Jenna Goes Down Under

Sorry for the Lack of Updates

2009-10-25T21:01:00.004+11:00

More blogs coming soon! I know I have fallen a bit behind (ok, more than a bit, over a month), but updates are coming soon!

I have been keeping track of my experiences, and I have a lot of information in my trusty Moleskin notebook that needs to be translated to the web. This includes pictures of the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, Whitehaven Beach, Fraser Island...and much more!

After November 6th, I will be done with assignments and concentrating on a few key things:

Updating my blog! (including adding links, tags, photos, and maps)
Keep on learning! (SEO, Google Analytics, social media monitoring, creating MashUps)
FIND A JOB!

Until then, follow my tweets! (I often have to refer to them to remind myself what I do each day)

Day 68: Final Work before Vacation!

2009-09-21T23:37:00.000+10:00

Ok, it's semi-crunch time today. Kristin and I leave tomorrow for our two week adventure. This means I have to get as much work done as possible on my Database Proposal, considering it is due only hours from when I return. I think I did pretty well. It will be organising the appendix and writing my user scenarios when I get back. I think I can pull this off.

My homework day ended around 5:30pm when I left for a SMCEDU Meeting at Jackson's on George by Circular Quay. Again it was a small turn out, but the four of us had another wonderful social media conversation. Doug Chapman, partnership director for SMCSYD provided useful insights to the local Social Media Club Chapter. I also got clued in to some other courses using social media, and got a few more names to look up. We concluded by deciding to set a date for a SMCEDU Meetup in three weeks to try to get more students involved. Unfortunately I will be gone for the first 2 weeks leading up to the event, so I hope we can get enough chatter going to recruit students to attend.

While our evening should have consisted of packing, we took a break and walked down to Darling Harbour with some friends. Lovely evening for a walk, but it definitely made me stay up much later than I needed to. Oh well, I have short plane ride to catch up on some sleep. Off to Cairns in the morning for our 2 week adventure!

Day 67: I tried, but mainly a Lazy Sunday

2009-09-20T22:48:00.000+10:00

I sent Kristin out on her own today to discover more of Sydney, as I spent my Sunday in the computer lab. I didn't feel as productive today. I felt like I was running around in circles around the metadata standards. While I found IPTC for the news articles and photos, I was having trouble with videos and audio. I think in the end I will just have to compromise and take few standards from MPEG-7, just not many. I think I am doing a good job so far and I will get myself into trouble if I worry too much about a small portion of the proposal.

For dinner we went to Lansdowne to use a coupon that I had. It turns out the kitchen is closed on Sunday. Luckily for us they had a deal where you if you buy a drink you get free pizza! We took advantage of that, splitting a jug between us and enjoy mass amounts of pizza while listening to a live band and people watching. Pretty much the perfect Sunday night if you ask me.

Day 66: Manly Walk into the Night

2009-09-19T20:54:00.000+10:00

Ok, I should have spent today doing schoolwork, I know. But I need to show Kristin what Sydney has to offer! And at the same time, I made sure we did something I haven't done yet :)

After looking through her Lonely Planet book for some local insight, we decided to take the ferry to Manly and take on the Manly Scenic Walkway. It is a 9 km walk fro Manly to to the Spit Bridge, along the coast and through some bush. http://www.openroad.com.au/travel_onfoot_thespittomanly.asp

Instead of telling you all about the gorgeous scenery, I'll show you with pictures. But I have a few titbits to add. The ferry ride was amazing, as expected. It reminds me of Marin, and makes me appreciate where I am currently and where I came from. Kristin said this was her first time on a ferry, which I couldn't believe! Once we were on the walk I loved how tranquil it was. At some points it felt like we were way out in the bush, or right on the ocean where there was no land for miles. And then you would turn a corner, and there was the Sydney skyline. Not bad, not bad at all. The natural surroundings were a great addition to our long conversations about life and our future. That seems to be on my mind a lot, and Kristin's as well since we both just graduated. One thing we concluded was that we better find jobs that we enjoy. Because if you spend 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year working, that is the majority of your time. What good is money if you aren't happy for most of the year?

So I forgot to mention that we had a late start, not getting to Manly until about 3pm. Now this walk is supposed to take about 3 to 4 hours. We are fast walkers, don't get be wrong, but we took the road less travelled several times, and took lots of pictures. Basically, it started to get dark, and we some how wound up in someone's backyard, getting scared out by a possum. Luckily for us, when we made it up to the road a woman had just pulled in. She basically told us we were screwed and it would be impossible for us to find our way back. But right then a man and his son pulled up, asking if we were lost (and if we were tourists). He said this happens a lot, and offered to drive us to the bus stop. Phew, saved by the dad! We eventually made it back safely, happy with our excursion and the stories to go along with it.

Day 65: #coffeemornings!

2009-09-18T18:34:00.000+10:00

My day began with an early morning adventure to evangelise SMCEDU. Gavin Heaton, (@servantofchaos) showed interest in the initiative but can't make our meeting next week. He is however the organiser of #coffeemornings, a weekly gathering of social media enthusiasts in Surrey Hills. @cafedave is a regular attendee as well, so I wasn't as nervous knowing I would know a familiar face.

While I put the idea of SMCEDU out there, I didn't get too many biters. Everyone thinks it's a great idea, but I think it is hard for them to realise how they can get involved. On top of that, people already attend so many meetups and coffeemornings, it can be hard to fit another one into their schedule. I did get some names of people doing great things with social media and education that I will have to investigate. To name a few:
- Mark Smithers, Senior Manager, Teaching and Learning Support at RMIT University (www.masmithers.com)
- Jeremy Lebard - Book Tagger (www.booktagger.com, not quite SMCEDU, but cool concept)

Nonetheless, I met some great people and had good discussions. With a seat at the table I jumped into conversations and learned from the more experienced.

I also found out about GetUp!, an Australian grassroots activist organisation like MoveOn in the states. I love all the new things I learn about the world around me.

One key thing I took away from speaking with @RazChorev is that you never stop learning. After doing my information literacy report I have realised how important lifelong learning is for people in all fields. Grad school may not be the answer right away, as it can often be behind the trends. I need to keep reading blogs, attending conferences, and speaking with people to learn from my surroundings. He also emphasised just going out and doing probono work. This was a key concept in the Recession Proof Grad slideshow as well. As a young graduate looking for experience, I can offer services for free to establish myself and build up a portfolio. I like the idea of having a mentor, which I think is why I enjoy volunteering for things like Media140. I'm excited to see what comes of it!

After a fun filled morning of networking, back to Uni I must go. I worked on my media services database proposal, researching more about media monitoring. This is a really interesting topic to me, and I could see myself working in the industry. Instead of just doing it for commercial companies, I think it can be used for current events and global and political issues. I also like the fact that the news media uses the International Press Telecommunication Council (IPTC) metadata. I looked into this a while ago when I was interested in photo metadata. I think it has a lot of value and I am enjoying the opportunity to learn more about it. Of course I like the idea of monitoring the social web, but mainstream media is still an important stream of information, reaching a lot of people. I knew something good would eventually come out of this assignment! But now I need to do real work and put a good dent in my proposal so I can travel in a few days without worries!

Day 64: Kristin is...(5 hours later)...HERE!

2009-09-17T21:31:00.000+10:00

Oh what an early morning it was. But I got up early enough and caught the train to Wolli Creek. Why Wolli Creek and not the airport? Well, the airport, being all high and mighty, charges an extra fee just for stopping there! This fee has to be paid when travelling by train, taxi, bus, or car, so there is really no way to avoid it. But - after some research I found that you can take the train one stop further to Wolli Creek and walk 2 km along the Creek to the airport to avoid the cost! I thought I might as well, see some more sites and save a few bucks. It was a nice walk on a very foggy morning. The creek was calm, and it looked like there was a waterski jump. Potential for wakeboarding? There is something I should look into.

I made it to the airport with no trouble and time to spare. Her flight was supposed to arrive around 6:15am, but I was giving her time to get through customs. And let me tell you, I gave her PLENTY of time. It turns our her flight was rerouted to Brisbane because of the fog! At first someone told me she might not come in until the evening, which I thought was absurd. And I almost brought a book to read... Instead, I spent hours on end reading through travel guides and learning health and money saving tips. Finally, by 5 hours later, at 12:15 she arrived!

After a long morning for both of us, we made our way back to my flat. It was good to just hang out for a while and catch up. It was surreal having Kristin sitting on my bed - I felt like I was back at home! It has been 2 months since I have seen my friends and family from the states, and here she was sitting right in front of me!

We ventured downtown to grab some food, until I realised I had a group meeting...oops! We cut our walk short, grabbed some Subway, and we parted ways. She went off to explore Darling Harbour, and I went to class.

When I got back from class we spent the remainder of the evening planning our trip. Well, not so much planning, as looking at some options and deciding, "we'll figure it out when we get there!"

Day 63: Some things done, more to come

2009-09-16T20:17:00.000+10:00

Finally, one more thing to check off my list. We presented our report on information literacy today, and it feels good to be done. I think we did a pretty good job. Our substitute thinks we should have examined the policy issue from another angle, but it was too late to incorporate her ideas. We put in a lot of time to gather and prepare our information, and now that it's done, it's done.

After coming home and refuelling, I went to the library to do some research for my database proposal. Kristin comes tomorrow and I would like to do some site seeing with her, but of course school has to be my priority.

Since I have to get to the airport by 7:15am tomorrow, I'm making it an early night after cleaning up and preparing for Kristin's arrival. Goodnight!

Day 62: My First Grade...!

2009-09-15T18:15:00.001+10:00

Yet another exciting day of schoolwork. Tomorrow I will feel semi-relieved after our information literacy presentation is over, but I still have the database proposal looming that I need to make a dent in. But on a good note, I got my first assignment back from my database class. This was one I was stressing about and did not really enjoy, but I received a DISTINCTION! This scared me at first when I saw "D" for the letter grade, but that really means good work, a B+ or A- in Sac State standards! This really made my day, as I have been stressing about how my grades are going to affect my GPA. I'm sure it still won't help, but I have more confidence in myself and I am starting to feel like my hard work is paying off. The funny part is that I completely misinterpreted the scenario, but luckily it didn't matter because I still created a relational database and showed my knowledge of the topic. It turns out the hypothetical company I was creating the database for is actually a media MONITORING company, not media PLANNING. I am really happy about finding this out because I am interested in social media monitoring, an off-shoot of the topic. This next assignment is very different than the first and requires analysing and indexing documents, so I am very happy it is from the media monitoring perspective. I will actually be interested in what I am doing and now it is much more straight forward. I thought about asking if I could make it a social media monitoring database, but it is a new topic and there wouldn't be any metadata standards established yet. I'm just happy I am getting interested in my school work again, it makes it much easier to put the time in if I care about what I'm doing.

Day 61: Back to life as a student

2009-09-14T18:14:00.000+10:00

Now back to the real world. Kristin arrives on Thursday and we are departing for our trip the following Tuesday. I have a database design proposal due the day I am planning on returning, so I'm trying to finish it before we leave. And I have a presentation on Wednesday. To school I will go!

In between schoolwork I have been actively tweeting trying to recruit people for our SMCEDU meeting next Monday. This evening I took the opportunity to visit my professor Maureen Henninger to see if she had an idea of what lecturers in the UTS Communication department were using social media. While her answers were helpful, I have yet to find a professor that is really involved in social media. I think I am going to start searching through the professors online to see who is researching anything about social media and inform them of SMCEDU. I guess I have to just keep on trying!

I was given another study break when I returned my Mom's call. She is almost done packing up the house and will begin moving things into the new house in a few days. She seems to think I am going to need to move home when I get back from Australia due to lack of money, and she kindly offered her lower lot for me to park a trailer. Let's hope it doesn't get down to that...

Day 60: School work or the Beach? hmmmm

2009-09-13T21:13:00.000+10:00

I couldn't end my birthday weekend by staying inside doing schoolwork, especially when it was nearly 30 degrees outside! So off we went to Bronte Beach to take in the sun and even dip in the water this time! My first real entry into the Australian ocean if only for a few minutes was still quite refreshing. The water is starting to warm up, but I am sure it will be much nicer next week when I am in North Queensland on the Great Barrier Reef...

And for the evening, I ate way too much food at Little Haveli, and my mouth is still a little burnt from the amazing spices. We had been talking about getting Indian food for over a month, and now that I bit the bullet and shelled out the $9, I was overstuffed with a spinach and a chicken dish. Next time I might need to save some for later, especially since I might begin to crave this much more often.

Day 59: The Birthday Celebration Continues

2009-09-12T23:10:00.000+10:00

Ah, made it to the weekend, and ready to celebrate my birthday without the thinking about assignments! Ok, I spent part of the day on assignments, but I also got to chat with my Grandma, Mom, Dad, and Nicole. As of yesterday I believe, my mom has officially sold the house I spent my whole life in. It is a sad thought, but my mom worked so hard to get the house ready I am happy it worked out so quickly and that she found another house she loves. It will probably be twice as much work as the last one, but she is looking forward to living in the Novato countryside with deer roaming around her backyard. It looks like a really nice house and I am looking forward to seeing it, but it will never be a house a really call home. I guess at the age of 22 as I'm entering the real word it will soon be time for me to find my own place to call home. But for now, the world is my playground and I'm going to take advantage of my youth and lack of permanence to explore everything it has to offer me.

