School and Kangaroos!!!

Dear followers,

On August 15th, I will have lived in Australia for one month.  It's hard to imagine that I'm living in Newcastle, Australia.  With only having classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, it seems like a vacation.  I have kept myself busy by surfing, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the sites of Newcastle. Don't worry though, my first goal is school.

School:
Its the start of week 3 at the UNI and I'm excited for what classes will bring.  International Finance is exciting and I hope to further my knowledge in the financial world.  Business Venturing is also exciting because I get to see if my ideas for businesses can work.  I am a little upset thoough because my tutor said we can only have $50K in investment, no more debt or financing.  WTF!!, you can't start a restaurant for that.  The third class, Intro to Aboriginal Studies doesn't interest me what so ever.  It's just a waste of class time that could be spent on classes that are important and count.  I can learn about this stuff on the internet, the only reason why I'm taking this class is that it's required for the program.  Other than that, classes are going pretty good.  I think my experiences in Minnesota and Platteville has prepared me for life in Newcastle.

We did celebrate Autonomy Day on Friday, August 9th.  Autonomy Day is the day the University of Newcastle gained their independence for Sydney University.  Students start drinking as the sun comes up and continue all day.  I was no exception, I stayed over at a friends house the night before and we got up so we could see the sunrise over Nobby's Beach

We started with a couple glasses of wine with a beer and headed to the Bar on the Hill, which is located at the UNI.  After paying $10 for entry fee, I meet up with some international friends and we continued to drink and have fun.  Around 2, I went back to the apartment and caught a few zz's, especially since I only had 4 hours of sleep the night before.  After my rest, I thought it was best to head to the MoneyPenny for a drink by the harbor.

Kangaroos:

On Sunday, August 8th, the Study Abroad group and I went to Oakvale Farms to check out the local wildlife. We had the opportunity to feed kangaroos and we also had the opportunity to pet them.  The farm also presented the opportunity to walk among wallabies, which are small kangaroos.  They didn't like humans very much, they jumped away.  The farm also had dingoes, birds, camels, water buffalo's, and a peacock.

Shout out to my MOM, this dish comes from you;

Cooked sweet potatoes w/onions and cheese
Chicken Fingers with a red pepper

and take and bake bread