Monday 29 Nov
We loaded the bus at 7 AM and set off for Whakahoro. We stopped for a swim in the hot water of one of the hot springs. Had a nice waterfall massage! Then we drove to Huka Falls. It was absolutely beautiful! It was really funny on the drive up to the Blue Duck Lodge there was a radio station that seemed to be engineered to me and Nerissa! Hits from when we were growing up through today. It was a really windy and dusty drive, we had to open up the back windows and buckle up our seat belts. It’s a 23 seat bus with the red trailer on the back. The guy who owns the Blue Duck Lodge, Dan, has an incredible story and is doing so much for just one guy. He has something like 22, 000 acres. He farms sheep and cattle and cultivates honey from the natural bush of the manuka plant. He does tourism as a side project, just because it’s fun! Lol. He took the 6 of us and 4 dogs out in a Polaris Ranger to se some of the his land and what he does. The views were absolutely gorgeous (especially where he is building his Top of the World Lodge.) The best way to travel around was standing in the back with the dogs, wind in your face and views that never end. =) It was cool to see how well trained each dog was for their specific jobs. After that tour Dan dropped us off at the Depot (the last building left of the farming era) with Wendy. She told us a bit of the history of the place and took us down to the river to look for fossils and blue ducks. Then we kayaked under the waterfall and the cliffs. I swear everything we did was more amazing and beautiful than the last. After kayaking we climbed back up the muddy rocks and hopped back into the polaris. This time there were no dogs so Nerissa and I stood in the back. We showered and then hung out with the group before a delicious dinner of goat curry. We hung out and watched the staff play with the pet goat at the Blue Duck Cafe. N and I were pretty tired so we turned in early but we were just in timeto hear Claire play guitar and sing. I turne off my iPod and let her sing me to sleep. I have simply loved every minute that I’ve been in this country and it just seems to keep getting better. The land, the people, activities...I can’t keep a smile off my face! =)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday 28 Nov
8 Am departure again. Had gluten free toast and fruit for brekky =) Drove out to Rotorua. Got there about midday. We went into a Maori village for a traditionally cooked lunch. Everything is cooked by the steam of the geothermal activity of the volcanos. After lunch we went on a tour of the village (live village, ~25 families live there). It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. After the tour we witnessed a cultural song and dance performance. Afterwards a van picked us up to go white water rafting and river sledging! We dove and spun and kicked and bounced and surfed down that river! (Hell’s Gate) Sweet as! Got back and walked the hot mud pools park and the Government Gardens. Got boysenberry whip covered in raspberry sorbet and Indian take away for dinner. Was ready for bed around 9. Lol
Sat’day 27 Nov
Started off at 8 AM. Loaded the monster luggage into the trailer behind the bus and set off out of Auckland. We stopped for pics at Mt. Eden. We saw the arena for the 2011 Rugby World Cup from our peak. We kept on driving towards Hahei (the breath of Hei, a Maori chief) with a stopover in Thames. When we got to our campsite we dumped our stuff, changed into our swimmers and head for the beach for 3 hour of sea kayaking around Mercury Bay! We went along the shoreline to Coromandel Cove, had tea on the beach, paddled around the little islands, hooked together and sailed for a bit, then paddled back to the beach we started from. The waves were a bit choppy but it was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done! Nerissa and I swapped places in our double kayak so we each had a turn steering. As our tour guide, Marky Mark, would say “easy as!” When we got back we loaded the bus and took the short jump to Hot Water Beach. We dug holes in the sand and sat in the geothermal hot pools. Nature’s own spa! After a shower and some napping in the sun, we had an amazing barbeque provided by our bus driver/guide! Chicken, veggie medley, gluten free bread, asparagus, capsicum, and strawberries for dessert. =) Played a few games of shithead with the group before calling it a night. We are a fairly small tour group. There is only 6 of us total, 7 including our guide Ali BarBar.
Last Day in Newy/First in New Zealand
Thursday/Friday 25/26
Continued packing most of the day; Ben took us to the postal shop to ship our boxes home. Packed some more and we ate the rest of the food in my cupboard and watched Glee and Burn Notice. Then headed to Nat’s room for chocolate milk and music! Went for one last drive to Kmart and then we went back to 420 to hang for a bit before Rhi took N and I to the train station. Said more tearful goodbyes. :’( I think I cried the hardest when I said good bye to Emma, Sean, and Nat. I frickin hate goodbyes and crying! I thought I was all out of tears when I said bye to Liam and Angie, but the water works came back on the train after saying bye to Rhiannon. We caught the 11:30pm train in Broadmeadow and had to switch trains in Gosford and that train was suppose to take us to Sydney Central Station but they made us get off in Hornsby. After much debate and talking to the guards Nerissa and I ended up taking a taxi to the international airport terminal. The doors didn’t open until 4 AM (we were rushing because we thought we needed to be at the airport 3 hours before departure). So we had over an hour to wait on a bench outside the terminal. At this point we were beyond exhaustion, I hadn’t slept at all and Nerissa only napped on the train. We finally got in then had issues with our boarding passes because I couldn’t get my itinerary printed. The ticket worker eventually printed our boarding passes and checked our bags. Customs wasn’t ready for us yet so we had to wait for a bit outside, but once we got in it was smooth sailing. Waited for 6 AM boarding, got on, settled in with a movie, saw about 30 seconds of it! Lol. Brekky was a no go since I was about to faceplant in it anyhow. When we landed in Auckland we went right through customs and then went searching for a shuttle from the airport to our hostel. We checked into the Base X hostel and then an hour nap turned into a 7 hour sleep! We still had a bit of daylight left when we woke up so we explored a bit. We found a gelato shop by the harbour that had a selection of 12 sorbets! I’ve never seen so many choices in one shop! I got a double scoop of plum and kiwi and Nerissa go pomegranate and passionfruit. So delicious! We had Subway and Wendy’s guacamole chilli fries for dinner. Uh yum! Walked back to the hostel and sorted out music for Nerissa for a bit, then went to bed. Early day tomorrow =)
Continued packing most of the day; Ben took us to the postal shop to ship our boxes home. Packed some more and we ate the rest of the food in my cupboard and watched Glee and Burn Notice. Then headed to Nat’s room for chocolate milk and music! Went for one last drive to Kmart and then we went back to 420 to hang for a bit before Rhi took N and I to the train station. Said more tearful goodbyes. :’( I think I cried the hardest when I said good bye to Emma, Sean, and Nat. I frickin hate goodbyes and crying! I thought I was all out of tears when I said bye to Liam and Angie, but the water works came back on the train after saying bye to Rhiannon. We caught the 11:30pm train in Broadmeadow and had to switch trains in Gosford and that train was suppose to take us to Sydney Central Station but they made us get off in Hornsby. After much debate and talking to the guards Nerissa and I ended up taking a taxi to the international airport terminal. The doors didn’t open until 4 AM (we were rushing because we thought we needed to be at the airport 3 hours before departure). So we had over an hour to wait on a bench outside the terminal. At this point we were beyond exhaustion, I hadn’t slept at all and Nerissa only napped on the train. We finally got in then had issues with our boarding passes because I couldn’t get my itinerary printed. The ticket worker eventually printed our boarding passes and checked our bags. Customs wasn’t ready for us yet so we had to wait for a bit outside, but once we got in it was smooth sailing. Waited for 6 AM boarding, got on, settled in with a movie, saw about 30 seconds of it! Lol. Brekky was a no go since I was about to faceplant in it anyhow. When we landed in Auckland we went right through customs and then went searching for a shuttle from the airport to our hostel. We checked into the Base X hostel and then an hour nap turned into a 7 hour sleep! We still had a bit of daylight left when we woke up so we explored a bit. We found a gelato shop by the harbour that had a selection of 12 sorbets! I’ve never seen so many choices in one shop! I got a double scoop of plum and kiwi and Nerissa go pomegranate and passionfruit. So delicious! We had Subway and Wendy’s guacamole chilli fries for dinner. Uh yum! Walked back to the hostel and sorted out music for Nerissa for a bit, then went to bed. Early day tomorrow =)
Wednesday 24 November
Tried to go to the beach with Rhi and Nerissa but it was still incredibly windy and the sand was pelting all of us. So we just came back and hung out at the pool. Nerissa helped me start taking stuff off my walls and putting my room away in boxes and bags. Later we went to Sean and Liam’s touch footy game and then made dinner. Hung out with IH nd then Teds and the we got ready to go out for one last night on the town! We went to Soho with IH and then walked to Customs House with Cramer and Nerissa to meet Teds people. Stayed for a bit and then caught the train home because we couldn’t get a taxi. Found Mattio and Max and a few others. Nerissa wanted to go to bed so I let her take my bed and I went for a swim at Teds.
Tuesday 23 November
Nerissa arrived today! ! =) Timmy and Nat went to the airport with me to pick her up! =) So exciting! We spent the day hanging out and taking pictures around campus. She came to the gym with me and then we just hung out and watched a movie.
Monday 22 November
Went to the beach with Emma B to meet the boys. They left after a while and Em and I went for a swim. We “swam” for about a half hour and then let the sun dry us. Joined up with the other IH girls who were sunning down the beach from where we were. After a bit it started to get really windy and the sand was pelting us so Emma and I left to get an ice cream! =) I just hung around 420 for the rest of the arvo. Played shithead then went to the Harry Potter movie with nat ad Holly. It was so good! It was also a pretty sad day. We had to say goodbye to Holly. So most of us stayed up until 4 am to say by and send her off with Nat to the airport. We buried a painting of Nat’s in her luggage while she was sleeping. ;)
Day 2
Sunday 20 Nov
5 AM wake up to go back to Echo Point and see the sun rise over the Three Sisters. It was absolutely gorgeous! The cloud cover over the valley was spectacular. =] After taking photos at Echo Point we took the rocky, muddy trail to Katoomba Cascades and Falls. Much longer trek than we expected! We took an alternate routh to get out of the park and walked back to the hostel. Had to check out by 10 AM. We had enough time before our train to check out another part of the park. We decided to try and find Leura Cascades. It was a long and STEEP climb! Whenever I stopped to take a pic my legs would be shaking. Doesn’t help that they were sore from gym on Friday. The cascades were beautiful and the forest was incredible. That has to be one of my favourite NPs =). Once we all made it out of the valley we headed for the train station. 5.5 hours and 3 trains later we made it back to Newy. I dropped off my stuff and then just chilled in Teds.
5 AM wake up to go back to Echo Point and see the sun rise over the Three Sisters. It was absolutely gorgeous! The cloud cover over the valley was spectacular. =] After taking photos at Echo Point we took the rocky, muddy trail to Katoomba Cascades and Falls. Much longer trek than we expected! We took an alternate routh to get out of the park and walked back to the hostel. Had to check out by 10 AM. We had enough time before our train to check out another part of the park. We decided to try and find Leura Cascades. It was a long and STEEP climb! Whenever I stopped to take a pic my legs would be shaking. Doesn’t help that they were sore from gym on Friday. The cascades were beautiful and the forest was incredible. That has to be one of my favourite NPs =). Once we all made it out of the valley we headed for the train station. 5.5 hours and 3 trains later we made it back to Newy. I dropped off my stuff and then just chilled in Teds.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sydney/Blue Mountains
The next Saturday (19)
Khema slept over last night and took the 8:30 AM train to Sydney with me, Bridget, and 2 of B’s friends. We parted after lunch in Paddy’s Markets. She went shopping with her friend and I went through the markets with B and the others. I couldn’t find Matti a dingo but I think he’ll like the alternative =). After the markets we headed back to the train station to wait for the train to Katoomba. Another 2 hours on the train and then we checked into our hostel and had a snack. We made up our beds and then set out to Echo Point to see the Three Sisters lit up at night. This was the beginning of our Blue Mountains trip. Walked by a handmade chocolate shop on our way back to the hostel. =) It smelled delicious! It was really unlucky that we would have time tomorrow to go and get any =( . Read a bit of Jane Austen before bed.
Khema slept over last night and took the 8:30 AM train to Sydney with me, Bridget, and 2 of B’s friends. We parted after lunch in Paddy’s Markets. She went shopping with her friend and I went through the markets with B and the others. I couldn’t find Matti a dingo but I think he’ll like the alternative =). After the markets we headed back to the train station to wait for the train to Katoomba. Another 2 hours on the train and then we checked into our hostel and had a snack. We made up our beds and then set out to Echo Point to see the Three Sisters lit up at night. This was the beginning of our Blue Mountains trip. Walked by a handmade chocolate shop on our way back to the hostel. =) It smelled delicious! It was really unlucky that we would have time tomorrow to go and get any =( . Read a bit of Jane Austen before bed.
