A Final Reflection

What a whirlwind.  I can’t believe it’s over.  This amazing journey has officially come to an end.  But that doesn’t mean that I won’t return to Australia.  It’s an amazing, unique, magical country that everyone should have the chance to see, and I look forward to sharing this experience again with the same people or with others.  Regardless, it’ll be fantastic.

I learned a lot while in Sydney.  Australian sports are downright vicious and drinking is a popular pastime.  Australian culture is relaxed, but not relaxed like American culture – it’s relaxed but much more sophisticated.  Australian individuals take their heritage very seriously.  If they’ve descended from convicts, they’re proud of it.  If they’ve descended from British soldiers, they aren’t necessarily proud of it, but they acknowledge it.  I’ve learned that I’m more of a leader than I’d previously thought, especially if no one else steps forward to take the lead.  I’ve also learned that I make friends easily, as long as I’m open to meeting new people.  That’s something I’ve always struggled with, and I’m proud to say that this dialogue helped me overcome that.

This experience has contributed to my leadership development.  It taught me that I have a lot to contribute, but if I don’t speak up, something important may not be said or noticed.  I think I’ve often chosen not to speak up because I could come across as bossy or nosy, but as I took on a leadership role in this dialogue, I don’t think anyone took away a negative impression of me.  I think I did take on a strong leadership role because I’ve had a great deal of travel experience and have an inherent sense of navigation at home and abroad.

On a less personal note, we learned a great deal about the respective healthcare systems.   Americans tend to be happy that waiting times are generally short, but are unsatisfied with the system overall.  The United States tends to focus its efforts on cures rather than prevention.  Australians tend to be happy with the universality of their system and are satisfied with the system overall.  Australia tends to focus its efforts on prevention rather than cures, and as a result, has an overall healthier population (though the burdens of various diseases are pretty comparable in both countries).

I’m sitting on my Southwest flight heading back to Florida.  There’s a young mother and her 2 year-old sitting next to me, and a friendly man with kids of his own at home.  This is a nice flight, and a pleasant way to travel after that 13-hour trek from Sydney.  We’re chatting, and at this moment, I’m really glad that I’m back in the States.  There are so many great adventures yet to come.

One of the brand new double-decker planes!  I traded my aisle seat for Zach's middle seat next to Lianne, Kate, and Amy, and it was worth it!  Glad it's over, though!

Last Day *tear*

I honestly cannot believe that our trip has come to an end.  Today was a great last day in Sydney!  We left the apartment to go to the Ship Inn for the CAPA lunch, and on our way, we met Darren Percival, runner-up of The Voice Australia, in the lobby!  He was so sweet!  He asked us each for our name, and shook each of our hands and said, “Nice to meet you, -insertnamehere-“.  He was so down to earth, and was just getting back from a morning talk show, so he was exhausted and looking forward to getting back to his room.  He also said that he really wants to visit Boston one day.  We’d go to one of his shows!  I wish we’d asked for a photo, but no one at home knows who he is anyway, so I’m the only one that really needs to remember, and I definitely will!

Lunch at the Ship Inn was delicious!  I ordered a Cajun chicken wrap, and the wrap was crispy while the filling was slightly spicy and tender.  I was pleased, and wanted more!  Following lunch, we headed to the water to take group photos, and then continued on to the national office of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.  The manager welcomed us and had a great deal to say about the service.  It’s a much bigger program than I thought – they have 61 aircrafts and make hundreds of thousands of trips each year!  And they don’t only respond to emergencies – they do weekly and monthly clinics in most of the small outback towns and provide check-ups and vaccines at no charge.  From there, we had a couple of hours free, so we wandered around The Rocks one last time.  We browsed the Rocks Discovery Museum, which is free and shows some of the history of the early days in The Rocks.  They had pottery and old tools and toys, and I enjoyed seeing some of the history.  We also window shopped, which was fun.  For dinner, Kathe and Mary took us to Phillip’s Foote, where we choose a cut of meat and grill it yourself!  I got a Sydney Cut, which seemed fitting, and it took forever to cook to my liking!  I took it off at just the right time, though – it was the teeniest bit pink on the inside, but still juicy.  There was also unlimited bread and salad (Grandma – I had beets, just like when I was little!).  We reminisced a bit, and Mary came over to our table and shared some of her hilarious stories – crazy homeless women, constipated dogs, etc.  It ended up being a really lovely day, and a great way to end this fantastic, truly memorable trip.

