Fun Fact:
Australians think peanut butter is gross!
Well, that't not completely true. But they think of it as a condiment you use sparsely like butter, or mustard. My friend Jordan lives in a dorm with a dining hall and when he puts peanut butter on his apples in the morning people groan at him in disgust. I once saw an ad on a bus that had a picture of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the quote, "And Americans think vegemite is weird?!". That being said, Reeses Cups do not exist here.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Fun Fact Friday: Chocolate
Fun Fact:
Chocolate here is made with whole milk and real sugar, unlike chocolate in the US which is made with reduced fat milk and sugar substitutes. Therefore, most popular chocolate candies in the US, like Kit Kats for example, are 100x better here than at home. Needless to say, Kit Kats are my new favorite treat.
Chocolate here is made with whole milk and real sugar, unlike chocolate in the US which is made with reduced fat milk and sugar substitutes. Therefore, most popular chocolate candies in the US, like Kit Kats for example, are 100x better here than at home. Needless to say, Kit Kats are my new favorite treat.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Fun Fact Friday: to the left, to the left.
I've decided to come up with a "Fun Fact Friday" because there are just so many strange and random things that happen here! So every Friday I will try to come up with a new fun fact.
Todays fun fact:
While it is well known that cars drive on the left side of the road here, you may find it strange that everything else functions on the left side as well:
- you walk on the left, not the right, when walking on a side walk
- you swim on the left side of the swim lane and make a clockwise circle instead of swiming on the right side and making a counter clockwise circle
- the bottom flight of a staircase starts on the left side, so the staircase is winding clockwise as opposed to the stairs starting on the right side and winding counter clockwise
- entrance doors are on the left and exit doors are on the right
I wonder if there is a higher population of left handed people in Australia..
Todays fun fact:
While it is well known that cars drive on the left side of the road here, you may find it strange that everything else functions on the left side as well:
- you walk on the left, not the right, when walking on a side walk
- you swim on the left side of the swim lane and make a clockwise circle instead of swiming on the right side and making a counter clockwise circle
- the bottom flight of a staircase starts on the left side, so the staircase is winding clockwise as opposed to the stairs starting on the right side and winding counter clockwise
- entrance doors are on the left and exit doors are on the right
I wonder if there is a higher population of left handed people in Australia..
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Cairns!
I just spent the weekend in Cairns with seven of my friends and it was completely amazing! We went scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, and ziplining through the rainforest at Port Douglas, then fed kangaroos and held a koala bear at a wildlife conservation center. My favorite part was hands down the scuba diving and kangaroo feeding.
We stayed at a hostel called Carabella's which was right on the shore. It was my first hostel experience and it wasn't too bad! It had a pool, a kitchen, communal bathrooms and showers, and picnic tables outside to socialize. The rooms consisted of three bunk beds, two sheets and a pillow each, and a fridge which was plugged into the only outlet we had access to. That's right, no outlets in the bathrooms or anywhere else in the hostel. Luckily it wasn't much of an issue because no one was keeping anything in the fridge. You could tell that the whole place was catering to the young, broke, and adventurous. The hostel also gave us free dinner vouchers every night at a bar called the Woolshed. It was a very cool place, and we could upgrade our crappy little meal for anything on the menu for about $7-$10. That being said, most of us got a full T-bone steak, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and garlic bread for $12. That may not seem like a bargain in the states but this would be about a $35 meal here so I felt like I was literally stealing food.
The Woolshed was a cool hip bar & restaurant when we were eating but when 11 o'clock rolled around it turned into a complete party zone. I mean drinks being thrown and dancing on tables. It was nuts. But we met a lot of cool people there and it was a blast!
We went scuba diving with Passions of Paradise and it was so much fun. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. The boat had about 45 people on it, but not everyone scuba dived. It took us two hours to reach our first destination, and we stayed there for two and a half hours. I got to scuba dive for half an hour and we saw a sea turtle which may have been my favorite part. When we weren't scuba diving we were snorkeling or sun bathing on the boat (but mostly snorkeling). There was a beach nearby which was owned by thousands of blackbirds just hangin' around. There was a tiny strip of beach roped off for people to sit on, but the island smelled so bad of bird poop that it almost wasn't worth it. Still, the view of thousands of birds taking flight and swarming all around us was pretty cool and equally scary. Pranay was pooped on.. twice I believe.
