Internship... then off to Spring Break!

So, as you can see, I was a terrible blogger for a month and now I’m a serial blogger (3 in 24 hours).  Since Melbourne, life has been CRAZY.  Just like when I went MIA during midterms (post surf camp), I have duck back under my rock for finals.  Yesterday I presented a project in Brand Advertising and Promotion class and have a final today, a paper due tomorrow (finished last night, thank bob), and a final tomorrow AM. 

This week, Jenn (Sophie’s best friend in life) arrived to study at one of Sydney’s Universities.  We made family dinner on the roof, went to a fancy club called Argyle (rustic settings, an outdoor courtyard, fancy chandeliers and loud music) and went to Coogee beach: TAN AGAIN!  Other than that, I’ve been running a lot – getting to explore more of the city and enjoy some “me time.”

Yesterday, I had my interview for my internship.  I will be working (YES I GOT THE JOB!) for an integrated advertising agency called SMART INC. (http://www.smartinc.com.au/).  They are based in Melbourne but have an office in Sydney in Surry Hills.  My advisor, Jeffrey, took me and sat in on the interview.  It was a cool, old building with ultra modern, yet comfortable, decorations inside.  There was a girl who worked there from BU recently so they know what to do with an intern (Australia doesn’t have a strong internship culture so it’s important to b placed somewhere that values teaching and using interns).  Jamie, the Managing Director, interviewed me (shoeless).  He told me that I get to do as much as I want; I just have to be positively aggressive and take initiative.  I cannot wait to go to shoots, sit in on meetings and help write briefs.  I start when we get home from spring break and couldn’t be more excited.  I’ll write more after day one and tell you what it’s really all about!

We (Soph, Steph, Ted, Grant, Marisa, and I) leave for Spring Break on Saturday.  We are road tripping in a mini-van to Frasier Island and stopping anywhere and everywhere in-between.  (This will make for a great story I’m sure!).  Stay tuned. xoxoxo          

MELBOURNE!

After a long-stressful-sleepless week of school, we took off on the BEST field trip everrrr to MELBOURNE (pronounced mel-burn or “mel-bin” if you’re annoying).  Melbourne is Sydney’s rival city (and Boston’s sister city).  It is situated southwest of Sydney and takes 45 minutes to fly there.  We were once again herded together to fly there.  Once we arrived, we made our way to the Victoria Hotel in downtown Melb.  For some horrible reason they thought it would be a good idea to give us roomies other than our Sydney ones.  I’m sorry, but I didn’t even know the person I was assigned to and didn’t want to live with a stranger in a foreign city in an already foreign country.  Luckily, Sophie felt the same and we pulled a switcheroo! 

The first day was filled with a walking tour that led the groups to Victoria Markets.  It looked JUST like the swap meet and did the same thing as Paddy’s market.  After a HOT lunch (it was seriously 90 degrees most of the time there), we wandered the area and headed back into town.  After that, we listened to tour guide Sophie and went to Chapel Street: shops, shops, and more shops!  Ted bought shirts, I got earrings (and talked to the store girl for a good 30 minutes…people here are so much more genuine) and Soph got MAC makeup (too bad it costs three times more here than at home, sad life).  After shopping, like ZOMBIES with lack of sleep and heat, the boys went to an Irish pub with a beer garden.  The bar is inside an old church.  We guzzled waters and watched old men busk songs like “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Later that night we went to their “little italy.”  We ran into Jonney, Matt and Co. there but stopped looking for a place to eat and left them when we found a typical Italian auntie persuaded us to stay by offering free dessert and drinks with dinner…she must’ve heard out wallets crying!  Dinner was amazing…I got vegetable and veal tortellini and sat outside (like in a piazza).  LOVED IT!   Our three-hour dinner ended and we rushed back to get ready for the night.  We went to a building that has 7 different floors with various bars and restaurants.  On the top is “Rooftop.”  WE, other random BUs and other friend Nikki took in the sights with a 360 view while sipping on super fancy pantsy cocktails.  SO PRETTY!  Our night ended late and we went home to ZZZZZZ.

