It took me a REALLY long time to get over my jet lag and start getting back into a normal routine at home. No matter what time I went to bed, I would wake up somewhere between 4:30 and 6:30am, wide awake and starving for dinner. Then I would go back to sleep from anywhere between 11am and 7pm and thus the cycle continued. It was really hard for me to get back into the swing of things. I think one of the main reasons for this is because I wasn't really doing anything of importance during the day so I didn't really have anything to be productive for or any good reason to get back on to a normal sleep schedule.
The first weekend I was back home I went to my dad's lake house in NY for the 4th of July. I opted out of several friends' parties because I just didn't think I could deal with people at that point. I felt like I didn't want to see or talk to anyone who hadn't been in Australia with me because I didn't want to have to answer the most annoying question in the world: "How was it?" Obviously it was good, and that's all I could say, with the occasional it was amazing thrown in there, because I didn't have any words to describe well enough my experience. That's one of the reasons I am really glad I kept this blog, even though most of the time I didn't want to write it, because now I can always go back and read about the things I did and the way I was feeling throughout my time in Australia.
I know I'm never going to forget my experience, but even now, 3 months later, I feel like it was a distant memory and the only people who aren't sick of hearing about it are the people I went with. I am so grateful that I made such good friends from Northeastern in Sydney. My mom joked that I had to go so far away just to make really good friends from my school, but its true. I've shared with them some of the most amazing experiences of my life and for that reason, they will always be apart of my life, no matter what.
This weekend is Becca's birthday, so everyone will be together for the first time since Sydney and I am so excited! A couple of our friends who weren't from Northeastern are also coming up, down, over, for the weekend and I am beyond excited to see them!
Going to Sydney was the coolest, most adventurous and mind opening thing I have ever done and I would go back in a heartbeat. I learned so much about myself and did things I never thought I would do and I am so grateful to have had the chance to partake in such an awesome experience.
And finally, I never ate Vegemite! :)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Goodbyes and Going Home :(
A bunch of Northeastern people left Sydney earlier than originally planned to get back home for various reasons. Lauren left on the 22nd so that she wouldn't have to start classes and her job the day after she got back and Brian and Cat left on the 23rd. Jim left at the end of May (crazy!) and Kaitlyn decided to stay in Australia for the rest of the year and do her co-op there--very cool. So, there were only a few of us left that stayed until the 28th (Me, Becca, Amy, Kate and Theresa). It was really bittersweet leaving Sydney because I knew that I would be seeing everyone from Northeastern again which was amazing because we all got so close, especially towards the end. But it was also really sad because there were SO many people that I met that I probably will never see again, at least not anytime in the near future. It seemed like we all got really close and became really good friends in the last month or so that we were in Sydney and it just kind of sucks that we all had to leave.
Packing was probably the worst thing ever, and I threw away all kinds of stuff that I brought with me in order to made room for souvenirs and other stuff that I acquired over the 5 months I was in Australia. The night before we left, the girls and I rented and watched Marley & Me because we all felt like we just needed to cry and that is the absolute best movie if you feel like being sad. Our flight was around 2:30 the next day so we packed up, cleaned up, checked out, moved out and piled into a van that took us to the airport. When we got there we found out that they had apparently overbooked our flight to San Fran and were asking people to give up their seats for an $800 United voucher and a seat on a flight the next day. All of us declined except Kate (of course!) and we finally boarded our first plan home. It felt really strange and really surreal to be going home and I couldn't quite process what was happening. I felt like a zombie, just going along with it, not really knowing what I was doing.
I sat next to Becca on the long flight (thankfully) which actually wasn't that bad and went pretty smoothly. We had a short layover in San Fran during which we all turned on our American cell phones for the first time, called friends and family and paid for stuff with American money--very strange and exciting! We got on our flight from San Fran to Boston and I immediately passed out and slept through the entire flight..take off to landing. I was SO excited to see my mom, Joy and Grace waiting for me at the bottom of the escalator when I got off the plane. Grace made me an awesome welcome home sign and Joy brought me a giant nalgene filled with MILK!! SO GOOD! (I drank the whole thing in like 15 minutes and then immediately regretted it). THEN I saw Kate and Laura run around the corner and I dropped all my stuff and ran to give them hugs! So good to see them after so long and I'm so glad they were able to make it to the airport to meet me! They too had some awesome welcome home signs for me :)
We all went back to my house (kate and laura slept over) and I sort of felt like I hadn't even been away. It was so weird to be home but at the same time I kind of felt like Australia was just a dream. It was really nice to be with my best friends and family when I got home though because they had already heard about everything I had done there and didn't have to ask any questions. I was still on Australia time, so I don't think I ended up going to be that night until like 4 in the morning. The next day my mom had to wake me up at 2pm so that I wouldn't sleep the rest of the day!
