I Hate Goodbyes.

Well, my semester here in Wollongong is coming to an end and I wish I had words to describe how I feel.  I am excited to see my family and friends back home and even more so to snuggle with my animals.  I am “devo” (devastated) that I do not have more time to explore and enjoy this amazing place.  I have been so blessed to have traveled so many places and I cannot explain how lucky I feel to have become friends with the people I have met.  I am dreading saying goodbye to people and have already seen a few friends leave.  It's horrible and whoever said it was easy was wrong.

I have kept you informed on my past travels and adventures and I will fill you in one last time.  Since my last post I have officially finished finals!  It’s pretty much like spring break around here-beach all day and fun activities at night.  I’ve been trying to get to the beach at least once a day so I can soak it all in before I leave.  The other day when I was there with Anna we saw about fifteen dolphins swimming right off the shore.  They were jumping out of the water and riding the waves.  It was fantastic and just reminded me of why I love this place so much.

 I’ve climbed Mount Kiera again with Liz and Kelsey and we enjoyed Wollongong’s fantastic views from the top.  I checked off my bucket list running to the lighthouse in town.  It’s right on Wollongong’s harbor and it’s beautiful.  I will definitely miss the scenic runs in Wolly World.  I attended a goodbye BBQ for one of my American friends, Kevin and I also had a little picnic on the beach.  Liz, Kelsey, and some of Kelsey’s Australian friends that I have also grown close to this semester joined me for chicken sandwiches. It was a beautiful day and very peaceful and relaxing…until the lightening started!

I still have a few fun activities planned including seeing Kiama Blowhole, swimming in the sea pools and going to goodbye dinners with all my new friends.  I am so thankful for how amazing this trip was and will forever cherish every second of it (except being woken up by birds at 6 every morning).

Right now my parents are in Australia-Brisbane to be exact.  It’s so weird knowing they are on the same continent I am, on the same hemisphere, and on the same time zone!  I get to see them in less than a week and I am SO excited.  I have plans to meet them at the train station and even have a fun little welcome sign ready to go for them.  I have been tracking the weather where they are and keep praying that they are loving Oz as much as I am.  I’m so ready to see them and hear all about their adventures!  After the three of us spend a few days in Wollongong climbing Mount Kiera, playing on the beach and even enjoying a surf lesson, we’re off to cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.  Then we fly over to New Zealand to bungee jump, do a helicopter ride over a glacier and hike along the tracks where Lord of the Rings was filmed.  The trip will be epic and I am thrilled that someone from my family will be able to experience the same amazing things that I am

I will be home in less than a month-landing in Indy December 2^nd- and I’m just not sure how I feel.  If the weather was nicer back home it might make the transition easier, but I know snuggling with Gracers, drinking hot tea and making gingerbread with my family will make up for it.  These past few months have been amazing and as happy as I am to see family and friends back home, leaving will be one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.  I want to say thank you to all of my new friends that I now consider family and thank you to everyone back home who supported me coming over here.  I truly have had an unforgettable experience and I am so grateful and happy that I was able to come.  I plan on coming back to this amazing country as soon as budget and time allow, but until next time-G’day Australia.

Melbourne (Mel-bun)

Well, the semester is over and finals are about to begin.  In order to prepare for finals students at UOW are issued a one week study break AKA travel week.  For my travel week, I visited Melbourne.  (Mel-bun) Melbourne is on the southern coast of Australia, and since it is so far south it is always cold.  There is a big rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney about which city is better, and in my opinion Sydney wins.  Melbourne is very hipster and trendy and the architecture is very modern and different.  As just a city I like Melbourne better, but I love the “iconic” factor of Sydney.  Everywhere you turn you can see the Opera House and the Bridge where as Melbourne could be a city in any country. After arriving in this modern, architecturally beautiful city, it was time to explore.  I traveled to Melbourne with 4 American guys that I met on campus and we met up with Jackie later in the week.  The first day was set aside for exploring Melbourne and explore we did.  We walked through Chinatown, Queen Victoria Market, Federation Square and many other places as well.  In the Market we bought the freshest, most juicy mangoes I’ve had while in Australia and also saw a little boy with a live, baby wallaby in his jacket.  I’m a little nervous as to what he was doing with the wallaby but I’m going to pretend he was helping it and not hurting it.  Federation Square is an extremely modern part of the city where I was treated to a free manicure while I watched a Halloween zombie parade—Yes I am aware this is an interesting combination. That night, after exploring, we had a cheap, college kid meal of spaghetti in our hostel kitchen.

