Sperrys Now Have Credentials

My Sperry’s were finally given a proper home after my first official sailing trip. Last Sunday Beth and I had a whirlwind trip to Sydney for a day of sailing on our friend Nick’s family yacht. We started early, strolling up to the Fairy Meadow train station only to realize one of us *cough*beth*cough* had looked at the weekday timetable which threw us into a whole different timeline. At the time our perfect connecting train schedule to catch the 10am Manly Ferry looked grim and poor Nick would be waiting at the wharf for another half hour or hour depending on how long we would be waiting to catch our connections. But after sprinting and catching a few sour looks from others through Sydney Central and Circular Quay stations, WE MADE THE 10am FERRY! That was by far the happiest ferry ride I have ever taken, such an accomplishment we couldn’t believe it!

Nick picked us up and gave a quick car tour of Manly which happened to be way better than the small rainy beach I remembered. Thank goodness he changed my opinion! There was a cute little boardwalk with shops and plenty of eateries much like Bondi.

Sailing was a much needed break from the daily grind of studying abroad. One, it was a wicked activity that I never imagined would happen. And two, being around a family environment and interacting with parents was so refreshing. The whole experience made my homesickness subside slightly. We sailed to the point of having the harbor bridge in our sights, than curled around to a bay for lunch aboard. I would love to us all the fancy lingo I learned…but I don’t have the slightest idea how to spell it. Besides messing with the painters and watching for the boom and maisao, that’s about all I’ve got in my workable vocabulary. After we got a little Australian burn and spiked my blood pressure from the fear of falling overboard, we headed home for a restful train ride to Fairy Meadow.

This week it really hit me how quickly my time here is passing, I have under 65 days left. I am flying to Uluru tomorrow until Monday, then next Saturday I’m off to New Zealand for my much anticipated campervan, spaceship, excursion. Then I come back to three weeks of school until exams! It’s insane, I can see the light. Also, after looking through all my travel documents I discovered I’m actually going to be home November 20^th. Luckily I checked! Okay, I really must get to bed before this 5am train. “Good night you princes of Maine and you queens of New England!” J Miss you all! 

If you were curious what we are camping and touring New Zealand's south island with, please watch this video you'll be amused for days. COMFORT ZONE GONE & LOVIN IT! 

'The thrills and downfalls' come alive

When I created this blog, I quickly created a catchy slogan that I thought would be appropriate for the content, but the meaning behind ‘the thrills and downfalls of studying abroad’ reached a whole new level this week.

As you are sitting browsing all the places you can go to study abroad, the only things running through your mind are the amazing people you will meet and the great experiences you will have in a foreign place. While I have met a lot of Australians here, no one can begin to compare with my friends at home. And as welcome week commences and everyone moves back to the beautiful IU Bloomington campus, I can’t help but think of all the wonderful people I left behind.

Abroad, I have a surface relationship with everyone. No one truly knows who I am, or anything about my life other than my American classification. This has been the hardest thing for me to comprehend. I am lucky to have met two amazing girls that I have become extremely close to from the states. And after a deep tearful conversation with one of them, we came to the realization that studying abroad is not about the social aspect or excitement of traveling. Studying abroad is more about discovering yourself and growing to be the most independent person you could ever comprehend. This trip is about you and you alone, no one is here to always catch you, and you are the only one that determines your happiness. It’s far more intense than words can describe. When I skype with friends back home, they can’t understand why I am homesick. They toss it aside because I’m in the exotic location of Australia. But even in paradise, you can still get lonely and really begin to appreciate all the love you had.

