"I Just Wanna Dance With Somebody"

Hi all! I am alive after writing 4 essays this week! I am so glad that it is over! My week consisted of working at a cafe as a dishwasher, and I then I catered a meal today! It is sooo nice to have some income so I can travel and do things around the city. This week was unbelievable, though! It made me fall even more in love with Speech Pathology because I got the opportunity to observe in a voice clinic here on campus. It was a WONDERFUL experience, and I am observing again on Tuesday. The Speech Pathologist that I shadowed was sooo wonderful and taught me sooo much. I am so thankful and blessed. The clients were amazing and really made me love my major. One of my essays was for assessing the language of a child, teenager and an adult, and the other essay was about how animals affect patients in animal-assisted therapy. Then I am working on one that is for my sign language class. I have probably written 25 pages worth of papers this week. By the looks of pinterest and facebook, you all probably think I don't have a life besides the computer. Ha! I do though! All week, my friend, Ashton and I have be running together because she would like to pursue a career in the Air Force. I have never ran in my life, and now I feel great. I eat like a hog ALL.THE. TIME. Speaking of eating, I have also been watching Master Chef Australia the whole week with my friends, and I am an addict. I admit it. Then my Pinterest page is FULL of cupcakes. Ha. Last night my friends and I went out dancing, hence, the title of my blog and facebook album, and we had a blast. Then, tonight, we watched the introductions of all the cartoons that we watched when we were children. It is amazing how time flies and how one misses childhood. So many memories came with the T.V. shows that we watched. It made me grateful for a great childhood and made me think of Kansas. This weekend was going to be spent at a friend's home, but she came down with pneumonia, and now we aren't going to visit her parents. Darn, but I guess it gives me the chance to study for some finals and just relax after a long, longggg week. I have been following the calendar, and I have just over a month until I go home. I am sooo excited to see my family and friends in the United States. I can't describe how excited I am. BUT I am going to make my days here count by traveling to Tasmania and volunteering. One of my Australian friends here told me that they consider me an Australian, and it made really think about what I have gained from this experience. I feel like I am a part of the Australian culture and will always be and absolutely love the feeling. Kansas is always going to be my home, and I love it, but I know that I will always love Australia. Hands down. I think I will definitely be a mix of American and Australian when I get back. ;)

Time is Flying

Hey guys! I am taking a break from writing a ten page paper about Animal-Assisted Therapy for my Human and Animal Anthropology class. This week is going to be nuts! I have a 1500 word paper due on Tuesday and this big one due on Friday. Then a 1500 word paper due on Monday. I am nervous about all of them and just want to do well. These past two weeks have been great, though. I have worked at the cafe on campus and have made some extra cash and have started a running routine with friends. We have been doing it about 5 days a week, and it TOTALLY helps the stress. I have been trying to have some fun in between work and school. One of my close friends here turned 18 this week, so we celebrated that. It was soo fun, and we had a party for her. I haven't been going into the city very much just because my homework has been keeping me busy! Ah! I can't wait for Tasmania! My friend from Texas and I are going on June 5 and coming back June 7th. We are going to take a ghost tour and are going to visit the Tasmanian Devils. Ha! It will be soooo fun! I can't wait because we leave the day after my biggest final. My last final is on June 16th, and then I will have 13 days free! I am excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel but feel sad at the same time. Homesickness has been hard lately because of all the events going on back home. Thank goodness for Nathan, my family and friends. They have all helped me lots! It is getting cool here, and I love it. I have a feeling, though, that a hot, Kansas summer will feel good, too! Thanks for all the support back home and sorry it has taken me soooo long to write.

Just Checking In!

Hey guys! I am just checking in! I have been super busy with essays here lately, and I have been hanging out with some friends. On Sunday of last week, I went to church with a friend from Indonesia, and it was so nice to have a friend to go with!  On Thursday of last week, we celebrated one of my close friend's birthdays, and we went out for pizza and then dancing! It was amazing, and I was sooo excited because I bought her a mint chocolate cake! I couldn't hardly keep the secret. Haha! This past weekend was spent reading the "Hunger Games" and working on a 4 page research paper for my Culture and Globalisation class. Then my Australian friends introduced me to a cooking show called "Master chef Australia."Everyone is crazy for this show here, and I am finding that I am becoming addict myself. Don't tell anyone. ;) Today is the day for buying my plane ticket for Tasmania, and then my friend from Texas and I are going to the Cadbury Chocolate factory in Hobart! We are both excited and will probably leave with a chocolate coma. Butttt, it will be worth it! Then I have added an exercise routine into my schedule with some friends, and we see a bat every time we are out at night. We named him after Edward Cullen, and now, he is just "Eddie." The routine is used by the Air Force and eases a person into running. You run a certain distance one week and then move up a little the next week. Yesterday, I along with friends, doubled our running time. It felt good to run off stress. Last night, I Americanized my Australian friend's calendar and penciled in "D-day, Pearl Harbor, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, 4th of July and Epiphany" (My birthday) ;). I am rubbing off on one of my close friends here. She used to look at me funny when I would ask to use her "skillet" when they call it a "fry pan." Now I find myself saying "fry pan," and she says "skillet."Then I have caught myself switching back and forth from Aussie ligo to American ligo in the same sentence. Here, they call Ketchup "Tomato Sauce." So one day I go, "Ashton forgot tomato sauce, so we need to bring her Ketchup." I know I sound like a Speechie nerd, but I love hearing the dialect differences. It is amazing. Chisholm College had their own "Master chef" competition last week also, and I helped my friends make Vegetarian Curry. I am not much of a Curry eater, but this was good. But, we didn't win. Tower 6 did. Darn. This weekend, I talked to Chantel, Cody, Collin, Nathan, Logan and Katie on Skype. Then I talked to my family too. Everyone is getting ready for finals, and Chantel is getting ready for her art show. Her work is awesome, and I am so proud of her. I can't believe that she is graduating! I am sooo happy that I have gotten the chance to spend time with her in Manhattan while she was there. Matt is getting ready to graduate from Junior High. I can't believe how fast he has grown up. He told me the other day that he has his paper work for Driver's Ed, and I am thinking..."Oh boy, my car is at home unattended while I am in Australia..."Then there is Elaina! She had her first communion, and now she has her dance recital on Mother's Day!!!! I wish I could go! I am soooo proud of all three of my siblings. BUT I am in love with Australia and just enjoy going to classes here. I know it is not traveling, but I believe that the opportunity to learn from others in a foreign country is a privilege. The fall air is refreshing, and the trees are showing signs of fall. It is gorgeous. Yesterday, I had the funniest thing happen to me. I was in Australian Sign Language, and my teacher asked me what university I went to back home. I signed to her, "Nebraska,"and she signed back "You're a Husker. I like." Haha! UNL is always with me wherever I go. ;) Then my Speech Pathology teacher last week was a Stuttering Specialist, and one of my professors at UNL is a Stuttering Specialist. I asked her if she knew him, and she goes, "I read his research all the time!!! I can't believe he is at Nebraska."Traveling 30 hours to get to Australia really made the world feel HUGE, but really, it is quite small. I love Speech Pathology, and I love the teachers for it here. Then I told that same professor that I was from Kansas, and she told me that a Speech Pathologist from a University in Kansas visited last year with students. I asked her what the colors were, and she goes, "Purple and Silver."I laughed and guessed, "Kansas State University." I was right. I am proud to be a Kansan/Nebraskan. ;) It is soooo cool how all of these universities have global connections. Now, it has gotten me hoping that I get to come back for some Speech Pathology research. :) I know I will want to come back. Australia is and will always be my third home. I love the atmosphere, and I have made friends who have made the experience unforgettable. Period. I am blessed.

