Canberra: National Capital Exhibition, Australian War Memorial, Parliament

Yesterday, I went to the capital of Australia. It is a small town called Canberra, about three hours away from Wollongong. I woke up at 6 o'clock and left my dorm at 7 and walked about 20 minutes to catch the bus that was leaving from campus. Little did I know, when I signed up for this trip, that it was hosted by International Student Affairs. I just so happened to be the only American on the bus, crammed full with 65 people. For the first time on this trip and the first time in my life, I experienced what it was like to be the minority. I made my way to a seat, three wide with a Vietnamese boy and an older Indonesian man. It was a very interesting, and hot trip to say the least. About an hour and a half into our trip, we stopped in Goulburn for "morning tea and biscuits." I had a cup of coffee, stretched my legs, and went to the bathroom before we got back on the road for another hour and a half ride. When we arrived in Canberra, our first stop was at the National Capital Exhibition. It was a really cool exhibition of different historical facts about Canberra and the capital. You could watch a movie, or look at the different displays. There was also a great little cafe and an lookout where you could see Parliament and the rest of the small city. Then, we drove up a long hill and went to another really amazing overlook and took more pictures, before going to the Australian War Memorial and having lunch. The War Memorial was very interesting and informative. I learned a lot about Australian history and the people who lost their lives in war. I took lots of pictures and then laid outside in the grass and ate my lunch, read, and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine!! After about 2 hours there, we headed for our last stop at the Parliament building. It was incredible! I took tons of pictures inside and out! I cannot even explain the amazing architecture and beauty of this building! It was breathtaking! While waiting for the bus, I met a group of 3 Indonesian people. One man from Bali, a 40 year old student studying to get his PHD in Civil Engineering, really blew me away! He told me about his journey to Australia to study and better his education to support his wife and two small children. He told me that he would have to be away from them for four years and just thinking about how much he misses them, brings tears to his eyes. It was very amazing to talk with him and to hear how hard he worked to get where he is and the extremes that he would go to, to support his family. It reminded me a lot of my own father at home and it made me really sad; but, at the same time, it made me feel really lucky! It was a life changing conversation. After a tiring afternoon, we all packed back on the bus and rode for another hour and a half before we stopped at McDonald's for dinner. I walked around in search of mustard to put on the sandwich that I brought, but Australians don't use condiments other than butter, cream cheese, and hummus so I was out of luck! Instead, I climbed back on the bus and ate my sandwich dry. Sick of being crammed in with the two guys, I walked up to the front where the tour-guide was sitting and asked if she would mind if I sat with her. She collected her things and moved over so that I could sit beside her. It was right in the front of the bus and had so much more room than my previous seat!! I was in heaven. As we drove, we began to talk and I learned so much about her life and her culture! She was a 31 year old Muslim, Indonesian woman and she was in Australia studying to get her masters in Education. She was incredibly interesting and we chatted about American stereotypes about Muslims and different religious and cultural beliefs. She was also a very incredible, strong woman, who left her husband behind in Indonesia to come and study. When talking about her religion, she told me that, "It doesn't matter what clothes you wear, it is your heart that tells you if you are a good person." When I departed on the trip, I certainly had pre-existing stereotypes and I won't lie, I was intimidated, and even turned off when I realized who I would be traveling with. After finishing the day and creating all of these new friendships, it has completely changed my perspective and opened up my mind! I will never forget what she told me! This day was truly life changing and I am really glad that I did it on my own and was forced to make new friends and experience new things. We arrived back in Wollongong around 9:30pm and I was exhausted! I came back to my room, uploaded pictures, and went to bed!! Incredible day!