Hello All!
Its been awhile since my last post I know, but nothing too pivotal has happened inspiring much of an entry. That doesn't mean I haven't continued to have the time of my life, oh no, its just that I'm on a bit of a break from the big stuff. Thats all about to change however, so there will be many more updates in the near future. Here's a brief run through of my latest adventures and I'll conclude with a list I've been composing mentally the past few weeks of things Australian's love, and a counter one of things they just don't have.

I am really in the thick of things here at Uni. My classes continue to be fantastic and at the same time not a huge presence in my life, a different, unbelievably awesome, and very dangerous arrangement. I am very diligent about going to my lectures, simply because I find every subject so fascinating that skipping class would be depriving me of a special treat. I wouldn't miss out on learning about Australian tidal zones for the world thank you very much. I have definitely gained a reputation as the American Girl who Hops in her Seat with several professors. My terrestrial biology professor has started nervously glancing over in my direction every time he mentions the Cretaceous Era- I can almost hear him thinking "There she goes again." At the very least I am enthusiastic.
When I'm finished with Uni at 2 however, thats it. No reading to be done, no homework. In Marine Science we had a single assignment due for the month of March, and the day the assignment was due there wasn't any class so that we had the time to do it. Its really weird, but wonderfully freeing. I have the ability to go places and see the country I came to see rather than being trapped in the library. I am sure that when I get back to Scripps its going to be a disaster. I can see it now- I'm strolling into class with bare feet, hair wet from the romp in the sprinkler I just took, grass everywhere, still stained from the paint I covered myself in to support the waterpolo team. I sit in the front row and look indignant when my professor 1. Asks me where my shoes are and 2. demands I turn in my weekly 5 page response paper. "Get off it!" I'll say. "Couldn't be bothered with the bloody thing when the sky is this colour out. Have a look at the day! Its a beaut! Put ya dummy back in and have a breather right?" I should transfer to Pitzer...

Anyway, the free time has offered plenty of time for extra- curricular activities. I've joined the dive club, which consists of planning fun trips to the shore and having 'barbies and snorkeling in the pool. I'm the main supporter of the Emmanuel volleyball team and I've traveled all over Brisbane. We had a swimming carnival last weekend. Every residential college enters their fastest swimmers into a number of different contests and every college member turns up to support their team. Emmanuel college is the oldest, the biggest, and the wildest. We strategically wait until we are the last college to enter the pool area. Everyone wears their school colours, but Emmanuel takes it a bit further and literally COVERS ourselves in blue paint. We run in screaming like warriors. The looks on the faces of the other colleges are marvelous. Due I am sure to sheer peer support alone our swimmers have a fun knack of winning too. It was pouring rain that night and paint was everywhere, but that made it even more fun.

I've gotten to know the night life around Brisbane very well too. I'm not some wild party girl, quite the contrary, its just college culture to go out nearly every night. When you legally drink at age sixteen I guess thats just what happens. My favorite bar is Dunda (Short for Dundar, short for Down Under Bar, short for Aussies love nicknames). Its a seedy crowded place that places the best dance music- spending an evening at Dunda and you dance the night away.
Speaking of the night, thats another interesting thing about Australia night life. It all happens much earlier than American night life. In the U.S. if a party "starts" at nine you're brave to arrive at ten. In Australia you start drinking at seven, parties start at eight and if you're not there on time you probably wont get in, and you are home and back in bed by midnight at the latest. Its marvelous for someone like me who gets to sleepy to go out in the U.S. It also saves money because you can take public transportation home and not get a cab.

In short, all is well. We had a wing outing last weekend to a fish and chips restaurant called A Salt and Battery (hehehehehe!) and I am now thoroughly acquainted with every member of my dorm. We're a tight community and have a wild time together. Today I went and saw a Contemporary Aboriginal Art exhibition in my Uni museum. It featured the work of three different artists with different backgrounds, mediums, and stationary cities, though they were closely related in message. It was about reclaiming their history. Taking it back from the stereotypes and personifications given to them by "Whitefellas" and making the right place for themselves in the past, present and future. Tomorrow I go to Brisbane Forest Park where I have a good chance of seeing platypus in the wild. The next day I spend the weekend on Stradbroke Island- the second largest sand island in the world, where I'll surf, sandboard, kayak, learn about aboriginal body art techniques and learn to throw a boomerang. I am learning, growing, and changing.

I love this country. But I miss you and I love you. Thanks for reading!


Things Australians Love:

-Bare feet
-Drinking
- Crocodiles
-The Beach
-Dancing
-Sports (of any kind. Literally I could invent one now and have 600 supporters by dinner)
-Rat Tails (gross)
-Their flag. They proudly wear it on bathing suits (sorry- I meant bathers), flip flops (pluggas), towels, alcohol bottles, shirts, tattoos. Its not like the 4th of july stuff you see in the U.S. Aussies are PROUD.
- Politics
- Vegemite (when applied correctly with the right amount of toast and jam, its actually yummy)
- Peanut butter. They dont have it and all they eat is vegemite, so when they see it its a frenzy
- Mullets (business in the front, party in the back)
- Bashing the English
- Holidays (at least two every month)
- Not being in school (Two years of college is normal, four is unheard of)
- Kebabs (not food on a stick. Much yummier)
- Barbecues
- American Telly (its ridiculous)
- Lady Gaga
- Spaghetti and Beans for Breakfast (sometimes together)
- Americans (thank goodness someone does)
- Nicknames
- School Uniforms
- Sauce (its kind of like ketchup and barbecue sauce. Its mysterious. It goes on everything)
- Teasing
-Squirrels. There arent any here so naturally they think they're enchanting. They're wrong.
- Speedos (Budgie Smugglers)
- Not wearing shirts

Things Australians Just Don't Have (or Do):

- Mexican Food. Just doesn't exist. Its amazing. Someone asked me once what a refried bean was. I almost cried.
- Salad Dressing
- Going to the Movies
- Yelling at Theme Parks
- Mustard

... I'm out of ideas at the moment but my friend Estelle just popped in with chocolate mint biscuits and I'm sure that has something to do with it. I'll continue to update.

Did you know: Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is the largest rock in Australia and is visible from space.