I am back in sunny Adelaide after a whirlwind month and a half at home. Thanksgivings (I had 2), baked dozens of cookies, visited all of my relatives, Christmas parties, a brief stomach virus, weddings, evenings out with friends- it was a lot to fit in. I wished I had about a week more to spend with my immediate family, but I wanted to get back to Aus in time for New Years, and I had already bought the ticket, so it was happening.
I just got in yesterday afternoon after nearly 30 hours of travel. Just the highlights: I had a lovely lunch out with my parents at Bandidos, then we walked around Hillsborough a bit before going to the airport. When I checked in at RDU, the Dallas-LA leg of my trip had been cancelled, so I had to stand at the counter for 15 minutes while the lady typed and talked on the phone to try and find me a new route. I ended up flying RDU-Chicago-LA, with almost the same time schedule, so it worked out. Chicago O'Hare airport has this amazing thing in the bathrooms where it automatically replaces the toilet cover when a new person arrives- it's motion activated. Maybe I am behind the times, but I haven't seen this before and I was amazed. (You begin to realize how much you have traveled in the past few years when you can tell people which airports in America and Australia have the best bathroom facilities.) The flights through America were uneventful and on time. I must have been taken off that "list" at airport security, because I was not bomb or drug swiped in either country (I think maybe when I asked the security guy about it last time, he realized I was "onto him" and took me off the list). The flight from LA to Melbourne was great. I have decided that if I can help it, I am flying Qantas internationally to Australia from now on. The seats were huge, the service was great, they gave us menus for the dinner and breakfast. I had a window seat, but I only had to climb over 1 person, and I had a special compartment at the window to put my stuff in so it didn't have to be under the seat. I actually slept a little because I was comfortable. It was pretty great. The flight from Melbourne to Adelaide ended up being delayed about 15 minutes and Marie picked me up at the airport. I was sooooo exhausted by then, and she dropped me off at home (I love Marie!). I showered (the best showers are after being at the beach all day, after days of camping, or after 30 hours of flying), then unpacked everything. I was excited that nothing broke. Then I watched a movie and fought sleep for a few hours and Sarah made me a great dinner of chicken and mashed potatoes and veggies. I managed to stay awake until around 9pm, then I slept for 11 hours, haha.
I woke up this morning, had breakfast, called my parents, then went shopping. Here is what I hope to accomplish in the next few months that I am here:
Working for at least a month in vineyards nearby
Weekend visit to Melbourne
Visit the Shreeves in Perth
Develop a tan with lots of beach visits
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Welcome Home: Turkey, Broken Shoes at Weddings and Birthday Bar fights
I have been home nearly 3 weeks, so I decided I needed to update the blog so my Aussies know what I am up to.
The first week was kind of a blur... or blurry, rather. It took me all week to get my sleep schedule back to eastern standard time. I was dozing off at 3pm, and waking up at 4am. But I think I finally worked it out. I had a hotdog roast and wilderness walk at the "Caswell Estate" the first weekend I was home. It was great to see all of my Cheek family and my curves girls and spend some time out at the farm. Then Thursday was Thanksgiving. I technically had 2 thanksgivings because we ate lunch with the Rudisills in Raleigh, then had dinner with the Cheeks in Efland. SO MUCH FOOD, but it was all so good. The weekend was Dan's wedding. It was so great to see many people I had not seen since college. I was "Australia girl" all night, which was fine, at least I had something to say to people. Matt had an atrocious "No shave November" flesh colored mustache, which he spent explaining to strangers all night when introduced. I enjoyed teaming up with his girlfriend Esther to torture him all night; Esther has my stamp of approval :) (Love you Matt, haha). I got to see Couch for the first time since Hines's wedding and talk to him a little. I also talked to JP, Dave, and Andrew, people I haven't seen in a long time. At first, people were a little awkward, but it was funny to see that when drinking, none of them had really changed from how I remembered them in college, haha. I ended up with an unglued shoe by the end of the night and had to walk shoeless to the cab, but it was a great night.
I spent 4 days with Grandma in Efland, which was wonderful. We did a lot of baking, making biscotti and almond cranberry cake while I was there. I made my spaghetti sauce for them one night; both she and Pop were very impressed and Pop had seconds of just the sauce. I was sad to leave, but will spend a couple more days there before I go back to Australia. Last night I went out with Elizabeth for her birthday. We ate at an Italian restaurant name Gravy then went out to bars. In a place called The Oxford, some very drunk guy started a bar fight with a woman. He grabbed her face and pushed it away, then everyone was pushing and shoving. I swooped Elizabeth out of the way, saving her life, haha. The guy was ejected from the bar, and some other man that saw how close we were to danger bought our whole group aftershock shots. It was a good ending to a bar fight.
I've got lots of stuff planned in the coming weeks: Christmas parties, cookie baking, more visiting and socializing. Yay Christmas!
The first week was kind of a blur... or blurry, rather. It took me all week to get my sleep schedule back to eastern standard time. I was dozing off at 3pm, and waking up at 4am. But I think I finally worked it out. I had a hotdog roast and wilderness walk at the "Caswell Estate" the first weekend I was home. It was great to see all of my Cheek family and my curves girls and spend some time out at the farm. Then Thursday was Thanksgiving. I technically had 2 thanksgivings because we ate lunch with the Rudisills in Raleigh, then had dinner with the Cheeks in Efland. SO MUCH FOOD, but it was all so good. The weekend was Dan's wedding. It was so great to see many people I had not seen since college. I was "Australia girl" all night, which was fine, at least I had something to say to people. Matt had an atrocious "No shave November" flesh colored mustache, which he spent explaining to strangers all night when introduced. I enjoyed teaming up with his girlfriend Esther to torture him all night; Esther has my stamp of approval :) (Love you Matt, haha). I got to see Couch for the first time since Hines's wedding and talk to him a little. I also talked to JP, Dave, and Andrew, people I haven't seen in a long time. At first, people were a little awkward, but it was funny to see that when drinking, none of them had really changed from how I remembered them in college, haha. I ended up with an unglued shoe by the end of the night and had to walk shoeless to the cab, but it was a great night.
I spent 4 days with Grandma in Efland, which was wonderful. We did a lot of baking, making biscotti and almond cranberry cake while I was there. I made my spaghetti sauce for them one night; both she and Pop were very impressed and Pop had seconds of just the sauce. I was sad to leave, but will spend a couple more days there before I go back to Australia. Last night I went out with Elizabeth for her birthday. We ate at an Italian restaurant name Gravy then went out to bars. In a place called The Oxford, some very drunk guy started a bar fight with a woman. He grabbed her face and pushed it away, then everyone was pushing and shoving. I swooped Elizabeth out of the way, saving her life, haha. The guy was ejected from the bar, and some other man that saw how close we were to danger bought our whole group aftershock shots. It was a good ending to a bar fight.
I've got lots of stuff planned in the coming weeks: Christmas parties, cookie baking, more visiting and socializing. Yay Christmas!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Coming Home!
I am going to be on a plane in less than 48 hours. It's a crazy thing to think about. I have been packing bags, carefully wrapping items I do not want broken during the trip, preparing myself mentally for that looooong plane ride. Tonight I am going to a barbecue and Marie's house with some people from volleyball. I was really sad Thursday night at volleyball thinking about how I would not be playing with them again until January, so I am glad to have the chance to hang out with some of them a little longer. Tomorrow I am making a traditional Southern dinner for Sarah and Emmanuel: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and apple cake. Then I have to go to bed to get up at like 4 am to take a shower before my early flight to Sydney. I fly out of Sydney at 11:45 am, land in Atlanta at 4:30pm, then should be at RDU by 7:05pm.
The following things that I have been missing will be back in my life until December 27th: my family, my NC friends, Bojangles, grilling on the back porch, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Spicy Chicken sandwiches, UNC basketball, biscuits, cheap beer, Mexican food, Diet Dr. Pepper, driving, American bacon, DVR... God Bless America!
The following things that I have been missing will be back in my life until December 27th: my family, my NC friends, Bojangles, grilling on the back porch, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Spicy Chicken sandwiches, UNC basketball, biscuits, cheap beer, Mexican food, Diet Dr. Pepper, driving, American bacon, DVR... God Bless America!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Weekend in Melbourne and Great Ocean Road
The rest of my time in Melbourne was pretty busy and very awesome.
Saturday I met Grace in the city to spend the day with her. We caught a tram up to Brunswick Street, where we grabbed lunch at a local deli and caught up a little over the meal. We went by her father's house, just a couple of blocks from Brunswick Street, then by her brother's house, which was even closer. I met her brother and his girlfriend before we set out again to continue exploring Brunswick street. Grace knows EVERYONE on Brunswick street. We visited one restaurant and after greeting everyone, we were served smoothies. We then crossed the street to a bar her friend Hannah was working in and talked to Hannah for a while over coffee. We then spent several hours unsuccessfully searching 2nd hand shops and clothing stores for a leather vest for a Michael Hutchence Halloween costume to be worn Monday night (yes, late, pre Melbourne cup, Halloween party). We rested at her dad's house and watched TV, then met her friend Glenn for dinner at the Little Creatures restaurant. After steaks, beers, and sticky toffee pudding, we went down the street to the American bar called The Kodiak Club. She knows everyone there too, and they were carving a pumpkin behind the bar in preparation for the Monday night party. The menu at the bar includes grilled cheese with Kraft American cheese, hush puppies, and chicken and waffles. I got a whiskey and ginger ale to sip on before we moved down to another bar called The Black Pearl. It was very crowded, but Grace led me upstairs to a speakeasy type of place called The Attic. You couldn't go in without ringing a bell and being allowed in. I couldn't decide what to order, so told the waitress what kind of cocktail I felt like and she prepared it by my request. We spent the rest of the evening there before saying goodbye and making promises to reunite sometime in Australia or America. I walked home and got in around 12:30. I quietly crawled up into my top bunk (seems the one night I stay out, the lights were turned off before midnight).
Sunday I planned to go to the beach then meet up with Samara later in the day. I asked the guy at the desk who helped me when I checked in about how to get to St. Kilda, then Brighton Beach. The St. Kilda tram was easy to find, and I caught it around 9:30. I tried to buy a day ticket when I got on board, but the machine was broken. I looked around and quietly took a seat, unsure of what to do. I watched other people try to buy and ticket at other stops and give up and sit down, so I figured at least if I got caught riding without a ticket, I would have others in the same boat.
I rode all the way to St. Kilda and started smiling as I recognized the scenery on the approach. I got off the tram and walked through the Sunday market they had out on the street. I walked down to the beach and sat in the sun while people watching and eating my packed sandwich for lunch. After getting enough sun, I moved to a shaded area in the grass hill behind Luna Park and read, watched everyone enjoying the Sunday sun, and actually slept about 15 minutes too. I was a little concerned about how I was going to get to Brighton Beach, because I was having trouble locating any bus stops with 600 bus listings. I decided to walk to the hostel I stayed last time in St. Kilda and ask them. The lady at the front desk said I could walk (which I wasn't interested in, as it would take hours and I was already feeling dehydrated) or I could catch a train from a train station up Carlisle street. I thanked her for the information, then went into a 7-11 for some cold drinks (I had drank both of my bottles of water I brought already). While I was inside, people began flooding into the store. I bet we were violating all kinds of fire codes inside that store, and I quickly got claustrophobic. I struggled my way to the cash register, paid, and left. I began my trek to the train station. I ended up walking way too far and eventually asking someone where it was. I located the station and tried to get a day ticket there. The screen showed an option to buy a day ticket, but would not let me select it. So once again, I caught a free/stole ride, one I was trying to pay for. I got off in Brighton Beach and texted Samara my location. She picked me up and we went to a cafe nearby. She got a milkshake and I got a coffee float and we talked about Australia and America and what was awesome about each. She only had about an hour and a half to spend with me, but it was great to catch up. She then took me by a 7-11 before leaving because I expressed my fear of maybe finally getting caught after riding for free all day. She said she hated the new payment system and agreed with me that it was not very tourist friendly. It makes you buy a $6 credit card type of permanent card, then add credit to it to pay off rides. But someone visiting for the weekend does not want to have to pay for this card. And supposedly most trams and buses are equipped to sell you day passes for $7.50, which is much cheaper than having to buy the card, then the rides, but you see the trouble I ran into trying to get these. So I gave in and bought the myki as it is called, and now still have it, despite the fact I may never be in Melbourne again (though I hope I am). Anyway, I was dropped off at the station and told Samara goodbye. My train ended up being delayed for 30 minutes, then being an express train that went directly past St. Kilda to the city. So I took out my map and realized that unless I wanted to pay more, I would probably have to walk most of the city from my drop off on Flinder's Street. I am glad I bought the myki when I did though, because I think I would have been trapped in the Flinder's station if I hadn't bought the card. I had to scan the card to open an arm to let me out. I then grabbed cheap dinner and walked back to the hostel in the sunset. When I got back I packed up all my bags to prepare for the 6 am pickup the next morning.
