Friday June 13th:
Today was a long day of work! After work, my friends and I
headed to Melbourne, which is a city in the state of Victoria. It was a little
bit scary flying out on Friday the 13th, but we made it safely!
Saturday June 14th:
After getting just a few hours of sleep, we woke up at
5:30am to do a tour of the Great Ocean Road. We got on a white hippie van with
people from all over the world and traveled out to the Great Ocean Road! It is
one of the most scenic drives I have ever been on! The ride is 2-3 hours of
winding roads along the ocean coast! Along the way we stopped at several
locations to get out and look around. For lunch, we stopped at a beautiful
lighthouse and had a traditional Aussie bbq! We then headed to the 12 Apostles,
which are these beautiful rock formations out in the middle of the ocean! It
was here that my friend and I rode in a helicopter over the 12 Apostles! It was
the most incredible thing to see Australia from above! We got to wear the
headsets that the pilot wears, so that was also pretty cool. After this, we
headed to the rainforest and walked through it! Following this, we saw wild
koalas sleeping in the trees. To finish our tour, we headed to this beautiful
gorge and got to go out on the beach! It was a really awesome day!
Sunday June 15th:
Today we took a 3-hour walking tour of Melbourne! It was
really cool because we walked the entire city. Melbourne is very different
because it is almost half European looking and half modern looking! There are
many cute streets filled with little shops and the best restaurants! I think my
favorite part of the tour was the graffiti filled streets, as the artwork was
really cool. I met people from China, Liverpool, Germany, and Italy on the
tour! It is always interesting to talk to people from different cultures and
hear their stories. We got lunch with a girl from the San Francisco who had
been traveling all over Australia and Asia for the past 4 months! We then
visited the Australian Open stadium, which was awesome!! For the rest of the
night, we walked around the city and went shopping. We had a late flight that
night to bring us back to Sydney!
Monday June 16th:
Today we had class, except not in the classroom, which is
always my favorite! We first went to the museum of Sydney, which gave us the
history of how the Opera house was built and why the Harbor Bridge was built!
We looked at Aboriginal artwork at this museum as well. The next museum we went
to was the World Press Photo Exhibition, which is a display of the top World
Press Photos! I saw a lot of really incredible photographs, most of which
showed the hardships taking place all over the world. After this, we headed to
the Royal Botanical Gardens, which is this huge park of gardens and unique
flowers. It is not only gorgeous, but peaceful as well; the perfect way to
spend a sunny afternoon! After this my friend and I headed to the climb the
Sydney Harbor Bridge! We climbed it at night so we had to wear beanies,
headlights, and these cool jumpsuits! We got to climb underneath and through
the bridge, in which cars and trains were going past us! After 1,394 steps, we
made it to the top of the bridge! The view was unbelievable, to see the city
lit up at night! It was a truly incredible experience, and a great workout!
Tuesday June 17th:
Today was a workday! What I thought was going to be a
regular workday, turned into an incredible day! It turns out that Coldplay was
filming their new music video for their new song Sky Full of Stars outside of
my bosses’ house! My boss is a really great guy and he let me leave work to go
be in the music video! It took about three hours because the band had to do 3
takes! Our job was to just dance and sing along with the band. During the
video, they shot out confetti and it covered the streets! It was so awesome
because I was only 3 rows away from Coldplay! After the video, we got to
witness a live recording session, as we had to be dead silent as the band sang!
It was an unforgettable experience to say the least!
Wednesday June 18th:
Today I started my second internship at Jack Morton, which
is a worldwide event production company! It was very professional as I had to
dress super nice and they gave me my own desk with two computers and a phone. I
spent most of the day observing and getting a feel for the corporate world.
It’s very intimidating I must say, and I’m not so sure a corporate environment
is the one for me after experiencing it! I like a smaller business and more
casual environment much better! After work, there was a huge rugby game on that
featured the rivalry of New South Wales(which is the state Sydney is in) and
Queensland( the state above NSW). New South Wales hadn’t won in 18 years, and
they were down 4-0 at the half, and then came back to win 6-4! The city went
nuts, you could hear people screaming and cheering the whole night! Australians
are very passionate about their sports, that is for sure!
Thursday June 19th:
Today I worked at Jack Morton again. It was very interesting
today because I got to talk to the CEO of the Australia division of the
company. She was very nice and gave me some really great advice about becoming
an event planner. It was also a funny day because I was having a very hard time
understanding my boss! She told me to check someone’s diary, and I told her I
didn’t think I should do that! She seemed very confused, and I explained to her
that I don’t think its right to go through someone’s personal diary and she
explained that diary meant someone’s schedule! Then to continue the confusion,
my boss asked me why I was getting a bachelor’s degree in science if I was
studying business! I had to explain that that is the term we use in America!
