Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A! AAA!

(image can be found here: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/images/set3/australia_kangaroo.jpg)


*Australia! Another Adventure Awaits!*
*I just love playing with words starting with the same letter...*

Anyway, will be off to Aussi on 3rd Dec till the 23rd, following the route: Canberra - Melbourne-Sydney - Blue Mountains (maybe) - Brisbane - Gold Coast - Cairns (Great Barrier Reef!). It's a family holiday and I'm the one in charge of planning the route haha.. pretty cool trying to accommodate the whims and fancies of every family member.. Shopping for Mom (and plenty of rest stops..and not too much outdoorsy stuff..), museums and parks for me n Dad (Yay!), weird food for my middle bro (kangaroo and crocodile steaks..), and hot Aussie chicks for the youngest one (though I don't need to plan for this..)

Was thinking of going backpacking alone while waiting for my family to join me in Aussi, but in the end am going first with my youngest bro. Was wondering if it'll be difficult to connect because of our age gap, hadn't talked to him for long, etc, but if these few days serve as an indicator, we'll have a good time talking nonsense =D Actually, am pretty proud for being a big sis that my bros can connect easily with..hahaha..

Some facts I find interesting about Australia...
1. Christmas is in summer.. which is totally a far cry from all the Christmassy stuff I'm accustomed to hearing/ watching.. oh well am gonna do some beach Christmas shots w/ the bro haha..
2. Half of Australia is used for sheep rearing.. somehow now when I see a map of Australia there's a "soundtrack" of sheep bleating in my mind..
3. There's a "flying doctor" service that provide medical care to people living in the Outback.. cuz many people would die, isolated, without this kind of service..
4. Of course, it's home to Sydney Opera House and Federation Square! in fact, I've made a list of all the buildings I want to see, and I'll try to 'tick' everything!
5. The title of Australia's national song, "Waltzing Matilda", is German for 'carrying a backpack'! I thought this is just so cool!

So yeah, am really excited about going there... I think when I stand in front of the Sydney Opera House - such an icon of Australia for architecture students - it'll take me several seconds to really register that I'm standing there.. Just like when I first stood in front of Eiffel..

Strange thing is, what makes it a little less exciting..is the fact that people speak English in Australia hahaha.. somehow, I've come to associate traveling with trying to communicate with people with a different language, and speaking English just doesn't give the same 'kick' hahaha..

Oh well, Aussie here I come!

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