Just a little update-

I'm only in Lismore for 1 more week (crazy!!) and then Ben and I are going to Cairns, which is on the northeast coast of Australia. We'll snorkle in the Great Barrier Reef and possibly go white water rafting and, of course, relax on the beaches of Cairns. After that, it's time to go to Brisbane, make a quick trip to the Steve Irwin Zoo, and then fly home on June 4th. Everything's going so quickly, but it will be nice to be home.

Exams are coming up- I have to tackle geology and the world of plate tectonics (ugh!!). Otherwise, all's going well and life is really busy! See everyone soon :)

I got back from Adelaide almost 3 weeks ago (yes, I know that I should get better at writing more often!)...but it was one of my best trips yet in Oz.

I went to stay with my parents' friend from high school, Dave Hepper, and his family. The entire weekend was packed with things to do and places to go...let's just say that Adelaide is nothing like Lismore! The city is beautiful with amazing architecture, a beach nearby, and rolling hills that see for miles (that's where the Hepper's lived).

The first night that I was there, Kim made an amazing dinner and I met Dave and Kim's three sons. After growing up and hearing so much about Ben, Chris, and Nick, it was nice to finally be able to meet them.
On Thursday morning, Nick took me around Adelaide for a little bit of sightseeing in the city. We saw the Hospitality College that Dave owns, along with the restaurant that he is a partner in- the restaurant is named Wilson's and we had lunch there. The entire family and I also ate dinner at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the hills of Adelaide that night.
On Friday, Kim and Chris took me to a cute German community with craft stores and a lot of history. However, nothing could compare to that night when Dave took me to my first ever footy game (the Hepper family is engrossed in sport and it was great to see a footy game with someone so passionate for the game...reminds me of home!) Australian footy (AFL) is different from the Rugby League games that I had previously gone to in Lismore. Rugby dominates the East Coast of Australia, whereas the West Coast and South Australians love their footy. The game is different, with more kicking and a faster pace. We watched a game between Port Adelaide and St. Kilda, with the crowd going wild at every play- the atmosphere was amazing and I now completely understand the excitement of footy!
On Saturday, we went to go see Chris play in his own footy game...in the pouring rain. I have to admit, with mud everywhere, it actually looked like a lot of fun :) That night, Chris and Nick took me out for a night on the town. I met a good majority of their friends who were all extremely welcoming and we stayed out dancing until 3:30AM!
Sunday was definitely a day for recuperation and one last meal with the entire Hepper family before I left. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant near the waterfront (the beach is so close- needless to say, I'm extremely jealous!)
On Monday morning, bright and early, we headed for our flight home to Lismore. The trip was amazing and the Hepper family was extremely welcoming- it was definitely a trip that I will never forget and hope to make again someday!!

As I haven't updated in quite awhile, I also haven't talked about Race Day which was two weekends ago. Basically, Southern Cross University holds the event at the Lismore horse race tracks. Everyone gets dressed up (big hats and all, like at the Kentucky Derby) and we all 'go to the races'! The entire day was a blast, with tons of pictures and a little bit of betting- I bet a whole $3 and didn't win a thing, haha!!

Otherwise, my time has been spent enjoying my last couple of weeks here and wrapping up school assignments and the end of the semester. Time has truly flown here and I can't believe I'm heading home in only a few short weeks...

Wow!! Yes, yes, yes, I apologize for not updating this sooner!- School has been a little crazy (they actually expect us to turn in assignments between all of our traveling and laying by the beach, haha!!) Anyways, some updates on SYDNEY :)

...The trip was absolutely amazing!! It was go, go, go the entire time, but there was so much to see in five days. We had a little bit of a snag getting there (Ben and I were supposed to take the train to Sydney on a Wednesday, but with all of the rain that the East Coast has been getting, the tracks were flooded. No worries, though! We were lucky enough to get a flight for early Thursday morning and arrived in Sydney only an hour later than we would have if we took the train!) Now on to our itinerary...the first day, we brought our luggage to the hostel and then got out on the town; we explored the streets of Sydney and made our way to Darling Harbour where the Sydney Aquarium is. We ended up seeing manatees, HUGE sharks, and even finding Nemo in the Aquarium. Afterward, we did a little shopping as we made our way back to the hostel. That night, we hit up Chinatown for dinner (delicious!).

