First Class Today!

Wooowww was it a party. Well, not really.

It was a lecture, so that is hard to make a party, but it wasn’t really what I was expecting either. I thought I was going to be in very big lectures, with at least a hundred students or something, which I thought was why there would be tutorials, but really for this class there was maybe about 40 I think. And some of the people in it were older, like in their forties or fifties. Maybe the class is open to the public.
Anyway, it was a lot like my Asian Art History class at Oxy, just going through slides and going over movements and periods and such. Nobody asked questions or anything, though, because the lecture is just for the professor to talk, and then the tutorials are for questions or any kind of homework to go over.
I need to buy a “subject reader” at the school bookstore, which I hope is cheap, and the professor gave us a list of books that would cover the class. She recommended some and not others, so I think I will just buy the one that covers all Australian art, including women and Aboriginal artists. Some of them didn’t! Sheesh.
I think the class will be interesting because she kept bringing up the problems with categorizing historical art here, because some don’t think of Aboriginal people as “Australian” people, and some just try to go over artwork chronologically, with whatever Aboriginal art as it comes along, and some just put Aboriginal art in its own category because it is not thought of as historical Australian art. It’s strange. I guess in America, you would come across problems putting Native American art within a history of American art, because American people are usually thought of as the colonists and immigrants who moved here over all the years, but Native Americans are the first and original Americans soooo… Yeah, that’s a toughie. Should be interesting, though.

This morning I woke up at… wait for it… 12:40. As in almost one pm. Naturally! I must have needed it. I’ve been trying to get over this cold, so yesterday I just stayed in my room, laying around, doing easy chores like washing dishes and doing laundry, and I went to bed late, but wow, 12:40? I never ever sleep that late. Good thing my only class today was at 5:15 haha. Tomorrow’s first class is at 9 am. Uh-oh. I do think my cold is getting better, though. I bought some vitamin C today, will take more soon, I think.

I’m also trying to cook healthily for myself, you’ll be glad to know. Even if I get fruits and veggies in earlier in the day, I’m trying to have a salad with dinner every night. Which is very easy, because I love salads. I picked a good salad dressing, and the rest is just easy. Tonight I had a grilled cheese with pastrami and a salad. Very yummy! Colby cheese is much tastier to me when it is melted. I guess that’s the case with most cheese. Last night, I had spaghetti with red sauce and a salad. I should get a smaller pot, so I can cook broccoli and veggies more easily. I also need to get a big Tupperware to keep all my crockery in like the other people on my floor. They just bring it in when they are about to cook. I have only seen about five other people actually use the kitchen on my floor, and when these 3 or 4 that always seem to cook together are in there, they pretty much take over. Which is kind of annoying. The counter isn’t that big, and do you have to set your big box of Tupperware up there? And bring out absolutely all your vegetables and lay them out? I walked in tonight to make dinner and there was no room for me and my tiny cutting board or plate. I had to stand at the dining table to chop up my veggies. But they are friendly and always say hi, so it’s not so bad. It is kind of nice to have other people in that giant room with you while you’re cooking. It’s just so empty and cold in there on your own.

I got to skype with my daddio today! That was fun, because I have never skyped with him before. But this annoying noise came on when we tried to use video, and then the sound went completely out. It worked for a little while, though. I wonder if it has something to do with my internet connection. Last night, I was trying to watch a movie and then I heard people talking that definitely weren’t in the movie coming from my computer, like I was receiving the sound from another computer or something. You know, like when your phone line hits your neighbors and you can hear their conversation if you’re on the phone at the same time. I wonder if that’s what the noise today was.

I am so glad I have skype. It is such a good invention. It’s really hard to not talk to your parents when you are used to just calling them every couple of days or seeing them when you’re both home. I still get little waves of sadness, though, when I hang up on skype. It doesn’t last very long, only a minute, but it hits pretty hard. I just have to remind myself that I am good one my own, that I can handle it, and that I will see them again, and soon. I am SO excited for them to come! I can’t wait to show them around and be in Australia with them.

Oh, so my internet threshold is actually pretty high. Yesterday, laying around being sick, I watched one episode of 30 Rock, 3 episodes of My So-Called Life, and two movies and I skyped my mom, and all of my internet usage for my total time here has been about 30% of what I can use. And that’s with me trying to use it up. And it includes my long skype conversations I had already had. They reset it at the first of every month, so I need to get to 100% by this weekend... :)

So tomorrow I have … um, well I just tried to access the student portal, but that doesn’t seem to work, so I think I have one class tomorrow, at 9 am. I don’t know where, so hopefully the portal will work later tonight. : /
Now I’m going to see about posting pictures and washing my dinner dishes. As just a general update, life is really good here. I found a Border’s and a Woolworth’s really close by. And the Woolworth’s is much less busy than the one in the city. But anyway, the small things like these just make me really happy and content with life here. I love and miss everyone! Xoxo!