Phillip Island- July 28 & 29th

This past weekend, Caitlin Dan and I ventured off to Phillip Island and I think it was a well worth trip. Exhausting but exciting at the same time. I'm following through and checking things off my list of things to see and its only been a month since I have been in this amazing country. I'm trying to make the most of this experience so with every trip I feel more and more accomplished in doing so.

I set my alarm for 6 am because Dan, another international student, was picking me up at 7 am sharp. I met Dan at the International student orientation, he is from Singapore and was in the military before he came to Australia. He has very good english and knows the strangest facts about birds and trees but i guess thats what you get for being an outdoor education student. Anyways, as soon as my alarm went off I decided It was way too early to get up so I layed in my bed for the next 20 minutes or so. Then I got up to call Ryan before I changed and whatnot. Unfourtunately, he was busy still at work so we didnt really have a chance to talk before I left for the weekend. He asked when he would be able to talk to me next and I told him I would call him when I got in on sunday but it would probably be the early hours of the morning then. Chances are we wont talk until I wake up monday morning, but thats just how things go. I am in another country and want to experience as much as I can and thank goodness he understands and supports me on that 110%.

Dan pulled into the halls a little after 7am, we loaded my stuff into the back of the car and headed out of town. We were staying over night somewhere and I wasnt sure of what the arrangments were going to be like so I made sure to grab the comforter off my bed. After everything was loaded in, we all got in...and again I forgot Dan had to get in on the right side because thats the drivers side. Thank goodness Dan is use to driving on the left side because thats what they did on SIngapre as well! It really didnt matter I guess for me as Caitlyn was in the front giving directions and all I had to do was sit back and relax until we got there which was just under 4 hours. On our way there, we were lucky enough to see "Hanging Rock". I read about this, but really it wasnt all that exciting. Its just a sacred rock of the Wurundjeri people. They made a book about it and I think they even made a movie. But, I dont think either were very big because I hadnt even heard of either one. But, I guess Hanging Rock is just another one of those things to check off my "I've been there & seen it" list.

As we continued down the freeway or highway- I dont really know the difference but here they have both, we came to some objects on the side of the freeway which I guess would be considered art because Melbourne is all about art and we were almost through the city of Melbourne. Anyways on the left was some bright yellow part arch that just came straight out in an angle. On the other side were about 6 red pilliars which were all different lengths. I dont really understand what it was, or why they felt the urge to put it on the freeway but they did. It all seemed very strange to me. We continued down the freeway trying to make sense of the way Australians cummute. Freeways turn into highways with the same name (not that i ever knew there was a difference) and highways turn into freeways with the same name. Almost all highways are marked with a letter and a number...M420 is the one one we needed the most.

We arrived at Phillip Island in just under 4 hours, which was the exact time the tour book told us it would take. As we got to the Island we decided to drive across the Island to the Penguin Parade to get our tickets and figure out how that works first since it was our main reason for the trip. Once we got to the Penguin Parade we parked in one of the 5 carparks (known as a parking lot in america) and wondered inside trying to figure out what package we wanted to purchase. There was a 3 parks pass which included tickets for the Penguin Parade, the Koala Conservation Centre and Churchill Island. But unfortunately, the others werent too big on seeing Churchill Island so we decided to skip that and just buy general admission ticket for the Penguins which was about $20.

If you ever make it to Phillip Island, I would go to churchill Island. Maybe sometime i'll make it back here to go but there was so much we wanted to see, I guess not going to that wasnt all that big a deal since the others didnt want to go. But anyways Churchill Island is a farm. It was where the first agricultural came from in Australia and the first house erected by white settlers. The history just all sounded really neat and interesting to me, but not many people are into the history of another country but their own. I just find it intriguing.

After getting our tickets for the Penguin Parade we poked around the building a little to see what else we could find. The lady at the front desk told us we needed to be back by 5 pm because they unlock the doors then and it could take up to an hour for the penguins to be brave enough to come out of sea and to run home. Anyways we poked around to see what was around. The beach was closed for the winter so unfortunately that was out of the question. We went to the gift shop but we were planning on coming back around 4 so we knew we would have some time to spare and there would be time for that then. So the only thing left to do was go through the penguin exhibit in which we could look through glass holes that look into their burrows to see if there were any penguins home. It was neat, but I think I only got to see one or two because penguins go fishing and swimming all day long and then they come back at night to their burrows.

Next on our agenda was to go look at the Nobbies and Seal Rocks since we were already on this side of the Island, it made sense to go and take a look at this. These rocks were home to Australia's largest Colony of Seals. But, unfortunately we didnt see any seals and I think it was just because it was winter and it was VERY windy out. We werent in the best conditions for walking around on the cliff, and to add to that I wasn't dressed for it either. But nevertheless, its another thing to add to that list of things I've done even if the weather wasnt the best. I enjoyed looking around on the cliff and I even got to see some penguin burrows.

Next, we jumped in the car and headed to the complete opposite side of the Island then we were currently at. We were planning on going to the Koala Conservation Centre next. This was nothing like what I expected but I guess for $9 it was what I got. Basically you just walk along the boardwalks to see if you can spot a Koala. they had signs and facts about them along the way. But, I think seeing them in the zoo in cairns was much more interesting and exciting. Because Koala's sleep 20 hours out of the day its hard to find any activity but for what we saw I think we came out very lucky. We saw some sratching and some eating so we were lucky. Also I found it interesting that they only live to be 12 years old. For them to reproduce is like a one nigth stand for humans, very quick and will never last more than 2 minutes. No personal attachment- when its over they move on to sleeping for the rest of the day.

Because we were all soo hungry, we ventured off to Cowes which was the north end of the Island. We found a nice Fish and Chips place and had a bite to eat. I'm not really sure why i got the fish & chips because I didnt eat the fish at all. The fries were VERY Salty, the chicken fingers were chicken fingers but very dry and bland to my tasting. Calameri rings were also served with this meal which were very good. I'm more use to fried Calamari- but I guess any calamari will work. To top off this meal they didnt have Ketchup or Tomato Paste which they call it- because Australians arnt fond of spreads or sauces on their foods. After filling ourselves up, we headed down Churchill street which was about 2 roundabouts from where we were. Cowes Caravan Park was the one advertised in my tour book so we decided to stick with that one. This is the part where I was really lost, i mean I didnt really know for sure what a caravan park was. I thought maybe we were going to be staying in some sort of cabin. But, that was not the case. Dan had a tent that he was going to pitch and caitlyn and I were just going to sleep in the car. This will definatly be an experience, because I cant say I have ever slept in a car before this trip! But in all actuality, if your going for cheap its the way to go.

