Wednesday, April 27, 2011
in the airport
I'm now sitting in Sydney airport... if I die in a fiery plane crash I just want you guys to know that I love you. Yes, even you.
Last Day...
Wow, can't believe my last day in Australia has actually come... it doesn't feel like 5 weeks has gone by already! I feel like there's a lot I didn't get to do (go to Watson's Bay, for one) but the weather has been pretty crappy the last six days so I didn't really want to go.
Before I start with my last day, I'll go over the things I liked and the things I didn't like:
Things I Didn't Like About Sydney
1. Public Transportation -- I can't lie, it was from hell. Whether it would just stop at random hours or extend my travel time x20, I hated it.
2. Taxis -- I think this stems from two majorly bad experiences. The first was when the driver dropped me off in a deserted part of town at 2AM because he wouldn't take me to Cabarita. The second was when I was in a deserted part of town and called the taxi company to get me at the Concord Library (the only landmark I had, since I had no idea where I was). The guy on the other line asked the address, and I said I didn't know. His response? "I don't know either, so call back when you have an address." The things I wanted to do to that snarky little bastard. If I had gotten raped/murdered, it would have been on his hands!!! Luckily I managed to walk back into a part of town I recognized and get home safe.
3. Expense -- A guy from New York City said it was expensive... that says something.
4. Reliance on cash -- People, there were ads on TV to get people to start using credit cards!!! What does that say?! The inability to use credit cards without a $50 minimum got old really quickly, especially with the exchange rate being the way it is. And I got a lot of fees from using ATMs to withdraw cash
5. Mobile Broadband Internet -- get my internet usage regulated really sucked.
Things I Liked About Sydney
1. Beaches -- I really liked Manly Beach (I went there almost every chance I had) and there was always something new about it. Definitely my favorite spot of all Sydney
2. Asian food -- I've become obsessed with dim sum. They also had "sushi trains" but I never worked up the courage to go in there because I don't know how they work.
3. People -- for the most part, everyone was pretty friendly. I must admit I noticed it more with the older crowd than people my age, but almost everyone was interested in me and tried to help me out
4. Monuments -- It was exciting to be in a place that had famous landmarks (Bondi Beach, Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge)... not quite used to that with good ol' Pensacola, ha.
5. Fish and Chips -- what can I say, I really liked it. I know I can get it back in the States, but there's just something really good about salty fried fish.
On to my last day, in which I managed to do the following:
1. National Maritime Museum -- Okay, I resisted this for a long time because I thought... boring. It was actually pretty good! I spent a lot of time reading about child migration to Australia and Canada from Britain (allegedly because it would create a better life for the kids, but really because Australia/Canada needed workers). Also read a little about other maritime things such as the Aussie's obsession with swimming, surfing and the such.
2. Sydney Observatory -- It was during the day, so I didn't get to see any actual planets or stuff. I also only just now managed to discover that the Southern Cross is only visible in the southern hemisphere -- too bad I never looked for it (and it's too cloudy tonight to see). At any rate, below is the rather tiny Sydney Observatory, which I also believe is the oldest in Australia.
3. Hyde Park -- really cool little park that has a fountain in the center and St. Mary's Cathedral in the background. I took a picture of a giant bubble.
Okay, okay... I also took a few other pictures.
Before I start with my last day, I'll go over the things I liked and the things I didn't like:
Things I Didn't Like About Sydney
1. Public Transportation -- I can't lie, it was from hell. Whether it would just stop at random hours or extend my travel time x20, I hated it.
2. Taxis -- I think this stems from two majorly bad experiences. The first was when the driver dropped me off in a deserted part of town at 2AM because he wouldn't take me to Cabarita. The second was when I was in a deserted part of town and called the taxi company to get me at the Concord Library (the only landmark I had, since I had no idea where I was). The guy on the other line asked the address, and I said I didn't know. His response? "I don't know either, so call back when you have an address." The things I wanted to do to that snarky little bastard. If I had gotten raped/murdered, it would have been on his hands!!! Luckily I managed to walk back into a part of town I recognized and get home safe.
3. Expense -- A guy from New York City said it was expensive... that says something.
4. Reliance on cash -- People, there were ads on TV to get people to start using credit cards!!! What does that say?! The inability to use credit cards without a $50 minimum got old really quickly, especially with the exchange rate being the way it is. And I got a lot of fees from using ATMs to withdraw cash
5. Mobile Broadband Internet -- get my internet usage regulated really sucked.
Things I Liked About Sydney
1. Beaches -- I really liked Manly Beach (I went there almost every chance I had) and there was always something new about it. Definitely my favorite spot of all Sydney
2. Asian food -- I've become obsessed with dim sum. They also had "sushi trains" but I never worked up the courage to go in there because I don't know how they work.
3. People -- for the most part, everyone was pretty friendly. I must admit I noticed it more with the older crowd than people my age, but almost everyone was interested in me and tried to help me out
4. Monuments -- It was exciting to be in a place that had famous landmarks (Bondi Beach, Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge)... not quite used to that with good ol' Pensacola, ha.
5. Fish and Chips -- what can I say, I really liked it. I know I can get it back in the States, but there's just something really good about salty fried fish.
On to my last day, in which I managed to do the following:
1. National Maritime Museum -- Okay, I resisted this for a long time because I thought... boring. It was actually pretty good! I spent a lot of time reading about child migration to Australia and Canada from Britain (allegedly because it would create a better life for the kids, but really because Australia/Canada needed workers). Also read a little about other maritime things such as the Aussie's obsession with swimming, surfing and the such.
2. Sydney Observatory -- It was during the day, so I didn't get to see any actual planets or stuff. I also only just now managed to discover that the Southern Cross is only visible in the southern hemisphere -- too bad I never looked for it (and it's too cloudy tonight to see). At any rate, below is the rather tiny Sydney Observatory, which I also believe is the oldest in Australia.
3. Hyde Park -- really cool little park that has a fountain in the center and St. Mary's Cathedral in the background. I took a picture of a giant bubble.
Okay, okay... I also took a few other pictures.
4. Went on the Harbour Bridge and took some last photos of the Opera House and Circular Quay. It just seems so weird that I'll be back in the US again by tomorrow -- after that dreadful flight though. Agh, thinking about it is making me shudder!
And now I shall leave you with my last photo of Sydney... until I start adding more later. But at least for this blog post, right?
Monday, April 25, 2011
Two Up
Two Up! It's a gambling game that's only legal to play on ANZAC Day. Basically, everyone stands in a circle around a person holding a flat little board (called a kip) with two coins on it (this person is called "the spinner"). Before the coins are flipped, people bet with each other for whether or not they'll land on head or tails (if it's one head and one tail then the throw doesn't count -- has to be both heads or tails). Once all the bets are done then the person in the center flips the kip and the coins land how they will. Depending on the result you either lose or win your money, obviously. At any rate, made some friends with this old guy and a younger one, and the younger one forced me to be the spinner! He told me I can't go back to America and not be able to tell people I played Two Up. I was so nervous about it because I thought I was going to mess it up... I did all right, haha. The young guy bet his own money so I could do it, but unfortunately we lost. :( Nonetheless, I'm glad he forced me to do it!
This video explains the game better because you can actually see what's going on -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3Ox8x0yjvM&feature=related
This video explains the game better because you can actually see what's going on -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3Ox8x0yjvM&feature=related
To be continued...
Guys! I had an awesome time today that shall be later explained... for one thing I played a game of Two Up! This game is illegal except on ANZAC Day. I also made some new friends through it, so I will go through the whole day at a later time. Just wanted everyone to know in advance. :)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter!
Spent a lovely day with my professor and his family having Easter lunch. I'm so stuffed right now, I swear I'll burst any minute. I think I must have gained about 20 lbs in the last three days.
Tomorrow is ANZAC Day -- have to wake up early to go to this morning service for the vets. I'll report back on my findings.
Tomorrow is ANZAC Day -- have to wake up early to go to this morning service for the vets. I'll report back on my findings.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Free Walking Tour
Today I went on the Free Walking Tour of Sydney, which was actually pretty excellent for being free. It was about three hours long and I got to see a lot of the sites, some of which I will have to go back and investigate further. The guy and his girlfriend started it, did all of their own research and then work on tips only, which I've found to be rather unusual in Sydney. The nice thing about Sydney is that no one has to tip, but that also means your service at restaurants can be a little sketch at best. At any rate, I took a few photos but I already had to refill my internet broadband card (I guess I reached my quota uploading those youtube videos) so I'm not going to post them at the moment to avoid losing the internet in the last few days I'm here. For further investigation of the tours if you're ever in Sydney, click here. I highly recommend it!
