Well... Jordan has made it to the land of Oz. It is definitely nice to have her here, she’s just a little piece of home. After she was re routed through Cairns she made it to Melbourne only three hours late. After I picked her up, we had a bit of lunch (pre-packaged frozen lasagna) and then I had to go to class. As she washed the previous 20 hours of flying and travel off of her and got cleaned up, I was learning about the History of Ireland. People were spouting off facts left and right and I knew nothing but the capital of Ireland and the difference between Northern Ireland and Ireland. After class was over I went and talked to the professor saying I knew absolutely nothing about Ireland besides its geographical location and apparently its capital city and she just seemed absolutely delighted. As if me being able to learn from everything she could teach was better than teaching the others who already knew a pretty fair amount about the subject.... Anyway, after calming my fears about Irish History, I took Jordan to the grocery store. I promised that our previous frozen lunch wouldn’t be what I’d make her eat on a daily basis. So, it was back to the Big W. After a walk about the store and trying to find the cheapest deals on food we walked out of there with a $67 grocery bill that we split, which I didn’t think was too bad for the next 10 days for two people. Certainly cheaper than eating out, where the minimum on any meal is around 18-20 dollars.
After getting back to my place, Jordan started pumping up her air mattress, which I have to say looks quite comfy... I may have to find a way to use it in conjunction with my bed, but I digress... any way, whilst she was doing that I started to cook our truly Australian dinner. As a bit of a welcoming meal, we purchased two Kangaroo steaks. Now, I hadn’t tried this either, so this was a new experience all around. I googled how best to cook them and it looked as if dicing them up like beef tips and cooking them in butter or oil until they were medium rare to medium was the best way to do it. I obviously chose butter because it tastes better, but details, details. So I seared the little Roo just until it was pink in the middle and took it off the heat. I topped the meat with sauteed portobello mushrooms and a side of green beans and buttery toasted bread. Yum... I’m hungry again, just talking about it. As we both looked skeptically at our plates, we found the best way to eat it was to simply dig in. It was a bit chewy, but I suppose that comes with any gamey meat, but the over all taste was pretty good. I can’t really compare it to anything I have ever had before. You could taste a bit of steak flavor just like in a beef steak, but it didn’t taste like beef. I was really expecting it to taste like deer, but that wasn’t it either. It was unique all on its own. And, seeing as we both ate every last bit of it, it must have been pretty good! I think what really made the meat flavorful, besides the butter, was the fact that we bought it pre marinated in garlic and herbs. I think it made it a lot more tender and delicious than it could have been otherwise.
After dinner, Jordan just wanted to go to bed, as if the last 30 hours of her being awake was some sort of burden on her liveliness, but being the good friend that I am I made her stay awake! After watching some Australian TV, where Jor marveled at the constant talk in an Australian accent, I finally broke out some hot tea and my personal favorite, Tim Tam’s. If you don’t know what a Tim Tam is, don’t worry I will be bringing plenty home for people to try... That is if I can get them past my mother, who if given the chance would probably be keeper of the Tim Tam’s (love you mom). All-in-all it was a very Australian, very pleasant day with good company, who only complained a little bit about tiredness.
On a side note, I can’t believe I have already been in the land of Oz for twenty days now. In some regards it feels like I have been here longer, but looking back (especially the fact I have completed an entire week of classes) I only feel like I have been here for a couple of days.
Well it took Jordan all of about 2.8 milliseconds to fall asleep, so I suppose I better catch some Z’s myself. Until next time, no worries!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Classes Commence
Hey everyone, How ya going? Last night was a bit of a restless night... Today was the start of classes and I was a bit anxious. Just laying in bed, thinking or praying desperately to let my first day go well and let my first two classes be fun. I finally fell asleep (with the help of one Tylenol PM) I awoke to my alarm, at 8:00 am mind you, ready to go. As I was getting my things together for the day I said one last prayer and knew today would turn out in one of two ways. 1) I would be completely shut down and absolutely ready to go home, or 2) I would be glad to be back at school and everything would be great. Thankfully it was the latter. My first class, contemporary issues in Australia, was a riot. First of all, the professor looks like Einstein and is absolutely hilarious. He kept talking with his hands and when he noticed what he was doing he apologized for french miming and doing odd ballet moves. I think this will be a good class... My second class of the day was Internet Meets Society. It is all about how the internet and specifically social networking has changed the lives of society as a whole. The professor here is kinda punk rockish and is super cool. He’s Canadian so I can understand him better than some of the Australians so that is nice. I also forgot how much I really do enjoy University campus’s. All of the students milling around and people sitting in the grass or on benches reading text books. Even the smell of the little coffee stands as you walk by them. They all let you know that you are back at school and everyone there is present to achieve the same things.
