I've been slacking on remembering good slang words this week. I know I heard some that I meant to write down and forgot. But here's what I got:
Chemist = pharmacyTake away = take out
Rooted = tired
Bikkie = biscuit = cookie
Sanger = sandwich
Soz = sorry
They love playing 'never have I ever' which is funny because we're over that at home.
The letter H is pronounced haych (way more effort than our pronunciation, try it)
They say aluminum aluminium.
Words like learned and spelled are spelled learnt and spelt, even in school things.
"Righto" and "chilled out" are common phrases.
I've started saying uni and university instead of college, even when referring to Lehigh. Now I just have to get myself to say 'heaps keen' (lol).
I think I have finally gotten the hang of walking on the left side.
The kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia and yet Australians eat them and hit them on the road. So disrespectful. Imagine if the turkey was our national bird…good call Benjamin Franklin (not). I still have yet to try kangaroo though! Oh man, I also haven't had Vegemite either. I'm scared because everyone says its so bad. I'll let you know how that actually is.
2 of my friends have found massive spiders in their rooms so far. As if I wasn't paranoid already.
Jervis Bay trip! (March 7-8)
Stopped at Kiama blowhole on the way to Jervis Bay. The name Kiama comes from the indigenous name Kiarama-a, which means “where the sea makes a noise.” And it did make this weird loud noise. Kiama was beautiful, I really liked walking out on the surrounding cliffs! Jervis Bay was pretty as well. We stopped at the nice white sand beach (the sand was squeaky). Went for a walk with an aboriginal woman tour guide who showed us how to call snakes. (She blew this piece of grass and asked what we thought that did. No one knew and she just goes yea thats how we call snakes, they'll show up within five minutes. I was like yoo I'm out, bye! After that, every time the leaves rustled I would jump behind Cara in case it was a snake. Why on earth anyone would ever want to know how to call snakes is beyond me). She did actually tell us some useful things too. (Well, somewhat… she said they know how to cure cancer but they can't share it with the world for some reason…). She gave us sasparilla leaves to eat that have tons of vitamin C. (She said she's never gotten sick because she eats them every day. I really should've grabbed a branch). She also told us that Jervis bay is where the East Australian Current (EAC, that the turtles ride in Finding Nemo) starts. Overnight, we stayed at a hostel/campground and had snags on the barbie for dinner!
On Sunday, we went to another beach and on a dolphin cruise. The dolphin cruise was my favorite part of the trip. I've missed being on a boat. The dolphins hang out near a reef and when we went by it, there were dolphins swimming along right under the bow of the boat where I was standing!
Overall, I was a little disappointed with this trip because we didn't do much of what was on the itinerary….didn't play with boomerangs and didgeridoos, pet kangaroos or go canoeing. (Still, I can't complain because the scenery was amazing, and I got to explore another bit of Australia).
Monday March 9
Class was boring as usual, nothing new there even in Australia. (But Mom, I am actually doing really well at paying attention in class so I have less studying to do).
At 8:30pm, several friends and I (and a train car full of other Campus East residents) hopped on a train for an hour and a half ride to Sydney to go to a bar called Scubar. The train ride was pretty entertaining as everyone was quite rowdy. Scubar was cool, they had fish tanks and fishy-themed things (including hermit crab racing). We only stayed for about an hour and a half because we had to make sure we got the last train back! Got to Campus East at 2am. Way too much effort for a Monday night. Good thing I don't have class until 12:30 tomorrow!
Wednesday March 11
Went on a field trip to Port Kembla to check out some rocks for my Planet Earth class. You can learn so many things from rocks (age, location at formation, whether it was marine/terrestrial, etc), it was really cool! Hit up the Grand Hotel for uni night, which is every Wednesday night. Good times.
Friday March 13
Left for Sydney at 5 with Alana, Cara and Lachie. Our hostel was right across from the train station! And it was nice and clean and we were on the top floor with a really good view. We shared our room with a German girl, and some English people! They were really funny. Got sushi for dinner. I'm not a huge fan of the sushi here (even though it was on a conveyor belt). They have chicken and tuna and mayo in it. And California roll isn't the same. Said bye to Lachie, he went home. Alana and Cara and I went to check out Sidebar, which is connected to/below our hostel, so there were a lot of foreign/traveling people. We met some guys from the Netherlands! They were cool, and we went to Scubar with them. Another good night in Sydney:) (Except for that I started feeling sick, I'm always sick! Doh, I really wish I had grabbed a bunch of those Vitamin C leaves from Jervis Bay).
Saturday March 14
Didn't feel very well unfortunately, but went to the chemist (lol) and got some meds. Walked around Sydney, saw the opera house from every possible angle, enjoyed the harbour (and the huge new Celebrity ship that was in port there/wished I was on it). The weather was perfect; sunny and clear, so when we walked across the Sydney Harbour bridge we had an amazing view. I could have stood there for hours and watched all the boats cruising around. I can't wait to climb the bridge when my family comes in May!
