get ahead with school stuff. I cooked a lot of food in the evening for the week, and watched some TV. Tuesday: I swam in the morning which was pretty refreshing. Exercise is always a nice way to start the day. Then, I ate lunch at the apartment and walked to the library to study. I had my sustainability class which was interesting. Then, I studied some more before heading back to the apartment to eat and change for ultimate Frisbee practice at 6:30. It was really fun. We did some drills and then played a little. It reminded me of how much I miss it, and even though I don’t choose running as my form of exercise, when I’m playing Frisbee, it’s just fine with me. After practice, we all went to a famous pizza place for some free dessert pizza. It was a pretty good time. Wednesday: I had my nutrition lecture in the morning and my sustainable communities tutorial in the afternoon. Nutrition was hard because she moved pretty quickly through the material, and I have a quiz this week. Sustainable communities was good. I learned some new things about how realistic and affordable changing all of our energy to renewable sources would be. I studied in the library for a while after classes, and then I got to walk home in the rain. Yay! I snuggled up in warm clothes and worked on some school stuff, did laundry, and cooked. Thursday: I woke up at 5:30am to go to a fitness class at the gym. I was surprised that I actually got out of bed, but I did! The sun wasn’t up yet on our walk to the gym, so it was pretty chilly. It was nice to get a good workout in so that I could start off my day sooner. After stopping by the apartment to shower and do some laundry, I headed to the library to study and take an online quiz. I spent most of the day doing that and working to catch up in another class. Then, I walked back to the apartment to drop off my stuff before we left for the free cooking class. It was so great. Our group got the herbs, lemon grass, and garlic ready. The teacher/famous chef guy cooked everything together. We had Chicken Larb (not lard) with mint leaves, spring onions, lime juice, and much more. The other dish was Fish with a coconut milk base that had fish sauce, lemon grass, garlic, and more. We all sat down to eat, and they told us to eat it all together with the rice they made. I wasn’t sure about that, but it was delicious. It was a lovely free dinner. We learned something while we were at it too. After dinner, they offered everyone coffee, and then we left for the cold walk home. We caught the last half of The Bachelor on TV (I don’t like this show and how it works, but it’s entertaining, so what can you do?). Kiley and I just put on a bunch of clothes to warm up and then took it easy for the night. Friday: We woke up and worked out at the gym and then ate some food. We went back to the gym to use wifi for some school stuff to get done before Kiley’s parents got in. They arrived at their hotel not long after we started, so we finished a few things and met them at there. They stayed at a hotel just 5 minutes from our apartment which was nice. We had a great reunion with several hugs and catching up to do. Then, we showed them our apartment. From there, we left to get some ice cream at the mall and then walk around the lake. The walk was super nice, but Kiley’s parents were pretty tired since they hadn’t slept in so long. I think it was good we kept them moving though! We ate dinner at a café in the mall (I had a delicious risotto with chicken) and then told them goodnight as we headed back to our apartment to meet Nicola for her birthday. She invited some people over to have chocolate fruit. There were apples, grapes, kiwis, bananas, and blueberries. It looked very tasty, but we were pretty full from our delicious dinner. We had lots of fun even though it was pretty crowded with around 12 people. After we hung out for a while, most of us left for the city to go to “Beyonce night” at a club called “Mr. Wolf.” We took a bus there, and it was a lot of fun. We spent most of the night dancing and singing with our big group of friends. The dance floor got pretty crowded as the night went on, but it was awesome. Obviously, it was our favorite when they played Beyonce songs so we could sing the words super loud. At the end of the night, we tried to get an Uber back to our apartment. However, it was quite a journey…it took about an hour of waiting outside in the cold. They kept cancelling our request as they got close or drove around near us, but we finally got one. We were so happy to get in our warm beds at the end of the night! Saturday: We got up around 9:15 after going to bed pretty late. We met Kiley’s parents at 10 to walk/hike to the Telstra Tower. Telstra is a phone carrier here, so they have a big tower where you can go up to the top and see a great view. It took us a while to get there because it got pretty steep at the end, and the trails weren’t marked very well. We went up to the top where we could walk all the way around the tower. The view of Canberra was pretty great. We could see where we live, the many lakes, and the city that went to the night before. Then, we found our way down the mountain and into the city to go to Patissez. It’s a restaurant where they serve the famous “Freak Shakes.” They are super elaborate milk shakes with crazy flavors and combinations. Kiley and I both got the Pretzella. It had Nutella with milk in the mason jar topped with vanilla mousse. There was also Nutella on the outside of the jar where there were pretzels stuck to it and in the vanilla mousse. Man, that was a delicious mess of a milk shake. It was so tasty and the perfect combination of sweet and salty. After we finished our shakes, we went to an opal store. The jewelry was pretty expensive, but we found a store right next to it where Kiley’s parents got her a cross necklace with an opal in the middle for her birthday since it’s her birth stone. We were pretty tired and cold afterwards, so we walked around to find a bus or taxi. We found