Then, morning came tooo early!  We went on a tour of Melbourne called “Grids and Lanes” and got to see many artsy alleyways, boutiques, amazing cafes and my personal favorite: GRAFFITI!  Melbourne is the number one place in the world for incredible street art.  I died; it’s oddly breathtaking.  Imagine the world to truly be your canvas.  There is a newly imposed zero tolerance law now because of vandalists abusing the art form…hopefully Melbourne maintains its edgy city feel! 

After the tour, we got lunch in a small alleyway: a yummy, healthy frittata!  Then, we took a tram (I’m sure you’re supposed to pay for them but we didn’t know how…owell, thanks Melbs!).  The tram took us to St. Kilda beach.  Ted, Steph, Grant and I walked the boardwalk and pier and enjoyed an outdoor restaurant.  Soph and Marisa tanned and have far surpassed us in color. 

We got Mexican food that night and it was delish.  Ted, Steph and I headed back early to hit up the city while the rest of them relaxed and watched the sunset.  We met up with Jonney, Matt and Co. and went across the river (best view ever!) to Crown casino.  It was my first time in a casino NOT on the walkway carpets!  I didn’t gamble though.  (A. I’m poor. B. It’s not that enticing.)  Ted, Steph, and I went to a karaoke bar across the way while people gave away their lunch money to the tables.  When we walked in, we jokingly told Ted he had to sing and he agreed, haha.  After a few drinks, he was ready for his big performance to a song we picked out: “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot.  INCREDIBLE!!!  I took pictures, Steph rocked out, and Ted “made all his dreams come true.”  If that wasn’t bonding, I don’t know what is.

The next morning came even earlier than the one before.  WE got up, grabbed muffins and hopped on a bus to the Great Ocean Road.  Ted was my riding buddy for the day as we starred out the window.  Basically, we road on the bus ALL DAY (9AM-10PM) and stopped every 30 minutes or so along the coast to see something.  We went to an Aboriginal cultural center, a beach town to get lunch and ice cream, a rainforest (went on a walk and saw a baby waterfall and big tree).  We stopped on the side of the road to see multiple koalas just sleeping.  They are LAZY (sleep 20 hours a day!).  We wanted to see it move so one of the boys shook the tree branch beside it, causing it to wake, crawl and sleep again. Geesh!

Then, we saw the main attraction: THE TWELVE APOSTLES!  You can’t see them all from one place, but you can see a good chunk.  They are natural rock bridges (arches and the arch collapses with time into the water).  Now, they look like huge rock monuments.  Close to shore, excellent for cliff jumping (too bad Jonney informed me I absolutely could not jump there because I would die…no fun!). 

Our next stop was another view of the apostles: A bridge that still stands (but the bridge from shore to it has fallen).  Funny story…an adulterous couple was found and documented on TV on the rock the day it split from the mainland- karma much?  We also got to stop at a gorge where we played in the water, climbed on rocks into a cave, collected pretty shells for jewelry, saw Ted’s butt through his white boxers (great swimming idea Tedward) and enjoyed our surroundings.  I had many conversations on that beach about how Australia is slowly starting to feel like home.  It’s going to be impossible to leave!   

We picked up snacks at a grocery store and headed home to Melbourne.  I saw the prettiest sunset I’ve ever seen during the fun bus ride home.  That night, we went back to the rooftop bar and walked along the river…I LOVE that city!

The next morning was filled with RAIN…boo.  We went on the “Art of Melbourne” tour and saw that Melbourne truly is a culture center.  We started off in the main art museum where we saw aboriginal art, a “Black in Fashion” exhibit (complete with a Christian Dior dress I would kill to wear!), a vespa and gorgeous cityscapes and colonial art pieces.  Next, we walked down alleys of graffiti…it really gave me a new perspective on art.  We also got to go to some smaller, private galleries because our guide, Peter, had connections.  It was exhausting, yet so fulfilling. 

After, we got lunch in a bookstore, window shopped and went back to the hotel in time to leave.  Melbourne was the most insatiable place I have ever been – a blend of home, NYC, Sydney and Italy (AKA: made for me!).  Good luck keeping me in the states now…start looking into moving here please!

