Sorry for neglecting my blog. Updates!

December 6, 2013

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was exhausted and went to sleep instead.

December 5, 2013

Hello all! Sorry for the month (or so) long hiatus. After Spring Break ended and my internship started, I didn't get around to doing too much. My friends and I still went out a bit on the weekends and such but I was lazy and didn't have too much to update you all on. Including this one, I will have two posts: one about touristy things and one about my internship/wrap up of my experience in Sydney. I meant to write at least one of these two posts while I was at the airport in Sydney but I had some struggles along the way; I'll explain more later. For now, things I've done!

A few weeks ago, Kunchy left us. Since she's not an American citizen, she had a different type of visa to Australia, which did not let her stay until the end of the program. She left on November 20th, but not without first having a potluck dinner! She found enough friends to book the rooftop kitchen (12 people minimum) and we each cooked/make some sort of food to share. Kunchy even made bubble tea--yum! It was a really nice evening, and we took a couple pics with awesome lighting. 

On one weekend, Inez, Denise, and I went to the Chinese Garden of Friendship. It was kind of odd in that it was a Chinese style garden surrounded by walls that kept it separate from the rest of the bustling Darling Harbour. Nonetheless, it was really pretty. We even got to watch one of the employees feed the Koi fish! There were so many and they were so large. Of course, where there is food, there are birds. In this case, ducks were wading around in the water waiting for food to be thrown in their direction.

A few weeks ago, my social policy class took a field trip to a drug injection site in Kings Cross. At this facility, people who use illegal drugs can bring it here to use safely, under the supervision of staff who can treat overdoses. They are given needles, filters, etc. to avoid viruses/diseases and limit the amount of particles entering the blood stream. If they do overdose, the staff are able to provide oxygen and a drug to counteract their injection. They have been in operation for a couple decades (I believe) and have not had any fatalities. Controversial idea but seems to be working.

A week or so ago, I met up with Denise, Laura, and Cara after work. We wanted to see/walk across the Harbour Bridge and eat at Pancakes on the Rocks. Since I worked at Circular Quay, it was easy enough to do. I ended up having to kill an hour and a half so I walked around the Rocks and looked at souvenirs, while walking in the general direction of the Bridge. I ended up walking on it alone and found them when they arrived.

Of the four of us, I was the only one who hadn't been to Pancakes on the Rocks before, but I kept hearing how great it was. My friends were absolutely correct--it was delicious! I shared a sweet pancake order and a savory crepe order with Laura. So much food, but so very good. For any of you who are reading this and going to study in/visit Australia in the future, I recommend you go here. From what I hear, it's also great when you're drunk; you can let me know if that is correct.

Last Thursday, BUSAC had a Thanksgiving dinner for us since we were all so far from home. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and, of course, drinks. The food was pretty good and the semester-end slideshow was really nice, but it was still no competition for having a Thanksgiving meal at home.

This past weekend, Denise and I took a ferry out to Watson's Bay. It's a small area that reminds me of Cape Cod. Lots of beach houses and sailboats. We walked around a bit and spent two hours lying in the sun by Hornby Lighthouse waiting for Ken. We spent quite a long time there before deciding to move down to the beach. The sand was nice and the water was so clear. You could stand chest deep and still see your toes!

On the evening of the Watson’s Bay adventure, Denise and I stayed in a Superior Cityside View Room at the InterContinental Sydney. Apparently all their interns get a free night stay. We are in Circular Quay so often that the location was not anything special, but it was a nice room and a very comfy bed. We even received complimentary buffet breakfast the next morning in Café Opera. I still do not understand how some people believe there is not enough of a selection. Anyway, thank you IC Sydney for the stay!

Finally, This past Tuesday, BUSAC had a final farewell event for us. We bowled! However, it is not the type of bowling you’re thinking of with the ten pins and a heavy ball with finger holes. This version was more like boccie. You first roll a small ball across the field. Each team then takes turns rolling one of their balls as close as they can to the small ball. It sounds simple except the larger balls is like a slightly squished sphere that slightly favors one side. Sounds strange, but it was actually pretty fun. After the competition, we had another delicious meal before we went our separate ways for the night.

