va-in-oz's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member va-in-oz on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/va-in-oz en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:34:47 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Catching up on the past month of my life — Randwick, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1086528180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1086528180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1086528180/tpod.html Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:34:47 -0400 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
Randwick, Australia

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written an entry. My excuse? The past month has been probably the craziest and busiest of my life. So much has happened that I have no idea where to begin... Let's see, it all started off with my class dinner. I had been looking forward to getting to know my classmates better and hanging out with my funny, cool professor. I had no idea what I was in for! It started out innocent enough, with dinner at a Thai restaurant in Randwick. Not all that many people showed up, but I enjoyed talking with the people that were there. Everyone was sharing the wine they brought, and this Saudi Arabian guy was particularly enjoying drinking MY wine. Then he proceded to spill the rest of the bottle all over ME! Thankfully it was white wine, but I had just gotten my pants dry-cleaned that day! I should have realized that was a sign of bad things to come... My professor, who had been continuously consuming bottles of beer, decided we should all go do karaoke. So we headed to one of those karaoke places where you rent your own private room (and therefore don't subject strangers to your off-key warblings). I suddenly found myself in karoke hell - both the Saudi guy and my drunken professor were hitting on all of us girls and kept trying to get us to dance with them. My fun professor morphed into this sleazy, sketchy old man... Daniela and I ended up hanging onto each other for dear life, but we did manage to have fun singing at the top of our lungs. The night went on way longer than it should have, but finally we got out of there. It was a very educational evening - I learned that my professor is a dirty old man and that the word "chunder" in the song Down Under by Men at Work means to throw up from drinking too much. I got a few hours of sleep and then headed to the airport to pick up Kevin.

Meanwhile, I was also finishing up my teaching practicum at a private English school in Sydney. It went quite well - my students were awesome and they loved me. Plus my supervisor David was both laid back and helpful. Rina arrived a few days later, but I wasn't able to be a very good hostess because my assignments and grad shop job occupied most of my time. I didn't enjoy the uni work, but my job was kinda fun due to the crazy cast of characters I worked with. My boss was this loud, in-your-face, older Aussie woman who called everyone "doll" and used every bit of Aussie slang imaginable - I even heard her use the word "streuth"! I'd NEVER heard anyone actually say that before! And I still have no idea what it means! Then there was this wonderfully dramatic Aussie uni student. He had every stereotypically gay mannerism, but I wasn't sure of his sexual orientation until he called the guy who works at Esme's Cafe "criminally cute". Then there were all these other student workers, and every single one of them was an international student from Asia. It was funny working there.

Then, Rina and I took an extended weekend trip to Melbourne, while Kevin kept himself busy watching over my room and perfecting his Aussie accent in Sydney (Rina and Kevin weren't exactly getting along). When we went to Melbourne 4 years ago, we didn't have the greatest experience and left the city wondering what was so great about it. This time around, we had an awesome time and found a new appreciation for the city. A lot of the credit for our change of heart goes to Rina's friend Michael, who was the best tour guide you could ever hope for. As a Melbourne native, he was able to show us all the best bits of the city. So this time we saw more than just the clock that plays Waltzing Matilda in the mall and the fire show outside the casino. We biked all over the city, ate lots and lots of great food, took lots of coffee and cake breaks, and visited St. Kilda (a trendy seaside suburb) everyday. Oh, and I got to see the restaurant from the Australian reality tv show My Restaurant Rules! Trust me, it was exciting. I also got to reminisce about Breckenridge when I went out to dinner with my former co-worker Simon, who's also from Melbourne. I enjoyed Melbourne so much I was almost questioning whether I should have gone to uni there instead, but I'll always be loyal to Sydney. We discussed the Sydney-Melbourne rivalry many a time during our trip and after much research decided that Sydney is good looking while Melbourne has a good personality. Melbourne reminded us a lot of Seattle, with its abundance of cafes and slightly grungy appearance. Plus everyone there seems very hip and fashionable in an artsy way. We often felt like we didn't fit in because we weren't quite cool enough. All in all, it was a great trip.