The next day...*drumroll please*... we did the famous Sydney bridge climb. It took about three hours, including preparation and the climb, which was about 1.6 miles! Our guide was really good and gave us a lot of background stories as we climbed (we had ear-phones on so that we could hear him give us directions and info. when we climbed). The entire experience was exhilarating and definitely something I will never forget!! We had lunch at a local pub (aligator pizza?!) and then explored The Rocks and saw the Sydney Opera House.

On Saturday, we took the train with some other friends of ours to Katoomba, where the Blue Mountain trolley tours are. I guess we should have checked the weather near the Blue Mountains though; it was so foggy that we couldn't even see any of the beauty that is the Blue Mountains. Don't worry though- Ben and I spent the rest of our day exploring the grand town of Katoomba...we learned quickly that in a town of a few pharmacies, a dollar store, and antique shops there isn't much to explore, haha! However, the day was saved when we visited the Blue Mountains Chocolate Company, where they make their own chocolate. Ben even made homemade hot chocolate (by melting chocolate chips and cream together...a little too sweet for my tastebuds though!) We took the train home and then went out to Kings Cross with some of our friends from Southern Cross Uni that were also visiting Sydney.

On Sunday, we explored The Rocks and the open-air markets that were there. We then hopped a ferry (with amazing views of the Bridge and Opera House!) to Manly Beach. The beach was a little cold, but walking along it was nice. That night, we went to a great Italian restaurant and then cruised around Darling Harbour, taking in the city at night. By Monday we were headed back to Lismore (this time by train). My trip had been absolutely amazing and was a "holiday" I'll never forget.

The past couple of weeks, schoolwork has definitely been having me kick it into high gear. A lot of assignments were due before and after Easter, so I have been working hard! Everything has been going well and I can't believe that I will be going home in a month. I'm having HEAPS of fun here (as the Aussies would say) and it's difficult to think that I will be flying back to the States so soon...

More exciting news is that I will be visiting my parent's friend, Dave Hepper and family, in Adelaide tomorrow!! It will be nice to do some more traveling and be with a family for a couple of days- I am really looking forward to it! I'll update more after my trip (I swear, it will be soon, haha!) Hope all is well with everyone else; thanks for reading!!

Whoa- it seems like things are starting to pick up quickly around here! Assignments are due, trips are coming, and Easter is approaching full force!! It's exciting to get out of Lismore and luckily, that's exactly what I will be/ have been doing. Last weekend, we drove with our friend Cathy to her hometown of Toowomba...

They had a carnival/ "Show" there and it was basically a town fair filled with cotton candy, prize-winning goats, and fireworks. We also got to see alpacas (Ben and I wanted to steal one to take home to the States, but the whole transportation thing became an issue!), I got an up-close encounter with "First-Place Poultry" in the hen and duck house, and I even got to see a demolition derby. All in all, it was a lot of down-home, Australia-lovin' fun, haha!! It was really nice to meet Cathy's family, though, and just be in a house for a change...we even got a home-cooked meal on Friday night which was superb! Driving to/from her house, we also got a picturesque view of the Australian landscape, complete with rolling hills and lots of green- it's absolutely breath-taking!!

Tomorrow (yes, tomorrow!!), Ben and I are leaving for Sydney by train and we'll arrive at 7AM on Thursday! I'll update soon after we return on Tuesday morning :)

I know, I know...I need to update this thing more often. Honestly, though, nothing too exciting has been going on. It's just been the basic routine of class, homework, hanging with the Aussies...hmmm...

Last week, though, Ben and I booked two trips: one to Adelaide to visit Crock (April 22-26) and one to Sydney (April 1-6). The Sydney one is quickly approaching and I'm really excited :) We're going to do the Sydney bridge climb during the day on Friday, go on a trolley tour of the Blue Mountains (I've heard they're beautiful!), go to the Sydney Aquarium, and go to Bondi beach for some swimming and a public market on Sunday. Again, REALLY excited!!!

Nothing else is too new around here. My friend Karie and I went to a kickboxing class on Thursday at the gym which was a blast...well, atleast until I woke up Friday morning and felt like I had worked muscles I never knew I had- good workout though!!

