London Riots

What is the world coming to?

First Norway now this? I hope the violence ends soon. My thoughts are with all of those in London who just want to feel safe again. I hope all of the rioters and looters get caught and pay for what they have done!

Photos of the riots in London:
http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/world/london-riots-spread-as-police-lose-control-20110809-1ijoi.html
http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/world/riot-grips-london-20110807-1ih76.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-09/rioting-in-london/2830298?section=world

8 Days to go

Only eight days left....

This will probably be the most difficult week so far! I am very excited to go home but I do not want to leave Australia.

Things I'm looking forward to at home:
There's a lot but the main things I can think of right now...

• My Family!
• Friends!
• Senior year at U of I!
• My birthday 8 days after I get home! The Big 21!
• Being back in Chambana and campustown!
• The organizations I'm involved in including 1867 Society, Alpha Zeta, ACT,  Pi Phi and AAF... great organizations to be involved in!
• Living in my apartment with my roommate Lauren 
• Every sunday attempting to cook for my friends Cory, Carl and Alfred so I know how to cook my favorite dishes when I'm back in Australia :D... aka Mac and Cheese haha... these are brave men... just ask Terry.
• Also my dad's famous sweet corn!
• SUN!!!! I'm so pale! I've literally gone from winter/rainy weather in the States to winter/rainy weather in Australia....
• Excited to share all the new things I've learned and continue developing my skills!
• American food!!!

Thing I'm going to miss about Australia:
Again there's a lot but the important thing are...

• *<3 Terry <3*
• (even though I'll see him soon after I return... only 4 months apart... that's not long at all)
• Terry's family and friends
• Everyone at The Land and everyone I've met during my internship!
• Driving on the left side of the road
• Driving over the Syndey Harbour Bridge
• Tax included so I know exactly how much I need to pay (Ex. McDonalds ice cream in Aus is $0.50 .... in the US it says $1 on the menu but it's really $1.12)
• News... the news here is so much more informative than back home... I know more about what's going on around the world and in the US than I ever have watching or reading new in the States.
• Not worrying about tipping people
• Winter is more like early American Fall... so it's not that bad...
• The wonderful landscape and evironment when driving or walking around
• The beach .... only went once but I don't have beaches in central Illinois.
• TimTams! =D

Things I wont miss

• Vegimite
• Beetroot (sorry Terry)
• Crazy people on public transporation that always seem to find me

Preserving a copy of every book ever published!

This is amazing! Hats off to this guy!

Internet pioneer's new project - to preserve a copy of every book ever published

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/internet-pioneers-new-project-to-preserve-a-copy-of-every-book-ever-published/story-e6frfro0-1226106431988#ixzz1TpcB1FZM

More on Norway

Just incase anyone is staying up to date on the Norway attack BBC has a lot of video and interviews of survivors and information about the shooter.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14260297

U v A #2

I've been meaning to post this for awhile... there's a few more that I've forgotten to write down.


This one has the aussie terms first then the US term

• Thongs = Sandals but also the underwear
• Entre = Appetizers
• (On a menu in the US it goes Appetizer or starters, Entre, Dessert. In Australia it goes Entre or Starters, Mains, Dessert)
• Chips = Fries
• Pissed = Drunk
• Sunnies = Sun Glasses
• Indicators = Turn Signals
• Chewy = Gum (Chewing Gum… get it?)
• Makkers = McDonalds
• 'Mc' is pronounced MAC in Australia where in the US it's pronounced mick
• Lipton Iced Tea = Iced Tea
• Trolly = Shopping Cart
• Ram = Stroller

I-L-L! I-N-I!

After seeing so many articles about the US I was curious to see what would come up if I searched "Illinois" in the article search at smh.com.au

These are some of the articles that come up!

•  University of Illinois
• http://news.smh.com.au/technology/fastest-supercomputer-will-be-built-at-university-of-illinois-20070809-sdb.html
• http://news.smh.com.au/technology/microsoft-and-intel-join-u-of-calif-and-u-of-illinois-to-push-parallel-computing-20080319-20d0.html
• This is why I use AT&T
• http://news.smh.com.au/technology/illinois-top-court-denies-appeal-in-sprint-case-20080513-2dgu.html
• Oh Boy... Blagojevich made it overseas....
• http://www.smh.com.au/world/exgovernor-guilty-in-plot-to-sell-obamas-senate-seat-20110628-1gnza.html
• Chicago news
• http://www.smh.com.au/world/alibi-undone-after-50-years-ticket-may-solve-murder-mystery-20110705-1h00w.html
• This happened and I didn't even know about it until now!
• http://www.smh.com.au/world/man-shoots-three-after-asking-about-bees-20101006-166yr.html

Norway

There as been so many tragedies this week. The one that I can't seem to stop following is the bomb and shooting in Norway.

My heart goes out to the country and all of the survivors, families and friends and anyone affected by this terrible act of violence.

