Sitting on my floor on a Sunday Night

I know, I know, I know. You've ALL been frantically checking multiple times per day to see if I've posted anything new; and until NOW you've been disappointed. Well this update will have to be a text only update (as it will take forever to upload all the photos at the hostel) but I will strive to be as interesting as I can.

The word for the past week has been 'flexible'. Our schedules (if you can call them that) change almost instantaneously and each time is some incredible mini-adventure waiting to happen.

Tuesday and Thursday we were given incredible tours of the Architecture and history of Sydney by Eoghan. Everyone was impressed with his knowledge of the area.

Wednesday, we had class and then went to this great vietnamese restaurant with our professors, some local (and famous) artists, Brian Zulaikha (of Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects) and Paul Pholeros an architect (more on him later). It was pretty incredible.

Friday, we had twin artists, a group called matchbox, talk to us about ARIs (Artist Run Initiatives). And as was true to the flexible nature of the week, they took us around on a mini tour of the area to see some local ARIs. They were so nice and really excited about our project. We're going to a tour that they're giving next Saturday.

Saturday we were given a tour of Paddington Reservoir by the head architect of the project, Tim Greer, of Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects (they really are a cool firm, and such nice people). Tim was very generous with his time, especially on a Saturday and we learned a lot of really great behind-the-scenes info about the project.

Today (Sunday) a group of us went and did some exploring. We saw Darlington Harbor, Hyde Park (and people playing chess), and the botanical Gardens. The weather was great all day but right as it was getting dark we saw some amazingly cool storm clouds roll in from the west (complete with huge rainbow). We were up on the hill and it started pouring so we took shelter under some huge fig trees, while watching the sun set over the harbor (complete of course with the Opera House and Bridge). It was pretty cool; once the rain died down we made our way back to the Train Station and came back to Newtown.

I guess that's enough of an update for now... Pictures to come soon I promise.

oh right... I almost forgot to say how awesome Paul Pholeros is. He is an architect that started healthabitat. A group that fixes up houses in central Australia for people living well below the poverty line. He sits on a board that deals with public housing in the national government. AND he designs some really amazing projects in China and Nepal, as well as his own house. He was really inspiring for all of us and it was great that he came to talk to us.

Tomorrow we're meeting at Constructive Dialogue (a local Architecture Firm) and then doing a design Charrette to start off our studio projects! Then later this week we're going to some art galleries and I think a book opening of Adrian's. We were going to go to the Blue Mountains this next weekend but that is getting pushed back so we can go on the ARI tour (flexibility)

anywho, I should get back to reading... have a good sunday everyone!

A4 Paper

so this short post is dedicated to Lindsey Meyer who first told me about A4 paper.

Of course, as Americans, we do things our own way. We use miles, they use kilometers; we drive on the right side of the road, they drive on the left. And so, as we have been given various papers over the last few days, we have learned that while WE use 8-1/2" x 11" sized paper, THEY use A4 size paper. While A4 paper has the same area, it is longer and skinnier, and just cool. The height is an even 12".

Caroline takes us through Redfern

This Saturday we had a special tour with a woman named Caroline. Her (an architect) along with the city planner for Sydney (and former planner for Melbourne) took us on a really great walking tour of Redfern (the area directly east of Newtown). Sydney is famous for its terrace houses. And Redfern has the largest single row of terrace houses in Sydney. The terrace houses are a direct response to the weather; they shelter from Sun and Rain very effectively.

It also rained ALL DAY. We were wet but it was fun.

(these ones aren't terrace houses)

This picture is from the Duck & Swan--A pub in Newtown that we all went to after the tour. We all had a great discussion with the local professionals about things like the economy, consumerism in America, and the weather to name a few.

Some Pictures

This is the view from outside the door to my room. As you can see the room opens straight onto a covered walk. Those stairs head down to the kitchen area. Yes I live in a tropical paradise...if only it would stop raining.

This the view of the Kitchen, the door to the right is to the courtyard. We all get our own bins for food and such.

This is only one of the MANY awesome buildings on Sydney Uni's campus. Notice the really cool pedestrian walk signs.

This is the really great overlook from the Law building on Sydney Uni's campus. In front is this really awesome park with some huge trees and in the back there is Downtown Sydney. You can see Sydney tower on the left. The harbor is in the back (you can't see it from here).

Food and Other Such Minutia

I thought I'd update you all on a few minor things relating to my daily life...