Back to my current life...When I say I worked on assignments, I actually mean I got carried away responding to a blog about why teens don't tweet. There have been several reports providing statistics about this, but this blog by Dee Jackson started to delve into response by teens behind their behaviour. I wanted to share my two cents since I am one of the "younger" people on Twitter and I see how people my age look at the social networking service. Check out the media140 Blog to read my thoughts!

Later in the afternoon I met with Hamed and a few others to go shopping for our birthday party this evening (Hamed's birthday is 10 Sept). We got some food and drinks, along with some balloons and streamers (we're going big! haha) Then to get ready for our Gumal Rooftop Party and night out in Darling Harbour, Sabrina was kind enough to be my personal beautician for the night and curled my hair and did my makeup. Just like back at home, I have friends to help turn me into a girl :)

And yet again, another gorgeous evening spent with my Sydney friends, and a good time was had by all.

Day 58: Shining sun, Impromptu Tweetup, and SMCEDU moving forward

2009-09-11T18:53:00.000+10:00

Why do I have to do schoolwork when it is so much fun connecting with people?!?! I kicked off my morning by talking to Kristin about our upcoming trip, which we are both getting excited and nervous about. It should be fun playing it by ear, but nerve-wrecking at the same time! I followed up her call with calls to my parents, which were a little disappointing because it looks like I'm not getting all the things I wanted from home. I definitely asked them at the worst time - my mom has to be out of her house by Tuesday and my dad has his Waves to Wine ride this weekend. Oh well, I've been doing well enough without some of my things, I think I'll survive.

After surfing Twitter for a short time I saw a few friends tweeting about #bbtu - a tweetup put on by @Brasseriebread. They were providing free lunch in Hyde Park at 12:30 pm. How could I say no? I walked down there with my laptop on my back as I was preparing for a conference call with @Yongclee about #SMCEDU at 1pm. While I only stayed long enough to meet some tweeples and grab some food, the sandwich and cupcake were delicious! I quickly scurried to a cafe I found with free wifi and chatted with Yong for a while. We are both very enthusiastic about SMCEDU, and I'm really looking forward to see where we can take this in Sydney. It is good to know that different chapters are heading in different directions, as I think Sydney will do the same.

Once I got home I was all over twitter and the SMCEDU Ning site trying to arrange a time for our next meeting. I'm hoping more people can come along so we can really see what we can accomplish here in Sydney. I really should be working on my Information Literacy presentation, but I am finding so many interesting people online I just don't want to stop. I love how the web is allowing me to find people that might be interested in SMCEDU, and other interesting tweeple around Sydney.

Day 57: Media Chit Chat and Free TV!

2009-09-10T21:26:00.000+10:00

Of course after celebrating yesterday, I had to get work done today. The library called my name, and I went to complete a paper that was due in the evening. Luckily it was on a topic I enjoyed and I had already completed part of it, so it wasn't too bad to finish up. I am definitely more productive in the library - I should really spend more time there.

As soon as I finished my paper I power-walked my way to Bar 333 for a short meeting with @sarallenconsult about interning with Media140. I have decided that I will not start until after the break. I need to concentrate on getting my schoolwork done before I take on other endeavours. Sarah seemed perfectly fine with that, as I am sure there will be plenty to do once October rolls around. This is a great opportunity because I think I will get my hands on several aspects of the conference planning. I mentioned that I was interested in live-blogging for the event, and it seems like I'll be able to do that! I love hearing people speak about social media, so why not "retweet" their thoughts to the world? I am really interested in the topic of this conference, as it is about journalism and the real-time web. They have some great speakers lined up and I hope I can learn more about them before the event.

Many of the speakers at the event are on Australia Television, which we have not had - until tonight! My friend had an extra cord and we plugged it in and it works! We have free-to-air TV which is plenty for me. I was doing fine without it, but I am really interested in seeing the news and Aus TV is different than in the US. I will make sure I don't spend countless hours watching brain-draining television - I'm watching strictly for research purposes! :)

Day 56: It's my birthday and... my friends are awesome

2009-09-09T23:45:00.000+10:00

I didn't expect anything special for my birthday this year. I am trying to get my work done so I can enjoy my East Coast trip in a few weeks, so I didn't plan anything. Luckily, I have made some great friends here who made it a great day.

After class my friend Helen took me to Myers (department store comparable to Bloomingdales) to get my makeup done. She obviously picked up on the fact that I'm not very girly, and wanted to spoil me for my birthday. I figured later that evening I would just have a few drinks with some friends. Saturday we are planning a party and going somewhere nice for the night because it is Hamed's birthday tomorrow - joint celebrations are always fun! After sitting and chatting on the rooftop of Gumal for a while, I was pleasantly surprised by my friends as they brought up balloons, wine, and cake! It was all very unexpected and definitely made my day. The cake was delicious and we all enjoyed the evening together. I am truly lucky to have made great friends here - it makes everything we do that much better.

Day 55: Sandwich and Soda! It's a lunch time!

2009-09-08T22:52:00.000+10:00

Man were my legs sore on my bike ride today! Not quite sure why, but I am going to associate it with the exercises I've been doing while sitting at my desk :) It has also been a while since I rode my bike, so maybe after riding on Sunday my legs hadn't fully recovered. Time to work more on my upper body!

After doing some homework for a while, it was time for Subway Customer Appreciation Day! Buy one foot long sandwich and a drink, get the second free! I guess it isn't really that great of a deal considering I had to buy a drink, but I have been hyping up this day for a week now, so I had to follow through. Subway is my saviour here, and 4 meals for $10 is a pretty sweet deal.

Class this evening was much more enjoyable than it has been. The last few weeks I have been kicking myself in the foot for taking the Organising Information class. After turning in my assignment last week that was not up to my standards, I wasn't looking forward to hearing about this next assignment. Alas, Maureen walked into class to inform us she will be our lecturer for the rest of the semester. She proceeded to explain our next assignment, which is indexing various forms of media. Luckily it has nothing to do with the first assignment besides the topic, so goodbye Microsoft Access and relational databases for now! I think her lecture style makes me more interested in the topic because her enthusiasm rubs off on me. Now I just need to put the last assignment behind me and concentrate (and maybe even enjoy) the next one. I'm hoping to have it completed before I take off on my trip in two weeks, so staying on task is imperative for the near future.

Day 54: Productivity ends in a Headache - but it went away!

2009-09-07T18:53:00.000+10:00

Next week I have a group presentation on information literacy policy in Australia and Thailand, so I started by day meeting with my group. We're making some good progress and I think are in fine shape if we keep adding stuff this week. It is interesting reading about the current state of information literacy, especially while I am involved with SMCEDU. I think media literacy is an important topic that should be taught in schools, so I am enjoying reading how different countries are approaching the situation.

After meeting with my group I stayed on campus and did some work on my collaboratory report for Digital Libraries and Collections. Wow, I actually think I accomplished something today! Lots of staring at a computer screen, but at least I got something done.

Unfortunately it was too much staring at a computer screen, because I came back and was plagued with a headache. I haven't had one like this in ages, but I think I was just doing too much schoolwork (this doesn't happen when I'm on Twitter!) I took some Alieve and went for a walk to get some fresh air and hope the headache would subside.

On my walk I stopped and had a phone conversation with @sarallenconsult about Media140! We had been trying to arrange this conversation for over a week, so I think we were both satisfied to be talking instead of e-mailing. It looks like there is a lot to do to prepare for this event, and I am looking forward to it. There is already a bit of buzz going on around the event, so I am trying to keep up with it so I know what's going on. I am going to have to think about how much I can contribute, because I don't want to stress myself out. At the same time this is a great opportunity and I want to do everything I can to make the most out of it.

By the end of my conversation my headache was almost gone!!! This is a huge deal, as in the past no form of medication would make the pain go away. I can't believe I used to have headaches all the time, and I don't know how I managed. I am so glad to be able to control them now. I have grown a tremendous amount physically, mentally, and emotionally, since I graduated high school. What is interesting is that I am witnessing this growth in relation to my health. Let's just hope I keep climbing up the hill as my physical health is closely related to my personal well-being.

Day 53: Same ol' Sunday

2009-09-06T20:30:00.000+10:00

Just like I said via Twitter, Library time! But I first spun my legs and enjoyed the sun on my bike for 30 minutes. I took what I imagine will be my usual route - followed the signs towards Annondale, turned right somewhere to end up near Blackwattle Bay, and headed to the Anzac Bridge to make my way back into the city.

The library was nice a quiet, I guess what you would expect for a library, and a Sunday. I researched information literacy, checked out a book about creative commons, and also picked up a copy of Clay Shirky's Here Come's Everybody. I wish I had more time to read so I could actually sit down and enjoy the book, but for now it will suffice to use it for my research paper.

I ended the evening with Vanish and Sabrina watching We Could Be Heroes, the first show by the creator of Summer Heights High. Got to love watching some Australian Comedy!

Day 52: Wollongong FTW... not so much

2009-09-05T22:52:00.000+10:00

For our weekend adventure we took the train 2 hours to Wollongong, a beach town south of Sydney, home of University of Wollongong. There wasn't much else there (and we didn't even see the university), but it was a nice beach town away from the city. We went there because a group of my friends went skydiving for AJ's birthday! While I don't have an urge to try skydiving (especially not for $300), jumping out of a plane with the beach in view the whole time seems like a good way to do it.

All in all I wasn't very impressed with Wollongong, but probably because I kept thinking I should have been at home doing my work. It was a nice beach and I enjoyed the view of the lighthouse (always gets me excited, makes me think of my Mom), but it wasn't anything new to see. I would get the same satisfaction from going to Bondi which is much closer. At least I can say I've seen more of Australia!

Day 51: Meeting Day!

2009-09-04T17:16:00.000+10:00

11:45 am: Met with Digital Libraries and Collections group at the Australian Museum. We will be scanning transparencies of the top 30 mammals, birds, frogs, and reptiles and cataloging them in a database. Unfortunately they probably won't be able to use the final product we make because they already have an image management system. We might try to create a field guide that can be used on an iPhone - that would be awesome!!!

3:00 pm: Met with Dave, Daniel, and Shelley about starting SMCEDU in Sydney. It was great to get their insight on the social media scene in Sydney and how it relates to education. I think we can really get something started here, and everyone seems very keen to help and make something happen.

Day 50: Another day in the neighborhood

2009-09-03T17:16:00.000+10:00

My morning started talking to my Dad. I think he was happy to hear that I was feeling better, as was I. Instead of spending another day inside doing homework, I ventured out for a much needed bike ride. It is always nice to get my heart pumping; I feel much healthier after.

The remainder of the day before class was dedicated to researching more about my social media censorship paper. I really enjoy finding articles - now for the next step of reading them and hoping they have some content I can use...

Day 49: Spring Break 09! (part 2)

2009-09-02T18:53:00.000+10:00

I finally feel like I'm in the clear, but I know I'm not. I have a paper due next Thursday, a presentation in two weeks, and a lot of assignments to work on before I leave for my break. Because guess what, I'm travelling the East Coast with Kristin!!! She is going to get in from San Francisco on Thursday, Sept. 17, and we're flying to Cairns on Sept. 22! It is going to be a great trip, and I'm so glad we get to do it together. We are going in true backpacker fashion, planning the trip as we go. We both like to have fun and try new things, so I think it's a good fit. Way better than going by myself, and a lot less to worry about with only 2 people. While I am so excited for this trip, I know I need to work hard until then so I don't have to think about my assignments when we are gone. Gotta love having two spring breaks in one year...

Day 48: Due Date #1

2009-09-01T21:26:00.000+10:00

If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done. No, really. I'm surprised I finished it at all. But at least I don't need to think about it anymore. Now on to the next few assignments...

Day 47: Successful getting sidetracked

2009-08-31T23:16:00.000+10:00

Up early this morning! Productivity was my goal, but it was less about my assignment today than other fun things on the web.

This evening I want to my first SMC Sydney event! It was definitely a different experience than Sacramento events. It was at the Oxford Art Factory, a cool bar and music venue. The majority of the crowd was much older than me, but that was to be expected. I came across one girl who was also at her first event. She was most likely older than me, but we agreed that the rest of the crowd was on a different level than us. She was actually a media buyer - the job that I am making a database for in my class (which I should have been working on...)

The topic was personas and working towards finding the right medium and message for your audience. The speakers were great and it was very informative. After the presentations there was a heated debate about using fake avatars and transparency and authenticity. The Twitter backchannel was raving with swearing, inside jokes, and of course some Twitter spam as it became a trending topic. This group was much more unruly than what I was used to in Sacramento, but it showed how passionate they are about their work.

At the end of the event I met @danieltreacy, another UTS student that responded to my tweet about UTS people going to #SMCSYD. He is an IT and business major and is a freelance web designer. He had an internship where he used social media and has remained interested since then. It looks like I have my first #SMCEDU recruit! We had a great conversation about social media and education, and he is interested in getting involved.

It was a great evening, followed by discussing with my friends for WAY TOO LONG about our spring break trip. I really should have been working on my assignment (this is a really bad trend I have going on here). But instead, I was hearing about some expensive spring break plans that I didn't think I would be taking part in. $1400 for 8 days? I knew it would be more money, and I have extra time so I can do more travelling. Also, doing anything like that in a large group seems like a bad idea. We have problems deciding which way to walk downtown! I don't want to be restricted by what others do, so I think I am going to do my own trip.

