Food for thought

I heard last night another great thought about Bond University.  I was talking with a few Australians who are in their 5th semester, and they said Bond is the Harvard of Australia.  Not bad for a school that is named after a convict.

Dodgeball

Since my last post, some cool things have happened.  After the gym on Wednesday, Jorge and I were going to watch some of our friends play dodgeball for Res Wars, but the night ended with me holding the trophy on the championship team.  Res Wars is a competition between the residence halls on campus with the winner, over the course of the semester, taking home $1000 to put into their building.  Since I do not live on campus, I thought I wasn't going to be able to participate, but after getting to the gym to watch, I decided to ask if I could play.  They said yes, and the rest was history.  I decided to join the B-Block Bandits team with Jorge and James, instead of the AC Red Devils with everybody I know.  It turned out that the decision was a good one because our team dominated.  

Playing made me remember my time in Philly when my housemate Tim decided he wanted to play dodgeball with the guests of the Inn, and then proceeded to ask for money outside train stations downtown with a cut off animal crackers tub. We eventually made enough money to purchase dodgeballs and had hellacious games in our house.  We never played with the guests, but it did bring some entertainment to the house.

According to James, an email was sent out to the participants and I was named Players Player (Australian name for MVP) for the night.  I got into a crazy zone and my team was awesome so things worked out.  Next up is ultimate frisbee.

Thursday found some more classes and a quick trip into Robina Towne Centre for some supplies.  Later in the night the guys got together to watch a movie because the ladies went out to the clubs.

Last night however was a bit crazier.  After having class and catching some sun by the pool, Jorge, Jim and I attended the White House Party on campus.  We all got dressed up pretty fancy and then went into the white tent on the green.  After paying a small fee, we got free drinks (champagne, wine, beer etc.) and food (finger foods and a white chocolate fountain station).  After 11, a bus departed for Surfers Paradise to a club.  We had a good time, but left early because we were all tired.

It's about time for laying by the pool and being a slug for the rest of the day.  Wish you were all here enjoying the weather and culture!

Some more of the wet stuff...

Australia Day has come and gone with more partying and drink to go around.  Not too many Australians are exactly sure what Australia Day actually is, but from what I have gathered, it is the day Australia was declared by the English.  There is a tough history of near genocide of the Aborigines, but that's a different story.  

A group of us headed to Surfers for a potential fireworks show on the beach which would have been spectacular, but rain and the possible miss-read of information left us without exploding chemicals, but soaking wet.  We found some refuge under a McDonald's, and then headed into an Irish pub for a drink to celebrate.

It is morning here and it is raining in some degree of intensity for the third day in a row.  The rain here seems to be a stead mist when it does come, and then intensify without notice to a complete downpour.  Of course as I write this at breakfast the sun is beaming out of the clouds and should make for a beautiful day.  Rain here, although it takes away from our beach time and other outdoor nonsense, is great for the area.  I was told that Australia has been in drought for almost SEVEN years now.  That is why all of the toilets have full/half flush options, as well as signs everywhere reminding you to take only 4 minute showers.

Today is my long day of classes.  I start with Australian Sport in the Modern Era from 10-12, followed by lunch and the gym, then to five hours of my film class.  Should be fun.  Not!

One of the last posts I threw out a name of an artist that I currently appreciate.  I did however neglect to give credit to Jason "Big Red" Plotkin for introducing him to my audio life.  Thanks Big Red!

Well breaky is served and its time to chow and get to class.  Talk with you soon!

Obamania

Last night a few of us finally watched the Obama inauguration speech and were floored by the seas of people who showed up at the mall in D.C.  It was sucha beautiful sight to see so many Americans coming together for such a historic event in our lives.  I was unfortunately unable to watch it live due to the lack of a t.v. coupled that it aired at 3 am local time.  Other than Chief Justice John Roberts screwing up probably the most important segment of the ceremony, it was a fascinating view.