Dubbo to Newy
Sunday
Woke up early again to drive back to Newy. This time Nattie’s mum drove because she was meeting Nat’s dad in Newy to go to Sydney together. We got there a whole lot quicker! (Nat has green P’s so she can only go 100 kph) We went to the beach a little while after getting back to Newy. It was an interesting trip but still fun in the surf. Had a sleepover in Victoria’s room tonight. I was so tired I didn’t make it through the first 15 mins of the movie! Lol
The next week was full of chillin but the pool with Rhi, random drives with Nat, Macca’s runs with Ben and Emma, a headcold, gym with Henry, and of course going out on Wed with IH and Friday with Teds peeps. Had my last day at gymnastics on Friday =(
Woke up early again to drive back to Newy. This time Nattie’s mum drove because she was meeting Nat’s dad in Newy to go to Sydney together. We got there a whole lot quicker! (Nat has green P’s so she can only go 100 kph) We went to the beach a little while after getting back to Newy. It was an interesting trip but still fun in the surf. Had a sleepover in Victoria’s room tonight. I was so tired I didn’t make it through the first 15 mins of the movie! Lol
The next week was full of chillin but the pool with Rhi, random drives with Nat, Macca’s runs with Ben and Emma, a headcold, gym with Henry, and of course going out on Wed with IH and Friday with Teds peeps. Had my last day at gymnastics on Friday =(
Weekend in Dubbo/Narromine (6/11?)
Sat’day
Got up bright and early for the zoo! Drove into Dubbo to go and see the Western Plains Zoo This zoo is so huge that you can either rent a bike or trolly cart or drive your own car around! We just drove Nattie’s car and still did a fair bit of walking. Saw the meerkats being fed their brekky! =) We got ice cream at the lion’s station. We made excellent time through the whole zoo and only missed the echidnas and emus. We couldn’t find the maned wolf.
We had plenty of time before going back to Narromine before dinner so we checked out some of Nattie’s favourite shops in Dubbo, got her eyebrows waxed, went to the cultural centre museum, and tried to find a place that sold native Aboriginal jewellery with no luck. We grabbed a bit of food then went to the Narromine Aviation Museum! It was so neat! They had the history of Narromine aviation and Australia’s war involvement. There was also a replica of the Wright Brothers first aeroplane. By this time Nattie and I were pooped, so we stopped in Nat’s mum’s office at the airfield and said hi and bye (g’day!). Then we went home and watched Mulan 2. Went back to the part of Balto that I missed while Nattie baked for her mum. I finally got people bumps! BJ (Nat’s sister) cooked dinner again. Then I slept through another movie/helped Nattie bake/watched Taxi. Then I watched 2 Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place with BJ because I couldn’t sleep.
Got up bright and early for the zoo! Drove into Dubbo to go and see the Western Plains Zoo This zoo is so huge that you can either rent a bike or trolly cart or drive your own car around! We just drove Nattie’s car and still did a fair bit of walking. Saw the meerkats being fed their brekky! =) We got ice cream at the lion’s station. We made excellent time through the whole zoo and only missed the echidnas and emus. We couldn’t find the maned wolf.
We had plenty of time before going back to Narromine before dinner so we checked out some of Nattie’s favourite shops in Dubbo, got her eyebrows waxed, went to the cultural centre museum, and tried to find a place that sold native Aboriginal jewellery with no luck. We grabbed a bit of food then went to the Narromine Aviation Museum! It was so neat! They had the history of Narromine aviation and Australia’s war involvement. There was also a replica of the Wright Brothers first aeroplane. By this time Nattie and I were pooped, so we stopped in Nat’s mum’s office at the airfield and said hi and bye (g’day!). Then we went home and watched Mulan 2. Went back to the part of Balto that I missed while Nattie baked for her mum. I finally got people bumps! BJ (Nat’s sister) cooked dinner again. Then I slept through another movie/helped Nattie bake/watched Taxi. Then I watched 2 Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place with BJ because I couldn’t sleep.
Weekend in Dubbo/Narromine (6/11?)
Friday
Set off for the gym with Brent around 8. Spent a good hour there and then had a shower, and then packed. Managed to get it all in one bag! (Nat- Good on ya mate!) Packed up Nat’s car and headed west toward Naromine. It was hot, sunny, and a long drive; but one of the best road trips ever! With frequent stops for lollies and petrol we made it to Nat’s house around 5ish. 6 hours of dancing, laughing and of course singing at the top of our lungs. :D When we got there we went straight back to Dubbo to hit the grocery store for her sister. We then watched Mulan whilst her sister made dinner. It was yummy. I had to watch Balto so that I would finally understand what “people bumps” were. Sadly, I saw the beginning and the end of said movie and missed the important part! I fell asleep. So I needed to watch it again. Lol. Helped Nattie with her chocolate slice and then went to bed.
Set off for the gym with Brent around 8. Spent a good hour there and then had a shower, and then packed. Managed to get it all in one bag! (Nat- Good on ya mate!) Packed up Nat’s car and headed west toward Naromine. It was hot, sunny, and a long drive; but one of the best road trips ever! With frequent stops for lollies and petrol we made it to Nat’s house around 5ish. 6 hours of dancing, laughing and of course singing at the top of our lungs. :D When we got there we went straight back to Dubbo to hit the grocery store for her sister. We then watched Mulan whilst her sister made dinner. It was yummy. I had to watch Balto so that I would finally understand what “people bumps” were. Sadly, I saw the beginning and the end of said movie and missed the important part! I fell asleep. So I needed to watch it again. Lol. Helped Nattie with her chocolate slice and then went to bed.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
my most sincere apologies
Hello to anyone who has been following my blog. I'm sorry you had to deal with my horrible orating skills to find out what I've been doing! lol. I'm not going to be able to post any of my activities most likely until I get back home, but I might be able to do something with my extra time in Auckland next week. I'll be hand writing what I can, but most of what has happened is so emotional I don't have the words to express what I'm feeling. So much grief in leaving friends in Newcastle and joy and awe and amazement at the land of New Zealand. I feel as if pieces of me are gone, I just left them in Newcastle (well now most of them are in their respective towns, but thats not the point is it?). I love you all and will report when I can. Be prepared for a lot of posts at once!!! :)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Graffiti!!!!! :D
Wednesday 3/11/2010
Tonight we had the Graffiti party!!! It was at Bar 121 and we all wore white shirts and used fabric texters to write on eachothers’ shirt. We had unit awards and the 2011 IMA team was announced. It was a really fun way to say goodbye to the semester and have one last shindig with our college mates.
Tonight we had the Graffiti party!!! It was at Bar 121 and we all wore white shirts and used fabric texters to write on eachothers’ shirt. We had unit awards and the 2011 IMA team was announced. It was a really fun way to say goodbye to the semester and have one last shindig with our college mates.
Reunion Ball and Open Day!
Sat’day
Today was the IH Reunion Ball! So exciting! Sam and Bridget came over and I did Sam’s hair; some of my best work! =) We were running out of time so I had to do my hair quickly! I had a new hair accessory and dress, so it was rather easy to pin it half up , straighten my fringe, and spritz my already curly curls.
We went out to the courtyard for mingling and nibbles. Had a group picture and then we walked to the Brennan Room for our dinner/banquet. There were lots of speeches and awards to give, but it was a lovely dinner. There was a live band, but only a few dancing.
The after party in the Green Room started at 11pm but most people were in 610 or other blocks/units. Then eventually we all go to the Green Room and started dancing. The DJ was hoppin! Tables came out and people started being thrown into the pool after a short time! It was getting really hot in there so I left to change into my bathers and shorts and a singlet (I had a feeling I would be thrown in, figured I might as well be prepared). (That feeling was a “warning” from my brother Sean.) It was a fun night! Everyone enjoyed themselves and no one got hurt. Got very wet even after I changed clothes, but still a good night. =)
Sunday was Open Day. A day for IH alumna to come and have a barbee and play/watch touch footy and look around the college they used to live in again. Only one assignment left to finish so I bummed around college for a couple of days. Sunning, reading, and relaxing.
Today was the IH Reunion Ball! So exciting! Sam and Bridget came over and I did Sam’s hair; some of my best work! =) We were running out of time so I had to do my hair quickly! I had a new hair accessory and dress, so it was rather easy to pin it half up , straighten my fringe, and spritz my already curly curls.
We went out to the courtyard for mingling and nibbles. Had a group picture and then we walked to the Brennan Room for our dinner/banquet. There were lots of speeches and awards to give, but it was a lovely dinner. There was a live band, but only a few dancing.
The after party in the Green Room started at 11pm but most people were in 610 or other blocks/units. Then eventually we all go to the Green Room and started dancing. The DJ was hoppin! Tables came out and people started being thrown into the pool after a short time! It was getting really hot in there so I left to change into my bathers and shorts and a singlet (I had a feeling I would be thrown in, figured I might as well be prepared). (That feeling was a “warning” from my brother Sean.) It was a fun night! Everyone enjoyed themselves and no one got hurt. Got very wet even after I changed clothes, but still a good night. =)
Sunday was Open Day. A day for IH alumna to come and have a barbee and play/watch touch footy and look around the college they used to live in again. Only one assignment left to finish so I bummed around college for a couple of days. Sunning, reading, and relaxing.
18/10 – 31/10
The next couple of weeks were just busy with uniwork and hanging out with friends. Squeezing in sleep somewhere was on the list too. ;) On Sat’day (23rd) I didn’t sleep the night before so I went with Nattie and we watched the sunrise at the beach. The waves were crashing over the rocks was a really neat thing to watch change as the tide came in. After the sun came up we went and got some brekky and then went to Jesmond Park. It was so pretty and nice to just walk and talk.
Later I played a terrible game of pool with my friend Aaron and then we chilled at the pool. Grabbed some dinner and then we watched Boondock Saints 2. This was a long awaited movie! We had been planning on watching this movie for the entire semester! It had been rain-checked so many times it was starting to get annoying! :P lol. After the movie we talked for a bit then decided to watch another movie, lol. It was a really chill/lazy night. It started raining at some point during the second movie. I made a comment about how I missed real thunderstorms, so Aaron put on a youtube clip of thunder and lightning! :)
I slept for quite a while that night...haha woke up around 2:30 in the arvo. Today was just a rainy/sleepy day.
Wednesday
Back was still spasming terribly from Monday, but I had to photograph the Halloween Party at Bar on the Hill. There were heaps of good costumes about, but my favourite was the Sweeney Todd character!
Friday
Went to Body Balance with Rhiannon and then when we got back Liam and Emma had just started carving a pumpkin! I got to help! =] I cleaned out the guts and carved part of it! Fantastic start to my weekend! Showered and then put on my new mini-dress to go out with everyone. Jono, Victoria, Timmy and I went to the Hotel Delaney for a bit and then walked to Finnegans to join everyone else. It was a pretty crazy night. We spent most of it looking for people or looking for lost phones!
Later I played a terrible game of pool with my friend Aaron and then we chilled at the pool. Grabbed some dinner and then we watched Boondock Saints 2. This was a long awaited movie! We had been planning on watching this movie for the entire semester! It had been rain-checked so many times it was starting to get annoying! :P lol. After the movie we talked for a bit then decided to watch another movie, lol. It was a really chill/lazy night. It started raining at some point during the second movie. I made a comment about how I missed real thunderstorms, so Aaron put on a youtube clip of thunder and lightning! :)
I slept for quite a while that night...haha woke up around 2:30 in the arvo. Today was just a rainy/sleepy day.
Wednesday
Back was still spasming terribly from Monday, but I had to photograph the Halloween Party at Bar on the Hill. There were heaps of good costumes about, but my favourite was the Sweeney Todd character!
Friday
Went to Body Balance with Rhiannon and then when we got back Liam and Emma had just started carving a pumpkin! I got to help! =] I cleaned out the guts and carved part of it! Fantastic start to my weekend! Showered and then put on my new mini-dress to go out with everyone. Jono, Victoria, Timmy and I went to the Hotel Delaney for a bit and then walked to Finnegans to join everyone else. It was a pretty crazy night. We spent most of it looking for people or looking for lost phones!
Monday, October 25, 2010
oh Recovery Day...
Sat’day
Today was Recovery Day! It was an absolutely amazing day filled with friends, food, pool time, bouncy Velcro walls, and whatever other crazy things we did that day. Funny thing, I needed Sunday to recover from Recovery day!
Today was Recovery Day! It was an absolutely amazing day filled with friends, food, pool time, bouncy Velcro walls, and whatever other crazy things we did that day. Funny thing, I needed Sunday to recover from Recovery day!
Friday the 15th
Friday
Farwell dinner was tonight! I got to wear my new purple mini dress! So fun and pretty! =] Everone looked so spiffy! We hung around the courtyard and mingled a bit before group pictures. Then we headed over to Teds Dining Hall for dinner, which was actually just finger food and desserts. During dinner there were several speeches on the subject of farewell and awards. The ironic thing is that we have Reunion Ball in 2 weeks from the day of Farewell. After the speeches and the slideshow I played jenga with people in 510. Caught a ride with Angie’s friend to the after party at Kingstreet Hotel. Stayed until they closed the top floor (exclusive for IH) then Mark was nice enough to give me his seat in the cab. =] I wasn’t ready for bed yet so I decided to chill with Matt. We watched Shutter Island. The soundtrack was absolutely terrible, but the movie was interesting.
