Entry 7

This past week has been ridiculously hectic and frustrating. I have spent hours running around Sippy Downs and Mooloolaba, missed multiple buses, been late for meetings and spent two hours stuck in the rain with hardly any cover. It had gotten to the point that I actually enjoyed the long boring bus rides, for they were my only opportunity to close my eyes and not think about anything for a while. 

Long story short, my relationship with Bank of America is rocky at the moment. Luckily everything worked out and I have just finished paying for the most amazing trip of my life. I will depart for said trip this coming Friday on an overnight bus with one bag of luggage and a book bag. I pray that this week goes by quickly.

After many revisions to my itinerary and much help from the awesome people at Mooloolaba Backpackers, I have at last finalized my plans. The first part of my trip came to be mostly out of pure luck. The first week I was in Australia I went to a small pub with some friends. I ended up winning a free raffle I entered and one a free sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands. During this trip I will explore different sections of the Great Barrier Reef and spend the night sleeping under the stars on the deck of the boat. From their, I will head for Cairns where I will experience the excellent night life before I wake up in the morning and leave for the second part of my trip.

From Cairns I will hop on a plane headed for Alice Springs. I feel this will be the most fulfilling aspect of the whole trip. I will two nights and three days camping in the dessert of the great Out Back. I can not describe the excitement I feel when I think that I will soon be visiting Uluru, one of the Holiest places to the Aborigines. I have not yet decided if I will climb the rock. I will only know for sure once I speak to guides and determine what action will best show reverence for the indigenous culture. Regardless what I choose to do, I will wake up each morning under the great red rock as I watch the sun rise over the vast desert.

After much time experience the diverse and beautiful landscapes of Australia, I think it will be nice to spend some time in the city. That’s why I will spend a few days in Melbourne, arguably the food capitol of Australia. Melbourne is filled with modern Australian culture. Rather one is interested in food, art, music, or, sports, it seems the place to be. I will also enjoy time in the beautiful seaside town that surrounds Melbourne. To break things up a bit I will take a quick excursion on the Great Ocean Road, where I will see such amazing sights as the Twelve Apostles, beautiful rock structures in the middle of the rough ocean.

I will finish my trip in Sydney, where I will meet up with some friends. I am looking forward to seeing the opera house. I am quickly reminded of that beautiful image that enthralled me when it graced our television screens during the Sydney Olympics. After exploring this Continent independently for a while it will also be nice to meet up with some good friends and talk about our separate adventures. Of course I also am looking forward to having a group of friends to come along to experience the great city’s night life until the early morning.

I feel it is only fair to let everyone know that I will not be posting an entry this coming week. But worry not, I will return strong with an extra long entry which I am sure will be filled with excellent stories and accounts of my journey. There will also be many pictures to look forward to.

I wish I could express in words the absolute ecstatic state I am is as I think about the chance to experience diverse cultures, both modern and ancient. Plus, there is excitement of experiencing the bustling city and the vast wilderness. I feel this experience will be much more than the greatest journey of my life. I feel it will be a life changing journey. After all, who could not see the sunrise over Uluru, swim with the fish around the Great Barrier Reef, mingle with people from all parts of the world and not return a changed person?

Entry 6

The workload this week at school was very light and the classes were dull and monotonous. So I assume anyways, for I can not seem to remember what I actually did. This is usually a good indicator that whatever happened was very boring. However that all changed when I went to the club Thursday night

 It took my friends a lot of effort and a bit of alcohol to convince me to go. But, at some point I caved and went to the dreaded 2-40s, the dirtiest place I have ever been in. It was better than my first time at the club, most likely because I went with a larger group of closer friends. While it was not all bad, it only confirmed that clubbing is just not my scene.

The rest of my weekend was pretty excellent. That is, other than the fact it was very frustrating scheduling an appointment to plan my two week vacation. But, I was given an excellent chance to vent, so I will not complain. I went along to the driving range with a few of the guys. It felt good to take my frustration out on the poor defenseless balls. It is funny; a girl I am friends with almost did the same thing at the club. But I digress, the outing was nice, despite the fact I am a bit rusty. I think this is something we will keep up, as we plan on going to the golf course, after a bit more practice.

