Where is the good in goodbye?

Nearly a month ago I was in Australian paradise, soaking up the powerful ‘o-zone free’ sun, and not having a care in the world. Yes it has taken me this long to face the fact that my time abroad is over. As I look back at my whirlwind of six months abroad I know it was a roller coaster of emotions, but the only memories I take are the spontaneous, thrilling adventures, or days with the girls that can never be replaced. The memories and experiences I gained from my trip are unbelievable and truly life-changing.

The dreaded first question everyone defaults to when seeing a 'study abroad' for the first time…How was (insert country)? That’s a great question for all who asked me that :/ Except here is the hard part to answering such an open question. We could sit down have a wonderful chat and inform you about the incredible people that surrounded my life even though they knew I was leaving, about the amazing Australian mentality on life, not to mention the beautiful landscape I was immersed in on a daily basis. But that wouldn’t come close to matching the amount of emotion that charges through my body when flipping through my thousands of pictures. Or envisioning my heartbreaking last night packing when a group of my Australian friends came into my room, only to all fall into a huddle on my bed crying.

Studying abroad isn’t just about the location, studying abroad is about much more than that. When people ask me how was Australia, I reply with life changing for a reason.

These past six months have changed my outlook on life completely. I have more confidence and independence than I ever thought possible, which is a powerful quality since I already thought I was strong. This experience has  shown me that wherever my career takes me I will always be happy. I can find peace and a family anywhere I land. That is one aspect that Australia has taught me extremely well. The whole ‘other side of the world’ thing can really work on a person, but after a while it was liberating to know that regardless of anywhere that I ever live, I can do it. The first time I left home, I traveled to the other side of the world! Sick J I believe that studying abroad should be a requirement for all college students. The world could use more global diversity and understanding.

While the flight home was a long and rough end to my trip, I would do it all again in a heartbeat…if my bank account allowed it. Maybe I could swim? Jokes J Regardless, I always laughed about coming back to Australia when I graduate. But this may in fact be reality May 2013. If I have no strings attached in the states (minus family) why not? It is a fantastic economical move to live there a few years, and what other opportunity will I ever have on my own? My family is probably reading this having a fit, but as of now it’s just a far out dream so relax!

To everyone that I left in Wolly World, I love you and miss you terribly! Can we please have tea and skype dates soon…Americans don’t do tea and they find it incredibly odd that I put milk and sugar in it. And dub step in the morning is highly inappropriate apparently...sorry? Oh and LA was a culture shock times a million. I don’t want to keep up with the Kardashians or the neighbors. Let me do me! But really who wants to get an apartment in Sydney with me?? 


It's been real Australia, thank you for everything :) 

Goodbyes are never easy

10,284 Miles Later

Before I start this blog, I just wanted to clarify some points of interest to this story. Since I’m traveling without internet my posts can’t have ‘real time’ to them…or whatever this crazy time warp I’m in. So here it goes…layover by layover

Auckland

If I stop drinking liquids, do you think these tears would stop falling from my eyes?

I knew goodbyes to all the beautiful people I’ve meet this semester would be difficult, but I didn’t realize the extent to which my emotions would be stressed. Yesterday, I woke up early for one last beach session before I started the devastating process of goodbyes and checking out of my humble abode. I had my last caf lunch (my famous rice medley) and finished my meal points off with .94 to spare! That took much planning, let me tell you!

I am so incredibly thankful for the time I could spend in Australia and all the wonderful relationships I’ve formed. The fact that it was so difficult to leave shows how much I put into this study abroad experience and how much I have gained. Over the coarse of five months I’ve created a home for myself. It may not have been a walk in the park at times, but along the way some incredible things took place that will forever stay with me and easily be classified as ‘the time of my life’. This is one experience that I wish everyone would experience. My life has literally changed from this in so many ways and I’ve matured more than I ever thought possible.

For my last night in Wollongong, we all stayed in and watched Finding Nemo, and while it may be a cute Disney movie to most, it now has more sentimental value than even the next dramatic love story. Anna, Beth and I sat in our baby loveseat bawling…My trip to Sydney started by maneuvering to the Hotel Formula 1 with two suitcases and lots of kind people along the way. I took this as my last opportunity to enjoy Sydney one more time. There is something to traveling by yourself that I can’t quite point out. It’s liberating and makes you that much more aware and appreciative of your surroundings.

Today I’ve started my journey back home again in Indiana. At the moment, I’m sitting with a classic New Zealand L&P next to the windows absorbing the last summer rays before I board my plane for the longest flying leg of my trip to LA. Thus far I’m incredibly impressed with Air New Zealand. They are by far the nicest airliner that I’ve experienced. I had salmon for lunch, watched 500 days of Summer (which I’m obsessed with), got a whole can of coke, mints at the end, and hundreds of music albums all at my fingertips. Am I in first class? I can’t imagine what that was like…Anna let me know how the other half lives?

Thanks to Drake, I have 22 hours of non-stop dubstep on my computer now…which I’ve been having a solo rager with and Roro provided me with five all-time classic movies to occupy the rest of my layovers. Anna and Beth left me with notes that once again had me bawling this time on the plane…cool guys!

When I was going through Sydney customs, they checked my passport and said, “We hope to see you back.” Automatically, I started to feel my eyes well up with tears. And even reliving that moment is making me cry now. The quarantine officer comforted me after by making conversation about my trip and I found out his son went to Wollongong. What a coincidence! He escorted me through an express line and I was on my way to duty free paradise. I went to the Apple kiosk and quickly updated my status for everyone to know I was alive and on my way home, then after a little perusing it was time for me to board!

Los Angeles

What time is it and where am I? When boarding a flight across the Pacific, it actually feels like a joke. Yeah I mean sure, I would love to be stuck in a plane for 12 hours without being able to move and be told when to eat/drink. Looking at the flight plan and watching the small parcels of land disappear into the vast blue that is the pacific is something to note. Trying to differentiate what time it is in Australia compared to LA and where exactly you are in the world is a fun little game to play with yourself. Unfortunately, my college mentality led me to wait until the flight for dinner and within the first hour I was dying. This could be due to the altitude as well, but wow that was an awful wait. I started to panic thinking about the implications of my decision, which just made everything worse.

