Settling In For Real

So this week was a bit of a breather. I definitely kept busy, but it was busy in a different way. Monday I officially became a Melbourne Uni student, walking on campus to pick up my student ID, my student union membership, bought a reading pack for one of my classes from the bookstore, checked out the library, and generally got used to the idea that this is where I'm studying for the semester. There were a lot more students around, especially because this was the University's orientation week, so it felt much more like an alive student campus, a feeling that increased each time I stepped on campus this week.

Pretty pier filled with restaurants in the Docklands

I also finally finished enrolling in all my classes, or subjects as they call them here. I'm taking Sociology of Youth, Sexual Politics, Australian Politics, and Food for a Healthy Planet. The last two are intro level classes, which means huge lectures and lots of freshers, which will be a big change from what I'm used to, but I'm excited for the change. The way classes work at Melbourne is one or two lectures and then a smaller tutorial. What all the students keep telling us is that it's only important to go to your tutorials and lectures are much less important than I think. I have a friend with two lectures scheduled at the same time and they told him it doesn't even matter! I'm skeptical, but we'll see.

Look at that sunshine!

Wednesday was my busy day this week. I went to the free Faculty of Arts bbq (the Aussies love their barbie), and then my friend Maddie and I decided to go to the Docklands, based solely on the fact that we had never been to that part of the city. The neighborhood was only a few blocks from the city center, but it felt miles away. There wasn't a lot there, a few restaurants and an outdoor mall, but the harbor was very pretty and we were there on a sunny day. That night we returned to the night market, which was wonderful again. Paella and sangria in hand, I was a happy camper.

 
Today I was on campus again for a student club fair. It weirded me out a little because you have to pay to join all the different organizations. I guess I'm just used to Grinnell where basically everything, once you pay tuition, is free. At Uni, I have to pay for clubs, to use the gym, and to be a member of the student union. Because of that, I only signed up for the Food Interest Group (free food and discounts? yes please), but I might join the University choir (it's non-audition and my roommate is really trying to get me to try it out).

Alright, a little bit of a long post. Monday is the first day of class and also the Oscars. Yes, I can in fact watch the Academy Awards live in Australia, which means instead of 7:00 Sunday evening, I get them 12:00 Monday afternoon. More news as it comes!

A teeny slice of the Night Market. People are vicious for those chairs!

No Orientation, No Classes, Is This Vacation?

South Lawn on campus, the school is so beautiful and old

My schedule suddenly was much less jam packed after I left Melbourne Welcome, I barely knew what to do with myself. No predetermined activities to participate in, what do I do? Enjoy the city, finally.

Melbourne is an incredibly vibrant city, and coming from college in a small town, I have definitely been trying to take advantage of all the opportunities available to me while I have the chance. Particularly in this break before classes and real work sets in. Also, it's still summer here so being able to enjoy the city in beautiful weather is just another plus.

The Queen Vic Market holds a night market every Wednesday during the summer, and it was amazing. All these international food stalls and live music, and so many people wandering around having fun. My friends and I definitely plan to go every week until it closes. We made the mistake of eating dinner before we went, which we will not be doing again. I once again managed to not take any pics, but I will this week and put them up just to show you the scale of it.

Another night a few of us wandered to Fitzroy, a neighborhood just west of where I'm living, to try and find some live music. Fitzroy is a really hip neighborhood, filled with cute boutiques, little coffee shops, and pubs with music. We weren't entirely successful, catching the end of a funk band's set, but it was fun to just wander and people watch.

Saturday the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra put on a free concert outside, which reminded me of Millennium Park. The sun was setting and the city skyline was in the background, it was wonderful. They played a world premiere of an Australian composer, which was exciting for us.

Today starts another week of orientation, this time the official one for all Uni students. I finally got to register for classes, which is very exciting. I'm officially a student! Can't wait for classes to start next week and get into a regular schedule.

Had to get a picture of this for all the tennis fans at home!

