An Enlightening Vacation?

So it started, the true reason I am here, school. I have been on break since interterm ended in late January so it’s been quite awhile. Basically, I had forgotten the concept of school entirely. My first class was in a building called Institute Building. It took me an entire hour just to find the building; even asking around nobody even knew what I was talking about. It was a scramble to make sense of the enormous campus, but I was happy I had left enough time for this search by leaving an hour early. I arrived with 10 minutes to spare. In my class we watched a video that had Obama in it and a clip of The Incredibles. I realized how America is imbedded in the culture in little ways.

After visiting the International Office to change a couple of things, I finally have the perfect schedule. I am taking 2 business classes and 2 classes about Australia. My business classes are People & Organisations and Operations Management. My Aussie classes are Learning in Outdoor Education and Indigenous Creative Expression. My outdoor class goes to the Blue Mountains, which are a must do and also Royal National Park. My creative expression class covers my art GE credit and examines different forms of Australian media and art in the indigenous Australian culture. I have classes in blocks and no big breaks which is awesome! Plus, no Friday class!

After the first week of classes was over it was off to celebrate at Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, which has come to be known as Club Max. I named it that jokingly because I would much rather have a chill night there with friends than go out. It was now my second time there and I got the Brownie Sundae. So good! Then it was another lovely beach day followed by a night at the casino. I played Pinkjack, which is basically Blackjack with a couple of rules changed. I lost $20 and I’m pretty sure I will never gamble again. It just isn’t worth the risk. However, most of my friends seemed to do well. Some won over $100.

The weekend consisted of Chinatown, The Rocks, and another American movie to make me feel at home. I strolled down Dixon Street in the heart of Chinatown and was greeted my two lions and a gate at both ends of the street. The gate I walked through read "Within the Four Seas All Men Are Brothers" nd the other said "Understand Virtue and Trust". Walking down the street brought so many scrumptious smells that made me want to walk into the restaurants for a quick sniff. There was even a Campbell Restaurant at the very front of the street! There were lots of noodles and traditional Asian cuisine. It was the weekend so it was very crowded on account of dim sum. I will definitely be back to experience the food there.

Sunday everyone wanted to go to the beach again, but I had gotten pretty burnt the previous tanning session. There is no ozone layer here so sunscreen is a must and sadly I had forgotten. I got a really bad Capri tan from the Coogee to Bondi walk and it still remains to this day. So instead of a beach day of further burning, I decided to explore on my own today and just relax. I went to the historic Rocks and had a lovely stroll through streets that have made Australian history. I walked the Argyle Cut with its walls jutting up into the sky. Ran into Campbell’s Cove (yes, I know it’s meant to be), examined Holy Trinity Garrison Church, and took in spectacular views of the harbor and bridge from the highest point in the city, Observatory Hill. There was a wedding as I walked to the park under the bridge. The background was the harbor and the stunning Opera House in the distance. It couldn’t have been more picturesque. Dawes Point Park had lovely views as well with its canons pointed straight to the Opera House. I walked Nurses Walk, a street walked when "Sydney" and “sickness” was the same thing. Then it was through Suez Canal, a narrow alley once the hot spot of gangs. Lower Fort Street was a lovely stroll as the Georgian houses and wrought-iron lacework were once the best addresses in Sydney. At the end of the street was the Harbour View Hotel. I sat on the balcony and took in views of climbers about to make their way to the bridge. The bridge was so close to the hotel and it was a lovely spot for a nibble of hummus, baba ghanoush, pita bread and some tomatoes and olives. After a very independent day of exploration, it was back home to reconnect with friends and escape reality with one of my favorite movies, Tangled.

I have now just finished the second week of classes and still haven’t done any homework. I feel like I am on vacation and forget that I still have readings and papers. They are definitely to come, but for now it is nice to relax. Yesterday, I volunteered with my friend Kaya at a park. We did made an area where children play look so much better than before. We pulled so many weeds, picked up trash and racked away all the excess leaves. Then, a boat was constructed by the boys in the group. Once they were done, Kaya and I painted the entire thing. I feel honored to be able to have made a difference in an Australian community and I hope many generations of children to come enjoy the waves we made on the side of the boat. At the end of volunteering we received free tickets to a concert! I would have volunteered anyway, but this was just the cherry on top.

