After making myself get out of bed, which was definitely accomplishing a great feat, I grabbed a quick breakfast. While everyone else was still in bed, Shayne and one of the other girls, Stephanie, were about to hike up a hill behind our site. I decided to join them, and I am very glad I did. The view was breath taking, and I got a personal tutorial on photography, which was nice, since I’m a bit lacking in that area. I think I got some pretty good shots, maybe something portfolio worthy. We shall see.
We headed back to our site just in time to grab our bags and head out with everyone else for the day. Our first stop was at a cemetery – kind of creepy, but I might have gotten some decent artistic shots. We also stopped at a town called Blinman, where I got my much needed cappuccino and some pictures as well. We then headed towards Glass Gorge, where we had lunch. After lunch, a few played baseball with a rock for a bat. I decided that it would be best for me to watch because of my lack of hand-eye coordination.
We spent most of our day driving through the Flinders Ranges, which was beautiful. While we were driving we made a stop to learn how to take panoramic shots. They don’t seem all that difficult. I am excited to learn more! I’m not very good at taking shots at night, but I am hoping to get better. We saw a lot of kangaroos and wallabies at dusk today, and we made it back to our accommodation just in time for the sunset. By the time we made it up the hill behind our site, the sun had just passed over the horizon, but it was just as breathtaking, especially with a beer – thank goodness I grabbed it on my way out. I just need to work on my night shots.
After the sunset, we made our way back to camp, for more beers, journal work, and eventually dinner. I also tried some scotch moonshine from one of my instructors. His neighbor makes it. Nothing like broadening your horizons!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
On the road again
Continental breakfast in Australia seems to take on a whole new meaning than in America. First off, you pay for it (in this case 8$) and second off, it’s simply bread, butter, jam, cereal, coffee, and tea. Talk about some bull shit. 8$ for that… dang. After grabbing a stellar breakfast, I ran and got a cappuccino (yum… my weakness) with Kim, she’s from LA and awesome!
Then we headed towards Flinders Ranges, we’ve spent hours on the road today. Abby is my bus buddy. She’s from Nebraska and is much like me. We both work on our blogs off and on as we drive, in between our motion sickness spells.
On our trip, deeper into the Outback, we had to get rid of all of the fruit we brought because of the fruit flies. We had to toss them before we crossed the checkpoint (later I found out that the other driver with most of our fruit didn’t haha). At our first bathroom stop, our instructor, Shayne, gave us a task to walk around the fence and whoever came back first with something neat gets a chocolate bar. Only a few participate, and we (and I use we loosely because I am not included haha) came up with a dried mandarin (aka orange – they don’t call them oranges in Australia), a piece of tubing, a feather, and out other instructor, Rachel, found some plastic netting and stuck it in her hat. She won. Lesson of the day: you can all walk the same bath but see something different.
While we were continuing our journey, our instructors passed around some pictures that we were supposed to critique. It was exciting to actually be on par, even if I didn’t volunteer my ideas. Typical Rachael, just trying to get by unnoticed with a fear of being wrong.
We finally made it our accommodation a few minutes before dark. We unpacked the trailers with our luggage and our food for the week. While some started on dinner, the others (which I was a part of) worked on getting the campfire started. Peter, our Aboriginal leader, whom I’ve really started to enjoy spending time with, took over, and we were warming up in no time.
Our accommodation is ten times nicer than I was expecting. We are provided with linens, but I still slept in my sleeping bag. It’s way warmer.
After our spaghetti dinner, wish was delicious (partly because I was starving), we sat around the campfire and listen to Peter. He wrote a beautiful song. He’s so talented. Then we went around the campfire while one of the boys, Dan, played guitar, and we each had to sing about journey. Needless to say that was absolutely traumatizing. I lack any sort of musical talent, and I’m awful when it comes to any improvisation. But, I survived, as you can see. I showered shortly after and headed to bed.
Then we headed towards Flinders Ranges, we’ve spent hours on the road today. Abby is my bus buddy. She’s from Nebraska and is much like me. We both work on our blogs off and on as we drive, in between our motion sickness spells.
On our trip, deeper into the Outback, we had to get rid of all of the fruit we brought because of the fruit flies. We had to toss them before we crossed the checkpoint (later I found out that the other driver with most of our fruit didn’t haha). At our first bathroom stop, our instructor, Shayne, gave us a task to walk around the fence and whoever came back first with something neat gets a chocolate bar. Only a few participate, and we (and I use we loosely because I am not included haha) came up with a dried mandarin (aka orange – they don’t call them oranges in Australia), a piece of tubing, a feather, and out other instructor, Rachel, found some plastic netting and stuck it in her hat. She won. Lesson of the day: you can all walk the same bath but see something different.
