Ordinary to Extraordinary: Through Child-Like Eyes

Although I get to experience an amazing country and am blessed with the chance to see all its beauty and experience the Aussie spirit of life, there are average days as well. I do go on fabulous trips to amazing places and meet awesome people, but I do also have days in the library being a student and getting my work done. I feel that being in Australia I have been better about avoiding procrastination. In the states, I would wait to do my work until it was absolutely necessary, but being here I want to get things done as soon as possible so that I can do all the amazing things that I do and still get good marks in school. University of Sydney is considered one of the top Unis in the country. It is a place where 50% is a pass because all professors mark so hard. I got a 70% on a case study in one of my business classes and was upset, but my friend only got 20%. An Australian told me that what I got was actually a good mark and to be happy with it, it was hard to wrap my head around. I feel that I always give everything I do my best effort, so that is all I can do. Going to a top university has been quite a challenge. School is cancelled often with strikes and in my opinion the quality of teaching is a bit lower yet the grading is extremely picky. The culture of stress is completely different. American life is very fast-paced and people define themselves with what they do in terms of work. Australians don’t ever or rarely stress about the everyday tasks of life. 

I feel that this escape from my actual reality of my American life has embedded me with the spirit of a place where work doesn’t define you. A place where there is no average or common. That is what traveling does, it makes everything spectacular. Everything is special and eye-opening. I don’t take anything for granted. This is a place where an average weekend is an amazing adventure. Traveling makes you a child again, free-spirited and wide-eyed with the belief that you can do anything. Everything you see and experience is thought-provoking and the world is once again enchanting. Your greatest wish is to open your arms to the world and experience it all, if you could hug the world, you would. Every sunset and sunrise is a celebration and a captivating moment in time. You appreciate the everyday every day. I have realized how much I love where I come from and how blessed I am to live in the United States of America in the beautiful state of California. I have realized that there is so much to do in my own country and so little I know about it. It is sad, but I feel like I know more and have seen more of Australia than my own country. I used to see home as such a boring place, when I go back I know I won't. There really is so much to see and do, and it took my going away to realize that. I feel like one of my best friends now, Kristin. She moved to CA from Chicago and appreciates every little thing about California. From the way the fruit tastes to the beautiful beaches, everything amazes her. She sees beauty all around her and I feel like when I go back, we will see the world through similar eyes. 

Yes, in life sometimes it is about being in the right place. People may think home is a place, but I think it is an atmosphere and a feeling. I have learned to internalize home. I carry it with me, wherever I go, it is the place that I am. My idea of the atmosphere of home is being with all the people I love. I had a conversation with my parents today. My mother and I sang the theme to “The Big Bang Theory”, one of the classic shows played in the confines of the Campbell TV room. My jolly father told me about my car, ‘Suzy’. I felt my mood change as I spoke with them. I was delirious as I had just awakened, but I became awake and laughed loudly once again. Sometimes all it takes is a reminder of where you come from and a laugh with people that you love. It is those little things in life that make it truly special, sure these adventures are amazing, but they all must come to an end (which is in about 50 days by the way). And in this end, I will be back in the arms of my family and friends, laughing once again with the reawakening of all the little things in life that make it so very ordinarily extraordinary. 

To all my friends and family, thanks for making my life so blessed.  I am so grateful for all the support and encouragement I have received throughout my journey. Love you all!

"Welcome to the real Australia", The Australian Outback: Road tripping through the Wild West Coast

Over Anzac weekend my two best friends and I decided to road trip throughout Western Australia. Our original plans changed a lot, but I feel satisfied with all that we accomplished over such a short amount of time. We drove a total of 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles) from Perth to Coral Bay and then all the way back to Perth, stopping along the way to see everything we possibly could. Here is my journey through Western Australia.

We arrived in Perth on Wednesday the 24^th of April to pick up our rental car. There were some issues with actual renting it because in Australia you must be 21 and our 21 year-olds card wasn’t working, but we eventually got it all figured out and hope was redeemed. The car turned out to be the same exact model I have at home, a Toyota color sport, even down to the color. We named her ‘White Lightning’ and headed off for a week of adventure!

