Walking on a Dream

June 26th

LtoR: Adelia from Emory University, me, Dora from Wellesley College, Andrew from John Hopkins University

My last real day in Australia. Packing and cleaning and saying goodbye to all my Australian and American friends. I can't believe how quickly things went by! It was a great experience.

LtoR: Veronica and Kalia, both from Smith College

I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, saw the Opera House dozens of times, bungy jumped, witnessed historical events such as Jessica Watson's arrival after sailing around the world and Julia Gillard the first female prime minister of Australia, I've been into the Australian rain forest, I've learned how it is to live in a foreign country, I've used slang such as keen and dodgy, I took my first class with hundreds of students in it, I've seen how a different grading system works, explored the oldest discovered open caves in the entire world, taken a pilgrimage to one of the largest Buddhist temples in the world, explored countless museums and zoos, witnessed kangaroo in the wild as well as eaten them (not at the same time), stared at the southern night sky, visited beautiful Canberra the capital of Australia, journeyed across the harbour bridge, all with the company of good friends.

LtoR: Andrew , Amanda from Penn State (top), Krissy from George Washington University

Tomorrow I fly to LA and visit family for a few days and then I make the final journey through the night sky to Boston.....

LtoR: Angelica, Alex from Canberra Australia, Madoc from north of Sydney

Most of the rest of the gang with Laura smack in the middle

I will miss you all but will always have the ever present comfort knowing that

I AM A PART OF ALL THAT I HAVE MET

Jono

Sydney Observatory

June 24th

Observatory dome from outside

Went to the Sydney Observatory today with Sandra and Adelia. The Observatory is on a big hill in the Rocks area, a short walk from the Opera House. It's something a lot of tourists don't get around to seeing, but I'd recommend it, as the stars on this side of the world are different than those of America. For example, on the Australian flag there is the Southern Cross because it's specific to the southern hemisphere.

The dome closed

The Observatory was a refined historical building. We got to go inside and use a high powered telescope to view the moon up close and see all its craters. We also viewed Mars and Saturn. The dome above the telescopes was astounding as it turned around over our heads to line up with objects. The newer telescope was equally impressive as it could line up with objects in the sky at the push of a button.

Telescope

To end our visit we had a 3d planetarium tour that show how small we are in the grand scheme of things.

Time to start packing.


Jono

The Finale

June 21st

Main walkway on Sydney University campus

Finished my finals today! It felt so weird being in school still when the rest of Bryant has been done for over a month. The finals weren't too bad for the most part, but we'll see how the final grades come in. Australian Universities scale grades based on how students in the course do overall, so it may take a while for the final grade to come in. Anyways, I have 6 more days in this magnificent country! I can't believe how fast time went by, and how soon I will be leaving all my new found friends. We will all soon depart this country or remain in Australia in the case of the Australians. Soon I'll say goodbye to everyone, but we'll probably meet again someday, and I am proud to have crossed lives with all these people from around the world. It's been quite an eye-opening experience, and all sorts of emotions will bubble up when I see it end, but before we say goodbye we still thankfully have six glorious days to enjoy!

Cheers!


Jono

The South Coast

June 19th

Me playing the didgeridoo and wearing my self made bracelet

Off to the South Coast for the day! First stop the 81 metre Fitzroy Falls.

Fitzroy Falls

The falls are set in a valley with what seems like mountains everywhere. In actuality, these formations are cut sandstone that have eroded away making some amazing visceral cliffs.

Cliffs near Fitzroy Falls

At the falls, our tour guide took the time to tell us about the aboriginal people. They were once made up of over 300 unique cultures but because of white settlement are down to about 20 different ones. Capital punishment is quite common in many tribes. If someone does something to wrong you then you are allowed to injure them in a way fitting of punishment. The only catch is that you have to take care of said individual until they heal.

The town of Berry

From Fitzroy Falls we drove to Berry in Kangaroo Valley. The area is known as Little Britain because English settlers went to live there since it reminded them of England. Berry itself is just a small town with a few restaurants, great for lunch but not too exciting. Ten minutes away was Seven Mile Beach.

Seven Mile Beach

Seven Mile Beach is a nice secluded beach that is part of Jervis Bay Territory. Here we met Deidre, a park ranger, and aboriginal tour guide from the Dharug People. She showed us similar things as Barry, our tour guide in Jervis Bay. One plant she showed us has more vitamin C than eight oranges in each leaf alone! She bites into a leaf daily and supposedly has never had a cold. Barry is actually her mentor! Barry has been surviving with diabetes for several years without the use of insulin and has found another way to regulate his sugar levels naturally.

Kookaburras

We made bracelets out of plants that hardened into a strong material. We also played with boomerangs and the didgeridoo.

Kiama Blowhole

After Seven Mile Beach, we went to the famous Kiama Blowhole. It is famous for shooting water over a hundred feet in the air. Unfortunately, because the ocean was calm it wasn't active today and didn't do much.