While we were continuing our journey, our instructors passed around some pictures that we were supposed to critique. It was exciting to actually be on par, even if I didn’t volunteer my ideas. Typical Rachael, just trying to get by unnoticed with a fear of being wrong.
We finally made it our accommodation a few minutes before dark. We unpacked the trailers with our luggage and our food for the week. While some started on dinner, the others (which I was a part of) worked on getting the campfire started. Peter, our Aboriginal leader, whom I’ve really started to enjoy spending time with, took over, and we were warming up in no time.
Our accommodation is ten times nicer than I was expecting. We are provided with linens, but I still slept in my sleeping bag. It’s way warmer.
After our spaghetti dinner, wish was delicious (partly because I was starving), we sat around the campfire and listen to Peter. He wrote a beautiful song. He’s so talented. Then we went around the campfire while one of the boys, Dan, played guitar, and we each had to sing about journey. Needless to say that was absolutely traumatizing. I lack any sort of musical talent, and I’m awful when it comes to any improvisation. But, I survived, as you can see. I showered shortly after and headed to bed.
Before Broken Hill & at Broken Hill
Thursday, before we left, we spent the morning digital processing our images. AKA an overload on Photoshop and some other program that edits photos – very useful, but hard! Hopefully I will get the hang of it by the end of my trip!
A few of us decided to spend the afternoon exploring the city of Mildura and getting pictures of all of the places we frequented: Coles (the grocery store), the Brewery, Kmart, and … more haha. We headed back to the hostel to eat some dinner. After dinner, I headed out with a few other girls to find some wifi at McDonalds. We closed McDonalds out, but continued to use their wifi outside. We were going to join the rest of our group at the local nightclub, but they closed at nine. What?!
Instead we played a drinking game back at the hostel, All Hail the Governor. If you’ve never played, it was awesome – plus, we were entertained by Leslie. She was hilarious. She only had a few glasses of wine, until she was posing with her wine box and glass. Haha. Needless to say she was feeling it in the morning we when got up and left for our trip.
Another girl, Becca, woke up and her eyes were swollen. Ouch. While the rest of us got our stuff together to head out, Neil took her to the doctor (he’s our dad away from home). She caught up with us later at a park where we took a pit stop.
We made it to Broken Hill around 2:30pm, where we checked into Mario’s Place. We explored the city a bit, and then we went to an old mine to get some photos. Obviously we had to be careful around the site. One girl slid down a hill of rocks while we were there. Luckily, she only got a few scratches and bruises. I think she’s a bit stiff now. Later on I heard she forgot her wallet back at Mildura as well. I spotted her for dinner, and I will probably do so for the rest of our trip.
After the mine, we traveled to Silverton, where Mad Max 2 was filmed. Speaking of Mad Max 2, I accidentally said that Mad Max was like Deliverance… I think. It’s actually more like Waterworld. Both are excellent. I recommend them both – you all should watch them!
Okay, back on task – I got some pretty good shots of the city and of the gorgeous sunset there. When the sun had finished setting, and we could no longer take any pictures, we headed to the local pub. Neil had some of us volunteer for the “test.” You had to pay $2 and tuck the tip of a large funnel in your pants, while balancing a potato on your forehead. The bartender ran down the line with a bottle of water, pouring water down the funnel. It was hilarious. The volunteers did get a shot of beer our of the deal – and wet pants of course.
After we finished our beers, we headed back to Broken Hill, where we grabbed some dinner and hit up the hotel’s pub. I headed to bed early, and slept hard, which isn’t surprising after a beer … or two. Haha. The “palace” is supposed to haunted, which might explain the wretched dream I had!
A few of us decided to spend the afternoon exploring the city of Mildura and getting pictures of all of the places we frequented: Coles (the grocery store), the Brewery, Kmart, and … more haha. We headed back to the hostel to eat some dinner. After dinner, I headed out with a few other girls to find some wifi at McDonalds. We closed McDonalds out, but continued to use their wifi outside. We were going to join the rest of our group at the local nightclub, but they closed at nine. What?!
Instead we played a drinking game back at the hostel, All Hail the Governor. If you’ve never played, it was awesome – plus, we were entertained by Leslie. She was hilarious. She only had a few glasses of wine, until she was posing with her wine box and glass. Haha. Needless to say she was feeling it in the morning we when got up and left for our trip.
