First and most importantly about Australia is the beach Cronulla. Here I learned to surf, spent many hours shopping and mostly sat on the beach chillin', chatting away and waiting for some good beginner surf. Have somewhat taken care of my surfing withdrawl since coming back by learning how to skateboard and rollerblade. And yes, I really can stand up on a board (just not that well)...........no proof because surfie friends were out there with me. Dave Z, you choose, should I meet you at Jaws or Pipe?
The flat mates left to right: Me, Beth Powers from New Zealand, Rachael Chambers from Ireland and Liz Hill from Queensland. And takeing the photo is Anna Stone from Ireland. Miss ya’ll HEAPS!!!!
Sydney friends: left to right - Ed (Edith), Mel Charles (from Wollongong) and Jon Simpson (from Scotland) underneath the umbrella.
More Sydney friends: left to right - John Simpson from Scotland (gottcha!), Beth Power (from New Zealand, one of my flat mates), Dave Condon (Beth's fiancée from up north), Matt (Dave's flat mate from up north) and Rob Fairey (from Newcastle) ; ) Watching the Rugby World Cup on the big outdoor screen.
My only Aussie-American relatives. Left to right: Anton, Gerald, Angie and Shannon Neaf. They live in Orange, New South Wales (the same state as Sydney) about 3 hours (?) west of Sydney. Hope your HSC results were what you needed, Shannon and good luck at uni, Anton.
Sorry about this Rach!! Believe the two of us are known to be quite tight so will try to get away with this and if not, will get a phone call from Rach in Ireland!!! (she said she would call) This is Rach my Irish flat mate before her first surf with our board we both "shared".
A costume party!!! Some friends in Sydney
Liz (Marilyn Monroe) and Nick (Osama bin laden) - Good costume!!
And the best costume award goes to...........Lee and Donna!!! (Archie and Betty)
My other home (besides the beach). Sydney uni. Had no idea college could be so different. The professors do not 'baby-sit' students at all by reminding them when things are due, how to figure assignments out (how to do well in the course) and exams (finals) are completely different with assigned seating and consider yourself lucky if you get to take an exam as multiple choice.!!! I really didn’t have a clue what my grade was going to be till the end of the semester, because most the grades are based on finals (80% is about average). Saved heaps of money by not having to buy books, but using the ones available in the library. Did not like the curved grading system...oopps...I mean I wasn't used to it (so a really high score in a class could be a low letter grade…because it’s everyone against everyone). Maybe it was just the professors that I had in Sydney, but they didn't seem very organized, which was nice because class had a laid back atmosphere. My first day of summer school, I thought the professor needed a pill for his nerves. :)
yep............more of campus................this must be the library............... didn't spend much time in there..............knew it all, I guess.
My only Sydney city picture. In the harbor, this was my favorite place to go at night and chill. Actually do miss the big city feel........but not the traffic.
The harbor bridge. But what I liked most about this area was the use of ferries for public transport, though extremely expensive. The only way to get to Manly Beach without a car was by ferry which costs about $4 American dollars one way!!!!!
For all the Americans out there (is that me?). This is Max, my roo (kangaroo) that I rode to school every day. You wouldn't believe how much this little guy ate!!!! Just kidding. No, they don't use roos as transport. Would be cheap though. The train cost me 2.75 American dollars (3.80 Aussie dollars) or twenty bars of soap (just kidding!! ) round trip to the city for a 20 minute ride.
This photo is for you rugby fans out there (that's you Rob). When flying out of Sydney, I just happened to see the England Rugby team lining up to get on their plane to fly back home after winning the Rugby World Cup against Australia. Blast those poms!! (Slang for the English, stands for Prisoner Of Mother (England)). Let me know if anyone can spot Johnny - he might already be on the plane- cannot remember if saw him after or before taking this.
These next photos are mostly for my family to get an idea what our apartment and our neighborhood was like. (We lived in a suburb of Sydney called Kogarah, New South Wales)
Our apartment living room. This is the messiest it ever got. Right!!!
The kitchen.
'Downtown' Kogarah
Now that I know how to cook (I have testimonies, Rach), this is what I really miss. Fresh food everyday, just a two block hike.
Now we head south of Sydney a few hours to Canberra, Australia's capital. Since Melbourne and Sydney are about the same size there was a great debate where the capital should be after moving it between the two for years. So they created a new town between the two (closer to Sydney though) and put the capital there. Oddly enough, an American designed the town. Because the town was planned it has a bad rep of being kind of boring without much character at all. Let's just say it was the only town I didn't get lost in.
The new Parliament House. Australia has a house of Representives and a Senate. Makes ours look like a cabin, hey?
Maybe I'm the only one who pays attention to the design of buildings, but I noticed in the old Parliament House that the Prime Minister's office wasn't in the middle of the building (no worries about bomb threats, I guess). Anyway, we were told one PM would yell back at protesters on the outside of the window on the right. Compared to Americans, Aussies are pretty laid back as in the States there would probably be bars on these windows.
I slept the 12 hour overnight bus ride to Melbourne from Sydney. In OZ, there is a great debate about what town is better. I like Sydney because Melbourne's suburbs go on forever and lack character (just like the States - sorry about that). On the south eastern tip of the country (by Melbourne) we find the Great Ocean Road. This is a photo along the road of a tower. Originally twelve towers were carved out by the sea- now there are only eleven.
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