I did not do very much Wednesday other than very last minute souvenir shopping and spending some time with people. In all honesty, Sydney was great but I was ready to come home.

This morning, I was supposed to be picked up by taxi at 8:30 so I could get to the airport around 9. The taxi never did pick me up and when I called the company, they said it had picked me up. It seems like someone else probably took the taxi I called for. They said they would send another but no when or anything. I decided to just go downstairs and hail a cab, but a whole bunch of other BU people had the same idea which made it a bit of a struggle. Finally, I just called another cab company and luckily they came to pick me up around 9:15. Getting through the airport was another adventure in itself. From stepping in the door to getting through security, it took over an hour. Way too many people were traveling today. Luckily, I left plenty of time for mishaps that the taxi situation and long wait in the airport still didn’t have me rushing. The rest of the journey was nothing spectacular. I didn’t sleep much on either flight, but I am tired now and it’s the perfect time to go to sleep. Oh by the way, I did end up wearing my kangaroo onsie to be picked up from the airport :)

That’s all for now. Final recap on internship and just general closing thoughts to come. As always, thanks for reading!

Time is flying by!

November 5, 2013

Just wanted to pop in and say I have exactly one month left before going home. To be honestly, I'm actually excited to go home. I know right, what am I thinking?! But it's just been a long time since I have been home and the holidays are coming, which is one of my favorite times of year. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. I will not be back for Thanksgiving, but the BU program is holding a celebration for us here--yay food!

Anyway, this past weekend I didn't do too much. Central Park, a new shopping center, finally opened up. I am extremely happy there is a supermarket inside, because it is about 5 blocks closer than the one we have been going to. There's also a burrito place that satisfied my craving for Chipotle and Chatime was having a BOGO sale for opening weekend. I was a very happy camper.

Thursday evening was Halloween and it's not a huge thing here in Australia, so the BU program held a party for us at the Australian Youth Hotel (remember, hotel = bar). It was pretty nice. Open bar (beer/wine) and canapes. The food was pretty good, but I was stuffed from the burrito, so I couldn't eat much anyway. I dressed as Cinderella before the ball because I didn't want to buy anything. Kunchy won the costume contest by dressing as Henry, our vacuum cleaner. Each floor has one, but somehow he is never around when you need him. It is a constant occurrence to see a post on our Facebook group that reads, "Please return __ floor Henry!" To anyone studying abroad in Sydney next semester, you will find out what I mean very soon.

On Saturday I went to the Australian Museum, which was nice, but after going to the Museum of Natural History in New York, it was tiny. It was nice though in that they had many (dead stuffed) animals that are only native to Australia--bugs included. It was also extremely quiet for a Saturday, but I felt that way about the Powerhouse Museum too, so maybe museums here are just not as popular as the ones in NY.

That night, I headed over to The Rocks with Inez and Kunchy to check out the old carnival type festival that was going on. It was closing down around the time we got there, so we didn't see much, though it seemed interesting.

That was about all for the weekend. Fourth week of work started today. I can't believe how fast it is passing by. We have three more weeks after this and then we are done. Crazy to think about. Anyway, thanks for reading along. Until next time...

Work and more work.

October 30, 2013

Hello! I realize I don't have very many interesting things to blog about anymore. I spend most of my time at work. Then I come home and I'm tired so I don't do much...whoops. Anyway brief update and I will include a bunch of pictures from Saturday, just because they are pretty or cool looking.

Since my last post, I had work Tuesday-Friday. As I mentioned, during most mornings, I work with Andy, our Chief Engineer. Last week, I spent a lot of time helping him prepare reports to send to the General Manager and/or owners. We are working on a lighting project, an elevator upgrade project, and a general refurbishment project. Basically, he has to make a case for why these things need or should happen so I have been helping with that. I spend a lot of time typing what he says, but it is not that bad. I do learn about what they have to show for each case.