I still have so much to say but I just noticed that this is becoming the longest travelpod entry ever, so I should probably wrap it up (if anyone's still reading by this point). So let's see... Rina, my pal Christina, and I had a crazy girls night out on the town the night before Rina left. Then I said farewell to Rina (see you at Mardi Gras!) and had one more week with Kevin. We had the greatest time doing all the Sydney things we hadn't gotten to do yet, like seeing lots o' Aussie animals at the Featherdale Wildlife Park (which Ian Ziering of 90210 fame has also visited!), eating fish and chips at Manly, seeing the most amazing sunset ever on the ferry back to Sydney, having no idea what the hell was going on at a Sydney Swans footy match (that's Aussie Rules Football), and walking along the coast from Coogee to Bondi. Unfortunately, Breckenridge was beckoning Kevin back so once again I was all alone. I miss Kevin... because now I have no one to take out the trash and cook for me. :)

Since then I've been trying to catch up on all the uni work I ignored for the past month. The semester ends next week and all my assignments are due the following week, so I'm freaking out about getting everything done. Especially since I am now teaching five days a week at the same language school where I did my practicum! A couple weeks ago they offered me a job as a casual relief teacher (basically a substitute teacher), but recently offered me my very own class! I really should have said no, because I have no time to get my uni work done, but I couldn't resist the opportunity (and the money!). So all of a sudden the school director is referring to me as "the newest member of staff" and I even have my own mailbox! I actually started teaching while some of my classmates were still doing their practicum there - one of them even taught my class a couple of times! And the weirdest thing is that I'll now be co-teaching a class with my former supervisor! Oh, and the best part is that I'm making twice as much money an hour than my grad shop job (which is over now that the graduations are done)!!

So yeah, basically I have no time to breathe anymore. Things will be much less crazy in two weeks when all my assignments are done... I just don't know how I'll get them done by then because lesson planning takes up most of my time. Hopefully I'll be a bit less stressed when Pam comes to visit in a month. We're thinking of taking a nice relaxing beach holiday up in Queensland - I could really use one! A few last things... Alias is all caught up to when I left home, so I finally get to see the episodes I missed! I was extremely excited to hear that the O.C. will be coming to Australian TV soon!! I can't wait to be able to watch Seth Cohen again! In local news, Krispy Kreme just opened a shop in Sydney. And the Olympic torch was run all over the city a couple days ago. I didn't get to see it in person, but it did cause lots of traffic during my morning commute to work. The big talk of the country has been how very proud everyone is of the girl from Tasmania who married the Prince of Denmark and the Aussie girl who just became Miss Universe. The other big news has been Prime Minister John Howard's trip to the US to talk with Arnold Schwartzernegger (of all people!) and George Bush. Everyone's been joking that no one over there has any idea who John Howard is. Gotta love that self-deprecating Aussie humour. The sad thing is it's probably the truth.
]]> So hard to say goodbye — UNSW, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1100550120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1100550120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1100550120/tpod.html Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:20:02 -0400 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
UNSW, Australia

I hate saying goodbye. So why am I constantly putting myself in situations where I have to do just that? Maybe because I enjoy the going-away parties. I am no longer a teacher at Australian Pacific College... I already miss it, and my last day was only 3 days ago! I feel like I've spent the past week saying goodbye, which was harder than I thought it would be. At the weekly graduation ceremony on Friday, they made me give a speech, my students presented me with a big card they'd all signed, and I sang the college song one last time (it's to the tune of the Cheers theme song, funnily enough). Then it turned into a 30 minute photo shoot with my students (I'm going to miss feeling like a celebrity), with lots of sad goodbyes. One of my students even started crying! It wasn't goodbye forever though, because we all made plans to party on my birthday. In the teacher's room, they had not one but two cakes for me and then we all headed to the pub down the road for my "farewell drinkies." Some of the teachers tried to convince me that it's an Australian tradition for the person leaving to shout (pay for) everyone's drinks, but I'm no stupid American. Almost all the teachers showed up to say goodbye, which made me feel pretty special since until recently I'd felt like we hadn't really bonded. As one of them said though, "It's not everyday a Yank leaves Australia." (They just wish it happened everyday - haha.) Well it's nice to know I'll be missed. I know Ray will miss having someone to direct his American jokes at. And who's going to answer all the American questions? David won't have anyone's class to interrupt when he needs to know what a condominium is or what the difference between college and university is. And Mic won't have anyone to badger about the inner workings of the American political system. Who knows - maybe I'll be back one day...

