Real life or dream life?

Sometimes I need pinching because my life these days has been so jam-packed with excitement. I knew that Australia would bring good times, but I had no idea that it would be every day. Maybe I have been spoiled and that this will not be the case for the duration of my trip, but this last week was insanely fun. Let me recount:

• Friday, March 6th
The morning got off to a rough start but I was lying (happily) alone on Bondi Beach by 2:00. I wasn’t really alone though; my afternoon was spent with the ocean, sun, & Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. Perfection. About 6:00 I went home to quickly eat and change before going out to a Pre-Mardi Gras party. Mardi Gras in Sydney is a bit different than other versions of Mardi Gras, but equally as fun. It is the celebration of life and the recognition of Gay and Lesbian acceptance worldwide. SO- this party provided for some hilarious photos of heterosexual twenty-somethings dressed…um...alternatively. My outfit was an Indian headdress and yellow boa to represent the Village People, despite my obvious lack of being a buff gay man.

• Saturday, March 7th
Eager not to waste the day, Lauren and I got up early and traveled to Coogee beach with our Australian friends, Ed and Sam. The weather was beautiful and we spent a nice afternoon soaking the sun and enjoying each other’s company.
That evening we experienced the real Mardi Gras at Hyde Park and Liverpool St. The masses of people made it impossible to see the parade, so Lauren and I had to give up, but we were able to see the floats are they were lined up to go into the parade. They may not have been in full action, but I was able to get up close and take some interesting pictures. After attempting to watch the parade, Lauren and I continued onto Kings Cross to meet up with some friends. Mardi gras was definitely a let down because of high expectations, but it was an experience to say the least. I still had a really wonderful night, though.

Sam wanted to capture the reflection of the ocean in my glasses.
It was such a beautiful day at Coogee Beach.

Lauren and I ready to celebrate life!


Sydney Mardi Gras 2009

• Sunday, March 8th
Another early start as Lauren and I went to Paddy’s Market to get our weekly fruits and vegetables. Paddy’s Market is one of the best discoveries that I’ve made during my stay in Sydney. Every Thurs, Fri, Sat, & Sun a giant market is set up with multiple stands full of really fresh and cheap produce. For less than 15 Australian dollars I was able to get an eggplant, 3 pears, 3 peaches, a bunch of grapes, 5 corn stalks, 3 plums, 4 tomatoes, a bag of spinach, 1 green capsicum (pepper), 1 red capsicum, and 1 red onion. This would typically cost me $35-$45 in the grocery store. Needless to say, Lauren and I are planning to make our weekend trip to Paddy’s a routine. After Paddy’s, Lauren and I met up with some friends for dinner and then an evening movie at their house to escape from the rainy day that it became.

This bloke was outside of Paddy's Market all by his lonesome.

• Monday, March 9th
Class from 2-5 and then I hurried home to get started baking. The group of people that we spend the most time with has designed a dinner club, where we meet every Monday for a meal of some sort. Lauren and I decided to host this week but because we both had late class we decided to make it a dessert night. We baked carrot cake and brownies for our friends, and between 8 and 11 there were 10 or so people sitting around our dinner table sharing cakes and ice cream as well as 2 bottles of wine. We invited some new people to join our group, so there were new faces and lots to talk about. The night put a huge smile on my face. I miss the ability to offer hospitality like Lindsay and I so often did.

With all of this fun, I even have time to go to school. Who would have thought it? This building is home to 2 of my 4 classes at Sydney Uni. I feel so honored!

• Tuesday, March 10th
I have no class on Tuesdays, but today I had an interview for an internship opportunity with a non-profit organization called the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales. I did my best to not get nervous and by 4:00 I was in their office being offered a position. This internship would have counted as a full time course, so I would have had to drop one of my classes or put it on top of my existing schedule. I was flattered by their offer, but after a lot of thought I decided that my time in Australia is limited and I must resist the temptation to do every opportunity put in front of me. Later in the week I explained my circumstance and offered my time as a volunteer instead of an intern. I’m still waiting for a response.
My interview was in city center, so after it was finished I met up with my friend Marc for an afternoon in the city. We visited his cousin at her posh shoe store that is located in an upscale shopping center called “The Strand,” located in the center of the city. I would have to use my entire trip’s budget to buy anything in there, but the building and its architecture was stunning. I will definitely be returning with my camera.
After the strand we made our way to Circular Quay where we spent the remainder of the afternoon in the Museum of Contemporary Art (which was free!). The exhibit we spent our time in was the art of Yayoi Kusama. It was a really unique experience and I suggest looking up some of her art. I got yelled at when I pulled out my camera to take some photos, so I have none of my own, but google has tons. Check her out!

Yayoi Kusama on Google

• Wednesday, March 11th
Class from 12-2 then I sat in an on-campus coffee shop and tried to tackle some reading assignments. This coffee shop is really lame compared to Appalachian’s 5 different choices. At 4pm I went to a Sausage Sizzle for a club that I joined called the Fine Art Society (FARTS). There was free food and a lot of cool people with great friend potential. I sat down with a few girls while I ate my veggie patty and got to know a little about them beyond the surface. We all then traveled as a group downtown to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. At this gallery we viewed the 2009 Archibald Prize, a national competition in portrait painting that is apparently a really huge deal. It was a phenomenal exhibit but my favorite was the ArtExpress, which was presenting local high school student’s art. Their ability and concepts were mind blowing and it is obvious that Australian art programs are breeding a new variety of artists. The two back-to-back days of art was a real inspiration and I hope to do some art of my own in the near future.