We’re staying up tonight so we can sleep on the plane tomorrow and get back on EST – watching movies, eating all our extra food, drinking coffee, etc.  I’ll be switching seats this time around to sit with Kate and Lianne (hopefully the seating will work out so we can be in the same row)!  Returning home will be nice.  A month is a long time to be so far away, but I wouldn’t have traded this month for anything.  I loved every bit of this trip.

Lunch at the Ship Inn (Sarah, me, Lianne, Kate, Bridgette, Kara)

All 30 of us in one photo - wow!

A little shopping arcade

The Rocks Discovery Museum

The Rocks Discovery Museum (original foundation)

The Rocks Discovery Museum

Cute restaurant on the harbor in The Rocks (we didn't eat here)

The cruise ship terminal and clock tower in The Rocks

Shadow of the bridge on the opera house

Grilling our dinner

And so here comes the finale..

Today was very full!  We had two classes today, but now we're done!  We had another government and politics lecture in the morning, but I enjoyed this professor's lecture much more than last week's!  He was a pretty funny person, which definitely helped me focus!  During our second class, we presented again in our groups.  We each summarized one of our previous lectures, so my group and I reiterated a lot of what we learned in the Aboriginal art lecture.  Overall, it was a pretty easy day, just very long!

This evening, we watched the finale of The Voice Australia, and it was so great!  (SPOILER ALERT!!) Karise Eden won, and I'm so glad she did!  She did some beautiful renditions of "Hallelujah" and "Landslide", two of my favorite songs!  The show must've had a mature following, since the two "pop-est" artists came in 3rd and 4th.  If we were back at home, I'm sure the results would have been reversed!  It's really interesting...

I also started my packing today, which is quite a bummer.  I honestly can't believe this past month has flown by so quickly.  I've done so much, though, and have no regrets!  I'm looking forward to writing a reflective summary of my trip in the upcoming days, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you all!

Namaste (the light that shines within in me shines also in you)

Today was a pretty laid back day, but great nonetheless!

I finally finished A Town Like Alice yesterday, so I spent this morning finishing my book report.  Around 1, Lianne and I left for Bondi Beach to go to the Bondi markets and to take a Hatha yoga class!  When we got to Central, we saw that the train was leaving in 3 minutes, so we RAN to the platform and got on just in time!  Quite some time passed.  Station after station.  Twenty minutes later, I began to think that we might've gotten on the wrong train.  I waited a couple more stops, and then decided to ask.  There was a woman with a stroller, so I decided she was safe to ask.  People with babies tend to be pretty nice, right?  She was!  She said that we were on the right track, but going in the wrong direction!  She told us to get off in two stops (at Hurstville!) and go in the opposite direction.  So... we ended up seeing a lot of the Sydney suburbs!  There was a lot of graffiti, and the tracks reminded me of those of the commuter rail to Providence.  By the time we actually got to Bondi Beach, we had travelled for two hours!  That said, it did take us even longer the first time we tried to get there!

In Bondi, we rushed over to the Bondi Beach Markets, and they were adorable, as all the outdoor markets in Sydney are!  I got a couple goodies for some people at home, and really enjoyed browsing.  All of the clothing stalls had some beautiful pieces, and I wish I could've brought them all home!  The fashion here is really, really nice.  We only had a few minutes there because we had to go to the other side of the beach to get to the Bondi Icebergs.  The complex was so nice!  There was a pool that was filled with seawater as the waves flowed into it, a gym, and a sauna.  There was a platform overlooking the ocean where we set up our mats and did our practice.  The instructor was great, even though he said he was new!  It turned out to be more of a vinyasa-based class than I was expecting, which I'm happy with!  I love vinyasa yoga!  As we went through our downward dogs and warriors, the waves crashed into the rocks below us.

