You cross Hogwarts (the campus in Harry Potter), the coolest and most modern looking glass buildings, and tropical trees?
Oh yea, the campus of The University of Sydney. For those who have no idea why I am in Sydney, that's the school I am attending for the semester. And school has officially started. I'm going to preface this post by saying you are going to be so jealous of me. Except for my parents who are going to be very angry with me. Oops.
For the first 6 weeks of school (out of 13) I have class 2 days a week (Tuesday and Wednesday). For whatever reason, one of my classes doesn't meet for the first 6 weeks and then it meets on Monday. I'm not complaining though. I set up my tutorials and practicals so that I have condensed my classes on those two days. But I am on campus all day on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am still taking the normal course load and this setup makes way more sense because it cuts down on transportation costs. I miss the convenience of being able to wake up 20 minutes before class and walking there in like 8 minutes while at Virginia. Instead I have a 30 minute commute. So, I would like to do that as infrequently as possible.
In other news, I realized how cool Virginia is. I mean, I knew that already but I have further proof. I went into one of my classes and talked to the professor about the course and what we are going to be doing so I could discuss an equivalent course at Virginia. It is a coastal management course. I told the professor that I had done similar work at Virginia with one of my professors there. He asked me who the professor was and I told him. The professor here started naming all of these papers my professor at Virginia wrote and talking about his theories and stuff. Apparently my professor at Virginia is even a bigger deal than I thought. I don't know if anyone is going to care about this story but I think it's pretty cool.
Well, I don't have much else to discuss about my classes because I'm still "shopping" so I don't have my exact courses. Because I need to prove that I am actually here to go to school, I'll let y'all know when I have classes and I'll let you know how cool they are.
That's all I have to say for now. Hope this satisfies your procrastination.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
A quick note on transportation
To understand this post you must know the song "I'm on a boat" by The Lonely Island and T-Pain. If you do not know it, go to youtube or some other similar site and listen to it. Mom, I'm sorry about the vulgar language. Just listen to the words.
Anyway, throughout my travels so far I have been on every type of transportation--plane, (eeee), boat, raft, ferry, kayak, catamaran, bus, plane, trolley, train (eeeee) etc. Each time we were on a different form of transportation I would attempt to rewrite the words to "I'm on a boat." For the plane, I did not get any further than the volleyball team on their trip to Kansas City. And honestly, I did not get very far with any of the other vehicles either. I guess part of that was because I didn't know any of the words to the original song. So pretty much, my goal of rewriting songs and being creative really failed. And during this process I managed to piss off so many people. But I guess that's ok because it was only time until people realized my persistence and how it becomes completely annoying. It's through annoying people that I find out who my real friends are. I think that might be a bad way to make friends. Oh well...
Ok, the ultimate point of this post is to try to express the frequency of travel in the past week and how it has taken many forms. Also, my attempts at songwriting are not going to end in the near future because I take trains and buses on a daily basis and I plan on travelling around Australia during my 4-day weekends (yea, I'm awesome at making class schedules). Next weekend I will be taking a bus up to the Seven Mile Beach for the weekend to have an intense introduction to surfing. Maybe I can make "I'm on a surfboard"? That might be a little weak.
Most people who read this will not find it funny, but I know the few who will. Sorry to those who don't.
I promise, later posts will be better. Happy July 24th!
Anyway, throughout my travels so far I have been on every type of transportation--plane, (eeee), boat, raft, ferry, kayak, catamaran, bus, plane, trolley, train (eeeee) etc. Each time we were on a different form of transportation I would attempt to rewrite the words to "I'm on a boat." For the plane, I did not get any further than the volleyball team on their trip to Kansas City. And honestly, I did not get very far with any of the other vehicles either. I guess part of that was because I didn't know any of the words to the original song. So pretty much, my goal of rewriting songs and being creative really failed. And during this process I managed to piss off so many people. But I guess that's ok because it was only time until people realized my persistence and how it becomes completely annoying. It's through annoying people that I find out who my real friends are. I think that might be a bad way to make friends. Oh well...
Ok, the ultimate point of this post is to try to express the frequency of travel in the past week and how it has taken many forms. Also, my attempts at songwriting are not going to end in the near future because I take trains and buses on a daily basis and I plan on travelling around Australia during my 4-day weekends (yea, I'm awesome at making class schedules). Next weekend I will be taking a bus up to the Seven Mile Beach for the weekend to have an intense introduction to surfing. Maybe I can make "I'm on a surfboard"? That might be a little weak.
Most people who read this will not find it funny, but I know the few who will. Sorry to those who don't.
I promise, later posts will be better. Happy July 24th!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
So I am somewhat technology savy...
By that I mean I know how to use the "help" button and finally figured out how to post videos. Here is the video of me bungee jumping.
At the moment I am trying to post the skydiving video on youtube. It is too big to post anywhere else.
skydiving...
At the moment I am trying to post the skydiving video on youtube. It is too big to post anywhere else.
skydiving...
Monday, July 20, 2009
Ok, I'm alive - part 2
As if white water rafting and jumping off a 25 foot rock in the middle of a river isn't dangerous enough, on 18 July I decided to go skydiving and bungee jumping with a bunch of people in the program. The entire day was a huge adrenaline rush and I will try to explain the adventures as much as possible.