It took about an hour to get to the next spot where we scuba dived again. This location was much deeper than the previous one, and our instructor liked us so we were down there for at least 45 minutes this time. It was right at a drop off so we got to see a huge ridge of rock and coral. The fish were scary big there. I wish the pictures could capture the color of the reef. It was really amazing. I guess you all will just have to come see for yourself!
The next day we were picked up by a van and bussed to Jungle Surfing at Port Douglas (about an hour and a half away). On our way we stopped at some very stunning landscape locations to take pictures. We saw very pretty views and a couple disturbing signs as well. In addition, and as a small backstory, there is a boy who my group and I run into ALL the time back in Sydney, even though he does not go to our University. We all met through an Arcadia trip, though we don't know him from our orientation because his was a week before ours. Unfortunately, I really, REALLY, do not enjoy this person. Yet I run into him everywhere: the beach, U Sydney parties, at dinner, seriously all over. While stopped at a beautiful location on our way to Port Douglas we realized that this boy was on our trip in the van in front of us. I seriously cannot escape him, even hundreds of miles away from where we live. Think of seeing a person you don't like all the way in, say, Utah when you both live in New Jersey, and not just seeing them, but being on the same tour group on the same day when there are literally thousands of tours to choose from. It was ridiculous. But the tour was still such a blast!
After the scenic locations, we ended up at a wildlife conservation center where we got to see lots of different animals, hold a koala bear named Glenn, see a crocadile and a snake, and feed wallabies and kangaroos. Someone got a picture of my original reaction to the koala bear which was disgust.. it smelled pretty bad and right before we held it the employee told us that the brown patch on its chest secreted its territorial smell. My shirt was marked with Glenn's scent for the rest of the day.
My friend was scolded twice when attempting to hold the koala bear. Evidently he was moving too much and it would stress out the bear. Glenn, the koala, was ripped out of his arms twice haha it was hilarious. Next we fed the wallabies and kangaroos which was AMAZING. They were completely comfortable with us pretty much lying on top of them and taking pictures. No one was bitten or kicked, which was nice. The conservation had other animals too - one of my favorites was a very large bird that resembles Kevin from the movie up.
We finally got to the jungle surfing and got all suited up for ziplining. The company was genius for giving every person a helmet with a well known character written on it so that they didn't have to remember anyone's real name. It was a kick seeing who people ended up being as well. My personal favorite was the princess leah helmet which was given to my friend Pranay, who is somewhat of a princess himself ;] The back of the helmet said "Luke is my WHAT?!". Pranay also hit two trees while ziplining and was jerked abruptly to a stop when his safety rope got tied in a knot halfway down a zipline.. not the best day for him. In fact, he was having a pretty unlucky trip being pooped on and knocked into trees. I had a great time though! But I must say I was expecting a faster ride than what was given - we were pretty much guided through the rainforest, not hurtled down a zipline.
The group got home fine, but our two friends stayed in Cairns for one more night because they found a cheaper flight the next morning at 6:30 am. Well, they stayed out until 2:30, missed their 4:30 shuttle to the airport and therefore missed their flight home. They had to pay $300 for a new flight plus the wasted $150 on their old flight. To make things worse, the airline made one of them check their carry-on bag, adding another $30 to her expenses. So Mom and Dad.. you're welcome for me being so very responsible.
We stayed at a hostel called Carabella's which was right on the shore. It was my first hostel experience and it wasn't too bad! It had a pool, a kitchen, communal bathrooms and showers, and picnic tables outside to socialize. The rooms consisted of three bunk beds, two sheets and a pillow each, and a fridge which was plugged into the only outlet we had access to. That's right, no outlets in the bathrooms or anywhere else in the hostel. Luckily it wasn't much of an issue because no one was keeping anything in the fridge. You could tell that the whole place was catering to the young, broke, and adventurous. The hostel also gave us free dinner vouchers every night at a bar called the Woolshed. It was a very cool place, and we could upgrade our crappy little meal for anything on the menu for about $7-$10. That being said, most of us got a full T-bone steak, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and garlic bread for $12. That may not seem like a bargain in the states but this would be about a $35 meal here so I felt like I was literally stealing food.
The Woolshed was a cool hip bar & restaurant when we were eating but when 11 o'clock rolled around it turned into a complete party zone. I mean drinks being thrown and dancing on tables. It was nuts. But we met a lot of cool people there and it was a blast!
