I miss it all.

Fraser + Random Adventures

Random highlights:

International Food Fair.  Last Sunday we had an International Food Fair at our dorm where each country represented at Campus East (I think there were about 22) had a booth with one or two common foods from where they were from.  Everything was amazing, and I haven't felt that full in a very long time.  The U.S.'s booth had s'mores and apple pie. 

The Castle.  Last weekend a few friends and I watched the movie "The Castle."  This is an Australian made movie that we were told is a "must watch" while here.  They were right, it was pretty funny, and we were able to appreciate the humor after being here for a few months.  I think I might buy it before I leave because it has so much Australian lingo in it that it will help me not forget everything I've learned!

SKYDIVING.  So, I'd been thinking about going skydiving since I got here, but last Tuesday at brekky Allie was like "I think Nicole and I are going to go skydiving tomorrow cause the weather is supposed to be good, are you in?"  I told her I'd think about it and get back to her.  Sure, I'd been thinking about doing it, but the immediate thought of  jumping out of a plane in less than 24 hours totally freaked me out.  By the end of the day, I had decided to do it.  Wednesday morning we woke up and walked to the beach at 7:45am.  By 9:30 we were up in the air, and by 9:45 we had descended 14,000 feet and safely landed back on solid ground.  The scariest bit was watching everyone fall out of the plane (my tandem instructor and I were the last ones out) and actually approaching the open door.  After we left the plane it was pretty cruisy.  There were no butterflies in my stomach like when you go on a roller coaster.  The biggest issue was the drool that was being blown out of my mouth.  We fell through some clouds and the view of the coastline was spectacular.  After the parachute opened it was the most relaxing experience, just floating above the world.  The landing was pretty easy too...all I had to do was lift my legs up and my instructor did the rest.  Comparing this with bungy jumping, I'd have to say that bungy jumping was much more of an adrenaline rush, but both were sweet as.  I've had to promise my Mom and Dad that I won't do anything dare devilish again until I have my own health insurance...unless Daddio decides he wants to go skydiving above the Great Barrier Reef.    :)  *see pictures below of my dive*

 Fraser Island Adventure: On Friday the two girls I went skydiving with (Allie and Nicole) left for Fraser Island, which is in Queensland and is the largest sand island in the world. Here are some highlights.

Hervey Bay. This is the main town you fly into to access Fraser.  We flew in from Sydney at 10am so we basically spent the whole day lounging on the beach there (our tour on Fraser didn't leave until Saturday morning).  We were so excited that it was warm (24C)!!  Believe it or not, it was the first day that I've spent the entire day at the beach since I've been here (without anything to do or anywhere to be).  And also believe it or not, but it was the first time that I've had a legitimate Australian sunburn.

Roads. All the roads on Fraser are made of sand and can change daily based on the weather.  Our tour had a large bus that could fit 40 people on it (we only had 15), and I was amazed it could make it through the rough terrain.  The coast of Fraser has a beach that goes on for 58 miles, which is also considered a highway, and at some points the sand had been so eroded we were driving over patches of volcanic rock, which was pretty intense.  On Fraser you are allowed to rent your own 4WD vehicles and camp out on the island, but we were so glad we decided to do a tour with an experienced driver (ours was named Fabian and was the spitting image of Mel Gibson).  There are so many things that could go wrong and the terrain is just so unsafe to drive on if you don't know what you're doing. 

Animals.  We were lucky enough to see two dingos and a sea turtle on the island.  There are about 50 dingos on the island, and they can be kind of aggressive.  The ones we saw were just chilling out though and looked very cute.  

Sand Dunes.  Our tour guide took us to this secret spot called Rainbow Gorge.  We walked to the tops of the sand dunes and it felt like we were in the desert.  It was amazing how much the scenery could change on an island 75 miles long.  Sometimes you were driving through a rain forest, sometimes you were driving down vast beaches, sometimes you were swimming in a lake, and sometimes you were hiking across blowing sand.  

I think that Fraser Island was one of my favorite places so far.  The wilderness was so rugged and raw.  The flat beaches went on forever and when we were driving on them around sunset, the pinkish colors in the sky were also reflected off of the wet beaches.  We were all very sad to leave on Sunday night.  We made friends from Canada, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan.  It's amazing how many people you can meet while your traveling, and I love hearing about different adventures and lives.  Everyone has their own story.  

This will probably be my last blog entry.  I'm in my last week of classes, then next week we have a "study week."  After that finals start up, and I'm kind of worried about those because they are worth 50 and 60 percent of my grade.  Should be interesting to see how everything ends up....

On the 20th my parents arrive, and I'm so excited to see them!  They're going to come to Wollongong for a few nights, then we're heading out to the Whitsunday Islands after I'm done with school, then spending the rest of our time in Sydney.  It will be an amazing finish to the most wonderful 4 months of my life.  I can't believe it's already coming to an end.  This experience has made me a much stronger and independent person.  I have learned so much more outside of the classroom than in it, which is the best kind of learning I think you can do. I'm very excited to get home and see all of you in one month. Love. Love. Love.  