We had to be at the skydiving office at about 10 am. I was going up with Ashley, Alex, Austin, Megan, Angela, Matt, and Dan. When we got to the office we filled out paperwork that said people sometimes and often do get injuries, among other things. Then we waited around a little while and I was borderline panicking. The instructors came and I met mine, Sam. He was really laid back and calm and I'm not really sure if that made me more or less nervous. I put on his terrible terrible pants and then Sam taught me the procedures. It was kind of scary that I was about to dive out of a plane and he spent roughly 5 minutes teaching me how to do it. Sam had a video camera the whole time and he was interviewing me throughout this whole process. I was so nervous that I was giving him the worst answers to his questions. So after some more pictures and such we got onto the bus to go to the airstrip. I was talking to Sam and he was really cool. It was crazy how many times he has jumped--he said it was in the thousands. We got to the airstrip and we see this little green and yellow (LHS '06) plane. There was a lot of yelling and excitement and video taping. Walking up to the plane was a blur. Of course I was last getting on the plane and then first jumping! Yikes... So I was sitting on the floor of the plane and Ashley was sitting right in front of me. When the plane started to taxi, the door was still up and Sam made Ashley believe that there was no door for the entire flight. Part of me believed him too. When we started accelerating Sam put the door down and the first level of panicking settled. Sam had an altimeter that I was watching it the entire time we were climbing. At one point Sam told me to look outside and I already thought we were pretty damn high and that we might be getting close and Sam told me we were at only 5000 feet. We had another 20 minutes or so to get to 14000 feet. That flight seemed like the longest I have ever been on and I was recently on a 14+ hour flight to Australia. The view from the plane was amazing. I could see all of the hills covered in trees and rivers and the ocean. It was so incredible. My hands were getting so clammy. When we were at about 13000 feet Sam gave me final instructions a few times and I tried to get mentally ready to jump. He clipped me to him and tightened my straps and at 14000 feet Sam opened the door. As seen in my video my face went from excitement to pure terror. Then before I knew it I was out of the plane. It was a ridiculous rush. At first I couldn't really breathe but I think that was a combination of being sick and almost hyperventelating from being nervous. But within seconds I just got this rush of amazement and more adrenaline. I dove right through a cloud and that was definitely the coolest thing. It was so cold and slightly moist. Then emerging from the cloud looked so cool. Everything was beautiful. I was freefalling for about 60 seconds before Sam pulled the parachute. I was then falling for another 5-6 minutes. I could see a river and Sam pointed out an estuary (which I sadly got excited about). Sam let me control the parachute for a little while. We landed in a cleared sugarcane area. As soon as I landed the only thing I could think of is... I'm alive. The whole feeling is so hard to explain. My mouth was incredibly dry and my ears popped really bad but everything else was completely inexplicible. We watched people land one by one and then we asked one of the instructors if there had ever been a skydiving accident and he told us there was 1 in 20 years and it happened the day before. Its a good thing they told us after we went or I would have bounced out of that office real quick in the morning. When we got back from skydiving we went to lunch at The Crowne Hotel (sounds fancier than it was) and I got the best fried calamari that I have ever had. I went back to the hostel and then went to pick up some postcards for some special people. Before I knew it, it was time for stage two of the days adventures.
With almost no rest it was time to jump on the bus and head over to the bungee jumping facility. I was way more terrified about that than skydiving. So when we got there I had to fill out another waiver (I really need to stop signing my life away). Before bungee jumping we got to go on one of those giant swings. I don't really know how to explain it but they have them at six flags and stuff. You are laying down on your stomach with two other people and they raise you up like 50 feet and then you pull a cord and it releases you and you swing. I was with Dan and Ben and I got to pull the cord! It was really fun. The guy who was setting it all up was totally messing with us though by running in front of us when we were swinging past the platform and trying to catch us and such. I came to the conclusion that in general that extreme sports people like to mess with people. After that, the three of us climbed up about 15 flights of stairs to get to the top of the bungee jumping platform. It was a combination of being completely out of shape and being terrified that was making my heard pound. A bunch of people went before me and then finally in was my turn to throw myself off a 50-foot high platform. Logical, right? I put on the waist harness and they strapped my feet together with a towel and bands. They hooked the bungee onto me and I was officially the most terrified I had ever been in my life. I kept asking them questions about whether they had done everything right and Boris (one of the guys who was setting everything up) was telling me that I was over thinking it. Of course I was over thinking it! I was about to jump 50 feet! But I walked up to the edge of the platform and Boris just said "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and I jumped. Holy crap was it a thrill. At the bottom there was a man made lake and I guess the guys wanted to mess with me even more and they dunked me in it. I got wet up to my neck. Apparently I had good form. I have a video but I'm not sure if I can post videos on blogs. I'll check out the possibility. Once I got back to solid ground I was so pumped that I wanted to immediately go again. Unfortunately it was already late and more people had to go. I definitely want to go some other time though (sorry Mom and Dad).
When we got back we all cleaned up and then it was time for group dinner at none other than The Woolshed. We had champagne to celebrate a successful trip and the rest of the night was just a great time. Who knew that you could get jugs (pitchers) of wine? Classy.
The next day we hopped onto a plane and headed back to Sydney. I met my roommates and finally moved into my apartment. As much fun as I was having, I was so sick of living out of a suitcase.
So, I am pretty much all caught up. I'll let you know about more adventures as they happen so you don't have to be at the edge of your seat every time you check my lovely blog.
Until next time,
Lara
We had to be at the skydiving office at about 10 am. I was going up with Ashley, Alex, Austin, Megan, Angela, Matt, and Dan. When we got to the office we filled out paperwork that said people sometimes and often do get injuries, among other things. Then we waited around a little while and I was borderline panicking. The instructors came and I met mine, Sam. He was really laid back and calm and I'm not really sure if that made me more or less nervous. I put on his terrible terrible pants and then Sam taught me the procedures. It was kind of scary that I was about to dive out of a plane and he spent roughly 5 minutes teaching me how to do it. Sam had a video camera the whole time and he was interviewing me throughout this whole process. I was so nervous that I was giving him the worst answers to his questions. So after some more pictures and such we got onto the bus to go to the airstrip. I was talking to Sam and he was really cool. It was crazy how many times he has jumped--he said it was in the thousands. We got to the airstrip and we see this little green and yellow (LHS '06) plane. There was a lot of yelling and excitement and video taping. Walking up to the plane was a blur. Of course I was last getting on the plane and then first jumping! Yikes... So I was sitting on the floor of the plane and Ashley was sitting right in front of me. When the plane started to taxi, the door was still up and Sam made Ashley believe that there was no door for the entire flight. Part of me believed him too. When we started accelerating Sam put the door down and the first level of panicking settled. Sam had an altimeter that I was watching it the entire time we were climbing. At one point Sam told me to look outside and I already thought we were pretty damn high and that we might be getting close and Sam told me we were at only 5000 feet. We had another 20 minutes or so to get to 14000 feet. That flight seemed like the longest I have ever been on and I was recently on a 14+ hour flight to Australia. The view from the plane was amazing. I could see all of the hills covered in trees and rivers and the ocean. It was so incredible. My hands were getting so clammy. When we were at about 13000 feet Sam gave me final instructions a few times and I tried to get mentally ready to jump. He clipped me to him and tightened my straps and at 14000 feet Sam opened the door. As seen in my video my face went from excitement to pure terror. Then before I knew it I was out of the plane. It was a ridiculous rush. At first I couldn't really breathe but I think that was a combination of being sick and almost hyperventelating from being nervous. But within seconds I just got this rush of amazement and more adrenaline. I dove right through a cloud and that was definitely the coolest thing. It was so cold and slightly moist. Then emerging from the cloud looked so cool. Everything was beautiful. I was freefalling for about 60 seconds before Sam pulled the parachute. I was then falling for another 5-6 minutes. I could see a river and Sam pointed out an estuary (which I sadly got excited about). Sam let me control the parachute for a little while. We landed in a cleared sugarcane area. As soon as I landed the only thing I could think of is... I'm alive. The whole feeling is so hard to explain. My mouth was incredibly dry and my ears popped really bad but everything else was completely inexplicible. We watched people land one by one and then we asked one of the instructors if there had ever been a skydiving accident and he told us there was 1 in 20 years and it happened the day before. Its a good thing they told us after we went or I would have bounced out of that office real quick in the morning. When we got back from skydiving we went to lunch at The Crowne Hotel (sounds fancier than it was) and I got the best fried calamari that I have ever had. I went back to the hostel and then went to pick up some postcards for some special people. Before I knew it, it was time for stage two of the days adventures.
