The Setting Sun

Today, July 31st is a sad day in Australia for me because firstly, I have my first class tomorrow, and secondly, Pandora is discontinuing its service in Australia and New Zealand as of today. Although I am upset that I will have to adjust to a new music app, it isn’t reasonable for me to complain about the “study” portion of my study abroad trip, especially after having had 3 weeks to enjoy myself. The past couple weeks have been dedicated to finding the best beaches in Australia, watching sunsets, and getting to know my new mates.

After a couple days of getting settled in Brisbane and recovering from the “sleep is not an option” mantra we had in Sydney, I was left with the question of “Now what?” My roommates weren’t scheduled to move in for another week so I joked about feeling all alone in my “penthouse” apartment on the thirteenth floor. I wanted to start feeling comfortable doing my own thing, so my first step to learning Brisbane was to run along the river in Southbank.

The Southbank area, where I am living, is really exciting. I am about a block away from the Parklands, which features a public pool, manmade beach, playgrounds, mini-rainforest, ferris wheel, and bike path all on the river bank! There was a food and wine festival in this area during my first weekend in Brisbane, which I was excited to attend. Also near me is Grey Street, which is lined on both sides by delicious restaurants. There is no possible way that I can try them all before I have to return home, but I’m hoping to make it, at least, to all the dessert places!

I always find myself stopping mid-run to take pictures of the scenery

Although I was excited to explore Brisbane, I recognized that Brisbane will be my home base for the next 5 months, so I wanted to take advantage of not having class to leave the city. So in the past 2 weeks, I went north to climb Mt. Ngungun and visit Noosa, and I went south to check out the Gold Coast.


The Gold Coast

The duffel bag takes Burleigh Heads!

My first excursion from Brisbane was to the Gold Coast with Leanne and Liz. We decided to spend three days checking out three different beaches in the Gold Coast, starting close to the border of New South Wales at Coolangatta, then up to Burleigh Heads, and finally the famous Surfer’s Paradise. The three of us invented our own little version of backpacking which we called “duffel-bagging” as we dragged our bags from bus to bus and beach to beach.

We checked into our hostel as soon as we arrived in Coolangatta after about 3 hours of transit. The three of us had debated where we should stay in Coolangatta after reading reviews on the Hostel World website. We decided to take a chance on the hostel with mixed ratings but a better price and location, and we were not disappointed.


As soon as we got settled in, we headed right to the beach where I had one of those “OMG, I’m in Australia” moments. The sand was so fine that it squeaked every time we stepped on it. I was taking in the blue water and the skyline of the Gold Coast in the background as I walked down the beach. I noticed a sign on the Surfers’ club that said “From Where You’d Rather Be” and I thought that was funny. At the same time it reminded me of how lucky I was to be in an amazing new place, taking interesting classes, and meeting new friends, so I let that sign remind me to be fully present and appreciative of my time in the Gold Coast and Australia in general.

"From Where You'd Rather Be"

Before long, Liz and Leanne found a good spot in the sand where they set up their towels and laid out. I did the same as I stared at the skyline in the distance, particularly noticing one tall building with a pointed roof and tall antenna. I didn’t want to close my eyes and nap (like I normally would at the beach) because I didn’t want to miss anything. My feelings of gratitude and excitement were mixed with uncharacteristic worry and doubt for the first time as I thought about how I had been in Australia for a week and a half already, but still had little sense of direction or purpose. I started to think about what I’d do next, so I decided to walk until I came across an area called Snapper Rocks. To keep myself thinking positively, I watched the waves smash up on Snapper Rocks as I made wishes. I sent good vibes to my friends and family at home (I hope you received them!) until I noticed that the sun was setting behind me, and I was missing it!