Farwell dinner was tonight! I got to wear my new purple mini dress! So fun and pretty! =] Everone looked so spiffy! We hung around the courtyard and mingled a bit before group pictures. Then we headed over to Teds Dining Hall for dinner, which was actually just finger food and desserts. During dinner there were several speeches on the subject of farewell and awards. The ironic thing is that we have Reunion Ball in 2 weeks from the day of Farewell. After the speeches and the slideshow I played jenga with people in 510. Caught a ride with Angie’s friend to the after party at Kingstreet Hotel. Stayed until they closed the top floor (exclusive for IH) then Mark was nice enough to give me his seat in the cab. =] I wasn’t ready for bed yet so I decided to chill with Matt. We watched Shutter Island. The soundtrack was absolutely terrible, but the movie was interesting.
ICC Arts Show
Thursday, 14 October, 2010
Tonight we had the ICC Arts Show! I choreographed a dance solo with the help of my dancer friend Laura! The whole show was pretty amazing. We had singing solos and duets, original compositions, dances, and drama performances. It was a really lovely show with a great turnout!
Tonight we had the ICC Arts Show! I choreographed a dance solo with the help of my dancer friend Laura! The whole show was pretty amazing. We had singing solos and duets, original compositions, dances, and drama performances. It was a really lovely show with a great turnout!
8/10/2010
The last week of the holidays was pretty uneventful. I just hung around with people and finished a little uni work. Friday was a pretty chill night. Had a few drinks with people in Teds and just hung out. They were all ready to go to bed around 11, but my friend Matt and I wanted to do something, so I randomly commented (haha you know me) that I would normally go to the beach on a night like this... His eyes lit up and he said lets go!, and everyone else wasn’t so keen on the idea. So we went by ourselves. Drove to Nobby’s Beach and walked downthe beach, played with the waves like little kids all the way to the breakwater. We walked the breakwater and sat on the rocks and watched the waves crash over them. We sat there for quite some time just gazing a the ocean, waves, the city behind us. We changed rocks to the fishy-smelling side, but the rock was more comfortable (as a rock can be! Lol). It started raining around 2 am but seemed to only be over our heads. We stuck our hands out and felt no rain there. We got up and moved to the light tower. He and I were both skinny enough to squeeze through the ladder and climb up to the top! LOL! It was cold as so we climbed down after a short time. Climbed into the cool fort-like area just below. It was so much warmer! Around 3-3:30 the choice between food and staying became a prominent question. Food won eventually! It started raining halfway down the beach back to the car and then started pouring! We had a good run in the rain!
Sat’day/Sunday
Slept in a bit, lol. Tonight we went to MJ Finnegans. It was pretty cool, no one was overly drunk and we all had a good time. Holly’s Birthday was the next day so this was a celebration for her. Earlier in the day Holly, our Norwegian friend Geir, and I made a Liisa-friendly German Chocolate cake. We got back from the club around 2 and a few of us decided to hang out in Matt’s room with the Xbox. Lol. We had a good time and a good cuddle puddle too! This lasted until again our stomachs decided our next plan of action. So we went back to my house and I cooked everyone brekkie! It was delish! Alex, Holly, and I walked to the playground past the train station after brekkie. We played on the merry-go-round, fell off the merry-go-round and sat and watched the morning evolve over the lake. We walked back and I watched a movie while Holly slept through it. After the movie Nattie and I went shopping! Then had Chinese with Holly and some of her housemates for Holly’s birthday. The rest of the day tried to stay awake long enough to go to bed without waking up at 3 am and not being able to sleep again.
Sat’day/Sunday
Slept in a bit, lol. Tonight we went to MJ Finnegans. It was pretty cool, no one was overly drunk and we all had a good time. Holly’s Birthday was the next day so this was a celebration for her. Earlier in the day Holly, our Norwegian friend Geir, and I made a Liisa-friendly German Chocolate cake. We got back from the club around 2 and a few of us decided to hang out in Matt’s room with the Xbox. Lol. We had a good time and a good cuddle puddle too! This lasted until again our stomachs decided our next plan of action. So we went back to my house and I cooked everyone brekkie! It was delish! Alex, Holly, and I walked to the playground past the train station after brekkie. We played on the merry-go-round, fell off the merry-go-round and sat and watched the morning evolve over the lake. We walked back and I watched a movie while Holly slept through it. After the movie Nattie and I went shopping! Then had Chinese with Holly and some of her housemates for Holly’s birthday. The rest of the day tried to stay awake long enough to go to bed without waking up at 3 am and not being able to sleep again.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Port Macquarie! 30 Sep-4 Oct
Port Macquarie 30 Sep-4 Oct
Went up to Port Macquarie with my housemate Angie. First dropped off someone at the airport and then hit the road! I fell asleep of course. Got to Angie’s house mid-arvo. Had some lunch and then she took me on a walking beach tour of the town. It was so pretty! Met her mom, Natalia, at the store and got a lift home. Heaps good! Natalia made this amazing chicken, fish, and prawn curry for dinner. Angie made a fruit salad for dessert. Watched telly for a while then went to bed. Got up early for the sunrise! So beautiful! Went back to bed. Ang took me on a walk to Lighthouse Beach and the Lighthouse and then we had lunch, showered and went to the koala hospital. So sad/cute! Afterwards we went into town for coffee/smoothies. Took 3 tries but we got some eventually. Lol. After those she dropped me off at Susan’s house. I had a good time with Susan while the kids were playing shy! Lol. Susan made a good chicken stir-fry for dinner.
Got up, played with Lydia and Zachary. Ryan still wasn’t feeling well, poor little mate! Lydia, Susan and I went to the shops and the Koala hospital for the family fun day. It was a little wet but we averted a bit of the wet by seeing the Roto House. Yummy green curry chicken for dinner.
Played with the kids for a bit then went on a run down to Lighthouse Beach and down the beach a ways and back. Felt good to move again, my ribs didn’t hurt so badly. In the arvo I watched the National Rugby League Grand Final match with Jason and some of his friends and the kids occasionally. Susan made a DELICIOUS veggie risotto for dinner. It was amazing!! Stayed up and chatted for a bit then tried to hit the hay. The storm kept me up for a while though.
Played with the kids for most of the day. Lydia mostly, Zach with the Wii and Ryan when he let me. Lol. Watched Monsters, Inc. And then Angie came to take us both back to Newy. It was a good trip and great to see Susan again!!!!
Went up to Port Macquarie with my housemate Angie. First dropped off someone at the airport and then hit the road! I fell asleep of course. Got to Angie’s house mid-arvo. Had some lunch and then she took me on a walking beach tour of the town. It was so pretty! Met her mom, Natalia, at the store and got a lift home. Heaps good! Natalia made this amazing chicken, fish, and prawn curry for dinner. Angie made a fruit salad for dessert. Watched telly for a while then went to bed. Got up early for the sunrise! So beautiful! Went back to bed. Ang took me on a walk to Lighthouse Beach and the Lighthouse and then we had lunch, showered and went to the koala hospital. So sad/cute! Afterwards we went into town for coffee/smoothies. Took 3 tries but we got some eventually. Lol. After those she dropped me off at Susan’s house. I had a good time with Susan while the kids were playing shy! Lol. Susan made a good chicken stir-fry for dinner.
Got up, played with Lydia and Zachary. Ryan still wasn’t feeling well, poor little mate! Lydia, Susan and I went to the shops and the Koala hospital for the family fun day. It was a little wet but we averted a bit of the wet by seeing the Roto House. Yummy green curry chicken for dinner.
Played with the kids for a bit then went on a run down to Lighthouse Beach and down the beach a ways and back. Felt good to move again, my ribs didn’t hurt so badly. In the arvo I watched the National Rugby League Grand Final match with Jason and some of his friends and the kids occasionally. Susan made a DELICIOUS veggie risotto for dinner. It was amazing!! Stayed up and chatted for a bit then tried to hit the hay. The storm kept me up for a while though.
Played with the kids for most of the day. Lydia mostly, Zach with the Wii and Ryan when he let me. Lol. Watched Monsters, Inc. And then Angie came to take us both back to Newy. It was a good trip and great to see Susan again!!!!
Melbourne! 24-27 September
Friday 4:20 AM
Woke up and got dressed for the flight to Melbourne! Told Sean Happy Birthday and then waited for Emma and Josh with Liam. Josh drove us all to the airport for our 6 AM flight. It’s about a 25 minute drive to the airport. Got there and breezed through security (I still can’t get over how lax it is here compared to the States,) and then I got a small coffee while the woman behind me got a shot of vodka!! We had checked in for the flight the night before so it was a very short wait to begin boarding the Airbus 320. I read my book, Shadow Child, during the hour and 15 minute flight. We took the Airbus shuttle from the Tullamarine Airport to the train station (Southern Cross). We walked to Flinders Street Station to meet with Holly who had arrived the morning before. From there we took a tram to our hostel at the Pint on the Punt. It was a neat little Irish pub downstairs and a hostel upstairs. Holly and I shared a room with two other Americans. Liam and Emma got the private room. Holly, Emma, and I walked down to the 7 11 and grabbed some food for lunch.
Once we were settled in we just napped (Liam and Emma), read/wrote (Holly/me, me/Holly). We did that until dinner time. We ate downstairs at the pub and had the special! Liam’s friend, Brendan, came and met with us. From there he took us to the Crown Casino. That place was ginormous! Once inside it looked like it went on forever! There were so many slot machines, blackjack, roulette, poker, etc. tables! It was incredible! We went to the Tangerine Bar first where the security lady would not let Holly or me in because we didn’t have Australian ID or our passports. She was really rude about it, but I just tried to chalk it up to a rough night. We just went to the bar next to it that had so many screens it was hard to tell what was going on! Liam and Brendan had a beer while I watched the soccer game and talked to Emma and Holly. After the boys finished their drinks Brendan took us in the back way of the Tangerine Bar and we got in no problem. Weird as! We wanted to be in this bar because they have a pyrotechnic show every hour on the hour. We caught the tail end of the 9 o’clock show so we hung out on the deck until 10.The boys had more drinks (of course) lol. Emma and I got waters for the girls and inside the bar this random guy starts apologising for stuff he did to me in primary school! Then he asked me how to break up with this girl he was seeing! Emma saved me and we went back outside. The fire show was pretty cool! Worth waiting an hour for! After the show we went downstairs and Liam won $20 dollars at roulette! Yeww! We got some food/dessert and then went to the sports bar. I got a Strongbow and while I was drinkin it the bouncers asked for my ID. When he saw my birthday he was really embarrassed when he told his mate, “she’s 20!” I just smiled and told him no worries. It was funny how apologetic he was when he gave me my license back. Watched a bit of rugby and then we headed out. The walk by the river was really cool. There are so many street artists and the architecture of the buildings was beautiful! The bridges and the plaza were really cool. We tried to take a tram home, but Brendan ended up putting us on the wrong tram that took us way out of the city! It was all good; we just took a taxi home. Then bed time!!!
Sat’day
Woke up around 9, showered and headed down to the pub for breakie. I was the first one up so I read a magazine while I waited for everyone. Whoo hoo. :/ When everyone was ready we walked to St. Kilda Beach. Walked through the park and down the pier. Explored the break water for penguins. Saw a couple way back in the rocks! Also saw a water rat. The boats in the bay were pretty cool too. We could see the city skyline pretty well from the pier. After seeing the penguins we decided to take the tram into town and wandered down Collins Street. Had lunch at a Thai place in one of many arcades and then a delicious watermelon/raspberry smoothie. then we walked down to the big block arcade and looked around the fancy shops. The allies and side streets off the main streets are full of cute little shops and restaurants. The whole city is simply amazing! The whole city was abuzz today because it was the Toyota Australian Football League Grand Final! Tried to get tickets but it was too late by the time we knew the final was the same weekend as our trip. So we just watched the match between the St. Kilda Saints and Collingwood Magpies in Federation Square on the big screen with a whole bunch of people. The atmosphere was zinging with electricity! We only stayed for a while because Liam was bored. So we headed up the river and walked through Kings Domain Park. We saw the Shrine of Remembrance. Daddy would have loved it. It was a memorial for all of the soldiers and veterans who fought in every war Australia and New Zealand were involved in. It was awe-inspiring and beautiful. Liam and Emma were tired so they left before I was finished. So Holly and I stayed at the park a bit longer while they napped. We had dinner at the pub again. Holly and I split the calamari and it was delicious! Tonight was the Bangarra Dance Theatre performance! Of Earth and Sky was shown in the Playhouse Theatre. The show was AMAZING! I wish there were words to describe the way I felt when I was watching it! It was extra special because I discovered the company on the plane over here.
Sunday
Everyone was super tired but I was still up at 9. Went downstairs for tea and let Emma and Liam sleep a bit. Liam wasn’t feeling well so around 10:30 AM we girl to the tram and then a train to the Melbourne Zoo at Royale Park! We saw gorillas, giraffes, penguins, baboons, even baby elephants! Ah! It was so much fun! Especially the seals at feeding time! Oh and the monkeys! Soo cute!
