Since I've been in Australia...Part 3

1. I’ve found that restaurants refuse to split checks (with no free refills and no split checks, I think I’d like serving in Oz!)
2. I’ve also found that restaurants charge an automatic 10% surcharge on public holidays. Some do for public holidays AND Sundays. It’s also common to charge $1 extra for take away.
3. I’ve noticed that water fountains are nonexistent.
4. I’ve learned that Australians are extremely environmentally conscious. Everyone brings their own bags to the grocery store and the cashiers will only give you a plastic bag if you request one. And if you do, everyone behind you in line will give you some dirty looks.
5. I’ve learned that it costs approximately $70 a year to own a dog. And a leash is called a lead.
6. I’ve found that all buses have seatbelts.
7. I’ve found that if you get on a bus with only a $50 bill to pay for your $3.20 ticket, the bus driver will usually be too lazy to give you change and let you ride for free :)
8. I’ve found that I’m REALLY good at running to catch trains.
9. I’ve become quite fond of people from England & Ireland.
10. I’ve learned that when you go to Subway and you get to the part in the line where they put the vegetables on, the employee will ask you “Do you want salad?” Originally, I thought this meant lettuce, so I said yes. Well apparently if you say you what salad that means you want EVERYTHING or what we would call “the works”. Learned that one the hard way.
11. I’ve found that ass is spelled “arse.” I have no idea why.
12. After looking at my flight itinerary for November numerous times trying to figure out why it said that it only took 10 minutes to travel from Newcastle to Brisbane, I learned that even though the state Queensland is directly above the state of New South Wales, Queensland is in a different time zone for 6 months of the year because they don’t want to participate in Daylight Savings Time. Weird.
13. I’ve come face to face with a possum. Scary!
14. When working on a research paper alone in the cellar, I met a lizard hanging around my shoes. Scary!
15. I’ve found that Australia’s version of Ramen noodles come with a plastic fork inside…convenient!
16. I’ve noticed that Australian guys don’t like to wear shoes. It’s quite common to see men walking around the mall barefoot.
17. After overhearing some Australian girls discuss how excited they were that the movie “Up” was coming out next week, I realized that American movies come out many months later in Australia.
18. I think I’ve overdosed on techno music.
19. I’ve noticed that Australians don’t wear sweatpants. Girls wear workout pants but ONLY before/after going to the gym. So the few times I’ve worn my sweatpants to the dining hall, I’ve had people ask me, “Oh are you going to the gym?”
20. I’ve realized that it’s only rained 4 times in the 3 months I’ve been here.
21. I’ve found that a text message in Australia can be 1,000 characters long. My Verizon limit at home was 160 characters. Also, incoming texts and calls are free :)
22. I’ve found that if you text an Australian it’s quite common not to receive a response till about 2 or 3 hours later.
23. I’ve learned that there’s a free bus to Jeso every Thursday night. Thursday night grocery shopping has become a weekly social event.
24. I’ve found that clothes sizes are different here, which was quite frightening before I realized it. A size 0 in the US is a size 6 in Oz, a 2 is an 8, etc. Also, while in the US we typically have S, M, L, XL, XXL, in Australia they have XXS, SX, S, M, L. What’s that say about America?
25. I’ve found that in transportation timetables they often use military time. i.e. our bus will leave at 20:50 and arrive at 9:40. Huh!?
26. I’ve noticed that no one drives automatic cars. Everyone can drive a manual (and remember that means you have to use your left hand!)
27. I’ve learned that when you’re traveling you should NEVER pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom. You never know the next time you’ll get the chance to go.
28. I’ve found that Australians are very proud of their country and when they meet people like myself who are travelling around their country, they will most always say, “Enjoy Australia!”
29. I’ve discovered that generally the less clean a hostel is the more social and fun it is. The cleaner it is, the more quiet and boring it will be. So when picking a hostel you gotta ask yourself, “Do I want to sleep tonight or do I want to make friends?”
30. I’ve turned into a dancing machine.
31. I’ve noticed that most places you go it seems like the guy to girl ratio is about 7 to 3. I mean I’m not complaining or anything, but it is a bit odd….
32. I’m tanner than I’ve ever been in my entire life. You might not recognize me when I come home in December.
33. I’m still trying to figure out why I use to think that I needed so many clothes. I could have easily come to Australia with one suitcase and been totally fine.
34. I’ve begun to add “as” to the end of phrases. For example, “That movie is funny as,” “This burger is tasty as,” “Those sunnies are sweet as,” etc…
35. I've found that I love the TV show "Summer Heights High" I might need to buy all the seasons on DVD before I leave...
35. Like most Australians, I've replaced the words "huh?" or "what?" with "hey?" So if someone says something that I don't understand or I couldn't hear, I would respond with "hey?"
36. I've found that nearly every high school in Australia both public and private are required to wear uniforms. Now I thought that my high school uniform was bad, but these ones are hideous! The girls generally wear LONG (mid calf) dresses of various ugly colors with ties around thier necks. The dresses in this picture are probably the shortest out of any of the uniforms I've seen. And to top it off they have to wear straw hats (you can kinda see some of the girls in the front of the picture wearing them). The boys uniforms aren't that much greater because they too have to wear the straw hats. And if the boys want to wear shorts then they have to wear knee length socks...haha. They also never carry backpacks, but rather duffle bags.

