Hello everybody!
I am currently in MY ROOM on THE INTERNET posting THIS BLOG. Amazing!!! So I bothered the internet guys some more and they finally gave me a temporary password to use until they figure out what's wrong with the other one. Hurray! I love life!
So today orientation started, which was cool I guess. I am so oriented-out though. I feel like I have had orientation nonstop since I got here.
I am also wondering if the internet plan I got is going to be enough. I think skype uses up a lit of Gbs, or something. I really don't know.
Today I plan on going to the market for some groceries, since the rain stopped (yay!) and figuring out a budget based on what I get today and what I have already bought, etc. And I need a latte. My brain is really fuzzy right now with my cold.
Anyway, here are the posts I made yesterday. Enjoy, mon petit ... ummm loved-ones!
July 19, 2010
…I only have two Tim Tams left… :(
I really want to eat one right now, but then I would only have one left…
I don’t care, I will go buy more.
Hopefully, by the end of the night, I will have internet in my room. As of now, 4:40 pm, I am writing into Word again. I went to McDonald’s this morning to get internet for a second to transfer money into the right account, so I did get to check facebook and my blog.
So I am making my room much more homey! I put away all my clothes. Wow, do I have a lot. Probably too many. I always pack too much. But now I have my empty suitcases under my bed, so it looks less like a hotel room I’m staying in temporarily. Oh, and I got a comforter and space heater today! Ahh, everything is so much warmer. The heater is actually very bright, like a light. It’s very warm when you get right up close to it, and sitting a few feet away it’s very nice. So if I ever come home with wet shoes, I will just set them in front of my new heater. :)
So I have a bit of a cold, you guys. :( It’s not that bad, just stuffy in my nose and my throat hurts a little. My stomach felt upset a little while ago, I’m not sure if that was related, but that went away. I’m a bit phlegm-y, I think that’s why my throat hurts. I don’t think this cold will last long, though.
I am so bad at meeting people. I’m okay at it when you are forced with people, like for the welcome program when you are sitting across from people you don’t know and need to introduce yourself, but not when you are passing a person in the hallway or on the elevator together. I tried saying hi to a girl I saw in the tv room just now, and she said hi back, just not in a warm way at all, with no smile. It seems like the people on my floor are already locked into friend groups, and no one is really all that interested in getting to know me. Oh, except for this guy from Maldives who let me and the internet guy take his computer to test the internet on it. He was nice. I don’t remember his name, though. Hope I see him again, at least. Just someone.
I mean, I’m American, and that’s interesting, right??? And I’m nice looking and friendly, right??? At least I try to be. Wouldn’t people want to know me? Sheesh. I gotta do all the work around here.
I feel like I’m only meeting international students, which is nice, and it’s nice to know other Americans I guess, but really. Let me meet some Australians already!
Tomorrow Orientation starts for international students. : /
More programming. Well, that’s what they call it at Oxy. “Programming.” It pretty much means organized events for students that you are kind of supposed to go to. I’m not sure if I like these kinds of events that much. It takes a lot out of me to keep introducing myself, and trying to remember names and where to go.
Well, I looked at the info from the website, which I luckily saved to a word document, and it seems I only have to go to the introduction meeting and an info session for the arts department, and that’s only until 12:30. Phew. Thank you, uni, for letting me keep settling in for a little longer.
Oh, I just got invited to a party for Avery’s birthday. Hmm that would be fun! I could see some of the people I know from the welcome. I got to know Avery a little bit better, and I find she’s not necessarily that nice. I was really glad to be with her the first day, but I don’t necessarily cherish our friendship, haha. But the girl who invited me, Tiffany, I really like. She and I walked around the zoo together. It was really fun. And she befriended me on facebook! Our friendship is legit! Haha. I think I’ll invite Monika and Olivia as well, if they don’t already know about it. It would be nice to be out of my room for a night.
Anyway, things feel like they are going well right now. I can easily find my way to all the places I will probably be frequenting, and my room feels nice and comfortable, if a little blank on the walls, but that’s ok for now. I got to talk to my daddy today, and that always makes me feel better. And I have a hair dryer that works really well. Oh, the little things. :) Anyway, I’ll just have to keep hanging on, little tomato! Xoxo to everyone!
Later, 10 pm
Well, the night spent out of my room didn’t really work out. I was supposed to go meet Tiffany and the party right now, but they changed the location so I don’t know where they are or if I know how to get there, and Monika texted me saying she’s a bit too tired by now, so I wouldn’t have a walking buddy. Definitely wouldn’t want to walk it alone. I don’t know my way around that well, and I don’t own any pepper spray or switchblades for protection in case of random attacks on the street. Yes, I do believe walking around Melbourne at 10 pm alone is not in my game plan for the night. Instead, I will continue reading. I think I have already read about 50 pages of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami just today (I have been reading for a little while now). I think I might switch to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo now. Would it be weird to read two books at once? I think I could follow along…
Speaking of books, I passed this great looking used bookstore a couple times today. It’s really close, and it looks like they have cool postcards too. It looks like the kind of bookstore where they really take pride in what books they have. Not like that creepy one in Medford. It was so sad. All romance novels and weird sci-fi and all those super long series of bad paperbacks that somehow sell. I’ll have to go into this nice one. I think I might have taken a picture of it and put it on facebook… I can’t remember.
I have one square of dark chocolate left… I cannot decide if I want to eat it. I just had two. And I only have the one Tim Tam. Sighhhh so sad.
I think I may just go to bed now. Man, do I wish I had internet. I was supposed to have it by now, I should have called the company again to remind them to come fix it. I miss everyone a ton. Oh, quick note, there were some cute Australian guys sitting in my kitchen when I went to get dinner. I hope they live on my floor. I didn’t talk to them because they were kind of all conversing, but hopefully I will see them again. I am at the point where I just want to yell, “HI WHAT’S YOUR NAME” at everyone I see here. I need some frieeeends.
Well now that was a boring post. Sorry about that. I am kind of bored tonight, so I am getting my emotions out on this. Well, goodnight world! Xoxo!!!!
Showing posts with label study abroad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label study abroad. Show all posts
Monday, July 19, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Carpe Diem
Good day today!
I went to the zoo this morning, which was AWESOME, as everyone who knows me knows that I looooooove animals. I took a ton of pictures, so I will put those up.
I also went to this Skywalk tower. I think that's what it's called... Anywho, it was super high up and All the outer walls were just glass windows, so you could see all around the city. I took a lot of pictures there too, but I was a little creeped out by the height. I'm not so great with heights, or cliffs, or drop offs... Haha I stayed a couple feet back from the windows. I couldn't really look down at what was directly below the building, my little head couldn't really handle that haha.
