Where to even begin? Sorry, I was planning on getting this done right when I got back from my semester break adventures but schoolwork and exhaustion and lots of procrastination have gotten in the way. Beware this is going to take awhile.
So on the 25th of September, after a long day of trains, busses, and a flight, Tigerair got Erin and I (She's from Missouri) successfully to Sydney. Eventually we arrived at Elephant Backpackers, our hostel for the next few days. It was interesting to say the least. Definitely not a 5 star resort (or really even 2 star) is all I'll mention about that, but I guess it's just a place to lay your head at night. The first day we spent all morning walking around the city. We had met up with another friend from Montana, so the three of us walked around the Quay to shop a bit, saw the Opera House, and walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens and Hyde Park. That night we decided that we were going to get dressed up in our Sunday best and go to a nice dinner, complete with champagne and gelato for desert, before going to an actual show at the Opera House. We ended up seeing Anything Goes, a musical held in one of the smaller theaters. Before the show, they take you to the back of the opera house for drinks and a view of the Sydney Harbour and Harbour Bridge all lit up at night. Gosh is it totally a breathtaking view! About the show, well I'm not a huge theatre person but it was easily the best performance I've ever/will ever see. How do I get to do that for a living because it was spectacular (watch them for a living not actually being in them because I can't walk without tripping let alone tap dance, sing, act, etc). It was so awesome. Please go sometime and at least see the inside because that alone is stunning.
So day two. The rain couldn't stop us and we spent the day walking around (you'll notice this is a really common theme) and it started at Mrs Macquarie's Chair, a lookout area that had an awesome view of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and flowers in the Botanical Gardens. A few gazillion steps later we went across the Harbour Bridge and saw the Olympic Park swimming pool (nerdy swimmer moment + saw the Ian Thorpe aquatic center!!) plus Luna Park, a creepy kids amusement park that I would never ever step foot into as a child simply because you have to walk through a clownish looking face's mouth to get in... A nap in the Gardens later, we decided t about 5 hours of walking straight was enough and headed back to the hostel to grab dinner and some much needed sleep.
Day three. The coolest thing about Sydney is that within about an hour you can be on the beach, in the city, or in the mountains hiking. Since we had only done city so far, we spent all day on a tour in the Blue Mountains an hour or two outside of the main city. I love the city but this was a bit more my element so I was in heaven. It's kind of hard to describe them without pictures but google them. The only other true mountains I've been in are the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee but these made them look like mounds of dirt. They extended as far as the eye can see and are home to a famous set of rocks, the Three sisters. There's a super cool but long story that goes along with them according to Aboriginal history. In the mountains there's a place called Scenic World, which has a skyway cable car take you past a waterfall and the Three Sisters, a cable way to take you down into a valley to walk around in thick rainforest, and finally is home to the steepest incline railway in the world to take you back to the top to overlook the valley once again. To end the tour, we quick stopped at the Olympic Park, home to the 2000 Olympics. Finally we took a yacht down the river for about an hour and got to see the bridge, Opera House, and city skyline as the sun was setting and finally all lit up. Also a common theme, every part of this city just takes your breathe away.
Day four. After a riding the struggle bus for a while, we figured out how to take the bus to Bondi Beach (please get your head out of the sand if you've never heard of it, supposedly it's one of the most gorgeous and famous beaches in the world). Filled with graffiti telling sunbathers to take care of our oceans, we laid on the crowded back for a few hours, finally meeting up with another friend, Lina, from USC (but actually Austria) where we split up and Lina and I went to Bondi Ink (No tattoos for either of us just fangirling moments since it's one of my favorite Australian TV shows) and walked down the coast. Within a two hour walk, we came across around 5 other beaches, saw a few pools right along the ocean, complete with waves crashing into it while you're lap swimming (another nerd swimmer pool moment), and barefoot rock climbing to get to the bus stop. The trip back into the city wasn't exactly smooth sailing either. Catching a bus, running through the train station to catch a train, running from the train station all the way to the harbour after missing our next bus, we finally caught a ferry to Manly to catch the sunrise. Although we walked an hour, uphill in a circle and ended right back where we got off the ferry, we caught a decent sunset. Supposedly Justin Bieber was in Manly at the same time but we couldn't find him so we gave up and took a ferry back to the Quay in Sydney, complete with more gorgeous views of the city at night.
Day five. Up before the sun, our plane took off for Cairns (don't say the i or r or Australians will laugh in your face, been there). So we were all kind of sad that Sydney was pretty much long pants and sweater weather but this was not Cairns. It's like stepping into a sauna and you can pretty much drink the air it's so hot a humid. After checking into our hostel, Corona Backpackers, we took the day to just explore the city. This one was definitely not what I expected it to be. It was pretty small, had that tropical, hippy feel but the major let down was that there's no beaches unless you're willing to sit on the bus for a stupid length of time. It sits on the ocean but it's been so overused by tourism, fishing, etc. that it's been destroyed and is more muck than sand. Not to sound like an environmentalist but it's' so sad to see such natural beauty being destroyed. The town centers around the lagoon, a pool right along the ocean. We spent a majority of our day relaxing in the sunshine and browsing the shops before turning in.
