Last Couple of Weeks in Australia

I arrived here roughly four months ago and was so nervous that I would miss home and not find any friends and fail out of school, etc. Basically, I was anxious about everything that studying abroad involves. However, this has ended up being an incredible semester and I couldn't be more blessed to have gotten the opportunity to come here. I have dreamed of going to Sydney since I was a kid, and now I'm here and it is almost over!! Weirdest mix of emotions ever. Just thought I'd list a few things that I am going to miss the most:

• 4202... better known as 4204.
• Harrison Dunbar Warnes, Samcock, Elliott, Amy, Pierre, Jaimie and the many other Australians that I have fallen in love with over the past 4 months.
• My amazing study abroad group full of awesome girls :)
• Thursday nights at Kelly's 
• The freaks on King Street
• King's Cup - draw a 4: the gecko <3
• The convenience of public transportation
• The beach
• Late night run for "chips" at Aidan's
• Taking the bus downtown for the sole purpose of getting a spicy tendercrisp sandwich from Hungry Jack's
• Good ol' Marly Bar 
• The words "heaps" and "keen"
• Thai food
• Free Sunday bbq at SUV
• Having the grocery store, local pubs/bars, convenience store, bus stop, train station, clothing stores, etc. all on the same road and within walking distance
• Australian beer

I'm sure I'm forgetting about a million other things, but those are the top ones. I must go back and do all of this again someday... Sydney has become a home away from home.

Midsemester Break

Over the spring break here, I went to Cairns which is in Northeast Australia in the state of Queensland. I went with all the girls in my study abroad program and we had SUCH an amazing time. The day that we arrived in Cairns went to the "beach." Little did we know that Cairns doesn't have a beach... it has a swamp... full of saltwater crocodiles. Sooo basically no one swims in the rivers or ocean around there because you will get eaten by giant, angry crocs. The second day, we went on a diving/snorkeling boat to the Great Barrier Reef. Absolutely breath taking. It was my first official ocean scuba dive, yay! I even got to feed a giant Hawkbilled Turtle. They eat a certain coral that is the equivalent of smoking marijuana for humans, so basically all the turtles were high and happy haha... On the third day in Cairns, I went bungee jumping off of a 60 meter platform in the rain forest. That was pretty terrifying, but also kind of exciting. Exhilarating is probably the best way to describe it! On the fourth day, we zip-lined through a 100 million year old rain forest and that night we ate dinner while watching an aboriginal presentation.

Tasmania and Tempranillo

I spent all of last week touring the east coast of Tasmania, which is the only island state in Australia. It was absolutely breath taking! Only 500,000 people live in the entire state, so I could literally walk down the road at 6pm and see no one in the towns that we stayed in... such a difference from Sydney. The weather in Tasmania is normally cold and rainy, but I got really lucky and it was sunny/partly cloudy and about 60 degrees every day.
Highlights of the trip -
Bay of Fires -

 

Hazard's Beach -

On the way down to Remarkable Cave -

 Remarkable Cave -

The day after I returned to Tasmania, all I wanted to do was sleep... So... I went on a wine tour, of course. I spent the day with the girls in my study abroad group and we got a tour through the Hunter Valley which is known for its wonderful wineries. Such a nice way to end the perfect week :) 

Sharks with Scoliosis and My First Trip to a Microbrewery

I am in LOVE with Manly. I got to see my first beach in Australia yesterday... and the waves were beyond massive. We caught a ferry across Sydney Harbour to Manly which took about 30 minutes and it was such a beautiful ride! When we got to Oceanworld, we watched a little movie about the basics of scuba diving and pretty much just got dressed and got in the water. I wore a 3 mil suit with a 7 mil suit on top of it because the water was SO COLD! Anyway, the tank was absolutely amazing. One of the sharks had scoliosis and looked really funny... haha... she was my fave. After the dive, we went to a microbrewery called 4 Pines. I had a hefeweizen, which was a German wheat beer? It was delicious... but I pretty much had no idea how to say any of the fancy beers... There was an adorable quote on the wall that made me laugh out loud: "A fine beer may be judged with one sip but it's best to be thoroughly sure." So cute. Anyway, here are my fun pictures from the shark dive. Enjoy!

