Assignments, Traveling, and Queens Street

Last week was slightly busy, I finally have been to all my lectures and tutorials. My first assignment was due last week and I'm hoping I get good marks on it; I'll be finding out on Thursday. I'm still getting used to things here and should probably start my paper/presentation that is due next week. On top of that I have a quiz in a week in the same class; this week should be pretty busy for me. 

So, a date has been set and plans have been made, we are going to Melbourne from March 31 to April 3. I'm pretty excited we are finally getting some traveling done. I've found it harder and harder to find days where everyone can go, definitely wasn't as easy as first anticipated. I'm still working on finding a weekend to make it to Sydney. There are a couple people on our floor who want to go to Fraser Island for like a weekend and we are working that out too. It would be heaps of fun, since we've all become really good friends and a camping trip would be nice. I want to go visit the Whitsundays maybe even sail them, but we'll see how that works out. I do still have New Zealand coming up before I head back to America, which I'm excited about. Fiji is about a month away and that should be a really fun time, super exited! 

This last week a bunch of us went to Queens Street and went shopping. It was a good time, I bought two pairs of jeans and a pair of dress shoes. Queens Street is pretty much their giant shopping street. It's pretty nice you can walk to all different stores and go into a mall like area and then go outside to the shops out there. It's in the heart of the city, so it's usually quite busy. 

We went to the valley this weekend too. It was quite the experience, even if we didn't really drink, everything is even more expensive there. The valley is where all the clubs and stuff are and downtown is where all the bars are; we spend most of our time downtown. This was the first time at the valley and my first time to a club and I enjoyed it.  

Oh, to wrap it up here I got tickets to the State of Origin game; it's a really big rugby game where Queensland plays New South Wales. They do it every year and it's a best of three; we are going to the first game. Other than that I think I've mentioned just about everything. 

Soccer Game

Last night I went to my first ever soccer game; it was the Brisbane Roar and boy did they roar. The game started at 4 pm and went to about 7 pm and was filled with all sorts of excitement. I went with 2 Australians and 2 other Americans and we decided we wanted to have some team spirit and I bought a flag and Dan got a scarf. The game started out just fine and it seemed like it would be an easy win for us. The first half ended scoreless and when the second half started it was raining.

The rain only made it harder for the teams to score. There was several close calls and for a moment I thought they were going to score. The closest coming at the end of regulation when they got a break away and were wide open for a shot and the whistle blew to signal the end of regulation. I thought we escaped a close one, little did I know it was only to get more interesting.

It turned into over time with two 15 minute periods and the winner at the end would be crowned champion. The first period started and it seemed like we had a chance to score, but the tables turned. The opposing team scored twice in the first period of overtime; at which point everyone thought it was over, I mean it was scoreless for 90 minutes what are the chances we get two goals in a period. The first period ended 2-0 for the Mariners.

At the start of the second period of overtime it seemed like it was over. The Roar didn't seem like they were into the game anymore and the Mariners were just wasting time. A ton of people were leaving with about 5 minutes to go and we also started to, but right when we got to the gate to leave we heard the cheering of a goal and a mob of us ran back in to see what was happening. To our surprise we had finally scored a goal, but we still had doubts with 3 minutes to go that we would score again. At this time we had perfect seats since we ran back in and got on the lower level. With one minutes remaining we got a corner kick and scored our second goal off a header!!! Talk about suspense this put us into penalty kicks and the rest is history.

Here is a link about the highlights totally worth watching so make sure you do it!

http://www.foxsports.com.au/Football/roar-comeback-to-take-title/video-e6frf423-1226020741232?subcat=1111112039253&site=FoxSports

Easter Break and School

It has been awhile since I posted last, I had a cold and am just getting over it now. So, to catch everyone back up, I forgot yo mention I was going to Fiji for my Easter break. We have it all planned and paid for it'll be two other Americans and myself going and we have 1 night on the main land and then 5 nights on Beachcomber island. I'm pretty excited for it everything is set for use just need to show up at the airport! I'm doing that on April 24th and coming back April 30 (my birthday). I'll still be able to celebrate my birthday with everyone here on campus in Brisbane, which is kind of nice.

On to what I've been doing this last week; I've had a nasty cold and thankfully it's about gone, I just have a cough every now and then. Last night we were going to go to Pizza Hut for their buffet somehow we got messed up with the buses at Mt. Gravatt and missed it, so we just went into the city and hit up Queens Street to find a place to eat. For everyone that doesn't know what Queens Street is, it's the main street in Brisbane where all the stores are and places to eat. We roomed around there looking for a place to eat for awhile; there were long lines everywhere, but we ended up settling for Pig 'n' Whistle. I think that was the name, don't quote me on it. It was kind of expensive, but we were all just hungry at the time and ordered anyway. I spent $20 for a burger and some chips (fries). Even with missing the bus to take us to Pizza Hut, I still think it was an awesome night. I'm just keen to go to downtown Brisbane any night. I like living close to the city; it's a nice change from living in St. Cloud where I have to drive an hour to get to a real city. There is always so much going on in Brisbane. After we were done eating we walked to Southbank and looked around; I took some picture on my mobile phone, but I'm still figuring out how to get them on my computer.  

On Friday we are all planning on going to Queens Street for some shopping; I mean we all want to look fashionable. I'm pretty excited for that, get me some Australian style. Tonight I'm going to a soccer game; I'm not that big of a fan of soccer, but I'm only in Brisbane once might as well do it all! I also am getting a fair bit of assignment in class and I'm definitely not used to it. I'm still getting used to the self-teaching aspect of uni here. 