And then we got to come home and rest!! Ahhh it's so nice to sit still every once in a while. I logged onto facebook chat and skype right away, to see if anyone was online, and I got to talk to Margaret and Mollie and Anna, my sister!! YESSSSSS it was amazing. Margaret and I skyped, so I got to see her lovely lovely face live and moving!
And so now I am sitting in my cold little room here on campus. I thought about going back to UniLodge to just bring some of the stuff from my suitcase and leave it there, because I packed waaay too much, as usual, but I got a little distracted by being able to talk to people online. Talking to Mollie is so nice because she went to Barcelona for her semester abroad and she's just giving me the best advice. She tells me to lose my inhibitions and go out of my comfort zone, because that way I will have the best time. She inspired the title of this post. :)
So tonight I am going to the formal dinner. I think it might be weekly, but I am not sure. This is the only one I'll be going to. We have to dress up. ... Women wear dresses and heels, men wear ... shirts and ties? i don't know about ties, but at least shirts and slacks. Then we all go to the dining hall and stand beihnd our chairs, waiting for the head table people to show up or something. I don't really know what happens, I just know we get wine and dessert, which I am psyched for. I will write an entry and describe all of it later. I heard sometimes the dinners require you to wear robes like Harry Potter. HOW COOL IS THAT. I want to go to that dinner. But I am running out of time now, and should probably get ready, so I will post later about it and the rest of my day.
Oh, and thank you to moin and mom! I am so glad people can comment. I love hearing from people I love! :)
I went to the zoo this morning, which was AWESOME, as everyone who knows me knows that I looooooove animals. I took a ton of pictures, so I will put those up.
I also went to this Skywalk tower. I think that's what it's called... Anywho, it was super high up and All the outer walls were just glass windows, so you could see all around the city. I took a lot of pictures there too, but I was a little creeped out by the height. I'm not so great with heights, or cliffs, or drop offs... Haha I stayed a couple feet back from the windows. I couldn't really look down at what was directly below the building, my little head couldn't really handle that haha.
And then we got to come home and rest!! Ahhh it's so nice to sit still every once in a while. I logged onto facebook chat and skype right away, to see if anyone was online, and I got to talk to Margaret and Mollie and Anna, my sister!! YESSSSSS it was amazing. Margaret and I skyped, so I got to see her lovely lovely face live and moving!
And so now I am sitting in my cold little room here on campus. I thought about going back to UniLodge to just bring some of the stuff from my suitcase and leave it there, because I packed waaay too much, as usual, but I got a little distracted by being able to talk to people online. Talking to Mollie is so nice because she went to Barcelona for her semester abroad and she's just giving me the best advice. She tells me to lose my inhibitions and go out of my comfort zone, because that way I will have the best time. She inspired the title of this post. :)
So tonight I am going to the formal dinner. I think it might be weekly, but I am not sure. This is the only one I'll be going to. We have to dress up. ... Women wear dresses and heels, men wear ... shirts and ties? i don't know about ties, but at least shirts and slacks. Then we all go to the dining hall and stand beihnd our chairs, waiting for the head table people to show up or something. I don't really know what happens, I just know we get wine and dessert, which I am psyched for. I will write an entry and describe all of it later. I heard sometimes the dinners require you to wear robes like Harry Potter. HOW COOL IS THAT. I want to go to that dinner. But I am running out of time now, and should probably get ready, so I will post later about it and the rest of my day.
Oh, and thank you to moin and mom! I am so glad people can comment. I love hearing from people I love! :)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Day 2 in Australia!!! (Everything gets Better)
Sorry about the length of that last post. A lot happened that day.
So, Like the other post, I'm not postdating these, just putting the date in the entry. I just got internet today, so I wrote these the day of, and now I can actually put them online. Hooray!
July 13, 2010
Well, another day without internet. At least I have Word to write this stuff down and my itunes to listen to.
My first day of Melbourne Welcome!
I actually really like it. My host person, Jiali, is really nice and helpful. She was born and raised in Melbourne, and she commutes to school everyday from her parent’s house in the suburbs. So, it’s not really like my situation will be with the apartment and stuff, but what she knows about the city is really helpful. We use the tram a lot today, and I realized how easy it was. Luckily the street I am living on, Swanston, is like a main road with the trams, and I can take it into the really center of the city where there are all these alleyways with shops and cafes. There is also Federation Square, where I think there are of a lot of art and music events, and a Big W, which is kind of like Walmart, I think. I couldn’t really tell with the prices whether or not they were pretty cheap compared to the US. But I bought sheets and a blanket and pillow there, which I found out was a really bad idea, because then I had to lug all that around with me throughout the rest of the day. And I didn’t even pay attention when I was in my room, because the room here for my temporary stay comes with a pillow and sheets and a blanket. >__<
I was walking around all day, hitting people with my bag or pillow or purse. I packed too much in my purse because I’m just like that, so that was too heavy, as well as my bag of sheets and blanket.
I did see some really cool things though. There was an alley that was just completely for graffiti art, and there were some artists working on new pieces that I walked past. There were also a ton of cafes. I think Melburnians really like coffee. Jiani was a big coffee fan. Or I should say espresso fan. We went to a café and she ordered a “soy flat white”, which I guess is a soy latte with light foam. I like her style. ; )
We also walked through campus, and it is HUGE. Like, I was huffing and puffing by, like 2 pm today. I mean, I did walk my little heiney off yesterday, trying to find a post office or a bank or someone who could help me with anything at all, with my backpack on my back with my laptop in it, which is super duper heavy after a day of lugging it around. And then I was carrying my unnecessary bags around today. It was just too much for my back. I just need a good night’s sleep to rest my body.
Oh, so last night I slept through most of the night. I woke up at 4:30 am, wide awake, because it would have been about 11 in the morning, I think, on the West coast. So I had some trouble falling asleep right then. I had “She Wolf” by Shakira stuck in my head. A fun song, but not fun when you are trying to sleep. But I went to bed at 9 pm, so I got a big chunk of sleep. And I finally fell asleep at some point, so I later woke up at 8:30, wide awake, which was good. I’m going to go to the pub now for a little Melbourne Welcome party, and probably have a beer. I don’t have any money now, due to buying bedding, so that’s all I’ll have and I will hopefully get more tomorrow. More money, not beer. Haha!! Ta ta for now!
Later July 13, 2010
I ended the day on a high note. The “party” was really pretty fun, even though it wasn’t really a party, it was just a bunch of international students going to the same pub and making a whole lot of noise. But I met a couple more people that were very interesting and I had a good time. I had two short glasses of cider, which is alcoholic and very tasty at the same time. I think it was about as alcoholic as beer. And it was only $4 each. Even better!
