The Bittersweet Between My Teeth

“My plane’s approach path into Kingsford Smith International took me past the Sydney Harbour. To see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge was relieving: after two weeks in distant lands, I had returned to my temporary home.” This is the introduction to what would have been my next blog post, but that post was never finished. My ambitious goal to document all of my experiences in Australia before I left was thwarted by both finals, and my desire to get the most out of my remaining time in the country.  However, this blog series deserves an ending, and what better occasion to write it than the exactly one year after I left for the land of koalas and kangaroos.

To recap: at the end of my last published post, I was Sydney-bound, ready to embrace the 60 days left before I returned to the US. During that time I…

• Celebrated my 21st Birthday (a little less momentous given that I had been legally drinking since the day I landed)

• Saw three shows at the Sydney Opera House, which included an opera about the Opera House (*inception*)

• Kayaked in the Sydney Harbour (in…near…same thing)

• Ate Kangaroo (the meat was easier to digest than the guilt)

• Travelled to Wollongong (1 1/2 hours south by train) to see a favorite band of mine perform in the smallest bar on earth

• Helped foreign friends celebrate their first Thanksgiving (they were surprised by the amount of food; I was comforted by it)

• Discovered the underground bars of Sydney (the establishments resembled “speakeasy” but I can assure you, by the end of the night speaking was far from easy)

• Bought a giant Wombat stuffed animal

• Donated said Wombat when I realized it was too large to fit in my suitcase

All of these adventures made time like a lightning bolt: 60 days passed in the blink of an eye. Somehow it was already the morning of December 2nd, and my Uber was waiting outside to take me to the airport. I wasn’t much looking forward to the ride because it was planned to be via the dull highways that circumvent the city entirely for the sake of time. However, in what seemed like a farewell gesture from Australia, traffic detoured my Uber through the city. The journey was slow and tedious, but it was absolutely perfect. I was proud that I was familiar with almost every street the car traversed and I was grateful that many of these streets had memories tied to them. This nostalgic trip made it all the more difficult when, two hours later, I peered out my plane window and watched the sights of Sydney – the same sights which had welcomed me home just two months ago – fade into the distance.

The 15 hour flight back to the United States was nothing but bittersweet. After almost 6 months, it felt like my time in Australia had reached its natural end (and not just because my bank account had also reached its natural end). I felt fulfilled by all that I had seen and all that I accomplished. I was also glad to soon reunite with friends and family and no longer worry about major time differences (“Hi Mom how is your day going? What do you mean its 2 AM?”). However, I also knew that this grand adventure, perhaps my grandest to date, was now done. Over the course of nearly 150 days, I turned a distant land into a home. Uninhibited by work (or school really), I was able to use everyday to explore new places, new cultures, new foods, and new activities. It truly was my dream life, but now I was waking up.

I kept busy during my first weeks back. In fact, just 16 hours after I landed in Minnesota, I was back on a plane. Through travels to Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois, I distracted myself from the fact that I had left Australia. This fact finally sunk in when, at the end of January, I started Spring semester.  January and February are not particularly beautiful months in Maryland, and I must admit that the bleak skies matched my feelings about bundling up to walk on cobblestone to class instead of dressing down to walk on sand to a surfing lesson. However, I was reminded of a sentence from my first blog post: “I know that comfort with the situation will come with time.” I did not anticipate a hard transition on the returning end of my study abroad experience, but I knew how to face it, and indeed with each passing day my yearning for Australia grew weaker, and my content grew stronger.

Now, looking back one year later, I’m still in awe of all that I experienced. If there is one lesson from Australia that I carry with me, it is to embark on as many adventures, both small and large, as possible. As for my next adventures, this past spring I visited friends in England, Scotland, and France. In a few weeks, as part of a multi-country trip to Europe, I’ll be in Budapest, where, coincidentally, I will see The Naked and Famous perform live (this post’s title is lyrics from their song “Young Blood”). In January, I fly to Africa to spend two weeks in the Victoria Falls region of Zimbabwe and Zambia for a wildlife photography and conservation project. Beyond that, I know only that the world is waiting, the possibilities are endless, and that there is a certain koala-filled country in the South Pacific that I can always call home.

Cheers!

 

 

The Kaleidoscope Claims Another

A recent poll by MasterCard found that Bangkok was the most visited city in the world in 2015. I wasn’t surprised to learn this because almost everyone I met in Thailand, including myself, was there either on enthusiastic recommendation from a friend, or they were that friend and they were visiting the country again.  I have no doubt that all of us were there to experience the unique culture and color that only Thailand, and the rest of Asia, can offer. As One Republic sings in their song “Life in Color,” the lyrical inspiration for this post, “the sun bursts, the cloud breaks” and surrounding you is “life in motion;” something so captivating that one becomes almost obsessed with forever experiencing this kaleidoscope of wonders.

Day Seven

It is important to highlight that I did not experience this captivation until actually landing in Asia – Singapore to be specific – because I would use approximately none of the words above to describe the experience onboard Scoot airlines. Being on a student budget, all of my Asia air travel was done on low-cost carriers. To clarify: that is, Asian low cost carriers. Certainly I don’t mean to imply anything racist by this distinction; I just want to be clear that I wasn’t flying with the luxuries that even Southwest offers, like complimentary water, or oxygen masks that don’t require coins to operate. Of course, the airline got me safely from Australia to Singapore so I can’t complain about too much, but a 7 1/2 hour flight with just me, my thoughts, and an incomprehensible book about highly improbable events (like one of these flight attendants actually smiling) is not something I would care to do too often.

After landing, and checking-in to my hostel, I decided to make the most of my return to the Northern Hemisphere (complete with extended daylight) by heading to Marina Bay to get my first glimpse of the city. I noticed several things along the way that gave me a good indication of the ups and downs I would experience for the next several days. For example: Singapore has an excellent train network, but all of the trains are driver-less (not the most comforting thing for someone reading a book about highly improbable events). Also, the weather is always sunny, but it’s so humid that after only two steps I looked like I just finished the New York Marathon…twice. However, I must say I completely forgot about the sixth Great Lake forming in my shoes when I got my first look at the city. I had seen shots of the city on an episode of “The Amazing Race” – which I consider to be an exotic show – many years ago, so to have those very views in front of me now was magnificent, and almost unbelievable (though given the sweat-state of my skin, pinching myself was out of the question). This sense of awe continued for the rest of the evening as I explored some of Singapore’s most famous landmarks.

A Merlion, an ark, and what may be the remains of the burning bush; practically a book out of the Bible

I was amazed those plants were still alive considering I was already dying

 

Day Eight

Though I was somewhat reluctant to leave the air conditioning of my bedroom this morning, I (eventually) set out determined to see as much of the city as possible. I wish I could say I did so efficiently, but my tracks in the city could best be described as a pentagon hit by an earthquake. I started in Little India, a decision entirely motivated by food. Unfortunately my appetite for warm, spicy foods was effectively neutralized by the near 100 degree weather, but I nonetheless enjoyed exploring the ethnic neighborhood, which included an intricate Hindu temple. My next destination was the Marina Bay Sands, a Las Vegas-like casino/hotel that could also serve as an ark should those sea levels get a little too high. Ignoring the fact that heat rises, I took an elevator 55 stories up to the observation deck of the hotel to enjoy panoramic views of the city. I continued taking in tall views afterwards by walking the skyway at Gardens By The Bay, a vast and impressive collection of gardens that adjoins the Marina Bay Sands. At this point in the day I was sure my body’s water composition was down to about two percent so I stopped in a cafe downtown to rejuvenate.

I was thinking there’d be more Tuk Tuks

The Hindu Temple

Pure Singapore

Those freighters give new meaning to the phrase “industrial park”

The Supertrees for which they charged a Superfee

From the cafe I made my way to Chinatown to visit the vendors on “Food Street” and the merchants in the famous “Chinatown Street Market.” Had it not been for the size of my bag I could have gone on quite the spree at the latter. After getting a couple of souvenirs I decided to remove myself from the dangerously affordable situation by journeying to a “hipster” part of town: Haji Lane. Walking down this road, surrounded by chic and modern shops and cafes, I felt like I was in Uptown, Minneapolis – an interesting feeling given that “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” was blasting from the speakers of one venue. From here I returned to Marina Bay to admire the sunset and take in an outdoor night show. The show was called “Garden Rhapsody: A Night at the Musical Theater:” a spectacle of lights and American show tunes featuring the artificial Supertrees (LED-lined structures) at Gardens By The Bay. I had actually seen the show the night before, but returned because I thought it was such an enjoyable way to end the day.

Wonder if they call it Chi-Town

Picture of a beautiful temple featuring my beautiful thumb

Haji Lane? Minneapolis? Washington D.C.?

Seems like when I made those same drawings I only got a B-

Even more amazing is knowing that the temperature dropped now

 

Day Nine

With my “city day” behind me, my original intention for today was to spend the entirety of it biking around Puala Ubin, an island nature reserve off the coast of the city that was famous for…well, biking. Getting to the island was an adventure in and of itself. The bus ride was complicated by a language barrier between me and the driver (he was speaking Mandarin, I was speaking Google Translate), and though there was no communication barrier onboard the boat, there did seem to be a barrier between it and modern safety regulations. Nonetheless I arrived safely at the island, where I was promptly suckered into renting a bike with no breaks, before I set off for a day of exploring. My energetic attitude lasted all of about 20 minutes before the humidity tortured and killed it. To my credit, during those 20 minutes I completed the “Sensory Trail,” which could just as well be called the “What Do You Sense Will Kill You Next Trail,” and I survived an off-road experience that had even this Jew praying that Jesus would take the wheel. Needing to relax from all of this, I decided to visit the café on the island. By café I mean a tent that sold water and Oreos and offered seating in broken plastic chairs, but in that moment I saw it more as a rustic, small-plates establishment that offered outdoor seating with scenic views.

