Another indescribable trip with the man...

Immaculate. Amazing. Unforgettable. Superb. Magnificent. Prodigious. Impressive. Astonishing. Breathtaking... I just really don't think there's enough words, or correct words to describe my past week and a half with Ryan. What an experience! From the time I could see his feet coming down the escalator to the tears that fell down my cheeks on the day of his departure, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I don't even know where to begin. What a best friend I have. We really did it all... and more. Of course I'd never be able to write about every little nook & cranny on here. I have to keep some secrets anyhow, right?!

I really wanted him to see my life over here and that's exactly what we did.  We didn't want to travel all over Australia to try and fit all these places in our schedule because that's not us. Too hectic for a week and a half. We backpacked all around Townsville and the island for the majority of the time. It was nice to lay low and really enjoy each others company. It's been such a long time. I took him everywhere I've been since I arrived here. The first few days we spent around campus. Took him to my dining hall, ate some weird food, indulged in fine coffee at foccaccia, scootered around town and went to the river to swam around, jumped off rope swings and had some drinks on the dock. Of course we took the scooter there... on the tiny path! We had to go through a dark tunnel with water trickling all through it. Needless to say, I had to ask Ry to get off so we wouldn't fall over. I don't think it mattered. I was spinning all over the place, it was quite funny. We spent a few nights over at Jupiters... a casino hotel. Neither of us had actually gambled before so we tried it out. No worries at all though, we maybe spent 2 dollars and didn't see the point in it whatsoever. It was just a waste of money, but atleast we can say we've played the slots now! The place was very nice. We figured out that their kitchen was open 24/7 so we ordered a pizza to our room and watched a movie. The next morning, we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast then made our journey over to the island. What a magical little place it is over there. I showed him the hostel I stayed at for diving the other weekend and took him all around. It's quite small, so there's nothing crazy going on, but that's just what we love. We spent some time at the Marlin Bar, which is a bar right on the beach. We stayed a few nights right next door at a place called Shaws on the Shore, what a bargain!! So cute too. The next day, we both saw our first box jellyfish that was caught up in the net. The lifegaurd was playing with it with his thin gloves on so we went over to check it out. Scarry! The tentacles can literally kill you, but it didn't seem to faze him at all. Such a gorgeous beach we were on. We went over to the massive rocks and climbed up as far as we could and just chilled up there for a bit to chat. How peaceful. The whole island is just so safe, I can't get over it. It's so different than home, but I'm pretty use to the ways of life over here now. That friday night, we went to check out the Full Moon Party, which is just a big beach party with super expensive drinks. We were definitely under the wrong impression. It wasn't actually ON the beach and I guess all the Australian guidos were invited as well. We made the best of it with all my friends. Actually, check out this song and you'll see the sort of music they listen to in the clubs.. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3kUrH8dPck&feature=related. Just picture all the huge, jacked up aussie guys jumping up and down to this song. Hahaha. That's how they do it over here, girls too. Ry was soo taken back by what the hell was going on. Everyone in their own little world freaking out to this weird music and doing all sorts of flips all over the place.

After our adventure spent at the island, we came back to townsville to explore some more! As the weekend rolled around, we missed our boat for sailing. Of course. That would happen. It's alright though, we planned a little trip to... go... SKYDIVING ON MISSION BEACH!!!!!! What a feeling that was! We took the greyhound there to find out a storm was shortly following behind us, so it got cancelled for the day. We rescheduled with them for the next morning at 8a.m. There couldn't have been a more perfect time of the day to jump out of a plane. We woke up, had a quick breakfast still half asleep and made our way over to jump! HOW SICK. I never thought I would've done it, but I'm soo glad I did. I can't even describe the feeling. I thought it would've been something relatively close to getting butterflies on a rollercoaster, but it wasn't? Maybe for the first two seconds out of the plane when you jump, but we were literally flying. It was the closest feeling you can get to actually feel like you're flying like a bird. It's indescribable. Wow, we skydived. Haha, I still get goosebumps every time I say that. 14,000 feet looks a lot different when you're about to jump. The guys opened the door out of the plane and I watched the guy infront of me go then I was up next. Ry went third so he got to watch me! I wrapped my legs under the plane and went for it!! Free falling for 60 seconds, absolutely incredible. Please try it if you can! We landed right on the beach. The view going down was awesome, views of little islands and clear water with golden sand. I'll never be able to get over it!! That was the big who-rahhh to our trip! I ran up to Ry right when he landed and just couldn't stop smiling. What an adrenaline rush to experience! We were both freaking out and yelling, haha. SO AWESOME! My god. Whew. So, after the jump we went for coffee (like we even needed the caffeine) and an early lunch. Our bus back was another 3 hour trip so we had some time to kill before we caught it back to uni. We just hung around and shopped a bit. We couldn't stop talking about it and still can't! I have a video and so does he, I just can't figure out how to get it on my computer to show y'all! I will though and when I do I'll post it. It'll do my description way more justice.