Another girl, Becca, woke up and her eyes were swollen. Ouch. While the rest of us got our stuff together to head out, Neil took her to the doctor (he’s our dad away from home). She caught up with us later at a park where we took a pit stop.
We made it to Broken Hill around 2:30pm, where we checked into Mario’s Place. We explored the city a bit, and then we went to an old mine to get some photos. Obviously we had to be careful around the site. One girl slid down a hill of rocks while we were there. Luckily, she only got a few scratches and bruises. I think she’s a bit stiff now. Later on I heard she forgot her wallet back at Mildura as well. I spotted her for dinner, and I will probably do so for the rest of our trip.
After the mine, we traveled to Silverton, where Mad Max 2 was filmed. Speaking of Mad Max 2, I accidentally said that Mad Max was like Deliverance… I think. It’s actually more like Waterworld. Both are excellent. I recommend them both – you all should watch them!
Okay, back on task – I got some pretty good shots of the city and of the gorgeous sunset there. When the sun had finished setting, and we could no longer take any pictures, we headed to the local pub. Neil had some of us volunteer for the “test.” You had to pay $2 and tuck the tip of a large funnel in your pants, while balancing a potato on your forehead. The bartender ran down the line with a bottle of water, pouring water down the funnel. It was hilarious. The volunteers did get a shot of beer our of the deal – and wet pants of course.
After we finished our beers, we headed back to Broken Hill, where we grabbed some dinner and hit up the hotel’s pub. I headed to bed early, and slept hard, which isn’t surprising after a beer … or two. Haha. The “palace” is supposed to haunted, which might explain the wretched dream I had!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Mad Max and Mungo National Park
When I left y’all the other day, we had not yet watched Mad Max, an Australian film starring Mel Gibson. If you haven’t seen it, it is quite similar to Deliverance, but it is Australian. Haha. Needless to say it was pretty good. Haha. It was made… I’m not sure when, but Mel Gibson was young, and I think it was one of his first “big hits.” After the film, we all headed back to our hostel where we cleaned up, ate, and got ready to go out for Stephanie’s twenty-first (we actually just spent the last while trying to remember all of the drinks and shots she had). We had a great time, obviously. I think we decided that she had six drinks and five shots – and we were able to remember all of the names too! I got her two, because I’m nice and was slightly intoxicated myself.
Unfortunately, Stephanie was not feeling too good in the morning when we got up to go to the Mungo National Park, specifically the China Wall. In the morning we drove about an hour and a half to the park. Our guide, Ricky (whom we called Ranger Rick haha), was an Aborigine and had a lot of incite about the land. Today we were supposed to take no more than twelve pictures on a memory card that our “supervisors” provided. I spent most of the day switching back and forth between my memory card and the one they gave me. I have learned a lot about taking photos since I’ve been here. We were told that we would be slapped silly if we were caught using any of the auto settings on our camera – thus we were taught how to use the other settings.
Going to the Mungo National Park was pretty much it for today. When we got back I made dinner and hung out. After the past few nights, tonight is an optimal chill night. Tomorrow we are going to process our select images for half of the day, and then we have rest of the day off. I will probably spend the rest of the day packing and working on my journal, which I’ve been neglecting to work on. I find it hard to write my blog and work on my journal… ugh. Friday we leave for our six-day “field trip.” We will be going to Broken Hill and Flinders Ranges. I will more than likely not be able to post again, until we get back. Hopefully Kamron will be coming up then too! Until then! I send loads of lovess!!
Unfortunately, Stephanie was not feeling too good in the morning when we got up to go to the Mungo National Park, specifically the China Wall. In the morning we drove about an hour and a half to the park. Our guide, Ricky (whom we called Ranger Rick haha), was an Aborigine and had a lot of incite about the land. Today we were supposed to take no more than twelve pictures on a memory card that our “supervisors” provided. I spent most of the day switching back and forth between my memory card and the one they gave me. I have learned a lot about taking photos since I’ve been here. We were told that we would be slapped silly if we were caught using any of the auto settings on our camera – thus we were taught how to use the other settings.
Going to the Mungo National Park was pretty much it for today. When we got back I made dinner and hung out. After the past few nights, tonight is an optimal chill night. Tomorrow we are going to process our select images for half of the day, and then we have rest of the day off. I will probably spend the rest of the day packing and working on my journal, which I’ve been neglecting to work on. I find it hard to write my blog and work on my journal… ugh. Friday we leave for our six-day “field trip.” We will be going to Broken Hill and Flinders Ranges. I will more than likely not be able to post again, until we get back. Hopefully Kamron will be coming up then too! Until then! I send loads of lovess!!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Where to begin...