This is the most recent article from SMH with a girl texting her mom during the shooting.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/people-are-dying-here-daughters-texts-to-mother-during-norway-rampage-20110728-1i0tl.html’

 

It is almost unreal to think about what the mother and daughter were going through. It also makes me thankful for the technology we have today that can help in these situations.

 

Though with all of the hacking stories, technology today is also a bit scary.

 

I was watching an interview of one of the locals who helped save some of the students. She said when she was driving up to police officers the 7 students in her car were yelling and screaming telling her not to stop, because the man shooting had disguisedas a police officer.

 

Another article/video discussed the psychological state of the survivor. It talked about the biggest problems they will face are the guilt they will feel and how hard it is going to be to get over that anything can happen at any moment.

 

The great thing about this is how the country and everyone comes together for support. Over 100,000 people participated in a rose march.

 

Again, my heart and thoughts are with those in Norway.

 

As the Aussies say, "Least We Forget"

 

(hope that's in the right context)

Only 3 weeks left

At this point I have really mixed feelings. I am really enjoying what I am doing and this experience has been so great! I also really love Australia and of course enjoy speding time with my boyfriend and his family.

On the other hand I am finding myself getting a little home sick. Things I am missing are my family, friends, certain American foods, random appliances like my parents washing machine and dryer (I have a washing and drying machine to use but it's just not the same) haha and I'm surprisingly really looking forward to my classes and for uni to resume. Oh and the sun... I really need to start coming to Australia during their summer.

Being involved in a lot of organizations at University I am also having to think about things I have to do before I get back and things to do once I am back. This has been harder than I expected because I'm half way across the world and I'm busier here than I thought I would be too.

Email, facebook, and skype have helped a lot keeping in touch with everyone so my home sickness isn't really that bad but it does get to you every now and then... especially when you love mac and cheese and you can't find the right cheese to make it.

St Leonards

Last week I spent time at the Rural Press office in St Leonards. It was once again a great experience!

This office does most of the advertising sales for the Rural Press papers in Australia. They also do other things including research on their readers.

The office
The office is a lot smaller and not as overwhelming as the Pyrmont office. It was only a few blocks from the train station which was also great especially when is was raining. It took less than an hour to get there from Glebe. The people are all very friendly and made me feel very welcome. Even people that I wasn't really working with took time out of their day to chat with me.

Work

• They weren't sure what they had for me at first though I was very lucky and smart for bringing my laptop because they didn't have a available computer for me and I have all the design programs on my computer. This really came in handy when they asked me to design an invitation for a client! =D
• One of the women in the office does the research on the readers of all the papers and one of the things she's been concentrating on is Rural Health. There are a few companies that she wants to present to and have example of their ads in our papers to show them how and why they should advertise in the rural papers. She asked me to create some ad mock ups for her.
• To create ad mock ups I needed to first research the company and get pictures of their product from the internet. Then I created an ad in Photoshop.... after that I used InDesign to layout pages to look like The Land (thank you sub-editing experience at The Land! and Dr. Abrams for making our class learn how to use InDesign!)

I only had four days at this office but it was the best 4 days I've had! I really like designing and using these types of programs! It also gave me some more things to add to my portfolio!

I'll try to post some of my work or add it to my online portfolio! =)

Photos! Finally =)

Beautiful view of the city on my way to work.

Me driving in Australia! On my way to work. This was taken at a red light =)

Office in Richmond. So beautiful! It's up on a hill so it has a beautiful view from the windows too.

Rural Press Printing Press... this building is huge and right across the parking lot (I mean car park)!

And the office has a pool... not for this time of year but would be great during the summer!

Fairfax building in Pyrmont in the city! This is where I have been for a week! 

During lunch near my office. The Harbor Bridge is so close!

Out side the Pyrmont office during lunch. See the Harbor Bridge in the back? =D

iPad

Fairfax Digital has been working on improving their two apps "SMH" and "The Age". They're both big news papers in Australia, SMH (Sydney Morning Herald) is in NSW and "The Age" is in Victoria.

This week I was supposed to start work experience at the Fairfax office in St Leonards but on Friday one of the CEO's came to me with a project and now I am spending one more day at the Fairfax office in Pyrmont.

One of the things (of many things) the digital office does is run and work on the apps for the iPad. The advertising people create really cool interactive advertisements that show up while you're using the app. Another section of the office works are uploading the stories to the app. The SMH app and The Age app are currently uploaded in the different offices. My job was to look at the stories in each app and see which were the same but had different headlines or had slight differences. Their working on uploading the same stories on both apps but right now it's a bit difficult to do when each office is running their own applications.

So for two days I have got to have my laptop and two iPads in front of me :D I love technology!

I would definitely check out the apps if you have the ability too. I think you can get all the information you need at smh.com.au or theage.com.au 

Lady Gaga video

Here is the video that I helped edit... unfortunately I didn't get to help interview.

This was originally a 10minute interview that was cut down:

http://media.smh.com.au/entertainment/red-carpet/lady-gaga-our-differences-make-us-the-same-2489450.html

I think Lady Gaga is very good at interviews, she actually seems normal with the occasional cooky answers.

