E: On top down under
PRACTICAL INFORMATIONE-mail: sstorvoll@students.latrobe.edu.au.
(sindre4u@online.no still works, but due to fire wall restrictions it’s harder for me to operate through that one).
Norwegian cell phone number (which still works for sms, but is too expensive (for me) to be called at): (0047) 97574849
Telephone (on the floor (sharing with 8 other friendly students)): +61 3 9479 1017
Australian cell phone number: +61 432 054 045
Time difference: +8 hours vis a vis Noraway
MSN: sindre_storvoll@hotmail.com
Adress:
Sindre Storvoll (10CG)
Chisholm College
La Trobe University
Victoria 3086
Australia
AUSSIE LIFE IN PRACTICE
Gday, mate!
29 really long hours were spent traveling continuously from Oslo down under. But since July 12th I’ve been bouncing happily around in Melbourne. The city is vast and pleasant (http://www.visitmelbourne.com/). Public transport like tram, bus or train, can in less than an hour, bring you to La Trobe University (www.latrobe.edu.au). On campus is the accommodation arrangement named Chisholm College (http://chisweb.chisholm.latrobe.edu.au/internet/). In room G on the third floor in tower 10 i hereby type these words.
First day of school occurred Monday. My schedule consists of Journalism Production Workshop, Media and the Spectacular, Spanish beginners and a petite “research methods in health science” subject (Am. English: class)(5 credit points) to fill up my needed 60 credit points per semester. The norm of teaching is one hour of lectures and two hours of mandatory tutorials per subject per week. I believe Spanish will be most demanding, but I’m genuinely interested in talking español. Wednesdays and Fridays I am off.
Most impressingly was the Welcome Week Orientation Festival before school started. The university had set up an extensive introduction to the country, university, city, culture, slang etc for all us new international students. Such a thorough and social prologue into student life I haven’t heard about anywhere else. (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/international/supportservices/wf.html).
Still as fresh resident, I have already come across a neat volleyball team, a bible study group, church (Bundoora Presbyterian) with its own church soccer team.
Life is good and people nice. Heaps of activities have explored, and about all of them have been wonderful, but I’m aiming for moments to really think through how I am, why, and reflect a little on life. The lack of this probably eased the transition to settle in here though. The last couple of weeks the names of about at 1000 people have passed through my auditory canals. Only a few names have returned (so far) to take part in my memory. The fellow humans I’ve met are mainly (international) students, fellow residents and the different team mates. Most time I’ve spent with four other girls from Mexico, Thailand/US, India and Malaysia. The party of us five have been a lot of fun.
Kangaroos and koalas have been observed. Driving on the left side of the road has been tested. The “winter” down here is more wet than cold. Other than that the differences aren’t bigger than for me to truly enjoy myself.
More comprehensive sign of life, pictures and hopefully a form of home page will be accessible in not too long.
E-mails and questions will be received in exhilaration.
Down there,
Sindre
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