Aussie Observations 1

I've been living in Australia for about two weeks now and have made several observations. I'm sure there will be several posts regarding the things I've noticed as I run across more and more of them everyday. They're in no particular order and basically just a stream of consciousness, if you will.

- Almost everyone here is gorgeous and really fit. Seriously. I feel like the big, ugly whale walking amongst them. Granted most of the people in the campus apartments that I'm living in are in their late teens and early 20's, but I've seen it even outside of CLV (Campus Living Village); walking around in Brisbane and our little urban village in Kelvin Grove. Its incredibly depressing. Plus a lot of people are vegetarians here. Or at least choose to eat more veggies than meat. And they hit the gym regularly. I guess it helps that there's a lot more walking here where as in the States we tend to drive everywhere. I'm anticipating I'll be able to loose a lot of weight that way myself. At least that's what happened when I studied in England. Of course I was only 23 then so it was prolly a lot easier. Come to think of it, 10 years later and I'm studying overseas again. Interesting.


- I do not understand the fashion in Australia. I don't know if its my age, if I've just been out of the loop, or if I've just never had any knowledge of what is currently fashionable. I'm sure some of it is the age group that I'm around (the younger kids). But I will NEVER understand wearing shorts so tiny that your butt cheeks hang out the bottom. Seriously I have seen more girls' butt cheeks than I have ever wanted to see. And its typically denim shorts. Apparently Daisy Dukes are popular in Australia. Although I still think Daisy wore hers longer than these girls do. Don't you feel a draft? Isn't it cold when you sit down? When did denim underwear become a popular item? I also don't understand how the girls dress to the nines on a regular basis. I mean I get getting dressed up and looking good now and again, but they'll wear club dresses to run down to the grocery store. I've been to a couple of parties that are the equivalent of a dorm party, and there are girls wearing cocktail style dresses and huge heels. Their hair is done up big and they're wearing tons of make up. These parties are during the summer when its really hot and our buildings don't have AC. So you're sweating before you even get there then you throw 50 people into a small apartment and it gets even hotter. See-through clothing is also popular. I've seen a lot of girls wearing tops that are a sheer fabric or all lace with no liner. Not a huge deal but then they don't wear anything underneath them but a bra. No camisole, shirt, tank, nothing. Just a bra. I've even seen dresses like this with no slip underneath. Ok so I know the U.S. was settled by Puritans and we tend to be prudes, but seriously, I don't need to see everything you've got while you're dressed. Some of the fashion is also just weird. Not that I'm the most fashionable person but a lot of it I don't think even looks good. It's hard to explain so I'll have to attempt to take some stealthy pics when I can so you can see what I mean.
This is seriously what girls are wearing on the streets here.

- Some Aussies will walk through the town/city and even shop in stores with no shoes on. Even no shirt. Apparently Australia does not follow the "No shoes, No shirt, No service" policy. Not something I would ever do. You don't know what's on the ground and city streets are filthy.

- Driving on the left side of the road affects a lot of other things. Escalators side by side follow the same rules as the streets. In America, you'd go up on the right and down on the left but its the other way around here. It holds true to how people walk up and down stairs and hallways as well. Same with a single sliding door that opens to a walkway. It opens on the left not the right. Something that I have to get used to. It's also hard to remember to look Right then Left when crossing the street. Since we were kindergartners, we've been taught to look Left then Right. It's a hard habit to break. So instead I just look both ways twice to cross the street.

-Justin Beiber hair is REALLY popular here. I suppose so is Ashton Kutcher hair.


- Apparently Keds have come back into fashion. Especially black ones. Worn with black socks. Paired with shorts or skirts or dresses. ...... Yeah I just can't get behind that fashion craze. I haven't warn Keds since I was in high school in the 90's.


- Walking up hill to class in the heat really sucks. I'm usually pretty gross by the time I get to class. Apparently I'm not the only one though cause at a break during this morning's lecture, a girl applied more deodorant as she walked into the hall.

- Australians have a much different way of writing than we do. The syntax is very different. It makes some of their writing really difficult to read and understand. Kinda worried about that when it comes to my text books. And in turn, reading students' papers.

- My body seems to not like constant heat and humidity. I've broken out in a super sexy heat rash. And it doesn't seem to going away. Its nice and itchy and very red. I'm sure this will make me extra desirable for dates.

- I should never have complained about paying for laundry at my last apartment. I thought it was expensive when I had to pay $1.50 to wash and $1.75 to dry. Now I have to pay $3 to wash and $3 to dry! And with the way you go through clothes here from sweating so much in the heat, I'm gonna have to do laundry a lot more often then I used to. :/

I'm here!!!!!

(click on the photos to see them enlarged)

It's only been a week that I've been in Australia and I feel like I'm soooooo behind on catching you up on everything. Where to begin?

