Meebunn-bia: Day Three

Our last day of the trip started off bright & early…at 4:30 am. It was pretty easy to get up though…we stayed up late the night before and apparently talked throughout the night, so it seemed like we hadn’t slept at all. Also, all we had to do was throw our sleeping bags in our packs and head off for the top of the mountain. It took us about 25 minutes to reach the top, going under barbed wire fences, over dead branches, and up a rocky incline, but we made it in time for the Big Show! Since we all stayed in our pajamas for the hike we just picked a spot and slipped back into our sleeping bags and watched the sun rise. It was really cool seeing the sun come up over the horizon. Once the sun was fully up, we dozed off for a bit before heading down the other side to our next stop.

We reached another High Ropes course and had a quick breakfast of bagels with PB & J. Gotta love the PB & J! You guys probably wanna make one right now. Anyways, this course was called the Human Umbilical Cord. You & a partner were attached with a rope about 2 feet long at your belly buttons. My partner was Katrina and we were the first group to attempt the course. It was extremely hard, but we made it…in about 25 minutes. Brandon & Todd were the fastest group to get through it, in about 5 minutes. They were way faster than Katrina & I! The bathroom at this site was simply a bucket above the ground with a hole going down a few short feet into the ground. Definitely didn’t smell like any roses to me!

After everyone had completed the course we hiked down to the next activity…another high ropes course called the Free Fall. This one was by far the scariest course of the trip, so naturally I volunteered to go first. Not a big deal or anything…just had to climb up a free-hanging ladder, about 40 meters up and jump off the edge without being extremely secured to anything. I do this stuff all the time…NOT! Usually I am the girl who gets to the top and hangs out for 10 minutes, slowing freaking out until I slip/climb off the edge…but not this time! Oh no…I didn’t want to do that, so I climbed right up there, bringing the safety latch to attach to the tree for everyone who would go after me and jumped right off the edge…no hands! It was probably one of the craziest things I have ever done…jumping off right away, but it was Really Fun! I wanted to do it again!

We had lunch while waiting for everyone to complete their jumps. Guess what we had? Yup…PB & J on flatbread, an apple or orange of our choice, some leftover green beans & snap peas, and a muesli (granola) bar I found in my pack. We had one more activity left before we ended the trip, the HUGE swing. It was a system of bungee cords tied around trees. Once someone was strapped in, the rest of us pulled the rope, hoisting the person up, then the person counted down 3-2-1 and pulled a rope that unlatched them, sending them flying into the treetops. It was pretty fun, but once you were harnessed in, there was some major cramming in your junkal region. We each got 2 swings, but after the first one, most of us were ready to be done with it.

Finally it was time to head back down to the pirate ship to debrief. We went around the circle, answering 3 Questions…What was your Magic Milo Moment? One thing you learned, & Your most Challenging Moment of the trip. My Milo Moment was the sunset/dinner with everyone on the second day, talking/asking questions around the fire as well as the sunrise the next morning. I learned how to clean pots with sand [and they ended up looking better than scrubbing them with a scourer]. The most challenging moment of the trip was probably deciding to be the first to climb up the Free Fall and jumping right away. I really didn’t want to do it, but once I decided to, it was really fun.

We made our final hike down to Base Camp where the crabby bus driver was waiting. We boarded the bus at 4:30 (only a 1/2 hr late). We finally arrived home around 6:45 pm. Jeff, our bus driver, turned out to be a nice guy and drove us to Orion College instead of making us hike up the Orion Hill with our packs. After an long, hot shower it was time for supper…that’s right…PB & J again cause I was too tired to make anything else. Then it was early to bed for This Girl!

Meebunn-bia: Day Two

Our second day began with Tobin trying to wake us up around 6:00 to see part of the sunrise. The moon could still be seen and it looked pretty cool…like a little orange slice in the sunrise. Most of us fell back asleep before we were woken up a second time around 7:00 with Brandon, Tobin, and Steve (my Outdoor Ed prof) running at us…screaming! For breakfast, Jess & I made some oatmeal for Team Rambo. Too bad we forgot to pack some cinnamon or sugar to top it off and help it go down!

After cleaning up our breakfast dishes, we got into 3 groups for our Navigation activity. We were to use our compass & map to find our bearings and navigate through the bush. We also carried a radio and first aid kit in case we ran into trouble. The trail was a circle through gulleys, valleys, swamps, up, down, & around a ridge, then back up the hill to camp. There were 15 painted cans along the way that we were supposed to find & assure us that we were on the right trail. Though it wasn’t too difficult, we had a hard time trying to find Cans 3 & 4. In my group were Alana, Jackie, Sabrina, and Becca. We ended up cutting the trail short because we had lost so much time trying to find it…we were also the last group of the three to leave camp. Oh well…we made it along alright disregarding that little mishap.