If you thought coverage of the election and inauguration was extensive in the U.S., you would be floored by the amount of media attention it has received down under.  Many nations obviously are interested in what is going on in the U.S., but it seems to me that Australia has a very keen eye on what is happening state-side.  I have been very proud walking around campus as an Obama supporter, and have received much praise from people of other nations for finally getting our election "right".  I am not in to politics as much as I should be, but it is nice not having to defend G.B. 2 any more.

On a lighter note for those who like music, give Chris Nathan a peek.  He's got some good stuff out right now.  "Happy" and "I wouldn't change a thing" are my favorites, but let me know what you think.

Goodnight!

Rainy night in Gold Coast

For the first time I can remember it is raining here in Gold Coast.  Apparently it rained a few nights ago, but I was in class.  Today however was yet another great day.  I didn't have any classes which is always nice due to the lack of tutorials during week 1, so I was able to sleep in a bit after a skype session back to the states.  (If anybody has a skype name and would like to chat feel free to email it to me and we can make it happen.)  Once I finally decided to stop being a slug, I went to lunch with Jorge, Alisha, Haley, Joe, Carey, Tyler, Steph, Christian and Scott. Not that you know who any of these people are, but oh well.  Once lunch was over, a few of us headed in to Pacific Fair to do some shopping.  I bought a bathing suit and some food, and then was ready to get out of the shopping center.  Once back on campus, a few of us went to try and solidify a trip. We are pretty settled on a 5 day boat trip that will take us to the outer reef, and to a few islands to relax and snorkel on.  The package allows us to stay on a huge boat each night and have at least one dive to check out the reef.

After a quick nap, dinner was on tap.  For some reason, every night around dinner I am extremely hungry.  It might be due to walking around EVERYWHERE in mid-80's temperatures, or my insatiable appetite.  

Now I am just relaxing in my apartment getting ready for a big day tomorrow.  I have two classes beginning at 9 am, and then we have club sign up day.  Apparently from what I have heard, clubs are a big deal around campus because most schools in Australia do not have any varsity sports so clubs are the next best thing.  As of now, I am planning on signing up for the scuba, surfing, soccer, and cricket clubs.  Hopefully my schedule will allow me to participate in each club.

After the club sign-ups, there is a pub crawl all around the area that begins at 3 pm!!!  That's right, 3 PM.  I however am in the group that leave school at 4:15.  Big difference huh?  The pub crawl is a big deal here.  The school sells about 900 shirts as tickets at $25 a pop.  Not a bad money making scheme when they sell out every year.  Bye for now!

a little more

We can add to the list of locations my friends are from:

Texas, California,Sweden, Finland, China, and Figi

Hang ten...

I want to start by thanking all of you for reading this blog!  From the emails I have received, it seems like a lot more of you than I ever imagined are reading these quips of nonsense from my time down under.  Thanks again, and keep sending the emails telling me of the cold and toilets that flush the "right" way.

Today I had my first experience with surfing.  It was such a beautiful feeling trying to tame the Pacific Ocean.  It was a balmy 85 degrees here and a perfect day to try out the long board.  A few of us went with the intention of taking a lesson, but once we got to the beach (after class by the way), the last lesson of the day had already begun.  Instead of waiting for a lesson some other day, we just rented boards for the day for $20 AUD or around $13 American.  Only one of the group had ever had a lesson, so we learned some basics from him, and then jumped into the water.  A side note, the ocean water here is 24 Celsius or about 75 degrees.  It took a while to get used to the board and how the waves would hit us, but after about 10 times, I was up and finally surfing in Australia!  The only tough part about surfing is walking the board back into the waves to catch another.

School has finally begun for me after the false start on Monday.  My classes seem great so far, and it will be a great learning experience.  I have heard form many people around town and at the beach that claim Bond is the best university in Australia overall.  This includes University of Sydney! (all of you Philly people, if you could relay this info to Fr. Bill it would be much appreciated.)  All of the classes here have a lecture hour or two, and then a tutorial session that meets one hour a week for more direct work with the professors.  All of my lectures have no more than 16 students, with the tutorials having no more than 9.  This is such a great way to learn.

