Six Flags over Georgia

29th September 2012
Six Flags over Georgia is the nearest theme park and is located just outside of Atlanta in Austell. Life on exchange wasn't all rosy and there were many, many moments where it felt as though I was back in highschool. Not as 18 year olds, but back when I was 13. Yes, the arguments were that juvenile and pettiness was rampant. Long story short, I got booted  from a group of people who were driving to Six Flags, formed my own group and off we went. I didn't drive, but an exchange student from USYD drove and it was an interesting experience to be on the other side of the road as well as first time on the interstate.

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The Ninja! This was my favourite ride.

I am not a fan of roller coasters. I hate the drop; the feeling of being out of my seat momentarily freaks me out. And when I freak out, I don't scream. Rather, I go into shut down mode and I just close my eyes and pray for it to all be over. Plus, I also am scared of heights.

I have to say, that I am very proud that I got onto each ride that the group wanted to go on at least once except for the first one that we went to: The Daredevil Dive. I didn't go on it because 95° first drop (!!). However, I eventually didn't want to be a party pooper, and I wanted to challenge myself. My favourite was The Ninja because it was just about speed and loops and not many drops, which I was content with. List of all the rides. Some were more memorable than others.

Batman: The Ride: feet dangling is a bit weird. A little unnerving I guess although I loved how tight the harness was so that I literally couldn't budge. A problem that I have (and it is probably why I don't fare well on the drop roller coasters) is that normally the position that it locks still leaves a gap - larger than one that I would like- left between the bar and me, ergo the shifting during the ride in addition to the actual free fall.

Georgia Scorcher: a stand up rollercoaster, theoretically. But I didn't think that I could do it so I ended up sitting/ squatting. It was not great.

Superman: Ultimate Flight: you are parallel to the track which was an interesting experience. Had too many loops and it was very freaky when it was so close to the ground.

Georgia Cyclone: this is wooden roller coaster. This basically meant that it was very very rocky and shakey and also too many drops. Not major drops, but still too many dips. Though everyone loved it and since the line was short, everyone went on it at least 3 times whilst I rode it once and then sat and waved to everyone from the side.

Acrophobia: a free fall drop ride of 50m. As I said before, I am terrified of heights and this one (and the Goliath) was the one that I was most scared about. If I was on something stable, I probably would have enjoyed the view that I saw from the top. But I was too busy in my zone, trying to remain calm and zen. It was not good. But I made it!

USYD-er's photos and his captions. Love it.

Thunder River: this was the funnest one. It was a typical river rafting ride, though the best part was that at one point, random people who are in the park can slot in a quarter and shoot the water cannons at the rafts that go by. Everyone got drenched but it was brilliant.

Splashwater Falls: the line was crazy for this ride but it was sort of worth it. It's a ride where everyone (riders and bystanders) are guaranteed to get drenched as it's those rides where the boat goes down a steep incline (whilst in water).

Goliath

Goliath is a hyper coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard and opened in April 2006, Goliath reaches a height of 200 feet (61 m), and a top speed of 70 mph (110 km/h). Its 4,480 feet (1,370 m) of track is spread out over an 8.5-acre (34,000 m2) site.

*shudders* This one already looked terrifying from afar; it is the only roller coaster that you can see when driving on the interstate from a good few kilometres away. It basically loops through most of the theme park. This was the last ride that we could go on before the park closed and I became persuaded to go on the roller coaster. The ride uses a lap bar which I fear (it just feels so ... unsecure) plus there was a whole 5cm gap between the bar and my lap.

Copied and pasted from wikipedia:

Goliath begins as the coaster leaves the station and turns left to start up the 200-foot (61 m) lift hill. Upon reaching the top, it drops 170 feet (52 m) to the midway below. The roller coaster angles to the left slightly as it climbs the second hill, crossing over the Georgia Scorcher roller coaster and two other attractions in a single bound. The second drop, the tallest on the ride at 175 feet (53 m), travels down towards the park's entrance road and out of the park grounds. At the bottom of the hill, the roller coaster makes another left turn above a pond and climbs again. The third hill leads to a 129-foot (39 m) drop, also over water.

Goliath starts its return trip by climbing to the top of a 540-degree spiral, making a full circle and half of another as it descends. After another hill, the roller coaster then enters a sharply-banked right turn, returning to the station via a series of smaller hills. Goliath's on-ride camera takes the riders' photographs before the train makes a final left-hand turn with a short hop onto the brakes, ending the ride.

