Cray to the Zee

Crazy is the only way I can explain my Australian life thus far. It’s a beautiful kind of crazy. The one that throws you into all of those SUPER awkward and uncomfortable situations. The kind of crazy that let’s you be “you.” Cliche– I know…

There is not greater testament to a person’s strength than being separated from all they know and put into a jaw dropping crazy place. OK, Australia isn’t that crazy, but I cannot believe that I’ve been here for almost three weeks. During these three weeks, I’ve done so many firsts– I explained those in my last post, but Sunday night was a complete type of new for me. When I went away to school, I was homesick. Really homesick, but I was able to go home when I wanted to. I couldn’t the other night. I couldn’t even Skype home because of the 14 hour time difference. Sure, I’m sounding like a baby right now, but this past weekend it sunk in that I’m here for 17 more weeks. 17 more blissfully, hopefully crazy weeks. I quickly learned that being homesick isn’t an excuse to stay in your room and be antisocial, but I did it anyways. I needed it. Moving on… 

Although being homesick was a rough few hours, I got over it. It’s one of those things– I think I will always have an urge to be “home.” “Home” with my best friends and family… but that doesn’t push me into these uncomfortable situations that force me to relearn those social skills I had back in elementary school…

I’m sort of sad to say this, but I think I’ve learned how to be a human again. I’m rocking a Nokia prepaid phone, not my iPhone and I love it. I’ve been forced to actually talk to people. I can’t sit there and act like I’m on Facebook or Twitter… because everyone knows that my phone doesn’t have that capability. Here’s my beautiful phone…  Also, in Australia, WiFi is a rare commodity! I have 10GB a month to use on the internet… I thought budgeting money was hard enough… There goes watching countless YouTube videos or endless Skype conversations. I try to use my computer for the necessities… Like Facebook, duh. And once in a whileSkype. It’s freeing not to be glued to my phone– Not to be connected to the world all the time.

Whew. I advise everyone to try a one week cleanse from their smartphone. You’ll feel brand new and shiny.

To give me some constant balance in my life, I’ve picked up running (again)… If you know me super well, you know that I like to start things and stop them after a week… Well, I’ve been running every day for the past 2 weeks. Woohoo woohoo! Sort of walk/run for the past week because I strained something in the back of my leg.. near my ankle.. It doesn’t hurt anymore but my thigh hurts.. I started doing lunges. The whole reason I am starting to train is because being in Australia has made me realize that the choices I make are mine… I want to be healthy for my whole life and since I am never ever dying, I’m going to live to be real old (hopefully I’ll still look hot and young).

I want to run the Cleveland Half-Marathon next year. May 19, 2013… Mark your calendars people… I’ll be there, probably getting dragged across the finish line, but I’ve made my first long-term goal. The goal to become a half-marathoner.

Well, this blog really hasn’t mentioned what I’ve been doing… I’ll add that here:

1. I went to UnderWater World and saw a seal show… I got to cuddle with one.

2. I made new friends!

3. I bought a few postcards… You might get one…

4. I realized that I love cooking and I’ve decided that all my meals have to have at least 3 fresh colors!

5. Umm, there’s much more, but I have a really bad memory.

6. Hillary and I have decided to go diving (in a cage) in the ocean for a chance to get attacked by, I mean swim with the Great Whites while we visit Sydney!

7. The Australian broadcast of the Olympics doesn’t air any athletes unless they are from Australia… GO USA!

8. I bought floss because I’ve had the craving to floss.

9. If you want to send me any love letters send them to the following address:

 

Patrick Messenger

17 A/ 7 Varsity View Court

Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia 4556

Aussie love!

 

Still alive in Australia.

Whew. I barely made it! This past week has been a week of firsts…

1. Flying 14 hours to a place I’ve never been (Australia)

2. Crying my eyes out in public in the airport (embarrassing but necessary)

3. Leaving home for 4.5 months

4. Having long-distance friendships and relationship.

5. Dealing with a week-long jetlag.

6. Actually budgeting my money… Australia isn’t cheap and I have a long Australian bucket list

7. Going without a smartphone for the first time in 5 years… I sort of love it.

8. Cooking for myself –its tough to plan out meals and to realize how much a portion of “one” takes.

9. Laying on the beach… 20 feet away from the ocean.

10. Flushing a cockroach

11. Running 30 minutes a day (until I strained my achilles/calf, idk what I strained)

12. Getting attacked by a bird during a run… Yep, I hurt my calf sprinting away from the swooping bird…

13. Spending the majority of my days with complete strangers.

14. Sitting in a class with over 50 students in the lecture hall

15. Realizing that all risks are rewarded in life.

I never thought of myself as a risk taker until tonight. I was walking home from lecture and I thought of everything I have done… I had one of those philosophical moments– that’s another first. 🙂 and I realized that I have had so many opportunities because I have taken the risk to meet a new person, post a new blog or decide to pursue a dream.

