Brisbane/Fraser Island

G’day! Just got back from an AMAZING weekend up in Brisbane.  I went with Anna and her friend from back home, Jackie.  We left Wednesday night to stay with Jackie up in Sydney so we would be closer to the airport for our 6 am flight Thursday morning.  It was nice staying with Jackie because she’s with a host family and I got to see what a family’s house looks like (not much different than houses back home- just much more expensive)  We were up early Thursday morning for our train ride into the airport at 4:46 am!  After safely arriving in Brisbane we checked into our hostel and had immediate good news.  Not only did it have its own built in fraternity house where we could smell booze and cigarettes but we were upgraded to our own personal three bedroom “suite”.  The suite didn’t have soap or shampoo and was probably wired with hidden cameras to tape the American girls changing, but hey- we survived!  After dropping off our luggage it was off to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  We instantly befriended an English guy named Matt who was on Holiday.  He walked around with us seeing crocodiles, wombats, Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, koalas, birds, dingoes and a platypus.  We were able to hand feed the kangaroos and got a picture holding koala bears! (Check out this site with the picture- it’s up for 60 days.  (http://i.koala.net/1808112970.htm)  I was the only lucky one that got a free souvenir- a shirt covered in koala pee! Hey, it’s all part of the experience.  The only part about Lone Pine I didn’t like was the platypus.  Being an animal lover I was thrilled to finally be seeing this crazy creature.  What I had pictured in my mind was totally off.  The little guy was about 2 feet long and extremely boring- ugh.  I guess holding a koala and feeding kangaroos made up for it.  After Lone Pine it was off to explore Brisbane.  Matt tagged along as we ate lunch at Jojo’s restaurant where I had some local fish and chips and then continued on to see Brisbane’s botanical gardens.  After some shopping it was off to bed in our amazing hostel “suite”.

The next morning was another early one when we were picked up by Sunset Safaris for our 3-day excursion on Fraser Island.  We drove for a while- seeing wild horses along the way- and then finally took a ferry ride over to the island. Our tour group consisted of maybe 3 other people that understood English and no one near ready to fulfill the “party” part of the tour.  There was a group of three people that were having their own party and we spent a large part of the weekend trying to figure out what exactly their relationship was.  After seeing the three of their beds pushed together, we decided it was better that we didn’t know.  Aside from these crazy kids Anna, Jackie and I had enough energy for all 11 of us.  Our tour guide was an amazing man named Barry who was 61 years old but had perverted jokes of a 15 year old.  At least he let us ride shot gun in the bus and sing karaoke on his microphone!  We rocked the National Anthem singing competition.  The fact there were only two countries that competed has nothing to do with anything. The people that didn’t understand English loved it I’m sure. Barry also went one step further as a tour guide and helped us not only find Pippies (oyster type animals) along the beach but after dinner invited us to his room to cook and eat them.  They were sandy and chewy and disgusting but at least I tried it!  We had taken about 25 from the beach and only cooked 5.  Being the animal lover (freak) that I am, I wanted to save the rest.  Anna and Jackie were reluctant about going on the beach at night because it was cold and we didn’t want to get eaten by dingoes but Barry took us out there to help save the Pippies!  It was definitely worth the trip.  I got to see more stars then I ever thought imaginable- including a rainbow shaped cloud I later learned was the Milky Way.  I also learned how to find the Southern Cross in the sky and how to find phosphorescent sand on the beach.  Barry and his fiancé, Maxine, not only shared their love of the island with us but taught us a plethora of new fun facts.

I learned that Fraser Island is the largest Sand bar in the world.  There is a 75 mile beach and the island is over 500 meters of sand deep!  (That’s more sand than the Sahara desert!) There were no roads and all of the trees and plants grow through the sand.  It was amazing! We also learned that when it rains the sand absorbs the rainwater and stores it under the island.  It doesn’t flow into the ocean because salt water weighs more than fresh water; therefore, the water is contained.  There is enough fresh water under the island to supply the city of Brisbane with water for 10 years! We tried the water trickling through one of the creeks and it was delicious! Fraser is also one of the last places in Australia where the dingoes are purebred.  Because no dogs are allowed on the island there is no cross-breeding.  We had to watch out for the dingoes because they will attack- only a few weeks ago two girls were mauled by a pack of 5 of them.  Our hotel on the island was fenced in and there was electric wires going across the driveway in order to keep them out. 