Since we were late getting back to camp, we packed up our things and hiked along to the next activity with everyone else. Once we reached the next site, a high ropes course, we were able to make a quick lunch of PB & J on flatbread with an apple. This course was called the Flying Fox. We hiked up along two different elements (sections of wire, one for your feet and one for your hands), then climbed up a pole to get to a platform. There we were secured to a wire line running across a pretty steep valley (with a lot of rocks below us) to the opposite where Steve would pull us in. The only thing you could hang on to was the ropes from your harness. It was pretty much a zip line that you would swing across. Before you could jump (yes, you had to jump off the platform yourself) you had to call out a phrase or song or the opposite side could respond and let you know that it was clear & safe to jump. Some of the phrases were: “Marco..Polo” “You’re a bit Flat-Chested…But You’re Alright!” and “Nicky Dog..Dicky Nog” (sorry..inside joke).

Once everyone had their turn, we began to hike down to Base Camp telling our Life Stories along the way to someone new. Once we refueled & refreshed, we were on our way to the next stop…hiking up a really, really steep mountain. The plan was to try to hike up it fast enough to catch the sunset at the top. Tobin & Steve told us that once we reached a pirate ship, we were halfway there. We were all pretty excited that we reached it in about 10 minutes…little did we know that it was not even CLOSE to being halfway…I don’t think it was even 1/20^th of the way! When we came to a fork in the trail we could choose to go straight (a steeper, but quicker way to the top) or to go to the right (a flatter, but longer way). We ended up taking the straight, extremely steep path! We probably hiked a 45 degree angle for about ½ hour before coming up to a campsite. By this time we were dripping sweat (and probably blood & tears as well), so we ditched our packs against the picnic tables…then along come Steve & Tobin and burst the news that we were going to continue up, to the very top of the mountain. The camp that we had stopped at was for high school students…dang. Another 15 minutes later, we could finally breathe and take a break. We made it for the sunset and it was definitely worth it! Everyone got some pretty cool pictures in front of it. Brandon set up his tripod and got some good group shots as well. None of us looked too good for the picture, but it was pretty cool to be that nasty and have such an amazing background for the picture.

The sun set pretty fast and soon it was dark. We had about another 35-45 minute hike ahead of us to the campsite. Steve was leading us while trying to remember where an old hut was that we were going to try to stay in. It was pretty hard trying to hike…in the dark…without a torch (flashlight). Once we ended up finding the hut, everyone started making dinner. We were pretty exhausted and hungry from the day’s adventures. Our food group made Cous Cous for dinner with peas & green beans. We had Tim Tam Slams for dessert. Tim-Tams are biscuits (cookies) that you bit a corner off each side then use it as a straw to drink up Milo (hot chocolate). They end up melting in your mouth and are a really good treat…definitely a good way to end our big day out!

Later, after everyone was done cooking and cleaning up, we sat around the fire and talked. Tobin started a game or discussion, where he asked a question of any nature to either one person or for the group to answer. If you had a good story to go along with the topic, you could share. Not much of a game, but a good way to get to know everyone. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip because I LOVE Questions!! We talked about tons of random things...anything from stories of our families, crazy rituals we do with best friends to serious stories about death, mortgages, and the financial crisis. Never thought I would be talking finance, especially mortgages, with a group of friends around the campfire, but I enjoyed it. Along with our discussion, Tobin sent around chocolate pieces with fruit & nut…Cadbury…only the best.

Bedtime was around 11:00 pm. We decided to get up around 4:30 am the next morning to try to catch the sun rise. The hut was supposed to fit 10 people on the cots, but only 8 beds could be used cause 2 had holes in the tarp. We ended up managing to fit 10 of us in there because some people doubled up. The rest of the group decided to sleep outside, under the stars. In the hut were Anna, Amon, Lisa & Kelly, Katrina, Jess, Todd, Me, and Alana & Jackie. I didn’t realize at the time…actually not until we were back on-campus a few days later…that Jackie & I had slept-talked during the night. Apparently she woke once and yelled at Alana to get out of the bed they were sharing, so Alana got up and Jackie went back to sleep. Then Jackie woke up, freaking out about a bug that was in, near, or around the bed. I heard this and started to freak out as well, asking her where it was. We ended up waking everyone in the hut up, before falling back asleep. I didn’t remember any of this in the morning. I was soo tired, I was delirious!

Outdoor Ed Trip #1 Meebunn-bia: Day One

Outdoor Education is one of the units I am enrolled in here at SCU. During the semester there are two field trips that we go on…one to Meebunn-bia and another to Girraween. We go to Meebunn-bia for 3 days/2 nights and Girraween for 4 days/3 nights. The first one is not too bad…the whole group stays together and we spend each night cooking & sleeping at the same site. For the second trip, most of the time will be spent in separate groups. We will also be doing most of the navigating, cooking, and sleeping on our own…haha…finding the actual site and putting up the tents that is. Monday to Wednesday, July 20-22 was the trip to Meebunn-bia. It is about 2 hours away from Lismore, in the state of Queensland to try to give you a better picture. I am not sure how much land Meebunn-bia is on, but it is a lot…I am hoping to ask Steve, our instructor this week in class.

