Turning over a new leaf...

So, this is mean turning over a new leaf and actually keeping up to date with my blogging.
I did try to upload my photos last week but it didn't work so I shall try again! 


Nothing exciting has particularly happened this week.


I had two assignments due and although they were easy they took me forever which was definitely  not fun! 


I also went out to the bar on campus coopers bar, it is nothing like the scholar back at home. For one it closes at 12am at the latest, second there is some sort of cafeteria which is odd at the back of the room where the dance floor should be and thirdly there is horrific lighting which makes even the most attractive people look bizarre. I didn't have a fantastic night as it was pretty quiet and my essay (which i still had not completed) was due in the next day but it was better than doing nothing and i got to see and catch up with a fair amount of the villagers who were also out.


I have found, recently, that I have been getting a bit restless. I want to go out and do things but do not have the resources to do so, and as i am still in the ranks of the unemployed, despite spending about 3hours applying to various jobs, things don't seem to be changing anytime soon and it is getting to me. 


And on top of all this restlessness It is now officially winter which means milder days paired with horrible winds and heavy rain. It is literally like the British autumn. Its just very annoying to see home heating up already with highs of over 20degrees in the coming weeks, ignore me. I am just bitter. 


Anyway that is my semi-rant over. 
Hopefully next week I will have funner, better things to report on!! #
I always try to have the best experience possible and treasure every thing that I am experiencing, but it is hard to be that fun loving all the time! 


I promise next post, at least, I will be less morbid and I will hopefully have at least one funny story... (to be fair I do have some funny stories from this week however they are not mine to share...*sigh*) 


Over and out...


Lucy x

Patience is a virtue

Ok, so i guess my first point of call will be an apology....


I am so sorry for not keeping up to date, not to make excuses but you know I did kind of move to another country and have been sorta busy, making friends, settling in , starting class and what not.


But, it still does not deter from the fact that I AM SORRY! and I should have kept up with my blogging.


I think my problem is I don't like doing a half arsed job of it, and mentally finding the time to sit down and write is hard, especially when you start to lag behind.


The title of my blog today is, as you can see, 'patience is a virtue'.


This not only is about you guys waiting for the arrival of a new blog but also for me, moving to a new country and all the expectations and things I have had.


At first I felt very out of my depth. During the last month or so I have done a lot; visited Melbourne, meet new people, started class and had to orient myself around a new town to name but a few things.


Stupidly I was expecting it all to click into place straight away but naturally it didn't.


It is hard to describe it, it is kind of like your first day at school  where you don't know anyone and you are expected to fend for yourself without the support network you are used to, however, the difference is you get to go home at the end of a school day (or even if it is University, you always have that option there). I have no such luck being 1000 upon 1000 of miles away and all. 


Moving to another country by yourself is literally the deepest end you could ever dive.


I am aware this sounds quite negative and I don't mean it too, in fact it had been quite to opposite for me. I have dived in the deep end and embraced everything and opened myself to all sorts of people and experiences and I feel a better person for it. 


I have met some amazing people, international and Australian alike and am slowing making friends in my classes as well. I have not done any traveling (besides Melbourne which was the BEST place ever, so good in fact I am actually thinking of trying to get a grad job here after I finish uni). But already , at the start of my adventure the things I have seen and the people i have met in Adelaide have all made it worth while. 


There are three things on my mind at the moment

• future travel plans during my year here
• getting acquainted with class and catching up on things I have missed 
• finding a job

I have come to realise that I have no exams during my first semester (YAY FLINDERS) so therefore have five, yes you read right, FIVE weeks off during the semester break... which means I need travel plans, or as my mother thinks, dissertation plans (bore of mum :P).This got me to thinking what I should do with my time.

  It will be winter and 'cold' in Australia and I am doing all my 'major' traveling at the end of the term or in mid-semester breaks so there is already quite a lot ticked of my list, and no matter how much I love Adelaide I don't want to stay here for 5 weeks alone (most of my friends will be going home for the break or leaving Australia (all the internationals leave in June, besides me. WAH!)

The next logical step in my head is of course Asia, a place I have been before AND LOVE (and would also be able to recapture my tan!). 

 However I am not sure about going alone, and I am not sure if any of my friends from home can make it over... so that is something to think about. Any suggestions or ideas would be GREAT! 

This brings me to my second point, the idea of money.... there are no two ways about it I NEED A JOB! One thing I should have believed but did not about Auz  is the prices are high! Not just like London prices, like HIIIIIIIIIIGH! And that is ok for Australians whose minimum wage is a whopping $15 but not for the likes of a poor British girl who had to also deal with a bad exchange rate nit is not fine. 

A job is on the top of my priority list, however it is extremely hard to get employed around here... SO IF YOU KNOW OF ANY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME KNOW! 

