New Zealand Road Trip!!!

Last week was our long-awaited mid-session break trip to New Zealand. Amy, Andy, and I flew out of the Sydney airport Friday evening and landed in Wellington late that night. Andy has a friend, Sophie, who goes to uni in Wellington who let us stay with her Friday and Saturday night. Wellington the the capital of New Zealand and sits right on the coast at the very bottom of the North Island. The city itself is so nice. We really enjoyed our time there, mostly just walking around and seeing as much of it as we could. It was small enough that we were able to see almost all of it. We went to two museums, the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand and the Museum of Wellington City and Sea. On Friday when we went to Te Papa, it was Argentina Day and there was live music and tango demonstrations. I was really excited about that part given how much I love ballroom dancing. Of course, other than the tango dancing, the museum itself was great. We walked around and saw all kinds of wildlife from ring-tailed possums to sharks to a preserved giant squid. We also learned a bit about the Maori creation story, earthquakes, and prehistoric animals. After the museum, we just walked around the harbor, stopping to listen to some of the street musicians or to go into a shop that looked interesting. Since there were several World Cup Rugby games in Wellington, there were a lot of tourists and the city was really busy. When we went to dinner at an Irish Pub that night, it was packed. After eating, we watched the New Zealand vs. France game with who knows how many other people. We were all so tired from not sleeping the night before, but it was such a fun atmosphere to be a part of, especially when New Zealand won, that we had no problem staying awake.

Sunday morning I made my way to St. Mary of the Angels for church. It was a really beautiful church, and I always love going to mass in a different country. After I got back from church, Amy, Andy and I were greeted by a cold, rainy day. We opted to check out the Museum of Wellington City and Sea. It was such a cool museum. It had three levels with interactive displays about the culture of Wellington, Maritime history, and films about Maori legends and the 1968 Wahine ferry disaster. After spending a few hours in the museum, it was still raining so we decided to catch a movie. That night Sophie came out with us for dinner before we went to the stadium for the Argentina vs. Scotland game. The stadium was really nice, but I was quite surprised to realize how small it was. It was nowhere near full, and the stadium holds 30,000 at capacity. Compare this with Clemson's Death Valley stadium which holds 80,000, and you start to understand how obsessed Americans are with sports. However, I can safely say that I have never, ever seen so many kilts. It was great to be a part of the World Cup experience, but it was so cold and rainy that I soon abandoned my seat for the marginally warmer concession area where I was more than happy to watch the rest of the game on TV out of the rain.

Because the rugby match ended late and we had to check in for our ferry at 5:20 am, we decided that we would just stay up all night and save the money on a hostel. I don't think we had really taken into account just how cold it was going to be. Thankfully, we found a McDonald's where we warmed up with coffee and hot chocolate. Finally, they closed around two and kicked us out, so we made our way to the ferry station. Soon after we sat down on a bench outside the ferry terminal, a night manager walked by and asked us what we were doing. When we told him, he invited us onto the ship for a cup of coffee. His name was Les, and he told us all about life at sea as we savored our hot drinks. He works 12 hour shifts, one week on, one week off, and the ship has everything you could need from a catered kitchen to a living room to a gym. He even gave us a tour of the ship, including the bridge, where the ship is commanded. I half expected to see an old school wooden ship's wheel, but everything was so high-tech and modern. It looked like a grown-up video game.

After our behind-the-scenes tour, it was time to board our ferry. We slept for most of it, but what I was awake for was stunning. Everything was so green and vivid. Between the mountains, trees, water, and birds, the ferry ride itself should be a destination. When we arrived in Picton, we picked up our car and hit the road! We stopped at so many lookout points and cute little towns. New Zealand is definitely worth a visit even if all you do is drive around. We drove all day, visiting the beautiful town of Nelson, and finally stopped at a backpackers motel in Harihari. It was a cozy place, and we ate dinner at the adjoining pub before turning in for an early bedtime.

