August 24, 2013
I can't believe it's Saturday and I've only been in Sydney for four days. Over the last few days, we have heard a lot about the program and Sydney from the various staff members. We have also participated in a few bonding activities throughout the week. Still, the excitement is starting to wear off and I am starting to feel homesick.
These days have surprisingly not passed by particularly quickly, though I honestly cannot remember what we did for most of the last couple days. I believe Tuesday's orientation consisted mostly of staff members introducing us to the program and telling us what to expect. We also heard about a few travel options for spring break and other weekends. After hearing story after story about how great Surf Camp was, I knew I definitely had to sign up for this one. I can't wait until I can finally learn how to
surf stand on the board. After the travel sales pitches, we had Pizza & Bevvies. The pizza was DELICIOUS and I can't believe it was from Dominos. It tasted very different from the one in the states. Also, there was a fantastic shrimp pizza which I would love to eat again. I don't even like pizza much, so it was that good.
Yesterday, we started the day learning about keeping ourselves healthy along with other random Sydney/Australia facts. Caroline, one of our main contacts for this program, talked about the W curve, which basically depicts typical feelings during study abroad. People usually start off very excited about their adventures to come, then experience some sort of culture shock and are lonely/homesick/etc., followed by acclimation to the new environment, then feelings when you go home and have to readjust. When I first went to college, I had bouts of homesickness during my first couple weeks, so I guess I just feel it early on. It was highlighted even more because the WiFi in my room is terrible and I can't video chat or sometimes just message people from home. It is alright though. I'm not going to let it keep me inside and away from learning about what Sydney has to offer.
After the health discussion, we learned some interesting Australian slang. Basically, if you want to blend in, you drop a (couple) syllables and add an -ie or -e to the end of the word. Chocolate = chocky; biscuit = bickie. So what is a chocky bickie? Tim Tams! These are absolutely delicious, by the way. I plan on buying more and bringing some home. They also refer to butternut squash as pumpkin, an appetizer as an entree, and a bar as a hotel. While they speak English, the Aussie slang is really throwing me off! This day concluded with a (rocky) harbour cruise with dinner and drinks. We had spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge aka Coat Hanger and the Sydney Opera House.
Today was designated as the Drop Bear Cup, which was essentially a scavenger hunt throughout the city. We had 4 different lists: photos to take, trivia questions, food to eat, and checkpoints. Each team had roughly 6-8 people and were sent out to gain as many points as they could. My team started off pretty well, mapping out our route and figuring out which way to walk. However, once we reached the first checkpoint, the Rocks market, we didn't want to go any further. It was essentially a street fair that had food, clothes, trinkets, souvenirs, among other things. We tried to progress a bit farther, but quickly decided that we wanted to enjoy our explorations instead of rush through them. Later, we journeyed out to Bondi Beach, which was freezing, but stunning! The water is so blue and the sand so clean. Many people were out surfing the waves. I can't wait to go back on a warmer day to enjoy the sun. Hopefully, I'll make it out early enough to see the sunrise too!
Anyway, that's about it for my journey thus far. I'm exhausted, but I still have a Color Run bright and early tomorrow! What did I get myself into?
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