Since we were all checked in, and had time to waste until we had to be back at the Penguin Parade Caitlyn, Dan and I decided to walk down to the beach. It was alot different than any beach I have ever been to in the US, but I can now say I have been to an Australian beach! Of course it wasnt warm enough to lay on the beach so we just played around a bit. I touched the water, and played with the sand. I took some photos to document my short experience on this beach. The sand here was alot thicker, and the color was a more orangey color. It was covered with seaweed and many, many rocks that I just knew Ryan would love to tell me about if he was here- dont worry I took some pictures for you! Dan, Caitlyn, and I tried to get a picture with us all on our Australian beach, but of course had a bit of trouble. We tried an autotimer, but only manged to get our legs and feet. Eventually a woman came by and gladly took our picture for us.

We headed back to the Penguin parade and arrived around 4, we now had an hour to spare before the doors opened to the beaches. After shopping in the giftshop a little, and laughing at Caitlyn getting her picture taken with some Penguins I went and talked to the woman who sold us our tickets- just to waste time. She explained that a saturdat night would have a tirn out in thousands of people. She was right, even at four the place was already filled with people. With nothing left to do, we were the first lined up at the doors about quarter till. We just chatted a bit before the ranger explained that there is no photography or film allowed at all on the beaches for the penguins protection. She also explained that it could take up to an hour for the penguins to get brave enough to come out of the water and waddle up to their burrows. She said that they may make several attempts before they come out, because they are scared of their surroundings- and I would be scared too if I saw 1000's of people watching me waddle home everyday.

Once we got onto the beach, we were lucky to get a good seat on the actual sand at that. Most people had to sit on bleachers and benches which were all soaked from the rain, and the sand was wet but not as wet. It was hard to wait in the FREEZZZING cold for the penguins to decide when they wanted to come out of the water. It was winter so it was cold and raining- but at least now I can check yet another thing off my list and I have been to the Bass Strait.

We, being the tourists that we were waited to see a couple groups of about 10 penguins cross as well as one brave little soldier who crossed all alone. After seeing the little loner, we decided to make our way across the boardwalk to see them settling into their burrows for the night. As we were leaving and heading to the Carpark the Ranger advised and reminded us to look under our car before we leave because Penguins have burrows between each carpark and can easier be misguided. Fourtunatly, we were ok and so were the penguins and everyone made it out safely.

By the time we got back to the campsite, it was only 7 pm. Because it was such a small Island there wasnt much to do, even on a saturady night. I was hoping for a bar to be able to sit at in the heat and just relax- we couldnt even find anything like that. Eventually, looking through guidebooks and maps we came across some sort of bowling entertainment place, we we decided to check it out. We bowled on game, in which i was terrible at...kinda embarrassed to tell you my score. I know Ms. Sharon wouldnt be so proud of me for it, but I'm right on your level Ryan. It was a whopping 62!!! Yeah, cant even remember the last time I actually went bowling. Anyways, from bowling we moved on to air hockey. We each played 2 games before our hands and arms hurt from smacking that damn puck around. We ended the night with some ice cream and hung out on the couches inside. As the night neared 9 pm- we all agreed it was time to go back to the campsite and park it for the night.

i wasnt all that excited about sleeping in the car, but I didnt really have any other options so i went with it. Dan set up his tent in a matter of minutes, and I offered my suppport pretending like I knew what he was doing and if it looked right. Caitlyn and I pulled down the backseats so we both could lay side by side stretched out in the back. Dan provided us with some under sheets we could lay on, and we used our blankets off our beds to keep us warm on this cold, COLD night. It wasnt as bad as I would have thought, but I did wake up quiet a few times because of how cold I was.. and I was sleeping in my wet jeans from the rain which I'm sure didnt help.




Plan was to leave by 9 am, and get to Melbourne by 11. I did learn something while "camping". Since I was up to watch the sunrise, I saw the red sky and apparently that means its going to rain all day if it is red. Anyways, Dan wanted to stop in some shops in Melbourne for some grocery shopping. Dan, being from Singapore, ran into chinatown and found it exactly what he needed. He went into a chinese grocery store and got 2 bags full of groceries. After about an hours time, we were back at the car ready to finish off our trip.

On our way back Dan and Caitlyn found an AFL footy game being played over the radio and so we listened to it the whole 2 hours back. I was already on the verge of doosing off, so this put me right to sleep. Maybe if I was more awake I could listen and try to make sense of what is going on. Maybe one day soon, I will plan to go to a footy game before I leave. Probably sooner than later, and I think its only on sundays. I'll have to research that.

We arrived back in Bendigo a little before 3, and I was soo happy to be back. I told my belongings and zomby like walked in and colloasped onto my bed. I was hungry because I hadnt eaten all day so I made some easy mac and talked with some of the girls from my hall and eventually headed back into my room for a well deserved nap. i didnt do much for the remainder of the evening. Played around online and took a shower- which I desperatly needed. Eventually, I looked at the time on my computer and realized it was only 9 am on sunday. So, I called my mom and wished her a happy birthday. She was soo happy to hear from me, so I guess I made the right decsion in calling. She was up at deep creek with 6 teenage boys, 4 dogs and some adult friends- must be a happening place today! Mom, hope the rest of your day went well!! Happy birthday! She also expplained to me that she had been keeping up with my blog as well as Nora and even Kyle. Well, Thank you guys for supporting me and following with my travels! It means alot to know I'm not just writing this for nothing... keep reading and even comment if you like. Thanks again for keeping up with my travels!!! Hope everyone is doing well back in the states!

The first week of classes

Well, classes have offically begun! I cant believe I have already been through a week of classes. Now that I look back at it, the week went by so quickly. Well the beginning of the week went by so slow because I didnt really have much to do but towards the end I was pretty busy. I started off the week with a 2 pm Ceramics class, a 3 hour class. It was great because I could sleep in and it wasnt too hard of a class- its a nice way to start the week. Anyways, we started in a classroom for the 1st hour of the class so he could explain how this class was going to run and do some housekeeping before the class actually started. He explained that there would be a total of 3 assignments throughout the semester. Then we moved into the Ceramics studio where he demonstrated the use of the pottery wheel. It was really neat to see him from sratch make a pot. i started getting really excited about this class but worried at the same time. I hope from everything I make, I can bring everything home...that it will fit in my bags. In this class I made a friend, her name was georgia. Or here in Australia you would say "She was called Geogia". Anyways she lives in a flat, known as a house in America on OSbourne street which is right where I am staying. After class I was planning on talking to her and hopefully making a connection with her so maybe she and I could go together to get some of the supplies that we needed for class. Unfortunately, she sat and talked with the teacher after class for quiet some time so I figured I would just wait to talk to her till next class.

