TravelStream™ news feed for member seananniggins on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/seananniggins en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 21 Oct 2006 01:54:01 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1158386520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1158386520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1158386520/tpod.html Sat, 21 Oct 2006 01:54:01 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Sydney-Cairns and back, Australia

G'day everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been on a 2 week spring holday up to Cairns. I figured I'd do a sort of calendar entry to give you all more of an idea where I was, what I was doing, etc.

Day 1 (9/2/06): LeeAnn, Catherine, Natasja, and I took the 12:30pm bus from Canberra to Sydney. Catherine and I thought it was the 1:00 bus, so we were almost late, and consequently caused LeeAnn and Natasja near heart attacks. We arrived in Sydney around 3:30pm and soon after hopped on a train to Casino (the beef capital of something or other..maybe New South Wales, I dunno). The train ride took about 11 hours or so, and our car was filled with elderly Italian people...so that was loud. :) Lastly, we took a bus from Casino to Byron Bay, arriving at about 6am on the 3rd (Sunday).

Day 2 (9/3/06): We got to our hostel in Byron Bay assuming (foolishly) that we would be able to check in and take a nap. Even though we called ahead of time, this was not the case. :( So, we dropped off our bags and went on to explore Byron Bay. It was Fathers' Day there, and there were plenty of dads and families out for breakfast. It was a nice little coastal town with shoeless hippies strewn about. This was the first opportunity I had to see the ocean in Australia. I got so excited despite my sleepless delirium that I threw my shoes off and started running toward the surf screaming. My friends laughed at, not with me during this joyful moment, but whatever...I was happy. Once we were able to check into our hostel, I took a 3 hour nap while the other girls went to the beach. They soon learned of my dire need for sleep and the consequences they would incur had they woken me up. (haha...I swear, I'll NEVER grow out of this) On the way to meet them at the beach, I came across a fresh fruit stand and a garage sale. I bought oranges (yes, oranges) for the first time in my life at this fruit stand, and also found an old school camping backpack for $6AUS at the garage sale. Woo hoo! this blue bag would be my friend for the rest of the journey. I may have looked like a Girl Scout, but I was doing it in style.

Day 3 (9/4/06): After an early (about 10:30pm) night in Byron Bay, the 3 of us woke up at about 7am to catch our 8am Oz Experience bus to start our tour. The aboriginal bums accompanied us at the bus terminal where we waited for approximately an hour before calling the Oz Experience office to see what was up. It turns out that they changed the routes THAT VERY DAY and our bus wouldn't be coming until 2pm. You can imagine how happy our sleepy selves were to hear this. We decided to take a bus out to the 'industrial arts' section of Byron Bay. It was really nice. There were all these warehouses that people used as studio space along with businesses, cafes, boutiques, etc. Oh, and there was a cookie factory!! Yum! After that, we finally caught our bus at 2, and were on our Oz Experience way. We met Dean-o, our first driver, and he took us Zorbing. What is zorbing? you may be asking yourself...well, I'll tell you. It's this enormous ball made out of plasic, where you slide inside an inner chamber filled with water and roll down a hill. Natasja and I did it with this other girl on our bus. This place was also where I saw my first wild kangaroo. Yay! Finally! So, we did this, and our bus driver told us that we should really re-think our trip because we weren't staying anywhere for a substantial amount of time. He said that Cairns (our final stop) was actually sort of boring, and that we should see something like Fraser Island or the Whitsunday islands instead. So, with his help, we booked a 2 day tour to Fraser island. Yay Dean-o! He was cool, despite his insistant country music playing. That night we drove into Brisbane (one of the bigger cities in Australia, pronounced BRIS-bon), but we didn't really get to see much. We pretty much went out, ate some yummy gelato, and went to bed in our room at the Palace hostel. It was nice, but our carpet smelled like mold...oh, and I had an eye infection, so that was gross.

