McDonald's Comes Through

This, my dear readers, is a 30 cent soft serve cone from McDs.

Revel in its glory

My record is 3 in one day.

Must be consumed quickly or it will perish in the heat.

A girl's gotta treat herself right?!

Check this vehicle out!!

Bet you haven't seen one of these.... at least I hadn't...

I fondly refer to these as C-TRUCKS (as per my good friend Tracy) but I have become aware that they are really called UTES (short for Utility Vehicles) by the locals. 

Call them what you want, they are entertaining to look at and both names roll off the tongue in a silly way!

Basically these are mini trucks, or in my head, what would happen if a car and a truck reproduced. 

From what I gather they exist because of the expensive gas prices in Oz, 

they have also become ingrained in the culture. 

Australians Pay approx. $6.31/Gallon

Canadians Pay approx. $4.76/Gallon

A Reflection on Royal National Park and Experiential Learning

For my first real assignment of the school year,

I set out to do something a little unclear.

A blog post for a university class you might ask?

Yes family, friends and Professor, this is my task!

Combining my social and academic lives is the key,

Keep reading along and this shall come to be.

My learning should see some improvement,

If, along with books, I throw in some movement.

Learning in Outdoor Education is the class,

I'm hoping this poem will receive, at least, a pass!

We set out on a trip to Royal National Park,

Experiential Learning is for what we did embark.

What is this term that she talks about?

It was pioneered by Dewey, that's without a doubt.

The combination of behaviour and cognition play their part,

A holistic educational process is where the theory starts (Dewey, 1897).

It differs from behavioural and cognitive views,

But combines different parts so you don't have to choose (Kolb, 1984).

This approach emphasizes the process of learning,

Sticking just to the outcomes seems too disconcerting (Kolb, 1984).

Learning cycles have been hypothesized,

Although there are many, it is Kolb's that is prized.

Experience, reflection. abstraction and experimentation,

Were the stages he found to be learning's foundation.

Why not just talk about hiking in lecture?

The answer I give you is no mere conjecture.

Continuity and interaction are essential,

For every student to reach full potential (Dewey, 1897).

Because of this we hit the outdoors,

Learning through doing and thinking, we explore.

This National Park has a special fun fact,

As the second oldest in the world, it is sure to attract.

Those from the city can come rather quick,

Under an hour away from Syndey's Central Business District.

For this long walk Joel was our guide,

Team One hit the trail with him by our side.

Although he was there, he hung on the flank,

Letting us forge the way, making sure that we drank.

We each took turns acting as the lead,

Of course this was something to which I agreed.

This was a chance for education as learner-driven,

Making Dewey proud, for him this was a given (Ord, 2011).

I like to figuratively act as the head,

But being in charge on a hike is different, maps can be misread.

When literally walking at the front of the pack,

With every other group member at my back,

I really did feel like I was in control,

It gave me a new perspective on this head role.

After taking part in this endeavour,

My leading style may be altered forever.

Between beaches, bushes and cliffs,

And views that went something like this;

Some time was spent in quiet reflection,

It's not often we get time for introspection. 

An analysis of our everyday lives, technology, motivation,

And that never ending material fixation.

I found myself wanting to clear my mind,

To leave the entire world behind.

The time for both reflection and peace,

Is something that I think we need to increase.

Meditation as a practice should happen more,

And this task is one that I wish to further explore. 

Perhaps learning and living could be greatly improved,

If trying this out was a direction in which education moved. 

Back to Dewey I will go,

When, as a teacher, I look to grow.

Understanding of student's knowledge and involvements,

Will help to shape the next learning ascent (Ord, 2011).

My role is critical, this I have gathered,

Information is not something that can just be slathered.

You learn by doing and participating,

It's not the tests you should be anticipating.

As a group, on this hike, most things became clear,

As learnings from lecture began to appear.

From rocky terrain to a high cliff edge,

A bodies length away became more like a pledge!

We learned how much water we consume on a 7 Km hike,

And next time we set out we'll be sure not to pack H2O light!

Sunscreen in a must,

But to this no one fussed.

Bring food that is filling and garbage-less,

This granola bar recipe was quite a success.

When I look out and see something like this,

My whole body gets filled with a certain kind of bliss;

There is so much to explore and see and do,

If you can do this through school, how could you ever be blue!

Raw experience can be moulded to a student's benefit,

Facilitated thinking, when added, will help things to stick.

It is said that reflection should bookend any learning (Kolb 1984),

to finish without this practice would be disconcerting.

My group set out to complete this tradition,

Reviewing the day in one word is how it came to fruition;

The Blue Mountains journey lies ahead of us now,

More experiential learning is what it will allow.

I spoke before of things building on each other,

Continuous learning means there is always another. 

Until then, each morning, I will walk out the door,

With new ways of thinking and teaching to explore. 

When I know that experience is where I am leaning,

My learnings in class will take on such new meaning.

And for you, my dear readers, I thank you so much,

1000 words was the rule, I hope I gave them a nice touch. 

But take away this, if you think nothing else will stick,

Move your learning and living outdoors, trust me it'll do the trick!

