Technology and Rumspringa

So since I've hurt my ankle and have been far less mobile than I'm used to, I've been watching a lot of TV. That's not to say it's more appealing to me now, just that it's more distracting than simply sitting with my foot up unable to move. Anyway, last night before I went to sleep, I caught part of a National Geographic documentary about the Amish and their weddings. It was very interesting and educational. In the Amish tradition, at 16 years old the young people of the community go out into the "English" world. This time out of their community is called Rumspringa. It is a time for young people to see what they're missing on the outside, fine a husband or wife, and return to the church to become official members before God.

Fascinating unto itself, I very much enjoyed the documentary until the kids began talking about what they would miss when they went back to their traditional communities. One boy said he would miss his laptop, but miss his Blackberry more since it's with him always. What I heard when he said that was that America has done such a good job at advertising and selling people lifestyles, that even the Amish, those who are without the ads, the newspapers, the magazines and all electronics, can get sucked into something like a Crackberry in just a short time out in the "English" world.

This boy won't miss traveling or seeing life on a more global scale. He won't miss the new friends he's made and the new life he has set with his girlfriend. No, he will miss his Blackberry by his side at all times. The only redeeming factor of this boy was that he still wanted to re-enter the Amish community even though he would have to give up the things we take for granted every day. I feel that in order to excommunicate yourself from your family, you would need a better excuse than a light-up paperweight, but even still, I don't know if I could do it now that I'm this deep into technology, could you?

Pictures from my 2 weeks of break

These are some photos of my two week break. There are some from Bali and others from traveling up the west coast of Australia!!

Apologies!!

So I'm hoping that by adding pictures to this post, no one will be angry with me for not having posted in a long time! I've been so wrapped up in meeting people and making friends that I just have completely forgotten about my responsibility to everyone who wants to read this blog!!

Since the last time I posted, I have seen a lot of Perth, made many friends and had a lot of great times around here. At this point, I think my favorite things about this part of the world are the beaches. The water is a clear, teal blue, warm and inviting and I love it. Just as anywhere, the wind picks up a lot on the water, and the sand can sting if the wind is too high (one of the few drawbacks of the beach). I've been to Cottesloe Beach (Perth's most popular) and to Scarborough (more of a surfer/skim boarder beach). Both of the pictures above are of Scarborough beach, with more from Cott coming.

The other thing I love about being brand new in this country is the slang they use. Everything is abbreviated and changed up. A few examples: Cott (Cottesloe beach), Devo (devastated), Rotto (Rottnest Island), Soz (sorry), Arvo (afternoon). They don't really think much of using words like this and half the time I need to stop them mid-sentence to explain the previous one! It's fun, though. They love our accents as much as we love theirs and swapping hometown slang is always a good time.

Contrary to popular belief, I actually do go to class. It's not all drinking and partying (although it is a huge part, seeing as I only really have class two days per week). This semester, I'm taking four modules (classes): Feature Writing, Photojournalism, Photography and Australian Studies. Though the first three are for my majors, Australian Studies is somewhat of a joke class. We go on four excursions throughout the semester and watch a movie every class after lecture. It is quite interesting though, seeing as we learn little to nothing about this country and continent at our home institutions and high school. I'm hoping to learn a lot about their relationship with the Aboriginal people because the majority of them come off as quite racist.

In Australia, I have an amazing, solid group of friends from all different backgrounds. My housemates are all extremely nice and cool to hang out with as well as our neighbors here at Vickery. I love my classes and the weather overall (thank goodness we just got out of a heat wave where temperatures were over 100!). I'm really enjoying this experience and trying to see and do everything I can in the time that I'm here. I will try to update every week and now that school has begun and I have a much more set schedule, this will hopefully be a promise I will keep. Love and miss you all!

Touchdown Australia!

So ladies and gentlemen I have FINALLY arrived in Perth, Western Australia at Curtin University of Technology! It is hot, sunny and beautiful here and I just could not be more sure about my decision to study here. It's just fantastic. Everyone is so nice and I get along really well with the flatmates I've met (there are still 5 more coming).

Where I live, there are 8 bedrooms (one person to a room), 2 bathrooms, common area, kitchen, and a dinning room table. The walls are made of brick painted over white giving it a prison feel, but that will all change as soon as we get some life in the building. My building is part of a complex of about 40 just like mine. We are closest to campus and I believe we are the oldest group of buildings.

Campus is the most beautiful I have ever seen. There are sculptures, gardens, ponds, trees and gorgeous buildings everywhere. The scenery seems to really reflect Australia and is so serene. There is also a pub on campus where i (legally) purchased a beer yesterday for my first Australian drink!

The only thing that seems to be a damper on this perfect Australian parade is the fact that everything is incredibly expensive. Yesterday I paid about $3.50 for a bottle of water and it only goes up from there. It seems that they are nickel and diming everyone for whatever they can get their hands on. Not only do I have to pay for internet in my room, but I have to pay for data exchanged and if I upload too many pictures, send too many emails or post too many blog posts, I may run out and have to purchase more data. The money spending is somewhat absurd but i refuse to let it ruin my time.

All in all, so far so good. I will keep writing as frequently as possible!

Getting Souped

Hey guys, welcome to my blog! I feel like this is the easiest way to keep you all updated on what is going on in Australia (and everywhere else I plan on traveling to). I will keep updating the blog once I get to Perth and can let you all know how it's going. I'm going to miss you guys!