a good friday

It's difficult having such a busy schedule and as I mention in every blog...the scarcity of internet access. There is so much I want to jot down in random moments in my day but have no way of doing so and then I forget once finally get the chance.

Let me start by saying that after counting the cash I have left, I made the executive decision not to go on the scheduled surf trip. I'll still go for sure, just closer to home and not this weekend. Oh and might I add that while wallet gets progressively thinner, the Australian dollar is getting stronger, good for them economically, bad for me since my dollars are worth less. Couldn't y'all have waited just a few more months? It's only a few cents but it all adds up, well in my case it all gets spent.

So since I opted out of the trip I've got the entire apartment to myself and I am not complaining by any means. As much as I enjoy everyone, I am thanking my lucky stars I get this time out. It's fabulous.

It's only Friday, so my activities list is short, I'll update another one later in the weekend with the next installment of my adventure list.

Pancakes on the Rocks

 It's a place I'd heard word about since I'd gotten here and it was also where the CAPA program decided we should all get together and mingle. Though some people opted out, I actually decided to go since I've secluded myself from everyone except for Tonia since I'd gotten here. I also wanted to meet other people in the program who arrived not too long ago. Just to see if I meshed with them a bit better. It was a good experience overall, the pancakes were delicious - not to die for, but I'm not too choosy. I order blueberry heaven and it lived up to the name I have to admit. My spited my choice of dinner so this is a one-time-only experience.

Art Gallery of New South Whales

Beautiful architecture

 Every time I see any work of art I automatically think of my two sisters who are both good artists. I admire it so much because I can't produce anything artistic unless decide to call it abstract. The historical pieces were very European influenced and for some reason I found some of the contemporary pieces difficult to understand if I didn't read the descriptions. I guess my mind works in too logical of a way to comprehend them? Who knows. I found myself people watching more than artwork gazing at the museum. I spent a lot of time eavesdropping on the teachers with small groups of students talking about the artwork. Seeing the couples walking around paying more attention to each other rather than the art, and others who really studied the work in front of them. Very interesting. I found a sense of peace from some of the scenic pieces, I really enjoyed myself today. Goes to show one can have a good time, FOR FREE.

Art Park: Hyde Park

Very pleased to be able to add to it. I would have sat and done the rest but I figured that wouldn't be too much appreciated.

 In order to get to the art gallery we had to go through Hyde Park. This park is right in front of the new church I've started attending instead of the Vietnamese one and right across from the starbucks I'm trying to quit visiting.   For the next month or so, there will be different works of art displayed throughout the park. One brilliant artist let onlookers participate in her piece. I thought that was brilliant. I as well as many other were able to make minor contributions to create one great piece.Kinda loserish but I'm not gonna lie, it made my day.

So here I am, Friday night with the entire place to myself relaxing to a mt dew and Disney's Aladdin. Life couldn't be better, thank heavens some comforts of home can be found so far away.

Paddy's Markets

The smells, the crowdedness it's all reminiscent of Vietnam. All except the prices. boo.

 One ridiculously large building labeled Market City, hundreds of vendors, and masses of people make Paddy's Market one of tourist must-shop stops in Sydney. The can't say that the quality is great, but I can't afford any quality here so Paddy's is good enough. Lots of souveneirs ( a lot of yours will probably come from here) and plenty of other sweet nothings no one needs but will end up buying. I liked walking around and seeing all the merchandise from various different cultures. Lots of india inspired clothing, asian things, aboriginal crafts and I <3 Sydney shirts. I found it difficult to resist the temptation to buy everything I seem to like. I'm a junk hoarder, a habit that goes back to my g-pa lol. What can I say? It's in the genes. =)

All by my lonesome, what am I going to do? Shit, I'm gonna explore, call my own shots and do everything I enjoy.