Dewey, John (1897) 'My pedagogic creed', The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3
      (January 16, 1897), pps 77-80.


James, N. (2010, November 14). Experiential Learning Cycles. Wilderdom.
     Retrieved March 24, 2013, from  
     http://wilderdom.com/experiential/elc/ExperientialLearningCycle.htm


Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning and
      development.New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Ord, J., & Leather, M. (2011). The substance beneath the labels of experiential learning: The
      importance of john dewey for outdoor educators. Australian Journal of Outdoor
      Education, 15(2), 13-23. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.usyd.edu.au/login?
      url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1010412780?accountid=14757

Tricky Toilets

Here you push to flush, no exceptions!

Nights by the Water

Last week the Sydney Uni international student programming office arranged a wonderful harbour cruise! We were able to catch the end of the sunset as we toured around the various bays that border the city. 

I had my first real Opera House sighting on this evening!! (seeing it from the plane was surreal but didn't exactly count) Squeals erupted as we turned the corner into Sydney Cove and the magnificent structure came into view!

As fate would have it, I was privy to this beautiful sight the next evening as well. What is a birthday party in Sydney without drinks at the Opera Bar! Ela (Isreal) got us all together to celebrate her big day in style, giving me a very strong urge to commemorate my half birthday (April 18th) in this fashion!

Bet you haven't heard this word...

Most of you, upon viewing this image, will think 

"Hey, Brittany is filling up her water bottle at the water fountain"...

You're wrong! In aussieland Brittany is filling up her water bottle at the BUBBLER

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my ONE MONTH anniversary 

of being in the land down under!!

Here are some things I know;

1. I still look the wrong way when crossing the road,  I have slowly evolved to a "looking in every   direction when crossing the road" approach after some close-for-comfort encounters. This becomes even more of a problem on escalators, which is the standing and which is the walking side!!? I always find myself in someones way!

2. I WILL NOT miss vegemite

3. The thing I DO miss most about home is the ability to get a good old large black coffee. I know that the coffee is yummy and fancy here but the $3.50 I have to pay for the itty-bitty cup is an expensive habit to get wrapped up in.  

    (NOTE: the instant coffee is of better quality on this continent)

4. So far the only phrase I have picked up is the good old "SEE YA" farewell.

5. I have made some amazing friends and priceless memories and I very much look forward to the adventures that I have ahead of me!

Stoked to Surf

One of the things on my list of "must dos" while in Australia was, of course, learning how to surf. Wouldn't it be on everyone's list?!

The perfect opportunity to learn came our way in the form of Surf Camp Australia's 'The Weekender' 2-day surf adventure. A Friday to Sunday in beautiful Seven Mile Beach national park (2 hours south of Sydney) including progressive surfing lessons for COMPLETE BEGINNERS, equipment, meals, transport, swag and most importantly 'attractive instructors' (as advertised on the website), how could I resist, especially with a Sydney University student promo code in my back pocket!

The Weekender provided a perfect escape for Jacy, Melissa, Sofia and I. We were able to avoid missing class and finish up school work (at least to the extent that cramming after 7pm on Sunday would be feasible) in order to learn to surf while the weather was still warm and early enough in our trip that the option to catch plenty more waves was there.

Jordy (Africa) and Brad (Australia), our surf instructors, led our 4 2-hour lessons. This included walking us through the 3-steps to standing up on a board, a process that was much simpler on our hand-drawn surfboards on the beach than in the breaking water! We also learned how to perform a proper surf check, assessing waves, wind and tide (which you can do from the comfort of your own home using good old Google) and some surfer etiquette!

After more than a few wipe outs, plenty of faces full of sand-water, a couple surfboard-body collisions and some treacherous walks through the currents I was able to stand up on a relatively frequent basis. We will count this as a huge success!

Proof that I got up at least once....

twice?...

THREE TIMES!

The most important thing that I learned this weekend... 

the best surfer is the one that is having the most fun!

Future Music Festival

This Saturday I found myself at Randwick Racecourse among 50,000 other revellers at Future Music Festival's stop in Sydney!

All of the recent trends in music were represented, from FUN to AVICII to Ellie Goulding to Hardwell, the list goes on (to 41 artists on 10 stages to be exact)!




I spent 10 glorious hours in the beautiful outdoors dancing away to great music with amazing friends. The proof of my enjoyment of the day could be found in the extreme body fatigue and neck soreness that I experienced the day following the big shabang.

Certain readers may be interested to note that Psy the "Gangnam Style" guy made an appearance, and that he did in fact play this song on repeat with slight variations for his 30 minute set...

Crab Racing?

When fellow international students (from Montreal no less) ask you if you want to go somewhere for crab racing on a Wednesday night, there is only one answer;

"YES! .... wait what's crab racing?"

This Wednesday we were determined to find out what our friends were raving about and got a group together to venture to Friend in Hand, a wacky bar in Glebe (a suburb of Sydney).

After some hula hooping and balloon popping competitions (and quite a few squirts from the water dispenser) the races were on. 

You could purchase and name a crab for $3, winning crab gamblers were rewarded with crab related swag, but only after taking part in an eating challenge of some sort. 

