Well, now that I finally have time to write this, I'm just going to put the whole week into one post since the majority of it was spent in class. So Tuesday morning we didn't have class for the first half of the day, so we got to sleep in and just kind of hang around, which was much needed as we were all still exhausted from the road trip (I still am, in fact, I don't think I'm ever going to have time to recover from all this non-stop traveling)! Class was pretty boring, Sharon just gave lectures of two of our readings, and assigned class presentations for over the next two weeks on the some of the readings as well. Mine is next Thursday, so I have to get started on that soon as well. A lot of girls were scrambling to finish up their class blogs (which I've put a link to the various posts I've put up in case you're interested so just click here) as they were due on Wednesday.
We got out of class and just hung around the apartments for a bit, but then I ended up going out for coffee with a guy I'd met in the park and been texting for a bit. It was really fun to just talk and hang out, as I feel like I haven't met as many actual Australians my own age. We talked for a long time and ended up getting dinner as well. He works in the IT department for the government, specifically dealing with hearings of Child Sexual Abuse cases, so he had some pretty sad stories. He's even done some stuff for the Rolf Harris case, which has just blown up over here, as it was discovered that Harris, who used to be a very famous children's television host and singer, was a pedophile. Very sad, it's been all over the news here. He told me some cool places I need to go, and offered to show me around Sydney at some point, so I'm excited for that. He's been to America before, and he talked about how cheap it was over there, but also said he was shocked at how strict and mean the TSA people were. He also gave me some Australian bands to check out, and some of their better movies (which he says there's very few of).
Wednesday didn't have much going on either, we had our journalism class all day. We were all still exhausted though, and being in that tiny, dim, windowless basement room didn't have us all in the best moods. We did a lot of work on pitching, both orally and written, and got our ideas for our newspaper articles approved by her. During our lunch break we made friends with the guys who stand outside Central Park Mall handing out coupons for food, and managed to get nearly $40 worth of coupons to spend on anything in the food court (which is actually really good). The coupons also came with free bottles of wine once we use two, so not too shabby. This mall is still pretty new, so they're still trying to get people to come into it, which is why they're always giving out free coupons. It works for us though, as we don't have to buy as many groceries when we're getting free lunch like that.
That night was spent mostly holed up in my room attempting to write my short story, but I was having trouble focusing and I didn't think any of my ideas were that good, so I only got a few hundred words in. Once House Rules came on, it was all over, as I wasn't going to miss that. Unfortunately, one of the couples I like got eliminated, and the one I hate managed to stay in so it was really upsetting. It was even more upsetting when the next day a bus passed by with my eliminated team's faces plastered all over it. My favorite couple is still going strong, so hopefully they take it home, but I'm still very sad about the outcome.
Thursday in class we had a mock pitch/interview, where we went out in the hall one by one and pitched two story ideas as if we were actually going to an editor. It was way easier than I thought it would be, and then we had the rest of the time to start working on our stories, so it wasn't a very hard day. In the afternoon presentations started, so then I just had to listen to a few of my classmates talk about the books. Two of the girls from my apartment are headed off to New Zealand so that's pretty exciting for them!
We got out of class and just hung around the apartments for a bit, but then I ended up going out for coffee with a guy I'd met in the park and been texting for a bit. It was really fun to just talk and hang out, as I feel like I haven't met as many actual Australians my own age. We talked for a long time and ended up getting dinner as well. He works in the IT department for the government, specifically dealing with hearings of Child Sexual Abuse cases, so he had some pretty sad stories. He's even done some stuff for the Rolf Harris case, which has just blown up over here, as it was discovered that Harris, who used to be a very famous children's television host and singer, was a pedophile. Very sad, it's been all over the news here. He told me some cool places I need to go, and offered to show me around Sydney at some point, so I'm excited for that. He's been to America before, and he talked about how cheap it was over there, but also said he was shocked at how strict and mean the TSA people were. He also gave me some Australian bands to check out, and some of their better movies (which he says there's very few of).
Wednesday didn't have much going on either, we had our journalism class all day. We were all still exhausted though, and being in that tiny, dim, windowless basement room didn't have us all in the best moods. We did a lot of work on pitching, both orally and written, and got our ideas for our newspaper articles approved by her. During our lunch break we made friends with the guys who stand outside Central Park Mall handing out coupons for food, and managed to get nearly $40 worth of coupons to spend on anything in the food court (which is actually really good). The coupons also came with free bottles of wine once we use two, so not too shabby. This mall is still pretty new, so they're still trying to get people to come into it, which is why they're always giving out free coupons. It works for us though, as we don't have to buy as many groceries when we're getting free lunch like that.
