Monday, April 14, 2008

AUSSIE LAND!!!

I made it, my first trip to Australia, 6 days is defiantly not enough time to visit a country the size of Australia, but I am so glad I went! I almost missed my flight, but this time it was not my fault! I guess the computer systems were down in Sydney and they had no way of checking very ones visas, so there was a few of us that were a little worried that we wouldn’t be able to get on the flight! But as luck had it, it all went through and I was the last person to board the plane! I had to pay a lot of money for my access baggage but, I didn’t have time to bat the eyes and work the sweet talk as I was a bit pressed for time, and when the people helping you don’t understand English it kind of was cramping my style! So I arrived into Sydney and my aunt and uncle totally went out of their way to make my whole trip AMAZING!!! The first huge thing was I had a place to store my luggage which was huge as I pretty much have my life in two bags….(well and a shed full maybe 2 back on the farm..but we won’t count that!!) so it made traveling up the coast nice and easy cuz I only had one bag to worry about!

I had the whole day in Sydney before I had a to catch another plane up to the Gold Coast . The only thing I wanted to do was have a beer, biggest Beef Burger ever, and speak to people in complete English sentences!!! A shower would have been ideal, but I would have to wait for that!! So I was walking around Sydney smelling Chinese still….but I have come to the conclusion when you smell….you don’t know you stink when that is all you know….so I now feel for all the smelly people out there…..they really have no idea they stink! So here I was ready to take a sip of my first Australian beer and I had to capture the moment on photo….which led to my first opportunity to meet someone….Amazing the people you meet on a trip! Turns out the guy was kiwi, living in Hong Kong as a pilot and learning how to speak Mandarin, so I gave my few lines that I know and he had a good laugh at my POOR mandarin skills! So I had my beer, burger and lunch buddy! It was ideal.
I walked around Darling Harbour, went and checked out Sea world and then it was time to get out to the airport, caught my flight and I was off to the Gold coast! I stayed at the same place my aunt and uncle stayed when they were there. So it was AWESOME…….I had a meat pie and a cold beer waiting for me…..can’t ask for anything more!!! It was GREAT!!! The weather on the gold coast was not the best, lots of rain in the morning..(making it easy to sleep in) but then it would dry up and just be over cast, which is a good thing cuz I am sure I would have burnt to a crisp!! I was stubborn though, I was at the beach no matter what….sure it looked funny when it would start raining and I was the only one out there though…HAHHA joking I didn’t take it to that extreme!

First day I wondered around, and in the evening I went to this production called the Australian Outback, and it was great dinner theatre with lots of horses, dogs, sheep, singing and more horses!! It was GREAT! I felt like the youngest person there but it was still lots of fun, I was hanging out with all these older ladies and we had a blast!! It was all you can drink beer…and by the end of the show I was almost gunned!! Feel like I am turning into an alcoholic traveling on my own….drinking by myself in the condo and then getting half cut at a dinner theatre by myself! The next day I was off to Surfer paradise to hang out on the beach, before I left got a book from a little book exchange store…”Stuck between a rock and a hard place” GREAT read! About the guy who cut his arm off after being tramped by a rock in Utah…it was such a good read, I read it all DAY! Couldn’t put it down. After about 5 hours of reading I thought I better walk around a bit, so I hung out around the boardwalk, and met with some people playing foot bag! They were amazing, turns out they were the World champions at foot bag, so no wonder they were good!!! I did not participate, only was a spectator! Went back to the beach to continue with the good read, Minding my own business…HONESTLY and this guy comes up to me so we strike up a conversation and have a great chat! He then asks if I want to go fishing….I said sure I love fishing….But it was getting dark so I said right now???? And he said no, at 9:30 tonight….didn’t really think anything about it, and said sure sounds great! So he drove me back to where I was staying, it was one of those oh shit, should I really be getting in his car kind of moments, had this moment before…..But I got in! all good he took me back to where I was staying and I said he would be back at 9:30…..so I said perfect! Went up, showered and started to eat…then I was thinking humm maybe I will take this knife just in case this guy isn’t for real!! Thought this was taking wise safety precautions….then I thought I should buy my own alcohol with a cap so he can’t slip me anything……..WAIT a second…. when these thoughts were going through my head, I was like what am I doing and WHO goes fishing at 9:30 at night…..hummm maybe a psychotic Greek tourist killer….It started to pour rain and then I got reading the book again…and well I didn’t make it down to meet him! Good decision eh mom! Hahaha sorry had to share the story…no worries I still have some sense, need to stop getting into strangers cars though! So finished the book that night! And it was off to Brisbane to see Kangaroos and Koalas in the AM…which turned more into a PM kind of affair!