I think the highlight of the trip, for me, was a statue of a dog in front of the QVB (Queen Victoria Building, which hosts a ton of expensive clothing stores). The dog is meant to be Queen Victoria's dog Islay. He oversees a little fountain in which all donations go to the Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children. When you approach him, you get a special little treat! I'll quote what I ruthlessly stole from another internet site:
There's also a pretty cool clock in the inside of the QVB that features scenes from English history on the hour between 9am and 9pm.
On to the other fun stories -- my two Aussie dates have vanished! I guess I counted the chicks before they hatched. The guy being forced into it by his dad just never texted me after making the vague Saturday plans with me (once it got to 5pm, I did text him today querying into the lack of plans but he never responded) and the bartender texted today to inform me that he's busy with work so he's not really available. Why'd he ask for my number then? The world may never know...
I think the highlight of the trip, for me, was a statue of a dog in front of the QVB (Queen Victoria Building, which hosts a ton of expensive clothing stores). The dog is meant to be Queen Victoria's dog Islay. He oversees a little fountain in which all donations go to the Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children. When you approach him, you get a special little treat! I'll quote what I ruthlessly stole from another internet site:
"Hello, my name is Islay," announces the dog in that trademark deep voice. "...Because of the many good deeds I've done for deaf and blind children, I have been given the power of speech." But only since 1998. Although the well was officially launched in 1987 as part of the QVB refurbishment, the dog was voiceless. Laws agreed to help the Institute who thought the voice would attract more donations. Laws accepted the task, as well as agreeing to the pièce de résistance: two barks at the end of the routine as thanks.Laws is the last name of an apparently famous radio voice here in Oz, although predictably I have no idea who he is. The funny part about those barks is that the guy actually did them pretty well! I could almost believe them to be real dog barks... I plan on returning sometime next week before I leave to get a video recording of it, although you can hear the pertinent part of it by clicking here on someone else's youtube account!
There's also a pretty cool clock in the inside of the QVB that features scenes from English history on the hour between 9am and 9pm.
On to the other fun stories -- my two Aussie dates have vanished! I guess I counted the chicks before they hatched. The guy being forced into it by his dad just never texted me after making the vague Saturday plans with me (once it got to 5pm, I did text him today querying into the lack of plans but he never responded) and the bartender texted today to inform me that he's busy with work so he's not really available. Why'd he ask for my number then? The world may never know...
Friday, April 22, 2011
Good Friday
So Australians love Easter. And by love Easter I mean they really go all out for it – they get Good Friday AND Easter Monday off! What the h, America?! Because ANZAC Day originally fell on Monday, they extended the break so that Tuesday is also a day off… so that means a five day weekend. Yup. Five days!!!!!! Something like that definitely deserves six exclamation marks. When does that ever happen in America? I mean besides Spring Break, which is really only for kids. Even Thanksgiving you only get four days off if you’re lucky. What a travesty. The only thing holding me back from moving to Oz is that they don’t really celebrate Halloween, and that’s just something I can’t tolerate.
Ah yes, I’m not sure if I have explained what ANZAC Day is yet. Basically it’s to commemorate when the Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed in Galliopli (25 April 1915), but really it’s more to commemorate anyone who has served Australia/New Zealand in the military. By the way, ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. The soldiers here are called “diggers” because of something about them being gold diggers or something. I’ll google it and get back to you.
Still there? Good. Apparently no one knows where it comes from but I guess it could be one of two choices: (1) Many had worked in the goldfields before the war or (2) There’s lots of digging in trenches.
Back to the story at hand… Apparently on ANZAC Day there is a form of gambling called Two-Up that is only legal on ANZAC Day, so I’m excited to see this in action. I guess it’s nothing more than a coin toss sort of game, so I’m not really sure why it’s illegal. Must have been causing issues with the general populace.
Anyway, “The Grandparents” (as I affectionately call my host family) always have a big family lunch/dinner with their extended family on Good Friday, and I got invited because it would probably seem a little rude to not invite someone who is plan-less and living with you at the moment. Their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren actually live next door, so all of us (plus the other set of grandparents) all got together and ate outside. It was really nice and it made me sort of wish I had extended family living that close as a kid (something else to take to my psychiatrist, Mom and Dad… just kidding!). It’s funny, too, because it seems like a lot of Aussies regularly take holidays to the States (mostly California or NYC), while I don’t think I know anyone who has gone to Oz for the sole purpose of a vacation. I wonder how they afford it. I learned that a lot of Canadians apparently visit Oz. In general, though, Aussies seem to be much more relaxed about working and taking holidays than Americans – a trait I admire.
At one point the very Australian father-in-law, after pouring me a VB asked if I wanted any lemonade (aka Sprite) in it, to which I said yes. “Well it’s in the fridge,” he then responded with a smirk. While I debated if he was joking or not, someone else added: “Ah, the typical Australian bloke’s chivalry at work!” He actually did go get it for me but I thought it was pretty funny nonetheless. And as an aside, I have heard that the Aussie women liked the American soldiers because they were nice (they actually listened to the women), but mostly because they were richer than the Aussie men! So maybe our natural charm was only part of the equation? It’s actually funny to hear some of the old timer’s accounts of Americans/WWII from a different perspective than American.
And I’ve got myself two dates lined up! One is with a bartender I met for a mere nanosecond last week who apparently liked me so much that he tried to call my host family to ask me to go out with him (he didn’t get my number). I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to go out with him but my host grandma said, “Well Kelli, you’re only here for a short while so you know nothing’s going to come of it, so you might as well go and have some fun. Plus he tried all he could to get in touch with you.” So I did end up giving him my number… I guess he’s going to call me after he “thinks of something I haven’t done already”. Not sure what he’ll come up with but I hope it’s creative!
The other is the blind date type of situation where the dad wanted his son to take me out because I’m all alone here, despite the son never having met me. I can tell that the son's not too excited about it. We’re supposed to meet up tomorrow but I haven’t heard any details from him – hopefully I actually DO hear from him (and with enough time to prepare). He was funny because he wanted my last name, “because of facebook” (he also gave me his last name) and I told him I didn’t have facebook but “don’t worry, I’m only moderately unattractive.”
Soo… supposing I go out with these last two blokes, that’ll make four guys in a month! Not too bad, I suppose. And three of them will be Australian, and only one forced to go by his dad! Cheers!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Get ready guys -- today was the day I got my photo taken with a koala AND fed a kangaroo!! I know it's really too awesome to even comprehend, but try. This was done at a zoo I liked better than Taronga, probably because it had the animals I wanted to see and it was less expensive (its name is Featherdale Wildlife Park). Plus I had the aforementioned pictures taken for free and didn't have to pay $20 for the koala like at Taronga. As I've mentioned before, it's illegal to hold a koala in NSW but you can do it in other parts of Oz as long as they are in a zoo.
As a funny side note, I was telling some Aussies about how I wanted to go to Featherdale. One of them asked why, and the other responded, "Because you can get your picture with a koala. Americans love that crap." What a beauty!
At any rate, here's the picture of me with a koala who wouldn't cooperate. I got to touch him and he felt soft (as you would expect). Objective #1 achieved... I can now leave Australia feeling completed. I'm not sure why the color came out the way it did though.
For $1 AUD you can buy an ice cream cone full of kangaroo food... obviously I did just that. At one point there were like three trying to get at it! The other park patrons were really nice and offered to take a photo of me so I have like four photos of myself feeding kangaroos if any of you want to buy copies or something.
After that, I saw a wombat. I took a picture of it because you can see its insanity... it just kept walking back and forth over that bit of ground cleared out. I always see zoo animals doing that and I think they just must be on the slow road to Crazy Town.
There was another tassie devil (tasmanian devil) that was also going insane. It just kept running in a circle around its pile of rocks. I took a video of it because it was kind of hilarious. And by kind of, I mean it was. In a sad sort of way... but honestly its little enclosure was bigger than the one in Taronga. Watch the video here.
Then I saw a crocodile getting fed! Apparently this one was captured by a little crocodile farm to breed babies (he had originally been eating dogs at a local Abo community) but he killed and ate his female partners. The park then took him. You can watch the video here
Of course there's always the dingo -- looks like a dog but can't bark.