And finally...I know you all love the Aussie slang:
Capsicum = peppers
Boys = guys
Nervie = nervous
Paddle pop = popsicle stick
Hire = rent (So you would hire a car or a locker)
Holiday = vacation/break
Yank = American
Seppo = American (short for septic tank, because apparently American’s are “full of shit”)
Pom/Pommie = person from England (derived because when the English first came to Australia their skin turned the color of pomegranates because of the sun)
Bugger= crap/shoot/darn
Mark = grade (You get a mark in a class, not a grade)
Kangaroo in the headlights = deer in the headlights (There’s no deer here!)
Mum = Mom
Fair dinkum = absolutely/definitely
“Whatya getin’ into tonight?” = What are you doing tonight?
"I can't be bothered" = I don't feel like it (i.e. "I can't be bothered to cook dinner")
D & M = deep and meaningful conversation

Happy Holidays!

Hey everyone,

Tonight I leave for my 2 week trip or "holiday" as the Aussies call it. I'll be making my way up the east coast to about 5 different cities and a few islands. I probably won't have much (if any) internet access over the next two weeks, so don't think that I went MIA. However, be prepared for an overload of pictures and blog posts when I get back the week of the 12th.

Catch ya later!

I'm Not in Kansas Anymore...

Early Wednesday morning at approximately 6:30 AM, I was woken by the sound of a floor mate screaming down the hallway, “THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING!” What the heck? Am I dreaming? More screams, “SANDSTORM!!!!!!” Sandstorm? The techno song? Huh? What is gong on? Then about 30 seconds later my room phone rang, “LOOK OUT YOUR WINDOW, YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT!” Alright, that’s it. That was enough for me to drag myself out of bed and pull the curtains. The color orange flooded into my room. Everything out was orange. The sky was orange. The air was orange. The ground was orange. I think I rubbed my eyes a few times because I didn’t believe my eyes. This was crazy! So what did I do? I ran outside to take pictures of course!





The moment I stepped outside, I felt like I was IN the Wizard of Oz movie, or any old movie at that. Not only was the air thick but it was heaps windy; I thought I was gonna blow over. It felt like a big storm was brewing. What’s going on? What’s going on? I asked all the Aussies. This was The Dust Storm of 09.



Being outside felt like the feeling you get after you just slide into home plate on the baseball field. You could taste the dust in your mouth and feel it in your eyes. Apparently Sydney got hit the hardest. This was a picture I found online of the Opera House on Wednesday morning. On the news, they advised people to stay inside and even suggested that students not go to school. Dust Day? Is that possible? After a few hours you could begin to see layers of dust on people’s cars and on the sidewalks.



I’ve been told this was the worst dust storm in Australia’s history. However, the news articles online say it was the worst dust storm in 70 years. The last dust storm that hit Newcastle was 6 years ago, but not nearly as bad. When I went back to my room to go back to sleep, I realized that I foolishly left my window open and there was dust ALL over my desk and everything on my desk was on the floor. Whoops. Luckily, I don’t have Uni on Wednesdays, so I didn’t have to venture out into the orange world. By mid afternoon the sun was out and the orange had toned down. Well, at least I can say that I survived The Dust Storm of 09!

Strange Sightings around Teds

I'd quickly like to share with everyone a few strange sights that I've seen around Teds lately...

1. Surfboards...in the hallway?


It's things like this that remind me I really am in Australia.

2. Heart shaped post it notes in the bathroom.


The classic co-ed bathroom debate: should the girls put the seat up for guys or should the guys put the seat down for the girls? How can you resist a cute little post it note like this?