Saturday I was able to have my long awaited appointment. I am incredibly excited for the epic adventure I have laid out for myself. First I will go on two days and two nights sailing trip to the Great Barrier Reef. This is a trip which I won for free in a raffle. Then I will head west to Alice Springs and visit the majestic Uluru. From there I will head south to Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne. Finally, I will complete the loop and head back north in time to start classes again. I have decided to take this cross country tour on my own. It even sounds a bit insane to me, but part of my decision to travel came from a want to test myself. This may be the most epic personal test I have ever faced.

I spent Sunday on the beach with some friends. It was a cool cloudy day with the constant threat of a storm. Oddly, enough I think I enjoyed it more than I would have if it were a bright sunny day. The waves were rough and the image of the sailboats against the expansive grey sky was breath taking.

 At some point, while we were lying their, my friends convinced me to go to church with them. I must admit, I had been thinking about going for a while. I suppose, it may seem like a strange thing to think about on my great Australian journey, but I really do not believe it is. From the beginning this trip was meant to be a journey of self growth. When you start to view yourself in the midst of great mountains, and rainforests, and oceans, and beautiful sunsets, you start to feel small in comparison. This is by no means a bad thing. You come to realize you are part of something much bigger than yourself.

 I guess, I feel church could help me gain greater insight into this realization. So, I went and I was totally overwhelmed. There was a rock band. My initial thought was “great a bunch of Jesus freaks.” I kept repeating in the back of my mind “do not drink the Kool-Aid.” When someone did come up to speak things calmed a bit and he actually made some good points. I am still not sure how I feel about the whole thing, but I think I will go back. Maybe, there is something to the craziness. At the very least there is free food.

It is a very youth oriented group. The main crowd is young adults. In fact, many of us went to a bonfire after the service. It was a great time. The house was in the middle of the woods, far from the sand and ocean. The house was clearly of lower middle class status. It was on stilts and underneath was the gathering area with an assortment of lightly weathered furniture. Shortly after we arrived the fire was roaring at twenty feet tall.

In a large herd we all headed towards the fire, carrying blankets, chairs, and even a sofa or two. A car was pulled down to the fire and the radio played. Soon, the radio was replaced by an acoustic guitar and the singing of everyone there. I felt more at home around in the woods around that campfire than I have since I have steeped foot in Australia. It was the perfect ending to a great weekend.

Entry 5

The past week has been very busy. I have spent hours pouring over books, historical documents, and scholarly essays in an attempt to throw together two strong essays. I have since been busy reading two novels which need to be finished next week and studying for an exam. This is in addition to the hundred plus pages and short writing assignments I have to complete every week. Yet somehow, in between all this work I am happy to say I have found ample time to explore this great continent.

This past weekend was quite excellent. Once I had finished my assignments Friday, I was exhausted from the long week. I had no desire to go out and felt that it was going to be an early night. After lying around a while, I was struck with a powerful urge I could not shake. I needed dessert, the fact I had not yet eaten dinner was irrelevant. I would have killed a man for a cookie and shown no remorse. Luckily, I remembered I had bought all the ingredients the past week and I decided to make cookies. I was happy I would not have to kill anyone, because I was feeling far too lazy.

Instead, I called up two lovely lady friends of mine and we spent the night baking and talking. Admittedly, it was not the manliest of activities, but the important thing Is that I ate heavenly oatmeal raisin cookies and you did not. Finally, I read a good book and fell asleep. I awoke with tons of energy and jumped at the opportunity to go to the beach later in the day with some friends.

When we arrived and laid our blankets on the beach the sun took the energy out of me in about five minutes. I very much enjoyed lying around with absolutely nothing to worry about. But, as the day progressed I painfully remembered there is no such thing as a perfectly peaceful day. We stopped at a very cheap, yet very delicious Tai restaurant. I ended up leaving staring at the ground, for I was to embarrassed to look any of the employees in the eyes.

I feel there was only one employee who knew more than five words of English. We were constantly handed other peoples’ orders and when we asked if it was the correct dish we were rarely given a reply. One of my friends, I will not divulge her name, had finally had enough. I feel sorry for that short Asian man. When she got through with him he seemed genuinely horrified. I feel that night many people felt their image of the stereotypical loud and obnoxious American was justified. I feel this is incredibly unfair, because the person doing most the yelling was Canadian.