View from near the Kiama Blowhole

Our final stop was the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple in Wollongong. It is one of the largest buddhist temples in the southern hemisphere and is said to have the most Buddhas in the world. I felt like I was no longer in Australia. The temple was so tranquil, and the architecture so different than any Australian architecture. The temple is nestled in a hill and overlooks other hills from the top of the temple. What a unique landscape!

Nan Tien Temple

Now back from tranquil paradise to the hustle and bustle of the city for my final week in Australia!

Keep it level!

Jono

Sydney Olympic Park

June 16th

Now called ANZ Stadium, the Olympic Stadium is the largest one ever used

Zach, Laura, Sandra, and I trained our way to the Sydney Olympic Park for our last day with Laura before she flies back to the USA. It was quite a ways away from the inner city and took a few trains and an hour and a half.

Sandra and I on the poles that list every 2000 Olympic athlete

The Olympic Park is considered its own suburb within the suburb of Homebush. The main stadium, the ANZ Stadium was (and still is) the largest stadium ever used in the Olympic games. It's massive!

Running man near the athletic centre
We walked around the grounds of the park for awhile. There's a lot to do at the park. There was a skate park, archery, mini golfing, tennis, and various other grounds where one could take up sports. The dome within the park is said to be the 2nd highest grossing venue of its type in the whole world, second only to Madison Square Garden!

Zach gets ready for some serious mini golfing

We ended up mini golfing. We didn't really keep an accurate score, and just kind of fooled about. It was a good time.

Bye Laura! See you in Miami.


Cheers!

Jono

Adelaide: Glenelg Beachside Suburb

June 9th

Glenelg

Took the tram to Glenelg, a beachside suburb near Adelaide. Glenelg was absolutely covered in gorgeous palm trees. There were also a ton of high rises but they were more than just gross cinder blocks. The pier jetting out from the pedestrian only waterfront looked newly built and must see a lot of use when it is not Australian winter. The pedestrian area itself had many food venues. Among them was Greek food, which I have not tasted in several months. The gyro I had at one restaurant was heavenly to eat, but I'm not sure if it was just because of the lack of a regular intake of Greek food these past few months.

Glenelg from the pier

Back in the center of Adelaide, we went to the free museum, which was not bad at all for free. It had a large squid on display that was colossal. It also had the usual aboriginal displays found in most Australian museums.

This squid is big as

People in Adelaide, and Erin's college are very different then those in the big city. They are much more country, and tend to use slang even more often than in Sydney. I heard the phrase '(word) as' like that is 'sweet as' way more than in Sydney. Erin bought Reese's Puff cereal from the international store and most people in her college had never had it before. There's so much food and other products Australia doesn't have, just as there is so much we don't have. I'm going to miss Solo soda and Tim Tam biscuits in the USA.

The reason Adelaide is known as the city of churches (and pubs) and parks

Tonight, I fly back to Sydney and my apartment for the rest of STUVAC (Study Vacation). My first final starts the day after the Queen's Birthday holiday on Monday.

Keep it level!


Jono

(r)Adelaide

June 7th-8th

Adelaide Arcade shopping centre with Australian emblem above

Today I arrived in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, one of the six Australian states. I'm staying at a college (similar to a sorority/fraternity) with my friend Erin.

Adelaide is known as the city of parks and churches

Adelaide is teensy tiny compared to Sydney, 1.2 million spread out over heaps of space. It's like going from Boston, MA to Burlington, VT. It's a cute city. Tomorrow we are going to the zoo.

Funni the panda at Adelaide Zoo

Today we ate lunch then went to the Adelaide zoo to see the pandas. The zoo was one of the best ones I've ever been to. It featured some interesting animals.

Meerkats from southern Africa

The Meerkat is still a favourite of mine, with its constant digging and running around. I've been to heaps of zoos at this point in Australia, but each one has been unique and interesting, as I haven't seen half the animals in these zoos before coming to Australia. There are so many marsupials with cute little babies in their pouches.

Scared

Monkey at the zoo

From the zoo we walked to the city center. Adelaide is not the shopping mecca that Sydney is, but it is very quaint with nice pedestrian only shopping areas. It's gorgeous with trees and parks everywhere and buildings nice and spread out.

Pedestrian only shopping area

We walked to Rundle Street, the main shopping area and Erin showed me an international candy store. This store had root beer, which is rarer than a dodo bird in Australia. It's been 5 months since I last tasted root beer. It was like rediscovering it for the first time.

I need to look up who this Flinders guy is because he is important enough
to have a statue and to have a university named after him

On the way back to Erin's college, we quickly perused through the Art Gallery of South Australia. Were going to get dinner later (Italian with a free bottle of wine), and at 8 PM Erin's college is throwing her a going away party!

Genetically modified ape lady holding a human baby at the Art Gallery of South Australia

Cheers!


Jono

Finished Classes!

