The car we rented.

Great Ocean Road sign.

Me at Bell's Beach

12 Apostles.

Sydney:

The 4 of us in front of the Sydney Opera House

Adam and I with the Harbour Bridge

Proud to be Aborigine

At Nobby's Beach before the storm

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May 17- My 20th Birthday!

May 18-May 20- Sydney Trip and seeing John Begale

May 24-May 29- Great Ocean Road Trip from Melbourne to Adelaide

June 1-June 8- Adam and Danny visit! Seeing Sydney, Blue Mountains, and Blackbutt Forest Preserve. Maybe some Kathryn Hill Bay and Snappe Point.

June 15- Last Final!

June 16-June 30- Travelling and Free Time in Australia!
Possible trips include Whitsunday Islands, Frasier Island, the Gold Coast, Glen Innes, Brisbane....

June 30- Flying Home

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11th- Christchurch to Westport (via Arthurs Pass):
After staying one night (about 8 hours) in Stonehurst Accomodation, we departed Christchurch at 8:15am to head to Westport. We met up with our friend, Alison, who was previously travelling the North Island. Driving northwest through the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps we were surrounded by snowcapped mountains and various rivers. My first impression was how beautiful NZ is! It is absolutely gorgeous! =) On this 6 hour drive, we were with 3 other people-- 2 girls (Sam and Tammy) from England, and Ruel from Belgium. We continued to drive through Arthurs Pass National Park, and got out of the bus a few times to take some short scenic walks. On arrival in Westport, we met up with the rest of our tour group (they were coming from Nelson Bay) to continue on to Westport. It was raining when we got to Westport (a tiny little town with very little to do), so our group of about 50 people stayed in the hostel (Bazil's) for the night, cooking dinner and watching 3 movies before bedtime.

12th- Westport to Lake Mahinapua:
Because it was raining when we arrived in Westport, we did not have a chance to jet boat along the Buller River. Therefore, we woke up early in the morning to go, and would later met up with the rest on the group on the way to Lake Mahinapua. As the rest of the group went to Cape Foulwind Seal Colony (something I was looking forward to, but had to miss out on), Kathryn, Pete, Ashley, Alison, and I had fun cruising the river. Our boat driver was really cool-- we nearly missed hitting the sides of the mountains, jumped over rocks, and did 360 degree turns in the boat. =) I had a lot of fun, even though it was really windy and quite chilly. Around 11am we met the rest of the group and headed towards the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. We also took a rugged beach walk and ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch along the way. Once in Mahinapua, we settled in at Mahinapua Hotel. A group meal was cooked for us tonight at the legendary "Poo Pub." I ate some awesome steak, potatoes, vegetables, and bread rolls. We also met Uncle Les-- New Zealand's oldest Publican. After dinner, everyone headed to the pub dressed up as things beginning with the letter P. Kathryn and I were Pete, Pete was a paperboy, Ashley was a Princess, and Alison was a Puzzle. Other people dressed as a pool, a palm reader, prehistoric people, pussycats, etc. It was lot of fun, as I got a change to get to know my fellow travellers from all over the world better. We also headed to the lake at night and saw 100s of glow worms!

13th- Lake Mahinapua to Franz Josef:
On Friday the 13th we were off at 8am to head to the Franz Josef Glacier Township. Our first stop of the morning was at the Bushman's Centre, where we learned how people made a living on the coast with sphagnum moss growing, old timber-milling techniques, possum trapping and helicopter deer recovery. Alison tried a Possum Pie and enjoyed it. =/ (yuckkkkk).
On arrival in Franz Josef, we walked around the town and shopped in the souvinere stores.

14th- Franz Josef:
After staying at the Rainforest Hotel, today was a day to relax. Kathryn and Alison woke up early and started their 8 hour guided hike up the glacier. Ashley and I went on a run in the morning, cooked some lunch, and then headed on a hike to the glacier with Pete. As Kathryn and Alison got to climb the actual glacier, Pete, Ash, and I just hiked to it at a relaxed pace and got to touch it. We had a lot of fun, and all arrived back around the same time. As a group, we headed towards a cute little restaurant in the centre of town for some dinner. I had delcious chicken tenders! yummm.

