Hurricane Ului to hit Townsville tomorrow!

Tomorrow Morning (March 21, my time) a category 3 hurricane is expected to hit the coast of Townsville.

Hopefully there isn’t too much damage, but my roommates and I stocked up on a lot of canned food and water in case we lose power for a few days.

Here’s some links if you want to follow the hurricane’s progress:

http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/cyclone/

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/cyclone

Microsoft Excel 2007 is my best friend.

Yes, it’s true. I don’t know where I would be without the trusty Excel programs helping me determine how much money I’ve been spending a week and on what, how much money I have left to do fun trips in Australia in such an easy to read format.

I am also appreciative of the fact that UMW requires Business majors to take a class on how to use Excel and Access because that class showed me a lot of time saving and useful tips on how to take full advantage of these programs. I think they should offer more sections of this class for people to take because it is so useful across all the disciplines.

On a related note, I spent TWO hours today figuring out my finances for Australia. This is mostly because I was backlogged on entering in data for four weeks, so I had to catch up on all of that.
The good thing about spending so much time on this is that I know mostly where I stand in terms of how much money I have for Australia. The bad thing is I’ve realized how much money I have for Australia.

Before my travelling adventures began, I had the optimistic notion of travelling all across Australia: north, south, east, and west. When I was in New Zealand, I also decided I wanted to travel to South Asia to continents like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand with my friend Kristen from Contiki.

Sadly that dream was shattered when I told my mom about all my grand traveling plans and Mom said, “Sarah, are you finding the money for these trips at the end of the rainbow?”

Yes, being a broke college student with a limited budget is not conducive to grand traveling adventures. I’ve been trying to find a job in Townsville to help finance some OZ trips (Ozzies make bank here! One 21 year old girl working at a grocery store gets $21 an hour!!!!), but it’s nearly impossible for three reasons:
1) I’m only going to be here 4 more months.
2) I need to find a job easy to get to where I live without a car/ with in bus distance
3) I have to fight all the other Uni students who live here more permanently for jobs.

I should probably give up on finding a real job and just rent myself out as an “American Language Tutor” so I can teach all the Ozzie kids American slang like “Whateves” or “For realz?” (Learning this through TV is just not the same as from learning it from a real person)

Until then, I am just going to be more thrifty about spending my money I have and look forward to the day where I will make oodles and oodles of money at a fantastic job so that I can take a two year long break to travel the world.

NZ: land of the lost postcards

I sent some postcards from New Zealand in the middle of February and then sent a bunch more from OZ about two weeks later.

However, imagine my surprise when people got the postcards from OZ within in a week while the NZ postcards were yet to show up.

I wondered if this was because I bought $1.50 international stamps through Universal Mail, instead of the $1.80 stamps of the main post office in Australia. My mom joked that the $1.50 postcards were probably going to the U.S. by boat and that we would get them in 3 months.

Feeling annoyed that I spent all this time writing 13 postcards (some of NZ landscape and some of me bungy jumping) to close family members and friends and that they would possibly NEVER get them, I emailed the Universal Mail company.

The company got back to me quickly and said that it was extremely unusual for this to happen and that they would “investigate” what happened. As an additional bonus they would reimburse me for the stamps I paid for.

I am glad that they are going to reimburse me, but I am still feeling aggrieved about my postcards. I want to resend some postcards to these people from Australia, but as I have yet to leave Townsville, I will have to wait until I go to a more happening place.

So if you haven’t gotten a postcard yet, one will come eventually! (And possibly the original one from the lovely land of NZ!)

Here’s an example of one of the postcards I sent; I think it’s really funny!


Driving Manual

Picture This:

March 10th, 2010. It was 11 pm and Marieke wanted a Mcflurry. I needed to practice my manual driving skills, so we hopped into her car and sped off into the night. Okay, not really.

I managed to back out of our long driveway alright, but in the midst of switching from reverse to 1st gear, I killed the engine. It’s so easy to kill the engine driving a manual because you need just the right amount of pressure on the gas pedal before you can completely release the clutch or else it dies. Having driven an automatic for the 3+ years that I have been driving, it seems so strange having to worry about moving both the left and right foot in perfect harmony so the car doesn’t die or make funny sounds.

Once I restarted the engine, we were off down the highway. It was my fourth time actually driving Marieke’s car, and she told me that she was impressed how good I was at manual driving for a beginner because when she started she was really bad. I told her that’s because I actually know how to drive an auto and if it hadn’t known how to drive one, I would be just as bad as she was when she first started driving.

We managed to make it to McDonalds without incident and with me shifting gears most of the time instead of Marieke who in the other lessons did it for me while I got used to pressing the clutch and gas pedals.

