Olympics!

Hello!
Watching the Olympics in a foreign country is a totally different experience than watching the games at home! The opening ceremonies aired live at about 6:00 am on Saturday morning. A big group of us woke up before the sun came up so we could watch the entire thing beginning to end! One of the girls that we have been hanging out with is from the UK so she was able to explain some of the meanings behind the things that were happening at the ceremony which was pretty cool! Its very weird watching the events and hearing Australian commentary and only hearing interviews with Australian athletes. People in our dorm (which includes both Australians and international students) gather in a common room called the cellar to watch the games. Its an interesting experience to watch the olympics with people from all over the world, each cheering for and supporting a different country!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Dinner!

Hello!!
The other night our dorm hosted a formal dinner in the Dining Hall. We all had to wear dress robes and formal attire. We were served at the table instead of having a buffet like we normally would. It was good! The next morning I had my Tourism Principles and Practices class. Seems like an interesting course. Its a first-year level but may be a bit more challenging for me since I am an international student and they focus heavily on domestic travel. But it should expose me to many interesting things about Australia! Last night a bunch of us went out for Mexican food. It was fun but Australian Mexican food is not Mexican food. I had an enchilada but it was more like a bean burrito? I guess my standards are pretty high since I go to school an hour away from Mexico! Oh well!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Our corridor all dressed up for formal dinner! (Kind of Harry Potter-ish) :)

Everyone at the Mexican Restaurant!

Second Day of School!

Hello!

Last night we all went out to the movies to see The Dark Knight Rises. It was my first international cinema experience! Pretty similar to at home the only difference is that they have assigned seating in the theaters which I thought was weird! I'm hoping to get to one of the smaller cinemas to catch an Aussie art house film if I can find one! Today I only had to go to two lectures. First was Contemporary Pop Music Culture Production and Use, which I have with one of my Aussie friends, and the second was Pop Culture and Society. Both of these classes are extremely similar so hopefully I won't get too confused! I was a tiny bit late to my second class because of how they schedule them here. In the states they always let out before the hour but here they end on the hour and start on the hour. So if you have two back to back classes, either you have to leave early or arrive late to one of your classes. Kinda strange!  I'll try to take some photos around campus so you can see where I am! 

Until next time, 

Kimmy

First Day of School!

Hi!
I can't believe classes are already starting! Today I had my Australia and the World lecture. This is the only class that I have with Kylie. It was raining when it was time to leave for class so one of our Australian friends was nice enough to drive us to our class! No getting lost on the first day! Yay! The lecture was an hour long. Normally, after the lecture we would have a one hour tutorial (the same as a discussion for you UA kids) which is just a smaller class setting where you can talk about the material that was covered in the lecture. However, this week I don't have any tutorials because its just the first week of classes so there isn't much to discuss! I can tell the class is going to be very interesting, especially the weeks where we discuss relations between Australia and the US. I don't know much about Australian history or politics so it should be very informative!
Until next time,
Kimmy

First week on campus

Hello!!! 

I am SO sorry I went a few days without posting anything! They are keeping us VERY busy and school hasn't even started yet! I finally got my internet in my dorm figured out! The week has been full of activities to get to know people and  get to know the campus. Kylie and I have met some really great people here already! I've finalized my class schedule so the classes I am enrolled in are Tourism Principles and Practices, Australia and the World, Popular Culture and Society, and Contemporary Pop Music Culture Production and Use. I have no classes on Wednesdays or Fridays! It should be a pretty good semester! Yesterday we got to go to the Australian Reptile Park where we saw Crocodiles, Turtles, Koalas, and Kangaroos!! It was so cool! 

Until next time,

Kimmy

                                     

Sunrise at Newcastle Beach!

Crocodile!!

Koala!!!

Kangaroo!!

They let the Kangaroos just hop around the park! Its so cool!!!

Finally on Campus!!

Today we woke up very early to check out of the hostel and check into our dorms! We are living at Edwards Hall and we each have a single room. We had a morning orientation session with information about the school. Then we had a free lunch and then enrolled for classes. I'm still waiting for a couple of my classes to go through so hopefully I will get everything I need. I'll let you know what classes I'm taking when I know for sure what they are. I'm currently having a hard time conecting to the internet in my room so Kylie is letting me use her computer to post these blogs for now. Once I get my internet firgured out I'll post some photos! We've met a lot of international students because many Australians haven't returned from their holidays yet. We did meet a few Australians in our dorm and they were very nice! Miss you all so much!!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Last day in the Hostel!

