After my week a casa, I came back and immediately began my internship at the Sydney Dance Company. I mostly work in publicity and marketing, but I have been passed around il ufficio to almost every department. It's been una esperienza fantastica so far, and I have high hopes for my last tre settimane there.
One thing I have struggled with, however, is the office environment. I don't mean the people or the atmosphere, I mean the physical sitting/desk/computer environment. If there is one thing I have learned about myself questo semestre, it's that I do not have the capacity to sit at a desk and work in an office tutti giorni. Come Fridays, I do everything in my power to get outside and see as much as possible to avoid going stir-crazy. So, last weekend, I thought what better way to get out and about than repel down cliffs and waterfalls?
Mi amica, Katelyn, and I woke up at 5 am Sunday mattina to catch a 5:45 train. It's only a 2 hour viaggio, and both of us fell asleep about cinque minuti into the ride. When we arrived, we had una ora to kill before our tour met, so we got some eggs and bread for colazione at a small cafe in the town of Katoomba's tiny centre. An hour later at High n Wild's headquarters, we tried on wetsuits, helmets, and gloves before packing up our waterproof backpacks and heading out. There were about 12 of us total with guides Kieron and Jacindy. Un altro gruppo di studenti Americani left Katoomba at the same time, but we were happy to be with some older, friendlier tourists.
First, we had an intense safety lesson with Kieron. This made us all feel more at ease, because l'idea di repelling down rocks on ropes was a little scary to some of us (read: Katelyn). We learned how to strap our gear up properly, what words to shout below to our spotters, and generally how to avoid death. Here I am in my helmet and harness (aka "modesty pouch"):
Aussies know how to look GOOD. So, sporting our cute attire and ready to tackle our first 5 meter descent, the group suited up. We did the 5 m twice, then a 15 m twice and a 30 m twice. Last and most exciting was the waterfall canyon, which was also 30 m. Once you got the hang of allowing your weight to pull the rope through your hands, it was easy to get used to the dangling in midair part.
It turns out abseiling is extremely easy if you 1) trust yourself, and 2) trust your teacher. There really isn't a way to die unless you have nobody spotting you or you're just a fool looking for trouble. You start standing backwards on the edge of a cliff, clipped into a safety rope that doesn't reach past the edge of the cliff. Once you're strapped in to the descending corda and undone from the safety, you slowly edge backwards and lean all of your weight into your harness. Perfect form is an L-shape with your feet flat on the cliff and your back perpendicular to the ground. You let la corda slide through your hands as you repel downwards and basically passeggiare backwards down the cliff. Easy peasy! Some of us tried jumping a bit, where you let the rope slide through your mani quickly and sort of bounce down the cliff. Again, it's all simple as long as you loosen up enough to trust your spotters. Here's a shot of the view from the top of the 30 m dry abseil:
The first six abseils were down regolare cliffs at the heights I mentioned. The last drop, the waterfall canyon, was one of the coolest things I've ever seen/done. We had to weave through a maze of rock pools, caves, and streams to get to the fall. This journey took about an hour in itself, and then we spent another ora or due at the fall. Sadly, I didn't have a waterproof camera, so I have no photos of il viaggio to the canyon. However, we did befriend un uomo svedese with one, and he offered to send us his photos once he returnded to Sweden. I will post some of those when they come in.
I can't really describe our experience at and after the waterfall canyon, but it was unforgettable. I can say that to return to our starting point we had to climb 732 stairs, which was fun but exhausting. We were all seeing spots by the end of the hike. Also, Katelyn and I felt really cool because we had rope burns on our backs for about a week after that day. We felt like rugged Aussies (which probably makes us huge losers).
Anyhow, moral of the story: go abseiling. It's a great way to exercise and a new way to experience the outdoors. This might be easier said than done in New Canaan or Boston, but make a note to visit High n Wild on your next visit to Sydney!
Stories from Easter to come. In the meantime, buonanotte amici e famiglia! Devo dormire. Solo un mese finché ritorno a casa, e posso dire più storie. Ciao a tutti! Baci baci.
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