USA here I come!

So, I'm sitting in my extremely bare room just 2 short hours from leaving for the airport and about 5 hours from the start of my travels back to the US, and I'm thinking about all that has happened in the 4 months that I have been here. So, I figured I would give a little recap of my experience in Australia.

1. First experience with not so nice LA people (ok that was on the way over, but I'm still counting it.) and sprinting to the next terminal to barely make my next flight.

2. Pat-downs in security. It's become a habit of mine to be "patted down". Apparently even though my cardiologist (Who by the way has a DR. in front of his name and a good bit of experience with pacemaker patients) has told me that I can go through metal detectors, the people working security do not allow it. So, I am mentally preparing myself for feeling a little bit violated. :-)

3. Jet-lag. I'm really dreading that feeling again.

4. Late luggage and HOT Australian summer weather in SC winter weather clothing.

5. O-week! Meeting amazing people who I would grow closer to through my time here!

6. Classes... Really BIG classes at that....

7. Public transportation --> First time ever, but I've gotten pretty comfortable with it now! Plus, I'm really good at reading bus schedules now! :)

8. Tonsley Nights

9. Sydney and New Zealand! Both AMAZING.

10. Hillsong One Day Conference! Life changing is the only way to describe that day!!

11. Barossa Valley tour

12. Millicent/ Mt. Gambier trip with Tess!

13. SUATVAC and exam weeks with good food, studying, and a healthy portion of procrastination

14. Sports... Sports... Sports...

Now, I'm in my last few hours here and am wondering where the time went! There definitely have been times that I thought today would never get here, but now that the time has come I'm wondering how those 4 months went by so fast. There are so many places I still wanted to see and so many things I wanted to do. Guess that means I have to come back for a visit at some point Australian friends! My experience in Australia has been one that I will never forget and will always cherish. I was told by several people that I would come back a different person. Looking back I can say that is partially true yet not completely. I am still the SAME person with the same values, joys, struggles, personality, etc. with a good bit of acquired confidence, independence, experiences, and a stronger relationship with God! Although I will miss all of my friends here, I look forward to going home and seeing all of my friends and family as well as experience all God has in store for my future!

Final Stretch

So, when they came up with the idea of exam week(s) (whoever that bright person was), they obviously did not think about the negative effects that it would have on the poor college students having to go through them. We all know the obvious: lack of sleep, elevated caffeine levels, junk food, etc. (I have done pretty well in avoiding the usual negative effects... except the occasional sweet, but a little bit of sweets never hurt anyone, right?) But, there is also a hidden one: an aching back. Now, some of you may know from experience that hunched over a desk for hours a day does damage to your posture and does not feel great! So, since I am now preparing for my last exam and have been in that position for the past 2 weeks, I decided to move to my bed. That is not any better unfortunately, but it does help build your strength if you're trying to withstand temptation. :-) Because let me tell you, my bed is really comfortable when I lie down. But, I only have 2 more days of studying and then my final exam is on Friday! So, I can do this! (Does anyone else hear the little engine who could in the background? "I think I can... I think I can... I think I can..." )

3 days until this will be true for mind AND body:

The Intimidation Factor

So, exams are normally stressful for people. Well, this semester, I have not really been stressed about my first 2 exams. I knew the material, I studied as much as I could, and I went in pretty confident... Until I saw the way the exam was set up. Ok, so my first exam was on Wednesday, and I had another this morning. Now, I am used to PC where we take our exams in the same classroom that we've been in all semester long with the same 15 people who we had been in class with and the same professor giving the exam. Now, if you haven't picked up on the key word already: SAME. Well, exams here are different. You take your exam in a gymnasium along with about 200 other people (who may or may not have been in the same class)and your professor is not even present. So, nervous for my first exams in another country? Not really. Intimidated by the amount of people taking the exam with me? Definitely so.

A little sidenote: I ran out of internet Tuesday and didn't see the point in paying $40 for less than 2 weeks, so I am currently writing this on a computer in the library. Well, the guy at the computer beside me was cussing and making signs at the computer earlier. He has now moved to opening the CD drive and putting a pen in it to stop it from going back in. I don't know whether to be afraid or bust out laughing. Considering it is the end of the first of two exam weeks, I'm thinking laughing is not a good option.

Masterpiece of Light

We are all here for a purpose. Each one unique and special. There is no purpose that is the same. The beauty of that is that each purpose fulfilled comes together in a beautiful masterpiece that God has created. I see each purpose as a color. When mixing colors, you have to start out with the three basic primary colors. Now, I make the connection that there are also three branches of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We each need to have a relationship with the Son, and through our relationship with the Son, we know the Father. Also, before the Son left for Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit into us. So, we have three primary colors in our lives to start off with. As long as we have those three colors, no matter what mistakes we make in the mixture of those colors, we will always have a purpose. The resulting colors are limitless, and no masterpiece is complete without each color required. Light is also a mixture of all the colors. Combined, they form something so bright that it is hard to hide. With each purpose fulfilled and working together, the body of Christ forms a light that cannot be hidden. So, not only do we all have a purpose; We all have a unique and special one. There is only one “me” and one “you” in the world, and that person is special, unique, and has a God-given purpose. No one else can live my purpose out as well as I can, so it is my responsibility to do so.

A little bit of country Australia and Swotvac!

Well, I went to Tessa's last weekend along with Ceina and Sabrina. It was a lot of fun and was good to get away from the Hall for a few days and just relax and have fun with friends. Also, it was neat to see other parts of South Australia. Tessa is from Millicent which is close to Mt. Gambier. I would be really impressed if any of you know where those places are, so for all of my friends at home: it is about 5 hours away from Adelaide. Both places were beautiful! It was the countryside of Australia.

So, once we got to Tessa's house Friday night, we joined her dad at a pub for dinner (apparently that is pretty common?). They did have pretty good food! After dinner, we went fox hunting. That was my first and LAST time hunting. Before we got going, I asked Tessa what they usually do with the animals (I was thinking maybe cook them... I had never heard of a dish with fox at home, but Australia does have different foods.) Well, she informed me that they usually just feed them to the dogs. Ok! Stop right there. So, you mean to tell me they just go kill animals for fun?! They asked me if I wanted to trying shooting the gun, but there was no way I was shooting anything! (I mean... I might would have shot at a tree to see if I could, but I definitely was not shooting an animal for fun.) I even had to close my eyes and look away when they got close enough to shoot it. While we were chasing it on the truck, I was secretively (or maybe not so secretively...) cheering for the rabbit to get away. I just felt so bad for the poor things! So... needless to say, I will most definitely not be going fox hunting again. We ended up going shopping, sight-seeing, and to Tessa's younger brother's footie game as well.