Tuesday i didnt have any classes and basically layed around all day- it was nice though. Wednesday I had a class at 8 am, or so I thought. When my course coordinator wrote it in on my timetable, she wrote it as an 8am class. I got up and ready for class and go there at 8 just to find out that NOTHING opens until 9 am. The buildings are open, but none of the offices are and very few classes meet at 8 am. I sat in the computer lab and played around until my class at NINE. When class finally met the teacher went over some housekeeping and what the class was about, explained teh 3 projects or "briefs" we would be doing and showeed examples. It wasnt until she was explaining the projects and programs used that I realized I was enrolled in the wrong class. I mean i could of stayed in the class but it was of much higher level and I would of been struggling all semester considering I was in a class where I had no idea what any of the programs she talked about even were.

After class I decided to email my course coordinator and the head of the graphics art department and explain my sistuation. Later that day I head back from the head of the graphics art department and he told me that I could switch into his class which met at 930 am on friday morning. He explained to me that we would be working with Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign and QuarkExpress all of which I am very familiar with...well all but QuarkExpress but he wasnt surprised because most students dont or never have used it. This is more of a print based class, more of what I am interested in. So, I worked it out and planned on attending his class at 930 friday morning.

Thursday I had a 3 hour lecture from 1-4 called Renassiance Art. This I knew to be probably my least favorite of them all. I ate lunch with some of the girls at the dinning hall and then headed up to uni. I wanted to leave a bit early because I was going to a building I had never been before or even seen before for that matter. But after asking around a bit, I finally found where I needed to go. We met in a slide room which definatly didnt have enough room for the whole class but i guess it didnt matter all that much, our teacher had broken his tooth in half somehow and was unable to open the class and had someone else stand in for him and take role. He said he would be back by 2:30 so we were all to return around then. When we did return another guy came in to inform us that our teacher was stuck at the dentist and would not be able to make it. What a waste of a day!!

Finally, Friday.. which in my case was my worst day. I had 2 classes both 3 hours long. I had design 4-print (the one I switched into) from 930-1230 and then Multimedia 2 from 1-4. It was a busy day for me. It turned out that the class I switched into will probably end up being my favorite class. It was right in my feild and interest, so Im glad I made the choice to switch. This guy was very friendly and ind and since he hasnt taught me he asked who I was and then he made she I knew and understood everything throughout the class, I really appreciate kind people like that. My next class started at 1, in the next room over but when I got in there there was a note saying that course outlines were in the room across the hall and that we would meet next week. I guess I lucked out today.

All in all, the week of class went well and now its the weekend. Tomorrow caitlyn, Dan and I are planning on take a trip out to Philip Island. I'm sure I will have more to tell when I get back sunday night.

My view on Australia thus far

So, I have almost been here in Australia for a month. I guess the time really does fly by and these 130 days are passing by ever so quickly. But with my time here already I have learned so much and I just cant wait to see what will come next. When I first arrived here in Australia things looked just like the states, but when I looked closer I realized everything here is quite different and mostly backwards really.

First and foremost, they drive on the left side of the road here, and almost every car is a stick-shift. The birds here don't cherp, they squawk and at 5 am that is very loud. This is something I cant wait to get away from. To turn the lights on in a room, you flip the switch down, not up. When you write the date, the day comes first, not the month. When you flush a toliet, you have a half flush or full flush in which you press the botton down on top of the toliet. In opening a door, the door handle turns the other way than the states. The smallest coin in size is valued at the most, and the biggest is valued at the least (thanks Mike for warning me about this one). A BBQ is called a Barbie. Any type of meal is called "tea"- either morning tea or afternoon tea.

Also, speaking Australian is almost like speaking an entirely different language. If there's not a different word, there's a different way to say what you're trying to say, and then there's certainly a different pronunciation. Bathrooms are toilets, a jacket is a jumper, gas is petrol, and a pitcher of beer is a jug. The way to say a word that ends in "er" is switched with the way you say a word that ends in "a," so Smooter is 'Smoota,' and idea is 'idier.' They also say "I reckon," just without the southern accent. To call someone you simply ssay, "ring her" instead of "call her". Messaging someone is refered to in America as a text message.

As for the people themselves, Basically, some people are shy and awkward, some vibrant and interesting; some people are friendly, others don't seem to want to talk; some drink a lot, some... well, they are all different, kinda like America.

All that being said, it's definitely a different culture here but I think that's what makes getting to know a bunch of them such a cool thing to be doing with my next four months.

A bad night for some at Scuba

For those of you who keep up with my everyday travels, I appreciate it and I'm sorry its been a while since my last post. Classes have begun and I'm trying to organize myself the way I should. I actually do have alot to say though about classes but I think i will wait until I have been to them all and tell you about them all in one post- on friday. For them I'll tell you about something else.

Last saturday alot of the girls and guys from my hall decided they were going to go out that night, I was planning on going but i was soo exhausted from walking all around Melbourne the day before that I sat it out this time. Sat in my room and went to bed early it was probably best because classes were coming up and I wasnt sure what to expect. Anyways, in the end it was a really good idea that I didnt go- well im glad that I didnt. When I woke up on sunday I went into the commons room and talked to Sara who went out that night. She was telling me stories about the night. She told me that she thought that the $2 champagne that they give you at Scuba (This was the place I went to last time I went out) may have been spiked or somethinng. She went on to tell me that her and Brit only had some goon (wine) and a few cruisers before they left and I talked to them before they left and they seemed fine. Anyways, they had 2 glasses of this champagne and was completely gone. They didn t know how it happened but it did, and 2 glasses definatly should of not done that. Sara went on to tell me that she cut open her head and she didnnt even realize it until she woke up with blood every where on his pillow and such. She is fine now, but was in alot of pain when she woke up. Everyone was fine and is fine, but I guess just a scary night.

