Alligator Creek!

I start classes on Monday here and I'm pretty excited for that. This week has been orientation week and it has been really wild and fun, but I think things are gonna die down when classes start. My classes are Tourism and the Environment, Anthropology of violence, Tourism management, and Pacific and Australian Exploration. I'm really looking forward to the Tourism and the environment class. I think that will be a good one. I'm also looking forward to the Pacific and Australian Exploration class, I think that will be really interesting.

Yesterday I went to a place called alligator creek, and it was amazing! It's a lot like the river back at home with the jump spot called Big Tit and the areas by lake Natoma. I'll attach some pictures because it was really great. I did however learn again how brutal the sun is, because I applied and reapplied sunscreen but still got kinda burnt on my shoulders. I will just have to be really conscious of that. That is defenitely one thing that I miss about home is the sun. I like to be able to go outside and enjoy the sun. Here, I'm almost kind of afraid of it. But hopefully that is something that I will get more used to.




Last night was the last night of our orientation and it was pretty fun. We had a little shindig in our dorm's dining hall and had beer and music so it was a pretty good time. And at the end of the party all the freshers got together for a picture and the fossils(upper classmen) poured water and flour all over us. I knew about it before hand so I stayed out of the firing area but it was fun to watch.

I'm here

Well I made it to Townsville where I will be living for the next year. I like it a lot here and my dorm room is pretty nice. I got here a few days ago, and before that I was in Cairns for 3 days. While there, I went to a rainforest park where we got to throw a boomerang, watch an aboriginal didgeridoo show, and also got to pet some kangaroos and hold a koala. We also took a ride through the rainforest on an amphibious truck, so we went into the water and it became a boat. This place was really great and it was probably my favorite part of our program introduction.

The next day we took a catamaran out to the Great Barrier Reef where we did some snorkeling. the ride out there was great, and I saw a lot of cool marine life. A lot of the people we were with got pretty sunburnt since there is no ozone layer over most of Australia. It's a lot different than back at home where you'll be okay to go out in the sun. Here, you are guaranteed to get burnt if you stay out for too long without sunscreen, meaning about 30-45 minutes of sun exposure.

We took a bus from Cairns to Townsville the next day, and were lucky that the road in between them cleared up from the recent flooding that they have been having. Townville is also pretty much rainforest so when it rains here, it dumps with lightning. I like it.

Here in Townsville, I have met SO many people that I have become pretty good friends with. Most of them are Americans from the midwest and east coast, but I have also became friends with some Aussies that are alot of fun. And I'll tell you that they drink like Aussies, the stereotype is 100% true that they are wild drinkers, but they are really great. I have orientation week this whole week and there is a lot of activities going on, so I am pretty excited about that.

2 Days until I leave!

Well it's Thursday, Feb 5th, and I leave Saturday. I'm getting pretty excited and starting to pack. I got my surfboard bag and my Hennessy Hammock in the mail the other day. I set it up and it seems pretty good. I'll use it whenever I go camping Down Unda!