We formed groups to cook in…mine was Team Rambo: Lisa, Kelly, & Jess. We did the shopping on the Friday before so all we had to do Sunday night was throw everything in our packs and be good to go! Oh yeah…we also had a creation to make. We bought some white tanks that we turned into “Team RAMBO gear.” The fronts had our name as well as a picture of Rambo’s huge knife, and a sketch of his abs (which would hopefully line up with our own belly buttons to help us look real tough). On the back was a Kill Count, which equaled 3 for the number of days on the trip as well as “Live for Nothing or Die for Something.” Pretty bad ass.

The plan was to stay the night at Lisa’s (again) since she had the closest apartment to the hill down to campus [we had to be down there by 6:30 the next morning]. However, I ended up calling the Rents around 12:30 and talked for ages, so I ended up heading back to my apartment so I wouldn’t wake those girls up. My sleep was terrible though…I kept waking up, afraid I would oversleep and not hear my alarm. But I was up & ready at 5:45…lucky me.

Day One

At last we were on our way to Meebunn-bia! Once we got there we were introduced to Tobin, who would be our guide for the next three days. We began the day off with a hike up the face of a cliff…with our backpacks on. I’m not sure, but I think they weighed about 30 pounds? Maybe? When we reached the top we stopped for a quick lunch break. Our lunch consisted of flatbread with cold pizza sauce and cheese with an apple/orange. It was a good place to stop…we were able to see our surroundings pretty well and took some cool pictures.

Lunch was done quite fast and we were on to our next stop. We hiked for about a mile until we came up to a high ropes course…in the middle of the bush…strange. Once we got harnessed up and learned how to properly latch onto the yellow “safety” spots, we were up & climbing. There were 3 different “courses” to choose from, with 3 being the hardest. Since we were Team Rambo [and Rambo isn’t scared of anything] we decided to start with 3…not one of the best ideas we’ve had. We probably spent about 2 hours on all of the courses before heading to our last site of the day…our campsite. Throughout our hikes, we also saw a lot of wallabies hopping through the bush.

The campsite wasn’t far from the High Ropes course…just up the hill. Once we got to the top, we spread out the tarps, put up the poles, and threw the second tarp over the top of the poles and that was our tent. Then we got out our stove, put some lighter fluid in the cup, and lit it up. The menu for the night was penne pasta with sauce & cheese.

After we had cleaned up for the night, we started playing campfire games. One was called “Honey, I Love You, Would You Give Me a Smile?...Honey, I Love You, But I Just Can’t Smile.” Here’s how it goes: one person is in the middle of the circle and says the first line to someone in the circle, trying to get them to smile, and you keep going to different people in the circle until someone smiles. Another game was for each person to pick a fruit and had to say it 3 times then pick someone else’s fruit and say it 3 times as well, all while trying not to show any teeth, then as the game went on your tongue had to be out, etc…kinda hard to explain, but it was fun.

While we were playing games, there were all kinds of possums that were trying to steal our food from the table. They are gross little creatures…real ugly. Finally it was time to hit the hay…but instead of sleeping in our little tent we created, everyone decided to sleep outside under the stars. Since we were literally in the middle of nowhere, there was not any light from a city or cars that affected the sky. The stars were amazing! I don’t think I have ever seen that many stars out at night…and they were all so bright! It wasn’t too chilly sleeping outside…I had a lot of layers on…a tank, t-shirt, thermal, sweatshirt, and my fleece. Kelly & Lisa ended up sleeping together in the same sleeping bag because Kelly couldn’t get hers zippered up…I’m sure they stayed warm that night!

Wilko's 21st Birthday

Saturday the plan was to be up bright and early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to get ready for the big day ahead of us. Our Grand Plan was to get up at 8:00 and go for a run…but that didn’t happen…instead we laid in bed for a while, talking of course, then finally got up around 9:00ish. The first thing on the agenda was to bake Wilko’s chocolate cake with heaps of sprinkles. We spread some batter in the pan, threw in a layer of sprinkles, finished with a layer of batter on top, and doused the top of the cake with the rest of the sprinkles. Kelly’s house smelled pretty good when we were done with it…so good it ended up waking up two of her roommates, Ewen & Tony, which is why we had to hide the evidence at my apartment so no one would eat it. While we waited for it to cool we showered and started getting ready. Then something weird happened….I was the first one ready…a very rare circumstance, so I took advantage of it and started the pasta. I made a cold pasta salad with cut up green beans, carrots, peas, green peppers, and tomatoes with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Pretty tasty if I must say so myself. We topped the cake off with more sprinkles and “Happy 21^st Birthday Jesse & Wilko!” It looked amazing!

