Well, I just finished paper number two of the semester and felt it was time for another post.
While I have been here I have realized it is a very, very good thing that I normally go to school in a cold climate where being outside requires a scarf, mittens, hat and about 17 layers of clothing. If I were to go to school here all the time, surrounded by palm trees and tempted by the hot sun to trek over to the beach, I would never get any work done. Today is my evidence. After getting out of class two hours early because my professor had a seminar to go to, I decided to join Maddie in going to Manly Beach for half the day, even though I plan on going tomorrow and went earlier this week. My train of thought: Paper due tomorrow by 2 pm? Only half of it done? Pssssh no worries I'll just stay in tonight and do it.
Actually, I did do just that so I don't really know what I'm talking about. I'd probably be fine even if I normally went to school but that's besides the point. I would probably just be annoyed more often that professors were forcing me to do work when there was quality vitamin D to be taking in all around me.
Anyway. Paper done, beach tomorrow, Melbourne Sunday. Sounds good to me.
I went to Manly for the first time on Tuesday after hearing nothing but good things about this place. Shannon, Brittany and I woke up early, got ready and, as we walked outside, that rain-on-pavement smell hit me like a wave. And, sure enough, the pavement was spotted with darker grey splotches and it had JUST started raining. The sky was some weird rain-sun combination that is so common here. We thought oh crap, we have no plan B. Plan B is to go despite the rain. So that's what we did. And by the time we reached the ferry about a half hour later, the rain was entirely gone. That's Sydney weather for you.
We boarded the ferry and it was beautiful. As Maddie mentioned today, it reminds her of the ferry to Martha's Vineyard which I could absolutely relate to. I haven't been in a while, but it doesn't take much for that feeling to come back to you. We boarded and instantly I knew I wouldn't be able to sit still inside. So I got up with my ipod, told them I'd be outside if they were looking for me and made my way to the front. It's a great feeling being on a boat when the sky is cloudless and warm wind is blowing around. Not to be corny or anything. It was one of those moments where you think, "Quick! Have to put on the most fitting song for the moment. Have to make this moment perfect." Admit it. You've thought that before, deciding that this is a Movie Moment and you have to make it a Movie Moment! We passed the Opera House which never loses its spectacular quality, no matter how many times I pass it. It's simply stunning.
When we got there the area surprised me. It was one of those pictaresque beach towns, with shops and cafes lined up in a straightaway Main Street-type setup leading you straight to a vast stretch of beach surrounded by cliffs with distant beach homes and pine trees all around. We walked through town to get lunch where two outdoor places competed for our service. It was slightly awkward standing there, deciding as they shouted at you, "discount for take-away!" We picked one and ate outside. Afterwards, we laid out for a good three hours or so before we decided it was time to pack up and leave.
On Wednesday, we took a "field trip" for our Aboriginal Australia module class. I say "field trip" because, as educational as it was, it did not feel as though we were on a real field trip. At all. We all met up at Hyde Park to join our teacher, Jennifer, who is half Aboriginal herself and possibly one of the best, most fascinating speakers I have ever been lucky enough to listen to. Her stories are incredible, both of herself and of Aboriginal culture in general. I knew nothing about Aboriginal society when I first arrived in Sydney and I am so grateful I have been lucky enough to be exposed to that aspect of Australian society while I've been here. We walked to the Art Galley of New South Wales from the park and my first thought upon entering was, why on earth have I not come here already? It hit me that I have not gone to any museums since I've been here. None. And you can't go abroad without going to the city's museums! Luckily this trip solved that.
We walked around, looked at many eras and genres, focusing on the Aboriginal exhibit. The art was beautiful. Once I understood that the hundreds of dots that created patterns of circles, lines and direction did not just represent patterns but instead, stories and maps of their country, I realized something significant. Aborigines of the past and today have a remarkable understanding of the land that many have ignored or taken for granted. This knowledge has been passed from generation to generation, and it comes out beautifully through the meticulous artwork of their culture. From a perspective of someone who has only recently begun to understand the extraordinary dimensions of Aboriginal culture, I can only say that I am entirely grateful I was able to go to this gallery and see more than European oil paintings, abstract modern art and photography, as engaging as those exhibits were as well.
After our trip to the art gallery, we walked through the Domain (a breathtaking garden right by the Opera House) to Darling Harbor where we boarded an Aboriginal boat that took us to Clark Island, where we walked around the remote area with an incredible view of Sydney. We walked up uneven stone steps to a raised grassy area where a man decorated with traditional Aboriginal markings talked to us about how to use a Didgeridoo and how to throw a Boomerang (pssh which CLEARLY I'm already a pro at, after my trip to Royal National Park). Unfortunately, during his demonstration he accidentally threw his boomerang into the ocean. I felt bad but he didn't seem incredibly phased. Oh well, small blip I suppose.
That night, Brittany, Sarah, Nicole and I headed back to Newtown for Thai food--finally! Dinner in Newtown! It was on the pricey side but it was fun and the food was good--not to mention how amusing it was to see Sarah and Nicole "releasing the oxygen" from their wine to take mental notes for their Wine Industry class (yes, that is a class here). Still, I have learned a valuable lesson: no matter how open I try to be with trying new food, Pad Thai simply beats any other Thai food, tenfold. Case in point: Spicy Thai Chicken Salad? That's what I ordered, it was good, but it was no Pad Thai.
