Famous Chapel & Fist Pumping. 2.8.11

It was officially Day 2 of O-Week. We were slowly coming to love the announcements on the loud speaker from Tony in Student Services. (Just to give you a mental image of Tony, super nice guy, I enjoy him alot. He's about 35-40, but thinks he's still young and hip and cool. And missed his calling as a personal trainer. Seriously... homeboy could be a high school gym teacher. He totally cracks me up!). So Tony comes over the speaker announcing the morning's "happenings": breakfast, Professional Performance Program, lunch, and the study abroad students take off for the mall.

Being that it was Tuesday, it was supposed to be hot breakfast (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. At least I could look forward to this meal!!!). So, I was expecting this:

Yesssss!!!

Apparently, hot breakfast does not start until week two. So, I got this... again:


fail.

At 9am, half of the students filed into the Great Hall and the other half into the College Chapel (according to their surname). We weren't really expecting what was going to come next. And thank goodness for that! Two full hours of a professional performance lecture. We were told things like: We're representing the college so act as such, don't chew gum, wear skirts that are knee-length, what colors are acceptable, where our name badge is to be placed, wear make-up; not too much, not too little, just the right amount. Wear black socks, wear your hair up, shave your beard... okay, you get the idea. But the meeting lasted 2 hours! But again, you have to account for different backgrounds, cultures, and ages. Even though I know how to dress and act appropriately, doesn't mean the girl sitting next to me does. 

We had 30 minutes for lunch and had to catch a bus to head to the mall. I had $500 in my pocket of "free money" that had to be spent and believe it or not, I was stressed out!!!! There was actually alot of pressure on the next few hours. I had a number of stores and a time limit to find everything that I needed for the next 12 weeks. This could have easily been a recipe for disaster. In a nutshell, the outcome was a success. With a dash of unexpected results. ICMS had pre-arranged deals with two stores: CUE and David Jones. These are not Targets, people. This is Lord and Taylor type stuff. EXTREMELY expensive but really good quality. Once I started looking at price tags, I instantly regretted not purchasing more business attire in the US.

Professional (expensive) Attire - 1st day pic!

After an  hour, I purchased 2 dresses and a business jacket, totalling... $506. Yep. I think I cried a little as I watched my gift card dissipate with one swipe. And I still had to purchase shoes. Naturally, you would think Payless... because they would be cheap. But even Payless is enjoying the advantages to Australia's economy - there are no shoes less than $40. And that is considered 'cheap'.

I walked out of the mall spending just over $600 total. The good news: I could take a deep breath. I had everything I needed for class... paper, pens/pencils, business attire, shoes, and even an Aussie straightener and blow dryer (because I accidentally blew up the blow dryer that I brought with me... there was real fire & sparks. very scary).  The bad news?  I had TWO outfits to wear for 10 weeks. And that is straight-up nasty.


We made it back to campus around 3pm and even though there were things on the agenda, we didn't do much that afternoon. There was a big campus-wide welcome ceremony and cocktail reception that evening. We're chicks... so we all hopped in the shower and started getting ready for the evening's affairs. And thank gosh we did because Manly Beach gave us a warm welcome; they may never be the same because of it.

The festivities began at 5pm in the college chapel. Yeaaa Rigghhtttt was I going to be ready at 5pm. So I finished my hair, didn't bother with make-up, threw on my dress and made it there at 4:59. To find out the ceremony didn't start until 5:30. Bummer. Oh well... it's just a welcome ceremony, right? I'll finish my make-up afterwards, but certainly before the cocktail reception. Wouldn't ya know that this was day 1 of filming the campus?!?!??? (Instead of a yearbook here, they do a video of the term. So at all of our events, parties, whatever, we have a camera man that films.) I had a camera in my face and no make-up on... Great first impressions.

Come to find out, the college chapel is kind of a BIG deal. Our chapel on campus is the same place Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman got married last year. Absolutely gorgeous!!!

The actual famous Chapel!

The ceremony began with a procession of flags from the countries around the world. The Dean spoke, the Student Body President spoke, and various other important people took the floor. Many inspirational speeches consisting of phrases like 'great semester', 'your university', and 'visualize graduation'. Before we knew it, we were released and the cocktail party was beginning on the front lawn. There were two orders of business to be taken care of before the drinking began: pictures to be taken in the famous chapel and putting on make-up. Check aaannndddd check. Time for a free glass of wine, courtesy of ICMS.

Some of my favorite ladies at the cocktail reception

Front of ICMS

This was such a classy party! Everybody was there... the Dean, lecturers, other faculty, all the students, and VIP's. There was an open bar with white wine, red wine, and champagne. So we got creative and started enjoying Mimosas. One of my favorite quotes of the night was from Sarah... I explained that the only other time I had ever had a Mimosa was when Dustin and I went to Rose's in East Grand Rapids after church. She looks at me, straight up, and asks, "You pre-gamed for church?!??". I laughed... "No, we post-gamed."

One of the things I actually enjoy about Australia is, believe it or not, the lower drinking age (18). Administration knows that we are in college and that we're going to drink. At Grand Valley, specifically, they fight underage drinking so aggressively, I personally think that they create bigger problems for themselves and serious hazards for students (i.e. Kicking everybody out of a party so very intoxicated people then get in their car and drive away). Here, there is no sneaking of alcohol and a lot less underage stupidity... because they're legal here. I digress...
Back to the cocktail party: I'm not going to lie and say that there wasn't some funny stuff happening after we had had a few glasses of wine. But hey, it was quite entertaining watching drunken students giving a good attempt at having an intelligent conversation with the Dean. bahh ha ha.

This was really the first time I had been drinking since I had been in Australia. And it felt good. Really good. It was really nice to just chill out and get a little goofy with these new people that I was calling "friends". After the welcome party, our group and the entire campus went down to a local bar/club: North Shore Club. And I made a rookie mistake: I totally forgot my ID and they wouldn't let me in. Obviously I don't look 18 and my student ID was not cutting it... so I had to make an hour round-trip walk with Kat from Hong Kong (who also forgot her ID... but she was 18 and it was a little more forgivable).