Tuesday morning we woke up early and drove to Franz Josef Glacier. We wandered around town, popping into cute shops to buy souvenirs and postcards and found a nice cafe to enjoy a hot cup of tea and write a few of the postcards. Finally it was time for our glacier walk, and we were so excited! How often do you get to walk on a glacier! So we bundled up in boots, waterproof pants and coat, hat and gloves. I felt like the Michelin man, and we were all sweating before we even got out of the door. A bus took our group to the start of the trail where we had to hike about 20 minutes through the rainforest to get to the foot of the actual glacier. Franz Josef is actually one of only three glaciers to be surrounded by rainforest. We also learned that a glacier is not defined by any particular size, but only by the fact that its snow and ice accumulation in winter must exceed what melts away in the summer. Once we had gone as far as we could without crampons, we strapped on the spikes to our boots and stepped onto the ice. We hiked all over the glacier, between crevices, through tunnels, and into caves. In lots of places, the ice was even blue because of the intense pressure exerted by the glacier on itself. We even saw an alpine parrot. It was so strange to see a parrot on ice like that. It was an incredible experience!

After the glacier walk, we received a free pass to the Glacier Hot Pools. It was such a nice way to warm up! There were three pools, 36, 38, and 40 degrees Celsius. It was a great way to end the glacier experience, and after we forced ourselves out of the pools, we headed back to the car for our overnight trip to Milford Sound. We switched drivers every three or four hours so the drive wasn't bad at all. We arrived about six am and snoozed for a few hours before we went to book a cruise. My friends had told me to make sure I went to Milford Sound, no matter what else I had to cut out of the trip. It didn't take long into the cruise to understand why! The mountains jutted out of the dark water up into the sky, and waterfalls wound their way through the trees and moss that covered the mountainside. Clouds hovered below the peaks of the mountains, creating the illusion that they went up and up endlessly. On the rocks along the coast were sea lions and tiny yellow-eyed penguins. Because of the way glaciers carved out the Sound, the boat was able to pull up right beside the rocks and the mountains seemed to be only an arms length away. It was absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It is truly incredible how stunning the scenery was.

We were so sad when the cruise was over, but the scenic drive to our next destination, Lake Tekapo, soon distracted us. Mountains provided the backdrop for rolling green hills covered with sheep, cows, and horses. The lambs were my favorite. They were just so cute and fluffy! We drove through Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world, but didn't have time to stop there and do anything. We finally stopped in a quaint little town called Arrowtown to walk around and get some dinner. We didn't want to leave, but it was getting dark and we needed to get as far as we could before we stopped for the night. We made it to Omarama before we found another backpacker's motel to stay in. We were surprisingly energetic and chatty, but finally forced ourselves into bed so we could get up early.

The next morning just before arriving at Lake Tekapo, we took a wrong turn and came across a breathtaking lake called Lake Pukaki. The water was a beautiful aqua blue and snow-capped mountains stood behind it. Trees and brush surrounded it and we climbed up on a huge rock to get a better view. We took so many pictures, trying somehow to capture the entirety of the view before us. Back in the car, we decided to bypass stopping at Lake Tekapo, confident that it couldn't surpass our lake that we'd found. We stopped instead in the town of Tekapo for lunch, coffee, and some souvenir shopping. Back on the road again, we made our way towards Christchurch, our last stop. Arriving in Christchurch, we spent some time walking around. The city itself is still absolutely wrecked from the two major earthquakes in September and February. It is always sobering to realize how fragile everything is. Some buildings were completely sunken in, some had faces falling off, and most of town was still blocked off. Since there wasn't much to see, we took our car back to the rental place. Amy has extended family in Christchurch who were generous enough to let us stay with them that night. After picking us up, we had dinner and visited. Keith and Marilyn were so nice, and it was great to have a home-cooked meal. They told us all about their travels and what it was like being here during the earthquake. All too quickly, it was time for bed, as we had a four am airport pick-up the next morning.