After yoga, we walked along the beach and then browsed some of the shops along Bondi Road.  On our way back to the apartment (it really only took about 45 minutes...), we saw a woman on the train with HUGE hair and decided that it was big because it was full of secrets (Mean Girls, anyone?).  There was also a hippie Australian couple that struck up a conversation with a Brit who recently moved here.  They asked about his tattoos and how he was liking Australia so far.  The guy of the couple had also recently moved here, and the girl was Aussie-born.  People here really are quite friendly, and I'm not really looking forward to the frank, bustling people in Miami and Boston.  We headed back to the apartment to catch the finals of The Voice Australia, and the show was great!  I don't know who I want to win because they're all so talented!!

Sunset at the end of class (facing east)

Can't believe this is where I took class!  So beautiful!

The seawater pool with Bondi Beach in the background

The Bondi Icebergs complex

Dancing, Australian Healthcare, Dim Sum, and More Chocolate Mousse

Last night, we went to The Colombian in Darlinghurst.  The music was really fun, and we had a great time dancing to it!  The entire night cost me $2.80, and that was all because of the cab ride back.  I’m all for cheap nights out!  There was a creeper that we got kicked out, but also a squirrely guy who danced all noodle-like all night alone.  Sarah took one for the team and danced with him for a minute and it was hilarious!  We also talked with a young man from Turkey, and he had some interesting things to say.  Darlinghurst is the gay community in Sydney, so the bar was “gay-friendly” and had a completely different vibe than the couple of bars/clubs I’ve seen and been to.  I think a lot of it had to do with the music, because I knew most of the songs and they were upbeat and easy to dance to.  We didn’t stay out all too late, but later than I would’ve liked.  I can’t say I had a bad time, though!

This morning, we headed down to Kathe and Mary's room to meet one of Mary's friends who lives in Canberra.  We learned about her perspective of Australian healthcare as a patient.  She’s been in, around, and through the system a number of times, and it was great hearing what she thought of it.  And entire hospital stay could only cost a patient a few hundred dollars!  I can’t believe it!  She was pretty happy with the system, but knows that the waitlist can be a pain for people who need procedures, no pun intended.

Afterwards, the five of us headed to The Marigold for a dim sum lunch.  Sarah had assured us that it would be around $10pp, but it turned out to be $20pp.  We were astonished and pretty bothered that it was twice what we’d planned to spend.  The food was really good though – we had a green vegetable (not entirely sure what it was…), sticky rice in banana leaves, chicken curry pies, noodles, spinach and mushroom dumplings, a coconut and red bean pudding/jello and tea.  I was happy that we went, but would’ve much preferred a cheaper option.

Afterwards, Kate, Lianne, Sarah, and I went back to the Sydney Tower to meet up with Lianne’s cousin, who also happens to be in Sydney.  She was really sweet, and we had a good time sharing everything we’ve done so far in Sydney.  The bartender was really nice too!  He kmade drinks that weren’t yet on the menu, that are supposed to be added in two weeks!  Kate and I shared the chocolate mousse again, and it was just as fantastic this time around!

"You're never 'just a' anything! Remember that!"

