471 Wallaby Way

 Went to a cat cafe in Sydney yesterday called Catmosphere. As soon as Benson and I walked in this lovely thing (named Crookshanks) walks straight up to us. 😻😻😻

Skydiving and Great Barrier Reef!

This past ANZAC Day Weekend (ANZAC Day is a National Australian and New Zealand holiday that honors the fallen WWII soldiers at Gallipoli), my friends and I flew to Cairns for skydiving and scuba/snorkeling. And as you can imagine, it was WONDERFUL.

Skydiving was probably one of the craziest things I’ve ever done. We booked with a company called Tandem Carins Skydive. Willingly jumping out of an airplane at 14,000 ft was an adrenaline rush like no other. This was probably my favorite part, the feeling right as you leave the aircraft and start hurtling towards the ground. It feels like when a drop tower amusement park ride right when it drops you. In that moment, I was a meteor, a shooting star. The whole event went by in a flash and the actual falling (at terminal velocity) was not at all scary. When we landed, I was shaking from the adrenaline. The view was amazing, especially if you can see a beach nearby. If you ever get the chance to skydive anywhere, I’d say go for it. And the higher the better.

The day after - and this is important because the order matters -, we went scuba diving and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. (You shouldn’t fly too soon after scuba diving!) The name of our boat was Reef Experience which included a free scuba diving trial. Scuba diving was in with the top 5 coolest things I’ve done. It was my first time snorkeling too. Did NOT help that it was rainy and the water was choppy but I got it down eventually and I found it really enjoyable. There was always this verge sense of panic while scuba diving and snorkeling. This impending sense of danger that I might breathe sea water instead of air. For me, these activities were more mentally straining than skydiving. But it was so worth it. Seeing the marine life in the coral was amazing; I’d definitely scuba/snorkel again. My two warnings though: 1) DO NOT go on a rainy day if you are extremely prone to sea sickness/motion sickness. 2) DO NOT go if you are a germaphobe.

Exhausting at times but glad for all the memories 💕 💜 💜

It seems I’ve let almost an entire month pass since my last blog update. MY BAD. But I’ve finally found a bit of time in between tasks at my internship to catch up with you all. (I’m not slacking, I promise!)

To my defense, they say that one should unplug from technology to better enjoy the experience... Hmm... and New Zealand had really bad wifi.

Yes, I went to Narnia for Spring Break (or at least where they filmed it) and it was beautiful. If ever I marveled at the wonders of nature, this was it. The landscape was breathtaking 100% of the time.

Beach in Hokitika

Picture of Franz Josef glacier taken from a helicopter.

ON the Franz Josef glacier and the day I was dubbed “Danger Mouse” by a glacier guide.

Queenstown bay

Moeraki Boulders on Koekohe Beach or as I like to call it, Boulder Beach.

Some quaint town obsessed with steampunk somewhere in New Zealand.

Like actually so obsessed with steampunk they have a museum for it.

Cute town though (Oamaru). Me on a steampunk swing at the local playground.

Lake Ohau so removed from civilization it was literally one lodge and nothing else (except for, obviously, nature).

Mostly mountains and water, if you haven’t noticed already. But they were stunning mountains and water.

It was the usual suspects (me, Benson, Amanda, Serena, Lina, Ryo) on a Contiki tour on NZ’s south island which was a LOT of fun.  We started in Christchurch, made our way down to Queenstown and looped back up to Christchurch with stops all along the way. If you’re thinking about booking a Contiki tour, DO IT. Highly recommend and not a problem even if you’re traveling alone. (The tour is designed for you to make friends pretty quickly.) One warning: many opportunities to consume alcohol on Contiki tours.

So yeah, New Zealand was FANTASTIC. Except for one thing: the wifi. Don’t go to New Zealand for its wifi. Seriously so hard to connect anywhere, even in the scant few places they offered public wifi. But I guess it turned out for the better (maybe) since I wasn’t so focused on my social media (though it did occasionally make me hyper-focused on being able to share something REALLY incredible).

Otherwise, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Climbed a glacier, went Canyoning (where I dislocated my arm for the 1000th time), watched people jump off bridges, hung out in a bar made of ice, seen the nighttime sky like you wouldn’t believe, drank cocktails from a teapot, ate the best burger I’ve ever had and generally a lot of great food (when do I not though?). Overall, an unforgettable snapshot of my time in the South Pacific. I’ll try to update more a bit later. Danger Mouse out.

Brian: Do you know the Muffin Man?

Josh: No.

Brian: The Muffin Man?

Recently, my friends and I have fancied ourselves a new pastime. When we’re not cooking together, going to class, or exploring the Australian wilderness; we like to enjoy the simpler things in life. Like gambling. 

Except that we’re college students living abroad while studying at one of the most expensive universities in the world. So... 

This is our alternative:

That’s right. I’m talking about the arcade.

Particularly,

THIS game right here.

Ben watches in envy as little boy wins big.

Over the weekend, the NYU Sydney program went on a 2-day trip to visit The Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves. Really beautiful and worth going to see.

More food! :) This time we made pork (and chive) dumplings from scratch (and also pasta because always pasta).

I know I’ve been neglecting the blog recently; I apologize. After classes started, I found it harder to find the time to really just sit down and write a post!! I’ll try to be better about it going forward!!

But yeah, settling into a new country is never easy nor is it seamless and if you let it, time will really get away from you. A LOT has happened since my last post. I’ve strengthened incredible friendships, told secrets, made memories, tried new things, spent more money than I should have, and most importantly, made a lot of food. And that’s what today’s blog post is dedicated to: home-cooking away from home.

