plane rides, orientation, the harbour, oh my!

Hi all,

It's still early in the game but I already feel like I've neglected people back home! Where are Xu's facebook pictures, you rave. Where are Xu's personalized emails that cover her amazing adventures?! Well, all of that is complicated by the fact that installing internet in the room costs approx. $40AUD/month for the most basic service (and goes up to $150AUD/mo. for better service), and that the only other place for free internet is the BU Sydney Centre which is only three blocks away but not open during the weekends. So.
I realize that this is my first real post since I arrived here Wednesday, and I have about five day's worth of events to catch you up on----bear with me.

I left the house at 7:30AM on Monday (central time), but didn't arrive in Sydney until around 3PM on Tuesday (still central time). So more than THIRTY-SIX HOURS in transit from Kansas City to Denver, from Denver to San Fran, from San Fran to Auckland, and finally from Auckland to Sydney.

My Departure from Home

What's more, by the time we got to Sydney it was their Wednesday. Somehow, crossing the International Date Line, we lost an entire day--there it went, sucked into some oblivion regulated by mathematical calculations and cosmic logic beyond me.

The Air New Zealand flight was top-class and there were more than 100 movies to choose from (now that's what I call awesome.) It was around a 12.5 hour flight just to Auckland, and during that time I managed to watch "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (did not like it, would not recommend unless you dig predictable emo wanderings around NYC) and "3:10 to Youma" (loved it, would recommend if you think Westerns kick butt, which they do). I only managed to catch a few hours of sleep on the flight since the flight attendants came around every few hours with rather decent airplane food, and best of all, free alcohol! I did not know that this was the case for many international flights, despite having taken them to China every other summer, but while flying over international waters, everyone can drink! And unlike the crappy American airline variety, there's no five buck charge for alcohol--it's all free and for the taking. There were cocktails, shots, wine (red and white), and New Zealand beers to be had. When I couldn't decide which beer I wanted with my meal, the male flight attendant laughed and pushed both on me, saying, "Try them both, and let me know what you think!!!" From that moment I knew I would like the people here. (Of course, in a display of light-weightedness, I only managed to drink about 1/3 of just one can, leaving the rest to my very eager seatmate.)

There was a short stopover in Auckland before another 3.5 hour flight to Sydney, and once we got there we were all so relieved (and jetlagged). We arrived around lunch time in Sydney, dropped off our stuff, grabbed some food, and headed off to an entire day's worth of orientation activities planned for us for the SOLE PURPOSE of keeping us awake and forcing us to get over our jetlag quicker. Boy, that afternoon there were probably many, many, many important things said about safety measures, school schedules, etc.... but I missed all of them in my DELIRIOUS HAZE of jetlag. Later that night we had a welcome barbecue dinner on the rooftop of our hotel/dorm, and I could barely appreciate the gorgeous views because I was so tired.

The gorgeous view atop the roof. Sorry! The sun was setting so it's dark!

The hotel/dorm we're staying in is called UniLodge, and it is swank. I share a room with one other girl, and we have a small living room, sink, bathroom, desk, sofa, dining table, and TV downstairs, while the two beds and dressers are upstairs. When I say "upstairs/downstairs" you are probably thinking that there are actually stairs. Well, there are stairs, but it's a very very scary, narrow spiral staircase from the bottom floor to the loft sleeping area. I'm not sure that those descriptions make sense, but needless to say it is DIFFICULT getting from upstairs to downstairs without the fear of falling. One of the girls in my program, Marie, insists on walking down the stairs backwards for fear that she's too top-heavy and will fall forward (Marie is v. busty, you know). The digs here are more like a hotel room than a dorm, evidenced by the people who check in downstairs for only a few days at a time. There are kitchens on each floor, and, sidnote: last night me and a group of friends tried to cook without much in the way of pots, pans, etc. Can you say, epic fail?

So, Wednesday passed, and Thursday was met with more orientation sessions and a pizza party at night. After the pizza, a group of friends and I walked a short distance over to University of Sydney, which looks like a mix of Hogwarts and Princeton. It. Was. Gorgeous. So long, Boston University, here I come Sydney Uni! For one thing, they actually have a campus (so unimaginable to BU students). For another thing, it blows any American college campus out of the water. What's more, apparently college is practically FREE for everyone here. Well, there's a nominal charge for tuition, but compared to 40 thou a year I would say nominal is good.

