June 17- Journey Home/ Top Ten Experiences in AU/NZ :)

Today started out with a loud wake-up call at 3:00 AM.....it was great!! Especially because my roomate and I were up the night before until about 11:30 because we were trying to pack.  Packing sounds easy but not when our suitcases were already stuffed when we began the trip, and now we were trying to fit our suvvies and new clothes! Anyways, we left the hotel at 4 and made our way to the airport. Keep in mind, everyone was cranky for being up so early and hungry because we weren't having breakfast until the 18 hour plane ride (which was after the 4 hour plane ride). The bus ride over was pretty intresting due to circumstances above :)  We got to the airport, checked all of our bags, and boarded the airplane.  I immediatly fell asleep and stayed asleep for the whole flight!  I woke up after we landed and we all got off the plane.  It must have taken as awhile to get through security and other stuff because all of the sudden, we were all running for the next flight.  I think I was third to last getting on the plane.  When we took off, I was sooooo tired from before but I made sure to stay awake because I was hungry from some airplane lunch!! Thats right, didn't get to have breakfast, just had to go straight to lunch. Don't worry, I was too hungry to complain/care about which meal it was.  The lunch consisted of chicken covered in tomato sauce, vegetables, a roll, salad, cheese and crackers, and water.  I ate alittle bit of chicken, all of the vegtables, the roll, and some salad.  I also got some coffe which was a BIG mistake because I was awake for awhile after that. Before I knew it, everybody around me was asleep.  I took the opportunity to watch some free movies!! I watched The Unknown, The Rite, (and for some reason) Tron.  The first two were awesome and Tron was just ok :)  After watching Tron, I fell asleep for a couple of hours.  I woke up to the pain of having my head squished.  I'll explain:  I feel asleep with my pillow/head on the tray table (very comfy) and the person infront of me decided to recline her chair ALL the way back without even so much as looking to see if I cared or not.  Thankfully, the flight attendant was right there and she said something to make the lady infront of me move her seat forward.  I fell asleep again (this time with me head on the seat) and woke up twenty minutes before landing.  When we landed, we got off, got our luggage, went through customs, dropped our luggage off again, went through security (I got to go through a giant body scanner thingy) then took a shuttle bus to our terminal.  At the terminal, we had to fill out a custom card (for the billionth time) and then we boarded our plane.  Once again, I slept for most of the flight.  I was awake when we took off, fell asleep, then woke up a couple minutes before landing.  It was the same routine when we got off.  After we got through customs and got all of our stuff, we went outside and the bus was waiting for us.  We all piled on the bus and drove back the G.N.H.S.  When we got there, everyone's parents were waiting and (for some reason) taking pictures of everyone when we got off the bus.  I was totally being anti-social because I soon as I got my stuff and the O.K from the teachers, I practically ran for car.  I really wanted to go home, see everybody, unpack, show my parents the pictures, and tell them all about the trip!! :)

 This is a list of the top ten favorite things I did in both countries!!

*These aren't in any specific order*

1)Visiting Ranitoto College- I absolutley loved meeting me pen pal and all the other kids!! We all talked so much and it was really fun learning about new things and explaining different american things.

2) Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef- I never thought I would get to see the GBR, let alone swim around in it.  I'm not a ver good snorkeler but it was still great to see the GBR and the fish.

3) Holding a Koala- Had the best time "cuddeling" a koala. She (her name was chimpy) was so soft and fluffy!!  She was really calm and quiet and when I held her, she grabbed me almost like she was hugging me!!

4) Visiting the Maori Village- The maori village was the best "culture experience" I've ever had.  Our tour guide really explained alot and the village itself was so cool!

5) Seeing the Opera House- It was unbelievable being so close to the Opera House!  It was beautiful inside and out.  I have always wanted to visit it ever since I started being musically acclamated.

6) Climbing the Sydney Bridge- I'm not afraid of heights at all and that definatly made this experience more enjoyable.  The views were beautiful!

7) Going on the Duck Tour- I loved seeing all the lakes.  The tour guide kept everybody updated on what was going on and he even held a trivia at the end!

8) Overall sightseeing- I absolutley loved seeing both countries.  I love seeing so much green and nature everywhere :)

9) Scenic Train Ride- The ride was beautiful because we were traveling through the mountains and we saw a waterfall!

