No place like home.

So I've been home now for about a week...and have been meaning to update this blog one last time for about a week. I've been incredibly busy since I've been home...and loving it. Aside from getting adjusted to the time change and catching up on sleep, I've been preparing stuff for graduation, grad school, my cousin's wedding, this summer (and the fact that I don't have a job..) the list goes on and on....

The rest of the week in NZ went slow...we were all ready to go home. We went black water rafting one day- worst experience EVER. The water was cold, the cave was creepy, and the tour guide was a jerk. Upon returning to Auckland, we still reaked of sulfur and were exhausted. We stayed in the hotel for most the remaining time, aside from leaving for Wendy's and a hilarious comedy club (oh, and tracking down our rental car after it got towed!) We spent the last day in NZ catching up with the rest of the BSU group in the Auckland Airport. The flights were fine...I actually liked the 13 hour flight better than the 5 hour flight (LAX to NC.) We had a 10 hour lay over in LA so we took a bus to Santa Monica and sat on the beach all day (like we didn't get enough beach time in the past 3 months!) Although, I was so so so happy to see my mom and dad at the airport Monday morning, it was depressing saying goodbye to my friends which quickly had become my "aussie family." We went though a lot together...

I have learned a lot in the past three months. I learned more about myself than anticipated. I realized I'm more independent and mature than I thought (surprise!) I learned that everything really does happen for a reason and life will take you unexpected places, if you let it.
I have stories and inside jokes with life-long friends that I will always cherish. I've experienced more than I ever could imagine...things I'm fairly convinced only happens in such a place as Australia. I took my last undergraduate "final" exam in a rain forest with a koala in the trees above as a member of the audience. I witnessed a girl at Subway making my sub without any shoes (no worries, mate?) Unfortunately, I sat through two wonderfully-long (LONG LONG LONG) trips to Ballina hospital (including an x-ray and crutches...for less that $120...wow!) I dove to the depths of the ocean and jumped out of a plane in the heights of the sky. I even went to church (for an accidental 2 hours. . . I didn't get the memo about day light savings time!)In the past three months, I have sat on 15 different plane rides...and managed to come home with a LITTLE bit of money left. I did everything I could in the time I had. . . and relaxed as much as possible! I am blessed for this opportunity in my life. Thank you to all that have followed this blog...I'm glad I could share some of my Aussie stories with you. I have many other great stories to share and even better stories not to share! Some things are better left down under. :)


Like I said, I have been back for a week...and I feel like I had never left. I am really happy to be home although I really miss Australia. Life there seemed like a dream. . . and as awesome as that was- there really is no place like home.

I WILL go back to Australia...some day. Until then, I plan on taking life one day at a time, enjoying every minute of it!

The Kiwi Effect.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet...or at least try (your welcome, mike!) On Sunday, we all moved out of the cabins at Lake Ainsworth (choatic!) and left Australia. It was really bittersweet leaving Australia...I've been having an incredible time, but have been ready to come home for about a week or so. The thing that made me most sad about leaving Australia was leaving Ken and Mary. They came to the airport to see me off which meant a lot to me. I have really enjoyed getting to know my family from across the world.
After a 3 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand we waiting in the airport for another 3 hours. It took forever to go through coustoms, find a storage for our many many many bags, and rent a car. Yes, that's right, we rented a car! I finally got to try driving on the opposite side of the road! (and surprise, I wasn't good on that side either!) So six of us girls (Steph, Sammy, Brittany, Stacey, Erika and I) cramed into the little SUV we rented and began The Tour de New Zealand. We stayed in Auckland that night and in the morning headed to Rotorua (a 3 hour drive.) We were shocked when checked into our crazy hostel "Cactus Jack's Backpackers". . . it is crazy. It is decorated in all western theme items. . . it's intense and a little tacky but a lot of fun. As gross as hostels can be, it is usually a fun and unique experience. Last night we sat around one of the common rooms and hung out with 2 guys from France and 3 guys from Germany. It's cool to interact with so many different cultures here. Backpackers alwasy seem friendly (I think backpacker's religion is Karma...they can't screw over someone when they are living on almost nothing themselves) Everyone always seems to have a great story of why they are traveling. I think people in the US are the only ones that don't pick up and leave the country for a few years to travel before becoming an "adult."
This is getting longer than I expected...and my money is running out (it's 2 dollars for a half hour of internet..) SOOO let me break down my Rotorua adventures for ya:

Zorbing...sooo fun and funny. Steph and I were put into a big hamster ball filled with warm water (thank god it was warm...it's sooo cold in NZ!) and rolled down a hill. We couldn't stop laughing and falling all over the place. It was so cool!

Kiwi Encounter...we went to this neat little "zoo" or conservation place to see live kiwi's (NZ's national bird...if you don't know what they look like...google it. SO cute and goofy looking) We only saw one but the zoo itself was pretty cool. We were the only ones in there (apparently people in NZ don't go to zoos when it's 15 degrees Celcius and raining...) So we pretty much had the park to ourselves.

Te Puia...a park that was all about the Maori culture. The Maori people are the natives to NZ. The stuff we were looking at and watching was like out of a National Geographic show...it is weird to think people lived (and still live) like that in some parts of the world. We watched a concert that 6 Maori people put on that had a lot of their traditional songs and dances. The place also had boiling mud ponds, sulfer lakes (that are all over Rotorua, making the whole town stink) and a gyser.

Hell's Gate Mud bath....the weirdest thing I've experienced on this trip. We went to this place where we first walked around (very quickly because we've all been cold since we got here) There were more sulfer springs, lakes, hot waterfalls, boiling mud...and all the geothermic good stuff (you would have loved it, mike!) Then we sat into a mud bath which is supposed to be relaxing and good for your skin.. . but we giggled the whole time and now I just smell! After the mud bath, we sat into a sulfer pool that is supposed to be even better for your skin...making us smell even more!

Skydiving.....AMAZING! The craziest thing I've ever done! It was soooo incredible! Words can't describe it, but thankfully I purchased the overpriced DVD and photos so you can all see it when I get back!

Today we're leaving Rotorua for Wiatoma. It is about 2 hours away from here. . . another road trip on the wrong side of the road. Wiotoma is famous for their glow worm caves. Today we have an appoitment to black water raft through the caves..should be fun!

(darn, I tried really hard to keep it short...sorry!)

