Homecoming and other stuff

Homecoming week has been and gone and I barely noticed. Fascinated by the tradition as I was, I asked dozens of people what the celebration was all about and nobody had any idea. As far as I gather, it has something to do with sport and it involves “pep rallies” and the marching band going at it pretty hard.
So … in the spirit of the period I went to an ice hocky game, which was violent and hilarious, and then I went to a football game which was boring and confusing. However, I DID get some awesome team spirit t-shirts with the UMass “Fight Song” printed on the back, for FREE! And some coloured streamers to cheer with, for FREE! It was great, I was decked out in my school colours and had a photo with the team mascot, “Sam the Minuteman”.
Also, I’ve been given back a few mid-terms and some essays and I’m a genius!! I haven’t received any less than 91% for anything, which is exciting. Obviously the marking here is a lot easier. But I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m feeling rather smug.
It’s starting to cool down quite a bit too. One of the main reasons I decided to come to UMass was so I could experience the cold weather, but I guess I didn’t plan ahead properly. I’ve had to add a lot of warmer garments to my wardrobe, which is fun, but of course, not the cheapest activity I could partake in. On the quasi-up side, I doubt I’ll have to buy any snow gear. I’ve been told it won’t start snowing until December or January. I wanted to see some snow here desperately, but now I’m thinking maybe it’s a better if I don’t. Because if it gets any colder … I might die.

New York! New York!

I LOVE New York City. It is soooooooo my kind of place. It has been the most awesome place I have been to so far.

One of the friends I went with is a transfer student from Sarah Lawrence College which is in a little town called Bronxville which is about half an hour outside Manhattan and her super generous friends at the college put us up in their dorms for three whole nights for free!

I’m glad I went with locals too, because there was no way I could have navigated the Subway system and if I’d had to travel by train alone, I would have rocked up to Grand Central station, had a look around and cried. The size of the city and everything in it is indescribable; I was in complete awe the entire time.

The concert was on little Randall’s Island which is in between the mainland and Manhattan and the buses to and from the event were perfectly organised, we didn’t have any transport problems at all. And my goodness, it was one of the best concerts I have ever been too. $40 got us a mini outdoor music festival which started at 3pm and went through til 11pm and which showed four other bands before the main act. It was a brilliant bargain and a fantastic time.

We spent the whole next day exploring and shopping and eating and doing some of the crazy touristy things I had been hoping to do since I first conceived the idea of travelling to NYC. We ate giant pretzels in Times Square, wandered around Central Park, ordered bagels with thick inch cream cheese, imitated Woody Allen’s voice, and took photos of anything and everything that I had ever seen in a movie. It was so much fun.

Of course it was impossible to see it all in one day, so I will be returning soon enough, and next time, I will actually be able to ride the subway!!

I just LOVE New York.

I heart UMass

So by now my life at UMass has become infinitely better than before. Classes are still too easy but I have decided to consider this a blessing because more spare time equals more travelling opportunities!

My friends and I have discovered the most gorgeous little town called Northhampton and I have fallen in love with it. It has beautiful stores, beautiful restaurants, beautiful old buildings and monuments, a fantastic chocolatier and the best part – espresso bars that aren’t Starbucks. It’s heaven and it’s only 20 minutes up the highway from Amherst. Since the bus is free, I am sure I will be spending a lot of time there.

Also, I recently found out that the school’s gyms are free for undergraduate students! When I was surprised by this I was told that this is quite normal in American state universities, so hooray to exercise! “Get stuffed” I hear you say all the way from Aussieland, but keep in mind, you won’t be preparing your own meals and who knows what kind of saturated fats are drenching the foods at the dining commons at universities all over the United States. Exercising is essential for exchange students in my opinion … I can just imagine the “fat Americans” comments I would receive from my friends if I put on weight while I was over here – I won’t let it happen!

And more fun! I have been to some absolute killer parties in the last fortnight. Apparently Thursday nights are THE nights for going out here (weird, huh? I should be out buying shoes on Thursday nights!) AND!! My NYC trip is just around the corner … I could not possibly be more excited without bursting.

Until my valiant return from the city that never sleeps.

My Slump

Wow. Classes are really easy here. I know this is a terrible attitude to have, but only three weeks into the semester I feel like I could scribble my name on a piece of paper, call it an essay and get a decent mark. There is so much homework that seems pointless to me and I have mini tests coming out of my ears that I don’t study for and still get 100% on. I have the distinct feeling that I’m going to struggle to keep myself motivated here, because it appears I will be without challenge all semester. Plus, I’m only taking three classes here: 2 x 3 credit classes and 1 x 6 credit class. The norm is to take four to five 3 credit classes, so I have so much more free time than my friends and my roommate. Since I have no job here (not that I would recommend getting one) I’m bored out of my mind and have been occupying myself by shopping myself into oblivion. So now I feel like I’ve spent a million dollars, and I still have nothing to do and I miss my mummy :(

What’s really weird though, is that I’ve really only know my “friends” here for three or four weeks and it would be really weird to hug them (the arm around the shoulder in photos is still a bit awkward) but my godfather, I would kill for one of those giant rib-crushing, lung-wringing, eyeball popping cuddles right now; it’s been at least 5 weeks since I had one.

And although I’m sure many of you will feel the same way while away from home, please don’t be an idiot like me and compensate for your lack of bodily contact by buying a stack of useless crap … it doesn’t even work, and I put quite the hole in my ‘budget’ and now I own a bunch of books I will never read, an embarrasing amount of souvenirs and a mass of clothing I will never be able to transport home.

Of course now I have decided that organising a trip to see a concert in New York City will do me a world of good and I do believe that getting out of Amherst for a while is exactly what I need. So I have put my faith in NYC that it may momentarily relieve me of my slump in excitement about being here.

Updates on their way!

First Week of Classes at UMass

I finally met my roommate, Kika, who is a blast! She took me to a nearby theme park called Six Flags with her friends the day before classes started and it was awesome. I’m really stoked that I ended up with someone decent to live with because after speaking to some of my friends from Orientation it seems that quite a few have ended up with complete duds who won’t even bother to speak to them! I get the impression that making good friends with roommates is a good move for Exchange Students, since having the opportunity to socialise with them can help you to make other friends and to really immerse yourself in the culture of the uni and the country.

I’ve heard some horror stories about this school though … apparently they’re beyond crazy when it comes to sports and last year when the Red Sox lost the World Series there was a massive riot on campus that resulted in cars being overturned and random objects being set alight. Also, I’ve been warned never to go down some path called the “Rape Trail” for obvious reasons, although if I do, or if I have, I wouldn’t have a clue, because I have no idea where it is, and strangely enough, neither does anyone else. Oh! And apparently underage drinking is a massive problem here (the campus has been nicknamed ZooMass Slamherst) and the school has its own police force equipped with cars, dogs, horses and a helicopter in an effort to clean up the school’s reputation!

On the academic side of things, the classes seem relatively easy so far and it’s been VERY easy to make friends in them - the Aussie accent can charm anyone anytime apparently. Let’s just hope the semester continues in this fashion!!

One last thing – if you’re a tea drinker, you will need to go shopping for proper tea bags (not the ‘herbal’ type filled with colourful dried flowers and sticks) because apparently they don’t serve normal tea here!! I miss my Dilmah! And the coffee here is not espresso topped with steamed milk like we’re used to back home; it’s all brewed and kinda tastes like dirty water. Luckily there’s a Starbucks on every other street corner…

Until next time, ciao!