All's Well That Ends Well

Well readers, it's done.  I'm back in the states safe and sound.  The past 3 1/2 months of my life are ones that will not not be forgotten.  They have helped me shape who I am, expanded my knowledge of the world, and opened many doors to who I know.  I'll try to recap the last few days as best I can.

12/18 - End Of Term Party

I laid low throughout the day.  My last final was on the previous day, so I was pretty drained from all that finals week has to offer.  Around 4 p.m. I decided to walk down to M Barber, the barber shop where all the students went.  After the usual 2 guard halfway down, finger length on top, I walked back up and began to get ready.  End Of Term party is very special, as it only includes term 6, term 9, and study abroad students.  There are 9 terms total in your degree at ICMS just for reference.  I decided to wear my suit from home that night because most of the kids that I had seen before walking down to Manly were wearing them.  After I got dressed, I met up with Chad (Michigan State) and we went down to the Great Hall.  There we found a room packed with students, about 320, drinking champagne, beer, and mimosa.  We followed suit.

Chad and I at Shark Bar.  He's officially done with college now.

After saying hello to everyone, there were a few announcements made, including an announcement by two of my teachers, Mr. Harris and Mr. Bonyage.

"Hello ladies and gents, welcome to End Of Term.  My accent tonight is brought to you by Clay Collier, the only study abroad student that dared to take HOTS this term."

I felt my face flush as all 320 students plus staff looked my way.  It was a funny moment, and I smiled at Mr. Harris.  

After the announcements, heavy hors devours were served and people started dancing to house music.  Later that evening the college had arranged shuttle busses for us to take down to the Steyne, the bar where the college had reserved us the rooftop for the night.  The college had done this about 6-7 times throughout the term as well.  The Steyne was a fun time, a chance to bust a few moves on the dance floor, talk with peers, and take our last pictures together.

Kate (San Diego) and I at end of term.  Bunny ears courtesy of Daniel.

12/19 - Moving Day

I awoke to my phone ringing.  It was 7 a.m. and my room was hot with the violent heat of the Australian summer that was now in full swing.  The caller ID read "Chad" so I answered.  It was Tyler.  It turned out that Tyler (Central Michigan) was at the airport and had left his passport in Chad's room.  He wanted me to get it and bring it to him.  I told him I had no way of getting out to the airport, which was an hours drive anyway.  I roamed around until I found Alex (Russia) and gave him the phone.  I found out later in the day that Alex actually drove all the way to the airport with Tyler's passport.  After saying a few more goodbye's to Erin (Central Michigan), Jeff, Will, and Stevi (All San Diego), it was time for me to go.  I was getting a cab with Daniel (Sweden), Jess, and Steph (San Diego).  Daniel and I planned on staying in a hostel until Steph and Jess invited us to stay with them.  It would be less expensive for all, and we got to stay at the Circular Quay Marriott.  We ended up doing that.

12/20 - My last day

After getting the Marriott's breakfast buffet (which was to die for) we headed out for our last day of shopping.  After going to the Paddington Markets, we headed to Chinatown for the Paddy Markets.  These were indoors, unlike the Paddington Markets.  I bought a didgeridoo and some Christmas presents for my family.  We headed back to the hotel and regrouped.  I needed to do a little more Christmas shopping, so I headed out by myself to the Centre Point Mall, a mall located below Centre Point Tower, the tallest building in Sydney.

Once finished, I headed back to the hotel, got ready, and we headed to Gazebo

a funky indoor/outdoor restaurant in Kings Cross.  After that, I led the group down the street to a bar that I was introduced to by my HOTS group, The Lincoln.  It made me feel at home for obvious reasons.  The Lincoln is known as a high rollers bar that only serves top shelf liquor.  As college students, we didn't really fit in.  We were about 8-10 years under the average age.  The Lincoln doesn't even have red bull or Southern Comfort.  To our enjoyment, my friend Nick whom I was also introduced to by my HOTS group was working that night and supplied us with anything we wanted.  A good send off for our last night in the country.  Thanks Nick.