Whitsundays....the great escape

So the week of Easter weekend Brittany and I decided to travel to the Whitsunday Island. The Whitsundays is a chain of 74 islands all around the great barrier reef...and they are absolutely beautiful! To get there was a full day of travel. We woke up early to catch a bus to Byron, to hop on a greyhound to Brisbane (a three hour drive), board a train to the airport, to get onto a plane to Prosperine, then on another bus to Airlie Beach...but when we finally arrived 12 hours later, it was worth it. We checked into our hostel and the front desk guy quickly told us what we should do with our visit and then booked it for us. We signed up for a package for "backpackers." It is a two day adventure around the islands.
So the first day, Brit and I got on a large boat that took us around some of the outter islands then attached to a large pontoon-like boat. There we had the option to snorkel or SCUBA (of course, we dove), go on a glass bottom observation area, a submarine, lay in the sun, go down a big tube water slide, or just simply swim off the boat. It was so much fun and of course, Brit and I tried to do it all. The second day, we boarded a sail boat that took us around another loop of islands. We stopped at Whitheavan Island, one of the most famous islands. It was incredible! The sand was so soft and white, and the water was crystal blue. I have never seen such a beautiful beach in my life! On the sail boat, Brittany and I were just laying on the trampoline-like area soaking up the sun and acting really crazy (singing disney songs, quoting movies, and laughing like idiots) We were having a blast acting silly...and we figured no one knew us and half the people on the boat didn't even speak English (by the way..it was really neat to be surround by so many people from across the world. . . it was sort of nuts at times!) Well, after we got knocked over by a huge wave and the whole boat is laughing at us...we get asked "are you from the states???" Now many times since I've been here, I've been asked that and sometimes I'm a little reluctant to answer. Once you admit your from the states, people like to talk politics or ask about current situations...and it's really uncomfortable. (I sometimes just say "yes" when people ask if I'm from Canada...haha) But Brittany and I didn't lie and told him we were from the states....and turned out he was a current student at IU! He (Anthony) and his friend, Amber, are Indiana U students that are doing their student teaching in Sydney! So we hung out with them the whole day (and took full advantage of the open bar!) Needless to say, we had a really amazing time. We were able to relax in a semi-quiet atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and meet some incredible people.
On Friday, we flew back into Brisbane where Ken and Mary picked us up. Brittany and I spent the next couple days at their place in the Gold Coast. They once again, opened their house to me and made me feel right at home. It was really nice to be able to spend Easter with family. (And the Easter bunny found me all the way in Australia ...haha Thanks, Mary!!!) I was really sad to leave Sunday evening, knowing it would be my last time in a loonngg time that I would be able to visit them. It has been great to spend time with family I hardly knew before. I can truly say that visiting their home and getting to know them has been one of my favorite experiences in Australia.

Ball State Presents: SOOO Many Activities!

For one of my classes this semester, some classmates and I had to create an event for the community of Lennox Head. For weeks we have been planning a "field day" involving many games such as dizzy bat, three-legged race, balloon toss, rock climbing, archery, arts and crafts, tug of war, watermelon eating contest....and so on. Saturday was finally the day of the big event...and it went surprisingly well!! About 200(+) families from the community came out for the big event. Thankfully, the event was held during the 3 hours it has not rained in about 7 days! Everything turned out great and the kids loved all the activities (especially the watermelon eating contest!...and football toss. they were confused by the shape of an American football!) It was wonderful to get to interact with people of the community. I especially enjoyed talking to the kids...their little accents are so cute!

Once the event was over, the sky opened back up...and the rain continued. It has been raining here for a week now.. . and we're all starting to get a little bit of cabin fever. Thankfully, I leave tomorrow (tuesday) for another adventure. Brittany and I are going to explore around the Whitsunday Island (a chain of 74 islands around the Great Barrier Reef!) I'm sure Brittany and I will encounter some pretty crazy stories on this upcoming adventure... so stay tuned :)

cheers!!

Save the Sea Birds!

This past Friday I had an amazing opportunity to volunteer at a sea turtle and sea bird rescue place. Sam, Olivia and I were picked up early in the morning to travel to Ballina where the center is. We have been there before for a field trip so we were a little familiar with the program. They had 7 sea turtles in different tanks and 6 birds (different species.) We helped weigh and feed the birds. One bird, Bob the spoonbill had been at the center for weeks and is almost ready to be released back into the wild...so, we went on an adventure looking for his new home. We drove around around the different water communities (one including the waste treatment plant...ew) looking for other spoonbills that could potentially be Bob's new friends. We were unsuccessful. When we got back to the center, it was feeding time. We had to force feed one really sick bird (the vet held it as we shoved tiny fish into it's beak.) And we got to hang out in Bob's cage and feed him (he did NOT need to be forced...he was very willing to eat...and nibble at EVERY THING! I didn't realize a bird could have so much personality!)
We also got to help the vet, Rosario feed some of the sea turtles. Rosario was from South America and had been volunteering there for only about 2 weeks. She did speak much English so I had fun attempting to speak some Spanish with her (I was not very good...haha)
Unfortunately, one of the sea turtles died while we were there. It was sad but we got to witness something pretty cool: a sea turtle autopsy. Richelle, a marine biologist and the owner of the center, cut open the turtle. We removed the intestine and squeezed out the waste inside looking for plastic or anything harmful that may have killed the turtle. Most turtles die from digesting plastic that had been thrown out to sea... but we didn't find any plastic in this guy so we're not sure what may have caused him to become so sick :(
It was such a cool experience being able to help at the rescue center. I think if I would have stuck to marine biology, that would have been my dream job!

yeah, extreme, yeah!

Friday morning I took a bus to Bryon, a greyhound to the Gold Coast, another bus to Coolengatta, and then finally a plan to Cairns for a full weekend jammed packed of amazing adventures. In Cairns (pronounced “CANS”) a small group of us had plans to do some SCUBA diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Britny, Stephanie, Joe, Chris, Danny, Kelsey and I arrived in the city and had the day and night to explore. Parts of Cairns reminded me of Bolder, Colorado. The street was filled with miscellaneous shops (most souvenir shops), restaurants, and random street vendors selling things like jewelry. At night, we went to the night market where there was a bunch of little cheapy souvenir shops selling just about everything you could imagine. . . I loved it!

Saturday the adventure began. We were picked up at our hotel by the Cairns Dive Centre where we soon boarded a tiny boat. We took the boat, Sunkist, on a two hour bumpy ride out to the Great Barrier Reef. Luckily, I did not get sea sick, but about half the individuals (there was about 40 on the boat) were starting to look a little green. One girl spent the two hours vomiting into a bucket. Needless to say, it was a long two hours. We then boarded our boat, The Kangaroo Explorer, which became our home for two amazing days. After a quick tour and briefing meeting, we were already gearing up for our first SCUBA dive. We did six dives total all throughout various times of the day (and night!) Each dive was better than the previous. I don’t know if it was because I was getting more comfortable in the water or because we were moving to different parts of the reef or what…but it was incredible. I saw thousands of fish, turtles, sharks (small reef sharks…that I tried to chase down so I could touch them), a barracuda, and HUGE clams. The coral was absolutely stunning. Many times through my dives, I would just stare up and the reef, admiring massive structure and brilliant colors. The night dive was neat…although it was a little scary at first. It was creepy being in the middle of the ocean, about 20 meters below the surface, in the complete dark, geared with only a tiny flashlight (aussies call flashlights “torches”…but this was not a torch at all…it was a small, dim light.) That night on the boat, we were all exhausted and went to bed early. Although I was so tired, I found it took me a while to fall asleep in the top bunk of a rocking boat. Late Sunday afternoon, we left the boat, boarded the tiny Sunkist boat again for the 2 hour trip back to the city of Cairns. That night, we got to our really nice resort that we were staying at, drank a beer, and passed out only to wake up for our next adventure. (after SCUBA diving, there is a lot of nitrogen in your body…and one beer is all you need…trust me hahah)

