Crocodiles and Koala Petting

This Tuesday was kind of a casual day because we couldn't plan much around the schedule we had with class and hockey practice. Practicing with the mixed Australian club team down here has been absolutely a phenomenal experience.

They do have a completely different style of play which I was a little lost with at first, but at the end of the day its the same in every country for goalkeepers...Just save the ball! Adelle and I were so happy playing with them because they are so happy-go-lucky and laughing, but are still extremely skilled and challenging to work with. After hockey, I met up with Ryan, Deanna, Brent, Olivia and Ashley to go to the Tea Gardens bar and play some pool like the good ole pool sharks we are.

Wednesday was a G'day :) because I had no class until 6pm AND no field hockey practice so I'm able to make the most of my morning and afternoons. I decided to sleep in for the first time since I don't know when, and woke up at 10am and got ready. I was on my way to the Sydney WIldlife World which is actually located right next door to the Aquarium I went to before.

The start of the wildlife world was a little eww and creepy because it was full of tons of overgrown, hairy and freaky deaky looking bugs and insects. The first thing I saw was the biggest Dragonfly in Australia, but not in the world and some other huge beatles.

My favorite insects that I saw were the butterflies. In order to not have to go about catching the butterflies all over Australia the WIldlife World simply breeds their own butterflies in a garden that you get to see as you walk in. Along with the butterflies were a huge variety of moths.

Next, the wildlife world just wanted to creep you out a little more, by displaying their collection of dangerous (Most Dangerous one in the world) and hairy spiders (one spider carriers her babies around on her back) in a window pane to terrorize you once you've gone home and think those same spiders could be making home in your home's windows.

If you've ever watched Discovery Channel or Animal Planet, Australia has had its fair showing of reptiles that come out at night, creatures of the deep and whatever else. After the insects were a thing of the past, I had the chance to see overgrown lizzards, venemous snakes and what looked to be mini dinosaurs out of Jurassic Park.

The next picture I think you're gonna get a real kick out of. People were absolutely freaking out because the crocodile that honestly couldve been mistaken as fake because apparently it never moves...well it moved. All I heard was some woman say, "look it wants to eat the girl's backpack." After going through my photos this is the shot I found.

After my close encounter I went to see the Kangaroos. Some were lazy, some tall and others possibly going crazy. I really liked seeing these guys because it isn't everyday you get to see this (only in aussie) and its not like they're common in other zoos around the world.

As a lost stop, I had the chance to take a picture with and pet a Koala. They had about four in the netted area and all four were sleeping. They normally sleep 20 hours a day and only feed on a certain Eucalyptus tree leaves. I was lucky that this little guy climbed down and we were able to take a picture with him awake for it.

After heading back to the apartments, I finished studying for a quiz for our class from 6-9pm, which I did very well on.

On Thursday we had class in the morning and then I went on a run after. We then headed off to practice and arrived on time for once even though our train route is still in question. After a very tiring practice(i fell asleep on the train) we headed home and decided to hang out in one of the guy's rooms where we played the card game Uker? and played the game quarters where I was set up to fail.

 A bunch of others ended up joining us because it was Laura's 21st birthday and we had plans to go out with no class on Friday. Another girl in our group, Chelsea had her 21st birthday on Friday(tech. midnight), but we never ended up making it out of the apartments because we had a security warning and everyone had to leave the room. I ended up heading to the bar with Ryan, AJ, Alex and Deanna where we played pool and AJ and I are now reigning champs after some slop pool :) After a fun night, we headed in because we had a long day on Friday for a field trip, which I'll talk about in the next post.

Love,

ME

Memorial and Museum Toursits

I was talking to one of my best girls in the world, Amanda Huck, and she reminded me that I need to kick my butt into gear and send out this new post! So lets get at it!

Monday, they really wore us out because they took us to three different buildings around Sydney for a class field trip on Australia history and government.

Our first stop landed us at the ANZAC War memorial in Sydney is dedicated to the thousands of men and women from New South Whales, Australia that have served or are currently serving in the military. It was originally opened after World War One when Australia made its first debut for the British Empire, but was re-dedicated 50 years later to all service men and women.

The picture to the right is the main statue inside the memorial which is called the Spartan Statue of Sacrifice. Holding up the statue are three women: his mother, sister and wife who is also holding a baby which represents Australias past present and future.