When we had seen everything we took the train to Melbourne Central to meet Liam and Brendan so we could swap keys. The boys went off to do their own thing and Emma wanted to nap, so Holly and I went back to St. Kilda. We walked through the park and then sat on the beach for the sunset. Then wewent back to the breakwater to watch the penguins. Really cool to see but COLD!
My friend Leslie and I are both studying abroad in Australia and we both happened to be in the same state/city! After some serious effort on the trams she made it to the pub for dinner. Oi, it was so good to see her again! After dinner the four of us went to the Eureka Skydeck, the tallest building in Melbourne. Emma, Leslie, and I were the only ones to lay down and look 285 meters below on The Edge! The view of the city is unbeatable from there! So incredible! We stayed until they kicked us out then got some postcards and a thimble. We tried to get ice cream but everything had just closed. Neat window shopping though. Walked Les back to her tram and then crashed into bed.
Monday
Woke up around 9 and packed up to check out. Slow start to the morning but we took a tram into the city and walked to the State Library of Victoria. It was so cool! There were exhibits and the architecture was beautiful. After the library Liam and Emma got sushi. Then they went to a shopping district on the south side of the city. Holly and I went to the Old Melbourne Gaol. We got treated like criminals and were thrown in gaol. After that we wandered through the gaol in the rain and got our mug shots taken. The we partook in the re-enactment of the trial of Edward “Ned” Kelly. I was Ned. Holly was a witness. I learned more about the most famous bushranger in one day than I ever thought I would! Lol We had sometime before we needed to meet with Emma and Liam so we decided to go shopping on Colin and Bourke Streets. Ripcurl, JettySurf, SportyGirl, Dotti, and some other way cool high end shops. Found this AMAZING dress that was just way too much. I had to tear myself away from it! Haha me and a DRESS! Oh and Mum should be proud of me for going into an Adidas superstore and not buying anything! It was fun seeing all the boutiques and designer stores in the city. Holly and I got Starbucks for the first time in months! Met Liam and Emma in the library, they grabbed dinner, and then we caught the tram to the Airbus to the airport. At the airport it was funny putting Emma’s new shoes in Liam’s bag. I had to wear Liam’s new hat on the plane. (I was the one who looked the best in it, weird as). The flight was good. Only bad thing that happened was that my ears wouldn’t equalize the pressure. Other than the ears it was an amazing trip!!! Heaps good! Great start to the uni holidays!
Woke up and got dressed for the flight to Melbourne! Told Sean Happy Birthday and then waited for Emma and Josh with Liam. Josh drove us all to the airport for our 6 AM flight. It’s about a 25 minute drive to the airport. Got there and breezed through security (I still can’t get over how lax it is here compared to the States,) and then I got a small coffee while the woman behind me got a shot of vodka!! We had checked in for the flight the night before so it was a very short wait to begin boarding the Airbus 320. I read my book, Shadow Child, during the hour and 15 minute flight. We took the Airbus shuttle from the Tullamarine Airport to the train station (Southern Cross). We walked to Flinders Street Station to meet with Holly who had arrived the morning before. From there we took a tram to our hostel at the Pint on the Punt. It was a neat little Irish pub downstairs and a hostel upstairs. Holly and I shared a room with two other Americans. Liam and Emma got the private room. Holly, Emma, and I walked down to the 7 11 and grabbed some food for lunch.
Once we were settled in we just napped (Liam and Emma), read/wrote (Holly/me, me/Holly). We did that until dinner time. We ate downstairs at the pub and had the special! Liam’s friend, Brendan, came and met with us. From there he took us to the Crown Casino. That place was ginormous! Once inside it looked like it went on forever! There were so many slot machines, blackjack, roulette, poker, etc. tables! It was incredible! We went to the Tangerine Bar first where the security lady would not let Holly or me in because we didn’t have Australian ID or our passports. She was really rude about it, but I just tried to chalk it up to a rough night. We just went to the bar next to it that had so many screens it was hard to tell what was going on! Liam and Brendan had a beer while I watched the soccer game and talked to Emma and Holly. After the boys finished their drinks Brendan took us in the back way of the Tangerine Bar and we got in no problem. Weird as! We wanted to be in this bar because they have a pyrotechnic show every hour on the hour. We caught the tail end of the 9 o’clock show so we hung out on the deck until 10.The boys had more drinks (of course) lol. Emma and I got waters for the girls and inside the bar this random guy starts apologising for stuff he did to me in primary school! Then he asked me how to break up with this girl he was seeing! Emma saved me and we went back outside. The fire show was pretty cool! Worth waiting an hour for! After the show we went downstairs and Liam won $20 dollars at roulette! Yeww! We got some food/dessert and then went to the sports bar. I got a Strongbow and while I was drinkin it the bouncers asked for my ID. When he saw my birthday he was really embarrassed when he told his mate, “she’s 20!” I just smiled and told him no worries. It was funny how apologetic he was when he gave me my license back. Watched a bit of rugby and then we headed out. The walk by the river was really cool. There are so many street artists and the architecture of the buildings was beautiful! The bridges and the plaza were really cool. We tried to take a tram home, but Brendan ended up putting us on the wrong tram that took us way out of the city! It was all good; we just took a taxi home. Then bed time!!!
Sat’day
Woke up around 9, showered and headed down to the pub for breakie. I was the first one up so I read a magazine while I waited for everyone. Whoo hoo. :/ When everyone was ready we walked to St. Kilda Beach. Walked through the park and down the pier. Explored the break water for penguins. Saw a couple way back in the rocks! Also saw a water rat. The boats in the bay were pretty cool too. We could see the city skyline pretty well from the pier. After seeing the penguins we decided to take the tram into town and wandered down Collins Street. Had lunch at a Thai place in one of many arcades and then a delicious watermelon/raspberry smoothie. then we walked down to the big block arcade and looked around the fancy shops. The allies and side streets off the main streets are full of cute little shops and restaurants. The whole city is simply amazing! The whole city was abuzz today because it was the Toyota Australian Football League Grand Final! Tried to get tickets but it was too late by the time we knew the final was the same weekend as our trip. So we just watched the match between the St. Kilda Saints and Collingwood Magpies in Federation Square on the big screen with a whole bunch of people. The atmosphere was zinging with electricity! We only stayed for a while because Liam was bored. So we headed up the river and walked through Kings Domain Park. We saw the Shrine of Remembrance. Daddy would have loved it. It was a memorial for all of the soldiers and veterans who fought in every war Australia and New Zealand were involved in. It was awe-inspiring and beautiful. Liam and Emma were tired so they left before I was finished. So Holly and I stayed at the park a bit longer while they napped. We had dinner at the pub again. Holly and I split the calamari and it was delicious! Tonight was the Bangarra Dance Theatre performance! Of Earth and Sky was shown in the Playhouse Theatre. The show was AMAZING! I wish there were words to describe the way I felt when I was watching it! It was extra special because I discovered the company on the plane over here.
Sunday
Everyone was super tired but I was still up at 9. Went downstairs for tea and let Emma and Liam sleep a bit. Liam wasn’t feeling well so around 10:30 AM we girl to the tram and then a train to the Melbourne Zoo at Royale Park! We saw gorillas, giraffes, penguins, baboons, even baby elephants! Ah! It was so much fun! Especially the seals at feeding time! Oh and the monkeys! Soo cute!
When we had seen everything we took the train to Melbourne Central to meet Liam and Brendan so we could swap keys. The boys went off to do their own thing and Emma wanted to nap, so Holly and I went back to St. Kilda. We walked through the park and then sat on the beach for the sunset. Then wewent back to the breakwater to watch the penguins. Really cool to see but COLD!
My friend Leslie and I are both studying abroad in Australia and we both happened to be in the same state/city! After some serious effort on the trams she made it to the pub for dinner. Oi, it was so good to see her again! After dinner the four of us went to the Eureka Skydeck, the tallest building in Melbourne. Emma, Leslie, and I were the only ones to lay down and look 285 meters below on The Edge! The view of the city is unbeatable from there! So incredible! We stayed until they kicked us out then got some postcards and a thimble. We tried to get ice cream but everything had just closed. Neat window shopping though. Walked Les back to her tram and then crashed into bed.
Monday
Woke up around 9 and packed up to check out. Slow start to the morning but we took a tram into the city and walked to the State Library of Victoria. It was so cool! There were exhibits and the architecture was beautiful. After the library Liam and Emma got sushi. Then they went to a shopping district on the south side of the city. Holly and I went to the Old Melbourne Gaol. We got treated like criminals and were thrown in gaol. After that we wandered through the gaol in the rain and got our mug shots taken. The we partook in the re-enactment of the trial of Edward “Ned” Kelly. I was Ned. Holly was a witness. I learned more about the most famous bushranger in one day than I ever thought I would! Lol We had sometime before we needed to meet with Emma and Liam so we decided to go shopping on Colin and Bourke Streets. Ripcurl, JettySurf, SportyGirl, Dotti, and some other way cool high end shops. Found this AMAZING dress that was just way too much. I had to tear myself away from it! Haha me and a DRESS! Oh and Mum should be proud of me for going into an Adidas superstore and not buying anything! It was fun seeing all the boutiques and designer stores in the city. Holly and I got Starbucks for the first time in months! Met Liam and Emma in the library, they grabbed dinner, and then we caught the tram to the Airbus to the airport. At the airport it was funny putting Emma’s new shoes in Liam’s bag. I had to wear Liam’s new hat on the plane. (I was the one who looked the best in it, weird as). The flight was good. Only bad thing that happened was that my ears wouldn’t equalize the pressure. Other than the ears it was an amazing trip!!! Heaps good! Great start to the uni holidays!
MojoSurf!
10 September, 2010
MojoSurf trip began today!!! :D The bus was late picking us up but it at least picked us up at uni and not in Hexam. I never actually found out where that is. Lol. I got to hang out with Bridget again! The bus ride was about 4 hours. I don’t know where we actually went but it was a private camp with their own private section of beach in the bay. I bunked with Bridget and 10 other people. 11 girls and 1 guy. Bahaha! Whe we got there it was around 1 AM so we just stayed at the bonfire by the beach for a little while. I forgot my contact case so I had to sleep with my contacts in. Oops! We only got about 4 hours of sleep, because wake up was 7 am!
Sat’day
Breakfast was gluten free and yummy! Lesson brief was at 8 and they first lesson at 8:30. My group just hung out in the hammocks and chilled in the sun. We got our wetsuits and hiked out to the beach around 10. We spent a good amount of time learning about waves, the proper board for a person, and different techniques for getting up on the board. Once we got in the water I stood up after about my fifth try! I was so excited! The rest of the lesson went pretty well. I wiped out plenty of times but I stood and rode waves heaps! The instructors called us in for lunch and then we just laid in the sun for a couple hours. Aiden (the cook/surfer who was super attentive to my allergies) water bombed us! It was heaps funny but I didn’t like having a wet towel. Lol
The other group went for their second surf lesson and we headed for the beach. We had a soccer game and the camp dog, Grummy, was a hilarious asset to both teams! The arvo surf was a bit tougher because the tide was going out so the waves were dumping waves. I still managed to get up it just took a while to get the hang of it again. Tweaked my old MCL injury and had to call it a day about 3 minutes before everyone else got called in. Took care of the boards and hung up the wetsuits. Got to take a shower! Yay! Dinner was the most amazing chicken I’ve ever had! :D After dinner we played Jenga to see which table had to do the dishes. For the first in 10 years our group took Jenga as far as Jenga can go! YEWW! Since that didn’t decide it there was a wheat-bix eating contest. Wheat-bix is normally heated and mashed with hot water/milk so you can imagine eating it dry as fast as you can! Yuck! My group lost so we had to do all the dishes. No bigs, it was a good bonding experience. Played cards with people and then went down to the bonfire. I have never seen so many stars in my life! This place was absolutely beautiful! It was mind-bogglingly breath taking!!! I called it a night around midnight because I was in the early morning surf group. There wasn’t much point though because I woke up when all the drunkies came back. Pooh on them
Sunday
This morning required no long talks. Just get your board and go out there! I paddled out with Jordo (one of the surf instructors) to get closer look at the dolphins and whales. It was awesome as! The surf was kinda dead so we had to wait a while between swells quite a bit. Sometimes I just sat on my board and stared at the ocean. It was a pretty chill morning. We got to surf extra long because the second group didn’t all come out (they were a bit hungover). After my knee bummed out for the day just laid in the sun with everyone until lunch. We had a good lunch, ordered our pics and then loaded the bus for home. Slept a lot on the way back to Newy. I was quite sunburnt after that day. I took the piss for it. Lol. Did laundry, watched a movie and then went to bed. It was the best weekend EVER!
MojoSurf trip began today!!! :D The bus was late picking us up but it at least picked us up at uni and not in Hexam. I never actually found out where that is. Lol. I got to hang out with Bridget again! The bus ride was about 4 hours. I don’t know where we actually went but it was a private camp with their own private section of beach in the bay. I bunked with Bridget and 10 other people. 11 girls and 1 guy. Bahaha! Whe we got there it was around 1 AM so we just stayed at the bonfire by the beach for a little while. I forgot my contact case so I had to sleep with my contacts in. Oops! We only got about 4 hours of sleep, because wake up was 7 am!