Which pretty much brings me to today, since yesterday was too boring to post here. Manly Beach this time around was great once again. Maddie and I headed over by ourselves and, even though we left at 2:30 and didn't get there until 3, it was absolutely worth it. We didn't get much time out on the beach because about an hour and a half in, clouds started rolling in. It was actually a spectacular view, with the sun behind us and dark clouds over our heads and ahead of us. We just sat around watching the distant rain and lightning in front of us before we decided to pack up. We didn't want to leave so soon after getting there, though, so we explored the town a little bit before heading out, getting iced coffee and listening to some live music outside.
All in all, a great week. As mentioned before, I'm going to Manly again tomorrow (I still think this name for a beach is hilarious..the shops are all along the lines of "Manly Massages" "Manly Coffee" "Manly Convenience" and my favorite, "ManlyCycles"). Tomorrow night will probably be low key because we leave for Melbourne at 6:30 am on Sunday. I'm not too thrilled about waking up this early, but it will absolutely be worth it.
Before I forget, I didn't mention in a previous post that on the way to Royal National Park the other week, I saw the most fantastic rainbow I have probably ever seen. It was one of those long, bold, picture book type rainbows that you never see in real life. It was just one of those moments that made me really appreciate where I am right now...a Movie Moment!
That's about it. Next update, Melbourne!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A shorter follow-up post
So apparently there's this whole other side to the Sydney area, Newtown. I had heard a little about it so when Brittany asked if I wanted to go check it out yesterday I was interested. I realized once we got there that I had actually gone running in the area the other day, but just wasn't paying attention to the shops, etc and hadn't realized it would actually be an interesting place to check out.
We took the bus over (which you can do if you want but it's also about a twenty minute walking distance) and when we got off, it felt like we were in some strange Australia version of Allston. I guess that's the best way to put it. Allston, a little bit of Cambridge, just with more incense and ethnic restaurants. We had heard that it was a great people-watching spot and that was certainly a correct statement. It's very scene but almost to the point that it's a little absurd. Lots of multicolored dreadlocks and that sort of thing. We stopped in a number of different shops and I finally brought myself to buy a dress and I'm happy I did; I always have to convince myself it's okay to buy clothes and then convince myself for the rest of the day it's okay that I did. There were a lot of vintage stores and unique clothing.
We stopped at a cafe in the middle of town where I finally discovered how to get a normal iced coffee around here (yeah I'm annoying about this, don't care). Instead of asking for a normal coffee over ice, you have to say a long black over ice. Since coffee here is apparently milk with coffee syrup, or something like that. They came over with my order like, "so you just wanted..a long black, and ice..right?" as if that were the weirdest request they had ever gotten. But it ended up being $2.50 as opposed to their $5.00 for iced coffee, Australian style. So there.
The weather was still bad when we got there and it didn't really get better. It started downpouring for a little bit but we were determined to get dinner in town since we've only heard good things about the ethnic restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, it was about 5 when we were starving and most dinner places didn't open until 6. So we walked back and made dinner, but we're hopefully going to try again within the next few days.
Today I slept in way too long..about 12:45 to Brittany asking if I was coming or not to Cheers to watch the Super Bowl. A few of us were planning to go together to watch the game at maybe one of the only sports bars showing the game for us Americans. By the time I got there it was the last 20 minutes or so of the fourth quarter, so I didn't see much. But it was really nice when I got there anyway..a corner of the bar was taken over by BU students watching the game together. Unfortunately I know nothing about football...which is why I wasn't too depressed to get there late. Apparently a great play was made, and everyone jumped up cheering and I just sat there like, wait, what happened? I'm oblivious. Oh well, I hardly even knew that the game had ended. Still, it was nice to be there and kind of be in the middle of some American-ness for a bit.
Tomorrow we're going to Manly Beach, which is a ferry ride away from the harbor. I'm really looking forward to it; it's supposedly beautiful, and the ride is supposed to be half the fun.
And next weekend we're going on a week-long academic trip to Melbourne, flights paid for by the program. That should be fascinating and I'll be sure to update once I actually have something to update on.
And the weather's getting better! There you go, Sydney.
We took the bus over (which you can do if you want but it's also about a twenty minute walking distance) and when we got off, it felt like we were in some strange Australia version of Allston. I guess that's the best way to put it. Allston, a little bit of Cambridge, just with more incense and ethnic restaurants. We had heard that it was a great people-watching spot and that was certainly a correct statement. It's very scene but almost to the point that it's a little absurd. Lots of multicolored dreadlocks and that sort of thing. We stopped in a number of different shops and I finally brought myself to buy a dress and I'm happy I did; I always have to convince myself it's okay to buy clothes and then convince myself for the rest of the day it's okay that I did. There were a lot of vintage stores and unique clothing.
