Week 13

One more week to go! This week there were some people leaving  because they were done with finals. I spent the week sleeping in because there were no classes and studying for finals and watching movies at night with Whitney. I have prepared for my only test which is on Tuesday. I went to the gym all week again but I am going to take my last week off. On Friday night we went to supper as a big group as one last time we will all see each other. I haven't started packing yet because I want to focus on my studies. I can't wait to be home. It has been fun but I there is nothing like home.

Week 12

This week I got all of my assignments turned in and it was more of  relax weekend before I start studying for my test. Whitney and I went to Brisbane for an Isagenix conference! It was great and we really learned a lot. There was a firework show that weekend show which we got to see. We also got rained on as we were wondering the city of Brisbane. We ate at the 4th best restaurant in Brisbane and we also ate at an authentic German sausage house. Aside from the eating and the outside things, the conference was really good. Natalie Cook spoke at it who is a 5 time gold medalist in beach volleyball. She was really fun. It was definitely a weekend to remember. Now it is time to start studying for my final so this week won't be much fun.

Week 11

This week I finished up the last of my schoolwork. All of my classes are done except for my final test in organizational behavior. It is going to be a tough one because I have to know 12 chapters for it. This week I went to the gym everyday. The food seems to be getting a little bit better now that the Singaporean army left. This week was the last class for Outdoor Pursuits. We went to Great Keppel Island! We took a sailboat out there. It was awesome. The boat was handmade by the sailor in his backyard. We went to two different snorkeling places and got to swim with sea turtles. We stopped on the Island and ate some food and played on the beach for a bit. It was beautiful and the water was so clear. It was a lot like what you see in all of the advertisements. The couple that took us to the island was awesome. The made us snacks and tea two different times; once in the morning and once in the afternoon! It was a blast. I got sunburn and really worn out! It was a great way to end the class. On Sunday I watched church and movies all day with Whitney. We also went to the gym to an AB Blast class! I was dying by the end. It was a good week. Only 3 more left!

Week 10

All this week I worked on a final paper for one of my classes. I finally finished it on Saturday. Now I am done with this class forever! Aside from school, the Singapore Army is here and they are starting to bug me because they take up make it hard to get through the lunch line and they take up all the internet space. It is much more difficult to get homework done now. On Friday, our outdoor pursuits class went canoeing on a river in a rain forest type area. It was fun. We saw monitor lizards which were cool. Whitney and I tipped our canoe trying to help another group and I might have lost my ipod. Then we stayed in Yepoon and went to supper. The rest of the weekend was more homework and movies.

Week 9

Last week was yet a bunch of homework. Assessment time is coming up so it has been preparation for that. One big difference here is that the assessments here are papers instead of exams. The food in the cafeteria has been slightly improving lately. Whitney and I shot baskets a few times this week and went to IGA to get groceries. Outdoor pursuits was fun this week. We did stand up paddle boarding again. I cant wait for next week because we are going canoeing on a river through a rain-forest. I am also preparing for NSU classes in the spring. I just registered yesterday. I only have 2 more papers and then a final test and I am done for the semester. I can't wait. Even though this has been a blast, I want to go home and see my family. Only about a month left!

Week 8

This week was a long one in terms of homework. I have a paper due next Thursday so I spent most of the week working on it. The good news is after this paper I only have 2 more papers 1 final test and one quiz left for the whole semester. Yesterday we had a volleyball competition. It was really fun. We had a really strong team. There was one weak link that brought our team down in the semifinals. I had an issue with my food allergies earlier in the week. The label on what kind of meat was in a casserole was wrong so I had an allergic reaction to it. Today we went to the beach. We at at our favorite place, Yogolicious. We did some suntanning and swimming. The week was finished off with watching two movies and a skype date with my family.

Week 7

Week 7 consisted of taking quizzes and researching for papers. Whitney and I played basketball a few times this week. I was getting sick of the Dining hall food so Whitney and I went to McDonald's to try that. The McDonald's here was not much better than the dining hall. This weekend consisted of watching movies, playing volleyball and going to the beach. There was a small fair on Saturday. It turned out to be nothing special. It was cold and cloudy so we went back to school for the day. On Friday, we went Stand Up Paddle Boarding for the Pursuits class. It was really fun but it was difficult to keep your balance. I fell off once. It was a fun week and next week we are going canoeing.

Week 6

This was the 6th week of school and all I did all week was work on my papers that were due. I worked out every day at the gym. I got all of the papers done and submitted. This weekend was a movie weekend. I didn't do much other than watch movies with Whitney. We went to the shopping center and bought basketballs. We shot hoops both days this weekend. Whit beat me 3 times in a row in HORSE. It rained all weekend so it was a good lazy weekend to mentally prepare for the next two weeks. For the next two weeks I will be consumed with schoolwork.

Vacation week.