Ry's visit came and went, but we truly enjoyed every moment. There's just so much we did, I could never tell all! Half of me feels like he was here for a long time, but the other half feels like it flew by!! The days are much longer here which is nice. I can honestly say I don't know if we'll ever be able to experience such an amazing trip together over here ever again, but who knows! Just like my dad and Ry have told me, all good things must come to an end. I guess they're right, I just hate to admit it! I wish he was still here. I know it'll be a while til we get to see each other next, but we got this! Two and a half months til we reunite once again! What a sweetheart he is, I'm so blessed.

We had such a great time together, but now it's time to hit the books and plan for spring break... which will be spent in New Zealand from April 8th - 25th with Karen! Dream big ☮

WE DID IT!!

great success

Today was another wonderful day in the land of OZ. I woke up around 8:15a.m and caught breakfast before class. It's not too bad. Our college has the "best food on campus", which is nice. Fruit and vegetables for every meal! I had a hard boiled egg, toast with jam, an apple & weetabix! After breakfast, I walked over to foccacia fo' coffee for a hazelnut latte. That place is my favorite coffee place on campus. Really good. Then I had Sex, Drugs & Human Nature class at 10. Nothing has changed, it's still such a weird class. Our professor was lecturing in Cairns so we had to watch him on the projector. It's really odd, I've never had a professor that teaches on two campuses before. I tell myself every week that the class will get better, but it really doesn't. Today we discussed the drug trafficking of opium through out the world. It's interesting at times, but seems to be a waste of my time. That class has so much potential, but our professor proves no justice. After wasting 2 hours in class, I had about a 20 minute walk to my next class. We discussed natural disasters and how they would affect the social norm/groups of the human lifestyle. Would people feel obligated to commit crime because of a natural disaster? When everything is completely gone and you have nothing, would your mindset change? Perhaps, to steal in order to survive or start a war because of differences among groups? Everyone has a different viewpoint, but the general concensus our class came to was that people would act out of line/differently if a natural disaster was to occur. I agree to a certain extent. Anyway, after class I stopped by Nicolette's to say hello and slowly made my way back home. I got back, put my belongings in my room & hopped on my scooter for a ride into town. It was so fun to just drive around & explore the town more. It's nice to get a grasp on my surroundings & community. I went to the Strand & had Subway for lunch. I hate subway at home, but it's so good here. It actually IS fresh, just like they say. Fresh vegetables, actual red tomatoes. It was nice to have a little American meal for once. I finished up & had a walk around town. It's so gorgeous here. I went down to the harbor and gazed out into the horizon. I could see Magnetic Island & a gorgeous sunset between all the boats. It was nice to have some independent time to myself and do things I want to do & see. I explored around town for a bit & thought I should get home before the rain started. It was spitting on the way home, but nothing serious. I'll never drive without my sunglasses again! Such a bad idea. I got home just in time for a little skype chat with Ryan before he was going to bed. I had a 5:30 spin class that turned out to be absolutely phenomenal!! The instructor was so intense, I loved him! I'll definitely be going back. He has two sessions a week on Tuesday & Thursday evenings. He was like screaming at us the whole time, spin class boot camp! Haha. As we were spinning to the last techno song with JT yelling in our face, my laces got caught and totally ripped out of my shoe. It made my shoe so tight & it totally messed up my flow. It's all good though, I tucked them in the side of my shoe and continued on for the remaining 30 intense seconds.  Sooo, yeah. They're broken now :( Wah. Ah well, I can't wait to go back again next week! I scootered back to my college & made it just in time for dinner, a plate of marinated vegetables. It was really good. I've been working on a paper for tonight & just enjoying the night. It's the weekend for me now & I have an open day tomorrow! I'm not too sure what I'll get into, but really looking forward to Ry's arrival on sunday!! I can't believe he's actually coming here, so weird! I'm looking forward to a relaxed weekend.
Cheers!

