I do not even know where to start.
School started.
My sister came to Australia
and we went Sydney.
I feel like within the last 3 weeks so much has happened, but to put it all into words seems like nothing has happened.
But then again, maybe there's more than I can remember in one single moment.
Here we go.
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Like I said, school started. It's school. I'm actually really enjoying my Indigenous and Aboriginal Torres Straight Islander health class. It's interesting because it gives me a background history of Australia, but it's through the natives' eyes, rather than the dominant person in the country. It makes me open my eyes to the Indians in the US and realize what we had done to them, to some degree.
I am also taking psychology. I took it in high school and seemed to enjoy it. It's basically the same class so it's mostly review, but it is interesting to see things after taking both human anatomy and physiology. I really get to picture how the mind works and understand everything in a different perspective than when I did just normally taking psychology without that background.
I am also doing my community internship. I actually get to go up this weekend and help do work in the mountains, so I am pretty excited about that. The class, however is a different story. Our actually 50 hours of internship is only worth 5 percent of our grade. It's too much busy work, and let's leave the rest of the story there.
First day of school and it rained. I was fortunately prepared, but let's just say that MANY people walked in soaked head to toe.
Krista came! We enjoyed a few nice beach days, met one of her friends that she worked in Japan with, and also attempted to teach her to surf. Unfortunately, the surf at Surfer's Paradise tends to be a bit rough and choppy, so it's not the best learning grounds. At least she gave it a go.
First day here and we got her out on the beach for the evening
Teaching Krista to surf on land
Surf's up!
Ready to attempt water
I even gave it a go. Gotta love the waves here!
Krista trying to get up
We even went out for a night and showed her one of the night clubs
Sisterly love
I bought this dress for $5 in Byron Bay a couple weeks ago. I can definitely admit it is now one of my favorites!
First night ever out with her!
Pre-club
At the club
Friends (:
Krista, me, Amanda (Krista's friend from Japan), Sarah, and some random dude....
Anyways, after that we took a trip to Sydney. A lot of it was tourist site seeing, but it was amazing and beautiful no matter what. It's amazing to see what a true "Big City" is like. I know that Salt Lake City is considered a small city, and Las Vegas is pretty big and busy, but I do not think either of them compare to Sydney. It was huge and so busy!! I can't imagine living somewhere so big and busy; I was bound to get lost.
First stop: Sydney Harbor Bridge
Sisters in Sydney
Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge
Loved this area!
Sisters in front of the Opera House and Bridge
Some of the best friends I've made here.
Posing in front of the Opera House
The four of us in Sydney
Krista and I even decided to go to an Opera while we were there. For $50 we got tickets that are normally $200. Thank goodness for being a poor college student!
We saw "The Magic Flute"
Just before hitting up the opera for the night (:
All dressed up for the evening at the Opera
We also went to Manly Beach to see my sister's friend that she met in the Philippines this winter!
Ferry ride over to Manly, and a million sail boats popped up out of no where! It was fun to see all of them together sailing as a huge pack towards the direction of the bridge and opera house.
We also saw an Oracle Race! First, I saw a speed boat drive by, and read the side and it said "Oracle USA." I sat there thinking for a minute... oracle... why does that sound so familiar? And it hit! My Dad has been dying to see the Oracle Sailing team for who knows how long! I immediately got excited and whipped out my camera just in time to see them fly right behind us.
This is of course the Australia boat, just slightly ahead of the USA boat.
Turning
Here comes the US
Go go go!
Unfortunately, we were unable to see much, seeing that we were driving in the opposite direction that they were going, but it was fun to snap a few pictures and have the ability to say "Yeah! I was near one of the boats and saw them racing."
Maybe one day my family and I can go watch a true race with multiple countries competing. I'm sure it would make my Dad so happy!
Manly Beach sunset!
A view of the Harbor Bridge at night
We also decided to walk across the Harbor Bridge to get some night shots
Sydney is gorgeous: day or night.