Now that I'm back at the Hall, the studies have officially begun. Everything is going pretty well in the studying department, but equally as well in the procrastination department also. At least I know how to balance my time! :-) I have completed 2 assignments and even turned one in a day early! So, I would say that is pretty successful! On another note, the food has been amazing and is supposed to be equally as good for the next 2 weeks. Apparently, they hold out for the end of the semester instead of cleaning out the kitchen like PC! I mean we have little treats spread out throughout the day for the next 2 weeks plus soup! I didn't realize how good soup is on a cold day until I went without it for a few cold weeks! I am definitely enjoying the vegetable soup!

Countdown to USA: 15 days!

Weird to think about...

Since I have been in Australia for almost 4 months, it is really weird to think about going home. I am ready to see all of my friends and family, but it's a different feeling going back home than it was coming here. When leaving for Australia it was hard to leave my family and friends, but I knew that I was going to see them again and when I would see them. When I leave my friends here, I don't know when I'm going to see them again. I don't know how long it will be before I can come back for a visit or when they might be able to visit me. While this semester has had its challenges, it just doesn't seem real that it is almost over.

With only just over 3 weeks left here, that means I have only just over a week before exams. Yikes! I'm not so sure how I feel about taking exams that are going to count for over half of my final grade. It's a different world than at PC where I had more assignments and tests throughout the semester. Now, I have enjoyed the lack of assignments and tests, but it has been really hard to stay caught up in my classes when exams seemed so far away! So, now that exams are a lot closer, it is panic time! Just kidding. I'm not stressed about the exams, but it is time to start preparing for them. :-) Since next week is "reading week" and is apparently the most stressful time since we're supposed to be studying hard then, Flinders Uni Hall brought in a dietician to tell us all about brain foods and nutritional energy foods. You mean to tell me that midnight breakfast, chocolate, and coffee are not nutritional energy and brain foods? Well... That just goes to show what good my PC education has done for me in the exam preparation area. Exam time is really different here, because I have a whole week of study time and 2 weeks to take 4 exams. Now, I'm used to PC where I have had 5 exams in 2 days before! Talk about a stressful time! 2 weeks for 4 exams is nothing! Bring on exams! I have a feeling I will be one of the calmest people in the hall for the next 3 weeks. Yeah right...

With exams also comes preparing to go home. That is probably going to be the most stressful thing about the next 3 weeks. I have to decide what is important for me to take home and what I can give away/ throw away. I do know that I have a pair of jeans and a dress to throw away. Let's just say NZ was hard on those jeans and not matter what my mom does to my dress at home, those grease stains that have been on my dress from a gyro my first month here are just not going to come out. However, I still have a few things that I need to go through, some accumulated things, and some souvenirs to pick up! I may just be over the weight limit. Oh well! I will worry about all of that when it gets closer to July 2. I can't exactly pack my room up and study for exams. Next week, I will start that whole process!

I know I haven't posted very many pictures lately, so here are some from Formal Dinner 2: Circus theme. I was a ringleader. It was the simplest and least expensive (AKA free) thing to dress up as! :)

Jess and me

Emma and Me

32 days?!

First of all, let me say I have absolutely no idea where my time has gone here! I could have sworn that I just got here! I now have 2 weeks and 3 days left of class, and 3 weeks of the exam period left. Basically only 32 days left in Australia. I have so much to do before then!!!!

So, since the end of the semester is approaching, I have had to buckle down on my studying. This semester hasn't been too strenuous b/c most of my grade depends on my exam. Uh oh... That means that during the entire semester I was supposed to be reading and studying to prepare? Oopss... :) Well, while I may joke saying that I haven't done much, I really have kept up with my schoolwork pretty well (definitely considering I am in AUSTRALIA with a lot of distractions!). But, since I only have 3 weeks before my exams start, I really feel like I should put even more emphasis on my class readings and studies. Naturally, that means I have been finding more ways to procrastinate (Isn't that always how it goes? You decide to study more and end up finding more things to distract you? It's weird.) Anyway, my current distraction has been American Idol. Yes... I am definitely a fan. I love music and singing (and even though I am an ok singer, I am definitely NO American Idol.). So, since I love music and singing, I love the last few episodes of the show. You know the ones where the people are actually really good and have wonderful voices? I don't particularly care for the first few episodes where there are people trying out whose friends and family should have told them to look elsewhere for their calling. Well... I could not decide on who I wanted to win this season, because I loved both. I will say that I did like Scotty's deep singing voice! Definitely Josh Turner-ish... :) So, American Idol then led me to doing a little catching up on my favorite former American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood. Can you tell I am a country music fan? While hearing all of her new songs (that I LOVE), I also found out that she is going to be in the movie Soul Surfer. If you have not heard anything about the movie, it is definitely one to see! The movie trailers and interviews will leave you inspired and believe that with God anything is possible, so I can not even imagine how the movie will leave you! I can not wait to go see it in theaters! Anyway, in one of the interviews, Carrie was giving a recipe for a personal pizza. Since I have been trying to come up with new lunch options (I'm getting a little tired of sandwiches) that are healthy, this seemed like the perfect recipe to try. It is delicious and not bad for you at all! I have a feeling I will definitely be bringing that recipe back home. :)

Ok... Don't think I have been in my room watching American Idol and listening to music all day. You know Australia has way more to offer than that! I have been taking swing dance classes and attended a hip-hop/jazz dance class last week. They are both so much fun! Also, I have gotten in the habit of spending Sundays in the city before going to church. This Sunday I ended up going to the city and walking around for a few hours in Rundle Mall as well as doing my devotion in a coffee shop. Sundays have always been my favorite day of the week, so I'm glad that I've found a way to enjoy my Sundays here in Australia like I do at home. After a wonderful church service, a nice woman took me to the bus stop so that I did not have to walk about a 1/4 mile to the bus. So, now that I have finally gotten in a schedule that I enjoy, it is almost time for me to leave!

So, I have been doing a couple different devotionals (Rick Warren on youversion.com and a daily one from Jesus Calling). That time with God daily definitely keeps me in good spirits and I can tell when my time has been cut short! So, I want to leave with a message from Jesus Calling that I absolutely love!: "Approach each new day with desire to find Me. Before you get out of bed, I have already been working to prepare the path that will get you through this day. There are hidden treasures strategically placed along the way. Some of the treasures are trials, designed to shake you free from earth-shackles. Others are blessings that reveal My Presence: sunshine, flowers, birds, friendships, answered prayer. I have not abandoned this sin-wracked world; I am still richly present in it. Search for deep treasure as you go through this day. You will find Me all along the way." So often I find myself just going through the day without paying much attention to things around me. I'm in a hurry to get to my next class or I'm trying to get back to my room to get some work done. After reading that, I have been trying to pay attention to everything around me. If God has placed treasures around me, I want to see and experience them!!! :)

Have a great week everyone!

