G'Day again, How ya going? That will never get old!
This last weekend a couple of my friends and I went to celebrate Brooke's 21st Birthday in Byron Bay! We decided we definitely needed to get out of tiny Lismore, and have a great celebration. After our last minute preparations/reservations for our trip, we ended up at the Holiday Village hostel, in an apartment type place. We had a couple roommates from Denmark, and one from Canada so that was interesting to say the least. The Denmark girls even sang Happy Birthday to Brooke in Danish! For our first day at Byron we laid out on the beach all day long. It was absolutely wonderful, and the weather was amazing.









After spending the entire day relaxing on the beach, we decided to go out for Brooke's birthday dinner at the party bar/restaurant called Cheeky Monkeys. We got $4.00 dinners which included free champagne! It was a great deal. After eating and drinking a few drinks there, we went back to our hostel and got ready to begin our crazy night.





We went out to a couple different bars and clubs throughout the night. It was a really fun time. My favorite part of the night was when we had a random sugar rush and at one thirty in the morning we decided to go to the bakery to get some goodies. My friend Gretchen ended up coming back with three different pastries. It was great!








The night out at Byron Bay was an amazing time. I'm looking forward to doing that again before it gets too cold for the beach! It's already fall here in Australia, and you can tell that the temperature has dropped a little. Don't get me wrong, it's still mid 80's :) I love it here.

I bought my first case of pop here in Australia!
I'm very proud of myself because I waited to do this for a whole 2 months! Dr. Pepper doesn't exist here, which makes me very sad, so I settled with Pepsi instead! It's cheaper than buying Coke for some reason. It was $15.99 for a 24 pack, so it really could have been worse! I was just so happy! I thought I deserved it.

It's still weird for me waking up in Australia, but I absolutely love that fact. It seems like time is just flying by here. I want it to slow down just a little. School is already half way over for me, and their semesters are only 12 weeks long. I've only made it to two out of the five Stress Management classes we've had, which makes me laugh. Oh school here is very easy. It's going to be hard adjusting to classes back home! I won't know how to study or do homework! I'm a little worried but i'm hoping I can jump back into things. Of course i'm excited to come back home and see family and friends, but i'm really enjoying my time here. It's a whole different world, and I feel like nothing stresses me here. I actually have time for myself, and can do what I want, without the pressures of huge assignments, tests, and working everyday. It's been a great experience and also a wonderful break from school.

Last night we went to dinner and got our favorite $10 dollar steaks. They were delicious and well worth the price! It's in this little country pub type place and they play amazing music. This might turn out to be a Thursday ritual!



On the way down to the restaurant we saw a ton of bats in the trees on the main road. It was so disgusting because they are everywhere. It's weird to me because at the zoo's we have been to they are locked up in cages because they bite. These ones just roam free everyday so I better watch out! One time I asked an Australian why the roads smelt so bad (they smelt like skunk) and she said it's from the bats "accidents" all over the roads. It's still hard getting used to seeing huge flying fox bats.

Nimbin

G'day! I just got back from the most interesting town yet..
For my Perspectives on Australia class, we took a field trip to a nearby town called Nimbin. I had heard so many stories about it before we went about how it's full of hippies and weed. Yes, I know, sounds a little extreme. The whole point of the trip was to experience new things, and see things from a different perspective. It truly was a different perspective. Everywhere we walked on the street, there was a person asking if we wanted to buy some drugs. I really felt like we didn't fit in at all, and I just always felt a little bit awkward there. Every building was painted so colorful and had really weird shop names. It was a very unique town.
We ate lunch at a little restaurant called the "Rainbow Cafe". It ended up being actually really good. I'm still not used to getting avacado on my hamburgers though.



After lunch, we just roamed the street a little more. I ended up buying a bracelet which I have wanted for a long time, so that was the most exciting part of this trip. There is not much more to our trip to Nimbin... So here's some pictures.