Urbanest throws a waffle dinner every Monday and I finally had time to go. I met some Aussies and they invited me to their house in Cronulla Beach. I was so excited to meet more Australians! I have been with a lot of study abroad American students most of the time, which is nice, but I definitely want to further immerse myself in the culture here and I plan on taking every opportunity possible to do so!

Sydney! O-Week and Beach Ventures

  

It has been two weeks in Sydney, the place I have come to make into my home. The ride from the airport to my housing was quite entertaining. The 20 of us were drowning under bags until our arrival at Urbanest. My room is very nice. I have 5 flatmates, 4 of which were in my program and 2 I had roomed with in Cairns. The walk to school is about 30 minutes, but a little walking never hurt anyone. It is just different from my home campus at Chapman where I could roll out of bed and be to class in 5 minutes. I set right off to unpacking all of my things which took a substantial amount of time. When my first full day commenced in the city, it was straight off to tasks. I decided to open up a bank account with Commonwealth, one of the biggest banks in Australia to avoid the constant transaction charges provided by the lovely Wells Fargo.

I live in a sub region of Sydney called Haymarket, right next to Darling Harbour. It is a quaint area filled with precious restaurants on Cockle Wharf Bay and a place I have gone on a couple of relaxing walks around. Something new always pops out at me as a reminder to keep my eyes open. Paddy’s Market in Market City is a block down the street and an amazing display of the fresh produce provided by local farmers. It is also a bit cheaper than most other places here. A dozen eggs is $8 elsewhere, and I got some for $2.50. I believe I will get all my fruits and vegetables here for the remainder of my stay.

Speaking of food, I checked off almost everything from my Aussie Taste Testing Bucketlist. I completely my first Tim Tam Slam at Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar, had my first meat pie at Harry’s famous Café de Wheels, tried the yeast-infested spread Vegemite and dined at Bill’s restaurant for a taste of his famous ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter. This is where all my research payed off. The Tim Tam Slam was amazing! Tim Tam’s are these Australian biscuits (cookies) that come in so many flavors that it is almost overwhelming. I have tried dark chocolate, original, white chocolate, honeycomb, double coated, carmel and white chocolate filled. To do a slam, I bit off the ends and sucked out the inner chocolate layer through a hot chocolate (aka pure awesome). I had a tiger pie at Harry’s which was absolutely amazing. It had mashed potato and peas on top and was filled with beef in a yummy sauce. It kind of reminded me of Thanksgiving. Bill’s hotcakes were to die for, probably the best thing I have put in my mouth, EVER. Aussie’s have an obsession for their BBQ’s. They consist of sausage on a slice of bread and some tomato sauce (ketchup) or bbq sauce. I have had my fair share.

                My first weekend in Oz was spent on an excursion for orientation through uni. It was quite the intriguing trip. We went to the Australian Reptile Park to bond with some more koalas, kangaroos, and see even more wildlife. I saw the adorable wallaby for the first time and just wanted to take it away. Then we were off to wine taste in the glorious Hunter Valley. I learned that I still hate all forms of alcohol, but was proud of myself for giving it a shot. Then there was a dolphin cruise with no dolphins and sand boarding down sand dunes in the middle of the dessert.  After boarding, we arrived at what was for me, my oasis. At first sight, I slipped right into my swimmers and frolicked along the golden sand to the heavenly waters of the Pacific. It was my first time in the ocean and I could have stayed there all day. I don’t think my smile ever faded the entire time. That weekend came to a conclusion with a long bus ride back home.