The night ended on a high note, as we all met up at a friend’s apartment and had a few drinks. The following morning on the other hand is a totally different story. I t seems the night before I had a little too much to drink, okay maybe more than a little. I awoke early the next morning, feeling like I was going to die. I prayed for another one, or two, or five, or ten more hours of sleep. Sadly, my prayers were not answered. I spent a majority of that day in bed with the blinds down.

The cause of my suffering is that damned goon. For you Americans, that is what Australians call cheap boxed wine. It is not the type of alcohol you buy because you like the taste, for it is truly awful. It is the type of alcohol you buy because it costs ten dollars for five liters. In a continent where a fifth of Smirnoff costs fifty dollars it is just to good of a deal for any college student to pass up.

Fortunately, I recovered by the late afternoon and was able to go meet my friends at O’Malley’s for karaoke night. Unfortunately, my friends never showed up. I stuck around for a while, had a Guinness and enjoyed the singing of the mostly tone deaf but enthusiastic patrons of the bar. I left to find some food. I had a hearty steak and mushroom pie and spent the rest of the night walking the beach. The beach is awesome at night. The waves are rougher and crash against the shore. The breeze is cool, crisp, and just a bit salty. The sky is perfectly clear and you can see every star. The best part is that there is hardly any other noise, but the ocean.

The weekend had its ups and downs, but it was always interesting. That night on the beach seemed a fitting ending to such a hectic week. For the first time that week I was able to take in the beautiful place around me and reflect on how I got here. The more I think about it, a perfectly peaceful weekend would have been perfectly boring. When thing do not go as planned it ads a bit of spice to the whole adventure and makes for some very entertaining stories.

Entry 4

I had quite a week. The first half of which consisted of hours upon hours of scrupulously researching Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the gothic genre. The research fueled my passion for delving deeper into the meaning of great pieces of literature, as well as my ever growing irritation with the vampires of Twilight.        

            I also think I have decided upon my new favorite class. Creative writing has become a nice outlet for me lately, and the teachers who moderate the course are full of passion and insight into the art of writing. I am slowly developing the writer’s ability to gather inspiration from life experience. The head of the creative writing department offered up an interesting thought on this subject. He admitted that he enjoys staring out the window of his house in the mountains with a fine glass of scotch in his hand and just thinking and letting ideas flow through his mind, as many writers do. However, he ended with “But, let’s face it half the time you sit and say you are brainstorming you are just being lazy.” It is these lessons which he offers up with a bit of wit that have me on the edge of my seat waiting for what he will say next.

            I was very pleased to have the opportunity to present a story I had written as an assignment for class. We were instructed to create a story from magazine clippings. It is called the cut up style and was often used by writers including Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs. I must confess this story was crafted under the influence of alcohol and was not the result of inspiration gathered by some great life experience. However, I am very proud of it and would like to share it.

Having a few drinks on the terrace, I peer through the open doors of the vast plane. It’s only a short walk to nearby pubs, and the crazy cat ladies, creepy clingers, undercover sluts, and the other girls who will quietly destroy your life. I want to get really away from it all. Resident wildlife in sexy dress? Tick. Perfectly applied fake tan? Tick. Chic haircut? Tick. Peering to the plan I see that, from horizon to horizon, there are vast herds of zebra, clusters of antelope, and enough wildebeest to make a pride of lions dance for joy. I speed across the wilderness like a rocket ship. Now a traveler on a wondrous journey. I am taken into the grounds, engaged in a romantic entanglement amid the flowers. I fall off the face of the planet unexpectedly. I completely lose my composure and scream. I have departed from the experience. Oh, and you know the glass is half empty friend.

- The Intrepid Traveller 

            But, enough of school, I’m sure no one back home in the states wants to start thinking about classes quite yet. I visited Noosa this past Friday with some friends. It is a very nice beach community on the Sunshine Coast. It was one of the most exhausting days I have had since arriving in Australia. It may seem a funny thing to say, considering we barely did more than lie in the sun all day. That heat turned out do be a greater drain than twenty four hours of being on a plane and experiencing serious jet lag. I slept amazingly that night.