Monday was an EXTREME day. (Extreme became the theme of this trip…it’s the only word that can describe all the madness) We got up early (again) to head to Tully for a full day of white water rafting. We signed up for the “extreme” tour which included over 5 hours of rafting, body surfing down the rapids, jumping off cliffs, waterfalls, and “drowning simulations.” It was intense…no, I mean EXTREME! The rapid guides were nuts, they were so full of energy (and full of bullcrap!) They told stories of previous groups…some of which were hilarious and others were scary. They mentioned that there had been crocs spotted in the river too…which I was not thrilled about! I had not been rafting before so I was already nervous and their extreme stories were not calming me down much. But after a while of being out there, I was loving it! There were times in the river where we would stop to climb up rocks and jump into the water below. We were able to swim down some of the rapids which was sooo fun. One bigger rapid was a bit intense…I got several mouthfuls of water. At the end, we swam down this rapid that shoots you below the surface about 15-20 meters…it was so much fun! Unfortunately, we ended the extreme tour in the ER because Britny busted here knee.

The next day, we flew back into the Gold Coast where Mary picked me up and I was able to spend a day with my family at their home. It was great to be able to relax and spend some more time with her, Ken, Jason, and their new little pet- Joey, a cockatiel they found.

I’m running out of time in Australia and only have one more travel adventure left before I head to New Zealand. I only have a few more things on my “Aussie To Do list” in my short time left here…I better get working on that.

Cheers, Mates!

Spring Break Adventures (part 2)...Sydney

On Tuesday, when we got to Sydney the first thing all us girls wanted to do was ditch our luggage and go explore. I walked out of the hotel room wearing my OSU shirt and the first thing I hear is “O..H...” So instinctively I yelled “I...O” back and looked around to see where this buckeye love was coming from. Some guy (a very good looking guy in a suit…haha) ran up to me. Turns out he is from Beavercreek and knows where Coldwater is…STRANGE! It’s truly a small world when the first person I meet in Sydney, Australia is from Beavercreek, Ohio. The girls and I began walking down the streets with one thing in mind: The Sydney Opera House. The moment I came in view of the opera house, I was in awe. All my life I have associated that view of the beautifully structured opera house with the harbor bridge in the background with Australia. When I think Australia: I think Sydney. It was incredible…I couldn’t believe I was actually standing there looking at it myself! After being an extreme tourist and taking about a hundred pictures, we walked down the street to the botanical gardens. Unlike in Melbourne, the gardens in Sydney had amazing flowers…and soooo many colors! The garden was so huge, we didn’t really get a chance to walk through all of it because of our grumbling hungry bellies. On the walk back to the hotel, I ducked into St. Mary’s Cathedral and yet again, my breath was taking away. It was so beautiful inside that it brought tears to my eyes. Across the street from the cathedral is Hyde Park, a beautiful park located in the heart of city... and we were staying about a block away from it all. Our hotel was on College Street, a block away from Oxford street, which a few nights before our arrival, was occupied by Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras in Sydney started as a Gay and Lesbian protest and now has become a big deal for the city (about a million people come out for it each year!) I’m disappointed we weren’t there to witness it all…I’m sure it was quite interesting! Oxford Street was still decorated with gay pride rainbow flags on every light post…and it was evident that it was the “gay district.” Our first night there we went out for a quick drink because at midnight it was Steph’s 21st birthday! We called it an early night so we could be rested for tomorrow's adventures.

Wednesday we all got up early to catch a train to the Olympic Park where the 2000 summer Olympic games were held. We paid for a tour where we could explore the huge stadium which held the opening ceremony and track and soccer (among many other sports.) The stadium is now used for rugby, soccer, net ball, and footy. The stadium is incredible…the engineering behind it is simply brilliant. The seats and other structures all move, conforming to the needs of whatever sport is being played. The field itself was designed to collect all rain water to have it filter through and reused. We got to check out the VIP booths where people paid 30,000 dollars to have these seats for like 32 years or something. When they opened the booths up for sale. ..they were all sold out in 5 minutes! We also got to go into the Aquatic Centre. Around the corner in a secluded area there was a shrine for Ian Thorpe, and I fell in love! I didn’t know why no one was around this area which also had the podiums that the medalist stood on to represent their country and get their awards. Since no one was around, us girls got a chance to take several silly pictures of us on the podiums. After the Olympic tour, we went out to eat for Steph’s birthday (which ironically, she found a huge cricket in her meal…gross!Happy Birthday to her, huh!) We met up with another group of BSU kids who were also in Sydney as we headed out to the bars to celebrate. (…and we did…too much haha)

Oh yea, I made the live band a the pub play Aerosmith…so they busted out Walk This Way..and the lead singer didn’t know all the words (but don’t worry…I did….)

Thursday, we were all moving a bit slow. We just kind of walked around the city and did some shopping. Later in the afternoon, Stacey and I had an appointment to climb the Harbour Bridge! It took about three hours total on our guided bridge climb. I have never really been afraid of heights but I was extremely nervous climbing up this tiny ladder, between busy traffic, attached to barely nothing! The view of the city at the top the bridge was…you guessed it…BREAK TAKING. Unfortunately we were not allowed to bring our cameras up the climb (which probably was a good thing, it would have taken me about 4 more hours to climb with all the picture stops!) Stacey and I did however, pay for the photos that the tour guide took of us. You’ll have to wait to see them - and the amazing outfits we had to climb it- we looked GREAT (hahah!) After the climb, Stacey and I walked around The Rocks, a classy district around the harbor. After a night stroll through Hyde Park (where MASSIVE bats are in the trees above!) we called it an early night.

Friday was our day of “super tourism.” We bought all day passes to ride a double-decker bus around the city. We were allowed to get on and off wherever a bus stop was so we could further explore all the stops. We made a stop at the aquarium which was soooo huge and awesome! That night, we got all dressed up for the opera. We ate a fancy meal right outside the opera house. It crazy to sit down and have a meal with the opera house in view! The opera was incredible! We saw Madame Butterfly, a tragic love story of a Japanese woman who falls in love with an American. We had seats all the way in the back, blocking the subtitles (it was all in Italian) so I really did not fully understand what was going on but the music and performers were amazing! It was a perfect end to my visit in Sydney!

Sydney really as it all: classy business districts, cheapy china town, warfs, parks, cafés, shops, monuments, museums, gardens…..and the list continues...I LOVE Sydney! It is truly is a city of it’s own being completely incomparable to any other city I’ve been to. I felt very comfortable and at home (which is strange for me to be comfortable in a big city!) it was so easy to get around. I felt like everything was in walking distance (or a cheap taxi ride away!) Walking down the streets, things looked recognizable and familiar. It was so weird that I could find myself around considering I still get lost in Muncie! There is so much to see and do in Sydney! I will get back to Sydney again…I don’t know when but I’ll be back.