Now, the picture to the left looks like I took a picture of a chocolate stain on a white shirt I failed to scrub out. However, it means a whole lot more. WHat you can't tell is that this picture is actually the ceiling inside the memorial and on the ceiling are 120,000 gold metal stars that represent the amount of New South Whales citizens that SERVED in WWI.

After the memorial we walked through Hyde Park, which I've shown you before in the picture to the right. We then reached the Parliment House where we had to check ourselves through security and were taken into the Legislative Assembly House.

The guy giving us the tour was an as* and said you only have ten seconds to take photos, and go! He told us about the Speaker, how security can throw people out and how there is an $800,000 mallet type thing they bring into the room which lets the room know they are in session and there is freedom of speech.
To the left you can see the room with the podium and media seating up in the balcony and to the right is actually a lavish looking chair which has a note on it telling you to keep your dirty mits off it. This chair has only been sat in twice (allegedly) by Queen Elizabeth and her son Charles. Hint, the royalty factor.

Some random facts for you about Australia: that once you register to vote once, you have to vote until youre 6 feet under or else you are fined around $150. They have a party called the Liberals, but they are actually the conservative party. Yes, they are still a monarchy because of Great Britain. The Queen appoints the Governor aka Head of State.

After the Parliment house we headed down the street and around the corner and found the Sydney Museum. Before we walked into the building which is actually the base of a skyscraper building for a business company, there were carved wooden posts outside which resembled Aboriginal traditions. You were suppose to be able to hear sounds and music coming out of the posts, but we didn't hear a thing.


Inside the museum, it was pretty small, but it did offer quite a few different things. We first looked at how so many herbs and spice and much needed materials were brought into Sydney which is on such an isolate continent. In the picture to the left is a wall with the herbs and materials with their origin written across them. This is also A.J. standing in front of them. 

The museum had interactive screens describing the history of the bridge being built, local artists looking to capture the uniqueness of neighborhoods in Sydney as well as cases with old artifacts. They weren't really big on you taking pictures, but I snapped a few. To the right is a picture of some of the boats the British shipped convicts over to Australia on.

After we left the Sydney Museum, one of our local professors told us to walk around the corner and check out the Customs House in the picture to the left.

It was where people who be sent right after de-boarding the ship back in the day. However, the cool thing about the place was that when you walked inside you were standing on glass floor that had a replica of the entire city of Sydney (1/500,000th the size) beneath the glass in the picture to the right. It was measure down to the last park and type of architecture for each building.


Ill post about Tuesday and Wednesday and today in the next post :)

Love,

ME

Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb & Chocolate Pizza?

Ever since I saw that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movie Our Lips Are Sealed, I always wanted to go to Australia and walk on the Bridge. Thankfully, my roommate and MSU soccer player Desiree Aber had the same feelings. With our walk at 12:15, we woke up around 10am and printed out our tickets and took the bus to the Harbor.

Besides the Olsen sister climbing the Brdige there has been tons of others who have made the climb. Among them are Prince Harry, WIll Ferrell, Steve Irwin, WIll Smith, Robert Di nero and even the Glee Cast. Below is a picture of Keith Urban and Matt Damon who have also done it.

We walked off the bus and headed toward the harbor where we stopped to take pictures with the Opera House and then saw a shopping market outside called the Rocks. Vendor after vendor was lined up selling anything and everything from jewlery, candles, blown glass, baby clothing to corn on the cob. Not really sure where the Bridge Climb address was, we decided to cruise through the shops to get to our appointment on time. We plan on going next week so Ill take pictures then.

We checked in were given our complimentary hat, our NOT complimentary ticket and then each bought a shirt to commemorate the day. I also bought a little knapsack backpack describing he climb. It was soon our time to go and we walked up stairs and had to sign off on not being a health risk and had to take a breathalizer test. We PASSED :) and then we went around and introduced ourselves among the 10 other people in our group as we were given our suit to wear for the trip.

After we changed we had to put all of our belongings in a locker including our CAMERA! They make a killing off of not allowing camera for "safety" reasons and charging an arm and a leg for photos. We then have to walk through a metal detector and once we were cleared we were sent to a room where we had to put on a ton of equipment. We strapped ourselves into the harness, latched on sunglass and hat holders with clips as well as handkerchiefs and our radios to hear the instructor at the front.

After we did a test walk up a flight of stairs that resembled the ladder and pulley system we would be attached too, we proceeded out the door and onto the catwalk under the bridge.
It was pretty scary being able to see the water about 150 ft under your feet with a thin sheet of metal holding you there and then realizing you had about 400 more feet to go up.

