Happy Tears

This week has been the most challenging so far. If you remember my first blog post and the letter my mom snuck into my luggage, well I opened it this week. 

If I was at home right now, I would probably be procrastinating statistics homework, snuggling my pupper, Belle Francis, trying to sell Sigma Sketti tickets, or hanging with my friends on the strip and the fort. I would be making fun of Megan’s goose laugh, watching Grease with Madison, or laughing over the weird stuff that happened the night before with my littles. There would be preparing for All Sing with my big and planning spring break and watching Pippin and Loki, my kittens, grow up. I would be on ped walkway trying to get people to talk about The Heights and schmoozing them with hot chocolate and getting rejected over and over. I would also be freezing, cause winter. But I am in Australia. Away from the hustle and bustle of life at The University of Tennessee and in the different kind of hustle and bustle of Sydney. Since I have been here, I have done so many incredible things. What is so great on top of all of these incredible experiences is the group of people that experienced them with me.

I didn’t know a single person before coming here. I had missed meetings and was too shy to introduce myself at the early ones. I also thought my roommate was Australian because Allie wasn’t in the groupme and I had no idea who she was. (Shout out to Allie for being the best roomie).  So I definitely got on the plane and left my family and friends not knowing who I was going to be hanging out with or even living with for the next three and half months.

Now I couldn’t imagine being here with any other group of people. From climbing the bridge with Addie and discovering that we live in a snow globe, singing old Shania Twain and Dixie Chicks with Allie late at night, pancake dates and shimmying with Abigail, eating dollar hotdogs with crazy cousin Cal and Zack, or even just going to Maccas after a long day with the ladies of 6.08. I have cried more from laughter than from homesickness and I couldn’t be more grateful. I wouldn't take back any MAFS watchings, old school T Swift and ABBA singalongs or hysterically crying over a whistling microwave. Even though y’all tease me for my fear of spiders, you know who you are, or laugh at me when the hall light automatically goes off and I fall off the couch, y’all have been the most welcoming, encouraging and comforting group of people I have met and am so lucky to have been placed on this trip with y’all. 

 Aside from the amazing group on this adventure and my moms letter,  there was Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller has made my day better every time I have seen her these past four weeks. Her smiling face is always so friendly and she seems to know exactly the right things to say to make me feel better. Her constant checking in to make sure we are all managing the changes well and are well hydrated is always appreciated and makes me feel safe. Also we share the same passion for iced coffee which is a blessing. Thank you so much Dr. Miller for everything you do for us everyday and making this transition incredibly easier. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE.

As we are all about to depart on our separate ways for spring break adventures, I just want to say thank you for the past month. Even though we all have maybe been around each other too much at times, I am so thankful for y'all and can't wait to hear about your adventures. Whitsundays here we come!

*Happy Tears is a term used frequently in my family referring to our road trips to Disney World when I was little. When I could finally see the Mouse ears in the distance I would usually cry and now it has been a running phrase for when we are so happy we can't help but cry. Thanks Grandma!

My Beloved Tim Tam

The first portion of this study abroad program is coming to an end. As I am reflecting on the time spent here so far, I realize that I have eaten too many Tim Tams. They are so delicious and it’s a problem. Thankfully, it is also the beginning of the lent season. I came here for multiple reasons- to get good international work experience, to become more culturally adept, and to learn about myself. The internship portion is about to begin, so I will be gaining new skills and new experiences. I am constantly immersed in the Australian culture, so broadening my horizons hasn’t stopped since I have been here and it wont end any time soon. Every day I am faced with something new to challenge myself and learn how to deal with it, so I am constantly learning about myself. And also just about every, I am faced with a new sleeve of Tim Tams. I did learn a new skill from it, the Tim Tam Slam. I would consider myself a bit of an expert on it. So I have learned about myself, but learning that I can slam a sleeve of Tim Tams every night is not something I am particularly excited about. So, its time to face myself with yet another new challenge. This lent season, I will be giving up Tim Tams. I expect to learn a lot about myself in this time of stress and withdrawal. Goodbye, Tim Tams.

Aimed Stumbling

          I just saw Fifty Shades Freed, and boy are my arms tired! Don't worry, this post won't be about that movie-

          Does anyone in Hollywood actually know how publishing companies work?