God has a sense of humor!

So, yesterday I spent the afternoon playing tennis (which I love doing!) and came back to a Disney movie marathon with other people in the hall! I absolutely love Disney movies so that event was perfect for me! Well, yesterday was also supposed to be the beginning of the rapture according to Harold Camping at about 6 PM. Well, as my brother likes to say, I'm living in the future, and when 6 PM came here, I guess God decided that He wanted to play a little joke on everyone in Australia. We were all in the middle of watching Beauty and the Beast when about 2 minutes til 6 it started lightning. Now, this is the first thunderstorm that Adelaide has had since I've been here. I do NOT enjoy thunderstorms in the least bit. I love rain, but thunder, lightning, and wind have always terrified me. So, when I saw that lightning, I was trying really hard to just focus on the movie. Disney movies are a lot more fun than thunderstorms. Well, with the first lightning strike, every single person in the room ran outside or to a window. I was the ONLY person still sitting in my seat. As you can guess, I was a little bewildered. So, I asked the people who were gathered around the window what in the world they were all doing. They then responded with, "Maybe the world really is going to end!" When they said that, I literally could not help myself from laughing. As they were thinking that the world possibly was going to end, I had a picture in my mind of God whispering to Jesus, "Watch this!" and when He sent the lightning and everyone went running, I could just see both of them getting a good laugh.

Now, I definitely do not think that Jesus' returning should be anything to joke about or make fun of. For all Christians, we should be rejoicing in the thought that He will return someday and should be mourning for those who do not know Him. However, I do think God enjoys a good laugh every now and then. :) Come on, He created all of us, so what creator doesn't like to play with their creations sometimes?

So thankful that I am the result of the aftermath!

First off, let me start off by saying that whoever said being a Christian is boring has obviously never seen Hillsong UNITED live! They are jumping and dancing all over the place, and I loved every bit of it!

Ok... Now, Truth. This is actually really hard to share, because it means that I am vulnerable and let's be honest. No one likes to be vulnerable.

So, this semester has been harder than I could have ever imagined. I have been dealing with a challenge in faith, a challenge in friendships, a challenge in self, and well... just challenges. Well, my recent (ok... not so recent, just current) challenge has been in my self. Now, I know most girls have probably faced this little demon: Body image. If you haven't, put your guard up, because that challenge is coming. I blame it on the devil using the media's "thin mindset" against us. Well, I have a history of dealing with this little demon in not so great ways. It's one of my downfalls that until now not many people know about. Anyway, it's recently been a challenge for me to climb. And, to be honest, I wasn't doing such a great job in climbing that mountain. When life gets hard, I tend to run. Why? I don't know. Anyway, so I may not have been doing a good job of climbing the mountain, but I was doing a perfectly great job of running from it. However, in running (physically and metaphorically) from this challenge, I was also running from God. A little lesson that you should learn from me: You can't outrun God, and you can't hide from Him either. It just doesn't work. God is the perfect seeker!

Alright, a couple of months ago, I signed up for the Hillsong One Day Conference. At the time, I was super excited and could not wait for the day to come. But, since I have been trying to avoid confronting God, I was not so sure how I felt about it when the day arrived. I really did not want to get up at 5:30 AM so that I could get on a bus for an hour and a half at 6:30. I also was not so sure about going alone. I kind of wanted a friend to be there. (Being alone ended up being the best thing that could have happened. It was just me and God for an entire day!) However, there was the bigger part that really did want to go and didn't want to lose that $30. :) So, I got on the bus and arrived at Paradise Community Church (where the conference was held) about an hour and a half early. It was either be that early or be late. If you know me, you know I can not stand being late! So, thankfully I arrived early, because my wristband still had not come in the post. I got to the registration table and explained that to them. At first the response was, "No problem. We'll look on our list. What's your surname?" So, the devil REALLY did not want me at that conference. My name was not on that list. They then called the conference headquarters and it was not in their system either. On top of that, my confirmation email was automatically deleted by hotmail and my mail had decided to completely reset itself about 2 weeks ago causing me to lose all of my emails. (The volunteers were all looking at me like I was completely crazy or trying to get in for free. Either one wasn't good.) So, I had no proof that I had signed up. At this point, I was ready to give up and was actually on the verge of tears (come on... I had been up since 5:30 and had been on a bus for over an hour!). However, I decided on one more try. I tried to look up my bank account to see if the purchase was online. Well, I was so flustered that nothing was going right that I failed to read the print that it is "caps sensitive". So, it would not allow me into my account for anything. Thankfully, I calmed down and read that before giving up. I was then able to get into my account and show them that I had paid for both the day and night. Whew! That was definitely not easy. Listen here devil, God's bigger than you! (THANK GOODNESS... Because I certainly was not).

Ok, so I was meant to be at this conference. Every single thing spoken in the sessions seemed to apply to me. Like BAM! BAM! BAM! The first speaker Casey Treat (from Seattle, Washington!) basically said what I had been avoiding straight out: "Get comfortable with yourself, and enjoy who you are; it is a better witness." Seriously? Are you kidding me? were the two thoughts going through my mind. Casey also said that you are anointed to be "You" and no one else! Yep... I could go on and on about how absolutely wonderful ALL of the sessions were, but you just can't understand it without being there. So, God completely broke me down and built me back up again. I am revived and have no doubt that these next 6 weeks are going to be completely amazing! I can not wait to experience them!

I'm going to leave you with one little thought that I loved from the conference. Actually I loved a lot, but that would take hours to write. Ok, I take that back. I'm going to leave with 2 thoughts. :)

#1Bobbie Houston (one of the pastors of Hillsong) gave the analogy that God sees us as a garden. God tends to the garden of the Church and with Him as the tender, that garden is going to explode with life in the darkness! God sees us as a GARDEN! I don't know about you, but I think gardens are absolutely gorgeous and one of the greatest creations God could have ever made. I could honestly spend a whole day sitting in the garden smelling the flowers and just admiring the beauty.

#2 We are in a BLOOD covenant with Christ. Jesus Christ shed His blood and has covered all our sin with it. That puts us in a blood covenant. Well, there will always be bloodsuckers that will try to suck the blood out of you. (This is where the analogy comes. A leech is called a "bloodsucker". Well, do you know how to get leeches off of you? Shake salt on them. They can not live in salt and will immediately back away.) Well, we're in luck, because Jesus said in Matthew 5 that we are the salt of the earth! So, when a bloodsucker tries to suck the blood out of you, just "Shake some salt on them, and say 'My God is bigger and is able!'" My day was absolutely amazing, and I could not have spent it any better way. So, I'm going to go to bed for now, but I may post a few other things from the conference as I go over them some more. :)

6 weeks and 5 days...

