The Gabtrotter

This is a short video in Vienna, Austria. Sarah shares a story about her grandfather, while we are sitting in a Viennese wine garden.

Currently sitting in my hostel, with a sleeping French guy diagonally on top of me (I mean he’s on the top bunk next to me). Everyone else is downstairs hanging out in the lobby, I’ve done my share of that this week, and now I am here. Exploring the slue of websites I have accumulated over the years, I have come to realize that I really miss making videos; in any context. I wish I had brought stuff to edit, or my camera didn’t die, or my external hard drive wasn’t stolen. I guess my creative film odds were against me, like they were in Australia. Every camera I had broke while I was there, except for my most loyal techno-companion: the iphone. So it remains my most loyal techno-companion, I am knocking on every piece of wood I see, and I urge you to too (if anyone reads this??). I don’t really believe in the whole knocking on wood thing, but hell anything is better than nothing.

Tomorrow I am bussing south to Lagos. I am excited about it, for I plan on getting my tan on. I also want to bike around, and I have this vision of reading in the shade of gigantic ocean rocks on the beach; we’ll see if my vision comes true.

It is hard to believe that in exactly two weeks, I will be moved into Cambridge. Wow. Anxiously discussing these plans with my family and friends seems like it was just yesterday, but at the time the plans felt like they were years away. Time sneaks up on you and the predictions become the present almost faster than you had the ideas to begin with.

*Note, I am starting this post without an exact idea of where I will wind up.

Ha, I guess that ^^ is how I start a lot of things though. Like, this trip – I never really thought that I would end up in Portugal. I don’t even think I had heard of Lagos (my next destination) until Sarah told me about her trip there during our month together.

After living in Lisbon for the past four days I have gotten a pretty good feel for the city. For one, Lisbon, without a doubt, has the most bookstores per capita of any city I have ever been in. Honestly, I turn the corner and there is a bookstore, I turn again and there is another – and then another across the street from the one before. These all matter to me for I am scurrying to buy the last few books I need before classes start in July. Of course, none of these bookstores have what I am looking for – but I cannot complain – I would be stunned to see the complete works of Lord Byron selling at a Portuguese small-business bookstore; although stranger things have happened. For example, 4 out of my 5 hostel-mates tonight all live in Boston. That makes 5 of us… It could be six, but the 6^th roommate has not been around to ask.

The Portuguese by far have the best English I have encountered in a country. Even old people speak English without an accent. I mean this with no disrespect to the elderly; just most commonly the older generations in Europe were not taught English at an early age like the present generations. Of course I have met a few people who don’t speak English, but I am very impressed by those who do, for not only do they speak it – they speak it well. On the other hand, it has been a little disappointing because I would like to try and speak more Portuguese; however, eavesdropping has been a good method of practice so far.

The weekend of Feb 19^th, my friends and I went to Byron Bay. About an hour from Bond University, Byron Bay, home of Australia’s most easterly point is a great weekend trip to take. Although I wrote about my personal experience, this time I am going to give you advice as someone who has recently traveled there.

How did we get there?

You can buy a $20 bus ticket on Greyhound Australia. It leaves from Surfers and takes you right into town.

Where did we stay?

Nomad’s Hostel. They were rated best hostel in NSW of 2009 and I’d have to agree Nomad’s was awesome. Overall I’d give this place a 9. Sure, it’s definitely more on the expensive end as far as hostels are concerned. We booked an 8-person room, because there were 8 of us on the trip. We each paid $34 a piece, which in hindsight is a lot of money. Nevertheless, the room was very clean, and had a balcony. The bathrooms were very modern and were also the cleanest I’ve been in (for a hostel). They have co-ed bathrooms and also many individual restrooms within the hostel.