            This amazing sleep turned out to be a real blessing for two reasons. It seems I am starting to become immune to the noises that outside my window, which previously plagued me and interrupted my sleep. Second of all, I had to wake up at seven the next morning to catch a train for Brisbane. This was the second time I have been to this most excellent city with a group of friends and it was just as enjoyable as the first.

            He returned to the part of the city where the museums and art galleries are located. This time, instead of the Queensland Art Gallery, we visited the Gallery of Modern Art and the Science Center. The science center was amazing. I was able to observe hundreds of Australian species, as well as many weapons and artifacts, which at one time belonged to Aborigines or Torres Strait Islanders.        

            Sadly, the Gallery of Modern Art was less impressive. It seemed they may have been in a transitional period, as many of the exhibits seemed to not be open to the public. We did get to see a video which included a naked woman rolling in mud and an older gentleman producing horrifying noises with a microphone. The experience further increased my apprehension of “modern art” as a true art form.

            The majority of the day was spent walking around the city, shopping and finding food. We once again stopped at the small rotating sushi bar and I was ecstatic to have another chance to eat green tea ice cream. It was a much nicer day than it was during my previous visit to the city. The sun was shining, but there was a light breeze. This perfect weather perfectly complemented what turned out to be a near perfect day.

            Come to think of it. It seems I had a very cultured week. The past weeks I have been struggling with getting adjusted and settling into my new setting. I feel I have now created some good routines and am comfortable with my surroundings. I can feel my self becoming anxious, not out of nervousness or stress, but out of a thirst for adventure. That hard to describe feeling that dwells deep in my bones and drove me to embark on this great journey in the first place is welling up once again.

Entry 3

I apologize for my previous entry. I had been in a bit of a rut, but I have since collected my self and found a way out. You should not have to deal with any of that self indulging and self pitying crap for quite some time. In addition, the quality of the entries should now begin to get progressively better and more entertaining.

            The last thing I would like to talk about on the topic of the last entry is where I left things off with the girl I mentioned. I recently had a bit of an epiphany. I was hanging out with a bunch of people including her. She showed far more interest in the other attractive males than she did in me. Suddenly, I realized I did not care. A few days later we met and had a nice conversation. At this point all the naïve romantic notions had been dismissed from my head. I started speaking and said exactly what I meant to say. All the words flowed easily and it turned into quite a pleasant conversation. So it seems, my brain is working again.

            The bulk of my week has been consumed by two things. The first is the twenty minute presentation I must give on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a task I am actually looking forward to. The second is the time I have spent obsessing and complaining about all the racket. I have spent nights plotting ways to rid myself of the cacophony of noises which prevents me from finding peace or good sleep.

            The following paragraphs may make me seem a bit crazy. You may begin to doubt the previous statements I made about my brain working properly again. It is true that if this racket continues for much longer my sanity may be at risk. This all may seem very melodramatic, but that is only because you are not experiencing what I am every night.

            By the time night rolls around I usually have had a very full day. However, it is still not over. I need to make dinner and I usually have some homework to finish. When I am finished I like to browse the internet, watch television, or enjoy a good book for a while. After I have sufficiently wound down, I do some sit ups, head to the bathroom to complete my nightly routine, and finally I get in bed. By this time I am thoroughly exhausted and looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

            This sounds fine enough, but the difficult part does not begin until my head hits the pillow. This is when I have to deal with any party that is happening outside the wafer thin walls of my apartment. I am truly grateful to have shelter that keeps out the rain, but that is all it does. These essentially worthless pieces of dry wall do nothing to keep out any sound and have no insulation what so ever. The music is awful and the people are drunk. I can not stand the horrible club music and the girls laughing obnoxiously and nearly yelling at each other, even though they are only a few feet apart.

            It is not just the residents who make it difficult to find peace. Nature itself seems to have something against me. There is a large plant outside my window. On any night with a small breeze, which is nearly every night, the giant green leaves of the plant are dragged across my window. The noise is very similar to the sound produced by a tiny whining dog. A sound I am very familiar with, due to my uncle’s small Dodson. So, not only am I forced to endure this unnerving sound, but I must endure a small pang of sadness every time I think of how I miss that little dog and his antics.

