The two weeks after I got back from New Zealand were the most hectic weeks I've had in Sydney so far. Everything at school seemed to be due right around the same time, and with all the fun I was having, I hadn't exactly gotten a jump start on anything.
Most of the assignments at uni are essays and there aren't very many of them. For almost all of my classes, I only have two major assignments, a paper and a final exam, which is also written. As a business student, I'm not exactly positive as to why I'm doing research papers, but I guess it can't hurt. I don't really have a problem with writing papers, I just wasn't in the studying mood; it's hard being in a place where I'm supposed to be at school, but there are so many other things going on as well. Coming back from vacation was a kick back into reality and a very frustrating two weeks. I couldn't seem to get into the swing of things; I've been here for so long without really having to do work yet. With two major papers and few short ones, I felt as if I stared at the computer for hours on end. All in all, I wrote about 10,000 words but it felt like 100,000.
With all of the things due, almost all of us haven't had time for going out or having a great time. Everyone has had papers due throughout the weeks, so when it finally ended it was nice to relax. I'm so glad the majority of the work is complete and all I have left to worry about is finals.
Because we are running out of time in Sydney, my roommate and I decided we needed to take more advantage of the city. We had a "date" day and planned to do a few things we haven't yet had the chance to. First, we went into the heart of Sydney and walked around to see what we could find. We stumbled upon a cute place for lunch and just relaxed, enjoying the atmosphere around us. Afterwards, without an exact clue to where we were going, we wandered around looking for markets. Finally, we explored Paddy's market. It's right past Chinatown, down near Darling Harbour. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a lot bigger than I thought. Inside a huge building there are stalls and stalls of everything you could imagine. There were so many people there that the people-watching was just as much fun as the shopping.
After shopping all day, we found our way back to the area we stayed for our orientation in February. We stopped by Three Wise Monkeys and had a cocktail before taking the train out to ANZ Stadium to see a Rugby League game. After having been to quite a few league and union games, I'm starting to become a big fan of rugby. We went to a Rabbitohs game, which is a South Sydney team and they destroyed the Tigers, from the West. The fans are completely crazy at these games; it reminded me of NFL games but everyone is much more wild (and by that I mean more drunk), loud, and dressed up.
After wandering around all day, I realized just how much I love Sydney. It's gorgeous and there is always something to do. I love being in a place that's surrounded by water but still has the activities and adventures of a city. Considering our time is dwindling, we are trying to explore and do everything we can in the last few weeks. We want to take advantage of all the things Sydney has to offer, even if it means coming home completely broke at the end!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
AHHHHHdrenaline. I Love Queenstown.
After our time in Franz Josef, we drove another eight hours to Queenstown. I would like to say that it is quite possibly the coolest place I have ever been to. In my opinion, it seems like a ski town, but the town surrounds a lake with mountains surrounding the town. Once again, everywhere I turned I saw something beautiful.
The whole point of our Queenstown visit in New Zealand was to do anything and everything crazy we could think of. Our first adventure, of course, was bungee jumping. I had already jumped in Cairns at the beginning of the semester, but I was not prepared for how high this jump would be. It was 440ft tall, in the middle of two mountains. In order to get to the cable car suspended by wires over the drop, we had to take a mini cable car across the big ravine. Very safe to say that we were all A LOT more scared this time. In the car, the guys that work there were playing some crazy, loud music; we're pretty sure it was to block out our thoughts. Being the brilliant person that I am, I decided to look down the whole time I walked out to the ledge. I started breathing heavily and had that panicking sensation when your body knows your crazy but your mind tells you to do it anyway. The guy counted down from three, and the next thing I knew, I flung myself off the edge; I screamed the whole way down. Did I mention this jump had 8 seconds of free fall before the cord catches? That's a lot of time to think about the tiny river below you and how fast it seems to be coming at you. As scary as it was to take the leap, I had so much fun doing the jump; I think I've mastered the swan dive and I'm pretty impressed with myself!
After bungee jumping, we had a Shotover Jet Boat activity. I had no idea what this was originally, but it happened to be a really fast boat with a flat bottom that is great for tricks. We went to one of the rivers that flows into the lake in the middle of town and looked at the boat driver like he was insane when he told 14 people to climb into a boat that was sitting on 4 inches of water. Apparently, the boats are unique because of the flat bottoms and unique engine system that pumps water through it for speed, so 4 inches is all that's necessary to go. On the river, we got up to speeds of about 70kph while traveling through tiny little spaces between rock cliffs; if I stuck my hand out past the boats edge, it would have been taken off. Not only was the gutsy driving a little nerve-wracking, but the boats are designed to do 360 degree spins while traveling at the fast speeds. All of us were soaked at the end and a little freezing, but I've never gotten such an adrenaline rush from being on a boat!
