A few people have asked for my address, so here it is:
Hayley O'Connell
International House
University of Wollongong
Wollongong, NSW 2522
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Hardest Way Possible
Hello Everyone!
Well, I am officially an Australian student. I had my first class this morning and it turns out that the first day of class is “syllabus day” no matter what country you are in. I don’t have any other classes today because not all courses meet the first week. It’s a very strange feeling to be in class when you feel like you are on vacation. I think that I will find my courses very interesting though.
After our exciting adventure in Sydney on Friday, we decided to lay low for most of Saturday. I took a quick trip to the mall with some friends and then spent the afternoon at the beach. The waves were the biggest I’ve seen them, so we all had fun body surfing them J
Sunday we decided it was time for another adventure. The tallest mountain (or it might be a hill) in Wollongong is Mount Keira. It’s about a 35 minute walk from the dorm. So, four friends and I began our trek to the mountain at around 10:45 Sunday morning. We had heard that the hike got a little long, but shouldn’t be anymore than 3 hours. Lots of people warned us about the leeches. . .apparently most people who hike Mt. Keira end up with at least a few leeches attached to their ankles by the time they get off the mountain. Before we left we grabbed a couple handfuls of salt packets in anticipation of the leeches—fortunately for us we never needed to use them.
We arrived at the mountain around 11:30 and the trail was pretty much vertical from the get-go. Luckily the climb wasn’t quite so steep the whole way. It didn’t take long before we got to a junction where we had to choose from a few different paths. We consulted a map and trotted down a trail that looked promising. The path promptly turned into a vertical climb over rocks and through thicket. Unfortunately, I was with four determined boys (actually, I was just as determined myself) and it took us about 1 km to finally admit that we had lost the trail. We climbed back down the rocky slope practically on all fours and got back to what appeared to be a path.
After multiple wrong turns and about 2 ½ hours of hiking, we finally made it to the summit only to find out that they don’t have water at the top. We ate our lunches though and took some beautiful pictures. The view was quite amazing and definitely worth the journey. After a little rest we began our trek back down. We hopped onto a little back trail that we though would deliver us down the mountain, but once again we found ourselves lost. We finally got to a point where we hit a dead end and admitted defeat. We stopped a car that was passing on the road and he pointed us in the direction of Wollongong. Little did we know that it was probably the longest possible way to get back to town. We finally made it into town around 4 pm and discovered that we were still an hour away from our dorm. It was at this point that we found a bus stop. The bus ride brought us to within around 20 minutes of our dorm. We were so tired by this point that we barely said 2 words to each other ask we walked the last 20 minutes.
We were all pretty proud of ourselves by the time we were finished. As one of the guys said, “We didn’t take the easiest route to the top- in fact we probably found the hardest possible way to get there.”
We are thinking about going to the Blue Mountains (a range about 2 hours west of Sydney) next weekend, but we learned a valuable lesson from this hike: Walking uphill does not always bring you to the summit and walking downhill won’t always bring you home.
Well, I am officially an Australian student. I had my first class this morning and it turns out that the first day of class is “syllabus day” no matter what country you are in. I don’t have any other classes today because not all courses meet the first week. It’s a very strange feeling to be in class when you feel like you are on vacation. I think that I will find my courses very interesting though.
After our exciting adventure in Sydney on Friday, we decided to lay low for most of Saturday. I took a quick trip to the mall with some friends and then spent the afternoon at the beach. The waves were the biggest I’ve seen them, so we all had fun body surfing them J
Sunday we decided it was time for another adventure. The tallest mountain (or it might be a hill) in Wollongong is Mount Keira. It’s about a 35 minute walk from the dorm. So, four friends and I began our trek to the mountain at around 10:45 Sunday morning. We had heard that the hike got a little long, but shouldn’t be anymore than 3 hours. Lots of people warned us about the leeches. . .apparently most people who hike Mt. Keira end up with at least a few leeches attached to their ankles by the time they get off the mountain. Before we left we grabbed a couple handfuls of salt packets in anticipation of the leeches—fortunately for us we never needed to use them.
