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!