On the flight, I watched Transformers 3 which turned out to be a gigantic disappointment (I’m a huge Transformers fan) and Friends With Benefits. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do the one thing necessary for this flight, sleep. Perfect. So when I attempted to check my bags through to Indy and got denied and told to wait until 8:30 that night (it was 9am), I wheeled my luggage in disbelief away from the counter and started to cry. There were no lockers to store luggage, so my next option was to book a tour and hope they held my luggage. After a far too emotional call to my mom about my latest development, a break through came with VIP tour company. I left my bags with the Hilton LAX and boarded a bus for five hours touring the city!

The tour was actually a miracle I’m convinced. It broke up my layover, allowed me to see LA (minus the 20 minutes I crashed asleep). And most importantly it got rid of my horrible baggage that probably started to have a gravitational pull towards them because they weigh so much. Hopefully, once this AirTran ticketing counter opens, I’ll be able to run through security, grab a quality dinner, and find a bathroom with a hand dryer for a great “shower”. Oh the joys of traveling from Australia with crazy connections. It makes for an epic post?...I hope.

Atlanta

Oh my gosh…I’m not even excited about getting home anymore, I just want to take a shower and pass out. I don’t think I’m physically able to make emotion right now because of the zombie state I’m in. Since leaving Sydney I’ve had a total of about five hours of sleep. My flight from LA to Atlanta was okay. My international flights spoiled me with food and in-seat tvs so the change to domestic was drastic. My ears haven’t hurt at any point during my flights which is great! And I’ve met a lot of great people along my trips from around the country/world. Australia, New Zealand, Seattle, Texas, New Hampshire, Miami, Orlando…I wonder who is next! Five hours and I will be in Indy! J

Indy

Before I could realize what was going on, I was landing in Indianapolis. My exhaustion must have finally caught up to me. I didn’t think my emotions were alive anymore, but touching down sent a few tears down. After walking off the plane to the main area to see my family standing waiting for me, I immediately broke down. What a surreal feeling to be in the arms of loved ones again. Just a few days ago I was on the other side of the world and now I’m back. Maybe I’m just too tired and everything is getting intense to think about..

More in-depth posting later when I’m coherent and can think properly! J

Fly Away Home

The joys of traveling to the other side of the world and back...the adventure to get home begins Friday morning. Don't worry...I'll be blogging in every airport with my excessive layovers and little lonely self. It's going to be EPIC! And just sayin' I may be wearing shorts home just to protest the winter season that lies ahead of me :/ 

• Sydney to Auckland: 9:40am-2:45pm (3 hours)
• Auckland to LAX: 7:15pm-10:15am (12 hours)

This is where it gets fun...

• LAX to Atlanta: 11:55pm-7:05am (4 hours) 
• Casual 13 hour layover in LAX, maybe take a shower, catch a tour! 
• Atlanta to INDY: 10:10am-11:45am (1.5 hours) 

Then I'M HOME...3 days later! :) 

M729, You may begin.

Sam: “What number are you?”

Me: “M729, what does that mean?”

Sam: “You’ve never taken an exam have you…”

Me: “Nope!” J

When UOW does exams, wow do they go all out for the occasion. Walking up to building 9 to a wall of names correlated to numbers, I had no idea what I was about to get into. I took notice of the massively large signage reading, “Exam Entry” (at least double the height of me) hanging over the doors, but it was only until I walked past the three security guards checking ids and our clear plastic bags for the contents before I got to the test room. And as for the test room…it was just as impressive. Have you ever seen 1000 desks? I can successful check that off my list of odd ball things. I finally understood what M729 meant, my coordinates of course! Section M Seat 729. And I was in the middle of this cluster of desks…meaning there were more than 729! AHHH, talk about intimidation. They have that aspect on lock. Once we took our seats, we had to file a student declaration about our legitimacy of taking the exam and have our ID checked…once again.  After reading the 600 page textbook cover to cover, typing notes, then handwriting them, (yes I had two weeks to study for one exam..sorry) you would think nothing could scare me…wrong. Luckily, the exam really wasn’t that bad. For being 50% of my grade I expected a lot more trickery involved, but they were nice! Score J My first and last exam of UOW is now finished and I have 5 ½ days left of Wolly World Paradise! Liberation feels so good!

Not a bad way to start the day, The Farm

Since Sydney last weekend, my week has basically been focused on public relations. Nothing too exciting. I’ve mastered the skill of studying while laying out which is a great skill to add to my resume…which is finally complete and ready to dazzle my internships soon! Fingers crossed that I’m in Colorado this summer J

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 7 with the boys to road trip down to “the farm” for a little surf session. No, I didn’t paddle out with them. I think I’ll save that for a sunrise surf session next week. Regardless, it was beautiful and a great time to watch the boys work their magic!

Last night, we had a farewell BBQ for Kevin, one of our exchange friends from Colorado. His parents had just arrived fresh from the states so it was great to be around family again and have everyone celebrating. The boys were doing the usual no-brains play…climbing swing sets, jumping off swings at their peak…you know, standard. So that left the girls to enjoy the evening and for us to take in Campus East a little more. I love these kids so much!

I’m in denial that I have to leave the warm 85F days for the freezing snow…Maybe I can be a snowbird in Florida over Christmas. (subtle hint) And I’m inappropriately sad that this is one of the last times I will blog about my study abroad life. Crazy…I’ve been through so much. No regrets! I LOVE AUSTRALIA! Climbing Mount Kiera one last time tomorrow! 

P.S. The nerve wracking wait for the IUDM total Sunday night...$1.8 million! YEWWW all for the kids of Riley Children's Hospital! So proud of everyone that was involved! Can't wait for IUDM 2012, get ready. Go big or go home! :) 

Lesson Learned: Sydney

Oh the places we’ll go…or not. Saturday marked the most dysfunctional day of traveling I will ever encounter (in my life), truth. But before I get into my hectic and wonderful weekend, let me back up to the series of events that filled my “study” week.

