Kangas, Koalas and Dingos... oh my!

Two weeks ago all of the exchange students took a trip to the Blue Mountains, which is a pretty scenic area outside of Sydney. On our way there we stopped at the Featherdale Wildlife Park where we got to see and even pet all sorts of Aussie animals, including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies and dingos. My favorite was the dingos even though they reminded me of my crazy dog back home.

After cuddling with some iconic Australian animals, we hopped back on our bus to head towards the Wentworth Falls. Our intended hike was a little modified because one of the trails was closed. Regardless we were able to see a few waterfalls and some beautiful scenic outlooks. After about 2 hours of hiking we headed to our hostel for the night. For dinner we went to a local restaurant and got to try various types of pizzas, including crocodile and kangaroo meat.

Bright and early the next morning we embarked for the Giant Staircase hike, which consisted of nearly 900 very steep steps down the mountain. We also got to see views of the Three Sisters on our hike that ended at the bottom of the mountain to take the "train" back up, which is the worlds steepest railway at 

a 52 degree incline. 

The rest of the afternoon we stopped at a few more lookouts and eventually stopped at a park for a classic aussie BBQ of snags (sausages) and chicken. Then we headed back towards Canberra to conclude our trip. Before arriving at UC we made a pit stop at the Mount Ainslie lookout to get a view of Canberra at night. I was surprised to see how big Canberra actually is since I regrettably have not explored the majority of the city outside our area.

It was a great trip and our group of exchange students always have a good time. The highlight was definitely feeding all the little wallabies and kangaroos. Kangaroos are wild in the meadows by our campus but I had never been able to get close to one. One thing is for sure, the kangaroo pouches are nothing like how they depict them in cartoons... look it up on Google if you are curious. 

Now I will leave you with some Aussie holidays that are widely celebrated here, since we just had Anzac day:

Australia Day- Jan 26 (we missed this one by 2 days!)

Canberra Day- Mar 12

Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Monday- April 6-9 (all schools are closed for this long weekend)

Anzac Day- April 25 (a day to honor the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps)

Queen's Birthday- June 11 (I will be home by this time)

Trip to Melbourne... or should I say "Melbin"?

Like many other words, Aussies have their own distinct way of pronouncing things, such as the city of Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bin). Melbourne is one of Australia's major cities located at the southern tip of the country in Victoria. The city reminded me of the atmosphere similar to New York. We travelled there for our Easter break because we got the Friday and Monday of Easter weekend off of class :) Melbourne is located about an 8-hour drive from Canberra, so we took an overnight bus to reach our destination. We were lucky enough to stay at a high school friend's dorm who was studying there for 2 nights-- Thanks Kristy!

Day 1: Thursday, April 5
We arrived in Melbourne bright and early at 8am after spending the night on the bus. Since my friend's uni was quite a bit outside of the city, we had to get a train, then 2 buses to get to her dorm. After this weekend I gained an extreme hatred for public transportation. It took us twice as long to get anywhere, and we were always relying on several different train/bus/tram routes to get anywhere. Not to mention, I got the door shut in my face twice. We got to Kristy's and settled in and gathered some recommendations of things we should do in the city. We decided to check out the Queen Victoria Market this afternoon and take a walk around the city. So we bussed and trained back downtown to the market, which had everything from fresh fruit to fish to cheap souvenirs. Then we walked around Federation Square where part of the international comedy festival was taking place. We decided to end our day early after hardly sleeping the night before and head back.

Day 2: Friday, April 6
We made plans to get up early and head to Saint Kilda beach for a laid back day in the sand and check out the amusement park, Luna Park. Since it was considered a "public holiday" admission tickets were abnormally expensive and we decided to pass on paying for any tickets. We got at least 4 hours of solid beach time though, and walked around the fun beach side boutiques and shops. As it started to get dark we headed back for a shower before deciding to hit up the casino for the night. I played the slot machines, because I didn't know how to do anything else, and ended up winning $16, which I'm pretty proud of for my first time gambling. I decided to stop while I was ahead and go back to the train station to make what we thought was the last train back, but it turns out we were 30 minutes off and missed the train entirely. My $16 winnings quickly went towards our $60 cab fare back to where we were staying...