• Thursday, March 12th
Thursdays are my full day of school with class from 10am-9pm. In the middle of the day I had a break from 12-2, so I took the opportunity to grab some lunch on campus. This was the first time I had ventured into the restaurant territory on campus, so I took some time exploring and finding the best option. The variety of food is really epic with literally every nationality covered. Some delicious falafel kebabs tempted me, but I landed on a grilled veggie burger paired with a pint of Tooheys at the on-campus bar/grill. They had a BBQ set up on the patio where you could watch the burger get cooked, so you know it’s fresh. I was so happy with my situation; the comfy couch, beautiful light shining through the window, and the burger ranking in as one of the best I’ve ever had… I knew that I needed to document the moment.


Graphic Design goes from 6-9 but I’ve had so much fun in the class that I don’t notice the time. This week we worked with texture and our teacher laid out baskets upon baskets of random things- pipe cleaners, tulle, sparkles, pine cones, paint, glue, foam letters, crayons, string, lace, etc. Really anything and everything you can think of… We had an hour to make 9 different textures by using these random things, but we couldn’t repeat any medium. At the end of the night we were all covered in some strange mixture of these things, but we had the best time getting really creative. This class is right up my alley.
At 9:00, still covered in paint and lugging my books around from a full day of class, I returned to Manning Bar for a school-sponsored party called Beach Ball. I didn’t know much about this event before buying my ticket, I just heard from a few 2nd year Uni Students that it was not to be missed for anything. So, I showed up and was caught off guard by the line wrapping down the street and around the corner. Apparently no one was going to miss this party. I was there alone at this point, so I waited in a 30 minute line and had some interesting conversations with the people around me. One thing that I found particularly shocking about this party was the number of police/drug dogs and paramedics patrolling the lines and inside the venue. I’m used to Legends with a single cop at the door to make sure no one is trying to sneak in booze. There were at least 30 cops here! I wasn’t breaking any laws, so I had no problem with their presence, but it makes me wonder what has happened at this party in the past to warrant such a large number? Anyways, the party was huge. There were 3 stories, each with a band/DJ, and outside the back was another tent with a stage set up. Hundreds of people packed out Manning Bar to share in a really fun night. This night I particularly missed my friends from home because we would have had such a blast on the dance floor together. My FagOut crew knows who they are… You were deeply missed! Aussies don’t have anything on us.

Looking down on the 1st floor rave.

Me, Josanne, & Lucia

Only a fraction of the masses at this party.
I must remind that this was school sponsored... best Uni ever!

Having fun with the broken lai.

• Friday, March 13th
The morning was slow but Lauren and I decided to use our day off for some sight seeing in Sydney. We caught a train to Hyde Park and walked to the Australian Museum. When we got there we went to pay and the guy working at the front desk informed us that it was closing in 25 minutes. We must have looked deeply disappointed because he waved us through and said to just go have a look around for free until close. With only enough time for 1.5 rooms, we made it worth our trek into the city. A nice museum worker gave us some individual attention and showed us around some neat things in the dangerous species room as well as in the explorer room. He pulled out a bearded dragon for us and only us to play with. This was funny because a man came up right behind us obviously wanting a turn and the guide just ignored him and put the dragon away. We’re just special I guess?

The dingo didn't eat my baby.

We left the museum and hopped a train to Newtown to meet up with our international friends for a Birthday BBQ. Chiara is Italian and she prepared a full spread for 20 or so people in her back yard. It was a really nice evening with traditional Italian food, homemade sangria, and a good group of people to share it with. Lauren and I left for an hour to go home and shower because we thought we would be going out on the town later in the night, but we ended up only coming back to the BBQ and staying there.

Chiara's Backyard Birthday BBQ

If you're upside down in the Southern Hemisphere does it mean that you're really right side up?

• Saturday, March 14th
At the BBQ the night before the same group of internationals planned a beach get-together, so we met up with a few of them at Circular Quay around 12:30 to catch a ferry to Manly beach. The ferry was beautiful and gave us a unique view of the harbor. We relaxed on the beach all day until the rain clouds rolled in and we left to take cover at a nearby café. After going home for a short rest and showers, we went back out to celebrate Angelo’s birthday (another Italian!). The apartment was full of Italians, Germans, French, and Mexicans. I really love networking with all of these international students. I can’t wait to visit them all in their home countries after I can save the money to do it.

The International's group!

I may or may not have gotten burnt at the beach earlier in the day.

With Mossimo, one of my many Italian friends.

Our new Mexican friends.

• Sunday, March 15th
In the first few hours of the day Lauren and I took advantage of the cloudless sky by laying out at the park with our homework. At about 2:30 the Lynches came and picked us up to spend the evening with them! First we went to Bynum’s Rugby match where I got a Rugby 101 lesson, and then we spent the remainder of the night at their house for a family BBQ. Theresa’s parents were in town from Canberra and they’ve very generously offered for Lauren and I to stay with them in Canberra for a weekend so that we might get a taste of the nation’s capital. We are definitely going to take them up on this. I just love spending time with the Lynches! I’m so very lucky to have them here to fill my family void.

The Lynches minus Ian.

This environment is not conducive to the University standard of learning, but I promise that I am learning more about this World and myself every single day. This unique education is more valuable than a Harvard degree. I am sincere in saying that I am in love with the life that I live.



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