The trek across Australia

Jan. 23, 2009

We’ll I made it. The flights and connections at the airports went off very smoothly, and I arrived to Sydney on time. The flight (14.5 hrs from San Francisco to Sydney) is not something that I particularly enjoyed. Anyway, once in Sydney, I checked into my room. My hotel was right downtown, so it was really easy to get around to seeing all of the sights. After a fast shower and change of clothes, my exploring began.
First, I hopped on the monorail (no, not as nice as Disney’s) and headed for Darling Harbor. This is a really nice area with lots of shops and restaurants along the harbor. There is a beautiful bridge that I walked across as well. I walked until I found something that caught my attention, that means until I saw some parks or fountains. I grabbed something to eat—a McDonald’s snack wrap. Yes, I know, I could get one back home, but I wanted to eat some food that I thought would be a safe bet. So, after riding the non-air-conditioned monorail, I finally took the train (subway) up to Circular Quay. This is the closest train station to the Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The station is actually one of the best areas to see the sights. After that, I registered myself for a harbor cruise and took off walking again. I ended up walking through a little neighborhood and up this old, kind-of creepy, but kind-of intriguing staircase. This led me up to the path over the Harbor Bridge. I just kept walking and ended up on top of the Harbor Bridge. It was a fantastic view! I didn’t have a whole lot of time though, because I had to get back to the cruise boat.
I started my cruise off with an ice cream bar. The Magnum. It was delicious; they definitely know their ice cream in Australia! The cruise was beautiful and a nice way to see the whole harbor. After all of this, and a little bit of shopping ;) I headed back to my hotel. The rest of the evening was uneventful as I fell asleep at 7 o’clock.

Jan. 24, 2009

I woke up today and went down to the health club for a quick workout. I showered and got ready for the day. As I was doing this, I turned on the TV to their top music hits. Britney Spears is still singing about a Womanizer and Justin Timberlake is Bringing Sexy Back even in Australia. I took my bags to be stored for the day, so I could go exploring without dragging them around everywhere. Once all of that was taken care of, I took-off walking. It wasn’t as much fun though today as it was yesterday… it was about 95 degrees and very, very humid, (plus my sunburn from yesterday didn’t really help matters.) I went through Hyde Park. I decided to grab a muffin and juice from a stand and sit down for a bit. I ended up watching two men play life-size chess for about and hour. I walked and saw some more fountains and such in Hyde Park. I thought this was going to be my favorite part of the city… little did I know. So, once more I just continued walking, and walking, and walking some more. I ended up at the Royal Botanical Gardens. These were beautiful! I would say that it is about 100 acres of gardens that meet up with Sydney Harbor. I strolled along the coast of the harbor before heading to the main part of the Gardens. In the rainforest section, there were huge bats. I guess these bats are famous, but they were huge, bigger than crows! They were also quite loud, but they stayed up high in the trees so they didn’t bother me much as I was walking through the park.
I eventually made my way back to the hotel and caught a cab to Central Station, where I boarded the Indian Pacific train. This is going to take me all the way to Perth… it’s just going to take me four days to get there. I am now on the train and looking out over the beautiful Blue Mountains. They are blue because of the large amount of eucalyptus trees and the fog that those trees create. Well, that’s it for now. In the morning, I’ll see Broken Hill and tomorrow afternoon I’ll be in Adelaide.

Jan. 25, 2009

Today, I woke up, after a very non-restful night on the train. Sleeping on a train is not all that comfortable; it’s basically the same as sleeping on a plane. Anyway, I woke up and showered (also quite an event aboard a moving train) and got ready to see Broken Hill. We got of the train and took a coach bus around the town for about an hour. It basically is a small mining town, but has a lot of history to it and has a lot of art exhibits. We went up on top of one of the mines where they had a memorial built to the miners who have died over the years working in the mines. This memorial overlooks the whole town and much, much more. It was definitely worth seeing.
After awhile, I got back on the train, which departed for Adelaide. I had lunch, a sandwich and chips was $7.50—about $6.50 US. This city is fabulous! I think I like it even better than Sydney, and that’s saying something. So I took the coach bus tour around Adelaide this afternoon. It was beautiful and very informative. Our driver had to keep making detours because of the Tour Down Under, the bike race that was going on today. There are many mansions and wealthy areas of town, as well as some not so nice areas. A unique part of the city though is all of the parklands surrounding the town on all sides. These were originally a method of defense for the town, basically barren wasteland that invaders would have to cross to reach the town, and therefore, they would surely be seen before they could do much harm. These areas have since been turned into beautiful parks, some being olive groves. We made our way back to the station and had to wait another hour before re-boarding the Indian Pacific.
I was thrilled when I got back on the train. I didn’t have a seat partner! That thrill has been knocked down and short-lived, because now we have arrived in a town about three hours from Adelaide, and I will soon be sharing my seat with a new person. Well, that’s it for today; tomorrow I’ll be visiting Cook in the morning and Kalgoorlie in the evening. Tomorrow is also Australia Day, Australia’s national holiday.

