Monika Simeonova's Blog

Tim Tam Slam (Original Australian Recipe)

Guys, look what I learned! It is the most Australian dish I have tried – the Tim Tam Slam :P I kept asking what is typical Australian cuisine and the answers were *THIS* and a kangaroo burger/pizza. And since I am vegetarian, I tried the kangaroo once (hey, I live and I have came to Australia once, I’ll try it all!). It was shown by my lovely roommate Louise. My partner in crime is Shani, who’s my other roommate :) First timers in Tim Tam Slamming as you can clearly see in the video :P

It was disgusting in a nice way how much chocolate I had all over my face ;P

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A month already passed?! And so much more left to do!

I still feel as if I arrived yesterday and as if I know nothing about this place but … I have been here for a month already?! Isn’t it funny how when we have so much new information to take in and we are enjoying ourselves, time just goes by like that *snap* ;) A very good friend of mine reminded me, that no matter how I feel, if time seems like it’s flying by, then I am having a good time.

I feel as if I need to see all the places; visit all the crazy sights like the Pink Lake (Lake Hillier) in Western Australia, the Uluru rock in the Northern Territory and the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland (all these in a crazy distances from me, of course); visit my only Bulgarian friend in Australia in Perth (which is only 3430km away or 39 hours driving); and meanwhile go to 3-4 more different countries… and I have only 3 more months to do that?!? This is insane.

And then I remember that I came to study and just live here. I do everyday stuff like cooking, studying, listening to boring lectures, workout and grocery shopping. And that’s what I wanted – I wanted to taste how it feels like to live in another country. Not just visit for a quick vacation where you see all the landmarks, get on a bus tour, take pictures and come back. No. I live here now. For now.

And I will keep traveling and keep just living in Melbourne. This will probably be the four months filled with the most flights, traveling and packing I have ever done in my life ;) Oh, did I mention that I just got my ticket to New Zealand for spring break which starts this Friday? Hah. The adventure here never stops.

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Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island Trip

Not even a week after I came back from Sydney, I took off to the next awesome Aussie place :)

Packed with excitement and enthusiasm for the upcoming, famous Phillip Island Penguin Parade, I was on my way, once again. Packing now feels like a routine that I am getting used to doing every week. And I like it. I like traveling.

Our trip began with picking up some students from RMIT, which stands for Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (fancy, right?) :) So our group was consisted from about 20 students from both Deakin University and RMIT. Our trip leaders were amazing! Funny, witty, positive and simply great. It was better than what I expected. One of our trip leaders said that we will become like a family by the end of that trip and although I didn’t believe that at first, it happened :) You can’t help it when you not only go sightseeing with those people, but cook, eat, drink, sleep and live together for some time.

Our first day was spent on the Great Ocean Road which (surprisingly?) goes along the ocean :) Listening to fun music while on the way (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy_TB6onHVE), we visited beautiful landscapes such as the 12 Apostoles,

and the breathtaking scenery of the Ship Wreck Coast.

Since it was really windy (which you probably don’t feel through my pictures, but I definitely did), we skipped the planned beach swim, and headed to our backpacker dorm, where we all, jointly prepared our dinner. It was one of the yummiest meals I’ve had because of our awesome team work.

The next day was the more eventful and exciting one, since koalas, kangaroos and penguins were on the list. That was when I got really excited. I have seen and taken pictures with them before (in the Melbourne Zoo), but this was a completely different experience. (funny koala song – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB2y52jfRdc). Something amazing about this trip was that I saw these animals in the wild. I saw koalas in an eucalyptus forest; and  wallabies (sort of little kangaroos) and little penguins (the smallest ones on earth) on Phillip Island.

My real encounter with a koala was in an animal park. It was a fluffy, little ball of cuteness. It is not so innocent though. It should always have something to eat in front of it, otherwise it would begin picking my hair and look for leaves there.

And if I try to steal its food, it looks at me funnily.