a taxi and took it back to our apartment to get some warmer clothes since the sun had gone down. Then, we walked down by the lake to find a place to eat dinner. We ate at a Thai restaurant that was absolutely delicious. Every dish that I smelled going by made me even hungrier as we waited for our food. I got Paat Thai with chicken, and we got brown rice to share. It was so good! We were all so hungry that we finished everything besides some of the rice that we took back with us. At this point, we were all exhausted and cold after walking/hiking over 11 miles. We left for our apartment and then just watched some TV before heading to bed. Sunday: We woke up and went to church at 10 with Kiley’s parents. Then, we got brunch at a café in the mall. I got pancakes with mixed berries and ice cream, and it was quite tasty. We got groceries and took everything back to our apartment. We were pretty tired from a mixture of lots of walking and exercise, jet lag (for Kiley’s parents), and a lack of good sleep. After hanging out for a bit, we walked to campus to show them where we spend a lot of our time studying and in class each day. Campus is pretty small, so there wasn’t a lot to show them once we got there, but it’s a pretty central campus with some grass and trees around. We sat at a picnic table for a little bit to enjoy the sun. Then, we walked to the lake to see it again and take advantage of the weather. We saw some cool birds and sat at a bench for a little while. The sun made us warm and tired, so we leaned on each other and soaked up the sunlight. The view of the lake was awesome. We got a little chilly as the wind picked up, so we headed back to the apartment. We sat around and talked for a while about life and the future. It was nice to catch up and just relax after so much activity the day before. Her parents left around 7, so Kiley and I made some dinner and watched TV for a while. We were pretty exhausted, so we weren’t very productive. However, that’s the way we like it. Sundays are usually our lazy days where we spend most of the day at our apartment doing chores and relaxing before the start of another week. I have always had a dream to travel the world. I crave adventures and seeing new things. When in Iowa, I often find myself thinking about the next trip I’ll take. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel to South Africa with my best friend on a mission trip. On that trip, the people, culture, and unique opportunities got me hooked on traveling. I got the travel bug, and I don’t think it’s ever going to go away. Studying abroad is one of the most unique and integrative ways to see a new place. I’m excited to see how I adapt to a new culture and make new friendships. I love the sense of adventure and spontaneity that comes along with going to another country. During my time abroad, I plan to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way whether it’s traveling somewhere new the next day or leaving for an “out of the blue” hiking trip. Meeting people from different countries really changes your perspective of the world; it reminds you that there are billions of other people in the world living their lives and trying to achieve their dreams just like you even if their cultures and backgrounds are different. I hope it will give me a more diverse understanding of the world. Of course, studying abroad also has its advantages in the job market. It can help you stand out from the crowd of new students coming into the workforce after college. I think that this opportunity will challenge my knowledge and skills. It will also force me to go outside of my comfort zone and find new solutions to obstacles that come my way. I hope this experience will set me apart from others in the eyes of a future employer. I’d love to be a social media intern for the Study Abroad Center at ISU. I think it would challenge me to take my time and put my best effort into my blog. It would help me focus on my writing and photography skills. More importantly, I would love to inspire more people to embark upon this journey. Photos and stories from people experiencing something amazing like studying abroad often make others aware of the chance they have to remarkably change their lives forever. As my semester in Canberra, Australia has already begun, I would love to share my past, current, and future adventures while I’m abroad. Monday: I called my parents in the morning to catch up with them. I miss them and my doggy back home. In the middle of our call, the fire alarms went off, so we all had to leave. It turns out it was just someone burning their food. When we got the all clear to go back in, I called my parents back and talked some more. Then, I called my brother in San Francisco since I hadn’t talked with him in a while. He’s working on some cool stuff for the world. Chances are, he’ll be famous for being a genius someday. Meanwhile, I went to a free brunch at my residence while watching some of the Olympics. There were some huge muffins and juice. I talked with some friends and headed back upstairs to cook a bunch of food for the week. I did some laundry and then left for the gym. That evening, we went to our first rugby league game! We took a free bus to the game and got in with our free tickets. Some of us got $1 Raiders hats to cheer on the team and remember the night. We had a great time cheering on our Canberra team. Rugby is so much more fun to watch than football. When the clock says 40 minute halves…it actually means it. It doesn’t mean 40 minute halves plus an extra 2 hours of doing nothing. It was super fast paced, and it was interesting to learn the rules. We also got some free hot chips and drinks with our tickets, so that was nice. It got pretty chilly throughout the game, but it just made us more grateful to get back into bed that night. Tuesday: I woke up and went to the gym to workout. After that, I headed home to shower and eat some lunch. I left for campus before my afternoon class to use the wifi for some