Horrible news.
We don't get "concession" cards.
What's a concession card? It's what we SHOULD get for being students and cut the price of the tram in half. Not having one cuts your fun in half. Maybe even worse. I think it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Lindsay. She has barely cracked a smile since we got here and after that blow today I almost think she regrets it here but I could be wrong.
I had looked into transportation before we left and was under the impression we got concession cards and figured that into my spending. But apparently if you're a study abroad student you don't get concession cards. Exchange students do but not study abroad students. It has to do with the fact that we pay a program and they pay the uni? Anyway:
Zone 2 prices are as follows
daily pass is 4.60 or 2.60 with card
weekly is 19.20 or 9.60 with card
monthly is 70.00 or 35.00 with card
What's even worse is that's just Zone 2, meaning that's just Burwood basically. We are just outside the city but not close enough to qualify as Zone 1 and therefore in order to go to the city would have to buy a Zone 1 and 2 pass
daily 10.10 or 5.30 with card
weekly 9.60 or 23.70 with card
monthly 161.00 or 80.50 with card
So basically it costs us a TON of money more than we thought it would to go anywhere. About twice as much. We could not buy tram passes and ONLY buy tickets when we need food (it's impossible to walk to the grocery and back with food - too far) but then I'd come home from Australia and say "yea I was there for 5 months, went to the beach once and otherwise sat around in Burwood".
In other news. The curse continues with our orientation today. We went to campus at 9 am. We sat in a meeting, wandered campus and then around 1:30 (after a crappy lunch AGAIN) ended up in a line to enroll. We are in the "arts" college and that was the longest line. As in the ONLY line. We waited until 5 pm. Finally we made it through, enrolled in our classes (but haven't selected times yet) and then got in the NEXT line for our student cards. No such luck. The system was down and we can't get student cards till Monday.
So we went home.
And wasted an ENTIRE day in line. It was horrific and unorganized and hot.
O-week is next week which everyone is excited about. I was excited too, because there's a "beach party" (not at the beach) and live bands and a comedy tour and this mystery bus thing and it all sounded exciting. Then I found out each event is $30 dollars. $15 if you enroll in DUSA but DUSA costs $88 dollars and I'm not really sure what else you get.
I asked an ESA what the events are like and everyone she described was "you show up, everyone is dressed up for the event and everyone gets ABSOLUTELY hammered, has a great time and stumbles home"
great. more money. not to mention it seems like everyone is just here to get drunk. they mentioned a trip to sydney which seems awesome (granted the first thing anyone asked is if alcohol was included). It costs $375 and it's over the weekend of the gay and lesbian mardi gras in Sydney. I thought it sounded fun but Lindsay says she doesn't have the money and I'm a little scared to go with the frat boys from UMASS....
we'll see....
Talked to a few kids who did USAC study abroad. Basically everyone who is from USAC mentioned the program didn't do anything to help, and they ended up homeless when they arrived.