All in all, the trip was an incredible experience and I wake up knowing how lucky I am everyday.  We have another paper to write (I’m writing mine on Graffiti in Melbourne and its integral role as a piece of the city’s spirit).  Then, we leave for SPRING BREAK in less than a week.  So much to do! Xoxo gabs  

Some Recaps...

OK…so here’s the deal: It’s been forever since I posted a blog but a really good one comes after this one. But just so not too much gets left out, here’s what went down between surf camp and Melbourne. 

1. We went Lawn Bowling with our “Sports” module for Anthropology class.  It was horribly boring and completely pointless and lost on me.  My favorite part was watching the old men, dressed in all white, who get really competitive, play in the sweltering heat.  Plus, my crazy teacher who is probably the coolest man ever but has a funny high voice, made us a yummy BBQ!
2. Ted, Soph, Steph, Grant and I went to a bar called “Friend in Hand” and watched our first official crab race – a big deal here for some reason.  It was LAME but we had fun naming our crabs. Hehe.
3. I made dinner for the “family” and “adopted children”: pasta with my famous sauce, from Christmas Eve, and salad with my dressing and Poppop’s favorite grilled vegetable. Go Italian alla gabs! 
4. Jonney taught me how to play pool and I’m a natural.  We kicked team Ted and Matt’s butt.  Poppop would have been so proud…I was finally doing what should be done on a pool table and not shooting pretty balls into pockets with my bare hands. 
5. Went to Bungalow 8 and danced the night away.
6. Went to a BBQ at Adam’s house and made a crazy shot in pool!  (I’m addicted now).  He lives across the street from a national park and we took beautiful pictures there.  There is also a big rock there perfect for cliff jumping that I am definitely going back to!
7. Saw part of the Chinese New Year parade in China Town and got Chinese food for dinner.
8. Went to the beach and the boys ATTEMPTED to surf.  The waves were NOT their friend but the sun was mine and I came home nice and tan.  We made the BEST dinner that night on the roof: steaks, avocado and salad. YUM.
9. The mall had a huge gas fire and closed all day…no groceries!  We went out for Mexican on Glebe St. that night and Marisa met a cute boy and Jonney got food poisoning…a big group can’t always win all the way around. 
10. Many, many “Office” parties in Grant and Ted’s room.  I always fall asleep on the floor…I am my mother’s daughter.
11. Out to dinner in the harbor with Grant’s parents (THANKS!) and drinks by the opera house. 

So…then we had midterms and over 5,000 words of papers to write and basically a sunny week was lost to my laptop and me L But, the week ended with a trip to MELBOURNE!!!  (Read the next one!)    

SURF CAMP

“SURF CAMP DOESN’T COME IN A JAR! SURF CAMP COMES FROM WHO YOU ARE.” This was the song of the weekend that Marisa, Ted and Grant LOVED to sing (it’s an adaptation from the “Bug Juice” song on Disney).

Surf Camp was AMAZING to say the least. Not perfect by any means but worth every moment. We (Marisa, Ted, Grant, Steph, Sophie, Jonney and I) left on mini buses (typical surfer buses: blue, VW van style, school bus seats) Friday night to “Seven Mile Beach” that is two hours south of Sydney. The bus ride was SO much fun…just like a road trip! Our bus driver, Adam, was completely insane…burnt out from too many waves and some other things we’re guessing. After an adventure of a ride, we got to camp.

It was trailer park heaven…we had a pod of “cabins” that surrounded the common co-ed bathroom and a cluster of picnic tables. There were 4 and 6 person cabins (meaning two or three bunk beds). We had to compete for a four-person cabin so us girls could stick together and thankfully the trivia questions to earn keys were about European capitals and Sophie saved the day with her knowledge. Thanks Soph! We were given the absolute bare essentials there but I never cared; it was glorified camping!

The first night, most kids went to sleep but since we are all on the “go big or go home” mentality while here, we went to the beach in the pitch black dark. That was the very first time I felt semi-homesick. It felt like standing in the ocean at home…plus, it’s the same ocean! The water here is SOO warm. After exploring the camp (which we couldn’t actually see because it was so dark – it rained earlier and there weren’t even stars to give us light), we went back to sleep.