So I have now completed two across the world trips... oh for the land down under. I never ever want to pack a suitcase again!! Maybe I can just learn how to pack light? Haha. I'm thinking that is never going to happen. Thus, I have packed my bag for what seems to be the millionth time, and I am now back in Australia. Welcome to the land of no worries, where the beer is plentiful. My flight from LAX to Melbourne wasn't too bad this time around. Before my flight even took off, I met up with the people from my program. They were all pretty cool, even with being exhausted! I managed to sleep for almost he entire 15 hour flight. Pretty amazing huh? I am so glad I got all of that sleep, because I definitely needed it for the following day!
Now I’ve made it to my arrival… My flight was delayed to begin with, so in addition to customs taking longer than it did the first time around, things continued to go south (no pun intended haha). The dog stopped at my bag, when I went through customs. Come to find out my nail polished had exploded in my bag, which they discovered after emptying my bag. No worries though, luckily my nail polish was in a zip lock bag! Whew. Saved – thank goodness. After making it through customs and meeting the woman who was picking us up, Prue, I tried to make a collect call home – failure, again.
We made it back to our hotel around noon, and we were given a half-hour to check into our rooms and clean up. We then met Jeff and another woman (but I cannot remember her name), but she is not all that important to my journey. Haha. She’s just the person in charge of the study abroad students at La Trobe University. Jeff and Prue are the ones that take us to where we need to be, and show us around.
Now that you’ve “met” just about everyone, I can continue. We met up after our half-hour, and got an introduction to Australia, so to speak, and what we were going to be doing for the day. Our day began with a walk through of Melbourne’s CBD (city business district), where we went to an Aborigines art museum and the Australian centre for the moving image (acmi). The ACMI is essentially just videos. I don’t get it, but is supposedly an Australian thing. The exhibit is only for June and July this year, so I am privileged to be privy to such excellence! After looking at the art we picked up snacks to hold us over until dinner. We actually went down the same street that Kamron, Penn, and I ate at, at my last night here – making me miss everyone from that trip even more (I will let y’all in on a little secret – I will see them soon)! Grabbing some chips (which is what they call fries), from Grill’d Healthy Burgers hit the spot. Next we went on the circle tram around the city – it was free. Oh yes, I’ve remembered something important! When we were getting “introduced” to Australia when we first arrived, they said that we MUST (absolutely, MUST) pay to ride the tram. HA! I laugh in the face of danger (what move?! Hehe).
Okay. Back on topic! Rambling Rachael fits me! So the circle tram… It was packed!! We head to let a few go by before the twenty of us could even get on, and then once we actually made it on, a million people got on a few stops later. The doors almost didn’t shut! I got to see about ten people almost face plant into the floor of the tram. And I also forgot to mention that we went to an ally filled with graffiti. They give the people of the city an ally for graffiti, which I thought was kind of cool. It’s a neat way to keep the graffiti at bay in the city. When we walked down the ally there were actually a few guys spray painting the wall!!
We eventually made it back to the hotel, where we were given about an hour to freshen up. I bought an Internet username and password, because I had yet to have the opportunity to contact home. Let me just tell you how expensive it was… 3$ for thirty consecutive minutes! FML. So I contacted home and messaged Kamron, so that we could somehow arrange to meet up during my one night stay in Melbourne. Unfortunately Kamron had to work, so we were going to have to play it by ear. I messaged him (he had already left for work), and I gave him directions to get to my hotel.
Dinner came, FINALLY. I was more than ready for some food. We walked around the block to the stellar Italian restaurant. I got mushroom orzo. Delish. I am falling in love with orzo. By this point in the night Jeff was getting a bit… well tipsy or domisvitch in Austrian!! He was a hoot. He is an older guy, and to give you a visual image of him, he wore a dress jacket, dress pants, and tennis shoes! Haha. What a champ!
Then we were given the chance to either go back to the hotel with Prue or got to a pub, James Squire. Of course I chose the pub – for two reasons: 1) who would pass up an option to drink, you can catch up on sleep from jet lag when you’re dead and 2) I needed anything to keep myself busy until Kamron got off of work. After a drink or two, a few of the students went back to the hotel, and the remainder of us picked up a game of pool – girls v. boys. We lost. Oh well. Then we decided to head back, where I had to entertain myself. I decided to read as my roommate went to bed, in order to keep myself wake until Kamron got off of work.