Oh yea, I found the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Hay Street…coincidence? I think not…I think I belong in Sydney :)
(don’t worry mom, I’m coming home though!)

love

Spring Break Adventures (part 1)

Wednesday was the kick off of spring break (or what my friends and I began to call “holiday 09” since it’s not exactly spring here…and no one knows what spring break is.) The marine biology class went SCUBA diving (at Julian Rocks, of course) and then we had our final exam (the class was only 5 weeks…thank God!) So after the final exam, a few of us girls decided to set holiday 09 into action by heading to the pub in Lennox Head.

Thursday everyone was packing up and heading for their spring break adventure. Different groups of people were headed off to go different places and see different sites and cities. I eagerly waited for my family, Ken and Mary, to pick me up from Lennox to head to the Gold Coast. After they picked me up, we headed through Byron Bay and made a quick stop at the lighthouse. The lighthouse is the most easterly point of Australia. My friends and I have travelled to Bryon quiet a bit but never had made it to the lighthouse. It has been something I’ve been wanting to do since I got here and was great to climb up and see it! After that Ken, Mary, and I had a great lunch at a seafood place. (which was only the beginning to the amazing food I was treated with while staying with them!) I can’t even describe how nice it was to stay at their house for a few days. They are such wonderfully nice people and really made me feel like home. It was great to sit around the table and talk about our family, learn about the differences in our cultures, and look through old photo albums (and new photos from their world travels they have done!) One day, Jason (which would be like my 5th cousin or something like that) took me all around the Gold Coast. We drove through all these little touristy/beachy towns and stopped at several places. We went up this really REALLY tall building (the Q1 deck.) It is the largest residential building on the Gold Coast (it’s taller than the Chrysler Building in NYC) and it has one of the world’s fastest elevators (we went up 77 floors in 42 seconds!) The view was beyond incredible…we could see for miles and miles. Jason and I also walked out to a pier (they had a weird word for it and I don’t remember…) where we watched surfers and swimmers enjoy the surf and sand. We strolled around a mall and had a delicious pizza for lunch…it was a great day! I really enjoyed my stay with them…it was so nice to relax and feel “at home.” (and it was nice to have a real home cooked meal…my cooking consists of toast and cereal!) I am so blessed to have spent a few days with a true Aussie family..that just so happens to be a part of my family. I think I learned more about the difference in lifestyles, language, and culture in the amazing time I spend with them than I have since I’ve been here in Australia. I feel honored that I was able to visit them because I know my grandparents and parents would have loved to seen their beautiful home and would have enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. (by the way, they live in paradise! The Gold Coast is like a chain of small towns that reminded me of a little bit of Ft. Lauderdale, FL but cleaner and nicer…and a mix of the Outer Banks, NC… the Gold Coast is beautiful!)

Saturday morning Ken and Mary brought me to the airport where I met Stacey, Erika, Stephanie, and Britny. They had also been staying at the Gold Coast (Surfer’s Paradise) and we were meeting to fly to Melbourne together. Australian airports are NOT even comparable to US airports. I never once had to show my ID…I was handed my ticket (from Brit) and walked to the counter and handed them my bag to check. Security was a joke…I put my purse on the conveyor belt and walked through a metal detector. It was no big deal at all! We soon boarded the plane and headed to Melbourne.

Melbourne (ironically pronounced “mel-bin”) is a strange city. It is an awkward cocktail of cities; a historical taste of D.C., a business twist of NYC, a splash of London fashion and traces of England’s old Victorian buildings. Walking down the street, old and new buildings and fancy and cheap shops were intermingled. It was such a strange city. Since they are on water restriction, everything seemed so dry and dead. The weather was cold and overcast making Melbourne seem kind of mopey.. . for the first few hours then it turned around. We were staying in South Yarra (a one bedroom flat for 7 girls…we picked up two more at the airport.) We thought we were in the middle of nowhere, far from the city until I went exploring on my own. I turned the corner and there was an endless street of shops and pubs! We ended up having a great meal at an Irish pub and called it an early night for our big city tour the next day. This tour that cost us $80 Aus Dollars (conversion rates are awesome right now…200 Aus Dollars is only $120 USD…perfect time to be in the shopping mecca of OZ!) anyways…this tour was not worth it. We literally drove around the city in circles, listening to the tour guide rambling on about toilets (yes, that’s right…all he would talk about was bathrooms…it was very strange.) We did get to step off the bus at the Shrine of Remembrance, a dedication to all Australian service men and women. It was so neat to see until this crazy Greek man started talking to me and wouldn’t stop telling me how the US owes Greece respect. (I’m not sure what he was rambling about- I was more concerned how to escape his spit that was bombing my face…ew) It was pretty funny…for my friends that ran away and watched this endless conversation take place from a distance. The tour ended by going up Eureka Tower, an observation deck that overlooks the city of Melbourne.

On Sunday, Melbourne became well worth the trip- we went on a tour of The Great Ocean Road. This long road that extends all along the coast was made by WW2 soldiers after their return from the war. We made many little stops to witness some pretty breath taking ocean views, with our final destination being the Twelve Apostles. One stop was made to find koalas in the wild…and we did find two little ones sleeping up in their trees. We also stopped to take a 30 minute walk through a rain forest. Getting closer to the 12 Apostles, we made another stop at this gorge where a famous ship wreck took place. Turns out, there were only two survivors from the ship that originally had 54 people aboard. We finally made it to the 12 Apostles for sunset…and it was so beautiful. (I took about 60 pictures!) The bus ride back was longer than anticipated (who knew we ended up traveling 3 hours away from the city!) The day trip was well worth it and I’m so glad that Stephanie, Stacey, and I did it.

Well that’s enough for now…Next stop…SYDNEY!

I've been neglecting my blog...sorry

Life here is BUSY (as usual)... I've been receiving messages from many of you telling me to update my blog...so here it is.

The weekend of the 27th, the anthropology class spent a weekend in Tenterfield, a small country town. For each anthro trip we are required to write a "reflection" paper. Since I'm soo far behind on updating my blog (and I'm severely lazy)... I'm just going to post PART of my paper for class. So if it seems overly-detailed and cheesy...it's because it is (and apparently that is a requirement for class...)I will add some things so you can understand what i'm rambling about.. . and delete some things I know you wouldn't care about!

I will be writing all the amazing stories and sites I saw over spring break (which may turn into a book...a lot of incredible things happened!)


