Sometimes, you have a bad day. And sometimes, you have an even worse day. Correction: An absolutely horrendous day. And that bad day followed by a worse, horrendous day makes for all-in-all a downright, horrible week. The kind that leaves you thinking, ‘It just couldn’t get any worse than this’. The kind that leaves you 100% ready to give up, get on the next plane to Vancouver, and fly back home.
But then you just need to stop and think; I am healthy. I am safe. My family is healthy. My family is safe. As long as I have those four things, no matter how bad my day or week seems to be going, everything will be alright. Because there isn’t anything else I could possibly want more than to know that the people I love and care about are doing well. My week may have been absolute sh*t (sorry guys, not going to sugar-coat this one), but thanks to the support of my family and some very special friends, I am okay. I will be okay. I am going to put aside what happened this week and look forward to the adventures to come on this amazing opportunity. I’m not giving up quite yet.
On a happier note, last Sunday I participated in the Sydney Tower Stair Challenge with a crew of hard-working, exercise enthusiasts like myself from the Queen Mary Building. Helping to raise money for children with autism, we each climbed the 1504 stairs up the fire escape to the observation deck of the infamous Sydney Tower. It was hot- it was sweaty- it was up the fire escape, for goodness’ sake. But it was exhilarating knowing that I had just climbed 1504steps, all the while supporting a cause that holds a special place near-and-dear to my heart. In the end, my results ended up pretty decent! With a time of 12:20, I ended up winning the Female 20-29 category (out of 98), placed 7th (out of 365) overall in the Female category, and ended up 60th overall out of a total of 765 finishers. Not too bad considering Tim Tams have become a staple in my everyday diet (they’re apart of the 5th food group, right??
QMB WOMBOMBS looking fabulous (just the usual)
Yeah that’s right…we climbed that
Post-climb snap chat caption says it all
The lesson of the week – sometimes bad things happen. And it sucks. But, look to the friends you’ve made while on exchange for support and look to your parents for help and support back home. It’s incredible when you realize how truly loved you are, no matter where you are in the world. Because believe me, you are loved.
When you’ve been living in the same building for six weeks, with the same group of wonderful people for six weeks, with the same set school schedule for six weeks, eventually one gets into a routine of things. Although I have been loving every minute of exploring all that Sydney has to offer, I am also finding myself looking forward to the week-after-week events that have begun to occur around QMB – or, heck, with a few more under our belts, one might even call them “traditions”.
A few Wednesdays ago, my #westcoastbestcoast-ers and myself found ourselves craving something. Something that although is very easy to get here, is 1. Not that popular, and 2. Quite expensive. After checking out the prices at our go-to grocery store Coles, I discovered that buying salmon was just not feasible on a student budget. However, when there were three of us all wanting some, we thought, Hey! Why not split the cost of a gourmet meal, and cook a wholesome, nutritious, tasty feast together? So, we did just that. Who would have thought that for less than $10 I would be nomming on lemon garlic salmon, zucchini fritters, avocado aioli and a fresh green salad on the side? Definitely not me.
When the next week rolled around, we thought since the week before had been such a roaring success, economically, nutritionally and socially, why not do it again? So after minuteshours of planning, fam dinner night 2.0 was born. Stuffed capsicums (peppers for all you non-Aussies), refried beans and chickpeas, and corn on the cob made for a semi-Mexican fiesta evening. Two dinners in, and we’re already planning future evening meals for weeks to come. Simple to say that I can assure you that Wednesday night dinners will be a regular thing (SEE MUM? I’M FEEDING MYSELF).
Moving along with the week, we come to Thursdays, which have become somewhat of a double whammy. Thanks to my British hombres, I have been introduced to the wonderful, wonderful world of the Great British Bake-Off (or GBBO for short). Think Master Chef, but British accents, baked goods, and an adorable old lady judging. Honestly, what more could you want out of a TV series?? Thursdays nights now consist of British tea, biscuits, and GBBO in the theatre – potentially my favourite evening of the week.
With all this talk of baked goods, it only seemed fitting that we actually do some baking ourselves to fill our bellies, instead of just our dreams with sweet, sweet chocolate. An unofficial baking club has commenced as a result, but the results so far have been SUPERB. Armed with only 1/3 and ¼ cup measures, one metal bowl and an alarming lack of muffin tins and spatulas (the horror!), we’ve tackled Blondies, Avocado Chocolate Chips Cookies (my fav so far) and Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread. These recipes really do take the cake (GET IT?? THEY’RE ALL DESSERTS) and help to make Thursdays an all around evening of baking-goodness.
