The end of the beginning

What an amazing start!

I feel like I've settled in at this point, and I'm ready to start classes. Before I left for Australia, Michigan gave us a bit of an orientation to prepare us for the process of studying abroad. I remember one of the points that they stressed was something called the "honeymoon phase," a time when you'll be magically impressed with your host country no matter what you see or do, just because you're so excited to be there. Admittedly, I feel like I've spent a week in the honeymoon phase and it's beginning to wane. I don't say that with any remorse or sadness, but excitement really - I've really enjoyed the past week and I look forward to a more thorough understanding of the culture by studying it via classes and generally having my wits about me a bit better. But alas, it was quite nice to be on holiday, traveling to various parts of Sydney and New South Wales without a worry, spending entire days at the beach relaxing and meeting new friends from all over the world.

I came here to experience Austrlaian culture, and that will mostly be done outside of the classroom I assume. But I don't want to take for granted the learning that I will do inside the lecture walls either, as it's 1) important to my major as a mechanical engineer and 2) also revealing of how Australian students learn and value their education. Living at "uni" (as they call university here) is very much a privilege - it's quite expensive and many native students will choose instead to live at home and commute up to an hour and a half, staying on campus for the day before returning home for dinner. I'm keen to see what else we as Americans tend to take for granted in our education, and can always appreciate the reminder to value what's been given to me.

I realized yesterday that this will be perhaps as much a learning experience inward as outward. What I mean to say is that my own stereotypes and standards and ideologies, while not so etched in stone or at all oppressive, will likely be defined and then challenged. And I look forward to that - I think it's always my duty to be a good Christian, and to represent a Christian lifestyle. But to be a Christian in isolation is not as influential as living along the Lord's path could be, and so I hope to impact people the right way while I'm here - as a white, American, 21-year-old, 172-pound (so light, hey...), broad-shouldered, male Christian. And therein show acceptance in every aspect with no regard to judgement.

My courses start tomorrow, but tutorials (discussions or sections) don't start until week two. My class lineup is:

1.) MATH2801 - Theory of Statistics

2.) CEIC2001 - Fluid Mechanics

3.) ELEC1112 - Electrical Circuit Analysis

4.) ARTS2360 - Truth and Belief

The final course, ARTS2360, is a philosophy class aimed at tackling the major issues in philosophical debate, such as the concept of God, good vs. evil, the existence of morality, the meaning of life, etc. As an engineer, it's not often I get to take classes like this, and I'm quite looking forward to it.

That's the update for now. As the weekend draws to a close, I'm getting ready to start my classwork beginning tomorrow morning. I will attempt to update this travel blog twice or three times a week, to share my thoughts and experiences. As I develop my thinking through ARTS2360, the arguments I present herein may become irrefutable!

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