Our group leader Alec, was hilarious and very informative. We continued the walk up about 4 flights of stairs where we met an emergency crew in case somebody starts freaking out. Apparently Oprah had a horrible time when she went up it for her show because her best friend was freaking out, the helicopter was late and she's apparently a germ a phobe.

The climb up the outside/on top of the bridge railing has to be one of the most amazing moments and sights in my life. Feeling the chilly air while watching that same air put wind in the sails on tons of sailboats on a beautiful day was just magical up that high. Desiree and I couldn't stop smiling and taking in all the harbors within the SYdney harbor as a whole. We could see all the way to the Blue Mountains which Alec said is unusual. We waved to people passing by on open boat tops as well as helicopters flying maybe 75 ft above us. You could see all the way out to the ocean, Luna Amusement Park and cars and trains traveling beneath us on the very bridge we were climbing to the top on. Once we reached the top, we posed for a group picture that we were given for free at the end, and Desiree and I posed in the picture to the left. The flags flying overhead and the feeling of being on top of the world was one I know I'll never ever forget.

440ft high
3,370 ft long
1,390 stairs
52,800 tons of steal
6 million rivets
view 360 degrees

AND I CLIMBED IT!!


After we climbed down the bridge and got our certificate and bought the photos you see of us on top of the bridge, Desiree and I headed back through the Rocks shopping where I bought a jacket. We then headed back on the bus and ate at this Chocolate restaurant. We ordered a chocolate covered pizza with bananas and marshmallows. I ate too fast because it was actully really good haha. Thats all for now! I hope you enjoyed it!

Love,

ME

Art, Hockey, Jail and good Fun

Time to get caught up. After I went to the aquarium on Wednesday I got back to the apartments with enough time to get ready and jump on the train with the class to head to the Sydney Art Gallery (New South Whales Art Gallery).

Once again like the aquarium, its a little bit difficult and dull to talk about art, so I'll upload some of the photos I took.

WHat was different about tonight than any other night at the gallery was that they were having a guest speaker that a good amount of people showed up to hear her talk about her books. Dr. Anita Heiss writes like a Sex and the City version of books about aboriginal and Aussie women in Australia and traveling the world. She talks as if she is a Carrie Bradshaw and she kept everyone quite entertained and laughing when she was reading from a few of her books.

The funky looking picture to the right is just one of the crazy pieces of "art" put together for the night. It is made up of about 7 ladders, a huge spinning globe, a spotlight on the left shinning onto the disco ball near the top and a tv playing mumbo jumbo on the floor. I didn't read what this one meant, but your guess is as good as mine.

The picture to the left is one of the area we were allowed to take pictures and in here there were tons of painting and sculptures. One of my favorite paintings was the one to the right where there was an armored hero slaying another man to save the girl. The sunset which is a little overexposed in the photo, was really beautiful. Don't forget that you can click on any photo to see it blown up even bigger.

If you are completely read to get creeped out I have a great next photo for you to click on and get up close and personal with. The artist of this piece to the left thought that this girl represented how women have strayed from their natural selves due to societies influences. I think we all had nightmares about her and thought she was going to lift her head up and come alive. She's also holding what looks to be a deformed so called "baby, that has fingers for feet..I think.

In the same room as the creepy and hairy girl was this huge canvas with another unorthodox way to view women and art. When it came to the amount of color and shades and how they were used, this was my favorite piece. In the picture to the left I posted a closer view of the face of the women who is lying down. In this photo you can see the amount of detail and in such a small area when compared to the whole thing.

After the gallery we all went back in smaller groups as some people decided to go try a meat pie which is a big obsession in Australia. We decided to go out when we got back as a group to a local bar that we heard is fun on Wednesdays.

Adelle & Gabby

I forgot to mention before that AJ and I started playing the game Ride the Bus. I saw him struggling which is putting it nicely hahaah and I was talking like an expert even though it is just luck. So, he told me he'd like to see me try and win and if you won you didn't have to drink. In this game you lay 7 cards facedown in a row. The 1st card you have to get the right suit, if you get it right then the 2nd and 3rd card is higher or lower than the previous (if you guess wrong no matter where you are at in the 7 cards you have to take a drink and start all teh way over), the 4th is either black or red, 5th is higher or lower 6th is higher or lower and the 7th and final card you have to guess whether it is black or red. I took the chance and well, I'm thinking I should go to Vegas as soon as I'm 21 :)

Thursday was more of a low key day with class at 9am where we took a bajillion more notes on the environment. We also got into groups (I'm with Zach) and him and I will be doing a 15 min. presentation on AIDS in Australia which should be interesting.
After class Adelle, Gabby and I hopped on the train to Maquarie Park for hockey practice. However, Gabby decided she rather play on the field instead of in goal. At the end of practice I was definitely tired because of the amount of work we did that day and with no goalie to rotate out with. It was a lot better than my first practice so I was happy.

