Byeee!

Well, this is sad, but it's time to conclude my study abroad blog. I hope you all enjoyed reading about my adventures. Thank you so much for reading!! I loved writing about my journey. I can't put all of my adventures into a blog because then I'd write about 92638 pages. So, my blog is just an overview of the past 5 months. It's hard to put the best time of my time into words.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has been there for me. I can't describe how grateful I am to have you in my life.
If I ever study abroad again, which I plan to, I will continue my blog for you to read. But for now.... Peace out!!

No one understands

I can't talk about reverse-culture shock to anyone. No one understands!! It's a study abroad kind of thing only. I'm sorry if I annoy you talking about Australia constantly. It's just no one understands. No one understands my adventures. No one understands what it's like. Now, it's apart of me, but no one understands. :/

Reverse culture shock

I miss the beach.
I miss my friends.
I miss being away.
I miss being carefree.
I miss the accents.
I miss being on the opposite side of the road.
I miss the weather.
I miss the uni.
I miss my appartment complex.
I miss the fashion.
I miss everything.
I just miss everything about Australia.....

Favorites?

People have asked me what my favorite part of my trip was. Honestly, I can never answer that question. Maybe it was meeting people from all over the world. Maybe it was traveling. Maybe it was being carefree for a five months. I really just can't even put into words what my favorite part was.

People have also asked me how my trip was. I also just can't describe it. It's hard to describe 5 months in one word or even a few sentences. I need about 4 months to describe my journey.

Tips!

So you want to study abroad too?


Here are some tips:

1. Do NOT come with a friend. If you come with someone else, you have to do everything he or she wants to do. I met so many people hwo came with a friend. They'd end up leaving the club earlier than they wanted to because their friend wanted to leave. Studying abroad is a time for yourself. It's about you making friends and figuring it who you are. You don't need to bring someone with you. You'll have a much better time without them! Also, if you come with someone, you don't get to meet as many people.

2. Triple the amount of money you want to bring. You don't want to be worried about money your entire time abroad. You'll need money for traveling. Afterall, it is a once in a lifetime experience.

3. Make sacrifices. When you're abroad, you'll need to make sacrifices. Do you really need that new shirt or would you rather travel? Do you really need expensive food or would you rather go out with friends? I personally sacrficed food. I ate rolled oats for breakfast, granola bars for lunch, and lettuce with frozen mixed veggies for dinner everyday. I had just enough food to survive.

4. Travel. Luckily for me, I had the amazing opportunity to travel. Traveling was the best thing I got to do abroad. I was in Australia, so I was close to many other countries. When else am I going to go to Bali? It'd be dumb to fly from America there, but since I was in Australia, it was so easy to travel.

5. Relax sometimes. It is okay to just sit in your room all day every once in awhile. You're already busy enough, so it's okay to just sit in your room and relax. Everyone needs those days where they can be by themself.

6. Take easy classes. I would recommend taking easy classes like electives abroad. I took a Physics class, and that was the worse thing I could have done. Every other country uses the metric system, so I had to keep converting eveything so I could understand it. I know I missed out on some stuff because I had to study. When you're abroad, who wants to spend time studying when you could be seeing the world.

Milestone

I've been home for exactly two weeks now. It still blows my mind that I'm actually in America. I can actually afford to eat more than oats and lettuce here.

Now, this is where I begin a new chapter in my life. Living in Australia, I learned that you need to take one day at a time. I used to worry about what would happen when I got home, or what people think. In Australia, I just felt like a new person. At home, I would never go to an event by myself. In Australia, I didn't care. I always thought people would judge me if I'd show up alone. In Australia, I went to so many events by myself. I also rarely wore makeup. I didn't spend hours to get ready. I also didn't care that I only had a suitcase of clothes to pick from. I always had something to wear. It's a waste of time to worry about where you will be in 2 weeks. If you worry about where you will be then, you'll be missing out on what's in front of you at this very moment. It's the little things in life that matters most.

I also learned that I don't need to plan that far ahead. I am perfectly okay with getting on a plane and doing my own thing. I am okay with not booking anything including a place to stay or things to do when I arrive. I'm so much more adventurous now.