Day 3: Saturday, April 7
A day of shopping was definitely in order for our trip, so we bussed to the Chadstone Mall nearby, after missing the bus by 30 seconds and waiting 45 minutes for the next one (once again- public transport problems). The mall was huge and after spending 3 hours and still not covering the whole thing, we decided to call it quits and head back. Little did we know, we had an eventful ride home in store for us. An older man got on and proceeded to harass a few of the passengers for the duration of our ride-- ranting about disrespect to our elders, no knowledge of Australian culture, and treating women with respect... all the passengers stayed quite and we tried our best to ignore him, as he was obviously not in clear state of mind. Yet another reason I despise public transportation. We then packed our bags and headed towards the hostel we would be staying in for the next two nights. Unfortunately, we took the wrong bus and went 30 minutes in the opposite direction of our destination, altering our intended schedule. Once we finally arrived at our hostel we sought out a Mexican restaurant for dinner, something very rare to find in Australia. The hostel was fun and hosted a lot of young travellers such as ourselves-- we roomed with a girl from the UK and another from Ireland. However, the cleanliness of the bathrooms and hallways were disgusting. The hallways reeked of smelly feet and the showers were dirty and covered in hair. I guess you get what you pay for?

Day 4: Sunday, April 8
Finally the Great Ocean Road tour! This road is 263 km and follows the southern tip of Victoria, starting in Melbourne. This road is said to have some of the most beautiful views in Australia and is notorious for it's amazing rock structures, gorgeous beaches and massive waves. We took the one-day bus tour (they also offered 2 and 3 day tours) which covered 90% of the length of the road and made stops at the majority of the famous ones. We skipped over the Bells Beach stop due to an international surf competition that was going on and went straight to the Memorial Arch, which is a popular photo spot. We stopped at a few beautiful lookouts before stopping at a destination notorious for wild koalas and native birds. For lunch we ate at a local restaurant at Apollo Bay along the way. Next we went on a  bush walk through the temperate rain forest to look at some of the tallest trees in Australia, almost comparable to the ones I remember seeing in San Francisco. Then we got to move onto to the coolest and most miraculous sites-- The Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, and London Bridge. All of these destinations included magnificent rock formations creating beautiful views. The London Bridge was especially beautiful since we arrived to this spot just at sunset. Finally we embarked on the 3 hour drive back to Melbourne and went straight to sleep after a long day.

Day 5: Monday, April 9
Our last day in Melbourne, but we made sure it was a busy one. After checking out of the hostel and storing our bags, we went to seek out a district called Prahran, where Emily's cousin used to live and opened a restaurant. It was a cute, artsy district with lots of cafes, boutiques and shops. Unfortunately since it was the day after Easter a lot of the stores were closed, including the restaurant we went down to eat at. After spending the morning in Prahran we headed back to the city to take the free tourist shuttle bus tour around the city which showed a lot of the historical sites and other tourist attractions. We stopped at the Eureka tower to get a look of the city from 88 stories up. After returning back down to Earth, we hopped back on the shuttle bus and went to the Bourke Street shopping district complete with high end stores way too expensive for my budget, but window shopping was entertaining nonetheless. For dinner we decided to go to a pub for $5 pizzas and ended up making a much further journey than intended. Finally we sprinted (it was so cold and windy at this point) back to the hostel to collect our belongings and make our way to the bus station for our trip home. 4:00 AM we finally arrived back in good old Canberra... Home sweet home!

Melbourne was a beautiful and exciting city, with some of the most fascinating architecture I've ever seen. However, I don't think I would enjoy living in the hustle-and-bustle environment of such a big city. I'm content with the atmosphere Canberra has to offer and have enjoyed calling this place my home for the past few months. I leave this amazing country in a little over a month now, so I hope I can make the best of my time remaining here.

Here are some other words that Aussies have a special way of prounouncing...
Oregano = oh-ray-GAN-o
Aluminum= al-oo-MIN-ium
Idea= Idear

New Zealand... Churr Bro!