We were a little late, but finally managed to grab Todd, Tony, Wellzy, and another boy to begin the trek down. An hour passed before everyone was ready and at the house, so we headed down to play Lawn Bowls. The clubhouse & fields were only a few blocks away. The game is very similar to Bocce Ball, except you play on a line and go back and forth rather than all over a field. You roll the balls to the Jack, which is a white target ball. The balls that you roll to the target are weighted more on one side than the other, so when you roll the balls they begin to curve outwards before finally turning in towards the target…kinda dodgy.

It was a pretty sweet deal to play…only $4 a person and you can play as long as you want. Jackson and Lisa played against Wellzy and I…big mistake on their part because we ended up winning 15-7. Not a big deal or anything…but pretty sure I had the Best Bowl of the day. One of my balls rolled to the Jack and stopped right beside it…didn’t move the target at all…just came to a stop beside it…it was awesome!

After a few hours we decided to call it quits and headed back to their house for a barbie. Lisa & Davis grilled up some sausages to go along with our salad and chips. We had the Birthday cake later so everyone could sing and wish the boys a Happy Birthday. One problem a little later was with the lady who lived next door. Apparently whenever they have people over, she calls the cops to complain about the noise…so about an hour after we had been there, sure enough, two cops showed up to talk to the boys and asked us to keep it down.

The best part of the night was a few hours later…most everyone from campus seemed to be there as well as a ton of people from off-campus...the house was packed. It was time for the Birthday speeches! Wilko & Jesse hopped up on the countertops with some of their closer friends who gave a little speech about a crazy time they have had with each one. Then the Birthday Boys each said a little something, which was followed by a drink to be skulled (chugged). This song goes along with it:

“Here’s to Wilko, he’s true blue. He’s a piss pot through & through…he’s a bastard so they say…He tried to go to heaven, but he went the other way…he went down, down, down, down….allll the way down!”

Then this part follows after the drink is gone:

“He’s a bit flat-chested, but he’s alright!”

[There is more to the second part…I just have no idea how it goes…yet.]

The lady next door didn’t have to worry about us for too long because we decided to head downtown to The Standard for the rest of the night. I had a pretty fun time dancing with my friends…Lisa, Kelly, Arlo, Danny, Jay, and my roommate Ashley. Before heading home, I was a nice girl and bought some pizza for Todd & Mark before we jumped on the bus. And that was my night…Cheers!

Preparations

Friday was another pretty lazy day…not much to do for school. But there was a lot to be done. We were all pretty tired from the night before, but Kelly, Jess, Lisa & I had to get our shopping done for our Outdoor Education trip the following week. We needed to shop for all the food we were going to be bringing with us camping at Meebunn-bia. Jess was gone to Byron for the weekend with her sister, so that left the three of us in search of a friend…with a car.

First we tried finding someone who would let us borrow their car for the day, but everyone was already gone for the weekend or in class for the day. We did not want to take the bus or a taxi because we had to shop for groceries, camping gear and a few random things. We ended up paying Lloyd to be our friend for the day…he only cost $5! He took Mark along with him for support and drove us to the veterinary clinic so we could purchase Dead Dog Bags. That’s right…the bags you put dead dogs in. They are huge plastic bags that our instructor recommended for lining the inside of our backpacks to waterproof our clothes and sleeping bag. Next we headed to K-Mart to pick up a sleeping mat, some beanies (it can get pretty cold at night), hand sanitizer, mouthwash, and other random camping necessities. Finally we went to Woolworths to pick out our food for the trip…what a nightmare. It took ages!! We ended up buying a bunch of apples & oranges, PB & J, a few packs of flatbread, shredded cheese, pizza sauce, peas, green beans, cous cous (a type of rice), and Tim Tams (definitely a necessity). It probably took us an hour to pick everything out and get out of the store. Lloyd was tired of being our friend for the day so we headed home. The only stop we didn’t make was to a thrift store. We were in search for a red t-shirt. Jess, Kelly, Lisa, & I were Team Rambo, which meant we needed to cut up a red shirt for some sweet sweatbands. Hopefully we would be able to find one on-campus.

Our plan for the night was to have a sleepover at Lisa’s house. We were planning on getting up early Saturday morning to bake a cake for Wilko, who is one of the 5 boys who live in a house just down from campus. Since he will be turning 21 on Sunday the 19th, the boys were planning on having a birthday party for him at the house. Besides the cake, we also wanted to go for a run, make a pasta salad (cause we forgot to BYOM…Bring Your Own Meat) for the Barbie, and had to be ready for noon for Lawn Bowls. We had a big day ahead of us so we ended up going to bed pretty early…around 9:00…on a Friday night…lame. But by the time we fell asleep it was probably around 10:00 cause This Girl likes to talk before going to bed. Too bad Lisa & Kelly don’t like to listen to all my stories...oh well!

