Sydney: The Sequel

Another huge update today with lots of pretty pictures! Before I go into my second trip to Sydney, I’ll just talk about another quick trip I had a few weeks ago.

Six of my friends had decided to go to Port Stephens one weekend and invited me along. Port Stephens is basically just a string of coastal towns along the coast, about an hour busride north of Newcastle. They left early on Friday but I have a class then so I decided to just come up early Saturday with my friend Addison. We caught the bus right in town and got dropped off right outside our hostel! Addison and I had to stay at a different hostel than the rest of the group because theirs was booked up. I really liked both of the hostels and the people who ran them were extremely helpful. I actually left my sweatshirt on the bus so I was a little distraught by that. I talked to the woman at the desk, who called the bus company, found out which bus it was on and went out to get it the next time the bus came around while we were gone! One thing my friends and I have talked about is how accommodating people are here. People are willing to go out of their way to help you out. After we got settled in, Addison and I walked along the road to the other hostel. Along the way, we stopped at One Mile Beach, which was just amazing. The sand comes back from the water a good ways and there are miles and miles of sand dunes farther south. It reminded me a lot of Manzanita down in Oregon. The rest of the group had actually gone sandboarding on the dunes the day before. We had missed that so I was a little bummed, but hopefully I can go in the future with some other people.

One Mile Beach.

We got to the other hostel and met up with our friends to decide what to do. Mike, Sean and I wanted to try to go surfing at one mile beach, and the girls wanted to just walk around. The owners of the hostel gave us a ride into town in this old propane-powered army truck. It was the kind where the back has seats on either side facing each other and a canvas top that could be rolled up. They drove us to a surf shop to hire some stuff. The guy there gave us an awesome deal: for $30 we each got a surfboard and a wetsuit to use until about noon the next day! We got back in the army truck and headed back to the hostel.

Kangaroo that lived at the hostel and just sat around all day.

We walked down to the beach from there and surfed for a few hours. We were using smaller boards this time so it was a lot harder, but still fun. After that, we hopped on some bikes that the hostel lets you borrow for free and rode down to the sand dunes to meet up with the girls. We went on a camel ride along the beach for a bit.


It was a pretty short ride but it was cool just to say we had ridden a camel. Fun fact: there are over 1 million wild camels in Australia! Around this time, my camera stopped working. I turned it off and it never turned back on. I never dropped it or anything so I just can’t figure out what went wrong and it’s still broken.

That night we caught a big eight-person taxi into Nelson Bay (kind of like the capital city of Port Stephens) for dinner at a pizza place. The pizza down here is a little different and most Americans don’t seem to like it. I like all pizza, but this place was definitely the best we’d had. After that, we walked around a bit before catching another taxi home. That night and most of the next day it rained really hard, which was a bit of a drag. Mike went surfing again in the rain before we returned the boards and hopped on the bus back to Newcastle.

Now on to the second trip to Sydney, which was just last weekend. On our last trip to Sydney, there were about 15 of us total. This time there were only six of us so it was a little more relaxing. I had just finished an essay so I was looking forward to a weekend away. We left early Friday morning so we could spend most of the day in Sydney. The ticket machine at the Uni train station was broken so we didn’t have to pay for the ticket to the main train station. Then when we bought our tickets to Sydney, the guy gave us the concession price (which we technically aren’t supposed to get) so the trip was only $9! On our first trip to Sydney, we were more interesting in the major landmarks and areas. This time we wanted to see some more of the smaller areas, museums and shopping areas.

We stayed at the same $13 hostel in the 28-person room which is always fun. After checking in, we walked over to the Queen Victoria Building which is a shopping centre, and I have to say, it is the ritziest shopping centre I’ve ever seen.


There are about four levels and most of the stores are pretty high class and expensive. We saw some nice jewelery which was on sale; only $10,000 marked down from $15k! After exploring the vast expanse of wealth that we would never be able to obtain, we headed over to the FREE Museum of Contemporary Art. There were two exhibits open at the time. One was a bunch of video art pieces which were all pretty weird and slightly abstract. There was a cool room with a bunch of projectors flashing different colours on blank canvases and we got some good shadow pictures in there.


The other exhibit was called “Heads Up” and consisted of giant photo portraits of a team of football players. All of the pictures were taken after the team had lost games so it was interesting to see the subtleties of their expressions and some even had cuts, bruises and grass still on their faces from the games. It was very reminiscent of Chuck Close—though these were real photos—because of the scale of the portraits and the detail in the faces.

Entrance to the MCA.

The next morning was our zoo day. We caught a ferry from Circular Quay across the Harbour to Taronga Zoo. We had a lot in store for us because the Taronga Zoo is simply huge. After the ferry drops you off, you have to make your way to the top of the park where the entrance is, and then work your way back down to the bottom.