I just returned from the amazingly beautiful New Zealand and wishing I could go back. 8 international students from the US and Canada packed into 2 campervans to travel the south island for 7 days. The campervans were definitely the right way to go as we could move at our own pace and jump out on the side of the road for some impromptu photoshoots. The sleeping arrangements were quite cozy but surprisingly comfortable. Everyone got a chance to drive on the left side of the road which all went smoothly until I hit a one-way bridge.... literally hit a bridge. Thank goodness for insurance! :)

Day 1: Saturday, March 24th

After spending the night on the concrete floors of Christchurch International Airport, we get our vans and hit the road! The first part of the drive was as windy as western Kansas, which made our first driving experience a bit challenging. As we approached Arthur's Pass it started to rain which put a damper on our travels. Unable to get out and explore we drive through Arthur's Pass and find a camp site to spend the night in Hari Hari.

Day 2: Sunday, March 25th

After a relaxing morning we headed towards the Fox Glacier for our glacier hike that afternoon. We got suited up in rain pants and jackets with huge hiking boots and "crampons" for walking on the ice. The first part of the hike was on normal terrain until we reached the glacier. Once on the glacier we got to drink fresh glacier water which was absolutely freezing but very refreshing. There were a couple manmade crawl spaces we could explore and the scenery was beautiful. After the four hour hike commenced we settled in for some dinner at a restaurant in the nearby town Frans Joseph. That night we indulged in some outdoor hot pools which felt great after a long, rainy day. 

Day 3: Monday, March 26th

After considering an 8 hour hike to some natural heated hot pool, we decided we weren't prepared for such an extreme hike. We decided on a simple "3 1/2 hour" hike which ended at a beach with a "seal colony". Unfortunately most of this was false because it took us 5 hours and the only seal was saw was pretty much dead. But we did get to see a lot of the beautiful rain forest and a stone beach which was completely deserted. The path proposed a few challenges as well considering it had rained for 2 days before the hike and the once dirt path had turned into a mud puddle in many areas, ultimately turning my pretty white tennis shoes brown. After the exhausting hike we hopped in our vans and headed towards Queenstown where we stopped at a campsite on the way to enjoy some spaghetti and place to sleep.

Day 4: Tuesday, March 27th

Finally in Queenstown! Shortly after arriving we all rushed to the Information Station to book our adrenaline rushes of the day. 5 members of our group booked a bungee jumping trip, while I settled for the less exciting Shotover Jet. It is a jet boat ride that takes you up into the canyons and crevices of the Shotover River while getting dangerously close to the canyon walls and completing thrilling 360 degree turns. It was a lot of fun and an exciting way to see more of the scenery. While the majority of our group was bungee jumping I got to walk around and explore the main area of Queenstown. The shops and atmosphere reminded me of Breckenridge, Colorado or another touristy ski town. The shops, restaurants and bars proceeded all the way to the water at the foot of a beautiful mountain. The group got back together for a hearty meal at the famous burger joint, Ferg Burger. After enjoying one of the largest burgers I've ever eaten, we headed back to the vans to relax and get ready for a night on the town. We were able to check out a few of the cool "pubs" in the area and experience some of the nightlife.

Day 5: Wednesday, March 28th

After deciding to stay in Queenstown for another day and skip out on Milford Sound, we park our vans at a park and head back down to town to walk around and explore. Little did we know that our time in Queenstown would be unexpectedly prolonged. Turns out putting unleaded gas into a diesel powered vehicle doesn't work out too well... After a slight 2 hour delay we made our way to Invercargill to spend the night..

Day 6: Thursday, March 29th

Bright and early we hit the road on our way to Dunedin with some scheduled stops at various waterfalls and scenic views. The scenic drive was absolutely beautiful. Before heading into the city of Dunedin we stopped at Sandfly Beach in hopes of seeing penguins and seals, but were unsuccessful yet again. But the view was worth the drive regardless. That night in Dunedin we parked our vans outside on of our group member's friends apartment who was studying abroad in New Zealand for the semester. We got to meet some other students studying abroad and a few "kiwis". 

Day 7: Friday, March 30th

Another early morning. We make our way back to Christchurch to return our vehicles on time, this time with no scenic stops or nature hikes because we were clearly too worn out after a busy week. We said goodbye to our campervans and settled in for another slumber party in the airport in preparation for our early flight at 7am the next day.

Overall, it was an amazing trip and I wish I could have spent more time there and even made my way up to the north island. Unfortunately I did not run in to any hobbits while exploring New Zealand, but we did see a few of the destinations filmed in the Lord of the Rings movies. Now I am off to Melbourne for the long Easter weekend. It's hard to believe I'll be back home in 2 months... time sure does fly!