So, working in another country definitely has its challenges for sure, especially
when the same words are used differently! That night we had to attend a play
for class and the theatre down at the beach. The play was good, and we finished
the night by going to Ben and Jerrys! (yes they made it all the way to
Australia)
Friday June 20th:
Today I went back to my other work on the Judo Festival. My
boss said he had a surprise for me this morning! He took me to this non-profit
organization that he works with called the Big Issue. The Big Issue is a
magazine that is sold to homeless or disadvantaged people, who in turn go out
on the street and sell it for double what they pay for it. This charity allows
these people to slowly get back on their feet. It is also unique because they
don’t just hand the people the money, they make them go out and earn their
money! It is fascinating that the Big Issue is the primary source of income
from these people. The magazine is just like any other magazine, with current
issues inside, as well as a section for the homeless people to share stories or
poems! Every two weeks, the magazine launches their new edition and the homeless/disadvantaged
come to pick up their magazines and sell their supply! The Big Issue puts on a
huge breakfast for them! I got to volunteer, which was such a inspiring
experience. I got to talk to many homeless people, all of whom were so nice and
they all had incredible stories. It makes you realize how lucky you really are
to have shoes on your feet and a roof over your head. Many of them were
cracking America jokes to me and were talking about their favorite NFL team!
One of the guys played piano and he was so good! Needless to say it was an
amazing day just getting to talk and meet these wonderful people who have had a
bad break! As I was heading home, I saw one of the guys I had met earlier in
the day on the street selling his magazine and he remembered me, so I bought a
magazine from him. It made his day, amazing how one little act can change
someone’s day! Kind of like the other day when that man put his umbrella over
me! After work, my friends and I got on a plane and headed for a weekend
adventure in Cairns!
Saturday June 21st:
Today, we headed to a village in the rainforest called
Kuranda! We spent the entire morning hiking; probably about 3 hours of hiking
in total! We saw this beautiful waterfall! We also hiked all through the
rainforest, which was so cool to see what the rainforest was like! During the
hike, my friend and I went off the trail and found the most beautiful view of
the mountains and countryside! Sometimes you have to go off the beaten path to
find the best view! After our hike, we went to the koala gardens, where we got
to hold a koala! The koala’s name was Fred and he was so cute! Koalas have
sharp claws though, as little Fred cut my stomach! After this we got to feed
Kangaroos and Wallabies! They are so cute as well, and man were they hungry!!
It was really awesome because the kangaroos are just running free and you can
go up right next to them and pet them, feed them, and/or take a selfie!(which
most people were doing) After this we walked through the village, which had
many cool shops and cafes! Later that night we went back to Cairns and spent
the night in the city!
Sunday June 22nd:
Today was a very exciting day! We woke up with the sunrise
and headed out to the jetty!(dock) We got aboard this boat called the Reef
Encounter! We headed out about two hours to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef!! It
was so surreal! It is always one of those things you read about, but never
think you will actual do it. Snorkeling was surprisingly difficult! I found it
hard to breathe through the mask and swim at the same time. The reef was so
amazing and there were so many colorful fish! We were right on top of the reef
at some points, which led to myself and a few others actually getting cut by
the reef! The second spot we snorkeled was so amazing, the water was so blue
and we were again touching the reef! However, the waves were extremely rough!
We were getting rocked and I found it hard to stay afloat! The waves were so
big that they would almost pull you down to where you thought you were going to
smash your face on the reef! The captain actually called us out of the water because
it was so rough! I struggled to even get out of the water because the waves
kept knocking me and I actually wiped out on the ladder! Although it was rough,
it was truly amazing to see the Great Barrier Reef! I can also officially say
that I found Nemo!!! The water was so salty that when we got back to shore, my
entire body was covered in salt! We didn’t do much the rest of the night, as
many of us were a little motion sick from a long day on the boat!
Monday June 23rd:
Today we went to Tjapukai, an Aboriginal Cultural Park, that
tells the history and life of the still existing Tjapukai culture. This was the
most unique thing I have done so far! We got a lesson in how they make their
weapons and we also learned some of their language. We then got to throw spears
that they typically use to hunt! It was very difficult, and I was pretty
terrible at it! After this, we saw two dance shows, in which they performed
traditional dances for us! We got to learn a dance, which was really fun. After
this, we headed out to the field to learn how to throw a boomerang! It was
awesome!! I finally got one to return to me, and I got scared and instead of
catching it, I ducked and got hit in the head! It was really fun and I bought a
boomerang to bring home; I think I found my new favorite hobby! (check out the video:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=501079156692229&l=369775696292512605)We then got our
faces painted by some of the Aboriginal women! We learned that they paint
themselves to resemble different things in nature. To finish our morning, I got
a didgeridoo lesson, which is one of the oldest instruments! The Tjupaki make
these from hollow trees and then hand paint them. There is a very specific
technique to play a didgeridoo! I wasn’t very good at all, but finally the
instructor and I got a good tune going! It was so cool to play it and partake
in such a rich culture. Everything they own from their boomerangs to their
didgeridoos are beautifully hand painted, and each painting has its own story.
I was extremely fascinated by the Tjupaki’s culture! After eating a whole pizza
for lunch, my friend and I rode a bus to this beautiful little beach called
Trinity Beach! It was so pretty and very peaceful. We spent the afternoon
relaxing in the sun and not swimming because there were signs that warned us
about crocodiles and stinger jellyfish in the water! After this, we headed to
the airport to head back to Sydney for another week of work! It has been an
incredible and action packed 4 weeks so far! I have just under 3 weeks left of
my time in Australia, it is crazy how fast it has gone! With that being said,
it is late here and I am on the plane back to Sydney, so I am going to get some
much needed sleep! Goodnight America!:) *P.S. I am having a hard time uploading my photos onto here, so when I figure it out, I will post an entire album!