With almost no rest it was time to jump on the bus and head over to the bungee jumping facility. I was way more terrified about that than skydiving. So when we got there I had to fill out another waiver (I really need to stop signing my life away). Before bungee jumping we got to go on one of those giant swings. I don't really know how to explain it but they have them at six flags and stuff. You are laying down on your stomach with two other people and they raise you up like 50 feet and then you pull a cord and it releases you and you swing. I was with Dan and Ben and I got to pull the cord! It was really fun. The guy who was setting it all up was totally messing with us though by running in front of us when we were swinging past the platform and trying to catch us and such. I came to the conclusion that in general that extreme sports people like to mess with people. After that, the three of us climbed up about 15 flights of stairs to get to the top of the bungee jumping platform. It was a combination of being completely out of shape and being terrified that was making my heard pound. A bunch of people went before me and then finally in was my turn to throw myself off a 50-foot high platform. Logical, right? I put on the waist harness and they strapped my feet together with a towel and bands. They hooked the bungee onto me and I was officially the most terrified I had ever been in my life. I kept asking them questions about whether they had done everything right and Boris (one of the guys who was setting everything up) was telling me that I was over thinking it. Of course I was over thinking it! I was about to jump 50 feet! But I walked up to the edge of the platform and Boris just said "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and I jumped. Holy crap was it a thrill. At the bottom there was a man made lake and I guess the guys wanted to mess with me even more and they dunked me in it. I got wet up to my neck. Apparently I had good form. I have a video but I'm not sure if I can post videos on blogs. I'll check out the possibility. Once I got back to solid ground I was so pumped that I wanted to immediately go again. Unfortunately it was already late and more people had to go. I definitely want to go some other time though (sorry Mom and Dad).
When we got back we all cleaned up and then it was time for group dinner at none other than The Woolshed. We had champagne to celebrate a successful trip and the rest of the night was just a great time. Who knew that you could get jugs (pitchers) of wine? Classy.
The next day we hopped onto a plane and headed back to Sydney. I met my roommates and finally moved into my apartment. As much fun as I was having, I was so sick of living out of a suitcase.
So, I am pretty much all caught up. I'll let you know about more adventures as they happen so you don't have to be at the edge of your seat every time you check my lovely blog.
Until next time,
Lara
Some of Cairns
The second part of our pre-semester trip was in Cairns (pronounced Cans), Australia in Queensland. The trip there was quite interesting. We had an 8 hour bus ride from Hamilton Island to Cairns with our nutcase driver, Guy. We were on a two-lane highway pretty much the entire way there and he was overtaking people all the time. Quite nerve racking when you have a short bus with a trailer filled with suitcases attached to it. But, we made the time on the bus pass by watching more of a Chris Lilly show. The same guy who did Summer Heights High also made a show We Can Be Heroes. It is about the search for the next Australian of the year. The characters are once again all played by Chris Lilly and they live all over Australia. They all have different stories and Ja'mie is in it! It is absolutely hysterical. If you like Summer Heights High, you have to watch this.
Anyway, on our ride to Cairns it was obvious that we were heading towards a tropical paradise. The streets were lined with palm trees and everyone was wearing shorts and tee shirts (let me remind you it is winter here). I was getting more and more excited about this part of the trip. When we finally got to Cairns we checked into our hostel, Gilligans. Although apparently it is upon the best backpacker hostels in Australia it did not rank up with our prior living arrangements. I definitely was not complaining though. After getting settled in the room we went on a short walking tour of the area around the hostel. There were so many little stores and restaurants. Our coordinator gave us meal vouchers for The Woolshed which ended up being our spot during the entire trip. After the tour I went to dinner at The Woolshed with Sarah (Drake), Angela (Drake), Caroline (Mary Washington), Laura (Pitt), Jackie (Pitt), and Brenna (Texas A&M). The food was surprisingly good. A few of the girls decided to stay out at the bar but I headed back because I still wasn't feeling so great. When I got back to my room no one was there so I just laid in my bed and caught up on my journal (so that you guys could get all the juicy details of my trip of course). Megan (C of C) came back from the health center (because yes, we were all sick) and she hadn't eaten so we decided to head down to the restaurant/bar under Gilligan's. There was a footie (rugby) game between Queensland (where we were) and New South Wales (where I am going to school) and they have a huge rivalry. There were a lot of people down there getting really intense. It was so much fun to watch and it got me really excited to go to a game. It was also somewhat amusing because the game was playing on 4 huge projection screens, probably like 10 feet across, and then they had the MLB All-Star game playing on like a 19-in TV. After the game we went back to the hostel and went on the internet for the first time in what felt like AGES! That's when I gave you my first post. I talked to Shannon Moody and Jackie Dolan (I hate having to use last names. I am purposely not making any more friends named Jackie or Shannon). It was really cool talking to people from home and hopefully I'll be able to again soon. Skype anyone? Freaking 14 hour time difference...
