Australia Day & Outings

Well I should've been a fortune-teller, because as predicted, I have absolutely no time now to update this blog. In fact I'm meant to be catching up on two weeks of reading and "homework". Yes we actually get given homework here. So I'll have to end it here unfortunately and let the photos tell the story for now.

Living at Dobie with the laaaaadies

I haven't mentioned my roommates yet! Their moving-in coincided with the celebrations and lead-up to class, but they are by no means less important. I've never lived in a dorm or with so many other girls in close quarters, except for the roadtrip. Let's just say we had a honeymoon period of less than a week before various issues and dramas began to trickle in. But on the whole it's awesome to have other girls around to help you pick your outfit and discuss the thinkings of men, and borrow allergy medicine when you succumb to the pollen (Thanks Sadie!), and buy you an umbrella because you don't have one (Thanks Caitlin!).

Two firsts in two days and counting....

Part One: First day of classes at UT

Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday

Monday, 18 January

I had a tingling excitement in my toes all night so without the best night's sleep, my brain switched on and I was up and at 'em. It looked rather grim outside - fog and possible rain. After my usual dilly-dallying, I headed down to the cafeteria to be greeted by a ridiculous amount of choice for breakfast. Not the best thing for someone as indecisive as myself. I settled on scrambled eggs, peanut butter on toast and oatmeal, but really missed my muesli, Just Right and soy milk combo with banana.

What to wear for my first day at UT? Boots or volleys? Cardigan or hoodie? Too dressed up or too casual? By Friday, I was wearing my new Victoria's Secret track pants (or tracky dacks) and a shirt to class!

I took to the footpaths, promptly becoming overwhelmed by the thousands of other students keen to get to class on time. Honestly, I was disoriented for a few minutes as people rushed by. Then in true form with rain spitting down, I made it fashionably late to my first class, Mass Communication Theories. The professor was calling the role. Yes, calling out the role like Grades 1-7 in junior school.

I had four classes that day with an internship meeting thrown in so I was pretty much all over the place, both mentally and physically. When my last class was over, I took a deep breath, walked outside, realised the clouds had cleared and heard bagpipes in the air. I'm not kidding there was a guy playing them outside the football stadium! Then whilst I was enjoying the beautiful afternoon and the golden light, I got lost walking back home. As I trudged up the hill back to Dobie, my legs ached like I'd run a cross country race. The exercise is much needed though, so I won't be complaining anymore.

The Dobie Center on a cloudy, Saturday afternoon

When it rains, go to SoCo, a Welcome BBQ and Midnight Rode!

The lead-up to class has been epic. Exchange has been so eventful that I'm struggling to keep this updated and semester hasn't even begun. I really hope my blog survives!!!!

Yesterday was my one-week anniversary of Austin-dom. The weather has taken another strange turn so now it's wet, foggy and windy. Not the type of weather a Brisbane-girl is used to, but I'm powering through, literally because I was too stingy to buy an umbrella!

Thursday saw me gathering a group of girls to visit South Congress or as the locals refer to as SoCo. Lots of cool shops and not enough time. The main mission: to find some second-hand cowboy boots. Mission failed unfortunately. But I did buy a couple of things for $2.50 from St Vincent de Paul for my room, including a very nice Van Gogh print. Score!! I also introduced Bara, Pavla, Eva and Lucia (they could be a girl band!) to Hey Cupcake, the little silver air-stream trailer topped with a giant cupcake, which I became very fond of during my last visit to Austin. The baby trailer made friends with our big, green RV!

After battling the cold, wet, winter day, we decided to head back for naps and preparation for the big, Texan welcome BBQ hosted by my favourite org, Planet Longhorn. As Carl, Liz, Harry, Tom, and everyone who's stopped by 21Rio would say, these guys have been our guardian angels.

So last night was the official kick-off to our stay, and it was huge! Firstly, that smokey BBQ sauce is the bomb! And don't get me started on the cream corn. I was told by Jessie (Aussie on exchange since Fall) that I would love it and she wasn't wrong. Can't wait to eat cornbread now! Whilst polishing off my dinner with my lovely Woodchuck draft cider made in Vermont, I signed up for social sports: indoor soccer, outdoor soccer and softball.

Then all the party-goers began to be ferried to Midnight Rodeo. Despite a rowdy, camera-flashing car ride, Jack-of-all-trades Vanda drove us, the newly-nicknamed Summer Girls, safely to our first experience of Texan two-stepping and line-dancing.

I might just leave it there, because once we arrived, things got very “loose”. I’ll summarise by saying that the cheap drinks here may lead to my downfall; Taylor Swift can be moshed to; and having your first bar tab in Texas is a blessing when the bill only totals $21.

Registration, The Color Purple and Holy Macaroni!

Let's start at the end. It was almost midnight and Vanda, the eternal provider, went to buy some food from Pluckers (a great chicken wing restaurant) and came back with these deep fried macaroni and cheese log things. Oh my! They may have looked crunchy and golden brown and were totally bad for your arteries, but they did taste really great.

This reminds me of another few food-firsts I've had during my first week in Austin, like waffle fries (also from Pluckers) and butter in a squeezy bottle! Sheesh!

