Student Bloggers

If you haven’t heard about the new phenomenon “Pokémon Go” you need to! It’s a super fun game that brings you to new places and let’s you and other players catch wonderful Pokémon from our childhoods... 90’s kids, amiright? Whether you’re team Mystic, Valor, or Instinct (GO INSTINCT!!), or if you don’t have any idea what I am talking about everyone should play Pokémon Go while studying abroad. And this is why…

1. YOU MEET OTHER PEOPLE
   • While I have been playing around campus or around Sydney in general, I have met so many nice people and locals that have had great advice about how to get to certain places and do certain things for cheap. One of my favorite moments while playing is walking around Sydney Harbor and by the Sydney Opera House. I swear every single person (about 200 people to be more precise) I passed was playing Pokémon Go. I would look at someone and say, “You playing?” and he or she would respond, “You know it!” It’s also a great conversation starter to help you meet people in your classes. In the philosophy class I am taking I met this girl named Sarah. She arrived early to class and sat close by me. I noticed that she started playing the game before class had started and I asked what level she was on. She gladly told me and showed me all of the Pokémon that she caught on the way to class. As I said, great conversation starter!
2. YOU SEE LOCAL ARTWORK AND COOL PLACES
   • Fun little pieces of the game are called PokéStops and Poké Gyms. They are little sculptures, artworks, or buildings that you might not notice on your normal walk around the town. Now to prove my point I walked from my house all the way down to Sydney Harbor Bridge (which takes about 1.5 hours), collecting all the Pokémon and stopping at every PokéStop or Gym in the area. Because of these “Poké Places” I was able to see really cool local artwork or places I might have missed when taking the bus down to the harbor. There was this little free museum/memorial that was a PokéStop that showed the history of the Anzac War and was very informative about some of Australia’s history. There was cool graffiti artwork that was down an alley. I also wondered my way around the Royal Botanic Garden and learned the names of all the statues and famous trees in the park. It truly made the hour and a half walk down to the harbor a lot more fun.
3. YOU GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY
   • Within the game you are able to see a map of the town. You can find ways to walk to a new location without taking the normal roads. If you want to go on a run and get lost perhaps (not saying this happened to me or not), but the app allows you to find your way back to where you need to go. If you read my last blog, getting lost isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
4. YOU GET TO CATCH ‘EM ALL
   • And lastly, it’s just a super fun app that you can play when you have some down time. You can be the very best, like no one ever was!