Now that it's late and I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed and wake up early to work ALL DAY until I finish my database assignment for class tomorrow night. Woo hoo...

Day 46: Boring..... and brownies :)

2009-08-30T20:30:00.000+10:00

Another day of homework, with some Subway and Brownie making in between. Greg's sister came today as well, adding another Californian to the bunch! That's my amazing Sunday...

Day 45: Yes, I am a geek

2009-08-29T23:45:00.000+10:00

Oh the library, how I love the. While I love the internet and can find plenty of articles for my assignments using Google Scholar, there is something about being in the right section of the dewy decimals and finding a plethora of books on the topic of interest. I found numerous books to browse through for information on my paper about how social media and the real-time web are challenging internet censorship. It is hard to find scholarly information on this topic because it is so new, but I will do my best to make connections with the past, present, and future.

Yes, the library is great, but my love for the web is still strong! As I was looking for more information on my topic, I came across #media140. It was a conference held in London about "the future of real time news." It looks like it was a great conference talking about the exact topic I am interested in. They are trying to have conferences all over the world, and Sydney is the next one on the list! I decided I should test my luck and e-mail them to see if there were any opportunities to help with the conference. Who knows, maybe I could work with them on a global scale as well! I sent them an e-mail with my interests, so we'll see what happens!

This evening we hung out at Gumal for a while and people were going to play Monopoly. Monopoly on a Saturday night?? I wasn't keen to really going out, but it was a warm beautiful night - I wasn't staying in. I rallied the troops and we headed to Darling Harbour for ice cream! It was amazing outside and really made me excited for the warmer months to come when we can be out at night still wearing a tank top. I think one of my favourite things about living here is being so close to everything. I can just decide to walk to Darling Harbour, an iconic place known worldwide.

Day 44: Sacto Reunion!

2009-08-28T23:16:00.000+10:00

After my late night breakdown, I allowed myself to sleep in, and it was marvelous. As I was feeling a bit homesick and missing my friends and family, I put out a Facebook plea for my friends to get on Skype so I could see them face to face. What great friends I have, because low and behold I talked to several in one day! Kristin and Matt were at Cathryn's new place, so I got to see them all together. Just seeing their interactions with each other made it feel like I was at home with them. It was very comforting and long overdue. Later that day Walter happened to catch me online, so I got to video chat with him for a while as well. I am so lucky my Internet lasted so long! He was the perfect person to talk to because he helped give me the encouragement I needed. I can talk to him about my classes and he'll understand. He also knows my potential and assured me that if anyone could pull through, it was me. I am so glad I didn't have people saying, "Ya, why did you take those classes?" Walter and my dad helped me see the positive side, which was really kind of support I needed.

While I should have stayed in and done work on my database project (which I am despising), friends were having a house warming party at Bondi Beach. Naturally I couldn't say no, so a group of us took the long journey by train and bus for the evening. While I'm a little sad I don't live at the beach, it is almost better having friends that live there! Their flat was amazing - a bit old but had so much character. The rooms were enormous, wonderful hardwood floors, and an amazing roof where you can almost see the beach! We are definitely looking forward to heading back there for some warm summer days.

Day 43: Everything happens for a reason... right?

2009-08-28T02:20:00.000+10:00

Another day of homework and the Internet. I realise that I say I am doing homework a lot, but I think I am only really productive for a small portion of it. Yes, I am learning and broadening my horizons the whole time, but actually getting words on paper (or records in a database), now that's another story.

I met with a group for the UTS International Exchange and Study Abroad program today. We will be working on putting events together for international students so they get the most out of their experience. I thought it would be great to help out with, especially because I want to see more, so why not help organise it? After the meeting I realised it will be hard to organise events because there are so many issues with being associated with UTS. This makes sense as there are insurance issues and what not, but it makes everything a hell of a lot harder. I don't think I'll be able to help out like I thought, because it would mean taking on a whole new project, which I KNOW I don't have time for.

After class this evening I had a bit of a breakdown. At the beginning of the semester I was so excited to take two postgraduate classes, and now they are just bringing me down. It isn't even the fact that they are harder, I am just not interested in the content. The worst part is that I could have taken two easier classes that I'm sure I would have found interesting. Instead, I had to be over ambitious and take the challenging route. I must have forgotten that I came to Australia to see Australia, not to be engulfed in my classes. The other worst part is that I am realising this a week after the deadline to change classes. And the OTHER worst part is I am almost positive this will bring my GPA below 3.9, disqualifying me from Summa Cum Laude status. I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason, but I am really struggling to find the good in my situation.

I tried to take my mind of school and went over to Karolina's where we had tea and biscuits and played Jenga. It worked for a while, but when I was tired and went home, all of the thoughts came back into my head. I tried to sleep but just ended up watching Hancock in its entirety. By 1 am I was still wide awake thinking about my situation. I knew it was morning at home, so I called my dad to have him help me through my break down.

I knew he would help me, even if I was still frustrated by the end of our conversation. I tried to tell myself that everything would be alright, but I really needed to hear it from someone else. He helped reassure me that some good would come out of this, even if it was just building character by working through my challenges. I am so lucky that I can call my dad and be comforted from the other side of the world, but a physical hug from him would have made it that much more real.

Day 42: Nothing too special

2009-08-26T17:16:00.000+10:00

Hump Day, which was uneventful as usual. Library in the morning to find some books about information literacy, group meeting about information literacy, and class. At least by Wednesday it seems like the work/school week is over, even though I have class Thursday night.

Day 41: Museum Mania

2009-08-25T17:16:00.000+10:00

We are still searching for a Digital Library project, so I decided it was time to visit some museums in Sydney. With my faithful sidekicks Sabrina, Karolina, Mo, and Vanish, we ventured down to Circular Quay to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) followed by the Museum of Sydney.

MCA: Wrong day to go. They are inbetween exhibits so only one floor was open. They did have some cool visualisations of Countries and their involvement in Global Organizations. Information visualization in an art gallery! Just my thing! We'll have to go back when they have everything else open again.

Museum of Sydney: Small, but I enjoyed it. The Londoners were not impressed at all, but you take it for what it is. I liked the special exhibit they had about trams in Sydney - it turns out they had one of the most advanced tram systems in the world back in the day. They also had some cool info viz stuff, displaying photos of the Sydney skyline over a period of time. It was a touch screen that allowed you to scroll and enlarge the photos and illustrations. There was also one showing old pictures of Sydney:

(photo to be added soon)

Library of New South Wales: Beautiful building an a cool photographic exhibit of panoramas taken by Melvin Vaniman. He was from the US and actually had them ship an air balloon to him so he could take the photos from a higher elevation! I was intrigued. Unfortunately his love for flight also later lead to his death when he left photography to fly planes...

Day 40: Gloominess and Gua Sha

2009-08-24T18:53:00.000+10:00

To follow the beautiful Sunday, we had a windy, gloomy, and a bit rainy Monday.

I started it off with some Laundry, and ended with some acupuncture. They did yet another method on my back this time. It was Gua Sha - "Pronounced, “gwar shar”, is the therapeutic use of the traditional Chinese soup spoon. By using the side of the spoon to rub along the surface of the body, friction and therefore heat can be produced. This technique can aid in the relaxation of tight muscles, the expulsion of toxins found in rashes, and generally help stimulate a particular area of the body. Small bruises may occur after this treatment, however these last only a few days." (http://www.aculife.com.au/acupuncture.php I love the Internet). I was told to keep my back warm for the next few days, and to rub biofreeze on it. It was very interesting, and I think it helped. This is hopefully that last time I'll go for a while. I'm making sure to stretch more and move every now and then when I'm on the computer. I think I just need to pay attention to my posture and develop a good habit of stretching and I'll get better.

Day 39: First view from the Bay

2009-08-23T17:16:00.000+10:00

Random Sunday event: Ferry to Mosman Bay! Now there really isn't much in Mosman Bay besides nice houses on the water, but it was a beautiful day and we had the city and water in our view for a large portion. Not many people were around, probably because it was Sunday. I don't think it's a destination I would ever tell people to visit just because there isn't much there, but it was nice scenery and I LOVED the ferry. But I always love ferries. All and all a cheap day with lots of walking and some pretty pictures.

Day 38: InFusion Fun

2009-08-22T19:20:00.000+10:00

More InFusions activities today - this time it was the Resident Carnival! I'm guessing our rent is high for our flat because they provide us with so many free events. We had free food which was delicious, as well as music and entertainment. There was also a cooking competition where people made meals from their country, so we tasted food from all over the world! I really enjoyed the Indian food, crepes, French mushroom pie, and many other things I can't pronounce. Again, being cheap college students, Karolina and I took an extra plate of food up to my flat to have for dinner later. And it was delicious!

Later we walked down to the Pitt Street Mall and ventured around the Queen Victoria Building. A little too much shopping for me, but it was fun to walk down a new street (Pitt is parallel to George Street where we normally walk).

Day 37: Adventure Friday!

2009-08-21T21:26:00.000+10:00

Friday means adventure day! To go along with the theme of trying to see something new every week, we Tomo drove us out to Cronulla, a beach south of Sydney. Unfortunately like last week it was a bit of a gloomy day, but that didn't stop us from walking along the rocky coastline. Later in the day the sun came out, and parts of the beach looked like an exotic island.

After galavanting on the coast and getting some grub, we drove out to an area where you could see the planes coming into the Sydney Airport. While it wasn't the most picturesque view of Sydney with tankers and fishing boats around, it reminded me a bit of my cove out at the Tiburon Yacht Club. I enjoyed the view of the skyline, and it looks like people kiteboard there! I'll have to venture out there some other time to see them in action.

Day 36: Free food and entertainment, the joys of Uni

2009-08-20T18:53:00.000+10:00

Enjoyed some free food from the InFusion Festival today. Was it worth waiting in line for over 20 minutes to get a sausage, some onions, and a pita? I'm a college student, so yes, yes it was.

To go along with the international theme of this week, we watched a group going some Capoeira, "an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, games, music, and dance." (Thanks Wikipedia).

Day 35: Americans show Aussies how it's done

2009-08-19T20:34:00.000+10:00

I started my day with acupuncture, round 2! I was feeling better after last week's session, so I figured I should go again to keep the blood flowing. This time they hooked the needles up to an electric stimulation unit to intensify the treatment. I'm always up for trying something new, and hopefully it helps!

UTS, being wonderful to their international students as usual, hosted an international exchange party at a bar down the street. A room full of International and Australian students drinking free beer always leads to a good time. They put this event together to have the Australian students going abroad next semester meet exchange students from the countries they are heading to. Of course there were plenty going to the US, and I made sure to give them all the info they needed! Only one girl is going to Sac State, and one other to San Francisco state. The majority are heading to North Carolina, San Diego, and Arizona. I gave them my two cents about the US and I spent a lot of time talking to Amy who is going to SF. I made sure to get everyone's names and e-mail address to start a Facebook group for us. That way they can ask the US students any questions, and they can keep in touch when the go abroad. Maybe I'll try to get some of them to show me around Sydney!

Day 34: Ridin' through the CBD

2009-08-18T19:17:00.000+10:00

I went for an interesting bike ride this morning. I headed out towards Glebe in the bike lane. As I got further, there were signs letting me know which way the bike routes were, so naturally I just followed them to see where it would take me. It was a nice ride, up and down some hills, and I ended up back at Blackwattle Bay. Since I was in a familiar area, I decided to go back over the Anzac Bridge to the city. It is a nice way to get my heart pumping, slight uphill getting on the bridge until the middle. Once I got into the city, I ended up riding by Darling Harbour and over the footbridge. I like that I can go for bike rides to one of the gems of Sydney on a regular basis. I continued to follow the bike lane signs, and rode through some of the downtown area. This is when it got hairy. I realised I was heading away from where I live, and then the bike lane just ended. I was stuck in the hustle of the CBD! Luckily I know my way around well enough that I managed to get home, but It took riding on some busy main streets and hopping up on the sidewalk for a while.

This week is the In-Fusions festival at Uni, celebrating cultures from all over the world. We heard there were some free bbqs and entertainment, so I gathered the group to head over there. Unfortunately by the time we got there not much was going on, but we did get some free tea (anything free makes us happy). I took advantage of being on campus and got some work done before class.

Day 33: Nothingness and TedTalks

2009-08-17T21:10:00.000+10:00

Another late start this morning started my day on the wrong foot. As I struggled to get out of bed before 11am, I started my routine of self-pity for the lack of travelling I have done here so far. I have been here 1 month already and I have barely reached outside the Sydney's city limits. What was I going to do about it? Looking up flights and travel options online seemed like a great way to avoid my homework. And then I realised I was doing the same thing I do everyday to waste time, I decided enough was enough! I went for a walk down to Uni and Chinatown to take care of business and clear my head.

When I got back I knew what I needed to do. Time to follow in my dad's footsteps and set a timer to get things done. I always like to start with lists, and then get things done so I can check things off and start feeling like I'm accomplishing something. I should know how long my tasks should take, so hopefully it will prevent me from going off task. I can waste time on the Internet while looking up relevant information, but it still doesn't help my productivity.