The shuttle picked us up right on time, but all of us were so sad to be leaving New Zealand. It had been an incredible trip and I for one was officially in love with New Zealand. We had covered 1,244 miles, driven for 25 hours, seen countless breathtaking views, and experienced far too many once-in-a-lifetime things than one person should be allowed. And all in only four days! I only hope that one day I'll get to go back!

Harbour Cruise, International Food Festival, and the Races!

The Friday after Skydiving was the long-awaited Harbour Cruise! Most campuses at UOW have a Harbour Cruise event, a 3 hour cruise around Darling Harbour. For Weerona, it was a semi-formal event with pizza, drinks, and music. It was so fun getting to see everyone all dressed up, and it was especially entertaining when all the girls started getting ready at the same time. You would walk down the hall and all you heard was people looking for a curling iron, make-up, or matching purse. We all took the four o’clock train up to Sydney, and I was quite entertained by how the massive group of dressed up college kids seemed to take over the entire train. We arrived in Sydney and started making our way to the dock. It was absolutely freezing, but we couldn’t pass up the photo opportunity and stopped plenty of times to take pictures in front of the Opera House and the bridge. Everything was so pretty all lit up!

Soon it was time to get on the boat, and we were all so excited! On board, there was a bar in the middle of the main floor, a sitting area with tables and a dance space, and upstairs was more tables and chairs. It was so nice and we didn’t waste any time to start having fun. The music was so fun and it was really nice that it was only Weerona kids. We alternated between dancing and just sitting around talking, and all in all it was a great night. The view was incredible too. There were several moments when I would just sit back and take in the fact that I was cruising underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the Opera House. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that I'm here! Everyone had a really fun time, and we could hardly believe it when the three hours were over. Some of us stayed out in Sydney, but I decided to go back to Weerona with a group on the early train home. We were tired and it had been a long night since we started getting ready around two o’clock that afternoon. Traipsing around Sydney in high heels will definitely tire a girl out! By the time we got back to Weerona it was after one, and all of us were thrilled to crawl into our beds and go to sleep.

This past weekend was International Food Festival. Residents submitted recipies of their favorite international foods, and all of us got together and made everything for the whole dorm. I didn’t submit anything of my own, but after our standard Friday afternoon tea I decided to jump in and help out. I love cooking and it was so fun to get the chance to cook with everyone. Tim, who is also Italian, was making homemade Stromboli, so I decided to join forces with him. I have never made Stromboli myself before, so it was really fun to learn how. First we rolled out the dough and seasoned it with parsley and oregano. Then we topped it with mozzarella and swiss cheese. After that was red peppers, salami, and pepperoni. Finally, we rolled the whole thing up, sprinkled the leftover cheese and herbs on top, and popped it in the oven. There were so many Americans in the kitchen: Sherwood made friend chicken, Steve made pierogis, Ashley made apple pie and spinach and artichoke dip, and Cora made broccoli salad. We helped serve the food and then finally got to dig in! Everything was so delicious that all of us were so full we could have rolled out of the dining room. I wish we could cook more often; it felt like Thanksgiving with everyone packed in the kitchen cooking together. It’s so fun and everyone has such great family recipies. We'll definitely have to ask if we can do it again.

Saturday was another really fun day. Tori, a friend from my accounting class, told me that she was going to the horse races this weekend. It was her best friend’s birthday so a big group of people would be going, and she invited me to come along. I was so excited because I love horses, especially thoroughbreds, and it was on my list of things to do while I am here. So I excitedly agreed and Saturday morning they came to pick me up on their way to the race track. I didn’t have much notice so I didn’t have time to track down a hat. But much to my surprise, when Tori and Court showed up at Weerona, they were wearing fascinators. The only other time I had seen one was on tv for the Royal Wedding. At first they looking a bit odd, but now I really want one!