Day 4 (9/5/06): We left Brisbane at 7am to head to our next destination, Hervey Bay (pronounced Harvey Bay..I dunno, Aussies are weird). We traveled all day listening to songs like 'She thinks my tractor's sexy'...but the stops were cool. We stopped in a place called Rainbow beach, where the sediment was all different colors. Dean-o taught us how to play a digeridoo on the beach, and how to properly throw a boomerang. I wasn't very good at either..but ah well. Once we got to Hervey Bay, we tried to go out for a drink and dinner at around 8pm. Everything there was dead as a doornail, so we just got some overpriced Chinese buffet crap and went to bed. The hostel was really nice though, and it had it's own kitchenette and bathroom in each unit. Woo!

Day 5 (9/6/06): This day we took off for Fraser Island. We left our Austrian, English, and Korean busmates and took a guided island tour. We had to be on the Ferry at 9am I think, and our tour started around 10...I can't remember, but it was something to that effect. The ferry ride was only about 45 minutes, and our tour guide met us at the island when we arrived. His name was Carl, and he was from New Zealand (a Kiwi bloke, if you will). The other people on our bus were a couple from England (one of which thought my name was Sharwin...which Catherine now insists upon calling me), 2 women from England, 2 non-english speaking Slovak people, 2 non-english speaking Korean girls, an Irish guy from Tipperary, a weird guy from Canberra (oddly enough), and us. Our bus was a 4x4 and the ride was a bit bumpy. The first day was overcast, but we went swimming in the beautiful Basin Lake and Lake MacKenzie. These lakes are freshwater, created from the aquifer situated under the island. I have never seen such beautiful water...it was so clear! We hiked through the bush and saw a python!!! Ah!! We also learned that the first time anyone ever used camoflauge it was because of the ANZAC (Australia-New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers stationed on Fraser Island. They have these trees that look exactly like camoflauge..it's really cool. I have plenty of pictures, but there's ben a discrepancy with Lee Ann's computer and it's picture storage, so I'll have to show those later. I'm gonna take a break from re-capping right now and continue later or tomorrow. I've got a couple days left, and this is exhausting.

Day 6 (9/7/06): Alright alright...so I know I took AGES to continue this. I may have forgotten some parts due to the inevitable passing of time, but here goes nothing. So, we were on Fraser Island, right? Right. The first night (yesterday, for the sake of this entry) we went to our hostel sort of thingy and washed all the sand off ourselves. We then met the others for a buffet (wow, how appetizing and excitingly different from Ursula hall..haha) dinner and drinks at the island bar. It was pretty good because they served much-missed tacos, and we played pool with the interesting and attractive bartender. I lost of course, but I'm improving, I swear. We retired somewhat early to our room in preparation for the big day ahead. Day 2 on Fraser Island was much hotter than day 1. We all suited up and climbed into the 4x4 hoping to see a dingo, or other Australian wildlife that day. Our plan was basically to drive down the West side, and see some interesting things along the way. The scary part about this trip, however, was that this was the DANGEROUS part of the island where sharks can attack you in 2 feet of water...AHH! Needless to say, we stayed quite a distance from the creepy man-eating sharks. We did, however, visit a place called the Champagne Pools which were beautiful. It was a rocky reef type beach where the waves crashed over the rocks and made a bubbly, champagne-like sound and appearance. I think the best part of this stop was the weird little organisms we saw in the water. Catherine and I went around poking these little plants that would close up, 'swallow' some water, and spit it back at you. It was really bizarre, but a source of good fun. Next, we drove down the beach and stopped at the S.S. Maheno shipwreck from the 1930s. It was used as a hospital ship originally, then got stuck on the rocks at Fraser Island, and is now a permanent tourist spot. It was actually really beautiful how the rust ate through the majority of the ship to create these jagged holes and such...you get the idea. Other things we saw on the beach that day were two dingos, along with some stupid fisherman fishing in the dangerous water on this side. One of the coolest things about this day was the time we spend sitting on top of Indian Head, an enormous rock-like thing right on the edge of the beach. From there we saw several sharks, sting rays, and sea turtles, so that was pretty great. The water was so clear, you could see right down to the sand. Marvelous! After the stop at Indian Head, some people on our tour (including Lee Ann and Natasja) went on a plane ride around the island. Catherine and I stayed with the tour, and waded in this nice stream instead. I was a little upset about not getting to see the island from above, but I survived. It was extra creepy when we ran into an eel in the water in the stream though. I nearly jumped out of my skin, and promptly exited the water. There were plenty of people laughing at me from above on the bridge though, so don't worry about no one witnessing it..haha. That was basically our stay on Fraser Island though. We also went on a couple of walks through the rainforest which were beautiful, but then Carl drove us back to the ferry, and we said goodbye to our new friends from the tour and went back to the hostel in Hervey Bay. Right as we got there, they were having a Pizza Hut pizza party, so we luckily got some food and watched the Dukes of Hazzard movie (which was not as horrendous as one might think) before getting ready for bed and our big day ahead of us.

