Kangaroos and Class

Hey everyone!!
Sorry it has taken me so long to send another update! Things have really been busy here, so I haven't sat down long enough to tell about everything. Last Thursday and Friday, I went on a quick post-orientation trip! It was really fun. There were about 40 international students going from all over the world. First off, our tour guide Matt was hilarious. He would just say the most random stuff, and was a constant source of entertainment. Even if the trip hadn't have been so much fun, I think we all still would have had a good time just listening to him. I also met a lot of great friends- some I'd met before, some completely new- so if only for that, the trip was a success.

We went to a Reptile Park first (which actually had mostly mammals). This was amazing, because we saw so many Australian animals: koalas, Tasmanian devil, wallabies, a wombat, kangaroos, dingoes, cassowaries, emus, crocodiles, and lots of other really sweet animals. The coolest part was that we could pet most of them! The kangaroos and emu weren't really even in a cage- they had a section where people couldn't go (so they could escape the tourists and schoolkids if they wanted), but they pretty much just wandered around the central area. We could feed them, pet them, whatever. That was REALLY fun. I love animals, so it was awesome to get to touch some of them!

Next we drove through the Hunter Valley, and stopped at three wineries along the way. At each one we had a wine tasting (and cheese tasting at the first one). It was a lot of fun- people's tastes varied greatly on what they liked. We got the point where we could predict who would like what before we even tasted it. But pretty much none of us liked port. Gross. haha. At the last one, we tried other things too, like various kinds of schnapps. The last one was called Dragon's Breath- chile schnapps. The guy leading the tasting made us all wait and drink it all at the same time, which made it fun to look around at everyone's reactions. It was super spicy! In a way that you wouldn't expect a liquid to be. I actually liked it, but only is very small doses. :) It was also beautiful to drive through the countryside between the wineries- hills and fields, lots of vineyards, incredible skies.

We spent the night in Port Stephens, which is apparently in the middle of nowhere. So instead of going out to dinner or to a pub that night, we ordered in pizza and had a "family party." Matt made this drink he called elbow. Why is it called an elbow? Because it's stronger than a punch. (This guy was hilarious, I'm telling you.)

The next day we went on a three hour whale watching tour. The weather wasn't great- cold and a little rainy, with choppy water- but it was still fun. We did see a whale, and followed him around for a while. Despite following him with my camera for nearly 45 minutes, I missed the money shot when he flashed his tail. Oh well. :) We also saw seals hanging out on some rocks by the shore, and for about 10 minutes dolphins swam alongside our boats. They were so playful! Also the shoreline in general was beautiful- rocky and kind of rustic. We passed a couple islands that people aren't allowed to go on, to preserve the habitats for animals.

That afternoon, we went sandboarding. Going in we were all wondering if it would still be fun (or even possible) because it had rained all morning. But apparently that made conditions better. And it was amazing!! I wish we had sand dunes in my backyard- I would go sandboarding every day. You sit on what looks like a skateboard with no wheels. There's a lip where you put your heels, and you stick your hands behind you in the sand for balance and a tiny bit of control (not much, though. haha). The hill was RIDICULOUS. We drove up around the side, and seriously this thing had to be about 80 degrees at some parts. We were all a little intimidated by the angle. But the guide just talked us through it (picked someone to demonstrate how you sit) and then just pushed him down, and that was it. So we all tried it and LOVED it. It may have been my favorite part of the trip.

Also, there were camels there, so we petted camels too. Just a random note. This past weekend I went to the Australian Museum. The coolest part about that was that in Australian museums you can touch pretty much everything. Dinosaur bones, stuff animals, aboriginal artwork... they're pretty laid back about it all. I love it. There was a really cool exhibit on Australian animals, which had a special section on the ones that could kill you. There was even an interactive touch-screen table that looked like a shoreline that had about 8 things that could kill you regularly found at the beach. Most were smaller than your head too- jellyfish, bugs, etc. Sweet. Australia is also home the 10 most poisonous snakes in the world. Just a cool little tidbit for all of you who were already nervous about me coming here. :)

There was also a really interesting exhibit about Aboriginal history. There was stuff on their history and culture before Europeans came, colonization (or 'colonisation' as they spell it), marginalization, and how things are now. Unfortunately we only found it 15 minutes before the museum closed, so I didn't spend as much time there as I would have wished. But it was really fascinating- hopefully i'll make it back.