         -but that's just a precursor to the larger adventure I had on Valentine's Day. With what I understand to be the current go-to theater on Broadway sold out, Sarah and I had to quickly make our way 30 minutes across Sydney to catch the latest showing of the movie-

          There's a scene in the movie where the two main characters argue about the concept of an email address.

          -in a completely unfamiliar part of town. Again, at night. Less than ideal, right? Before we even got on the bus, both of our respective GPS's (GPSs? GPSesses? GPI?) were sending on two different routes, and, once we finally settled on a bus to take, it mysteriously disappeared from the map. So we had to reroute... and reroute... and reroute again. At one point, I had secretly given up on ever catching a showing-

          A character gets sent to the hospital after being kicked kind of hard one time.

          -and had resigned myself to have to come up with a back up plan on the fly- BUT OH WAIT THERE'S THE ORIGINAL BUS THAT DISAPPEARED FROM THE MAP! Shrugging at what could either be taken as a technological glitch or a sign from above, we got on and were whisked away to.... somewhere?

         Just gotta jump in real quick here and throw out that, for some ungodly reason, the producers of Fifty Shades Freed decided there should be an after credits scene. Eat your heart out, Marvel. 

          Once we got off our nightmare bus, we found ourselves in a part of town where street lights seemingly hadn't been invented yet. It was dark, it was weirdly forested, and I've seen too many horror movies. 

          Speaking of horror movies, have you seen Fifty Shades Freed?

          As we followed the GPS (choosing to trust it one last time), I couldn't help but wonder, "What's it like to be stabbed?"

          I figured this out about two hours later when the credits rolled.

          Soon, though, my GPS came through, and we found ourselves in an entertainment wonderland aptly named "Entertainment Quarter." There was a bowling alley, cool restaurants, and apparently the backlot for Fox Studios Australia(?)! It was such a delightful detour, and the theater (my first in the country) was incredibly nice. I'm a sucker for all that Hollywood-esque stuff, and (kind of) randomly stumbling upon it was such a welcome surprise.



          Anyway, Fifty Shades Freed was bad, and I'd see it again in a heartbeat.

Fort Dog

Spending the last week together...more family memories to come

Wow, I can’t believe today is the last day of classes at Usyd. It seems like we just started yesterday, and we’ve already been in Australia for a month. That whole saying about time flying by when you’re having fun is uncanny at the moment. The last week hasn’t even seemed like it’s been a regular week at school. I mean, there’s plenty of stress what with the last few essays we have to turn in for Dr. Miller’s class and stressing about our Australian history final on Friday and trying to finish the last major paper for that class before leaving for spring break. It’s been hectic, but honestly, the stress is just a small part of what has happened this week that makes this week seem so different then the last three weeks I’ve been going to Usdy.

            The fact that yesterday was Valentine’s day (and Cal’s birthday) and I was getting to celebrate Galentine’s day in Australia was surreal. A group of us went to the Concrete Jungle Café (again, shout out to Sophie, thanks so much for inviting us out!! It was truly amazing) where I had the best brunch I’ve ever had! The blueberry lemon hotcake was just mouthwatering, and I’ve never been so in love with a hotcake before. The aesthetic of the whole meal was such a pleasure. And to end the day, another small group of us went to Thai Terrace where we had another amazing meal of Pad Thai, Fried Rice and Drunken Noodles. (I swear this isn’t just going to be a food blog, so just bear with me.) During class, we had our last full class in the cinema room of Urbanest and sang Happy Birthday to Cal which I thought was just a great way to have a second to last class.

            The day before that, we got to have a tour of campus and learn more about the University of Sydney’s history and leave our mark in the graffiti tunnel, though it probably won’t last long before being covered up. Then, the entire group went to the Soda Factory for hotdogs and it was so nice being able to relax with the fam and enjoy good food. It’s weird to think that after spring break we won’t be hanging out with each other 24/7 but actually going our own ways. I think that’s probably why this week has been so uplifting is that we’ve all gotten so close together as a family and we’re really supporting each other this stressful week.

            We got to have family dinner at this fancy Italian restaurant called Casa Ristorante, curtesy of Dr. Miller, Dr. Swan and the College of Communication and Information. It was such a great evening full of laughs. This whole past week has been full of laughs.