Lady Gaga In Australia

I've been getting some work experience at the Fairfax Digital Office in Pyrmont (in Sydney).

Yesterday I was hanging around the video guys who film and edit videos for online. Near the end of the day one of the guys was given a Lady Gaga interview to shorten for online.

I sat and watched as he edited it and even gave some of my input :D It was originally a 10 minute interview and had to be cut down to this 2min 30sec clip! (Watch below)

http://media.smh.com.au/entertainment/red-carpet/lady-gaga-our-differences-make-us-the-same-2489450.html

Also the guy that was editing this video had a picture on his phone of Lady Gaga coming out of her hotel! It was a really clear photo of her on his iPhone. He just happened to be walking by, not knowing what the crowed was for.

My goal for the year, learn Final Cut Pro X... so much cooler than iMovie!

Few Up-Dates

It's been a busy two weeks. I have a few more posts coming up but until then here's a short overview of my last two weeks. =)

Last week of June
- I did a lot of sub-editing which I am enjoying very much
-I went up to Darwin to welcome Terry home from Afghanistan (for those that don't know Terry is my wonderful boyfriend)

Last week
-Same old same old, wrote some stories for online (I will post them up later)
-Helped sub edit some videos
-Moved my stuff down to Picton to stay there

This week
-I'm working at the Fairfax Digital Office this week in Pyrmont! It's been great!
-Monday my head exploded learning about all the different areas of Fairfax digital and trying to grasp my head around how big the company is.
-Today I got to see what the video production people do, I saw two shows filmed and watch (and helped a little) a guy edit a interview to go online of Lady Gaga who is currently in Australia!


I've always been a little worried that I have so many interests and keep trying to figure out what I like or want to do the most. This week I've learned it's better to know and be able to do a lot because you'll end up doing a few jobs in one (which makes it hard for people to break down their job when I ask them 'so what is it that you do exactly').

I'll try to post some picture soon!

More posts to come! =)

Feeling of Success!

Yesterday I had my first ever published article in a newspaper! =) ....  I think I'll frame it!

It's such a great feeling when you see your name with and article that you've written! It helps build your confidence and it's just really exciting!

Here's the online version! I'll try to post the picture of it later!

http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/become-a-young-rising-champion/2203861.aspx

2nd Day Driving to work - Tuesday June 21st

Do not worry I am not writing about every single day that I drive. I just had a new experience driving today that I felt I should share.

Today I left at 7:30am since yesterday I was more than 30minutes early leaving at 7am. I got onto the Harbor Bridge fine today and onto the M7 perfectly… I just missed my exit from the M7 and ended up 20 minutes further on the M5 for a 40 minute detour.

There was a lot more traffic this morning and I must have been too busy passing the large trucks that were taking over the road and missed my exit onto Richmond Rd.

I was 20minutes late, so if I would have taken the correct exit I would have been on time. I’ll get it right eventually…

First Time Driving to Work - Monday June 20th

The night before I Google mapped the directions to and from work and wrote them down on an easy to read yet small paper (so I wouldn’t be fiddling around while driving). Thanks to the wonderful Google maps ‘street view’ I was able to see what the different intersections and ramps looked like (which actually really helped!).

GOING TO WORK

I left 30 minutes earlier than I normally would, just in case. I was doing fine getting out of Forest Lodge and I found my way to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It was pretty easy with the BIG signs and BIG arrows, they're kind of hard to miss. I remember Hailey telling me to stay to the right at all times on my way to the bridge, but I found myself in the left hand lane and was trying to squeeze my way into the right lane but was starting to get a little overwhelmed with all of the cars zooming by.  I finally saw that I missed the turn on to the Harbor Bridge so I kept going and followed a sign to Darling Harbor. I know where Darling Harbor is so I kept going firguring that I could find my way to the bridge from there. Instead of turning towards Darling Harbor I took a chance and followed my guy to the opposite way. I then saw a sign for Glebe, so I knew I could always just start over in Glebe. BUT THEN I saw a nice BIG sign for the bridge and continued on to that. Finally I was back on track making only that one 3-5 minute detour... SUCCESS!

The drive to Richmond is pretty straight foraward. Thanks to Google Maps and Hailey (who previously took the drive with me on Saturday) I knew which signs to look for. Once I got into Richmond I knew my way around and was feeling much better. I stopped at Macca's (McDonalds) to treat myself with a hot chocolate Yummm.

Now to get home...

GOING HOME

The way home was nice and easy, it was the driving at night part that was difficult this time. It was a little more difficult because seeing car lights from the right hand side were throwing me off a bit.

Big Trucks

Even in the US I don’t like driving next to big Semi Trailers or long trucks. On my way home  I was trying to pass one but the cars infront of me weren’t going any faster so I was stuck next to a big semi L I was not happy. Though I was able to keep myself calm and laugh at myself because I was literally talking to myself say “You’re okay, you’re fine… no worries… breath”

STOP!