We stopped at a cafe in the middle of town where I finally discovered how to get a normal iced coffee around here (yeah I'm annoying about this, don't care). Instead of asking for a normal coffee over ice, you have to say a long black over ice. Since coffee here is apparently milk with coffee syrup, or something like that. They came over with my order like, "so you just wanted..a long black, and ice..right?" as if that were the weirdest request they had ever gotten. But it ended up being $2.50 as opposed to their $5.00 for iced coffee, Australian style. So there.
The weather was still bad when we got there and it didn't really get better. It started downpouring for a little bit but we were determined to get dinner in town since we've only heard good things about the ethnic restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, it was about 5 when we were starving and most dinner places didn't open until 6. So we walked back and made dinner, but we're hopefully going to try again within the next few days.
Today I slept in way too long..about 12:45 to Brittany asking if I was coming or not to Cheers to watch the Super Bowl. A few of us were planning to go together to watch the game at maybe one of the only sports bars showing the game for us Americans. By the time I got there it was the last 20 minutes or so of the fourth quarter, so I didn't see much. But it was really nice when I got there anyway..a corner of the bar was taken over by BU students watching the game together. Unfortunately I know nothing about football...which is why I wasn't too depressed to get there late. Apparently a great play was made, and everyone jumped up cheering and I just sat there like, wait, what happened? I'm oblivious. Oh well, I hardly even knew that the game had ended. Still, it was nice to be there and kind of be in the middle of some American-ness for a bit.
Tomorrow we're going to Manly Beach, which is a ferry ride away from the harbor. I'm really looking forward to it; it's supposedly beautiful, and the ride is supposed to be half the fun.
And next weekend we're going on a week-long academic trip to Melbourne, flights paid for by the program. That should be fascinating and I'll be sure to update once I actually have something to update on.
And the weather's getting better! There you go, Sydney.
"Let's have a chin wag, then"
Last week consisted entirely of writing my paper. 3,000 words is a lot when you have nothing really to talk about. After we handed it in on Friday, I could finally start really looking forward to the weekend. I was planning on going back to Paddy's with my friends to do some more shopping/exploring, but then I realized that I really wanted to get a run in that day. So I covered myself in sunscreen and headed out. Halfway through the run it started downpouring--so much for that sunscreen. It cut my run short and was an adequate indicator of what the rest of the weekend was about to be like.
The whole weekend I've been thinking, come on Sydney? Where's that sun everyone's always bragging about. Our Saturday plans were pretty much set in stone, though. A few of us had signed up to go to Royal National Park, which we discovered on Friday had a cancellation fee--we still would have had to pay half of the $119 if we were to cancel because of the rain. With that in mind, I decided to suck it up and go regardless of the weather, which I'm pretty sure everyone else also decided.
Somehow my phone died through the night and I woke up 20 minutes before we were supposed to go. So I scrambled around, got ready in a far smaller window of time than I would have preferred, and ran downstairs. Only to find that the bus was late and I actually could have taken 40 more minutes to get myself out of bed and ready. Not a big deal though--the bus (which ended up being this ridiculous van) eventually came, and our tour guide, probably in his early twenties, jumped out of the driver's seat, beaming.
"Hi everyone! Sorry for a bit of a wait, hope everyone had breakfast? Yeah? Cool!"
This guy was ridiclous. The side of the van had a tiny sign that read something along the lines of, "You're wilderness and wildlife escape!" Very worth being some sort of Failblog post. We all clamored into the van where some people were already sitting in the front. I made my way to the back, stepping carefully over spears that reminded me of my track days where javolins took up the entire aisle, leaving us to perform crazy sidestep acts. Once settled, our tour guide, Andy, started talking to us through his microphone that all tour guides keep as a necessity.
"Hey guys! Hmm..does anyone here speak French? Heh, heh because we have French people on this van. These guys, up here. No one? Hm. Okay. Okay well I'm Andy, are you all from America? Cool. Cool okay well.."
I don't even know how to describe how hilarious this guy was. The entire trip felt like we were being guided around by a seven-year-old who thought that nature rocks. At first I thought, Oh god what have I gotten myself into. He has no idea what he's talking about.
"Seems to be raining a bit, yeah? Well are you guys, is everyone wearing swimsuits? Okay, cool, so you don't mind the rain. Heh"
After everything he said he would laugh awkwardly and apruptly, there would be a short pause, and we would all start cracking up. Halfway through the hour long trip we were saying "who IS this guy?"
Anyway, once we got to the first site, Andy explained to us that we would have a "big of a chin wag" before making our way. At that point we were all like, "wait, what? huh?"
"What? You don't say chin wag? It's you know, like, when you talk....your chin wags? Yeah."
Again, another point where we would burst out laughing. We had our chin wag about the site, the trees, the birds, some Aboriginal history, filled our water bottles and got back into the van where we started our trip through Royal National Park.
Even in the rain, the place was beautiful. A large portion of preserved wildlife, the park was filled with strange exotic plants, birds, and beautiful views of secluded, untouched ocean surrounded by looming cliffs, forest, and rocks protruding from the water. The waves were massive, and every time the hit the rocks the waves would explode around them, Little Mermaid style. We hiked through forest, along the way being guided by Andy who would explain different plantlife to us. Turns out that even though he had the excitement of a 7 year old--at one point he literally crouched by a puddle, splashed his face, leaped up and kept going as though nothing had happened--he definitely knew what he was talking about and it was clear that Australian nature was his life. He brought us to some amazing views where we had time to take pictures, and he would take pictures of us, which have been promised to soon arrive to each of us via email.
