Going by standard convention, I have established the setting and must now introduce you to the cast.
First is me. You know me. That's why you're reading this.
Next is the flatmates, of whom there are three: Andrew, Lindsey and Sinead. We have a good group dynamic going. Whether it's walking home from the grocery store with two carts full of food, cooking hamburgers on charcoal that doesn't want to light, or inviting over Germans to hang out in our living room, we've split up tasks, cleaned, and kept each other company in the process. Within 20 minutes of my arrival (I was the last of the flatmates to move in), we had gotten out a bottle of wine and the guitar.
Outside our house, most of the American students are living on campus. We have spent many an evening trying to convince them to drop by. Many of the international students also live in the Student Village. Their flats seem nicer than the shoe box CU sardined me into my freshman year, but still possess the cold and institutional feel that dormitories are apt to. Other international students have been looking for places to live. Watching them struggle makes me ever more grateful for the way CIEE handles lodging.
All of the international students speak English to varying degrees. Most can carry on full conversations (I read somewhere that a vocabulary need have only 500-1,000 words to be functional, and I imagine many are in this range.) about the days events or rock 'n roll or where to find an inexpensive six pack. Their courses of study range from microbiology to computer science to English.
For this group of people, it can truly be said that the world is their playground. There is a vibrancy and energy to the group that I've never seen back home. The circumstances that brought us here dictate that common interests are the rule rather than the exception. I imagine a similar atmosphere at base camp on K2 or Everest. To bring together so many people with similar interests, tastes, goals, and experiences in a place far from home makes for one hell of a group.
Where, I think you must be wondering, do the Aussies fit in all of this? I myself have asked and am certain that we will find similarly minded Australians. As of yet, the only Australians I have met have been either teaching me or bringing me my dinner. The start of classes affords a great opportunity to start meeting some who are out for a good time. The Australians I've seen around town have been friendly enough that I'm certain I will soon be able to report all manner of awesome Australians.
I'm guessing I'll have to write about people again, but this is at least a good primer on the company I keep. What I'm about to say is a total aside, but I have to get it off my chest and I'm scraping for the kind of open-ended, optimistic, and (most importantly) corny ending of which I'm fond, so this will have to suffice:
The wildlife here is bizarre. I am in a place where birds sound like billy goats.
Outside our house, most of the American students are living on campus. We have spent many an evening trying to convince them to drop by. Many of the international students also live in the Student Village. Their flats seem nicer than the shoe box CU sardined me into my freshman year, but still possess the cold and institutional feel that dormitories are apt to. Other international students have been looking for places to live. Watching them struggle makes me ever more grateful for the way CIEE handles lodging.
All of the international students speak English to varying degrees. Most can carry on full conversations (I read somewhere that a vocabulary need have only 500-1,000 words to be functional, and I imagine many are in this range.) about the days events or rock 'n roll or where to find an inexpensive six pack. Their courses of study range from microbiology to computer science to English.
For this group of people, it can truly be said that the world is their playground. There is a vibrancy and energy to the group that I've never seen back home. The circumstances that brought us here dictate that common interests are the rule rather than the exception. I imagine a similar atmosphere at base camp on K2 or Everest. To bring together so many people with similar interests, tastes, goals, and experiences in a place far from home makes for one hell of a group.
Where, I think you must be wondering, do the Aussies fit in all of this? I myself have asked and am certain that we will find similarly minded Australians. As of yet, the only Australians I have met have been either teaching me or bringing me my dinner. The start of classes affords a great opportunity to start meeting some who are out for a good time. The Australians I've seen around town have been friendly enough that I'm certain I will soon be able to report all manner of awesome Australians.
I'm guessing I'll have to write about people again, but this is at least a good primer on the company I keep. What I'm about to say is a total aside, but I have to get it off my chest and I'm scraping for the kind of open-ended, optimistic, and (most importantly) corny ending of which I'm fond, so this will have to suffice:
The wildlife here is bizarre. I am in a place where birds sound like billy goats.
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