I also went to Hillsong church this weekend, which was awesome. Hillsong is the really huge church that i've heard of before because some musicians i like have come from it. But they have a location that's a bus ride away from me, so a friend and i checked it out on Sunday. I loved it. It was like intervarsity on steroids kind of. Unless I meet some friends who go somewhere else, I'll probably keep going there.

This week has been exciting because I started classes! I've now been to all my classes once, and so far i'm really excited. I'm taking an Australian literature, Australian theatre and film (technically it's actually an education class), Aboriginal history, and a psychology class. (See? There is something that actually counts towards my major. haha) They all seem like really interesting classes, and most have really great professors/teachers. Well, all except the history class- which could possibly the most interesting material, but has the most boring teacher ever. I'm also meeting some Australians in my classes, which is awesome.

An update on my flat! Its great, i love it. I keep meaning to take pictures and put them up for you to see my tiny room. I will soon. Also, there are more people living here than i realized. There are 6 bedrooms, but will be 8 total. I've spent the most time with Pete, who is from Germany. He's a journalism student at UTS (another university). Then there's Jordi and Carlos, both Spanish film students. Laura is also Spanish, not sure what she's studying. Then there's another Spanish guy who i haven't met yet, and an American named Nick (i think? I've only met him once.). Plus there's an empty room, so another will be coming soon. The reason i don't really know my flatmates is because they're mostly on holiday (vacation). All but Nick are students, but I'm the only one who goes to Sydney Uni, so they're on different school schedules. But I think everyone is home next week and so we'll really get to know each other then. I've spent the most time with Pete, he's really cool, and whenever he has people over invites me to hang out with them. I think it's a really good set up. Also, because i'm trying to cook instead of going out for meals all the time, any quick/easy recipes or meal suggestions would be really helpful! I have access to a grocery store/fridge/stove/everything i need, just have to cook stuff. :)
To close, I'll give you some amazing animal facts that i learned at the museum and the reptile park:
- Dingoes eat children. Despite looking to me like a regular dog, they are not safe animals. The sign on their cage at the park said "do not feed fingers to the dingoes." Great. They have been known to 'befriend' families camping in the bush, and then lure the youngest kid away from the rest of the family, then eat him. Yikes.
- This is taken from a sign in the museum. I did not make this up. This is why i love wombats. "When threatened, a wombat can run very fast and dive into the nearest burrow or other suitable hole, blocking the entrance with its rear end. Its bum has a solid, square bone which is an effective shield against any attacker. If an attacker gets into its burrow with it, the wombat can crush the intruder against the burrow roof. Bizarrely, wombat poo is cube-shaped." Hahahahaha so good. Okay, that's it for now. This weekend I'm going to surf camp! That will be fun. We'll see how my amazing coordination holds up on a surf board.

Love from down under, Emma

Houses, fire alarms, and eels

Hey everyone!!
Whew- I can't believe I've only been here less than a week. So much has been going on! Every day gets easier and more fun. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is that I have a place to live!!! So excited about that. After spending two days searching and visiting places like crazy, here I am! And honestly, 2 days was fast. Some people spent more than a week looking. It's a house with other international students in Enmore, one of the suburbs of Sydney. But its not a suburb like you think of in the US- or at least what I think of. It's a pretty safe part of town, about 25 minute walk to campus (which is close), around the corner from a bus stop, and near a main road with restaurants, stores, etc. A lot of students live in the Newtown(the next suburb)/Enmore area. I have my own bedroom which is awesome, and there are 5 other students in the house- 2 Americans (guy and girl), 2 Spanish (guy and girl), and one Portuguese guy. I've only met the American girl, but she's really nice, so I'm excited about it. I move in tomorrow (Wednesday). Here's my address:

