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

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! :) 

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! 

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

'The thrills and downfalls' come alive

When I created this blog, I quickly created a catchy slogan that I thought would be appropriate for the content, but the meaning behind ‘the thrills and downfalls of studying abroad’ reached a whole new level this week.

As you are sitting browsing all the places you can go to study abroad, the only things running through your mind are the amazing people you will meet and the great experiences you will have in a foreign place. While I have met a lot of Australians here, no one can begin to compare with my friends at home. And as welcome week commences and everyone moves back to the beautiful IU Bloomington campus, I can’t help but think of all the wonderful people I left behind.

Abroad, I have a surface relationship with everyone. No one truly knows who I am, or anything about my life other than my American classification. This has been the hardest thing for me to comprehend. I am lucky to have met two amazing girls that I have become extremely close to from the states. And after a deep tearful conversation with one of them, we came to the realization that studying abroad is not about the social aspect or excitement of traveling. Studying abroad is more about discovering yourself and growing to be the most independent person you could ever comprehend. This trip is about you and you alone, no one is here to always catch you, and you are the only one that determines your happiness. It’s far more intense than words can describe. When I skype with friends back home, they can’t understand why I am homesick. They toss it aside because I’m in the exotic location of Australia. But even in paradise, you can still get lonely and really begin to appreciate all the love you had.

When I go home, I will have so much more appreciation for everything around me. America rocks! The greatest joy to my day came today, I was comatose reading about Aboriginal Australians when I envisioned landing on the runway in Indianapolis. The flight attendant reads the chilly November forecast for the day and wishes everyone a safe trip and welcome home. HOME! Finally walking off the plane to be greeted by the people that love me the most, I started to cry already thinking about what an awesome feeling it will be to see them again, live in person. And be able to hug them! I can’t wait. My new countdown app says I leave in a little over 75 days, but who’s counting? J

As for the other half of my slogan, ‘the thrills’ have been numerous recently. I have been hectically intense in my bucket list completion…

Last weekend my entire dorm went to Sydney for a cruise around the harbor, it was great to see everyone dressed to impress. The Sydney sights illuminated at night are beautiful! The boat reminded me of a mini Titanic with all the wood paneling, it was awesome and oh so classy! We stayed in my first hostel that night which was rather interesting…and made me appreciate hotel living with my mom while she was here. On Sunday Beth and I took the bus to Bondi for a beach day. I love that beach! We strolled the shops, got a well deserved portion of fish and chips to satisfy our hunger for the day (maybe even week), and a little hole in the ozone kind of burn. Then took the dreadful 1.5 hour train back home.

First Australian Spring Sunrise

On Thursday, I woke up with a few others to watch the first Spring sunrise. Leaving the comfort of my warm bed was a struggle, but I am happy to have seen the event and everyone out in their rare form. :)

This week it really hit me that I wasn’t going to see the outback in its glory, and it really made me mad. So I decided to do something about it. Uluru is the standard Australian icon, besides the Opera house. It is a sacred Aboriginal site and full of history. Upon talking with Beth about my discomfort, we had our flights booked two hours later to Ayers Rock leaving September 15th. Call us crazy, because the entire time we were looking up flights and dates…we thought the same thing. You only live once right? Australia is one big adventure, but after this trip my bucket list of exploring is almost complete.

As for our weekend in Wollongong, it was more than a walk on the beach!  A few of us went to the Buddhist temple Friday morning and wondered around the beautiful and peaceful grounds. The temple and all the buildings were incredible with the most exquisite detail. My favorite part were the little statues covering the gardens that resembled traditional happenings of Buddhist. They were so cute! Later that day, I went to my first professional rugby game! We watched the Dragons beat the Panthers! Watching a Rugby game made our American football look a little silly in comparison. Why do we wear pads?

Today has been an ‘assignment day’ as the Australians would call it. I have literally sat in my room and worked on homework all day. My eyes hurt from the mass of reading I completed. Surprisingly, I am more productive here than at IU. Even with a beach and tons of activities I still get everything done and completed early, strange.

Tomorrow we are taking the train up to Sydney at 7am to meet up with one of our friends to sail in Sydney Harbor! I can’t wait!

Australian Slang Lesson:

Heaps good = really good

Keen = you are into the idea

Ending a sentence with but, Instead of placing but in the front of a phrase you place it at the end…grammar appropriate? Absolutely not. 

Bucket list: Climb Mount Keira

Stepping out of my comfort zone of being scared of heights

“Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.” –Hal Holbrook

Staring out onto the city of Wollongong and the eternity of Pacific Ocean that lay in front of me was one of the most rewarding and thought inspiring things I have done while studying abroad. After hiking stair upon stair, climbing rocks and looking down in fear at the potential fall, the top of Mount Keira was all worth the rigor. Australia is absolutely breath-taking from every angle. 

To my back and surrounding the bustling city are towering blue mountains that lead the eye to the beautiful blues of the Pacific. When you think about where you are in the world and the vast sea that separates you from the rest of civilization, things are put into perspective very quickly. I’m sure with every mountain there is beauty to be seen, but my appreciation for the landscape around me grew that much more. It took about an hour and a half to reach the lookout and it was an intense trip. Rock climbing minus the ropes had me a little worried, but what is adventure without a bit of butterflies in the stomach? Branching out of my comfort zone one thing at a time! But…going down the climb was another story. Unfortunately, I made everyone take the road down which could have taken a couple hours to get to the bottom. Thanks to my trusty thumb we meet a lovely woman named Amanda that kindly took us to the bottom and my fate was redeemed with the group. We knew everything was safe when she asked Moses in the front seat to hold her purse.

