I Figured out the blog without Steve.

Steve has been really great about showing me how to update our blog. That is why the picture of me posted is so flattering. Well, I figured this blog posting thing out on my own so let the battle begin for ugliest picture of Steve.
Australia is amazing. I went into the city for the first time last night and managed to get home using the bus system all in one piece. Admittedly , I had to call my home stay, Angela, to tell me which buses to take. Tonight is Friday and I will certainly be testing my abilities again tonight . The bus schedule here is tricky and probably even more confusing after a few hours at the pubs.
Tomorrow we leave for Stradbroke Island, or Straddy to the locals. Spending seven days, six nights out on an island studying the ecosystems and animals that inhabit them. We are all pretty stoked and I personally am ready to get out of the city. The more time I spend in cities the more I learn that I belong somewhere in the country. This fast paced posh lifestyle is just not for me.
I have determined how Australians can tell that I am American, I look like a ragamuffin all the time. The Aussies here in Brisbane are dressed to the nines day in and day out. I cannot imagine how much money they spend on clothing or worse how much time they spend primping each morning. This goes for the males as well as the females. Shopping for some decent looking clothes is starting to look absolutely necessary.
Well, I wish I had some hideous shots of Po-Chedley, but alas, I have been too infatuated with my new video camera and have yet to take a picture. Now worries though, after this week away I will make sure to have some lovely shots.
I miss you all very much though my time here is exciting, it isn't home. TaTa for now.

First Week Down Under

Here I am in Australia looking for something interesting to tell you. I already wrote one blog post, but we decided that the format wasn't exactly right and now we bring you this blog. I don't think this will have a large audience, maybe a few bored O₃ House members, family, and a couple random others. I'll obviously talk a little bit about the great trips we'll take as group, but also try to enlighten everyone to Australian culture. It isn't that much of a culture shock, but they do a couple things worth commenting on. Feel free to leave your own comments. The other blogger is Amanda, obviously, so I will do my best to upload embarrassing photos and stories. YES.



The flight in was pretty nice. The flight path follows the path of the sun and I think we were pretty close to one time zone per hour, so it was dark until we arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. From there we had a four hour flight to Brisbane and were fit into a tour bus to Camp Lawrence. Camp Lawrence was an incredible camp buried in the mountains south of the city of Brisbane. We had a few hikes around the reservoir where we spotted cattle, kangaroos, and gum trees. Kangaroos were moving in bunches of three to about seven and can really get up. We were actually off the camp, but the herdsmen (they are not cowboys here) lets the camp tramp around the land.

During the three day stay at Camp Lawrence (8/23 through 8/25) we acclimatized to the time shift a little bit; 9 PM here in Brisbane, Australia is 7AM in New York. As a result of the shift I have the healthiest sleep schedule I can remember since middle school. At the camp (and since) I have been getting up around 5:30 or 6:00 AM and I get pretty tuckered out by 9 PM. I think it has been a similar experience for all of us.

On the last day at Camp Lawrence we hiked up Elephant Mountain, well, one of the ears of Elephant Mountain. It was the most spectacular hike of the trip thus far, but I'm hoping it will have a lot of rival trips. The trip was a good experience and by the end I think I knew all 34 student's names, along with the two professors and their families.

After Camp Lawrence we headed out to the University of Queensland in Saint Lucia, just south of Brisbane. From there, we were picked up by our home stay families and shuttled to the various suburbs to acclimatize with our new family for the weekend.

My home stay mother is Lauren. Lauren is pretty jet set. Lauren has done just about everything. Regional bank manager in Colorado, model, television news reporter, horse trainer, and is now training for the olympics. She tried to explain it - basically she gets really big horses and has them do military maneuvers. It is a seven to fourteen year training regimen and she is aiming to be an olympian in 2012.

Also living with me is Alexander, an energetic red haired nine year-old with a British accent fit for Lord of the Flies. He can be pretty fun to hang out with in small doses, but he is easy to ignore when he gets to be too much, so we get along swimmingly. The other American students with me are Doug Merkert and Jon Campano. Good guys. Unfortunately for them they will be rooming together in the house - I get the single room (Alexander's old room). I am not sure why. I'm a senior, they're juniors, they requested to live with one another, I e-mailed Lauren ahead of time and they did not... maybe some combination of those factors.

Life at the home stay has been pretty good with no problems so far. We're about done with our first week of classes and will be heading to do some field work this next week so I will be away for awhile, but I already have some things I want to update. Look forward to posts about the University, The Australian, Equine Influenza, vegemitavin, and our adventures with public transportation.

Finally, a couple quick differences. Australians drive on the left. A college is a high school to them. Australians say A K, not O K. Aussies is pronounced "Auzzees." Mobile is "Moe - bile." Brown sugar is used in coffee, but Aussies don't drink coffee; they drink tea like the motherland. Coffee is granular and instant. Hungry Jack's is Burger King in a different dimension. Their news is strikingly similar to the Starship Troopers news delivery.