Cheers!

Kelly

Australian Dictionary:

swimmers=swimming suit. 

keen=up for it. Example "I'm keen to go to the beach tomorrow."

devo=devastated.  Example "Did she fail her test? Yea she's pretty devo."

thongs=flip flops

Maccas= McDonald's

no worries= you're welcome/it's not a big deal

 

90 Wonderful Years!!!!

I wish I could be there to celebrate your birthday with everyone on Saturday!! 

Miss you and love you!

xoxoxoxoxoox

Photos

Melbourne

The 12 Apostles...there aren't 12 left though.

Some more Apostles.

The group after the 1/2 marathon!

AFL game.

All the alleys had cute cafes and stuff. 

Me and my two closest friends Allie and Katie.

Skydiving

Just about to jump.....

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

more freefall...

 The parachute opened!

Back on Earth, after falling 14000 ft!

Jumping buddies Allie and Nicole.

Melbourne

This weekend was quite eventful!! In total, 10 Americans and 2 Canadians took the journey down to Melbourne, which is the second largest city in Australia.  Here are the highlights from our adventure:

Queen Victoria Market.  This was essentially a large farmer's market (made me miss the one at Phoenix Park!).  They had everything from cheese to sausage to t-shirts to kangaroo leather hats to fruits and bread.  My friend Allie and I spent over two hours walking up and down the rows of vendors.  

Supreme Court Building.  Allie and I wandered into the courthouse to have a look around and even sat in on a public hearing for a few short minutes.  The judge of the hearing seemed quite upset with whatever the case was about.  

Pop-Tarts for sale!  We found this candy shop that had lots of candy from different countries.  They even had my favorite....REESE'S (they don't sell those here).  I refrained from buying them because it was almost 4 dollars for two peanut butter cups.  The most hilarious thing was that they had an entire wall of Pop-Tarts with a sign saying "American Pop-Tarts! Only $9.99!"  We were never aware that Pop-Tarts were in such high demand.

Footy game.  Saturday afternoon we went to an Australian Football League (AFL) game.  This is a sport that is unique to Australia.  There are 4 posts on opposite sides of a circular field.  The two center posts are taller than the outer two.  The object of the game is to kick the ball through the two tall center posts for a goal, which is worth 6 points.  If the ball goes between an inner/tall post and an outer/short post that's called a behind, which is worth 1 point.  There are 18 players from each team on the field at a time, and to pass the ball to each other they can either punt it or punch it.  If a player is getting tackled they have to pass the ball off to a teammate, otherwise it is a penalty.  That's just a quick overview of how the game works.  It was really fun to watch!   

Maxi-half marathon.  On Sunday nine of us woke up at 5:15 am (after getting to sleep at 1am because of some confusion with directions during our drive to our hostel which was 3 hours away from Melbourne) to go to the starting line for the Great Ocean Road 1/2 Marathon.  The race began in Kennett River and finished in a town called Apollo Bay.  During the 14.375 miles (which is more than an official half marathon, hence the "maxi-half") we had breathtaking views of the coastline and even saw a wild koala just chillin' up in a tree.  I ran the entire time, which was my goal, and didn't have to be carried off in a stretcher like I was imagining!  

Great Ocean Road.  After the race we continued, sore legs and all, our Great Ocean Road adventure.  This road is famous in Australia for its awesome views of the coast, and for a place called the 12 Apostles.  The 12 Apostles are limestone rock formations that have eroded throughout time to form massive pillars.  It was awe inspiring.  During the drive we saw some wild kangaroos!!!

I don't remember the last time I've felt this tired!  First we ran a 1/2 marathon on about 4 hours of sleep, and today I had to wake up at 4:15 to catch my 6:15 flight back to Sydney.  Traveling is so exhausting!  I wouldn't trade the memories and adventures I'm having for anything in the world though.  I can't believe how quickly time is flying!  I felt like I was just thinking how crazy it was that it was May 1st, and now it is almost June 1st!  I only have 3 more weeks of class, then one week off, then my parents come for two weeks (!!!!!!), then I'll be back in the good ol' US of A.  Until then, I'll be blowing kisses to all of you from across the ocean. :)

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Cheers!

Kelly

Aussie Lingo:

"full on"= intense.  Example: "I'm taking 5 classes next semester.  It will be pretty full on."

"cruisey"=easy.  Example: "That test was cruisey."

"reckon"=think.  Example: "I reckon that we just missed the last train out of Sydney."

"suss"=sketchy.  Example: "That tuna casserole looks pretty suss.  I'm not eating it."

Photos

Beach at Stanwell park.

My crocodile sand creation!

View of the coastline from Stanwell Park.