My two good friends Tami and Tuvan bought me a pocket Sydney Guide for my birthday and since I've gotten here I've been checking off the sites mentioned. It fits perfectly because the areas listed in the book are a walking distance from where I live. I can't say enough how great the location of my apartment is. I'm five mins from a station that can take you anywhere in Sydney. The guidelines for my solo weekend are to check off as many places as I can. First destination, Manly Beach! =)

Despite the fact that my group members from Capa aren't particularly my type, this program couldn't fit my cause any better. Besides the fact that I'm not meeting as many Australians as I'd hoped, I'm working with children, taking care of myself, and exploring a completely foreign city on my own makes this fit me. I complained about the commute at first, (and having work at 8am, best believe I will continue complaining about my long commute) but I love having to take the train station, bus through downtown and making detours to whatever place that catches my eye along the way.


On that note, before work wipes me out again on Monday, I have many adventures to embark on this weekend.
'till I update about it again, gday!

baby, it's cold outside

Sooooo Tonia and I ventured out to the beach and guess what? It's no fun when it's freeezing. You don't see it in the picture but right after the shot this exact wave soaked my jeans up to my knees. The waves come and go with more force than anything. Figures. It's winter! Way to suck the fun right out of beaches. Speaking of freezing waters, I'll be surfing in them this weekend...wish me luck. My Minnesotan gater-skin-to-the-cold stayed in Minnesota, I shouldn't complain too much considering my return will be a lot more extreme. I have cooler pictures of the beach that'll go up on facebook as soon as I get to a place where I'm not paying for the internet lol.

Other adventures this week...Hmmm let's see. I can't tell you enough how exhausting work has been, I'm almost reconsidering my ability to tolerate kids for a full work shift.. On a brighter note, I'm learning so incredibly much every day. The staff uses a lot of child psychology in their practices so here I am at work learning more about psychology than I would sitting in a lecture hall for the rest of my life. So this is why I'm not getting paid...No hard feelings, can't wait to get back to my students at home! I'm gonna be a better teacher! I hope.

This weekend was great but my wallet has been suffering from bulimia...I can't even tell you how much I spent in these last few days... It's tough not having any income, and I'm dreading the day that I have to ask my parents for more money. I've exhausted all the money I have saved up...and it's only been THREE WEEKS. Sigh....

Sydney Opera House : Pirates of Penzance

 My very first opera, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would it might be stupid of me but I always thought operas consisted of viking hats and fat women. This was nothing like it, I spose the more classical ones would be but this one was smart, funny and the musicians were brilliant. It was similar to a musical but with opera singing and not as glamorous of a setting (as seen here). There's a character, the captain who carried the personality of Jack Sparrow of the pirates of the Caribbean in the show. (thats where most of the humour was from). Very fun, but I can't say I enjoyed it enough to go see another opera. I'm more a broadway soul, which is A LOT more expensive here so I'm going to wait till I get back home to see them.

Sydney Tower: Observation Deck

Sydney, as well as any other city ever would be beautiful from the sky tower. I almost wish that it was night time when I was out there. The streaks over the water to my left are sailboats ( something else on my to do list). Sydney Tower is in the middle of the city where you can walk around and see everything, from the bridge and the opera house to the aquarium and even the zoo in the distance. It was very cool and the views were breathtaking. Nothing like a bird's eye view.


Anyone who knows me fairly well can vouch for my shopping habits and how it's my favorite past time aside from eating. EVERYTHING IS EXPENSIVE. So I can't shop. I shouldn't be surprised since I do live in the central business district and the biggest city attraction in the country, but still. That's something that's taking a little bit of adjustment as well as the fact that I don't like to be recognized as American. Not for anything personal but let me be the one to tell you that America does not have a good rep. "Aren't you American, you should be crazy" (dear lord, for me to be that kinda crazy? don't hold your breath.)

Something else I'm trying to get used to are the different terms people use
chips: french fries ( i shoulda known that but i didnt)
jumper: sweater
rubbish bin: garbage can
walk path: sidewalk
after thank you they say  "it's okay" (thats what i use when someone says sorry..)