Snapper Rocks

Leanne and Liz were both perched on a rock overlooking the ocean and the skyline, and I sat with them for 20 minutes as we watched the sun set. Every time I see a sunset in Australia lately I think, “Wow, that is most beautiful sunset I have ever seen,” but this is the sunset that started all of that. The colors were so brilliant and saturated. The light of the sun (which blinded me even through my $3 sunglasses lol) reflected so brightly off of the water. The water was so vibrantly blue except where turned white as the solid body of water turned into wave then individual water particle as it smacked off the rocks where we sat. As the sun finally hid itself completely behind the mountains, I stepped off the rocks and noticed how the orange and blue sky (where the sun had set minutes ago) faded into pinks, purples, and turquoise across the sky. Moments like this made it easier for me to remind myself to be present in the moment.

The sunset at Coolangatta - if you look closely, you can see the building I was talking about!

The next morning, Liz and I woke up early to take advantage of free breakfast at the hostel before we went our separate ways to explore the area. I went back to the beach where we were yesterday, to Snapper Rocks, all the way along the shoreline until I left the state of Queensland entirely and crossed back into New South Wales. I found snorkelers and surfers and fishermen along the way, and I started thinking to myself “I should get a snorkel” or “I would love to fish here.” These thoughts were the reason that I decided I would be ok in Australia and would be able to find my purpose here so I committed to acting on them.

I found a picture of this exact staircase on Pinterest, but I like mine more because a bush turkey interrupted the shot

I met Leanne and Liz in the hostel shortly after to check out before boarding our bus to Burleigh Heads. Once again, we set up our towels and enjoyed the beach. Once I got over my “I’m from New York and Australia has never seen cold” mindset, I decided that it was actually cold and that I should get up and walk to get my blood circulating a little better. I walked down the beach a little bit before I started thinking, “it would feel really good to run right now.” After reassuring myself that it didn’t matter that I wasn’t wearing proper running clothes or shoes, I went for it. I noticed the building I had stared at all day yesterday, in the distance along the coast. Curiosity got the best of me as I started thinking “what is that building? Can I run there? Maybe I can walk/run there. I wonder how far away it actually is. Is that beach still considered Burleigh Heads?” I committed to running to the exact point where that building was perpendicular to the beach. My depth perception failed me as I ran, what I thought was maybe 3 miles, ended up being way more. By the end, my toes felt like they were going to split in half from the blisters and I had scabs on my chest where my bikini top rubbed against it. I didn’t care though because this was the first time I ever ran as a mode of discovery. When I finally arrived at the beach, I asked a tourist taking pictures of the ocean what the name of this beach was. I couldn’t stop laughing to myself that I had made it all the way to Surfer’s Paradise because that was our next location! I thought about trying to call Leanne and Liz to tell them to just meet me there, but I didn’t have my phone or any other way of contacting them. I also realized that I didn’t know the time, but judging by the placement of the Sun in the sky (and how hungry I was) I guessed that I had been gone for a maximum of 2 hours. I started to run back, but quickly realized that my feet weren’t “keen” to run.

Travel hack - we filled our duffel bags with peanut butter, jelly, and bread to save money 

After about 3.5 hours of running/walking to Surfer’s and back, I had gotten really hungry, so Leanne, Liz, and I got some fish and chips before heading to back to Surfer’s. We stayed with Alisse, a girl we had found on Facebook who also booked her housing with Semester in Australia. She introduced us to her friends, and we checked out some of the night life in the Gold Coast! I had a great time overall, but I decided that it’d be best to return when it wasn’t the dead of the Australian winter.

When the 3 of us arrived back in Brisbane, I had FOUR roommates! Keiko had arrived before I left for the Gold Cold Coast, but I was officially meeting Ashley, Gianna, and Rachel for the first time! I had talked to them all on Facebook so much that it had felt like meeting up with old friends. We decided to celebrate their arrival by going out on Grey Street for tacos and margaritas, then head to Fortitude Valley for a night out. I was really glad to finally have people to share my room and my experiences.

