O Week!!

The infamous bbq (sausage and white bread)

“O Week” is orientation week here at Southern Cross University and it is this entire week until classes start Monday. We had a huge bbq kick-off dinner at the rec deck next to Orion and everyone seemed to be there. I know this because after the first two days of being here, walking around and settling in, it seems that I know almost everyone that lives here. The Residential Assistants are the easiest to get to know, because they walk around all day just saying hello to newbies such as myself. That seems to be the theme around here…whenever you pass by someone and you’ve never met, (or who can’t remember each other’s names), you shake hands and greet. There’s not one person in this past week that hasn’t done so. That is so different from Eau Claire, even though at UWEC everyone seems to be the friendliest people around, it’s more natural here to initially meet every single person you possibly can.

Healthy decisions with the chef!

During the week there were so many activities to get involved in. After all the standard orientation speeches and information sessions about our visas, health coverage, academic expectations, etc, we had the rest of the week for the fun stuff. I did any and every thing I could. I’ve found how much of a difference it makes to say YES to being involved. It’s as simple as that decision…and I’ve learned so many things because of the yes decisions. For instance, there is a chef that came in a we had cooking lessons on how to eat extremely healthy while on a budget. We made corn fritters, kale and quinoa salad and a juice made from beets, carrots, celery, cucumbers, capsicum and lemon. Healthy just feels better. Although over these past two weeks I have a hankering for a cheeseburger.

There have wonderfully been many many many free bbqs here…and every time, the bbq consists of sausage and a piece of white bread. I am the LEAST picky eater out there, and yet I have to say this…I can not have even ONE more sausage on white bread. I’ve just been making my own meals which is great practice for next year when I have a house. Family dinner has been amazing as well. We have a group that consists of a few aussies and other international people and we make dinner family style. I had amazing chicken curry with rice and poppadams last night and it was incredible. I love when my taste buds are awoken!

Walking around the campus is breathtaking. It is all grass and hills (one BIG hill up to Orion), wildlife everywhere and has a tropical feel. We saw wallabies, koalas, hundreds of bearded dragons/lizards, kookaburras, huge fruit bats, and lots of colorful birds just walking from Orion down to the Uni.  I can’t imagine ever being a local and getting used to the sights here. That’s what I love about traveling. Everything is wonderful and new and spectacular to our fresh eyes and senses.

We had tea with the Mayor

That last Vegemite cracker...it was MINE. :) 

When we aren’t having a  mini dance party between the buildings at night, we are going through all the funny differences between aussie lingos and our lingo. They have no idea what s’mores or reeses peanut butter cups are. We say oregano and basil…they say or-ah-ganno and bah-sel. They have bread with butter and sprinkles for birthday parties, we introduced them to red velvet cake. I LOVE the little differences. It’s so funny always having to convert kilograms, liters, kilometers, centimeters and trying to buy chicken or meat from the store in kgs not pounds. Tim Tams are the best thing about Australia. (Okay, well the best treat here.) They are chocolate waffer cookies filled with whatever filling the type is. SO delicious. My favorite is the Turkish Delight and Caramel Coated Tim Tams. I even have some in my fridge right now…not for long though! Speaking of aussie foods, we had tea with the Mayor of Lismore and had traditional Aussie bites to eat. After her very inspirational speech about getting as involved as possible with the community in which you live, we talked to her face to face and she went on and on about how much her and her husband loved the Midwest and traveling in the US. For the third time, I tried vegemite on crackers. The verdict? I LIKED IT. I went back for seconds…and thirds. I may be turning Aussie, because apparently I am starting to speak their lingo as well. It’s easy to pick up on and there are no language barriers because whenever we have NO idea what an Aussie says, we just ask. They aren’t annoyed by us always asking them! We played a board game with the Mayor during our tea session, and I won second place so I received an incredible goodie bag with an Aussie flag, apron, cup holder, Tim Tams, Byron Bay coffee, and VEGEMITE. Yay. Never say never I guess :)