When I go home, I will have so much more appreciation for everything around me. America rocks! The greatest joy to my day came today, I was comatose reading about Aboriginal Australians when I envisioned landing on the runway in Indianapolis. The flight attendant reads the chilly November forecast for the day and wishes everyone a safe trip and welcome home. HOME! Finally walking off the plane to be greeted by the people that love me the most, I started to cry already thinking about what an awesome feeling it will be to see them again, live in person. And be able to hug them! I can’t wait. My new countdown app says I leave in a little over 75 days, but who’s counting? J

As for the other half of my slogan, ‘the thrills’ have been numerous recently. I have been hectically intense in my bucket list completion…

Last weekend my entire dorm went to Sydney for a cruise around the harbor, it was great to see everyone dressed to impress. The Sydney sights illuminated at night are beautiful! The boat reminded me of a mini Titanic with all the wood paneling, it was awesome and oh so classy! We stayed in my first hostel that night which was rather interesting…and made me appreciate hotel living with my mom while she was here. On Sunday Beth and I took the bus to Bondi for a beach day. I love that beach! We strolled the shops, got a well deserved portion of fish and chips to satisfy our hunger for the day (maybe even week), and a little hole in the ozone kind of burn. Then took the dreadful 1.5 hour train back home.

First Australian Spring Sunrise

On Thursday, I woke up with a few others to watch the first Spring sunrise. Leaving the comfort of my warm bed was a struggle, but I am happy to have seen the event and everyone out in their rare form. :)

This week it really hit me that I wasn’t going to see the outback in its glory, and it really made me mad. So I decided to do something about it. Uluru is the standard Australian icon, besides the Opera house. It is a sacred Aboriginal site and full of history. Upon talking with Beth about my discomfort, we had our flights booked two hours later to Ayers Rock leaving September 15th. Call us crazy, because the entire time we were looking up flights and dates…we thought the same thing. You only live once right? Australia is one big adventure, but after this trip my bucket list of exploring is almost complete.

As for our weekend in Wollongong, it was more than a walk on the beach!  A few of us went to the Buddhist temple Friday morning and wondered around the beautiful and peaceful grounds. The temple and all the buildings were incredible with the most exquisite detail. My favorite part were the little statues covering the gardens that resembled traditional happenings of Buddhist. They were so cute! Later that day, I went to my first professional rugby game! We watched the Dragons beat the Panthers! Watching a Rugby game made our American football look a little silly in comparison. Why do we wear pads?

Today has been an ‘assignment day’ as the Australians would call it. I have literally sat in my room and worked on homework all day. My eyes hurt from the mass of reading I completed. Surprisingly, I am more productive here than at IU. Even with a beach and tons of activities I still get everything done and completed early, strange.

Tomorrow we are taking the train up to Sydney at 7am to meet up with one of our friends to sail in Sydney Harbor! I can’t wait!

Australian Slang Lesson:

Heaps good = really good

Keen = you are into the idea

Ending a sentence with but, Instead of placing but in the front of a phrase you place it at the end…grammar appropriate? Absolutely not. 

Bucket list: Climb Mount Keira

Stepping out of my comfort zone of being scared of heights

“Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.” –Hal Holbrook

Staring out onto the city of Wollongong and the eternity of Pacific Ocean that lay in front of me was one of the most rewarding and thought inspiring things I have done while studying abroad. After hiking stair upon stair, climbing rocks and looking down in fear at the potential fall, the top of Mount Keira was all worth the rigor. Australia is absolutely breath-taking from every angle. 

To my back and surrounding the bustling city are towering blue mountains that lead the eye to the beautiful blues of the Pacific. When you think about where you are in the world and the vast sea that separates you from the rest of civilization, things are put into perspective very quickly. I’m sure with every mountain there is beauty to be seen, but my appreciation for the landscape around me grew that much more. It took about an hour and a half to reach the lookout and it was an intense trip. Rock climbing minus the ropes had me a little worried, but what is adventure without a bit of butterflies in the stomach? Branching out of my comfort zone one thing at a time! But…going down the climb was another story. Unfortunately, I made everyone take the road down which could have taken a couple hours to get to the bottom. Thanks to my trusty thumb we meet a lovely woman named Amanda that kindly took us to the bottom and my fate was redeemed with the group. We knew everything was safe when she asked Moses in the front seat to hold her purse.