This is what i think makes me not want to go out, but I know I should because I'll meet people that way. But I would rather be safe than sorry- I guess ill just have to be real ccareful when i go out there again.

First day in Melbourne

Yesterday I was quiet tired, tired enough I couldnt give enough energy to walk 2 steps or put a sentence together so i decided to walk until morning to write this post. Needless to say, it was a great day...a very ventureous and adventurous day as well. Caitlin and I had planned on meeting at the train station to catch the 7:50am train. Therefore, I got up at 6 am got dressed, washed up and buddled up for the cold and the 30 minute walk to the train stration I had ahead of me. After all that I just had a bit of time, so I called Ryan just to say hello, and see what he had planned for the rest of the day. I told him I would be gone all day and I would call him when I got in- which would be very late where he was. He still insisted that I called when I got in, just so he knew I was safe and I agreed because I do the same when he goes out.

It was now time for me to leave, I bundled up (and by bundling up, I mean a long sleeve shirt under a short sleeve short and a hoodie-because thats all I have)...and plugged in my ipod and headed out the door. I found that the walking really goes by easier when I am listening to my ipod...maybe nicer than a bike would. I enjoyed the walk to the train station, there is this huge cemetary that I pass and it puts me in awe everytime i pass it as to how huge it is. Maybe next time I make it out into town I will take a picture of it on my way- I dont know if I would be able to capture something so huge though with a camera.

When I got to the train station, I wasnt really sure where I was going or where I needed to go. I walked around to something on my left that looked like part of the train station but eventually realized I was on the wrong side of the train and I hadnt gone through ticketing yet so I walked back up to the road. As I walked back up, Caitlin was on my right so it seemed like we made it in perfect timing. From there I just followed her because she had been here before and knew what she was doing. We walked in and bought a $14.70 one way ticket to Melbourne and headed to the train and got in and made ourselves comfortable for the next 2 hours.

The train ride wasnt a bad one- a good one in that because to be honest i dont remember the last time I took a train somewhere so it kept me intrigied. The only thing that bothered me was that the farther we got, the more clouds I saw and the more I was afraid the rain was going to ruin our day. But to keep our minds off of that, Caitlin and I looked through our travel books and what is suggested and what is going in Melbourne (the large Australia book I got from AustraLearn). Anyways we looked and talked about what we planned on doing and what we wanted to see today. We decided to go to the Melbourne Aquarium first because it was close to the train station and maybe once we were done the rain would pass by a little bit. We also wanted to see this famous river that they talk about alot, something they must be very proud of. We talked about maybe the zoo, some art exhibits, some shopping and definatly the Royal Botanical Gardens and if we had time we wanted to make it to the main campus of La Trobe in Mebourne called Bundoora. Now that we had some ideas on what we wanted to do, we would just see where the day takes us.

After arriving at the Southern Cross train station, it was raining and cold but that was an even better reason to go to the aquarium first. We crossed the street, and ventured out to the aquraium which was realativly close to the train station as I said before. Before heading in, I used the ATM that was just outside. I was afriad at first because this was the first time I was using my US bank card in Australia but it was fine and gave me what I needed. We headed inside and were able to get a student discount so we paid $16 to see the aqurium which was actually quite good because it had alot in it and even had 3 levels. To me this acquarium was amazing, they had so many different animals all of which were really awesome to look at. Caitlin kept talking about her aquraium home in Oregon and how it compared to this one- seemed to be alot larger at home. But, I was quiet content with the one here, and I was really enjoying what I saw. The animals were so huge and exotic and it was really neat to see the things that I saw. We saw some fish, most of which were larger than me, and some sharks that were even larger. We even got to see the certified scuba divers feed the sharks and stingrays which were really awesome to watch. Interesting enough, sting rays have their eyes and mouth on the bottom side of them so they kept bumping into the divers. It was really interesting to see this demonstration. They said they were feeding turtles too but I never once saw a turtle so I was very, very dissapponited- and if you know my love for turtles, you would understand. The demonstration was in the middle of a huge aquarium.. you could see fish swimming on top of you and on the sides, it really was pretty neat. We also saw some sea horses, many different types of Jelly fish, tree frogs, starfish, and clams all of which were vibrant of color! It was a wonderful. Eventually we saw a turtle, but he was laying on the top of the water and didnt really move much. He wasnt the best turtle I have seen. I have to say my favorite display of turtles have to be the ones Ryan took me to see near his house. They were incredible.

After the aquarium, Caitlin and I just kept walking. We walked on Flinders street along the Yarra River which was a means of raw sewage until 1990 which sounded quiet disguishing to me but it explained why it was so brown and gross looking. We looked through our travel book and decided to try and find federation square. Itv was talked about alot so i was expecting to find something huge with alot of attraction. But really it wasnt anything big, just some cool looking buildings really. But now I can say I have been there. Who knows maybe where we were wasnt even federation square..who knows. I guess we will never really know. Caitlin and I then decided to cross the street and do some shopping and get some lunch. We stopped into a suvenior shop and got a few things for family and friends to bring back home. Along the strip we saw some fast food that we thought we would recognize.. there was a Hungry Jacks (known as Burger King in America). There was also a Macca's (known as McDonalds in America) and a KFC. We decided to try the KFC. KFC was alot diffrent and the only thing similar was that it had chicken, so I was sad when I couldnt get the coleslaw that i usually get. But oh well, I guess that comes with not being in America. While we were eating, some pigeons and bords came flying in and no one even gave it a second glance. It was all so strange to me. I guess Australians are all so friendly that they open their doors to anything that wants to join them.

After lunch, Caitlin and I went back outside which had stopped rained and was quite nice in the sun. It was only the shade and wind you had to now worry about. We decided to go past federation square and see what else we could find. We wanted to get to the Royal Botanical Gardens, but on our way to find it we stumbled past an exhibit for Pixar so we went on in and checked it out. It was held at the Australian Centre for Moving Image. It was very interesting and I am glad that we found it accidently. We went on it andpaid $15 for a ticket, in which I paid with all coins. But here thats not hard because they have $1 and $2 coins which I had a million of by this ponit. After buying our tickets we headed down the hallway to the exhibit. They had so much to see and some of it was absolutely umbelievable. As we walked through we outlined every movie made by Pixar. They included originaly sketches and ideas and what was eventually the final. It was really neat to see the different stages from start to finish. The exhibit explained the process of making a film, which really kept me interested but at the same time wondered why the exhibit was here and not in America. About 90% of the people listed were Americans and none were Australians so that kept me confused but something I didnt care enough to actually ask about. They showed the stages of teh charcters through clay models. It was really funny to see what they thought someone was going to look like to what it actually looks like now. They showed these stages and processes from movies such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Cars, and even their newest one that just came out Ratatouille.