Day 7 (9/8/06): We 4 girls woke up to be on the Oz bus with Dean-o at 7am. This day is when we met Franz (from Austria) and Doug (from Scotland). Little did we know, we'd be spending the next two days getting to know these lads. They were pretty cool, and willing to talk to us, which is more than I can say for a lot of the other passengers we traveled with. This was also the last day we traveled in the Deano-mobile so to speak. I can't remember exactly where we were...I think it was Bundaberg (where they make lots of yummy rum), but this is where we switched drivers and met our new buddy Bogan. His actual name is Darren, but they all have driver nicknames I suppose, so this is where Bogan came in. For all of you American folk, 'bogan' is an Aussie term used for a sort of country-bumpkin type person. I've gathered that it is about the equivalent to our word 'hillbilly', 'hick' or 'nascar fan'. In any case, it's not particularly positive to be called a bogan. We drove and drove from Bundaberg (let's say) until we reached Kroombit seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Bogan told us we would be staying the night here, and that we should change into junk clothes because we'd be getting dirty. Oh boy. Kroombit turned out to be a cattle station. We started off by eating a delicious steak lunch with real vegetables and potatoes. Then we got ready to go horseback riding and, eventually goat mustering. This is where you gather all the goaties from the pasture and put them into their big goat-house pen on horseback. My horse's name was Chrissy. She was an enormous momma-horse that I feel might not have been the best choice for my short self, but she did the job. We gathered the cute little goats from all around the hills, yelling UP UP!! (apparantly that means "get your little goat booty moving"). It was so great. Lee Ann wasn't too happy with her cranky horse, but Franz was a regular equestrian, galloping circles around us novices. He told us previously that he was in the army for a year or so..so that would explain it. After the goat mustering, we got a chance to 'brand' them in teams of 2. Doug and Franz went first. Unfortunately, their goat hopped over the fence and escaped. So they got a second chance. Lee Ann and I were next. We didn't turn out to be that great at catching our goat, but Natasja and Catherine were...so yay them! Following the branding, we did some skeet shooting (where I didn't hit one clay pigeon) and learned how to crack whips from the man who owned the cattle station. They fed us dinner, and the night came to a close around a bonfire where we chatted with the locals and drank our fair share of giggle juice (cheap wine) and of course, beer. For some reason, this turned into a sort of junior high party where we played 'spin the bottle' type games...but it was fun nonetheless. Oh, I almost forgot, I also rode a mechanical bull for the first time ever. I fell off in the first minute or so, but it was an experience. Franz, the man who's good at everything, broke the cattle station record and stayed on the bull for 140 turns...AMAZING. It was good fun.