The safest place for these boats: not moving

My not so trusty steed for the morning

Now just imagine the sounds of something moving in the bush and something else flying overhead

I think the dock is so once people are scared by the sensory trail, they can get a running start into the water

Main Street (as in, the only street)

By this point I had given up on the plan to stay at the island all day. Frankly, I don’t know why I thought continuous physical activity in a climate similar to Guantanamo Bay would ever be enjoyable. I decided to bike one final loop before heading back to the city. While I was on this loop, moving at breakneck speeds away from a bug the size of my hand, I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye, and turned to see a colony of monkeys. I spent the next 30 minutes photographing them, and though they were camera-shy, I loved every second of it. The photo shoot ended when a nearby wild boar caused the monkeys to retreat to high ground, and myself to retreat to the city. The area where the boats dock is right under an approach path into Changi Airport so I spent some time just watching wide-bodies land before I set off to wander around the city for the rest of the afternoon and evening. I finished the day with one final viewing of “Garden Rhapsody”.

iSpy 3 Monkeys

Only one who got close to me: either an adventurer or a diva

Even more amazing is the temperature drop that accompanied this

 

Day Ten

My flight to Thailand wasn’t until the afternoon so I spent the morning at the Chinatown markets picking up some final souvenirs before making my way to the airport. I budgeted some extra time to Changi Airport because, given that it is consistently ranked the number one airport in the world, I considered it to be tourist destination itself. Indeed, the facilities were modern and clean, there was no shortage of duty-free and high end shops, and the indoor rainforest and waterfall currently being built is an ambitious and impressive plan, but what pleased me the most was my Burger King meal (a welcome break from Asian food) that included a view overlooking the tarmac; so by my qualifications the Juda International Airport in South Sudan (consistently rated the worst airport in the world) could have been the number one airport in the world at that moment.

The flight itself was uneventful: I was a little concerned that the safety instructions included the phrase “when we hit the water” instead of “if we hit the water,” but I am happy to report that I was not at any time forced to find out just how buoyant my seat cushion was. When I landed in Bangkok I was greeted by an unusual sight: an advertisement at an airport for a different airport. In front of me was a giant picture of the “Pride of Thailand” while surrounding me was a building that likely won the same ‘horse’s rear end’ trophy that my mom, sister, and I once took home from a bowling tournament. The latter best represented things to come: I almost declared myself a Chinese citizen in the customs line, my Uber driver took approximately 52 wrong turns (I may not understand Thai, but I did understand constant head shaking followed by “sorry”), and upon arriving at my hostel I was informed that I had booked a hostel with air conditioning, and I had booked a room, but I had somehow not booked the “air conditioned room.” Never in my life had I craved a beer so much, so I took a seat at the first restaurant I found. The meal I had there was cheap and enjoyable and was made all the more satisfying by the fact that surrounding me was Bangkok, Thailand, yet another distant land that so far had only existed in my dreams. I finished the night by shopping at local markets, where I picked up a pair of cliché, yet fashionable, elephant pants.

Day Eleven

I was up early today for a morning tour of some of Bangkok’s most famous temples. The tour included stops at the Golden Buddha, the Reclining Buddha, and the Marble Buddha (you Buddha believe it). I spent most of the morning simply in awe at these intricate and magnificent structures. Their construction would be impressive at any point in history, but to consider that they were built hundreds of years ago is almost unbelievable – I certainly won’t be bragging about my bathroom tiling feats in this country. Anytime that I didn’t spend in awe, I spent in fear: fear that I would somehow do something to upset some ancient order and thereby incur the wrath of Buddha himself. Luckily the only person I upset was the salesperson at the gem factory we toured after the temples. After this, the tour company dropped me off at MBK Shopping Center, a behemoth building whose buffet-style food court offered yet another cheap and delicious meal.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Temple of the Reclining Buddha

This was only about half his body

Continuing the morning’s theme of exquisite architecture, my next stop was the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha. I decided to get there by means of a boat tour up the Chao Phraya River, a Bangkok must-do according to some of my friends. Riding on the river is like stepping back in time: the water is dirtied and polluted, the boat engines continuously cough up black smoke, and many of structures along the river are primitive. However, I must admit there is a certain beauty to it all: I have no doubt that one day the river will be pure blue and lined with skyscrapers, but for now it remains a stronghold of tradition against pressure from globalization and gentrification. When I arrived at the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha, I was struck by their magnificent and commanding presence (which was aided by the guards armed with AK-47s). Just as I had done in the morning, I tried to soak in every element, and capture every detail. When I was finished here I took a boat ride back down the river, and then took a Tuk Tuk back to my hostel: a riveting experience to say the least. That night, inspired by my palace visit, I had a spring roll and curry feast fit for a king and I topped it off with a mouth-watering dessert from a street vendor (one that was not selling cooked bugs).

Riverfront property

The Grand Palace

 

Day Twelve

Going to sleep the night before felt like going to sleep on Christmas Eve because today was perhaps the most anticipated activity of my entire trip: a day at an elephant sanctuary. The sanctuary was in Kanchanaburi, about 2 1/2 hours west of Bangkok, so I was out the door at 6:30 AM. Given my driver’s liberal use of both the accelerator and the brake, the journey was a fast-paced thrill ride through the Thai countryside. Not surprisingly, this made me the first visitor of the day to arrive, but I didn’t mind at all because of six magical words: “you can wait with the elephants.” I had brought bananas with me so I originally imagined spending the next 20 minutes meticulously peeling each one, and then gently feeding it to the elephants as we formed a lifelong bond. This dream was interrupted by the feeling of a slimy and coarse trunk snatching the first banana out of my hand. It took the elephant approximately 30 seconds to finish all eight of my bananas, and once it was satisfied that my phone was not a ninth banana it went back to eating grass – so much for that friendship.

As soon as the other five visitors arrived we officially started the day. An interesting note: there are over 400 elephant sanctuaries in Thailand and their success is a testament to humanity because all of them require visitors to not only pay a fee, but also to help care for the elephants. Most of the tasks we completed were food related: preparing snacks, feeding snacks, and eating snacks (this was the most important). Each task also provided insight into life as an elephant. We learned how social, playful, and gentle the creatures are, but most importantly we learned how picky they can be. For example, during the afternoon snack (a modest 20 watermelons), my elephant refused to eat any watermelon that wasn’t first peeled and then cut into pieces, and when I tried to sneak in a banana she threw it back at me (not surprisingly, her nickname was “princess”). The day ended with a bath in the river for all of the elephants, visitors, and workers, and except for a moment of panic when I realized I was surrounded by three elephant butts (nobody move!), it was an absolute blast. After a death-defying ride back to Bangkok, I went to the famous Khao San Road to enjoy one final delectable meal in Thailand.

I asked her to strike a pose

Not a bad view for lunch

Things I thought I would never touch: an elephant’s tongue

Thought we were bonding until the one behind me almost ran me over

 

Day Thirteen

Compared to the past week my morning was low-key today: after sleeping in, I enjoyed a quick breakfast before setting off for the airport, making sure to clarify to my Uber driver that I was not going the “Pride of Thailand.” Though I didn’t understand her response to this, I’m sure it translated to “ah yes, the sh*thole.” Admitedly, my departure experience outshined my arrival experience so I’m willing to nominate the airport for the title of “Mediocrity of Thailand.” My flight to Kuala Lumpur was uneventful until the last 10 minutes when we were informed that the cabin had to be sprayed for hygienic reasons. Interestingly almost all of the flight attendants disappeared at this point (likely to put on Hazmat suits) while the one attendant who drew the short straw walked down the aisle of the plane spraying what I can only imagine was a combination of Lysol, bleach, and mustard gas into the air. Luckily the customs line in Malaysia took almost an hour so my body had plenty of time to return its oxygen levels to normal.The airport sits about 35 miles outside of the city so it took a decent amount of time to get to my hostel. Once I was there I simply collapsed into bed. The exhaustion from all my travel had finally caught up with me and though I originally tried to explore the nearby Central Market for awhile, I realized that the best thing to do was to go to sleep.

Day Fourteen

After a good night’s rest, I woke up this morning feeling refreshed. I enjoyed breakfast on the hostels’ balcony overlooking the city before beginning my journey to Kuala Selangor, my destination for the day. From what I read online, finding the bus to Kuala Selangor was easy: just look for the bus with “Selangor” painted in big letters on the side. As I later learned, “Selangor” is actually the name of the bus company, not just a convenient way for the visually impaired to tell where the bus is going, and the company operates over 30 buses, so you can imagine the ease at which I, a non-malay-speaking American, found the appropriate bus. Once onboard I settled in for a relaxing two hour ride; a mood that last all of about 10 minutes before I noticed that the exchanges of the company workers at the front of the bus curiously resembled money laundering. Given that there was also a twitchy man sitting across from me who was sweating profusely and tightly clutching his bag, I felt like I was in the movie Mickey Blue Eyes. However, not wanting to get “whacked,” I decided it was best to look out the window and fuhgeddaboudit.