The second day we were in Queenstown consisted of Zip-lining and Luging. In the morning we took the gondola up the mountain to start at the top for our zip-trek. I've always wanted to try zip-lining so I was very excited to get going. We were able to do six trails down the side of the mountain, dropping about 30 stories in height while flying through the trees. The guides were awesome and taught us how to go upside-down, and do some pretty cool tricks. Again, there were some of the most beautiful, picturesque scenes I've ever witnessed peeking out between the trees. It took a few hours to travel all the way down, but it was something I would definitely do again if I had the chance; how often do you get to jump off ledges and zoom through the trees upside-down and backward? It was awesome!!
After zipping down the mountain, we took the gondola back up to try our hand at luging. None of us expected what we actually going to do; we thought it would be down ice, kind of like what is seen in the Winter Olympics. To be honest, the set-up was a lot more fun than that would have been. There were two cement tracks that started at the top of the mountain and curved all the way down the side to a finish line. Instead of real luges, we were in carts that we could steer and break all the way down. After this realization hit, we immediately turned our five fun luges into a competitive assortment of races. Now, I won't lie when I say that I was HORRIBLE at this. When traveling at ridiculously fast speeds, in a cart that I'm controlling, with curves that are on the side of a mountain, let's just say.. I almost wiped out quite a few times. The only time I won the race was when I "accidentally" forgot to stop at the starting line and got a couple of seconds head-start. This was another activity that we had SO much fun with!
The whole point of our Queenstown visit in New Zealand was to do anything and everything crazy we could think of. Our first adventure, of course, was bungee jumping. I had already jumped in Cairns at the beginning of the semester, but I was not prepared for how high this jump would be. It was 440ft tall, in the middle of two mountains. In order to get to the cable car suspended by wires over the drop, we had to take a mini cable car across the big ravine. Very safe to say that we were all A LOT more scared this time. In the car, the guys that work there were playing some crazy, loud music; we're pretty sure it was to block out our thoughts. Being the brilliant person that I am, I decided to look down the whole time I walked out to the ledge. I started breathing heavily and had that panicking sensation when your body knows your crazy but your mind tells you to do it anyway. The guy counted down from three, and the next thing I knew, I flung myself off the edge; I screamed the whole way down. Did I mention this jump had 8 seconds of free fall before the cord catches? That's a lot of time to think about the tiny river below you and how fast it seems to be coming at you. As scary as it was to take the leap, I had so much fun doing the jump; I think I've mastered the swan dive and I'm pretty impressed with myself!
After bungee jumping, we had a Shotover Jet Boat activity. I had no idea what this was originally, but it happened to be a really fast boat with a flat bottom that is great for tricks. We went to one of the rivers that flows into the lake in the middle of town and looked at the boat driver like he was insane when he told 14 people to climb into a boat that was sitting on 4 inches of water. Apparently, the boats are unique because of the flat bottoms and unique engine system that pumps water through it for speed, so 4 inches is all that's necessary to go. On the river, we got up to speeds of about 70kph while traveling through tiny little spaces between rock cliffs; if I stuck my hand out past the boats edge, it would have been taken off. Not only was the gutsy driving a little nerve-wracking, but the boats are designed to do 360 degree spins while traveling at the fast speeds. All of us were soaked at the end and a little freezing, but I've never gotten such an adrenaline rush from being on a boat!
The second day we were in Queenstown consisted of Zip-lining and Luging. In the morning we took the gondola up the mountain to start at the top for our zip-trek. I've always wanted to try zip-lining so I was very excited to get going. We were able to do six trails down the side of the mountain, dropping about 30 stories in height while flying through the trees. The guides were awesome and taught us how to go upside-down, and do some pretty cool tricks. Again, there were some of the most beautiful, picturesque scenes I've ever witnessed peeking out between the trees. It took a few hours to travel all the way down, but it was something I would definitely do again if I had the chance; how often do you get to jump off ledges and zoom through the trees upside-down and backward? It was awesome!!
After zipping down the mountain, we took the gondola back up to try our hand at luging. None of us expected what we actually going to do; we thought it would be down ice, kind of like what is seen in the Winter Olympics. To be honest, the set-up was a lot more fun than that would have been. There were two cement tracks that started at the top of the mountain and curved all the way down the side to a finish line. Instead of real luges, we were in carts that we could steer and break all the way down. After this realization hit, we immediately turned our five fun luges into a competitive assortment of races. Now, I won't lie when I say that I was HORRIBLE at this. When traveling at ridiculously fast speeds, in a cart that I'm controlling, with curves that are on the side of a mountain, let's just say.. I almost wiped out quite a few times. The only time I won the race was when I "accidentally" forgot to stop at the starting line and got a couple of seconds head-start. This was another activity that we had SO much fun with!