While I may have been done with classes, the uni visits continued this week from Monday to Wednesday…daily. So annoying, but in the end everything was settled with professors and I was on track to finish my semester well. Monday night a few of the Campus Easters and I rode bikes to North Gong for $8 Steak, the best deal in town and far from the awful cafeteria food! My first attempt at riding a bike failed with a flat tire, thank goodness I was still in the parking lot, but my second was the definition of a cute fixie girl bike. What a joke, but so fun! We had a sweet little family dinner then Beck, Belinda, and I came up with the fantastic idea to ride to Cold Rock (aka ColdStone). This soon turned into an epic pursuit up and down hills blindly traveling down new areas of Wollongong we had never seen before. Impromptu tour, YEWWW! In the end, our adventure only made the ice cream taste even better! Yumm Tim Tam Hazelnut Chocolate Ice Cream. The rest of the week consisted of a few runs along the coastline, some time watching the surf roll in off the Pacific, and reading a solid 9 chapters in my little PR textbook. Gotta love finals! J

As for my weekend, there were far more adventures to be found. Friday, my roommate Emily and I boarded an early train to Sydney. We dropped our bags off in Bronte where her uncle Michael lives and made our way to Bondi Junction for some serious shopping. I bought a few fun things to bring home and some that have been on my bucket list since coming here. Success! That afternoon, we took a tour around Bronte. The suburb/beach was absolutely gorgeous, the houses are so manicured and modern. Good company all around. Is this real life? We walked to Bondi just a few beaches down for dinner and along the way we took in the sites of the sculptures by the sea exhibition. We ate at a great Thai place, my newly found obsession, and then made our way home for the night. We played with Michael’s little kitten, Rupert, for a bit then began the attempt to fall asleep…after we made the little thing wild. Ooops.

Saturday, the day started out lovely. We woke up had a great breakfast then I caught the bus/train into Central to meet Beth. After getting lost far too many times trying to find the correct way out of Central Station, I found her! Thank goodness. With heaps of trackwork this weekend, our handy trains turned into hectic bus routes that took triple the amount of time as usual. Once we finally made it to Olympic Park, the real test came to find where the expo that I was so excited to visit, and locating our hotel. The trusty information center gave us all the help we needed…unfortunately. The expo consisted of one design of shirt and our hotel, well let's just say the convenience factor of staying at Olympic Park and not taking two forms of transportation ($$) was sounding heavenly. Instead of dropping our bags at the hotel, we jumped on a bus to go to Darling Harbor for lunch one last time. And by jumped I mean it took us two hours sitting on a bus in traffic, add it to the karma list haha. After a great lunch sitting on the harbor, we walked to Paddy’s to grab some last minute souvenirs and find the Chinese temple in China town. Again, this was a strike and a miss in the bus rides department. Then to sweeten our afternoon, we missed our stop and had to change buses. The driver felt bad for us so he escorted us to the other bus, gave us a free ride, and gave specific instructions to the driver to tell us when to get off. Directionally challenged, what’s up! Thanks a whole heap even though we had myMulti day passes, it’s the thought that counts! We met up with Nick, one of the first friends we made here, to say a last goodbye before his trip to Bali. Nope, this isn’t real life. I don’t like saying goodbyes, ever. I truly think I will see him again, but the thought that this could be it messed with my head. Once our prolonged and repeated hugs came to an end, we ventured to find our hotel. This was by far the best part and most successful part of our day for sure! We stopped by Wolly’s for some popcorn, yogurt, and mini muffins (college style always) and effortlessly made it to the Sleep Express Motel.

This morning we woke up early to check out and catch the hotel shuttle to Olympic Park for our race. They told us to meet at 6:55, but just our luck...we waited 20 minutes then started to get a little nervous as to where this shuttle may have been. We walked to the gas station to call a cab and thankfully it arrived within minutes. Lesson learned: convenience outweighs stress any day. Sure we saved $30 in the end, but if we would have stayed in Olympic Park, we could have taken a proper shower after the race (instead of a quick rinse at the aquatic centre), slept in a least another hour, and not have the stress of transportation as a tourist. Anyways *rant over* Our race was really cool. We ran around the entire Olympic Park and finished in the ANZ stadium. It was extremely hot (83F) and with the sun boiling your body, it made for an interesting run. The exciting part about the race that I discovered was that it was for the Sydney Children’s Hospital, how perfect! While I may not be able to participate in IU Dance Marathon this year for Riley Children’s Hospital, I still supported the kids! FTK in Australia! J The girls and I all finished within 20 minutes of each other which was perfect timing. After the race, we treated ourselves to Pancakes on the Rocks which hit the spot and continued our great day (all before 11am). The Rocks is a really neat part of Sydney that I had never visited. It’s the oldest part, therefore the architecture is exquisite with so much character. We tooled around the weekend markets for a while, sampling all that we could and finally came to the pinnacle of our afternoon. Like the little kids we are, we stopped at a lolly store named Sticky, to watch hard candies be made. This quick peek into the store turned into us having full conversations with the workers and learning every possible detail about the lolly making process, typical Americans. The unexpected came when they gave each of us handmade lollipops fresh off the rolling pin and a chunk of excess hard candy leftover from the roll. We were in love.

While our weekend hit a few low points, thankfully I can now look back and laugh at the times we had. It was a fantastic weekend, but continually running through my head was IUDM of which I am missing even as I type this post. Troubling…to make up for my absence, I wore my IUDM t-shirts throughout Sydney and took some pictures for IUDM around the world. FTK all the way! …12 days until I’m outbound Australia. If only it were warm at home this transition wouldn’t be so terrible. 

P.S. This video gives me chills...you should probably watch it :) AND if you want to find out more about my passion at IU... www.iudm.org 

CE Farewell Formal

There is a certain time in the evening just before the sun sets, when all colors seem to explode with vivid brilliance. Every color seems to pop before your eyes and it is by far my favorite time of day. Tonight after an eventful Friday formal, Beth and I took it upon ourselves to soak up the beach life for all its glory. After dinner, we walked to the beach for some quality ocean time. The sand felt cold between your toes, a jumper was comforting to snuggle for warmth, and my favorite...the colors were spectacular!

