before i hit the waves...

Hi!  Another week of school has passed and I’m getting ready for SURF CAMP! (thanks grandma and poppop).  This week, I’ve done a LOT of reading and not nearly enough exploring.  I also did my first 6-dollar load of laundry (ouch).  The dollar here is essentially the same as an American dollar, which is no fun.  I really enjoyed getting 86 cents to their one dollar when I arrived.  Tuesday night was the start of classes for the week and I can proudly say I can now sit through my 3 hour lectures…complete with playing games with Sophie and passing notes…7^th grade anyone? 

On Wednesday, we had another field trip…this time to the Australia Museum (their version of the Natural History Museum).  After going through a really boring exhibit on Aboriginal people, Grant and I went into a special exhibit called “Face to Face” about monkeys!  We watched a movie about monkeys and the dangers against them in Australia and then went into a dark room where huge facial portraits of monkeys hung on the walls with spotlights on them.  Each one had a story under them with their name, age and details about their life journey.  It was amazing.  Then, we saw the biggest golden nugget ever discovered in Australia (not that impressive) and skeletons of whales, giraffes, elephants and more.  I LOVED it…major nerd moment!  Then, more class that night and another family dinner…SCHNITZEL (for the German) and salad (alla gabs dressing).  

Today (Thursday) was yet another HORRIBLE day of constant class.  However, knowing that the torture was coming I embraced the morning and went to the pool in Victoria Park and swam till I could no longer swim.  Then, I laid out and tanned while studying for my brand advertising quiz (I LOVE a country where you can lay out at 9:30 AM and get BROWN…still no sunburn!).  

In the middle of class (in the Harry Potter school), we heard RAIN...serious thunder and all.   Our walk home was WET to say the least; but, when we got to the clearest part of the park on the way back the sky illuminated with what looked like 5-8 lightening veins.  It was the coolest thing I have ever seen.  It made me thankful I didn't have an umbrella for this summer storm so I didn't miss the view.  

After HOURS of class (literally 8) we came home and made pasta and meatballs along with everyone and their mom in the communal kitchen.  Now, we are all hanging out in TED and GRANT’s room (bc they are roommates now).  

Next post will be from me as a professional surfer (if it's not raining two hours from here)! (OK, so maybe that’s an exaggeration.)  PEACE OUT GIRL SCOUT!  Xoxo gabs              

i heart sydney

‘Ello Mates! (Finally, I know!)

            I am COMPLETELY in love with this country and have a hard time staying in; hence why this post is so delayed.  Luckily my travel companion, Marisa, keeps a VERY detailed journal and could remind me of what we have been up to.  So here goes it:

            Last Sunday, our little family ditched the group tours again for some self-guided exploration.  We went to Hyde Park where there is a huge monument and building dedicated to Anzac war survivors.  The park is small with shallow pool and flower arrangements that form pictures when you look at them from overhead.  We then walked through the park to the Hyde Park barracks where we looked at an old prison.  They have many artifacts saved because rats had been stealing from the people over the years and hiding possessions under the floorboards.  They even had a Fanta soda can; I had no idea soda cans were so old!  The best part of the museum, to me, was the children’s guest book on the way out.  Two of the best entries were 1. A drawing of a man with a ball and chain on his ankle saying “I am CONVICT” and 2. “I like milk.”  After this we went to the Botanical Gardens.  The park is insanely huge filled with dozens of types of flora and fauna as well as unique animals.  We laid on grass that was the spongiest ever; we still talk about it.  The coolest sights in the park were thousands of bats sleeping in the trees (they are so restless and occasionally go for a quick flight, possibly sleep-flying?) and the eels in one of the ponds.  At the bottom of the sloping gardens is part of the huge harbor of Sydney.  We walked along the water until we arrived face-to-face with the infamous OPERA HOUSE.  It’s amazing in person, but a little on the yellowish side.  We had lunch in Circular Quay (pronounced “key”…most difficult thing ever to get used to!) by the harbor and then went back to the park.  We all slept like babies on the grass and some got their very first Sydney-lack-of-ozone-sunburns.  After a long day, our beds felt amazing!

