Brisbane Vid:
Melbourne vid
Auckland Vid:
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Back in Syndey Day 2 - Free day/Manly beach
Had a wonderful free day today. Woke up around 8am and quickly headed downstairs to grab breakfast and headed straight back to my room to get together all of my things for my interview that was at 11:30 with a lady named Laurie Berg. I finally got ready to go and headed out to find a taxi to take me to an intersection where she was going to meet me at. I was not too sure if we were going to meet and grab some lunch or meet in her office. It turned out she was real thirsty and wanted us to grab some coffee together! We walked down a few blocks to a local coffee shop while exchanging life stories of school and life and really hit it off within the first few minutes of being around each other. We sat down and discussed my topic fro about an hour and she gave me a lot of great advice and told me that she wanted to be my cruch over here in Australia as I am writing this paper. It is so nice to know I have someone over here that really cares about what I am doing.
Here is a little biography on Laurie if you are interested:
http://datasearch2.uts.edu.au/law/staff/details.cfm?StaffId=4301
So after speaking with her about my topic for about an hour we started a 45min conversation about American and Australian politics where I learned a lot and I think she did to. It was a great time and I got SOOO MUCH out of it. She is also going to set me up with a few other people that she knows if I need them!
After the interview I headed back to learn that the rest of the group had gone to Manly Beach right after I left to go to my interview. I quickly put on my swim suit and headed to the nearest bus station for a 45min trip out to Manly Beach. I got there, feeling as if a weight was lifted off of my should due to a wonderful interview, found the pub that the group was, sat down and took a deep breath and had an ice cold beer in the scorching hot Australian summer sun. After we got back from Manly we all headed to a local pizza place where I had one of the best pizzas I have ever had! After dinner we all headed back and caught up on some much needed sleep.
Here is a little biography on Laurie if you are interested:
http://datasearch2.uts.edu.au/law/staff/details.cfm?StaffId=4301
So after speaking with her about my topic for about an hour we started a 45min conversation about American and Australian politics where I learned a lot and I think she did to. It was a great time and I got SOOO MUCH out of it. She is also going to set me up with a few other people that she knows if I need them!
After the interview I headed back to learn that the rest of the group had gone to Manly Beach right after I left to go to my interview. I quickly put on my swim suit and headed to the nearest bus station for a 45min trip out to Manly Beach. I got there, feeling as if a weight was lifted off of my should due to a wonderful interview, found the pub that the group was, sat down and took a deep breath and had an ice cold beer in the scorching hot Australian summer sun. After we got back from Manly we all headed to a local pizza place where I had one of the best pizzas I have ever had! After dinner we all headed back and caught up on some much needed sleep.
Back in Sydney day 1 - You look fimiliar
The first day back in Sydney was a great one. I woke up around 8 by sweat rolling down into my ears and onto my pillow. After I rang my sheets out into the shower because it was so hot in all of the rooms, I went downstairs to grab a great breakfast! I did not know how much I missed Sydney until I got back here. I actually don't think we have had any time at all to do any sort of missing at all. We have been on the run since we first landed in Australia! It has been one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had in my life. All the friendships that I have made along with all the memories I have made throughout this trip has made it all worth being extremely tired sore. I am going to miss this place a lot and this will be something I will tell my great grandchildren about as I grow older.
After breakfast we hung around and did a little bit of homework. I made sure that my interview with a PHD student was not going to fall through. This interview is key to my thesis being a success. After I got in touch with her and confirmed plans we all headed to the Sydney Opera house for a tour. The tour was a ton of fun and I had no idea that the opera house had as many venues as it did. It was also interesting to hear the history of how it was built. It was also fun to hear about all the different shows they put on all the way from drag queen shows, skateboarding competitions, and operas, of course. Soon after we got done with the opera house we headed downtown to grab a bite to eat then headed home and have been on the internet ever since we got back doing a little bit of research! Looking forward to our free day tomorrow.
After breakfast we hung around and did a little bit of homework. I made sure that my interview with a PHD student was not going to fall through. This interview is key to my thesis being a success. After I got in touch with her and confirmed plans we all headed to the Sydney Opera house for a tour. The tour was a ton of fun and I had no idea that the opera house had as many venues as it did. It was also interesting to hear the history of how it was built. It was also fun to hear about all the different shows they put on all the way from drag queen shows, skateboarding competitions, and operas, of course. Soon after we got done with the opera house we headed downtown to grab a bite to eat then headed home and have been on the internet ever since we got back doing a little bit of research! Looking forward to our free day tomorrow.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Queenstown Free Days - Luge/Gongola/Nevis Jump
HOLY COW!
I know that I have said on several different blogs that the place where I am is the coolest place ever but QUEENSTOWN NEW ZEALAND blows all the sites and activities that we have done so far out of the water! It was sooo much fun. If I had to move back to a place where I visited it would be Queenstown as my number one pick followed by Sydney Australia. So as we were arriving in Queenstown I freaked out (as usual) on the plane because it looked like we were going to crash into the mountains. It turned out that most of our desenct was in between two gigantic mountains. I was so cool.