At one point, as we were travelling from one spot to the next, Andy crashed his van into a few boulders. Yelling "Ahhhhh fuck shit ugh!" we all started cracking up thinking, "is this really happening?" Of course, I was in the very back and, as I predicted he looked into his rearview mirror with his microphone and said, "You uh, Mandy?" "Jackie." "Jackie! Yeah, can you uh, just open your window a bit to tell me if I can back out okay?" "YUP." Anyone who knows my driving capabilities knows that I am horrible with backing out of anything. So I reluctantly poked my head out the window in the pouring rain to tell him, "left, left, a little left, yeah you're good WHOA SLOW DOWN PLEASE." Did not know that my trip to Royal National Park would include me guiding our tour guide out of a tight spot. It was great.
After a long walk we got back in the van to go to a new site for lunch, where there was a sheltered picnic area. We all pitched in to make lunch, provided with lunch meat, vegetables and weird condiments ranging from corn relish to spicy chilly philly cream cheese. Starving, we scarfed down sandwiches that were quite makeshift, combining random things to see how they would be. Of course, a few of us were at the French table, where conversation with them was limited to "can you please pass the sundried tomatoes? The sundried..those. There." After lunch we took turns in groups learning how to throw spears and boomerangs, another surpising area of expertise of Andy's.
Those boomerangs were scary. I kept freaking out after every throw anyone made until Andy got so amused he decided to record me freaking out, saying in a very jolly manner that this will "definitely make it's way to the website." After the boomerang/spear session we got back under the shelter where he explained more about the boomerang and its history.
"Actually....you could even hit one of those seagulls," he said, pointing behind him where some seagulls were just hanging out innocently.
"Do it!" Someone challenged him.
He looked at them with an unmistakeable glimmer in his eye. "Aw, don't tempt me now."
"Do it!" More people chimed in.
"Um, would anyone object to this? Raise your hand if you don't want me to throw a boomerang at a seagull. No one? Really? No? Well, if anyone finds out about this you are all share the blame."
He snuck over to a flock of them by the beach, looking back at us every once in a while, me thinking the whole time, he IS seven. And praying he wouldn't hit it. He didn't, thank God, though I seemed to be the only person hoping he didn't. Instead he lost his boomerang in a marsh. "Aw, there it goes, oh well," he shrugged.
Our trip continued with coffee and Tim-Tams (best. thing. ever.), and some more sight-seeing after the more daring decided to go into the freezing, high wave ocean near our sheltered picnic area.
Exhausted we finally made our way back, rewarded on the bus with boomerangs for each of us and a thank you for "being good spirits despite the rain and not dying in the ocean..aheh.."
Despite the rain, it was definitely worth it. I saw some great views, learned a little more about the wildlife here, threw a spear and boomerang, and had a ridiculous tour guide that entertained us the whole way.
I was going to write more about the weekend but I'll save it for another post since this is already absurdly long. More to come!
The whole weekend I've been thinking, come on Sydney? Where's that sun everyone's always bragging about. Our Saturday plans were pretty much set in stone, though. A few of us had signed up to go to Royal National Park, which we discovered on Friday had a cancellation fee--we still would have had to pay half of the $119 if we were to cancel because of the rain. With that in mind, I decided to suck it up and go regardless of the weather, which I'm pretty sure everyone else also decided.
Somehow my phone died through the night and I woke up 20 minutes before we were supposed to go. So I scrambled around, got ready in a far smaller window of time than I would have preferred, and ran downstairs. Only to find that the bus was late and I actually could have taken 40 more minutes to get myself out of bed and ready. Not a big deal though--the bus (which ended up being this ridiculous van) eventually came, and our tour guide, probably in his early twenties, jumped out of the driver's seat, beaming.
"Hi everyone! Sorry for a bit of a wait, hope everyone had breakfast? Yeah? Cool!"
This guy was ridiclous. The side of the van had a tiny sign that read something along the lines of, "You're wilderness and wildlife escape!" Very worth being some sort of Failblog post. We all clamored into the van where some people were already sitting in the front. I made my way to the back, stepping carefully over spears that reminded me of my track days where javolins took up the entire aisle, leaving us to perform crazy sidestep acts. Once settled, our tour guide, Andy, started talking to us through his microphone that all tour guides keep as a necessity.
"Hey guys! Hmm..does anyone here speak French? Heh, heh because we have French people on this van. These guys, up here. No one? Hm. Okay. Okay well I'm Andy, are you all from America? Cool. Cool okay well.."
I don't even know how to describe how hilarious this guy was. The entire trip felt like we were being guided around by a seven-year-old who thought that nature rocks. At first I thought, Oh god what have I gotten myself into. He has no idea what he's talking about.
"Seems to be raining a bit, yeah? Well are you guys, is everyone wearing swimsuits? Okay, cool, so you don't mind the rain. Heh"
After everything he said he would laugh awkwardly and apruptly, there would be a short pause, and we would all start cracking up. Halfway through the hour long trip we were saying "who IS this guy?"
