SPRING BREAKKKKKKKK

Spring Break Down Under

As anyone who still checks this blog will understand, life here in Australia has taken off with the weather. I have been so busy making the most of this beautiful country that I haven’t really found the time to document what I’ve been seeing, and to my parents and potential future children I apologise. That said I’m going to have to put a few of my exploits on hold until a later entry to delve into my first and only Australian spring break.

As we are located in the southern hemisphere the seasons in Australia are basically flipped with those of the States. Where the U.S. is heading into fall and winter, here in Australia spring has sprung and with it our mid-term break (spring break). After a successful first spring break back stateside, I decided that travel and leisure were the objectives of my second one, but like most things in my life I was dead wrong.

After hearing all of our friends intricate plans for break, my friend Brad and I decided it would be best to plan a more casual trip and simply meet up with different groups of friends along the way. We began our weeklong excursion in what we were told was a popular college spring break town, Surfer’s Paradise.  A list of lost items that first night includes: contents of 1 wallet, 1 phone, 2 packs of gum, 1 pair of socks, and 1 pair of shoes. However, before you write this off as a doomed night know that we did acquire two of our friends from university, a broken cigarette, a red balloon, and two smiles from ear to ear. Somehow, the loss of my cash and Brads phone hadn’t dampened our spirits so we struck out with our two Sydney friends Trevor and Andrew for the local golf links and a casual round. The round went off without a hitch, unless you count crazy lizards and thieving birds as abnormal (we’ve lived here for more than a week so this statistic doesn’t include us).  Night number two we decided to take it easy on the beach, until we were given a U.S. history lessen by 2 illiterate and heavily over served aboriginal females and a shemale (a story within itself). We laughed and joked with our new acquaintances before bidding them goodnight, for we had an early ride to Brisbane in the morning. In Brisbane Brad and I met up with his cousin, who is also abroad in Australia, for a nice day of sight seeing and street performances. After Scoot, who I may honor by naming my first son after him, taught us the intricacies of juggling fire torches, a machete and an apple on a 11 meter straight latter, we decided to call it a day and headed back for uneventful last night in Surfer’s, and the wonderful revelation of my previously missing shoes on the second floor patio of our hostel, hidden expertly underneath a chair.

In the morning we said goodbye to Andrew and Trevor and got on the bus for our ride to Byron Bay, hereafter to be referred to as paradise. We checked into our hostel and soon met up with our friends Kyle, Sam, Lindsay, and Kendall at their condo for a few drinks and stories of our previous events. We called it an early night, as Brad and I had our biggest even at 7 the next morning, skydiving. To one and all who have toyed with the idea of going skydiving allow me to give my three words of advice, just do it. Don’t think about it, just go. It may have been the mixture of the facts that I was in paradise, am somewhat of an adrenaline junky, and I haven’t seen 6:15 A.M. in years, but it was the single most astounding feeling in the world to me. We were lucky enough to have a great view of both beach and rain forest, before diving through a cloud and dropping our chutes just as the ocean came back into view. It was truly a life-changing leap of faith, and I have no problem joining anyone too scared to try it alone. After the dive, we spent the rest of the day surfing and laying on the beach before another night on the town with our friends and another group of Sydney pals that had just arrived in Byron (too many people to name, sorry girls). We spent our final day in paradise on a tour of the rainforest after a quick stop in Australia’s notorious town of Nimbin. A quaint town in which the police have decided that natural drug charges aren’t their cup of tea and where by no possible reason other than coincidence there is little to no crime or aggression… We were then lead by our wonderful tour guide/outstanding DJ to a beautiful waterfall and many other rainforesty sights. This capped the end to a week of fun and frivolity on Australia’s beautiful eastern coast, a trip that I can recommend to any well-endowed traveller. However, I must warn you that Brad and I are currently in the process of revising our bucket lists after completing much of them on our excursion.

To my parents- So stop reading if your not my parents…

Thank you so much for this experience, none of this would have been possible without you and I shall never forget a minute of our adventure in paradise.

Wests for the Win

Catching-Up, Go Tigers

Allow me to apologise to anyone that has been waiting on the edge of his or her seat for another instalment in this fantastically intellectual blog. I have been quite busy, as you will see from my next few entries. Between footy and tourist activities, my friends and I have taken every opportunity to enjoy the ever warming weather of an Australian spring.