Off to dinner now.  Good night from the Gold Coast!

food

So the food here is fantastic.  Well at least I think so coming from the Dinning Common back at school.  The meat here is actually, you know, meat, and the sides are fresh.  I am still getting used to the hours and trying to figure out the good deals around campus, but a breakfast(breaky) for $6.70 American dollars that includes texas toast, two eggs, two hash browns, two sausages, a grilled tomato, and a pile (literally a pile) of bacon, is good for me.  Once again, Australia has overtaken the U.S. on the fat scale.

Missed conncection

Today was the first day of classes at the University, and I thought it would be the first day for me as well.  My schedule said that I had a class today at 10 AM, but when I got there, there were three people standing outside of a locked room.  We later found out that our class was moved to FRIDAY!!! because there were only 11 people enrolled, and to have two sections of the class, more than 15 would have to be enrolled.  So it kind of stunk to wake up early with the anticipation of the first day, and then to have somebody tell you to go home.  I mean going back to relax one more day was nice, but now I have two classes on Friday, instead of none.  Oh well.

Yesterday  was a great day.  I went to Dreamworld, which is a theme park, with Alisha and Haley.  We had a great time riding some roller-coasters,  getting drenched in the water park, petting kangaroos, and holding koala bears.  The koala bears were cool to be so close to.  They are not as soft as one would think, and their claws are extremely sharp.  Because it was a bit overcast, the lines for rides were at max. 20 minutes, but it was a chilly 70 degrees.  We got to see the feeding of a 20 foot alligator, and pet a baby tiger.  All in all it was a fun day (other than freezing in again the 70 degree weather).  

I also tried vegemite the other day.  It is an Australian yeast based spread for crackers and bread.  I will just say that I tried it and will never have it again.  I'm getting sick just thinking about it again.

Well it is off to lunch and then the gym, then who knows.  The spontaneity of people down here is fantastic.  I will leave you with some Australian slang terms that I find interesting/funny:

Fairy floss = cotton candy

head = let's go

how you going? = how are you

dodgy = uneasy/sketchy

Still Alive

Just to clarify things, I am not dead, or have I been eaten by a shark or anything, so for those who e-mailed me, thanks for the concerns.  

The past few days have been hectic.  There have been multiple barbecues, parties at the pool, a movie under the stars, all night parties, and a few days lounging on the beach to occupy my time. Life here is obviously tough.  The life here seems like a vacation/spring break wrapped into 5 days.  Things should be different once classes start on Monday.

As of right now, it is the coldest it has been since I have arrived at a chilling 77 degrees at 3 PM. Today was supposed to be the official Bond beach day, but rain and clouds put a damper on those plans.  I was going to take a surfing lesson with some friends, but the waves and wind were too strong for beginners.  Instead, we went to Pacific Fair just to walk around and get some groceries.  

The other day I ran into a snag with my credit card.  For about a day I was without money other than $2.40 which was just enough for a bus transfer back to school.  This happened even though the credit card company was notified I would be overseas, but they blocked my card anyway.

Time to grab some food and stay low key for the rest of the night.  It has been nice to relax finally and just chill for a bit.  Once classes start the party will be over for a bit.

Aftermath

So the party last night was great.  There were hundreds of students at the Tavern for the Aussie Party, and then basically everyone went into Surfers Paradise for a Bond exclusive party.  The club was packed, but we made some good friends and had a good time.  

Today everybody woke up late because we got back late last night.  The buses returning to Bond didn't even start showing up to the bar until 3 AM.  I found out today that all bars in the Gold Coast close at 5.  Yikes.

