Cute Australian men playing sport.

Bondi Beach!

It's crazy how these things come to be.

Cherry mania and nutella-hazelnut.

Coogee to Bondi Walk

This morning, we headed out to Coogee Beach as a group to do a coastal walk from there to Bondi Beach.  Coogee Beach was more beautiful than I can say.  Instead of sitting on the boardwalk, I jumped down and headed to the water with a few other people.  There was an area that was eaten away by the water flow, which created valleys and streams that filled and emptied with the tide.  The water was clear, and the colors of the rocks were every color imaginable.  I didn’t bring my camera down, but some people were kind enough to take photos of me, and I’ll steal a couple of the other photos from facebook!  Along the path, there were birds, spiders, mosaics, sandstone, a cemetery, and of course stunning lookouts!  We followed a sailboat along the coast and watched some surfers ride the waves.

When we reached Bondi, we debriefed with Mary and Kathe, and then headed up the beach to a restaurant along the boardwalk.  In the spirit of the beach, I got fish and chips with tartar sauce.  Then we got some ice cream before heading back to the bus stop to go home.

I don’t have a ton to write about, but it really was a beautiful day.  It was one of those “you had to be there” things…

Classes and Reflection

Today we arrived early to campus to get in touch with home, and then we began our first three-hour class of the trip.  We spoke about cultural differences between Australia and the U.S. and our different sayings.  Basically everything we’ve observed so far.  We wrote postcards home as part of an in-class assignment, so that should arrive in about a week or so, mom and grandma!  I’ll probably hang around campus for most of the day… I don’t have anything major planned, and I’d like to get a good bunch of work done.    I’ll be doing a presentation on indigenous art at the end of the trip as an assignment for today’s lecturer.  Indigenous art is one area that I’ve been looking forward to learning more about, so I’m really excited to present on it!  After class, I took a little personal time to reflect, which I needed.  I’m used to working alone most of the time, so it’s been difficult always being around someone.

Sorry for the short post, but that’s about it for today!  Hope you’re all doing fantastically!

Museum of Contemporary Art and The Rocks

G’day mate!

After much debate over what to do yesterday, we decided to take the bus up to The Rocks and walk around a little.  We found a precious café in the heart of the area, and considering its location, it was reasonably priced.  I had a delicious chai latte and a butternut pumpkin soup (photos to follow)!  We then headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which housed some really unique pieces!  It was a pretty small museum, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!  It also had a roof deck, which overlooked the harbor, including the bridge and the opera house!  From there, we did a little window shopping and we watched the harbor light up in preparation for tonight’s festival.  At six, we went on a tour of The Rocks.  It was so interesting!  The Rocks area of the city acted as a prison because it’s a peninsula and only had to be guarded on one side.  Recently, archaeologists have uncovered some of the ruins of the old city, which are really only 200 years old, but we saw them and it was quite unbelievable!  Right there in the middle of the city!  It’s called the Big Dig, so we told the tour guide of Boston’s Big Dig… not the same thing!  We also heard of a bank robbery from way back.  The convicts had built the town’s bank, so they clearly knew how to break into it!  It’s funny that no one had thought that would happen.  Apparently they dug upwards from the sewers and grabbed approximately $20 million.  It’s said that some of it may still be buried somewhere under the city… now wouldn’t that be nice!  At the end of the tour, we got a great view from the tallest hill in the city, and it’s beautiful!  We headed back and ate dinner and had a good day. :)

Another note: The other day, when we were listening to the people at the Cancer Council speak, I didn't even notice the Australian accents.  Go me!

Currency for the Blind

After we fumbled with the Australian currency in the grocery store yesterday, the checkout clerk told us that the coins and bills were different sizes and shapes so that people with impaired or no vision can differentiate between them.
I love these people.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH US AMERICANS?!

Central station on a pretty day.

The shops at North Bondi.

South shore of North Bondi.

There's no graffiti in Sydney except for this artistic stuff.  But seriously... there's a helpline so people can report graffiti.

North shore of North Bondi.

Boardwalk!

And sunset commences!

Cancer Council logo is a daffodil because it's a sign of hope after a long winter.

Crab racing.  Need I say more?