At first I wanted to give up on the night... no way was I walking an hour back to campus just to get my ID and walk back down. It was 10pm, afterall... past my bedtime!!! But, Kat (being freshly 18) looked at me with puppy dog eyes. She wasn't ready to call it a night. So I put on my party pants and started the trek back to campus for our IDs. I ended up being very glad that I did - By accident, I took advantage of the opportunity to get to know her and her culture. She talked about her country and how she often felt unsafe. How the neighborhood she was from was known for prostitution. And that people generally keep to themselves. She noticed that I was saying "hi" to people that we passed on the street and after a few people, she asked how I felt safe with doing so. After a bit... she wanted to try to say hello to the next passer-by. But just ended up giggling and saying, "you do it" so I smiled and said 'hello' again.

Before we knew it, the walk was coming to a close and we made it back to the bar. I stood tall and proud and handed that stubborn bouncer my ID that said I was far past legal drinking age. (And he didn't even look at it!!!!!) He just laughed and insisted that I enjoy my night. Great, thanks for the exercise, dude!

Sarah greeted me at the door with open arms, took my by the elbow and led me to the bar. I was about to learn 2 things: The first, that Australians are hardcore. No flavored shots... The rest of the night consisted of straight up vodka or Jagermeister (which I even got an "'atta girl" from Dus!!). The second, that this was going to be the first and last night that I went out drinking in Australia. Sarah had shouts then it was my turn. No more American prices - OUCH!!!!



The infamous "American style" pizza place



There was a live band. Pretty freakin sweet. They were playing all kinds of American music and getting the crowed pumped. I had the pleasure of introducing the 'fist pump' to the Australians. And fist pump we did!!!! It's pretty trashy (Jersey shore style)... but it made for good pictures! At first, I think the bartender felt sorry for me... so it was just him and me supporting the fist pump. By midnight, half the crowd was fist pumping and the band gave me a "complimentary drink card". L-E-G-I-T.

We grabbed a piece of American style pizza at a nearby place that happened to still be open. Snapped a couple more pictures. And I still made it to bed by 12:30 (which is why I very much enjoy starting my night at 6pm!!).

The alarm was set for the next morning... But I knew better. I shut it off - and felt liberated. Sleep was good. At 9am I reached over, pulled my laptop on me, and skyped home. My aunt made a face that spoke for itself. It kinda screamed 'Oh my word, you look like death'!! haha. You're only young once, I suppose. I fully intended on going to the Library Orientation and Teambuilding sessions... but missed them both by a long-shot.

I showered and as the noon hour approached, we went down for lunch. At lunch, the genius idea was presented... And was about to make me one happy camper!

Checking into Hogwarts.

This isn't exactly what I had pictured. It was worse. This place was dark, and cold, and smelled awful. There we stood, 33 of us with all of our baggage. Our instructions were to grab a pen, sign the "house rules", receive our keys to our rooms, and go to Classroom 1 where we would be given a brief rundown of what the day's and week's schedule consisted of.

This is Hogwarts. Seriously!!! We were waiting for the staircases to start moving on us!



I obviously did not take this picture - I'm deathly afraid of heights. I live on the 4th floor; 97 steps to make it there. My legs are absolutely ripped. :o)



The view from our window.

 Room 330 - REPRESENT!!! It was me and Molly from Michigan. (Go figure... the girl I am roommates with is the only girl to contact me before the trip and lives 5 minutes from where I work). Okay, well at least I have a familiar face in my room. It's getting better already. Molly and I make it up the FOUR flights to our room. The drag? Four flights up and NO lift. That's right, that means we walk all 97 steps. We call dibs on our beds, check out the view, and just sit there - staring at the wall. We still have a 3rd mystery roommate that isn't there yet... But for now, that is more than okay with the both of us.


All that was on the agenda for the night was dinner. ICMS was doing it's best to make this "fun" and "exciting". After a quick campus tour we landed at the CYC (Courtyard Cafe). They had a little duo playing guitars and singing. They were great! Then we got to see their dining facilities. Ohhh snap. There is one cafeteria with one dinner option. If you don't like it? You get lettuce or go hungry. It was then that I realized my life was going to change. And this little "Diva" picky eating business was coming to an end. Night #1 - fish. I was in trouble - big trouble. Looks like lettuce it is...

A ridiculous case of homesickness kicked in.Who was this girl? Certainly not me. I'm not a home-body. I have no motivation whatsoever to unpack... this isn't home. I don't want to make it feel as such. The bed is uncomfortable, and the walls are yellow, not to mention the smell of an old-folks home lingered everywhere. I want to cry so badly... this is not what I signed up for. But I hold back because Molly is already knee deep in unpacking and is smiling ear-to-ear. The excitement is beaming out of her and I wasn't about to be a steal-joy. A part of me was jealous... I thought I was going to have that reaction. Or anything other than this feeling of paralyzing regret. I fake a smile, decline an offer to paint the town, and call it an early bed. I wanted/needed to talk to home or anybody familiar to reassure me that things will be just as I left them for the next three and a half months, but it is 5am Michigan time - no time to be calling for reassurance. The next best thing to a comforting voice, was a good night's sleep.

Woke up the next morning to a facebook message and a phone call - my sister had been in a bad accident that night. I couldn't even finish my sentences... I just cried. At the time, it was probably the best thing for me. To just let it out instead of holding it in just to appear as if I was "okay". Because to be honest, I wasn't. I knew she was fine. And D was there, with my family... doing exactly what I'd do, if I was home. But I wasn't home. I was 10,000 miles away and completely, utterly helpless. It's not even that I could've done anything if I was there... I think it's a feeling you have to experience to understand. It is difficult to hear about change when you're gone and can't witness it. It's awful to hear about a minor tragedy and not be there.

The next Morning started early. Brekkie began at 7:15. Corn Flakes - I added a check to my tally marks of cereal which was rapidly growing and got ready for the day. From 8:30am until noon, there was 'Official Enrollment' for students with my surname. We gave them our personal information and received our new student ID's. A Computer/Internet Orientation was required and I made sure to get this finished as soon as possible because... it was a holiday. An American holiday - Superbowl Sunday. At 11am, 'Superbowl Monday' was put on the big screen in the Courtyard Cafe. But it just didn't feel right... watching Superbowl on a Monday morning without the commercials that we all wait 364 days to see was just disappointing. Be it as it was, we watched the Packers run to victory and a local newspaper came to interview a couple American boys that were die-hard Packer fans, all decked out in green and yellow. The article was published the following morning.