Don’t you love it when people slam on their breaks in front of you on a busy highway?! I surely don’t! When this happened I could just picture my car slamming into the car in front of me… good thing my breaks work and I avoided this vision.

Accidents Cause Traffic.

It took me 30minutes longer to get home because there was an accident on the ANZAC Bridge. It was stop and go traffic for one lane trying to go off to the right. It didn't help that we had to wait for a stop light…. Welcome to city traffic.

The Apple Bar - Saturday June 18

Today I had time to skype with my wonderful family back in the States. I got to talk with my cousins, aunt and uncle who I rarely see and a few more friends who are enjoying the warm summer in Champaign (I'm a little jealous). It’s great how being away can bring you closer to people.

Hailey and I drove to pick up Terry’s new car =) It’s so ‘Purdy’! I followed her to Richmond so I could see how I will get to work. Then we parked my car at the office and took Terry’s new car to The Apple Bar.

The Apple Bar (which is in the Blue Mountains) is a really cute casual restaurant and bar about 20minutes away from Richmond. They are known for their wood-fire cooked pizza’s. Being an American who loves pizza, and have been craving a good extra cheesy pizza, so I was excited to eat here. The pizza was very cheesy and had a great wood-fire taste to it. We also got garlic bread and salad which we ended up getting to-go boxes for. The menu showed a few apple beers and mixed drinks which I would be excited to go back and try when I didn’t have to drive.

It gets two thumbs up from me. Good place to go if you are ever in the area :)

Coonamble Rodeo and Campdraft - June 12th

This was my first Rodeo and I feel lucky to experience it in Australia. I went to the 2011 Landmark Coonamble Rodeo and Campdraft on one of the three day weekend event. It was so much fun and a great experience. I love the country atmosphere; I love it in the U.S and in Australia. Everyone is just more laid back, having fun and willing to help you out.


I went with Holly, who is the same age as me and started the day before I did, so it was also fun to spend time with her.


I felt very lame walking around, everyone else was riding their horses around… I need to get me a horse… or a pony :D


Americans

• They had the US and Canadian Flag up with the Australian flag :D
• We were talking with a few people and one of them told us we had to talk to this guy that just got back from America. I misheard him and thought he said he’s American. Once I heard him speak I realized what he said, though it was still exciting.
• It took a few people a while to pick up my accent! :P Wonder if I’m starting to sound like an aussie :D

Music

• Country music is the same. I heard a lot of songs that I knew… It's always fun when find similarities to back home.
• Yes the have played 'Party In the USA' here (not at the rodeo.. just in general. To answer a question from one of my friends)

Rodeo Events

• Bull Riding was awesome to watch except when the guys would fall or got hurt.
• I was taking videos of the events, when I rewatched some of the bull riders I reacted with “oooo ouch” like I did when I was there. Some of it was hard to watch.
• There were 8 year olds riding bull (smaller bulls, but still!) Those are some brave kids and parents!
• One guy fell and the bull stepped on his face… there was a lot of blood but he was okay and was later walking around with a bandage over his face with just one eye, his nose and mouth showing.
• Womens barrel racing! This was hard to video tape because I would find myself moving my head to watch rather than the camera! I really enjoyed this one, they were ridding really fast!
• Team roping. It was fun to watch because they make it look so easy. It’s hard enough to ride and control a horse but to use the rope too! That takes skills.
• Campdraft. This is the traditional and one of the oldests events. It is not as exciting and entertaining as the other events but you can tell it still takes a lot of skills and I found it enjoyable to watch.

I have to say again that this was such a great experience! Everyone was helpful and we got some great pictures and videos! I want to go again, for the whole weekend! :)

Central Tablelands Livestock Exchange near Corcoar - Friday June 10th

This sale was much different than the first two. The bulls were grouped in pens, rather than being sold individually they were sold in groups (some pens had two groups in one). This sale more loud than smelly. There were over a thousand steers in the shed. This was a very fast pace sale. The auctioneers had a headset on and one guy would hold a speaker so you could actually hear him talking. The buyers and spectators would walk around to the next pen rather than a show ring like the other two.

This was another day trip but was shorter for us because we didn’t stay the entire time, or else we would have been there past dark and we had a long drive back. I just went around and took video of the steers and some of the auction. Then we interviewed one of the sponsors to get his opinion of the sale.

I had my boots this time ($20 from Target… yes they have Target in Australia). So my feet were nice and protected from the mud and poo.

Driving In Australia

So many stories and so little time to write!

My stories from the last 4 weeks may not be in order but I will do my best to fill you all in on my amazing time down under.

This was a while ago but I still wanted to share my first experience driving in Australia! Hailey drove us to Picton where their house is. From there she let me drive to the tennis courts/gardens which is a good 3 minute drive.

Turing on the Car.

Getting into the car was really different. The steering wheal is on the right hand side of the car where the passenger usually sits in the US. Using my left hand to put the car into reverse felt very strange, thank goodness the brakes and gas peddle are the same!

Driving.

