The item I chose to make was a surfboard keychain because I love to surf back home in New Jersey and thought what better place than Australia to give away this item. I had dreamed about surfing in Australia even since I learned and will hopefully be making a trip back to Australia with some friends in the future. I was able to surf at Bondi Beach on our free day and scored some fun little waves despite the crowd. I rented a board from Bondi Surf Co. and chatted with the guy at the checkout counter for a bit. His name was David. I learned that locals prefer the southern portion of Bondi because the waves tend to be bigger there and the crowd is less filled with tourists. Locals also refer to where someone usually surfs by saying “oh he’s bench 1, 2 or 3”. I thought it was interesting how some people stick to one spot on the beach to the point where it becomes recognizable (David likes to surf at bench 2). After my quick session I walked back to the store to return the board. He asked me how it was and I said it was fun, caught a few, but it was a bit of a mad house out there. He laughed and said “welcome to Bondi”. (more…)

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Melbourne is a beautiful city that was really interesting to walk around. I had heard a relative say it reminded them of New York but I would have to disagree. I was not expecting the city to be as artsy as it was and the city seemed pretty clean. The city has a slower pace to it and is much quieter than New York. One of Melbourne’s most impressive buildings is the Eureka building which has 80 floors and parts are made of 24 karat gold. Melbourne is the sports capital of Australia, a fitting name since the Australian Open is held there. The city is also very politically active. I believe this was the first tour where politics was mentioned, even thought we visited Sydney, Australia’s largest city. However, Melbourne is rapidly growing and catching up to Sydney’s population.

The art that covers Melbourne’s walls and alleyways used to be illegal, however Congress thought it was best to legalize it and let the artists have free reign on the city. Today, the art gives the city a unique touch that tourists cannot get enough of. Inside many of the alleyways are arcades (shops) and tiny coffee shops and restaurants. Melbourne is also known for its coffee which we got to stop and try during our tour. Some unique bars in the city hold only 10 people and are only meant for a drink or two. The bars are small because some are located near apartments, but also because the bars promote mateship. The smaller setting allows people who never met to become acquainted and this mateship is a central theme of Australia. These bars are not promoting huge crowds and lots of money coming in and out like some money hungry places in the states would be. Also on our tour we visited a chapel and the walls by the street were made out of volcanic rock, making it very durable. Additionally, the gold rush in the late 1800’s made Melbourne the richest city in the world at the time. I asked the tour guide about living in Melbourne and the tour guide said the cost of living is pretty good and minimum wage is around $20 aud. Melbourne seems slightly more affordable to live in compared to more expensive locations such as Sydney or Wellington in New Zealand. Previous tour guides raved about living in Sydney and Wellington and mentioned ratings, but this tour guide did not. But, the guide did talk a lot about how the arts have a huge role in Melbourne where people can see all types of concerts, movies etc. Melbourne has a lot to offer from its sports and arts relevance and its proximity to nearby beaches and vineyards. Melbourne seemed to have a big emphasis on music where other cities we visited focused more on film. One of my favorite bands, the DMA’s (from Australia), even have a song named Melbourne.

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Awesome seeing Serena Williams play at the Australian Open. Crazy match 🎾

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We had the opportunity to explore several cities during our time in Australia. Sydney, Cairns, and Melbourne were each very unique and had their similarities/differences from representations in Australian film. Cities in Australian film are very beach focused and film’s like Muriel’s Wedding evoke the adventurous spirit of Australians. Cairns in particular was the most “Australian” simply because of the beautiful scenery and wildlife in the area. The huge number of bats circling city intersections is something we all pictured and had fear of before coming on this trip. The Australian spirit was evidenced in the long list of activities to do which varied from white water rafting to sky-diving. The biggest difference I noticed in these cities was how quiet they all are and this is something I do not believe the films did a good job conveying. Any major city in the US will have horns blaring, people yelling and moving quickly, but the complete opposite is true in Australia. It was peaceful to walk around the city (minus areas of construction) and take in what each city had to offer. The quiet, more relaxed atmosphere is consistent with outside perceptions of Australian culture. Beach presence was evident in films and was visibly present in Sydney with signs and advertisements for the famous Bondi Beach. (more…)

