Tag Archives: Perth

Work Hard, Play Hard

G’day Mates!

Last week we finished up with class and caught the bus down to Freo to experience the Fremantle Prison night tour (as you can see, prisons are a reoccurring theme). This place is supposedly the third most haunted establishment in WA, but I’m not too sure how you crunch the numbers on something like that. Though scary with all its horror stories, the tour did offer a lot of insight on how prisoners were treated back in the 1800s. It was built in 1850 by labor convicts sent over from Great Britain. The prison was open all the way up until 1991 and it housed both men and women prisoners. Toward the end of its life as a prison, living conditions were still so primitive that prisoners used buckets for toilets. One of my favorite things that I took away from this experience was the fact that there were over 100 escapes from Fremantle prison. I thought this was odd until the guide told us that the prison was built out of limestone, which is so soft that the prisoners could literally scratch the walls away with their fingernails.

Prison Grounds

The rest of the weekend I spent checking out Freo on my own time. I would just catch the bus, get off, and start walking somewhere I hadn’t been. I found a picturesque beach right outside of town that was meant for dogs so I threw down my towel, pulled out a book, and watched owners and their dogs run around the beach. The rest of the day I checked out the local market and stumbled upon some great food. Of course I had to try some street vender food but eventually I was ready for a meal. This is when I got a mullet burger.

This thing had cheddar cheese, Australian bacon, a fried egg, and a sliced beet. It sounds weird but the combination of all those different flavors was something I could appreciate. I could definitely understand why it was called a mullet burger because mullets are a combination of a few weird things but to the right person, it can be something special. Either way, the market might be my favorite place in town because of the all the different smells, foods, cultures and people. It was a breath of fresh air seeing so many people who specialized in a skill or an art thriving.

Though it sounds like I am mostly going to the beach and eating, studies are filling up most of my spare time. After finishing week three I have almost gotten into a grove with balancing studies and my spare time. You know what they say; work hard, play hard. This upcoming week it may be harder than usual to stick to this motto because our first semester break is coming up and with that, Bali! There are 10 of our CIEE group members going and it will be for 5 days and 6 nights. From what we’ve researched, our trip could include zip lines, white water rafting, massages, temples, beaches, a monkey jungle…and did I mention an elephant ride?!?! Stay tuned for my next entry from Bali. Here are some visuals to tide you over.

Town Hall

Cheers,

Andrew

Location: Perth, Australia, Fremantle

Surfs Up!

G’day Everyone,

The last week or so has been a blur! We took a trip to Freo to be culturally introduced to some indigenous history and we were blessed into the country by Ingrid, an aboriginal Australian, and we were taught some of the cultural history of the aboriginals. We then took a quick look at the first jail in Western Australia called the Round House. It was originally used to process aboriginal prisoners and then the prisoners were taken to Rottnest Island (where we stayed last week).

The outside of the Round House

After our tour we spent the day shopping and wandering around. Here K-mart is a big thing. It actually is very similar to Wal-mart in that it has pretty much anything you could need as in necessities but it isn’t as dauntingly big. I’ve been going to K-mart and Coles, a chain of grocery stores, for the majority of my shopping. One of the things that still fascinates me is that here they do not refrigerate eggs or milk. Apparently in the US things aren’t as fresh so it is necessary but here there is no need. Fast food is very similar to that back in the States. They call McDonalds “Mackers” and Burger King is pretty much the same but it is officially named Hungry Jacks. One thing I could get used to is Jesters which is a shop that sells pies. I’m not talking blueberry or apple, this place sells pies with meats and cheeses.

The next day we took a trip to Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth. This trip was amazing because we were able to get in the enclosures with the animals and actually feed them. Here we got to pet a Koala, get right up close to some Kangaroos and I was even pooped on by a Wambat (not my greatest moment).

Me and my pal Soua with a Koala

Kangaroo Hi-Five

To finish the week of, we went for surfing lessons on Sunday. From what I’ve heard, surfing is supposed to be really hard but I think just about everyone in our group stood up by the end of the one hour lesson and most of us were catching our own waves.

