Student Bloggers

As of Monday February 6^th, 8:30am AEST, (or Sunday February 5^th, 4:30pm EST), I officially am in Australia – Sydney to be specific. When I got my luggage and passed through customs without an issue, I found the Arcadia Staff members waiting for us, along with other students studying abroad through TCGS. Our group consisted of students who will be studying at University of Melbourne, RMIT, James Cook University, and Australia National University. Our Arcadia orientation staff members were Patrick, Gizmo, Hasnain, and Mazz. They were honestly really awesome, funny, and had different personalities that complemented well with all of us. I think that the Australian accents just made orientation very bearable and added more excitement to our week.

I left JFK International Airport in NY when it was around 35ºF, but with my luck it was 82ºF when I landed. At that moment, I had three things in mind: 1) change out of my winter clothes and into shorts and a tank top, 2) exchange my USD to AUD at the currency counter, and 3) start making friends. Luckily I was able complete all three tasks before leaving the airport to our hotel, but there is no guarantee that I did not look like a hot mess. Picture this: a crazy American running to and from the bathroom with loose clothes in her hand, and frantically trying to handle money while lugging 2 suitcases, a duffle bag, and a heavy backpack… Yup, that was me.

Without wasting any time, we started a walking tour of Sydney. Not going to lie, it was a beautiful, summer sunny day, but the heat was awful and uncomfortable – I mean would you want to do a walking tour while it was 98ºF out? Okay, so maybe some of you would because you’re in a foreign country exploring a beautiful city within hours of landing after a 22.5-hour flight. I’m not sure how much sunscreen I put on, but I still managed to get a small area of my shoulders sunburned. No big deal – no pain, no gain. I’m not actually in pain (yet), so I am okay for now, but it looks as if sunscreen with a higher SPF is an investment I will need to make for the next couple of weeks. So far, I only found SPF50 sunscreen… *yikes*

On our tour, we visited the Sydney Opera House, walked around the Botanical Gardens, hung out by Darling Harbor, and ate at the Black Bird Café. The pictures I took do not even do justice of the beauty and aesthetics of Sydney (I mean, you can’t expect perfection using Snapchat and a phone camera). Believe me though, Sydney should definitely be on your list of places to visit – especially if you’re young, in love, adventurous, or even bored of your hometown.

On Tuesday, we spent most of the day listening to presentations on differences between Australia and the U.S., money and financial matters, and health and safety guidelines. We had a break for morning tea, and Gizmo taught us how to do the “Tim Tam Slam” challenge. Tim Tams are Australian biscuits, which come in different flavors – chocolate, caramel, raspberry, etc. To complete the challenge, you bite a bit out of two corners which are vertical/opposite of the other, drink hot tea through it (like a straw), then stuff the entire Tim Tam into your mouth. (Spoiler: IT IS CHOCOLATEY HEAVEN). In the afternoon, we visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where we did a tour of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island art work before roaming freely around the gallery to look at other Australian art. After that, we went to dinner at Pizza Authentic, where we tried four different types of pizza, fried macaroni and cheese balls, and pasta. The pizza was extremely thin, and while I appreciated that it was crunchy, I was not a fan of the cheese or seasoning used. We ended the day at the Sydney Tower Eye, just in time for the sunset. Fellas, here’s a place for a romantic date ;). 

On Wednesday, we headed to Bondi Beach. I had Fish & Chips for lunch, nearly got attacked by eight pigeons, and got a minor sunburn. A few of the girls and I decided to walk along the coast and ended up walking from Bondi Beach through Tamarama Beach, and ended at Bronte Beach... we fell behind from taking a lot of pictures... Being clueless Americans, lost in Australia with no sense of direction was a great way to bond and make fun of ourselves. We eventually found our way back to the hotel and decided to continue our adventure by venturing to the Spice Alley, and then the Sydney Opera House for the night light show.

I am extremely upset that many of the friends I made during these three days are continuing their adventures elsewhere, but I am so happy and thankful to have met these lovely people who come from different backgrounds and universities. Here’s to reuniting in the future!