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ACMI was an entertaining little museum where we could learn about general film history/special affects and specifically Australian film history. I stopped at several exhibits and saw a replica car from the film Mad Max and saw the piano used in The Piano. One exhibit that stood out was “Dreaming in Color” which was about aboriginal film history. A short clip was being played where Ivan Sem, an award winning director, discussed aboriginal films and their impact. First Sem made comments about how film making has become very egotistical and competitive, when all it should be is a creative process. He notes that people have become very hyper critical of films, complaining about small details, to intentionally bring down films. He also mentioned how white directors were making making aboriginal films and taking all the money for themselves. Another director emphasized how they were not interested in the white perspective, since a portion of this perspective was made purely for profit reasons. Some directors wanted to hear the real personal accounts/stories from oppressed aboriginal survivors. The whole point of this angle is to learn and see things from the aboriginal point of view, not what stories and images people outside the community have constructed. The Indigenous branch of Australian film was established in the 90’s but took a little while to gain momentum. Famous films, such as Crocodile Dundee, paint aboriginals in a stereotypical light with the classic image of a man standing on one leg, in minimal clothes, looking off into the sunset. This reality reinforces why it is so important for aboriginal films to reach the broader community, since most of the broader community already has their own perceptions and do not see the films. Today, the “Blak Wave” refers to the film makers bringing original aboriginal stories to light so the aboriginals have a platform to tell their own story. Aboriginals has problems with previous films because they felt their culture had been “pigeon held” and confined to stereotypical elements. At one point, white people were painted black to play aboriginals in film. This crazy fact highlights why aboriginals were so frustrated. (more…)

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Good boy

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New Zealand and Australia are home to different groups of aboriginal people and these groups are different but share several similarities. In New Zealand we had the opportunity to learn about the Maori people and in Australia we visited the people of the Tjapukai tribe. At first glance both groups utilize unique body paint to tell their own story. Both groups have dances that represent different things. The Maori Haka dance is a war dance that is used as a sign of respect between people. New Zealand sports teams even practice this dance before their games or matches. The Tjapukai do not have a war dance like the Maori’s do. The Tjapukai displayed several dances, one being a dance for food, water, and rest, where one man hopped around like a kangaroo. The Maori’s seemed to have more songs that actually involved singing, whereas the Tjapukai’s had a lot of chanting. The Tjapukai people use the didgeridoo as one of their main instruments during their dances. The instrument is made out of tree and played like a trumpet. It can be played to represent the movement of animals. The Tjapukai women (and men) used two boomerang looking items to clap together during the dance, but the Maori women used Poi balls. (more…)

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The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living thing on the planet (even bigger than Italy) and is even visible from outer space. It is home to many different kinds of fish, turtles, jellyfish, corals, and sharks. Many sea cucumbers line the ocean floor and these organisms play a big role in keeping the reef clean since they feed on waste and other bacteria. Reefs grow less than one inch per year, which emphasizes just how old the Great Barrier Reef is. The reef is threatened and the Marine Magic tours are reducing plastic use since most marine pollution comes from plastic. The reef does contain some dangerous white/black tip sharks, but the ones four near the boat will be very small in size. However, the reef is home to the box jellyfish which is the most dangerous jellyfish in the world and its sting can kill humans almost instantly.

Spending the day at the Great Barrier Reef was an incredible experience. My first thought was just how far away this global phenomenon is from home. Not only does it take 16+ hours of flying, but it also requires an hour and a half boat ride out into the middle of the ocean. I scuba dived for the first time and this was definitely my favorite part of the day. We had the opportunity to swim down and take a picture on the bottom and swim right over a sea enenome, something I have only ever seen on TV. During my second dive, after the introductory round, I had a pretty interesting experience. My mask did not fit correctly but the guide said I should probably be fine. When we reached a depth of around 25 feet my mask completely flooded with water, I couldn’t see a thing, and got some water in my nose. Sunscreen also got into my eyes causing them to burn. In a brief moment of panic I wanted nothing more than to be back on the boat, but the guide quickly flushed the water out and I was back to normal again. I’m glad I left the reef with a funny story to tell my friends and family back home.

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Exploring Sydney was one of the main reasons why I wanted to take this course and come to Australia because of its beauty, proximity to awesome beaches, and its relevance in the film industry. I have dreamed about possibly living in Sydney at some point in my life and had to ask the tour guide about the quality of life in this area. The tour guide raved about all the city had to offer from all the different types of food, variety of jobs, and its location relative to many things Australia has to offer. He said he enjoys the city life but can easily escape to the many beaches near the city and even drive an hour or two to go see the wild and its kangaroos. Sydney is expensive to live in but mentioned people who do not work a corporate job and live in “beach shacks” out by the coast, which is right up my alley. The tour guides positive reviews reminded me of the Wellington tour guide’s positive review and the city’s high rank among best living areas around the world. Sydney was also the film location for Mission Impossible 2, which greatly boosted tourism to Sydney and the Opera House, as well as home to scenes in the Matrix. I surprisingly have not seen the Matrix, but definitely plan on watching it after visiting some of the film locations. The Sydney Harbour bridge is very expensive to climb, and the tour guide agreed the price should be greatly reduced. He also mentioned how there used to not be any security on the bridge, but the rise of terrorism has forced such precautions. He also pointed out a hotel where all of the famous movie stars stay when they come to Sydney and how the top floor penthouse costs roughly $25,000 a night. (more…)

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This is a picture of Manly beach where a group of us got to dodge some jellyfish and bodysurf some fun waves!

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