TOP DECK

I found the love of my life in Australia... except it's not a human. It's a chocolate bar <3

CADBURY CHOCOLATE IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE.

I'm dangerously obsessed and it's come to the point where I have to force myself to stay out of the chocolate aisle at Woolworth's (the local grocery store) so I don't buy it. It usually costs around $4 for a single bar like in my picture but today I found it for $3 at the Big W.... turns out international Wal-Mart look alikes can be a good thing.We're going to ignore the fact that I already ate half the bar but I just wanted to make a quick post about this wonderful chocolate! It's probably the best chocolate I've ever had, and dare I say it might be better than a Hershey bar.

I'll be sure to bring a few bars back to America with me!

OH MY GOD MCDONALDS' MADE A DOLLAR MENU!

Well.... Loose Change Menu to be exact. Still though do you realize how much cheaper it is now for me to get some protein?! Do you also realize how disgusting it is that I rely on double cheeseburgers for protein? Hahaha it's really not that intense, but still... pretty exciting milestone for Macca's!

Today marked my second day as an intern at Novotel Darling Harbour; which consisted of me doing a competitor analysis. I've learned about doing these in my past marketing classes but have never done one in real life so to be honest I wasn't too confident that I was actually going to do the right thing.

Six hours and five hotel analysis later, I did it, and according to the Sales Manager I did a WONDERRRFULLL job! (hahaha) So that was pretty awesome. I go back on Thursday and I'm really excited about continuing. I mean I had no previous interest in working for a hotel but this tourism thing is really catching on. I love the fact that I'm going to be able to experience and learn more about marketing from a corporate perspective. Plus it will for sure help in the future when I'm hopefully-crossing-my-fingers working for Disney. Ugh, dream job.

Anyway, the hotel is right across from Sydney's Maritime Museum and as I was walking over the bridge this morning I noticed this huge Titanic Exhibit poster! It's been 100 years since the sinking and the museum is... celebrating?.. by hosting an exhibit with props and things from the movie! And its only $7! Totally not going to pass that up!

Mid semester break starts next Friday ALREADY. Where did the time go? I leave Thursday night for Brisbane and I'm super pumped! I still haven't found anyone else going on the trip but I don't mind, it's my vacation anyways! I just hope I'm over this cold by then... YUP, a cold. For the past few weeks everyone at Uni has been coughing, sniffling, and hacking up lungs, and I've been lucky enough to not catch it, until now. It's only a small cold but I absolutely cannot be sneezing everywhere when I'm scuba diving.. Nemo would NOT appreciate that. (humor haha).

OOH another thing! My friends and I have been looking for other things to do besides going to the beach every Saturday so this past weekend my friend Julie and I went on a hike through on of the parks near the village!

I love exploring all the nature around here so we're definitely planning more of this little trips!

I think that's all the updating I can think of giving you right now. Til next time!

xoxoxoxoxo

Wait... I've been here for a month?

YUP! Today marks my official month of living in Australia. Crazy isn't it?

I know I haven't been here THAT long, like come on, I still have 3 months left. But I can't believe how fast time is going, and I still have so much to do!

Classes are going well. I had my first group presentation in Marketing today and that went really good! I got a 9/10 on my first Australian Lit quiz AND I actually read a book for class COVER TO COVER. It was a book about a white Australian man in the 1800s who has an affair with his aboriginal servent. How scandelous! We're now reading poems by some famous Australia poet. They're not bad but I really dislike poetry so I can't wait for this week to be over so we can move on to the next book "Growing Up Asian in Australia" ... ya jealous Danny Bush? Hahahah.

My first paper for History is due Thursday and I have a paper due for Aus Lit and a test in Marketing before break, so I've got lots of stuff going on. On top of that my internship starts this Thursday and I'm super pumped! I can't wait to see what I'll be doing and all that. Yay international experience!

Me and a few friends are also booking a few day trips for Spring Break. We're going to visit Hunter Valley, one of Australia's top wineries; go dolphin watching, hike in the Blue Mountains, and go to this Easter show one of our Australian friends was talking about! I'm also thinking of doing the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb with someone I met in class. It's a tad expensive but you only live once, right?

That brings me to another point, money. My oh my is Australia expensive! Seriously, it kills me to grocery shop. Living on pb&j, pasta, and scrambled eggs isn't quite what I like to do but I have to do it if I wanna do all these fun "once in a lifetime" trips! The way I think of it is, I'll be able to one day eat like a normal human being again, but how many times will I be able to dive in the Great Barrier Reef or climb hundreds of feet to the top of a famous bridge? Never. Thank goodness I brought my Disney Princess Gummy Vitamins along! I figure as long as I stay on my budget (which has been working out well by the way) and not waste money on dumb stuff I should be fine. On the plus side I'll be coming home with an experience that not a lot of people get to have. And that's something to be appreciative of :)

Total Knock Out

I DID IT!

As of yesterday I am now the new Marketing Assistant for Accor's Darling Harbour Hotels in Sydney!