The staff was very friendly and sincerely knowledgeable.  They were also happy to give advice and actually remembered (or made an attempt to remember) your name. There is internet provided from Global Gossip, which of course costs something. However, if you post a picture on their facebook, or are the one who booked the hostel, you get 30 minutes of free internet. A very nice gesture, 30 minutes is the ideal amount for a weekend trip: just enough to double-check that restaurant you were recommended or to update your status or send a quick e-mail to mom and dad. Thirdly, they allowed for free printing, another major benefit.

The location of Nomad’s is perfect, right in the center of it all across the way from several bottle shops (which are liquor stores). The main beach is within walking distance. It’s also very close to the bus terminal.

Any negatives? The beds did make a lot of noise upon movement, but all things considered it wasn’t all that bad.

What did we do?

The first day we went to the most easterly point. Note, cabs are hard to come by on the street. Taxi Limousines was what we used and they were reasonably priced. From Nomad’s up to the top of the Lighthouse it cost us about $3 each of 6 of us. Definitely well worth the price and the trip, here are some more pictures.

We hiked down the other side of the mountain, and found ourselves at the Wakes Beach. Definitely the most beautiful beach I have been to in Australia thus far. The water was crystal clear, and the waves were manageable. In the distance one can see Julian’s rocks, and to the right you can see the most easterly point of Australia. It’s definitely a scenic and just beautiful place to swim around and get some sun. People were getting married while we were there. Personally, I’d prefer to swim at this beach than the main beach by town. It’s smaller and had less people, and the scene was just more visually appealing.

Afterwards we went back to town and got ready for our evening activities. A major benefit of Byron Bay, something I have never in my life, is that the clubs in the area of their own buses and will pick you up and take you to their club, for free. Take advantage of this!

Buddha Bar had a drink special, $2.50/pint for happy hour. It was a good place to start, and I recommend that if you’re in town ask the receptionist at your hostel or hotel to point you in the right direction for what is going on in the area for the night. We had the Cheeky Monkey bar pick us up and we headed over there for the ladies night special. Afterward we went to dinner down the street from Cheeky Monkey, but I can’t remember what the place was called. As the night went on, our group split up to do what the individuals wanted to do. I ended up at the Beach House bar/club. There was a live band playing and it was right on the beach. When Leigh, Kim and I were done with that we decided to go to the beach and hang out for a bit. This was a great idea. What’s great about the beach? It’s always free (at least in Australia). There were a lot of people on it (but not too many), just admiring the beauty of the ocean. There were entertainers on the beach, for example there was a girl twirling flame sticks.

When we grew tired we decided to head back to the hostel and called it an early night because we were going kayaking in the morning.

We booked a kayaking trip through our school’s Exploration Society. It cost us $65 and included transportation and lunch and dinner.  They arrived in the morning, but we were on the afternoon trip, so we shopped around in the morning.

The kayak trip was fun, but not exactly as fun as I thought it would be. We each had a partner; mine was Simona (She’s originally from Lithuania, but moved to the Bronx at the age of 12 and currently goes to Northeastern with me). She’s athletic, so I knew I didn’t have to worry about riding with someone who couldn’t handle the trip, and (even though I don’t like to admit it) she’s fun. Nonetheless, I felt like the kayaking trip was wayyyy too guided. I guess because I had kayaked before, their instructions were a bit redundant. They also were very concerned about everybody sticking together to find the wildlife in the area. We didn’t see any dolphins, but some we did see some turtle’s that were sticking out of the water. Personally, I was mainly interested in just paddling around and getting out and snorkeling near the reef area. It was kind of funny, after a certain point I just wanted to hop out and cool off. I asked if I could and they told me not yet, so I just decided to fall off the boat; however, I knew once I got in that it would be nearly impossible to get back on the boat. Well, somehow with assistance from one of the guides, I was pulled back on the boat. Although I nearly drowned Simona with my frequent (but purposeful) boat tipping, we carried on quiet well and were in my opinion, the best kayakers in the group. If it were less of a guided tour, this would have been a 10; however, given the way the trip was conducted I’d give it about a 7.