Lastly, the classes. I have a bad habit of missing lectures and as they are recorded I feel as though it doesn't matter, however catching up on recordings is a hard thing! 

Now i am behind it is hard to catch back up again. This weekend I am going to have a hot date with me and Mr. Toshiba (my laptop) with a meal consisted of  digitally recorded lectures (how sad am I!) and catch up with everything and hopefully start my essay which is due in on Thursday and my primary source thing essay which is due in the week after. It's going to be so hot.

I will catch up and I will do well. Something which Flinders is not lacking is the support for students, all the staff are amazing and the ISSU for international students if super, so I know I can do it, even if I need some extra help along the way.

So guys, that is basically my life as of late, I am sorry I haven't been able to share particular experiences or anything with y'all because of my lack of updates, but i am planing on doing a new blog every Friday from now on to keep everyone up to date with what I have done.

I am also planning on putting up new photos so you can all see what I have been up to...

I I will also have some fun (possibly drunken) stories to tell (it is St. Paddys day after all ;) ) so also look out for that blog soon!

Thank you for returning to me <3

Have a nice night Europe and Have a fantastic day (afternoon) Australia!

Lucy xx

All good things come to those who wait...

Something which regular readers of my blog have come to realise.
This is basically a post apologising for my lack of communication over the past month. 
It is currently 1am so for now there is not a longer post from me but I PROMISE I will update everyone on my week in Melbourne (which basically consisted of drinking everyday) and my first couple of weeks at Flinders, which includes o- week (like freshers but a lot tamer) and i am undergoing my first week of lectures (which I will also be able to report on)...
So for now, nuh-night to all my readers on the same clock as me, and have a good afternoon all my readers on the other wide of the world.
Over and out
Lucy x

I Thought I Had Overcome Jet-Lag.... I Was Wrong

Ok, so I just arrived in Melbourne and am knacked, but before I start writing about here I best start from where I left off; my second day in Singapore (my first day was quite uneventful I went shopping and got loads, all of which I could have got at home for cheaper, and i also attempted to take myself out for the night.... i didn't meet anyone and ended up sitting in a road side bar/cafe with a glass of overpriced white wine). Anyways, my second day....


I woke up (obviously) and went and indulged in the free breakfast. I always find breakfasts abroad rather odd, for instance, what greeted me at the buffet was rice and pasta. Now to me they scream to me that they should be consumed at dinner time, or at the earliest lunch not breakfast. I wanted sausages and bacon not pasta. But I spose it would be just as strange for other people to eat English foods for breakfast. Anyway, needless to say i gobbled it all up all regardless  and to be honest it was not half bad, in fact i quite enjoyed it.


So after my breakfast i bummed around a bit, by this point i must mention i did in fact have another dorm mate, a grown man, who liked to take his kindle to the toilet for 'me' time. We didn't bond. So i was still by myself, so i decided to take myself on a hop on hop off bus tour.

 
I was planning to jump on and off the bus (not literally) at several stops but it started raining so i stayed on and only got off at two points. Marina bay and the botanical gardens. Marina bay was particularly bizarre; three hotels with a boat on top connecting them costing $20 to go on it and a shopping centre with some sort of stream/river/pool inside it. I looked around these strange sites and hopped back on, and soon i was at the Botanical gardens. I absolutely LOVED the botanical gardens i grabbed some lunch (i have been finding due to the time different i keep on forgetting to eat so when i remember i am starving) and then literally spent hours wondering around the gardens which were amazing, they even had a min rain forest (fact: Singapore is the only city which had a rain forest in (i think...)) . Some photos from the Botanical gardens are above which i took on my iphone using the instagram app.


I was knackered by the time i got home and just went and bummed around again. I was planning on going to an annual street parade which takes place in Singapore however when i eventually managed to pull myself away from my bed it was way too busy and i was way too tired and hungry (i forgot to eat again) to wait around so i decided to go to the Chinese night market. Now i didn't expect anything amazing but i also didn't expect the SHEER amount of tat which was there. After browsing for about 10mins i decided to write it off as a bad trip but i spied a massage parlour (no not a seedy one an actual one...) and decided to treat myself with a back and neck massage. It was cheap (around £5) and really did loosen my back up HOWEVER it was so agonising, at some point i actually thought i was going to cry. 


I also must point out that the hostel i stayed in (the hangout) was amazing, but not a good place for lone travellers due to it housing couples mainly.


The next day I was leaving for Melbourne so couldn't do much so I went shopping AGAIN and got my nails done. The at 5pm I got a shuttle bus and headed for the airport. I arrived super early and kept myself entertained by eating, using the airports make up and perfume (naturally without purchasing any of it) and watching the good wife (they had TVs in the lounge). Soon the time rolled past and i found myself on the plane. This plane, which was the same airline as the last (singapore airlines) was dreadful compared to the one from Heathrow. I am sure the seats were smaller and the chairs reclined a lot more into your own space (at one point i actually had someone sleeping on my lap which was bizarre). The personal  TV was dreadful and awful quality and I couldn't sleep (not that that was the airlines fault). I arrived in Melbourne the following morning (today) at 7:20am. 