12/21 - Off I Go

After grabbing a taxi to the airport and getting through the massive Qantas line in the international terminal, I found some other American ICMS students that were on my flight.  Our flight had been changed to go through Auckland instead of just going straight to LA.  The reason was because we weren't flying on a 747, but rather an AirBus A330.  The A330 is a smaller plane that isn't capable of making the long flight over the Pacific.  We landed in NZ and refueled, went through a security checkpoint again, and re-boarded.  While in the airport I stopped at the Adidas store and bought an All Blacks scarf.  All Blacks is the NZ rugby team, and my favorite rugby team.  While in NZ some passengers got off the plane because NZ was their final destination.  This allowed Candace (Widener) to get her own two seats, leaving me with the 4 middle seats to myself.  Someone was watching out for me that day, I'm 6'4 and was able to lay down on the seats as if it were a bed.  The in-flight entertainment was exceptional.  I watched Man On Wire (I highly recommend this), British Open 2008 highlights, a documentary on the AirBus A380, and Step Brothers.  The only snag in my whole way home was a gate change in Dallas that delayed us for about an hour and a half.

Thoughts

Upon returning home, my room mate Robert asked me if it was a life changing experience.  "Yes" I said without hesitation.  I'm a different person because of study abroad.  I think differently, learn differently, and am much more aware that the world is a big place with lot's of amazing people in every corner of the Earth.  I hope everyone enjoyed reading this blog.  I want to keep updating it as much as I can, not just about Australia stuff, but stuff going on in my life. 

Alex (San Diego) and I at Shark Bar.

Until next time,

Clay

Byron Bay Adventures

As some of you may know, I took a trip last Saturday up to Byron Bay via Gold Coast, Victoria Airport (Coolangatta to the locals.)  Byron was a breath of fresh air to me, as I had not yet taken a trip since I've been in Australia.  Most people choose to go to New Zealand, Tasmania, or Fiji, but for me, I just wanted to get a way for a weekend and enjoy the remaining time I have on this beautiful island.  

The way everything unfolded went pretty much as you'd expect if you know me at all.  First of all, I was going with two girls, Alex and Keri.  They had made plans to go about a month ago, but were feeling anxious at the last moment that they didn't have any guys going with them.  Security was their main concern, not that I could provide much of it.  Byron Bay was one place I had heard great things about from Scott (Colorado) and a lot of San Diego kids.  

It was actually just on Thursday that I talked with Alex about what she was doing for the weekend.  When she suggested that I should go, I obliged and booked my plane ticket that Thursday night.  I spent Friday booking my hostel, bus to and from the airport, and our tour.

Saturday

We got in a cab at 5 pm from school and headed to the airport.  Boarding the plane was a bit different, something I had never seen in all my years of flying.  If you were in the back half of the plane (which I was, exit row too) you got to go out onto the tarmac and climb a set of stairs into the the back of the plane.  The people in the front half got to walk out on the tarmac also, but boarded in the front of the plane where you normally would.  I think the logic is that by boarding the plane from the front and the back, you can save a little time.  Here's what I mean.

After the short plane ride up to Coolangatta, we found our bus (which was actually just an Astro Van with a trailer) and hopped on for the ride to Byron Bay.  There were 3 blokes sitting in the back of the bus playing some music.  We arrived in Byron Bay around 12:05 am and since I wasn't staying at the same hostel as Keri and Alex, I was dropped off first at my place.  The reason for this was because school was out, which meant there were tons of newly graduated 18 year old boys and girls running wild around Byron.  Down under they're called Schoolies, I was told later they cause a lot of trouble around towns

 once they've graduated, notorious for booking out hostels up and down the coast. 

Back the the story, I get to my hostel and there is no one working.  The main office is shut, lights off, with a pull down gate in front of the large glass window.  I started searching around for someone, anyone who could check me into my bed.  After some searching, I found the security guard and quickly told him my situation.  "Everyone has gone home, you missed them by about 5 minutes mate."

I quickly weighed my options.  Here I was, after traveling for the last 7 hours, exhausted, with no place to stay and nowhere to go thanks to the Schoolies.  "Here's what I'll do," he said.  "I'll let you sleep in the break room tonight, and in the morning you can check in."  "No worries mate," I told him, "That should do."

He led me over in front of the break room door, pulled out his key chain and opened the door.  Immediately after flipping on the lights to the room, a cockroach about the size of a playing card ran frantically out of the room.  "Oh this is going to be a fun night" I said in disgust.  He admitted that the room was hot and smelled putrid.  He opened the window for me, and before leaving he said "If you need to go somewhere, make it quick because I have the only key to this room.  If someone walks in here, you're stuff is as good as gone."  I gulped but managed to squeak out a "No worries mate." Yeah right.

Here's what the break room looked like from the door.