So I met a law student from Finland who had almost no accent, her name was Verna. And I met another Dutch (I had already met one in my host group) girl names Kim, and a British guy named Johnny, and an American girl named Eliza. Eliza was really fun, she reminded me of people I knew back home, I think. She was kind of like me, in that she was sort of quieter in the beginning, asking mundane questions about your background, and then later we could open up to each other and act more comfortable, meaning weirder and more like ourselves. She’s from Vermont, but goes to Smith College. I felt like I could just be honest with her. I try to be honest with everyone, it’s just that when I first meet anyone, I feel like I have to be more reserved, in case they are not comfortable around my, um, uniqueness. :)
So I got there at 8 and left around 9:45. That was all I could take. It was a small pub with a ton of loud college students in it, so it was hot and noisy. Not very fun to hang out in while your back is sore and you feel an extreme need to connect with everyone you love that you can’t communicate at all with at the moment. But I got back to my room and put on my pj’s and went to brush my teeth, and this girl Olivia from Oxy came into the bathroom to brush her teeth because she lives on the same floor as me for the welcome. And we chatted, and then I was like, “yeah, this is fun, but I totally had one of those moments where I was like, ‘why am I here and why am I not home?’” and she said “oh, I totally had that moment for like 2 hours yesterday. Aundrea [another girl from Oxy] and I went to lunch yesterday, and I just thought, why the heck am I doing this and why am I here?” And so we both agreed that everyone is probably feeling that way, and she said it was just nice to know that someone else felt that way too. It was very sweet of her. And she said she’s just down the hall if I need to talk, and I said the same, and we said goodnight. It’s just somehow so much easier to talk to someone from your home school, even though I don’t know her at all. It was very nice to hear someone felt the same. I’m glad she’s living on my floor, and I’m glad we’re both in the Melbourne Welcome. She’s at least a familiar face.
I also found out from a couple people tonight how to get internet. HOOOORAAAAY!!!! THANK THE LORDY LORD!!! And it sounds very simple. And it’s only $10 for the week. I really kind of feel like I just need to get internet. As soon as possible and any way necessary. So I’m going to rush out tomorrow morning and get it. Hopefully I will get a chance to check my email and send some and possibly put these posts up on my blog. I also want to see if I can take the tram down to my apartment and pick up my cell phone, which will hopefully be waiting for me there. But now it is late, and I have to wake up at 7:30 to get their dumb breakfast, so I have to get some sleep. I love and miss everyone constantly!
So, Like the other post, I'm not postdating these, just putting the date in the entry. I just got internet today, so I wrote these the day of, and now I can actually put them online. Hooray!
July 13, 2010
Well, another day without internet. At least I have Word to write this stuff down and my itunes to listen to.
My first day of Melbourne Welcome!
I actually really like it. My host person, Jiali, is really nice and helpful. She was born and raised in Melbourne, and she commutes to school everyday from her parent’s house in the suburbs. So, it’s not really like my situation will be with the apartment and stuff, but what she knows about the city is really helpful. We use the tram a lot today, and I realized how easy it was. Luckily the street I am living on, Swanston, is like a main road with the trams, and I can take it into the really center of the city where there are all these alleyways with shops and cafes. There is also Federation Square, where I think there are of a lot of art and music events, and a Big W, which is kind of like Walmart, I think. I couldn’t really tell with the prices whether or not they were pretty cheap compared to the US. But I bought sheets and a blanket and pillow there, which I found out was a really bad idea, because then I had to lug all that around with me throughout the rest of the day. And I didn’t even pay attention when I was in my room, because the room here for my temporary stay comes with a pillow and sheets and a blanket. >__<
I was walking around all day, hitting people with my bag or pillow or purse. I packed too much in my purse because I’m just like that, so that was too heavy, as well as my bag of sheets and blanket.
I did see some really cool things though. There was an alley that was just completely for graffiti art, and there were some artists working on new pieces that I walked past. There were also a ton of cafes. I think Melburnians really like coffee. Jiani was a big coffee fan. Or I should say espresso fan. We went to a café and she ordered a “soy flat white”, which I guess is a soy latte with light foam. I like her style. ; )
We also walked through campus, and it is HUGE. Like, I was huffing and puffing by, like 2 pm today. I mean, I did walk my little heiney off yesterday, trying to find a post office or a bank or someone who could help me with anything at all, with my backpack on my back with my laptop in it, which is super duper heavy after a day of lugging it around. And then I was carrying my unnecessary bags around today. It was just too much for my back. I just need a good night’s sleep to rest my body.
Oh, so last night I slept through most of the night. I woke up at 4:30 am, wide awake, because it would have been about 11 in the morning, I think, on the West coast. So I had some trouble falling asleep right then. I had “She Wolf” by Shakira stuck in my head. A fun song, but not fun when you are trying to sleep. But I went to bed at 9 pm, so I got a big chunk of sleep. And I finally fell asleep at some point, so I later woke up at 8:30, wide awake, which was good. I’m going to go to the pub now for a little Melbourne Welcome party, and probably have a beer. I don’t have any money now, due to buying bedding, so that’s all I’ll have and I will hopefully get more tomorrow. More money, not beer. Haha!! Ta ta for now!
Later July 13, 2010
I ended the day on a high note. The “party” was really pretty fun, even though it wasn’t really a party, it was just a bunch of international students going to the same pub and making a whole lot of noise. But I met a couple more people that were very interesting and I had a good time. I had two short glasses of cider, which is alcoholic and very tasty at the same time. I think it was about as alcoholic as beer. And it was only $4 each. Even better!
So I met a law student from Finland who had almost no accent, her name was Verna. And I met another Dutch (I had already met one in my host group) girl names Kim, and a British guy named Johnny, and an American girl named Eliza. Eliza was really fun, she reminded me of people I knew back home, I think. She was kind of like me, in that she was sort of quieter in the beginning, asking mundane questions about your background, and then later we could open up to each other and act more comfortable, meaning weirder and more like ourselves. She’s from Vermont, but goes to Smith College. I felt like I could just be honest with her. I try to be honest with everyone, it’s just that when I first meet anyone, I feel like I have to be more reserved, in case they are not comfortable around my, um, uniqueness. :)
So I got there at 8 and left around 9:45. That was all I could take. It was a small pub with a ton of loud college students in it, so it was hot and noisy. Not very fun to hang out in while your back is sore and you feel an extreme need to connect with everyone you love that you can’t communicate at all with at the moment. But I got back to my room and put on my pj’s and went to brush my teeth, and this girl Olivia from Oxy came into the bathroom to brush her teeth because she lives on the same floor as me for the welcome. And we chatted, and then I was like, “yeah, this is fun, but I totally had one of those moments where I was like, ‘why am I here and why am I not home?’” and she said “oh, I totally had that moment for like 2 hours yesterday. Aundrea [another girl from Oxy] and I went to lunch yesterday, and I just thought, why the heck am I doing this and why am I here?” And so we both agreed that everyone is probably feeling that way, and she said it was just nice to know that someone else felt that way too. It was very sweet of her. And she said she’s just down the hall if I need to talk, and I said the same, and we said goodnight. It’s just somehow so much easier to talk to someone from your home school, even though I don’t know her at all. It was very nice to hear someone felt the same. I’m glad she’s living on my floor, and I’m glad we’re both in the Melbourne Welcome. She’s at least a familiar face.