            On Saturday we conquered our hike through the Blue Mountains and got to be transported back home for a bit at the beautiful sights of the mountain ranges. It was one adventure after another for us and even though it’s been a stressful week at school, we’ve all gotten closer through our adventures and our food tour through the city and I can’t wait to go visit my internship and to actually start, because I know we’re going to have plenty of more great adventures together in the following weeks, even if we aren’t together all the time. I think that’s why this week has been so incredible, we’re doing a lot of stuff together, knowing that we’re soon all going to start our independent internships, but we’re still going to be able to create memories together—like going to the Sydney Opera House tonight to see Carmen—as a family.

Thanks everyone for being so supportive, for all the laughs and for making this adventure so much more awesome then I could ask for!

Cheers,

Gabi

P.S. Also stepping further outside of my comfort zone, and actually attempting to get over my height phobia...pictured below I'm sitting on the edge of Lincoln's Rock.

Galentine's Day

We have done so much this week, including a trip to the Blue Mountains which was nothing short of fantastic.Yesterday, however, was a big day for three reasons. It was Cal's birthday, Valentine's Day, and Ash Wednesday. To start off the day, a bunch of us gals went to brunch at a place called Concrete Jungle Cafe to celebrate "Galentine's Day". It was one of those artsy cafes where all of the food deserved to be photographed, and it was definitely a favorite of mine. I had scrambled eggs on toast with some avocado, which was not as instagram worthy as the food choices of my gal pals (pictured below), but it tasted fantastic. Yesterday was also the first day I decided to go all day without coffee. I have calculated how much I have spent on coffee while abroad, and it amounts to about 130 Australian dollars. I could have bought two whole coffee makers with that kind of money, but we all know I am going to keep buying a coffee on the regular. It just goes to show my caffeine addiction. I was sort of a nightmare to be around all day, but I was successful in giving it up for just a day. We came home and had class in the Urbanest cinema room for the last time, and sang Happy Birthday to Cal. I am really gonna miss having class in a bean bag chair on Wednesdays. It made me realize that a month has already gone by, and that's crazy!!! We are already 1/3 of the way done with our program, and I just cannot believe it. In no way am I ready to go home yet, but I know the time will fly by.

Because yesterday was the start of Lent, I went to St. Mary's Cathedral to celebrate Ash Wednesday. As a Catholic it was really neat to see the differences in the celebration of the Mass. Mass at St. Mary's was definitely more traditional than what I am used to, but it was beautiful. For Lent I have decided to give up eating past 8p.m. This is because I will typically eat healthy all day long but as soon as the clock strikes 8, for some reason I cram as much food into my mouth as possible. Last night was hard because a tv show called "Married at First Sight" came on at 7:30, and I usually like to treat myself to some Tim Tams during that show. Because of the 8p.m. rule I have now given to myself, I ate an entire sleeve of Tim Tams as fast as possible in the span of 20-30 minutes so that I would beat the clock. It was liberating. Several of us then went to a study room to study for our Australian History final, which was my least favorite part of the day, but overall my Galentine's day was pretty stellar. After our final we will all be going on our spring break trips and we are all so excited. I will personally be going to New Zealand, and I look forward to sharing with you my future endeavors.

Until next time,
Liza

A Saturday for the Books

Weekends always have that special, refreshing feeling. There is always that sense of relief that you have made it to the promised land of the weekend after those tough weeks of class and work. Saturday's and Sunday's back home mean it's time for a little rest and relaxation. Weekends in Australia have been just a bit different. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Australia for me is a time to let that travel itch take over a bit.

So far on the weekends here, I have been to the Australian Open, hiked around the beautiful beaches of Sydney, and taken in the scenes from Taronga Zoo while looking out at the Harbor. Pretty run of the mill weekends, right? But this past Saturday may have been my favorite day since I've arrived here in Sydney.

It started early enough, with a nice little 6:45 A.M. wake up call (My friends think I'm crazy, but some of my favorite days often involve early wake-up calls). ISA sent our tour guide to pick us up at Urbanest, where we then proceeded to make the hour and a half trek outside of the city to the Blue Mountains. My excitement level for this trip was one of the highest for any of the excursions that ISA had planned for us. I guess the old saying goes as true. You can take the man out of the mountains, but you can't take the mountains out of the man (I don't even remember where I heard this).

