Austin Exchange

The last weeks

2009-04-06T20:32:00.001-07:00

Exciting few weeks coming up. New York this Easter weekend for 4 days, next weekend my NZ friend from Virginia is hopefully coming to visit, then next weekend James Morrison is playing, then the weekend after that Death Cab for Cutie are playing, then Flight of the Conchords and then San Francisco for 6 days! Only 44 days till I go home. It has gone so fast!

School is still pretty boring. Just heaps of tests and assignments. Can't wait to be finished! Starting to miss home and friends, so I'm excited to be wrapping up my exchange.

Anywho, just a short blog today, stay tuned to hear my tales of New York, EEEK! Can't Wait!

University and Spring Break

2009-03-23T06:41:00.001-07:00

Wooow! It's been awhile since my last blog. I've been busy at university with assignments and what not, exploring the city of Austin and hanging out with friends. The work load seems to be equal to what it is at home...but in Austin, they seem to mark harder...plus you have to get over 70% just to get a C grade, where as at home 70% is a B grade.

I haven't really done much tourist stuff, but I did do a walk down to the town lake which is really cool. There's a trail that runs along the lake side and heaps of people go for runs and bike rides down there. There's also a huge dog park which is really cool and on Sunday's EVERYONE brings their dog down. I also found heaps of really cool stores downtown near the lake, they're all designer stores, so they're pretty expensive.

I've had some great opportunities while being here too. I had the chance to go see a lecture held by Ellen Kuras, the cinematographer for Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, blow and millions of other films too. I also went to the Blanton art museum, which is owned by the university, so students get in for free. It's an awesome place and I definitely recommend checking it out, especially the modern art on the second level, there was heaps of really cool exhibits.

I still haven't gotten around to going to the Texas history museum but hopefully will eventually.... there's a huge imax theatre in the museum and some friends and I were thinking of going to see a 3d version of the film monsters vs. aliens which would be awesome.

I also went down to sixth street, to a store called wild about music. The store is packed with music memorabilia, and heaps of different gifts and band merchandise, it's quite pricey, but there's heaps of one of a kind styled stuff that you can buy there. Also, while we were downtown, we went to fourth street to a cafe/bar called Halcyon and ate smores. They brought out a little burner equipped with all the things you need to make smores which was really cool and delicious!

Another thing I got to check out was Demetri Martin's live show. Demetri Martin is an American comedian who is huge here in the U.S. I had never heard of him before, but all my American friends said we had to go see him. Because the tickets were free, we waited in line for 2 hours to get a ticket. Then, on the actual day of the show, we arrived three hours early (having a ticket didn't guarantee you entry) and even arriving that early, we were still toward the back of the line. However, it was all definitely worth it, his show was great and he definitely lived up to the expectations.

The biggest thing I think I've done during my last blog is SXSW. SXSW is a huge music, film and interactive festival which takes place over Spring Break. Because I didn't want to spend much money over Spring Break and wanted to check out SXSW, I decided to stay in Austin and volunteer at SXSW. By volunteering as stage crew, I received a free music badge which enabled me to check out any of the music shows and conferences I wanted to when I wasn't working. The SXSW music badge would of cost me $695 U.S. to buy normally. Although, I had to work 3 out of the 4 days the music festival was on, I still had one night off and the day to check out some shows. I had the chance to see Ben Harper and Relentless 7, as well as a bunch of New Zealand bands and the bands that were playing at the venue I was working at. It was definitely a great way to see SXSW, meet heaps of great people and save money. I definitely recommend it to anyone who stays in Austin during Spring Break.

Well, I think that's about it for this blog...hopefully next time I have more stories to tell about Austin city, there's heaps of stuff coming up that I'll no doubt talk about, so until them, peace out!

One month in...

2009-02-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a lil over a month now since I arrived in Austin and ALOT has been happening. Since my last blog I've visited Denton, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Dallas, I've also started school, moved rooms, meet a whole heap of people, started basketball and ate a heck of a lot of mexican food.

A couple weeks back, Maggie, a friend of mine who is coming to New Zealand for exchange offered to take me and two of the other Kiwis to her home town of Denton, outside of Dallas. It was awesome having the chance to meet her family and have a real Texan living experience. Well we were in Denton, we also went up to Fort Worth where we saw the cattle drive and some real live cowboys and we also bought some cowboy boots from a little town called Justin. I also got to meet my penpal who studies in Denton which was great. Maggie's parent took us out for a traditional Southern meal of country fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatos and corn which was delicious but not something I could eat every night. We also got to meet a whole bunch of Maggie's friends from her hometown and see what life was like in Denton.

I'm quite enjoying school as well. It seems a lot harder than at home, that could be because I'm doing upper division (3rd and 4th year) papers or it might just generally be harder in the U.S. I'm taking 4 papers in total. Lying and Deception, Organizational Communication, Language, Communication and Culture and Rhetoric of Pop Culture. My favourite class would definitely be lying and deception, even knowing it's probably my hardest lecture, my professor Matt Mcglone, is phenomonal, he makes the subject extremely interesting and highly entertaining. Most of my classes are big with the exception of Language, Communication and Culture which is only 20 people. Yesterday I presented my culture presentation for the class of New Zealand, it was great having the opportunity to teach them about my culture (EVERYONE in the class is from Texas) and they all really enjoyed it.

Also through a few of my classes I've made friends. A lot of people are intrigued that I'm from New Zealand and want to know more. I made friends with a girl in my Org com class and we coincidently are in a group project together. I also made a friend through my lang, com and culture class who lives in the same dorm I do. We get on great and through her I've met a whole heap of people at my dorm. All the people I have met have been awesome and I really enjoy spending my time with them and getting to know them all. Especially Andrea, Karen, Maggie and Vanda who have been extremely kind to me and have really made my experience as good as it gets.