Here I was, in a employee break room that was not meant for sleeping, by myself, in Byron Bay New South Wales.  I could hear more critters running around, little did they know I was probably more scared of them then they were of me.  I quickly went into survival mode, and started unpacking some things.  I began to think about what I could sleep on.  The only thing suitable in the room was a sketchy looking futon, and upon further inspection it smelled pretty funky and also had a dampness to it.

I managed to put together a makeshift bed using the largest clothes I had brought with me.  It consisted of two button ups, a Butler Basketball shirt for my feet, sweatpants and a sweatshirt for a pillow, and my wet ICMS towel for a blanket.

By this time it was around 1 am, and we were going on Jim's Alternative Tour at 10:20, but I would have to walk 15 minutes just to meet up with Keri and Alex that morning.  Schoolies were still running wild throughout Backpackers Inn, and I knew I eventually needed some shut eye.  I read a little bit of The Tipping Point and shut the lights off soon after.

Sunday Morning

The first time I woke up the next morning was to someone coming into my room.  The opening door woke me up, but I lied still as I saw a head pop through the door.  It closed a moment later, and that was that.  I figured out from the previous night that the front desk opened at 8, so my plan was to wake up then and get my room situation figured out first thing in the morning so that I could have a safe place for my luggage while I was on the tour.  Meanwhile, I left my temporary abode and went to the shower.  On the way back, I spotted an Australian guy, probably around 22 years old, and an old Asian lady, probably in her 70's, walking directly into my room.  I quickly approached them from behind, by this time the guy already has his hand on my door, ready to walk in with the old Asian lady behind him.  His hand was on the door knob.  Now with the door halfway open, he shot me a look of confusion as I approached him.

"Oh, are you staying here"

"Yeah, I am."

I wedged myself, still in my towel, between him and the rest of the room before he could continue any further.

"Oh, well, eh, would you mind if me and her do some religious spiritual practices?  Like, are you down with that?"

WHAT? Was this guy for real?  What a sketchy situation.  Here he was, a 20 something Aussie with an old Asian grandma coming into my temporary room unknown to me, and asking me if he can do some 'religious spiritual practices?'  

"I'll be out in a few minutes, just come back then."

He said okay, and left.

I then dressed, packed up, and went and checked into my normal room.

Jim's Alternative Tour

What can I say about Jim's Tour?  First of all, it's exactly what it sounds like.  If you're young, a backpacker, a schoolie, just someone looking for a fun day trip, any or all of the above, you've come to the right spot.  Jim's a widely known mom and pop type of tour that is run by a group of dead-beat hippies.  Ivan was our driver for the day, a mid 30's South African with a wicked sense of humor.  He picked us up around 10:30 at The Arts Factory, the hostel where Keri and Alex were staying.   

Ivan told us stories about the Arts Factory, and it's history relative to Byron Bay.  The first annual Byron Bay Blues Fest was held at The Arts Factory some years ago when some Americans that were fleeing the Vietnam draft found the land, formerly a pig slaughter house.  He played some good tunes throughout the trip.  The first place we stopped was at a country pub deep in the hills of New South Wales.  Green pastures, rolling hills, distant mountains, and farm animals were commonplace.  The next stop was Nimbin.  The only fair way I can describe Nimbin is a cross between Lawrence Kansas and Amsterdam.  It's a tiny town, only a few streets, with the main street being the main attraction

Keri, Alex, and I ate lunch in Nimbin and packed up our things.  We boarded the bus again and were off to a guy's house name Paul Recher, but for now we'll just call him The Dude Of Life, or simply, the dude.  The dude was a hippie, tried and true.  He was pretty old, probably in his 40's but appeared much older since he had such a long beard and long hair.  He wore a blue oversized tee shirt and purple pants.  He took us on a walking tour around his land, which had zero trees on it 30 years ago.  Now it's a lush acreage filled with fruits and vegetables, which he picked and let us eat.  Watermelon and pineapples were the huge hits.

Our bus group parted ways with the dude, and headed back to Byron Bay.  Along the way Ivan took us over massive hills in the bus, sometimes going what I thought was around 60 or 70 mph.  Once back in Byron, the three of us agreed to take a nap and then go see Australia, which was a new movie with good reviews by our peers.

Monday

Monday was a relaxing day, which was mostly spent on the beach, not much else to say.  We went to dinner at a nice restaurant called Balcony, and yes, we sat out on the large balcony overlooking the town of Byron.