Another thing I am starting to do to help my well-being is stretching and exercising regularly. Next step is to start doing it earlier in the morning so I get my day rolling and started off right. In combination with stretching (and getting ready for bed for that matter) I've been watching TED Talks. Everyone I have watched has been truly inspiring and makes me re-evaluate my life every time. Today I revisited a quick talk, "Philip Zimbardo prescribes a healthy take on time." He focused on "balancing time perspective," where the optimal profile was being past-positive, future, and present-positive oriented. This really resonated with me. I need to stop thinking about what I have been missing and what I'm not doing right now, and concentrate my efforts on the great experiences I have had, how to make the most out of right now, and keeping my future goals a priority. I am on an once in a lifetime journey that I cannot take for granted, and I need to seize the day and reach for the future. Enough blogging for now, it is time to live my life! (and clean my room and do some homework :)

Day 32: 1 Month already?!?! How am I on day 32 then? hmmm

2009-08-16T21:09:00.000+10:00

I officially been in Australia for 1 month today. Wow, 31 days already! Time is flying, but at the same time I feel like I have been here forever. I'm getting familiar with the city, making friends, and living the life of a poor college student Sydneysider. All in all very good so far, but a lot more has to be seen.

Now that I've been blogging for a month now (and trying to keep up the best I can), I might make some changes to my formatting. Past posts may change, as I want to add pictures, links, and potentially maps to my content. Future posts will probably be different as well. I took a class a while ago in writing for the web, and I KNOW I am not following the best practices. While this is more of a journal of my trip, I might try to make it more readable and less diary-like (this might also help me stay current on posting). Who knows, I might throw in a song or poem or two... let's get creative here!

Now for my day...what a day it was. Starting with a trip to Paddy's Market (like most weekends so far), and ending behind the bar of a of a fancy Thai restaurant. Quite a day! (Oh, and the weather was INCREDIBLE, close to 80 F).

A few weeks ago I met a guy, Dylan, from Sydney who was moving to Melbourne the next week. He is a big Sydney FC fan (their soccer team) and was going to be returning for many of their games. It just so happened that his friend had an extra ticket to the game today, so I got to go along! While soccer isn't very popular here (15,000 people attended and it was the 1st home game) the fans were loyal and loud! They sang songs from Rod Stewart to the Flinstones, and threw beer in the air when they scored the only goal of the game. It was a fun experience to say the least (and yes, I joined in on the cheers once I caught on to the words).

After the game we went to a Thai Restaurant in Darlinghurst where Dylan knew the bartenders. It was a slow Sunday night, so they treated us well and made us special drinks to keep their night interesting. It was fun talking to them, and made me miss working for BiteClub. They said they would much rather have a bar where it was all people in the industry coming in instead of the usual Eastern Suburb Yuppies...they would have loved our events! By the end of the evening they let us behind the bar to mix our own drinks! Luckily hey told us how to do it, or else I don't think anyone would want to drink a concoction created by me using anything available. We shook the drink, garnished it with lime and brown sugar, and torched the top! What a show, and not a bad drink.

Now if only I can have a day like this every month, I think I would be a happy girl. Not looking forward to the schoolwork I have to do tomorrow, but well worth it.

Day 31: Nice Day (and Night) to be outside

2009-08-15T21:09:00.000+10:00

Another day stating with a bike ride. I hope I can continue this trend! So far it's been a great investment, even though I didn't get the best deal possible. I love that I can get exercise, have fun, and see more of Sydney at the same time. It would be nice to have someone coming along with me, but I also like the solidarity and time time to think. I got lost again, but luckily I eventually saw the UTS Tower and found my way home. That's the best way to learn the city, and I'm going out during the daytime so I'm not worried about getting in trouble. I rode through Central Station like other crazy bikers we've seen going through there, and made my way around Moore Park to the Sydney Cricket Grounds. I thought I was in Centennial Park, but I just looked and saw that is further East! I guess I know where to go next time. The route I took is part of the route to Bondi Beach, so I'm looking forward to trying that out in the near future.

Later in the day we walked down to Chinatown and the Market City mall... a regular occurrence for us since it's such an easy walk. Karolina wanted to buy some boots, and the rest of us just came along for the walk. We ended in Chinatown where I picked up some cream puffs for Sabrina - fresh out of the machine and only $1 for 4!

Our eventful Saturday ended with going to a club in Darling Harbour. A big group of us went to Home Bar, a "posh" club with beautiful views of the harbour. It's fun checking out the notorious Sydney nightlife, especially on a gorgeous evening overlooking the water.

Day 30: Biking, Walking, Cooking...Octopus?

2009-08-14T21:07:00.000+10:00

I finally went for my first OFFICIAL bike ride! Of course I got a little lost again, but I always knew where I was so no worries. My original goal was to go over the Anzac Bridge and then work my way back around Blackwattle Bay. It was a combination of two routes I found on Bikely.com, a website of user-generated bike routes. It's a really cool site - I'm going to have to try their Ultimo to Bondi ride along with a few others. Anyway, Once I got near the bridge I couldn't figure where the bike path was. I eventually made my way by the Fish Market and Wentworth Park, so I decided to go back to the path I knew around Blackwattle. Luckily for me, the bike path lead me straight to the Bridge on the other side of the bay! It was a nice ride, and I'm getting a lot more comfortable riding on the streets. I went out at 10am which is what I'm going to aim for from now on because there roads aren't too crazy, and it's a great way to get my day started.

After taking care of things at home and doing some intense grocery shopping, it was already 5pm and I needed a little more fresh air. I convinced Sabrina to walk with me down to Darling Harbour to see the beautiful sky reflecting on the buildings. It was a great walk where we finally checked out the other side of the Harbour, Kings Warf. This is where all of the well known bars and clubs are, and it was easy to see which ones were hip - even an 6pm. Young professionals were enjoying their happy hour drinks on a pleasant evening by the water. I hope I have a good job and enough money to do that sometime soon in my life.

I think this trip is all about new food experiences. I was convinced by the man at the fish counter in Broadway shopping center to buy some seafood mix - it was cheaper than getting a whole piece of salmon and looked interesting. I got home and realised I was about to cook octopus, squid, and mussels! (along with salmon, shrimp, and tuna) I've eaten this food before, but I have never prepared it myself. I went along with it, I mean I did pay money for the food. I made a stir fry with some vegetables, and it turned out quite nice! The whole floor now smells like fish and I don't think I'll be buying it again, but it was something new and exciting.

Day 29: Wasting time online

2009-08-13T21:07:00.000+10:00

I need to work on finding my balance between, sleep, work, and play. I spent most of the day sitting inside on my computer, working on school work and in between looking up jobs and reading about social media. I feel like that is how I spend a lot of my time. At least I am not looking up useless information or just watching TV, but I don't feel very productive. I am keeping up with my schoolwork, but it isn't worth spending a whole day inside when the sun is shining and I have a city to continue exploring.

We were put into groups this evening for our digital library project which I am looking forward to. It looks like I will be leading the group, as I am the only one so far thinking about ideas and striving to make a complex, interesting project. It would be great to find a client that allows us to learn and see more about Australia, but not being from here I don't have the best insight to our options. Back to the Internet for endless searching! I think that is how I waste a lot of time. I get so involved in the research that I don't get much concrete information because my mind is all over the place. It's time to start utilising brainstorming techniques and organising my time so I get the most out of this experience. Time for whiteboards and post-its!

(P.S. - If you haven't noticed, I switched to Australian spell check. Don't get confused by the use of "s" instead of "z"!)

Day 28: Needles in My Back...in a good way

2009-08-12T21:06:00.000+10:00

In my Information, Society, and Policy class today my group decided we would do our seminar on information literacy in Australia and Thailand. This should be an interesting topic and I'm looking forward to reading about the national policies. Probably another thing I will add to my research interests!

After class I went home, quickly showered, and headed to acupuncture! UTS has a a school of Chinese Medicine, and students can get treatments with 4th year students for only $20! Since my back is STILL bothering me, I figured I would take advantage of the good deal (and my dad the chiropractor agreed). It was a great one hour session, complete with needles and a massage. I felt very relaxed after, and will probably make an appoint again for next week since I doubt I'll feel better right away. (That's how they get you! Go once and come back every week!)

Karolina and her flatmates in Gumal had a cocktail party, so we went over to partake in the fun. We are starting to develop a good group of friends, and it is always fun when those people bring in others to join in. It was nice and casual, and we decided that we'll have to have everyone over to our flat sometime soon (except we don't have a view of the city like them, or even a window).

Day 27: Schoolwork, Class, Pizza

2009-08-11T21:06:00.000+10:00

Another uneventful day with class in the evening. I have been working on a group project for my Digital Libraries and Collections class that is taking up a lot of time. We have to participate in collaboratories, or discussion groups, about different topics regarding digital libraries. The first group has the topic of Technological Sustainability, and two of their group members are bombarding us with content! It is good they are giving us topics to discuss, but it requires A LOT of reading, then more reading, then responding. I am one of the only people not in the group participating, which should be good for my grade, but I have other work I need to do. We are the next collaboratory to go, focusing on Authentication of Digital Content, so I have just as much background reading to do before ours goes live.

It was nice to come back from class though to a Floor Party with free pizza! I didn't socialise as much as I should have, but was tired and hungry and just wanted to cook my pizza and eat it too (which I did).

Day 26: Working bike on scary roads

2009-08-10T20:51:00.000+10:00

Mondays seem to be my homework days, but that is pretty normal. No class, but catching up on work is always an imperative (even though I spend half of the time eating and the other half online...)

Later in the evening I rode my bike to the Nunnery to get some help fixing my bike. I looked up the route to get there, but I had to modify it a bit to stay on streets with bike lanes. Regardless, I got a little lost but finally made my way as dusk it. The people were nice and helped me fix my bike, teaching me about tightening the wires for the gears and adjusting the breaks. I was happy to leave with a better functioning bike, but definitely still only worth the $50 I paid for it.

The ride home was quite scary, because again I got lost, it was dark, and I was riding on more crowded streets. I looked up for the UTS Tower, finally realised where I was, and had to head back on the main roads so I wouldn't get lost. Needless to say I'm not riding in the dark again.

Day 25: City2Surf, Bondi2Coogee

2009-08-09T20:51:00.000+10:00

I have been bugging people all week about wanting to see the end of the City2Surf race. This is 14 km run from Downtown Sydney to Bondi that takes place every year. I would compare it to Bay to Breakers, but with a little less dressing up and no drunk people around. There were 75,000 participants, making it the "world's biggest running event." Vanish, Karolina, Sabrina and I took the train and bus to Bondi and saw the thousands of people at the finish line. I thought there would be more going on in the way of entertainment, but it was cool to see crowds of people.

After hanging out on the beach for a while (and taking a few jumping pictures), we decided to embark on the Bondi to Coogee Walk. Most people do it in the other direction (and we figured out why later), but we were at Bondi and wanted to see the coast. It was a beautiful walk along the scenic coastline. The sandstone that lines the ocean is gorgeous and I love looking out and seeing the only water in the distance. By the time we reached the cemetery (and got a little lost through the graveyard) we were starving and ready to be at the end. We huffed and puffed, but barely enjoyed the view for the last few coves as we were tired and ready to have some food. Regardless, the whole walk was beautiful, but it is a better view with more to do once you get to Bondi (again, which is why we did the walk backwards). Once we finally hit Coogee, we picked up some Subway and caught the next bus back to the city. Next time we'll have to check out the town of Coogee more, as it looked like there is more to see, but not at the end of the weekend after a long and hungry walk.

Day 24: New Food Adventures

2009-08-08T20:49:00.000+10:00

Another person from Westminster University arrived, Helen from Vietnam. She wanted to go to Chinatown to get Vietnamese food, and both her and Greg haven't been to Darling Harbour yet. Another Saturday walking around the city sounded good to me.

We searched forever for a specific Vietnamese place, just to realise we passed it a while back. Finally we made it, and by then I was hungry and decided to take part in the cultural eating experience. I ordered the Special Beef Soup, and just followed Helen's lead with everything she added. I figured I might as well do it right if I was going to try something new! It was a nice and spicy soup, filled with vegetables and fatty beef. Greg got the Spicy Beef and Pork Soup, and was a little surprised by what it included. Hmm, what's this? After Helen spoke with the waitress we found out it was BLOOD JELLY! Clotted blood cooked into an interesting chunk. He was pretty much done eating after that. I figured again, it was about the experience, so I tried it! It didn't really taste like much, but I didn't continue to eat the whole piece. I did eat something that looked like cartilage that was in my soup...pretty chewy and a weird texture. By the end I had a lot of soup left, so being the "hippy" I am, I took the rest home (and the rest of Greg's) to eat later. (After taking out the meat and adding tofu it lasted another 5 meals!)

After eating we made our way once again to the beautiful Darling Harbour and enjoyed the sites. This time we also indulged in ice cream, because Greg wants to get it pretty much every time we are out (it's beginning to be a bad pattern for me). But it was delicious, and I enjoyed every last bite (the sugar crash came later).

A friend we met recently moved to St. Leonards, a suburb in North Sydney. He was having a housewarming party, so we took the train over to see him. The party was small and intimate, but the best part was probably going on the train over the Harbour Bridge. If only they turned off the lights inside the train at night! We'll have to do it again during the day to get the full scenic view.