Day 8 (9/9/06): We reluctantly woke up at 7am to get on the bus with Bogan. I recall that the first thing he said to me was that I looked like s%#@. Little did he know that it was the eye infection, not the alcohol...but I knew at this moment that we would be friends. This day was basically all about driving. We stopped at this really amazing little bar where the owner made us sandwiches and we got to talk with his pet cockatoo. Other than that, it was about an 8 hour drive to our next destination, Airlie Beach. We played plenty of games in the bus among the 7 of us. One included 'spot the tractor', 'roadkill bingo' (let me tell you, it's really strange to see kangaroos as roadkill), and playing dj with bogan's mp3 player. We also had quite a few singalongs. I slept quite a bit on this trip, but it was so hot, that it became a little uncomfortable. We arrived in Airlie Beach at around 7pm, ate dinner and tried to get into being at a bar...failed, and went to bed around 11pm. We would be leaving Doug and Franz here to go to the Whitsunday islands, so we also said our goodbyes, and that was a little sad. :(

Day 9: (9/10/06): We took off with Mr. Bogan at around 8am to make our way to Townsville and Magnetic Island where we would spend the night. Once in Townsville, we took the 2pm ferry out to the island and arrived at our most beautiful hostel here. The hostel was right on the beach, and there was an open air bar surrounded by beautiful scenery. Since we arrived here relatively early, we got to do basically whatever we wanted. Apparantly, I was the only one who wanted to do anything, so I braved the bushwalk and the sea kyaking on my own without my amigas. They laid on the beach, which was also valid, but I wanted to see a bit of the island. On the bushwalk, I licked an ants butt, because it tasted like lemon...don't ask..it just did, and I saw a momma and baby koala. This was also the island where the ANZAC troops were stationed in case the Japanese attacked during WWII. They never did, but the equipment was still on the island. That night, we ate dinner at the hostel, had a couple margaritas, and turned in early. I think it was about 10pm. We became progressively more decrepid as the vacation went on...it was a sleepy time.

Day 10 (9/11/06): On the morning of this day, I went sea kyaking with the Oz Experience group, but again, not with my mates. I shared a boat with a girl from Canada who was traveling the world for a year or two on her own. It was really cool to talk to her and hear about her adventures in Thailand, Fiji, etc. We didn't spend much longer on Maggie, as soon as we took showers to wash off all the salty water, it was time to go back to Townsville (the mainland), and continue on to Mission Beach.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156845000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156845000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156845000/tpod.html Sun, 15 Oct 2006 01:07:37 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Canberra, Australia

Hello! Just wanted to update what I've been doing for the last couple of days. Let's see...I had my first critique on Friday for the work I've been doing in ceramics. It was helpful, and didn't make me want to cry like some of the crits back home. I just have to make some decisions, and I should be on my way to a good place. :)

I worked Thurs.- Sat. nights at Hogsbreath, and that went well. I haven't dropped anything or spilled on anyone yet, so that's a good sign. My boss is still stupid, but at least he gave me a new uniform shirt (the old one smelled after 4 washes)..ick.

Friday night I took a (very expensive) cab out to David's house for his birthday celebration. It was nice..some wine and beer with a couple of his friends along with some yummy German candy. His house was really cool, except for the lack of heating. I made myself quite comfy next to a spaceheater most of the time.

Saturday was Open Day here at the ANU. I helped in the ceramics lab doing pottery with little kids for a couple of hours. I felt as though this was sufficient since I had already painted the signs for Ursula Hall the week before. I also cleaned a bunch of glass cabinets in ceramics in preparation...so I think my free woodfired pizza was well-deserved. They have handbuilt woodfire ovens out back in the ceramics studio..it's really cool. I wanted to take the workshop on how to build them, but it was $200 or something. :(

Other than that, I've just been watching movies/shows and doing homework. I saw the movie "the Machinist" the other night. If you want a total mind melting movie, watch that...I sort of reccommend it, depending on the mood you're in.

