This can't be real...

G'day mate! Greetings from down under. I finally gave in and decided to blog about my adventures here, but mostly to make you all jealous. For those of you who don't know, I'm currently studying abroad at Bond University, located on the beautiful Gold Coast, about an hour south of Brisbane. THIS PLACE IS AMAZING. I'm going to try to update this frequently and keep things interesting, as I don't want this to turn into something that puts you to sleep. I tend to get into a lot of unnecessary depth and detail when I write, so this will be good for me. Any advice, comments, questions, ect is greatly appreciated! 

It’s been 10 days since my parents dropped me off at the airport with some last minute advice "drink draft beer, not bottles" (my dad) and "DONT DRINK AT ALL" (mommy). I was anxious and impatient. A bit sad, maybe, to be leaving my family and friends at school. For the first time, I understood why people stay in one place their whole life. On my connecting flight to LAX where I met up with a group flight, I spent most of the time internally panicking. Everything that seemed exciting suddenly seemed scary. Why leave home and school, where I was happy, comfortable, and finally felt settled, to face a whole new country, people, culture, ect? And I mean, Australia is not that threatening. Well, some of their animals are. But generally it’s not that drastic of a change, so I was surprised at myself for having those doubts.

So far it’s been the best decision I've ever made. IM HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE here!!! I can't get enough. The beaches, the mountains, the atmosphere, the people, the weather - all so beautiful. And everyone is so incredibly nice and friendly. I'm not used to it, being from good old jersey and going to school in DC, where everyone is plugged in to their iphones and do their own thing. People here go out of their way to get to know you. While giving you directions, they will walk with you and talk to you. You make friends on the bus. When you ask someone how “footie” works, not only do they explain the game but they get excited when you catch on. Guys you give your number to text you the next day. One woman even offered to drive 10 of us to the beach. Its culture shock, and I'm loving every second.

I'll give you a brief summary of what I've been up to since getting here. At the airport I was greeted by Arcadia (my program provider) staff, two women who were absolutely hilarious and wonderful people. The first thing we did was stop at a national park, where we saw kangaroos in the wild!!! Well played, Arcadia. I’m now obsessed with them. We then got on a bus to Sorrento, a quiet, gorgeous beach town outside Melbourne, where we spent the first three days recovering from jet lag and going on night hikes/daytime walks around beautiful, rugged cliffs hovering at the ocean's edge. We then spent a day/night in Melbourne before flying to the Gold Coast, where we saw an AFL (Australian Football League) game and explored pubs in the area. 

We also had an introduction to Australian history and customs, where we learned that the Kangaroo and Emu on the Australian Coat of Arms were chosen because they are the only two animals that can’t move backwards. Thus they were symbolic of a nation moving forward, hence the title of this blog, as I am also moving forward in my life. Clever, right?

The next day we caught a flight to Brisbane and then were transported via bus to our new home! Bond is incredible. I can't believe this is a real campus. It circles around a pretty lake, fed by a canal (where sharks can apparently swim into) and the buildings are styled in a fancy, modern way. My room looks out onto the large outdoor pool and hot tub. The closest beach is 3-4 miles away, and there are many more close by. There are sand volleyball courts. There's a bar on campus. THIS CAN'T BE REAL. It feels like a dream, but I'm actually living here. Its paradise. I spent my week working out, going to the beach, BBQ's, going to outdoor shopping malls, going to clubs and other school sponsored alcoholic activities (I LOVE THAT I'M LEGAL HERE). It’s a really tough life ya know? We also got some logistic stuff done, like getting a phone/18+ card (the important things), and started to realize how expensive everything here is. The cheapest thing you can get is boxed wine (which they call goon). Literally, it’s cheaper than a cup of coffee or a bottle of shampoo. I'm going to go broke basically. Good thing I have some goon to get me through it.

Classes start next week, and I'm really excited about them. I'm taking a forensic psych class, a lit class, and two (hopefully) fun Australian studies classes. Oh, and I don't have class Thursday or Friday. 4 DAY WEEKEND EVERY WEEKEND! One of my friends has a 2-day week. Its seems ridiculous but I'm not complaining. Also, it will be good for traveling. 

I'm keeping a list of Aussie slang/sayings for your future reference in case I incorporate them into my vocabulary. What I've learned so far:

- heaps = really, a lot

- how ya going? = hey, whats up

- keen = cool, neat

- goon = boxed wine

- breakie = breakfast

- catch up = hang out

- thongs = flip flops

- G'day, no worries, cheers = common phrases

There's more that I can't remember right now but I'll keep adding to it. And sorry this is such a long blog post, I promise the other ones will be much shorter and condensed. To all my friends and family back home who are reading this, I love and miss you all.

Cheers for now,

Emily