I bought (which I didn’t actually have to buy, because I only had a fifty and the hotel attendant didn’t make me pay) an Internet card to get in touch with Kamron when I knew he would be off work. Kamron and I were finally able to get together. He got off at 10, got back to his room by 10:30, and left to see me shortly after. When he got there at 11:30 (mind you I have not slept in… well a very long time and then there is jetlag), we went out for beer. I decided to run back to the hotel, and spend the night with Kamron. I was a good roomie, and I left a note.
When Kamron and I got to his apartment, I got to see Josef and Penn!! Harry was asleep, so oh well! It was so good to see everyone again – and especially Kamron, of course! Kamron and I are working on him coming up to Mildura before he flies back to the States. The timing worked out kind of perfectly. I will be getting back from our weeklong field trip the same day he will be getting back from Sydney, so maybeee time is on our sides!
In the morning, Kamron went back with me to the city, and we grabbed breakfast and a coffee. YUM! Parting is such great sorrows… Kamron walked me back to my hotel, and I made it back to my room to check out. I didn’t realize that Kamron still had my kindle, so unfortunately I will not be able to read any of the cool books I downloaded. Excellent.
After checking out we started our journey from Melbourne to Mildura. It was a long ride, and I was naturally tired. I didn’t sleep on the ride though, because I wanted to be able to sleep through the night. On our trip we made a few stops: Castlemaine and Beechworth Bakery in Bendigo. We ate lunch at the bakery, and I had my first meat pie – steak and potato pie. It tasted a lot like shepherds pie, which made me think of Meredith’s dining hall. Haha. What a place to think of while you are in a different country. We checked into our hostel later that night, and a bunch of us made a run to the grocery store, because we were starving by the time we rolled into town. We picked up some things for dinner, and some things to pack a lunch for the next day. It’s wayyyy cheaper to pack a lunch to eat on campus, than to go out.
I hit the sheets early that night, because I was exhausted from being a rebel the night before! I actually slept through most of the night, and we didn’t have to be ready until 9am, so I slept pretty good considering. We got up and left for a tour of the city with Jeff. He took us around the Murray River, which separates Victoria (which is where Mildura is) and New South Wales. We then made it to the Homestead, and I am not to sure what that is. I wasn’t paying attention, go figure. Haha. After that we headed to the University, where Neil gave us a break down of out itinerary – I looveeee knowing what we are doing – the compulsive side of me coming out!
After that, we went over the requirements of the course, and we got our journals. We are required to keep a journal during our stay. It is really cool. It’s all about getting the creative juices flowing! There are no rules, except do it! I am pretty excited about it, but I am worried about doing that and keeping a blog. We will see how it goes.
Next we headed back to our hostel, and got ready for our formal dinner at Stephanos. It had to be five star! We also got to try his wine and beer. Of course, I was like sign me up! It was free, and we were planning on going out afterwards, which wouldn’t be free. Thus, I was pre-gaming in a sense. During dinner we introduced ourselves, and listened to a few speakers. As they were speaking, I realized that I had no idea what they were talking about, because I hadn’t been listening. HAHA. I blame it on the alcohol.
At least I listen when it is important. I have been listening to all of my lectures today, which is a good thing because I know nothing about photography. I’ve learned more about a camera in the past few hours, than I’ve known from an entire lifetime of being a tourist photo shooter! I’ve also learned a lot about how to process images too! Very exciting!
After dinner, we went to a local pub, where I got a few beers with some of the students and some of the professors. How cool is it that we get to go out with our professors?! Awesome. The. End.
Well, time is of the essence, and I am finally caught up on this blog. We are at lunch right now, and it is almost over! EEK! I do not have Internet at the hostel, so the only time I can get on the internet is at the university, and it’s only for a little bit. Usually I get time during lunch, so bare with me. It may take me forever to keep y’all posted. We go to the Mungo National Park tomorrow, so stay tuned!
I send loads of loveeee!
Now I’ve made it to my arrival… My flight was delayed to begin with, so in addition to customs taking longer than it did the first time around, things continued to go south (no pun intended haha). The dog stopped at my bag, when I went through customs. Come to find out my nail polished had exploded in my bag, which they discovered after emptying my bag. No worries though, luckily my nail polish was in a zip lock bag! Whew. Saved – thank goodness. After making it through customs and meeting the woman who was picking us up, Prue, I tried to make a collect call home – failure, again.