Surfing at Scarborough

Last Monday classes began and I figured out fast that Australians expect a lot more out of you than most schools in the U.S. While most areas of study don’t require many exposure hours and lectures, the sciences do. I am taking Plant Diversity, Animal Diversity, and Indigenous Sustainability as well as a 2 credit course on living in Australia with Paul (our CIEE contact/”Cool Younger Uncle”) which is keeping me busy. While studies are important, I am going to try and still enjoy my time here as much as possible. Until next time!

Cheers,

Andrew

Location: Perth, Australia

Arrival in Perth, Australia!

G’day mates!

Unbelievably I have arrived at Murdoch University in Perth. My luggage showed up four days late, but aside from that hiccup everything went smoothly. I still feel in a daze because the time zones worked out in such a way that I technically never had a February 11^th. So far there are so many differences that I jumped out at me and it was shocking for someone who is a little disoriented. The first was getting into a car and seeing the steering wheel was in the wrong place. Also, on campus there are quite a few varieties of species of birds I’ve never seen, the coolest by far being the Australian Raven. Native Aussies just call them crows but they are a more intimidating than crows in the States. Also there are these big rats called Quendas and mini kangaroos called Quokkas which are as common as squirrels in the U.S. (I think they are kinda cute)

Some other small cultural differences I found were that everything is super expensive. I bought a stick of deodorant that cost $7.98 and a pint of beer at a restaurant is around $9.00 and that is in Aussie Dollars which are worth 1.10 US dollars. There are also no dryers for clothes. Most everyone puts their clothes on a line.

As far as trips go, we have been all over the local city of Fremantle or Freo as the locals call it. The architecture reminds me of that in New Orleans but the weather is like that in San Diego. Another destination was a two day stay at Rottnest Island which was about 20 km away from the coast of Perth. It is a government owned island meant to be for the people to enjoy. The island was about 12 km in diameter so it was easiest to bike to the camps and beaches. Here we were treated to a bike tour of the island and we were able to snorkel and see an astounding amount of tropical fish and coral.

Quakka begging for food

One of the many pristine beaches on Rottnest Island

Sunrise at Rottnest

So far this trip has been more than I could have imagined and there is still more to come!

Cheers for now,

Andrew Clark

Location: Perth, Australia

Pre-Departure Reflection and Goals-Perth, Australia 2012

Hi everyone, my name is Andrew Clark and I am a Junior majoring in Environmental Resource Management here at Penn State University at University Park. It is actually my first semester here at UP, as I transferred from the Harrisburg Campus after two years. I am from the cozy town of Annville PA, which epitomizes the definition of small town America. Being from a small, unexciting town is one of the many reasons I love to travel. I have been to a majority of the states in the US but never out of the country, which makes the coming months so much more exciting.

My brother and I on our trans-America road trip summer 2011 (I’m on the Right)

I will be going on the CIEE sponsored trip called Perth, Australia: Sustainability and the Environment. This trip has a curriculum focused on environmental science in Australia and will include a variety of field trips or “excursions” (for which I am particularly excited). Some of the things I look forward to are seeing the extremely diverse wildlife which inhabit the continent, surfing for the first time, hearing all the Australian accents, and seeing if the toilets do actually flush in the opposite direction. A huge advantage of going to Australia during February is that I will be missing the harsh Happy Valley winter and replacing it will sweet Aussie sunshine since the seasons are reversed.

My goals for this trip is to live like the locals do. I want to immerse myself in the culture, eat what the locals eat, learn the lingo, and then reflect on what it is like. One of my favorite shows is Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations partially because he doesn’t do most of the things tourists do, but he finds locals and experiences what they do on a daily basis. I feel like I will do some touristy things but I ultimately want to have an encompassing experience which feels as though I am a native of the country: To live with no reservations.

Well, I hope you all continue to follow my entries and you can expect my next one the second my plane has landed in Perth (or shortly thereafter).

Cheers!

Location: State College, Pennsylvania

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Tag Archives: Perth

Work Hard, Play Hard

Surfs Up!

Arrival in Perth, Australia!

Pre-Departure Reflection and Goals-Perth, Australia 2012