I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I know some of the experiences I have had are due to the people I know pushing me and I am EXTREMELY grateful for those instances, but at the end of the day, it was always up to me. I guess being a risk taker means that I trust people. It is because of the people I know that I have had the opportunities I’ve had. So, I am somewhat contradicting myself… Woops. I enjoy trusting people. This is all coming from my last lecture, “Managing Workplace Relations”… I was bored so I started thinking about everything.

I can’t go through life thinking that I’m bored. I’m thankful for being bored. The amount of struggling that others have to go through– and I’m in Australia; the world is literally at my feet.

Everyone has always told me that studying abroad would change my life, and it has. But it isn’t the only thing. More than likely, if you’re reading this post, you’ve changed my life– even if we talked for just a minute.

A first is a first. My experiences, including my first week in Australia is a HUGE first for me. I’m still alive and I’ve never been so happy to be somewhere. i can only think of one place I’d rather be, but we won’t go there 🙂 I’m in Australia, HELLO.

This is my first “touchy, feely blog”… it might be the last. LOL

The sky’s the limit here.

First day of class!

Well, tomorrow is the day. My first Australian class– my first ever “lecture.” I’ve only been in classes that have less than 30 students and constant one-on-one interaction with my professor. I’m excited to see how the classes are.

I was going to blog about my first week…. but I’m speechless. Once I can put my thoughts into words, I’ll be blogging!

Best–

The first fourish/fiveish days! Jetlagged still.

I’ve been in Australia for four days and the time has flown by! I can’t believe that I left the United States almost a week ago. There have been a few moments of being homesick– like today, but nothing that a little Facebook and Skype can’t cure! Where to start…

My first night… I went to K-Mart and had Subway for dinner… Sounds Australian, right? Glad you agree. Haha, I right away met a few friends who needed to go to the store as much as I did, so we went. We had plans of going to get groceries to make food, but how could I resist Australian Subway!? For anyone who doesn’t know, I worked, breathed and loved Subway throughout high school and college breaks. Surprisingly, 6 inch subs are about 1-2 dollars more here than they are in the states ( I was expecting much more). Anyways, after we got done spending our money at KMart on those forgotten essentials such as toiletries, toliet paper, sunscreen, etc. we retreated back to our apartments and got wild and crazy. Not really, I was sleeping like a baby by 8:30 PM. I can’t even lie– I’ve never been so excited to sleep in my entire life.

Day two… I woke up well rested and ready to take on the world. Sort of. My body was still aching from sitting and standing for such long periods of time. I tagged along with a few friends and we went to a grocery store called Woolworth’s Sunday morning. I managed to only spend $50 on my first week of groceries. Lots of pasta and rice was bought– It’s difficult to plan all your meals and buy everything at one time. I didn’t want to have to walk back to the store multiple times, so I kept all of my food plans very simple. I did learn one thing… plain greek yoghurt is NOT tasty. Speaking of food… I’m addicted to these little chocolate bar cookie things called “Tim Tam”… I’m sure they are terrible for me.. but I’m in Australia. (That’s my excuse for everything here)

They also have caramel and dark chocolate flavors– I’ve had both. The original is my favorite.

After the Wooly’s, I returned home and unpacked all my purchases. I made some toast and had to contact the front desk. My internet was not functioning and all what I wanted to do was say “heyyy” to my friends and family and let them know that I arrived in Australia… Obviously my internet is fixed now and I’ve never been more appreciative of technology! — Sorry for that sidenote. After my delicious toast, I started walking towards a meeting point and was distracted by a girl on her balcony– Hillary! She invited me to go to the sunshine plaza with her and her friends. I graciously accepted and we were soon on the bus! We were entertained by a sleeping woman who was close to falling out of her seat until she fell on to the window and woke up. We felt terrible for laughing, but we couldn’t help it. Woopsies.

When we arrived at the Sunshine Plaza… we went straight to our Crazy John’s, a cell phone provider Down Under! If you don’t have my number– add it! +61 0450857842… Whew. Having a cell phone again is such a relief… even if it is a prepaid Nokia block phone… I sort of like not being connected 24/7.

After the plaza, our gracious Australian friend, Steele, took us to the beach! Mooloolaba.. The following are pictures of the beach… Ridiculously beautiful. PS I didn’t edit any of the pictures, au natural.

Funny.

**Please excuse the crappy layout of the pictures… I can’t figure out how to group them…
So, along with seeing these awesome views, we also checked out a bar! I order a MOJITO and whew! It wasn’t tasty but it did the job. When I originally walked into this bar (I forget what its called) I saw slot machines and after the drink I really wanted to play… The next picture shows you how I did!

That’s right!! I won $50 on my third try! Then I quickly walked away since my dad and brother taught me to walk away from a machine once you win! I’m keeping the 50 bill as a souvenir… unless I really need it for some TimTams! haha

The next night was TOGA night!!! Below are a few pictures of my friends and I….

Practically my roommates, but not.

Left is Alex from Denmark, then Hillary from Wisconsin, then Chris from Australia, then Diana from France!

Erin! She made everyone’s togas!