I now understand why the seagulls are everywhere in Finding Nemo. They really are EVERYWHERE. And they're obnoxious. (By the way, the address P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney does not exist). Took the train/bus to Bondi beach. It was pretty crowded but apparently this was a slow day. I can't imagine how many people there are in the middle of summer. The beach was pretty cool, in its own little cove surrounded by rocks. The water was a cool lighter blue than in Wollongong. Took a nice nap and had dinner by the beach.
Sunday March 15
Today was a little less exciting, we walked around Sydney and saw more touristy things (Alana and Cara went up in the Sydney Eye, the tallest building in Sydney). Then got back in time for dinner at Campus East.
Don't get me wrong, I really loved Sydney Harbour…but aside from that, cities are too overrated for me, they're all the same… too many sketchy people, cars, noises, and buildings. So I'm glad I experienced Sydney, but I'm also really glad I chose to go to school in laid back Wollongong instead.
Monday March 16
Went to our beach (for the first time in a week, ah!) with Melissa and Brian after class as a study break because it was too nice to pass up. We discussed how we've almost been here a month. I can't believe I haven't gone surfing yet! (There were lots of people out surfing). But thank goodness I'm doing a surf camp orientation trip this weekend. I'm so pumped!!
My roomies and I actually passed our cleaning inspection this week! We have fortnightly cleaning inspections and we failed two weeks ago…whoops.
Tuesday March 17- Happy St. Patty's Day!
Went to this sketchy doctor who said Cara had strep but didn't know what I had. I probably gave her whatever I had so he just gave me the same meds….alright. Class til 7:30, no St. Patty's day festivities unfortunately…. But, I tried vegemite! I put a tiny little bit on bread with some butter, and I only had one bite and couldn't eat the rest. It was quite repulsive. It's deceiving because it looks like nutella, but its just yeast and is really salty and not good in any way.
Wednesday March 18
Class all day, then went to the rock pools by the lighthouse to swim and get dinner with Brian, Dave, Cara, Melissa and Alana. (By the way, the picture up at the top of my blog is the Wollongong coast, and the lighthouse is on that point). It's nice to just be able to hang out and eat by the water. Went out for uni night and tried kebabs afterwords. Their kebabs are not the same as our kebabs. They're a mix between a panini and a hoagie.
Thursday March 19
I was going to wake up and be productive because I don't have class today, but that didn't happen. Went to the beach after lunch with Jesse and I can't put into words how amazing it was. The waves were breaking really far out so there was good amount of shallow sandbar with crystal clear water to swim in. 86 degrees.
I'm really happy here. I never want to leave.
Chemist = pharmacyTake away = take out
Rooted = tired
Bikkie = biscuit = cookie
Sanger = sandwich
Soz = sorry
They love playing 'never have I ever' which is funny because we're over that at home.
The letter H is pronounced haych (way more effort than our pronunciation, try it)
They say aluminum aluminium.
Words like learned and spelled are spelled learnt and spelt, even in school things.
"Righto" and "chilled out" are common phrases.
I've started saying uni and university instead of college, even when referring to Lehigh. Now I just have to get myself to say 'heaps keen' (lol).
I think I have finally gotten the hang of walking on the left side.
The kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia and yet Australians eat them and hit them on the road. So disrespectful. Imagine if the turkey was our national bird…good call Benjamin Franklin (not). I still have yet to try kangaroo though! Oh man, I also haven't had Vegemite either. I'm scared because everyone says its so bad. I'll let you know how that actually is.
2 of my friends have found massive spiders in their rooms so far. As if I wasn't paranoid already.
Jervis Bay trip! (March 7-8)
Stopped at Kiama blowhole on the way to Jervis Bay. The name Kiama comes from the indigenous name Kiarama-a, which means “where the sea makes a noise.” And it did make this weird loud noise. Kiama was beautiful, I really liked walking out on the surrounding cliffs! Jervis Bay was pretty as well. We stopped at the nice white sand beach (the sand was squeaky). Went for a walk with an aboriginal woman tour guide who showed us how to call snakes. (She blew this piece of grass and asked what we thought that did. No one knew and she just goes yea thats how we call snakes, they'll show up within five minutes. I was like yoo I'm out, bye! After that, every time the leaves rustled I would jump behind Cara in case it was a snake. Why on earth anyone would ever want to know how to call snakes is beyond me). She did actually tell us some useful things too. (Well, somewhat… she said they know how to cure cancer but they can't share it with the world for some reason…). She gave us sasparilla leaves to eat that have tons of vitamin C. (She said she's never gotten sick because she eats them every day. I really should've grabbed a branch). She also told us that Jervis bay is where the East Australian Current (EAC, that the turtles ride in Finding Nemo) starts. Overnight, we stayed at a hostel/campground and had snags on the barbie for dinner!
On Sunday, we went to another beach and on a dolphin cruise. The dolphin cruise was my favorite part of the trip. I've missed being on a boat. The dolphins hang out near a reef and when we went by it, there were dolphins swimming along right under the bow of the boat where I was standing!
