Anyways. I find myself able to eat Maccas (Mcdonalds) without frowning in disgust after each bite. Surprising! I remember my first day eating there and pretty much swearing that I would never get use to it. Now I catch myself calling it a "treat" and something thats well deserved after a big accomplishment. The bugs are still a little scary but if its not a ginormous spider I feel I can handle anything. At the moment, I have a spider living in my room even (picture below)! He walks around on the top of my ceiling and likes to hide in the cracks of the bricks sometimes. I tried killing him once but he was just too fast, as of right now I am pretty sure he is camping out behind my suitcases that sit on the top of my closet. Maybe I shall name him, Yes, Stewart. Stewart it is. Hopefully he can forgive me for attempting to kill him and maybe he can help keep all the smaller insects of my room. I also hope that he can respect me enough to not crawl all over me in my sleep, even worse.. crawl into my mouth. EEW.
Enough about Stewart!..
Walking in the grocery store I am actually interested to try some new things, that of course look normal (not much of an adventurous eater). I am happy to report that I have made some GREAT discoveries and I am most likely going to be missing them when I return home. My first great discovery is some biscuits (cookies) called Tim Tams. MMMMM. Amazing! I do not really know how to explain them but they are cookies that remind me a lot between kit kats and a girl scout cookie. They come in quite a few different flavors but my biscuit of choice are the carmel ones! Also, while I was walking down the bread isle last week I stumbled upon a bag of pancakes! Yes, a bunch of pancakes (like the size of your palm) in a bread bag. BRILLIANT!! Why didn't America think of this?? If we do have these and I am unaware please notify me ASAP. I wanted to take a picture of this cute food but I already ate them! I decided this would be a great thing for my next camping trip! I am now constantly keeping an eye out for what would be great while camping, and what produces the least amount of rubbish (Australian for garbage of course). We have to carry our rubbish around with us when were camping, cant leave anything behind so less is more! :)
Life here in Lismore is going fine. I can't believe I'm coming up on being here for almost 2 months. Crazy. Time is flying but like I have said before, the days in Lismore go kind of slow. I am anxiously organizing the rest of my travel plans for the remaining time I am here. It is hard to set anything in stone since everyone is unsure when and where they want to do things. My friend Andrea from high school is coming to visit me in May so her and I are going to go to Cairns and go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef together! I am really looking forward to it and I have only heard amazing things about Cairns! Also, in April, we are planning a trip to Whitsunday for a weekend. (Look it up) Looks beautiful! Easter week I am going to Fraser Island with a heap of international students who paid for the trip previously to arriving here in Australia, through their home Uni.
This weekend, Sunday to be exact (Saturday where you all are), is my 21st birthday which is pretty exciting! I am sure this will be a BIG birthday to remember! A few friends and I are going to Byron Bay (about a half hour away) for the night and planning an exciting adventure that I will post about after the time comes! I can not believe how old I am getting!
So anyhow, I am really getting use to the life here in Lismore and I even finished a book already! I started a new book the other day so I am pretty proud of myself there. School and classes are a lot different then what I am use to at home so it is still a bit weird. There is no weekly exams or pop quizzes or numerous tedious homework assignments. It is kind of hard to accurately judge where you are sitting grade wise. Also, only a certain percentage of students can get a "high distinction" so that is a bit different than home. At home, a teacher can give their whole class A's if they want, even though that is pretty rare.