Once we got to the racetrack, Kembla Grange, we met up with the rest of the party and stopped to get a few drinks before we went out to the actual sitting/ viewing area. We got there just in time to see the second race of the day. Given that thoroughbreds are my favorite breed, I was practically drooling as all the gorgeous horses walked by. They started from the straightaway on the other side of us, which was difficult to see, but that meant that the home stretch was right in front of us. It was so great to see the whole field of horses galloping towards us. They really are absolutely stunning animals.

In between races, I visited with Tori, Courtney, and her friends. I got the chance to meet a lot of new people. They were all so nice, and it was nice to meet some young people who were already out of uni. It made me realize yet again that I’d be done with school soon! Good thing I get one year of grad school! Anyways, it was so nice meeting some new people and to spend a day outside in the beautiful Spring weather. It was the fifth race of the day, and Tori and I decided that we would place a bet in order to have a more well-rounded race experience. I gave the horses a quick once-over as they walked past and settled on Choisel, #1. Tori picked #3, Barogin Boy, and we placed our bets. As they warmed up, my pick looked great, but when it came down to the race it was Tori’s pick that won! She wasn’t that excited but I thought it was pretty cool that she won, even if it was just a few extra dollars in her pocket.

At the end of the day, we all took a taxi back to Wollongong and talked about the afternoon. Tori asked me how I liked my first time at the races, and I thanked her for inviting me and told her I loved it! I can’t wait to go back with some kids from Weerona!

Horse Riding and Sky Diving- Never a Dull Moment!

The last two Thursdays have been so exciting; we had CIEE excursions two weeks in a row! Nic and I had talked about how much we wanted to go horseback riding, so we organized a trail ride for Thursday, Sept. 1. She picked me up in the morning, and we wound around some beautiful back roads through some really cute coastal towns. She explained how as you go further north, the mountains get closer to the ocean, so the towns get narrower and narrower. We even drove along Lawrence Hargrave Drive, a beautiful and sceniccoastal road that juts out over the ocean.
We arrived at Otford Farms and made our way up to the barn to meet the instructor. After finding helmets and asking us a few questions, our instructor introduced us to our horses. I rode a chestnut mare named Cherry, and Nic rode a grey gelding named Simba. We mounted and soon we were on our way. Nic has only ridden a few times before and I have been riding for years, but we were both so excited for the next two hours. It felt good to be on a horse again, and the weather could not have been more perfect for our ride. We ambled along, crossing over creeks, climbing up rocks, and just taking in the scenery. We even got to trot and canter a bit as well. It was a lot of fun, and after about an hour, we arrived at the top of the mountain. We dismounted and went to the overlook to see the beautiful view. You could see more mountains and the coastline in the distance, and nearly right under our feet was a waterfall. After taking in the view, we went back to our horses and instructor and decided to make our way back down the mountain. As someone who has been around horses for nearly 10 years, I consider myself pretty knowledgable about horses and what theyare capable of. But I have never seen horses go over terrain like they did on this trail ride. Certain parts of the trail were so steep and rocky, that I would have had to be careful on my own two feet. But these horses took it all in stride, never appearing to think twice about it. At some points I would catch myself trying to guide my horse over the tricky parts, so I had to just close my eyes and let the horse figure out for herself. It was so fun for me to get to go on this trail ride. I need my horse fix every so often and this was a great ride.

The next week was the long awaited skydiving excursion. This was one of the CIEE trips we had been planning on from the beginning and it was so exciting that it was finally here. All week leading up to it, I kept waiting for the nerves to hit. I am definitely not a daredevil, but amazingly enough, I wasn’t very nervous. The morning of, Wayne, Nic, Justin and I drove up to "Skydive the Beach"-- and that is when I started getting nervous. While we were signing all the release forms it hit me that I was actually, voluntarily, jumping out of a plane. We got into our gear and went through a brief lesson on how to correctly skydive. Then our instructors came out and I got to Rob. He was really nice and had a great upbeat attitude that made it even more fun. Soon we were on the bus and then before I knew it we were on the tiny little plane on our way up! There were about 15 of us all together, including the pilot, and we were all squished together.