Upon arriving in Kuala Selangor there were many local food venues available for lunch, so naturally I decided to eat at the Pizza Hut. By now the energy from my long sleep the night before had all but faded, so my next move was to check into my hotel – which offered the first private bed and bathroom of my trip – and take a nap. Kuala Selangor is famous for two things: fishing villages and fireflies, so once I woke up I set off to find both. As my mom often says “god gave me two good legs” and since he didn’t give me cell service or a taxi that evening I made my way to a nearby village by foot. Though the 30 minute walk was relatively uneventful for me, I have no doubt the headline in the local papers the next day was “White Boy Sightings Reported,” as it seemed every child stared in wonder when I walked by (still feel bad about the one who got hit in the head by a soccer ball because of it).  I sat down at a restaurant on the water with the intention of eating fresh fish, but after seeing the authenticity of the meal on the menu (fish head and all) I settled on chicken. Once I had finished dinner I departed for a firefly boat tour from a nearby dock. The forests in this part of Malaysia are said to have some of the highest concentrations of fireflies on earth, and one of the best places to view them is from the river. From a distance it looked like someone had put twinkling lights on all the trees. Up close, the phenomenon was even more incredible and I was reminded of the lyrics by Owl City: “you would not believe your eyes if 10 million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep.” After the tour was finished I made the trek back to my hotel, enjoying an ice cream treat along the way.

If I had waited long enough I probably could have seen someone’s dinner jump out of the water

A Selangor Sunset: this picture, as well as great name for a drink

 

Day Fifteen

This morning’s agenda had only one thing on it: Monkey Mountain. This mountain, which was actually more of a hill, is an old dutch fort famous for it’s primate residents, as well as it’s views of the Strait of Malacca. God had yet to provide that taxi so I again made the journey by foot. In total it took about 20 minutes to reach the base of the hill, and about 10 minutes to walk up it. Though this isn’t a particularly long time, with the heat, humidity and lack of monkeys, I was feeling discouraged, cheated, and worried about the 5K that seemed to be starting behind me (*frantically checks shirt to make sure it doesn’t resemble a runner’s bib*). All my worries disappeared, however, when I reached the top and found about 20 of Curious George’s cousins. These monkey’s likely had no survival skills whatsoever given that every person there was feeding them fruits and vegetables, but I’m certainly not one to encourage famine so I bought a stalk of beans from the available vendor (who can I only assume was named Local Entrepreneur of the Year) and approached the nearest monkey. Wanting to prolong my time I tried feeding the monkey just one bean at a time, however I was quickly reminded of our evolutionary proximity to these creatures (including their opposable thumbs), when he ignored the individual bean and instead snatched the rest of the stalk out of my other hand. I’m somewhat embarrassed to say I tried the process again, but with the same results. After getting a few pictures and taking in the view, I decided I had had enough swindling for the day, so I made my way back to my hotel where I cleaned up before catching a bus back to Kuala Lumpur.

Contrary to the picture the one on the right is the thief

For well fed monkeys they sure do look sad

 

The Straight of Malacca in the distance: for some reason I thought it would have a sign or something

Luckily the bus ride back was free of any similarities to crime movies, though with the age of the bus and the variety of the passengers Little Miss Sunshine did come to mind. Upon arrival, I took a taxi (which I had never been so happy to see) to the landmark that drew me to Malaysia: The Petronas Towers. I had long admired these towers, which were the tallest in the world from 1998 to 2004, online so I was ecstatic to see them in person. At the base of the these 1500 ft structures is a shopping center, which I happily browsed to enjoy the air conditioning. From the towers I made my way to Central Market, where, after checking into my hostel, I made my final purchases of the trip. Given the affordable prices, abundance of vendors, presence of food, and my slight tendency to over-shop, I thought this process would take hours; however, after only 45 minutes, I had satisfied both my material and nourishment needs. Ignoring efficiency, I decided to go back to the Petronas Towers, where I enjoyed gelato in the adjacent Symphony Park. The park’s night show, which was a fantastic coordination of fountains, lights, and the recorded sounds of the Malaysian Philharmonic, was the final activity of my trip.

Guess sculptures of violins and cellos wouldn’t have been as amusing to kids

A fitting colorful end to the trip

Day Sixteen

Most of today was dedicated to the 9 hour plane ride from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney. Given that this leg also lacked in-flight entertainment, I had ample time to reflect on the incredible trip I had just completed. Though it is hard to put all of my feelings into words, I can say that every day I was reminded of how amazing the world is, and how much we can learn from the other people in it. I am forever grateful for the experiences and opportunities I continue to have that allow me to live “Life in Color.”

Just Footprints Where You’ve Been

Given that I concocted the idea for my whirlwind trip through the South Pacific sometime last spring, my anticipation had been building for months, so it should come as no surprise that I entered the adventure bright-eyed and bushy tailed, or as The Notionaires put, with “.Excited Eyes,” which is the musical base for this blog post. Their lyrics are almost verbatim how I would describe my trip: “throw your clothes and cares behind you to the wind,” (ok I promise I kept my clothes on), “don’t pay no mind to the where or how, keep on moving on,” and “I know there’s a million ways we could go.”

Unfortunately, before I could embark on even one of those million ways, I spent the day leading up to my departure finishing an essay for my business class. Normally I would categorize such a task as easier said than done, but considering my essay had to incorporate terms like Hukou and names like Li Keqiang, I would categorize this essay as simply a pain in the a**. After submitting what I considered to be a genius and revolutionary take on the Chinese economy, and what my professor will no doubt consider mediocre at best, I set off to the airport to catch the first of 6 flights over the next 16 days.

Day One

The first stop on my trip was Queenstown which is on the south island of New Zealand. Upon landing, I began looking for the bus I needed to catch into the town. I exited one door to find what appeared to be a deserted parking lot, and two taxis with drivers that had questionable life signs. Initially I thought I had made a mistake, so I went back into the terminal searching for the bus hub I had imagined. After walking the length of the terminal (all 4 minutes) I realized that indeed I had exited the right door because it was in fact the only door. At this point I feared that perhaps what the website meant by “bus transportation available” is that if I’m lucky enough to find a bus, I’m allowed to drive myself into town with it. Fortunately, a bus (driven by someone else) soon arrived and brought me into town. After checking in, I grabbed dinner at a famous local burger shop, explored the town a bit, and then went to sleep in anticipation of an early morning.

Ate at this cafe purely to get this photo

The view of check in/arrivals/shops/restaurants/customs/car rentals/baggage claim/

A Fergburger, which I assume translates to “delicious”

Day Two

Monday I was booked on a day tour to Milford Sound, a part of Fjordland National Park that lies about 4 hours east of Queenstown. The drive to the park actually takes closer to 6 hours including stops for pictures and gawking, so the bus left Queenstown at 7 AM. Given that the first thing we passed on our journey was a mountain range literally named “The Remarkables,” I knew I was in for a day of wonders. These wonders included views like “The Mirror Lakes” which offer crystal clear reflections of the mountains, and creatures like the Kea, a species of parrot said to have the problem-solving capabilities of a 4 year old, making them some of the smartest birds in the world (forget comparing them to other birds, this makes them smarter than some humans I’ve met). These wonders continued on the two-hour cruise through Milford Sound itself, which, contrary to its name, is actually a fjord that leads to the Tasman Sea. Conveying the beauty of Milford Sound through words is a task that I consider nearly impossible, so I’ll let my pictures communicate their 1,000 words, and simply add that I found the experience to be chimerical: an adventure that bordered fantasy. After the cruise, the bus ride back to Queenstown was a bit pedal to the metal given that our driver’s hours were limited by labor laws (hope no one had to go to the bathroom), but overall it was smooth and relaxing and I absolutely loved taking in views of the New Zealand countryside.

Even the blur of this poorly taken photo doesn’t ruin the reflection

Was told they can destroy cars; decided to use the zoom

 

Our captain drove us into this 10 seconds later, it’s less magical when it’s getting you wet

100% Pure New Zealand

Day Three

Tuesday I was up early again for a morning zip-line down the mountain. To reach “Bob’s Peak” where the tour departed from, one can either hike, or take a gondola. Thinking that the “100% Pure New Zealand” air that the country’s tourism council constantly promotes would somehow boost my physical abilities, I decided to hike up the mountain; a decision I almost instantly regretted, but refused to reverse for fear of judgement from the two older women I passed at the base of the path. After an experience that I can only imagine is similar to summiting Mount Everest, I reached the check-in area and discovered that I was the only one on the 10:00 zip-line tour that hadn’t taken the gondola. Given everyone else’s relaxed demeanor and lack of sweat I felt like they were the Kea birds in this situation. Zip-lining itself was amazing. The three-hour tour was comprised of 6 lines, including the steepest line in the world (on which they tell you if you feel like you aren’t slowing down then brace for impact). Officially the activity was an eco-tour so along the way our instructors gave cool information about the environment of New Zealand. Originally, I had planned to hike further up the mountain in the afternoon, but after seeing a sign that said “alpine experience required,” which I read as “RADIOACTIVE, TURN BACK NOW,” I decided instead to take a stroll up Queenstown Hill. The top of the hill offers sweeping views of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and the occasional mountain goat. I had hoped to get a good picture of the sunset from here, but didn’t quite take into account the height of the mountains so sunset was more of a sharp cutoff than a spectacular show. After making my way back to ground-level, I spent my last night in Queenstown wandering the streets and admiring the stars.