I miss home a bunch lately, but time is going by so fast here that it's easy to feel more comfortable about it. I definitely could never move to a different country for a long period of time...that's just crazy talk. If anyone wants souvenirs and such, I can send some...provided you give me some money (unless, of course, it's your birthday or something :) I would happily get eveyone something, but, unfortunately, I am still a student. :/ Anyway, I hope everything's going well at home, and I look forward to seeing you all sooner than later.

cheers.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1160211240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1160211240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1160211240/tpod.html Fri, 06 Oct 2006 02:03:45 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Canberra, Australia

Hello there. I just wanted to let everyone at home know that I'm still alive and well. I realized that in my last entry I falsely promised to finish my entry for my trip to Cairns. It seems that schoolwork and/or work and/or catching up with friends has pushed the 'ol blog to the backseat. So, I apologize for that. Don't fret though, my last project is due next week, so I'll have a chance to blog my little heart out.

Lately I really haven't been doing much sightseeing or anything. Last weekend I went up to Sydney to see the NRL (National Rugby League) Grand Final with Natasja, Dave and Mike (from Canberra). It's basically like our superbowl, but a fair bit less intense. We just bummed around Sydney for the rest of the weekend eating and seeing the city, so that was nice. Other than that, I've been spending a whole lot of time at Hog's Breath (woo hoo.). Last night, I got an entire glass of Lift (sticky pop-drink) spilled on the entirety of my person. It basically hit me in the chest, spilled over my arms, stomach, and legs (cause I was squatting to take my customers' order...cause that's what we do). Needless to say, it was a sticky rest of the night. I'm really trying to get some work done in ceramics, but so is everyone else, so the kiln availability is limited. I have a powerpoint class presentation due next week, so this weekend I'll most likely be busy working and working on that. I would still appreciate some e-mails to aid me in my procrastination quota. :)

I hope everyone is well, and I'd like to hear how you're all doing. Like I said, I will try to be less lazy about this blog, and finish my last entry some day. Until then...I love you guys. :) Have a nice day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156335420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156335420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156335420/tpod.html Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:00:46 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Sydney, Australia

Hiya! I'm just updating after my fieldtrip to Sydney with art theory. I am taking an art theory (kind of like art history) course called Contemporary Asian Art. This course happened to coincide nicely with the Sydney Biennale (Biennial) art exhibition in..well...Sydney. :) So, yesterday (Tuesday), I went with about 50 odd students on a bus up to Sydney at 6:30 am...ick. It took about 2.5 hours to get there. First, we went to the Gallery of New South Wales (NSW), then to a place called Pier 3/4, and lastly, to the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) of Sydney. The topic of this year's biennale was "Zones of Contact" (they always have to come up with some sort of arty name for it...it basically had to do with international art). We only got to see 3 of the venues, but the artwork was spread out over the entire city, which is really cool.

It's really interesting what some people were doing...my favorite was an installation by artist Anthony Gormley. He went to this small village in China to a school. He then asked each child to bring back 2 family members (one older and one younger, I believe) the next day. The only instruction Gormley gave these people was to form a figure out of a certain sized ball of clay. The only uniformity to them was two holes for eyes. So, each person worked on these figures for 5 work days. Gormley then fired them at different temperatures (reduction, oxidation, what have you), so they came out lighter and darker variations of one another. He then installed them in the upstairs of Pier 3/4 to create a sort of ripple effect. There were 180,000 figures in total. It was breathtaking. Alongside the exhibit was each person's picture with their name and a picture of their respective figurine. There is more detail in the photos I took...so enjoy.

Enough being an art nerd...if you care, you could look up the artists. I'll put their names with their work. Aside from that, Catherine made me a peanut butter and honey (yes, honey) sandwich for dinner after the bus ride. It was DELICIOUS with a carton of milk. You should try it.

Today I went into the studio to discover that the bottom of my ceramic arm had blown off along with the index finger. :( Ah well, we'll have to figure out what to do with that later. Otherwise, I helped set up for Open Day (open house for the ANU) on Saturday. I arranged ceramic work in the cabinets in the School of Art hallway, and later was the designer for the signs that will be put up here at Ursies. I'm sort of pooped after all that...whew! It feels good to be productive though. On the actual Open Day I will be doing pottery with little kids that come in with parents. I'm also going to get to learn how to woodfire a pizza...yummy! It's so cool, they have little kilns out back of the studio for just that reason! Tomorrow I have to work, so I'm currently doing my laundry..I hope it's done soon. Oh, also, our girls volleyball team won a game last night while I was still in Sydney! I'm so excited for them, since we really stink most of the time...however, I wasn't there to share in their victory. :( It's a big deal, I swear.

