God Bless America

It was a fun, interesting and overall enjoyable weekend here in Sydney. However, I did receive my first real anti-American comments. I was at a barbie on Saturday and got to chatting with an Australian guy and when I told him I was from America, he seemed to offer me his sympathy. I was a quite confused. He started going on about how everything is out of control in the US and George W. Bush is a terrible guy, just like the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard. Inevitably, he got to the topic of the Virginia Tech shooting and how that’s just so crazy and wouldn’t happen in any country but America. Even more interesting was that earlier in the day I had been chatting about the same thing with one of my friends from South Korea, Sam, who said he has some friends on exchange in the US who are sort of scared after what happened, since the shooter was Korean. He even had sort of the same view as the Australian guy, that America needs stronger gun laws, because it’s impossible in Korea, for instance, to have any kind of gun at all and that’s why, according to Sam, nothing like that ever happens in South Korea. It was really interesting how the same thing came up in two different conversations, but I guess it’s such a big deal and something that’s on the minds of a lot of people when they think about America.

Anyway, back to the Australian guy at the barbie, I wasn’t too eager to get into a political debate or any kind of confrontation for that matter, so I basically just smoothed things over, while letting him speak his mind. There was even a point after his bashing of the Australian government where I said, “well hey, Australia is still one of our good allies,” to which he responds, “unfortunately.” For the record, it was quite clear to me that this guy had been drinking for quite awhile. However, I also believe that when people are under the influence of alcohol, they tend to tell the truth and give their honest opinion about whatever it is they’re speaking of.

My response to both of these guys was pretty much the same. For a country like the US to offer their people so much freedom and to have so many different types of people from so many different cultures living there, some bad things are going to happen. That obviously does not make it ok for these tragedies to occur, but you can’t say the whole country is a bad place because of a few horrific events that do happen.

Strangely, it sort of reminds me of how my favorite NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals, is portrayed around the league. Because of the wrong actions of a few of the younger, less mature members of the team, everyone has to deal with the consequences. The bad stuff gets magnified and overshadows the good things that people do. Unfortunately, it works the same way throughout the world. One major thing that I've learned from being away from the US for so long is how much I love it there and it's made my loyalty to my country so much stronger. Despite the bad things that do happen, I am truly proud to be an American! I know that's such a cliche but I mean it!

Well, anyway, like I said, I did have some fun this weekend, highlighted by the grand opening of Pancakes at Darling Harbour on Sunday night. One of my housemates, Alessandra, works there and invited Jochen, my roommate, and me to come and get some free food! Now, this is definitely a one-time thing in Sydney. We felt quite special because only guests of employees received this benefit. We had to stop at an information desk and ask exactly where the restaurant was located and the lady said that she didn’t think it was open yet, but directed us there anyway. We knew that it was open to us! Then when we got to the door the hostess was a bit skeptical and asked if we knew anyone working there and when we mentioned Alessandra’s name we were in! So, needless to say, I stuffed myself quite full with the Aussie Sunrise breakfast and a Greek salad, with a coffee and even a little bit of Jochen’s steak and mushroom crepes. Great stuff! And the best part is that this Pancakes is in a much better location than the one I used to frequent, located at The Rocks.

Also this weekend I went to the Sydney Aquarium. If you really know me, then you know how much I like tropical fish. Even though I had be there for my Marine Environment class and complete a three page handout, I still really enjoyed it. I got to see some pretty massive sharks and some very interesting looking fish. I also petted a small shark and touched some sea anemones, starfish and sea cucumbers. We also stumbled in on a fight/play between some seals. They got into it pretty ferociously, so I’m not quite sure if they were playing or not. They had the tanks where you could walk underneath the water and the seals would be swimming overhead. The shark tank was the same, where they would just swim right over your head and you could marvel at how massive they are. The best part of it all was the Great Barrier Reef section. There were so many colorful fish, as well as some reef sharks. However, it still took a backseat to what I experienced actually being at the Great Barrier Reef itself. So, it was all real cool, but still nothing like actually being with the fish in their natural habitat.