Once everybody was alive and kicking, we headed to the beach.  I have found a great group of friends that is about 20 people deep coming from Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Germany, Australia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia, Illinois, and Rhode Island.  It is really cool to have such a diverse group of friends for the first time in my life.  Everybody is so open and carefree.  It's refreshing to see a lack of biases in people.

Time to go out with the group again.  Tomorrow all of the study abroad students have a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor of the University, a BBQ by the pool on campus, and then a hypnotist show later at night.  It is still weird to think that I am actually in Australia, but it is starting to become more of a reality.  Goodnight.

Bond Week

Hello from Australia!  It is now about 5 PM and I just woke up form a little nap.  This morning was a little crazy trying to get my new student I.D., pay for the activities throughout Bond Week (orientation week), and then setting up my school email address.  It is matthew.johnson@student.bond.edu.au, but I will be using my gmail account still.

So I woke up this morning at around 7 and couldn't fall back asleep.  I had to meet Christian and Alex at around 9 to head to campus and we thought we would go over, get our stuff done, and get out.  This did not happen.  A line about 800 new students deep greeted us when we turned into the main circle.  After waiting about 15 minutes in 80 degree heat, we were told that if we had already singed up for classes, we could skip the line and go directly to the I.D. line which was much shorter.  After a few more lines, I finally got my I.D. and then set up my internet account.

In the lines, I met some more people.  Most of them were from the U.S., Boston surprisingly enough, and Jorge from Mexico City.  We then moved on to sign up for a gym membership, school information, buy a mobile phone, and then sign up for the Bond Week festivities.  

After all of the lines, we stopped by one of the dining facilities on campus for some lunch.  I passed over the kangaroo sandwich for maybe the last time for a turkey club.  It was good and had two fried eggs included on the sandwich.  

Now it is time to get ready for the first official Bond Week activity, Aussie Party.  This will consist of a BBQ, party at Don's Tavern on campus, and then a trip, beginning at 12 AM, to The Platinum, a bar in Surfers Paradise.  This should be a fun night and a good chance to meet even more people.  Whelp, see you later.

Goodnight

So I met two great people today and they are both from Norway funny enough.  Not that I have anything against Norway in any shape or form, but it's just strange that the first two people I become friends with are from the same, small, Scandinavian country.  Their names are Christian and Alex (I got permission to use their real names) and both are in their first semester here at Bond.  Both guys live in my apartment building and Alex is actually a journalism student as well. We got to talking in the lobby earlier this morning, and just got back from enjoying a Pizza Hut dinner (not quite ready for the Australian cuisine just yet).

Christian is the equivalent to a Junior and has studied in Oslo, London, and now Australia.  Alex just got out of his first year or mandatory service in the Norwegian army.

Dinner and company was nice, but we all are exhausted from our respective travels so early to bed tonight.  Tomorrow marks the first official day at Bond with the beginning of Bond Week where I will receive my student I.D. and start living the college lifestyle again.   

Goodnight!

Food

It is around 10 PM right now and food is the topic.  After the last post, I actually did something that I set out to do and got a bite to eat.  Life is tough.  

I found out on the plane from a nurse that Australia has bumped our beloved USA as the "fattest" country in the world.  I can honestly say I do not see it in the people here.  Maybe it is us fat Americans that come to visit that skew the numbers, but Australians, at least the ones I have seen, granted on the beach, are really in shape.  I can see how this could happen though.  I found a corner restaurant that served hamburgers and fish and chips etc.  I decided to stay pseudo American and ordered what I thought to be a chicken parm sandwich (actually called a chicken parmy) but ended up to be a plater.  I was fine with that until I saw what was exactly on the plate. What came out was a salad (healthy), 4 cucumber slices with dressing (kind of healthy), a deep fried chicken breast with homemade marinara sauce (delicious but kind of unhealthy), but instead of noodles of some size and shape, there was a bed of french fries (extremely unhealthy).