            Last, but definitely not least, is the birds. These foul beasts have become the bane of my existence. When I first set foot on this beautiful continent I was naïve and deceived by their exotic beauty. I have since learned not to be fooled by their charm. These birds make the most horrifying and often unnatural noises I have ever heard. Some emit calls that sound like nails on a chalkboard or squeaky wheels on a trolley. A trolley, by the way, is what Aussies call shopping carts. The strangest noise may come from the smallest birds. It sounds like some one is shooting a science fiction laser gun. I often find my self startled and fearful that I am under attack by a squad of storm troopers. I soon realize this is silly, for they have no reason to come after me. They do not even know I am a Jedi. Finally there are these awful large black birds, which I believe to be crows. They fill the air with the sound of a small human baby crying. So if I suddenly snap and wander into the Out Back to never be found again, you know why.

Entry 2

            I very nearly had nothing interesting to write about this week. Classes started and it seems that my previous statement about this semester being a good one will hold true. I am taking multiple courses that will delve into the history and culture of Australia. I am also taking a creative writing course. With any luck my blog entries should become better written as time goes by and I will come home a more worldly man. But, no one wants to hear me ramble on about classes and I rather write about something more interesting.

            Once again, I nearly had nothing interesting to write about. Alas, in heart ache and exploration of a new land I found inspiration. Despite it being so early into my adventure, I have already fallen for an amazing girl. It is common knowledge to my close friends that when I fall it is not a mere stumble. It is more like a bunch of bricks crashing to the ground from a great height. All rational thought seems to leave my mind and I surrender to a frenzied mess of emotions.

            Sadly, this example will just be another addition to a long list of instances of unrequited love. Well, not love. Love is such a strong word, but it is more than mere infatuation. After all, I am really into this girl. It is for this reason I found a particular night this week to be quite unbearable. After one to many glasses of wine, I was the main witness to the target of my affection flirting with another guy. She has every right to do so, but it was just too much for me to handle at the moment.

            I’m sure no one wants to hear me feel sorry for myself. As I mentioned before, I also drew inspiration from exploration. My two friends and I decided to venture into Brisbane for a day. It turned out to be a great city .We spent a majority of our time in the city’s West Side. This part of the city is the home of museums and gardens, rather than expensive stores and bright lights. I very much enjoyed a visit to the Queensland Art Gallery and hope to visit again soon.

            Of course we could not go to Brisbane for the first time and not wander around the bustling part of the city. It seemed to me to resemble a smaller version of New York City. Despite it being far smaller it was still crammed with the same energy and interesting characters you would find on the streets of New York City. In the midst of it all, we came across a little hole-in-the-wall comic book store. I am sure it took a bit of effort on my friend’s part to drag me out of that little haven for the nerds of the city.

            I was also pleased to find a busier record store. I believe it was called Rocking Horse.  It was a great store with an incredible selection of CD’s and vinyls. I was totally at home surrounded by punks and hipsters alike. To my dismay, I realized I had to make a choice after a while. I had little money left and I was torn between a live Lou Reed album and dinner. I was forced to surrender to the growling of my stomach. Luckily, we found a small rotating Sushi bar and enjoyed a great meal and finally being able to sit down. I was very pleased with my first time trying jelly fish and I was amused to see quirky rolls, including fried chicken and egg salad.  

            Our time in the city came to a close and we caught one of the final trains out. We had to switch trains half way back home and ended up being stuck in Caboolture for nearly two hours. Caboolture is an odd little town. By town, I mean a small bakery, bar, liquor store, gas station, and a fast food restaurant. It was unquestionably, built solely because of the train station. It reminded me of an old town in a Western movie. It was a place where strangers passed through from time to time, but no one stayed. The bar standing in for the saloon. It was a curious bar with both slot machines for the parents and a play place for the kids.        

            It seemed a fitting resting point for a few strangers who are temporarily settling down in a new place for a few months. It reminded me to find pleasure in the uniqueness of every day little towns as well as the vas. t exotic locations of this large continent. Over all I would say I had a great experience.