I got up at 5 am, grabbed all my bags and bed sheets so I wouldn't have to go back into the room, and went to the bathroom to shower and get ready. Sarah and Emmanuel were a little late picking me up, but we found our way out of the city and then grabbed breakfast at a petrol station before heading to the Great Ocean Road. It was a good day to do the road, but I only got a couple of pictures before my camera died on me. We stopped at a lighthouse and the 12 apostles (there is like 4 now) and the London Bridge. It took us about 13 hours to get home (compared to the 10ish it took us to get there), but it wasn't too bad. We listened to 80's music, Motown, African beer, Disney songs along the way. we had an entertaining little drive when Emmanuel drove Sarah's manual car, and he is still learning to drive manual. He only stalled it a couple of times, haha. We saw the Big Lobster on the way home as well. We hit crazy thunder and lightening storms as we were almost into Adelaide. I was very tired when we got home, made some rice and beans for dinner, then went to bed.
One week until I go home. This week is about getting ready, eating out of the freezer to clear out the space while I am gone, spending as little money as possible. Tomorrow is the election in the US. I am a little worried. We will see what happens...
Saturday I met Grace in the city to spend the day with her. We caught a tram up to Brunswick Street, where we grabbed lunch at a local deli and caught up a little over the meal. We went by her father's house, just a couple of blocks from Brunswick Street, then by her brother's house, which was even closer. I met her brother and his girlfriend before we set out again to continue exploring Brunswick street. Grace knows EVERYONE on Brunswick street. We visited one restaurant and after greeting everyone, we were served smoothies. We then crossed the street to a bar her friend Hannah was working in and talked to Hannah for a while over coffee. We then spent several hours unsuccessfully searching 2nd hand shops and clothing stores for a leather vest for a Michael Hutchence Halloween costume to be worn Monday night (yes, late, pre Melbourne cup, Halloween party). We rested at her dad's house and watched TV, then met her friend Glenn for dinner at the Little Creatures restaurant. After steaks, beers, and sticky toffee pudding, we went down the street to the American bar called The Kodiak Club. She knows everyone there too, and they were carving a pumpkin behind the bar in preparation for the Monday night party. The menu at the bar includes grilled cheese with Kraft American cheese, hush puppies, and chicken and waffles. I got a whiskey and ginger ale to sip on before we moved down to another bar called The Black Pearl. It was very crowded, but Grace led me upstairs to a speakeasy type of place called The Attic. You couldn't go in without ringing a bell and being allowed in. I couldn't decide what to order, so told the waitress what kind of cocktail I felt like and she prepared it by my request. We spent the rest of the evening there before saying goodbye and making promises to reunite sometime in Australia or America. I walked home and got in around 12:30. I quietly crawled up into my top bunk (seems the one night I stay out, the lights were turned off before midnight).
Sunday I planned to go to the beach then meet up with Samara later in the day. I asked the guy at the desk who helped me when I checked in about how to get to St. Kilda, then Brighton Beach. The St. Kilda tram was easy to find, and I caught it around 9:30. I tried to buy a day ticket when I got on board, but the machine was broken. I looked around and quietly took a seat, unsure of what to do. I watched other people try to buy and ticket at other stops and give up and sit down, so I figured at least if I got caught riding without a ticket, I would have others in the same boat.
I rode all the way to St. Kilda and started smiling as I recognized the scenery on the approach. I got off the tram and walked through the Sunday market they had out on the street. I walked down to the beach and sat in the sun while people watching and eating my packed sandwich for lunch. After getting enough sun, I moved to a shaded area in the grass hill behind Luna Park and read, watched everyone enjoying the Sunday sun, and actually slept about 15 minutes too. I was a little concerned about how I was going to get to Brighton Beach, because I was having trouble locating any bus stops with 600 bus listings. I decided to walk to the hostel I stayed last time in St. Kilda and ask them. The lady at the front desk said I could walk (which I wasn't interested in, as it would take hours and I was already feeling dehydrated) or I could catch a train from a train station up Carlisle street. I thanked her for the information, then went into a 7-11 for some cold drinks (I had drank both of my bottles of water I brought already). While I was inside, people began flooding into the store. I bet we were violating all kinds of fire codes inside that store, and I quickly got claustrophobic. I struggled my way to the cash register, paid, and left. I began my trek to the train station. I ended up walking way too far and eventually asking someone where it was. I located the station and tried to get a day ticket there. The screen showed an option to buy a day ticket, but would not let me select it. So once again, I caught a free/stole ride, one I was trying to pay for. I got off in Brighton Beach and texted Samara my location. She picked me up and we went to a cafe nearby. She got a milkshake and I got a coffee float and we talked about Australia and America and what was awesome about each. She only had about an hour and a half to spend with me, but it was great to catch up. She then took me by a 7-11 before leaving because I expressed my fear of maybe finally getting caught after riding for free all day. She said she hated the new payment system and agreed with me that it was not very tourist friendly. It makes you buy a $6 credit card type of permanent card, then add credit to it to pay off rides. But someone visiting for the weekend does not want to have to pay for this card. And supposedly most trams and buses are equipped to sell you day passes for $7.50, which is much cheaper than having to buy the card, then the rides, but you see the trouble I ran into trying to get these. So I gave in and bought the myki as it is called, and now still have it, despite the fact I may never be in Melbourne again (though I hope I am). Anyway, I was dropped off at the station and told Samara goodbye. My train ended up being delayed for 30 minutes, then being an express train that went directly past St. Kilda to the city. So I took out my map and realized that unless I wanted to pay more, I would probably have to walk most of the city from my drop off on Flinder's Street. I am glad I bought the myki when I did though, because I think I would have been trapped in the Flinder's station if I hadn't bought the card. I had to scan the card to open an arm to let me out. I then grabbed cheap dinner and walked back to the hostel in the sunset. When I got back I packed up all my bags to prepare for the 6 am pickup the next morning. 
I got up at 5 am, grabbed all my bags and bed sheets so I wouldn't have to go back into the room, and went to the bathroom to shower and get ready. Sarah and Emmanuel were a little late picking me up, but we found our way out of the city and then grabbed breakfast at a petrol station before heading to the Great Ocean Road. It was a good day to do the road, but I only got a couple of pictures before my camera died on me. We stopped at a lighthouse and the 12 apostles (there is like 4 now) and the London Bridge. It took us about 13 hours to get home (compared to the 10ish it took us to get there), but it wasn't too bad. We listened to 80's music, Motown, African beer, Disney songs along the way. we had an entertaining little drive when Emmanuel drove Sarah's manual car, and he is still learning to drive manual. He only stalled it a couple of times, haha. We saw the Big Lobster on the way home as well. We hit crazy thunder and lightening storms as we were almost into Adelaide. I was very tired when we got home, made some rice and beans for dinner, then went to bed.
One week until I go home. This week is about getting ready, eating out of the freezer to clear out the space while I am gone, spending as little money as possible. Tomorrow is the election in the US. I am a little worried. We will see what happens...
Friday, November 2, 2012
Top Bunk Again
So I am in Melbourne. The hostel is getting to me. Is it just me, or is it required that German is always spoken in volumes about 3 times louder than normal conversation volume? And how come the thinnest girl in the hostel stomps the loudest? And the boys pick stupid movies to watch. And I come back to the door standing wide open because the girls leave it open when they leave the room. I have to be at the mercy of the 11 other people in the dorm with me, but not any random person who is able to shuffle in off the street and want to help themselves to my clothing (everything else is locked up in a locker). I don't know, maybe I am aging out of hostel life. But I can tell you my bank account isn't.
Anyway, I got here last night. Sarah, who is engaged now by the way (she will gladly share the story if you missed it trending on twitter Wednesday night; she has plenty of pictures and video of the event), drove the 10ish hours it took to get us here. We were supposed to leave by 6am, but due to the late night proposal and following congratulative activities, we didn't get out until nearly 7am. We still made it to Melbourne by around 5:30 (and I forgot about the 30 minute time change until this morning). Anyway, We had made a couple stops along the way, including one at the Big Koala, before arriving. I bid her goodbye until Monday, checked in, and with no surprise, claimed for myself the only bunk open in the 12 dorm room- a top bunk. Yippe HooraY! I threw my stuff down, locking up stuff like laptops and money and passports, and booked it to the nearest grocery store. I bought some lunch meat and cheese from the deli, a couple of rolls, some fruit, and breakfast stuff to cover breakfast and lunches over the weekend. I noticed a cheap stir fry place on the way home and got dinner takeaway. I only ate half of it, so it ended up being dinner for 2 nights (score). I was so tired. Like shaking, maybe a litle dehydrated too, tired. I stayed up until around 9 (probably really 9:30 since I didn't take into account the time change) and then climbed into my top bunk. I read for about an hour, then stuck my earplugs in my ears, rolled over, and fell asleep with the light on.
I didn't hear anyone all night, and awoke around 7:45am (which I guess was really 8:15am) and no one was up yet, besides the 3 people who must have checked out early since their beds were empty and stripped (who I also didn't hear). I grabbed my already set-out-the-night-before clothes (I am so dang considerate!) and walked down the hall to the bathrooms. Ok, the bathrooms here. It makes up for being on the 3rd floor (which gets annoying when you keep forgeting things you meant to get). The bathrooms are self contained singles. I mean, you close the door and you have a toilet, sink, shower, and mirror, like a home bathroom, all to yourself. There are 3 of these on our floor. There are also a couple regular shared bathroom/showers down the hall, but Miss rise with the Sun is going to make sure I get up before 9 so I can grab the good stuff, haha. Anyway, I finish getting ready, grab my pre-packed bags from the night before, and go downstairs. I make breakfast and eat at the same seat against the wall as I did last night at dinner. Again, as always, all boys in the kitchen (do girls eat?), watching something so dumb on TV. I finish up, make a sandwich for lunch, and head down the street to catch a free tourist shuttle I had heard about. I finally locate the stop and realize I missed the first bus by 4 minutes. I wait 26 minutes with an older Australian couple, then climb on as it arrives. The bus has prerecorded commentary as well as commentary from the bus driver. I do a full loop of the city, taking about 90 minutes, then decide to get off at the Victoria Markets. I eat my packed lunch as I stroll through the aisles of produce outside. The people manning the booths are shouting, competing with neighboring booths, shouting about "Mangos! Pineapples!" I almost buy something in the excitement, but remember I have fruit at the hostel. I do want to buy a new temporary mascot for Melbourne. I forgot Gnomie at home, I was so upset. So I spot an adorable wombat and the man says they are 6 for 10 dollars. So I get 3 wombats and 3 more friends and pay him. He makes conversation while I pick out the least deformed stuff animals. I tell him I am from North Carolina. "Ah, that's where Micha Jordan... Michael Jordan was from," he says. "Yes!" I say. I love when people make that connection. I told him I also went to the university he went to. He tries to sell me a kangaroo pelt for $10 less than it was priced, but I say no thank you and move on. I explore the indoor area and get my dad some kangaroo salami from Hanhdorf (yes, I realize the idoicy of getting Hahndorf salami in Melbourne when I'm from Adelaide) and left before I spent more money. I walked the length of Victoria Street back to where I started my morning. I decided to go to Melbourne Museum because the bus driver said it was good and that it was only $10 and it was rainy, so a good day to do museums. The museum had a small rainforest area inside in the center. It's an actual growing rainforest with the massive ferns I love. There was an exhibit for animals, a dinosaur section, a human body section (with much more nudity and child nudity than would ever be allowed in an American museum- but to be fair, they did have signs posted warning of the nudity), a rock section, and a Melbourne section. I spent about 2 hours seeing everything before I decided I was tired and needed to walk to the hostel. I texted with Samara and we decided to get together Sunday afternoon. I got back to the hostel and ate my leftover noodles from the night before. I will probably also be making it a relatively early night again tonight. Maybe I am getting old, but I am tired, and I just don't feel like going out, especially alone. I will be meeting Grace in the city tomorrow. She wants to give me a tour, I am excited! It's been years since I have seen her and she's a local, so she will be able to take me to some good places!