And finally Fridays…glorious Fridays, free of class, homework, and all around responsibility. Luckily for me, I have found others who also share the magic of no-class Fridays, and who also share a love for the outdoors. Hence, the Bombin’ Bushwalkers were born. Ready to take on the rugged Australian landscape, the last three Fridays have consisted of early wake ups, long trains rides, and three very different, yet individually spectacular bush walks in their own rights. Not only has it been great to get the extra exercise, but it’s given all of us the opportunity to get outside the city and see some parts of Sydney I don’t think any of us would have seen otherwise. With lots more walks to discover and the weather getting nicer and nicer by the week, I can’t wait to see what else we can discover.
Sassafras Loop, August 21st, 2015
Spit to Manly Walk, August 14th, 2015
Great North Walk, August 7th, 2015
Sometimes traditions don’t need to occur on a certain day of the week or at a certain time of day. Sometimes, they can be whenever, wherever, because sometimes you just want a Tim Tam. Or 6. Tea and Tim Tam seshes have become hugely popular with our crew, and a regular occurrence at least twice a week. The procedure goes as follows:
*to Facebook group*: “Tea and Tim Tams on Level 8”
*everyone goes to level 8 to drink tea and eat Tim Tams*
It’s become a ritual that allows us to catch up with each other, see how one’s day or week went, and just enjoy the wonderful company. This tradition has been a part of the QMB family since day 1, and I must admit, probably one of my absolute favourites.
Quite obviously original is the popular flavour
Weekly events are helping to really making this place feel like home, and the people I am here with feel like a family all-unto themselves. Thanks guys for taking part in these new traditions, and I’m eager to see what else may arise from our time here together <3<3
As much as I would love to be able to write about my great adventures every week (or so I like to think), there is such a thing as “reality”, and consequently with that comes the main purpose of my trip – i.e. school. Considering this is an exchange, for the peace of mind of my parents and for future UBC students on exchange wherever that may be, I thought I would take some time to reflect on my first three weeks of classes, and how it compares to three years of a very different type of teaching.
First of all, I’m going to let you know – It. Is. DIFFERENT. If you are going to travel half way across the world and expect your lectures to be just like home-sweet-home, turn around, get back on that plane and head back to your regular, old classes. The lectures here at USyd are definitely not what i was expecting, but I feel as though I’m finally starting to adjust. All of our lectures are recorded and put online, which was a very new and strange concept for me. It makes it convenient should one need to miss a lecture for whatever reason (cough cough travels cough cough exchange student) and catching up on missed notes is easy peasy – find the missing slide, type it up, and keep on truckin’. However, I am also finding that since the lectures are recorded, that the professors put the SIMPLEST notes possible on the power points and discuss the concept at length verbally. And although most teachers back home have “simple” notes for their lectures, when I say simple here, I mean one idea per slide, two if you’re lucky. Heck, sometimes one word As a self proclaimed visual learner, me + auditory teaching are like oil and water. Not a good mix. In one ear, out the other. Ugh.
Despite my struggles in adjusting to this new style of learning, I am taking a course here that I would not be able to take at home, called “Outdoor Education”. This class is comprised of learning about how one can learn from nature, how nature can be used to supplement learning, and how we as humans learning about nature can help to create more sustainable methods of enjoying the great outdoors. Was my taking this class an excuse to bush walk even more? Possibly…. #ClassicSteph
This past weekend me and 35 other exchange students from my class spent our Saturday enjoying the great outdoors in NSW’s beautiful Royal National Park. Located approximately an hour and a half from campus, we hopped on a bus early Saturday morning, and started our trek around 10 am. I must admit, with my recent bush walking, and especially this past weekend’s day trip, I am quickly falling in love with all
that Australia has to offer. Walking an 8 km trail from the suburb of Bundeena to Wattamolla, we were treated to views of the bluest of oceans, sandstone cliffs, and wait for it…WHALE SIGHTINGS. FREAKING WHALES. Within 5 minutes of beginning our trek, we were treated to a show of breaching and majestic tail flipping out of the water. It was some National Geographic-level stuff. Ah. Maz. Ing.
