Before anyone gets snappy, I know it’s been 3 weeks since my last update and I apologize… but despite the 'drop bears' I’m still living so no worries.
Last weekend I took a trip up to the blue mountains with my roommates. Jeremy (roommate from Michigan) and I took the train out to Kutoomba and stood the entire 1 hr 30 min trip. Apparently on Sundays here you can go anywhere for $2.50, so that probably had something to do with it. On the bright side, I met this cool guy from India getting his MBA in business systems; he told me all about his travels to Norway and now that is on my list of places to visit! From there they took me up to see the three sisters, because it’s the “tourist site of the blue mountains” and they didn’t want me to miss out.
The beauty was so different fromthe lakes, mountains, snowy Rocky Mountains type beauty I’ve had the blessing of growing up with; while I didn’t expect anything different, it was still so new and I loved the excursion feeling. Even the different kind of green the forest was made me look up more, so I tripped a couple times but no bruises. I didn’t want to lead ever, because then I felt as if it were my job to watch for snakes and I just could not be in charge of that. My roommates said since I wanted to walk in the back, I should watch for "drop bears" instead. I asked what those were, and it was explained that drop bears are evil-looking black koalas with really pointy teeth that occasionally drop down from trees and are very dangerous. It wasn't until the next day, while telling my Dad about said drop bears, did I realize they were Australian folklore and I'm really gullible. If you know my Dad you know how much humor he would find in this.
We did an 18 km “bush walk” (aka hike) from the ridges, down through the valley, and then back up. I tried to make a GoPro video, it’s on my FB timeline..yes I know my video editing skills could use improvement. I had no idea going into the hike how different it was down in the valley. I felt like I was in the rainforest/jungle/Indiana jones movie for most of it, and there were a bunch of tiny waterfalls from all the rain we’ve been getting. I didn’t get sunburnt (I’m getting better at re-applying!), and made it up the “staircase to hell”. During the last part of the loop I swear it took us thirty minutes to get to the top of an endless amount of steep stairs. Jeremey didn’t even break a sweat on it, so we were all annoyed when we finally summited the staircase. We (Jeremey and Harry) are already figuring out the next trail we want to do, but the weather is starting to get crummy so we will see.
School is going. To be honest, it’s slightly boring. A lot of business classes are so theory based, so the lectures are only interesting if I have a really good professor. Our tutorials, which are 20 ish person classes that help us with the lecture material, are pretty interesting. Usually we have a case study or activity we do, but they are always interactive. I have a Case Study do for my future of business class, 2000 words and 25% of my grade. It’s terrifying because it’s worth so much, but luckily I’m a pretty descent writer and got on top of the research early. I’ll finish writing it tomorrow probably, and have lined up a couple people to review it before I turn it in. I also have a Marketing presentation coming up. My group seems to work really well together so I’m grateful for that! We are doing a macro & micro market analysis for a product we came up with, and I think it’s come together really well.
Long story short, fell free to send “smart” vibes/prayers/thoughts my way!
In my anthropology class we were asked “what bubble do you live in within Sydney?” My simple answer was Darlington, because I walk everywhere and still don’t know the suburbs. I took the spirit of the question and applied it to home. In Coeur d’ Alene, anything North of I-90 didn’t feel like Coeur d’ Alene, and I always forgot the Shepard st. took you around the lake because what’s past 4th street? In Spokane, anything North of Francis just isn’t an option, and anything south of 29th was considered a trek. Everyone has such a different view of this, but the point was to examine how your patterns shape how you see the spaces within your city. Interesting food for thought!
In anthropology I met this girl Elen, who asked me what Idaho was like. I started to tell her about the North and the mountains, lakes, skiing and such, and she said “for some reason, I thought you guys were the potato state? But I think that was on an iCarly episode or something when I was 12.” SO funny, but I explained that was south Idaho.
I found a yoga studio I loooove. It’s called the Humming Puppy. In the studio they a combination of frequencies at 40 hz (associated with ‘Gamma’ brainwave activity achieved during peak performance) and 7.83 hz (the frequency of the earth=grounding). My roommate Harry quickly commented on the “hippy-dippy”ness of the idea, but even if it’s a placebo thing I’m loving the space. The teachers are knowledgeable and learned my name exceptionally quickly, admirable for a yoga studio. Plus, they always have yummy teas out for before/after class. They even told me about the internship they are looking to fill, sadly it’s unpaid.. but I’m going to do a little research and meet with the manager to figure out what I’d learn/take from the experience.
I was accepted to go on the Project Everest trip to Fiji to meet with local business’ and do social consulting for the month of July. Although a unique opportunity, the University won’t let it count for credit because of *insert red tape nonsense here. Plus, I would have to pay the fees to go with the organization on the project, and the University fees for the credit. Since I’m already graduating early and don’t have room for more classes it didn’t make sense. So exciting news! I’m coming home from July
So if you are one of those kind people still interested in this blog, you’ll be expected to visit.
No extreme home sickness yet! Sometimes my Dad makes me teary eyed, and Allie has a boyfriend I don’t get to harass so that’s a bummer. I always think of my mom when I’m making my bed, no that’s not everyday. I continue to feel supported in all my adventures and hope to hear from everyone soon. Seriously send me postcards or something?
Lots of love from Sydney,
Your favorite Lynee