Sydney Uni.

During the daytime on Friday there was more orientation and exploration of our immediate environment. UniLodge and the BU Sydney Centre (from here on out affectionately abbreviated "BUSC") are very close to Broadway Shopping Centre, which is this entirely huge mall/grocery store complex that houses fresh produce on the very bottom floor, and Calvin Klein and fcuk. on the very top floor. Also, there's a Target and a Kmart inside. A little sad that Australia just bent over and let American superstores like that come in. But, it happens.

On the way to downtown Sydney; Broadway Street.

Friday night we walked thirty minutes to Cockle Bay and boarded an afternoon harbour cruise from Darling Harbour as part of the orientation finale for the BU abroad program. On the cruise we saw many of the most famous sights of Sydney, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Rocks, and of course, the Sydney Opera House. I'm not sure how I can explain the magic of the harbour cruise with enough wordage to paint you an accurate picture of the wonder I felt, but I'll try. We watched the sunset against the Sydney Opera House, and it was divine.

Sydney Opera House

From all the pictures, I imagined the Opera House to be this HUMONGOUS piece of architecture, but from the water it looked quite modest. I have yet to see it from land, where I'm sure it will dwarf me, but from the water it appeared entirely humble and tranquil. Only at sunset was I blinded by how intensely magnificent the structure looked. Even though the sun was setting, there were still hundreds upon hundreds of tiny sailboats in the harbour area, and plenty of gulls flying above. Several couples were taking wedding pictures on the garden-laden peninsulas that jutted out into the harbour waters, and from the boat we could see people climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge (quite a feat I am told).

Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance. This picture does it no justice: it is MASSIVE. My hair sucks in this picture.

After staying up on the top deck for nearly an hour and getting chilly from the ocean breezes, we shivered our way downstairs to gorge ourselves on free food, including these delicious sweet potatoes and very pleasing baguettes. The cruise consisted of entirely students in the BU Sydney Program, which numbers at 125, and I can only imagine how much money the program paid to take all of us on this 3-hour long cruise. Plus, we got FREE DRINKS on the cruise, absolutely making my day (and my next headache-filled morning). I downed around three glasses of champagne, which is more than I have drank in one sitting since probably freshman year of college. Needless to say, by the time I deboarded the ship I was a little woozy in the head. Augh, lightweight!

This is after my FIRST glass of wine. Hence the "one."

It didn't help that afterwards we went bar-hopping around the Darling Harbour area, or that we downed $8AUD shots like we were three times our size. We went to Bungalow 8, The Loft, and Cargo Bar, three of the biggest and rowdiest bars/clubs on the waterfront.

So: explanation for this photo. At The Loft there were these girls who were part of an organization petitioning against stricter bar rules, such as lockouts after 2AM and 10 minute timeouts every hour , etc. You can find out more about it here: DON'T PUNISH US. Anyhow, long story short I took a picture with one of their signs as part of the protest, and eventually I think I'll make it to the photo gallery.

Me and the girls at Bungalow 8.

Me, after second round of drinks. Hence the "two."

My favorite of the bars was Bungalow 8 because it was immensely relaxed and quiet enough for conversation, and my least favorite was Cargo Bar, where a bunch of Americans (myself included) danced awkwardly to INCREDIBLY LOUD pop hits of JT, Britney, and the Australian Kylie Minogue. Of course, all the Australians stood at the sidelines watching us make fools of ourselves, and pretty soon thereafter I joined the sidelines to watch my American buddies CONTINUE make fools of themselves. Somehow we managed to catch a cab home, and believe you me, a crappy twin bed never felt better to me than that night when I got back to my room.

I think I'll leave it at that for now. Saturday and Sunday we went to the markets and Bondi Beach, respectively, but there's too much to say on those trips and probably not enough space left in the post. I'll be sure to write back soon (say, tomorrow or the day after).

Til then, with much love from Down Under,
Xu