The weekend trip to Tenterfield was very educational from the moment we stepped onto the bus until the time we returned home. On the long bus ride, we listened to the soothing music of the very talented John Williams, a legendary singer/songwriter. I really enjoyed his music and found many of his lyrics really interesting and thoughtful. I liked how each of his songs carried a message; resolving personal conflict, helping the environment, or expressing country pride. His music made me really excited about the Australian culture that I have been experiencing and have yet to experience.
The first stop- Thunderbolt's hideout cave. Thunderbolt was a famous thief waaaaay back in the day. Thunderbolt’s cave was very interesting. I was really glad to have received an informational handout when we stepped onto the bus that morning. I was able to read about Thunderbolt which helped me to appreciate the cave and trail more. It is crazy to think that someone would hide out in a cave many years ago. He must have led a fascinating life and it was great to get a glimpse into that part of history.
I was unaware of the amount of hiking to the top of Bald Rock would require but it was well worth it. It was not too terribly long or tough, but it seemed never-ending considering we (the students) had no clue where we were going or when we would reach the final destination. With each climb over a rock and through the trees, the view grew increasingly spectacular, building up anticipation to reach the top. I have never personally witnessed such an incredible view. It honestly took my breath away. At one point, I snuck away and sat alone on the top, just admiring the view and collecting my thoughts. It was a great to reflect on how lucky I am to be here in Australia and to be a part of these incredible adventures.
After the steep hike down Bald Mountain, we retreated to Doctor’s Nose Winery. Although I did not taste any wine, I did enjoy the relaxing time. It was great to unwind from such an eventful day and I looked forward to returning to the hotels. The room I was put in was beautiful and slightly luxurious. With the clean room, comfy bed, and never-ending delicious food, I felt I was vacationing at a quiet little resort in a pleasant historic farm town…and I was right. Tenterfield, population approximately 3,000 people was a refreshing change from the small tourist town of Lennox Head. I went to bed feeling at home and ready for the next day’s adventures.
The next day we went to Billabong Blue, a sapphire fossicking place. It was really neat and fun except for the massive amount of flies that swarmed around everyone’s head and landed in people’s mouth and eyes. I found some pretty nice sapphires, but nothing overly impressive. It was interesting to learn the process of extracting sapphires from a pile of dirt. I was not very good at sifting the dirt in the water and thankfully, the lady who works there helped me out quite a bit.
After tea (we were fed like every 2 hours...it was awesome!) we were off onto another adventure. I had no clue where we were heading as the schedule only informed us we were going to have “lunch with kinfolk.” When we arrived at this community full of barns and trailers, it seemed very quiet. After a few moments of being there, people dressed like Amish came crawling out of their homes to greet us. They ran a business making signs for places all over the world. It wasn’t until the man mentioned something about New York that I noticed he had an American accent. He and the rest of the community were from the states and came (or got sent) to Australia to work and live. The men and women walked about, talking about their business of making signs. It was evident that they take a lot of pride in their work and it was even clearer that they were more interested in us and our lives. One girl who was about 20 years old had been living in Australia for the same amount of time I have and our stories were complete opposite. She was sent, on her own, from Pennsylvania to work and live, without her family and friends. I felt sad for her because she wasn’t going to college, getting an education, meeting new friends, seeing the country or starting a career; she was going to work side-by-side with a “stranger” making signs. Granted that “stranger” probably soon became her family, but it was still a sad situation in my eyes. I didn’t want to ask too many details fearing I would offend her and her community. She, and the others, seemed perfectly content at their job where they money they make is all evenly distributed. I wish we would have been informed and educated about this stop in the trip so I could have been more prepared and aware of this alternative lifestyle. When I arrived, I felt really uncomfortable, although the people were very nice. They gave us cookies and two books to read. One book is about forgiveness and the other is about sex and relationships. A few of us started reading some of them on the bus, sharing some of the very interesting points of view.
We then traveled to an old train station where we could walk around and climb on an old train car. The last stop of the Tenterfield trip was the old pioneer village. It was by far my favorite part of the day. It was neat to have free time to roam around this old abandoned, but perfectly preserved pioneer town. The classroom was so neat. It is amazing to think that one tiny unairconditioned classroom housed many pupils of all ages.

It was great to see the country side of Australia....but it was even better to stay in the city of Melbourne and Sydney for a few days over spring break too...

stay tuned for some spring break stories soon (i promise) :)

cheers!

sky dive...not so much.

I'm sure some of you are wondering how the sky diving excursion went today...and well,

it didn't happen. We took a bus to Bryon, met a van by the bus stop which took us to the dive site/airport, filled out all the paper work, paid the money, waited about 2 hours....all to find out it was too windy to do it. The wind is alright for the actual dive, but not for the landing. Soooo, we rescheduled for Tuesday.

Tomorrow we all leave for a weekend field trip...I honestly don't know what we're doing but I hear there is a lot of hiking involved. We'll get back to camp Monday afternoon. I then have skydiving Tuesday, marine bio final exam Wednesday, then going Scuba diving all day wednesday after that...and then Thursday is SPRING BREAK.

I've been waiting for life to slow down here...but I'm not going to complain about all these amazing adventures!

too much fun.

Because marine biology class was switched to Wednesday, I had all yesterday to do...NOTHING. It was by far on of the best days of my life. Some of the girls and I just sat around at the beach dancing and listening to music. We had a sand fight, made sand angels, (NOT because we miss snow...it's fun) and jumped in the waves. I've never laughed so hard. Suddenly, it was dark outside and I realized that I didn't once look at a watch or clock all day...I didn't need to, I had nothing to do and it was great!

On Tuesday Brittany, Sam, and I got up at 4:45 AM to walk 3 miles up to the point to see the sunrise. We ended up walking too far past it (yeah, leave it to 3 girls to miss a huge mountain...) We ended up watching the sun rise on a rock fence in someone's back yard and it was incredible. Don't worry, I took about 100 pictures...

Today, I'm going sky diving. Just a few of us are going to Bryon this morning to voluntarily jump out of a plane...I'm already nervous!!

Crickey!

It's Monday morning and I'm about to head off to class (Oz culture...we're going to talk to some representative in parliament today!) I had one of the best weekends of my life:

After four dives (two Friday, two Saturday) I am officially SCUBA certified! The dives were amazing! On the last dive, we saw it "all": 3 types of sharks, a HUGE monterey, smaller sting rays, a turtle, eels, puffer fish, NEMO, ....and more! SCUBA is incredible...I think everyone needs to try it.

Sunday, we spent the whole day (left at 5:45 AM got back at 9 PM) at the Australian Zoo. The Australian Zoo is Steve Irwin's zoo...and it's by far, the best zoo I've ever been too! The animals do not seem drugged and miserable to be in a tiny cage...most of them aren't even in "cages." It's obvious that the animals are treated with respect and the staff LOVES their jobs (I thought of you the whole day, Sherry!) We walked through two different "Kangaroo Heavens" where it was just like a play park for the kangaroos where we could pet, feed, lay, hop around with the laid back kangaroos! We also were allowed to feed the elephants, pet the koalas, touch alligators...it was so neat. There was even these crazy huge lizards that were just running around the entire zoo. They also had staff just walking around the park with animals (wombats, lizards, crocs, snakes, goats...) The zoo also did a wonderful job promoting wildlife conservation and education (Steve family's mission is to raise awareness...and money..)It was well worth the 4 hour drive to the zoo...

you all will just need to wait to see the incredible pictures!

hope you all had an equally-amazing weekend :)
love.

for those who don't have facebook...

I've been trying to find a way to share my photos with you back home...and a lot of websites are either cost money, are lame, or freak me out...

I found a site but it took me about an hour to upload 14 photos so you're just getting the basics right now...

http://khayaussie.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php

enjoy :)

oh, you'll hafta wait for underwater pictures...sorry!

and um, ps...the 14 photos really do not do justice to my trip here so far...but I know some of you have itching for some photos so it's the best I can do!! and don't worry girls, I'll try to capture some pics of hot aussie boys for you soon :) haha

Hi, I'm a SCUBAholic...