One of the things we did on Fraser was see Lake Birabeen.  The lake is a freshwater lake on the island with the whitest sand I’ve ever seen and the cleanest, most clear water.  We also took a dip in Lake Wabby-another freshwater lake on the island. After meeting some nice Germans, we played chicken in the lake and splashed around for a few hours. Eli Creek was another tourist hotspot where we walked along the creek that starts in the middle of the island where fresh water leaks to the surface.  Since the water runs along sand the creek it totally silent.  Another creek we saw was in the rainforest.  When we first looked at the creek we thought it was covered in moss but then we realized that the water was so clear in all of the places that we were actually seeing straight to the bottom of the river.  While touring the rainforest we were advised to watch out for snakes and drop bears.  Out of the 10 most deadly snakes in the world Australia has 9 of them and Fraser Island has 6.  Our guide said that the large group walking would cause enough vibrations the snakes would get scared and go the other way.  What he didn’t tell us is that drop bears are totally made up and are meant to make tourists look dumb.  He told us that they get tired and sometimes fall asleep hanging upside down causing them to drop down.  They’ve been known to fall on people and seriously injure them so it’s important to watch out for them when you’re walking.  Good thing we’re dumb Americans and believed him. Another gullible moment was when Barry told us about coffee rock.  What it is is old vegetation on the island that is dead and due to the sand turns into rock like features.  This part is totally true.  What is not true is that is tastes like coffee.  After all of us were standing around licking this rock trying to figure out what brand of Folgers we were tasting Barry told us he was lying.  And we wonder why Americans are always thought of as dumb?

One of the most amazing things we did was climb up the Kirrer Sandblow.  It’s basically a large mountain of sand on the island that I thought we would never get up.  Once at the top, however, it was breathtaking.  I wish words and pictures could describe what we saw.  To one side of us was rainforest, another was thousands of feet of sand, mountains to another side and ocean to the last.  It was one of those moments I had to stop and think about how fortunate I am to be here.  In order to remember how lucky we are Anna, Jackie and I all took pictures with “thanks mom and dad” written in the sand.  We mean it to!  We also saw a fun rock on the sandblow that Barry tried convincing us was a shooting star that had landed.  What it really was was a rock that formed when lightening hit the sand.  Sweet Home Alabama anyone?  Because the sand on Fraser is not pure silica sand it doesn’t turn into the glass features that we’re used to seeing.

After working our quads climbing up and down the sandblow, we drove to see an old shipwreck on the island.  The ship was being taken to Japan and when a storm hit and the rope snapped, the ship, along with her 7 crew members, ended up on Fraser Island.  Because the island is only made up of sand and is always changing shape most of the boat has been covered by the island but we were still able to see some.  The last part of the island we saw was Indian Head.  The English named it this when they saw Aboriginals standing on top of it and assumed they were Indians.  The views were once again spectacular and I just wished that all of my family and friends back home would someday have the opportunity to see this amazing country. 

Some other fun little memories from the weekend include befriending the bartender (free drinks anyone?)  and visiting Chinatown in Brisbane.  Beau, the bartender, was a really fun Australian who came along on our tours with us and lightened the mood a little bit.  He showed us his pet snakes and even let Anna help him close down the bar.  Seeing as the most amount of people in the bar at one time was probably about 17 it wasn’t a tough job but we still had a lot of fun getting to know him.  It also helped being the only girls there because instead of losing money at the bar we made money.  Some guy decided he didn’t want change higher than $50 bills so Anna, Jackie and I gladly took the smaller bills off of his hands.  We came out of the night with $35.  Not too bad!

Overall the weekend was an amazing experience that I will never forget.  I can’t wait to head off on my next adventure here!  There is just so much to see and do and I can’t wait to try to fit it all in! Until next time-Gday Mate!

And The Bucket List Keeps Getting Shorter

G’day!  This past week has been a busy one to say the least.  To start off, I gave my first presentation in Australia-thirty minutes long- and wrote two papers.  Aside from a busy load of school work I was able to cross a few things off of my Australia “to do” list. 

On Tuesday night I went with my roommate and some of her friends as well as some of my friends to a place called Amigos.  They have a “Taco Tuesday” deal where tacos are $4 and tequila shots are $3.  My dad taught me well when it comes to deals so I had to go!  We then finished the night off with Cold Rock.  It’s an ice cream place identical to Cold Stone back in the states.  They have a flavor called Milo which was delicious.  It tasted somewhat like a malted milk ball in ice cream. YUM!

