Yom Kippur- Intro to the Jewish community of Bondi

I had a very nice Yom Kippur, not easy to say since fasting is never very nice, but I did.  My friend who was here before me put me in contact with the family she stayed with in Sydney, so I stayed with them.  They are amazing and incredibly welcoming, just as the family I stayed with in Melbourne was.  The parents, Lisa and Paul, are from South Africa.  They came to Sydney sixteen years ago, and most of their families live here, too.  They have three kids, two sons and a daughter.  It is an interesting dynamic to be around, having come from my family with just my sister and me, though I find it quite entertaining.  They also have a dog, so clearly I'm in heaven.  We filled up on chicken and brisket and potatoes to try to get through the fast, which were delicious.

They go to JLC, the Jewish Learning Center, in North Bondi.  There are TONS of shuls in the area.  The JLC is a very nice community, and thankfully there was a seat for me at each service.  The community is pretty young, with many little kids running around and young couples taking turns looking after their kids.  Something that struck me immediately was how quiet it is.  There is very little talking, and it seems to be a place for serious daveners (people who really like to pray).  Lisa told me that in fact, the Rabbi makes sure of that, as he stops the service if talking gets too overwhelming, and so the community is now used to it.  It was perfect for Yom Kippur.

I recognized a lot of the tunes, which helped me get into the spirit of things, and others were pretty repetitive and easy to catch on to.  Though there were some tunes I missed, overall I really enjoyed the experience there.  The sun also sets earlier here, so the fast ended at 6:30, making it a bit easier.  Not too shabby. I might come down here every year for fast days.

The only bad thing is that to get to the shul from their house you have to walk uphill then downhill, which means to get back you have to walk the same, uphill then downhill.  So there is always an uphill climb, which we walked I believe six times.  On the way to shul for Neila (the end service of Yom Kippur) we actually passed a guy pruning his palm tree, so Paul went over to ask him to leave the fronds there so that he could pick them up later and use them as the schach (roof) of his Sukkah.  That was pretty convenient.

For break fast it was just the family and me and we had macaroni and cheese and cinnamon babka.  It was perfect.  They then invited me to come back for Sukkot, so I'm really excited about that.  Shira, the 9 year old daughter, told me while I was going that she hopes I come back soon, so I promised I will (considering that Sukkot is on Sunday night I'll definitely be fulfilling that promise!)

Anyway it's finals week and I just missed two nights of class because of the holiday and all our papers are due Friday (finals day) so I should go get some work done. Shanna tova! (Happy new year!)

Sexy Dingos

Just got back from Surf Camp! YEW! (That's their yell of excitement)  I am SO SORE.  Lots of battle wounds to show off and many more that you can't see and just hurt.  Hence writing this post right now since I really just don't want to move.
There were around 70 of us (out of the 80 on the program total) so it was extreme bonding time!  The rooms were of 6 people, so I stayed with Hanna, Justina, Belinda, Alex, and Jessica, though we didn't spend much time other than sleeping in the room.
It was about two hours from Sydney at 7 Mile Beach (You guessed it, it's 7 miles long), Gerroa.  We got there Friday and settled in and they directed us to the beach.  It was super dark out and there were so many amazing stars!  The moon was pretty low and a beautiful gold color.  We stuck our feet in the water and it was pretty cold but I got used to it quickly.  I love night walks along the beach.
The next day we had 2 surf lessons, for 2 hours each.  Each time we went surfing we had to wear our wet suits.  At first, everyone had them all the way up and zipped on the walk over, but it was funny to watch during our 3 lessons fewer and fewer people kept the suit all the way up because it was just too warm and not so comfortable for the walk.

Justina and I in wet suits unzipped

At first they just taught us how to push up on the board.  I was good at that.  Then they taught us how to stand.

1. Paddle hard
2. Wave hits, paddle 3 times
3. Thumbs to chest, push up from so your lower back is arched with the bottom half of the body still on the board
4. Bend your back leg so your foot points outward about even with your other knee.
5. Bring your front leg between your hands facing forward
6. Push straight up to a standing position, turn your front leg slightly, bend your knees, stay low, and put your hands out like with bow and arrow.
ALWAYS KEEP LOOKING STRAIGHT!

To figure out which foot should be front or back, we stood straight and one of the instructors pushed us lightly and whichever foot fell back is our back foot.  Mine was my right, so I'm a regular.  If it's your left then you're goofie.