                The beginning of my first full week was O-week. A week of becoming orientated to uni life and accustoming myself to my new surrounding of the gorgeous campus I was soon to attend. All International students were greeted in the Great Hall, a magnificent building. During orientation, they named off countries and students attending would make some noise to represent their country. The U.S. had the most students for sure. There was also an aboriginal dance, only in Australia. After that we explored he campus. I love our Quadrangle. It is a glorious green space in the middle of a statuesque building that kind of looks like Hogwarts. I felt like such a tiny fish in a huge ocean. The campus is ten times bigger than my campus at home, but that is exactly what I wanted, something different and to go out of my comfort zone. The rest of the week was all about joining clubs and getting involved. I chose to join Bushwalkers club in order to have some more opportunities to meet people and explore Australia and the Wildlife Society to be able to volunteer with animals. There was a speed dating event to get to know other students and it was quite interesting. I got to know some pretty cool people and they all pointed out my accent.

Finally I had some free time after orientation! Of course, that meant I was off to the beach. My first Australian beach was Coogee. There were Giles Baths and a rock pool you could swim in as waves dramatically crashed against the rock walls of the pool. I sat on top of the outer wall of the pool and felt the ocean mist on my skin. In that moment, I had an epiphany. I finally felt like I was actually here and it all became real to me. The next 3 days were all about the beach. I did a gorgeous walk from Coogee to Bondi along the coast. There were so many beautiful sights to take in and beaches to swim in along the way. There was this one rock formation that jutted out across the ocean further than the others and I decided to go sit on the very edge. It was about 600 feet high I would say and at the bottom were rocks and waves. I could have sat there all day, I felt so peaceful. Someone said as I sat “You are so brave!” and I realized that most people would never do this in their life and that I have definitely become fearless to a certain extent.

The last weekend before classes started had a huge celebration, Mardi Gras. It was rainbows galore as people walked in a parade for gay rights and equality. I was there cheering them on and supporting the cause. It was indeed quite festive. Down the street was a Mardi Gras after party I went to with a couple new friends. It was probably one of the funniest nights so far for me. We danced the night away and there were so many laughs. I returned home to skype with two of my best friends: Nicole and Tala. I talked to both of them for so long and it just made me miss them even more. I realized that no matter the distance, true friends remain and nobody I meet will ever compare to them. There were calls every now and again between my family and I. My parents are both so worried, but I give them props because they are definitely better than I thought they would be and they don’t call me a lot at all.

I finally ventured on over to the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. They were two landmarks I had been picturing for so long and it was so surreal to actually be there. I didn’t realize how close they were to each other either. When I touched the massive, sparkling sails of the Opera House I definitely got way too excited and had a moment of feeling completely connected to Australian culture.  My Sunday night consisted of doing laundry for the first time since I had been here ($6 per load) and watching “She’s the Man” in the entertainment room of my apartment building with friends. It was comforting to watch a movie I had seen so many times at home. After a cozy night, it was straight into my first week of classes as university.

Accepting I’m the Idiot, Ameristralian, and Cultureshock: To the Left, To the Left

Coming to Australia I was prepared to immerse myself in the culture and fully experience everything knowing that I knew absolutely nothing and it was totally fine. It’s been 3 weeks in Australia now so I feel I know the culture a lot more now. There are so many differences that make this culture so special and unique and at the same time I feel that there are links in each culture that make me feel as though all of humanity is connected.

I don’t think I will ever be able to get over being told that I have an accent. It so weird to think that people think of how I speak as different when I just think it is a standard. I know I could listen to Australian’s speak all day! I am obsessed with their accents so I guess it is mutual? Changing my ethnocentric view that American English is the standard is just a small way my eyes have opened. The written language here is just as different as the spoken. Australian English might as well be a different language from American English. They use an “s” instead of a “z” in words, for example, “organisation”. Furthermore, they like to throw in a “u” randomly into most words. They write “harbour”, “labour”, and “behaviour”.

It is funny being submerged into a new place how you realize how little you truly know. My friends think I know everything here. I did so much research and read an entire book called “Australia”. I do feel like I know more about Australia than others, but there is still so much to learn!