Anyway, enough of my chatty-ness. I hope you're all doing well, and enjoying the blogs. I know I still enjoy writing/typing them. It makes me feel like I'm talking to everyone all at a big party. I love you all. Have a great rest of the week!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156075260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156075260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1156075260/tpod.html Mon, 21 Aug 2006 05:23:20 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Canberra, Australia

Hello. Today is Sunday, and I'm in the computer lab that now lacks carpeting. It's sort of like a construction site in here. This week was somewhat productive. I mixed my own slip and plaster for mold-making in ceramics. I also fired my first Australian kiln. :) It's becoming hard for me in ceramics because of the conversions that need to happen (ounces > litres, lbs > kilograms, farenheit > celsius...you get the point). Other than that, I had work at Hog's Breath on Wednesday and Saturday nights. It's going alright so far, but waitressing isn't as easy as you might think. I do like it though. The staff is nice, and everyone's been really helpful in showing me around.

Friday was the Ursula Hall ball here at the Hyatt in Canberra. The food was REALLY good, and there were plenty of drinks to go around. They also had a live blues band for the dancing, so that was nice also. After that, Saturday and today were sort of low key. A couple of us just hung around Ursies and tried to go shopping for some gym shoes...which, girls don't apparantly wear or something. All we could find were fancy shoes and $200 sneakers. Ah well. Another day.

Keep commenting, because I'm missing some of your entries I think. I still am missing everyone, and doing well...so thanks for keeping interested. :) cheers.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1155368520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1155368520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1155368520/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:26:02 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Canberra, Australia

Once again, I apologize for not updating as frequently as I should. Things here haven't been as exciting as they were in the beginning, so I don't think to document much. This week was a whole lot of thinking about how to further my project in ceramics (see pics)...I still don't know how excited I am about it, but I've resolved to push through this creative block of sorts and just keep making.

I don't remember if I noted previously that I joined intramural volleyball. I think I did. Anyway, we had another game this past Tuesday. We lost, of course, but I got a couple of quality serves over. It's good excercise in the least. Thursday I went with David (Germany) to the club Toast again..only nothing was going on. We just wandered around to a couple of other bars, until we met up with Catherine, Natasja, and George at Shooters (the bar that sponsers our dorm). It was a good night, but probably not the best idea considering I had class the next day. :(

Friday I didn't do much, just sort of hung around Ursies...watched Super Troopers with Catherine, George (US), Natasja, Mos (Bangladesh), Ben (England), and Kieran (NZ). What a great film. We then played some stupid game Mike (US) made up or something with cards...until we all wanted to punch him for making up his own rules, and then we went to bed.

Saturday, I had a block (the unit I live in...A Block) brunch in Civic at a nice little Italian Cafe. It was a little pricy, but tasty nonetheless. Then, I went shopping a bit for the International Ball that night...you know, shoes, nylons..etc. After I got back to the dorm, I had to get ready for my job interview at the Hog's Breath Cafe in Woden (a suburb of Canberra). I was a little nervous, since I have never worked in a restaurant before, but it went pretty well. I took the bus out there (it took like a gagillion hours though...okay, maybe just one), and had to ask where it was. Once I found the place, I had to wait for about 40 minutes for the manager to come explain what I would be doing for the night. Despite it's 'trial' nature, I ended up busing many tables, taking out orders, and even taking some orders...whew! It was exhausting. My next day of work is Wednesday night, so we'll see how that goes. After work, I walked to the Woden Hellenic Club where the International Ball was held. I only made it in time for dessert, but the chocolate cake was yummy. :) By the time I got back to Ursies, I was exhausted, so I forewent the bar scene for a late night conversation with Catherine followed by sleep.