Day six. Apparently we decided that it had been too long since we risked our lives doing something stupid so we caught an early shuttle to AJ Hackett, home to a 164 foot bungy tower. I felt like such a baby since I had zero fear of jumping out of a plane just over a month earlier but climbing up the 200 steps to the top of the tower my stomach was in knots. Thank goodness there was so many steps up so basically I was too lazy to walk all the way back down and found jumping to be a quicker option. It's easy to say "it's not that scary" once you're not up there and thinking that they use all this high tech equipment but no. You literally have a towel that you can probably buy at Target around your ankles and and rope outside of that that they loop a rope through. A little more reassuring is the harness you wear in case something happens but you totally forget about that part. Finally you waddle your way to the end of a plank like some pirate movie and they have you spread your arms, look at the horizon line to show you how absolutely horrifyingly high you are, and count down from 5. Easiest tip, don't overthink it and just go. You fall, your stomach goes into your throat and before you know it your arms are being dipped in the water and you're rising again, getting that feeling every time you drop until it's finally over and you take out the guy in the boat trying to get you down. The whole time you get a GoPro strapped to your arms to capture any tears/screams on the way down. Super super fun and such an adrenaline rush, a feeling I've learned to absolutely love. Overall, skydiving is more of my cup of tea but if you're looking for a bit more fear a cheaper alternative, bungy jumping is for you. Seriously do it at least once in your life. I have the video on my Facebook as well if you really want to see what its like. We spent the night watching street performers and browsing through the Night Markets.
Day seven. IT'S GREAT BARRIER REEF DAY HECK YES. I've never looked forward to something as much as swimming around in the sun all day seeing pretty fish. This is my definition of a perfect day. Up early, we loaded the boat with about 100 other people and set out on the 2 hour trip to the outer reef. We were lucky with the weather since it stay sunny but it was definitely choppy. A majority of the boat ended up in the back with sea sick tablets trying to hold down their breakfasts. Luckily all my time on boats must have paid off since I was able to walk/stumble around the boat the whole time without feeling sick (Thanks mom and dad & lake life). We decided to do an introductory dive which is basically when you go in groups with an instructor and they can take you down to up to 60 feet about for half an hour. We were the last group to go, giving me a full 2 hours out snorkeling the reef. Armed with an underwater camera, I set off and practically had to be dragged back in to dive. Although the colors aren't as bright as some Pinterest pictures would have you think, partly due to photoshop and partly due to how the reef is slowly being destroyed and disappearing, it was still beautiful. On our dive, they had us all sitting, set up with equipment and finally gave us the signal to walk down and jump into the water. I pretty much couldn't because the tank weighed as much as me. Once you struggle into the water, after you realize the tank now feels weightless, they have you hold onto a rope and run through some drills to make sure you can clear your mask, equalize the pressure in your ears, and clear your mouthpiece. Once you give them the go ahead, you go down. On the way down your arms are linked with the instructors to help you get a feel for everything. After a bit, he sets you free to swim on your own. Down a bit deeper, we were able to see a stingray, a nemo fish (yes I know that's not a real name for the fish), and follow a sea turtle. This was easily the coolest and most awesome thing I've ever done. I want to get certified when I get back but what's the point when you live a solid 20 hours from the ocean? If you have any justifications, please let me know. Once we got back to the surface, struggled up the ladder back onto the boat, they served a buffet lunch on the boat. After I headed out for another few hours to snorkel, not being able to see why anyone would want to spend the day on the boat when they could be out in the water. I ended up finding another sea turtle and followed it for awhile before taking off to explore again. When we were all called back to the boat to head back to Cairns, we were all exhausted. Seriously even for me, swimming constantly for that long in rough ocean waves is tough. On the ride back, we were blessed with a little calmer waters and I ended up falling asleep facing the sun on the railing, earning myself a nice little tan to take back to the Sunshine Coast.
Day eight. Our last day in Cairns, we went up to Kuranda, a traditional village up in the rainforest. All the shops here scream hippy and it was wonderful. We browsed the shops and came across the Koala Gardens, a little zoo home to holdable koalas, something still on my Australia bucket list. I didn't realize that koalas were the size of small children until I was holding Hogan. Holy buckets are they chubby little things. In addition, we got to feed some wallabies and snuggle up to some kangaroos. After browsing in and out of a few stores, we caught a bus back, grabbed dinner and went back to the hostel.
Day nine. Our shuttle came to pick us up at 4 am to bring us to the airport. Long story short, it was one of the longest days since coming here. I got a cold the previous day and pairing that with a flight was just an overall terrible idea. So on the plane ride, train, and finally bus back to school, I got to spend it with unpopped ears which lasted another 3 days so that was fun. Finally home, grocery shopping had to get done and I got to end the night watch the National Rugby League Finals. Yeah not even going to pretend I know anything about the game except for the few details I learned this night but the game was supposedly the most intense final in history (For good reason it was crazy).