I was glad to be home, but it was really strange not sleeping in UniLodge and being just feet away from all my friends. I felt like all I wanted to do was talk to the people from Sydney because those were the people that I had become SO close with in the last 5 months and I didn't really know what to do without them yet..
Packing was probably the worst thing ever, and I threw away all kinds of stuff that I brought with me in order to made room for souvenirs and other stuff that I acquired over the 5 months I was in Australia. The night before we left, the girls and I rented and watched Marley & Me because we all felt like we just needed to cry and that is the absolute best movie if you feel like being sad. Our flight was around 2:30 the next day so we packed up, cleaned up, checked out, moved out and piled into a van that took us to the airport. When we got there we found out that they had apparently overbooked our flight to San Fran and were asking people to give up their seats for an $800 United voucher and a seat on a flight the next day. All of us declined except Kate (of course!) and we finally boarded our first plan home. It felt really strange and really surreal to be going home and I couldn't quite process what was happening. I felt like a zombie, just going along with it, not really knowing what I was doing.
I sat next to Becca on the long flight (thankfully) which actually wasn't that bad and went pretty smoothly. We had a short layover in San Fran during which we all turned on our American cell phones for the first time, called friends and family and paid for stuff with American money--very strange and exciting! We got on our flight from San Fran to Boston and I immediately passed out and slept through the entire flight..take off to landing. I was SO excited to see my mom, Joy and Grace waiting for me at the bottom of the escalator when I got off the plane. Grace made me an awesome welcome home sign and Joy brought me a giant nalgene filled with MILK!! SO GOOD! (I drank the whole thing in like 15 minutes and then immediately regretted it). THEN I saw Kate and Laura run around the corner and I dropped all my stuff and ran to give them hugs! So good to see them after so long and I'm so glad they were able to make it to the airport to meet me! They too had some awesome welcome home signs for me :)
We all went back to my house (kate and laura slept over) and I sort of felt like I hadn't even been away. It was so weird to be home but at the same time I kind of felt like Australia was just a dream. It was really nice to be with my best friends and family when I got home though because they had already heard about everything I had done there and didn't have to ask any questions. I was still on Australia time, so I don't think I ended up going to be that night until like 4 in the morning. The next day my mom had to wake me up at 2pm so that I wouldn't sleep the rest of the day!
I was glad to be home, but it was really strange not sleeping in UniLodge and being just feet away from all my friends. I felt like all I wanted to do was talk to the people from Sydney because those were the people that I had become SO close with in the last 5 months and I didn't really know what to do without them yet..
The Whitsunday Islands and Melbourne
We had about a three week break (depending on your finals schedule) between the end of classes and finals. Lauren and Emily decided to go to Fiji, which I really wanted to do, but couldn't afford and Becca had no interest in going somewhere with bugs, so we decided to plan a different trip. It took us awhile to figure out where we wanted to go because there were so many things that we hadn't done. Finally we decided on two places; the Whitsunday Islands in Northern Australia and Melbourne in Southern Australia.
We ended up getting together a group of 8 people (Me, Becca, Melissa, Amy, Justin, Nate, Lucas and Alex Bradley) and could not wait to get up north to some warmer weather. Becca's parents offered to pay for our hotel (nicest people in the WORLD) which ended up being a really nice 3 bedroom apartment. The only downfall was that it was on top of the BIGGEST HILL IN THE WORLD. I am not kidding. Pictures cannot even justify this thing. We took a ferry from the airport and then a bus from the ferry and unfortunately for us, got dropped off at the very bottom of the hill of doom. Becca and I took one look and immediately gave up haha. Luckily for us, Justin carried BOTH of our bags AND his up the hill (thank god or i probably would have died) and after an entire group struggle, we made it to the top.
The apartment was amazing, and we all fit very comfortably. That first night, we ventured down the hill into the center of town (Airlie Beach) and got some pizza. We then decided that it would be a great idea to start drinking at 6pm and were all completely passed out by 11! This actually turned out to be a smart decision because we all woke up super early and were able to start our day and explore the town. The town reminded me a lot of Cairns in that it was really beachy, laid back and beautiful. It even had a lagoon like Cairns did, but it wasn't as nice. We spent the day at the pool/lagoon and then went over to a travel booth to see what we could do in the area. We eventually decided on a boat tour of the islands that included snorkeling and diving and planned to do that the next day. That night also involved early drinking and a group game of spin the bottle...very funny and then we were off to bed early again because the van for snokeling was coming to pick us up at 7:45am.