Sat’day
Breakfast was gluten free and yummy! Lesson brief was at 8 and they first lesson at 8:30. My group just hung out in the hammocks and chilled in the sun. We got our wetsuits and hiked out to the beach around 10. We spent a good amount of time learning about waves, the proper board for a person, and different techniques for getting up on the board. Once we got in the water I stood up after about my fifth try! I was so excited! The rest of the lesson went pretty well. I wiped out plenty of times but I stood and rode waves heaps! The instructors called us in for lunch and then we just laid in the sun for a couple hours. Aiden (the cook/surfer who was super attentive to my allergies) water bombed us! It was heaps funny but I didn’t like having a wet towel. Lol
The other group went for their second surf lesson and we headed for the beach. We had a soccer game and the camp dog, Grummy, was a hilarious asset to both teams! The arvo surf was a bit tougher because the tide was going out so the waves were dumping waves. I still managed to get up it just took a while to get the hang of it again. Tweaked my old MCL injury and had to call it a day about 3 minutes before everyone else got called in. Took care of the boards and hung up the wetsuits. Got to take a shower! Yay! Dinner was the most amazing chicken I’ve ever had! :D After dinner we played Jenga to see which table had to do the dishes. For the first in 10 years our group took Jenga as far as Jenga can go! YEWW! Since that didn’t decide it there was a wheat-bix eating contest. Wheat-bix is normally heated and mashed with hot water/milk so you can imagine eating it dry as fast as you can! Yuck! My group lost so we had to do all the dishes. No bigs, it was a good bonding experience. Played cards with people and then went down to the bonfire. I have never seen so many stars in my life! This place was absolutely beautiful! It was mind-bogglingly breath taking!!! I called it a night around midnight because I was in the early morning surf group. There wasn’t much point though because I woke up when all the drunkies came back. Pooh on them
Sunday
This morning required no long talks. Just get your board and go out there! I paddled out with Jordo (one of the surf instructors) to get closer look at the dolphins and whales. It was awesome as! The surf was kinda dead so we had to wait a while between swells quite a bit. Sometimes I just sat on my board and stared at the ocean. It was a pretty chill morning. We got to surf extra long because the second group didn’t all come out (they were a bit hungover). After my knee bummed out for the day just laid in the sun with everyone until lunch. We had a good lunch, ordered our pics and then loaded the bus for home. Slept a lot on the way back to Newy. I was quite sunburnt after that day. I took the piss for it. Lol. Did laundry, watched a movie and then went to bed. It was the best weekend EVER!
Friday 3 September, 2010
Today was a field trip to the Australian Museum in Sydney. Bright and early got on the bus with the other students in my Aboriginal Studies Class. We spent the morning at the museum being guided through the indigenous Australian exhibit and the rest of the museum. Then we loaded up to go to lunch. I was starving so I just went to Maccas with the others. (Bad idea because I got really sick ). Slept all the way home. Hehe I’m good at that.
Got back in time for the IH Soiree Dinner! My house was South American. I dressed as a military officer from Chilé (pics on facebook). It was a lot of fun seeing everyone’s costumes and hte dinner was pretty good. The kitchen staff made me special chicken! The after party was pretty good too. Had it at Bar 121, it was pretty nice for a social gathering. We played pool, danced, talked on the lounges. It was a pretty cool place. A bus took us all back and then I hung out with people in 510. Discovered that I’m a viper at beer pong! Haha, my partner drank and I took all the shots. It was a good system.
Got back in time for the IH Soiree Dinner! My house was South American. I dressed as a military officer from Chilé (pics on facebook). It was a lot of fun seeing everyone’s costumes and hte dinner was pretty good. The kitchen staff made me special chicken! The after party was pretty good too. Had it at Bar 121, it was pretty nice for a social gathering. We played pool, danced, talked on the lounges. It was a pretty cool place. A bus took us all back and then I hung out with people in 510. Discovered that I’m a viper at beer pong! Haha, my partner drank and I took all the shots. It was a good system.
Week 5
Joined iLEAD (an international leadership program) and went to the first seminar at Newcastle City Hall.
Went on a Reality retreat this weekend. Drove out to Bulahdelah where one of the uni church supporters gives use of their cabin. It was really neat! There was a separate cottage for the girls to bunk in! Pictures of the whole place are on facebook. We got there Friday night and just hung out and played games and drank hot cocoa. fun as! I had a terrible sleep but I was okay just like normal. Saturday morning was beautiful. We had a big breakfast of bacon on the barbie, eggs and toast. (Gluten free toast!) After breakie we had some quiet time and then a group Bible study. Then we split off into smaller groups and had a wonderful discussion. I had to leave early because of Beks engagement party but had a wonderful time anyhow. Got a ride home with Amy. Got to Beks place and no one was there so went back upstairs got some food and came back and then the party started! Haha stayed there for a while and then got a ride to town with Holly and Emily by Rhi and met up with Liam and Sam. Had a pretty good time with them and watched a movie with Sam and Holly.
Sunday Nattie and Emma took me and Holly to the beach for a memorial service for my Aunt Hilda and her Aunt Dottie. We bought some flowers and stood on the rocks and tossed them into the water. It was really beautiful and I was so appreciative to Nattie and Emma for being there.
Went on a Reality retreat this weekend. Drove out to Bulahdelah where one of the uni church supporters gives use of their cabin. It was really neat! There was a separate cottage for the girls to bunk in! Pictures of the whole place are on facebook. We got there Friday night and just hung out and played games and drank hot cocoa. fun as! I had a terrible sleep but I was okay just like normal. Saturday morning was beautiful. We had a big breakfast of bacon on the barbie, eggs and toast. (Gluten free toast!) After breakie we had some quiet time and then a group Bible study. Then we split off into smaller groups and had a wonderful discussion. I had to leave early because of Beks engagement party but had a wonderful time anyhow. Got a ride home with Amy. Got to Beks place and no one was there so went back upstairs got some food and came back and then the party started! Haha stayed there for a while and then got a ride to town with Holly and Emily by Rhi and met up with Liam and Sam. Had a pretty good time with them and watched a movie with Sam and Holly.
Sunday Nattie and Emma took me and Holly to the beach for a memorial service for my Aunt Hilda and her Aunt Dottie. We bought some flowers and stood on the rocks and tossed them into the water. It was really beautiful and I was so appreciative to Nattie and Emma for being there.
August 20-21 Trip to Sydney for the Weekend
Friday Morning
It was craziness trying to get everyone packed into the car and ready to go. I was ready and came over to Teds to meet everyone. Then Holly needed my phone charger and meds so I had to run back. Then Jono wasn’t even finished packing! Natalie and I just sat outside on our bags, waiting. Eventually everything was settled and we piled into Jono’s car for the road trip to Sydney! Tim got shotgun (as per usual in Jono’s car) and the girls got the backseat. Jono’s car had been broken into a couple of weeks ago so there was no music except for the iPad (which you could barely hear in the car). So we played I Spy almost the whole way there. Circles and cats! Squres and Colours! I was so glad that Jno was driving because I am pretty sure that he is the only person on Earth who actually likes city driving! Weird as, yeah?! :P Sydney is an incredible city. We found a Wallaby Street but there is no such place as 42 Wallaby Way Sydney. We even Google-mapped it. Sad hey?
We got into Sydney in decent time and found Nat’s dad’s apartment pretty easily with the bossy GPS. ;) From there we decided to go to the Broadway Mall and meet our friend Khema there. Had Maccas for lunch (I had Gloria Jean’s coffee ). The boys were looking for Samurai swords for some random reason. They were super expensive in the first shop we went into so we left there and went down to Patty’s Market. That place was huge!!! There were so many booths and stalls filled with all kinds of things! Jerseys to swords to fans to dolls to UGG boots! You could easily get lost in there and spend all day trying to get out. We made sure we were on each other’s heels the entire time. Luckily Khema knew her way around. We found some swords the boys were happy with and I helped Nat pick out a fan and Holly a cute turtle figurine.
At this point because we had left Newcastle so late we were rapidly running out of time before we had to meet Tim’s brother. So we took Nat home because she wasn’t feeling well. The boys changed and we were off. We parked outside a Maccas near the university and walked to the uni theatre. We met Chris and went out for some Thai food before the show that Chris was on the production team for. Jono actually liked Thai food! That was his first time trying it and he LIKED it!!! (He is an incredibly picky eater.) The food was delicious, but there was too much and we couldn’t get take away boxes. Before the show we walked around campus and saw the library and the physics lawn. Before we knew it, it was show time! The production was really funny. It was more like a bunch of mini skits and dances and songs. It was very unique and very entertaining. “This pillow pulls together the entire colour scheme!” A male saying this with arm motions. Bzzt! Answer! Hehehe. Hilarious! After the show we joined the cast and crew at Churchill Sports Bar where I had my first hard cider (and first alcoholic drink). It was not bad except for the bubbles.
We stayed for a while and then headed back to Nat’s and watched an episode of NCIS. Then the boys stole our bed, so Nat slept on the lounge in the lounge room. I was so tired and over all the crock the boys were throwing at us so we managed to fit me, Holly, Jono, and Timmy on the bed sleeping width-wise. Somehow I ended up on the floor wrapped in some decoration blanket thing and Timmy stole the entire doona. I woke up to Jono saying that he and Holly were spooning to stay warm. Hehe it was a very funny/awkward situation in the morning.
Sat’day
We parked in the Broadway mall like yesterday, grabbed a morning snack and then hopped on a train to the Circular Quay at Darling Harbour. We walked around a bit and got some great photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Met Khema and Emma at the Sydney Opera House and took pictures on the steps. We couldn’t spend a lot of time with them because Jono and Timmy booked IMAX tickets for Inception. It was pretty cool because Sydney has the world’s largest IMAX theatre but I couldn’t sit still for the movie. After the movie we walked around the boardwalk and took pictures from the skyview and fountains. Before going home we rode the ferris wheel! It was fun! We found the car much more easily this time. (Last time the boys didn’t pay attention to where they parked in the carpark and refused to listen to Nat.) Had a sleepy ride home. Then Holly and I went out on the town with some of my roommates. Twas a good night! Went to an Irish pub (Finn and Chools), then the Kent Hotel for an IH birthday and finished the night off at MJ Finnegans! Cider was involved.
It was craziness trying to get everyone packed into the car and ready to go. I was ready and came over to Teds to meet everyone. Then Holly needed my phone charger and meds so I had to run back. Then Jono wasn’t even finished packing! Natalie and I just sat outside on our bags, waiting. Eventually everything was settled and we piled into Jono’s car for the road trip to Sydney! Tim got shotgun (as per usual in Jono’s car) and the girls got the backseat. Jono’s car had been broken into a couple of weeks ago so there was no music except for the iPad (which you could barely hear in the car). So we played I Spy almost the whole way there. Circles and cats! Squres and Colours! I was so glad that Jno was driving because I am pretty sure that he is the only person on Earth who actually likes city driving! Weird as, yeah?! :P Sydney is an incredible city. We found a Wallaby Street but there is no such place as 42 Wallaby Way Sydney. We even Google-mapped it. Sad hey?
We got into Sydney in decent time and found Nat’s dad’s apartment pretty easily with the bossy GPS. ;) From there we decided to go to the Broadway Mall and meet our friend Khema there. Had Maccas for lunch (I had Gloria Jean’s coffee ). The boys were looking for Samurai swords for some random reason. They were super expensive in the first shop we went into so we left there and went down to Patty’s Market. That place was huge!!! There were so many booths and stalls filled with all kinds of things! Jerseys to swords to fans to dolls to UGG boots! You could easily get lost in there and spend all day trying to get out. We made sure we were on each other’s heels the entire time. Luckily Khema knew her way around. We found some swords the boys were happy with and I helped Nat pick out a fan and Holly a cute turtle figurine.
At this point because we had left Newcastle so late we were rapidly running out of time before we had to meet Tim’s brother. So we took Nat home because she wasn’t feeling well. The boys changed and we were off. We parked outside a Maccas near the university and walked to the uni theatre. We met Chris and went out for some Thai food before the show that Chris was on the production team for. Jono actually liked Thai food! That was his first time trying it and he LIKED it!!! (He is an incredibly picky eater.) The food was delicious, but there was too much and we couldn’t get take away boxes. Before the show we walked around campus and saw the library and the physics lawn. Before we knew it, it was show time! The production was really funny. It was more like a bunch of mini skits and dances and songs. It was very unique and very entertaining. “This pillow pulls together the entire colour scheme!” A male saying this with arm motions. Bzzt! Answer! Hehehe. Hilarious! After the show we joined the cast and crew at Churchill Sports Bar where I had my first hard cider (and first alcoholic drink). It was not bad except for the bubbles.