3. Smelly socks...in the hallway?


This is one guys genius idea for how not to make his room smell: lay the stinky socks in the hallway!

4. Leaping lizards!



This guy was found in the common living area of Teds. Welcome to Australia, aye?

5. Creepy Crawlers.


After receiving a 4 AM phone call from my friend Natalie discovering this guy above her bed, I ran over to her room to assist in the killing. The unglamorous part about living in Australia...

6. All nighter?



This guy brought an entire POT of coffee to the library. Why didn't I think of that?!

The Boy's Club

Since I’ve been living among Australians for the past 2 months, one of the most fascinating cultural differences I’ve noticed is the way that guys interact with each other. Actually, I should correct myself because guys are never called guys here but rather “boys.” Not only are Australian boys different from American ones in that they wear short shorts with Ugg boots, but also in their male friendships. “Mateship” is a strong cultural idiom present in Australia which embodies equality, loyalty, and friendship. But mateship means far more than just friendship. It is probably the strongest bond that can be formed between males and is taken extremely seriously down under.

As you walk into the dining hall, it is hard not to notice the long, rectangular table of about 30 seats filled completely with boys. It’s the same table every day. It’s always packed tight with boys. Always boys. The biggest social taboo a girl could make would be making the mistake of taking a seat at this holy table. This is “The Boy’s Club.” It’s much different than the typical college “football table” or “soccer table” because all of these boys play different sports and study different majors; however, they are all good mates and therefore exclusive to The Boys Club.




Catie and I took this picture at dinner one night. It’s not very good; however, it’s the best stalker pictures we could get without being too obvious. When waiting in line for dinner one night, an Aussie girl explained The Boys Club to Catie and me a little bit better. There’s one boy at the table, let’s call him…Bob. He’s the head of The Boy’s Club, also known as “Chick Hater” (even though he has a girlfriend?). The Boy’s Club also has a “muscle house” or “man cave” as we like to call it, where Chick Hater said “NO CHICKS ARE ALLOWED!” This is just a hangout area in a dark corner of the basement of our dorm, and who knows what goes on down there (I’ll probably never know). It’s also odd that they never come and leave the “man cave” together. I’ll always see them going in separately with 3 beers in one hand and 2 bags of chips in the other, ready to do their mysterious male bonding.

Most of the boys also have nicknames. However, they are typically never simply their last names. Rather, The Boy’s Club includes boys named Slappy, Coffee, TBM (The Beautiful Man), Pebbles, and Spanky. And what would a club be without a point system? Everyone starts out with the same number of points. However, it’s NOT very “cool” to hang out with girls too much. The chicks come in the way of mate time. So if you start dating a girl or liking one, you’re limited to the amount of time you’re allowed to spend with her (less than with the boys!). If you begin to hang out with a chick too much then that’s when you begin to loose precious points. The more points you loose, the more likelihood of you being…dundundun…KICKED OUT OF THE BOYS CLUB! This is serious business! So what are the boys to do? They sneak around to see their women…this includes crawling through windows, secret rendezvous, and the like. And if you’re dating a boy in The Boy’s Club then you’re in quite a sticky situation yourself. Break one of the boy’s hearts and you’re shunned for life. Now you got 30+ boys who probably won’t ever look at you again.

I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous and something a bunch of 5 year olds would make up, but I swear it’s true. Maybe I should start up a girls club?

I have apologize, I will update again soon about my trip to Sydney and the Blue Mountains as soon as I finish this research paper I’m working on. Catch ya later!

Byron Bay Weekend

I have to apologize about the delay…I updated last week about skydiving, but never blogged about the rest of my remarkable trip to Byron Bay.
The weekend began on Thursday night as Natalie, Amber, and I made our way into town to the bus terminal to catch our overnight bus. Byron Bay is located about 9 hours north of Newcastle slightly below the boarder where the state New South Wales turns into Queensland. However, since the bus stopped at numerous east coast cities along the way, the ride took about 11 hours total. Trust me, it is by no means comfortable sleep, but all I could think was “I should take these overnight buses more often… I could save like $30 from not having to pay for another night in a hostel!” I mean I figure you’re never really very productive on a bus anyway, so waste precious daytime on a bus? It’s sorta funny… I’ve began to notice how travelling has completely changed my perspective on how I spend money. I will gladly dish out hundreds of dollars to skydive or learn to surf, but I refuse to splurge on “essentials” like food and accommodation. Save $12 by sharing a hostel room with 4 strangers? The more the merrier! Save $25 by eating PB & J for 2 meals a day? No worries!