Anyway, I got here last night. Sarah, who is engaged now by the way (she will gladly share the story if you missed it trending on twitter Wednesday night; she has plenty of pictures and video of the event), drove the 10ish hours it took to get us here. We were supposed to leave by 6am, but due to the late night proposal and following congratulative activities, we didn't get out until nearly 7am. We still made it to Melbourne by around 5:30 (and I forgot about the 30 minute time change until this morning). Anyway, We had made a couple stops along the way, including one at the Big Koala, before arriving. I bid her goodbye until Monday, checked in, and with no surprise, claimed for myself the only bunk open in the 12 dorm room- a top bunk. Yippe HooraY! I threw my stuff down, locking up stuff like laptops and money and passports, and booked it to the nearest grocery store. I bought some lunch meat and cheese from the deli, a couple of rolls, some fruit, and breakfast stuff to cover breakfast and lunches over the weekend. I noticed a cheap stir fry place on the way home and got dinner takeaway. I only ate half of it, so it ended up being dinner for 2 nights (score). I was so tired. Like shaking, maybe a litle dehydrated too, tired. I stayed up until around 9 (probably really 9:30 since I didn't take into account the time change) and then climbed into my top bunk. I read for about an hour, then stuck my earplugs in my ears, rolled over, and fell asleep with the light on.
I didn't hear anyone all night, and awoke around 7:45am (which I guess was really 8:15am) and no one was up yet, besides the 3 people who must have checked out early since their beds were empty and stripped (who I also didn't hear). I grabbed my already set-out-the-night-before clothes (I am so dang considerate!) and walked down the hall to the bathrooms. Ok, the bathrooms here. It makes up for being on the 3rd floor (which gets annoying when you keep forgeting things you meant to get). The bathrooms are self contained singles. I mean, you close the door and you have a toilet, sink, shower, and mirror, like a home bathroom, all to yourself. There are 3 of these on our floor. There are also a couple regular shared bathroom/showers down the hall, but Miss rise with the Sun is going to make sure I get up before 9 so I can grab the good stuff, haha. Anyway, I finish getting ready, grab my pre-packed bags from the night before, and go downstairs. I make breakfast and eat at the same seat against the wall as I did last night at dinner. Again, as always, all boys in the kitchen (do girls eat?), watching something so dumb on TV. I finish up, make a sandwich for lunch, and head down the street to catch a free tourist shuttle I had heard about. I finally locate the stop and realize I missed the first bus by 4 minutes. I wait 26 minutes with an older Australian couple, then climb on as it arrives. The bus has prerecorded commentary as well as commentary from the bus driver. I do a full loop of the city, taking about 90 minutes, then decide to get off at the Victoria Markets. I eat my packed lunch as I stroll through the aisles of produce outside. The people manning the booths are shouting, competing with neighboring booths, shouting about "Mangos! Pineapples!" I almost buy something in the excitement, but remember I have fruit at the hostel. I do want to buy a new temporary mascot for Melbourne. I forgot Gnomie at home, I was so upset. So I spot an adorable wombat and the man says they are 6 for 10 dollars. So I get 3 wombats and 3 more friends and pay him. He makes conversation while I pick out the least deformed stuff animals. I tell him I am from North Carolina. "Ah, that's where Micha Jordan... Michael Jordan was from," he says. "Yes!" I say. I love when people make that connection. I told him I also went to the university he went to. He tries to sell me a kangaroo pelt for $10 less than it was priced, but I say no thank you and move on. I explore the indoor area and get my dad some kangaroo salami from Hanhdorf (yes, I realize the idoicy of getting Hahndorf salami in Melbourne when I'm from Adelaide) and left before I spent more money. I walked the length of Victoria Street back to where I started my morning. I decided to go to Melbourne Museum because the bus driver said it was good and that it was only $10 and it was rainy, so a good day to do museums. The museum had a small rainforest area inside in the center. It's an actual growing rainforest with the massive ferns I love. There was an exhibit for animals, a dinosaur section, a human body section (with much more nudity and child nudity than would ever be allowed in an American museum- but to be fair, they did have signs posted warning of the nudity), a rock section, and a Melbourne section. I spent about 2 hours seeing everything before I decided I was tired and needed to walk to the hostel. I texted with Samara and we decided to get together Sunday afternoon. I got back to the hostel and ate my leftover noodles from the night before. I will probably also be making it a relatively early night again tonight. Maybe I am getting old, but I am tired, and I just don't feel like going out, especially alone. I will be meeting Grace in the city tomorrow. She wants to give me a tour, I am excited! It's been years since I have seen her and she's a local, so she will be able to take me to some good places!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Oh, My Sweet Carolina...
So today I had a monstrous shock to the system while doing something as harmless as gift shopping. I went to the city to pick up my mother's requested Australian hoodie and get some alcoholic treats for my friends as well. I got off the bus on Grenfell street, went down the alleyway into Rundle Mall, and was immediately "auditorily" assaulted by a common thing in Rundle Mall- a street performer. It wasn't that this guy was bad, far from it; it's what this guy was playing. He was performing a Ryan Adams's song, "Oh my sweet Carolina" to be specific. I literally snorted, I think out of surprise and trying to compose myself while resisting the urge to give him all of my small amount of cash I had on me that had been set aside for gift buying. I was surprised to encounter this, but even more surprised by how it affected me. I am so close to going home right now, but that song sent me home immediately.
As if that wasn't enough, while window shopping less than 30 minutes later, I came across not one, but two UNC jerseys in the store front window. What is going on? It's like someone is taunting me. But this time I just grinned widely, probably making people around me think I was insane, and walked on. It is so, so great to see my university being sold as a commodity in a store front window on the other side of the world. So awesome.
I'm having crazy mixed feelings though, despite being really excited to go home. I think mostly because I will miss volleyball for like 6 weeks, haha. I know that sounds trivial, but it's become a routine in my life, and something I enjoy, and I am really going to miss all the people I play with when I eventually do go home forever. Why is Australia so far away?
As if that wasn't enough, while window shopping less than 30 minutes later, I came across not one, but two UNC jerseys in the store front window. What is going on? It's like someone is taunting me. But this time I just grinned widely, probably making people around me think I was insane, and walked on. It is so, so great to see my university being sold as a commodity in a store front window on the other side of the world. So awesome.
I'm having crazy mixed feelings though, despite being really excited to go home. I think mostly because I will miss volleyball for like 6 weeks, haha. I know that sounds trivial, but it's become a routine in my life, and something I enjoy, and I am really going to miss all the people I play with when I eventually do go home forever. Why is Australia so far away?
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Port Augusta Volleyball Tournament
This weekend was the Port Augusta volleyball tournament. I was so excited about it- and what's not to love? I had been explained that it's pretty much volleyball and drinking with everyone, so I was in. But, whenever I told other people we were going to Port Augusta for a volleyball tournament, they said, "oh, Port 'A'gutter?'" which I guess means they have a low opinion of the area, so I was kind of expecting us to be playing in a scary ghetto or trashy town or something. But I really wasn't expecting to be doing much touristy sightseeing anyway, so I didn't care.
Marie and Sam picked me up mid-day on Friday for us to drive up to Gawler to meet up with the rest of our caravan. I packed light- mostly just clothes, a few snacks, and of course some beverages. We packed the van we would be traveling in, all 7 of us- Geoff, Marie, and tall Sam crammed in the back, Hannah and Sara in the middle, and me riding shotgun with James driving. I was surprised to be pushed into shotgun, which is a very comfy seat, but I soon realized it was because that seat missed out on some of the socializing going on in the back. That's ok, James and I had full control of their temperature and could use that as revenge when we felt we were being ignored.
It took a little over 3 hours to get from Gawler to Port Augusta. We stopped twice, once for a dinner break and once for a toilet break. Port Augusta is nothing like I was expecting. It was very nice, at least the area we were in was. I didn't see anyone hanging out on corners looking sketchy, I never once felt unsafe, and it was clean. What was the deal? It makes me wonder if the people who say "Port A'gutter" have ever even been there or if they are just saying what they've heard other people say. I asked James and he says it used to be worse. They outlawed drinking on the streets, which solved a lot of the problems apparently.
We arrived around 8 o'clock and unpacked the van into our cabins. The cabins were nicer than I was expecting also- a double bed and a room with two bunk beds, a fridge, a microwave, a stove, a sink, a television, and a bathroom. I stayed on one of the bottom bunks in the cabin with Rocky, Marie, and Sam. We joined the other groups who had arrived earlier and drank and talked and laughed. We had a snack later on of some crusty bread and cheese and dips and cured meat, then people started drifting off to bed. I ended up staying up with 3 of the guys until around 2:30 in the morning. I don't know why, I guess I just don't want to miss anything, especially since I am not going to be here forever. So I ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep, which I had thought would maybe affect my volleyball the next day.
Both men and women's teams had 9 am games, so I woke up around 6:15, mostly because I for some reason couldn't sleep any longer, took a shower to help wake me up, then got ready. I had half jokingly said the night before that we should all wear pigtails as a team because Sara had braided pigtails on Friday when we were driving up. Hannah had gone around to each cabin and told everyone we were wearing pigtails and that it was my fault and my idea, so everyone had pigtails and hated me all day, haha. At first I wasn't too excited about the idea of having to wear pigtails, mostly because it made me look like a 12 year old girl, but then I decided that it might make other teams underestimate us, plus I was held down and Hannah did my hair, so I had to work with what I had.
I'm sorry to say I don't have photographic evidence of this pigtailed team. I had my camera with me all weekend, but I have gotten really bad about taking pictures. I used to take hundreds at a time, but now, it seems like I am slacking off.
Anyway, we hauled our pigtailed selves up to the gym and got ready for the games. We ended up playing four games total for that Saturday, which is pretty intense. We had a break between each game, so it wasn't continuous play, but it was still tiring. We also had duty during several games, which means we were in charge of ref-ing the game, score keeping, and line duty. I did lines on the games we had duty, mostly because I felt it was the more low-pressure duty. We spent all day there, watching the boys in the gym next door occasionally, and grabbing lunch from the kiosk upstairs. I had a pretty good day. I played back row and served, and then would sub out to let Sara play front row. I only missed 3 serves the whole day- one into the net and one out of bounds and one foot fall on the line. This is pretty good for me, as my biggest problem with serving is getting the toss right. The foot fall only happened because the gym we were playing in had maybe 3 feet outside of the lines for you to stand and serve. It took a little while to get used to the gym. There were way too many lines all over the floor, initially causing some confusion over in bounds and out of bound, but we got it figured out eventually. Also, the floor was one of those rubbery floor that you cannot slide on and causes mean floor rash if you do end up sliding across. I have a nice scrape below one of my knees from a dive I took this weekend.
We ended up winning all four of our games (I think the pigtails were good luck), which meant we would not have to play until 11 am on Sunday. After the long day, we went back to our cabins and took showers. The girls decided to walk up to a football club where the other teams from the tournament would also be having dinner. We had an 8 pm reservation for dinner at the pub nearby, but we went down to the football club for a drink before. It was very windy on the walk, but like I said already, it wasn't a scary ghetto like I had expected. We only stayed in the pub for one drink before we had to walk on to dinner. On the way I saw a completely flattened lizard on the road (like literally just a lizard outline). Not sure why I mention it, I guess I had never seen such flat, yet still prefectly formed that you could tell exactly what it was, roadkill before. Like something out of a roadrunner cartoon.
Anyway, we got to the pub and realized we could not all sit together with the men's team, so we got a table ourselves and ordered. I got crispy skin salmon over roasted potatoes and a salad, and I know I was starving, but it was as good as it sounds. We ate then hung out with the boys in the pokies room for a while before walking back to the caravan park together. At dinner, I had requests from serveral of the girls to teach them to play circle of death, a card drinking game any college aged American is probably familiar with. We gathered most everyone, except a few people who went to bed when we got back, into one cabin, borrowing chairs from all of our cabins to fit everyone. After several attempts to explain the rules to the rather large group, I decided to begin the game and explain as we drew cards. That went pretty well, then we played an Australian version, which was similar, but changed a couple of the cards. Anyway, this is the only part of the weekend I actually photographed, and its not great pictures, but here are a few:
The card games ended up with vikings and medusas, rubbing bellies to the right and faces to the left, avoiding names, the word "drink," and cuss words. Eventually, people started to trickle to bed. I ended up staying up late again, this time with Rocky and two of the guys, talking volleyball. Rocky and I went back to the cabin and tried to sneak into bed, but ended up waking Marie again (to be fair, their bed was at the door and she's a light sleeper). I slept until about 7:30, then got ready and packed up. Rocky made some sausages for breakfast and we went over to the gym after checking out of the caravan park. The boys had had a game at 9 am, which they won. We won our game at 11 am, but it was a weird one. A girl on the other team broke her ankle during the game. I wanted to pass out from the screams of pain she was making. It took some time to get her off the court and continue the game. The other team only had 5 players, which would have meant they needed to forfit and lose the game, but we allowed them to continue playing with just 5 players. I felt so sorry for the girl. She sat on the sidelines, clearly in immense pain, until we won 2 sets. Then some of the men's team from their club helped her out on her one leg, hopefully to take her to a hospital.