15th-Franz Josef to Wanaka:
Leaving at 7:30am, we were off to the Wanaka Hotel. Our first stop was to take a walk around Lake Matheson, catching the reflection of Mount Cook, Mount Tazman, and the Southern Alps in the lake. Here we met up with Ashley and Alison who skydived over the glacier in the morning. We then headed down the last stretch of the West Coast stopping to check out Ship Cove, Haast River, Thunder Creek Falls, and the Blue Pools. We crossed the bridge at the gates of Haast and headed up the pass and into Mount Aspiring National Park. We arrived in Wanaka around 4:30pm. The town was my favorite of them all! We walked around near the lake, got some Subway for dinner, and had some delcious ice cream! It was pretty chilly so we headed in early and watched a movie before bed!

16th- Wanaka to Queenstown:
Starting at 9am, the 2 hour drive to Queenstown today was very fun! Our first stop was at Puzzling World. Here we went through a human maze and checked out 4 illusion rooms that were very unique and entertaining! After, we headed towards AJ Hackett Sky Diving. Here we learned the "Secrets of the Bungy" and those who wanted to could participate in the Kawarau Bridge Bungy. Ashley and Alison did a tandem bungy jump of the bridge, consisting of a 43m freefall. They absolutely loved it! =) I would have loved to do it if it wasn't so expensive. Maybe someday I'll do it...are you up for a tandem jump daddy?!?! =) We got to Queenstown around 5pm, and checked in at our Hostel, Bumbles Backpackers! The view from our room was gorgeous...a beautiful lake surrounded by the "Remarkables" aka the mountains that were filmed in the movies Lord of the Rings.

17th- Queenstown:
Today we headed to Milford Sound, a 10 hour round trip drive. Once we arrived, we took a 2 hour cruise of the beautiful fiord surrounded by huge mountains and multiple waterfalls! It was very very awesome-- no wonder why it is commonly referred to as New Zealand's most beautiful spot. =)

18th- Queenstown:
Today, Pete headed out early to do the Nevis Bungy Jump...the 3rd largest in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere! Ashley and I went for a run to the grocery store and picked up some breakfast. We cooked scrammbled eggs and pancakes before heading out for a day of shopping! Pretty much we shopped until we dropped and then headed to the famous Fergburger for some good ol' American hambugers.

19th- Queenstown:
Yes...we shopped again! =) But...we also took a walk along the pier and explored Queenstown a little bit more! Later in the afternoon, we took a gondola ride up the mountains and saw beautiful views of the city. We then took another ski lift further up the mountain, and did some luging...kinda like go carts. We went on the 800m track 6 times...2ce on the scenic route and 4 times on the adventure course. =) It was a fun and nice relaxing day before a long drive to Christchurch in the morning.

20th- Queenstown to Christchurch:
We were picked up from Bumbles at 8:20am, ready for our 9 hour drive to Christchurch. On the way were headed over Lindis Pass into the Mackenzie Country, named after James Mackenzie who was a famous sheep rustler. We also got some fresh fruit in Twizel, and then took the road next to the amazing Lake Pukaki with great views of Mt. Cook. We then stopped at Lake Tekapo to see the Church of the Good Shepherd (a church made of all natural rock that was collected by the community) and the bronze sheep dog statue (the value the sheep dog as there are 4 times as many sheep in New Zealand as there are people.) We arrived at Base Backpackers around 5pm, just in time to head to a Rugby Union Game at Jade Stadium. The north island Hurricanes were facing the south island Crusaders (the home team). We root root rooted for the home team, and of course they won! =) Even though the game was hard to follow, I learned some of the rules and strategies and had a good time!

21st-Christchurch:
Today we walked around Christchurch, viewing the church of course in Cathedral Square. We also went to the famous Yellow Rocket cafe for some awesome bagels for lunch. We walked around two different markets, saw some crazy street performers, sampled some fudge at Fudge Cottage, and also stopped at the Harley Davidson Store. We ended our night by watching 4 movies (Miss Congeniality, Miss Congeniality 2, Derailed, and some other Australian one that I slept through) before heading to the airport at midnight to stay there for the night in order to catch our 6am flight back to Newcastle.

