I have been in Canberra a month today! I am so happy to be here, unlike a month a go when I was throwing up on the plane from Sydney to Canberra. Yikes!
I am also coming off a GREAT weekend in Sydney with Ayla, Amanda and Bridget! We left Canberra on Thursday afternoon and after about a half dozen hiccups on the way (like almost missing the bus and then sitting next to a screaming child on the bus) we made it to Sydney and settled into our hostel. We stayed at the same place I did upon arriving in Oz since it is right across from the bus station.
On Friday morning we began the first of many tourist adventures. Since I had been there once before and semi knew my way around I was appointed tour guide. (Which is funny if you know how directionally challenged I am)We made our way to Circular Quay for the first glimpses of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge-this time on a sunny day! We finally found Pancakes on the Rocks tucked under the Bridge and I had the most amazing cinnamon apple and raisin pancakes! Ahhh it was so good!
We took a ferry to Taronga Zoo and spent the afternoon there, all the while getting an amazing view of downtown Sydney. The koalas were a big hit, even though they were sleeping, as well as the baby gorilla, baby elephant and the seal show! We also saw all the huge, scary snakes that are in Australia and some super creepy salties (crocodiles). We were so lucky to have such gorgeous weather. After we took the ferry back, we went walking around the Opera House, although we didn’t get a tour and I would still like to eventually. After some sushi in the city for dinner we met up with Liz, a friend of Josh’s who lives in Sydney, for some karaoke in Newtown-which is the college-y area near all the Sydney unis. Our rendition of Don’t Stop Believing was a big hit!
We had another early morning on Saturday because we had to go collect our race packets for City to Surf! The race was beginning at the Hyde Park Barracks, which was one of the former prisons used to house convicts in the 1800s-also a place I wanted to tour, but didn’t have the time! We had decided that we wanted to see where the 2000 Olympics were held and that turned out being a bigger task than we bargained for.
First, it took us about half and hour to locate the train station. And thank goodness for the subway-savvy New York girls, Amanda and Bridget, for taking over as tour guides and getting us on the right train. As it ended up, the Olympic Park was waaaaayyyy far away from anything identifiable in Sydney. We took an almost 20 minute train ride, and then transferred to take another train to Homebush Bay. We practically lived on peanut butter the whole weekend because we didn’t want to pay for food, so we sat on the train and made peanut butter crackers and peeled oranges. The whole time we are looking out the windows and wondering just where in the heck we are going to end up.
When we arrived at Olympic Park the entire train station was super nice, but super deserted. Aside from one obviously touring family, we were the only people to be seen at Olympic Park! It was nothing like the Atlanta park, which is downtown and there are normally people all over. We wandered around and took pictures of the arenas and the torch and looked for athlete’s names which were all inscribed on a bunch of poles. It was really cool to see and I can only imagine how cool it would have been to be there during the Games. I LOVE the Olympics!
We then took a train, and then a bus to Bondi Beach! It was still a gorgeous day, but we had badly underestimated how chilly it would be with the wind. This did not stop us! We looked around at some street vendors and in a couple surf shops and got gelato and ice cream. Then we climbed all over the rocks and cliffs overlooking the water. I got some great pictures of the water and the tidepools!It was breathtaking! We are definitely making a trip back when it is warmer to do the coastal cliff walk from Bondi to Coogee Beach.
The trip back to the city was incredibly frustrating and hilarious at the same time. We got a ride from a friend of Ayla’s who lived nearby back to the bus station, where we bought tickets WE thought would get us back to Hyde Park. We are on the bus for about 20 minutes and are all about to fall asleep when we hear the bus driver yell LAST STOP! We look around and realize that we are BACK at the beach where we started….and we felt incredibly stupid. We did get the right bus back, but the trip that should have taken 40 minutes took about an hour and a half. NICE!
We called it an early night since we were getting up early to run run run! On Sunday morning, we all put on our matching neon-colored tank tops, bright colored ponytails and kneesocks, and I used some of the American flag stickers Mom sent in a care package to decorate my number bib:)
Hyde Park was absolutely PACKED with people who were in the race. It is THE biggest footrace in the world-beating both the New York City and Boston Marathons. There were almost 80 thousand participants! There were all kinds of crazy costumes: a family of gorillas, Scooby Doo, pirates, people who were painted head to toe, AND several men running on stilts! And those are just the ones we saw!
