Sydney

It’s safe to say that I am the worst blogger in the history of blogs. I am a procrastinator to the extreme, and I am terrible if I do not have a deadline. This blog has suffered because of it. I’m very sorry to the one person who actually wants updates (hi Grandpa). Since it has been months since my last entry, there is a lot to catch up on. The plan is to start updating more regularly in order to catch up with everything I have missed. Here is the Sydney installment! Enjoy.

SYDNEY TRIP:

As some of you know, I have been working for some time on my applications to graduate school. I have at this point been accepted to both of the schools I applied to (University of Montana and Portland State University). In order to complete these applications, I had to take the dreaded Graduate Record Exam (GRE). You may be wondering what all this has to do with Sydney, Australia. Since (as we have already determined) I am a grade-A procrastinator, I obviously waited to take the test until I was living across the world. Sydney, over 1,000 kilometers away from where I live on the Sunshine Coast, was the closest testing location. My completely awesome host family (who originally hail from Sydney) decided to pack up the car with the kids and meet me down there after my exam. The afternoon I arrived I checked into a swanky but incredibly pretentious hotel I had booked last minute for a good price. I wandered the streets of the Central Business District and enjoyed a glass of wine at an open-air restaurant until I had the rude awakening of nearly everyone around me lighting up. I’m fairly certain every citizen of Sydney smokes. The buzz of the city made me feel gloriously anonymous, and I happily meandered down various side streets, no doubt irritating the hoards of business people pushing to get back to work. I then had dinner at the hotel restaurant where a waiter told me that he felt I looked “way too young to be drinking.” May I remind you all that the drinking age in Australia is 18. (Prepare for a slight tangent) The age issue has become a bit of a common theme for me here in Australia, and I am still too young to take it as a compliment. I have been handed a twelve and under coloring menu, asked if I am looking forward to graduating from high school, have been given a fourteen and under ferry ticket, and asked if I had my parent’s permission to get my eyebrows waxed. For those of you who don’t know, I will be 23 this year. I’m only slightly bitter. Anyway, back to the trip.

After my exam, my host family picked me up and we headed for an apartment at Coogee Beach, a gorgeous oceanfront stretch that is a quieter alternative to the wildly famous Bondi Beach. We did eventually make our way to Bondi Beach, where I eagerly searched the lifeguard stands for the stars of the reality TV show Bondi Rescue. I spotted one of the guys, but unfortunately for me, it was the old guy who yells at everyone that he saves. When we saw him, he was in the middle of yelling at some tourists for swimming outside the flags, so needless to say, I was too scared to even take a picture.

Bondi Beach

My first sighting of the Sydney Opera House was awe-inspiring. We were up in the hills looking over the Sydney Harbour. It was a spectacular sight with its vast white “sails” and the Harbour Bridge standing proudly next to it. It is certainly a sight everyone should try to see in his or her lifetime. Up close, I was surprised to find that the Opera House actually looks a little outdated. Those “sails” that look so smooth in photographs are actually made up of individual white tiles, and the front of the building has brown metal supports that give the whole thing a distinctly 1970s feel. We walked into a little corridor and found a troupe of vaguely frightening clown/mimes entertaining children. We left rather quickly.

Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House

Close up of the front of the Opera House

Near the Opera House and Harbour Bridge stands the famous old amusement park, Luna Park. We walked through the gaping mouth entrance into a world of vintage amusement and charm. It was a lovely afternoon with spectacular views and memories that will last forever.

The entrance to Luna Park

We toured other bits of Sydney, visiting a nice street market and driving through the notorious (read: dangerous) Kings Cross neighborhood famous for high profile drug rings, raging nightclubs, and vicious street bashings.

After our few days exploring Sydney, we loaded back into the car to take our time traveling up the east coast of Australia. That will be the subject of my next blog entry. Thanks for reading!!

My Life: Travel Edition, Part 2/2

As I stated in my previous post, I’ll be heading to Sydney in a couple of weeks. While that will definitely be the biggest trip I will have taken so far, I have already been on so many adventures. One of my favorites has been a trip to Australia Zoo, which belongs to the family of Steve Irwin, the famous “Crocodile Hunter.” My host family, lovely people that they are, decided to introduce me to the world of Australian animals with a bang. It was one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. Immediately upon entering we were able to interact with a multitude of exotic animals, including a baby crocodile and a huge cockatoo that gave an enthusiastic “thumbs-up” said “hello” in a creepily human-like voice. It was pretty obvious that it was Steve Irwin’s zoo, as there were colossal photos of him everywhere, and many of the animals (all of whom were named) had snippets written about them by the man himself. In a way, some of it was a bit cheesy, but I did not mind in the least, because it reminded me of my childhood spent watching him encounter poisonous snakes and ferocious crocs on TV. We went to the Wild Animal show where colorful birds swooped low over the audience in choreographed patterns and a massive croc leaped out of the water to catch meat. We stood in a huge line to feed elephants by hand and were rewarded with affectionate slobbers from the massive beasts, and accompanied a zookeeper while she walked a giant wombat on a leash (I can’t make this stuff up.) A guy tried to drape an enormous snake around my neck, which I politely declined, while secretly preparing to punch him in the gut and flee if he got any closer. He did convince me to touch it with one finger. While the entire zoo was a wonder, there were two things in particular that stood out about the day. The first was the kangaroos. The Kangaroo Sanctuary is a huge fenced area in which hundreds of the world’s laziest marsupials chill for hours on end. The greatest part, you ask? You get to go in, feed them, and scratch their bellies as if they were oversized house cats. We even had the immense pleasure of seeing a guy get punched in the face by a kangaroo who wasn’t particularly keen about being featured in a selfie. The best part of the day, however, was getting to cuddle a koala named Ellen. My host parents were kind enough to arrange a private encounter for me, and I will certainly never forget the experience. She was incredibly soft, sweet, and had Eucalyptus-y breath. If any of you get the chance to visit Australia, I highly recommend a trip to the zoo, as it was the most interactive and beautiful zoo I have ever seen.

