JCU "O Week"

Orientation Week at James Cook University

Townsville, Queensland, Australia 

22 July - 27 July 2019



This was an entire week before classes began designed to help new or international students get prepared for the school year and to meet other new students. The first half of the week comprised of informational sessions talking about things to know coming to Australia, the University, places to visit, as well as how to use all the resources available to us. The following days were standard beginning university talks about what to do, what not to do, how to be successful, etc. On thursday they offered a bus tour around Townsville to see the city and get to know the area better and they also drove to the top of a place called Castle Hill which is right in the city! It had a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding area on both sides! 
It’s an amazing experience to be surrounded by mountain ranges for the first time in my life and so far I love it! Plus they all make for great hiking adventures (aka I better be fit by the end of my stay here haha)! Friday we went to Billabong Sanctuary for the day and that was a blast!! It was the first time for a lot of students, including myself, to see Australia’s well known wildlife species like koalas, snakes, wombats, crocodiles, and dingos. Some students conquered fears holding the animals, but me… I was having a blast!!








I also succumbed to paying for a picture with a wombat.. but let me tell you… we must have made such a bad impression on them cause you know, Americans are obnoxious (but not everyone was American), but still, they brought out a very noticeably male wombat. And I thought oh dear, well maybe they’ll crop that out for the picture… haha NOPE! So currently I have a very high quality photo of myself holding a male wombat with me beaming because nonetheless, I was holding a wombat haha! He was quiet heaving and soft and still just as adorable as I had imagined!
Saturday was the last social event of the week that the universities student association set up for spending “A Day at the Strand.” This is Townsville's downtown beach area with parks, restaurants, and currently an array of art pieces addressing the single use plastic issue. I got to meet more new people, learned where they’re from and what they’re majoring in, and played beach volleyball for a couple of hours. The best part is that I applied sunscreen at the beginning of the day but didn’t get a chance to reapply… and I did NOT get sunburnt!! It’s the little things that matter the most haha.
All in all, I have met so many people from across the world and country (both AUS and US). It’s amazing the things that draw people to study somewhere new all the way across the world. It takes a lot of determination and courage, especially for those I have met that moved here to complete their entire college degree! And it’s great because we are all in the same boat and are all here to support and encourage one another through this new adventure of our lives! 
Young boys from the Wulgurukaba tribe native to the Townsville area 

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