7AM came nice and early the next day! The boys made us promise to go “all natural” over the weekend so hair and makeup wasn’t necessary in the morning – so liberating…you really get to know a group of people when everyone let’s their physical guard down. Anyways, breakfast was buffet style and we all tried to shake ourselves awake. Then, we were fitted for wetsuits and headed down to the beach in a big pack (there were probably 50 or so of us…not everyone from our school either). At the beach, we were given surfboards (big foam boards that make surfing easy) and separated into groups. We got VERY lucky and placed in Kristy’s group with Ted, Marisa, Sophie, Steph and I. Kristy is 18 and lives an hour away in another surfer town. It was so fun to learn from someone who just does it as a side-job because she loves it so much. Her passion made us all comfortable and excited. My 8-foot board and I got up on waves my FIRST try!!! The waves are long and shallow here making them very easy to ride once you’re up. The photographer was on the beach in front of us and by the time I got out to him I was completely goofing off and hamming it up for the camera to entertain myself. Not surprised are you…

We surfed for two hours and then went back for lunch. I have never been SO hungry in my life! After lunch and a nap, we went back out for another two hours. This is how life should be lived EVERYDAY! The second session was just as fun and we learned how to “shuffle” (move up and down our boards). That afternoon, we ate ice cream, went to the local bar, showered and napped in hammocks. SO RELAXING! I am so glad we went; it was such a nice break from city life. That night we had BBQ dinner and all went to the bar we had been to that afternoon…this time wasn’t fun. It was like a community rec center at night complete with 6-year-old girls and 70 year old men in matching Hawaiian shirts. GROSS. We went home early and got to admire A MILLION stars in the sky…gorgeous!

The next morning was more of the same thing…4 hours of surfing separated with lunchtime. We learned how to turn our boards and paddle out and over the waves. I had so much fun! That morning, Sophie and I caught the same wave and ended up holding hands and high-fiving on the wave. It was totally awesome dude! Jonney surfed away from his group in the AM and caught some waves with us and Grant did the same in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, I mostly played around in the deeper water: floating over waves and talking to my fellow boarders. Everyone is giving me grief about not aggressively surfing in the afternoon but I don’t care because I had so much fun. I have never been so unafraid of the ocean. I even had a million complications with my dumb contacts but everything was worth it!

Leaving camp was sad…it went by way too fast! I bought all of my pictures though so I can vicariously live through them. I am hoping to rent boards at the local beaches and keep up my new skills. We all bonded, I got a cool wet-suit rash and an awesome tan and am well rested for the assignments coming my way. (EWW). Thanks for sending me Grams and Poppop!!!

Last night, I was so tired from Surf Camp (and my butt has never been so sore) that I couldn’t fall asleep. That meant that I was awake at 2AM when there was a gas explosion in a restaurant around the corner. Our whole building shook and I woke up Marisa who didn’t feel a thing. The boys slept through my phone calls too. But, it totally freaked me out. I listened to the sound of sirens until I completely fell dead asleep. Don’t worry…we’re all alive.

Today, Ted and I are watching the Super Bowl at BUSC (the school building) and then heading over to a cheesy bar called CHEERS to watch with everyone else. I don’t understand football beyond making touchdowns and the commercials here AREN’T AMERICAN!!! Lame. Owell, it’s better than doing homework J

This week, we start our modules in Anthropology. I’m in the one about Sports (there was also classes on Aboriginals and Culture to choose from). We are learning about Australian sports and how they interact with the country’s culture. I am SO excited! We even get to go to a stadium and an Olympic site. I’m in the class with Jonney, Ted and Grant. The girls are in the culture class…silly.

As for adjusting…I now have three homes. I am in love with Boston, OC, and Sydney. I feel completely at home. I buy AUS brands regularly (like chocolate cookies called Tim Tams - think Thin Mints minus this mint). However, I am still NOT in tune with the whole “no worries” thing. People talk slower, work slower and have no worries literally. It’s very hard to let go of the American mentality of GO GO GO. We’ll see how that goes!

Today is another rainy day and supposedly the rest of the week will be the same…bummer. Until later, xoxo.