In case I forgot to mention, I have been ill for the past two and half weeks. It has been constant battle against sore throats, congestion, tightness in the chest, and with no down time between classes and the seemingly never-ending events going on around Queen Mary and Sydney, it’s been getting the best of me. So combined with the on-going IT band injury I’ve been struggling with since December of last year, despite the beauty of the Royal National Park, injury and sickness really caught up with me. Like, as in I-really-could-have-slept-in-and-not-gone-on-this-trip-but-would-have-failed-if-I-didn’t-get-on-that-bus thoughts going through my mind. Physically, mentally, emotionally exhausted. However, this weekend ending up leading to some self-discovery, not only from an outdoors point of view, but in a way that can be applicable to my entire life. I’ve always been a believer of pushing through injury and sickness, but very few times in my life have I been this sick, tired, and injured at the same time, and usually I end up crawling into bed, closing the curtains, and forgetting about the world for a few hours in order to re-charge. Without this option this weekend, I was happy that I was able to get through it like I did, and I really found a new side of myself that I am proud to say that I am, in fact, proud of in and of itself. As a part of this class, we are required to keep a reflective journal in the form of the blog. You can check out it out here if you’d like for a full re-cap of my weekend, awkward drawings and self-reflective video full of “uh’s” and “um’s” included. But if you’re thinking “SERIOUSLY Steph? Another blog?!” then, tldr; I CAN PUSH THROUGH ANYTHING. I AM STRONG.
Whew, heavy blog post this week guys, sorryz. Had to be done though – not everything about exchange is fun and games. When it gets down to the bottom of it, this is still a schooling experience, and needs to be understood and treated as one. Hopefully next week will be lighter and less reflective more to your reading pleasure. Anyway, until the next post,
As many of you may know, I am an active participant in the great outdoors – whether it be hiking, skiing, etc. I love being out enjoying nature. So when trying to decide on what school to go to for exchange, Australia was an extremely tantalizing choice – the multitudes of nature meant hiking, hiking and more hiking! Or, I guess I should get with the cultural times and say “bushwalking”.
The week started off with our residence organizing a trip to the famous Taronga Zoo, home to some of Australia’s most exotic and interesting specimens of the fauna-kind. We hopped on a bus, drove across Sydney’s famous Harbour Bridge, and got dropped off at the gates of this park of visual amazement. Seriously. So cool. The huge park contained animals of every kind, not only from Sydney, but from around the world (elephants! <3) Heck, we even had some west-coast representation from the Californian Harbour seals. BOO. YAH. We must have spent close to five hours walking around, just trying to take in the hundreds of spectacular species living in the zoo. However, we did “accidentally miss” the spider exhibit. Oh darn. Better luck next time 😉
School ensued for the rest of the week, but no class on Friday meant FINALLY, FINALLY me and a group of like-minded thinkers headed out on what was for most of us our very first Australian bushwalking experience. An hour train ride away, we arrived at Berowra, where we began our 13km adventure along the Great North Walk trail. Australian bushwalking is VERY different than our British Columbian hiking – for those of you who have hiked BC before, you’d know that most of our trails go up. And when I say up, I mean UP. Our Friday adventure provided a leisurely rolling nature walk – a lot of down, a lot of flat, and a lot of up throughout the duration of the hike made for easier walking than the usual BC standards, but it was gorgeous none-the-less. The blue waters, vibrant green forests, the screaming child-like call of the local birds (wait, what?) made for a real Australian-nature experience, one that I had sorely been lacking and desiring since having thus far spent most of my stay in the main city area. Although, we couldn’t COMPLETELY get away for urban life. Half way through, we caught a car ferry across the Berowra River and stopped for a well-deserved coffee at the local café. (What? When in Rome they say…) Five and half hours later, with countless photos, laughs and memories on hand, we arrived in Cowan, got back on the train, and went back to home-sweet-home for some well-earned R&R.
And finally, Saturday provided the most wild-experience of my trip so far. Australia. New Zealand. Bledisloe Cup. With the cheapest tickets possible (#studentlife), a group of 20 or so of us were able to watch the Wallabies take on the All Blacks in a rugby game for the ages. I’ve never seen so much yellow and green in one place, the ANZ Stadium packed with AUS and NZ fans alike. The game was AMAZING. Tries and conversions went back and forth, before finally (and rather unexpectedly) the Wallabies went down in history and went on to take the cup. The stadium EXPLODED. Truly, it was the wildest experience I’ve had in my time down under so far.
Reppin’ our adopted colours
My first taste of Australian nature has got me hungering for more, and I can assure you, bushwalking with most definitely be in the near future (Bushwalking Fridays, anyone?)