The next day started our tour of the Great Ocean Road.  The tour was me, Daniel, John and Scott.  Our other traveling partner had limited funds and decided to stay in the city.  The tour started off at Bell’s Beach which is home of the annual Rip curl surfing tournament.  After enjoying our warm tea (which was needed in the cold of Melbourne) we started the drive along the road.  The Great Ocean Road was built by WWI veterans over a span of 13 years.  Its main purpose was to connect small coastal cities and increase tourism.  I think the goal was achieved seeing as one of the towns has a waiting list of 2 years to rent a vacation home and houses start at a cool $2 million. Just past this little getaway was a campground where koalas roam freely.  We stopped by and saw a few of the little guys and my obsession with them only grew.  I learned that they pee only every 3-4 days and since the urine is so concentrated it can burn your skin and even make you go blind.  Too bad I still want to cuddle with one every night.  

Otways Rainforest was our next stop where we went on a bushwalk and then continued our drive to the 12 Apostles.  The 12 Apostles is a series of rock formations that are standing in the ocean while the other rock around them has been worn away.  They are beautiful and they are huge.  Our staring at rocks continued when we went to Loch Ard Gorge to see where a shipwreck occurred and people hid out there until help arrived.  The gorge was beautiful and minus the cold weather, I don’t think I would mind being stranded there.  Our tour ended at London Bridge which is another rock formation.  The formation used to have to arches to it that made it look like the famous bridge.  One day two people that were married went out there for a picnic and while they were there the first arch collapsed.  They were stranded on the now island and had to be rescued by helicopter.  The only problem was that the helicopter was a news helicopter and they didn’t want to be filmed, because although they were married, they weren’t married to each other.

The next day was the day of the Melbourne cup!  The cup is a horse race that is known for stopping a nation.  It is a national holiday and businesses are closed.  Nearly everyone in the nation finds a TV to watch the race.  I didn’t have to find a TV however, because I was there in the second row!  The cup is a very classy event and people wear suits, dresses and funny looking hats.  It was amazing.  The best part of it was the photo finish where my horse won! I only bet $2, but I walked away with $16.40.  Not bad for a day at the races.

We had a celebratory dinner at a Chinese restaurant called Lok Lok Dumplings and it was the worst food

I have ever had.  I wouldn’t suggest it to my worst enemy.  Although the food was horrible, I was still in a

fantastic mood from winning the race earlier that day and was excited when the boys said we were

heading off to the casino.  Jackie had met up with us by this point and I was glad to have some girl

power with me.   The casino is the largest in the Southern hemisphere and although I’ve never been to

Vegas I think it would give it a run for its money.  It was amazing! Jackie and I separated from the

boys and met some nice new friends who helped us bet.  I’m not sure how helpful they were seeing as

we both lost $5 on roulette but at least we got some free drinks out of it!  After the casino we went for

drinks at a little bar on Melbourne’s harbor and despite the cold, it was phenomenal.  The view of the

city at night was amazing and it was a nice end to our day. 

Wednesday was the day that I was most looking forward to.  We went on a Bunyip Tour (amazing

touring company) of Phillip Island.  We started off at the Moonlit Sanctuary where we saw emus,

goannas, wallaby’s, koalas, and kookaburras.  Since it’s spring in Australia it’s mating season and we saw

a lot of little baby wallaby’s peeking out of their mother’s pouches.  Churchill Island was the next stop

and it was a little island with old buildings on it and a very country feel.  Here we threw boomerangs,

saw a dog herding turkeys and watch a sheep get sheared.  This was my least favorite part of the trip

because the sheep looked terrified and we all just stood there watching. We did learn some

fun facts about working on an Australian farm, however.  The average border collie works for about 9

years and people who shear sheep only get about $3 for every sheep they shear. 

After the upsetting sheep incident I was calmed down by getting to see my favorite animal-the koala.  We went to another koala sanctuary and watched the little guys for a while, then had tea and headed off to dinner.  Dinner was at a place called Nobbies, which is actually a dirty word in Australia.  Nobbies had delicious fish and chips and a boardwalk where you could see seagulls, seals, and even the occasional penguin.  I took hundreds of pictures and realized that none of them were capturing the beauty of this place.  It’s on my Top 5 list of most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.  As the sun was setting and the night getting colder, we headed off to our final destination: The Penguin Parade.  The Penguin Parade takes place every night and visitors sit in a large grandstand of seats watching the little penguins come in from the ocean and walk to their burrows.  They wait until night in order to avoid predators, such as bigger birds and foxes.  Foxes can kill up to 40 penguins in one night!  We watched about 100 of the little guys come in from the ocean and then headed up the beach to watch them continue to head home.  They are adorable-the smallest of the 17 species of penguins-only 30 centimeters tall and weighing around 1 kilo.  The waddle was hilarious and I loved listening to the loud barking noises they make at each other.  I was in awe that they nest at the same place every night and take the same paths to their burrows to find their way home.  It was by far one of the coolest things I’ve seen animals do.