Days go by... Unfortunately

The six of us about to head down to
Alma Bay for our first dive in our stinger suits :)

Wow, sooo it's been a while. Once again. Time just flys by here like crazy! I can't believe it. I spent this past weekend at magnetic island again getting my scuba certification done. So worth it! I still have one dive to do until I'm officially certified. I took my test & everything. I couldn't do the last dive because I was having problems with equalizing going down to the ocean floor. My ear drums were borderline about to rupture so I opted out on the last dive, it's not that big of a deal. I'll just go back to do my last dive in a few weekends! It was pretty intense though, I guess I didn't realize. We were on the go all weekend. We left thursday afternoon to catch the ferry & go over for a diving physical examination. All went well. Ben & I met up with some others to go check out the hostile we stayed at. (http://www.magnums.com.au/magnums_on_magnetic/). It was my first time staying at a hostile so I was a little nervous about it because all I ever see is horror movies on tv about them. It was really awesome though. They had something going on every night at the place, totally catering to backpackers. Great place, but we were all so tired from all the work we did all day. We tried to check it all out, but hit the sack around 10 every night. Every morning we were up by 7:30, getting coffee & walking a few minutes down the road to Pleasure Divers. Being an island, everything is even more expensive. I think I paid the most I ever have for a freakin latte. Yeah, $7.50. Yikes!! Day one, we had to watch videos til lunch time then got a break for an hour to catch a bite to eat back at our hostile. After lunch, we had 6 hours spent in the pool learning what felt like hundreds of skills underwater. There's a lot more to learn than I realized. Every day was pretty much the same. Day two we spent more time in the pool then got to do dives out in the ocean! The visibility wasn't the best because of the cyclone, but bearable. The coral was pretty beat up from it too. Day three was the worse though, I could barely see my fins in the water & the ocean was so rough. It was a gross day & rainy, but the trek continued on... all until I was having problems with my ears! I was pretty bummed out about it. I just wanted to finish the whole certification, but it's alright. The last dive is the easiest too, but I didn't want to risk it. They told me to wait it out, so I'll be back. The test was super easy though. It was just a 50 multiple choice exam & I missed one. Not too bad. We finally finished up our long weekend & caught the 5:20 ferry back to townsville. I missed it! I felt like I was gone forever. I'm always around all my friends here so it was weird not to have any of them out there with me for the first time in like a month. I went with some nice kids from Colorado and New York. We all clicked pretty well. Lauren & Liz made me a peanut butter & jelly sandwich because I missed dinner, how sweet of them. I passed out sunday night when we got back, I was so tired! 8-6 every day of all work in the sun really wears on ya. This week has already flew by! Tomorrow is Thursday, where the heck did the week go & what have I been doing!? I made the best decision yesterday morning since I got here. I hopped on the bus early a.m to head to the Yamaha shop. I've rented a scooter for a month. It's seriously a million times better to be able to have some wheels to scoot around on. Driving on the other side of the road is normal now. It's weird to think of how it is in the states. I hate having to rely on public transportation. Especially because the bus timetables are never correct. They mean absolutely nothing so I just have to go wait and hope that a bus can come soon. It's super annoying when you have places to go & things to do at a certain time. I got there & drove away with a sweet red scooter, 2 seater. It's nice to not have to feel trapped on campus anymore. I got it mostly just to explore my surroundings more. It's a wonderful place, great town, just lots to find out still! I'm trying to make the most out of every day here because I know it's going to fly by & I want to go back home (Or, not go home?) with no regrets what so ever. That's my goal. I'm taking advantage of every traveling opportunity I possibly can. I'm in one of the most beautiful countries in the world & have the great barrier reef in the palm of my hands. I'm loving my life right now, just need to take it slow. The days are longer here which is nice too. The sun rises super early & goes down around 7:30p.m. The seasons just switched the other day so it's now fall here now. But, that means nothing really. I feel like it's even hotter so no changes there! I'm just hoping the humidity goes down soon. It's 100% humidity every day with a whopping 90-95 degree temperature. No worries by me, anything is better than snow. I'm extremely happy with the decision I've made coming here. I was pretty skeptical about it last semester. I've experienced things that I will probably never get to do ever again, which is totally mind blowing to me. I'm loving every moment here, every day is a new adventure for me & that's what I enjoy the most. Everything just really makes sense here. Even the little things. Like the two buttons to flush the toilet, using 1 gallon for pee & 4 gallons for the other. How economically smart & eco-friendly. Or, the lids to coffee cups. It's hard to describe, but it's not flat and a little hole like, say at starbucks. It actually forms upwards and fits perfectly for your lips and doesn't spill. Another thing that makes sense here is healthcare. Shit, it's free. People make their contribution to the health care system through taxes and the Medicare levy based on their income, and through private financing such as private health insurance. The aim of the national health care funding system is to give all Australians, regardless of their personal circumstances, access to health care at an affordable cost or at no cost, while allowing choice for individuals through substantial private sector involvement in delivery and financing. That's that.