I know all of you Atkins Diet people who think starches are horrible and carbohydrates are the devil would prefer neither pasta or fries, but common fries?  And I am not talking skinny little guys you get from McDonald's that aren't even potato.  These were hard-core fatty steak fries. I'm not going to lie, I ate about 68% of them, but I figured I could because A. I am a competitive American with some pride (second place just won't work), B. it's all about culture, and C. they looked delicious.  So all in all it was great, and I tried to bring America back to the top.

Congrats USA!

small adventure

This blog comes directly from a place called Surfers Paradise.  As I write this, I am overlooking one of the most popular areas for surfers and a great day at the beach.  I am sorry to relay to you that this location, which is every bit as beautiful as its name indicates, is only a 10-minute bus ride from my apartment.

Today, however, I did not take the bus.  My intention was to ride to Broadbeach to do a little food shopping (which still might happen), but once I saw the beach, I decided a stroll would be nice after sitting for almost two days prior.  My stroll quickly became a "walk" when i found myself walking for about an hour.

Maybe some food is in order?  Yeah that sounds good.

This is a portion of the view from the balcony of my apartment of Bond University

Picture

If you were wondering, the big picture is from the airplane at sunrise over the Pacific ocean approximately 4:30 AM!!

Looking around

After not unpacking but setting up my internet connection, I went for a walk/bus ride to get some essentials.  The bus fare is $3 AUD roundtrip and brought me to Robina Towne Centre which is only about 5 minutes away.  I found my way into a K-Mart for soap, shampoo, etc. and then to get a small blanket because my air conditioning is pretty strong (sorry northeast people).  

Once I got back I decided it was time to unpack.  I have a pretty big closet and a dresser made out of wires, if you can imagine that, and enough space for everything I have.

I am staying at a place called Varsity Towers in Robina, Queensland, and have a great apartment. It is a studio on the third floor of the building with a balcony overlooking Lake Orr and the Bond University Campus at sunset.  

It is weird to not have a car for the first time since 2003 so getting around is all on foot or the previously mentioned bus.  I found myself getting hungry, rightfully so because I had not eaten for about 9 hours, so I decided to go find some.  I ended up taking a 5 minute walk to a local pizza place across from my apartment complex. 

After eating, I decided 9 PM local time was a good time to finally sleep.

Day 1 in the books.  

Getting lost in town tomorrow is on the docket.  Should be fun.  

Leaving the U.S.

Well I am finally here in Australia!  The trip was long (22 hours in planes + 6 hours in airports), but so worth it already.  I left from Boston Logan International en route to San Francisco.  After the 6 hour trip, I only had 45 minutes before my 13 1/2 hour flight to Sydney took off.  

Once off the plane in San Francisco, Guicci and Prada stores (or however you spell them) where everywhere.  Such a different culture out there.  The airport however was extremely easy to walk through and get around.

The flight to Australia was long!  It was every bit as long as one could imagine.  Luckily though, the seat next to me was vacant, and the woman sitting on the aisle was friendly and personable. 

On the flight I watched parts of four movies.  Can I remember any of the titles other than The Dutchess, no, but they were all entertaining enough that my non-diagnosed ADD didn't kick in. 

We were served two meals and a turkey and cheese sandwich which were all surprisingly very good. 

Once in Sydney, the real confusion set in.  After going through customs, retrieving my bags was a hassle, and then trying to find the unmarked hallway to the domestic transfers terminal made me a little uncomfortable. I had to walk about 1 1/2 miles around the airport to get to yet another line for my next boarding pass to Brisbane.  My itinerary said I had 2 hours before my next flight left so I thought I had some time to relax, but with the lines and wait for the shuttle transport to the Quantas terminal, I was actually late for boarding my next flight.

The drama didn't end upon arrival in Brisbane.  The transport from the airport to my apartment broke down at the airport so about 8 others and myself had to wait for a new bus to arrive.  I finally stepped into my apartment at 3 PM local time on January 10 (about 12 AM EST) after leaving my house in Canton at 3 PM EST January 8.

That's it for now.  Off to unpack.