You don’t tip here, ever! In America it is definitely a sin, but here it’s the norm. Minimum wage is $16 compared to $8, so I don’t really feel bad about not tipping in addition to the fact that this is the most expensive city ever. Measurement is different here as well; distance is in kilometers not miles, weight in kilos not pounds, temperature in Celsius not Fahrenheit, food in kilojoules not calories. This has led to the feeling of being confused on a consistent basis.  

There is no such thing as a “bathroom” it is a “toilet”. They will legitimately laugh at you if you use any other term. I guess it makes sense, but it just sounds too blunt and unladylike to say such a thing. An apartment is a “flat” and I have “flatmates” not roommates. Outlets have a different wattage so I had to get a transformer to be able to use any electronics. Switches for electricity are opposite as well. To turn on the power, you flip it down. At the beach you can’t just go for a swim wherever your little heart may please. You must swim between the 2 red and yellow flags, wherever they may be and if you don’t you will kindly be reminded to by the lifeguards. Dogs don’t require leashes and children are spoken to as adults, no baby voices for babies. There is also a lifestyle instilled from a young age of being active. The vibe is “No worries mate”, "Cheers!" and “G’day”. Even if you aren’t apologizing for something and say “Thank you”, you are likely to receive a response of “No worries”. It is a very relaxed culture. You are asked “How you going?” instead of “How are you doing?” This still throws me off.

In academic life there are a couple differences. Firstly, I don't go to college I go to "university" (more commonly referred to as "uni"). Classes are units, and years of school are numbers. I am a 3^rd year, not a junior. Grading scales are not A, B, C, D, F. They are HD, D, C, P, N for High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, Pass and Fail. Also, when asked my major I say Commerce instead of Business to avoid a look of confusion. The dorms on campus are called colleges, which can definitely be confusing.

 

The biggest change for me is that everything is on the left. You walk on the left side in the street and cars drive on the left. It can be quite confusing when crossing the street and deciding which way to look. I definitely stepped out in front of an oncoming car, but at least I had enough time to step out of the way. Ultimately, culture shock has led me to be able to accept being an idiot and be ok with not knowing what is going on all the time. I’m just going with the flow and attempting to mold into an Ameristralian.

Aussie arrival and the start of the great adventure!

Wow, what an amazing week! It has been jam packed nonstop awesome ever since I arrived in Cairns on the 17^th and then Sydney on the 21^st! So much has happened! I said goodbye to my best friend Tala and my family at LAX. I was so happy that they could all come and say goodbye to me one last time and it reminds me that I have great people waiting for me to come home to and of how very much I love and will miss the people I have left behind. They walked me as far as they could until they couldn’t go through security any farther. Then I walked over to my terminal to meet up with people from my program. I sat down in our large circle of GlobaLinks people and we all got to talking about each other and how excited we were. There was a feeling in the air of thick excitement and wanderlust, it was almost tangible. From there it was a night flight at 11:50 PM out of LAX and into Brisbane. I sat with too people on my program and was at the window watching as we took off and then landed in Australia. It was amazing to see the sunrise from 36,000 feet over Fiji on the flight. From Brisbane we took a flight to our four day orientation in Cairns. 7,513 miles and 18 hours later, we arrived at what was to be our home for the next four days, a quaint backpackers hostel called Gilligan’s. I had a room with 5 other girls in my program: Emily, Erin, Kayla, Kellie, and Jen. We all got along so well in our program and I came to the conclusion that it was because we were all similar people, driven, ambitious, loving travel, and wanting to make the most of our time in Australia.

Our first day was spent meandering around Cairns. It was a city surrounded by rainforest, extremely humid and with plenty of bugs to give you a stinging souvenir. It rained sporadically throughout the trip and weather was always unpredictable. We explored a market right next to our hostel.
There are so many foods here that don’t exist at home and it got my taste buds pumped for what was to come! After I picked up my phone that I ordered from Global Gossip, we went out to a dinner on the pier at Dundees. I got a steak with chips (aka fries) and a small salad. The 70 us took up the entire restaurant and our presence was somewhat overwhelming. After dinner, I went on a run with 2 new friends, Kaya and Brian. It was awesome to explore Cairns and have fun getting fit with these two. They are both so sweet and I feel like it is fait that I met them. Brian and I are basically life twins, we had a moment where we both did the same thing and it was just so random that I couldn’t believe it.