Yep, that's "our" boys. Zach from Iowa and Derrick from Wisconsin.
American ICMS students makin the front page of The Manly Daily.

That afternoon, we didn't have much down time. From 4-5pm, we had a Study Abroad Attire Briefing. In a nutshell, ICMS used to have uniforms (I've mentioned this before...) and this year they changed their policy. We were now required to wear our own personal business attire, which I own hardly any of. We were all given a $500 gift card to the Warringah Mall and some wicked discounts to some fancy stores. We were then instructed on what is/not allowed and the behavior that is/not considered professional. Some of it, I considered common sense... But given some of the Americans that are also on this trip, I realized it was not common sense for all of us. Notes were taken and questions were asked; This was our one shot to understand it - the next morning, we were taking $500 to purchase our wardrobe for the semester. Not an ideal time to have a misunderstanding!

Just before dinner, we had a Study Abroad Academic Briefing. And holy smokes... about 10 minutes in, I almost ran out the back door. What was I thinking?!? I missed GVSU already!  This school is hard core, for lack of a better term. I was warned by Ross (an AustraLearn leader), back in Brisbane, that this would probably be where I wrote my first 100 page paper. Not sure what I was thinking, but I didn't believe him. The Dean was the sole speaker of this briefing - great guy, good speaker. BUT he laid it out for us... high expectations. This is one of the most prestigious schools in all of Australia. And they didn't accidentally come upon their nickname; they earned it! 100% class attendance is expected. He described the grading scale - (They don't use the 'A-F' letter grade system, but I'll put it in American terms for lack of confusion) it is hard to receive an A or B. You have to legitimately work to earn a C. Oftentimes a low B is the highest grade in the class... and there is no such thing as a curve here. Well... there went my excitement for my classes transferring back as "credit/no credit". The good news? The term is only 10 weeks long. Even if I do have a 3,000 word paper due, I'm going to have less than 10 weeks to stress about it. By the time I really get myself worked up, we're going to be knee-deep in Finals. It's go time...

We "enjoyed" a quick dinner and had to make it to our last meeting for the day: The residential meeting. This one was a little more casual and run by our RA, Henrietta. She's a super sweet, down-to-earth girl from Sweden.
Basically, she had a script that she was required to follow and certain things that she had to tell us. But, she was pretty straight up honest with us. She knows that we're going to bend the rules (because we're in our 20's and are going to do it no matter what) so we discussed what we could get away with and what was going to get us kicked out and deported (handy thing to know!). I'm learning very quickly that living in a dorm is something you kind of take for granted when in America. But when you mix numerous cultures from all over the world, sometimes 3 different cultures per room, and have the entire hall share ONE bathroom, it's not so 'common sense' anymore. Maybe this is well known... but I had no idea that people from Eastern cultures don't use toilets the same way that the 'rest of the world' does. So, we have "using the toilet" instructions posted on the wall. Yea... weird to get used to.

But, I really couldn't complain. In the application process for Study Abroad, I cannot begin to count how many essay questions somehow asked, 'Why do you want to study abroad?'. My answer always consisted of something like... Because I think the best way to learn about a culture is to completely submerge yourself in it. And? I was doing exactly that. In fact, I was getting more than what I paid for - I was experiencing all dimensions to many different cultures, not just Australian.

Thanks Brisbane! It's been grand.

An entire day stared us in the face: No plans. Nothing on the agenda. We could do whatever we pleased. So, naturally, Tour-Guide Todd suggests going to their Farmer's Market and almost the entire group decides to join. Go figure... free day, and we choose to go with Tour-Guide Todd. But what a pleasant surprise, it was!! Great prices, "junk food" (or what Australians consider junk food, at least), and the freshest fruit that I've ever tasted. After walking past numerous booths with luscious fruit, I caved and bought a peach. Holy smokes!  I had juice running down my arm, peach in my teeth, and looked like a 2-year old trying to conquer this thing, but it was ta die for!!! It was also at the Brisbane market that I discovered chocolate shakes as we know them, are no longer. I found a place that was advertising "shakes". So, my sweet tooth made the decision that a shake was my next purchase. Come to find out... a chocolate shake is code for "really cold chocolate milk". Yep, no fish looking face, face turning purple because you're sucking so hard to get the ice cream shake through a straw. Now? It's just chocolate milk. One more thing to add to the list of "In America, I should've never taken advantage of..."



[Stolen picture of] Queen St.



After a few hours we were bored and sweaty. So we made the executive decision to go to the Gallery of Modern Art. But somebody didn't do their research... and it had just closed. Instead we decided to take a stroll down Queen Street one last time just to have the chance to check out the shops, locals, and whatever else we wanted to get into. We stopped at a little deli to have lunch and I had the most delectable Turkish Pocket (don't ask what it was... I'm beyond asking what the food is I'm about to eat - I find I enjoy it more if I just don't know). There is a Target in the strip, so I had to check it out!  And it's totally different!!!! Target in Australia is not the place to go for decorative, overpriced items. It is very much a clothing store. It has other items too, but it's not the general store that I was used to. Which is a total bummer, because Target is one of the things I was looking forward to most. (Sounds funny, but when you're 10,000 miles away from home, a silly store like Target is home).

It was still only mid-afternoon. A few people were headed to the Botanical Gardens, which sounds fantastic!!! But at that point, I was exhausted. The week slid by and we were constantly on a bus heading to our next venture or undertaking these long, exhausting days that were planned for us. I politely declined on the Botanical Gardens. It was time for a shower and a nap. Afterall, it was about 1am at home - my bedtime. :o)

Jojo's was for dinner. We considered going back to the Beach Club for the 2nd night in a row just because it was too epic to pass up. But, since this was it for Brisbane, we decided to enjoy a glass of Riesling and some overpriced pasta at Jojo's. And wow, we were SO glad that we did. This pasta was the most savoury thing - beats any American pasta I've had.

