Aussieland

Hey mates,

I still feel uncomfortable using the word “mate” to refer to practically anyone, but I guess that’s just one of the “hardships” I’m going to have to endure in this rough Australian winter.

Let me tell you how harsh this winter is for me… It’s about 70ish degrees every day. Most days I can lie on the beach in shorts and a t-shirt. Every few days, I’m running around in my bathing suit that my mom nick-named “Euro-trash” and jumping in the ocean. There is a little fish and chips café right on the water; we get breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner there. It’s the same place I pick up my “skim flat white coffee for take away” which basically means the closest thing to a grande regular Starbucks with Skim milk that I can find. All the locals go there, and I just love it. They think I’m crazy in my bright running shorts and sports bra because everyone here is freezing in this oh so terrible 70 degree weather.

When we first arrived in Australia, we found the University of New South Whales rep named Marley who must have been about 22. Along with a handful of other UNSW exchange kids, Marley drove me and Rebecca to our new apartment. Let’s just say this was no 3rd floor triple I am accustomed to at Duke (not that I’m not grateful of that Dad ☺). It’s a two bedroom, two bathroom, and full kitchen apartment. It’s practically brand-new. We have hardwood floors and a balcony! I really lucked out. Rebecca and I share a huge room with plenty of closet space. Our roommates are nothing short of delightful. Their names are Alli and Monica and are best friends from the University of Pennsylvania. It’s so nice when we are all making dinner together and watching our favorite, “Friday Night Lights” on dvd.

We live in Coogee, New South Whales about a block from the beach. I go to The University of New South Whales and take 4 classes pass/fail which is something I am not used to, but don’t worry, I am adapting quite fast. I usually walk to school, takes about 30 minutes. We are a 20 minute bus ride to Sydney. We probably go into the city about 2 or 3 times a week to go out.

One day Rebecca and I decided we needed to go tour the city and see it in day-light. Unfortunately, we were both ridiculous and wore our Jack-Rogers. In case your unfamiliar with these preppy sandals that have taken over Southern college campuses. Well, they were definitely not made to be walked in for more than a mile. Rebecca and I misread the map. We were a little wrong about mileage from the Oprah house to the restaurant recommended in my Fodor’s. We accumulated a sick amount of blisters. We saw almost the entire city by getting lost, and I don’t regret it. The restaurant ended up being an authentic Italian place that was most certainly for romantic couples that have exquisite taste in wine… Whatever, we ordered lasagna, the only thing we could understand from the menu the waiter verbally communicated to us.

One of the coolest parts of being in Australia at UNSW is meeting a diverse group of students and locals. There are tons of students from UPenn, Duke, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and Syracuse. It’s refreshing to have so many people here that are in the same boat as us. With that said, it’s arguably more fun to meet people with completely different backgrounds. One of our best nights was with a group of fellow study-abroaders from Copenhagen Business School that also go to UNSW. We went to a Sydney favorite club called The Ivy. You have to dress up to get in; therefore, all the men wore suits and we dressed up in dresses we wore to formals last year! We got to sip on fancy cocktails and listen to a ridiculous amount of American music that they play everywhere. We are trying to figure out what Australians listen to, but it seems like it’s the same.

For whatever reason, I have to confess our greatest disappointment in Australia thus far. It was not too tragic, but definitely worth documenting. Was not the first time a boy broke my heart, and definitely not the last. Haha. So Rebecca and I decided we did not feel like going to bed on a Sunday night a few weeks ago. We put on our jeans and tank tops and skipped down to The Coogee Bay Hotel where everyone in this little town has drinks. We ordered our favorite, vodka and tonic (Nana’s influence on me) and did some people watching. Well a few cute Australian guys came over to sit with us. They were incredibly hard to understand at first, but we finally started understanding and used some higher levels of communication other than head nods and “yes,” “yea,” and “uh huh.” Well one of the guys said his sister was about our size and we could borrow her wet-suits, and they would love to teach us how to surf. They bought us some new drinks, and we all decided to play tennis in mixed doubles on the upcoming Wednesday… I’ll just cut to it… They never called. We were slightly disappointed.

