Author Archives: cmh5503

Back Home – Goodbye

Well, sadly, my computer finally did die and I’ve been unable to write until it was fixed up.  So an apology is necessary, yet I hope understandable. 

Where to begin?

My last few weeks in Australia were, yet again, some of the most life changing and awe-inspiring experiences.  There was a road trip which changed my life and I’ll never forget the things I say on the road for 11 days.

If there was one city I could spend the rest of my life in, I would have to choose Darwin.  A fun city in the Northern Territory which loves country music and really has the way of life I’d missed living in Sydney.  What can I say?  I’ll have my country roots til the day I die, and that’s one thing I’m glad will never change.

I was a foot away from a crocodile,kangaroo, and koala (all in the wild, a much more entertaining experience than a zoo, I believe).  I witnessed a scorched Earth ceremony driving through the Outback . . . I also changed a blown out tire in the middle of the Outback and had amazing Australian hospitality while pulled over, the Australian people might be the friendliest people on the face of the Earth, and there’s nothing like a man who was at least 6’6″ with a mullet pulling over and saying, “Need a little help, mates?”

Devil’s Marbles are in the middle of nowhere while driving through the Outback yet is a site everyone has to stop at.  A barren landscape with these large stones somehow being the only noticeable landmark.  My friends and I spent longer than we should have climbing these rocks, and somehow made it to the top of the largest round stone, surprisingly with no injuries given the manner in which we climbed; more or less jumping from slightly lower rock to higher rock.

I also was traveling during the election season which opened my eyes to the global perspective of how important American politics are in Australian life.  I was asked countless times who I thought would win, and also who I hoped would win.  I was shocked how important our election was to them and questioned why, and learned that ever since WWII and a tiny split between U.K. and Australia that the United States had become their chief ally and that given their relatively small population size the United States was an important component to the Australian way of life.  Another thing I learned was they frowned upon just exactly how much money was spent on the U.S. election throughout the year; and many were taken back that I believed a free market should conduct themselves that way and that money helped further businesses in advertising, marketing, etc. Yet, each has their own opinion, and I was interested in seeing all of their views in life.

Uluru was an amazing sight, sadly I didn’t climb to the top yet perhaps that is for the better.  The mountain is best described as a religious site to the Aboriginal people, and only the men would climb it as an initiation passage to manhood, and therefore the Aboriginal people whom frequent the land don’t enjoy that part of their culture being taken as a “tourist activity”, and understandably so.  The Aboriginal people I spoke to also said that those who have died during the climb hurts them as a people, for it is their belief that those who walk on their lands are the responsibility of the Aboriginal people.  A sadly touching belief system for those who were the original owners of the land. 

Barossa Wine Valley . . . beautiful countryside, amazing wine.  Wish I could remember more about it.

Melbourne was an amazing city.  Very artistic and hip, yet I only spent a few hours there and wish I could have spent longer in the city to truly explore.

That more or less composes the road trip, there was so much more but there will never be enough space to write all which I learned or saw. Which brings me to the part where I headed home, after a final week of saying goodbye to all my friends and the long flight.

The goodbyes were by far the worst experience about Australia, yet I do have tentative plans to visit: Boston College, Illinois (oh how they hated watching the Penn State vs Illinois game with me at 4 a.m.), Texas, Duke, UPenn, and so many more.  Not knowing the next time you’ll see someone that you spent an amazing few months with, and truly became great friends with is a disheartening occurrence.  The more disheartening being “if” you will ever see these people again.  Even typing this paragraph now brings along familiar faces whom I miss and wish I was still near. 

Yet, coming home has brought back the familiar faces of friends and family.  On my 20+ hour flight home Hunter S. Thompson used Mansfield (a town quite close to where I live) and Sydney in the same sentence . . . and all I could think about was how much things had changed since I was last home, and how much I had changed since that time.

Sadly, it seemed I had changed more than anyone else.  Everyone I knew was the same person I had remembered since I left, and only the height of my little sister was the shocking thing.  Perhaps it was the experience of truly being on my own literally half way around the world which changed me, yet there was so much I accomplished in Australia that made me feel like a brand new person in the best way possible. 

