Week 9 & 10: 3/30 – 4/10
It was a busy week 9 preparing for my final week of classes (week 10) before the midterm and leaving for Thailand. I’ve been on track with my adjustments in lifestyle, but these two weeks were extremely busy and stressful. The only activity week 9 was a Fifa World Cup Qualifier soccer match between Australia and Uzbekistan at ANZ Stadium. It was a slow first half with no goals scored, but in the second, the action picked up. Australia scored the first goal with a header (I think about 15 minutes in) which was followed by another soon thereafter off a close penalty kick and Australia ended up winning 3-2. I’m not a huge soccer fanatic, but it was awesome going to a world class professional match of significance. With the win, Australia essentially clinched a spot in the tournament for their division, so it seems as though I’ll have one more team to watch next summer in the World Cup. Later in the week I booked my flights to and from Phuket and got a haircut. On Saturday, Chuck and I went to a very popular annual horse race called the Golden Slipper. People from all around the Sydney area gather at the racetrack in a smaller urban area called Rosehill. Everybody dresses formally and brings drinks and food to celebrate the event. It was a lot of fun – we bought some big cigars and watched racing all day. We did some small betting for a little added suspense, and I ended up winning money for four of the five races I bet on for a total winning of $80! I spent $30 to get in, so I ended up pulling $50 before going home. The rest of the week was filled with studying and writing, which carried right over into week 10. I had a 1000-word Rethinking Culture essay due and Quantitative Management midterm (both worth 30% of my final grades) on Wednesday as well as a Statistics assignment and 4000-word Social Theory journal entry due Friday. And since I brought up the topic of grading, I will discuss the unorthodox grading style Australia uses. Instead of A-F, there are five possible denominations: Z = Fail (0-49%), P = Pass (50-64%), C = Credit (65-74%), D = Distinction (75-84%), & H = High Distinction (85-100%). Now logic would tell you that H is the equivalent of an A, D a B, and so forth. It was explained to us, however, that hardly ANYBODY get’s an H and that the system views an H as more like an A+, with D being the equivalent of an A. Credit is considered to be a B and Pass a C. Apparently no grade above 50% is viewed the same a D is back home. Because the grading system is so different, I’m not sure how these classes will affect my GPA at the U of M. It’s something I’ll have to discuss in further detail with my advisors when I get back, because from what I understood before I left, they would be assigning grades to these classes I took, but couldn’t get a clear answer as to how. Regardless, it’s just another interesting tidbit that I felt like sharing, since not much else interesting has happened these past two weeks. The only other thing to happen was that I booked a flight to Melbourne for a week after returning from Thailand. My Fall break lasts two weeks, so I decided it was smart to take advantage of the extra time and the current cheap domestic flight rates (only AUD$154 round trip), so after speaking with Danielle (friend from home) who also wants to go to Melbourne, but whose friends will be going at a time she can’t (like mine), we decided to book some flights together along with a friend Danielle has here in Australia (Allie from Vanderbilt). We will probably be making hotel/hostel reservations tomorrow, but are still in the preliminary stages, so I will update the situation if more details come to light. Otherwise, this will be my last post before leaving for Thailand on Saturday. I am posting this entry on Friday, April 10 of week 10 (I meant to at least), so week 11 will pick up on Saturday and cover my entire trip, which will last through Sunday, April 19 when I return. Take care everyone… I miss you during the stressful times more than ever. May 7 UPDATE: Sorry I’ve been so late on the updates. This is actually being posted on May 7, but I am currently working on my Thai blog and the following weeks’ blogs will include my trip to Melbourne and another to Fraser Island. Life is good right now and I’m working hard to get you all caught up.
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