Broken Hill: Days 4-5

Ok last bit on Broken Hill/Outback trip! The last few days included a trip  to Mungo National Park, as well as a "surprise activity." We left Broken Hill bright and early to head down to the Wentworth area for a visit to Mungo National Park. The park consists of several dried up lakes in the Outback of New South Wales. It was a meeting place for ancient Aboriginal people.

We were guided by a ranger at the park whose ancestors were Aborigines. He walked us around and showed us the main part of the park, a huge dune known as the Walls of China. He also showed us skeletons of wombats that had been there according to evolution, for thousands of years.

We also learned that in the late 60s and mid 70s, full skeletons had been found in Mungo, skeletons of a man and a woman known appropriately as Mungo Man and Mungo Woman. After looking through the Visitor's Center, we left Wentworth to head to Mildura for a night's stay before we headed back to Melbourne. We went out for pizza and drinks for a final hurrah before the end of the trip. It was great times!

The next morning, we headed to a surprise activity. Now, I was going to type about it, because it was a lot of fun, but it just hit me that I was specificially told by our tutor Rob not to tell anyone. They don't want anyone back at Loyola who's coming to Australia next semester to know, so I'll keep it secret, I guess. It was nice though, and I won something out of it :-) 

All in all, the Broken Hill/Outback trip was fun. It was great to bond with the Loyola group and some of my classmates, and of course, cool to visit different landmarks in the Outback! Definitely a great experience. Check out a few more pics below!

The Walls of China

Good job Loyola...IT WASN'T ME!!!!

A look out point of Mungo

Memorial to Leslie James Taylor, a guide who suffered a heart
attack on the job

PEACE.

Broken Hill: Day 3

Continuing on with my Broken Hill posts....Day 3 in Broken Hill was...the most adventurous day of the entire trip, I must say. From exploring a mine to riding a camel, to climbing a mountain (!!!), Day 3 was crazy, but fun! Read more after the jump!

Broken Hill: Days 1-2

A shot of  a part of Broken Hill

I've been putting this post off for a while. About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity on going on a trip with the rest of the Loyola group here, as well as some of my classmates from Contemporary Australia. We headed out to the small town of Broken Hill, and explored the Outback a bit. I'm breaking the posts down into parts, because we managed to visit a lot of different places in a short time and I want to capture it all :-)

I overslept and almost missed the bus AGAIN (notice that there is no post on the Monash Abroad-sponsored trip to Great Ocean Road...yeah), but it was all good. I made it, and managed to have an....interesting but fun adventure for 5 days.

Life at Uni: Finding My Balance Again

"Let me remind you little sis that your graduation is in MAY of 2012. So enjoy yourself with that in mind." --a good friend of mine <3 

I've been in Australia for almost two months now. I'm halfway through my semester here. It's crazy how fast time is zooming by!


I wrote a mini post about this on the Blackboard site for this class, but I wanted to go into more detail. I felt for a bit, while I was here, that I was living like a freshman again. Going out a lot, and not really paying attention to my studies as much as I should. I honestly lost myself for a minute haha. It's so easy to get caught up in socializing here, because Monash doesn't have as many written assignments and tests as Loyola has. It's more so doing independent studying and reading to make sure you are ready for the finals, which are coming up in about six weeks. (Little perfectionist me is definitely worried about them already). If you're not focused, you can easily forget really what you're here for. And that's what I honestly found myself doing here for a while at uni.


Don't get me wrong. Being abroad is an amazing opportunity that I don't take for granted, and I'm having an amazing time. I have gone to several different places and have so much more to see! However, I think I began to take it a little TOO MUCH like a vacation. Now, I'm starting to get back on track. Talking to a few people back home put things into perspective for me. I have been talking about graduating from Loyola probably since the day I got there. And now it's a little over a year away, officially on May 19, 2012. I can't lose myself now. I've worked too hard to let my goals slip through my fingers.

A good part of being at any college is practicing good time management, and really finding your balance of social and academic life. I had found my groove at Loyola, but now at Monash, I had to find a new balance because I'm in a new environment. An environment that goes out a lot during the week, and has class lectures online to listen to if you happen to miss one....or just don't feel like going. I'm getting better. A good chunk of my life is spent in the library or my dorm's study room, but I also find time to hang out with friends and go out a bit. So here's to finding balance again....*toast...with an energy drink as I attempt to finish some work!*

PEACE.