One Lazy Day

Monday morning my feet hit the floor and they were immediately shooting with pain. They were still sore from all that booty-shakin. Haha…pretty sure it was from all those blokes steppin on my tootsies! At least I was comforted by a good, long sleep…somehow I ended up sleeping in until 11:30…weird. I loved it! A day of sleeping in with no classes…can’t get any better than that! I am trying to take advantage of these days while I have the chance! I was a pile of laziness for a while before I decided to get a few things done. It was a beautiful day…couldn’t let it all be a waste! My roommate Ashley even said there were people lying out down by the pool, “probably all the Americans.” Funny, but to us Americans the weather is beautiful and feels like summer, at least the summer we are used to in Wisconsin and Minnesota!

After I had a lil breakfast for lunch, I finally got ready for a run. I surprised myself and ended up running for quite a bit…I followed the top of the hill for a bit before following it down behind the hospital and downtown Lismore, around the shopping center, and back up the ginormous hill…it’s a killer. When I got back to Orion a bunch of my friends were still out by the pool. Instead of having a shower, I decided to get my suit on and jump in. They warned me it was cold, but after my run it felt good! I came back down from my apartment and jumped in…then my body went through shock…twice. It was freezing cold!! Probably about 45-50* F…but after swimming around for a while my body was numb and I didn’t mind it too much. A few other brave souls jumped in and hopped right back out. It was about 2:00 pm and really sunny & warm when I went in, but the sun was already beginning to go down at 3:30 so we all got out. Some people had an ultimate Frisbee game and everyone else went home. I ran as quickly as I could with frozen legs and jumped in a hot shower. It took a while to thaw out and I was soo cold all night! I was colder once I got out of the pool than I was when I was in the water…weird.

For supper, the girls were cooking. Kelly, Lisa, and I decided to have breakfast for supper. We made cinnamon French toast, extra-crispy bacon, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, mushrooms, and broccoli. We also served buttered toast with Vegemite and orange juice. It was a success. However, according to the boys the bacon was burnt and very similar to Bacon Bits…but I thought it was good…I like it extra-crispy…they still ate it, so whatever. [The one part of the meal I was responsible for! Haha] After dinner the boys were responsible for dishes, so us girlies relaxed on the couch. It is pretty tiring cooking a big meal.

We watched a few episodes of Dexter. A crazy series about a guy who is a serial killer/police officer. A very strange/interesting show. We were going to go for a third episode, but since everyone was falling asleep we vetoed the idea and decided to hit the hay.

Weekend at the Gold Coast

Saturday morning we were up and at it again. We checked out of Birdee Num Num’s and headed for the Gold Coast. Our plan for the day was to lay out at Broadbeach and shop around Surfer’s Paradise. It is kinda confusing, but the whole area is called the Gold Coast. The beach itself is Broadbeach and an area on the beach is called Surfer’s Paradise. The waves were awesome—huge & loud! Though it was really sunny, the air was quite chilly…makes sense since it is winter here. Some people go a lil overboard and wear gloves, hats, scarves, jackets, and I even saw someone wearing ear muffs! Weird…especially because the temperatures have been around 60* F. Feels like summer to This Girl!

For lunch we stopped at a place selling Kebabs. Weird cause you pronounce it just how it looks, Ke-Babs….not Ka-Bobs how we would normally say it. Anyways…they were amazing! Very similar to a Gyro, with beef/lamb/chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sauce. After a bit we decided to look for a place to stay. We ended up finding an apartment building that was renting out rooms for a single night or even weekly, depending on the availability. We scored an apartment with one double bed and two couches for $120. Since 7 people were planning on staying there it was only about $18 for each of us…a pretty sweet deal! In the future we are going to definitely keep this place in mind, especially since it comes with a kitchen, full bathroom, two patios, and a small living room. It was only a block from the beach!

While we were walking around trying to find places, we talked to some people from Plan B Party Tours. They were selling passes for a pub crawl that night. The deal was $20 for free entry to 5-6 clubs with a free drink at each one, finger food at the first place with pizza to follow later on, and numerous games throughout the night. We were sold on the deal…the only catch was that it started at 5:00 pm. So we ran around Surfer’s for a bit trying to find something to wear, because girls never have anything to wear, duh?!? One of the pubs we went to was called Minus 5, because it was literally minus 5 degrees. Since it was an ice bar we had to put on boots, a parka, and gloves. Everything was made of ice, though I am not sure I would go there to hang out for a night…it was freezing! We didn’t spend much time there…only long enough to try a free drink and take a few fun pictures.