I went to kangaroo and Koala sanctuary…and it was great! Got to pet my kangaroo and cuddle a Koloa…..Which I am sure is the equivalent of cuddling a gopher for foreigners who come to Saskatchewan! (not that I actually cuddled a gopher, could be hard to catch) Well I met a bunch of people here as well, hung out with a bunch of Danish girls for the most of it and then at the end there was a bunch of us all waiting for the bus to pick us up….so might as make friends with the whole lot of them! Well it turns out the other group of girls were all from Ithaca, the same city I went to school in at Cornell….so it was CRAZY!!! Small world! So we had this massive connection and I ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the night! Took the train back and had my last night in the condo, up bright and early for a flight back to Sydney for my last day in Aussie land!
Hung out in Sydney took in the Opera house, took a tiki tour around the harbor, huge Greek festival, worried I was going to see my Greek friend…but no worries! Just crazy amount of people…had my baklava and I took in a 3D Imax show….Met a fun Swiss family and it was back to the hotel for me!

Next morning it was off to NZ…..but this time I was not going to pay the ridiculous Baggage charges! So I layered…A lot of layers!! And wore my snowboard boots! I showed up at the little stand Sweating!! So I was going from paying $200 to paying nothing!! The lady was awesome, and she bent the rules a bit so I could have extra baggage without the charges….so with the good news I asked if I could put more stuff in the bags….and she said sure! Well then she had quite the laugh as I was layering down…..and taking off my snowboard boots! HAHAHAH too funny!! But really you turn up for a flight and there is always the token LARGE person or 5 of them at that…and they are allowed the same amount of baggage as you, and that doesn’t include all the baggage they are personally carrying around AKA FAT!!! So I think, and I think my argument is legit because….why should it be fair for someone who is bigger be allowed the same baggage allowance when they weigh as much as your baggage allowance! I was going to pull out this argument if I was going to get charged!

But all is good….until I got to customs!!! Jesus, I think I am a magnet here in NZ, well I got pulled a side and interrogated for the first hour an half. They searched everything and swobbed a bunch of my stuff….I guess I was a red flag cuz of being in China then Australia then off to NZ in such a short time span! Oh well…..I made it and I am now back in New Zealand….so good to be back, had my traditional Starbucks with my NZ Mom and it has been a great start to the next new adventure!!

LOVE you ALL,
Jenel

China Adventure....

Nee How! She She! tui poo shi, Ta tsi tsi is my extended vocabulary after trying to fit in as a chinaman…..I had the size down, but the blindly pasty white skin, blonde hair and lack of the language were my down falls! Nee how---Hello----Nee how Ma-----Hello how are you? She She----Thank you, Tui poo shi ta tsi tsi-----Sorry small boobs. The cab drivers loved that line, it is amazing how well you can speak a language after you have had a few….or maybe it is more you think you can speak it better!!! HAHAH

Where to start………It was hard leaving Calgary once again! But I guess that is a good thing, if it wasn’t hard to leave, one wouldn’t come back. Its always hard for a reason, Canada is home. But the adventures continue and not sure for how long this time, see where the wind blows ya I guess!

So to get everyone caught up with what is up with me….I am overseas once again doing the transient lost soul thing again….hahah well with a little more direction this time! I was just in China for the past 12 days, hanging out in Beijing and Harbin, sight seeing and playing hockey against the Chinese National team. The Edmonton chimos put a team together and few of us ‘non’ chimos jumped on board as well….we made a whole trip out of it, with a great mix of sightseeing and playing hockey. The Chinese have been training hard all season in preparation for the world Championship which they are hosting in April, so the idea was to come over and give them a few good games so they can stay in contention for the Olympics in 2010.