Meebunn-Bia

For my Outdoor Education class, we had the option to either write a paper, or attend a camping trip. Obviously being in Australia and have never camped here before, I decided to go on the trip. This was not just any camping trip. It was "real" camping in other words. We had to carry everything we bring with us to each location in a huge backpack. We even had to keep all of our garbage that we used or food we didn't finish, in plastic bags in our packs. Coming from Minnesota, I’ve camped before plenty of times, but nothing compared to this. I was used to sleeping in tents with air mattresses and with lots of blankets to keep warm, we could leave our garbage behind, and we had a nice porta-potty down the road. But in Australia, camping meant us having to sleep in a tent that consisted of rope and two tarps, one sleeping bag and a thin mat, smelly garbage in our pack, and we had to go to the bathroom wherever there was a tree, or toilet provided. This made me really nervous.

In class we learned how to operate compasses and maps, and also what certain symbols meant on the maps. I didn't take things as seriously as I probably should have. I knew the basics so I figured I would be fine for the trip anyway. There were three groups of students scheduled for three different trips. Our group was the last trip to go to Meebunn-Bia. This had its ups and downs. We were able to ask people a lot of questions regarding what types of food to bring, or what clothes to wear, but we also heard the bad things about the trip. We pretty much knew what was going to happen to us before we got there. We found out there was a lot of high ropes courses, and a lot of hiking to do. After hearing all the stories, I was even more frightened to get on the bus and actually go camping in the middle of the bush.

Day One: My roommates and I woke up around 5:30 am on Wednesday morning to our fire alarm going off for no reason at all. Yes, it was a little scary because that was the time our alarm clocks were set for. All three of us were heading for the same camping trip which was nice because we knew people before we went. We all took nice long showers that morning because we knew we wouldn't be able to shower for a couple days. Everyone got to the bus around 6:45am and we headed off with a 2.5 hour bus ride to the middle of no where! I was still definitely a little nervous for what to expect. Once we first got to Meebunn-Bia we were introduced to our instructors Tony and Tanya. At first, I thought they were way to upbeat for how early in the morning it was. They made us play a couple of icebreaker games to start the morning off. The games were really weird, and to be honest, I still don't see how they make much sense, but in the end it was really fun. Everyone kind of let loose and it was a good start to our adventure.





We started our way up the mountain and hiked for a couple minutes and we stopped and played some more games that helped build some trust with others in our group. We all seemed to get along well and trust didn't seem to be an issue with anyone which was great. After, we began to hike uphill some more and we stopped to take a break. Now, this break has a twist to it. Our instructor told us to look to the right and all I saw was the steepest mountain with lots of rocks, trees and bushes. He then simply said that we were going to climb up it and would eat lunch once we got there. Every single person in the group thought he was either joking, or they had a blank stare on their face. He was serious, so all of us with our packs on had to literally crawl up the mountain. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. We had to climb over dead trees, push ourselves up onto huge boulders, and try not to slip on loose rocks below us. Looking backwards was not an option because we were so high up from the ground and if one person fell, everyone behind them would too. I was completely out of breath once I got to the top of the mountain, but the view was absolutely incredible. You could see so many mountains off in the distance and it was a beautiful day to top it off. Lunch was well worth the hike that’s for sure.





Once we got to our camp site after hiking all day, we built our tents. The first night we were given four little poles and one big one and also two tarps. Our tent had to open ends, so any critter could get in whenever they felt like it. There were rumors that possums were the biggest deal at these camp sites and will come into your tent no matter if you like it or not. We tried forgetting about that and said we’d worry about it when it got close to bed time. The first day we were able to try out some of the high ropes courses, and also do the zip line. We wore harnesses and helmets with carabineers attached to the harness to attach us to the wires. I was a little nervous for it because I had a hard time trusting one little metal carabineer to hold me up in the air. I started out on the easiest rope course and I managed to do fine. I pushed myself to do the zip line before trying any other rope courses. The zip line ran a pretty far distance, and we had to climb a little ladder up a really tall tree to start. I was more nervous climbing up the ladder than actually jumping off the tree. It was an amazing experience because it was something I have always wanted to do, and now I am able to cross that off my bucket list! So I was very pleased that I got the opportunity to try it out, and I actually loved it. When it was time to go to sleep, I was really paranoid that a possum was for sure going to come into our tent. I didn’t get much sleep that night at all because of that, and also the loud snoring that was happening around us didn’t help.






