So I finally made it to the place that's mattered the most - the University of Florida, in Gainesville.
It's been quite a while since my last blog. So much has happened and I've been so unbelievably busy having a fantastic time that I've really had no desire to sit down and honestly think about my experiences thus far, what it all means to me, lessons learnt, etc etc.
But I guess now after being here for ~2 months and settling in, I can finally reflect upon what I've discovered about not only college life, but about myself.
To start off with, I spent one week in Canada after my weekend in Chicago because in order to get my student exchange visa, I had to exit the country and apply for it outside of the US. There's literally no way around this law so unfortunately I had to give in to this inconvenience put in place by the US government (thanks guys!!!!!!!)
What I initially viewed as a complete annoyance, soon turned into gratitude. If it wasn't for this visa bullshit, I never would have come to Ottawa. But there I was, walking the streets of Ottawa at night, in complete awe of the city, fooling myself into thinking I was actually in France or something. I never felt this feeling hitherto and it's quite hard to describe - I felt these emotions stirring within me as I looked upon the gorgeous canals, set upon this beautiful landscape of greenery, castles, and old buildings, surrounded by French background chatter, street music, happy people everywhere. My eyes even welled up a bit as I walked about. If I was so taken aback by the atmosphere and architecture of Ottawa, I don't think I will ever survive Europe!
I decided to do a day trip to Montreal while I was there, seeing as it was only a bus ride away. Well - if I thought Ottawa reminded me of Europe, I was completely blown away by Montreal. I just cannot get over the beauty of these cities. On a whim I signed up for this day walking tour of the city, and ended up meeting some really interesting and funny people. My favourite couple ever hailed from Boston and possessed the funniest accents I've ever heard. The guy was just such a character, asking the guide (genuinely) ridiculous questions, commenting everything, even trying to steal vegetables growing from this ancient garden or someshit, and his partner would always be like "Come awwwn darl! Stawp being so stewpid!" - I just couldn't stop laughing around them.
I also made friends with these two guys from Iowa who I ended up hanging out with for the rest of the day after the tour was over. They were into street art so we spent a lot of time just walking the streets and taking photos. It was seriously such a pleasant day, and a pleasant week all round. I really enjoyed just being on my own for that time, as I was so used to being around people 24/7 for the past couple months, it felt quite liberating to spend some time travelling by myself. I know that I will for sure be back as I'm now inspired to see a lot more of what Canada has to offer. Plus I really really miss poutine.
Now, being in Gainesville is a whooooooooooole other thing.
Let me just begin by saying - I FUCKING LOVE IT HERE. EXCUSE MY FRENCH. BUT SERIOUSLY. I could not have asked for a better place to live for the next couple months of my life.
Being at College is like the movies. The campus is absolutely humongous, the buildings look beautiful, the weather is amazing, the professors are friendly and knowledgeable, there is an American flag at the front of every classroom, all the students sit at their own little individual desks (and are so friggen outspoken about everything! Talk about not being able to sit back and breeze through lectures anymore!), I pass a bunch of hippies sitting around singing and playing guitar under a tree on my way to class every day, bible bashers holding up signs saying "JESUS KNOWS YOU HAVE SINNED" and ranting about how we're all going to hell, protests about issues in the world, cute boys, super fit girls, tables set up trying to get you to join every organisation under the sun, Americans hailing from all over the country, not to mention............the NIGHTLIFE.
Holy crap. So Gainesville is pretty much split into two parts: Midtown and Downtown. Midtown is an easy 5-10 minute walk from campus. There are countless bars along here, all of course catered to students. By catered to students I mean.... there are certain nights of the week where drinks are free. No catch - you literally drink for free the entire night. Other nights, beers and wells are only 25c. Other nights, there are free tequila shots every hour on the hour. You get my drift. Once in a while I might wake up and see that I'd spent a whole $20 and ask myself- what the FUCK happened last night?!
Downtown is a short bus ride away and consists of mainly nightclubs which also hold drink specials as well, but not nearly as ridiculous as midtown. Still, it's nice to have a change of scenery sometimes!
I'm staying in a dorm on campus called Weaver Hall which is basically the international house. I've met THE most amazing people here, people that I know will for sure be my friends for a very long time. We pre-game (aka pre-drink) together, party together, go home together, eat together. We are very much a loving (yet highly dysfunctional and incestuous) international family, and I couldn't ask for anything more! Many a time we have taken weekend trips together, from St. Augustine, to Miami, to Universal Studios, and even an upcoming cruise to the Bahamas! Yep, life is pretty sweet.