Our win meant we were in the finals. We found out the guys had also made it to the finals as well. We played at 1 pm and they played theirs at 2 pm, so they came to support us for part of our game. The finals is best out of 5 sets, unlike the other games in the tournament, which were best out of 3. We ended up winning the first 3 sets, and as a result, winning the tournament!
We were given glasses as a trophy in a small ceremony, then we went over to the other gym to watch the boys. They won a set as we arrived, making it 1 to 1. But they ended up losing in the end to Tea Tree Gully, which is nearby to where we play and they all knew lots of the team. We watched the men's ceremony, then packed up the van and stopped at KFC on our way out of Port Augusta. I didn't realize how hungry I was, but it was 4:30 and I had played 2 games of volleyball and hadn't eaten since the 9:30 sausage english muffin I had that morning. Sara whispered to me to watch James stays awake, since he had been up late both nights like I had, and I told her I planned to since I was in the front seat. We all devoured our food in relative silence for the first 30 minutes of the trip or so.
At the first pit stop, I suggested to James to drink some energy drinks, as I had seen a lot of shifting in his seat and sighing coming from him on the way. He agreed, saying he was the "mayor of struggletown right now," which I include simply because I thought it was funny. Sam got attacked by a mag pie before we got back in the car, then we set off again. We only stopped once more before getting back to Gawler. We dropped Geoff, then Hannah off at their houses, then went back to James and Sara's to unpack the car and repack into Marie's car. We told them goodbye, then talked volleyball most of the way home. I got inside, showered, and crazily called my parents and ended up talking to them until the credit ran out on my card. I was so tired, but I had trouble going to sleep. I think I was running on adrenaline or something all weekend, because I hadn't really had any pain or soreness all weekend, and despite getting very little sleep, played well and stayed awake until late, but I woke up this morning with everything hurting.
I had a really great time this weekend, and it made me realize how much I am going to miss these people. I know I have until April to keep hanging out with them, but it just made me realize that eventually I will leave, and probably not see a lot of them ever again. Geez, that is a sad way to end this blog post...
Marie and Sam picked me up mid-day on Friday for us to drive up to Gawler to meet up with the rest of our caravan. I packed light- mostly just clothes, a few snacks, and of course some beverages. We packed the van we would be traveling in, all 7 of us- Geoff, Marie, and tall Sam crammed in the back, Hannah and Sara in the middle, and me riding shotgun with James driving. I was surprised to be pushed into shotgun, which is a very comfy seat, but I soon realized it was because that seat missed out on some of the socializing going on in the back. That's ok, James and I had full control of their temperature and could use that as revenge when we felt we were being ignored.
It took a little over 3 hours to get from Gawler to Port Augusta. We stopped twice, once for a dinner break and once for a toilet break. Port Augusta is nothing like I was expecting. It was very nice, at least the area we were in was. I didn't see anyone hanging out on corners looking sketchy, I never once felt unsafe, and it was clean. What was the deal? It makes me wonder if the people who say "Port A'gutter" have ever even been there or if they are just saying what they've heard other people say. I asked James and he says it used to be worse. They outlawed drinking on the streets, which solved a lot of the problems apparently.
We arrived around 8 o'clock and unpacked the van into our cabins. The cabins were nicer than I was expecting also- a double bed and a room with two bunk beds, a fridge, a microwave, a stove, a sink, a television, and a bathroom. I stayed on one of the bottom bunks in the cabin with Rocky, Marie, and Sam. We joined the other groups who had arrived earlier and drank and talked and laughed. We had a snack later on of some crusty bread and cheese and dips and cured meat, then people started drifting off to bed. I ended up staying up with 3 of the guys until around 2:30 in the morning. I don't know why, I guess I just don't want to miss anything, especially since I am not going to be here forever. So I ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep, which I had thought would maybe affect my volleyball the next day.
Both men and women's teams had 9 am games, so I woke up around 6:15, mostly because I for some reason couldn't sleep any longer, took a shower to help wake me up, then got ready. I had half jokingly said the night before that we should all wear pigtails as a team because Sara had braided pigtails on Friday when we were driving up. Hannah had gone around to each cabin and told everyone we were wearing pigtails and that it was my fault and my idea, so everyone had pigtails and hated me all day, haha. At first I wasn't too excited about the idea of having to wear pigtails, mostly because it made me look like a 12 year old girl, but then I decided that it might make other teams underestimate us, plus I was held down and Hannah did my hair, so I had to work with what I had.
I'm sorry to say I don't have photographic evidence of this pigtailed team. I had my camera with me all weekend, but I have gotten really bad about taking pictures. I used to take hundreds at a time, but now, it seems like I am slacking off.
Anyway, we hauled our pigtailed selves up to the gym and got ready for the games. We ended up playing four games total for that Saturday, which is pretty intense. We had a break between each game, so it wasn't continuous play, but it was still tiring. We also had duty during several games, which means we were in charge of ref-ing the game, score keeping, and line duty. I did lines on the games we had duty, mostly because I felt it was the more low-pressure duty. We spent all day there, watching the boys in the gym next door occasionally, and grabbing lunch from the kiosk upstairs. I had a pretty good day. I played back row and served, and then would sub out to let Sara play front row. I only missed 3 serves the whole day- one into the net and one out of bounds and one foot fall on the line. This is pretty good for me, as my biggest problem with serving is getting the toss right. The foot fall only happened because the gym we were playing in had maybe 3 feet outside of the lines for you to stand and serve. It took a little while to get used to the gym. There were way too many lines all over the floor, initially causing some confusion over in bounds and out of bound, but we got it figured out eventually. Also, the floor was one of those rubbery floor that you cannot slide on and causes mean floor rash if you do end up sliding across. I have a nice scrape below one of my knees from a dive I took this weekend.
We ended up winning all four of our games (I think the pigtails were good luck), which meant we would not have to play until 11 am on Sunday. After the long day, we went back to our cabins and took showers. The girls decided to walk up to a football club where the other teams from the tournament would also be having dinner. We had an 8 pm reservation for dinner at the pub nearby, but we went down to the football club for a drink before. It was very windy on the walk, but like I said already, it wasn't a scary ghetto like I had expected. We only stayed in the pub for one drink before we had to walk on to dinner. On the way I saw a completely flattened lizard on the road (like literally just a lizard outline). Not sure why I mention it, I guess I had never seen such flat, yet still prefectly formed that you could tell exactly what it was, roadkill before. Like something out of a roadrunner cartoon.
Anyway, we got to the pub and realized we could not all sit together with the men's team, so we got a table ourselves and ordered. I got crispy skin salmon over roasted potatoes and a salad, and I know I was starving, but it was as good as it sounds. We ate then hung out with the boys in the pokies room for a while before walking back to the caravan park together. At dinner, I had requests from serveral of the girls to teach them to play circle of death, a card drinking game any college aged American is probably familiar with. We gathered most everyone, except a few people who went to bed when we got back, into one cabin, borrowing chairs from all of our cabins to fit everyone. After several attempts to explain the rules to the rather large group, I decided to begin the game and explain as we drew cards. That went pretty well, then we played an Australian version, which was similar, but changed a couple of the cards. Anyway, this is the only part of the weekend I actually photographed, and its not great pictures, but here are a few:
The card games ended up with vikings and medusas, rubbing bellies to the right and faces to the left, avoiding names, the word "drink," and cuss words. Eventually, people started to trickle to bed. I ended up staying up late again, this time with Rocky and two of the guys, talking volleyball. Rocky and I went back to the cabin and tried to sneak into bed, but ended up waking Marie again (to be fair, their bed was at the door and she's a light sleeper). I slept until about 7:30, then got ready and packed up. Rocky made some sausages for breakfast and we went over to the gym after checking out of the caravan park. The boys had had a game at 9 am, which they won. We won our game at 11 am, but it was a weird one. A girl on the other team broke her ankle during the game. I wanted to pass out from the screams of pain she was making. It took some time to get her off the court and continue the game. The other team only had 5 players, which would have meant they needed to forfit and lose the game, but we allowed them to continue playing with just 5 players. I felt so sorry for the girl. She sat on the sidelines, clearly in immense pain, until we won 2 sets. Then some of the men's team from their club helped her out on her one leg, hopefully to take her to a hospital.
Our win meant we were in the finals. We found out the guys had also made it to the finals as well. We played at 1 pm and they played theirs at 2 pm, so they came to support us for part of our game. The finals is best out of 5 sets, unlike the other games in the tournament, which were best out of 3. We ended up winning the first 3 sets, and as a result, winning the tournament!
We were given glasses as a trophy in a small ceremony, then we went over to the other gym to watch the boys. They won a set as we arrived, making it 1 to 1. But they ended up losing in the end to Tea Tree Gully, which is nearby to where we play and they all knew lots of the team. We watched the men's ceremony, then packed up the van and stopped at KFC on our way out of Port Augusta. I didn't realize how hungry I was, but it was 4:30 and I had played 2 games of volleyball and hadn't eaten since the 9:30 sausage english muffin I had that morning. Sara whispered to me to watch James stays awake, since he had been up late both nights like I had, and I told her I planned to since I was in the front seat. We all devoured our food in relative silence for the first 30 minutes of the trip or so.
At the first pit stop, I suggested to James to drink some energy drinks, as I had seen a lot of shifting in his seat and sighing coming from him on the way. He agreed, saying he was the "mayor of struggletown right now," which I include simply because I thought it was funny. Sam got attacked by a mag pie before we got back in the car, then we set off again. We only stopped once more before getting back to Gawler. We dropped Geoff, then Hannah off at their houses, then went back to James and Sara's to unpack the car and repack into Marie's car. We told them goodbye, then talked volleyball most of the way home. I got inside, showered, and crazily called my parents and ended up talking to them until the credit ran out on my card. I was so tired, but I had trouble going to sleep. I think I was running on adrenaline or something all weekend, because I hadn't really had any pain or soreness all weekend, and despite getting very little sleep, played well and stayed awake until late, but I woke up this morning with everything hurting.
I had a really great time this weekend, and it made me realize how much I am going to miss these people. I know I have until April to keep hanging out with them, but it just made me realize that eventually I will leave, and probably not see a lot of them ever again. Geez, that is a sad way to end this blog post...
Thursday, October 11, 2012
One Month.
I haven't updated in a little while, but I have been busy. Reading so many books, getting tan in the spring sun, volleyball, a trip to Moonta Bay (pics on facebook), trips Semaphore beach, and yesterday a cruise down Murray river with Marie. I have been trying to save money, as I have given up getting a job until I am back at the end of December.
I still have lots planned between now and when I fly home in a month: Port Augusta volleyball weekend (aka "drinking and volleyball"), a weekend trip to Melbourne, a few more beach trips between now and when I go home. I am trying to convince some Aussies to have a halloween party. I feel like Australians would enjoy halloween, after all, as an adult, it just means dressing up in costumes and drinking (what's not to love?) and you don't really need to convince children about free candy, no matter what nationality they are. It's my personal project to bring Halloween to Australia...
They already have Christmas stuff out in stores! Yes, Australia seems to be even worse than America in jumping the gun on Christmas (I think the Halloween and Thanksgiving hurdles slow us down at least a little)
Today is my dad's birthday, which makes me miss home even more than usual. I am now creating a list of Australian items to take home, as well as a list of American items to bring back. I also have a fairly long mental list of "must eats" while I am home (I'm afraid I might gain 20 pounds while I am home...) I'll keep you better updated on the next week weeks (should have lots to report from Port Augusta and Melbourne). I am excited about this last month, but also very anxious to get home and hug my family.