Anyway, as we stepped off the bus around 8 AM, still half-asleep and grumpy, we were bombarded by these people with huge signs advertising the different hostels in the area. But this time I actually did my research, and we knew that we wanted to stay at the Byron Bay YHA so the girl holding the YHA surfboard kindly pointed us in the right direction. After we checked into our room and looked around, we were much happier with this hostel choice. We relaxed on the hammocks and pillows for about a half an hour until we received a call that the Skydive Byron Bay van was waiting for us downstairs. The next few hours of the day is already accounted for in my skydiving blog from last week….scroll down a few to hear all about that!

So fast forwarding a little bit… when we got back to the hostel we were now full of energy, so we quickly showered and then set off to explore the city of Byron Bay. Byron is a neat town (population about 5,000) with a very down-to-earth, friendly vibe. It’s recently become a popular stop for backpackers traveling the east coast. It was honestly probably my favorite city that I’ve visited in Australia thus far, which is why I was heaps excited to hear I’d be back there in a month for surf camp! Anyway, one of the standard things that you must do in Byron is take a walk to the Cape Byron Lighthouse situated on the most easterly point in Australia, known to be one of the brightest lighthouses in all of Oz. Rodger, our driver from Skydive Byron Bay told us that the walk would take about 1 hour. When we were on the beach, I could clearly see the lighthouse on the top of the cliff and thought to myself “Oh it’s not that far.” Well, I was wrong. Getting to this lighthouse was like getting to the Emerald City. We kept walking, and walking, and walking, but it wasn’t getting any closer! Nonetheless, we had a good time (and a good workout) walking along the beach, up cliffs, down cliffs, through parks, until we finally made it about 2 hours later (I always seem to forget that Aussies underestimate everything). Again refusing to pay for a bus, we walked back which took us through a different part of Byron and we were able to check out some fancy, beach side houses where the garages were filled not with cars, but with surfboards.




Nimbin: The Weirdest Place on Earth
No visit to Byron Bay is complete without a day trip to Nimbin, Australia. Nimbin is a small town about 1.5 hours West of Byron. To explain, the story goes that a group of Uni students from Sydney were looking for somewhere to hold an Age of Aquarius music festival in 1973. At the time, Nimbin was a sleepy dairy town so spying a bit of cash to be made, the locals welcomed the newcomers with open arms. So the students descended, painted the street shops with suitable hippy, trippy murals and ended up staying in the town. The area is part of what is known as the “Rainbow Region” with a current population of 352 and has become a haven for Australia’s counterculture in the recent decades. In fact, I reckon Nimbin is probably the only place where the counterculture IS the dominant culture. It really is a place that needs to be seen to be believed.

We got picked up at our hostel on Saturday morning around 10:00 AM by a huge, multicolored rainbow bus blasting some funky tunes. There were a few different companies that run similar day trips to Nimbin, but we booked through Grasshoppers because we heard it was the best one (plus lunch was included, and there’s nothing more attractive to a traveler than the promise of free food!). The bus then stopped at all the hostels in Byron to pick up others for the tour. The tour was actually overbooked with probably 50+ people crammed on the bus, so Morgan the driver bribed a few people $10 to sit on an eskie (cooler) in the isle for the ride. Every single person on the tour with us was a backpacker/traveler and between the ages of about 18-28. Since there were 3 of us, I offered to sit alone in my own seat; however, when the bus started to fill up I moved over so that someone could sit next to me. I ended up having the pleasure of sitting next to a guy named Colman, a backpacker from Ireland spending the last week of his year long travels in Byron Bay. Since the trip out to Nimbin took a little under 2 hours, we had a great time talking with Colman and I actually learned a great deal about Irish culture that day. Did you know that Irish is actually a language and that they really don’t eat corned beef and cabbage? I was fooled.

When we finally arrived in Nimbin, I stepped off the bus and the town just screamed HIPPIE. It would probably have to be the most colorful town in Australia with the rainbow colors of the shops and houses, to the outrageous clothes the locals were wearing, and the psychedelic paintings over the shop entrances. I was in the hippie capital of Australia. We only had about an hour to explore Nimbin, but that was more than enough time. The town is basically just one street long with various shops, cafes, and tie-dye wearing dreadlocked hippies. The town has a “museum” which was basically just an explosion of art, random quotes, and a campervan half in and out of the shop. I didn’t really go in all the way because they expected a $2 donation and I wasn’t really too keen on giving this town any of my money.