Anyway, today was an over all good day. As I walked do the sidewalk on my way back to my flat I couldn’t help but smile as Dynamite by Taio Cruz came on my iPod. The part where he says “I came to dance dance dance dance” I thought about how I just need to go with the rhythm of life here. Not that I need to physically dance my way through life in Australia, but to just go with the flow here. Let each day be a new dance, new rhythm and just play along. I think if I just stick to that, I’ll be just fine here and home before I know it. On a side note and digressing to way less serious stuff... it has come to my attention that I am attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is under the cover name of The University of Melbourne however. As you will see in the pictures I’m going to upload the campus is insanely gorgeous.
I’m also going to upload a couple of pictures from the beach. Yesterday I met up with Lee and for those of you in my family you will know who I am talking about. Lee, her sister Jane, and I all went to a town called Sorrento. It is right at the bottom tip of Australia, South East of Melbourne. You will have to google map it to see the exact location, but it is a really touristy town and a lot of older people go there to retire. It was really beautiful, and full of nice homes. It was an absolutely sunny and perfect day for a stroll along the boardwalk that was full of shops and stores. We also ate lunch at this nice pub that overlooked the water. That too was just an amazing day! After that, we just drove up the coast all the way back to Melbourne.
Not too much else to mention. I am just hoping that my next two classes tomorrow are just as good as the ones today. That would make for a great semester. I’ll try to post again soon! Keep up the chatting on FB I love hearing from home!! Until next time... no worries!
Anyway, today was an over all good day. As I walked do the sidewalk on my way back to my flat I couldn’t help but smile as Dynamite by Taio Cruz came on my iPod. The part where he says “I came to dance dance dance dance” I thought about how I just need to go with the rhythm of life here. Not that I need to physically dance my way through life in Australia, but to just go with the flow here. Let each day be a new dance, new rhythm and just play along. I think if I just stick to that, I’ll be just fine here and home before I know it. On a side note and digressing to way less serious stuff... it has come to my attention that I am attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is under the cover name of The University of Melbourne however. As you will see in the pictures I’m going to upload the campus is insanely gorgeous.
I’m also going to upload a couple of pictures from the beach. Yesterday I met up with Lee and for those of you in my family you will know who I am talking about. Lee, her sister Jane, and I all went to a town called Sorrento. It is right at the bottom tip of Australia, South East of Melbourne. You will have to google map it to see the exact location, but it is a really touristy town and a lot of older people go there to retire. It was really beautiful, and full of nice homes. It was an absolutely sunny and perfect day for a stroll along the boardwalk that was full of shops and stores. We also ate lunch at this nice pub that overlooked the water. That too was just an amazing day! After that, we just drove up the coast all the way back to Melbourne.
Not too much else to mention. I am just hoping that my next two classes tomorrow are just as good as the ones today. That would make for a great semester. I’ll try to post again soon! Keep up the chatting on FB I love hearing from home!! Until next time... no worries!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Footy Match
Hey all... How ya going? That’s what they say here instead of How are you doing? Anywho... the last couple of days have been pretty dull. A couple more orientations and some long lines to wait in, but I think i have about 90% of the things I need to have done settled so I can begin class on Monday, and the other 10% can be sorted out after that... On the up side to standing in line for an hour waiting to get a class sorted and another 20 minutes to get my student ID, I was able to charm my way into getting a student transportation Concessions card. Which means I get huge discounts on my public transport. Study abroad kids aren’t supposed to get them, but due to my amazing people skills and charming wit, I walked out of the Student center feeling pretty good about life.
The afternoon wasn’t much more exciting. Apart from being able to finagle two dollars off of a kilogram of portobello mushrooms I just watched TV and chatted with a friend. It wasn’t until about 5 O’clock that I got a call from another friend who said there was a footy match on at 7:40 pm. Now footy refers to a game that is very unique to Australia. I thought it was referring to “football” or Soccer as we call it, but boy was I wrong. Much like how NFL football is only played in the US, footy is only played in Australia. The game is played with a football that looks like an american football on steroids. The rules are similar to soccer, and the running around looks like soccer, but you can carry the ball. The ball can be kicked, passed, dribbled, or tossed in any way to pass it to your teammate. You can also tackle people just like in American football. The play is continuous and is divided up into four, thirty-minute quarters, or there about, depending on how much time was lost due to injury or out of bounds. Any way, the match was super intense, the two teams playing were big rivalries. It is also a pretty high scoring game due to the fact that there are four posts and if you make it between the middle two you get 6 points and if you make it between the outer two you only get 1. With a six point shot right in the last 20 second’s St. Kilda tied Hawthorne 81-81 and that’s how it ended. They don’t play over time. Seriously though... everyone should look up AFL footy matches on youtube or just google it and watch what I’m talking about, because it is unlike anything you have seen before.