I walked into my first linguistics lecture this past week, and the first question that was posed to us was, “what is culture?” Well, firstly and most importantly, they’re shared between a group of people. They can be the parts of life we don’t necessarily see – ideas, principles, goals, attitudes, ways of thinking; but they can also be the overt parts of life that we experience every day, like food, music, art and literature. Having thought about just what culture is in class made me realize that these past two weeks were indeed a cultural experience of monstrous proportions.
Upon arrival in Sydney, I quickly found out that coffee is in and of itself a religion in Australia. You can’t walk down a city block without finding at least three cafes or shops that sell coffee. And it’s GOOD stuff – the amount of pride and care that goes into each cup of coffee is outstanding. Coffee has quickly become a staple in my daily routine; though not for the caffeine as it is for many other sleep-deprived university students, but for the aromatic, creamy experience that comes from drinking a cup of the stuff. I must say, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to drink Canadian coffee again (sorry Tim Hortons… </3)
The food scene is just as vibrant around the city, with endless options of different types of food at different price ranges to choose for a night out. It’s almost overwhelming at times, as eating out becomes a dilemma of where to pick from out of the THOUSANDS of option possible. In Newtown, the suburb 5 minutes away from our student accommodations, the street is lined with seven dollar lunch deals at the numerous Thai restaurants lining the main street through the area, King Street. This past Friday afternoon, a group of us wandered up to a place called Newtown Thai, ordered take-out and ate lunch in the chilly (wink wink), 20 degree Celsius weather in nearby Camperdown park. Pumpkin, egg, tofu, veggie stir fry with peanut sauce was definitely a winner, with the other half of the meal sitting in my fridge still waiting to be consumed. Oh man. I’ve got myself drooling just thinking about it.
But then again, just like with any city, you end up hearing about places you JUST CAN’T MISS. With five months left in my trip, I know I have lots of time to make my way through them…but the last few weeks of going out for treats have allowed me to accomplish a few of them. While on a day trip to the historic Rocks, approximately 5 minutes away from the famous Circular Quay (we’re talking Sydney Opera House), we popped into a restaurant called “Pancakes on the Rocks”. Words can’t do it justice. Four thick pancakes, ice cream, cream, syrup and covered in macadamia nuts, it was a meal and a half all unto itself. I would highly recommend it, and will definitely be going back for another helping soon.
Pancakes in the Rocks, Macadamia Nut Pancakes – oooohhh man
Another place we heard about through the grapevine was an ice cream shop called N2. But this was not your regular, run-of-the-mill ice cream shop – oh no, this was frozen with nitrogen, injected with melted chocolate, filled with chunks of fudge ice cream. Located waaaaay too conveniently to our dorm, a group of us trekked up to it one night after dinner for an ice cream treat to remember. Although the picture may not do it justice, think Marble Slab, but about 5X better. Oh yeah. THAT good.
And of course, I couldn’t be in Australia without trying out the infamous Vegemite. Made from a mix of who knows what, it’s basically a black, salty spread that all Aussie children grow up with on their toast for breakfast. Despite the groans from my other international friends, I’ve come to like it – especially in the form of “Tiger Toast”. Bread, vegemite and cheese in the oven, it makes for a pretty great breakfast treat.
Cheesy, cheesy Tiger Toast (thanks Matt <3)
But alas, I swear I’ve not only been eating food while here. This week allowed me to listen to, see, and experience some of Sydney and Australia’s music, street art and literature – rather rapidly in fact.
Friday evening, one of my new friends Matt took Emi and I to a lounge session at another local uni’s pub for an up and coming Australian band called “Gang of Youths”. 40 minutes of experiencing this indie band has got me hooked, as they have an intensely, chill sound – if that even makes sense. If you don’t believe me, check this out. They’re seriously good.
As for art, living next to hipster-esque Newtown has introduced me to the street art of Sydney. This isn’t your run of the mill tag graffiti though – these are works of art. An hour of wandering around Newtown before our Thai-food adventure this past week allowed us to find numerous masterpieces, most commonly tucked away down alley ways or on the backs of people’s car garages.
And finally, literature. Well, when one takes a class titled “Australian Literature: International Contexts”, you’re going to end up with some cultural reads. The first book I’ve been making my way through, “Five Bells” by Gail Jones is not what I would call my favourite. However, following the stories of four people in Sydney, it has been interesting that already I’m recognizing places, events, and even bus numbers mentioned in the novel.