One thing that I think makes UF stand out from the rest is of course the FOOTBALL. The Florida Gators is our team and game days here are beyond a shitshow. People tailgate (which is basically drinking and eating before a football game) for many many hours before the start of the game, so this has seen us drinking vodka, rum and beer from 9:00am at times. There are literally thousands of people all dressed in orange and blue scattered across campus, occupying any free spot of grass that they can find. Frat houses throw crazy parties, midtown bars reach capacity... it's just the most incredible atmosphere to be in.
I've also met a lot of very cool, friendly Americans. I find them to be pretty chill and they absolutely love the Australian accent. Literally, you say one word and they're all like 'Whaaaaa you have an ACCENT?! Dayum gurrll!!' and then I proceed to bask in the attention. But on a serious note, it's quite easy to make friends here especially if you're a foreigner. I've met some people here who I know I will definitely not forget.
Although at times, because of certain situations, it has felt like I might as well just be back in Melbourne - that is, I'll have days where I feel like the old Melbourne Eva is just having a surprise rude awakening whilst in this new environment. Ok Ok so I'll cut to the chase and just say, guys still have the ability to either make you feel like the happiest person in the world, or the biggest piece of shit in the world. No matter what country you're in, they're all the bloody same, I am telling you!!! In saying that, I've become accustomed to take each day as it comes, not get my hopes up, and just enjoy my time here while I can. And I could not be happier! The absolute last thing that I want is to look back on this amazing time in my life and regret wasting time being anything less than happy. I think that's a lesson for all of us.
Well if you've read all the way up to here, I salute you. I hate writing extremely long wall of texts but I guess that's what happens when I don't update regularly enough! There is so much that I've missed writing about but I guess I can't include everything. Might as well release a book about it! Well I am off now to go indulge in free margarita's, so until next time, stay safe troops!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
evie
It's been quite a while since my last blog. So much has happened and I've been so unbelievably busy having a fantastic time that I've really had no desire to sit down and honestly think about my experiences thus far, what it all means to me, lessons learnt, etc etc.
But I guess now after being here for ~2 months and settling in, I can finally reflect upon what I've discovered about not only college life, but about myself.
To start off with, I spent one week in Canada after my weekend in Chicago because in order to get my student exchange visa, I had to exit the country and apply for it outside of the US. There's literally no way around this law so unfortunately I had to give in to this inconvenience put in place by the US government (thanks guys!!!!!!!)
What I initially viewed as a complete annoyance, soon turned into gratitude. If it wasn't for this visa bullshit, I never would have come to Ottawa. But there I was, walking the streets of Ottawa at night, in complete awe of the city, fooling myself into thinking I was actually in France or something. I never felt this feeling hitherto and it's quite hard to describe - I felt these emotions stirring within me as I looked upon the gorgeous canals, set upon this beautiful landscape of greenery, castles, and old buildings, surrounded by French background chatter, street music, happy people everywhere. My eyes even welled up a bit as I walked about. If I was so taken aback by the atmosphere and architecture of Ottawa, I don't think I will ever survive Europe!
Where I indulged in an amazing(ly expensive) meal overlooking the river with a glass of red wine
I decided to do a day trip to Montreal while I was there, seeing as it was only a bus ride away. Well - if I thought Ottawa reminded me of Europe, I was completely blown away by Montreal. I just cannot get over the beauty of these cities. On a whim I signed up for this day walking tour of the city, and ended up meeting some really interesting and funny people. My favourite couple ever hailed from Boston and possessed the funniest accents I've ever heard. The guy was just such a character, asking the guide (genuinely) ridiculous questions, commenting everything, even trying to steal vegetables growing from this ancient garden or someshit, and his partner would always be like "Come awwwn darl! Stawp being so stewpid!" - I just couldn't stop laughing around them.
excuse me, wtf are you doing?
I also made friends with these two guys from Iowa who I ended up hanging out with for the rest of the day after the tour was over. They were into street art so we spent a lot of time just walking the streets and taking photos. It was seriously such a pleasant day, and a pleasant week all round. I really enjoyed just being on my own for that time, as I was so used to being around people 24/7 for the past couple months, it felt quite liberating to spend some time travelling by myself. I know that I will for sure be back as I'm now inspired to see a lot more of what Canada has to offer. Plus I really really miss poutine.