I also got my photo taken with a bilby, which is going extinct in Australia. I bought a little bilby pin for $2AUD to support their conservation efforts. Also bought a boomerang!
There was also bird called a Tawny Frogmouth... I liked how weird it looked so I took a picture of it.
And lastly, here is a koala trying to antagonize another one... poor bastard. Watch it here.
As a funny side note, I was telling some Aussies about how I wanted to go to Featherdale. One of them asked why, and the other responded, "Because you can get your picture with a koala. Americans love that crap." What a beauty!
At any rate, here's the picture of me with a koala who wouldn't cooperate. I got to touch him and he felt soft (as you would expect). Objective #1 achieved... I can now leave Australia feeling completed. I'm not sure why the color came out the way it did though.
For $1 AUD you can buy an ice cream cone full of kangaroo food... obviously I did just that. At one point there were like three trying to get at it! The other park patrons were really nice and offered to take a photo of me so I have like four photos of myself feeding kangaroos if any of you want to buy copies or something.
After that, I saw a wombat. I took a picture of it because you can see its insanity... it just kept walking back and forth over that bit of ground cleared out. I always see zoo animals doing that and I think they just must be on the slow road to Crazy Town.
There was another tassie devil (tasmanian devil) that was also going insane. It just kept running in a circle around its pile of rocks. I took a video of it because it was kind of hilarious. And by kind of, I mean it was. In a sad sort of way... but honestly its little enclosure was bigger than the one in Taronga. Watch the video here.
Then I saw a crocodile getting fed! Apparently this one was captured by a little crocodile farm to breed babies (he had originally been eating dogs at a local Abo community) but he killed and ate his female partners. The park then took him. You can watch the video here
Of course there's always the dingo -- looks like a dog but can't bark.
I also got my photo taken with a bilby, which is going extinct in Australia. I bought a little bilby pin for $2AUD to support their conservation efforts. Also bought a boomerang!
There was also bird called a Tawny Frogmouth... I liked how weird it looked so I took a picture of it.
And lastly, here is a koala trying to antagonize another one... poor bastard. Watch it here.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Australian News...
I once read in a book given to me by Colin that the topic of coffee made it into the New York Times more than a mention of Australia. To prove that point, here are three stories I see almost every day on Australian news that were not searchable (and thus I'm guessing not mentioned) on major American online news sites!
1. Controversy with Rugby League players Todd Carney and Anthony Watts -- This past weekend, Watts apparently assaulted his girlfriend while drunk and Carney "broke club rules" by drinking (he had previously been arrested for drink (drunk) driving)
- Times mentioned in cnn.com sports section - zero
- Times mentioned in espn.com -- zero
I can see how this wouldn't be popular or interesting to American readers, though, since they wouldn't know anything about who these players are. However, you can read all about the NFL lockout stuff on the Aussie version of Fox Sports.
2. Australian Defense Force Academy sex scandal ("Skype Affair")-- 18 year-old female cadet was filmed having sex and watched by six other cadets via Skype without her knowledge. Because she felt that the ADFA authorities were not offering support she went public. This whole thing has spurred a big debate about females in the military.
- Times mentioned in cnn.com - zero
- Times mentioned in nytimes.com -- zero
3. Keli Lane - former Australian water polo player who killed her baby in '96 was finally sentenced to 18 years prision.
- Times mentioned in cnn.com or nytimes.com - zero!
It seems crazy that all of this stuff has been going on here and if you didn't live in Oz you wouldn't know about any of it!
In other news, I'm supposed to be meeting up with the son of one of my host family's friends... I have never met him but he is apparently 25, 6'3, medium build and good looking... I'll be the judge of that, haha! Nonetheless, he did end up texting me and I guess we're going for coffee or something at a later date this week. Keep ya updated!
1. Controversy with Rugby League players Todd Carney and Anthony Watts -- This past weekend, Watts apparently assaulted his girlfriend while drunk and Carney "broke club rules" by drinking (he had previously been arrested for drink (drunk) driving)
- Times mentioned in cnn.com sports section - zero
- Times mentioned in espn.com -- zero
I can see how this wouldn't be popular or interesting to American readers, though, since they wouldn't know anything about who these players are. However, you can read all about the NFL lockout stuff on the Aussie version of Fox Sports.
2. Australian Defense Force Academy sex scandal ("Skype Affair")-- 18 year-old female cadet was filmed having sex and watched by six other cadets via Skype without her knowledge. Because she felt that the ADFA authorities were not offering support she went public. This whole thing has spurred a big debate about females in the military.
- Times mentioned in cnn.com - zero
- Times mentioned in nytimes.com -- zero
3. Keli Lane - former Australian water polo player who killed her baby in '96 was finally sentenced to 18 years prision.
- Times mentioned in cnn.com or nytimes.com - zero!
It seems crazy that all of this stuff has been going on here and if you didn't live in Oz you wouldn't know about any of it!
In other news, I'm supposed to be meeting up with the son of one of my host family's friends... I have never met him but he is apparently 25, 6'3, medium build and good looking... I'll be the judge of that, haha! Nonetheless, he did end up texting me and I guess we're going for coffee or something at a later date this week. Keep ya updated!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Surfing
Today was the day I overcame one of my irrational fears (sharks) to go surfing. Yes friends! Me, the person who hates to go in ocean water when it is deeper than my chest, actually surfed at Manly! I decided to do it despite my knowledge of shark attacks on surfers gained through hours of watching Shark Week. In the end, it was tons of fun and I didn't get attacked by a shark! I kid, I kid. Also, I was a total n00b. The instructors thought I was so bad that they apparently felt it necessary to switch my board to something more "stable." I didn't think I did much better with the new board but I guess it made them feel better, haha. I definitely think I would like to do it again with a rental board, though.
The bad thing about today was that it was pretty rainy and COLD. On the way there, I was cursing myself for doing this because I was dreading have to get in the cold water and risk my life and limb against shark attacks. There were about three other guys who were beginners and then two repeat people. One of the guys was from Madrid and when I asked his name he said, "Carrrlos" (the extra r's means he rolled it). Ack! The dreaded r-rolling that I never mastered came back to haunt me. I told him I was only going to be able to say it without the exotic r-rolling, haha. The school provided us with wetsuits and surf boards, and the water was actually pretty warm compared to the outside, I must say. I took a picture of where we surfed:
The total time of lessons were from 11:30 til 1:30 and the culmination of my hard work was being able to stand up! Okay, so it involved having the instructor pushing me with the wave so I could catch it and sometimes holding the board while I got up. But I still got up, damn it! :) Where we were there was a pretty decent "rip" (rip current -- the strong bit of water that can cause drownings .. you can read about them here) and having to go fight through it to be able to "ride" some waves got me pretty tired. I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow morning!
If this picture of me in the ever-form flattering wetsuit doesn't immediately elicit thoughts of hot surfer girls then you must be normal... hahaha. :)
The bad thing about today was that it was pretty rainy and COLD. On the way there, I was cursing myself for doing this because I was dreading have to get in the cold water and risk my life and limb against shark attacks. There were about three other guys who were beginners and then two repeat people. One of the guys was from Madrid and when I asked his name he said, "Carrrlos" (the extra r's means he rolled it). Ack! The dreaded r-rolling that I never mastered came back to haunt me. I told him I was only going to be able to say it without the exotic r-rolling, haha. The school provided us with wetsuits and surf boards, and the water was actually pretty warm compared to the outside, I must say. I took a picture of where we surfed:
The total time of lessons were from 11:30 til 1:30 and the culmination of my hard work was being able to stand up! Okay, so it involved having the instructor pushing me with the wave so I could catch it and sometimes holding the board while I got up. But I still got up, damn it! :) Where we were there was a pretty decent "rip" (rip current -- the strong bit of water that can cause drownings .. you can read about them here) and having to go fight through it to be able to "ride" some waves got me pretty tired. I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow morning!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
2nd Date
Went on my second date with the Carpenter tonight -- a coffee date. Odd choice when it's at 5pm, because isn't that a good time for dinner? To be fair, he was trying to make sure I got home early (my request) but I still think it's possible to eat dinner at 5pm and be done reasonably early. Tell me I'm wrong.
It was a good date but I don't think I'm giving him a very fair chance because I realize that I'm leaving in less than two weeks. I'm still not very good with "just having fun dating" because I actually don't really enjoy dating all that much (besides being able to brag about the fact that I'm going on dates). Idk, maybe I'm crazier about it than most people... Yeah, that's probably it.