Physiotherapy, Cancer Council, Crab-Racing, and Tim-Tams

Yesterday was packed with activities!  In the morning, the PT students met with Meg Stuart of the physiotherapy department at ACU.  She told us all about ACU’s program, and was interested in learning more about ours!  For anyone who’s interested, ACU’s program is a 4-year Bachelor’s program that costs a mere $7,400 per year, which is about 1/5 of Northeastern’s tuition.  Tuition is only a small portion of the school’s funding because it’s Commonwealth-funded (or a state school).  Also, physiotherapist’s starting wage is approximately the same as ours will be… except they won’t be in debt!  During the first of the four years, students observe PT practice as part of the curriculum.  This builds up and in the fourth year, students perform 900 hours of clinical practice.  Unlike in the U.S., physiotherapists need to re-register each year, which requires continued education and continued practice.  Also unlike in the U.S., there are no board exams for PTs.  Upon graduation, they are considered competent enough to perform physiotherapy.  This is because there is a series of assessments throughout the curriculum when working physiotherapists assess students performance and can pass them to the next level.  If one assessment is failed, the student cannot move on to the next level until that assessment is passed.  In Australia, there are about twenty post-graduate specializations including acupunture, dry-needling, and animal PT, and in order to obtain a specialized Master’s degree, the student must teach and compile research to be published.

In the afternoon, we met with Cancer Council, which is an organization throughout Australia that performs cancer research and supports patients and families who are affected by cancer.  It was extremely interesting to hear from the different departments of the organizations!  They’ve collected $16 million for research, and it seems that their personal research has been pretty successful!  They’re looking into the effect of vitamin B3 for protecting against skin cancer, and it’s currently in stage two.  They also served afternoon tea, which was adorable!  Coffee, tea, orange juice, lemingtons, fruit, and a coconut biscuit cookie thing that was delicious.  Lianne, Kate, Kara and I walked back from the Kings Cross area and got to know the city a little more.  We also passed the most delicious looking bakery.

In the evening, some of us went to Scubar to watch their world-famous crab racing.  It wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was probably one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever seen!  People basically put a few dollars in to name one of fourteen hermit crabs.  The crabs were released, and the people who bet on the first three crabs to get to the edge of a circular platform won prizes.  Ridiculous entertaining, and all I had to drink was a coke!

It was pouring on the way home, so some of us took a taxi when we realized we weren’t going to find the right bus station.  When I got back, Lianne and Kate and I indulged in TIM-TAM-SLAMMERS!  Delicious.  For those who don’t know, tim-tams are chocolate-covered wafer cookies that taste like kit-kats.  You bite off two opposite corners and use it like a straw for some sort of hot beverage.  If it works correctly, the inside melts really quickly and you pop the cookie in your mouth before it falls apart.  We had so much fun, and the three of us went through an entire box!

It's a Meh Day.

Sadly, today was less eventful than yesterday.  As great as being spontaneous was yesterday, I think we need to start planning further in advance.  And dressing warmer.

Around 2, we set off to find the Bondi Beach Markets.  Transport took until about 3:30.  We arrived and walked down to the beach.  It was gorgeous.  No market.  We walked around, saw a young man playing soccer with his pitbull/boxer, and took some photos.  We window-shopped and Lianne and Sarah bought a couple pieces of clothing.  We took a bus back to a mall we’d passed so we could get some warmer clothing for cheap.  We bought milkshakes at Pie Face.  I got chocolate, Lianne got strawberry, Kara got caramel, and Sarah got a diet coke and pot pie.  We took the train back to Central and then caught a bus.  The trains here are really nice.

Snacked for dinner.  Tired now.  Perhaps this is when that mood/emotion graph dips down a bit.  Culture shock/homesickness?  I’m not homesick, but it’s frustrating that an entire day was eaten up by public transport.  I guess Aussies are patient with both the transportation system and the internet, as it takes about an hour to upload each of these blog posts.

Hope I can report back with a bit more chipper news tomorrow!  Will post some beach photos when I’m on the ACU campus tomorrow.

LESSON OF THE DAY: Plan ahead.  Dress warm.  Get out early.

Noted.

Out and About on Day 4

Prepare yourselves for a fairly lengthy post.  Yesterday was by far the most exciting day yet!

In the afternoon, the four of us met Marissa and we took the bus up to Darling Harbour to go to Paddy’s Market.  Paddy’s and Paddington Markets sound like they would be the same market, yea?  No.  Darling Harbour was precious, don’t get be wrong, but Paddy’s Market ended up being indoors (it was an absolutely gorgeous day and we wanted to go outdoor-market-hopping…or let’s say market-crawling, since another group decided to go bar-crawling) and the market honestly looked like one giant warehouse full of New York City street vendors.  Tacky apparel, crafts, and souvenirs shipped just over the sea from China, and no produce in sight.  After briefly walking up and down one aisle, we ran out of there.  Not our idea of “market”.  We found our way to a bus and took one up to The Rocks/Circular Quay area.  After asking multiple information booths for directions (“i” is the universal symbol for “information”, thank goodness) we found our way to the most adorable outdoor market I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t Paddington Markets, which we soon found out were in Paddington, go figure, but there were hand-made clothing and jewelry vendors, people making lunch (Lianne and I got chicken skewers with rice and tzaziki sauce…“When in Australia…”), all sorts of Aboriginal crafts, a specialty honey store (with free samples!), a miniature cupcake booth, and other just really unique and truly creative things.  I stopped and talked with one of the jewelers at her booth – she had some beautiful pieces made from Australian stones – and she was so sweet!  She offered to make me a custom piece in my price range and gave me her card so I could come to her studio.  She also had some very affordable turquoise pieces, which everyone who knows me well knows that I love!