Friday was a it more exciting with our field trip planned to go to the Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney. We were given a tour of the placed thousands of convicts called home back in the 1830's when Britain shipped them over. Convicts were given two meals a day and when they renovated the barracks they found thousands of rats and trash in the floor boards where they were stealing from the convicts to build their nests. When they were shipped over here which took around 260 days, they were cramped in the boats and many died because of the unhleathy journey.

Like the ships, the convicts were packed into their sleeping rooms which had hammocks lined up so close you could feel the shoulders of the guy next to you and reach over and feel the guy next to him. We were allowed to lay in the hammocks and I wanted to just take a nap right there.

Once we were released form the field trip, I went with Brenna, Ashley, Zach and Deanna around town to get some much needed lunch. We found a cafe and apparently we insulted the chef because Ashley asked for like 3 changes to her sandwich. We decided to shop around the area and watched a crazy jump rope routine in the middle of the wide walkway outside the stores. None of us got anything but we had a blast looking in stores and sitting in Starbucks talking about our lives and getting to know each other's back round a little more.

As a group we decided to go out after hanging out at Brent, Ryan and Zach's room first. We played Ride the Bus and just hung out and had fun. I raced down the stairs to find AJ waiting because he assumed he was gonna find me tumbling down the stairs because of my shoes. We all headed to the Gaff but some people didn't get in so Julie, AJ and I headed to Subway to hang out. It was a long night in Subway so then Julie and I jumped in a cab back to Bondi Juntion. I came back to find Adelle already asleep and Desiree half awake.

On Saturday we headed to Bondi Beach, but instead of going straight to the sand, we grabbed some expensive lunch along the water and shopped at the open market for jewlry and knickknacks. Adelle got herself a bracelet and a gift for Codi, and I got that Irish ring that shows whether you are in a relationship or not depending on how you wear it. We then headed down to the beach and watched the surfers with Zach, Gabby and Desiree. We then saw Hannah, Brooke and Olivia and decided to walk wiht them past the ice rink on the beach and go up to some of the souvenir shops. I bought some souvenirs for my family and Steven, so lets hope they like them.

When we got back, I watched Glee with Alex and AJ tried to ignore it but we know he loved it. I went and got Adelle and Gabby and we went to the Tea Gardens to meet up with Amanda, Alex and AJ because Amanda plays rugby and a huge game was on and we wanted to learn a bit about it. We went there but searched the bar and couldn't find them.

We went back and found they opted for the room because the bar was too loud to hear the game. We ended up going down to Brent, Ryan and Zach's room where we played water pong and watched the game as well. Everyone ended up joining and AJ and I were running the table after such an amazing performance. He almost knocked me in the face as I was blowing a ball out of a cup because he was swatting the bouncing ball that was also throw haha. We eventually lost but it was a good start. After causing security to come up to the room and ALMOST give a warning, we left and went to the Gaff.

 I wasn't drinking and I'm not sure how many other people weren't so I helped keep track of everyone getting on and off the bus and into the Gaff. The girls got in for free and we were stoked. We had an awesome time taking pictures on stage, dancing with people form around the world and just having a great night. I helped round up the troops and didn't realize until we were back in Bondi that we forgot a girl. Turns out she didn't wanna come back yet and bar hopped with this guy all night. I was kinda mad, scared and nervous about her out all night without us and its just sad I didn't realize we forgot her and the fact the girls who did see her, didn't make her come with us. Lesson learned I guess, thank goodness she's okay.

I'll explain what I did today (Sunday) in my next post!

LOVE,

ME

Down Under...in the aquarium

Lets get right into it. On Tuesday night after I had posted, I went to a local bar called the Tea Gardens with Adelle, Ryan and AJ. We had a couple of drinks but we mainly just enjoyed a quiet night out on the town and play a few games of pool. It was a great night out.

On Wednesday morning I woke up and got my butt kicked at 6:15am during a spin class that I went by myself to. Wanting to make the most of my day except for a field trip we had planned later that night, I decided to buy this ticket package that allowed me to visit three attractions that our professor said we would not be doing. I decided to pack my bag and head down the the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. Understanding the train routes to get there, I didn't have a problem.