                 On Monday, we woke up to our first day of Sydney Freedom (no orientation or school).    Sophie, Grant, Ted and I went shopping in the central area.  Sophie has been talking about the store Supre since we applied for study abroad and I was SO excited to go with her.  There are four floors of clothing heaven (like H&M but BETTER) and Soph and I had our arms full after attacking the first corner we saw.  After trying on more than is allowed in a dressing room we both left with cute dresses!  And we felt really responsible for putting back a dress each that we actually wanted – too bad we talked about them so much that we ended up going back a few days later to buy them J.  We helped Ted with his shopping mission and found him board shorts and an excellent pair of Australian, authentic Billabong flip-flops (where the workers were so excited to meet me- from the surf capital of the world!)  While we were out we found out something fashionably HORRIBLE – boys here where Jorts (jean shorts) and then we found jirts (a jean shirt).  WHY?!  After much shopping and browsing, we met Marisa and Steph at the Myar food court and had “Yoghurt.”  Yogurt here is just WAY better and they sell it everywhere: with berries, mango, passion fruit or musseli.  That night, we had yet another family dinner (which is quite the talk of all the other cliques here): Kabobs made on the rooftop coin-operated BBQ – we are so Aussie already.

            Tuesday brought good weather and a beach day at Bondi Beach!  We left at 9am and spent more money than was necessary on two busses and a train to get there.  (We later found out that there is a bus that goes directly from our corner to the beach, ugh.)  It was a typical California beach morning complete with slight rain and fog that scared many of the east-coasters.  I laid there knowing the patterns of beach weather and was pleasantly greeted by the sun for the rest of the day an hour later.  The beach was GORGOUS: blue skies, blue-clear water, big waves all set in a cove comparable to Laguna Beach.  This time, we added more to the family and had Jonney and Matt (“Goy”) come along – the boys loved not being outnumbered.  Unfortunately, we had to leave early for the first day of class.  We take Anthropology of Australian Culture at the University of Sydney, taught by a BU Professor named Mark.  The classroom is in a Harry Potter-ish school in a room filled with bleacher style pews.  Classes here are excessive and boring.  Good thing the county is beautiful and I’m here to learn from my experiences outside the classroom more than in it.

            Wednesday is another Anthro-filled day.  We have field trips every Wednesday to places with some curriculum related significance.  Sophie, Ted and I were in the same group and we went to the Hyde Park Barracks (this time we got to see a room filled with hammocks that prisoners slept in) and the Library Museum where much of Sydney’s history is exhibited.  Afterwards, our family met up and had sushi to-go rolls in Hyde Park.  Then, we made our way home for MORE class. Three hours of anthro made us hungry again and we hit up the local backpacker bar that serves $5 meals: Lansdowne.  We ended up running into a ton of BU kids and stayed there all night. It was some of the most fun we’ve had here!

                          On Thursday, Ted and I went running in Victoria Park together.  The public parks here are extremely well kept.  My calves are still tight from running to keep up with something two feet taller than me!  After some self-induced exercise torture, we had class…or as I like to call it “the day of hell.”  We went to class early to sign up for our anthro modules of choice.  Ted and I got there first and so we know we got into the discussion group about Australian sports and culture; I am SO excited to learn about cricket and rugby.  Then, we started our second class: Brand Advertising.  EW!  Goy, Marisa, Grant and I are all subjected to the most monotone, dry teacher every week for EIGHT hours learning things I learned freshman year and preparing for a project that is easier than the one I did in Intro to Advertising.  It’s torture.  Then, we had Anthro for another 3 hours.  I think they are trying to KILL us. Call for help.  After being subjected to this, we all grabbed food from the grocery store and sat around on the floor of Grant’s room before quickly passing out. 