After the exhibit, we went upstairs to get pictures with Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc and continued back on our journey. We continued on Flinders street until we wondered onto something new. We found ourseleves on Batman Avenue, this headed towards the arena in which they held the Australian Open so we kept walking until we found it. Because it wasnt summer time and there wasnt anything being held there now there wasnt really much to see. I took some pictures of the buildings including the Olympic rings and some statues and things I found interesting but didnt really find much else. I guess it was just one of those things to say you have been there. From there we found ourseleves completely lost and turned around, but in my opinion thats the best part in exploring a new town. The streets here are really strange and dont really lead us in the direction we needed to go. We wanted so badly to find the Royal Botanical Gardens but never found them. It searched and asked and walked and never found them. We saw just about every other garden. But, I guess thats something we will have to leave for another day.

We saw so much today but there is still so much I wanna see! It was about 4 pm when we finally made it to the train station, and our next train the Bendigo was at 4:15. We were both so exhausted and tired and I was happy to sit for the next 2 hours. Caitlin on the other hand was very restless and wanted to get off the train. We finally made it to Bendigo after about 7 or 8 different stops along the way. I walked my 30 minutes back to my hall at about 6:30- kinda late and very dark but I made it back just fine. As soon as I got back, I laid down and checked my email and was happy that the wireless finally worked again in my room. At about 7 pm I made myself a english muffin with jelly because I forgot that there wasnt any catered meals on friday nights. Soon after that I washed up for bed and laid there relaxing for the remainder of the night. I knew tomorrow would be perfect time to relax because I didn't have any money (well not until i finally get my NAB bank card) and I couldnt do much. Sleep will be in order.

Sorry for the LONG post, but it was a great day and I had alot of fun. Thanks for the support and love and keeping up with my travels!!

Making my way into town

Well orientation is offically over, although it was completely helpful and useful information I'm glad it was over! I think this is the first time in history that I have been excited to start school or uni as it is referred to here. I'm excited to see how things compare to those back in the states! It should be interesting. I'm finally all set for classes, finished the last of things yesterday including getting my user name and password as well as my Ressie Card.. which is like my Cat card at Western. Its basically my student ID card. I'm ready to get going to what i was meant to do here. If you need to get in touch with me you can always use my email but you can get in contact with me at am2stevens@students.latrobe.com.au as well. The Student ID card is probably to most simpliest card I have ever seen. Has a very low resolution picture of me with a couple lines through it- black and white. It also includes my name and an ID number and the logo for the school. Very simple indeed with no color to it at all. So after I got these two things done I was done at uni for the day- I begun my venture back to the halls. It was still very windy and cold today so this walk wasnt too pleasent and I was happy to be back when I reached my dorm- or hall.

When I reached my hall, I decided that a nap was definatly in order because I havent spent nearly as much time there as I would like within the past couple of days. I was very exhausted from the past three days of orientation and just needed to rest my body before anything else. I woke up just in time for tea, it was a bit later today we werent getting served until 6:30 so I got to sleep a little longer than I thought. Dinner was a bit different tonight. We had a table full of students from Hong Kong that were visiting the country and spending a few days traveling each town with us for 2 days. This dinner was for them. We sat at tables covered with white table cloths and set with nice glass china and a bottle of red wine at each table as well as a bottle of white wine and there was orange juice also for those without the alcohol taste. It was very nice actually there 4 tables...us, the guys, the hongkong people, and the kitchen staff. Each table got a turn to go up and get food for dinner. I had chicken wrapped in bacon with potato balls and veggies. It was a very good meal, I really enjoyed this one. After dinner, David- who is the head of residential services made a speech. He welcomed all the kids from hong kong and welcomed me. He talked about the importantance of international cultural connections and said that Latrobe was very lucky to have me as well as the kids from hongkong.

After dinner, we were all very tired and exhausted and all the girls gathered around in the bottom common room- the kids from hongkong were up in the top one. We decided to make it a "coloring in" night. Its funny when you colour in a coloring book its called "coloring in" here. So we all colored in a picture of my little pony and stuck it to our door. It was so funny how serious we were taking it, just as if we were kids again. As 10 pm rolled around, most of us headed to bed and made it an early night- especially me. I was exhausted, even after my nap.

Today now...I didnt really have much to do, basically the time until Monday is left for ourselfs. I didnt have any more obligations- I was set. So today, Caitlin and I decided to venture into town. I had not made my way there yet so Caitlin decided to venture to the halls from Orde House and we would go together. It was a nice walk, took about 30 minutes but It was a good walk. It was better walking with someone but it was a good walk. On our way there I saw the biggest cemetary I have ever seen in my life. It went back and covered the whole hill. It was deep and long. It was just HUGE! But anyways we did some shopping. Went to safeway and picking up some food so I wouldnt starve on the weekends since the dining hall isnt opened. Just got some things for the weekend because I will probably come back to town myself whern I got the time. I bought a watch so finally I will have something that has Australian time on it. I also went and looked in Target for a bike. I found one for about 98 bucks so I may go and buy it next time I am in town but for now we were just there so I could see where things were basically. Ohh and I bought a pillow- the one they gave me was and is as hard as a rock. I was trying to deal with it and what I had but it hurt my shoulders and I was sore for days after so I thought it best to get a new one and im sure it will feel like a million bucks when I lay on this one- so I am excited. I'm glad I finally found my way into town, thanks to Caitlyn and know where to find some stuff.

Tomorrow is going to be another good day. Caitlin and I are going to catch the 7:50 train into Melbourne! Well thats all for now,,,

Orientation @ La Trobe (Day Two)

Today it was FREEEZZIINNGG!!! Well orientation begun at 9:30 for morning tea... otherwise known as breakfast. I left the halls at 9, because of course its a 30 minute walk. Ten minutes after I left the rain came down like a MONSOON and of course I had to continue walking in it because I had no other way to get to uni. So I kept struggling along.. hoping I wouldnt get a cold by the end of it. I finally got to uni by 9:20...and it felt like I had been walking for hours. My legs hurt and I was SOAKED. Thank god I was able to eat when I got there. My legs felt frozen and numb. I was wearing jeans and they had totally changed colour because they were so wet and of course they stayed wet for most of the day so I just got colder, and colder throughout the day. HA and they say it never rains.. haha.