When we got there, we met our friend James who said that this McDonalds ran out of ice cream for Mcflurries and he and his crew were going to another McDonalds(aka Mackers in Australia) for some. Marieke and I decided to follow in his car, which made me kind of nervous because it would be the first time driving further than that McDonalds, and I would be driving on major roads no less. Good thing it was so late at night and there was practically no one on the road which made me less nervous.

It actually wasn’t too bad driving there and then home, though for the most part our friend’s car was far ahead of us. Marieke had to help me out more with shifting gears, especially when we were turning in intersections.

The scariest parts were the few times when we were stopped at a red light and then it would go green so I would try to take off, but I took my foot too fast off the clutch and the engine would die, which meant I needed to start the car again. Luckily, in these moments there were no cars behind me otherwise I would have felt a lot more freaked out than I was!

Overall, driving on the left side isn’t that hard because it make sense to drive on the left when you are sitting in the driver’s seat on the right. There’s also a ton of “KEEP LEFT” signs which reminds you to stay on the left. The difficult part is learning how to drive manual and luckily, I’m left handed so switching gears with my left hand doesn’t feel too strange.

I can’t wait until I feel more comfortable driving manual though!

Marieke’s (and my) car!

Things I’ve taken for granted:

1) Cooking
While I know the basics of how to cook things and do so at home, it has not been until now that I have really had to cook a lot for myself. I’ve concluded , over the past few weeks, that cooking a good meal can be such a pain!
Take today, for instance. I decided I wanted a meal involving chicken and avocado. So after I got back from school around 7pm, I took out chicken breast from the freezer and started to defrost it. However, the chicken breast I wanted was completely frozen to another piece of chicken breast, so I had to wait for it to defrost slightly before I could pull the two apart and put the other one back in the freezer.
While I was waiting on that, I decided to make a salad so I wouldn’t eat myself before I could cook the chicken. Since two of my housemates, Marieke and Dayal, also decided to cook at this time, I had to wait around to use the limited cutting boards and sharp knives that came with the house.

Finally, I made my salad, ate it and moved on to cooking the chicken which I defrosted in the microwave before frying it a giant pot which I had to use because Dayal was using the only skillet. I also fried up some onions to go with the chicken. As it turned out, the avocado wasn’t ripe so I ended up just having the chicken, seasoned with mustard and curry powder, and the onions.

All of this, hindered slightly by my housemates, took about an hour and half and this does not include to the time I had to spend washing up which I will get to later.

After having to do all this for a yummy and simple meal makes me further appreciate all the people in my life who have ever spent time making me dinner, simple or special, because making dinner can really eat up a lot of time!

So time for the grateful shoutouts to all lovely people who have ever cooked a nice meal for me, in particular: Mom, Dad, Laura, KKy, Mr. & Mrs. G, my aunts and uncles, friends and their families, and of course, Chef Rose Dolly. Thank you sooo much!


2) Dishwashers

We don’t have a dishwasher in the house. This isn’t a problem because it’s very easy to wash dishes by hand. Yet, I don’t think I appreciated the convenience of having a dishwasher and just popping dirty dishes in it and running it as I go about the day instead of having to take extra time out of my morning before I go to school and washing my breakfast dishes. Feel lucky to have one.

3) Laundry Dryers
We also lack a laundry dryer here. For the most part, Townsville is super hot and humid so things dry quite easily on the outside line. But, then we get those cloudy, rainy days when I’ll really need to do laundry and then I will have to hang my things on various chairs and tables inside because we don’t have a portable laundry rack yet and hope that it dries soon. I also miss how clothes feel after they’ve been dried in the dryer versus the air.

4) Car
Like I mentioned in my last post, it gives you so much freedom! Also, having an automatic car, because manuals are a pain to drive!

I have wheels!!!

My friend Marieke just bought a car today so now we can road trip places and not have to spend forever on the bus! Yay!!

One of the things I have missed most since I’ve been here is my car. Townsville is pretty big, “the biggest tropical city in Australia,” and because the public transporatation here is not that great, its hard to go out and do fun things without having your own wheels.

But, now we can actually go out and do things! So excited! 😀

Recap of my first days in Townsville (1)

At last my password has been reset and I can log into this blog again!

In my last blog I left of having already moved into my house here, but I guess I should explain how that all came about.

The day I left Christchurch I spent all day either on a plane or in the airport because I had to go from Christchurch to Auckland to Brisbane to Townsville, with fairly long layovers in Auckand and Brisbane. Finally, I got to Townsville around 9:30 at night, picked up my suitcase and got free transportation (provided by my school) to the hostel I was temporarily staying at until I could find permanent housing.

After about a twenty minute drive, we pulled up to my hostel which had no lights on. There was a sign on the door to call the caretakers, which we did and shortly a man came out with a key to my room which I would be sharing with another girl. She was also an intenational student, from Germany, who happened to be studying at JCU for five months like me.