So after we got off the plane we headed to get our bags and got a van to our hostel, Adventure Queenstown Hostel. The people there were extremely nice and told us all the things that we should do in Queenstown since we were only going to be there for two full days. After we booked our reservations for some of the activities we headed to grab some lunch. Again, the food was incredible! I'm going to come back home with an extra 10lbs on me due to how awesome the food is here. After we ate some of our group decided that we wanted to go up this huge mountain, on a gondola, where they had two large luge tracks! We got up to the top of the mountain and had a blast flying down the luge traks way too fast and breaking all the rules by racing each other and trying to get the best time out of the whole group. We heard that both tracks were really dangerous if you go too fast but we were ready for an adrenaline rush so break were not used.
Alright so as we were leaving the luge tracks we all started to talk about what the heck we were going to do about the Nevis Jump! I honestly did not want to do it. I really did want to back out but I know that if I did I would regret it for the rest of my life. So, I didn't back out. The next morning we headed to the bungy jump center where we all signed our lives away, got weighed so we would jump with the right roped attached to us, got our positions and headed got in a bus. I thought it might be the last bus ride of my life and thank goodness it was not because it was the most intense feelings I've ever had. When we finally got close to the Nevis jump, we had to stop at the bottom of an extremely steep cliff and throw our bus into four wheel drive. We would have not been able to get up the gravel cliff without the four wheel drive. It was only scary because we were about 3 feet away from falling off a gigantic cliff and the road was gravel. If the tires started to spin and we were to fishtail out to the left then we would have all been doomed. So that got the heart rate up at a decent speed... Guess it was a type of warm up before the jump, come to think of it. We finally made it up the hill and got out. There was little time wasted. As soon as we all got of the bus we were hoarded by the staff. They rushed out to us and pulled us over to where they kept their harnesses, put them on us, sent us outside on a balcony that looked over the valley we were jumping into, explained what was going to happen, put us on (6 at a time) a gondola and took us out the main platform where we were to jump off of. I was on the second gondola out the the main platform and about puked when, all of a sudden, we see one of our group members falling from the platform. It was insane! After that I knew that there was no backing out when we got there. When we got off the 6 man gondola they sat me up on a bench and put my ankle harnesses on. The video explains it the best. After they were done they sent me up to the seat where they attached the bungy to me and without delay they walked me up to the platform and counted down from 3. I was out of my mind scared and excited. I had no idea what I was doing and just jumped as far as I could when the countdown ended.
The screams from the people yelling at me to jump soon got replaced by the rush of wind flying past my ears at incredible speeds. The fear suddenly turned into excitement and I felt like crying. The jump was eerily peaceful. I loved it! I'll never forget this experience.
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| I have never seen rolling mountains like these |
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| are we going to land on a mountain!? |
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| Those cliffs were almost at a 90 degree angle |
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| If you look straight ahead... the valley we flew through FOREVER swings to the right |  |
I know that I have said on several different blogs that the place where I am is the coolest place ever but QUEENSTOWN NEW ZEALAND blows all the sites and activities that we have done so far out of the water! It was sooo much fun. If I had to move back to a place where I visited it would be Queenstown as my number one pick followed by Sydney Australia. So as we were arriving in Queenstown I freaked out (as usual) on the plane because it looked like we were going to crash into the mountains. It turned out that most of our desenct was in between two gigantic mountains. I was so cool.
So after we got off the plane we headed to get our bags and got a van to our hostel, Adventure Queenstown Hostel. The people there were extremely nice and told us all the things that we should do in Queenstown since we were only going to be there for two full days. After we booked our reservations for some of the activities we headed to grab some lunch. Again, the food was incredible! I'm going to come back home with an extra 10lbs on me due to how awesome the food is here. After we ate some of our group decided that we wanted to go up this huge mountain, on a gondola, where they had two large luge tracks! We got up to the top of the mountain and had a blast flying down the luge traks way too fast and breaking all the rules by racing each other and trying to get the best time out of the whole group. We heard that both tracks were really dangerous if you go too fast but we were ready for an adrenaline rush so break were not used.
