A Yankee Down Under

This weekend may have been my favorite two days of the trip so far. 

Saturday we woke up early and went into the city. Tricia, Katie, and I went in with Tricia's friend from home Hannah. She's studying at the University of Melbourne. It was great to walk around the city; I hadn't really gotten a chance to walk around too much in the daytime. The streets are so wide and clean, you wouldn't even believe it was a major city. We went to Hoosier Lane when we got off the train. This is a system of alley ways that are covered in beautiful graffiti; it attracts artists from all over and it truly was beautiful. It was real pieces of art, both political and stunning...definitely a far cry from the gang symbols spray painted on the sides of buildings in the south bronx. After Hoosier lane we ventured down into china town. Yes, theres a china town in pretty much any major city around the world. We did some cheap shopping and then went to a dumpling house for a early dinner. So cheap and so amazing. The wait staff hated us though for some reason, lets just hope they didn't spit in our food. Once dinner was over, we met up with a few more of the Loyola people in the botanical gardens. We sat in the grass among the trees and flowers and enjoyed some wine. I felt like I was in a movie, just so surreal. 

The next day we woke up and went back to Brighton Beach. It was 95 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The whole day was basically spent in the water. Surprisingly we spent much of that time in water over my head. Usually that freaks me out, but the water was so clear that it was hard to pass up. Three of the people had water proof cameras so the pictures we were able to take are hysterical. We just kept launching each other, trying to see who we could get the farthest and highest. Usually on abroad trips, the students will try and spell at Loyola with their arms in front of something cool. So we thought lets try and do it underwater because its so clear. We need practice. It sucked. I mostly need someone to teach me how to sink because I just kept floating up. And some people don't know how to spell and were holding up the wrong letters. If I wasn't in the water, I was laying down reading. Nothing is better than reading on the beach. The day was so much fun and we're getting sad that besides some of our trips, the number of days we can go to the beach in melbourne is dwindling. Winter is coming.

After being in Australia for almost two weeks, classes have finally started sadly. It is very different from Loyola. Loyola's classes are very personal because they can be no larger than 35 people; You get to know the professor very well and  there is really no where to hide from them. Here, on the other hand, I'm in a lecture with 200 people and I doubt the professor could pick my face out of the crowd. At a different day and time during the week you meet with a smaller group from the class and the TA to go over the material more in-depth...apparently no one goes to the lectures.

I like the tutorials though. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm opinionated and like to debate. Hopefully this is a chance for me to do that because there is no chance in hell I'm about to raise my hand in a lecture full of 300 people. I am not that confident. My dad will definitely be reading this thinking, oh no Kell raise your hand and give your opinion. Ya, highly doubtful. 

They weren't kidding when they said the weather in Melbourne changes really fast. Tuesday i was melting and dying, and then yesterday I wore a sweatshirt in the rain all day. I tried to sit outside and read tuesday in between class and lasted only about 20 minutes before I was dripping. It was 92 degrees out and not a cloud in the sky. No one here knows what fahrenheit is and I am terrible at the conversion. Today is beautiful and 75 degrees, perfection to me. Thursdays I lucked out and have no classes so I'm planning on sitting on my hobbit hill all day and reading Game of Thrones. I call the hill in the court yard of our building the hobbit hill because it literally looks like the shire; I'm half expecting Bilbo Baggins to come out from under it. 

I have a baby mini fridge in my room so the amount I can fit in it is very limited. I have had my own kitchen since freshmen year, so being in the typical dorm setting of a common kitchen is miserable. Every time I have to lug my pots to the kitchen (which is in another building) my soul dies a little bit. I love to cook so making ramen and basic pasta makes me cringe. I miss having not only the food supplies to make whatever I want, but also the right pans and utensils etc. Oh well, its only a few months, I'll survive. And then I'll go back to making chocolate pudding from scratch, on a whim, at 11:30 at night for my sister.