Byron Bay Orientation Field Trip!

On Wednesday morning Carly, Kevin, Clint, and I got up bright and early to leave for our first real adventure in Australia!

We headed to the bus stop around 7:30 am to wait for the bus to take us to Griffith Uni (short for university, Aussie talk).  Once at the bus stop I realized that I had forgotten one essential item for the trip.  My camera.  Because we were nice and early for our bus, Carly and I decided to run back to the flat to grab my camera.  We made it back to the bus stop just in time!

Upon our arrival to Griffith we noticed two buses that we assumed would be taking us to Byron Bay.  We hopped on and awaited our departure.

Roomies!

On our way to Byron Bay we stopped at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to see some of Australia's most famous animals.

First were the parrots, they would just randomly fly around and land on people's heads.  If you know me, I am not very fond of birds and I do not want them landing on my head!  Luckily I was able to dodge them, my height probably helped a little bit too.  Carly on the other hand wanted to get up close and personal!

Carly holding some parrot food

Next stop, Kangaroos!  They were just lying all over the place like lazy bums!

One of them perked up for a little bit

Some Crocodiles!

A Koala Bear!

We saw a lot of different animals at the wildlife sanctuary including tree kangaroos, a wombat, a tasmanian devil, snakes, birds etc.  It was fun to see all the animals but we had still had about an hour drive, so we loaded up the buses and headed to Byron Bay.

When we got to the Backpackers Inn in Byron Bay we put our stuff in our rooms and took a group hike to the lighthouse which had some awesome views.

Roomies left to right Clint, Kevin, Me, Carly

All of the international students on the trip!

After our walk we were set free to explore Byron Bay which is a fun little "hippie town" with lots of shops and cafe's.  At around 4 pm we headed back to our hostel to shower and get ready for dinner at Cheeky Monkey's, a Restaurant/Bar/Nightclub in Byron Bay.  It was fun getting a chance to meet some of the other exchange students.

The next morning we woke up around 9 am for breakfast.  My roommates and I signed up for 2:30 sea kayaking so we had most of the day to just hang out around the hostel.  We interacted with the other students and played a game of volleyball until it was time for kayaking.

Carly and I decided we would each choose one of our boy roommates to kayak with since it takes a certain amount of strength to maneuver a kayak.  Clint ended up with me and Kevin with Carly.

We made it out to sea with no problems but after being out on the ocean for about 15 minutes I was reminded of the motion sickness I sometimes get.  However, I was able to get over my sickness once our group spotted about 15 dolphins swimming close by.

On our way back to shore, our kayaking instructor explained the procedure for getting through the waves without tipping the kayak.  Obviously none of us listened very well because every single kayak in the entire group tipped and we ended up having to walk/swim our boat to shore.  Currents are very strong in Australia so this was interesting but, we made it to shore safely.

We headed back to the hostel to shower and get ready for a BBQ.

Carly and I signed up for 10 am surfing the next morning, so we got up early, packed up our stuff and headed for the ocean.

Surfing was a lot of fun and I actually wasn't to terrible! 

After our surf lesson we went back to the hostel and hung out until it was time to leave.

 Hanging out in some hammocks around the hostel

We left the hostel around 4:30pm and made it back to the Gold Coast around 6:30pm.  I had a great time on the trip but now it is time to prepare for school, which starts tomorrow....Here We Go!

Anna

The Flat

My roommates and I finally got our wireless internet today which is sooo nice compared to what I was using before.  It makes blogging much easier!

I promised some pictures of my "Flat" so here you go!

Standing at the front door

  Living room area, notice the wall is made of mirrors

View from dining area to kitchen

Kitchen!

Hallway, two bedrooms on the right, bathroom and laundry room on the left

Hallway from other direction

My bedroom standing in doorway

There are mirrors everywhere in this flat!

View of the beach from our balcony!

The Q1 is the tallest building on the Gold Coast, right next to our flat!  

I hope you all get the jist of what my flat looks like.  It is an amazing place, I don't think we could have gotten a better deal.

Anna

Living in a Land Down Under

This post is a little overdue because internet was not the easiest thing to figure out in my apartment in Australia.  I am currently using an internet stick but in a few days we will be given free wireless internet, something I am very happy about.  Hopefully the wireless internet will make blogging MUCH easier.

Because I was not able to post as soon as I got here I am going to start from my take off from LAX.

Mom, Dad and I loaded up my bags in the suburban and headed towards LA.

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After I checked my bags at the V Australia Airline we headed over to Denny's for dinner to wait until it was time for me to go to my gate.  David met us there to say goodbye before I left.  How sweet is he? :)

It was emotional leaving my family and David but once I got on the plane I started to get really exctied/nervous for what I was about to embark on.  The 13 and a half hour flight actually was not to bad.  I was able to sleep for about 7 hours total which really helped once I arrived in Australia.

Once in Australia Clint, Carly (my roommates for the next five months, excluding Kevin who was already in Australia) and I were picked up by one of the university drivers and taken to our apartment.  It has taken about two full days but I finally feel like I am starting to get settled in to my apartment and my roommates and I really seem to get along.

Today, Sunday, Carly and I took a walk on the beach where we live and believe me the view is breathtaking. If you can't tell.

Well, I would like to include some pictures of my apartment but the internet here is so slow and I just don't have the patience.  But, eventually I will get to it.  

Tomorrow is orientation at Griffith University and I am interested to see what the next 5 months will hold for me.  So far, I am loving Australia and I just know I am going to have the best time here.

Anna

Let the Walkabout Begin!

Walkabout refers to a rite of passage during which male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months.

In slang someone or something that is unexpectedly missing is said to have 'gone walkabout.' Or a person's desire to travel without a planned itinerary or planned destination could also be referred to as Walkabout.

Although none of these definitions apply to me exactly, I believe that my journey to Australia is my own personal Walkabout to help me learn about life in a different country and to help me grown as an adult.

Though I have not left yet for Australia my Walkabout started about 6 months ago when I applied for the USAC program in Australia.  Since then I have been busy getting paperwork done and making sure the courses I take over in Australia transfer back for credit to Chico.  One of my parents rules for studying abroad is that the classes I take in Australia MUST count for something back in Chico, a rule I did not argue with.  

There has been A LOT of preparation for my semester abroad but I won't bore you with the details.  Ill just tell you that pretty much everything is in place, except for the packing part, and now I am just making sure I spend as much time with my friends and family as I can before I leave.

This weekend my boyfriend David came to visit me in Bakersfield.  He is going to Spain for a year beginning in August.  Yes, we will be apart for a year :(  

On Friday night my family and I decided to take David to Woolgrowers, a Basque Restaurant in Bakersfield, because he had never tried basque food before.  He definitely liked the fact that the meal included tons of food, although he did not care much for cow tongue. 

On Saturday my mom and dad threw me a little going away party at my grandma's house.  We had Los Hermanos's mexican food and my dad blended up some delicious margaritas.

Of course my mom had to decorate with Australian flags/colors (she just did this for my sister who moved to Grenada). 

It was a fun day of sunning, swimming, and eating with the fam (well some of them).

In just three days I will depart on my Walkabout  in Australia for 5 months and I cannot wait to see what life is like down under!  

My next post will most likely be from my apartment on the Gold Coast of Australia.  Time to start packing!