 |
| Photo of the Minneapolis group about to head into TSA |
Today was both our first day in Australia, and the longest day of our lives. There were two groups of students, one beginning at Sioux Falls, the other at Minneapolis. The Sioux Falls group arrived at FSD at 5am, and MSP 10:40am. Coincidentally, the FSD students ran into the other SDSU Study Abroad group heading to Vietnam at the airport! The Sioux Falls group flew to Chicago, then to Los Angeles, and spent many hours waiting to board the flight to Melbourne. The MSP group ran into a few more roadblocks than the other group. Their flight from MSP to DEN was delayed twice, but luckily, they just barely made all their flights. Both groups met up in LAX and walked many laps around the Los Angeles airport before conquering a 16-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean.
While flying at 40,000 feet many of our windows
filled with frost. At this altitude the outdoor temperature was -56 degrees
Fahrenheit.
We left the LAX airport
at 10:30pm and flew all the way through the night. The plane that we were in
was quite large, with many different classes. This was a first-time experience
for many of us to see the high-level first-class section of an international
plane. We landed around 8am on May 8th. Therefore, May 7th
was non-existent for us. We received two meals and a large snack on the plane.
After landing, we went through customs with no problems. At this point, our tour guide, Ron Paynter, intercepted us from baggage claim. He was an excited and cheery face that woke us all up from a sleepy ride. Now, we all exchanged out US currency for Australian currency before leaving the airport. All 35 of us boarded the bus, and our bus driver Harry drove us to downtown Melbourne. Ron narrated this ride, and taught us many things. We learned that Melbourne has four universities, Victoria is the state of education, Melbourne was called Naam before it was renamed, and 50% of Australian’s are considered religious, most of the 50% being Protestant or Catholic.
St. Patricks Cathedral, one of the most popular
Cathedrals throughout the city (Melbourne). It’s the place of worship for the
most dominant religion in the country.
We drove by the Australian Parliament,
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and a Cricket stadium. Then, we had the opportunity to
exit the bus and stretch our legs. We got dropped off at The Shrine of
Remembrance. This building/museum was built in the honor of the fallen
Australian soldiers. Here, we learned that the Australian Veteran’s Day is
called Anzac Day, and is celebrated on April 25th.
Crypt burial in the center of the Shrine of
Remembrance.
Just a few weeks
ago, tens of thousands of people were gathered at the Shrine for this day. Here,
we had an hour to walk around the museum. We were able to see the Australian
side of WW1, WW2, and other important historical events.
 |
| The Shrine of Remembrance located in Melbourne highlights war and veteran memorials from across the world. |
 |
| The Melbourne skyline from the Shrine of Remembrance. |
 |
| Many of the parks in Melbourne had several historic buildings or statues that held historic significance. |
After this, we headed to our hotels to check in, had free time, and headed out to supper as a group.
Here are some things that our
peers are looking forward to:
-
Sydney
L. is looking forward to seeing the crocodile farm, supermarkets, and fruit.
-
Dr.
Rosie Nold is looking forward to seeing different parts of Australia,
considering she has spent most of her life in the Midwest. She is also looking
forward to sheep farms.
-
Lauren
V. is looking forward to the crocodile farm. She is nervous about the time zone
change.
-
Ian
B. is looking forward to trying Australian food. He is nervous about keeping
good graces that align with their cultural norms.
-
Sydney
H. is excited for going to Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. She is nervous
about getting enough sleep.
Sydney H,
Lauren V, Ian B
S
No comments:
Post a Comment