We made it back to our hotel around noon, and we were given a half-hour to check into our rooms and clean up. We then met Jeff and another woman (but I cannot remember her name), but she is not all that important to my journey. Haha. She’s just the person in charge of the study abroad students at La Trobe University. Jeff and Prue are the ones that take us to where we need to be, and show us around.
Now that you’ve “met” just about everyone, I can continue. We met up after our half-hour, and got an introduction to Australia, so to speak, and what we were going to be doing for the day. Our day began with a walk through of Melbourne’s CBD (city business district), where we went to an Aborigines art museum and the Australian centre for the moving image (acmi). The ACMI is essentially just videos. I don’t get it, but is supposedly an Australian thing. The exhibit is only for June and July this year, so I am privileged to be privy to such excellence! After looking at the art we picked up snacks to hold us over until dinner. We actually went down the same street that Kamron, Penn, and I ate at, at my last night here – making me miss everyone from that trip even more (I will let y’all in on a little secret – I will see them soon)! Grabbing some chips (which is what they call fries), from Grill’d Healthy Burgers hit the spot. Next we went on the circle tram around the city – it was free. Oh yes, I’ve remembered something important! When we were getting “introduced” to Australia when we first arrived, they said that we MUST (absolutely, MUST) pay to ride the tram. HA! I laugh in the face of danger (what move?! Hehe).
Okay. Back on topic! Rambling Rachael fits me! So the circle tram… It was packed!! We head to let a few go by before the twenty of us could even get on, and then once we actually made it on, a million people got on a few stops later. The doors almost didn’t shut! I got to see about ten people almost face plant into the floor of the tram. And I also forgot to mention that we went to an ally filled with graffiti. They give the people of the city an ally for graffiti, which I thought was kind of cool. It’s a neat way to keep the graffiti at bay in the city. When we walked down the ally there were actually a few guys spray painting the wall!!
We eventually made it back to the hotel, where we were given about an hour to freshen up. I bought an Internet username and password, because I had yet to have the opportunity to contact home. Let me just tell you how expensive it was… 3$ for thirty consecutive minutes! FML. So I contacted home and messaged Kamron, so that we could somehow arrange to meet up during my one night stay in Melbourne. Unfortunately Kamron had to work, so we were going to have to play it by ear. I messaged him (he had already left for work), and I gave him directions to get to my hotel.
Dinner came, FINALLY. I was more than ready for some food. We walked around the block to the stellar Italian restaurant. I got mushroom orzo. Delish. I am falling in love with orzo. By this point in the night Jeff was getting a bit… well tipsy or domisvitch in Austrian!! He was a hoot. He is an older guy, and to give you a visual image of him, he wore a dress jacket, dress pants, and tennis shoes! Haha. What a champ!
Then we were given the chance to either go back to the hotel with Prue or got to a pub, James Squire. Of course I chose the pub – for two reasons: 1) who would pass up an option to drink, you can catch up on sleep from jet lag when you’re dead and 2) I needed anything to keep myself busy until Kamron got off of work. After a drink or two, a few of the students went back to the hotel, and the remainder of us picked up a game of pool – girls v. boys. We lost. Oh well. Then we decided to head back, where I had to entertain myself. I decided to read as my roommate went to bed, in order to keep myself wake until Kamron got off of work.
I bought (which I didn’t actually have to buy, because I only had a fifty and the hotel attendant didn’t make me pay) an Internet card to get in touch with Kamron when I knew he would be off work. Kamron and I were finally able to get together. He got off at 10, got back to his room by 10:30, and left to see me shortly after. When he got there at 11:30 (mind you I have not slept in… well a very long time and then there is jetlag), we went out for beer. I decided to run back to the hotel, and spend the night with Kamron. I was a good roomie, and I left a note.
When Kamron and I got to his apartment, I got to see Josef and Penn!! Harry was asleep, so oh well! It was so good to see everyone again – and especially Kamron, of course! Kamron and I are working on him coming up to Mildura before he flies back to the States. The timing worked out kind of perfectly. I will be getting back from our weeklong field trip the same day he will be getting back from Sydney, so maybeee time is on our sides!
In the morning, Kamron went back with me to the city, and we grabbed breakfast and a coffee. YUM! Parting is such great sorrows… Kamron walked me back to my hotel, and I made it back to my room to check out. I didn’t realize that Kamron still had my kindle, so unfortunately I will not be able to read any of the cool books I downloaded. Excellent.
