Mondays....

It's a Monday...thought I'd share a little bit of where I work, live, and play.  I'm working at the Centre for Gender, Health and Aging which is affiliated with the University of Newcastle.  The centre is located not directly on the main campus which is nice for me because it is only about a ten minute walk from where I live where as if I had to go to the main campus it would be about a 20 minute bus ride.  At the office I have my own room complete with computer, a desk, comfy chair and plenty of lighting.

My messy but awesome desk

My apartment is shared with other renters and students.  It houses a total of about 80 people and has 3 floors.  I'm on the second floor and a few doors down from Mel.  Our rooms have a bed, desk, balcony, and bathroom.  Downstairs there is a large shared kitchen.  Each renter has their own locker to store dry foods in and there is a huge walk in freezer and refrigerator that we all store our cold food in.  There is also a common area with couches and two flat screens where we can watch TV as we eat or just hang out at.

 

My room for the next 5 weeks

(desk, bed, balcony, bathroom is to the left of the window)

Today after work since the weather was so nice Mel and I decided to head down to the beach and get some sun.  It's about a 15 minute walk which isn't too bad.  In Australia all of the beaches have salt pools next to the beach. These are Olympic sized swimming pools that are filled with ocean water that filters from a hole in the wall.  The bottom of the pool has sand and its fantastic, I think it is the greatest thing ever! People swim in it to avoid the rough surf and it's great because you can swim laps and run in it without being afraid that a rip current will take you out. I love it!

Chillaxing

Beautiful afternoon

Life in Newcastle is not so bad with work and new things to try and see, but I do miss home, friends, and family.  I'm thankful for the time to be here and look forward to the next few remaining weeks that I have here.