Signs of Australia

Knee Update and Billabong

Hey there

Last week, at Wednesday night ultimate, my knee was really acting up and giving me a problem. Since then, I've been taking it really easy on the ultimate and things that are still a step ahead of where I am. As advised, I started doing more cutting drills and jumping work and just running. It's definitely what I need to be working on right now. I chanced playing a few points tonight at ultimate (Blue team!!) and things felt really good. It made me a lot more motivated about things, and that's something I really need. I'm happy.

I start my volunteer work tomorrow morning at 6:30am. I'm working at a place called Billabong Sanctuary, and it's really just a big zoo- type place where we take care of animals and educate the public about the environment. I'm pretty sure I'll be cleaning cages, feeding animals, and holding them during the demonstrations. I'm really excited; this will definitely be good experience if I do decide I want to work at a zoo or an aquarium (OR SEAWORLD!). Plus, there's a really good chance I'll be cuddling koala's and playing with dingo puppies. Sounds good to me.

School and classes have been going really well; I really love my marine sciences class, and my biodiversity class. They are so cool, and interesting, and I really feel that I'm learning about things I'm interested in (finally). It's giving me a whole other path that I've never really considered... maybe going to dental school isn't what I want to do. I'm really thinking about getting more involved in marine work. Maybe after I graduate this year, I'll apply to a Marine masters program. Anyone has any good school suggestions?? Dental is still definitely a good option for me, but I don't want to let anything pass me by.

It's just about my bedtime for tonight, since I'm getting up so early. Maybe read a little Harry Potter :)

Why I love Australia...

I'm at a loss for words trying to describe how amazing of a weekend I just had. It's so weird, because going into this weekend I had no plans at all and not really much to look forward to you. If you can believe it, this may have turned into one of the absolute best weekends yet. I don't know how it's possible, but things just keep getting better here. Or maybe it just seems that way... regardless I love it!

I suppose the best place to start is with this past Friday. Our friend Erica thought it would be a good idea to skip dinner at the cafeteria (which didn't look promising) and instead, we organized a BBQ down on the beach. The Strand (where downtown meets the beaches) is equipped with a bunch of free-to-use grills and tables and everything, right next to the beach. We jumped a bus and went grocery shopping, and then took off for a night of amazing food and fun. I bought a steak to make, and it was awesome. We had so much food, and a bunch of people turned up, so it turned out to be really successful. Needless to say, get a bunch of people together on a beach at night, and swimming will definitely happen. A bunch of people (myself included) decided to jump in the ocean for a dip under the stars. It was so warm, and the sky was so clear. It was great. I know it doesn't sound all that amazing, but if you could have been there. It was easily one of the best Friday nights I had. And all our Australian friends were super eager to help us learn the southern hemisphere star map; but they really only knew where the Southern Cross was. Thats okay. Still awesome.

Since we turned in pretty early on Friday, we had no problem getting an early start to our Saturday by heading down to the rope swing at the river. Despite the freshwater crocs and the eels, we still went in the water. Again, it was really warm and jumping off the trees into the water was really great. It turns out that its a really big hot spot for swimming with the college kids here. I lost of bit of skin on the rope swing, but it still worth it. I can't wait to do it again.

But we weren't done there. Feeling inspired, we decided to take on a hike up Castle Hill. And seriously, the term "hill" here is an understatement. It should be called Castle Cliff or something, because hill is not doing this incline justice. This is a picture of Castle Hill from the bottom. Our goal is that top peak. It was a rough, but totally worth it climb. It was a bit embarrassing whenever we got passed off by better hikers, but we still managed to make it. It was a lot of fun too, and I'd do it again. We picked a good time; the sun was making its descent, and things were cooling off. It was such a great feeling to get the view from the top.



We were all pretty tired and hungry after the hike, so we decided to eat fresh and get some Subway. Sometimes it's nice to have something American like Subway... but we ended up missing our bus, and we would have had to wait quite some time for the next one. Luckily, two very nice Australia blokes (friends don't worry) drove into town to come get us, and I got to ride in a car for the first time since I've been here. It was actually really cool. They drive on the wrong side here, and the cars are built backwards. After a quick shower, we got ready for a night-in hanging out with a bunch of our friends. I won't go into details, but we had a really great night just hanging out.

