"Jump Around"

In the mood for listening to some awesome music by some awesome Australian bands? Groovin' the Moo (GTM) is a music festival that happens in May every year in Canberra! Most of the bands that performed are from Australia and the UK but there were a couple from North America such as House of Pain who put on a really good show.

The main stages

This year the line-up included bands such as:

• AC Slater
• Architecture 
• Art Vs Science
• The Aston Shuffle
• Birds of Tokyo
• Bliss N Eso
• Cut Copy
• Darwin Deez
• Datarock
• Drapht
• The Drums
• The GO! Team
• Gotye
• Gyroscope
• The Holidays
• Horrorshow
• House of Pain
• The Jezabels
• Nina Las Vegas
• Sampology
• Unkle Live
• Washington
• The Wombats

House of Pain

Architecture

Gotye

The best thing about this festival is that it is on the University of Canberra campus. A really easy walk for those of us who do not drive. The tents and stages were set up on the fields behind the school. It was awesome because once you are inside, you know so many people due to the fact that most of them either go to UC or they live in res.

Although it was an all ages show, it didn't really matter much as there was a separate area for those who were drinking. Drinks were a little pricey, but as long as you picked up enough cans from the ground to return, the drink turned out to be only a couple of dollars. This was a great way to hang out with my friends, relax, and listen to some great music. Although it was pretty expensive to get a ticket, it was an amazing day with amazing people!

Groovin the Moo travels all around Australia so even if you are not going to be in Canberra, try and catch the festival at any one of the other locations.
http://www.gtm.net.au/
This link directs you to the main page for Groovin the Moo.

The Hamiltons

Being away from family on any holiday is hard...therefore when you are studying abroad you need to find yourself another one!

This Easter my friend Grace invited me to her beach house to spend the holiday with her family (Mom, Dad, Gran, Pop, and brother Harry). Her beach house is located about an hour North of Sydney so that meant another road trip! We left on Friday morning for the 4 hour long trip...it was good times. When we arrived at the beach, it was sunny and warm! We planned a weekend filled with tanning and chocolate eating.

MacMasters Beach

 

 

Sunset

The next day was raining. This unfortunately messed up our tanning plans, however it did not prevent us from going in the water for a swim. The temperature of the water was around 22 degrees and the waves were pretty decent. We body surfed all morning, and even though I was not that keen to do it, Mr. Hamilton taught me which waves were the best to catch (I was an epic fail at body surfing compared to the rest of the Hamilton family).

Easter morning, Grace and I woke up to a trail of eggs leading from our bedroom through the rest of the house. We collected them all within 5 minutes. After breakfast came the chocolate exchange. This is different from what I usually do at home. We all bought different chocolate for each other and exchanged them.

Just a little too excited for my chocolate

Grace is also way too excited about her bunny

That day, the Hamilton's and I spent the day at the beach. It was so sunny and warm that Grace and I put our tanning plan back into action. The water was just as warm as it was the day before and lying on the beach was so nice. The only thing that we had to do was take a few "family pictures". Since the Hamilton's were down 1 kid, I was the replacement...it helped that we had the same name!

Family portrait

I had such a good weekend with the Hamilton's. They really are an amazing family, and they made me feel right at home.

Road Trip

So far throughout my being in Australia I have done and seen so many things in many different parts of the country. One of the most beautiful places that I have seen is the Great Ocean Road. This is a stretch of highway that goes from Torquay to Worrnambool, just outisde of Melbourne. This road goes along the coast of Victoria and on a sunny day the views are amazing. There are viewing areas up and down the coast and stopping at all of them in highly recommended.

Must see things on the Great Ocean Road:

In no specific order...

1) Otway National Park and Lighthouse

2) 12 Apostles

 Fun Fact: there are only 7 out of the 12 Apostles still standing due to the disintegration of the rocks

3) Koala Cove

Koala

This small cafe on the side of the road is across the street from a popular koala hang out spot. Here you can have a break from driving and go for a walk amongst the eucalyptus trees in search of them.

4) Apollo: This is a small surf town about 100 km along the road.