I don’t know who this “Bob” fella is but he sure does have a nice peak

Happy because this why I really chose to study abroad

Determining if I need to brace for impact

A welcome break from the morning’s vertical marathon

“My Highland Goat” (An Australian childhood classic)

Mountains > Beaches

Day Four

On Wednesday, I knew I had some time to kill before my flight back to Australia (Queensland this time), so I decided to grab breakfast at the cafe on “Bob’s Peak,” though this time I opted for the gondola ride to get there. If there were a competition for “best view while eating a cinnamon roll” I surely would have won this year. Perhaps even more amazing to me than the view, was the fact that it was only a glimpse of the immense natural beauty that New Zealand has to offer. After finishing breakfast I returned to town to shop for a souvenir to forever remind me of the country’s beauty (incidentally this souvenir broke before it got back to my apartment in Sydney so there goes that future family heirloom). While I was relaxing in a park near the town docks after shopping I got a notification from Qantas that my flight had been delayed. My flight record for the semester now stands at flights delayed: 4, flights on-time: 0. The Australian government claims that Qantas has an on-time performance of 86.5% but frankly I think they must be on meth because the odds of every single one of my flights falling in that 13.5% are 300,000 to 1; coincidentally the odds of dying in an airplane crash (you can imagine my comfort during the flight). Fortunately the flight landed without incident, though our arrival into Brisbane was 3 hours later than expected. After making my way to my hostel, I happily showered and went to sleep.

A “Remarkable” View

Their street names could use some help

For only $200/15 min you can actually rent a submarine from here

Day Five

Thursday was my only day in Brisbane, Australia’s third most populous city, so I wanted to see as much as possible. The heart of the city is arguably the Brisbane River so one of my first activities was a ride from the southern most ferry point to the northern most one. The service was a great way to cover a lot of ground, admire the Brisbane skyline, and with a stop near downtown, it served as great transportation. To add to its benefits, the ferry was free (though based on the engine noises I think I could tell where they were making up their loses). To me, downtown Brisbane reflect downtown Sydney in many ways. The composition of the streets was almost identical and the just as in Sydney, gardens and parks were ample. Throughout the day, as I was exploring, I also took advantage of the familiar shops to stock up on supplies before flying to Asia. After eating dinner on the waterfront, I finished the day in a downtown cafe, sipping a hot chocolate while trying to comprehend a book about highly improbable events, which admitedly I bought thinking it would be light reading  (turns out me understand it is itself a highly improbable event).

A perfect place to run (if for some reason I actually wanted to)

Chicago, IL or Brisbane, QLD?

Day Six

Friday morning I departed for Gold Coast, Queensland, about an hours drive south from Brisbane. Though technically I made the journey by way of Greyhound bus, since I was the only passenger on the 70-seat vehicle, I like to claim that I rented the bus out (for ample personal space of course). Gold Coast is known for two things: beaches and surfing. In fact, the bus dropped me off in an area called “Surfers Paradise,” or as I more appropriately refer to it: “Sunburnt Paradise.” Indeed I spent the majority of the day relaxing on pristine beaches while simultaneously turning into a tomato. On the plus side I no longer had to worry about standing out as a white person in Asia, but on the down side I did fear my new appearance would cause many to think I was what them westerners call a redneck. After dinner and a final stroll along the beach, I went back to my hostel and prepared to leave for a new continent the next morning.

Beach #4 of the day

Beach #32 of the day

The sun sets on Week 1 of my trip

From the dirt trails of New Zealand, to the sandy beaches of Australia, I left my footprints in many places this week, and those places, in turn, left their own impressions on me.

Stay tuned for my next post which covers the second part of my trip!

There’s Something Happening Somewhere

Sorry for the lack of blog updates in the last month: unfortunately my writing time was focused on papers instead of posts in the weeks leading up to my mid-semester break and then I set off on a two week trip through the South Pacific. However, now that I’m back in ‘Straya,’ and those pesky academics have subsided, I’m ready and eager to update you all.

The lyrics for this week’s blog title are a bit of a throwback. I usually use more modern tunes but I covered so much ground, and experienced so many things before I left for my trip that it always felt like “the radio [was] on and I’m moving ’round the place,” so Bruce Springsteen’s classic “Dancing In the Dark” was an obvious choice.

After a weekend of rugby and retail, my Monday progressed rather uneventfully; that is until evening hit, and one of my friends offered to let us take her rental car for a spin around the parking garage. Ever since landing here I’ve been curious as to how easy it would be to drive on Australian roads. It should be like a riding bike, just backwards – right? The impending doom which that failed analogy conveys was best displayed the first time I went to signal my turn (I didn’t want that one concrete post in the empty lot to suddenly move on me) and I turned my windshield wipers on instead. Aside from that, and my complete lack of awareness of the left side of the car, I’d say my first Australian driving adventure was a success. After turning control back over to my friend with more experiencing driving down under, we cruised across the Harbour Bridge and into the night with “Your Love” by The Outfield blasting from the car’s underpowered speakers.

*sadly there are no pictures of this event because we were concentrating all of our brainpower on things like not dying (and not hitting any rogue kangaroos)*

The next morning it was time for another Tourist Tuesday. In search of a new Instagram post, and a way to enjoy the beautiful day, I set off to Palm Beach. The journey is normally 1 1/2 hours by bus, but Sydney buses are about as reliable as the US mail service (I’m a postal pessimist) so naturally 3 hours later I finally stepped off my bus near the trail entrance to the Barrenjoey Lighthouse, which overlooks Palm Beach. As a nearby sign explained, there are two options for reaching the lighthouse: a steady climb that is wheelchair accessible, or a Level 2 or 3 hike (surely that means mild) which requires a moderate level of fitness. About 5 minutes into the hiking path I was not only out of breath and regretting my choice, but also flashing back to when my doctor told me that asthma attacks are the number one cause of death for young people.  However, the views at the top made up for the hard climb – which admitedly only took 20 minutes – and I am happy to report my Instagram post was a success. After enjoying lunch on a cliff overlooking the Tasman Sea, and making my down the hill (via the accessible path this time), I spent the rest of the afternoon strolling along the beach, and fighting off dueling parrots at a nearby cafe before I set off to Darling Harbour to meet a friend for dinner.

No wonder lighthouse keepers were so lonely – no one wanted to hike up that hill

I maintained a perfect 1:1 ratio for pictures captured vs. number of times almost getting swept away

My study abroad program used this photo so really this is a blog about celebrity life.

Though not exactly full of writing material, the rest of my week was quite wonderful. I spent most of Wednesday on the phone and on the computer catching up with friends and family back home, which is always a favorite activity. On Friday, one of the greatest music moments of the year happened: Bastille released their second studio album, Wild World. Bastille is a band that is very near and dear to my heart: their first album, Bad Blood, was released during my senior year of high school, and to this day memories come flooding back anytime I hear one of their songs (BAND, AT’TEN-TION). On Saturday I met up with people from my Canberra trip for what one of my friends appropriately deemed a “can-beer-a reunion,” which was the perfect end to the week.

On Sunday, while I slept in from the previous night’s festivities, by some miracle two of my friends woke up at 6:30 to catch their morning train to the mountains. Wanting to experience a miracle myself, I set off that afternoon to the Sydney Chocolate Festival. The Sydney Harbour is already a magnificent place, but add to it over 30 vendors, each offering some kind of chocolate product or pastry and it is truly a validation that God loves us and wants us to be happy. I’m not the biggest fan of crowds (as in I hate them) so I ended up choosing my chocolate indulgence based on which vendor had the shortest line. Though the booth “Oregano Scrolls” could use some marketing help – perhaps from their more successful neighbor “Chocolate Donuts” – they certainly don’t need any help in the baking department. I savored every bite of my banana, caramel, chocolate roll while relaxing in a nearby park, enjoying a view of the Opera House.

The most exclusive club of the season

I’ve blurred out the less important landmark

A good pair of white shoes can take you anywhere

Tourist Tuesday was the next major event in the week. Knowing I would be gone from the home of the outback for the next two weeks, I decided to make a trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park, one of the more interactive animal experiences in Sydney (supposedly). After journeying to the lower-income part of the city (which was I not expecting), I walked into an area that was truly the size of a park (which I also was not expecting), and found a variety of outback animals…asleep (which I definitely was not expecting). Unfortunately, the animals were likely asleep because that was the only activity for them in their disproportionally small enclosures. The closest comparison I can make is to the Como Zoo in St. Paul, which offers free admission at the expense of enclosure sizes. It is almost impossible for me to enjoy such places because I believe it is disrespectful to the animals, and offensive to the hard conservation work of larger zoos. After only 30 minutes, I left in disgust and made my way back to campus via the city.

Not even the birds were fooled by that boat

Hiked 80 miles in Patagonia, saw no penguins; took a bus for an hour in Sydney, saw 12

The only redeeming aspect of the park and the cutest Australian creature there is: a wombat

Never ones to turn down free food, the next day everyone from my program who was in Sydney met at a burger joint in Paddington to reconnect, enjoy a meal, and perhaps most importantly, catch up on the Australian version of The Bachelor (for which I had to receive a crash course). At this point we had all been in the city for 2 months so it was cool to hear what everyone had been doing with their time. Coincidentally, it felt like I had never left home because the restaurant offered a Juicy Lucy. I proudly informed everyone that it was invented in Minneapolis, and then I proudly devoured mine.