Fairy Meadow doesn’t boast the best sunsets for the ocean’s sake because it sits on the east coast, but when the sun falls behind the mountains colors drastically change for the blue sea set out in front of us. It is a experience that puts me at great peace with the day and anything happening. Hearing the roar of the waves with the dazzling colors dancing across the sky, magical.

Roomies :) 

Today was the first day that it hit me that my time in Australia is quickly coming to a close. Last night, we had our farewell formal for Campus East when everyone cleaned up one last time for a good time together before exams begin. We went to “The Fraternity” Recreation Center (jokes!) for a lovely three course meal, Campus East awards, a night of dancing, and far too many pictures. Everyone looked stunning! In true Campus East order, the Illawara After Dark Party Bus came to take us to the frat (pledge ride, what?). We spent several hours running around, then made a quick stop at campus to change out of our formal attire into play clothes for a rise and rally type of occasion.

The girls that continued out to our marathon Wolly World night did so in a fantastic style; dancing until the lights came on! We made it home (half ay by foot) and were in bed by three with memories to keep us giggling until we met up for lunch discussion today. “God sent me an angel from the heavens above” –Carly aka lyrics queen.

So this morning after a solid six hours of sleep, I pulled myself out of bed to start a productive day. I threw on my shoes and went for my standard run to the lighthouse. Along the way that sense of urgency hit with the amount of time I have left. That’s when the scenery went from being cool and traditional to sentimental and jaw-dropping. I took everything in like it was my first time visiting Wollongong and starting thinking of everything I need to do before leaving…in 19 days! Where has the time gone? 

Ay Jay Bay!

In typical abroad fashion, my life continues to have endless pinch me moments. This weekend, Baillie took us to Jervis Bay for a weekend of sailing and one last time with all the Nowra boys.

We piled into the cars and after about two hours of constant sing-along to Australian radio stations and waiting in traffic, we made it! We ran to the local “Bi-Lo” to stock up on necessary food for the weekend and got overpriced Mexican to satisfy our terrible hunger that had been building since leaving campus. Qdoba/Chipotle need to venture into new horizons and come to Australia ASAP! Missing my chips and queso addiction. We had a cute family dinner then played Egyptian ratskrew* until Transformers got the best of our group and we were left in a trance watching the Autobots takeover. And Beth finally discovered what “I can transform you like Optimus Prime” meant. Which carried over into her repeatedly breaking out into song throughout the duration of our trip. We went to bed early; Anna and Jackie took a queen, Beth and I got a queen, and the boys each had a twin. P.S. Jackie is Anna’s pledge sister from Willmington! She is going to uni in Syndey and lives with a host family. Way different experience than what we're getting, but I love it! Kinda envious of the family time she has. BUT anyways…Just like last weekend’s 4^th grade sleepover in Nowra, we were up late discussing girls only topics and giggling to no end. Sorry boys…we may have been a bit loud.

Baillie, Dad, and Kieran

The next day we woke up and headed for the boat where Baillie’s dad and our skipper, Kieran, were waiting. Our house was on the second row of Jervis, so it was a short walk to get to the beach and we were aboard sailing in no time! The bay is absolutely stunning, pictures and words can’t begin to describe its beauty. The water is a brilliant green-blue and crystal clear allowing you to see the reef below. While we sailed out to the headlands, the winds were so light that the ocean looked more like an early morning lake than a waving sea. I had the greatest urge to dangle my toes over the edge to disturb its chilling peace, but I assumed as soon as I did that a shark from JAWS would fly out of the water and attack me. (Thanks for the facebook message about the shark attack in SW Australia that morning mom) Before I left for the weekend, my mom also kept me well informed of the fact that Jervis is known for whales and its ocean wildlife. And it did not disappoint. While I never saw a whale out there nor shark, a pod of dolphins followed alongside us for a little segment. There is something you don’t see in Indiana!

Our dingy rowing skills...

For lunch, we stopped at Murray’s beach, a cute little secluded spot. After sipping on a few ciders, the girls were more than willing to test out the cool cave ashore and see what great top of the line “bathroom” facilities could be found. But to get ashore took a bit of work…we all safely boarded the dingy and attempted to row ashore. This came with many laughs by the boys aboard that held the rope attached and pictures/videos to document our dysfunctional selves. I’m sorry uncle Jerry don’t be ashamed of me, I wasn’t rowing! After exploring and making our way back to the boat, we were greeted with Baillie doing a cannonball right next to the dingy leaving us soaked. As upset as I was about that, it got us jumping off into the water which was so great! My fear of the open ocean was faced! YEWWW! After a quick power nap at the front, we were back to shore for dinner and a night of celebration. To wind down before dinner, we watched Justin Beiber’s documentary Never Say Never. And I know what you’re thinking, stupid screaming girl movie to the max. But it actually was really interesting and to my disbelief I have an enormous respect for that little guy now. And I even went on a Beiber YouTube kick…Sorry? Unfortunately, my night came to a stop after an unfavorable accident left me with a chip in my front tooth. If you know me, you know my teeth are my babies. I’m that person that wears their retainers every night, flosses on the regular, and brushes between meals. This was traumatic to say the least. But after a few sunsets and many tears, I think I’ve come to peace with my new hillbilly status. (It’s not quite that severe)

Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay

The next day we woke up and had an adorable true Australian breakfast complete with fried eggs and bacon on the barbie! We packed up and headed to Hyams beach to witness the whitest sand in the world then off to the next town for a quick lunch before home sweet Wolly World! Our weekend left all of us asking if we this is truly real life with priceless memories that will continue to replay in my head for a lifetime. We are so blessed.

As for my last week of classes…I would say it was a pretty smooth week. I wrote an essay, took a final, and created a reflective journal about my experiences in class. The sunshine kept me occupied the majority of days with my big school crunch in the evenings. I could get used to this…thank goodness it’s finally warm!