Today, we got up early and headed to Darling Harbor for the Cancer Council's City Mile Dash, where we volunteered until 2:15.  I started at the entrance, where we greeted runners and directed them to the registration tent.  We met some interesting people - a bus driver who we talked to for a while and liked until he made some racist comments, a woman who was biking with her son, who said they'd come back if her son was awake from his nap in time, and a man who had a really cuddly and friendly dog, who passed by twice.  The event itself was pretty big, but a bit of a mess.  Everyone seemed to be in charge of everything, but no one seemed to tell us the same thing, so we were pretty lost as to what to actually do.  During the actual event, I was stationed at the start line with Marissa.  We had to keep everyone in straight lines of approximately ten, but that proved a bit harder than you would think.  The whistle went off every ten seconds, and the runners were never told exactly what to do before approaching the start line.  So they stepped on the mat, which started their individual timer before they actually started running.  And they didn't stay in the groups that the man ahead of us was ushering them into.  The race only lasted 45 minutes or so by the time everyone crossed.  There were kids, celebs, groups dressed in costumes, a bootcamp group, an amputee who raced in a handbike, all sorts of people!  At our Cancer Council talk, they were saying that businessmen raced in their suits, but I didn't see anyone wearing one.  Fairly disappointing..

After the race, we picked up some shirts and goodie bags and snacks, and then Kate, Lianne, and I headed to the more central part of Darling Harbor.  On the way, we passed a couple who was wondering where we got the tote bags, and asked about the City Mile Dash.  We told them about the event and how we are students from Boston (they sounded British), and how we were just volunteers and didn't actually race.  The woman told us to never say that we were just anything.  We were GREAT volunteers!  She was so sweet!  We continued on and walked through an absolutely precious park/promenade with junglegyms and a lot of families.  We made our way to Paddy's, where Kate and I each bought a duffle bag to carry home the things we bought!  Lianne also bought a really cute dress! This time around, we were prepared for what Paddy's actually was, so we weren't as taken aback as we were last time!

When we got back to the apartment, I realized just how tired I was!  I sat down for a while, and when I got up, my legs were shaking!  I hadn't sat at all from about 9:15 to 4 or so, and a lot of that time was spent jumping up and down, cheering for people at the race!

Tonight, we're going out with Sarah, because she hasn't had a "night out" yet.  I don't really want to go, but feel that it's my duty as a suitemate.  The rest of the apartment's going, and so is Kate.  I'm really full, and I've already had a lot of water, so if I can get away with buying/consuming absolutely nothing, I'll be happy.

Is there anything better than a great chai?

This morning, we headed downstairs to meet up before heading out to PhysioGym.  While waiting, we saw Ben Hazlewood come into the lobby!  He's another of the The Voice Australia contestants, but he was eliminated in the last episode.  I liked him, though!  I wanted to say something, but he was talking on his phone and I didn't want to interrupt.  I did send him a facebook message, though!  Is that weird? Probably...

The talk at PhysioGym was really interesting!  PhysioGym is trying to bridge the gap and invest in the people walking through the door.  Matthew Squires said, "I'll give you the path, but you're the solution," and I completely agree!  The person definitely needs to be committed to making a change before any change will occur.  He continued on to explain that PhysioGym is trying to get the physiotherapists to do more than just fix the injury, because there's more to it than that, and it aims to manage lifestyle changes instead just the pain.  It aims to create a solution based upon creating the right opportunity for success and it invests in the patient's desire to find and maintain their own solution.

After the meeting, Lianne and I headed to the Royal Botanic Gardens to walk around and see Mrs. Macquarie's Chair at sunset.  Mrs. Macquarie was the wife of Lachland Macquarie, former governor of NSW.  A chair was carved out of rock at the place where she most enjoyed watching the sunset, so it was really nice to see!  There, we saw a group of American middle school students from Florida and Texas.  It was interesting - they were so loud!  They were also preteens, which could've contributed to the noise haha.

From T2, the tea shop we went into yesterday!  This is the phrase I live by.  This is my store!

Australian Native Rockery at the Royal Botanic Garden

Mrs. Macquarie's Chair

Class, Presentations, Charades, Red Rover and Wrestling

So. Today this evening has been a massive game of charades.  And rugby is a massive game of red rover and wrestling combined.  And it just so happens that the players come straight from the Hunger Games books.  They're warriors, and I can't believe we're watching this.  It's really entertaining, and I must say I've laughed, even though they're beating each other up.  Is that a sin?  There was one point when five different people tried to get the ball but missed.  Then, a NSW players picked it up and ran back to his side of the field, but was intercepted by one of the goal posts!  I need to find a recap of that on YouTube to share with you all, and to keep for my own sake!