It was amazing to come home to my loving family and having an amazing home cooked Thanksgiving meal, yet sitting around only has made me stir-crazy and I can’t wait to get back on the road again; hopefully visiting those I met on my experience abroad.  I was pleased to find out just last night a friend of mine from UNSW will be studying abroad at Penn State in the Fall of 2013, sadly I’ll have graduated by then.  Yet, I am so unbelievably glad she will be studying at Penn State and experience the greatest university in the world.

Well . . . I guess this comes down to my final words, something I’ve never been all too great at.

Someday, I would like to go home. The exact location of this place, I don’t know, but someday I would like to go. There would be a pleasing feeling of familiarity and a sense of welcome in everything I saw. It would remind me of the length of my absence and the thousands of miles I had traveled in those restless years. Winter would come to this place of welcome, this place I would know to be home. Winter would come and the air would grow cool, dry and magic, as it does that time of the year. The trees and the falling leaves would welcome me. I would look up at the moon, and remember seeing it in countries all over the world.


Location: State College, PA

The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Northern Gentleman

Yes, the title is a complete rip-off of Hunter S. Thompson’s, “The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman”. 

The book chronicles Hunter S. Thompson’s early correspondence with family, friends, and loved ones along his journey in life, and therefore I found a similar resemblance to my recent conversations with those I cherish in my life.  Life takes you on a strange journey, Thompson never imagined himself in the military while he was in high school and I never imagined myself to be living halfway around the world for a few months of my life while I was in high school.  Yet, no matter where you go in life you always remember those you hold dear to you and those you love: so with that said I dedicate one of my final posts to those who I love, both my Penn State family and my family back home whom are reading this. 

This will be one of my final posts due to a massive trip I have planned, though I am currently done with school (apologies for this mentioning to all of those currently still pursing their studies) so I wish I could use the time to write more.  The trip currently is as followed: 

Day 1: 1) Crocodile River tour; 2) Lichfield National Park; 3) Stay in Katherine
Day 2: 1) Kayak @ Katherine Gorge; 2) Visit Daly Waters Pub; 3) Stay at Tennant Creek
Day 3: 1) Drive to Devil’s Marbles; 2) Drive to Alice Springs; 3) Visit Royal Flying Doctor Service
Days 4 – 6: Major Uluru stops
Day 7: 1) Drive to Coober Pedy; 2) Sleep in Underground City
Day 8: 1) Flinders Ranges, Sleep in Port Augusta
Day 9: 1) Barossa (wine) Valley; 2) Visit Adelaide
Day 10: 1) Leave early and go to Grampians National Park
Day 11: 1) Finish Great Ocean Road = 12 apostles, Arc George, etc; 2) Get to Melbourne @ 5pm on the 7th.

An arduous journey driving across Australia, but an experience which can not be lived by many; the whole thing tends to make my eyes water with the sudden eruption of ambition which is included in this trip.  Perhaps, this trip will even further the cleansing of my soul of the “good and simple life” idea.

If there is one thing this trip has taught me it is that I don’t want to pass through life like a smooth plane ride.  I don’t want to go with the smooth skin and the calm brow.

For every moment someone hated their job, cursed their wife and sold themselves to a dream that they didn’t even conceive.  For the times their soul screamed yes and they said no. For all of that.  For their self-torture, I hope to remain on the road doing what I love and seeing places which I used to only dream about.

With this either being my final or one of my final entries I will also address anyone who is contemplating the idea of studying abroad at this time: I beg you to travel.  If you don’t have a passport, get one.  Take a summer, get a backpack and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya, go wherever you have a desire to go.  Have your mind blown.  Eat interesting food.  Dig some interesting people.  Have an adventure.  See your country differently, see your president differently; no matter who it is.  You’re going to get a sense of what globalization looks like.  And so there are lessons that you can’t get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight.  So go.

