Monika and Malaika in Australia, Winter 2011 - Post 3

Monika's Take on New Year's Eve in Australia:

For New Year’s Eve, we were encouraged to view the fireworks from Rushcutters Bay. At first I was not as excited to see the fireworks since we typically see them every year in the U.S. on July 4^th for Independence Day. But after receiving the picnic baskets with snacks and blankets, I was excited for the opportunity to bond with every student in the program and get to know each other better. We all walked together from our apartments in Newtown to the bay and enjoyed trying to figure out the route together on our own. When we finally arrived, we laid out the blankets, ate the snacks, and played a number of fun icebreakers. After the first round of fireworks at 9pm, we walked towards a DJ that was playing and started dancing on the lawn to techno-style Australian music. At that moment, I felt like we had truly immersed ourselves into the Australian culture. Later that evening, we took a taxicab to a local restaurant not realizing that the majority of the city stays out by the harbor to wait for the midnight fireworks. Since it was relatively empty, we decided to walk back towards the fireworks. After midnight, all of the roads became filled with thousands of people who were heading home. Since our feet started to hurt from all the walking, we decided to head home too. The journey back home was an experience that I will never forget. The trains were filled to capacity with everyone literally crawling onto each other just to find space to stand. Several people were angry and screamed at others to stop pushing. But I decided to yell out “Stop fighting! It’s New Years!” People around me started to laugh and smile, which led to everyone calming down. At that moment, I knew that 2011 was going to be a good year.

Photo taken by Malaika

Malaika's Take on New Year's Eve in Australia:

New Year's Eve in Sydney was different from the ways I have spent it before. It was different in good and bad ways. First I really enjoyed the walk along the coastline of Sydney's beaches in the beginning parts of the day. If I had been alone I would have sat up on a high cliff and reflected on my past year and the many new things to come in the New Year. Later in the day when the whole group got together and went down to Rushcutter's bay we had a good time together sitting the park on our blankets amongst the other thousands of fireworks viewers.  We laughed,a te and got to know each other better.The 9pm fireworks started and they were beautiful. I have not always been fascinated by fireworks, but I thought these were really nice.

The wait between the 9pm and midnight show was a long wait. Victoria and I went and walked to find food and pass time, and the rest of our group was splitting up with everybody wanting to go in different directions. Finally, at midnight the fireworks started and I got lots of pictures using a "continuous burst" setting I found I had on my camera that takes several pictures in a row when you just hold down the button. Once the show was over, the walk back to the train station amongst thousands of people was a bit crazy.

Although I'm used to being with family and friends on New Year's Eve and doing the countdown, I can still appreciate the experience of being in a different place and experiencing how another culture celebrates a universal holiday. This may not have been the most spectacular of celebrations, but it is definitely a memorable night because it was in Sydney, Australia. I will definitely share this experience with my friends in hopes that they may want to come to Australia as a group in the future and experience this together.  In conclusion, thus far the trip is proving to be an enriching experience. I have already learned so much about myself and my own culture in comparison to Sydney’s culture. I have so much that I will take away from this experience.