The past week has just been filled with school work and relaxing with the occasional Netflix binge with Tyler (Another American from South Carolina). So hard to believe that school is three weeks from being over and I'm just a month and a half shy from returning to the tundra. With the weather starting to warm up even more lately, time at the beach is on the agenda and pushing through the home stretch of classes. Next trip on the list, Melbourne.
Until then, for those who actually made it all the way through this novel,
Cheers
Friday, 9 October 2015
Friday, 18 September 2015
2 Months
This is about to be one of the most boring things you've probably ever read, well at least compared to posts in the past & by my standards.
So we've officially passed the two month milestone here at the Sunny Coast (2 months, four days if you're keeping track) meaning my abroad experience is a week shy from being half way over! If there's one thing I can say about the whole thing, it'd have to be that time escapes you completely. It feels like just yesterday I was stepping off the plane and I'm sure December will be here before I know it.
Also over half way done is the school semester! Going into Week 9 of 13, things are beginning to pile up (not helping is my procrastination talent which is at an all time high). Due in the next few weeks are too many papers, too many assignments, and way too many presentations, because really any presentation is too many. But I do have a blessing in disguise. I never actually got a cell phone for here and I can only iMessage people back home on wifi, so considering I'm almost never in my room to use the wifi, I almost never have any distractions. It's kind of annoying when you actually need something but the past 2 weeks it's come in handy. All in all, just taking it one day and one assignment at a time and counting down the days till semester break (Hello Sydney and Cairns!).
Overall the last few weeks have been relatively quiet, with the exceptions being a few trips to the beach for barbecues, a full day of shopping at the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane, and frequent nights up late laughing and eating with close friends. Fortunately, adventure is right around the corner. In a week I'll be taking off to head to Sydney and up to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef, with future trips to Melbourne and Bali also in my sights.
No surprise but thoughts of home do creep into my head on the daily, especially of my Theta hΘme this week as they go through recruitment. Mostly they revolve around coming back and surprising friends (though strangely none of these dreams have snow on the ground, one thing I'll never miss and can't accept I'll have to return to). And of course my parents because how would I have gotten here without them?? Nothing makes you realize how awesome of a family you have until you leave them I suppose, so much love to you. Oh and mom, I never did apologize for leaving you home with three boys but keep pushing through til I rescue you again.
I reckon something more exciting will have happened before I write next because odds are pretty good something will go down while traveling through the country. If I come back with zero stories to tell or pictures to show, I'll have failed as a study abroad student and overall human.
Oh but one fun fact. I did see my first abnormally large spider whose body was about the size of a baseball. It actually could have eaten my foot if I wouldn't have ran away screaming. The kangaroos literally everywhere almost make up for it. Almost.
Keep the Facetimes & the updates (mostly on dramatic events I'm missing out on, boo) coming!
Until next time.
So we've officially passed the two month milestone here at the Sunny Coast (2 months, four days if you're keeping track) meaning my abroad experience is a week shy from being half way over! If there's one thing I can say about the whole thing, it'd have to be that time escapes you completely. It feels like just yesterday I was stepping off the plane and I'm sure December will be here before I know it.
Also over half way done is the school semester! Going into Week 9 of 13, things are beginning to pile up (not helping is my procrastination talent which is at an all time high). Due in the next few weeks are too many papers, too many assignments, and way too many presentations, because really any presentation is too many. But I do have a blessing in disguise. I never actually got a cell phone for here and I can only iMessage people back home on wifi, so considering I'm almost never in my room to use the wifi, I almost never have any distractions. It's kind of annoying when you actually need something but the past 2 weeks it's come in handy. All in all, just taking it one day and one assignment at a time and counting down the days till semester break (Hello Sydney and Cairns!).
Overall the last few weeks have been relatively quiet, with the exceptions being a few trips to the beach for barbecues, a full day of shopping at the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane, and frequent nights up late laughing and eating with close friends. Fortunately, adventure is right around the corner. In a week I'll be taking off to head to Sydney and up to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef, with future trips to Melbourne and Bali also in my sights.
No surprise but thoughts of home do creep into my head on the daily, especially of my Theta hΘme this week as they go through recruitment. Mostly they revolve around coming back and surprising friends (though strangely none of these dreams have snow on the ground, one thing I'll never miss and can't accept I'll have to return to). And of course my parents because how would I have gotten here without them?? Nothing makes you realize how awesome of a family you have until you leave them I suppose, so much love to you. Oh and mom, I never did apologize for leaving you home with three boys but keep pushing through til I rescue you again.
I reckon something more exciting will have happened before I write next because odds are pretty good something will go down while traveling through the country. If I come back with zero stories to tell or pictures to show, I'll have failed as a study abroad student and overall human.
Oh but one fun fact. I did see my first abnormally large spider whose body was about the size of a baseball. It actually could have eaten my foot if I wouldn't have ran away screaming. The kangaroos literally everywhere almost make up for it. Almost.
Keep the Facetimes & the updates (mostly on dramatic events I'm missing out on, boo) coming!
Until next time.