The view from the plane was incredible. You could look out the window and see the whole city of Wollongong, but my favorite part was when we were flying above the clouds. I distinctly remember when Rob tapped on my shoulder to tell me we were halfway up. All I remember thinking was, “Oh crap, only halfway!” And then as Rob was double checking our gear, the pair in front of us opened up the door and the nerves hit me all at once! I was absolutely terrified and given the choice, I would have hung on to the plane for dear life. What was I thinking, why does any part of plummeting to the earth sound fun? But at that point it was too late for second guesses. The pair in front of me dropped out of the plane, and Rob and I started inching toward the door. I just held on to my harness and closed my eyes as we first jumped out. I don’t even like roller coasters, and jumping out of the plane felt like the feeling that you get when you go down that first big hill. I was freaking out on the inside, but forced myself to open my eyes. When I finally did, it was absolutely incredible. Once you get over the initial reaction, free falling really is an amazing feeling. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before and it was so much fun!

We free fell for nearly a minute before Rob opened the parachute. By this point, we had a really great view of Wollongong and the coast line. I remember thinking it looked just like Google Earth. Seeing the city from that angle was such a neat experience. I could make out various landmarks and noticing how small everything was and realizing how high up we still were definitely made my stomach flip though. Rob showed me how the parachute worked and even let me steer for a bit. Finally it was time for the landing and Rob set us up so that you just sort of float down and slide to a landing on your butt. When we were finally on the ground again I hardly knew what to do. It must have been funny to watch, but I could hardly stand up. I kept getting tangled up and Rob had to help me step out of the harness. We took some final pictures, I thanked Rob for an incredible experience, and I went to find Wayne, Nic, and Justin to see how their experience was. Since it was the first time skydiving for all of us, we had pretty much the same reaction: wow! We went to lunch and talked about what a great experience it was. Nic and I were the only ones to buy the pictures, so we looked through them together. There were nearly 200 pictures and it was so funny seeing the progression from meeting our instructors to going up in the plane to the actual skydiving reactions. We had a good laugh and were so glad we decided to do this. I can still hardly believe I did it, but it was a truly incredible experience and I’m so glad I did!

New Zealand Plans, Touch Rugby, and the 40 Hour Famine

After our adventurous Sydney trip I’ve had to focus on schoolwork for a while. I had a few assessments due plus I’m also signed up to take the GMAT this Thursday, so I’ve been pretty boring. I did sign up for the Sydney Half Marathon on September 18^th though. About five of us are running it together. Plus there’s a group call Wee-Runner that runs twice a week, so it seems like there is always someone to run with. I definitely won’t be setting any PRs but it’ll be a really fun race.

I also figured out what I’ll be doing for mid-session break. Amy, Andy, and I are going to New Zealand! We booked everything a few days ago, and I can’t wait for it to get here! We’ll fly into Wellington where we’ll watch a World Cup (Rugby) game and then take the ferry across to the south island. We’ll rent a car and road trip around the whole island. Queenstown is considered the adventure capital of the world, so hopefully we’ll get to do some exciting things there! The only issue is that I am the only one who is old enough to rent the car, but I’m also the only one who usually drives on the right hand side of the road! Amy and Andy are both from England, so they promised to help make sure I stay on the left side, but it might be a bit interesting at first. Either way, we’re there for a week, and I cannot wait to see everything! It’s going to be an incredible trip!

This past weekend was a double-header for Weerona. First, there was the 40-hour Famine, a fundraiser meant to raise awareness about world hunger. It was a good cause, but all of us were so hungry/ grumpy/ non-responsive by halfway that we were seriously questioning what we were thinking. The second event of the weekend was inter-college rugby. The girls played touch and the guys played AFL (Aussie Rules Football). About half the people who signed up were Americans, so the Aussies had to give us a crash course in rules, strategy, and even how to throw a rugby ball. We warmed up and got the hang of it pretty quickly, and once we started playing it was so fun! All of us were really excited and, apart from going on 30+ hours with no food, did really well. There were three games between Weerona, Campus East, and I-House, and Weerona won every game! We decided that we would have enjoyed playing much more if we hadn’t been delirious with hunger, so we all voted to play again next Sunday after the weekly barbeque.

