Cheer, Cheer the Red and the White!

One weekend in May, a bunch of us headed to the Olympic Stadium to see an AFL game between our Sydney Swans (menacing, right) and the West Coast Eagles. Half of us got tickets on one end of the stadium. The other half got tickets on the other end. We were with the opposing teams fans. The other group was with the Swans' most vocal supporters. Not that we weren't around a bunch of Swans fans though. We had better seats on our side as we were only 10 or so rows from the field and they were more than 30.

Anyways, onto the game. The Swans were red and white. The Eagles were blue and gold. We chose this game way back in March as the game we wanted to go to as there is a big rivalry between the two sides. Many of the fans on both sides had flags that they waved around, especially when the other team was going for a goal. All of the Swans fans' flags had something about the Swans on them. However, many of the Eagles fans' flags simply had the Hungry Jacks logo on it (Australia's version of Burger King). It was quite strange.

For the rules to the game, I suggest you go read it on wikipedia here.

Sydney ended up winning the game in a dramatic ending by scoring in injury time to take the lead. It was a great game. Definitely more interesting than rugby. Of course, college football is tops bar none. Here is their theme song (stolen from Notre Dame)




The theme song definitely beats West Coast's theme song. It has to be the worst in the league.

Joining the Rents

Well, with only one week left, time is short. Never fear though, we have plenty planned for the upcoming week. Saturday, we are celebrating one of the girl's 21st birthday. Sunday we are going to the markets for last minute souvenir shopping. Monday and Tuesday are reserved for exams. Mine is on Tuesday for Science of Sex (Human Physiology was last Tuesday). Tuesday night we are heading out to the clubs to celebrate the end of exams. Wednesday we are watching Transformers 2 on the largest screen in the world and then going bowling and laser tag afterward. Thursday is our last day in the city, and we are hitting up some museums and last minute touristy activities. That night, we are have our "Final Banquet" with everyone from Australearn that is left in town. Friday morning we are having a big breakfast and then packing the rest of the day. Saturday, it's back to the states during a glorious 38 hour day. I leave Sydney at 1:55 PM and arrive in Dayton at 11:14PM for a total in flight time of 17 hours 26 minutes. Yay...

Anyway, back to mid-semester break. I flew back from Fiji a day earlier than everyone else so that I could join the rents in Sydney. That day, we toured the Opera House and then went back to my apartment to show them where I was living. The Opera House was quite interesting. I don't have any pictures of it though.

The next day, we were off to Cairns. The first day in Cairns, we headed out to the Great Barrier Reef. The water was much choppier than when I went in February. My dad and I headed out to go scuba diving. Unfortunately, my dad couldn't clear his ears on the first dive and skipped the second dive. Instead he went snorkeling with my mom. He made it down on the third dive, although he generally stayed above everyone else. I had no problems adjusting my ears this time around. The reef was phenomenal, just like last time. I'm glad I had the opportunity to go a second time. I would go again in a heartbeat. There's nothing like diving at the Great Barrier Reef.

The next day, we headed to the rainforest via the Skyrail. They had some difficulties while we were there with loose belts. We were lucky enough to not be on it during the longest stretch of problems. After the skyrail, we walked around the top of the rainforest. Nothing too exciting really. Then, we took a train down the mountain back to the outskirts of Cairns. The Skyrail came highly recommended by various tourist groups, though I definitely wouldn't recommend it unless you have little kids. Quite a boring experience. Had I known, I would've taken my parents to the rainforestation. At least we got to see wildlife there. No picture of this either. You gotta hit up the rents for pictures.

I do have pictures of our final destination though. Our final stop was Uluru, or Ayers Rock. It's what people expect Australia to be like...orange. It's the Outback. It's not a desert however, as they'll have you know. It's a semi-arrid zone...so a desert. Anyway, that night, we headed out to the middle of nowhere for dinner. Literally, it was just a buffet and dining area in the middle of nowhere. Of course, Uluru is in the middle of nowehere. The night was called "Sounds of Silence." We watched sunset at Uluru and then had dinner under the stars. A local star expert gave us a talk about the stars. It's too bad only one thing he pointed out is visible in the northern hemisphere (Orion). Oh, and there was plenty of alcohol. I swear they were targeting me cause every single time I finished a glass of wine, they were there filling it up. They never even gave me a chance to say no. I felt bad if I didn't drink what they gave me, so I grimaced and drank it. I didn't get any pictures of the sunset.

However, I did get pictures of sunrise the next morning at Uluru. Sunset and sunrise are virtually the same at Uluru.


After sunrise, we had a vehicle based tour around Uluru. The tour guide told us several Aboriginal stories about the rock. Nothing really interesting, if you ask me. Of course, after taking a class about Aborigines and their problems, my interest in all things Aboriginal is virtually nonexistent. Here are some photos of the rock.