The trip made for a lot of inside jokes and was well worth waking up on a Saturday morning. I have learned my lesson to face my fear and scale the climb down next time and to never step in a water runoff area. My poor shoes were covered in mud. I’m hoping to do the climb weekly, it’s a great exercise and so rewarding! Surprisingly most of the Australians I've talked to haven't done the climb, so maybe I'll be able to drag them for a climb with me sometime. Climbing Mount Keira can be crossed off my bucket list! I'm so excited we are doing so much over here! The girls are leaving me for a weekend in Brisbane, I gave them all my travel tips and they are going to have a fantastic time. Wish I could visit Fraser Island again! We booked all of our plans for spring break this week as well. Ten of us are heading to New Zealand for even more out of my comfort zone adventures! I simply can't get enough I suppose..We are renting camper vans aka 'spaceships' to travel around and get the most out of the landscape and national parks. Showers will be a hot commodity for the week :/ Wow never thought I would be comfortable saying that. We bought tickets to see USA vs. Italy in the World Cup! I'm so excited we get to go! The atmosphere in Nelson will be spectacular! The one thing I really want to do while there is a glacier hike, it sounds like the best thing ever. We are going whitewater rafting and jet boating for a few of the days as well. Before I get too ahead of myself, I have a little school work to complete. The time is flying while I'm over here. 

Skyping makes life so much easier to be away. But my next obstacle will be seeing all the girls back at my house come together for the semester and not being there to share the memories with them. Love you girls! I miss everyone so much, just hearing familiar voices from home gives me chills. I got a few letters this week which always makes me giddy :) Thanks for all your support! Can't tell you how much I appreciate your love! November 21st!

T for Tourist

The adventures never seem to cease down unda. Classes may have started but the beach continues to bring the Campus East community closer together with each sunny day. While Teter beach is a lovely IU legendary icon, I think this aspect of a coastal campus is really affecting my outlook. And learning about surfing is way cooler than watching imported sand volleyball! It is a great way we all get to relax and break away from the grind of uni life. I’m keen.

Last night we had a bonfire on the beach after eating at my new favorite place, the North Gong Pub. Best food ever…at least for the price! I think half of Campus East was there. And our great weekend was just warming up.

Today we woke up bright and early to catch the train to Sydney. We made it to Circular Quay and had a great stroll through the botanical gardens and the standard Opera house/bridge sighting. I’m sure the boys loved spending the day with tourists. Don’t worry, we made them join in the festivities of searching Paddy’s Market and taking cliché harbor pictures.

We made our way to Chinatown for a great lunch then Beth and I were off to Olympic Park to reenact the games! In comparison our 40 minute train ride was much quicker than my previous visit to the park. And once we made it our expressions and excitement could have been described as two kids in a candy store. The arenas and stadiums are massive, and to think that a city will spend years in planning and billions is fascinating to me. I discovered a new fountain and grass architecture area and the setting brought goose bumps to my skin. The scene of the sun setting over such a beautiful place is one that is a must ‘when in Sydney’ event.

We wanted to optimize our MyMultiDayPass and decided to travel home the same day. We had no idea what slap happy jokes and eye rolling fun we were about to experience. While waiting in Sydney Central, the train station announced a delay due to injury on the tracks. Our hearts sank instantly. Trains bother me to begin with, I will never come close to the white/yellow line but uhh the thought made me sick to my stomach. After several delays, station changes, and various transportation we made it home 3 hours after departing Sydney. We made it!

