Arrived Sydney and Macquarie

We made it! We arrived the land down under on Thursday (February 20th), and time has flown by since. Haven't been able to write any updates due to lack of internet connection. Sorry! 

The flight from Singapore to Sydney was actually quite enjoyable. For some reason we were upgraded to World Traveler Plus, a class between Business and Economy. Being upgraded on a long flight is like winning the lottery; more space, better food, wine glasses made out of actual glass. Overall a much more enjoyable experience! Watched a movie, ate dinner and had some wine, snoozed an hour, and suddenly we were in Sydney. 

For the next 5 months we will be living in Macquarie University Village. The Village offers apartment-style accommodation on campus. All the apartments are furnished, and every room has their own bathroom. Yay! Isabelle and I were debating whether we wanted to live closer to the city or on campus. It's about a 35 minute commute to the city center from Macquarie. In the end, we opted for The Village just because we thought it would be easier to socialize with other people, and we wouldn't have to commute to school or buy tons of furniture.

Isabelle and I requested each other as roommates, but we arrived too late for this to be arranged (school doesn't start until March 3rd, how are we late arrivers?). We were almost a little shocked when the girl said we wouldn't be living together. Anywho, we live in separate apartments with 4 other people. I'm pretty sure we'll survive having to walk three minutes to see each other (so far we have been fine).  

The apartment is pretty decent. Spacious rooms. I'd guesstimate that the size of the room is about 14m2/150ft2. We live on the East side of The Village, which is known for being the party side. We've heard the West side apartments are much nicer, and the area is much quieter. We probably would've preferred being on the West side... Oh well, I can pretend I'm 19 again, and away from home for the first time. This will be fun! 

Bedroom: 

Common area: 

Dining area: 

Kitchen: 

For those of you who want to send me mail, my address is: 

Unit 8/122 Culloden Rd 

Marsfield NSW 2122 

Australia 

Haven't seen too much of campus, except for walking through it on our way to the train/mall. From what we have seen though, it is really nice. The buildings are relatively new, and there's lots of green grass everywhere. It reminds me of a typical American college campus; a place where people not only attend lectures and study, but also a place to hang out and utilize for social events. I'm looking forward to exploring it more. 

It is relatively expensive here. Still cheaper than Norway, but isn't everywhere cheaper than Norway? The currency is Australian dollars, and one dollar is 5,49kr/90¢. The money is plastic-y, kind of like the Malaysian bills. Not quite as Monopoly-looking though. They have a lot of coins here, some of which are actually worth quite a bit. They have $2 coins! I'm used to American coins being worth very little, so it's interesting being able to buy something with all the change weighing down my wallet.

We needed to get bedding, dishes, utensils, and other household items. We headed to where all Scandinavians would go: IKEA. The closest IKEA is in a suburb named Rhodes, just six stops away (you have to switch trains in Epping). From the train station, IKEA was only about a 7 minute walk away. Very convenient! Horrible walk home with our heavy bags through... The Macquarie train station is about 15 minutes from The Village. 

The benefit of Isabelle and I not living in the same apartment? We could buy the exact same things. Bedding, dishes, lamps, fake plant... Our bags were totally identical. Oh no, wait, we bought candles in different scents... Besides that, identical. We're pretty boring. 

Our other shopping destination has been Macquarie Mall, right next to the train station. Here they have lots of shops, a big grocery store, restaurants, a food court, movie theater etc. The grocery store, Woolworth's, is pretty amazing. Nothing too fancy, but it's just like a regular grocery store in the States. Great selection compared to Spar and Kiwi in Norway. 

We've also done some practical things during our first days here. We both signed up for Vodafone, so we can use our iPhones here. Unfortunately, my iPhone is locked to Telenor (Norwegian provider), and I need to hook it up to my Mac before I can unlock it. Hoping that I will be able to do that tonight, so I can reconnect with the world (and not have to sit at the mall to check my email, call family, etc).

Also signed up for an Austalian bank account through Commonwealth Bank. I was surprised at how easy that was. All we needed was our passports, and we were good to go. Everything is free, and there are no limits because it is a student account.

Time to end for now. Just wanted to write a quick update before heading to Bondi Beach with Isabelle and some of our new friends. Yes, we have managed to make friends since we've arrived. More about all the social stuff later! 

Love, 

Suzy