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Hey,

Haven't checked in properly for a while now, spare time doesn't seem to come around often anymore! I worked every day last week as well as going to uni and everything else. But it feels good to be working and earning money, it'll make travelling feel well deserved.

It's week 10 at uni now, which means I have been in Oz for 11 weeks. Mum was definitely right when she said that time would start off slow and then suddenly speed up. This is the last week of uni before mid semester break. Siobhan, Amy and myself fly to Cairns on Friday morning! I can't wait. I can't believe I'll be diving in the Great Barrier Reef and cruising round the Whitsunday Islands in a boat; way too dreamy to be real life.

Everyone is beginning to book flights for when they travel after uni finishes and it's FREAKING ME OUT! First of all, my flight home is way too early. When I booked it I was told it would be cheap to change my flight, now they're telling me it'll be 250/350 quid! It is peak season though so I understand. Currently my flight is booked for 30th November, arriving in England on 1st December to kick start another month. I am starting to think I need more time though, so might be changing it to the 16th instead. I guess with a job now and my student loan coming through I can afford to do it.

At the moment all I have planned, in my head only, is to visit Fraser Island at the start of November, move onto Sydney and then Melbourne. By the time I'm back it'll be 30th November and time to go home. However if I stay longer, I would love to see Bali! Thailand and New Zealand popped into my head as well but I can't do everything.

I just can't quite keep up with life. I don't understand how it goes so fast. It's ridiculous! I just got here and I am filling out forms to terminate my residency in my college halls. I really do feel settled here now and have made a good group of friends, got myself a job and the latest news is... I've gone and got myself an Aussie boyfriend. It's a bit silly really, seeing as we both know I'm leaving soon, but you can't plan everything. He's the guy I mentioned in previous posts by the way; Mackenzie.

This weekend he took me on a surprise adventure to a beautiful National Park near Springbrooke. There's a spot called Natural Bridge which has amazing waterfalls like this:

I sort of felt like I was in Batman's cave. There really were Bats though.

Anyway it was such a nice surprise. Theres also a point called 'world's best look out', and it goes a little something like this:

    The view is unreal! So peaceful too. 

Macca also showed me a place called Sovereign Island. It is insane. I have NEVER seen houses so big and so over the top. Clive Palmer lives there and instead of a car parked next to his home, he has a bloody big boat. Every single property is worth over 1 million and every single car parked outside looks it too. I literally can't imagine how much money the people who live there have. I would love to know what they do for a living. 

So although I might not be able to live there, we could afford to have lunch on the water. Australian's are so lucky they can do simple things like that whenever they want! It was so luxurious to look at a view of water and boats whilst eating rather than a motorway or whatever else you might see. I really did eat too much this weekend. How will I live without Tim Tams in the UK? They are these yummy Australian chocolate biscuits which come in about 5 flavours. I haven't met a single person who doesn't like them. 

The ice cream places here are amazing too. There is a new place in Southbank called Nitrogenee which we went to and you watch them make the ice cream from scratch. Just picture blow torches, steam and white dungarees. Then theres Cold Rock which I still need to try. Baskin and Robins is another place which is insane. See why I'm concerned about the amount of food i've consumed? Thank god I'm a gym and chicken freak during the week. I don't know how I'm going to work around that when I leave campus though.

This post was a bit of a long one which I apologise for, but now you are all up to date with my Australian Adventure.

G'day!

Taking chilled out to a new level

Alrighty, it's time to address the difference between education in England and education in Australia. I'm not really talking about the curricula, more the attitude.

The thing that confuses me the most are tutorials. As I do drama, my tutorials are actually called workshops, minus one. Understandably, workshops are more relaxed and focused on interaction with the lecturer. They involve a lot of talking and sometimes moving about. However, this to me does not mean make yourself at home, lye on the floor, pop in your headphones if you feel like it and perhaps even have a doze.

I'm serious. I had a tutorial earlier today on Australian Theatre and actually began to laugh because all around me were people lying on the floor as our lecturer was trying to teach. Its more than just getting comfortable, they actually look like they are sleeping. I just don't get it. This is happens every week in every tutorial and is clearly something which has always happened here.

Every time I notice these kind of things, I try and imagine what would happen if I did the same in Exeter. To be honest, I can't imagine anyone doing it. Our lecturers want us to look alive and as if we are participating. Sure you get the odd day where your lacking energy and feel a bit sluggish, but you cover it up!

Attendance at Exeter is monitored like a hawk. Turning up half an hour late is not an option. Walking in and out whenever you want to does not exist. Guess what? All of this is acceptable at Griffith. Students have honestly walked in 45 minutes late to a lecture or 'tute' and no one has flickered an eye lid. It's a free for all.

I'm trying my best not to sound like a snob or teacher's pet because I know that to many it will read that way. It's really just me analysing and trying to comprehend student life over here compared to back home. I can't say that I'm not judging though. I don't think its good how all of this is allowed to happen so casually. It just makes university feel a bit immature and sometimes pointless. I guess it's a positive that the students here feel as if they can 100% relax around their lecturers, and will perhaps then allow them to be more honest and open. It definitely breaks the barrier between teacher and student.


I'm not going to let myself fully adapt to such a relaxed environment at uni because otherwise I'll get a shock when I head back to Exeter.

I hope I don't sound like too much of a twat during this post, sorry if you feel that I do. (Sorry not sorry).

A weekend on the water

Another great weekend has been and gone. This time I was lucky enough to visit the beauty that is Stradbrooke Island, our transport being a jet ski.

So my friend Tom lives on the water. Literally, his house is basically on the water. Of course that means you have to own a jet ski as well as boat, or like some of the residents there, five boats. A few of us went out on the jet ski and travelled across to South Stradbrooke. Words can't describe how amazing it is! It is un touched, un polluted, perfect stretches of sand.

The picture doesn't even do it justice because it was taken on a blackberry (shitberry).

I've never seen sand so white in my life, it almost looked fake. The sea wrapped around the island and greenery filled up the edges of the land. In the distance you could see the built up Gold Coast, but apart from that I felt as if I was part of the film Castaway or The Island. I didn't think the locations you see in films could ever compare to real life but this topped it. I found this little guy wondering around in the sand too:

After that I ventured out to Surfer's Paradise and experienced my first night out there. I've been warned many times about this place and so was fully prepared for the seediness of the club strip. It didn't bother me at all though. Anywhere where there is a strip of cheap clubs you're going to find cheap things and people. But, to be honest, I thought there were a good crowd of people and didn't find any trouble. It was a good night out which ended with me being piggy backed home and having a domestic with a man from Bali who got too big for his boots. Standard.

I'm back at Griffith now and of course I walked into a flat which hasn't been cleaned one tiny bit since I left. It's gross. No one wants to take responsibility and empty the bins or do their washing up. I'm certainly not doing it again that's for sure.

I'm into the second week of my job now and already I'm feeling the 'I don't want a job attitude'. It's stupid because it's so convenient and the hours are perfect but it's always a drag to work. But it'll be worth it when I'm diving in Cairns in 3 weeks! So I've got to suck it up and get on with it. 

Got to go treat this bugger of a mozzie bite, it's killing!