Can't believe I'm in my last week!!!

Well...it's hard to believe, but Cristina and I are in our last week of our internship! I realize it's been a while since our last post, but we've both been so busy with work and travelling!

During these last few weeks, I had the task of creating an Arrival Guide for new international students...I think I mentioned this in an earlier post. It was something never created before, but was greatly needed. After working with the marketing department of Macquarie International, it all came together. It was great getting more in depth experience with Adobe InDesign.

This week, hundreds of new international students arrive in Sydney for the start of Semester 2 in August. I'm helping the International Student Services Department get ready for Orientation Week, which begins this Friday (my last day!). There's been a lot of event planning, special interest session coordinating, etc. that I've been assisting with in preparation for this week...I wish I could actually be here to see it all happen! But, a co-worker has promised to take lots of pictures and will be emailing me over the next few weeks letting me know how everything went.

Here are some pictures of our time here over the past few weeks...will post again soon :)

-Sarah

Fair Trading (Sarah)

Yesterday, the ISS (International Student Services) team had a meeting with a community liaison office from the New South Wales Fair Trading Commission. At first, I was a bit lost as to what exactly the purpose of the meeting was. However, I soon realized that due to my automatically "priviledged" existance in the USA, I have neglected to consider a very important issue that faces numerous international college students (whether in Australia or the States) - the issue of fair trading.

When international students arrive here at Macquarie University, they face many challenges beyond just studying hard and performing well in their courses. Number one, there's the language barrier for those whose primary language is not English. This leads to a plethora of communication obstacles, and requires a great deal of patience from the professors and student affairs professionals working with them. In addition to this already daunting issue, is the challenge of finding a place to live, purchasing goods such as cell phones, computers, etc., and just living day to day.

Things that we (or at least, I) rarely think about back home are rights and responsibilities related to fair trading. Sure, in the USA (and in Australia) we may understand that we have "rights" but we don't always remember that with those rights come many, many responsibilities. One issue that Macquarie international students deal with often relates to accommodation/housing scams. Although Macquarie University does have on-campus housing available, the majority of Australian universities were not developed with this concept in mind. Many students from overseas (especially those in Europe) come to study here but live in off-campus housing. Sometimes they attempt to organize this ahead of time, before departing home, and due to their vulnerability, end up being scammed. Other students, such as those from China, come to Australia not knowing what it is to have those specific fair trading rights because their home country's government does not operate in the same way.

Therefore, the purpose of our meeting yesterday was to plan even more ways in which we can get the message out there to international students that they have rights and responsibilities when it comes to fair trading within Australia. If they feel they are being scammed with their housing, they need to know where to go and who to talk to in order to have it sorted out. If they purchase something from a store, they need to be reminded to keep their receipts in case that purchase breaks and needs to be refunded. These are all such simple, obvious things to me that I never even thought about before because I've grown up in a country where, not only do we have rights, but we know what they are.

I told Cristina about this after work yesterday, and mentioned how ignorant I felt for not even considering this before. She said, yeah we feel ignorant, but only because we're so educated...interesting point.

-Sarah

Some New Zealand Pics!

New Zealand & Internship Update (Sarah)

(Note: The pictures posted in this post are of Macquarie University, the campus and the building I work in...New Zealand photos will come in another post!)

So...as Cristina stated in the previous post, New Zealand was absolutely incredible! I did not expect to love it as much as I did (even though multiple people told me that I would). We only had 3 quick days in Auckland, but we packed as much in as we could.

On Saturday, the four of us (me, Cristina, Allen, & Taylor) went on a guided "Bush & Beach" adventure through temperate rainforests and along the coast of the Tasmin Sea. Although the day was rainy off and on, it actually made many of the sights even more spectacular. It started downpouring on our ride back to the city...so not bad!

The rainforests were quite interesting, mostly because we never had to worry about encountering dangerous animals of any kind. There literally are no predatorial animals in New Zealand's rainforests, nor snakes, or poisonous plants. There are many, many birds and absolutely every shade of green tree you can imagine. We went to the tiny surfing town called Piha on the Tasmin Sea. This reminded me a lot of the northwest USA, especially the coastline of Oregon (for those of you who've been there). However, it still was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

We all commented how sad we were when that day was over. Standing on the beach in Piha, I made a promise to myself that I would come back to New Zealand one day...and spend at least a month touring this beautiful country!

As for an update on my internship:
Things are going great! I've been focusing mainly on two major projects. First, I am helping to coordinate the Amazing Race event for Diversity Week. This is a fun, social activity organized for the new international students who will be arriving in late July for the semester that is to begin in early August. The Amazing Race will mirror the TV show, and will take teams of students all around campus in order to have them accomplish tasks that will assist them in their orientation to campus. It requires a lot of work, as well as my fast learning of Macquarie's campus...I'm working with a co-worker in the ISS office as well as an international student. It should turn out great, though, I'm bummed that I won't be here to see/help with the actual event and Diversity Week. We head home the week before...but, I've been promised that I'll be receiving many pictures :)

The second project is a "Survival Guide" for newly arrived international students, which will be given to them at the airport upon arrival. Based on an assessment that was done just before I started working here, international students struggle with certain things right away, even before classes begin. Therefore, I was asked to create this sruvival guide, which will hopefully answer all those immediate questions, give them suggestions for getting settled in, include tips from current international students, etc. Again, I am super excited to be using my background in editing and publications...it's really the best of both worlds! And, unlike the Amazing Race event, I will be here to see the final product!

Hope you all are enjoying the summer weather back home! We are currently in Sydney winter-like conditions, 60s during the day and COLD at night! I do miss that warm summer weather...

-Sarah

New Zealand: Day 1

I want to start by saying that I cannot say enough about how much I loved New Zealand. I wish I could head straight back to Kiwi Land for a few more weeks, years, or maybe forever.

We (Sarah and I as well as our two American friends: Taylor and Allen) only had 3 days in Auckland and the surrounding areas, and we made the most of it!

We arrived late on Thursday night and headed straight to our hostel. Friday, we rented a car! I actually drove on the left side of the road. It was terrifying, but awesome. We drove 3 hours Southwest to the Waitomo Caves area. On the way, we saw the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen in my life. Actually, we saw tons of rainbows in New Zealand. It was great!

We saw 2 limestone caves: Aranui and Waitomo. The Aranui Caves were very cool, but they do not even compare to how amazing the Waitomo Caves were. In Waitomo, there are thousands and thousands of glowworms that hang from the ceilings. We climbed down into the caves and rode in a boat on a small river that runs through the caves. The guides then turned off all the lights and we floated down the river while taking in the amazingness of the glowworms. It was so beautiful it felt fake. It looked like someone hung up the netting Christmas lights that people hang on bushes.

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures (as if they could have done it justice anyway), but it really was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

-Cristina

Bondi and Manly Beach

This weekend we visited the beaches, and although it is "winter," we had a great time.

Saturday, we saw the famous Bondi Beach. It is gorgeous, and for all of the rain we have had, the weather was not very cold. There were quite a few surfers in the water. We ate lunch and headed home right as the rains re-surfaced.

Today (Sunday), our friend Taylor and I volunteered at the Manly Beach Food, Wine, and Sustainibility Festival. It was basically a taste fest that promoted sustainibility. We had a great time eating, drinking wine, and volunteering. :) It rain quite a bit toward the end of the day and we had our fair share of inside out umbrellas.

Next weekend we are heading to New Zealand, and I can't wait!

Hunter Valley

Hello all! Cristina and I visited the Hunter Valley wine region last weekend. It was gorgeous, despite the wet weather! Here are a few pictures...