I also matured. I went to a foriegn county without knowing a soul. I learned how to survive on my own without parents or friends. I learned how to manage my money too. I had to live off of my own bank account with having a job. So, I learned how to budget for food, traveling, etc. I alo learned how to survive on very limited amount of clothes. I realized I don't need heaps of clothes. No one cares. I stopped thinking everyone was judging me with what I was wearing. I now know it was just me.

I left Australia better than what I came into Australia with. In the begininng of my journey, I kind of lost myself. I surrounded myself with negative people. These negative people, I'm sad to say were my closest friends back at home. These people made me feel bad about leaving. Luckily, within a few weeks, I realised that I am much better without them.My true friends supported me throughout this entire experience. At first I was sad to lose some people in my life, but this journey has made me realise who my friends really are. Friends are there for you no matter what, even in the hardest times.

Overall, Australia is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I would not change February 15th 2012 to June 24th 2012. Those were the best days of my life, and I will never forget them.

Thank you Australia.

Passed!

In case you didn't hear, I passed all my classes down under! I'm extremely proud of myself because many people doubted me. Never doubt me, because I will prove you wrong. I passed all my classes at a university that's ranked in the top 5% of the world. Cheers to a successful semester abroad! (:

Jet lag!

Well, I've been in 'Merica for almost two weeks! I can't wait to get over jet lag! Hopefully soon! I hate jet lag! It's the worse thing ever. I can't sleep at night! I'm only tired during the day when it's night in Australia.

Last one!

This is my last post down under.

I would just like to thank the people at home who supported me here since day one. Those who didn't, oh well. I'm very grateful that I have such awesome people at home who encourage me to live my dreams. I can't describe how glad I am that I have supportive people at home. They never gave up on me, and they never doubted me. Thanks loves, you know who you are. I hope you know how much you mean to me!



Good Bye Australia! See ya later!

I'll post another one when I get back and tell you all about how reverse culture-shock is going. I'm sure it's going to be oh so pleasant.

Goals?

Remember when I posted these goals back in February? Well, let's see if I accomplished them all.

Goals:
1. See a kangaroo. Check
2. Meet as many people as possible. Check
3. Get used to the cars on the opposite side of the road. Check
4. See dolphins. Check
5. Walk everywhere since the weather is so gorgeous. Check
6. Travel as much as possible. Check
7. Pick up an accent (: Check, atleast I like to think so
8. Learn all the slang. Check
9. Learn to cook, since I'll be cooking my own food for the first time ever. Check
10. Have no regrets! Check

Yes, I accomplished all of my goals and then some!!

Regrets?

One common question people have asked me is if I have any regrets.


Honestly? I have NONE! I'd do everything the same way I did over and over.

Good bye

In the past 130 days,
I've been to 3 contients, 4 countries, on 11 planes (soon to be 15), 2 different oceans, heaps of beaches, hundreds of beautiful views/scenery, numerous adventures, lots of airports, 4 major cities in Australia, several hotels/hostels, and an endless supply of memories. Maybe it really is time to finally go home.

I've been dreading this day since I got here. I never wanted this day to come. I just had the past 4 months of my life. I'm so grateful for all of the people I've met here, and all the amazing adventures
I got to experience. Nothing will ever top this semester. Words can't describe how blessed I am to have this amazing opportunity. This isn't a goodbye to Australia, it's a "see ya later." I will be back. I hope America is ready for my arrival.

Fashion!

There are some things I'll just never understand in life. One of them is the Australian fashion. Think of a hippie with half the amount of clothes, and you got an Australian.
The motto here is pretty much "less is best."
Here, you won't see sweat pants, yoga pants, pjs or hoodies in class. You will also never see layers. In America, people were so many layers to style shirts. Here, no one does it at all. Australians get dressed up for uni.

A crochet shirt. From Chicabooti.

Girls: Casual: In the summer, sundresses are the most popular. Sundresses are commonly paired with boots. Yes, boots. Floral print is very big here. High-waisted shorts are also very common. Another very popular thing here are shirts with holes in them. Not real holes, but crocheted clothes. I personally love the crocheted style and bought a few shirts for myself. Under these shirts, you wouldn't wear a cami. You'd wear a bright colored bandeau or bikini, no matter how cold it is. It's acceptable to wear a bikini anytime of the day. Cropped shirts are huge here. In fact, most shirts are cropped. It's hard to find a shirt that isn't.  Different colored tights are also big.

