Yesterday was nothing special, until about dinner time. Basia, Kaitlin, Sunniva and I headed out to Cafe Bond to grab some dinner before a night of film and hot tubbing. Although, it's technically called a spa here, but we won't go into details. On the way out, we snatched a few photos of the gorgeous night sky. A passerby shouted out that there was to be a Lunar Eclipse at 9pm. I was so excited! I'd never seen any sort of eclipse before. So we hurried up and grabbed some grub, ran home and watched a movie, then set out for the spa. It was amazing to sit in the glorious bubbles and gaze at the stars, and as we sat we saw the beginning of the eclipse. It was slow, but beautiful! Attempted some photos but..well, I don't have a fabulous-night-vision camera, so it just looks like a white blob ha ha. Amazing though!
I laid on my back with my head on the stairs of the spa and my legs hanging on the outside. Sounds awkward, but amazingly comfortable. And as I stared up at the thin clouds, the clear stars, and glorious moon, I realized just how lucky I was to be in that place, with three incredible ladies, at this time in my life. I could not have asked for anything sweeter.
Today we headed up Tamborine Mountain, which is in the heart of the Hinterland rainforest, which is the biggest sub-tropical rainforest in the entire WORLD! How amazing. I needed to go for a journalism project, to cover the annual Scarecrow Festival with photos and interviews. But the six of us drove up, thanks to Aussie friend Ben, a few hours early and hiked through the rainforest. I've been on more hikes than I can count, but nothing as different than that. I forest of palm trees and vines? Definitely not like home. It was exactly the wake up I needed! I feel like this country has been calling to me to come explore, and I've just become too comfortable with my school routine that I ignored it. Seeing mountains again, clinging to dear life while Ben threw us around the curves of the windy mountain road, the fresh humid air blowing in our faces...exactly what the doctor ordered. Again, I could not have asked for anything sweeter.
Ben is also helping me to pick up more Aussie lingo, so that I may better blend in once all of the crazy Americans get here in September. He said he'll fit me with the perfect accent. He's my professional teacher ha ha!
Enjoying every minute! Living life like it was meant to be lived.
Love!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Watching History
Thursday was the biggest day in Australian Political History! Four of the five channels on our TV covered the even from late morning forward, and they're still covering it. I'm having a hard time understanding why it happened, simply because I don't understand the Australian government system. However! I will explain it to you all as best I can, though I'm sure it's been on the news somewhat in the States.
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has been slowly failing his country, or so the country thinks. Parliament called for change in leader early last week, and on Thursday the voting began. It was unanimous to overthrow him and replace him with the Deputy PM, Julia Gillard. It was amazing! We watched the polls actually climbing on the internet during class, and then I rushed home to watch the results on the news. I was so excited, and I'm not really sure why. Ha ha!
I have been reading the newspaper since I've been here, so I've been reading tons about how people feel about Kevin Rudd. I just never knew that he could be overthrown like that! So this occasion was the biggest day in history because a) it was the first time a PM had been overthrown before the end of his first term and b) Julia Gillard is the first female PM. And I was here to witness it all! How thrilling. Though I'm sure, like I said, that it's been on the news, if not CNN, back home. Gotta love history in the making!
Love!
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has been slowly failing his country, or so the country thinks. Parliament called for change in leader early last week, and on Thursday the voting began. It was unanimous to overthrow him and replace him with the Deputy PM, Julia Gillard. It was amazing! We watched the polls actually climbing on the internet during class, and then I rushed home to watch the results on the news. I was so excited, and I'm not really sure why. Ha ha!
I have been reading the newspaper since I've been here, so I've been reading tons about how people feel about Kevin Rudd. I just never knew that he could be overthrown like that! So this occasion was the biggest day in history because a) it was the first time a PM had been overthrown before the end of his first term and b) Julia Gillard is the first female PM. And I was here to witness it all! How thrilling. Though I'm sure, like I said, that it's been on the news, if not CNN, back home. Gotta love history in the making!