10) Lugeing- I was really bad at it but I had a great time riding down the course.  The gondala ride up to the courses rocked as well!

June 16-Kuranda Village + Aboriginals/ Could you travel on your own?

Today, we went on a scenic train ride through the mountains (going to Kurunda village).  The train looked like old fasioned train or like something you would see on the old t.v show called "Thomas and....." or something like that (just look at the picture).  Anyways, the views from the train were amazing!!!  We saw a field of sugar cane, and a beautiful neighborhood built in with the mountain.  Not literally IN the mountain but they didn't reshape the mountain in anyway.  The houses were probably split level or something, I don't know :)  The mountains (or hills, which ever you prefer) were gorgeous! There were so many trees and plant life.  I have never seen so much nature in one place!  There were some really colorful plants that I saw too!  I really wish that IL had some mountains somehwere or even alot of nature in one place.  I know we have nature preserves and stuff like that but its not the same once you've seen the actually thing.  During the ride we passed through some tunnels.  Everybody else thought they were pretty cool but I'm not really a "go through dark tunnels in a train" kind of person. I've seen alot of scary movies sooo......yeah :)  Most of the train ride was pretty but I did notice some spots along the tracks that you could tell that they had cut into the mountain to make the train.  It made me kind of sad (not like depressed sad) that they had to destroy some nature/mountain to build the tracks.  It didn't bother me alot though don't worry!  After about 45 minutes or so, we got to Kurunda village.  We split off into groups to go do whatever.  My group consisted of Lexa, Reilly, Bridgette, Cody, Megan, Jenny, and I.  We first went to the ATM because we were all alittle low on cash.  After that, we went out for lunch! I had a kangaroo pie!! It was my first time trying kangaroo and it was delicious!! To tell you the truth, it just tasted like meat and I'm a carnivore so you get the picture!! The pie also had some vegetables and a gravy substance.  The crust around wasn't to flaky and it was to smushy, it was prefect!  I also had some chips (fries) with it and they were good as well.  Everyone else had hamburgers, sandwiches, or chicken burgers.  After lunch, we all headed straight for the Wildlife part of the village.  We wanted to hold a koala soooo bad! When we got there and saw the prices we were alittle discouraged but the lady at the desk gave us the discounted price so we all did it!! I was fourth to hold the koala.  Her name was chimpy and she was adorable!! She was soft and cuddly and when the lady gave her to me, she hugged on to my arms!  After everyone held chimpy and got their pictures, we headed into the wallaby exhibit. Thats right, I said IN the wallaby exhibit!! They were all tame so you could pet them and there was also some food out some you could feed them.  I feed a baby and an adult.  There were also some kangaroos that had little joeys in their pouches.  After we were done, we left the village.  We got to take a gondola down!  We went right over the wet tropics.  It was so beautiful but I was alittle nervous because we were high up and it was windy so our gondola was shaking and rocking....big yikes :)  After the ride, we went to a theater that was all about the aboriginals.  The show started out with a performance that had alot of cultural dances and songs.  Then we got to try our hand at throwing boomarangs!  Just a side note, it looks so much easier when professionals are doing it.  They told me to throw it like a baseball so I thought to myself "oh this should be easy!!" because I play softball!! Yeah no, not really.  When I threw it, it just went sailing off, but it never came back :)  It was fun though.  Then they let us throw spears.  That was even harder than the boomarang!  I failed miserably but I had a great time doing it!  After that we went inside to watch a movie type thing and we learned how to play a diggarido(sp?).  I still can't do it :)  We than left and went back to the hotel.  For dinner, we were allowed to go around town.  My group and I went to a food court for dinner (as much as I really didn't want to) and then went shopping afterwards.  I don't know why but my stomach was really bothering me so the night wasn't as fun as it could have been but I tried to make the best of it!!

Kuranda Village

Me and Chimpy!!

Everyone at lunch :)

Could you travel on your own?