I also found out from a couple people tonight how to get internet. HOOOORAAAAY!!!! THANK THE LORDY LORD!!! And it sounds very simple. And it’s only $10 for the week. I really kind of feel like I just need to get internet. As soon as possible and any way necessary. So I’m going to rush out tomorrow morning and get it. Hopefully I will get a chance to check my email and send some and possibly put these posts up on my blog. I also want to see if I can take the tram down to my apartment and pick up my cell phone, which will hopefully be waiting for me there. But now it is late, and I have to wake up at 7:30 to get their dumb breakfast, so I have to get some sleep. I love and miss everyone constantly!
The Journey, Part 2: Arrival!
So I am putting these up, not postdated, but with the date at the top, because I wrote them on the day but did not have internet to put them up.
This one is of my first day! It was INSANE. I kind of never ever want to relive it ever. But it is what it is.
July 12, 2010
Okay so, I am going to type this into a word document, pretending that it is into my blog, because I am still super out of touch with the rest of the world a.k.a. with the people I love. Today was a like a horrific sociopath of a day. Like the murderer on tv who knows how to make people think that he is a good person and would never hurt a fly but really secretly likes to lure strippers to his basement to cut off their body parts one by one but still keep them alive until they get their head cut off. … :/ uhhh sorry, that was a little messed-up of me.
Today…. Hmmm. Today was certainly a day. I guess I will just go through it.
So, my plane flew out of LAX at 11:20 pm local time on Saturday, July 10, locally. I got on, sat in the very back row on an aisle seat, which was assigned to me, I had no choice of seating. I didn’t talk to the guy sitting next to me. I felt creepy when I was just standing at the back of the plane watching people, because I didn’t want to sit down yet, but then I saw this guy come sit in the seat next to mine, so I figured I should sit down. But then, once I sat down, he was on his cell phone, talking to some guy. And then he got off his cell phone and proceeded to shoot some nasal spray up his nose. Okay, I thought. He is definitely not shy about having a cold. And he really sucked it up there, like the nasal spray didn’t work at all and it wouldn’t work it’s way up his nose on it’s own. I have never used a nasal spray that didn’t immediately unclog my nose like magic, so I didn’t really know what he might have been using. And then he fell asleep. Like, while we were taking off. It was amazing. I’ve never fallen asleep that quickly on a plane. But I hurriedly took some Dramamine after watching the plane leave the ground, put my sleepy music on my iPod, and fell asleep.
I think I slept for maybe ten hours of the flight. Not all at once, I woke up a couple times to get up and stretch my legs or go to the bathroom, but I kept falling back asleep until there were about 4 hours left of the flight. It was pretty amazing. I slept through “dinner”. So did the guy next to me. I had no chances to talk to him until the end. And then he started watching movies and stuff, and so did I, so I didn’t actually talk to him until the plane was coming into the airport. And I only talked to him and the girl next to him with the help of the super adorable Aussie flight attendant guy stationed at the back of the plane. Turns out, he and the girl next to him were both going to Melbourne University and going on the Welcome Program. His name is Greg. I didn’t catch the other girl’s name, but I couldn’t tell if she was American. I didn’t really talk to them at all after that. We all headed to each of our destinations. So that Australian flight attendant was really nice and funny and friendly, so it was nice to meet him. I also talked to some Australians at the check-in desk who were also really friendly and enthusiastic about Melbourne Uni. (I think I’ll shorten it to “uni,” everybody calls it that here). So overall my experience with Australians was pretty good.
We got off the plane, I was one of the last people of course, being at the back, and a nice Australian customs man stamped my passport (my first stamp, yay!) and a different nice Australian man directed me to my baggage carousel and I got my bags. I went through and found my arrival services people without a hitch. A lot of other people were using the same bus. I think almost all if not all of them were American, and we were all going to go on the Melbourne Welcome. Our bus driver was a real hoot, too. He played like a tour guide and told us historical facts and jokes and stuff about their politics.
And then I got off the bus with Avery, a girl from Maine. We’re both living in the same apartment building. So we both go into the building carrying our huge bags and wrestle them up a short set of stairs and into the reception area. Then we go up to the counter and the lady asks for our names so she can get out our files. She gets mine out, and well guess what! I get to pay a $1062 security bond on my room! Ooh, and the first month’s rent, which is $724! And she needs it now as a bank check or money order, or else I cannot go into my room. Same with Avery, but somehow she already paid her first month’s rent. So we leave our giant luggage there and go looking for an international phone so I can call my dad and try to figure out what to do, because I definitely don’t have that kind of money in my checking account. So Avery and I go to about six different buildings looking for what the desk lady said was a “student centre”. And I guess there are multiple student centres on campus, because I had to tell the nice information guy what my major was so he could direct me to the correct student centre. What? That’s not right. I need a student centre that will help me figure out how to pay almost 2 grand that I don’t have, that can get me a phone that makes international calls. Whoops! There isn’t one! But we do make it to an international student centre, which was totally not where the desk lady told us. And they politely informed us that they have no such phone, but if it’s a money-related problem, that we should go to the bank. So we trek over to the commonwealth bank.
At this point, I am still optimistic, thinking maybe I can use my dad’s credit card to take out enough money to pay these loonies that don’t tell me I need this money before I actually arrive. But I go to the bank, and I cannot use my dad’s credit card, and I cannot use my debit card, because I do not have that kind of money in my account. They can’t take out money I don’t have. So. I have no way of paying anyone anything. So onto the next try: call dad as soon as possible and in any way possible. Because I have no idea what to do.
Now, this is pretty hard to do. I do have my cell phone with me, but that is from America, it has absolutely no way of getting service. Oh I could email. No, I have no internet. I would have internet on campus, but I have to register as a student first, and I can’t do that until tomorrow. So I try to find a phone card. The extremely nice, understanding bank manager directs me to the building with a place that sells them. I cannot emphasize to you how amazingly nice he was. I don’t think I can put it into words. He asked me how I was doing, like really asked, because I was telling him that we had just flown in that morning. I almost broke down right there. I couldn’t talk for a second, because if I had I would have cried. I think he was someone who really realized that I had no one there that I knew or who knew me that would be able to help me. He gave Avery and me his card.