Anyway, so the next day (16th) I thought I was going to be able to scratch something off my bucket list but that really didn't work out. I'll explain. We had plans to go scuba diving and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef again. We walked over to the jetty (which was not actually a jetty, it was a pier, and that misnomer sadly bothered me) and took a 1.5 hour boat ride to our first spot, Oyster Bay. During that ride the crew had us all fill out waivers to go scuba diving. I guess long story short they didn't let me go scuba diving. I'm going to lie on the form next time. Though I was really pissed after they told me I couldn't scuba, I realized that snorkeling would have to do. And it totally was. There were a lot of spots where the reef was really shallow so I could swim right over it and be within a meter of it. The water was really choppy because it was windy so I always waited for someone bigger than me to swim over it before I did so I would know that I could make it. Yes, I am terrible I know. The coolest fish I saw had a head that looked like a strawberry pistachio swirl cone and the body had a checkerboard-like design with yellow and purple. I have no idea how that fish would hide from predators. Once again, I was trying to identify fish by their respective characters in Finding Nemo but it failed. I was perfectly fine with appreciating the beauty of it and not obsessing over the details. We stayed at the first spot for about 3 hours but I only snorkeled for an hour and a half. I decided to go eat lunch on the boat and hang out on the deck with some other people on the trip while others were scuba diving. After lunch we went to the second spot on the trip. I believe it was called Pit Stop (no, not like the greasy burgers) but I'm not completely sure. The wind was picking up so the water was even choppier. Plus there was a really strong current. Although I was feeling a lot better than I had been I didn't want to push myself too hard. I stayed in the water for about 30 minutes and then got back on the boat. I saw a lot of the same coral but I saw some different fish and other species. It was really cool but I wish I was feeling better at the time. The ride back home was quite interesting. We were travelling against the wind so the boat was rocking a lot. I was sitting on the front deck with a bunch of people in the program and we were rolling around. Even while sitting! It was pretty hysterical watching people try to stand up or walk around on the boat. Ken (UMD) wanted to walk over towards the group and because most people were laying down he had to like tiptoe jump over a bunch of people while the boat was rocking. That was very amusing. I still laugh at him for it. (Sorry Ken). Matt (Towson) was trying to beat the boat by not holding onto anything and just trying to balance. He looked like he was surfing and he was actually doing pretty well but I don't think he lasted very long. Anyway, the boat ride back was about another two hours so by the time we got back we were already hungry again. After showering (finally in hot water) the people in my room decided to go out to P.J. O'Brian's for dinner. It had a great Irish pub atmosphere. The others went to order food at the counter and I grabbed an open table. A few tables down I noticed this random guy waving to me. It was dark and I wasn't wearing my glasses so I was a little sketched out. I just kept ignoring him but he kept waving. Finally he came over and it was actually Ken, Matt, and Dan (Stanford). I felt like such an idiot. Even though they already ate they stayed there with us while we finished our dinner. On the table there were coasters with "What's the craic?" on them. Kerri, I grabbed one thinking of you. Everyone was so confused as to what it could mean, and I knew the answer! I was so excited. So that night was definitely the craziest night I have had in Australia yet. Now, those people reading this please do not judge me for taking a week and a half to have a crazy night in Australia. Remember people that I have been sick. I'll continue with some of my story. After P.J. O'Brian's we went back to The Woolshed. It was ladies night so they were handing out free glasses of champagne when we got there. Pretty much all the girls were grabbing glasses of champagne drinking half and then giving the rest to the guys. There were so many glasses of champagne on the table. When that ended we started just getting pitchers (jugs) of beer and the night just got more hysterical. We met these two British girls who confirmed the myth that British girls can drink a lot. They taught us a game that was somewhat like thumper and way too complicated to explain in a blog. They also tried to explain cricket to us but that failed miserably. Luckily Gilligan's was only a short walk away and we all got back there and fell asleep in preparation for the next days adventures.
On the 17th I experienced the most interesting hangover remedy ever-white water rafting. When we woke up a bunch of us were still in a bad shape so the hangover was on its way. I luckily fell asleep on the bus for a while because the ride was almost 2 hours. When we got to the river our guide asked us who wanted to be the boat leaders. For whatever reason, hungover me and Ken volunteered to lead the boat. We all knew the entire day was going to be interesting. I Was in a boat with Dan, Laura, Angela, Caroline, Sarah, and Ken. Unfortunately the water was freezing cold and it was super windy so the first part of the trip wasn't too pleasant. There were some hysterical points. At one rapid Dan went flying forward ended up in the front of the boat and his helmet knocked mine. Something hit Sarah's knee and it bruised up and the guide fell forward and kicked Laura in the face. It was a mess. We also passed this huge rock in the river and the water was really deep there so they let us jump off the rock. I decided to take them up on the offer. It was about 20-25 feet high. We stopped for lunch and luckily it warmed up a lot so the second part of the trip was a lot better. The rapids were awesome. The trill was something that I had never experienced before and I definitely want to do it again. The cold, fresh water was the most interesting hangover remedy ever. When we got back I went to dinner with Matt, Dan, Ken, and Ben. Before dinner Matt was pretty hyper so he was jumping between top bunks. I was just waiting for him to trip and eat it. I'm glad he didn't though. We went to a food court for dinner that was mostly Asian food. It was way too salty to be enjoyable. After dinner we went back to the guys room to hang out for a while. Some of the guys went to a casino and I went to bed early in preparation for the next day's adventures.
Anyway, on our ride to Cairns it was obvious that we were heading towards a tropical paradise. The streets were lined with palm trees and everyone was wearing shorts and tee shirts (let me remind you it is winter here). I was getting more and more excited about this part of the trip. When we finally got to Cairns we checked into our hostel, Gilligans. Although apparently it is upon the best backpacker hostels in Australia it did not rank up with our prior living arrangements. I definitely was not complaining though. After getting settled in the room we went on a short walking tour of the area around the hostel. There were so many little stores and restaurants. Our coordinator gave us meal vouchers for The Woolshed which ended up being our spot during the entire trip. After the tour I went to dinner at The Woolshed with Sarah (Drake), Angela (Drake), Caroline (Mary Washington), Laura (Pitt), Jackie (Pitt), and Brenna (Texas A&M). The food was surprisingly good. A few of the girls decided to stay out at the bar but I headed back because I still wasn't feeling so great. When I got back to my room no one was there so I just laid in my bed and caught up on my journal (so that you guys could get all the juicy details of my trip of course). Megan (C of C) came back from the health center (because yes, we were all sick) and she hadn't eaten so we decided to head down to the restaurant/bar under Gilligan's. There was a footie (rugby) game between Queensland (where we were) and New South Wales (where I am going to school) and they have a huge rivalry. There were a lot of people down there getting really intense. It was so much fun to watch and it got me really excited to go to a game. It was also somewhat amusing because the game was playing on 4 huge projection screens, probably like 10 feet across, and then they had the MLB All-Star game playing on like a 19-in TV. After the game we went back to the hostel and went on the internet for the first time in what felt like AGES! That's when I gave you my first post. I talked to Shannon Moody and Jackie Dolan (I hate having to use last names. I am purposely not making any more friends named Jackie or Shannon). It was really cool talking to people from home and hopefully I'll be able to again soon. Skype anyone? Freaking 14 hour time difference...