Today, I'm just trying to get SOMETHING accomplished. I really don't care what it is...just something. I'll let you all know how my second day at Hog's Breath goes. I'm sure I'll be wanting to eat meat less and less as the days go on....until next time....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1154851740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1154851740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1154851740/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:06:00 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Canberra, Australia

Greetings, all. I'm sorry I haven't been more diligent in my updating, but there hasn't been much happening lately. Last week classes went as usual. I went to my first critique this Friday for ceramics workshop. Although I wasn't the one being critiqued, I got a good feel for the crit. process here. It's sort of intimidating, but I look forward to hearing what others think of my work.

This past Friday, David (Germany) and I went to a venue-type place called Toast. They were having 'Lithium' night, which is basically a DJ playing indie-alternative-retro music. I thought it wouldn't be that fun, considering David doesn't talk much, but it was actually a blast. We danced all night (believe it or not). I think I've figured out that, it's not that I don't LIKE to dance, it's just that I feel too self-conscious to do so. Now, I'm trying to just own the fact that I can't dance well and that, in turn, helps me to have more fun.

Yesterday I went with Catherine and Natasja dress shopping for the Ursies ball in 2 weeks. I had my mom and dad send me a dress so I wouldn't have to pay a fortune, but it's still nice looking. Then, last night was the Ursies presentation of the Wizard of Oz. It was a really bizzare, not-so-well performed version of the L Frank Baum novel, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Afterwards we all migrated to a bar/club called Mooseheads followed by another bar/club called ICBM. Again, more dancing ensued, and it was altogether a good time.

Right now, I'm stealing wireless internet from the dorm's common room because I STILL don't have internet in my room. :( While I'm here, I'll keep all you American folk up to speed on some Aussie (pron. Auzzie, not Aussie)info:

1. If someone asks you, "how're you going?" the correct response would be "fine, thanks"
It seems to be the equivalent of the American, "how's it going?"

2. If someone says "cheers", they mean "thank you" and if they say "no worries", they mean
"no problem" or "you're welcome"

3. The toilets DO NOT flush the other way. They are strange, however, because they flush by way of a button on the top of the tank. There are two buttons side by side; one is for 'half flush' and the other is for 'full'...I'm guessing you can imagine which is for which.

4. Vegemite, the mysterious Aussie condiment is, in fact, disgusting. It basically tastes like salt paste and smells like earwax.

5. Garbage is called Rubbish that you place in a 'bin' when you want to throw it away.

6. Catsup doesn't exist...only 'tomato sauce', which does not go on spaghetti, rather, sausage.

That's about all I can think of for now. I'll add more educational tidbits later. Have a great week, everyone!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1154337180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1154337180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seananniggins/canberra-2006/1154337180/tpod.html Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:25:52 -0400 Studying in Canberra, join me on my adventure.

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Sydney, Australia

Hello sports fans! I have recently taken a trip to the great Sydney, Australia. Here was the timeline:

Friday, we arrived after a 3.5 hour bus ride from Canberra. We walked around for ages because, even though we had someone from Sydney with us, he had no idea where our hostel was. When we did arrive at City Backpackers hostel, we soon realized that we had made a terrible choice. It looked like a warehouse, and they had one of those old school elevators with the big heavy door (it was painted bright red as well, which made it feel like the Shining or something). When we got to our room (there were 7 of us), there were only sheets/no blankets, and foam acting as mattresses on bunkbeds held up by wooden planks. Needless to say, we felt robbed. There was also a half eaten sandwich under one of the chairs. Gross. So, that aside, we walked to find some dinner at Mamma's Italian restaurant where we had tasty pasta and gelato (if you've never had gelato, please go get it right now; I reccommend pistachio). Then, we walked to Darling Harbour and bummed around a playground and all of the pretty fountains (see photos). It was sort of hard once we tried to go to sleep cause the common area was right outside our door at the hostel. We had people smoking, drinking, and playing music until around 3am, so that wasn't too fun.