This week Amelia, Carolina, Jazmin, Whitney and I went to Cairns for break. The first day we went into town and we also bought food because the resort was self catering. Whitney and I got a message. it was my first one. On Tuesday we went on our Cruise. It was a lot of fun, we went to Green island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef. We went on a glass bottom boat tour along with a semi-submarine ride. Other than that we went snorkeling. Whitney and I snorkeled more than the others because Caroling cut her hand on some coral so she had to get it tended too. Wednesday was a lazy day. We laid by the pool for a while and played card games and watch Pitch Perfect. Thursday was White Water Rafting. It was a blast. It was cold out and the water was cold. We stopped by a huge rock that people were jumping off of into the water. Amelia, Whitney and I jumped off. I did a backflip. Our guide was really cool. He made the trip fun. We were all exhausted after the adventure. On Friday we had another day by the pool for a while. The other three girls went to town. Whitney and I stayed back and cleaned and got everything ready to leave. The weather was that great during the trip but it was still a blast. The train ride was the worst part of the trip but we still made it fun!

Week Before Break

This week was another good one. I studied the first part of the week and worked hard on homework but the closer Friday got the less motivation I had. I still have two papers due August 15th. This week in outdoor pursuits we learned how to canoe. I was glad that I had Whitney as a partner because she knew how to do it because she did it before. She just directed me and told me what to do as she steered the canoe from the back seat. She is definitely a back seat driver. We had a lot of fun with that. Some of the students including Whitney and I had to leave early to get back to the school for class. Later that night we left on the train for Cairns. The train ride was still better than the plane ride to Australia despite it being two hours longer. The group that came to Cairns with me includes Whitney, Jazmine, Carolina and Amelia. When we arrived we went to the shopping center to buy food for the night. We made it to Trinity Beach by bus and went straight to the beach. Keep in mind that it was 7 p.m. Whitney and I went to the grilling area and cooked hot-dogs for everyone. We had a conflict with our train schedule and hotel reservation. We had  no place to stay last night. We all slept on the beach and took turns staying up and watching for crocodiles and anything else that could have gone wrong. We had no problems and checked into our hotel today. It is quite nice. After that we bought more food and went to the beach until supper time. Whitney and I made spaghetti for everyone to eat and ended up watching a movie before going to bed. This week is now Vacation!!

Paper Week

I worked on my papers all week. There was a lot of researching to do. That is one thing that is different than Northern. We have to write a lot of papers. There really aren't any exams. Other than school, I worked out all week again and Whitney got me to go swimming again. Which I haven't done since I was a little kid. She made me feel like a wuss because she swam 1/2 a mile more than I did. Also, the class I am in, Outdoor Pursuits, was awesome this week. We surfed and I got up and rode the wave at least a dozen times. The weekend consisted of movies and paper writing. The good thing is, we are only a week away from break. We are going to Cairns. We have two trips planned, White Water Rafting and Snorkeling Cruise.

Mt. Archer

This was a week of a lot of homework. I have a paper due next week. As students, we don't take tests or exams. Everything is a paper. Other than school, I spent the week hanging out with Whitney watching movies and doing homework with her. On Saturday, a group of us students took a hiking trip to Mt. Archer. The hike was approx. 13 km. It was intense, but we made it to the top in just under 3 hours. We had a professorial lecture with the all of the students. The food was good. We also went to church tonight.

Differences and the Weekend

This week has been a good one. I am becoming very comfortable with my classes. I have a paper due in one of my classes in 2 weeks and I am already seeing adjustments I need to make with my writing skills. I never realized that the spelling is different here. For example, "liter" is spelled as "litre" here. Also they don't use the letter z like we do in America. They use s a lot more, like "organisation". This weekend my friends and I went to Mackay. We took a bus there and stayed at a friends house. It was a blast. His family is so great and hospitable. We had a lot of fun. We went to the beach. The beach was gorgeous. There were sandbars all over the place. I didn't go swimming though because the water is full of saltwater crocodiles and sharks. We had an amazing weekend but now it is time for another week of schoolwork.

First Week of Classes

Classes began this week, which I was not very exited for. First of all I had my Organisational Behavior class. The class in itself is not to bad but it is really hard to understand my professor. He speaks with a very thick Korean accent. This class will probably be the most difficult. I am also taking Conservation in Australia. Yet again, I can't understand my professor very well. He is from China. The good thing about this one is the lower level of difficulty. My Outdoor Pursuits class didn't start this week. My Corporate Ethics class will be fin. I have a good professor who is Australian and definitely knows what he is talking about. I also have Whitney in class with me which helps. 

Other than school, we had a fun 4th of July celebration with everyone here. Friday night was a "Gender Switch" night. It was fun because of all the people who participated. I continue to meet new people everyday. One thing about being in a foreign country is you can't be shy.

The first impression

As the week comes to a close its time to reflect back on the time I have been here. First of all it has been a fun time. All of the people here are friendly. I have made many friends. I have gone to the beach a few times which is fun. Everything here is really expensive. Everyone I know is having a good time here, but having troubles with internet connection. I haven't had much culture shock or jetlag for that matter. Australia is definately the place to be.