So I bought a phone card, and Avery and I headed back to the apartment building, her with the payment she needed in the form of a bank check and me empty handed, with just an $8 phone card. We get back to the reception desk, and there is a different woman there who I approach, because I didn’t think the first one was very sympathetic and she had a heavy Australian/Chinese accent that I was extremely distracted by. I walk up to the counter with my slip that says how much I need and my bank card, and I can’t get through the first sentence. I just crack, and I cry and can’t talk and have to look at the floor. So I sort of explain my situation, that my college is supposed to take of absolutely all of my payments, which they are, and I had no idea I needed to pay the rent at all, I thought it went through Oxy, and that all I had was this phone card, and I couldn’t even reach Oxy because it was still Sunday there and no one was in the office. And I cry and cry. So the kind woman, Lauren, who I still can’t tell if she really feels for me and wants to help or just doesn’t know what to do with me so she just gives me what I want, ushers me back to her desk behind a wall to use her phone to call my dad. Just my luck, the phone card doesn’t work because it doesn’t even tell what the “access code” is. So she tells me to just dial my dad’s international number. When it rings I thank God for being so wonderful to let it ring and when dad picks up I just cry. And I try to talk, but I really can’t, so I relay messages to Lauren and then finally just give the phone to her so they can figure it out and I can just cry. So they figure out that my dad can pay the rent with his credit card info, and he will transfer the funds to my account or something for the bond but we will have to figure it out tomorrow because they banks aren’t open and nothing can be done, and Lauren lets me stay in my room tonight. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! THANK YOU BUDDHA!!!!!
And so I go through the rest of the paperwork, etc, something about no damages or I pay or something, and I go to my room. And then I can let loose and just let myself cry full-on and let it out and be sad for myself and stop trying to think, oh this is great, I’m in Australia, remember how great this is? Remember that this is wonderful. I just let myself cry. Which is good, it’s what I needed to do. And I open up my bags so I can finally change, and something has spilled and pretty much completely run out. Yay hooray, more things that make me really uncomfortable my first day out of the country. But really it’s okay, because I am in a room, my room, and I am not stranded somewhere, not knowing where I am or what I should do. And so I change, wash my face, put on some makeup, hope to God that I don’t cry again so my makeup doesn’t get all over the place, and unpack some things so my room feels somewhat homey.
Then I get my priorities straight and realize I need sheets and a pillow and a blanket. And oh $#%*. An adaptor. Mine does not work. Why and how that is, I do not know. But I am pissed, because that was the only way I was going to get on my computer and order internet, and charge my now dead cell phone so they can text me my passcode to the internet. I guess I didn’t realize, though, that cell phones just don’t work in other countries at all. I thought they would, but I guess not. I went on a search for an adaptor and free wireless, which Avery told me was at a McDonald’s on Victoria. I found the MickeyD’s and quickly sent an email to my dad and an email to my mom, because my battery was dying. I really hope that the email is good for them to hear, I don’t want them to get all worried and freaked out about me being over here, but I did want to let them know what was happening to me. My dad already got a taste a guess, what with me calling him from a random number, bawling and freaked out. So I sent those off and found an amazing electronics place called Jaycar (..huh? what’s with the store names around here?) where I got an adaptor that was guaranteed to work from this very, very kind salesman who explained everything very simply for me and answered all my questions.
Finally I was feeling good about being in Melbourne. I felt like I had a chance of connecting with my family and friends and at least I had a bed to sleep in tonight. And I had eaten a brownie and some vitamin water, which revived me. Seems like my debit card doesn’t really work anywhere, but I can take money out at the bank with the awesome manager. I don’t have sheets or a blanket or a pillow, but I will get them soon, I just have to find a place that sells them. And I will hopefully have internet tomorrow, if not at my apartment, on the university’s campus. And now it is 8:45 pm, and I am very tired and in my jam jams, so I am going to sleep for 12 hours and try to be functional tomorrow. Goodnight, terrible day. Please let tomorrow be easier.
This one is of my first day! It was INSANE. I kind of never ever want to relive it ever. But it is what it is.
July 12, 2010
Okay so, I am going to type this into a word document, pretending that it is into my blog, because I am still super out of touch with the rest of the world a.k.a. with the people I love. Today was a like a horrific sociopath of a day. Like the murderer on tv who knows how to make people think that he is a good person and would never hurt a fly but really secretly likes to lure strippers to his basement to cut off their body parts one by one but still keep them alive until they get their head cut off. … :/ uhhh sorry, that was a little messed-up of me.
Today…. Hmmm. Today was certainly a day. I guess I will just go through it.
So, my plane flew out of LAX at 11:20 pm local time on Saturday, July 10, locally. I got on, sat in the very back row on an aisle seat, which was assigned to me, I had no choice of seating. I didn’t talk to the guy sitting next to me. I felt creepy when I was just standing at the back of the plane watching people, because I didn’t want to sit down yet, but then I saw this guy come sit in the seat next to mine, so I figured I should sit down. But then, once I sat down, he was on his cell phone, talking to some guy. And then he got off his cell phone and proceeded to shoot some nasal spray up his nose. Okay, I thought. He is definitely not shy about having a cold. And he really sucked it up there, like the nasal spray didn’t work at all and it wouldn’t work it’s way up his nose on it’s own. I have never used a nasal spray that didn’t immediately unclog my nose like magic, so I didn’t really know what he might have been using. And then he fell asleep. Like, while we were taking off. It was amazing. I’ve never fallen asleep that quickly on a plane. But I hurriedly took some Dramamine after watching the plane leave the ground, put my sleepy music on my iPod, and fell asleep.
I think I slept for maybe ten hours of the flight. Not all at once, I woke up a couple times to get up and stretch my legs or go to the bathroom, but I kept falling back asleep until there were about 4 hours left of the flight. It was pretty amazing. I slept through “dinner”. So did the guy next to me. I had no chances to talk to him until the end. And then he started watching movies and stuff, and so did I, so I didn’t actually talk to him until the plane was coming into the airport. And I only talked to him and the girl next to him with the help of the super adorable Aussie flight attendant guy stationed at the back of the plane. Turns out, he and the girl next to him were both going to Melbourne University and going on the Welcome Program. His name is Greg. I didn’t catch the other girl’s name, but I couldn’t tell if she was American. I didn’t really talk to them at all after that. We all headed to each of our destinations. So that Australian flight attendant was really nice and funny and friendly, so it was nice to meet him. I also talked to some Australians at the check-in desk who were also really friendly and enthusiastic about Melbourne Uni. (I think I’ll shorten it to “uni,” everybody calls it that here). So overall my experience with Australians was pretty good.
We got off the plane, I was one of the last people of course, being at the back, and a nice Australian customs man stamped my passport (my first stamp, yay!) and a different nice Australian man directed me to my baggage carousel and I got my bags. I went through and found my arrival services people without a hitch. A lot of other people were using the same bus. I think almost all if not all of them were American, and we were all going to go on the Melbourne Welcome. Our bus driver was a real hoot, too. He played like a tour guide and told us historical facts and jokes and stuff about their politics.