Love!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Rainy Wednesday
Woke up to some drizzly skies this morning. It's so beautiful when it rains. And peaceful. Coming from Colorado, however, I'm not a big fan of humidity. Bleck.
I have an interview this afternoon for a volunteering position at an Aged Care facility about two blocks from campus. I figure that I really need to do something with myself, and since finding a job is becoming a job in itself, I thought this might be a good alternative. Plus it's close, so I don't have to worry about transportation. Let's hope all goes well!
It sounds like Elly is having a fantastic time overseas so far. It's weird to think that neither of us are in the States right now. Poor mommy! All alone. At least she has Kevin. I'm so proud of baby sister! Watching some of her dreams come true is fantastic..I'm glad she loves traveling just as much as I do. Although I've recently added "sail around the world" on my bucket list, so we'll see how that goes. Love ya sis!
We might be making a trip up to the rainforest this weekend for a big festival. It's about an hour drive from home, so we're hoping to convince a friend with a car to drive us. Or we're going to look into renting a car, because the busses can't drive up the windy roads. It'll be so beautiful! I really hope it works out...I need to get out of the city, I'm about to lose my mind. Feeling stuck is not my cup of tea, hence why I'm halfway around the world right now. I didn't come down here to feel that way again.
No big plans for the rest of the week other than that, though. Just looking forward to Eggs Benedict friday morning! It's so delicious, I can't even begin to explain. I could probably eat it almost every day for brekky. I'll have to have some family members learn how to make it so we can eat it when I come home =) cough Granny! cough
Love!
I have an interview this afternoon for a volunteering position at an Aged Care facility about two blocks from campus. I figure that I really need to do something with myself, and since finding a job is becoming a job in itself, I thought this might be a good alternative. Plus it's close, so I don't have to worry about transportation. Let's hope all goes well!
It sounds like Elly is having a fantastic time overseas so far. It's weird to think that neither of us are in the States right now. Poor mommy! All alone. At least she has Kevin. I'm so proud of baby sister! Watching some of her dreams come true is fantastic..I'm glad she loves traveling just as much as I do. Although I've recently added "sail around the world" on my bucket list, so we'll see how that goes. Love ya sis!
We might be making a trip up to the rainforest this weekend for a big festival. It's about an hour drive from home, so we're hoping to convince a friend with a car to drive us. Or we're going to look into renting a car, because the busses can't drive up the windy roads. It'll be so beautiful! I really hope it works out...I need to get out of the city, I'm about to lose my mind. Feeling stuck is not my cup of tea, hence why I'm halfway around the world right now. I didn't come down here to feel that way again.
No big plans for the rest of the week other than that, though. Just looking forward to Eggs Benedict friday morning! It's so delicious, I can't even begin to explain. I could probably eat it almost every day for brekky. I'll have to have some family members learn how to make it so we can eat it when I come home =) cough Granny! cough
Love!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
I'll Try Not To Bore You...
And by saying that, I only mean it because this week has not had as much adventure as the past few weeks. But I'll update you anyways :)
Last weekend we went about an hour south of Surfers Paradise to a small beach town called Byron Bay. Gloriously beautiful place, I cannot even BEGIN to describe it. You'll just have to explore my photos, once they're loaded that is haha. Currently in the process of doing that. We mostly just hung out at the beach, ate food and gelato, and bonded. Byron Bay is famous for this lighthouse which is situated at the Eastern most point of the Australian mainland. Amazing! So we ran up there as quick as we could in order to see the sunset. However, there were 8 people for a 5 seater car. So what did we do? Hid Kristen on the floorish of the back seat, and shoved Kaitlin and Marcio into the trunk. Fantastic. Good thing the drive was only about 10 minutes.