Today was a field trip for me; Reef HQ to do some fish species counting. It was pretty cool too, but my exhaustion was setting in. I was happy to get back to campus this afternoon. Now it's time to buckle down and get some work done! It's already the start of the 5th week of classes! I have a lab report due tomorrow, a paper due Friday, and another paper due next week! Time to get cracking!

Week 4

I've officially been living in Australia for over a month. That's just crazy talk to me. Time is actually flying by; but at the same time, it feels like it was ages ago when I stepped off of that plane. I'm not sure I ever described what it felt like landing in Australia. It was the sole moment of excitement for me; the sun was just breaking the horizon, shedding light onto the coastline of expansive, turquoise water. It was amazing. Anyway, back on topic....

This past Friday I got to experience my first-ever Australian Rugby game. It was the North Queensland team, Cowboys versus the Bulldogs (from ??). It was such a cool experience. Lawn tickets were only $10 and a bunch of my friends all decided to go. Definitely not as glitzy as American professional sports, but really, it was just as exciting. I really liked it, but I wish I knew more about rugby. Some of it was really hard to follow.

Saturday was already really fun and interesting. Townsville was hosting its annual Cultural Festival, so we decided to head downtown and check it out. There was tons of food, really good performances, and amazing art work and culture stands. I bought a few really neat things, mostly jewelry and a skirt, and ate some pretty good food. It was some type of Asian noodles... not really Australian, but still good! It just happened to be another really hot day, and since the beach was literally RIGHT there, we decided to go swimming for a break. It was perfect. I love it downtown so much. I wish I could spend every day at the beach, and on the downtown streets in the cafes and shops. It's my favorite part in Townsville.

Sunday was a work day; it's already the 4th week of class, and I have assignments due and things to study. I don't mind it for the most part; I really love my two marine science classes and its fun doing that work. Can't say the same for the psych classes though... teachers are far too boring unfortunately.

Today was another good day (see any recurring themes here?). Mostly class for the entire day, and then more ultimate tonight. My knee felt a lot better this week, and I'm not pushing it. I'm really happy with how tonight went. It gives me a really big motivational boost for the upcoming year with Danger.

That's it from me for tonight... One month down, three to go!

Geckos are everywhere

Monday Night Ultimate

Monday night there's a big game of pick-up ultimate, and I decided to go down with a few friends. I played three points in a row, and then took one off for a quick break. Played two more points after that successfully. We were running a zone and it looked really good. But, of course, during the 6th point my knee decided that I had had enough for today, and I had to call injury. I don't think I did any real damage, but I'm definitely not ready for more high speed ultimate yet. It's frustrating, but I think I'm going to have to bit the bullet and pay the 360$ for a gym membership. I need to be lifting, and strengthening this knee. Or at the very least, work back into ultimate a little bit slower. Wednesday night play is a lot slower, and more my level for right now.

Apart from feeling frustrated right now, I'm getting more motivated to get back into things. I actually forgot what it felt like to be playing ultimate. To be honest, I'm not sure if I ever knew what it really felt like, but this was a reminder. I remember what I want, and I know what I need to do to get it. I just need to do it. I just need to do more.

Moon party and mud wrestling

It's been another amazing week in Australia. Not much happened during the beginning of the week, apart from winning at trivia night. It was mostly going to class and trying to get my work done early in the week so I could enjoy the weekend. I will say that Wednesday night was awesome though. It was the first night of ultimate Frisbee, and it was the first time in about 10 months that I got to step onto a field and play for a bit. The practice was mostly just learning to throw and then attempting a really messy scrimmage at the end. But it felt amazing to play. My knee feels really good and strong, and it's just going to be getting back into shape and learning to actually play the game. I'm not ready for any marathons yet, but it felt like a big accomplishment for me.