Yes. You read that right. I only have 6 weeks and 5 days until I board the plane for home. I'm having a few mixed emotions about that. I'm ready to see everyone at home who I have missed so much, but I don't want to leave the good friends I've made here. I am definitely ready for summer, but it is so gorgeous here! So, I only have 20 days of classes left, 1 "study week" with no classes, and 2 weeks of exams. Oh... something I am also ready for is a good home cooked meal! This cafeteria food is just not cutting it!

On to other news, I haven't really been too busy the past few weeks. Last Friday, a huge group from the Hall (where I am living) went to the city to a place called the Woolshed. Ok, so this is a bar downtown with a MECHANICAL BULL!! Those of you who know me know that I really enjoy a challenge (maybe a little too much sometimes). I was so excited to try my luck on a mechanical bull. I don't really understand the appeal, but it was even more appealing once I saw that the blow up ring that you are thrown onto was an American flag. Yep... challenge accepted. The majority of the people who try their hand at a mechanical bull are pretty intoxicated, so I had the mislead belief that since I was not intoxicated I would have an easier time holding onto that bull. Boy was I wrong. Lesson #1: Do not wear blue jeans when you are going to ride a mechanical bull. They make you slide off the bull really easy. Lesson #2: It is just as hard to get onto the bull as it is to hold on (especially if you are a little vertically-challenged). Lesson #3: It is NOT easy! Ok, so I did ok the first time, but the second time (you are given 3 times), I ended up cutting a back flip. Don't ask me how, because I had no control over that. It did look pretty impressive on the video though. :) Anyway, along with the back flip, I somehow managed to hit the side of my face on the body of the bull. I got out of that turn with a nice bruise on the side of my face that was a pretty blue and later on in the week a pretty yellow. That did not stop me from finishing my 3 turns though. My third turn started off with the decision that I was going to run and jump onto the bull to make it easier on myself. I'm telling you, this thing was made for men so it is really hard for a short girl to get on. Well, I ended up backwards on the bull. Once I turned around so that I could hold onto the rope, I did not last long my third turn. It really is not as easy as I was hoping. However, I plan on going back to conquer that bull before I leave! Hopefully I will be posting later that I stayed on the bull for as long as they will allow. :) But, for those of you who would like to try your luck at a mechanical bull, remember: Do not wear jeans (I would recommend shorts) and do not take it lightly. Along with being completely owned by a machine, I had the best time dancing. I had not danced that much in a while, so I was enjoying the oldies being played (Cotton-eyed Joe, Summer of 69, etc.)! I got back that night and realized that I had definitely danced for about 4 hours straight. Oh! I also taught some of the Australians the Electric Slide. They had never seen the dance! I still don't know what they do when the song comes on. I just don't understand.

Fridays must be dancing nights, because last night we had Swing Dance class. Swing dancing is a lot like Shag dancing at home, so I basically knew what to do. What made the class interesting was that there were only 2 males and about 15+ females. So, I ended up being the "male" and learning how to lead. Since swing dancing is so similar to shag dancing, I was doing everything backwards. It was extremely confusing for me and my partner, because I tended to go into the opposite step a few times. Oh well.... It was a lot of fun and next week, I'm going to have a male partner go with me so that I don't get confused! :)

I will never forget...

Today, as I watched the President's address, I remembered very vividly where I was on September 11, 2001 as Alan Jackson says, "when the world stopped turning". I was in Mrs. Starla McRae's 6th grade Social Studies class. I remember seeing the tears in her eyes that she was trying so hard to hold in. I remember the feeling of complete terror that I felt and the chills going through my body as I watched the replay of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. I remember the increase in terror that I felt as I watched the second plane hit. Nothing felt right at that time and nothing can describe the exact feeling. I remember going home and sitting in front of the television all afternoon watching the events of the day unfold. And, I remember the feeling deep down inside that all Americans were feeling. The feeling of complete hatred for someone. A hatred I had never felt before.

Today, as the feelings and events of that September day almost 10 years ago came flooding back, I began to think that I will always remember THIS day. Where was I when the American troops finally killed the person responsible for the murders of 3,000 fellow Americans? When I found out that Osama Bin Laden was dead, I was in my room in University Hall at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia where even the Australians know on the other side of the world how big of a day this is for America and the world. I may not be in America right now, but my heart is sure there. I am so proud to be an American and will forever remember the soldiers, civilians, and rescue workers who lost their lives due to 9/11.

Easter Sunday in Adelaide, Australia

Today, it happened. What I was so desperately hoping to avoid: homesickness. I guess it had to come at some point, and I definitely know why it happened. Every single year of my life (21 years may not be old, but it is a pretty good amount of years!), I have been to a church service on Easter Sunday with my family. This year, I had no one to go with. First, let me give you a list of things I love about Easter at home.

1. Sunday morning waking up to a basket full of chocolate and money (once I got older) filled eggs.

2. Lunch at my grandparents. I'm talking a full spread: ham, macaroni and cheese, green beens, biscuits, SWEET TEA!, and any kind of dessert you can think of!

3. Easter egg hunt with the cousins and easter egg hunt at church.

4. The Easter Cantata at church with my family.

5. Easter dresses and white shoes!

6. Reese's eggs

7. Cadbury candy covered mini eggs

8. Jelly beans

9. Dark chocolate pastel colored M&Ms

10. Dying easter eggs

11. The entire day spent with family

12. Waking up to the peace (that just seems to be everywhere and in everyone I meet) of just knowing that today, my Savior beat death for me.

My Easter in Adelaide consisted of:

1. Chocolate eggs (that I bought b/c I just HAD to!)

2. Waking up to a dilemma: no directions or address to the church I was going to attend and no internet to look it up.

3. No one willing to go to church with me.

4. Everyone on the hall taking jello shots out of plastic eggs instead of finding chocolate and money in them. (That was really disturbing to me. I wanted to cry.)

***Here's where the day did get a little better. :)

5. A walk through Elder Park in the city of Adelaide just God and me.

6. Attending a new church in town for their 5 PM service.

7. Meeting very friendly people who gave me a ride back to campus so I didn't have to take the bus alone in the dark and ones that I will be meeting to go apple-picking in the morning! :)

8. A very interesting stir-fry concoction that I came up with consisting of mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, pasta, and seasoning. Overall, pretty healthy and actually tasted pretty good. However, it was no Mama and Grandma's cooking!