It ended up being a pretty fun night…a few of the games were pretty ridiculous…but the music was fun and the people we met were really cool. We did not get home until 4:30 am that morning…most of the time was spent dancing the night away and our poor little tootsies paid for it the next morning! Kelly had a few monster blisters and mine were covered in bruises…somehow my feet always manage to get stepped on…once or twice! I even had a bruise on the bottom of my foot!

Sunday morning was spent on the beach. The air was warmer, so a bunch of people were swimming or laying out. Lisa & I decided to go shopping for a bit—Lismore doesn’t have much to offer for shopping unless you are getting groceries. Finally, I found a pair of good jeans…I didn’t bring many with cause I thought it would be a bit warmer…boy did I think wrong. Oh well…At least I had a good reason for shopping. We stopped for some meat pies for breakfast. Lisa had a chicken/vegetable pie and mine was a cheese/bacon quiche pie…delicious!
We stopped back at the beach to visit with everyone for a bit, but after 2 parking tickets on Brandon’s car we decided to head home. One highlight of the trip was Shawn from Philly…he decided to get his eyebrow pierced. Though he was a lil Sally at first, he went through with it. The only thing he said: “My mom is going to kill me!” He has about a month to practice dealing with her; his whole family is coming to visit in August. Yikes!

The trip home was delayed a few times as well…for some reason boys are not very good at asking for directions or listening to girls for that matter. We arrived safely back in Lismore around 7:00 pm Sunday night. We were all soo exhausted! Though it was really nice to come home, have a shower, and supper ready! Ewen & Mark ended up cooking a pototo bake with onions and bacon, sausages, and a new invention: a dish with sausages at the bottom with layers of cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy. It was pretty good…a good way to end the day…though I was the one who ended up with dishes!

Brisbane, Here We Come! Whoo!! Bang.

My weekend started out with an adventure. Brandon, Katrina, Lisa, Kelly, Jess, and I were planning to drive to Brisbane Friday afternoon….but….that drive was a tad bit delayed. We had planned to leave Orion at 4pm, but earlier that afternoon Brandon (whose car we were taking) would not start. He had even tried rolling it down the hill to try to start it…no luck. He ended up jumping it with Tom’s car and finally got it started. However, once it was started he drove it up into a parking spot and….wait for it…he turned the car off…after 10 minutes! Apparently girls don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to cars & batteries & letting the car run for a while to charge the battery. Weird! Apparently his battery needed to be replaced, but once we had the car started the second time he decided to wait on the battery & just try to make it to Brisbane. So, finally all six of us are packed in the car and on our way. Brisbane, Here We Come! Whoo!! We got about 10 minutes away from Orion, downtown Lismore, about to head into a roundabout when Brandon shifts to first gear and…the car stops. Completely Stops!! And Wouldn’t Start! Cars began lining up behind us so Katrina, Kelly & I all hop out and push us through to a side road…Not a big deal or anything. Our ½ hour delay was spent chatting in the car while Brandon went off in search of a battery. After a bit Lisa & Jess went off on a search for some Tim-Tams. Brandon came back with a battery & everything seemed to be fixed and working. Then the lights went off. Patience was definitely tried when the car would not start back up. So he ran across the street to an auto body shop to find some help. He ended up sweeping out the shop while a nice man quickly tightened the wires…a quick fix. We finally were on the road again and heading for Bris-Vegas. Brisbane, Here We Come! Whoo!!

We had a few wrong turns along the way, but we finally reached Brisbane. We dropped Jess off with her uncle (she was picking up a car from her cousin) and started looking for The Valley, an area in Brisbane where most of the nightclubs and pubs were located. This also took quite a while…we drove around the city for about an hour trying to find a hostel. It was 11:00 pm before we found a place to stay at Birdee Num Num’s. It is a hostel in The Valley that seemed to be a pretty decent (and cheap) place to stay for a night…beds were only about $20. But when we got to the room it was full of renovation equipment…there were ladders, paint cans, hammers, nails, etcetera everywhere! We would have woken up high from the paint fumes or dead…it was pretty gross. The front desk reassured us the next room would be better (and completely finished). They also assured us that they would block off the other 3 beds so we would not have to bunk with anyone. Hostels are pretty much dorm rooms. There are either 4, 6, or 8 beds in each room. Each one has a bathroom and usually a shower. The only catch is that if you & your group don’t fill up a room or if there are not rooms available to fit everyone, then you end up sharing the rooms with other backpackers. Though it may not seem like it, they are safe to stay at…nothing like what the movies project. If anything, you end up meeting a lot of people from around the world.