Meeting the elephant

Kangaroo feeding

The next trip we took was to Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island. It was the perfect opportunity for Greg, my host dad, to try out the new 4WD, as the only way to get around on the island is to off-road. We arrived in Hervey Bay, a whale watching paradise, and stayed the night in a resort before making the ferry crossing very early the next morning. We drove all around the island, and it was a blast. I even got a chance to drive down the beach at 80k/hr.  The entire day we were on the lookout for dingoes (wild dogs known for eating children) but unfortunately we didn’t see one.  We visited a breathtaking old shipwreck that was used as a bombing range during WWII, and drove through splendid, nearly untouched rainforest. While the water off Fraser Island is gorgeous, it is extremely ill advised to enter, as it is teeming with sharks, fatally poisonous jellyfish and has a brutal rip. The next day we drove back via Rainbow Beach, which I believe has more colored sands than anywhere else in the world. Many of the beaches in Australia double as a highway, which is a bit of a weird concept, but made for a fun drive.

Ship wreck at Fraser Island

Sunrise over Fraser Island

One of my friends, Hattie (an English au pair,) and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Noosa (a resort town) for a night out. When we arrived via bus (after being verbally attacked by the most terrifying bus driver ever) it was dark and we had no plans whatsoever. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge planner and safety freak, so this was a big step for me. We found our way into a dingy youth hostel, and booked a room at the bar. We went to drop our stuff off and realized we were in a 10-man bunk. My bed was located above a surly French man, and had a dirty footprint on the side that could only have gotten there by an impressive roundhouse kick. Back at the bar, there was an old one-eyed man wearing a fedora and dancing ostentatiously to Michael Jackson. While the bar was sparsely populated, the night only got stranger from there. I was even told my one guy that I should “stop faking such a horrible American accent.” Once in bed, I spent the night clutching my belongings and hoping for morning. The next day we spent hours swimming in perfect water and tanning on the beach, before finding our way back home. Crazy? Yes. Worth it? Definitely.

While I’ve been on several other trips, this is all I have time to write about right now. Just as a completely unrelated side note: A bird attacked me while I was running this morning. It was one of the scariest experiences I’ve had in this country.

My life in Australia: Part 1/2

Well, it has been a long time, but I’m back to the blog world! I have a lot to tell you all--although I’ve procrastinated so long in writing this that I can hardly remember everything. To start off, I have settled in very well here. Driving isn’t nearly as terrifying of an experience as it was in the beginning, and I have actually begun to appreciate roundabouts for their ability to keep traffic flowing. In case it wasn’t clear from some of my previous posts, I LOVE my host family, so that has made adjusting to this new place a piece of cake. I promise I’m not just saying that because they’ll read this. (hi guys!) Truly, I am luckier than any other au pair I have met.

            On the au pair news side of things, this is a rather busy time. Both of my host parents are away for work for the next 2 weeks, so I’m on my own with the 4 kids. Basically it will be just like my regular job, but with more cooking. (sorry, kids!) It’s going to be an adjustment for all of us, but there is no doubt that it will work out just fine.

            We’ve been having lots of fun around here. We go to the park quite often, and usually come home with at least one basketball related injury (often due to my overzealous and inexpert blocks) and a bit of motion sickness from the merry go round. On one occasion said motion sickness resulted in vomit spewing violently from a child that shall remain unnamed. Time to move away from that unpleasant image….Last Saturday Jack and I spent the day at his very first Tae Kwon Do tournament, and he did an excellent job. I was very proud of how hard he worked and what great sportsmanship he showed. They are amazing kids, and really make my job a treat.

            Many of you may know that I came here with the intention of volunteering for a particular watershed organization. I started the volunteer position soon after I arrived, but I have since had to discontinue my involvement due to the fact that the drive was over 30 minutes each way, and the work was focused solely on office administration, and not on fieldwork, as I had initially understood. The organization does really great things for the local watersheds; however, it was just not the right fit for me. At this point, my goal is to begin volunteering closer to home at an organization with needs that better match my skills.