The weather was definitely more enjoyable than the reading material…
So to say the least, this week – indeed a cultural experience. Maybe it’s because we discussed it in class; maybe it’s because it’s finally hitting me that I’m here for five entire months. Either way, I’m excited to see what Australian culture throws at me along the rest of the way!
Well, family, friends, people-who-may-have-stumbled-upon-my-blog-but-don’t-really-care; I did it! Fourteen and half hours of flying, 12,493km, 19kg of dead weight on my back and nine hours of napping later, I made it to Sydney ready to take on this new city and come to call it my home over the next five months. My first three days here were, to be honest, quite uneventful. I arrived Wednesday, July 15th at 5:45am and having only gotten a few hours of sleep on the plane, placed my bag on my back, carry-on luggage in hand and went to navigate the infamous trains of Sydney. Immediate failure. Whether it was the tiredness or the complete lack of attention paid, I got on the wrong train and started heading quite the opposite of the direction I needed to be heading. So, up went the giant red hockey bag onto my back again, and onto the opposite train I hopped (or dragged myself…that bag was HEAVY) to get to my destination. Two train transfers, one taxi ride, and two hours later I finally made it to Ben and Laura’s apartment, where I almost immediately crashed for nine hours. Yup. Big first day in Sydney alright.
The next few days were fairly uneventful, with a lot of aimless wandering and trains. Ben, a dear friend from swimming club back home, and his girlfriend Laura kindly let me stay with them for two nights, during which they fed me a delicious meal and took me out for my first Aussie bar experience. All I can say is, I am now thoroughly hooked on meat raffles and trivia.
Surf Camp Australia
Friday evening, the first real adventure finally began. As a part of the University of Sydney’s Study Abroad and Exchange program, we were offered the opportunity to experience a weekend of surfing, the ocean, and some “sweet as” Aussie vibes through Surf Camp Australia for a two-day, two-night surfing adventure. So, all ninety of us signed up piled onto a bus Friday night and off we went to the small town of Gerroa, located approximately two hours south of Sydney. Greeted by beach-style huts and some rad instructors, we quickly went to bed, eager to see what surfing would bring the next day.
10 degrees Celsius and cloudy was not the ideal motivation to get out in the water the next day. Nope, no, not at all. But we all braved the cold and put on our wetsuits, walked down to the beach, and started what was for most of us, our first ever surfing lesson. It. Was. Exhilarating.
Two hours have never flown by so fast. And for those of you who know me, me and the ocean are like water and oil. Not a good mix. But that Saturday morning, I couldn’t get enough of it. We went back to camp for some lunch A LOT of lunch, during which it began to POUR. Although there were thoughts of staying at camp and curling up into a tiny ball in bed, we all braved it and headed back out for a rainy (and shorter) surf session.
Being the only Canadian at camp, I was adopted by the British (updates on my transition to becoming British to come).
Wombats in Wetsuits
Eating, drinking and dancing ensued that evening, of course – would you expect anything different from ninety young adults the week before semester starts? And the next morning we were greeted with actual sunshine. HALLELUJAH. All I can say is, I have discovered a sport unlike anything I’ve tried before. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
Sunday evening, exhausted and salty, we headed back to Sydney, where I then hopped onto another train to Liverpool, and spent the night with Samantha, a distant cousin through my dad’s side of the family. Tea, biscuits, telly and family were just what I needed before the week to come. The next morning, Samantha drove me to my new home – the newly renovated Queen Mary Building, located just five minutes from the main USYD campus. Never having lived in dorms (or, “halls”) before, it truly was a whole new experience all unto itself – so many people, so much to do, so much free food. All of us in the same boat, there was some quick bonding (WOMBOMBS <3).
The next two week were INSANE. There never seemed to be a minute of downtime. Between going out with new friends, tea and Tim Tam time in the lounges (which has since become a regular occurrence), and exploring new parts of Sydney, every day was filled with something to do.
The Opera House from the Rocks
Bondi Beach
Manly Beach
So, if you’ve made it this far into the post; congrats! Sorry for the rambling but I could keep going on and on (I WON’T – don’t you worry. I’m even tired of listening to myself talk in my head). My first two weeks in Sydney were filled to the brim with new things to do, to see, and to be. I’m so excited for the adventures to come, and hope that you’ll come along for the (virtual) ride.