Thursday and most of Friday were dedicated to the rush to get my essays done before I left for break. After almost two days of intense writing – meaning attempting to write but really exploring the depths of Wikipedia instead (ask me about health care in Croatia) –  I decided I deserved a break, and the big event on campus that night was the Re: Conception concert. A free event is already reason enough to change plans and push deadlines, but this event was even more important to the campus community because it had been cancelled the year before. I had heard some local bands in bars here before (where I was thankful there was alcohol nearby) so I didn’t have high expectations for the music. In fact, when the MC first announced that the closing band was San Cisco, I was annoyed that some wanna-be group had stolen the name of a great Indie band. You can imagine my surprise and pure giddiness when the band that took the stage was actually San Cisco, a feel-good group whose hit “Fred Astaire” remains a favorite summer song of mine. Their set was amazing and, true to the song choice for this blog, I happily ended my week “Dancing In the Dark.”

San Cisco: an apparently Australian band

The ultimate devotion

 

My next blog will cover the first week of my trip and it will be out soon! For a preview of my trip check out this video:

 

 

 

New Friends And New Places To See

This week’s musical inspiration is a bit of throwback – “On My Way” is a song written by Phil Collins for the movie Brother Bear, which was released when I was approximately half the height that I am today. However, I can think of no better lyrics for my past 10 days.

The first major event to occur was another Tourist Tuesday. In light of a busy past weekend and another packed one approaching, I decided today’s landmark visit would be more low-key: the infamous Sappho Books and Cafe. Admittedly, the cafe may not be as well known as I claim it to be, but I do have a certain standard to uphold for my Tuesday activities. The cafe seating was in a private courtyard that was the perfect place to catch up on work and enjoy a hot chocolate. I ended my time at the cafe by exploring the impressive record collection it had for sale. The vinyls were by no means in mint condition, but it was still cool to hold iconic albums like The Beatle’s Abbey Road. I then made my way back to campus, and on the way explored parts of the city along a road named, coincidentally, Broadway.

Only thing missing was Wi-Fi

Seemed a shame to even drink this, but then I remembered I was cold

Wednesday was mostly spent going to classes and preparing for my weekend trip. The trip was the Global Leadership Symposium: a 4 day endeavor to broaden understanding of international relations and current global issues. The Symposium was held in Australia’s capital so on Thursday at slightly past o’dark thirty, I boarded a bus to Canberra, along with the 24 other students on the trip. The three hour drive was a pleasant glimpse at the Australian countryside – which included far more dead Kangaroo than in my dreams.

After arriving, and eating lunch at The Pork Barrel (naturally, the local jew hangout), our first stop was Parliament House, home of the Parliament of Australia. We received a tour of the chambers of the upper and lower house, as well as a briefing about current media issues from an ABC reporter in the building. After sitting the studio I realized that one major media issue is that I’m not an anchor yet! Our final activity of the day was a visit to the U.S. Embassy. Driving through embassies, it is noticeable that most are modest homages to the classic architecture and culture of their home countries, but then of course among all the rest is a massive complex of brown brick and colonial white – welcome home! The briefing at the Embassy was with Foreign Service Officers so it was interesting to hear about the life and responsibilities of career diplomats. At the end of the briefing we were all given pens, but like many things associated with the U.S. Government they didn’t work.

This aesthetic is complimented by the retro, institutional 80s clocks on the inside

Coming soon to a TV near you

 

On Friday we began our day at the Aboriginal Cultural Center. There, we received briefings from two different non profit agencies: CARE Australia, which works to promote various development projects worldwide, and Companion House, which offers supports to refugees in Australia. Incidentally, my watch battery had died the week before so I was without it for the trip, and though the briefings were certainly interesting, after being in the same room all morning I was greatly missing the ability to know just how long I had been “interested” for. After a break for lunch we made our way to the High Commission of Canada, the inter-commonwealth equivalent of an embassy. The meeting with the High Commissioner was easily the highlight of the trip, not only because his governmental giveaway worked (ok, admittedly maps don’t really break) but also because of his casual attitude, his interest in our group, and his humor (ask him about the time an inuit, a moose, and a jar of maple syrup walked into a bar).

*unfortunately there are no pictures from today because of embassy security*

Saturday morning we went to the Canberra Writers Festival where we heard from previous government departmental staffers discuss their views on the successes and failures of various administrations. Given that I had never heard of these various administrations I mostly spent the time listening for buzz words (there weren’t many). However, the next talk of the day, held at the National Arboretum, was far more engaging. To give you a snapshot: the woman speaking to us was able to start one of her sentences with “the time I co-lead a group of 140 organizations to lobby for a treaty banning mining in Antarctica.” At this point in my life I’m really only able to tell of “the time I co-lead a group of 6 friends to lobby for Chipotle for dinner instead of Noodles,” so needless to say I found her advice about leadership and success invaluable. We then went to a lookout within the Arboretum to have lunch with a view (and hurricane-force winds). The final event of the day was perhaps the most anticipated of the trip: we got a tour of the National Zoo complete with the opportunity to feed a lion. The feeding was guided by a zoo staff member, and the lion was fed with tongs through a fence, but of course the version I will tell my kids is that I encountered a lion in the Australian outback and he ate right out of my bare hands (why no pictures? umm he ate my camera too).

Can you tell it’s winter at the arboretum?

Vincent, the Lion Whisperer

 

Sunday was our last day in Canberra. We began the morning at the National Australian Museum, which was essentially a giant science museum. The coolest exhibit at the museum was a presentation that combined the history of Australia with the history of technology, so as the years progressed so did the screens that we were viewing the information on. We then made a quick stop at Mount Ainslie for some last panoramic and group photos before proceeding to the Australian War Memorial. This was no doubt the most emotional part of the trip – I know of no other war memorial that seeks to honor every war a country has engaged in. The exhibits in the memorial begin right before 1911 and take you through history to modern engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. The details and artifacts were so elaborate that not only was it was impossible to finish in the time we were there, but it was also impossible not to feel the heavy burden of war. After leaving, we stopped by some markets to comfort ourselves with food before getting on the road back to Sydney. I am forever grateful for the friends and memories from this trip.

Modeled after none other than Washington D.C.

No words, just silence

 

Monday was mostly spent recovering from the weekend, but Tuesday it was time for another Tourist Tuesday. Today’s destination was the National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. One of the exhibits in the museum gave the history of travel between the US and Australia – the pinnacle of which was a voyage of 54 days (guess I won’t complain about my 12 hour flight home). Another exhibit that made me appreciate my flight was titled “Lost At Sea: The Quest for Longitude,” which gave accounts of European attempts to find accurate ways to set courses and measure distances, with mixed success rates (again, guess I won’t complain if we have to circle the airport a few times – at least we know where it is). The museum also had on display entries for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. Seeing nature captured in some of its most awesome and rawest forms was breathtaking, and I certainly have a lot of respect for the photographers behind the images. The picture credits said that some photographers waited for days at a time for their shot; considering I barely have the patience for instant rice sometimes, I can’t imagine I’ll have anything on display there anytime soon. I ended my museum visit by touring the HMAS Vampire, a destroyer; the HMAS Onslow, a submarine (and a decent way to find out if a person is claustrophobic); and the HMB Endeavor, a replica of the ship that James Cook captained when he found Australia.

Definitely not the size of a typical museum artifact

Picture credit to the museum website

With school picking up, the rest of my week was mostly dedicated to academic work and things around campus. On Friday, along with other kids from my program, I set off to ANZ Stadium for my first rugby game. Seeing the stadium was in itself a fulfilling activity because it was the main stadium used for the Olympic games in 2000. In fact, considering my current work at Maryland Athletics, and my complete lack of knowledge on the rules of rugby, I was probably more interested in the stadium and its operations than the game itself. Nonetheless, I got a free team scarf and can now say I’ve seen an Australian Rugby match so it was a good night.

Incredible to think what it must have been like 16 years ago

Put me in coach

 

It’s a little embarrassing to write, but the next day (Saturday) was a lazy day for me: I didn’t do much except watch Netflix and eat food – a welcome break from the constant activity of past weekends. However, one day inside was enough for me so on Sunday a friend and I made our way to a part of the city we had never been before. Our primary reason for picking the area we did was to check out an outlet mall we had heard about. I must say it was quite a shock to see an enclosed outlet mall – except for prices there wasn’t much differentiating it from a normal mall. In a way this was a little disappointing, but perhaps I was only hoping to find something like the Twin Cities Outlets just to experience a little piece of home. After leaving the outlets we explored a rather impressive nearby park, which was dedicated in honor of Australia’s bicentennial, before making our way back to campus.

Not captured: the obnoxious sounds of Australian waterfowl

I asked them to pose

 

I’d like to take these last sentences to thank everyone for keeping up with my blog posts. As the song for this week goes, “I’m loving every step I take” and I’m truly grateful that so many people are continuing to virtually walk with me. Until next time please enjoy this picture of me in front of a giant ram.

 

Happy because so many people read my blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

Searching For The Thrill Of It

I’ve packed so much into the last 10 days and had so many cool experiences that I truly feel like I’m “Walking on a Dream”, which is also the name of the song, by Empire of the Sun, that the lyrics in this post’s title are from.