Busy As Usual! :)

Hey guys! I just finished a crazy week! I had a paper due today, a Sign Language speech on Monday and I had to read A LOT this week. I did not realize that Anthropology classes came with so much reading! Oh well! My tutor says that I am doing great in the class and that she loves to read about small town, Hanover, Kansas. I found out that I did well on a test for my Speech-Language Pathology course, and I absolutely LOVE  the class. We are talking about how the brain controls speech, language, swallowing and motor skills. It is extremely hard but SO fascinating. Tomorrow, I am working on more homework and will start planning my trip to Tasmania. It is starting to become very cold here, and my heater in my room does not work. So, I have my very own personal nest in my friend's room. Haha! I spent four hours in her room yesterday, and we read and watched "Grey's Anatomy." We have our own little "Grey's Anatomy" club that meets every Thursday night. I also found out when my finals will be in June! My last final will be June 16, but I think the trip to Tasmania will be after that. :) This wonderful experience will end on a wonderful note. My Australian friends know that my sister is getting married, and they asked me if I could  invite them to my sister's wedding so that they could visit. It was soo funny! I am so thankful for my friends here, because homesickness has been bad here lately. They have made me laugh and realize that I need to enjoy the people here and Australia before I leave. I am only here once and need to invest in my relationships. I found out that my Australian Sign Language final is going to be difficult. I have to produce a 10-12 minute long speech and then tell what a signer is saying. I am nervous but excited for it. Signing feels a lot like acting, and I love to act. Tonight, I watch a cool French film with my Australian friends and funny YouTube videos. On Sunday, I am making Puppy Chow, and it marks that I  come home in two months! Where has the time gone? Well, that's all for now! :)

Can't Sleep...So Blog!

Hey guys! I am behind again and promise that I will starting doing this everyday again. I have been reading Anatomy all day and have two papers due this week. I think the stress is keeping me up! Thank goodness for my friends here though! We watched "Valentine's Day" tonight together, and it was wonderful. Then last night, my Aussie friends and I watched "The Lion King" on YouTube in French, German, Japanese and Italian. It sounds really pretty in Italian! :)  Then I told my Australian friends that I am going to make Puppy Chow for them, and they looked at me and said, "Like dog food?" They don't have wonderful Puppy Chow over here! Then I making them my Grandma White's apple pie. :D I think my friend and I are going to be planning a trip to Tasmania in June, and I am SOOO excited! I did my first speech in Australian Sign Language today, and boy was I nervous! BUT it went well, and the speech just had to be about me. I told them that I love to shop for shoes, purses and jewelry. I am my mother's daughter. Haha! Well, I better head to bed! Thanks for the support at home! :)

Long Time No Talk

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written in a while. School has been keeping me busy all week, but a lot of miracles have happened this week. I FINALLY found a job at a catering center on campus, and I will be waiting tables. I can't wait to learn more about the culture by waiting on Australians. Homesickness has been kind of bad here lately, butttt I still love it here. I am bummed that I have to start doing homework again after my wonderful trip to Cairns. But I am SO thankful to be here. On Tuesday, I had my first day of work, and we catered an event for the College of Business and Law. I got to meet the associate dean of the college, and I talked to him for a few minutes about Speech Pathology. My boss is really nice and my co-workers were great! On Tuesday, I also got to perform my first Oral Facial Examination on a child, and I did one on an adult on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, I found a Catholic church not too far away from here, and I met a lot of Italian women. Wednesday, I got my first "A" over here, and I could not contain my excitement! haha! My tutor is happy with me, and I am starting to figure out what they want. Then yesterday, I assessed Fran's speech off "The Nanny" for class!! Hahaha! It was totally awesome. My week ended really well because I found out that my FAVORITE band is playing here in Melbourne on June 9th!! TRAIN! I am going to see them one way or another. Then I think a trip to Tasmania is in the cards later on. It is hard to travel a lot here, because Australia is a HUGE country, and everything is spread apart. Haha! You guys may not hear a lot from me in May because I have five essays due during that month. They are going to make time fly, and pretty soon I will be coming home. :( / :) I can't decide if that is good or bad because I have met wonderful people here. BUT there is NO place like Kansas. :)