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Byron Bay
After a crazy weekend on Fraser Island, I was in need of a few relaxing days to catch up on homework and just focus on catching up with friends. All in all, the weekend amounted to a few of us jumping in UniCentral's pool on a rainy Friday night, a trip to the local shopping plaza on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and finally just relaxing and studying on a lazy Sunday. The rest of the week flew by, filled with anticipation of another crazy weekend in a new city.
On Friday, about 50 students hopped on a bus to drive the four hours south to Byron Bay, an adorable hippy city on the coast. On the bus it was decided that our group of three girls would take the 8 person room in the hostel, the Holiday Village, with five guys. After reaching the hostel, we unpacked and headed to the bar/club across the street for a paint party. Lathered in paint, the tables of the restaurant were turned into a dance floor and the night flew by.
The following morning, a majority of the group drug themselves out of bed to hike to the local lighthouse, located at the most easterly point of Australia. Gosh was it beautiful! From the lighthouse you could see multiple whales and dolphins swimming out in the ocean. Still feeling the night before, and the humidity from the hike, we cooled off with some food by the ocean and a walk through some of the shops. Considering a small part of me secretly wants to be a hippy flower child some day, these were amazing. Enough tie die and crop tops and leather vests and high waisted denim shorts to last a lifetime and they. were. all. awesome. The night got started a bit earlier than the last, playing games at the hostel and getting to know the other internationals staying with us. Although we had to get up at 5:30 the following morning, the night didn't end early. But bar close came soon enough and we managed to get a few hours in before the early morning.
Okay so the best most greatest part of my entire trip, year, existence, whatever you find most fitting. A bus picked us up at 6 am and took us to Skydive Byron Bay, Australia's highest tandem skydive at a breathtaking 14,000 feet (!!!) After signing our lives away (seriously it helps the nerves if you just don't read a word on that release form) the shoved us into harnesses and prepped us on how to properly jump out of the plane. We met the guys who'd be (hopefully) helping us get to the ground safe and sound and filmed some before jump interviews. My guy was Jose, former lawyer turned adrenaline junky, who was one of the most upbeat, most awesome people I've ever met. Though I think the excitement overpowered any potential nerves the entire time, he did an awesome job making making sure I knew what was going to happen and putting me at ease. We were the second group to load up and before I knew it, the plane was pulling up and we were being crammed into the rickety plane like sardines. You sit on a bench, leaning back against your skydiver. They managed to fit nearly 15 of us in a space that comfortably seats like three. We kept climbing, over the ocean (where we got to see more whales!!) up into clouds, and finally on top of them. Soon the door was open and we were being shuffled toward the opening. There were two in front of Jose and I and I watched with excitement as the wind pulled them from view, one at a time. Then it was our turn. We slid over to the opening in the plane, and tucking my legs under the plane, holding onto my harness and tipping my head back, we were sucked outside.
And we fell. And fell. And fell.
There was no stomach in your throat feeling, just pure excitement. Three taps on the shoulder by Jose and my arms were out and I was flying. The clouds were coming straight for us and soon we were rushing through them (You actually can't do this in the US, skydive through clouds I mean. Apparently it's illegal but Australia plays by its own set of rules (not surprised at all)). After free falling for around a minute, the ground came into view and Jose pulled the parachute. And holy crap what a view! Ocean and beach met mountains and countryside and you could see it all! Jose even let me drive (drive?) the parachute and turn us in a few circles to get a full 360 degree view of the beautiful Byron Bay and Pacific Ocean. After soaring around for not nearly long enough, it was time for the landing. Back on solid ground, the adrenaline rush hits you even harder. Not only did I smile the entire time from lift off in the plane to landing on the air strip (actually if you see the video there isn't 1 second I look anything but obnoxiously happy), but it didn't leave my face for hours after. A hug for Jose (thanks for not killing me dude!!) and some screams from my friends, the time of my life had come to an end. Needless to say, if anyone is looking for a rush or good time, sky diving is definitely for you. And if you're looking for someone crazy enough to go with you, my schedule will be clear.
After unwinding with some soccer on the beach and swimming in the ocean, the bus took us back to school and reality. Moral of the story, take the time to visit that hippy town a bit off the beaten path, but mostly the lesson is to go skydiving. Seriously you won't die probably and it. is. indescribable. and. awesome. It's days later and a think my dad is still prepared to kill me for jumping out of a plane but the memory still brings a smile to my face.
Well it's back to school for me. The FaceTime conversations with friends back home are piling up and I can't wait to tackle them all soon. As always, thanks for the endless texts of love guys and can't wait to see you all in a short three months.
Theta & NoDak love from Sippy Downs
Sunday, 16 August 2015
Farm Animals & Sand Islands
It's funny because I feel like I need to wait weeks to write to come up with interesting things to say, as most adventures happen on the weekend but according to Arianna (her first blog shout out!!) a boring weekend here for me is still better than an "exciting" weekend back home.
That being said, last weekend was pretty low key, filled with two birthday parties and a trip to a small Italian restaurant and pub along the ocean. Sunday was a day that felt a little bit more like being back home, attending the Royal Queensland Show, or Ekka. The best way to describe it was a lot like the Minnesota State Fair except not as good (because really what is?). But they did have racing and diving pigs so it almost evens out. The rest of the night we explored a bit more of the city, including city hall and watching the sun set over the river and Victoria Bridge from a ferris wheel along the riverbank.
