Hello! I have been really bored lately, Lismore is still not an interesting town. On the brighter side, I leave for Brisbane in 3 days. I'm really excited because that means I get to go to FIJI real soon, then home. In one week from now i'll be drinking a Dr.Pepper and eating a Chipotle burrito. I can't wait.

A couple days ago, the girls and I all got dressed up and decided to take some pictures around campus because we were all so bored. (Thanks to Gretchen's great ideas!) It had been rainy the entire week before hand and we finally caught a sunny day to take the pictures which was exciting. Campus was just a ghost town because it was during study break. Here are some pictures from our mini photo shoot...

Eddy's Visit

I decided to make a blog about Eddy's second visit. It obviously was not as exciting as the first time he came to Australia but I think we still had fun here in Lismore!

It was funny picking him up from the Lismore Airport because it is a tiny little building. I couldn't even imagine a plane flying into that tiny place.

We went to visit the famous Byron Bay, where I spend most of my weekends. I figured he would want to see a beach and the ocean after flying that long to come to Australia. We stopped to get some lunch and we ate at this delicious Mexican restaurant that I didn't even know existed! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing the food was. I'm definitely running to Chipotle and Taco Bell when I get back to the states! :)

Then the rest of the day we just sat on the beach and explored the most Eastern point of Australia! Here are some pictures..







After our day at Byron Bay, we had to go to the bar to go out for my Outdoor Education class. Yes, this was a mandatory event. This kind of event would never ever take place back in the United States. Only here in Australia do students party with their professors! It was a great night, everyone was together for one last huge event.

Throughout the week we didn't have to much to do so our days consisted of walking down to the Square or downtown Lismore. I feel like all we did was shop around or hit up the grocery store for some good food to make! We also explored Lismore better and found a river walk and a nice park. The time flew so fast and I honestly don't even know what we did for the time to pass.

It's finally the last few weeks of my adventure here in Australia. It's freaking me out. I leave next week for Brisbane and then to Fiji. This week is filled with a whole lot of nothing. I am done with all my classes and all my assignments so i'm sitting around being bored. I don't have any finals either, so there is not a whole lot for me to do until I leave Lismore. The weather here has been really bad, real gloomy and rainy. From what I hear, the weather back in Minnesota is just amazing. Maybe it's a sign i'm ready to go back!

Eddy came back to Australia last week to visit Lismore. I don't think he was too impressed by the town I was in, but i'm not either so that's okay. We went to Byron Bay and that place is always amazing every time I go, so that was fun. Then we went out to Tommy's which is a bar downtown Lismore, to party with my professor of Outdoor Education. It was a mandatory event for all the students and it was really funny to see that. The other days consisted of us walking down to The Square, shopping around, and walking back up the torturous hill. I swear we walked down and up that thing at least six times that he was here. I know he just loved it!
It wasn't too eventful, but it was nice to have him here and not be bored for an extra week.

Girraween

I feel like I haven't had much time to write in my blog! Also, considering that the internet is absolutely terrible here, I didn't even have the chance to come on here. My internet decided to not work for almost a week, and let me tell you, without internet there is not much to do in good ol' Lismore.

I just got back from my last camping trip for my class Outdoor Education. We headed to Girraween National Park which is about three hours away from Lismore. I really was not looking forward to this camping trip because it is so much different from the first trip. We had to carry around our tents and everything that we would need for a four day, three night trip. Also, if we had to go to the bathroom, you basically would pick any tree you saw. When we first got picked up, we were all crammed into a tiny bus and drove three hours away. When arriving to Girraween we were all anxious to just get the trip started with and see where it took us. The first day for my group was actually pretty easy. Our campsite was only 600 meters away from a toilet and a campground area so that was reassuring. We set up our tents and ate some lunch then we started our day of exploring. We walked up a huge rock to Mt. Norman, did some caving, and watched the sunset from there. Here are some pictures from our first day...
















Our second day out in the bush was a little more difficult. We woke up pretty early and started to hike towards our next campsite. Along the way, we stopped at a little water hole and some people jumped in, but the water was absolutely freezing. It wasn't the most exciting thing in the world. Then we started hiking again and had to do our own navigation through the bush instead of walking on the fire trail paths. We were literally walking through trees and thick grass and sticks to get to the trail. Our group was going so fast that we finished our bearings in 35 minutes. Our professor told us this usually takes 1-2 hours to complete. Yeah... the people in our group were insanely quick. It was hard to keep up with them especially with such a huge pack on my back weighing me down. We were even hiking up huge rocks with our packs on in the bush. It was not fun. But when we got to our second campsite it was definitely a feeling of accomplishment. I never thought I would make it there seriously. The good thing about that day was the dinner! We made awesome pizzas on our little stove. Here are some pictures from day two...









