Day/Month/Year

Monday, the 28th of February was my first day of classes at UWA.  Notice how I didn't say "February 28th," as I am consciously attempting to make the small transitions that go along with living in Australia, one of which being that dates are represented by "Day/Month/Year."  I thought I got this down, but as I was looking through my syllabi this week, I had a brief panic attack as I forgot that, once again, the US just has to be different than the rest of the world.  Good job, America!

But back to the important stuff!  The first week of classes here was nearly identical to the first week of classes at UIUC; the teacher hands out a syllabus, he or she talks about him or herself for approximately ten minutes, and the very basic of basic information is taught with the remainder of the given class.  Tutorials (same as discussions) and labs don't meet during the first week, so my week has been extremely light, and my classes don't seem to be all that difficult.  My favorite so far seems to be Marsupial Biology, as the professor is this nerdy guy that, well, loves kangaroos and wombats, hence his profession.  I'd say I'm in for an interesting semester!

The weather here is still pretty uncomfortable, and probably will be for at least the next 3 weeks or so.  I knew it was going to be a drastic change from March in Chicago, but I don't think my body was physically ready for it.  It's been a harder transition than I thought it was going to be, studying abroad that is.  It's difficult diving into a community (Currie Hall) that, for the most part, already has well-established groups of friends and have memories to reflect on.  I've made a ton of new friends, ones that I can assure myself I will have for many years to come, but you run into the occasional inside joke made from a past Currie Hall resident, and you suddenly realize that you have only lived here for 3-ish weeks. This isn't complaining, it's just such a similar atmosphere to campus life at Illinois, that even the extremely small differences are hugely obvious...if that makes any sense.

The group of friends that we've established here is planning a spring break trip though!  There are about 15 of us that, fingers crossed, will be traveling together to Bali for our mid-semester break (the week following Easter).  Trying to gather 15 college students and make definite plans is nearly impossible though...and we'll have to see how this all pans out.

My semi-decorated desk area :]

Canada, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Chicago, and Vermont...all in one picture!