Quickly, we got ready to go out and meet up with everyone else. We went to a club called The Family. It is supposed to be one of the best nightclubs in Australia…it better be if entry was $20!! We found the Swedes & Norway (Alex, Sandra, & Cathy) the other 2 Norway girls (Christiana & Marta) and the Canadians (Ford, Alex, & Danny). Later, at a pit stop at the American Embassy (McDonald’s) we talked to a guy named Sam who paid for our food. He did a really good impression of Alan from The Hangover. Awesome movie…really hilarious…you should all see it! All in all Brizzy was a pretty good time.

Aussie Sunday Lunch

Today most of us International Students were off to a real Australian home. The pastor on campus found volunteers through the community churches, who were willing to host a student for lunch. We went in pairs to their houses to see what a typical home looks like, though nothing is really typical and also to enjoy a homecooked Aussie meal.

I was partnered up with Shawn, who goes to the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. We were the first to be picked up; our host was Ailsa Auld, an older woman who lived close to campus. We started off getting to know her by sitting on her back porch over juice and a bowl of Doritos. First she cooked pumpkin soup for us. Aussies eat a lot of pumpkin foods. The soup was good…we added a milk cream to the soup to thicken it up and had rolls to go along with the soup. Then the next course was meat pies, mashed potatoes, and carrots & corn. The meat pies are also called 4 and 20 pies; it comes from the song “4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie…” They are similar to a pot pie, the crust is a croissant with the beef or chicken in the inside with a few vegetables. It was pretty funny cause she served Shawn a plate with heaps of food…she had figured all boys need a lot of food, especially since she had raised 3 boys herself. Shawn tried to eat most of it…he didn’t want to be rude…but it was just so much food! Later for dessert, Ailsa served an apple pastry with vanilla ice cream. She did not have any herself cause she was trying to watch her diet with Weight Watchers.

Before dropping us back at school, she took us for a drive to Goonellabah, a suburb of Lismore. The community had just built a sports center with heated pools, a fitness center, and a very large gymnasium. Shawn was really interested because he is a backstroke swimmer and needs to keep in shape…his season will begin in October when we return home. I was glad I checked the place out as well…it would be a lot of fun to get a bunch of us together to go swimming for the day or play a few games of basketball.

The Lunch was supposed to last a few hours, not too long cause they did not want any of us to feel uncomfortable or feel as if we had to ask to leave. Shawn & I got home around 3:30 pm. Perfect timing if you ask me, but Lisa & Kelly did not come home until sometime around 5:00. The family that they were with decided to sing karaoke…and Lisa & Kelly were “encouraged” to sing songs as well. Apparently the Philippian mother did not want to stop karaoke. I had called Kelly earlier to see if they were back yet & she ended up sneaking off to the bathroom to call me back. It was pretty funny. Those 2 little shits, Kelly & Lisa, let me know when they were back by sneaking into my room, while I was in the middle of a lovely nap, and scaring the piss out of me! My heart never hurt so bad!

We still wanted to grill out for the Fourth, American-style, so we tracked down Mark to help us grill on the Rec Deck. We probably should have found someone else to use the grill because the week before he almost blew up Orion College! Apparently the grill was not working, so he went back to his apartment. When he came back to the Deck there was fire everywhere! There was fire on the gas drum as well! But…we ended up getting the cheeseburgers cooked alright. We also had corn on the cob, carrots, and mushrooms. Kelly had been looking forward to the cheeseburgers for the past week and finally got one! We ended the night by finishing Terminator 2. Now we are going to start on the Rambo movies.

Tomorrow will probably be a boring day for me…no class or trips, so I think I may sleep in, go for a run, and get a few groceries later with Lisa & Kelly. Tuesday will be a full day of class. This coming weekend a bunch of us are thinking about going to the Gold Coast to check out the beach and the nightlife. I’ll keep you posted! Ciao.

Mount Warning

Friday was a bum day for me. No classes or homework, so pretty much nothing going on. Later that night we went over to Mark’s at 21C to watch Terminator 2. There is an ongoing argument over who is better…Arnie or Sylvester. Lisa is most definitely in love with Rambo, especially cause he ripped out someone’s trachea. Movie Night was a good choice cause the next day we had to be up bright & early to go on a Rainforest Walk. However, the walk was cancelled due to the flood damage earlier in May, so instead we were going to go to Mount Warning. We should have known what we were getting into just by the name of the “walk.” Mount Warning is a beast! It once was a volcano that had lava flows all the way to Lismore (it took about 1 hour 45 min to drive there). We started out hiking thinking that it wouldn’t be that bad…we were all in pretty decent shape…how bad could it be right? Wrong! A sign told us it would take about 4-5 hours to reach the summit and return to the bottom. Kelly, Lisa, & I made it to the top in about 45 minutes, we were booking it. Just before you reach the summit, you have a vertical wall of rock you have to climb while holding onto a small chain rope to help you up. This was the most rigorous part of the climb. But it was definitely worth it! From the summit you could see the coast, starting with the city of Brisbane, Gold Coast, and down to Byron Bay. It was amazing how far you could see…you could see the tops of other mountains in the area. I would love to camp at the summit and watch the sunrise the next morning…I heard it is breathtaking!