Day 23: Tomo has a car!

2009-08-07T20:34:00.000+10:00

I really need to stop staying up so late, especially for no apparent reason. Again I didn't go to sleep until 1am, after spending a couple hours looking at postgraduate programs. I think I need to let it rest for a while, concentrate on my classes, and then reevaluate what I really want to study. And maybe study for the GRE in between... it's all a little overwhelming.

Although I didn't get out of my pajamas until 1pm, I woke up at 10:30am and successfully finished a large portion of my online CV. Check it out! www.jennalanger.com. This has been a work in progress for a while, with more work to do, but at least it's starting to be something I'm proud of.

This afternoon we took a trip to Manly Beach. It turns out my flatmate Tomo has a car! It made it easier to plan the trip - not having to worry about ferries or buses. Five people in his mini cooper was a tight squeeze, but we managed and made it to the Beach after circling around the Warf a couple times. Again, the area reminded me so much of the Bay Area! After crossing the Harbour Bridge and heading through the town, we came to an area on the bay, filled with boats and houses built into the hillside. Can you say...Tiburon!?!? As we travelled further and ended up by the Warf, I saw a resemblance to Sausalito! While I was enjoying the beauty that surrounded me, I couldn't help be be a little disappointed that the scenery was so familiar to me. I need to keep stepping outside of myself and realizing how lucky I am to have grown up in a place so gorgeous, just like Sydney. Don't get me wrong, it's not all the same, but I have yet to feel out of my element.

Manly Beach was less crowded than Bondi, with less surfers in the water, but it was still very pretty. Clouds covered most of the sky and the water was a bit cold, but we enjoyed taking pictures on the beach and climbing around the rocks on the edge. They have a pool on one end that is filled with water from the ocean and looks like it would be really nice when it is warmer. After gallivanting on the rocks for a while, we started to feel rain droplets and the wind started picking up. Not quite a sunny beach day, but the clouds made for an interesting sky.

On the way home as we were stuck in traffic, we saw the sun setting and fortunately were right by a lookout point. We stopped for a while at the perfect time - the sky was cloudy, colorful, and out came a rainbow! The best excursions are the ones that get decided last minute, and this was one of them.

Day 22: Walkin and Talkin

2009-08-06T23:34:00.000+10:00

I woke up this morning and called Nicole to catch up with her after her trip down the Colorado River (jealous, I know). I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love technology. It was nice talking to her and feeling like she was in Petaluma and I was in Marin. It feels like I never left. Expect that the Internet here SUCKS. As my dad said, "I thought you were at a technology school?" I thought so too. But it is so inconsistent, I can barely have a Skype call and usually end up calling back on my cell phone. Luckily I'm only paying $10 a month for the Skype, but it's almost not worth it because the Internet always disconnects. Urggghhh!!! New item to on the list - find consistent free internet somewhere, preferably with nice scenery around.

Instead of sitting at my computer all day as usual, I went to Victoria Park to do some reading. Much nicer than in my room - I'll have to go there more often. Karolina texted me about going on a walk later, so of course I took her up on the offer. I ended up taking them on the same walk we did on Sunday (I felt like a pro knowing my way around). It was again a very nice day, and we enjoyed the view of the Anzac Bridge right on the water.

Later that evening after class, I posted up in front of my computer researching graduate programs. I am unsure if I want to look at communication or information programs. Right now the combination of the two looks the most appealing, but I haven't found one that stands out to me yet. Back to the drawing board!

Day 21

2009-08-05T21:54:00.000+10:00

Not too many interesting things about today. We had our flat meeting with our RN Nick, which was pretty much going over rules and regulations that we already knew. After cleaning on Saturday we had a good idea of how we were going to take care of things around our flat. Next was class, and then more printing of papers and more reading. I'm hoping to find out soon that I really don't have to do the reading, but that is most likely just wishful thinking.

One more trip to the grocery store today which means... new Australian Fruit Day! I picked up a custard apple, which looks like something out of Mario Kart. It won't be ripe for day or so, but I'll write about it when we taste it.

Day 20: Twitter Friends = Real Friends!

2009-08-04T23:52:00.000+10:00

What is the power of social media? It can connect you with people on the other side of the globe. Before I came to Sydney I asked my Twitter community if they knew of any good Australians to connect with. @JennyKoreny suggested @extractors, someone she had met through a friend. I had seen him online before that featured in @Successfool's blog, and now I was putting the two together. To make a long story short, I met Jason today for a cup of coffee at the World Square.

He is an inspiring person, looking to share his success with the world by helping people overcome obstacles and reach their goals. I think we both enjoyed hearing each other's perspectives on Australia, California, and social media. I'm looking forward to meeting with him again, and it is nice to know I have someone I can ask questions and also someone to help me connect with others in the area.

I went to my first class of Organising Information, which looks like it's going to be about relational databases. I took a class on this last semester, but of course I am realising I need to refresh myself! This class will go more in depth, and I will also be learning Microsoft Access which is a good program to put on my resume.

As soon as I got back from class, just after 9pm, I needed to get ready because it was Salsa Night! I missed the class, but the instructor informed us that it was a free night of Salsa music at a posh club downtown. While this really isn't my thing, Sabrina really wanted to go, so we got all dressed up for a night on the town. Of course I put up a fuss about putting on a dress and heels, but it's part of the process and I guess part of me enjoyed it. But when we got there, I think we were the nicest dressed people there! (very unusual for me.) I tried out the few moves I knew for a song or two, and spent the rest of the time admiring the "professionals" with real school. All in all an interesting night, but I not quite something I'll do on a weekly basis. But hey, this semester is all about new experiences!

Day 19: Who needs a gym when I walk EVERYWHERE

2009-08-03T22:38:00.000+10:00

A meeting in Kings Cross this morning got be out of bed at a reasonable time. I was meeting a girl at 11am by the El Alamein Fountain who had a new helmet for $30 that I found on GumTree (similar to Craigslist). I thought about taking the train, but I figured I would get to see more if I walked the 3.5 km. I feel like I'm getting to know my way around now - I know the shortcut to downtown, I recognize the street names, and I might even be able to give some directions.

I was a few minutes late because took a little longer than expected. I had to look around at all of the "Adult Stores" around me! Kings cross is known as the Red Light District of Sydney, so this made sense. There were also many bars and restaurants around and I've heard it can be fun to go out here, but I would not want to be alone by the Kings Cross Station at night.

I met the girl, Kendall for the helmet. It turns out she is American and was from Connecticut. She had a real world job for a while, but wanted a break and moved to Sydney for a few months on holiday. She was not returning to her old job, and had previously sold her bike to another American. She assured me I will love it here, and gave me the name a few places to go on bike rides. Meeting at El Alamein Fountain was a great location because it is something that many tourists want to see. Not because of the fountain, but because they have a street sign that points in several directions displaying how far away different cities all over the world are. I was 12,054 km from LA and 16,026 km from New York. They should have a sign like that in every big city!

I decided to walk all the way home again, and boy could my feet feel it by the end. I took a different route this time going down Oxford Street, which is another place I hear is fun to go out. There were rainbow flags lining the street, and by the looks of the clubs I was pretty sure this was the Sydney equivalent to the Castro. Also on the way I went past the New South Wales Jewish War Memorial, which I will have to go back and take the tour of.

The rest of the day consisted of printing readings for my classes, working on my website, and reading. While I was happy to not buy books this semester, it is expensive to print the pages and pages of reading that I have! I like to have the copy in my hand so I can annotate and highlight, and potentially keep a copy for my future library of my classwork. I never took my reading too seriously at Sac State, but since I am taking postgrad classes I think it is important that I stay on top of them. Luckily I'm interested in the subjects, but this first round of readings is a little dry. I split up the tasks by working on my online CV, which is coming along better at this point. I finally found a WordPress theme to go with, and now I am personalizing it to fit my categories. I took the link down a while ago, and it's still not up to standards of releasing. For now, all people will get is a glimpse of this trip!

Day 18: Blackwattle Bay FTW

2009-08-02T22:36:00.000+10:00

Our late night game of Monopoly led me to a lazy Sunday. To counteract the laziness, Sabrina, Vanish, Alex and I went for a walk around town to enjoy the sun for a few hours. We ventured down Glebe Point Road because we heard there was a park that eventually led to the bay.

We continued down the road, enjoying the cute town of Glebe, and probably went much further than we were supposed to. Looking out we could tell the water was on our right, so we turned down the next street. The houses looked like old victorian houses with intricate railings, but not very well kept. They had individual style - one house had a purple door and trim painted like a dalmatian. Then all of the sudden, we reached the park and Blackwattle Bay, and the houses turned to modern beach townhouses that were probably worth $1 million each. An interesting juxtaposition if I say so myself.

The bay was beautiful, with views of the Sydney skyline and the Anzac Bridge in direct sight. People were fishing and runners exercised on the path. I will definitely have to come back here for some bike rides. We walked around the point, seeing rowers go by and a few small jellyfish in the water. I love having the bay so close - walking distance to water in several directions is definitely one of my favorite things about Sydney. We went back a different way, coming up on Wentworth Park and the Fish Markets. We'll have to go back there for a meal and to buy some fresh fish for cooking.

Sunday evening should consist of homework, but I never have enough energy to follow through with good study habits at the end of the weekend. Instead, we watched Summer Heights High, a fake-documentary comedy about an Australian High School. I've been trying to pick up some lingo to use on the streets! (not so much)

Day 17: Scavenging the City

2009-08-01T23:16:00.000+10:00

I tried for another semi-early start this morning (well, 11am, not too bad) as Emily and I walked to the Glebe Markets to check out the merchandise. There were stalls set up covering a the Glebe Schoolyard where people sold clothing, arts and crafts, jewelry and accessories, and of course some food that smelt delicious. I didn't buy anything, as it wasn't quite my style (or price range in some cases), but it was nice to see a little more culture in the area.

After getting back to our flat, we made it a cleaning day! We woke up the late sleepers, cleared out our cabinets, and cleaned and organized everything in the kitchen. We are very lucky to have so much kitchenware, but some of it was a little gross and scattered all over the place. After some intense teamwork, our kitchen was sparkling and the counters were cleared. A job well done by all. I feel very lucky to have good flatmates, because I know how bad it can turn out.

Then it was time for the scavenger hunt. Our team, Hella Heaps Proper Legit (taking words from all of our "languages") consisted of me, Emily, Greg, and Sabrina, and we were ready to win! Student Housing organized this event, where teams of four had two hours to run all over Sydney taking pictures of landmarks that were all worth different point values. Armed with Sabrina's Canon G9, we were set to go. Unfortunately I was wearing flip flops, not thinking that we would be running down the street. Oh but we did. At least until the bus stop, then we slowed down. We took the bus to Circular Quay to start and worked our way back to Gumal. We covered many areas that I had been just a few days before when we walked to Hyde Park, so I felt like a pro Sydneysider. Kinda.

It was a very tiring two hours, and by the end we had pretty much given up, and received a penalty for arriving late. I think we got 7th place, but we felt cheated because they didn't count our creative picture of a policeman on a horse - we took a picture of a picture in the Justice Museum. That was worth 50 points and would have bumped us up to at least fourth. The winning team was 3/4 Aussies, and they were in appropriate running attire. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, and we got in our exercise for the day. Everyone was worn out after, so we made it a low key night and played Monopoly - which as most people know never ends up that low key.

Day 16: A little more CA in Sydney

2009-07-31T19:17:00.000+10:00

Sabrina and I made it a point this morning to wake up to go on an organized trip to the Glebe Markets and on a "Coffee Crawl." When we arrived downstairs just after 10am, the only person there to greet us was our Resident Networker (RN), Nick. He was organizing this Coffee Crawl, and told us the posters were wrong because the Glebe Markets are only on Saturday! Instead of heading back up to our flat, we wanted to take advantage of the day and headed out with him to see some of his favorite coffee shops in Glebe and Newtown.

The suburbs in Sydney are so small, that we literally walked three blocks and were in Glebe. It is a cute eclectic town that Greg and I later decided reminds us of Santa Cruz. There are nice coffee shops, older architecture, and a bit if a "hippie" vibe. The coffee shop we went to, Saffro Second Hand Books, was a small cafe in the back of a used book store. It was very nice, complete with a secluded patio surrounded by palm trees. It was a run down building that had been renovated, so they allowed artists to come in and decorate the outside with graffiti. A very pleasant atmosphere with a nice cup of chai tea. Sabrina and I were impressed.

We went back to Bulga and got a ride with Nick to Newtown, a suburb populated with many students from University of Sydney. We went to another coffee shop that was well known in the area, a little smaller and more crowded than the last. We continued to pick Nick's brain about UTS, Sydney, and Australia, and he gave us some good pointers for things to do in the area.

Nick went off to class and left Sabrina and me to walk back from Newtown to see more of the town. There was more going on here, and this time Greg and I decided this suburb reminded us of Berkeley. Hipster shops, students all around, and cheap(er) places to eat on every corner. I'm sure we'll be back here to check out some live music at some point.