Australian Healthcare and Endangered Sharks

Soooo judging by the fact that I have spent an insane amount of time in the health clinic at Sydney Uni, I thought I should dedicate a blog to Australian Healthcare. It is so strange compared to America. Normally at TCU, I would walk into the health clinic, fill out a form, the nurse would do assessments (height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, etc.) and then I would sit and wait to be called back by the doctor. Here, you sit in the waiting room, get called to the doctor's room, he asks you what is wrong, takes a 2 second glance in your ears and prescribes you meds. It was so quick and awkward... and I'm guessing that is the downfall of their healthcare, given the fact that I was diagnosed with a double ear infection, but he didn't think to check my sinuses which were also quite infected. SO SILLY. However, I am hopefully going to start feeling better eventually now that I have been diagnosed with a sinus infection as well.
On to more exciting things... I am diving in a shark tank on Thursday at Manly, which is an hour ferry ride from Sydney Harbour. I'm pretty excited about that. The tank will be filled with grey nurse sharks which are considered endangered in Queensland and a species of concern in the U.S. They are pretty big, but I mean, I still wish I could dive with great whites.. because that would be legit. There will also be stingrays the size of a queen-sized mattress in this tank. pretttttty!
Other than that, I have been doing school stuff and trying to get well. So hopefully this weekend I will have more adventures to post on here. Love y'all!

The Broke College Life.

I have a double ear infection... that's pretty exciting. I'm not too surprised though, given the fact that I live off of wine, ramen noodles, and cereal. The one attempt I made at cooking a "real meal" was insane. I mean the food was good, but I had to buy a red bell pepper for $15/kg. That is so NOT okay. So instead, I walk to the convenient store and get cereal, oreos, and ramen noodles for $23... which is still NOT okay... but whatever. I'm allowed to work 20 hours a week here if I decided to get a job. Minimum wage here is around 15$... so really it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a job...
I went to the Helm Bar again a couple of nights ago. My friend Erin and I met a 42 year old boat-hand... he was... nice. Then the bartender got off of work and came and sat with us. He was a 23 year old from England named Ollie. We all ended up going to play pool (called snookers here... not pronounced like snookie... pronounced sn-ew-kurs) at a really cute pub on George St. Luckily the 42 year old guy went home somewhere in between the Helm Bar and the pub on George St... He probably missed his girlfriend who was sailing in Tahiti?.. or blacked out in a cab somewhere...
There really is never a dull moment here in Aussieland. The people are so friendly and adventurous! It has definitely inspired me to not be such a bore ALL the time! However... it's probably the cause of my ear infections too...
I'm planning to go to the beach this weekend with some of the IES girls. I'm sure it will be absolutely gorgeous.. it will be pretty cold with the ocean breeze blowing though. I've also been looking into planning our skydiving trip to Wollongong. I can't wait to jump out of an airplane overlooking the most gorgeous ocean and beaches! I just haven't quite decided how I am going to force myself out of that plane... At least I will get to land on the soft beach.
Time is absolutely flying by here... so bittersweet! I definitely miss Texas, but I have so much more that I want to do here, and only 100 days to do it in! Love and miss y'all!

"I Climbed It!"

It's a Sunday... which means I now need to do ALL of the reading that I have due this week haha... woohoo! Yesterday I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge which was soooo beautiful. It was actually way more of a workout than I had originally expected. We got to wear these really funny astronaut-looking suits with harnesses connected to us so that we didn't fall off the 440 foot bridge. It would be a long drop... It is the widest single-span bridge in the world at 161 feet wide. so basically, it was amazing to be at the very top of it. Our tour guide told us that out of the 14000 men that originally built the bridge, only 16 men died... and no one had harnesses or anything holding them onto the bridge! so so so scary. There is an adorable little red light that flashes on top of the bridge for planes to see. It is called "Blinky Bill." loveeeee it! you can see Blinky Bill allll the way from the Blue Mountains. After we climbed the bridge, we went to a delicious place called Pancakes-on-the-Rocks. They serve pancakes with ice cream on top... need I say more? Then we all came back to the village and crashed... 440 foot climb + pancakes with ice cream = bed. in case you were ever curious about that combo. Miss and love y'all!

Call Me the Kanga-whisperer.