That concludes our trip to Byron Bay: overall a great weekend trip to make, with a good vibe. I took a lot of video and will try to make a video of this trip within the next month or two.

I’m eating a Kebab. Just last week I thought, wow these Australians like shish kebabs as much as the Middle Easterns do. For, I had seen an abundant amount of places selling Kebabs and special Kebab stores. Well, I am eating a kebab right now and as you can tell, it’s just a sandwich with flatbread and utter deliciousness: My new favorite lunch.

The guy I met with wasn’t the dean of students, but the vice-chancellor. In American terms, this is like meeting with the Vice President of the school. The meeting was short, but he knew where I was coming from right away. He said that he’d talk to housing and we’ll see what can be done.

I signed up for Res-wars. Every dorm on campus can sign up to play in weekly sporting events, girls on one team and boys on another, and we play the other dorms. The team with the most points at the end wins a prize, and every week there is free dinner. I decided to sign up since a couple of my NU friends were doing it and it seemed like fun. Tonight’s sport? Basketball. Growing up, believe it or not, I wanted to be a college basketball star. I dreamed of going to Stanford, playing basketball and loving it, because I loved it so much then. I ate, drank, and slept basketball – the camps, the summer teams, the AAU teams… it was endless… until it ended. Well, tonight I didn’t rekindle my love for the sport, but I rekindled my innate athletic ability that I inherited. Our team had gone undefeated for the night and won the championship. It was fun, getting in there, playing hard, with a group of girls all with one common goal. It felt like I was a freshman in high school, not a junior in college. At Northeastern I haven’t had much time for anything other than work, schoolwork and fun work. Being here I’ve added a lot of activities that I haven’t participated in years, for example basketball. After the first game I was sitting on a chair, zoning out, thinking about how out of shape and terrible I have become at basketball. I had been so self-deprecating, and upset…then all of a sudden, this kid walks by me, stops and says, “hey you were one of the really good players out there, nice job.” Something as simple as that brought me some peace. It’s funny; sometimes I wonder if someone can hear what I’m thinking.

I had my iPhone unlocked; now I’m using that with my Global Gossip pay-as-you-go plan.

I started reading Jack Kerouac’s, On the Road, not only because I am on the road, but also because the “classical” books at the bookstores are the only affordable books here. The other reason is because I’ve always heard the famous quote from that book, but never knew its context. Incidentally enough, I didn’t have to read too far to stumble across the quote. I feel the same way that this quote does, and I often wonder why there aren’t more mad people out there… I’m still young though, who knows whom I’ll meet.

Quote:

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn…” -Jack Kerouac’s On the Road

(Written 5:20PM Brisbane Time 2AM Eastern Time)

This video is of Surfer’s Paradise. The closest city to Bond Uni, is Surfers. It takes about 15-30 minutes on the bus, and the bus leaves every 30 minutes or so. Surfers is where all of the clubs are located, and the main extracurricular in the evening tends to be frequenting the clubs in the various clubs in the area. Bond University has a binding contract for the year with The Bedroom and Sin City, where all of the students get free admission and the clubs get unlimited advertising on campus. I have to admit; I’ve gone to the clubs every weekend since I’ve been here, something that I normally do not participate in at home.

My classes are great, and I think I’m going to like them more and more as the weeks go by. This is my schedule:

Tuesday:

8AM – 10AM Cinematography & Lighting Lecture

10AM – 12PM Cine & Lighting Practical

(we work with the cameras and lights, etc)

We’ll be using these beautiful Panasonic HPX’s in this class. They are stunning cameras.

2PM – 4PM Directing Actors Lecture

(This so far seems like it’s going to be my favorite class. The professor is very good and she understands students and varies the way she teaches in order to keep the class engaged and interesting. The class is obviously about the relationship between actor and director, but it’s also about reading people and trying to get people to feel what you want them to feel (if only these techniques worked in real life).