For our last day in the city Kylie and I just took it easy. We were pretty exhausted and knew we had a busy week ahead. We woke up really early to watch the sunrise and it was beautiful!! I took some great photos, I'll try to post some later. We went to a cafe and walked up to the lighthouse at Nobby's Beach. It was such a nice relaxing day before our busy orientation week.
Until next time,
Kimmy

Hostel life

Hi!
Well Kylie and I made it through our first night at our hostel. Haha its not as bad as they make it look in the movies! We have our own private room which is nice. We had to pay a little extra for it but it is so worth it. It ended up being about $30/night for each of us. We are both just so anxious to move into our dorm rooms so we can unpack our suitcases! We head up to campus early Monday morning so we only have a couple more nights of living out of our bags. Today we spent the day exploring Newcastle. We walked around all of the major shopping regions looking for a Wal-mart-type store. We finally found one. Its called the Big W here in Australia. So not as fancy as super Wal-mart but it gets the job done! We found lots of unique little restaurants, shops, and cafes that we will have to try out sometime. We walked down by the harbor which has lots of industrial type ships and things like that in it. Along the harbor there are many restaurants and bars. We walked to the famous Beaumont Street as well as Darby Street. Lots of walking today! Then we went down to the beach. We walked up to Nobby's Beach and then back to Newcastle Beach to watch the surfers until it started getting dark. Cup of Noodle for dinner and I'm ready to go to bed. All that walking today sure did wear me out!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Newcastle!

Hello from Newcastle!!

Today we woke up in Sydney and got ready to go to Newcastle! But before we left, our family made sure that we tried some vegemite (the Aussie classic that no one else seems to like!) Rachel prepared it for us on some bread with butter and cheese. The secret is to just put a little bit on the piece of toast. You can still taste it but it isn’t overbearing. It’s a very salty snack with the same consistency as butter. I’ll remember to bring some home for everyone to try! (WARNING: do not smell it before you try it. It smells awful.) Rachel told us that in New Zealand they prefer Marmite, which I will have to try! It’s similar but a bit sweeter. After our vegemite experience we got dropped off at the train station near the house we were at, took a short train ride into the city, and then about a 2.5-hour ride to Newcastle! We walked about one block to the hostel called Backpackers by the Beach. Then we walked about 2 minutes to get to the beach! It was pretty overcast but there were lots of surfers in the water! Then we just walked around the area around our hostel.  We ate pizza in the lobby with the rest of the people staying here. Everyone we have met in Australia so far has been so friendly! Our host family in Sydney was so awesome. The people at the train station were extremely helpful. Kylie and I are lugging around quite a bit of luggage and every one today on the train was so helpful and understanding! The person who runs the hostel we are at is also very kind and helpful. Australia is such a warm and welcoming country; even in the middle of winter! J

Until next time,

Kimmy

Trying Vegemite with Kylie!

Our giant mass of bags on the train. Note to self: just because you are allowed to bring 4 bags each, doesn't mean you should.

2nd Day in Sydney!!

Hi!

