Sunday Lunch

So today after church Missy and I went over to Bev and Tony's house for lunch. We met one of their daughters, Alice. We went on a stroll around their neighborhood with her and just chatted. It was a gorgeous day! We learned all about her life in Australia, the cool places we need to go while we are here, and religion in Australia. (Apparently one of the must see places is a little town to the west of us where the hippy movement in Australia was started). It was interesting to learn that religion isn't as big here as it is back home. She says it's just not a part of people's lifestyle here which is sad. People are shocked that Missy and I go to church every Sunday while we are here.

But at lunch we were very pleased to find out that Lutherans in Australia also say "Come Lord Jesus" before each meal. Aww how cool is that. It's said all over the world!

It was exciting to eat a meal at the home of an Australian family. We learned so much today. For lunch we had "salad rolls." They are basically a big bread roll with turkey, ham, lettuce, tomato, onion, carrots, cucumbers, mayo, and beets (if you choose to put them on...Missy and I did not...). It was delicious. Bev also insisted that we must come back for a proper Australian dinner. And we will learn to make Lamingtons and Pavlova which are two authentic Australian desserts....yum! I've also found it interesting that tea is so popular here to serve after meals or after church. And everyone drinks it with milk and sugar...something I'm not used to.

The conversation over lunch was so interesting as we were questioning each other about the differences between each others cultures. They found it amusing that Missy and I had last names that didn't sound quite so American to them....Beste and Lachiver (German and French...hmm). It has been so nice to get to interact more with Australians instead of the Americans we meet at school. It makes me much happier to be here.

How You Going?

Today after my last class I decided to treat myself to a steaming cup of hot chocolate from Juicy Bits. And as I stepped up to the counter I was greeted with "hey there! how you going?" by a sincere and smiling fellow. Once again I am in awe of just how friendly the Aussies are. He then proceeded to ask me how my day had been and how my classes were. After all that I then ordered my hot chocolate. It was so refreshing after my long day to meet such a genuine and friendly person. Being here has caused me to appreciate the little things. I have also seen how it is so important to brighten anyone and everyone's day that you may encounter. Why must we in America always be in such a rush that we can't give people the time of day for just a smile or a simple hello sometimes? Is it really that hard?

Surf Lifestyle

This weekend was spent embracing the Australian surf lifestyle to the fullest. Literally. We weren't quite sure what to expect for the trip this weekend. The info was quite vague. We were picked up from Bond Uni by a pretty fancy looking bus.


We soon realized that the 1 and 1/2 hour trip we were expecting was actually going to be 5 hours! (half way to Sydney!) Whoa. And one of the surf instructors started off the bus ride by having everyone on the bus introduce themselves with their name, where they're from, and...their turn ons and turn offs. We were wondering what kind of trip we signed up for...and it would only get more interesting as the weekend went on.


Saturday morning we woke up at 8, had breakfast (canadian bacon and beans....but luckily they had cereal too), and at 9 headed off to our first lesson. We were fortunate enough to get the two less sketchy instructors, Jimmy and Rob, who were actually pretty cool and very helpful. The other 2 instructors, Dan and Shannon....a little more on the crude/crass side I would say. After quite a tiring morning Missy, Lauren, and I spent a couple hours laying out on the beach. At 3 we had another lesson. This one did not go as great for me. The rip tide was exceptionally strong, and I just couldn't do as well as before. It was a bit frustrating.


But then after our lesson, the night got a lot more interesting. The Australian surfers are more open and have fewer inhibitions than most people we soon found out. As we were lining up for dinner they all came out in very scandalous cross dressing outfits. Throughout the entire day most things that came out of their mouth were very inappropriate things to say to women. Some even pretty offensive at times. They were just very crude. At dinner when they were all dressed up in their outfits some things weren't covered and there was alot of flashing of things going on. It was bizarre. And they were quite proud of it too and overly friendly. We all just kept looking at each other like is this really happening?! These people are crazy! These surfers live quite a different lifestyle then the rest of us we found out. But we did listen to a lot of Jack Johnson throughout the weekend which was pretty sweet.



On Saturday we had our last surf lesson in the morning which went really well for me. I stood up everytime. I felt like I accomplished alot this weekend. After leaving the surf camp we stopped in the town of Byron Bay on our way back. Missy, Lauren, Kerry, Courtney, and I all decided to rent bikes and ride up to the Byron Bay Lighthouse which was on the most eastern part of Australia. We finally made it up there... after a few wrong turns. The whole way up we did hear some thunder in the distance, but it started to pour just as we reached the top. So the entire way back down we had to ride in the storm, and of couse we were soaked! It was quite an adventure, and we had the best time! We finished our adventure with dinner eating burgers and chips (fries)! It was a fabulous day :)

School has finally started

I felt that I would never start class. But I have just finished my first week which has been great. It's alot different from Clemson for sure. The classes are a lot smaller, and the teachers are very interested in getting to know each and everyone of their students. But we have each class once a week for lecture, and then we meet with a group from our class with about 10-12 students for a tutorial once a week. The tutorials are nice because I feel like I will actually get to know people in my class pretty well.

