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.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
And... I'm Going to Face Plant.
This past weekend I got out of Sydney and headed up north for Mojo Surf Camp. My roommate, another friend, and I took a six-hour bus ride north to Crescent Head, which is about halfway between Sydney and Brisbane. We had no idea where the bus was taking us and when we realized, with a little over two hours left that we didn't have phone service, it was going to be an interesting weekend. Luckily, it turned out to be one of the best I've had here, even though it rained the whole time; I guess it turns out that surfing in the rain is pretty fun!
When we first arrived a camp, we were in awe at how there was nothing around us; we were in the middle of the bush. We also couldn't see or hear the beach; that worried me just a little bit. Now, I will be the first to admit that I like nice things and the fact that I was in the middle of the woods, with lots of spiders, other bugs, and possibly large snakes could have freaked me out, but it didn't. Even when I saw a giant spider in the bathroom late at night, I managed to ignore it and run away. I think the reason I loved it so much was how the camp was set-up. There was a main house, where the instructors live, an outdoor kitchen, a bunk-house for us, and bathrooms. It was the perfect place for a surf retreat.
In order to get to the beach, we had to take a path back through the woods for about five minutes. I've never felt so secluded. There seemed to be no other form of civilization for miles. It was very peaceful and very very green.
Once we walked out of the jungle, one of the prettiest beaches I've ever seen was right in front of us and we had it all to ourselves. The instructors called the beach Big Hill Beach, because of the big hill on the right; we thought that was really creative. :)
Throughout the weekend, we surfed three times. We woke up early Saturday morning for the first go and we were out on the water for about two hours. We were all so exhausted after it that we thought we had been out there all day; it was only eleven. I struggled a little bit standing up in the morning because I kept grabbing the rails which really messed with my balance on the board. We went back for lunch and hit the waves again in the afternoon. Despite the fact that my lats were killing me from paddling, I actually surfed all afternoon; it was so much fun!! All of us really started to get the hang of it and didn't have a problem catching the waves and riding them in. The waves, by the way, were way bigger than we thought they were going to be. Considering it was a camp, where a lot of people haven't surfed before, we thought we'd be at a beach where the waves were little and easy; apparently not.
That night we had a great barbeque in the kitchen and then we went back towards the beach and took another remote path to this awesome clearing with a fire pit. We all hung out all night and had a blast getting to know each other around the fire, with the stars finally coming out behind the clouds.
The next morning, it was raining again but we still headed out for our last chance to catch a few waves. The winds apparently changed because our instructors had to warn us to be careful with the undertow and that the waves were much more powerful. Now, I'm not a very good judge of size, but let's just say the new waves were HUGE. First of all, it was almost impossible to get past the breakers. Second of all, it's a little intimidating when you try and drop into a wave and end up vertical with the ocean. Quite a few times I fell face-first into a wave and accidently ended up body surfing with my board somewhere behind me until the wave smashed me into the sand. In fact, probably half of the morning was spent watching person after person face plant and wipe-out with boards flying. I was definitely nervous after quite a few disaster dumps; good thing I can hold my breath for a while. I'm not sure any of us quite got the hang of the waves that morning, but we still had fun attempting the monsters!! We had been planning this trip for a while and I'm so glad we finally got our act together and went!!!
When we first arrived a camp, we were in awe at how there was nothing around us; we were in the middle of the bush. We also couldn't see or hear the beach; that worried me just a little bit. Now, I will be the first to admit that I like nice things and the fact that I was in the middle of the woods, with lots of spiders, other bugs, and possibly large snakes could have freaked me out, but it didn't. Even when I saw a giant spider in the bathroom late at night, I managed to ignore it and run away. I think the reason I loved it so much was how the camp was set-up. There was a main house, where the instructors live, an outdoor kitchen, a bunk-house for us, and bathrooms. It was the perfect place for a surf retreat.
In order to get to the beach, we had to take a path back through the woods for about five minutes. I've never felt so secluded. There seemed to be no other form of civilization for miles. It was very peaceful and very very green.
Once we walked out of the jungle, one of the prettiest beaches I've ever seen was right in front of us and we had it all to ourselves. The instructors called the beach Big Hill Beach, because of the big hill on the right; we thought that was really creative. :)
Throughout the weekend, we surfed three times. We woke up early Saturday morning for the first go and we were out on the water for about two hours. We were all so exhausted after it that we thought we had been out there all day; it was only eleven. I struggled a little bit standing up in the morning because I kept grabbing the rails which really messed with my balance on the board. We went back for lunch and hit the waves again in the afternoon. Despite the fact that my lats were killing me from paddling, I actually surfed all afternoon; it was so much fun!! All of us really started to get the hang of it and didn't have a problem catching the waves and riding them in. The waves, by the way, were way bigger than we thought they were going to be. Considering it was a camp, where a lot of people haven't surfed before, we thought we'd be at a beach where the waves were little and easy; apparently not.