As far as classes go, as the weather is finally rising, it's getting more difficult to motivate myself to go to classes when I could be lying on a beach just a short drive away. Finally this week we got some rain (!!!) It only lasted for about 30 minutes but I could justify sitting and having a short Netflix binge while it was going on. The only really interesting or new thing about one of my classes is that in one of my labs, there are only five students. As weird as that is to begin with, the really intriguing part is that all five of us are from different countries! It's so cool to be able to approach a subject that deals with world geography when you have inputs from America, Australia, Italy, Germany, and England.
This past weekend was spent completely isolated from the rest of the world, with no cell phone service or internet for three full days. For a class "field trip" we drove a few hours north to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world and one of the few hundred Natural World Heritage sites. To get to the island, you have to take a barge across a small bay (the 10 minute barge trip costs $110 each way per car and more with trailers and such) and drove a massive 4WD tour bus that was triple as tall as me! On the island, there are close to no paved roads so you bounce along on the beach and soft sand roads inland. The first day we visited Lake McKenzie, a freshwater lake that is crystal clear and an ocean-like aqua blue. It easily became one of my favorite lakes I've been to (except for my sacred Pike Lake obviously). Barely any of the Australians braved the "cold" water, even though it was warmer than most of our 10,000 lakes will get during the summertimes. We stayed at an almost summer camp looking compound, fenced in of course to keep the dingos out. Day two was filled with school projects which I won't bore you all with regardless of how interesting they were to my inner science nerd. That night was spent around a very homey fire, and I had the pleasure of playing story teller to a circle of Australians, mesmerized by the idea of snow close to all year, guns easily accessible to hunt animals strapped to the hood of a jacked up truck (a stereotype they were all disappointed wasn't 100% true), and the concept that a sport other than rugby or soccer could be the main athletic focus. On day three, we took a trip up 75 Mile Beach to visit the Maheno Shipwreck, which has an awesome story behind it if you're interested, and finished with a swim in Eli Creek, a freshwater stream as clear as the lake we saw days before. It was all rounded up with a few dolphin and whale sitings just off the shore. Of course when I saw them, I shot straight across the bus and had my nose pushed up against the glass while everyone else gave me weird, non-interested, this is no big deal, looks.
All in all, the weeks are filled with friends and lots of laughs, while the weekends are completed with breathtaking views and sleepless nights. I've gotten through my first spells of homesickness with the help of some amazing people and an endless amount of things to do. The weeks keep flying my and I know in a blink of an eye I'll be on a plane back to the tundra, somethings that gets more bittersweet as the weeks go on.
Also, tried kangaroo burgers and vegemite. The kangaroo is pretty tasty if you don't think about the cute fluffy creature you're eating. Vegemite on the other hand, I'll be bringing some home for you all to try but you can bet I won't be giving it a go again anytime soon.
(Sorry no new words for you all, saving them for another time!)
To all my friends back home, have fun going back to school for another year and if you're tempted to complain, just remember I've been in school for almost a month now so shut it. Hold down the fort at UND for me especially. Til next time,
Sioux yeah yeah
That being said, last weekend was pretty low key, filled with two birthday parties and a trip to a small Italian restaurant and pub along the ocean. Sunday was a day that felt a little bit more like being back home, attending the Royal Queensland Show, or Ekka. The best way to describe it was a lot like the Minnesota State Fair except not as good (because really what is?). But they did have racing and diving pigs so it almost evens out. The rest of the night we explored a bit more of the city, including city hall and watching the sun set over the river and Victoria Bridge from a ferris wheel along the riverbank.
As far as classes go, as the weather is finally rising, it's getting more difficult to motivate myself to go to classes when I could be lying on a beach just a short drive away. Finally this week we got some rain (!!!) It only lasted for about 30 minutes but I could justify sitting and having a short Netflix binge while it was going on. The only really interesting or new thing about one of my classes is that in one of my labs, there are only five students. As weird as that is to begin with, the really intriguing part is that all five of us are from different countries! It's so cool to be able to approach a subject that deals with world geography when you have inputs from America, Australia, Italy, Germany, and England.