TL;DR: it was bad news. Like Acrophobia, I probably could have enjoyed the view if I wasn't freaked out. The sun was starting to set and the sky had a really pretty glow. Well, that is at least what I saw in the micro-second where I actually looked. But during that first drop (52m) I just went into total shut down mode. I closed my eyes for the entire ride and it was very long, very loopy and way too many drops in the entire track. Or at least it felt long, it probably was all over in a minute. Somehow, and I don't even remember when, I ended up having a death grip on Sunbear's hand. When the ride was over, I am not entirely sure why, but I became overcome with emotion and just sighed and got a little teary (not crying) and USYD-er went, "it's all over now". Argh.

Though, at the end of the day I was very proud of myself for going on rides that I didn't want to at all. I will never go on a free fall ride again (my first and last time) nor will I go on those crazy roller coasters like the Goliath. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and I realised, hey, I like being in my comfort zone. 

We didn't have GPS nor did we have a map and on the way back we got lost as we overshot the exit, but we soon rectified the mistake. Unlike the other car who drove completely in the wrong direction and ended up in the wrong side of town.

The Atlanta History Centre

15th September 2012
As part of the City Pass, I also visited the Atlanta History Centre which was not worth it at all. I actually went twice since another cultural immersion activity was to attend the Fall Folk Festival, which sounded grander than what it actually was.










Sunbear and I also had tea at the cafe. It was so weird; we were completely under-dressed and by my standards Sunbear is always overdressed. Flower wallpaper, little girls wearing very girly dresses and ribbons in their hair, it was not what I had expected. Being the cheapskates that we were I was, we only ordered tea but in addition to our tea we had complimentary muffins and scones!

The only photo I took at the place; it was a bit awkward  to take more.

After, we walked back to Lenox Mall in Buckhead to catch the shuttle bus back to the apartments. On the way, we passed by IHOP which is one of my favourite places! I first learnt about IHOP from a guy who I used to talk to online back in the day when I first discovered the internet.




And the second visit to the Atlanta History Centre on 21st September 2012.

This sounds like a very odd comment but these were Angora goats and they were so soft! All that I could think was: no wonder angora jumpers and scarves are so soft! Lol.

Side note: I am on a blogging ball right now. Two reason. One, I am putting off my applications and two, it feels weird to be blogging about something that happened a year/ over a year ago.

Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola & CNN

8th September 2012
I purchased the Atlanta City Pass which was a $74 ticket that would allow entry to: Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, CNN tour, Zoo Atlanta/ Atlanta History Centre and Fernbank Museum of Natural History/ High Museum of Art. I visited: Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, CNN tour, Atlanta History Centre and Fernbank Museum of Natural History. In hindsight, it wasn't really worth it; the only worthwhile places were World of Coca Cola and the Georgia Aquarium.

I visited 3 places that day, starting with Georgia Acqurium. It is the world's largest aquarium (or the world's largest tank) and I arrived fairly early, beating the rush and the crowds. I have only been to the aquairum in Sydney which in comparison is fairly pathetic. It is almost like a bicycle compared to a Ferrari.




This was one of my favourite part of the of the place. You had to crawl underneath and then there were certain areas that you could stand up to see the penguins close up.








Another brilliant part of the aquarium. After walking through the tunnel, it ends in a ginormous viewing glass. There were two massive whale sharks, hundreds of fish and a few large sting rays as well.




 

Overall, I quite liked the aquarium, especially the spa music although I will probably never visit another aquarium in the near future. Seen one, seen them all, especially going to one as large as Georgia Aquarium.

The World of Coke was interesting. The best part was the tasting room although I found it amusing that there were drinks divided by continents however Australia (and Antarctica) were missing. The worst drink was the infamous Beverly.




The CNN tour was very boring but I visited purely because I already had a ticket. I visited on a Saturday ergo there was no one working at the studio hence the empty chairs at the computers. Although the floor of the food court was very cool; there are yellow tiles for the location of CNN studios around the world.


Of course I couldn't live in Atlanta without trying Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A is also headquartered in Atlanta. The burger was pretty good and I love the waffle fries. I met an interesting gentleman at the food court. I believe the conversation went along the lines of, "can I get you a coffee? Are you sure you don't want a coffee? You look really beautiful. Okay bye."

"What'll ya have?"

The Varsity is an iconic fastfood restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. It has the world's largest drive in and serves overpriced and terrible food. Upon entering the restaurant, you are exposed to a typical diner setting and also a very long counter with the workers yelling, "What'll ya have?" repeatedly. When I went the first time with some girls, it was very off-putting. The restaurant was pretty quiet and there were 5 employees just yelling it repeatedly.