I’m addicted to SCUBA and I don’t care who knows it...

Today was my first ocean dive and it was incredible! After several hours in the classroom, a final exam, and about 6 hours in a pool... we finally got to dive in the ocean! The dive instructors picked me and 10 others up about 9:30 this morning and we headed to Bryon Bay. After loading up all our gear (...it took a while...there's a lot of gear...) we got onto this tiny boat. The boat had 2 motors but looked like a raft. Although I was skeptical at first, the boat ride out to Julian Rocks was so much fun. It was like being on a really big jet ski. (Julian rocks is this big rock that reminded me of the movie, The Goonies and apparently better than the Great Barrier Reef for diving...) When I got into the water, I put my face down and the first thing I saw was a little fish that looks "Dory" from Finding Nemo. Once we all entered the water and got situated, it was time for our great descend. With SCUBA its really important to not go up or down in the water too quickly (ear pressure, air in your lungs with expand...all sorts of stupid things can go wrong...)So for the first time going down, we held on to a slimy rope for the descend. Once I got down there, all fears and anxiety vanished. It was an incredible sight...so many colors and fish were swirling past my head. The first dive was just to get us comfortable in the water, so we just cruised around. The dive instructor, Josh, pointed out some neat sea life and made sure we were all doing OK. We all kind of followed him for a while, then eventually, I got tired of basically swimming on top of people so I started to venture off on my own (surprise! hah) Next thing I know, there is a shark next to me! Initially, I was worried but, I reminded myself that it was a leopard shark, which apparently, don't eat humans...whatever....it was still huge and creepy but awesome looking. Well after a few seconds, I'm comfortable with the shark, and next thing I know, there was another one...and then another one...and then another shark! It was almost like these four (eventually five) sharks were just as interested in us humans and wanted to come over and say hello. It was pretty thrilling. I also saw a few sting rays, a huge lazy sea turtle, many puffer fish, some woebegone sharks (they remind me of the "bottom feeders" that I used to have in my aquarium at home) and thousands of fish that were about every color imaginable! After about 35 minutes, we surfaced, returned back to the dive shop for a change of air tank and a bite of lunch.

Our second dive was to test some of our skills. We had to put on our gear while in the water (harder than it would seem!) We also had to do some "buddy breathing" skills and mask clearing skills. But then we got to explore a little bit more...and it was just as incredible as the first dive. On the boat ride back, I asked the skipper if I could drive, and surprisingly he let me! It was fun for me and probably terrifying for the passengers! We got home from Bryon about 6:30 which made for a long, exhausting day...but it was defiantly worth it!
Tomorrow, I get to wake up and do it all over again!...and then, I'll officially be SCUBA certified!

BTW...
So I am here for "school"...it's not ALL play...JUST KIDDING.

On Thursday, we went on another field trip for marine biology. We went to a smelly muddy mangrove forest where my rain boots came in handy. We treked through the stinky black mud to a freshwater beach where we used a net to catch a collection of fish species. It was fun and somewhat educational I guess. I got a little mad when this crazy professor decided to put hundreds of fish into a tiny container, killing over a hundred fish! It was entirely wasteful...until the boys decided to throw the dead fish up to the 50 swarming seagulls. (cheap entertainment)

cheers, mates :)

This deserves it's own post...

I'm in the middle of this great adventure and this amazing life-changing experience and I think a little shout out is necessary...

I really want to thank my mom and dad for all their support (financially, emotionally, ...ya know...) I have the best parents a person could ask for and am truly lucky to have them in my life. Personally, I think they have done a great job raising Michael and me to become independent, respectful, and well-rounded (or maybe just round?)adults. My family means the world to me and as much fun as I'm having, I do miss them a lot(even you, lunchbox...)

I'm loving all the emails, facebook messages, and IMs from all you back home...I know Muncie can be lame...but I still like hearing from you all...THANKS!

looooooveeeeee

everyone loves a sufer girl

For the last couple days I have been meaning to update this buuutt….it keeps getting put off (just like my homework…I can’t help how tempting the beach is!) On Thursday (the 12th) we went on a field trip to Lismore and Southern Cross Uni for marine science. We got on a boat and collected plankton samples. I volunteered to pull in the net, and of course I found some way to screw it up. I accidently got the rope wrapped around one of the motors and it took a good ten minutes for the dude to untangle it. (you think I would have known better…sorry, dad!) After the boat trip, we went to the Uni’s science lab and looked at our samples under the microscopes….and it was pretty interesting. This week’s marine bio field trip is to some swamp area where the prof warned us about leeches….great!

Friday was the big surfing adventure (finally! It’s been pushed back several times) It was awesome! The weather was pretty crummy out…rainy, windy, and cloudy BUT the waves were great. Initially, I was pretty skeptical about it all. I was thinking surfing was going to be impossible and miserable but I might as well try it for about 30 USD. The surf instructor looked just like a younger (and thicker) version of Steven Tyler. (I looked around for Joe Perry, but no luck… sorry Tree and Laura..) Steven Tyler…aka Doug was this crazy, old hippie-man that was bouncing around, jumping on and off the board. After doing some land exercise, it was time to hit the waves. Some people got up right away… and after an hour, some were still struggling to get up – I was in the middle. It took a while to feel out the wave and the right time to get up (and the balance to STAY up!) I never did stay up for that long, but standing up on the board and riding a wave for just a little bit was incredible. It was so much fun…even to wipe out. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself and the other kids. Towards the end, we were all exhausted and cold and ready to get some lunch. About 30 of us ended up staying in Bryon Bay for the night to party at Cheekie Monkeys, a “backpacker’s pub.” Since alcohol is so expensive at the pubs, we all got a liter (the closest we could get to Edward- 40 hands..) of beer and we “brown bagged” it on the streets of Bryon, trying hard to stay dry from the pouring rain. The pub was defiantly interesting…there were people from all across the world. I couldn’t imagine backpacking through a country…these people are NUTS. Bryon Bay is about 40 minutes away so at the end of the night, 10 kids pile into a maxi-taxi (a van) and it’s about a $10 cab ride back to the cabins.

Saturday was a “recoup” day for everyone. The weather was awful…rainy and windy all day. I think we all got a little cabin fever. Saturday was Valentine’s Day and we had a big fancy dinner planned for weeks. We had reservations at a nice Italian restaurant in town. All the girls got all dressed up and even the guys cleaned up a little. It was nice to actually be “clean” for a little bit. This isn’t a complaint but- you know how you go on a beach vacation for a week…and you finally get home and realize how sandy all your stuff is, including yourself. Well I’ve been living like that for 3 weeks now. I get out of the shower, step on the bathroom floor, and become instantly sandy again. So to say the least, it was nice to be clean and wear a dress and actually fix my hair (my “hair” aka a big fro-mess that has over taken my head…) So we all look very nice…and then realize we need to walk about a mile into town to this place…in the rain and wind. By the time we ended up there, we all looked like drowned rats. But, it was well worth it…I had this delicious seafood pasta …yum!