We all managed to wake up on time and make it to the van. We got on our boat which was an all day adventure and took around the Whitsunday Islands. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. The water is crystal clear blue and the sand is pure white. We were actually able to get out of the boat on one of the islands and take a tour around and hang out on the beach for a hour or so before lunch. It was really one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Absolutely mesmerizing.
The second half of the day was filled with scuba diving and snorkeling, which Becca and I opted out of because we had already done it in Cairns and decided to lay on the beach instead. We got back, exhausted and the girls made dinner for the guys (pasta and garlic bread) and then we went down the hill to check out the night life in Airlie Beach. Because it was off season, there really weren't that many people there which is why it was so fun to go with a group of 8 people.
The next day, our last full day, we went to the beach and hung out at the pool and shopped a little and went out that night for the last time. In the morning we had to clean the entire apartment, make breakfast, pack and leave by 10:30am. Somehow we got it all done and were out of there on time and made our way back to the ferry so that we could catch our flight. The airport that flies into the Whitsundays is literally a shack on the beach. There are maybe 4 flights a day and you wait outside for the plane to come--crazy! We got back to Sydney around 6pm and then Becca and I had to unpack, repack and get ready for our SEVEN AM flight the next morning to Melbourne.
Why we thought that going to Melbourne directly after spending four crazy nights in the Whitsundays, I have no idea. We were absolutely exhausted. We left for the airport at 5am, boarded our flight and got to Melbourne around 9. Little did we know, Melbourne was FREEZING. Probably in the high 40s when we got there after being in 80 degree weather all week and all I had were flip flops to wear..horrible. So, we got to our hotel which the sole intention of getting to our room and sleeping forever, only to find out that we couldn't check in for another 2 hours. Not a big deal. We decided we would just walk around the city and see what there was to see. This plan, however, was immediately foiled when we realized that it was Sunday and nothing was open. So, we wandered around the streets of Melbourne, freezing and starving until we found a cute little cafe to get some breakfast. The food was amazing and the hotel called us earlier than expected and said that we could check it, so it all ended up working out.
Later that night, we met up with Becca's friend Ying from Sydney who also happened to be in Melbourne that weekend and had the most amazing dinner with her and her friend on the harbour. We got back to our hotel and passed out early. The next day, Becca, Ying, and I walked around downtown Melbourne and shopped/sight(seed...sightsaw? whatever haha) all day. The architecture is really cool in the city and is a mix between very modern and victorian. Our flight was the next morning--short trip--and we were back in Sydney Tuesday evening.
I am so glad I was able to go on both of these trips. I obviously had more fun in the Whitsundays, but it was really great to see another major city in Australia and see how different they were. The group that went to the Whitsundays together was kind of a random mix of the people I met in Sydney and I didn't know a lot of them very well, but by the end of those 5 days, we were all really close friends. I'm really glad they all decided to come with Becca and me because I don't think I would have gotten to know them so well and they are all really great people.
We ended up getting together a group of 8 people (Me, Becca, Melissa, Amy, Justin, Nate, Lucas and Alex Bradley) and could not wait to get up north to some warmer weather. Becca's parents offered to pay for our hotel (nicest people in the WORLD) which ended up being a really nice 3 bedroom apartment. The only downfall was that it was on top of the BIGGEST HILL IN THE WORLD. I am not kidding. Pictures cannot even justify this thing. We took a ferry from the airport and then a bus from the ferry and unfortunately for us, got dropped off at the very bottom of the hill of doom. Becca and I took one look and immediately gave up haha. Luckily for us, Justin carried BOTH of our bags AND his up the hill (thank god or i probably would have died) and after an entire group struggle, we made it to the top.
The apartment was amazing, and we all fit very comfortably. That first night, we ventured down the hill into the center of town (Airlie Beach) and got some pizza. We then decided that it would be a great idea to start drinking at 6pm and were all completely passed out by 11! This actually turned out to be a smart decision because we all woke up super early and were able to start our day and explore the town. The town reminded me a lot of Cairns in that it was really beachy, laid back and beautiful. It even had a lagoon like Cairns did, but it wasn't as nice. We spent the day at the pool/lagoon and then went over to a travel booth to see what we could do in the area. We eventually decided on a boat tour of the islands that included snorkeling and diving and planned to do that the next day. That night also involved early drinking and a group game of spin the bottle...very funny and then we were off to bed early again because the van for snokeling was coming to pick us up at 7:45am.
