April 25, 2013

Hostel Environment

With only four days left in Australia, I'm starting to get more and more excited to return home to my family and friends.  At current, I am spending my last few days in a hostel titled "Backpackers in Paradise".  This is the first time that I have ever been in a hostel, so truly I did not know what to expect when I arrived.  Apparently, you bunk with strangers and share bathrooms, showers, cooking tools, and stories.  My hostel, in particular, seems to be catered towards a 'party' crowd.  Not to say that I don't enjoy parties, but I don't enjoy parties.  I like getting up at six in the morning to go running, spending time near the ocean, walking/exploring the city, reading, and then coming back to the hostel to sleep around ten at night.  But everyone at Backpackers in Paradise seem to like a different schedule of sleeping until noon and getting drunk until three in the morning.  Again, that works for some people, sure.  But I like my mellow agenda.  I think with my final four days, I will try to finish some of my projects (for my online classes back home), spend as much time in the sun and next to the ocean as possible, pick up a few more souvenirs, and possibly do a few more inexpensive excursions (the Botanical Gardens of Surfers Paradise, attend mass at the Greek Orthodox church in Bundall, and try out a few more intriguing restaurants).  I loved being here in Australia, in all honesty.  Right now I am just eager to leave because I am missing my sisters, brothers, parents, and dogs (mainly).  But I think after a week or so of being home, I'll wish that I was back in Australia soaking up the warmest rays of sun and enjoying the therapeutic sounds of waves beating against golden sands.  Australia stole my heart.




April 14, 2013

Sydney, what a beauty

Flying into Sydney was like arriving in a small European village.  All of the streets seemed cramped and just wide enough to accommodate the size of a vehicle.  Small shops, cafes, and restaurants lined the brick streets of the city.  My hotel was snuggled between a quirky eatery and a historical estate of some significant family.  Wandering through Sydney (using a cartoon map) was stimulating to the senses.  I came upon the famous Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and the New South Wales Art Gallery.  Running up the steps to the Opera House felt like it should have been accompanied by some epic soundtrack.  I had always wanted to come to Australia, and there I was standing in front of one of its key identifying features.  I was happily surrounded by culture, beauty, and the excitement of a big city as mo-peds, bicycles, pedestrians, runners, and cars whirled around me.  The Harbour Bridge stood majestically behind the Opera House and was definitely worth trekking across.  The Botanical gardens had mazes upon mazes of different trees, flowers, plants, shrubbery, and statues which were all just so fascinating to look at.  Admittedly, my favorite part of Sydney was attending the Art Gallery showing.  There were six floors of different types of exhibits by famous Australian artists.  I became fascinated with the third floor's arrangement of "We Used to Talk about Love" where I came across a piece by Grant Stevens called "Crushing".  This video piece was just so captivating and moving that I had to search for it online when I returned back to my hotel.  Sadly, there is no official recording of it anywhere outside of the Gallery (I did however attach a link below of a youtube recording I found).  Overall, Sydney was a much needed cultural shock and certainly a place that I'll never forget!

Crushing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFyxKstmOes



April 11, 2013

Ahoy!

Last weekend, I spent three days sailing the Great Barrier Reef on a boat named "Wings".  I was able to snorkel and see different parts of the reef along with the accompanying variety of coral, fish, and crustaceans.  One time I spent a full hour longer than everyone else on the boat out swimming and diving and looking at fish; I almost was left behind!  I guess I was just mesmerized by the fish that I was seeing.  Unlike in other places I have been, the Great Barrier Reef fish seem confident and not at all scared of a human presence.  Fish were swimming all around me as if to boast their colours.  The coral and plants below swayed with the tide.  I even spotted a sea turtle that swam right up to my goggles and surfaced for air right beside me.  ...The ocean is really something magical.  Being out on the ocean for days on end felt like an entirely different lifestyle.  You live without shoes and you let the salt in the air fill your lungs and settle in your hair and on your skin.  Towards the end of the trip our boat hit rough weather with waves that passed over the windows and flowed across the decks.  The captain was sipping rum and the passengers were getting seasick.  I was loving every moment of it though.  As the boat tossed about, I kept wondering what it would be like to live in a boat on the ocean.  The sun eventually made its way back through the storm clouds and as it beat back down on my skin, I couldn't help but fall in love with the ocean.  A life-long romance, I'm afraid.  I think for the rest of my life I'll be trying to find my way back to the ocean.