Meet my roommates! - Gianna, Ashley, me, Rachel, and Keiko

The Sunshine Coast

Later that week, after everyone settled in and got through orientation, we did a beach trip! Everyone wanted to check out the Gold Coast, but having just came from there, I was all for checking out the warmer Sunshine Coast. We decided on Mooloolaba Beach (I’d be impressed if you can pronounce the name of this beach on your first try!) To make the most of the day, we decided to leave by 7 AM so that we could be there all day before the sun sets. Although I did not enjoy the early morning, the experience was so worth it. The water was so clear and decently warm! We walked up and down the beach, swam for a little, and got to know everyone in our group of 13! We definitely made the most of the day, before returning home to watch the premier of The Australian Bachelor (which is even cattier than at home, believe it or not!)

By Friday, the majority of my roommates left for an ACU-sponsored trip to Byron Bay for the exchange students. Silly me signed up for the same trip 2 weeks later, so I had to make a new plan for the weekend. When Nolan sent me a picture of Noosa National Park, I responded with “let’s go.” I had heard amazing things about Noosa anyway and was really excited to check it out. We got together a group of 5 of us (me, Nolan, Kevin, Max, and Jiorden) and left Friday night. As soon as we got there, we walked around Hastings Street where we found a bar with live music. Kevin, from Massachusetts, couldn’t help but feel at home because Noosa reminded him so much of Cape Cod. After enjoying some gelato, beers, and live music, we headed to the beach in pursuit of the stars. The sky was so clear that we were able to see the galaxy, not just the stars! By default, we began to look for the Big Dipper until we realized you can’t see the Big Dipper from the Southern Hemisphere! We did, however, see at least 3 shooting stars!

The Noosa Crew - Kevin, Jordan, me, Nolan, and Max!

The next morning, we set out to find the Pinterest-famous Noosa Fairy pools in the National Park. We wanted to get there before high tide at 12:45, so we quickly ate breakfast and set out! Once upon a time, the Fairy Pools had been a local secret that were hard to find, but now even Google Maps knows about them! We basically just followed all the other tourists there. You could tell that everyone there wanted an Instagram-worthy picture of them floating on their backs in the pools (Guilty), but the funny part was that everyone was really respectful about taking turns swimming in the pools as you got your own personal photoshoot. After taking in the scenery, we continued to hike through the national park. We found a beach right in the middle of it where we hung out for a couple hours. On the way back, we took the long way through the National Park where we quietly and intently looked for wild koalas to no avail.

Swimming through the Fairy Pools!

Casually struggling to avoid harming the coral on the way out of the Fairy Pools

We ate a late lunch before returning to the hostel to shower and get ready for the sunset. We found the perfect spot, called the Spit, to watch the sunset. At the spot I was standing, there was water on both sides of me beautifully reflecting the sunlight. This was another superlative sunset, and it definitely rivaled the one in Coolangatta. After the sunset, we went to a restaurant called Zachary’s where we got pizza and enjoyed some more live music. We didn’t plan on staying long because we were cold and tired, but we ended up closing the place down. A group of women probably in their mid-forties got up and started to dance for the last couple songs, and inspired us to do the same. Jiorden described the night as “wholesome,” and we all left smiling.

Although having a set schedule of lectures and tutorials will change the pace of the upcoming weeks, the adventures will continue. For that reason, I’ll reference a sunset again, metaphorically this time. The sun is setting on my summer vacation (in the dead of Queensland winter) in preparation for another adventure tomorrow. I think starting classes tomorrow at ACU will help me to realize the “purpose” I have been struggling to find so far in Australia. I am looking forward to meeting new people at school, potentially joining new clubs, and learning new things.

Jiorden caught me freaking out over the adorable wedding pictures being taken 10 meters away.

5 Things That Remind Me That I am a Foreigner

One of my favorite things about staying at hostels is that everyone staying there has a similar story to me- they’re young, they’re trying to save money, and they’re looking for adventure. Back in Sydney, I was talking to a guy from Alaska who had been living in Australia for about a year. When we were discussing our purposes in Australia, he told me about his previous journeys to South America and his intentions to go to Italy next. This man had an undoubtable sense of wanderlust and tons of experience travelling. He explained that he believes there to be Two Pillars of Travel which are experiences that one seeks that are different from life at home, and he identified them as Nature and Culture. We both agreed that the beauty of nature in Australia is undeniable. I’ve seen incredible sunset after incredible sunset and picturesque view after picturesque view.