Backing out was fine, I took my time. Then driving forward wasn’t bad until other cars started coming on the other side of the road. The cars travelling in the opposite direction come up on my right hand side, where in the US I’m used to seeing them on my left. I had a hard time staying close to the center line because I was afraid of hitting the oncoming cars. This was scaring Hailey when we went under the bridge and I was getting really close to hitting the wall on her side.

Turning.

I was trying really hard to remember that I use my right had to turn on the indicators (turn signals) but of course I put the windshield wipers on instead. I think everyone has done that.

Parking.

The first time parking was easy because all I had to do was pull straight in but it was still a little difficult judging the space between my car and the car to my left. The second time parking was in a Coles carpark (Coles is like a Walgreens or a mini Walmart). There were two open spots and I was trying to go into the furthest one but ended up parking perfectly into the closest one right next to it. Oops

Driving At Night.

From Picton we drove to Wollongong where we were staying that night. Driving at night on my first day was a little scary but a very good experience. The scary part was the bright lights coming over the hill on my right. I would just blink really hard when one came over a hill until one time I actually moved the wheel a bit. Like driving anywhere it’s harder to drive at night especially when you don’t know where you’re going and you’re not used to the roads.

Driving in the City.

Just when I thought I was getting used to driving here we got into the city. I was still concentrating really hard to stay in my lane and not go off to the left. In the city you have cars all around you switching lanes, speeding up, slowing down and who know what else. Let’s just say the first time driving in the city on my second day of driving was another great experience but was like throwing someone in the deep end to teach them how to swim. At least I didn’t drown!

Parallel Parking.
This wasn't too bad. I hit the curb a little which I expected I would do. It was just a different feeling parking on the left side of the road... and on a steep hill. We just don't have hills in Illinois.

BIG THANKS to Hailey for being so calm and taking me driving! =)

Macaroni and Cheese

Oh how I miss my Krafts Macaroni and Cheese! I've got the blues.... (get it?).

You’re not the same here. The only Mac and Cheese available is the “Snack Pack” which is NOT a good representation of American Mac and Cheese. In fact I was very disappointed. Mom and Dad… send me a couple boxes of Mac and Cheese Please :D

Articles/Videos as of June 16

Here is a list of my articles and videos that have been published online so far. :)

Articles

• Big Brother to track wild dogs
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/big-brother-to-track-wild-dogs/2174740.aspx
• Cooking a corker pork
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/livestock/pigs/cooking-a-corker-pork/2180618.aspx
• Mice war rages across a million hectares
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/grains-and-cropping/general/mice-war-rages-across-a-million-hectares/2184224.aspx

Videos

• CTLX weaner steers to $640
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/multimedia/24690/ctlx-weaner-steers-to-740.aspx?page=1
• Coonamble Rodeo draws a crowd
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/multimedia/24650/coonamble-rodeo-draws-a-crowd.aspx?page=1
• Dubbo National Poll Hereford Show and Sale
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/multimedia/24481/dubbo-national-poll-hereford-show-and-sale.aspx?page=1
• Palgrove Scone bull sale
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/multimedia/24471/palgrove-scone-bull-sale.aspx?page=1

50th Dubbo National Poll Hereford Show and Sale

This sale was a lot bigger than the first one I went to. We left late afternoon Monday and stayed the night in a nice motel in Dubbo. Monday was the show but others that covered that, and Carla and I were there to cover the sale which was on Tuesday.


These bull were a lot nicer looking because they were groomed. One difference Carla pointed out to me was that in the U.S people spend a lot more time preparing their animal for the show and sale than Australians do. It’s a lot more competitive in the States. At this sale I was able to walk around more and get different angles for my videos and pictures. The top price bull at this sale was $46,000 ←this is not a typo. I couldn’t believe it! This was the top price bull, the other high price bulls were in the $20,000 (still wow!).


I took video footage of the top price bulls and bulls that had won a ribbon from the show. After the sale we talked to a few people, interviewed the guy that bought the top price bull and I got to see bulls and their new owners get their picture taken. It was a lot colder in Dubbo, very strong winds, which didn’t help.
It was different than the first one but similar enough to where I felt a little more comfortable moving around to take pictures. Though I was missing one thing very important… BOOTS!... I just had tennis shoes (trainers) on and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking and slipped in a pile of cow poo… I almost fell backwards but caught myself! … that could have been very bad! And smelly.

First Livestock Sale

I went to my first Livestock sale two weeks ago. I haven’t been to one in the US so this was a completely new experience for me.  I have been to three so far.

Palgrove Scone Bull Sale

This sale was just a day trip so we left in the morning drove about 3 hours to Scone and stayed there for about 3-4 hours then drove back to Richmond. I was really nervous and didn’t know what to expect (even though I frantically emailed a few professors and fellow ag comm. students from back home for advice … THANKS GUYS =D you all really did help )

I went with Carla who is the livestock journalist for The Land. She has been to Canada and Colorado for a few shows and sales so it was great to be able to ask her about the differences between the different countries.