Anyway, so the next day (16th) I thought I was going to be able to scratch something off my bucket list but that really didn't work out. I'll explain. We had plans to go scuba diving and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef again. We walked over to the jetty (which was not actually a jetty, it was a pier, and that misnomer sadly bothered me) and took a 1.5 hour boat ride to our first spot, Oyster Bay. During that ride the crew had us all fill out waivers to go scuba diving. I guess long story short they didn't let me go scuba diving. I'm going to lie on the form next time. Though I was really pissed after they told me I couldn't scuba, I realized that snorkeling would have to do. And it totally was. There were a lot of spots where the reef was really shallow so I could swim right over it and be within a meter of it. The water was really choppy because it was windy so I always waited for someone bigger than me to swim over it before I did so I would know that I could make it. Yes, I am terrible I know. The coolest fish I saw had a head that looked like a strawberry pistachio swirl cone and the body had a checkerboard-like design with yellow and purple. I have no idea how that fish would hide from predators. Once again, I was trying to identify fish by their respective characters in Finding Nemo but it failed. I was perfectly fine with appreciating the beauty of it and not obsessing over the details. We stayed at the first spot for about 3 hours but I only snorkeled for an hour and a half. I decided to go eat lunch on the boat and hang out on the deck with some other people on the trip while others were scuba diving. After lunch we went to the second spot on the trip. I believe it was called Pit Stop (no, not like the greasy burgers) but I'm not completely sure. The wind was picking up so the water was even choppier. Plus there was a really strong current. Although I was feeling a lot better than I had been I didn't want to push myself too hard. I stayed in the water for about 30 minutes and then got back on the boat. I saw a lot of the same coral but I saw some different fish and other species. It was really cool but I wish I was feeling better at the time. The ride back home was quite interesting. We were travelling against the wind so the boat was rocking a lot. I was sitting on the front deck with a bunch of people in the program and we were rolling around. Even while sitting! It was pretty hysterical watching people try to stand up or walk around on the boat. Ken (UMD) wanted to walk over towards the group and because most people were laying down he had to like tiptoe jump over a bunch of people while the boat was rocking. That was very amusing. I still laugh at him for it. (Sorry Ken). Matt (Towson) was trying to beat the boat by not holding onto anything and just trying to balance. He looked like he was surfing and he was actually doing pretty well but I don't think he lasted very long. Anyway, the boat ride back was about another two hours so by the time we got back we were already hungry again. After showering (finally in hot water) the people in my room decided to go out to P.J. O'Brian's for dinner. It had a great Irish pub atmosphere. The others went to order food at the counter and I grabbed an open table. A few tables down I noticed this random guy waving to me. It was dark and I wasn't wearing my glasses so I was a little sketched out. I just kept ignoring him but he kept waving. Finally he came over and it was actually Ken, Matt, and Dan (Stanford). I felt like such an idiot. Even though they already ate they stayed there with us while we finished our dinner. On the table there were coasters with "What's the craic?" on them. Kerri, I grabbed one thinking of you. Everyone was so confused as to what it could mean, and I knew the answer! I was so excited. So that night was definitely the craziest night I have had in Australia yet. Now, those people reading this please do not judge me for taking a week and a half to have a crazy night in Australia. Remember people that I have been sick. I'll continue with some of my story. After P.J. O'Brian's we went back to The Woolshed. It was ladies night so they were handing out free glasses of champagne when we got there. Pretty much all the girls were grabbing glasses of champagne drinking half and then giving the rest to the guys. There were so many glasses of champagne on the table. When that ended we started just getting pitchers (jugs) of beer and the night just got more hysterical. We met these two British girls who confirmed the myth that British girls can drink a lot. They taught us a game that was somewhat like thumper and way too complicated to explain in a blog. They also tried to explain cricket to us but that failed miserably. Luckily Gilligan's was only a short walk away and we all got back there and fell asleep in preparation for the next days adventures.
On the 17th I experienced the most interesting hangover remedy ever-white water rafting. When we woke up a bunch of us were still in a bad shape so the hangover was on its way. I luckily fell asleep on the bus for a while because the ride was almost 2 hours. When we got to the river our guide asked us who wanted to be the boat leaders. For whatever reason, hungover me and Ken volunteered to lead the boat. We all knew the entire day was going to be interesting. I Was in a boat with Dan, Laura, Angela, Caroline, Sarah, and Ken. Unfortunately the water was freezing cold and it was super windy so the first part of the trip wasn't too pleasant. There were some hysterical points. At one rapid Dan went flying forward ended up in the front of the boat and his helmet knocked mine. Something hit Sarah's knee and it bruised up and the guide fell forward and kicked Laura in the face. It was a mess. We also passed this huge rock in the river and the water was really deep there so they let us jump off the rock. I decided to take them up on the offer. It was about 20-25 feet high. We stopped for lunch and luckily it warmed up a lot so the second part of the trip was a lot better. The rapids were awesome. The trill was something that I had never experienced before and I definitely want to do it again. The cold, fresh water was the most interesting hangover remedy ever. When we got back I went to dinner with Matt, Dan, Ken, and Ben. Before dinner Matt was pretty hyper so he was jumping between top bunks. I was just waiting for him to trip and eat it. I'm glad he didn't though. We went to a food court for dinner that was mostly Asian food. It was way too salty to be enjoyable. After dinner we went back to the guys room to hang out for a while. Some of the guys went to a casino and I went to bed early in preparation for the next day's adventures.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The other Long Island
Once again, this post is somewhat late but after seeing the things certain people (you know who you are) wrote on my facebook wall it looks like I'm going to have to pick up my post efficiency. So, here it goes...
After orientation I went on a pre-semester trip with 16 other students. We arrived at Hamilton Island on 12 July and to my surprise we did not stay there. Instead we took a ferry to the Long Island Resort. Our coordinator, Matt, kept confusing me whenever he said Long Island. I was not ready to go home! To say the least, it was nothing like home. The ferry ride was about 45 minutes long and we passed these beautiful hilly islands covered with trees. The water was so blue that in some places we could see the sea floor. I was in complete awe. When we arrived on the island we realized that there was basically no civilization. The only things on the island were three resorts, one of which was only accessible by helicopter. So pretty much the socialization options were quite limited. I guess that was good though because I got to know the other students on the trip really well.