After about 45 minutes I looked at the map and noticed we had only really covered the reptile area; time to pick up the pace. We got to see pretty much everything we wanted, sans the spiders. I regret not making it to that exhibit, because even though they scare the hell out of me, they are fascinating. Plus I would be protected by the glass. Not only were there more animals than most of the other zoos I have been to, but they had better exhibits and looked healthier. There were so many animals and I took heaps of pictures, but here are some of my favourites:

• Komodo dragon – we have a small one at the Woodland Park Zoo, but this guy was huge. Hard to tell from the picture but he was probably about seven feet long. The world’s largest lizard (crocs and gators are not lizards).

• Chimpanzees – they had a good exhibit for the chimps and there were quite a few of them, including a few babies and juveniles. We got there right when they started a talk on them. I’ve always liked primates a lot so it was fun to see the chimps and gorillas but now that I think about it, I didn’t see many others.

• Meerkats – I don’t think I had ever seen any meerkats before and it was pretty cool to see this colony of them digging around and to see a few of them do the classic “keeping watch” pose.

• Red pandas – they don’t resemble giant pandas at all, and none of us had ever seen one before. Very sleek and wise looking, with a long bushy tail.

• Monotremes! – hard to spot these guys in the wild, so it was cool to see the echidna and platypus.

We had a great time and were finally ready to leave—at least, our aching feet were. We got back to the bottom of the zoo by taking the Sky Safari, which is a gondola that travels over the exhibits, giving an amazing view of the Sydney skyline.

The next day we checked out of our hostel and walked down to Darling Harbour to check out that area again. It was a cloudy and started drizzling a little when we stopped at some toilets. When we came out a few minutes later it was just like stepping out into a shower. We sought shelter at a McDonalds nearby to wait. It eventually let up and we headed over to the National Maritime Museum and went on a brief tour, which was also free (I like these free museums!). It started by looking at nautical histories of other countries’ interactions with Australia in the 18th century. Then there was more modern stuff about immigration and the surf movement. The tour was pretty quick so we didn’t get to examine the exhibits and plaques too closely. Then we headed back to the hostel to get our stuff and headed back to Newcastle. Definitely another successful trip to Sydney. Not sure if I’ll make it back there again. I still want to explore some other cities like Melbourne and Brisbane.

Things are starting to get heavy for school. Had a couple big essays due in the last week, and two more due next week. But after next week is our huge spring break trip. I’ll outline that next week before we take off. Here are some random pictures and videos from the Sydney trip.

Me in the reflection of my buddy Mike's sunnies.

The whole group: Mike, Ashley, Sean, Erin, Annie and me.

Trying on an awesome hat.

View from the Sky Safari.

Sean in front of St. Mary's Cathedral at night.

The group out dancing!

Mountain Goats (?) with the Coat Hanger in the background.



"The Seizure Room"

Life in Newcastle

I'm not even going to try to make an excuse this time. Straight-up laziness. Anyway, this post we're going to have a change of pace. I'm going to talk about some school stuff and everyday life in Newcastle just so people can get an idea of what I'm up to when I'm not gallivanting around on the weekends (though I do have another weekend trip report too!).

Newcastle itself is a fair-sized city. It's hard to compare it to Seattle or Bellingham because it's so spread out. Australia is the country of suburbs, basically what we call neighborhoods, and there are many of them. The University and surrounding area is located in the Callaghan suburb. The city of Newcastle has a population of about 150,000 (according to the Lonely Planet guidebook; other sources say as high as 300-500,000). Although it's a somewhat small city, it is also the largest coal exporter in the world! I didn't really take any pictures of the campus, city, or waterfront, and now my camera has mysteriously stopped working. I'll try to throw a few in but you can also google image some of the places I mention for better views. As Newcastle is a coastal city (most of Australia's cities are) there are plenty of beaches. The weather right now is something like a Northwest Spring or Fall. Temperatures mostly around 60 degrees and usually sunny or partly cloudy. It rains once a week or so.

This picture is of Nobby's Beach and the lighthouse down at the end. It's not very busy here, but I'm told that once it heats up in a month or so, it will be very crowded.

I know about four groups of people who live off-campus, most of them a short walk from "downtown". I say it with quotes because it's not the CBD (central business district) but more the cultural center, with most of the museums, restaurants, bars, beaches, etc. located nearby. The Newcastle Train station is also located in this area, so all of the buses and trains end up there eventually, so getting there is pretty easy.