Our first stop was the pinnacles, which are these large limestone sand structures encompassing several miles in the middle of the desert. It’s quite majestic and somewhat overwhelming to be in the presence of. We walked along the orange-red sands and through the desert for a bit and then continued on the road. We saw some dead kangaroos on the side of the road very frequently. I couldn’t help but feel like this was the “real” Australia. We drove through the night and had a bit of a gas scare. There are no fill-up gas stations after about 8pm and we were in the  middle of nowhere. I was prepared to get out and push the car, but luckily we made it. We slept that night in the car by Shark Bay in the quaint town of Denham. I got some advice on whether to continue, but the locals thought it would be safe to stay there and wait for the gas station to open up in the morning. They said, “Welcome to the real Australia!” My friend and I sat by the bay and I realized this was my first time at an ocean other than the Pacific. I stood up and stepped into the Indian Ocean. We talked about all the travels we wanted to do and how much we wanted to see the world. Coming here I have found people just like me, we all have the commonality of a love and deep desire for travel, the wanderlust infection.

After a night not so comfortably straddling the wheel to sleep, we woke up and got gas and breakfast. I saw the sunrise over the bay and walked the sand among white shells and boats sprawled on the shore and anchored closely. Our destination for the day was to reach Monkey Mia. We got there at 8AM to see the dolphins just in time. Monkey Mia is the only place on Earth that dolphins come into shore so closely that you can take two steps out and feed them. We watched the dolphins swim by and then headed out to Coral Bay, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn on the way. We got a room at a backpackers and I concluded the night with a swim in Coral Bay.

I woke up to the day that was the whole purpose of the trip, swimming with whale sharks. Whale sharks are gentle giants; they don’t eat people, just plankton. They are the biggest fish in the sea and I could finally check off swimming with sharks from my bucket list. They are only in Australia from mid-April to June so it was necessary to do. My friends opted out because of the cost, but it was a once in a lifetime experience that I just had to do. The boat took off at 8am. We started out with a quick test dive. I saw a sea turtle and 3 reef sharks, so it was a great start. The sharks even posed vertically over a cabbage reef for a casual teeth cleaning. We hoped back on the boat and spotted a sea snake in the waters. It zipped across the top of the waters. Then it was time for my first dive with the whale sharks!! The waters were gorgeous and it was a glorious day. Planes hunted down the sharks for us from overhead to give us the coordinates. We sat off the back of the boat waiting for a signal from our guide. I sprinted off towards her and was the first one there. I saw the whale shark and swam alongside it for a bit. Some people didn’t see it; this is where 15 years of competitive swimming came in handy. In between swims a whale shark came right up to the boat, putting its head up to investigate. They are like curious little puppies, so playful and sweet. They like bubbles and will follow them out of curiosity. My next swim I got to swim alongside the whale shark for a good 2 minutes. It was so peaceful and I was in awe staring at its grace and beauty. They have white spots all over them in unique patterns. They dive up and down as they filter plankton and search for food. After those blissful 2 minutes, I watched it dive down into the blue abyss. My third swim with them I jumped off the back and it was right there, a foot away. I was in shock for a bit and then I realized how big they actually are. I was the size of its tail. The day was complete with one last snorkel on Ningaloo Reef and a yummy feast. I made friends with a couple who were both teachers and we talked about the difference between education in America and Australia and I asked them about all their travel. I love how friendly Australians are! The cruise was completed with some crabs and then a finale of a pod of dolphins to see swim alongside the boat. What a perfect day! I finished off the day with a walk on the beach collecting shells and watching the sunset. It was beautiful to see my first sunset from the west coast of Australia. The sky turned into a yellow, pink, and purple haze and then faded into darkness. The clouds were a bright pink color all across the sky; it was perfect, coral clouds in Coral Bay!