              When Friday rolled around I was very happy that it was the last day of class for the week.  We had glorious brand advertising (when our teacher says brand he really says “brain” and confuses me completely with his accent) in the morning for 4 hours.  After, Soph and I bought the dresses we had been drooling over and went to Paddy’s market to stock up on cheap food.  Grant made us his special Michigan Salad and then we put on fancy dresses and went out for the night.  We went to Darlo Bar in Darlinghurst (an outdoor patio place) with Adam (the kid who studied abroad at BU last year) and his friends.  Then, we went to this super snazzy place called Victoria Bar (think gentleman’s club, brandy, titanic, English and you may picture this otherworldly, fancy place where we were).  I couldn’t afford to do anything except sit there and thank bob I was dressed so nicely to fit in with the Sydney party elite. 

            Saturday was AUSTRALIA DAY!!! (Their version of the 4^th of July).  We started out celebration in Sydney Harbor where we saw the opera house from across the water in the prettiest light yet.  We also joined in on the pride by adorning ourselves with AUS flag tattoos (Temporary; don’t worry dad).  We walked down Mcquarie Street and saw the most amazing old car show I have ever witnessed – literally hundreds of beautiful, mouthwatering vroom vrooms!  My favorite was a teal convertible that the boys didn’t approve of because it wasn’t stick…geesh!  We then ate lunch in Hyde Park from the BBQ vendors.  Sophie and I got the BEST corn EVER…it also proved to be the juiciest when Grant tried a bite and managed to give me a complete shower.  We napped under the bats on the spongy grass in the Botanical Gardens and then went to Circular Quay for fish and chips.  We ate on a patch of grass on the side of the Harbor and watched the crazy Aussies prance around all dressed in flags with painted faces.  After stuffing our faces and turning into grease filled blobs, we walked over to Darling Harbor for the fireworks.  We sat on a Bridge that separates the harbor in two and were face-to-face with the most AMAZING fireworks show I have ever seen.  The opening was like the best finale I have ever seen at Disneyland…imagine the finale here!  On our way home, we passed by the Real World House and the security guy outside let us peek inside! AWESOME.         

            On Sunday, we went to Coogee Beach and laid out all day.  I am SO dark.  Everyone else has gotten NARLY sunburns at some point and I guess I’m just really luckyJ.  After a great day on lunch on the beach and playing in the waves we went home and Ted made everyone dinner with his new fancy Wok.  I made the mistake of saying that I liked spicy food and couldn’t feel my tongue till morning after eating the stir-fry.

            Today (Monday), we went to the pool at Victoria Park (across the street).  Not only did I get to swim laps (felt so good!), we tanned and planned out our spring break!  I am very excited and will fill you in as we finalize our fantasy trip.  I devoured a chicken burger from an amazing place in the mall with Grant and am finally enjoying the free time I have (and finally getting to update this blog).  I think I should go and do some reading though because, if you have noticed, I haven’t mentioned doing any actual schoolwork yet. 

Peace and love.

XOXO gabs

 

And the rain continues....

Only two days have passed and I feel so overwhelmed by all that I have to tell you! 

On Friday, we had more glorious orientation sessions. They are literally so horribly boring…but, they are DONE now!  At lunch, Marisa, Sophie, Steph, Grant and I went to the Broadway Mall food court.  They literally have every type of food – even sushi rolls that are $2.00AUS (they are just like our rolls but uncut…therefore cheaper!)  It, of course rained continuously all day again…pouring only when we needed to walk outside.  That afternoon we walked in another herd to Darling Harbor where we went out on a big boat (like the Catalina boats) and toured the Harbor.  We were out for three hours and saw Russell Crowe’s house, the Opera House and both harbor bridges.  I would love to show you pictures but my camera FREAKED OUT that night and self-deleted all but one picture…oops.  There was a feast on board…I am really embracing the whole free food thing now that I really am a starving college kid.