After our morning tour, we headed back to the hotel to catch up on some sleep. That afternoon, we headed out to Kata Tjuta for a sunset tour. Well what can I say, more rocks. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting, although I don't think I would ever go back. A day is long enough for viewing some rocks. Here are some photos of Kata Tjuta.



After the sunset tour, we ate dinner and headed in for the night. The next day, the rents were off to Kangaroo Island. I was off to Sydney, as I had classes the next day. That wrapped up my two-and-a-half week mid-semester break. Unfortunately, that meant it was time to get back into school mode. Yuck

Bula Fiji

It's hard to believe that I only have 15 days left in Australia. Time sure has flown by. As much as I'm gonna miss being in Oz, I'm ready to be back in states and Kentucky. Australia's great and all, but I don't think I could ever live here. Now, where was I...

Nothing else really happened in New Zealand. The day after the Triple Challenge we headed back to Christchurch on a bus. I guess one interesting spectacle did happen though. At one of our stops along the way, the bus driver kicked some Indian dude off the bus. The bus driver and this guy started arguing. Then, the rest of the Indian men got out and starting yelling at the bus driver. The driver and the Indian guy both had their cell phones out calling people and handing the phones to each other and yelling on them. At one point, the bus driver opened up the luggage compartments and started taking out luggage. Meanwhile, no one on the bus had any clue what was going on. Eventually, the bus driver put the luggage back on and got back on the bus. He closed the door and drove off without the Indian men on the bus. He later explained that one of them didn't pay for their child to have a seat. That violated company policy so he got kicked off the bus. An interesting event to say the least.

Anyways, the next day the 11 of us were off to Fiji, plus one meeting us there. The first thing we were greeted by in the Fiji airport was a group of 4 musicians/singers. A grand welcome to say the least. And they kept going until everyone was through customs.

It was then off to our hostel, Smuggler's Cove, a beach resort in the middle of nowhere. There was literally nothing around. Just two hostels. Our sleeping arrangement was interesting as well. Our beds were arranged in cubicles of four with about a foot in between bunkbeds. There were 10 cubicles in the room for a total of a 40 bed dorm room. The door to the bedroom was locked by a key card entrance; however, the key card was kept right next to the door. I don't know why they didn't just leave it unlocked.

Anyway, that night we just relaxed. The next day, four of us guys went to a golf course that we could play at for free, except we didn't think about the incidentals...$2 per ball, $4 for 10 tees, $20 to rent golf clubs. We lasted 1 hole on the golf course. We started out with 5 balls. We ended with 2. I was the only one to finish the first hole.

That afternoon, several of us headed out to a mud pool...also in the middle of nowhere. The adventure to the mud pools was quite interesting. The whole set-up was like a scene from a horror movie. The road to the mud pools might as well have just been a mountain bike path. The cab ride was like riding a rollercoaster. Then, the cab driver had to stop and ask for directions at one point, not that there was anywhere to turn though. It was getting dark and looked like it was gonna pour at any moment. We got to the mud pools though.


The next day, 8 people in the group went to go skydiving. Only 2 of them actually went because of the bad weather. The other 4 of us just relaxed. We got sick of the resort, so we went to Hard Rock to eat dinner. I know, the real Fiji experience. That was the best food I had during our entire stay in Fiji though.



The next day, we headed to Beachcomber Island. The weather didn't start out too great, but by the time we got to the island, it had cleared up. We spent the day snorkeling and playing volleyball. It was New Englanders vs. everyone else. The New Englanders only won one game out of 6.


The girls:
The guys:
The group:
The next day, I headed back alone to meet up with my parents. The rest of them headed back the next day. Overall, Fiji was probably the least favorite part of my spirng break. There just wasn't much to do there. I can only relax for so long before I start to get restless. Our "resort" didn't have much going on either, so it was quite boring. Nonetheless, not many people ever get to Fiji, so I can't complain. Well, I should probably study some more.

Photos from the Triple Challenge

Well, I didn't want to ruin the surprise of my last adventure for those people without Facebook, so I opted to leave these photos out. But, now that people have had the chance to see the youtube video, I guess I can post these. If you haven't seen the youtube video yet and don't want to ruin the surprise, then skip all these photos and go to the next post.

I've also set up a counter to track how many people actually read my blog. It tells me everything, such as the browser that you're using, your screen's resolution, and even the operating system you're using. I've had a couple interesting results so far, such as a person from Portland, Oregon, and a person viewing my blog twice from Lees Summit, Missouri. Not that I have a problem with it, it just was interesting.

Now is your last chance if you haven't seen my youtube video...