Manly, Noodles, PwC, Oh My!

After settling back into a routine, I have finally found some time to blog a little bit. We started the second half of our semester last Monday and I can't believe we are already halfway through! I still feel like I have so much to see around Sydney so that will be my goal for the second half of the semester. My posts are probably going to be a bit more dull because I'm not going to be able to travel as much but hopefully my ~amazing~ sense of humor keeps everyone interested enough to keep reading :)

I am now taking Australian Social Policy as my class, and then I have my 4 day a week internship. So far it has been alright but our schedule is a little tough because of our internships. We have a 4-hour lecture on Mondays and then a 2-hour lecture on Thursday right after work, so paying attention has been a little difficult at times. We had our first class last Monday and then everyone started their internships on Tuesday, except for Maddie, Emily and I at PwC because our on-boarding got delayed. We ended up starting on Thursday instead, so I took my Tuesday and Wednesday to explore Sydney a little bit more.

Tuesday was definitely more exciting than Wednesday and Emily and I went to Manly for the day. We got lunch, walked along the beach, and bought some new clothes for work. We had these amazing acai bowls at a cute little restaurant that a local recommended to us. They were delicious and they were worth the hour commute (30 min on the train, 30 min on the ferry). We had a fun low-key couple hours in Manly and then headed home to hear about Mary Grace and Emily's first days of work.

Wednesday was also fun but all we really did was go get lunch out, and then we spent a lot of time at home organizing ourselves and preparing to start our internships. We really needed a day to relax after our mid semester breaks and I'm glad we had time to take it easy. That night though, we went to the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park. They were really cool to see and we ate some really yummy food (see MG's pic on the right). It was also a really nice night out so the walk to and from the markets was beautiful and it was a great way to end our day before work the next morning.

Thursday was the big day! First day at PwC! As some of you may know, I worked in an office with literally two people and then the other interns this summer, so switching to a massive skyscraper and working with hundreds of people in a large global company was a HUGE adjustment for me. We took a tour of the office when we first got in and then were briefed on branding and what PwC's goals are in the HR department. The morning was stressful and overwhelming for Emily and I and we were relieved to be able to sit outside by the harbor while we ate our lunches. It was nice to take a breath and re-center ourselves after a hectic morning. The rest of the day was good. We started to brief candidates for interviews and made name tags for an event the next day for recent graduate hires. When we got home we were exhausted but had to drag ourselves to our 2 hour lecture, where we watched a disturbing but intriguing movie called Death and the Maiden. I was in bed and asleep by 10pm that night after an exhausting day.

Friday was a huge improvement from the day before. When we came into work, our lockers were set up finally. At PwC, there are no assigned desks. Everyone gets a locker and then can choose where they want to sit for the day. The Campus Recruitment Team likes to sit on the 9th floor so thats usually where Emily and I will end up, but its really cool to know that we can sit really anywhere. We put together assessment materials and finished briefing calls. We also got invited to go to floor 13 with some co-workers for some coffee (yes, PwC offers free coffee all day every day its amazing) so we got to know some of the other people on our team. At the end of the day we attended the grad event and got some food and wine. Our boss is incredible and I love her already and I am really excited to keep going to work this week.

After our amazing day at work, we decided to try and find a bar to get a drink at even though it was basically pouring, we walked the whole 1.5 miles back home and stopped at a bar down the street for a cider before getting home. Later that night we went to the same bar with some friends and had a fun and relaxing night out.

Saturday was another relaxing day. I took the morning to kind of be by myself and I went to the gym, grocery shopped, and bought a couple more things for work after getting a better sense of the dress at PwC. I had a lovely morning by myself and I think I needed the time to myself. On my way home I saw a rally/parade for the legalization of same-sex marriage. It was really awesome to see everyone out in the street and fighting for what they believe in. It's really strange to see it again after it was already legalized in the US, but the survey closes soon so hopefully parliament will legalize it soon!

In the afternoon I just hung out with my roommates and we had some much-needed bonding time to catch up since we see each other a lot less now (except Em and I who spend every waking minute together since we work together and have class together). That night a lot of the people in my program went out to celebrate all of the birthdays that were this week. I think it was something like four people with birthdays, so it was a lot of fun to see everyone and celebrate.

Sunday was about the same, I Facetimed my parents (which i don't talk about much here but I promise I talk to them at least once a week!) and I roasted some veggies to meal prep for the week. I also started to catch up on This Is Us so I can finally watch with my roommates when the new episode comes out every week. We went out in the afternoon to get hibachi because Nicole was craving it and I am so glad we went because it was delicious. After we got back, we all decided to sit down and watch Patriots' Day since none of us had seen it yet. It was crazy how much we didn't know about an event that happened right down the street from where we live for school. It was heartbreaking to watch but I'm really glad that we did.

Overall I had a good week and hopefully this week will be the same! I can't wait for work again tomorrow and theres a potluck later that one of the people in my program organized so that should be a lot of fun as well. I hope you all have a good week and I miss everyone!