This passed week has been pretty active with the Orientation Week (O-week) starting. Monday, I walked around to see all of the clubs and societies that were here on campus. I signed up for the Anime Club, Nippon Students' Association (NSA), Women in Engineering club, Biomedical Engineering Student Society, and even looked at some martial arts clubs. I also managed to go to the on campus doctor since my left foot was still swollen. Turns out, since I had injured my foot (a small scratch, really) somehow before I left, it ended up getting infected and I have to take an antibiotic. I also talked to the doctor about my existing prescriptions and he was able to give me the Australian equivalent to the ones I need for my stay here.
Tuesday, I did not feel like going out and mingling with people I did not know, but tried to force myself. I went out and was out for approximately 30 minutes. Afterwards, I realized I really did not want to be around people and went back to my room. This was my second really emotional day since arriving in Sydney and it's only been a week. I know I am still getting used to everything and I really do not know where this emotional day came from, but I took it and kept to myself and just tried relaxing.
Wednesday, I was feeling much better and went out to do the campus tour. The people who led the tour suggested on waiting to buy textbooks until after the first week, after hearing what the teachers had to say about textbooks- if we needed them or not. Some textbooks would be found online and we could access them that way. Some textbooks are not needed at all. After the tour, I went back to a stall for martial arts, the Taido club, and signed up for their beginners classes- 10 classes over 6 weeks for 50 AUD. I'm really looking forward to this as I really like martial arts and learning new things. I want to learn different types of martial arts if I am able to. I have already learned Tae Kwon Do (I studied this for years, stopping when I was 11 and had a second degree black belt. I regret stopping, but things happened.). At a university, I learned a bit of Tai Chi and that was really fun as well. I'm looking at giving Taido a shot.
Afterward, I started getting ready for the Village's Cruise event that they were supporting for their own O-week. When I signed up and paid for this, I was thinking it would be laid back, sight see, and maybe meet some new people in a calm setting. After signing up on the Facebook event page for it and seeing the picture they had, I realized I was wrong. Instead of stepping back into my comfort zone and cancelling the Cruise and being refunded, I took a step forward and went out of my comfort zone. I did not talk to a lot of people, as I really am not a party person and I don't really drink socially. However, I talked to a few people and realized that I am awkward. Super awkward and shy, as I pretty much only ever answered the questions that were asked and did not ask any of my own. Now that I know this, I will be working on getting over this and actually try to have some semblance of a conversation with others. One plus side of going to the Cruise, is I got some lovely shots of the Sydney Opera House and some surroundings as the boat went passed them. One down side to the Cruise was that while transportation was included to the harbor, it was not included in getting back to the Village and I had to find my way back. Luckily, someone I met with while on the boat also wanted to get back early instead of going to the after party, and we (including a couple of his friends) managed to get our way back and I am glad that I did not have to make the trip alone.
Thursday (yesterday), I had to wake up relatively early as the university's compulsory orientation was here. I was able to watch Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descendants give a performance and it was absolutely great. I learned a few new things, but it was here that the idea of waiting until after at least the first class was over to buy textbooks was reinforced- by important people high up in the university chain. After the 2.5 hour talk, they gave us free food, which was good. One thing that kind of made me sad was that I had to cancel the beach and (learn to) surf trip since the orientation was going to go past the time where we would meet up and head over.
Today, I went to the Taronga Zoo! It was huge! Our group got there about 11 am, where we dispersed and went our own ways, and I did not leave until almost 4 pm! My feet and ankles are pretty sore, but I took a lot of pictures, a few videos, and started my souvenir shopping! I also bought a post card here to send back to my study abroad advisor since she wanted to receive one.
I have attached some pictures from my experiences this week. Until next time!
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| The Opera House at night |
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| Taronga Zoo entrance! |
^ Otter!
^ A baby gorilla!
^ Young (6 years) Elephant!
^ A squirrel monkey!
^ Mali, a seal, smiling at the camera!
^ He was looking at me :o
^ Meerkat! Also looking at me.