As I stole the name of this entry from Thompson, I find it only necessary to borrow from him again when I ask, “Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed on shore and merely existed?”

Wheels and wings, the ride is everything.


Location: Coogee Beach, Australia

First Post In a Long Time

First off, I would like to apologize for being unable to write these entries as frequently as I believed I would be able to.  This is in part due to my computer being broken and the computers on campus having a use limit of one hour, needless to say I have been using those for school work and now finally have some free time to write this entry.  Given that I have not written in awhile I will be commenting on a host of topics in this entry.

University
School here is completely different here than in the United States, and I don’t believe it will ever seem normal to me.  I was told by one of my professors that a 70 was a great grade for a paper and was close to “distinction” at UNSW.  With 70 being a great grade and 50s-60s being passing marks, it is very disheartening to see a grade and not think of it in terms of U.S. grading scales.  It is interesting to hear how at UPenn and Boston College the grades are given a +15 to make up for this change, yet I do not exactly know Penn State’s policy and thus am semi-nervous for the sake of my GPA.

Riots
The past few weeks have been a tumultuous time in foreign relations with the Libyan Embassy crisis occurring and numerous protests ongoing throughout the world.  Sydney was one such city in which a protest occurred and being near the “action” was an eye-opening experience.  I saw a child holding a sign which read, “Behead All Those Who Insult The Prophet” and it is an image I will never be able to clear from my memory.  I can’t begin to express my feelings regarding how this made me feel; the emotions range from sadness to concern and anger for the future generations who must deal with hatred based on religion, race, etc.  The riots also showed a darker side for the racism which seems to hide within Australia.  People standing in line at the grocery store would use racist remarks regarding the incident and also say things such as, “Send them all back where they came from, this is our country.”  After learning of the Aboriginal struggles within Australia I find these people to be righteous hypocrites whose ideas of what Australia should be to ruin the greatness that is their country; a mixture of people of different ideas who all came to Australia to follow their life’s dreams and aspirations.  The entirety of these events has forever changed me as a person, and I’ve realized the truth of the matter is the world isn’t as beautiful of a place as I believed it to be.  Sometimes this truth hurts. 

Uni Games
After the last paragraph, I find it necessary to remark on one of the great things which has happened to me while being in Australia.  I played baseball for UNSW in the Australian University Games in Adelaide and our squad finished in 4th place, the highest ranking for UNSW in baseball in quite some time.  I did quite well batting, fielding, and occasionally pitching and the greatest part of all was forming a bond with my teammates which I believe will continue on throughout my life.  If there is one event for American students to bond and become friends with other Australian students it is Uni Games, and I highly recommend any student going abroad to participate.
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One Month Left
With one month left in my journey, I am truly appreciative of everything my time in Australia has taught me, namely that I’m more at home with a backpack sleeping in a hotel room, a bus, or an airplane than I am necessarily on a bed.  I’ve realized I still want to see more of everything this life has to offer me and continue to go to other countries and continue to travel on this long road.  I’ve realized that despite some of the ugliness present in the world I still want to see it all.  I feel I am the most in my element seeing all these things for my own and not simply having television and newspapers tell me how I am supposed to feel about the events which are happening.  I want to learn more about the world. It makes me want to get up and go.


Location: Sydney, Australia

Mojo Surf Weekend

“It’s like the mafia. Once you’re in – your in. There’s no getting out”

That’s the great surfer Kelly Slater’s quote on surfing . . . and oh does it hold true.

There is nothing more exhilarating or addicting than standing on a surfboard for the first time in your life. 

But I guess I’ll start with the beginning of the trip.  We left Sydney on Friday night and had a nice seven hour trip in a cramped van with 20 other people.  Once we got to the camp, we got housing which made me miss my Freshman dorm in Pollock.  It was not looking good and when we woke up and got a breakfast which was also something to be desired I began to worry that the trip was going to be a waste.

However, once we went to a beautiful secluded beach and were taught to surf the weekend took a complete 180.  From the time I first fell off my board trying to catch a wave I was hooked.  It took numerous attempts and help from many of the instructors, but I finally stood up on the board and began to get ahold of surfing!