Coincidentally, the lyrics that immediately proceed those above are “always pushing up the hill,” which is how I spent my Sunday last week when some friends and I set off to complete the trek from Spit Bridge to Manly Beach. To be clear I didn’t expect to be pushing up anything: having completed the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk just a few weeks ago, I was prepared to enjoy another casual stroll on panoramic paths. However, if the latter is a “coastal walk,” then the former can be considered a “coastal climb.” The surprise topography was made worse by random detours devoid of other people (did I miss a memo?) and six-year-olds frolicking by as I was stopped to “get a picture of a rare flower” (the catchmybreathicus). Of course, with beautiful views and landscapes like the ones below, all the little troubles became worth it, and the ferry ride home at the end was a great conclusion to the weekend.

A deceptively flat start

Towards the beginning of the walk: so young, so naive

Notice the height this implies

 

The next day, one of my friends needed to observe court proceedings for one of her classes and in the interest of “experiencing more culture”, I volunteered to take the day off from classes to join her. Given that Australia is part of the Commonwealth,my main interest in going was to witness judges wearing wigs and stately garb – you can imagine my disappointment when I entered the courtroom to find a bald man wearing a black robe. I’ve observed court proceedings before so I knew the pace is often slower than one would expect, however I must say this is the first time I’ve seen a witness fall asleep while on the stand. I admire the prosecution and defense teams for surviving this environment day after day because frankly after just a few hours my friend and I decided we needed drinks. Looking for the royal experience that we didn’t find in court, we went to the bar at Sydney Tower – the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Due to it’s height, and its 360 degree rotating platform, the bar offers stunning views of the entire city. We continued to take in impressive views by finishing the day at St. Mary’s Cathedral, an 1800s gothic church adjacent to Hyde Park. To recap: I started my morning in court, then went to a bar, and then finished at a church; in other words, just deepening my understanding of the criminal justice system.

Needed these to wake up from glacial-speed court

Would gladly take up an instrument again if it were this organ

 

Inspired by my ferry ride on Sunday, I decided to spend the next day, Tourist Tuesday, exploring one of the destinations serviced by the Sydney Ferries: Cockatoo Island. The island originally served as an isolated prison for the colony’s worst offenders, similar to the function of Alcatraz, however, beginning in 1857, and continuing for the next 134 years, the island was a vital ship building and repair station. The island was so noted for its engineering abilities and skilled labor that ships from around the world would travel to it for unique and complicated repairs and refits. Some of the 10,000 vessels serviced during the island’s operation included many of the allied warships in the Pacific during WWII, and, coincidentally, the Queen Mary, which I have been aboard in Long Beach, California. Upon arriving at the island I chose to complete a self guided tour rather than an audio tour so that I would be able to better enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. The fact that the island was not named “Zen Island” should have been a clear indication as to how bad of a decision this was. The island is home to approximately 1,000,000 seagulls whose constant shriek does nothing to instill calm or relaxation, but instead promote a desire to commit mass murder (good thing the prison isn’t there anymore). Nonetheless, it was fascinating to learn about the island’s critical role in history, and see some of the original machinery still in place.  I finished the day by meeting up with some friends for some fish and chips at a bar in Darling Harbour.

The view from the ferry ride

Somehow an entire propeller came out of these??

Just experiencing even more culture

 

After four straight days in the city, it was quite a shock to return to classes on Wednesday. My next big event was on Friday night when some friends and I set off to the city in search of a new bar. We ended up at the Mojo Record Bar, which is, depending on how you’re feeling that day, either a bar with a record shop or a record shop with a bar. Last year I started to take an interest in collecting vinyls so I was in absolute euphoria exploring the albums in the store, some of which were rare EPs from some of my favorite artists. Of course the rarity implies the price so the only thing I actually left with was memories.

A scene that fills my heart and quenches my thirst

 

The next morning, looking to strengthen my Sydneysider resume,  I set off with friends to Paddington. Visiting the markets there, and around the city, is a traditional way to spend Saturday morning for locals. The Paddington Markets are a little more upscale than others so the morning was largely spent admiring crafts and products, learning the price, and then promptly setting the items down with precision and care that emulated a bomb squad. I did a few laps, but mostly concentrated my time on the food vendors (shocker) and the live jazz. After the markets, I made my way to city to go shopping for the next weekend’s symposium: tough choices had to be made when I was packing for Australia so the flip flops, sunscreen, and every pair of shorts I own made the flight, but that meant the business jackets got left behind (damn). I later met up with my friends again and we explored the Chinatown and Broadway areas of the city before ending the day with a fireworks show at Darling Harbour.

Couldn’t think of a polite way to ask these people to get out of my shot

 

Picture credit to Gabby because my phone died right as the fireworks began

On Sunday some friends and I made a long-awaited trip to the Blue Mountains. The mountains sit inland from Sydney so it usually takes about 2 1/2 hours to get there by public transit. Of course given my history with long distance Australia travel it should come as no surprise that the journey actually took us 4 hours. Our original train was at “full” capacity as the conductor announced, although I would more classify it as “how-on-earth-can-so-many-people-fit-in-one-train-car-what-if-theres-a-fire” capacity, but we were relieved to find the next train was only at “suck-it-in-we-can-squeeze-a-few-more” capacity, or as the conductor phrased it, “ehh you can probably fit.” I’m not so sure about all that “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” crap because I spent a 1 1/2 train ride looking at a blank ceiling debating whether or not it was painted with lead, but ended up taking in one of the most breathtaking views Australia has to offer once I arrived at the mountains. We started at the Queen Elizabeth lookout, which was named simply because the Queen once looked out from there, and then we proceeded along the Prince George Cliff Walk, which similarly was because Prince George once walked it – stay tuned for the Vincent Levin Sitting Rock that I once sat on. It was so refreshing to be completely surrounded by nature, and to enjoy such a laid-back day. After finished the trek at the Leura Cascades, we explored the mountain town of Leura for awhile before catching the train back to Sydney.

A train car ceiling just can’t compare

Who wore the lookout better: the Queen or me?

“Quick get the picture before this water starts cascading”

I promise those are mountains in the distance not clouds

 

I know many have asked if I’m actually in school here and I promise I am. I’m thrilled with how much I’ve been able to fit in my schedule and look forward to fitting in even more this weekend during my leadership symposium in Canberra. I continue to fall in love with this city and with this country, and am sad that I now have less than 100 days remaining here. In the mean time, as the Empire of the Sun song continues, “I’m just in awe of what’s in front of me.”

 

 

In A Tidal Wave of Mystery

The musical inspiration for this week’s blog title comes from the song “Safe and Sound” by the group Capital Cities. It is the perfect summation of the Sydney weather that I have experienced in the days since my last blog post. Upon my arrival in Australia, one Sydneysider told me “we don’t have seasons, we have days.” However, as a now self-proclaimed Sydneysider I would like to amend that and say “we don’t have seasons, we have hours.” In a matter 24 hours here, one can wake up in the morning with hypothermia, get heat stroke by noon, and contract pneumonia from a surprise rain shower in the evening. Of course through all of this the iPhone weather app displays that it’s 66 degrees, partly sunny, and only a 15% chance of precipitation – I don’t know what land Captain Cook discovered in 1770, but I’m still searching for that Australia.

Unfortunately, some of this surprise weather forced a friend and me to cancel our visit the Blue Mountains last weekend. Luckily the mountains are one of the more permanent exhibits New South Whales has to offer, but it is nonetheless upsetting to wake up to the sound of rain on a supposedly sunny day, especially after having woken up to that sound the previous 4 days (don’t think I’ll ever be using that setting on a sound machine again). In the meantime we decided to spend the day in the city. Our main activity was visiting the Australian Museum, which had several interesting exhibits. Perhaps the most interesting of these was titled “Surviving Australia.” This (alarmingly) large space described both how animals have survived (or not) evolution in Australia, and which animals should be avoided for humans to survive in Australia – you can imagine which one I started taking notes on. For the latter, displays were set up that showed a picture of a seemingly cute animal, details of the painful death it causes, and available treatments. These treatments ranged from the more pessimistic “there is no known cure,” to the more optimistic “after only 24 hours of continuous CPR the venom will leave the system” and “a person will recover if the anecdote is delivered within 90 seconds.” In the museum suggestion box I wrote that they might want to consider moving the exhibit to a more beneficial location…like the airport…in Los Angeles.

The next two days (Sunday and Monday) weren’t filled with much activity. I spent most of Sunday working on an application for a leadership conference in Canberra, the Australian capital, and I am excited to report that I was accepted, so I will be traveling there at the end of the month. On Monday, after a class cancellation, I was able to relax by the campus lake for the first time. Though I was a little hesitant to close my eyes given my new knowledge from Saturday’s museum trip, it was nice to finally soak up the Australian sun again.