Our second day in Sydney was so much fun!! The first thing we did was go to the Sydney Fish Market. We were told that it is the second largest fish market in the world! It wasn’t too crowded because we were there on a Thursday morning.  It’s extremely crowded on the weekends. Our host family said they wake up at 3am on Christmas morning to beat the crazy crowds on Christmas day. We tried some prawn (that’s Aussie for shrimp) tempura, calamari, and salmon tuna. It was so fresh and delicious. After our fish market adventure we walked the Harbor Bridge. There were some really great views from up there. Then we got to see the famous Sydney Opera House!!! It was so cool to see it up close!! We went in the lobby and the gift shop but didn’t take a tour of the inside. Maybe next time we are in Sydney! On our walk from the bridge to the opera house we passed The Rocks, which is where people first settled in Sydney. Lots of older buildings but looked like a unique part of the city. When we were finished in the bridge/opera house area we took the ferry up to Manly Beach. The ferry ride was pretty neat because it was nice to be out on the water. The ride from the harbor to the beach was only about 30 minutes. The beach was so cool! It’s a huge beach and it’s a popular surf spot. It wasn’t super crowded because it was a rainy, cloudy day but there were still surfers riding the waves! There’s an area near the beach called the Corso. It has lots of fun shops and little restaurants. Kylie and I splurged for some ice cream, which was so yummy!!! When we got back to the house, we had some prawns that we got at the fish market earlier to shell and eat. Can you believe that I shelled my own prawns and ate them?! They have huge prawns in Australia. All you have to do is tear off the head, peel off the shell, pull out the legs, and take out the vein that runs down the length of the prawn. Then its ready to eat! Dip it in some chili pepper sauce and they’re pretty good! In the evening we went with our host family to a casual dinner party that their friend was hosting. Our host family is actually from New Zealand so there was a few other New Zealanders as well as Aussies there. It was so much fun!! They were so interested in hearing about America! We ate some gourmet pizza and more ice cream!! It was such an entertaining night! What a spectacular day in Sydney!!

Until next time,

Kimmy

At the fish market with Kylie and Nick!!

The prawns (on the left) that we shelled!

Shelling Prawns with Kylie and Grace!

At the Opera House!!

Manly Beach!

The Corso!

1st full day!

Kylie and I spent the day getting some important info figured out. We figured out our train situation for when we head up to Newcastle. We also figured out our phone situations. I brought my old unlocked iPhone 3GS down here with me so all I had to do was pop a prepaid sim card into it and it works! so easy! I get unlimited facebook on my phone plan so if you want to message me, go ahead and do it through facebook if you'd like! We walked around the neighborhood we are staying in. We also checked out the beach that is only a 10 min. walk from their house. So pretty!! We took the kids for ice cream and spent the night babysitting which was fun and easy! (a very small price to pay for staying in their beautiful home for three nights!) Kylie and I are both so thankful they opened their home to us! Sightseeing around Sydney very soon!!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Me at the beach down the street!!

Sydney!!!

Kylie and I made it to Sydney!! We are staying with an Australian family that Kylie and her mom met in Disneyland last winter! They picked us up at the airport which was awesome! It started to rain just as we arrived. On the drive to their house we could see the Sydney opera house and we drove over the harbor bridge. Everything is so surreal and I am so happy to be here! I was also happy to get a good nights sleep! Until next time, Kimmy

At the airport!!

Hello!!

Well the packing is complete, my bags have been checked, and now all thats left to do is wait!!! My parents and I left Havasu yesterday around 10:30am (after watching the Wimbledon finals of course!) and stayed the night in Phoenix so I could get to the airport nice and early! I am currently sitting at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport anxiously awaiting my first flight! Kylie and I leave in just a couple hours and we are both so ready to be in Sydney!! Here's a photo of me with all of my bags!!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Packing!

Hello!!
It's been a busy few weeks since I last posted and now I'm quickly approaching my departure date for Sydney! How exciting! I have been very busy making travel plans and living arrangements! I will be flying out of Phoenix on Monday July 9th at 8:00am which will put me in Sydney on July 10th at 7:20pm local time. I'll be in Sydney for a few days and then I will head up to Newcastle for orientation. Classes start July 23rd. Summer is over! My best friend of 15 years, Kylie, is also studying abroad with me at the same exact school and we are even living in the same dorm building! We have separate single rooms so Kylie will be just a few doors down the hall. This whole process is both exciting and a bit scary so I am very happy that I get to share it with my best friend. Packing isn't too difficult yet...still lots of room in my suitcases....I'm just having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I can't take ALL of my shoes with me! Feel free to post questions here on this blog throughout my trip. You can also catch me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kpowers009. If you'd like to chat with me while I'm away feel free to add me on Skype. My username is kimmypowers. And as always, I check my email 20 times a day! That address is kap3@email.arizona.edu. Please keep in touch while I'm away! I would so love to hear from all of you!
Until next time,
Kimmy

This is what Australian currency looks like! I just picked it up from the bank the other day. The exchange rate isn't too bad right now. One Australian dollar is equivalent to $1.07 in the U.S.

 This is me attempting to pack for 5 months! Oh how fun!