My Trip to Cairns

Hi guys! I just got back from Cairns, which is a city in Queensland, Australia. It was a wonderful trip!  The day of our arrival was disappointing because our hostel wasn't as nice as what we thought it would be. Then we went to this restaurant that the hostel said to go to, and it was terrible. But after a night full of laughter about everything, we realized that things really weren't that bad. We just rolled ourselves up in the sheets for caution against bed bugs...ugh. None were found though! The second day was wonderful! We went out on the Great Barrier Reef, Moore reef to be exact, and I got to scuba dive!! The trip out to the reef was a bit choppy, sooo a lot of people became sea sick. They didn't take the Ginger tablets that were offered by the crew! I don't get their logic! Then I had my scuba diving briefing with an instructor and three other people. It was a little confusing because the United States measures air in psi, and Australia uses the bar system. Then decompression was measured differently, and I became really nervous. After getting to the reef, we finally suited up in our equipment, and my nerves were killing me. Then one instructor, a God send, told me that this water was going to be a piece of cake for me because I learned how to dive in a sand pit. He told that the visibility would be a lot clearer and that I would float easier here because of the salt. That talk really made me feel confident. Grandpa sent me a friend when I needed one. :) After getting all the equipment on, we went under the deck onto a platform in shallow water. Then we swam to ropes that led down to the reef. After putting our regulators in, we went down. It was soooo beautiful!! The fish were beautiful, and I wish I could have done another dive. I can't even describe the beauty that I saw that day! While diving, I got caught in a huge school of beautiful fish! Now, I wish that I was a Marine Biology major! I want to know the names of all the fish I saw. Then I ran into Wally, the HUGE blue fish, who is the mascot of the cruise we went on. He was this HUGE fish that knew he was a cutie, and he would let you touch him. He was a sweetheart, and he had a ego. He knew he was a pretty boy. It was cute! We got our photo taken together! I feel like I am advancing in my diving, though. I was able to keep neutral buoyancy ( not touching the ocean floor or going to the surface), and I was able to keep up with the dive instructor around all of the coral! This experience changed my life because I worked sooooo hard to become certified just for that dive. It was TOTALLY worth all of the work, frustration and tears. My first certified dive was at The Great Barrier Reef, and you could believe how big my smile was went I wrote that into my dive journal. I just want to thank everyone who supported me during my certification, because I experienced that beautiful dive because of you all. After coming up from diving, we ate lunch, and they served us shrimp that still had their black eyes. I found out that I can't eat anything that is starring at me! haha! Then Ashton and I went out to the reef and snorkeled for a while! I liked scuba diving better because people didn't run into you!! People were kind of rude! But the sights outweighed the people issues. We saw a HUGE blue fish eat coral, and then eat the fish in the coral! It was fascinating, and I got caught in five schools of fish during my snorkel. It was a fantastic day! Chantel wrote on my facebook yesterday about how I used to be scared of water, and now I love it. What is fear? It is nothing when you make the decision to overcome it. Ashton and I spent the second of our trip at the Cairns Tropical Zoo, and it was absolutely amazing! We started out the day by feeding the kangaroos. The zoo held the kangaroos in a huge paddock that housed probably 60 kangaroos! While all of the other tourists tried to lure a huge group of kangaroos with food, Ashton found her and I our personal kangaroo. The kangaroo was sitting in the corner away from all the rest of them, and Ashton lured him with food! We had our own private photo shoot with him, and then the other tourists found out our scheme. Darn. haha! After the kangaroos, we went to lunch, and we had a visitor. Ashton and I were sitting down and enjoying our lunch. Then Ashton says, "There is lizard under the table next to us." I really didn't freak out because tiny lizards had been following us all day. Then I look over at this Water Dragon that is two foot long!!! I about jumped out of my chair and shrieked! Ashton knows of my fear of reptiles, and she was like, "I wondering why you were staying sooo calm about the lizard!" Then we found out that lizard was the cafe pet. The owner came out and fed the lizard cantaloupe! Haha! Bizzarre pet I'd say! Ashton almost got attacked by a baby crocodile!!! She was the first person to hold the crocodile, and I think he must have woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He, even with his jaws taped shut, tried to bite Ashton!!! Ah!  I went to get my picture take with the koala, too! Ashton's koala was an older one, but I got to hold a baby girl. Her name was Lana, and she was the sweetest little girl ever! I could have cuddled with her for hours and hours. She was soooo precious!! I think the zookeeper said that she was 6 months old. :D That night, Ashton and I went out for some Italian food, and it was amazing but spicy!!! It was hot and humid that whole time we were in Cairns. I was used to it because summers in Kansas can be extremely humid. Our third day was spent by going into shops around Cairns, and I found wonderful deals on gifts for people at home. We went to "Cartier," "Louis Vuitton," and "Rolex" because I never have before. I just wanted to go because I have never seen them before!! It was sooooo cool and everything was beautiful! They were kind of pricey...haha! Then we went to the beach and ate at "Hog's Breathe Cafe" the last night! It was yummy! I had a grilled steak sandwich, chocolate fondue and wonderful fruity drink! The next day was filled with gross flights!!! Three flights!! We finally made it back to Melbourne at 10:25 on Wednesday night! It feels great to be back, but now I go back to school on Monday. Ugh. Cairns was wonderful, and I wouldn't have gotten there without support back home! Thanks everyone! :)

Keeping my chin up

Hey guys! I have been super busy finishing up my last week of school before Easter break. I am so excited to scuba dive in Cairns and know that my Grandpa White will be watching out for me. It has been hard to concentrate on my courses this week, and it is hard to be away from home at this time. However, my family has been skyping me and being supportive. My friends here have been amazing and supportive, also. I am blessed to have them. I have been studying for an exam in my Normal Communication class all day and just have been hanging in here. On the brighter side of things, one of neighbors had a birthday last night! Our whole floor celebrated with her, and we made TONS of food. I tried Fairy Bread, which is bread, butter and then they put sprinkles on it. Now, it may not sound great, but it was delicious! My friend also made miniature meat pies, which we don't eat much in the U.S. They were great too! I keep figuring out that Australians call things different names than Americans do. Sooooo when I get home, I may be calling things by different names. Haha! My friends and I also want to plan a trip to a local winery! It will be soooo much fun because I have never went to one in the U.S. They say the food is wonderful! Tomorrow is my friend from Texas's birthday! I think we are gathering tomorrow night for that, and I can not wait! Then Saturday is when we leave for CAIRNS!!!!! :DDDD I found out that our hotel will pick us up from the airport for free and that we have a complimentary meal at the local cafe every night. It will be great to relax after these past weeks. Hopefully I can find a church in Cairns. I would really like to celebrate Easter somewhere! Another side note, I found out that I am approved to do research at UNL when I get back, and it will be focused on the area of Speech Pathology that I want to specialize in! Plus, it is going to be under a wonderful professor! :D Then I found out that will probably graduate from UNL a semester early in December of 2013, and I have an apartment lined up for next semester. I am trying to live my life to fullest here because I know that my Grandpa White would want me to, and I know he is watching over me. He will get to go scuba diving in Cairns with me. Thanks for all of the prayers and support at home. You all are wonderful. :)

Four Day Week!! :D

Hey guys! Sorry I am behind! I felt ill on Friday and Saturday night. I couldn't hardly get out of bed...ugh.  Anyway, my Sunday was a lot better. I just chilled all day, did laundry and some studying. After studying for a while, my friends and I made dinner together. One of my friends could not believe that Americans put creamer in their coffee. Haha! It is my guilty pleasure. I don't know about anyone else, but I love flavored creamer. :D Then after dinner, I skyped with my friends, Heather and Josh at UNL!!!!! It was soooooooo wonderful to see them, and they made me laugh so much! I am missing UNL, but I will back before I know it. Then I think of the hard classes that are waiting for me, and I snap into reality. On a side note, KU is going to the National Championship!!!! :DDDD I am so excited for them, but Kentucky will be great competition. They will need their A-game for sure. My family has been keeping me updated. Poor Matt was typing to me during the game. I am so happy for them and will be cheering them on all the way in Australia. This week is only a four day week because of our Easter break, and I have a Test on Tuesday. I am nervous because it is worth 20% of my grade. Hopefully, I do well. Plus, I figure out if I got a job or not tomorrow. I am kind of stressed out but then I think of Cairns next week! I will be SCUBA DIVING soon!!!! I am sooooooooo excited and can't wait to see the Great Barrier Reef.  I am still thinking about my Grandpa White and wish he was here to enjoy Australia with me. He is a sweetheart. Mom and my Aunt Maggie watched the KU basketball game with him at the hospital. I wish I could have been there with them and that I was spending time with him. I am now thankful that I took the time to go to his Chemotherapy treatments with him in Manhattan while I was on break. It was time together and that is what counts. Thanks for the support back home and please send prayers. You all are awesome. :)

I just keep going.

Hi all! I am just writing today because I know that I won't have time tomorrow! After 4 days of hard work, I FINALLY finished my Human and Animal Anthropology paper today! Yes!!!! Then I watched people eat rats today in my Culture and Globalization class...I couldn't do it....I just could not do it. Tomorrow I have the whole day off, but it is packed full of things to do. I get to go to an Aussie Rules Football game tomorrow with one of my friends, and I am sooo excited for it! All of my Aussie friends were trying to explain the rules to me, but I don't think I took much of it in. Then after the game, I am going dancing with my friends! It will be wonderful to have a night free of homework. I think that it has been a stressful week for everyone around here. Despite the hard work, I am still having the time of my life, and I don't regret this experience for one second. I am counting down to Cairns, and I can't wait for my scuba diving adventure!!! Also, my family has been keeping me posted about my Grandpa White, and things aren't looking too good. I am always thinking about my family and wish I could be there.