My afternoons with Kim were a bit slower last week. I spent a little time replying to online reviews. Then, I spent a fair amount of time imputing guest complaints into their hotel profiles. Honestly, it is ridiculous what guests complain about sometimes. I really wonder if their lives are so great that they have to look for things to complain about. One writer kept referring to his/her fourteen year old daughter as a princess while speaking with the staff at the hotel. He/she (I really do not remember) also complained about everything possible, so what can I expect? I did feel for other people who wrote letters though. They had very legitimate reasons to be upset and I was glad to see how the hotel responded to them.

On Friday, I met up with Denise after work. We wanted to get free oysters, but the place that was offering them were bringing them around very slowly, which was not a surprise. We ended up leaving, but we had not purchased anything anyway, so it was okay. That night, we went to Chinatown because there was another Good Food Month event. So much delicious Asian food! I miss home for the food and my mom's cooking very often, but I realize I will be back before I know it. Time passes so quickly now that I have my internship.

On Saturday, Denise, Inez, Kunchy, Denise's friend, Nick, and I went out to Coogee so we could walk back to Bondi. It was so beautiful! Also why the pictures on this post are pretty much from a single day. This was also the start of Sculptures by the Sea, which is an art installation along part of the walk close to Bondi. Some pieces were very cool while others a bit odd. After reaching Bondi, we went to grab a bite at a Japanese fusion restaurant (sushi!) then headed to Darlinghurst to wander around.

Ken and I went to brunch on Sunday at Four Ate Five. I question why they did not name it Seven Ate Nine, but that's just me. It was pretty delicious, albeit quite salty. I still enjoyed it nonetheless. That afternoon, Denise, Kunchy, and I went to watch the 40th Birthday Concert at the Sydney Opera House. It was pretty good, though I was not very found of their main act--the orchestra. I enjoyed the previous acts much more. Still, it was a pretty nice day for the most part and an enjoyable concert.

This week is more work with a couple essays sprinkled in. On Friday, the engineering department is going go-kart racing and invited me to join. Can't wait!

By the way, I found a minion :)

Work, play, and some delicious food.

October 21, 2013

Hello again all! As mentioned in my last update, I am interning at the InterContinental Sydney. I finished up my first week this past Friday and I will be starting my second week tomorrow. Between my internship and class, I have still been trying to explore Sydney, though sometimes I am falling into my old habits of hiding in my room and watching TV or reading...oops.

Many people have asked what my internship consists of. Honestly, I do not know exactly what I am. For half the day, I work with either the Chief Concierge, Dave, or the Chief Engineer, Andy. The other half of the day, I work with the General Manager’s Personal Assistant, Kim. During the first few days, I entered data for a project to improve and create consistency in training and knowledge of InterContinental Sydney (ICS)’s colleagues. It was pretty interesting to see what types of questions guests ask, and additionally, what questions the colleagues recorded. It explained a lot about the hotel and the guests who visit.

When I was working with Kim, my assignments varied day by day, or really, whenever I finished the task she had assigned me. I wrote responses to guest satisfaction surveys, recorded distributed gift certificates, and prepared picture frames for the colleagues who performed exceptionally well during Sydney’s version of fleet week. The tasks seemed pretty random, but I could understand the importance of doing each of them.

After my work week, my friends and I wanted to just hang out and explore. On Friday, we headed to the Night Noodle Market, which is a part of Good Food Month, where there were dozens of food stands. There were also small exhibitions, including a really pretty display of lanterns. After the Night Noodle Market, we headed out to Opera Bar and shared a cocktail jug of “Summertime.” Afterward, we went back to the Night Noodle Market, bought dessert, and headed back to the dorm, where we called it a night. I think most of us were tired from the week due to work and class, so it was no surprise.