I could defiantly travel on my own.  Traveling always came off as easy to me.  Knowing people wouldn't be an issue because I make new friends very quickly (I'm a people person).  I like making choices for myself and I deal fine without an adult figure telling me what to do.  I love making schedules for a new day.  I don't think it would matter where I traveled because I am a fast learner and I catch on to things quickly.
Some challenges i would have would maybe by location.  I might have trouble finding somewhere to live or somewhere to eat or just somewhere in general.  I don't really read maps well and I have trouble remembering directions.  I'm sure that I would figure it our eventually.  I would also have a problem if I went somewhere that nobody speaks english.  I would eventually pick up some of the language but the first couple of months would be difficult.  Another silly challenge I would have is not doing certain gestures or saying certain things that offend people.  For example, here we were told not to say "doodle" or give thumbs up.  I would have a problem because it is hard for me to break certain habits.  If I couldn't solve this problem, I would also have a problem making friends because everyone would hate me so much :)

June 15- My time at the Great Barrier Reef!!

The trip to the Great Barrier Reef was unbelievable!!!!! It was one of the best experiences of my entire life!  It started out with an hour and a half boat ride to the platoon area.  The platoon was almost like alittle dock in the middle of the ocean.  Before we got off the boat, there was a safety demonstration.  They told us about the snorkel gear and what to do and what not to do at the reef.  When we got off the boat, we picked out a table and went to get our gear which consisted off goggles, a snorkel, a life jacket (optional), and some flippers.  The goggles/snorkel took forever for me to put on because my hair kept getting in the way. After about 7 minutes of pure frustration, I finally got me stuff on and we got in the water.  It was alittle cold at first but after awhile, the air was colder than the water.  The water seemed really warm.  Once I got used to the water, I got off the ladder platform and started to swim out.  There were alot of fish swimming around the area.  A couple of times, I swam in a school of fish, it was amazing!  There were big blocks (I don't know what of) that had coral growing all over it.  I startd getting closer to the big reed and it was even more beautiful!  There were many colors: red, green, blue, yellow, and black.  I loved all the different shapes of each type of coral.  I saw alot of fish hiding amongst the coral and sometimes when I sat really still, they would come out.  Unfortuantly, the fish hid alot because there were some people standing on the coral and touching alot of it (but I won't name names).  I also say alot of bleached coral with no fish.  At one point when I was snorkeling, I was swimming directly over the reef.  I must have been there for awhile because the tide lowered enough to where I was literally 2 feet away from the coral.  I couldn't move my flippers or swim so I just kind of floated around.  After about three minutes, this random guy came over and pulled me by my life jacket, out of the coral.  I said thank you, he just laughed and swam away.  After that, I went to a better spot to get a look at the coral.  Out of no where, a scuba diver popped up and started taking pictures of me!! I was alittle scared at first but then I rememebered the life guards saying something about that so I just kept swimming.  After that, I swam closer to the platoon because the lifeguard was throwing fish food in the water.  It was really cool because I was snorkeling in the middle of all the fish.  They kept flopping in to me and pecking at my goggles.  I got out of the water for a bit and went over to the touch tank.  The diver had brought back some sea cucumbers.  I got to hold one, they felt like a big stress relief ball.  They were squishy and slimy but very cool!!

Unfortunatly, I took all the cool pictures on my under water camera but I do have some :)

June 14-First day at Cairns/ Top three ways I have changed

Today we left sydney and flew to Cairns.  The airport/plane ride wasn't all that bad.  The airport was easy because it was a local flight so all we had to do was check our luggage, go through security, then get on the plane. Thats easy because we didn't have to go through customs or fill out anything.  The plane ride was crazy bumpy.  There was so much turbulence that the seatbelt sign was constantly lit.  I personally thought it was great fun but alot of people were freaking out.  Probably because we were hitting so many air pockets.  I kept on getting the droppy feeling in my stomach because the plane kept dropping!! The were serving breakfast but I didn't get any because I ate the box breakfast that was provided for us on the bus.  After we landed, we got our stuff and left.  We were just about to drive off but someone announced that they had forgotton their passport.  I don't really know what happened after that because I had a backpack malfunction but after awhile, her passport was returned!  We then left the airport and made or way to the hotel.  The hotel looked pretty nice from the outside but when Kinzie and I got to our room, we freaked out.  The room was HUGE!! Because it was just us, there were only two beds instead of three.  Also, instead of a normal box shaped room, we got a bigger shape because we were on the slant of the building! There was alittle hallway leading to our bathroom and our balcony (which we weren't allowed on) had a great view! There were some plants and it looked out onto the beach!  It was great :)  After we did alittle happy dance, we both got changed because we were going to the "beach".  Beach was in quotations because they told us beach but we really went to a pool.  It didn't really matter to me because it was just really nice to be outside in 70 degree weather!!  I was with megan and jenny at the pool.  We didn't really feel like swimming so we wondered around the street closest to the pool.  We had some chinese food for lunch and we stopped at an ice cream shop called New Zealand Natural(which was intresting because we were in Australia).  I got a flavor called chocolate ectasy.  It was delicious and it was funny because when I said the flavor name, the lady at the counter told me not to worry because there wasn't actually ectasy in it :)  After the day at the pool, we got ready and went out for dinner.  We were allowed to go around town.  We went to a little pizza resturant called La Pizza. We got a regular cheese pizza and a pizza called Australiana which had bacon on it!  It was amazingly good and we were absolutley stuffed after eating.  Apparently we weren't all that stuffed because 5 minutes later, we found a little gelato store close by.  I got chocolate brownie and it was pretty good.  We ate it on our way back to the hotel :)