The long flight over to China was uneventful, which is a good thing when you are on a plane! I did not fly with the team, but there was 3 of us that were all on the same flight, so it was fun flying with someone you know. The team met us at the airport and the trip began! We stayed at a really nice hotel in Beijing, it is where they house the Olympic athletes so it was all fenced in and security guards were everywhere! The traffic is absolutely crazy, there are lanes, but they don’t really use them! People just drive and honk when they want in! I think the only rule that I could see was that if you were a bigger you had the right away! So being in a bus we were fine!!! BIKES, everywhere….I now know why the Chinese are so little…cuz on a diet of rice and biking everywhere there is no time to get big….maybe malnutrition could also be a factor! But seriously, there really were bikes everywhere, and the most run down bikes you have ever seen, they hauled everything with their bikes, huge loads that you couldn’t even fathom! Crossing the street is an adventure as well, because of the lack of traffic rules people just walk when ever….and are so calm about it, in the middle of an intersection with cars/bikes/trucks zippin ever which way and direction. Then there is a group of little white people….hahaha well it was funny watching us cross I am sure…..NOT CALM at all……sort of like a twisted version of chicken. The trick was to find a Chinese person and walk in unison with them. The other cultural different thing is the toliets, for the most part they have the squat pots….where you just plop a squat!! By the end of the trip it was no big deal using them….but it was quite funny the first couple of times….The fun stopped when the realization that you would have to actually perform a number 2 on them…..I was fortunate in this only happened to me once during the trip! The rest of the time I had perfect number 2 timing and was able to find a normal toilet.

The first night it was early to bed for everyone! But the next morning we were up and ready to face the markets!!! Or were we??? WOW, talk about shopping, puts any US shopping spree to shame. CHEAP as borche as a good Ukraine would say! Truly a Bode paradise because the bartering is the name of the game! But not Mexican bartering…..a whole new EXTREME!!! But it is defiantly a confidence boost going into the market, sexy lady you need shirt? Pretty girl how bout some jeans? Special price? Looky Looky? Oh it was an adventure that is for sure!!! I am sure we got taken the first couple of shops, but by the end of the day we were all pros at the game! Most of the goods are knock off name brands but it was all fun and games!! We visited two markets the first day. We ate as a team in the hotel and the first couple of meals were all traditional Chinese meals…luckly I am a Bode cuz I had to just try everything!! Lots of deep fried food, tons of vegetables and fruit though! AND the staple RICE…..really missing the pasta after this trip! We had a tour guide while we were in Beijing his name was Thomas! Great guy, full of stories! Oh ya that is the other thing….I feel that I have lost some of my English, you get used to shorting your sentences for easier translation and by the end of the trip we would catch each other speaking in short phrase sentences, sometimes not even making sense!

The next day we went to one of the 7 wonders of the world! The Great Wall of China….WOW, it was amazing, very daunting it was so huge! We hiked a good portion of the wall, meaning we walked for 2 hrs and really didn’t get very far at all since there is only like 6,700 kms to walk…the photos don’t really do it justice, but you truly do feel small in retrospect. There were a whole lot of stairs and we were all feeling it the next day! We ended our day going to an area with huge lake, with lots of fun little bars! I went on a rickshaw ride through the back streets of the area! It was fun, we bought a huge bottle of beer for less than a dollar. Piss warm but when you by it from a guy peddling a bike you can’t be picky!!

The following day we attempted to go to Tiananmen square, however there was something going on, so we could only see it from a far. But we did go to the forbidden city. Basically a city within a city, it is where the Chin dynasty resided. The Chinese have a very long and interesting history, I was mostly interested in the information about the concubines! Thomas was very informative but the weather this day was absolutely awful! The air (or should I say lack there of) was so thick! Dust everywhere, crazy wind….but we were true Canadians wearing sandals, capris or shorts! The one girl on our team was wearing short shorts….and well lets just say it was hilarious because everyone who passed us would stop and STARE at her, then our group…it was crazy! It was an interesting feeling being the minority.
The Next day we did more shopping at different markets, but we had to be back to pack up and get ready for our train ride to Harbin. It was about a 9 hr trip but it was through the night so we knew we could all sleep! Well, it was a character building experience that is for sure, first of all we were pushing it for time, so we were racing through this VERY crowded station with hockey bags, sticks, luggage bags and a huge group of people! Felt like mission impossible, because we had to lug our stuff FAR!!! We finally made it, we were all under the impression that we would be all together on this train. HAHAHAH Nope! We were mixed in with all the other Chinese people…we were packed in like pickles!!! (or sardines) IT was hilarious, really laughter was the only means of sanity. We not only were packed in, but we had to figure out how to get all our massive amounts of luggage on board, it was at this point I was glad not to speak Chinese cuz it was better to just not understand what they were saying…tone however is a universal language and we basically had train full of pissed off Chinese people!! This is where I learned tui poo tsi ( I am sorry) It wasn’t all that bad, we each had bunks that where 5 stacked, on both sides but we were all on bottom bunks. So that was nice! We all slept to wake up to a new city in the AM!