Tuesday

Another beach day, I was badly burned by the sun the previous day, so I spent most of my day walking around town, going in and out of shops, and also my SIM card needed a recharge, so I was able to go to the post office to do that since the Optus stores was being remodeled.  We again went to dinner, this time at a quick mexican fast food place.  I didn't have much of an appetite, as both the girls ate way more than me and had dessert.  I could barely finish my quesadilla.  This time we saw Quantum Of Solace.  It was good, but I expected more from a Bond movie.

Well folks, there you have it.  Be safe and Go Dawgs!

Clay

What are YOU thankful for?

Dear Readers,

It's about that time of the year again, the holiday season.  Mom's mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, white trash jello, and who can forget the all important turkey with all the fixins?  Well, it's sad to say that this will only be the second time in 21 years that I will not be with my anyone in my family for Thanksgiving.  I still remember last year at Thanksgiving when Casey, Brady, Sarah, and I went to Mckenzie's house in Omaha for dinner.  After eating an unnecessary amount, I found myself passed out on the floor, and three hours had gone by.  I guess that's what Thanksgiving is all about though.

One thing my dad has done every year since I was able to talk was ask us all what we're thankful for.  Since I'm not going to be in the states for Thanksgiving, I thought I'd let everyone know, and maybe you guys can respond with what you're thankful for in the comments section.  I'm thankful for...

• My parent's enthusiasm when I told them I wanted to study abroad
• The internet, because it let's me talk with my family and watch Butler basketball games.  Also, I had lunch with a girl yesterday that I grew up with and hadn't seen in almost 10 years because of the internet.
• The luck I've had with my health, I don't often get injured or sick anymore, but it's something that is easily taken for granted.
• My grandpa, for taking a real interest in what I'm doing.  He may be a senior citizen, but man does he know how to send an e-mail.

Well, there you have it.  On Thursday, think about what you're thankful for.  Give it some deep thought, because you probably have more things on your list than you would first think about.  

Clay

Movie

Here's a short movie of pictures that I have captured over my first month or so here in Australia. Enjoy!

You've got questions, I've got answers.

Not to steal from the good people at Raido Shack, but that's the best title I could come up for this entry.

Let's see here, what have I been up to since my last post?

• School, school, and more school.
• Tuesday night basketball
• Study abroad cruise in Sydney Harbour
• Sending postcards (e-mail me if you'd like one)
• Registering for classes for next semester
• Getting to know my mates a lot better
• Setting up a trip or two
• Beginning to realize that this will all come to and end soon

The past few weeks have been filled with memorable days and nights.  Australia has opened up my eyes a lot to how diverse the real world is.  I could never meet any of these people in Lincoln, and it's funny that sometimes you do have to travel halfway around the world just to meet people, and once you meet them you become great friends.  Study abroad is sort of a crazy thing.  In Cairns, during our orientation meetings, they told us how we were going to feel emotionally during the whole trip.  It's crazy to me that you can predict the emotions of people that you barely know solely based on the experience they are about to have:  It went like this:

1) Honeymoon:  You're in Australia! Nothing could be better.  If the airline lost your luggage, no worries, you're in Australia.  Feeling tired? Fight through it, you're in Australia.  Are you lost?  Don't panic, you're in Australia.  Nothing could ever go wrong, because you're, well....you get the point.  The honeymoon phase is euphoric, powerful, and something that I'll never forget.  You're here, and not only are you visiting here, you're living here.  This is your new home, and nothing could feel better

2) Acclimation:  Ok, you're here.  You're still happy, but probably not honeymoon happy.  You're living life and enjoying the subtle differences between Australia and America.  You tell your friends something funny that happened to you today because it wouldn't have happened the same way back home.  You're settling in, but not yet settled.  Every day you learn something new about Australia or Manly.  You never know what the next day might have in store.

3) Settled but homesick:  You like Australia.  You're classes are up and running, and it's probably week 5 or 6.  You have tests coming up soon, projects to turn in, and assignments to do.  You are trying to stay connected to home, your friends, and family, but it's hard to with all of the hustle and bustle.  The weekends are spent either taking trips, or doing something other than going out to the bars.  That was  so week 3.  You're happy, but the honeymoon is completely gone.  You do your best to relay your stories back to friends and family, but it's just not the same.  They don't get it.  It's not their fault, there is just a barrier since they have never been there before.  You wish that you could move everyone to Australia for the next 10 weeks.  It's not that you miss home, just the people you interact with.  You also miss random things like your favorite brand of body wash, deodorant, or your favorite cereal.

