Top 12 Songs Found in Australia

So why did I choose 12? Well 12 is my lucky number so I’m thinking you’re about to listen to 12 awesome songs because you were lucky enough to read this!  Below is a great list of songs ranging from hip-hop to dance/techno.  I found all of these songs while in Australia, mostly by hearing them at the club or on my friend’s computer.  Let me know what you think & please remember to vote on you favorite song at the end! They are in no specific order.

12. Havana Brown – Run the Night

@djhavanabrown

 

Rain, GO AWAY!

It’s been raining here for days.  I’m not talking about a little here and there. I mean straight downpour! The thunderstorms have been pretty cool to watch and I feel like I’m in a tropical storm with all this wind. I’ve basically been stuck in my room watching Alcatraz and reading Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie (owner of TOMS shoes). I rented Alcatraz on my plane ride from Charlotte to LAX and instantly fell in love with it.  It’s entertaining and only $1.99/ episode on iTunes. I have been reading a lot too.  Since December, I’ve picked up 3 books (that’s a lot for me lol) and have been reading about entrepreneurship. As I’m double majoring, my degree in business is only for general business administration so I’m trying to teach myself about entrepreneurship. I’m reading about success stories and starting to gather my thoughts about creating my own business.

I’ve been recognizing lately that I really do like my alone time, but I get a little depressed.  I know I do it to myself, but I find it relaxing to be alone. Of course I’m first in line to do anything with friends, but I’m not really going out to find people.  I think all this rain has just done this to me for the last week, but I need the rain to stop. All of my shoes are wet, I don’t have an umbrella, and to top things off, I’m drenched when I go to class. <— Annoying!

The positives:

1. I booked my flights & accommodations to the Whitsunday Islands & Sydney
2. I’m currently planning a 1 week trip to New Zealand with friends
3. Classes are pretty fun so far
4. I’m stocked up on food!

 

Update on Life

Well today is beautiful once again, but I don’t want to go out.  I need a break from laying in the sun and staying out late.  My sleep pattern is slowly getting better, but it is still off.  I can only sleep until 8am and then I just force myself to get up.  The birds are so loud here it’s almost impossible to fall back asleep.

The last 3 days I’ve gone to the beach twice, visited Kondalilla National Park, and went clubbing twice.  Fun life, but a hell of a lot of walking. I really like how there is more walking in Australia compared to the states. I’m sure the scenery and weather helps make it easier to walk here.  My friends and I walked on Mooloolaba beach for almost 3 miles until we caught a bus in the middle of some small town.  I was exhausted and my ankle was swollen from twisting it on the first day here.  I don’t think I mentioned that, but for a quick FYI, I’ve been limping around in pain..

Kondalilla National Park was so cool.  We hiked down the mountain to the bottom of the waterfall and then hiked to the top.  When we arrived at what seemed to be everyones favorite location, we jumped in the water and swam for an hour.  It was freezing, but it felt good.  I’ve never swam in water that felt so pure.  I do have to admit that I was a litter nervous for some Australian animal to sting or bite me, but I saw absolutely no signs of life in the water.

One of my favorite things about this trip is how unpredictable your daily schedule is.  I’ve planned on staying in, or going to the pool, but end up going to the beach or on a trip.  It seems like nothing really has to be done that very second.  This is a huge difference than the US. Everyone really is laid back here.

One last comment.  I can’t believe how expensive everything is here.  I’m starving because I haven’t purchased enough food and I’m still adjusting to actually cooking my meals, not just microwavable meals.  Do you know of any good recipes that are healthy and quick to make? Let me know.

USC Campus Orientation

This campus is sick! I’m very impressed with how well kept everything is.  All of the buildings are modern and very colorful.  USC doesn’t seem real to me, but it’s a place to study haha. There are palm trees everywhere and kangaroos in every courtyard! It might take awhile to get used to, but I can see myself doing well here.