After the hype of the game wore off, we all came back to “The Village” as we call the place where we stay.. It’s really called RMIT village, but we like being “the village people.” We are planning on going to watch Inception tomorrow at the IMAX. It has been all over the Australian news as a must see, so we are must seeing it! Hopefully I’ll have some more pictures to update soon. I am waiting for a sunny day to take pictures of campus and it has just been rainy and cold and the campus is much prettier in the light.
Until my next post... no worries!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Info Sessions Galore
Sorry for the Lag in updates... This past week has been nothing but Flyers, posters, meetings, orientations, more flyers and handouts and A LOT of new people. We have been shuffled around to all of these international student briefings and I have met more people from around the world than people who are actually from Australia. Classes start on the 26th so I still have a little time still before everything gets going to sort of process all of the new info being thrown at me....
Beyond that, I am totally in love with this city! There are cafe’s everywhere, places to shop, touristy things to do... basically everything you could possibly want out of a city and more. I think I’ve finally settled in. I gave in though and bought a heater for my room. I thought I could stick it out and just wear warm clothes, but last night was the coldest since we’ve been here and I just couldn’t take it any more. They had one for $13 at the Big W which is the big grocery store here. I didn’t think $13 was too bad for a little extra comfort. Everything in this city is insanely expensive though... I still can’t really get over it.
The university is so beautiful. It looks like something out of Harry Potter. We’ve all decided to dress up in Hogwarts robes for halloween. There are huge open grassy places to sit and there are some huge trees with bright pink flowers on them. I’m anxious to get classes started and get into a routine of things.
I feel like this is a bit of a lame post, but there really isn’t much to say. Just a lot of new info and city exploration. Just trying to get my bearings. I will try to put up some pictures soon... I have to pay for internet per MB so uploading pictures costs quite a bit so I will try to pick out some good ones to share.
Missing you all and I’ll post again soon.. until then, no worries!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Finally in Melbourne
Well... I’ve finally made it to Melbourne! It is a lot colder here than in Cairns. The temps are around 55-60 degrees, depending on the weather.... Which actually changes a lot. I thought Missouri weather changed quickly, but Melbourne weather is like Missouri weather on crack. Today’s forecast was literally this: Morning-sunny with high’s in the 60’s this afternoon cloudy with temps in the 50’s late afternoon rain with high winds and this evening cool and clear skies. You can basically plan on not being able to plan for what the weather will be like, so you just take everything you may need in a day.
Adjusting to life here was a bit rough especially after being in Cairns for a week. Our group leaders definitely took care of us with food and activities, but after we got off of our plane here we were basically on our own with no food or grasp of where anything was, we simply had a place to sleep. However, if I were choosing from a list of necessities, having a warm place to sleep would come before food, as I can sort that out later. Speaking of warm places to stay though, Australia is very environmentally friendly and very conscious of how much energy and water they use so buildings here don’t have heating or A/C so you are basically up to the mercy of the weather of the day. I have to sleep in a hoodie and sweat pants to keep warm at night but its all good. They also are very conservative on water here because it is expected that by 2050 water will be a scarce resource here. Therefore in the showers, they have hourglasses that are on a 4 minute timer so you don’t take too long of a shower. Toilets also have separate buttons for #1’s and #2’s so the same amount of water isn’t used for both. Also toilet water is just recycled grey water so it really isn’t clean. Their philosophy is that why would you use perfectly clean water just to flush the toilet? Which actually makes sense to me!
As for food here, I finally got that all settled. There is a HUGE open air market that is just a 5 minute walk away and you can buy anything you need there. There are all kinds of fresh meats, veggies, cheeses, and my favorite... breads. For all of your other needs like soap, crisps (potato chips) butter, milk and more, there is a store called Woolworth's or “The Big W” which is a Target/Wal-mart hybrid for all of your grocery needs. Those are the cheapest places to shop and saving money is very important here. The generic brand here is called “Home Brand” it is like Great Value in the states. Minimum wage here is $20 per hour so everything costs a lot more and it’s hard to find bargains. Luckily the US $ is stronger than the Australian dollar so that helps a bit.