I still have lots planned between now and when I fly home in a month: Port Augusta volleyball weekend (aka "drinking and volleyball"), a weekend trip to Melbourne, a few more beach trips between now and when I go home. I am trying to convince some Aussies to have a halloween party. I feel like Australians would enjoy halloween, after all, as an adult, it just means dressing up in costumes and drinking (what's not to love?) and you don't really need to convince children about free candy, no matter what nationality they are. It's my personal project to bring Halloween to Australia...
They already have Christmas stuff out in stores! Yes, Australia seems to be even worse than America in jumping the gun on Christmas (I think the Halloween and Thanksgiving hurdles slow us down at least a little)
Today is my dad's birthday, which makes me miss home even more than usual. I am now creating a list of Australian items to take home, as well as a list of American items to bring back. I also have a fairly long mental list of "must eats" while I am home (I'm afraid I might gain 20 pounds while I am home...) I'll keep you better updated on the next week weeks (should have lots to report from Port Augusta and Melbourne). I am excited about this last month, but also very anxious to get home and hug my family.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Some things are universal... like the love for South Park
Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of weeks- I haven't been extraordinarily busy, but nothing "blog-worthy" seemed to really be happening.
I went on my first mystery shopping trip. Pretty uneventful. It took about 10 minutes, then I was back on the bus, scribbling down notes to remember what happened for my report. I should be paid for it on Saturday. I finally see another job added to the website this morning, a shopping trip to Coles. I pounced.
I've seen a couple of movies- The Watch- don't see that. Rent it if you must. It was ok, just really goofy. And The Campaign, which made me miss home because they said North Carolina a lot and made me feel worse about our political system- so overall, a depressing experience.
I have been reading almost non-stop. I need to made a list of the books I've read since I've been here. I am now working on the Tomorrow series, reading at the rate of about a book a day. The series is 7 books total, and it is about Australia being invaded by another country and a group of teenagers who fight against it. It's better than I'm making it sound.
I've voted! Just dropped the absentee ballot in the mail this morning. My civic duty is done. Now all I can do is cross my fingers...
Spring is here, as I've said, so I am getting a tan. I went to Semaphore, a nearby beach, yesterday with Emma and Marie. I have google mapped the bus route, so I will be going again in the near future.
I had dinner last night with Sam, Marie, Sarah, and Emmanuel. Marie made Thai Prawn Curry, it was great. We had very civil discussions about politics and religion, which somehow deteriorated (or elevated, depending on how you see it) to discussions about South Park. It was amazing: a person from Zimbabwe, a person from Montreal, two South Aussies, and an American in complete consensus: South Park is awesome (well, Marie was less enthusiastic, but I like to think it's because she hasn't seen many episodes of South Park). I have been a little homesick lately; I even have a countdown going on my calendar (46 days, by the way), but it's the second time that South Park has made me feel at home. In my 2010 trip, in Melbourne, I was feeling a little low and homesick (partly because I was literally sick). I went downstairs to the hostel TV room to find people from all over the world enjoying an episode of South Park. Who knew these little bratty brain-children of Matt and Trey could hold such power and unite people of all nationalities and races? Oh, South Park.
I went on my first mystery shopping trip. Pretty uneventful. It took about 10 minutes, then I was back on the bus, scribbling down notes to remember what happened for my report. I should be paid for it on Saturday. I finally see another job added to the website this morning, a shopping trip to Coles. I pounced.
I've seen a couple of movies- The Watch- don't see that. Rent it if you must. It was ok, just really goofy. And The Campaign, which made me miss home because they said North Carolina a lot and made me feel worse about our political system- so overall, a depressing experience.
I have been reading almost non-stop. I need to made a list of the books I've read since I've been here. I am now working on the Tomorrow series, reading at the rate of about a book a day. The series is 7 books total, and it is about Australia being invaded by another country and a group of teenagers who fight against it. It's better than I'm making it sound.
I've voted! Just dropped the absentee ballot in the mail this morning. My civic duty is done. Now all I can do is cross my fingers...
Spring is here, as I've said, so I am getting a tan. I went to Semaphore, a nearby beach, yesterday with Emma and Marie. I have google mapped the bus route, so I will be going again in the near future.
I had dinner last night with Sam, Marie, Sarah, and Emmanuel. Marie made Thai Prawn Curry, it was great. We had very civil discussions about politics and religion, which somehow deteriorated (or elevated, depending on how you see it) to discussions about South Park. It was amazing: a person from Zimbabwe, a person from Montreal, two South Aussies, and an American in complete consensus: South Park is awesome (well, Marie was less enthusiastic, but I like to think it's because she hasn't seen many episodes of South Park). I have been a little homesick lately; I even have a countdown going on my calendar (46 days, by the way), but it's the second time that South Park has made me feel at home. In my 2010 trip, in Melbourne, I was feeling a little low and homesick (partly because I was literally sick). I went downstairs to the hostel TV room to find people from all over the world enjoying an episode of South Park. Who knew these little bratty brain-children of Matt and Trey could hold such power and unite people of all nationalities and races? Oh, South Park.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Royal Adelaide Show
First, a couple of life updates: still working on permanent job, but for now, I am also exploring the exciting world of "mystery shopping." It's not going to be much money, and may not be worth the time I spend on the report, but it is some extra cash, and if I am ever able to line up several jobs for 1 day, it will be worth it. My first one is this Sunday, and I will be spending a maximum amount of 10 minutes in the store. I will let you know how it goes.
I have been spending most of my free time the past week outside reading in the wonderful springtime sun. Benefits: 1) I am not spending money 2) I am reading 3) I am developing a base tan.
Yesterday I went to the Adelaide show with Sarah, Emmanuel, and an American who was only in Adelaide for one day named Taylor. We picked Taylor up at the airport around 9am and then ran a couple of errands, including getting a Subway lunch to save money and some drinks and snacks to have at the show (remember from the older post about the Gawler Show that "show" means "fair"). We found a place to park for free and bought our tickets (we went on a day that if you arrived before 1pm, adults could pay children's prices- sweeeeet.) We bought admission to this thing called the "Yellow Brick Road," which leads you around the fair to different booths, where you will be given free things.
We spent the first couple of hours winding in and out of different exhibits and filling our yellow brick road bags. We also went into the show bag area, a concept that was foreign to me and will be to Americans as well. Show bags are these souvenir bags you can purchase. There is a huge warehouse full of all kinds of show bags, most of them being some type of candy or toy, so as to attract kids and make them beg their parents to buy the bags.
Around lunch time, we decided to go check out the wood chopping and watch the competition while we ate our sandwiches. We picked a good side because we were right in front of the guys who had the longest handicap times, so they had to wait the longest to begin, and they were by far the best at wood chopping. Check it out!
It had started to rain a little, so we were all cold. We got some coffee and teas and continued our tours of the inner exhibits. We visited all the dogs and cats (they have dog and cats shows and allow people to walk through and look at all the animals). We also watched a reptile show and saw a rabbit "jumping" competition (jumping in quotes, because I was first impressed that rabbits could be trained to jump hurdles, but after watching a few minutes, I realized rabbits cannot be trained to jump hurdles, and when placed in front of a hurdle, will occasionally jump over it out of sheer luck). We then toured the 'Taste SA' tent, sampling all kinds of goodies and picking up some to have for dinner later. Taylor and I demanded to have a dagwood dog (corn dog) before we left, so we grabbed one, as well as a Farmers Union Ice Coffee (of course, famous in South Australia) before hitting the last couple of exhibits.
Sarah and Emmanuel had aqua massages (haha),
then we checked out the last warehouse on the way out. There were tons of booths selling things like clothes and shoes and toys, almost like a market. This is also different from our state fair at home, where you can only really get junk at the fair, not actual clothes and stuff. Emmanuel had been coveting flying helicopters all day, and Sarah bought him one since he was so good today, haha. He was so happy!
We stopped by the grocery on the way home for a couple more things, then went home and created a feast of mettwurst (like summer sausage), crusty bread, brie, Camembert, Bojangles fries (which I made, and everyone devoured, I think a field trip to NC for some Aussies and one American from Montana is in order...) kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and dips and red wine- so good!
I have been spending most of my free time the past week outside reading in the wonderful springtime sun. Benefits: 1) I am not spending money 2) I am reading 3) I am developing a base tan.
Yesterday I went to the Adelaide show with Sarah, Emmanuel, and an American who was only in Adelaide for one day named Taylor. We picked Taylor up at the airport around 9am and then ran a couple of errands, including getting a Subway lunch to save money and some drinks and snacks to have at the show (remember from the older post about the Gawler Show that "show" means "fair"). We found a place to park for free and bought our tickets (we went on a day that if you arrived before 1pm, adults could pay children's prices- sweeeeet.) We bought admission to this thing called the "Yellow Brick Road," which leads you around the fair to different booths, where you will be given free things.
We spent the first couple of hours winding in and out of different exhibits and filling our yellow brick road bags. We also went into the show bag area, a concept that was foreign to me and will be to Americans as well. Show bags are these souvenir bags you can purchase. There is a huge warehouse full of all kinds of show bags, most of them being some type of candy or toy, so as to attract kids and make them beg their parents to buy the bags.
Around lunch time, we decided to go check out the wood chopping and watch the competition while we ate our sandwiches. We picked a good side because we were right in front of the guys who had the longest handicap times, so they had to wait the longest to begin, and they were by far the best at wood chopping. Check it out!
then we checked out the last warehouse on the way out. There were tons of booths selling things like clothes and shoes and toys, almost like a market. This is also different from our state fair at home, where you can only really get junk at the fair, not actual clothes and stuff. Emmanuel had been coveting flying helicopters all day, and Sarah bought him one since he was so good today, haha. He was so happy!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Spring is Here!
Spring starts down here on September 1st, and apparently mother nature got the memo because it has been a gorgeous weekend!
Yesterday, I went to the Gawler show with Marie and Hannah. We watch Emma's belly dancing class (and despite hiding on the back row, I managed to get a couple of pictures of her, haha):
then we got lunch. Corndogs are my tradition fair fare, but they are called dagwood dogs or dippy dogs here. Anyway, it was good. We explored the crafts and food competition area, and got the required (at least for me and Hannah) bag of hot donuts on the way out. It was such nice weather, the first day of spring!
Today was the same way, and I spent pretty much the whole day outside reading in the sun. I only came in because I realized I hadn't eaten lunch and it was 3 pm and I was hungry. But I figure, if the weather keeps this up and I never get a job, going to the beach is going to become my job...
On the job front, I applied to several more jobs last week. I will go tomorrow to see if I can check in with Subway and make sure a manager received my resume. I don't get places like that not hiring me. Someone said something about being overqualified. There should be no such thing with jobs like these. I am not asking for more pay or anything, all you would be doing is hiring a more responsible and experienced person as opposed to a high school student. GIVE ME THE JOB.
Also, I am going to be playing on a B grade team next season in volleyball. Our season ended last week (with us competing for the bottom position) and we missed out on the "wooden spoon." They give an actual wooden spoon to the worst team, and both us and the team we were playing wanted it. It was very strange to be playing to lose, but we were worse at losing apparently, and won. I did end up with a spoon though because I had to play on Marie's other team to replace someone and we were playing for the spoon also. So I got a B grade spoon, a little souvenir from volleyball.
Yesterday, I went to the Gawler show with Marie and Hannah. We watch Emma's belly dancing class (and despite hiding on the back row, I managed to get a couple of pictures of her, haha):
then we got lunch. Corndogs are my tradition fair fare, but they are called dagwood dogs or dippy dogs here. Anyway, it was good. We explored the crafts and food competition area, and got the required (at least for me and Hannah) bag of hot donuts on the way out. It was such nice weather, the first day of spring!
Today was the same way, and I spent pretty much the whole day outside reading in the sun. I only came in because I realized I hadn't eaten lunch and it was 3 pm and I was hungry. But I figure, if the weather keeps this up and I never get a job, going to the beach is going to become my job...
On the job front, I applied to several more jobs last week. I will go tomorrow to see if I can check in with Subway and make sure a manager received my resume. I don't get places like that not hiring me. Someone said something about being overqualified. There should be no such thing with jobs like these. I am not asking for more pay or anything, all you would be doing is hiring a more responsible and experienced person as opposed to a high school student. GIVE ME THE JOB.
