Yea, the sun sure is different down here. Or maybe its the fact that I have ooober white skin? No, I think its the first of the two. The kids out here wear shirts to swim because it is so intense. I can walk to school (which takes only around 10 minutes) and be pink like a little piggy in no time. I am definitely getting some good color! I have super funny tan lines though. Well right now they are burn lines, but I have all confidence it will turn into a tan eventually, right? I really need to start remembering to put on that sunblock before leaving for the day!
Two nights in a row I slept all the way through without waking up once. I thought I was over the jet lag phase, and then last night I woke up not only once but twice. Once at 1 in the morning and again at 6. After that time I said forget it and started to read some manuscripts.
Thats the benefit of living with your professor - it makes you stay on top of your shit! haha We are meeting tomorrow to prepare for our honours projects this year. Basically in school we have to do a full research project in the matter of 10 months. On top of that, we are also trying to finish up the P31 study that we have been working on for the last year. We are hoping to get it into the 'Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport' that is in October this year!
Yesterday we had orientation for school - it is going on all week long, but as 'Mature' students, we don't really need to attend all the fresher stuff (and by fresher I mean freshman). We went to an International Student welcome meeting yesterday. That was dumb. Then we went to a talk for students living off campus - that was way, way better. We got the ins and outs of things around town - how to live cheaper as a college student, where the good 'hotels' are to go, so on and so forth. Very valuable information for someone like me. Plus all of the O week leaders who were there seemed really cool, so I joined their group to hear about whats goin on and what kind of stuff they are doing.
We got 'show bags' with a bunch of flyers in them. There is one for joining a rowing team. Baller! I am so excited about it, I think I am going to go see what its about! I also spoke with the girl about the gymnastics job and I am going to go in and shadow on Monday. She already had me on her roster for work. Sweet! It probably wont be a ton of hours from the sound of it, but she wants someone to help her with structure and planning stuff too, which I can do so that will be a little bit of extra income. There might be some opportunity at the Anytime Fitness too, just doing admin stuff - which I'm not opposed to as it will give me a free gym membership and money money too!
I joined - well actually I haven't yet, but I am going to join (as soon as my debit card comes in the mail, because I have to make a donation) the Bathurst Anytime Fitness Relay for Life Team. For all my Team in Training people out there, I have asked around and it sure doesn't exist here. Hmmmm maybe some thought for the future?? Team in Training in Oz! I'm likin it! Anyway, I figured the Relay for life would be a good way to get involved and meet people! Plus, it's a fundraiser for cancer. How could someone be opposed to that?
Leaving you with some odd thoughts - here is what I saw walking across campus yesterday. Magpies. They are alllll over the place. They are like Australia's version of a crow. Parrots - the bird looked like a parrot anyway but is actually called a Gallah (it took me a while to understand what Dr. Robergs was saying when I asked what they were called - I made him spell it for me because his accent didn't do it right). They are grey with a bright red chest and white on their heads - really pretty, apparently not to the Australians though. I also saw this strange flamingo-ish looking bird (much smaller but walked the same and had longer legs, well not longer than a flamingo, just unproportionally long for its body size). It was black with a bright bright yellow beak. Also, while walking on campus I have a tendency to drift to the right hand side of the path when people are coming my way - that must be an automatic give away that I am an American, dammit. The way we do things over there is really screwing with my head! On a good note, I have almost trained myself to look to the right first everytime I cross the road. It has decreased the number of times I have to check for cars from 17 to about 8; and I am still alive! Haha. Cheers!
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