We all managed to wake up on time and make it to the van. We got on our boat which was an all day adventure and took around the Whitsunday Islands. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. The water is crystal clear blue and the sand is pure white. We were actually able to get out of the boat on one of the islands and take a tour around and hang out on the beach for a hour or so before lunch. It was really one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Absolutely mesmerizing.
The second half of the day was filled with scuba diving and snorkeling, which Becca and I opted out of because we had already done it in Cairns and decided to lay on the beach instead. We got back, exhausted and the girls made dinner for the guys (pasta and garlic bread) and then we went down the hill to check out the night life in Airlie Beach. Because it was off season, there really weren't that many people there which is why it was so fun to go with a group of 8 people.The next day, our last full day, we went to the beach and hung out at the pool and shopped a little and went out that night for the last time. In the morning we had to clean the entire apartment, make breakfast, pack and leave by 10:30am. Somehow we got it all done and were out of there on time and made our way back to the ferry so that we could catch our flight. The airport that flies into the Whitsundays is literally a shack on the beach. There are maybe 4 flights a day and you wait outside for the plane to come--crazy! We got back to Sydney around 6pm and then Becca and I had to unpack, repack and get ready for our SEVEN AM flight the next morning to Melbourne.
Why we thought that going to Melbourne directly after spending four crazy nights in the Whitsundays, I have no idea. We were absolutely exhausted. We left for the airport at 5am, boarded our flight and got to Melbourne around 9. Little did we know, Melbourne was FREEZING. Probably in the high 40s when we got there after being in 80 degree weather all week and all I had were flip flops to wear..horrible. So, we got to our hotel which the sole intention of getting to our room and sleeping forever, only to find out that we couldn't check in for another 2 hours. Not a big deal. We decided we would just walk around the city and see what there was to see. This plan, however, was immediately foiled when we realized that it was Sunday and nothing was open. So, we wandered around the streets of Melbourne, freezing and starving until we found a cute little cafe to get some breakfast. The food was amazing and the hotel called us earlier than expected and said that we could check it, so it all ended up working out.
Later that night, we met up with Becca's friend Ying from Sydney who also happened to be in Melbourne that weekend and had the most amazing dinner with her and her friend on the harbour. We got back to our hotel and passed out early. The next day, Becca, Ying, and I walked around downtown Melbourne and shopped/sight(seed...sightsaw? whatever haha) all day. The architecture is really cool in the city and is a mix between very modern and victorian. Our flight was the next morning--short trip--and we were back in Sydney Tuesday evening.
I am so glad I was able to go on both of these trips. I obviously had more fun in the Whitsundays, but it was really great to see another major city in Australia and see how different they were. The group that went to the Whitsundays together was kind of a random mix of the people I met in Sydney and I didn't know a lot of them very well, but by the end of those 5 days, we were all really close friends. I'm really glad they all decided to come with Becca and me because I don't think I would have gotten to know them so well and they are all really great people.
Better late than never...
I know these next few blogs are obviously a few months late, but I figured better late than never (plus my blog is due today for Northeastern). I don't know why I put them off for so long. The last few weeks of being in Sydney were absolutely crazy and looking back now, it all seems so surreal. Classes ended on June 5th and then we had three final weeks to cram in everything we hadn't done and wanted to do..and also some things we DIDN'T want to do, i.e. study for exams.
I had SO much work the last week or two of classes. Becca and I had a 6000 word essay due for our Multicultural class which was a group effort, but we also had a poster presentation to go along with it and another 2000 word hand out to give to the class. The class was an education class, focused on learning and teaching, and the project was a research assignment where we had to incorporate some kind of multicultural aspect of Australia into lesson plans that one would use in a classroom. Because Becca and I are clearly not planning on becoming teachers in the near future, this was a little bit of a difficult task for us, but our teacher was very understanding and took into account our situation. We chose to do our project on gender and focused specifically on gender in sports, the workplace, the family and in education. By some giant miracle we were able to pop out a 24 page paper on the subject and hand it in on time, with a presentation and a poster (which contained lots of glue and glitter =]). We ended up getting a 20/20 on the presentation and did very well on the paper too.