Also, I am going to be playing on a B grade team next season in volleyball. Our season ended last week (with us competing for the bottom position) and we missed out on the "wooden spoon." They give an actual wooden spoon to the worst team, and both us and the team we were playing wanted it. It was very strange to be playing to lose, but we were worse at losing apparently, and won. I did end up with a spoon though because I had to play on Marie's other team to replace someone and we were playing for the spoon also. So I got a B grade spoon, a little souvenir from volleyball.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Back to (Oz) Reality
So it's back to Adelaide, back to reality, back to the job search...
First thing Friday morning, I began shooting off the resume into cyberspace. Less than an hour later, I received a call from Stillwell, a temping agency, offering to have me come in today (Tuesday) and do some testing to be placed with a job. Wow! Then later that afternoon, I walked down to the bus station and applied to a job with Grayline, a touring agency. I had heard about the position because the driver on the Barossa tour I was on with mom mentioned there would be a temporary position open while a lady went on maternity leave. Sweet! Then Sunday, the tupperware lady has been trying to get me to become a tupperware salesperson. She called me again today! I don't really want to do that; hopefully something else will pan out. I also picked up a form at Subway in the city that was hiring. So I may have a job soon!
My testing went sooooo well today. I was stressed about the tests because I haven't used word or excel in a while (and I don't even have them on this laptop to look around a little). The test only let you try twice then it was wrong (like if you were searching around to find where the correct thing to click is and accidentally click something, the next thing you click has to be right or it's counted wrong). I actually figured some stuff out that I didn't even know how to do though, so that was good. I thought I did bad to average, but the tester came in and said:
word: 75% (I was like, ew, and she said it was really good because most people get 20-30%)
excel: 85%
Spreadsheet entry: I can't remember, but it wasn't great because I had some errors
Typing: 45 wpm, but only 4 % error.
Also, only 12 weeks until I am home for a while. I need to buy my ticket soon to come back, but I was trying to wait and make sure I got a job. I will keep you updated...
First thing Friday morning, I began shooting off the resume into cyberspace. Less than an hour later, I received a call from Stillwell, a temping agency, offering to have me come in today (Tuesday) and do some testing to be placed with a job. Wow! Then later that afternoon, I walked down to the bus station and applied to a job with Grayline, a touring agency. I had heard about the position because the driver on the Barossa tour I was on with mom mentioned there would be a temporary position open while a lady went on maternity leave. Sweet! Then Sunday, the tupperware lady has been trying to get me to become a tupperware salesperson. She called me again today! I don't really want to do that; hopefully something else will pan out. I also picked up a form at Subway in the city that was hiring. So I may have a job soon!
My testing went sooooo well today. I was stressed about the tests because I haven't used word or excel in a while (and I don't even have them on this laptop to look around a little). The test only let you try twice then it was wrong (like if you were searching around to find where the correct thing to click is and accidentally click something, the next thing you click has to be right or it's counted wrong). I actually figured some stuff out that I didn't even know how to do though, so that was good. I thought I did bad to average, but the tester came in and said:
word: 75% (I was like, ew, and she said it was really good because most people get 20-30%)
excel: 85%
Spreadsheet entry: I can't remember, but it wasn't great because I had some errors
Typing: 45 wpm, but only 4 % error.
Also, only 12 weeks until I am home for a while. I need to buy my ticket soon to come back, but I was trying to wait and make sure I got a job. I will keep you updated...
Friday, August 17, 2012
A Couple of Days in Perth and Mom's Farewell
Mom and I got up to catch our 10 am flight from Alice to Perth. We actually saw one of our Rock Tour group people on the airport shuttle and he had gotten punched on the way home! Dingo was exactly right, it happened just like he warned us it would. This guy had a huge bruise over his eye. I felt really bad, but was glad I splurged for the 2 bucks for the taxi the night before.
After a discovering I had only $15 left in my Aus bank account, a few hours in the air, and a very non satisfying airplane lunch, we were in rainy Perth. Kim picked us up from the airport and took us to her house. We went to the markets in Freo later that afternoon with Kim and Jordan. For dinner, Gavin made his famous spaghetti at my request. It was, of course, delicious.
The next day (Monday), Mom and I went on our tour of Fremantle. We took a boat over to Fremantle then rode the tram through the whole town, learning about the history and getting great views in the process. We got fish and chips from Cicerellos for lunch and rode the ferris wheel to get a bird's eye view of Freo. We caught the 3:45 boat back to Perth and Kim picked us up from the harbour. She made us delicious pork with mashed potatoes and asparagus for dinner. We decided that we would cook dinner for the Shreeves the next day as a "thank you."
Tuesday we did a hop on hop off tour of Perth. Kim took us to town and we rode the tour for the full figure 8 loop around then got off in the middle of town for some shopping and lunch.
We then had to find our way back to Doubleview by ourselves. With a couple of questions asked an answered, we caught the correct train and got off at the correct stop. Our bus came within 5 minutes and we had a vague idea of where we were supposed to disembark. We ended up getting off the bus when a lot of other people did and walked the direction we thought was right. We found the road immediately and were home after walking up a hill! I began dinner and mom went to visit Kim at the bead shop she works in and made me some earrings. I made chicken fajitas for dinner. I had marinaded the chicken overnight and it was great. I had flour tortillas, spanish rice, spiced kidney beans, cilantro, lettuce, homemade salsa, sour cream, cheese, and limes. The girls had never had chicken fajitas before, so I had to explain how to construct one. Gavin ate about 4! Kim didn't want me to leave. I think it was a success.
The next day we got to the airport extra early after telling Jordan, Riley, and Gavin goodbye. Kim dropped us off and we had breakfast at the airport. Even though we were so early, we nearly missed the flight because they changed the gate and we didn't notice! We rode buses to the house once we got to Adelaide, then washed my clothes twice and mom for one last time repacked all her stuff. We got some groceries and Dominoes for dinner. Sarah took us to the airport at 6 am the next morning. I stayed with mom until she boarded and watched her plane leave. She stopped and waved every 10 feet walking on the platform to the plane. I was tired and sad, and I caught a bus back to Lyons Road.
After a discovering I had only $15 left in my Aus bank account, a few hours in the air, and a very non satisfying airplane lunch, we were in rainy Perth. Kim picked us up from the airport and took us to her house. We went to the markets in Freo later that afternoon with Kim and Jordan. For dinner, Gavin made his famous spaghetti at my request. It was, of course, delicious.
The next day (Monday), Mom and I went on our tour of Fremantle. We took a boat over to Fremantle then rode the tram through the whole town, learning about the history and getting great views in the process. We got fish and chips from Cicerellos for lunch and rode the ferris wheel to get a bird's eye view of Freo. We caught the 3:45 boat back to Perth and Kim picked us up from the harbour. She made us delicious pork with mashed potatoes and asparagus for dinner. We decided that we would cook dinner for the Shreeves the next day as a "thank you."
Tuesday we did a hop on hop off tour of Perth. Kim took us to town and we rode the tour for the full figure 8 loop around then got off in the middle of town for some shopping and lunch.
We then had to find our way back to Doubleview by ourselves. With a couple of questions asked an answered, we caught the correct train and got off at the correct stop. Our bus came within 5 minutes and we had a vague idea of where we were supposed to disembark. We ended up getting off the bus when a lot of other people did and walked the direction we thought was right. We found the road immediately and were home after walking up a hill! I began dinner and mom went to visit Kim at the bead shop she works in and made me some earrings. I made chicken fajitas for dinner. I had marinaded the chicken overnight and it was great. I had flour tortillas, spanish rice, spiced kidney beans, cilantro, lettuce, homemade salsa, sour cream, cheese, and limes. The girls had never had chicken fajitas before, so I had to explain how to construct one. Gavin ate about 4! Kim didn't want me to leave. I think it was a success.
The Rock Tour: Uluru and Goodbyes
We awoke again to lots of dust and got ourselves ready. We had to make sure we were in place for the sunrise over Uluru. As it ended up, we were like an hour early, and nearly froze waiting on the sun. Most people wanted to stay on the bus to shield the chilly wind until Dingo forced them off and locked the doors. He made us oatmeal, so we had something warm to eat as we shivered and took useless pictures in the predawn no-light.
After the sun arrived, we had a quick bathroom break then went to Uluru to do the full base walk. Mom opted to do a shorter walk, but I wanted to do the whole walk since I didn't in 2010. At first, it was freezing and windy. Our group trudged silently through small foresty areas on the side of Uluru, freezing when we entered shade. No one was talking, so I put my iPod on and played the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was perfect when the song "I Like Dirt" came on. You would really have to like dirt to do this tour. As it turns out, I missed a whole lot when I came with Matt in 2010. There is rock art and so many amazing things to see that you miss if you don't do the full base walk. It was a long walk, but we arrived back early to Dingo and my mom waiting for us on a bench at the climb site. Oh yea, I was going to tell you why you shouldn't climb. I didn't climb last time, and didn't intend to climb this time, because the Aboriginal people who own the site ask you not to do so. Dingo gave a speech about how it was not only disrespectful to climb- "Do you take your shoes off when people ask you to when you go into their house? Do you pee in on their house?"- but also a safety and environmental issue. People die every year, only 36 have died on the rock, but he says at least 150 can be attributed to deaths caused by doing the rock climb. There is no grip for your feet and only a tiny chain to cling to climb up. He says the vast majority of people who climb are Australian (due to ignorance) and Japanese (apparently there is a popular movie in Japan where the character climbs Uluru to scatter ashes and people like to recreate this scene).
Anyway, Dingo had warned us about all this stuff, and said that if anyone in our group still wanted to climb, he would set their stuff out of the bus and let them go for it, but if they were late, he would leave them. He said that there was not enough time for us to climb to the top and come back anyway, so if someone wanted to try it, they would not hold the rest of the group up. All of this was moot the day of the base walk anyway. The climb was closed due to winds.
After our walk, we got back on the bus and Dingo passed snacks around to everyone to eat. We dropped some of our group off at the YHA because they would be catching a plane from Uluru airport. Then there was lots of driving and lots of people sleeping on the bus. Dingo was a little resentful that everyone was sleeping and not entertaining him on the drive. I have a suspicion that he was making a game out of waking people up. It seems I would nod off and would be woken by him turning up the music or swerving . One time I woke up and Christmas music was playing. It was a weird half sleep/half awake bus ride. We had lunch at the gas station- wraps- half way between Alice Springs and Uluru before we resumed more driving. I tried to stay awake this time because Dingo made me feel guilty at lunch about sleeping. We stopped at a camel farm outside of Alice Springs for a brief camel ride. We also saw some kangaroos, emus, and a dingo.
We finally got back to Alice Springs around 4:30 pm. We checked back into our room, unpacked, repacked, showered, and got ready to meet the group at The Rock Bar. We walked down with the little Chinese girl from our group and went into the office to write some comments in the comment book about our experience. Then we went to the bar next door. All of our group eventually showed up and we ordered dinner and drinks. Mom got kangaroo again for the last time. I got us a jug of beer to drink. Later, Dingo dared us to take shots. I asked what it was, and it was 151. I was not excited about the shot, but mom took one too, which I was proud. Then she started poking people with straws so I sent her home with the Chinese girl, haha. I stayed a little longer to finish my jug. I ended up talking to the German can thrower, who had all these crazy conspiracy theories about 911 and even the Batman shooting, something about the Illuminati being involved. "I've always wanted to talk to an American," he said. I've been here 3 days, I thought to myself. But the people I planned to walk back with seemed to be falling asleep at the table, so I said we could leave too. We told Dingo we were leaving, and we did like a 4 person group hug, then he leaped up and wrapped his legs around the Canadian guy across from him, forcing me and the other person to hold him up. This went on for a while, then we did normal hugs and he told us not to walk home. "I don't even walk. Take a cab. People will just come up to you and punch you and steal your money. Take a cab, it will be 2 dollars each." So we did.
I had Dingo withdrawal the next day. I think when you spend that much time with people you get attached. It has never happened with tour guides before, but the group of girls on on of my tours last time to Exmouth were way cool and I almost cried when I had to leave them.