I don’t even know how to really know how to further describe this odd place, but it sure did have character to say the least. I think the culture of Nimbin can be best understood through the "Nibim Street Code" which I found in 3 differnece places in the small town. My favorite line being, "keep Nimbin funky, friendly, and free." If you have a look at my Photobucket pictures, you might be able to get a better vibe for the town. Nimbin…a strange place indeed.



So we all piled back into the bus and drove about half an hour to a location where Morgan cooked everyone a barbie and we all just hung out. I really enjoyed meeting other interesting backpackers from England, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and everywhere in between. Then finally we hopped on the bus again to travel to our final destination, Minyon Falls.

This drive back takes you through the World Heritage Nightcap National Park and on to the spectacular Minyon Falls. At first we were a bit confused because we pulled onto the side of the road near some woods, but we just followed a walking trail for about 3 minutes till we got to the falls. I had never seen an actual natural waterfall before, which was a pretty cool sight and then there was a swimming hole area below. Luckily we brought our swimmers so we could jump off!



I was heaps excited to jump, but everyone who went before kept saying how extremely freezing the water was. Once I got up to the top of the cliff I was completely terrified to jump down. Yesterday I jumped 14,000 feet out of a plane, but today I’m scared to jump off a 20-foot cliff? It probably didn’t help that the entire bus was watching as an audience from below. But all I could think was that I was in Australia… and in Australia you have to give everything a go. So I jumped. And the water WAS completely freezing. But it was SO fun! It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to jump off a natural waterfall aye?

Saturday night we went to a backpackers hangout called Cheeky Monkeys where we ran into about half of the Nimbin tour bus AND the 3 people we went skydiving with! We then decided that since we were at the most easterly point in Australia and since the sun rises in the east….that we should wake up and see the sunrise. So at about 5:30 AM we dragged ourselves out of bed and walked down to the beach. The sunrise lasted from about 5:45-6:15 and we couldn’t believe how many people were at the beach ALSO watching the sunrise. I had never seen a sunrise before, so that was another awesome first to add to my list.



After taking a morning nap, we decided that after 2 jam-packed, adventure filled days we would spend Sunday relaxing until our time in Byron was up. And what place could be more relaxing than the beach? Byron has a huge beach culture, and we could really tell by the hundreds of people at the beach that day doing everything from surfing, tanning, body boarding, building sand castles, etc. So after catching a little bit of sun (and some zzz’s), we ate lunch at a Middle Eastern café recommended by the locals called “Orgasmic.” I’m not quite sure if the food lived up the café’s name, but it was still pretty good. After doing some last minute exploring, we headed to the bus terminal to prepare for another 11-hour bus ride back. Finally, at about 4:30 AM I was back in my bed at Teds and slept until Monday afternoon. It was quite the expensive weekend, but by far an unforgettable one.

“Study”ing Abroad

As I sit here and scroll through my past blog entries, I realized that I think my life in Oz is very misconceived through my blog. I’ve been updating in much detail about all of my exciting weekend adventures and travels, but have seemed to have left out what I do the other 4 days of the week. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying my time in Australia very much; however, it is not all the fun and glamor that the blog makes it appear. There is that whole “study” part of Study Abroad, remember that?

The education system in Australia is much different from the US. Students typically take 4 classes, which is about the same as home; however, they’re set up much differently. Instead of having the same class for about 1- 1.5 hours a day for 2 or 3 days a week, you have a 2 hour lecture one day a week and a 1 hour tutorial one day a week. The lecture is typically about 200 students (depending on the class) and there is a lot of info thrown at you in the 2 hours. Luckily, all the professors put the PowerPoint slides on Blackboard so you don’t have to furiously jot down notes. Another major difference is that instead of having numerous assignments throughout the semester to turn in, you typically have one small paper and one large research paper which make up almost your entire grade for the semester. You still have A LOT of readings and homework to do for class each week, however nothing is collected or graded. Your corresponding tutorial is for one hour, once a week and is typically the same day as that class’s lecture. Most tutorials have a max of 22 people and either a different professor or a student teacher runs them. In your tutorial you can ask questions and it is much more discussion based. For most classes about 10-15% of your grade is based on tutorial attendance and participation. I much prefer the tutorials because its more like what I’m use to at Elmhurst! Finally, one more difference in the education system is the grading scale. If you receive a 50% on a paper, then you just got the US equivalent of a C. And if you received an 85% then you got the US equivalent of an A+. I’ve heard that the professors here grade much more difficult than in the US, but I guess I’ll have to update you on that once I get my first paper back….