I've also moved rooms in my dorm. I had problems with my last roommate as our schedules conflicted to much and when I would be sleeping at 4am, she would arrive home and get onto her computer which instantly woke me up every night. She had never had a roommate before and I get the feeling she was trying to make me want to leave. Living with a roommate is hard, especially when that person holds no respect for you. If you go on exchange and end up with a roommate that you do not get on with really try your best to move rooms. If I had stayed in my previous room then my whole experience here would of really been horrible. But now that I moved rooms, I have a fantastic new roommate who I get on with great and who I respect and vice versa. I also had an encounter with some soriety girls whose rooms I was originally moving into, but after the way they treated me and behaved I made sure I didn't end up in their room. The other Americans who have heard the story of soriety girls were shocked and appalled by their behaviour, and it most definitely has given me a bad impression of soriety girls. They're vindictive, rude, disrespectful and selfish.

I also have got involved with IM Basketball at UT. Through a program called free agents, I was contact by a heap of basketball teams who were looking for more players to play. I waited to find a team right for me and then we met up for a practise and to get to know one another. The team is co-ed and are all really friendly and depite being quite compeditive it's a lot of fun. We're played two games so far and won both.

Well I think that sums up most of my exchange here so far. There's a whole heap of other stuff I want to mention but I don't want to rant on forever. It's Valentines day here today so i'm off to a singles party with some friends :)

Stay safe and thanks for reading!

Francesca xo

First few days in Austin!

2009-01-17T10:13:00.001-08:00

Well I'm finally here!
I arrived Monday night and have spent the last 5 days exploring the city and getting ready for university. On my first day I had a walk around the UT campus and "the drag" (Guadalupe street). The Campus is huge and really pretty! It's pretty easy to navigate around too. I got my tb test done and I had a walk down Guadalupe Street. There are some really cool stores and restaurants down it, such as American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, Wish, CVS Pharmacy, Chipotle and Crave. However, if you want to do some seriously shopping you need to head out of town to somewhere like Highland mall. I've struggled to find a supermarket near where I live (Dobie dorms) and I think I will need to take a bus to reach the closest supermarket.

Registering was quite easy, I went to see my academic advisor and she helped me pick out my classes and registered them for me. The only big issue I encounterd with registering was my health insurance. I had bought Health insurance in my Home country... and in New Zealand it is very hard to get an actual insurance representative to sign the health insurance waiver that it required by UT. So in the end my form was unsigned but I had the booklet with all the information of my policy with me, however, UT are very strict on their rules and they need to have it sign. So a warning to ALL students considering exchange to Austin, MAKE SURE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE WAIVER IS SIGNED!!!!!! It is ALOT of drama if it isn't signed...
After all that was sorted I just had to pay my fees and then I was finished registering.

I'm staying at Dobie dorms in an efficency room. The room is tiny and i have to share with a roommate, so I highly recommend getting the biggest room possible if you go on exchange because sharing a room is difficult, but sharing a tiny room, is almost impossible. Also once you've signed your lease it's impossible to get out of it and very hard to move rooms, so make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

The highlight for me so far has been the Midnight rodeo. At first I thought this would literally be a rodeo, but Midnight Rodeo is actually a Texan themed bar with a huge dance floor in the middle. I went with the Planet longhorn group (which i highly recommend you become apart of, they're an awesome group of people and will help you out heaps!!!). When first coming into Midnight Rodeo we came across heaps of people dressed in traditional Texan outfits including cowboy shirts, hats and boots. It seemed that ALL the locals knew all the country songs off by heart and knew all the traditional dance moves for the two-step and line dances. At first it was quite daunting but after a little bit we got into it and ended up giving it a go. It's a lot of fun and a real Texan experience, and for those who aren't for the country dancing, Midnight rodeo also play a series of club/dance/hiphop songs between country songs, so there is pretty much something for everyone.

We also had the chance to try the official dish of Texas which is Chilli. There is a huge Mexican influence on the food in Austin, which is great because it's all very diverse and different. However, if your exchange rate against the American dollar is low (like New Zealand) be careful of the price of meals, it may seem cheap in American money but when exchanged into your currency it can be quite pricey, so look out for cheap deals or try splitting meals to cut costs (the portions are huge!)

Well I think that's all I can say for now, hopefully I'll have the chance to do more exploring and more information about the University classes, which start this Tuesday.

Pre-Depature Blog

2008-12-07T19:14:00.001-08:00

Hey All!

This is my first official blog for my exchange to Austin! I have exactly 5 weeks (35 days) until my departure from Auckland, New Zealand to Austin, Texas and I am sooo excited! As of the moment, I have chosen and paid the confirmation fee for my accomodation (I'm staying in a dorm), booked my visa appointment and of course, book my flights.

I've already noticed quite a few differences in the university experience of Austin and New Zealand students. In New Zealand we also have dorm like facilities, but we call 'halls', no one in a hall shares a room but we are provided with 3 meals a day and we have RA's, just like the dorms in Texas.

Also, a lot of the terminology is different, which I have found a bit difficult to get use to. In America, you have freshman, sophmores, juniors and seniors and the average batchelor degree takes 4 years. But here in New Zealand, we just call students first, second and third years and our batchelor degrees take 3 years. Also, America has upper and lower division papers, I believe lower division is for freshman and sophmores and upper division is for juniors and seniors. In New Zealand we just have first, second and third year papers.

I'm currently a 'freshman' studying communications and marketing, but while I'm on exchange I will be study communications as a sophmore in the Spring semester.

Anywho, I think that's enough blogging for now... stay tuned for another pre-depature blog at a later date!

Francesca.