6PM – 9PM Directing Actors Practical

(the professor brings in real actors and we do different exercises with them in a studio)

Thursday:

8AM – 10AM Editing Lecture (I’m learning to edit using Avid. Currently, I only know Final Cut Pro; however, in the industry it’s good to know both.)

10AM – 12PM Australian Cinema Screening / Lecture

(Australian Cinema starts at 9, so I’ve worked out an agreement with my professor to miss the lecture and come for the screening. Afterwards, the professor, and two grad students re-teach me the lecture. In the US something like that never would have worked out. I would have had to pick between the Editing class and Australian Cinema. I was glad I didn’t have to pick because I’m interested in both)

2PM – 3PM Australian Cinema Tutorial

(Every student is required to do a presentation on a film… Mine is on the movie “Getting’ Square” Which is a movie made by a lawyer, and is set in the Gold Coast. I’m going to try and watch it soon, so when I do I’ll let you guys know how it is.)

4PM – 6PM Editing Computer Lab

This photo is a an example of the edit suites that are near the iMac computer lab where we have class.

(We sit down behind the iMac computers and follow along with the instructor. Fortunately, the edit suites are open 24/7. )

I was very surprised when I found out that a.) My classes happened to work out to be only twice a week and b.) That they only meet once a week. It’s very different from the Monday, Weds, Thursday or Tuesday/Friday schedules that I am accustom to at Northeastern University. As of right now, I don’t know how it will be possible to learn as much in a given semester, but we will see. Although I am a hard worker, I’m a bit concerned about the grading system here. Apparently the professors do not give out “High Distinctions.” They are pretty strict with what they give out, but NU curves the grades to be in par with the way we do business. Another observation is how strict the administration at Bond University seems to be. Maybe because it is a smaller school, they are able to keep the students more on a tight leash, but it’s very unappealing. I understand that they are nervous about students doing things they shouldn’t be doing, but there needs to be some level of trust and understanding between the school and the students. It seems that the school is running the students whereas at other institutions I’ve been in the students help run the school. I was also surprised that classes were held on Australia Day. From my understanding, Australia day is like July 4^th. Having classes on July 4^th would be blasphemous in the USA, so like I said, although unaffected, I just was very surprised.

Having class twice a week has a lot of benefits. One of the major ones, of course, is being able to travel Thursday night – Monday night. Already I have booked my flights to Sydney for their big Mardi Gras weekend. Two of my friends and I leave on the 6:30 flight Thursday evening, we are flying Tiger Airways. My roundtrip tickets, and 4 nights in a hostel cost me a total of $205. Now that’s a bargain. The hostel we are staying at is called, Base Backpackers, and we are staying in the sanctuary room, which Base describes as “The Female only SANCTUARY DORM is for ladies who like to be pampered! 4 to 8 bed dorm, clean, modern and comfortable non smoking room comprising a luggage security locker for each person, wireless internet access (surcharge applies), security swipe card access with a 24 hour reception, heating and air-conditioning. The beds have feather pillows and doona and made up with fresh linen. The rooms are featured with full length mirrors. Hairdryers, hair strengtheners and beauty kits are available for your use on request at reception. Rate is for 1 person in a single bunk bed in the dorm. Fantastic price for that extra bit of luxury in a fantastic location, close to all the action in the heart of Sydney.” This cracked me up a bit, because who associates hostel with luxury? Well, I’ll of course, be assessing the situation as to exactly how luxurious this accommodation is.

I haven’t officially made any other travel plans. The great news is that none of my classes have finals, so I am going to have two weeks where I plan on traveling for the entire duration. Places I want to go? Cairns, The Outback, New Zealand and Fiji. Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze all of this in, but the main issue is trying to find reasonably priced airfare. If I do, then of course I’ll be going to all of these places.

