Week One

This is my first blog post since arriving in Australia. I have now been in the country for nearly a week which has given me time to reflect on my situtation and formulate some first impressions of Australia and its people. Here are some of the first photos I took from the plane on the way into Sydney. The first photograph is of the uninhabited wilderness that surrounds Sydney and the second photo of the Sydney skyline actually includes the iconic Sydney Opera House in the background (though due to the limitations of my iPhone camera I was unable to make it clearly visible). The Opera House juts out into the harbor and is relatively isolated from the other buildings. In the picture, it is the small white building that lies just behind the bridge. My very first impressions of the country were those of delight and excitement. I have never been outside the continental United States, so the mere fact of being abroad anywhere is very new and exciting to me. Even before I reached my destination of Wagga Wagga, I had great experiences with Aussies. I really enjoy the fact that Australians are so friendly and outgoing, everyone seems to look you in the eye and be very friendly and cordial. I don't think I've seen a single person with their eyes completely glued to their phone like I see so often in the States. And also very fortuntately, I have yet to have met a stand-offish person. As for the landscape, Australia is far and away the most naturally beautiful place I have ever visited. The Charles Sturt University campus is filled with eucalyptus trees and plam trees, and the amount of exotically-colored birds and yes, wild kangaroos, makes you feel as if you're in the Australia exhibit at the zoo. I find taking walks around campus is incredibly refreshing; just to look at the beautiful trees and see all these exotic animals is exciting. The Charles Sturt University campus is located roughly ten miles from downtown Wagga Wagga, which in many ways, has the feel of a typical Midwestern town like my hometown of Joplin. The city is fairly large ( I have been given rough population estimates of anywhere from 60,000 to 80,000 people). The city is inland, however, the Murrumbidgee River is nearby and there is a lake called Lake Albert in the general area as well. I have been told by students at the univeristy ( the "uni" as they all call it) that Wagga is considered a country town, as it is surrounded by "properties" (the Australian term for farms). The first night I arrived in Wagga Wagga, I stayed at the Astor Motor Inn in town. One of the first things I noticed in Australia, was how expensive everything was. The Australian Dollar is currently about 10 cents weaker than the American dollar, however, the cost of living is much higher than it is back in Missouri. I assume this is due to the beauty of the countryside, though I can't imagine how expensive things must in big, coastal cities like Sydney and Melbourne. Orientation Week went very smoothly, I immediately felt like I was important and that my needs as an international student had been taken into strong consideration. The International Student Support Officer here, Ms. Jacqueline Blomfield, has been extremely helpful in getting me and my fellow internationals settled in and provided for. So I can safely say that, overall, I have had a great first impression of Australia. And yes, it is the dead of winter Down Under, and the temperatures during mid-day hover in the low to mid-50s with occasional rainfall and cloudy skies. However, the rainfall is never anywhere near the levels of the torrential downpours we see so often during spring or winter in Missouri. So, for those of you that are curious what an Australian winter is actually like, it is in fact quite mild and closer to a typical Midwestern fall or early spring, although native Australians appear to be freezing.