My Australian Adventure!: What a Week!

April 5th, 2014

Well, Wednesday was mostly a school work day, but I did end up having some fun in the evening. Sonia, Jen, Paige, and I went out dancing. It is a rock and roll dance group that Sonia and Paige have been dancing with for awhile. We were the youngest people there but that didn't stop us from having fun. The older gentleman that was assigned to dance with me was very "cheeky." He kept getting in trouble too because he was teaching me steps that were beyond what I was supposed to be practicing. I think all of us young girls got a work out from how hard we were laughing all night. It was a lot of fun and a great way to get out in the community instead of just staying on campus. The instructor was very excited to have me come... she said I was very good at following a partner and I learn quickly. I guess all the years in Norwegian dance were showing through. Here is a quick video from the end of the night when we were leaving. Us girls weren't dancing though...

Thursday was jam packed with classes. Luckily, in between during our lunch break there was free food and activities. I didn't have a lot of time to do any of the activities but I did get to meet an Australian celebrity... Chris from My Kitchen Rules. It is an Australian cooking show.

(Cute, Aussie, and he Cooks!)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try anything he cooked because I had class, but from what I saw it looked DELICIOUS!! Plus he talked to me for a little bit!!!... meaning he said hi and a few other things, but mostly listened to me talk to my friend. This American accent just fascinates all the Aussies.

I was happy to have a happy lunch break before my afternoon of GIS. Most of the fils were corrupt this week so it was another late night in the computer lab. Our assistant instructor is great though! He has a great sense of humor and a seemingly endless amount of patience. All the girls have a crush on him to, so he makes GIS life a lot more pleasant! Afterwards, my housemate Lauren had all her girlfriends in GIS come over for a girl's chick flick movie night to unwind from our stressful afternoon. We watched Saving Mr. Banks. It was great to just have a relaxing girls night!

Friday started early for me. I haven't been sleeping well so I decided I will start running every morning to hopefully tire myself out. It had just rained and the sun was starting to come up when I left my house. It was a very pretty way to start my day. Once I got back I had to get ready to go out in the field for my class. We headed down to the river to collect samples.

Busy Working

Core Sample... Dark grey sediment = anoxic (no oxygen is present)

Shrimp and two crabs

After we got done, I quickly got ready for the Friday guest lecture. It is similar to our colloquium back home. I listened to a talk called "Technologies to assist reproductive performance in finfish aquaculture" by Professor Abigail Elizur. I found it very interesting! I think it is so cool now that I can sit through these lectures and know just about everything they are saying. I am getting "edumacated!" The rest of the day I relaxed!

Today, Saturday, was a fun filled busy day! This morning after my run, Nick asked if I wanted to go snorkeling. The swell has been pretty high so I wasn't sure if it would work out but of course I wanted to go. We got our gear ready and headed to the breakwall. The swell was too high but we decided to walk around a bit.

Fierce but still Enchanting

The Breakwall

Horse out for the morning workout

This is what we swam over last weekend

Little fish inside the breakwall

After our walk, we headed over to the marine sanctuary. I got in for a very short icy swim... more like a quick dip in the ocean ice bath.

Sea Anemone

Birds!

Footprints in the Sand

Once we got back it was time for lunch. Then I headed into town with Evan to meet up with Paul to see Captain America. It was a great movie! We had some time to kill before the bus back to uni arrived so I got some ice cream! When I ordered my ice cream she asked how many spoons I needed. I laughed a said one. When I walked out the boys laughed and said I wouldn't be able to eat all of it. Needless to say... I finished all of it and still had room for dinner ;)

Chocolate Obsession+ Which Chocolate Raspberry + Bailey's Irish Cream = YUMMY

Tea time was at Tower Hill. One of my classmates put together a BBQ and night tour of Tower Hill. We got to see more Koalas, Echidnas, Kangaroos, and other animals.