22nd- Fly back to Newcastle: After 6 hours of traveling on little sleep, we finally arrived safe back home! yayyy!! What an amazing trip. =) I loved meeting people from all over the world (Belgium, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Pennsylania, California, New York, etc.) and seeing the beautiful scenery of New Zealand!

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After walking along a path for about 20 minutes, we arrived at the top of this huge hill, which seems to be dead center in the middle of Newcastle. It is sooo beautiful, and you can pretty much see all of Newcastle from the top. We spotted the different beaches, our university, and the rugby stadium!

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1st challenging activity: Rowing.
Saturday morning Kathryn and I woke up at 8am to meet the University's Rowing Club in the parking lot. There were about 30 people on the club and they all seemed really nice. After about a 30 minute carride, we arrived at the Rowing Shed near this huge river. The newbies, Kathryn and I and 3 other girls, had a quick introductory course on how to actually row. While practicing on the rowing machine (like the ones in the gyms) I decided that rowing would not be as easy as I thought. I have absolutely no coordination...maybe that's why I run. =)
Anyways, after practicing, we learned how to carry the boat, how to put the oars in the boat, how to actually put the boat in the water, what the different positions are, what the different boats are, what races there were, etc. In the water, rowing was a lot of fun, but very difficult. Having all the people in one boat who had never rowed before was not a good idea. The boat wasn't moving all that quickly and all of our oars kept banging together. Needless to say, we needed to work on our coordination. Two girls on the rowing team were on a different boat beside us, telling us what to do. They were very helpful and after about 30 minutes we actually looked like real rowers. =) We picked the sport up quickly, and were moving along the river at a decent pace. We rowed for about 2 hours along a river in the middle of the farmlands. It was very scenic and beautiful...we saw plenty of cows, including the fattest cow that I have ever seen. After rowing, we had a barbie consisting of sausage sizzles for lunch, and then returned to Uni. Overall, I had a lot of fun, and I learned that rowing is NOT as easy as it looks.

Kathryn and I at the shed.

The river we rowed on.

Challenge #2: Swimming
On Sunday night, Uni had a swimming carnival (competition) between the four different colleges (dorms) here. Each college got a point for each person who competed in the different events. Barahineban, where I live, has always come in last place in the past years, due to the small number of residents we have compared to the other colleges. Anyways, the RAs said that this year would be our year, and that we would not come in last. About 30 (last year only 5 people went) of us dressed up in our college colors (black, silver, and yellow) and headed to the Forum (the sports center on campus). We were definetly the best dressed college, althought the other colleges each had about 100 people there, either to swim or watch. I decided that I would participate in the 50 meter freestyle to earn a point for my team. I practiced some dives on the blocks and got ready to swim. Boy, have I never swam so fast in my life, and I still came in 5th (of 8) in my heat. It was so hard to get the right rhythm of breathing while swimming and trying not to choke on the water. haha =) I survived though, and wasn't too embarrased. After swimming in the freestyle, I also swam in the 50 meter partner noodle race (where two people have to wrap their legs around the same noodle and swim), the 50 meter partner race (where I held my partners legs and I only kicked while she could only use her arms), and the 50 meter team race (where everyone swam 1 lap across the pool whichever way they liked). At the end of the carnival, I was soo tired. Like rowing, this swimming experience had taught me that things are not as easy as they look sometimes. However, they are a lot of fun. =) Also..incase you were wondering, Bara still came in last, but we improved; this year we were only a few points away from 3rd!

Kathryn and I in our Bara gear.

Our cheering section.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. =)

Now, I'm off to bed after an exhausting, but exciting, weekend.

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We also headed to Minus 5 "The Coolest Experience in Sydney" Ice Bar. Everything inside of the bar was made of ice. It was $30 to get in the bar for 30 minutes. They had to provide mittens, boots, gloves, and a parka! =) It was a blast; even the cups and chairs and walls were made from ice. Also, there were cool ice sculptures inside. My favorites were the chandeliers and the penguin!

After the bar, we headed back to our hostel (Wake Up! about a 35 minute walk from the pier, or as it is called, Circular Quay) for the night.

The next morning, the group headed to Circular Quay again. This time, we took a ferry across the water into North Sydney. We ate lunch there before walking back to the quay across the Harbour Bridge.