Well.. speaking of school. One of the main reasons I wanted to post this blog was to tell you about my very unique field trip to Nimbin. We took a field trip there on Tuesday for my Perspectives on Australia class. It is definitely something that gives you a different perspective. It is a town that has a history very comparable to Woodstock back in the United States. There were some differences but to keep the story short we will just leave it at that. I am told it is the only town here that you can stop anyone on the streets and have a conversation with them. Walking the streets it is no secret that the people are oddly different. Maybe I shouldn't say odd. The purpose here was to have an open mind and not to judge but attempt to understand their way of life??? Weed has always been a part of their history.. but it hasn't been until recently that there has been countless dealers on the streets (or shall I say street, there is only one street in town). Every few feet I was questioned "Darling, would you like some weed?" or walking into a store "I have baked cookies 3 for $15." The town has a significant amount of tourists that come into their town daily and from what I am told that is where they earn most of their money. Talking to a local, as much as he is disappointed from the significant increase of marijuana dealing on the streets he still feels that he hopes the police spend more of their time with larger issues like the violence that happens within the town. It is no secret that people are smoking and/or selling weed in this town. I was still confused as to why people can be so vocal about it if it is not legal here in Australia. I do not think I fully got my question answered but there a few times in a year where the police strike down on it (mostly dealers) but it doesn't seem to be often.
On May 1 and 2 is the Mardi Grass in Nimbin. It is definitely something I am going to attempt to see even though it interferes with Race Day on the 1st of May. It use to be a big protest against the prohibition of Marijuana. If I remember correctly, this started in 1991 or 1992. From that time it has become more of a festival although their is still political meanings behind it all. It is something that the town gets heaps of money from because of all of the tourists. I saw a sign or two for it so I am definitely interested to attend and see what it is like (I will make sure to take lots of pictures). I have taken some photos for you below that I would like you all to see. Reminder for everyone at home, this is NOT the town I am living in. Ha!
Before we actually walked on the main street in Nimbin we went to the Djanbung Gardens. From what I took away from it is, they are people that live naturally... like beyond natural than I could believe. They reuse everything and do not overuse resources. Their homes/buildings do not use air conditioning or heating. Their buildings are created to do it by themselves in a way? They have animals that help maintain their gardens and plants (not tractors or anything) and they use the "toilets" that save human waste and they use human waste as compost. Their toilet is pretty much a contraption with a toilet seat that sits on top of a garbage bin. They eat out of their gardens (I am sure they are not limited to just that). The lady that was giving us the tour explained that she did not want to be part of a generation that screws over (not the words she used haha) the future generations by polluting the earth etc. etc. They have students that live on this property in a small train car, yes you heard right, like the boxcar children, that help with the property while they learn??
It was a very unique way of living and as much as I can respect someone for being so natural, I really do not think I could live like that. The first couple pictures are from the Djanbung Gardens in Nimbin.
(She trained the pigs to sit for food.. like dogs. I found it humorous!)
The next pictures are from the main street in Nimbin.
(This is the rainbow cafe where we ate)
This was a poster in the cafe from last years Mardi Grass. A picture of Obama "smoking weed" obviously photo shopped. It is interesting to me to see pictures of Obama here!
The next bit of pictures was from the museum in Nimbin. It was totally free and was like a small little shop that you walked around while looking at sayings all over the floor, ceilings, and walls.
The rest of the pictures are a little more of the town in Nimbin.
I think at this point pictures say more than a 1,000 words. It is no secret that it was definitely one of the most interesting experiences of my life. It was definitely a different perspective of Australia for me compared to the other places I have been here.
As weird as it was, what a great learning experience! I thought it was pretty neat exploring in the stores as well and seeing a little bit of their culture by the types of items they sold. I did buy a bracelet which was pretty neat.
Well, another weekend awaits. I am done with classes for the week and I am now ready to celebrate the big 2-1! It will be exciting but it is weird that I do not get to celebrate with my friends and family like always. Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
Brookie
Also. I would like to send a thank you to my Uncle John, my Grandma and Heidi for the great snail mail! I loved it! It is really nice getting things in the mail that doesn't tell me I owe money! :) haha. What a great surprise! Thank YOU!! :-)
brooke! we have Tim Tams at home! they aren't nearly as good as true aussie tim tams...they are by pepperidge farm...but we do have them!
ReplyDeleteglad to hear you are adjusting!
Nimbin......peace out
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you are enjoying your time!
It is fun to have you keep us updated as to your trip.
After reading your story, we are going to sell all of our cars and house now and live in an old lot I found up in Andover. I hope Mom is OK with that.
Way to go Brooke!
Dad