After Kiama, we stopped at another suburb area called Minnamurra on our way back to Wollongong (well, Oak Flats really). We were only there for a short time since it was about to rain and we needed to head back for dinner anyways, but it was probably my most favorite place that I visited in all of Australia. After getting off the train, we walked about 10 minutes through a neighborhood, then over by the beach, up a hill, and finally out to a little cliff overlooking the ocean. It was so peaceful up there, and the view was beautiful. I could have stayed there all day, I loved it. We stayed as long as we could but had to leave to catch our train. We got on the train, headed home, went to the grocery, made a scrumptious dinner (well Matt made the dinner--steak, mashed potatoes, and veggies. yummmm), watched the Pirates of the Carribbean, and then went to bed. I'd say it was a pretty great day :)
A few days after making it back to Sydney from our week long adventure in Gold Coast and Byron Bay, I headed down to Wollongong to visit Matt for a couple days. I hadn't gotten to see him for a while so I was looking forward to spending some time with him, and he still had a few places in mind around the area that he wanted to show me. We were also planning on going to the beach for a couple of days, but the weather was so cold and rainy the whole week it just didn't work out. When the weather finally cleared up a bit, we went to a nearby suburb called Kiama for the day. It was just a few train stops away, and was a cute little town right on the water (just like most of the suburbs to the North or South of Sydney). Once we got there, we grabbed a bite to eat at a nice cafe and then explored around a little. In one area over by the water there were these rocks right by the shore that formed a blowhole. There were signs around describing how they were formed and how the blowhole functioned. Essentially what happens is the waves from the ocean push water into the open areas under the rocks, and once that water builds up, it creates pressure, causing the water to release the pressure by shooting up in the air, and ultimately creating a blowhole. It was pretty neat. We were only there during low tide, though, so the water didn't shoot up as high as it can sometimes get, but it was still fun to watch. We continued to walk around the Kiama for a while-- we walked over to a cute little lighthouse, and another area with all the fishing boats, and Matt told me all about these plants in the area that he had to do a report on in high school biology.
After Kiama, we stopped at another suburb area called Minnamurra on our way back to Wollongong (well, Oak Flats really). We were only there for a short time since it was about to rain and we needed to head back for dinner anyways, but it was probably my most favorite place that I visited in all of Australia. After getting off the train, we walked about 10 minutes through a neighborhood, then over by the beach, up a hill, and finally out to a little cliff overlooking the ocean. It was so peaceful up there, and the view was beautiful. I could have stayed there all day, I loved it. We stayed as long as we could but had to leave to catch our train. We got on the train, headed home, went to the grocery, made a scrumptious dinner (well Matt made the dinner--steak, mashed potatoes, and veggies. yummmm), watched the Pirates of the Carribbean, and then went to bed. I'd say it was a pretty great day :) So this past week was supposed to be "study vacation" at uni, which basically means a week off of school. Sooo my roommates and I, along with a couple of our friends, decided to take advantage of the time off by visiting the Gold Coast and Byron Bay! We left on Tuesday for the Gold Coast and stayed there one night, and then spent the rest of the week at Byron. I was a little worried about how the weather would turn out as the forecast called for rain the WHOLE week, but we seemed to dodge the bullet and the weather turned out just fine! It was a little rainy a couple of nights, but during the day the weather was beautiful.
Since we were only in Gold Coast for about a day, we didn't do much besides walk around and go to the beach, but it seemed like a nice area! In Byron we got a little more adventurous (although it was still a lot of walking around and going to the beach :) ) and we went kayaking with dolphins! It was such a neat experience. I had never been kayaking before, and I'm not that strong of a swimmer, so I was nervous to venture out into the deep ocean on a tiny kayak, but my trustee friend Cait was my partner and she promised to come to the rescue if anything were to go wrong. Luckily for us, we made it out and back with no problems at all. We were able to see so many dolphins, and they came pretty close to us too! It was amazing. Overall, the week away was a nice break from all the stress of finals and was a good bonding experience with my roommates and friends. I This has been such a busy few weeks! Last weekend I stepped outside of my comfort zone and went to a surf camp! I was pretty nervous, but it was surprisingly so much more fun than I had expected. We had three different lessons over the course of two days, and even after the very first lesson I was already able to stand on the board! I was super shocked at how well I did considering I'm usually not one for water sports (I can't even swim well!), but it went great! It was definitely easier to have confidence in the water knowing that the instructors were nearby if anything were to go wrong, but maybe one day I'll go surfing again on my own for fun. I'm really glad I went, though. It was definitely worth it, and now I know how to surf! :)
As soon as I got home from my surf camp, I was thrown back into reality straight away as my architecture studio final presentation was the very next day. I worked like crazy to get everything finished in time, and in the end it all came together and turned out fine. Not going to lie, I was super glad to get that over with! Once my final was over and done with, it was time to focus on the next big item on the agenda for the week... finding a dress for my architecture ball! I had never been to a "ball" before, but I thought it sounded fun and would be a nice way to get to say goodbye, or so long for now, to all the people I had become friends with this semester. My roommates and I went shopping practically all day on Tuesday, and FINALLY, just as the shops were about to start closing, we found the perfect dress! It was very elegant, and an electric blue color which I loved. After finding my dress I could hardly wait for the ball on Friday, it couldn't come soon enough! But before I could look forward to the ball, I had one more thing to look forward to... a mini Halloween party! With Halloween just around the corner, my roommates and I were trying to set aside a time for us all to carve pumpkins and watch movies together. We were finally able to work it all out and had our little party this past Thursday. It was so much fun! We bought some cheap decorations to put out around the apartment, and invited a couple of our friends over to join us. Over half of the people there weren't American so carving pumpkin's isn't something that they are super familiar with, but we all had fun and I'm glad we made the time to celebrate together:) When the time finally came for the ball on Friday, Matt (the super cute Aussie I've been dating for a couple months now :) ) came over to get ready and get some pictures, and then we headed off to the ball together. I wasn't sure what to expect since, like I said, I hadn't been to anything like this before, but it was really cool! The venue for the ball was in a place called Cell Block Theater, which actually used to be an old prison that has since been converted into an art school. The ball was half outdoors, half indoors, and the decorations were really cute. I loved it and had so much fun! I'm really glad I went. All in all, it was an eventful but awesome week :) Well, after a solid two and a half weeks of vacationing, its finally time to get back to reality. I've had such an amazing break, its making it so hard to focus on school work again. But its almost finals season here so I need to just buckle down and get busy! I still can't believe that the semester is almost over, the time has FLOWN by. I'm so thankful for the past few weeks, and all of my time here in Aus really. I wish I was still on holiday instead of going back to uni, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right? Hopefully I can find the motivation to finish off the semester strong!
This past week was so much fun! I decided to ease my way back from vacation by spending some time down in Wollongong before coming back to reality in Sydney. I started off the week by attending the NRL Grand Final which was so cool! Although I didn't really know much about the sport or the teams going into the game, my friend explained it all to me as we went and by the end I was able to follow the game on my own. Most of the game was pretty standard, but the ending was absolutely awesome! Literally right at the final buzzer, the team we were rooting for scored a try and tied up the game. It all came down to the kick for the win, but the ball hit the pole! So then the game went into overtime, and shortly thereafter our team won! It was so exciting, such a cool atmosphere to get to experience. The rest of the week was a lot more laid back, but still just as fun. I mostly just hung out with some awesome people and got to know a bit more of the local area than I did before. We explored around to find some waterfalls, went to the beach a few times, went to a water park, and mostly just hung out. It was exactly what I needed before getting back into the swing of uni, especially after such an adventurous week up in Queensland!
This past week, well this past week and a half really, was my spring break. (Its still so weird to think that its spring here right now instead of fall, but I'm not complaining!) I went on a group tour trip that began in Brisbane and then headed up the east coast to eventually end in Cairns. I was a bit nervous because I signed up for the trip by myself not knowing anyone going into it and I wasn't sure what to expect. I figured though, I came all this way to Australia on the other side of the world, I might as well do what I want to do, and in this case, that was going on this trip. Although there were definitely a fair share of dramatic events and a couple of crazy people, the trip was overall an amazing experience and I'm so glad I went. My leap of faith was more than worth it. We did so many awesome things over the course of the 10 days, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. We went to the Australian Zoo, Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island, Airlie Beach, and the Great Barrier Reef. We also went on speed boats, snorkeling, four wheeling, horseback riding, white water rafting, and bungee jumping. I think it was by far the most action packed 10 days of my life, but it was an absolute blast. The only bummer was that I got sick with some sort of sinus infection halfway through, but even with that it was still an amazing experience. I met so many awesome people and made countless unforgettable memories. I feel so fortunate for being able to go on this trip and would do it again in a heartbeat. For now, though, I'm glad to be back and catching up on some sleep :)
This past weekend I visited Melbourne with two of my roommates and it was amazing! The atmosphere there is so different from Sydney, it has much more of an artsy / hipster vibe. We were only there a couple of days but we managed to fit a lot in. The first day we visited the Queen Victoria Markets, went to a great restaurant for brunch, saw some of the graffiti that Melbourne is so well-known for, and just explored around the city. That night we checked out a really cool rooftop bar with a fantastic view of the city. The second day we went on a Great Ocean Road tour. It was an all-day tour that traveled down the Great Ocean Road , a road that follows the southern coastline of Aus, stopping at several lookouts along the way and ending with the 12 Apostles. The weather was just right and the scenery was amazingly beautiful, it was a perfect day. Once we got back to the city, a Melbourne vs. Sydney Australian Football League game was playing on a big screen outside at an area called Federation Square. We joined the crowd and attempted to watch a bit of the game. We didn't really understand all the technical rules, but decided it is basically just an advanced game of keep away. It was so much fun, though. I wish I could have stayed a bit longer, but all in all it was nice to get to experience another major part of Australia outside of Sydney. I will definitely go back to Melbourne again if I ever get the chance, I had such a great weekend!
Soo... long story, but I met a guy a bit ago and this past weekend he was so sweet and planned a full day of surprises for me. He is from Wollongong, an area just south of Sydney, so he decided to show me around his part of town and all that the greater Sydney area has to offer. He picked me up from the train station and we were off! We started the day by driving down a coastal road, with the windows down and the music up of course. We would pull over every once in a while to walk around a bit or just to take in the spectacular views. Then all of a sudden we turned off of the road and I wasn't sure where we were headed next, but we ended up at a Wildlife Park. It was such a cool place. There were different birds like peacocks just roaming around, and then there were other animals like goats and kangaroos that you could pet and feed, along with other regular exhibits. I fed the kangaroos and it was so so cool! They were super laid back and didn't mind being petted, they were so soft too. It was such a unique experience. After the Wildlife Park, we continued driving down the coastal road a bit until we came to a specific mountain. We got out of the car and basically climbed straight up the side. It was a pretty steep climb but luckily there were stairs and then just before the top there were a series of ladders. Once we finally made it to the top, the view was absolutely amazing and made the hike totally worth it. The timing was perfect because the sun was just setting so the colors illuminated the sky and the whole area just beautifully. After spending some time at the top we headed back down and went to wash up for dinner. We deserved a good dinner after that hike! We went to a nice restaurant, had delicious meals, and then got some ice cream for dessert. All in all it was probably one of the best days I've ever had :)
Although Sydney isn't particularly known for its art, especially in comparison to Melbourne, they still have a pretty great contemporary art museum. So this past weekend my roommates and I decided to check it out. There was a wide variety of different exhibitions on from very science and space focused art exhibitions, to various cultural art, as well as the permanent exhibitions. It was interesting to walk through and worth the visit. The best part, though, was once you have wandered through the museum and reach the top there is a nice little cafe with roof top seating that overlooks the harbor and the Opera House. The view was just fantastic, the food was good, and all in all it was a great ending to our little day outing.