After dinner, the anxiety and excitement was starting to seep in, so a few of us headed back to the hostel and started packing our bags. Dustin took care of most of my packing to get me to Australia, including the air-sucking bag stuff, so I kinda assumed that there wasn't a chance in the world of fitting all of my stuff back into those same suitcases. (Just like when you pack to go on vacation... it always fits on the way there but it's strategically impossible for it to be put back for the trip home). I'm quite positive, a "strategic-packing angel" came down and laid his hands on me... because it fit.

What did not fit, on the other hand, was all of our luggage on the bus, for the trip to the airport. That poor bus-driver was putting suitcases under that bus for 45 minutes in 100 degree heat. He earned his paycheck that day, poor guy! The nerves kicked in... I sat next to "Bama" on the bus. We talked about home. We talked about the trip. We talked about getting back on an airplane and how 5 days was not nearly enough to recover from 30 hours of traveling.

We checked our bags.

We ate Subway (and I enjoyed my last bag of American Doritos - Thanks Mrs. Schuiling!!!)

And we took off.

This was the first view of my new home. And when my heart jumped out of my chest. I was in Sydney, Australia. And it was home. It was another one of those moments where I was humbled. I couldn't help but close my eyes (in the midst of my obsessive picture taking) and say a prayer of thanks.

Flight was smooth. Somehow we were all lucky enough to have our luggage show up when we did. Amy arrived (our contact while here at ICMS). We loaded onto a bus, took over the radio with our Biggie Smalls and Snoop Doggy Dog (cool, we're awesome Americans). Thankfully, we had the opportunity to take the scenic route home and got to see the beach we'd be visiting everyday, local hot spots, restaurants we should keep in mind, the Corso, and of course general scenery. Because, afterall, we are in one of the most beautiful places on EARTH!!



Beautiful even on a rainy day.





The entrance to the International College of Management, Sydney.



We had just missed the biggest heat wave of the past 100 years; The prior week, temps were upwards of 115 degrees (F). They day we arrived, Sydney was finally experiencing some relief; and some rain. So as we were driving into school (towards the beach), we faced a parade of cars leaving the beach (traffic jam style).

Once we made it up the infamous hill on Darley Road (that we now walk every single day), the bus could not make it all the way down the drive. So we all filed off the bus, unloaded luggage... and down came drops. It started to pour. People started grabbing random suitcases and running. But since we had never been here... they were running for the door; any door. We had not a clue where we were going. I was towards the back and thank goodness, at the exact same time I was picking up the last few wet suitcases from the sidewalk, the senior guys came out to help us with luggage (it's customary for the senior guys to assist with move-in).

We walked into the castle. And my heart sunk.

Brisbane's breakthrough

The day had finally come, after five days of being in a 14-hour time difference my body had adjusted. We slept in. Out of the three of us that were in a room together, not one of us bothered to set an alarm because I was so bright eyed and bushy tailed so friggin early every morning!  Looked at the clock. Looked at it again... waited for my eyes to adjust or for it to magically start rolling back, but no such luck. We had 10 minutes to get dressed, grab breakfast, and make it to the bus. Here goes nothing... Pure chaos. Somehow, 10 minutes later we were piled on a bus headed to our Community Day location. Success. But that was a close one!

Today, our task was to help reach the 2,000,000 tree initiative. Goal? Plant 2,000,000 trees in a year, or something. Being that there was just significant flooding in Brisbane, it helped our efforts - it made it so much easier that there was soggy ground. So we grabbed hats, gloves, shovels, and trees and started planting.



Generally speaking, this is my look when my friends aren't around.

 The day's goal set by the leaders was to plant about 500 trees by 2pm. That gave us a healthy five hours to get some serious tree hugging done. It was 104 degrees (F) and about 80% humidity. Much of our group was significantly hungover. Thankfully (and a little bit surprising) I was not one of them... but watching them moan in agony made my life feel just a little bit more spectacular. By 11am, we were ready for some lunch. So we all grabbed our smashed sandwiches out of a cooler, each took an apricot bar (oh sick), and a juice box. Found a spot in the shade and shared a laugh at the kids getting in trouble (we were in the backyard of an elementary school and the naughty kids would be sent out back where we were. This one chubby little boy got in trouble and was kicked out, so he laid down on a table in the shade and waved an Australian flag until he fell asleep. We were all pretty jealous - he had about a 30 minute nap and we were all sweating our faces off.)

Like good little working bees, after we were finished we got up to finish exercising our Green Thumbs and found out we had actually exceeded their goal and planted 800 trees in just under 90 minutes. We shattered any record of all previous AustraLearn students. Booyaaahhhhhh. We were stoked. The leaders made a call to the bus and an  hour later we were all entering air-conditioned heaven. Since we were fast workers, we earned a few hours to ourselves. A lot of people went to the pool, a couple people napped, but I knew that if I didn't start uploading pictures of my trip that my family may start to disown me. So I sat down and finally started to put my week online and share my trip with all those that missed me.

Friday night. Free night. Okay, this was it. The big one. I had been in Australia for 5 days and had made it to bed, almost before the sun had set, every night. This was my night. Time to get dolled up and tear up Brisbane. We walked down to Queen Street (after gathering many native's suggestions) headed for the Beach House and got to witness history in the making. Currently, Egypt is in the process of trying to overthrow their President (Mubarak).

There was a speaker in town that was speaking against President Mubarak and these people marching were in support of the speaker. The demonstration was very controlled, police were everywhere, but it was very powerful... they were loud and organized. It raised alot of attention!

It was time for dinner!! We had certainly worked up an appetite being super tree planters by day (and as far as I'm concerned we earned a little fun in our lives!). And we had come to the perfect spot. There was a deck that overlooked much of the strip and we were in the center of the nightlife. The duo that was entertaining us was beyond incredible. I've listened to alot of music in my day... and these two won't be easily forgotten.

As the night rolled on, so did the beer; for our friends at the next table, that is. There was a group of about 10 and they all worked together at a nearby local hotel. It was Friday night and time to kick back for them. As the spirits flowed, the dancing started, and we made new friends. These girls left an imprint on me... We had "Lady Gaga" who was just straight up stoked about life. And if you'd let her, she'd be honored to serenade you. The other girl was all about starting the dance party and getting her new, American friends on that stage with her. So, we danced. And we danced and we sang and we danced some more.