The Aborigines

The Aboriginal Flag

I've been promising this post for the longest time! Finally done! I've been thinking a lot about the Aboriginal culture over the past couple of weeks. We've been talking about it in my Contemporary Australia class. I thought that it was a bit of a heavy topic to start the semester with at first, but I'm actually glad that we did. It kind of pulled me into the class a bit more. So I figure I would blog a little about what I've learned. Read more after the jump.

Gotta Represent!

Ok, so I know I promised that the Aboriginal post would be next, but this is on my mind, so I figure I would just type it out. Swear the Aboriginal post is next! I have my notebook filled with facts right next to me!

It hit me these past couple of days that I'm sort of like an ambassador for the U.S. while I'm here in Australia. I remember one of the directors from the International Programs Office saying that to us all before we left. No medal or special recognition or anything haha, but while I'm here, I'm representing my country. I've had so many people ask me questions about what we do in America. I've found that a lot of their ideas about American life comes from what they see in the movies. And it's not always that way. So I've had to break a few things down for some people. For example, I've had people ask about college life, and if it's really all sororities and fraternities drinking and partying all week haha. I can only talk about my experience at Loyola, but we all know that the movies are mostly fake, but good at enforcing stereotypes. Since I'm here I have no problem telling people how it really is. In a nice and insightful way of course.

It also hit me again last week that I'm a representative for my African-American culture. Again going off of the movies, I've had people ask if I know any "Shaniquas" or "Shenenehs" ha! Again, things you see in the movies or on TV, and it's kind of awkward, but I'm not offended. I just kind of correct that all African American people are not the same, are not all the loud and stereotypical black folks that you might see on TV. Just last week, I had my music theatre professor ask me about stereotypes and the use of the N-word among other things that's seen in film and television, minstrel shows and the like. I felt then that I was also an ambassador for my beautiful black people, to explain to others a bit about our history and everything. It's sort of my duty, so that maybe people won't have these set thoughts about an entire culture anymore.

Again, it's not a huge job or anything, but I've realized that I'm more than Brittany Lee when I'm over here. I represent God, my family, my church, Loyola, as well as America, and my African-American culture. I gotta represent!

PEACE.

#Random Environment Friendly Campus

A very random thought, but this is another difference I just thought of to add to the list of differences between Loyola and Monash. I was walking from the gym, and was reminded of how environmentally friendly Monash is. I'm not sure if the drought that took place in Australia a few years back made officials rethink their use of resources. Whatever it is, Monash is definitely a green campus.  There are so many recycling bins around campus that students actually use. There is also a bike system where students can rent bikes for the semester or the entire year to use to get around campus, as well as different places nearby, reducing the amount of pollutants released into the air by cars. The maintenance department also stresses the use of water, asking us to do small things, like limit our showers to 4 minutes (I try, but it's mostly a fail haha), turn off our lights when we live, or turn off the tap when we are brushing our teeth. They also have a half flush/full flush system in restrooms (I will leave you to figure out which you should use when). All of this to preserve water.

I feel like Loyola definitely talks about being a green campus, but we all need to step it up. Put in more recycling bins. Share more tips around campus on how to preserve resources, what little steps we can make to make the world a little better. I'm not sure if there is an environmental club or anything on campus. I feel like being here, and working at the Fish and Wildlife Service has made me more aware of how much energy I waste on a day to day basis. My family and I have started recycling back home, and taken steps to restrict just how many resources we use. It's nice to see other people actively doing the same.

P.S. Aboriginal culture post coming next!

PEACE.

Loyola vs. Monash

So it hit me today that I have to blog more. I have a lot of work at Monash, but I also have to focus on my work for this travel reporting class too. And in little time, too. I have really only about two months left to finish everything. Got an email today from my professor that he wants more from us, more details about our journeys, more teaching of what being in Australia is about, not just the cliché talks about trips and everything. So I'm going to try to do that.

This blog post probably won't be that though lol. This is just something that I have wanted to write about for a while now. Might be considered a ramble, but this is my experience. I don't consider doing this blog just for a class; this is a connection to my friends and family back home as well. So I write what I please. Bear with me. Even though I've only been here about a month (officially on March 14, a month in Aussieland!), I've noticed so many differences between being at Loyola and being at Monash.

Exploring the Healesville Sanctuary...

Sorry this post is a few days later than I said it would be. Busy days. But a lot is going on here down under. In fact, I'm going to a concert tonight that I look forward to posting about!