That night we had a great barbeque in the kitchen and then we went back towards the beach and took another remote path to this awesome clearing with a fire pit. We all hung out all night and had a blast getting to know each other around the fire, with the stars finally coming out behind the clouds.
The next morning, it was raining again but we still headed out for our last chance to catch a few waves. The winds apparently changed because our instructors had to warn us to be careful with the undertow and that the waves were much more powerful. Now, I'm not a very good judge of size, but let's just say the new waves were HUGE. First of all, it was almost impossible to get past the breakers. Second of all, it's a little intimidating when you try and drop into a wave and end up vertical with the ocean. Quite a few times I fell face-first into a wave and accidently ended up body surfing with my board somewhere behind me until the wave smashed me into the sand. In fact, probably half of the morning was spent watching person after person face plant and wipe-out with boards flying. I was definitely nervous after quite a few disaster dumps; good thing I can hold my breath for a while. I'm not sure any of us quite got the hang of the waves that morning, but we still had fun attempting the monsters!! We had been planning this trip for a while and I'm so glad we finally got our act together and went!!!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Feels like Home... Almost.
Living in Sydney is finally starting to become routine. I'm not sure if I'm sad that it's becoming so familiar or excited that I'm starting to feel apart of it all. The good news is that even though I finally have a set schedule, I'm still in awe when I remind myself to look out our kitchen window every morning at the bridge and Opera House; this view will be one of my all-time favorites.
The weather here is starting to get a little cooler because we are transitioning to fall. The temperature now is in the 60 to 75 degree range depending on the time of day and sun. All of us are realizing that we are definitely sticking out as Americans now because on the 60 degree days we show up to class in t-shirts and shorts and the Australians are in pants and jackets. Hopefully when their winter hits, it will actually be cold enough for us to wear jeans and sweatshirts because if not, they will begin to think we are crazy. It has also been raining quite a bit more, even if it's just for 10 minutes every day; the first few weeks we were here there was no rain, so the majority of us are in a little slump because we miss the clear, bright-blue skies. I'm aware that that sounds spoiled compared to everyone suffering in the freezing winter/spring at home, but I was convinced Australia was the most perfect place ever and now it may have a tiny flaw. Oh wait.. after it rains here there are always beautiful rainbows!!
This past weekend I got to experience my first rugby game. We went to the Waratahs v. Chiefs game and it was actually really fun! The stadium was huge but even though it was Friday night it wasn't very crowded so we found some good seats. As cool of a sport that rugby is, it is difficult to follow any game when you have no idea what's going on. There are two types of rugby in Australia: League and Union. The game we were at was Union, and I'm still trying to learn all of the differences between the two. Thankfully, one of my friends played in high school so he was able to give us enough of an explanation to be able to watch the game. We cheered for the Tahs because we had signs and they were the home team; they won, so it was pretty fun with the crowd! It was nice to experience something different after being here for so long.
Some exciting news for me, besides still having a blast in Australia, is that I'm going to New Zealand for 9 days for fall break!! I just booked everything and I'm really looking forward to it. Two of my roommates and another good friend are going as well in the big group through our program, so we should have an amazing time!
The weather here is starting to get a little cooler because we are transitioning to fall. The temperature now is in the 60 to 75 degree range depending on the time of day and sun. All of us are realizing that we are definitely sticking out as Americans now because on the 60 degree days we show up to class in t-shirts and shorts and the Australians are in pants and jackets. Hopefully when their winter hits, it will actually be cold enough for us to wear jeans and sweatshirts because if not, they will begin to think we are crazy. It has also been raining quite a bit more, even if it's just for 10 minutes every day; the first few weeks we were here there was no rain, so the majority of us are in a little slump because we miss the clear, bright-blue skies. I'm aware that that sounds spoiled compared to everyone suffering in the freezing winter/spring at home, but I was convinced Australia was the most perfect place ever and now it may have a tiny flaw. Oh wait.. after it rains here there are always beautiful rainbows!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Growing Up? Kind of...
I've started to realize that I'm beginning to feel like I'm growing up... finally. It's the confusion between only being 21, feeling like I have forever to grow up versus living on my own, studying and working in a city half-way around the world.
I started my internship last week and I love it. As much as I'm probably going to regret saying this now, having a job is way more interesting than sitting through a few of my classes. I'm working at International Goalkeepers Academy, which is a training facility for goalkeepers of all ages in Australia; they train young kids, and professional keepers. I work there twice a week and am doing a little bit of marketing for them. One of the best, and possibly worst, parts about the job is that it is at the Sydney Olympic Park where the 2000 games were held! The facilities are awesome and it's so cool working there; it just happens to be an hour train ride away. For as long as the commute is, I wouldn't pick any other place to work. The people are awesome and I love the work that I get to do; it's also pretty cool to look out the window and see keepers training and making a few ridiculous saves.