Jan. 26, 2009

This morning I got up, showered, had a $6 breakfast-a muffin and iced coffee. I know, ridiculous. We arrived in Cook at about 9:15AM. Cook is the halfway point across the Nullarbor Plains, the desert. This town consists of a whopping 4 people. It used to be a town directly involved with the trade using the rail system, but the rail system was privatized and put the whole town out of their jobs. The people who live there now get their supplies from the Indian Pacific when it comes through twice a week. The town is quite creepy as there are many vacant homes and buildings… a true ghost town. We were stopped here for about an hour, more than enough time. I really don’t know how the four members of that town can live there, because there are no signs of civilization for a whole day’s drive in either direction. We did see a large group of camels in the desert area about an hour past our departure from Cook. They were about ½ a Kilometer off of the tracks so they looked like little dots, but there was over a hundred of them.
We arrived in Kalgoorlie a little after 7PM, and that truly was the first town since we left Cook this morning. This is a mining town, and therefore overpopulated with men. Even though prostitution is not legal in Australia, it is tolerated here as long as it takes place in one of the brothels on Hay Street. You can actually tour the brothels—however, I did not. I took the bus tour, which made a stop on top of the Super Pit. This is the second largest mine in the world. It’s a gold mine. It was practically a man-made Grand Canyon; it was breathtaking. The miners work 12 hour shifts and work is being done 24 hours a day.
We got back to the train with about an hour and a half left to spare. My friend, Mya, a friend I met on the train from Brazil, and I took off to find dinner. We saw a Subway while on the bus tour, so we were going to try to eat there; however it didn’t work out too well. It is Australia Day, and the whole town is vacant, except for the pubs, which were alive and well. I was creeped-out by the vacancy of the town and cut our trip short. I decided to swing into a chicken restaurant (like a “chicken McDonalds”) and headed back for the train.
I’m now back on the train, and extremely happy that when I wake up in the morning I will be getting off of this wretched train. Tomorrow, I’ll finally be in PERTH!!!! I can’t wait to meet my new host family. As much fun as I’ve had seeing A LOT of Australia, I really wouldn’t mind having a real bed, a non-airplane-like bathroom, and a shower big enough to turn around in.

*Make a note. No matter what you think, you have not seen nothing until you have crossed Australia by train for four days. Outside of the few mining towns, there literally is NOTHING except a few bushes every now and then—for 4 solid days.

Jan. 27, 2009

So much has happened today. I don’t know where to begin.
I awoke and showered on the train, the same as the past three days. Eventually, (it seemed like a whole day rather than a few hours) the train arrived at the East Perth Terminal. I looked out my window towards those waiting to pick up passengers, and spotted Len and Heather. I waved, and they waved, and that’s where it all began. After waiting to pick up my checked luggage, we took a quick driving tour of Perth and headed to my new home. (By the way, Dad, you’ve raised a criminal. Your honey that I brought for Len and Heather should have been quarantined. Apparently all produce or agricultural products of any kind cannot be brought into Western Australia; however, I must have had it packed well enough because the sniffer-dogs didn’t catch it!)
Perth is an absolutely amazing city. Very modern and up-and-coming. As cities go in Australia, it is one of the newer ones, really only being developed heavily in the last fifty years or so. My new house is incredible. I have my own little room and can share the rest of the house. I couldn’t believe it when I walked in. I actually said, WOW. I think Heather though I didn’t like the house, but in actuality, I was speechless. The houses here have incredible garden areas with a lot of plants and fencing. Heather and Len have a small pool as well as a hot tub in their back garden area. Dr. Happs came over to the house with his wife and Katy, who is the other American student teacher. She is awesome, and I’m hoping to travel some with her.
Len had to head to work, but the five of us remaining went to the Harbor to have lunch and chat. I really can’t believe I am living here. It’s like a dream vacation spot. Anyway, we went to the post office to pick up a calling card and visit the ATM. Finally, we drove to my school, Woodvale Primary. We walked in, just hoping that someone would be around, and there was. The first person we ran into was my cooperating teacher! I have a feeling we are going to get along great. He seems like an incredible teacher and very laid-back. I also met the principal today as well as several other members of the faculty.
After leaving there, we took Katy to meet her host family, and then took a quick trip to the beach. The Doctor, which is the wind that blows in every afternoon, was in full force, so we didn’t say on the beach too long. The sand was actually somewhat painful blowing on our skin. They soon dropped me off back at Len and Heather’s, where I just finished getting settled in and am quickly loosing my energy.
Tomorrow is my last free day! I’m not sure what I am going to do yet, but I’m sure I’ll be able to amuse myself. On Thursday and Friday, I have to go into the teacher days at school, so then my work will begin!

This is my first "test" post.  

I'm getting anxious to leave-- one week from today!! I'm flying out at 1:30 next Wednesday the 21st. I'll arrive in Sydney at 8:00AM on January 23rd. (I literally skip a whole day!) After a day in Sydney, I'll board the Indian Pacific train, which takes four days and stops in Broken Hill, Adelaide, Kalgoorie, and then finally in Perth on January 27th. The distance it covers is about the distance from South Carolina to Southern California, I think. Either my host family or my supervisor is going to pick me up and take me to my new home! 

Heather and Len are going to be my pseudo-parents. I'll actually be living in a northern suburb of Perth called Sorrento. Heather and Len said that my house is just a short walk down to the beach, so I'm hoping to spend some time there, whoo hooo! My school is about 5 miles away from my house, and is Woodvale Primary. While I'm there I'll be teaching "year seven students." (I think that's sixth or seventh graders.) The teacher I'm paired with seems wonderful! He says that he's a science fanatic--definitely okay by me!

I hope to keep in touch with everyone while I'm gone. I've got Skype now, so I can chat with you through that or AIM, or gchat. I won't have a phone though. It's $1.69 a minute--that's definitely not in the budget! 

I'll be getting home the night before Easter, April 11th. I'm flying straight home, so I'll be a little jet-lagged, but I'll be back nonetheless. See you all in 3 months!