Orientation: I have to say “O-week” is not great. It’s stretched to 7 days and all the information isn’t that important to me.  I also can’t believe they aren’t giving us name tags.  There are too many people to keep track of and to remember their names! One thing I do like, is how friendly the staff are.  They seem happy all the time and extremely outgoing and approachable.

I’m not happy to say this, but I won an eating competition yesterday at the pool party USC held for us.  It was disgusting.  I had to eat 2 candy bars, a cereal bar with Vegemite (NASTY) and a cookie with whip cream.  I did all of this to win a $20 gift card that I actually never received. I walked away laughing and in search for a drink. Vegemite is awful.

After the pool party, we through a pool party for ourselves back at UniCentral (our apartments) that was awesome.  It looked just like that new movie that’s coming out with the kid who wants to be know/cool.  Everyone was out of control and having a blast.  We later cleaned up and jumped the fence to Varsity apartments to join their party with a DJ.  It was EPIC. Everyone had their own dance styles, which was very entertaining. These kids go H.A.M. here.

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UniCentral

This place is beautiful. I feel like I’m at a resort.  Moving in wasn’t too bad.  The staff are friendly and I got to meet my roommates right away.  The Sunshine Coast is perfect for me.

So far, I’ve hopped on the bus to the beach, went shopping for necessities, bought a nice bottle of Bacardi and had an epic night last night.  My favorite place so far is Mooloolaba.  It’s literally a beach town you would see in a magazine/ movie.  The town is fully of life and a pretty diverse crowd.

My advice for anyone studying abroad in Australia is to relax.  Living is so easy here. The only downside that I’ve experienced so far is how ridiculously expensive everything is in Australia.

My goals for this week:  1) Meet new people,  2) find a kangaroo,  3) buy a cell phone, &  4) find a small job

Leaving the States

I left Macungie, PA pretty excited.  Now I’m 56min away from landing in Brisbane and I’m freaking out (in a good way).  Everything so far has gone so well.  My flight to Charlotte, NC  felt like the longest 2hrs ever, but this 14 hr flight from LAX isn’t that bad.  I’ve met a lot of cool people so far and have enjoyed all my conversations with them. In Charlotte, I boarded a plane and got stuck near a baby.. Yeah, I was thinking fml, but it ended up being ok.  I just realized I’ll never have kids haha. No seriously, it was fine.  The guy next to me was cool. He told me about living in Venezuela and why he was traveling.

Flying to LA was actually pretty much a highlight of my trip.  It was my first time to the West Coast and even though it was at the airport, I had a chance to go outside to switch terminals.  LA seemed too crowded, but I’d give it another chance since I was at the Airport.  Let me take the time to say LAX is retarded.  What airport make you leave to get into another terminal!?! Not very efficient is it..

Anyway, after a bite to eat at a poor serviced Chile’s, I boarded my first Quantas Airlines plane.  I have one word to describe the airline: Awesome.  I’m on flight QF16 and enjoying my seat back at 64C. (Thanks Queens.. First Class next time?)  Luckily, I sat next to a friendly Australian.  Paul was cool as hell.  We ordered Bundaberg Rum and got to talking about Australia and what I’ll be experiencing during my 5 months away.  We laughed about a bunch of stuff for a while until we both clocked out.  At that point, I’d been up for about 20hrs and still had a flight across the Pacific Ocean ahead of me.

10 hours later I’m writing this. Quantas really made a good impression on me.  Free food & drinks, and yes I mean alcoholic ones too!  Their staff was awesome (even though one guy spilled water on me) and really laid back.  To pass the time, I watched Real Steel, American Horror Story, listened to some music and played  Where’s My Water  for over 5 hours.  It’s a great game, check it out. I’m really not sure how much I’ve slept, but it’s enough to get me through another day.

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I just traveled to the other side of the world.  We’re getting ready for landing so I have to go, but before I go, let me give you some advice. Travel! Study Abroad!  Follow your dreams!  Go visit somewhere that you’ve always wanted to see. It’s been 2 days, but I can already tell this has been worth the time and the money. Until next time, where do you want to travel to?