At this point, Why not?

These past few days have been ridiculous in the sense of transitioning from an American Uni to a Tassie Uni. Ask any Tassie or Aussie and they will tell you straight off the bat that nothing is quite as Upside Down as UTAS. With that being said, let me tell you about my first week or so of classes.

I am taking four courses: Introduction to fabrication, Figure Drawing, Social Psychology and E-Media. The first class I attended was Social Psych. The teacher talks to us like we're not native English speakers. She puts commas places where there is no need and smiles to herself as if she just made a joke throughout her lecture. Figure Drawing was better. It was following my "Society's Day" night, so granted I was exhausted. *Side note: Society's Day is the day you sign up for your clubs. I signed up for White Water Rafting and Sailing. For each club you sign up for, they give you 3-6 beers (depending on the popularity of the club). What does this translate to? The biggest, most crowded, club signing up festival known to Australia.

Next, I attended my E-media class. This class is intense and will probably be my hardest course here. It involves screenwriting, filming, directing, lighting. Anything that is remotely related to media in any form is what we will be learning about in e-media. The lecturer is pretty dry but the studio we work in and the equipment that we are supplied with really makes up for boredom. We have a fully varnished TV studio in the basement of the art building! There is a massive green screen, professional lights, multiple cameras, an editing room, an sound room. It will be the hardest but most rewarding class.

Can I just mention really quick how cool the art building itself is? Sure, sure the outside is lovely because it is on the water front of Hobart Harbor, but this place is art heaven. Every studio, every floor, is dedicated to a certain artist or art form or even genre of art. The building was made to appear as a giant art studio with various sections. There are the painting studios upstairs above the drawing studios. On the main floor there is an enormous art library, a state of the art lecture hall that could fit 150 easy. Down below there is a TV studio, a wood shop, a furniture making facility, a ceramics studio and a sculpture studio. Sure, Whitman has a great art building: it is new, fully furnished, lots of space. But this art building in Tassie truly has a life of its own. It has been lived in. It breaths. It has passion in its walls and it exudes artistic expression. Inspiration leaks out of the ceiling and students drink it up all day long. Sometimes I get nervous because I don't look like or think like the rest of the art students, but then I look at the building and take a breath and realize that this place is meant for the product of art, rather than the artist. Art can come from any person and this building allows people from all walks of life to enter and to create. So then after my wave of anxiety dies down, I take a breath, shrug my shoulders, and create.

Besides class, my life has definitely simmered down (thank god). The only thing is I cannot get away with what I could back in the states. By living in Christ College, everyone knows about everyone's whereabouts and gossip. It's like living in an American dorm with a cocaine addiction: Christ will do anything to score the whereabouts and news of all its residents. This being said, I have joined every bloody sports team known to man kind in Australia. When I said that I would "consider" joining the softball team, I got yelled at and was forced to put my jersey size on a piece of paper. I am now on the Softball team, the Rugby team, the Netball team, and god only knows how much time it will take me to join the Debate team.

We had our first practices and god are these teams fun. The girls are amazing and I really have missed participating in team sports. Softball practice is like watching my little cousin's peewee league back in the day when the kids would clash heads while running towards the popfly. The girls have NO idea how to throw, catch or even hit a baseball. A popfly was hit to Zaf in the outfield and as the ball started coming down, she ran her legs out AWAY from the ball, in fear of getting hit. I have never laughed so hard while playing a sport. The coach seemed less than impressed, but I really don't think he was surprised (this isn't his first time coaching Christ girls).

Now Rugby. That is a different experience all together. Last night was my first rugby training. We did some running, we did some basics, we threw an oversized football around. Rugby. That is a fantastic sport. Or maybe it's that I have a great group of girls playing with me. None of the freshers have any idea how to play, granted, but the lifers are more than happy to lend a hand. I love rugby! It's so much fun! We are learning how to tackle! So many girls in Christ, of all sizes (there are some TINY girls out there) joined the team and we may actually be able to win some games this season. Win or lose however, there will be no lack of enthusiasm or aggression. Following each practice, we sing our "Christ ladies are superior" chant and get on with our evening.

Alrighty. It is lunch time and I am famished! Dramatic word, yes I know, but Tess has these GRE vocab flash cards and why not? The word of the week for me is "fatuous"-stupid, or foolishly slow. Why limit my learning to my classes? ;) Arrevadercci!