Later in the afternoon Sabrina and I went to Bi-Lo to do some grocery shopping. Luckily we are both EXTREMELY slow at picking out our food, so neither of us minded when we took 5-10 minutes just to pick the right yogurt. We heard about another grocery store, Harris Farm, in Broadway shopping center (have I mentioned that it's just around the block? Very convenient) that has cheaper and better quality vegetables. Karolina, Greg and I decided to check it out to finish our food shopping. After entering in the undercover entrance in the Car Park, I saw naturalness all around me! Harris Farm is like a mix between Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and a farmer's market. Rows of fresh fruits and veggies, organic meat and natural hummos and yogurt made by them. I know where I'm going to be doing most of my shopping from now on! They also have a selection of interesting fruit I've never seen, all grown in Australia. My new thing is to buy a new intriguing fruit each time I go there. This time I thought I bought a mangosteen, but it ended up being a passion fruit. Not quite as exotic or weird, but still delicious!

Day 15: So much to see in walking distance!

2009-07-30T23:16:00.001+10:00

My day started with going to the bank to get my ATM card - success this time! I also went to the UTS Library to copy some pages to read for my Information, Society, and Policy class (ISP). Their library works a lot like Sac State's, with a reserve book area to check out texts for two hours at a time. One thing that was different was that I needed to swipe my Student ID just to get inside! I guess that is the security they need for being located in the CBD.

On my way back I ran into Karolina (I knew she was heading in my direction, but it was still cool to "randomly" see her walking on the street). She was also going to get her ATM card, but she didn't have her passport with her, so they wouldn't give it to her. We both walked back to Gumal to meet other friends and convince them to walk around Sydney with us until our evening classes.

After picking up Vanish and Mohammed (who we call Ma-Mo - Mo from Manchester) we headed out on our walk to check out Hyde Park. On the way we found cheap sushi we were looking for - $1.50 for a large roll! (a litte smaller than a hand roll) We made our way to Hyde Park where we had ourselves a little impromptu picnic. It was a nice area in the middle of the CBD, filled with others enjoying the nice weather, and a guy throwing a boomerang directly at everyone he saw, for it only to come right back to him.

We continued our adventure through the park and made our way to the botanical gardens. It was quite nice there, but I can imagine it will be even better when more flowers are in bloom - and I hear there are bats I didn't see! As we kept walking the bay became visible, and we knew we were only a short distance from the Opera House. Soon we saw the Harbour Bridge as the sun started to fall, and sure enough there was the Opera House, right at our feet. And of course, as we were directly in front if it, my camera died. Figures. But no worries, I know I will be back there, next time with my DSLR and wide angle lens to capture some interesting and abstract angles of the architectual beauty. (the pictures I managed to get will be posted soon)

As the magic hour hit (stupid camera battery!) we made our way around Circle Quay to the buses to get back in time for class. And stopped for ice cream on the way...mmmm, dinner! Loving the free 555 bus, we hopped on and took it back to central station and made our way home.

Class this evening was Digital Libraries and Collections. I wasn't too happy about having a Thursday night class, but it seemed interesting and I was looking forward to testing out the field of information studies. When class began, the professor asked, "Who is Jenna Langer?" I knew for some reason it would be me she was asking for. But why? Not because I was an international student, but because I was the ONE undegraduate in a post graduate class. While I may have completed the requirements for my BA, I didn't think I was already taking grad school classes! The professor, Maureen, reassured me I would be fine, mentioning that the last undergrad who took the class got a high distinction. But of course it was going to require a lot of work.

After sitting through the lecture, I became excited for the class. Maureen spoke with such enthusiasm about the topic, and I am a dork and get gitty talking about organizing and visualizing information. She also spoke of her relationship with a colleague from Berkeley, so that seemed like a plus! Many people had heard this was a hard class, but I feel like I have good prior knowledge to help get through it. Other students were also taking her class called Organising Information, which seemed like a good class to take at the same time. When we were finished I asked her about the possibility for me enroling in that subject, and since I have practicially finished my bachelor, she told me it was very possible. Here I went from being worried about taking a postgrad class to being willing to enrol in a second! I figure I might as well step it up, and this will help me see if I want to study information management in the future. The workload will be rigorous, but I'm up for the challenge.

Day 14: Ah! Time for Class!

2009-07-29T18:53:00.000+10:00

Sleeping late is a wonderful thing when you stay up until 2:30am. And no, I was not out late at the pubs. I was on a conference call with other Social Media Club members for the #SMCEDU Kickoff Meeting. SMC is starting an initiative to bring social media education to universities and to connect them with local SMC chapters. They are stressing the importance of recent graduates to have skills in social media, and currently there is little curriculum and support in higher education. This was very interesting to me because I am very interested in the topic, but I consider myself mainly self-taught. I have studied the theory behind compter-mediated communiation and new media, but I often found myself ahead of the social media curve compared to my professors and other marketing professionals trying to enter the field. I would like to study some aspects of social media in postgrad, so I thought this was a logical program to get involved with. The working group is made up of several educators and professionals, which is why I thought it was important to get involved early to share the student perspective.

The conference call was very informative, and I even got to share my two cents! (Read about it here.) It is great to see so many teachers passionate about getting it involved in universities, and I can only hope it helps me find a postgrad program that will support my study goals. I am looking forward to the future of it and I'm hoping to get Sydney involved as one of the pilot cities.

After enjoying my slumber, I woke up to the vacuuming of the cleaners (yes, they clean the common areas once a week, but not that well), and slowly made my way to the shower to get ready for my class in the afternoon. When I got out of the shower and began to get ready, my computer beeped at me reminding me I had class in 15 minutes! Silly me, thinking my class was at 2pm, not 1pm. I quickly threw on some clothes, brushed my dripping wet hair, and hustled to class. Luckily I made it on time, as to not make a bad impression on the first day.

This class was titled Information, Society, and Policy. I had really been looking forward to it, but when we began it didn't seem as interesting as I would have hoped. It is more government based than I would like, as we are learning about policy making and how it affects information and communication infrastructure, access, and control. We don't have a similar class at Sac State, so it will be good to learn about the system in general. Also, I think it is what I make of it, and as long as I choose topics that I am interested in I will enjoy it.

Class finished early enough that I was able to head to the bike store in Glebe to get my tires pumped, chain lubed, and buy a lock. And of course since Sydney is sooo expensive, the lock cost me $50! I probably should have waited and bought one online, but I felt bad because they helped me with the other things on my bike. Oh well, living and learning... again I guess. Next step is buying a helmet, then eventually getting over to the Nunnery (a bike co-op here, nothing to do with nuns) to get my chain and derailer looked at. For now, I'll keep walking around the city to get my exercise and discover new places.

Day 13: Banking, Shopping, and Salsa-ing

2009-07-28T22:08:00.001+10:00

After all of the stressing over my bank accounts, I figured out it was much easier than I thought... Greg, my fellow Californian flatmate has a Bank of America account as well, and said he hasn't been getting charged anything to withdraw money from the Westpac ATMs! So I did all that stressing just to learn it was as easy as taking cash directly out of the Westpac ATM from my B of A account and depositing it directly into my Westpac bank account. Now I'm just upset I stressed out so much, but at least I have it figured out and I shouldn't have any more problems.

Now that I have that sorted out, Sabrina and I headed down to the banks on George Street to pick up our debit cards. I thought all I needed was to bring my Student ID to verify my status, but I guess I needed my passport as well, which I didn't not bring along. Oh well, nothing I needed right away.

We decided to walk back and do a little bit of shopping on the way - I am in need of a few things that I didn't even have back at home. We went inside Central Station to the cheap clothing shops, and were quite successful! I bought a sweater, jacket, and some tanktops I needed all for under $40. It isn't the highest quality clothing, but it got the job done.

All I can think about is how frustrated I am with what I actually did and didn't bring to Sydney. I brought my Uggs which I have only worn once, beanies, gloves, warm leggings, and long sleeve shirts... all of which I will probably never pull out again. Of course what I didn't bring that would have been useful are another pair of flip flops, hoodies, capris, a bike lock, beach towel... I think if I had brought what I wanted and left the other things behind, it would have been the same amount of room in my suitcase! Nothing I can do about it now, which is another reason I would like a job so I can buy some of these things when I am here. It is only going to get warmer, and I don't have enough clothes for the season - not to mention I'll come home and move to the mountains where I will need winter clothes again! I guess that's the problem with these switched seasons - but I can't complain about winter being too warm... if there is no snow to enjoy, bring out the sun!

After having a wonderful fight with Comcast (I'm not going to go into it, it makes me mad to think about it), we went downstairs to check out the first session of the weekly salsa class in the common room of Bulga. Our initial intention was just watch, but of course we jumped right in and learned the moves. While I like to go out and dance every now and then, I do so like I dance in my room - I know I look dumb, but I have fun doing it. Salsa is a little different considering you have to know the basic steps to get going. After dreading the first part of the class, it ended up being a good time. It is a dance that is easy to do if the man knows what he is doing, and now that I know the basic steps I shouldn't have to worry about stepping on anyone's toes. Sabrina is quite the dancer and is convincing all of us to go out to a club next week where they have Salsa every Tuesday. It is supposedly a bit swanky, so we'll see how that goes...

I'm staying up late tonight to be on a Social Media Education conference call that starts at 1 am (8am pacific). Luckily I don't start class until the afternoon so I can sleep late...

Day 12: First Day of Uni!

2009-07-27T18:53:00.000+10:00

It was a relatively uneventful day, besides having my first day of class. I did some laundry in the morning, posted some photos (finally, I know), and went to class.

Today was my qualitative research class where I will learn about conducting focus groups and interviews, and writing research reports on the topic. I have taken quantitative research classes which I really enjoyed (I'm quite the numbers person), so I'm looking forward to expanding my horizons with this more abstract topic.

As expected, everyone in the class was Australian (small class though - only 15 students max). Most were combined communication and law students in their final year of study. I was the only information and knowledge management concentration, so I was a bit of an odd duck out. It seems like many of them have had classes together before, again, which I expected. We reviewed the subject outline (syllabus) and went over some introductory topics of qualitative research. It seemed like other people had a some background in the topic, but it seems like I'll be able to catch on quickly.

We ended by playing some name games and getting to know each other, and got out almost 45 minutes early. We were supposed to go over our first reading, but very few of us actually completed the assignment. Last night I did sign in to UTS Online (online resources and bulletin board for classes, like our WebCT) to see the reading there, but I didn't have time to complete it. I thought I was starting off on the wrong foot, but luckily other students had just returned from holiday (vacation) and were in the same boat as me. Fine with me if we get out of class early!

Day 11: Trains, Rain, Meat, and Bicycles

2009-07-26T21:43:00.002+10:00

As expected, it was quite a gloomy day. Perfect for running errands. I won a bike on eBay for $50 and I had to pick it up in Auburn, a suburb outside of Sydney. Sabrina and our other two friends, Mo and Mo, needed to go in the similar direction to get Halal meat and sheesha (an Indian water pipe for smoking tobacco). I was happy to have company on my long journey, especially because the guys were much more familiar with the area than us.

We took a train to Lakemba, a small town consisting of one main road, to get sheesha and meat. This town was not very nice, but had culture and showed me what it was like outside the city. We were happy to be heading to these places on a gray day, because we felt like we weren't missing much back in the city.

Unfortunately there was track work on the way to Auburn, so we spent a lot of time waiting and transferring on trains. Eventually we made it, when it was almost dark, and when the rain started to drizzle on us. Because it was such a long trip and it was raining, I pretty much just wanted to take the bike and go. I knew the bike wasn't in the best condition (rusty, probably a little small, and the gears need some work), but we had taken this long trip so I was determined to return with the bike. Looking back at it I probably should have waited for a better bike, but too late now! I found a place like the recyclery we have at home where they will hopefully help me try to fix up the bike. At least I will learn something about bicycle maintence! (This is me trying to stay postitive.)

After a long first week, it's time to get ready for classes. I start tomorrow at 2pm, and I'm looking forward to it a little too much...

Day 10: Bondi!

2009-07-25T19:20:00.001+10:00

UTS Housing had planned a walk to Glebe and the Fish Markets today, but we slept in a little too late to go along with them, and wanted to enjoy the day in the sun. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse weather and they are planning on going to the beach, but we decided today would be a better opportunity to see Bondi Beach. We met a friend from Germany who is living with his girlfriend at the beach, so we met up with other friends and headed out to meet them.

We walked to Central Station (very close and convenient), picked up a train to Bondi Junction where we then got on a bus to Bondi Beach. It took about 1:30 to get all the way to the beach, but it isn't actually that far. Either way, I enjoyed the train and bus ride, taking in the new scenery. Once we finally saw the water, my heart jumped again. I love looking out at the ocean, seeing only water for miles. Once we got off the bus we headed straight for an overlook of the whole beach. Bondi was actually much smaller than I imagined, but beautiful nonetheless. It may be winter in Sydney, but it was nicer than most summer days in San Francisco. Surfers lined up on the shallow break, looking like little animals floating in the water. The beach had a good number of people on it, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather (turns out it was record-breaking temperatures today). I can't even begin to think about how crowded Bondi will get in the summer, especially considering its small size. I've heard the beach is packed with people, on the beach, in the shops, and of course in the water. I'm looking forward to experiencing it in a few months, but happy to enjoy it with less people around.

