Parklands! Semester One

When I first arrived in Oz the first Australian I met, like for most people, was at customs. He checked my passport, saw I was British, and promptly stated 'You've brought the weather with you haven't you?'. Haha..stereotyped much? Well, that was nothing..the stereotyping abuse was about to get a lot worse.

Having found the Meeting Point (it actually has a big sign in the airport saying this) I met other International students about to start their first semester at Macquarie University. I recall talking to this tall American boy called Billy who looked like he'd come straight from a typical American high school movie. As the first student I met I have always recognised him out and about..particularly at the Ranch where he raves drunkenly. On the minibus to Parklands I met, amongst others, Luca and Karima, two fellow Parklanders. Here is a lowdown for each of them:

Luca: An extremist Italian Stallion who apparently makes amazing carbonara and coffee. He is always smiling and pats everyone's heads when he is drunk. He offered to strip for me on my birthday which I politely refused and has proposed to me several times (when drunk so I am assuming he has no recollection of this).  He has strong views on many subjects, especially...wait for it...cooking.

Karima: An amazing American friend who works so so hard and is part of the Stats170 Trio. Enjoys drawing on Anne-Sophie's arms when bored in our 2 hour stats lecture. She has the best hair I have ever seen when her straighteners are broken (I am serious Karima..no joke!) and is great to have a moan with over workload or exams, and to generally chat about anything.

After getting stuck in traffic and it taking 1 1/2 hours to reach my new home for the next year we eventually arrived at Parklands. One of my lasting memories will be walking down the steps in the pouring rain, dragging my ginormous suitcase behind me and then dropping it in the mud. Entering my flat for the first time, my initial thoughts were 'its blue and empty..and Australia is wet and cold..what have I done? I want my home'.

Thinking about that now I am soooo glad I didn't spontaneously buy a ticket home. I was about to meet some of the craziest and most amazing people I know and make some fantastic memories.