WA, Assessments, Stars, and Seafood

A recap of the last few weeks; it is probably going to be lengthy…but I am sure worth it :D

May 8th – 13th

This past weekend I went to Western Australia (commonly referred to as WA). I left Sydney on Thursday after my morning tutorial. I had planned on doing work on the plane as it was a six-hour flight, but I ended up sleeping. I arrived in Perth, WA around 6 PM. I took a risk, and took the public bus downtown. Luckily, it was quite simple and I did not get lost! And, I saved 12 bucks because the airport transfer bus was $15. This made me incredibly happy. I arrived at the YHA around 7:30, checked-in, secured my things, and made my to way to dinner. After dinner, I just hung out, got on the internet, called the parents, etc. Ended up going to be around 11:30. This proved to be a bit difficult because everyone in the room was already asleep and I had to make my way throughout the room in the dark.

On Friday, I was woken up bright and early at 5 AM by one of the other’s alarm. Of course, they didn’t wake up right away…that was a bit annoying. I ended up getting up around 9, checking out at 10. By the time I gathered by things and got out of the hostel, ate breakfast, I decided I should just head to the airport as it was an hour drive. I probably had time to check out something real quick in Perth, but I didn’t feel like taking my luggage nor did I want to go back to the hostel, so I sat in the airport for a few hours and did some work.

I met the Arcadia group at 1 PM. There were only 8 kids on the trips. For the students in WA this was their free Arcadia trip, but none of them went as they had events at college they wanted to attend.

We went to the Margaret River Valley, which was about 4 hours away. Friday was spent driving there. We arrived around 6 PM at our accommodation. We had cabins on the Swan River, which were really nice. That night we had dinner in town. The town was so cute, but unfortunately most things were closed.

On Saturday we woke up bright and early at 6 AM and had breakfast on the side of the river.


The Swan River at sunrise.

After breakfast, we cleaned up and loaded up the van. Destination: Indian Ocean! Unfortunately, it was rainy, but we made the best of it.


The Indian Ocean in not so nice weather.

We walked along the beach for about an hour or so, before our surfing lesson began. It was really fun. Hard, but fun. I managed to get on my knees just about every time I caught a wave, and only made it up to my feet on the last wave. While it was hard getting up, just getting out to a position where you could catch a wave was extremely difficult. It seemed like every time I got ¾ of the way out, I got knocked back to the shore.

Once we were done with surfing, we went back to the cabins and cleaned up. Everyone pretty much went into town for lunch. Lindsay and I had brought food the night before at the grocery store, so we were going to walk to town after lunch. However, it started pouring and we opted not to. We thought the others were coming back to pick us up, but since everyone went to town they had no reason to come back. We didn’t realize this until the last minute, and had to quickly make our way up to town. Luckily, we weren’t too late.

A tour of Mammoth Caves was next on the list. It is was OK, not too exciting. It was a cave.


The view coming out of the cave.

After the cave, we took a scenic drive through the Karri forest in the Boranup National Park. It was really pretty.


Group in the Karri Forest.


The Karri Forest.

The last stop of the day was a winery. I was pretty disappointed with this. I thought it would be more informative. However, it was more like here are some wines, drink. A few of them were OK and some were just plain not delicious. The flowers and the winery itself were pretty though.








The night was concluded by a pretty BBQ dinner on the river.

Sunday was another early morning, typical of Arcadia trips. The majority of the morning was spent canoeing and kayaking on the Swan River. Most people wanted to kayak, but there were only 3 kayaks, so we had to trade off. At first, I thought I would hate canoeing based on my 7th grade canoeing experience. I enjoy kayaking much more, but I was able to have fun canoeing. During our outing, Stewart, the Arcadia staffer made up walk through a swampy area that has significance to the Aboriginals. We also passed a house that is owned by one of the richest men in Aussie Land, and explored some caves. Overall, I give the morning an A+.


The swampy area Stewart made us walk through.