We stayed for a while and then headed back to Nat’s and watched an episode of NCIS. Then the boys stole our bed, so Nat slept on the lounge in the lounge room. I was so tired and over all the crock the boys were throwing at us so we managed to fit me, Holly, Jono, and Timmy on the bed sleeping width-wise. Somehow I ended up on the floor wrapped in some decoration blanket thing and Timmy stole the entire doona. I woke up to Jono saying that he and Holly were spooning to stay warm. Hehe it was a very funny/awkward situation in the morning.
Sat’day
We parked in the Broadway mall like yesterday, grabbed a morning snack and then hopped on a train to the Circular Quay at Darling Harbour. We walked around a bit and got some great photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Met Khema and Emma at the Sydney Opera House and took pictures on the steps. We couldn’t spend a lot of time with them because Jono and Timmy booked IMAX tickets for Inception. It was pretty cool because Sydney has the world’s largest IMAX theatre but I couldn’t sit still for the movie. After the movie we walked around the boardwalk and took pictures from the skyview and fountains. Before going home we rode the ferris wheel! It was fun! We found the car much more easily this time. (Last time the boys didn’t pay attention to where they parked in the carpark and refused to listen to Nat.) Had a sleepy ride home. Then Holly and I went out on the town with some of my roommates. Twas a good night! Went to an Irish pub (Finn and Chools), then the Kent Hotel for an IH birthday and finished the night off at MJ Finnegans! Cider was involved.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Week 3! :)
English got cancelled today due to illness of the prof, so I got an extra day to be unproductive. Tuesday was a good day even though I was exhausted from no sleep the night before. Fell asleep at the end of religion, oops. Hung out in Teds that evening and ended up being taken home by Colin and Timmy because of a raging fever. Turns out this time around I got the flu! I was in bed until Saturday. I went to part of the uni rugby game with Holly, did some laundry, grocery shopping, and that was all (more than) I could handle. Sleepy weekend, felt way better on Sunday. Enjoyed wearing shorts in the middle of winter!
The second week of school, where school actually happens...
Second Week of Class
Classes are still good. I’m liking all of my subjects. Was sick on Tuesday, so missed those classes. Stupid Teds’ bug! Friday was Autonomy Day! Autonomy Day is the day that the entire university gets up a 3 am (we got up a half hour early for some reason!) to start celebrating the autonomy of the University of Newcastle from the University of New South Whales. We had block parties and a big family breakfast until 7 am where we then headed to Bar on the Hill (Uni pub) and partied there. There was blow up twister, human fooseball, performances and booths. All around campus there was a carnival, an amazing race, murder games (that was a week-long event), billy cart races, and the party at Bar on the Hill until 6pm. Anyone could come to Auto day and it was a blast! I was the official photographer for the uni so I got a cool press pass and exclusive access to some of the stuff that was happening! That was one of the best days ever!
Classes are still good. I’m liking all of my subjects. Was sick on Tuesday, so missed those classes. Stupid Teds’ bug! Friday was Autonomy Day! Autonomy Day is the day that the entire university gets up a 3 am (we got up a half hour early for some reason!) to start celebrating the autonomy of the University of Newcastle from the University of New South Whales. We had block parties and a big family breakfast until 7 am where we then headed to Bar on the Hill (Uni pub) and partied there. There was blow up twister, human fooseball, performances and booths. All around campus there was a carnival, an amazing race, murder games (that was a week-long event), billy cart races, and the party at Bar on the Hill until 6pm. Anyone could come to Auto day and it was a blast! I was the official photographer for the uni so I got a cool press pass and exclusive access to some of the stuff that was happening! That was one of the best days ever!
First week of school!
First Week of Class (26-30 July, 2010)
Monday was my first class. Australian Popular Culture is a 2 hour seminar that happens once a week. In fact all of my classes are once a week. I’m still trying to get used to only having a couple hours of class a day. Tuesday I had piano for 2 hours in the morning and then religion for 2 hours in the afternoon. Hit the gym right after class since religion is in the physical health building right next to the gym and aquatic centre. I don’t have class on Wednesdays, which is just weird! Thursday morning I have Aboriginal Studies. Thursday went to Port Macquarie with Angie and Sarah (housemates). Angie’s mom was so sweet! Had an amazing dinner and then fell asleep to the sound of the waves. Got to see a whale in the morning and then we got back in time to get ready for the IH commencement dinner! We got dressed up again (wore another dress!) and listened to some lovely speeches, watched a funny tutorial video about the rules of IH and ate a delicious salmon dinner. The after party was at Kingstreet. We got the whole third level to ourselves! The first two levels were more of a bar and club scene, the third was a classier bar/conversation area. After a while Holly wanted to go so by Emily’s insistence we took a cab to CBD where Teds was having their retro prom. When we got there they were all getting kicked out so we met our group at the Silk Bar. Hung out there until we could catch a train. Long night but it was way fun. Had a pretty chill weekend, with Beach Sunday and Uni church!
Monday was my first class. Australian Popular Culture is a 2 hour seminar that happens once a week. In fact all of my classes are once a week. I’m still trying to get used to only having a couple hours of class a day. Tuesday I had piano for 2 hours in the morning and then religion for 2 hours in the afternoon. Hit the gym right after class since religion is in the physical health building right next to the gym and aquatic centre. I don’t have class on Wednesdays, which is just weird! Thursday morning I have Aboriginal Studies. Thursday went to Port Macquarie with Angie and Sarah (housemates). Angie’s mom was so sweet! Had an amazing dinner and then fell asleep to the sound of the waves. Got to see a whale in the morning and then we got back in time to get ready for the IH commencement dinner! We got dressed up again (wore another dress!) and listened to some lovely speeches, watched a funny tutorial video about the rules of IH and ate a delicious salmon dinner. The after party was at Kingstreet. We got the whole third level to ourselves! The first two levels were more of a bar and club scene, the third was a classier bar/conversation area. After a while Holly wanted to go so by Emily’s insistence we took a cab to CBD where Teds was having their retro prom. When we got there they were all getting kicked out so we met our group at the Silk Bar. Hung out there until we could catch a train. Long night but it was way fun. Had a pretty chill weekend, with Beach Sunday and Uni church!
O-Week!!!
Monday 19 July, 2010
Monday was the first day of semester 2 orientation! Today was a chilly day. Way colder than in Cairns! We started off with a mass informational meeting that lasted for 4 hours. The lady that was running it was funny; she made us stand up and jump and stretch! Afterwards we headed off into random groups for our pre-amazing orientation race meeting. I was a member of the wolves! A-whoo! After a barbeque we were free to do our own thing. I went to get my student ID card. I tried to get it earlier but I forgot to bring my passport which is a 100 point form of ID. We got some free stuff at the barbeque, none of it was useful, but hey its stuff right? After getting our ID s we tried to settle our health insurance cards, but no one was where they were supposed to be. Lovely. So I just went back to my block in International House (4) and hung out until dinner. Dinner is in Edwards Hall or Teds (Aussies have nicknames for everything!) Now I am self-catered but most of IH gets five dinners per week. Our house (block) is set up with a full kitchen, living/dining area in the middle and 5 rooms on each side in 420. 410 only has five rooms. That night was the international house pyjama party. There was a lot of alcohol and a really loud DJ. My ears were ringing for days afterwards! The party was pretty good until I got goon sprayed all over me and in my eye! Rhiannon (housemate), Holly and I left after that. People were too drunk and it was late and we had an early day!
Tuesday was the day of the Amazing Orientation Race. Our groups (go wolves!) followed clues across campus and across town. We solved puzzles and riddles and had a lot of fun learning about our area. The day was really long and exhausting but after 6 hours and a 2nd place finish, my day was not over yet! I had the IH mystery dinner to go to. We got all dressed up (I wore my new brown and turquoise polka dot dress) and got on a bus with no idea where we were headed. (Well obviously some people knew otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten there!) It was the funniest bus ride of my life! All the Aussies have fantastic songs to sing on rides that make you laugh ‘til your sides hurt! The destination of our mystery turned out to be a lake. The dinner was on a riverboat that took us around the lake. The dinner was actually pretty good and I got watermelon for dessert and lots of good company making it a good night!
Wednesday I blew off the seminars and info tours and just registered for classes and looked at books with Beth and Fion. We checked out the library, hit up the free barbeque, then went to a Uni sports info meeting. Turned out to be a pretty chill day. I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I didn’t go to the rubix cube party with everyone.
Thursday was a free day so I just hung out with Holly and Victoria. Met Colin, Andrew, Tim, Jono (Aussie name thing o), and Emma. We chilled in the hallway and talked for a long time. Of course there were some gymnastics demos outside.
Friday was the dolphin watching and petting zoo adventure! Called Colin to make sure that he was ready and headed over to the CT building to wait for the bus. It was about a 40 min ride tothe marina. Colin and I talked pretty much the whole way there. Our bus was the first to arrive so while we waited we occupied a small playground and ate bikkies. In the water there were two plastic orcas. The joke of the morning was that we paid to see the little orcas. The other bus arrived and we boarded the boat. I preferred the upper deck of the two viewing decks because I could more easily see both sides. It took a lot of patience and dealing with some rain and heavy wind, but eventually we saw some dolphins! They didn’t jump but it was still cool to see them in their natural environment. The view of the bay was incredible. The captain showed us this really cool cave inside the cliffs on the far edge of the bay and ten some islands. It was all so gorgeous I was regretting not having my camera. We were on our own for lunch. My salad was drowned in balsamic vinegar, but it was food! When we got to the farm the people gave us a bag of food to feed any of the animals there. There were lots of goats and sheep (cute babies), ducks, some fugly chickens, calves, bulls, camels, koalas, wombats, a horse, dingos, kangaroos, birds, emus, ostriches, wallabies <3, and my favourite next to wallabies was the reptile house. There were so many boas, lizards, and way cool/creepy reptiles. Colin and I were the last ones to the bus, we almost had our own little adventure! Lol. I slept pretty much the whle way back. It was a really great day. I was happy that I chose to wake up that morning!
Saturday and Sunday were just lazy days. Classes start on Monday!
Monday was the first day of semester 2 orientation! Today was a chilly day. Way colder than in Cairns! We started off with a mass informational meeting that lasted for 4 hours. The lady that was running it was funny; she made us stand up and jump and stretch! Afterwards we headed off into random groups for our pre-amazing orientation race meeting. I was a member of the wolves! A-whoo! After a barbeque we were free to do our own thing. I went to get my student ID card. I tried to get it earlier but I forgot to bring my passport which is a 100 point form of ID. We got some free stuff at the barbeque, none of it was useful, but hey its stuff right? After getting our ID s we tried to settle our health insurance cards, but no one was where they were supposed to be. Lovely. So I just went back to my block in International House (4) and hung out until dinner. Dinner is in Edwards Hall or Teds (Aussies have nicknames for everything!) Now I am self-catered but most of IH gets five dinners per week. Our house (block) is set up with a full kitchen, living/dining area in the middle and 5 rooms on each side in 420. 410 only has five rooms. That night was the international house pyjama party. There was a lot of alcohol and a really loud DJ. My ears were ringing for days afterwards! The party was pretty good until I got goon sprayed all over me and in my eye! Rhiannon (housemate), Holly and I left after that. People were too drunk and it was late and we had an early day!
Tuesday was the day of the Amazing Orientation Race. Our groups (go wolves!) followed clues across campus and across town. We solved puzzles and riddles and had a lot of fun learning about our area. The day was really long and exhausting but after 6 hours and a 2nd place finish, my day was not over yet! I had the IH mystery dinner to go to. We got all dressed up (I wore my new brown and turquoise polka dot dress) and got on a bus with no idea where we were headed. (Well obviously some people knew otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten there!) It was the funniest bus ride of my life! All the Aussies have fantastic songs to sing on rides that make you laugh ‘til your sides hurt! The destination of our mystery turned out to be a lake. The dinner was on a riverboat that took us around the lake. The dinner was actually pretty good and I got watermelon for dessert and lots of good company making it a good night!
Wednesday I blew off the seminars and info tours and just registered for classes and looked at books with Beth and Fion. We checked out the library, hit up the free barbeque, then went to a Uni sports info meeting. Turned out to be a pretty chill day. I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I didn’t go to the rubix cube party with everyone.
Thursday was a free day so I just hung out with Holly and Victoria. Met Colin, Andrew, Tim, Jono (Aussie name thing o), and Emma. We chilled in the hallway and talked for a long time. Of course there were some gymnastics demos outside.
Friday was the dolphin watching and petting zoo adventure! Called Colin to make sure that he was ready and headed over to the CT building to wait for the bus. It was about a 40 min ride tothe marina. Colin and I talked pretty much the whole way there. Our bus was the first to arrive so while we waited we occupied a small playground and ate bikkies. In the water there were two plastic orcas. The joke of the morning was that we paid to see the little orcas. The other bus arrived and we boarded the boat. I preferred the upper deck of the two viewing decks because I could more easily see both sides. It took a lot of patience and dealing with some rain and heavy wind, but eventually we saw some dolphins! They didn’t jump but it was still cool to see them in their natural environment. The view of the bay was incredible. The captain showed us this really cool cave inside the cliffs on the far edge of the bay and ten some islands. It was all so gorgeous I was regretting not having my camera. We were on our own for lunch. My salad was drowned in balsamic vinegar, but it was food! When we got to the farm the people gave us a bag of food to feed any of the animals there. There were lots of goats and sheep (cute babies), ducks, some fugly chickens, calves, bulls, camels, koalas, wombats, a horse, dingos, kangaroos, birds, emus, ostriches, wallabies <3, and my favourite next to wallabies was the reptile house. There were so many boas, lizards, and way cool/creepy reptiles. Colin and I were the last ones to the bus, we almost had our own little adventure! Lol. I slept pretty much the whle way back. It was a really great day. I was happy that I chose to wake up that morning!