On land, I was a pro.  In the water, not so much.  I'll be totally honest, waves make me nervous in general, so this was a bit scary for me.  But I did try, though I think maybe I could have tried a bit more.  Regardless I had a lot of fun.  I'd be lying if I told you I stood up, but I did get to safety position a few times, which is the step just before standing, and a bunch of times I body surfed or just came in on my knees.  That being said, there were many many times I wiped out, contributing to my battle wounds.  I got hit in the head by my board at least 3 times.  Thank goodness for the learners boards that are foam and have soft fins that won't cut you.
Anyway, it was really nice how supportive everyone was of one another.  We were split into smaller groups, mine being the Sexy Dingos, with Nick and J something as our instructors. (I'm blanking on his name).  So my group was with Christian, Kayla, Brianna, Lindsay, Chris, Justina, Belinda, Jessica, Tiffany, Angela, Brett, George, Calvin.  It's possible I'm missing a few.  I spent some time out scared away by the waves with Jessica (I told you I'd be completely honest), and Drew, one of our RAs who came with us hung out with us.  I became the official zipper, so when people's wet suit zippers came undone they came over and I rezipped them (just while I was out).  Brett and George also took some water breaks so I spent some time chatting with them when they were out of the water.  While it was a good breather, I probably would've been more successful with more time in the water, though I still did enjoy myself.
I made sure to spend the whole of the last two hours today in the water really trying.  Some people went out to harder waves, but I had no plan of that and liked the smaller ones.  It was fun having everyone cheer one another on and try to coach and count down and various people would try to ride the same wave.  I got so close on one with Lindsay, then we both quickly wiped out.  The last wave of today we all tried to catch together.  I'm pretty sure we all got it in, whether standing or not (like me).  I know my mom thought I'd be good enough to go out with Leora back home, but I have a feeling that might be too rough for me.
Overall though, I loved the trip.  They were great to vegetarians, with these fun potato burger things and a potato and cheese delicious something.  And last night was hilarious at the "pub" in town.  We all expected some small little pub, but it instead looked like it used to be a bowling alley, and there were kids there too.  It was pretty funny.  Brian and Lauren even managed to convince some people that at midnight there actually was bowling.  They had a guy playing guitar though and we danced with the locals.  It was quite a sight and very entertaining for everyone.  There was this hilarious 45 year old woman who was really into dancing and every so often would do a split.  I don't think I need to describe her any more.
At the end of both days they showed us slide shows and videos of all of us.  It was fun and embarrassing, but again, we were all in it together.  I'm so glad I went.

Here are the videos!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tILEZCQcOro&feature=share&list=UU0kF4zQOO_wI88Wm1ZCvGAg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcSNNV0rVA8&list=UU0kF4zQOO_wI88Wm1ZCvGAg

I think I'm going to give my aching body a break now, and it's finals week this week (though we still have classes until finals) so it's off to bed for me!

Four Seasons in a Day

I just got back from Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bin if you're from Sydney or Mal-bin if you're from there).  I would have loved to spend more time there.  I think I'm going to split this post up by what I did around there and Rosh Hashannah separately.
I just realized I may not have explained what I was doing in Melbourne.  My whole program had a mandatory field trip to Melbourne Sunday through today (Wednesday).  While down there, we each had to pick 2 academic tours during the 4 days, and the rest of the time was free to explore the city, or do other tours if you wanted.  The trip coincided with Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year), which was Sunday night through Tuesday evening.  Most Jews go to synagogue during this time, and I learned through some research that the Jewish community is not in walking distance of where we were supposed to stay, and since I do not take transportation on this holiday, I had to find somewhere to stay so I could observe the holiday.  More on this later in the post.

Melbourne:

Nothing much interesting about the travel.  Though for lunch on the plane they had meat pies (which everyone raves about) but nothing vegetarian except an apple, so I am so glad I packed a sandwich.  Also, security is quite different here.  Shoes and coats stay on through security, liquids don't matter, AND they don't even check an ID.  I don't mean you just don't need to pack a passport, I mean ANY ID AT ALL. None.  I had my license with me but they didn't check it once.
Anyway, my first impression of Melbourne, like any other city, was upon landing.  On either side of the runway were trees! It looked like forest.  It's possible I've landed other places like that, but if so I can't remember.  I have no idea why but it just made a huge impression and I really liked it (though for a second it felt like the show LOST, I'm not quite sure why since I knew I was perfectly safe).

Driving through the city toward our hotel on the bus, I noticed that it is not much of a high rise city (this is just a fact, not good or bad), and the architecture is beautiful.  The city (or at least the center, in which we stayed) is a grid, which is convenient and easy to navigate and quickly get to know the city.

My first tour was of the ACMI, the Australian Center for the Moving Image.  There were a few sections.  One was about famous Australians in the film and tv industries, though most of them I didn't know much about, and to be honest I just wasn't really that curious about that part.  The part I liked was the interactive part.  There was a cool room with "horizontal light" where you go in and it's dark and foggy and there's light coming toward you in a ring, with clouds.  I'm not really sure how to describe it, but you can see when someone is inside or outside the light.  Hopefully the picture will clarify what my description is lacking horribly.  There was another room where there are three screens, one in front of you and one on each side, and a movie goes on switching screens and sometimes using all at once to make you feel as though you are really in the movie.  Hanna, Amanda and I lay down in the middle of the room to try to get the full effect (we also managed to scare Sarah, our RA when she walked in and found us lying there).  I personally found that the Moulin Rouge clip was the coolest one.  There was another room with little figures in a circle, and then the circle started spinning and with strobe lights it looked like they were all moving.  We also made a flipbook, but didn't want to buy it, and sadly, the one day I was there, the make your own Matrix scene was out of order so that was unfortunate.  So that was all I did Sunday.

The Horizontal Light Room

Then Tuesday night Hanna's friend Tuvya picked me up with Hanna, Justina, and Julia and we went to St. Kilda.  Now, for those of you who don't know, I came to Australia with one of my goals being to get to Melbourne so I could do the day trip to Philip Island where there are penguins.  Unfortunately, the trip was on Monday, so I couldn't go because of Rosh Hashannah... luckily though, this ended up for the best.  It turns out that in St. Kilda you can go to the end of the pier and.... see penguins in their natural habitat! Same as Philip Island except for free and you can get even closer than there. So my dreams came true and I cannot describe how overjoyed I was.  Those penguins are the cutest little things.  Just to clarify, these are tiny little penguins, maybe ten inches tall (no, I still don't know the metric system).  We saw one bringing a stick back to his nest, another swimming, and more just walking along the rocks.  Most of them were in their nests though and we could just hear them.  Those are some noisy animals, though still absolutely adorable.
http://stkildapenguins.com.au/skp/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/rocky_nest2_small.jpg

See the white? That's a penguin.  There was no flash allowed so that's the best I could get since I only had my point and shoot with me.

