Thursday, April 28, 2011

Behold...The REAL Black Swan

One evening when I was walking past the pond in Victoria Park (which is in front of the entrance of the University of Sydney) I noticed two black swans! It was truly a rare and magical sight! (Of course, I could not help but think of the Natalie Portman film, Black Swan as well) They were so elegant and mystical looking with their long necks. Whenever one moved around the pond, the other one closely followed suit. I was so disappointed that I did not have my camera on me!

That evening I made a seemingly obvious note to self:
Always, always, always have a camera! There might be things that you see that you may not have the chance to see again.
However, I was fortunate to find the black swans in the pond again one afternoon so I snapped a few shots. At one point, they came very close to me. It was wonderful to see the luscious black feathers and the bright red beak up close.
Black swans can be found throughout Australia and once they pair, they are paired for life. I really enjoyed reading about the black swans on the Australian Museum website. You can read more about them here.
When you come to Australia, I hope you have the opportunity to cast an eye upon these beautiful creatures!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Become a Whiz at Public Transport!

As a study abroad student, you are most likely going to have two options for getting around: walking and public transport. Luckily, in Sydney, many people use public transport on a daily basis. I feel like everybody in Southern California has become so accustomed to having their own car that anything about public transport or walking more than ten minutes is foreign to them (I was included in this generalization). However, after being in Sydney I have been walking as long as 20 minutes to get to one place, such as the grocery store, and I walk all the way back carrying my groceries! At first, this was a difficult adjustment for me, but now I have become adapted to walking to where I need to go. However, if you need to get to a place that is further away, public transport is a nice option.
The Sydney bus and train system is very easy to figure out and utilize. The first time I used the bus was when I went to Coogee Beach, however, I just bought a one-time use return ticket for $4.20.
I have now learned that with concession you can buy a Travel10 bus pass for ten rides for only $8.00! This bus pass has been such a wonderful investment and I always have one in my wallet, just in case I need to catch a bus in a hurry or for a spur of the moment adventure. I really like the bus system and prefer riding the bus over the train, but if you are on a really long trek…the train can be useful. For example, for my photography class I had to pick up my camera from Campbelltown, and Campbelltown is about an hour and a half train ride away from Sydney. In this case, the train was a more practical choice for my transportation.

How do you navigate the bus and train system? How do you know what times the bus comes or which bus to get on? These are all the questions I was asking when I first started using public transportation in Sydney. First of all, you can view the bus schedule at any bus stop. It will have the bus number and the arrival times. I have found a useful resource called “131500 Trip Planner” online. Check it out here. You simply type in where you want to go and it tells you the fastest way to get there by bus or train or a combination of both. Also, at home I consistently use Mapquest. The Australia equivalent of Mapquest is Whereis. I have also found this website helpful to get a map view of where things are.

I hope this post is helpful in easing your fears about using public transport in Sydney. Also, once you get used to it, it is a wonderful resource! You will open up so many possibilities and be able to go pretty much anywhere!

The Art Gallery of NSW

I found the Art Gallery of NSW in a Sydney City Guide that I picked up from the Sydney Airport when I arrived. Entrance to the museum is free and they have a large selection of paintings, artifacts, student artwork and Aboriginal artwork. The Art Gallery of NSW is within walking distance of Hyde Park and St. Mary’s Cathedral. I was excited to explore the gallery because I love seeing artwork and new inspirational pieces. I really liked the student artwork exhibit. Everything was so refreshing and unique. Each piece had its own flair and it exuded originality and personality. I took so many pictures! I wanted to capture everything. Here are some of my favorites…
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The Aboriginal artwork section was very interesting as well. I started to take a picture of a large sculpture and a security guard came running towards me yelling “Hey! Hey! No pictures allowed!” By the time he got over to me, I had already snapped two shots. I guess there was a little tiny sign of a camera and a bar through it delineating “No Pictures” of the Aboriginal artwork, but I did not see it. For my defense, it was a little tiny sign! (About the size of a 4x6 inch photo) Here are the forbidden Aboriginal photographs…
There was also a photography exhibit, but this was the one area that I was disappointed…especially since I have been researching photographers and black and white photography for the photography class I am taking.

The outside of the Art Gallery has beautiful columns and intricate details. Similar to the Victorian Gothic architecture of St. Mary’s Cathedral and the University of Sydney. I absolutely love the architecture!
All in all, I really enjoyed my visit to the Art Gallery of NSW. It is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, without having to pay for anything! It was even a bit scandalous with my illegal Aboriginal photo mishap.

Here is a picture I took on my way to the Art Gallery on a random light post… I liked the irony…