Finally, I finished my first big assignment for Australian Wildlife Biology on Sunday. I wrote about the Orange-bellied Parrot, which is a critically endangered bird endemic to (only found in) Australia. But it’s nice to have that done with, before I start on the next paper for Australian Economic Development, which is due on Friday!

Also, the NFL Draft was this weekend and I couldn’t help but pay pretty close attention to what was happening. I’m still sort of curious about some of the Bengals picks, but I’m not going to go crazy like a lot of our fans and call the Bengals stupid for selecting a running back and not defense with the second round pick. I know that there is so much about the draft and the team and the players they select that the fans do not see. I trust Marvin and soon he’ll take us to the top!

Andy's Trip Down Under

Well the past couple of weeks have been some of the best times I’ve had while in Australia and it can mostly be attributed to the fact that I spent it with my brother, Andy. The time spent with him showed me just how lucky I am to be here and that maybe I’m not enjoying it all quite as much as I could be. He continuously commented how much he loved Sydney and that it’s the most beautiful city he’s ever visited. I am also starting to realize that I probably won’t understand just how great this place is until after I’ve left. At least I still have a couple of months left!

Our first week was spent in Cairns and as expected we had an amazing time. The highlights would definitely include our trip to Tjapukai Cultural Park, Kuranda via the SkyRail, Paronella Park and of course the scuba diving/snorkeling trip on the Great Barrier Reef. Not to mention all the relaxation time and chatting with Andy, which is obviously something we hadn’t done in a long time.

Tjapukai Cultural Park is a place that allows visitors to get a glimpse into the Aboriginal culture and history in the Cairns area. It started off sort of disappointing, actually. We were so excited to get to try out some boomerang and spear throwing, but since it was rainy we didn’t get to do that. However, we decided to hang around in hopes that the weather would get better and we’d get our chance and to our delight that happened! Andy is definitely the better boomeranger but I did better at the spear throwing. The spear throwing was sort of interesting because you don’t throw it like you would think, just like a javelin. You use an extra tool, a spear-thrower, to help get better force and aim behind it, but as you can imagine it takes some time to get good at it. I think I just got lucky.

The next day we came back to the Tjapukai gift shop since we couldn’t get to Kuranda as hoped, and we ended up getting a short demonstration on how to play the didgeridoo. We also each decided to purchase an authentic boomerang and later that day as we were just walking back from the city to our hotel, we realized that the park we had walked by everyday was a perfect location to experiment with our new boomerangs. So we spent the next hour or so in the park throwing our boomerangs around and actually did get them to come back to us a couple of times. Again, I got lucky and was the first one to actually catch it, but Andy was much more consistent with getting good throws that came back to him and finally he caught a few of them.

We finally did make it to Kuranda and it was a good time as well, but a little more laid back. Getting there was the most exciting part. We rode the SkyRail which is basically a huge ski lift that takes you over the top of the canopy of the rainforest, so as you can imagine, it was very, very picturesque along the whole ride. On the way up to Kuranda we stopped at a couple places and got out to walk around in the rainforest and at another stop we checked out Barron Falls. In Kuranda we visited a few wildlife parks, Butterfly Sanctuary, BirdWorld and Koala Park. They were all really cool and at Koala Park, we finally got to hold a koala which Andy had been talking about doing all week. Also while in Kuranda, we got to see some Aboriginal kids performing some dances on the street. A couple of the kids were really tiny and they were all painted up, so it was a good, funny little show. The trip back on the SkyRail was also very neat for a different reason. This time we couldn’t really see a whole lot because we were going through clouds. It had a really eerie, mysterious feeling, because it was sort of dark and really quiet, too. So even though we took the same path back, it was nice to get a different experience out of it.

Friday was our big day out on the reef. We had to go with a bigger boat with a lot more people than my previous trip. The reason was that the water was quite rough and the smaller sailboats get tossed around really bad, so a lot of those weren’t even operating. The ride out was pretty wild. They weren’t kidding about it being rough out on the sea and Andy and I were pretty glad we took our sea sickness pills because about half of the people on the boat were on the back deck vomiting. It was also really dangerous to even just walk around the boat because it was rocking so much and even on the way back two people cut themselves while trying to get to the bathroom. One guy even probably had to get stitches on his hand when we got back to shore.