All-in-all I am doing good. I just have to keep moving and stay active. That helps fight the homesickness. There are apparently four stages of culture shock/homesickness and stage two is the worst so we are all just trying to fight stage two and just by pass it to the recovery and acceptance stage, or stage three. I just know that this semester is going to go by insainly fast and I need to make the most of my trip so that helps. I have met tons of people and am making new friends. I am anxious to meet more Australians, as it will be nice to learn more about the culture in which I am living. I am also anxious for Jordan to get here... I am kinda ready for a friend from home! It will be nice to have someone I know here to visit! :) Anyway, that’s about all I have for now. Tomorrow I am going to explore the Uni (University) and check out the lay of the land. I have parts of the city down, now I just need to get the hang of school. Please feel free to leave comments here, I would love to hear from people at home! I’ll try to post my address as soon as I know what it is. Until then, no worries!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Kangaroos, Koala's, Aborigines and Boomerangs
Today we went to a place up in the rain forest in the mountains. First of all, the views were absolutely amazing! You could see out over town and the ocean. Once at the zoo, we were able to pet all of the animals including Kangaroos and Koala's and snakes and all sorts of indigenous animals. I got my picture taken with them all, except for the snakes. I ALMOST did it, but then it started crawling down someones shirt and that did it for me. I touched it but that was as far as I got! After that we learned how to throw a boomerang and it was totally awesome. The guy showed us how to hold it and then throw it and it actually circled around and came back. They told us they are used for killing birds in flocks, so that was pretty cool. After our boomerang lesson, we went and were showed how to throw a spear and this guy flung the spear and it hit a coconut from on top of a log... it was pretty awesome! Then we got to see a native aboriginal dance and I have some video's but I will post them when my internet connection is faster and I'm not paying $1 for 15 minutes!
At the end of the day I got to hold a Koala and get my picture taken with it. It was very soft and its claws were super sharp. He started to really hold onto my shirt and it made me a bit nervous because he started to clamp on tighter, but his cuteness totally pushed out any worriesome thoughts.
Now we are all back at the hostel and I am sitting by the pool. Tomorrow I am just going to the beach with a couple of friends. We have a free day so we can all just go wherever we want. Then on Saturday we head to Melbourne! I am way excited to get down to where we are going to be living and just unpack. I have clothes eveywhere now and I am NOT looking forward to packing it back up and then unpacking it all again.
I suppose that's about it for now. Just wanted to send a little update.. Until next time, No worries!
At the end of the day I got to hold a Koala and get my picture taken with it. It was very soft and its claws were super sharp. He started to really hold onto my shirt and it made me a bit nervous because he started to clamp on tighter, but his cuteness totally pushed out any worriesome thoughts.
Now we are all back at the hostel and I am sitting by the pool. Tomorrow I am just going to the beach with a couple of friends. We have a free day so we can all just go wherever we want. Then on Saturday we head to Melbourne! I am way excited to get down to where we are going to be living and just unpack. I have clothes eveywhere now and I am NOT looking forward to packing it back up and then unpacking it all again.
I suppose that's about it for now. Just wanted to send a little update.. Until next time, No worries!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Welcome to the Land Down Under!
Two days, Two continents and three flights later, I have finally made to Australia. I’ve actually only been in Australia a total of three days now, but it seems like the journey and time here have been much more than that. I left the states on Saturday July 10 and arrived in Brisbaine, Australia on the 12th. I then took a flight to Cairns (pronounced cans) that same day in Northern Australia. Once we all arrived in Cairns, we were transferred to a youth hostel where I am currently writing this post. The first day, there were many activities... basically forced movement so we all couldn’t go to sleep... things like a BBQ and meet and greet, and then dinner together. After all of that we could finally sleep.
The next day was early, we were up at six and on a boat by 7:30 headed for the Great Barrier Reef. This was one of the most incredible days of my life to date! It took us about two hours to sail out to the reef and after a lot of sea sickness (fortunately I never got sick) and some snorkeling instructions we had made it to our destination. Having been a seasoned snorkeler I was one of the first to jump in. The water was such a deep royal blue and so clear you could see the entire reef laid out before you. The amounts of bright colorful fish swimming around and choral on the reef was just stunning. There were yellow’s and deep and bright blues, followed by red and even orange. I was able to see a sea turtle and even some fish that looked like Nemo and Dori! It truly was an amazing experience! After we finished at the reef, we set sail for land and we had a light afternoon tea, which has turned out to be a daily occurrence and I love it!