Tomorrow Campus East has its final formal where we dress up much like harbor cruise and have a fancy three course meal and dance the night away. And to Beth and my amusement…it is being hosted at “The Frat” recreation club. Don’t worry pictures will follow shortly! As for my tooth, I have a dentist appointment the morning after I land in Indy…I’ll definitely be in a vegetative state at that point after hopping airports for three days and slowly catching my 16 hour jetlag. BUT my teeth will be A+ again just in time for Thanksgiving. Which I can’t wait for this year! I’m not a huge turkey day fan, but this year seeing my family together will be the BEST THING EVER! And since I’ll have way too much free time on my hands, I’m going to attempt to make some Australian dishes to take aka Caramel Slice and Pavlova here we come! 

Nowra Rollin'

“In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.”

From jet-setting to Uluru and New Zealand, my wild adventures have slowed to “one tank” weekend getaways. And the ‘cash’ spoken about above, is depleted. With this new pace of traveling comes the reality that I will be leaving unbelievably soon. Flipping through my planner today made my heart skip a beat with just five weeks remaining of my stay in Australia.

Canberra Floriade Festival

These past few weeks, I’ve traveled to the thrilling cities of Canberra and Nowra. From the disappointing attitudes gathered around campus, Canberra seemed like a letdown waiting to happen. But with much convincing and several puppy eyes later (by Beth)…I was on a bus with her to see the nation’s capital for a day of fun filled activities! We boarded at 7 am for a three-hour ride south. Along the way we stopped for morning tea at an adorable little town called Goldburn. With this stop, came a spectacular view of one of Australia’s “big things.” These strange abnormally huge objects are one of Australia’s must-sees. There are 147 of these scattered around Australia, one found in Goldburn, where they are known for their quality Merino wool. For this they have a gigantic male sheep watching over them. It’s a hilarious sight to see and like the little tourists we are…many pictures were taken.

Next stop Canberra! When we finally arrived to the city, we spent a couple hours at the annual Floriade flower festival. Coincidentally, this was the same weekend as the Covered Bridge (my favorite fall family activity). I was bummed I was missing it this year, but Floriade was a slice of what the doctor ordered. It was about a tenth of the size, but the spectacle of flowers was astounding. After about an hour, Beth and I had ventured around the entire festival and were ready for the next stop. After touring the nearby Canberra Museum to eat time, we were off to the Australian National Museum.

We were determined to make the most of our time, so our logical first instinct was to sprint to the kids zone for the best part of our day. We made spaceships then watched them fly around a 3D theater. We felt like children and it was fantastic. Parental guidance probably should have accompanied us through the rest of the museum when our temperament had the best of us looking at the random artifacts placed throughout. After a few exhibits, I came to the conclusion that because Australia is such a young country, they don’t have much to talk about in terms of history. Therefore, walking around the room, your mind would fill with questions about the importance of these things you were starring blankly upon. What are you!? Once again Beth and I became bored after about an hour, this time we compensated with a casual stroll through the massive museum gift shop and a much needed diet coke on the patio. After, we went to a lookout for another drawn out trip stop to see the city below. The most frustrating part of our day was driving past parliament and NOT STOPPING! It is absolutely absurd that we didn’t stop. That would be like going to Washington D.C. and not stopping by the White House. UGGHHH! I’m calm.

My views of Canberra should be pretty well portrayed in my experience mentioned above. It’s Canberra, nothing more nothing less. It was exactly what I expected. I’m happy I went to see the city and check it off the list. But if I didn’t see it, I wouldn’t have missed anything.

The originals

This weekend the three musketeers traveled with Baillie to Nowra to see the unfortunate town with an even worse reputation than Canberra. I know, hard to believe. Imagine everyone’s surprise when we came back and said that we had the time of our lives!

We spent Saturday afternoon with Baillie’s family having way too much sugar with a hint of coffee/tea. They love their afternoon tea time! His sister was the greatest hostess in the world and provided us with our first taste of true Australian cooking. This came in the form of caramel slice and wow (to use Beth’s word), they were phenomenal! I’m kind of salivating thinking about how amazing they were. Anyways! The reason we traveled down was to celebrate one of our first Australian friends acceptance and ship date into the military. We had a great time catching up and once night fell the true colors of Nowra were out to shine. We spent the next few hours getting carried away with people watching and tearing up the dance floor with our moves until closing time. My latest night out in Australia and it’s in NOWRA. The Australians reading this right now are probably dying of laughter, because this is an outrageous fact. It’s great. Once we arrived safely home by Baillie’s sister, even though any one of us could have driven, it turned into a girls night to the max. Do you remember those sleepovers you had as a kid, when you would stay up late, see who would fall asleep first, giggling and telling each other to hush all night? Yeah it was exactly like that. We were tucked away in our beds by 1:30, but in conversation until almost 5. And that was when it hit me, we only have a month left. This three member family we have formed has been through so much in our 6-months together. We’ve cried together, traveled thousands of miles together, and had the time of our lives. These girls know more about me than even some of my closest friends at home. Spending every waking moment in contact with each other, I don’t know what I would have done without them this semester. And to think our time is drawing to a close. L

I am so thankful for the friendships I have made, and the experiences I have gained while here. The time I have had here has pushed me to a whole new place than when I first arrived in Australia. Room 88 is the best. Rory has movie nights at least once a week, and tea is always a great procrastination for all of us to play. I go to Carly for fashion advice, Emily for a bucket list accomplishment partner, and Jackson for a cute little smile (which is always on his face). I love my roommates! As well as all of Campus East. They have really welcomed me into the community and only having 32 days left is beginning to stress me out. I have gone through the stage of studying abroad where I want to go home, and now I’m shocked that the end that I have been thinking about for ages is finally almost here! I have done so much and experienced heaps, but I’m in disbelief. Until full reality sets in, I will soak up the sun as much as possible and live up my time in Australia treating everyday as if it were my last.

