Living in a college

Hello my dear readers!
I don't know if I have already told you, but I am actually living in a college here in Perth. This is an incredible experience that I would suggest to anyone for at least once in their life.
Before coming here, I thought living in a college was like an american movie in which there are guys partying every night and having fun every single day (without studying...obviously!). Well, I would have never believed how much fiction was similar to reality (apart from studying..). Every day is a surprise, there is always something new to do and quiet sometimes seems a dream.

For example, my college organizes different social activities every week. One of my favourite are formal dinners: dinners in which everyone has to wear elegant or semi-formal and fancy food as well as good wine is served. Can't wait for another one, trust me!

A pub crawl was also organized. Basically, it consists of a bus with loud music which takes people to different pubs. The funny thing was that only after the first stop, the situation began to get out of hand: people were crazy and started singing and dancing on the bus. I had so much fun! The theme was "sports" and everyone had to dress up accordingly. Me and my friends were the italian Olympics team, obviously!

A pub close to the uni hosts sometimes special events for the students of different colleges. People, to support their college, wear the college uniform. This is nice, because it seems being part of a big family.

Finally, last week the annual college Ball took place. It consisted of a formal dinner set in a location which had been kept secret until the end and then it was followed by dances..obviously! :) The place was amazing: a restaurant in the middle of Kings Park with a terrace with a wonderful view on the city and its skyscrapers.

Anyway, these are just some of the official activities. The real college experience is what I have been living everyday: in room parties, gossips, funny neighbours that climb up to the second floor, noise at everytime of the day, but especially friends coming to your room asking for food or washing powder!

Cheers!

Hello readers!
If you come to Australia, one of the first words you will hear is "Cheers" (possibly followed by "man", and I am still wondering why). Well, I was quite surprised when I first heard that kind of weird greeting, because Cheers for me was just a word used when you toast. So, as you can imagine, I didn't really reply properly with my "Thank you!"and I obviously made a fool of myself.
Anyway, now I have luckily improved and I am able to answer back with a loud "cheers man!". Very aussie isn't it? :)

However Australia never ceases to surprise you. Another very common greeting that you can have here is "Hey, how is it going" or better "Hey howisgain" possibly said in a super-extra speedy way, so that you can realize what he/she said just after that person went away. And obviously the sentence doesn't mean that they actually want to know if you are fine or not. So, don't waste your time in answering with a polite "I am fine, how are you?", it's not the case.  Just answer back with a simple "hey how is going" and you will be seen as cool and good-mannered.

I know that probably talking about greetings is not really the most interesting topic, but I think it's really useful when you are approaching a new culture and a new land. Every place has its own customs and traditions and it could be nice at least to know the basic ones for a smooth integration into the society.

But remember that in every place you can go and the language barriers you can meet, nothing can make the difference as a sincere smile and a positive approach. So, if you don't know what to say, don't panic! Just smile! :)

Spring Break!

Hello readers!! :)
I know, I know, I know... it has been a long time since I wrote the last time. But you know why? I had my spring break in Bali and obviously it was hard to find a working internet connection. For people who are not used to it (actually in Italy is not that common), the spring break is a one week holiday when students usually take a "break" and go somewhere for a trip. Anyway, it's funny because obviously here it's spring, whereas in Italy autumn has just started and Uni as well has just begun. So dear friends coming from the other side of the emisphere, now it's my turn to make you jealous!
I know that Bali is not really "the land down under", but I can say it has been an integral part of my experience as an exchange student here, also because basically all the people there were Australians and Kuta especially was tailored for aussies!
Anyway, just feast your eyes with some pics :)

sunset in Kuta

surfing in Kuta

Balinese spectacle

vulcano

temple

rice terrace

rafting

the group of the "braves"

Padang Padang beach

view from the temple

Unfortunately now I am back to the reality, but I know that the land down under can still offer me something to talk about. And here I would add a quote that me and my friend Nico come up with during our stay in Bali : " Life is like a dish of Nasi Goreng... you never know what's inside" (and I can assure you it's like that....)

Cheers!!!

Rottnest Island

Hi all! :)
If you want to take a breath out of the city just for one day (or more, obviously!), Rottnest Island is the place for you. Almost one hour far from Perth, but easily reachable by ferry, this amazing island is the perfect mix of unspoiled nature, fun and total relax. Its finest beaches have been awarded top Australian beaches and there are plenty of activities that can be done, including fishing, diving, surfing and cycling.