This night just felt like a breakthrough for me... a breakthrough I had been waiting for. Even though I get along with just about everybody that is on the trip, I'm all about one-on-one relationships. I finally started making better friends (and we weren't drinking!) and found some dance partners... cuz this girl cannot be without dance partners! The part I was struggling with the most about being gone, is not having my favorite people: to confide in, to vibe with, to dance with, to chill with! And up until that point, I was missing my bff's terribly. Although my favorites from MI (and my girl in New Orleans) will never be replaced... I had to have some fill-ins til I'm home. :o)

Our night started to come to a close and "Lady Gaga" had one last bit of wisdom to share with us. She started it off as "You girls have a choice...". Pretty much in a nutshell, she explained that we were sexy American girls and these Australian men don't know just how sexy they are. BUT, we have the power to unleash their sexiness. It was the most ridiculous thing I've heard in quite some time (and is most likely only entertaining to those that had the privilege of enjoying this with me) but regardless, I don't want Gaga, her crew, or that evening to be forgotten.

Brizzy was coming to a close. We had one last full day left. And as excited as I was about Sydney (and being able to unpack and NOT live out of suitcases anymore)... I wasn't letting a single day of this trip pass me by. I slept with a smile and had my alarm set for the following morning...

Soaking up the Aussie Culture

I was awake. But the alarm hadn't gone off. The sun hadn't risen. And there was no noise in what seemed to be the entire hostel. Just as they had predicted, our bodies would not let us "sleep in". And it was true. At 5am I was wide awake. By 5:30, I was so sick of laying there, I decided to get ambitious. I grabbed a shower, freshened up, got ready for my day, checked my email, and got on Skype by 6:30am. I absolutely LOVED starting my day out this way. It was so peaceful and quiet and already quite warm... I sat outside and talked to home. First my aunt, then to Dustin. I answered email after email after email, most of them consisting of panicked questions because we were predicted to be precisely where the hurricane was hitting.

I met up with the group, enjoyed day 1 of corn flakes (which prompted me to start recording my breakfast consumption. After 4 days of Corn Flakes, just in Brisbane then 2 consecutive days of Rice Crispies, or their version of that anyways, I decided to start counting. For not enjoying cereal, I'm curious to see how many days I enjoy the same exact stuff). Not long after the Vegemite challenge became a hit. Although I wasn't daring enough to try it, the expressions on their faces explained plenty for me.  

The Culture and Information session was next on the agenda. Although they were quite lengthy, I really enjoyed the first couple days of them. It is much easier to have them tell you about the slang vs you looking like a silly American trying to guess... Or worse, inserting the wrong Aussie word into a sentence. Ummm... Tourist?!?!!! They explained things like how to speak, how restaurants are different, how Australians view Americans, and to not say they drive on the "wrong" side of the road... always the "other" side of the road. They explained that in this culture it is better for you to try and fail than to not even try at all because you think you won't be good at it (the American way).

I liked hearing about the culture, and soon I would come to find out that I love living in it, too. They say "Cheers" for 'thank you' and "No worries" for 'you're welcome'.  Life is slower here. For the most part, the only people blowing past you on the streets are moms or fellow Americans (this is a significant generalization, of course). Tour Guide Todd explained that he works in an office and when he would get up and walk quickly to the printer, his fellow Aussies would laugh and ask him why he was in such a hurry to get there. And I like that. :o)

At the end of the session, we got our international cell phones. This caused somewhat of a commotion, just for the people that brought them from home, then you add in some technical difficulties, then lightly sprinkle a few panicked uptight people because they paid for phones and have parents expecting to call at that VERY SECOND (ugh... obviously they haven't adjusted to the chill Aussie culture yet). I got my phone and it stayed in the box for almost 48 hours. I had every intention of pulling it out and activating it... But I was finally content. These faces around me were starting to become familiar, we started relating to one another, and we started sharing some good laughs (don't let me fool you, I was still on Skype for a significant part of my day, I just didn't feel the need to carry around a phone).

Day 2 meant that it was Zoo Day. For those of you that know me, you understand that I don't fancy zoos (sorry Aunt Staci). But it was time to experience the culture for all that it was. And that meant getting a little dirty, smelling some interesting smells, and not screaming too loud when I encountered snakes/spiders. On the upside, we had a fabulous barbeque for lunch and almost (literally) stepped on a peacock on our way in.

At 12:30 we were told to go explore and had until 4pm to enjoy the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and all it had to offer. So we kind of looked around at each other... and pulled out the maps. Some didn't even have to think - they wanted to see everything, twice. The rest of us planned out what looked good, fun, and interesting. First up, KOALAS!!!  Cute little buggers. I wanted to cuddle one and I wanted to see a baby! Great success:

Although they are possibly the cutest things that I've ever laid eyes on, don't let them fool you... they smell SO bad!! Oh my goodness gracious!  In a nutshell, the rest of the afternoon consisted of viewing a platypus, watching a sheep hearding show (which was shockingly great!), looking at crocks, feeding the kangaroos, and avoiding the lizards running free. It wasn't a bad day at the zoo. Not bad at all.

Dinner that night was up to us. Downside - we had to pay for it. Upside - we were set free in the city of Brisbane to do as we pleased. Looking back at this night... it makes me laugh. We're such silly tourists. Because, as a group, we had been growing closer and bonding like good little kiddies, so we decided to meet in the lobby and attempt to do an "independent" group dinner. That was the idea anyways. We ended up being the most indecisive, confused, hungry people in the entire country. The plan was to head to a nearby strip of shops and restaurants.

 Super cute. Super classy. They had pizza (no, not American), they had sushi (no, too expensive), they had Che Bistro (no, too snobbish). We walked and we walked and we walked... many of us in circles. Long story short, after a solid 45 mintues we ended up at: Hog's Breath Cafe.

I know... super classy, we are. Ha!  It was a mix between Texas Roadhouse and an Applebees. There were things on the menu that sounded amazing, not too pricy, and let's face it... It was time for a large glass of wine for this girl!!!!! We ended up having a blast with a small group of 6. I indulged in pasta for the second night in a row and even splurged on some bread with Sarah. It was perfect.

Once again, the group dressed up and hit the town and I could have cared less. It was time for bed. My body still wasn't adjusted to a 16-hour time difference yet.