The town of Bondi Beach reminds me a lot of a California beach town. The ocean-facing street was lined with surf shops, cafes and restaurants, and of course the token smoke shop. A few of my friends rented surfboards for a couple hours to take on the waves of Bondi. I'm sure I'll get out and surf here, but today I'm just going to take in my surroundings. The water was cold enough to need a wetsuit while surfing, but I thought it was really pleasant (warm compared to Stinson Beach). The white sand was cold but soft on my feet, and I had fun using it to writing messages. Sabrina, Karolina, and I ventured to the tide pools on the side of the beach, enjoying the water warmed by the sun and taking more pictures.

When we were done with the beach we headed up the street to have coffee and a little French cafe. It was a great hippie atmosphere, just like the rest of the town. I know I would have no problem living here! Once it got dark we caught the bus to be on our way back to our flat. Definitely a great day, and now we have to get ready for the "Back 2 School" party on the roof of Gumal to finish up our O-Week events.

P.S. - After tonight, I am need a break from talking politics with people when I go out. The past 2 nights I have had looong conversations about US politics, ranging from George Bush to economics, to Obama of course. Before coming here, as I mentioned before, I was told to not talk politics. I think it works for me because I am liberal and have similar views to people from other parts of the world, but damn do these people like to talk about the US! While I don't consider myself as arrogant as other Americans, people from other countries know MUCH more about my country than I do about theirs. I'm learning that a large part of the experience of studying abroad is not just learning about other countries and cultures, but seeing how others view my culture. It has all been very interesting, but I'll be fine with not talking about the US Government for a while.

Day 9: The End of O-Week

2009-07-24T21:26:00.000+10:00

Finally made it to our last day of orientation! It has been a long and eventful week where UTS impressed me, but it has also been tiring and a bit redundant. This morning I went to a study session on writing academic papers. All I really wanted to learn was how they reference work in their essays, but that was the one part they skipped over! Oh well, at least it got me up in the morning so I could do something with my day.

For lunch we went to Broadway Cafe because they were having a special - $5 burger and fries/salad with the purchase of a drink. That's where they get you - $3 bottle of water makes the meal a bit more expensive, and the small piece of chicken was lacking. I guess you live and learn.

Instead of heading back home, we decided to check out a park that Sabrina had seen on Google Earth before she came. It was a nice park, and there was a swimming pool! We quickly realized it was the University of Sydney as we walked up towards the beautiful sandstone buildings. They have such a gorgeous campus! We only small a small section of it, so we will definitely need to do some more exploring. As we looked up at one of their buildings, a tour came through with a docent giving some history about the Uni. We decided to jump in with the tour, and ended up visiting one of their Museums! It was a great experience where we learned more about Australia - I finally felt like I was getting out and seeing more of the sights.

And of course, to end O-Week we had the Union Party - our last Happy Hour! This was at the Glasshouse, another pub inside the UTS Tower, just down the stairs from the Loft. It seems like Australians always go out early and come home early (very opposite to Europe), but I think that is just because our events have been centered around Uni. Again we saw some of our friends, and met some new ones along the way. I hope I get to keep meeting people every day like I have during O-Week, but it won't be quite as easy without these regularly scheduled events. I'm sure we won't have any problems though - there should always be something to do or see as long as we have enough energy!

Day 8

2009-07-23T23:16:00.003+10:00

I was intending to go to a workshop on reading for academic purposes at 10am, followed by a session on academic English, but no one else was going so I didn't have quite enough motivation. I figured if these sessions were anything like some of the others I had been to, I wasn't going to learn anything new. Instead I headed out to do some real grocery shopping. This time I went to Bi-Lo, which is like Coles, but a little cheaper. I was much happier with the prices and started to figure out how I am going to be eating here. I probably won't be cooking very much meat (mainly tofu stir-fry and eggs), but that isn't much different from how I cooked back at home. Oh and I almost forgot! Here is something different than in the US - you are allowed to take the trolleys (shopping carts) all the way back to your flat! This time I only had a few grocery bags, but other times we have brought it all the way up to our room. The things that amaze me here...

Later in the evening we headed over to the rooftop of Gumal for some free smoothies courtesy of UTS Housing. Now that we have met a lot of people living in housing, it was nice to look around and see people we knew. Afterwards a group of us went back to Bulga and hung out in the common area listening to music. An uneventful night, but it was fun getting to know people better.

P.S. I tried to update my Twitter status using my mobile, but it looks like it's not going to work :(
I guess I'm going to have to be better about keeping up with this blog then, or hopefully get a job so I can afford to do some mobile blogging ;)

Day 7: International Communication - Easy. International Money - Hard

2009-07-22T23:45:00.000+10:00

I didn't have any sessions to attend this morning, but I still had a lot to take care of. The money situation has been a lot to deal with, and I don't really understand why. I can talk to my friends and family like they are in the other room when I'm actually on the other side of the world, but transferring money overseas is expensive, takes time to process, and is a pain in the neck! Bank of America wants to charge me $35 for each International transfer, and Westpac will charge me another $10 AUD each time! That doesn't quite seem worth it to me. And when I thought I could use an ATM with no foreign conversion fee, I found out Redwood Credit Union is still charging me 1%. While that doesn't seem like much, it is a hassle to call all of the banks, especially when I haven't been receiving consistent information. Once I have these things taken care of I'm sure I will feel more relaxed and will be able to get out and see more of Sydney.

In the afternoon I attended a session with Karolina called "The Aussie Workplace." We were hoping for information regarding finding jobs, typical attire, and more concrete information than they provided. The work atmosphere seems very similar to the US, so I don't think I will have a problem. I think the session was aimed more at East Asian cultures because they emphasized communication difficulties like understanding humor, acting assertive, and being involved in the social aspects of the workplace. One tidbit I found interesting was that 70-80% of jobs in Australia are not advertised. They emphasized the importance of networking, which is very similar to the US. I am still not sure if I will attempt to work for an Australian company, but I know it would be very beneficial to have international work experience.

To go along with the Aussie Workplace social scene, our next event as an international students cocktail party! This was a fun event with free food and drinks, another thing we all made sure to attend. It was great to meet more international students along with Australian peer networkers, and after we continued our socializing at the Loft. These events were a lot of fun and really helped us start to make a community of friends at Uni.

Day 6

2009-07-21T18:44:00.001+10:00

Today was the second day of orientation, meaning more lectures to sit through and a little more free food (this time not as much, but we enjoy anything free). The sessions were starting to get a little redundant and aimed more at new uni students, but there was some useful information scattered throughout the speeches. One thing I did learn was that it is good to participate and speak up in class. This was very good for me, because I tend to participate frequently, almost too a fault. I was a little worried I would have to keep my mouth shut more, but I guess not!

After lunch I went along with Sabrina and Vanish down George Street to the CBD to open an Australian bank account. In order to pay our housing fees every 2 weeks, we needed to have a local bank account so they could use direct debit to cover our rent. I went to Westpac because I had heard it had connections with Bank of America. It turns out that doesn't help very much, but I continued to open an account with them because it was free for students.

Later that evening I was supposed to have a Faculty Welcome session for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. I almost didn't make it in time, but was lead in the appropriate direction and saw a familiar face attending the same session. As it turned out, neither of us were supposed to be there. Because there are so few new/international communication students, there was no Faculty Welcome even set up for us! I was a bit sad by the news, but it made me look forward to taking classes with mostly Australian students.

Today I also finally got a cell phone! I realized I didn't really need a fancy phone with a camera and Internet at this time. While it would obviously be nice, I'm not sure if spending the extra money (cell phones are very expensive here, especially since I'm not getting a contract) will make me that much happier. I am getting along well enough without one that I think my simple Nokia brick phone will get the job done (for now at least). Maybe when I have a job and more money I'll step it up - it would help me share my trip a little easier!

Day 5: Let the Orientation Begin!

2009-07-20T22:52:00.001+10:00

Today was the first day of O-Week! First time having to get up at a reasonable hour, but we haven't been going out so it was doable. We walked into the Uni to see it full of students, looking a lot like us - not from Australia, and looking a little losted. Luckily there were UTS Peer Networkers (which we called Orange shirt people, if you can figure out why) to guide us to each session we needed to attend.

The day was filled with semi-boring lectures, just like you would have at most universities, going over the essentials and getting us familiarized with the Uni's system. The highlights of the day were our random Yum Cha lunch at Marigold where we made friends with an Aussie orange shirt girl, and the Aboriginal dancing at the welcome ceremony. It helped give us a taste of Australia, and I'm looking forward to potentially attending a real Aboriginal event.

The day concluded with an Aussie "Barbie" and a Columbian band that enticed us all to dance to La Bamba. Australians do center things around drinking socially, so we also had our first of several happy hours that night at the Loft, a bar on campus. It was a fun experience because we just went up to a random table of people, and started talking and making friends. Since everyone was new and the majority international, we were all in the same boat and looking to meet new people. Again, to show how small of a world it was, I ran into the one other student from Sac State at UTS! It was nice to see a familiar face, and I'm sure I'll run into him again in the future.

When in conversation with some of the students from France and other countries, I realized that people were going to be asking me a lot of questions about the US, California, and San Francisco. Everyone was very interested in what it was like, and also how Americans viewed their culture. Before coming here, I was told to not talk about politics and to not talk too much about the US becuase I might run into conflicts. But if people were going to ask, I was going to tell. I think many people that chose Syndey were also looking at studying in the US, so obviously they were intersted in what our culture was like. So far what I could tell them was the Sydney seemed quite similar to San Francisco, but I'm sure after time goes on I will have a better answer with more contrasts.

Since the happy hour started at 6pm, we were heading back home by 10pm, which was perfect considering it was such a long day. Ready for another long day of presentations tomorrow!

Day 4: Taking in the Aroma

2009-07-19T18:11:00.001+10:00

Today we did a little more site-seeing as we headed off to The Rocks for the Aroma Festival - a festival about coffee, tea, and anything else that smells good! Again we had our trusty guide Hitesh to take us on the right bus the headed down George Street straight to the festival.

We made it down to the end of George Street (they had part of the street blocked off for the festival) and saw the crowds of people, and of course to my liking, the water! Another beautiful sunny day in Australia's winter, and there we were staring at the Sydney Opera House on the other side of the bay! It was much more impressive in person to me, and it helped me realize that I wasn't in the US anymore, this was SYDNEY.

The Aroma Festival was very nice - wonderful smells, a lot of expensive treats, live music, and beautiful scenery. I'm looking forward to checking out other events they have by the Rocks, as well as the Contemporary Art Museum located in the same area. Even if there is not special event going on in the area, there is a street fair every weekend. We saw some beautiful photography which made me excited to learn the city to know the best times to take out my SLR to get some good shots.

After making the rounds and grabbing the least expensive food (Subway for us poor Uni students), we started walking back to our flat. On the way we saw the free 555 bus that loops around George Street to Central Station, so we hopped on (and rode it a little too far, but oh well).

When we got back to our flat, we saw some couches sitting outside the building. Again, being the poor uni students we are, we took advantage of everything free, and took two small couches and a chair to decorate our flat. Now when people come to visit, we have more room for sleeping! And on our way back up, we met some new people in the lift (elevator - my international thesaurus will be coming soon). New friends from Australia and France came and hung out for a while, helping out flat become the hang out place we all envisioned it becoming.

All in all, another good day with new places and people!

Day 3

2009-07-18T19:17:00.000+10:00

After sleeping for nearly 16 hours, I felt refreshed and ready to take on the day. Sabrina and I headed over to Gumal, the other student housing building down the road, to meet 2 friends from her Uni (Vanish and Karolina) and to get some things at the "free stall." The free stall was an event where Housing was giving away items from people who used to live there for a small donation. I made out with a bunch of hangers, cotton balls, and a reusable grocery bag (all for $2 - not too shabby).

Gumal is a much nicer residence hall than ours. While the individual rooms may be a bit smaller, the flats have a lot of light coming in, and one or two balconies! And from the rooftop of the 9 story building there are BBQs, a small workout area, and views of city. This is where several events will be taking place during orientation week and throughout the semester.

We then took my second trip to Paddy's Market after picking up Hitesh on the way. When we stopped by the flat, we had a new flatmate moving in to 204A. This is when I realized how small the world reall is. Greg, from Tracy, California, attending CalPoly, knows people that went to my high school! Here I am on the other side of the world, living with people from 5 different nations, and down the hall is someone that knows the same people as me from home.

After getting over the fact that I was living with a fellow Bay Area-ite (?) we ventured out to Paddy's, but didn't buy anything this time around. We checked out Market City above, where Vanish, Karolina, and Sabrina checked out their cell phone options. I wasn't sure at this point what company I wanted to go with, especially since I was going to have to buy a phone because mine from the US doesn't have a SIM card. Vanish had a iPhone that needed to be unlocked which would take 2 hours, so we ventured off to check out Darling Harbour.

Finally I got to see the water! Being on the harbor really made me feel like I was at home, smelling the salty air and seeing the boats all around. I am always excited and comforted by water, and it was even better as the sun went down casting beautiful colors on the surrounding buildings.

Day 2: Move In Day!

2009-07-17T23:22:00.000+10:00

After going to sleep at a decent hour and waking up around 9:15am, I think I am starting to get adjusted to the time zone. I slept well in the hostel, and wasn’t even awakened by others coming into the room (got to love Benedry!) and I was ready to pick up my heavy bags and make the short trek to the UTS tower building to start the move in process.