Entry 1

Hello all, I hope you enjoy the first segment of my blog, which I have decided to update weekly. Before I take you any further, I feel it is best you have some idea of the format. Unfortunately, I am just as much in the dark as you. I imagine it will be a jumble of journal entries, stories, blurbs, quotes, poems, or what ever else I feel expresses my feelings at the time. It is important to know before reading that everything written is being filtered through the hectic disorderly freeway of my mind, even the entries which are supposed to be pure non-fiction. I believe it was Hunter Thompson who once said something along the lines of, do not let facts get in the way of the truth.

It is easy enough to communicate with me with any number of fancy devices. If you want an exact account of people I have met and places I have been without much artistic flair you can contact me on one of those devices. As for this blog, it is my personal outlet. I can write however I want and you will simply have to deal with it.

When I woke up on the day I was to leave for Australia things seemed way to normal. This was to be the day I left home for five months to begin a potentially life changing journey on my own. None of the emotions I expected to rush through my head ever surfaced. The morning went as most mornings do. I took a shower, ate breakfast, and did some sit-ups. We hopped in the car and headed for the airport. Eventually, my parents said goodbye and we went our separate ways. There were no tears shed that day. We would all miss each other very much, but it was a very happy moment. There was a strange aura of calm which surrounded the whole thing.

I was very pleased that the flights went relatively well.  One flight was late and I was forced to run through the Chicago airport, as to not miss the following one. Other than that everything went off without a hitch. My ability to stay cool and get through the whole ordeal rather smoothly gave me a needed boost in confidence. It seemed I was more self sufficient and resourceful than I thought.

When I arrived at L.A.X. I met some people that would become my first group of friends on my journey. They all went to Goucher College, meaning we had a lot in common from back home in Maryland. There were two guys and two girls. One guy was actually an old acquaintance from high school. We have become much better friends than we ever were during those four years. The other a gentle giant with a fiery red mohawk. The first girl I met was quite energetic and talkative. Since that first time I met her, I believe she has already met and talked to half of Australia. Finally, there was an incredibly cute, ginger girl. She enthralls us with stories of all the places she has traveled, as well as with her looks. The two of us seem to have embarked on a mission to dispel the stereotypes of Americans abroad. For instance, we are assumed to be loud obnoxious gun totting drunks who all voted for Bush. Also, no one thinks we can drive. I do not totally disagree with that last point.

Three planes later, I arrived in Australia. I had been on planes for over twenty hours and ceased to exist for an entire day, thanks to all that crazy stuff the clock likes to do when you travel great distances, yet things did not seem all that different when I landed. It was not until I spotted my first kangaroo on campus, that I knew I had truly arrived. Australia is a very friendly continent and shares many things in common with the west. For instance, McDonalds, giant malls, and Jim Beam.

Speaking of Jim Beam, it is very nice to be able to drink alcohol legally. I knew this was the right place for me the morning I arrived. I was sitting outside in the morning reading, while the people in the apartment above me were moving out. We talked for a moment and they mentioned they had alcohol they could not take with them but did not want to waste. I happily took it off there hands for them. The only down side to alcohol, or anything else for that matter, is that it is incredibly expensive. The minimum wage in Australia is eleven dollars. Meaning regardless off how well other currencies are doing compared to Australia’s dollar, costs are high for most international travelers.

A few days into my journey my first roommate moved in. He is a girl crazy German who likes his alcohol in large doses. I have since met his friends, also from Germany. They are all very cool and have been a nice addition to my group of friends in this new continent. My second roommate has now moved in. She is a very cute German girl. Did I mention there are a lot of German students? It would be a shame to forget to mention the roommates of my friends. Especially the gorgeous Finnish girl, who wears converse, listens to punk music, and refuses to eat meat.

So far I have drank a lot of alcohol, explored rainforests, swam under waterfalls, and gone to the beach. I am also no longer a clubbing virgin. Apparently trashy is trashy regardless of the continent. My first clubbing experience was quick, sloppy, and less than satisfying. My first day of classes is coming up and I am not mentally prepared. After all, back home I would still have nearly two months before classes start. I have not even bought textbooks yet. I must say I think this semester will be a good one. That is all for now. I’ll report back next week.