We started our day off getting to see the Three Sisters' Rock formation, one of the most famous spots in the mountain range. Three Sisters' is a pretty big tourist spot, so our guide took us to a different spot to see it, away from all of the people and tourists. Ha, I remember when I was a tourist in Sydney. Those were the days.

After a nice lunch in one of the small Blue Mountain towns (it's a different world in those small towns), we then set off for Wentworth Falls for a hike and a swim. This was honestly my favorite part of the day. There is nothing quite like suffering in some intense heat with your friends. But it is even better to suffer in that heat and then cool off in a natural swimming hole, with Wentworth Falls in the background. The beauty and serenity that the area had around it with the waterfall and swimming hole was something that was so beautiful. And that water felt as refreshing as a tall glass of Minute Maid's finest lemonade on a hot summer day.

We ended our Blue Mountains trip by stopping by the "Insta spot", or Lincoln's Rock. The picture below is the view from Lincoln's Rock, and as I was trying to come up with words to say about it in this writing, I felt like that my words couldn't even do it justice. So I'll let the picture speak for itself.

My day wasn't over yet after the Blue Mountains, as I rushed over to Hillsong Church to have dinner afterwards with some friends that I have made there. After an absolutely incredible service, my friends Dylan and Jordan took me out to their favorite place, Mickey's in Paddington. Dylan is from South Carolina and Jordan is from Manly Beach here in Sydney. It was such a great time of hanging out, and it was so cool for me because one of the things that was on my bucket list for here was to make life-long friends here in Sydney. Having friends all over the world is the coolest thing, and I've wanted to be able to do that in Australia like I have in other places.

So if you know me, you know that Saturday would no doubt be one of my favorite days. Fellowship and the outdoors, there isn't anything better.

Cheers,

Jonathan


Program Update: I'm currently wrapping up my last week of class this week, and I'll be flying out to New Zealand on Saturday for a program break! Class has flown by, and I can't believe the first part is almost over already.     

Finding pieces of Tennessee 9,943 miles away

When I was discussing the beauty of Sydney, Australia with our fearless leader Dr. Miller, I mentioned that I missed the mountains. The Smokey Mountains are like secret paradises for my family. Almost every weekend we would make the winding drive up the steep slope and to the top of Hideaway mountain, where our perfect little cabin overlooked the vast valley. The mountains remind me of times spent with my family just laughing and enjoying each other while getting away from the business of everyday life and admiring creation. I think this is one of the reasons I was almost moved to tears by the sight of the Blue Mountains.

I have already talked about how beautiful Australia is many times, but nothing compared to the view of the Blue Mountains. I felt like what I was looking at was not real and instead was an amazing painting. I could so clearly see the hand of God in the creation of the miraculous scenery. Our first stop on the Blue Mountains trip was to see some wild kangaroos and joeys. Next, we hiked to Jamison Valley, which was an amazing lookout place. It was an astonishing clear day and we had a perfect view of all of the cliffs, valleys, and the Three Sisters. I was completely speechless and still feel like I am now while trying to describe it. After staring unbelieving at the view for a long while, we continued our hike to Pulpit Rock. The view was again breathtaking. The mountains seem to go on forever and we all tested this theory by yelling a classic southern “yeehaw” and having the echo clearly relayed back to us for several seconds. To fight the heat of the day, our next hike was to Wentworth falls where people were swimming and repelling through a waterfall. Our last stop was Lincoln rock, where we were all standing on a huge cliff that overlooked the whole canyon. There was a spectacular view every direction that we faced and there could not have been a better end to the day.

Being back in the mountains made me recognize small parts of Tennessee in Australia. The Blue Mountains trip helped me to feel connected to my home while living on the other side of the world. It has opened my eyes and helped me discover little pieces of Tennessee and myself all over Australia and I feel comforted in the closeness of it all. I know that my experiences here in Australia and the people I have met will impact my life and will be a part of the global village that I carry with me, always connecting me back to the experiences I have had and the interconnectedness I have achieved.

Cheers,
Victoria