BU Lacrosse Blogging from Down Under
June 1, 2009 | Women's Lacrosse
June 1, 2009
Support the Terriers' Trip to Australia
The Boston University lacrosse team has landed in Australia and will be sending updates from Down Under throughout their trip. Check back for new updates from players and coaches throughout their adventure.
June 8: Sarah Dalton '09, Kelly Munroe '09 and Steph Walker '09
It is sad to say that our trip is finally coming to an end but the memories will last forever. Today we embarked on a mission to capture a kangaroo to bring home. Despite our best efforts our covert operation "jack a joey" was not a success. After hoppin' around with our new mates we hit the lagoon for some fun in the sun. I was rather alarmed when half of the city of Cairns was also at the lagoon...then we remembered this was a holiday weekend for the Queen's Birthday. After our relaxing afternoon we were headed for an interesting dinner which included emu, crocodile and kangaroo. How quickly we went from petting the 'roos to shoveling our faces with them! We would like to thank everyone who followed us as we took on Australia. We could not think of a better way to end our careers than to spend twelve days with our BU Lax family. We are looking forward to American food, familiar faces, and hugs.
Love,
Kelly, Steph, and Dalt
June 7: Traci Landy '10
Greetings from Cairns! As JMar just said, the weather here is gorgeous. Today most of us walked around town checking out some of the cute shops and stores. Following our adventures, the entire team somehow made their way to the beach-like area called "The Lagoon". The Lagoon was a huge salt water pool in along the esponage, around it there was sand, people tanning, BBQ'ing and more. After lounging and getting our tan on (there is apparently no ozone layer over this area) we went white water rafting. I was petrified but had a great time, until my instructor pushed me out of the boat and rowed away. Following the adventure we made our way to have some snacks (chips a.k.a. fries) and look at the hilarious pictures of us going down the rapids. Off to Koala Park tomorrow! Absolutely loving Australia!
Traci Landy #23
June 6: Corcoran Downey '11
Yesterday as we were leaving Sydney, it was sunny for the first time all week, just our luck. We left Sydney and boarded a plane to head north to Cairns, where the weather was expected to be sunny and warm. Once in Cairns we went to a local Aboriginal Australian high school for dinner. The students at the school put on show for us of Aboriginal Australian dances from across the region. Kids of all ages performed various dances while dressed in tradtional clothing. They also prepared and served us an amazing dinner. Today we woke up to a nice sunny day. After breakfast we took a bus to Port Douglas where we boarded a boat to take us out to the Great Barrier Reef. The boat ride took a little less then two hours and the whole team sat outside on the top deck to enjoy the sun and the views. Once out in the reef the boat docked on a large platoon. Once there we all hurried to get our snorkeling gear and get into the water as fast as we could. Once everyone put on the flippers and snorkeling masks, we were ready to start exploring. Getting in at first was a little nervewracking for some, the entrance platform was covered with some fairly large fish. Once everyone was in the water the views were amazing! As you swam around you saw the reef along with tons and tons of fish. There were rainbow-colored ones, spotted ones, black and white striped ones, little orange fish that resembled Nemo, and schools of little blue fish. After a little while everyone needed a break for lunch, but everyone was quick to get back in the water and explore the reef some more. All in all it was an amazing day, it was quite the experience to get to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef.
June 5: Jenny Martin '10
G'day mates!
So tonight was our first evening in Cairns! The weather here is definitely uplifting for our Australian adventure - sunny and about 25 degrees which means like 80 in our world! The hotel we're staying in is located in a cute beachy town and right on the water (my balcony looks out onto the water) and the view is beautiful!
Tonight we went to an Aboriginal Australian school. It was cool to get a real cultural experience with Australian native dances and food. The students of the college performed their dances (with authentic dress and body paint) and the band played while we enjoyed a nice five-course meal. The food was some of the best we've tasted so far in Australia.
Tomorrow we're venturing out to the Great Barrier Reef for a day of snorkeling!
Cheers,
J-Mar
June 4: Annie Stookesberry '12
Greetings from Down Under!
Yet another day has passed here in Sydney, and before we knew it, it was our last chance to go out and enjoy this part of Australia. So, apart from the daring bridge climbers, most of us chose to take the ferry over to Manly Beach again. Girls did everything from rollerblading to just taking in the scenery again. Seven of us rented bikes for a few hours and rode up into North Head National Park where the steep vertical climb yielded a breathtaking view of the skyscrapers of Sydney across the harbor. Erica Baumgartner, who hadn't been on a bike for 10 years, even decided to make the trek into the park for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Rachel Collins and I made a great team on a tandem bike, and I can say that it is something I will not soon forget. Now that we've covered most of the Sydney territory, it's off to Cairns for some much-anticipated tropical weather. That's all!