Besides working, I am learning to cook a lot of new and pretty great things. Considering I don't live on a campus where any food imaginable is available until 3am, I'm realizing there are only so many nights pasta or microwaveable meals still taste good. I actually just experimented and made baked stuffed greek chicken. It happened to be delicious, and I have now decided that I will be using the Rachael Ray website a lot more often for dinner. We've also cooked kangaroo by ourselves, which happens to be about the same price as chicken around here, maybe a little cheaper.
I thought that living here would be very similar to living at college, being on my own and handling everything myself, but I have to say I was wrong. We live in a suburb of Sydney, Bondi Junction, but technically it's still a city. Our apartment is above a train and bus depot and all of the buildings around us are very urban and fairly tall. There are a ton of people everywhere and anything you could possibly need is within a few blocks.
I've always wanted to live in a city, probably Chicago or New York after college, and this is pretty much reaffirming that plan. There is always something going on, and getting around is incredibly easy. The public transportation isn't fantastic, but at least it's there. The nightlife is also unbelievable; my roommates and I go out a lot because there is always something new going on that we don't want to miss. There are also so many different cultures in city-life. We've met people from Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, New Zealand, England, Italy, and a few more I know I'm forgetting. Apparently everyone loves Sydney as much as I do!
I may not be totally there.. on the growing up part.. but living here is giving me a little taste of my future. I can't say I'm totally ready for it, I do still have all of senior year to look forward to, but right now I'd have to say I'm having a really good time testing the waters.
I started my internship last week and I love it. As much as I'm probably going to regret saying this now, having a job is way more interesting than sitting through a few of my classes. I'm working at International Goalkeepers Academy, which is a training facility for goalkeepers of all ages in Australia; they train young kids, and professional keepers. I work there twice a week and am doing a little bit of marketing for them. One of the best, and possibly worst, parts about the job is that it is at the Sydney Olympic Park where the 2000 games were held! The facilities are awesome and it's so cool working there; it just happens to be an hour train ride away. For as long as the commute is, I wouldn't pick any other place to work. The people are awesome and I love the work that I get to do; it's also pretty cool to look out the window and see keepers training and making a few ridiculous saves.
Besides working, I am learning to cook a lot of new and pretty great things. Considering I don't live on a campus where any food imaginable is available until 3am, I'm realizing there are only so many nights pasta or microwaveable meals still taste good. I actually just experimented and made baked stuffed greek chicken. It happened to be delicious, and I have now decided that I will be using the Rachael Ray website a lot more often for dinner. We've also cooked kangaroo by ourselves, which happens to be about the same price as chicken around here, maybe a little cheaper.
I thought that living here would be very similar to living at college, being on my own and handling everything myself, but I have to say I was wrong. We live in a suburb of Sydney, Bondi Junction, but technically it's still a city. Our apartment is above a train and bus depot and all of the buildings around us are very urban and fairly tall. There are a ton of people everywhere and anything you could possibly need is within a few blocks.
I've always wanted to live in a city, probably Chicago or New York after college, and this is pretty much reaffirming that plan. There is always something going on, and getting around is incredibly easy. The public transportation isn't fantastic, but at least it's there. The nightlife is also unbelievable; my roommates and I go out a lot because there is always something new going on that we don't want to miss. There are also so many different cultures in city-life. We've met people from Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, New Zealand, England, Italy, and a few more I know I'm forgetting. Apparently everyone loves Sydney as much as I do!
I may not be totally there.. on the growing up part.. but living here is giving me a little taste of my future. I can't say I'm totally ready for it, I do still have all of senior year to look forward to, but right now I'd have to say I'm having a really good time testing the waters.
Monday, March 14, 2011
No Worries Mate.
Class has officially started.. two weeks ago. It has finally hit all of us, it's time to work. However, it took two weeks to actually set-up my class schedule, so the work has just begun. The process of setting up schedules here is much different than at home. At IU, I have everything planned out nice and neat, about a month before I enroll; Sydney was an entirely different experience.
Due to the laid-back atmosphere, it did not seem to be a big deal to any of the counselors or professors that I was not approved for any of my business classes and only enrolled in electives. Considering I'm here studying through my business school for credit, I was extremely stressed out; I guess I haven't fully adapted to the care-free, "it will eventually work out" mentality. I finally have everything figured out and am actually getting settled into a regular schedule.
This semester I'm taking advertising, organizational analysis, and a sport and learning class. So far, everything has been pretty introductory, but all three classes seem like they will be interesting.
As part of my credit, I'm also going to do an internship. I will be working at the International Goalkeepers Academy in Blacktown working on different marketing aspects of the business. I'm really excited because the academy is located in Sydney Olympic Park, where the games were held in 2000. It's going to be a great experience and I'm looking forward to starting.
I know that the reason I'm here is for school, but it's hard to get back into a study mind-frame. The weather is still beautiful and warm. This weekend we were at Bondi Beach (again.. we go as much as possible!) We got to see a surf competition and it was awesome! The beach was packed; there were a ton of people hanging out and watching some awesome surfers. With bright blue skies and ninety degree weather, it was a perfect way to spend the weekend.
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