We started the return trip back early and I saw the sunrise once again. The first stop on the trip was Stromatolites. They are the world’s oldest living fossil and are the reason oxygen was created o Earth. The water was so clear as we viewed the peculiar rocks from the boardwalk. It was so beautiful.  Then we walked Eagle Bluff Boardwalk and stood on top of the cliffs edge. We got beautiful views of a bay below and Eagle Island just off the coast. Then we turned back and saw the road we were driving on amongst the Australian outback. It put everything into perspective. The next stop was Shell Beach. The entire shoreline of the beach consists of tiny, white shells, no sand. We soaked up some sun and laid out on the shells. I hadn’t brought my swimsuit down to I hopped in with my bra and undies, hey I’m only here once so I had to! It easily slipped into my heart and became my favorite beach. We eventually arrived in Monkey Mia and spent the night there. We got dinner and watched the sunset playing around on the beach. We then danced the night away in the Monkey Bar and met a 10-year-old Boy, Elvin, how we played pool and foosball with. He was quite the character. Once it was night we ventured back to the beach and looked up at the stars. We shared a chat and some laughs to conclude the night. I fell asleep to the wondrous sound of a fan, I miss falling asleep every night with one at home so this was a luxury.

The Blue Mountains: All About Attitude & Altitude

This is a slideshow I made of all the pictures from my weekend in the Blue Mountains:

I spent three days in the Blue Mountains of Australia hiking and challenging myself mentally and physically while learning in the outdoors. Nature is an entity of both insurmountable beauty as well as power. To be engrossed in it and truly become one with nature is a privilege and gift as well as a potential danger. The power of nature showed itself in these three days and didn't hold back one little bit. It challenged our group on our hikes with different terrains, slippery rocks, high hills to climb, and rainy weather. There were man-made poles and ropes to hold on the most dangerous parts of the path that required the most caution. It was easily observable how fragile humanity is in the presence of the power of nature in these moments. Nature demands respect from those who experience it and consistently reminds us that we are but a small speck in this large world and forever will be unable to achieve more power than nature, although we may have our small victories. These three days were just that, victories.

Before I had come to Australia I had researched the Blue Mountains and it was definitely on my to-do list. It was awesome to experience something I had read about and seen pictures of in real life right before my eyes. In the distance of the mountains it really did look blue as light refracted off the fine oil mist of the world’s most ecologically diverse tract of eucalypt forest. The first day of hiking I saw the expansive views across the Jamison Valley, beautiful forest views, rode the Scenic Railway and was brought up right before the Three Sisters. The second day I saw many waterfalls, a great view of gorges, forests, and cliff lines at Evan’s lookout, and Grose Valley. The third day I saw Wentworth Falls to end the trip with the most stunning natural waterfall and a swim.

The journey started in the early morning with a train to Katoomba. It took about 2 hours to arrive there. During that time I watched the scenery out my window and contemplated the journey I was about to undertake. I met up with my cabin group for the first time at the buses. They were all very welcoming and friendly and I was excited to get to know them more. We took a quick bus ride and arrived at Scenic World. There was a statue reenacting the three sisters. We looked around the gift shop for a bit and I took a peek outside to get my first glimpse of the three sisters. Then we rode down the Katoomba Scenic Railway, the steepest railway in the world at 52 degrees. It was a fun ride as we slipped down into the valley.

We learned about the history of the area as we walked past what once was a coal mine and then started our hike for the day. It started off with a leisurely stroll. We walked a path in the forest that was surrounded by art. I learned about some of the plants and trees around me and we spotted our first of many waterfalls on the trip.

The objective of the day was to reach Echo Point and see the Three Sisters. It was quite the journey to get there. We climbed the Giant Stairway. It was about 1,000 steps straight up, I counted them and it was actually 861. It was extremely physically challenging. My teacher had made me the leader as we walked up the stairs and it was different to be the leader because I had to make sure I was going the right pace so that everyone could keep up and stay together as a group. There were points when I felt like the stairs would never end, but they eventually did and it ended with a great view of the valley we had just climbed out of. It was so beautiful and green and the perfect reward for all our hard work climbing the stairs. It really wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and I was proud of myself for completing the stairs, the view was definitely worth it. From there it was a short walk over to Echo Point. The views from Echo Point were absolutely spectacular. They were by far the best of the entire day and I stared in awe at the valley and the Three Sisters for a bit.