St. Kilda itself is a cute area we walked around for a short time, though it started raining so not long.
On Wednesday I finally got to see a bunch of Melbourne.  In the morning I went on a theater tour at the Arts Centre Melbourne.  The main building has three theatres downstairs.  One was huge, seating i think 2,000, and we saw them setting up the lighting for Swan Lake.  It was pretty cool hearing them call out what they liked and didn't like.  Another was small and a semicircle, seating around 350.  It reminded me of where I saw Warhorse in Lincoln Center, though a bit smaller.  We also saw a function room which had really cool walls made out of objects but then looking at the whole thing it made a cool design.  It sort of resembled Aboriginal dot paintings.  There also were some of those, and the woman told us all the significance of the dot paintings, but I was wondering if they really were significant or if the Aboriginal painters had made up significance to please the artists.

The cool wall.

Some up close detail

Anyway then we went to the next building which was still part of it I think and where the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performs and they actually were rehearsing (maybe recording?) and we got to watch! Free concert! Now that was amazing.  At the end of the tour we looked at a ballet exhibit which was cool to see.  I'm so impressed by great dancers.
By then we needed lunch and had heard about this place under the bridge on the water, and we went down there but weren't so interested in eating, though it was really cool just to see.  We ended up getting food and having a picnic (me, Kate, Hanna, Amanda, and Victoria).  There's actually a vegetarian Kosher fast food place so I got the fattiest most delicious fries, onion rings, and "chicken" nuggets.  Then we all went and met up with 5 more girls at the Ice Bar.  Yes, it's what it sounds like.  They give you Uggs (I have never worn Uggs before, I have to be honest, they were super comfortable) and gloves and a poncho and then you go into a room with walls and the bar and sculptures and stools all of ice.  Our entry also came with a drink, so I had this delicious drink called a Polar Bear, and all the cups were also made of ice (yes, I did eat a bit of it). We could be in there for a half hour and we made it I think 24 minutes, so pretty close.

Kate, Hanna, Amanda, Victoria

Me and Kate on a wombat

Hanna, Kate, and I then went to this amazing chocolate shop (but I was stuffed and restrained myself from buying any) then Hanna showed me some of the cool graffiti that she had a tour of.  Melbourne is known for having a lot of art so graffiti is big there.  Then, walking through Chinatown, she brought me through this cool alleyway which leads to Croft Institute, a cool bar that's like a mental institute I believe? Anyway it was closed since it was so early but some other people went and said it was really cool.  But the alleyway was also covered in graffiti.  Chinatown there I'm pretty sure is the oldest continuous Chinatown in the world so that's pretty neat.  They also had elephant statues decorated and all around the city (like how a lot of cities have at different times).  Anyway, I think that's most of what I did in Melbourne.  I wish I could have had more time since I really enjoyed it.  Uneventful flight back, but I got to sit next to Lindsay! And I watched the beginning of Brave and was very much disappointed and have no interest in finishing it.

Graffiti

Ok, on to Rosh Hashannah:

My friend Becca, from home, has cousins in Melbourne, and was kind enough to put me in touch with them. First of all, I e-mailed just the son, Benjamin (in his late 20s and married to Anath), and I heard back from him, his sister, Romy, who is my age, and their father Henry.  What warmer welcome could I have gotten?  So I went with Ariella.  They live in Caulfield, a suburb (one of the two in which the Jews of Melbourne mostly live now).

Claudine and Henry (and their teapot display in their new kitchen)

Sunday night we went to Claudine (the mother)'s sister (Linda)'s house.  There were 18 people at dinner, all family minus the two of us, but they treated us the same.  It was so nice.  The dvar torah was funny, all about how all of the food represented various things.  Some were real though, like carrot (gezer) is the same root as decree (gezer) and pumpkin (karah) like read (karah) and more.  Sitting here right now I can't think of all the connections but it was funny and fun, though I couldn't wait for food.  I FINALLY HAD MEAT! Next week I think I'm going out to buy some because this whole "being vegetarian" thing because I haven't bought Kosher meat just isn't going to fly any longer.
Monday morning we went to Claudine and Henry's shul.  It was relatively small but nice.  Thankfully we managed to find seats for us.  I enjoyed the service.  Afterward we went back to the house and had a nice dairy lunch and then meant to nap for an hour then do tashlich (where we go to a running body of water and throw in pieces of bread to symbolize getting rid of our sins from the past year), but we accidentally slept until dinner.  We had a small, nice dinner and then set up for the big lunch Henry and Claudine were hosting the next day.
Tuesday morning Romy took Ariella and me shul hopping.  We started at the Caulfield synagogue which is HUGE.  It seats I think 2,000 people? Some huge number and it was pretty full.  They bring in a choir of men from Israel to help lead the service and they were quite impressive.  However, there was TONS of talking there! I don't know that I've ever been to a shul with so much talking, it seemed like they didn't even try to be quiet.  Other than that though I thought the service was nice.  We didn't stay for too long though as we continued on our tour.
Next we went to Mizrachi, a smaller synagogue.  I wasn't a huge fan.  It was pretty crowded but didn't impress me so much.  I thought it was rather boring and we left quickly.  Apparently there were other minyans there that we didn't go to that were supposed to be nice.
Last we went to Shira, similar to the Shira Chadasha in Israel.  Women led some parts and it was a very spirited service.  There was still more talking than I would have liked but I enjoyed it overall.  We stayed there the longest.  It was nice hearing some familiar tunes, though there were some that I missed (like Hayom was different than I'm used to).
It was really interesting getting to see so much of the Jewish community in Caulfield.  So many of them know each other and it seems like such a great community.  There were also guards at all of the shuls, and Romy told us that a lot of them are volunteers from the community who train (for example we saw her friend guarding and her boyfriend used to).  Only police are allowed to carry guns, so the security learns krav maga and other things in case they notice any threats.  It was interesting to hear about.
Thankfully shul ended when it did and we were close to the house, because once we got inside it started pouring! People who came in after us (including Henry and Benjamin, their son) looked as though they had just showered.  Lunch was 15 people and again very lively and delicious.  Claudine made a barley soup that I loved, and Anath, Benjamin's wife, made funny blue meringue that turned people's mouths that color (she also made great pate).  Lunch went pretty late and then after another nap we just sat around talking until the holiday ended.
It was a great way to spend Rosh Hashannah.  I felt so comfortable and welcome and it was really interesting seeing the community there and learning about their family.