Even though my residence, Bulga Ngurra was a short 6 minute walk from the Tower, I was quick to accept the offer of a ride to my building. Of course when I went to get into the truck, I was very confused when I thought the driver was asking me to sit in the front on the left side – did he want me to drive?!?! I soon realized that the steering wheel was on the RIGHT side of the car, but not before the group of girls coming along had a good laugh. It hasn’t seemed to weird to see cars driving on the left side of the road, but to be IN the car was a different story! Left hand turns on red are something I am going to have to get used to.

Room 204D in a six bedroom apartment. Fully furnished including kitchen accesories, so luckily I am not going to need to buy too much. I will give you a real tour later, after I get settled in. I met three of my flatmates today (they don’t call them roommates here) and they are all very nice. In 204B we have Emily, an Australian from the central coast studying nursing. She has been at Uni for a year now, but this is the first time she is living on her own. In 204E we have Sabrina from London, studying international business at Westminster University. She will be here for the semester like me. And in 204F we have Hitesh, in his final semester as an MBA student studying finance. He has been living in this flat for a semester already, and was happy to have flatmates again.

After getting semi-settled and semi-unpacked, Hitesh took Sabrina and me to the Broadway Mall to do some grocery shopping and get essentials like a comforter. Interestingly enough we went to Target to get a comforter, but it was different than in the US. Mainly it was much smaller, and the prices were higher (as I have found with most things in Sydney). Grocery shopping was an interesting task to say the least. I had to get used to things being measured in kg or grams, and their portions are much smaller (lunch meat and tofu specifically). Also, they don’t refrigerate their eggs! I’m sure it can’t be a bad thing though, they are all still alive. But eggs are around $4 for 12, almost twice what I paid at Trader Joe’s. I ended up only buying a few things, because I really need to go back and scan everything before I decide how I want to buy food. It will be easier once I have a set schedule and know when I will be cooking meals at home.

While we thought about going out tonight to see the city in all of its glory, jet lag got the best of me as I laid down for a nap at 6 pm, and didn’t wake up until 11 pm. Needless to say, I didn’t go out, and enjoyed the sleep that I was obviously lacking.

Day 1, Part 2: The exploration begins…

2009-07-16T20:30:00.002+10:00

After resting and looking over travel pamphlets in my hostel room this morning, I was ready to walk around and start exploring. My only obligations at the time were to find internet to inform my family that I had arrived safely, make sure I was set to move into housing tomorrow, and start checking out the options for mobile phone service. This allowed me plenty of time to wander and get lost in the big city of Sydney.

Sydney Central YHA is located in the center of Sydney (who would have guessed!) near the central station. I knew UTS was somewhere close to this, and luckily all I had to do was look up to see the ugly Tower Building in close proxmity. I made my way over to the university carefully crossing the streets, looking RIGHT before left in this country. I wasn’t sure what side of the sidewalk I should walk on though, becuase in the US we walk on the right as well. It turns out there isn’t really a standard for this, so I made my way trying not to run into anyone.

My first impression of Sydney reminded me a lot of a US big city. There are a variety of people that look, dress, and act differently. I was told that everyone dresses up in Sydney, but I found this to be untrue from the getgo. People dress up in San Francisco, but I never did, so I assumed I could do the same here. No need to change myself for my surroundings. I may stand out as an American, but walking down the street it seemed that every nationality was represented, so I didn’t feel out of place.

After visit my future campus, I made my way to something called Paddy’s Market, where I can tell I will be large sums of money throughout the semester. It is located below Market City, a shopping center on the edge of Chinatown, and is open Thursday – Sunday. It reminds me of the San Rafael Farmer’s Market, but in Chinatown where you can buy anything you would ever need. They have cheap electronics, toiletries, fake name-brand clothes (Zoo York, H&W instead of H&M) and fruits and vegetables. I didn’t buy anything this time around, but I will definitely be heading back when I figure out what I really need.

As I left Paddy’s Market I saw a sign to Darling Harbour, a well known tourist attraction, so I headed in that direction. The sun was going down at this point, so I didn’t make it all the way to the water, but I did enjoy a pretty sunset. The temperature made it very easy to forget it was winter (65 degrees F maybe?) but the fact that it wasn’t even 5pm yet reminded me of the time of year. I eventually made my way back to the hostel before dark, after stopping at a few cell phone shops along the way (there are so many! But all too expensive for my pocket).

After getting settled back in and taking a shower, I was ready for a BBQ Kangaroo burger. But of course, it had started to sprinkle, making a BBQ an event that no one would attend. I headed to the rooftop regardless, and came across a few backpackers enjoying the view and some beers. I knew this wasn’t the trip to be shy, so I went right up to them and introduced myself, jumping right into their conversation. They were 2 Candian guys and a Scottish one (all unrelated), enjoying their last night in Sydney. We were all there for different reasons, which made it an interesting conversation about their trips so far and what was to come. They told me some good places to visit, and others to avoid, but the general belief of everyone is that you have to experience it for yourself. While it wasn’t an eventful night, so far Sydney was what I was hoping for – meeting people from all over the world and learning and sharing from each other. I can only dream of what is to come when I have enough energy to go out on the town!

Day 1, Part 1: Made it to Sydney! Now what?

2009-07-16T12:30:00.001+10:00

I was told I was crazy for not having a plan for once I got to Sydney. I am moving into the dorms tomorrow, so was planning on staying in a hostel for tonight. Did I book a hostel? No. Did I look up where they were located? Well… not really. Did I know what I was getting myself into? Probably not, but oh well. That is part of the adventure, right? Arriving at 6:25 am in new city in a foreign country may seem crazy, but that’s the fun of it.

Davi, a Sydney local who sat next to me on the plane, was going to let me come to her house until hostels were open around Sydney. I waited for her after going through customs, and when we met she took me to the travel accommodations board.

Let me start by saying this only my third time out of the country (counting a late night trip to Tiajuana, but that’s another story), my second time overseas, and my first time traveling on my own. While it seems like a scary experience, Sydney does everything possible to make it easy for travelers. The accommodations board shows information about shuttles, hostels, and other tourist resources, and includes a free phone to contact these services. With Davi’s help, I found a YHA hostel close to UTS that was open and had rooms available, and we boarded the train to downtown.

On the train, a man overheard us talking about the Central YHA, and he informed me that after getting off at the Central stop, exit Eddy Street, go left, and you will eventually run into it. It sounded straight forward enough, but I was still a little weary and didn’t want to get lost with the loads of baggage I was lugging around (my back wasn’t feeling too hot at this point).

As I got of the train, I saw the UTS tower close by (letting me know I was at least in the right area) and I followed his directions. Before I knew it, I entered the Central YHA and was greeted by friendly Australians at the counter. They gave me clean sheets, some useful information, and I key to my 6-bed dorm room. Easy as pie.

As I walked to my room, I grabbed several magazines and booklets with information for people traveling around Australia. I haven’t even walked around the city yet, but I can tell I am going to love it here. There is ALWAYS something going on, hostels all over the country, easy to arrange trips, and a numerous resources to help you find work in Australia. Even the YHA has organized activities, bbq’s and nightly parties, a full kitchen for anyone to use, a pool and sauna, and more I’m sure that I haven’t discovered. It almost makes me want to stay at hostels all the time! So far one other girl is staying in my room, Josephine from Sweden. She is traveling the East Coast of Australia, and we are both looking forward to traveling by ourselves.

I am starting to realize that there is way too much I am going to want to do here! Luckily, that is the best problem to have. Hopefully school won’t get in the way of my fun, and visa versa. Everyone told me that Australians like to party, and now I see how true that is just flipping through the guides. At this moment, I haven’t even ventured outside, and I don’t want to leave at the end of my five months. On paper, it looks like the most amazing place in the world.

Ok, I think it is time to go out and start exploring the city. The rain has stopped, but the clouds are still out (but come on, I’m from San Francisco, this is nothing). I am going to venture to UTS to try to find my dorm before I have to search with all of my luggage. I might also try to check out Chinatown and get a power converter (might come in handy if I want to keep blogging). Tonight there is a BBQ at YHA, where hopefully I’ll meet some other travelers to go out on the town with (if I have enough energy, I’m starting to crash already). Don’t miss my next blog to hear about the kangaroo burger I get to try tonight!

14 hours of flying, and not enough sleeping

2009-07-16T11:19:00.001+10:00

Alright, made it on the plane finally! My seat as 56B, a middle seat on the right side (I probably could have gotten a window seat if I checked in earlier, but that was one of the last things on my mind when I was getting ready to leave). As I slowly made my way down the aisle, I crossed my fingers, hoping for a good seat mate. My fantasy was that I would be seated next to the man that would eventually become my gorgeous Australian husband, and he would be my personal guide all around the country. This didn’t exactly happen, but I was lucky enough to have good people on either side of me.

To my left in the window seat was Dave, a college hockey player from Alberta, Canada going to visit a friend. I could immediately tell he was outgoing and on his first trip to Sydney. As soon as I put my stuff down, we began to chat and spent a large portion of the flight learning about each other and getting ourselves excited for the adventures we were about to partake on. Neither of us had much luck sleeping, so the conversation helped pass the time.

Dave was getting picked up by his friend, at 6:25 am when our flight was due to arrive. What was my plan? Well, I didn’t really have one, and it was starting to worry me. What was I going to do that early in the morning? It was still dark outside, so I assumed not much would be open yet.

Luckily my seat mate on my right was Davi, a middle eastern women from Sydney. She slept for the majority of the flight, but she was very nice and offered to share a cab with me and was going to let me stay at her house until the afternoon when more hostels would be open. While I didn’t end up going to her home, she was very helpful and sent me in the right direction. I think I started off my trip on a good note.

Free at last, free at last

2009-07-15T11:18:00.001+10:00

My parents kept telling me that once I was on the plane to Australia, the stress would finally disappear. As I prepared for my trip up until the last minute, it was hard to believe the stress would ever go away. Packing up a room in Sacramento, a room in Corte Madera, and consolidating five months of belongings into two bags was a challenge, to say the least. The process seemed to take months, and I didn’t feel like I got anything done until my final boxes were out of Sacramento and my bags were packed for Australia. My friends and family were more than willing to help, but it was something I needed to complete on my own. It was a process of keep, take, or toss, which took ages. Sorting through memories, getting rid of clothes, and selling all of my furniture took just about everything out of me. I injured my back a month ago, which made the process much more painful and stressful.

I was packing boxes until the minute I left for the airport, and luckily my family finished the job for me after I left. Home free once I left for the airport! Wait, I forgot my jacket, and considering I only have one and it’s winter in Sydney, I was going to need that. At that moment I was just hoping I didn’t forget anything more crucial (i.e. passport, visa, or something else I still haven’t realized I forgot). Needless the say, the stress was still there.

Every time I come home to the Bay Area, it is one of the most amazing feelings, because I remember that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. So of course, leaving the bay for five months is a sad sight (yes, I know, Sydney is also gorgeous, but it’s not home). Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge witnessing one last sunset in the distance was a fitting way to leave the US.

Once I got to the airport, the stress relief began. Alright, I’m boarding the plane, almost there, I thought. Wait! I left my laptop in the chairs! Luckily it was still there, but my life did flash before my eyes (my laptop is one of my babies, along with my car and my cat that are now in my sister’s hands). Ok, finally, I think I’m ready. Laptop, check. Passport, check. Painkillers for my back, check. Let’s do this.

One chapter ends as another begins

2009-07-14T11:17:00.002+10:00

Imagine a modest family room with a beige sectional couch. scattered with black labrador retriever hair, an old turn-dial television set, a VCR with a wired remote, a computer desk, and 80’s style picture frames filled with family photos (also obviously from the 80’s) covering the walls. This is how I remember my family room at its finest. I spent the majority of my youth in that room, and I loved every minute of it. From my dog running through the glass sliding door to recording home videos with my sister and cousin.

While the room has not looked that way in years, it is how I will always remember it. Only a few days ago, as I returned home after moving all of my belongings out of my house in Sacramento where I attended school, the room looked completely different. A modern couch, freshly painted walls, new carpet and large hawaiian paintings was the new vision of this room. The house where I lived my entire life (all 21 years of it) was going on the market. It was almost unrecognizable and impersonal, staged to allow any family to imagine calling it home. Don’t get me wrong, the house has never looked so good. But it wasn’t MY house anymore. As I unloaded my car of my final belongings and attempted to pack for my trip to Australia, I had no room to call me own or place to organize my luggage. I was told not too move ANYTHING, it was staged professionally and needed to remain in its pristine state for the open house that was only a few days away.

At this point the feeling of homelessness began to feel real – my room in Sacramento was now occupied by one of my good friends, my old room at home was set up for a child, my things were packed away in storage, and I was about to pack my life into two bags for my five month trip to Australia. I don’t have a plan for when I return, and I won’t have a room waiting form me on my arrival. Will I move to the mountains and become a snow bum? Will I stay in Australia with no return date in sight? I do not plan on moving back to Sacramento or to Corte Madera, so my future as of now is up in the air. This is a scary moment in my life, but also one of the greatest opportunities.

Many of my friends recently graduated from college and are trying to figure out what to do with their lives. Instead of following the pack, I pushed my graduation date back to take the opportunity to study abroad. While I may not be entering the real world yet, I am definitely starting a new chapter in my life that will have a largely influence my future.