I also just got a gym membership here too. Our floor has been pretty good about it and we usually go for runs  at night, so at least we are trying to stay in shape. I think I'm going to try to get a ticket to the State of Origin rugby game at the end of May. I think we are going to Sydney in a couple of week and Melbourne. Hopefully we can get to Fraser Island. I'll try to keep up to date with my blogs. Cheer!

Classes

Now that I have a week of classes under my belt I can talk a little more freely about it. The classes are just giant lectures most of the tutorials starts in weeks 2 and 3 so I'm still waiting to attend those. I'm more interested to see how the tutorials are and assignments. I'm slightly worried about the assignments I don't exactly know what they want. I'm hoping my professors will give us more detail on what they like, but I have a feeling that won't be happening. I'm going to give it my best shot and I still have to buy 3 more books, which is depleting my funds unfortunately.

I did have this mishap with my Corporate Finance class. Supposedly their corporate finance class and ours are different. The one here is like our Managerial Finance course or FIRE 371 for you SCSU people and Advanced Corporate Finance is the same as our Corporate Finance. I had to find a new class and go to the International Office and talk to the study abroad people to show to them that I have already taken the class. Once she agreed I was able to sign up for a different class nothing that I was really interested, because there was another prerequisite that she didn't know if I met or not. I ended up getting into International Finance, which is fine I'll live. I was worried at first, because the tutorials that were available overlapped a lecture I had earlier in the day, so I sent an e-mail to the professor asking if I could squeeze into a later one. He replied with a no and that I should keep my eye open for spots that may emerge. Well, that sucks is pretty much what I was thinking and I looked for a new class to take that would fit my schedule better. I found Sustainable Investing and this was the class I was referring to earlier that I needed another class as a prerequisite. The lady didn't know and told me to e-mail the professor of the class with the description of the class I had taken at SCSU and see if it was suitable. To sum it up the professor never e-mailed me back and luckily a tutorial opened up for my International Finance class. Even thought one spot did open up it now overlapped the tutorial to a different class; I took the tutorial anyway and was able to move the tutorial of my other class to an earlier time and now my schedule is complete. What does suck though is that I've missed the first lecture for my new class, we'll see how that goes. All in all it was a headache of epic proportions, thankfully it is over and I can finally focus on school.

Now on to my normal life here or what is left of it. Our whole floor went to the movie Unkown in Southbank last night and it was actually pretty good. Tonight I think we are all going to The Vic, but we'll see one of the guys talked about going to this backpackers bar, maybe I'll end up there. I don't have classes tomorrow, so I'll spend the day buying my last few books and doing some homework that has been assigned to me. Cheers!

What was anticipated

So, I've finally came across someone that simply despises me; not for who I am but from where I come from. I have to say it has taken me by surprise, it's not exactly someone you'd expect. I'm perplexed, surprised, astonished, bewildered, anything you could possibly think of. I mean I would never categorize a whole population based on stereotypes.  I've only tied to be nice and talk, yet I've been denied and bashed every time I've came in contact with the person.

This is really puzzling to be honest, I've always viewed myself as an open minded individual; where I put prejudices and stereotypes behind me to truly embrace an individual. So, when I come across someone so ignorant as to only follow the stereotypes then it puzzles me how one could live your life. To me only the uneducated make irrational decisions about other without meeting someone. I would never hate all Iranians or North Koreans; sure we have differences but almost always is because of the media bias. If you aren't willing to get to know someone because of where they are from then I have deep sympathy for you.

This is a situation that I have expected to come across; did I know how I would react, no I didn't. How have I reacted? I've maintained my sense of pride and compassion,. I won't stoop to the level that some of us have and throw hatred out there. I will leave my arms open in hope that one day they will see that we aren't all the way TV portrays us. In reality everyone should have a chance, different opinions, ideas, religions, cultures, should be embraced not hated. We are all people, here for the same purpose.

What my government does does now reflect who I am as a person, if you can't accept that fact and only see me for what America does then I'm sorry for you. If some how you have been done wrong by the U.S.A. then I apologize; remember it wasn't me, I didn't do it. Don't hate me for what my country did. If you want to hate me, hate me for what I've done as an individual . That is the only fair way, we aren't all perfect nor should someone ever expect us to be. We are humans prone to make mistakes, what differentiates us from others is how we react.

This may be my first experience, I doubt it will be my last. We aren't exactly the most beloved country in the world, but everyone should separate government and the citizens. We all deserve fair chances and that is all I'm asking for, a fair chance. If I've wronged you in away, then tell me. I didn't come here to anger individuals, I've came here to embrace the cultures and mold myself into a better person.

I don't want to be the stereotype, I'm not who you see on the TV shows. I came here to break the stereotype that was given to me. I'm not a stupid American, I'm intelligent, driven, hardworking and here to make a difference. If you stereotype us all you miss out on a generation that is accepting of others open to change and willing to make a difference in the world. To me that is foolish; we aren't your enemy I never did anything to you why punish someone for something they have no control over.

My words of wisdom:
Be who you want to be, don't hesitate, don't second guess, we live once take, advantage of every opportunity you have and give everyone a chance. You'd be surprised by the people you meet and where they are from, don't let stereotypes cloud your judgement of a whole society. You don't just miss out on all those wonderful people and the culture they are willing to share with you, but also the lessons you could learn. Life is a learning experience, not a challenge; embrace it and roll with the punches, you'd be surprised by what you discover.