On the first night we were there we played trivia with Brett. It was quite interesting. To say the least, we know a lot less than we think. There were three rounds (we missed the first one) with 20 questions each. The winner got a free bottle of wine, so we really really wanted to win. Unfortunately, we didn't think about the fact that there would be a lot of Australian trivia. So my team got 7/20 and 9/20. But the other team from our group ended up winning the third round (though I think they may have cheated a little bit, but no judgments here). We were talking to the other teams of Aussies and they were hysterical. It might have just been the booze but I have noticed that a lot of Australians are much more free to joke about a lot of topics that are hushed at home. After the winning group claimed their bottle of wine, we decided to sit in the hot tub for a little while. We got to talking and I discovered that Ken (UMD) is from Wantagh. I hated him for a little because I hate Wantagh but then he told me he went to Chaminade so it was okay. The personalities of other people on the trip really started coming out and it was awesome hanging out with them. We were looking at the stars from the hot tub (yea, lame whatever) and I had never seen that many stars. I mean, we were seriously on a secluded island so there was basically no light pollution. It was incredible.
The second day there (13 July) we got a free day. This was the first free day we had during the entire time in Australia. A bunch of us decided to go on a hike around the island but someone stole our map so we got a little lost. However, the island isn't too big so we found our way home unscathed. At the top of the hill on the island the view was amazing. The water was such a pristine blue color and all of the other islands just made it look like paradise. When we got back from our hike we hung out at the beach for a while. The sand sucked; it was really coarse grained and rocky with pieces of shells and stuff. The beach was also incredibly flat so the high tide line and the low tide line were about 40 feet away from each other. It was really weird looking. Once we got bored on the beach we decided to go kayaking. It was complimentary so we figured we might as well try it out. They had bouys marking out the boundaries where we could go and they stressed these boundaries several times. After rowing for a while we got kind of bored and just sat or laid in our kayaks. After about 10 minutes of that, this guy came out towards us and started yelling at us for being outside the boundaries. We looked around and we were way way way outside the buoys. But, the guy was a total jackass about it. He was like, you have to follow the same rules as everyone else and you have to pay attention to the boundaries, its not rocket science. It was totally unnecessary. So that was the end of kayaking for us. Other people in the group went on another hike after kayaking but I was still feeling really sick so I just decided to go take a shower and nap for a while so I could feel better for that night's adventures--Bingo with Bretto! This was pretty terrible. We had to make our own cards by filling in numbers so a bunch of people ended up just changing their numbers throughout the game to make it go faster. The winner won a free drink and Ken (UMD) won the second round. The third round was the "booby prize round" and Ben (Grand Valley) won that one. Brett came over to him with something under a towel and some very interesting conversation ensued and it ended with him uncovering a coconut with a face drawn on it. He taught us how to open a coconut which will become a great skill in the future. We were walking around for a little and discovered that we could see the Milky Way. It really puts stuff in perspective that we are so small in this place. We had an early morning the next day so we all went to bed after that adventure.
On the 14th we went snorkeling and it was definitely the best day on Long Island. We took a ferry to Whitehaven Beach. They told us the sand at Whitehaven is the whitest in the world. It was really hard so it didn't even feel like sand. Against the white sand the water looked even bluer, almost like a teal blue. We stayed on the beach for about an hour and then we went over to another part of the beach for a "bushwalk" or just a hike. We got to see the most photographed beach in the world. There were a bunch of moving sandbars that made this beach the most unique I had ever seen. It was apparently voted the best beach in the world. Even from the top of the hill we could see sting rays in the shallow water. Our final stop was the Great Barrier Reef. We snorkeled there for about an hour. Everything was absolutely beautiful. It was pretty sad that I was trying to spot fish that I could compare to fish from Finding Nemo. Unfortunately I didn't find too many that I recognized but it was still beautiful. We got back from that adventure, ate dinner, and attempted to go to karaoke but Brett was not hosting it so it was lame. As I was still feeling like hell I went back to the hotel for the night.
We left Long Island on the 15th and took the ferry back to Hamilton Island. And then we started our adventure to Cairns, but I'll share those adventures later...
After orientation I went on a pre-semester trip with 16 other students. We arrived at Hamilton Island on 12 July and to my surprise we did not stay there. Instead we took a ferry to the Long Island Resort. Our coordinator, Matt, kept confusing me whenever he said Long Island. I was not ready to go home! To say the least, it was nothing like home. The ferry ride was about 45 minutes long and we passed these beautiful hilly islands covered with trees. The water was so blue that in some places we could see the sea floor. I was in complete awe. When we arrived on the island we realized that there was basically no civilization. The only things on the island were three resorts, one of which was only accessible by helicopter. So pretty much the socialization options were quite limited. I guess that was good though because I got to know the other students on the trip really well.
On the first night we were there we played trivia with Brett. It was quite interesting. To say the least, we know a lot less than we think. There were three rounds (we missed the first one) with 20 questions each. The winner got a free bottle of wine, so we really really wanted to win. Unfortunately, we didn't think about the fact that there would be a lot of Australian trivia. So my team got 7/20 and 9/20. But the other team from our group ended up winning the third round (though I think they may have cheated a little bit, but no judgments here). We were talking to the other teams of Aussies and they were hysterical. It might have just been the booze but I have noticed that a lot of Australians are much more free to joke about a lot of topics that are hushed at home. After the winning group claimed their bottle of wine, we decided to sit in the hot tub for a little while. We got to talking and I discovered that Ken (UMD) is from Wantagh. I hated him for a little because I hate Wantagh but then he told me he went to Chaminade so it was okay. The personalities of other people on the trip really started coming out and it was awesome hanging out with them. We were looking at the stars from the hot tub (yea, lame whatever) and I had never seen that many stars. I mean, we were seriously on a secluded island so there was basically no light pollution. It was incredible.