This past weekend was spent completely isolated from the rest of the world, with no cell phone service or internet for three full days. For a class "field trip" we drove a few hours north to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world and one of the few hundred Natural World Heritage sites. To get to the island, you have to take a barge across a small bay (the 10 minute barge trip costs $110 each way per car and more with trailers and such) and drove a massive 4WD tour bus that was triple as tall as me! On the island, there are close to no paved roads so you bounce along on the beach and soft sand roads inland. The first day we visited Lake McKenzie, a freshwater lake that is crystal clear and an ocean-like aqua blue. It easily became one of my favorite lakes I've been to (except for my sacred Pike Lake obviously). Barely any of the Australians braved the "cold" water, even though it was warmer than most of our 10,000 lakes will get during the summertimes. We stayed at an almost summer camp looking compound, fenced in of course to keep the dingos out. Day two was filled with school projects which I won't bore you all with regardless of how interesting they were to my inner science nerd. That night was spent around a very homey fire, and I had the pleasure of playing story teller to a circle of Australians, mesmerized by the idea of snow close to all year, guns easily accessible to hunt animals strapped to the hood of a jacked up truck (a stereotype they were all disappointed wasn't 100% true), and the concept that a sport other than rugby or soccer could be the main athletic focus. On day three, we took a trip up 75 Mile Beach to visit the Maheno Shipwreck, which has an awesome story behind it if you're interested, and finished with a swim in Eli Creek, a freshwater stream as clear as the lake we saw days before. It was all rounded up with a few dolphin and whale sitings just off the shore. Of course when I saw them, I shot straight across the bus and had my nose pushed up against the glass while everyone else gave me weird, non-interested, this is no big deal, looks.
All in all, the weeks are filled with friends and lots of laughs, while the weekends are completed with breathtaking views and sleepless nights. I've gotten through my first spells of homesickness with the help of some amazing people and an endless amount of things to do. The weeks keep flying my and I know in a blink of an eye I'll be on a plane back to the tundra, somethings that gets more bittersweet as the weeks go on.
Also, tried kangaroo burgers and vegemite. The kangaroo is pretty tasty if you don't think about the cute fluffy creature you're eating. Vegemite on the other hand, I'll be bringing some home for you all to try but you can bet I won't be giving it a go again anytime soon.
(Sorry no new words for you all, saving them for another time!)
To all my friends back home, have fun going back to school for another year and if you're tempted to complain, just remember I've been in school for almost a month now so shut it. Hold down the fort at UND for me especially. Til next time,
Sioux yeah yeah
Wednesday, 5 August 2015
Kangaroos, Vegemite, and Lots of Sand
G'day mates! As we're coming towards the end of week 2, I'm pretty much just blogging to procrastinate doing my homework that is already starting to pile up (that didn't take very long I know). Quick shout out to my lovely parents, siblings, and of course my amazing friends that I miss dearly for supporting me from across the globe and giving me such an amazing opportunity to travel to another piece of our huge world like I've always dreamed of doing. I'm so so blessed to have such wonderful humans to eventually come home to. So thanks guys.
As far as school goes, the way they run things here is very different than in North Dakota. Here, you have a 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial once a week for each class. I'm taking 4 classes (Governance and Spatial Planning, Intro to Indigenous Australia, History of Australian Pop Culture, and Human Geographies), so that leaves me with about 12 hours in a classroom each week. The lectures aren't too bad considering you get a 10 minute break in the middle to go grab a coffee or food. As far as assignments go, there aren't really that many. For each class, you generally have two really big essays or an essay and a presentation and a final test at the end of the semester. So with so many points riding on just a few things, if you mess up on one you're pretty much screwed. With the few assignments comes a lot of reading outside of class which is not my forte.
And of course the other big difference is the language. You guys are probably like "Alyssa, you're so stupid, they speak English there too!" Um yes and no. The words and phrases that they use to describe some things are completely foreign to me which makes school more difficult. Serious props to anyone who's studied in a country that speaks a completely different language. People in my classes joke that they can translate for me if need be. Some of the phrases are pretty cool though and I'm going to try and use them as much as possible while working on my Aussie accent before I come home.
On another note, here we get a mid semester break from classes, a week off at the end of September/beginning of October. Just yesterday I booked flights to Sydney and Cairns, where the Great Barrier Reef is located. && I'm working on some trips to Fraser Island (The largest sand island in the world and also where my Governance class is taking a field trip to next weekend!), Brisbane, Melbourne, Darwin, and hopefully New Zealand and Tasmania. No idea when I'll be able to fit all these excursions in with school and everything but I'll find time somewhere.
The other downside about Australia is how expensive living here is. I was definitely not expecting to pay as much for food as I have (I hate being an adult and need my mother to grocery shop for me desperately). Plus grocery shopping itself is stressful because they name their foods weird things and don't have normal brands here (But seriously where is my Skippy Peanut Butter or Tostito chips and queso?) They do have vegemite but I've yet to venture into that territory yet. A meal at a lower end restaurant will set you back a minimum of $20, even if you order a water. Oh and free refills? Nope, not usually. Want 6 bottles of Corona from a liquor store? A solid $25. Feel like just sticking to cans of soda? Yep they're like $3 a can. Oh and the best part is that Wifi isn't free or unlimited. At our apartments, it costs $36 a month for 15 gigabytes. To put that into perspective, 1 episode of Netflix uses about 1 gig (sadly this means I will be going on a forced Netflix cleanse.....)
The last week or so has just been filled with adjustments to classes, lots of walking along the many beautiful beaches, and mainly becoming more of a local. Unfortunately after three weeks here you're expected to walk past a kangaroo without taking 385900 pictures or looking at the many maps to find your classes. We did manage to play tourist for one more day by making a day trip to Tea Tree Bay in Noosa on Saturday to check out the waves and Noosa National Park and beach. I've seen more of the ocean in the last few weeks combined than in my entire life yet it continues to take my breath away. Oh and the sunsets. Lets just say you've never seen a true sunset until you've seen one from an Australia beach.