Then our group went to Coles to grab some food for the week. I grabbed food that was easy and could be eaten and accessed quickly during the long hours of hiking ahead of me. We then went to the cabins and settled in. They were very nice! I wasn't expecting the accommodation to be so awesome. My cabin mates and I got the fire going and warmed up while having dinner. The weather still wasn't ideal so we decided to have the campfire indoors in our room. A little part of wildlife decided to enter our cabin as we found a lovely little butterfly on the floor and became friends with it. We even named it ‘Lily’. Our whole class rounded up in a circle and enjoyed each other’s company before heading off to bed early. We were told that the next day would be the hardest hike of the trip and it certainly was.

I woke up in the early hours of the morning for a run with one of my cabin mates. I was hoping to spot kangaroos and we did! We saw two in the fields and stopped to see them. They even majestically hopped out of sight; it looked straight out of advertisement for Australian tourism. That had made my day already!

We started the 8 hour hike by looking out over a valley. My teacher pointed out the path we would be taking. It was awesome to see from there where we would be walking. We were handed a map and compass and learned how to use them to navigate our way throughout the day. The terrain was very difficult throughout the day. The rain made the rocks slippery and the dirt into mud. There was a lack of traction and it was very easy to slip and to possibility get hurt. There were many moments when I didn't think I could continue on the path. I learned to stop, take a breath and access the possibilities. All I needed was to logically navigate the challenges and take my time. I gained confidence as I continued the hike. There was even a point in the hike where we had to hold a rope and scale the edge of a cliff. I found it easy, but a slip could have had dangerous consequences. Like the day before, we went down into a valley and had to climb back out. After all, what goes down must come up. There were more stairs to climb and more challenges to overcome. I wouldn't have been able to get through this day without the people I was surrounded by. The conversations I had helped the time pass. We even were singing songs as we trekked the bottom of the valley. Before we started the climb up the stairs back to the top of the valley, there was a waterfall. At the top we saw the same waterfall from a different perspective. The top of the climb had the most beautiful view. I felt an indescribable amount of achievement after conquering the challenges of the day. For a finale that could only be made possible by nature, a rainbow appeared from the center of the valley and rose to the waterfall we had started from at the beginning of our ascent.  All the hard work of those 8 hours was worth it once I saw the rainbow and the beautiful view from the top of the valley. That day reflected life as well. Hard work, persistence, and doing your best earn the best views and outcomes.

That night we set right out to drying our clothes and shoes. The rain had done a proper job of drenching everything we wore completely through. We huddled around the fire for hours. Then there were campfire games inside again. The games reminded me of home as we played many that I had previously played in my leadership program at home. The rest of the night my cabin stayed up and chatted throughout the night. The next day was a hike to Wentworth Falls.

The hike to Wentworth Falls was my favorite day. There were so many waterfalls and it was the most beautiful day in my opinion.  It was the perfect last hike of the trip and I loved my group. We all had so much fun together and there were many laughs on our journey. One of my best friends and I started the hike as the leaders of our group. We lead up to the first waterfall of the day where we stopped for moment. We stood in the middle of the falls. On one side was the waterfall and the other was the drop off with the view of the valley right behind it. Our teacher told us about how someone had hoped over the gate and stood on the rocks on the drop off side to take a picture. They fell and the rocks were too slippery to regain footing. Someone had fallen off the side of the waterfall to the depths of the valley. I couldn't even imagine. Whoever did that took an unnecessary risk and questioned nature’s power and tragically fell. At the bottom of the hike we reached Wentworth Falls. My teacher challenged us to take a dip in the freezing cold waters below the falls. I decided to take the challenge. From my group, it was 3 girls and we were all swimmers who decided to take the plunge. We counted down and dove straight into the waters. I screamed as my body was shocked by the freezing temperature of the water. We swam out to the falls and back. We went straight to our clothes to warm up and then continued the hike. The rest of the hike didn't take too long. There were more stairs and my legs were done for the day. Somehow I drew up enough strength to complete the last giant staircase of the trip. It wasn't long before we were done and back on the bus to the train station. Sarah and I decided to get some coffee and cake before the train arrived. There was a fire in the cute little cafe and it was nice to relax and warm up with a hot drink by the fire.