After the cruise, Adrienne (the front desk girl for the BU program who is like 25ish) suggested we all go to CARGO BAR in Darling Harbor if we didn’t want to go home at 8:30 on a Friday.  As much as I hate going everywhere in the BIG group, we went.  OMG, best decision so far!  The club was uber chic…think a lounge/club in LA.  It is right on the water and they were having some sort of event with food and a well-known DJ.  It was lots of fun!  We danced and danced and then walked back home (gaining plenty of blisters between all the girls on the way).  That is the first going out place we are super excited to repeat. 

Although there were optional excursions to see local areas on Saturday we decided to sleep in (not that any of us did…we are all waking up freakishly early here!)  Grant, Ted, Marisa, Soph, Steph and I went to THE ROCKS and got pancakes from a place (pancakes on the rocks) with tons of different pancakes that Soph remembered from when we backpacked around Australia before college.  After we all engorged ourselves with breakfast foods (the first American portions since we arrived…normally we are all STARVING because everything is healthy and small here!)

After, we wandered through a weekend outdoor market where they had local foods, lotions, arts, and beautiful crafty things.  We wandered North from there until we reached the Observatory Museum on top of a hill that looked like a mountain from the Harbor Cruise…We are definitely getting our exercise through walking here!  We went through the museum where they had pieces from the oldest telescopes in the world and had a dome that is the structure of the oldest operating telescope in Australia.  The boys liked it a LOT more than us but I felt like I learned my random facts for the day. 

From the tip of the Harbor we wandered all the way back to Darling Harbor.  (I have no idea how to describe the walk other than it is the distance from North End to West Campus at BU.)  Once we were there, we bought tickets to ride the monorail around the city.  This would have been a great idea EXCEPT its sort of hard to see outside rainy windows in small compartments STUFFED with random (interesting) people.  We rode the complete track around the city center and then circled back around till Paddy’s Market stop and got off there. 

Paddy’s Market is behind Darling Harbor (where the Real World was filmed…we saw their house).  Inside the market is a huge swap meet set up with endless vendors of the same cheap stuff that nobody actually needs.  Luckily, our trip was well worth it because we found the farmer’s market portion in the back corner.  Signs selling huge bunches of fruits and vegetables made my empty wallet very happy.  We decided to split up, buy ingredients and make a family dinner in our communal kitchen at UniLodge.  We left the market spending less that $20AUS collectively with BBQ sausage, corn on the cob, grapes, tomatoes, avocado, salad, and more! 

We were all beat by the time we walked back home.  After some separate regrouping in our rooms we went over to Glebe Street where we got yummy mochas in Fair Trade Café.  Our server, who was loving her herbs, gave a jumbled explanation of the difference between American coffee terms and Australian ones.  Here, you order a flat white, short black, long black…. (The longer…the more water…. they all have the same amount of espresso).  I felt like we were FRIENDS sitting around a wooden table in the shape of an alligator on our eclectic couches.  We got some last minute stuff from the grocery store and headed home to cook.

Our dinner was AMAZING.  We had so much fun sitting around a BIG table in the common room on our floor.  (Soph and Steph are two doors down so the girls always win when choosing location).  Afterwards, we got a little silly and started Couch Olympics where Grant and I totally won with our combined team: “Canadagascar.”  We didn’t go out last night, just some good old fashioned bonding time with great friends.

I am really, really lucky to be here with the people that I am.  AND…the sun is out today!  I better go enjoy it while it lasts. Until later- xoxo gabs                 

 

the adventure begins...