9. Finally finding the peace that I usually wake up with. Though I knew it was there, it was harder to see in myself when it wasn't noticeable in the people around me. (I know that doesn't make much since, but it's the best way to explain the feeling that you get when it hits you that thousands of years ago today Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified so that we may live.)

Overall a bad Easter? Not really. Just different. But, it was different enough to make me miss home. So, for those of you wondering if I miss home: A little, sometimes more than others, and especially on this Easter Sunday.

Mid-semester break trip: Sydney and NZ!

Alright, so my break has been action-packed, exhausting, and amazing! I loved touring Sydney and experiencing the beauty of NZ! So, I am going to try to give a detailed re-count of my trip, but I am going to post a link at the end of the post that will take you to all of the pictures. :)

Friday, April 8- Day 1

So, Friday was a busy day! We left for the airport around 9 and flew to Sydney around noon. Upon arriving in Sydney, we had to find the hostel that we had booked for the night. Well, lets just say Rob didn't look at what area of town the hostel was located. Though it was not the best area of town (by the sounds of the night life), it was ok. We were really close to the Botanic Gardens and the Opera House. So, we just stayed inside at night which was ok with me! Ceina and I put on Finding Nemo and had an early night. By the way, Finding Nemo takes on a whole new meaning when you're actually in the city that they're talking about!

Saturday, April 9- Day 2

So, before I left school, I thought I had everything that I needed. I was pretty proud of myself for packing 4 shirts, all of my underwear, about 5 pairs of socks, and 2 pairs of jeans all in one bookbag. However, I did not realize that I had forgotten one important thing: a towel. Well, let me tell you showering without a towel to dry off with is quite amusing. :) Though I thought about just skipping a day of showering, I did not know when I would get my next shower since we would be camping in NZ. So, I decided to try my luck on air-drying. Yeah... it doesn't work when you're not in the sun. So, needless to say, I got a good laugh at myself and took a really long shower (or so everyone thinks).

Now, after my shower ordeal, we all checked out of the hostel and went to the Botanic Gardens again. I didn't really want to sit around, so I walked around the Botanic Gardens exploring and taking pictures. It was so beautiful! Now, as I was getting going in my walk, I saw a little coffee shop in the middle of the gardens. I decided I definitely could go for a cup of coffee, so I stopped by to grab some on my way through the gardens. While I was waiting for my iced mocha (YUMMY!!!- they make their iced coffee with ice cream instead of ice!), I was standing off to the side and nibbling on a cookie that I got. It was a huge cookie and I was planning on saving a lot of it for the plane ride, but a man in front of me started making fun of how big the cookie was. He told me that he didn't think I could eat the whole thing, so he just knew that I wanted to share. Well, I knew I wouldn't eat the whole thing, so it probably doesn't surprise most of you that I did offer him a part of my cookie. Well, after I offered, he told me he really didn't want any of my cookie, but he really wanted me to try his banana muffin. (Little side fact: the man is the age of my granddad) That just seemed really weird to me, but I tried to be polite and just tell him that I appreciated the offer, but really didn't want to eat his muffin. He then kept on and on and broke a piece off and put it in my hand. So, I was really confused by this and just stared at the muffin in my hand for a while until he came back. He then told me that his buddy didn't believe that I had taken part of his muffin from him (which was really the truth b/c I didn't take it, he put it in my hand.) When he looked down and saw the muffin in my hand, he said "You didn't eat it!". Now, I know he didn't do anything to the muffin. I saw the man at the counter hand it to him, so I wasn't worried about eating it. I was still so confused by what was happening. Well, I put the little bite in my mouth, and the little old man went off a happy camper bragging to his friend that a young girl took a muffin from him. Oh well... Hopefully that made his day. :)

Ok, after my odd encounter, I walked through the gardens for a while longer. I walked and walked and ended up on the other side of the gardens completely. I saw the government house and where the Queen's castle used to be before it burned.

After leaving the Botanic Gardens, we still had time to kill. So, we took a ferry to Watson Bay. Now, I am like my dad and get a little bit of motion sickness when in the car and on boats, so I had to stay up front where the wind would blow in my face. I don't know why, but it just seemed to help. So, after arriving at Watson Bay, we had just enough time to get fish and chips and then catch the next ferry so we could get to the airport in time. That was the best fish and chips I have ever had and I couldn't even eat half of it, because they gave me so much! So, we waited in the airport and were finally off to NZ around 6 PM!

Sunday, April 10- Day 3

So, since we couldn't pick up the campervan until 8 AM Sunday morning and a lot of Christchurch's hostels were not open due to the earthquake, we stayed in the airport for the night. Apparently it is a common thing, because there were about 50 other people doing the same thing throughout the airport. They also had showers in the bathrooms! Though it was an interesting experience, I definitely did not get much sleep. After a night with very little sleep, it was finally time to pick up the campervan! We got going on the road around 11 AM and drove to Queenstown stopping at Lake Tekapo on the way. That night, we spent our first night in the campervan at a campground by Lake Watapiku.

Monday, April 11- Day 4

On Monday, we spent the day hiking up a mountain in Queenstown. Now this was an interesting experience since I forgot my belt. I have a pair of jeans that I have had since jr. high maybe? Well, they have finally seen their better days. I can not keep them up b/c the waist is way too big and they are so worn out that they are starting to get holes in them. However, I wanted to wear those jeans instead of my newish ones on the hike. So, in order to keep my pants up, I borrowed Sabrina's bandana and tied two of my belt loops together so that I could pinch the material together. Yes, it was extremely fashionable! :) However, it got the job done. After hiking, we went grocery shopping for dinner and stayed at the same campground as the night before.

Tuesday, April 12- Day 5

So, we got up Tuesday morning with all intentions of bungee jumping as a group. However, the more I started thinking about it, the more the "practical" Elizabeth started to come out. Why would I spend about $200 on an 8 second thing when I could spend less than that on horseback riding through where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. No, I have never really been a Lord of the Rings fan, but I have been wanting to ride a horse for a LONG time! Plus, I have been wanting to see the Lord of the Rings and what better time to watch it than after I ride through where some of it was filmed?! So, the practical side won over the adventurous side thought I am still kind of disappointed I didn't jump! I wish money grew on trees and that I had all the time in the world!