Productivity is at an all time high since coming home as well. I have all my homework complete for Monday, pictures are up, and the post is done! Tomorrow we are exploring the Wollongong Shopping Centre for the first time! J

Challenge Accepted

Journalism has presented its first challenge in Australia. Upon sitting in my classes last week, I realized everything is completely different than my accustomed thinking. I have been programmed by the first amendment and all the court cases I have read about are U.S. based. My legal and ethics course is eye-opening because I have never really thought about our policies as unique to the country. No I’m not the American stuck in her bubble that is just something that I am fascinated by studying abroad. It blows my mind to think about each country with their own government policies and rules, but at the end of the day we all work together as a world. Think about it J I have to attend court and report about it which could be interesting after studying American court proceedings. I also have to be published on wikinews for a high distinction credit. Wow! Awesome I feel like once I am published I’ll be tempted to write more and more to see if it makes the cut. But my new struggle now is what do I write about? Staying current in dorm life is a bit difficult, Newyorktimes.com? I miss the news at ten every night! My indigenous studies class is unreal! I’m loving every minute learning about all of their survival and life skills. To think that a civilization can survive in the Australian desert for thousands of years is absolutely remarkable. Aboriginals rock J

Obviously from the sounds of my amazement I’m loving classes so far, minus newsroom practice which I have quickly switched out. I’m starting to get to know more faces and people around Campus East and I’ve have turned into a beach bum. I love the waves! And I love the relaxed style of everything. I’m going to come back with a closet full of billabong and even more sun streaked hair. It’s making me rethink going to a landlocked school, but not really. I love IU! I would never leave J

We went out into town with a couple boys we met on the beach Saturday for dinner. Promise it wasn’t scary strangers mom! It was a great time and I learned my way around after we got lost several times trying to find the restaurant…locals? One of them is from Dala so this weekend we’re planning to go visit his family and they are going to teach us how to surf! I can’t wait!

Although I just talked about making friends here, it has become a challenge I've noticed to get close to people. While we are here and are having the time of our lives abroad, the UOW students are just living the typical college life. They are in relationships and have strong bonds with individuals already. I was talking with a person at dinner one night and they phrased it like this, "It's another crop of international kids coming in for the semester." Harsh but true. We come play for a brief period than leave the pieces behind. At IU we really don't have international students, so I can't say I've dealt with them. I can totally see where they are coming from though. Untouchables? Not quite. It's just another obstacle to work around. Don't worry this wasn't a negative rant or anything bad, just thinking out loud! 

The weather is getting nicer by the day thank goodness! It was 72 and sunny today...perfect for the beach! I have been checking my mail nearly 3x daily, the office workers probably love me…

Miss everyone so much! I can’t believe it is already August. Time is flying, soon I’ll be off for break then home for Thanksgiving! Does anyone have suggestions for places near/in Australia to visit? 

O-Week

The hustle of Sydney mixed with the stress of leaving my mom alone made the train platform goodbye have even more impact on my emotions. During the hour and a half ride to Fairy Meadow, I spent my time crying and being productive by writing postcards. I cry too easily!

Instincts kick in when you are thrown into a world outside of your comfort zone. I walked to my dorm and it was as if I stepped back into my freshman year, minus the 200 other Fishers kids that were swarming the IU campus. I settled myself into 88E and started the festivities of O-week. It’s much like welcome week at home. You can meet someone passing in the hall and all of the sudden you’re best friends. I’ve met some amazing people down here and I know in November I won’t want to leave them. Surprisingly there are heaps of Americans here (like my Australian lingo) J The friends I have made already make the separation of home and starting uni in Australia easier. We’re all going through it together, pulling us that much closer. And we joke but it’s sadly true…if we aren’t friends we don’t have friends! I love my little family.

Little bit about my dorm: So I live at Campus East and we all have different houses, kind of like how Teter has Rabb, Boison, etc. Our's have a tick more color to their names. They consist of Hospital, Slums, Trench town, and Alcatraz. And I live in the crazy life of Hospital. I told my mom I was living in Hospital our first night apart and it didn't go over too well. :) They live up to their name too. The first night here I was out and my toe nail came off. Hospital trip? Probably needed, but I went to mine instead. It's looking better already and the pharmacist said it was okay. Game On!

