First, everyone wants to know about school, I'm assuming. The courses I am taking include Fisheries Science, Conservation of Marine Wildlife, Rainforest Ecosystems, and Australian Cinema. As a side note, I will be posting my schedule on here at some point right after I edit it so it looks the way I want it to. This way if any of you are skype users :) you will be able to catch me when I am out of class.
The school experience is much different here than it is in the States, or at least I think so. I go to lecture twice a week (total 2 hrs) for each subject and then each class has 1 tutorial (discussion period= 1 hr) and science classes have 1 practical (lab=3 hrs). This means I am in class a lot! I am so lucky I have Mondays off. When I start planning trips, it will be glorious to have that extra day for travel. Overall, my classes seem very interesting. The science courses are going to be more work but of course, I expected that. At Coastal I had a lot of busy work between classes, but here you only get one or two big assignments and then a final at the end of the semester. Most of my assessments are group research projects and hopefully they go smoothly. Besides that, I am just trying to take it a day at a time. If you know me well enough, you know I worry about everything. Here, I have been very good at letting things go and just going with the flow. It's a great trait I have acquired.
Besides school though, I have done some adventuring in town, on campus, and wherever the wind blows me pretty much. The get togethers I have been going to are a good mix of Australians and Americans. It just so happens that when we get together, we end up talking about different things we have in our own countries and we get so wrapped up in the similarities and the things we think are "strange" or "absolutely awesome" about each one. This entire experience has been awesome! I can't even describe to you how great it is to learn about a different culture and talk to people my age that live their lives here. I have learned so much out of the classroom, I could write a book!
On Saturday, George Roberts Hall (where I live :) ) and all of the other halls on campus competed in a swim carnival (swim meet as we call it back in the U.S.). This was for the Fischer Sheild, which is basically a banner that we hang up in our dining hall to prove to everyone that we are the best. We didn't win this one, but there are plenty more to get as the semester rolls on!
Sunday was by far the most fun I have had! Hiking is one of my favorite things to do when I go somewhere new. Especially when it has this type of landscape. There are mountains everywhere and they are so inviting! A few friends and I left in the morning to check out The Strand. This is where all the locals go on the weekend when it is nice weather, which basically means all the time. It is where the beaches are, rock pools, restaurants, etc. and it is a great place to spend the day. After we picked up some sun rays and some ice cream, we headed to Castle Hill for a long journey up the mountain. I will put up pictures of this gigantic rock! We climbed up straight stairs/mountainside the entire time, nothing flat exists here. It was challenging to say the least, but when we got to the top just in time to see the sunset, I knew the whole thing was worth it. We took lots of pictures and then headed back down the mountain. We took the road on the way down because it was dark by the time the sun was completely down. It was then time to head back to Uni for a good night's rest.
Now I am sitting here preparing for the classes I have tomorrow. I hope I have plenty to tell you this week! It is never dull here in Townsville, QLD. Love you all! Be prepared to see lots of pictures!
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