View from the board walk.

Top Three ways I have Changed:
For the week (about) that we have been on this trip, I have changed alot.  There are many things that have changed, but I will stick with the top three.

The first thing that has changed has been my "people" skills.  I have noticed that i am able to communicate very well with pretty much everyone here.  Normally, I would have waited for people to talk to me or only talk with people I know.  Lately, I have just been going up to mostly everyone and starting a conversation about random things.
The second things would definatly by me confidance/shyness.  I have been trying/doing alot of things that I would normally never do.  For example, the haka at the college or singing the star bangeled banner.  We had to do that one but instead of pretending to do something, I actually took a shot at singing it.  It didn't go so well but it was still fun :)

The third thing would probably be talking to new people.  When I say "new people", I mean people that aren't in this class or in this college.  Pretty much everywhere we have been, I've had a 3 minutes or more converstation with a stranger (the good kind) including the person from my interview!  Normally I stay away from new people, especially in different countries.  Here, I'm not afraid to talk/meet/greet people.  Even though I have meet some mean people, I won't stop trying to meet the nice ones.

June 13/ Whole lots stuff!!

Today, we started off by going to the Sydney Opera House.  I have also wanted to go there, ever since I started playing music (4 years old) and it was unblievably amazing being there.  Even though it was raining, we still made the best of it.  The outside of the building was beautiful!  I have to admit, I thought the fan looking part of the building was white but its actually a cream color.  There are also streaks on them.  I wasn't mad or anything, it was just kind of a suprise!  Not only did we get to look around the outside of the building, we got to go inside!! We didn't get to go in a theater but the rest of the inside was just as great.  The designs on the inside are amazing! Everything looks so modern and almost classical.  I didn't take any pictures of the inside because I didn't know if we were allowed to.  We found a little gift shop inside which I got a couple of things in.  Ms. Titus also showed us this bathroom that was probably the most fancy public bathroom I had ever seen.  Once again, didn't take any pictures but not because we weren't allowed to. I didn't want to be the complete tourist who takes pictures of EVERYTHING, including public toilets :)

After the opera house, we went on a cruise around the harbour.  It would have been more fun, except that I didn't take any dramamine so I was feeling alittle woozy.  It was only when we were inside, which was only for about 10 minutes.  I was outside, on top of the boat for the rest of the ride.  It was alittle cold but the scenic part of the cruise was awesome!  There were alot of things to look at (and take pictures of).  There were beautiful views of the city and the opera house.  There was also an old fort, some islands, and alot of different boats!

After the cruise, we went to the Sydney Wildlife Center.  They had everything there from insects, to reptiles, to mammels.  They had these giant lego statue things everywhere that I have to admit, were alittle random :)  I saw some giant spiders and some really big snakes.  There was a giant crocodile sitting in the water but it was alittle hard to see because everyone was crowding.  That was one thing that kind of bugged me.  At almost every exhibit, people were just standing infront and staring.  I don't mind when there are alot of people, I just mind when they don't move for a good 6 minutes and let other people see. Close to the wildlife center, there was a restuarant called The Lizard Lounge, which is where we ate dinner.  I ordered fish and chips but I ended up eating half of someone's burger because I didn't like the fish.
After dinner, our big group split up.  Because it was raining, some of us took the train and some of us walked.  I took the train because I had my personal bag and some gifts that I didn't want getting wet (and it was absoluetly pouring outside).  The train ride was just like any normal train ride I guess :)