Day 2 was probably my favorite day thus far. It was everything I had dreamed about as I prepared for Australia. Australia is known for all of its unique animals. Marsupials can’t be found anywhere else and today was the day I got to experience them. After a session for orientation about I don’t even know what because I was jetlagged, we ventured into the rainforest and arrived at Rainforestation. First I went on an adventure through the rainforest on a jungle car. I would say it was very similar to the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, expect it was real life. After that we did some aboriginal art, I painted a kangaroo and I must say I am quite proud with my work. I got my face painted by an aboriginal man. He was wearing a tarp and no shirt and had white paint splotched all over his body. He put two lines under each of eyes and then dotted them. We had a delicious lunch and then were off to continue the adventure. I threw a boomerang (which I failed at), played a didgeridoo, saw an aboriginal dance performance and watched some men throw spears. The finale was the kangaroos, snake, and koala. I held a python and was proud of myself for literally not being scared at all, I smiled the whole time. I then hand fed kangaroos and was able to get so close to them. I even took some selfies with them. They were so calm and I wanted to take one home with me. We then went to see a crocodile, the largest in the world, as it lunged straight out of the water for a bite to eat. Then I held a koala. It was so soft and cute! Her name was Kara and she just absolutely adorable! When they took her off me she was still trying to cling to me. I am in love with these creatures!

Later that night I went on a run around town and ran into my friend, Connor. We discovered an elliptical and some other metal machines on the beach. I love Australia’s attitude towards fitness. They believe it is a preventative measure to healthcare and provide communities with free exercise classes. We decided to join in on a Zumba class with many more Australians, I’d say at least 300 people dancing their hearts out. I even went on stage which I would never do at home, but I feel myself getting more confident and wanting to do everything I can while I am here. I went for a night swim in The Esplanade and met an Australian woman who was so sweet. We swopped numbers and she told me that I was welcome in her home if I were to return. Later, I hung out with some people at Gilligan’s and just talked the night away.

The next day was our trip to the most spectacular natural wonder in the world, the Great Barrier Reef. I scuba dived and snorkeled through coral and sea life all day and I felt as close to a mermaid as I know I ever will. It was amazing to finally be here after seeing so many pictures of it. My scuba instructor also made the experience that much more special. After my first dive with him, he took off his mask and spoke “you are beautiful” under the crystal clear waters. Then he took my hand and twirled me around, it was truly magical. My next dive he took off his mask again to kiss me on the cheek. It is so crazy the difference between American and Australian boys. American boys would never have been this sweet. That’s definitely a cultural plus. At night I went to a night market with my new friends, Stephanie and Malcom.  We got some Chinese food and I had my first oyster, which looked odd but tasted so good! We explored the market and I bought a bad with “Australia” written on it and some kangaroos. It’s adorable and was only $4.

Then came the day I jumped out of the sky at 14,000 feet. It was probably the craziest thing I have done, but I wasn’t scared at all. I’m trying to find things that scare me and there are very few. I think I have become fearless (spiders being the one exception).  We drove into the jungle of Cairns and went into a plane that took us to dive and I decided to land on the beach. It was so amazing! I felt peace as I returned to Earth and landed on the soft, sparkling sand. The drive back was interesting. I got to listen to 5 Aussie guys have a discussion and observed how they spoke to eachother. There were a few terms I didn’t understand and the nature of the conversation was very lighthearted, complying with the Aussie attitude of “No worries!” Dinner was at Café China. It was a restaurant with spinning tables and huge amounts of food. The people at my table were all so much fun and it was a great conclusion to Cairns.

The next day we played around in the pool and I made one final trip to the Esplanade to say farewell to Cairns in all its glory. Finally I was off to Sydney, the place I would soon call home!