Busy week ahead!

Hey! I am just sitting here taking a break from reading. UNI has been extremely busy this week, and I have been working on homework all weekend. I am under a lot stress because I have a huge paper due on Friday for my hardest class. There wasn't time this weekend for adventures, unfortunately, but I feel like I got tons of things accomplished. Yesterday, I applied for some jobs, and I am hoping something works out. Then I got invited to go to an Aussie Rules Football game by one of my friends. I am soooo excited!!! :D Tonight, I booked my scuba diving trip with my friend from Texas, and we are both extremely excited for Easter break. I am missing Easter season back home. I don't feel like I observe it as much as I should be here, but I am trying to think about it every day. Today, I spent four hours in the library working on a paper and reading for two of my other classes. I am worn out and trying to hang in here. Thank goodness for my great friends here! They are encouraging and make me laugh when I need it. Nathan has also been encouraging about everything, and I am so grateful for him. Home isn't far from my thoughts, and I am still praying for my family. Well, I better dive into this homework! Thanks for the support guys! :)

Is it Easter break yet?

Hey guys! I have had a great past couple of days. Yesterday was the busiest day of my school week. I had two classes and then a meeting. Then I went over to my friend's house to cook chicken. We baked chicken rolled up in Bacon, chicken skewers and made homemade mashed potatoes. It was fabulous, and we had a great time together. I also got the opportunity to meet some of the people that she lives with! Then after cooking, I hung out with my Aussie friends on my floor. We tried to dance to Lady Gaga and took pictures upside down. Basically, we did anything to get out of studying. Today, however, was dedicated to studying alllll day. I read 80 pages, researched for a paper and practiced Auslan. Then I am going dancing tonight with my friends! I am soooo excited but soo exhausted, though. I don't know if I will last long. I also took a break to talk to my family, and they were doing pretty good. My grandpa isn't fair from my thoughts, though. Thanks for the support back home! :)

Late Again!

Hey guys! I have just been super busy with school, and nothing really new has happened. Yesterday, I received a package from my family in Kansas and went to my sign language class. After class, I had a long night of reading...ugh...but that is what I am here to do. Today was super busy! I had a quiz to take this morning, and I had to write a paper. Then I had class at 3:00, and the professor let us out early! Thank goodness! Tonight, I made Tacos with friends on my floor, and we watched Lady Gaga live on DVD. It was wonderful, and now I really want to see her in concert. We all were trying to imitate her dance moves and were failing miserably. I also introduced some  friends here to Pinterest! They have never heard of Funfetti cake or cookies. :D The past few days been emotional for me, also. I received the news today that my Grandpa White is really really not doing well, and I wish I could be there for my family. I am trying to stay distracted by Australia, friends, school and trip planning etc. but it is really hard. I am an emotional person and want to be there for everybody. Thank goodness for my family, Nathan and my friends. They have all been supportive and keep reminding me that Grandpa wants me to be here in Australia. I don't know what I would do without them.

We Never Rest!

Today was amazing, even though I didn't get enough sleep! I was up thinking about school, Nathan, my family and grandpa. My mind just wouldn't shut off. The day started out wonderfully because my friend from Texas and I booked our flights to Cairns! We are soooo excited, and now we just need to book the scuba diving at the reef. After booking the trip, we made our way to the Victoria Market and met up with our German friend. :) We each bought exotic fruit that we had never tried before. We bought lychees, strawberry kiwis, custard apples, and another fruit, but the name escapes me. The lychees looked like eyeballs, but they were extremely tasty! The custard apple was slimey on the inside, and it really really did NOT agree with me. Never again!!!!! The strawberry kiwis and the unknown fruit were pretty good and earned a pass. After visiting the market, my friends and I headed to the Melbourne Museum.  We went through a dinosaur exhibit, forest exhibit, animal exhibit and a mind and body exhibit! The mind and body exhibits were my FAVORITES! I saw a lot of cool information about the mind. It talked about language areas in the brain, illusions, psychological disorders, mental illness and medical intervention for mental illness. The Body exhibit was fantastic and my most favorite!!! All of the bones, tissue and organs were real, and they showed us old medical supplies. It showed us old x-ray machines, x-ray films,  processes that occur in the body, medical history and showed tissue with cancer in it. After exploring the Melbourne Museum, we laid in the sun at Federation Square, the city center for a couple hours. Then we stopped at a few cute shops, and we had Starbucks! I felt like I was at home! :D Then last but not least, we visited the Old Melbourne Gaol (Jail) and had a night tour of the prison. It was sooo cool but extremely CREEPY. The jail has been shut down for years, but I felt like people were going to jump out of the cells and scare me. The tour was AMAZING, and the tour guide acted like he was an executioner. He yelled at us at the beginning and kind of made us feel like we were the prisoners. He guided us through the extremely dark/creepy jail using just a candle, and he would get up into people's faces when he would talk. He talked about many tragic events that happened in the jail, and told the story of the famous Australian convict, Ned Kelly. They had death masks of many of the prisoners, and he knew exactly what crime each committed. He would be talking to us in a cell, and we would hear doors close in other rooms. It made us jump out of our skins. The tour guide told us about the torture methods used and how life was for a prisoner. The jail was made to contain 180 prisoners and 400 prisoners were in the jail at one time, especially during the gold rush. After the tour was over, we had the opportunity to go into cells and look at artifacts from the jail. Many of cells contain death masks of the prisoners, who lived in that cell. It was a very interesting part of Australia's history, and I am glad that I went. After going through the tour and listening to the history of jail, I have made up my mind to be a very very very good girl. It scared me. THE END.

These are the days worth living! :D

I think I am just going to post every other day now! Yesterday was AMAZING! I worked on homework all day yesterday for my hard class, Human and Animal Anthropology! We are talking about totem poles and why cultures use them. After working on homework all day, Chisholm College, my dorm, had a dance competition, and our tower WON! We performed for judges three times and went up against 11 other towers in the dorm. Our tower's theme was Mardi Gra, and it was soo much fun dressing up. All the other towers were hard competition, though! All of the dances were awesome, and I haven't laughed so hard in my life. The costumes were amazing, and my neighbor made my hair stand up! Thank goodness for hairspray! After the competition, my buds from my floor and I went dancing together. I forgot how much I love to dance, and I was surrounded by fun, amazing people. Today was good, too! I FINALLY understood my teacher in my Human and Animal Anthropology class and made a new friend in my class. Then I spent time hanging out with my Aussie friends on my floor and went grocery shopping with my good friend from Texas. Tomorrow, I am heading to the Victoria Market and going on the Ghost Tour of the prison tomorrow night. It should be extremely creepy but worth it. I am blessed to be here and thanks for reading back home. I am blessed to have all of your support! :)