Surfer Swag and Fascinators

The past two weeks have been entertaining to say the least. Last weekend I went to a Surf Camp at Seven Mile Beach about 3 hours away. We stayed in some beachside cabins and the whole atmosphere really made me feel like I was at summer camp. Unfortunately we didn't have the best weather but the rain at least held off until we were out of the water. We arrived Friday night and took a walk down to the pitch black beach before heading to bed. Bright and early the next morning we had our "wetties" on and were paddling in the sand on our fake surf boards learning all the techniques before heading into the ocean. I found it a little surprising that the hardest part of surfing wasn't even getting on the board, but trying to get past all of the waves. I struggled a lot trying not to get pummeled over by the surf and it was definitely exhausting. But I was able to stand up and ride a few small waves by the second lesson on the first day. Don't be fooled by how cool everyone looks running on the beach with a surf board tucked under one arm, because those things are heavy and big... atleast for beginners they are. My arms were so sore the next day I could barely move. But all in all it was an amazing weekend and a really good experience.

Next on the agena was an event called "Foster a Fresher" in my ressie. A returner is paired up with a fresher (anyone new to uni, aka me) for the entire day. We wore white shirts and got labeled with permanent marker and got to meet more people in our ressie. The next night was Gender Bender which the aussies go crazy for. Men in dresses, tights, heels and lipstick. Girls in beards, hats and hoodies. Obviously the guys were more entertaining to witness but the whole event has been hyped up since the start of the semester- There was even a drag show!

Sunday we went to the Opal Stakes Horse Races in Canberra, which is a Kentucky Derby-esque event on a smaller scale. It was my first horse race so I wasn't too adventurous with the betting. Just like back home everyone gets very dressed up and the women display fashionable and ornamental hats and fascinators. It was fun to get dressed up with the exception of the blisters I have acquired from walking around in heels all day.

Countdown:
New Zealand: 10 days
Melbourne: 3.5 weeks
Blue Mountains 5.5 weeks

On my agena:
Another trip to Sydney
Bateman's Bay for some beach time

"No worries"

It's hard to believe that I've been here for a month now. I guess it's finally starting to feel like home. My first month has been filled with themed parties, making friends and a little bit of school work ;). I have been able to experience several different areas of Canberra itself, including Civic (the downtown area) during the day and of course at night where the real fun begins. The differences and new experiences still continue to amuse me.

Last weekend I went to a music, wine, food, etc festival called TumbaFest in the small town of Tumbarumba about 3 hours outside of Canberra. It was interesting to get to see a completely different side of Australia and enter the small town atmosphere. It reminded me of the weekends at the lake where everyone knows everyone and they're all just having a good time. We listened to live bands, tried wine from local wineries and enjoyed the warm weather while it still lasts. I have barely heard any country music since I've been here so it was a little bit of a shock to hear the crowd singing the words to "Sweet Home Alabama".

This weekend we'll be headed to Surf Camp outside of Sydney for a 2-night stay on the beach and hopefully a littler surfing action as well. It might be a miracle if the instructors can get an uncoordinated Kansas girl up on a surfboard. At the end of the month for our "midterm break" I'll be traveling to New Zealand to get a broader prospective of the Southern Hemisphere. A group of 8 international students has planned to rent campervans and road trip around the southern island of New Zealand. Even though New Zealand is supposed to have the best and the highest bungee jumping in the world, I don't think anything would convince me to strap a piece of rope to my ankles and jump off a cliff... No thank you.

Even though I am having the best adventure of my life, there are still things that I miss/crave from back home:
- Mexican food- apparently they are too far away from the country itself to have decent Mexican food.
- Home cooked meals- My cooking skills are very limited and eating pasta every day is getting very old... and full of carbs. Mom, can you send me some real food? :)
- Dr. Pepper- Only very select stores sell this delicious carbonated drink and it is a rare find. Amber, you might not survive here.
- Wireless internet- being plugged into a wall gets very annoying... and inhibits me from lying in bed with my computer- one of my favorite activities.
- My bed- speaking of lying in bed, I miss my comfy temperpedic mattress topper...