I downloaded some Australian music from my roommate Danielle.  She’s trying to get me more cultured!  The CDs she gave me are very relaxing and nice to do homework to.  Since I don’t know the words to the songs it isn’t very distracting because I can’t sing along.  I’ll definitely be bringing back some music with me to the states.

 I finally climbed Mount Keira!  It is a mountain just a few minute bus ride away from where I am living.  It was more than just hiking, however, and at some parts we had to climb up a stream on our hands and feet.  The view from the top made our burning quads and hamstrings worth it.  Wollongong is absolutely breathtaking.  We were able to see the mountains, the ocean and the city all at the same time.  I was also able to cross another cartwheel continent off of my bucket list!  One of the people I climbed with was a little hesitant to climb down the way we went up so we started to take a road back.  After walking for about an hour and realizing we had no idea where we were we stopped to ask a woman for directions.  She offered us a ride down and helped us get to where we wanted to be.  I guess that means I’ve hitchhiked!  (Sorry mom and dad).

This week I’m just hanging around Wollongong actually starting to work on schoolwork! I leave for Brisbane Wednesday night and am spending 5 days there.  I’ll keep you posted about the trip.  Until next time- G’day mate.

Travels Thus Far

One of reasons I chose Wollongong is because it is on the east coast of Australia making relatively easy to travel to other places.  I have a long, long list of places I want to visit and sights I want to see while I’m here but I can only do so much at a time.  I have a trip to Brisbane planned for a couple weeks but so far I’ve been up to  explore Sydney twice.

Sydney is absolutely amazing.  The first time I went I went with a large group of Americans that was visiting the city for the first time was well.  We saw the bridge and the opera house and it finally sunk in that I was in Australia.  The bridge is pretty much just a bridge.   Kind of like seeing the San Francisco bridge- it’s cool but how exciting can a bridge be?  A lot of people climb the bridge but I figure if Oprah can do it then it must not be too challenging and I want a challenge while I’m over here.  I’ll stick to bungee jumping.  The bridge is right by the opera house-also a little different than I expected.  It’s three separate buildings where I always figured it was one large one.  The color of the building is a little more yellow than I expected but when it’s nighttime and it’s lit up it is absolutely stunning.  I walked around inside the opera house but couldn’t see much other than the gift shop.  Everyone I’ve talked to says the acoustics are amazing and I need to see a show there- bucket list?  After seeing the landmarks, we wandered around Circular Quay and the Rocks.  When it was dinner time it took a while to find a restaurant that suited everyone’s budgets.  Sydney is even more expensive than Wollongong, but definitely worth every penny.  After dinner we headed home with a long list of things to see the next time!

Yesterday was my second trip up to Sydney.  I went with Anna and Liz and we met up with a couple of Australians we met in Wollongong.  We walked through the Sydney gardens which feature a vast array of trees and birds that we don’t have in the states.  I definitely looked like a tourist as I was snapping pictures of birds (my mom would be proud).  After seeing the gardens we caught a bus into Chinatown and had an authentic (?) Chinese lunch.  In the heart of Chinatown is Paddy’s Market.  Paddy’s Market is known for having good deals on souvenirs.  It’s hard buying souvenirs because I only have limited room in my suitcase and I packed it pretty full to begin with.  After spending way too much money at Paddy’s Market, Liz and I split away from the group and went to see Olympic Park.  Even though the locals told us it would be boring, I’m very glad I went.  I couldn’t get over how huge it was and how all of these buildings were built just for the Olympics.  They use some of the buildings still for concerts, shows, sporting events, etc. 

After a packed day in Sydney we boarded the train for what we thought would be a pretty quick ride home (It takes about 1-2 hours)  About halfway into our journey we found out that we were going to experience delays because of a fatality that occurred at one of the stations.  I checked the news today to see what happened but haven’t found anything yet.   It was a little spooky!  We had to transfer to busses at one point in order to bypass the station where the death occurred and then we boarded another train home.  It was definitely not your average train ride! 

As much as I love exploring Sydney and want to go back a couple more times to see even more of the sights, I can’t wait to start seeing more of this beautiful country.  It has so much to offer and I feel so blessed that I am able to be living over here and experiencing it all.  Until next time- G’day mate.