With Monday behind me that meant it was time was another Tourist Tuesday. I had been looking forward to this Tuesday for awhile because I was going on a whale watching cruise. Whale migration patterns during the Australian winter make Sydney an excellent place to admire the giant mammals, either from land or sea. I had chosen the “adventure package” which meant the cruise would be on a small, high powered, open-air boat; something I wasn’t concerned about until I noticed the cruise worker putting on a polar jacket and fur trooper hat right before we disembarked. After making our way to the Tasman Sea we all started scanning the horizon for any whale activity. This is not to say that any of us knew what whale activity looked like – I myself thought every distant wave was a whale performing acrobatics – but we all tried to look as astute as possible as we internally prayed that someone on board was a whale whisperer. I didn’t think our cruise worker would necessarily be the one to save the day after a couple instances of him “seeing” something off to the right (cue universal head turn) then proclaiming we all missed something spectacular off to the left (cue universal cursing), but he redeemed himself by (impressively) spotting some fins above the water and then taking us to the vicinity of a couple of pods. The whales were a considerable ways away at first, but it was still amazing to be able to witness their majestic nature in person – it truly is intriguing that some of the largest creatures on Earth are some of the most gentle. Any worries I had about not getting a good picture because of the distance disappeared when we were all startled by the sound of a blowhole right next to the boat – at least four adult humpbacks were swimming alongside us, playfully flipping their backs and tails in and out of the water. This continued until we had to start our return trip. Except for a short moment of fear when the cruise worker excitedly announced that “she’s right below us” (?!?!?!), it was a tremendous experience.

See how I might get them confused with a wave?

Think one or two people had to change their pants after this one surprised us

The cruise worker said we probably saw the same 5 whales 5 times, but I maintain that we saw 25 whales.

Didn’t want Free Willy here to perform the same move under our boat

 

The rest of my weekdays were relatively uneventful (no whales on campus to speak of). On Saturday, some friends and I set off to the Barangaroo Reserve to look at a sculpture exhibit that was there until the end of the month. Many cool and impressive works were scattered throughout the area, but the piece of art I most admired was the scoop of ice cream that I bought. From there we explored some of the piers of neighboring Walsh Bay, and then made our way to Dawes Point Park, which sits at the base of the Harbour Bridge, for a picnic lunch.

These would be here a lot longer than 1 month if I had to carry them in

Happiest when I don’t have to interpret art

There was a dog right next to this that got most of my attention

The park faces the Opera House and while I was admiring the view, I couldn’t help but think how crazy it was that the landmark has become a regular part of my weeks. Australia has long been on my travel list but the distance and price made a trip seem unrealistic, so the Opera House represented a sort of elusive dream. Now, however, I get to live this dream, and Saturday marked me living it for a month already. In a way, the title of this blog post represents more than just the Sydney weather, it also represents my semester as a whole. There was a “tidal wave of mystery” surrounding how my time in Australia would go, and will go, but if the first month is any indication of the next four, I’m going to continue loving every minute.

Internally sad that a month has already passed

 

 

‘Cause I’m Gonna Make This Place Your Home

This week’s post title are lyrics from the song “Home” by Phillips Phillips. The song served as the official NBC anthem for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and with the games in Rio set to kick off tomorrow I thought it served as a perfect homage, in addition to having a fitting message for the days since my last blog post.

Speaking of my last post: in it I briefly mentioned the fact that I had a surfing lesson at Bondi Beach. I didn’t go into any more detail because I was waiting for pictures from the day so I could fully convey how awesome it was to experience such a bucket-list-esque activity. You can imagine my disappointment when the photos were released and the only one of me is while I’m standing on land – though I’m quite proud of my standing on land skills, it wasn’t exactly the profile picture I was looking for. I’m sure if you talked to the photographer from the surfing company he would claim that he didn’t publish a photo of me because the only action shot was of me falling off my board…while I was sitting on it…however I maintain that I was simply too fast for the camera. Originally I didn’t click with surfing: after years of wake boarding I didn’t understand how anyone could enjoy an activity where you have to wait for the perfect wave, only to ride it for a short period of time, after which you fall into the ocean (likely swallowing half of it in the process as I seemed to), and then you have to swim back out against the current just to experience it all again (I mean it’s bordering on physical activity here). All my doubt and confusion disappeared on the last wave, though, when I paddled and stood up perfectly, and I rode the wave to the shore, getting some carving in along the way. To put it more appropriately: I totally shred the curl on that last one dude.

I’m in the red wet suit (a color I still think should have been easy to photograph)

 

The week after surfing was orientation week back on campus, so I spent some of the week doing welcome activities like like table-tennis and volleyball. Every now and then I discover something about Australia that reassures me it’s the perfect country for me. For example, in the United States I experience a small moment of embarrassment every time I order a hot chocolate at kids temperature because otherwise I find it scalding, but in Australia the temperature standard for the drink is already perfect. I experienced this reassurance again during table-tennis when I was informed that even after losing three times, I was somehow still in the tournament – participation medals be damned, I’m apparently an athlete.

Other parts of the week were spent attending various welcome sessions for international students. The sessions were a mix of helpful and not so helpful: the not so helpful being the one in which we were advised that this would be a good time to practice our english, and the most helpful being the one in which it was explained that the Y buildings in the alphanumeric system on campus stood for “y…the f**k are we so far away?” At the end of the week, a lot of the international students on campus took a trip to the Sydney Aquarium. I must say an aquarium loses a little of its pizzaz after having swam with some of the same fish in the Great Barrier Reef, but it was still cool to see some animals that I’m glad I didn’t encounter in the water – though Uma the shark is a “gentle and laid back” creature, I don’t think my brain (or bladder) would exhibit the same characteristics upon meeting her. The aquarium is located in Darling Harbour so after we were finished, some friends and I explored the area. It happened to be right around sunset then so the views were absolutely stunning, and were made even better by the numerous boats docked there for the Sydney International Boat Show.

Don’t think my 1 semester of sailing team qualifies me to buy one these

It may look like summer but I was freezing when I took this photo

The next day (Saturday) a friend and I set off into the city again. One of the things we were told we must do during our time in Sydney is visit the Contemporary Art Museum. The museum has a long and storied history that I’m sure could fill many pages but we were most attracted by the fact that it was free. The museum is in a part of town known as “The Rocks” which is the old part of Sydney. The buildings here were constructed during its transformation from penal colony to free society sometime in the early 1800s. Admittedly, walking around this area was the coolest part of the day. Art can be rather lost on me: while I appreciate an artist’s effort to capture “new understandings of humanity and ideas about posthuman” using only a clock, I’m afraid I never grasped the full effect (though I did insert plenty of “mmm”s, “ahh”s, and head nods to make it seem as if I did). We ended the day on the museum’s rooftop bar/cafe, which overlooked the cruise ship terminal. The cruise ship currently docked was almost 20 years old, but it still dwarfed the Opera House and even the Harbour Bridge in a way – as my mom would say, “it’s amazing those things float.”

I tried to play up my past 2 experiences performing on a Carnival cruise, but they still wouldn’t let me on the ship

“The Rocks” set against the modern skyscraper hotels of Sydney

Sunday was perhaps the most anticipated day of the week. To commemorate the last day before school started, some friends and I decided we would do the famous Bondi-Coogee walk. The 6 KM walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach runs along some of the most impressive coast lines that Sydney has to offer. We set off from the south end of Coogee beach at 11:30 AM and by noon we had made it to the north end. I’m sure we were easily identifiable as the most touristy people on the walk, taking pictures of just about everything in sight (“no, I swear, this rock over here looks a lot different from that one over there”) but we had no complaints about prolonging the time we had to take in such beautiful views. Even on a cloudy day the walk was enjoyable and near breathtaking so we already can’t wait to go back and do it when it gets warmer.

Picture 3/2000

Picture 251/3000

Monday morning I woke up for the first day of my junior year of college. Of course there were some nerves involved with starting at a new university in a new country, but a main reason I chose to study abroad in Australia is so that language wasn’t a stressor adding to any of those nerves. However, my expectations were essentially shattered during the first minute of my first class: “halo, z’I am your professcheur for thees modu-el, and z’I am fwrom Fwrance.” I simply stared at my new professor, and quite possibly dropped my jaw as I considered whether this was somehow punishment for not choosing to study abroad in France, as was the obvious choice after taking 5 years of French classes (this is not to say I got anywhere in those 5 years as my crowning achievement was just now when I was able to write the previous sentence phonetically). Of course he spoke fluent english, but his accent was so thick that I actually started praying he would start speaking in French just so I could understand more of the lecture. The rest of my classes have been uneventful (and in English), and I’m looking forward to the topics that will be covered. For those who don’t know, this semester I’m taking Strategy and Security in the Indo-Pacific, Counter Terrorism Operations, Contemporary Health Issues, and Business in the Asian Environment.

My classes were especially easy Tuesday because I actually have no classes on Tuesday. I had long ago decided that this would be my day to accomplish more touristy things in Sydney; what I am officially calling Tourist Tuesdays. Since there was a threat of rain this week, I decided to start with a museum. The Hyde Park Barracks is a World Heritage Site, and one of the oldest buildings still standing in Sydney. It was originally constructed to hold the convicts that were sent from Britain. Though this is where the convicts slept, they actually spent their days outside, helping to build the city as part of General Lachlan Macquarie’s vision to transform Australia. In later years it served as an immigration house for women coming to Australia for a better life (many from Ireland), and as a courtroom. The museum was a great choice for my first Tourist Tuesday because it told the fascinating history of how Australia came to be and the importance of different areas and buildings throughout the city. After the museum, I ate lunch in Hyde Park, strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens and Circular Quay, and took my 20,000th picture of the Opera House.