So I just decided to take a normal picture with the fluffiness and move on to the roo world.

And there they were, in their kangarooland, jumping around freely, wanting to be fed. And there I was coming with the food.

I never thought kangaroos are so friendly. I imagined them bigger, wilder and scarier. But instead, they are yet another sort of adorable, jumping fluffiness. Here is a video which shows how they go around their day :)

Kangaroo Land

And as we all learned from the koala song, koalas and kangaroos are called marsupials. This basically means that they have a pouch where the baby continues to develop. I saw one mom with her bebe in the pouch and it was the sweetest thing. When the baby got tired from presenting itself, it just hid itself in mama’s pouch and disappeared completely from the world.

Mama Kangaroo with Bebe Roo

This was my most favorite part of the whole trip. I enjoyed the kangaroos the most since they are the most Australian thing we have all heard about. And I loved the fact that they are so approachable and friendly.

After dinner that night, we headed to the Penguin Parade. This is where the smallest penguins in the world have a daily routine of coming out of the ocean, after all day of fishing, and head back to their homes. I have seen penguins before, but this was incredible. This was the first time I was able to observe them in the wild, in their natural state of being. It was the first time I heard the noises they make when they are about to meet their mates. And I even followed one which seemed extremely worried that it won’t be able to find its mate. Eventually it did. This is how they sound:

Penguin Talk

So cute, right?? We were not allowed to take pictures since it was too dark and the flash would scare the penguins so the only picture with a penguin I have is this one.

Better than nothing, right? :) Combines two of my most favorite things in the world: pink and penguins! :P What more could I ask for?

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First Week of Uni

And I finally got to the reason why I am in Australia – to study. Coming as an exchange student was my way to explore this side of my character – the explorer, the adventurer, the person who doesn’t think that college is only what I have seen in New York. I wanted to escape what I’m used to and to come to a place where I don’t know anyone and where I have no clue what the hell I am doing.

It’s funny how people come for many, many different reasons. After talking to many exchange students, I believe that we all want to escape from something, be it our comfort zone or our very uncomfortable life back home. Or maybe both.

First week of uni has been challenging. People talk about things, names, places and TV shows I have never heard of. They speak fast in their sophisticated, awesome-sounding-hard-to-always-understand Australian accent and I just lose track sometimes. But I have done it with adjusting to New York-ish lifestyle, I can do this too! :) It’s just my first weeks here after all.

I am taking classes which are a side of me I couldn’t explore in my home college and this makes me happy. It’s the business side of me – Society and the Media, Consumer Society, Marketing Management… and to throw some creativity in that mix, I am taking Poetry.

A person’s character is a mix of passions,memories, desires and dreams. And if university can help someone explore as much of those as possible, then that’s awesome! Nothing is just black and white. We are many-many-sided beings. This is why I am studying Psychology, this is why I am taking weird classes – I’m an explorer. And my journey begins with exploring myself.

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Sydney

And there I am with my first, adventurous escape to a new destination – Sydney! Not even done with my orientation, I thought there is no time to waste and I undertook a journey to Australia’s most famous and iconic city – Sydney.

Although my experiences were a mixture of a horrifying night and terrific sights, I was still able to fall inlove with Sydney. Let me tell you about it…

So I arrived in Sydney with a bunch of exchange students from all over USA and Canada. We formed an awesome group from the very begining and we clicked instantly so we decided – why not travel together to see Sydney? To be exact, it was eight of us.

As soon as we arrived we got onto exploring. My mom has told me that there are two key things to see in Sydney (except the Opera House) – the SeaLife Aquarium and the Sydney Tower Eye. As a good daughter, those were my first two stops. And as always, mom was right. The aquarium was impressive with it’s massive water tanks, creative decorations and richness of sea life.