So before this midnight feast, Liz, Chris, Dana and I went to see The Color Purple at UT's Performing Arts complex. The theatre almost impressed us just as much as the musical itself. We're talking about a theatre possibly bigger than the Lyric Theatre back in Brisbane. It was five stories tall! The musical was amazing, uplifting, joyful and painfully sad at parts too. We exited very jealous of the singers' big, beautiful and soulful voices.

And finally, my day actually began with class registration, which turned out to be a mixture of excitement, boredom and exhaustion. Excitement because I finally added the courses I would be studying this Spring, excitement because the system was different to my home uni and the excitement of looking up really random subjects I could take as electives. Boredom because after a while the excitement wore off and it became rather tedious; and lastly exhaustion when I discovered I had to trek around uni seeking approval for some courses. The University of Texas is the size of a small town, so trying to find my way to the School of Music in the rain was indeed a substantial task.

Thanks to everyone who encountered me during that very memorable registration day!

Lazy Sunday with Lucia

Hola! A visit to Ladybird Lake came sooner than expected. The sun was out and the blue skies beaming so Lucia (from Argentina) and I decided to hit a walking trail. We shared the track with lots of runners, walkers and their dogs. And true to Austin's motto, "Keep [it] weird!", we walked over a bridge and was transported back to the days of tweed in london town by a group of cool vintage bike-owners.

I love the perks of being a UT student like catching the metro bus and using the university's world-class gym both for free.

That's Lucia on the bridge!

I'm back in the saddle again

Helloooooo Texas! Quite literally hit the ground and rocketed into exchange when I landed at Austin's airport. The fairy godmother of exchange students, Vanda, came to pick me up and took me to my home for the next few months, the Dobie Center. I had a quick shower, did a once-over of the suite and headed out again to watch the UT Longhorns play the Crimson Tide (Alabama). There couldn't be a more iconic way of being welcomed to Austin.

Now before I go any further I have to say how cold it is here. Freezing! As in 10 degrees below zero the other night. So it's been fun braving the cold especially since I have to walk everywhere!

Friday was first day of orientation. It wasn't that exciting, except we had to leave the building for a fire alarm, and I'm quite sure most things I was told I will forget or have already forgotten.

Today we had the option of taking a bus tour, which I managed to get on board barely, without breakfast. My close friends will know how devastated and anxious I must have been wondering when I would be able to get food. Luckily Luca (from Germany) had some strange bun thing with unnaturally yellow cheese and some form of processed meat. Oh the food! The bus trip was fun and they took us up to Mount Bonnell. I'm excited about all the bike and walking trails here, but they'll have to wait for warmer weather.

Exchange is going swimmingly despite our lost to Alabama. Until next time.... :-)

Out and About Orange County

I can jam!!!

Last night the Avocado house hosted Kristin's going away party. She worked for Roadtrip Nation, which you'll notice that I talk about alot, but as you know it's kinda the reason why I'm here. Anyway Maya (the director of our series) is in a band, The Colourist (www.myspace.com/thecolourist) and her band mates came to the party too.

Now I guess you might call him the leader-guy, Adam, hears that I play violin and with some strange power makes me play for him. Usually there'd be a few minutes of awkward shoulder-shrugging and toe-kicking. Honestly, I wasn't great. I don't remember any of my A.Mus pieces, but straight away he had me playing some of their songs and experimenting with sound and bowing. Now I've never "jammed" on the violin before, but this will go down as a musical highlight in my love affair with it. Su-Yin by name and by nature! (It means a little music note.)

Wow right? There should be some iphone videos floating around. I'll have to get my hands on one. The violin will sound terrible in it, but how coooooool! I'm so glad I decided to come early to hang with the Roadtrip crew in Costa Mesa before Texas. They feel like a second family. A home away from Chansville. Love love love

Soaring and Reflections

Year of the Tiger - Hear me roar!

New year's resolution: Bigger, louder, bolder

Happy Birthday Mother Wolf!!

Wednesday, 30 December 2009 – Caitlin’s birthday

Well Caitlin Bates in honour of your day of birth and your backstage role in my life story, I thought I could give you credit in some way for my wonderful adventure with Roadtrip Nation, since you won’t take any. But it's unequivocally true! You do deserve some thanks and credit, because even though it was a small push, that’s exactly what I needed. I don’t think you can do difficult things without support from loved ones and friends. Well maybe it is possible, but it does require a good deal of gumption that is hard to find when one is just starting out. So thank you fellow wolf cub, my childhood friend! (Obviously my parents and best friends have been really supportive too, but let's not turn this into an Oscar's speech.)

What does this post have anything to do with exchange? Definitely Roadtrip Nation was a catalyst for my exchange at Austin. I guess it’s also about challenging yourself and also overcoming your fears. And being in tune with yourself by blocking out the 'noise' and listening to people who want to help you on your way. Plus, I admire you, Caitlin. You have such fearless determination and have followed your joy. I keep being reminded now is the perfect opportunity to take big leaps and bounds.

It's a scary and sometimes daunting concept. More often than not, you hit the ground running.