More strange words:
Countertops = benches
Flip flops = thongs (learned this after listening to a very confusing (at first) conversation between my roommates about their love/need for them)
Sketchy = dodgy
Grocery store carts = trolley
Pharmacist = Chemist
Bogan = kind of like rednecks or trailer trash is what I'm told
Also, they constantly tell you Cheers, which is kind of like thanks? I think...
So friends, until next time, Cheers!
As far as school goes, the way they run things here is very different than in North Dakota. Here, you have a 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial once a week for each class. I'm taking 4 classes (Governance and Spatial Planning, Intro to Indigenous Australia, History of Australian Pop Culture, and Human Geographies), so that leaves me with about 12 hours in a classroom each week. The lectures aren't too bad considering you get a 10 minute break in the middle to go grab a coffee or food. As far as assignments go, there aren't really that many. For each class, you generally have two really big essays or an essay and a presentation and a final test at the end of the semester. So with so many points riding on just a few things, if you mess up on one you're pretty much screwed. With the few assignments comes a lot of reading outside of class which is not my forte.
And of course the other big difference is the language. You guys are probably like "Alyssa, you're so stupid, they speak English there too!" Um yes and no. The words and phrases that they use to describe some things are completely foreign to me which makes school more difficult. Serious props to anyone who's studied in a country that speaks a completely different language. People in my classes joke that they can translate for me if need be. Some of the phrases are pretty cool though and I'm going to try and use them as much as possible while working on my Aussie accent before I come home.
On another note, here we get a mid semester break from classes, a week off at the end of September/beginning of October. Just yesterday I booked flights to Sydney and Cairns, where the Great Barrier Reef is located. && I'm working on some trips to Fraser Island (The largest sand island in the world and also where my Governance class is taking a field trip to next weekend!), Brisbane, Melbourne, Darwin, and hopefully New Zealand and Tasmania. No idea when I'll be able to fit all these excursions in with school and everything but I'll find time somewhere.
The other downside about Australia is how expensive living here is. I was definitely not expecting to pay as much for food as I have (I hate being an adult and need my mother to grocery shop for me desperately). Plus grocery shopping itself is stressful because they name their foods weird things and don't have normal brands here (But seriously where is my Skippy Peanut Butter or Tostito chips and queso?) They do have vegemite but I've yet to venture into that territory yet. A meal at a lower end restaurant will set you back a minimum of $20, even if you order a water. Oh and free refills? Nope, not usually. Want 6 bottles of Corona from a liquor store? A solid $25. Feel like just sticking to cans of soda? Yep they're like $3 a can. Oh and the best part is that Wifi isn't free or unlimited. At our apartments, it costs $36 a month for 15 gigabytes. To put that into perspective, 1 episode of Netflix uses about 1 gig (sadly this means I will be going on a forced Netflix cleanse.....)
The last week or so has just been filled with adjustments to classes, lots of walking along the many beautiful beaches, and mainly becoming more of a local. Unfortunately after three weeks here you're expected to walk past a kangaroo without taking 385900 pictures or looking at the many maps to find your classes. We did manage to play tourist for one more day by making a day trip to Tea Tree Bay in Noosa on Saturday to check out the waves and Noosa National Park and beach. I've seen more of the ocean in the last few weeks combined than in my entire life yet it continues to take my breath away. Oh and the sunsets. Lets just say you've never seen a true sunset until you've seen one from an Australia beach.
Countertops = benches
Flip flops = thongs (learned this after listening to a very confusing (at first) conversation between my roommates about their love/need for them)
Sketchy = dodgy
Grocery store carts = trolley
Pharmacist = Chemist
Bogan = kind of like rednecks or trailer trash is what I'm told
Also, they constantly tell you Cheers, which is kind of like thanks? I think...
So friends, until next time, Cheers!
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
First Post
Oh hey guys! So I've seen a bunch of people making a blog while they're abroad and figured I'd give it a go. It won't be anything special but for the couple of people interested in what I'm up to, I guess this is a good way to kill a few birds with one stone!
Update on the last two weeks:
After a long day and a half of travel, I finally arrived at UniCentral Housing, where I share an apartment with an Australian boy, a French boy, and an Australian girl. Two out of the three can cook better than I'll ever be able to so hopefully they can break my eggs and vegetable diet and teach me a trick or two to keep me from starving. The place is pretty nice and I have a room and bathroom all to myself, with the four of us sharing a living room, laundry, kitchen, and a patio with a small pool outside. It's a little bare but starting to feel like home.
As far as friends go, I've fell into line with an amazing group of people that I met at orientation! Sorry to those of you that are going to read this as I talk about you all. So far we've got a good mix, with people from the US (South Carolina, Missouri, Montana, California, and New York), Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, and Australia! We got through orientation together and spent the rest of the week sight seeing. Some of the major things were hiking in the Glasshouse Mountains (a group of 12 mountains that range in difficulty but all have a spectacular view) where we conquered Mt. Ngungun, the Big Pineapple and Big Macadamia Nut (part of Queensland's famous six 'Big Things'), plenty of beaches (Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headlands, Maroochy) where some of us tried our skill at surfing and in my case failed hard but hopefully I'll improve by the time I leave, sampled some Mexican and Thai food (we're working up to trying kangaroo), and did some shopping at the Sunshine Plaza. Taking the train and bus to all of these places was an adventure itself.