Nature is always a refreshing escape from the everyday for me. It reminds me that there is green, blue and all the lovely shades of nature in the palate of this beautifully painted world. There aren't just drab shades of gray in a city’s tall skyscrapers and smog-filled air. There are places were civilization isn't the main presence and where authentic, untouched beauty can be viewed at every twist and turn on a trail through captivating wilderness. There are places that feel like home that aren't in a building, but in the authentic landscapes of humans past. These places remind me of where I should be and where I belong. There are places like this and they are gems in this world to brighten life’s experience. 

I loved being in a cabin with four people I hadn't previously met. I was worried about it, but we all bonded really well and I felt like I fit in with them. They all became my new friends and I feel like I know them really well now. Being on a journey or sharing an experience with people is an easy way to get to know them and to bond. This class was the catalyst to developing new relationships. The last day of class we all wrote to each other and I was amazed at all the new friends I was surrounded by and the loving environment our class had become. It was a great conclusion to the class. We were all together one last time to share a smile, a laugh, and recognize each other for the great people we are with a few kind words.

I learned about teamwork as my groups trekked through the Blue Mountains and experienced challenging terrain and weather. There were many moments when I felt like I couldn't do something and a friend was right there to help me. I couldn't reach the top of a rock and I felt stuck when a friend reached down a hand to pull me up. I fell in the mud and my friends made me laugh it off. I was scared to jump into the cold waters of a waterfall, but two of my friends were there to encourage me. It is hard to go through life alone, everyone needs help sometimes. It shouldn't be shameful to ask for help when it is needed. We were all there for each other in this journey and each person in my group made my experience that much better and unique as I chatted with new people along the paths.

Preparation for this trip was essential. I had looked at all the recommended items to bring on the trip and made sure I was fully prepared. I was so glad I had purchased a rain jacket before coming. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without my Gore-Tex raincoat to keep me dry and warm. The second day hike in rain for 8 hours would have been absolutely miserable. Preparation is important in anything we do in life. We also prepared for the hikes each day with maps and a compass in order to know where we were and where we were going at all times. It took conscious effort and thought to reach our destination each day. There were times where there were forks in the road or the path wasn’t even visible. That is when being prepared pays off. These forks in the road also exist in a life’s journey. They are points where we are faced with a choice. The decisions we make in life will lead us to our ultimate destination at life’s conclusion. We must know where we want to end up in life in order to be on the right path and make the right choices to find that path.

From taking Learning in the Outdoors I have come to discover that journey, adventure and experience are education in themselves. I am appreciative of the opportunity I had to learn in an nontraditional yet effective environment compared to the traditional classroom-style of learning I have become accustomed to at university. It was refreshing to get outside and I believe that I learned more about myself than I ever could by sitting in a classroom. I believe that education should challenge one to learn about themselves as that is ultimately the foundation of the future for each individual. If you don’t know who you are, how will you ever be able to know what you want to do and be happy? Education should facilitate this process and this class definitely has done that for me. I have gained a deeper understanding of the person that I am now and the person that I want to be. I know I am capable to accomplish more than I thought I could achieve and the only entity that could stop me from achieving my dreams is myself. I have come to know myself in these journeys and I must say I like the person I have come to know. She is unstoppable, fearless, and ready to go into the world and make a difference in the lives of others. Also, I have learned how influential attitude is on mood and life’s outlook. I love being optimistic and positive and I strive to remain that way. My teacher said after the second day hike in the pouring rain, “You make your own weather in your mind.” It is so true that you decide your attitude. There are some things that you just can’t control in life and there is no point in being upset or stressed about those things. You should focus on what you can do, change and control. What I have learned in these experiences turned lessons I will apply to my future. These experiences have become a part of me. It is undeniable that I have been changed by my journey in this class and I will spread an optimistic attitude, motivation and a drive to pursue nature with the people I meet in my life’s journey. These will be my teachings and I will spread them to all who want to listen.

This is a reflection video I made for my class project. I had to record how I was feeling during my experience and reflect after the trip: