Okay, folks. I know I'm a several months behind with this post, but here it is. Better late than never, right? Sorry it's going to be so brief. I just wanted to post about what I did, the highlights and such. If anything it is a record of my trip for myself to read through in a couple years. Last I posted about Easter Holiday I left off with Saturday night, the only plans made at this point being that of hiring a car the next morning.
I was the only one of us eligible to legally hire the car, so I took care of all that, and got to be the first to drive! It was pretty nerve-rattling to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, but it's easy to get used to and I did fine. We ended up with a station wagon, much to Inga's dismay, and named the vehicle Black Betty. Throughout the driving there were some arguments about whose music CD to listen to, but we all agreed that Evil Scotsman was our trip anthem, haha. Along with lots of music were lots of driving games: Yellow!, Slug Bug, Jinx, and others we probably made up.
(Sunday, 23MAR08) We drove to Swansea and stayed at the best hostel I've ever seen (building and cleanliness-wise). The drive was very scenic - Tasmania is a gorgeous state. We stopped at Nine Mile Beach on the way to the hostel (lots of awesome shells!). That night we played Uno (so much fun!), I played my first drinking game ever (Kings), and we had a tickle fight and a totally exhilarating pillow fight (no, really).
We only slept for 4 hours that night because at 4a we set off on an hour-long drive to Wine Glass Bay to see it at sunrise. Of course it was overcast that day, but the photos are still magnificent if you ask me. Turns out sunrise in Tasmania is around 6.30, so we had plenty of time to hang out and bond with one another (this was actually my favorite part of the trip). I shared some Easter chocolate my mom had sent me, and we played thinking games like the kind Darin taught me (the kind where a tricky bit of a story is explained, and the guessers ask yes/no questions until they figure it out). It was freezing so we all huddled together on the little bench. After we saw the sunrise we drove back and slept for a few hours until we had to check out.
(Monday, 24MAR08) Next destination: Launceston. On the way we stopped by a beach where the water was crazy cold and the sand was infested with little jumping worm things. We packed up within 45 minutes. It was a nice drive, although it was quite difficult to sleep with Neil driving, hehe.
Later that day I was driving, Inga sitting shot gun to give me directions, the boys all fast asleep in the back. We come to a T in the road, and Inga's not sure which way to go. Rather than just sit there I turned left only to hear Inga says she thinks we need to go the other way. We turn around and I'm still a bit dazed, and my foot is lead. I see an on-coming cop flash his lights, and I automatically hit the brake a bit (but I'm still tooling along pretty swiftly). The cop turns off his lights, I'm relieved, and then horrified as the cop pulls a U-ie, pulling me over. I'm flipping out, the guys are confused as they wake up, and Inga's not sure what to do but tell the guys to snap their seat belts. I turn the music off and wait for the officer to approach. He leans over and asks for my license - surprised that I'm from Indiana, USA he asks if we're lost -nah, you think? He wrote me a warning for going 36 KMH over (I know - insane!!! Good thing I'm an out-of-towner!), and gave us solid directions to Launceston. Quite a nice fellow, that policeman.
We checked into the hostel above Irish Murphy's which was really old but really cool. I needed some time to wind down and catch up on sleep, so I grabbed Subway and stayed in for the night.
(Tuesday, 25MAR08) The next day I got up early to check my email, then we checked out of the hostel, had breakfast and browsed the pedestrian mall (a lot like the Queen Street Mall here in Brisbane). We left the city that afternoon and headed to see Cataract Gorge (very beautiful - great sights when in the ski lift), and the Tasmania Zoo (yes! We got to see Tassie Devils and all sorts of cool animals; the kangaroos were especially friendly here). Afterwards it was time to head to Queenstown where we stayed at The Lake Side Chalet.
(Wednesday, 26MAR08) Today marked the last full day of our stay in Tassie. Destination: Hobart. On the way we went to Lake St. Clair National Park - it was pouring rain and freezing (we weren't adequately dressed in our shorts and sandals, haha), so it was kind of miserable, but we made the best of it. We saw some beautiful nature, wildlife, and played a stick in the river game (Inga and I were the winners!). We looked and looked for platypus but they were no where to be seen. Afterwards we warmed up indoors with some hot chocolate. We were all pretty crushed to learn that the previous night we'd driven by Cradle Mountain (one of the big sights I really wanted to see), but we couldn't do much about it, so we got over it and drove on to Hobart.
We checked into a hostel that was a 15-minute walk from the city center, then went out for a nice dinner. There was some interesting conversation. Then we went out to a night club that was filled with 18-year-olds just granted the liberty of attending the legal scene (I found it annoying and didn't really enjoy it), but it was okay.
(Thursday, 27MAR08) Our flight was in the evening so we had some morning and afternoon time to kill. We checked out of our hostel, returned the car, paid the parking ticket we'd earned overnight, grabbed lunch and decided to do some souvenir shopping. My souvenir from Tasmania is a coffee mug with a Tassie Devil. I use it all the time for my chai tea. Mmmm! I also snagged a great deal on some SD memory cards for my point-and-shoot camera: 2 x 1 GB cards for $40! This day I learned that Rudy has been to Doune Castle - the one from Monty Python & the Search for the Holy Grail. After shopping we went to the Tasmanian Museum - learned about the Tasmanian Indegenious people and the icy Antarctic. We still had time so we decided to see The Other Boleyn Girl - I loved the movie. Scarlet was amazing, Natalie was infuriating, and I found the story to be really engaging.
We had some afternoon tea, taxied to the airport and flew home to Brisbane.
I just realized I never posted photos from Easter Holiday past Sunday, 23MAR08! I'm working on 'em.
-Amanda
Saturday, May 31, 2008
On Being an American Abroad - German Class
This post is the first of several yet to come. The main topic is my reflections on being an American abroad. In this post I'll discuss some occurrences that took place during my German class.
The first item has to do with a phrase I've heard all too often since my arrival in Australia. The lesson started with Herr Hamernik (Mr. Hamernik was my German professor) was going over the verb "sein" (translated: "to be"). One of the things he was relating the verb to was the equality in sentence structure. For example, the cat is orange - this sentence is equally weighted on both sides of the verb "to be" - which is "is" in the example.
So, in German, Herr Hamernik wrote the following on the board:
Die Frau ist ein Mann. Die Frau ist der Mann.
The woman is the man. The woman is a man.
He was basing this particular example off something he'd recently read or heard about the US. There was a woman who was a man. Well, the man was a woman - etc. He was poking fun at America, and that is to be expected - I wasn't bothered by any of this, for the record, I'm just making an observation.
After Herr Hamernik finished making his point about the sentence structure, my friend, Peter, leaned over and said "only in America."
And, for the most part, he was right.
The second item was when Herr Hamernik had sevearl papers laid out on the front desk and asked us to come up and grab one apiece. I was on the left side of the room, so, naturally, I picked up the papers from left to right. The rest of the class came from the right, therefore viewing my approach as the wrong way.
One student said, "count on the American to do things their own way."
It was embarrassing to be the only American in the class when a joke like this was made. These happenings were funny, but I remember having to force my laughter a bit. I was kind of shocked that the teacher would make such a joke - for all I know, I'm the only American he or anyone in the classroom knows, and there is certainly no confusion as to my gender, so who is he to roll me in with the Americans who are questionable? That's the line of thoughts I found myself thinking that evening as I mulled over it.
On one hand I was offended, embarrassed and ashamed to be American. On the other I knew that I had to accept the situation, after all - I came abroad to have an eye-opening experience; this qualified as just that, so why was I so upset? (I say ashamed in a temporary manner - I am very proud to be an American, so don't let these posts make you think otherwise. It is a challenge surviving as an American abroad, and it is frustrating at times, causing one to feel a bit ashamed of their background.)
I'll end this post with a piece of advice for those planning or just starting to think about an extended trip abroad: know that non-Americans do poke fun at us just like we poke fun "at the 'fraidy-cat French" and their "Freedom Fries." This fun-poking is unavoidable and it's okay; it's a part of the grand experience. The best thing you can do is accept it - pure and simple. Don't make a fuss when it happens right in front of you; just take it all in, think about it some, and see then see how it's stretched your mind for the better.
A bit more the wiser,
-Amanda
The first item has to do with a phrase I've heard all too often since my arrival in Australia. The lesson started with Herr Hamernik (Mr. Hamernik was my German professor) was going over the verb "sein" (translated: "to be"). One of the things he was relating the verb to was the equality in sentence structure. For example, the cat is orange - this sentence is equally weighted on both sides of the verb "to be" - which is "is" in the example.
So, in German, Herr Hamernik wrote the following on the board:
Die Frau ist ein Mann. Die Frau ist der Mann.
The woman is the man. The woman is a man.
He was basing this particular example off something he'd recently read or heard about the US. There was a woman who was a man. Well, the man was a woman - etc. He was poking fun at America, and that is to be expected - I wasn't bothered by any of this, for the record, I'm just making an observation.
After Herr Hamernik finished making his point about the sentence structure, my friend, Peter, leaned over and said "only in America."
And, for the most part, he was right.
The second item was when Herr Hamernik had sevearl papers laid out on the front desk and asked us to come up and grab one apiece. I was on the left side of the room, so, naturally, I picked up the papers from left to right. The rest of the class came from the right, therefore viewing my approach as the wrong way.
One student said, "count on the American to do things their own way."
It was embarrassing to be the only American in the class when a joke like this was made. These happenings were funny, but I remember having to force my laughter a bit. I was kind of shocked that the teacher would make such a joke - for all I know, I'm the only American he or anyone in the classroom knows, and there is certainly no confusion as to my gender, so who is he to roll me in with the Americans who are questionable? That's the line of thoughts I found myself thinking that evening as I mulled over it.
On one hand I was offended, embarrassed and ashamed to be American. On the other I knew that I had to accept the situation, after all - I came abroad to have an eye-opening experience; this qualified as just that, so why was I so upset? (I say ashamed in a temporary manner - I am very proud to be an American, so don't let these posts make you think otherwise. It is a challenge surviving as an American abroad, and it is frustrating at times, causing one to feel a bit ashamed of their background.)
I'll end this post with a piece of advice for those planning or just starting to think about an extended trip abroad: know that non-Americans do poke fun at us just like we poke fun "at the 'fraidy-cat French" and their "Freedom Fries." This fun-poking is unavoidable and it's okay; it's a part of the grand experience. The best thing you can do is accept it - pure and simple. Don't make a fuss when it happens right in front of you; just take it all in, think about it some, and see then see how it's stretched your mind for the better.
A bit more the wiser,
-Amanda
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Back to Basic (but Brilliant) Brisbane
Bula, everyone! That's Fijian for 'hello.' = )
I have returned to Brisbane after three splendid weeks of traveling around Australia and Fiji with Adam. A quick recap: he arrived on the 9th, we went to Byron Bay for the weekend, a couple days in Brisbane, to the Whitsunday Islands for a week, Brisbane again for a few days, and topped off Adam's visit at Fiji for half a week.
I'm so sad that we had to say good-bye a second time during this trip, but it was entirely worth having him here for 3 weeks. I'm such a lucky girl to have such a guy who would travel across the world to see me.
So, until I get back to the US, I'll be in Brisbane. I'm broke and can't afford any more big trips (all the more reason for a second visit to this side of the globe, hehe!), so my return date has been bumped up a bit. Mom's hashing out the flight changes, and as it stands right now I'll be back in Indy on July 5th. I'm hoping we can score something around June 29; it's not looking so good from LA to Chicago, but I'm crossing my fingers. It would be so cool to be home to celebrate Dad and Sam's birthdays and the 4th of July.
It's the last week of class here at QUT. I did outstanding on my Australian class essay. I earned an 86% - sounds like a B, but it's really great by Aussie standards since 60% is average (equivalent of an 80% back home). I'm pretty happy about that. On the down side, however, I missed part of my German final when I was in Fiji, so I took a hard-hitting zero on that, and then, tonight, I feel pretty crumby about another part of the final we did tonight. Ugh, what a hard class! I've my Australian final next Tuesday, a take-home exam for Creative Writing tomorrow, and a potential presentation for my Management class (there's a time clash, so I don't know what's going to happen there?). Then, my Management and German written finals, and viola! I'm done with another semester, and one more to go!
All right, I've gotta get going for the time being. Expect to see some posts coming in the next few days - I've lots to catch up on!
Cheers!
-Amanda
I have returned to Brisbane after three splendid weeks of traveling around Australia and Fiji with Adam. A quick recap: he arrived on the 9th, we went to Byron Bay for the weekend, a couple days in Brisbane, to the Whitsunday Islands for a week, Brisbane again for a few days, and topped off Adam's visit at Fiji for half a week.
I'm so sad that we had to say good-bye a second time during this trip, but it was entirely worth having him here for 3 weeks. I'm such a lucky girl to have such a guy who would travel across the world to see me.
So, until I get back to the US, I'll be in Brisbane. I'm broke and can't afford any more big trips (all the more reason for a second visit to this side of the globe, hehe!), so my return date has been bumped up a bit. Mom's hashing out the flight changes, and as it stands right now I'll be back in Indy on July 5th. I'm hoping we can score something around June 29; it's not looking so good from LA to Chicago, but I'm crossing my fingers. It would be so cool to be home to celebrate Dad and Sam's birthdays and the 4th of July.
It's the last week of class here at QUT. I did outstanding on my Australian class essay. I earned an 86% - sounds like a B, but it's really great by Aussie standards since 60% is average (equivalent of an 80% back home). I'm pretty happy about that. On the down side, however, I missed part of my German final when I was in Fiji, so I took a hard-hitting zero on that, and then, tonight, I feel pretty crumby about another part of the final we did tonight. Ugh, what a hard class! I've my Australian final next Tuesday, a take-home exam for Creative Writing tomorrow, and a potential presentation for my Management class (there's a time clash, so I don't know what's going to happen there?). Then, my Management and German written finals, and viola! I'm done with another semester, and one more to go!
All right, I've gotta get going for the time being. Expect to see some posts coming in the next few days - I've lots to catch up on!
Cheers!
-Amanda
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Some Photo Links
Photos from John Pav's visit:
Saturday at Straddie Island & "The Dunda Bar"
Judith's Birthday & Normanby's
Saturday at Straddie Island & "The Dunda Bar"
Judith's Birthday & Normanby's
Byron Bay with Adam
Hello, everyone! Here is a quick update! I'm sorry it's not much, and I know there aren't any photos, but bear with me and in a couple weeks there will be gobs of them. So, without further ado, let me tell you about Byron Bay:
Adam made it safely to the world down under, and I am so happy!!! He was one of the last to come out of the quarantine section of the international airport, so whenever I saw a tall person with lots of luggage on their trolley through the translucent wall, I thought it was him - and I got so fidgety waiting, haha. Any way, I picked him up from the airport last Friday, and, after a warm welcome, we went back to my apartment briefly: dropped off luggage (well, half of it, hehe - the suitcase with all of his clothes was stuck an extra day in LA - but the suitcase full of snacks and candies for me made it, haha! - but of course!). I introduced Adam and a few of the flat mates who were milling around, then the two of us grabbed some kebabs at my favorite kebab diner.
A bit later we bussed down to Byron Bay, checked into our bed & breakfast and relaxed. The Cavvanbah Beach House was perfect! It was a short trail away from the ocean and town, and it was so beachy and quaint! Saturday and Sunday we took it easy, dined at some really good places, and enjoyed a nice, laid back weekend together. Inga recommended Earth & Sea, a famous and delicious specialty pizza place. We had some tasty food there, and then had some good dessert at a place called Balcony.
Monday we got back to Brisbane. Both Mediterranean places I wanted to take him to for a late lunch were closed (sadness), so we had some pizza from a place on the South Bank food court strip. It hit the spot.
Yesterday I showed Adam around Brisbane. We strolled through the Queen Street Mall where I bought him a really cool French Connection shirt, we went through the Botanical Gardens where we took lots of photos, played some Frisbee, and enjoyed South Bank.
Today Adam's joined me for some of my classes; they're really different here, so I think he's found them interesting. We had some amazing burgers with eggs (different but tasty) at a coffee/diner place. Right now we've got some down time since one of my 2-hour lectures was canceled.
Tomorrow we leave for the Whitsunday Islands - and neither of us can wait! !!!!!
That's all for now! I love and miss you all!
-Amanda & Adam
Adam made it safely to the world down under, and I am so happy!!! He was one of the last to come out of the quarantine section of the international airport, so whenever I saw a tall person with lots of luggage on their trolley through the translucent wall, I thought it was him - and I got so fidgety waiting, haha. Any way, I picked him up from the airport last Friday, and, after a warm welcome, we went back to my apartment briefly: dropped off luggage (well, half of it, hehe - the suitcase with all of his clothes was stuck an extra day in LA - but the suitcase full of snacks and candies for me made it, haha! - but of course!). I introduced Adam and a few of the flat mates who were milling around, then the two of us grabbed some kebabs at my favorite kebab diner.
A bit later we bussed down to Byron Bay, checked into our bed & breakfast and relaxed. The Cavvanbah Beach House was perfect! It was a short trail away from the ocean and town, and it was so beachy and quaint! Saturday and Sunday we took it easy, dined at some really good places, and enjoyed a nice, laid back weekend together. Inga recommended Earth & Sea, a famous and delicious specialty pizza place. We had some tasty food there, and then had some good dessert at a place called Balcony.
Monday we got back to Brisbane. Both Mediterranean places I wanted to take him to for a late lunch were closed (sadness), so we had some pizza from a place on the South Bank food court strip. It hit the spot.
Yesterday I showed Adam around Brisbane. We strolled through the Queen Street Mall where I bought him a really cool French Connection shirt, we went through the Botanical Gardens where we took lots of photos, played some Frisbee, and enjoyed South Bank.
Today Adam's joined me for some of my classes; they're really different here, so I think he's found them interesting. We had some amazing burgers with eggs (different but tasty) at a coffee/diner place. Right now we've got some down time since one of my 2-hour lectures was canceled.
Tomorrow we leave for the Whitsunday Islands - and neither of us can wait! !!!!!
That's all for now! I love and miss you all!
-Amanda & Adam
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Photos Galore
The Ladies of the Crew: Sara, Judith, Soyoung, Inga, Maija, Yours Truly:
Peter and I before going to Normanby's:
Myself with Birthday Girl Judith and Inga:
John, Inga and I at The Brewhouse:
Me & Inga shaking what our mothers gave us:
John and I at the "Dunda Bar:"
John, self & Inga at Brown Lake (a tea tree oil lake) at Stradbroke Island:
Me with a bus. On a ferry. Yes. The bus is on the ferry. Odd. But I got a photo with it!
There are more photos coming. I'm not able to upload anymore on my house's Internet connection (I've exceeded my quota - whoops! So Jimojo has me on a slower connection until the next month rolls over). I'll post the rest of these photos and the new ones (from this up-coming weekend) after I return from Sydney.
-Amanda
Peter and I before going to Normanby's:
Myself with Birthday Girl Judith and Inga:
John, Inga and I at The Brewhouse:
Me & Inga shaking what our mothers gave us:
John and I at the "Dunda Bar:"
John, self & Inga at Brown Lake (a tea tree oil lake) at Stradbroke Island:
Me with a bus. On a ferry. Yes. The bus is on the ferry. Odd. But I got a photo with it!
There are more photos coming. I'm not able to upload anymore on my house's Internet connection (I've exceeded my quota - whoops! So Jimojo has me on a slower connection until the next month rolls over). I'll post the rest of these photos and the new ones (from this up-coming weekend) after I return from Sydney.
-Amanda
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