We stayed a little while after our games to watch the boys play, and I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it. It just looked like a free for all. I have no idea how many guys were on the field, but a lot, and it seemed like there were no rules other than “take out the guy beside you at all costs.” When one guy got his knee blown out, most of the girls decided it was time to call it a day. Quite satisfied with ourselves, we came back to Weerona tired but happy. Although, nothing compared to how excited we were when we got to eat dinner that night. I don’t know if the food was especially good or the hunger just made it taste better, but all of us left dinner extremely stuffed and so happy that the famine was over!

SYDNEY!!!

On Saturday, 6 August a big group of us from Weerona went to Sydney for a day trip. Of course, coordinating a big group of college kids means that nothing will happen on time. After missing the first train we wanted, we finally made it to Sydney, and since it was the first time in Sydney for most of us, we were pumped! We got off the train and wandered though China town, Hyde Park, and stopped at the Anzac Memorial. The Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Memorial is the war memorial dedicated to all Australians who have served their country in war. It is characterized by it’s simple design outside, and inside is a circular “Hall of Memory” where the “Sacrifice” statue is located. The ceiling above it is covered in gold stars, one for each of the men and women who served in WWII from New South Wales. There was also a small museum that we explored for a bit to learn more about the historical context and even hear some personal stories. The Anzac Memorial is a beautiful monument and visiting was a great way to learn more about Australian history.

After leaving the Memorial, we took a detour to go through the Royal Botanical Gardens before ending up at the famous Sydney Opera House. It was so exciting to see such an iconic structure in person. We took plenty of touristy pictures before searching out a place for lunch. We found a great little fish and chips place and enjoyed our food as we sat in a park along the harbor with a view of the Opera House. The seagulls in this park were particularly brave, so we didn’t last long. Soon we made our way to “The Rocks,” a more upscale part of town where there was a great outdoor market set up. We wandered around looking at all the crafts and things for sale, and I even got to meet up with Joseph McAbee, a friend from Wofford. It was so good to see a familiar face and catch up. We wandered into an Irish Pub to catch the beginning of the All Blacks vs. Australia Tri-Nations Rugby game. I insisted on all of us watching the “haka,” a traditional war dance that the All Blacks perform before every game. After watching the haka (yes, it lived up to my expectations), we decided it was time to head back.

Getting home was quite the ordeal though. A trip that should have taken only a little over an hour ended up taking nearly six! We had been on the train for about 20 minutes when it stopped and we heard an announcement that there was going to be a delay because of something that happened several stations away. We found out later that some college-age kids had been messing around, and two had fallen onto the track and actually got hit by the train. As a result, everyone had to get off the train and after waiting an hour or two, buses came and picked us up. And because the express bus to Wollongong filled up quickly, we had to get on the bus that stopped at every single stop between Sydney and Wollongong, probably about 15 stops. We were all car sick, exhausted, and starving by the time we made it back to the North Wollongong train station, and silently walked through the drizzling rain back to Weerona. After a late dinner, we all went to our rooms and crawled into our beds, happier to be at Weerona than ever before. I also decided that I must be very bad luck. Last summer in India, getting from Goa back to Manipal was even worse. I’ll spare you the details, but it included several canceled trains and sitting up in the train station all night long in the monsoon. Sydney was definitely worth the trip, but it definitely took a few weeks before I felt like going back to Sydney.

Go Illawara Dragons!

Well, one more week is under my belt! My classes have all been really good, and I'm really enjoying getting to take some "fun" classes. For instance, my Intro to Indigenous Australia class has been a great way, not only to get to know about Aboriginal Australians, but as a way of getting to know more about Australian history and colonization. And my Graphic Design course has already made me realize how not creative I really am. Most of the other students are design or journalism majors, and they are able to crank out our assignments without a problem. Meanwhile, I just sit there, laughing at myself because I haven't had to be creative wi

th anything in so long. Accounting is definitely much more up my alley, but it's been fun to get to try my hand at something so artistic.