homework. My class was about climate change and how humans are the only reason for it. It was interesting to see my professor disprove all of the other possible reasons for climate change. After class, I worked on some more homework, and then Kiley and I worked on planning our spring break trip to Cairns and possibly the Whitsunday Islands. That evening, there was another trivia night with free food; the theme was “Travel,” so we thought our team would do pretty well. It was pretty disorganized. It started late, and they didn’t have a lot of free food. It was fun anyways because our group made the best of the situation. Wednesday: I had my nutrition lecture, lunch, and my sustainable communities tutorial. I went from there to the library to finish taking some notes on a chapter in the nutrition textbook I checked out. I also read some online articles and finished a quiz. I stopped by the apartment before going to a fitness class at the gym called “Body Attack.” It was so much fun! We ran, danced, squatted, planked, and much more within the hour long choreographed class. There were several songs that I knew well like “You Can’t Stop the Beat” and “We Belong.” When I got back, I ate some dinner and worked on some school stuff while watching TV. Thursday: Kiley and I had our Indigenous History and Identity lecture and tutorial. It was really hard to keep up with what they were talking about because they talked more about how past archeological findings affected issues today. We were lost; we had hoped this class would be about Australia’s history. It turns out they talk more about issues today, so I guess it’s assumed that we have a lot of background in that area. We both decided to see if we could join a different class and drop that one. We each found a class we wanted to switch to and asked the study abroad center how we do it. All we have to do is get the signature of the professor for the class we want to switch to since we missed 2 weeks of the class and then catch up on the work we missed. Hopefully we can get that figured out. I had my nutrition tutorial where we did an example for a 24 hour recall where you interview someone on what they ate the previous day to get an idea of the nutrients they’re getting on a daily basis. The rest of the evening, I watched TV, did laundry, made dinner, and did school work. Friday: I worked out and swam that morning. Then, I headed back to the apartment to get lunch and everything I needed for the day. My goal this weekend was to get a bunch of school stuff done so that I don’t have to worry about it later when I’m traveling more and have more going on. Kiley and I went to the library and booked our flights to the Whitsunday Islands from Cairns and then back to Sydney. I’m so excited about our upcoming trips! Next, we studied for quite a while and got our classes changed. Now, I’m enrolled in a class called Food, Health, and Environment. I think I’ll like it much more than the other class. We got back to the apartment to make dinner around 6:45 and worked on some more school stuff. Then, we left to go see the 9pm showing of Bad Moms at the mall with some of our friends. This movie theatre has recliner chairs and is super fancy. We ended up going to see War Dogs because it was busy, and we wanted to sit together. It was interesting to learn about how these two guys in their twenties were selling guns to the Pentagon for military use. After the movie, we explored the mall a little and then left to get some sleep. It was really fun to go see a movie and relax in the comfy chairs while enjoying some snacks we brought. It’s sad that most of the fun things cost money. Saturday: Kiley and I woke up to go to Body Attack at the gym. It was great; we did a choreographed dance/running workout while listening to music that was way too loud. Next time I’m wearing ear plugs so I don’t go deaf from going to a fun fitness class. After that, we did some laundry and cooked and such before heading to the library to study for a while. It seems like time spent at the library just flies by. We were there for about 4-5 hours, and it felt like around 2. It’s hard to get back into studying and reading articles all the time, but I’m doing my best to keep working at things a little bit at a time. Once we got back, I worked on my blog a little and some school stuff that I didn’t need Wi-Fi for. Nicola, Kiley, and I left for the Village (on-campus housing) where we met some friends to attend free trivia in the hopes of getting free food and some fun. However, no one else was there, so we decided to go to the mall and get some frozen yogurt and hangout for a little while. Kiley and I showed them some of our lame dance moves since there were some throwback songs on the radio. We had a good time. Sunday: We got groceries in the morning. We were planning to meet our friends for a hike around noon, but it was pretty rainy and cold, so no one wanted to go anymore. Everyone decided to do it when the weather was nicer so that we could stay inside and be lazy or work hard (but at least we’d be warm). When we got back from getting groceries, Kiley and I had some deep life talks about faith and how crazy it is to think about eternity and how many things about God that are unknown. We decided that we’re going to read through the book of Romans together and talk about it together so that we continue to grow. It’s hard to go to church here since we’ll be gone so many weekends traveling, so we’re making the most of the situation. I usually listen to messages from the SALT Company in Ames while I’m working out as well. After our talks, we watched some rhythmic gymnastics on TV while studying. It’s crazy what those people do with the ribbons, balls, and batons. I was just watching feeling even more uncoordinated and graceful than usual. Some movies were on after that, so we watched them and studied some more. It was a much needed lazy day. |
AuthorA.J.Sporrer Archives
December 2016
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