Harbin, well lets just say it looks a lot more run down then Beijing, more dirty and still people everywhere!!! We once again stayed at a very nice hotel that the Chinese National team footed the bill for as well as all our food while we were in Harbin. We also had the most helpful part of the whole trip and that was Richard, he was the Chinese National team Manager/interpreter so he was stuck with us!!! BUT what a blessing!!! We had a our first team skate, and it felt great to get on the ice, met up with some of the girls on the Chinese National team (2 of them played with our regular season team in Calgary) So it was great seeing Jinny and Snow again! We played our first game that night against them! We lost but it was loads of fun!!! The remainder of our time in Harbin was basically morning skate, afternoon wondering around then playing in the evening. The coach organized a bunch of massages for all of us, it was a total of $15 Canadian for whole body 1 hour massage!! CRAZY! Had that two days in a row! Was not relaxing at all, lots of aches and pains from carrying luggage to walking gazillion stairs at the great wall…but they were quick to work the kinks out!

One of our days off we went to a tiger sanctuary, or you could call it a breeding ground/ puppy mill for tigers! It was sad in some spots, but then there were areas where there was lots of space for them to run around! It was very amazing to go though, we were basically in a big bus driving around taking pictures of the tigers…true tourist style! You could buy a chicken, sheep, or cow to feed to the tigers and lions! Couple of the girls bought some chickens….it was CRAZY!! You have to check out the pictures on this! Basically this truck that is all grated drives in to where the bus is and throws a chicken on top of the roof of the SUV (not sure I want to know what the chicken is thinking at this point..oh shit!! Would be a good guess) but in two seconds this giant tiger leaps on top of the SUV and snatches it up!!! CRAZY!!! I am so glad no one bought a sheep, not sure I could watch that! Chicken was my limit! We also saw black panthers, lions, white tigers and a liger (cross between lion and tiger) only 10 in the world. Lots of cubs as well…which were all very cute.

We had one crazy night out in Harbin, where the coaches scouted out a good dance bar to go to! It was a hit, we had loads of fun!! Danced the night way, drank beer and tried to communicate with the locals…..charades becomes the means of communication in most cases! Using the squat pots while under the influence is another adventure!
We continued to practice in the AM and played in the PM and we continued to lose to the Chinese….They were all great games, we just couldn’t put the puck in the net. But they were all fun games! We ended up taking a flight back to Beijing which was a huge relief for everyone! We spent our last day in Beijing shopping the markets that we scoped out before. We all went out for a much tamer night as our last night out in China. We had plans of heading to Tiananmen square for the changing of the guards and flag raising. This occurs at sunrise, so it was up at 5:00 AM for us, to get there on time!!! The rest of the day was spent eating, having a nap and then packing up to leave!

We all left for the airport together, it was a little sketchy for me as the Australian system was down for what ever reason and they couldn’t issue any one tickets because they couldn’t approve the visas. So it was a long wait, to just see if I would actually get on the flight! Well…..as luck had it, I was the last person to board and now I sit on a plane on route to Australia….they really should ban people taking their shoes off on planes, cuz the guy beside me has the worst foot smell ever!!
I am in Australia for 5 days then off to NZ once again! I start work April 1st working as the ice hockey coordinator/ coaching for the organization and the Dunedin Thunder. I know this was a long one…..but I am sure once I get back to NZ there won’t be as many crazy stories to share…..but I can see what I can do about that!

LOVE you all!!
Jenel