The trip made for a lot of inside jokes and was well worth waking up on a Saturday morning. I have learned my lesson to face my fear and scale the climb down next time and to never step in a water runoff area. My poor shoes were covered in mud. I’m hoping to do the climb weekly, it’s a great exercise and so rewarding! Surprisingly most of the Australians I've talked to haven't done the climb, so maybe I'll be able to drag them for a climb with me sometime. Climbing Mount Keira can be crossed off my bucket list! I'm so excited we are doing so much over here! The girls are leaving me for a weekend in Brisbane, I gave them all my travel tips and they are going to have a fantastic time. Wish I could visit Fraser Island again! We booked all of our plans for spring break this week as well. Ten of us are heading to New Zealand for even more out of my comfort zone adventures! I simply can't get enough I suppose..We are renting camper vans aka 'spaceships' to travel around and get the most out of the landscape and national parks. Showers will be a hot commodity for the week :/ Wow never thought I would be comfortable saying that. We bought tickets to see USA vs. Italy in the World Cup! I'm so excited we get to go! The atmosphere in Nelson will be spectacular! The one thing I really want to do while there is a glacier hike, it sounds like the best thing ever. We are going whitewater rafting and jet boating for a few of the days as well. Before I get too ahead of myself, I have a little school work to complete. The time is flying while I'm over here. 

Skyping makes life so much easier to be away. But my next obstacle will be seeing all the girls back at my house come together for the semester and not being there to share the memories with them. Love you girls! I miss everyone so much, just hearing familiar voices from home gives me chills. I got a few letters this week which always makes me giddy :) Thanks for all your support! Can't tell you how much I appreciate your love! November 21st!

Reef Living

AAA is a booking agency, not a travel agency. My mom and I have continued to repeat this phrase as we go from city to city. In Cairns (pronounced like a can of coke/forget the ir), our hotel was nearly 2km from the city. This was a great work out for us, but really? My poor Sperrys won’t have a sole left when I go back to school!

The first day we arrived we ventured into town and took in the sites. The city has a wonderful free public pool with zero-entry, fountains, and positioned right on the ocean. The boardwalk along the coast had outdoor gym equipment and free exercise classes every morning! When is Bloomington/Fishers going to catch on? We roamed the marina and gawked at the gorgeous yachts dockside. Wow. I’ll take one please! J

On our second and last day we sailed from Cairns to Michaelmas Cay about 25km out. This was home to a portion of the Great Barrier Reef providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to see what lies beneath. Our catamaran had a semi-submersible vessel on the cay that allowed me, the not so key on snorkeling, to have a close-up view of the reef. Ironically I never saw a clownfish the entire day on the reef…Otherwise, it was everything I had expected. It was full or varieties of coral and families of fish were everywhere as the eye can see. A fish was chilling in the anemone making a picture perfect representation from Finding Nemo. While I may have a strong swimming background it doesn’t mean that I love snorkeling. Not having any control is something I really struggle with out there. Therefore, the first thing I see that scares me…I’m gone faster than a barracuda J Sorry mom! Even without the snorkeling I would have had a blast. I love sailing!

Thursday we flew to Hamilton Island then took a ferry to Airlie Beach. The flight was awesome with views of the Great Barrier Reef! I realized how much of a kid my mom really was during that flight. There was a total of 11 people on board leaving empty seats everywhere. She literally went back and forth the whole time taking pictures of the reef below. Reason I love my mom haha.

Once we landed we took a ferry to Airlie Beach and while aboard we reserved our spots on Camira, a catamaran that sails through the Whitsunday islands docking at several key beaches. When he pulled together our tickets, he said he liked Americans and we were nice so we only had to pay for one ticket. We thought we were going to cry! What a break! And that’s why I love Australians.

Abel Point Marina Whitsunday Islands

No worries for AAA not coming through at Airlie Beach. Our hotel was 2km away from the town…they seem to have a pattern of that. The beach itself is revered amongst Australians, but I’m not really sure why. We ate on the beach then without fail got lost going to the local supermarket. One night in Airlie beach time to move! When we checked into Club Crocodile, beautiful pool but nothing else. They told us a lot of American kids were coming to the hotel tonight! To my delight they were People to People kids…joy. I think the intent of the program is great. The kids get to see the world and meet others, but when they are disrespectful, loud and act like they own everything in site, they can go back to America. To make my love for P2P even greater, they have also followed us onto our plane to Sydney, Cairns, and to our hotels in Cairns and now Daydream Island where we are currently staying. Why would you take 60 kids to a remote Whitsunday Island? There are 74 islands out here and they pick the one with a single hotel.

Daydream Island Resort & Spa

Regardless of the kids, (sorry for the rant, it has been one of those weeks) our hotel is gorgeous! The grounds are meticulously taken care of and every amenity is world-class. The coral sea has beautiful true turquoise water with a much greener tint than even the Caribbean. And the surrounding islands with mountainous greenery provides a Disney fairytale like world. To make my love for this place even greater; when we went to dinner tonight there were over 20 kangaroos roaming the gardens in front of our room! Ah!! My life is complete J Plus, there was a momma kangaroo with a baby in her pouch! If you can’t tell, I was excited beyond belief and still am.

Queensland is exactly how I would expect Australia to look. It’s tropical, full of wildlife, and everyone is relaxed. We met the CEO of Daydream resorts and he gave us complimentary drinks. Everyone is so sweet, love Australians! I can’t say that enough.

Counting down the days until I get to hold a koala!