 

June 12-Shopping, Bridge, Chinese Food, OH MY!/ Comparing Cities

The schedule for today was going to be the excursion that we got to pick. The choices were either an all day tour of the Blue Mountains or whale watching in the morning and the bridge climb.  I choose the whale watching/bridge climb combo.  Unfortunatly, dure to strong winds, whale watching was cancelled.  I was pretty bummed but the teachers had prepared for this.  So instead of whale watching, we went to a market place.  Im not to keen on shopping but I had never been to this market place.  It kinda of looked like a mall on top but in the "basement" level there was an actually market like place.  There were so many stores that were selling all kinds of things.  We find a couple of really cool stores.  One had gemstones and necklaces, one had food, and another had clothes.  We shopped at a place with clothes for about 20 minutes because the clothes were so cute!! I got two sweaters and a really cute dress!  I also found these really cute shoes that normally would have costed about 40 dollars but at this store, they were only 15!!!  After shopping, we stopped for lunch in Sydney.  My group and I couldn't find anywhere that wasn't really expensive so we stopped at Subway.  It was nice to have some familier food after awhile.  After lunch we went straight to the bridge climb. Our group of about 20 split up.  My group was the first to go up. We started out with a "Pre-climb".  We got suited up in these really fashionably grey jumpsuits(not) and went through some safety stuff.  We then got our harnesses on and went through a training course that looked like the actually bridge.  We all completed the training, got our radios, and went out on the actually bridge.  It was alittle windy and rainy but that didn't stop us.  I'm not afraid of heights so the view was stunning!  The city looked so pretty from above, especially the opera house!



Megan, Jenny, and I on the Bridge!

After the bridge climb, we all got back together at the hotel.  The teachers talked for awhile and decided to split up for dinner.  Each teacher was going to a different type of food vendor.  I went with Ms. Titus because we were doing a group thing (and she rocks duh!).  We walked for maybe 5 minutes and ended up at a place called "Wok right in".  They served all kinds of food.  I got a noodle dish.  It had egg noodles with teriyaki chicken and vegetables.  It was delicious!!  After dinner we walked back to the hotel.  At the hotel, it took Kinzie and I almost ten minutes to get to our floor because the elevator was being stupid! :)

Comparing Cities:

Sydney is such a beautiful city.  There are many buildings, but there are also many trees and fountains.  Chicago just has alot of buildings and very little trees.  Sydney is also not very loud or smelly like Chicago is.  Everyone in Sydney is very polite and friendly.  Chicago has some friendly people but alot of people are very rude and unfriendly.  Thre are alot of people here that walked or cycled everywhere.  Alot of people in Chicago do the same.  Both cities definatly have a big handful of bad drivers :)

Sydney has alot of things to do in it.  You can visit the tower, climb the bridge, visit the local market, and much much more.  Chicago has some great muesums but not much else to do besides shopping.  Overall I think that Sydney is a much better, cleaner, and friendlier city.  I'm not trying to diss Chicago, I just like Sydney a whole lot better.
Sydney is also more caring towards people.  An example would be today when it was raining.  There were areas outside with tarps above to keep people dry.  The only place I can think of in Chicago would be a store, but the store owners yell at you when you don't buy anything.

June 11- First Day at Sydney

The flight to Sydney was really uneventful.  There was barely any turbulence, I didn't sleep but I didn't just sit there like a zombie, and the food was ok.  I don't mean to sound like such a debbie downer, its just that when I described the past plane rides, they sound so eventful :) When we got to Sydney, we went through customs, security, got our luggage, and left the airport.  We went straight to the hotel but we just dropped our bags off.  After everything was off the bus, we head out (on foot) to the city.  We stopped at some cool looking buildings and we walked through some parks.  We passed a really cool fountain too!  I also saw a giant life size game of chess going on which I had never seen before.  I really wanted to play :)
For lunch, we went to a giant mall!  It was like three hawthorn malls put together! We had some lunch at the food court but we didn't go around the mall because none of us were really in the mood for shopping.  Instead, we went outside and watched some street performers! They were jump roping but it was more like extreme jump roping! They would go really really fast, double dutch, even flip in the middle of the ropes.  I donated some coins because they were awesome!!