As David observed, that was my first step in really leaving Australia. It still doesn't seem real that I'll be going home in a month though. Of course, before I go, I have all my big uni assignments to finish (3 down, 1 to go!!) Plus I'm travelling to New Zealand in a week! But sadly it will all be over before I know it. The past 9 months have flown by! I guess now is the time to really take a look back and reflect on my experience. David asked me if I found what I'd been looking for in Australia, but I don't really know if I was looking for anything in particular. I came here because I fell in love with Sydney 4 years ago and promised myself I'd return one day. (The free Master's degree was also a big incentive!) I just wanted to spend some more time in this beautiful city, experience a bit more of the laid-back Aussie lifestyle, and gain some more knowledge of linguistics. And I've done that, so I'm satisfied. I'm proud of the fact that I was able to make a life for myself here, instead of just being a backpacker posing as a student like the last time. I earned a Master's degree (almost!) and became a teacher, even made some Aussie mates. It's been good. The only thing I didn't do was find my hot Australian surfer who I could marry so I could become an Australian citizen. :) But there's a hot American liftie (who can do a pretty good imitation of an Aussie accent) waiting for me back in Colorado, so I'm not too disappointed.

I didn't come here to find myself, but I guess every experience in life teaches you something about yourself. The surprising thing to come out of all of this is how much I'm looking forward to going home. Don't get me wrong - I love Australia. I've spent the past 6 years getting away from NY as much as possible, and I haven't been all that homesick. But I miss my friends and family now. That's what's been missing from this experience. I've been in an amazing place, but without the people I love most in the world. I guess I've gained a new appreciation for the importance of those people in my life.
]]> Aussie English — Randwick, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1103265300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1103265300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1103265300/tpod.html Thu, 16 Dec 2004 09:37:16 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
Randwick, Australia

VIRGINIA'S DICTIONARY OF AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH

AUSTRALIAN - AMERICAN
arvo - afternoon
biscuits/bikkies - cookies
bloke - typical guy
bond - security deposit
bottle shop - liquor store
brekky - breakfast
buck's night - bachelor party
bushwalking - hiking
capsicum - pepper
car park - parking lot
caravan/campervan - RV
champers - champagne
cheers - thanks, you're welcome
Chrissy - Christmas
chunder - throw up after drinking too much
course - major
crook - very sick
cruisy - easy, not serious
cupboard - closet
dob someone in - squeal/tell on someone
dodgy - sketchy
doona - comforter, bedspread
esky - cooler
fair dinkum - real, true
fairy floss - cotton candy
feeling ordinary - hung over
fire brigade - fire department
flat out - busy
flat white - espresso with steamed milk
flatmate - roommate (same apartment)
footy - Rugby League, Rugby Union, or Aussie Rules Football (3 different sports!)
fringe - bangs
full on - hard core, serious
g'day - hello
Gazza - nickname for Gary
good on ya - good job, congratulations
grog - alcohol
hash key - pound key (phone)
have a go - try
heaps - lots, very
hen's night - bachelorette party
hire - rent
hot chips - fries
how ya goin? - how are you?
jug - pitcher
jumper - sweater
keen - enthusiastic
knackered - tired
lecture - uni class
lecturer - professor
Macca's - McDonald's
mate - friend
middie - small glass of beer
mobile - cell phone
mozzies - mosquitos
muesli - granola
partner - boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife (gay or straight)
pash - kiss
pash rash - hickey
paw-paw - papaya
petrol - gas
pissed - drunk
plat - braid
porridge - oatmeal
queue - line
reckon - think
rock melon - canteloupe
ruggers - rugby
same - me too
sacked - fired
skol ("skull") - chug
schmiddie - a glass of beer in between a middie and schooner
schooner - large glass of beer
sharemate - roommate (same room)
Shazza - nickname for Sharon
shout - round (of drinks), pay for a round
singlet - tank top
stubbie - bottle of beer
stuffed - screwed
subject - uni class
sultanas - raisins
sunbaking - sunbathing
swimmers/cozzie - bathing suit
ta - thanks
take-away - take-out
the bush - the country
the lot - the works
thongs - flip flops
till - cash register
timetable - schedule
tinnie - can of beer
toilets - bathroom
tomato sauce - ketchup
torch - flashlight
uni - university
ute - pick-up truck
walking track - hiking trail
]]> So long, farewell... — Randwick, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1103264700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1103264700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1103264700/tpod.html Thu, 16 Dec 2004 09:34:42 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
Randwick, Australia

Today was my last full day in Sydney... and I don't want to leave! Of course I can't wait to see my friends and family, but I love this city. I can't believe my time here is over again! I kind of came here thinking this might be my last trip to the land down under, but I just can't accept that now. I'll be back.