Ello Mate!
I’m here…Australia is a beautiful place. When we landed at the airport, friendly customs people (that may be an oxy moron) greeted us and we stepped out into 90-degree weather. Good thing Marisa and I are quite the traveling fashionistas and had already changed into sundresses while stopping over in New Zealand. Our bus driver was hilarious and quickly described to us coffee obsessed east coasters how to order our coffee and where to get a custom-named “Boston coffee.” (They don’t have iced coffee like ours here; rather, their version of ice coffee is coffee+ice+ice cream.)
We bussed back to the UniLodge residence where over 600 people reside in apartment style residences. Thank goodness: Marisa and I were placed as roommates as we had requested! Our room is a small central room with a TV, dresser, kitchenette, desk, fan, and tiny little two-person dining table. We have our own bathroom (which I have become so accustomed to while living in the Hyatt). Then, there is a TINY spiral staircase (sure to be the source of many injuries considering I am very capable of tripping on mere air on a daily basis) that leads to our LOFT! Sounds so fancy and NYC-esque but its NOT. I have already hit my head on the ceiling light twice and Marisa has hit her head pretty bad on the lower parts of the ceiling twice too. I am very thankful I am not very tall now. We have gone to KMART and the grocery store (Coles and Bi-Lo) a few times in the Broadway Mall across the street to stock up our room with essentials (like a converter so I can write this on my laptop!) We don’t have Internet access yet so I haven’t been able to Skype or AIM with anyone yet. However, I DO like it hereJ
The weather here is much like southern Spain: humid, warm-hot, and muggy in a sort of entrancing way rather than uncomfortable one. Apparently Australia is in the middle of a draught so the locals LOVE the constant mist and sporadic rain. My hair (which has so straightener yet) does NOT love it.
So far, we have been busy with “orientation” (aka summer camp where you are herded around like cattle and told everything at least 5 times). The best part about it has been signing up for surf camp after the rep came to talk to us. After being told that there were only 30 spots, I RAN to the front of the room and made sure I was second on the list! Luckily, my friends are just as crazy as I am and all made it on the list. Sophie, Ted, Marisa, Steph, 25 our closest new friends and I will be tackling the waves at “7 Mile Beach” on February 1-3.
Also, I had my first interview with my internship advisor: Jeffery. He is an older guy who is completely still in the world of advertising and deals with accounts like I want to do. Rumor has it that his students get the BEST internships. He told me I was overly qualified and had wiggle room to not be sooooo focused on this and use it as an opportunity to work somewhere different than a straight-forward agency. He suggested that we work together to get my an “in-house” job where I would oversee the total package of communications for one company (all the ads, PR, and general image). He said we might be able to get me into a theater company or music company. He also wrote down that I want to be a chef and said he would see what he could find along those lines. He’s the only advisor that still works in the field, rather than teaching, so he wont be back from ASIA till the end of February. More on this then!
As for the fun-stuff….I have been TRAPPED in ‘camp.’ However, we have used our little bits of free time to see the front of the University of Sydney (BEAUTIFUL…it makes BU the ugliest school I have ever seen). I have never been there, but when I think of Oxford I see this school. Right in front of the University (and on our corner) is Victoria Park (a whole block of a public park…there are so many of those here!) The park has a public lap-pool and gym there. I think I’ll be running in the park and swimming (Mom: I told you I should have brought my swim-team suit...haha)
The girls and I went and got Gelato and the next day a group of us ate at @home Thai food on Glebe Street (an all-ethnic food street a block away). Last night we FINALLY ventured outside of our 4-blocks around school/home. Adam (the Aussie who studied abroad at BU last year) took us to meet his friends at a cool little bar and then drove us into the harbor area where we were going to go to a SUPER posh place called Argyle but a pair of flip-flops kept us out (dress code people…duH!) We went to a place called the Orient Hotel instead where I ordered MY FIRST DRINK EVER!!!!! Needless to say, the boys gave me LOTS of crap for ordering a Watermelon Bacardi Breezer. Whatever, I liked it. Then we walked along the boats and looked at the Harbor Bridge and Opera House at night. GORGEOUS!!! (pictures to come later!) That was the first moment that we all decided we really are in AUSTRALIA!!! I am SO lucky.
Today is more ‘orientation’…joy. This weekend we have optional excursions and school starts on Monday. That’s no fun.
I have a phone in my room and a cell phone. All incoming calls to me are free for me. Email me if you want my number to pay to call me. I would love to hear from you!!!! XOXO gabs