Understatement.. We were crushed. We thought we were going to get to wear our cute, newly ironed white tennis skirts and fall in love with 26 year old Australian surfers. I bet Donna and Charlotte (our moms) called them up and told them who was boss. As Australians say “no worries” and “no dramas.”

Our minor setback was nothing a gelato on the beach could not cure ☺

There are fifty students from Duke here. After learning about this, I was a bit apprehensive. I did not really want to hang out with students from Duke, and I was worried that I would just create my own little Duke bubble.

I could not have been any more wrong. I truly only knew about 8 of the Duke students that came. I am so lucky to have met so many great people from my school that I otherwise would have never known. One day Rebecca and I went jet boating around the Sydney Harbor (they did it on the Today show so I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about). We went with a Chris, a student from Duke, and Sam, a lacrosse player from Middlebury. It was a great day with people I probably otherwise would have never really known.

We also went on a day trip to The Blue Mountains. We kindof signed up our-selves and pressured another 8 people to go as well (I hear we do that a lot, but oh well). I wore my Survivor buff and Safari hat from Africa. We took a bus to see kangaroos in the wild, saw the “three sisters” (over-rated rock formation), and took a ride up the steepest cable-car up the mountain. We hiked almost the entire day-it started pouring, but some how it was still fun. The day ended when our bus dropped us off in Sydney (still pouring). We looked pretty hot in soaked leggings, sneakers, t-shirts, and North Face backpacks. Strolling downtown, we decided on a great bar, got some fish and chips and pitchers. It was perfect. I didn’t even have to take a shower or dry my hair to go out and drink in the city.

I went on a wine tasting to Hunter Valley with a family friend, Margaret. She is such a sweet person, and I was excited to see a familiar face. It was about a 2 hour ride to the vineyards. I bought one bottle of my favorite. It’s Tamburlaine, Chambourcin. Apparently Shiraz is what is most popular from Hunter Valley, but this was my favorite, and I went for it! It was $300, but I definitely think it was worth it.

Of course I was kidding. It was $28, and I am still storing it for a special occasion. Everything is laid back here, so that special occasion will probably consist of me and Rebecca sitting on the beach eating fish and chips.. hah. Most of the wine we drink is $5 or under a bottle… We refuse to resort to boxed wine called Goon, but I know we are going to break down sometime soon.

We decided to go to New Zealand for Spring Break. We bought our tickets, booked our arrangements and everything! We are going zorbing, sky-diving, white water rafting, jet boating (our favorite), and bungy jumping. At the end of August we are going to the Great Barrier Reef and Camp Tribulation. Rebecca’s cousin is coming next week for 10 days and her brother is coming in a month or so! My parents are coming at the end of November! We are planning some other trips, but have not bought tickets yet.

My favorite part of Coogee is the running trail. The trail goes from Coogee to Bondi beach. It passes through several other beaches. It’s all along cliffs and beaches on the coast. You are right next to the water the entire time. I go almost every night right before sunset. I end my run by walking down Coogee Beach watching the sun take it’s last dip under the water. Although I love it here, when I’m running I think about all the people I miss and how I wish they could be here to see it. Unfortunately the trail is either concrete or hard rock so my knees and shins are a bit tight, but oh well-it’s all very worth it. I hope to do the Sydney Marathon September 20th. I’m signed up, but who knows. I’m pretty worried not having my dad beside me to hold Gatorade or give me Advil, but hopefully I’ll figure it out on my own. I had a great friend at Duke, Ian, who used to help me on my longs runs, and my ipod is no substitution for his help.

Basically life here rules. Children are not on leashes and neither are dogs! People are laid back. We go to our pass/fail classes, drink coffee at outside cafes, and lie on the beach all day (it’s still Winter…).

Miss everyone.

Love,
Jess