Sunday was my first pool session for SCUBA. There were 7 of us that got picked up and went back to Bryon Bay (see a pattern here…there is NOTHING in Lennox Head…we always go to Bryon for things…) After getting all geared up, (wet suit, booties, fins, snorkel, mask, weight belt, tubes and hoses, and a big heavy air tank) I was feeling a little uncomfortable! It took some while getting used to in the water. I did not like not breathing through my nose and the sound the air made going in and out was weird. At one point, I felt like I was at the dentist breathing in the “happy gas” and I did NOT like the feeling. After a while, I got adjusted to it and began to relax. We did a bunch of different skills and safety procedures (it kind of reminded me of lifeguard training.) The vest that you wear when diving inflates and deflates so you can maintain buoyancy and that was the trickiest thing to get used to. Every time I would take a deep breath in, I would rise to the surface and an exhale would send me to the bottom. Yesterday (Monday) we finished the theory/book part of the class and I passed the final exam. Friday and Saturday we have 4 dives and then I’ll officially be SCUBA certified! I’m excited to be done with the class so I can begin traveling the country (and go diving, of course!) I’ve been here for three weeks and have not done any significant traveling. A group of three boys (already SCUBA certified) spent the past weekend in the outback to see Ulru (Ayre’s Rock) and I’m jealous! I feel like we have too much planned on the weekends to go out and travel…if I could do it again, I would have gotten SCUBA certified before I came on the trip so I’d have free weekends. There are so many places I want to visit before my short time is up here, and I better get started. I’m really exicted to go visit my family (my mom’s cousin, husband, and kids) that live a few hours away. Although I haven’t been homesick yet, it’s nice to have family down here. Everyone once in a while, I miss my family and friends back home…but then I think about Muncie…and the snow and embrace the fact that I’m a part of this wonderful experience…and am LOVING it!

We (a few girls and I) finally booked our tickets for Spring Break. We’re planning on going to the Gold Coast (comparable to like a Panama City Beach I guess) for a few days for a surf competition (no, I’m not competing…haha), then flying to Melbourne for a few days, then off to Sydney for the remaining time. I’m really looking forward to Sydney…I’ve been itching to get there since I landed in Australia. One thing I really want to do there is climb the Harbour Bridge. I can’t wait!!

Sorry if this is too much to read (Mike) but I’ve been busy...
Hope everyone is doing well back home…love you all!!!

..it's been a while...

I've been meaning to sit down and write for a while but life, like always, it has been crazy here.

I had an amazing weekend...We went to a little village called Nimbin on Friday. Just a small group of us-Stacey, Brittany, Landon, Steph, Brittny, and I all went and explored the little hippie town. . . it was an experience I know I can't explain and know I won't forget. (I'm still working on these photos...the internet connection is slloooww and its impossible to upload pics)
On Saturday a small group of girls went to Bryon Bay for the night. We had an amazing dinner and cocktails at Hog's Breath Saloon (an American chain...I know...) then hit the bars. . . So much fun! We were known as the "American girls" and I'm pretty sure people loved us.
Every second Sunday of the month, Lennox Head has a little market. I'm glad I didn't go with any cash this week, because I would have bought so much stuff (expect a majority of your souvenirs to come from there!)

Classes are going well...Monday we had another field trip..this week it was to Southern Cross University. The Southern Cross is a constellation in the sky that the Aboriginal people used for navigation...it's the reason for the stars on the Australian flag. It's a big deal, many people have it tattooed on their body. The Univeristy itself (in Lismore) is basically for the Indigenous people. We're learning a lot about the Aboriginal people of Australia and the way they were treated by white settlers. It is almost identical to what happened in the U.S.....many similarities. I'm really going to enjoy this Anthropology class....UNLIKE the marine science class. I can't believe my "dream job" was to be a marine biologist. How boring. This professor lectured for about 5 hours about the size of sand grains...and this week we're talking about plankton (apparently plankton is his "special interest"...oh, boy!) My event planning class is coming together. We are putting on one big even in April for the community. Tonight we decided that we were going to do "field day" for the kids of the area....should be interesting. There is about 21 students in the class and we are all very different but I think we'll all work together. (There is a lot of frat/sorority kids in the class...and was very surprised the ideas and past events they had....I didn't know they did more at BSU than house parties and bustin' watermelons?...)

Classes really don't take up much time during the day...and there is still plenty of time for many many many other things. The beach hasn't gotten boring yet (and I doubt it ever will), the lake is still awesome, and weather is ALMOST perfect. We had our first "crappy" weather day since we've been here...and it was still pretty nice out. It was very overcast (people still got sunburnt haha) and muggy all day. It wasn't a big deal to me because today Brittany, Sam, Erika and I decided to go into Ballina to see a movie- Revolutionary Road. The movie was incredible....and not exaggerating when I say- the best movie I have ever seen. (Not my favorite movie...but the best.) It was brilliant . . . go see it.

I have received emails asking about the fires....and no, where I'm living is not affected. It's around Victoria, which is the very top part of the continent. The is also flooding occurring on the western side of the continent as well. So tragically, Australians are facing two national disasters, both extreme opposites of each other. I'm not sure what the death count is up to currently but I know as of yesterday morning, it was around 130 people. Most every store today in Ballina had someone (mostly from the Lions Club) standing outside the shop taking donations for the victims. There has been talk about some BSU kids going up north for a weekend to donate our time in the clean up efforts...once the fires slow down. Hopefully, mother nature chills out and this heat wave will pass (it was getting close to reaching above 50something degrees Celsius! I'm not 100% sure what that converts to...but I know it's real hot...)

We had a trip to the Australian Zoo (Steve Irwin's zoo...) planned for Sunday but sadly, the bus company was all booked...
Saturday is Valentines day...so all of us (well like 31 of us...) are getting all dressed up and going to the nicer resturant in town. Hope everyone back home as a great Valentine's day (even though it's a stupid holiday...)
Miss you all!!

Love
:)

No Worries, Mate

It's Wednesday afternoon here and I just got out of my second class of the week. It was my "event planning" class and seems like it will be a lot of fun. The class (about 20 of us BSU kids) will be planning an activity (probably a sports-related thing) for the community of Lennox Head to participate in. I think it'll be a great opportunity to get involved in the community and experience some true "aussie" culture. I've been here for a little over a week now and have noticed many differences. I think my favorite thing right now is picking up (and attempting to use) aussie lingo. For example:
No worries/ no drama = no problem
she'll be right = it'll be okay
bloody= very
amber fluid = beer
your shout = your turn to buy the next round (don't worry mom, I haven't actually heard this one yet, but it's in my notes haha)
get stuffed = get lost
give a cuddle = give a hug
capsicum = green pepper (found that out the hard way at subway...i asked for green pepper and got jalapeno pepper instead!)
We've all have been having fun attempting to use the lingo but, I've noticed that my "aussie accent" still sounds like a idiotic british woman.
I have also noticed how involved aussies are in american culture. I watched the news yesterday and it was pretty much identical to the "Today Show" but called something else (I can't remember it...) They talked about more American news then aussie news. They even had a segment on Matt Lauer's interview with President Obama. They have a news corespondent in Hollywood (an embarrassing overly-gay american) that gives the latest "hollywood gossip." It seems every time I turn on the tv, it's something like Dr. Phil (and evil Oprah) or Two and a Half Men and other American sitcoms. They have "So you think you can dance, Australia" and "The Biggest Loser: Couples, Australia" and "Australian Idol...."