This was the first lighthouse I have ever seen in person. I was awestruck! It was incredible and I took way too many pictures of it. The sunset was equally as beautiful....never seen anything like that. Colorado sunsets now have a competitor in my mind! We went to a place called the Beach Hotel on saturday night, it had live music and plenty of people. It was really, really fun! The town itself is so cute and quaint, definitely different than Surfers. I could see myself living there, if only for a while.
Sunday we didn't do much else besides eat food and gelato (new guilty pleasure, by the way). We were so tired! It was a lazy, rainy day. But unfortunately our bus ride didn't come until 4.30, so we ended up sleeping in the main lobby of our hostel for a couple hours. It was awkward/amazing. Ha!
We had our weekly traditional brekky this morning. Everyone meets at the cafe called Juicy Bits for some of the most delicious breakfast food we've ever tasted. Eggs Benedict with a large Chai latte is now my new favorite. And it usually keeps me full until brekky on saturday haha, which is nice. The less money spent on food the better!
Not many plans for this weekend. School and classes are starting to get tough for everyone, so people are just buckling down and studying most of the time. It's raining like crazy today, so Kaitlin and I are just going to have a movie day. Excellent work! Tomorrow, hopefully, we're hittin up the beach! Gotta love year round beach weather. It's glorious.
Hopefully I'll have some more exciting things to update on starting next week! Cheers for now!
Love!
Last weekend we went about an hour south of Surfers Paradise to a small beach town called Byron Bay. Gloriously beautiful place, I cannot even BEGIN to describe it. You'll just have to explore my photos, once they're loaded that is haha. Currently in the process of doing that. We mostly just hung out at the beach, ate food and gelato, and bonded. Byron Bay is famous for this lighthouse which is situated at the Eastern most point of the Australian mainland. Amazing! So we ran up there as quick as we could in order to see the sunset. However, there were 8 people for a 5 seater car. So what did we do? Hid Kristen on the floorish of the back seat, and shoved Kaitlin and Marcio into the trunk. Fantastic. Good thing the drive was only about 10 minutes.
This was the first lighthouse I have ever seen in person. I was awestruck! It was incredible and I took way too many pictures of it. The sunset was equally as beautiful....never seen anything like that. Colorado sunsets now have a competitor in my mind! We went to a place called the Beach Hotel on saturday night, it had live music and plenty of people. It was really, really fun! The town itself is so cute and quaint, definitely different than Surfers. I could see myself living there, if only for a while.
Sunday we didn't do much else besides eat food and gelato (new guilty pleasure, by the way). We were so tired! It was a lazy, rainy day. But unfortunately our bus ride didn't come until 4.30, so we ended up sleeping in the main lobby of our hostel for a couple hours. It was awkward/amazing. Ha!
We had our weekly traditional brekky this morning. Everyone meets at the cafe called Juicy Bits for some of the most delicious breakfast food we've ever tasted. Eggs Benedict with a large Chai latte is now my new favorite. And it usually keeps me full until brekky on saturday haha, which is nice. The less money spent on food the better!
Not many plans for this weekend. School and classes are starting to get tough for everyone, so people are just buckling down and studying most of the time. It's raining like crazy today, so Kaitlin and I are just going to have a movie day. Excellent work! Tomorrow, hopefully, we're hittin up the beach! Gotta love year round beach weather. It's glorious.
Hopefully I'll have some more exciting things to update on starting next week! Cheers for now!
Love!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Pictures! Finally!
Alright, so I've finally figured out a way for everyone to view my photos. Besides facebook, that is. Shutterfly offers a way for you to make a website that has pictures, videos, journal entries, everything I want to share. Well, I won't be using the journal on that page since I have this blog, but please feel free to explore my photos!
http://traveljunkiejj.shutterfly.com/
Love!
http://traveljunkiejj.shutterfly.com/
Love!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sad News From Home...