See the action for yourself;

As the previous owner of hermit crabs, this event touched a special place in my heart. I also have at least 2 great crab names in my back pocket which warrants my return to the Friend in Hand.

Funnily enough, this placed number 1 on Time Out Sydney's Top 10 Quirkiest Nights Out!

Some snapshots from my first week in the country;

It all becomes real when you get to feed a roo...

... and when you come face to face with a koala! Yep, I'm in Oz!

Beautiful Hunter Valley winery, hardly ruined by the rain.

The University of Sydney in all it's glory. Hogwarts anyone?

DUGONG (not to be mistaken for a manatee)

Settled in Sydney

Hi All,

I am sending this email from my new apartment!! I am all settled in a region of the city called Ultimo with another girl from the University of Guelph and 6 other flatmates after being in a hostel for the first week, it is very nice to be settled. We are a 10 minute walk to campus and right across from central station which is convenient for getting most places in the city including Bondi Beach which is about a 30 minute transit ride away, we were there a lot at the beginning of last week while the weather was great. The end of last week and this weekend were quite rainy which is apparently the norm here at the end of summer. 

Had a wonderful time on my "Extreme Adventure" last weekend. Met a ton of international students, mostly Americans, and gained a good solid group of friends to start off my time here. We have been able to sight-see and learn our way around together. Although it rained on the Saturday of the trip our spirits weren't significantly dampened. We started at the Australian Reptile Park where we were able to play with "free range" kangaroos and touch eucalyptus-smelling koalas along with many other native Australian animals. Our Saturday afternoon was spent in the Hunter Valley which is famous for it's wine, we visited three wineries (although none of the ones my mom had pointed out that she had a connection with the owner!). Sunday morning we went on a dolphin watching cruise in Port Stephens and our afternoon was spent "sand surfing" on the dunes, this was a pretty wild experience and I liken it more to sledding than surfing. It was super hot to jumping into the ocean after was well received.

Orientation week went well, the campus is much much bigger than I am used to at Guelph but it is very beautiful, some parts of it look like Hogwarts! I felt welcomed and informed. Lots of clubs to join and things to try, we will see what the semester holds, I joined "SurfSoc" which is the surf club (although I admit that this was mostly because they offered tie dying!)

Saturday morning Jacy (my Canadian friend) and I went to the aquarium on darling harbour which was quite a nice one and we got a deal Saturday night we attended the Mardi Gras/Pride parade here which was a huge event that drew a crowd of over 23,000 people and there were over 2,000 people in the parade, it was quite a spectacle. 

Just finished my first day of school! I only had two classes which I was able to find easily! The lecture halls and some of the words that they use to describe different parts of the academic world are a bit confusing and different at times but I'm sure I will get used to it soon. I am taking 4 courses which is a full course load here and currently working with my program councillor back home to make sure that all of my credits transfer so I will still be on track to graduate in Winter 2014. I have Friday's off which will be good for travelling. I may look into getting a "one shift a week" job while I am here, it seems to be the norm because cost of living is quite high. There is a Canadian clothing store called "lululemon" that has a couple stores here that like to hire Canadians so I may look there. 

Well that's about all for now, I can't believe it has only been a week and a bit since I have been here, I am having a great time but I do miss everyone at home. Luckily for me there is Skype!! (if you don't already have me on skype my name is Brittany Burek, I should be the only one in Canada)

Hope all is well in everyone's lives back home. Lots of Love,

Brittany

Greetings from Dubai

Hi All,

I am in the middle of my five hour layover at the Dubai airport at the moment, lots to see and do but travelling solo means being my own bag watcher and my shoulders are sore!! It's a good thing there are lounge chairs and a serenity pool! Pearson definitely needs to take some pointers from this place.

Slept through most of the last flight, which felt like sleeping a whole day away, food was great and the hot towel service was a treat! Could have had better row-mates but I am optimistic about the next flight, I'm feeling pretty worn out so I will most likely sleep through most of that one as well!

That's all for now but I will be in contact when I arrive in Sydney (10:30pm for me and 4:30am for you on the 20th)

Lots of Love,

Bb

Brittany the Blogger

Being away from home on such a big adventure has made me realize just how many people are interested in my life, who woulda thought?!

Due to overwhelming demand and the desire to please I bring you "Down the Rabbit Hole... living and learning down under". This will be an easy way to document all of my comings and goings for interested readers and also serve as a sort of journal for myself to look back on. 

Why on earth is she calling it "Down the Rabbit Hole" you may wonder. Truthfully, I am taking inspiration from the University of Sydney Student Union and their theme for our 2013 Orientation Week. It did seem fitting though, I AM on the other side of the world and if you can dig a hole to China I'm sure you can also dig a hole to Australia right?! There is also the whole DOWN under, DOWN the Rabbit hole connection... maybe pushing it? It all does feel pretty surreal here, sometimes like I'm in an Alice-esque dream. 

I have officially been in Sydney for 2 weeks as of 3 and a half hours from now so to catch everyone up I will add posts of my massive emails home to catch ya'll up on what's happened so far!

SEE YA 

(This is the traditional Aussie farewell, regardless of whether or not you will ever be seeing that person again in your life....)