So today we had some more people come and talk to us and tell us about things we hope to find out about or know about for the semester. Then we got a tour of the city of Bendigo, and they told us where the best place was to buy this and that it was actually very helpful. Then we went to the China Dragon Muesum. Bendigo was founded on a gold mine in which the Chinese found so this muesum told the history of Bendigo which was really interesting to me. They have a parade every easter for it and its extrodinary and massively huge which is crazy because the town really isnt that big. After we did that we headed back- and thankfully they dropped me off at my hall. I didnt have to walk 30 minutes again in the Rain.. and HAIL!!

Now I am just waiting for tea.. or dinner whatever you perfer. Watching this movie, its an Australian film called "Mermaids". Its interesting to watch! Well I think I'm gonna get off here and finish the movie, head to tea and hang out with my new friends :)

Orientation @ La Trobe (Day one)

So its been a very busy couple of days!! Orientation or "O'week" as it is referred to here has begun. This is the week of orientation, and I just have event after event of activities welcoming me to the school and the town. Its been very fun, but very exhausting as well. We actually have one more day of orientation whiich i am sure will be just exhausting as the last two, but oh well!

Yesterday was probably the busiest, most exhausting days I have had here yet. Orientation begun at 10 am and we had to be over at the IronBark building at that time. It is kind of annoying for me because I live over at the halls so its about a 30 minute walk since I dont have any acess to any other type of transportation or in Australian terms "transport". Once I got there I saw Caitlyn...she is the other american girl who is also studying at La Trobe University, Bendigo. I am glad I finally got to meet her because everytime I went into any office on campus to get essentials done they would ask if I had met her. I always said no. I hadnt met her although she seems like a wonderful girl. So today I finally met her, and she is very sweet and kind. We immediatly got along great, it was nice to finally see someone who can relate to you in most ways being from the same country. We stuck together and got to know each other today. There were "heaps" or alot of people who came in and talked to us about numerous things that we may need to know about in the future. Then we went on a library tour where the librarian took us around and showed us how to use everything and told us where things were. Then we did a treasure hunt, and this is where I begun to feel like a little kid. We were given a sheet that had about 20 questions on it, and we were to walk around campus filling in the answers to these questions. They had the most random questions on there like "How many benches are outside the waterfall?". Silly things like that, but I guess it was good to find out where things were for the semester. But whoever got all the questions right would win some sort of prize at the movie and pizza night that they were having fun us later that night.

Caitlyn and I turned in our "treasure hunt" and decided to head back to Orde house where she was staying for the semester. It was much more convient since the halls was a 30 minute walk and we only had about an hour to relax before the pizza and movie night begun. Orde House is about a 5 minute walk. I was actually suppose to stay there but changed my mind at the last minute because I wanted my meals provided. But after seeing this place, I should of just stuck with it. Its alot nicer than the halls and its all international students so it would be a great learned experience to live with others like that. But the rooms there dont have heat and the wireless is weaker the farther down the hall you are. So although they are nicer facilities in the end I am glad I am where I am. The people here are great and always ask about me when im not around, and we have heat in each room which makes sleeping soo much nicer. Also, I can get the exercise I have always wanted here by walking everywhere.

Then it was time to walk to the common right near the units which is another residence on campus- the closest one to campus. We had an pizza and movie night there. I joined the international club a couple days ago so a lady from that came in and talked about things pertaining to that club. When the pizza arrived we were all ready to eat. I found it very much different than american pizza. This pizza was called Pinky's pizza. It was in a rectangle shape and the sauce was a sweet sauce. It was a good different, just very sweet and tart I guess I would say. I wasnt use to it, I was expecting a circle shape and tomato sauce. But I enjoyed it, had to at least try it. We had a raffle in which I won a little keychain and Caitlyn and I won a prize each for our treasure hunt. The prize was a bowl with the australian flag..haha. But still cool. I dont know if I should be proud or embarrassed that we won this trasure hunt haha. Then they put on the movie "Happy Feet". Since I had seen it a million times, I decided to leave and venture onto my walk home. It was about 8 pm anyways and I had to walk back alone so I thought it was probbaly a good idea to get going.

I fell asleep at about 11pm and slept hard! It was a good day and I met alot of people from all over the world including Africa, Asia, China, US, and France.

First night out in Australia

Well today was definatly a busy, busy day! It was the first day of orientation! But let me just tell you first about saturday night. Okay, so saturday I was getting really lonely and upset because I didnt know anyone and I was getting tired of just laying my bed, not really doing anything. So of course me being me, I took it out on my best friend, my boyfriend. I didnt mean to but it happened... but in the end he made everything make sense and I knew classes were startinng soon and that I was being stupid anyways. I pretty much was being stupid- missing home & my rountines & of course him. So of course, he was out having fun with his friends and I didnt want to ruin his fun so I told him to go have double the fun and pretend I was there and to call me before he went to bed. So after I calmed down he listened and told me everything would be ok, which he was right as always.

A couple hours later, two girls from the hall came knocking at my door and welcomed me to the halls and told me how excited they were to have me on the halls with them this semester. After talking a bit, they asked me if I wanted to join them for tea, which in Australian terms means dinner. So we went and got some Subway- I felt so at home as I was eating this meal. Although, I told myself I would not have any of these American foods while I was here, I felt I needed it. I felt right at home and felt I deserved it as I have been eating nothing but healthy foods- not complaining at all, because it is all really good food but nice to know its there.

Anyways, that night I ended up going out with the girls and guys from the halls for Brit's 19th birthday. It was a good night and I'm glad I went, things were alot different but just things I will have to adapt to. The music they play is american music from like 5 years ago, so its really funny to hear it being played out at a bar. The girls kept asking me if I knew this song every time one would come on. Dancing is basically just rock back and forth...haha I can do that! If you dance like an american, they automatically think you want to have sex with them so good thing I dont know or dont like to dance like an american. After the bar we were wait for our driver and we had some Potato gems.. they were sooo good! Basically Potato wedges with cheese and gravy on them! AMAZINGG!!

The night was good, and I was so happy I went out. I got to know some of the people from the halls, which were all awesome!! If any of you are reading this, thanks for a GREAT 1st night out... I'm sure there will be many more to come.