I also forgot to mention a new food I tried that is apparently a "classic Australian taste!" It's chips with "tomato sauce" (AKA ketchup) flavoring, haha! The description is as such (complete with British spelling):
It was a good date but I don't think I'm giving him a very fair chance because I realize that I'm leaving in less than two weeks. I'm still not very good with "just having fun dating" because I actually don't really enjoy dating all that much (besides being able to brag about the fact that I'm going on dates). Idk, maybe I'm crazier about it than most people... Yeah, that's probably it.
I also forgot to mention a new food I tried that is apparently a "classic Australian taste!" It's chips with "tomato sauce" (AKA ketchup) flavoring, haha! The description is as such (complete with British spelling):
Two Aussie favourites UNITE to bring you the Smith's Heinz Big Red flavoured chip. The freshested Australian potato is PEELED AND SLICED... then COOKED AND SEASONED... with the rich and tangy flavour of Heinz Big Red tomato sauce."It actually wasn't too bad, haha.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Jenolan Caves
Today was my epically long journey to Jenolan Caves! To get there, I first had to spend about 1.5 hours on the Sydney train system to a stop called Katoomba. This is basically where the Blue Mountains tour really starts.
I was about an hour early for the bus ride to the caves (which I paid the ridic price of $80 for... hopefully I was correct in paying that much, grr), so I spent my time walking around the city. Guess what I found? A park dedicated to my dear cat's namesake, Smithy!
The park itself was fairly unremarkable (it is described as a "natural gully amphitheater"), and I'm not exactly sure what Smithy's connection to Katoomba is, but there you go. I looked it up and the it was renamed in 1936 from the original Jubilee Park to commemorate Smithy after his death. This is apparently one of three aviator memorial parks in Katoomba -- Dad it's your dream! The others are Bert Hinkler and Charles James (Jimmy) Melrose. You can read more about it here.
After that fun discovery, I took the bus ride to the actual caves, which was about 1.5 hours.
I was about an hour early for the bus ride to the caves (which I paid the ridic price of $80 for... hopefully I was correct in paying that much, grr), so I spent my time walking around the city. Guess what I found? A park dedicated to my dear cat's namesake, Smithy!
The park itself was fairly unremarkable (it is described as a "natural gully amphitheater"), and I'm not exactly sure what Smithy's connection to Katoomba is, but there you go. I looked it up and the it was renamed in 1936 from the original Jubilee Park to commemorate Smithy after his death. This is apparently one of three aviator memorial parks in Katoomba -- Dad it's your dream! The others are Bert Hinkler and Charles James (Jimmy) Melrose. You can read more about it here.
After that fun discovery, I took the bus ride to the actual caves, which was about 1.5 hours.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
It's 17.3C!!!
...Otherwise known as 63F to my American friends (which is pretty much all of you). It's starting to get cold in Sydney and I don't like it. I just escaped the winter back home and was just getting ready to stop wearing pants when I have to start wearing pants again! This is totally going to mess me up when I'm trying to wear summer dresses for nights out and I'm sitting there waiting for the ever infuriating public transport system.
Honestly, I hate public transport with the passion of a thousand fiery suns (although Sydney's is very good overall). The timetables are often crazy and either drop you off with soo much time to spare that it's ridic or they end at very inconvenient hours (re: stopping at midnight when I'm staying out late in the city with friends). It gets confusing when you have to keep switching on/off at various stations, and if one leg of the transport is late, then you're doomed for the rest of it. I also hate that you have to wait outside for them, which means you are the mercy of the elements. Maybe I have just gotten soft these days with my own cushy personal transport system, but it drives me nuts. Friends, I have not had to rely on public transport since my undergraduate days and I would like to keep it that way. The exception is I enjoy the ferry and the train for the most part. The buses, I loathe... perhaps because you already have to have an idea of where you want to stop, which is not always the case for me (i.e. I don't always know which street I have to get to).
Warning: The following is another pointless rant. Proceed at your own risk.
On to new topics... I'm going to the Jenolan Caves tomorrow.
I potentially got screwed because the online site to buy the bus tickets makes no sense. Before I begin, I must explain a peculiar thing about Australian traveling costs... companies don't seem to group their ticket purchases together (like, you don't often have a round-trip option, you have to buy the to and from trips separately). What they REALLY love to do is charge almost nothing for a trip there and then charge you up the wazoo for the trip back (not the case here). So I was looking at the bus website and it has three options -- a one-way transfer to Jenolan from Katoomba (train station), a one-way transfer from Jenolan to Katoomba (each costing $40), and another one that costs $53 and is labeled "Return Coach Travel to Jenolan".
Friends, they do not offer an explanation about what exactly the "return coach travel" means. Does that mean that I can only take it one way? Does it mean that I get both to and from trips for $53? In vain I searched and decided to be safe and just spend $80 on the two one-way transfers. I hope I didn't get screwed over and spend $30 more than I was supposed to.
Below is a nice little hammock overlooking Manly Cove (or what I'm assuming it's called). I think that's the perfect spot for one!
Honestly, I hate public transport with the passion of a thousand fiery suns (although Sydney's is very good overall). The timetables are often crazy and either drop you off with soo much time to spare that it's ridic or they end at very inconvenient hours (re: stopping at midnight when I'm staying out late in the city with friends). It gets confusing when you have to keep switching on/off at various stations, and if one leg of the transport is late, then you're doomed for the rest of it. I also hate that you have to wait outside for them, which means you are the mercy of the elements. Maybe I have just gotten soft these days with my own cushy personal transport system, but it drives me nuts. Friends, I have not had to rely on public transport since my undergraduate days and I would like to keep it that way. The exception is I enjoy the ferry and the train for the most part. The buses, I loathe... perhaps because you already have to have an idea of where you want to stop, which is not always the case for me (i.e. I don't always know which street I have to get to).
Warning: The following is another pointless rant. Proceed at your own risk.
On to new topics... I'm going to the Jenolan Caves tomorrow.
I potentially got screwed because the online site to buy the bus tickets makes no sense. Before I begin, I must explain a peculiar thing about Australian traveling costs... companies don't seem to group their ticket purchases together (like, you don't often have a round-trip option, you have to buy the to and from trips separately). What they REALLY love to do is charge almost nothing for a trip there and then charge you up the wazoo for the trip back (not the case here). So I was looking at the bus website and it has three options -- a one-way transfer to Jenolan from Katoomba (train station), a one-way transfer from Jenolan to Katoomba (each costing $40), and another one that costs $53 and is labeled "Return Coach Travel to Jenolan".
Friends, they do not offer an explanation about what exactly the "return coach travel" means. Does that mean that I can only take it one way? Does it mean that I get both to and from trips for $53? In vain I searched and decided to be safe and just spend $80 on the two one-way transfers. I hope I didn't get screwed over and spend $30 more than I was supposed to.
Below is a nice little hammock overlooking Manly Cove (or what I'm assuming it's called). I think that's the perfect spot for one!
Monday, April 11, 2011
What to do?
Yesterday pre-Schooners, I went with my host people around Sydney and got some good pictures! Below are a few:
I took a picture of this because it involves one of my irrational fears -- sharks!! This is at Edwards Beach (near Balmoral), where a few fatal shark attacks occurred during the early 1900s. Because shark attacks tend to lead to widespread public panic, the Council tried their best to come up with some ideas to shark proof the beach. One of the worst ideas was to put in a wooden shark proof barrier along the full length of the beach and charge everyone a penny for admission (leading to the public outrage -- "Hands Off Our Beach."). Finally it was agreed to erect a shark net in 1935, suspending it between steel cables. What I'm standing next to is the anchor posts and segment of the steel cables. I'm pretty sure the Shark Net went away in 2008, though.
The rest of the week I am a little torn on what to do... I know that I definitely want to do all of the following before I go:
1. Jenolan Caves Tour (I want to do the "action-adventure" cave tour called the Plughole Tour -- click here to read about it)
2. Featherdale Park (click here) so I can hand feed a kangaroo and take a picture with a koala
3. Scenic Bushwalk of the Blue Mountains (click here)
4. Manly Beach Surf Lessons (click here)
The bad thing about 1 and 2 is that they are both about 2 hours away; the Jenolan Caves Tour is a tour that doesn't return to the station until 3pm (and that would still be with the 2 hour train ride back to Sydney). I'm thinking I'll do the Jenolan Caves on Wednesday since they take the longest. The reaaalll problem is that I work Friday afternoons at 2pm, which kind of screws me up in regards to any sort of morning activity since public transport is RIDICULOUS. I want to do the Manly Surf Lessons on Friday morning because Saturday is supposed to be rainy, but I'm not sure it'll work out for me if I do that. Featherdale may work out because I could get in 2 hours of fun time with the kangaroo/koalas but I would also not like to be rushed. I guess it's always possible to push that back another day... the only one that is semi-time sensitive is the surfing one since it's starting to get a little colder here.