I saw sharks,

a mini version of the Great Barrier Reef,

HUGE crabs and I even found Nemo! :)

Next stop was Sydney’s Tower Eye. Perfect timing since it was right before sunset so we were able to enjoy Syndey in daylight, during a gorgeous sunset and at night. I like seeing a city from above because it always gives me a better idea of how exactly it is situated and what is around. I noticed how Sydney had many bays while the sunset was reflecting on its waters – priceless view, which can’t be described with a picture, let alone with words.

Then it was time to go home. We hadn’t arranged any accommodation, believing that it wouldn’t be so hard to do once we got there. Wrong. It was difficult since there was a music festival this weekend and by the words of many hostels – “Everything in Sydney is booked for a week now!”. We were still able to find a dorm for that Thursday, but nothing for the Friday and the Saturday afterwards. Nevertheless, on our way home our spirits were happy and we couldn’t stop singing. We even began singing our national anthems – the Bulgarian, the Polish, the Canadian and the American one (all at the same time). We were happy we were in Sydney together.

That didn’t last too long. As soon as we got to the dorm we realized where we have went and how we could hardly get anything better (or anything at all) for the next two days. We were all scattered around in different rooms, sharing rooms with strange strangers. To simply describe it I will tell you the simple facts: one of the guys found bedbugs in his bed, the other guy had people having passionate sex on the bed next to his, one of the girls was supposed to sleep alone with 7 other people, we all witnessed a robbery, then we all saw the guy who was robbed with a bleeding ankle, spreading blood all over the place, and as one of the guys put it perfectly: “You can probably get HIV by the air in this place”. We were so freaked out that we knew we had to find a place to stay the next day as soon as possible. After five hours of countless calls, visited websites and even walking out at 2am in the morning to find a place to stay, we had found it! We were able to pass out in our beds (or some on the floor) since we wanted to stay in the same room, together. We were relieved, knowing that we will not be homeless the next day.

Things after that became normal. We had a place to shower, and we could even shower twice in a row… “Cuz we CAN!” :D Yes, that was officially the most disgusting night in my life. And yes, I told myself already – never again. I will always have a place to stay from now on.

Anyway, as I said, things became normal and even great afterwards. I was blown away by the originality, creativity and the emotional charge which the Sydney’s Opera House was filled with.

As a child of two architects, I was able to see this masterpiece as the pride, the baby, the love of this architect’s life – Jorn Utzon. It struck me that he never saw his masterpiece finished. But I will not tell you the end of the story so you can go one day and hear it yourself :) It’s worth it!

I was also able to see the beautiful Chinese Gardens,

where I was lucky enough to witness a Chinese wedding! It was amazing! They have a ritual, called “Unity Sand Ceremony”. In this traditional ceremony, the bride and groom mixed two vases with two different colors sand into one single Unity Vase, creating a new mixture of colors. This ritual symbolized the unification of two separate individuals into a new, single, indivisible whole. I thought that is beautiful <3

We also passed through the Royal Botanical Gardens,

and I went to the Australian Museum to learn more about the cultural aspect of Australia. A key thing that I learned and loved about the culture is that the beliefs of natives center around spirituality. It’s basic and genius at the same time, centering around “the sense of belonging to the land, to the sea”, defined by “the dreaming [which gives them their] identity as people”. Beautiful in it’s simplicity.

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Getting adjusted – Animals, Abbreviations and other Aussie stuff

In between my exploration of my new home, registering for classes and getting adjusted to my new lifestyle, I have the moments where I just stop … and say to myself: “Wow! I’m in Australia! On my own”. It has been a week since I am here and I guess it is still normal to get those thoughts… but yay! Australia is far! It’s far from New York City (where I study) and it’s far from Bulgaria (my home). It is far from eeeverything familiar.

Going to the Melbourne zoo was a reminder of that. It was my first encounter with a kangaroo and a koala. I thought I knew how they look but it is a totally different experience when you see them live.