Now I will leave you with some Aussie phrases and American translations:
"I'm keen to".... "I'm down to"
"No worries"... "No problem"
"Cheers" ... "Thanks"
"How you going?" ... "What's going on?"
"Fairdinkum"... "for real"
"Skull it!" ... "Chug it!"

Still getting used to all the slang and lingo but starting to catch on. Maybe I'll come home with a revamped vocabulary ;)

First Week of Class

Well believe it or not I am here to study abroad, so after an exciting and exhausting o-week we started our classes last Monday. I am enrolled in 4 classes here and only attend classes Monday, Tuesday and Thursday each week.

Tourism Policy- seems to be an easy enough class. First day of class our lecturer decided to point out the "privilege" of having 3 american students in the class and directed all attention towards us at the back of the room... awkward.

Business Finance- Nothing can be as bad as finance at K-state so I'm just relieved to be taking it elsewhere. My teacher is very hard to understand and 3 straight hours of finance is never fun, soo we'll see how this one goes. Oh, and my class is 85% asian... English is not the dominant language in this class.

Intro to Marketing- Big lecture in a typical 1st year unit... no worries.

Organisational Performance- And yes I did spell that correctly. A lot of their words swap out the "z" for an "s". It still catches me off guard. I'm still not entirely sure what this class is even about, but it's my only class with an Australian professor.

The classes are pretty similar to ones at K-state. The only main difference is how they are scheduled. You only attend lecture once a week, usually for 2 hours, and then you have a tutorial or workshop for 1 hour once a week. It's hard to pay attention to one subject for that long, but it's nice to only be in class 3 days a week versus 5. Their course work is more independent and spread out. There is no busy work or stupid online quizzes, which I am very happy with. Instead you are given all your assignments at the beginning of the semester with due dates and instructions, most of them being long essays or projects. Most of my classes only have one exam, the final exam, worth about 50% of our grade... no pressure there. However, I only need to pass the classes (50% overall) to get the credit back at K-state so I'm trying not to stress too much.

My first week of classes here went pretty smoothly with no major problems. Now I'm just trying to get back into school mode after being on break for so long.

First Week!

Hello everyone!

I figured I would make a blog so that everyone can see what I'm up to in the sunny land of Australia. I've been here a little over a week now and it's been amazing so far! Everyone is so friendly and willing to help. The "no worries" attitude here is a refreshing change.

I'm living in a 5-bedroom apartment near campus with 5 other roommates. I share my bedroom with another American girl, Linsey, from Hawaii. Then I have 1 roommate from Australia and the other 3 are South Korean, with very limited English speaking skills. The apartments here are very nice and new, far better than the other residence halls on campus.

After being here only a few days I started to pick up on the major differences from America:
1) Not only do they drive on the left hand side, they also WALK on the left hand side of sidewalks and such, which is very hard to get used to.
2) You have to pay for grocery bags in Canberra according to a new law
3) Their food does not taste the same as ours, even if it's the same item. ex: kraft singles, 2-minute noodles, mayonnaise, etc
4) Do not use the term "rooting"... it has a very different meaning than we consider it.
5) There is not wifi in the majority of places and you have to pay for your internet
6) They have no idea what sororities are and have nothing comparable to them
7) They do not drink cheap alcohol here, everything is very expensive and better quality.

There are many more things that have been surprising, but the biggest thing to adapt to is the lingo...
Sketchy = dodgy
Fries= chips (unless they are from McDonalds or the same size as them)
McDonalds= Mackers
Sneakers= Runners
Cookies= bisquits
Friend = mate
Sweatshirt = jumper
Swimsuit = Togs/Swimmers
Flip flops = thongs

I'm learning lots of new words, but also teaching them new words.

We just finished our Orientation week which is a big week long party with themed parties and such. Then the exchange students took a trip to Sydney for 2 days and got to experience another part of Australia. We went up in the Sydney tower, saw the Sydney opera house and botanical gardens, the aquarium and several different markets. Sunday we got to go to the beach! Unfortunately we couldn't swim because the waves were too intense so they closed the beach to all swimming.

Today was the first day of classes so it feels weird trying to get back into school mode now. I am taking 4 classes here and only have class Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. They organize their classes differently and it's very common to have at least one day off of school a week.