♥Hey Guys, this is my first post of the year. My name is Leah and I am a Junior here at Oswego. I am also on the Varsity Swimming team. That being said, I am forewarning you that many of my posts will most likely be about swimming, since that is pretty much my life besides schoolwork. I had a really nice relaxing summer and enjoyed the beautiful weather that I had at home in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area. However, now its back to business and time for me to start getting busy again, lol. The first few weeks of classes was nice without work and swim practice, however next week I will start both my lifeguarding job AND official swim practices…… needless to say, that should be a good time. haha. Dont’t get me wrong, i LOVE school and working out but theres just something about summertime that beats it all. Speaking of schoolwork, I should probably get to doing some of that so i will leave you for now, and I will get atcha’ in a few days! 🙂
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Australia…switching into student mode
I’ve been up to a lot lately down under. There have been some unexpected costs with school so I picked up the pace on the job search earlier this week…I think I found a job at the ice rink in town!! Of course I would be the one to track down the only rink in Townsville. The owner and his friend also asked me to play pick up on Saturday’s and join their roller hockey team on Thursday nights! I think I can bike to the rink in about 30 min, or I am going to try and find the closest bus drop off to that side of town.
School is going well. It is definitely challenging me, which is a good thing! I am taking marine invertebrate, the evolution and physiology of plants, and coral reef ecology. I really like my Coral Reef Ecology class…today we discussed the current impact and predicted effects global warming and ocean acidification will likely have on corals reefs in the future. If you are interested in snorkeling or diving in the Caribbean or Indo-Pacific I would strongly suggest taking a trip sometime in the near future!
On a lighter note. Last weekend I ferried over to Magnetic Island with some comrades and stayed at a hostel for the weekend. Not everyone was dive certified so we opted for the snorkeling route. It was an amazing experience…the species diversity in the Indo-Pacific trumps the Caribbean! One of the highlights of my weekend adventure was having champagne breakfast with a Barney the Koala at the Bungalow Bay Hotel on the northern side of the island. A few of us also opted to pay a little extra to hold Barney…
Well I am off to be studious! Hope all is well in NY!
K
The Oswego Summers
The beauty that is the Oswego summer is something I wish we all could experience for longer than the first two weeks of the fall semester and the last .8 days of the spring semester. It’s absolutely astounding the extreme difference between the winters and summers here.
As many of us find ourselves doing (at least once) during the long winter months, I often find myself questioning my decision to attend SUNY Oswego (although after 4 years I suppose that question is rather mute). But then I find myself in a beautiful clear day in the middle of July with barely a cloud in the sky, able to sit on the shores of Lake Ontario waching one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen while eating an ice cold soft serve ice cream (black raspberry flavored) on a small wafer cone. (From everyone’s favorite ice cream stand of course).
It’s day’s like that that always remind me why I chose to come to Oswego. Of course I wish it was like this year round… but hey the Oswego winters build character! And if nothing else, it gives us excellent stories to share with people who have no idea what this is like 🙂
Down under!
So I made it to Australia! I landed in Townsville, a town located along the northeast coast of Queensland, on July 22nd and have been running rampant since! The town itself is quite large, and fairly busy. James Cook University is not as close to downtown as I had expected. It is a 25 minute bus ride to get to various stores and restaurants, and a 35 minute ride to get to the beach. I am staying on campus in George Roberts Hall, a dorm that in some ways is laid out like a giant Motel 6…but fancier! I have a single room and live in an “apartment” with two other female roommates who I share a bathroom and common room with. Katerine is back from break and is Australian. I have not met the other roommate, but she is supposedly from Lebanon. There are also wallabies living outside my door. 
Besides the first two days, the weather has been gorgeous…right now it is 68 F at 10:18 PM. Orientation week, or the Big “O”, started off with a bang Monday. The international office hosted a “sausage sizzle” with live music….I am a big fan of grilling out. Overall, there are a lot more Americans attending James Cook than I expected, but the 10,000 Aussie students are expected to return for the start of classes on August 4th.
In between orientation activities I had time to bus into town and set up a bank account at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. As well, a few of us researched mobile phones and decided to opt for a rechargeable service with Telstra. With our “Freedom” plan we can call and text 5 set numbers with no charge for 30 days…so a bunch of us got the same plan needless to say. Unlike in the States where we buy phone minutes, in Australia they go by dollar amount. So if you paid $30 for a plan you may have $150 credit which you can use to text or call (a text is $.25 and calls are at a rate of $.68/minute). Very different. 
Well enough about phones…tomorrow I am checking out the aquarium downtown and Friday a few of us are going to Billabong Sanctuary.
Hope all is well in NY!
K
My first post!
Hey all! This is my first post on the SUNY Oswego Blog! Today we just finished our third, first-year orientation program and it went really well! I’m a Laker Leader (Orientation Leader) for the summer, and things are great so far. We have a great Orientation Staff and along with help from the administrative offices and advisors on campus, we have managed to throw together a program that most seem to enjoy! The Class of 2012 seems really excited to be here and have been wonderful to spend time with.
This is my first time staying in Oswego for the summer months and I am definitely regretting not staying here sooner! It’s beautiful right now! Today was 94 degrees outside, a little too hot for me, but the lake was amazing today. Day’s like today make dealing with Oswego snow definitely worth it! 🙂