On Saturday, Inez and I decided to visit the Powerhouse Museum, which has a focus on gadgets and trains. I think the building used to be a major station. Anyway, it was pretty cool. They had an awesome light exhibit with lasers and projections, and a video game exhibit with old fashion games (PacMan, etc.). There were also other exhibits with robots and typical science museum objects and activities. Additionally, there was a strange furniture exhibit, which made me feel like I was in Ikea, except I could not touch anything, boo. After the museum, we headed back to the Night Noodle Market, and I actually bought some (DELICIOUS) food this day.

Sunday was the 40^th birthday of the Sydney Opera House. The venue was open for the public to walk through, which Denise, Laura, Kunchy and I did. It was pretty nice, though not the most spectacular thing I have seen. When we exited, they gave us mini cupcakes, which resembled the fake giant cupcake placed outside the building. The cupcakes were surprising yummy! After this, we walked to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, which provides a stunning view of the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind it.

October 22, 2013

Whoops, I never finished the post. Well, that was about it for my weekend anyway. Had steak for dinner at Abercrombie (not the clothing store) last night; it was pretty good. Started week two of my internship today! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. As always, thank you for reading!

The zoo, the beach, and the Great Barrier Reef!

October 12, 2013

Hello all! I left off here with my Melbourne post. During the following week, I had two papers due and two finals to study for so nothing great happened. This week on the other hand was Spring Break! My friends and I flew up to Cairns, Queensland. Cairns, pronounced "cans," is where you go if you want to take a trip out into the ocean to see the Great Barrier Reef. Seeing this was my mission since I knew I was coming to Australia.

My friends and I left bright and early enough that it was still dark outside. Our taxi picked us up at 5:30am. Mind you, this would not be as bad if it weren't for the fact that NSW lost an hour on the same day due to daylight savings. Anyway, we made our way to the airport and through security for our 8:00am flight. The plane ride was nothing special, except that the woman that had the seat next to me claimed she heard my seat was empty. Sorry lady, I did not randomly sit in the seat next to you. Other than that, it was a pretty smooth three hour ride up.

We arrived in Cairns at 10am. Cairns is almost directly north of Sydney, but Queensland doesn't use daylight savings--something about how the schedule would confuse the cows. After we checked into the hostel, Travellers Oasis, we changed and headed to Esplanade. There was a man made lagoon that served as the pool and beach for Cairns, since there wasn't actually any nice beaches nearby. The lagoon was fun though and we all tanned a bit. Actually, we melted in the sun, but that's expected when the sun is so much stronger here. At night we headed to the Night Market for dinner, which is pretty much an Asian market selling souvenirs, jewelry, food, and massages. That night, we also went to Woolshed, which is a bar/club place. Apparently, dancing on tables here is encouraged (though at your own risk, of course). We were all pretty tired, so we called it a night around 10:30/11ish.

On Monday, we took a bus ride up to Cairns Tropical Zoo. It was a pretty small zoo, but they let you get pretty close to many animals--especially the kangaroos. I bought a bag of food and got to feed them right out of my hand! They were so cute. I saw all sorts of Australian animals, like koalas, bilbies, wombats, dingoes, and various birds. I love going to the zoo with my zoom lens and getting closeups of the animals. While we were at the zoo, I had the chance to "Cuddle a Koala." In New South Wales, it is illegal to hold koalas, so one of my missions during my trip to Queensland was to hold one of these fluffy marsupials. Queensland allows you to hold koalas but each koala can only "work" for a maximum of 30 minutes a day. I held Kyla who was seven years old and seemed to not have a care in the world as she was passed from person to person. I wish I could have taken this little creature home with me, but I don't think customs would approve.

After the zoo, we headed a little father up to Palm Cove. We ate lunch then headed out to the beach. Honestly, the water and the sand weren't great, though it was good for a relaxing afternoon. Inez and I dug giant holes for no reason and then continued digging holes to look for clams. We actually found four! When we finished at the beach, we headed back to our hostel for a bbq dinner. I tried kangaroo, emu, and crocodile! I think the emu was the best; it tasted most like steak. The crocodile was pretty good too. It tasted like chicken, but with a slightly tougher texture. The kangaroo was nothing special, though it is supposed to be one of the leanest red meats you can have. They are also in abundance, outnumbering humans in Australia 2.5 to 1. Still, I don't think kangaroo is something I will incorporate into my normal diet.

