G'day Australia

This weekend, Kathryn and I went to "The Lookout."

After walking along a path for about 20 minutes, we arrived at the top of this huge hill, which seems to be dead center in the middle of Newcastle. It is sooo beautiful, and you can pretty much see all of Newcastle from the top. We spotted the different beaches, our university, and the rugby stadium!

This weekend was supposed to be a nice and relaxing couple of days. Well...it was, Kathryn and I did our homework by the pool and worked on our tans. However, we also tried two new things that ended up being super challenging.

1st challenging activity: Rowing.
Saturday morning Kathryn and I woke up at 8am to meet the University's Rowing Club in the parking lot. There were about 30 people on the club and they all seemed really nice. After about a 30 minute carride, we arrived at the Rowing Shed near this huge river. The newbies, Kathryn and I and 3 other girls, had a quick introductory course on how to actually row. While practicing on the rowing machine (like the ones in the gyms) I decided that rowing would not be as easy as I thought. I have absolutely no coordination...maybe that's why I run. =)
Anyways, after practicing, we learned how to carry the boat, how to put the oars in the boat, how to actually put the boat in the water, what the different positions are, what the different boats are, what races there were, etc. In the water, rowing was a lot of fun, but very difficult. Having all the people in one boat who had never rowed before was not a good idea. The boat wasn't moving all that quickly and all of our oars kept banging together. Needless to say, we needed to work on our coordination. Two girls on the rowing team were on a different boat beside us, telling us what to do. They were very helpful and after about 30 minutes we actually looked like real rowers. =) We picked the sport up quickly, and were moving along the river at a decent pace. We rowed for about 2 hours along a river in the middle of the farmlands. It was very scenic and beautiful...we saw plenty of cows, including the fattest cow that I have ever seen. After rowing, we had a barbie consisting of sausage sizzles for lunch, and then returned to Uni. Overall, I had a lot of fun, and I learned that rowing is NOT as easy as it looks.

Kathryn and I at the shed.

The river we rowed on.

Challenge #2: Swimming
On Sunday night, Uni had a swimming carnival (competition) between the four different colleges (dorms) here. Each college got a point for each person who competed in the different events. Barahineban, where I live, has always come in last place in the past years, due to the small number of residents we have compared to the other colleges. Anyways, the RAs said that this year would be our year, and that we would not come in last. About 30 (last year only 5 people went) of us dressed up in our college colors (black, silver, and yellow) and headed to the Forum (the sports center on campus). We were definetly the best dressed college, althought the other colleges each had about 100 people there, either to swim or watch. I decided that I would participate in the 50 meter freestyle to earn a point for my team. I practiced some dives on the blocks and got ready to swim. Boy, have I never swam so fast in my life, and I still came in 5th (of 8) in my heat. It was so hard to get the right rhythm of breathing while swimming and trying not to choke on the water. haha =) I survived though, and wasn't too embarrased. After swimming in the freestyle, I also swam in the 50 meter partner noodle race (where two people have to wrap their legs around the same noodle and swim), the 50 meter partner race (where I held my partners legs and I only kicked while she could only use her arms), and the 50 meter team race (where everyone swam 1 lap across the pool whichever way they liked). At the end of the carnival, I was soo tired. Like rowing, this swimming experience had taught me that things are not as easy as they look sometimes. However, they are a lot of fun. =) Also..incase you were wondering, Bara still came in last, but we improved; this year we were only a few points away from 3rd!

Kathryn and I in our Bara gear.

Our cheering section.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. =)

Now, I'm off to bed after an exhausting, but exciting, weekend.

Surfing Beach

A group of 10 of us went down to Sydney for the weekend. We took the 3 hour train ride on Friday afternoon and arrived in Sydney around 6pm. We were all starving, so we got a quick bite to eat (I bought a hamburger) before we headed down to see the phenominal Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. We walked along the peer the whole night admiring these two REALLY AWESOME structures.

We also headed to Minus 5 "The Coolest Experience in Sydney" Ice Bar. Everything inside of the bar was made of ice. It was $30 to get in the bar for 30 minutes. They had to provide mittens, boots, gloves, and a parka! =) It was a blast; even the cups and chairs and walls were made from ice. Also, there were cool ice sculptures inside. My favorites were the chandeliers and the penguin!

After the bar, we headed back to our hostel (Wake Up! about a 35 minute walk from the pier, or as it is called, Circular Quay) for the night.

The next morning, the group headed to Circular Quay again. This time, we took a ferry across the water into North Sydney. We ate lunch there before walking back to the quay across the Harbour Bridge.

After walking, the girls went to the Rocks District to do some shopping. I bought the BEST grapes in the world from this little fruit stand. =) While Kathryn and Ashley did some shopping, Courtney, Shannon, and I walked around and explored all the beautiful parks. We went to Hyde Park where Parade officials were setting up for the Mardi Gras/ Gay and Lesbian Parade that was to take place that night. After buying a snow cone, we walked back to the hostel for a siesta. =)

When everyone got back and was rested, we headed out to dinner at Darling Harbour. We ate at a cute restaurant on the water and watched all the boat in the marina. After dinner, we headed towards the parade. Before we could even get to the start of where the parade was going to be, we were stuck in a huge crowd. The streets were so crowded and nobody could move anywhere. After 10 minutes of being stuck, we pushed our way out and had enough. There was no way that we were going to get to see any of the parade. Disappointed, we headed back to the pier to see the Sydney Opera House again before heading back to the hotel.

Our last day in Sydney, we decided to head towards east Sydney to see the rest of the parks. We went to Hyde Park again and took a picture in front of St. Mary's Cathedral.

We also explored the Domain and the Botanic Gardens. We also visited Farms Cove before heading back to take the train home.

Overall, Sydney is a wonderful city; it is not crowded or dirty by any means. It is so beautiful!! I am already excited to head back again sometime next month for another weekend of exploring. Kathryn and I are already planning to see Manly and Bondi beaches, getting a tour of the Opera House, going to Paddy's Market, and walking along George St. where all the cute shops are.

=)