Today was a beautiful, warm, sunny, late spring day, which made it real hard to believe I'll be in freezing cold NY tomorrow! I spent the day running around trying to fit all my favorite Sydney things into one day. After closing my bank account, I walked to Coogee Beach, bought a Magnum ice cream bar, and then continued walking all the way to Bondi Beach. The Coogee-Bondi Coastal Walk is probably my favorite thing to do in this beautiful city. Then I hopped on a very slow bus to the city and went to Paddy's Market in Chinatown to buy an extra bag (just like I had to do 4 years ago!), bringing the grand total of my checked luggage to 3. Fingers crossed they won't charge me the $100 fee for the extra bag at the airport. From there I got some sushi rolls, which I ate in Hyde Park, and then walked to Circular Quay where I got my traditional carrot cake and flat white. I headed to my final destination: my bench in the Botanic Gardens near the Opera House. As I anxiously approached it, I worried that it might be occupied. I actually considered explaining to the hypothetical occupants that it was my last day in Sydney, and I'd formed an attachment to this particular bench over the past 10 months, and could they please vacate it so I could enjoy one last bench-sit with my man Douglas Whitton. Then I realized just how weird that would sound. Thankfully, it was empty when I arrived. The area surrounding it had also become overgrown with flowery weeds so you could hardly even tell there's a bench there - I guess it's been a while since I've visited it.

After spending some quality time on my favorite bench in the whole world, I met up with my uni friend Daniela for some farewell drinks. I can't believe I'm really leaving Sydney!! I'm going to miss my bench, the Harbour, the laid-back Aussie lifestyle, the awesome people I've met, and most of all... Tim Tams (the four packets I'm smuggling into the States should last me a few weeks though)! I've had a great time getting to know this country better, and also trying scary foods with my Asian friends (such as the chicken feet I ate at Yum Cha the other day with my Taiwanese friend Archer, and the raw beef I had with my Japanese friend Marie). Like I said though, I'll be back. I think I'm addicted to Australia.
]]> Still in Queenstown — Queenstown, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1102736640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1102736640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1102736640/tpod.html Fri, 10 Dec 2004 04:53:28 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
Queenstown, New Zealand

Two entries in two days! I know it's unbelievable, but I need to use up the 2 hours I got for $5 before I leave Queenstown tomorrow morning. Well it's been an interesting day. I spent all day on a bus going to and from the Milford Sound, which is about a 4 hour ride from here. However, I was not on the bus I thought I'd be because only 2 other people signed up for the tour I wanted to do. So I unwittingly was transferred to a different tour... on a luxury coach! It was one of those see-the-world-from-the-comfort-of-your-seat trips instead of a get-out-there-and-actually-experience-your-beautiful-surroundings trips like I enjoy taking. I got to see how the other half get to travel. It was a real good deal for me since I paid about $45 less than the other people on the tour and I even got a free picnic lunch thrown in! Fjordland National Park is an awesome place - but I was itching to get out and walk around it instead of being stuck in the bus (which admittedly was very comfy - I had 2 seats to myself!). Then we had a 2 1/2 hour cruise around the Milford Sound on a big fancy boat. It was great, especially since we were lucky enough to have a relatively clear sunny day (a bit or a rarity in the area).

A little while ago, I went out for a couple of drinks with my German friend Michelle. One of the bad things about travelling is that you meet these cool people for a few days and then you have to say goodbye. Oh well. We hit up one of the many happy hours in Queenstown - you can spend all night going from happy hour to happy hour here! And today all the bars went smoke-free, so it's even better!