The koala was much smaller than I thought it will be (I imagined a panda?!?). And I was surprised I caught it awake and eating!! The only different state in can be in after its 20-hour-a-day sleep mode. Lucky me! I pretended I’m pushing it off the tree (evil) :P

The kangaroo I got to know was very lazy and probably too hot to care. But it was a friendly animal. It came to us to see what we have to offer (which was nothing but cameras and desire to get a snapshot with it). The zoo was interesting since our access to the kangaroos (and its access to us) was freely open and there wasn’t even anyone guarding us.

There were also ostriches and peacocks chilling freely all over.

See, I am also a great fan of penguins so I also had to find these little cuties. It took forever but I did – they were tiny and adorable. Who knew that the smallest penguins in the world are hiding in Australia?

After those emotions I decided that I need some more so the next trip was booked – Sydney. I had to visit a place before starting classes and that was going to be it. Sydney is big and rich enough to explore for a long weekend time. Bali, Fiji, Tasmania and the Great Barrier Reef can wait. First thing’s first.

Thankfully, Mr. Groupon exists in the “land down under” as well so I will refer to it’s help often enough. Here is the time to mention that I love Groupon and people-explorers like myself should definitely familiarize themselves with its existence.

So… Until I leave for Sydney I will be enjoying free food, free drinks, free shirts with my free sunnies during the so called O’Week (Orientation week). Oh, yes, Aussies (Australians) love abbreviating literally everything. They call university – uni, avocado – avo, residents – resis… And probably much more that I will learn soon. Which is awesome! I think it sounds cute (according to my Bulgarian-New-York-ish-English understandings) :)

Adventure for me continues tomorrow since there is something new to learn every! single! day! And it should be an adventure for everybody, no matter where we are, because there’s always something more to be seen, discovered and enjoyed :)

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First days and nights

It might be the strange, exotic birds, looking like parrots, squawking outside my window; or being new to surfing; or falling off my bike while mountain biking; or it could be this whole new world revealing itself in front of me, that makes me feel weightless and as if this is not reality.

As I got off in Melbourne, I slowly began to realize that I am somewhere so far and strange, a place where no one around me has ever been. I was realizing I have no clue what will follow next. On my way to campus I felt excitement, curiosity, fascination, along with sickness in my stomach and wanting to throw up, while I was totally amazed that I am actually in Australia.

When I applied for the study abroad exchange program I though it’s never going to happen. When I finally got my visa (after two months of waiting), I still didn’t realize it is going to happen. When I got my passport a few hours before my flight and ran to get myself together, I still didn’t think it’s happening. I even didn’t realize it in Sydney. But on my way to campus, I got it. It was happening and it was happening to me. I was about to begin a new life.

Thankfully, it turned out that I have awesome roommates and I also met some great people who came here the same way I did. We all have different reasons and motivations to be here – some are trying to find themselves, others – to run away from themselves. Some hope to get the most out of college life experience, while others hope to get the most out of Australia. Whatever our reasons are, we are meeting here and now, and we are in this together. Thank you all for being my family …  here … for now.

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The flight

And this is where my story begins… Thanks to my amazing sister who gave me this special gift – the ability to share my experience in Australia with you. You might be my family, my best friends, someone I know, or someone I don’t know. Regardless who you are, you are here now and I would love to share my story with you.
I have a shirt that says “loved” on it. Today, when I am leaving New York City, I am wearing it because I feel loved. You feel that people care when you are leaving. This is the time when they remind you how much you mean to them (in case you forgot). But we tend to forget. This is why I kind of like “good-byes” in a weird, twisted way. Not that I don’t tear up and cry about all that I am going to miss. But it reminds me that I am alive. And it keeps me going.
Now, I feel ready. I am on this plane to Melbourne, on my way to a completely different and new world. And I am ready. I am packed with love, support, the things I learned because of the shit I went through before I left, some doubt, but mostly excitement and lots of curiosity. I am ready for my first, big, crazy adventure.
Australia, here I come!

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