School & Lunch

What a difference a full night of sleep makes! I am pretty sure I didn't move an inch last night. I also definitely did not hear all of the apparently peculiar animal noises in the middle of the night, apparently. The hosts had warned me of the strange sounds heard at night by the wildlife. But did I hear anything? Nope, not one sound. Though when I did wake up, I heard some very odd sounds outside of the window. One bird even sounded a bit melodic and beautiful.

I was really proud of myself for having gotten up on my own volition at what I thought was a very early time, 7am. But when I got headed to the shopping centre at 9am, I realized that I was actually late compared to the rest of the population! People were eating some kind of lunch at 9am, reading newspapers and chatting with friends. Others were walking through the mall, looking as if they had been awake for hours! I am not talking about a handful of people here, either; a lot of people were apparently halfway through their days already! And I found out that is not terribly far from the truth here; because the sun rises at a skull-splitting 5:30am, Brisbane tends to get up early and gets things done. I also think people here might all be morning people, as they were all friendly and bubbly...compared to the nocturnal Yours Truly who cannot form a coherent sentence until 10am (at the earliest).

The flip side to this observation is obviously that people in Brisbane go to bed much earlier. In fact, from observations and conversations, Brisbane is a sleepy city after about 5pm! Most stores close up around 5pm, as people make a B-line home once work is over. This news is especially unsettling for me, as I am really only fully functional at around 5pm, and really enjoy being active and involved in community things in the evenings. What will I do?! I guess it'll make me learn how to cook better and focus on my studies (and my blog posts). I'm trying to find the silver lining here.

Anyways. I got to the end of the shopping centre to the bus station so I could make my way to the University of Queensland; I had a number of errands to fulfill before Orientation Week happens. Getting there took close to 1.5 hours...but not because the school is that far from where I am. Instead, it was because I thoroughly confused myself about how the bus system works here.

Public transport is very convenient in Brisbane in the sense that there are available buses everywhere, they get around quickly, and the drivers are very helpful should you be lost (ahem). But it is a ludicrously expensive zoned transportation system ($3.40 to school from here, and it's only an 18-minute ride)! And if you don't have the entire city's system tattooed to your arm, it can become quite a struggle to figure out how on earth to get where, and how. Fortunately, a nice bus driver explained to me which bus numbers I needed, and where, and I finally made it to UQ.

I arrived at the relatively quiet and pastoral area, and I was kind of surprised. UQ is a real campus, for real. Like, really a campus. With a quad and a student union center and trees and everything! Perhaps you are thinking, "Well, Kim, what did you expect?? It is a university, after all." But I went to school in NYC, where a traditional campus wasn't possible. And I loved that I wasn't at a campus setting. However, for the next year or so, I will be strolling through a campus campus, and living the life of a student who goes to a campus campus regularly. With quiet streets and student-run stores.

Walking through the campus, I started reflecting on where I was, compared to where I have been on my life journey, to date. It makes me wonder, am I going backwards? Am I going to be the oldest person in my classes? The people around me outside looked so YOUNG! As if they require an adult escort through the big maze of buildings. These feelings of going backwards and being among youngin's was not helped when I went to a campus introduction session. The friendly presenter shared information about student groups, and added that they "even have one for mature students, over the age of 23 years". 23 is mature here!! Oh goodness.

I did make two friends who are fellow "mature" students at that session. A beautiful Saudi lady (Aya) and a kind Miami native (David). We looked at each other with grim smiles as the lady mentioned their special network for us elderly folk. We chatted afterwards and tried to find our ways around a small part of the campus together, which made me feel more confident in making friends here. It's funny to me still that every time I move abroad, I end up knowing more fellow foreigners than I do locals. I have to move to the other side of the planet to hang out with a Miami and a Saudi. As the youth might say in their common vernacular, smh.

Here's something that will likely surprise not just me: the campus is riddled with ibis. IBIS! I was really startled to see a long arching beak pause in front of me on the way to the session. I thought it was a one-off chance until I got into the session. Apparently these ibis are royal pests and bully students all around the campus. The lady warned us of the ibis taking liberties like sucking milkshake glasses dry while students are eating lunch. Or even stealing a sandwich out of a poor person's hands while in mid-chew. There are a number of other birds who frequent the campus and threaten students' meals on a regular basis, as well, including turkeys and ducks. Once leaving the session, I actually saw a number of ibis terrorizing a couple hungry students.

Oh boy, this is not going to be like my other college experiences.

Aya was sweet and invited us to her apartment for lunch with her and her husband. At first I thought, Idon'tknowshouldIisitsafeIjustmetthisladyanhourago? But then I remembered the first rule to moving abroad solo: say yes. So Miami David & I both went to her place for a Saudi lunch in a beautiful apartment near the school. First off, the food was phenomenal - it might have been simply rice&beans, but it was so tasty she ended up packing the leftovers for me to bring home. I begged her to teach me how to cook. It was also nice to meet new people and get to know them over a meal. Unfortunately for them, my toilet enthusiasm *may* have come out during our conversation.

But these people are really great and I enjoyed myself. David and Aya have been here for longer than me by weeks/months, and were really helpful with advice and offered to support me however they can while I get settled. That is something awesome and heartening. And I got leftovers!

When David & I left and headed to the nearby train station, I chuckled at how all of the kids I saw at the bus/train stations were in these odd school uniforms with very wide brim hats on. He explained to me that in Australia (all of the country? I don't know) they have a school policy called "No Hat No Play". Basically, the UV rays here down under are so intense and dangerous, that kids at school cannot play outside during recess unless they have their uniform hats with them. And let me tell you, I get it; the sun here is serious business. Today the UV Index was at 13, or "Extreme"; for comparison, the UV in the Mediterranean is usually at 9, which is considered "Very High". Someone will burn in 30 minutes at UV 6. Stores have long aisles of sunblock options because people will fry like a crisp under the sky during the day. I myself bought a floppy hat today just to protect myself more from the unforgiving sunlight I've felt pelting down on me the last two days. I may be wearing SPF50+, but I can already tell this is where I need to really work hard to protect myself from melanoma.

I got back to the apartment before the sunset, and my host took me out for a brisk walk around the area. Or, I should say, a hike. We ambled up some very steep hills. But it was pleasant and the fellow passerby's smiled and greeted us upon intersection. As much as I don't like suburban life, I do like the friendliness I've experienced so far here.