Week 7

Its been a week! Feels strange to have gone so long without blogging.. its definitely become a new hobby that I really enjoy. This past week I was very busy so I didn’t have any time to really sit down and reflect. I do like being busy… no time to sit down and dwell on things and feel stagnant… but I do not like being too busy for having my Me-Time. Its really important for me to have that time every so often to sit down and just write. If I don’t, I feel as if my thoughts are scrambled and unorganized and I get stressed out. Its that addictive part of my personality I guess… addicted to routine, addicted to habits, addicted to my Me-Time… if I go without it, I’m simply thrown off.

Anyhow, like I said, busy week last week… it’s now the 5^th week of classes and many due dates are springing up on me. I’m trying hard to stay motivated and work on my time management, but its very easy to get distracted and find other things to do instead of my homework. I’m trying my best to keep up and stay organized. I’ve discovered that most of my problem with getting things done is that I must be in a very particular environment to actually be productive. At home in my room I am unable to stay focused… its too quiet and empty. I find I work best at coffee shops or cafes… the atmosphere is buzzing and inviting, but not too loud and usually not too many distractions. Plus, I’m a coffee addict, and having a cup of coffee by my side and something to snack on always helps keep me going. I can spend hours sitting in a small café with my headphones in, sipping coffee and working at my own leisurely pace.

Anyhow, things are going very well, besides feeling somewhat overwhelmed about school. The weather is starting to warm up this week after a relatively cool weekend. It sunny with a high of about 70 degrees all week long! Not bad for winter! I guess it is nearly springtime here in Australia so it will only be getting warmer and the sun will be shining more from here on out! Yesterday was Sunday.. always a very quiet, laid back time here in Adelaide with most places being closed and not many people out. Caroline, Nina, and I decided to take the tram to Glenelg Beach again to catch the sunset. It was really relaxing… we chatted… got ice cream… and enjoyed the beautiful beach.

Me, Nina, and Caroline at Glenelg Beach

Caroline’s friend, Ray, joined us for a bit. He’s a tall, dark, and handsome guy from Brazil… very charming, but in a quiet, unobtrusive way. He was very sweet and humored us girls by taking many pictures of the 3 of us together. After the beautiful sunset, we were saying our goodbyes and Ray reached to shake my hand goodbye… I took his hand and shook it, as I always do… but as soon as I did Ray’s eyes got big and he laughed out loud. He commented on what a STRONG handshake I have and was pretty amused by it. I was embarrassed, but laughed as well. He took my hand again and turned it over so my hand was resting in his… His large hand cupped and supported mine as he gently squeezed and shook my hand. My hand felt delicate… feminine… far from the firm handshake I had done previously. It was a cultural experience for me… interesting to feel the difference of the greeting. The handshakes I’m used to seem to express equality and, though you are greeting the other person, there is a feeling of formalness. A handshake is distant compared to how many others here greet one another. Many of the international students here, most of whom are European, are accustomed to greeting with the double kiss on the cheeks. That has definitely taken some getting used to for me! It feels strange to greet people with such intimacy for me I guess.

Ray and Caroline

Anyways, now begins week 5 of classes and week 7 of being here in Adelaide. This morning I was up at 6am and at Uni by 7:30. I went to Aroma, the coffee shop on campus, and got breakfast and coffee before sitting down and finishing up some last minute preparations for a presentation I had at 11am in my philosophy seminar. In the seminar we are split into small groups of 5 or 6 and we each had to prepare a power point presentation on different parts of Kant’s Critique of Judgment. I had the Second Moment, sections 6-9 on the universality of beauty and the judgment of taste. I was very nervous to be speaking in front of my peers, but it wasn’t as bad because it was just in front of my group members and all of the groups did their presentations at the same time. Don’t know why I’m so terrible at public speaking… suppose its my lack of self-confidence. Even when I get called on in class, just to answer a question, my heart rate increases, my face turns bright red, and I start shaking. Sometimes I even have trouble getting the words out because I’m practically choking! I’m definitely NOT excited about doing so many presentations in each of my courses this semester.. but I suppose it’s a fear I should face and try to work on. I just wish I could go through life with NEVER having to stand up in front of people and talking… I’ll just write them all letters instead!

Lunch by the River Torrens

I feel much better now that its over with though… and I feel pretty confident I did well! After class I met up with Nana and Nina to go to the German Club meeting where we had some snacks and socialized with the rest of the club members for a bit. Around 2pm some of us decided to go get lunch from the David Jones food court and take it to eat my the river, since it was such a beautiful day. Ever since then we’ve been at the library and soon will take a break and head over to UniBar for a beer before heading home for the evening. It will be another busy week, but I feel as though I will stay on top of things better this week, after feeling so overwhelmed last week by waiting till the last minute. Time management. Gotta work on it.

Nina and Katrin at UniBar

Some good news.. I’ve been sticking with my quitting smoking! Its been a week now… its strange and really hard sometimes, but not as bad as I thought it’d be. I didn’t get headaches or feel any withdrawal symptoms that I noticed… it really is just the habit I was addicted to. Sometimes when I’m bored and have time to kill when I’m alone it’s the first thing I think to do… step outside for a smoke… and after meals its also the first thing you think about. I’ve taken up excess gum-chewing and lollipop-sucking to keep my mouth busy instead. It feels great to have been successful at quitting something that was such a regular habit for me for the past 5 years! I really didn’t think it would be possible…

No other big news… just going to class, studies, pubs, and enjoying the great company. I miss home a lot… all my friends are just now starting up at school and it feels strange not to be there with them. I’m happy now that I am starting to feel at home here though, and it makes the homesickness less. 

More to come soon!