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Now I have to try to find a cheap beginner’s surfboard around Coogee and continue to do something which I instantly full in love with!  Also, I need to watch the American classic, “Point Break” on repeat for weeks on end.

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Location: Crescent Head, Australia

Being a Penn Stater Abroad

Right now, each and every one of us are acting on behalf of Penn State during one of the most tempestuous times in our university’s history.

This week I have had some of the greatest experiences of my life: the walk from Coogee to Bondi, UNSW lead themed parties, and my first week of classes half way around the world with people who I am sure to become great friend with.  Yet, this is all overshadowed by the fact that so many other exchange students from US universities have asked me my thoughts on what is going on and how I feel about everything.

No matter where you go in this world, you will always be a Penn Stater.  But under the worst conditions you realize you still have pride in your university and the things your school represents.  A terrible tragedy did occur on our campus unbeknownst to the students, yet the students are what makes Penn State.  Penn State is about THON.  Penn State is about yelling, “We are!” at tour groups around campus.  Penn State is so much more than anyone can label.

Through this past week I’ve realized that, and also realized halfway around the world most of us may be the only Penn Stater abroad and faced with numerous questions about what has happened.  We represent the entire university when we answer these questions.

We still are . . .


Location: Sydney, Australia

Kings Cross and Other Adventures

Well, last night was my first night in Sydney and I was not disappointed.

After a very, very, very long flight in I was surprised I had any energy left, but once I met some of the kids living at the same house as me it became apparent it was going to be a fun semester.  So far the house I’m staying at is relatively empty with only 4 other students besides me here so far (all from the US as of now) and we all went exploring in the heart of Sydney.

This adventure lead us to Kings Cross, or as Sam described it, “Vegas without gambling”.  Kings Cross was active all night long and just walking around the block it was interesting to see how the nightlife has a mix of American and British culture for various pubs, clubs, and other hangouts.  The British culture is distinctly apparent in most places though, and I honestly feel I might be studying in London (partially because it has rained the past two days straight) if I didn’t hear any accents.

There are fish and chip shops every few blocks, pubs are basically the same, and the queen is on various forms of money.  Speaking of the money, only one term can be used to describe the Australian currency system, and that is “pirate money”.  The coins don’t make any sense to me still and a small silver coin is $1, while a massive silver coin is $0.50, and finally the tiniest coin (it’s honestly smaller than a penny) is worth $2.

Given that it’s only my second day here, there’s still a lot I need to get accustomed to.  Hopefully by the next time I write I will understand the monetary system and have seen more of Sydney!


Location: Potts Point NSW 2011

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Exactly one month from today I will be heading to Sydney, Australia, to study at the University of New South Wales.  I have just finished applying for my visa, this month I hear back regarding where I will be living in Sydney (either by Coogee or Bondi Beach), and also have received information on some of the events which international students can participate in while in Sydney.  Needless to say, the pre-departure period has been quite hectic, even more-so while taking a few Summer classes, and I can not wait to board my plane.

                There are events I am not looking forward to however, namely saying goodbye to my friends and family, missing my last season of Penn State football (though I know they will continue to dominate), and also being able to go horseback riding at my friend’s farm whenever I feel like it.  These experiences are a worthwhile sacrifice though, and I get to spend nearly six months of my life in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, by the beach, and have experience events which I would not have been able to do if I did not study abroad.

                I am hoping to learn to surf while in Sydney (with two of the nicest beaches in the world why wouldn’t I?), experience Oktoberfest on the campus of UNSW (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uh-Z67e38g), and just experience the culture of a different country and experience all that it has to offer.  Needless to say, I have high expectations for what I wish to accomplish while in Sydney and plan to make the most of this experience of a lifetime.

                I am excited for all which lays ahead of me on this journey and am truly blessed to get to have this experience in my life.  Before this adventure I have been reading the great American novel “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac, so I find it only fitting to end this blog with a passage from the book.   “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go.  But no matter, the road is life.”


Location: University Park, PA