VanCity Livin'

This post is huge.
Okay, I guess I'm overdue for a nice-sized post.

So O-week is over, and classes have officially started. (Wow I'm behind!) I am taking Art (Printmaking and Drawing), Australian Experiences History, and Advanced Developmental Psychology. I think it'll do a good job of keeping me busy, even though I do only have class three days a week. I had my art class yesterday, and I think it'll be pretty cool. I hope I don't run out of creative juice though. :) The only thing I really didn't like about yesterday was that it rained hardcore for the first time since I've been in Australia. My friends and I decided the weather was sad we had to go back to school. I wasn't dressed for it to be rainy and 'cold' (65 degrees) so I was a little uncomfortable for the day. I only have class Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so it's nice to have a little break in there, and then a long weekend. It'll make it easier for me to travel in the long run.

Speaking of travel, my parents will be visiting in about 3 weeks! And before that, my friend(s) are coming down from Lismore to visit for a weekend! I'm so excited to have visitors. It'll make me really happy. I'm excited to see people from home. (Even though I live with people from home, it'll be nice to have a little change of pace- plus I can show them around!) My parents will fly into Sydney, and then I'll train it down to see them for a weekend (and we'll visit Newcastle in there somewhere so they can see my place.) Then they fly to New Zealand for 4 days while I attend class, and then when they return, we all fly to Adelaide to see Kangaroo Island, which will be really cool! I'm excited. Then- it's back to Sydney, where I depart for school again and they jet off to Cairns. Then again, back to Sydney, and from there, they head home and I return yet again to school- just in time for Spring Break. Not sure what I'm doing for that yet but I might have some ideas. :)

Anyways, I'll get back to talking about the past week. We went on our excursion on Saturday which was really really fun. We started off the morning with a dolphin cruise- which I loved of course. We got to see dolphins surfing in the wake of our boat- just having a grand old time.

Surfing away!

We also saw a sea turtle, which was something else. Really majestic.

Turtle! Greatest picture ever!

I'm still trying to figure out what type is was. Then after our animal spectating portion of the cruise, the boat crew let down a boom net at the back of the boat, and let us sit in it while they cruised along. Really cool. I want to live life like that everyday. :)

Boom Net!

Then, after all our adventures on the water, we docked back at Port Stephens and had lunch. Then we all boarded our large coach buses (I was on the only awesome double decker, and yea, I sat in the front on the top- felt like flying!) and headed to the Oakvale Farm and Fauna World. There, we got to see all sorts of native Australian species, among other things. I pet a Koala, and fed a Kangaroo. Needless to say, it was a really good day, albeit exhausting.

Happy Moment!

I think it looks like I'm going to Homecoming or Prom with a Koala. :)

OH and I almost forgot, due to the earthquake in Chile, we were under tsunami warning. Talk about exciting. When you're used to living in the Midwest of the United States, not many people can say they've been under a tsunami warning at any point in their life. Yea, we're used to tornado warnings and thunderstorm warnings. Whoop-dee-doo. It was really exciting, needless to say, and I wasn't ever really scared of it. You remember that giant hill I live at the bottom of? Yea, pretty sure I can run up that to save my life if any giant waves come my way. Plus I'm also a ten minute walk from the beach, so I think I'd have time to get away. It was nice to know that everyone back home was concerned though. I'm glad you guys still think of me. :) But alas, nothing happened. We saw no tsunami. I think the only thing we ever got was a one or two-meter high wave... which is barely anything at all. Thanks be to New Zealand, who was conveniently in our way. :) It was really cool nonetheless. It's a story I'll tell for awhile to come.

Now, I'm currently sitting at the student hub, where internet is free, and I'm never NOT surrounded by people. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of my day, but I think I'll clean my room up and try to get organized for class tomorrow. I slept in really late today. I think I went to bed at around 1 or 1:30 (a bunch of us were watching a movie) and woke up at noon. That never happens, so I guess I need to consistently get my 8 hours- my body is sending me a message.

Tim Tam update: I have worked my way through 3 flavors of Tim Tams now: Double-coated, Dark Chocolate, and Caramel. So far, Caramel is the front-runner, followed by Dark, and then Double-coated. Next up is Cookies and Cream. Looking forward to that one.

Anyways, I miss everyone from home, and I'm trying to do a good job of keeping in touch with everyone. Since I don't have classes on Tuesdays, around dinnertime on Monday your time would be a good time to Skype me, as I probably won't be doing much. :) I love hearing updates from home, and I'm really sad I have to miss birthdays and family gatherings and such. (Bailey Boo, I know your birthday is coming up- I'm sorry I can't be there!) :(

I hope all is well at home. If you see my dog, hug him.
And for Pete's sakes, keep me updated! :)
Love you guys.