After the sun arrived, we had a quick bathroom break then went to Uluru to do the full base walk. Mom opted to do a shorter walk, but I wanted to do the whole walk since I didn't in 2010. At first, it was freezing and windy. Our group trudged silently through small foresty areas on the side of Uluru, freezing when we entered shade. No one was talking, so I put my iPod on and played the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was perfect when the song "I Like Dirt" came on. You would really have to like dirt to do this tour. As it turns out, I missed a whole lot when I came with Matt in 2010. There is rock art and so many amazing things to see that you miss if you don't do the full base walk. It was a long walk, but we arrived back early to Dingo and my mom waiting for us on a bench at the climb site. Oh yea, I was going to tell you why you shouldn't climb. I didn't climb last time, and didn't intend to climb this time, because the Aboriginal people who own the site ask you not to do so. Dingo gave a speech about how it was not only disrespectful to climb- "Do you take your shoes off when people ask you to when you go into their house? Do you pee in on their house?"- but also a safety and environmental issue. People die every year, only 36 have died on the rock, but he says at least 150 can be attributed to deaths caused by doing the rock climb. There is no grip for your feet and only a tiny chain to cling to climb up. He says the vast majority of people who climb are Australian (due to ignorance) and Japanese (apparently there is a popular movie in Japan where the character climbs Uluru to scatter ashes and people like to recreate this scene). 
Environmentally, we are polluting the only water sources in the area (there are 2 waterhole at Uluru) and animals have pretty much stopped going to Uluru for water. The climbers urinate and defecate on Uluru (it's a 3 hour climb up and back and no bathrooms on the rock) and when it rains, all of that goes straight into the water source. He said that someone even reported having a diaper fall off the side while doing the base walk. That means 1) someone took a baby up that insanely steep, very dangerous climb, and 2) they changed the baby and decided to leave the diaper on the rock.
Anyway, Dingo had warned us about all this stuff, and said that if anyone in our group still wanted to climb, he would set their stuff out of the bus and let them go for it, but if they were late, he would leave them. He said that there was not enough time for us to climb to the top and come back anyway, so if someone wanted to try it, they would not hold the rest of the group up. All of this was moot the day of the base walk anyway. The climb was closed due to winds.
After our walk, we got back on the bus and Dingo passed snacks around to everyone to eat. We dropped some of our group off at the YHA because they would be catching a plane from Uluru airport. Then there was lots of driving and lots of people sleeping on the bus. Dingo was a little resentful that everyone was sleeping and not entertaining him on the drive. I have a suspicion that he was making a game out of waking people up. It seems I would nod off and would be woken by him turning up the music or swerving . One time I woke up and Christmas music was playing. It was a weird half sleep/half awake bus ride. We had lunch at the gas station- wraps- half way between Alice Springs and Uluru before we resumed more driving. I tried to stay awake this time because Dingo made me feel guilty at lunch about sleeping. We stopped at a camel farm outside of Alice Springs for a brief camel ride. We also saw some kangaroos, emus, and a dingo.
We finally got back to Alice Springs around 4:30 pm. We checked back into our room, unpacked, repacked, showered, and got ready to meet the group at The Rock Bar. We walked down with the little Chinese girl from our group and went into the office to write some comments in the comment book about our experience. Then we went to the bar next door. All of our group eventually showed up and we ordered dinner and drinks. Mom got kangaroo again for the last time. I got us a jug of beer to drink. Later, Dingo dared us to take shots. I asked what it was, and it was 151. I was not excited about the shot, but mom took one too, which I was proud. Then she started poking people with straws so I sent her home with the Chinese girl, haha. I stayed a little longer to finish my jug. I ended up talking to the German can thrower, who had all these crazy conspiracy theories about 911 and even the Batman shooting, something about the Illuminati being involved. "I've always wanted to talk to an American," he said. I've been here 3 days, I thought to myself. But the people I planned to walk back with seemed to be falling asleep at the table, so I said we could leave too. We told Dingo we were leaving, and we did like a 4 person group hug, then he leaped up and wrapped his legs around the Canadian guy across from him, forcing me and the other person to hold him up. This went on for a while, then we did normal hugs and he told us not to walk home. "I don't even walk. Take a cab. People will just come up to you and punch you and steal your money. Take a cab, it will be 2 dollars each." So we did. The Rock Tour: Kata Tjuta and a handshake with Uluru
Before the sun was even up, we awoke to Dingo saying "it's time to get up my little muchkins." Most people were taking a little longer than usual to emerge from their swags, mostly because it was freezing as soon as you stepped outside. I looked over an mom had not even moved yet. I nudged her to make sure she was alive. She hadn't even heard our wakeup call, or the several others he made when people were not moving fast enough. We managed to get out and roll up our swags, mostly powered by the promised shower that would occur once everyone was packed up. We loaded onto the bus and drove down to our next campsite, which had toilets (flushing toilets) and hot showers. Yessss.
Today was Kata Tjuta, Uluru's less famous sister formed by conglomerated rocks rather than sand. Kata Tjuta is pretty insane, and much more treacherous to walk than Uluru (unless you climb Uluru, which you shouldn't- I will explain later.). First, we had to walk through (well, Dingo had us mostly sprinting through) the aptly named Valley of the Winds. You literally were fighting these insane winds the whole time, so you were freezing and pushing again the gale force winds which climbing over uneven rocks. We finally made it to a grassy area and the winds died down dramatically. Dingo conducted a geology lesson in the sand, explaining the differences in Kata Tjuta and Uluru and how they were formed. Then he sent us off on our own and mom went with him for the less strenuous walk. "Keep the rock on your right at all times. Rock right, rock right. And it should look this size at all times too. If it gets this size **holding out thumb and finger distance apart** you are going the wrong way." We set out, only to have him shout immediately "no, you're going the wrong way! Rock right!" We turned and went down a different path. I never really got "rock right" because we were kind of in valleys and there were rocks to the left and right of us at all times, but I suppose we made it since I am typing this to you now. Our group trekked over loose rocks and steep hills for about 45 minutes until we reached this insane hill. I sighed, hating all hills, but slowly made my way on the crazy shifting rocks to the top:
Mom was up there with Dingo and the group reunited to make the full circle of the Kata Tjuta trail (which I later learned after looking at the culture center guide book is classified as "Difficult" and suggests more time than we were given to do it). We finished Kata Tjuta, which included at least one additional insane hill, this one going down, and with little to no gripping texture to walk down. We made our way again through the valley of the winds, this time less windy because it was later in the day, and loaded up into the bus. Lunch was wraps at a rest stop kind of place. Then we were taken on a brief detour down a red dirt road, one that extends all the way to the coast, for picture opportunity. I took pictures of Dingo laying in the dirt in the middle of the road:
And he took this cool picture:
Next we had several hours at the cultural center to learn about Aboriginal significance of the Uluru and Kata Tjuta area. We were not allowed to take pictures of anything, but there was a book there called a "Sorry Book" filled with letters from people sending back artifacts or rocks they had stolen from the sites. It is believed that you will be cursed with bad luck if you do this, so most people had returned the items with letters of apology. After the center, we did a short walk around a fraction of Uluru called the Mala Walk. We saw some rock art and Dingo told us a dreamtime story about a devil dingo that resulted in the dingos we have today. At some point in his story, he climbed up on a rock and leaped over my head to the ground. It was an entertaining way to get the message across and I felt like we should have applauded when he ended it. We did the rest of the walk without him to a waterhole area. It was weird to me to see a waterhole out there, but the area near it seemed lush with trees.
We drove up to the sunset viewing area and drank some of our copious amount of beer we had purchased the night before. Dingo made us dinner of noodles and vegetable and chicken and I took about 50 different shots as the sun went down.
After a brief pit stop for gas and a much needed bathroom, Dingo once again performed a techno music, strobe light, fist pumping, whistle blowing ride back to the campsite.
Drinking continued back at our campsite, and Dingo later took us out to a platform a distance from camp where the lights would not interfere with star viewing. We laid on our backs and looked up as he pointed out different things in the sky. You could see the milky way and 2 solar systems. It is always so shocking to me to see the outback sky. So many more stars than you are ever used to seeing. Sleep was once again in swags and I caught one of the German kids throwing empty cans at mom during the night to try to get her to stop snoring. Joke was on him, she didn't stop, ha!
Today was Kata Tjuta, Uluru's less famous sister formed by conglomerated rocks rather than sand. Kata Tjuta is pretty insane, and much more treacherous to walk than Uluru (unless you climb Uluru, which you shouldn't- I will explain later.). First, we had to walk through (well, Dingo had us mostly sprinting through) the aptly named Valley of the Winds. You literally were fighting these insane winds the whole time, so you were freezing and pushing again the gale force winds which climbing over uneven rocks. We finally made it to a grassy area and the winds died down dramatically. Dingo conducted a geology lesson in the sand, explaining the differences in Kata Tjuta and Uluru and how they were formed. Then he sent us off on our own and mom went with him for the less strenuous walk. "Keep the rock on your right at all times. Rock right, rock right. And it should look this size at all times too. If it gets this size **holding out thumb and finger distance apart** you are going the wrong way." We set out, only to have him shout immediately "no, you're going the wrong way! Rock right!" We turned and went down a different path. I never really got "rock right" because we were kind of in valleys and there were rocks to the left and right of us at all times, but I suppose we made it since I am typing this to you now. Our group trekked over loose rocks and steep hills for about 45 minutes until we reached this insane hill. I sighed, hating all hills, but slowly made my way on the crazy shifting rocks to the top:
Mom was up there with Dingo and the group reunited to make the full circle of the Kata Tjuta trail (which I later learned after looking at the culture center guide book is classified as "Difficult" and suggests more time than we were given to do it). We finished Kata Tjuta, which included at least one additional insane hill, this one going down, and with little to no gripping texture to walk down. We made our way again through the valley of the winds, this time less windy because it was later in the day, and loaded up into the bus. Lunch was wraps at a rest stop kind of place. Then we were taken on a brief detour down a red dirt road, one that extends all the way to the coast, for picture opportunity. I took pictures of Dingo laying in the dirt in the middle of the road:
Next we had several hours at the cultural center to learn about Aboriginal significance of the Uluru and Kata Tjuta area. We were not allowed to take pictures of anything, but there was a book there called a "Sorry Book" filled with letters from people sending back artifacts or rocks they had stolen from the sites. It is believed that you will be cursed with bad luck if you do this, so most people had returned the items with letters of apology. After the center, we did a short walk around a fraction of Uluru called the Mala Walk. We saw some rock art and Dingo told us a dreamtime story about a devil dingo that resulted in the dingos we have today. At some point in his story, he climbed up on a rock and leaped over my head to the ground. It was an entertaining way to get the message across and I felt like we should have applauded when he ended it. We did the rest of the walk without him to a waterhole area. It was weird to me to see a waterhole out there, but the area near it seemed lush with trees.
After a brief pit stop for gas and a much needed bathroom, Dingo once again performed a techno music, strobe light, fist pumping, whistle blowing ride back to the campsite.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
THE ROCK TOUR
9/8: We were picked up at 6 am outside our hostel. I was a little intimidated when I had heard our tour guide's name was Dingo, and became even more so when I saw his amazing mane of dreadlocks. He just looked too cool and Aussie. Anyway, we all sat in dark silence as he circled Alice to pick up the rest of the group. Once everyone was picked up, he gave us a brief introduction and wrote a list of the windshield:
Name
Where From
What You Do
Favorite Place in Aus
Favorite Place in the World
Craziest Thing You've Ever Done
Camping Skills
Name
I was a little disappointed to see this list- I am never a fan of these introductory games, but little did I know what awaited me. He asked who wanted to go first, and mom sitting in the front of the bus said "back of bus," so of course Dingo says "ok, front it is." Mom goes first, answers all the questions as I would have guessed, that is until she gets to "Craziest thing you've ever done." She proceeds to tell these 14 strangers that the craziest thing she has done involved a balcony and the Bahamas and that I was the result. I wanted to melt into my seat. I could hear everyone laughing and felt faint. But she did give me an out for my answer: "The craziest thing I've done was to be conceived on a balcony in the Bahamas."
We had King's Canyon on the schedule today, which included 3 levels of almost vertical hills known as Heartattack Hill. King's Canyon was amazing, but we had to do it at break-neck speed, which isn't ideal for the clumsy people (me and mom) or people taking pictures (everyone on the tour). But we got through it only a little later than Dingo would have liked.
After King's Canyon, we had to gather wood for our campfires. Dingo pulled over on the side of the road and told us to get out and find wood in the woods and threatened to beat us with small stick we brought back. We thought he was kidding for a couple seconds, then got off the bus and proceeded to drag trees out of the woods. Another Rock Tour bus stopped just 20 feet down the road from us, after we had already picked the area clean. It was hilarious to see their small pile beside our massive pile of trees. Dingo began calling us "A Team" and them "B group." It would not be the last we would see of B group, or the last time we beat them in a non-competition competition. We blasted "We Are The Champions" as we drove past them with our full load of wood and they stared back, still dragging twigs from the woods.