So much to do!
The rest of the week I am a little torn on what to do... I know that I definitely want to do all of the following before I go:
1. Jenolan Caves Tour (I want to do the "action-adventure" cave tour called the Plughole Tour -- click here to read about it)
2. Featherdale Park (click here) so I can hand feed a kangaroo and take a picture with a koala
3. Scenic Bushwalk of the Blue Mountains (click here)
4. Manly Beach Surf Lessons (click here)
The bad thing about 1 and 2 is that they are both about 2 hours away; the Jenolan Caves Tour is a tour that doesn't return to the station until 3pm (and that would still be with the 2 hour train ride back to Sydney). I'm thinking I'll do the Jenolan Caves on Wednesday since they take the longest. The reaaalll problem is that I work Friday afternoons at 2pm, which kind of screws me up in regards to any sort of morning activity since public transport is RIDICULOUS. I want to do the Manly Surf Lessons on Friday morning because Saturday is supposed to be rainy, but I'm not sure it'll work out for me if I do that. Featherdale may work out because I could get in 2 hours of fun time with the kangaroo/koalas but I would also not like to be rushed. I guess it's always possible to push that back another day... the only one that is semi-time sensitive is the surfing one since it's starting to get a little colder here.
So much to do!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wow, spent the day with host family and six schooners* later I’m not feeling so good, lol…
*Schooners = about 15 oz… not amazing but six of them without much to eat except an Aussie pie** is enough to cause havoc! My host guy who is like in his sixties did better than me!!!! In my defense I think the beer here is a little more potent than back in the States. My favs are Pure Blonde or Carlton Draught.
**Aussie pie = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_and_New_Zealand_meat_pie They are terrible but probably good for drunkie food (they are popular at the Rugby games) although they seem to prefer late-night kebabs over here that purpose. I must admit that adding "tomato sauce" (AKA ketchup) makes them taste better, but they are basically low-grade meat with gravy in a pie crust. Very odd!
And I keep meaning to write this, but there's an Australian version of Google! I don't know why this amuses me but it does... http://www.google.com.au. FACT - anytime you want an Aussie site just add .au after the .com.
Fun sites:
Pure Blonde - http://www.fostersgroup.com/brands/pure-blonde.aspx (I always get crap here when I order it about it being low carb but I didn't know that when I started drinking it!)
Carlton Draught - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Draught (my second choice, although a Tooheys is also acceptable)
*Schooners = about 15 oz… not amazing but six of them without much to eat except an Aussie pie** is enough to cause havoc! My host guy who is like in his sixties did better than me!!!! In my defense I think the beer here is a little more potent than back in the States. My favs are Pure Blonde or Carlton Draught.
**Aussie pie = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_and_New_Zealand_meat_pie They are terrible but probably good for drunkie food (they are popular at the Rugby games) although they seem to prefer late-night kebabs over here that purpose. I must admit that adding "tomato sauce" (AKA ketchup) makes them taste better, but they are basically low-grade meat with gravy in a pie crust. Very odd!
And I keep meaning to write this, but there's an Australian version of Google! I don't know why this amuses me but it does... http://www.google.com.au. FACT - anytime you want an Aussie site just add .au after the .com.
Fun sites:
Pure Blonde - http://www.fostersgroup.com/brands/pure-blonde.aspx (I always get crap here when I order it about it being low carb but I didn't know that when I started drinking it!)
Carlton Draught - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Draught (my second choice, although a Tooheys is also acceptable)
Saturday, April 9, 2011
updates...
I have finally made some new friends!! I will fill you in on the details of this later on because I'm tired (been going out late the last few nights), but they are basically connected to the Australian med student I met this week. I'm glad to have gotten the hookup through him, because I think these guys will be a lot of fun. I'm the only girl, though... most of them have girlfriends so it's not like a dating sort of situation at all, which I'm glad for. And I befriended one of them through my video game knowledge, courtesy of Joel. :)
Last night, I ended up meeting the med student and his friends for dinner at this Asian dumpling place. The dumplings were really good, and not like anything I have ever had before! They were like little water balloons of soup and pork. After that I paid a ridiculous amount of money to go see a movie (Sucker Punch) and get Bubble Tea. The movie was terrible. But the way the theater was set up was interesting -- when you buy the tickets you get assigned a seat! It's like going to a hockey game where your ticket says where you're sitting. It was very weird to me, but the seats were GIANT. It was like I was in a luxury recliner. After that we went out for a couple of drinks and just generally bonded. There are about three main guys (Aussie med student, American who is going to Australian med school and a mutual friend who is a computer programmer) who I think will be my main source of entertainment and they seem like really good people. I'm glad to have met them. I also learned that "rooting" is a term they use for sex, so if you say you "root for the Tampa Bay Lightning" that doesn't mean the same thing to an Australian, haha. I guess they say "barrack" to mean cheering for.
Today I went back to Manly Beach and worked on my tan. I also went on this walk that I will show some pictures of later when I feel like posting them, haha. The entire walk is supposed to take about 4.5 hours if you're walking (and that's just one way!) so I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon. It was still nice to see the scenic route though. Later on, I went over to the Aussie MS (med student)'s house for pizza and to watch Full Metal Jacket with him and his friends. Overall it was a good night and I'm starting to feel more at home. Hopefully things keep up like this.
Last night, I ended up meeting the med student and his friends for dinner at this Asian dumpling place. The dumplings were really good, and not like anything I have ever had before! They were like little water balloons of soup and pork. After that I paid a ridiculous amount of money to go see a movie (Sucker Punch) and get Bubble Tea. The movie was terrible. But the way the theater was set up was interesting -- when you buy the tickets you get assigned a seat! It's like going to a hockey game where your ticket says where you're sitting. It was very weird to me, but the seats were GIANT. It was like I was in a luxury recliner. After that we went out for a couple of drinks and just generally bonded. There are about three main guys (Aussie med student, American who is going to Australian med school and a mutual friend who is a computer programmer) who I think will be my main source of entertainment and they seem like really good people. I'm glad to have met them. I also learned that "rooting" is a term they use for sex, so if you say you "root for the Tampa Bay Lightning" that doesn't mean the same thing to an Australian, haha. I guess they say "barrack" to mean cheering for.
Today I went back to Manly Beach and worked on my tan. I also went on this walk that I will show some pictures of later when I feel like posting them, haha. The entire walk is supposed to take about 4.5 hours if you're walking (and that's just one way!) so I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon. It was still nice to see the scenic route though. Later on, I went over to the Aussie MS (med student)'s house for pizza and to watch Full Metal Jacket with him and his friends. Overall it was a good night and I'm starting to feel more at home. Hopefully things keep up like this.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
More slang
Bickie - Short for biscuit, which is not our kind of biscuit but a cookie
Brekky - Short for breakfast
Gumboots - Rain boots (this is probably shortened but I saw it on a poster)
Also, lemonade can refer to Sprite-type products! I got so confused because I saw this clear, carbonated beverage labeled "lemonade" and thought it was some sort of lemon-flavored seltzer water. No dear friends, it was basically Sprite (which they have).
Brekky - Short for breakfast
Gumboots - Rain boots (this is probably shortened but I saw it on a poster)
Also, lemonade can refer to Sprite-type products! I got so confused because I saw this clear, carbonated beverage labeled "lemonade" and thought it was some sort of lemon-flavored seltzer water. No dear friends, it was basically Sprite (which they have).
Part 2
Chinese Garden of Friendship
To quote the lovely pamphlet I got: "Initiated by the local Chinese community to celebrate Australia's 1988 Bicentenary, the Chinese Garden is the result of a close friendship and cooperation between the sister cities of Sydney and Guangzhou in Guangdon Province, China."
So there you have it! It was actually a really awesome place to go if you just wanted somewhere to meditate or read (alas, you have to pay for this pleasure). They had various little stops along this path that signified something. I liked this Moongate the best... there's nothing too extraordinary about it except I just liked the shape.