And then I got off the bus with Avery, a girl from Maine. We’re both living in the same apartment building. So we both go into the building carrying our huge bags and wrestle them up a short set of stairs and into the reception area. Then we go up to the counter and the lady asks for our names so she can get out our files. She gets mine out, and well guess what! I get to pay a $1062 security bond on my room! Ooh, and the first month’s rent, which is $724! And she needs it now as a bank check or money order, or else I cannot go into my room. Same with Avery, but somehow she already paid her first month’s rent. So we leave our giant luggage there and go looking for an international phone so I can call my dad and try to figure out what to do, because I definitely don’t have that kind of money in my checking account. So Avery and I go to about six different buildings looking for what the desk lady said was a “student centre”. And I guess there are multiple student centres on campus, because I had to tell the nice information guy what my major was so he could direct me to the correct student centre. What? That’s not right. I need a student centre that will help me figure out how to pay almost 2 grand that I don’t have, that can get me a phone that makes international calls. Whoops! There isn’t one! But we do make it to an international student centre, which was totally not where the desk lady told us. And they politely informed us that they have no such phone, but if it’s a money-related problem, that we should go to the bank. So we trek over to the commonwealth bank.
At this point, I am still optimistic, thinking maybe I can use my dad’s credit card to take out enough money to pay these loonies that don’t tell me I need this money before I actually arrive. But I go to the bank, and I cannot use my dad’s credit card, and I cannot use my debit card, because I do not have that kind of money in my account. They can’t take out money I don’t have. So. I have no way of paying anyone anything. So onto the next try: call dad as soon as possible and in any way possible. Because I have no idea what to do.
Now, this is pretty hard to do. I do have my cell phone with me, but that is from America, it has absolutely no way of getting service. Oh I could email. No, I have no internet. I would have internet on campus, but I have to register as a student first, and I can’t do that until tomorrow. So I try to find a phone card. The extremely nice, understanding bank manager directs me to the building with a place that sells them. I cannot emphasize to you how amazingly nice he was. I don’t think I can put it into words. He asked me how I was doing, like really asked, because I was telling him that we had just flown in that morning. I almost broke down right there. I couldn’t talk for a second, because if I had I would have cried. I think he was someone who really realized that I had no one there that I knew or who knew me that would be able to help me. He gave Avery and me his card.
So I bought a phone card, and Avery and I headed back to the apartment building, her with the payment she needed in the form of a bank check and me empty handed, with just an $8 phone card. We get back to the reception desk, and there is a different woman there who I approach, because I didn’t think the first one was very sympathetic and she had a heavy Australian/Chinese accent that I was extremely distracted by. I walk up to the counter with my slip that says how much I need and my bank card, and I can’t get through the first sentence. I just crack, and I cry and can’t talk and have to look at the floor. So I sort of explain my situation, that my college is supposed to take of absolutely all of my payments, which they are, and I had no idea I needed to pay the rent at all, I thought it went through Oxy, and that all I had was this phone card, and I couldn’t even reach Oxy because it was still Sunday there and no one was in the office. And I cry and cry. So the kind woman, Lauren, who I still can’t tell if she really feels for me and wants to help or just doesn’t know what to do with me so she just gives me what I want, ushers me back to her desk behind a wall to use her phone to call my dad. Just my luck, the phone card doesn’t work because it doesn’t even tell what the “access code” is. So she tells me to just dial my dad’s international number. When it rings I thank God for being so wonderful to let it ring and when dad picks up I just cry. And I try to talk, but I really can’t, so I relay messages to Lauren and then finally just give the phone to her so they can figure it out and I can just cry. So they figure out that my dad can pay the rent with his credit card info, and he will transfer the funds to my account or something for the bond but we will have to figure it out tomorrow because they banks aren’t open and nothing can be done, and Lauren lets me stay in my room tonight. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! THANK YOU BUDDHA!!!!!
And so I go through the rest of the paperwork, etc, something about no damages or I pay or something, and I go to my room. And then I can let loose and just let myself cry full-on and let it out and be sad for myself and stop trying to think, oh this is great, I’m in Australia, remember how great this is? Remember that this is wonderful. I just let myself cry. Which is good, it’s what I needed to do. And I open up my bags so I can finally change, and something has spilled and pretty much completely run out. Yay hooray, more things that make me really uncomfortable my first day out of the country. But really it’s okay, because I am in a room, my room, and I am not stranded somewhere, not knowing where I am or what I should do. And so I change, wash my face, put on some makeup, hope to God that I don’t cry again so my makeup doesn’t get all over the place, and unpack some things so my room feels somewhat homey.
Then I get my priorities straight and realize I need sheets and a pillow and a blanket. And oh $#%*. An adaptor. Mine does not work. Why and how that is, I do not know. But I am pissed, because that was the only way I was going to get on my computer and order internet, and charge my now dead cell phone so they can text me my passcode to the internet. I guess I didn’t realize, though, that cell phones just don’t work in other countries at all. I thought they would, but I guess not. I went on a search for an adaptor and free wireless, which Avery told me was at a McDonald’s on Victoria. I found the MickeyD’s and quickly sent an email to my dad and an email to my mom, because my battery was dying. I really hope that the email is good for them to hear, I don’t want them to get all worried and freaked out about me being over here, but I did want to let them know what was happening to me. My dad already got a taste a guess, what with me calling him from a random number, bawling and freaked out. So I sent those off and found an amazing electronics place called Jaycar (..huh? what’s with the store names around here?) where I got an adaptor that was guaranteed to work from this very, very kind salesman who explained everything very simply for me and answered all my questions.
Finally I was feeling good about being in Melbourne. I felt like I had a chance of connecting with my family and friends and at least I had a bed to sleep in tonight. And I had eaten a brownie and some vitamin water, which revived me. Seems like my debit card doesn’t really work anywhere, but I can take money out at the bank with the awesome manager. I don’t have sheets or a blanket or a pillow, but I will get them soon, I just have to find a place that sells them. And I will hopefully have internet tomorrow, if not at my apartment, on the university’s campus. And now it is 8:45 pm, and I am very tired and in my jam jams, so I am going to sleep for 12 hours and try to be functional tomorrow. Goodnight, terrible day. Please let tomorrow be easier.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Last Post on American Soil
Here's my last post!
I tried to upload a video, but after minutes and minutes of waiting, I got impatient. I will try later though. I am all packed. Ready to drive down to LA tomorrow and head to the airport! I will get to see my friends, Margaret and Ellen, (at least, there might be more coming!) and my Momma, who is making the drive down to have dinner before I go. I am so happy and excited! :D I didn't think my Mom was coming, so that was a very pleasant surprise. Let's hope everything goes well and I don't get too emotional! I'm thinking of getting some dramamine so I can fall asleep on the plane pretty quickly. I'm not sure how well I will sleep otherwise. Well, off to Australia! Wish me luck!