            On that career related note, right now I am in the midst of frenzied study in preparation for my GRE exam in just over 2 weeks. You’d think since I graduated from college the studying would be over—but no. I will go to Sydney on the 25^th and take the wretched exam on the 26^th. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is meant to test readiness for a graduate school program, and is required by most schools in the United States. While it determines the outcome of my future as a student, it is mainly going to be a miserable 5 hours of my life that I will never be able to get back. After it’s over, I will begin working on my applications to different schools, and start trying to coax professors who barely remember my name to write me letters of recommendation. Overall, the graduate school application process sucks.

            The bright side of my trip to Sydney for the test is that my host family will be driving down to meet me, and we will tour around the city together. Since they are from Sydney, they have all sorts of inside knowledge about what I absolutely have to see. Initially, I really wanted to climb the Harbor Bridge, but after learning about the steep $230 price tag that goes along with it, I am no longer quite as keen. Really? $230 to climb a bridge? Alas, I will have to settle for a ferry ride across the harbor, as the bridge climbers look down on me with pity. On the way back to the Sunshine Coast, I will ride with my host family. We are planning on taking a couple of days for the trip, and will stop at various tourist destinations as we drive. That leads me to my next point about Australia. These people love their “big” things, and tend to create tourism surrounding completely pointless giant objects. My personal favorite is the Big Pineapple, but there are many more spread all across this great country. There is the Big Worm, the Big Shark, the Big Boot, the Big Banana, the Big Kangaroo, the Big Boxing Croc, (what?) the Big Potato, the Big Guitar…the list goes on…and on…and on. It could be a lucrative business just carting dumb tourists from big object to big object until they’d seen every one.

That’s all for this post. My next one, which will talk more about my travels will be up later today!

Stay safe, y'all hear?

UPDATE TODAY. FOR REAL THIS TIME!!!!

Ok, I know I said a few days ago I was going to get a blog post up...and I didn't. I'm sorry. Here's the good news. I am currently typing said blog post RIGHT NOW! It WILL be up today, without exception. It will be a long one, so bare with me.

An update coming soon. I promise!!!

Dear loyal followers--I have been absolutely terrible about updating my blog. For that, I am sorry. Tomorrow it is my goal to get a post written. There is much to tell--and many pictures to be posted. I have been to Australia Zoo, Noosa, the Hinterland, Brisbane (briefly), Fraser Island, and many other places. The kids have been just great, and I love my life here. I can't wait to share my adventures! To tide you over until then--here's a picture of me cuddling a Koala!

Week 1 update

I’m about to drop some knowledge on you all. Geckos look nothing like the Geico Gecko. They aren’t charming or cute in any way. In fact, what they really do is poo on the wall, and that’s disgusting. Moving on…Australia has been amazing so far. It is absolutely stunning. The Sunshine Coast, where I am living, is considered subtropical, so it is lush and gorgeous in a way that makes life feel like a continuous vacation. It is winter here, so it has been raining a fair amount, but coming from the perspective of an Oregon winter, it’s paradise.

This past week has been filled with new experiences, and my host family has been so amazing in making me feel at home and showing me what the coast has to offer. We have been to visit the Big Pineapple, which is literally a big pineapple located on a pineapple plantation. You get to climb to the top of it and enjoy the scenery from a vista point at its spikey crown. Thanks to Elise’s (the mom) persistence, I have now seen wild Kangaroos on two separate occasions. They are odd animals, and look creepily like humans from a distance. We ate hot chips (thick fries) on the beach in Mooloolaba and took in the sights from “the Loo with a View,” which is a platform built on top of a bathroom near the ocean.

Now onto driving: everything is opposite. If it feels right, you can almost guarantee it is wrong. Roundabouts are scary, but two lane roundabouts actually make me want to cry. I keep turning the windshield wipers on instead of the blinker, and I won’t lie, I have driven on the wrong side of the road for a few brief but alarming moments. All in all, I probably will not be winning any awards for safe driving, but luckily my host family has outfitted me with a rather large 4WD, so at least the kids will be protected. As for everyone else on the road…well they’re on their own. One thing that is interesting about many of the cars here (including the one that I drive) is that they have snorkels. They are literally like a giant version of one that you or I would take when touring the Great Barrier Reef. Australians are so hardcore that even their cars can swim.

The kids have been amazingly kind to me and have helped me adjust really well. So far there have been no frogs in my bag or pinecones on my chair at the dinner table. Whether that is because they do not seem to have pinecones here or because they actually like me, I really cannot say. They have introduced me to the world of Australian Rules Football, and I have taken away from it that the players mostly like to tackle each other repeatedly and wear the shortest shorts they can possibly get away with on television.

My perception of Australians so far is that they are really a pretty friendly bunch of people. The culture is a nice blend between English and American—although probably leaning a bit more toward the British side. They shorten every word that they possibly can. Sunglasses become “sunnies,” spaghetti bolognaise becomes “spag bol,” and breakfast becomes “brekkie.” Some of their names for things are entirely unintelligible, but they gladly translate when met with a blank stare. The thing that I love the very most about the accent and culture is that they use words and phrases that would be considered very old fashioned in the US. For example, “poor bugger” and “cheeky.”

I will update more later, and pictures will be coming soon!