Since we had never run City2Surf before, we were placed in the back of the pack, which was the last starting group. This is the craziest part: the first guy crossed the FINISH line before we were even up to the starting line! It took us 41 minutes to cross START! From there, Ayla and I ran, and Bridget and Amanda walked. However, the first 2 kilometers were impossible to run because it was so packed out! We ran, laughing hysterically, weaving in and out of people for a lonnnnnnng time. Eventually our pink and green ponytails got quite irritating and pretty sweaty, so we took them off and clipped them to a stop sign in Double Bay:)
We ran the first 6 kilometers and then 7-8 were up “Heartbreak Hill” which we definitely walked. It wasn’t a huge incline or really steep, but it steadily inclined and was so hard on the knees to run. It was such a great motivator to have people all around me literally the entire time. We picked up running again after the hill until Km 14 at the FINISH line on Bondi Beach! Woo! Ahhhh the sand felt amazing on my tired feet and so while we waited on Bridget and Amanda, Ayla and I dozed on the beach. Living the dream.
Once again, our trip out of Bondi was unduly stressful. The busses ran for free back to the city on race day, and that was how we had counted on getting back. However, the lines were insanely long and we had a bus to catch back to Canberra! So after debating walking, getting up and announcing that we were exchange student s and needed to catch our bus OR waiting in line…we decided to risk taking the subway back. It turned out to be the best bet and we were getting our bags from the hostel with half an hour to spare! The bus ride back to Canberra was nice and quietJ
It was such a GREAT weekend and this week so far has been pretty great too! I started working on Monday at Black Pepper Café and I just love it. I had been getting a little bored on Mondays since I had no class, so it felt great to feel busy and accomplish something. Everyone was so helpful and answered all my questions. As soon as a customer heard me talk they wanted to know where I was from and how I came to be in Canberra. I had a great time and I am excited to work again!.
Monday was also Ayla’s and Erin’s birthdays so a bunch of exchange kids went out to dinner to celebrate! I FINALLY got some decent pizza! Not awesome, but decent. We also experimented with making a birthday pie of bananas, custard and Nutella and it turned out absolutely fabulous, if I do say so myself.
Yesterday afternoon I was working on getting my presentation together, keeping my door open-trying to be social, when Kirby and Carla from across the hall came in my room and we chatted the afternoon away! They asked me where Montana was after seeing the photo of Bethany and I at the Montana state line, so I got to explain US geography a bit! We talked about California and Washington DC and I showed them photos from the trip Mom and I made to DC in 2007. It was so cool to get to explain to someone about the Capitol and Arlington Cemetery and others.
The 2 BEST things they asked me:
1. Is life in America like the Simpsons?
I laughed a lot and then had to inform them that I have never watched a single episode! EVERYONE here watches the Simpsons! I’m glad that’s how they perceive us, haha
2. Is Alabama scary?
This one made me so happy to answer! I got to explain about how gridiron(football) is so huge in the south, and how UT hates Bama and Florida. But for all practical purposes, YES, Alabama is scaryJ I laughed a lot!
Today I gave a presentation in my Political Communication class about how CNN has influenced news and about the integrations of social media like Facebook and Twitter into news. It was so crazy and cool to be presenting to an entire classroom of people where I didn’t recognize faces or know names, like I would have at UT. I feel great about my first completed assignment down here.
Annnnnnd in between my 9-5 classes today, I checked my mail and had a package slip! I practically RAN to the post office! I was so happy to get a care package from Todd, Michelle and Evelyn! Thanks so so much for the oatmeal, popcorn, Pop Tarts and Rice Krispies Treats!
This weekend is looking pretty uneventful as of now…probably going to try and get a few essays done! Loving keeping in touch with emails from family and friends! I’ll be sure and update as soon as I do something exciting! TTFN…Ta ta for now!