I have just two more weeks of school until finals session. In that time I have one story, a test, 2k word paper, and then I’m done! Yay!

Side note: I have been planning a band night for equity scholarships at UOW though my PR Strategy class. That night was last Friday and I’m so excited to say that we raised over $600!

I hope everyone is keeping tabs on the World Cup, it is so fun to watch when you've been there! :) See you soon America! 

Sweet As, New Zealand

On September 24^th our group of 12 began the spring break of a lifetime exploring all the adventures that New Zealand’s south island had to offer. From the nearly 30 hours of driving, no formal showers, countless spaceship/sheep jokes, early morning drives, and disturbed sleep patterns came the best vacation of my life. I’ve traveled to many places and seen a lot of beautiful things, but New Zealand is unmatched to anything.

After landing in Christchurch and sleeping in the airport under the florescent lights and cold wind tunnel until morning, our spaceships were finally at our fingertips! Daniel, Sonya, and John took a bus to grab our homes for the next ten days.  Seeing a bright red row of spaceships equipped with names to fit (Jay, Qui-Gon Jinn, Ophirous) amped my smile to another dimension. They were obnoxious, loud, and so perfect.

Our adventure started with simply finding a grocery store to stock up before hitting the road. Our spaceship, Jay-Ez, was put to the test to wind around the earthquake devastated Christchurch. After several U-turns we finally found one and needless to say our GPS privileges and leading abilities were revoked. Regardless, we made it and after a quick lunch break we were on the road to Nelson to find our home for the next three nights.

From our very first day traveling, the common question “Where are we?” was a huge topic of discussion. While we may have driven for close to 7 hours, the views provided endless entertainment and awe inspiring conversations. One characteristic associated with NZ is the insane amount of sheep with a statistic of 9 to 1. Woah! I can definitely vouch for this…they are everywhere! Surprisingly though we never got to touch one. Our plan was to pull off to a shoulder and hop a fence, but that never happened. I’m blaming the lead spaceship for  not stopping…cough*Daniel*cough. J Regardless, they looked adorable and shup (our made-up singular form of sheep) humor was rolling the entire time. On our drive to Nelson, we stopped a few times to stretch our legs and take a few photos. Jay’s favorite spot was finding a seal on the beach! Anna nearly fainted when she saw it, and Robby instantly proclaimed it was a puppy, as he calls any animal…Pre-med major? Robby’s attempt to touch him was unsuccessful several times. Who knew seal’s were that quick? As night came, we finally rolled into Nelson. We stopped in a Countdown (supermarket) parking lot and set up shop for our first cooked dinner time. Anna and I made warm pasta which was great for the cold NZ temperature. Our next task was to find a place to sleep, this was our greatest downfall of the trip. We drove around aimlessly for about an hour before folding to a local park. From countlessly watching the spaceship video, Anna and I worked our spaceship like it was our job and had our bed ready in no time! By the end of our trip we didn’t even have to open doors to the cold morning air, we could fold everything and be ready in under 30. Trust me that’s impressive J

Abel Tasman National Park

The next day we drove to Abel Tasman National Park, about 2 hours from Nelson and explored for the day. The park is absolutely breath-taking. The blue Caribbean waters mixed with snow capped mountains in the background created the best views. After a few hours of hiking, we sat on the beach and enjoyed PB&Js while a few of the boys went onward exploring. We found several waterfalls, caves and artsy photo spots along our hike. Once we were out of energy, we ventured back to our space station to find our “accommodation” for the night. We settled on a beautiful campground between Nelson and Abel Tasman that was right on the water. We had our first “shower” and ran around the playground until sun down. That night, we had a fire on the beach, got to know each other a little better, and did some intense stargazing. I saw the entire Milky Way!

Tuesday began our Rugby Cup extravaganza. We started our day slowly with a pit stop at McDonalds to recharge cameras and get a quick internet fix. Then we drove in to town, bought all the essentials for epic American outfits and settled into a spot for tailgating. Ironically the most stereotypical tractor was parking in the lot where we were creating the best AMURKA! pictures to date…and probably made our country look extremely classy. “I apologize for my present and future behavior.” The game was epic to say the least.

Moses began the game with an amazing quote that stuck around the rest of the week. “My name is not Timothy, my name is Moses and I part the blue sea, and beat Italy on weekends.”

To hear my national anthem sent chills down my spine, and the environment was much what I imagine an Olympic event to be. Unfortunately, USA is still in the building stages of a solid rugby team, but we still managed to have a good run. Italy 27, USA 10. That night we drove to a spot the police mentioned to camp, only to be woken by a park security guard in the middle of night, forcing us to move back to our original park location. And after all of this, our 4am start was extremely unpleasant.

Wednesday was one of our longest days in terms of driving. We drove all the way from Nelson to Fox Glacier before noon then to Queenstown. Along the way, Anna took over driving and we ruled the road with our slap happy conversations and rock out DJ moves. Epic quotes of the day: “I feel like this is our runway, oh wait our Launchpad…spaceship lingo at all times” –Anna. “Careful pressing the buttons, we might blast off!”

The drive was really pretty and went from snow capped mountains to scenes from Jurassic Park, it was sick! Once we reached Fox Glacier central, we were given guidance about the glacier and gear. We felt like little kids being dressed for a blizzard, IT WAS AWESOME and we were finally warm for once! This was also the start to an epic game of life, started by Baden, our fun-loving Kiwi. If you haven’t heard of the game, every time someone says the word M.I.N.E. they have to do 10 pushups, where ever they are. So basically from this point on if I talk about anything we did, pushups were involved by multiple people, multiple times, and in the most obscure places possible. I’m sure people either found us completely hilarious or just annoying.