Our third day was the most difficult day we had. We woke up before the sun even rose, at five in the morning, packed up all our stuff, and started our hiking for the day. We had to hike a total of 14 km in that single day. Hiking in the morning with that pack is not a fun task to do and it was even worse with no food in our systems. The boys in our group were speed demons and were really anxious to get to where we were headed. Why? I have no idea. It was really rough and there were parts where I didn't think I could make it. We hiked a total of 7 km (Which was half of our journey) in an hour and a half. With no breaks. It was probably the hardest thing I have had to do in a while. I have bruises on my hips and my shoulders from my pack being so heavy and carrying it for 14 km. We made it to our last campsite at around 2 in the afternoon and our professor said that was the fastest any group has ever gotten there. We had so much down time that people could take a nap. It was just unreal. After that, we set up camp then went and explored the HUGE rocks, and also went caving. Of course, it was more uphill, but the sunset was definetly worth it in the end. Here are some pictures from day three...









The last day of the camping trip was just exhausting. I was so tired from the day before and all of the constant hiking. I was so happy that I was going home that day so it kept me going. We started out by just hiking, then we had to do another section of bearings, or walking through the thick bush. This was pretty simple, until one of our group members got hurt. We had to get her out of the bush after that and we just stopped with the bearings and went back on the tracks and hiked towards the bus. For some reason, the hiking went by really fast the last day. We didn't see any wild kangaroos really or any wild pigs at all throughout the entire trip so that was a bummer for me. The bus ride home was interesting and felt like it was never going to end. We had the tiny bus that picked us up and brought us there again and we were sad about that. We were squished on this tiny bus, after four days of not showering, and it was just so uncomfortable. But eventually we made it back to Lismore and everything was heaven from then on!

Overall, the camping trip was honestly not one of my favorite things i've done here. It really made me aware of how much of a city girl I am, and how much I love fake camping with my family. I don't enjoy the fact of hiking with a huge pack on my back, and after doing it, I don't think I could again. But the camping aspect and the sunsets were great so there were a couple positive things about the trip.

Hello! Well, this weekend was pretty interesting to say the least. On Saturday it was Race Day! We've been so excited for this event for the past couple weeks because we heard it's just amazing so we were excited that the day was finally here. It's a big deal because everyone gets dressed up real classy looking and go drink and the horse races. Most girls wear huge hats and head pieces for the day, but I just stuck with the typical flower for $5.00 from K-Mart :)

I woke up around 7:00 in the morning to people screaming outside and blasting music. They were the early birds and started their day by drinking and being crazy. Around 9:00 in the morning we were just about done getting ready and the college gave us a free breakfast. I have no idea what we were eating, but it was basically a sand which with a hash brown and uncooked bacon on it. It wasn't that good. But it was free!

Here are some pictures of the girls and our Race Day outfits..





Brooke and I had to take a picture of us starting our goon drinking very early in the morning..



We headed to the horse races around noon and it felt like such a long day already considering we woke up at 7:00am. I had an interesting couple of hours and then we decided to actually bet on a horse. I only bet $5.00 because I never have before and I picked a random horse. Of course with my luck, the horse lost, and I was out the $5.00 but it was still fun to watch.



After we got back from the horse races, I went to bed at 5:00 that night, and didn't wake up until 8:00 the next morning! Yes, unbelievable! 15 hours of sleep for me. I was exhausted.

Here are some more pictures from the races..

I think I should probably start writing in this blog more often, considering I have a lot of free time now that my one test is over for the semester. I only have two papers and a little presentation left for the entire semester. One of my classes is practically over with. I think that's funny because St. Cloud isn't even done with school yet and I started months after them :) I am definitely living the dream here.

I've actually been getting homesick lately. I think i'm hitting that point where i'm ready to get back to reality and see my friends and family. It's so hard being away for four months. I just keep thinking that everyone is back home moving on with their lives, having a good time, and i'm missing out on that. But i'm still so happy to be here in Australia. I know i'm lucky to have had this opportunity. It's just a hard feeling to describe. I'm getting excited for our last big trip to Fiji at the end of this whole experience. It will be a perfect ending with some amazing people. I have my days with being homesick, other days I don't even want to go home or hardly think of it.

Today we went to the LISMORE SQUARE where we ALWAYS go... It's the only shopping mall anywhere near us. We decided to go on a little shopping spree. I ended up buying a sweet jacket (which I already have a perfect outfit in mind for it) some fleece pants for my next camping adventure, and a flower headband. I would say that I got some pretty good deals on all of that, but it felt like I blew a lot of money. I just don't keep track anymore so I don't get disappointed with my finances.

On Saturday it's "Race Day" here. I guess it's a huge deal here in Lismore, everyone from the uni gets all dressed up, wears huge hats, and drinks a ton in the morning and then goes to these horse races all day. It should be a great time, everyone has been talking about it for months so i'm excited to see how it is!

Talk to you later!

I had my first test and presentation today. I haven't had a test for five months so studying was quite the challenge for me. And to top it off, I studied pretty much everything that wasn't on the test. I am hoping that I was a good guesser, but by the looks of it, it didn't go that well!

This past weekend I went to Byron Bay again with the girls to celebrate my roommate Amy's 20th birthday! It was a great time. To start off the weekend right, we did something amazingly crazy. I have always wanted to do this and I am so glad I got the opportunity and the courage to actually do it.

