O Week at ICMS

Hi everyone!! I figured I would post about orientation week before I go on the surf trip this weekend!!

On Sunday we flew from Cairns to Sydney. It was a quick flight in comparison to the previous ones - plus I slept almost the entire time. We took a coach bus from the Sydney airport to the ICMS campus in Manly. It was an amazing drive - went past the Sydney Opera House and crossed over the Sydney Bridge for the first time!! Absolutely wonderful. We arrived at ICMS, and just like the the pictures show - it truly is a castle! Our first stop was getting our room assignments. I am in in the 200's - but that is actually on the third floor. My view is gorgeous! It is the town of Manly, and then on the one side the harbor, and the other side it is Manly Beach. I could not ask for anything more! Right now in fact I can see some big waves hitting the beach.

That night I explored the town of Manly for the first time. The ICMS campus sits on top of a giant hill. We walked down to the beach, and walked along the shore (staying away from the jellyfish of course!). Then we explored the little shops of Manly, and bought TimTams at Cole's (not to be confused with Kohl's at home.. this Cole's is a grocery market.) Walking up the hill is quite the hike! We are all going to have ridiculous calves by the end of the term.

On Monday we didn't have anything planned. I got my uniform that morning - boy is it snazzy!! (sarcasm) The options for girls are either skirt or pants, jacket, short or long sleeved white button down shirts, and a cravat (a tie for girls). I opted for the short sleeve shirts because it's summer! And the skirt as well.. but that is mainly because the pants were too long (surprised?) and I don't want to pay 16.50 to have them hemmed. I went up and down the hill a few times that day to go into Manly, it's always worth the trip up the hill, but boy is it tiring!!

Tuesday there was not much planned for us either. We had a quick USA study abroad meeting, and then Mary, Olivia, Mike and I went down into Manly to take the bus for our first trip the Warringah Mall. We went to Target which seems more like a department store than the Target back home. I bought a new pair of flip flops and some sale pantyhose to go with the uniform. I stopped at the Camerahouse because my camera battery charger wasn't working.. buying one was pricy but it's worth having all the photos!! I also got a fan (which is now making funny noises, lovely) and a hair dryer from Myer (like a Macy's). That evening we had a College Welcome Ceremony at the Chapel on campus. It's got really pretty stained glass - no wonder there are so many weddings here with the great chapel and beautiful view! After that there was a cocktail party out on the front lawn, and many people went to the Shark Bar in Manly afterwards - fun night!

Wednesday I had Official Enrollment which just consisted of paperwork, and then a group of girls went down to the beach. It was incredibly hot just laying out, so we would go into the water to cool down. I wasn't even out for two hours, put sunscreen on twice, and still have some random sunburns on my body! Just shows how strong the Australian sun is and how often suncream (as it's called here) needs to be applied! We had a floor meeting that night which took way longer than any other floor meeting I have had. Afterwards, our class schedules were online, so a bunch of us tried to figure out those! I have the best schedule ever! I am taking Service Management, Intro to Hospitality, Intro to Sport Management, and Contemporary Health Issues. I start Monday at 10 and my week is done Wednesday at noon. =)

Thursday was a packed day! We had a meeting in the morning, and then went to a surf safety session! There we learned about the different types of waves, how to get out of rip currents, and the dangerous animals in the ocean - also how to treat jellyfish stings! The most dangerous animal is the blue ringed octopus, it can be fatal if they get you, but they always live in the rocky areas so I'll definitely be far from any rocks!! We then went out to the beach and learned how to paddle on surf boards. At first it was hard to stay balanced, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It was good practice before we go out this weekend on the surf trip! That afternoon we had team building - my group was the ducks and we were undefeated in all the events - tug of war, an inflated obstacle course, and volleyball using a giant blow up ball. It was pretty fun. That evening we had an "Aussie Party." There was trivia and prizes, and also a couple of trainers came with some dangerous animals. There was a spider, some snakes, a couple of different lizards, and a baby alligator. I even held a snake!! (I know.. right?!) But really it was tiny in comparison to the big snake and baby alligator.

Today I met with the Functions Department. I will be volunteer interning there to get some experience and see how functions are run. There are many weddings here at ICMS, so I will be helping out at those, and seeing the behind the scenes work at the functions office. Later this afternoon we have a Professional Performance session, and then we are going up the coast for our surf trip!

Surf's up!