Weeks 2 & 3

Week 2:

Monday 6/2

Today was our first day of class boo! We have class every Monday from 10am-4pm. My professor is really cool and is challenging people in class to a buck hunter tournament, you know the arcade game? When I told him I was from New York, he started doing his Brooklyn cop accent, and it was very good haha! In class we learn about Australian culture and history. I enjoy learning about a new culture and especially enjoy listening to my professors awesome accent. One of my favorite parts of class was when we learned all the Aussie slang words! Here was one of the videos we watched on Australian lingo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcAIr2-tCeg

Tuesday 6/3

Most everyone started their internships today, but my internship doesn’t start until next week. My friend also didn’t have to work so we spent the day exploring the city. We walked just about the entire city and went and looked in just about every store! The city is so huge that I find myself exploring new things everyday! Later that night I found some new people to play 1 on 1 with at the basketball court! It was a lot of fun to play against random people!

Wednesday 6/4:

Another day off in paradise!! I spent most of the day at the pool trying to get some color after being in snowy Vermont all year! I then walked downtown by myself and went to the Contemporary Art Museum. Many of you probably don’t know this, but I really love arts and crafts so the museum was really interesting to me! They had paintings, sculptures, and other crazy things in the museum. My favorite was the paintings done by Aboriginal Australians! Later that night, my friends and I took a walk to the opera house and spent the night there watching the awesome light show that has been taking place! It is absolutely beautiful to just sit at the opera house late at night! Very surreal

Thursday 6/5:

Today was a really rainy day! I took the day to get some rest and finally get rid of my jet lag! I watched a movie and cleaned up the apartment. We had class in the pub tonight! (Australians do things a bit different haha) The class event was called “Politics in the Pub.” We got to be apart of locals debating about the new controversial budget in Australia. I learned that the minimum wage is $18! During the end of the debate, many people rose and starting yelling about overthrowing the prime minister! When things started to get really heated, our professor had us leave the event; I thought for sure there was going to be a riot!!

Friday 6/6:

Today my friends and I went to the famous Sydney market called Paddy’s Market! This is the craziest market with many souvenirs, clothes, fruit, fish, costumes, etc.! Everything at the market is really cheap, so we all bought a lot of stuff since Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world! After this, we went to the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, which is where the first convicts in Australia lived. It was really interesting because we learned that Australia was primarily convicts at one point! The craziest stat I heard was that 1 in 10 Australians have a convict ancestor!!! We got to lay in the hammocks that the convicts slept in! At night, we met some more friends at the Argyle, which is one of Sydney’s most famous restaurants and dance clubs. The Argyle is both indoor and outdoor and has three levels; it was really cool! As a tradition, you have to Pancakes on the Rocks after you go to the Argyle. So we headed to the best pancake place in Sydney for more food! (I don’t mindJ) This place makes every pancake imaginable from dessert pancakes to chocolate brownie pancakes! Needless to say I was in heaven

Saturday 6/7

Today we had to attend a play at the local theatre for class. The play was called Young Tycoons, and it depicted some of the billionaires in Australia. It was absolutely hysterical! I didn’t want to go to the play, but I actually loved the play and had the best time. That night, we went to the cutest little Italian Restaurant! Everything was freshly made! I would have to say the food in Australia is good, but the desserts are unbelievable! We had the best homemade cakes and shakes after dinner!

Sunday 6/8

Today my boss paid for me to go watch a Judo Competition in a town called Wollongong. My internship changed and I am now working for a millionaire who is planning the Australian International Judo Festival in August! He wanted me to get a feel for Judo, which is a lot like martial arts, but they spend a lot of time wrestling on the ground; it was pretty intense! The train ride to Wollongong was so beautiful, as you go through the jungle to get there! Once we got to Wollongong, it was equally incredible! After we went to the Judo competition, we walked along the beach and did some random rock climbing. There were all these rock formations that you could climb and explore, and it was really fun to climb overtop of the ocean!

Week 3:

Monday 6/9

Today was a pretty boring day as we had class from 10am-9pm! It was really brutal, but we got a lot of breaks and they gave us tim tams! Tim tams are the best chocolate cookies you will ever have, I am addicted. Actually though, I eat like 5 a day (hello Australia 15lbs!) One of the actors from the play on Saturday came to our class and did a short skit for us. Later that night we met with our advisors about our huge research paper and presentation that we have to do at the end of the 7 weeks!

Tuesday 6/10

Today I started work!!! I have to take the train to work, so I am getting pretty good with the train system! I am very proud of myself that I have turned into quite the city slicker, since I have always been a farm girl! When I got off the train, it was pouring and I had no hood, no umbrella, nothing, and I was supposed to meet my boss! I was so upset because I was lost and soaked, when the nicest older man came up to me and put his umbrella over me and walked with me until I found my boss. It was such an amazing moment, just when I really needed someone. Makes you realize there are still some good people out there in the world. Work was extremely challenging! My boss is having me come up with sponsorship packages to present to potential sponsors for our event. We are trying to get ANZ, the national bank here in Australia, to sponsor us with $10,000! We are also looking to get other sponsorships from many other large companies! My boss is having me put together a power point and a presentation to give to ANZ and other companies. The thought of this absolutely terrifies me, but it is such an incredible experience. I am being challenged and learning a lot about how to plan the perfect event. I learned that planning an event takes A LOT of time and research!

Wednesday 6/11

Today was another day of work, in which I continued to work on the sponsorship packages. I got to sit on a phone call with an event planner and marketing manager who gave me tips on how to run events and get sponsorships from large companies. It was so cool to be apart of the action! I definitely make my share of mistakes, as it is my first time doing something like this, but thankfully my boss is really understanding! After work, I went to the store with my boss’ wife and we got candies and toys to make goodie bags for their son’s birthday party! So I made goodie bags and my boss made a cake and we headed to the park for the birthday party! Lots of little six year olds running around, but it was a blast! All of the kids have to wear sun hats when they go outside since Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer! The party was a success, the cake was delicious, and the kids had fun! My boss and his family are such nice people so it’s a great environment! Later at night, I tried gelato for the first time and it was so good!

Thursday 6/12

Today I worked only half a day! I work from my boss’ house and he is very laid back so he let me work on the porch. I am still preparing my presentation and doing research on how I can really try to persuade the bank to sponsor our event! I have met many local people in my boss’ neighborhood and they are all so nice! It is so funny, because Australians love Americans! They love American accents, and they also love Johnny Cash! When I tell them I am from New York, they freak out. I try to explain that I am not quite from the city, but they can’t imagine any other New York than the city. So many locals tell me how much they love NYC. I guess I never really realized how much America has impacted other nations all over the world! Later, my friends and I went walking around the city, we walked for about 6 miles! Well, its getting late here in Australia, and tomorrow after work my friends and I are flying to Melbourne to visit the Great Ocean Road and search for wild koalas! I am also trying to upload all of my pictures so you guys can see them, but I am still working on that! Until next time America!