Conclusion!

I have never been a huge sports person, until this wonderful class. Yes, I did go to the Gym every once in a while, but that was about it. As a Mexican, women are not used to playing rough sports. Instead they go to dance classes or something that is considered to be more feminine. As far as I can remember, the only rough sport that I have played is football. This sport is very famous in México; almost everyone knows about it and plays it. I am very glad that by the time I get back to my country, I am going to have a full knowledge and better understanding of all sports in general. I am amazed to see how passionate Australians are when it comes to sports, the way they cheered, played and taught sports made me more and more curious about their culture.

The way I began get involve in Australian sports was by taking this class and attending to several field trips and joining different type of sports that Sydney has to offer. Though the field trips took a huge impact on my overall learning of sports, the lectures and power points in class made it more interesting and helped me learn about the background and the different type of positions and rules each sport offers.  I was very happy with the choice of fieldtrips I made. They were all different and had their interesting side. I am also glad to have had the opportunity of getting to know the fans, athletes, coaches and sports culture of Australia.

By far the field trip that took my breath away was when I went surfing. Since I was a kid I remember going to the beach in California (which is six hours away from where I live) and I remember seeing people surf with such passion and gosh! I have to say, they were amazing at it. I remember thinking to myself, when I get older, I want to surf. That had always been one of my goals, but never had the courage to do it until now.  I remember the day I went surfing, I felt very excited but nervous at the same time. The weather was perfect, the coach was amazing. It was very interesting to see how enthusiastic and passionate he felt for surfing. A very interesting fact that he taught me that I will never forget is that the best time to surf is in the morning, because that’s the right moment when the waves are at a perfect speed and when the wind isn’t strong. I was very exciting to wear a wet suit, I felt like a professional surfer. After the coach making us practice for about half an hour, I finally got the chance to surf and it only took me two hours to finally stand up on the board. Surfing was the best feeling ever. In fact, my brother is coming to visit me in a week and it is most definitely that I am taking him to a surfing class.

The day I went to see the dragon vs. the bulldogs was another highlight for this whole experience. I had seen some “you tube” videos and had learned some background information for rugby, but that was about it. I never thought of how exciting and complicated a rugby game could get. As soon as I got to the oval stadium, a guy came up to me and asked me who I was going for. I was so embarrassed because I had no idea what to say. I didn’t know if I wanted to support either the Dragons or the Bulldogs, since many people were going for the Bulldogs I decided to go on their side. It was a very competitive game. In the first half the oval was almost completely empty, but then after an hour of being there, the stadium began to fill up with fans. I was fascinated by the way the fans sheered for their teams. They were all wearing shirts and flags that represented their teams. I was really feeling the Australian atmosphere. Everything was too fun and perfect, until it started pouring rain, most of the people started leaving, but I manage myself to stay there because I wanted to see the ending results. I was very sad because the team I was going for (Bulldogs) lost, but at the end of the day I had a great time and a good story to tell.

As I had mentioned before that soccer is the number one sport in my country I decided to do an athletic event on my own. As I was going for my daily walk from school to my house, from far away I saw a group of Australian guys playing soccer. A really bright and clever idea came up to my mind. The idea was to ask the guys if I could join them. I had always wanted to see how Australians play football, even though I was a little embarrassed and intimidated at first, I asked to myself “why not?”  So I went up to them and ask if I could join. Five minutes later I was already on the field running like never before. I have to admit, Australians are awesome at playing soccer. Unfortunately my team lost, but at the end of the day I ended up having a great time, plus I made new friends that in fact, I still talk to some.

In conclusion, I had the best time ever this semester. I am very glad to have taken this class because it made me get involved not only in the Australian sport life but the Australian culture as well. I got to do all kinds of different sports Australia has to offer and I met and made tons of friends. I learned a lot from the lecture as well as from my coaches. What I enjoyed the most from this whole experience was writing the blogs, because it kept me updated with the things I was experiencing and it is definitely something that I will hold on to and be able to remember and look  at it years later. All in all this has been a wonderful experience which I will never forget.      

Rock Climbing!

May 28, 2011

What a wonderful day was today. I woke up a very early at 6 am in the morning for my daily run, since the weather was sunny and perfect I thought to myself: why not go to the Blue Mountains and do the rock climbing tour. Luckily my friend Marianna along with other two friends thought it was a great idea. Since one of my friends have a car, she volunteer to take us there. We decided to do the “Introduction to rock climbing” coarse. As soon as we got there our instructor taught us all the important facts of rock climbing, then he gave us all our gear, which included the following: ropes, helmets, harnesses, hardware and climbing shoes. The climbing ranged from easy to challenging, so we had the opportunity to try range of varied climbing styles from walls to jamb cracks. Since it was our first time rock climbing, an instructor was helping us along the way. This was one of the most exciting of all outdoor adventures I have done. The activity cost us about 175 AUD which was perfect because it included meals plus it was very much worth it. Rock climbing can be so addictive. I am definitely doing this activity when I get back to my country.