So this semester I am taking Public Speaking, because I have been putting it off at Clemson. (and it's required for my major). But I am actually really excited about taking it. The teacher is really energetic and makes the class fun. It's not scary at all. I think I'm going to really enjoy it. Apparently Bond is well known for their public speaking program and it has received alot of awards and recognition internationally....good choice right.

I am also taking Families, Groups, and Communities in the Health Science department. The class (lecture part) only has 7 people in it!! Crazy!! I didn't even have a class in high school THAT small. But it should be ok. I'm not too excited about it. It seems kind of boring.

Next I am taking Australian Popular Culture. It's a fairly large class. But I am excited to learn all about Australia and the people and the way they do things. I think it will be interesting. Except each week after our 1 hour lecture we have to watch a movie...I hope I can stay awake!

And last but not least, I am taking Australian Sport in the Modern Era. This is going to be my favorite class. There are about 25 of us in the class, and it's organized as more of a discussion class than a lecture. The teacher is really enthusiastic about teaching us all about what Australia has to offer as far as sports and even with anything else we are curious about. During the semester he says he wants to take us on a field trip to a sporting event!! I'm really excited about that. And he also wants us all to go to a pub together and have a beer and watch a game sometime. How fun is that!

Starting class has been good for me. So we'll see how the rest of the semester goes. Oh and I only have class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Ahhh 4 day weekends....AGAIN!!!! so excellent!!!!

Australian Lutherans

Today Missy and I went to church at an Australian Lutheran church. And it was so much like our Missouri synod churches back home. How nice! It was so refreshing. The people were super friendly and welcoming. Many of them offering us rides to church on Sunday. And one family even invited us out to their house for a BBQ! It made us so happy. We also met our first Aussie that goes to Bond at church this morning. She was so nice! This has made me feel alot better about being here. I feel more settled. The people at church were enthralled with Americans in general. They also viewed the American culture as being a self-focused group of people who do not learn much about the world around them. Which is true I guess for some people. But we reassured them that not everyone is like that. But overall everything about Americans is very positive, and the Aussies are always very happy to meet Americans.

The food here is pretty similar to the states. Except for the dairy we have decided. The ice cream has a funny taste...soo disappointing. And cheese doesn't taste the same either. Also a big let down because I love cheese! But one thing I do love about Aussie food is the Tim-Tams!!!!!!!! They are chocolate covered bikkis (biscuits which mean cookies). They are divine! And apparently in Australia grape jelly does not exist. We have looked everywhere for it, and it is no where to be found. But they do have just about every other kind you could imagine (even some fruits that I have never even heard of). Another interesting thing about Australia is that the only toothpaste they sell here is......Colgate. NO CREST OMG! So I had to buy Colgate...ugh.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I'm kinda nervous, but still very excited to finally start and meet some more Aussies. I just found Bond's blackboard tonight, and reading through the syllabi is stressing me a bit. But I just have to keep reminding myself.....pass/fail....pass/fail....pass/fail. No grades. Thank you Clemson. Apparently not everyone's school does that...geez.

The other day at the Beach BBQ Missy and I met a girl who is also a PT major like me! So exciting! And she is just like me and Missy, same values and stuff. It was such a relief to meet her. We love her! She's so sweet! And shes's from St. Louis.....go figure. Crazy...

Cheers mates!

PICTURES!

me and my apartment building











Bond Uni!








the arch building at Bond Uni








the view from our apartment of Gold Coast

I have arrived down under!

After many hours of traveling...about 24 to be exact I have made it here. It was long and tiring. And jet lag has caught up to me. ugh. Not fun. The 14 hour flight from LA to Brisbane wasn't too terrible. I had dinner and breakfast on the flight. I slept for 8 hours, and then I watched 2 movies...Get Smart and Sex and the City. Both excellent :)

Going through customs was a breeze. No problems. I found my luggage quickly. I then waited for my shuttle to my apartment for about 45 minutes. And it took awhile to drop off all the Chinese tourists at their hotels before we finally reached my apartment! But when we did, man was I ever glad. All I wanted was a shower! Ah!

I then settled into my apartment which is really nice and pretty big. I had to wait for another 4 hours or so for missy to arrive. So I managed to unpack all my stuff and move in. It's fun! But I had no food. So last night some girls and missy and I walked to a little mexican restaurant and had dinner. We then stopped by a little grocery store to pick up the essentials and made a quick stop at the liquor store for some celebratory sparkling wine.

Well today we are off to register and get our school id's and then off to Target to pick up things for the apartment. I'll put up some pictures once we get all settled. Cheers mates!