We arrived at the mountain around 11:30 and the trail was pretty much vertical from the get-go. Luckily the climb wasn’t quite so steep the whole way. It didn’t take long before we got to a junction where we had to choose from a few different paths. We consulted a map and trotted down a trail that looked promising. The path promptly turned into a vertical climb over rocks and through thicket. Unfortunately, I was with four determined boys (actually, I was just as determined myself) and it took us about 1 km to finally admit that we had lost the trail. We climbed back down the rocky slope practically on all fours and got back to what appeared to be a path.
After multiple wrong turns and about 2 ½ hours of hiking, we finally made it to the summit only to find out that they don’t have water at the top. We ate our lunches though and took some beautiful pictures. The view was quite amazing and definitely worth the journey. After a little rest we began our trek back down. We hopped onto a little back trail that we though would deliver us down the mountain, but once again we found ourselves lost. We finally got to a point where we hit a dead end and admitted defeat. We stopped a car that was passing on the road and he pointed us in the direction of Wollongong. Little did we know that it was probably the longest possible way to get back to town. We finally made it into town around 4 pm and discovered that we were still an hour away from our dorm. It was at this point that we found a bus stop. The bus ride brought us to within around 20 minutes of our dorm. We were so tired by this point that we barely said 2 words to each other ask we walked the last 20 minutes.
We were all pretty proud of ourselves by the time we were finished. As one of the guys said, “We didn’t take the easiest route to the top- in fact we probably found the hardest possible way to get there.”
We are thinking about going to the Blue Mountains (a range about 2 hours west of Sydney) next weekend, but we learned a valuable lesson from this hike: Walking uphill does not always bring you to the summit and walking downhill won’t always bring you home.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Flying Cats and Irish Duos
Yesterday some friends and I took our first adventure into Sydney. We hopped on the train and rode north for about 1½ hours. The train ride was beautiful because we followed the coastline the entire way. Once we got to Sydney we decided to get all of our “tourist tendencies” out of our system. We took tons of pictures and walked a LOT (we estimated at least 6 miles). We saw the Opera House which is one of the most well-known sites in Australia. We also saw the Sydney Harbor bridge, the New South Wales Parliament building, and the Botanic Garden. The Botanic Garden was absolutely beautiful and was filled with an assortment of flowers, ponds, and birds. Also, to our dismay, the Garden was a hot spot for bats. At any point along the path, you could look up into the trees and see dozens of bats sleeping. I have to admit that I was a little disgusted. A local Australian woman told us that around 4:30 (when it starts to get dark), they all swoop down in search of fruit. She said it is a frightening sight because, “they’re like cats with wings.” Needless to say, we steered clear of the Garden after dusk.
After a lot of walking, we went in search of food. Earlier in the day every other store front had been a restaurant, but now we could not find one. We searched for nearly 45 minutes and finally stumbled into a mall food court completely famished. We had dinner and then continued our adventures. We found a delightful little Irish Pub and settled in to listen to an Irish duo. After enjoying the music, we spent a little more time in the city and then caught the train home.
We start school on Monday and it is pretty hard to believe! I am kind of looking forward to having a schedule again though. So far I am loving Australia and I hope you are all doing well back home!
After a lot of walking, we went in search of food. Earlier in the day every other store front had been a restaurant, but now we could not find one. We searched for nearly 45 minutes and finally stumbled into a mall food court completely famished. We had dinner and then continued our adventures. We found a delightful little Irish Pub and settled in to listen to an Irish duo. After enjoying the music, we spent a little more time in the city and then caught the train home.
We start school on Monday and it is pretty hard to believe! I am kind of looking forward to having a schedule again though. So far I am loving Australia and I hope you are all doing well back home!
Monday, February 23, 2009
G'day Mates!
Hello Friends!
I have been in Australia for just over week now and I love the country and the people.