I've also gotten to go to the beach a few times this week. We've been having uncharacteristically warm weather, and, even though it's still Winter, have wasted no time in getting a head start on our tans. The water is still ice cold, but it's definitely more fun reading for my econ class at the beach, complete with sand, surf, and a lighthouse. I've also explored the town a bit more by running. It's been a great way to see more of the town and surrounding area. I've concluded that Wollongong is an absolutely gorgeous place to be, and couldn't be happier with my choice to study here.

This past weekend I got attend a rugby game with some of my friends from Weerona. The Illawara St. George Dragons were hosting the South Sydney Rabbitohs. I have been trying to figure out rugby for a while now, and I was so excited to get to actually go see a game in person. It a really great game, and I definitely learned a lot. I even signed up for a touch rugby team with Weerona, so I'll be able to test my understanding and see if I actually picked up anything. I'm sure it will be an interesting experience, though, because most of the girls who signed up are Americans so none of us will have a clue what's supposed to be happening. It'll be fun for sure, and I'm certain we'll all learn a lot.

It's only been one week?

Wow, so much has happened in the last week! We had a week of orientation activities called "Flood Week." It wasa lot of fun and the flood week leaders did a great job of keeping everyone busy and involved. We split up into teams and played all kinds of crazy games, like an Amazing Race all over Wollongong, a trivia night, and rock climbing and competed for points all week. We also went to Kiama, a beautiful coastal town for an afternoon. Kiama is known for this blowhole along the coast where the water sprays up really high on a good day. It was a cool trip made complete by a delicious lunch of fish and chips with chicken salt (there are so many chicken flavored things here!). It was a lot of fun and a great way to get to know everyone. I also got to meet my roommate, Soni. She is really nice andhas been so welcoming. She is really great about inviting me to tag along with her and introducing me to her friends. I really appreciate how great she has been, especially for how easy she is making it for me to break out of the "American bubble," and get to know Aussies.

After an exhausting week of orientation activities, I got to go away for the weekend with CIEE. The CIEE coordinators, Waynne and Nicole (Nic), came and picked Justin, the other student here with the program, and me up on Friday morning. We drove down the coast, stopping at a few beautiful places like Kiama,

and arrived at Merry Beach just in time to see a field of kangaroos along the bea

ch! It was so exciting to see them, and they looked so out of place to me! We never quite figured out what a group of kangaroos is called, but it was cool either way.

The next morning we woke up early and had a quick breakfast before we made our way further down the coast to Tilba Tilba

("windy windy") to hike up a sacred mountain to the Aborinals, called Gulaga. We met an Aboriginal woman named Lynn who was our guide. She explained to us about the history of the Aboriginals and their culture. Part of the Black Duck tribe, Lynn explained about the totems

of each tribe and how each

was responsible for protecting their totem. She also told us about some of the names for the mountains and how important it is to respect nature and the environment. As we made our way up the mountain, about two and a half hours, we would stop occasionally as Lynn would explain something new or if heard a lyre bird or a kookaburra nearby.

Once we made it to the top of the mountain, our leader briefed us on the next part of our hike. We were going to go onto the teaching rocks, where the Aboriginals would go to teach their children and pass down traditions or

perform certain rituals. It was an incredible experience to see the massive rock structures and hear the stories associated with them. Some rocks represented men or women, s

ome represented a sacred animal, and some were more abstract representations. One example was three giant rocks stacked on top of each other that represented the past, present and future. They were understood to represent the interconnectedness and balance of all things. Lynn had so much passion for what she was talking about, and you could hear the deep respect in her voice. After snapping a few pictures, we made our way back down the mountain, thinking about everything we had

just

learned.