Pretty Content and Busy

Hey guys! Yesterday was a great day! I went to class in the afternoon, after talking to Emily Clarke, Nicole and Chelsea, and found my friends waiting at my door to go out to eat at Nandos when I got back! It is an amazing restaurant here, and I had a chicken wrap and chips (french fries). Then we all went to a shop to buy supplies for costumes for dancing in a parade. I bought a gold mask and can't wait to wear it. When we got back I rocked out music with my Aussie friends. :) We sang "The Lion King," and "Waka Waka" by Shakira. It was Tower 9 C floor karaoke! Haha! Then we watched videos from "The Lion King" in different languages, and it was hilarious! I about laughed until my eyes watered a few times. Then the whole gang ended the day by sitting down and watching a movie together. Today was also a great day! I had two classes today! My professor in the first lecture talked to us about how he ate rats while visiting Malaysia...I can't imagine! It is amazing how much I am learning in his class, though. He is teaching me to learn about myself through others. It is an interesting way to look at life. It is amazing how much humans need each other to survive and to learn. The best part of coming to Australia is that I have learned new things about myself through observing multiple cultures. It has made me take a hard look at who I am and my American culture. It is causing me to look at the bigger picture of life and to realize that there is more out there than just Americans or The United States. It is teaching me that there are numerous ways to do things and to think about things. I feel like I have learned so much about all aspects of life here, and I have just been here for a month. During my second class, four girls and I had to observe people in their environment and take notes. It wasn't awkward until the person we were observing came up to us, and asked, "What are you doing?" Ahh! Embarrassing! After the most embarrassing thing in my life happened, I had the grand opportunity of dancing with all the people in my tower of my dorm. We rehearsed a dance for an hour tonight for the parade tomorrow. I am soooo excited! The dance involves the electric slide, and I think I actually caught on.....FINALLY! In all my years of high school dances, I could NEVER master the dumb electric slide. But I did it today. :) After rehearsing the dance  with the whole tower...I kind of danced in the hall with all my friends...obnoxiously. Then I went to my room, and watched "The Nanny." All in all I have had great days! Although I love it here, I still think about my family, Nathan, friends and UNL. My grandpa has really been on my mind, and I wish I could be there for him. I know that he wouldn't want me to pass up this opportunity, though. I don't know what it is about this place, but I feel so relaxed, free and confident all the time. I am truly happy and believe that this is just what I needed before thinking about graduation at UNL. :)

Where is my motivation?

Hi everyone! I am playing catch up once again! Yesterday, I woke up really late, and then I made a trip to the local farmer's market held on campus! I bought like 30 lbs of potatoes for $4.00. I won't be running out soon! I also talked to Nathan once, and then he called back because Matt went to visit them in Manhattan. Matt, Nathan and Cody all talked to me while I was booking a hostel for Cairns! I am sooo excited for my Fall Break! My friend from Texas and I are heading to Cairns, Queensland. The city is far north. We are staying for 4 days and paying 18 dollars per night for accommodation. Plus, free airport pickup and free dinner every night. Then we are going on a boat to the Great Barrier Reef. I WILL scuba dive, and she is going to snorkel. The hostel is located right by where the boat docks and is located in the City Business District. So shops will surround us! We are both excited. Now, we are just working on getting the flights worked out. It is kind of stressful! Today, I had my Australian Sign Language class and found a study buddy...Thank goodness. Then I came home and have been reading Anthropology...hence the "Just keep reading, just keep reading, just keep reading" Facebook status. I better just keep reading and thanks for the support everyone. :)

"It's a Beautiful Day! Don't let it get away." :D

I am making up for two days again! Yesterday, I just went to classes and got totally lost in my Human and Animal Anthropology class. I found out that seniors here are taking the class, and I am basically starting my Junior year. I am extremely nervous, but I think I will just need to talk to my professors. Last night, I just hung around the dorm and went grocery shopping. I know...spectacular! Last night, I received the news that my Grandpa White wasn't doing well, so Chantel, Mom and I set up a Skype session with Grandpa. The hospital in Manhattan let me Skype with him, and I am so thankful that they let us. While Skyping with Grandpa, I also got to say hi to my cousins, Brian and Donnie and Donnie's fiance, Jackie. Then my Grandma, mom, sister and aunt were there, too. It was a family Skype session, and thank goodness for technology like that, especially at emotional times like this. After the Skype session, I headed into the city for the "Great Ocean Road Trip!" It was the MOST beautiful thing I have EVER seen in my life. The song, "Beautiful Day" from U2 kept playing through my head. I went with my friend from Texas and my friend from Germany. We had a great tour guide for our trip, also! The vehicle we used was someone else's, and they obviously had child, because kids music CDs were everywhere. We listened to one and fought over which princess movie the songs were from. Talk about entertaining ourselves! Ha! The 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, The Arch and The London Bridge were soooo beautiful! The water was so blue, and the waves were starting to become stronger when we arrived. I can't even describe the experience, because it was so breathtaking. They offered helicopter rides over everything, and I was sooo tempted! But it was too expensive! Thanks for the support back home guys! :)

Mixture of Emotions

Hi everyone! I have had a good and emotional past couple days! Yesterday was pretty good! I just had classes and had fried rice for dinner with my three Australian friends. It was pretty relaxed and my class was interesting. We had people from different cultures speaking in class, and it is sooo cool to hear everyone's opinions. Then I heard that my Grandpa White is in the hospital, and it is hard to be away from home when my family is hurting. I am happy here, but a part of me wishes that I could be there for my family. :( Today was good day, though! My friends cheered me up and one of my friends here had a hard week, too. She lost a close friend back in Texas, and it is hard for her. We invited her to come over and watch Grey's Anatomy with us to cheer her up. I am so happy that I have good friends here. They make me laugh all the time and help with the homesickness. Thank goodness for Skype, too! I got to talk to Nathan, Chantel and Collin yesterday, and they had the opportunity to meet my good friend from Germany. Then I talked to Nathan today, because it is his birthday, and I am so grateful for him. :D I talked to Miss Emily Clarke today, too! I miss her, and it felt sooo good to catch up with her! Today, the dorm decided to have a dumb fire drill at 8 in morning, and everyone back home knows that I am NOT a morning person. I was a grouchy camper, and then I came back and slept until 11. I had my Normal Communication class today, and we assessed videos of American television shows, such as "Full House" and "Friends". We looked at all the language, which was interesting. It puts a whole new meaning to watching television. Today, I felt like a speechie. I taught my Aussie friends what a dentalized (lisp) was this week. It is when a person sticks their tongue out when they are saying a sound, and the teeth come down on the tongue. Then one of my friends went home to have dinner with her family and said the word, "stupid" with a lisp. She told me that she stopped and told her family that she dentalized her "s." Then she said that they all stopped and looked at her like she was nuts. I am rubbing off. ;) Then one of my Aussie friends said, "can't" with my Kansas twang. Haha! I have a feeling though that they are rubbing off on me. Haha! I find myself saying new phrases every single day. Tonight, we all cooked together again, and we all chipped in for the meal. We had yummy pasta! Tomorrow, I have class at 10, and then I am going to a music festival! Opera!! I am so excited!! Then the Great Ocean Road Trip is on Saturday, and we leave Melbourne at 8:30 in the morning. Even in this excitement, Grandpa White isn't far from my thoughts today. Everyone please pray for him. Thanks for all the support back home!