The next day, (today the 14th) we were all rounded up to do a community service project. We went up into the mountains and stopped at this lady’s tree farm. For the past fifteen years she has been planting trees and doing some environmental work, so we learned about the local vegetation and then went out and planted some trees at a local school next to their football (soccer) field. It was a great afternoon and an awesome way to just give back to the community and Australia as a whole.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo where we will be able to pet a Koala and a Kangaroo and just look around with a free day in the evening and another free day on friday before we pack up and go to Melbourne on Saturday.
All-in-all I am having a great time. I have already made some good friends and am very much looking forward to the experience ahead of me. I haven’t had any homesickness so far, but I am sure that will come in time. I am looking forward to school and life as a whole here in Australia. The people here are amazingly friendly and just super laid back. They also have a very unique sense of humor and I find it pretty funny. Australians also really like to pick on people and the more you are picked on, the more they like you and the less they like you, the more they just leave you alone. So, it will be neat to become more integrated into their way of life.
Looking to have a pretty chilled out evening tonight. A group of us went out last night for dinner and some dancing so we are all gonna sit by the pool and just chill out.... Speaking of, It is literally the “heart of winter” here and everything is green and lush and it is super warm. ALSO, due to the hole in the Ozone layer the sun’s rays get at you MUCH faster than in the states so constant sunscreen application is a MUST!
Well... on that note, I think I am gonna chill out for a bit and call it an evening. I will try to write again soon.. Until then, no worries.
The next day was early, we were up at six and on a boat by 7:30 headed for the Great Barrier Reef. This was one of the most incredible days of my life to date! It took us about two hours to sail out to the reef and after a lot of sea sickness (fortunately I never got sick) and some snorkeling instructions we had made it to our destination. Having been a seasoned snorkeler I was one of the first to jump in. The water was such a deep royal blue and so clear you could see the entire reef laid out before you. The amounts of bright colorful fish swimming around and choral on the reef was just stunning. There were yellow’s and deep and bright blues, followed by red and even orange. I was able to see a sea turtle and even some fish that looked like Nemo and Dori! It truly was an amazing experience! After we finished at the reef, we set sail for land and we had a light afternoon tea, which has turned out to be a daily occurrence and I love it!
The next day, (today the 14th) we were all rounded up to do a community service project. We went up into the mountains and stopped at this lady’s tree farm. For the past fifteen years she has been planting trees and doing some environmental work, so we learned about the local vegetation and then went out and planted some trees at a local school next to their football (soccer) field. It was a great afternoon and an awesome way to just give back to the community and Australia as a whole.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo where we will be able to pet a Koala and a Kangaroo and just look around with a free day in the evening and another free day on friday before we pack up and go to Melbourne on Saturday.
All-in-all I am having a great time. I have already made some good friends and am very much looking forward to the experience ahead of me. I haven’t had any homesickness so far, but I am sure that will come in time. I am looking forward to school and life as a whole here in Australia. The people here are amazingly friendly and just super laid back. They also have a very unique sense of humor and I find it pretty funny. Australians also really like to pick on people and the more you are picked on, the more they like you and the less they like you, the more they just leave you alone. So, it will be neat to become more integrated into their way of life.
Looking to have a pretty chilled out evening tonight. A group of us went out last night for dinner and some dancing so we are all gonna sit by the pool and just chill out.... Speaking of, It is literally the “heart of winter” here and everything is green and lush and it is super warm. ALSO, due to the hole in the Ozone layer the sun’s rays get at you MUCH faster than in the states so constant sunscreen application is a MUST!
Well... on that note, I think I am gonna chill out for a bit and call it an evening. I will try to write again soon.. Until then, no worries.
Welcome to the Land Down Under!
Two days, Two continents and three flights later, I have finally made to Australia. I’ve actually only been in Australia a total of three days now, but it seems like the journey and time here have been much more than that. I left the states on Saturday July 10 and arrived in Brisbaine, Australia on the 12th. I then took a flight to Cairns (pronounced cans) that same day in Northern Australia. Once we all arrived in Cairns, we were transferred to a youth hostel where I am currently writing this post. The first day, there were many activities... basically forced movement so we all couldn’t go to sleep... things like a BBQ and meet and greet, and then dinner together. After all of that we could finally sleep.
