According to the Study Abroad Office I have a 4000% chance of getting accepted to the Australia college in Melbourne that I am applying to. So…it looks like I’m going abroad next semester. I’m going to try applying to an Apple Store for a job when I get there as well. I have a lot of paperwork to take care of for classes to make sure they count toward my major and GEs. I’m also going to start looking into loans and scholarships. Scholarships don’t look promising but there is one tuition assistance program that I’ve applied to through New Paltz. I am continuing to enjoy my first year of college at New Paltz! I CAN NOT WAIT TO GO ABROAD! This will be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.
Over the weekend I took my first trip out of the CZ, to Vienna! The weather turned out to be phenomenal, and there were no delays in transit. The hostel we stayed at was very nice, and modestly priced at 15 euro a night. The staff was very welcoming, and we made good friends with the bartender. Much of the time spent out and about was in museums. Normally I’m all for it, but it seemed some of the dragged on due the the shear size of the buildings.
We went to the Museum of Military History in Arsenal (my favorite one, lots of guns), Belvedere (which had the painting of Napoleon on his horse, amazing), and the Hundert Wasser house (most of his paintings are abstract, but his architecture ideas are brilliant). Belvedere consisted of a couple of gardens, one of them being massive, many statues and sculptures, and the museum inside. While we there there the sun was shining all day, so it was quite relaxing to roam around the garden as the clouds strolled by.
My only qualms with the trip would be lack of planning on our part. The city was beautiful, although rather flat. If anyone goes to Vienna, I highly suggest saving the museum trips for Sunday because, most of the town’s shops and activities are closed then. Unfortunately we made the mistake of doing museums Friday and Saturday and looking around town Sunday. It seemed a bit rushed but all in all I had a good time.
As the first week of the semester has blasted off with me grasping for the edge of my seat, I have had a difficult time trying to find some way to sum it all up. With overwhelming emotions, as a result of uni life and the extremely high costs of everything, here in Perth, it is difficult to be completely positive. I have fully enjoyed my first two weeks, from the orientations to the people and great friends that I have made; however, I knew there was more to come: not just great and exciting moments, but also the stressful and very aggrevating moments. By having a full plate, with classes Monday through Friday, I am struggling to find time for job; something I am required to do in order to cover my living expenses. The seemingly “low cost of living” in Perth has now presented itself to me as deceiving, and according to many people that live here, it is in fact one of the most expensive places to live in Australia. Cheaper than Melbourne or Sydney? Not so true.
I’m sure this will all be worth it, but for right now I have to pay for additional class activity fees and purchase geology equipment that I am expected to already have for labs and field trips. Seriously in search of a job…
On the other hand, I have been working on my tan a bit, even with a ton of sunblock, and was able to attend a day at the beach with some friends, Sunday, before the commencement of the semester, with which comes the drastic decrease in my freedom.