Halfway Point!!

September 10th, 2018

Hello beautiful people and happy September! This coming week marks two months in Australia and my head is spinning just thinking about that. The semester is at the halfway point and the assignments/tests are starting to pile up. Here is what happened these past two weeks (because I forgot to blog last week…oops)

Friday August 24th was the Goldstein Ball, so my friends and I got all dressed up in our fancy formal attire. It was so fun because we all got ready together, but it did get a bit chaotic. Some people were helping to paint nails, curl/straighten hair, do makeup, and of course making that last-minute decision of what shoes to wear. Let’s just say, it is a miracle we all got to the bus on time. We took a party bus all the way up to the North Shore area to the Taranga Zoo where our event would take place in a ballroom inside the zoo!! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any animals, but it was still fun. We got inside, got drinks, and were able to walk around and chat with our fellow peers. There was a professional photographer walking around taking pictures on the balcony with a beautiful view of the Sydney Harbor in the background (you can kind of see the beautiful view if you squint real hard and look past the construction zone in the pictures below). Some speeches were given, and then dinner was served. I had some nice chicken over mashed potatoes and it was yummy!! We got refills on our drinks and desert was served. I have no idea what the desert was called, but it was basically a huge plate of chocolate so I was in heaven. After dinner, it was time for dancing, my favorite part! Some people were getting a bit sloppy and kept dropping their glasses on the dance floor. It was so bad that two of my friends even got some glass stuck in their feet. We almost had to amputate, it was scary. We danced the night away and before we knew it, we were back on the bus to Potts Point Hotel for the after party.

The bus ride to afters was absolutely awful. People were half hanging out the window, others were throwing up, and many people were just falling down as the bus moved. I could not get off that bus fast enough. My friends and I only stayed at afters for maybe 20 minutes, long enough to order a drink and chug it. I got a pina colada and it was probably the worst one I have ever had. There was no ice in it…? Clearly Australia is not known for their pina coladas. We finally got an Uber home, and I went straight to bed.

Another exciting thing that has happened since I last blogged was my trip to The Royal National Park. The program I am in Australia with is called ISA, and they include a few excursions each semester as part of your program fee. The Royal National Park is the second oldest park in the world (after Yellowstone). It is full of rock formations, beaches, and lots of wildlife. I left my campus at 6:30am on a Saturday to meet up with the rest of the ISA group. We drove about an hour and a half south of Sydney to get to the park. Once we arrived we split up into two groups (one with each tour guide) and started our hike. We started our hike down a hill. This was not an easy hike, because it wasn’t a trail we were following, we were climbing down massive rock formations. Along the hike, we stopped many times to take pictures (or catch our breath). Halfway through we crossed paths with the other group and enjoyed some lunch on the beach. When we finished the hike I was dead, my feet were so sore, and my legs were shaking. I looked at my fit bit and I had walked 17miles. Almost everyone fell asleep on the bus ride home. When I got back to campus I got some Mexican food to go, went back to my room, ate my food and passed out at 8:30. Overall, it was an amazing day, and I am proud of the many pictures I took.

Last week my friends and I went to an event my dorm put on for us. We got put into a group with a mix of students from the other dorms on campus. After we were all matched up, we were assigned a restaurant. My group got assigned an Indian restaurant which I was a little nervous about because I hadn’t really tried Indian food before. BUT…IT WAS AMAZING!!! I got chicken tikka masala with garlic naan and it was so good. It was basically chicken that was marinated in a bunch of spices and garlic bread on what looked like a pita roll. I will definitely be visiting that restaurant again in the future. It was also really good to meet and get to know more people on campus. After we ate, we all headed to the Coogee Beach Hotel for the after party and drinks. We didn’t stay long because we were all tired, and eventually took the bus home. I watched some Netflix and quickly fell asleep. Another really great experience!

This past weekend my friends and I decided we were going to explore the city of Sydney a bit more. We got dressed up and headed downtown for the botanical gardens. We walked through the gardens for a few minutes and came across the New South Wales Art Museum. We spent a few hours walking through all the exhibits. My favorite was the contemporary art exhibit. There were many rooms with very abstract paintings (one perfectly matched my outfit so of course I had to take pictures). There was a whole room that smelled like spices, and come to find out that is exactly what filled the stocking looking figure (see pics below). We saw many different types of art, from aboriginal pieces, to ancient Asian pieces, to modern and contemporary pieces.

We left the Museum and found a little café in the middle of the gardens where we stopped to refuel on caffeine and food. After our little pit stop, we made our way down to the harbor to what is known as Macquarie’s chair. This was the perfect picture spot because it overlooked the water and you can see both the opera house, and the harbor bridge in the distance. We had a little photoshoot until it started to rain. We walked along the water until we were standing right in circular quay (right next to the opera house). The rain was starting to pick up, so we decided to take cover at the opera bar and get some drinks while we waited. We sat at the bar while sipping on our drinks, and watching the boats come and go into the harbor.

When we were finished we made our way over to the part of city known as The Rocks. This is where all the high-end bars and restaurants can be found. We decided on a Mexican restaurant called El Comino Cantina. They have the biggest margaritas ever; there are two regular size margaritas in one at this place. I ordered a chicken quesadilla with guac (of course) and it was delicious. The restaurant definitely attracted a younger crowd, but it was a very cool place, 100% recommend. We even got sombreros for free as we were leaving.

We wore our sombreros down to the harbor to take even more pictures, because it was dark and the opera house was all lit up. We made our way to get some gelato and finally found the bus home. When we got back to the dorm, I had the worst headache so I called it a night and went to bed. This was by far one of the best days exploring a new city with my girls. Even though it was raining, we managed to make a great day out of it.

We are at the halfway point of my journey here in Australia and I can’t believe it. I have made so many friends and memories, I never want it to end. In two weeks, I will be on vacation in Bali for mid semester break, and when I get back there are only three more weeks of class left. Please time slow down, I am not ready to leave this amazing country!!

Missing everyone tons, but until next time!!

-Jor