Beth losing the fight against wind at the beach

It rained all of O-week providing a great impression of Australia. We ventured to the beach after much persuasion from Beth and I to the others. Bonding time was at its best when we were greeted by a torrential downpour every couple of seconds and flooded fields. Once we got to the beach, the trip was worth the soaked clothes and salty rain. The waves were massive! If I had to imagine what hurricane waves look like, they were illustrated on Fairy Meadow beach. There were no breaks to the endless 3m waves crashing against the beach. The rips we learned about in a surf safety meeting the day before looked deadly and even floating would make it impossible for you to come out alive! But don’t worry we stayed at the top of the beach! J

The family and I have been on several mall adventures for any bargains we can find and any warm clothes that look enticing. At dinner one night with Beth we were talking to a girl about how cold it was here especially at night without a comforter. She felt so sorry for us that she managed to gather two comforters for us. Needless to say, I’m WARM! After that night of sleep I thought I could conquer anything! Why is Australia cold?

I had a three hour culture talk with a couple Australians the other night which was insightful. I learned that the khaki pants and shorts I brought are totally an American thing and we are the only ones that have school pride. I’m embracing it. Yes, I’m American, enjoy it! I like wearing my nikes everywhere and IU/UOW clothes. I’m learning so much I love it! I’m going to miss the techno my roommate blares at midnight and beach living. I was so worried when I was in Sydney that everyone always dressed so well and I wasn’t going to fit in. But my coastal UOW didn’t let me down, no shoes to class is standard. J Of coarse once its above 70 degrees…I miss summer!

Our first day of uni was yesterday! I feel like I’ll never be in class…hour lectures are too short to accomplish anything. No class on Tuesdays and three day weekends. I could get used to this! My aboriginal studies class seems really interesting. It’s taught by a real aboriginal and her passion will make it very meaningful.

I took my mom to the train station this morning. Now I’m really on my own over here! Leaving people is never something that I’m good at doing. I started to miss her before we left for Australia. And now everything has finally set in to place. I’m so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. Love everyone that is checking on me!

We’ve started to plan our New Zealand spring break trip. I can’t wait to see it! I’m thinking hot tropical places for our study break. I want to be brown when I come home!

Miss everyone! I know it took me forever to post again and I was scattered throughout this one, I’m a bit emotionally drained. November 21^st!

A Whale of a Time in Melbourne

Australia has turned into quite the wildlife adventure. The natural character of this country is extraordinary. The cities are busy commercialized metropolis’, but outside of the 100k seat footy stadiums and high rise buildings comes a world of its own.

In Queensland I saw wallabies, koalas, and the glory of the great barrier reef. Now in Melbourne (Victoria) we traveled to Phillip Island to see the penguins come in from the sea and while watching saw a humpback whale! After the little guys were tucked in bed for the night, we traveled to the Moonlit Animal Sanctuary to see what the nocturnal animals really do at night. We were immediately greeted by wallabies, kangaroos and some smaller versions alike. They were so soft and ate right out of our hands! Next we saw Tasmanian devils, a happily married couple, regardless of their vicious fighting over dinner. They are about the size of a small dog and might look like the perfect thing to cuddle up to, but that would be a huge mistake. They are pretty powerful creatures with teeth that can bite through bone! L We saw a few owls and birds then the betongs and possums. The possums came up for a free feed and we pet them without knowing they were wild and the bettongs were just along for the night. They looked like large rats/wallabies, but felt almost like koalas. I’m too partial to soft furry animals. I think I pet every one.

Melbourne was a great little city. I thought Europe had a lot to see in regards to churches, but Melbourne was quite impressive. St. Patrick’s Cathedral is situated at the edge of the skyscrapers. It is the oldest in Australia and the attention they took to detail while building was breathtaking. Gargoyles perch at every corners edge and window corner bringing character to the building. I want to get married in a church like that, it was awesome!

Today we flew back to Sydney for the day then I take the train to Wollongong for the semester! I’m excited to finally meet all my roommates and see what its going to be like. I am still in shock that I’m living here!

Already dreaming about seeing everyone when I get home J November 21^st. Miss you guys!