'Everyday' Life here in Australia.

       G'day Luv!  Question of the day.  How does one accomplish homework in Australia?  I have only had to complete 1 paper thus far.  Which was in fact an easy one because it was a reflection on my camping trip.  However, now I am struggling to write two papers, for the same class, that are due before I leave for my trip to Fraser Island on Monday.  Yikes.  Yes, I have accomplished readings but papers here are a whole different story.  Do not worry folks, they will get completed I am just having a hard time finding motivation.  I was hoping on a rainy day today.  Like a little kid though, I was staring out the window in class and seeing the beautiful blue sky and thinking about jumping in the pool.  After class I ran and got my two packages (THANK YOU MOM & DAD AND LIZ & DALE!!!!) and sweated up the hill in the beating sun. 

       I thought "What a great day for a swim!"  Last night the forecast told me it was going to rain (I wasn't surprised when I saw blue skies since the weather forecasts always seem to be wrong) so I had planned on getting my papers done while it was raining.  Great plan!  But.. seeing those blue skies made me cancel the plan (hey- I still have a few days!).  So, anxiously I put on my suit and my sundress peered out the window and what do I see?? a HUGE rain cloud hanging over the pool.  I sat in my suit for approximately 3 hours hoping and dreaming that the sun would pop out.  What a joke.  It never ceases to amaze me how often a rain cloud pops out as soon as I climb that hill in the beating sun.

       Anyways.  I ended up only getting a few lines typed unfortunately, but it is better than nothing.  I attempted research through scholarly sources here in Australia and it is definitely easier said then done.  I hope to complete all of this tomorrow because I just want to get it off my shoulders so I no longer have to think about it.  I am the type of person who carries things in the back of my head before I get them completed.  I do not think this is a very good trait.  You know what I have noticed here?  That I do not get stomach aches.  I feel like at home I half at least a stomach ache everyday and swigging pepto-bismol.  The only reason why I took note of this is because I noticed my unopened bottle of pepto today.  This is very strange to me!  I definitely think I stress out too much at home.  Yikes!  Well, that is definitely a good thing that I am not stressed here!

       Classes are going pretty well.  In my outdoor education class we are currently planning our next camping trip.  We are going camping to Girraween which is about 3 hours away from Lismore.  We will be there for 4 days 3 nights.  The class is split up into groups of 6 and each group is on their own, no professor.  It is going to be quiet different then the last trip to Meebunn-bia.  There wont be high ropes courses or any of the like, just us and the bush!  In class we are currently planning our routes, our meals, what to do during different kinds of emergencies etc.  There is no toilets at this place, we use the ground.  Big Challenge! HA.  Although, the toilets at the last place were nothing glorious.  It was one of those things where you don't look, breath, and run out like hell once you are done.  I still got a while to mentally prepare myself for this trip.  My class doesn't leave until May 9th.  I am glad I got a small introduction at this camping life at Meebunn-bia though because getting thrown into this next trip might have seemed a bit frightening.  Also, at this time it will be "winter" here.  I say winter lightly because it is nothing close to home.  Unfortunately, my professor said it can get as low as 18 degrees Fahrenheit at night.  That is an extreme case but it is plausible.  One of the emergencies we discussed in class was hypothermia.  First off, if I get hypothermia when I am here in Australia with the fact that I was born and raised in Minnesota I will be quite upset.  In all fairness, my professor said it is a little different considering we do not have the same type of warm equipment here that we do at home or the same type of clothing.  I do believe my blood has thinned out here and I hope when it turns 65 or 70 degrees that I can still say it is hot out.  I will keep you posted!

       In my 'Perspectives on Australia' class we are learning a lot about the aboriginals and surprisingly it has a lot of similarities to our history in the United States with the Native Americans.  There are still a lot unresolved issues here in Australia that people are really upset about, which is understandable.  However, I was really surprised when my teacher made it sound like all the issues in America with the Native Americans were more resolved.  I guess it is definitely all in your perspective, hence the name of my class but I just found it interesting.  We are also learning about Australia being a masculine country, local identities vs. national identities, and Australia being 'Americanized'  to name a few.