Anyway, once we got to the first site, Andy explained to us that we would have a "big of a chin wag" before making our way. At that point we were all like, "wait, what? huh?"
"What? You don't say chin wag? It's you know, like, when you talk....your chin wags? Yeah."
Again, another point where we would burst out laughing. We had our chin wag about the site, the trees, the birds, some Aboriginal history, filled our water bottles and got back into the van where we started our trip through Royal National Park.
Even in the rain, the place was beautiful. A large portion of preserved wildlife, the park was filled with strange exotic plants, birds, and beautiful views of secluded, untouched ocean surrounded by looming cliffs, forest, and rocks protruding from the water. The waves were massive, and every time the hit the rocks the waves would explode around them, Little Mermaid style. We hiked through forest, along the way being guided by Andy who would explain different plantlife to us. Turns out that even though he had the excitement of a 7 year old--at one point he literally crouched by a puddle, splashed his face, leaped up and kept going as though nothing had happened--he definitely knew what he was talking about and it was clear that Australian nature was his life. He brought us to some amazing views where we had time to take pictures, and he would take pictures of us, which have been promised to soon arrive to each of us via email.
At one point, as we were travelling from one spot to the next, Andy crashed his van into a few boulders. Yelling "Ahhhhh fuck shit ugh!" we all started cracking up thinking, "is this really happening?" Of course, I was in the very back and, as I predicted he looked into his rearview mirror with his microphone and said, "You uh, Mandy?" "Jackie." "Jackie! Yeah, can you uh, just open your window a bit to tell me if I can back out okay?" "YUP." Anyone who knows my driving capabilities knows that I am horrible with backing out of anything. So I reluctantly poked my head out the window in the pouring rain to tell him, "left, left, a little left, yeah you're good WHOA SLOW DOWN PLEASE." Did not know that my trip to Royal National Park would include me guiding our tour guide out of a tight spot. It was great.
After a long walk we got back in the van to go to a new site for lunch, where there was a sheltered picnic area. We all pitched in to make lunch, provided with lunch meat, vegetables and weird condiments ranging from corn relish to spicy chilly philly cream cheese. Starving, we scarfed down sandwiches that were quite makeshift, combining random things to see how they would be. Of course, a few of us were at the French table, where conversation with them was limited to "can you please pass the sundried tomatoes? The sundried..those. There." After lunch we took turns in groups learning how to throw spears and boomerangs, another surpising area of expertise of Andy's.
Those boomerangs were scary. I kept freaking out after every throw anyone made until Andy got so amused he decided to record me freaking out, saying in a very jolly manner that this will "definitely make it's way to the website." After the boomerang/spear session we got back under the shelter where he explained more about the boomerang and its history.
"Actually....you could even hit one of those seagulls," he said, pointing behind him where some seagulls were just hanging out innocently.
"Do it!" Someone challenged him.
He looked at them with an unmistakeable glimmer in his eye. "Aw, don't tempt me now."
"Do it!" More people chimed in.
"Um, would anyone object to this? Raise your hand if you don't want me to throw a boomerang at a seagull. No one? Really? No? Well, if anyone finds out about this you are all share the blame."
He snuck over to a flock of them by the beach, looking back at us every once in a while, me thinking the whole time, he IS seven. And praying he wouldn't hit it. He didn't, thank God, though I seemed to be the only person hoping he didn't. Instead he lost his boomerang in a marsh. "Aw, there it goes, oh well," he shrugged.
Our trip continued with coffee and Tim-Tams (best. thing. ever.), and some more sight-seeing after the more daring decided to go into the freezing, high wave ocean near our sheltered picnic area.
Exhausted we finally made our way back, rewarded on the bus with boomerangs for each of us and a thank you for "being good spirits despite the rain and not dying in the ocean..aheh.."
Despite the rain, it was definitely worth it. I saw some great views, learned a little more about the wildlife here, threw a spear and boomerang, and had a ridiculous tour guide that entertained us the whole way.
I was going to write more about the weekend but I'll save it for another post since this is already absurdly long. More to come!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
And the detailed posts begin..
So I'm updating..again. I'm going to try to get used to regularly updating since I've never been the blogger/journal keeper/diary writer type. I really don't think I'll be updating EVERY day but this weekend has been slow so here it is!
A lot of people went to surf camp this weekend, but I initially missed the signup because I wasn't feeling well. Close to the weekend the opportunity rose to go after all, but I decided I would instead use this weekend to catch up on everything: start the blog, revise my cover letter, connect with people back home, do some laundry and actually start my paper. I was able to do all but the last. Oh well, I'll just do it later. But that's boring. I'll share what I actually did this weekend to make up for that.
I've been curious to see what surrounds Unilodge (where we're staying) other than George St. which leads to the harbor, so I decided to venture out and go on some long runs out to the more suburban areas. Lots of palm trees and great outdoor weather, but it turns out that beyond the quaint suburbs that lie JUST outside this area, there's not much more than roads of gas stations, low buildings and fast food restaurants. Oh well, looks like Syndey's strong point really is further within the city.