On our final, full-day in Queenstown, two friends and I decided to do the Shotover Canyon Swing. We loved bungee so much that we thought we should try and catch that adrenaline rush again. A canyon swing is essentially a bungee, but at the end of the free-fall, instead of bouncing back up, you swing across the canyon. The two guys that worked there knew that we had already done bungee, so they wanted us to try something "different" (which in their vocabulary means more terrifying) and they suggested we go backwards. As I'm sure everyone is aware, the feeling of falling backwards out of your chair, or on your back, while sleeping, is one of the most jolting experiences ever. I agreed to this little stunt with full knowledge that I would be terrified the entire time. To top off the scariness of the jump, the guys working think it is hilarious to mess with people. While they hung me backwards over the edge, they jokingly asked each other "Oh wait, did you connect her to the cord?" This little comment started me in a giggling fit. All of the terror I was feeling erupted into laughter, which they both thought was hilarious because I physically could not control it. While continuing to laugh hysterically, they told me to jump backwards and go; ignoring my instincts, I went... and I screamed REALLY loud the whole way down. Once the cord caught me in the swing, I immediately went back to laughing out of relief. It may have been crazy, but it was definitely a blast!! After this experience, I still can't decide, between bungee and swing, which was more terrifying and exhilarating; they are both so different with their own unique rushes. No matter what, I loved them both!!
Overall, I could not have asked for a better trip. New Zealand is unbelievable and I would recommend it to anyone; there is something for everyone, no matter what the age. I hope that I will get the chance to come back. It is unlike anyplace in the world and I'm so thankful I was able to experience it!!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Chillin' on a Glacier in New Zealand.
For our Fall mid-semester break, I had the opportunity to go to New Zealand for nine days and it was a fantastic experience!! There was a group of 27 of us and we flew in to Christchurch and spent the night because it was much cheaper than flying into anywhere else. The next morning we drove about eight hours to Franz Josef on a bus; the ride was kind of long, but none of us wanted to take the time to sleep because of the amazing scenery outside of the window.
I never imagined that it was possible for a place to have as many unbelievable sights as New Zealand does. There are not only mountains and rivers everywhere but every time you turn your head a beautiful waterfall or lake is off in the distance. I find it incredibly hard to describe what it felt like to be in a place that seemed magical. I was in awe at everything around me. My friends and I kept looking out the window and saying "Wow!" or "How unbelievable is this?" We tried to soak up as much of it as we could because there is a very good chance we will never see anything as spectacular as this country ever again.
Once we arrived in Franz Josef, which by the way is about a 3x5 block town, we checked into the hostel and decided to walk around. It is completely possible to walk around the whole place in 15 minutes tops. Even though it was small, we loved the place. There were two main restaurants and a cafe which we all ate at because we didn't really have any other options. There was also one bar that was above one of the restaurants; we had a blast at the bar and had a great time getting to know the bartender. He loved the fact that we came both nights so he would give us "challenges" for a few free drinks such as: run around the pool table twice, climb the pole in the bar, and take a straw full of chili sauce. I think we made him laugh more than he cared about the money for the drinks, so we obviously thought he was a cool guy.
The only day we had in Franz Josef was spent climbing the glacier. It was one of those experiences I will never forget due to the weather conditions, the magnitude and beauty of the piece of ice we were on, and the ability of all of us to overcome the fact that we were cold and miserable by acting like five year-olds.
The surroundings of the glacier were huge mountains and because the weather was horrible, there was fog everywhere; it looked like we were in the movie King Kong. While we were climbing up, it rained about 85% of the time and the equipment we had on did not happen to be waterproof. When we stopped once, out of the many, to fill in the trail that "dropped out"(which we took to mean that the crevice that was there now became big enough for us to fall into) I happened to ask our guide if we were about halfway. Her response was "If I say yes will that make everyone feel better?" I think the combination of being entirely soaked and hanging out on top of one of the world's biggest ice cubes started to make us a little loopy. Many of us began singing songs, telling jokes, taking funny pictures, and pretending, with all our might, that we were on the beach; we wanted to do anything to keep our minds off the shaking and shivering.
Despite the fact that the conditions were miserable, the climb was an experience I'm so glad I did not miss. I was very nervous at the beginning because, everyone that knows me well, knows that I fall ALL the time on ice. I was tempted to bring a sled and just slide down on our way back; it was a great idea until we realized there were big holes we could fall into.
Even though we were only in Franz Josef for one day, the glacier was 100% worth the trip. It is mind-blowing to see what the earth is capable of creating. I had so much fun and couldn't wait for Queenstown.
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