Afternoons like that are the reason for this post’s title. I feel that I’ve reached the level of comfort that makes Sydney feel like a home: I know the layout of downtown and how to get around, I’m navigating the public transportation system with ease, I know where to go for groceries, mail, and other supplies, and there are countless other examples of how life here has turned from stressful to habitual (most of these examples revolve around me not getting lost, not confidently leading myself to somewhere where I am even more lost, and then not reluctantly pulling my phone to see where I actually am while also trying to make it look like I’m just checking my email)

This weekend I have plans to go hiking in the Blue Mountains, and then next week for Tourist Tuesday I’m booked on a whale watching cruise so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of updates in the next post. Until then I’ll leave you with 2 pictures that captivated me this week: the first is of Port Jackson in the early 1800s when the Hyde Park Barracks were built, and the second is of Port Jackson today (more commonly referred to by its broader area, the Sydney Harbour).

Just picture the bridge where the left-most trees are

Different view so the bridge is now right-most object

Get Outside, Get All Over The World

Thanks for reading my first post – I hope you’ve set aside some time because this one may take awhile to get through. Sorry for the length, but a lot has happened in the two weeks since I left home.

First, an introduction. Originally, I didn’t think I would use a blog for my semester abroad: I thought maintaining one would prove too much of a hassle, or that it would somehow distract from fully enjoying the experience. I did, however, understand the value of documenting my many adventures, so when I saw an empty cork board in my room I hatched a plan to document each day’s adventures on a Post-it note and then tac it to the board – ingenius decoration right? Wrong. On The West Wing, when Leo McGarry convinced Jed Bartlet to run for president, thereby changing the (fictitious) world forever, he at least used a napkin, so why I thought I could convey all the daily happenings and emotions of my semester abroad in an even smaller space is, frankly, beyond me. But, the important thing is that I now have ample room to write, and friends and family have a consistent means to keep up with me on my journey.

The title of this post (as all future titles will be) is musical: the words are lyrics from the song “Miracle Mile” by Cold War Kids. Seeing the band perform at the Basilica Block Party was one of the last things I did during my short summer in Minnesota. Less than 48 hours later, I hugged my mom goodbye at the airport and, true to the song, eagerly proclaimed I was “off to see the world.”

The first stop on my self-dubbed world tour was Denver, to see Rachel. What may have seemed like an annoyingly long layover to other passengers making their way from MSP to LAX was, to me, the perfect opportunity to grab lunch and a quick photography lesson with my favorite sister.

All smiles because I hadn’t yet realized I left my headphones in her car.

This also served as a nice way to break up my travel day given that my original travel schedule was going to clock in somewhere around 32 hours, passing through 5 different airports. However, I must have made my content with the break too well known because when I arrived at my third airport of the day, LAX, I was notified that my flight to Sydney was delayed 1.5 hours. I was still on the plane at this point so I started to think of ways to enjoy my delay – grab a nice dinner and then maybe find a cozy seat to read in. When I de-boarded the plane and discovered that the food options were limited to the Hudson News store and the vending machines next to it, and that passengers were resorting to sleeping in windowsills to find comfort, my optimism about my delay faded. My optimism faded more when the flight was delayed another hour, it disappeared when the gate agent announced “she’s guessing it will be 2 AM at this point,” and it turned into gloom when the flight was cancelled.

My first call was actually to Qantas to move my domestic flight back a day. Since the flights were booked under separate tickets I knew a change fee would be involved (originally this was done to save money, but for obvious reasons I’ve since stopped gloating how cheap my ticket was). With this in mind, I decided to try the advice of family members and sound as poor and polite as I could on the phone: “they just cancelled the flight and it’s 3 AM here (it was somewhere)…I’m on an educational trip (I’m going to study sea turtles)…I know it’s not your fault my flight was cancelled.” The customer service agent was sympathetic, but she seemed to get over that rather quickly when she needed my credit card information. After then  waiting in the United customer service line, waiting in the Super Shuttle line, and waiting in the hotel check-in line, I finally entered my room, and happily greeted my pillow – it was 5 AM Central Time.

My new flight wasn’t until 11:30 PM so I had all of the next day to roam around LA. I made my way through Venice, Beverley Hills, and downtown LA before returning to the airport. Not wanting to hunt down an empty windowsill, I decided to splurge and buy myself a United Club one-day pass; if Rio2016 had a “best $60 spent” event, I have no doubt I would take home the gold this year. After another delay my flight to Sydney took off into the night sky.

A shot from Venice Beach

 

Pictured: Leg room. Not pictured: large Australian man next to me who didn’t quite fit in his seat

 

I was still tired from the past couple of days so I slept most of the flight. When I woke up we were less than 4 hours from Sydney, not even enough time for 2 movies – and people say international travel can be hard?? (stay tuned for future post in which I don’t have a night flight and likely curse international travel). The approach to Sydney was beautiful, and though we didn’t make the iconic landing past the harbour, it was still cool to take in the views and know that this place was going to be my home for the next 5 months. After clearing customs, I made my way to the domestic terminal because my first couple of days were going to be spent at program orientation in Cairns (about 3 hours north by plane). I boarded the flight, and was settling into my middle seat as best I could (remember, last minute flight change) when the captain came over the loudspeaker: the flight was going to be delayed by at least 40 minutes. I’m quite fond of the Australian accent – after all it would be awkward if I wasn’t and this is where I chose to live for 5 months – but as you might imagine I found it rather irritating at that moment. Eventually, the flight took off and around 5:30 PM local time I landed in Cairns, made my way to my hotel, and joined my orientation program for dinner and a rugby match (watching, not participating).

The next day (Thursday) we made our way to RainForeStation, an attraction set in a World Heritage Rainforest. We spent the morning learning about traditions of the indigenous people of Australia, and taking a tour in a duck boat of the various deadly plants and insects that inhabit the rainforest. An open air vehicle built for WWI with its original engine and drive shaft (which does not include power steering) wouldn’t necessarily be my first choice for exploring areas notorious for poisonous butterflies that can you know, fly, but it was a fun experience. In the afternoon we were able to play with Kangaroos and Wallabies, and, what may be the pinnacle of my life thus far, we got to hold a Koala. That night we enjoyed an outdoor movie, and explored the town a bit.

The staff said they had never seen such a happy person

 

Making friends with the locals

The next day (Friday) was reef day! The boat ride from the Cairns terminal to the reef is about 90 minutes and the high winds that day made it a rather rough ride. Those of us comfortable with the constant up and down motions bonded with each other over our past experiences on the water, while those less comfortable bonded with their get-sick bags. Once we arrived at the reef we put on our snorkeling gear and dove into the water. Dipping my head under the waves for the first time and seeing one of the greatest wonders of the world was an unforgettable moment. Another cool moment of the morning snorkel was watching a sea turtle swim by; I tried to convey to him that we were somehow brothers because of my school mascot, but he seemed uninterested. We also had a dive lesson which last about 30 minutes and it served as a great introduction to the world of scuba diving. I learned that this world may not be for me as I am apparently a very “positively buoyant” person, so while the rest of my group was swimming down I just kept floating up, and the only way for me to stay down was to hold on to the instructor. After lunch on the boat, and an afternoon snorkel, we returned to Cairns. That night, most of us had signed up for a pub crawl, so we rode around town in a double decker bus exploring various bars and clubs.

I floated to the surface  2 seconds after this was taken

Our final day in Cairns (Saturday) was a free day. One of the options for this day was to go bungee jumping. Since I was knocking so many other things off of my bucket list I figured I might as well hit one more. The harness for bungee jumping was smaller than I thought it would be, so much so that it was hard to remind my brain that it was there while I was looking over the edge about to jump. Jumping itself is extremely counterintuitive but the adrenaline rush is addicting; so addicting that I opted to go a second time, this time running off the roof instead of merely jumping, which made me feel like James Bond or Jason Bourne. That night, we ended our orientation with a dinner cruise.

Jump 1

Jump 2

Jump 2.

At one point during the dinner cruise I checked my email and found a message from Qantas: my flight in the morning was going to be delayed by an hour and half so I was bumped to a later connecting flight (for those keeping score thats delays: 4, cancellations: 1). It was during this moment, while considering why Australia hates me, that I flashed back to an episode of Modern Family. At the end of a rather rough Australia trip for Phil, he is told that Australia is kind to its visitors, but rather cruel to its own people. Though I’m unaware of any Australian ancestry in my family, I’m now strongly considering having a DNA test done.

The delay actually worked out fine because I was able to get a bit more sleep and, as it turned out, some of friends from the program were on the same flights. Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to those friends at the Sydney airport when I boarded the shuttle to my campus, Macquarie. It was during this ride that it sunk in that I wasn’t simply on vacation, I had made the decision to move to another country for 5 months. I would be lying if I didn’t say there wasn’t any doubt involved during that ride or even the days that followed, but I know that comfort with the situation will come with time, and the entire experience will be over before I know it.

There are 3 other kids from the same program studying at Macquarie. We all mostly spent the first couple of days on campus just setting up our rooms in our apartments and visiting the local shopping centre far too many times. Macquarie starts later than other Sydney schools (August 1st) so we had a lot of time to kill before orientation began today. I was able to kill some of this time by going into the city, visiting friends at other campuses, and even getting a surfing lesson at the famous Bondi Beach (stay tuned for pictures and more details on that). Unfortunately, the majority of my free time has been spent fighting a cold. I can’t remember the last time I had a cold this bad – I seem to wake up with a new symptom each day – but I think it is made all the more worse by the distance from home. After all, regardless of age, I think the only place we want to be when we are sick is at home, having our mom take care of us. As I slowly recover, my homesickness is starting to fade, and luckily I’ve got plenty of activities this week to keep me busy. Next week I start classes and I must say I’m looking forward to having some kind of routine.

My next post will likely be sometime near the end of next week, so until then!