I have some readings & research to do, but will be back with an update shortly. I have to do a debate on MDMA for my sex,drugs & human nature class. I have to argue that it should remain illegal & the other half of the class argues to legalize it. This should be interesting?? What a weird teacher, seriously. Ah well, after my two classes tomorrow I'm done for the weekend! RYAN COMES ON SUNDAY!!!!!!! Do I pick him up on my scooter & let him sit on the back to let his luggage wheel on road on the way home right next to us? HA. I'm filled with excitement. I'm looking forward to my other half being here with me. He's going to absolutely love it which is exciting because I really want him to enjoy his spring break! It's going to be so chill. Can't wait to go sailing next weekend! Some of the girls are going this weekend so they can let me know how it goes. I'm sure it's phenomenal out there on the reef. 
New journeys, new experiences with my life :)

Mags Island

This past weekend, our group of Americans ventured off to Magnetic Island for the day on saturday. We left around 9a.m with two guys that live on maggie island. They gave us a tour of Townsville city some more, but sort of over did it because we've already seen most of what they already showed us. It's alright, we went to Castle Hill in Townsville which is a lookout over the whole city. It's so pretty up there! After the mountain, we made our way over to the ferry in town. We hopped on and it was about a twenty minute ride over to the island. The guys gave us coffee & we had meat pies on the way over! Upon arrival, we had a tour of maggie island. It's only about 7 miles by 4. I can't even imagine living over there. They took us to a few deserted beaches that were absolutely out of this world! We got to feed wild wallabees & check out some sick waterfalls. I accidently kicked a rock in the water that I, clearly, didn't see & got such a huge blood blister on my big toe! It's still there and it hurts soo bad! After the waterfalls, we made random little stops all around the island. We went bush walking & stopped to feed birds that were a million different colors. So pretty! Our day was definitely action packed & turned out a lot better than we all expected. Every tour they do is different & based on the age group. Every aspect of the day was just exhilarating. I had so much fun on the Island with all the Americans! We're such a tight knit group, I love them. At sunset that night, we all enjoyed coffee & nibbles at sunset. It was a perfect way to end the day. We chatted and hung for a bit until we were off to catch the ferry back to Townsville. We all really enjoyed the fun-filled day & can't wait to go back again. I'm actually getting my diving certification done this weekend back on the Island. I'm going with a different group of friends to the islands, they're from Colorado mostly. We have to have our dive examination physical on wednesday morning in town & finish up with our classes for the week on thursday afternoon then it's time to hop back on the ferry for the weekend! The certification is a 2 night//3 day process mostly done in a pool & the last day is in the great barrier reef right off the island. I'm so excited to get it done with so then I can go open water diving whenever I want out on the reef. As for this week, I just have a few readings to do with my classes & going to join the gym tomorrow with kat! Finally, a freakin gym. Slowly, but surely, everything is coming together.

