Melbourne Trip

This weekend our CEA Travel Group got to go to Melbourne! WE all flew there from sydney and rented a van to do a bit of touring around. The first day wen went to the 12 Apostles. I have never seen such a beautiful coastline in all my life. We found a few cool spots to take some group shots as well. We stayed in a place called Apollo Bay. I woke up with the sunrise that morning and was rewarded by a magnificent rainbow that stretched across the entire sky! Apollo Bay has been my favorite place in Australia thus far. It is a quaint little beach town filled with local shops and bakeries. Everyone was very nice there. I will definitely own a house there one day. Let me know if you want to visit!

Melbourne Graffiti Tour

Gettin' Round Town

Since I have arrive I have found that buying a "Travel 10" pass is by far the easiest way to get around. The travel tell lets you ride the bus 10 times. It cost $15, and then I buy train tickets separately. The money here is great. It's seems to fly out of your wallet. It is almost like Monopoly money, but turns out it is ACTUAL money. On the days that I am lucky Mike will pick me up and drive me around. Driving on the other side of the road is crazy! I always walk to the wrong side of the car to get in. I am not sure if i will ever get used to seeing cars coming at me from the other side of the road. I flinch every time.

The Tim Tam Slam

Tim Tam's are a hugely popular treat here in Australia. They consist of 2 chocolate covered wafers with caramel/chocolate between them. They are possibly the best treat I have ever tried. Someone recently told me how to do a "Tim Tam Slam". I am not 100% sure if this is actually an Aussie thing to do, but it's good fun anyway. I have created this tutorial video for anyone who is looking to take a walk on the wild side, Australian style.

Jump It!

This weekend was the first time that I have ever seen a bridge that lifted up so boats could go under it. Traffic stops for about 10 minutes and everyone gets out of their car and relaxes. I took some shots with the bridge at its maximum height.

Awkward Judgments

Yesterday I was walking through the mall near campus to withdraw some money from the bank. On the way I passed a dollar store called the "REJECT SHOP". Since everything is so expensive here I couldn't resist. After wandering around for a bit, I found a kit to make balloon hats and dogs ect. I was excited! I dint have much to do so I bought the kit for $2 and walked to a large grassy area by a lake on campus.

I found a friend and we began to attempt to fold the balloons into little animals. My first attempt was a failure but it kind of looked like a guy with a big Penis. So I drew a face on him, giggled and set it down next to me on the grass. I began to blow up another balloon as a big gust of wind came and carried my Penis Balloon Man swiftly across the lawn. It was too fast to chase. I watched as the Penis Man floated into a girls arms that was talking to her friend about 100 yards away. Her initial look was one of uncertainty. She glanced up to se my friend and I laughing hysterically while giving her the "neighbor wave". I yelled "You can keep it!" Pretty sure the didn't think it was funny. She was one ungrateful Aussie.

Moral of the story is: Don't make Penis puppets on windy lawns.

Above is a recreation of the Penis Balloon. I also attached a picture of the grass lawn in front of the lake.

The Different Lingo

This weekend was great. My Aussie Friend Mike picked me up from Bondi and we went to his house with an awesome view of the bay. We hung out with some of mikes good Aussie friends and discussed cultural differences in a collegiate manner. Over a brew or 6. I have begun to pick on most of the lingo/slang they use here. At first I felt like it was almost a second language. I have made a little list of words that are different here than in America.

WORDS:

Drunk = Pissed

Watch your step = Mind The Gap

Had a meal = Had a feed

Sketchy = Dodgy

Pharmacy = Chemist

Cooler - Esky

Flashlight = Torch

Right? - Ehhy?

Beer = Brew

Friends = Mates

Most of the words I have picked up casually in conversations. Some I have to stop and say "WHAT???"

THIS IS MY STORY USING ALL MY LINGO: I was pissed at the pub last night and didn't mind the gap to the train. I had just had a feed with my mates. We got onto a dodgey train. My friend Mike, a Chemest luckily brought his torch because the lights on the train went out. Luckily my mates were all there. I don't know what I would have done if I were solo.

Video Entertainment!

Trips

It's hard to believe that I have only been here 2 weeks. I feel as though events from the beginning of the trip happened ages ago. My first week of classes were a breeze. The teachers only went over the syllabus for the course. On friday most of the other American students don't have class so we decided to go to Manly Beach. A group of about 20 of us all made our way down and had a great time (even though the weather is still a little bit cool). I was able to take some great photos while I was there.

There were no plans for the weekend and none of us had much school work we decided to take a 2 hour bus ride to the Blue Mountains. They are called the Blue Mountains because of the acidic haze given off by the trees that cover all of the landscape. We were able to get a group of 12 mostly American students to go. When we arrived at Katoomba station we found a hostel and checked in before we went hiking. The room we rented in the hostel had 12 spaces exactly! Everything worked out perfect on this trip. No missed trains or busses or people. We couldn't have had a better time if we had a tour guide. It was perfect the way it was. We hiked from the tops of cliffs to the bottom of waterfalls snapping pictures the entire way. I took some great waterfall shots that I was really anxious to post. We also went to see the 3 Sisters. It was a great look out point and a great place to buy some ice cream and sit on the dining porch and take in the scenery.

*I made sure to take a roommate picture as well.

Hope all is well at home. Cheers!

Things I've done so far:

Sydney Harbor bridge Climb

Taken the Ferry

Visited the Beaches

Surfed

Rugby Game

Gotten Lost via Public Transportation

I just started my first day of school. Prior to the first day there were mostly American and Asian kids all around campus. Most of the Australian students commute from home. It was really fun meeting some Australians in my classes. My friend Mike who just visited America from Australia just got back to Sydney so he picked me up and took me to hang out with some of his Australian friends. It was great. There were drinks and a BBQ. They eat hot dogs/sausages out of a hamburger bun. I was a bit confused at first but I got the hang of it after the initial bites.

The Rugby game was awesome. I still haven't gotten all the rules down, but it's pretty rough. I am not sure if it is rougher than American Football. So I have concluded that they are just different and you cant compare.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge climb was the best thing I have done so far! Prior to climbing they suit you up with all kinds of gear. I felt like I was going skydiving. When we made it to the top at dusk we were ahead of schedule so we got to relax at the top while our tour guide told us stories. It was wild sitting down looking through the floor at the speeding cars passing 500 ft. below you.

That's all for now. I am going to go catch some waves before they start giving me homework! Cheers!