The Swan River

The next activity was a costal walk. My experiences thus far with Arcadia have led me to believe that a walk is never a nice casual walk. Lets just say I finally got the hint. Of course, this time it was a nice casual walk along the coast on a paved path. I was definitely over prepared for it. Oh well. It was beautiful.


The Indian Ocean on a lovely day.

After the walk, there was lunch and then we drove to the Wardan Aboriginal Culutral Center. We had an Aboriginal guide, who gave me the impression that he didn’t really like white people, which was interesting. We learned about various bush plants and remedies. We also got to throw spears and boomerangs! I was much better at the boomerang over the spear.


Me being a master of the boomerang!

After leaving the cultural center, we started to make our way back to Perth. We stopped at one point for dinner at a place that was obviously a bit too classy for some of my tour mates. The food was really good though.

When we got back to Perth, everyone had different destinations. I was dropped off at the YHA, which was nice because the people going to the airport had to find their own way there.

Monday was yet another early morning. I had to be down at the jetty by 8:30 AM. I was taking the ferry to Rottnest Island. It is a small island, about 8 km long, and vehicles are not allowed on the island. People get around on foot and by bike. Quokkas, a marsupial, live on the island. This is the only place they are found in the wild. The animals were actually mistaken for a rat on the island by one the first Europeans. The island was named for “rat’s nest.”

The ferry ride took about an hour. After disembarking, I got my bike and went to the visitor’s center for some information. I couldn’t check-in to my hostel until noon, so I had a couple hours to burn. I ended up hiring snorkel equipment, getting lunch, and taking some photos.

After checking in, riding to the hostel, I decided to explore the coast. I went the best snorkel site, but the waters were choppy and deep, and I didn’t feel like it was the safest situation so I took some photos and enjoyed the water from the beach before moving on to the next location. At the next beach, I decided to snorkel because there was another lady snorkeling. I didn’t want to go too far out, but I did see some fish. That was cool. The coral I did see didn’t look especially beautiful, so I am hoping the coral at the Great Barrier Reef is much better. After awhile, I started to really freak myself out about sharks (a few hours south a Great White attacked a women, and the sharks were still being spotted not far off the coast, the beaches were closed for days). I continued my ride along the coast, and decided to go up to the Wadjemup Lighthouse. It was hike up there, but the view was worth it. On my way down, I also spotted my first Quokka!



The lighthouse.


My first experience with a Quokka!




The coastline.

I headed back to the snorkel shop after the lighthouse as my equipment was due at 4 PM and I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to bike back. I got there on time, which was good because I did not want to lose my deposit. Earlier, there was a mix up with my luggage, so I biked over to the hostel to ensure that it got there, as the visitor’s center closed at 5 PM. Everything was in order. However, during my stop, a Quokka got in my room!


The intruder!

I tried talking it out, but it wasn't moving from underneath my bed. A nice Aussie boy heard my pleas with the little guy and came to the rescue. He picked up the little guy and promptly removed him. After that event, I went in search of food. Most the restaurants were closed, so I decided that I would observe the sunset, so I biked a couple k’s to shore. It was really beautiful; I didn’t wait until it went down completely because I wanted to get back before dark. I made it back before the grocery store closed and picked up some pasta for dinner, which I later made at the hostel.


The sunset on Rottnest.

Unfortunately, the Tuesday was rainy. I checked out of the hostel and bummed around as it was pouring at times. When it cleared up a bit, I explored the shore by the jetty. There were some really cool pelicans and stingrays (they were huge!).


Pretty excited that I got to see these guys.


This guy was pretty cool.

Later, I biked up to Bathurst Point where there was a lighthouse. I took a ton of photos, which was fun before heading back to get on the ferry.


The lighthouse at Bathurst Point.

The ride back was choppy! I was getting a bit seasick and was very thankful when we reached the river. Upon returning to the mainland, I hopped on a bus back to the airport. Pretty much in Perth was closed and I didn’t feel like lugging my bags around. My flight didn’t leave until 1 AM, so I had a lot of time on my hands, which gave me lots of time to catch up on work that I was behind on.