Overall, I was a little disappointed with this trip because we didn't do much of what was on the itinerary….didn't play with boomerangs and didgeridoos, pet kangaroos or go canoeing. (Still, I can't complain because the scenery was amazing, and I got to explore another bit of Australia).
Monday March 9
Class was boring as usual, nothing new there even in Australia. (But Mom, I am actually doing really well at paying attention in class so I have less studying to do).
At 8:30pm, several friends and I (and a train car full of other Campus East residents) hopped on a train for an hour and a half ride to Sydney to go to a bar called Scubar. The train ride was pretty entertaining as everyone was quite rowdy. Scubar was cool, they had fish tanks and fishy-themed things (including hermit crab racing). We only stayed for about an hour and a half because we had to make sure we got the last train back! Got to Campus East at 2am. Way too much effort for a Monday night. Good thing I don't have class until 12:30 tomorrow!
Wednesday March 11
Went on a field trip to Port Kembla to check out some rocks for my Planet Earth class. You can learn so many things from rocks (age, location at formation, whether it was marine/terrestrial, etc), it was really cool! Hit up the Grand Hotel for uni night, which is every Wednesday night. Good times.
Friday March 13
Left for Sydney at 5 with Alana, Cara and Lachie. Our hostel was right across from the train station! And it was nice and clean and we were on the top floor with a really good view. We shared our room with a German girl, and some English people! They were really funny. Got sushi for dinner. I'm not a huge fan of the sushi here (even though it was on a conveyor belt). They have chicken and tuna and mayo in it. And California roll isn't the same. Said bye to Lachie, he went home. Alana and Cara and I went to check out Sidebar, which is connected to/below our hostel, so there were a lot of foreign/traveling people. We met some guys from the Netherlands! They were cool, and we went to Scubar with them. Another good night in Sydney:) (Except for that I started feeling sick, I'm always sick! Doh, I really wish I had grabbed a bunch of those Vitamin C leaves from Jervis Bay).
Saturday March 14
Didn't feel very well unfortunately, but went to the chemist (lol) and got some meds. Walked around Sydney, saw the opera house from every possible angle, enjoyed the harbour (and the huge new Celebrity ship that was in port there/wished I was on it). The weather was perfect; sunny and clear, so when we walked across the Sydney Harbour bridge we had an amazing view. I could have stood there for hours and watched all the boats cruising around. I can't wait to climb the bridge when my family comes in May!
I now understand why the seagulls are everywhere in Finding Nemo. They really are EVERYWHERE. And they're obnoxious. (By the way, the address P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney does not exist). Took the train/bus to Bondi beach. It was pretty crowded but apparently this was a slow day. I can't imagine how many people there are in the middle of summer. The beach was pretty cool, in its own little cove surrounded by rocks. The water was a cool lighter blue than in Wollongong. Took a nice nap and had dinner by the beach.
Sunday March 15
Today was a little less exciting, we walked around Sydney and saw more touristy things (Alana and Cara went up in the Sydney Eye, the tallest building in Sydney). Then got back in time for dinner at Campus East.
Don't get me wrong, I really loved Sydney Harbour…but aside from that, cities are too overrated for me, they're all the same… too many sketchy people, cars, noises, and buildings. So I'm glad I experienced Sydney, but I'm also really glad I chose to go to school in laid back Wollongong instead.
Monday March 16
Went to our beach (for the first time in a week, ah!) with Melissa and Brian after class as a study break because it was too nice to pass up. We discussed how we've almost been here a month. I can't believe I haven't gone surfing yet! (There were lots of people out surfing). But thank goodness I'm doing a surf camp orientation trip this weekend. I'm so pumped!!
My roomies and I actually passed our cleaning inspection this week! We have fortnightly cleaning inspections and we failed two weeks ago…whoops.
Tuesday March 17- Happy St. Patty's Day!
Went to this sketchy doctor who said Cara had strep but didn't know what I had. I probably gave her whatever I had so he just gave me the same meds….alright. Class til 7:30, no St. Patty's day festivities unfortunately…. But, I tried vegemite! I put a tiny little bit on bread with some butter, and I only had one bite and couldn't eat the rest. It was quite repulsive. It's deceiving because it looks like nutella, but its just yeast and is really salty and not good in any way.
Wednesday March 18
Class all day, then went to the rock pools by the lighthouse to swim and get dinner with Brian, Dave, Cara, Melissa and Alana. (By the way, the picture up at the top of my blog is the Wollongong coast, and the lighthouse is on that point). It's nice to just be able to hang out and eat by the water. Went out for uni night and tried kebabs afterwords. Their kebabs are not the same as our kebabs. They're a mix between a panini and a hoagie.
Thursday March 19
I was going to wake up and be productive because I don't have class today, but that didn't happen. Went to the beach after lunch with Jesse and I can't put into words how amazing it was. The waves were breaking really far out so there was good amount of shallow sandbar with crystal clear water to swim in. 86 degrees.
I'm really happy here. I never want to leave.