Tomorrow it's off to Dunedin, the so-called "beer and chocolate capital of NZ". Sounds like my kinda place!
]]> Tramping around Gandalf's backyard — Queenstown, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1102640460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1102640460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1102640460/tpod.html Thu, 09 Dec 2004 02:40:21 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
Queenstown, New Zealand

Cheap internet in Queenstown makes me happy! Wow, I have so much to say because so much has happened in the past few days! I've been having an awesome time on the West Coast of NZ... I've been to 3 glaciers in 3 days! First off after arriving in Franz Josef to find rain and a mix up with my hostel booking, I went on an amazing full day glacier walk. My crazy Kiwi guide (whose name was something like "Tangy") frolicked and scampered all over the glacier, but the rest of us took it a bit more slowly since we had to climb up the giant-sized steps he'd cut in the ice wearing the most uncomfortable boots ever with Talonz (metal spikes) attached. We sqeezed through narrow blue ice crevices and walked across 10-20 meter deep crevasses. At one point, while we were exploring the pinnacles area that consists of these huge spikey pieces of ice jutting out of the glacier, Tangy had to help us cross this meter-wide crevasse by grabbing out hands and pulling us over to the other side. It was a bit scary, since standing on the edge of it I thought to myself that if I slipped I'd be stuck down there. Tangy's advice for the "manoever" was, "As long as you do this right, you'll be fine." Yeah, thanks. It was a pretty challenging day with some amazing scenery and I was exhausted by the end.

The next morning, I jumped out of a plane. Yes, that's right - I went SKY DIVING!!!! It was such a surreal experience, but I'll try to describe it. The whole bit leading up to the jump didn't quite seem real - driving to Fox Glacier at 6 AM, the "training" at the office, putting on the jumpsuit and harness, getting on the tiny plane that took only 2 people up at a time. It all happened so quickly! The flight was incredible - it took about 20 mintues to get to 12,000 feet (I was pressured into jumping from 12,000 instead of 9,000 by the owner and this bitchy british girl) so we had a great view of the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. It was the perfect day - beautiful sunny clear blue skies. Somebody up there must like me! I was surprisingly calm until they opened the door to the plane - then I totally freaked out! Panic overwhelmed my body, but I didn't really have a chance to chicken out because all of a sudden the guy strapped to my back was throwing us out of the aircraft! I think my brain shut down for the 45 second freefall - I don't really remember what happened. I couldn't really comprehend what was happening... air, wind, cold, loud, falling. I was concentrating so hard on just breathing! And I screamed my head off - my instructor said it was some of the best screaming he'd ever heard. :) I forgot everything they had told us to do, but then the parachute opened and everything was ok again. I was actually able to enjoy the experience as we floated over the beautiful landscape. I wasn't scared anymore - I just enjoyed the 4 minute ride back to Earth. I'm really glad I did it, even though I didn't really enjoy the freefall part. I don't think I'll make it a hobby, like this Irish girl I met on the glacier walk.

The next day, I went on the best hike I've ever been on in Mount Aspiring National Park with a Dutch girl and a German girl I'd met on my bus. We followed the Rob Roy Track, which we'd been told was an "easy" walk. Apparently "easy" in NZ really means medium-hard because it was pretty tough! We started off in this beautiful green pasture surrounded by snow-capped mountains, then crossed a scary swing bridge over the creek, and hiked through a beech forest. As cheezy as it sounds, I felt like I was actually in "Lord of the Rings". After about 2 hours of mostly uphill walking, we came to a clearing with a spectacular panorama of Rob Roy Glacier. We took a short lunch break, during which this kea bird almost stole my friend's camera. The birds in NZ are ballsy - I was almost maulled by seagulls on a beach in Kaikoura and I was nearly attacked by ducks at Lake Wanaka. After the walk back, we were all exhausted and sore. Our super cool shuttle bus driver (who spent 2 seasons as a guide in Nepal!) tore down the winding dirt road back to Wanaka, pretending to hit any sheep or cows that got in our way so we could have some meat for dinner. :)

By the way, Wanaka is my favorite place in NZ. It's such a cool, laid-back town with an incredible view... it kinda reminds me of Breck actually. It's got everything you could want - nice weather, good vibe, awesome skiing nearby, cute cafes, good local beer, even a super cool little cinema with homemade ice cream! So many backpackers skip it because they just want to get to Queenstown, which is bigger and more touristy. Big mistake - I love Wanaka! I love it so much that I ended up staying there an extra night. I didn't really want to leave at all, but now I'm in Queenstown because I have less than a week left in NZ. I've enjoyed this trip, leaving my comfort zone and facing my fears. But I'm also looking forward to seeing everyone back home very soon!
]]> Kia Ora from NZ! — Nelson, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1101949080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1101949080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1101949080/tpod.html Wed, 01 Dec 2004 02:28:12 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
Nelson, New Zealand

Greetings from the South Island of New Zealand!