Saturday and Sunday were just lazy days. Classes start on Monday!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday!
Sunday 18 July, 2010
Slept in for a while but didn’t feel so well, so I ate some cereal and slept some more. Same and Holly threw woodchips at my window to get my attention. I felt so loved, lol. Got up and dressed, met my RA who just got back from basic training in the Australian Army. Went for a walk around campus with Sam and Holly and toured the gym. Had some dinner and then went to the shops with Sam and Shannon (Sam’s Aussie neighbour). Watched Boondock Saint’s and called mom and dad. O-week begins in the morning! (orientation). J
Slept in for a while but didn’t feel so well, so I ate some cereal and slept some more. Same and Holly threw woodchips at my window to get my attention. I felt so loved, lol. Got up and dressed, met my RA who just got back from basic training in the Australian Army. Went for a walk around campus with Sam and Holly and toured the gym. Had some dinner and then went to the shops with Sam and Shannon (Sam’s Aussie neighbour). Watched Boondock Saint’s and called mom and dad. O-week begins in the morning! (orientation). J
First full day at uni...(:
Saturday 17, July 2010
Woke up late so I missed going shopping with a bunch of AustraLearn students. So Holly and I tried the public bus for the first time. We didn’t realize that we needed to flag down the driver and pay attention to the numbers on the marquee…I guessed I’m too spoiled with my own car. Lol. We ended up taking 3 busses after the advice of a helpful Aussie man to get to a shopping centre. Got some groceries at Woolworth’s and school stuff at Kmart except Kmart couldn’t give me a receipt. My card wouldn’t go through a second time so I had to go back at a later date. Bugger! Took two busses to get back and its then that Holly realises that there was one bus that would have taken us there and back. !!!!
Hung out with Sam, Katie, Jodie, Stacey, Katie, and Nikki (Aus), and Chin (Marchin ENG) and learned the game of King’s Cup. I didn’t drink but still played.
Woke up late so I missed going shopping with a bunch of AustraLearn students. So Holly and I tried the public bus for the first time. We didn’t realize that we needed to flag down the driver and pay attention to the numbers on the marquee…I guessed I’m too spoiled with my own car. Lol. We ended up taking 3 busses after the advice of a helpful Aussie man to get to a shopping centre. Got some groceries at Woolworth’s and school stuff at Kmart except Kmart couldn’t give me a receipt. My card wouldn’t go through a second time so I had to go back at a later date. Bugger! Took two busses to get back and its then that Holly realises that there was one bus that would have taken us there and back. !!!!
Hung out with Sam, Katie, Jodie, Stacey, Katie, and Nikki (Aus), and Chin (Marchin ENG) and learned the game of King’s Cup. I didn’t drink but still played.
Flying out to Uni!
Friday 16 July, 2010
Got up and finished packing, took our bags down before a breakfast of fried eggs and bacon. Then we turned in our sheets and towels and keys. We loaded up the bus and luggage truck and headed off to Cairns airport. Newcastle flights can’t hold all of our luggage so one bag was left on standby and would be sent later. The airport was so clean and colourful. It was refreshing to have a happy atmosphere in an airport! Walked around the shopping mall they had in the terminal with Maggie and Nerissa while we waited for our flight.
We arrived at uni late because of a delay in Brisbane, but Steph and Yedda took care of me. I got my info, keys, and take away dinner. They helped me settle in. Gave me a food cupboard that was supposedly occupied, but the only one available. Turns out the girl whose room I now live in left all her food here when she left. About 15 minutes after leaving me Yedda called and said her brother was taking Beth and Finn to the store and asked if I wanted to come. Sweet! I got some SAFE food and basic stuff to last the week. Eamon was really nice and waited very patiently for Finn…lol When we got back I set up my room and unpacked and ate. Still lacking the personal touch but it’s not too bad for living in. Holly came over and hung out for a while. Went to sleep for the first time in my new flat!
Got up and finished packing, took our bags down before a breakfast of fried eggs and bacon. Then we turned in our sheets and towels and keys. We loaded up the bus and luggage truck and headed off to Cairns airport. Newcastle flights can’t hold all of our luggage so one bag was left on standby and would be sent later. The airport was so clean and colourful. It was refreshing to have a happy atmosphere in an airport! Walked around the shopping mall they had in the terminal with Maggie and Nerissa while we waited for our flight.
We arrived at uni late because of a delay in Brisbane, but Steph and Yedda took care of me. I got my info, keys, and take away dinner. They helped me settle in. Gave me a food cupboard that was supposedly occupied, but the only one available. Turns out the girl whose room I now live in left all her food here when she left. About 15 minutes after leaving me Yedda called and said her brother was taking Beth and Finn to the store and asked if I wanted to come. Sweet! I got some SAFE food and basic stuff to last the week. Eamon was really nice and waited very patiently for Finn…lol When we got back I set up my room and unpacked and ate. Still lacking the personal touch but it’s not too bad for living in. Holly came over and hung out for a while. Went to sleep for the first time in my new flat!
GREAT BARRIER REEF!
Thursday 15 July, 2010 REEF DAY!!!
Today was the day EVERYONE had been waiting for. Yeah the koalas and kangaroos were cute, but today we were going to the Great Barrier Reef! Our day started too early, but it was okay because we were going to the reef! Ten minute bus ride to the marina, and then boarded Passions of Paradise and rode the waves for a couple of hours. We all sat on the bow rails or in the nets in the front. The sea air mixed with the sunshine was heavenly! We were briefed on diving and snorkelling by the incredible crew. Dirk, my dive instructor, was hilarious (his son was cute, too)! I was in group one for scuba diving. We were all allowed a ten minute practise for free and then could continue on if we wanted. I panicked at first when I got water in my mouth and up my nose, but Dirk calmed me down and taught me a trick to prevent that from happening again. I was totally fine the second time, even though it was still weird for me to breathe through my mouth and not my nose! No worries mate! I couldn’t not go on the dive and so Dirk promised to hold onto my hand until I was ready to go on my own. We saw a lot of batfish near the surface, then when Dirk took me, Aimee, and Tayler down there were so many fish and coral! AHHH! J Before, during our brief, they were telling us that it was really rare to see a sea turtle, but we saw four! And we got to pet one and feed it! OH. MY. GOODNESS! It was the coolest thing EVER! I saw Nemo and Dory too! Dirk pointed out what we could touch and showed us cool fish and different corals. I absolutely love diving! Definitely want to get certified. When Dirk let go of me I was too light with my air tank and so I couldn’t dive down! It was really funny; I would dive and then not go anywhere! Dirk came back and put another weight on my belt and then I was all good. We dove for about a half hour and then had to go back. We could either snorkel or just hang out. I was freezing when we got back so I decided to hang out by the air compressor heater by the suggestion of Dirk’s son Jarrod. That plan worked well for me, because I was one of the first to get lunch! Ratatouille, yum!! I tried prawn for the first time, too. It was very shrimp-like. After lunch, we sailed out to the outer reef and en route we watched the fish feed! There are fish there that can swim 20 times their body length in one second! I gave snorkelling a go! The waves were really high and choppy but it was still really cool. I saw the coolest angelfish! Also butterfly fish, zebra fish, and tons of schools of fish just swimming around. There was a drop off similar to that of Finding Nemo and saw some dead and bleached coral nearby. L My heart sunk a little in my chest.
Sometimes when I was kicking around I would pop my head up (either because a wave plugged my snorkel or I heard a whistle), I would be so far out from the boat when I thought I was close by. Crazy currents! We had to cut our snorkelling short because the waves were getting so choppy. I was getting pushed under the boat, it was insane! I liked snorkelling but I think I prefer to dive! J
On the boat we had a marine chat with Kat and Craig. It was really interesting to learn about what we had seen down there! I bought a t-shirt to commemorate my first scuba dive! Dirk told me I was now part of the crew and had to go scrub toilets. He jumped when I said okay! Haha. We sailed back to the mainland at about 19 knots and just enjoyed the sun, the waves, and the salty air. It was simply beautiful. We had tea and coffee and bikkies when were almost back. Yum! We split a camera between five of us and got some pretty great pictures, they gave us the memory card after tea. I was sad to make port, but also tired and ready to go back. I think I would rather just live at sea though. J
It was a mad rush for showers when we got back! 60 people and ten or so showers! Pizza Hut was an hour late and forgot my salad so Ross gave me 20 bucks to go get food since the hostel bar didn’t have anything I could eat. Nerissa went with me and we split 2 sides and chicken. It was the best meal I’d had all week! I was secretly thanking Pizza Hut for messing up. Lol. I made my deposit for my surfing trip! I can’t wait for that weekend of just hanging on the beach and surfing lessons! After dinner we uploaded pictures and watched No Reservations and packed for the flight the next day. We were all excited to stop living out of bags soon!
Today was the day EVERYONE had been waiting for. Yeah the koalas and kangaroos were cute, but today we were going to the Great Barrier Reef! Our day started too early, but it was okay because we were going to the reef! Ten minute bus ride to the marina, and then boarded Passions of Paradise and rode the waves for a couple of hours. We all sat on the bow rails or in the nets in the front. The sea air mixed with the sunshine was heavenly! We were briefed on diving and snorkelling by the incredible crew. Dirk, my dive instructor, was hilarious (his son was cute, too)! I was in group one for scuba diving. We were all allowed a ten minute practise for free and then could continue on if we wanted. I panicked at first when I got water in my mouth and up my nose, but Dirk calmed me down and taught me a trick to prevent that from happening again. I was totally fine the second time, even though it was still weird for me to breathe through my mouth and not my nose! No worries mate! I couldn’t not go on the dive and so Dirk promised to hold onto my hand until I was ready to go on my own. We saw a lot of batfish near the surface, then when Dirk took me, Aimee, and Tayler down there were so many fish and coral! AHHH! J Before, during our brief, they were telling us that it was really rare to see a sea turtle, but we saw four! And we got to pet one and feed it! OH. MY. GOODNESS! It was the coolest thing EVER! I saw Nemo and Dory too! Dirk pointed out what we could touch and showed us cool fish and different corals. I absolutely love diving! Definitely want to get certified. When Dirk let go of me I was too light with my air tank and so I couldn’t dive down! It was really funny; I would dive and then not go anywhere! Dirk came back and put another weight on my belt and then I was all good. We dove for about a half hour and then had to go back. We could either snorkel or just hang out. I was freezing when we got back so I decided to hang out by the air compressor heater by the suggestion of Dirk’s son Jarrod. That plan worked well for me, because I was one of the first to get lunch! Ratatouille, yum!! I tried prawn for the first time, too. It was very shrimp-like. After lunch, we sailed out to the outer reef and en route we watched the fish feed! There are fish there that can swim 20 times their body length in one second! I gave snorkelling a go! The waves were really high and choppy but it was still really cool. I saw the coolest angelfish! Also butterfly fish, zebra fish, and tons of schools of fish just swimming around. There was a drop off similar to that of Finding Nemo and saw some dead and bleached coral nearby. L My heart sunk a little in my chest.
Sometimes when I was kicking around I would pop my head up (either because a wave plugged my snorkel or I heard a whistle), I would be so far out from the boat when I thought I was close by. Crazy currents! We had to cut our snorkelling short because the waves were getting so choppy. I was getting pushed under the boat, it was insane! I liked snorkelling but I think I prefer to dive! J
On the boat we had a marine chat with Kat and Craig. It was really interesting to learn about what we had seen down there! I bought a t-shirt to commemorate my first scuba dive! Dirk told me I was now part of the crew and had to go scrub toilets. He jumped when I said okay! Haha. We sailed back to the mainland at about 19 knots and just enjoyed the sun, the waves, and the salty air. It was simply beautiful. We had tea and coffee and bikkies when were almost back. Yum! We split a camera between five of us and got some pretty great pictures, they gave us the memory card after tea. I was sad to make port, but also tired and ready to go back. I think I would rather just live at sea though. J
It was a mad rush for showers when we got back! 60 people and ten or so showers! Pizza Hut was an hour late and forgot my salad so Ross gave me 20 bucks to go get food since the hostel bar didn’t have anything I could eat. Nerissa went with me and we split 2 sides and chicken. It was the best meal I’d had all week! I was secretly thanking Pizza Hut for messing up. Lol. I made my deposit for my surfing trip! I can’t wait for that weekend of just hanging on the beach and surfing lessons! After dinner we uploaded pictures and watched No Reservations and packed for the flight the next day. We were all excited to stop living out of bags soon!