Mondays suck in every country... FYI. I start classes at 10am and end at 6pm with awkward 1 hour breaks between all the classes... so I'm pretty worn out at the end of the day. Especially since I have a disgusting cold. I sound like I smoke 3 packs a day... cute!
This past Saturday, I went to my first rugby game. It was little league rugby - precious! They can tackle each other though... and it's co-ed... so that was a little odd. And people can drink at the games... imagine people with 6-packs at little kids' soccer games. After the game, I went to the aquarium with some of the girls in my IES Abroad program. I honestly have to say that it didn't impress me as much as I thought it would. I would definitely say that the Monterrey Aquarium is much better. However, there were really cool tunnels that went beneath the tanks so you were surrounded by the water and the fish.

                                              Three Shark Friends Taking a Snooze :)

                                                 Biggest Stingray I have EVER Seen.

                                                                Lego Scuba Diver

On Sunday, I went on an IES Abroad field trip to the Blue Mountains which is about two and a half hours north of Sydney. On the way there, we stopped at the Featherdale Wildlife Park which was sooooo much fun! We got to feed kangaroos and wallabies that freely roam around the park while we look around at other Australian animals. I basically wanted to take every animal home with me... of course. A baby goat bit my finger though... so I would probably leave that one there. When we arrived at the Blue Mountains, it was freeeeezing!! We ate lunch on a spinning floor that gave us a good view of the mountains. I couldn't really look up though because the spinning made me feel sick haha... Then we took an old mining train down to the rain forest below. We walked through the forest and looked at old mining houses and stuff like that... pretty typical tourist things. Then we took a gondola type thing back up the mountain and got a great view of the entire canyon/mountains. Oh and the mountains look blue because the Eucalyptus trees give off a chemical that reacts with the ozone layer and gives off a blue tint. 

                                                                 Baby Wallaby!

                                                       They Kept Kissing. So Cute.

                                                                  Baby in Pouch :)

                                                           Sleeping Wombat. Presh.

                                                    I really wanted him to kiss me....

                                                      Albino Peacock. Super Cool.

                                                                    Dingo Puppies!

                                                                 The Blue Mountains

                                                       Cool Trees at the Blue Mountains

I'm planning on climbing the Anzac Bridge on Saturday so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm also looking for some cool places to go scuba diving. I can sign up to go cage dive with great whites... kind of really excited to look into that one. Other than that, it's just another week in paradise! Love and miss y'all!

First Days at the Uni

My first few days of school have been insane. I made it to zero of four classes on Monday haha! I got lost and I had to change my entire schedule because all of my classes "clashed." After I got that all figured out, everything has been really exciting. I rigged my timetable (schedule) so that I have 5 day weekends! wooo hooo! As of right now, I am enrolled in Australia: Colonies to a Nation, Modernity in Asia, and Sports in Australia. I am trying to get into an art workshop called Object Designs where we make stools, but it is completely full right now.
The campus is absolutely beautiful! There is an entire building that looks like Hogwarts and the hallways are even called corridors.... LOVE IT! Inside the Hogwarts building (AKA the quadrangle), there is an amazing art museum called the Nicholson Museum. Right now, they have an Egyptian history exhibit going on. I looked at some mummified cats, humans, and crocodiles on my way to class? It was very interesting and I don't think I will be able to say that I can stop by a mummification exhibit on my way to class ever again.
I went grocery shopping last night at a place called Cole's. I pretty much had no idea what anything was. They had some American foods, but they also had weird names for the American food. Instead of Raisin Bran, they have Sultana Bran for example. On my way to the grocery store, I saw a man getting arrested by undercover cops. That was eventful. People were taking pictures of him too haha! I'm guessing he was a drug dealer or something? After grocery shopping, I went to a cute little bar down King Street called the Marly Bar. We saw a college initiation going on and the boys had to dress up like girls and the girls had to dress like boys. It reminded me of something that would happen at TCU. Oh and colleges are social groups that are like sororities and fraternities.
On Saturday, I am going to my first little league rugby game for my Sports in Australia class. I bet it is going to be so cute! On Sunday, my IES Abroad group is going to the Blue Mountains. We will get to see koala bears and feed kangaroos and see platypuses, etc at Featherdale Wildlife Park which is on the way to the Blue Mountains. Once we get to the Blue Mountains, we will just hike around and explore.
I absolutely love every minute of my time here and can't wait to experience soooo much more! Love and miss y'all!

                                                              My Beautiful Campus

I'm Never Coming Home.

