Susie's Australian Adventure

Hey Everyone!!  From Feb. 10th-June 30th, I'll be studying abroad at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.  I figured this website would be the easiest way to share my expierences and pictures with everyone back home.  I'll be updating this at least once a week while I'm abroad.  If you want to keep track of updates easily see below.

This site was last updated on:   Sat July 8th

My journal was most recently updated on:  Sat July 8th (This is the last one!)

Pictures updated on:  Sat July 8th  Final posting!  Now they're all up  (see http://community.webshots.com/user/saevans02 )

Australia is the world's smallest and oldest continent.  It is also the world's largest island, and is about as big as the mainland USA.  The population is around 20 million. The landscape is very diverse; more than 70% of the country is arid, however the country also contains rainforests, tropical beaches, glacial landforms, flood plains, and has 47,000 km of beautiful coastline.  The world's largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef, is located in the northeastern part of the country.  There are over 3,000 national parks and reserves.  The country is home to many unique animals, such as the kangaroo, platypus, and koala.

The country has a very multicultural society, with over 135 different cultures.  The Aboriginal people are believed to be the world's oldest continuous civilization in the world, and have lived in Australia for around 60,000 years.  The British settled the area a little over 200 years ago, and it became an independent country in 1901.  There are 5 states: Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria where I'll be living. 

Melbourne is located on the southeastern side of Australia, on Port Philip Bay.  It is the capital city of the state of Victoria, and for the last two years has been voted the world's most livable city!  It is the cultural and corporate capital of Australia, and is also home to sporting events such as the Australian Tennis Open, the Melbourne Cup (a horse race), the Motorcycle and Formula One Grand Prix, and this year's Commonwealth Games (for more on these Games see the "Links" tab, located on the upper left hand side of this site). 

The city has a population of around 3.5 million.  Less than 2 hours away is Bell's Beach, home of the famous Bell's Beach World Surfing Championships.  Also nearby is arguably the most beautiful coastal road, Great Ocean Road.  Wilson's Promontory, also known as the Prom, is located close by as well.  The state of Victoria has 35 National Parks, ranging from semi-arid desert climates to lush rainforest.  For more information on Melbourne see the “Links” tab.

I don't why it says "sponsors" under this paragraph, because I didn't add that in!!  I'm trying to figure out how to delete it, and if anyone knows how please let me know!!!

 La Trobe University was established in 1964, and is one of the largest and fastest growing government funded universities in Australia.  The main campus, Bundoora, is where I'll be studying, but the University also has 6 other regional campuses located in Victoria.  The University contains around 27,000 students, 16,000 of which are at my campus.  The Bundoora campus is located 8.5 miles from central Melbourne.  Traveling to central Melbourne from campus takes about 30-40 minutes by car or bus, and 50 minutes by tram. 

The campus covers around 500 acres of beautiful parkland and has its own moat lake system.  It is considered one of the largest and most beautiful University campuses in Australia.  It has its own Australian Wildlife Reserve on campus, and is home to numerous breeds of birds, animals, and plants (to see a live webcam of some of these animals look under links).  The campus is like a little community in itself, and has services such as cafes, bars, restaurants, hairdressers, travel agents, dry cleaners, a weekly market, banks, optometrist, cinema, theatre, numerous sporting facilities, and a post office. 

Dorms are called "Residential Colleges", and each college is made up of numerous small buildings which provide single dorm rooms.  I am staying at Chisolm College, which houses 391 students, with around 50% of them being international students.  The college is made up of 12 buildings that house students.  Each building is three floors, with generally 8 people living on the first floor and 12 living on the top two.

My first week in Melbourne I’ll be attending “Welcome Week,” which is like an orientation to the school and city.  The next week is orientation where I’ll sign up for classes, and after that classes start.  I’m not sure exactly what courses I’m taking yet, but since I’m already accepted for next yr and I only have 3 credits to fulfill, I plan on taking the minimum credit load with a lot of fun/easy classes!  Because I plan on having a lot of fun and not being in the library at all this semester!  My Mom said I better not back with a higher grade than a “C” because that means I didn’t have enough fun!!

For more information on La Trobe and Chisolm College see the “links” tab.