The University of Newcastle actually has a few different campuses. The largest and most attended campus is Callaghan (where I am). There is also the Ourimbah campus, which is a ways South, and another in Port Macquarie. Again depending on where you look, the total enrolment is about 20-30,000 students though to me it feels about the same as Western because I often see people I know when walking around. Callaghan campus is probably about two to three times bigger than Western's campus, though there are lots of undeveloped areas and lots of natural bushland, which adds a nice secluded feel as you walk through. It's also pretty cool to hear all these "exotic" birds chirping away: magpies, lorikeets and the occasional kookaburra. There is also some bird that sounds like a child screaming or some animal being killed, but I can't figure out what it is.

There are four on-campus colleges (what we call dorms) which house about 1,000 students. The colleges are International House, where I live, Edwards Hall, Evatt House and Barahineban. There are often intercol events arranged among the colleges. Just some of the many events are Autonomoy Day (mentioned in an earlier post), a winery tour in Hunter Valley, Olympic Night (everyone dresses up as some type of Olympian), Gender Bender (dress as the opposite sex), Campus Scamper (a 5k race around the campus) and there is an upcoming trip to the horse-race track. There are also sporting matches between the colleges, including soccer, basketball, volleyball, netball and maybe some others. There is definitely a more communal feel to living on campus here than in the States (at least at Western). You get to know a lot of the people in your college through the events and most of the time the events are free or at a discounted price.

To anyone thinking about studying abroad, I would definitely recommend living on campus over living off campus, for a number of reasons. First there is the social aspect. As I said, you meet tons of great people very quickly. Living off campus, you are usually paired with other Americans and it can take you awhile to meet other people unless you are really outgoing and look for events on your own. There is also the fact that you are already on campus and don't have to commute every day; it costs $6 a day to go from town to Uni and back! Another handy thing is not having to pay for utilities or worry about not having certain amenities. In my unit we have high-speed internet in our rooms, a communal TV and a kitchen with every appliance or piece of cookware you could desire. We also have a swimming pool, ping-pong and billiards table, outdoor BBQs and laundry. I think I've made my point...

I'll talk a little about IH so you get an idea about my living situation. IH has 11 main block units which are separate buildings. Each block is two or three stories. Most blocks have 10 people per floor, though some are five person units. I live on the first floor of block five with nine Australian roommates. Although International House is about 50 per cent overseas students, I ended up with all Aussies. Each unit has a main entrance onto a communal living room with TV and couches and an adjoining kitchen. There are two hallways off each side of the common room with five rooms on each side sharing a bathroom. I spend the majority of my time with my roommates unless I'm off on some weekend trip, which are generally spent with Australearn students. We all get along really well and have lots of fun hanging out in the lounge and causing mayhem. Each college has a different meal plan as well. IH has a dinner for every weekday, five a week, so we have to get all of our other meals on our own. There is a shopping center called Jesmond about five minutes away by car which has a grocery store and a bunch of other shops. It's not very big compared to some of the other shopping centers in Newcastle, but it's close and easy to get there. The shops all close at 5pm except on Thursday when they are open to 9. The Uni provides a free bus to the shops on Thursdays which is nice for people who can't get rides or don't want to pay to ride the bus.

A view of the courtyard outside the IH blocks.

The schools system in general also works differently down here. Instead of having each class every day or a few times a week, there is usually just one lecture and one tutorial a week for each class. The lectures are the same as in the states, but a tutorial is a much smaller group that meets and is much more interactive and personal. I really like this system because it makes the subjects more interesting and you get more involved in the discussions. The thing I don't like about the Australian school system is how assessments are handled. In the states we have a lot of small assignments, essays, quizzes or exams. Here you only have a few assessments, either essays or exams, which are worth a large percentage of the grade. In my case, I have only one exam and about 10 essays. If you screw up on an assessment it can really hurt your grade, so you have to be careful. The grading system itself is also different. Instead of letter grades, you get marks. The different marks are high distinction, distinction, credit, pass and fail (anything less than 50). If you get 85 or above then you get a HD which is very good and represents exceptional thought and substantial additional research; basically, hard to get. A 75-84 is a distinction, which is equivalent to an A, and a 65-74 is credit, equivalent to a B. At Western all international grades transfer back as pass or fail, so all I technically need to get are 50s and I would still be fine (don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm still working hard).

Here's a brief rundown of the classes I'm taking.

Australia in the 20th Century - a history class starting with Federation in Australia (becoming an independent country), we are looking at Australia's role in the world and the development of Australian society, culture, politics and economy. Our main assignment is an essay examining a topic of choice. I'm doing my essay on the Great Depression in Australia and looking at how the government responded to the emergency.