Once I entered the aquarium I got to see a Platypus which only lives in Australia and has a waterproof fur that can also be poisonous. They have a bill like a duck, fur like a mammal and the ability to live underwater.
 They also had the biggest fish Australia has, on display as well.

A.

B

In picture A. this turtle is known as a Side-Neck which means that besides one other turtle in Australia, turtles cannot retract their heads into their shell for protection so they have to turn their necks to the side to avoid enemy attacks.

In picture B. this is another form of coral they have in Australia which is florescent due to the algae and plankton it eats.

The Jelly fish in the picture to my left were one of my favorite things to watch because they also glow in the dark and are known to be quite dangerous if you get stung.

The octopus in the picture to the right was definitely getting a lot of attention while I was there because he was climbing up, over and around everything.

The aquarium had so much plant and fish life that could live together, that there were many windows to look at the wide range of creatures, some of many of which cannot be found anywhere else.

What was different than any other aquarium

I had been to before, was that you could walk through a hallway of sorts and look at the sharks, stingrays and fish as they swam over your head and under your feet. 

 This had to be my most favorite moment because the sharks were so active and scary looking and   I don't know another time I plan on getting quite so close.


For those just interested in feeling as if they were swimming right there up and  close with the sharks, their more dangerous sharks were put in a separate tank that folks could walk through as sharks swam around. 


I'm really bitter right now because half of this blog and the pictures just got deleted. The picture below on the right is a picture of a Dugong which looks like an oversized dolphin that has a flabby mouth and only eats sea grass. It is the only mammal that is completely marine that eats only plant life. 


Before leaving the aquarium I made sure to buy a ton of souvenirs for my family, but we'll keep that a secret for now. 


However, I did forget to mention that after I had visited the aquarium the teachers told me that they forgot to put the aquarium on the field trip list, so now they want to pay me back for the money I already spent.


And if you haven't already found out you can click on any of these photos and they will blow up into a bigger viewing window so you can get right up there in the grill of the scary sharks! 


I have to eat and get ready because once again I'm lagging when it comes to dinner and getting ready. I'll post on the art gallery and prison we visited tomorrow!


Have a good night!


Love,


ME

Long, Long dayy

My hand deserves a medal after the amount of writing it suffered today. In my first day of the Environmental  management class we wrote notes off of slideshows from 9am-noon. After three hours I understood all of the info., but the main point seemed to be USA lacks efficiency when it comes to producing products, reducing pollution and conservation of the earth's natural elements in our everyday lifestyles.

At 1:40pm, Adelle, Gabby and I were suppose to wait for one of our tour guides Brandon, outside of the apartments to take us on the train and to the hockey field to meet our coach and practice for the first time. At 2pm and still no Brandon, we decided to find our own way with some basic directions. About 20 paces later, Brandon came running toward us and rushed us on the next train out of Bondi Juntion toward Town Hall station. He told us that the reason he was late was because when he was leaving one of our teacher's homes, he witnessed a lady get robbed and he was a witness that the police wanted to talk to.

After getting off at Town Hall Station, in a panic we ran up and down platforms trying to find the train to take us to Maquarie University stop. This train ride was a good 30 minutes and crossed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We finally got off at our station and we had five minutes before our session was suppose to start. We treked up huge hills with our goalie bags in tow and passed countless intersections until Brandon called another coordinator and found out we were suppose to get off at Maquarie Park and not Maquarie University.

We finally reached the field sweating and 15 minutes late when we met our coach Ziek. I'm not going to walk you through the practice but I will definitely say it was a day spent dusting off the goalie pads since I hadn't played since April. Next Tuesday we were invited to practice and play with the mixed boys and girls team that Ziek coaches, which should be pretty fun after seeing some of his athletes hit the ball around today on their day off.

Tomorrow I'm going to hit the 6:15am spin class again and then head to the beach with Gabby and anyone else who wants to go afterward. We are going to go to Bondi Beach again, but this time we are going to rent surfboards and spend the day surfing and shopping around the area. Tomorrow night we all have to get dolled-up and get the opportunity to go to this party at the Sydney Museum where everyone will be in tuxedos. We are suppose to have our Aussie class, but they said this is a rare opportunity that we just happen to get the chance to be apart of.

More tomorrow, have a great day and good night.

Love,

ME