When we first arrived we walked around to look at the different bulls that were for sale. It was very smelly but you kind of get used to it after a while… until the wind blows in the wrong direction. This was a smaller sale then the next one I was going to. This sale had only about 50 bull for sale and they brought out two at a time.

We sat down in the front row of the ring, it wasn’t set up where we could walk around so we stayed in our seats (plus I was too nervous to move). I took a lot of video and a few pictures but because this wasn’t a show the bulls weren’t very groomed or clean. These bulls weren’t the prettiest bulls to look at for someone like me who wasn’t able to tell the difference between them.

The auction part was really exciting. I still don’t understand why auctioneers have to talk so fast. The auctioneers were funny though. If two people were bidding back and fourth and one took longer to bid the auctioneer would start calling him or her out. The auctioneers were really good and the sale went extremely well.  The highest price bull was about $10,000 and the sale average was around $6,500.

After the sale we spoke to a few people and took pictures of the high price bull then took some social pictures. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERSTING.

Carla took the pictures and I was in charge of getting names. Well, just like the US where people have different accents depending on if you live in the south, east coast, Midwest, the city, the country etc… Australia is the same. Some guys are a bit harder to understand but the country guys are a lot harder to understand.

Trouble #1:

I was having a hard time with a guy that was one of the sponsors (but I didn’t know this yet). After a few tries and heaps of apologies from me he finally say "It’s that name on the big sign over there"… and sure enough his name was on the sign… the biggest sponsor sign there!

Trouble #2:

I was taking the names of two young men and young woman (probably not much older than me). The last guy I couldn’t get and he was joking around giving me a hard time and finally Carla says “Sorry she’s from the U.S, I’ll have to teach her the alphabet when we get back”. I’m glad she said this because it lighten the mood but we both noticed that not all of them were picking up my accent. Carla ended up getting his name for me.

Trouble #3:

This is the worst. Australians and Americans pronounce letters differently. Ball sounds like Bowl because they pronounce Ball like it’s spelled Baoll. (If that makes sense).

I wrote down "Bowl" for the last name and the woman was trying to correct me. She eventually was spelling it out for me but between being flustered and my dyslexia I was making a mess out of my paper. She was saying “Be-Aye-double el” but Bowl has a “double-you” so I kept getting those confused and finally Carla saved the day once again and SLOWLY spelled “B-A-L-L”… I just go “OOOHHHHH BALLL (with an American accent). I was so flustered and embarrassed.

One of the women who was in this fiasco spoke to me for a while and helped me not feel too bad, my face must have been really red.

Lesson Learned: Use being international as an excuse so they don’t just think I’m a complete idiot.

Public Transportation Week One

After only a week I have had some very interesting experiences. These experiences could happen to anyone anywhere in the worlds, just happened to me here. (So don't judge Syndey).

Sunday May 22 - Night time/early morning monday

• The house next door to us was almost broken into. The only thing that they managed to take was a broken bike. The guy next door told us that he has lived here for 5 years and has never heard of any problems like this in this area... that's good to know!

Tuesday May 24 - First day of work

• I wanted to make sure I didn't get lost on my first day of work so I decided to take the early train. This went I had to take the really early bus.
• The bus stop is only about a 5 minute walk from the house. I got to the bus stop 10 minutes before the bus arrived (I was really excited to go to work).
• A few minutes after I sit down on the bench I was joined by a man that at first seemed normal. He started talking to me and I couldn't understand a thing he was saying! I felt bad and blamed it on the traffic. Then I started to understand him, here's the conversation.

Him: "Do you wanna have a smoke?"
Me: "No thanks."
Him: "Okay"
Me: "Are you waiting for the bus?"
Him: "No I just wanted to sit by you?"
Me: "uh.." (Thinking: Oh My Goodness!)
Him: "Wanna smoke some crack?"
Me: "What?" (Not sure I heard him correctly)
Him: "Wanna smoke some crack?"
Me: "No, I don't smoke at all."
Him: "Okay.... you wanna take the day off?"
Me: "No I want to go to work"
Him: "Just skip work"
Me: "It's my first official day so I shouldn't"
Him: "Just say you're in the hospital and can't make it" (<-- creepy)
Me: "No it's okay I really want to go to work"
.... Long Pause.....
Him: "You wanna start smoking crack?"
Me: "No"
... Someone else finally showed up and there was another long pause....
Him: "Hey do you want some chocolate?"
Me: "No, I'm good"
Him: "Alright"... and he left



Wednesday May 25

• A boy got stabbed at a train station that I don't go near. Still it happened at a train station. It was apparently gang related. The boy died and a 22 year old man was charged.

