It's funny because I feel like I need to wait weeks to write to come up with interesting things to say, as most adventures happen on the weekend but according to Arianna (her first blog shout out!!) a boring weekend here for me is still better than an "exciting" weekend back home.
That being said, last weekend was pretty low key, filled with two birthday parties and a trip to a small Italian restaurant and pub along the ocean. Sunday was a day that felt a little bit more like being back home, attending the Royal Queensland Show, or Ekka. The best way to describe it was a lot like the Minnesota State Fair except not as good (because really what is?). But they did have racing and diving pigs so it almost evens out. The rest of the night we explored a bit more of the city, including city hall and watching the sun set over the river and Victoria Bridge from a ferris wheel along the riverbank.
As far as classes go, as the weather is finally rising, it's getting more difficult to motivate myself to go to classes when I could be lying on a beach just a short drive away. Finally this week we got some rain (!!!) It only lasted for about 30 minutes but I could justify sitting and having a short Netflix binge while it was going on. The only really interesting or new thing about one of my classes is that in one of my labs, there are only five students. As weird as that is to begin with, the really intriguing part is that all five of us are from different countries! It's so cool to be able to approach a subject that deals with world geography when you have inputs from America, Australia, Italy, Germany, and England.
This past weekend was spent completely isolated from the rest of the world, with no cell phone service or internet for three full days. For a class "field trip" we drove a few hours north to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world and one of the few hundred Natural World Heritage sites. To get to the island, you have to take a barge across a small bay (the 10 minute barge trip costs $110 each way per car and more with trailers and such) and drove a massive 4WD tour bus that was triple as tall as me! On the island, there are close to no paved roads so you bounce along on the beach and soft sand roads inland. The first day we visited Lake McKenzie, a freshwater lake that is crystal clear and an ocean-like aqua blue. It easily became one of my favorite lakes I've been to (except for my sacred Pike Lake obviously). Barely any of the Australians braved the "cold" water, even though it was warmer than most of our 10,000 lakes will get during the summertimes. We stayed at an almost summer camp looking compound, fenced in of course to keep the dingos out. Day two was filled with school projects which I won't bore you all with regardless of how interesting they were to my inner science nerd. That night was spent around a very homey fire, and I had the pleasure of playing story teller to a circle of Australians, mesmerized by the idea of snow close to all year, guns easily accessible to hunt animals strapped to the hood of a jacked up truck (a stereotype they were all disappointed wasn't 100% true), and the concept that a sport other than rugby or soccer could be the main athletic focus. On day three, we took a trip up 75 Mile Beach to visit the Maheno Shipwreck, which has an awesome story behind it if you're interested, and finished with a swim in Eli Creek, a freshwater stream as clear as the lake we saw days before. It was all rounded up with a few dolphin and whale sitings just off the shore. Of course when I saw them, I shot straight across the bus and had my nose pushed up against the glass while everyone else gave me weird, non-interested, this is no big deal, looks.
All in all, the weeks are filled with friends and lots of laughs, while the weekends are completed with breathtaking views and sleepless nights. I've gotten through my first spells of homesickness with the help of some amazing people and an endless amount of things to do. The weeks keep flying my and I know in a blink of an eye I'll be on a plane back to the tundra, somethings that gets more bittersweet as the weeks go on.
Also, tried kangaroo burgers and vegemite. The kangaroo is pretty tasty if you don't think about the cute fluffy creature you're eating. Vegemite on the other hand, I'll be bringing some home for you all to try but you can bet I won't be giving it a go again anytime soon.
(Sorry no new words for you all, saving them for another time!)
To all my friends back home, have fun going back to school for another year and if you're tempted to complain, just remember I've been in school for almost a month now so shut it. Hold down the fort at UND for me especially. Til next time,
Sioux yeah yeah
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