Australian Surprises

Now that I've spent a little over a month in the land down under (side note--that's crazy.), I consider myself an expert on the country and its differences from America.

Only kidding, but here's a random list of observations I've made thus far about Australia that have surprised me:

Food:

1. Nutella is cheaper, comes in huge containers, and is eaten by everyone.
2. A "burger" could mean a beef burger, a chicken sandwich, a veggie patty, or a fish sandwich.
3. "Barbecue" is a sausage or veggie patty served on a slice of bread with onions and tomato sauce (ketchup). 
   
4. Fries are chips; chips are crisps.
5. McDonalds is Maccas, Burger King is Hungry Jacks, and the two of them plus KFC and Subway are everywhere.
   
6. Froot Loops don't have blue loops, and Rice Crispies are called Rice Bubbles.
7. Pizza and chips/fries are served together, and Aussies and Brits are shocked to know that this is not an American thing.
8. Starbucks is only in larger cities like Sydney.
   

Weather and Nature:

1. "Winter" means high temperatures in the mid to high 60s. People wear winter coats even when it's 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. The sun is brighter, the ocean is clearer, and the grass is (literally) greener (on the other side). 
   
3. Sunscreen comes in bulk containers. I bought a liter of it.
4. Trees are huge. And I mean HUGE.
   
   

Shopping/Money:

1. Cosmetics are wildly expensive. A cheap tube of mascara is at least 20 AUD, or roughly $15.
2. There are student discounts for EVERYTHING.
3. Malls have grocery and big box stores along with the typical "mall" stores. You can take a cart full of groceries into a clothing store and no one will bat an eye.
4. The paper money notes are different sizes and colors. Tiny coins may be worth a dollar or two dollars. 
   
5. There is no coin for one cent, so receipts include rounding differences.
6. Sales tax is built into prices, so the price on the sticker is what you pay at the register.

Animals:

1. The number of bird species is incredible. Birds are way more colorful and expressive here than in the States, and on top of that, they are incredibly LOUD. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Kangaroos are like deer in terms of population and movement patterns. They are like T-Rex deer in terms of build...think about it.

People:

1. Everything is done on "Aussie time," meaning everyone and everything is always 15-30 minutes late.
2. "How you going?" is their way of saying "How are you" and "how's it going" at the same time.
3. Everyone is friendly and helpful all the time.

Life:

1. With roads, "Left is right and right is wrong." That seems simple enough, but it's so confusing having to relearn how you cross a street! (I try to take bridges over the street instead!)
   
2. Clothes lines and "airers" are used in place of dryers. 
3. The music played on the radio, in stores, and at clubs is 90s-00s throwback.
4. Everything seems to be more vibrant.
5. Life is good in Oz. Life is very good. 

P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney

So, the title is a misnomer...apparently, Wallaby Way is not a real street in Sydney. How disappointing is that? (For those of you who do not know, that is a Finding Nemo reference, once again.)

Despite this one let down, the weekend in Sydney was incredible. We originally went for a boat tour of the Sydney Harbour with the Exchange Student Network, but Elise and I ended up staying the night in a hostel so we could explore the next morning.

Our boat was late (sorry, on Aussie time), but it was also ENORMOUS. It can fit up to 900 people on it, and when combined with the University of New South Wales, our group had just below 600.

Honestly, this was one of the coolest things I've done since I got here. We sailed Darling Harbour, went underneath the Harbour Bridge, passed the Sydney Opera House, and danced the night away. It really was one of those surreal experiences when I was very aware that I was actually in Australia!

Below are just a few pictures that I managed to capture while aboard the boat. It was so crowded, so most of the other ones I took were not the highest quality.

 After we got off the boat, we walked along the Harbour briefly before starting toward our hostel. Just as we were about to leave, though, I reached for my phone out of my purse to find it gone. 

The short version of this story is that I left it in the bathroom. Aussies, in my experience, are very honest people, though, thank goodness. Elise ended up calling my phone and a nice woman answered and told her that she'd grabbed my phone and was waiting for a call to figure out whose it was.

I recollected my phone (and my sanity) and we started our walk to the hostel.

The next morning, we woke up, checked out of the hostel, and came across a charity run taking place outside. After maneuvering our way around the many tutu-donned runners, we hit gold.

The holy grail. The land of happiness. 

Starbucks. The first Starbucks I've seen since leaving LAX (and that one was temporarily closed). You could say I was a little happy. 

Maybe it is a bit of an exaggeration, but this was the best frappuccino I've ever had. I think it was just because I've missed it so much. 

The next stop of the morning was the Sydney Tower Eye, an attraction in the center of town with a 360 degree view of the city. And wow, were those views breathtaking. 