Settling in at La Trobe Uni

I'm hoping that this blog post will get us all updated on where I am now. I am finally all settled in, in my room in Mills Hall room 10. My accomadation is like a dorm, or as Allie says from the pictures its like a jail cell. It is a very small room, but I have a room to myself. Actually its thought of absurd to share a room here in Australia. So its nice to have my very own space. As I unpacked I realized that I definatly didnt bring enough winter clothes down with me. Its SOOO cold here, and the building is even colder. But the good thing is that all the rooms have their own heaters, so I will probably leave that one 24 7 and be ok. But I never wanna leave my room because its soo cold everywhere else and I dont have enough warm clothes to keep me warm which sucks in the long run. So if anyone is feeling generous your welcome to send me some warm clothes to keep me warm, although it will take about 3 weeks to get here!!!

Mandi Stevens
Mills Hall, room 10
LTUB PO Box 199
Bendigo 3552 Australia

As for getting around, I've just been walking everywhere and that is alot. My accomadation is the farthest way from the campus but its the only one that has provided meals mon-fri so thats why I choose it here. The meals are not like normal campus food either they are AMAZING meals and I absolutely love the dining hall and from what I hear it seems to be a favorite among most students living here. They serve lunch and breakfast from 8-1pm which is a help your self kind of thing. Usually I have a sandwhich or something. But dinner time is the best. They serve dinner from 5:45-6:30 and you have to get there when the doors open to get the best meal. They serve two meals everyday and usually if you get there after 6:00 the best meal is gone, and your stuck with the one no one wants. So far I have some really great meals such as Spegetti, white seasoned chicken with veggies and this thing that looked like a hashbrown but inside it was mashed potatoes! It was awesome. But dinner time is my favorite time of the day because since I dont really know anyone its nice to chat and get to know the kitchen staff. The Kitchen staff are really nice and at dinner they sit down with everyone and eat themselves! Its nice, because I can get to know them and they have been nothing much kind and helpful to me since I got here! I'm so happy to have this time of the day.

This week I've just been trying to find my way around and getting ready for classes to begin. I was able to register for classes early because my academic advisor is going out of town for O'week (orientation week). So I registered for 4 classes and got everything set. Its nice though because you will never have the same class twice in a week. They classes here are all only once a week for about 2 hours a day. So my class schedule is really awesome.

Monday: Ceramics Media Workshop from 2-5pm
Tuesday: NO CLASSES!
Wednesday: Applied digital design 4 from 8-11am
Thursday: Renassiance Art from 1-4pm
Friday: Multimedia 2 from 1-4pm


Its awesome only having one class a day for 3 hours here unlike back in the states having up to 3 classes a day 3 times a week! I love it here!

But like I was saying before I havent really been doing much just been walking around trying to find my way around. Its about a 30 minute walk to the university (they call it Uni). But, I found some shops which are only about a 5 minute walk from the uni so I started a bank account and got some things that I needed. Now, all I need to do is figure out my way to town to get the rest of the things I may need before school starts but its ok orientation starts on monday and I think they will tell us then.

Goodbye Cairns, Hello Bendigo

Now its off to the next adventure on my amazing trip. Next stop: Bendigo! We all, all 80 of us, arrived at Cairns airport at roughly 10:30 am to make sure everyone made their final flights on time. I think their were a few different groups with earlier flights which is why we had to arrive so early. My group, students attending La Trobe University, had a flight out at 1:30pm to Melbourne, Australia. This flight was about 3 hours so just enough time for a meal, a movie and some rest time! It was a quick flight!

When we arrived, we hearded straight toward the baggage claim conveyer belt which was hard to get to and had rows of people trying to peer over the person in front of them and catch a glimpse of their bag. This didn't bother any of us American kids, since we were Super-excited to be arriving at our final destination after almost a week of traveling!! When we found the driver, there was one for La Trobe University and another one for Mandi Stevens. It was really funny, but it was because I was the only student attending La Trobe University in Bendigo as the others were all going to La Trobe University in Bundoora.

When I finally got my baggage, my bus driver (Alf) and myself walked out to his car and loaded the baggage. As I was heading to get in, Alf reminded me that I needed to get into the left side as that was the passenger side in this country. I got in and from there we had a 2 hour car ride to the campus- so I sat back and relaxed until we reached the town of Bendigo!!! It was a small little town but nothing I wasnt already used to at Western. I was so excited to see everything as we neared the town, things were so pretty and building were shaping in interesting ways that grabbed my attention.

When we got to campus Alf dropped me off at my dorm, Mills Hall room number 10. They had a grocery bags full of grocerys and linens and sheets waiting for my arrival. They told me that the dinning hall wasnt open and that they hoped what they supplied would be ok for dinner for the night! I immediately thanked them and of course they replied with "no worries mate". I knew I was in Australia to stay!

Orientation- Saturday July 7th

Today on our second day of orientation we got to go snorkeling and scuba diving on the great barrier reef. I was soo excited about this experience, this is something many people want to do before they die and most australians have never done before and they live here. I got to do it at the age of 22. It was absolutely amazinng, simply incredible!!! I couldnt believe this was really happening...AMAZING!!

The boat left with our crew of 80 some students are 8 am...and we then sat back and relaxed for the next two hours as it was a 2 hour boatf ride out to the reef. It was nice though because we all had the chance to get to know others and enjoy the surroundings and even some got the chance to sleep. It was absolutely gorgeous and the water was soo clear, I was incredibly amazed at my surroundings.

Then it was time to snorkel, I couldn't wait to see what people from all over the world come to this very reef to see. As far as I could tell from this moment, it wasnt anything special. But, I put on my wetsuit, grabbed some flippers and goggles and jumped right in. It was a little hard to get used to the whole snorkeling thing at first. It was something I have never done before and I didn't exactly know how it was done. But eventually I calmed down and throughly enjoyed being in this unimaginable place. It felt like I was in a dream, swimming next to sea turtles and sting rays and seeing Nemo up close and personal was just amazing. I dont think there would be any other way I could experience that.

Orientation- Friday July 6th

The introduction weekend was a pretty nice idea and a great way to introduce us American kids to the Country of Australia. It was more of a vacation than anything else for any of us. We did some great things and learned alot but it all just felt like a vacation for us, it hadn't hit me yet that i would be staying here for 5 months. Our orientation program lasted the weekend and each day we had a program session to attend that lasted about 2 hours. It was annoying, but in the end they probably will help us adapt to this place we will be calling home for the next 5 months.