14 Cavendish St.
Enmore, NSW 2042

So please feel free to write me! It may take me a bit, but I'll write you back. It's such a relief to have a place and not still having to search during orientation (today and yesterday) or school starting. This week (the past two days, anyway) have been orientation for international students. It has been great, because I've met a ton of people from all over the world. The first couple days I would meet people, and they'd be friendly, but then I wouldn't necessarily see them again. So now I'm starting to see the same people regularly. There's even a guy from Carolina! I didn't know that there was going to be anyone else from UNC here, but apparently there is. We've been reminiscing on how much we miss Carolina, especially when we found out you can't walk on their beautiful grassy quad (which they call the Quadrangle) during the semester.  :)  I also got my class schedule (or timetable, as they call it here). They appear to schedule classes all over the place, with no rhyme or reason. I have some classes 4 days a week and some only 2, and they aren't usually at the same time from one day to the next. I have no classes on Friday (without even trying to do that), which I'm REALLY excited about, and only 2 on Tuesday or Thursday. However, their computer system just spits out a schedule for you and doesn't care if you double book yourself, or (in my case), you just get classes that meet at the same time. I have two classes at the same time one day, so I'll change one of them, no big deal. So hopefully, I'm taking an Aboriginal history class, Australian literature class, Australian theater and film class, and a psychology class (see, I am actually taking classes in my major).

Ready for some more random stories/things I've noticed?
In International House, my room key is shaped pretty much like a dog tag (you know, the ones that military guys wear).  We have one key for the building, and another for our room. But it turns out that my room key will also get me into everyone else's room too. I figured this out because I lost count going up the stairs and went to my room on the wrong floor at one point.  :) 

Apparently there are eels in the pond in the park at school (like the arboretum, but less trees). Tomorrow some of us are going to feed the ducks, and I want to see them. It's very possible that the guys who told me that were just messing with me. We'll see.

The weather here is ridiculously nice. It gets cold at night (around 50's I think), but during the day it's pretty much 70's all the time. It's so great. I've heard that it gets cold again in August, but we'll see. Also, those estimations could be off because everything is in Celsius here and I haven't adjusted to that yet.  :) 

The second night I was here, the fire alarm went off. It was around midnight, and my jetlagged self had already been asleep for a while at this point, so it took me a bit to figure out what was going on. I had the sense to put on shoes and a jacket, but only when I got outside did it occur to me to put sweatpants over my shorts. With the aforementioned weather, it was a cold half hour while they figured out what happened. (Someone used a fire extinguisher. Just for kicks, I guess.)

I forgot to say in the last email that my flight here (LA to Sydney) was probably 75% college students studying abroad. That was funny- I wouldn't have thought that would happen.

You also have to pay for internet by the bandwidth here, all across Australia. That means I haven't even bothered with uploading photos to facebook yet (although I haven't taken many).  That also means that while using the on-campus wireless, you have to pay to use services like Skype and instant messenger. So I will hopefully be back on skype when I'm in my house, which has internet.

The Australian government passed a law a couple years ago saying that if a student wasn't definitely going to use it, a university couldn't make them pay for it in school fees. That means a lot of things are extra money, like the gym and student union.