Social Life

I’m used to going to school at IU-one of the biggest party schools in the nation.  Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive about coming over here and getting bored on those days that I wasn’t traveling.  Once again, I was worrying for no reason.   The first week I got here, orientation week, there was a large list of activities in which I participated.  There was a Cowboy/Indian pub crawl one night and another night was a “decades” theme where each different part of Campus East was supposed to be a different decade.  Trench Town was the 50’s.  There was a scheduled hike to climb Mount Kiera but due to weather it was postponed.  The drinking age over here is 18 but on Campus there are still some rules.  You aren’t supposed to drink in groups larger than 9 and drinking games aren’t to be played on campus. The big uni-nights here are Sunday and Wednesday.  On these two nights places offer specials for all of the poor uni kids.  Thank goodness for specials because everything is crazy expensive over here!  A tube of mascara is $17 and a bottle of Smirnoff is $54.   

Aside from actually being legal it’s been fun to explore Wollongong as well.  A few nights ago there was a huge bonfire on the beach right by Campus.  There were probably at least 50 people there and it was really fun to be able to relax by a bonfire on the beach.  We also looked up at the stars.  Supposedly there are different constellations here but being the huge astronomy buff that I am (?) I have no idea what the constellations either hemisphere can see.  Maybe I’ll learn before I leave.  I’ve also been going on runs and walks along the beach and on a really nice path that runs parallel to the beach.  I’ve felt pretty safe overall and never go alone anywhere at night (mom and dad taught me well).

I’ve gone shopping in town with Liz and explored town with a few other people as well.   The mall is pretty close to campus.  The free bus takes students directly there.  I still can’t get over living right by the beach! The other day on one of my runs I came across the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.  The sun was hitting the water at just the right time of day and the mountains were glowing as well.  I wanted to take a picture to show everyone but I know that the picture wouldn’t have done it justice (also my camera is still broken).

My Australian and American friends have taught me a lot of new fun things I plan on bringing back to the states with me.  Here are some of the fun words I thought you may want to know.  Until next time-G’day mate!

Heaps-a lot. “It was heaps of fun”

Keen- you’re interested. “I’m keen to go tonight”

How you going?- “How are you doing?”

Hey- right. “You know what I mean, hey?”

Getting To Wollongong

Hello blogging world! I decided to make it easier to fill everyone in with all of the fun things I’m doing I would go ahead and make a blog.  I’ve been here in Wollongong, Australia for 3 weeks now so my first few posts will be catching everyone up!

Leaving was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.  I think I said goodbye to some of my friends at least 8 times before it finally sunk in that I was actually leaving.  I packed the day before I left because I was in denial of the fact I was going to be gone for five months.  It finally hit me that I was leaving the morning of July 14^th when my sister woke me up on her way to work to tell me goodbye.  From there on out it was a lot tears.  I had to say bye to my animals which was near impossible.  I can’t Skype them or write them letters and snuggling is impossible from halfway across the world.  I know it seems dumb to non-animal lovers but it was hard!  The tears kept coming when two of my friends met up with me in Chicago to say goodbye.  Kate and Travis-thank you!  Turning to go into security was horrible.  I had to leave my parents.  I’m really close to them and it was hard knowing that I wouldn’t be able to talk to them everyday like I usually do.  They didn’t cry at all which I wasn’t expecting-it made me feel like a baby.  Miles was really nice and supportive, however, and put up with all of my tears.  After finally making it through my goodbyes I was ready to head off to Australia!

 I left July 14 and was supposed to arrive the 16^th.  My flight in Chicago was a delayed about 2 hours which caused me to miss my flight out of San Francisco.  The next flight they could get me on was 48 hours later! I finally arrived in San Fran at about 1 in the morning and had a horrible time finding a hotel room.  It seemed like every hotel was booked and ones that weren’t were extremely expensive.  The airline gave me a $60 voucher for a hotel and nothing for food--thanks a lot United. After finding a room for $278 (yikes!) I crashed.  Friday during the day my traveling partner, Miles, and I saw all of the fun sights of San Francisco.  Our luggage was still at the airport but we still had our carry ons.  Miles knows a man that works in San Francisco so we left our bags with him so we could explore the city like proper tourists.  I finally got to see the famous bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombard street, Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company, and Ghirardelli square.  After sampling the chocolates (have we met?) Miles and I headed off to my sorority sister’s house to stay the night.  Sarah took us out to see Harry Potter with her friends Friday night and Saturday we walked around her town of Pleasanton and just relaxed.  She drove us to the airport and we were finally on our way!