This morning I woke up, and do what I do every Monday morning: head to campus an hour before class to get my copy of the The Australian Weekend Ed and sit at Juicy Bits (campus cafe) with a warm cup of Chai and read. Upon opening the paper this morning, I was greatly disturbed. News from home struck at my heart, and I wanted to scream. On the front page of the World News section are pictures from the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. But not shots of the spill itself. Pictures of once beautiful sea creatures, caked in a slick, black evil from which they cannot escape.
I gripped the edge of the table, biting my lip to keep the tears that had formed in my eyes from spilling down my cheeks. I simply could not believe that mankind had let this happen. It was devastating, and it was all I could to go to class in one piece. You all know me... animal lover extraordinaire. I couldn't help it. The pain that those poor animals must have been feeling, to know that they are suffering, is more than I can physically bare.
But here I am, across the WORLD, not able to help. What can I do but send out my love and prayers for the victims of mankind's carelessness. If I were home, there is no doubt that I would be on a plane to the South with as much dish soap as I could carry to wash the black death off of the winged beauties. It really tore at my heart strings, and has yet to let go. My goal of saving innocent animals is freshly beating in my heart of hearts, and I will never stop helping them. I'm putting aside every selfish thought in my head, however few there are.
Let's embrace the animal kingdom with a whole new light, and promise to keep our fellow citizens on the same track. The men of BP deserve punishment for torturing innocent lives, regardless if they are human or animal. This situation better be fixed soon, or you might all find me on American soil rather soon.
Love.
I gripped the edge of the table, biting my lip to keep the tears that had formed in my eyes from spilling down my cheeks. I simply could not believe that mankind had let this happen. It was devastating, and it was all I could to go to class in one piece. You all know me... animal lover extraordinaire. I couldn't help it. The pain that those poor animals must have been feeling, to know that they are suffering, is more than I can physically bare.
But here I am, across the WORLD, not able to help. What can I do but send out my love and prayers for the victims of mankind's carelessness. If I were home, there is no doubt that I would be on a plane to the South with as much dish soap as I could carry to wash the black death off of the winged beauties. It really tore at my heart strings, and has yet to let go. My goal of saving innocent animals is freshly beating in my heart of hearts, and I will never stop helping them. I'm putting aside every selfish thought in my head, however few there are.
Let's embrace the animal kingdom with a whole new light, and promise to keep our fellow citizens on the same track. The men of BP deserve punishment for torturing innocent lives, regardless if they are human or animal. This situation better be fixed soon, or you might all find me on American soil rather soon.
Love.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
June? Already?
I honestly cannot believe that I have been here for a month! Time is flying by, and a little too quickly I might add. Although everyone and everything says this is the winter season, I'm not seeing it. So as far as I know, the rest of this year is summer. And this excites me.
Nothing too much this past week. Just studying, chillin with friends, that sort of thing. We had Palaver, which is a massive party held every semester. It was amazing! Had to buy a new dress and shoes for the party, but who's complaining =) Spent a few hours at the beach yesterday, enjoying the glorious sun. We really did nothing of any importance, it was fantastic. Today we're all studying, and by that I mean laying in the sun and chatting with our textbooks somewhere nearby. I'm loving the chill life! It's so relaxing, and yet I feel more productive than ever.
I definitely recommend a small dose of Australian culture for anyone stressing about life. It's glorious down here, and there's plenty of room for all!
Nothing too much this past week. Just studying, chillin with friends, that sort of thing. We had Palaver, which is a massive party held every semester. It was amazing! Had to buy a new dress and shoes for the party, but who's complaining =) Spent a few hours at the beach yesterday, enjoying the glorious sun. We really did nothing of any importance, it was fantastic. Today we're all studying, and by that I mean laying in the sun and chatting with our textbooks somewhere nearby. I'm loving the chill life! It's so relaxing, and yet I feel more productive than ever.
I definitely recommend a small dose of Australian culture for anyone stressing about life. It's glorious down here, and there's plenty of room for all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)