Just Living the Life :)

Today was just another work day. I woke up, finalized my plans for the Great Ocean Road Trip and bought more postcards for people back home. Then the rest of the day was dedicated to homework and to class. I feel like I am ahead in one of my classes here, thanks to Nebraska. :D After class, I wrote my paper and my Aussie friends from my floor made me dinner. It was an amazing surprise, and now I have to find something very American to cook them. Any suggestions? After finishing my paper, I bothered all three of them again, and we talked for hours. They are a bad influence on me...haha...I talk way too much and laugh way too much when I am around them. One of my friends is studying Pharmacy here, and I was looking through her books, especially the Neuroscience book and her medication book. Then I talked to the other girl, who is studying Psychology...one my favorite subjects. Then my guy friend showed me where he lives on Google Maps...haha. Then I showed him where Hanover and Ricky's Cafe are. Haha! It was nice to see pictures of my hometown, but I am loving it here. Then, they all were teaching me how to use correct Oz English, and I failed miserably. I can't say "Australia" like the Australians do. Maybe I will learn by the time I leave in June. All in all, it was a wonderful day! I am blessed to be here. :D

I am bad at this! Haha

Sorry again guys, and I am playing catch up once again. :) Yesterday was fantastic! I spent the morning talking to my family back home and then went shopping for a friend's birthday party! We bought pasta salad, potato salad, chips and dip, made chocolate crackles and TIM TAMS! Tim Tams are the best cookies ever, and every American NEEDS to try them. Another must try for Americans are chocolate crackles. Amazing! I am an addicted to both for sure. The whole day was a success! The whole floor was involved and helped her celebrate. I feel like I am becoming close to my floor mates, and they all can get to me to laugh until my eyes water. I wouldn't trade this for anything. :) Today, I started the morning in a bad way...I was sick...blah. My family and my boyfriend talking to me made me feel better. I started to feel better as the day went on, though. I practiced Auslan for the whole day, and I am struggling to remember all of the signs. Hopefully I can find a great study guide! After practicing Auslan, it was class time! The author of my textbook, who is a famous sign language linguist, talked to our class today. It was an honor to meet him, and he is working on a project to help assess deaf children for language/speech disorders. The test will also tell assess the accuracy of their signs. He was an amazing lecturer, and I learned so much from him. I knew a lot the material he covered because I am a Speech-Language Pathology major, along with another girl in my class. He could pick us out of the audience right away because we kept making comments and asking questions. Haha! I am a "speechie" for sure. After class, I hung out in one of my Aussie friend's room, and we watched the "Big Bang Theory" and "Alcatraz." Then my four Aussie friends and I talked in the hall for forever about Mathematics in classes. It was interesting, and I tried my hand at one of the problems and failed. Well, I am done with math classes in my major now, thank goodness. Tomorrow I am finalizing plans to go to the Great Ocean Road Trip! We will see The Arch, The Twelve Apostles, Apollo Bay, Great Ocean Road Historical Arch and the Loch Ard Gorge. My friend from Texas and I are starting to plan our fall break trip to Cairns to SCUBA DIVE! Hopefully, we get there a cheap way and have a great time. I am excited because I am certified, so it will only cost me $60 for one dive, which is not bad at all. Then we may stop in Sydney on the way, who knows!! :D All in all, life is good. Thanks for all the support back home.

Just Chillin'

Sorry guys! I am catching up! I had a great day yesterday! I went to my Human and Animal Anthropology class and felt like everything went through one ear and out the other. I think I found my hardest class for the semester...Oh Boy. :S Everyone seemed to have a higher capacity of thinking than me. It was a lot like Philosophy. Ugh...Hopefully it gets better. I got home after class and read two books off of my Kindle. Then I shopped for more kindle books. :) I also found new places to explore in Melbourne! My friends and I are going to explore the Melbourne Museum and an old Australian Prison here in Melbourne. We may go to the prison at night and have a ghost tour. Plus, I found a Holocaust museum here and a Medical History Museum that I want to go to. I am soooo excited. Today, I went to the zoo with my friend from Texas and my friend from Germany. It rained the WHOLE time, but It was wonderful anyway. I saw the cutest kangaroos but pictures weren't allowed! Darn! They were hopping all over the place, and my friend from Germany had never seen a platypus, so we found one at the zoo. The snake exhibit didn't scare me like it usually does. This is kind of weird. Maybe I am getting over my fear of snakes? By the end of day, all three of us were soaking wet and tired. I came home and had a nice cup of tea, Australian tea. My aussie friend next door got me hooked. Then I talked to my best friend, Nicole, on skype for long time. All in all, I have had a good couple of days and will probably be spending tomorrow on homework. Oh joy! I think I may be starting to get out the tourist stage of the cultural adjustment because I am starting to feel like I will be here for awhile. Hopefully, the homesickness stays away for a while and allows me to concentrate on school.

Day OFF!

Hey guys! I was extremely boring allll day! I got up and bought some groceries for cheap. :) Then I bought some postcards for lovely people back home, and  I met up with some great friends for coffee. We are starting to plan a trip soon I hope! This weekend my gals and I are going to make a trip to the zoo which should be a fun time. Today, I got to talk to my Grandpa and Grandma White on the phone, and it was nice to hear from them. Then I did Human and Animal Anthropology reading...it is wayyy over my head. This is going to be an interesting semester, but I am excited! That's all for today!

Just Dance ;)

Today was awesome! I went to my first lecture for Anthropology and received a huge surprise!! The lecturer started the class by showing a video of last year's first day of class, and it showed dancers disguised as students coming out of the desks and DANCING. Flash Mob dancing is what it is called. The lecturer then went on to say, "I was supposed to plan something better than last year for our lecture today, but I didn't." Then all the sudden six people got up out of their seats and started yelling horrible things at the teacher. Then music started, and one of them started to play the drums for us. Then they all went up and danced on stage!! The song was an African song about peace, and it was sooo cool. Then the rest of the students joined in with them. It really put a whole new meaning to learning about different cultures, because music it one of the major components of a culture. It was wonderful!! After having the coolest lecture of my life, I went to Office Works with my Australian friends and then took a nap when I returned home. I had a tutorial or recitation for that same class later on. The room was full of people from ALL parts of the world, and I cannot wait to learn about the different cultures. I am sooo excited. Speaking of new cultures, I have a new neighbor who is from China! She is very nice, and we talked all night about Australian, Chinese and American traditions. I am learning so much, and I think I understand why God sent me here. I feel like I have met so many wonderful people and have learned so much about the customs of other cultures. I feel like I am opening my mind more and more everyday. Plus, I feel so relaxed. I am blessed. Period. :)

Good Times

Hi guys! I had a great day! I started off the day by getting up to conquer the bookstore. The line was sooo long even though I went early! Then I came back to my room and slept...hahaha...I was a little lazy. I had my Normal Communication class, and it was long but fun. Then I came home and hung out with my Aussie friends on my floor. We watched "Bridesmaids," and  I was assessing their speech tonight, too. I think the Speech-Language Pathologist in me is coming out. Haha. By the way, they called Speech Language Pathology majors here, "Speechies." It really makes me laugh, and I started calling myself that the other day. Here lately, I have caught myself talking like an Australian. The other day, I was on skype with my mom, and she asked what I was up to. I said, "I am working on this bloody paper!" It just came out!! Haha. So, for those of you at home, I may say some phrases differently. It was a wonderful day, and it is cold outside. I was running around in a t-shirt and shorts this morning, and other people, probably locals, kept looking at me funny. Tons of people were wearing sweatshirts and jeans today, and I was just running around in shorts and a shirt. Haha! That's all for now! :)

