Autumn in Newy
Most of May was pretty uneventful compared to all of the amazing experiences I had in April. I received marks for several big assignments I turned in before the break. I got one of the lowest grades I’ve ever received on my creative writing assessment.. a 68%. After some deliberation, I decided to drop the class. It wasn’t something I needed the credit for (I finished all my electives outside of my major ages ago), but my study abroad program cost is for four classes, so it was supposed to be my fun class. Getting such a low grade was not fun, and I decided I would rather free up some of my time than to continue with that class. After all, I’m only going to be in this situation (unemployed in Australia) once and I’ve got to make the most of it! And stressing over a class that I don’t even need the credit for didn’t seem worth my time.
I went out the first weekend of the month with Kris, one of my new mountaineering friends, and we meet up with Aaron, a guy I had met out one night in March and had had coffee with on campus a few times. It was an interesting night – we saw a fight break out in the street and the bouncer almost lost my driver’s license while trying to break up the fight. Definitely one to remember. The following weekend, I had brunch with Kels, who I hadn’t seen in over a month after being gone for all of April. We went to this cute little place called Autumn Rooms and caught up for a while, and then stopped into this thrift shop that had a bunch of American clothing which was so interesting to see. Apparently she goes over there a lot and brings things back to sell!
Indoor climbing at Pulse became part of my weekly routine – instead of going to the gym on Mondays, Kenz picked me up at 5 pm and drove to Pulse, where we climbed from 5:30-7:30 pm with 15 or so other members of the mountaineering club. On our second or third go, she asked me if I wanted to grab dinner on the way back. I was hesitant because I try my best to save my money and not eat out unless I am either starving after a night out or I am out of groceries. She said she wanted to go to this Indian food place and I was immediately sold – I love Indian food and have ever since I first tried it sometime in my early teens. This quickly became part of the routine as well. Every week we would drive to Raj’s Corner in Hamilton for takeaway before Kenz drove me home. I am always starving after climbing as well (typical for me after any physical activity, even if I eat right before), so it was nice to not have to spend an hour cooking when I got home.
I went on one lengthy longboarding adventure halfway through the month – it came about on a day that I was absolutely sick of my sharehouse. There had been a rat/mouse in the house for a while that I had seen on the kitchen counter (ew) that day, and some new people had moved in that were constantly leaving the kitchen an absolute wreck. I wa absolutely fed up after seeing the rat and decided I needed to get out of the house for a while. Photos from that day, as well as some other random photos that I’ve taken in Newy throughout my time here that I don’t have a specific place for, can be found in the Around Newcastle Album.
The only photos I snapped on my phone in May (until the end of the month when the Sward Fam arrived) were these of a few breathtaking Newy sunsets!
That’s it for my May activities (the Sward Fam visit is getting its own post), but I will say this — the biggest adjustment I had to make in May was the weather change. Since I was in various places in AUS throughout April, it was a bit of a shock to arrive back in Newy in May and discover that, against all my expectations, it had actually gotten a bit cold. Australia? Cold?! I know. I was surprised too. I was prepared for daytime fall (sorry, autumn, apparently fall is a North American term) weather — I had brought a few long sleeves, some jackets, pants, and a hoodie — but what I was absolutely not prepared for was nighttime fall weather in my own home. The houses here (I’ve been told this is more of a Newcastle thing than an all-of-Australia thing, although I’m not sure I believe it) don’t have central air or heating. So, when it gets down to 45 in the middle of the night during autumn.. you feel that in your house, unlike in the US where you would have your central heating on through autumn and winter to keep your house at a reasonable temperature. This was a massive adjustment. I didn’t have an extra blanket when I got back from break and I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of times because I was so cold. Before I acquired an extra blanket, I had to use my beach towel as one (haha)! I ended up ordering a little radiator from Amazon which was an excellent (and very necessary) decision. It was still cold in the rest of the house and every time I needed to cook a meal, I had to put sweatpants and a hoodie on, but at least my room was warm!
Head on over to the next post to hear about all the awesome stuff we did when my dad, stepmom, grandma, & brother came to visit at the end of the month!