I really enjoyed my day today as well. I woke up around 7:30, hit the snooze button twice... then told myself I'm in Australia & I need to get out of bed to enjoy the morning! I went for a nice jog around campus...until I got stuck in the down pour on the way back. It's been raining ALL.DAY.LONG. It just literally never stops, so weird. I had some breakfast with my oz friends & headed out shortly after to catch my 9a.m class with Mike & Karen. After, I stopped by foccacia fo' coffee & thoroughly enjoyed a hazelnut latte with an extra shot of espresso & skim milk. Absolutely amazing. It was still pouring all through our class and as we left the coffee shop so I stopped by the bookstore to grab a textbook & an umbrella... thank god. Karen & I ran over to uni hall to have some sort of weird lunch. They were serving some sort of weird tortilla thing. It was like meat, chicken, with all these weird toppings they use! Definitely not like our "do-it-yourself" tortilla meal! Haha. It was interesting to say the least. Everything just taste so different here, even the cheese is super weird. Some girls met up with us at lunch then we just hung at Lauren's place all damn day til 9. We literally just chilled & watched a million different types of youtube vids. Karen & I are trying to catch up on America's Next Top Model episodes too! Haha. Anywho, we had a very chill day & it's still pouring outside as I'm about to lay down. Until next time, goodnight loved ones :P

week one

It's nice to be in the swing of things now. I can actually have somewhat of a structure to my life now & keep everyone updated more! Atleast try. I'm going to Magnetic Island this weekend with some friends for an all day trip to chill. "Enjoy some coffee & nibbles at sunset." It's just a little island off of Townsville, touristy little thing to do. We have a pool party after at my other friends house! I'm looking forward to it. No classes on fridays so my weekend has officially begun! It's been an awesome first week, I turned 21 on Sunday night so all my friends took me out to the tav. Made me a birthday sash and all, haha so necessary for free drinks. The last few days have just been smokin hot. There was also a themed SORORITY/FRAT party on tuesday. I really had fun with this one. All the girls in my dorm were like oh my god, I wonder what they actually wear over there?! I guess tall socks, short skirts & a tank top. I was absolutely befuddled. Really girls? Haha, when I told them I'm in a sorority they freaked out and said, "TELL US ALL ABOUT IT!! IS IT REALLY JUST LIKE LEGALLY BLONDE?!? DO THE GIRLS REALLY WEAR SHORT PINK DRESSES & CARRY A PUPPY AROUND?!" I was like wowwww, no. Not at all. We just wear normal clothes & normal shoes. Sperry's anyone? That was a definite no. They told me their grandfathers wear them, hahaha. I get a laugh out of literally everything here. It's just what I do. So that was that! I dressed up for pretend & had fun with it. The guys nailed it, easily. So, I've been planning a sailing trip all week for Ry & I to do when he comes here. Finally topped everything off today & made it official. We'll be sailing all over the great barrier reef & Whitehaven beach (seriously,google it) for 2 nights & 3 days. It's going to be phenomenal!!

