Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Lost Picnic!


I had the most wonderful date with my friend Yael. We went to a music festival called the Lost Picnic. It's a low key sort of concert venue, set in the middle Centennial Park. The entrance is beautifully set for pictures, so we took advantage, maybe a little too much.





They had gourmet picnic baskets to order before the event but since they were outside of our price range we settled for some delicious salads and fruit from the grocery store. The weather was perfect for the day, sunny but with enough clouds that we could sit in the grass and not bake. We shared some delicious sparkling water drinks with fresh fruit.

The setlist consisted of a few Australian bands I started listening to a couple weeks prior to the event. One of my favorites was the Sons of the East, they have a Mumford and Sons vide to them. The other ones I really enjoyed were the Rubens, good on stage.

The band members were so casual that after their shows they would come into the crowd to enjoy their picnics with their friends and family. Really awesome and down to earth, made me like them that much more. (we took ample advantage of the beautiful day and our choice to wear cute dresses by taking plenty of pictures)


As the sun started to set we took in the colorful sky while listening to the lovely music. It was the set of what would be the most perfect date event. Good food, good music, sunsets, blankets, and to finish it off when it starts to cool off you could just move a little closer. Unfortunately we were both flying solo but I think she's pretty alright to spend the day with.


The stage lights didn't make much sense to me during the day but their purpose set in once the sun set.

One thing to mention about this crazy country/continent. Everyone talks about the mountains of creatures out to harm or kill you when you visit Australia. They talk about sharks, spiders, snakes and all of that. There is talk of kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas.  They do not often talk about the bats that live here. The bats here are ridiculous and deserve some mention. For one, they are huge, they look like cats with wings. Also there are a ton of them. They fly out of the trees like a flock of birds, making a ridiculous amount of chatter and chirping. Lastly, they come out before it's dark. The sun hasn't finished setting, the sky is bright and the sky is full of cat sized bats. It's scary, creepy and weird. I don't enjoy it all that much though I do find them interesting.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Classes!

Believe it or not, I am actually taking classes while I'm here! It just looks like I'm having fun all the time. I even bought books and lab coat! I've been doing some sciency things in the lab and it's been wonderful!


There are two ways I usually get to campus. I can either bike or walk and I can choose between two roads to take depending on which side of campus I need to get to. 


When I ride my bike, it is pretty scary. First of all, they drive on the left side of the road. It's confusing, I have to think really hard when I come to intersections and especially when using hand signaling. But the worst part is that I have to go through a round-about to get to school. I've never really been through a right handed round-about before so this was an entirely new experience. I've made it through alive each time though once or twice I got off quickly and walked around like the scardy cat I am. Lastly, drivers here hate bikes. They don't like that people bike on the roads and they are not very nice. I guess that is the reason why they give out fines if you don't wear a helmet, but I would never dream of not wearing a helmet with these terrible drivers. I am however greeted with lots of bikes always on the many bike racks the school has, it's nice that not very many people drive to class, generally biking or public transport.


The other way I walk to class is pleasant. It's a smaller road with a lot of cute houses with gardens and pretty flowers as well as some nice looking parts. It also drops me off right in front the building my classes are in, perfect! The first day I was walking I noticed something written in the concrete that I enjoyed and that made me think. It reads "keep your head up". It's so simplistically encouraging that it makes me happy every time I see it. I got to thinking the first day, the only reason I saw it was because I was looking down at the sidewalk. I try to keep my head up when walking around, taking in all that is around me. When I walk by the sidewalk it is a gentle reminder that staring at the ground is no way to live life, though I do make sure to look down when I get to the words on the walkway, they make me smile.



I've posted lots of pictures of the sunshine and how beautiful it is here. I may have been purposely blocking this from my memory but it actually rains here a lot. It has been raining for the past 5 days and it has rained many of the days I've been here. It's still nice and it makes some of the flowers smell even more delicious, but contrary to popular belief, I'm not spending everyday on the beach.

Last week I spent the entire week doing work. I had a quiz, a research paper, a computer science assignment and presentation to do. I spent many hours shut away from the world doing work. I found one of my favorite places in the library, a little corner I made my own for far to long.

One odd thing to mention. These signs that are in every bathroom stall on campus. So strange! I think it has something to do with the number of international students but I don't see how this needs to be specified so ofter, or even at all.











Biennale of Sydney

Last weekend was one of beautiful sunshine before this week of rain fell upon us (haha, the rain fell, so clever).  A Biennale is a large art festival originally started in Italy, the one here in Sydney lasts for about a month. The day started at the wharf, waiting with Captain Cook to get on the ferry!

As the ferry left we got some great views of the bridge and Opera House from a much different angle than I'm used to. It's so fun to say that I'm used to seeing the Sydney Opera House, I guess I'm not as integrated into the Sydney life as I thought I was.




So, Cockatoo Island is really interesting, strange and little bit creepy. It has a long industrial history. It was used as an Industrial School for Girls, prisoners build things, ships were build here until it laid dormant for 10 years, now it is a historic site! Read up some more about it here!