Fox Glacier 

Fox Glacier was everything I had imagined it to be. The enormity of ice was incredible. Once we reached a certain part, we stopped to put our cramp-ons on our boots and used walking sticks. This made it 10x less scary to walk on the ice, knowing that you had metal cleats digging into the ice. We were guided around the glacier and taken to a cravass to explore. So cool! Once I was in the crevasse, I looked up and kind of got intimidated at the size of ice surrounding me, but definitely worth it! We got to fill our water bottles with glacier water and walked through an ice tunnel. Fun fact: If you only drank glacier water, your body would shut down after a few days due to the lack of minerals in the water. Interesting! I always thought pure water was better for you, strange! Once we got back, it was to the spaceships we went for a long drive to Queenstown. That night was a great night of bonding for Jay-Money. We went back and forth telling some pretty intense stories about ourselves making me love everyone in our car even more. I love deep conversations!

The next morning we drove to Milford Sound, one of our most “challenging” drives according to the Dept. of Conservation. Ironically I took on the road as my first left-side drive ever. It wasn’t bad at all. We wound through mountains and a cool tunnel, but nothing worth writing home about (but I guess I am now, so..). The drive was spectacular avalanche zones, and the fiords had beautiful waterfalls. The fiord was unique because it had two ecosystems within it; the bottom consisted of salt water which allowed dolphins and turtles to live amongst it then the top was freshwater. It was a beautiful tour complete with complimentary coffee/tea. Don’t worry we were wired by the end of the trip making Te Anau glowworm caves a blast and a half.

At the caves we acted about the same age as our shoe sizes. Sorry Mom I promise we were polite! Since our group was so large we got our own tour through the caves with the best guide ever! God bless his soul for putting up with us. Or shall I say for dealing with Zack’s poor digestive system that nearly killed us all in the middle of the cave. Even after all of that, our guide said we were the “best group ever.” After a little walk through the cave, we sat down in a boat that took us even deeper into the cave to reveal the most spectacular natural phenomenon. After a few minutes in shear darkness, making me inch a little closer to John on my right, the glowworms lit up the cave like the night sky. It was something from Disney! Our guide even gave us a little behind the scenes action by lighting up the cave so we could see the actual glow worm! Anna was in heaven and she also had to do pushups in the cave…J After the caves, we drove to Queenstown to our home park and finally were privileged to sleep in for the first time in days! 

Friday, a few of the boys went bungy jumping at Nevis while we went to McDonalds to shower and recharge. Yes…I said shower at Macca’s. We finally had warm water, and the hand dryer made our hair look like a million bucks J While we started our day chilled, the most unfortunate thing happened as we drove into Queenstown, Jay’s driving shaft broke! Luckily we were in one of the largest cities in New Zealand and a space station was nearby to solve all of our problems, but we still had to deal with the hassle of waiting for a tow truck and roadside assistance to handle the situation. Kay became our new home and not only did she come with a full tank of gas, but she had fancy patterned bedding! Oh spaceship humor. That night we ate our one and only meal out at Fergburger, the most happening place in QT, and chilled at the Ministry of Sports to watch a game of the cup.

The next day we split into groups again with most going to mountain bike, while about four of us hiked a nearby mountain trail. Thinking about the bike rides I had under my belt and how every downhill ride made me think about my teeth dying…I decided to go for a hike. And while the bikers had a blast, the views from our hike were beautiful. Once we all got back together, we drove halfway between Queenstown and Christchurch to make the next day’s return easier.

Lake Tekapo

For our last night we had an epic campsite. We were in the middle of nowhere with a campfire and stream to our backs. The stars were brighter than ever and everyone was glowing at the amazing adventures the week had brought us. We got to bed at a decent time and drove to Lake Tekapo the next day.

Although I was upset that we didn’t get to go to the blue pools, Lake Tekapo was something to be seen. I never knew water could be such a beautiful vibrant color. We spent a little time taking in the scenery and going through a cute little church on the rocks, then made our final trip to Christchurch to return our spaceships!

Once we returned our spaceships, we were left to wander the Christchurch airport aimlessly all day and night until our 6am flight the following morning. Some would call our behavior loitering, but what else were we going to do? We all took our first full body shower since leaving Wollongong and life was the best. I think I could tell you every detail about the airport now. Resume building J

The great thing about our group to NZ was the diversity we had with 11 Americans from eight different states (Indiana, North Carolina, California, Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Alaska) and one Kiwi from the North Island. It made for an interesting conversation when someone would ask where we were from and how we knew each other.

Overall the trip was unbelievable. We planned extremely well and stayed to a very conservative budget; spending $35 on food the entire week and well under $1000 for the whole trip! That’s impressive for the amount that we saw and the adventure we went on. I expected tempers to collide and have some conflict in the huge group we had, but everyone was amazing and just pulled closer together. It was the best trip I could have asked for leaving me wanting more. New Zealand cannot be described in words, its beauty and atmosphere is unmatched to anything I have ever experienced. This is one place that I believe should be on everyone’s bucket list, even above Australia.

Our family for the week!

Middleofnowhere, Australia

It’s a hard rock with no café, an aboriginal sacred place, and in the middle of nowhere. After waking up for a 5:20 train to Sydney airport and taking turns playing mom with the security of our bags, we made it to Ayers Rock by 1:30 (Adelaide standard time). Time zones will forever confuse me especially a 30-minute difference; aren’t they usually an hour? Aside from the airport and resort grounds, Ayers Rock the vast Australian outback I had imagined was at my fingertips. The phrase, “where are we?” continually came into question as we spent Thursday to Monday touring Uluru, hiking Kata Tjuta, riding camels, and basking in the warm Australian desert sun.

Our first day was spent relaxing and taking in the adventures our resort had to offer. We walked to the resort centre to look through the gift shops and grabbed some much needed food from the market. We relaxed by the pool for a bit, then ventured to the center lookout for a sunset view of Uluru. This began our quest to see how many pictures you could possibly take of a rock. She, Uluru, changes all the time…that’s a negative. Once the sun went down it was amazing how quickly the scorching dry heat turned to frigid temperatures. We made our way back to the hostel for our first college budget dinner, peanut butter sandwiches! After a few days of peanut butter as a main food group…I was ready for real food. That night, we sat around listening to the live entertainment and chatting with our new Canadian friends. Like old women we made it to bed abnormally early in order to wake up for the sunrise at 6:10. This turned out to be an easier task than anticipated as everyone in our 20-person room got up at four to catch sunrise tours. Don’t worry they were ever so considerate to be my alarm. They even managed to drop their suitcases from the top bunks landing on the cement floor for a nice startling wakeup. Gotta love shoestring traveling.

