Uni!

University of Newcastle is a lot different than High Point University.  For one it is huge!  I got a Lost on Campus app to help me find my classes.  So far I have been through 2 weeks of classes.  The first week I just had lectures and the second week I, also, had my tutorials.  Tutorials are smaller than the lecture and have about 20 students in a class.  These give you a chance to work in groups and actually apply the things talked about in the lecture.  I sort of wish I went to uni from day one so that I could have tutorials and not have to take gen eds. Australians call school uni and go straight into their majors instead of taking a year of gen eds.

It is nice that they show whether or not another class is going on especially since lectures are back to back.

My schedule.

The desks in some of my lectures are basically cages.

It takes a lot more walking to get to class than it does at HPU.  To get to class each day I have to walk 15 minutes to Civic train station, ride the train for about 10 minutes to Warabrook station, and walk 15 minutes across campus.  The walk across campus is like walking through a nature trail through the woods. Campus is on old Aboriginal grounds.   There are these scary birds though called Magpies that make this horrible racket and supposedly swoop at people.  There are warning signs.  I may have to punch a bird before the end of the semester. Pray for me as my lazy butt gets used to walking and dodging birds.

Here is a picture of the scary signs

The desks in some of my lectures are basically cages.

Despite the walking the University of Newcastle seems to be just as extraordinary as HPU.  There are two pubs or bars on campus, The Godfrey Tanner Bar and the Bar on the Hill.  Bar on the Hill hosts parties throughout the school year.  We have been to two so far. On the first week, we went to the Back to School party where everyone dressed up as school girls and boys.  We dressed up as some pretty cute nerds.  This past Friday we went to a party for Autonomy Day that started at 7am and ended at 4pm.  Autonomy day is when Newcastle split from the University of New South Wales. I am excited for the other parties throughout the semester.

Bar on the Hill!

Back to School Party!

A bit of the crowd at Autonomy Day!

UoN, also, has other amenities besides parties. There is free breakfast all day at NUSA.  The breakfast consists of toast and cereal.  There are tons of food options on campus that include Subway, a pie shop, a noodle restaurant, an ice cream shop, and many more. Students do not have a meal plan.  However, campus is one of the cheaper places to get food in Newcastle. If you want to stay on your budget even more, there are microwaves in the Shortland building and NUSA to heat up food.  There is a super nice gym with pools, exercise rooms, exercise classes, and a rock climbing wall.  The downside is that it costs 9.95 a week to exercise at the gym on campus or the smaller location in town near the Civic train station.   I do not think I am going to buy a membership.  I need to save money for plane tickets and I work out more than ever by the all the walking  I do each day.

 I am very happy with my choice to attend Newcastle and not Bond.