As far as the accent, I can't do an impersonation but in a convo I start sounding like them. They don't understand how cool they sound. As far as my accent, they think its awesome. I'd say its a fair trade if it worked that way.

oh yeah, and everywhere I go I've been accumulating souveniers, thats what I get for having so many friends and family. I won't forget any of you, promise!

Ozzie quote " Are you half filipino?" -No, I'm Vietnamese "Oh half Vietnamese" uhmm I'm full Vietnamese.
Never reffered to myself as full/whole Vietnamese but there are so many biracial relationships here, many people are half. Not something Americans think of huh

OH and speaking Vietnamese, you can't say my trang because my=american. white people aren't american here so they were pretty confused as to who I was referring to. again, something I never thought about.

goodnight folks, till next time
latah!

:(

Funny how the smallest things in the world become a big deal when you're away from home. Work was great yet it took very little for my day to take a turn for the worst. I decided to document this just for the purpose of looking back and thinking 'uh yeah that was stupid to be upset over this'.

I've been feeling a bit down about the friend situation. Easy solution, one would think - go make new friends. Yeah, you talk to people, you're friendly, easy peasy. Well I guess it was a bit easier on my turf. Thinking about my friends back home puts me into a bit of a puddle, yearning for my old security blanket of support. It now rests solely on my newly met girlfriend Tonia. As great as she is, it simply isn't quite the same. I think that contributes to my emotional-ness. Not only that, but I miss my mama and daddy. I'm 21 but I will certainly own up to that. One can never be too old to miss the two people who do everything in their power to fix your problems.

Now for the culprit. The stupid bus. It ate my bus/train ticket. This is like the cell phone equivalent to public transportation. I feel naked without it. It would be okay had this been the end of the week, I could live with that. But seeing as though I have to go to and from work these next few days churns my tummy. I have to pay the fair. FML it's fine for a working girl, sucks ass for a girl who has no income what so ever. Okay after writing all of it down, I'm feeling embarrassed about how stupid it is.

Well that is my vent, and upon reading how ridiculous I sound, I feel loads better.
Now I can do hw without this weight at my throat, g'day.

Ozzie quote ( 3 year old at work) " What does your jumper say?" -minnesota, can you say that? "Minisooooda. why does it say that" -Because that's where I'm from, it's my home. " but why.."

sydney must-sees

As exhausting as my week is, I've gotten off my ass every weekend to enjoy the 'tourist' portion of my experience. As with any other place, there is are plenty must-see's in Sydney and I promise to note them in my blog as I go to them.

Syndey Opera House

Since he spent a few years in the seminary, my dad has a lot of priest friends in various countries all over the world. Coincidently, he's got a besty in Australia who's pretty much been my guide since I've been here. He lives a five hr flight away but flew into Sydney my first weekend here. He introduced me to this family who take me to Vietnamese church with them on Sundays, and he was also the one who took me to this notorious symbol of Australia. As expected, it was much greater in person than it appeared to be in 'Finding Nemo', complete with a perfect view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Also a very majestic structure, one I recognized from the Olympics quite a few years back. I haven't gotten to go inside yet, but my friend and I plan to see a show or two very soon!


Aquarium-Darling Harbour

The aquarium as very large and the main exhibit was sharks, particularly because most of the deadliest sharks are found in Australia.( yeah can't wait to go to the beach despite hearing that one). It was a good day out but I wouldn't say it was anything I hadn't seen before. The set up is kind of like the on at MOA where you walk through the aqauarium. The fish were beautiful and the sharks were enormous. Tonia and I spent five bucks to feed the fish, I was under the impression that we would be tossing smaller fish into the tank. All we had was a pinch of fish food found at target and fed the coral fish. It's okay though we floated above the huge tank where the occasional shark dorsal fin would pop up by the boat just like in the movies. It was cool to see so many of the coral reef fish, they're abundant considering they live pretty close.