Uluru at sunset

The sunrise while beautiful to see, wasn’t as spectacular as the sunset. But regardless of its beauty, I still managed to capture about a million photos and track the sun’s progress behind Ulu. You never know, the rock could jump at any moment, got to be ready! Friday we took our APT tour of Uluru. The rock was just as I had imagined it to be. Uluru is the world’s largest monolith and about a third of the rock is visible, and this is enough to make for an intimidating height. I can only imagine the 6km of rock below that I can’t see! Fun fact I learned about the bright red color of Ulu; it is made of sandstone which is typically grey, but because of the oxidation it has a red cast to its outer shell. No picture I took could capture the magnitude of its size or brilliant color.

Aborigines call tourists that travel to the rock “mingas” or ants. Standing next to it, and seeing people climbing to the top I quickly saw the connection. On our tour we stopped at the Culture Center to learn about some aboriginal beliefs, then made our way to the water hole and several caves. The base measures 9.4 km around, so the bus was nice to get to places quickly. But if I were to go back I would hike myself and make a full day out of the rock. Plus, a two day pass on Uluru Express is affordable to travel to Uluru and Kata Tjuta instead of booking tours.

Lion King scenery, KT

That night we decided to spend a little extra to visit Kata Tjuta, given the nickname of KT, for a morning hike. Uluru Express picked us up at 5:45 for an unexpected sunrise lookout session of Uluru. Fortunately for the group that was with Beth and I, we were in rare form. With this being our second sunrise in two days we lost the scenic value of staring at the rock and instead watched as people gawked and took picture upon picture of…the same rock. After Beth made the outburst, “I think it moved!” We lost it. I was in tears crying and she was on the other side of the lookout laughing uncontrollably. The tour guide loved us, but the others probably didn’t appreciate our sarcasm. But don’t worry, we still took more photos of the rock. After this, we made our way to the Valley of the Winds 7.4 km hike. Just as Uluru was immense in size, KT did not disappoint. In fact, the 36 domed features with gorges and valleys were more spectacular than even Uluru in my opinion. Halfway through our hike, we climbed to a peak of a gorge where you could see the vast KT domes and still felt like an ant. It reminded me of the landscape from the Lion King when the stampede comes racing through threatening Simba. My childhood imagination was on overload, but instead of out of control animals we saw a family of kangaroos! Along the hike we found several rock structures manually constructed. Our curiosity had the best of us, KT is one of the most sacred to the aboriginals. The site is so sacred, that only selected aboriginals can know its ancestry. I’m just saying, if I have bad luck…I’m blaming it on taking pictures of the rocks. After our morning cruise through KT we relaxed by the pool, and got ready for our much anticipated self BBQ dinner!

Our starving little selves couldn’t wait for dinner than night. The BBQ area had all the utensils and grill provided, you just had to cook. Easier said than done…I have never cooked a burger in my life. BUT after a little time and hot hot conditions, I made the best burger of my life! It is so gratifying to make your own food. We also had a buffet salad bar which we made the most of for dinner and meals the following days J Standard Gould Vacation Move. After our feast we took full advantage of the live entertainment and pulled a group of jolly fellas up the dance floor for a night of swinging and clapping to the music. I pulled an eager little guy, about 3, to the floor and while he was bashful to start he was cranking out breakdancing moves I had never seen by the end of the night! We had a great night, Beth and Christine met their Australian husbands (late 70s) and I found a child haha.

Chester, the camel

If any days during our trip could be classified as more relaxed than the others, the day we rode camels was the epitome of chill. We went for a cute walk around the resort, than sat around the pool from 10-4. Absolutely ridiculous lazy day. But our unproductive day turned into the best experience ever! While I have never ridden a horse, I took a leap of faith and went for a ride on a camel. My fear of heights was put to the test when we saddled up and the camels jarred to stand. It took a while for my grip to change from white knuckle, but once I was comfortable my mood shifted to a strange sarcasm that can only be described from the multitude of pictures captured by Christine, our third companion for the trip, riding on the camel in front of Beth and I. A photographer was following our steps through the bush walk and kept snapping photos. Beth and I made a goal of it to take the most absurd pictures because we weren’t going to buy the CD. Needless to say, out of the kindness of our photographer’s heart he gave us the CD for free just as we left. Now all of our crazy moments of revising my humps lyrics to Chester’s Humps (our camel) and interpretive dancing will forever be on my computer. Perfect! To top off our amazing day, they caught a wild camel just before we left! Amazing! 

We had a phenomenal trip overall, the weather was beautiful and the sights were exactly what we expected/better. The outback is a part of Australia that needs to be seen by everyone. Now my Australian bucket list is complete! I’ve been to the Great Barrier, to the southern coast of Melbourne, the bustling Sydney cityscape, and now the traditional Australian/Aboriginal Outback. Over study break, my roommates want to take me home to see the true Australian colors, gold and green, so we’re road tripping it home to the country! I can’t wait! My jetsetter lifestyle is in full swing this week, Saturday I am off to New Zealand for 10 days of campervans and adventures! Before I can start my out of comfort zone experience I have a few assignments to finish to set my mind at ease.

 Our Ho(s)tel

It is so great to hear from everyone back home! I think it may have finally set in that they were one person short down there in Btown. I was in complete shock running through my planner this past week looking at the miniscule amount of weeks that I have left before I leave for home. I can’t believe that I have been in school for nine weeks, and after I come ‘home’ from New Zealand, I will only have four weeks of school before exams! Wow time is flying. I will be on American soil in 57 days! Can’t wait to see everyone!

If anyone is bored or needs a good book to read, pick up In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Beth was reading it while we were in Uluru and continuously rattled off fun facts and his overall sarcasm the entire trip.

“But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” –Bill Bryson