We went scuba diving with Passions of Paradise and it was so much fun. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. The boat had about 45 people on it, but not everyone scuba dived. It took us two hours to reach our first destination, and we stayed there for two and a half hours. I got to scuba dive for half an hour and we saw a sea turtle which may have been my favorite part. When we weren't scuba diving we were snorkeling or sun bathing on the boat (but mostly snorkeling). There was a beach nearby which was owned by thousands of blackbirds just hangin' around. There was a tiny strip of beach roped off for people to sit on, but the island smelled so bad of bird poop that it almost wasn't worth it. Still, the view of thousands of birds taking flight and swarming all around us was pretty cool and equally scary. Pranay was pooped on.. twice I believe.
It took about an hour to get to the next spot where we scuba dived again. This location was much deeper than the previous one, and our instructor liked us so we were down there for at least 45 minutes this time. It was right at a drop off so we got to see a huge ridge of rock and coral. The fish were scary big there. I wish the pictures could capture the color of the reef. It was really amazing. I guess you all will just have to come see for yourself!
The next day we were picked up by a van and bussed to Jungle Surfing at Port Douglas (about an hour and a half away). On our way we stopped at some very stunning landscape locations to take pictures. We saw very pretty views and a couple disturbing signs as well. In addition, and as a small backstory, there is a boy who my group and I run into ALL the time back in Sydney, even though he does not go to our University. We all met through an Arcadia trip, though we don't know him from our orientation because his was a week before ours. Unfortunately, I really, REALLY, do not enjoy this person. Yet I run into him everywhere: the beach, U Sydney parties, at dinner, seriously all over. While stopped at a beautiful location on our way to Port Douglas we realized that this boy was on our trip in the van in front of us. I seriously cannot escape him, even hundreds of miles away from where we live. Think of seeing a person you don't like all the way in, say, Utah when you both live in New Jersey, and not just seeing them, but being on the same tour group on the same day when there are literally thousands of tours to choose from. It was ridiculous. But the tour was still such a blast!
 |
| Obviously not happy about running into a certain someone |
After the scenic locations, we ended up at a wildlife conservation center where we got to see lots of different animals, hold a koala bear named Glenn, see a crocadile and a snake, and feed wallabies and kangaroos. Someone got a picture of my original reaction to the koala bear which was disgust.. it smelled pretty bad and right before we held it the employee told us that the brown patch on its chest secreted its territorial smell. My shirt was marked with Glenn's scent for the rest of the day.
My friend was scolded twice when attempting to hold the koala bear. Evidently he was moving too much and it would stress out the bear. Glenn, the koala, was ripped out of his arms twice haha it was hilarious. Next we fed the wallabies and kangaroos which was AMAZING. They were completely comfortable with us pretty much lying on top of them and taking pictures. No one was bitten or kicked, which was nice. The conservation had other animals too - one of my favorites was a very large bird that resembles Kevin from the movie up.
 |
| Obviously Kevin from Up |
The group got home fine, but our two friends stayed in Cairns for one more night because they found a cheaper flight the next morning at 6:30 am. Well, they stayed out until 2:30, missed their 4:30 shuttle to the airport and therefore missed their flight home. They had to pay $300 for a new flight plus the wasted $150 on their old flight. To make things worse, the airline made one of them check their carry-on bag, adding another $30 to her expenses. So Mom and Dad.. you're welcome for me being so very responsible.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Royal National Park
I went on a hike last weekend at the Royal National Park. It's the second largest national park in the world after Yellowstone and a serious must see if you come to Sydney. We did a 9K hike (almost 6 miles) and it was AMAZING - completely up my alley. We had to climb rocks, wade through streams, and climb a tree to complete the hike. It took us nearly five hours including our lunch and snack breaks.
The most memorable moments of our hike were seeing a huge lobster at the bottom of the natural water pool we stopped at, and a big waterfall that we had to climb a tree to get over. Both were pretty terrifying, but we are definitely coming back to the pool to swim when it gets warmer.
I'll bring Mom and Dad here when they visit if they're up to the challenge!
My friends and I also did the the Bondi to Coogee walk again (some people didn't get to go the first time), but this time we decided to spice things up and go from Coogee to Bondi.. daredevils. It was refreshing to know that the walk was still just as breathtaking as the first time.
We found some pretty cool spots that we hadn't before, so since I've posted scenic views from the first walk, I'll only post the new views we found.