After walking, the girls went to the Rocks District to do some shopping. I bought the BEST grapes in the world from this little fruit stand. =) While Kathryn and Ashley did some shopping, Courtney, Shannon, and I walked around and explored all the beautiful parks. We went to Hyde Park where Parade officials were setting up for the Mardi Gras/ Gay and Lesbian Parade that was to take place that night. After buying a snow cone, we walked back to the hostel for a siesta. =)

When everyone got back and was rested, we headed out to dinner at Darling Harbour. We ate at a cute restaurant on the water and watched all the boat in the marina. After dinner, we headed towards the parade. Before we could even get to the start of where the parade was going to be, we were stuck in a huge crowd. The streets were so crowded and nobody could move anywhere. After 10 minutes of being stuck, we pushed our way out and had enough. There was no way that we were going to get to see any of the parade. Disappointed, we headed back to the pier to see the Sydney Opera House again before heading back to the hotel.

Our last day in Sydney, we decided to head towards east Sydney to see the rest of the parks. We went to Hyde Park again and took a picture in front of St. Mary's Cathedral.

We also explored the Domain and the Botanic Gardens. We also visited Farms Cove before heading back to take the train home.

Overall, Sydney is a wonderful city; it is not crowded or dirty by any means. It is so beautiful!! I am already excited to head back again sometime next month for another weekend of exploring. Kathryn and I are already planning to see Manly and Bondi beaches, getting a tour of the Opera House, going to Paddy's Market, and walking along George St. where all the cute shops are.

=)

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And...tonight is the first night that Kathryn and I are actually doing some homework. And, it's just some light reading. And, we could wait until this weekend to do it, b/c it's due next week...but we are trying to get ahead. What good students we are. =)

Yet, I'm avoiding it now by writing this. hah.
Ok, back to work!

Gotta love Australia.

Cheers mates,
Amy

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Girls at the train station.

Ashley, Kathryn, and I.

Barahineban V-Day Lunch.

Bara decorated for Valentines.

People at the beach!

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The Girls and our Surfboards

Kathryn and I at the Surf Shack...in our rashies.

Me and Crummy

Ashley and I washing 1 million plates.

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Monday:
Earth's Dynamic Systems (EDS) Lecture 11am-12pm
Foundation Studies in Health and P.E. (PUBH) Lecture 3pm-4pm

Tuesday:
Special Education (EDUC) Lecture 9am-11am
EDS Lecture 11am-12pm

Wednesday:
EDS Lecture 11am-12pm
EDS Film Screening 1pm-2pm
PUBH Tutorial 3pm-5pm
Aboriginal Studies (ABOR) Lecture 6pm-7pm

Thursday:
EDUC Tutorial 8am-9am
ABOR Tutorial 11am-1pm
EDS Lab 2pm-5pm

Friday:
NO CLASS!

So far, I really like all of my classes. I like my PUBH class the most, as I am learning about how to get children more involved in athletics in primary schools. Also, during our tutorials I get to play in the gym and learn all these new games! =) We also have a dance and gymnastics unit! I also really enjoy my special education course. As I want to get my Masters in Special Education after I graduate, I am getting a head start and learning a bunch of really helpful and interesting ideas and concepts. Also, my Aboriginal studies class is really interesting. I am learning about how the Aboriginals first learned to live in Australia, about how their education system works, and about their unique religion and beliefs. In my EDS class, I am learning about the solar system and how the Earth works. =) I learned that everyone is a star...aka we are all made of stardust!
As you can see on my schedule, I have lectures and tutorials (or a lab for my EDS class) for each class. During my lectures, which consist of anywhere between 75 and 200 people, we learn the basics. The instructor puts up a powerpoint and goes over all of the information that we need to know for the week. During the tutorials, the classes are more like the classes I take at IWU. They have about 20-30 people in each one, and we have class discussions that go over the information that we learn in our lectures more in depth. A huge difference from the US, is that we don't have any homework here. We have to read a lot, but the teachers do not check to see if we have read. We are more independent learners, and only have a few big assignments and an exam at the end of the semester. This is good for studying abroad, as it gives me more time during the week to explore campus and also more time on the weekends to travel. However, I don't think I would like it for regular school, because if you do bad on one of the assignments you will not get a good grade in the class (there is less leeway to mess up).