Like I mentioned, typically most students take 4 classes a semester here. However, I chose to do a program that AustraLearn offered called the “Study/Internship Combo.” This means that I only take 2 classes instead of 4, and I spend 120 hours of my semester working at an internship which transfers back as credit equivalent to 2 classes. I’ll explain that more in a little bit. The first class that I’m taking is an English course called “Australian Popular Culture.” This is my favorite of the two classes. In general, we study how Australia is portrayed in various forms of popular culture such as TV shows, movies, commercials, books, literature, etc. This class is actually an exception to the format I described above because this is what they call a “session class.” That means that this class caps off at 50 students and there is no tutorial because discussions and questions can be asked during the class. The second class that I’m taking is a history class, “Australia in the 20th Century.” I never enjoyed studying history in the states, and that hasn’t changed much over here either. I’ve actually been having some trouble with this class because most of the information is common knowledge to the Australian students because they have been learning it since 3rd grade, whereas I’m hearing everything for the first time. In addition, the professor who runs the lecture has an extremely thick accent that I find difficult to follow for 2 hours. Luckily, the tutorial has been helping me understand the information a little bit better.

For my internship, I work in The University of Newcastle’s International Education Office. I intern for about 8 hours a week, so I just decided to do one full day on Thursdays. The first few weeks I worked in the office in downtown Newcastle, which was kinda inconvenient because I had to take the train into town (and pay for the train!). When I was there I was learning about how Newcastle markets themselves to international students like me who want to study at Newcastle (whether that be for a semester, year, full degree, or grad school). I worked on updating information about Newcastle which was sent to websites such as AustraLearn. However, the past few weeks I’ve been working at the office on campus, which I’ve been enjoying much more. This office designed for outgoing exchange or Australian students who want to study abroad. It’s actually very interesting that Newcastle receives approximately 5,000 international students each year but only about 200 Newcastle students study abroad each year. So in this office I’ve been working on redesigning brochures and websites to better promote study abroad as an option to Australians.

So there ya have it. Monday through Thursdays in Australia typically consist of lectures, tutorials, reading, researching, paper writing, interning, laundry, grocery shopping, and all those other boring things students must do. In addition, a lot of people don’t realize how much research and planning has to happen BEFORE my weekend travels, especially on a budget. Between different bus companies, trains, and airports, sometimes simply researching the cheapest way to GET somewhere can take a few hours out of my night. And we all know that after my Sydney hostel experience, I will happily take the time to read almost every hostel in the city’s reviews before choosing the best option.

While Monday is the first day of class for most colleges back home, it is the beginning of Week 6 of class for me. That means that the first week of November is the last week of class for the semester. Unlike the states where there is a week of finals, in Australia finals are spread out over the entire month of November. Our mid-semester holiday (spring break) is in exactly one month, so I’ll be busy until then writing 2 large research papers before I scurry up the east coast for 2 weeks.

I just uploaded heaps of pictures onto my Photobucket. Check it out! More updates soon to come :)

TIM TAM SLAM!

I feel like this video really doesn't even do the TIM TAM SLAM complete justice. The cookie just melts in your mouth and it is heavenly. Like I said, these WILL be coming back in my suitcase with me!

I FINALLY finished my research paper, so I have some more time to catch up on blog writing. Be sure to read my last few newest posts, and check back again soon because I'll have another post or two in the next few days.

Cheers!

Since I've been in Australia...Part 2

Back by popular demand!