Other great news is that I, without even looking for one, found a job. My friend and I were leaving the pool, like I do everyday, and stumbled upon a sign asking for volleyball referees. I immediately walk in, speak to the guy and was hired on the spot to reff beach volleyball games. It’s great, happens every Monday night, at the beach volleyball courts, which is perfectly located right next to my dorm. The pay is good, and it’s from 6-9:40, but I get paid per game. And there are 5 games that are held within those hours. I did it for the first time this past Monday, and it was a lot of fun. It was a seriously nice pick-me-up; for I had been feeling the most homesick I had ever felt in my entire life Thursday-Saturday.

I’m on week 3 and my life in Boston has grown slightly more distant to me with each week that passes. The first two weeks it felt like I was only going to be here for a short vacation, but now I’m starting to realize and accept the fact that I am here for three more months. I’m starting to fully give myself to this place, allowing myself to follow the ways of the culture and accept it as my own. The months before I left, my relationships, my living situation, all were contingent on this trip to Australia. Relationships needed to end, I needed someplace temporary to live, and it was all because of where I am right now. I ask myself if it was worth it, but I don’t think that’s a fair way of looking at it. I need to realize that it’s not about it being worth it, but about realizing that life gets in the way of life at times. Sometimes you want to be able to have everything, but you simply can’t. You have to make choices, and those choices are at times very painful and uncomfortable to make at the time. So, I can’t say that this has been worth it or not worth it, but it certainly has been an experience. I never realized how different standing on the other side of the earth would actually feel.

Before we studied abroad, Northeastern held an orientation where they talked about the different phases of culture shock. First there’s the honeymoon phase and then there’s the “Negotiation Phase” which Wikipedia sums up well: “After some time (usually weeks), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety.” When I heard about these phases, I didn’t think they would apply to me because Australians speak English and I’ve never been one to miss home; I’m the one who moved from Cleveland to Boston not knowing anybody but adjusted well and quickly. With that being said, I guess I’m surprised that I’ve entered into the Negotiation Phase, and so quickly.

Instead of appreciating the small town and small campus, and short hours, I’ve started to become frustrated by it. The main cultural difference that bothers me is the fact that Australia is so Americanized and it is clear that they are in part trying to be American, but they aren’t doing a good job of succeeding. Everything here costs money too, it’s like they are trying to nickel and dime you from every angle. For example, my friends and I were at a restaurant, and one of them got a container to bring the food home, and they charged her 50 cents.

At Bond University everything is so expensive too. The books at the bookstore are double the price of what they should be. In the corner you see the American recommended price and then they just put a sticker on it and it’s literally double the amount it should be. I know shipping books out here can be expensive, but come on. The way they do the meal plans is terrible. A coke zero (a regular bottle that you can buy at the store) is $3.40 (Australian), which is still expensive. The school is obsessed with partying and this afternoon I’ve gotten conned into going on the university pub-crawl, which if I could return my ticket I would.

Oh well, not everything is bad… I love my classes, the weather, and the fact that someone cleans my room/changes my sheets every week. I’ll write about the perks tomorrow. Until then.

My mailing address at Bond is:

Gabby Gabriel

Campus Accommodation & Dining Services

Building 10 (Student Court)

14 University Drive

Bond University QLD 4229

Contact No. 6175555000

I think you actually do keep the Contact Number on there.

I was busy running around today. I may be buying a ticket to Sydney  for the weekend of their big Mardi Gras. It’s only $56 round trip…

Even though we flew into Brisbane, Bond University is actually in Gold Coast, Australia. My junior year of high school the lacrosse team went to a lacrosse camp in Florida. The school was Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Bond reminds me of Eckerd for it’s a small, warm and beautiful campus. There are a lot of beautiful looking people here too; in fact I think the only unattractive people I’ve seen or met have been Americans, which cracks me up.