On the way to this market in The Rocks, we all stopped in an authentic Aboriginal art store and I purchased a pillow that was designed by an indigenous woman.  The tag explains the meaning behind the pattern and shows a photograph of the woman, which makes it much more meaningful and personal.  The store also had boomerangs and didgeridoos, and I’ve seen hundreds of them since being here, and hope to find the perfect ones before leaving.  It sold housewares and decorations and cloth with aboriginal designs so you can make your own things.  I could’ve spent all day in there.  The owners were really nice as well.  We all agreed that we’re definitely going back!

We also noticed that just about every souvenir store sells male kangaroo parts.  It’s bizarre, and none of us understand.  We’re thinking they’re the Australian version of rabbit’s feet?  I really should ask someone and maybe I’ll understand and possibly appreciate it more.  But we did bond with two women when they overheard us talking about how weird it was.  One of them said she couldn’t convince her husband not to buy one, poor woman.

When the market came to an end, we were all devastated (literally, because it was that great!).  We walked around The Rocks a bit and spontaneously decided to hop on a ferry to Manly (my idea!  I love doing things like that).  It was 4:30, so the sun was setting, and I think we got a tour of the harbour at the very best time.  We grabbed Manly pamphlets and chose a restaurant to have dinner at.  We walked all the way across the Manly peninsula, which really only took ten minutes, and had a great time walking along the beach to the restaurant.  We jokingly said the five of us should have a romantic moonlit picnic on Manly Beach.  The walk there reminded me a great deal of Lincoln Road at home… there were palm trees along the middle of the road with the same kinds of shops lining either side, the road was made of the same kind of stone, and there were hotels and offices above each of the stores.  Dinner was delicious, though a little pricey.  As it turned out though, we paid for both dinner and entertainment.  Towards the end of our meal, a woman walked straight into a pane of glass next to our table.  Our assumption is that Aussies start early on the weekends, seeing as it was only 7pm or so.  I felt awful, but we couldn’t stop laughing.  We bonded with the people who were sitting opposite the pane of glass, since the woman left a smudge that both tables were looking at, thus bringing our eyes together.  Poor woman.  I hope she’s okay!  On the ferry back, we passed the opera house, which had an art piece projected onto one side of it.  I would have preferred seeing it lit from all sides, but it was interesting!  The entire harbour was lit!  Each building had a different interactive projection with sound.  It was quite a thing to see!

We took the bus back here to Waterloo, and realized that this transit system is really quite unreliable.  We waited 50 minutes for our bus, which ended up being 20 minutes late.  We passed our time by watching a little girl, who was probably about 2, watch Dora the Explorer on her dad’s iPhone.  Adorable!  And her dad seemed like a pretty great dad too.  They sang together and we talked a little at the station and on the bus.  Aussies are so nice!  I want to go out of my way to speak with more of the locals.

We’re planning on cooking chicken stir-fry this evening for dinner to help offset the cost of last night’s dinner.  I’ll let you all know how it turns out!

Lianne and Kara on the ferry.

Sunset from the harbour.

The really cute bar attached to our restaurant.

Where we ate.

Art projected onto the opera house.  It was a video.  Possible live.

Vivid Sydney advertisement.

Photo Update!

The internet cafe with delicious fresh squeezed orange juice and chai lattes.

Our local grocery store.

Some of the houses around our apartments.

It's autumn again!

One of those wacky birds.

More houses!

A park we passed on the way to lunch.

The restaurant/hotel/bar where we ate pizza.

The famous kangaroo pizza.  Not my favorite.

The Sydney Opera House from the lookout point.

The view of the bridge as we continued on.

There's the pizza place again!

Setting up for Vivid Sydney.  Giant TIC-TAC-TOE board!

So gorgeous!

Now with me. :)  Thanks, Megan.

Just chillin' by the Opera House.  No big deal.

Can't believe we're in such a pretty place.

 

One of many views.

Downtown Sydney!