That said, I still wanted to do some more exploring with the free time this weekend so instead of writing my paper (...) I walked to Paddy's Markets, about a half hour away from Unilodge into Sydney. It was absolutely worth it. It was a giant indoor marketplace filled with small booth setups of jewelry, clothing, sunglasses and souvenirs, all for very low bargain prices. Then on the other end of the market, they had fresh produce for even cheaper. I ended up getting some great fruit for next to nothing cost: 4 apples for a dollar, 3 nectarines for 65 cents, etc. All in all a great place to have explored and I'm looking forward to going back again.
I have yet to master the art of finding the right places to get true Amurrrican iced coffee here. I'm determined though, because I KNOW it's out there somewhere for under $3.50 or $4.00. At least that's what I like to tell myself. Still, today's attempt in finding good iced coffee was a fail. After being denied by three stores, I finally found a place that said they did in fact serve regular coffee with ice ("so, not blended, right? just with...ice floating in it?" "YUP!") and it ended up being like a coffee milkshake with ice in it. for $4.50. A small. I wasn't thrilled. Still I have not given up hope. I should just make a blog dedicated to this venture. Well maybe not. That might be as boring as me going on about a paper that's due in a blog that's supposed to be about my wild Australian adventures.
ANYWAY. Now that everyone is back from surf camp, I just got back from meeting up with my friends at Scubar, a backpacker's bar about a twenty minute walk from here that they always bring the surf campers to after the weekend. It was nice to see people again after my Weekend of Independence (that's my twist on it!) and I'm looking forward to next weekend where we are planning to take a ferry trip out to Manly Beach which is supposedly absolutely beautiful.
And because I've been thinking about it today, here is a list I have thought of so far about things that are different here from back home (inspired by Thais's inclinations toward mentioning things that are different in London). Not at all close to complete, I'll continue to add just for kicks:
1) The cars here drive on the opposite side of the road, which I probably shouldn't have been surprised about coming here since it seems as though the U.S. is the only country to do it the way we do. So it's NOT just Europe!
2) Speaking of U.S. always having to be different, the measurements are different here (again, obvious) but I still have no idea when I ask someone how far away _____ is from where I am and they say, "oh, only a few kilometers from here!" ....oh, okay thanks.
3) Of course I would notice this, but the ads here have potential to be ridiculous sometimes. The billboards are way more racy. Example: right outside my window there is an ad for a..love enhancer where the copy reads: "Making love? Do it..longer!" Hmm..what is P.C.? But it's great.
4) Professors are so much more laid back here. Innuendos left and right. And when our Australian Culture professor was telling us when we should come to take our test, we could "come in any time really between 5 and 6. No worries."
5) They say "no worries." I mean the U.S. does too, but here any time you say "thanks" it is answered with "no worries!" It's actually a little refreshing.
6) A bottle of Diet Coke here is $3.50. I am not happy about this.
7) The accents. Given.
8) A pitcher of beer here is a jug. I still say pitcher and I get laughed at. And french fries are chips. And chips are....crisps I think?
9) This is something not everyone agrees with me on it's seemed so far, but the Australian pride here seems much stronger and, dare I say acceptable that it is in the U.S. For example, it is not uncommon to see someone with Australian flags flapping from their cars or someone wearing a hat with the flag on the front at the beach..but in the U.S, if you were to wear an American flag shirt people would pin you as a hick, an Amurrrican. At least, that is my personal observation. Feel free to disagree. But my guess would be that it has to do with the controversy coupled with American politics that doesn't seem to occur quite as strongly here.
10) THE ICED COFFEE IS NOT ICED COFFEE. But I've ranted about that enough that I'm starting to annoy myself with it.
11) They eat kangaroo. 'Nuff said. I refuse to do though, because I think I would just feel so guilty afterwards.
Enough for now!
-Jackie
A lot of people went to surf camp this weekend, but I initially missed the signup because I wasn't feeling well. Close to the weekend the opportunity rose to go after all, but I decided I would instead use this weekend to catch up on everything: start the blog, revise my cover letter, connect with people back home, do some laundry and actually start my paper. I was able to do all but the last. Oh well, I'll just do it later. But that's boring. I'll share what I actually did this weekend to make up for that.
I've been curious to see what surrounds Unilodge (where we're staying) other than George St. which leads to the harbor, so I decided to venture out and go on some long runs out to the more suburban areas. Lots of palm trees and great outdoor weather, but it turns out that beyond the quaint suburbs that lie JUST outside this area, there's not much more than roads of gas stations, low buildings and fast food restaurants. Oh well, looks like Syndey's strong point really is further within the city.
That said, I still wanted to do some more exploring with the free time this weekend so instead of writing my paper (...) I walked to Paddy's Markets, about a half hour away from Unilodge into Sydney. It was absolutely worth it. It was a giant indoor marketplace filled with small booth setups of jewelry, clothing, sunglasses and souvenirs, all for very low bargain prices. Then on the other end of the market, they had fresh produce for even cheaper. I ended up getting some great fruit for next to nothing cost: 4 apples for a dollar, 3 nectarines for 65 cents, etc. All in all a great place to have explored and I'm looking forward to going back again.