As far as school goes, today was the first day of classes for me. The teachers seem as laid-back as most of the people here and I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the students showing up with bare feet and beach hair. The school is completely open and outside, so the sun is everywhere on campus. Between the constant sunshine and amazing coffee, campus is a great place to hang out. One thing's for sure, if you ever make it down here, a flat white coffee is a must have. The campus also has an Olympic sized, 50 meter outside pool. I still swimmer nerd out hard when I get to swim in it (at least once a day for a sunset swim and sometimes a second workout earlier in the day between classes). Also good about the campus is the animals. Kangaroos here are similar to deer back home, just hanging out all over the campus, letting you get within a few feet of them to take a picture without giving you a second glance. The bad part about campus is also the animals. The birds are louder than car horns and won't hesitate to fly inches above your head. And of course the snakes. So far I've only seen two but I watched one attack a bird in the middle of a sidewalk so that definitely put me on high alert for a bit. Considering 10 of the world's deadliest snakes live in Australia, I'm sure I'll come across plenty more and eventually have to get over my deathly fear of them...
Overall, I'm slowly settling into the University of the Sunshine Coast and Sippy Downs. Already can't wait to get through this first week of classes to experience another exciting weekend touring around the Sunshine Coast and enjoying the "chilly" weather (It was 70 degrees today and the school turned on heaters in the buildings for people to sit under to warm up). Can't wait to go home in December to true "chilly" temps......
Oh fun facts though:
They call peppers capsicums, garbage is rubbish, if someone lives out in the sticks they live out in "whoop whoop", dollar bills are notes, McDonalds is called Macca's, it's next to impossible to find sunscreen below 30 spf, and of course they drive on the left side of the road.
Update on the last two weeks:
After a long day and a half of travel, I finally arrived at UniCentral Housing, where I share an apartment with an Australian boy, a French boy, and an Australian girl. Two out of the three can cook better than I'll ever be able to so hopefully they can break my eggs and vegetable diet and teach me a trick or two to keep me from starving. The place is pretty nice and I have a room and bathroom all to myself, with the four of us sharing a living room, laundry, kitchen, and a patio with a small pool outside. It's a little bare but starting to feel like home.
As far as friends go, I've fell into line with an amazing group of people that I met at orientation! Sorry to those of you that are going to read this as I talk about you all. So far we've got a good mix, with people from the US (South Carolina, Missouri, Montana, California, and New York), Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, and Australia! We got through orientation together and spent the rest of the week sight seeing. Some of the major things were hiking in the Glasshouse Mountains (a group of 12 mountains that range in difficulty but all have a spectacular view) where we conquered Mt. Ngungun, the Big Pineapple and Big Macadamia Nut (part of Queensland's famous six 'Big Things'), plenty of beaches (Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headlands, Maroochy) where some of us tried our skill at surfing and in my case failed hard but hopefully I'll improve by the time I leave, sampled some Mexican and Thai food (we're working up to trying kangaroo), and did some shopping at the Sunshine Plaza. Taking the train and bus to all of these places was an adventure itself.
As far as school goes, today was the first day of classes for me. The teachers seem as laid-back as most of the people here and I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the students showing up with bare feet and beach hair. The school is completely open and outside, so the sun is everywhere on campus. Between the constant sunshine and amazing coffee, campus is a great place to hang out. One thing's for sure, if you ever make it down here, a flat white coffee is a must have. The campus also has an Olympic sized, 50 meter outside pool. I still swimmer nerd out hard when I get to swim in it (at least once a day for a sunset swim and sometimes a second workout earlier in the day between classes). Also good about the campus is the animals. Kangaroos here are similar to deer back home, just hanging out all over the campus, letting you get within a few feet of them to take a picture without giving you a second glance. The bad part about campus is also the animals. The birds are louder than car horns and won't hesitate to fly inches above your head. And of course the snakes. So far I've only seen two but I watched one attack a bird in the middle of a sidewalk so that definitely put me on high alert for a bit. Considering 10 of the world's deadliest snakes live in Australia, I'm sure I'll come across plenty more and eventually have to get over my deathly fear of them...
Overall, I'm slowly settling into the University of the Sunshine Coast and Sippy Downs. Already can't wait to get through this first week of classes to experience another exciting weekend touring around the Sunshine Coast and enjoying the "chilly" weather (It was 70 degrees today and the school turned on heaters in the buildings for people to sit under to warm up). Can't wait to go home in December to true "chilly" temps......
Oh fun facts though:
They call peppers capsicums, garbage is rubbish, if someone lives out in the sticks they live out in "whoop whoop", dollar bills are notes, McDonalds is called Macca's, it's next to impossible to find sunscreen below 30 spf, and of course they drive on the left side of the road.
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