Today made me feel much better about my classes, which was really encouraging after a rather rough day yesterday. I made sure to eat a huge breakfast this morning (just in case we had a missing lunch break again), but had no reason to fear today! We got to meet our journalism professor, Sue Williams, who is absolutely amazing. I can't believe we're lucky enough to be taught about travel writing by someone like her. A travel writer and journalist herself, she had some truly incredibly and harrowing stories from some of her travels. She told us about going diving in shark cages recently, and the way they were told not to worry if the sharks stuck their heads through the bars, because they still wouldn't be able to open their mouths in such a tight spot, and how the journey out to the shark territory is so rough, even the crew can't handle it. She told us about a boxing traveling tent that goes around the Outback with trained fighters, ready to take on anyone willing to challenge them, in exchange for a money prize. She even took on one herself, despite the warnings of those around her, including the leader of the troupe. Though she didn't do well (obviously), it sure did make for a good story (and a sore head). One of the scarier stories she told was when she got stopped by the police while traveling in Uganda, who took her into a small shed, questioning her and threatening to kill her. After trying everything she possibly could (including demanding, crying, etc.) to attempt to be released, she finally managed to pay them off with what money she had (though it was barely anything). As they finally released her, and she started to walk away, they began firing their guns right above her head, so she ran back to the train station where the locals hid her under all of their stuff, and later placed her into the luggage rack with her bags, saying the police would be back. Sure enough, the train was stopped before it could leave, and the police searched the train, but didn't find her hiding spot and left, so she was able to leave safely. Definitely a terrifying situation to be in, I can't imagine what that must have been like.
After a quick pizza break for lunch, we then had to give presentations done on the readings from the night before, which were really interesting. Mine was on Mark Twain and his writings on Australia, many of which were very interesting in how well they still applied today. He described things as "out of focus" which I think is a great way of describing it. Things seem so familiar, that you can almost trick yourself into believing nothing is different, but then certain things happen, or are said, or are just different enough to throw you off, and make things seem blurry. It was really cool to read his first impressions of Australia, and compare them to my own, both of which were incredibly positive, especially regarding how welcoming and open the people are.
After a quick pizza break for lunch, we then had to give presentations done on the readings from the night before, which were really interesting. Mine was on Mark Twain and his writings on Australia, many of which were very interesting in how well they still applied today. He described things as "out of focus" which I think is a great way of describing it. Things seem so familiar, that you can almost trick yourself into believing nothing is different, but then certain things happen, or are said, or are just different enough to throw you off, and make things seem blurry. It was really cool to read his first impressions of Australia, and compare them to my own, both of which were incredibly positive, especially regarding how welcoming and open the people are.
When we were finally released from the depths of our classroom (which by the way smelled like sewage all day for some unknown reason), we headed on over to the Central Park mall for dinner, as we got some free coupons from some very nice (and very cute) Australian guys for the restaurants there. The restaurant area has a really nice patio that overlooks a little park behind it, so we sat there eating our Thai and Indian food. Yummmmm! Afterwards, we did a little bit of browsing through the stores. It's surprising just how different the fashion is over here, though it's hard to describe. Makes shopping much more interesting and different though! We're all planning on bringing some unique stuff home with us at some point that you can't find in America! Sian and I also found our favorite Australian reality tv show (some house designing competition that is ridiculously hilarious and fun) that we haven't been able to find since the first time we watched it a few days ago on the mall tv, so we quickly jotted down the time of new episodes, and can't wait to watch it some more!
Once we got back, we played around in the apartment for a little bit, especially with this hilarious app Veronica has which allows you to say anything into the microphone and it makes it into a rap for you (called auto rap for all you interested, it's a complete blast). Then it was off to Surry Hills, the cool, hipstery area of town to go exploring. It's super cute and pretty (and very hilly, as the name alludes to), and only fifteen minutes away from my apartment. We went into a bar there where a live band was playing, but left after a half hour (as the band wasn't that good, oops). So we wandered down for a bit until we found this super cool place called The Clock (because it has a clock tower on it) that had this super amazing lower deck, with a half open roof, and half undercover, where we sat and had drinks for a bit (though I just stuck to water because it's all so expensive here).
We had a really interesting conversation with one of the bartenders (from Australia) because when he heard we were from the States, he got really excited because he wanted to travel there. Surprisingly, it wasn't NYC or LA that he was most anxious to visit, but Alabama, Louisiana and the Midwest. When we asked why (as they didn't seem like the most interesting of places to us) he explained that he wanted to see actual America, and not the touristy parts. It really made us stop and think about how just like we were here hoping to see some more small-town Australian things on our roadtrip, that makes sense for travelers coming to America too. It must seem just as strange when we say all excitedly that we're off to the Australian bush to see the small towns. He was very friendly, and we all wished him luck on getting over to the States. Unfortunately, by this point, it was raining outside, but stopped after ten minutes, so we decided to quickly try and make it home. After two minutes however, the rain came back in full force, and we were absolutely soaked by the time we finally made it home! Poor Sian was not enjoying herself at all, while the rest of us found it much more therapeutic and had a blast. Now I'm halfway through laundry (need to go take my clothes out of the drier now!) and ready to shower and head to bed! Hope you all have lovely days!