Newi Home: Mediocre Advice for Renting Abroad

I have officially moved into the room I'll be renting for this semester! It is a cute little place that feels incredibly home-y, and I have the nicest landlords EVER. That being said, I have a word of advice for anyone renting abroad, especially if you're looking to be in Newi.

Look online and contact landlords ahead of time. Know a few options and pick a favorite, but don't commit until you've seen it in person. Looking ahead makes the transition a lot easier without the commitment of a lease signed before you see the place.

Rent from a person, not a real estate agent (if you can). This is what I'm doing. When you work with real people who really care, you have a much better experience. Kiri and Paul picked me up from my hotel to drive me to the house, made sure I had all the furniture I'd need, and drove me back from the supermarket after my initial shopping trip. They've done so much more, too. They've shown me how to get to the uni from the house and worked very hard to make sure I feel safe and confident in my first days here.
On the other side of this, I know a couple people renting from agents. It may work out, but one person told me that the agent left her the wrong keys and then refused to come back to give her the correct set until morning...or afternoon. He was 3+ hours late even then. Certain pieces of furniture weren't in the room as promised. It just was a hassle. Luckily, it will be fine, but rent through a person if you can.

Make sure you bring the correct adapters. This is my current struggle since my converter and adapter combo doesn't support my laptop...so I'm writing this on my phone! Yippee!

Finally, pack light and pack well. If you think you're not bringing enough stuff, you likely have more than enough. Studying, traveling, and living abroad is not about stuff. It's about experiences.

P.S. If you would like my mailing address, send me a text or Facebook pm! I LOVE MAIL!

Hello from the Other Side...of the World

Hiya, friends and family!

Reporting to you live from Newcastle, NSW, Australia. I have officially made it and pretty much recovered from jet lag!

Let me catch you up on what happened since I last wrote. I boarded my fifteen hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. I watched five movies. I slept...a lot. Super interesting, right?

Well, once I landed in Sydney, things did start to get a bit interesting. First of all, customs took no time at all. Since I am used to the lengthy security processes of the United States, this came as a huge shock for me. Honestly, I just walked up to the desk, showed them my passport and entry card, and walked right on through with my luggage. I guess the Aussie attitude really is "No Worries."

After I got into the main part of the airport, I really started to freak out. Here I was, exhausted, holding 100 pounds of luggage, and desperately searching for the shuttle to my hotel.

What I didn't realize, though, was that the shuttle no longer existed, none of the drivers would take me there, and even with a taxi, it would be at least a couple hours before I got the taxi and got to the hotel because of bad traffic. So, I changed my whole plan, got on a shuttle to Newcastle, and rode two and a half hours along the Australian coast to my new city. (I also got a quick view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge!!)

In the shuttle, though, I realized that the shuttle only went to the university. Since I had no idea where I was sleeping that night, I went along with it. Luckily, I texted Elise (one of the other study abroad students in Newi from the U of A), and she had an extra bed in her hotel room. So then it was only a matter of getting there.

After fumbling around the campus and asking for directions from ten different people, I found a bus stop for the bus that could take me to Jesmond, the neighborhood of the hotel. I waited for approximately 25 minutes for that bus, and then desperately attempted to get my luggage into the bus whilst still maintaining my sanity.

Here's the great thing, though--Australians are some of the kindest, most helpful people in the world. With the help of two kind women on the bus, I was able to get in and ride to the hotel.

That was pretty much all the excitement I could handle for the day, so after I went with Elise to the shopping centre, I went to bed at about 6:30 p.m. I did get to eat some Tim-Tams, though, which are downright delicious.

I guess that's all for now. I get to move into the room I'm renting today, so I'm sure you'll here from me soon.

Up, Up, and Away!

Today was the day! At 1:30 p.m., I boarded my flight from Little Rock to Denver to begin my journey to the Land of Oz!

Currently I am sitting in LAX awaiting my final flight to Sydney. Airports are...interesting. Lots of crying babies, lots of overpriced food, lots of nervous or upset or just plain exhausted people.

Luckily, though, my first two flights came and went without too many problems. When I checked in back in Little Rock, though, I'm sure I looked like a deer in the headlights. I already was confused at security and forgot to take off shoes among other things, but then my bag was randomly selected for further screening. The TSA agent, while wonderful, forgot to inform me that this was simply a random search. So, here I am, twenty years old, third time flying, and worried that I somehow broke all the rules. AHH!

Of course, it was fine, and I soon boarded the first leg of my flight. Because it was LIT->DEN, I flew on a regional jet. Which. Was. Tiny. I honestly didn't know they made airplanes that small. I lucked out, though, because the seat next to me remained empty, so I had a row to myself in this teeny, tiny, baby jet.

After a fairly short layover in the Denver Airport (which, I will mention, lives up to the stories. It was so clean and bright and oddly shaped that it really could be the setting for some Sci-Fi movie), I boarded my flight to Los Angeles.

This flight was BEAUTIFUL. Because it was out of Denver, we flew over (surprise!) the Rocky Mountains! What I wasn't expecting, though, was that we flew over the Grand Canyon!! I've never had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon, but seeing it from above was breathtaking. If only pictures could really capture its beauty. (In the second image, you can see the Grand Canyon and the large forest fire that was happening.)

I guess that's really it for now. The next time I will write, I will be in Australia! Hooray!

Now to find the Starbucks in this place...

Welcome to the Blog!

Countdown to Australia: 4 days!!!

Four days. Four days until I leave Arkansas for the adventure of a lifetime. Four days until I go.

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Caroline Halford, and I am a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR. For the next five months, though, I will be a student at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

This is a BIG deal for me. Here's why:

• I have lived in the same house in Little Rock for my entire life. 
• My university is just about three hours away from that home. 
• The longest I have been away from Arkansas was about 2 weeks when I was 14.
• The farthest I have been away from home is San Diego, California (about 1,700 miles)
• I have NEVER been out of the country. 

Now I am jumping head first into a whole new world. Newcastle (or Newi as the Aussies say) is about 9,000 miles and 15 hours ahead of Little Rock. It's in a different hemisphere, on a different continent. I guess when I decided to go, I decided to go far. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

What else am I to do, then, other than document my experiences on a blog? I am planning on posting pictures, stories, and anything else I can come up with to give you a little peak into what it is like to be an American studying abroad in Newcastle...to be Newi in town!

Stay tuned, folks, there will be a lot of posts (and puns) headed your way soon! 

Now I need to go pack. Anyone know how to fit my whole life into a couple of pieces of luggage?

Toodle-oo!