After we regrouped with everyone, we all headed off towards the Sydney Tower!  We all got to go up to the top of the tower.  I'm not talking about the tippy tippy top of the tower, I'm talking about the observation deck.  It was like a big round room with a gift shop in the middle and the outside of the room all had giant windows that you could look out of and see the entire city! It was a great view. I even put me head against the window at an angle so that I could look straight down onto the city! It was pretty exciting/nerve racking!  Megan, Jenny, and I went to the gift shop in the tower, just to look around.  We found alot of intresting things including a coozy with a not so appropriate picture on it and a genuine kangaroo scotum (sorry if I am not allowed to say that on my blog).  Apparantly they are a really popular thing for tourists to buy.  We didn't get one but I think some boys in our class did :)  We found these really cool aussie hats that looked like cowboy hats but way cooler.  We tried them on and the cashier lady just laughed and told us we look great.....and they we should buy them because they were only half price!!!! She sounded really excited but then looked kind of bummed when we put them back on the shelf.  The hats are made

out of some kind of leather material.  At a different store, I think I saw some that were made out of kangaroo!  I don't think these hats were though :)  They smelt like new shoes or a new car in a way!  After we played around in the gift shop, we continued looking out onto the city.  There were big giant binocular things that you could use for free to view the city up close.  They were cool to use if you were holding them still but if you were looking into them and then move them really quickly, you get a headache feeling in your eyes! (sounds weird huh?)  After the tower, we took went on the tour of the rocks, which was just a tour by the water.  We saw the bridge and the opera house but we didn't get very close.  After the tour, we went to a popular outside market.  It started to rain but there were tarps above keeping everything and everyone dry.  We really didn't see much at the market.  We saw alot of over priced things but we found a couple of little things that were cool.  The only thing I bought was some fudge, rasberry and aussie mud :)

June 10/ Third day + Rangitoto College

I had a complete BLAST today when we went to Rangitoto College and met all the kiwi kids.  It was so much fun finally meeting/talking with everyone.  The night started out with some kids doing Maori dances and song, including the haka. I thought they were much better than the people at the hotel (I thought).  Then, out of no where, they made us sing the Star Bangeled Banner infront of everyone.....talk about embarassing! It was just funny because whenever we hit high notes, everyone made cringy faces :)
After the "show" we started to meet and greet.  There was a buffet style dinner for us.  There were burgers, sausage, salad, pasta, and all kinds of things.  I talked with alot of people, including my pen pal Gayon.  We have so much in common and I was so happy when we finally got to talk in person!  I think I managed to talk with everyone in the room.  We all took alot of pictures with everyone.  Unfortunatly, me camera died on the way there :(  I think we are going to get a CD though!

It was really fun talking to people because I love the accent.  It was funny because whenever I told someone I liked their accent, they would reply "Thanks, I like your's too"!  After dinner, our pen pals took us on a tour of the campus.  I loved the school because there were seperate buildings for every subject.  When we got back, the maori kids split up and taught us all the haka.  The girl part of the dance was easy but the guy part of the dance seemed hard.  Only because they had to act tough :)
The night ended with a final haka performance.  After the dance, the kids presented us with some souvieners.  They gave us a picture book of the campus and a copy of their school newspaper.  We then said our goodbyes which lasted for almost 20 minutes because we didn't want to leave.  It was extremely sad when we were practically forced out of the building.  We all bonded so quickly so it was almost depressing when we had to go.  We are all going to stay friends over facebook and email!!

 

June 9/ Second day + Cultural Experiences

On the second day of the trip, we got to go on a duck tour.  A "duck" is an old war machine that they used back in the 1940s.  They now us it for tours (obviously).  Our guide took us all over the place and he explained the history behind everything.  He took us on two lakes.  One of the lakes, he told us about a ghost story.  The other lake, he actually told us about a different lake called the green lake, which is believed to be haunted. 