Going Out: Dresses are very different here. They are very short and tight, but have high necks. It's very uncommon to see a short dress with a lot of cleavage. Bar tenders are normally topless or in lingerie.

A dress you'd see at the night club. This is from Chicabooti.

Guys: Casual: Guys wear such short shorts. They are about half the length of guy’s shorts at home. Guys wear singlets and shorts pretty much everyday. They don't wear jean shorts though. They have shorts that are cotton, I guess, and come in multiple colors. Guys wear skinny jeans and flip-flops too. It's perfectly acceptable to wear swim trunks to class.

At the Gym:  Guys will wear swim trunks or short shorts with a slinget. It's the same as casual wear.

Going out: Guys wear their skinny jeans and a button up shirt.

Yeah, fashion is heaps different than in the U.S.

Lady GAGA

LADY GAGA!!

So, if you didn’t know I am obsessed with Lady Gaga! When she came to Pittsburgh, I tried so hard to get tickets. Tickets went on sale at 10:00 and I called at 10:03, and they were SOLD-OUT!! I was so depressed.

Love herr!

Before I left for Australia, I knew Lady Gaga was going to start her “Born This Way” tour in Asia and knew she’d be in Australia around the time I was getting ready to leave. Her tour dates weren’t announced yet when I first got here. So, she announced her concert dates for Australia, and one was Brisbane. She would be in Brisbane while I was still here! When I found that out, I just HAD to get tickets!!

My friend, Trevor, and I decided we would go together! Yay! I bought my ticket in March, so all I could think about for 3 months was the Lady Gaga concert.

It was finally the day of the concert! I put on my most fierce outfit and was ready to go! The crowd was intense. She sold-out all three shows in Brisbane! The only disappointment was the costumes of the fans at the concert. I know at home, they’re way more creative and crazy.

The concert started off with a bang. Lady Gaga came in riding a horse! I knew from that moment, the concert was going to be amazing. I was right, the concert was incredible!! Her outfits were also fabulous, of course!  The audience was on their feet all night!

Of course she had a meat dress.

My favorite part was when she sang “Hair.” She really related to the fans during this song. I look very emotional at the part. First, fans threw stuff on the stage to her. One guy through a jacket he made her, and she even wore it on stage. She then talked about suicide and has a say a pray to “what god we believe or don’t believe in” to all the people out there who don’t feel like they matter. That part really got me. She’s such a strong activist for bullying and suicide prevention.  It’s so amazing how she really wants everyone to relate to her. Lady told us to make a promise to her, and that was to follow our dreams, just like she did.. I seriously cried during those 15 or so minutes.

At one point she even had the Australian flag and was dancing around with that. Then, she concluded her concert but not without an encore. I really thought was done, because she said “last song,” but then came out and did two more songs!! That’s why I love Lady Gaga, she never ceases to amaze me. Then, it was over. It was really cool to see a concert in a different country. I hope she comes to Pittsburgh during this tour, so I can compare the two. That was seriously the best concert I’ve ever been to.  Nothing will ever top that. Her concert was worth every penny and more. Now, it's time for a few finals then I have to get ready to leave. Atleast that concert topped off my entire stay here.

What I'll miss about Aussie

I can't believe that I leave here so soon!

Here are some things that I'm going to miss about Australia!

1-100. EVERYTHING!!

Other than everything here's some more in detail in no specific order.

1. The weather
2. The beach being super close.
3. The minimal amount of rain.
4. The people.
5. The laid-back attitude.
6. The drinking age. Oops!
7. Tim-tams
8. My own bathroom and bedroom.
9. Not caring what people think.
10. Using the excuse of "I'm American." to get out of doing stuff.
11. The fashion.
12. Being care-free
13. Going out without drama.
14. The no drama EVER thing! (my favorite)
15. Traveling
16. Pie Face
17. Not studying.
18. Kebabs!
19. Ladies Nights with free drinks all night
20. The amount of nightclubs here.
21. Rugby
22. Aussie accents
23. Celebrating for no reason at all.
24. My friends
25. The "heaps" of slang.
26. On-campus Bar
27. Pass/Fail Classes
28. Diversity
29. Hot Surfer Bodies.
30. Concession bus prices
31. Meat pies
32. FREE Laundry
33. Colorful money
34. $1 and $2 coins
35. Everything

Dream Come True

Dream Come True!