To quote the lovely pamphlet I got: "Initiated by the local Chinese community to celebrate Australia's 1988 Bicentenary, the Chinese Garden is the result of a close friendship and cooperation between the sister cities of Sydney and Guangzhou in Guangdon Province, China."
So there you have it! It was actually a really awesome place to go if you just wanted somewhere to meditate or read (alas, you have to pay for this pleasure). They had various little stops along this path that signified something. I liked this Moongate the best... there's nothing too extraordinary about it except I just liked the shape.
Next I tried to take a picture of myself using my automatic timer... Fun fact, it's kind of embarrassing to be caught taking pictures of yourself! I guess I felt a little self-conscious, because as I was taking the picture someone came strolling up and I felt a little odd just sitting there taking a photo of myself and reacted. I have no idea why. The result was this photo, haha.
There was also a part of the garden called the Rock Forest, which is based on an ancient Chinese poem called The Dancing Maiden Ashima and the Landlord. The actual story wasn't written down anywhere, but I'm sure you can google as well as I can. At any rate, the story is told by these rocks... I guess the end result of the story was the spirit of Ashima was turned into a dancing rock.
After that, I left and explored the Chinatown part of Sydney. It was very intimidating because suddenly everything was written in Chinese and I had no idea what some of the stuff was. I might go back later on and give it a closer look. I went into the local mall there and bought some sort of scarf. The styles here are definitely interesting (sometimes really bad), I must say. Some of the things the kids here (particularly the Asian ones) put together are things I would never have considered. I want to buy a dress or something and bring it back to wear because some of them were pretty cool looking. I also tried my first hot cross bun! It was basically a cinnamon-raisin roll. Not sure what the big deal with them is, haha.
Ghost Tour
I then went to the ghost tour! It was in the Rocks again, and it wasn't so much about ghosts as it was about murders and weird events about living people. Actually, I don't think I heard much of anything about hauntings. Sad! But I did learn a few creepy stories about people getting murdered and a little about the history of the area. The best part was that each person on the tour got a little necklace with some sort of knick-knack that symbolized a character you were going to be. I was some sort of strict boarding house keeper who found her tenant with his penis chopped off (he did it himself because he felt guilty about having an affair while his wife/child were back in Greece!). The other cool part was that we got to go into this really creepy dig-site underneath a building. The city was going to excavate the area and turn it into a carpark (parking lot for us Americans) but they found the remains of an old cottage or something. When we went into it, it was dark and all we had was our flashlights! I took a picture of it.
And that's it, folks! We shall see what the rest of the weekend holds... I'm thinking of going to the Blue Mountains but am not quite sure.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The Zoo
Today was a LONG day... went to the zoo, a Chinese Garden of Friendship and a ghost tour! As such, I'm pretty tired so I'll just write about the zoo for right now and save the rest of it for tomorrow. I also ate kangaroo today. It tasted and looked like steak, so maybe someone did one over on me...
The zoo I'm referring to is the ever famous Taronga Zoo. I was able to snag the student discounted price, thankfully, because it's expensive! Well, it might not be for zoo prices but I haven't been to a zoo in so long I'm not sure what their going rate is. Either way, I was sadly disappointed to find out that I CANNOT HOLD A KOALA BEAR! Apparently it is illegal to do so in New South Wales or outside of a zoo in other parts of Australia. Laaame. I was allowed to take a picture near a koala, but I had to pay $20 for that and I was not about to do so. What's the difference when I can just as easily stand close to one in the actual koala bear exhibit? Also, I wasn't really allowed to go near kangaroos, so no funny pictures of me almost getting punched/kicked by one. :( Really, that was the main reason I went to the zoo in the first place -- should have done my research!
At any rate, I did get some good pictures of some native Australian species...
...the ever present Australian school child! These particular species were pretending that the seal was their girlfriend, or so I gathered by one of them yelling, "This is my girlfriend!"
Enough jokes, friends, on to the pictures! I took a bunch at the zoo but I'll create a photo album for you to look at later because my internet is slow and it's taking too long.
This little wallaby was sitting in this enclosed pathway... I think I was the first person in there because it quickly ran away. I tried to get a picture with it in the background but it was a failure. :(
A Tazmanian Devil! They are actually a little scary looking. And just when my medical school friends thought they would never use histology in real life, they actually had a slide as pictured --
I guess the common Aussie must be smarter than I think if they would include something like this in a zoo display! It's about this type of cancer that Tazmanian Devils get (Devil Facial Tumor Disease) that they can spread to each other just by touching! Luckily it doesn't go to humans.
And I inserted this video because it was like Harry Potter with this snake going right for me!
A later snake was shown with its dinner. So gruesome... I also took a picture of a Komodo Dragon for your visual pleasure:
And last but not least, here is a picture of a Wollemia nobilis, a plant that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. I guess people thought it was extinct until the Australian species was discovered. I included this for my botany-minded friend Alison, haha.
And that's it for post 1 of 2! Tomorrow I'll keep you enthralled with the stories of the rest of my day...
The zoo I'm referring to is the ever famous Taronga Zoo. I was able to snag the student discounted price, thankfully, because it's expensive! Well, it might not be for zoo prices but I haven't been to a zoo in so long I'm not sure what their going rate is. Either way, I was sadly disappointed to find out that I CANNOT HOLD A KOALA BEAR! Apparently it is illegal to do so in New South Wales or outside of a zoo in other parts of Australia. Laaame. I was allowed to take a picture near a koala, but I had to pay $20 for that and I was not about to do so. What's the difference when I can just as easily stand close to one in the actual koala bear exhibit? Also, I wasn't really allowed to go near kangaroos, so no funny pictures of me almost getting punched/kicked by one. :( Really, that was the main reason I went to the zoo in the first place -- should have done my research!
At any rate, I did get some good pictures of some native Australian species...
Enough jokes, friends, on to the pictures! I took a bunch at the zoo but I'll create a photo album for you to look at later because my internet is slow and it's taking too long.
And I inserted this video because it was like Harry Potter with this snake going right for me!
A later snake was shown with its dinner. So gruesome... I also took a picture of a Komodo Dragon for your visual pleasure:
And last but not least, here is a picture of a Wollemia nobilis, a plant that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. I guess people thought it was extinct until the Australian species was discovered. I included this for my botany-minded friend Alison, haha.
And that's it for post 1 of 2! Tomorrow I'll keep you enthralled with the stories of the rest of my day...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Oh yeah...
Australians apparently like to conserve electricity. I can't quite decide if this is just my host family or if this is even including young people, but when I do my laundry I have to hang it out to dry! So weird... I mean, they do have a dryer but their thinking is to only use that if you absolutely have to. It was funny because my host lady was telling me a story of how weird it was that this one American couple automatically put their clothes in the dryer with no attention paid to the fact that it was sunny outside (and could therefore be put on the line!).
Ahh, silly Americans! ;)
Ahh, silly Americans! ;)
Australian Language
Fact: Australians are lazy and abbreviate a lot of words. This makes me laugh, naturally (Obvi! Don't be totes ridic!). Below are a few terms I've picked up:
1. Arvo - afternoon (got this one in a text from the Australian Carpenter, not sure if it's used very often cuz when I mention it other Australians they have to think about it a bit)
2. Aggro - Joel, they actually say this in regular conversation!! All I can think is that WoW quote ("Skinning a bear should aggro every bears in a 40 yard radius. It makes sense you are actually skinning their best friend.") My host guy said something like, "Sometimes the people at the games get so aggro!"
3. Sunnies - Sunglasses
4. Digger - Australian soldier
5. "Candy" is not a word in Australian lingo! They call all candy "lollies" -- but this seems to only refer to candy that is not chocolate.
6. Coffee is not really a specific drink, but rather an overall term for any caffeinated, hot beverage. When I tried to order a coffee, the waitress said, "What kind?" I gave her a blank stare and thought to myself, "What kind?! The regular kind!" I now just order the cappuccino.
7. Hot cross buns are in right now and apparently only sold around Easter time. I think they're basically sweet biscuits with fruit in them. I want to try one to make sure, though.
In stereotypical terms, they do say "mate" and "no worries". They also greet people with "How ya going?". And if you've done something good, they say, "Good on ya." Also they are strangely sensitive to someone with "my" accent possibly being from Canada -- when they meet me they ask, "Are you American or Canadian?"