But anyway, onto the good stuff about the trip. Well first of all the weather was much nicer than my last trip, so the fish looked so much brighter in the sunlight. We went down for a dive first and got to get our pictures taken with two clownfish swimming around in an anemone and we also just got to swim around and look at various things around the sea floor. The water was a little murky since the sea was so rough and lots of the particles from the seabed had been kicked up, but it wasn’t that bad. It was yet another awesome experience. But I actually enjoyed the snorkeling a bit better. The reef where we were was so close to the top of the water that there were so many fish and coral right at the surface. The only bad part was that with the sea being so rough it pushed you around quite a bit, so it got frustrating when you couldn’t just sit in one spot. In some areas it was hard to snorkel through the reef because I was afraid of getting pushed onto some coral which would be bad news. So we had to be careful about where we went. Now, the highlight of Andy’s day had to be when he saw a shark, twice! I was right there next to him, but somehow didn’t get to see it at all. He said it was a pretty long one, maybe five feet or so, but didn’t really look like it was big enough to do too much damage. I really wish I would have seen it. I did get to see a really huge sea turtle, though. Without hesitation, I’d say the trip out on the reef was the highlight of our stay in Cairns, as expected. It’s just such an amazing place and it’s really a shame that scientists are saying the reef will be severely decimated over the next 25 to 50 years and only about 10% of what is there now will remain. So, if you haven’t been to the Great Barrier Reef yet, make every effort to do so, because it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

It was going to be extremely difficult for anything to top our trip to the reef, but Paronella Park came pretty close. It’s a Spanish castle located up in the rainforest tablelands area and you’re probably wondering what a Spanish castle is doing in Australia. Well Jose Paronella, who the park is named after, had a dream of living in a castle, but he wanted it located in a place where it would be unique. Well it’s pretty amazing what he was able to build. He built it along a small river where there is a small waterfall, which he used to install a hydroelectric system to power his castle. There were so many unexpected things around the place, like tennis courts, really fancy latrines and even a tunnel of love. It was easy to see that the guy had a really big imagination. Just walking around the place, every time you thought that it was big enough, there would be another path leading to another surprise. It’s such a neat place that it’s sort of difficult to explain in words. It’s something that you just have to see to understand. The only unfortunate part of Paronella Park was that it rained pretty hard on us and we got soaked! But like the owner told us, the rain gives you the real experience of what it was like back when Jose lived there.

Also, during the week we spent some time with some people we met there in Cairns through Harry, my American friend who I hang out with a lot back in Sydney. Lindsay and Shannon are from Virginia, that’s how they know Harry, and Jess and Martina are from Minnesota. They are all also studying abroad, but in Perth. I hope I get to visit Perth, the most isolated city in the world, so it’s nice to know some people who could show me around. We’ll see if I can actually make it out there. But we had a good time with them at the Woolshed and Gilligan’s a couple of different nights. It was good for Andy and I to be able to chat with other people and not be stuck just talking to each other all week. J

Oh and I almost forgot to mention my big purchase of the week. After much deliberation about the cost and hassle of transporting it around, I finally gave in and bought myself a didgeridoo. It’s quite a nice one, so it wasn’t cheap, but it’s really awesome, so I’m glad I got it. It wasn’t very fun to carry around the airport, but it was worth it. I’m not too good at playing it right now, but hopefully I can find some time to get better before I go back home to the US.

Andy’s second week in Australia, we spent a lot of time visiting places around Sydney. We checked out Circular Quay and the Opera House, obviously. We also took a very nice walk through Hyde Park and into the Royal Botanical Gardens, which is absolutely beautiful, and then took a ferry across the harbor and then walked back to The Rocks via the Harbour Bridge. The next day we took the Coogee to Bondi walk along the coast and that was excellent as well. There are just so many great views along the ocean there and I’m glad Andy could see all of it during his short stay. Another night we checked out Darling Harbour and then also hit Kings Cross, which is quite different from a lot of the other places around the city; not so nice and clean. That is also the place where I lost my phone on Andy’s last night in Sydney. A real bummer, but we still had a pretty fun night and I’ve since purchased a new, better phone. Sorry Chris for losing the phone you gave me, but I’m sure you know how Kings Cross is and I hope you’ll understand J Sandwiched in and amongst all this we found time to have a really fun night at the Coogee Bay Hotel, just right down the street from where I live. A lot of my friends and housemates all went out with us, so it was nice for Andy to meet and hang out with all of them.