Australian Popular Culture - a class that examines popular culture in various media, including movies, books and art. We have been looking a lot at traditional figures of national identity, such as the Anzac or the digger, the bushman, the drover's wife and the lifesaver (lifeguard). I did my first essay in this class on the lifesaver, comparing the traditional views of a lifesaver with a contemporary depiction in some form of media. I chose this video which was used as an advertisement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2DXxXd1Q_M

Myth Making and Mythic Experience - an anthropology class that examines the roles of myth in different societies, specifically how myths and stories contribute to group identity and shape everyday life. We use a number of different perspectives from anthropologists/sociologists like Freud (psychoanalysis), Malinowski (functionalism) and Levi-Strauss (structuralism) to analyse the myths. My final essay is an examination of a Brothers Grimm story using the various methods we have learned. An interesting class because many of these associations and symbols can be so arbitrary and connections can be made very loosely.

Indigenous Peoples of the Contemporary World - an anthropology class that examines the roles and conditions of indigenous peoples all over the world. We have been looking at traditional knowledge, spirituality, treaties and general interactions with Western societies. Often depressing because we learn about all of the horrible things aboriginal people have had to go through. Last week we were looking at "the Stolen Generation", which was when the Australian government deemed Aboriginal parents unable to raise their own children and took them away. Many were put in large boarding schools or group homes where they were often faced with physical and sexual abuse.

Well, hopefully that gives you a good idea of life in Newcastle. Another post soon; now it's time for tea (dinner)!

Find Your Mojo

Well, I've gone and done it again: missed an update. Though I must profess that this time it wasn't entirely my fault. The internet in our dorm was out for a few days, so that's part of my excuse. I hate doing these lengthy updates. There's so much to try and remember.

I'll start with the weekend after we went to Sydney (my previous post), which was our surf trip with MojoSurf to Crescent Head. You may find that I often use the world "we" instead of "I." This is mainly because I travel with a group of buddies on most adventures I undertake. Towards the end of my trip, I'll probably be doing some solo traveling, but that's later!

This trip was one that a bunch of us Australearn students scheduled back in Cairns during our first week in Australia. It seemed like it would be a good way to reconnect with others after the first few weeks of school. After class on Friday, about five of us met up and headed down to the train station and found the rest of the group already there. We took the train a short two stops up and got off to find Ian, the guy we had signed up with, waiting for us with a big ol' bus. The drive to Crescent Head was about three or four hours, so it was dark by the time we got there. We got off the bus and met some of the other staff members and surf instructors. They showed us around a bit and we got our beds set up. Then we headed up to the firepit and they got a nice blaze going for us to warm up (it was really cold there at night). We sat by the fire for a few hours chatting and relaxing while music was playing. We turned in a bit early because we got up early the next morning to make the most of our time.

Part of the camp.

The weather all weekend was beautiful. We had clear skies and it was pretty warm, though the wind did make it a bit chilly at times. Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast of cereal, fresh fruit, and toast. While we ate, one of the guys in charge gave us the rundown on the beach and what we would be doing for the next two days. The guy's name was Kimbo, and he was one of the funniest blokes I've come across. If you picture the Dude from The Big Lebowski, you can get an idea of his general demeanor. He pretty much wore a bathrobe and slippers around the entire time. Anyway, after the speech he gave, we all got kitted out with wetsuits, each one having a unique name on it. Mine was Lycra Man.

The superhero called Lycra Man.

The wetsuits were pretty worn and didn't exactly fit, but they kept us warm. The water actually wasn't too cold. The locals here think the water is freezing; I tell them to check out the Puget Sound. We headed down to the beach, and after a brief lesson of the basics, jumped into the water. Most people progressed at the same rate. It took awhile to actually stand up on the board, but a lot of people were starting to get it down. We went at it for a few hours, having fun and occasionally getting crushed under a wave. After a delicious lunch break consisting of grilled cheese sandwiches, we hit the surf again. If I had to guess, I would say we spent about five or six hours surfing that day.

Woohoo, totally gnarly dewd.

That night we had a great BBQ dinner (did I mention that all the meals there were amazing?) and another night at the firepit. One of the best parts of being down on the beach and away from the cities was the lack of light pollution. If you got away from the fire and down to the beach, the stars were absolutely awesome. And it's weird because none of the stars are familiar. You wouldn't expect to notice the difference, but it's there.

A moment of quiet contemplation by the fire.

The next morning we headed back out for a few more hours. Putting the wetsuits back on after they had been sitting out all night in the freezing cold was not too fun. Once we got back into the water though, it was no problem. The last few hours were pretty good. Consistent and good size waves. The instructors said that the conditions were perfect for learning. By the end, we were all pretty tired, cold, and a little sore. After lunch, we rounded up all our stuff and hopped back on the bus for the long haul home.


Just a short video of the beach so you can get an idea of the location. Beauty.