Tuesday was the day many of us were looking forward to--we were going snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef! We took a boat out to Green Island, which is a small island about 50 minutes from Cairns. Denise, Cara, and Deni wanted to go on the snorkeling trip in the morning, but Laura and Ken wanted to practice on the beach first. Inez and I stayed with Laura and Ken, so in the afternoon, we boarded a small boat and headed a few hundred meters off the beach. The views were spectacular! First of all, I've never snorkeled, so it was pretty cool to be staring in the water and able to breathe. Second of all, the fish were so colorful and interesting to look at. With the corals as the background, I felt like I was inside a giant aquarium. I took a bunch of pictures, but they don't do it justice. If you ever get the chance, go out and snorkle the GBR. My friends and I already didn't go to the really nice parts of the reef (it would've been much more expensive), but what we saw was great. With global warming and the environment changing, the reefs are in danger of losing their color and getting destroyed all together. It doesn't seem promising that anything is being done about it, though hopefully these reefs will still be here for decades to come.

After returning from Green Island, we went back to the hostel to shower and relax. Most of us went out for sushi for dinner, then Inez, Laura, and I got one of the $15 40 minute massages from the Night Market. Since most of us were tired, we just headed back to the hostel afterward and just talked and relaxed before going to sleep. On Wednesday, Laura, Ken and I went to brunch, while others found breakfast elsewhere. Inez, Denise, and Ken were leaving around noon for the next leg of their journey. That afternoon, Laura, Cara, Deni, and myself headed to the airport to return to Sydney. Yesterday, I went to Tree Top Adventure Course with Laura. Not as great as Adirondack Extreme, but still pretty fun. Now, I've just been spending time doing errands and being a bum before our next semester starts. I will have one class, Australian Social Policy, and an internship at Intercontinental Sydney. It should be great. I can't wait to start!

More photos

Melbourne and things.

September 27, 2013

To be quite honest, I was dreading writing this post. Not that I don't want to tell you or anything, but simply because so many things happened over the past week. Well, might as well start somewhere.

Thursday after my last post, my module class had a trip to Chinatown. Strange, I know. We were guided by a man who is a very prominent figure in the Chinese community in Sydney. He even got to run through Chinatown with the torch during the Sydney Olympics in 2000! Anyway, he led us on a tour of the street and gave us a brief history about Chinatown and the migration of Chinese people to Australia. Before I arrived, I only heard from Brian that Australia was known for being racist against Asians, so I had no idea how crucial the anti-Chinese sentiment was to Australia's development. At the end of the tour, we were treated to dim sum at East Ocean Restaurant. It was okay, but I definitely miss my Flushing dim sum. Can't wait to eat it when I'm home!

On the Friday, my friend, Cara's parents invited us all to dinner at their hotel room. They were staying at World Tower (I think) on the 69th floor. The view was STUNNING. We had a build your own taco dinner, which was really yummy. Reminds me that I want to make fajitas at some point. Anyway, it was a really nice night just chilling and talking with my friends and Cara's family. Later that night, Inez and I also took a dip in the pool on the 61st floor. Such a nice hotel. Must be expensive though.

The next day, a bunch of us went to check out Glebe Market, which is kind of an arts & crafts/thrift shop market. It was alright, but I didn't buy anything. Later that evening, I volunteered at the BEAMS festival, which was an arts festival in the Chippendale area. My shift was extremely boring and I wouldn't do it again, but the festival itself was pretty awesome. There were some really nice art pieces brought to the festival and some cool street art done on walls right before the festival started.