The town I'm living in is Kelvin Grove. It's a suburb of Brisbane, about a 10 min bus ride away (at most). From what I've seen, the town is pretty small but really nice. There are lots of restaurants within a 5 min walk and a couple of shops right nearby too. It's very tropical here with all kinds of palm plants, trees and bushes. It's summer here so it’s been quite hot and sticky. Unfortunately my apartment doesn't have air conditioning so the shift from a New England winter to an Australia summer has been a bit rough. I'm surviving though. I take a lot of cold/cool showers.

My apartment is pretty decent. My room is bigger than any single dorm room I’ve seen in the states. And the bonus is that the bed is a king twin. It’s not only longer but also wider. So it really doesn’t feel like you’re sleeping on a twin. Makes a nice transition for me from my queen size bed to a twin. I don’t feel like I’m sleeping in a toddler bed every night. The desk is quite large and has some shelves above it for my assorted stuff. There are no bureaus in the room as they aren’t that common in Australia. Instead I have an open closet with cubbies for my clothes. They call it a built in wardrobe. I need to get some baskets or containers of some kind to put in the cubbies so my clothes don’t fall out and so everyone can’t see my underwear.

Yes, my room is still a work in progress. Soon i will have better bedding, decorations and my room more set up. This gives you the general idea though.

The common area is nice and open. The kitchen is along one wall and has some funky appliances. There isn’t a normal type oven. Instead they have a microwave/convection oven. Will be interesting to do baking in that. So far I’ve only nuked stuff. The fridge is also odd in that it’s tall and skinny. It’s about as wide as my shoulders and maybe as tall. There are only 2 cooktop burners and for some reason they put the larger one in the back. Odd set up. The kitchens don’t come equipped with anything so I have to go out and buy it all. What I wouldn’t kill for a Dollar Tree around here. Would make this soooo much cheaper. Unfortunately things are more expensive in Australia and I’m definitely feeling the pinch.

My snazzy kitchen. Snazzy and bare.

The fridge is really tall and skinny.

The living room is a bit small but not cramped. I was bummed to find out that I didn’t have a full size couch but instead just a love seat with an additional arm chair. I’ll be getting an air mattress for when people visit. I’m stuck taking awkward naps and lie ins on the love seat with my legs hanging off one end. I did luck out though in that someone left a tv behind in my living room. Granted I can only get about 4-5 channels on it and don’t have a remote but at least it’s something. Normally you have to supply your own TV. I only had to go out and buy a cable to hook it up to the wall.

The view from my balcony

There’s a nice patio off the back that’s quite spacious. No real patio furniture but a couple of the dining room chairs are out there so I can sit on them. The one downside is that I have to share a bathroom but its only with one other person so it shouldn’t be so bad. Oh yeah, so I’ll have a roommate in my apartment. She hasn’t shown up yet though. Was supposed to be here Wednesday but hasn’t arrived yet. I wish she’d hurry up cause I’ve been putting off decking out the kitchen until I find out what she’s brought with her. The only thing I know about her is that she’s female, 45 and from Cairns (town in northern Queensland, I’ve been there). Hopefully she’ll show up soon.

The toilets have 2 flush buttons. Half or full cistern. Think #1 and #2.

She just smiled and gave me a Vegamite sandwich

Since everyone I know wanted to get regular updates and pictures of my time here in Australia, I decided to create this blog as a way for everyone to get all the info they want. Those who know me, know I am very open and honest—perhaps to a fault—so expect to see a lot of details and stories not just the general overview of things. At times I can also swear like a sailor. Granted I won't exactly be doing that in my blog, but I will be swearing from time to time so be aware, those of you who find that offensive. In the words of Popeye, "I am what I am and that's all I am."

Well I suppose I should start things off explaining my trek to Australia. There are many reasons really. I mean what person in their early 30's quits everything, packs up and moves to the other side of the world to go back to school and take out a huge school loan? This chick right here apparently.

So how did I get here? Well for several years now I've had the feeling like I'm just kind of plodding along, going in circles - like a row boat with only one oar. After several layoffs in my dream job, then a floundering career filled with jobs I only took to be employed, I needed a change. I was in such a slump that I felt like I needed a big change. Something drastic to restart my life. I ended up choosing Australia because I had intended on coming over here to live with my boyfriend, but that relationship ended. At that point I had already spent a year planning the move and transition to Australia. I still wasn't happy with my life back in the States so I figured, why not continue to go for it anyway? I could do this on my own just as well as I could have with him. Plus I've always wanted to live in another country and since I'm not married, don't have kids and don't own a home, its the best (and probably last) time to do it.

So here I am, in a new country, solo, going back to school after being out of the education system for almost 10 years. I'll be getting my teaching certification and trying out a new career. I think doing it in Australia could also be helpful because I can see how they look at their education system and what ideologies have worked for them. Then I could perhaps incorporate some of their practices when I teach back in the States. The long and short of it, is that I needed a drastic change to jump start my life and had already started on a path that would lead me to that option.

Over the next year I'll be posting as often as possible and posting pictures from my travels in Australia and around Brisbane where I currently live. Feel free to ask any questions and DEFINITELY come visit!

Hope you enjoy it.