Trying New Things

Week 5 Aussie Slang Lesson: Brekkie = Breakfast

This week has been much quieter than last weekend in Sydney. Classes are ramping up, so I have spent a lot of time completing homework and working on a paper that is due this coming week. For classes, I am taking Australia: Culture and Identity, Intro to Communication, and Creative Writing: Plot and Genre. Knowing I wanted to study abroad in college, I saved Gen Ed classes as a freshmen so I could take them abroad. It would be much harder to find Education classes in other countries with transferable credit. I am enjoying all of my lecturers (professors), and because Bond Uni is such a popular school for international students, I am getting to meet students from all over the world. I am the only American in my communications class, which makes it interesting as different cultures have different thoughts on types of communication. In that class alone, we have Australian, American, Norwegian, New Zealand, Japanese, and a German student, all in a class size of less than 20. I have really enjoyed hearing all of the different cultural norms in discussion.

In the time off from classes, I have been exploring campus and the options offered there. Bond has squash/ racquetball courts, so I learned to play squash with some friends as that is popular here. The rules are quite simple, and after playing tennis for so many years, I found the racquet skills to be similar. Bond also offers a variety of workout classes for students to take, free of charge. My friend, Sophia, and I tried the pilates class. Many of the skills focused on balance and abdominal strength, so it was a great class to take for improving my surfing.

Ft. yoga mats we bought for $3.25 USD

Bond hosted an evening for international students, where we were able to gather and celebrate some Australian culture! Animals were brought in for us to touch and learn about, including a baby crocodile, bearded dragon, and a snake. Unfortunately, there were no fuzzy animals for me to hold. We were provided a free drink (again, quite different from a university event in the States) and given tastes of classic dishes. These included crocodile, emu, kangaroo, prawn, and others. The event also had a photo booth, and we had a lot of fun playing around and cramming as many bodies as possible into the booth.

3 out of 4 flat mates πŸ™‚

In the spirit of new things, my friend group went to the movies on Friday night. The Australian movie theatres are very similar to the ones in the states, but the concession area was quite different. It looked like a mini mart sectioned off, where you could grab what you wanted then go to the counter to pay. Instead of coke freestyle machines, each soda had its own tap, like beers at a pub. We saw a psychological thriller, which was entertaining, but I do not need to give myself anymore impossible scenarios to obsess over than I already do, haha.

Soda taps at the movie theatre!

On Saturday, we decided we were going to make a meal together. We found a recipe for pizza rolls that were easy to make and looked like the ones at New Holland Brewing (which I miss terribly). We have tried to make meals like this a few times, but as the ingredients/ brands here are not the same as the states, it always turns out a little different. Our issue this time was not being able to find the dough in a canister. Our friends found dough that was sealed in air filled bags, advertising it was enough dough for a large pizza (they were not). Some of the dough cooperated, and some did not, so our pizza rolls turned into very messy stromboli. The ones that did not cooperate fell apart in our hands when we tried to pick up the rolled dough, . While it turned out quite different from our original plan, it still tasted great.

Attempting to move our rolled up dough to the tray- it did not go well.
How many twenty-some year olds does it take to roll a pizza?

We are all getting over being sick right now. I was diagnosed with sinus bronchitis almost two weeks ago, and everyone in my apartment has been sick. Our bodies are not used to the germs in Australia, plus much of the Gold Coast is sick right now (to the point where it has been difficult to acquire antibiotics). I still have a gross cough and am low on energy, but after several weeks, we seem to be on the upswing again.

I have been in Australia over a month. It has flown by, but I also cannot believe we haven’t been here longer. Looking back at all that I’ve done in the past 5 weeks, there have been hard times; however, there has been overwhelming joy, laughter, and wonderful humans to interact with. This past month has been a blessing.

In the next week, we have multiple friends’ birthdays, a high level cricket match, and a day trip to Stradbroke Island. Stay tuned.

Blessings,

Maddy B

Published by Maddy Baughman

Class of 2024 English and Language Arts Elementary Education Major TEAN Gold Coast, Australia

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