Day Two: We got up around 6:00am and had to start on our navigation course after brekky. We were divided up into teams and had to walk around the mountains with only a compass and a map. Our goal was to make it to 15 different locations, and spot the red and yellow can at each place. It sounded easier than it truly was. We had to the find the bearing at each can, which was pretty easy, but spotting the cans seemed to be the hard part. In most areas, we were walking in the complete bush, no paths or anything. I can’t even begin to say how many spider webs and spiders we saw throughout the time in the bush, or how many times I fell. We were walking up and down hills, and even walking in the middle of creeks. The weather was really hot that day which made the navigation course even harder than it was. We were all so tired because we didn’t get much sleep the night before, hiking, and just running around really wore us out. After finding each can, it was a great feeling because we knew we were doing the right thing. The navigation course was really long, and took a couple hours to finish. We saw a couple wild kangaroos on the way back though which was exciting!





Later on during the day we started our hike back down the mountain and to our next campsite. I lost track of how many miles it actually was. We got to the halfway mark and our instructors told us the rest of the hike was all up hill. I was already extremely exhausted from the day before, plus all of that morning. I knew there was no way out of it, so I just sucked it up and told myself I could do it. While hiking, I had never felt so sick in my life. I was over working what my body could actually handle. I had a huge pack on my back, sore everything, my heart was beating so fast, and I could barely move. After taking a ton of breaks, I found myself finally at the top of the mountain. We got to our campsite a little before the sun set. We then again set up our tents and got our things ready for dinner. Before we ate, we all went up a nearby mountain to watch the sunset. This was my favorite part of the entire trip at Meebunn-Bia. It was gorgeous.







Day Three: The final morning of our trip, we woke up around 5:45am, I wish I was kidding, to see the sun rise. At first I did not want to get out of bed, but I knew this view would be a once in a lifetime chance. The sun rise was a gorgeous view, but the clouds kind of kept us from seeing the whole thing.





Another thing about this second campsite was the fact that the bathroom was definitely...no bathroom whatsoever. It was an A shape frame that looked like they just attached some pieces of wood and metal together to hold it up. It also had no front door, just one little piece of cloth to shut you out from the world. It was very interesting and disgusting.



The last set of things we did on our trip was the two person high ropes course, and the free fall. I decided to get the most challenging one over with first which was the free fall. We had to climb up a tree that was about forty feet in the air, and then jump off of it. It doesn't sound as scary as it really is. While watching the first people climb up and jump off didn't seem so terrifying until I was actually climbing up the little ladder I thought my heart was going to fly out of my chest. I shouldn't of looked down once I got to the top but of course I did.








The free fall was definitely a very challenging thing for me, but i'm glad I pushed myself to do it. I probably would never have done something like that back home. The two person rope course was also super challenging. Brooke and I were paired up and we had one little rope that held us together. It took a lot of communication and encouragement to make it through this course. I honestly did not think I could make it through the entire thing. My muscles in every part of my body were shaking and I felt so weak, but for some reason I pushed myself towards the end to finish the course. It was probably the hardest thing I accomplished during the whole trip. It did feel amazing to ring that bell at the end of the high ropes course though!

Looking back on the trip, i'm glad I had the opportunity to be apart of it. At first, I was really hesitant about going and kept telling myself I would just hate every minute of it. During the trip I tried to tell myself that every thing was fine and that I would survive in the end. I really challenged myself throughout the whole trip. Simply by sleeping in an open tent and all the way to the zip line and free fall. I'll admit I was very happy to be going home by the end of the trip. I think three days in the bush was enough for me for a while! My body was very happy once I showered and got some rest in once I got back.

Sydney

I just got back from a week long vacation with Eddy in Sydney! It was a great time, and it was a great city to visit.

Last Thursday night, Brooke and I had to take a 12 hour train ride down to Sydney. We stayed a little over a week down there. At the time, we were so excited that we were getting to see our boyfriends so I don't think the concept of a 12 hour train ride hit us until we were on board. The train was not comfortable what so ever. It was just as bad as riding on the airplane for 14 hours. Except on the train we actually had a lot of leg room. On top of that, the train made lots of loud noises the entire slow ride there. As you can tell, we got maybe an hour or two of sleep. We even took Tylenol PM. It was definitely a nightmare train. My favorite part was when I hear "Good Morning everyone! Time for breakfast!" on the intercom, and I looked at my phone and it was only 4:00 am. It was a terrible ride, but in the end we survived!! That's all that really mattered.