I've finished my first week of classes at uni! The campus is so different. I mean, I've seen plenty of campuses and this one is just odd. The sidewalks just tend to end into trees, turkeys sprint around the place (don't touch them, it's illegal and you will actually go to jail) & all the buildings are misnumbered. As in, one of my classes could be in building number 5 & then 6 is on the opposite side of campus. I don't get it. I'm taking sex,drugs & nature, youth deviance, perspectives of criminology & anthropology of violence. Pretty interesting classes, actually very interesting. On tuesday, I was in class with Liz and neither of us could even understand what the bloke was saying. He's an older guy who hates America for no apparent reason... "We'll be using a textbook that's from America... unfortanetly!!" That's happened numberous times with my professors. Quite comical. In my sex,drugs & nature class today my coke snorting teacher tried to tell us that Oprah supports MDMA.. HAHA. Really, guy? Oprah supports ecstacy?! Riiiight. I guess he didn't realize that there are actually kids from the states that know who she is... and frequent her show. What a shame, but understandable considering how drugged out he was. You should've seen this guy, itching his neck and completely bugging out. I couldn't keep a straight face the whole class. He claims he has taught this class before, but he did a seriously awful job at showing it. He actually used the word "unpackinglyness". Serious nut. As for my other classes, easy breezy. I have some readings to do every week and like a major assignment and test in all of them. Just have to keep! No one is there pushing you every step of the way like in the states. It's quite nice & relaxing.
I wake up here every morning around 7 or 8 in the morning. Surprisingly! I just can't let my time slip away by sleeping. I took a nice run this morning while it was still tolerable outside. I left around 7:30 and by the time I got back it heated up 15 degrees. I can't believe the heat here. It's crazy! I tolerate it though & hang at the river or the pool.. or hop in an all cold shower. Literally, don't even touch the hot water. It's all you need! I really love it. It makes me realize how unhealthy America is here. I have heaps & heaps of vegetables for every meal. It's so great. A large here at mcdonalds is a small in the states just to put it into proportion. YUK. Everyone's out playing sports & just enjoying the nature. I'm trying to join a sports team here. I'm leaning towards ultimate frisbee. Should be great fun! Time for a chill night with friends. I miss home & all, but I'm loving every minute here. Even my down time when I'm sweating my ass off. It really is the simple things in life I've learned :)

g'day

Ello, mate. sydney was just an all around amazing time, hands down. What an interesting city, so clean.  Everyone's so healthy, I love it! Overly friendly, so different than what I'm use to. While we finished up our orientation week in sydney, we kept seriously busy. Always on the go! We did the sydney harbor bridge climb. I was pretty nervous at first, but went out there with no regrets. We climbed to the highest point on the bridge, reaching 500 feet. What an amazing sight it is up there. You can see all of sydney, all the way to the blue mountains. I wasn't expecting sydney to be as hilly as it is. Breathtaking, we took pictures along the way, as you see! After the climb, we had some lunch outside. The food is phenomenal. It's all just so fresh & delicious! Later that night, we went out to a nightclub called soho with kat's friends that are from around town. Very welcoming folks, took us out & got in for free. Always a plus. We left there and continued on with several other bars & nightclubs.
On our last day there, we had the whole day to ourselves to do whatever we pleased. A few of us went downtown to paddies market. Just an outside vendor sort of thing with goodies. At 4 we all went out on a dinner cruise. We had a 3 course meal & enjoyed dancing with old folks to a live band. The macarana came on & all the aussie's looked at us like we were crazy. A whole group of americans doing the same simple dance, how odd. Australians can't dance. They'll admit it too. It's quite funny, they all sort of stand in a circle and hold their pointer fingers out to point-dance all over the place. None of that grinding stuff that we tend to do. If we were to do that here it would strongly convey an awful message to your dancing partner. I like it though, it's not all grimey & dirty. Everyone's in their own little world so I fit right in! Haha. After the cruise, some of us went to some random bars on the way home & later on to the casino. It was my first time at the casino so I had fun! We all stayed out really late since it was our last night & had to up & pack the next morning to catch our plane to townsville. We had to say bye's to a few people going to other uni's, lame. We arrived here to 90 degree weather with 100% humidity. Yeaaahh, it's hot as hell here. We all slowly got dropped off at our dorms to find out that we had no a/c. Yeah, it sucks. It gets extremely hot during the day, but night is tolerable. Thank god for ceiling fans. If you're outside for more than 6 minutes, ya start to burn! It's just a little known fact around here so they all load up on spf. There's really no point in showering either. You feel so clean then once you're out you just start to sweat instantly. Very different than what I'm use to, but I love it here. This whole week is "O week" (orientation week) for freshman so I assume we're here because we're new students & it's a great way to meet everyone around here. They have all sorts of activities set up for us all week & all sorts of parties every night. It's quite fun. However, 2 nights ago I experienced some aussie hazing! Apparently, australians haze all the freshman during this week. The aussie's believe that all this non sense comes from america. They see american pie movies & think that's how it actually is... It's pretty weird. Sort of like some stereotypical frat/sorority thing going on. My "college" (which is just what they say for your dorming community) was all given BIBS the first day we got here. We have to wear them to all our meals & functions. Other colleges were given shirts, bandanas or something of that sort they have to wear as well all week. It jus depends on where you're living. So 2 nights ago we were woken up at 3 a.m to go outside and do war crys for an hour & a half until the R.A's approved... very weird? It's just an ice breaker thing they do so people can meet each other.
It's nice to be all settled in here. I can truly say that I'm having the time of my life & could honesly see myself living here. Hats off to the next 4-5 months!