The interview went amazing, my new boss Helen was really impressed with the work I had done with EPIC (thanks Amanda) and my passion for marketing so that was beyond cool. I haven't heard back yet about specific details about the job but I know I'm going to be involved in a lot of different projects. The hotels are in the hot spot of downtown Sydney so that's a bonus too. I honestly can't believe that I can say I have a Marketing job in Australia. Like, how many people my age get to say that? Excuse me for talking about how great I think I am but I've worked so hard to get to where I am today and this is only the beginning. I have goals and I'm not letting anything get in my way of achieving them. I'm really proud of where I am and where I'm going, and anyone who thinks differently can take their ignorance elsewhere.

Okay, cocky rant over. But another thing, I also had an interview with SIFE today for a marketing position so I really really hope they want me to come aboard and share some of my thoughts! It's kind of funny, most people think of Australians as being really similar to Americans but they're really not. I've met a million people from all over the world and it's really kind of cool seeing people's reactions when you tell them you're from America. Especially the Asians! No disrespect but I ADORE how excited the Asians get when I tell them I'm from the states. They get so happy about it, it's so cute! Back onto what I was talking about before though... I really want this SIFE position as well. I'm here to learn...annnddddddd a cool red SIFE Macquarie t-shirt is a plus too ;)

I had my first dinner with almost all of my housemates today, which was actually my first REAL dinner. We had pasta with chicken and pesto, YUMM! I really feel like I got super lucky with the housemates I have. I mean everyone's nice, the boys clean up after themselves, totally chill. I'm really hoping we can all be like a little family before the semester ends. (d'awww!)

I've also been absolutely bombarded with tons of classwork to do. I am currently taking 3 classes, History of Australia, Australian Literature, and Integrated Marketing Communications. I literally have more work to do than I had to do with 6 classes last semester. Total insanity. I don't really mind the work because I do find it interesting but its so hard to sit in the library taking notes out of a textbook when you're living in Australia! Just picture yourself going to Florida and having to sit inside doing homework... see what I mean?

Despite the work I really do like my classes. My IMC lecturer is this adorable little Chinese man who is super super passionate about Marketing and it's SO CUTE! We're also doing this huge project where we have to do a marketing campaign for a mens moisturizer so that should be fun. I'm not too keen on Australian Literature, or any literature class for that matter, but I've gained some interest in being able go sit under a tree at Uni and read a book for class. It's really relaxing. It's also fun because the books I'm reading kind of play into the topics we're learning about in my Australian History class. Never thought I'd be so interested in another country's historic backgrounds, but believe it or not Australian history is almost as cool as American history.... though I'm still biased about those crazy Pilgrims!

So yeah, all in all it's going pretty awesome over here! I miss everyone back home tons and it is officially my amazing little nephew's birthday here so HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTH MAN! Miss that little man so much!

<3

I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK, BABY

If you haven't already guessed from my enthusiastic blog title....I PICKED UP MY GAGA TICKETS TODAY!

I have to wait another 3 months until she's actually here but I was still ecstatic when I picked them up. Literally though, I had this HUGE smile on my face for like 10 minutes. CAN'T WAIT.

I spent most of my day in the city today. Since my interview with Darling Harbour Hotels is tomorrow I thought it'd be a good idea to check out exactly where I was going. So, I hopped on a bus and found my way to Darling Harbour. It was pretty easy to find considering how absolutely gorgeous the area is! Honestly, immediately when I saw the hotel and the area around it I got so excited for my interview. I kept saying to myself "this could be my future workplace". Like, how crazy is that? I took a few pictures of the area but I'm afraid of jinxing myself and not getting the job haha. Don't get me wrong, I have all the confidence in the world that I can get the position, but I don't wanna go showing off how pretty my workplace is when I don't even know if I'm for sure working there or not.

IT WAS SO PRETTY THOUGH. ugh!

After I went to scope out the hotel and get my tickets, I explored the local shopping centre and found this super cute cupcake bakery!

They had about 20 different kinds of cupcakes and had coffee/cappuccinos to go along with them. I got a Chocolate Mint one and oh my god it was delicious! Seriously, West Seneca needs to up it's game and get one of these little establishments. Too cute.

Well, now I have a ton of homework to catch up on and studying to do OH and a book to read. So I'm gonna nap and eat and then go do that, gotta be ready for the big interview tomorrow. Wish me luck!

SPRING BREAK OF A LIFETIME: BOOKED.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

While being here in Australia I want to take in as much as I can and do things that I'll most likely never get to do again (until I'm a business mogul of course.. haha). So in that light, I strolled down to the campus travel agency today and booked my spring break vacation!

On the trip I'll be able to visit the infamous Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, drive through sand dunes, swim with turtles, stay on an island resort (how freaking cool!). The trip also includes white water rafting, yacht sailing, bungee jumping, SCUBA DIVING THE GREAT BARRIER REEF OMG!, and trekking through the rainforest!

  

 

I will literally be on that island, like, is this real life? I can't believe this is my life right now!

This vacation did cost me like half of the rest of my money to live on but I mean come on, this opportunity is never going to come again. 4 weeks left til break!

HEAPS. ROCK MELONS. MONA VALE.