The next day was early, we were up at six and on a boat by 7:30 headed for the Great Barrier Reef. This was one of the most incredible days of my life to date! It took us about two hours to sail out to the reef and after a lot of sea sickness (fortunately I never got sick) and some snorkeling instructions we had made it to our destination. Having been a seasoned snorkeler I was one of the first to jump in. The water was such a deep royal blue and so clear you could see the entire reef laid out before you. The amounts of bright colorful fish swimming around and choral on the reef was just stunning. There were yellow’s and deep and bright blues, followed by red and even orange. I was able to see a sea turtle and even some fish that looked like Nemo and Dori! It truly was an amazing experience! After we finished at the reef, we set sail for land and we had a light afternoon tea, which has turned out to be a daily occurrence and I love it!
The next day, (today the 14th) we were all rounded up to do a community service project. We went up into the mountains and stopped at this lady’s tree farm. For the past fifteen years she has been planting trees and doing some environmental work, so we learned about the local vegetation and then went out and planted some trees at a local school next to their football (soccer) field. It was a great afternoon and an awesome way to just give back to the community and Australia as a whole.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo where we will be able to pet a Koala and a Kangaroo and just look around with a free day in the evening and another free day on friday before we pack up and go to Melbourne on Saturday.
All-in-all I am having a great time. I have already made some good friends and am very much looking forward to the experience ahead of me. I haven’t had any homesickness so far, but I am sure that will come in time. I am looking forward to school and life as a whole here in Australia. The people here are amazingly friendly and just super laid back. They also have a very unique sense of humor and I find it pretty funny. Australians also really like to pick on people and the more you are picked on, the more they like you and the less they like you, the more they just leave you alone. So, it will be neat to become more integrated into their way of life.
Looking to have a pretty chilled out evening tonight. A group of us went out last night for dinner and some dancing so we are all gonna sit by the pool and just chill out.... Speaking of, It is literally the “heart of winter” here and everything is green and lush and it is super warm. ALSO, due to the hole in the Ozone layer the sun’s rays get at you MUCH faster than in the states so constant sunscreen application is a MUST!
Well... on that note, I think I am gonna chill out for a bit and call it an evening. I will try to write again soon.. Until then, no worries.
The next day was early, we were up at six and on a boat by 7:30 headed for the Great Barrier Reef. This was one of the most incredible days of my life to date! It took us about two hours to sail out to the reef and after a lot of sea sickness (fortunately I never got sick) and some snorkeling instructions we had made it to our destination. Having been a seasoned snorkeler I was one of the first to jump in. The water was such a deep royal blue and so clear you could see the entire reef laid out before you. The amounts of bright colorful fish swimming around and choral on the reef was just stunning. There were yellow’s and deep and bright blues, followed by red and even orange. I was able to see a sea turtle and even some fish that looked like Nemo and Dori! It truly was an amazing experience! After we finished at the reef, we set sail for land and we had a light afternoon tea, which has turned out to be a daily occurrence and I love it!
The next day, (today the 14th) we were all rounded up to do a community service project. We went up into the mountains and stopped at this lady’s tree farm. For the past fifteen years she has been planting trees and doing some environmental work, so we learned about the local vegetation and then went out and planted some trees at a local school next to their football (soccer) field. It was a great afternoon and an awesome way to just give back to the community and Australia as a whole.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo where we will be able to pet a Koala and a Kangaroo and just look around with a free day in the evening and another free day on friday before we pack up and go to Melbourne on Saturday.
All-in-all I am having a great time. I have already made some good friends and am very much looking forward to the experience ahead of me. I haven’t had any homesickness so far, but I am sure that will come in time. I am looking forward to school and life as a whole here in Australia. The people here are amazingly friendly and just super laid back. They also have a very unique sense of humor and I find it pretty funny. Australians also really like to pick on people and the more you are picked on, the more they like you and the less they like you, the more they just leave you alone. So, it will be neat to become more integrated into their way of life.
Looking to have a pretty chilled out evening tonight. A group of us went out last night for dinner and some dancing so we are all gonna sit by the pool and just chill out.... Speaking of, It is literally the “heart of winter” here and everything is green and lush and it is super warm. ALSO, due to the hole in the Ozone layer the sun’s rays get at you MUCH faster than in the states so constant sunscreen application is a MUST!
Well... on that note, I think I am gonna chill out for a bit and call it an evening. I will try to write again soon.. Until then, no worries.
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