After a wonderful birthday celebration in Sydney which involved a Korean dinner, drinks, and cake with about 20 of my former students and uni mates, I packed up my room (boy have I acculumated a lot of crap!) and headed to Christchurch. I spent the past week travelling around with my 2 Japanese friends Eri and Nobuko. It was definitely an interesting experience (and a bit exhausting since I was constantly repeating myself and explaining things to them). I found out that Eri gets very very car sick when she threw up all over the TranzAlpine train we took from Christchurch to Greymouth. Then she proceded to vommit on the bus we took right afterwards from Greymouth to Fox Glacier! I'm fairly useless in those situations, other than yelling at the driver to open the door so she could discard her plastic bag o' puke. The next day it rained all day long and was very very cold (spring in NZ is like winter in Sydney!) and we couldn't even see the supposedly spectacular mountains. But there was a beautiful rainbow over the tiny town at the end of the day, and the next day was gorgeous! We hiked to the glacier at 6 AM and had the whole amazing place to ourselves. The day after that, we took a bus to Queenstown and this time Nobuko puked! We joked that it would be my turn to get sick on the bus ride back to Christchurch, but thankfully I was fine. What happened instead was that the bus broke down in the middle of nowhere and we were stuck for 3 hours waiting for a new bus to come rescue us! So we didn't get back to Christchurch til 1 AM the next morning, and Eri & Nobuko had to leave for the airport 4 hours later! To top it all off, we got to walk in on 2 people having sex in our room when we arrived at our hostel!

Currently, I'm in the independent phase of my trip - the solo journey. I'm going back around the South Island for the next 2 weeks on the Magic Bus (a kind of backpacker hop on-hop off tour), hitting the places we didn't get to last week. So far I've been to Kaikoura, on the east coast. It was beautiful and sunny there, though it got so windy it literally blew my hat off my head (thankfully I grabbed it). I walked along the coast and while I was sitting on a beach, this cute little boy came over to me and gave me a pretty shiny shell he had found (as he put it, "It's got all rainbow things inside!"). Then I headed to Nelson, where I am now. Today I went sea kayaking all morning and then hiked all afternoon in Abel Tasman National Park. I was very lucky - after a few windy days that involved capsized kayak rescues, the weather was perfect today! Since my kayak tour consisted of 3 couples and me, I got to ride a double with our cool and crazy guide Tazzie (an Aussie from guess where). We kayaked right in between all these rocks and inside a cave that Tazzie told me was inhabited by flesh-eating penguins. While we were in the dark narrow cave, he hopped out of our kayak to help the others maneover their way out. I pleaded with him not to leave me alone because all I could think of was this Baywatch episode I'd seen where they got trapped in a very similar cave. But thankfully we made it out alive, without David Hasselhoff's assistance. :)

One of the best things about travelling is the random encounters you have. So far my path has crossed with that of my Breck buddies Julie and Julie (who have been travelling here for 3 months now) TWICE! The first time, they hunted me down in Fox Glacier and we caught up in my hostel room (my enormous wonderful room that we ended up in due to a booking mistake and they didn't even charge us extra!). Then the bus I was on happened to stop on a road in Wanaka at the exact moment they were walking down it! We were able to hang out for about 20 minutes before I had to get back on the bus. Hopefully we'll meet up again.

That's all I have time for now, but I'll try to write again before I leave NZ. Tomorrow I'm treating myself to a wine tour and then it's off to Greymouth before I go back to the glaciers again (Franz Josef this time).
]]> Boree Log — UNSW, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1081274820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1081274820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1081274820/tpod.html Sun, 21 Nov 2004 20:07:39 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
UNSW, Australia

Well I'm glad I carted the tent and sleeping mat I borrowed from the outdoors club all the way to uni today to find that no one was at the gear cupboard. Before I left home, I had this nagging feeling I should check my e-mail in case the gear guy had changed the meeting time to return the gear. But I ignored it because I was already running late and in a rush. Of course when I checked my mail a little while ago, after carrying the gear all over campus, I discovered that he had in fact changed the drop-off date. So now I get to lug my gear to the library, Esme's Cafe, and my grammar class, before I can bring it back home again.