So, that’s what’s happened over the last couple of weeks and the reason for the delay in posting for awhile. Hopefully I can keep up with it a little better from here on out, but I do actually have to start doing some school work. Yuck, I know, but believe me it’s nothing too difficult. For instance, this weekend I have to go to the Sydney Aquarium for my Marine Environment class. It could be so much worse!

Happy Easter

Well I believe this is my first Easter not spent with family, although I will be seeing Andy very early tomorrow morning and in Australia, the day after Easter Sunday is called Easter Monday and it’s a public holiday, so close enough. Good Friday is also a public holiday, but here there are no classes at uni, unlike in the US. So even though Easter Sunday is without family, at least Easter Monday will be, even though we’ll be traveling most of the day.

So, this coming week is my Spring Break, called Easter Break here, since it falls right after Easter. As I mentioned, Andy will be here early tomorrow morning and we are heading north to Cairns in the afternoon. It will be my second tour of tropical Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef and this time should be just as fun. We’re planning on doing some scuba diving for sure and then hopefully visit some surrounding areas like Port Douglas and Kuranda. On the way to Kuranda we will ride the Skyrail, which is basically a huge ski lift that takes you above trees giving you spectacular views of the area. That should be fun, since it’s something I didn’t get to do last time. Other than that we are just going to go with the flow and see what comes up.

I haven’t really been doing anything too extremely exciting lately. I’ve been trying to save money for this trip, with minimal success. I saw the movie 300 in IMAX this Friday and that was really cool, although I will admit, it was just too big. Everyone else I was with seemed to really enjoy it and not have a problem with it and while I enjoyed it, I think I would have enjoyed it more at a regular theatre where I could see exactly what was going on the entire time. I will probably reserve the IMAX for documentaries and things like that from here on out and not action packed movies.

Last weekend, I attended a party that was truly THE party of all international parties. I met and chatted with people from Norway, Taiwan, France, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Denmark, Germany and just a couple from the US and Canada. And that’s just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. But that was really cool and just so amazing to see that many people from so many different ends of the earth all together in this one small house in Australia. Unbelievable!

Also last week, I had my first field trip for my Marine Environment class. We rode around on a boat in Port Hacking and collected sediment samples from the sea bed below. I know it doesn’t sound very interesting, but it is pretty neat to see all the different materials on the seabed and how they change very drastically from place to place. We had to figure out why the sediment in one place was different from another. Plus, riding around on a boat for three hours on a Saturday morning….well I’ll just say that I can think of much worse ways of spending my Saturday.

I also want to let everyone know that The Burninators fencing team began their string of competitions and after the first day of bouts, we are 1-1. Personally, I did ok, I guess. My first bout went to a draw at 3-3 and the second one I did much better albeit against a weaker opponent, winning 5-1. But fencing itself is actually pretty good stuff. I was a little skeptical of it at first, but it’s just so technical that it takes some time to get used to and will only become more comfortable with time and practice. The big end of training competition is only a couple weeks away on April 26. Go Burninators!

It’s hard to believe that six weeks of uni has already passed. I’m just about half-way done with uni, since there are 14 weeks in the session. Week seven will fly by too, because Andy will be in town still and we’ll be trying to soak up as much of the Sydney life as possible before he has to head back to the cold, cold, cold winds of Chicago!

It’s beginning to get much cooler in Sydney as we transition from summer to autumn and eventually winter, but it’s not too bad yet and never will be as cold as it gets in the US. So my days at the beach are dwindling, but that may be a good thing because it will give me time to actually do some studying since I have some assignments coming up and final exams not too far off either.

But I’m not worrying about exams or school for the next week, because I’m gonna be livin it up in the tropics with my big bro!