I'm off to Sydney this weekend, so look forward to my adventures there next week! =) I am going with 10 other people, and its Mardi Gras weekend/ the Gay/Lesbian Parade, so it should be an interesting and fun time!

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My first impression was that the campus was HUGE, but very beautiful. It is full of paths that are surrounded by trees and bushes. Our room is pretty awesome too; Kathryn and I have our own kitchen and bathroom. We have a bunch of shelves, and a really large desk. Yet, we needed to go to the store to buy sheets, food, and other supplies. After sleeping on sheetless beds for one night, we got up the next morning and had to figure out how to get to Jesmond (or Jeszo as the locals call it), the shopping center about 10 minutes away. We asked friends who went to the store the night before how to take the bus. The bus stop is about 2 minutes from our dorm so we walked there and waited about 20 minutes for the bus to come. We didn't have the bus schedule (luckily we do now) and we went sure what side of the street to stand on. A day of lucky guesses, we got to the shopping center quickly. Jesmond is like a normal mall, except instead of large department stores, there is the Big W (aka Walmart) on one end and a Woolworths (a supermarket) on the other end. We decided to go grocery shopping first. Kathryn and I walked up and down every aisle to make sure that we would not forget to buy anything. After about 2 hours, Kathryn and I were checking out. By that time, we did not have enough arms to carry all our bags, so we opted to go to the Big W the next day and try to manage to take the bus home, each carrying 10 bags full of food. We looked like the stereotypical stupid Americans walking back to our dorm at a turtle's pace with looks on our faces that our arms were going to fall off. To make it worse, the bags were braking and our food was spilling all over the ground. =/ Anyways, we decided to take a few extra helpers with us the next day. To make a long story short, we again looked like fools on the bus after shopping at the Big W, each carrying 3 huge buckets to put our clothes in, as our closets came with no drawer space. On Monday, Orientation week started. UoN (University of Newcastle) had many planned events for the international students, such as a commencement ceremony, bbq, and live bands at Bar on the Hill (the bar on campus). In the dorms (or colleges as they are called here) the RAs planned a themed party every night. We had a country party (we were Irish), a beach party, a toga party, a disco party, and a grafetti party. We also obtained our student cards, learned how to check our email, set up a bank account, bought new phones, and signed up for classes. I must thank about 20 million people in helping us with this process, as I would have been completely lost without them. A bunch of our new friends drove us around, answered a billion of our questions, and helped us get to where we needed to be. As a side note, everyone is EXTREMELY nice here. Unlike in the US, they are happy to drive you somewhere you need to be, without expecting anything in return. =) Throughout the week, I was able to go on a beach tour and also on Saturday I went on a Dolphin cruise and saw about 50 dolphins! =) Overall, Orientation week at UoN was a blast. I was able to get everything done, and had a lot of fun and meet a lot of really cool people in the process. =)

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I will write about our grocery/shopping experience, busses/driving, our room, and our first weekend at the Uni tommorrow. =)

Later mates.

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Up next...my trip to Newcastle and the first few days. =)

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I arrived in Cairns, Australia, yesterday around 2pm. The flights weren't as bad as I thought they would be. I listened to my IPOD and slept most of the time. The hardest part of flying was trying to carry all my luggage by myself. It was a pretty big workout. My orientation group of about 80 people were picked up from the airport and transferred to Gilligan's backpackers hotel about 10 minutes away. You can walk to the beach/ocean, which we will be heading tomorrow for a trip to the Great Barrier Reef on a Catamaran Sailbot. But today....we get to go to the zoo and feed a kangaroo and pet a koala, along with seeing all of Australia's other crazy animals. Then we are eating lunch and going to a Aboriginal Park. Hmmm...what else? It's really humid here and kind of rainy, but much nicer than snowy Chicago. I'm off to eat breakfast before we head out for the day.

Oh, and last night I did the world's smallest bungy jump. haha.

Later gators,
Amy

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I said a lot of my goodbyes already, but if I missed anyone, I hope you enjoy your semester. Have lots of fun!

That's about it for now.

Lator Gators,
Amy

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