The Finale

June 21st

Main walkway on Sydney University campus

Finished my finals today! It felt so weird being in school still when the rest of Bryant has been done for over a month. The finals weren't too bad for the most part, but we'll see how the final grades come in. Australian Universities scale grades based on how students in the course do overall, so it may take a while for the final grade to come in. Anyways, I have 6 more days in this magnificent country! I can't believe how fast time went by, and how soon I will be leaving all my new found friends. We will all soon depart this country or remain in Australia in the case of the Australians. Soon I'll say goodbye to everyone, but we'll probably meet again someday, and I am proud to have crossed lives with all these people from around the world. It's been quite an eye-opening experience, and all sorts of emotions will bubble up when I see it end, but before we say goodbye we still thankfully have six glorious days to enjoy!

Cheers!


Jono

Welcome to Uni

Feb 15th

The Main Quadrangle

Woke up for orientation early, and walked over to campus. The campus is very walkable! It takes a maximum of ten minutes to get anywhere on campus. We started off in the great hall in the most stunning building. It looks just like something out of Hogwarts from Harry Potter!

Outside Sydney University's Great Hall

In one lecture we got to pet dingos! This is probably the only time I'll ever get to pet one, as they are wild animals, and native only to Australia. I went over to visit friends at St. John's college. They have quite a nice building complex as well.

In the night I befriended some Aussies, and hung out with them for a bit. They seem pretty cool. They were very inquisitive about American culture. They proclaimed themselves to be wannabe musos (musicians). They thought I was the first nice American they had met in a while, and in typical Oz style they nicknamed me Jono.

Keep it level!


Jono De Costa

Finally in Sydney

Feb 14th

My flat

Flew out to Sydney and took a group coach to Sydney University Village. The complex is rather charming with a main gathering area, a convenience store, and a bar. My room is bigger than my normal dorm room, and is on the 4th floor. It has a larger bed and it's own private bathroom, so not bad.

King Street is literally at my doorstep! It is comparable to a Harvard Square trendy college area, only it extends about 2 km. There are a ton of trendy bars and restaurants lining the street.

I walked a 15 minute walk to Broadway, another street lined with shops, and bought some kitchenware at Kmart. I ended up putting everything in a shopping trolley and taking it home. The trolleys don't go straight forward, they kind of go sideways down the road.

The walk to broadway was all along Syd U. It is the oldest university in Australia and certainly shows a colonial architectural influence to back it up.

Later in the night I went to an Irish pub and got a schooner of Carlton beer (very good). A schooner is what they call about 20 fl oz of beer, so the mid-ranged size below a pint. Australians seem so relaxed. I love this city so far! They have no problem stopping and chatting.

Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of cockroaches around....

Keep it level!


Jonathan De Costa