I have yet to master the art of finding the right places to get true Amurrrican iced coffee here. I'm determined though, because I KNOW it's out there somewhere for under $3.50 or $4.00. At least that's what I like to tell myself. Still, today's attempt in finding good iced coffee was a fail. After being denied by three stores, I finally found a place that said they did in fact serve regular coffee with ice ("so, not blended, right? just with...ice floating in it?" "YUP!") and it ended up being like a coffee milkshake with ice in it. for $4.50. A small. I wasn't thrilled. Still I have not given up hope. I should just make a blog dedicated to this venture. Well maybe not. That might be as boring as me going on about a paper that's due in a blog that's supposed to be about my wild Australian adventures.
ANYWAY. Now that everyone is back from surf camp, I just got back from meeting up with my friends at Scubar, a backpacker's bar about a twenty minute walk from here that they always bring the surf campers to after the weekend. It was nice to see people again after my Weekend of Independence (that's my twist on it!) and I'm looking forward to next weekend where we are planning to take a ferry trip out to Manly Beach which is supposedly absolutely beautiful.
And because I've been thinking about it today, here is a list I have thought of so far about things that are different here from back home (inspired by Thais's inclinations toward mentioning things that are different in London). Not at all close to complete, I'll continue to add just for kicks:
1) The cars here drive on the opposite side of the road, which I probably shouldn't have been surprised about coming here since it seems as though the U.S. is the only country to do it the way we do. So it's NOT just Europe!
2) Speaking of U.S. always having to be different, the measurements are different here (again, obvious) but I still have no idea when I ask someone how far away _____ is from where I am and they say, "oh, only a few kilometers from here!" ....oh, okay thanks.
3) Of course I would notice this, but the ads here have potential to be ridiculous sometimes. The billboards are way more racy. Example: right outside my window there is an ad for a..love enhancer where the copy reads: "Making love? Do it..longer!" Hmm..what is P.C.? But it's great.
4) Professors are so much more laid back here. Innuendos left and right. And when our Australian Culture professor was telling us when we should come to take our test, we could "come in any time really between 5 and 6. No worries."
5) They say "no worries." I mean the U.S. does too, but here any time you say "thanks" it is answered with "no worries!" It's actually a little refreshing.
6) A bottle of Diet Coke here is $3.50. I am not happy about this.
7) The accents. Given.
8) A pitcher of beer here is a jug. I still say pitcher and I get laughed at. And french fries are chips. And chips are....crisps I think?
9) This is something not everyone agrees with me on it's seemed so far, but the Australian pride here seems much stronger and, dare I say acceptable that it is in the U.S. For example, it is not uncommon to see someone with Australian flags flapping from their cars or someone wearing a hat with the flag on the front at the beach..but in the U.S, if you were to wear an American flag shirt people would pin you as a hick, an Amurrrican. At least, that is my personal observation. Feel free to disagree. But my guess would be that it has to do with the controversy coupled with American politics that doesn't seem to occur quite as strongly here.
10) THE ICED COFFEE IS NOT ICED COFFEE. But I've ranted about that enough that I'm starting to annoy myself with it.
11) They eat kangaroo. 'Nuff said. I refuse to do though, because I think I would just feel so guilty afterwards.
Enough for now!
-Jackie
Finally..
So before I left for Sydney, I decided I would keep a blog. And it's taken me over two weeks here to commit to that decision. Regardless, I am writing now, true to my self-promise. At least now, I have more to update on! I'll try to remember as much as I can to report.
Needless to say the flight here was the longest flight I've ever taken, by far. With a day-long layover in L.A., Nicole and I spent the day with Katelyn visiting the city's finest tourism spots including Chik-fil-A and Huntington Beach (okay well that one is legitimate). At around midnight, we boarded the Qantas flight to Brisbane, and then to Sydney.
When we walked out of the airport, it felt as though we'd been dropped off in Puerto Rico by accident. Surrounded by palm trees, humid climate and blue sky, it was shocking even though I had known what to expect. After having our luggage collectively postponed for most of the day, we settled in as much as we could without the necessities--shampoo, fresh change of clothes, etc. Our first day in Sydney started off with a BBQ (rain and all, awesome) on the roof, a visit to the Australian Youth Hostel (for some of us, at least) and a great night's sleep.
The jet lag was horrible. I think it hit some people worse than others. It took me about five days to adjust, regain my appetite and reduce the sudden inclinations toward nausea. I survived though, obviously and eventually adjusted to the time change.
These past few weeks in Syndey has included: a free program cruise from Darling Harbour passing the Opera House, etc etc (BEAUTIFUL weather), two trips to Bondi Beach (pictures to come up soon..it was practially indescribable, including a cliff walk overlooking a vast stretch of turquoise water, white sand, and--as Shannon put it--"tricky" sun that seems to burn you in the most random places), a field trip for our Australian Culture class through Sydney stopping at most of the historical spots, a visit to a wildlife park an hour and a half away that included walking around and basically chilling with koalas, wallabees, and emus (again, pictures to come), an energetic and extremely hot Australia Day with fireworks, live music and great food, and some overall very interesting encounters with REAL. AUSTRALIANS. And no, they don't say "g'day mate" after everything and definitely don't say "throw some shrimp on the barbie"..at all but I have heard g'day mate uttered twice and both times, I probably got way more excited than was merited.