One of the things that I love most about living in Australia is being able to get up and go to the beach whenever I want.

For instance today.... wasn't planning on doing much besides lounging by the pool, but 1PM rolls around and my housemate is like "hey wanna go the beach?" Of course I jumped at it. I mean it doesn't sound too glamorous but if I wanna go lay by the beach all day, all I need is $4 and my bathing suit and I'm there! It's nice for once to live this laid back lifestyle that people here live.

In that light, today I decided to head to Mona Vale Beach with my housemates Alex and Ben and a few of their buddies. We didn't end up getting there til late afternoon but the scenery was still so gorgeous. Compared to Bondi, Mona Vale is more secluded and less filled with tourists, hence it was a lot more peaceful.

The waves, however, weren't so nice. Like I'm totally down to learn to surf but I was maybe 5 feet into the water and got pounded by a wave, I don't know HOW I'm going to manage surfing if I get the chance to learn how.

After laying out for a bit one of the guys said that there was a spot where we could cliff dive. Now I wasn't totally keen on cliff diving when he said it but I was down to take a look! After hiking for about 20 minutes we finally made it to the top of the cliff. We couldn't dive because the waves were too dangerous today but it was really cool seeing the beach from that high and just enjoying the moment.

There was a rope we could climb down but I was not feeling too swift haha. Btw, housemate Ben on the right

Right when we left the beach it started pouring rain, luckily. All in all it was a fun day! I also got to learn a little more Aussie lingo too!

KEEN- "are you keen to go shopping?" AKA "would you want to go shopping?"
HEAPS - as in having heaps of fun... heaps means "many or a lot of"
ROCK MELON - cantaloupe
SUNNIES - sunglasses
POPPERS - juice boxes
HOT CHIPS - french fries

They also use "s" instead of "z"s in a lot of words like organize and apologize. Australians also use the words "reckon" and "eh" like true southerners and Canadians back home haha. Another funny thing I learned is that people around here call aluminum foil "aluminium foil" .. pronounced AL-U-MIN-EE-UM. I absolutely love love love learning the different kinds of lingo and slang. It makes the experience here that much more interesting.

xoxo

Umm no one told me it was Mardi Gras...

YUUUP! With my head so wrapped in the clouds I completely looked over the fact that its Mardi Gras time here in Sydney, aka tons of parades and events and fun! Ive been so focused on getting all this craziness in order that I overlooked local events going on. So from now on I'm gonna start paying attention!

That's another thing to point out. Being in a whole different country blows my mind when I'm looking for things to do or events to go to; especially since Sydney is the size of New England. Noe for when anyone travels here: if there's an event or party going on in Sydney... that doesn't mean its a block away. It really means its an hour long, $125 cab ride away hah.
On another note, classes started this week - not too shabby. Im taking a few marketing courses, an Australian history class and an Australian literature course.. all of which have anywhere from 75-300 kids in each of them. Everytime I go to class I feel like I'm going to some sort of important speaker series because of all the special mics that the professors have to wear. Its a little tough to keep up with note taking but I'm getting there! I've also learned some interesting things this week too! For instance, did you know that the first Englishmen who settled in colonies like Virginia and Jamestown were actually convicts? Didn't see that in your history textbook did ya? I learned all this from a speaker we had in my history class.. who apparently doesn't have the same love for America that I do. Pretty neat information though!

The bother of buying textbooks is as much of a pain at Macquarie too.. except for the fact that waiting in line to get into the bookstore is like waiting to get into a nightclub (quote: Karee haha).  I needed seven books for my lit class and those came to about $200 alone. One of which is a picture book that cost $30. I mean I was excited about the picture book but really?

This week was also O-Week here at Uni (another note, here people don't refer to school as "going to campus" or "first day of class," instead they say "can't wait to be back at Uni!" or "how was your first day at Uni?"). ANYWAYS. O-Week is this massive club fair on campus where you can sign up for different organizations on campus AND get tons of free food! I ended up signing up for SIFE, the wakeboarding/water skiing/snowboarding club, the Wang club, a baking club, and I got roped into this Marxism club...I'm not entirely sure what they do but I know they are having a rally in May to get gay marriage legalized in Australia so I definitely couldn't resist.

This is turning into a super long post but I've got so much to talk about, so bear with me people!

I also applied for two internships this week! One was through Uni's SIFE program who were looking for Marketing interns. The other was through the international student office for a job as a Marketing Assistant with Accor Darling Harbour Hotels in downtown Sydney! I'll probably hear more about interviews and all that this week, so I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed! I also found out today that I got accepted into the Disney College Program for the fall semester! Even though it was a huge GO ME moment, I have to turn it down and reapply for the program that starts next May because I can't do it until I graduate. Total bummer but if I can get in once, I can get in again! Conquering the world one step at a time :)

OH! I also discovered Australia's equivalent of a Wal-Mart in the shopping centre the other day! Here are some pics!

Big W World!

Look familiar?

It's funny cause The Big W has the same kind of vibe as Wal-Mart does...  as in being a less classy version of Target. Still a treat!

I think that about covers everything that's going on now. Smell ya convict Americans lata!