The view from Mt. Ngungun is just one example of the beauty I've experienced in nature in Australia

In that conversation, however, we also agreed that the culture is not so different from that of the United States. Because both the United States and Australia were colonized by the British, we have the same language, same city structure, etc. These similarities have made it very easy for me to settle into my new lifestyle in Brisbane. However, there have been several occasions where I have been reminded that I am not exactly an Aussie…

5 things that remind me that I am a foreigner

5. Metric System - I have absolutely no idea how long a meter is, or how much a kilogram weighs, or how to decide what to wear based on the temperature in Celsius. My difficulties with the Metric system became very obvious the first time I tried to order some cold cuts from the deli in Woolworth’s. As I stared at the display with the deli clerk waiting for me to place my order, I tried frantically to figure out how many kilograms of turkey I wanted and what the price would be. Embarrassed that I couldn’t easily remember that 1 kilograms is close to 2 pounds, I retreated into the pasta aisle as I calculated the measurement and the price. Once I figured that out, I was able to return to the counter and place my order.

4. Traffic- I have to consciously remind myself everyday that cars drive on the left side of the road rather than the right. As a result, I never know which way to look when crossing the street. There have also been several occasions where I have looked into a moving car and thought, “OH MY GOD, NO ONE IS DRIVING THAT CAR,” or “WOW, that kid looks really young to be driving.” Not to mention, driving on the left means that everyone is expected to walk on the left too. It took me a couple days of dodging pedestrians walking straight at me to realize that I was walking on the wrong side of the road.

3. Consumerism - One of the first people I met in Australia was Ann, the woman I had been corresponding with for the past couple months to set up my housing. I wanted her point of view as an ex-Pat about the biggest cultural differences between the United States and Australia. According to Ann, the number one difference between American culture and Australian culture is the sense of consumerism. My experiences over the past couple weeks have supported her claim that Australians tend to be more mindful of the environment and more conscious of their choices as consumers. For one thing, there are switches for every plug so that electricity is not being wasted. At first, I couldn’t tell when my phone was charging or not, but now I frantically turn off the plugs that are left on. They also have two buttons to flush the toilet in order to preserve water. There are recycling bins everywhere and reminders to limit showers to just 4 minutes! Coffee does not automatically come in a “takeaway” cup. The grocery stores offer far less variety than at home, but most of the produce is proudly Australian grown. I have also noticed a lot of support for Fair Trade, which makes me happy as I think back to my experiences in Haiti with Just Haiti coffee.

2. My Accent- One of the things that absolutely boggles my mind about being in Australia is that everyone thinks that I am exotic because I live so far away. (I laugh just thinking about the fact that people think Rochester, NY is an exotic place.) On one of my first nights in Brisbane, I went out with Leanne and our friend Izzy to get burgers. I will never forget when the guy taking our orders started GIGGLING at the way we said the words “burger” and “tomato.” I have had two Australians tell me that they prefer hearing American accents over Australian accents! It has been quite funny and quite encouraging to speak in front of Australians.

1. Public Transportation- Coming from Fairport, NY where there is no public transportation at all, or from Erie, PA, where the public transportation is either efficient or predictable, I never would have imagined how easy it is to get around with public transportation. It is such a blessing to have reliable and affordable public transportation. The buses and trains in Queensland have allowed me to make several day trips already to the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. There is both a bus and a train station less than a block away from my apartment, and it makes getting places so easy. I am finally starting to get comfortable with planning my own route- thanks in large part to Google Maps! The first time I tried to take the bus alone, I walked around the station for 20 minutes as I tried to find the correct platform at a time corresponded with an outgoing bus. By the time I found the right platform, the bus left and I walked around to another and the cycle continued (until I finally decided to choose a platform and wait for the correct bus). Learning how to take advantage of public transportation has been the biggest learning curve so far in Australia, but very helpful!