I arrived in Sydney at 7 AM, caught a cab, was back at John’s by 7:30, and even had time to catch a quick nap before my tutorial at 10.

Thursday and Friday, May 15th-16th

Not exciting, pretty hetic though. I had two assessments due: a 2,000 word essay for my Australian Politics and a 1,500 word Brain and Behavior lab report.

Sunday, May 18th

The “highlight” of today was going to the Sydney Wildlife Park. Earlier in the semester, Sarah, Becca, and I brought a pass that included entry to the Wildlife Park, the Sydney Aquarium, and the Sydney Tower. Well, Sarah went to the Wildlife Park with another study abroad friend, so Becca and I decided that we should hit that up today. We walked there as it is in Darling Harbor and that is a pretty quick walk from campus.

The actual Wildlife Park itself was OK, I guess. I was a bit disappointed especially when I began to compare it with the one I went with Arcadia to in the Blue Mountains. The park is open until 10 PM, but some of the exhibits closed at 5 PM. We did not know this at the time and missed out on some of the outside portions of the park and the butterfly sanctuary (well we saw all these things from behind glass, before 5 PM you can walk through them). Additionally, they had koalas that you could cuddle with, but it was 20 bucks. I quite enjoy cuddling with koala but at the other wildlife park it was free with admission (which was around $30 or $35). There you also got to engage with the wallabies and kangaroos. Moral of the story: skip the Sydney Wildlife Park in favor of Featherdale out in the Blue Mountains if you ever come out to Sydney.


Butterflies!


Me with a something type of animal.


I wanted to cuddle with it!


By the time we left the park, it was sunset. A view from Darling Harbor.


Monday, May 19th

Today, I had my presentation in my economics tutorial. Overall, I think I did pretty well. It is not worth too much of my overall subject mark, but I did not want to look like an idiotic in front of a class of 15. My tutor said I did a good job, and he did not really add much to what I had to say, so I think I can expect a decent mark on my actual paper (which I did the presentation on. This is worth a lot more marks than the actual presentation).

Today, I skipped formal dinner as myself and friends had an outing in the city this evening. We went to the Sydney Observatory. It was pretty cool. It was not as intense as I thought it would be, meaning they do not really use the observatory for anything these days but tourism. I thought it was going to be one that is still used for scientific purposes, but oh well. I learned a few things about locating the stars and using the telescope we looked at Jupiter, Satan, the jewel box, and Proxima Centauri (the second closest star to Earth).

After the observatory, we walked out on the bridge. We did not go too far, but still got some good shots of the city and OH (or rather the Opera House).


The city.


The Opera House.

Tuesday, May 20th

Today, wasn’t too exciting – slept in and did work. However, the highlight was lunch. at the Sydney Fish Market; supposedly (according to my friend Brittany), it is the second largest fish market in the world behind Tokyo. In itself the fish market was not too exciting. The actual food is the exciting part. Sarah, Becca, and I split a seafood sampler. The sampler included some type of fried fish, calamari, BBQ octopuses (they were still whole), scallops, and oysters.

Review of the food:

Fried Fish – tasted like any other fried fish. It could have been better though as it had probably been sitting out for awhile and its freshness was lacking.

Calamari – also had been sitting for awhile. They weren’t fried either. I don’t know exactly how they were cooked, but I prefer fried ones.

BBQ Octopus – Ok, so this was the challenge. And, I succeed, well kind of. I ate a few of the tentacles; I could not manage the head. However, the tentacles, did not taste so bad if you can get past the visual. The thing I think they most taste like is fat on a steak, cooked longer and seasoned. I ate a few, but it was tough each time. I just had such a hard time getting past what it looked like.

Scallops – also a new experience. These were perhaps the best thing we had. I would definitely get them again.

Oysters – again, new experience. I would not do it again.


The seafood mix.


Me and the octopus.


Digging in.


I took the plunge.

After lunch, we walked back to campus. I made a pit stop at the grocery store and got some fruit. Here I had the realization that a kilo is almost twice that of a pound. I knew it was more, but I guess I never really thought about it before. Anyway, for the longest time, I thought fruit prices here were out of control. Turns out they are not; I just did not properly convert weights and prices.