Last night, I slept without any sheets on my bed. Instead, I wrapped myself in a snuggy because I couldn't get ahold of the girl who had my sheets in her room, but I didn't even care that I was freezing because I was so tired! I woke up this morning at 6:30 am... gotta love jet lag. We were picked up from our apartment at 9am and we went to the Rydges hotel to meet our IES abroad supervisor, Thais (Tie-ease). She studied abroad in Australia for six months when she was in college and never left... I can understand why. We spent a couple of hours at the hotel learning about Australia and discussing what would be going on this week... I start school tomorrow! Crazy!

Fun Facts About Australia:
     - 20% of Australia's population wasn't born here.
     - There is a hold in the ozone layer directly over Australia = skin cancer capital of the world.
     - Sydney is Australia's oldest city... but NOT THE CAPITAL (Canberra is the capital).
     - Sydney is one of the most desirable places to live and work in the world.
     - Maroubra (just south of Sydney) is the founding city of a violent gang called the Bra Boys.
     - The Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, made the Guinness Book of World Records because    
        he drank a pint of beer super fast.
     - An Australian invented the concept of boxed wine.

We went to Darling Harbour today for lunch and it was gorgeous... even though it was overcast and cold. After lunch, we went and had a glass of wine at the Helm Bar which overlooks Darling Harbour. The whole time they played cheesy 80's music and then randomly they decided to play The Beatles' "She Loves You" and Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire"? Soooo random. Anyway, I'm soooo excited about all of the different things that are available to do in Sydney. I want to do EVERYTHING, however, that's impossible... but I am going to try! I'll leave y'all with some funny Australian words that I have learned so far:

Barbie = barbecue
Dodgy = sketchy
Root = sex
Arvo = afternoon
Brekkie = breakfast
Reckon = I think..
Lippy = lipstick
Mozzie = mosquito
Pash = hooking up (Pash and Dash = one night stand haha...)
Pissed = drunk or mad
Rego = car registration
Sickie = calling in sick when you aren't (used in the phrase "chuck in a sickie")
Bogan = redneck, white trash
Crack onto = flirt with

                                                           Beautiful Darling Harbour

                                                            Artsy Pic at the Helm Bar

                                                Sitting in the Fun Chairs Before Lunch

Longest, Most Amazing Day of My Life

I finally got my internet to work at 9pm. It is 6am in Texas. I haven't slept in roughly 30 hours... yet, I am having suchhhh an amazing time!
It's crazy how I have been planning for this trip to Sydney since last November and dreaming about it since I was 5... and now it's finally here! I don't think I really realized that until we were landing in the Sydney airport. I actually started to tear up because I was so happy! I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to go on such an exciting adventure like this one. Anyway, once I got to the airport, I met 3 other girls who are studying at USyd with me (the Australians call it USyd haha... or the Uni). We all got our bags and went out to the shuttle that would take us to our apartment. Of course, I had to be super obnoxious, so I sat up front with the driver and asked him all sorts of crazy questions. Here is what I learned:
      1. If someone offers me horse, kindly decline. because horse is a slang term for heroine.
      2. When eating out, be sure to check if the kitchen is clean, otherwise... leave.
      3. Kingstown (where I live) is the number one gay area in Sydney.
      4. There are a lot of "crooks" in Sydney.
      5. Shelby mustangs are an extremely popular car in Australia. 

So after that little adventure... we arrived at the Sydney University Village where I live! I had to carry my 140 lbs of luggage up 3 flights of stairs haha... thank goodness no one saw me because I'm sure I looked completely ridiculous doing this. I live in an apartment with 4 other people. I've still only met three of them though and only had about .0005 seconds to introduce myself before I was off to find food, bedding, and a cell phone with the rest of my group. They have a Target and Kmart here.... but they are really really reallllllyyy small and don't really carry much besides home decor, clothes, and toys. I got a super awesome Go-phone... it's a litttttttttle bit different than my iPhone.

After shopping, we took a cab back to our apartment and got ready for dinner. We ate at a place in Sydney Harbor called City Extra - I had delicious ravioli and a glass of the house red wine (the drinking age is 18 here... I swear I saw a 12 year old with a 12-pack when we were shopping earlier). We walked around the harbor for a little bit and saw the opera house and the bridge and then headed back to the apartments once again. On the way home, we passed a loft in downtown Sydney that had a huge Texas flag draped over the window - so proud. I wish I had brought my Texas flag shorts.
Now I am sitting here falling asleep at my computer. I'll be more exciting tomorrow.. maybe. We are waking up at 8am tomorrow to walk across the entire city... which should be really fun! but probably really exhausting too!
Love and miss y'all!