I tried to upload a video, but after minutes and minutes of waiting, I got impatient. I will try later though. I am all packed. Ready to drive down to LA tomorrow and head to the airport! I will get to see my friends, Margaret and Ellen, (at least, there might be more coming!) and my Momma, who is making the drive down to have dinner before I go. I am so happy and excited! :D I didn't think my Mom was coming, so that was a very pleasant surprise. Let's hope everything goes well and I don't get too emotional! I'm thinking of getting some dramamine so I can fall asleep on the plane pretty quickly. I'm not sure how well I will sleep otherwise. Well, off to Australia! Wish me luck!
Here I am, Once Again
"...I'm TORRRRN INTO PIECES!!"
- Kelly Clarkson
I didn't mean to title this entry with some lyrics by the magical KC, it just happened. And no, I am not actually torn into pieces. I am quite happy and excited and about to fall off my chair lately. I just had to continue the song.
So everything's falling into place lately. I got some noise-cancelling headphones today for the plane ride, as well as The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami for some reading. I hope it's good. It probably will be, I like his writing. And I just need to pack some random things I got as birthday presents and toiletries and then I will be all set to go Down Under! I am still nervous and jittery, but I figure that will last for at least another week. I have my airport pickup all figured out, I know how to set up my phone plan so my mom and dad can call me, and I have a list of things I want to get right when I get to my room. I have a stash of money in my checking account now, so that I can use my debit card or take cash out once I get over there.
Phew.
I have my outlet adapter, some Australian cash, and a neck pillow. The Australian cash, by the way, is waaaaay weird. They come in different sizes, depending on the bill, and they have little cutout windows where you can see through. They also have famous (I guess) Australian women on them. Yay! Goooo Women! Why hasn't America hopped on this bandwagon? Oh, and I have looked at the street view of where I'll be living on Google Earth. Creepy, huh? Very. But useful.
So now, I'm going to just try and relax. Work on my koala puzzle, given to me by my moin, burn a cd given to me by Natalya, and make a playlist for the plane ride for my iPod. Phew, it's gotta be pretty long.
- Kelly Clarkson
I didn't mean to title this entry with some lyrics by the magical KC, it just happened. And no, I am not actually torn into pieces. I am quite happy and excited and about to fall off my chair lately. I just had to continue the song.
So everything's falling into place lately. I got some noise-cancelling headphones today for the plane ride, as well as The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami for some reading. I hope it's good. It probably will be, I like his writing. And I just need to pack some random things I got as birthday presents and toiletries and then I will be all set to go Down Under! I am still nervous and jittery, but I figure that will last for at least another week. I have my airport pickup all figured out, I know how to set up my phone plan so my mom and dad can call me, and I have a list of things I want to get right when I get to my room. I have a stash of money in my checking account now, so that I can use my debit card or take cash out once I get over there.
Phew.
I have my outlet adapter, some Australian cash, and a neck pillow. The Australian cash, by the way, is waaaaay weird. They come in different sizes, depending on the bill, and they have little cutout windows where you can see through. They also have famous (I guess) Australian women on them. Yay! Goooo Women! Why hasn't America hopped on this bandwagon? Oh, and I have looked at the street view of where I'll be living on Google Earth. Creepy, huh? Very. But useful.
So now, I'm going to just try and relax. Work on my koala puzzle, given to me by my moin, burn a cd given to me by Natalya, and make a playlist for the plane ride for my iPod. Phew, it's gotta be pretty long.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
And The Jitters Kick In
I got an email today from the student coordinator of the Melbourne Welcome program...
I AM SO NERVOUS/EXCITED.
Holy moly, I need a chill pill. I'm just realizing that, being American in Australia, I won't really be able to conform, because I will automatically be different. Not that I want to conform, but I will always feel a little different from everyone else. A little different in a big way. But the welcome program will help me adjust, because I will be with a big group of different people, the international students.
So, here's what they said in the email that I found really interesting:
Uhhhh uh-oh. AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL?!?!?! WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY??? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I don't do sports!! Especially not contact sports! Well, i hope they let me "learn" by sort of participating in a lazy way. Also, good thing I brought my sneakers.
And, hmmmm, "something to wear from my homeland." Uhhhh. I don't own anything very patriotic. What, exactly, is something American to wear? I can't think of anything really. So, here I go, scooting around my mobile closet that is stuffed into two very large suitcases.
Aha! Cowboy boots. Done. That's American, right? It's a good thing I just bought them at Plato's Closet. They are really very comfy too, I was surprised. So is that a good American clothing staple to wear? Let me know, dear readers, if you care to. For now, I am going to go look up the history of cowboy boots and make sure they are thoroughly American and not secretly originated in Vietnam, or something crazy like that. Oh, and I'm going to go try and get my head screwed on straight. :/
I AM SO NERVOUS/EXCITED.
Holy moly, I need a chill pill. I'm just realizing that, being American in Australia, I won't really be able to conform, because I will automatically be different. Not that I want to conform, but I will always feel a little different from everyone else. A little different in a big way. But the welcome program will help me adjust, because I will be with a big group of different people, the international students.
So, here's what they said in the email that I found really interesting:
Thirdly, in terms of clothing you should bring for the program, there
are a few activities in particular that you should bear in mind when
packing. We will be having a formal dinner as part of the Melbourne
Welcome program, for which you should bring attire that is suitably
formal; for example, a suit for men and a cocktail dress for women. We
also plan on holding a footy clinic, ie. a relaxed introduction to
Australian Rules football, and so we would recommend you also pack
some tracksuit pants and runners or trainers, as the ground may be wet
or muddy. Finally, the first night's traditional Welcome Party will be
themed "Your Home Country", so please bring something to wear from
your homeland for this!
Uhhhh uh-oh. AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL?!?!?! WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY??? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I don't do sports!! Especially not contact sports! Well, i hope they let me "learn" by sort of participating in a lazy way. Also, good thing I brought my sneakers.
And, hmmmm, "something to wear from my homeland." Uhhhh. I don't own anything very patriotic. What, exactly, is something American to wear? I can't think of anything really. So, here I go, scooting around my mobile closet that is stuffed into two very large suitcases.
Aha! Cowboy boots. Done. That's American, right? It's a good thing I just bought them at Plato's Closet. They are really very comfy too, I was surprised. So is that a good American clothing staple to wear? Let me know, dear readers, if you care to. For now, I am going to go look up the history of cowboy boots and make sure they are thoroughly American and not secretly originated in Vietnam, or something crazy like that. Oh, and I'm going to go try and get my head screwed on straight. :/
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Well Hello There
Hello, blogger. You are my new friend! I was with tumblr, but I think you will work better for my life. I want my friends to be able to comment on my blog, and tumblr didn't let me do that. Ahh, such freedom with you, blogger. I'm going to just post some things I put on there, because I liked how that blog was going, so I can get my feet wet with this blog. Here's a picture I luuuuuurve. My girl, Margaret, and I "working" on our study abroad applications a few months ago. That is a travel guide to Melbourne. Ooooh, baby, here we go!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Journey: Part I
Sooooooooooooo.