The flight from San Francisco to Auckland was about 13 hours, but thanks to Ambien I slept most of the way.  We then flew from Auckland to Sydney where we were met with my two bags and only one of Miles’.  (It arrived in Wollongong a few days later).  A driver met us at the airport and drove us to our new home.  Wollongong is absolutely beautiful.  It means “where mountains meet sea” and lives up to its meaning.  The beach here is gorgeous and is an easy motivator when it comes to running.  It’s nice waking up and hanging out at the beach for a few hours before class.  The water is still pretty cold but as the outside air temperature warms up it makes braving the cold a little easier.  The mountains are lush and green, something I was not expecting from Australia.  I’m living in a dorm called Campus East.  Within Campus East there are separate dorm buildings with names like Trench Town, Hospital, Slums, and Alcatraz.  I’m a happy resident of Trench Town.  I share a unit with two Australians-Danielle and Kelsey.  I’m lucky that they are both so nice and helpful!  I have my own room which is pretty sparse, seeing as I could only bring so much over here with me.  The one thing my room is not lacking is blankets! I didn’t realize how cold the nights would be over here.  Granted, it’s winter and it will warm up, but for now I’m snuggling under 4 blankets at night.

I eat my meals here at Campus East.  I’m on a meal plan and most of the foods are the same as back home. There is a little less flavor over here and they are addicted to meat!  One of the things I can’t get over is that if you go out at night to a pub and enter a raffle you’re entering to win a tray of raw meat!  It’s on my bucket list to win one while I’m over here.  I’ve tried Vegemite (disgusting) and Tim Tams (addicting) and had my fair share of kiwis.  There is a little place in Wollongong called the Fruit Market and as you probably guessed there is a plethora of fruit.  The other day I got 5 apples, 5 kiwis, 1 orange and ½ of a cantaloupe for $2.98.  My addiction to fruit may grow over here!

Another great thing about Campus East is that it has a free bus to the University of Wollongong.  The “uni” as they call it over here is not close enough to walk so I take a bus to and from each day.  Uni is gorgeous as well-gives IU some competition.  I love walking to class and hearing the Australian crow.  (I advise youtubing this).  Waking up to the noise is another story.  I’m taking 12 credit hours and my classes include Locating Australia, Literacy in Early Childhood, Nutrition, and Gender and Society.  They have been very similar to classes back home so far and I think I should do okay.  The hardest part is in my nutrition class when they talk about kilojoules and kilograms instead of calories and pounds.  I have a 30 minute presentation due this Wednesday.  Since I’m the first person in my class to go and I’m the only American I’m hoping my professor will cut me a little slack.  Cross your fingers!

While I’m over here I have an Australian phone plan so I pay monthly to be able to talk and text to Australians only.  Skype and Facebook have been nice to stay in touch with friends back home.   While I do miss my American friends I am certainly not the only one with an American accent over here.  There are probably close to 100 kids living in Campus East from America-another thing I wasn’t expecting.

 I would be taking hundreds of pictures but my camera broke about a week ago.  I shipped it back to the US in order for my warranty to kick in so hopefully it will be back soon! I have a list of pictures that need to be taken in order to share with everyone back home.  People here have been really generous about letting me borrow their cameras so I can capture my memories.  I needed my own the other day, however, when I was in my room and there was a spider about 4 inches across chilling right next to my bed.  When I told my roommate to look at it she told me it was not poisonous but it was a baby spider and pretty small for whatever kind it was-yikes!

I’ve been hanging out with two American girls a lot- Liz and Anna.  Liz is from IU and Anna is from North Carolina.  They’re both a lot of fun and we get along really well.  Together we’ve made some fun Australian friends as well as more American friends. I could go on about each of them for days but I think knowing they are both a lot of fun will suffice.  We are planning a lot of adventures together and have already had our fair share.  They have made the transition much easier.  It’s difficult going to a huge school where you know hundreds of people to going somewhere halfway across the world where you know two people.  I’m excited for all that Wollongong has to offer and I can’t wait to explore this beautiful place even more.  Until next time- g’day mate.