1. I’ve realized that seeing guys wear short shorts and Ugg boots is not an uncommon thing.
2. I’ve found that if you go to McDonalds and ask for tomato sauce (ketchup) you’ll get 1 packet. If you ask for extra you’ll get 2...and an evil glare.
3. 3 words: TIM TAM SLAM
4. I’ve seen 13 cockroaches in my room…2 in my bed.
5. I’ve noticed the libraries on campus are a ghost town. Aussies like to pretend they don’t study. But they secretly do.
6. I’ve found that ice is nearly nonexistent.
7. I’ve noticed that no one says “bless you” when you sneeze.
8. I’ve unwillingly turned into a Vegetarian.
9. I’m now annoyed with the stupid tourists who can’t walk on the left side of the sidewalk!
10. I’ve learned that if you go into a coffee shop and ask for a small coffee they will stare at you blankly. If you want a coffee with cream you order a “flat white,” if you want a black coffee you order a “tall black,” and if you want a shot of espresso you order a “short black.” And Splenda, Equal, and Sweet-n-Low also doesn’t exist.
11. I’ve realized that although I dearly miss heaps of American food, I know that there will be some Australian food that I’ll dearly miss when I’m back in the states (i.e. Milo, Tasty cheese, Lift, Tim Tams, etc). I’m still trying to figure out a way to bring Tim Tams back in my suitcase.
12. I’ve found that the “h” is pronounced “haytch” and “z” is pronounced “zed.” So if you live in International House (IH) then you live in I-HAYTCH and the alphabet ends is x, y, zed.
13. I’ve picked up heaps of Aussie lingo. And Australians will compliment you if you correctly use the lingo in everyday talk. Still working on the accent.
14. I’m amazed at how many Australians want to go to the states.
15. I've noticed that Australian’s use a fork and knife to eat EVERYTHING. Even french fries (er… I mean chips).
16. I’ve found that there are no free refills in any restaurants. I learned that one the hard way.
17. I’ve found that when your server asks you “would you like bread and butter while you wait” it’s also not free. I learned that one the hard way.
18. I’ve learned that there’s a hole in the ozone directly over Australia. So you can wear 30spf sunscreen and still get tan :).
19. I’ve realized that I now end my sentences in “but.” (i.e. “This burger is good, but.”)
20. I’ve only been here for 6 weeks and I’ve traveled more than I have in 19 years of my life in the states.
21. I don’t even hear the Australian accent anymore.
22. I’ve discovered McCafe, the greatest place on earth. I’m still trying to figure why America doesn’t have this.
23. I think I’ve seen 3 overweight people. I think they were Americans.
24. I’ve become a big fan of morning tea, afternoon tea, and night tea.
25. I’ve become an expert at packing. Last year I would have never guessed that I could go on a weekend trip with only a small backpack (which half is taken up by my very large camera!).
26. I’ve decided that it still feels weird to ride shotgun and not be driving.
27. I’ve found that the big question everyone wants to know about American culture: “IS IT LIKE THE MOVIES??!”
28. Australians don’t have prom or high school graduation. But they know all about them from American movies.
29. I’ve noticed that Australians are much less involved and much less busy at Uni then Americans. Only about 1 in 10 have jobs and are only involved in 1 sport or activity…if that.
30. I realized that the US basically dominates the world. Everyone seems to know everything about the US….much more than I know about any country.
31. I’ve found that heaps of places don’t accept credit cards, so you almost always need cash on you. And most will not let you use your credit card unless the purchase is over $10. Also, every cashier is required to hold on to your credit card until after you sign because they have to check to make sure your signature matchs up with the one on the back of your card.
32. I’ve found that you have to pay $299 for a gym membership, and 15 cents for every piece of paper to print at the library, but laundry is free. How does that work?
33. I’ve finally accepted the fact that everything here is ridiculously expensive and that I’ll be lucky if I come home with a penny to my name.
34. I’ve found that having a cell phone is more of a hassle and I hardly use it. Turns out you really don’t need to text every second of the day. Who knew?
35. I’ve eaten chicken flavored chips. I reckon they taste like ramen noodles.
36. I’ve found that beetroot comes on all burgers. Strangely, I actually like it.
37. I learned that voting in Australia is compulsory.
38. I now pronounce Australia as "Stralya.”
39. If you order a large coffee, it’s the size of a small coffee in the states. If you order a small coffee, it’s basically a kiddie cup.
40. I've noticed that unlike the US, there are very few public holidays. However, when they do come around they are taken quite seriously.
41. I gave up saying hi to people, and just skip straight to “How ya going?”
42. I’ve learned some more Aussie lingo:
• Good onya = good job
• Smoko = break
• Arvo = afternoon
• Righteo = alright
• Biscuits = cookies
• Jello = jelly
• Jelly = jam
43. I've found that Australians talk in the formula "have a ___" constantly. For example, let's have a chat, go have a look, you should have a think, we'll have a go, etc.
44. I've learned that in Australia it's illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving. HUGE fines.
45. I've found that pop tastes different. It doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup...it's not as good.
46. I’ve already taken over 1,000 pictures. And I still have over 3 months left here.

What it Feels Like to Skydive

Yep, you read that one correctly. I’ve always said that when I went to Australia, I wanted to skydive. I don’t think anyone actually believed I would though.