I would like to begin with a bit of sport, as my Aussie pals have would describe their national pastime, rugby.  Rugby in Australia has taken over almost every aspect of athletics, with only minor differences between the main two leagues, Union and League. While Rugby Union is that which any American would be able to relate with, Rugby League doesn’t offer many differences save for the lack of ‘rucks’.  Australian rules football (AFL) is another monster entirely, which I will be sure to inform on once I wrap my own head around it.  Though I personally prefer Union, it just so happened that the first game, which I had the chance to attend, was a League game.

When we set out from home, all that we knew was that we were going to see the Wests Tigers play the St. George Dragons. Not knowing whom either team was most of us dressed in neutral clothing, though bit heavier because the forecast that night was for rain…and rain it did. Not long after we arrived and the game kicked off did we realize that this would not be a normal game situation. Along with the drastic changes to the game, that the rain caused, were drastic changes to the fan base. Instead of a crowd huddled as close to the field as the turnout would allow, we saw the masses huddled underneath the awnings, with only the die-hard fans braving the elements in the front rows. Being the sports fans that we are, my friend Kathryn and myself decided that the rain wasn’t going to ruin our first bout of Aussie sport.  Soon we met the Wests faithful fans and were dubbed supporters for life. Their stunning come back victory definitely played a part in our devotion. By the end we were soaked through to our bones and hoarse from screaming and celebrating with our new comrades. It was quite the first experience, one that I plan on following up at every opportunity.

A Passing Thought About This Town

A Passing Thought About This Town

I’ve been in Sydney for about three weeks at this point and let me tell you it has already been the experience of a lifetime. There is so much to learn and appreciate in this culture and day-to-day life that is so much different from the United States. One such appreciation I’ve come to have about Australia is for the cuisine. Because of the proximity to the water and Asia most of the food that I have tried has been either seafood or of Asian decent.  That said the food has been wonderful. You can tell how the fish came from the ocean only days if not hours earlier.  In New South Wales, where I am staying, there are many restaurants and a generally lively population. One such area is the nearby King Street, which resembles a never-ending strip mall. It’s full of every type of food and bar establishment that you can imagine.

Many of these establishments sell my new beloved late night foods; kebabs. And before you think of anything on a stick hold your horses. Kebabs resemble a wrap, with cooked chicken, beef, or lamb and Australians favourite condiment…garlic sauce. In an area with every type of food its rather shocking how the entire population accepts that kebabs are the only late night option. I was a little sceptical, as my late night fancy generally strays towards grease and cheese (oh Taco Bell how I miss you) instead of veggies, humus, and pita bread, however, like any respectable human being, I can admit when I am wrong. These joyous creations have taken the cake as the most shockingly pleasurable discovery of my trip thus far.

With the good comes the bad, sadly, and while I have loved the grub in Sydney, I have come to hate a particular element; that element being the birds that roam the streets of the city, especially the harbor. They reflect poorly on Australia’s strict gun protection laws, as they have taken full advantage of peoples lack of defence (sorry, my computers set on Australian spelling) against their swarms when they catch a glimpse of anything that might be food. Just the other day while walking out of a McDonalds by the harbor, one of my group was literally hit in the head by the pestering swarm of seagulls that attempts to steal her last fries. Between the gulls and the hideous Australian Ibis’ that roam every street as if they owned them, I have come to think that geese are nearly domesticated (sorry dad but it’s true). 

From Melbourne to Sydney

Ok, after a few days here I have realized how frantic this blog is going to seem. There is just so much to say and I am not a fluent enough writer to make it happen with style. That said allow me to dive into the incredible journey I’m having here in Australia.

Our night on the town in Melbourne revealed a quite few things. First, I will be broke by next Tuesday (pregaming here is a MUST, for the drinks are weak and expensive). Secondly, go out late, because these crazy Australians are out almost every night of the week until nearly 5 a.m. Lastly, Australian guys make me feel like I could be in Step Up 5…they’re a mix of dancing and seizing on the dance floor.  We cut the party off early, though, in order to make our flight the next morning.  While it was sad to say goodbye to some of our friends that would be studying at other Universities around Australia, we were beyond excited to be able to finally settle into our digs in Sydney.

Upon arrival we were just excited to settle down and decided to take it easy for most of the day. We briefly scouted out the beautiful University of Sydney campus, but left our real city work until the following day.

The next day we decided to wake up early and get a start on exploring our bustling city. The plan was to check out the harbor and take a ferry to Cockatoo Island, where a local art festival was occurring.   On ferry ride out of Circular Quay, the harbor we decided to discover first, we noticed the beautiful Sydney skyline and the Sydney Opera House, to which photos do no justice. It sits out on a peninsula in the harbor as the major beacon of the fantastic skyline.  We spent the day wining and dining on the island, whilst exploring the fantastic art exhibits that the ex-ship building, Alcatrazesqu Island had to offer before our aching legs forced us to call it a day. 