Good Day! :)

Today was amazing! First, I went with my next door neighbor to join the chaos at the university bookstore. Then I found out that the paper that was up all night writing wasn't supposed to be assigned to me! Ha! It was frustrating, but it is okay! I had my first Australian Sign Langauge class and learned many new phrases, and it was soooo cool! The professor for that class is deaf which makes it even better, and talking is not allowed at all because she considers it cheating. We can only use sign language, and man, it is a learning experience. The professor was hilarious and said funny things in Sign Language. It made me giggle, and I was proud that I actually knew what she was saying most of the time. After class, I just did a few housekeeping things like laundry...blahh. Then  I sat down and talked to my Aussie friends on my floor all night. They were all soooo funny!! One told me that he wanted to come to Iowa because they actually ship/deliver live chicks to people in the mail. I about cried because I was laughing so hard. It was a good night. I met another new friend, who just got here yesterday. We talked about the differences between Australian and American sports. Then we talked about the healthcare and educational systems in our countries. I know this part sounds boring but actually, it was quite interesting. My Aussie friends want to take me to a Aussie football game soon and that should be interesting. I also set up a trip today! I am going on the "Great Ocean Road Trip" on March 10. This is the beach that contains the "Twelve Apostles." I am beyond excited, and I start my Normal Communication and Swallowing Processes class tomorrow. I. CAN'T. WAIT. This is the class that I have been the most excited for! I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a good day. Plus, it rained allll night, and I cut up my fresh watermelon from the market. It was wonderful! Life is good!

Starting Classes

Well......My day was spent researching and writing a 5 page paper. The joys of starting school. :) I took a break for Kangaroo burgers, baked potatoes and dragon fruit for dessert. The Kangaroo burgers were lean, salty but tasty! The dragon fruit was AWFUL!!! Way too many seeds for my liking. My first class is at 3 tomorrow and goes until 6. Hopefully it will be fun! It is my Australian Sign Language class and it should be interesting.  I just have finish the paper that is due at 11:30 tomorrow night. Hopefully I can get it all done and done correctly. It was a HOT day, and it finally rained. The rain cooled things off, and I am hoping that it stays this way for awhile. Waking up, dripping in sweat is not a cool thing. I am happy that it is summer here but after this heat, rolling in snow sounds kind of nice for five seconds, only five seconds. That's how much I like snow...I can only take it in doses. I am feel better today and had a great day today. Yesterday was a relapse, but I think I am doing okay today. That's all for today! :)

Nerves :(

I had a long day. I started the day with falling down steps and spraining my ankle. Then I went to the Queen Victoria Market with my friends. That was one of the highlights of my day! :)  I bought tons of fresh fruit for low prices.Then cops in civilian clothing surprised us and checked our tickets on the tram. That was scary but interesting. Luckily, I had my ticket and student card ready! My ankle hurt all day, and I think I am starting to be homesick. Luckily, I have great friends that got me through the day. My friend and I went to pick up some more groceries and got the bus driver who can't drive. We both felt nauseous after that trip on the bus. We had a good time anyway. After that adventurous day, I was sitting and watching "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" with my friend and realized that I have an assignment due on Monday night, the first day of class. I feel like I don't know what I am doing, and I am nervous. I want to do well, but I am soo nervous. I feel like a foreigner, and I am missing my home and all things familiar. I just needed to vent. I still love it here, but I just miss my home. They say that all study abroad students go through this stage and get over it eventually. I know this experience is good for me and that I will never regret it. I just had a long day, and I am glad that a new one starts tomorrow.

HOT!!

It is soo hot here! 95 degrees today. I am happy because it is warmer than Kansas, but today was hot. I really didn't do too much, but I did get enrolled in my classes. I am taking Human and Animal Anthropology, Culture and Globalization, Normal Communication and Swallowing Processes and Australian Sign Language. I am looking forward to classes starting and can't wait to learn more about the culture. Tonight all of Chisholm College went out in the city which was sooo fun! I can't wait to do it again, and I met soo many cool people. I saw so many pubs and shops that I would like to visit. Tomorrow, I am going to the Victorian Market early in the morning. I plan on buying fresh peaches...Yum! I can't wait, and I hope I get a good deal. We are going in the morning so we don't get even more burnt...HA! On a side note, I guess Kansas people have a twang. Everyone says that I say, "I am from Kansas."funny! They say that I sound like a hick. Haha. Well that's all I have for now! :)

Lazy

Yesterday was a lazy day for me! I went to get my discount card for transportation. Then I talked to family and friends on Skype for a while. I went to a party for like two hours and came back to watch, "Grey's Anatomy." I felt like I was back in the U.S. again, and it was kind of nice. Then I watched the movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." It was hilarious, and then I passed out in bed. I was soooo tired. So boring day for me. :)

"Your mom tagged you as a cow!" Haha

Today was busy! First of all, I got a surprise in the morning! Collin added me on Skype, and I got to talk to him and Cody. Collin told me that he has a interview for an internship coming up. It was wonderful to hear from him and Cody.  After skype, I went shopping with a friend for a hair straightener...FINALLY! Now, I won't look like "Cousin It" running around campus and will feel like myself again. We finally are learning how to use the public transportation and got to the mall okay! After the mall, I sat in the kitchen and talked to my Aussie friends, Aaron and Fran, for a longggg time. They asked me questions about Kansas and my family. Then I asked them tons of questions. Fran actually invited me to see kangaroos on her farm tomorrow, but I already have plans. They always make me laugh..haha. Mom tagged me in a Facebook picture of a cow so that I could see the cow. Aaron says, "Your mom tagged you as a cow!" It just sounded really funny. Mom are you calling me a cow indirectly? Haha. They also introduced me to an Australian classic, "Milo." It is a chocolate powder that you pour into milk, and it does not dissolve. So essentially you have chocolate chucks in your milk. It was fantastic and many Aussie eat the powder plain! They are going to introduce me to Veggiemite tomorrow...:S...Tonight, I went to a glow in the dark party and then talked to Fran and my new friend, Chris, from Switzerland. He told me that he might hook me up with some Swiss Chocolate! Yum! I have had a great orientation week, but I think that I am ready for classes to start on Monday. I want a consistent schedule and want to learn something. I am ready for a regular schedule. I think that I am starting to miss home because my family, Nathan and friends keep coming up in allll of my conversations with my friends. Only 124 days left until I come home! Whoa! :S That's all for now! :)

Just Content

Today was an amazing day! I went to orientation sessions for students this morning and ran errands alll day. My friend, Laura, and I walked 45 minutes to the train station to get our discount cards, and they told us, "We don't sell them at this time of day."Then we walked allll the way back. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. I am getting a nice friend to take me there. Haha. The university cooked us a meal that was BBQ chicken and many salads. After the meal, I hung out with some friends, and two of them had birthdays. One of them was an American and turned 21, so she was pumped. It was great until I had to leave to help a friend. After helping a friend, I went back to my dormitory and watched "Sabrina," starring Harrison Ford. I watched the movie with my three Aussie friends, and one of them did not know who Harrison Ford was!! Well, I cultured her. Haha. We all watched the chick flick together and had so many laughs. They cultured me too!! I ate Tim Tam cookies for the first time! I am addicted. After the chick flick, we watched a movie at the university cinema with other students and had more laughs. It has be also been a great day because I got to talk to most of my family and my boyfriend. I feel happy and blessed.

