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!