Differences

I should be doing my economics assessments, but writing in my blog seems like an OK procrastination tool.

I may have addressed these things in earlier posts, but I can’t remember. So, I wanted to share some general observations about Sydney and Australia.

Friendliness

People talk about how friendly Australians are. I personally just think they are normal people. Ok, maybe people are slightly more friendly and willing to talk to strangers, but the whole I don’t think there is a huge difference (of course, I guess it depends which part of America you are comparing it to). Are there extremely friendly people, of course. We have them in America, too. Are there rude people…yes. Also, available in America. And, they have everything in between.

Public Transportation

They are big on the use of buses in Sydney. I actually wish their meto/subway line was a bit more developed. Overall the train system is good, but it isn’t nearly as expansion as the bus system or with other subway systems around the world (ie New York, etc.). The trains are cheaper and faster, but they don’t go as many places. Also, if you don’t know what line you need for a train, it is easy to look at a map at the station. However, bus stops do not have maps posted of the bus routes, so you better know what bus you need. Lets just say, I ended up on the other side of Sydney once because I guessed on a bus route.

Prices

Sydney is expensive. And, nothing is free. A local restaurant that is a regular hang out for me and my friends, has a $3 taco night. Yes, $3 is considered cheap for a taco. ONE TACO. A regular candy bar in a vending machine, 2 bucks. Pick the same candy bar up at Kmart, $1.50. Yes, I am talking about a regular sized Snicker. A coke at a restaurant, $3…and no refills. 20oz soda (roughly), $3 as well. A liter of Absolut or Smirnoff is going to set you back about $45. International stamp, $1.30, and you are lucky to find a small post card under $.60. Electronics are much more expensive than they are in America. I paid $15 at the beginning of the semester for an alarm clock that is nowhere near as nice as the one I have at home. I am pretty sure I paid $5 for the one I have at home. Ipods and Nintendo DS are at least a $100 more here. Oh, and if you want to use your credit card, do not be surprised if there is a surcharge. Also, not surprising is a surcharge to eat at restaurants on the weekends or public holidays (they pay the employees time and half…honestly, time and half for the weekend?!?). Speaking of time and half, a girl on my hall, is a hostess at a hotel (they use hotel for many things: 1. For an actual hotel where you sleep. However, it can also mean a bar/restaurant). She decided to work one weekend night, and there might have been another factor to her wage determination for night but I can’t recall…anyways moral of the story, she was going to be making $45/hr. FOURTY-FIVE DOLLARS PER HOUR for an unskilled, repetitive, something my 8-year neice could do, job. She is a hostess for pete’s sakes. Oh, and this place she works, not upscale in the least bit.

Walking

Walking has been much of a challenge here. For the longest time, my American friends and I would spend a significant amount of time debating what side of the sidewalk we should walk down. Now, we typically stay to the left. However, it isn’t as strict as it would be in American city (and that is why it took us so long to figure where to walk). Another thing they do, typically around campus: the sidewalk is wide enough for 2 people. 2 people will be walking towards you, chatting, and even might notice you. However, as you come to a point where you will pass each other, they will not make room for you. One of the partners will not step into the road or behind the other for a millisecond. No, no. I often found myself practically lying in a bush because the people I walked past did not feel the need to move. It happens multiple times a day. I am not going to lie…I find it insanely frustrating!

Professors

Professors here are called lecturers. On some of my course outlines, they didn’t even put a title in front of their names. I am pretty sure my Australian Politics professors has a doctoral degree. Yet, on the course outline it says “Lecturer: Shelly Savage.” No, Dr. or at the very least Prof. This is true for my other classes, too. Except psychology, it does have the title Professor in front of each of their names. Yes, nameS. I have 5 different lectures for psychology. I have never had that before. I guess it is because they each specialize in different areas. But, back to the lack of titles…I have a really hard time writing emails, especially in the beginning. What do I call them? Dear Lecturer, or Lecturer Savage? Well, that just sounds odd. And, I can’t say Dear Shelly, too personal and informal. So, I have resorted to my American ways. I call them Professor in the email. I am pretty sure that is a dead give-a-way that I am American. I’ll have to ask some of my Aussie peeps though. Update to come on this.