Just Another Day

Yesterday, I was lazy! I went to a free breakfast for students. I went to a drug and alcohol meeting for the campus, and then I went shopping for groceries. My day was pretty simple and relaxed. I stayed up until 1:00 talking to my new Aussie friends on my floor. They are wonderful people and can't wait to get to know them better. That's all for now. :)

Busy Bee

Today was soooo fun! I braved the public transportation with my good friend, Ashton! We met another friend in the city and headed to the St. Kilda beach in Melbourne. It was gorgeous, and the sun loved my fair skin. I am burnt to a crisp, but I am still smiling. We explored the marina and walked around the beach area. The shops were fantastic, and there was quite the variety. When I got back to my dorm after a long day, my friend from Mexico invited me to go salsa dancing! It was sooooo fun, and I hope to go back again. She taught me the basics, and I think I somewhat can do it. I need a bit more practice. Ha! The music was AWESOME and very festive! I was a trombone player in high school, and the brass was loud and so clear! It was so fun to dance, and I feel like I am learning about many different cultures. I am blessed. Period.

Smiles :)

Hi guys! I am a little late on my blog! This blog is for two days! I had another wonderful day yesterday! I went to the Wild Life Sanctuary with my friends, and we all saw KANGAROOS and an Emu. Everything was so green and beautiful! It was sooo fun! I spent last night getting to know my new friends and meeting other people from around the world. I. AM. HAPPY. The people are so nice here and laid back. Anyone who knows me back home knows that I am NOT very laid back. I think this trip may help me relax when I get back to the U.S. and to have more confidence. Speaking of the U.S., I saw a mural of "The Wizard of Oz," and I thought about Kansas, my home. I am making tons of friends here, but there is still not place like home. I am proud to be from Kansas, and I tell my new acquaintances that. The homesickness hasn't settled in yet, but I am starting to miss UNL, my family, my boyfriend and friends. I just try to keep myself busy so I don't think about it. I am so blessed to be here and believe I won’t regret it. I am happy. :)

Today, I did an amazing race around the city and used the public transportation for the first time. I felt small and overwhelmed. While on the trip, I realized that I locked myself out of my room…bad way to start the day. The city of Melbourne is sooooo beautiful, and I am glad that it is my home. There were many shops, restaurants, markets and malls. I saw people running around eating fresh peaches from the market, and they looked delicious. We don’t have a huge market at home like they do here. It was wonderful, colorful and plentiful. The architecture is different here also, and one can tell that Melbourne is the cultural capital of Australia by it. You could tell that the city has be influenced by numerous cultures! I love it! The diversity of the people is mind blowing, but everyone is so nice. Tonight, I attended a dinner for the first year Australian students and international students in Chisholm College dorm. I met so many Australians, and they were so nice! They could not believe that we don’t make Pumpkin soup in the U.S.! Ha! I met an Australian woman who is a Speech Pathology major like me!! I have someone to nerd out with! I also met another Australian girl who is on my floor, and we talked about our families and pets. I think new friendships are in the making. Everyone is nice, and I am looking forward to starting the semester. :)

Rainy

Tonight, I feel lame...I am staying in my dorm room. I was going to participate in a trip to the beach, but the event got cancelled due to rain. So, I am kind of sad, and the rain keeps pouring down. I had a great day with friends today and FINALLY enrolled in my classes. I am taking four classes altogether and am really excited! I have been thinking and hoping that I can do some traveling soon. I had to get all the academic things out of the way so now I hope the fun begins. The city is calling my name, but I don't know how to get there yet, and I don't want to get lost. I just need to meet a few more Aussies to help me out that's all! That's all for today! :)

Another beautiful day in Melbourne! :)

I had an amazing day that was EXTREMELY busy! I registered in the morning, went shopping at the mall and FINALLY figured out how to use the bus to get groceries. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of things around here. We attended academic sessions about Oz English (Aussie English), and It was great! My friend Ashton and I were sitting together in the session and the speaker asked us to translate..."I had a bingle on the way to work."Ashton and I thought it meant, "I had a bagel on the way to work." It actually meant, "I had a small car accident on the way to work." It was another international student moment and we just had to laugh at ourselves. We found  the BEST coffee shop on campus this morning, also. Ashton and I tried the creamy, wonderful mocha at Charley's on campus. It is my NEW favorite coffee shop and is the favorite of many locals. I also had my first legal drink today. My friend and I tried Jack Daniels Whiskey mixed with Lemonade. It was wonderful! :) I also received information about the fencing and scuba diving clubs here on campus, and I hope to participate in both. Yesterday was intimidating, but I feel like everything is falling into place today. All of us international students are sticking together, and I feel like I have another family forming. Life is good! :)

Wonderful but frustrating...:P

Today, I found that I don't know anything about anything. I am trying to register for classes and am learning how to enroll. The system is TOTALLY different. We started the international student festival today and received TONS of information on everything about everything. It is a bit overwhelming, but I am still happy. I suffered through all of it with my new friends. I met wonderful girls from Germany, Ecuador, Mexico, U.S.A. and Denmark, today. They are awesome and will be my travel partners but most importantly, my friends. We all ran around campus like chickens with our heads cut off and DEFINITELY looked like foreigners. We probably asked for directions about 10 times today! Haha! Today, I really felt like a weirdo just because of a sliding door. My friend and I thought the sliding door automatically opened and went in front of it as usual. It still wasn't opening after 10 seconds of waiting, and we just looked at each other in confusion. Finally I realized that there was a button by the door that said "OPEN."I was thinking "DUH!" and realized Australians were watching us the WHOLE time. It was a foreigner moment for sure, and I am sure it was amusing for the locals. I have learned that you just have laugh things off. Haha! I have a busy week ahead! I am taking a shopping trip to the Mall tomorrow, going out with friends on Thursday night, participating in the "Wild Life Walk" on Friday and taking a tour of the city on Saturday. Life is good, and God is good for giving me this opportunity. :)

Finally There!! :)

After an extremely long and exciting trip, I have finally made it to Melbourne. On my trip, I met numerous locals and many other students traveling to study abroad. I actually met a student who is going to participate in Biological Research in Tasmania and three others studying in Perth. We all suffered through a 16 hour plane ride, one the longest flights in the world. The flight was worth it! :)
Australia is wonderful, and the people are very welcoming. I feel like I have been hit by a bus after a 26 hour trip, and the time difference is killing me. Ahhh, but I am in Australia, and LOVE it. It so beautiful and green. Only one complaint, though. The birds won't be quiet so I can get sleep. I sounds like I live in a zoo! Speaking of zoos, La Trobe University invited a reptile company to speak to international students. I saw the most poisonous snake in world, a Taipan. Anyone that knows me knows that I loath snakes, and I was squirming throughout the whole presentation. I think have had enough excitement for one day. Goodnight, everyone! :)

Just Making Sure This Works

Hi again. :)

Hey guys!

Here is my blog that I will be using while in Australia. I hope you like it!

:)