The next morning, we woke up and packed to go, but as we were getting ready to leave, we noticed that there were tons of colorful parrots everywhere. We decided to feed them and soon had what seemed like hundreds of birds flocking to us. I held out my hands filled with small pieces of bread, and just like that I had three birds on each hand, one climbing up my leg, and another two perched on my shoulders and head. It was incredible to me how tame theses little guys were, and a really fun way to end the trip.

Monday morning was the start of classes, and everyone else was a bit bummed. But being the nerd I am, I was actually excited to start Uni and see what the school system is like here. I'm taking four classes: Introduction to Indigenous Australia, Graphic Design, International Trade and Economic Theory, and Introduction to Accounting. Now, yes I am an accounting major and don't need to take the accounting course, but only three classes would make me feel a bit lazy and I really want to see what the differences and similarities are between United States and Australian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and that sort of thing. I've only had two of the classes so far, but they have been really interesting and the teachers seem to be really passionate about their subjects, which always makes a big difference. I can't wait to go to the rest of my classes and see what they're like. I'm sure the "beginning of semester buzz" will wear of soon, but for now I'll just enjoy it. Cheers!

Welcome to Wollongong!

Well, I got here a day later than planned because of a cancelled flight, but I finally made it! The flight took ages, but I did meet a few really interesting people. I sat beside one guy who worked for the Weather Channel in LA. He had lived in Sydney for two years when he was younger and was so excited that I was on my way here. On another flight there was a professor at one of the universities here in Australia.

So I got in at around 6:30 AM and caught the University of Wollongong (UOW) shuttle back to my dorm,

Weerona College. I rode the bus with several other American students, and it was really exci

ting to have other students to talk with who were living in my building. After we arrived we got all checked in, dropped our bags in our rooms (I was relieved to see that everyone brought as much as I did), and had an informal tour of the building. It's got a very homey, comfortable feel to it, and I instantly decided that this will be a great place to live. I haven't met my roommate yet, but she an Australian named Allison but she goes by Soni. She has lots of horseback riding photos on the wall, so hopefully we will have a lot in common! Everyone says she is so, so nice, and I can't wait to meet her!

My CIEE directors came and picked the other student in the program, Justin, and me up and we toured the campus and the town of Wollongong (pronounced wool-ongong). Campus is absolutely gorgeous. I felt like I was going on a nature walk through a park instead of walking around campus. Instead of crows and robins, they have parrots and cockatoos. There are duck ponds all over campus, and countless trees, the Eucalyptus trees smell so good! After touring campus we saw the town. Wollongong is beautiful. It is caught between the mountains and the ocean, and the harbour is especially pretty. The boats and lighthouse against the ocean with the mountains as a background all create such a pretty image.

After picking up a few essentials, I realized that I was

absolutely exhausted. I had hardly slept at all during the past 36 hours, so I pulled the lame-o jet lag cart and opted for an early bedtime. I woke up the morning refreshed, and I am looking forward to going for a run, and continuing to meet all the awesome people in my building. Today (Sunday) starts "Flood Week," a kind of orientation week with activities for our dorm. I have no idea what it entails, but it will be so fun finding out! We start this afternoon with a barbeque in the backyard!

Australia Bound at Last!

I'm sitting in the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport waiting to board the first leg of my flight. After what feels like ages of preparing for this trip, I can hardly believe I'm finally on my way. Last night I packed what felt like every belonging I owned into my two giant suitcases (yes, I will be that American), and this afternoon as my parents dropped me off at the airport it finally hit me that I'm going to AUSTRALIA!

It will take around 20 hours to get there, and I'm sure the flights will be less than thrilling, I am certain that Australia will be absolutely incredible. I'm studying at the University of Wollongong. It's about an hour away from Sydney. Wollongong sits at the base of Mt. Keira and is a short walk from the beach. The description alone sounds incredible, and the pictures I've seen make me feel like I'm headed to a vacation spot instead of school. I can only guess what it will be like, but I'll do my best to blog regularly to keep everyone updated. I'm out for now, but the next time I blog it'll be from Australia! Can't wait!