We barely made our flight from Sydney to Brisbane, and because of that most of our bags didn’t make it. We arrived at Bond around 3PM and the total travel time took a about 36 hours. I was very tired when I arrived, but my excitement kept me alert and happy. The ladies checking me in remembered seeing my name on the list, and of course inquired about it. I just said, “my parents think they’re funny,” they laughed and I left it at that.

My room reminds me of a very simple hotel. There are two twin beds, separated by a nightstand, two desks, and a bathroom attached. I’m living right at the center of campus. I can walk up and down a flight of stairs, and I’m at the gym, where the beautiful outdoor pool is. My view is of the lake with a spouting fountain, which again, is in the middle of campus. It’s a very pretty view and it makes me feel like I’m on vacation. Actually the whole experience feels like I am on vacation and not about to start a semester of school.  My roommate’s name is Cait and she is from Massachusetts and goes to a small school called Western New England College, it’s close to where she grew up, near Six Flags New England. She seems like the ideal roommate, respectful, friendly, nice and doesn’t talk too much, but still enjoys a pleasant conversation.

Monday I spent the day trying to get organized by getting my student ID card and figuring out how my meal plan works. It’s definitely not like the NU dining hall, the Northeastern system is made for gratuitous eating. Where as here, you get a certain amount on your Bond Card and it’s up to you to make it last the whole semester.

I also spent the majority of Monday trying to get my iPhone unlocked for a pay as you go plan. Of course AT&T makes it impossible to unlock the phone, even if you are overseas. It’s a serious inconvenience. I tried calling them and they said they could unlock any phone except, the iPhone. I tried explaining that I am going to stay a faithful AT&T customer when I am in the US, but I need the phone while I’m in Australia. Well, it didn’t work. Fortunately, my friend Sarah Simon who had studied here last year, lent me her phone for the semester and that’s what I am now using as my Australian cell phone. For calls home, I am paying $12 a month for the skype global plan. I can make unlimited phone calls anywhere in the world. It’s a great deal. If you want to reach me, my phone number is 617-553-1033, and if I don’t answer just leave a voicemail and I can get back to you.

Monday evening, my friend Steph and I met a retired couple at a Chinese restaurant near campus. We started talking and next thing you know, we ended up sitting with them talking about Australia and the US and the differences and similarities. It was great fun; they even gave us a ride back to campus. The Australians are much friendlier than Americans.  Also, the restaurant we were at was BYO, which means bring your own. Any restaurant that says BYO underneath the name means that you can bring your own wine or beer. I thought that was a nice way of doing business. Also, gratuities are not expected here, which makes for a cheaper meal.

Monday night I went to a toga party. They give you a sheet to make into a toga, it’s possibly one of the most unflattering outfits I have ever worn. See for yourself:

Even though something like that isn’t typically my scene, I decided to bend my own comfort to try and have a goodtime. It was a complete unsuccess. I went with my friend Stephanie, but she’s not into that whole scene either.  I tried a Tooheys beer while at the party, it was a little bitterer than a Bud Light, and definitely not as good.

Tuesday I went to the pool and traveled to Robina Shopping Center. That was pretty cool; they had a Target there. I tried to get in, and to my dismay the store was closing; the stores close at 5PM there (except on Thursday where they have late night shopping until 9). I was disappointed by this news, and just bought some stuff at the grocery store.

Today is Wednesday and I’ve gone to the pool, listened to a local explanation of where to go to get what, and I am currently waiting for the mini-fridge we’ve rented to be delivered. Having a mini-fridge will definitely make life a bit easier.

Because Bank of America has high fees for making purchases abroad. I have decided to open an account here, with ANZ and wire money into my account. It’ll cost $35 each time I do it, but I am saving a lot of money by doing it this way. ANZ allows you to make purchases free around Australia. I still haven’t been able to figure out what my rates are for my BofA Amex card, but when I do know I’ll write about it.

Once the mini-fridge is delivered I hope to make a video tour of campus, so that way you can see what it is I am talking about.

Until then…