Uni Orientation

It's been another crazy couple of days here in Melbourne. Friday I packed a bag and moved into Newman College at the University of Melbourne. Newman is one of twelve or thirteen residential colleges at Uni, which are basically independent dorm complexes with their own dining hall. Rather than having school spirit for the Uni, kids have pride for their college, and they don't switch between them during their years at school. Newman was a gorgeous complex, so gothic and British looking. I don't really have pictures as I left my camera in my other room. I promise to be better about pictures in future posts!

Orientation was a fun couple of days. The overall intention was for us to get comfortable in the city, which they definitely accomplished. Saturday we went on separate tours around the city, and I got to see the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which for a true Aussie would be a religious experience. It was neat, but I don't think I'll become a huge cricket fan anytime soon. They also play Australian Rules Football there, a sport close to the heart of most Melbournians. I will definitely be checking out a game sometime soon.

That afternoon we traveled down to St. Kilda, the beach suburb of Melbourne. It was a glorious day out, and we saw they were setting up for a festival, which we went back to Sunday evening. It was crazy, there were so many people wandering around. I definitely felt more part of the city that evening.

They also took us to the Queen Vic Market, an open air market with everything you could hope for. It's only a few blocks from my apartment, and I will be doing a lot of shopping there. Kangaroo steaks, anyone?

Monday night we participated in a true residential college tradition, a formal dinner. Most of the colleges have at least one dinner like this a week, which makes me appreciate that I'm not staying in a college (I don't even have a pair of heels here!). It was definitely different than any dinner I've had in the Grinnell dining hall.

Tuesday I moved back into my room at RMIT village, the complex I'm staying in permanently. It's nice to take a break from all the organized activities and get settled; I'm excited to explore the city on my own schedule.

IES Orientation

Two posts in three days, I hope you won't expect this as the semester goes on. But so much has been going on, these orientation weeks deserve lots of updates.

Bell's Beach

So sunny!

Wednesday morning, the whole IES group departed from Melbourne and traveled down the Great Ocean Road. We were lucky, we had the most beautiful weather driving, and the views from the bus did not disappoint. For two hours we drove along seemingly continuous beaches and clear blue water with tons of surfers. Coming from Illinois in February, it was truly a sight for sore eyes. We stopped first at Bell's beach for photo opps, but we could have stopped anywhere, it was all so lovely. Also driving down, we pulled off the road and got to see koalas in the wild! They were just chilling in some trees right off the high way, the fatties. Now I just need to see a kangaroo and I'm all set.

Our final destination was Apollo Bay, a cute little beach town. Our first planned activity was a surf lesson. While I don't see a future career as a professional surfer, it was really fun and definitely something I would never have done on my own. It's really tiring! We then settled in our hostel and got dinner. A group of us hung out on the hostel roof and then went down to the beach to see stars. It was all a lot of fun bonding.

Such a lazy bum

The next day, we split into two groups to go sea kayaking. There's a rock with a fur seal colony in Apollo Bay, which we paddled out to. The seals were so cute, they were really comfortable with humans and were frolicking right by our kayaks. It was a little scary being out in deep choppy water, but luckily my partner and I didn't capsize. We rode waves in to shore, which was really fun.



All in all, I got to do some really amazing stuff I would never have imagined of doing before. It was a great way to start this adventure off. I don't have a lot of ocean pictures, but one of the IES coordinators took a bunch, so hopefully I'll be able to post some later. Now I'm off to University orientation for a few days. Updates soon!

I'm Here!

The Exhibition Hall at Carlton Gardens and a pretty fountain

I have finally arrived! After a verrrrrry long flight, including several stops along the way, I am settled in Melbourne. As settled as I can be during orientation, that is.

A quick rundown of my first two days: I landed at around 11am and was through customs with my luggage by noon. A very chatty cab driver delivered me to my hotel, where I cleaned myself up and hit the streets of Melbourne. I explored around the area I'll be living, Carlton, which has some lovely gardens where I could enjoy the Australian sunshine. It's so lovely to have left winter and escaped to summer. I already got a sunburn on my nose, oops!