New Zealand!

So today I booked my flight from Sydney to Auckland! Me and at least two other girls will go to Auckland for a couple of days, one of which we will swim with dolphins! Pretty exciting stuff. However, this means that I won't be back in the states until May the 10th. But I'm really excited right now! Now off to class..... :(

The Sydney Aquarium

So today another group of us ventured into the city to visit the aquarium. With our discount the price is only $22.50 which is pretty reasonable for Sydney. But first we went to The Rocks which is the oldest part of Sydney where they have markets every weekend with handmade crafts, candies and novelty Australian souvenirs. There were many things I would like to purchase but as usual most of the items were expensive, I mean it was a craft sale.

But there was one thing that was absolutely out of this world. It was corn on the cob. It was piping hot and they put butter salt and pepper on it for you. You also got to choose a coke, diet coke or a water all for 5 bucks. Probably the greatest deal all day long. I most of us got one and enjoyed it.

Soon after we decided to go to the aquarium because at 3:00 the feed the mini penguins but some of us got sidetracked in a super cute and cheap store for a while so our group split up. While some of us were waiting we went into Krispy Kream for a donut. One original glazed donut was $2.50! I know right absolutely atrocious. But I got one anyways after smelling them what else could I do.

So here we are again back on track to see the aquarium we met up with the rest of the group and walked through it. Of course there is always the one bratty kid you want to spank for the parents and today was no exception. She was a complete brat. Thankfully we escaped her when we left the sharks to go to the coral reef. Then on the other hand there was an adorable little girl who was posing for her picture when just behind her a huge shark came up right over her head. She screamed and took off like a bullet. It was probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

After the aquarium we ate at a place called Blackbird which had fantastic fish & chips, then we walked back to the harbor and caught the next ferry to Manly. It was a good day of walking an site seeing and I was tired when we got back so I crashed as usual.

First Trip to the City!

It was Saturday the 13th when a group of us took our first trip in to the City for the first time. We took the Ferry from Manly harbor which was amazing because it gave us a time to take great pictures of the Sydney Harbor and the Opera House, and The Sydney Harbor Bridge. We got off the ferry at Circular Quay and the first thing we did was hit Starbucks. Yup, we are defiantly tourists but you just can't find iced coffee here like you can at home.

After indulging in the rich coffee of Starbucks we headed to George Street. The main thoroughfare in Sydney strait to China Town and the markets under the mall. Every thing was extremely cheap compared to Cairns and Manly's prices. I got a cute top for only 5 bucks!

After Exploring China town we walked to Hyde Park where we sat down and took a load off our feet. While we were siting there we were approached by two young people and they talked to us about a deal the Hilton is putting on for a hair cut and pampering day. Most of us decided to do it and we are going to schedule a day to go to the salon have our hair done by the head professionals and get a cut color and style for our face shape. All the while being served unlimited champagne, this night we're going to stay in the City at a hotel and go out that night for dinner and dancing. It should be a great time.

After this we decided to go to dinner in Darling Harbor. I have little to say about dinned other than the food was amazing but the service was awful. I can defiantly tell the difference between American serving and Australian service. We left dinner and headed back to the ferry and it started to down pour like you could not believe. It was crazy. Luckily by the time we got back to the ferry it stopped raining and we had a great view of the city at night. It was a good day. Even though my feet hurt like hell after all the walking we did. I couldn't wait to go back to the city!

Surf Trip!

So I completely forgot to blog about the surf trip. It was AMAZING. On Friday night a huge green coach bus picks about 40 of us up to go up the coast about 6 hours away for fun and surfing. The people running the camp are all surfer guys who look like they're stoned out of they're minds from the waves. They put on someones ipod and were on our way.

For the first hour and a half every one is chatting and getting to know people on the bus, then we stop at McDonald's to dinner, even though we've just eaten at the school we all buy something because we have a long drive ahead of us. We all drive and watch movies but I put in my ipod and crashed. I was awoken bus a friend when we stopped at our last destination before the camp. A bottle shop to buy booze for the entire weekend. This is when you learn how expensive a 30 pack of cans can be...$50.00. And thats a pretty low price. Bonus is that Australian beer has a higher alcohol content. After forcing about 70 people in the bottle shop which is the size of a closet we all load our purchases back on the bus and take off for the camp.

At about 1 a.m. in the morning I'm woken up again because we have reached our destination! We all unload and follow the surfer dudes to where we will be staying. It's a building with no a/c, used to this by now. Carpeted and has about 25 beds in it, with 4 inch foam mattresses a sheet and a duvet. The other room has bunk beds in it Most of us change our clothes and crash because we have to be up at 7 a.m. for surf lessons. Some stay up and hang out around a fire a drink with the instructors.

At 7 a.m. we are woken up, we change into our suits, eat breakfast and line up to grab a board and head out to the ocean. The boards are very heavy. And for walking longer distances it's easier to share carrying two aboard with a friend. We all get in a circle and practice getting up on a board. And the we spread out and go for it. We were out in the ocean getting pounded by waves for an hour when it started to rain and the tide shifter and started to bring in massive amounts of blue bottles. I was stung on my stomach, legs and arms. When the instructors heard we all got out and waited for the tide to shift eventually it did and it left us 30 minutes to try again. At 10 the other group came down and we all left to wait for lunch.