The next morning started out quite similar to the one previous. At 6am I was awake and ready for the day, hopped on the internet and checked to see how the afternoon was going back at home. Turns out, things were going just fine without me. ;o)  The plan for the day was to have a Culture Info session then head out on the day's adventure. For various reasons, the session was cancelled so it was time to peel away from the laptop and take a good ol' fashioned walk. And I'm SO glad I did!! 5 of us girls grabbed our cameras and our flip flops and took off looking for anything worthy of a picture. We walked over incredible bridges, checked out the ancient city buildings (some from the 1800s), and stood in awe of their modern architecture.

 In the beginning, I wasn't so excited about being "stuck" in Brisbane when I expected to be in the incredibly beautiful Cairns. But after exploring their Central Business District and some of the cutest shops in Australia, I really grew an appreciation for Brisbane.

It was Kayaking Day. Any person in their right mind would be excited for this. I, on the other hand, am athletically challenged (that's why I play pageants) and wasn't so hot on the idea. We loaded onto a bus at 11am and headed for Riverlife. Here, we had lunch and had the opportunity to see one of the coolest things yet: An aboriginal show. Wow. Cool stuff right there! They had some of our group members get up there and learn their "Happy Dance" (perfect photo opp for the rest of the group!). Afterwards, we all painted up and got a group picture with them.

An hour and a half of kayaking?!?! Oh. My. Goodness. I really didn't want to do this. But we stripped down to our suits, took off our sunglasses, laid on the sunscreen, and gathered around for some instructions. Not long after they were lowering boats into the water. Even up to the point of me climbing down the ladder to my kayak, I just remember thinking, "Gosh, I don't want to do this". I got in. And didn't tip it over. Found my balance. And started rowing. Not so bad at ALL!  We rowed nearly a quarter mile down the river and gosh, what a workout!!!!! At one point, Tour Guide Todd looked at me and said, "You look like you were born for that boat." BOOM! Go figure, I do have an athletic bone in my body!!

Once we made it to our "destination" (fighting the tide the whole way) we all linked boats and made a large circle. What came next may shock you... it shocked me! The guide counted all of us off. I was #6. Directly across the circle from me, there was another #6. When he called my number, I had to get up and RUN to the other side of the circle on the back of the kayaks, with the objective of beating the other person to the empty boat. With not much choice, I did it. And had fun doing that, too.  This day was truly a day of personal victories. (I apologize to all of you that would have died to do what I did and I was complaining and resisting it... but at least I got something out of it, eh?!).

We floated back to Riverlife. Climbed the cliff. And headed back to the hostel for a couple hours down time before our group dinner.








The people in Austraila love their Thai food! Tour Guide Todd told us it was better here because they are closer to Thailand. I dunno... just go with it. It was Thursday, and finally my night to dress up and go out. I was rested and adjusted. After dinner, the plan was to have some fun! We sat down for dinner at 7pm, in a very small, authentic Thai place. We took up almost the whole restaurant! And gosh, we are loud Americans! At 8pm, we still had no food and had worked up quite the appetite after kayaking for hours prior! So, a few girls and myself decided we were going to take advantage of the restaurant being a BYO [definition - In Australia, it is common for restaurants to be BYO's. And it is exactly that. You are invited to bring your own beer or wine into their place of business and enjoy it with your dinner]. We ran across the street and bought a delicious bottle of Reisling... which made the next HOUR of waiting for food much more enjoyable. At 9pm there was a parade of Thai food that came rolling from the kitchen. I cannot even begin to explain how much food we ended up having. After waiting 2 hours for food, then being stuffed to the brim, even the mere thought of going out on the town disgusted me. So back to a comfy bed Molly and I walked. Except I had just enjoyed half a bottle of wine and thought that Dustin would enjoy talking to me. That poor guy was woken up at 5am to find a chatterbox on the other end. He didn't even shut me up... 56 minutes later we said goodnight and I called it a day.

We were only halfway done with our time in Brisbane. And little did I know... the best was yet to come.

My unexpected week in Brisbane!

So here I sit. I'm in what the American's have deemed the "watering hole" on campus. It is so quiet and so very peaceful. (Except for the awful noises that the birds make here... when people hear the noise when I skype with them, they ask if there are babies crying in the hallway. haha. Nope, just the horrible sounding birds...).

Going back to Brisbane...
We stepped off the plane in Brisbane and had our last chance to purchase things at Duty Free (tax free) where prices were still cheap, American prices. I really had no idea what was going to hit me as far as Australian prices... but now I know why those stores are such a big hit. Next feat was customs. Even though I had absolutely nothing to hide, I was still a little nervous. We had to fill out information cards on the plane and they asked us questions like 'do you have food that you shouldn't have, or medication that would be considered illegal, or dirt or soil with you', etc etc... Well I was pretty free and clear of all that, but I still had the goodies that Mrs. Schuiling had sent me off with. 2 bags of Doritos and some sugar gumdrops were all that was left, and surprisingly, they let me through with them! (thank gosh... little did I know that bag of cheddar Doritos was going to be my last for the next 3.5 months! *weakness*).

I got lucky... but poor Lauren from Alabama, did not. There are people that get randomly searched while going through customs. Well little Lauren from Alabama is possibly the sweetest, most precious girl on this trip. Just cute as a button. She was one that got randomly searched. Poor thing tried to break in her new tennis shoes while still in the US and had a small line of dirt on them. Customs found this and wrote her up for a minor infraction. Hardcore! Thank goodness, this was just a warning but if she's ever "caught" again, she has to pay a whopping $250. (We overheard another person on the plane was wrote up for bringing a banana through).

The next step was to check our luggage. So Faith, Lauren, and I all checked our baggage. The rest of the group was asked to carry it with them (for some reason... we're still not totally sure why). Shortly after we checked our luggage, we met Sheila (who turned out to be the partial founder of AustraLearn. and SUCH a sweetie). She explained that the directors had made an executive decision, one hour prior to her meeting us, that we were cancelling the trip to Cairns, as there was a massive Category 5 hurricane headed straight for the coast.