First of all, i don’t know how to comment on things or reblog or any of that stuff. which is sad, because i wanted to do it for one of my besties, margaretr, (which i also want to make into a linky-thing to her blog….) OH MY GOD I DID IT!!!!! i just clicked that tiny button, and i put in the address, whoooooohooohoooooooheeeeee!
TECHNOLOGY: YOU SHALL BE CONQUERED.
so there.
okay, back to the point of this entry. i made the first part of my trip! well, it’s not really that big of a part, it was just me driving from medford, OR, to fresno, CA. from my mom’s house to my dad’s. they are divorced, you see. and so i wanted to spend some summer time with my dad, so i came down two weeks before my plane to australia. which means an eight-hour car ride down into cali. uuuuuugggghhhhhhhhhhhh
on top of that, i had to say goodbye to my fish, my dog, and my mom. i wouldn’t see my mom until mid-september, when she’s going to visit me in melbourne.
:(
i criiiiiiiied, and cried and cried some more. first in the morning, when i was saying bye to my puppy, cleo. she’s not an actual puppy, she’s full-grown. she still looks like a puppy. anywho, i don’t get to see her or my fish, todd, until december. (that is, if todd lives that long. … he’s already two. that’s like, 120 in fish years. i have dropped him twice and he has still lived on. so maybe he will be alive when i get back, i would like that.) and THEN i cried when i had to say bye to my mom, because my parents do this thing where they both drive halfway, so we end up meeting in willow or williams to get lunch and then i get shifted to the other car and both cars go back to their homes. so i had to say bye to my mom after lunch, and i bawled my eyes out. i don’t really do the choking sob-style crying, i do the silent weeping style crying. my face gets all scrunched up and tense and i stare at the ground trying to calm myself.
so then i realized that i would really like to have my mom at the airport when i leave. because this is a really, really big deal for me. i have never been out of the country, i have never gone somewhere i have never been before without my parents, i have never moved into a place without my parents’ help. well, i mean, with one parent and/or the other. i hate having divorced parents. it means having to choose one of them to experience something with. i don’t want to choose for this experience. i need them both. it’s a super big time and effort commitment for my mom, though. it’s a 12-hour drive to los angeles, where i am flying out from, or an expensive plane ticket for just a day. so when i asked her to come see me off, mid-weeping and staring at the ground, i didn’t want to spring it on her or make her have to drive so far or anything, it’s just that i want her there. way more than i realized before i had to say goodbye.
i’m trying to be okay with her not being there, though, because it is a really big hassle for her. i’ll see.
and then i drove the rest of the way to fresno, in dad’s car, crying in the backseat for a little while, then stopping and realizing, if i don’t get to see my mom at the airport, i will get to see her in september, in australia, and be able to show her all the amazing things i will have seen by then.
and that is part I of my journey.
First of all, i don’t know how to comment on things or reblog or any of that stuff. which is sad, because i wanted to do it for one of my besties, margaretr, (which i also want to make into a linky-thing to her blog….) OH MY GOD I DID IT!!!!! i just clicked that tiny button, and i put in the address, whoooooohooohoooooooheeeeee!
TECHNOLOGY: YOU SHALL BE CONQUERED.
so there.
okay, back to the point of this entry. i made the first part of my trip! well, it’s not really that big of a part, it was just me driving from medford, OR, to fresno, CA. from my mom’s house to my dad’s. they are divorced, you see. and so i wanted to spend some summer time with my dad, so i came down two weeks before my plane to australia. which means an eight-hour car ride down into cali. uuuuuugggghhhhhhhhhhhh
on top of that, i had to say goodbye to my fish, my dog, and my mom. i wouldn’t see my mom until mid-september, when she’s going to visit me in melbourne.
:(
i criiiiiiiied, and cried and cried some more. first in the morning, when i was saying bye to my puppy, cleo. she’s not an actual puppy, she’s full-grown. she still looks like a puppy. anywho, i don’t get to see her or my fish, todd, until december. (that is, if todd lives that long. … he’s already two. that’s like, 120 in fish years. i have dropped him twice and he has still lived on. so maybe he will be alive when i get back, i would like that.) and THEN i cried when i had to say bye to my mom, because my parents do this thing where they both drive halfway, so we end up meeting in willow or williams to get lunch and then i get shifted to the other car and both cars go back to their homes. so i had to say bye to my mom after lunch, and i bawled my eyes out. i don’t really do the choking sob-style crying, i do the silent weeping style crying. my face gets all scrunched up and tense and i stare at the ground trying to calm myself.
so then i realized that i would really like to have my mom at the airport when i leave. because this is a really, really big deal for me. i have never been out of the country, i have never gone somewhere i have never been before without my parents, i have never moved into a place without my parents’ help. well, i mean, with one parent and/or the other. i hate having divorced parents. it means having to choose one of them to experience something with. i don’t want to choose for this experience. i need them both. it’s a super big time and effort commitment for my mom, though. it’s a 12-hour drive to los angeles, where i am flying out from, or an expensive plane ticket for just a day. so when i asked her to come see me off, mid-weeping and staring at the ground, i didn’t want to spring it on her or make her have to drive so far or anything, it’s just that i want her there. way more than i realized before i had to say goodbye.
i’m trying to be okay with her not being there, though, because it is a really big hassle for her. i’ll see.
and then i drove the rest of the way to fresno, in dad’s car, crying in the backseat for a little while, then stopping and realizing, if i don’t get to see my mom at the airport, i will get to see her in september, in australia, and be able to show her all the amazing things i will have seen by then.
and that is part I of my journey.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Danielle's First Post
Awwww! My first post. I just created this blog, literally 5 minutes ago (it took me a long time to figure out how to customize it, or whatever you say in blogspeak) so I thought I’d put in my first post! In case you don’t know me, I guess, I am Danielle, I am turning 20 in a week, and I am going to Melbourne, Australia in 3 weeks. This blog will cover my entire trip, including the insanity, the jetlag, the fear, the nervousness, the giddiness, the hugs, the giant bugs, and the Australian men (hopefully that one will take up the majority of the blog. No, not the bugs, the men).
So, Hallelujah, this blog will keep me in contacts with my American amigos! And anyone else who wants to read, you are welcome to. I love new friends!
Oh good, this thing has spellcheck!
So, Hallelujah, this blog will keep me in contacts with my American amigos! And anyone else who wants to read, you are welcome to. I love new friends!
Oh good, this thing has spellcheck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)