After the duck tour, we visited the Maori village called Whaka.  The actually name was about 37 letters long (still can't say it).  Our guide explained everything about the culture.  He took us through a normal day in the village.  It was cool that the people in the village use natural resources for pretty much everything.  A big energy source was all of the steam.  They use it for everything from bathing to cooking food.  He explained to us some of the Maori's beliefs and it was very intresting.  He also made some Lord of the Rings references which really made me smile :)

The last thing we did was go to a hangi dinner.  The food was great, I tried so many different things.  Not only was the food great but the singing/dancing was great too.  The performers did a very good job.  They made everything look so easy!!  They made some of the girls go up on stage and try these rope things.  They couldn't really do it but "A" for effort.  They also made some of the boys go up and try the haka.  The haka is a war dance thats really scary when done right.  It was really funny watching all the people (who didn't know how to do it) try to be intimidating. 

 

June 8/ First 48 hours :)

The first 48 hours of this trip has been stressful, exciting, uncomfortable (plane ride), and extremely awesome!!

When we got to the airport, we stood in the "checking" line for 2(ish) hours because the computers kept crashing.  We all ended up sitting on the floor until the problem was solved, which eventually it was.  After getting through checking and security, I started getting super excited because we were about to leave.  My excitment was shot down when we got on the plane.  First off, we sat on the plane for an hour (wasn't moving) because they had to put bags on the plane.  Second off, the person behind me kept kicking the back of my seat.  The three hour plane ride went by very slow.  I slept for maybe a hald hour but it still seemed never ending.  Suprisingly, the thirteen hour plane ride went by so fast.  I think I ended up sleeping ten out of the thirteen hours we were on the plane.  They served us dinner and breakfast.  The dinner was good, it was some kind of chicken/pasta thing with some vegetables and a salad. The breakfast was just some icky eggs.
When we landed in New Zealand, I was so excited that we had finally made it there.  I got my first culture shock when we were in customs.  I was talking to the officer and he told me that my accent sounded really weird.  It was weird for me to think that I had an accent.  My second culture shock happened when we were driving because we were on the left side of the road!!  At first I was scared because I though our bus driver was trying to kill us.  Then I realized that in every country besides U.S, driving on the left hand side is normal. 

For lunch, we stopped in Matamata, or Hobbiton.  They call it that because Lord of the Rings was filmed there! I love those movies so it was really cool being there.  They even had a gollum statue.  I tried my first pie while we were there.  It is kind of like a chicken pot pie, just filled with other stuff.  The one I got had steak, bacon, and cheese it in.  It was delicious!

We went to the luge after that.  It's kind of like go-karts, just that there was no motor or anything.  I did the beginners course but it was still tricky.  The jade factory was really intresting because we learned where it was found and how they make different styles and shapes.  For dinner, we went to a place called Burger Fuel.  It was awesome and the burgers were huge!! They were amazing though!!

Some of the things I'm looking forward to in New Zealand includes the hangi dinner, the agrodome, and the rollie ball thing (forgot the actually name).  In Australia, I'm excited for the bridge climb, the great barrier reef, and meeting the kiwi kids from the college!

 

Food, Glorious Food!!!! :)

Australia and New Zealand’s “eating pattern” is very similar to the United States.  Dinner is the main meal where families gather to eat together.  They sometimes go out to restaurants or get “takeaways” which is like our version of take-out.  Families have barbecues in the summer time like we do.  The host family invites people over and they bring drinks and other snacks.  The man usually cooks the meat while the woman the other jobs.

Whereas we get our food or spices from around the world (but sometimes from here), New Zealanders get all there ingredients that are strictly from New Zealand.  Australians are the same way when it comes to getting there food.  The influence on food usually comes from British-based food.

Dinner is the main meal in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States but the way we cook dinner is different.  Where Americans usually prefer an oven or grill, some families in New Zealand/ Australia prefer to eat “hangi” style.  Hangi refers to the Maori style of cooking.  The men will dig a hole, construct a fire in it, and then cook the food right there! One of their main courses is fish and chips.  Here it would probably be a hamburger and fries. That’s almost the same!