That night was spent mostly holed up in my room attempting to write my short story, but I was having trouble focusing and I didn't think any of my ideas were that good, so I only got a few hundred words in. Once House Rules came on, it was all over, as I wasn't going to miss that. Unfortunately, one of the couples I like got eliminated, and the one I hate managed to stay in so it was really upsetting. It was even more upsetting when the next day a bus passed by with my eliminated team's faces plastered all over it. My favorite couple is still going strong, so hopefully they take it home, but I'm still very sad about the outcome.
Thursday in class we had a mock pitch/interview, where we went out in the hall one by one and pitched two story ideas as if we were actually going to an editor. It was way easier than I thought it would be, and then we had the rest of the time to start working on our stories, so it wasn't a very hard day. In the afternoon presentations started, so then I just had to listen to a few of my classmates talk about the books. Two of the girls from my apartment are headed off to New Zealand so that's pretty exciting for them!
After class we finished up our short stories and then heard that the Game of Thrones exhibition was in town at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I got pretty excited because I had missed it when it came to NYC because I was in Boston at the time. Traffic was terrible trying to get down there on the bus, because it was a Thursday night, which is the night when Australians do all their shopping, so all the stores and buses stay open and run later. It was a nightmare. We got down there way later than we'd hoped, and found the most enormous line I've ever seen in my life. The waiting time from where it finally started was nearly five hours. Seeing as how it was supposed to close in a little over an hour, we decided to not even bother waiting in line as we'd never make it. I was filled with much sadness!
Instead we decided to just walk through the normal part of the museum, which is free! Woohoo! The exhibit ended up being really strange, and even though it was kind of cool, I'm still not sure I really liked it. It was some project by a Japanese artist who hand drew all these creepy and morbid animation things and had them all on display. Some of them were very disturbing, and I don't think I really understood any of them. The only section I really liked was this really tall, black and white abstract tree/shapes thing. It was really cool because at the bottom was a mirror reflecting everything that was happening above it, but the room was really dark so you couldn't tell it was a mirror at first, so it looked like it just dropped down on the other side of the barrier into an abyss. It was only if you leaned over very far (which as terrifying) that you could see your reflection and realize what it was.
Instead we decided to just walk through the normal part of the museum, which is free! Woohoo! The exhibit ended up being really strange, and even though it was kind of cool, I'm still not sure I really liked it. It was some project by a Japanese artist who hand drew all these creepy and morbid animation things and had them all on display. Some of them were very disturbing, and I don't think I really understood any of them. The only section I really liked was this really tall, black and white abstract tree/shapes thing. It was really cool because at the bottom was a mirror reflecting everything that was happening above it, but the room was really dark so you couldn't tell it was a mirror at first, so it looked like it just dropped down on the other side of the barrier into an abyss. It was only if you leaned over very far (which as terrifying) that you could see your reflection and realize what it was.
I liked the second floor a lot better which was more "traditional" modern art. One artist re-painted a whole bunch of famous Australian works from the Aboriginal perspective which was incredibly interesting. There was one that was a parody of Captain Cook (who "discovered" Australia) where their ship had a pirates flag. The caption read "We Call Them Pirates Here". It was really cool, and definitely one of my favorite pieces I saw. We also stumbled upon one called "A Sentimental History" where we found a reference to Ned Kelly, but none of us were quite sure what the painting as supposed to mean; we think it had something to do with his controversial recognition when there are more important issues to be worried about. It was very very interesting.
When we left we were a little disappointed because it was still early and it had taken us so long to get down there, that we didn't want to head back right away. We decided to sit and watch the boats come in and out for a bit, but we were all just getting so hungry that we didn't stay long because none of us wanted to buy dinner out. Luckily, most of the traffic had cleared up, so it barely took us any time to take the bus back to our apartment.
When we left we were a little disappointed because it was still early and it had taken us so long to get down there, that we didn't want to head back right away. We decided to sit and watch the boats come in and out for a bit, but we were all just getting so hungry that we didn't stay long because none of us wanted to buy dinner out. Luckily, most of the traffic had cleared up, so it barely took us any time to take the bus back to our apartment.
I got back and packed for Uluru, and ended up going for a beer with Matt. He gave me a head's up that Australian security was a breeze compared to the States, and tested some of my Australian slang (I did pretty good). He invited me and the other girls to come watch the State of Origin game with him and his friends next Wednesday, which is a huge rugby game over here between the players of Queensland and New South Wales. Even though New South Wales technically already won the series (they've already won two out of the three games) apparently they still play the third game. This is the first time in eight years NSW has won the State of Origin, so Sydney will be a party!
We headed back pretty early as I had to finish packing, and wanted to go to bed early so could get up early for our flight to Uluru. I can't wait to actually get to see the Australian Outback, but it's definitely going to be a busy few days as we have lots to do while we're there! It should be absolutely gorgeous, more updates later!
We headed back pretty early as I had to finish packing, and wanted to go to bed early so could get up early for our flight to Uluru. I can't wait to actually get to see the Australian Outback, but it's definitely going to be a busy few days as we have lots to do while we're there! It should be absolutely gorgeous, more updates later!