And that's it for today... going to the zoo tomorrow so get ready for a fun koala/kangaroo picture! Haha! Also I think I'm going to do a ghost tour tomorrow night, because we all know my fascination with ghosts. :)
1. Arvo - afternoon (got this one in a text from the Australian Carpenter, not sure if it's used very often cuz when I mention it other Australians they have to think about it a bit)
2. Aggro - Joel, they actually say this in regular conversation!! All I can think is that WoW quote ("Skinning a bear should aggro every bears in a 40 yard radius. It makes sense you are actually skinning their best friend.") My host guy said something like, "Sometimes the people at the games get so aggro!"
3. Sunnies - Sunglasses
4. Digger - Australian soldier
5. "Candy" is not a word in Australian lingo! They call all candy "lollies" -- but this seems to only refer to candy that is not chocolate.
6. Coffee is not really a specific drink, but rather an overall term for any caffeinated, hot beverage. When I tried to order a coffee, the waitress said, "What kind?" I gave her a blank stare and thought to myself, "What kind?! The regular kind!" I now just order the cappuccino.
7. Hot cross buns are in right now and apparently only sold around Easter time. I think they're basically sweet biscuits with fruit in them. I want to try one to make sure, though.
In stereotypical terms, they do say "mate" and "no worries". They also greet people with "How ya going?". And if you've done something good, they say, "Good on ya." Also they are strangely sensitive to someone with "my" accent possibly being from Canada -- when they meet me they ask, "Are you American or Canadian?"
And that's it for today... going to the zoo tomorrow so get ready for a fun koala/kangaroo picture! Haha! Also I think I'm going to do a ghost tour tomorrow night, because we all know my fascination with ghosts. :)
Monday, April 4, 2011
Really weird quiz
My result seems odd... I don't think it really describes me (I'm not sure I think of myself as "emotionally volatile") but I tried to change some of my answers and got the same thing. Either way, I thought I'd forward this thing along -- only 20 questions!
http://www.hypnoid.com/psytest2.html
You are in a perpetual quest to find the new, the exciting. Emotionally volatile, you are known for sudden changes of opinion, of appreciation, and behavior. Following rules and established methods is difficult for you and the difficulties of higher education are usually quite daunting. Knowledge is best gained through an intimate association with the matter at hand. Usually driven by attitudes and desires of the group, you are talented in an established field of endeavor. Emotions come and go without a strong understanding of their causes. They are unexpected guests in an otherwise placid landscape. You live by your own codes of conduct, which can be noble or terrible depending on the individual. Authority is meaningless to you. You hate to be predictable, at all costs. Rarely verbally effusive, you can at times feel as if your feelings are too deep for words. You are very observant, but rarely express these observations to others.
http://www.hypnoid.com/psytest2.html
You are in a perpetual quest to find the new, the exciting. Emotionally volatile, you are known for sudden changes of opinion, of appreciation, and behavior. Following rules and established methods is difficult for you and the difficulties of higher education are usually quite daunting. Knowledge is best gained through an intimate association with the matter at hand. Usually driven by attitudes and desires of the group, you are talented in an established field of endeavor. Emotions come and go without a strong understanding of their causes. They are unexpected guests in an otherwise placid landscape. You live by your own codes of conduct, which can be noble or terrible depending on the individual. Authority is meaningless to you. You hate to be predictable, at all costs. Rarely verbally effusive, you can at times feel as if your feelings are too deep for words. You are very observant, but rarely express these observations to others.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Day 7 - The Rocks and My Date
I decided to head down to The Rocks, which is in the same area as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. For those who don't know, I guess The Rocks used to be a real slummy part of town where all of the convicts and stuff went, but it's cleaned up a bit since then. I also think it is probably the more touristy part of downtown Sydney. Along the harbor there are a bunch of street performers. The more popular type seemed to be these Aborigines that would play their music and pose for pictures in exchange for tips. I never did it but I did tape the guy playing his music for your viewing pleasure!
Dang kid in the blue shirt got in the way towards the end! It also proved to be a learning lesson because he went into the didjaredoo and how to play it. There are apparently about four different movements you're trying to do while playing this thing. Also, the Aboriginal name for it is not didjaredoo; that name comes from what it sounded like when the first Englishmen heard it being played (so the English name for it is more like an onomatopoeia). The guy actually played it so it did sound like "didjaredoo" but I wasn't able to record it for you. Too bad.
Disaster struck a second time when my poor camera broke!! I tried to fix it but the lens was permanently disabled so I was forced to buy another Australian camera with its wonky plug. I also managed to get a picture of myself in front of the Sydney Opera House!
Oh yeah, look at that modeling! ;)
Later on was my date with the Aussie guy! Alas, I was not able to think of a reason to take a picture with him in it so I guess you're SOL on that one. Basically he's also 26, a carpenter and a Sydneysider. He's not too tall, though (my height) but that's okay. He's overall cute but he's got a bit of a uni-brow. I should stop being superficial because that's nothing that a little tweezing couldn't fix! Haha! He's also got a really strong Australian accent.* He seems like a nice guy overall. We went to a rooftop bar in The Rocks overlooking the harbor (although we couldn't really see it from where we were sitting) and sort of went over the differences between Australia and America. It was interesting because he was able to tell me more about some of the local cultural things. As an example, we were riding on the train back to Burwood and there was some graffiti that said, "Bring back the beef." I commented on it because I thought it was weird and referring to hamburger, but he told me it was actually about some sort of character (mascot?) in Rugby who is always saying that phrase "Bring back the biff". I think biff refers to the fighting and stuff that used to be allowed in Rugby. I'm guessing beef is some form of biff? Or maybe they just sound alike? Obviously I would have no clue about this on my own, haha! So for that reason he's pretty good to have around. And he actually paid for my taxi back to my place so I wasn't stranded like last night! Score! ;)
*Fun fact - Australian accents are actually less attractive when you're surrounded by them. Weird eh?
Dang kid in the blue shirt got in the way towards the end! It also proved to be a learning lesson because he went into the didjaredoo and how to play it. There are apparently about four different movements you're trying to do while playing this thing. Also, the Aboriginal name for it is not didjaredoo; that name comes from what it sounded like when the first Englishmen heard it being played (so the English name for it is more like an onomatopoeia). The guy actually played it so it did sound like "didjaredoo" but I wasn't able to record it for you. Too bad.
Disaster struck a second time when my poor camera broke!! I tried to fix it but the lens was permanently disabled so I was forced to buy another Australian camera with its wonky plug. I also managed to get a picture of myself in front of the Sydney Opera House!
Oh yeah, look at that modeling! ;)
Later on was my date with the Aussie guy! Alas, I was not able to think of a reason to take a picture with him in it so I guess you're SOL on that one. Basically he's also 26, a carpenter and a Sydneysider. He's not too tall, though (my height) but that's okay. He's overall cute but he's got a bit of a uni-brow. I should stop being superficial because that's nothing that a little tweezing couldn't fix! Haha! He's also got a really strong Australian accent.* He seems like a nice guy overall. We went to a rooftop bar in The Rocks overlooking the harbor (although we couldn't really see it from where we were sitting) and sort of went over the differences between Australia and America. It was interesting because he was able to tell me more about some of the local cultural things. As an example, we were riding on the train back to Burwood and there was some graffiti that said, "Bring back the beef." I commented on it because I thought it was weird and referring to hamburger, but he told me it was actually about some sort of character (mascot?) in Rugby who is always saying that phrase "Bring back the biff". I think biff refers to the fighting and stuff that used to be allowed in Rugby. I'm guessing beef is some form of biff? Or maybe they just sound alike? Obviously I would have no clue about this on my own, haha! So for that reason he's pretty good to have around. And he actually paid for my taxi back to my place so I wasn't stranded like last night! Score! ;)
*Fun fact - Australian accents are actually less attractive when you're surrounded by them. Weird eh?
Day 6 - Bondi Beach/Downtown Sydney
Last night was daylight savings time for Australia -- gained an hour!
On to the more interesting stuff...
I decided to go to Bondi Beach despite the fact that the weather was overcast and windy. Apparently, "Bondi" or "Boondi" means "water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks" in Aborigine. Not sure if you can tell from my picture but the waves were pretty giant, especially compared to my standard Pensacola Beach waves!
The beach itself was pretty small, though... maybe three times the size of Casino Beach if you take the area from the pier to Crabs (for my Pensacola readers). I was reading about Bondi Beach on this one website and found an interesting factoid about a day called "Black Sunday":
There's a club called the Bondi Icebergs, the only licensed Winter Swimming Club in the world (whatever that means). It was started by a group of people trying to maintain their fitness during the winter in the 1920s. I read that part of their membership requirement was competing in a few "races" every Sunday, which apparently were more novelty than anything else. My host family said that they would put ice in the pool and have people swim in it!