We made a beer tally of the way to the campsite, ordering something insane like 120 beers and 24 ciders for 14 people for 2 nights. Dingo checked us into the campsite and bought beer while we used the last flushing toilets we had for the night. I don't think I have yet described how crazy or energetic this man is, but our group simply could not keep up with him. As he drove to the campsite, he blasted loud music, turned on a strobe light in the bus, and blew a whistle in rhythm to the beat, cutting donuts in the first campsite on the way to our site.
Finally there, we set up camp and made fire. Dinner was veggies, rice and chili, all cooked over the fire. Dingo also showed us how to make Damper bread with chocolate pieces baked inside on the fire.
With utter despair, I discovered the outhouse. The seat was disgusting and 4 feet in the air, making it impossible for someone under 6 feet to squat over the toilet. Needless to say, I used the great outdoors later that night instead once I was sure everyone was asleep. The highlight of peeing outside was that I saw 3 shooting stars, haha. We slept in sleeping bags inside swags, which is basically larger sleeping bags with a hood. We had 2 pounds of red dust in our hair, clothes, and lungs when we woke in the morning.
Name
Where From
What You Do
Favorite Place in Aus
Favorite Place in the World
Craziest Thing You've Ever Done
Camping Skills
Name
I was a little disappointed to see this list- I am never a fan of these introductory games, but little did I know what awaited me. He asked who wanted to go first, and mom sitting in the front of the bus said "back of bus," so of course Dingo says "ok, front it is." Mom goes first, answers all the questions as I would have guessed, that is until she gets to "Craziest thing you've ever done." She proceeds to tell these 14 strangers that the craziest thing she has done involved a balcony and the Bahamas and that I was the result. I wanted to melt into my seat. I could hear everyone laughing and felt faint. But she did give me an out for my answer: "The craziest thing I've done was to be conceived on a balcony in the Bahamas."
We had King's Canyon on the schedule today, which included 3 levels of almost vertical hills known as Heartattack Hill. King's Canyon was amazing, but we had to do it at break-neck speed, which isn't ideal for the clumsy people (me and mom) or people taking pictures (everyone on the tour). But we got through it only a little later than Dingo would have liked.
After King's Canyon, we had to gather wood for our campfires. Dingo pulled over on the side of the road and told us to get out and find wood in the woods and threatened to beat us with small stick we brought back. We thought he was kidding for a couple seconds, then got off the bus and proceeded to drag trees out of the woods. Another Rock Tour bus stopped just 20 feet down the road from us, after we had already picked the area clean. It was hilarious to see their small pile beside our massive pile of trees. Dingo began calling us "A Team" and them "B group." It would not be the last we would see of B group, or the last time we beat them in a non-competition competition. We blasted "We Are The Champions" as we drove past them with our full load of wood and they stared back, still dragging twigs from the woods.
We made a beer tally of the way to the campsite, ordering something insane like 120 beers and 24 ciders for 14 people for 2 nights. Dingo checked us into the campsite and bought beer while we used the last flushing toilets we had for the night. I don't think I have yet described how crazy or energetic this man is, but our group simply could not keep up with him. As he drove to the campsite, he blasted loud music, turned on a strobe light in the bus, and blew a whistle in rhythm to the beat, cutting donuts in the first campsite on the way to our site.
Finally there, we set up camp and made fire. Dinner was veggies, rice and chili, all cooked over the fire. Dingo also showed us how to make Damper bread with chocolate pieces baked inside on the fire.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Lots of Greyhound, lots of waiting in the cold, some opals, and some beautiful views
The next few (or 5 or 6) blog post have been written retroactively. I was without long term internet access for about a week, and a very eventful week at that, so I will do my best to update my blog readers on the most important and exciting events. Remember- dates are day/month.
7/8- 8/8:
After a long ride on the Greyhound from Adelaide with intermittent sleep, we were dropped off in the cold, dark of pre-dawn Coober Pedy. I was a little horrified to see that our hostel did not come to pick us up from the terminal, and became even more stressed when we approached the door of the hostel to find that reception does not open until 8 am. It was now approximately 5:15 am and hovering between 6 and 8 degrees Celcius.
Mom and I had nothing we could do but bundle up and wait for daylight. Around 7 am some people checking out early offered to let us have their room once they left to hang out and be warm. We gladly agreed and used the strangers' room until 8 am. We checked in and dragged our bags 6 feet underground to the underground rooms, only to discover our room we were signed up for had no doors. I was willing to just deal, but I could tell Mom wasn't having it, so I offered to go upstairs and speak to the old prospectory looking guy who check me in to see how much more we would have to pay to have a door on our room. It was only $15 more a night- sold. We moved into the improved room and went upstairs to meet George for the morning tour of Coober Pedy. Someone named Rudy was actually the person who picked us up and gave the tour. He was also pretty entertaining, giving us inexact details of his life throughout (he had 9 kids, he had no kids/ and ex wife, a dead wife, his wife ran off to the circus.) The tour was the same tour I took in 2010, a loop around town, including an underground church, a grass less golf course, and a model of a mine. We had Rudy drop us off at Josephine's Art Gallery after the tour, just in time to feed the baby roos. The take care of orphaned kangaroos here and work on donations. It was fun and they were of course very cute.
We went to John's Pizza Bar for lunch, me chancing food poisoning from 2010, but there are not many restaurants in Coober Pedy. I got a fried chicken sandwich that was good and mom got pizza. We killed time that afternoon by browsing opals, even though we had done all our buying that morning. We went on the Breakaways tour with George, which is always my favorite part of Coober Pedy. Unfortunately, we had a very obnoxious couple on the tour with us, but we did our best to block them out and concentrate on the natural beauty.
After the tour, we got takeaway yiros from John's and about 1000 fries. We were so exhausted from little sleep on the Greyhound that we took showers and were asleep by 9pm.
The next morning, we were up and dropped off by the old prospector by 5am (literally, he kicked us out of the bus into the cold and smoked inside even though the Greyhound wasn't there yet.) Again, we waited in the cold. The Greyhound was about an hour and a half late, saying it didn't leave Adelaide the night before until 7:30 (scheduled for 6 pm departure). Finally, on the bus again around 6:30am, the bus ride has no real highlights- some sleep, some reading, a crap lunch, only short breaks to make up for the dips leaving Adelaide an hour and a half late. We arrived in Alice Springs by 2:30pm and checked in at The Rock Tour office. We were told our tour would be 14 people and that we were with Dingo, which is immediately intimidating. We drag our bags down through the Todd Mall and check into the YHA. We unpack and repack our supplies for the next 3 days into smaller bags because we have been told many times we cannot have big bags for the tour. We put the large bags into the hostel's long term storage and set out to climb Anzac Hill for the sunset.
After taking pictures from all angels of Anzac Hill, we climbed back down and went to Bojangles for dinner (not our Bojangles, but an Aussie outback bar). We both had kangaroo, and it was delicious and we both ate every bite. We went back to the hostel, used the internet, called dad, and were in bed again by 9 pm.
7/8- 8/8:
After a long ride on the Greyhound from Adelaide with intermittent sleep, we were dropped off in the cold, dark of pre-dawn Coober Pedy. I was a little horrified to see that our hostel did not come to pick us up from the terminal, and became even more stressed when we approached the door of the hostel to find that reception does not open until 8 am. It was now approximately 5:15 am and hovering between 6 and 8 degrees Celcius.
The next morning, we were up and dropped off by the old prospector by 5am (literally, he kicked us out of the bus into the cold and smoked inside even though the Greyhound wasn't there yet.) Again, we waited in the cold. The Greyhound was about an hour and a half late, saying it didn't leave Adelaide the night before until 7:30 (scheduled for 6 pm departure). Finally, on the bus again around 6:30am, the bus ride has no real highlights- some sleep, some reading, a crap lunch, only short breaks to make up for the dips leaving Adelaide an hour and a half late. We arrived in Alice Springs by 2:30pm and checked in at The Rock Tour office. We were told our tour would be 14 people and that we were with Dingo, which is immediately intimidating. We drag our bags down through the Todd Mall and check into the YHA. We unpack and repack our supplies for the next 3 days into smaller bags because we have been told many times we cannot have big bags for the tour. We put the large bags into the hostel's long term storage and set out to climb Anzac Hill for the sunset.
After taking pictures from all angels of Anzac Hill, we climbed back down and went to Bojangles for dinner (not our Bojangles, but an Aussie outback bar). We both had kangaroo, and it was delicious and we both ate every bite. We went back to the hostel, used the internet, called dad, and were in bed again by 9 pm.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Barossa, Hahndorf, and Medieval Party Times
Yesterday (Saturday) my mother and I went on a Gray Line tour of the Barossa area and Hahndorf. The day started off... not so great. I had it all planned out, and we waited at the bus stop near the house to catch the bus to the city. Then it slowly dawned on me that it was Saturday, and buses on our road only come once an hour. I checked the time table, and we could still make it to the bus station by 9 am... probably... but only if the 503 was on time- which it NEVER is. 10 minutes late, I was sweating. I finally decided to bite the bullet and called for a cab to meet us at Paradise Interchange in 10 minutes to take a cab the rest of the way. Finally, 15 minutes after the bus was supposed to pick us up, nearly 10 minutes past the time it was supposed to be at the Paradise Interchange, it shows up. We board the bus, finally make it to the interchange, and end up shelling out $30 to make sure we get to the bus station in time (we were there at 8:57.)
On the bus at last, our tour guide Gordon gave us details on everything we passed- trees, the towns, the buildings. We spent about 10 minutes at the whispering wall, the water reservoir for the Barossa that does the neat acoustical trick of letting a person on one side of the reservoir hear a person talking quietly on the other side of the reservoir. Mom was amazed. Next, we stopped at a little bakery in Lyndoch and had coffee and German sweets. We finally reached our first tasting stop at Richmond Grove and had a tour of the winery first. We got to taste both whites and reds and Mom and I were most impressed with a Cabernet Savegniot from 1994 and we got 2 bottles.
Next we traveled on to the Kaesler Winery and had an amazing lunch of Kangaroo, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and sticky toffee pudding.
Next we had another wine tasting before heading off for Mengler's Hill to take in panoramic views of the Barossa.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in Hahndorf, browsing the streets, buying 5 kinds of fudge and 2 six packs of Gulf Brewery micro brew beers.
Once back in the city and back home, we got ready for James and Hannah's birthday's- a medieval theme. I had rented a dress a couple of days before and Marie had purchased hers online. We spent the evening feasting on various meats that were cooked rotating over a fire and home brewed beer.
And also vodka jello shots prepared in orange rinds and cut into neat little slices for easy consumption!
Today Mom, Marie and I went to the markets at Port Adelaide. I got 2 pairs of earrings for a dollar each and mom got me a new purse. I also got polenta at Woolworth's- and guess what polenta's one and only ingredient is- corn meal! I have been looking for corn meal for several weeks, so I was happy to find this.
This afternoon I made brunswick stew and hush puppies for mom, Sarah, and Emmanuel for dinner. It was great, and I froze the leftovers for later eating.
Tomorrow mom and I set off for Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, and Uluru!
On the bus at last, our tour guide Gordon gave us details on everything we passed- trees, the towns, the buildings. We spent about 10 minutes at the whispering wall, the water reservoir for the Barossa that does the neat acoustical trick of letting a person on one side of the reservoir hear a person talking quietly on the other side of the reservoir. Mom was amazed. Next, we stopped at a little bakery in Lyndoch and had coffee and German sweets. We finally reached our first tasting stop at Richmond Grove and had a tour of the winery first. We got to taste both whites and reds and Mom and I were most impressed with a Cabernet Savegniot from 1994 and we got 2 bottles.
Next we traveled on to the Kaesler Winery and had an amazing lunch of Kangaroo, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and sticky toffee pudding.
And also vodka jello shots prepared in orange rinds and cut into neat little slices for easy consumption!
Today Mom, Marie and I went to the markets at Port Adelaide. I got 2 pairs of earrings for a dollar each and mom got me a new purse. I also got polenta at Woolworth's- and guess what polenta's one and only ingredient is- corn meal! I have been looking for corn meal for several weeks, so I was happy to find this.
This afternoon I made brunswick stew and hush puppies for mom, Sarah, and Emmanuel for dinner. It was great, and I froze the leftovers for later eating.
Tomorrow mom and I set off for Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, and Uluru!
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