Food is KINDA expensive here, so we are all planning on eating in a lot. The hostel has pots and pans and other such items to cook with, and we all get our own buckets to keep food in the communal kitchen. They also give us small buckets with a plate, bowl, cup, fork, spoon, knife. This morning I had Corn Flakes.

Baggage issues: WELL so I may be a bit in trouble when it comes to flying Qantas airlines within Australia. The baggage requirements are a bit confusing and it seems that I may have to pay because I'm not going to be within the weight limits. Michael said there is a chance they won't actually weigh mine...so we'll see. The issue was that I was under the impression that I could check up to two bags at 50lbs each but after further review the real requirement is two bags with a total weight of no more than 50lbs. So I'll keep you posted.

The final two member of our group are getting here today. Gretchen is here already and Jul is coming later today.

We received our transportation passes yesterday which means of course we went to the harbor yesterday. More on that to come soon.

Sydney Uni Rocks

The University of Sydney, or 'Sydney Uni' is really, really cool. We spent the morning wandering as we waited for our rooms to be ready, and we spent a good deal of the time at this university. I shall post pictures sometime in the future...

Also, we are staying in the suburb/district of Sydney called Newtown. Newtown has sort of an artsy, hippie, college town vibe and is a perfect place for us to stay. We actually enter our Hostel complex through a gate and garage on the ground floor of this really cool narrow street. and again I promise to post some pictures soon.

Poo Tickets

Just so you all are aware, Toilet Paper is occasionally referred to as 'poo tickets.' We had just read about that in a guide book when one of the male flight attendants actually said it. It's a real thing, I think it's awesome and I thought you'd like to know.

Plane Rides

On a typical Tuesday afternoon in Cincinnati Ohio...

My ride, Emily Craig's wonderful parents, pulled into the driveway around 12:35 on Tuesday June 16th--and of course, I was still not ready to go. So I stuffed my face with the wonderful and nutritious Ham and Cheese grilled sandwich my father made for me and through the final things together. Long story short...we were on our way to Dayton, OH. About halfway there I realized that I had forgotten my Australian money at home, so I was not off to a good start. As it turned out, there was a 5/3 atm at Dayton Airport and a nice lady at a currency exchange booth in Chicago O'Hare that saved the day. So crises averted.

We were lucky enough to have an Australian Flight Attendant on our flight from Dayton to Chicago. She was really cool and very jealous that we got to go and she had to fly to Seattle. We got a lot of stories and advice from her and I was feeling pretty pumped. We were pretty disappointed that not one of our other flight attendants from Chicago to LA or from LA to Sydney was an Aussie.

There was only one real speed bump on the road/airway to Sydney... DUE to the AMAZING (and please note the sarcasm) AMAZING weather in Chicago they were only using two runways and our captain notified us that he couldn't even see how many planes were ahead of us to take off. It turns out our plane was delayed about 1.5 hours and we were scheduled to land in LA around 10:10PM west coast time and by the time we taxied to the gate it was 10:30. This caused a problem because our flight to Sydney was expected to leave at 10:30. We were very lucky, apparently the Sydney airport doesn't allow planes to arrive before 6 AM and so our flight was delayed which gave us just enough time to meet up with our friends in LA and board our plane.

There were six (of the ten) of us on our flight out of LA. We had planned our seats so that there was a clump of us within a few rows. I was sitting next to my friend Jenna. The 14 hour flight seemed to fly by, we watched a few awful movies, had two meals and a snack that were actually pretty good, and tried to do some reading for school. The goal was to try and spread out the amount of time sleeping so that we weren't so jet-lagged the next day. As I said earlier the plane left at 10:30 LA time, which was 1:30 Ohio time, so we were already pretty tired from a day of traveling. We flew in over the harbor and landed at 6AM thursday, Sydney Time or 4PM Wednesday Ohio Time (getting the hang of this yet?). We were pretty delirious. We got off the plane, grabbed our checked luggage, made it through customs, and crammed into a large taxi-van to take us to our hostel, Billabong Gardens (google them to see pictures of where I'm staying)

sorry this post was so long and boring, I promise I'll get better.

Traveling Down Under

G'Day Mates! It is currently about 3:30 pm Australian time (Thursday) in Sydney. Which means yes I am coming to you from 14 hours in the future.

so....I'll be using this blog to post pictures and travel stories (and perhaps some quips and fun anecdotes) to record my travels throughout Australia this summer. Please feel free to follow along and see just exactly what it is I'm doing on the other side of the world!