I was so happy about my whole trip to Melbourne.  It really was amazing.
Now I'm off to Surf Camp for the weekend! I'll be sure to watch out for sharks and killer jelly fish, though honestly my biggest worry is whether or not I'll be able to stand on the surf board.  That post will come soon!

Fun Facts

Thursday in our Aboriginal class we went to the Art Gallery of New South Whales.  I enjoyed it and will definitely go back since it's free and they have a lot of interesting art, although some weird stuff too.  We are now finished with that section, and will return to our regular culture class with Marc as our teacher again.  It's kind of sad since I really liked our teacher.  We also never really spoke about pre-colonization aborigines and I was a little disappointed about that.  While I don't think I believe in having many lives, and I don't think I'm supposed to, I kinda wish I could have been a pre-colonization aboriginal in another life just because I'm so curious.

Jessica and I at the Museum

Anyway, we had a paper due and a presentation so everyone was incredibly relieved last night when we were all finished.  I am starting to book the end of my trip with my friend Jessica, and we now have flights to Ayer's Rock (Yes Abby, I'm actually going!) and Thailand!

My roommate Hanna loves Doctor Who and Kate has seen most of it too, so we're starting to watch some episodes when we have some down time.

I finally went back to shul again, this time with my roommate Alex.  We went back to the Newtown Synagogue.  We sat upstairs this time and it was nice seeing familiar faces.  Sadly they did not have a minyan, but it was still nice praying with other people.  I found out that Annalise, who we had met last time, is not actually Jewish, and just knows the cantor and is curious so comes.  A new girl, Sara, who also came because of the cantor, invited us to the shul's dinner for Rosh Hashana, which made us feel welcome, even though we won't be here.  I'm curious if it fills up more on Rosh Hashana.



It was this Cathleen's birthday Friday, so we went to Cargo Bar, which is in Darling Harbour.  It was a nice scene and I'd love to go back.  Hanna, Jessica, and Kate walked with me there, and then Lindsay, Brianna, Rachel C., Andres and Brian walked with me back (of course stopping at the playground on the way).  It was really nice and while there were a lot of us at Cargo Bar it wasn't too many of us, and I had a really nice time.

Today Jessica (who I'm traveling with after the program) and I walked to a market in Glebe.  Sadly it's only open on Saturdays, which means I'll never be able to buy anything there.  It's a shame since they have some very nice and inexpensive clothes, and some other cute items.  Regardless, it was nice to get out with great weather, and just looking at everything for sale was fun.

Tonight I went with Brianna, Lindsay, Andres, Hanna, Justina, and Randy back to Darling Harbour, because there are apparently fireworks every Saturday night! You would think, with it being a weekly thing, that there wouldn't be too many people and the fireworks, being so expensive, might not be so great.  But then you'd be wrong.  It was incredibly crowded, there was music playing (though it was pretty random and sounded like someone just threw their Itunes on shuffle), and the fireworks were great! It was a lot of fun.

Brianna, Lindsay, and Andres at fireworks

Tomorrow morning we fly to Melbourne until Wednesday! I'll be spending Rosh Hashanna and I'll write about it all when I'm back!

Here are just some things I've learned lately:

1. A gum tree (as in kookaburra sits in one) is an Aussie way to say eucalyptus

2. There are different uses for boomerangs:
            a. sport (duh!)
            b. hunting, and now I'll tell you how

• to hunt duck: one person hides in the bushes around a pond/lake waiting with spears or slingshots,   then two people go on other sides of the lake.  the first throws a boomerang just about the ducks, boomerangs whistle while they fly, so the ducks freak out and start to fly, the next person throws a boomerang just above them, so they have no idea what to do and stay flapping suspended in the air.  The person with the weapon takes down a few older, plumper ducks.
• to hunt emu: they are too fast, and the killing must be quick 1. so they cant get away 2. to be more humane. So you throw the boomerang at their legs to break their leg and then walk over and club them so they die on impact.
• to hunt kangaroo: one person stands in one place, one in another.  the one throws the boomerang in front of the kangaroo so as to redirect them toward his mate who then spears a few.

3. Kangaroo meat is very gamey (no I didn't try it but someone on my floor cooked it last night, though he said the kangaroo burgers are actually quite tasty)

4. On the bottom floor of the Art Gallery of New South Whales is an all Aboriginal exhibit. In it, there is a hole dug out of the floor, where you can see the earth below, and there is a microphone above it and it plays the sounds of the land (animals and such).