After horseback riding, we drove part of the way to Milford Sound and stayed at a really sketchy campsite in the forest. I mean there was only one other camper and they looked really creepy. Also, the campsite was in the middle of a forest. However, we survived! :)

Wednesday, April 13- Day 6

We drove the rest of the way to Milford Sound stopping at Mirror Lakes (so pretty). Milford Sound was really beautiful, but everything to see there was going to cost a good bit of money. A lot of their hikes were closed, because they were being fixed up. So, it was a little disappointing that we couldn't hike a lot there, but it was still worth the trip! After spending a few hours in Milford Sound, we made the drive back to Queenstown. Now, a little side note about New Zealand: they don't have interstates that will just take you from town to town. There was literally one road to get you to Milford Sound and one road out. So, we had to go back to where we came from in order to go somewhere else. That meant that we spent the night in Queenstown again. However, this time we spent the night at a campground that had showers, a campfire, a kitchen, etc. So, since I had not showered since Saturday, I was feeling pretty gross! That shower felt SO nice! :) I even took another shower the next morning just because I could! HAHA

Thursday, April 14- Day 7

We woke up Thursday and grabbed a few things in Queenstown before heading to the northern part of the South Island. We stopped to see the Franz Josef glacier (unfortunately it was raining so I didn't get a good picture) and stayed at a campsite called Goldsborough. It was in a little part of a forest that used to be an old gold mining town. That was where we first met the birds that would continue to follow us everywhere else.

Friday, April 15- Day 8

We continued the drive to Abel Tasman National Park (supposedly the main attraction of NZ) and stopped at several places on the way. We made a stop at the beach, pancake rocks, a brewery (I wasn't very impressed), a cave, and a few lookouts. Most of the day was spent driving, but we finally arrived at the campsite where we were able to have a fire (finally) and stayed on the beach. I could walk about 10 feet from the campervan and be on the beach, so it was pretty amazing. Plus, all around us was Abel Tasman National Park and a tropical forest.

Saturday, April 16- Day 9

We decided to stay at the same campsite again Saturday night, so we spent the day hiking in the forest and hanging out on the beach. While hiking, we climbed up a river which was great until the river level started to get higher to where the rocks we were just standing on where no longer there. We ended up going through some of the trees so that we could get to the rocks we could stand on. I ended up with wet feet, but had a great time. After hiking, I went for a walk on the beach. Here it comes Mom, the moment you've been waiting for... :) I really missed my mom while I was walking, because that is usually our thing. When at the beach, my mom and I usually get up in the morning and go for an hour long (at least!) walk on the beach. Our walks are usually very quick paced but still fun.

So, did you know in a tropical forest it rains practically every night? Well, it rained both nights we were there. I was kind of thankful for that, because the guys wanted to leave the campfire going through the night, but I didn't really feel comfortable doing that. I mean, we were really close the fire and plus, I didn't really want to be one of the ones responsible for setting part of a national park on fire. :) However, the rain made it impossible for fire to spread anywhere and put the fire out each night!

Sunday, April 17- Day 10

We spent all day Sunday on the road to Christchurch (which we found out had another earthquake Saturday night). It was a really long drive, but we made it to Christchurch before it got dark. There are only holiday park campsites in and around Christchurch, so we ended up staying there. I was pretty thankful, because I definitely needed a shower and they did have showers there. :)

Monday, April 18- Day 11

We woke up and cleaned the campervan, because we had to turn it in that afternoon. After having lunch at Maccas (McDonalds) and cleaning out the RV, we headed back toward the Christchurch airport where we stayed all afternoon and night until our flight departed at 6:45 AM.

Tuesday, April 19- Day 12

So, Tuesday was perhaps the longest day of my life. We landed in Sydney at 8:30 AM and our bus didn't leave until 8:15 PM. So, Ceina and I had several hours to kill. We took a train into the city center and bought bread, peanut butter, jelly, water, and chips that we would be eating for the next 2 days. We then made our way to Darling Harbor and back while stopping at St. Mary's Cathedral and in a few parks. Now, St. Mary's Cathedral was the first cathedral I have ever been in. It was massive and absolutely beautiful. Everything was so gorgeous, but one thing bothered me about the cathedral. There was a gift shop inside. Now, I know that the cathedral is a pretty big tourist attraction, but it just reminded me of when Jesus went into the temple and turned over all the vender tables and everything, because it was destroying the Father's house. I wished I could have stayed for the Easter service at St. Mary's, but I do plan on finding a church to attend on Easter Sunday. Darling Harbor was so much fun. We stayed there and watched a few street performances. They were so funny and really talented! After a few hours in Darling Harbor, we took the train back to the airport and caught the Greyhound bus.

Wednesday, April 20- Day 13

If I thought Tuesday was long, Wednesday was even longer! The Greyhound dropped us off in Melbourne at 8 AM and the bus for Adelaide didn't leave until 8 PM. So, we had another day to kill. When we arrived in Melbourne, it was raining (of course). That meant we couldn't go to a park and sleep for a while as planned. So, we ended up going to an aquarium. It was cool, but not that great. After the aquarium, we went to a nearby mall food court where Ceina fell asleep. I read for a little while while she slept and then we walked around the mall for a little while. After walking around, it was my turn to sleep. You know you are sleep deprived when you are willing to get a few minutes sleep in a mall. It was the little power nap I needed though! We continued to walk around the mall, because it was raining until it was finally time to catch the next bus.

Thursday, April 21- Day 14

Our bus arrived in Adelaide at 6 AM. We didn't feel like trying to catch another bus to school, so we just split a taxi. At 6:30, I got back to school and crashed completely. I did take the time to call my parents to let them know I was back safe and sound, but it was a 2 minute conversation that went something like this:

Me: "I'm back at school, but I'm going to sleep so I will call you tomorrow. Love you."

Mom: "It's so good to hear your voice! How was it? Tell me all about it."

Me: "It was great, but I'm exhausted so I'm going to go to bed and I promise I will tell you all about it tomorrow."

Mom: "At least let your dad hear your voice before you hang up"

Me: "Hey Daddy! I love you, but I'm going to sleep."

Dad: "Isn't it about 7 AM there? Aren't you supposed to be getting up?"

Me: "Not when you've been up for 3 days straight. Love you! Talk to you tomorrow."

Yep... I was SO through! Now, I am back at school with a few days to catch up on sleep and schoolwork. However, we are not having any meals served until Wednesday. I tried to make a trip to the store to get groceries, detergent (I desperately need to wash clothes), and toothpaste (I still have some, but am going to be out soon!) today, but was unsuccessful since guess what... It's Good Friday and a public holiday. So, nothing was open. Ooppss... My days got away from me, so I didn't even realize it. So, I will be making the trip again tomorrow so that I can have food for the next few days. Alright, all of my pictures have not been added to the website yet, so I can't put the link. However, I have added them to facebook (it was a lot quicker than this website). So, if you are my friend of FB, you can see them all there. If not, be on the lookout for the links really soon!

Happy Easter weekend!

Sydney Pictures:

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3521006023/a=158193405_158193405/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

New Zealand Pictures:

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3521542023/a=158193405_158193405/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

New Zealand

So, it is about 1:30 AM and I have still not gone to sleep. We are working on our second fire alarm of the night. The firemen really don't like us very much. I think if the alarm goes off again, I'm just going to stay in bed!

