Byron Bay

I just got back from a three day trip to Byron Bay, and it was awesome! Byron Bay is a very small surfing town right on the beach; it reminded me a lot of Key West.

We went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where I got to hold a baby crocodile, see koalas, pet kangaroos, and much more!

We also went on a hike to the top of the lighthouse, which is the most eastern point in Australia. It was exhausting, but absolutely beautiful and amazing. The hike was incredibly scenic both ways. At the top we even saw a pod of dolphins.

I got to try surfing for the first time, and I loved it! I put my best effort into it and I was actually able to stand up a few times. We also went kayaking, which was cool.

We got to explore the town and the shops and bars, and meet new people. We stayed in a hostel, which was a first for me; that was an experience in itself. We had a great time in a cool little town, and we are hoping to make it back another weekend.

Orientation

This past Monday, the 20^th, was our orientation at “Uni”. It was held in a big auditorium room with all study abroad, exchange, and international students. They covered all the important information, and then they had us participate in some activities, games, contests, and giveaways. They asked for six volunteers to the front of the room and they had a vegemite sandwich eating contest. Vegemite is a very popular Australian spread. I haven’t tried it yet, but people say it is very salty. Then they asked for another six volunteers and they had a tim-tam slammer eating contest. A tim-tam is a very popular chocolate wafer cookie bar. A tim-tam slammer is when you bite off a corner edge of each side of the tim-tam and then drink coffee through the cookie. Afterwards they had a barbeque for all of us and they gave us each a free drink ticket to the bar on campus. A typical Australian BBQ is bread and sausage. You get a piece of white bread, put some BBQ sauce on it, and then add your sausage.

Later that night there was a pub-crawl that was organized for exchange students over in Surfer’s Paradise. We met a lot of new people from all over the world. I signed up to be a part of the “buddy” program at Griffith. They pair you up with a student at Griffith University who is Australian, but who has participated in a study abroad or exchange program themselves before. I got to meet my buddy, Brittany, at the pub crawl. She seems “lovely”, as so many people here say. Orientation went well and the pub-crawl was also a lot of fun!

Update from Australia

Australia is amazing! It is beautiful here, the weather is beautiful, the people are so nice and friendly, and the lifestyle is so much more relaxed and easy going. Autumn and I have been very busy the past couple of days. We have been getting ourselves situated and getting things done. We have explored both Australia Fair (Oz Fair) and Pacific Fair (Pac Fair) – both are indoor and outdoor mall areas. We have also set up local bank accounts, visited Griffith University, and purchased phones. We are still trying to learn the bus system, but we do now have go cards (bus cards). We went out for dinner and dancing in Surfer’s Paradise the other night. We have also been meeting “heaps” of people and making new friends.

Here are some more Aussie words that I have picked up on:

• Fortnight – means every two weeks
• Fullstop – means period (.)
• Budgie smugglers – means speedos
• Goon – means box of wine

I Have Arrived in the Land "Down Under"

I have arrived safely in the land “down under”! I cannot believe that I am finally here after a 6 hour flight from Miami to LA, and then a 14 hour flight from LA to Brisbane, and then about an hour drive from the airport to my apartment complex. I am living with my friend Autumn while over here, which is nice. We also have another roommate named Tamara, who is originally from New South Wales, Australia.

We have spent the past two days trying to adjust and get settled in. We made it to Woolworths (Woolly’s for short), which is a grocery store. They are all around; I see it as their Publix. We also made it to Kmart, which reminded me of Walmart.

I can’t believe how strong the sun is here. Being from Florida, I am certainly used to the sun and the heat, but it is different here. It isn’t as humid and it almost doesn’t feel as hot because there is such a strong breeze, but the sun is intense. I already feel slightly sun burnt. It is absolutely beautiful here and we have already spent a lot of time just relaxing outside in the beautiful weather. The people that I have met so far have lived up to what I was told to expect – that everyone is very friendly and also very helpful. There are a lot of Australians staying at our apartment complex, but they are all from different areas of Australia. So far we have met one other girl from the states, one girl from Canada, one from Dubai, and mostly everyone else is from somewhere in Australia.

Things that will take some time adjusting to:

• People driving on the left side of the road
• The steering wheel and the person driving on the right side of the car
• Looking to my right first when crossing the street
• Seeing and hearing everything in kilos and degrees Celsius

Aussie lingo that I have picked up on so far:

• Uni – means University/College/School
• Flat or Unit – means apartment
• Flatmate – means roommate
• Holiday – means vacation
• Heaps – means a lot
• Rubbish bin – means trash can or garbage can
• Wardrobe – means closet

One Week Mark

It is hard to believe that I am leaving for Australia in just one short week! This trip has been planned for so long, that it has always seemed so far into the future. I really can't believe that it is happening now! It has been a long process just to get to this point.. booking my flights, getting a student VISA, enrolling in classes at the University, finding accommodation, arranging airport pick-up, etc. At this point though, I can confidently say that most everything is all set. I do however have lots and lots of packing left to do!.. and I don't know where to even begin in that process.

I am incredibly excited, but also feeling a bit nervous at this point. For anyone who is interested, here are some specifics about my trip:

I officially leave Sunday, February 12th. I am flying out of Miami to Los Angeles and then Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia on Qantas Airways. I will be living at a student affiliated, off campus apartment complex called Nexus Place. It is located in the heart of Gold Coast, in the central suburb of Ashmore. It is just minutes from the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University, where I will be taking classes.

Everyone in my life has been, and continues to be, extremely supportive of me and my decision to take part in this adventure. I am so grateful for that and I can't thank everyone enough!

This is also my first time blogging, so bare with me as I learn and get better :)

I'd love for you all to come along and follow me on this awesome adventure through this blog :)