5. The sky is a different color blue here, and the sunsets are red.  Tonight I saw the most beautiful sky but cannot imagine how to describe it.  All I can say is I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.

6.  In making a boomerang, using plywood is not good because it will crack when it hits the ground, though if it doesn't hit the ground it is easier to catch.  The wood they sometimes use is great since it doesn't break, but can break your fingers if you are not careful trying to catch it.

7.  There are two types of boomerangs, ones that are symmetrical and come back, and ones that are shorter on one side and don't come back to you (used for different purposes).

I made it into the video!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8orvebhSdY  (It also shows you all some of what I've been doing)

Wine on Wine on Wine

2 days, 6 wineries, 53 wines.  Oh yes, it has been an eventful weekend.

I'll start before all that (which means you need to keep reading since you're curious).  My friend from BU, Sharyn, is studying in Auckland, New Zealand for the semester, and they have a 2 week spring break, which just ended.  For her break she came to Australia, and she was in Sydney for the weekend! Unfortunately, being from New Zealand, she did not have a phone here, so we were in a bit of contact by email, and then she called me from a payphone (with all our cell phones who would've guessed they still exist?? But thank goodness they do!)  and we arranged to meet up at the Opera House at 2:30.  I don't know the last time I tried to meet someone somewhere without having any way to contact them.  I got there just at 2:30 and went up and down the steps trying to make sure I wouldn't miss her.  It also happened to be a ridiculously windy day and I was quite close to being blown down the steps.  Anyway, I finally found her! It was so great to see her.  We took some pictures and walked around Circular Quay (pronounced Key) and then went to the Rocks since her friends wanted coffee.  We ended up walking back to BU just the two of us since she wanted to see where we live, and she has some other friends here so we spent some time with them.  It was great seeing her and chatting and hearing all about her adventures in New Zealand.  All of them wanted to stay in Sydney and not go back, which made me feel good about my choice to be here.  Sadly this was the only time we managed to see each other, but it was great catching up.

Saturday I convinced people who were going out to walk there, and so I ended up with Hanna, Rachel C., Belinda and Justina walking to Newtown (that's actually where I went to synagogue that first week).  Anyway, it's a nice area with many different types of people and really interesting shops and cute food places and graffiti.  We actually saw a documentary about the graffiti there, http://inner-west-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/message-on-wall-endures/.  We walked in and out of vintage shops, antique places (one had an Avril Lavigne CD so we're not convinced that was so legitimate but others were older), furniture shops, and lots more.  It was nice wandering around and seeing the area.  That night I tried to go to bed at a reasonable time because our wine class field trip to Hunter Valley, one of the great wine regions in Australia, was yesterday and today!

Ok so here goes.  Disclaimer, it was actually 7 wineries (I went to an extra) and  58 wines (I tried 2 wines at the extra winery and an extra wine at one of the 6, and then we had 2 bottles with dinner).
We got up bright and early Sunday morning, on the bus by 8:15 (and then of course I had trouble sleeping on the bus, typical).  We had a two and a half hour bus ride and we're 18 students so most of us got our own seats so that was convenient.
Our first winery was great.  It's called Tamburlaine and it is certified organic and biodynamic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_agriculture.  Gordon, who served us our wines, was quite helpful and energetic and lively.  He also was kind enough to give us a HUGE discount on the wines we tasted.  The wines there were easy to drink, smooth, and some of my favorites from the trip.  I even enjoyed the Cabernet Merlot, despite generally not enjoying red wines.  We learned about how the whole business is organic, including how they produce bottles and recycle water, and tend not to have paperwork so as not to waste paper.  Overall, it was one of my favorite. (We even came back later since they offered us $8 for $15 wines and we all realized we should have bought more there)

Brian, Melanie, Pam, Lindsay

After lunch at Tempus Two, where I split a heavenly pizza with Lindsay, and we walked around the vineyard, we continued on to Drayton, one of the oldest wineries in Hunter Valley, still with the original family as the owners.  While the wines tasted good, it was not really well done for our group.  We sat on chairs all facing the counter, but with nothing in front of us, and Daniel served us wines, one after the other, without giving us time to think about the wines we were drinking.  It seemed like he just wanted us in and out.  While we did try 10 wines, it did not make a big impression.  It was disappointing, since we had seen a movie about the Drayton family.  About four years ago there was an explosion on the premises, killing one of the four sons working the business, as well as another worker.  Since then, they have been building back up, and so we were all excited to see what it has become, it was sad that it did not meet any of our expectations. (although they are well known for their ports which I must say were delicious, and their chocolate dessert wines, both white and dark were amazing).

Lindsay and Melanie using chairs for tables

Ports

The view

We went from there to Tempus Two, (where we had eaten lunch).  It's a huge complex, and one of the doors is the cellar door.  It was big and modern and glitzy, and honestly Matt, who served us the wines, was quite attractive (even Gaynor and Kate kept talking about how he was the 'hottest' staff we had).  Anyway, while the wines were good, it was clearly a business and seemed practiced and rehearsed and showy.  However, it was a bit of fun.  At one point, while trying the Cabernet Sauvignon, Matt had us stand, take a sip, look at our feet, to taste it on the front of the tongue, and then look at the ceiling to taste it on the back, before finally swallowing it.  It was a bit silly but did sort of work.  Aside from that, they were very focused on being a business, and would not give our group any sort of discounts, which we got at all the other wineries, and the wines were quite expensive.  I believe it was the one place no one bought any wines.  It's a shame, since the class has been coming for around 5 years, but Kate and Gaynor have decided they probably won't be coming back (except for lunch which cannot be missed there).

