So much to catch up on! haha =D

Hello everyone,
Sorry I haven’t written an entry in so long. I have been busy studying for my finals and completing my last projects for my classes. Because I am studying photography my teachers have decided to have our finals before the “finals weeks’ so the past couple of weeks have been extremely stressful. I still have one project and one research paper due next week but I decided I owed you an entry before I leave Australia to head home. I’m trying to think of a word to sum up my semester here at James Cook University- how about “enlightening.” Not only have I learned some new aspects regarding my major but I have learned so much about myself and the world around me.

I believe that doing study abroad while one is in college is almost essential. As an American we are kind of stuck in this little “bubble.” We very rarely know about the world around us because some of us are too caught up in their political views to care. Our material possessions and social ring seems to characterize who we are instead of the places we have had the chance to visit or the people we have helped out in time of need. Mother Theresa put this into a different perspective saying, that “It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” Boy was she right.

You would be surprised at the amounts of Pop Culture and lifestyle the Australians absorb from the American way of life. I am almost ashamed of some of the stuff they consider “cool” because some famous person in America said it is. For everyone preparing to venture to either Australia or other parts of the world for study abroad I would like to give you a couple words of advice:

--Don’t worry if someone cracks a joke of where you are from – even if it’s really rude….. depending on the countries “ruler” (president, Prime Minister etc) the people are shaped to believe one thing or the other. Not very many people in the world like Bush- but only because their ruler most likely follows some of the same principles that the President of the US does. Until now a lot of rulers looked up to the President because America has been a country to thrive, and yet some may argue it continues to thrive till this day. Don’t worry if they crack a joke. We know that right now our country is in an era of change, we just happen to be the lucky ones to witness it and live with it.

-- Try the countries food even if it sounds disgusting it’s a new experience you might not ever have the chance to try again. This goes along with everything else such as hiking a mountain or camping in the country. Just think about it- who back home will ever have the chance to go where you are going or be where you have been?

Last week I had the chance to have dinner with a teacher and his family from Western Carolina University, my Uni back home. I learned that he, his wife, and his 2 kids are here for 3 years in Townsville. It amazes me of how such a small world it is we live in. My study abroad advisor back home told him that I was studying in the Uni not far at all from his house here in Townsville. After several emails between the teacher and me he invited me to have dinner with him and his family. I had a fun time conversing with them about the different views we had of Townsville and Australia overall. We all agreed that it was such as shame how unbelievably racist this country still is, especially here in Townsville. Australia is still a developing country and it’s looking like they are about 15 or so years behind America with equal right opportunities. Right now Australians are living and dealing with the outcomes of what they call the “stolen generation.” Although I could go into great detail about because I am writing a research paper for it at this moment, I would rather choose not too. As an American reading this I recommend that you expand your horizons and research it on the Internet the effects the “stolen generation” has had on its people. While doing my own research for my paper on this subject I have come to really dislike their Prime Minister because he is just as racist as the rest of some of the people living here.
Anyways… back to the dinner. One of his daughters is in middle school and the other in high school. It surprised me when I found out the one in middle school is having a difficult time fitting in because she is American. Now that I look back on my middle school days though I realize no matter where you are living during those years people can be plain our mean! But I couldn’t imagine living in a completely different culture having to live with that kind of tormenting. The one in high school doesn’t seem to be having much trouble at all. Actually, she has even skipped a grade because of the difference in the educational system and will be graduating at the age of 16!
There is so much more we discussed at dinner but it would take too long to write out. If they happen to read this I want to thank them again for such a great night of good food, good laughs, and good fun!

This past Wednesday my friends and I got together and watched the “State of Origin” on TV. The State of Origin is the name used in Australia for Rugby League and Australian Rules Football interstate matches, in which players are selected for the State in which they first played. It is a tournament with between the two Rugby League states, New South Wales and Queensland. It is kind of like the American All Star Baseball game where Americans on the National League play against those on the American League. When I watched it I felt like I was witnessing Australia making history- Especially when the last point was scored in overtime when Queensland’s – Townsville Cowboy player- intercepted the ball and scored a Tri (Touchdown).