I went a second time with all the other exchange students before the Georgia Tech football game. It was completely packed and only then was it appropriate for the employees to be yelling. I believe that my arteries clogged up from the greasy food.

exploring atlanta

1st - 2nd September 2012
This was last weekend before the semester started and a group of exchange students travelled to midtown for shopping at the Atlantic Station.  In the end though, I ended up separating from the group and explored midtown with Sunbear. On the Sunday, I explored both midtown and downtown by myself.

Warning: Image heavy.




I-75. By the end of the 4 months, I had been on this interstate more times than I can remember.

Stumbled upon this park with Sunbear nestled between homes in midtown. I couldn't find it again.



When I told people that I was going on exchange to Emory University in Georgia, USA. Most people my age didn't know where Georgia was. Truth be told, I only knew where Georgia was because Chris Lowell (who played Piz on Veronica Mars who was the best part of Season 3 {it was a weird season}) was born in Atlanta, Georgia and a simple hyperlink revealed the exact location of the state. I had to resort to telling people that I was 'going on exchange to Georgia, the state above Florida'. Once they realised that, they started to comment that it was in the south and to be 'careful'. Though, people who were older than me were aware of where Georgia was because the 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta.


Georgia Aquarium

Atlanta is also the home of the Coca-Cola company. This statute was in front of the 'World of Coca-Cola' museum. There are a thousand and one places called Woodruff, named after Robert W. Woodruff, president of Coca-Cola from 1923 until 1954 and a philanthropist: Woodruff Circle, Woodruff Park, Woodruff Arts Center, Woodruff Library, etc. There is overall a strong impact of Coca-Cola on Atlanta, especially at cultural attractions and educational institutions. For example, the business school that I attended was Goizueta Business School, named in honor of Roberto Goizueta, a past CEO and philanthropist whose foundation had pledged millions to the business school. There is actually quite an extensive display about him at the school though I can't remember 99.9% of the information that I read.

I love clouds.

Atlanta from the Ashes



One of the best playgrounds. Second to the one at Darling Harbour.

Skyline of midtown from Piedmont Park

When I went into Piedmont Park (which is massive! There are dog parks, picnic areas, sporting fields and trails), there were a lot of people. The demographic of Atlanta is as follows:
I am convinced that all the Asians lived near/ on university because if I was to explore any area, 90% of the time it almost always consisted of only African Americans. When I caught public transport, it was 100% of the time. I basically had a neon sign above my head that screamed, "TOURIST/ FOREIGNER" as nearly every local had a car and wouldn't be catching public transport. I used to 'play a game' where we would try to spot the other Asian or Asian girl. It never happened. I digress.

In the park, everyone was African American and in pairs and soon enough I realised that there were a lot of lesbian and gay couples which was slightly odd because I couldn't understand why there were around 100 couples. Eventually I stumbled across the sign; it was the weekend for the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Pride Celebration. Awkward; I was the only lone Asian girl wandering the park.

Atlanta is also known as Hotlanta in the summer simply because of the weather; 35 degrees celsius and 100% humidity is not great. Near the Fox Theatre, there was this amazing contraption (which was also present at Turner Field) where there was a massive fan and some water, creating a cooling mist. Despite the heat, I managed to walk a lot that day.

A walk that could have been planned a little better I do believe. I don't even think that I had lunch that day.

Atlanta Braves

31st August 2012
As part of our cultural immersion, the exchange coordinator had organised a trip to a game of baseball with the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. We had nosebleed seats, as they were the cheapest seats.








This was the day that I met Sunbear. It is a weird and amazing moment when you manage to talk to someone who has similar values and priorities. The baseball game itself was incredibly dull. I am not much of a sports fanatic. It was the first time I visisted downtown Atlanta and the seats were great as it showed an amazing view of the skyline of Atlanta.

When we got bored, we wandered around the stadium and Sunbear started to talk to a random man (as he does) who turned out to be the manager in charge of the fireworks and the three of us managed to get a certificate which said: "We visited our first baseball game". I am sure that they were meant for 4 year olds. The other memorable moment was the fireworks. There were fireworks at the end of the game however all the exchange students had left but I wanted to stay and watch and so the three of us watched the 9 minute long fireworks. It was interesting to catch the bus and train back to Decatur, a learning experience for all the future solo trips on public transport. There is something quite intimidating when catching public transport, especially when you are unfamiliar with the route.