The caretaker showed me where I would be staying and the first thing I when he opened the door was that this place was kind of like a dorm in set up, with a big kitchen, tables, and a living room area with the rooms off down a corridor. Sitting at one of the tables was a super blonde girl who was to be my roommate. She introduced her self as Marieke, which is pronounced like “Mar-ree-ka”.  But, since I never heard that name before and she didn’t say it slowly, it went completely over my head and I decided to avoid saying it as much as possible.

I unpacked a bit, it was so nice to have an air conditioned room because it was very humid and I was wearing jeans (good for the airplane, not good here) and then I went out to talk to Marieke. It turns out that while she is from Germany, she is actually studying in Holland, and her school and JCU have a partnership program which is why she is here. So not only is she fluent in German and English, but she’s also fluent in Dutch! Makes me wish I was fluent in Spanish!

We hit it off really well and decided that we should maybe try to find housing together, since we knew we would get along and “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t kind of thing.”

The next day we decided to walk to the nearby shopping mall, Stockland, to pick up some groceries for the next few days. The walk was about 15 minutes and it was one of the worst walks I’ve done in a while. It was disgustingly humid out, two seconds out of the door and already we were dripping with sweat as the sun intensely beat down even though it was only like 9 a.m. Finally, we got out of the sun and into the shopping center only to find/ remember that it was Sunday and Valentine’s Day as well, so none of the shops would be open until 11 am.

We ended up going to McDonalds right next to the shopping center and sitting there in the AC for two hours until Stockland opened. Once it opened, we found out where I could get the cheapest phone to use while in Australia, which turned out to be a $50 unlocked phone I could use anywhere in the world as long as I buy a sim card for whatever country I happen to be in.

After we got some more groceries, we walked back to our hostel before we later caught a bus to the first welcome sessions for international students. They gave us packets of information, like how to log on the different students sites JCU uses eand tips to adapting to life in Australia. Then Marieke and I went home to cook dinner.

Our plan for after dinner was to go to McDonalds and use the free wifi there to look at houses to rent, because we were going to have someone from JCU drive us around to look at places at 1pm the next day. However, we just decided it wasn’t worth the walk in the humidity and we could just wait to do it the next morning.

(Cont in part 2)

Townsville- 3rd Night

First  time I’ve been able to update this blog since I left for New Zealand. Internet in New Zealand is super expensive, $3 or more and hour, so I was using that time to talk to my family and catch up on important emails.

It’s Tues 11pm here in Townsville, which means back home it is 8am Tues morning  back home. Right now I am sitting with my new roommates watching pair figure skating at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It’s weird to think that many places in the world are innudated with snow, while I am boiling to death here in Townsville, with weather in the 80s and the humidity rate about 90%. It’s horrible; worse than VA in the summer, and I came here to escape the weather in VA.

There is so much to write about, but I have to wake up semi-early tomorrow to go to “Uni” and hopefully get a free bus tour of Townsville (maybe see the beach for the first time!)

Hasta Luego.

Ready to Fly

I have about 2 1/2 hours left before I need to be at the LAX airport before my flight to NZ leaves around 11:30pm. I can’t believe that my time in LA is already up and I am about to hop a plane to the other side of the world.

Yesterday was the first gorgeous day since I arrived, so I made the most of it by catching brunch with a family friend, then walking along the marina before hanging out on the marina beach for an hour and a half.  

After that my cousin took me to Abalone Beach, which is a beach that has a lot of tide pools. Unfortunately it was high tide when we went, so no tide pools, but seeing the giant waves was very cool. I did managed to find a starfish andsome sea urchins so the trip wasn’t just about the waves. We stayed to watch a beautiful sunset, though next timhen we are going to check if the tide is coming in or out.

Sunset @ Abalone Cove

Sunset @ Abalone Cove

When we got home, we went out to the Cheesecake Factory with my cousin’s roommate. I was suprised to find that they have valet parking for it, along with many other restaurants along the marina. The food was delicious and we came home soon afterward and hung out for a bit before we went to sleep.

Today was another sunny day and I got lunch with my cousin and another family friend on Abbot Kinney street, which is a bohemian street that has a lot of interesting shops in downtown Venice Beach that. After lunch, we came back to my cousin’s apartment and packed my bags in preparation of the flight. Now I only have a few more things to throw in my backpack before I am ready to go.

I am definitely not looking forward to the 14 hour flight. Luckily, I changed my seat so that instead of a window seat I have an aisle seat and will be able to get up an stretch my legs whenever I want (unless the “fasten seatbelt” sign is on). I hate having a window seat when you are sitting next to strangers because then I feel like it’s a hassle for them when I ask them to get up and move.

I wish that one of my family members or friends could have come to NZ with me, but I know that I should make a fair amount of friends on the tour group I am going with.

Next time I write, I will be either 14hours (NZ) or 16 (hours) ahead of everyone on east coast time!