Wednesday: Community Day!
Wednesday July 14, 2010
Today was community day! We went to an arbitrarium to plant some trees around the place and then around a primary school in North Queensland. We split into two groups and then before switching we had midmorning tea and bikkies (cookies or biscuits). Aussies love their tea and bikkies! After we were done planting and potting we had lunch at a cool pizza place in Cairns (cans). A lot of the buildings in Australia are half open/half walled which is exactly what this was. The restaurant was attached to the mall but then open to the boardwalk and marina. After lunch we had about an hour to explore before we had to be back for another informational meeting. A group of us wandered on the boardwalk and of course took goofy pictures! We even climbed a tree! Our session was full of laughs thanks to Emma the Kiwi scuba instructor (New Zealander).
Afterwards some of us decided we would walk back to the hostel instead of waiting for the bus. It must have been at least 2 miles in the blazing sunshine and heat! Fry an egg! After a facebook break Nerissa and Sam walked another 2 miles to Target with me. They didn’t have what I was looking for, but luckily Nerissa remembered a supermarket near our shuttle pick up. I got SAFE rice crackers, and chocolate rumballs! Delicious! I finally got my iced tea and it just happened to be mango, my favourite! A funny sidenote: the carrots are so ORANGE here! The veggie colours just POP! Got back to the hostel and just hung out and listened to music before bed. Snorkelling and scuba diving tomorrow! She’ll be right, no worries mates! <3
Today was community day! We went to an arbitrarium to plant some trees around the place and then around a primary school in North Queensland. We split into two groups and then before switching we had midmorning tea and bikkies (cookies or biscuits). Aussies love their tea and bikkies! After we were done planting and potting we had lunch at a cool pizza place in Cairns (cans). A lot of the buildings in Australia are half open/half walled which is exactly what this was. The restaurant was attached to the mall but then open to the boardwalk and marina. After lunch we had about an hour to explore before we had to be back for another informational meeting. A group of us wandered on the boardwalk and of course took goofy pictures! We even climbed a tree! Our session was full of laughs thanks to Emma the Kiwi scuba instructor (New Zealander).
Afterwards some of us decided we would walk back to the hostel instead of waiting for the bus. It must have been at least 2 miles in the blazing sunshine and heat! Fry an egg! After a facebook break Nerissa and Sam walked another 2 miles to Target with me. They didn’t have what I was looking for, but luckily Nerissa remembered a supermarket near our shuttle pick up. I got SAFE rice crackers, and chocolate rumballs! Delicious! I finally got my iced tea and it just happened to be mango, my favourite! A funny sidenote: the carrots are so ORANGE here! The veggie colours just POP! Got back to the hostel and just hung out and listened to music before bed. Snorkelling and scuba diving tomorrow! She’ll be right, no worries mates! <3
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Day 3 :)
Tuesday July 13, 2010
Jungle Tour today! The hostel made special plain eggs for me! Nerissa, my last roommate to arrive came in the night before and we really hit it off. We became fast friends listening and making fun of our tour guide, Fraser. I called him Mr. Ray from Finding Nemo because he just had the one-liners and songs just like him! Our first stop of the day was to the Rainforest Habitat. They had grasslands, wetlands, and a rainforest section. We saw koalas, pythons, lots of birds, wallabies (these are my favourite ), kangaroos, crocodiles, and cassowaries. We then drove (by bus) to Daintree National Park and listened to funny stories from “Mr. Ray.” Some people swam in the river but I just wanted climb on the rocks. Hehe! We then had some time to walk the trails a bit and check out the lookout spots. We then drove out to Mt. Alexandra’s Lookout where we could see the island where Steve Irwin was killed. We stayed for only a few minutes before heading to the river where we had lunch and I got gluten free bread! We got some Daintree tea (delicious!) and then went on our river cruise. We met Fat Albert, Elizabeth, and an 11-year-old male. Our next stop was Daintree National Park Beach! The beach was at least 500 meters before the waves of the Coral Sea. We had to start heading back after a short time there, but we did get to stop at a fruit farm where they made their own ice cream! I got some mango-puree juice, yum! We then had a 2.5 hour drive home with one stop for munchies.
I decided that I wanted a real dinner with AustraLearn before I went on the pub crawl with the others. The fish I had was really good, but then by the time I was ready it was too late for me to join. The bouncers would not let me on the party bus even with my pass. So I decided to just go back to the hostel. I was too upset to sleep so I just hung out with my roommates that stayed behind. Not such bad thing...
Jungle Tour today! The hostel made special plain eggs for me! Nerissa, my last roommate to arrive came in the night before and we really hit it off. We became fast friends listening and making fun of our tour guide, Fraser. I called him Mr. Ray from Finding Nemo because he just had the one-liners and songs just like him! Our first stop of the day was to the Rainforest Habitat. They had grasslands, wetlands, and a rainforest section. We saw koalas, pythons, lots of birds, wallabies (these are my favourite ), kangaroos, crocodiles, and cassowaries. We then drove (by bus) to Daintree National Park and listened to funny stories from “Mr. Ray.” Some people swam in the river but I just wanted climb on the rocks. Hehe! We then had some time to walk the trails a bit and check out the lookout spots. We then drove out to Mt. Alexandra’s Lookout where we could see the island where Steve Irwin was killed. We stayed for only a few minutes before heading to the river where we had lunch and I got gluten free bread! We got some Daintree tea (delicious!) and then went on our river cruise. We met Fat Albert, Elizabeth, and an 11-year-old male. Our next stop was Daintree National Park Beach! The beach was at least 500 meters before the waves of the Coral Sea. We had to start heading back after a short time there, but we did get to stop at a fruit farm where they made their own ice cream! I got some mango-puree juice, yum! We then had a 2.5 hour drive home with one stop for munchies.
I decided that I wanted a real dinner with AustraLearn before I went on the pub crawl with the others. The fish I had was really good, but then by the time I was ready it was too late for me to join. The bouncers would not let me on the party bus even with my pass. So I decided to just go back to the hostel. I was too upset to sleep so I just hung out with my roommates that stayed behind. Not such bad thing...
Day 2! :)
July 12, 2010
It is now Monday! Crossing the international dateline makes you jump ahead a bit. I was surprisingly not jet lagged at all! That morning we boarded the bus and were taken to Rydges Plaza for a really good continental breakfast. Afterwards we had another informational session where they tried to scare us with the native animals of Australia. Hilarious! (Youtube Australia’s deadliest animals, it has a great song!) Then there was a presentation from Mojo Surf Company. I signed up for the big surf weekend in September! I get to learn how to surf!!
After all the talking was finished all 53 of us piled back into the buses and headed off to Rainforestation. We attempted a group photo. Out of 53 people how many of them do you think had cameras? Lol. Our group split into 3 different groups. My group went with Ross to the Aboriginal presentation. The aboriginal people showed us the different types of spear throwing and talked about hunting techniques. Then we learned how they made didgeridoos and how to play them! My favourite part was when we learned how to throw a boomerang! Our guide told us the Aboriginals would throw 3 at once to bring down birds. I was the only lefty in the group, but I was the only one to have it actually come back to me! Hah! Beat that right-handed people! After that we watched some Aboriginal dances. They were so cool. After the performance we had lunch at the café buffet. Passionfruit is absolutely scrumptious! After lunch we went to have our picture taken with a koala. My koala’s name was Humphrey. He pooped on me, but he was still really cute! AustraLearn has an adopted 1 year old koala named Tim-Tam, which happens to be their favourite candy bar (or lolly). After Humphrey went back for his nap (they sleep 20 hours a day!) we went to pet and feed the kangaroos, wallabies, parrots, hold a boa, see some dingoes, fresh and saltwater crocs, and eat the butt of a green ant. Haha! It tasted like a green apple warhead. One crocodile there had a name that suited him quite well. Jack the Ripper was over 5 meters long and had killed his last 12 girlfriends! So now he will be a perpetual bachelor for the rest of his existence. After seeing the biggest crocodile ever we went on a tour of the rainforest in an Army duck. Basically a truck and boat in one! That was the end of our tour of Rainforestation. We loaded up the buses and headed back to the hostel and played a pickup game of volleyball with some of the others staying there. Dinner was on our own so a few of us went to a Mexican restaurant and then had to wait for-ev-er for the shuttle bus to come and pick us up! Went straight to bed when we got back because of the Jungle Tour in the wee hours of the morning!
It is now Monday! Crossing the international dateline makes you jump ahead a bit. I was surprisingly not jet lagged at all! That morning we boarded the bus and were taken to Rydges Plaza for a really good continental breakfast. Afterwards we had another informational session where they tried to scare us with the native animals of Australia. Hilarious! (Youtube Australia’s deadliest animals, it has a great song!) Then there was a presentation from Mojo Surf Company. I signed up for the big surf weekend in September! I get to learn how to surf!!
After all the talking was finished all 53 of us piled back into the buses and headed off to Rainforestation. We attempted a group photo. Out of 53 people how many of them do you think had cameras? Lol. Our group split into 3 different groups. My group went with Ross to the Aboriginal presentation. The aboriginal people showed us the different types of spear throwing and talked about hunting techniques. Then we learned how they made didgeridoos and how to play them! My favourite part was when we learned how to throw a boomerang! Our guide told us the Aboriginals would throw 3 at once to bring down birds. I was the only lefty in the group, but I was the only one to have it actually come back to me! Hah! Beat that right-handed people! After that we watched some Aboriginal dances. They were so cool. After the performance we had lunch at the café buffet. Passionfruit is absolutely scrumptious! After lunch we went to have our picture taken with a koala. My koala’s name was Humphrey. He pooped on me, but he was still really cute! AustraLearn has an adopted 1 year old koala named Tim-Tam, which happens to be their favourite candy bar (or lolly). After Humphrey went back for his nap (they sleep 20 hours a day!) we went to pet and feed the kangaroos, wallabies, parrots, hold a boa, see some dingoes, fresh and saltwater crocs, and eat the butt of a green ant. Haha! It tasted like a green apple warhead. One crocodile there had a name that suited him quite well. Jack the Ripper was over 5 meters long and had killed his last 12 girlfriends! So now he will be a perpetual bachelor for the rest of his existence. After seeing the biggest crocodile ever we went on a tour of the rainforest in an Army duck. Basically a truck and boat in one! That was the end of our tour of Rainforestation. We loaded up the buses and headed back to the hostel and played a pickup game of volleyball with some of the others staying there. Dinner was on our own so a few of us went to a Mexican restaurant and then had to wait for-ev-er for the shuttle bus to come and pick us up! Went straight to bed when we got back because of the Jungle Tour in the wee hours of the morning!
Friday, July 9, 2010
My first day...
I got to the airport in one piece! Lol! J I was checking my bags only to find out that one of them was overweight by about 7 pounds! When I was frantically trying to rearrange items the lady told me my flight had been switched from Detroit to Dallas to LAX instead of Detroit to Chicago to LA. So instead of leaving MI at 1pm I left at 11:30 AM. The lady said God bless you for being early! The flight from Detroit to Dallas was smooth except the minor annoyance caused by the constant jabbering of the lady across the aisle from me. :/ From Dallas to LA I sat next to a member of the Texas Chorus Girls traveling choir. She had an intense fear of flying so that flight was interesting to say the least! I had a long layover in LAX, so I mostly read Persuasion and ignored people. After flying so much I was not feeling very social. When it was almost time to begin boarding our carry-ons needed to be weighed and lucky me, mine was too heavy. Even after taking out my laptop it was too heavy and so had to be checked and I held onto my laptop in a nifty red and blue plaid bag.
Around the time the gate was getting full I finished my book and started talking to some of the people coming on the same trip with me. There wasn't too much to say seeing as we were all tired from travel already and were not looking forward to an even longer flight. I was surprised at how quickly that flight went! They boarded the back of the plane first (smart huh?). I got the window seat and was asleep before take-off and then the very nice older couple beside me woke me up for dinner (it was actually decent) and then I tried to watch some movies but I fell asleep again in the beginning of Invictus. I talked to the couple from Brisbane over breakfast and then finished The Book of Eli. When we got into Brisbane the line for customs was really long but moved fairly quickly. Security was another story! It took us forever to get through for our connection to Cairns. There was a massive line to go through and all of us had passenger cards that did not "clear." My bags had to be dog sniffed and then searched! Because of this delay by the K-9 unit I lost the group and so I had no idea where to go to recheck my bags for Cairns. Luckily most of the people in Australia are very helpful.
The flight from Brisbane (Brizzy) to Cairns was about 2 hours. The way to baggage claim was an interesting hike because they are reconstructing the airport. Finally we were able to load the buses and head off for our hostel. My AustraLearn group was 53 students when all of the flights made it in. Serpents Hostel Bar and Resort was a madhouse trying to get everyone's stuff upstairs to the rooms! I had to take 2 trips to get my 3 bags up to the 3rd floor. Once my stuff was settled I went for a walk with a girl I had met in the airport (Holly) and took pictures of the area. We found the beach, but you can't really call it that because it was mostly mud. We were told it is nicer in the Summer (its winter here now).
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