@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }@font-face { font-family: “Candara”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

I have officially been in Australia for one week. Last Monday, I touched down in Syndey at 6:30am and headed straight to Wollongong. I had twenty minutes to drop my bags off in my room and change my clothes before I joined up with my CIEE group for our orientation. Before I get into Wollongong details, let’s backtrack a few days back to the greatest weekend of the year… THON Weekend.

On February 14, I began my journey to Australia with a 5 day pit stop in Happy Valley. Since THON has been such a huge part of my life at Penn State since freshman year and missing it just seemed wrong, no matter how much I wanted to study abroad. Thankfully, everything worked out and at 1pm on Friday February 17, I was lined up outside the BJC with my sorority Omega Phi Alpha and our fraternity pair Alpha Gamma Rho as we waited to enter the BJC. From the time the BJC doors opened at 4pm until 9am Saturday morning, I was in the stands dancing with my friends. Saying my goodbyes Saturday morning was rough, especially while exhausted and with tired feet. At 11am, I was at the State College airport, ready to begin my first of three flights that would bring me to Australia.

I’ll never forget how I found out the THON 2012 total. I was picked up at the Sydney airport by a shuttle service that would take me to Wollongong. At 7:55 am Australia time, my mom called me and I listened as the THON organization totals were listed off on the live feed she had playing on her computer. When the total of 10,686,924.83 MILLION DOLLARS was announced, I had to ask my mom to repeat it multiple times… I was in shock. No matter what happened this year, Penn Staters came together and show that we are a family and we will find a cure.

I arrived in Australia Monday February 21. My first day here, I joined the 12 other CIEE Wollongong students and our program advisors as we drove around the city and university campus. Later in the day, we went to the Crowne Street Mall to get cell phones and other necessities. Australia is EXPENSIVE. Toiletries are a few dollars more than they would be in the States, not to mention that things in AUD are already more than USD. Along the lines of things that cost too much, Internet access is $30 a month… and you have a quota. I miss Penn State’s wifi.

Tuesday was the uni’s international student orientation. Wednesday and Thursday were free days that I used as beach days and getting settled days. The beach here is beautiful with a picturesque lighthouse looking over it. It’s a 25-minute walk from my dorm, Weerona College, but Wollongong is an easy to navigate place and it’s an easy stroll.

Over the weekend, we had our CIEE orientation trip to Merry Beach, 4 hours south of Wollongong. On the way, we stopped at 7 Mile Beach near Kiama for surfing lessons. Turns out that even though I’m a native Floridian, I can’t surf. After standing up once and ingesting gallons of salt water, I called it a day and “sun baked” on the beach while everyone else looked like they had sponsorships from Hurley.

At Merry Beach, we stayed in a vacation home overlooking the beach. Not bad for a bunch of college students. We were enamored by the wild kangaroos, which the residents consider pests, just like as we would consider armadillos or raccoons. I’d estimate I have over 200 kangaroo photos on my camera from a two-day span. On Saturday, we hiked Mt. Gulaga with an aboriginal guide. At the top of the mountain (an excruciating 2 hour hike up) our guide explained to us the creation story of the aboriginal Australians and lead us through symbolic boulders. To hear how this area which most hikers overlook is actually her sacred ground was eye opening. As interesting as it was, getting back to the bottom of the mountain and downing a $4 Powerade was so refreshing.

Today starts the first day of classes but fortunately for me, I only have class Tuesday – Thursday. I am nervous to see how the classes are administered here. Everyone says that the US equivalent of a C is a great grade… wow. I’m only taking 3 classes, yet it transfers back as 14 credits. Each class has a lecture and tutorial (discussion) component that both meet once a week. I’m excited to start classes after my two month long winter break, I definitely started to think I was never going back to school. Thankfully, with classes just starting, the beach is still a daily ritual and tomorrow I’ll remember to use more sunscreen. My red sunburn doesn’t go well with my complexion.

Location: Wollongong, Australia