My only class on Thursday was rescheduled, which left me an entire off to do whatever I wanted. Kiara, Francesca and myself decided to hit the beach for the day. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. The water was a tad chilly for what you might expect for Australia, but it was still really nice and refreshing.

For Friday night, all my Arcadia friends (And tons of other JCU people too) had bought tickets to get into the Full Moon Party that was being held on Magnetic Island (just off the coast of Townsville). It sounded like it would be really cool and that it would be a lot of fun, but sadly, I didn't think so. Instead of the cool beachy party that I was expecting (tiki torches, island jams and fruity cocktails), it was just this techno rave type party at a bar that had 10 drink choices and they were all overpriced and bad. It was a big disappointment, since it took us two buses and a ferry to get there, plus a 15$ cover charge. Oh well. The island was really cool though, and I definitely plan on going back there. Beautiful beaches, and some pretty cool hiking trails.

Saturday definitely made up for Friday night. After only 3 hours of sleep, our entire dorm building was woken up at 6:00am to get up and go run a 5K. The incentive was that if you went, you'd get into the all-day keg party that we were throwing for 10$. So, we all got up and ran (walked) the 5K. It was actually a really nice walk, and I didn't mind it at all, once I was out of bed of course. After a nap, we went to the lawn party, and it was a blast. They even had little kiddie swimming pools set up, and a home made slip-n-slide. All the water on the ground ended up leaving a giant mud puddle, into which about 50 people (myself included) decided it would be fun to play in. It was such a great time, and it was definitely worth getting covered in mud. Only downfall was getting pushed into a swimming pool with my Australian cell phone :( but there isn't much I can do about it now. After the mud puddle, everyone ran back inside to get showers so that we could be ready for the concert they were having on campus. I really enjoyed the Australian- accented rock band. It was a really nice change from all the techno- dance music, and it was also a ton of fun.

And today. No plans for the rest of the night (relaxinggg), but this morning was really nice. We went downtown to go to the farmer's market/ arts and craft market, and then got some gelato and sat on the beach. And I bought some crazy feathery headbands and stuff at the mall on the way back. Pretty cool! I'm excited for next weekend though; they are throwing a really big Cultural Fest all weekend. I bet it will be really awesome. The market today was even really cool.

Really, there isn't anything too too exciting to write about, but I still feel like I'm doing so much and having so much fun. Everyday we find out about something cool to do in the future. Like, there are rope swings that go into the nearby river, and I still really want to hike up Castle Hill. There really is so much to do, and I love that I get to stay here to keep experiencing it. It's the little things that we've been doing that I enjoy the most!

My 21st Birthday Weekend

This was without a doubt one of the coolest ways I could ever hope to celebrate my 21st birthday. By deciding to come to Australia though the Arcadia program, we were given one free excursion weekend. My luck had it that it happened on the weekend I turned 21. Originally destined to visit Hinchinbrook Island, there was a slight change of plans and we headed off to Mission Beach instead. I can honestly say that the memory of this weekend will never leave me.

Our trip started on friday, when we jumped all jumped onboard the Arcadia bus and traveled 3 hours north to Mission Beach. Captained by Cat and Lyndon, it was a really great trip. It was so scenic and beautiful, and because I was napping half the time, the ride flew by. We were also really lucky; we caught a sighting of some Cassowaries in the wild. First, we saw one by himself and then in another 10 minutes, we saw another dad with his 2 babies! That's a really rare thing to see apparently, even for locals. And if you don't know what a cassowary is, you need to google image that. It's unbelievable. When we arrived, we went out to eat at a local cafe/ bar, and stayed for some of the karaoke night. If I was only more like my dad's half of the family, I would have got up to sing. But, being musically and vocally challenged, I just enjoyed watching my friends have a good time.