Today we had a short orientation session in the morning after breakfast and then we all piled onto the buses to go up the mountain to a place called the Rain ForeStation. Here we got to see all the wildlife that Australia is known for. The first thing we saw was a Kangaroo named Bob. These were sooo friendly mainly because they were trained to be around humans since it was a zoo. Bob was soo soft and loveable. He just wanted to be part of the group. I loved it. I thought it was neat how the Kangaroo used his tail for balance while walking or boucing around. Next we saw a Dingo- this guy look like a puppy dog. He was a cute little fellow, but I think he was tired when we saw him because he didnt move around too much.


After seeing all the other animals this zoo had to offer we all got in line to hold the koala bear and get our picture taken!! It was sooo cute, although his claws dug into my skin a little but the little guy was so adorable! After the zoo we headed over to have lunch and fun at a local Aborigine park. We got to see their traditional dances and learn about their culture and religion. We also go to throw boomerangs and Spears. It was really neat, although the dancers smelled horribly!

Today was a long, exhausting day...and now I'm going to make a phone call with the phone card they give us and head to bed! Tomorrow we get to see the Barrier Reef!!!

My Travels to Cairns, Australia

Fourteen hours is an extremely long time to be on a plane. I was very lucky to be flying at night so that I had the possibility to sleep, although it wasn't as easy to sleep as I thought it would be.

Everyone who talked to me about international flights talked them up big time-saying they take care of you and make the trip exceptionally comfortable. For some reason this made me picture a first class situation for a flight, with moving room and chairs that laid back farther or something. But, it turns out that the plane is actually just a really big version of a normal airplane. You still had tight leg room and seats that only reclined about 3 inches backward.

That made things a little less exciting, not that I wasnt still excited to be getting to where I was going. The airline made us as comfortable as they could with meals, TV and even hot towels. We had two really great meals, some snacks, and a million TV shows and movies to choose from on our personal monitor in the headrests of all the seats which were all free of charge. These monitors even had a flight map in which you could follow along to how much longer we had in the plane and where we wer ein the sky at that very moment. It was nice to follow along and see how far we have gotten from time to time. I sat in the middle room which was a little uncomfortable considering I didnt have a wall or side to lean on to sleep but thats alright I still made out just fine. This being my 3rd plane right of the day, I knew I would make it just fine. I was sitting in the second to last row on the plane in between two girls, Amy and Hannah, who actually were part of my Australearn program so it made the ride over a lot less boring.

We left LA at 10:30 and arrived in Sydney at 6:05am after crossing the international dateline so on our way over we lost a day. By now 8 of us that were all going to La Trobe were all traveling together, so it was nice to have the company and meet the people I have been eagerly talking to on facebook without actually meeting. Our next flight didnt leave until 9:30am and it was only 6:30am when we landed.. but Sydney was a very confusing airport and took alot of time, so it was good that we had the three hours to spare. As we all got off the plane we and everyone else on the plane headed directly into the line for Customs. We all waited in the line and followed it through just so they could check our passports and make sure we were elligable to arrive in Australia. Then we had to grab our checked luggage from the canveyor belt and proceed through another line that was the line for Customs. I was very surprised because looked at all my new friends and their luggage, I packed VERY light and I was worrying and hoping that I didnt pack too light although now I think of it, I think I did. After grabbing our luggage we went through the customs line and put our checked luggage back on the conveyor belt after it went through Customs. We then continued through security again. After everyone successfully went through Customs and Security we all got on a tram/bus that took us to the correct terminal of where our next flight was going to leave from.

We finally got to gate 4, where our flight was leaving from and had about 30 minutes to spare before we had to board another plane. I took this time to call home to let dad and my big goon know that I had successfully made it to Australia. Trying to get my international US phone card to work on an Australian pay phone was a trip in itself. Eventually finding out that US phone cards dont work in Australia- so buying them from the US was a waste of money. As I was trying to figure it out a guy came over to me and asked me if I needed help. He then told me US phone cards dont work because they have an extra number on them. He had been in Australia for a while and was now traveling to Tailand. From then I had to make the call using my debit card which in the end costed me about $60 for a 10 minute call. But, in the end it was worth it because I didnt know when I would be able to make a call next. I called dad, and I called Ryan so they knew that i was safe after that 14 hour plane ride. It was 9:30 where I was, and 7pm where they were in the states.

We boarded the last plane of the day to Cairns (pronounced Cans). It was a short one, of only about three hours. Just enough time to watch Blades of Glory for the 3rd time! It was a nice ride and an exciting one since we knew we would finally be at our destination when we arrive. We arrived in Cairns at 12:30 pm/noon (which is about 10:30 pm in the states). We followed around to baggage claim when we arrived to the airport. Walking out through the terminal was gorgeous as it was all glad doors and you could see out to gorgeous Cairns. It was REAL hott and I of course was wearing flip flops, jeans, a tshirt and sweat jacket. But I didnt want to carry anything more than I already had so I left it on.

Once we got to baggage claim, there were two guys in red shirts holding a sign titled, "AustraLearn" which was the program that we were going through for our study abroad program. We were told to sign a sheet of paper so they could count us in of being here and after getting our baggage proceed to "The big green bus". After I got my baggage, I went to use the bathroom excited to see the toliets flush the other way. To my surprise this didnt happen. Here they have either a half flush or a full flush to save energy and the water doesnt spin it just splashes up and flushes down. I thought it was soo interesting to find that out, since even since I could remember people have told me, "In Australia the toliet flushes the other way" when in reality that is not true.

Ok, so I headed out to the "big green bus". There were about 90 students in the program - so they had to fit us all on the "big green bus". We were told to leave our luggage with the driver so he could fit it all in the bus cubby. Just my luck, my handle on my large suitcase brakes- I guess it was just being held with too much weight. Kinda sucks because it was expensive luggage- oh well mom will find out when I return in November. Anyways, after we dropped our luggage we were handed a landyard with a name tag attached to it and we got on the bus. It was about a ten minute drive to our hostel- "Gillians backpackers".

On our way there I was so surprised with things around especially how they drove on the wrong side of the road and cars drove on the wrong side towards us.. it really did amaze me.

I've got more to say thats going to have to wait until next time, because I'm exhausted and probably will just fall asleep soon. But, I promise to get you completely updated by the end of the week! One cool thing that has stuck out to me is that instead of saying "your welcome" here, everyone says "no worries mate." It's sweet.