Fancy Shmancy

We then went to check into the guest house at Mercure, the most adorable homey little place.  We had two people per room, and I stayed with Belinda.  After dropping our stuff, we went to check out another wine tasting at McGuigan's, which was just up a few stairs.  We tried two Semillons there (since Hunter Valley is well known for its Semillon and Shiraz).  One was a 2010 (or 2011, either was very young) and was pretty good.  The other was a 1999, which we thought would be fun to compare.  Now, while Semillon is a white, it is still supposed to age very well.  The first thing we noticed, was the older is VERY yellow/gold in color, compared to the almost clear yellow younger one.  When we tried the older one, however, we immediately turned to each other and at the same time blurted out "this tastes like water".  Maybe it was open for too long, or it was just a bad bottle, whatever it was, that was not a very good Semillon.

Then with dinner (everyone got chicken or steak and I got a 4 cheese ravioli which was delicious) we had a red and a white wine.  With my meal, white was probably better, but for everyone else it was nice for them to be able to try the red with the steak (a lot of people shared so everyone could have both).  Kate sat at our table so it was nice getting to know more about her and she asked about all of us, so I now know what people's parents do which is interesting and not always something you ask about.  On the way back to our room, Belinda, Randy, and I were looking at stars, and Kate and Gaynor pointed out the Southern Cross, although as they said, they could have pointed at anything and we would have believed them.  Anyway it's a constellation but sort of like our North Star, where you can use it for navigation, and it can only be seen down here. It's also those stars that you see on the Australian Flag.  Another fun fact that I learned from Jenny (my Aboriginal teacher), sometimes Australia has contests for a new flag, and most of the top contenders tend to keep the southern cross in it somewhere.

The next morning the breakfast buffet was amazing.  I haven't had such a nice breakfast in quite a while, with hash browns, scrambled eggs, cooked mushrooms, lots of fruit, fresh juice.  Great way to start our day, as we had three more wineries to hit.  The first was Petersons, known for their sparkling wines (no one can call their wine Champagne anymore unless it is made in Champagne in France).  There, we learned that there are different types and sizes of bubbles, depending on the fermentation process used.  They also had sparkling reds, which are must easier to drink than most reds, and I happened to love.  They are also starting to make ciders, and had a delicious Raspberry and Cranberry apple based sparkling cider, which I bought.  In addition, they are probably one of the first places to make sparkling dessert wines, so we had a sparkling Botrytis Semillon (Botrytis Semillon, which we had not sparkling at a few other places, is a delicious dessert wine, tasting of honey, passion fruit, pear, pineapple...)  The place had a lot of pink and was clearly targeted at girls around my age, maybe a bit older, however, we were told that they are starting to try to make it more acceptable for men, and they are also trying to change sparkling wines from being just for celebrations to being a good wine for any time (light enough even for the morning).  The place also had a chocolate store, and our bus driver, Mike, was kind enough to ask them to bring out samples for us, so we got to have chocolate covered coffee beans, chili chocolate (super spicy), fudge, and chocolate rocks.  It was so nice of him and of course delicious. (I probably gained a few pounds from this trip)

Our next winery was Brokenwood.  It was pretty small and quaint, and apparently sells one of Hunter Valley's nicest wines, Graveyard, but it was all sold out when we came.  One of the nice parts about our visit at Brokenwood, is that we were poured a glass of wine, and then went out to hear about the vineyard, then poured another then went to see all the barrels.  It was nice learning about the wine making process and seeing where it is made.  The experience was really nice, though I don't really have good notes since we were walking around.

Tasting wines the right way

Top to Bottom: Lindsay, Pam, Melanie

Lindsay, Melanie, Belinda

The last place we went was my personal favorite (most people liked either this one or the first).  Tyrrells, like Drayton, is one of the oldest (it's unclear which is older), and still owned by the original family.  We saw a Shiraz vineyard that is 133 years old.  We were even able to meet John, one of the Tyrrell sons, who wandered around with us.  Here again, we got to walk around and hear about their process and see where everything was done.  It felt so real and not fake and they showed us exactly where everything was done.  It also had a beautiful view.  Here, they let us try two Semillons to compare, I believe it was one 6 month, one 6 year? Something like that.  The older was much more like honey, yet light.  I loved it.  The rest of the wines we drank outside, which was fun sitting at a picnic table together trying wines.  It was very homey and comfortable.

The Tyrrell's original house

The old and the new (All of the vines are clones of one, you take a branch and plant it and it grows its own roots, also the thicker the vine, the older it is) The old here is dying so they have replaced it.

The 2 Semillons

Fun anecdote, we were driving and suddenly the driver stopped short and we all asked what happened and Pam told us we almost hit a kangaroo! Sadly none of the rest of us saw it.  Then later Kate and Gaynor told us all to look out the window there were kangaroos! But again no one saw them... So I have now come very close to seeing wild kangaroos.  Hopefully soon I'll actually see them.