Last weekend my roomies and a couple of our friends and I decided to take a trip up to the Blue Mountains. It was such a great day, and the weather was perfect for a nice hike. It took a little longer than we expected to get there because part of the train tracks were closed for construction. It seems like practically every weekend they are working on the trains, but luckily they have been providing replacement buses so we were still able to go. After about a three hour trip, we finally made it! We started off our journey on the first trail we found, and just kind of wandered our way around by following a few signs and asking other people that we passed. It was so beautiful! Every way you looked it seemed had an amazing view. Eventually we made it over to an area called Echo Point, which supposedly has the best lookout of the Three Sisters in all of the Blue Mountains. The Three Sisters are probably the most well known rocks in the Blue Mountains. They are a rock formation that comes to three distinct points, and according to various aboriginal stories, are three sisters. It was such a beautiful day, I would love to go back and continue exploring the Blue Mountains.
So today it dawned on me that I have already been in Australia for nearly a month now!! In just a few days, on the 17th, I will have officially been in Aus for exactly one month which is just so so crazy to think about! It has flown by so far! It's insane how much my life has changed in just the past few weeks alone. Just a month ago I was living at home for the summer, working full time at an interior design firm, and enjoying everyday life with my friends, family, and of course my dogs back home in Ohio. Now, I am living with five roommates in Sydney, Australia, meeting new people and having new experiences nearly everyday, studying architecture at Sydney Uni, and even using words like "uni." Its just so weird to think about how different everything is, but so amazing at the same time. I have already grown so much since that day I left home and took a giant leap of faith and moved literally halfway across the world. Not only am I much more independent and confident in myself, but I have also learned a lot about how to handle difficult situations and to simply have faith that things will work out how they were supposed to in the end. I just wish time would slow down a little!
These past few weeks have been so much fun, but I really loved this week in particular. We did a lot of "touristy" things, but hey, we are kind of tourists after all! Last Friday night we spontaneously went to Luna Park, an old carnival type amusement part over across the harbor. It was so cute, everything was all lit up and it had classic rides like the Ferris Wheel. We had a blast, I loved it! We also went bowling this week at this cool bowling bar and somehow I actually won! I hadn't bowled in a while so it was fun to do it again with new people. At the bowling bar, we also did this challenge called escapism. Basically you and your group get locked in a room and you have to put together clues to figure out how to "escape." It was so stinking hard! But we finally set our selves free with just 10 seconds left on the clock! (We had to use every single hint, but that's besides the point).
One of the highlights of the week was when we went to a Koala Breakfast! It was at the Wildlife Center in Darling Harbor and they took us on a tour through the center and then at the end we had freshly made breakfast next to several koala exhibits. We were able to go inside the exhibits and get our pictures taken right up next to the Koalas, but we weren't allowed to touch them:( That was a bummer, but it was still awesome to get to hang out with the cute little guys for a while. Then on Saturday, I went with a group to a nice area called Hunter Valley. It was about a 3 hour bus ride there, but it was so worth it because the landscape was breathtaking! The picture above does not do it justice. Hunter Valley is one of the major wine countries of Australia, so we did two wine tastings and a cheese tasting as well. It was super fun! I had never done anything like it before so it was neat to have that new experience and learn about the different types of wine and how they are made. It was definitely a good and eventful week:) I did it! I survived my first week of Uni! Not that is was terribly difficult since I only have classes two days a week somehow :) but still, it was pretty nerve racking and those two days felt so long. The campus here is so much larger than I am used to at UC, but I managed to make it to my classes on time so that's all that counts. Annnnddd, they were giving out free Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream which is my favorite so that definitely started the week off on a good foot! Never a bad time for ice cream, especially when its free :)
My classes seem good so far, I'm just not ready to start having school work, but a little school in exchange for living in beautiful Australia?! I think I'll take it! So I've been in Australia about a week now, which is crazy! But I have been settling in better than I was expecting so far. Although there is still a lot to get sorted out, I am starting to feel more at home. Luckily my roommates are all really nice and we get along well (knock on wood) so that has made the transition much easier. Actually, everyone in general is really nice here. Its so strange how you can be in a new place on the opposite side of the world for less than a week and it feels like you have been there for months already, while at the same time it still feels like you've just arrived.