Well after doing some research and comparing prices and companies, I decided that I would finally do it this weekend while I was in Byron Bay with 2 of my friends. I even managed to keep my life threatening adventure plans a secret from almost everyone. However, after coming back to Newcastle all of my friends at Uni all asked the same question: what does it actually fell like to skydive? So I thought I would write about it so all of my faithful blog readers could also know.

Only 45 minutes after we stepped off of our 11-hour bus ride, we were picked up at our hostel by a Skydive Byron Bay van. It was about 75 degrees and sunny, so I don’t think we could have picked a more beautiful day to skydive. It only took about 15 minutes to get out to the site, and I spent those 15 minutes filling out a few short forms and signing my life away so that if I died they wouldn’t be held responsible…

So after we arrived we first paid (ouch!) and then got suited up. They gave us these funny looking clown pants that we had to wear and then strapped us into all the skydiving gear. We then met 3 other backpackers who were going to be going up in the plane with us. The two girls were from Scotland and the guy was from England. They were all 18 years old and traveling for 6 months before starting Uni. They actually all met each other while they were traveling in Thailand and decided to travel Australia together. So they were cool to talk with while we were waiting and it was good to have other people our age going with us.

We then each got paired up with our skydive leaders (aka the guy on my back). My guy was BJ and he was super fun and really nice. Then finally we got our skydiving “training.” I really was expecting training to be like half an hour but in actuality it was only about 3 minutes long. Really all they had to tell us what to do right before jumping out of the plane and what to do during the landing, so there wasn’t too much to remember because BJ would take care of the rest.

Within a few minutes all 12 of us were crammed into a tiny plane and bouncing towards the runway. I can’t say I was too nervous. I was expecting to be heaps nervous, but I really wasn’t at all. I think it helped that none of my fellow 5 skydivers were nervous or freaking out in the plane. The plane ride up was extremely peaceful. They took us out over the ocean and then turned around and went back to the coast. It took about 15 minutes until we were at the right height and ready to go. The peace was broken in the last minute in the plane when abruptly all the skydive leaders were strapping onto us and throwing goggles over our eyes.

At that point everything was happening so fast that I had no time to think. Then suddenly I heard the words “DOOR OPEN!” and I got a huge gust of wind in my face as they slid open the side door. I was third in line to go. We didn’t plan it out, it all just depended on the order we got into the plane. Within seconds of the door opening the first girl just wasn’t in the plane any more. Then within the next 5 seconds my friend Amber wasn’t in the plane anymore. I gotta say, it’s a weird thing to see your friend fall out of a plane. Then finally it was my turn. Me and BJ edged to the door and before I knew it my feet were dangling 14,00 feet from the ground. About 2 seconds later BJ slid us out of the airplane and we started to fall to the ground.

The sensation of first falling out of the airplane was completely unexpected. I can’t really compare it to anything because I’ve never felt anything like it before. It was much different from any rollercoaster, because you truly are weightless. Your stomach leaves you for a second. We reached terminal velocity within seconds and I was falling at about 120 miles per hour. The one thing that was completely unexpected for me was actually how cold the incredible amount of wind was. I was pretty warm before we got into the plane and thought about not wearing my jumper, but decided to just keep it on, and thank God I did because the wind was freezing. The sensation of wind in my face was like nothing else. Wind was forced into every part of my body and face. You can tell by looking at my pictures just how ridiculous my hair looks sticking straight up (even thought I pinned it down before!!).

From 14,000 feet you freefall for about 60 seconds, but it literally felt like maybe 10 seconds. Originally I wanted to jump from 8,000 feet because it was cheaper, but then I figured go big or go home, right? After the experience, I’m really glad I choose to do the 14,000. At about 5,000 feet BJ pulled the parachute, which really jerked me and actually kinda hurt a little bit. After 60 seconds of extreme freefalling, the parachute ride down to the earth was extremely peaceful. I had the time of my life just taking in the beautiful scenery. Byron Bay has the most easterly point of land in Australia, so that was awesome to see as well. The landing was soft; the whole experience was incredible. It truly is the ultimate adrenaline rush. I really don’t think I could have picked a better location to skydive.

So to anyone who’s ever thought about skydiving, my advice: DO IT! Yeah, it costs a lot of money, and yeah it’s kinda scary and life threatening, but it honesty is a once in a lifetime experience and I guarantee you won’t regret it. I’m currently trying to figure out my next extreme adventure…maybe bunjee jumping or white water rafting? We’ll see…..

I have much more to share about my epic weekend in Byron Bay; however, I must finish a paper before. Check back soon. Skydiving pictures soon to come.

Cheers!