One week down, nineteen to go!

This week so far has flown by! In the U.S. I am used to getting everything done so quickly. Here, I feel like grocery shopping takes the entire afternoon. I am getting used to the public transportation system and walking a lot more. Last night my friend Destiny from Canada and I walked thirty minutes each way to get a coffee down the street. I definitely appreciate my car back home! 

Roommates!

Billabong shop and hotels in Surfers

Me and Destiny

The weather here is beautiful – it is hot during the middle of the day, and we don't have AC so I have been getting into the habit of wearing sunscreen wherever I go. I also can't find any sunscreen here over spf30- which seems surprising because apparently there is a hole in the ozone over Australia. 

Because the weather is so nice we have been able to get a lot done- Tuesday we arrived, Wednesday we went to Australia fair, Thursday we went to Uni and out to Surfers Paradise for dinner, Friday we went to Pacific Fair and yesterday, we went grocery shopping and to the pool. Last night we went to Surfer’s Paradise again just to walk around and see the scenery, there was a sand sculpture contest going on as well as the regular night life and I got a homemade ice cream cone. 

 

Tomorrow starts orientation at Uni (that’s the generic aussie word used for any university) and the beginning of “O Week” which is basically a week long party. So far I have met a lot of friends, and I am trying my best to remember all of their names and hometowns. Destiny is from Toronto, Ali is from Illinois, Christian is from Chicago, Matt and Artu are from Finland, Vicki and Jeremy and someone else who won’t tell anyone his real name are from Dubai, and Angie, Tamara, Phoebe, Beck, Kim, Morgan,( and more that I can’t remember right now ) are from Australia. We have had quite a few new people arrive this past two days I just met about a half dozen at the pool earlier today.

Shopping in Pacific Fair

Going down the travelator!

Australian "travelators" not escalators

When we went to Pacific fair, we had lunch at a small shop called Goldstein’s where I had my first pie. Pies seem to be very popular here and you can get just about anything in them from steak to chicken or even breakfast pies with egg bacon and cheese. The food here is good, and I have to remember that they do not tip at all here, it is not expected and the price on the menu is including tax. It is nice to know what you have to pay upfront as I think everyone here is on a budget (including myself). Overall the food is just about the same as in the states. The coffee however is completely different. I have noticed that it is hard to get a "regular" cup of coffee here as all of their drinks are made from espresso. I also had my first latte and to my surprise I realized that I didn't even need sugar. The coffee is strong but not bitter. I have really enjoyed trying it so far.