Ever since I watched Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s movie "Our Lips Are Sealed," I've always wanted to go to Sydney, Australia!! I've dreamed of seeing the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. My dream finally came true!

This past week we didn't have classes, because it's "study week," meaning more time for me to travel! What a perfect time to travel

My friend Elizabeth came with me and we met my friend, Sarah, there. Sarah flew from America to see me!

Light show!

Day 1: We left the Gold Coast at 9 and got to Sydney at 10:30. It was such a short plane ride! I got there and met Sarah. We took a bus to our hostel. This hostel wasn't bad. It was much better than my first hostel experience. There was 8 beds, but it was just us 3 in the room. That was perfect! Our hostel was right on the famous, Bondi Beach! After we got to our hostel, we explored the surrounding area. We didn't stay out too long, because it was pouring down rain. Later on, we went to Circular Quay, which is where the Opera House is, to see the light show. The light show was so pretty! We got to see The Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and downtown Sydney light up.

In front of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Day 2: We got up early to start our day. We had free breakfast at the hostel. (It sucked.) Then, we went back to Circular Quay, to see the Botanic Gardens. The Botanic Gardens are beautiful. We didn't get to see all of it, because it's so big! Next, we walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. After that, we did some shopping and called it an early night after doing so much walking during the day. The weather the entire day was perfect!!

Soaked.

Day 3: We woke up and decided to do the famous coastal walk between Bondi Beach and Coogee Beach. We got about half way through, but had to turn back because Elizabeth had to catch her flight back to the Gold Coast. What we did see though was so pretty. Sarah and I headed back to Circular Quay and caught a ferry to Darling Harbour. At first we were a little lost, because we got off the wrong stop. Luckily, we found a mall and shopped for a little. Then, we found Chinatown. Chinatown is great. You can get really cheap souvenirs there. Then, the rain started. We didn't bring our umbrellas today, because we didn't think it'd rain. We were wrong, we got drenched. So, we headed back to the hostel and stayed in for the rest of the night because we were freezing by this point.

Day 4: We headed to Circular Quay again to take a ferry back to Darling Harbour. It was so windy. We experienced an Australian winter storm. The winds were so strong! Today we were on a mission to find Ugg boots. Ugg boots in Chinatown are so cheap! They're like the purses in New York City's Chinatown. As we were in Chinatown, little did we know there were other markets called Paddy’s Markets also going on. We got some really cheap souvenirs at the markets. After finding Ugg boots, we headed back to our hostel. Since it was still really windy, we stayed in. We had to get up at 4 the next day anyway to catch our flights.

Overall, this trip was amazing. I finally got to visit a place where I've been dreaming of going. I never even imagined it coming true.

Deprived

Here is a list of things that I've been deprived of because Australia just doesn't have it.



My American friends and put a list together of stuff that America has that Australia doesn't.
The selection here is terrible. I will never take variety for granted ever again.



1. All of my favorite stores.
2. Swedish Fish
3. Disney Channel
4. ABC Family
5. Twizzlers
6. Lemonade
7. The letter "z."
8. Variety/ Selection of everything
9. Stores that have shopping and food such as Wal*Mart
10. Egg Beaters
11. Boxed Pancake Mix
12. MTV
13. Ban Deodrant
14. Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste (my favorite)
15. Saltines
16. Dannon Light and Fit Yoghurt
17. Gold Fish
18. 100 Calorie Packs
19. Movie Nights... (Can you believe no one here has movie nights?!?!)
20. Berry Berry Kix
21. Graham Crackers
22. Biscuits
23. Smarties
24. Nacho Cheese
25. Hot Dogs
26. Turkey
27. Cranberry Sauce
28. Hot Apple Cider
29. American Cheese
30. Stick Deodorant (they only use roll-ons)
31. Applicator Tampons
32. Soft Pretzels
33. Provolone Cheese
34. American Cheese
35. Pop tarts
36. Toaster Strudels.
37. Frozen waffles
38. Reeses (or anything that combines peanut butter and chocolate)
39. Peanut butter crackers (they don't use peanut butter nearly as much as Americans do)
40. Participation points for grades!