The Opera House
The next day was more relaxing. We went to the Chinese Garden of Friendship. It was gorgeous and so nice to walk around, sit, and relax! I think it made Krista miss Japan a little bit.
Panorama of the garden
The girls
It was so gorgeous here it almost looks too fake and unreal
The next day we took a tour to Blue Mountains. It was so nice to get up into the mountains and just look down below everything, rather than looking up at everything. It sure makes me miss home and the mountains that surround the valley.
On the way to Blue Mountains!
Dangling off the side, enjoying the views from the mountains.
The group dangling off. I sure loved traveling with these three!
Overlook of one of the waterfalls.
Sister picture
Happy to have her around
One of the waterfalls; View from the tram.
Blue Mountains
The Three Sisters
One of the Coal Mines at Blue Mountains
This is basically what we road to get out of the valley of the Blue Mountains. It is the steepest railroad.
Length 415 meters
Vertical Drop is 206 meters
Steepest incline: 52 degrees (this was INSANE!!!)
Also, did you know that Blue Mountains is called that because of the eucalyptus trees? On warm days they let off an organic chemical that makes the area look like a blue smog/haze is taking over the area.
We came back home after the Blue Mountains tour. It is also amazing to see the difference in the airport system in Australia versus the US.
On our way to Sydney, we decided to take public transportation. We left at 5 for a 7:30 take off. We assumed the bus would take a little over an hour and we would have enough time to get through security. Granted, it was the middle of the week and the Gold Coast airport is only a small airport.
Unfortunately, we got stuck on slow, busy, clustered buses and ended up getting separated. Once united again, we got on the bus that would take us directly to the airport, but the bus was taking much longer than expected. We were getting very close to 7:00 and knew we had to get to the airport soon. We stopped at a stop that was still about 15 minutes from the airport, and some rowdy kids got on saying "We only have one stop to go so let us on for free." Of course, they could be lying and the bus driver threw a fit saying no. We sat on the bus watching the bus driver yell at the kids to get off for a good 10 minutes. I was freaking out because I did not want to miss the plane. Thankfully they finally got off and threw a tantrum, hitting and kicking the side of the bus as it drove off.
We made it to the airport just before 7. We walked in briskly, just to find out that there was absolutely no line for security. We got through within the minute, and thankfully had time to relax and grab some drinks before getting on the plane. It was nice to relax and know things were going to be okay.
Even coming home from Sydney, we gave ourselves plenty of time to get through security. I mean, it's an international airport, so its much bigger than the Gold Coast airport. We just assumed it would be busy.
Nope! We got there and there was little to no security line. Once again, we walked right through, but this time we had a couple of hours to spare.
I do not know what the difference is between the US system and the Australia system, besides the fact that you don't have to take off shoes or remove all liquids from your bag. Either way, the US needs to implement the system because I have never found going through the airport so easy!
The next day we went on a ferry to an island where they were throwing an "Aloha Beach Cruise Party." It was fun, but everything was way too expensive. It was a fun experience, though.
Another sunset shot from the island.
Anyways, that's about it so far. This week has been a little more stressful as I try to get some homework done. Nights have definitely been hard, as I finally have not as much going on and think about family and friends. Homesickness has definitely hit a few times this week, but I just have to keep pushing forward and keep myself busy. I actually started reading a book my sister suggested to me, and that's finally helped me put my head in place and stay busy. I read the first book in a matter of 3 days, and have already read half way through the second. It's amazing what a good book can do for me (:
My friend Sarah and I also decided to take a day off and relax on the beach for a little bit. It was good to get off campus and away from my room to just relax, reflect, and just clear my mind.
Today it has been a downpour. Thankfully, I do not have class, but it was nice to see rain rather than sun. The past few days have been muggy and hot, so it was nice for a change.
I decided that yes, sun is good for you, but it's always nice to have a change in pace and see something different.
Maybe that is why I love traveling so much? It's hard for me to sit and look at the same thing day in and day out. It's also why I truly do love Utah. The four seasons give you a chance to see the state in a different way and give you different activities to do, rather than doing the same activities every single day, every single year.
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