Thursday May 26

• Went home later than usual because a few people went out to the pub after work.
• On the train there were really drunk kids on their way to a party. One kept talking about all the times he has been drunk and driving. He bragged about all the times he didn't get caught but the next day he had to go to court because he was caught drinking and driving on a suspended license ... he's only 21 yrs old.
• I moved away so I could talk to Terry on the phone. I moved to sit by the doors so the seat across from me was open. I started playing Sudoku minding my own business.
• This guy walks in and sits down in the open seat across from me. He looked a little suspicious, but I didn't want to judge. Then he started singing and humming to himself. I started to smell something really bad and realized it was him. A lady walked off the train and he waited until she was far away to start yelling at her something about having a nice life but not for long....
• I just kept telling myself to not look up and keep playing sudoku. Eventually I worked up the courage to get up and go into the next carriage away from him...
• Also around the same time I was on the train there was another fight at a train station near where the other kid was stabbed.... great! At least it was still not near me.

Saturday May 28

• Relevant info: There's a lot of 'bludgers' in the city (A bludger is a lazy person that benefits from other people). In the city there are a lot of bludgers that beg for money even though they get money from the government... some pretend to be homeless... and some really are insane)
• My friend Amanda has been studying abroad in Adelaide and came to Sydney to visit me Friday and Saturday. Saturday we spent the morning and afternoon walking around the city.
• At 2:20pm I said farewell to Amanda and got on the 470 bus to go home. I notices a woman outside the bus just sitting and smoking and would turn her head like she was having a conversation with herself. It just got me thinking about how people end up on the streets ... well I thought too soon because all of the sudden I feel someone sit next to me (there were at least 8 other seats open).
• A lady sat next to me yelling something about a psychiatrist and waits for me to answer. I just look and shake my head (probably looking like a deer in headlights).
• She continues to yell "They think I'm crazy, they say I need a psychiatrist. I don't need a psychiatrist, I'm not crazy, I don't need a psychiatrist. I'm not crazy they think I'm crazy, I don't need a psychiatrist."
• I am just sitting there staring out the window with my heart beating really fast trying to figure out what to do. She kept getting closer to me so I would have to turn to face her gold tooth and crazy grey hair to nod my head to get her to back away.
• I got off at the next stop... walked quickly into the shopping center and called Hailey to tell her what happened.
• The next bus stop wasn't much better with a guy that wouldn't stop staring at me so I decided to walk. I pretty much walked from Town Hall to Central.
• I waited at Central for 30 minutes and the 470 still hadn't arrived, so I decide to take the 431 which said Glebe Pt Rd, which I knew was near Forest Lodge.
• Eventually I noticed everyone else had gotten off the bus and the driver started turning around to go back down it route. I ask the driver how to get to Forest Lodge and he told me that I needed the 470 or 433 (oh 433 not 431).
• He drove me to an intersection and told me which street to walk down and said I'd eventually get to Forest Lodge and is wasn't that far to walk.... So I walk down this street that went down hill for a while but then had a steep up hill. I tried to ring Hailey and couldn't reach her because she thought a shower was more important than talking to me (:P just kidding)
• I started getting worried because I had been walking a while so I ring Hailey and just say "I'm lost". She looked up my location on Google Maps and after a while we figured out which way I needed to talk (after I walked around the busy intersections looking lost... oh wait... I was lost).
• Finally we realized I was only a few blocks away and I finally made it home safely around 3:30pm... It took me an hour to get home which usually only takes about 10 minutes.

Monday May 30
Train

• The train to and from work was fine today, pretty quite. On my way home there were two girls from the US that say in front of me. I would have said hi but I've learned to not talk to anyone on public transportation. One of the girls had a Indiana Wesleyan water bottle... it's a small world.

Bus

• There was a girl with her head in her hand and the guy next to her was eating and laughing. He tried to help her making sure her head didn't hit the seat in front of her (after she already did that twice). All of the sudden she sat up straight and turned to the guy and said "I need to throw up", guy said "now?", girls said "mmhmm"....
• Luckily the guy had a plastic bag full of food, he took the food out and gave her the bag and sure enough she threw up. As soon as the bus stopped they got off and not even one step off the bus she started throwing up some more with the guy just standing there laughing at her.

My First Published Article

Wednesday May 25

It was a nice surprise to have my article published on The Land website!

http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/big-brother-to-track-wild-dogs/2174740.aspx?storypage=1

Check out more websites that cover news all over Australia!

• FarmOnline
• http://www.farmonline.com.au/
• The Land (New South Wales) <--- This is who I work for!
• http://theland.farmonline.com.au/
• Queensland Country Life (Queensland)
• http://qcl.farmonline.com.au/
• Farm Weekly (Western Australia)
• http://fw.farmonline.com.au/
• Stock Journal (South Australia)
• http://sj.farmonline.com.au/news/state/
• Stock & Land (Victoria)
• http://sl.farmonline.com.au/
• North Queensland Register
• http://nqr.farmonline.com.au/

U v A #1

These are posts where I will list or discuss some differences between Australia and the U.S.

Aus vs US words
Trolly = Shopping Cart
Bubbler = Drinking fountain
Jumper = Sweatshirt (anything that you pull over your head)
Runners = Gym Shoes
Reckon = Think
Lounge = Couch
Bench = Counter Top
Boot = Trunk (of a car)
Car Park = Parking Lot
Trackies = Sweatpants
Flat = Apartment
School = Refers to high school and under
Uni = University/College
Heaps = Lots (of something)
Brekkie = Breakfast
Petrol = Gas
Mobile = Cell Phone
How you going? = How are you doing?