Last week I finally decided to see with my eyes these beauties and now I can say that it's really worth it! Apart from the fact that it was quite expensive (but I know there are some discounts during the week) and I had some problems in finding the closer harbour (I am not really a good planner), this was one of the best experiences I had in Western Australia till now. After just 20 mins ferry from Freemantle, we arrived there at 10 and we took the bicycles which are for sure the best way to wander around the island. Rottnest is just 11 km lenght, so you can easily see a great part of it just in one day.
Anyway, we just saw the northern part of it and we stopped off liying down on some beaches (soooo relaxing!). Here some pictures:

Then we decided to have lunch in a lovely place in the main harbour and we finally had the chance to see some of the animals that live the island. Yes, they all gather near the restaurants : how cunning they are! Indeed I was peacefully eating when suddenly I found a peacock walking around the tables and a cute Quokka (a native animal of the island) who was under my chair begging for food.
After that we went on with our "relax" tour. And, basically we stopped cycling after 20 mins. Too lazy, I know! :)

Unfortunately we had to leave that amazing place at one point, but I really want to get back! Anyway, if after my brief report, you are keen on going, I have some tips to give you:

• bring a backpack instead of a bag (ok, maybe it was a problem just for me)
• take your sun cream with you, unless you want to become like a big prawn
• prepare a packet lunch (it can be quite expensive otherwise)
• wait one month, so that the weather and the climate will be even nicer

I guess this is all, but if you have any other questions or tips, just write them down.

Do you know other places close to Perth where I can go just for one or few days? 

Hope you enjoyed! :)

Cheers

Roger's story

Hello my readers!
I guess all of you know that Australia is well known for the wild and dangerous animals that live there. The white shark, the box jellyfish, the salt water crocodile and the red back spider are just few of the "friendly" creatures that can be mentioned.

However, my short experience here in Perth has taught me that there is another animal to be afraid of : the cockroach!! Six legs, winged and brown, the roach is one the most frightening animals I have met so far. Ok, ok... maybe it's an exaggeration, but I can assure you that finding one of these in your room when you are about to fall asleep, it's not a nice experience, especially if you have a real insects phobia like me.

The problem, as I found out later, is that these bugs are quite common in Western Australia, especially when it starts to warm up. And my room really seems the ideal place for their "Holidays"...damn! Thus, when I found the second one, me and my friends decided to come up with a name for my special guest.
Indeed this is the story of Roger the cockroach (and his large family).
We first met Roger two weeks ago : he was peacefully walking on my table. Of course, since I am a really brave girl, I started shouting in the middle of the night. My friends ran to me, but also their help turned out to be useless: Roger was sharp and jumped away (yes, it is even able to jump...). Everything seemed to be quiet, but few days later, Roger II (actually I still don't know if it was him or his fatty friend, because it was even bigger!!!) re-appeared. Same reaction, but this time Roger II was too lazy and we were able to catch him with two glasses overlapping. Here some of the pictures that document the happening.

Tommaso "the hunter"

Beatrice "the assistant" (more or less....)

Are you wondering about his end? Well, I was not able to kill him, so I left him somewhere outside. Terrible choice. I guess, the word spread amongst his friends and they tried to enter again. This time however, I was not so naive, and I bought an insect killer spray (really, I think it can kill everyone...). Thus, Roger III had no chance and finally died. I have a picture of that moment as well, but I don't want to hurt your sensibility, so I let you imagine what happened.

That was the last time I saw Roger and his family, but I am not waiting for them to come again, so I am always on alert. The strategy is quite simple: don't leave any kind of food opened; plug the holes and spray the insecticide sometimes (don't worry, your lungs will get used to that). Hope it is gonna work for a long time. Do you have any other suggestions?

Cheers! :)

Let's start!

Hey everyone! I'm Bea and this blog is part of a project for e-marketing.

First of all let me introduce myself : I am a 23 years old sunny italian girl and for the next few months I will be living in Australia for my exchange period at UWA university. So when I was asked to write a blog, I thought : why don't combine business with pleasure and start talking about my experience here?? In particular this won't be simply a blog about Australia, but instead it will be centered around me and the experiences that I'm having. And why not?? maybe,  I could also give some tips to people who are interested in starting a new life here (better...some of you can also give me some good advices!)

Here I am!

Are you wondering why I chose this title? I guess this song can clearly explain the reasons! :)

ENJOY!