After lunch we went back out again for 2 more hours where I actually rode a few in on my board! There is nothing that can compare to this feeling of gliding in on a wave. After our turn the other group came out and we went back to take showers and hang out. We played card games and busted into our alcohol preparing for tonight bonfire, even though it was raining at the time. Dinner came and I don't think I have ever been as hungry as I was that night. Everyone drank talked to each other and generally had a great time. Some people got wasted and others like myself got tipsy and passed out in my bed, because I was so tired from surfing it was one of the hardest things I've ever done physically, and we had to be up in the morning to go back out

The next morning I was so tired I though that I would only surf for a half an hour but I ended up surfing for about all but 20 minutes this time I got up and road a wave in for a while it looked awesome. Unfortunately, it had started to sprinkle so the camera guy went to get an umbrella and never got a picture of me standing up on my board. After this we all went back took showers and packed up everything for the trip home.

The surf camp was put on by Mojo and it was defiantly the highlight of my month!

First Day of Classes

So after a week of fun times and beaches it was time to get back to reality and school. I've now been out of school for two wonderful months. But back to the grindstone. The one major complaint I have about ICMS is the fact that the school does not let you create your own schedule they do it for you, you do however after your enrolled in a class get to change the time. It took nearly a week of haggling and emailing a guy in the IT department to be enrolled in 4 classes that were approved and will transfer back to my school.

It's now 7:15 and I go to breakfast with my roommate and then head off to my first class. It's a good class. Called Facilities Management. The teacher is a really cool older man from Australia and he likes to talk so the class goes by fast and we get out early. This is also when I find out that classes are starting 15 min early and ending 15 late because some kids have to walk up the hill to get to 2 classrooms that are a fifteen minute walk.

After my class I stay in uniform, because if I want lunch you must be in it. Which sucks because our cafe is outdoors. But I am happy to say that the food is pretty good. After lunch about 8 of us go to the beach to lay out and soak up some of the Australian sun. :) Then after a couple of hours come back up for showers and dinner.

It was a good day, and by then my schedule was set and I was looking forward to the term, minus the uniform.

The Next Few Days

Mostly in the upcoming days I went to the beach with friends checked out Manly and went to orientation meetings that didn't last too long and we checked out each other's rooms. On Tuesday night there ways a welcoming ceremony for new students and after a cocktail party with free alcohol and appetizers. There was Champagne, red wine white and beer with unlimited refills. Needless to say everyone was pretty dunk and had a good time afterward almost the whole school went down to Shark Bar for a party and dancing. I didn't get in until about 1 that night but I met a lot of people and had a lot of fun.

On Thursday my group had a surf safety course where we learned what we should do on the beach and what we should not do on the beach. Then we grabbed a board and we to Shelly beach to learn how to paddle in and out. It was a lot of work but really fun at the end we had a relay to see which group could do it the fastest and my group won even though I wasn't very good at it. I could swim faster than I could paddle in and out. This night I stayed in and got things in my room organized.

During these days I also got fitted for my uniform which is hideous and I hate. But it does make things easier to pick out in the morning.

First Day in Manly

So this week we have to dress in business casual clothes, so of course this was the last thing I looked at packing and decided I didn't need anything. So Heather, Jackie, and I went to target to get everything we had all forgotten. For example, dress clothes for me thick heeled dress shoes and a curling iron the won't blow up if I plug it in to the socket as Australia uses 240 volts and the US uses 110 to 120. I also bought school supplies, though I'm having trouble finding two pocket folders. We took the bus there and accidentally took the scenic route through the city that too 40 minutes and costs 3.30 each way. When we got off the bus we had to hike up the hill to take our goods back to our room. This was the second time I hiked the hill and the first time that day. Luckily, we were in a group that didn't have anything to do until Tuesday afternoon so we had the whole day to ourselves. About ten of us decided to go to the beach and lay out.

The Australian sun has no ozone to go through it which means that its really easy to get burnt here. Fortunately, I haven't burn't yet! It was really hot when we left around 2 p.m. and the hike up the hill sucked, really steep and hot. But the beach was amazing very light sand with not very many blue bottles. We all came back and took showers and got dressed for dinner. The food here is really good and it's presented as a meal and not slop like back at home it looks really appetizing. We left dinner and went to watch some of the guys play basketball and cheered and heckled them then got dressed to got out. We walked down to The Warf to get gelato but 3 of us couldn't find the others we were meeting and we walked passed a Copehagann Ice Cream so we decided to get that and then meet up with everyone else. At this point Heather realized she left her i.d. back in the room so we walked along the surf and came to the decision to go back up to get it. We went up and got her i.d. finally met up with half of the guys and walked down to the bar.We went to the one bar in Manly called Shark bar it was deserted and we had the club to ourselves, then later we went downstairs and joined all of the guys who played basketball in the hotel bar where we met some really cool Australians and had fun. After 3 or 4 hours a couple of people left and we all decided to leave and go back up the hill. At this point Heather and I walked up this huge hill at about a 35 degree angle and 1/2 mile long 4 times. Talk about a work out! But we went to bed and I slept like a baby.