The real adventure started on Saturday. We woke up and had breakfast at the hostel we were staying in, called The Treehouse, and headed off to meet a boat on the coast. The hostel was also really cool; lots of hammocks and it even had a pool and a resident cat that was pretty sweet. Anyway, we jumped ship and began making our way out to Eddy Reef (about an hour and 20 minutes off shore). Lucky for me, I don't get seasick. We had some less than perfect weather, and about 10 people paid the price for the rough seas. Let's just say some people spent the whole ride with their head in a bucket. But once we were close enough to the reef, the natural beauty that surrounded us made up for the boat ride instantly. It was the most beautiful ocean blue I've ever seen. And it was all around us, pristine and perfect. And what's more, we anchored there and spent the next 3 hours snorkeling/ scuba-ing on the Great Barrier Reef. I signed up to try scuba for the first time, and it was SO worth it. I was awestruck, simply speechless, for what I saw. I fell in love immediately with the ocean. Thousands of fish, swaying anemones, coral reefs full of color. It was truly amazing to get to see a place like this. It felt like I was in a postcard, or just a made up world. On the scuba adventure, our guide let us hold a sea cucumber, touch a giant clam and feel an anemone. Let me just say that for being so small, clown fish are quite defensive about their homes!

After another rough ride back, we went to town for a little bit and got some gelato and went shopping for a bit. Then we headed back to the hostel for a BBQ style dinner. I loved it; doing things all together, like making food, is such a comforting thing for me. Then I spent the night relaxing on a hammock with a few of my friends I've made. It was really enjoyable.

Sunday morning. August 2nd, 2009. Officially 21 years of age. I was greeted with a morning round of Happy Birthday from all the wonderful people of Arcadia, and possibly a few other random travelers who happened to be in the room. It was nice to be remembered. But due to some more high winds, we weren't able to go sea kayaking anymore. We needed an alternative plan, and Cat and Lydon didn't disappoint. What's better than waking up on your 21st birthday and heading off to a Winery for some early drinks?! We visited Murdering Point Winery, and got to sample 9 different varieties of fruit wines and ports. Most of them were incredibly delicious; a few weren't for me. It's locally and family owned and operated, and I really enjoyed getting to go there. I purchased a few bottles for the road, and off we went to the next adventure.

Next stop; Tully Sugar Mill. I think it's best to summarize this is just a few words; thinking about it reminds me of how it smelled, and that wasn't very good. Sugar making is a huge process, I learned a lot about how its done and I tasted hot, fresh sugar right off the belt. The tour was long, and also loud and strongly scented. I was thankful for lunch, which followed suit. Complete with birthday cake and a card, it was quite delicious.

Last stop for the weekend was at Paradise Wateringhole, and the name does not disappoint. Easily my favorite part of the day, it was again, just perfect. Jumping off rocks into warm, clear water. Well, not too warm. But not cold!! It was just a ton of fun, and I was so happy we got to go. This is the part of Australia I just love.

Once we got back, it was time for all the James Cook kids to hit the bars! A 21st birthday doesn't go uncelebrated by any American. We hit up a place called Cactus Jack's, and I had some really great drinks, courtesy of my amazing new friends. It was a lot of fun, and I really had a great time. If you ever come to Australia (or even at a bar at home!) you need to get a Cowboy shot. And a Squashed frog. And a purple warhead. And I think I should stop before my mom gets too worried!

I apologize for such a long post, but really, so much happened!! And it actually doesn't stop there. Even though it's Tuesday night, 3 of my friends and I decided not to go downtown and get 2$ drink specials. Instead we went to Trivia night, with the local travel agency. It was in our cards to be there. We didn't win the trivia event, but we actually did amazing at the door prizes. Erica ended up winning the grand prize; a 3 day trip from Sydney down to Melbourne, packed with adventure! And if you can believe it, Kiara ended up winning too! She got a free skydive voucher for down at Byron Bay. Lucky for her, we already had plans to get down there, so it should be awesome. It's kind of cool for me too though... the free skydive is actually not entirely free. It's buy one, get one... which means she and I get to do it!! (and its like half price for both of us). So awesome!! 1400ft in the air!

Okay, enough from me. Sending all my love! I hope to hear from a few of you soon!