4) Time is running out:  It's week 8!  Less than 5 weeks to go.  You can't believe you ever entertained the thought of missing home.  You come to realize that you will not be in Australia forever, and a sense of urgency is constantly about you.  You have one thing on your mind: do.  You have to DO everything.  Go here, do this, and eat that.  You want to pump out as much efficiency in the trip as you can, and all of the sudden the aspect of time is relevant.  

5) Goodbye Australia:  You feel sad, ripped off, and worst of all, regret.  No matter how you look at study abroad, you will never get to do everything in Australia that you would have liked.  You just have to accept it.  The fact that you're going back home leaves you with the feeling of helplessness.  You wished you would have lived every day to the fullest, taken more chances, and seen more places.  There's no way to avoid this, people are simply not able to do everything they wish.  The best way to cope with this is to do the things that you most want to do, and check them off your list.  You regret not taking that trip, eating that exotic food, or even just taking that walk.

It's amazing how accurate these descriptions are, that I've tried to type out the best I could from memory.  I'm currently transitioning from phase 3 to phase 4.  Phase 5 looms in the background, and it will sadly get here eventually.  I'll leave you guys with some pictures of the last few weeks.  Take care.

Sunrise over the pacific

The sun peaking through around 7 am.  The dark areas between the water and

the clouds are thunder storms raining over the ocean.

Study abroad cruise around the harbour

Arthur and I (he lives next to me and is from Brazil)

The Price Is Right crew.  Drew Carey/Rod Roddy, contestant, and

camera man.  People were so loose by the end of the night we actually

convinced a few of them that the shoe box/toilet paper role camera was

real.

The halloween crew.  That's Doug from University of San Diego in

the pink pants, and Frankie from South Africa/Singapore with the 

blonde wig.

This was taken at 4:00 am after an all night study session. Needless

to say it wasn't what I expected to see after I got back to my room.

Probably the last time I leave my window open when I leave.

A quick little update

Hey all, I'm alive and well.  Sorry I haven't updated in a while, that phase is over.  Look out for an update on Saturday.

40 - Nil

Mates - 

Just wanted to update everyone on my weekend.  It was the best of the trip so far....

The footy match on Sunday was an absolute blast!  We boarded the ferry back to Manly, dropped our stuff off, and regrouped as we all assembled in the CYC.  We had to hurry to catch our 2:10 ferry from Manly Wharf.

Once we got back to Circular Quay we headed up George Street to Rebel Sport to buy Manly Sea Eagles jerseys.  They were actually on sale because it was game day and they had a bunch extra in stock.  We headed back towards CQ and hopped on a train that took us to Olympic Park.  It's basically a sports fan's dream, stadium after arena after field of pure sport.  The sight from this picture does not do it justice.  Here's the outside of ANZ Stadium.

Manly whooped Melboure 40-0, or "40 - Nil" as the Aussies say it.  It was such a blast.  I'm so hooked on footy and the Sea Eagles, I'm converted.  

There were 80,000 fans 

Australians LOVE bringing flags to the games. 

The military helicopter that delivered the trophy

Victory

The game was on a Sunday, but the following day was an Australian national holiday so no one had work or class.  After the awards ceremony, we hopped back on the train and got back to Manly Wharf.  The bars had HUGE lines, and they closed at midnight on this night for some reason, so I retired to my room and slept very well from an exhausting day.

Oh, I forgot to mention that ALL public transportation was FREE if you showed your game ticket.  This means ferrys, busses, and trains.  We probably used $25 worth of public transportation that day alone.  Australian's just have it all figured out.

Lastly, I applied at two bars tonight because, well, my bank account is drained.  Almost everything here is cash only, and that does not bode well for me.  One bar is called Charlie Bar, and it is inside of Manly Pacific Hotel.  It is newly remodeled and very slick looking.  I think it attracts a slightly older crowd, which is fine by me.  The other one, Insitu, wouldn't take my resume' until I had my RSA, which is a document that allows me to work in a place that serves alcohol.  I'm getting that on Saturday.  The manager at Charlie Bar noticed my e-mail address on my resume' and told me that he used to date a girl who went to UNO, and that he had been to Omaha.  We chatted about that for a little bit, and how small of a world it is.  I like my chances at that bar, and I think I would rather work there anyways.  

Good luck this weekend in the Chicago marathon, Brady.

Clay