Best friend from Denmark!

From the moment we met, perfect.

My toga…

hahaha, no comment.

Last night was a quiet night for me– Erin, Hillary and I have decided to make meals together figuring this will make it cheapest for all of us in the long run.. We have burritos one night, tasty chicken the next and pasta last night! After dinner last night, we watched a bit of Finding Nemo and I felt so homesick for a bit– what a great movie! After that, I came back to my room with the intentions of taking a quick power nap to get me through the night and I did not wake up until this morning… Woops, but I definitely needed it. Jetlag makes me goofy.

I’ve been trying to maintain my running ritual, or should I say beginning my running ritual– 30 minutes a day. My runs never seem that long because I’m seeing so many new things. I still haven’t seen any snakes, lizards or spider. Thank God.

Until next time–

Pat

As always, if you want to share any travelers tips or anything fun that is happening in your life– do it!

I’m in Australia!

 

That’s right… I said GOODBYE OHIO, HELLO AUSTRALIA, clicked my fingers and I was magically in Australia. HA HA… Just kidding of course.

I still can’t believe it. I, Patrick L. Messenger, 21 year-old from Madison, Ohio, studying public relations at Baldwin Wallace University, is taking classes at the University of the Sunshine Coast from July 23 until November 23. This shit is cray. Speaking of cray (crazy for the older readers 🙂 ) my plane ride was SO long. I flew out of Cleveland, after balling my eyes out once I realized I won’t be able to see my dad in real life for 4.5 months… Nothing soothes my nerves like going through security scanners and waiting in the airport for four hours. It was just long enough for me to continually check if my passport and visa and plane ticket were still in my front backpack pocket. To say the least, it was my first time flying over two hours.

My first flight from CLE to LAX was a good warm up. The flight lasted a little longer than four hours and had barely any turbulence. It was perfect, I even finished reading “50 Shades of Grey,” yes– I read that book and blushed every time I turned the page.

I landed in LA at 6:30 PM, phoned my dad (surprisingly, the bachelor was still awake at 9:30 EST haha), and met up with a great friend, Chris for dinner in LA, we’re fancy.

After dinner and catching up, I returned to the airport, only to be greeted by a large line for security. I quickly passed through and hurried to the gate to meet up with the other international students heading to the University of the Sunshine Coast! Technology (Facebook) helped us all so much. It was nice to sit down besides a familiar face, even if the face was familiar because of my expert Facebook stalking. The 6 hour lay over flew by, and before I knew it, we were boarding the LARGEST PLANE I’VE EVER SEEN! It was a DOUBLE DECKER PLANE!

I’m such a tourist, I know… I hurried over to the boarding door, and scurried pass with my boarding ticket and got to my seat. I couldn’t wait to get to Australia. The energy in the plane was ridiculously contagious. Group flights are such a beautiful thing. I sat by two new friends, Josie and Ian during the 14 hour plane ride… I was on the aisle and I was so happy that neither of them had to pee that often– haha, thanks Josie and Ian! During the flight, QANTAS (the airline we flew) served wonderful meals and the attendants and pilots were so pleasant! It was a great start to the flight. Within two hours of take off, the excitement was murmured by all of attempting to sleep through the 14 hour flight. Most of us were successful. When I awoke from my pleasant 8 hour nap, I began watching a new obsession– Modern Family. What a funny show! Before I knew it, the sun was rising and what a sight!!

At 6:40 a.m. on July 14, 2012 I landed in BRISBANE– IN AUSTRALIA! We landed safely and us, overly excited students cheered when the pilot announced we were officially in Australia! We all rushed off the plane to baggage claim… Before we got to baggage claim we were greeted with duty free alcohol… how tempting– I resisted! After the alcohol showcase, a large line was forming to go through customs… I got my Australian stamp in my passport and rushed, again, to baggage claim! I successfully passed the drug sniffing dog and x-ray machines and went to the shuttle pick up… In the quickest hour of my life, I was dropped off at my flat at UniCentral– an apartment complex near campus.

Check-in seemed to take forever and jetlag was beginning to set in before I knew it… Once I entered my room, I met my 3/4 Australian roommates, but I didn’t stay to talk– I was starving and needed to buy some basic amenities at the store! We took off right away and got on the local bus that took us to the Sunshine Plaza. By the time I got home, it was 7:30 p.m. and I was ready for bed.

I might have teared up a bit when it finally hit me (again) that I won’t be home for 4.5 months and my internet wasn’t working, but I got through it and fell asleep. Boy, did I sleep like the little crying baby I am 🙂 

Well, that is it for now! Sorry– this is a sort of boring post… but hey, gotta start from somewhere!

Fast forward two days and I’m making more and more friends and Australians are showing me a few things about life (and partying). More picture will be on there way! I start classes next Monday– my schedule consists of

Intro to Journalism

Creative Advertising

Managing Workplace Relations

Managing Organisational Change **That’s correct spelling of “organisational” here! Crazy!

 

All my best and I miss you all!

Pat