Our Melbourne trip ended the next day with breakfast at a little café along Brunswick Street and a quick stop at the markets again for more souvenirs.  Melbourne is an awesome city and a great final trip.  I now have a couple more things to cross of my bucket list before my parents get here and I can start showing them AUSome Australia!  Until next time-G’day mate.

My Life is AUSome.

As the title of this blog states-my life is awesome.  I have met so many amazing people that have given me the opportunities to visit so many new places and try so many new things.  I am so grateful that these people are in my life and I cannot thank them enough for all they have helped me do and see.  Recently I have been spending a lot of time about two hours south of Wollongong in a town called Nowra.  There isn’t much in Nowra but it’s home to some of my Australian Uni friends.  Last weekend Liz, Anna, Baillie and I did a road trip to Nowra to attend a farewell party for our friend Alex.  Baillie is an Australian who lives on campus with me and has known Alex since high school.  I met Alex my first week in Wollongong at a house party.  Alex is heading off to the Australian military so we went to bid him a farewell.  The road trip down to Nowra was through the Australian countryside and it was absolutely beautiful.  The scenery reminded me of Indiana but with more hills, greener pastures and an ocean in view.  I guess it was nothing like Indiana. Alex’s house was no disappointment as he had an amazing mountain view and wild parrots coming to feed off his feeder in the back yard.  After the barbeque a group of us decided to check out the nightlife in Nowra.  While Nowra is a scenically beautiful town, the people are a little different.  Mullets, rat-tails and extreme body art were themes of the evening but we still had fun at a little club called Posties.  The DJ played the best array of music I’ve heard since being in Australia and our group of friends had a fun time rocking out.  After a night of fun we headed back to Baillie’s for some caramel slice (Australian desert that tastes somewhat like toffee). 

The next day we hurried home as it was one of the best weather days we’ve had in Oz.  The Fairy Meadow beach was packed with campus kids and it was amazing hanging out in the sun with the smell of a barbeque nearby.  With all of my friends on the beach, Wollongong is beginning to have a spring break vibe.  I’m realizing that it’s a good thing the weather wasn’t this good throughout the semester or else I would be failing all of my classes.  Today was also the day Nick (Australian that I went sailing with in Sydney) decided to give me, Liz and Anna our Australian souvenirs.  Instead of getting us boring little Australian stuffed animals like a koala, kangaroo and platypus, Nick decided to cut each animal up and reassemble them.  I now have a Boxing Koalapus- platypus body, kangaroo arms, and koala head- while Anna and Liz have other fun animals.  He not only made us our animals to remember Oz, but he created fact sheets for us about each animal that actually described us.  My animal gets vicious with the scent of chocolate in the air and is known for being extremely loud and having a tan hide.  Sound familiar?  While he did make fun of each of us A LOT, the present was awesome and something I will never forget. 

That night, after spending all day at the beach, we chilled out in the projector room on campus to watch the Australian Wallabies play the New Zealand All-Blacks in the rugby world cup.  The All-Blacks killed the Wallabies but it was still a fun game to watch full of bloody noses and very attractive men.

Other AUSome things that I’ve been up to include eating breakfast at Myra, where my roommate Kelsey works, and attending a charity event put on by Liz for one of her classes.  The event was called Rock In2Uni and local bands played in a pub to raise over $600 for university scholarships.  I was a proud little momma that night!    We celebrated later in the week by having s’mores.  Australians don’t have s’mores but Liz had her dad send her a care package with Hershey’s and graham crackers so we got to chow down.

One funny thing that happened to me the other day was being woken up from my nap by a phone call from the head of campus east.  I was a little concerned I was in trouble for something but then realized I’m perfect and never do anything wrong J  Hmm… Anyway, instead of getting in trouble, I found out my name was randomly chosen from completing a survey and I had won a free 2-hour private surf lesson for me and 2 friends!  The moral of the story is: always fill out surveys where you may win a prize.

The last of my most recent Australian adventures was a weekend trip to Jervis Bay.  I had heard about Jervis before even coming over here and was stoked when I found out Baillie has a vacation home down there and he was willing to show me, Liz, Anna and Jackie around.  We headed down for Jervis, along with Ben (another Australian I’m friends with) and spent two days at Baillie’s house.  There we sailed in the Bay with Baillie’s dad and his dad’s friend Kieran.  On the trip we saw dolphins swimming alongside our boat, swam in crystal clear water and had a picnic lunch on the boat.  After a long day of sailing we went back to Baillie’s house where some more of our friends met up with us to play games and hang out. The next day we headed to Hyam’s Beach which, according to the Guinness Book of World Record’s has the whitest sand in the world.  I wouldn’t doubt it-this place was beautiful.  The sand was so fine that it squeaked when we walked on it and the water was so clear that when Jackie peed in it I could see her pee from 5 feet away.  Kind of gross, yes, but it helps with the visual.  We ended the day with a trip to a little bakery in town where we had amazing treats and beautiful views of Jervis.