Taronga Zoo
Forecast said it was going to rain but by lunch time it was gorgeous so we decided all systems go for the zoo only to be rained on not too much later. The zoo here is nothing like the ones back home. The animals don't appear to be held captive in the ways that I've usually seen the kept. Everything is out in the open, since there aren't any harsh winters to worry about. There are also parts of the zoo where the animals go about their business with no fences while we're able to walk through and visit them. There was a sky safari from where we were dropped off by the ferry that took us to the zoo entrance via the sky cart things that allowed us to see the animal habitats from above. First thing we did when we got there was go see the seal show. I've seen these before and I wasn't the most excited camper to see another one. But to my surprise the show was great, the animals were trained so well and the show flowed with such ease in incorporating the seals' movements and the dialogue spoken to us. It was an amazing show. The rest of the day was pretty normal, it was great time spent up close and personal with all sorts of animals. I'm working on the animal fear deal, it's coming a long way =)

Royal Botanical Garden

The botanical garden is a bit past the opera house and it's a beautiful place for a walk or even a cute little picnic. The paths are scattered with beautiful trees and flowers on one side and the other looks out to the harbour sprinkled with sailboats far off in the distance. It's a great area for pictures but unfortunately I wasn't able to see all of it. I'm hoping to go back soon.


I went to one the girls' in the family's confirmation mass. I had just gone to a confirmation celebration before I left so it was nice to be able to compare the likes and differences of the two. At first I felt very homesick being involved with this family, but in reality no one else I know is getting this while they're here. It's more of a blessing than anything to eat at a round table with a close knit family some nights and celebrate birthdays and confirmations just as if I was a resident here. I'm making an effort to reap comfort about of this rather than use it as an excuse to be a puddle. Who else is getting the independence of being on their own with the moments of being part of a family here? None. So why fret eh? It's just one of those things and I'm lucky enough to have =)

well I think that's all I've done so far, minus the smaller encounters I probably don't recall. I'll try to retain more as I experience more. The homesickness isn't as severe as it used to be which allows me to enjoy my time here a lot more than before. I feel like I've been here for ages rather than the realistic three weeks I've had so far. I'm feeling more familiar with my surroundings and a lot more comfortable here which makes life to be a lot easier than it was. Just a little adjusting did the trick.

Ozzie note : pop = ecstacy lol ask for soft drinks or people will get the wrong idea

Bubbbies

I would post a picture if it wasn't against the rules to upload pictures of other peoples kids. I could not ask to be placed in a better fitting internship.

Willow Cottage is an Early Learning Center geared for children ages 0-5. These children are coming from very affluent families considering it costs about 100 AUD a day for them to be cared there. The building looks like a house on the outside but the inside are baby safe school-like rooms custom fit for each of the age groups. The food they eat is catered, brought to the center every morning before they arrive and as far as nap time goes...they are each rocked or back rubbed into slumber every day. ( I fell asleep rubbing their backs the other day...a typical ann move for sure.) All the staff have degrees from Child Psych, like myself, to elementary or secondary education. It's pretty interesting to be able to observe all the theories I'd learned this past semester.

I'm exhausted of all my energy everyday doing what I enjoy most, so pretty much what I always did on Sundays. I go in to work three days a week, and each day I'm assigned to work with a different age group, babies, toddlers and preschoolers. It isn't as if any of the days is more of a break than the other, each age group comes with very different demands and all sorts of responsibilities. I tend to come home from work complaining about all sorts of things such as the portion of the sandbox I've collected in my shoes, all the diapers I've changed, and all the coughs, sneezes and boogers up in my grill. With that said, I would much rather be complaining about that than any other positions other people have been placed with. Although it would not be as physically demanding ( I need it anyways) I doubt that I would find it even the slightest bit as rewarding as portraits of me drawn in crayons and little hugs before leaving. Not to mention the absolutely adorable accents!