Anyway, not much to update lately. Well, there probably is but I just can't think of it right now. We are leaving for New Zealand in approximately 8 hours. I will not be updating for about 3 weeks, because I am not going to be taking my computer with me. We are planning to be in NZ for 11 days and will then drive the Great Ocean Road back to Adelaide from Sydney. So, stay tuned for a LONG update when I get back! Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Sports, sports, sports....

So, I have realized that practically all of my blog posts have something to do with sports. I really don't mean to revolve my posts around the sports here, but they are just so much fun! The new sport of the week is Netball! It is SO much fun! Netball is basically man on man basketball with no backboard, more players, and more rules. I played the position Wing Attack. Basically I could run everywhere except in the semicircle around my teams goal and the last third of the court toward the other teams goal. So, I ran constantly. Woah... Another difference b/t netball and basketball. It is as much running as soccer pretty much. I know basketball is a lot of running, but netball is actually more.

In other news, I have been trying to stay caught up with my classes, but it is so hard to do when I don't have tests! However, I am pretty much caught up in all of my classes except one. That class doesn't meet again until after break, so I have time to get caught up. (I don't have much else to do for it). Tuesday was so pretty that I just could not stay inside to do work. So, after I got out of class I put on my bathers (AKA bathing suit), packed some of my reading and a towel, then caught a bus to the beach. I enjoyed the gorgeous day, got a lot of work done (surprisingly), and got a good bit of Vitamin D as well.

I've also found a gorgeous place to run! I'm going to post a few pictures that I took of my afternoon run the other day. I hope everyone has a great end of the week and weekend!

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day (like when I leave!)

So, I am sick of rain! It rained all week long pretty much. I will never complain about walking to class in the rain at PC anymore! When it rains here while I'm walking to class, it is pretty much guaranteed that I am going to look like I just took a shower when I arrive at my destination! Now, because it was raining all week, I really did not want to leave my room. That meant that I had to find things to do, so I got a lot of work done that I had been putting off! So, even though I felt like the rain wore out its welcome, it did make me a lot more productive.

Many of you know that I have been looking really hard to find a church to attend and someone to go with me without a lot of luck. Well, my luck changed Thursday night! I went to a meeting for the Christians who live in on-campus housing here. It was really great to get together with fellow believers, watch a NOOMA video, and discuss. I sure have missed my church family!!!

It finally stopped raining Friday but the wind took the rain's place. It was extremely chilly and windy. I did not bring hardly any warm clothes, because well... I guess I just figured it would be warm year round. Well, I was wrong. It was kind of cold. Thank goodness the rain stopped, because we went kayaking through a dolphin sanctuary Saturday! It was so much fun and in such a beautiful area! I did not get a good picture of the dolphin "Twinkle", because he was a tricky thing. He would come up close long enough for us to see, but not long enough to take a picture. Oh well! I enjoyed the experience! I have never seen a dolphin that close before!

Ceina and I ready to go! Well... kind of.

The beautiful view while we were kayaking! Notice the hills in the distance!

The "Amazon" that we kayaked through.

The next big trip will be in a little less than 2 weeks, and I am SO excited! We are going to New Zealand for our mid-semester break! The break is April 9-26, so we are going from the 9th through the 19th. Ok, so I am really excited about this trip! We are going to be backpacking! We are only bringing a carry on bag (aka my bookbag) with a few changes of clothes (as much as possible)! We are also renting a RV and driving across the South Island of NZ. So, we have booked our flights and put a down payment on the camper. :) After NZ, we are planning on landing in Sydney and driving the Great Ocean Road back to Adelaide. That means I will be out of contact for about 2 weeks. No blogs for that time; however no worries. I will be taking my journal and will do a big recap when I get back (with a lot of pictures!)

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to go get some work done (or try to at least)! Have a great week everyone!

Chocolate + Strawberry Picking= Perfect Combination

Alright, I'm going to try to recap my week/ weekend.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

So, yesterday I realized just how little sleep I got last weekend. I was exhausted! However, I had to get up early for swim training. It was the last early morning swim practice, because we had our swim meet tonight! Anyway, at dinner last night I decided that I was a little sleepy and needed a bit of caffeine to wake me up. Most of you know that I don't do caffeine very often which means when I have it, it hypes me up! I was just going to mix coffee with hot chocolate, but that was a little more complicated than expected. So, instead someone gave me the idea to put a shot of espresso in with my hot chocolate after I had a little of it. I decided to give that a shot. WOAH... I should never ever have espresso. I was as hyper as a 2 year old on mountain dew! It took about 4 hours for the caffeine to even start to wear off.

Anyway, tonight was the swim competition. It was a lot of fun although we didn't win (actually we placed last.) However, my even (just a novelty event... AKA doesn't count) placed 2nd! It was too funny swimming with a shirt on and trying to get the shirt off quickly. After that event, I was the only girl with 11 guys doing the biggest splash competition. Well, I wasn't the smallest splash (although I really think the judges took pity on me, because I got a higher rating than the biggest guy doing the splash. I don't know whether to be proud of that or ashamed... Hmmm...

Diving in for my turn in the race

Biggest splash!

Friday, March 18, 2011

St. Patrick's Day was amazing. The bands were great and it made me really miss my car. Why would that make me miss my car you ask? Well, I always sing in the car as I'm driving (or if I'm riding with my family), so I don't have that time to sing anymore. I need to figure out another place and time that I will be able to sing! :) I can't even sing in the shower, because it is a hall shower.

I found a great place to run yesterday, so I will take pictures on my run one day. It is beautiful and is a trail on campus that I decided to try yesterday. Up until now, I haven't needed to find a place to run, because I have had a different sport practice every day. I wish someone would just tell me a time to work out, because it is so hard to make myself go running when there are so many places to see and things to do! Oh well! I'll enjoy running on the path once I get in a schedule. I just need to make sure I don't trip and fall over rocks. Many of you know how clumsy I can be, so we'll see how long it takes me to trip over something!

Sunday, March 20, 2011 (Today)

Well, after class on Friday, I all of a sudden got a major headache. It was so bad it was making me nauseous. So, I decided that I needed to get some sleep. I had a lazy afternoon and night. I watched some movies and went to bed early. I still had a small headache when I woke up Saturday morning, but it was a lot better.

