So I have been far behind on posting, sorry about that! Lots of stuff has happened since my last post so this post is going to be a lengthy one.
Wow, where to begin! First thing first I'm currently in week 8 of my 13 week trimester. Hence, the title of this post.
Anywho, to catch y'all up I'll break this post into sections from the past couple weeks. For a highlight and overview I had my midterms and first major assignment due, visited Byron Bay, and vacationed to Airlie Beach.
Midterms and School in general:
Bond Uni is definitely a challenging school with their grading scales. Instead of having letter grades, there grades are distinctions. They have high distinction, distinction, credit, pass, and fail. Here is a grade conversion to compare the two. It is very rare for a professor to give a student a high distinction, so when I got a 75 on my Marketing Research and Analysis midterm I was content to just get an "A" in general.
The weekend after my first midterm I went to Byron Bay, which is about an hour and a half south of Bond. Three of my friends and I rented a car and drove down there. It was a nice change of pace to sit in a car versus the bus. The scenery on the drive there was breathtaking, but nothing compared to when we actually arrived. Although it was murky and cloudy, the city's beauty still existed and shined through the hindered filter that would normally obstruct one's view. As a special treat for me doing well on my midterm I decided to treat my self to going hang gliding. That had to be the best 145 dollars I had ever spent. Despite the flight only being a half hour, it felt like ages that I was soaring through the sky. I have a huge fear of heights. I was worried of my stomach experiencing that rising and dropping motion feeling (not a fan AT ALL), but surprisingly It was a smooth ride that I sometimes I even forgot that I was submerged in the air by three clips to the hang glide. If you're sitting there thinking I did this by myself..you are crazy. I did the tandem flight where I rode side by side with a pilot that has been flying for 37 years. Attached below are some photos over the weekend of Byron Bay.
After my trip to Byron Bay it was back to reality of school aka mid term week was approaching. I had three midterms over the course of 14 hours with two of them being back to back. I was relieved that one of my professors handed out his midterm two weeks prior, but the stress was still unreal. I think that was the hardest week since I have been here for me. I was counting down the days till I returned back to the states, talking to my parents every chance I got, and just drowning myself in my books. I literally felt like my brain had been fried. I don't feel like I did all that well on my midterms, but I put in 100% so I can't be upset.
After filling my brain with mass amounts of equations, vocab words, and theories, I was in desperate need of a vacation. I went with one of my best friends from here to Airlie Beach which is in between Brisbane and Cairns by the Heart Reef. This beach was divergent from other beaches because it didn't have the touristy feel to it. It was very rural and off the beaten path in a way. I spent the entire weekend laying out and reading my book, not having a care in the world. It was probably my favorite place that I have visited. We ended up running into some other friends from our Globalinks group and hung out with them for a fun night out on the town.
Basically, I have come to find out that our biggest battle is against the clock. Here I am already half way through an adventure of a lifetime. It makes me think that can a person ever fully enjoy the present? We constantly think ahead of time and imagine/construct what the future holds all while reminiscing on the past. To free ones mind of this is life's biggest challenge. For a person to be able to take off their glasses, and simply be blinded with what lies in the distance, is how to truly live in the moment.