Regarding charades, I was trying to tell Kate that the woman who sang the national anthem of Australia for the game sounded like a Disney princess, specifically the one from Tangled.  But I couldn't come up with "Rapunzel" or "Tangled", so tried to sign long hair!  The message got across.  Then, I was trying to tell her that these warrior players reminded me of vikings.  So I said "Norway" and "hats with horns".  She got the idea.  We're on the same wavelength, and I'm having trouble finding my words!  You'd think that I was one of these rugby players, who have probably suffered dozens of concussions!

The beginning of the day was relatively uneventful.  We had a three hour class on government and politics.  It started out with a lot of info that we'd already learned, and after that, into the government and politics aspect.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not at all interested in government or politics, so this class was a bit difficult for me.  On top of that, I was thinking about my presentation on physical inactivity, which actually ended up going pretty well.  I've gotten a lot of speaking and presenting practice so far in college, which I'm really grateful for.  We hardly had any in high school, and I desperately needed it!

After class and presentations, Kate, Lianne and I headed over to the Queen Victoria Building and browsed.  We stopped in a tea shop called T2, and sampled some teas, which were delicious!  The shop itself was also adorable and very chic - all black with bright boxes and hundreds of teacups and saucers everywhere!  I loved it!  On the way home, we also stopped into a very cute cupcake shop, and I got a raspberry one with buttercream frosting.  The cake was fruity and really unique, so I was pleased!

Aboriginal Art Lecture

I slept in today, and I feel so rested!  We started our group presentations at 1:30 on the ACU campus, and I mailed some postcards on the way there.  We didn't complete the presentations, so my group and two others will be going after our class tomorrow.

Today's class was on Aboriginal art, and it was so interesting!  There's a huge diversity in Aboriginal art, which I noticed when shopping for some of my own!  I personally like the dot painting most, but also ran across paintings with long strokes and solid patches of color.  These had very blunt images of fish and other animals, unlike the dot paintings, that view scenes from a birds-eye view.  There are three major themes in Aboriginal art: continuity of Aboriginal cultures, beliefs, and art; connection to land, ancestors, and each other; and diversity of cultures, land, and art.  The art may be made for political, social, utilitarian, or educational purposes, and for practice and fun, was often drawn in the dirt.  When Aborigines began to sell their work, they painted over the important, sacred parts of the story depicted, so there are often cloud shapes in parts of the canvas as if a bird is looking through clouds and can only see part of the landscape.  Recently, the Copyright Onsale Law was passed so that the Aboriginal artists received royalties each time their work is sold or re-sold.  We also learned some about the symbolism in the aerial paintings - concentric circles represent watering holes or campsites, and we saw various tracks depicted in the paintings.

I was a bit bothered after class, since my group had planned to debrief after the lecture, since it's the one that we'll be presenting on next week.  Rachel and I waited in the lobby outside of the classroom, only to realize that the other two members of the group had already left... I really like to get my work done early, and it's difficult to work with people who prefer to save work for the last minute.  I guess we have to compromise! That's easier said than done, though, considering that some people forget about meetings... (sorry for the rant..)

We don't have anything else planned for the day.  I'm going to read more of A Town Like Alice, and hopefully finish it in the next couple of days so I can write my book report.  I want to do it while it's wet outside.. the sun will be coming out on Thursday, and we'll hopefully make up our trip to the botanical gardens soon!

