Day 6: That Thud You Just Heard...

…was me falling back to reality. After spending the first four days of my summer in Las Vegas and spending the first five days here in Sydney sightseeing and traveling, I almost forgot there was work to be done this summer. I guess that is why they call it the Sydney INTERNSHIP program and not the Sydney DO NOTHING BUT TRAVEL AROUND AUSTRALIA ON CAPA’S DIME Program – Purdue needs to look into starting such a program.

So today was my first day at my internship site – Macquarie (if you know how to pronounce it, you’re ahead of me) University (Australian say “Uni” because it is cooler and they have a sweet accent, have I mentioned that before?). I think I am really going to enjoy it. I am working in their student experience programs. It deals with everything that is NOT academics; since I do everything but academics (kidding mom and dad) at Purdue it is a perfect fit. My bosses, there’s 3 of them refer to their office as “Fun City”. Needless to say, I am looking forward to working in fun city. After a brief interview/meet-and-greet/me being in awe of their accent, they gave me a tour of their Sports and Aquatic Centre. It is much like a recreational sports facility you would see in America. Perhaps a little smaller and there aren’t as many basketball courts ☹. And in Purdue’s case, Macquarie’s Sports Centre is about 120342810 years newer. C’mon Purdue, my dad used the current co-rec in 1932 (I’m kidding I think it was ’46 ☺). The Uni completely remodeled their facilities two years ago so they are all very nice. They have an outdoor pool that sits in the side of a hill that is probably the highlight of the facility.

After a tour of the sports centre, they gave me a tour of their Campus Hub or what we would call their Student Union. The bottom floor was offices and study areas, the second floor was a very nice food court, the third floor was some more study space and a café, and the fourth floor was a …….drumroll…….bar. Yeah, read that again, very slowly. There is a bar. In the student union. Reason #412 why we love Australia. The University, which is funded by the state, has a bar IN their union. The university hosts a semester-end party in three weeks. Guess what I got invited to? They use their money to host a party at a bar for all the students. Why has this trend not caught on in the states? No, seriously, why not? After they revived me and picked me up off the floor, my tour had pretty much ended. I am really excited to get started…tomorrow. That’s right, I start work tomorrow. I really do think I am going to enjoy it.

I also had my first class today. I am taking intercultural communications because it will help me receive credit towards an international business minor. It is actually going to be pretty enjoyable. My professor, Dr. Felicia Roberts, is from Purdue and extremely interesting. She actually studies linguistics, which means part of her job is studying accents. Anyway, the class is going to be fun and I am looking forward to it.

I am even more excited for the Rugby match I am going to tomorrow. I picked up a Sydney Herald (newspaper. They still exist) today and read the preview. Apparently, last year’s match ended in a brawl and there is still a lot of hatred and unfinished business between most of the players. Every Aussie who has found out I am going has done nothing but talk about how big of a game it is and what the atmosphere is like. I have been to a lot of big sporting events. It will be really interesting to compare this to American events. I am sure my next post will be all about it – get excited all you Rugby lovers.

Sorry I have no new pictures for you. I will hopefully get some pictures of The Uni tomorrow and be able to share that with you. It is a very nice campus. A lot different than West Lafayette in looks and smells (you’ll only get that if you’ve been to Purdue). Well, that is all for now.

Cheers!