On Sunday morning, my program departed for Melbourne, Victoria. To be honest, I wondered why we were going to Melbourne. Sydney's supposed to be the best city in Australia, right? I soon found out how wrong I was. I loved Melbourne. It was reminiscent of New York's past, though still with the technological capabilities of today. That night, my friends and I grabbed dinner at a Greek restaurant. A bit pricey, but still yummy. We ended the night at Chuckle Bar, which was literally the space between two buildings with some lights strung up. I really liked the atmosphere there. We were exhausted from another long day, so we walked back to the hotel and just relaxed in the room.

Monday was reserved for the Great Ocean Road tour with Go West Tours! We departed early in the morning and made our way to the start. Throughout the day we saw so many beautiful beaches. They were so clean and empty. We also had a glimpse of a couple kangaroos and a few koalas. I managed to get a couple awesome pictures with the help of my zoom lens (muahaha!). Toward the end, we saw the Twelve (or eight) Apostles, the  London Bridge, which did fall down, and the Loch and Gorge. It was quite a sight. Even though I got somewhat motion sick on the bus, it was so worth it to go on the tour, because who knows when the next time I'll have the chance to see them will be! After getting back to the hotel around 10, we were exhausted and called it an early night.

Since we only had three days in Melbourne, Denise, Inez, Laura, Kunchy, and I decided we should get up early and explore. We ended up leaving the hotel around 7(?) and went to the Queen Victoria Market. It was supposedly open since 6am, but the vendors were not even set up by 7:30, so we just went to a cafe for some brekky. Later, we went to lecture and then most of us had academic tours starting at 10:30. The tour I went on focused on the laneways of Melbourne. Way back when, the laneways were originally used for services and sanitation between buildings. Now, they have been transformed into malls, cafes, bars, and canvases for street art.

On this night, we went out to Fitzroy to eat dinner at Naked for Satan, which is a tapas restaurant. It was pretty great because each piece was only a dollar and they had plenty of options. We basically took 1-2 of each for the five of us to share. Our final bill only came out to $6 per person and we were pretty full. Next, we went down the street to check out The Alchemist. It was a quiet bar, but looked really antique. Inez and I shared a passion fruit drink. I forgot what it's called, but it was pretty good. After leaving this bar, we went back to the central business district of Melbourne to check out the Rooftop Bar and then The Croft Institute. The latter is a bar with a mental institution theme. It was pretty cool and slightly weird. Their drinks came with syringes, which was a nice touch. After this, we were starving, so we went to a 24 hour Chinese restaurant that looked a bit sketchy on the outside but fine inside. Shared some food then went back to the hotel and crashed after another long day.

Wednesday was our last day in Melbourne. We got up early to eat brunch at Hardware Societe, which was delicious, and grab coffee at Patricia's, which I wish I could have again. Melbourne is well known for coffee by the way! I had another tour, this time "Taking it to the Street," which was about street art in Melbourne. Their laneways of graffiti and murals are actually the biggest tourist attraction for the city and I can see why. Some of the art was really impressive and there sure was a lot of it. I learned about one artist, Ha Ha, who was legendary for his political stencils and ability to cover an entire bridge in one night without getting caught. Apparently, he dressed as a security guard so if the police came by, he would say that he caught some kid spray painting and they got away. Talk about clever! Anyway, after the tour, I walked the streets a bit, just taking everything in. Laura and Jessica met up with me at the mall for lunch and we killed a few hours before returning to Sydney.

I see why Sydney is where the tourists go, but if I have the option of returning to Australia in the future, I'd definitely want to take a stop at Melbourne. On that note, I should also mention that Melbourne and Sydney have a long standing rivalry, similar to New York and Boston. However, while Melbourne resembles New York, it's personality seems to align more with the Bostonians. They are more relaxed, a bit more friendly, and they are focused much more on their rival than their rival is focused on them. Many in Melbourne mention Sydney, while it seems few in Sydney mention them. Either way, Melbourne was an awesome city with great coffee, and I definitely want to return one day. What I'm not looking forward to? Writing this Melbourne paper, writing my wine paper, and a final for each class...yay. Well, until next time...