After checking out we started our journey from Melbourne to Mildura. It was a long ride, and I was naturally tired. I didn’t sleep on the ride though, because I wanted to be able to sleep through the night. On our trip we made a few stops: Castlemaine and Beechworth Bakery in Bendigo. We ate lunch at the bakery, and I had my first meat pie – steak and potato pie. It tasted a lot like shepherds pie, which made me think of Meredith’s dining hall. Haha. What a place to think of while you are in a different country. We checked into our hostel later that night, and a bunch of us made a run to the grocery store, because we were starving by the time we rolled into town. We picked up some things for dinner, and some things to pack a lunch for the next day. It’s wayyyy cheaper to pack a lunch to eat on campus, than to go out.
I hit the sheets early that night, because I was exhausted from being a rebel the night before! I actually slept through most of the night, and we didn’t have to be ready until 9am, so I slept pretty good considering. We got up and left for a tour of the city with Jeff. He took us around the Murray River, which separates Victoria (which is where Mildura is) and New South Wales. We then made it to the Homestead, and I am not to sure what that is. I wasn’t paying attention, go figure. Haha. After that we headed to the University, where Neil gave us a break down of out itinerary – I looveeee knowing what we are doing – the compulsive side of me coming out!
After that, we went over the requirements of the course, and we got our journals. We are required to keep a journal during our stay. It is really cool. It’s all about getting the creative juices flowing! There are no rules, except do it! I am pretty excited about it, but I am worried about doing that and keeping a blog. We will see how it goes.
Next we headed back to our hostel, and got ready for our formal dinner at Stephanos. It had to be five star! We also got to try his wine and beer. Of course, I was like sign me up! It was free, and we were planning on going out afterwards, which wouldn’t be free. Thus, I was pre-gaming in a sense. During dinner we introduced ourselves, and listened to a few speakers. As they were speaking, I realized that I had no idea what they were talking about, because I hadn’t been listening. HAHA. I blame it on the alcohol.
At least I listen when it is important. I have been listening to all of my lectures today, which is a good thing because I know nothing about photography. I’ve learned more about a camera in the past few hours, than I’ve known from an entire lifetime of being a tourist photo shooter! I’ve also learned a lot about how to process images too! Very exciting!
After dinner, we went to a local pub, where I got a few beers with some of the students and some of the professors. How cool is it that we get to go out with our professors?! Awesome. The. End.
Well, time is of the essence, and I am finally caught up on this blog. We are at lunch right now, and it is almost over! EEK! I do not have Internet at the hostel, so the only time I can get on the internet is at the university, and it’s only for a little bit. Usually I get time during lunch, so bare with me. It may take me forever to keep y’all posted. We go to the Mungo National Park tomorrow, so stay tuned!
I send loads of loveeee!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Apologies in advance
Okay, so I did write up everything from my travels (the last week or so in Australia, and my trip back), but I did them in a Word document. I wasn't able to get on the internet while I was typing them up, so I had to wait to post them. Thus, I am apolgizing in advance for the ten million posts that I have just posted. I decided to brake them up so that they might be slightly more organized. I hope their aren't too many errors. Enjoy!
Twenty-four plus
I’ve decided that when you spend more than twenty-four hours in transit, everything becomes a bit hazy and your memories are nothing but a blur. I have never had so much caffeine in my life to make sure that I stayed awake in an attempt to avoid jetlag. I felt like I was cramming for my abstract algebra exam all over again.
My travels didn’t particularly start off on the right foot. The wait began as soon as I arrived at the airport. Luckily Kamron was able to join me for the first sector of waiting. It began with actually checking in. There was a forever long line, but good news, everyone – both of my bags were UNDER the required wait… awesome! Kamron did run and get cappuccinos for the wait, so it wasn’t a total drag. After making it through check in, Kamron and I hung out for a bit, and I filled out my customs form. It was a good thing I left when I did because customs getting in to Australia were just as bad as leaving. I was almost certain that I was going to miss my flight. No worries though, I didn’t miss it!