I went through customs pretty quickly with limited problems... and soon found myself on yet another shuttle bus on my way to the new hostel (the Nunnery). This hostel is SO different to the last. Thee really seems to be a sense of community and there are so many people here. I have yet to introduce myself to anyone yet. Something i need to work on sharpish. I just feel like i am bothering people, especially as it was so early. I hope that later the hostel will fill out and i will fine it easier to meet people. I think i am going to chose one person to target and tag along with them until i have met everyone. 


Anyways since i have been here i have taken myself out for lunch (again still not getting good at eating on time, there always seems to be an 8hr space between meals and beverages at least... not good in this heat!) Oh yes that reminds me the weather is hot here. It is sunny intervals at the moment but it is due to brighten up for the rest of the week. 




And there was me thinking i had escaped jet-lag...


Anyway, peace out


Lucy 

p.s. i am also adding photos to my earlier blog..
 

Singapore

I told you I would write you all another blog...

Heathrow airport...

The empty chairs at Heathrow after people had boarded the plane, buhbye England...

I have just arrived at my hostel in Singapore after a 12hours flight.


To be honest I stink and all I want to do is sleep, I am a more then a bit out of it due to the jet lag.
My flight was a pleasant one, I sat next to a lovely old lady (who couldn't work out how to use her tv, bless) who made intermittent conversation with me. The main downside of the flight was the crappy tv they had, but to be fair I did have an emotional moment at the film 'one day' (I
I blame lack of sleep) which I needless to say got very into, so that film at least was a thumbs up.
The first thing that hit me getting of the plane was the heat, its not sunny and its not really even THAT hot but when you are wearing four layers and converse and are struggling with several bags it gets rather sweaty! 

After collecting my bag and then putting my big case in the luggage storage section of the airport i was off on my transfer to the hostel. The man who drove me was nice as well, however he spent the whole 30mins lecturing me on why Singapore is so clever and how amazing their government is. However it was nice having someone to talk to and to tell me a bit more about the history; stuff I was not very aware of before.


Upon arrival at the hostel I went into the reception, and to be honest i thought i was at the wrong place, comparing this to hostels  stayed in in other parts of south east Asia this is a palace! Complementary breakfast and wifi in every room (which is perfect as I have my laptop with me). The dorm i am staying in is a 5 bed one but at the moment it seems as though i am the only person (I smell like a 13 year old boy so this may be why the room has been cleared of all live), i have a little bed int he corner but because of how the fixtures are arranged my bed is very private which is also night.

I'm not really sure what to do now (other than shower) I am in Singapore alone and unlikely to really meet anyone, I am so tired but do not want to sleep now through fear of not being about to later and i want to make the most of my time. 


I think my plan of action will be to go to the lounge room they have hear and see who is about and ask them any tips they have of what to do then go out following the tips I will hopefully get. Then book some sort of tour tomorrow, I was thinking a night safari (so i can sleep)  but I will have to look at how I would plan such activities alone....


Anyway, I am pretty certain majority of this post have been incoherent due to my jet lag so I will now stop waffling (and to be honest I am not even going to bother to read this through or spell check so I am sorry in advance!). I will keep everyone updates and also tomorrow I will upload a few photos for you all to see.


But for now I must wash for the sake of everyone.
Lucy xx

One more sleep.....

Ok, so there is one more sleep (if you can constitute it a sleep considering the time I have to wake up) until I leave the country for a year (lol, I originally accidentally wrote month.... imagine).

So yeh, wow this is scary, like really WOW, this does not seem real, there are no words. All my things are packed, all (ok, well most) of my things have been sorted out, copious amounts of people have been added on skype.... other than sending off various information to student finance (and lets me honest most people probably have menial tasks like these they chose to ignore), everything has been done. I am ready (physically to leave, but am i ready (mentally) to leave?

I think i have gone through every emotion in the past two minute, let alone the last couple of months. Fear, excitement, the feeling i could throw up at any given minute, sadness, to name but a few.

To be honest i'm not really sure what I feel and I am really not sure what I have got myself into. Every body keeps on insisting that i will be having the best time of my life and have an unforgettable experience, but the uncertainty is killing me. How can they be so sure and have so much faith when I, myself, do not? 

However I have decided to embrace every experience, take every opportunity and have a little trust in the people I know and love and believe them when they say it will be ok. 

So for now, I must dash as I have paperwork I need to sort (gosh I sound so mature) and things i need to do before my departure. No doubt there will be some sort of panicked post from me tomorrow or Thursday when I am alone and stressed/tired.