I WENT SKYDIVING! From 14,000 feet in the air!
It was the most amazing experience ever. I'm so happy I did it, and I would definitely jump out of a plane again!!

Here are some pictures from my adventure...



I was watching Amy jump out of the plane first... I was so excited, I wasn't even a bit nervous until this next stage...



Actually getting out of the plane. My instructor was sitting on the edge of the plane, and I was hanging out of the plane...I think I was thinking why the heck am I doing this?



Getting ready to "fall" out...



And I'm out of the plane! Most amazing feeling ever.

G'day. Things are going great here! It's finally starting to hit me how fast time has actually gone by since i've been here in Australia. I only have a month and a half left here. I'm actually really sad about it. It's grown to be my second home and i'm going to really miss it. Going home will be bittersweet. That is, if I make it home! I do have a stop over in Honolulu... So we'll see what I decide when I get there :)

Lately there hasn't been a whole lot going on here in Lismore. Wait, there never is. We recently just had another theme night at the Unibar on campus. It was a cartoon character/movie/tv show theme party for some girls birthdays. A couple friends and I decided to go as the three blind mice. That was pretty entertaining. We drew whiskers and a black nose on our face and everything! It was a pretty good time. Definitely a good laugh!



Other than that I've actually had to do some homework. I know, it's quite the shock! I also have my first exam next week in Outdoor Education. I have gone 5 whole months without taking any quizzes or tests, so this should be interesting. Hopefully I can find the motivation to study and do decent. After all, I only need to pass everything. Thanks St. Cloud for only having the pass/fail option for this study abroad.. It really makes me try hard in school. Not.

Australia has definitely been the break that I needed from life back home. School, work, and all other things get way to stressful, and it's been great getting away from that for a couple months. I am actually excited to get back to work and have an income! It's sad watching your money disappear so quickly here.

This weekend we are going to Byron Bay for the night to celebrate my roommate Amy's 20th birthday! It's always exciting celebrating people's birthdays here, or I should say it's always an adventure. I'm doing something this weekend that I would never ever do if I were back home in the states.. But it's a surprise for now! :)

Fraser Island Adventure

Hello~ I thought I should probably start updating my blog some more while i'm here. Last week was Easter break. We got an entire week off from classes and we got to go to Fraser Island for our free trip. Obviously it wasn't free because we paid for it in our costs to come to Australia, but we'll pretend it was free to stay happy. :)

The first day we were all so excited to get out of Lismore and enjoy a week long vacation on the beach! It was roughly a 5 1/2 hour bus ride to the town next to the island. Then the fun wasn't over quite yet. We had to take an hour long ferry ride just to get to Fraser Island. We were all to excited to get there that it didn't bother us to much.





Once we got to the island, we were greeted with a little train like car that took us to the reception part of the resort. At first, we all thought this is where we were staying for the week, and it was absolutely gorgeous. It had a huge pool, hot tub, restaurants, everything! But turns out it was just our meeting spot. The places we were staying at were up the hill that they call "Heart attack hill". Great name huh! We stayed in some cabin like dorms, with four people in each room, which weren't all that bad besides the fact that lizards were running around everywhere.

By the way, this island was impossible not to get a bug bite.

Anyways, the first day of our adventure started at 8:00am. We had an awesome tour guide named Karl, and made it really fun. He picked us up in a huge bus type car that used to be used in the military so you can imagine what it was like. When we first started driving off it was a pretty smooth ride. Once we hit the foot deep sand roads, it was another story. Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island. This bus ride was indescribable. It would almost tip every five minutes on the sand paths, and you would be bouncing out of your seat the entire bus ride. We had to be on this thing for at least a couple hours a day.



After thinking we were all going to be sitting on the beach all week getting a nice tan, we were told that we were going to take a 45 minute walk to a freshwater lake. It felt like forever just getting there because the paths were strictly made of sand, which made it difficult to walk. We got to the lake and all you could see was sand. It was a large sand dune that stopped and dropped off into the lake. It was very gorgeous. The lake was freezing cold, but it was good to finally see a lake and it reminded me of Minnesota.






The lakes just kept getting better and better! After the first one, we went to another freshwater lake. This next one was super blue crystal clear water, with light sandy beaches.





Finally, Lake Mackenzie was the last lake we went to, and it was by far my favorite one. It had the lightest colored water, and white beaches. It seemed like an ocean and it was crazy that it was freshwater. Our tour guide Karl said that the water would soften your hair and if you rubbed the sand on your skin it would make it smoother. It would even clean your jewelry. I don't know if I noticed that, but still it's neat!






Sometime in between all the lakes, we got the opportunity to take an airplane ride over the entire island. It was one of those little planes and I have always wanted to ride on one, so I thought that Fraser would be the perfect place to do so! It was really gorgeous views, and we could see how many sand dunes there really were on the island.








Also while in Fraser, every night was our time to do whatever we wanted. We started a couple of the nights off by watching the sunset in the bay. It was amazing!









Another interesting place that we went to was the champagne pools. They were water holes that were made from the coffee rock, and the ocean fills the pools up all day. It was really cool until I saw a couple jelly fish floating around in them!