By Megan Hitchcock (University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia).
Sorry for not writing for a while, the last few weeks have been pretty crazy. Having decided that I had to start acting like a true ‘Aussie’ I decided what better way to do that then do what all Aussies, well most Perth Aussies do anyway, and make the all important trip to Bali. I spent my mid semester break in Indonesia (incorporating Bali & the Gili Islands) just over a month ago now, and wow it genuinely was ten days in paradise! Just when I thought the study abroad experience was getting that little bit too hard, and I just HAD to have a break, the postcard-like beaches, the clear blue sea, the massages, cheap cocktails and snorkelling with sea turtles really did seem like the fitting break I deserved… haha. I went with 8 other friends, all also on exchange, and had a great time.
If I thought getting back to Perth was going to be in any way disappointing, I was proved wrong. In the weeks since my return from paradise I have been very busy with lots more fun things including ‘girls night’ and my college ball, both of which are a big part of Australian college life. Girls (and boys) night is a night which involves the girls from college going to an ex-residents girls house and the boys doing the same separately and then meeting up at the end of the night. It involves lots of antics including games and challenges and is generally a lot of fun. The theme for us girls was ‘LBD’ – Little Black Dress, so finding the perfect LBD at a little shop in Bali worked perfectly! After that, the next event was the college ball, and weren’t we in for a treat! My my myyyy, Australian colleges really do know how to put on a ball! The night started with photos (of course) in our quad, with us all dressed up after hours of ‘ahhh what dress am I gonna wear?!’ and making sure no one was wearing the same dress and then we were off to the ‘secret location’. The location of this event was in no other than a restaurant on the 33rd floor of a skyscraper building in central Perth. With a 360 view across the whole of the beautiful city, and a revolving floor, it really was spectacular. The night consisted of a lot of champagne, an incredible 3 course meal, lots of dancing and lots of silly photos in the photo booth, before continuing the fun at an after party. I am still amazed at just how incredible the whole event was! To top off the frivolities for that week, the day after the ball was ‘recharge carnival’ at college – hot tubs, a bouncy castle and slush puppy machines, what a perfect way to recover! All in all if those few events were anything to go by – yes, college over here is pretty expensive but they do use every cent of money to make the whole experience worthwhile!
Since then the fun has died down for a while, I’ve actually had a lot of uni work to do (which seems to surprise everyone at home) and so have had to focus on that. However, I have managed to have work breaks at the beach – life ain’t that bad! I have started a job babysitting for a local family two days a week, which I absolutely love. The kids are 3 months, 18 months and 3 years old, so definitely a handful but as the mum is around too, I’m just another pair of hands and someone new for the kids to play with! The 3 month old is just starting to recognise me, and now smiles when he sees me and starts to giggle – definitely a wonderful moment when that first happened. Other than that I’m just getting towards the end of semester and exams – scary stuff.
Will post again soon X