Finals

I actually have to study now? What?!

I'm pretty nervous for finals coming up. I haven't had to take any exams yet here, so I don't know what to expect. Also, since I haven't had any exams that means that these finals are worth heaps amounts of marks. They are all worth atleast 40% of my grade! So, if one fails finals here, they fail the class. Ahh!!

Finals are so different here. We have one week off to study for them, and then they are all within two weeks after that. We have off  June 2nd-June 8th to study They can be any time or day, including Saturday. In the US, you don't have a week off to study and they are all in a week.

Also, here your lecturer decides how long you get to take the final. In the US, you normally have two hours. Here, some of mine take 2.5 hours.

I have a final on Saturday, June 9th. Then, I have one on June 19th and June 20th. My finals schedule sucks because I leave soon after the 20th. I just want to get them over with!

Well, wish me luck with these finals! I hope they all go well.

Out in the Gold Coast

Goin Out in the Gold Coast!

The Gold Coast is always popping no matter what day of the week it is.

I'm going to tell you the hot spots for everyday of the week.

A night out at Sincity!

Surfers Paradise is where the majority of the clubs/pubs/bars are. There's one to fit everyones needs. If you never know where to go, just go to Surfers Paradise and walk around and you'll find atleast one place that is jamming that night.

Sunday: Waxy's Irish Pub in Surfers Paradise. Every Sunday there's $2.50 steaks and $2.00 beers. You can't beat those prices!

Monday: SinCity in Surfers Paradise. Every Monday night is Industry night. SinCity is my favorite night club by far. The music is really good. They play alot of mixed stuff, which I love. Drinks are also pretty cheap. They always have specials too. The dancing is alot like what you'll find in the states.

Best nightclub on the Gold Coast

Tuesday: Shooters Night Club in Surfers Paradise. Tuesday is Uni Night. All of the Uni students go here and get drink specials. Also, anytime you have no idea where to go, go to Shooters. It's free entry all the time for Griffith Uni students as long as you show your id. The drinks might be a little more, but since you get in free, it evens itself out. The dancing and music are great too.

Night out at Shooters

Wednesday: Escape Night Club in Surfers Paradise. There's a $15.00 Cover Charge which includes your 1/2 shot basic spirits until midnight.

Thursday: Parkwood Tavern in Southport. This is within walking distance of Uni. Every Thursday is uni night. It's free entry and it's always busy then. It's always crowded, when it's one of the bigger places. It's always a good time because it's all uni students that go.

Friday: Melbas on the Park in Surfers Paradise. Every Friday night is Sweet Sensations Night. There's topless men that walk around with sweet treats, like cupcakes and cookies. Ladies get in free all night. Everyone gets in free until ten.

Girls Night with some Aussie.

Saturday: Anywhere you go is good. All of the night clubs are busy.

The Gold Coast is the place to be. It never gets boring, no matter what day it is!

Wine and food festival

Wine and Food Festival

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to see a little more of Australia.
My roommate, drove us 2 and a half hours to a wine and food festival.

The girls at the festival.

The way there is all country-side. I've never seen Australia like that, so it was really nice to see. We went to a little town called Hampton. It was very small, but it felt homey.

When we got there, we got lunch. For lunch, I got the famous Australian beef sausage with a piece of bread. I never get sick of it. It is so good.The wine and food festival was really fun. We got to try all sorts of wines from diffrent wineries. They were delicious. Also, we got to sample all kinds of organic foods from nuts to jam. The food was also very good. There was also a little art section filled with paintings. The paintings and art works were beautiful. For dessert, I got strawberry Dutch pancakes. Hands down, the best food I ate all day.

Dutch pancakes!

After the festival, Bettina, drove us to a town called Toowoomba. This town was adorable. We went to the highest point of Toowoomba in a park and could see over the entire town and then some. It was beautiful. Then, we took a walk in the park and enjoyed the views.



At the top of Toowoomba.

Overall, it was a good day!