criiiikey!

I MADE IT TO AUSTRALIA!!!!!! Wow, what an adventure the past few days have been! All the flights over here took f.o.r.e.v.e.r! I left around 12:30 in the afternoon on monday & got here wednesday at 8:00 a.m. What a beautiful flight it is on the way over here. I could've done without all the lay overs, but it's been soo worth it. It was about a 15 hour plane ride... Not as bad as I thought considering I had a human australian encyclopedia sitting right next to me. So now I know everything I wanted to know... and more about australia! We all got in the first day & battled customs. Took a bit to get out, but we fought through it. It's really been great adventure so far. The orienatation is pretty chill. Yesterday we were all battling to stay awake. Our guides gave us our phones, fed us lunch & took us out to dinner as well. I tried kangaroo for the first time... as well as the rest of our table! There's about 20 of us going to james cook university with the exception of 2 guys. After dinner a few of us went to a couple bars, bar century & the bank of australia. The bars here are nothing like america... and neither is the beer. A popular beer they drink over here is called "pure blonde". Taste sort of like carbonated apple cider? Really weird, so we all tried another beer called oscars lager. Much better, but still a very distinct taste. The bank of america bar was really, really cool. It was about 5 levels with live bands. Not too packed, but very entertaining! They played music we all enjoyed.. alternative//reggae. We only stayed til ten then walked back to our place, right across the street. We're staying at the world tower in the heart of sydney. SO JET LAGGED. However, the coffee has done an immaculate job keeping us awake. The coffee absolutely phenomenal here. Apparently, aussie's brought starbucks over here to see how it'd do & they couldn't keep the business going because it's so awful to them! Any little coffee shop here beats starbucks by a long shot. Yes, starbucks sucks.

Today we had a 3 hour walking tour of sydney & stopped for lunch to have meat pies... new addiction. Meat pies are a big australian tradition//icon over here. Kind of like america with hot dogs. Same deal. A meat pie is a puff little pastry with meat, mashed potatoes, mush peas & gravy. There's a vegetarian kind & a few others, but the traditional pie is the best. Really good & simple. We ate at a harbor right at the water. After lunch we went to an animal park. We, finally, saw kangaroo's & koala's!! They're so freakin adorable. We got to feed them & take more pictures than needed. Such a touristy day! Now, we're back at the place hanging at our hotel... paying to use the internet. 5 dollars an hour, so dumb. Australia is sooo behind on technology, it's rather annoying. Our phones... slide... with ABC texting. Oh, aaand they're nokia. Really? No swype texting?! Ugh. Haha. So, essentially, it takes about 15 minutes to write a little e-mail. Ohhh well. 

Ryan & I just got to skype for the first time! It was really good to see him, it's so hard being on the complete opposite side of the world. I know he's keeping really busy though with work & school. It's always nice to catch up though :) So odd that he's going to bed right in the middle of my day over here. I really miss my boy!

Well... Me & 2 other girls (kat & karen) are going out for thai tonight! Number one cuisine in Australia, apparently! Shower time. Until later :)