List of wines I drank: (no this does not have them all, since some places were hard to take notes at)

Tamburlaine:
Savignon Blanc- Semillon: very crisp (I bought this one)
Chardonnay: creamy, fruity taste
Rose: fruity strawberry taste (I bought this one too)
Cabernet Merlot: smooth cranberry taste
Shiraz: smooth but a peppery after taste (this was my least favorite)
Late picked Riesling (dessert wine): tasted like honey
Raspberry Liqueur: exactly what it sounds like (Lindsay, Pam, Melanie and I bought a bottle to split and eat as a sauce on vanilla ice cream)

Drayton: (disclaimer: these weren't as smooth or easy to drink for me, so while they were still good wines they were not my favorite and while I did try them all, I passed a few down the row for Ridge and Brendan to finish off)
Unwooded Chardonnay: smooth but some acid
Berdelho: crisp
Moscato: strawberry, peach, flowery, honeysuckle
Merlot
Shiraz Cabernet: I thought it tasted like dirt
Shiraz: dry
White port: honey, jam, apricot
Jungle Juice (not the same as what we call jungle juice): very sweet
White chocolate dessert wine and dark chocolate dessert wines (exactly what they sound like, I preferred the dark chocolate)

Tempus Two:
Semillon: crisp and lime, lemon aftertaste (I liked)
Pinot Gris: fresh, apple and pear
Sauvignon Blanc: fruity and crisp (I liked)
Moscato: pear (I liked)
Pink moscato: creamy, strawberry
Tempranillo: spicy but I liked it
Young Shiraz (only bottled 16 weeks, they're usually bottled for 40 before selling so they settle): peppery
Cabernet Sauvignon: pepper and plum (I liked it)
Botrytis Semillon (dessert wine): honey, peach, apricot, passionfruit (yum yum yum)

Peterson Sparkling:
Cuvee (blend of pinot noir, semillon, chardonnay)
Semillon Pinot (bigger bubbles)
Pinot Chardonnay
Pink Blush: flowery, strawberry (I liked this one)
Raspberry and Cranberry Apple Cider: well balanced and I bought a bottle
Sparkling reds:
Shiraz Tempranillo: cherry
Chambourcin: plum, peppery aftertaste (I liked this one)
Red Zinfindel
Botrytis Semillon: honey, pear, passion fruit, pineapple

Field Trips around Sydney!

Two field trips in two days!

Tuesday our wine class went to McMahons Point (North Sydney).  First of all, Gaynor and Kate, our teachers, told us to meet them there, giving us slightly vague directions which included "If you're unsure, go downhill".  Luckily, 15/18 from our class all decided to head over together (Taylor (boy) and Marcela biked and Scott skateboarded with them).  Anyway it's good we all went together, since we got slightly confused and ended up a bit late, but it was most of us so they couldn't just start without us.  Despite leaving at the same time, the personal transportation people beat us who took the train.  After taking a while to just figure out what train tickets we need, and then having all 15 of us buy them, and missing at least 2 trains while in the station, we finally got to North Sydney (the train went across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the view was AMAZING! like every other view in this city, though they never cease to amaze), where we then could not decide which way we were supposed to go.  We started walking downhill, but then realized we weren't at the right street.  We finally got to the correct street and THEN walked downhill and found Kate and Gaynor.

As for the actual field trip, we went to a restaurant with a wine store in front called Delicado foods, A Taste of Spain.  Ben, the owner and sommelier, talked to us about wine tasting and food matching and how he started.  I've realized you don't always need to know EVERYTHING I learn though so I'll keep some of it to myself.  He played a game with us where we have a wine and everyone is standing (although we sat since we were a bit too crowded) he asks a question and gives different choices for the answer, so say the question is "is this red or white" you raise your left hand if it's red and right if it's white, and then if you get it right you stay standing and if you're wrong you're out (though we didn't do that part).  Anyway I think I got one wine completely right so that was fun.  We also got little food plates to see what we liked with different wine, so Taylor (girl), Belinda, and I shared one (we were lucky we just had us 3, most people had to share between 4. Yes, we were hungry)

Wines I liked:
1.  2011 Pinot Grigio from Victoria (an Australian region)
2.  2009 Chardonnay from Hunter Valley (another Aus. region)- particularly when I ate it with the Comte French cheese, which cut the acid

I wasn't as big a fan of the Shiraz Cabernet from Barossa (another Aus. region), although when I had it with apple I liked that combo (better than when I tried it with the cheese too).

More fun descriptions of the smell of wine: led pencil

We didn't stay to eat lunch in the restaurant, but it was very cute, so I may go back sometime.  Afterward, Ben told us that down the hill all the way at the bottom was one of the best views of the harbour, called Blues Point.  He did NOT lie.  Almost our whole class opted to go down and check it out, and we were not disappointed.  I also stuck my feet in the ocean!  Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on me, although other people did so hopefully I'll see pictures soon.  It was also a great time for our class to all get to know each other better, and the weather was perfect so we just hung out on the grass and by the water for a while.
Then a few of us, Alex V (girl), Ridge, George, Melanie, Brendan and I decided to try to find the "secret garden" that Ben also told us about.  I'm not sure we found the exact thing, but we did find a nice park with a beautiful garden on the way down the steps.  We played for a while on the playground (they had a great slide, seesaw, spinny thing, and more) and then found more water and sat there for a little while.  You never remember when you're going downhill, though, that you have to go back up, which we did.  Overall it was a very fun field trip.


Wednesday we started our modules (electives within our culture class).  For the Aboriginal module, our first class was a field trip! We met our new teacher, Jenny, in Hyde Park at the fountain.  She is Wiradjuri, which refers both to her people and her country (it is like a tribe, and their certain land, about 6 hour drive outside of Sydney).  She brought us around Sydney, many spots which we have been to before, and told us about the Aborigine history of those places.  For one thing, we learned that the layout (hills and valleys and ponds) of the land is the same as it has been forever, except for the harbour, where the land has been built up a bit more.  As we walked, she showed us a tree that looks like Eucalyptus but is not, that the leaves, if put on a fire, create a white smoke.  She told us that aborigines tend not to have clear boundaries, and certainly have no fences or anything, so in order to have privacy, since there were no doors to close, they built fires, warning other people that someone was there.  Another plant she showed us has small spikes and she said they can be used to heal warts.