The second day there (13 July) we got a free day. This was the first free day we had during the entire time in Australia. A bunch of us decided to go on a hike around the island but someone stole our map so we got a little lost. However, the island isn't too big so we found our way home unscathed. At the top of the hill on the island the view was amazing. The water was such a pristine blue color and all of the other islands just made it look like paradise. When we got back from our hike we hung out at the beach for a while. The sand sucked; it was really coarse grained and rocky with pieces of shells and stuff. The beach was also incredibly flat so the high tide line and the low tide line were about 40 feet away from each other. It was really weird looking. Once we got bored on the beach we decided to go kayaking. It was complimentary so we figured we might as well try it out. They had bouys marking out the boundaries where we could go and they stressed these boundaries several times. After rowing for a while we got kind of bored and just sat or laid in our kayaks. After about 10 minutes of that, this guy came out towards us and started yelling at us for being outside the boundaries. We looked around and we were way way way outside the buoys. But, the guy was a total jackass about it. He was like, you have to follow the same rules as everyone else and you have to pay attention to the boundaries, its not rocket science. It was totally unnecessary. So that was the end of kayaking for us. Other people in the group went on another hike after kayaking but I was still feeling really sick so I just decided to go take a shower and nap for a while so I could feel better for that night's adventures--Bingo with Bretto! This was pretty terrible. We had to make our own cards by filling in numbers so a bunch of people ended up just changing their numbers throughout the game to make it go faster. The winner won a free drink and Ken (UMD) won the second round. The third round was the "booby prize round" and Ben (Grand Valley) won that one. Brett came over to him with something under a towel and some very interesting conversation ensued and it ended with him uncovering a coconut with a face drawn on it. He taught us how to open a coconut which will become a great skill in the future. We were walking around for a little and discovered that we could see the Milky Way. It really puts stuff in perspective that we are so small in this place. We had an early morning the next day so we all went to bed after that adventure.
On the 14th we went snorkeling and it was definitely the best day on Long Island. We took a ferry to Whitehaven Beach. They told us the sand at Whitehaven is the whitest in the world. It was really hard so it didn't even feel like sand. Against the white sand the water looked even bluer, almost like a teal blue. We stayed on the beach for about an hour and then we went over to another part of the beach for a "bushwalk" or just a hike. We got to see the most photographed beach in the world. There were a bunch of moving sandbars that made this beach the most unique I had ever seen. It was apparently voted the best beach in the world. Even from the top of the hill we could see sting rays in the shallow water. Our final stop was the Great Barrier Reef. We snorkeled there for about an hour. Everything was absolutely beautiful. It was pretty sad that I was trying to spot fish that I could compare to fish from Finding Nemo. Unfortunately I didn't find too many that I recognized but it was still beautiful. We got back from that adventure, ate dinner, and attempted to go to karaoke but Brett was not hosting it so it was lame. As I was still feeling like hell I went back to the hotel for the night.
We left Long Island on the 15th and took the ferry back to Hamilton Island. And then we started our adventure to Cairns, but I'll share those adventures later...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sydney, part 1
Since I have been incredibly busy this is only the second time I've been on the computer since coming to Australia. So, I will update my blog somewhat after the fact.
The first part of my trip was an orientation in Sydney. We were there from 8 July to 12 July. During those four days there were a ton of adventures. The first night in Sydney we had an orientation meeting and then ate dinner together at Blackbird. I had kangaroo for dinner! It was quite an experience. It tasted like steak but it was very rare because there is almost no fat on the meat. Right after dinner almost all of us went back to the hotel and passed out because of jetlag and overall exhaustion.
Speaking of going back to the hotel, let me tell you a little more about the place we were staying for those first days. It was called the Meriton World Tower and it was absolutely ridiculous. I was in a three bedroom apartment with 5 other girls. We were on the 62nd floor so the view was amazing. We could pretty much see all of Sydney from our room. We had a fully equipped kitchen, big couches, flat screen TV, towel warmer in the bathroom (for some reason, I was obsessed with that), etc. The apartment was huge. I could have stayed there for a long time.
Anyway, on the 9th we had a walking tour of Sydney and I am somewhat misleading you all by my blog title being "It's always sunny in Australia" because the first few days we were there that was not the case. As soon as we started walking it started pouring rain. Luckily I packed my rain jacket (Mom, I told you I would need it) and I didn't get as wet as everyone else. We waited out the rain in a subway station and after about 20 minutes we decided to resume our walk. We walked past shopping centres and museums, and we also walked through the Botanical Gardens. In one of the parks we saw a bunch of these white parrots. Our directors, Russ and Matt, gave us pieces of bread and the parrots would fly onto us to eat the bread. It was a lot of fun. They had sharp talons though. Learned that the hard way... We also walked past the Sydney Opera House. It is way cooler in person. I never realized it is more than one building! We finished the walking tour with a lunch at The Australian Hotel where I ate crocodile, emu, and more kangaroo all on pizza. It was quite interesting. I was not a fan of crocodile but most of the other people were. After lunch we were finally given free time to wander about Sydney. I was walking with Angela (Drake), Jeff (UMD), Ian (UMD), and Laura (Pitt) when I ran into Marissa on the streets of Sydney. Angela, Jeff, Ian, Laura and I went back to the hotel after that to just relax. That night we all went to The Gaff which is known as one of the best backpacker bars. We got these VIP cards that got us free entry, free dinner, and au$3 beers. Pretty sweet. We got there pretty early so it was kind of dead but there was a DJ contest that night so it got pretty lively later at night.
We had to get up really early to go to the zoo and to hike the Blue Mountains on the 10th. I saw the typical Australian animals like kangaroos (I started to feel weird for eating one), koalas, emus (once again felt weird seeing it after eating it), and wallabys. The wallabys were just roaming around the zoo for all of us to feed and to pet. I took a bunch of pictures of animals and then later realized that I didn't know what most of them are. But they looked cool. After the zoo we went to see an imax movie on an ancient tree. Yes, it was as boring as it sounds. The only exciting part was the group of grade 5 students there who were totally excited to meet Americans. The movie was a preview for the hike we were going on in the Blue Mountains. The mountains were amazing. They were all covered in trees and so expansive. There are about 500 valleys in the mountains and only about 200 of them have been explored. We went down the mountains on a giant set of stairs. Literally. We climbed down about 900 steps, some wood, some metal, some stone. It was interesting. Towards the end my legs started shaking partly because they were worn out and partly because I was terrified about falling. It was totally worth it though because the views were stunning. I tried to get pictures but it does not justice. I definitely want to get back there and hike another trail at some point. That night we went out in Darling Harbor. That night was pretty uneventful so I'll just leave it there.