I’ve been becoming more Australian recently and I’m loving it.  I’ve been using Australian lingo in my everyday speech without even realizing it and I am abbreviating everything.  I also played netball the other day and not only scored a goal, but was on the winning team!  Certain Australian things don’t even phase me anymore such as driving on the left hand side of the road and seeing signs around Uni that say “Beware of swooping birds: Magpie season”.  It’s an odd country, yes, but a country I have grown to love.  I hate knowing that I only have 4 weeks left of my semester and I am dreading leaving.  I’ve been soaking everything in, including the sun, and will never, ever forget these past four months.  It truly has been AUSome.

Canberra (Can-brah)

This past weekend (a very reluctant) Liz and I headed down to Australia’s capital city of Canberra.  Canberra is known for being a pretty boring town and while it wasn’t riveting in any sense of the word, I wouldn’t call it boring.  Our day started out stopping for some tea at a little town called Goulburn.  Goulburn is a tiny, quaint town that reminded me of the retirement community in Manchester, Indiana.  Aside from an adorable main street and a pretty central park, it is home to “The Big Marino”.  For those of you that aren’t aware, Australia is full of random “big things”.  They have huge statues of strawberries, trout, worms, and bulls just to name a few.  This town was home to the Marino, or a kind of sheep.  The thing was HUGE!  I was freaking out with excitement.  All sarcasm aside, I was thrilled to be seeing this thing and sweet talked the bus driver into stopping so I could take some pictures.  It was at least three stories tall and we found out that townspeople didn’t like it’s original location so after two days of moving it, they finally found a place that suited them for their big tourist attraction.  After calming down from the adrenaline rush of seeing a three story tall giant sheep we continued on our journey to Canberra.  Along the way we passed by Lake George which is a natural phenomenon.  The Lake is 10 kilometers wide and 25 kilometers long, making it one of Australia’s largest freshwater lakes.  While most lakes are almost always filled with water, Lake George is known for disappearing virtually overnight.  The lake has been totally dry in 1827, 1890, 1902, most of the 1930s and the 1980s.  It has been full in 1852, 1897, 1925, the 1950s and the 1980s.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we caught it on a dry year.  I feel like the lake is another thing Australians lie to Americans about to make us look dumb.  “Look at the grass! It’s called Lake George!”  True or not, I believed it and was in awe watching sheep grazing in a “lake”.

The first stop in the city was Canberra’s Floriade festival.  It is the biggest flower festival in Australia, although I felt as though it could have been just a regular size city’s festival.  The flowers were all arranged into different patterns to resemble things like a block of cheese, wine pouring out of the bottle and a chocolate box.  From ground level you couldn’t tell what they were supposed to be, but I’m sure they looked cool from up above.  The festival also had booths with a lot of souvenirs and free samples-score!  Liz and I saw all of the main attractions, including a gnome garden and a reptile show, and then we snuck off into the National Capital Museum right near the festival.  The museum was nicely done and I could tell a lot of money had been put into it, however, it didn’t offer much.  Australia’s history is just so short and boring that museums are pretty short and boring.  It’s almost as if they just throw artifacts in the museums to fill them.  We also found this true later in the day when we saw the National Museum of Australia.  The quality of the exhibits was fantastic, but the information and artifacts were lacking. 

The last stop on our day tour of Canberra was to Mount Ainslee Lookout.  As you probably guessed, the lookout is on top of Mount Ainslee and overlooks the city of Canberra.  The view was beautiful, as Canberra prides itself in being a park-like city.  From the lookout we saw parliament house, the national museum, captain cook’s fountain as well as other random buildings we couldn’t identify.  Our tour guides weren’t much help either.  We were fortunate to be able to drive past a variety of memorials all spread nicely along one of the main streets in Canberra, however we weren’t able to get off of the bus to look at them more closely…maybe next time!

Canberra was a quick trip, but I am not able to check it off of my list of things to do over here.  I’m having a blast seeing all of these new places and am having an even tougher time convincing myself it’s okay that I’m not seeing EVERYTHING.  As school is winding down, I’m busy with assignments but still trying to enjoy being “Down Under”.  The weather is getting nicer and I spent about three hours today just hanging out outside.  It’s finally turning into the Australian weather I pictured!  I have a lot of fun places planned in my last few weeks and can’t wait to share details.  Until next time-G’day mate!