Week 2

Well, halfway through week 2 here in Adelaide.

Still working on getting my classes all set up and getting settled in at The Village and stuff, but most of the rush from the first week is over. For those first few days, I was pretty overwhelmed with everything being so new and having so much to take care of. Things have slowed down a lot this week, but there is still stuff to keep me busy. Monday I met up with some of my friends I met through the international program and we decided to take a walk down the River Torrens since it was such a nice day. It was a lot of fun exploring the river and the surrounding area. It was also fun to get to spend more quality time chatting with the other students. One guy was from Germany, the other 3 from France, and me, from the U.S... we asked each other a ton of questions about our way of life back home and discussed how they compared to one another. We had a great afternoon. Afterwards some of us had to get groceries at Woolworths, then headed home around 6. We met up later at a little pub called Grace Emilys to have some drinks, listen to the live music, and socialize with the rest of the crew.

Tuesday we had a Welcome Barbeque put on by the International Student program through Uni. All my friends were there, and many new people I hadn’t met yet. We all had a delicious lunch and hung out there until about 2, when we had a study abroad/exchange student briefing. They explained basically what we should expect from courses here at the University of Adelaide and how to handle our academic load. After that most of the students went and hung out at the Welcome Center and I worked a little more on trying to get enrolled in my classes. Around 4:30pm we all went to “Quiz Night”. Basically we all sat around tables, got on teams of about 10 people, and went through 6 rounds of questions on different subjects about Australia. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot of (pretty useless) facts about Australia.

Today is a pretty uneventful day, but I don’t mind. The sun is shining and its not too chilly outside. I’m hanging out at a tea salon called T Bar, which is pretty much just a café that serves coffee, lots of tea, and some sandwiches and wraps. Its one of my favorite spots to go hangout by myself at because its nice and peaceful with big windows overlooking the busy street. Some of us are getting together a little later to see the last Harry Potter at the cinema. Tomorrow is the big trip to Victor Harbor, but we have to get up super early, so probably won’t be out at the pub late tonight. I’m excited to actually get out of the city and see some real Australian wildlife! I’ll be sure to take loads of pictures. Saturday is the trip to Glenelg Beach, which should be a lot of fun as well. Classes then start next Monday, the 25^th of July. Can’t wait!

 If I were asked what my greatest challenge has been thus far, I’d say it’s a couple things…  first of all, my money situation, obviously. Losing my debit card ended up being a huge hassle and causing a lot of unnecessary stress. Luckily my parents are doing everything they can to help me get things figured out. Doesn’t help that everything here is so expensive. Also a challenge is meeting new people. I’m not exactly introverted in general, but around lots of new people I get shy pretty quick. On occasion I’ve found it a bit difficult to put myself ‘out there’. Its pretty easy to get lonely as well. These 2 things have been most difficult for me to overcome, but challenge is a good thing, and it’s all a learning opportunity. I’m really enjoying myself here and am looking forward to a great semester.

More to come later this week!