But for now Bon Voyage!!!

Lucy  

p.s. follow me on twitter @lucytillett if you are into such things....  

Cleaning, revision and other such nonsense

So my last post was on NYE which was two weeks ago today. Been lacking in the posts a bit but I HAVE been a busy bee.... (I probably can't talk about it all because of the sheer boredom i would be imposing on you... and as some of you will know, i defiantly won't be able to remember it all....) 


So yes, since the new year on my 'to do list' I have done a fair amount, not as much as initially planned, when to be honest when does that ever happen for anyone anyway? 


I started the new year with a step in the right direction... I actually made it to the library!! Where I looked at some books for my dissertation. However this is the only work I have done for my dissertation and although I did read a good amount I still feel I have absolutely no CLUE what I am doing. Apparently I'm meant to be finding primary sources, but how am I meant to know what ones I am looking for? I can't just simply type in 'good primary sources about religious Anglo Saxon women' (I know, I know, my topic is more than a bit loser-ish....and yes I did pick it myself). To find good/relevant primary sources you literally need to read through them ALL, and pick out the best, however at this point in time i really am not sure what constitutes as a good one :/ .... so I'm in a bit of a pickle over that. But at least I have started now :)


In the first week of my new year me and my mum also decided to clean my room, which was a massive task to say the least, but 4 bin bags, 2 sacks of clothes to sell on ebay (added to the four I already have going...) and 2 bags for the charity shop later (which was a long time later, 5 and a half hours to be precise) my room was amazingly clean! 

Obviously the photographs have all been taken from different angles  (and the top one is a before and the last one is an after!), but i think you get the picture (please ignore the dirty clothes on my bed as well, cringe).
I also rearranged my room (something I love to do, much to peoples annoyance) and now i have moved the bed to its original position which is nice as now I can reach the light switches and house phone without moving from bed (score). 


Later in the week my two friends (I shall call them Bev and Buckeroo for the purpose of this blog)  visited, which was absolutely AMAZING! On the first night we met up with some uni friends and then afterwards the two girls and I hit up Faces, a standard Essex night out 10mins away from where I live. My friends were shocked to realise that the scenes from TOWIE are not as fake as they originally thought and the luminous orange colourings isn't just the editors playing with the contrast. We all had a splendid night out and partied until the early hours of the morning. The next morning (at 6am, which i was most defiantly not pleased about) Buckeroo caught her train/ferry to Holland (yes, Holland in the Netherlands (she is also on a year abroad)). So it was just Bev and I left for the rest of the weekend. To be honest we spent all day in bed and on the sofa recovering from our night and then decided to go out again, this time, to Shoreditch. To be honest I'm not really sure what me and Bev spent the whole night doing besides running around and causing havoc (something which i am known well for doing on nights out at uni).  


So many random things happened, such a Bev pretending to own a bar and attempting to chuck out some people to us conversing with a security guard for 10mins about the pros and cons of each club and trying to guess his name (which we didn't get right needless to say).


I have been trying to meet up with as many people as possible before I leave, I have successfully been to the pub several times, been for some lovely meals and also been to one of very good friends 21st, all in aid to try and get quality time in before I leave. To be honest this whole leaving for a year thing has really really put into perspective who my 'real friends' are. It's sad that some friendships have ultimately come to an end, but hey that's life and you gotta do what you gotta do! 


What I am finding very difficult currently is trying to balance meeting up with my friends, revision and sorting out everything in my life before I leave forever (well for a year, but to be quite frank it feels like forever). Its been getting really stressful because every time I chose seeing my friends over revision as I know it could be the last time I seem them for a year, however I don't seem to have any voice in my head that spurs me on to study (earlier in the week my mother caught me in the pub when I said I writing an essay, not my finest hour). But I am slowly making progress (my exam is on Friday... less then a week probably should try to speed up!),  AND earlier in the week I did complete an essay.... so I'm not ALL bad.


I am doing two history and film modules so there is a lot of viewing material I need to get through (Ben Hur is currently on in the back ground...have no been paying attention at all so I fear I may have to restart it), however watching films never really feels like revision and I do feel like more than a bit of a revision failure. However I did do some PROPER revision today and although it took ages it felt good, I actually feel like i might know what I'm doing in an exam for once... (saying this i will probably fail it now....)


Anyway I think I have waffled on enough, sorry about the length of this post, maybe if i post more consistently they will be shorter and more entertaining. It is now under three weeks until I leave, so hopefully these blogs will become more Australia based.... and I will have some more, exciting news to share with you all....


But for now, I am going to watch Ben Hur ( when i say that I mean play on my iphone with my new photography apps a la 'instagram'), and love every minute of it.... 


Lucy xx