Aaaaand another week has gone by in Sydney, just as fast as all the other weeks before it. This week seemed to go by especially fast, as I got to spend the time with my family [hence why I have been slightly behind on blogging, such a busy week]! I loved reverting back into slightly-touristy mode in order to show them all the things I think are wonderful about Sydney, as well as exploring a few things I hadn’t yet experienced during my time here. A brief rundown of our [...]

Things I’ve learned in Australia: 1. Living in a bad part of town in Australia is very different than living in a bad part of town in America. According to Aussie natives, we live in “the ghetto” of Sydney, but we all feel safe here and everything is incredibly nice. Walking around at night here feels safer than walking at night around the U of M campus. 2. The phrase “A dingo ate my baby” actually came from an Australian murder case. A woman was camping with her husband and child, and [...]

This has been the single longest day of my life. It is currently 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night in Sydney and with the exception of 6 hours, I have been awake since 7 a.m. Monday morning in Minnesota. The time change makes it sound more impressive than it is, but in any case, I have been awake for a very, very long time and I am forcing myself to blog before I go to sleep. Truly, the 15 hour flight was not that bad. I managed some sleep, watched [...]

Tuesday, March 6th was a wonderful day to spend in Australia – it was my birthday! I was wished a happy Australian birthday by Amelia Black in Sydney – check out her Aussie adventures at waltzingamelia.tumblr.com! It really made me feel at home, as if she was just in the room next door! The birthday wishes from my family were equally as special – right on the dot at midnight in Townsville! It was definitely going to be a challenge to be away from them, for though I am 20 years [...]

These pictures are from my trip to the Great Ocean Road, located West of Melbourne that starts past Geelong (the state of Victoria’s second largest city) in Torquay The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world’s largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I. It is an important tourist attraction in the region, which winds through varying terrain alongside the coast, and provides access to several prominent landmarks; including the nationally significant Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations. My group of U.S. friends and [...]

To truly acclimate to the Australian culture, one must experience life as an Australian. On the month-anniversary of my semester in Oz, what better way to celebrate then with a rugby game? Townsville is home to the North Queensland Cowboys, the Rugby League team for “our” state, and to the Dairy Farmers Stadium, their gracious hosts! On Saturday, March 3rd, bus loads of Uni students departed for the DFS for the Cowboys vs. the Gold Coast Titans. We purchased $12 tickets (student discount, and grass seats!!) and joined the hundreds [...]

Surf camp was AWESOME!  But I am so extremely sore.  So Friday was when we left.  They guys showed up about an hour late, they had gotten lost apparently and the drive took them longer than they expected.  Then it decided to rain obnoxiously just about the whole time there.  And we had to travel on this past that was twisty and turny, literally at some points you could only go 25 km it was that sharp.  Thought I was going to die!  Anyways, got there over an hour late [...]

I was really struggling today.  Basically having a pity party for myself.  Classes are somewhat difficult because I feel like I don’t have any idea what is going on and because school has always come naturally to me.  Also, I haven’t been able to skype my mama or sister, which I had been doing just about everyday.  And I’m really missing everyone from back home.  As I said, pity pouting party for me, with a few tears too.  But then I came back to my apartment to eat my healthy food and decided to turn my [...]

Happy Valentines day to all!  I use to be a sucker and poor sport when it came to this day, but now I truly embrace it.  Not just for “the love of my life” or a boy or anything like that, but using it as a day to tell the people I love that I love them. Sunday night was a great night at home.  I taught my family how to play crazy 8′s and we ate jello and french toast–which the boys had only had a time or two [...]

Yesterday was the most animal-lover-friendly of our entire time in Cairns! Starting out the day at the Rydges with our final session (Health and Safety, all parents should be reassured), we were gigging with the failure of an icebreaker and the anticipation of hugging a koala! The coach buses led us out of the city of Cairns onto a windy, narrow road climbing up hills that was oddly reminiscent of Big Horn Mountain Running Camp in Buffalo, WY (s/o to my 11-milers!). As we approached the large RainForestation! sign, everyone [...]

Waking up at 4 in the morning started off our first full day in Australia! However, the six of us girls (me, Nabila, Kristen, Sarah, Kelly, and other Emily!) were able to rest a little longer and go down to get “brekkie!” It was a great breakfast at the Rydges, complete with pineapple juice, traditional sausage, roasted tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and, of course, Vegemite! I am waiting for the proper time to consume my first taste, but we had a fun time at our table looking at the brown, sticky [...]

Finally, I have begun to sleep throughout the entire night.  I think it helps that I’m not sick anymore and I don’t cough myself awake.  However, I’ve been sleeping for 8+ hours each night, which is way different, compared to back home when it was maybe 7 hours.  Not quite sure how to change that, I suppose I could still be catching up on lack of sleep the first two weeks of being here.  Now that classes have started, the dynamic on campus has changed entirely.  I was expecting a [...]

Thus begins my “journey” to the land of wallabies and koalas, starting in Minneapolis on February 3 and ending in Cairns for the Bridging Cultures Program! As emotionally difficult as the entire “leaving experience” was (Mom and Dad, you held your own!), I seemed to be in a constant state of rushing from the extremely long line at MSP security until I was happily seated with AustraLearn companions in the LAX airport. With the need for tissues, a hug, a delayed flight and “Mockingjay,” the three flights passed relatively quickly. [...]

Well I can say that the first day of classes was successfully completed!  I’m not quite sure how I feel about it all.  All three of my classes today are first year classes (aka simple classes).  It might be nice.  But it also wont be all that riveting.  Oh well, I shouldn’t complain and I’ll just do what I’m suppose to do to get the grade.  Tomorrow I will have my 4th and final class so we will see how that all goes.  For one of my classes I don’t [...]

We spent a fun filled weekend in Sydney.  The city was quite amusing.  Starting the day off right, I over slept for my alarm and instead of waking up at 5:45 as originally planned; I woke up at 6:30 and needed to be on the bus at 6:45.  Rushed as rushed can be, I had showered, dressed, packed, and Laura made me toast, packed a few other snacks and raced to the bus making it on time thankfully. Then for the next 3 hours we were on the bus for our adventure [...]