The small town of Apollo

view of Apollo in the morning

All the towns along the Great Ocean Road were similar but also different in many ways. Stopping in them as opposed to driving right through them gives you the opportunity to a) see the town and b) to explore and find something you wouldn't have been able to see if you drove straight through.

  

Additionally, if you are driving this route and you realize that you have more time on your hands, continue your trip through to Adelaide. This drive has an entirely new views, and although it might not be as pretty as the ocean views, it does give you the chance to see what else Australia has to offer in terms of landscapes. While driving this road, you will eventually hit the Adelaide Valley. This is where Australia's finest wines are produced and it has the most spectacular views when you are on top of Mt. Lofty. 

View from Mt. Lofty

View from Mt. Lofty taken from another direction.

Vineyard in the Adelaide Valley

I went on this trip with my Dad who flew to Australia for my mid-semester break for a visit. If you are planning on studying overseas, try and get your parents to come for a visit. It takes away any homesickness (if you have any), it's heaps of fun, and it also gives you a chance to see more of the country without having to pay!

Surfs Up!

One of the must-do things here in Australia to try out would be surfing. The best surfing beaches that I have come across are here in Australia. The sand is amazing, the water is warm, and hopefully the sun will be shining, but if it isn't it's still good times! Just remember the motto: Surf, Eat, Sleep.

Activity Board. Note the surfer's motto!

To kick off mid-semester break, a surfing trip was organized for the study abroad/exchange students at my school. We all jumped in a bus and drove three hours to Seven Mile Beach in Gerroa. It was the longest beach I had ever seen, and was perfect for us beginning surfers. We left on Friday night and we ended up getting to Surf Camp at around 9pm. We had a quick orientation, we got our rooms and we pretty much fell asleep because we had an early call the next morning.

7 Mile Beach, Gerroa

Surf Camp dining area

Saturday morning was cold and wet and waking up at 7am was no easy task. First thing we did was eat breakfast. Nothing fancy, just some cereal and toast to get us going. Next thing we knew it was time to suit up....in our wet suits of course. They were cold and wet, but no one seemed to care because it meant we were that much closer to hitting the waves. After carrying our surf boards all the way to the beach, and getting a quick lesson on surfing techniques it was time to get in the water. Although it was pretty cold just standing on the beach, the water was a nice comfortable 22 degrees. After a couple more hours in the water and a few more lessons we all were starting to get the hang of standing on the board and riding the waves to the beach.

On shore lesson

Once the surf day ended, we headed back to the camp to eat a delicious BBQ and get ready for the Fisherman's Pub. This is a bar up the road from the camp where we were able to go and reminisce about the day, have a few drinks and watch a dude sing songs while playing the fake guitar. It was so much fun, and it was a great ending to an awesome day!

Rocking out at the Fisherman's Pub

The next morning was another early morning. Awake again at 7 for breakfast then back on the beach for 8:30. We were taught different things to do while you are actually standing up on the surf board. This included things such as speeding up and slowing down as well as changing directions. On this day we had the option to change the size of boards we used.
Fun Fact: the smaller the board the harder it is to surf.

At first using the smaller board caused some problems, but after a little while and a little bit of direction from the surf instructors I finally figured it out. By the end of every lesson everyone had pictures and movies of themselves surfing. Unfortunately, we had to pay to get these pictures and we were unable to bring our own cameras to the beach so if you wanted evidence of this adventure you had to pay for it.

Surf Camp was definitely one of my favorite Australian adventures to date!

Success!

Campus Life

Living on campus again was definitely something that I needed to get used to. Back at home I live with my roommate in an apartment off campus. Its quiet, I can get a lot of work done, and when I want to see my friends its just a really quick drive to campus. Living in res, especially one this size (1400 people), was going to be fun, but also a little bit of a challenge.

I live in Old Res here at the University of Canberra. It is named Old Res as it is the oldest of the buildings...obviously! There are also a few other buildings: New Res, University Village, Arscott House (which isn't really apart of res, but it is), College House, and finally Globo (the newest/cleanest buildings here on campus). What I didn't know when applying, that Old Res has a reputation for partying. Being a fourth year student, I am a little over the constant partying, so having to live in a place that was known for the partying was a little nerve racking. Finally being here for 2 months I have figured out a good balance of having a social life, but also being able to do my school work. At times it is a little challenging to maintain, however it is doable especially if you have work that needs to be done at a certain time.