       In my Stress Management class we are currently learning how to first acknowledge our stress in our lives and discover how we, subconsciously, push them under the rug.  I never really thought about things I do when I am stressed to help "cope" with it when in actuality it is actually ignoring your stress.  These things are called Maladaptive coping responses which just helps you to survive and "keep your head above water."  Examples:  stimulants, depressants, distractions or ways to 'check out' (excessive exercise, continuous music, over achieving, numbing out etc etc) and comforts (like hiding at home, relationships, food etc).  Man, I feel like I am writing a paper.  Ha, sorry.  But, to keep it short, we are learning how to be aware of our stress and take responsibility for our feelings and how to manage it (Adaptive coping responses).

Okay, I am done discussing my classes and I am sure you are all quite relieved.  I finally got a picture of my favorite snack.. PIKELETS.. those little pancakes.  Geez. They are amazing!  Aren't they just the cutest thing ever? 

I am going to miss these cute and nummy little things when I go home!!

   Also.  I finally cracked and bought my first case of pop.  I lasted pretty long but I figured it was cheaper to buy a case of pop instead of paying 3.15 for a small bottle every time I went grocery shopping(how sad).  So, here's Steph and I with our first pop (or shall I say soda) purchase.  I got my 12 pack of Diet Coke on SALE! HAAAA!!  $10.00!!! This is no typo.  I repeat $10.00!  Steph got her 24 pack for 16.99.  Pepsi is cheaper than Diet Coke.  I would be happy to switch to Diet Pepsi for my time here in Australia but unfortunately they do not believe in Diet Pepsi.  Just Pepsi.  So, I am going to have to suck it up and drink Diet Coke.  No worries,  I am not going to be drinking a lot of pop.  I just like to have a can once in a while.  I bought this case of pop because I felt I deserved it after that intense camping trip! :-)

       I realized (oh my goodness I just initially spelt 'realized' the Australian way, that's really scary. It is spelt 'realised' here. Hope I remember how to spell correctly when I get home!) I forgot to mention one small thing about Lismore.  BATS! Yes, these are flying fox bats and they are EVERYWHERE.  They are huge, like birds and they are not hard to spot at night.  When we were walking to the square we saw heaps of trees like the ones below.  Bats everywhere!  I still think its a bit frightening.  They make this creepy screechy sound.  I was trying to capture them opening up their huge wings but no luck. 

       After almost 2 months of blogging I feel you all deserve to finally see my brick room, also known as a jail cell from anyone back home that I encounter on video chat.  As bricky and jail celly as it may look and initially feel, it is becoming more like 'home.'  Every letter/card I have received is hung up as well as my pictures from home of friends and family so it is pretty homey, kind of.  When I see these pictures I am surprised how much I have accumulated since I have arrived.  I mean, I only DID bring 2 suitcases.  How will I bring this all home you ask?  No clue! HA. I will have to leave a lot behind but no worries for now!  Here you are!

       Anyways.  Like I had briefly mentioned earlier, I received two packages today and boy oh boy were they amazing!  Who ever knew that receiving snacks, AMERICAN snacks, would be like getting gold?  God Bless America!  Everything pictured below I have received from the good 'ol U.S. since I have been here. THANK YOU!!!! AMAZING!!! Simple pleasures :).

(P.S. I'm 21!) :-)

Oh. Yes.  Did I mention I got a new room mate?  I got a picture of him! ha.

yuck! The bugs here are SOO creepy!! This was in my kitchen. mmhmm.



Alright folks.  I think this was enough of an update for a while!  I am leaving on my trip to Fraser Island for Easter Break next Monday.  So, after that I will have a lot of exciting pictures and more adventures to blog about!  Thank you again for reading.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Miss You All!!!



Cheers,
Brookie