Keep Portland Weird

NE Portland

NE Portland

Wagon cult, NE Portland

Downtown Portland (I think "KANGAROOS" is referring to Oz)

With Savannah at Multnomah Falls

Never Made it to Those Damn Blue Mountains

I’ve been pining for Australia since my plane lifted off the ground. While I couldn't have asked for a more captivating and vibrant yet perfectly livable city, I have to admit that my time here was made by the people I met. It's a beautiful thing that strangers can become family over the course of just a few months. The people I lived, traveled, and grew with are sure to be friends for more than just our time abroad. And the things we did together, well, we could think of them as once in a lifetime experiences... or, we could think of them a little differently... Cheers to that, mates, and until next time, Oz!

My last Sydney post:

Well, this is perfect... Taronga Zoo

Roos at the Taronga Zoo

Sydney, Australia

It became the running joke in my house -- every weekend I would make tentative plans for a trip to the Blue Mountains, a beautiful mountain region a mere 75 kilometers from Sydney. I had big plans for a trip the Monday before I left Sydney... but as usual, I became distracted doing other things and they never materialized.

However, I was able to check a few last minute things of my Sydney to do list:

• Pancakes on the Rocks, THE breakfast place in the Rocks - While my stomach was still reeling from my jaunt to Cambodia, the few bites I could manage from this Sydney-must were delicious.
• The Taronga Zoo is on an island in the Sydney harbour, meaning we had to take the "Zoo Express" ferry to get there. As with any Sydney ferry, the views of the city were lovely... and in this case, an added bonus to the zoo admission ticket. The highlight of the zoo was the silverback gorilla. We saw him at feeding time and he was very impressive.
• The Harbor Bridge- I didn't "climb" it but I did walk across part of it... a magnificent display of architecture and some of the best views in Sydney.

People always say that everything comes full circle. This week, I would have to agree... my stay in Sydney ended exactly where it started: at the Coogee Bay Hotel.

Cambodia

Rachel and I with San and his tuk tuk

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Tuol Sleng genocide museum

Royal Palace grounds

Monks!

National Museum

With the combination of (relatively) cheap flights, friends in Phnom Penh, no final exams, and my desire to see southeast Asia, Cambodia was practically begging me to visit. Two days after returning from Cairns I repacked my backpack and took off to Phnom Penh. After connecting in Guangzhou, I arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday. I waited for Chelsea and Rachel at our guesthouse and after our long-awaited reunion (I hadn’t seen Rachel since December and Chelsea since January), we had a delicious dinner at the charming but inexpensive Khmer Surin restaurant.

Day 2 Wednesday- Since Chelsea and Rachel had to work all day, I explored Phnom Penh on my own. My first stop was the National Museum, which contained the most Buddha statues I’ve ever seen in one place. I wandered around Phnom Penh and eventually found myself in Wat Ounalom where I made friends with one of the monks. Since I was close to the neighborhood of the Central Market, I poked around there for a while before heading back toward the waterfront to see the Royal Palace. Even though some of it was under construction the compound was still quite beautiful.

Day 3 Thursday- I started my day at Tuol Sleng, the infamous torture prison used during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. It was horrible. They've left the rooms just as they were at the height of the regime in the late 1970s. Each room has a bed and some sort of torture device. On the wall is a photograph of someone post-torture in the very same room. Some of the rooms have wall-to-wall before and after photographs of some of the 21,000 torture victims. Most of those victims were trucked off to the Choeung Ek “killing fields.” Lying about 20 km outside the city, Choeung Ek was my next stop. There, visitors tour the dozens of mass graves. Bones still surface in the rainy season.

Day 4 Friday- Since today was a national holiday and Chelsea and Rachel didn’t have to work, we took the 10:00 am bus to Siem Reap. As soon as we got there we met San, who would be our driver for all of the temples the next day. We went into town for a delicious meal (and 2 for 1 drinks!) at a beautiful Khmer barbecue restaurant. If I remember correctly, 3 dinners, 8 drinks, and 1 dessert was $38.

Day 5 Saturday- San picked us up at 5:30 so we could see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. While the sunrise was more like dark turning gradually into grey, it was still pretty cool. I’m really glad we got such an early start because we got to see most of the temples while most of the tourists were still sleeping and while it was still cool (ish). By our 6^th or 7^th stop I was a bit templed-out and very grateful for a nice lunch. Afterward, San took us to the floating village. It was interesting to get a close look at the village’s way of life, but, meh, I couldn’t help but feel like we were paying to see poverty up close. 

