NOW THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS. There are exactly 5 weeks left of classes and then 3 weeks after classes end until I go home. For all of you who can't count, that's 8 weeks. EIGHT WEEKS. Ever hear the saying "so little time so much to do?" well in my world its "so little time, so little MONEY, so much to do." There's so many things I still want to see in Australia and... well I'm gonna be honest here, I ran out of my own money to use a couple weeks ago. Since then my credit card and the wonderful money transfers from my parents have been my best friends, and I wish they weren't.
Surprisingly I can't wait for the moment I can start working again, as much as overnight shifts at Wal-Mart destroy my social life and sleeping schedule, I miss having that steady paycheck every couple weeks. Living off credit cards and keeping a tab for whatever money I owe my parents is not fun. Granted I'm super thankful my parents have been loaning me money but I'm eagerly waiting for the day I get my housing credit put back in my bank account so I can pay them back. LOVE YOU GUYS ;)
Study abroad tip #1 - Start saving the MINUTE you know you want to study abroad; especially if you wanna go to Australia. I read somewhere that Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. I picked a winner, right? But really, I had 3 jobs last summer and worked for Wal-Mart throughout the school year and right up until I left and STILL ran out of money. So unless you're traveling courtesy of the "Bank of Mommy & Daddy" make a budget plan your best friend, and stick to it!
One other "ugly truth" I have to mention about studying abroad in Australia.... when they say you're going to be studying abroad, pay attention to the STUDYING aspect. Before I left I heard stories about some of my friends taking easy classes overseas and thought "hey, it shouldn't be so bad!" Boy was I wrong! I;m currently taking 3 classes here at Macquarie and have had more work and reading than I have had from my 5 classes at Bonaventure. The teachers are also tough when it comes to grading. I don't know if they have a different style of teaching out here or what, but let me tell you, getting an A out here is not easy. I'm not going to say I don't love my classes because in fact I do find every one of them really interesting and beneficial but I'm not too keen on the grading system.
I mean, put yourself in my shoes for a second. 20 years old, from Buffalo, NY studying abroad in Australia, the sun shining everyday ... now imagine what its like to sit in the library and do work on a nice day (which is basically everyday). It's doable, but takes a lot of will power not to put the books away and head to the beach for the day. I'm slowly learning how to get my mind away from the beach and the city and on my studies when I need to, it's really difficult but I'm trying!
And so this week kicks off the tail end of the semester. Starting this week I have at least one presentation or paper due every week up until the last day of classes. Then I'll have two weeks to study for a Marketing Final and once that's done I'll have one week until I fly home. Talk about insanity.
I didn't mean for this entry to sound so negative, believe me, I'm probably the most optimistic person on this planet but I'm only human and dealing with money shortages and classes is stressful! Nevertheless, I've got my head held high and am doing what I can with what I have because complaining never gets you anywhere.
Happy note - my mom sent me a wonderful little package full of Jiff Peanut butter, tuna fish, granola bars, and Easy Mac this week! I love having that little taste of home right by my bed (haha).
Until next time!
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