Anyways, all's going well and Easter is coming up soon; it'll be strange to not be with family on Easter but those of us that are in Lismore that weekend are going to do our best with cooking an Easter meal (we'll see how it goes!) ... Maybe I'll get an Easter greeting or two in the mail?!! :)

Hmm, I left off on Wednesday so here's the update on netball...
it's a very frustrating sport if you are used to playing basketball, haha!! For anyone that is not sure what netball is, it's a sport that is similar to basketball except there is no dribbling, no back board on the basket, and everyone is designated a certain position and can only go in certain zones where those positions are allowed. The first game was fun, but trying to get the different rules down got a little dicey- especially the rule that "when someone is taking a shot, you must stand 3 ft. away from them and simply put your arms up"...I think I need to work on that aspect, haha! Everyone was really helpful, though, and the refs. were understanding of the fact that most of our team were JUST learning that night!

After netball, I was looking at my schedule and realized that the lab science that I'm taking right now (Biology) could be switched with a Geology class so that I only have class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This makes traveling over weekends much more convenient and easier to get a group together to go on longer trips (plus only having class 3 days a week isn't bad either!!) On the topic of traveling though...

Sorry I didn't post anything this weekend, but a group of girlfriends and I drove to Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast for a couple of days of seeing the beauty of the ocean (the Gold Coast is only 2 hours from Lismore). We left on Saturday morning, bright and early at 7 AM. Our Australian friend, Cathy, drove us and our car consisted of nationalities from across the globe. Carin is from Sweden, Ashley is from Canada, Simona is from Germany, and, like I said, Cathy is an Aussie.

We got to Surfer's around 9AM and decided to start with some shopping while we weren't sandy from laying out on the beach. After awhile, we grabbed lunch and then laid on the beach for the rest of the afternoon- the temperature was perfect and not excruciatingly hot like it has been on other days. The sound of the ocean and the nice breeze that was perfect for on the sand (which I took full advantage of!) Around 5ish, we walked back to our hostel, the Islander, checked in, and showered and got ready for a night on the town.

The streets were completely packed with people and we went to a few different nightclubs throughout the night (we got in free because we had talked with a girl that worked at one of the stores we had gone to earlier and she told us how to get on their "VIP" lists from the internet!) The nightclubs were fun, but after about 1AM, the techno music was getting a little too intense for us. We decided to get some fresh air and were walking on the sidewalk when we passed a street musician that was playing all Bob Marley songs- of course, I stopped and started dancing and we just danced on the sidewalk for a good 45 minutes. The best part of the night came though when we were starting to walk back to the Islander (Dad, you'll enjoy this!!) We stopped at an Irish pub that had a live band!!! The music was really good and we had a blast on the dance floor- it definitely made our night! We got back safe and sound, bummed around Surfer's on Sunday and got back to Lismore late Sunday afternoon.

The entire weekend was a blast (don't worry, pictures will be posted soon, I'm working on it!!) Right now though, I have to get to my 3 hour lecture! Thanks to all who have been e-mailing me and reading this; I hope you're enjoying it!

This past weekend was a blast in traditional Aussie fashion...on Saturday a big group of us went to Evanshead Beach and spent the day in the water and playing beach volleyball (of course, we had a BBQ too!). We spent most of the day at the beach and then loaded back on the bus and headed back to the college to quickly shower and get ready for seeing OUR FIRST FOOTY GAME!! My friend Cathy took a group of us to see the Gold Coast Titans vs. the New Zealand Warriors...we cheered hard for the Titans but the Warriors dominated us in the end. Either way, it was a blast- we sat on blankets around the "Oval" and tried to get all of the rules and regulations down...it was definitely a lot faster than football!!

On Sunday, a big group of international students got paired up with families from around the Lismore area who volunteered to make lunch for us. Ben and I were psyched to go and we were ready for anything...then our "family" pulled up and ordered us like we were hamburgers at McDonalds, "I've got Ben and Alex", haha! Anyways, the family was really nice with a lot of kids and husbands and wives to meet...they also made us kangaroo, which I ate in an attempt to not seem rude (it was a difficult feat considering I had just been petting soft kangaroos at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary the week before!!) but I stayed strong and cleaned my plate of the delicious "Bush fare"...haha!!

The rest of the week has not been extremely exciting; it's been basically filled with schoolwork and some house-cleaning. Tonight is my first night of netball, so we'll see how that goes :)
Otherwise, all is going well. A group of girls and I are driving to Surfer's Paradise early on Saturday morning and spending the weekend there for some shopping and beach bumming- I'll update again soon!!