June 3: Brittany Vieira '12
Surfing!
Surfing began with 25 girls trying to squeeze into wet and sandy wetsuits, possibly the hardest thing we have ever done. There were many wiggly dances to get those bad boys to fit. Then we had to stretch and learn how to stand up on a surf board. This required some rolling around in the sand as we were tutored on stretches we do every single day with Glenn [Harris, strength and conditioning coach]. Many of the girls were grossed out by the sand but sucked it up and then loved it. We went on to do some yoga moves to stretch some more and then were ready to hit the waves. We had to drag our heavy surfboards about 200 yards on the sand which was crazy hard ... but not the best workout of the day. The best workout was trying to get out past the breaking waves. This was no baby pool we were swimming in. This was a monsoon! So every wave that we finally caught had to be amazing becuase it was so difficult to get back out there! Even through the struggle, it was the best experience of all of our lives. Many people were saying "I am moving to Cali" or "I am dropping out of college to surf" and yada-yada. It was truly pretty life-changing. The most picturesque and cliche thing happened as well. Some girls were out past the breakers sitting Big Kahuna style on their boards, and a rainbow appeared on the horizon. A RAINBOW! How perfect and cliche. Amazing. I was sitting there waiting for the meaning of life to pop up but it simply did not happen. Maybe next time we surf? Ha.
G'day Mates!
May 31: Courtney Burd '10
Hellooo!
So, after a much needed 10-hour sleep last night, I was ready to play some BU Lax today. We had breakfast this morning and then loaded the bus to head to Centennial Park to play. On the way there we just happened to stumble across some people we knew - Anne and Alyssa - and let them join us on the bus! It was good to have their company again. We were all a little surprised when we got to the field considering most of it consisted of mud puddles and muddy slush. Not quite Nickerson, but good enough. Embracing the mud and water was fun! All of our legs and shoes were soaking wet and dirty, but it made the experience even better. We met the NSW [New South Wales] team and the girls were very nice. They ranged in age from 9th grade to "many years out of college." We warmed up with the team and showed them some stick work and then we got to playing. The first half was BU Lax versus NSW and the second half we mixed up our teams. There were girls of all nationalities (Australian, Japanese, German, British) on their team. It was fun to see the different levels of play and to show them what lacrosse from Beantown is like. The very first time the ball came onto the defensive end of the field I WIPED OUT big time. Turned out I was not the only one who fell by the end of the game. It was pretty amusing to watch. After the game we had a bbq or "sausage sizzle" as some of the girls informed me. We ate sausage on pieces of bread. It was fun to chat with the girls and learn more about Sydney. I am looking forward to exploring Sydney during the rest of our time here and taking some of their suggestions on places to go. Cheers Mate!
~ Courtney
May 31: Xan Weitzel '10
G'Day From Australia!
We finally made it here after about a 21 hour flight. The first flight to LA was only 6 hours but probably the hardest because we were anxious to get to Aussie and we wanted to save our sleeping for the next flight. The flight attendants were not very pleased with our loud behavior and told us several times to quiet down. Surprising, I know. The next flight was the longest, about 14 hours. I mostly slept and watched two movies with our very own TV in the seat in front of us, which came in clutch. After the long flight we were finally in Australia and made our way through customs, but don't worry, we still had another flight to get on. By this time I had no ankle bones and was very antsy. The last flight was the easiest, only about an hour and a half and we were getting used to sitting still for long periods of time. Finally, we met our tour guide, Carmel, and started off our trip in Australia.
Xan
May 29: Head Coach Liz Robertshaw
G'Day Terrier Nation!
So after a little more than 30 hours of travel, six in-flight movies, numerous cups of coffee, enough snacks for the entire plane and dozens of friendship bracelets made - we're finally here! Our tour operator, Carmel, has picked and we're off to Bondi Beach, the Botanical Gardens and of course the Sydney Opera House for our first taste of Aussie culture. The team has been great with the travel, making friends both young and old with each layover. The girls even got a little starstruck in LAX when they bumped into Laguna Beach star Kristen Cavalleri. Never a shy group, then asked their new bff for a picture! We'll send more over the coming days...
Cheers!
Liz