Oh well. A small price to pay for a weekend of camping fun in the Australian bush with the UNSW Outdoors Club. We left campus on Friday evening, everyone unfortunate enough not to have cars piling into a small bus with all our gear and provisions. We drove a couple of hours northwest of Sydney to the Upper Colo campground, arriving after dark. As luck would have it, the bulb in my flashlight blew while my tent buddy Alexis (from a small country town in NSW) and I were trying to figure out how to set up the tent we had borrowed from the club. But thankfully I had with me a mini keychain light, a going away gift from Missy. Thanks Missy - you were absolutely right that it would come in handy! After setting up camp, the 40 or so people that were there sat around eating and drinking. I talked with the guys I had met at the pub crawl, and met numerous international students. It seems that UNSW is overrun with international students, including Americans. I think we outnumbered the actual Aussies on the camping trip.

The next day there were a bunch of organized activities to choose from, including climbing, kayaking, and a very popular canyoning trip. I ended up going on a bushwalk that the guy leading the trip said would be a fairly easy walk along a creek. I didn't bother bringing my backpack, since he said we wouldn't really need anything. The 10 or so of us on the trip drove to nearby Wollemi National Park, and set out on our walk. It turned out to be more of a "riverwalk" than a "bushwalk" - definitely not what I expected. There was no actual trail along the creek, so we all took off our hiking boots and walked up and down the creek barefoot for about 3 hours. The water ranged from ankle-deep to chest-deep. Some of us bushbashed our way along the banks of the creek in those deep spots, but some of the guys decided to prove their manliness by forging the creek shirtless, carrying their packs over their heads. Some of the people in the club are hard-core wilderness types, way out of my league. There were talking about going "rogaining", which is this competition where you navigate your way through the bush with just a compass and map going from check-point to check-point. It can take up to 24 hours, and you end up having to find your way in the dark. Yeah, no thanks.

After our walk, we returned to camp (passing by some kangaroos on the way!) and the Aussies tried to explain cricket to the rest of us. I still don't really understand it. Then we all gathered around the campfire for dinner. While I lived off of the VK road trip diet of nutella and peanut butter for the weekend (which isn't quite as good here - I miss Skippy!), some of the others cooked these impressive meals on their camping stoves. This guy Owen actually baked a chocolate cake! Then we all broke out our formal wear, the guys dressing up in suits and ties and the girls donning dresses. It was funny because everyone looked so nice, but we were all barefoot and in the middle of the bush! We drank and talked, and roasted marshmallows in the fire. However, they don't make s'mores in Australia! (or Peeps s'mores, like Karen, Jeanne, and I invented!) Camping is just not the same without s'mores! None of the Aussies had heard of trail mix either! I shared the trail mix I brought (which I made with mixed nuts, M&M's, and dried paw-paw) with this guy Michael, and he just couldn't get over the stuff. I ended up talking with Michael for hours about how messed up the world is, and in particular how screwed up the American government is. We share the same political views, since I completely disagree with what my country has done just like the rest of the world does.

That night it rained, but we stayed nice and dry in our tent. The next day was drizzly, so we didn't do very much. I went on a short bushwalk with some people, past some nearby farms up to a lookout point in the park. When we got back, all our gear was already packed in the bus and everyone had decided we were leaving right at that moment. I arrived back home Sunday evening dirty, tired, and covered in bug bites. I guess my American bug spray just didn't cut it with the persistent Aussie bugs. It was a good weekend, and it definitely made me appreciate having a shower. I've gotten soft since the road trip days, when we wouldn't shower for 5 days in a row!
]]> Finished... FINALLY! — UNSW Library, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1100885760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1100885760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1100885760/tpod.html Thu, 18 Nov 2004 20:38:58 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
UNSW Library, Australia