Zumba!

May 22, 2011

As the saying goes for Zumba: Ditch the workout, join the party! Indeed this is very true. Tonight I decided to write my blog on my Zumba class. Back in Mexico I never enjoyed going to fitness classes. I rather run on a tread mill or lift some weights. But last night, I tried Zumba and I loved it! I always wondered what the big deal was, and now I see. In 50 minutes I think I burned like 700 calories. As soon as the class started the teacher pump up the volume to some amazing salsa, reggeaton and samba. We danced for 50 minutes nonstop. Since I am a Latina and I love to dance, I became pretty addicted to this class. I was amazed by the teacher because in less than an hour, she taught us how to dance salsa and samba.  I definitely want to keep going to this class because it is an extremely good work out. In fact I never sweat, but today I sweat like never before.

Yoga in Australia!

May 15, 2011

A couple of weeks ago I decided to join the Broadway Gym. Since the day I joined, I have been going to Yoga Classes, They are simply amazing. Back at home I use to go twice a month, but I have realized that the teachers from Australia are far better than the ones in my country. I could see the difference because after the first class my body felt very sore the next day. Yoga is deceptively simple. You unroll a mat and you stretch a little. What could be simpler than that?! But once you get into the practice you can see there's so much more beneath the surface. The poses are just a very small part. The simplest of poses can be extremely complex at the same time when you pay attention to the little nuances and the energy that make it special. I have learned about some very interesting poses that they use here, but didn’t in my country. Some of the poses include: Triangle, Warrior 2, and Downward Dog. The way I see it, through the practice of yoga, we get to know ourselves better. I am definitely going to keep on going to yoga classes back at home.

Ocean Kayaking!

May 7, 2011

This week I decided to write my blog on a sport I did this Easter break in Fiji. The sport I did several times while on vacation was Ocean Kayaking. Before I start with my blog I would like to give a little background on it. A kayak is a slim boat that is use for moving around the water and for paddling at the same time. Kayaks can be made of metal, fiberglass, wood, plastic, fabrics, and inflatable fabrics such as rubber. Each material also has its specific advantage, including strength, durability, portability, flexibility, and resistance.  The one I used in Fiji was the one made out of plastic. Since the resort where I was staying had several kayaks, for people to use whenever they felt like it, I always used to go out in the morning and kayak for about an hour. I had never kayak before, so it was kind of hard at first, but after two days of practice I began to feel confident and went out further on the ocean. I had seen people do this sport in my home country, but the ocean is definitely better here.

Rugby Game- Dragons vs. Bulldogs!

April 10, 2011

This past Sunday was my first Rugby game that I have ever seen live. After traveling in bus for about half an hour, we finally got to the cogee oval stadium. I had no idea if I wanted to support either the Dragons or the Bulldogs, since many people were going for the Bulldogs I decided to go on their side. It was very interesting to see that there was a lot of positive reinforcement for both teams. This was a very competitive game, tons of people cheering and clapping for their teams, they even had flags and shirts representing their teams. I was astonished to see how fit the players were. I thought it was interesting the fact that in the first half of the game there wasn’t too much people, but after the break the arena began to fill up with fans. Everything was perfect, until it began to pour rain. Both teams opted to start the match cautiously, each unwilling to take too many risk on the historic turf. Finally to make the story short, the Dragons defeated the Bulldogs for a final score of 25-6. I was kind of bummed because I wanted the bulldogs to win, but at the end of the day I had a great time. This sport reminded me a lot to a sport back home, called American Football.

Surfing in Australia!

April 1, 2011

­­­Whenever I used to hear the word Australia, the first thing that came up to my mind and still does is Surfing! I had always wanted to surf, that was actually on my list on “One of the things I want to do before I die.”I am glad that I finally did it. Before letting you know about my super exciting experience I want to give you more information on surfing. Surfing is a water sport in which the surfer rides the board on the crest of the wave and carries him/her to the shore. The best time to surf is in the morning, because besides not having too many people on the beach, that’s the right moment when the waves are at a perfect speed and when the wind isn’t strong. A very interesting fact that I learned from my surfing instructor is that, local wind conditions affect wave quality, since the surface of a wave can become choppy in blustery conditions. Ideal conditions for surfing include a light to moderate offshore wind, because it blows into the front of the wave, making it a barrel or a tube wave. I have told you enough about this sport; now let’s talk about my experience. Today I woke up super excited at 6:00 AM because our coach was going to be waiting for us at the wake up hostel at 7:15 AM. He drove us to Manly Beach, so it took us about 30 minutes to get there. We finally got to the beach put on our wet suits, and practice our surfing, but in the sand. He made us practice how to paddle, control and stand up on the board. I find it very interesting that it only takes 3 steps to surf which are: paddling, getting up and standing. First you have to paddle, but not too fast because then you will get to tired. To get up, you have to put your hands on the edges of the board under your chest and do a mighty push up. Let’s say you made it up on both your feet. You always ride the board sideways not facing the nose of your board, your feet should be on the stringer, knees slightly bend and arms out for balance. I memorized these steps and finally after practicing 20 minutes on the sand, we finally got to surf on the water. It took me two hours to finally stand up on the board, but gosh I have to say is the best thing ever! I felt incredible. There is no other feeling like standing up on a surf board. After four hours of surfing we all felt very exhausted and hungry so we headed for lunch and back to our house. I am definitely surfing again, once you do this sport it becomes pretty addictive.