And it wouldn't be a true trip to Sydney with an up-close and personal view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the daytime. That's right, I made it.

And I claimed them as my own.

Then, on our way out of the city, I came across two statues that made Sydney really feel like home. 

That's right, all the way from Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, I give you Tusk IV...

And Phi Mu's Sir Fidel!

We may not have found Nemo or Dory, but we made up for it and then some with a great, busy weekend!

What Shell I Do Today?

                             

Since I don't have class on Thursdays...or Fridays, I took it upon myself to have yet another beach day. I guess that's one of the benefits of living in Australia.

So, this will be a bit of a collage of random pictures from the day. Mostly, I spent my time lying in the sand and playing in the water. And eating pizza.

And collecting shells.

 

Never in my life have I found such beautiful shells on a beach. And maybe it was a bit...shellfish of me, but I definitely collected them. Thirty-five of them, each one of them more beautiful than the last.

 

After my fifth coating of sunscreen, though, I decided that I should probably get out of the sun. I'm quite pale and sun-sensitive, in case you've never met me...or seen pictures of me...or read my complaints about my potential to burn.

If you've ever seen beach pictures labeled "hot dogs or legs?" you'll know that this conundrum never involved me. :-)

Anyway, to avoid 3rd degree burns, I decided to look at some more street art and cool architecture. Both are wildly popular in Newcastle, after all.

 This left me with very little remaining time in the day, so I decided to walk along the harbour before catching the bus home. As I was eating a quick snack, though, I realized I was being watched.

 At first, I thought that it was just the lonely pelican who was minding his own business, but if anyone knows the plot of Finding Nemo, you'll know that where there are pelicans...

 

There are these guys. And these guys like to steal crumbs of my snacks.

 

  

A lot. And they are not afraid of anything. Especially me.

 

 I think by now it is common knowledge that the seagulls are trying to kill me. At first, I thought it would be a sudden, dive bomb attack like the ones I experienced my first week in Newcastle. However, with this further development, I have concluded that the current battle plan is to starve me out, stealing my food bit by bit. Sinister little creatures.

In the Splash Zone!

I may have said this before, but Sundays are particularly great here in Newcastle. New South Wales public transport has a daily cap of $2.50 bus fares on Sundays. (Typically, the cap is somewhere around $7 or $8, and individual trips can run as much as $2.25.) This means that Sundays are for exploring my city and surrounding areas.

Today, I returned to my favorite spot here, Nobby's Beach with my friends (other U of A students) Elise and Jean. This time, though, we explored the lighthouse and breakwall that I have previously photographed from afar, and I swear, this was the most beautiful day I've seen in a long, long time. 

To the right is the view of the lighthouse and city from the path and breakwall.

The views never cease to amaze me.

Once we got to the end of the breakwall, things got a bit...eventful.

Here we have a before, during, and after series. 

Before: photographing a darling little crab.

 

During: An enormous wave hits.

After: I was soaked. Really and truly SOAKED.

After recovering from the shock of getting smacked by the ocean, which I found absolutely hilarious, by the way, we decided to journey back toward the city. As we walked, though, we saw a group of people with binoculars looking just off the path at a very sleepy seal basking in the sun. 

I think many of us would like to be this seal some days...

Once we made it back to downtown, we stopped for a quick bite to eat at Maccas (McDonalds, Mickey D's, Macks, it seems everywhere has one and has their own cute nickname for it.), we headed to the Newcastle Art Gallery. Outside, there is this HUGE egg sculpture. It's actually pretty iconic for the city, but wow, it looks bizarre at first glance. 

I didn't take any pictures of the actual art here, but I do want to say a couple things about it. The aboriginal art that was displayed was awesome. For obvious reasons, it reminds me of Native American art in many ways. However, I realized how spoiled we are in Arkansas to have Crystal Bridges. Every art gallery seems minuscule in comparison. Nonetheless, it was awesome to be able go! 

As we continued to wander, we came across this tree. Have I mentioned that this was an incredibly random day? Anyway, this is one of the largest trees I have ever seen, and it was climbable. Yes, even Miss Uncoordinated here was able to climb into it.  

Just look at this thing!! I'm sitting between two branches the size of large tree trunks, and even with the branch that is just to the left of the picture, this isn't even half of the full trunk.

And we were probably 6 feet up. (Elise and Jean were across from me, also in the same enormous tree.)

Okay, was that too much freaking out over a tree? I'll stop now.

BUT IT WAS SO COOL.


The end of the day meant hopes of a great sunset. This time, though, a storm was beginning to roll in just before, so that didn't happen. Instead, though, I got the last few rays of sun before the storm as the boats passed by.

 Here's to many more Sunday adventures with laughter, exploration, and great friends.