I guess I have done quite a bit for only being here about a week, though! So far I have explored around the city and a few of the surrounding areas, made new friends, went to my first Sydney Uni party, found the nearest grocery stores, started taking a stab at the public transportation, and tried some classic Australian delicacies like vegemite and tim tams. We also discovered the local Domino's which has pizzas for only 5 Australian dollars! I have a feeling I will be visiting that place a lot this semester haha. As much as I am loving this go with the flow and do whatever you're feeling up to style, I am looking forward to school starting and meeting new people. Lets hope things continue to be positive when classes start! Monday was orientation day! We had to arrive at the uni in the morning, which was no problem since I keep waking up super early because of jet lag (side note: there is a 14 hour difference between here and Ohio, 14 HOURS. And jet lag doesn't go away as quickly as I had hoped and expected...) Anyways, we went to uni in the morning for a day filled with speeches and free food and information, and more information, and even more information. All of which we were expected to somehow remember. It was a very long day, to say the least, but it was also nice to finally meet and put a face to the advisers I had been emailing for so long before arriving, and to get some school issues sorted out. It was also really cool because we got to see inside the great hall, the most iconic and one of the oldest buildings on campus. It was built in the mid 1800s when Sydney Uni was first established, and has been recognized as a symbol of the University and a principal structure ever since. Also, I learned that Sydney Uni was supposedly the first university that accepted students based solely on their academic merit. I thought that was pretty cool and interesting, and although I'm not excited for homework, I am excited to attend a university that has set such a good example for universities world-wide since it first opened over 100 years ago.
This weekend was a weekend full of exploring. On Saturday I took a day trip to an area called Manly, located north of Downtown Sydney. The weather was pretty cold and a little rainy, but besides that the area was really nice! We took the train and the ferry boat over which was my first time testing out the public transportation over here. The ferry was a little rocky, but I loved how easy it was to get around without a car (side note: they drive on the left side of the road which will be tricky to get used to!). Once in Manly, we walked around for a while and stopped to grab a bite to eat at a cute little cafe. I had one of the best burgers of my life at that cafe, but it could have been because that was my first "real" meal in days and any "real" food would have been amazing. After lunch we continued to walk around the area until our guide unexpectedly led us to a small trail in the nearby woods. Apparently the path is well known by the locals, and it led to the top of a mini cliff with a view of all of Manly. He wasn't lying about the view, it was spectacular.
On Sunday I went with a couple of my roommates down to the Circular Quay and the Harbo(u)r (side note: there are all kinds of extra u's in words over here, like colour, flavour, and harbour, its strange). We saw the massive Harbor Bridge and the famous Sydney Opera House standing in their full glory, and it was absolutely amazing! It was at that moment when it started to sink in a little that I am actually in SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA right now, kinda crazy to think about! We explored the Rocks, a historical area of Sydney, and walked along the water over to the Opera House. It's so cool when you get close to the Opera House because you're able to see the structural detail and the individual tiles that make up the sculptural roof. It totally changes the aesthetic of the building. Overall it was a great day, I think I could used to this place :) Well, after an incredibly long day of traveling, I finally arrived in Sydney, Australia! The airport and traveling experience was super stressful, especially with having to change connections and deal with delayed flights, but I finally made it and everything has been worth it so far:) As soon as I got to my apartment, one of my new roommates and I went on a walking tour around the area and over to Sydney Uni (side note: they call university "uni" here, and abbreviate anything and everything they possibly can, it's an Aussie thing). It's a bit chillier here than I was expecting, it was in the 50s today and pretty windy, but when the sun is out it makes it nice. It's winter now, so it will only be getting warmer from here. SO excited and grateful to see what's in store for me these next few months:)
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AuthorMy name is Ashlyn and I'm a fourth year architecture student at the University of Cincinnati. Although I was born and raised in Ohio, I was lucky enough to be accepted for an international exchange experience which is why I am now living in Sydney, Australia! I will be here studying for the semester, and hope to share as much of my experience with everyone back home as I can! Enjoy :) |