Our tour took us through the Botanic Gardens, which I actually have not yet visited.  Just walking through the gate the smells were amazing.  I'll have to go back sometime (there are free tours).  And through a park where we saw another kookaburra sitting on a soccer goal post.  The park on weekends apparently has all these boxes sitting out and people come and talk about whatever they want.  Sounds fun to go check out sometime.  Anyway, so Jenny told us about how in the first encounter between aboriginals and the white people the aboriginals weren't even sure what gender the people were since they were all covered in clothing, until one of the men had to use the bathroom and it broke the ice and the aborigines started feeling a bit more comfortable.

We also walked by the New South Whales Art Gallery, which took a very long time to get Aboriginal art in it, and even now they sometimes debate whether it counts as art or as artifacts.  Weird.  I'll hopefully get over there too sometime.

So then later on we had class and got to draw! She told us and showed us some dreaming (origin stories of tribes), and told us the organization of groups: there are tribes, each tribe has 2 nations, each nation has 2 totems/skins.  Jenny's totem happens to be a goanna (lizard).  She then went on to tell us about how marriage works.  You cannot marry someone in your own clan (it's like marrying your cousin), but you should marry someone in the other clan in your nation.  After that it's a bit complicated without my beautiful drawings to explain much more so I'm not going to bother.  But there's a cool family dynamic where your closer relationship is with your grandparents, who are the same totem as you, and have to teach you about the background and traditions of your totem, and act as your teachers.  Relationships with parents are more distanced, but respectful.  Anyway, again you don't need to hear everything about my class, but basically I am fascinated and LOVING getting to learn about aboriginals.

Oh quick fun facts:
Aboriginals were called natives until white people born in Australia started calling themselves natives to differentiate themselves from immigrants.  In Latin, "nat"=birth 'ive'=belong by. So native is belonging by birth.  Still in latin, "ab"=from, 'origin'=beginning, so aboriginals are the people who were here from the beginning.  The only problem, is with the word aborigine comes non-aborigine, which gives an "other" type feel.

Sad fact, Aboriginals make up 2% of the Australian population, but 25% of the criminal population.

One more fun fact, 1974 was when the last group of Aboriginals left the desert (that's ridiculously recent!) and there are still people alive who remember what it was like to see white men for the first time.  We watched the beginning of a documentary on it which was so interesting.  There was also a disclaimer at the beginning that there would be the use of names of people who were dead.  Jenny told us it's because they don't like to say the names of dead people so that they can let the spirits be free, and so as not to cause distress to those still alive.

Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree

This weekend has been a lot of fun.

Friday I went with Julie, Lindsay, Rachel, and Chris to the Powerhouse Museum.  It wasn't my favorite, and I probably wasn't in the biggest museum mood.  I also thought there would be more interactive parts, but anyway, I did really enjoy a cool lace exhibit.  It had everything from lace shoes to tea pots.  Some of it was really beautiful, and some really odd.  There was also a cool fashion faith section, with different modest yet fashionable outfits (most with headscarves).  We had heard before we went that you could try chocolate, so we were really excited, but it ended up being this video where you learned about chocolate, and at the end it was supposed to give you some (as in a few chocolate chips of different flavors), but sometimes it didn't work (the most exciting was when we got 5 in one shot).

Rachel, Chris, Lindsay, and Julie waiting for chocolate

Friday night and Saturday were pretty calm, lots of reading.  Then last night I went with Lindsay, Julie, and Chris (and we met up with a lot more people) to Argyle again, and then Pancakes on the Rocks.  This time Lindsay, Julie, and I split buttermilk pancakes with blueberries and ice cream.  They were amazing and splitting it 3 ways was perfect.  We then still weren't tired and the three of us and Melanie took a cab to Scubar since it's close to where we live, so it was easy to get home from.  It was quite a late night but a lot of fun.

I then got up this morning to go to the Taronga Zoo with people from my floor! Our RA, Sarah, set up an event and 11 of us joined her.  The weather was perfect (conveniently, since yesterday, despite being the first day of spring, smelled like snow and felt like winter).  The zoo is on a hill that overlooks the city, so we kept getting these beautiful views of the city.  The animals, of course, were amazing.  We went to the seal show and the bird show, and yes, I finally saw kangaroos and koalas!  One of the boys, Mike, wore a penguin shirt just for the occasion, but then, despite going back to the penguin exhibit twice, we never saw any penguins! Apparently at this time of year they don't come out too often.  There were a few funny animals, like the dholes and the binturong.  We also saw a kookaburra which was so exciting and now I have the song stuck in my head  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fO1je3Oxg .

Elephants seen from the Sky Safari

KOALA!

Seal Show

Binturongs Eating

Sarah (our RA)

Kangaroo

Kookaburra sits in the tree

We then left, and, being hungry, 9 of us stopped at a place for potato wedges (with sour cream and sweet chili sauce) (and some people got beers).  I don't know why the zoo made us all so hungry, although food in the zoo was outrageously priced (Scott and Sarah each got a combo of a snack (chips or candy bar) and a soda for $9).  Anyway, so at the pub the tvs were on of course and I saw rugby and Australian football.  I learned that in rugby the reason they don't wear any padding is because it would cause more injury to their heads and the way they hit its more aimed at the body.  And I couldn't understand what was going on in the football game at all. It's a very different sport.

Alright, I know I don't always make it clear that I'm taking classes here, but I do need to go work on my presentation for wine class. Cheers!