June 3rd

The Quad where I had one of my tutorials every week at the University of Sydney

I've finally finished classes! I just have finals left, and then I am done. It has been a hard time balancing my studies with being in a new culture, as well as exploring a new continent. There is so much to see and do, but I also wanted to do well in classes, so I have focused a bit on them. Having 300 people in a class was something new to me. I've always had small classes with only about 30 in them or so. I know now that I can do well in both small and large universities.

I'm going to Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia, during the Study Vacation we get, and then I have my first final June 15th, the day after the holiday of the Queen's Birthday.

Cheers!


Jono

From Spit to Manly

May 28th

From high up in the hills

Epic 3 hour walk from Spit to Manly today. We started at Spit Bridge, a 40 minute bus ride from where I live in Newtown.

View from Spit Bridge

The three hour walk took us all along the harbour, from expensive houses overlooking the harbour, to cliffs. It was a hilly walk. After 3 hours of walking I was more than done with walking. Arriving at the wharf an accomplished lot, we took the scenic ferry back to the center of the city.

Keep it level!


Jono

Canberra: Australia's 'Bush' Capital

May 22nd

Me inside the Australian War Memorial

Woke up extremely early for the 3 hour drive to Canberra (pronounced in Australian like Can- bra), the capital of Australia. Many people, including a friend from Canberra, have discouraged me from going to the city. Canberra only has a small spread out population of about 340,000 compared to Sydney's 4.5 million. It's known as the bush capital because it is surrounded by bushland, and wildlife can wander into the city from time to time.

View of Canberra from Mount Ainslie

Canberra started as a city in the early 1900s as a result of a long held dispute between Sydney and Melbourne, both of whom wanted to be the capital. As a compromise, Canberra was planned in the center between the two much larger cities, with Sydney to the north and Melbourne to the south. It's no big city like Sydney or Melbourne, but it is definitely a must see in Australia, especially since it's the governmental center of Australia.

Parliament House, the center of Australian government

The arduous journey brought us to Mount Ainslie, where I had my first true glance of Canberra's Central Business District. The monuments were wonderfully sprawling out before me. The Australian War memorial was closest, and just behind it was the Old Parliament building and the New Parliament building. To the right I could see the mint, where Australian Dollars are printed, and the Captain Cook Memorial Jet, which spewed water meters into the air.

Captain Cook Memorial Jet

Following the descent from the mountain, we drove by all the foreign embassies. Each had buildings that resembled their country's culture. China's was stereotypically Chinese , and the American one looked sort of like a brick prison, which I guess somehow represents America.

The flag mast on top of the Parliament House

Past the embassies was the Parliament House, built right into a hill. The building was an elaborate modern show of the wealthy nation of Australia. It took almost six times the concrete as the Sydney Opera House to build and cost $1.1 billion Australian dollars!

The hall and the 2nd largest tapestry in the entire world

Inside Parliament we were greeted by a large granite foyer, followed by a great hall. This hall held the 2nd largest tapestry in the entire world, based on a painting by Arthur Boyd. The Senate and House of Representatives were further along from the great hall. The House of Representatives is covered in green just as the lower house in England, but with a lighter Eucalyptus coloured green to represent Australia.

House of Representatives

The Senate room was red like the upper house in England and featured a seat for the queen to sit in or for her Australian representative.

The seat in the back is where the Queen or her representative sits on special occasions

Government in Australia operates much like the British system. The citizens vote for parties and then the winning majority party picks the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister serves as long as his party wants him or until his party loses the majority. In Australia, voting is compulsory; any citizen who does not vote, even if abroad, faces a hefty fine.

The Australian Seal featuring the Kangaroo and Emu,
both of which are only in Australia and do not go backwards,
The 7 pointed star represents the 6 states and the Northern Territory

We went from Parliament to the National Museum of Australia. It had an entire history of the continent of Australia, starting with the oldest civilisation in the world, the aboriginals. It ended near the present day and included a really cool film that brought you through thousands of years of Australian history in ten minutes while enclosed within a moving room.

Preserved body of the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger

The Museum itself was whimsically designed and featured a tongue like object that pointed towards Parliament and then towards Uluru, representing the unity of Australian and aboriginal society.

The tongue

On the drive from the Museum to our final destination, the Australian War Memorial, we stopped to take a photo of the Captain Cook Memorial Jet, which shoots water 147 meters in the air (482 feet).

The sun sets on the Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial is regarded as one of the most significant memorials dedicated to soldiers in the entire world. The architecture is beyond breathtaking, influenced by Byzantine architecture, and Art Deco. It serves mainly to honour fallen soldiers. The battle of Gallipoli marks the first major ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) participated battle. For this reason, ANZAC day is celebrated every April 25th and is a majory memorial holiday in Oz.

Australians are obsessed with large things;
I wouldn't be surprised if this was the largest sheep in the world

Now back to the city!

Jono