Father's day was last weekend, and I spent it with a family that has kind of taken me under their wing for the time I'm here. ( It settles my dad for a bit knowing that there's someone looking after me at least from a closer distance than he can) It wasn't quite the same, being around someone else's cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I felt a little out of place and extremely homesick for my own loves. But it's okay, we can't have it all now can we? If I could uproot my entire family and move them to Australia, I would do it! It was nice though, eating food I didn't cook ( my cooking's improved btw) and talking to people outside of my program ( not too much a fan of them).

To be honest I haven't really seen much of Australia from a tourists' perspective since I'm drowned in the work/school part of life right now. I try to break out of the week cycle and take small trips over the weekends. I'm the type to want to curl into bed when I get the chance I'm ashamed to admit it but it's taking quite a bit of motivation for me to see the sights... I'll get out there though, the time is already flying by and I'll be dragged back to the states kicking and screaming before I know it.

I'm really loving life over here, it's different enough, and certainly not the same as back home.

Alright I have to head home it's been a long day...and it's only 6 pm...oh yeah, and I'm not nuts about coming home from work/school and having to cook before being able to eat. I totally took my mama and her cooking skills foregranted. It'll best believe it'll be a whole different story when I get back.

g'day all.
Ozzie quote "Is high school in America like in the movies?...like are there really popular people?"

I knew going into this that Australia would be different from the States in various ways, but for some reason I did not anticipate the scarcity of internet access. I'm sitting at a cafe with a drink I probably won't have two sips of just so that I can email my parents and check my facebook updates.That is also one of the reasons as to why I haven't updated at all since I flew out over a week ago. First of all, I blame google because my first day in I came on to update my blog and google decides to lock me out of my acct because I logged in from a different country. Not only that, but it also requested that it text or call me the verification code, something that couldn't happen until I got my phone. Now that I'm all settled I'm going to try to make it a habit to at least update my week since internet is not even near as accessible as it used to be.

Something Ann would do: Arrive in a foreign country a full day ahead of the move in date.


After a tearful goodbye to my parents and siblings I wiped my tears and set out to fly, first stop. LA. I felt more than out of place with puffy eyes and scrubby attire seeing as everyone who was going to LA was on vacation or returning home. That, with the exception of the girl behind me, someone I overheard was also going to Australia and whom I later found out was in the exact program I was. " So I was going to find a hotel to stay for a night since we're early but my host mom told me I could stay with her anyways." .....uh. early? So here I am heading to Sydney with now no idea as to where I'm going to spend the night. I catch my second flight and end up sitting next to a group of Vietnamese Californians who caught my attention by speaking in the normal decible level of a Viet person. what are the chances? It was nice getting to know them and it was cute how they were all so concerned that I had no place to stay. I reassured them that I'd be fine and wandered around to find a phone or any possible way to book a hotel. The nearest one was beachside and 150 for the night, I had no choice so there I was all alone in a beautiful hotel. It was great, only all I could do was think about my parents and sob into a pillow for a good while, or more like random parts of my day. I took taxis to malls walked around a lot of the city and just tried my best to distract myself from feeling so...pitiful. The night ended pleasantly with my pack of ramen noodles I brought for my flight and Miss Universe on TV. Next thing I knew, I fell asleep and woke up thinking that I was in my bed at home...

My apartment is beautiful. Close enough to the city to get there in less than 20 mins, far enough from there to be out of the way from the masses of crowds strolling through everyday. I share the apartment with three other girls, so one can only imagine the havoc inside after the pictures were taken. I've been trying to cook for myself and one other roommate. Things were a bit rocky the first few days, simply eating potatoes and sausage for dinner, but it's been looking up. By the end of these four months, I hope to improve my cooking skills to somewhat delicious.

Last note!
I'm not one to discriminate between your furry family member and the next random animal I come across, I am typically scared of all of them.
Since I've got a clean slate in this place I've never been, I am determined to overcome my fear of animals. Starts with kangaroos and koalas, and eventually I won't be afraid of everyone's beloved doggies. lol

Quote from an Ozzie " OMG you sound just like the girls in the movies! You've got to be from America!"

Alright that's all the internet my little cup of cocoa got me. Till next time!