The second half of classes went smoothly, though this week it is only the lectures, instead of also having labs and tutorials. While syllabus week was a very nice ease into a new semester at a new school, I am very excited for tutorials and labs just so I have the chance to interact and talk to more students! While we get to ask questions in lecture, tutorial is the time for discussion and from a look at the course outlines, my tutorials seem very interesting! One of my classes is field based class which means we get to go on an overnight study in the middle of the term. It is called Forest Ecosystem Science, which will be interesting to see from an Australian perspective looking at issues.
I’ve also put in interest with more clubs since the last time I have posted. I figure I should take every chance I can here and do things that I can’t do back home. The club is a kayaking club and they go out along the bay and in the ocean. Everything is provided making it easy to join just for the term and everyone seems very inviting. I also received more information from my other club, the Bushwalkers, and there will be a lot of planned trips coming up! Just like with the other club, all equipment you might need, including some serious looking backpacks, is provided. The one trip I am most interested in is the Blue Mountains trip. USydney has some pretty amazing clubs, and I am so excited to be apart of some of them. They give you so many chances to get involved and, in my case, get out of the city and explore.
Friday night our building we live in planned a winter wonderland cruise on the harbour. It was so wonderful because it was a perfectly clear night with a full moon and we just went back and forth along the botanical gardens, the Opera House, Luna Park and around Glebe Point. It was also a great chance to meet some more people from our building. While there are a great number of international students living in this building, we are finally starting to meet some native Australians. They, of course, know some of the best places to get a quick bite to eat or a nice sit down meal. It seems that a lot of suggestions lead us to Newtown, which is really close to campus and where we live. The main road that runs through is King Street, which is covered with cafes, bars, restaurants, clothing stores, record shops, book stores, a movie theater and the train station! It reminds me of an even more lively South Street, so for anyone coming here, you can spend at least an entire day just exploring everything it has to offer. We are now three weeks in to our study abroad experience and can’t wait to see what the next few months bring!