Saturday, we started the day with tasty treats from a bakery near our hostel. It was a beautiful day, so we walked to the Circular Quay where we saw the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Then, we got on a tour bus that took us to the Botanical Gardens where we saw fruit bats, and a lot of breathtaking scenery. I honestly could've stayed there all day, but we had lots to see. Then, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, Sydney, and payed WAY TOO MUCH for a burger and fries (chips, AUS). If you want to go to Hard Rock, just take a picture, believe me. We then hopped on the bus again and went to see Wooloomooloo where the Navy ships are as well as Kings Cross where the porn stores are. It sounds bad, but it was actually an interesting strip. It's technically the redlight district, but it seemed to me more like a hipster-bohemian type place. I probably wouldn't want to be there at night though. For the rest of the day we just walked around, some people took the monorail, and at night Mike, Catherine, and I went to Hyde Park where there are pretty lights and fountains and such. It was nice to just explore the city and get a feel for where things were. Next time, I will try to budget a bit better, and know for sure where I want to go. I was a little upset we didn't see any art museums, but I'm sure I'll get to go by myself at some point, or with someone who would also like to see some art. At night, we just hung out in the hostel together until we got sleepy, and some other hostel stayers demanded we give them back their radio. :)We tried to keep the noise level down a bit.

Sunday was zoo day. We woke up to a man coming in our room to empty the garbage (bin, AUS). I just heard something, turned in my fake-foam bed and was staring some old man in the face. The thing was, he didn't even say hello! He didn't even knock when he came in the room, he just walked in with all of us in there...I really am not staying there next time. Anyway, after grabbing some breakfast, we took the ferry from Circular Quay to the Toronga Zoo. It was neat, we had to take a sort of ski lift thing from the ground to the top of the zoo, which was situated on a hill. It was another beautiful day, and we got to see a lot of native Australian animals along with a Komodo dragon, and a red panda. It was really fun. We also got a free sushi lunch brought to us by Anthony, our Sydney resident. His parents own like 3 restaurants or something, so that was nice of him. After the zoo, we ate at Hungry Jacks (Burger King, US)...it was actually really gross, but then we got on the bus back to Canberra.

All in all, I had a good trip. I got sick with a head cold while there, which wasn't fun, but hopefully it will leave me soon. Sydney is a really nice city, and I definitely will go back while I'm here. Enjoy the pictures!
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Canberra, Australia

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been blogging as consistently as before, but school is taking up most of my time now. I actually should be in class, but I needed a short break, so I'm writing you instead. Today I'm going to Sydney with 8 other people on a bus. It takes about 3.5 hours to get there from here, so that's not too bad. Hopefully I'll sleep. Other than that, I've just been concentrating on not going crazy. It's been difficult adjusting to class here, as well as warding off homesickness, but I'm getting through it. Just know that I miss you all TERRIBLY, and look forward to seeing you all again at the end of my trip. That's really it for now. Have a great weekend.

love.seana.
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Canberra, Australia

So, I don't have much to report for today. It's quite rainy and gloomy, so I've decided to stay inside and bum around on the computer. I think sometimes you need to do that. I still don't have Internet in my room, but I figured out how to get AIM on the computers in the lab. So that's good.

Today I started a project in screenprinting. I decided to do a series of posters that look like sideshow advertisements. Instead of advertising 'freaks' they will be sort of ironic statements about social stereotypes. I've attached my first preliminary drawing so you guys can see..if you're interested. I think it's somewhat clever. I do need help thinking of more to do, so feel free to contribute ideas. ~Sparkle Motion: If you could keep your comments somewhat PG..that would be great...otherwise message me or something :). applesauce.~ Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm thinking I will FINALLY watch SuperTroopers tonight, with or without company...cause I've really been wanting to. Oh, if anyone wants to send me some movies, I would appreciate it...cause I'm getting tired of the ones I brought. I'll bring them back, I swear. Okay, have a nice day everyone. love. seana.
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