And then there was an Alligator

So I will start this off telling you that I did receive my luggage Wednesday evening! :) We ended up going to the airport to get money because our bags were lost for over 48 hours… and they gave us $350 each! It was pretty much worth not having the luggage, as annoying as it was. Also, a few of you have been asking for my address, so here it is:
International College of Management Sydney
Perri Neirman – #14158 – Room 216
151 Darley Road
Manly, NSW 2095
Australia

Wednesday evening we attended the Aussie party where some of the Aboriginal people came and performed a dance for us, and then there was a didgeridoo competition that only the blokes could participate in because in Australia custom only males are allowed to play it. After that a man came from the zoo with a bunch of reptiles. He brought a couple different lizards, some snakes, a huge spider, and a baby alligator! It was a cool show where we learned a few different things!
Thursday we had seminars all morning and it rained for most of the day. In the afternoon we did some teambuilding exercises in the rain which were pretty fun. We did a tug-of-war, a blow-up obstacle course, and this game similar to volleyball with a HUGE ball that could not be held up by one person alone. After dinner we went to an evening of wine and cheese with a bunch of other students. It was very nice because the rain had stopped and it was beautiful on the balcony where it was held.
Friday was a lot of fun! We participated in a scavenger hunt in Manly. MJ and I partnered with two guys (one from Kansas and one from LA) and we ended up winning! We won 10 movie tickets to share between the 4 of us to the local cinema. That evening we went to a couple of the local bars to just check them out, one of which had a acoustic guitarist playing and he played some really good songs. It was very nice.J Saturday it rained again while we went on a bus tour of Sydney. It put a little bit of a damper on the day, but it was still nice. We were able to see the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge from a place they call Mrs. Macquarie’s chair which is a tourist spot. We also saw many sites such as where the Art Museum and Aquarium are and drove through Chinatown which as really nice and seemed a lot cleaner than other ones I have seen pictures of. We also drove by King's Crossing and saw where Russel Crow lived. Also in Kings Crossing we saw where all the Naval Ships came in and I saw where my Grandpa would have pulled into Sydney after he arrived after (or during?) the war, which was a very cool thing. Sunday we all had a pretty lazy day and then we started classes on Monday. My classes schedule is as follows:
Mon: 8-10 Principles of Marketing
10-12 Consumer Behavior and Tourism Product Management
12:30-2:30 Venue and Event Operations Management
Tues: 12:30-2:30 Consumer Behavior
Wed: 10-12 Travel Industry Services
12:30-2:30 Event Mgt
3:30-5:30 Event Mgt
Thurs: 10-12 Travel Industry Services
2:30-4:30 Marketing
4:30-6:30 Event Mgt

All together I am taking 13 credits that transfer back credit or no-credit to GVSU, which is really nice because I don’t have to worry quite so much about what my grade is. So far I have had two of my classes… Events seems like it should be pretty easy (all stuff I have done before and am familiar with) and Consumer Behavior is similar to marketing and should not be too bad.

Last night we made friends with some Aussies. We played Australian pool with them. It is pretty much the same as American pool except the balls are a bit smaller and the pockets are a bit narrower. We have also been learning a lot of new Aussie words that I can't wait to teach you! :) I was able to go to the beach for the first time today, but only had sun for about an hour and a half before a storm cloud started to approach. We are in the midst of planning a trip to the Whitsunday Islands which is a group of about 75 islands right in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef, so I am getting very excited! I must go, but I hope all is well with you. To those of you in the snow… I will send picture of the beaches soon! :) So stay tuned because I have been taking tons of pictures so those should be up shortly!

Miss you all!

<3>