Saturday afternoon I went to Adelaide Hills in order to go to Melba's Chocolate Factory and strawberry picking. Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits and chocolate is a huge weakness of mine. I just can't seem to turn down chocolate. Anyway, we went to the chocolate factory first and it was way too hard to make decisions. There were so many great chocolates to choose from. I decided on a small bag of dark chocolate and a small bag of milk chocolate (to mix it up a bit) and a chocolate in the shape of Australia (with kangaroos and koalas on it). I'm going to take pictures before I eat it! :) After the chocolate factory, we went to pick strawberries (a little healthier than chocolate). I LOVE strawberries, so it got pretty dangerous while we were picking. I had a pretty good system down: pick a strawberry and eat it, pick another strawberry and put it in my basket, pick a strawberry and eat it, and pick another one to put in the basket. Considering I had so many in my basket, I don't even want to know how many I ate. It's a good thing I didn't have much for lunch (my PB&J sandwich failed miserably). I also got some strawberry jam that was made right on the farm, because I needed some jelly that I like for my PB&J sandwiches. I tried to eat a sandwich for lunch, because I got bread from the cafeteria and decided that it was a good idea to just get peanut butter and jelly. Well, the jelly I ended up getting (which was right beside the grape jelly that I was aiming for) was called Blackcurrant jelly. It was the most disgusting jelly I have ever had! I just could not eat the sandwich! So, I now have strawberry jelly (very good jelly b/c I had a successful PB&J sandwich today).

Trying to make a decision at the chocolate factory

Yummm... Strawberries!

After picking strawberries, we went to a little town that the Germans colonized. There were bakeries everywhere and cute little shops. I got a pasty (potato and vegetable filled pastry type thing) for dinner and was good to go. Once I got back from the Hills, we all watched a movie and had another needed lounge-around night.

Oh... a little tip: strawberries do not mix well with a computer. I am still trying to get the strawberry juice out of my computer keys. I didn't mean to drop the one gushy, bad strawberry in the batch on my computer. It just happened. But, on the positive side, the computer is still good to go and all of the keys work! So, it just looks pretty messy right now. I will get it all cleaned up though! Well, I'm gone to get some work done that I have been putting off for days!

Google left out a really key part of directions: UPHILL

Ok, I'm going to try to recap what all has been going on the past few days. We had a LONG weekend for Adelaide Cup. Yes... there is a holiday for a horse race over here! I'm thinking SC needs to learn from that. So, since it was a long weekend, we were all really busy.

Friday:

The weekend started off with Formal Dinner. (A little side note: there is a magpie flying around the halls of fourth floor. The guys are chasing it with Nerf guns. It is definitely a funny sight.) Back to Formal Dinner now. Dinner started off with Twilight drinks on the terrace. That just sounds fancy. Anyway, dinner started at 7 PM and it was so good! I had salmon, lo mein, fresh pineapple, shrimp, and different types of dessert. It was a feast (at least compared to the portion sizes we've been having)! It was a night full of fun and dancing! Did I mention they were playing 80s and 90s music? I kind of miss that music. Plus, Daniel and I showed all of the Australians how to shag. I think we might have them shagging on their own by the time we leave (at least that is our goal).

Saturday:

Most of my morning was spent on the phone or skyping, but spent the afternoon on the beach. Ahh... It was beautiful!!! and HOT! We stayed on the beach all afternoon, and when the others left, Jess and I ate tea (dinner) and watched the sunset. The sunset was amazing and absolutely breathtaking. God really knows how to paint. It was perfect.

After the sunset, we caught the bus back to the hall (well... after waiting for a LONG time).

Sunday:

I'm really trying to find someone to go to church with me, because I don't know anything about Adelaide or the area yet. However, I'm thinking that I'm just going to go somewhere this coming Sunday, because I'm really missing church. I've been watching NewSpring sermons online, but it is just not the same. Anyway, I went to the cricket game and to get some groceries from Marion Shopping Center on Sunday. I really needed food since we have to fend for ourselves every weekend. But no worries! I got peanut butter and jelly (which Australians think is an odd combination). I also got a few snack foods (Grain waves, granola bars, and tiny bears). I should be set for the next few weeks. I did not get any bread, because I have a plan. We have to fix our lunch every day at breakfast during the week. Well, a lot of people fix 2 sandwiches (most of them guys, but oh well!) So, I'm going to fix a sandwich and grab 2 pieces of bread to stick in a container for the weekend. That way I will be all set for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the weekend (toast, PB&J sandwich, and maybe another sandwich). Anyway, let me just say that Cricket is probably the most boring sport you will ever watch. I don't see how people can actually play and watch it on a regular basis!

Monday (Adelaide Cup Day): So, Sunday night was a late night since we decided to go into town and make a late night run to Maccas (AKA McDonalds). I felt like I was in Clinton again (except I wasn't driving everyone. We walked). But, after a late night (with only 4 hours of sleep) someone kindly woke everyone in the Hall up with a fire alarm at 8 AM by burning their toast. Oh well. It got the group up so we could go to Cleland Wildlife Park! Woo hoo! Kangaroos and Koalas! We got some breakfast (Thanks to Rob who fixed us all eggs.) and headed to the bus. So, since it was my idea to go to the wildlife park, I was the one who planned it. I had it all figured out: bus schedules and all. We had a choice to either catch a bus at 8 AM so we could catch another bus or walk 30 minutes after the final bus stop to the park. Well, Google maps told me that it was only going to be a 30 minute walk. What they failed to say was that it was a walk UP Mt. Lofty. Yes, a walk up the mountain. It also did not take 30 minutes. It took an hour and 15 minutes! So, I love hiking, but I was not prepared for it nor was the road we were traveling on. We walked on the side of the road (no sidewalk, no paths, and cars going 80K). Yeah... it was great. Thankfully, the road wasn't an extremely busy road.

The walk almost killed us, but the views were amazing. Once we finally got to the park, we all had so much fun looking at, petting, and feeding the animals. We were having such a good time that we forgot to eat lunch until around the time we were going to make the hike back to the bus stop (at 3:05). Well, they stop serving lunch at 3:00 and did not take pity on us. So, we all ate a bag of chips (or a granola bar for me) and prayed that it would hold us over. While everyone was eating their snacks, I decided to go ask the workers about the bus schedule (maybe we would get lucky and they would have more busses since it was a public holiday). Well, guess what! I made a new best friend, because the worker informed me that there would be a bus leaving from right in front of the park at 4:38 and would take us to another stop where we would catch another bus to the city 1 minute later. Oh my goodness! I could have hugged her I was so happy. I love hiking and exercising, but I was not looking forward to the long trip back. Plus, I was in flip-flops and we had not had any lunch. God was definitely looking out for us.

When we arrived back at the hall (after a power nap on the bus), we made spaghetti and garlic bread. I really think I ate my body weight in spaghetti because I was so hungry! Here are some pictures of the Australian wildlife!!! (For more, look at facebook).