We were going to grill out on the Rec Dec for the Fourth of July, but the hiking took a bit longer than we thought. We also didn’t leave Lismore until 9:15 when we were supposed to leave at 8:00 so that pushed us back a little. After everyone returned from the summit, we had a barbie. We grilled chicken, beef, kangaroo, mushrooms, & cheese. Everything was really good. The kangaroo tastes like a mix of steak and lamb. It was a little tough, (probably cause roos are all muscle) but overall pretty good. It is just disturbing to think that about what you are actually eating…it seems as if roos are endangered and you are not supposed to eat them…but in reality it is pretty normal to grill. Weird.

Once we got back to Orion College everyone took hot showers to warm up (it was freezing out! You could see your breath!). Though everyone was pretty tired from the walk we still had to celebrate the Fourth of July! We ended up hanging out and playing card games. We even lit off some sparklers…inside the house…to celebrate. Later we went downtown to The Standard and Mary Gilhooleys. It was loads of fun!

Happy Canada Day!

After we got done with classes on Wednesday afternoon, Lisa, Kelly & I decided to go to Byron Bay with a bunch of people to celebrate Canada Day with the Canadians. We went for a quick run, showered, and were on our way. Kate drove Brandon, Becca, Jayme, Kelly and me to Byron & boy was it an adventure! The roads are pretty narrow and really curvy…we almost hit a dog that was running on the road. I have not seen or ridden with an Aussie driver who does not drive crazy…they all do!! But we made it there alive thankfully. We stayed at Nomad’s Odyssey, a hostel that recently opened. It is cheaper than getting a hotel room…but you have a chance of staying in a room with complete strangers. All you pay for is the bed pretty much…our room had 6 beds. If your group only uses 4 of the beds, 2 strangers could book the other 2 beds in the room. Good thing our group filled 2 whole rooms, leaving no room for randoms. We went out to Cheeky Monkeys & CocoMangas. People had fake tattoos & body painting of the Canadian flag & maple leaves…it was pretty fun.

The next day us girls, Kelly, Lisa & myself decided to stay in Bryon for the day and lounge around. We laid out on the beach for a bit, then went shopping along the streets. We caught a bus back to Lismore for $12 each…pretty good deal. In Lismore, we shopped at the Lismore Square for a few groceries and outfits for Bling Night. Bling Night is the theme party at the UniBar for the month of July. One Thursday a month is a theme party and on the other Thursdays people usually go down to hang out.

Bling Night was actually pretty fun. We headed over to 21C to hang out with a bunch of people, then meandered down to Arlo’s house before making our way to UniBar. A lot of people wore clocks around their necks, like FlavaFlav…a weirdo from an MTV show. After UniBar a bunch of us headed downtown to go to a few pubs…The Standard and Mary Gilhooleys. All in all it was a pretty fun night.

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER TANNER!!

Week One

Classes finally began this week. I started Tuesday morning at 9:00 am with Security Analysis & Portfolio Management…what a great way to start off the day eh? Not really. It seems the same as any other of my finance classes…hopefully won’t be too hard cause that is my only class I really need to worry about. The other two: Outdoor Ed. & Perspectives on Australia are pretty decent and relatively easy. The lecture and tute (tutorial) for Outdoor Ed were on Tuesday as well. We will be going on 2 camping trips this semester; for one of the trips your group needs to plan which trail you will be taking as well as a list of groceries you will be bringing with. Our instructor, Steve, will be a few miles behind all of us in case we need him. The Perspectives lecture & tute are on Wednesday. During the tute we discuss different subjects and differences between Australia & our home countries. Most of us in the class are from the States, so the lectures probably will not be too diverse. Oh well. We also tried Vegemite on Arnott’s crackers. Vegemite is pretty much all the stuff that is left over when you make beer. It is pretty bitter & you need it use it sparingly. I actually did not think it was too bad…kinda tastes like soy sauce. Funny thing is that Vegemite is an Australian product, but it is now owned by Kraft, an American company. Also, the crackers we had with the Vegemite were Arnott’s brand, also owned by an American company. The crackers were strange…they were large saltines, but half were plain and the other half came ready with margarine on them…kinda strange.

Currently I still have two housemates, Matt & Ashley. Our apartment is usually quiet, but strangely it is pretty dirty as well. I don’t know how it happens, but there are heaps of dishes in the sink all the time! The last girl to move in is supposed to be from Texas, but I doubt she is still coming. Lately I have been running quite a bit…trying to get into shape. I would like to do a race in September in Sydney, but we’ll have to see about that…hopefully I will be ready!

Congratulations Adam & Ashley on your Marriage!! You looked beautiful Ash!