In other news, classes are getting harder and a little intimidating, but I'm keeping my head up and working hard to get it done quickly so I have time to play! Hopefully the work will die down in a couple of weeks.
The most memorable moments of our hike were seeing a huge lobster at the bottom of the natural water pool we stopped at, and a big waterfall that we had to climb a tree to get over. Both were pretty terrifying, but we are definitely coming back to the pool to swim when it gets warmer.
I'll bring Mom and Dad here when they visit if they're up to the challenge!
 |
| Lobster! |
 |
| climbing the tree over the waterfall |
 |
| Waterfall |
My friends and I also did the the Bondi to Coogee walk again (some people didn't get to go the first time), but this time we decided to spice things up and go from Coogee to Bondi.. daredevils. It was refreshing to know that the walk was still just as breathtaking as the first time.
We found some pretty cool spots that we hadn't before, so since I've posted scenic views from the first walk, I'll only post the new views we found.
In other news, classes are getting harder and a little intimidating, but I'm keeping my head up and working hard to get it done quickly so I have time to play! Hopefully the work will die down in a couple of weeks.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
St. John's, Aquarium, Botanical Gardens, and Footy game
This weekend was packed with adventure and fun! Wednesday night my friends and I attended a St. John's College party: Grooves on a Grassy Knoll. A "college" in Australia just means a dorm (Uni means college). It was pretty much a high end frat party. It was located in a fenced area outside (on a grassy knoll, imagine that) and there was food, beer, live music/DJs, and dancing. It had been raining that day so they put up tents but the ground was still wet. Unfortunately for me, my shoes broke within five minutes of being there. I had to walk around barefoot in the muddy grass for the rest of the night. There were porta potties outside for the girls (my friends generously let me borrow their shoes to go in), but the boys bathroom was simply a roped off corner where they peed on the tarp fence. When walking home, I had no choice but to walk right past the "bathroom" tarp fence (which was located on a downward sloping hill) where the grass was muddy with pee water. Yes, I was still barefoot. Disgusting. But overall, it was a fun night.
We went to the aquarium on Saturday located in Darling Harbour. It was very fun and we saw a ton of cool animals. My favorites are below.
We ended this trip by taking a bus to the Botanic Gardens near Sydney Harbour. We figured it would be a perfect end to the day; it was beautiful outside, the garden was free, and it was only a short bus ride away. Unfortunately, we neglected to realize that it's still winter! We got to the garden and everything was dead. Bummer. We will have to come back in the spring when the flowers are actually in bloom!
Today I attended an AFL (Australian Football League) game, otherwise known as Footy. We were in the 10th row, and practically being spit on. The game was completely bizarre but a blast nonetheless. It is played on a round field with a rugby ball, but the ball is kicked, punched, or dribbled down the field. Points are scored by kicking the ball between four tall posts; a kick through the middle posts is 6 points, through the side posts is 1 point, and hitting one of the posts is also 1 point if the ball does not go in. It is currently the AFL world cup, so at half time all of the international teams walked around the field. When the United States team came around to our side (who knew we had a footy team), my group started a "USA" chant. I'm sure the Australians around were annoyed but the team was very appreciative as I'm sure they were not expecting so much support in Australia.
We went to the aquarium on Saturday located in Darling Harbour. It was very fun and we saw a ton of cool animals. My favorites are below.
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| Fountain that we passed on the way to the aquarium |
 |
| Glowing Coral |
Today I attended an AFL (Australian Football League) game, otherwise known as Footy. We were in the 10th row, and practically being spit on. The game was completely bizarre but a blast nonetheless. It is played on a round field with a rugby ball, but the ball is kicked, punched, or dribbled down the field. Points are scored by kicking the ball between four tall posts; a kick through the middle posts is 6 points, through the side posts is 1 point, and hitting one of the posts is also 1 point if the ball does not go in. It is currently the AFL world cup, so at half time all of the international teams walked around the field. When the United States team came around to our side (who knew we had a footy team), my group started a "USA" chant. I'm sure the Australians around were annoyed but the team was very appreciative as I'm sure they were not expecting so much support in Australia.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Hair
haHA. I've found hair products in Australia that work on my hair!!! The huge stash of hair products that I brought in my suitcase are dwindling down so I have been on a desperate hunt for something that works. I wish I could stick it to the man but I don't know who the man would be in this situation. Nevertheless, I feel like I have outwitted an enemy! With this problem solved, I can now live here forever.
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