ac isnt all that bad

my dorm doesnt have air conditioning. which makes for sweaty, oft times sleepless nights.
but i get to go to the beach everyday and swim so i suppose i dont have it that bad =)

although, as i was telling papa earlier today, yesterday this aussie guy found a blue ringed octopus out swimming in the shallows on MY beach.
he caught it, put it in a water bottle, and gave it to a couple of girls to take it back to the bio dept, cos they're really rare and he thought they probably didnt have one.
turns out he was right, they didnt have one, and were very excited about it.
im excited that there's one less deadly thing swimming out in the ocean trying to kill me
(one bite paralyzes the respiratory tract ... ew)

im pretty pumped that i know freo so well by now. as in i can walk pretty much anywhere and usually end up in the right place. and if i dont, i always know how to get back home. so yeah, thats cool.
ive discovered that while i love to go grocery shopping with mama, im not such a fan of doing it for myself. its not even that i hate spending the money on something as useless as food (when i could be doing much more important things, like surf lessons), its just so complicated!
consequently im pretty much living off of brown rice, whole wheat pasta, cottage cheese and fruit, and toast (with vegemite!).
and ive turned into a water guzzler. diet coke here is all off, it was shocking the first time i got it actually (all of three hours after arriving in freo), almost spat it out.
that cured that addiction.
fortunately my coffee addiction hasnt had to die yet. although we lack a coffee pot in the kitchen, we DO have a french press. so im all good. and the grounds i got are actually not too shabby.
there is no Starbucks here (thankfully for my budget), and i wouldnt be surprised if i when i come back home im completely off it. then its just a matter of when i start to cave again.
probably as soon as i get back to south bend.

there's this really sweet walkway on the harbour, where they have all these anchors that they dredged up from the coast right there. the things are HUGE. its pretty sweet. they have some really old wooden ones. ill take pictures and put them up later, i think the boys would really like them.
theres also a shipwreck museum about spitting distance from my dorm. i havent gone yet, not sure i want to. i love the ocean, its so beautiful, but ive always had a hard time not seeing it as a giant graveyard. its more like that at home, where its all dark and rocky and slightly intimidating. here its all blue and white beaches and reefs and prettiness, but i still kind of have that reaction.
think about it. think about how many bodies are in there. how on ships they always referred to personnel as souls.
so yeah, there's this place in freo where you can buy chandeliers from shipwrecks, and a bunch of girls were getting all excited about how that would be *so* romantic, but i find it all rather macabre.
not as bad, but almost like the whole mummies in museums thing. its a sign of death.
point is, i dont know if i want to go look at a bunch of shipwrecks. but again, i also think the boys would probably find it really cool, so i might just go to take pictures.

im paranoid about my grades here. i was told point blank there was no way i could get a 4, cos no one does, esp americans. and i realize i probably wont, and that ultimately grades dont matter etc, but the sheer impossibility of it is driving me crazy. the fact that a 3 here is pretty much the same as a 4 back home isnt going to show up on my transcript.
its also a little rough because the way they do things here, there is no core program. and you get a 3 year degree. so im in class with students in their last year, of a very very specialized degree. like the kids in my lit class are all lit majors, and completely used to the type of class. but its my first lit class in a university setting, so i feel completely idiotic. plus they kind of assume a general knowledge of australian literature, like things you would read in high school, but obviously i dont have that.
so im irritating the other abroad kids in the class by reading books not on the reading list, in an effort to catch up. its not like im trying to be an overachiever either, i just would like to feel like i have some understanding of whats being talked about, you know?

the same goes for my theatre and cinema class (dont scoff, its going to be really interesting). i general understanding of australian culture and history is going to be assumed (a major one being Aboriginal relations), and so im going to have to do alot of research there too. which is good because thats one of the major things i wanted to accomplish here, and oddly enough i think this might be the class where i get the most of it.

my foreign policy class is going to be fine i think. the prof (lecturer here) is a hoot and a half. while preposterously expensive, the required text is really small and we only have to read a chapter a week. and he's really laid back. so oddly enough (i hate poli sci classes) i think this one might be the most stress free.

i havent had either my history or my british policy classes yet. im a little afraid of them both, the british more than the others. just because it looks as boring as humanly possible. i might look into switching out, if i can find another class that i can get into. we'll see.

i look like a leper. peeling all over. gross.

things i've noticed:
1. americans really are loud and obnoxious.
ive made a concerted effort to have a more respectful voice level, esp in public. its painful being on the train or bus with the other study abroad kids, we're just SO loud.
2. 'rubbish', 'out for a tic', 'pop it in there'
i love that they actually talk the way they're "supposed to."
i havent picked up the phrases, am trying not to. dont want to be that american tool. ive even put effort into not saying no worries, which ive been saying for years. i just feel like a poser.
3. australians really are ridiculously friendly.
its true. like, some of the kids get all overwhelmed by it ("they're SO nice!"), but i was expecting it, and honestly, im used to friendly people. i think its because im from the PNW, and alot of these kids are from the east coast, where they dont have people they have vampires.
4. stephen makes killer mixes.
been listening to "stephen mix ii: the australia ed." alot. its sweeeet. thanks buddy.

what else? i dont know.
my room is completely in shape, even better now then an hour ago cos i cleaned. im really glad classes have started, i need a schedule. am thinking about getting a gym membership (i know i know), but its 140 aud for four months, a bunch of kids have memberships, and they go all the time, so i know i would actually go, and included in the membership is accessibility to classes and such, like aerobics and dance.
the downside is i dont like spending large amounts of money in one go, and its not air conditioned.
thoughts?

ok, i think thats all i got for now. im going to go make pasta and keep an eye out for Crowded House to announce their tour dates.
im not kidding, i need prayers here. if i could see CH in australia ... im not sure what exactly would happen, but i think it would involve something close to ecstasy.

love you all, some one email me already.