G’day everybody! (Yeah, that was cringey, I know, but I had to do it) I arrived at Bond University on January 7th, 2020 so I have been here for 15 days now. So I figured it was time to write about the place I am calling “home” for the next few months! To start, Bond Uni is absolutely gorgeous! The university is ranked #1 for student experience in Australia and it shows! It has been fun becoming a Bondie (as they call us). Their mascot is the Bullshark, since the waterways here are known for having bullsharks in them. So it is highly recommended that we never try swimming in them!
When I arrived at Bond, I had no idea who my roommate would be. I was told that it could be someone in my program, another international student, or even an Aussie! I was a bit nervous unlocking my door on the first day as I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, I was greeted by my very friendly Aussie roommate! She is a freshmen from Central Queensland, starting her first semester at uni.
The first few days at Bond, were packed with orientation events for us. I attended many welcome events, from free dinners/lunches, a nature walk, a Burleigh beach trip, trivia night, scavenger hunt, etc. The events definitely kept me on my toes and I am so glad because it gave me things to do and opportunities to meet new people. I would say that trivia night was probably my favorite though.
Pictures from Springbrook National Park! We came here during orientation for a short walk.
The first few days were a bit awkward, trying to make friends and figure out where everything was (spoiler: I have made friends and can navigate campus now). But I knew this would be something I would experience when I applied to study abroad, so I was ready to embrace it. There are 2 other girls in my program from GW, but I didn’t know them until I arrived in Sydney. It was good to know that I had some support from other Colonials if needed though. Overall, I would compare the first few days here to the beginning of freshmen year of college (so I knew I could do it again).
Bond @ A Glance
Bond is a young university, but it is already making impressions throughout Australia and the world! The university is celebrating 30 years, having been established in 1989. As I mentioned earlier, the university is ranked as the #1 university in Australia for student experience. The university is well known for their large international student body with 46% of students being international! There are 4,000 students that attend Bond with 51% of them being postgraduate students. This means that only about 2,000 students are undergrads!
It has definitely been a noticeable change going from GW, a university located in downtown D.C. with 28,000 students and 12,000 of them being undergrads. Additionally, many Bond students commute from home, making the on-campus student body even smaller than 2,000. I am definitely enjoying the change though. Campus is much more calm and you get to know people a little better. However, my experience so far being at such a small school, definitely emphasizes that I made the right choice when I choose GW (a perfect sized school for my college career, yay!). I would say that I have adjusted to life at Bond pretty well. I have settled into my routine and the campus is beautiful so I have no complaints 🙂
Food at Bond
The dining plan here is very similar to GW’s. We have a certain amount of money on our ID cards and we can use them anywhere on campus to purchase food. I would say that I was pretty equipped for this dining plan coming from GW and having lived on the VERN freshmen year (iykyk). There is one difference between GW’s dining plan and Bond’s though. For every food purchase you make, you get a % of it put back onto your card. This helps students avoid food insecurity at the end of the semester. I would say that so far, my favorite food to get here is to order from the wrap/salad bar at Lakeside. Additionally, TimTams are big here and all I will say is that I am going to miss them a lot when I go home. So I will definitely be filling my bag with them when it is time to come home. My friends and I have tried a few of the local food places as well and have had good experiences at all of them.
School and Classes (wait, I’m not just here to travel?)
As much as I would love to be here just to travel and experience everything Oz has to offer, I am taking 4 classes this semester. I’ve started my second week of classes and they all seem like they will be good! I am taking electives to fulfill my psychology minor and exercise science major requirements. Lectures are only once a week for 2 hours and their tutorials (discussions) are once a week for 1 hour. So in total, I have 12 hours of class a week, which isn’t bad at all. I have Tuesdays and Fridays off from class, which is nice because I can continue my streak of never having a Friday class in college 😉
The classrooms are beautiful here. Bond Uni ensures that each student has a comfy chair and plenty of desk space to enhance student experience. Bond runs on a trimester schedule, unlike any other university here. This means that students graduate in about 2-2.5 years. They have semesters starting in January, May, and September. This made Bond perfect for me since I didn’t love the idea of going to school from late February-end of June at any of the other universities in Australia.
Pictures of Bond!
These are some pictures of the center of campus! Campus is beautiful and a nice change of scenery for me
Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is stunning. There is so much to see and do here. The beaches here are amazing and each one is a little different. So far, my favorite has been Echo Beach. Echo is a little beach tucked away behind Burleigh National Park. The water is clear and the sand is soft. This beach is located in Burleigh, which is a suburb of the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast is also well known for Surfers Paradise. Surfers Paradise is a beautiful beach with high-rise apartment buildings, that is also known for its nightlife. The Gold Coast has a lot of waterways, setting it about from many other places in Australia. There are over 550 miles of residential waterways throughout the city. We have some here around Bond too! Some other suburbs of the Gold Coast include, Robina (where Bond is!), Coolangatta, Currumbin, Coomera, Broadbeach, Varsity Lakes, and many more.
The Gold Coast is located about 40 miles southeast of Brisbane and is on the north border of New South Wales, but is in the southeast corner of Queensland. The city has 43 miles of beaches, many of them being the most popular surfing locations in the world, making it home to lot of professional surfers! The Gold Coast has a humid subtropical climate, making summers very hot and humid. It has been very humid every day here (making running a little difficult sometimes, but I’m managing). About 10 million people visit the Gold Coast every year, which doesn’t surprise me, since it is a beautiful place with lots to do.
Adventures and other pictures!
This weekend, my friends and I headed to Burleigh National Park with no expectations of what it would be like. The minute that we arrived, it was evident that the views were even more breathtaking than we imagined. We explored the park and I was continually amazed by everything we saw. The ocean was clear and bright blue. The vegetation consisted of a million shades of green with wild turkeys roaming around the walkways. We eventually reached the end of the park which lead us to a bridge that kids were jumping off of and a beautiful beach (Echo Beach). So of course, we went bridge jumping and spent the afternoon there. Towards the end of the afternoon, we even saw a small beach wedding! (It was absolutely adorable) After the beach, we went out for dinner at a cute mexican food restaurant. Overall, it was an awesome day and I am looking forward to exploring the Gold Coast more and having more days like this one!
Other Things I Have Been Doing
- running, figuring out where to run, what times are best to run, and how to run in the constant humidity
- going to the gym (typically in the mornings)
- exploring campus
- exploring the beaches
- having Bachelor nights with friends (yes, Dad. I still am going to watch the Bachelor here. I even figured out how to use GW’s vpn all by myself!!!)
- hanging out with friends
- exploring the different suburbs of the Gold Coast // downtown beach areas (because they are all very different)
- going to class (*sigh* yes I am going to class. Which I am actually really enjoying!)
- writing this blog
- planning trips and getting excited to travel in the upcoming weeks!!!
- keeping in touch with my friends and family 🙂
I hope the winter weather is treating everyone at home well! I can definitely say that at most, I only have alligator tears about missing out on that. Thanks for sticking through another blog post! 🙂 I’ll be back soon with more updates!
With love,
Ali
Ali's Australian Adventures 