Also, an update on the nickname thing. For those of you who hadn't heard my plan, I was going to start introducing myself as Ace while I'm over here. It's a nickname I got at work, and I like nicknames, so I thought it would be fun to have a group of people that know me as that. But it turns out that it's hard to remember to introduce myself as something else.  :)  I've told a couple people about it, but always after the fact. I got a couple people calling me that last night, but it is yet to be determined if it actually sticks. Haha.
Tonight I'm going with a group from International House to see Harry Potter on the biggest IMAX screen in the world. We actually have tickets after a failed attempt last night. Then, on Thursday, I'm going on a two day trip with a bunch of other international students. We're doing roughly a million things in that time: some kind of nature preserve/zoo, whale watching, 3 wineries, giant sand dunes (sandboarding anyone? I'm pumped!), staying at this cool little port city, and some other stuff too. Well, that's about all I've got for now. Thanks to all of you who emailed me! I will reply even if it takes me a couple days. The emails are amazing- they make me feel connected to everything back home.
Love from down under,
Emma

I'm here!

Hey everyone! Well I'm here!! Other than sleeping only 3 hours on the flight, I was awake for more than 40 hours straight. I got here Friday morning local time (Thursday evening to NC) and managed to stay awake all day so I could be a little less jet-lagged. I'm staying just this
week in the international dorm- its been really fun so far. I have a room to myself, but everyone eats all their meals together, so I'm meeting a bunch of other international students. Everyone here (both international and Australian) is REALLY friendly. That's been awesome.
I've met a ton of people (and usually forgotten their names as soon as they walk away, but I'm going to blame it on the jet lag). Here's some fun observations so far:
People drive on the wrong side of the road. Which, since it was a british colony, shouldn't surprise me. But that also means that when people pass on the sidewalk, they do that on the wrong side too.
I haven't yet figured out what authentic Australian food is. Today I walked downtown some, and all the restaurants were either Asian, fast food (McDonald's etc), or pubs.
The bird here are bizarre. They havepigeons and ducks, but they also have birds that just look way different than the ones we have. I saw 2 Kookaburra yesterday! That way exciting. My first experience in Australian wildlife.
Phone numbers here are strange. They appear to be a varying amount of digits, with no clear reason for the amount of numbers. Business numbers can be as short as 4, and home/cell numbers are anywhere between 7 and 10, with random amount of spacing between the digits.

The past two days have also been kind of overwhelming, just with all the things I have to get done. I've already gotten a cell phone and activated it (more complicated than you would think). The biggest thing is finding a place to live. I've got my current place until Thursday, then I'm out. It's just stressful to try and find a place, and most of the people I've met are in the same boat. Which is good, because you can talk to people about what works and what doesn't, but it also means that there are tons of other people in the same boat trying to find places. I visited two today, and I'm seeing at least three tomorrow. I would love to get this figured out before orientation Monday, but we'll see. Well that's about it! Email me back if you get a chance, I miss you all and its really great to hear from home.
Love from down under,
Emma

Gettting ready....

Hey everyone!
If you're getting this email, you're on Emma's Australia listserv! Just thought I'd send out one before I leave.
Some quick details: I fly out Wednesday July 15 (although I don't arrive until the morning of the 17th, thanks international date line). I'm taking classes at the University of Sydney- mostly Australian culture classes and one psychology class. I plan to do a lot of traveling, but don't have any set plans yet. This is because while I'm doing a real study abroad program through UNC, I'm the only person in my program and therefore I don't know anyone going in. Which is fine- keeps things interesting. So once I meet some cool people, we'll go exploring and I'll keep you all updated on my adventures.
The next couple days are filled with last minute things- packing, buying things I'd forgotten up until now (Australian power adapter anyone?), last minute logistics, and a multitude of goodbyes.
So that's about it! If you know of anyone who would like to be on this listserv, email me at ekclark@email.unc.edu. My computer crashed recently, so I've lost all my email addresses. Meaning I can't just go through my address book and add people.
My main form of communication while I'm gone will be email and Skype. My skype name is emmaclark419, so friend me! (Or whatever you call it on Skype.) I'll still have facebook too, but no phone that will reach the US.
I think that's about it! I think I set up the listserv so hitting reply will only go to me, but I'm not 100% sure about that.
Love from down under (almost),
Emma