Drinking

As mentioned before, the Aussies drink a lot. If I didn’t know better I would think I was among the Irish or the Germans. It is interesting, I walk around campus, and every event just about relates back to alcohol somehow or has alcohol involved. And, never away is there anything about binge drinking. Which is crazy to me, since it is a priority at pretty much every American college campus. Fun fact that I got from psychology class: 9 percent of Aussies drink everyday.


I guess the other big thing would be language, but it is currently dinner time, so I’ll save that for another day :D

Exams, BridgeClimb, Rugby

Thursday, April 24th

I took my first Australian exam. It was in my Intermediate Macroeconomics class. Lets just say the whole experience was quite different to what I am use to.

First, I have economics on Thursday from noon – 2 PM. In America, if you have a midterm, you can expect that it will be given during normal class time. In this case, Thursdays at noon. However, not in Australia. The exam was schedule for 6 PM on Thursday. Yes, I had to take extra time out of my day to take an exam. I get to the building a bit early, and there is a large group (about a 100) students waiting to go in. I overhear people talking about seat numbers. Seat numbers? No one ever told me what I need a seat number for? Or, where I get it. I panicked a bit. Luckily, turns out for this exam you didn’t need one (however, for finals you do…and they are administered through the university). We are let into the room and everyone puts their bags at the back of the room (very unlike GW. I have only had to put my bag against the wall once during an exam at GW), takes out their student IDs (again, never needed for testing at GW), and eventually makes their way to their seat. We are given 10 minutes of “reading time.” Another new concept. During this time you are allowed to write your name on the test and read the questions. No writing though (except to write your name). I didn’t really like the time, especially for an economics test. I like to dive right in when I read a question. Reading the questions and not being able to write anything down just got myself into a panic as I cannot shifts economics curves in my head very well. So, after reading a couple questions I stopped until we were actually allowed to begin the exam.

I got the exam back today (Thursday, May 1st). I am very pleased with how I did. Only about 15 students did better than me (in a class of 100)…which I am shocked about because I didn’t feel that confident leaving the testing room. And, I earned a Distinction (75%). This translates to a B+ at home. While, I probably wouldn’t be too happy with a B+ at home, distinctions are considered very good in Australia. The other week I received Credit (67%) on an assignment I turned in. My tutor told me that was pretty good. While I am happy I received something well above the passing mark, the more I look at this assignment the higher marks I think I deserve, but whatever. The credit translates to a B- at home. Again, not exactly grades I shoot for. Overall, I am happy with how I am doing. I am not going to lie, it was a bit hard to swallow a 67%! That is almost a failing grade at GW. And, here that is considered to be a solid assignment. Here is the grading scale and how it translates to the American scale:

HD 90 – 100% A+
HD 85 – 89% A
D 80 – 84% A-
D 75 – 79% B+
C 70 – 74% B
C 65 – 69% B-
P 60 – 64% C+
P 50 – 59% C
PC 45 – 49% D
Fail 0 – 44% F
Fail (X) F

HD is a high distinction, and is considered to be excellent work. They give very few HDs out. P is just a simple pass.

Friday, April 25th

Today was Anzac Day. So no classes…yet I don’t have classes so it really didn’t effect me. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The day was originally to commemorate the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Basically, their forces landed in the wrong location, a long fight ensued, and many lives were lost. Now, the day in Australia is to remember anyone who has been lost in battle. How do they do this? Of course, there was a dawn service. But, mostly the drink (in true Aussie fashion).