From there, chaos somewhat broke out.
[Side note: Earlier I mentioned that being on the Group Flight "saved my life". Well, with the financial complications presented in early January, my flight with all of the other students was almost jeopardized. That being said, I would have been on the flight to Cairns and possibly had to endure the hurricane.]
The first issue being, I need my luggage that just got put on that plane to Cairns!!!!!!  I had just checked all of my belongings and was about to be without them until God knows when. Next thing was to talk to home. I was like a fish out of water and all I wanted to do was hear a familiar voice. Anyone. Especially Dustin's. I turned on my phone and had absolutely no signal whatsoever. It was dead. I was devastated. I understand that this sounds very very dramatic, but I can barely describe the emotions that were running through me. I had just picked up and left everything and everyone familiar and was not even in the same country anymore. I wanted familiar so badly.  After Sheila had told us everything she knew up to the moment (which wasn't much... she didn't know where we were staying or how we were getting out of the airport) we all sat by the baggage claim as a group. Some got food, some called home from payphones, and I sat down with my computer. This is when I realized that the luxury of free wifi was no longer. In the US, we're used to swimming in free Wifi. Here, you have to pay for it. Little did I know, that the following week, it would cost me upwards of $60 in Internet just to have communication with home. So I paid for Internet and skyped D. Thank GOODNESS he was on. As soon as I saw his face, I started crying. He hadn't even said, "Hi babe..." yet. I didn't know what was happening to me!!!! I have been on my own for so long, why was I breaking down?? And what was with the tears?!?!  Here I was, middle of the airport. people everywhere, sitting on the floor with tears rolling down my cheeks. I knew I had made the right decision to come to Australia, but I had no idea it'd feel like this. We skyped for a few minutes. I told him to call my family, tell them we didn't get caught in Hurricane Yasi, and then got whisked away to go capture my luggage. (Which was a success!)

Next thing we know, a man that acts like he knows something walked up and started talking to our group. It was Tour-Guide Todd. :o) 

He explained that buses were on the way to pick us up and we were likely going to be staying in an Australian Hostel (the YHA, they are popular here...) in Brisbane. It was a step down from what we were supposed to be staying in, because ICMS owns a hotel up in Cairns which is supposed to be quite nice. Regardless, we were excited to know that we'd have a bed to sleep in after travelling 2 days to get to Australia. Our next question was... will we be making it to Cairns at all throughout the week?? We didn't like the answer... but our safety was of highest priority.

Tour Guide Todd was an AustraLearn leader from America (Colorado) but had lived in Brisbane for the past 16 months. He was never supposed to meet us. He has is own group of students to be placing into internships. Because of the hurricane, most of the AustraLearn staff was stuck in Carins so he got elected to be our fearless leader . Next came the squishy ball game. You all know it... and probably all hate it. Somewhere, somehow, he found a squishy ball, made us get in a circle and play the awfully dreaded 'name game'. This ended up being good for him and good for us, as well as a Brisbane legend. Directions: When the ball gets passed to you, you say your name and something you like that starts with the same letter as your name then repeat all the names that were said before you. It went like this: I'm Todd, and I like toast. I'm Lauren and I like lettuce and that is Todd and he likes toast. I'm Sam and I like string cheese, that is Lauren who likes lettuce and that is Todd who likes toast. I know, dreadful, isn't it?!?!! Low and behold a half hour later, we all new each other's names and our favorite things. Halfway through the game, some more Americans joined us that had just been pulled off the plane to Cairns (that did not fly into Brisbane with us on the Group Flight) and they were NOT happy. Here is where the wicked characters from MI get introduced. If you've talked to me personally, you know the ones I speak of. If you have not, I'm terribly sorry to leave you hanging, but even though they left a mark on me, they don't deserve to be put in my blog).

The Brisbane newspaper showed up and wanted pictures and a story. So we all hauled our luggage outside in the beautiful sunshine and posed. Jensen, Megan, and I got hauled to the front to pose with sad faces, leaning on eachother's shoulders. Yea, that's exactly what I wanted to do... after traveling for days, no makeup, and no shower... get put on the front page of the Brisbane paper so 1.6 million people can see it. They also interviewed one of the "wicked" girls and she kindly forewarned them, "I'm really not happy right now, so you probably don't want to hear from me." Well, the paper wanted a story... so mean girl was the first introduction of the American study abroad students that Brisbane had of us.

The buses finally arrived and we all packed on. All of our luggage wouldn't fit so a few fell behind and grabbed a cab with Sheila. We all met up at the YHA and couldn't check into our rooms until 2pm (it was still only 11am or so). We all paraded into a community room and Sheila and Todd unloaded all they knew up to that moment. They updated us that there were 8 Americans and quite a few AustraLearn leaders that were stuck in Cairns and their only option was to find an evacuation center and ride out the storm. The "wicked" girls decided that this was the best time to be impatient and pick a fight with poor Todd about how hungry they were and how they were getting treated like children (yes people, this is why we have an AWFUL reputation overseas). Lunch was next on the agenda and we walked about a block to a food-court type facility. I decided to branch out and live on the crazy side and enjoy Subway (minus the Doritos). $9 for a 6" and drink. This was really the point where I had to figure out where to pull out AUD or where I could use my regular debit card and so on...

Once we returned to the YHA, we picked roommates and settled into our rooms. I had the pleasure of rooming with Jenna (from New Jersey, attends Michigan State, and got nicknamed "mom" for the trip) and Liza (grew up in Russia, now lives in Maine, and is loads of fun). For the next few hours we made it homey, I skyped with Dustin, had our first Culture Information session, then got ready for dinner. Dinner was at a
nearby place called Transcontinental. I enjoyed some Spinach, Feta Ravioli. Dining out was different here... no free bread, no free salads, no free drink refills, and you barely get served. You have to go up to the counter to place your order. All servers are paid minimum wage here (around $20/hour) so it's not like America... you don't have to give the best possible service for the best possible tip.

We finally headed back to the hostel and most people got dressed up and hit the town. I, on the other hand, am nearly the oldest one here and have 'been there done that'. I needed and wanted sleep. But being that the legal drinking age here is 18, we had 30+ minors that had just become legal that morning... so there was drinking to be had. I skyped Dustin one more time (he was now on Aussie time) and layed down for the first night of sleep in 2 days. What seemed to have been a never-ending roller coaster of a day had finally ended. This had only completed Day 1 of "Culture and Adventure" week. There were things to be discovered and much fun to be had, starting with Brekkie at 7am...