As you can see, it's a pool right by Bondi Beach (Bondi is actually to the left of where this picture is shown). I wasn't able to get to the actual pool because there was a charge and I didn't feel like paying $3AUD for it. But for the boys, click here to check out the Bondi Beach Babes! Haha!
Later that night, the two German guys, a German girl and their Australian friend and I went out to downtown Sydney to a club called Ivy. Apparently it's pretty "posh", and it cost me $20AUD to get in (we originally thought that if we went in early we could escape the cover... wrong!). There's a few things about Sydney bars that I don't like, namely:
The taxi driver then dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, where there wasn't even another taxi to get me. I started to get nervous because it's 2 in the morning, I'm alone and I have no idea where I am. What kind of guy does that?! I eventually found another taxi who took me home. And it all began because the original guy had me get off at the wrong stop... jerk. Either way, this event has made me unlikely to try the Sydney nightlife again because I just don't like dealing with getting home when I'm the only person going the same way.
On to the more interesting stuff...
I decided to go to Bondi Beach despite the fact that the weather was overcast and windy. Apparently, "Bondi" or "Boondi" means "water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks" in Aborigine. Not sure if you can tell from my picture but the waves were pretty giant, especially compared to my standard Pensacola Beach waves!
The beach itself was pretty small, though... maybe three times the size of Casino Beach if you take the area from the pier to Crabs (for my Pensacola readers). I was reading about Bondi Beach on this one website and found an interesting factoid about a day called "Black Sunday":
Some 35,000 people were on the beach and a large group of lifesavers were about to start a surf race when three freak waves hit the beach, sweeping hundreds of people out to sea. Lifesavers rescued 300 people. The largest mass rescue in the history of surf bathing, it confirmed the place of the lifesaver in the national imagination.Pretty crazy, eh? There's a path that starts at Bondi and goes to the other beaches like Tamarama and the like. I went a little bit of the distance with my German friends but we turned around about halfway because we were all hungry. Remember that picture of Hungry Jacks I took? It turns out it IS Burger King... I'm not sure why they don't just call it Burger King instead of Hungry Jacks, though. Either way, here's a picture of me in the middle of the pathway.
There's a club called the Bondi Icebergs, the only licensed Winter Swimming Club in the world (whatever that means). It was started by a group of people trying to maintain their fitness during the winter in the 1920s. I read that part of their membership requirement was competing in a few "races" every Sunday, which apparently were more novelty than anything else. My host family said that they would put ice in the pool and have people swim in it!
As you can see, it's a pool right by Bondi Beach (Bondi is actually to the left of where this picture is shown). I wasn't able to get to the actual pool because there was a charge and I didn't feel like paying $3AUD for it. But for the boys, click here to check out the Bondi Beach Babes! Haha!
Later that night, the two German guys, a German girl and their Australian friend and I went out to downtown Sydney to a club called Ivy. Apparently it's pretty "posh", and it cost me $20AUD to get in (we originally thought that if we went in early we could escape the cover... wrong!). There's a few things about Sydney bars that I don't like, namely:
- Always a minimum charge to use your credit card, and they don't really believe in keeping a tab. The minimum charge for Ivy was $30AUD. Worst part? That only got me four drinks for $36!!! I had to give two of them to my friend for paying my cover. Ugh. They apparently use cash here a lot more than I'm used to.
- The music is TERRIBLE. I don't really know how to describe it. I actually took a video of it with my camera but it broke today so I can't show you what it was like. It was some weird mixture of techno and pop that made no sense to me. And it was the only type of music you could hear in any of the bars I went to. I miss my American hip hop! :(
- The guys here are, to quote Snooki, "gorilla juiceheads". What I mean, for those who don't dare watch Jersey Shore, is that they are all muscled up with faux-hawks. I'm not sure how they missed the memo that faux-hawks aren't in anymore, but they did. Sometimes it looks good on the right guy but with these guys, they just looked like Jersey boys. Also they are really cheap and don't like to buy drinks. Bastards.
The taxi driver then dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, where there wasn't even another taxi to get me. I started to get nervous because it's 2 in the morning, I'm alone and I have no idea where I am. What kind of guy does that?! I eventually found another taxi who took me home. And it all began because the original guy had me get off at the wrong stop... jerk. Either way, this event has made me unlikely to try the Sydney nightlife again because I just don't like dealing with getting home when I'm the only person going the same way.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Update
I've been pretty good about updating every day but today it just has to wait! I'm too tired!
At any rate, the next post will include the following:
1. Bondi Beach
2. Going out in the town
Get excited! I just didn't want anyone to get worried since I was behind on my daily updates or anything... I know how you guys live or die by what I write! ;)
At any rate, the next post will include the following:
1. Bondi Beach
2. Going out in the town
Get excited! I just didn't want anyone to get worried since I was behind on my daily updates or anything... I know how you guys live or die by what I write! ;)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Day 5 - Rugby and Irishmen
As far as clinic went, it was a day with "Prof" which meant it was supposed to be a learning day. Mostly we (Canadian friend named Christine and I) spent our time following either Prof or the registrar around. I did see a few weird skin diseases such as sarcoidosis and stuff like that. I also learned that America uses units that are apparently not used anywhere else in the world for things like cholesterol. Their upper limit of cholesterol is 5.0. I suppose they use mmol/?unit while we use g/dl? I don't know.
The real fun of the day began when Christine (the Canadian) and I went to the rugby game. Apparently in Australia there are two types of rugby -- Union and League. I think the League version is more exciting and physical but the one we went to was Union, I believe. It was the Waratahs versus the Chiefs. Neither Christine or I had any idea of what was going on... I figured it might be somewhat intuitive but it really wasn't. It was almost like American football except when someone was tackled the ball was apparently still in play. Not quite sure on what the deal was with penalties and stuff. If you're REALLY interested, you can read about the game here..
I also tried my very first ever official "meat pie." It was gross. Basically imagine a chicken pot pie but fill it instead with beef and gravy. I took a picture of it:
We also took a picture about three times before someone was able to get it accurately... every time it was some new shenanigan! The guy taking it was very patient though. Props to him! Here's an accidental video so you can ever so briefly hear that ever charming Australian accent... haha.
I guess to further improve my blog, here are the three attempts at a picture:
The real fun of the day began when Christine (the Canadian) and I went to the rugby game. Apparently in Australia there are two types of rugby -- Union and League. I think the League version is more exciting and physical but the one we went to was Union, I believe. It was the Waratahs versus the Chiefs. Neither Christine or I had any idea of what was going on... I figured it might be somewhat intuitive but it really wasn't. It was almost like American football except when someone was tackled the ball was apparently still in play. Not quite sure on what the deal was with penalties and stuff. If you're REALLY interested, you can read about the game here..
I also tried my very first ever official "meat pie." It was gross. Basically imagine a chicken pot pie but fill it instead with beef and gravy. I took a picture of it:
We also took a picture about three times before someone was able to get it accurately... every time it was some new shenanigan! The guy taking it was very patient though. Props to him! Here's an accidental video so you can ever so briefly hear that ever charming Australian accent... haha.
I guess to further improve my blog, here are the three attempts at a picture:
Finally, a good one!
After the game, we went to a bar where we met these three Irish guys. Honestly I could only understand about 70% of what they were saying. Part of that was apparently my name meant I was more Irish than they were, and that any proper Murphy was immediately nicknamed "Spud" (for potato) because of something about potato soup during the famine (that was a part that I couldn't really understand). One of them was about to get Australian citizenship tomorrow and his friend could do a really good Australian accent! The funny thing was that both the Irish guy and the Belgian (from yesterday) both seemed to think that Australians were rather concerned with their appearance. I haven't really met enough of them to comment but it seems to be the going theme with outsider perceptions. At any rate, we attempted to take a picture with the Irish guys and we ended up having a bunch of strangers included in our picture!
The Irishmen were the two next to me and the last one on the top row (wearing the white shirt). Other than the my friend (Asian girl) I don't know the other three people, haha.
After that, I took the train back home. I have to admit that around then I started to feel a little homesick for everyone and felt a little bit lonely. I know, it's kind of ridiculous to feel that way in a really awesome city but it's true! I miss America! I'll be back to normal in no time. :)
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