Spelling
Organise = Organize
Recognise = Recognize

-There is assigned seating in movie theaters in Australia, not in the U.S.

First Day Of Work - Tuesday May 24

• I'm staying in Forest Lodge near Glebe (about 10 minute drive from the city and I work in Richmond. I have to take a train every morning that is about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Before that I have to tak a bus to the ciry, which is only about 10 minutes.
• My first day I went on the earlier train, just incase I got lost. That meant I had to wake up at 5:15am to get dressed, make brekkie and catch the bus at 6:15 and the train at 6:51am. This got me to Richmond at 7:30am. Normally I will take the 7:01am bus to the ciry and catch the 7:29am train to Richmond at 8:51am.
• Everyone at the office is great! All very friendly and made me feel comfortable. Right away I wrote two stories so my supervisor (one of the editors) could see how I wrote. I have not written a lot of stories, so I was really nervous about this. BUT, this just means I'll learn more and be able to improve my writing.
• The landscape surrounding the office is so beautiful! It's almost in "the midde of no where" but that's what makes it so beautiful.
• It was a long day, waking up at 5:15am, starting work at 9am, hour lunch at 1pm, and finishing a little before 6pm, then taking the train back at 6:15pm.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Arrival

I arrived early Thursday morning. The plane was an hour late departing because they expected fog in Syndey so they had to add more fuel incase we needed to fly around for a bit. I was seated next to two elderly aussie women who were great! On the plane everyone gets their own individual screens which is on the chair in front of you. You can watch movies, play games, see the plane route and even watch the sky camera when you take off and land! Overall it was a great flight…. Long but great (about 15 hours).

Customs went smoothly. There were long lines but I didn’t have any trouble.  It was a little strange getting into a car on the opposite side of the road, something I’m still getting used too. It’s a bit scary when they turn and you thinking your going into oncoming traffic. Can’t wait to learn to drive here! (not for a while though).

I Have Arrived!

I have arrived! =D

It's been a beautiful and great day so far!

How I received my internship

U.S.: Sunday May 15

Australia: Monday May 16

Many people have been asking me how I got this internship.

I started contacting a few references in Australia in November 2010. Dr. Jim Evans gave me my first contacts. He is a dedicated and wonderful contributor to the Ag Communications program at the University of Illinois. I also asked a few of my former professors from my study abroad trip. I had a few leads and a couple companies saying I could visit for a day once I arrive but no luck for an internship (or work experience).

In early February my ag communication professor brought in an University of Illinois Ag Comm Alum Mr. Mike Wilson to talk to our class. Mr. Wilson is the Executive Editor for Farm Futures magazine and President of International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ). When he mentioned that he was part of IFAJ and that they had an office in Australia I was excited to talk with him. This is how it all began.

Before I go on I want to thank EVERYONE who helped me along the way to this amazing opportunity! It is encouraging to know there are so many people out there willing to help!

Mr. Wilson directed me to Mr. Jeff Lapin, President of Farm Progress Corp.  I sent him my cover letter (<--first one I have ever written! Very nerve wracking!) along with my resume. From there we scheduled a phone interview where we went into further details about what I am interested in.

After a few emails back and forth I contact Mr. Grant Cochrane, Chief Executive of Agricultural Publication for Fairfax Media. From there I worked on my visa and then received more details about what I’ll be doing.

Since my boyfriend is from Australia I did not have to worry about housing or looking for a place to stay because I’ll be staying with his family. =)

Check List as of May 15:

-Shopping

-Packing

-Making my flights!

Preparation

U.S. Sunday May 8, 2011

Happy Mothers Day!

I have never been much of a blogger but am going to try this. After my first experience abroad and having to repeat stories over 50 times, I figured this time around I could keep my friends and family up to date.  I will be in Sydney, Australia for 3 months interning with FarmOnline and their various publications. I am so grateful for this opportunity!

Preparing to go abroad.

As I finish up my final exams for my junior year I am 9 days away from getting on a plane to go Australia. I still have a bit of a checklist to complete (copies of my passport, bank info, any health papers, extra contacts, unlocked phone, etc…) but the one thing I always seem to worry about the most is packing!

My previous experience in Australia was 6 weeks long; I packed enough for about a week with a few extra pairs of shoes and dresses for going out. How do I pack for 3 months? I’m a list maker, so I have been writing everything I think of on my computer so I know I will not forget anything.  Even though I do this I still stay up all night before I leave making sure I don’t miss anything.

It is hard thinking about being gone for so long, saying bye to friends and family, but I will return this time in a short 3 months! I am very excited to return to Australia; I have been counting down for months!

To hear about my first experience abroad you can watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9aTnHggbAs

Time to keep studying! My next post may be when I am already “down under”!

Cheers!