We had the morning of the 11th off to do whatever we needed/wanted to do. And I chose to do laundry? Well after doing that I went on a walk through some of the city with Jeff, Ian, Jake, Topher, and Matt. It wasn't too long but it was good to get out of my apartment for the day. So I went back to the apartment and started to pack and get ready for the Harbor cruise that night. We had a final orientation meeting for about 2 hours where they flooded us with information. Hopefully I will retain at least some of it. Then we walked over to the Harbor and went on a dinner cruise. It was a beautiful night and a great way to end my first series of adventures in Sydney. Most of us went back to the hotel after the cruise, not because we are totally lame, because we are all sick. Worst.
On the 12th we had to get up really early but I could not complain because I was heading off to Queensland for the week. But, that is another post...
The first part of my trip was an orientation in Sydney. We were there from 8 July to 12 July. During those four days there were a ton of adventures. The first night in Sydney we had an orientation meeting and then ate dinner together at Blackbird. I had kangaroo for dinner! It was quite an experience. It tasted like steak but it was very rare because there is almost no fat on the meat. Right after dinner almost all of us went back to the hotel and passed out because of jetlag and overall exhaustion.
Speaking of going back to the hotel, let me tell you a little more about the place we were staying for those first days. It was called the Meriton World Tower and it was absolutely ridiculous. I was in a three bedroom apartment with 5 other girls. We were on the 62nd floor so the view was amazing. We could pretty much see all of Sydney from our room. We had a fully equipped kitchen, big couches, flat screen TV, towel warmer in the bathroom (for some reason, I was obsessed with that), etc. The apartment was huge. I could have stayed there for a long time.
Anyway, on the 9th we had a walking tour of Sydney and I am somewhat misleading you all by my blog title being "It's always sunny in Australia" because the first few days we were there that was not the case. As soon as we started walking it started pouring rain. Luckily I packed my rain jacket (Mom, I told you I would need it) and I didn't get as wet as everyone else. We waited out the rain in a subway station and after about 20 minutes we decided to resume our walk. We walked past shopping centres and museums, and we also walked through the Botanical Gardens. In one of the parks we saw a bunch of these white parrots. Our directors, Russ and Matt, gave us pieces of bread and the parrots would fly onto us to eat the bread. It was a lot of fun. They had sharp talons though. Learned that the hard way... We also walked past the Sydney Opera House. It is way cooler in person. I never realized it is more than one building! We finished the walking tour with a lunch at The Australian Hotel where I ate crocodile, emu, and more kangaroo all on pizza. It was quite interesting. I was not a fan of crocodile but most of the other people were. After lunch we were finally given free time to wander about Sydney. I was walking with Angela (Drake), Jeff (UMD), Ian (UMD), and Laura (Pitt) when I ran into Marissa on the streets of Sydney. Angela, Jeff, Ian, Laura and I went back to the hotel after that to just relax. That night we all went to The Gaff which is known as one of the best backpacker bars. We got these VIP cards that got us free entry, free dinner, and au$3 beers. Pretty sweet. We got there pretty early so it was kind of dead but there was a DJ contest that night so it got pretty lively later at night.
We had to get up really early to go to the zoo and to hike the Blue Mountains on the 10th. I saw the typical Australian animals like kangaroos (I started to feel weird for eating one), koalas, emus (once again felt weird seeing it after eating it), and wallabys. The wallabys were just roaming around the zoo for all of us to feed and to pet. I took a bunch of pictures of animals and then later realized that I didn't know what most of them are. But they looked cool. After the zoo we went to see an imax movie on an ancient tree. Yes, it was as boring as it sounds. The only exciting part was the group of grade 5 students there who were totally excited to meet Americans. The movie was a preview for the hike we were going on in the Blue Mountains. The mountains were amazing. They were all covered in trees and so expansive. There are about 500 valleys in the mountains and only about 200 of them have been explored. We went down the mountains on a giant set of stairs. Literally. We climbed down about 900 steps, some wood, some metal, some stone. It was interesting. Towards the end my legs started shaking partly because they were worn out and partly because I was terrified about falling. It was totally worth it though because the views were stunning. I tried to get pictures but it does not justice. I definitely want to get back there and hike another trail at some point. That night we went out in Darling Harbor. That night was pretty uneventful so I'll just leave it there.
We had the morning of the 11th off to do whatever we needed/wanted to do. And I chose to do laundry? Well after doing that I went on a walk through some of the city with Jeff, Ian, Jake, Topher, and Matt. It wasn't too long but it was good to get out of my apartment for the day. So I went back to the apartment and started to pack and get ready for the Harbor cruise that night. We had a final orientation meeting for about 2 hours where they flooded us with information. Hopefully I will retain at least some of it. Then we walked over to the Harbor and went on a dinner cruise. It was a beautiful night and a great way to end my first series of adventures in Sydney. Most of us went back to the hotel after the cruise, not because we are totally lame, because we are all sick. Worst.
On the 12th we had to get up really early but I could not complain because I was heading off to Queensland for the week. But, that is another post...
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Ok, I'm alive
Hello readers!
So I'm using this blog to chronicle my adventures in Australia. Since I've only been here for too long I don't have too many, but I needed to start blogging to make sure people knew I was alive and kicking.
I think the first thing that I want everyone to know is that I ate kangaroo, emu, and crocodile. The first two pretty much tasted like steak, and yes the third pretty much tasted like tough chicken.
Second, a 6 pack of corona is over au$60. Seriously? I think I'll be sticking to boxed wine.
And third, quite possibly one of the funniest things is seeing an Asian person with an Australian accent.
Yesterday was pretty much a blur because I was absolutely exhausted from the 21 hours of flying and overall excitement of being in another country but today has been a little more eventful. We walked around the city a lot and I learned a bunch of random (SHH anyone?) information about Sydney. It was really cool. I think I need to start writing stuff down though.
Well that's all I'm going to write for now. Until next time...
So I'm using this blog to chronicle my adventures in Australia. Since I've only been here for too long I don't have too many, but I needed to start blogging to make sure people knew I was alive and kicking.
I think the first thing that I want everyone to know is that I ate kangaroo, emu, and crocodile. The first two pretty much tasted like steak, and yes the third pretty much tasted like tough chicken.
Second, a 6 pack of corona is over au$60. Seriously? I think I'll be sticking to boxed wine.
And third, quite possibly one of the funniest things is seeing an Asian person with an Australian accent.
Yesterday was pretty much a blur because I was absolutely exhausted from the 21 hours of flying and overall excitement of being in another country but today has been a little more eventful. We walked around the city a lot and I learned a bunch of random (SHH anyone?) information about Sydney. It was really cool. I think I need to start writing stuff down though.
Well that's all I'm going to write for now. Until next time...
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