We realized, then, why studying abroad was such a better idea then a simple trip to Sydney; we had spent an entire day walking and only explored a fraction of the majestic city, much less the rest of this massive continent. I can already tell many more adventures are to come and cannot wait to discover the secrets of this incredible land by the sea.

July 15-18th Sorrento

July 15-18^th Sorrento

Upon arriving in Melbourne we met with a few of the Arcadia staff members that would be running our Orientation. They piled the roughly 30 US students present onto a bus with a small bag that we could live out of for the Orientation and set off for the actual city of Melbourne.  The bus let us of in a cute little area where we were given a couple of hours to find something to eat, explore, and call our parents if we so desired(sorry guys, I got to it the next day at least!). After breaking off with a few friends to walk the area we decided grab lunch at a local coffee-shop-looking café. Upon the request of the Arcadia staff we resisted the urge to grab a pint and simply tried the local food. Being as culturally diverse as my home on the west coast, most of Australia boasts foods of all cultures. We each enjoyed a wrap and some ‘hot chips’(fries). Afterwards we were all loaded back onto the bus for a short drive to a national wildlife reserve on the way to our Orientation accommodations in Sorrento. When we disembarked at the park our leader Kendal told us to keep our fingers crossed in hopes of seeing one of the smaller breeds of kangaroo that lived there. No more then 50 yards into the park we heard a rustling from ten feet away followed by two roo heads peaking up over the brush. We all jumped at the opportunity to snap pictures from such a phenomenal distance before continuing along the trail.  Thinking ourselves lucky for seeing the famed creatures we were entirely caught off guard by the mob of roos that we encountered next, complete with a mother roo, joey in pouch. They were some of the strangest acting animals I have ever seen as they scratched at themselves with their little forearms and contemplated us with bewildered gazes. Needless to say, the natural beauty of this gorgeous country already shocked me. After the park we loaded back onto the bus for the last half hour of the drive into Sorrento.

Sorrento is a small ocean town located on a peninsula of the Port Philip Bay. It boasts wonderful food and astounding views of the ocean from its towering bluffs. After a short walk around the bluffs and beaches we all were ready to crash and cure our jetlag.

The next two days were filled with orientation programs and interesting presentations on local vocabulary and culture, supplemented with some free time to discover the town and surrounding sights. We were even given a taste of bush-music Tuesday night when Bushwazee came to put on a middle school level show of traditional music and dances.  It wasn’t until Wednesday morning that we took off for another day in Melbourne (pronounced Melbin) and were allowed a night on the town, before flying out to Sydney the next morning.

July 14-15th Over the Pacific

July 14-15^th Over the Pacific

Wow! What a flight! I thought that a 16 hour flight from LAX to Melbourne was going to equate to a 16 hour torture session but man was I wrong. Not only were the seats half-way decent but they each came with a personal entertainment system complete with an astoundingly large movie, TV, videogame, and music library. I spent the first 4 hours of the flight watching The Hunger Games and  Man on a Ledge, before popping some knockout drugs and passing out for a solid 8 hour nap.  Also, I need to clarify that the two meals we received were leaps and bounds better than I expected. Upon waking from my little snooze I chose to waste some time listening to music and screwing around with the videogame collection before turning on 21 Jump Street (not quite so funny without the group laughter effect) and finishing up the flight with a brilliant English Premier League season summary.  To say the least this was travelling in style.

A bit of housekeeping to follow:

I am composing this blog against my better judgement, being a student that avoids writing at all costs (I think I wrote one paper all of last year). I can’t promise anything from it either…for all I know this idea might end with this first entry but I promise to at least try to keep up with it in the beginning. This blog will have spelling and grammar mistakes, so if they make your reading experience to painful then tough luck go read a newspaper…no one is making you keep track of me (Dollister!). Great, now with all disclaimers aside let me explain that I am doing this so that someday I can hopefully, when they’re old enough, have enough memories to tell my kids or nieces and nephews or whatever the case may be about the incredible journey that I can already tell this is going to be. Feel free to  request information on any aspects of my journey and I will try to fit them in later posts. AH! Finally done with the boring housekeeping and on to the journey that has already broadened my world view and shocked my cultural awareness (If you’ve gotten this far I expect your either truly bored at work, or my mother is standing over your shoulder, and in either case I thank you for caring).