As for classes. Painful. We are only taking two but one (Australian Culture and Society) is three times a week for three hours and a time, and the other (Brand Advertising and Promotion) is four hours, twice a week. Needless to say it is often difficult to stay awake past the first hour or two. Still, I have difficulty remembering that I am, in fact, in school right now and here for an ed-jee-cayshun. Truth be told the real reason for me FINALLY updating is to put off a 3,000 word paper for Brand Advertising. Ohh procrastination.
As prices start to jack up for vacations, some of us booked our spring and easter break trips this past week. For spring break I'm going to Fiji and for easter break, Cairns. Fiji doesn't have much planned beyond the expected complete paradise-like lounging around, but in Cairns we have planned white water rafting, a trip through the rainforest, and snorkeling. Needless to say I CANNOT wait for both!
While I'm having a great time here, it's hard not to feel homesick from time to time. I'm always missing BU, from the runs through the esplanade, to Dunkin Donuts (the iced coffee here is extremely strong coffee with vanilla ice cream..most of the time you have to ask for hot coffee on ice and most places don't even do it) to, yes, even the cold weather. And obviously friends and Chris. But I am absolutely happy that I am taking this semester to discover one more chunk of the world and this will only expand within the next few months as I become increasingly accustomed to my surroundings, explore new places, and start my internship.
I suppose the rest is just details, and as I post more I will probably be able to talk more in depth about things as they happen, since this one was just an attempted recap of the past few weeks.
Hope whoever is reading this is having a great semester, new year, etc and I will try my hardest to keep this blog up to date!
-Jackie
Needless to say the flight here was the longest flight I've ever taken, by far. With a day-long layover in L.A., Nicole and I spent the day with Katelyn visiting the city's finest tourism spots including Chik-fil-A and Huntington Beach (okay well that one is legitimate). At around midnight, we boarded the Qantas flight to Brisbane, and then to Sydney.
When we walked out of the airport, it felt as though we'd been dropped off in Puerto Rico by accident. Surrounded by palm trees, humid climate and blue sky, it was shocking even though I had known what to expect. After having our luggage collectively postponed for most of the day, we settled in as much as we could without the necessities--shampoo, fresh change of clothes, etc. Our first day in Sydney started off with a BBQ (rain and all, awesome) on the roof, a visit to the Australian Youth Hostel (for some of us, at least) and a great night's sleep.
The jet lag was horrible. I think it hit some people worse than others. It took me about five days to adjust, regain my appetite and reduce the sudden inclinations toward nausea. I survived though, obviously and eventually adjusted to the time change.
These past few weeks in Syndey has included: a free program cruise from Darling Harbour passing the Opera House, etc etc (BEAUTIFUL weather), two trips to Bondi Beach (pictures to come up soon..it was practially indescribable, including a cliff walk overlooking a vast stretch of turquoise water, white sand, and--as Shannon put it--"tricky" sun that seems to burn you in the most random places), a field trip for our Australian Culture class through Sydney stopping at most of the historical spots, a visit to a wildlife park an hour and a half away that included walking around and basically chilling with koalas, wallabees, and emus (again, pictures to come), an energetic and extremely hot Australia Day with fireworks, live music and great food, and some overall very interesting encounters with REAL. AUSTRALIANS. And no, they don't say "g'day mate" after everything and definitely don't say "throw some shrimp on the barbie"..at all but I have heard g'day mate uttered twice and both times, I probably got way more excited than was merited.
As for classes. Painful. We are only taking two but one (Australian Culture and Society) is three times a week for three hours and a time, and the other (Brand Advertising and Promotion) is four hours, twice a week. Needless to say it is often difficult to stay awake past the first hour or two. Still, I have difficulty remembering that I am, in fact, in school right now and here for an ed-jee-cayshun. Truth be told the real reason for me FINALLY updating is to put off a 3,000 word paper for Brand Advertising. Ohh procrastination.
As prices start to jack up for vacations, some of us booked our spring and easter break trips this past week. For spring break I'm going to Fiji and for easter break, Cairns. Fiji doesn't have much planned beyond the expected complete paradise-like lounging around, but in Cairns we have planned white water rafting, a trip through the rainforest, and snorkeling. Needless to say I CANNOT wait for both!
While I'm having a great time here, it's hard not to feel homesick from time to time. I'm always missing BU, from the runs through the esplanade, to Dunkin Donuts (the iced coffee here is extremely strong coffee with vanilla ice cream..most of the time you have to ask for hot coffee on ice and most places don't even do it) to, yes, even the cold weather. And obviously friends and Chris. But I am absolutely happy that I am taking this semester to discover one more chunk of the world and this will only expand within the next few months as I become increasingly accustomed to my surroundings, explore new places, and start my internship.
I suppose the rest is just details, and as I post more I will probably be able to talk more in depth about things as they happen, since this one was just an attempted recap of the past few weeks.
Hope whoever is reading this is having a great semester, new year, etc and I will try my hardest to keep this blog up to date!
-Jackie
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