Oh how I miss thee :'(
***
Now, being in Gainesville is a whooooooooooole other thing.
Let me just begin by saying - I FUCKING LOVE IT HERE. EXCUSE MY FRENCH. BUT SERIOUSLY. I could not have asked for a better place to live for the next couple months of my life.
Being at College is like the movies. The campus is absolutely humongous, the buildings look beautiful, the weather is amazing, the professors are friendly and knowledgeable, there is an American flag at the front of every classroom, all the students sit at their own little individual desks (and are so friggen outspoken about everything! Talk about not being able to sit back and breeze through lectures anymore!), I pass a bunch of hippies sitting around singing and playing guitar under a tree on my way to class every day, bible bashers holding up signs saying "JESUS KNOWS YOU HAVE SINNED" and ranting about how we're all going to hell, protests about issues in the world, cute boys, super fit girls, tables set up trying to get you to join every organisation under the sun, Americans hailing from all over the country, not to mention............the NIGHTLIFE.
Holy crap. So Gainesville is pretty much split into two parts: Midtown and Downtown. Midtown is an easy 5-10 minute walk from campus. There are countless bars along here, all of course catered to students. By catered to students I mean.... there are certain nights of the week where drinks are free. No catch - you literally drink for free the entire night. Other nights, beers and wells are only 25c. Other nights, there are free tequila shots every hour on the hour. You get my drift. Once in a while I might wake up and see that I'd spent a whole $20 and ask myself- what the FUCK happened last night?!
Downtown is a short bus ride away and consists of mainly nightclubs which also hold drink specials as well, but not nearly as ridiculous as midtown. Still, it's nice to have a change of scenery sometimes!
I'm staying in a dorm on campus called Weaver Hall which is basically the international house. I've met THE most amazing people here, people that I know will for sure be my friends for a very long time. We pre-game (aka pre-drink) together, party together, go home together, eat together. We are very much a loving (yet highly dysfunctional and incestuous) international family, and I couldn't ask for anything more! Many a time we have taken weekend trips together, from St. Augustine, to Miami, to Universal Studios, and even an upcoming cruise to the Bahamas! Yep, life is pretty sweet.
our beautiful family!
gorgeous girls
Oh El.
One thing that I think makes UF stand out from the rest is of course the FOOTBALL. The Florida Gators is our team and game days here are beyond a shitshow. People tailgate (which is basically drinking and eating before a football game) for many many hours before the start of the game, so this has seen us drinking vodka, rum and beer from 9:00am at times. There are literally thousands of people all dressed in orange and blue scattered across campus, occupying any free spot of grass that they can find. Frat houses throw crazy parties, midtown bars reach capacity... it's just the most incredible atmosphere to be in.
yes, we are drinking in a pool in the back of a ute
craaaaazy.
I've also met a lot of very cool, friendly Americans. I find them to be pretty chill and they absolutely love the Australian accent. Literally, you say one word and they're all like 'Whaaaaa you have an ACCENT?! Dayum gurrll!!' and then I proceed to bask in the attention. But on a serious note, it's quite easy to make friends here especially if you're a foreigner. I've met some people here who I know I will definitely not forget.
Although at times, because of certain situations, it has felt like I might as well just be back in Melbourne - that is, I'll have days where I feel like the old Melbourne Eva is just having a surprise rude awakening whilst in this new environment. Ok Ok so I'll cut to the chase and just say, guys still have the ability to either make you feel like the happiest person in the world, or the biggest piece of shit in the world. No matter what country you're in, they're all the bloody same, I am telling you!!! In saying that, I've become accustomed to take each day as it comes, not get my hopes up, and just enjoy my time here while I can. And I could not be happier! The absolute last thing that I want is to look back on this amazing time in my life and regret wasting time being anything less than happy. I think that's a lesson for all of us.
My gorgeous navigator Becca!
Jacob and Roos
We don't even drink Fosters!
I legit thought that drain was a purse on the ground. i dont even-
***
Well if you've read all the way up to here, I salute you. I hate writing extremely long wall of texts but I guess that's what happens when I don't update regularly enough! There is so much that I've missed writing about but I guess I can't include everything. Might as well release a book about it! Well I am off now to go indulge in free margarita's, so until next time, stay safe troops!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
evie