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| View from the gondola heading up the cliff |
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| Gorgeous view |
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| Luge track |
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| Queenstown |
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| Me having a great time |
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| Safety first kids |
Alright so as we were leaving the luge tracks we all started to talk about what the heck we were going to do about the Nevis Jump! I honestly did not want to do it. I really did want to back out but I know that if I did I would regret it for the rest of my life. So, I didn't back out. The next morning we headed to the bungy jump center where we all signed our lives away, got weighed so we would jump with the right roped attached to us, got our positions and headed got in a bus. I thought it might be the last bus ride of my life and thank goodness it was not because it was the most intense feelings I've ever had. When we finally got close to the Nevis jump, we had to stop at the bottom of an extremely steep cliff and throw our bus into four wheel drive. We would have not been able to get up the gravel cliff without the four wheel drive. It was only scary because we were about 3 feet away from falling off a gigantic cliff and the road was gravel. If the tires started to spin and we were to fishtail out to the left then we would have all been doomed. So that got the heart rate up at a decent speed... Guess it was a type of warm up before the jump, come to think of it. We finally made it up the hill and got out. There was little time wasted. As soon as we all got of the bus we were hoarded by the staff. They rushed out to us and pulled us over to where they kept their harnesses, put them on us, sent us outside on a balcony that looked over the valley we were jumping into, explained what was going to happen, put us on (6 at a time) a gondola and took us out the main platform where we were to jump off of. I was on the second gondola out the the main platform and about puked when, all of a sudden, we see one of our group members falling from the platform. It was insane! After that I knew that there was no backing out when we got there. When we got off the 6 man gondola they sat me up on a bench and put my ankle harnesses on. The video explains it the best. After they were done they sent me up to the seat where they attached the bungy to me and without delay they walked me up to the platform and counted down from 3. I was out of my mind scared and excited. I had no idea what I was doing and just jumped as far as I could when the countdown ended.
The screams from the people yelling at me to jump soon got replaced by the rush of wind flying past my ears at incredible speeds. The fear suddenly turned into excitement and I felt like crying. The jump was eerily peaceful. I loved it! I'll never forget this experience.
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| insanity |
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| What you look down at right before you jump |
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| on our way out |
Day 4 Auckland - Black sand beach/Last day
Today we woke up to get on our second private bus tour of the trip. The trip consisted of us going to Piha Beach. This beach is not you ordinary beach due to the fact that the sand is black and there was a huge rock that you could climb up and look over miles and miles of the coast line. It was pretty exciting. So the drive took about 2 and a half hours until we made it to the beaches. I have never seen a beach with black sand so when we finally made it to the beach it was a sight to see. After we left we headed back to our place and discussed thesis progress with our professors and blogged. It was another great day. We head out to Queenstown tomorrow. I can't wait!
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| One of the views on our way to the beach |
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| First glance at the beach |
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| Cool view |
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| Sand was extremely soft but looked like you were stepping on clay when you looked down |
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| Black Sand! |
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| Black Sand! woo |
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| The cliff we climb all the way up on! |
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| View from the cliff |
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| I work out |
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| Another view from the cliff! |
Monday, January 23, 2012
Day 3 Auckland - Auckland University
Today was much more structured than yesterday thank goodness! We headed out to the University of Auckland’s school of engineering to listen how their project management program is structured. It was pretty interesting to see how they teach their students. Our program is mainly based off of learning in the classroom and getting experience in the field by doing internships but their program has much more of an emphasis towards research. They have huge studios filled with concrete compression machines and a whole studio for testing different types of stresses on lumber. It was pretty interesting to hear that New Zealand imported steel and exported a lot of lumber. Due to this fact, they usually try their hardest to rely on wood, even for their high rise structures. This was pretty interesting but they spend a lot of their time trying to find new ways to strengthen the wood by using different types of methods.
The campus was a beautiful one. We were able to spend about 30min walking around enjoying seeing people buying books and getting a feel of how it would be actually attending the school.
After we left the school we split up into smaller groups and three of us headed downtown to grab a bite to eat at a place called Queen’s Ferry Hotel. We had seen a sign outside their window yesterday saying they had the best fish and chips in town so we decided to give it a try. Turns out they were right. I have never had fish and chips as good as they had! As we were leaving we got stopped by a group of ladies that told us we sounded American. Turns out that one of the mothers that was talking to us had a son that went to Auburn. After a few exchanges of “War Eagle” we headed back to the hotel to meet back up with the group and head to the top of another hill to see the city. It was a spectacular view and we just now got back (5:15pm). I can’t wait to head back down to queen’s street in about an hour to grab a quick meal before heading to the large tower downtown to look over the city at night!
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| Bay where we ate tonight |
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| Sky Tower |
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| Incredible View from Sky Tower |
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| Sunset from Sky Tower |
Day 2 Auckland - What are we doing, again?
This morning was pretty confusing. All of the students here were not really sure when to wake up because we were not given a set time and we thought we were told to be downstairs around 7am. This was a huge mistake because it turned out that we were not supposed to be downstairs till 10am! It kind of was unfortunate because the free breakfast did not start until 8am so a few of us decided to head downtown and try and find a quick place to eat before 7am. We walked around town for about 30min and had trouble finding a place that was open. The only thing that we really saw were sketchy people walking back home from a long night out with their Saturday night “nice” attire on. It was actually pretty funny. We finally found a place, ate, and headed back to not find a large group downstairs to meet for our “hike”. Turns out that the hike was canceled and the teachers decided to head to a museum instead. It was a pretty cool museum and we learned a lot about the culture here. After the museum we headed back downtown and grabbed some lunch. After that we headed back to the apartments and took a nap. Now we got some wine and are having a movie night in Matt and Andrew’s room! We look forward to seeing Federer playing in the Australian Open tonight!
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| One of the Maori who performed a show for us |
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| Jersey of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team |
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| The Museum |
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