Tours, Trekking, and Talks

This morning, Sarah and I got up at the crack of dawn and headed out to take a tour of the Opera House!  Because it’s the Queen’s birthday (kind of… it’s only celebrated today), there was NO traffic, and we got to Circular Quay in 15 minutes by bus.  We arrived early and meandered around the building.  The tour ended up being pretty good!  We toured the drama stage, concert hall and dance hall and got some history behind the construction of the building.  The view from the inside of the building was awesome, and I’m so glad I got that unique perspective.  It was a really rainy day (the wettest in Sydney in the past five years!), so it was nice to spend the first hour indoors!  After the tour, I got a discounted chai latte and brownie.  Then, we headed out and did some shopping in The Rocks.  I did some serious damage, but I’m really happy with all of my purchases!  We went back to the Studio Café at the Opera House for discounted lunch, and it was delicious!  I got a chicken, lettuce, tomato, and mustard mayo panino with a small salad and it really hit the spot!  Afterwards, we headed to Pitt Street to do some more shopping.  On the way there, two small parrots were chilling in an outdoor seating area of a restaurant.  No one else seemed to make any deal of it, but Sarah and I were amazed!  They let us so close that I was tempted to hold out my finger, but didn’t want to lose it in the process.  A British family came by and held their fingers out, and they were bit… suppose I should’ve warned them, but they were fine!  We went up Pitt Street and walked through Strand Arcade, which was gorgeous!  There were very classy boutiques in there, and Sarah and I stopped into the oldest hat store in the country.  There were dozens of jewelers and fashion boutiques as well!  Afterwards, we got to the Westfield mall and then to the Queen Victoria Building, which was also beautiful!  We browsed and finally made it to a toy store, which I’d been looking for!  We didn’t get back until 4:30, so we had a really full day!  Then, my group got together to finalize everything for our presentation on physical inactivity tomorrow.  Afterwards, we watched The Voice Australia, and Rachael made it through to the finals!

We spoke with two Aussies today!  The first was at the Opera Kitchen, where Sarah got her coffee and I got my chai and brownie.  She asked where we were from and we told her Boston.  She said she’s a huge Boston Eagles fan!  Funny… I don’t even know what sport that is…?  The second woman worked in the opal store that we stopped in for Sarah.  We had a long conversation about Australia and the States.  She asked me how I found Sydney, and what I was studying here and in Boston.  I told her that Sydney’s expensive, and she said that her sister agrees!  Her sister lives in Raleigh.  We spoke about PT and Australian culture, and she said that since the American dollar became weaker a couple years back, fewer and fewer Americans were stopping in her store.  She had some really beautiful items in there.  One of the necklaces was going for AUD$12,000!  I can’t imagine how anyone would pay that king of money for a rock!

The Sydney rooster!

Allianz Stadium

Banners

Main concert hall in the Sydney Opera House.  This is the view from the VIP box, where the Queen sits!

Chicken panino and potato gnocchi.

Strand arcade.

“Everybody dance now… (duh, duh, duhduh, duh, duh, duhduh)”

Today was much less busy than yesterday, but it was still really great!  Around 2, the five of us headed out to Allianz Stadium to see the Sydney Roosters play rugby against the Bisbane Broncos.  We (Sydney) lost, but it was still a really entertaining game!  Rugby players are vicious!  They will do everything in their power to keep that ball or take it away from the opposing team.  We were pretty close, but I’m surprised that I didn’t see any blood!  And the players are HUGE!  I’m definitely glad that I had the experience of going to a real Australian sport game.  On the way back from the game, we rode up the elevator with Rachael Leahcar, one of the contestants on The Voice Australia.  It seems like most of the contestants are staying here at the Meriton.  We were too shy and awkward to say anything, but we’re going to write notes and ask the front desk to deliver them to her.  Now a bunch of us are getting together for a potluck!  I'm so excited!

An adorable cafe that we stopped in on the way to the Australian Heritage Museum!

Australian Heritage Museum

Swim caps!

Swim trunks!

Wool bathing suits from the 1910s!

Olympic pool!  This is also where some of "Swimming Upstream" was filmed!

Just a bit creepy, yeah?

Walking underneath the bridge.

View from the bridge!

See the Sydney Tower?  We were there!

Aborigine playing the didgeridoo!

My delicious curry!  Also drank 3-4 glasses of water because of the spice!