We spent 3 days at a lakeside resort doing a study abroad orientation with about 150 other study abroad students. We took a tour of Sydney Harbor, visited the zoo, and had a surf lesson. The surf lesson was super fun. . .but also a little difficult. I still have bruises from my many attempts to get up J
I moved into my dorm, the International House, on Friday morning. There are about 220 students living in the building. It has a very community-oriented feel to it and so I have been able to meet a lot of people. I think about 40% of the students in I-House are Australian and the rest are from all over the world. Although students from the US make up a disproportionate amount.
I have yet to meet an unfriendly Australian. . .It seems like there might be some truth to the easy-going Aussie stereotype.
I live on a floor with 18 other students- both guys and girls. I was shocked to find out that our floor bathroom is co-ed. It hasn’t been a problem yet, but I did have to remind the boys to put the seat down J
The Aussie vernacular has been more difficult to catch onto then I was expecting. They shorten everything, so board shorts are boardies, sweatpants are trackies, Wollongong is the Gong, and a truck is a ute (as in utility). I usually have to ask Aussie’s to repeat themselves multiple times before I actually understand what’s going on.
Tonight the Uni (or University) is sponsoring a Salsa dancing night. Apparently salsa dancing is pretty popular in Australia. I am very excited to go take a lesson and then make a complete fool of myself with my two left feet.
I hope you are all doing well! I would love to hear what is going on in your lives. We have an internet quota at our Uni, so facebook and my Gustavus email are difficult for me to use. If you would like to email me, my Wollongong address is hboc452@uow.edu.au.
Hopefully I’ll hear from you soon!
I have been in Australia for just over week now and I love the country and the people.
We spent 3 days at a lakeside resort doing a study abroad orientation with about 150 other study abroad students. We took a tour of Sydney Harbor, visited the zoo, and had a surf lesson. The surf lesson was super fun. . .but also a little difficult. I still have bruises from my many attempts to get up J
I moved into my dorm, the International House, on Friday morning. There are about 220 students living in the building. It has a very community-oriented feel to it and so I have been able to meet a lot of people. I think about 40% of the students in I-House are Australian and the rest are from all over the world. Although students from the US make up a disproportionate amount.
I have yet to meet an unfriendly Australian. . .It seems like there might be some truth to the easy-going Aussie stereotype.
I live on a floor with 18 other students- both guys and girls. I was shocked to find out that our floor bathroom is co-ed. It hasn’t been a problem yet, but I did have to remind the boys to put the seat down J
The Aussie vernacular has been more difficult to catch onto then I was expecting. They shorten everything, so board shorts are boardies, sweatpants are trackies, Wollongong is the Gong, and a truck is a ute (as in utility). I usually have to ask Aussie’s to repeat themselves multiple times before I actually understand what’s going on.
Tonight the Uni (or University) is sponsoring a Salsa dancing night. Apparently salsa dancing is pretty popular in Australia. I am very excited to go take a lesson and then make a complete fool of myself with my two left feet.
I hope you are all doing well! I would love to hear what is going on in your lives. We have an internet quota at our Uni, so facebook and my Gustavus email are difficult for me to use. If you would like to email me, my Wollongong address is hboc452@uow.edu.au.
Hopefully I’ll hear from you soon!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Preparing to Leave
This is my first experience as a blogger, but I was told it is the best way to keep in touch while abroad.
I will be posting here regularly to keep people updated about my many adventures in Australia. Feel free to subscribe to my blog (although I don't know exactly what that entails) and check back frequently for new posts.
Right now I am in the process of preparing to leave. I will fly out on February 15th and meet up with the rest of my study abroad group in LA. From there we will fly to Sydney. After a few days of orientation in Sydney we will head down to Wollongong to begin our semester as Australian students!
Stay warm!
Hayley
I will be posting here regularly to keep people updated about my many adventures in Australia. Feel free to subscribe to my blog (although I don't know exactly what that entails) and check back frequently for new posts.
Right now I am in the process of preparing to leave. I will fly out on February 15th and meet up with the rest of my study abroad group in LA. From there we will fly to Sydney. After a few days of orientation in Sydney we will head down to Wollongong to begin our semester as Australian students!
Stay warm!
Hayley
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