I am really excited to try a bunch of new foods that I would never think twice about eating on a normal day.  I am also very interested in the different foods they eat and how they prepare certain things.  Knowing about where they got/get their ideas for their food would also be pretty cool to learn about.  If I find some foods that I really enjoy, I am definitely going to try to get the recipes and then try to cook that on my own!  I will ask my pen pal if there are any foods that she thinks I would never try but should try while I’m there.  J

Blog 9/ Rabbit-Proof Fence

1) In chapter 3 of Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington, many points on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are violated by the European settlers.  When they came to Australia, the land they came to was already owned by the Aboriginals.  They knew that when the settlers came, it meant the "destruction of their traditional society and the dispossesion of their lands.  They had no respect for the laws and culture of the Aboriginals. The europeans denied the natives of many things.  They couldn't hunt because the hunting trails were blocked by fences.  They settlers also disregarded the natives land and went ahead and built huts and tents.  The natives had no right to equality because the "white man" ignored their laws and took everything. The settlers gave them no right to fair public hearing because as soon as someone did something they didn't like, they had them shipped off to a different island or a prison for the rest of their life.  One man even had his wife stolen and in return, received a bag of flour.  There was much discrimination against the aboriginals. The biggest human right that was violated was freedom from slavery.  The europeans soon learned that they could put the aborignals to work.  They found it was much easier then putting englishmen to work because they required much pay.  They paid the natives with little things such as rice which according to George Fletcher Moore, author of Diary of Ten Years, was their "simple diet".
2) Manifest Destiny is defined as the belief that the U.S should be able to expand out west and further its growth among America. This meant getting rid of things and people by any means nessasary. The native americans were already living in the west but settlers came and took the land, food sources, and the rights of the people anyway.  This mirrors the "civilizing" of Australia and the aborignals.  It seems that the european settlers and the english colonists had the same thing in mind when they moved in.  They had no respect for the natives laws and cultures.  They used their own sense of goverment, which included the use of guns and muskets, to get the natives to move.  They stole the food source and land from them without any consent from the natives.
3) I do not at all think that what the government did was morally justified.  How is relocating kids of mixed descent justified.  From reading the passage, I got the idea that life with the kid's regular family wasn't so bad.  The had a food source, a loving family, and an education.  Just because the life wasn't the best life possible, they didn't need to be relocated.  Besides, the only reason the kids were being relocated was for them to get an education on how to be a labor worker.  I don't see how the goverment was able to pass that law without the consent of the aborignals.  This in a way, kind of goes against the "right to participate in goverment and free elections".

 

Blog 8/ Invasive Species

The Cane toad, or Rhinella marina, is native to Central and South America. Adult toads average up to 10cm-15cm.  They usually eat living or dead matter. Female toads lay a single clump that contains thousands of eggs (probably why they are thriving in Australia).
The were first brought in to Australia in 1935.  More than 3000 toads were introduced to sugar cane plantaions in northern Queensland.  The were brought into the plantations to control the French's Cane Beetle and the Greyback Cane Beetle because they were causing alot of damage to the sugar cane crops. While they did control some of the insects, they did not control all of them.  Cane Toads went on to become one of the most highly invasive species in Australia. They have spread quickly all over northern Australia but are mostly in Queensland, New South Wales, and Northern Territory.  Recently, there have been sightings in western AU.
While Cane toads are somewhat controlling insects, they are also posing as a threat to other animals native to AU.  The Cane toad is preyed upon by animals such as crocodiles, goannas, frogs, and many fish.  The problem is that the Cane toad has a deadly defence-mecanism.  When threatened, they have the ability to release a toxin (bufotoxin) from the glands in their eyes and across their back.  Many species of animals have been drastically reduced because of the Cane Toad. 
There have been efforts at controlling the Cane Toad population. One way was to spray pesticides on toad habitats.  This worked signifigantly and reduced the cane toad population but studies by scientists showed that the pesticide was causing cancer in some humans.  That was immediatly put to an end.  Another effort was to catch toads and put them to sleep in a refrigerator for 12 hours and then applying hemorrhoid cram on their backs (to try and stop the poison) but that never caught on.  Most people have just "thrown in the towel".  There has been talk of training predators to not attack the toad.
The multicolored asian lady beetle, or Harmonia axyrdis, is one of many invasive species known to North America.  It came from Asia (obvioulsy) and was introduced to Europe and North America to control the aphid and scale insect population.  It is now a pest that invades homes in october (hibernation).  People have tried to control the lady beetle population by using insecticides, trapping, and even trying to mechanically prevent their entry into buildings.
There should be more concern when it comes to invasive species.  I will admit, when I first heard about invasive species here, I didn't think much of it.  When we learned about the rabbit problem in Australia and what damages they are causing, it made me think alot more about the species here.  There should definaltly be more work done about all of the species that are causing problems in each country.