Sarah and I met my friend Lindsay from NSW (I met her in the Outback). She brought a couple friends along and we went and saw the Princess Di exhibit at the Powerhouse Museum. I went because everyone else wanted to go, but all in all I liked it. Sarah stayed at the Powerhouse Museum, while Lindsay, myself, and company went onto explore. We had lunch at McDonald’s in Darling Harbor. Not too exciting. But a side note about McDonald’s…or Mackers as the Aussies refer to it as. They really like it. In America, no one is ever excited to eat at McDonalds (unless you are a children), and even if you are you pretend that you aren’t as McDonald’s is gross, greasy, and unhealthy. However, mention Mackers to an Aussie (yes, even the ones over 8 years of age) and they are pumped for it. I have yet to hear one Aussie say anything negative about Mackers. However, the portions are much different. For the standard value meal, you get a small fry and small drink (I think it is the size that comes with a happy meal these days, though it could be smaller). To get the standard American size, you have to upgrade to a large.

After lunch, we walked around a few of the stores downtown. And, finally made our way to the harbor. Here, like always, a photo shoot ensued. After a while, we made our way over to the Rocks and to the BridgeClimb building. We got there pretty early, so we sat around for a while. Eventually, the time came for the climb. The preparation for the climb is pretty hardcore. Our blood alcohol levels were tested, we were given jumpsuits to wear, passed through metal detectors to ensure we didn’t have any jewel, hairclips, watches, etc. on (you were not allowed to take ANYTHING with you. Lindsay even had to take out her bobby pins?!?), harnessed up, and then received lots of accessories (I had so much stuff clipped to me, 2 jackets – a rain and soft shell, a hankie, a radio, and a flashlight, and I didn’t even take everything they offered). The climb itself was not hard at all. On the way up we had a view of an amazing sunset (it was very upsetting I didn’t have a camera). We walked all the way to the summit! The views from the top were breath taking and definitely worth the money I shelled out for this.

After the climb, we headed to Pancakes on the Rocks as Lindsay and Erin had not been there. Good as always.

Saturday, April 26th

Started with going to the Glebe Markets. A while ago, Sarah and I went and she brought this really pretty necklace. The women only had one, so I went back in search on it or one similar. She didn’t have this week, but said to come next (and I plan to!). I also got a few gifts to take home – so the trip was at least somewhat productive.

The next stop was the library ☹ Picked up some books for a paper I have to write. Currently, about half way done with the rough draft…so it is coming along I guess.

I managed to get little work done in the afternoon. And, come evening it was time for the Waratahs v. Sharks game. I went out to dinner with Sarah and her friend from NSW. Dinner was great and cheap! However, the whole process (starting with dinner) was a complete disaster. Some people forgot about dinner, so they were starting dinner when we were ready to leave for the game. So, we made a pit stop to drop off their tickets and picked up jackets (PS – it gets chilly in Aussie land. WHO KNEW? I was chilly in just a sweatshirt (and this is the warmest article of clothing I brought) at points during this past weekend. Normally, at home I think I would be fine but it went from hot to cold in pretty much a day. A jacket is on the to-get list). We get to the bus station, knowing what bus we need, I thought it would rather obvious where the bus was stopping, but it was not. And, there were no stations workers to ask. We ended up asking a guy in a Waratahs jersey, if was going to the game and if we were in the right location. He said “Yes,” so we stayed put…and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, at 7:15 (game started at 7:30), we decided to get a cab. We finally got one, and managed only to miss the first 15 minutes of the game ☺ However, it did not fare as well for the others who came later. They misinterpreted another friend’s directions, ended up on the other side of the city, and saw only the last 18 minutes of the game. It was still great fun though even if no one knew what was going on. Waratahs won, though I don’t remember the score.

Oh, some other information on rugby. First, there are two rugby leagures..the Union and League. They each have different rules and generally the Rugby Union is considered better to watch (that is the league the Waratahs are in). However, their structure of the the leagues are quite different to the NFL. I thought they would be like the NFL, there would be multiple teams around Australia, and they would play rotate playing each other throughout the season. That is wrong. The Union has 14 teams, some from different countries (the Sharks were from South Africa), and they play each rather irregularly throughout the season in my opinion (nothing like every Sunday in football season).