But don't worry, I really haven't been watching that much tv...

Today, Landon and I swam across the lake (about a mile.) It was so relaxing....and then I laid out on the beach before I had class... I lead such a stressful life...haha.

Today was the first day of classes...and it was a field trip to a rain forest in Dorroughby (about 45 mins away.) My only class on Mondays is the "Australian Life and Culture" class and it was pretty interesting. I actually had to sit in a lecture for about an hour but it wasn't bad at all. The professor is a pretty laid back old guy that sounds like the Gieco geko! He briefly discussed a little bit of history, geography, politics, current events, and economy of Australia...and he talked about Obama...A LOT. I've found that many aussies seem very interested in the new president. I'm very excited about this culture class. Australia is a fascinating country... and most people do not know much about it. Everyone associates OZ with the sterotypical kangaroo or kaola but this places and more wildlife than imaginable. 80% of all that lives in Australia exists no where else in the world! It's home to the largest living thing on earth...the Great Barrier Reef...which I will be visiting over spring break. We have a scuba meeting tomorrow night to discuss when the lessons begin. I have my first surf lesson on Friday...should be interesting! I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it, but it's worth the try. The waves here are incredible!
After the hour lecture, we headed to Dorroughby. The scenery on the ride there was breathtaking. We were around some old vocanoe that had been extinct for many years. The rain forest wasn't what I had expected. I overheard the "tour guide" say how it was too wet to give the full tour, so we had just a 30 min. hike through parts of it. I have never seen anything like it. (I'll try to post pictures on here, but the connection is slow and it has been taking forever!) It was rumored that we were going to be seeing a waterfall, and I'm sad to say, that we never did.
After the nature walk, we went to an old school area that was built for the all the local dairy farmer's kids (yes, we saw many many cows around there...I felt home haha) There, we were fed kangaroo, crocidile, amoung other "normal" things. The kangaroo tasted just like beef, and the croc was just like chicken...but both were very tender and juicy and DELICOUS! After lunch, we had a boomerrang lesson from the tour guide and aussie bus driver. Let me just say, boomerangs are dangerous! ...I stayed at a distance...I don't have very quick reflexes and I was not about get one of thoes wooden things in my face! (you all know that I would be the one to get hit...hahah)
The two girls, Erika and Stacey, moved out of the cabin today and into their nice new cabin..and it's a lot less crowded! Six girls to the ONE fridge was not a good combination.
One of my goals this trip is to get into the ocean at least once everyday..and it's about to get dark here so I better hop to it.

Hope all is well in the states :)

ps GO STEELERS (that's for you Kristy!)

love.

most important thing I forgot: I played my first didgeridoo today. I'm pretty much an Australian rock star now!

so far...

So I hope people read this or else I'm just wasting time... but I'm thinking this will be more efficient than writing multiple emails/facebook messages. not that I don't love you all, but well...Australia is awesome and I don't want to be on my laptop that often.

I'm going to start from the beginning...

Plane ride=loonnnngg and awful. It could have been worse...there was free alcohol which was much needed after the 45 mins of severe turbulence we experienced during the 13 hour flight from LAX to New Zealand. Each seat had a little screen and I was able to pick from like 30 movies to watch....so of course, I watched about 4 movies. The only thing that was awful about it was I was on the window seat so I couldn't get out as often as I would have liked but oh well.

We got here on Tuesday around noon...after stopping for lunch at a McDonalds. That's right, my first meal in australia was McDonalds....not even good MickeyD's...but stupid breakfast menu crap. After a short bus ride we arrived at Lake Ainsworth Sports and Recreation Centre...aka HOME. This place is AMAZING. There is the ocean on the one side, a beautiful tea tree oil lake on the other. (tea trees give off this oil that is really good for your skin and hair, but it leaves a reddish color to the water...but it's worth swimming in...BEAUTIFUL.) We also have a pool (about 5 lanes/25 meters...) which I've already swam laps everyday. There is something about this place that makes a person want to be active. I've even went running the past 2 days...which is something I don't evvveerrr do. I find it actually refreshing (and a bit painful) to run by the ocean. My cabinmate, Megan, is a crazy runner so she has been going with me to push me (and a few others.) I have 2 other cabin mates, Lisa (who I share a room with) and Nikki (who shares a room with Megan.) There are 4 old cabins and like 8 new cabins...and of course, I got put into an old one. It's very small and crowded (especially right now, since they overbooked a cabin and 2 extra girls are staying here with us) The new cabins are awesome...they have a dishwasher, waster/dryer, full range/stove (we have this crap thing that looks like a toaster oven with a burner on top...) their bathroom is also about 3 times bigger than the "toliet closet" we are sharing with 6 girls. ...they also have closets. The old cabins aren't awful, but defiantly not as nice as the new ones. I'm not too concerned because I don't plan on sitting inside the cabin too often...way too much other things to do!

We haven't done much of anything but relax, go to the beach, swim, work out, eat, drink, sleep...repeat. It's a great life! Everyone here seems to get along well and seems pretty nice. There are a few frat boys i could do without but whatever. Everyone here in Lennox Head is sooo nice...even the dogs are all nice. It seems everyone on the beach bring their dogs and let them run free. The dogs and the people aren't afraid to come over and say "g'day." Even walking down the beach, everyone you pass either says hello or flashes a smile. In town, everyone seems so relax and happy...but I guess there isn't anything to be mad about or stress over when you live here.

We drove to Ballina the other day (pronounce more like bell-na...but that's only because Aussies like to say all their cities completly different from how they are spelled.) In Ballina is where we did our grocery shopping...and I'm glad the US dollar sucks now b/c I spent A100 which is about equivalent to 60 US dollars...so not bad for buying a bunch of groceries! Alcohol is damn expensive here...a fifth of smirnoff vodka = 38 aussie dollars! The one bar (pardon me, i mean PUB) in town is pretty cool. I've only been once and met some locals. Lennox seems pretty secluded so I've been trying to talk to locals as much as I can. Aussies seem to have a great sense of humor...very sarcastic with a loving tease. I've been enjoying learning the new types of lingo (like a hug is "give a cuddle" and juice box is a "popper." There is a lot of subtle differences here, but all practical and it all makes perfect sense. I feel like Aussies don't like to mess around, they do what they want, how they want...but ALWAYS in a laid-back fashion. there is never a rush here for anything.

Today we went into Bryon Bay (the most eastern part of the country/continent. Awesome little tourist town with many great shops. Very grunge/hippy and interesting. I watched the surfers for a while and it made me very excited for my upcoming surfing lessons! I hope I can do it! it's one of the many things on my "OZ to do list."

Hope all is well back in the states!

LOVE

First Post...a little short.

There is too much to do here and not enough time to write several emails to my favorites back home so hopefully this blog will let you guys know I haven't been eaten by a shark, dingo, snake....whatever, mate.

I'm going to the beach now...

cheers!