So far, I’ve learned a lot as I adjust to life in Australia. Tomorrow, I’ll prepare to do some real learning at ACU’s orientation!

Sydney

I arrived in Australia just 8 days ago, yet I’ve been able to cross off a quite a few things from my Australian bucket list in just that short amount of time. I toured the Sydney Opera House, fed a kangaroo, climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, tried Vegemite toast, and saw a rugby match! Quite a lot has happened so far so I’ll spare the details and hit the highlights.

My study abroad journey began on July 3^rd, just between my brother’s graduation party and our annual Fourth of July extravaganza on Honeoye Lake. My entire family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins from both side of the family) met at my house to send me off that morning. The realization that I wouldn’t see anyone in my family for the next five months hit harder than ever that morning, so naturally the floodgates opened once or twice that day. Thankfully, FaceTime and Facebook Messenger has made the distance feel a lot smaller than it actually is.

That night, I boarded a plane to Los Angeles, where I stayed with my aunt’s friends, Cuz and Val, for 2 nights. I was able to celebrate the 4^th of July (my favorite holiday) with them and be a beach bum for a couple days. Not only did my layover in LA help me to break up the travel time, but it was the perfect buffer time between leaving my family and moving to Australia. While I was in LA, I was able to see my friend Luke, who is currently living in LA and working to make it in the music industry. I thought about how he, as well as my aunt and uncle, are good examples of people who had to fly the coop to find what they wanted. My goal was, and had been for a long time, to study in Australia so now it was time for me to make it happen.

On the day of our flight to Sydney, I met up with Leanne. She had also been staying in LA for a couple days, and we spent the day together at the beach to tire ourselves out in hopes of getting some sleep on the plane. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep for at least 8 hours of the 15-hour flight thanks to the fact that the lights were dimmed appropriately to adjust to Sydney time.

When we arrived in Sydney, there was the most beautiful sunrise over the tarmac which I thought represented well the journey that we were about to begin. Leanne asked me if I was emotional (because I usually am in these type of situations), but I was more excited than everything. I felt like I had prepared myself as best as I possibly could have and now I just needed to go for it! However, I was glad that Leanne was on the same flight as me because we were able to help each other through customs and to the meeting point, where we found Liz and boarded the shuttle to our hostel with the rest of the “Semester in Australia” crew.  

Our first day was very laid-back as we were all trying to get over the jetlag, but we had an early start on the second day as we set out for the Harbor. We walked through the Sydney Botanical Gardens, into an art museum, and then to a coffee shop, where I guessed my coffee preference to be a “flat white” and was wrong. We continued our walk through the park adjacent to the Harbor, until we were within view of the Opera House. (Does anyone remember the sound of the man’s voice singing opera in Finding Nemo when Marlin and Dory finally make it to Sydney? Because I swear I heard that voice in my head when I saw the Opera House for the first time). We all started frantically taking pictures and confirming the fact that we were in fact, in Australia.

We all split up for lunch, and I ended up trying kangaroo and crocodile skewers! Both were delicious! The kangaroo reminded me a lot of venison, while the crocodile kind of reminded me of chicken but really deserved its own category. While waiting in line for the skewers, an Australian man pointed out the irony of eating the national animal. Later that day, we boarded a cruise around the harbor! We all shared some champagne and took in the views. We disembarked, and then immediately began our pub crawl! There was a bachelor party happening at the first bar, and the groom-to-be dared me to buy him a drink... so at my first time ever at a bar, I bought a grown man a drink. The fun continued from there as we went to 3 more bars in Sydney, the last with a very impressive view of the Opera House in the night time.

After the pub crawl, we went directly to a rugby match! I feel that I generally understand rugby as I combined my knowledge of soccer and football to figure it out. Rugby is an interesting combination of the 2 sports because it combines the quickness of soccer and the brutality of football. There are 2 types of rugby in Australia. There is Rugby League and there is Rugby Union. I assumed that they were 2 different levels of the same game, but interestingly enough, the 2 organizations have different rules! (I am still trying to figure out the difference and which game I actually saw!)