The art was... I'm not sure. We'll just say that I am definitely a science person and appreciate things with a purpose. Some of the art was awesome. This one piece, all of the outlets, the windows and doors in this room are actually painted on the wall. It is an exact replica (on a fake wall) of the wall behind it with awesome designs. Other art works I couldn't appreciate as well, some were scary, and some I just didn't know how it is considered art.


After the Biennale we took a trip to the Sydney Sky Tower to get a three hundred and sixty degree view of Sydney. From up here the city does not look nearly as nice. I prefer the up close view of small neighborhoods or beaches. These things are what make Sydney nice. I have to say the NYC looks much better from air than Sydney does. Actually, Toronto and Paris also look better. I don't know what that says about a city. In this picture, if you look really close you can see the library at my campus towards the top right. It is a tall building with 14 floors and UNSW written in large white letters at the top.


Maroubra BBQ

We went to a new beach! This beach is a little less developed and much bigger than the ones close to campus. We went to meet a bunch of exchange students for a BBQ at the nearby park. 

After spending some time on the beach we eventually made it to the BBQ to meet some new people!

My American friend Hope, Me, and Veerle and Danique from the Netherlands.

 We met lots of fun people, mostly Brazilian at the BBQ. But the weather was nice, we played some card games and had a lot of laughs. I also learned, don't leave your phone with your friends... or this happens.


Breakfast with the Roomies and Markets

    It's been a while since my last post. Lots has happened! The other weekend was my first "normal" weekend here. Meaning a weekend without big plans. A weekend living my life here in Sydney. It's interesting to see how my views have been changing since being here. I've finally crossed the line from visiting to living here.
    First of all, it was my flatmates birthday so we fixed a wonderful breakfast! It was the first time since I've been here that all six of us were in the same room at the same time. Not too surprising since before that I had only met one of my roommates in passing, a week and a half after moving in. We had crepes, with all sorts of fresh fruit, homemade banana bread, hot cross buns and tea. To make things even better we opened the French doors, moved the table outside and ate in the wonderful Sydney sunshine. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning.
    I also took a trip to the Glebe Markets, a quaint weekly market in a nice neighborhood. There was a wide variety of artists and vendors. I found a lot of really cute clothes for not a lot of money! How wonderful!

One of these artists had the best Dr. Who themed necklaces. I immediately fell in love with them and may still end up going back to get myself one of them.


The best part about the market was my find of some local organic honey! Honey is known for its antimicrobial properties and for being the only natural food that does not spoil. Another benefit of local honey, is that because it is made from local flowers and things it lessens seasonal allergies, not that I have a problem with those at all but it's nice to know. My honey is so good I'll probably have to get more soon.






Saturday, March 8, 2014

Sydney Aquarium!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love aquariums!? No? Well I do. I love the way they teach people about the environment in the form of fun. Though most people don't read all of the signs, they just look at the pretty fish; such a waste. But I, being the hugemundo nerd that I am can spend forever reading each and every sign and coming up with many more questions to ask.



One of my favorite parts of the aquarium are the kiosks where you can click on the different organisms, learning about their habitats, diets, ranges and other fun facts! Parts of the aquarium are awesome at showing the interrelatedness of different parts of the ecosystems.


The cool part/ defining feature of this aquarium that really seals the deal is the tunnel! There are two such tunnels, one with the beautiful dugongs and one with an assortment of rays and sharks! I could sit in them for hours, though this time they just got me very excited for my Great Barrier Reef Diving trip I have planned.

This aquarium in particular had two important points to push. One of which was about the effects of our consumption and pollution on the marine environment. Lots of information was presented on plastic use, discarded cigarets and things like that. There was an exhibit showing a healthy reef environment on one side and one affected by pollution on the other side.
Before
After

Their second point to push was weaved throughout the entirety of the aquarium. There were so many facts about sharks, their habitats, their interesting quarks and misconceptions. It was great to see them defending the "great predators" of the open oceans. Take a look at a few of the facts I snapped pictures of.







Madame Tussauds

Wax museums are strange and weird and creepy but oddly fun. I haven’t taken this many pictures of myself probably ever but it was so much fun! The works of art, and they really are art, look so real its unbelievable. We talked to one of the museum workers and were showed how each figure is made. If the person is alive they go through painstaking skill to measure each part of their face and figure to make the mold to pour wax into. The creepiest part is that each head of hair is real human hair! They even shampoo the stuff and put product in it! In total each figure takes about 9 months start to finish and is a LOT of money.



I’ve only been in Australia a couple weeks and I’m already best friends with Keith Urban.



I've helped in advising Albert on his work



Which is probably why Oprah wanted me on her show


Audrey and I had a wonderful breakfast, though we didn't get a chance to go to Tiffany's 


We rocked out with The King, he kept calling me a Hound Dog, whatever that means


After the concert I had to take a quick trip to bring my friend home, he used my cellphone beforehand


I've really been adapting to the Australian outback life, having new hobbies and wardrobe.