Skateboarding Competition at Bondi Beach!

March 26, 2011

Before Starting with this blog, I would like to give you a little background on Skateboarding. ­Skateboarding is a Sport and an act of riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. Skateboarding can be use in many interesting ways like for a method of transportation, sport and even a job. Skateboarding is a very common sport here in Australia, almost everyone knows how to skate, even at school you see people with their skateboards, because it is the fastest way to get to your classes on time. Today my friends and I went to Bondi Beach to get a tan and to play volleyball in the sand. After being there for an hour, we discovered a huge skating park near the beach and there was a huge competition going on, I thought it would be interesting to write about this because I heard this is one of the main sports in Australia after surfing. I honestly stood there and watched the whole competition for about two hours. It was amazing to see little kids and older guys do all different kind of tricks and how they handle the skateboard. I discovered a site where you can see all the skateboarding events that are happening around Sydney, I think it would be very interesting if you attend to one, they get pretty intense and fun to watch.

Skateboarding Site: http://www.au.timeout.com/sydney/aroundtown/events/18749/skateboarding-competition

Playing Football with Aussies!

March19, 2011

Today I decided to do something creative and on my own. I saw a couple of people playing soccer near school in the Victoria Park. Since I have a big passion for soccer I decided to ask them if I could join them. I thought that would be a great idea to write about in my sports education journal. Plus what’s better than to play soccer with Australian people. Luckily I had my tennis shoes on, so I was able to play with them. We were divided into two groups, I was in the blue team and my rivals were the white team. I had so much fun; we played soccer for over an hour. I have to admit Australian people are very good at playing soccer, even better than my friends in México. Unfortunately my team lost, but at the end of the day we all laughed about it and went for lunch.  I discovered that soccer and its rules are very similar to the one in my home country.

Sydney Fishing!

March 13, 2011

Fishing has officially become one of my best hobbies ever. Before I write about my experience I am going to tell you a little bit about fishing. Fishing is the activity of trying to catch a fish, and then eat it. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. Since my friend and I love fishing and it is considered to be a sport, we decided to look up fishing tours in Sydney Australia. Luckily we found one, so we decided to go, the tour is call “Sydney fishing.” Today we had to wake up at at 5:00 AM because we had to be in the Harbor, no later than 6:00 AM because that’s the best time to go fishing. It is important to go early in the morning because that’s when all the fish begin to come up. There were about ten people in the boat, so each had their own special moment to catch a fish. I was astonished because luckily I caught 2 normal sized fish. The best thing of the tour was that we were able to take the fish home and cook it.    

Adrenaline Rush!-Water Rafting

March 5, 2011

Before I start with this blog I want to give you brief information on White water rafting. White water rafting is known as one of the most dangerous sports that have ever existed. It is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river. This is usually done on different degrees of rough water. This sport has become popular since the mid 1970s and it is considered an extreme sport. I have to admit, today was one of the most incredible days of my life. I woke up very early and excited to go water rafting, we had to be at the wake up hostel no later than 7:00 AM. From there we began our adventure with a 90 minute drive through the stunning Orara Valley to the Nymboida Power Station.  Once I got there I began to feel very nervous and anxious, good thing the tour guys were very friendly and helpful, they gave us some instructions and made us put our gear, which included a life jacket and a helmet, right after that we began our adventure. I raft in a two people sport raft for two hours over 3 kilometers or rapid. Gosh! By the end I was extremely tired. I have to say, it is a very hard sport. I guess you have to have a lot of condition for it, which I don’t have. At the end of the day we had lunch and went back home. I really did enjoy rafting; I’m definitely going to do it again sometime in the future.

Introduction!

Before I start with my blogs I would like to give a little information about myself. My name is Czarina Escalante. I am an exchange student from The University of Arizona, which is located in Tucson, Arizona and forty-five minutes away from the border of Mexico and The United States. I am from Mexico, but go to School in the states. Back at home, my heart and soul is devoted to science, that’s one of the great reasons why I’m majoring in nursing. I must admit, before coming to Sydney I was very excited to take this course because even though I’m not that good at playing sports, I have always love to see and learn about them. Through the course I will blog about the field trips and sport events that I attended and the wonderful experiences that I had.