Food is pretty amazing. Now that I’m thinking about it, the real reason for my #SydneySquad is probably because in the first few days of not knowing anyone or any place, we always came together to eat. None of us knew how to cook; we’ve not taken classes or trained as chefs, but insofar as cooking for our friends in a place so far from anywhere any of us have ever known, it seemed appropriate to think back to the food in our own homes. “I remember the _____ mom would make for us…” And in thinking about the edible magic our moms used to bring our families together, I guess we tried to emulate some of that magic too.

So I present to you, “This Is How My Mama Made It”:

First night cooking. Thinking WWMD (What would mom do).

Pesto pasta, fried dumplings, bok choy in oyster sauce. Simple but tasty.

Red sauce pasta, leftover hot pot, and Rappoki (ramen ddukboki AKA spicy rice cake) which my mama taught me how to make.

When Ryo made us all Japanese ramen.

When Ryo made us Japanese Gyudon.

Ryo cooks again and makes Spaghetti Bolognese. He’s single ladies ;)

Benson packs us lunch. Chicken fried rice yummmm :)

Dinner last night. Chicken fried rice by Ben (again because it was so good), snow peas in stir fry sauce by Amanda and Lina, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and marinated stir fry chicken with mozzarella provided by moi.

Improv at its finest.

I can’t believe it’s already been 3 weeks since I’ve come to Sydney. When I was in New York, I never cooked for myself, not really. I was too lazy. I’ll just skip dinner. I’ll wait till I get to the dining hall. I’ll just have a bag of chips instead. Food seems so mundane when you’re eating by yourself. I speak mostly for myself when I say I’ve not really been homesick but maybe that’s because I’ve been sharing my home and myself in bite-size pieces with my friends.

I’ll leave you with this image below:

This past Sunday (Jan. 31, 2016) was a FUNday..!

Amanda, Serena, Ryosuke, Benson, and I took this free day as an opportunity to explore Sydney on our own. We started off with brunch at a cafe called The Social Brew:

Moments after I tricked Serena into thinking I was a junior and everyone played along.

I ordered the beef burger from the lunch menu paired with fresh lemonade and it was delicious.

After brunch, we visited nearby Powerhouse Museum (which is a branch of the MAAS aka Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences). The museum had a wide array of exhibits from jewelry to trains. One particular exhibit was interesting to me, called Disobedient Objects. It displayed objects or created objects that were used in civil protests around the world. The best exhibit though, was the transportation exhibit featuring life-size trains, planes, etc.

Guerilla Girls #aesthetic

Part of the Disobedient Objects exhibit. Book Blocks used as a shield from police crowd control and to symbolize an attack on learning.

Group does origami because we are actually 5 year-olds.

Group photo in front of transportation exhibit.

Later, Ryosuke, Amanda, Benson, and I checked out Darling Harbour at night. Ryosuke led the way and we were all very confused until we saw the bridge.

Photo taken by a Polish(?) guy from Germany(?) backpacking in Australia who explained to us that Ginger Ale and beer look so similar that you can smuggle the latter onto a bus as the former.

Moments before we were ambushed by a very drunk Australian man who wouldn’t stop talking about Naruto.

While walking back to Urbanest, we chanced upon a playground and decided to stop by. Benson and Ryosuke climbed to the top of the jungle gym (which was actually really far up) while Amanda and I enjoyed ourselves on the swing. After which, Ben almost killed/seriously injured the both of us on the multi-person swing.

Ben climbs the jungle gym because he’s 5 years-old.

The two goons reach the top.

Next to the playground was a mesmerizing fountain where you could also control the flow of water! Kept me entertained for longer than it should have...

Ryosuke tries to push Amanda into the fountain.

Benson ponders.

Other sights while walking home:

Really eventful day. Great memories made. 8 year-old me made a reappearance at the playground and fountain. I’m glad I have a group of friends who want to go out and experience new things. I wonder if in an alternate dimension where I hadn’t met them, would I have been holed up in my room by myself that Sunday? 

I’m about to decorate my room (I don’t have high expectations for this at all LOL). I’ll let you know how that goes. 

Suitemate: Yeah, I just got laundry detergent at Woolsworth.

Feb. 1, 2016

This past week was NYU Sydney’s O-week (”O” for “Orientation”). And we’ve been doing a lot of (enjoyable) touristy things. For example, a boat tour on which we got to see Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House (Wed, Jan. 27th):

And a walking tour on which we got to explore The Rocks neighborhood which is near where The Science House is located. Very historic and charming (Thurs, Jan. 28th):

Lastly, an overnight trip to Milson Island which was essentially like a summer camp:

Me as Katniss Everdeen

Mariah, Serena, and I. In love.

From left: Ryosuke, me, Amanda, Lina, Serena, and Benson

More or less the entire NYU Sydney program

It was interesting what being on Milson Island did to me. Maybe it was the whole “summer camp”-type setup but it brought out a side of me I’d almost forgotten. It’d been a long time since I’d seen my 8 year-old self, worn her shoes and laughed the way she laughed. And in doing so a lot of little fragments of that time surfaced and bobbed in my conscious. Like, memories from Girl Scouts camping trips - especially how to make a good s’more. Like, the Kookaburra song (apt because I am in Australia) that we learned for Small World Day in third grade. It was so hot on the island; Australian sun is really much harsher than East Coast US sun (sunscreen is a MUST!) but even when I was sweating like a pig, I still ran around playing cricket, hiking, swimming, kayaking. I didn’t care that I was tired and gross and tanned. The world was infinite fun and challenge, the way recess had been so long ago. It was like all the restrictions I’ve internalized of every passing year since fell away and all that was left was an openness to relish every moment. In time, the ridiculous shorts-tan I’ve achieved will fade or blend, but for now it’ll remind me to take a step back and see the world as an 8 year-old.