More reflections

Aussie trip day we woke up at an unearthly hour to visit the Sydney Fish market. It was a really interesting experience as we got to see how they bidded for the fish. we were also introduced to many different types of fish. What was really cool was that the fish only come from Australia and New Zealand waters! As we all know, Australia has this issue about importing food from other Countries and they would only accept fish from new Zealand because they share the same waters. Dug into a fresh seafood breakfast and set off towards blue mountains. Stopped by a candy shop to fill our sacks. The bushwalking at the blue mountains was certainly an eye opener! We got to see the 3 sisters and the eroded layers of rocks. the scenery was breathtaking and obviously something we would not see back in the sauna. We ended the hike with a steep 52 degree train ride back up to the top. After a quick bite, we attended a dialogue session with an aboriginal woman. She shared information about her culture with us. .... It was a very refreshing session for us as we got to finally see a real Aborigine. MysteriAUS that night was to prepare a dish that best represents and is iconic of Australia. Our group did a pizza face of an aboriginal man and we won! :D After today's session, the idea of conserving the environment was reinforced to us, we were also given eye candy to the wonderful sights that we do not get to see in Singapore. We also got to learn more about the Australian culture, for example their reluctance to eat seafood and their preference to eat meat. the wonderful tours that we attended today were educational and really did benefit us especially with understanding a different country's culture better.

-Lemuel’s group

Heyo! We are off to the hunters valley NOW and all the koalas, kangeroos are waiting for us. Personally this is going to be my first time seeing them and though I’m not a koala fanatic(Having seen all the koala soft toys), I still look forward to all thr fun we are going to have later on.Just passed by the Harbour Bridge and thought it`d be cool to do thr bridge climb and get hold of the beautiful scenery beneath. But Steve our bus driver just said it costs about hUndred odd bucks!!

Alright about last night,we all took a short walk down to Dahling Harbour after our dinner(turkish wrap;it was super big). Along the way,we saw practically more asians than the aussies themselves and it really made me think if I really want to study in an overseas uni in the future. Yes there will be agencies and special school groups there to assist, but what about the homesick? Nothing beats the warmth of home and your dear family member right. So I was wondering, being overseas alone is almost like surviving all by yourself. The other students being foreign too, will definitely care for themselves first. So yeah, it will be a life changing decision for one to study overseas.

Okay, batt is running out so toodles!

- Poline

1 June, Friday

Today, we checked out of our Dunmore Lang College accomodation early in the COLD morning when the Sun just rose from behind the horizon. Then. Our dearest coach driver Steve brought us to the Gavala Aboriginal Art Gallery to admire Aboriginal art of course! We witnessed, finally after so many days, an aboriginal playing the Didg. We also painted our very own bomerang -- Aboriginal style! I'm sure many of us had a great time. It reinforced the fragility of Aboriginal culture.

Then we went for a tour at the Sydney Opera House. Personally, I found it amazing. We got to see their many halls, including the Opera theatre! Patronising the Art is a way of life here in Sydney. The theatre companies work together very closely with local schools especially in the production of certain works they're studying in school. There are many other schemes and outlets for people to patronise the Arts in the SOH, like elderly friendly show times and productions that cater to EVERYONE.

From there, we went to the NSW Art Gallery. For an Art Gallery newbie like me, the experience was certainly... interesting. We realised that Art can really make you look at life from different perspectives. Some of the pieces were literally breathtaking for me. yay!

We travelled quite a long while to the CB Migrant Centre. The Korean lady talked a lot about the problems migrants face and what the centre did to help. Quote: Culture shock is culture shock, you can't prepare for it! Hmm... I wonder how many of us agree to it.

Then we checked-in to the Metro Hotel Sydney Central. It's a wonderful hotel with the nice comfy bed!

can't wait for tomorrow.

- posted by lemuelteo.

Today,we visited the national art gallery . After comparing and contrasting the drawings of Australia by europian and aboriginal artissts,I find we need toidentify the truth in isolation. We should not present the tree branches in curves just as we like that;we shoulde not ourline the aborigines by imagination without even meeting the. How we approach the truth is being humble and honest.

- Huang Sui

We just finished the bush walk at the Blue Mountains and i must say it was indeed a breathtaking experience! could see how much they emphasize on the aboriginal culture and the conservation of the natural habitat. The 3 sisters, waterfall...

and and, our group just cooked! Gosh it is fantastic and we definitely have a flair for cooking. Presentation is starting in a minute so I will probably continue later[= ciaoos.

-Poline

The visit to the blue mountains was fantastic! The scenery was beautiful. Had a nice time capturing some fabulous places in my lovely camera phone! I love the serene environment in australia. The sharing session at the museum was very enriching. Learnt much about them. How I hope I can meet the aborigines! Well, we are all now heading back to Sydney to our accomodation. Will definitely miss the blue mountains.

Today has been quite fun so far. No dry mini-workshops.

I had quite a lot of fun at the Hunter Valley zoo. I saw native animals like the kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats and dingos. It was a highly enriching experience and I managed to confirm my hypothesis that koalas are marsupials by speaking to the zookeeper.

We then went to the vineyard. Sadly, I did not understand most of stuff about the wine.. However, it is interesting tc note how much effort is put in to ensure that the resultant wine is of the highest quality. For example, we were told about how rigourous lab tests are conducted to ensure the purity of the wine. Furthermore, great pains are taken to ensure that the temperature at which the wine is stored does not fluctuate too much.

We have been to Manly Beach yesterday. Greedly I gazed at the scenery with my eyes acting as the camera. I thought I can trust my eyes, but when I closed them, the image in my mind was just shallow shadow. I saw seagulls but I couldn't tell you how many there are on the beach; I placed the surfers in the picture but I was not sure which one is the most skillful one...To portray the exactly true view, I need to focus on details. A blur scan on the matters can not record the truth.

- Poline’s group