I sat in the dead last row of the aircraft, but I had an aisle seat this time. Thank goodness! The people I sat next to were awesome as well. They were both Australian, and they had both just turned twenty-one (they were excited about being of legal age in the US). I spent most of my flight reading, and watching movies – nothing all that exciting. Alas, I do have a funny story to tell y’all. First off, crazy people just seem to be magnetically attracted to me. After we had dinner, we got ice cream (well, it said ice cream on the menu – I was super excited… it was a sorbet bar – not the same). Of course we opened it up as soon as we got it, and I want you to just picture what happened. I will give your imagination a second to conjure up some ideas… You may have guessed it, but the girl who sat next to me got her tongue stuck to the bar!!! HAHA! I tried so hard not to pee my pants. Some of the flight attendants came to the back of the plane to help her. She ended up pouring water on her tongue and the bar to get her tongue detached. I couldn’t help but laugh!!! I think the flight attendant thought I was evil, but the girl was laughing too, so no worries!
Other than that I cannot think of anything too exciting from that long "A" flight! I did almost miss my next flight because customs took two hours. Luckily I wasn’t bringing anything crazy back, or it could have been worse. After I made my way through customs (and being asked to switch lines at least ten times), I had to drop my bags off for my connecting flight. The lady told me that she wasn’t sure that my baggage would make it on the flight, and I was like ohh goodie! Again, no worries. I did make my flight just in time, and I saw my luggage being taken off of the plane while I was waiting to get off myself.
After yet another set back (a delay added on to my three hour layover from Dallas to RDU), I finally made it home! I accomplished a great feat by not sleeping unless it was night time in Raleigh. Of course I was a bit exhausted when I got home, but it was worth it in an attempt to avoid jet lag. I am going to try and continue my blog when I go back to Australia (in less than a week, whew)! I fly out Thursday, so I probably will not post until after then!
Thanks for all of my die hard followers - or even followers who are not die hard. Hehe. I have also updated my shutterfly page with all of the remaining pictures that I have! I am hoping to get some more from Kamron, because sometimes we just used his camera, so we didn't have to worry about lugging around two. I am not sure when I will get those up, probably not until towards the end of the summer.
My travels didn’t particularly start off on the right foot. The wait began as soon as I arrived at the airport. Luckily Kamron was able to join me for the first sector of waiting. It began with actually checking in. There was a forever long line, but good news, everyone – both of my bags were UNDER the required wait… awesome! Kamron did run and get cappuccinos for the wait, so it wasn’t a total drag. After making it through check in, Kamron and I hung out for a bit, and I filled out my customs form. It was a good thing I left when I did because customs getting in to Australia were just as bad as leaving. I was almost certain that I was going to miss my flight. No worries though, I didn’t miss it!
I sat in the dead last row of the aircraft, but I had an aisle seat this time. Thank goodness! The people I sat next to were awesome as well. They were both Australian, and they had both just turned twenty-one (they were excited about being of legal age in the US). I spent most of my flight reading, and watching movies – nothing all that exciting. Alas, I do have a funny story to tell y’all. First off, crazy people just seem to be magnetically attracted to me. After we had dinner, we got ice cream (well, it said ice cream on the menu – I was super excited… it was a sorbet bar – not the same). Of course we opened it up as soon as we got it, and I want you to just picture what happened. I will give your imagination a second to conjure up some ideas… You may have guessed it, but the girl who sat next to me got her tongue stuck to the bar!!! HAHA! I tried so hard not to pee my pants. Some of the flight attendants came to the back of the plane to help her. She ended up pouring water on her tongue and the bar to get her tongue detached. I couldn’t help but laugh!!! I think the flight attendant thought I was evil, but the girl was laughing too, so no worries!
Other than that I cannot think of anything too exciting from that long "A" flight! I did almost miss my next flight because customs took two hours. Luckily I wasn’t bringing anything crazy back, or it could have been worse. After I made my way through customs (and being asked to switch lines at least ten times), I had to drop my bags off for my connecting flight. The lady told me that she wasn’t sure that my baggage would make it on the flight, and I was like ohh goodie! Again, no worries. I did make my flight just in time, and I saw my luggage being taken off of the plane while I was waiting to get off myself.
After yet another set back (a delay added on to my three hour layover from Dallas to RDU), I finally made it home! I accomplished a great feat by not sleeping unless it was night time in Raleigh. Of course I was a bit exhausted when I got home, but it was worth it in an attempt to avoid jet lag. I am going to try and continue my blog when I go back to Australia (in less than a week, whew)! I fly out Thursday, so I probably will not post until after then!
Thanks for all of my die hard followers - or even followers who are not die hard. Hehe. I have also updated my shutterfly page with all of the remaining pictures that I have! I am hoping to get some more from Kamron, because sometimes we just used his camera, so we didn't have to worry about lugging around two. I am not sure when I will get those up, probably not until towards the end of the summer.
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