Day 6 Sunday- Slow morning, then bussed all day back to Phnom Penh.

Day 7 Monday- Since I was feeling the crunch to prepare for my upcoming research trip, I worked in the apartment until lunch. I met Chelsea and Rachel at the Russian market for some shopping then went to a nice restaurant around the corner from their work. After dinner we went to the ex-pat organized “Nerd Night” which featured various speakers from the ex-pat community in Phnom Penh. 

Day 8 Tuesday- I did some more work this morning, signed up for my Wednesday cooking class, then met Chelsea and Rachel for dinner and, afterward, traditional Khmer massages. I’m not sure I would get another one. It was less like a massage and more like forced (and because I’m not flexible, painful) stretching. Anyways, it was $8 (with tip) for an hour, so it was still worth it.

Day 9 Wednesday- Today I had my Khmer cooking class. Before cooking, our group of 6 toured the local market. I saw some very bizarre things (think eggs with chicken embryos inside and snake blood). I learned how to make fried spring rolls and coconut amok. Before going back home I went to the Elsewhere Bar and pool. To celebrate my last evening, Chelsea, Rachel, and I went to the famous "Friends" Restaurant and ordered drinks and tapas.

Day 10 Thursday- Sydney mode. Really unpleasant flight (stomach not happy with my Cambodia trip) but finally made it in one piece.

Better Late than Never…?

Sydney, from the Manly ferry

Since my academic semester in Australia is now over, I think it’s about time to make a post about what I did on a daily basis.

Monday- After making breakfast, which usually consisted of toast with nutella (nutella with toast, really), and packing my lunch for the day (sandwich, fruit, granola bar), I would catch the bus around the corner at 9:30. My Australian Film and Television class began at 10 and consisted of 90 minutes of lecture followed by a film. If you're interested in reading some of my formal analyses, you can check out my portfolio online at: http://arts2062mollyhrudka.blogspot.com/

After class I usually walked to Randwick to rent a movie for a film assignment before walking back home to Coogee. I would usually go running along the Coogee to Bondi path before settling in to do some homework and make dinner. Speaking of dinner... Mom, I tried my best not to disgrace you in the 2 Kurrawa Ave kitchen. I’m not sure I’m ready for a run at Top Chef, but I definitely did more than eat Easy Mac.

Tuesday- Same morning routine except the class was Sport, Law, and International Diplomacy. At the beginning of the semester the professor assigned us a research paper, so I chose to do mine on the role of sport in development in sub-Saharan Africa. I also made a presentation on the role of sport diplomacy and international law in international efforts to end Apartheid in South Africa. Notice the trend? The class ended at 12 so I had two hours to be productive until tutorial started at 2. After that, Tuesdays ended similarly to Mondays.

Wednesday- my least favorite morning because my Terror and Religion class started at 9 and went straight until 12. To stay awake, I supplemented my breakfast with a chai tea latte from the uni café. It was for this class that I wrote my study abroad crowning achievement: July 2010 Kampala World Cup Bombings- an Example of Religious Nationalism Confronting the Secular State. After a 30-minute lunch I headed to the science building on campus that houses the National Centre in HIV Social Research. Every Wednesday afternoon I worked with two research advisors on a viral kinship project. I read, analyzed, and coded interviews, then co-authored a paper that was presented in Durban South Africa in June. I really enjoyed my time working at the NCHSR because I was able to further my knowledge of the endlessly fascinating topic of HIV that I was first exposed to last summer in Uganda.

Thursday- already in weekend mode. A History of Medicine started at 11 and went to 1, and tutorial began at 2 and finished at 3. I didn’t really produce any noteworthy work in this class because I was normally doing it in class, right before it was due. After the walk home I usually kicked the weekend off with a long run along the Coogee to Bondi walk.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday- When it was nice and warm out, I tried to go to the beach as often as possible but when it wasn’t, Sydney still offered many possibilities. One day a few of us took the ferry to Manly and did the beautiful Manly to Spit Bridge walk. No sign of the Manly penguins, though! On the weekend that Dad visited, we went up to the top of the Sydney tower, walked through the Botanical Gardens, and saw Much Ado About Nothing at the Opera House. One rainy afternoon the girls in my house took a trip to Paddington and Paddy’s markets. Of course, most of the weekend’s action took place at night. While Sydney’s nightlife was frustrating at times (dress codes, entry refusals, early hours, etc) I really liked how the bars in each part of the city had a different character.