Settling In
I realized that I haven’t been including dates in any of my posts, so here’s a little timeline for you. I moved in to the sharehouse on Monday, February 13, and the Port Stephens adventure was on Wednesday, February 15. In the week before school started, I bought a bike from “Dan the Bike Man” – actually, I borrowed it. He takes in used & discarded bikes from around the city, gets them fixed up enough to ride, and then sells or loans them out. You get all your money back if you return the bike to him. Within a few days of having this bike (it was old, rusty, and only five out of the seven gears actually worked), I found a better bike at a thrift shop, bought it, and returned the first bike to Dan. The second bike was in much better condition, with working gears and a big basket over the back tire. It’s still not in the best shape and I am missing my mountain bike back home (should have added that to the list!), but it gets me to and from campus which is really all I need it for. I had been hoping to be able to ride to the beach, but Newy isn’t set up all that well for biking, and it’s a 45 minute ride.. so I’ve opted to bus to the beach instead. But here is the bike & some pretty plants I took photos of on the day I bought it!
I also did lots of shopping at Kmart. I totally underestimated the amount of things I would need here. Shelf organizers for my wardrobe and the kitchen cabinet that I keep all my dry goods in; kitchen towels, a baking sheet, a good knife, and a blender for my smoothies; over-the-door hooks to hang my shower towels to dry in my room, some other hooks to hang my jewelry, a cushion for my office chair so my butt doesn’t go completely numb when I am sitting here doing homework for hours, and a mini ottoman so I can put my feet up at my desk. I totally forgot to build any of these expenses into my budget, but everything I have bought I have used just about every single day, so I’d say they were all worthy purchases! I also splurged on a longboard. Once I decided I wasn’t going to ride my bike to the beach, I thought it would be nice to have a longboard to go between beaches or to just ride around town. It was a lot cheaper than the one I have at home, and I’m really glad I have it! I’ve had several nice rides along the coast and the paths in Islington Park.
Although school hadn’t started yet, I had orientation activities throughout the week as well. Monday was the international student welcome, and Thursday I met up with Lone for the student life expo. I payed for memberships to NUDES (the Newcastle Underwater Diving and Exploration Society) and NUMC (Newcastle University Mountaineering Club). NUDES has two dive trips planned this semester – one to Nelson Bay at the end of April, and one to Seal Rocks at the end of June (both of which I am absolutely going to attend!). The mountaineering club has indoor climbing nights every Monday (which I really need to attend soon) and bigger events spread throughout this semester. Next weekend, I’m going on a bikepacking trip (my first mountaineering event). This involves packing up camping gear (which can be rented from the club), loading it onto bike bags, and riding 50km (about 30 miles) out into the bush (an Australian term that can be thought of as the equivalent of the woods or the wilderness) where we will camp for a night before returning the next day. I’ll also be attending their “Mega Trip” at the end of April, which involves three nights of camping and the chance to try four mountaineering activities: kayaking, hiking, canyoning, and climbing. They’ve got a few other events as well, but I haven’t quite decided what else I will be able to attend!
On Friday, February 17, the uni held a beginning-of-semester party at Bar on the Hill (this is a bar on campus – wild!). I met my Filip and Lone here, but before they showed up I made a few friends. I mentioned this before, but two of them ended up being in my software engineering class. Which worked out great, because this is my hardest class by a long shot (and I absolutely have to pass it because I need the credit to transfer back to UARK, otherwise I will not graduate on schedule!), and involves a big group project throughout the semester. They’ve been a great help and let me be part of their group for the project! The uni party was an absolute blast and I kept thinking how uniquely Australian (or maybe not uniquely Not-American) it was. Inside, there were two bars serving drinks and a stage where a band and a couple DJs played throughout the night. Outside, they had a food truck serving these amazing potato spirals (and everyone got a ticket for a free one), a gelato stand, and a silent disco where three more DJs were playing simultaneously. We had a ton of fun and stayed until about midnight.
I believe I spent the rest of the weekend organizing my room and settling in to the sharehouse. I spent a good amount of time coming up with new recipes to try and a grocery list. I’d become accustomed to eating Chipotle for over half my meals, so it’s been a bit of an adjustment having to cook every meal again!
School started for me on Tuesday, February 21. I don’t have any classes on Mondays or Wednesdays, so I started a day later than some of my exchange student friends. I had a pretty easy first week as some of my labs didn’t start until Week 2, and of course, no homework during syllabus week. Really I was just counting down the days until Pride in Sydney! (cue next post)
P.S. Please enjoy the below pictures of the Butterfly Iris (a.k.a. the Fortnight Lily). I found this beauty on campus <3