Crowd at the Dragon's rugby game.

My roommate Sarah and I at the rugby game.

Scrum.

View from the ferry of the Sydney harbor.

Gorilla baby!!

Zebras

Sydney skyline

Opera House

Giraffe tongues have a mind of their own!

Beaches, Giraffes, and Rugby

Two weeks of highlights! 

Outback Steakhouse.  Last week for our weekly dinner outing we went to Outback Steakhouse!  We were surprised when we first arrived in Fairy Meadow to see what we thought of as an American chain.  Nevertheless, we had to check it out, just because we thought it was hilarious.  From what I could tell it was pretty much the same as our Outbacks, but Foster's Beer was not on the menu.  Despite what most Americans think, nobody here drinks Foster's!  I haven't seen it once since I've been here.  

May Day.  May Day is one of my favorite holidays!  I love ding-dong ditching people with baskets full of candy, and when I mentioned the holiday here no one knew what I was talking about, so I decided to introduce everyone to the tradition.  My roommate (Sarah), friend (Katie), and I made baskets out of paper, filled them with lollies (aka gummies), chocolate, and flowers.  After we dropped one off at our friend Tom's room and were running away so we didn't get caught, I tripped over my own feet, crashed into the cement, and got a bloody knee and elbow.  We were all laughing so hard at my clumsiness that we couldn't really move, and we got caught.  It was a May Day failure, but really fun anyways.  The other two deliveries went well, and no one had any injuries like the first one.  

Stanwell Park.  Last Saturday Katie and I took an excursion up the coast to a town called Stanwell Park.  It was an awesome day in a beautiful place.  We just hung out at the beach all day and explored.  Some locals came up to us and asked if we were tourists because we were the only ones laying out in our swimsuits...everyone else was in sweatshirts (it is Autumn here after all).  We also went up to an overlook where people were hang gliding.  It was a wonderful view of the coastline.  

Illawarra Dragons.  Last Sunday a group of us went to a Rugby League game here in Wollongong.  The team represents the whole Illawarra region and are called the Dragons.  They were playing the New Zealand Warriors.   After watching this game, I don't think I ever want to watch another American Football game!  It was so fun to watch because after one play was done, another play instantly started.  The guys on the team were massive and quite studly.  Our team won 12-11, and it was a really exciting game to watch.  I hope I can make it to another match before I leave!  I'm planning on going to an Australian Rules Football game when I'm in Melbourne this weekend.  All the different sports get kind of confusing here because there's Rugby League, Rugby Union, and AFL (Australian Football League).  I still can't keep them straight, but hopefully by the time I leave I'll have it figured out.  

Musical toilet.  On Wednesday I went on an 11 mile run with Allie and Tom.  During the run I had to use the toilet, and luckily we found a public one along the beach.  This toilet pretty much just looked an aluminum structure with graffiti all over it, but it was so much more.  I pressed a flashing green button-the door opened.  I pressed another flashing button inside and the door closed and locked.   A recorded voice told me that I had a maximum usage time of 10 minutes.  Then piano music started playing "What the World Needs Now is Love" and to get toilet paper I had to press some more buttons.  I could not stop laughing at how hilarious this ghetto/musical public toilet was.  I wonder what would happen if you went over the 10 minute maximum?

Physiotherapy.  Here in Australia they call physical therapy "physiotherapy."  Since I think that I might be interested in going to physical therapy school after I graduate, I need to get some experience hours.  I e-mailed some practices around the area and one of them e-mailed me back.  I went and met with them on Friday and I will get to volunteer 5 hours a week starting this week!  I'm really excited for this opportunity.  The head physiotherapist seems very friendly and I read on their website that she was a physiotherapist for Australia in the 2000 Olympics!  Very cool.

Taronga Zoo.  Yesterday I went to Sydney for a field trip to the Taronga Zoo.  This was for my ecology class and we had to observe social behaviors of primates.  It was a really fun day!  To get to the zoo you have to take a ferry across the harbor, which had some wonderful views of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge.  The weather was perfect, and I saw lots of cool animals.  My favorites were probably the giraffes.  Did you know that their tongues can be half a meter long?  I have a hilarious video of their tongues that I'll put up here, check it out for a good laugh.       

Words of the week:

Jelly=Jello.  So instead of saying peanut butter and jelly, we have to say peanut butter and jam.  (They think that PB&J sandwiches are really weird though.)

Capsicum=green peppers.  This is on menus a lot for pizzas and stuff.

Doona=duvet or down quilt 

cuppa=cup of tea or coffee

 

onya= abbreviation for "on you" and people say "good onya," meaning "well done."

 

I leave for Melbourne on Thursday night and have the half marathon on Sunday morning along the Great Ocean Road.  It should be spectacular!  Hopefully I make it to the finish line!! 

Love!Love!Love! xoxoxoxoxox

Cheers,

Kelly