Part of Old Res

 The best part about living in res is the people that you meet. I have met some very amazing people here, both Australian and from the exchange program. I have been having the most amazing time with them. Most people around my res building want to talk with me and know more about where I am from. I have had offers to join my friends at their houses, to meet their families, and to see more of the country. It was the best decision I made not to live in a building with other exchange students (no offense) because then you get the opportunity to meet so many other people from the country that you are interested in traveling and they are able to help you and maybe even allow you to stay at their houses for a bit.

Another great part about staying on campus is the fact that you are no more than 10 minutes away from everything you could possibly need. For example, the mall is a 10 minute walk down the path and across the lake, the bus into Civic is less of a walk than that I am also a 10 minute walk away from work. In the Hub (directly on campus) they have everything from banks to cafe's and they even have post office inside the convenience store. There are so many places to eat on campus, and it really is a nice place to be on a sunny day.

The Refectory on Campus

 

 

Lecture Building

Living in res was the right decision for me. I knew that if I stayed in a home stay that it would be hard for me to meet people around campus and to get a feel for what people my age do for fun around Canberra. I have met so many people and had so many different adventures that I can barely keep them all straight. I highly recommend living in res as the adventures seem to be endless!

How Ya Goin'

G’Day Mate. This is the greeting that is most commonly used here in Australia. In fact, there are many different ways to say many different things here. I was so surprised by many of them that I think I will share a few of them with you.

1. Doona: blanket
2. Capiscum: bell pepper
3. Trolley: shopping cart
4. Pram: stroller
5. How you goin’: how are you doing?
6. Mate: friend
7. Chewy: gum
8. Ta: thanks
9. Tea: dinner/supper
10. Chemist: pharmacist
11. Maccas: McDonald's
12. Swimmers: Bathing Suit
13. Tomato Sauce: Ketchup

It took me a while to figure out what these words all meant and I am starting to use them in my everyday language. I often find myself converting back to the Canadian way of saying things and that only gets me weird looks and often I get made fun of. I even get made fun of when I don’t understand what the Aussies are trying to say…especially if it something that means the complete opposite or means something completely different than what I am thinking. Oh well…one day I’ll get it as I continue my quest to becoming an Aussie!

My New Home

Once I left Sydney on January 29th I took a very very short flight to Canberra. I befriended a nice pilot who sat next to me and tried to tell me that Canberra is the most exciting place....Unfortunately, I have already proven him wrong.

Fun Fact: Canberra is the capital of Australia, not Sydney!

Canberra is very similar to Ottawa in the sense that it is the city where all the political things happen. Both the old and the new parliament houses are here and so are all the embassies (which is guess is beneficial for me if something happens). The embassies and other important buildings are found around Lake Burley Griffin which is a large lake just outside the downtown core. If you want you can even take an exciting boat cruise around the lake. Its a pretty nice cruise, and you get to see all of the buildings and things that border the lake side.

One of the many embassies here in Canberra

 

 

 

Lake Burley Griffin

The new Parliament building here in Canberra is a really cool building. It has a grass roof for people to walk up and it is to signify that the people are above Parliament. Once you pass security to get inside you get to walk around the entire building and even stop by the gift shop where you can even buy soap....? At least it made the store smell good!

Sitting on the roof of Parliament House

Parliament House

With the exception of the mall downtown and all the excitement that happens here on campus, this is pretty much as exciting as it gets around here in Canberra. The good news is, is that it is central to many different parts to Australia. It is only about 2.5 hours away from Sydney if you drive, and it has an airport which can fly you all over Australia!

All in all, Canberra isn't the best place in Australia to be, but I have met so many amazing people and done so many things that I wouldn't normally do in Canada that it makes up for it all. Also, I feel that if I lived by the ocean all the time that the novelty would wear off...well, that's what I keep telling myself at least.