On day 2, we went on a coastal walk from Coogee to the world famous Bondi Beach. The views of the ocean were breathtaking… or maybe I was just out of breath from 5 mile walk, who knows! Bondi Beach was actually smaller and less crowded than I expected it to be, but that is partially because it is winter in Australia and only crazy tourists like myself would want to swim in the water.

On Day 3, we went to the Blue Mountains!

Side note, Sydney is really the perfect city! It has everything- beautiful views, nice people, mountains, beaches, concerts, sporting events, etc.

We started the morning at a wildlife reserve in Katoomba. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by tiny kangaroos called “paddymelons” who were excited to eat out of our hands. One little guy had his entire little paw resting on my pinky finger as he ate out of my hand, and it made me melt. We also saw some koalas! Koalas sleep about 22 hours per day as their body digests the toxins in the eucalyptus they eat, but we were able to see one up and moving! We also saw a bunch of sleepy koalas perched high up in the trees, and I was interested to see them balancing on branches as they sleep in fetal position!

Afterwards, we went up to the Blue Mountains. Our guide was exactly what you are imagining when I say Aussie forest guide, and it totally added to the experience. He was able to point out webs of the Sydney Funnel-web spider, which is the most venomous spider in the world! He also told us the legends of the famous Three Sisters Rock Formation!

By pouring water on a red rock in the Blue Mountains, we made face paint like the Aborigines do!

Day 4 was our free day, so Liz and I took the opportunity to climb the Harbor Bridge! The climb took about 3 hours- it took a full hour to get us suited up in our extensive amounts of gear and practice climbing with the clips and belt! From the top of the bridge, we were able to see all of Sydney, from the Blue Mountains to Manly to Watson’s Bay. Two interesting facts that I learned during the climb is that the large concrete pylons in the bridge’s structure are not necessary for the bridge to stand. I also learned that the weight of the Opera House is three times more than that of the entire Harbor Bridge!

What interested me most about the Harbor Bridge is that the Climb is run by a private company! The owner, had the great idea to make it happen and now makes close to $50,000 a day on it. I felt an appreciation for the same type of ingenuity to an even stronger degree when I toured the Opera House later that day. Jørn Utzon, won an international competition for the design of the Opera House. He submitted nothing but a sketch, yet his design was chosen despite not giving any indication of how to build it. It took Utzon 3 years just to figure out the geometry that would allow it to stand. The construction of the Opera House cost about 15 times more than the original budget! What I appreciate about the Opera House, besides its incredible beauty, is the commitment to “making it work” as shown during its construction. Walking into the Opera House, I was absolutely stunned by the colors of the reddish wood and the purple carpets, the angles of the walls, the large window overlooking the Harbor, and the sense of grandeur in general. If I am ever able to return to Sydney, I want to see a show at the Opera House.

Inside the Sydney Opera House -- there is no other word besides "stunning"

On our fifth and final day, I had to prepare to say goodbye to Sydney. Nolan and I woke up early to fit one more excursion in before our 3 PM flight. We boarded the train to Watson’s Bay, the very edge of Sydney where the Harbor opens into the ocean. We found a fabulous lookout point, where you could see the ocean on one side and all of Sydney on the other side. As we swiveled our heads back and forth to take it all in, we noticed a rainbow over the Sydney skyline which made the view even sweeter! We were even able to watch a storm pass from the ocean over Sydney (and pour on us in the process). When the rain eased up a bit, we were able to find a cute beachy place called the Watson’s Bay Beach Club! (I found out that they do weddings there too, so please save my date location!) I ordered a Long Black and we enjoyed the coffee and views while waiting for the ferry back to the city.

We definitely maximized our time in Sydney, but I still would have loved some more time there! Now, I am getting settled into my new apartment in Brisbane, where I will be for the majority of the semester!