Papers... a love hate relationship

The title really sums up today... I spent most of the day working on a paper that is due Sunday at 5pm. I had put the paper off until I got my laptop back, but now I can really feel the pressure to get it done. However, I am not the only in who put off the paper, most of the people in the program did the same. So, it has been very quiet around here.

I found out that Raman noodles in Australia do not taste as good as they do in the states. Also, most sodas are flat compared to ours.

The Big Spider.

On Monday, I went over to the blackfriars build at about 9am to finish my paper that was due at 4pm that day. No one was using the computer, so I thought I would turn one on, turn on the lights, and turn on the fans. When I turn on the fans, I here a pow of something hitting the wall. I walk over to investigate the noise and discover it was a spider that had been resting on the fan. This spider was fuzzy and about the size of my hand. It was so big I had to take a picture of it as proof. I did ask and found out that the spider was not poisonous.

How I almost died...
1. Bitten by a spider
2. Paper writing exhaustion.

Up and Running

Well... I finally decided to go out and start a blog. One would think that being so "techie" I would have done this ages ago... However, I chose to put it off. So today's post may be long unless I fall asleep while typing.

The Arrival (August 26)

I left Detroit on August 24 and arrived the 26th in Sydney... It really wasn't as long as it sounds because I crossed the International Date Line. I was about to fly first class from Detroit to Denver and I have an upgrade for first class from San Fran to Detroit on my way home. (Two victories in the flying world.) The flight from Denver to San Fran was uneventful except I only had 45 mins to change planes.... Once I made it to my international flight, I find out that they are going to delay the leave time because we would arrive too early into Sydney. lol. The international section of the flight wasn't bad as I was in Econ Plus which means better treatment and more room.

While on the flight, there was an empty seat between me and a girl around my age, so we were able to spread out. I didn't find out until we arrived at Sydney that she was in the same program as I was.

Once arriving, they packed 8 of us early arrivals into a van with all our luggage. I have no idea how the van made it to our residence. I am so glad that we didn't get into an accident!

Once arriving I found my room and started to unpack and took a shower ( I was ready for one at that point). Sleeping on a plane isn't much fun and makes you want a shower.

The Orientation

The first three days are orientation and go great. I was about to meet several people and started to get a close group of friends (Leslie (an RA, but a cool one), Maria, and Annie).

Classes... Week One

The first few days of classes were not that bad, but I discovered how much I love the Albion style of discussion classes and not lectures. To facilitate better learning, I switched from taking Australian Politics to Australian Cinema. I had a small disaster for me... My laptop Hard Drive decided to fail... So I had to find a way to get it replaced.

Week Two

The second week starts out with a take home essay due in Cinema that I thought I did very well on... I did do well. We also had an interesting speaker (Jennifer Newman) in Australian Culture. She held everyone's attention for the whole 3 hour class period. Some even wanted to have her talk longer. She told an amazing but true story about how her family was separated and got back together 30 years later.

I was able to get my Hard Drive replaced after two trips to Toshiba (an hour from my place, but still in Sydney) and 3 hours on the phone. I am glad I can deal with customer service so well...

Today...

I picked up my laptop and got it all back up and running with all the software I needed. I am glad that I brought all my computer supplies along for the trip. I am also working on an 8 page paper that is due Sunday at 5pm.

And.... Now for the Bonus Feature...

How I have almost been killed...
1. The cars drive on the wrong side of the road and there is no driver (actually the driver is on the wrong side as well)
2. The busses drive in the gutter, so the mirrors hit people in the head
3. The cars approach on the wrong side
4. Silent trains
5. The cars don't yield to pedestrians
6. Falling down/up the circular stairs in my flat
7. The cars start going at full speed as soon as the light turns green, regardless of pedestrians in the road.
8. They lack railings on the edge of the walkway on a steep cliff
9. The cars don't stop well in the rain
10. The power here is 240 volts, not 110