My sports and film classes also had GIANT papers due at the end of the semester. Each, I believe, were 3000 words. An easy feat it seemed after completing the 6000 word paper for my other class. The film paper was on a movie that we had to choose and watch. The instructors gave us a pretty detailed outline of what the paper was to be like, so the actual content was not hard to come up with, it was the actual sitting down and writing it part that was more of a struggle. In true Laura fashion, I finished it last minute and turned it in, also getting a good grade in that class. For sports I REALLY pushed it to the last minute. The paper was due on June 28th and we were leaving Sydney on June 28th. I started and finished the paper in about 3 hours on June 27th, handed it in and was finally DONE!
In between the film paper and the sports paper, I had to take my econ final. Somewhere after the econ midterm, I realized that I was in way over my head with this class and towards the end of the semester, I concluded that even if I were able to pass the class (highly unlikely with a 50 average before the final), I would not be able to get a C or better which is what I needed for the class to count at Northeastern. I debated back and forth whether or not there was even any point in taking the final and after talking to my parents, decided to go and see how well I do (or in this case, how poorly). So, I went to the final, guessed on most of the multiple choice and made up all kinds of nonsense for the short answer and then wrote a note at the end explaining the reasons for my disastrous work and left. Luckily I was able to take the course pass/fail so that the fail (which I ended up getting by the way) won't show up on my transcript and I can take the class again this Spring.
The academics at the University of Sydney were surprisingly more intense that I ever expected. I should have never taken an econ class while abroad, but who knew something so universal could be taught so differently in another country. Although everyone jokes about how none of us did any work in Australia, I actually have to say that I had more work there than I have ever had at Northeastern. Of course the environment made it more difficult to complete this work and maybe I would have done better in the same econ class had I been at home, but I wouldn't take any of it back. I had the greatest semester of my life and learned more about myself (even academically) than I ever have before.
So, enough of the boring class stuff! On to the exciting vacations we took during study break!
I had SO much work the last week or two of classes. Becca and I had a 6000 word essay due for our Multicultural class which was a group effort, but we also had a poster presentation to go along with it and another 2000 word hand out to give to the class. The class was an education class, focused on learning and teaching, and the project was a research assignment where we had to incorporate some kind of multicultural aspect of Australia into lesson plans that one would use in a classroom. Because Becca and I are clearly not planning on becoming teachers in the near future, this was a little bit of a difficult task for us, but our teacher was very understanding and took into account our situation. We chose to do our project on gender and focused specifically on gender in sports, the workplace, the family and in education. By some giant miracle we were able to pop out a 24 page paper on the subject and hand it in on time, with a presentation and a poster (which contained lots of glue and glitter =]). We ended up getting a 20/20 on the presentation and did very well on the paper too.
My sports and film classes also had GIANT papers due at the end of the semester. Each, I believe, were 3000 words. An easy feat it seemed after completing the 6000 word paper for my other class. The film paper was on a movie that we had to choose and watch. The instructors gave us a pretty detailed outline of what the paper was to be like, so the actual content was not hard to come up with, it was the actual sitting down and writing it part that was more of a struggle. In true Laura fashion, I finished it last minute and turned it in, also getting a good grade in that class. For sports I REALLY pushed it to the last minute. The paper was due on June 28th and we were leaving Sydney on June 28th. I started and finished the paper in about 3 hours on June 27th, handed it in and was finally DONE!
In between the film paper and the sports paper, I had to take my econ final. Somewhere after the econ midterm, I realized that I was in way over my head with this class and towards the end of the semester, I concluded that even if I were able to pass the class (highly unlikely with a 50 average before the final), I would not be able to get a C or better which is what I needed for the class to count at Northeastern. I debated back and forth whether or not there was even any point in taking the final and after talking to my parents, decided to go and see how well I do (or in this case, how poorly). So, I went to the final, guessed on most of the multiple choice and made up all kinds of nonsense for the short answer and then wrote a note at the end explaining the reasons for my disastrous work and left. Luckily I was able to take the course pass/fail so that the fail (which I ended up getting by the way) won't show up on my transcript and I can take the class again this Spring.
The academics at the University of Sydney were surprisingly more intense that I ever expected. I should have never taken an econ class while abroad, but who knew something so universal could be taught so differently in another country. Although everyone jokes about how none of us did any work in Australia, I actually have to say that I had more work there than I have ever had at Northeastern. Of course the environment made it more difficult to complete this work and maybe I would have done better in the same econ class had I been at home, but I wouldn't take any of it back. I had the greatest semester of my life and learned more about myself (even academically) than I ever have before.
So, enough of the boring class stuff! On to the exciting vacations we took during study break!
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