It's happening.

Okay, so this was written when I was in the heart of Brisbane and has been saved as a draft and never posted... So please just imagine I'm still there. ;o)

Well, long story short, I'm currently sweating my face off, in downtown Brisbane, Queensland, AUSTRALIA!!!! I made it. Despite all the struggles and all the times I questioned I was going to make it here, by an act of God... I made it.  From now on, the blogs are going to keep rolling; and most likely will be short and sweet. They keep us very very busy here and I don't have a whole lot of down time (and if I do, I catch up on emails and Skype my American boy).

Here is a very brief rundown of what was missed in the long stretch of no blogging/panicking that this trip wasn't going to happen:
      The first and most important thing: AustraLearn was saved, as well as the airline ticket (which saved my life, possibly literally... I'll explain later). A few people from my support team emptied their bank accounts and saved everything. Shortly after, the much needed loan went through making the rest of the process significantly easier. From there, I had to get everything approved through Grand Valley - which was cake other than trying to coordinating schedules and meeting places with advisors. Banking threw me for a loop, but ended up being cake as well. I have my regular credit and debit cards and just pay a "small" transaction fee every time I pull out Australian dollars (which are like monopoly money, btw!). The one thing that really held me  up was my Student Visa. Ohhhh man... I literally almost got stopped at the gate in GRR. My Student Visa must have come through within the hour of me checking in at the gate. It wasn't completely my fault that it was so late. There was a mix up with the coordinator through AustraLearn - long story short, I didn't get paperwork that I was supposed to sign off on. Regardless, I got the Visa that I needed when I needed it, with a small fee of $550 AUD (Australian Dollars). HOLY SMOKERS!! That was a little over budget (budget was $400AUD).

The month of January slid by, like sand through my fingers. All this time I thought that I had ended up disappearing. This trip and saying goodbye to everyone that is near and dear to me came and went. And was significantly harder than what I imagined it to be. We had a fabulous farewell Griffin's game with my best friends in the whole world, and even some old friends (and a couple new ones) came out to wish me farewell. We had a great night with some Ritz Koney (I enjoyed 2 full size meals to myself, in one sitting... because I was signing off on American food as well. bad idea) some karaoke, and ended with some good-byes. I didn't realize what a real fear it was that my best friends were going to forget about me. It almost felt as if I was saying goodbye to them for good. But, I should have known how amazing my friends are, and of course they had emails and facebook posts waiting for me, before I even arrived. Much of my first week was spent on Skype with Dustin and emailing people at home, just to keep some type of 'normalcy' in my life.

January 30 came and thank gosh, Dustin and I kept going back and forth on being strong. When I would absolutely lose it, he was strong and would comfort me. When reality would start hitting him, I was strong and knew it was only a little while in the large scheme of things. He was my absolute hero and helped me tie up all the loose ends in America, finished packing my suitcase for me, and drove me to the airport ensuring I was 100% ready to go. I flew out of Grand Rapids and both my mom and his mom met us in the airport. Nerves really got the best of me while waiting to fly out. I couldn't eat, couldn't sit still, and really couldn't think straight. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted the moms there cuz this was it for D and I. The last few minutes that we'd have for nearly 4 months. But, I'm SO glad they came. Mrs. Schuiling showed up with a little goody bag of snacks, and a planner, and a card that is hanging in my room. They took my mind off of the seriousness of the whole situation. Dus and I went off by ourselves and said a prayer for my trip: for safety, for health, for endurance, for strength. When we were walking back, there was an announcement that I had 3 MINUTES until the plane was leaving. HOLLYYYY SMOKES!  I flew through security faster than I had ever moved in my whole life. It was the fastest goodbye and somewhat of a blur. No worries - I made the plane. :o)  Once I sat on the plane (that had 25 people on it), I lost it. I had said goodbye to my best friend and hugged him for the last time. That was it. I was on my way out of the country. And was devastated. I'm somewhat thankful that the flight was only 35 minutes long, because before I could keep feeling sorry for myself, we had landed in Chicago and it was time to find the next gate.

I had an hour until my flight from Chicago to LA and decided it was time for some food. Australian prices had set in. The only thing I wanted was pizza... and hey, I was on vacation. There was no way I was passing up a pizza - even though it was $11. OUCH.

Anybody that knows me, knows I'm an awful flyer. I jump outta my seat and assume the worst every time we hit a little turbulence. But this time, I think I was so distracted with all the drastic changes that were taking place in my life, I didn't have the brain power to be scared. Before I knew it, we were in LA waiting to take off to Brisbane. This is where the "group flight" began. I met a number of other Americans that were about to embark on the trip of a lifetime with me and we were all flying to Brisbane together. I was shy (which is not like me...) and just stayed on the phone with home the entire lay over. At 11:30, we boarded the plane. It was go time.

On the plane, I sat next to this Australian guy. He was probably just a couple years older than me. Even before take off, the stewards came by with the menu and timeline for the flight. For those of you wondering, I had more than a cornbread muffin. ;o)  This plane was the mac daddy of all big planes. Absolutely massive.  The nerves finally kicked back in about flying. So I started to talking to this kid next to me and I'm so glad I did. He told me his story that he was from Australia, but just spent the last 3 months of his life backpacking around the world. So one more flight home was like nothing (I agreed then felt silly I was wiggin out about flying). We talked about home. We talked about the difference in culture and what I should/could expect and the places that I should visit while I'm in Oz. Next thing I knew, I was getting woken up for dinner. Ribs, green beans, carrots, pudding, and a roll. Fabulous. Passed back out until I was woken up for breakfast. Cereal. merr. Passed back out until they announced that the flight attendants should prepare for landing. Thank goodness I had the window seat for the entirety of my trip!  It made it sooo much easier to sleep. Which I did - I slept for 12 out of  the13 hours in flight. Before I knew it, we had arrived in Brisbane with a whopping 30 degrees (they use Celcius... double it and add 30 degrees and its a rough guess of what it equates to in F). Next feat was to catch the plane to Cairns... that plane came and went and we weren't on it.
Okay, now that alot of the business is out of the way... let the fun stuff begin! Well, maybe not the 'fun stuff'... but the adventure.