This past Saturday, I, along with the Loyola group and other international students, had the opportunity to visit the Healesville Sanctuary. Healesville is a conservation effort in Healesville, Victoria, AUS that keeps only Australian wildlife in efforts to preserve and breed their species.

Now, I'm a city girl, and, to be quite honest, I didn't really appreciate nature before. I would always say that being outdoors just wasn't my thing. However, my love for the environment has grown after working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife at their headquarters office these past two summers. FWS actively works on conservation efforts of animals throughout the world, and it's been an awesome experience seeing what all the agency does. So, when I heard that we would have the opportunity to see Australian animals, I was very excited!

We Are the Camels!

Hello, hello everyone! It's been a while since I posted. So sorry! I just got finished with orientation week (or "O-week" as it's officially called) for my hall. But to make up for it, I'm going to do two posts...one now on O-week, one on my fabulous trip to Melbourne Sanctuary :)

Before I begin, I've been reading Travel Writing: A Guide to Research, Writing, and Selling by L. Peat O'Neil. After reading the first chapter, "Getting Started," I've determined that this is a personal experience blog. I've noticed fellow bloggers, Loyola and beyond, have a specific style and voice, specific subjects and everything, so it was nice to finally put a label on mine, I guess.

Anywho, back to O-Week. It was held throughout the residential halls for first-years to "uni" (one of several slang terms that Aussieland has) as well as those who are new to each specific hall. I am on the best floor of the best building of all of the residential halls: Floor 3 of Howitt Hall (Yes, our dorm has our own website. We're just that cool.) Every hall has its own mascot and we are the Camels (hence the title of this post). The past week was filled with different events, outings, and memories that will honestly last a lifetime!

Queen Victoria Night Market!!!

Last night, I had the opportunity to head down to the Queen Victoria Night Market with other international students. During the summer months in Melbourne, the area holds several night markets where there's food from different cultures, plenty of music, and lots of little booths to buy souvenirs!

So in a huge group of students, we took the bus, then a train, then a tram (trolley) down to Queen Victoria Market in the City (basically downtown Melbourne with lots of shops and restaurants). It was raining, but we pressed on. So many people were there!!! It's obviously a very big event in Melbourne!

OFFICIALLY IN MELBOURNE!!!

22 hours of flight. Multiple security checks. Customs. After all this, my group and I have finally made it to Monash University in Melbourne, Australia!!!!! struggled to carry my bags to my new dorm (even when I tried my best to pack light, I still failed), but I made it. My group and I arrived on Valentine's Day, Aussie time.

Definitely noticeable differences. First off, the weather here is AMAZING. It's really hot, but I love it better than the cold weather back home in PG County, Maryland! The people are really friendly. They are quick to approach you, introduce themselves, and make conversation. Something that I think is seriously slacking in the States. We seem to be so busy, going about our own business, that we aren't as friendly to others. Not every American is like that, but a good amount are to me. Melbourne isn't like that at all.

LEAVING!!!!

TODAY is the day! After what seems like FOREVER! The longest winter break of my entire life is over, which means I'M HEADED TO MELBOURNE!!!! Riding up with the family to NY to fly out of JFK soon, and then will head to LA (switch flights), then New Zealand, then finally the land down under!!! I'm excited, and a little nervous all at the same time, but I know that it's going to be an amazing adventure! And honestly, after two months of being at home, I'm ready to get back to school and do something with my life! And of course, I'm ready to just soak in everything that Australia has to offer. The beautiful landmarks, culture, people, and food (though I SWEAR I'm staying away from kangaroo meat!). Plus, a little side note, Chris Brown will be in the place in April (ahhh PERFECT timing), so I have that to look forward to as well. Springing VIP??? Maybe haha :-) Next time I blog, I'll be in MELBOURNE!!! Wish me well!

PEACE.

Brittany Shawnté is Headed Down Under!!!!

Ok, so I don't head to Australia for about another month haha but after seeing all of my classmates' links up for their travel reporting blogs, I figured I'd do mine too! The layout is nice, something that I found online with an Australia theme (Sorry to disappoint, I'm not that talented in graphics!). And this is where I'm going to write about all of my adventures! I'm nervous, but excited at the same time. Heard the weather is great, the people are friendly, and good times are definitely to be had! I'M TAKING OVER!!!!! I'm about to have the time of my life! Believe that!

On a serious side note, much love and prayers go out to those living in Queensland and other areas affected by the flash floods. Crazy that this is going on....


PEACE.