During the first few days we took the boys to Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary to see their first koalas and kangaroos. For me, it was really not that exciting considering it was my third zoo I have been to in the last month, but the koalas never get old. They are so cute every single time I see them! It was nice to see a smile on Eddy's face when he got to pet and see the koalas and kangaroos though. I'm still shocked and amazed by some of the animals they have here. They are so different looking. Some are super colorful, and others are just weird like huge flying fox bats. Pretty sure Eddy fell in love with the wombat. He had to take a million pictures of him and feed him the ice cream cone. (I think Eddy probably fed every animal possible that he could) It was cute. Also, when we walked into the kangaroo area, there were these huge birds, some what like an ostrich, that came up and literally attacked the kangaroo food from Eddy's hand. It was hilarious because the birds were as tall as us and wouldn't stop following the food. They were for sure the highlight of my time at the wildlife park!





We also went to a suburb of Sydney called Manly. We took a half hour ferry ride over to the town. Along the way, the ferry went right next to the Sydney Harbor bridge and the Opera House. It was like a mini tour on the ferry. It was gorgeous to see. It was also weird just because they are such well known buildings and are something you see in textbooks. It was also cool because on the ferry ride, there were so many sailboats all around us, i'm talking almost a hundred. So our ferry just went in between them all, and it was so windy that they looked like they were going to tip right over. Some guys who were sailing had to hang over the edge of the boat just so it wouldn't tip over. That's something I have always wanted to try, but after seeing that, it looked a little too scary.






When we got off the ferry, there was a tiny beach that was just sitting by the city harbor. We thought that this was the only beach the boys would see, and we were a little embarrassed/ashamed because this was definitely not a beach. After about five minutes, we were bored with it and decided to walk into town instead. Luckily, Eddy found a sign saying that Manly beach was actually down the road. The day started to get a lot better from then on! I thought that Manly was also a gorgeous beach. Yet again there was a lot of jellyfish washed up along the shore and we also saw a dead baby seahorse. That was the first time i've seen a seahorse in person. Too bad it had to be dead. It was really windy that day, but we still had a good time just relaxing on the beach all day.






Towards the end of our trip, Eddy and I decided to go back to Manly and to explore the beach some more. We walked all along the coastline and made our way to the rocks. We found another awesome beach where the water was super blue. We hiked around and climbed the rocks for a couple hours. The view was incredible! The only downfall was that along the trails, there were tons of huge spiders. They were everywhere. Eddy was scared :)







During the week we had together we went to Bondi beach. This was my favorite place in Sydney for sure. The beach was gorgeous. There were a lot of surfers and the weather was great. The only weird part about this place was that there were a lot of topless people surrounding us. This is probably normal to all of them, but from our viewpoints it was very different. Eddy and I ate at this really good little restaurant called Gabby's and got a BLT. So delicious.. That was one of the best things I have eaten here in Australia so far. We sat on the beach all day and also checked out all of the surf shops they had there. The boys thought it would be a genius idea to bury us in sand. It was fun at the time, but when it was time to get out, we had sand everywhere. I didn't get it out of my hair until two days later.







We also went back to Bondi beach another day during the week because we liked it so much. This time Eddy and I decided to yet again explore the rocks. It was also an extremely gorgeous view, and I would definitely go back. Eddy was the real adventurer. He was climbing the rocks all the way out farther into the ocean, then he finally realized it wasn't such a good idea when a huge wave came up and hit the rocks and almost splashed him off the rocks. Yes, a little scary for me to watch.










Another cool place we saw a couple times was Darling Harbor. It was pretty close to our hostels and just had a bunch of food places and some shops. It was gorgeous at night because you could see the entire city lit up.









We also went to the Olympic Park. This was really not what we expected. When we got off the train it looked like a ghost town. No one was really around. There were three restaurants around and a couple hotels. The rest was the stadium and playing fields and other random buildings. To tour the stadium it cost $20 dollars so we decided it really wasn't worth the money. The only place we really went was to see the Olympic pool. We had to pay just to get into it. It was a real waste of money because we didn't even get to find the stands where the medalists stood. All we could do is sit in the hot tub, and play in the kiddy pool. But I guess it was still cool to say we went to the place where the Sydney Olympics were held ten years ago.