I just needed to share with the world the fact that I have finished my last assignment of the semester, which is quite possibly the last academic paper I will ever have to write in my life!!!!! It felt like the never-ending assignment, way less exciting than the movie "The Never-Ending Story". I was having such trouble getting it done. I ran out of things to say - it's like I hit this mental wall. But now I have successfully cleared the final hurdle between me and my Master's degree! And I can turn my attention to enjoying my last few days in Sydney, celebrating my birthday, getting excited about my trip to NZ, and packing up all my crap. Wait, that last part isn't gonna be fun. I still feel like I'm quickly running out of time to get everything done, but at least the weight of my uni assignments has been lifted from my shoulders. Now I can go crank up Hey Ya! and do the dance of joy in my room. And when I have dinner tonight at a Japanese BBQ buffet restaurant with my uni friends, I can finally drink the celebratory bottle of Lucy's Run rose wine that I bought in the Hunter Valley and had been saving for this exact joyous moment. Life is good.
]]> Highs and Lows — UNSW Library, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1098817800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1098817800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/va-in-oz/sydney2004/1098817800/tpod.html Mon, 15 Nov 2004 19:11:47 -0500 Grad school is a good excuse to return to Australia, my favorite country in the world!
UNSW Library, Australia

The big news Down Under is that two of Australia's favorite couples have split up - Lleyton Hewitt & Kim Clijsters (both tennis players) and Mark Philippousis (tennis player) & Delta Goodrem (actress/pop singer). I don't know what's going on in the tennis world right now! The funniest part is that Mark Philippousis (AKA "The Scud" or more recently "Poo") is supposedly seeing Paris Hilton now! Other than that, things have been fairly depressing in Sydney as of late. It had been raining for about a week straight - good news for the dam levels, but not the best conditions for me to enjoy my last few weeks in this very outdoor-oriented city. Add to that John Howard becoming Prime Minister for the unprecedented fourth time in a row, plus the Yankees-Red Sox DEBACLE... there hasn't been all that much to smile about.

Allright, I'm exaggerating. I've actually been having a lot of fun. First, Missy and Mark were in town and it's always great to see them wherever in the world our paths happen to cross. We even went to see Funkstar, just like old times, and found out in talking to the guitar player that the height of their careers was when the Butler study abroad posse used to go to their shows at Scruffys every week 4 years ago. Kinda sad. I had another experience reminiscent of my last visit to Australia when I went to Sydney Uni for a lecture given by one of my former professors. I hadn't stepped on that campus for four years, but I remembered exactly how to get to the Linguisitcs department building, like a homing instinct. As I sat in the same classroom where I had my Syntax class 4 years ago, it hit me just how much my study abroad experience there had changed my entire life... That's the reason that I'm back here right now, doing what I'm doing. It felt like some sort of pilgrimage. What really weirded me out was when my professor came up to me after the lecture - she recognized me and even remembered which class I had been in!

A week ago some of my former students invited me to their apartment for a big Japanese dinner (and also to tell me that two of them want to come to New Zealand with me!). They made a huge meal of sushi, Japanese pancakes, and both raw and fried oysters (which I had never eaten before, and never really need to eat again, esp. raw!). Just as I was sitting there feeling really full, they all went back into the kitchen and started cooking more food! They brought out bowls of miso soup and more pancakes, announcing it was round 2! Plus we had bought a cake, so by the end of the night I was stuffed. So I took them all to Scruffy's to see Funkstar of course, and we danced it off.

This past weekend I went out for drinks with the teachers I work with, for the first time ever. They usually go out on Friday afternoons for happy hour, but the teacher I kinda hate organizes it. He invited me the first few times when I started teaching there, but I never went because I felt weird about hanging out with them, so he stopped inviting me. But this time my friend David made a point of asking me to come, and a bunch of other teachers I'm friendly with were going too. I thought we'd just be at the pub for an hour or two, but we ended up staying till around 10 pm! I spent a lot of time talking with the teacher I used to hate... I don't hate him anymore, esp. since he kept buying me drinks. I thought he was around my age, but I found out that even he's 34! I feel like a baby when I'm around the other teachers. I got to learn some interesting things like two of the teachers used to be archaeologists, my school seems to attract fundamentalist Christians, and I'm not the only one who thinks one of the other teachers is psychotic and annoying. I actually had a good time. Some of the teachers were trying to convince me to come back to Australia to do a Ph.D. so I could work at APC again. Ummm... maybe not.

Things are ending here really quickly... next week is my last week of uni classes, the week after that is my last week of teaching, then all my assignments are due, then it's the Maroon 5 concert and my birthday, then I'm going to New Zealand for 3 weeks, then I fly home to NY, and a couple weeks later I head back to Breckenridge for another season! Crazy! I just hope that when I go back to the States there will be a new President. I'm extremely worried that Bush will win again, and so is the rest of the world. At least this time around I was able to do my part and vote against him, since I actually received my absentee ballot this time!
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