Anyways, as I look back on my semester here in Australia I feel like I have created a bond with the country and it’s people that will be very difficult to leave. I have only a week left of stress due to projects and finals then 2 weeks of freedom while everyone else it taking their finals. I hope to make my last 3 weeks here at Uni as incredible as the past semester has been. Once again, if anyone has any questions regarding their trip here to Australia don’t hesitate to ask me. I understand the excitement you are going through right now, just before you embark on a new adventure in your life. I would be more than happy to help you make that first step into this new chapter in your life.

Farewell for now,
Liz

No money, no life

Hello everyone,
sorry its been so long since my last journal. Things here at Uni are coming to an end and a very stressfull one I must say. We have 5 weeks left. 2 weeks of regular term, 1 week of studying, and 2 weeks of finals. My teachers have decided to have our finals the last week of classes instead of finals week so my life right now is not very pleasant, I just have so much to do! I hate end of the semester stress!!

The reason I haven't really been writing much is because I havent been doing anything all to exciting. I am out of MONEY! Talk about depressing! So if you feel like donating any money to the Liz Australia fund, please let me know! Seriously...email me: lizmail@bellsouth.net. haha I still have 2 months here in Australia with hardly any money. Things have been depressing around here also- well you saw my entry about my meds, yes I took your advice and decided to keep taking the medicine but things are just not any better. Ive been sick for a while- still recovering from the hospital visit, and because Ive been having to "relax" and get well again I've been doing nothing! And by nothing, I mean sitting around and watching movies and laying out. blahhhhh

Sorry for this lame entry but people kept asking me to write something. Hopefully things will cheer up by next weekend! arghhhh
Liz

Liz--> Hospital!?!?!

Ok… Open your mouth and go” AAAAAAAH,” Oh come on you can do better! Well atleast nurses arent showing off to fellow nurses how friggen huge your glands are! So yeah I spent this last weekend in the lovely Townsville Hospital crying my eyes out and eating nothing but Chicken Broath and pineapple flavored Jello and having conversations with poor old women that are basically stuck in hospitals for the rest of their lives! I couldn’t even swallow my own saliva without screaming in pain! They thought I had “Glandular fever” but thank god I don’t—I just have an aweful virus that’s absoultely attacking my body! I have fever chills, body aches and I feel like I'm gonna faint every time I get up quickly. I was just released from the hospital a little over 2 hours ago and I feel a little better, granted, I am on lots of medicine right now. It sucks to end up in a hospital anywhere but to be thousands of miles away from your closest family and friends it sucks even more! This weekend was the Moriba Tennis Tournament! I was playing so well until I woke up Sunday Morning in complete agony and ended up having to forfeit all my games! =( For those of you who might have a Australian hospital visit coming for you in the future- have a teddy bear or photograph ready to bring- it will bring you more relief than you will ever realize!

Sorry its been so long since I last wrote a journal- I actually have been writing but just haven’t been submitting…. So below is what I wrote last week but never got around to submitting…

This past week I have been catching up on work since I traveled to the Arlie Beach to do some sailing around the Whitsunday Islands. Other than having bad luck with the weather my friends and I had loads of fun and we all got to do some more scubadiving and snorkeling! Just some advice for future Australia travelers, don’t go their during their wet season!
This past Thursday I got my first HD!! I was so happy when I received it becauase only 2 of us in my class received this mark! For those who arent familiar with the grading system, a HD stands for “High Distinction”=A+ in America. I got the HD for my Sports photography assignment, the one where I photographed the North Queensland tennis Open that was here in Townsville. To celebrate, me and my roomates went out to the Karaoke Bar and then to the Uni Club for some coctails.
I have had several people email me asking how my classes are going. I apologize to all of you for not going much into detail but if you were here in Australia would you rather talk about your classes or the fun you are having? Yeah… well if you must know Ill try my best to give you some information on them. My favourite class I’m taking right now is Applid Photography. The photography assignments for this class deal with Publictity, and Documentary Photographs. I absolutely love this stuff because this is exactly what I want to go into! I can definitely see myself working for TIME or National Geographic magazine one day! This is the only class my teacher teaches so he is able to spend lots of time discussing and helping us out with our assignments. He is actually an accomplished TIME magazine photographer! I suppose he thinks highly of me and my work because he seems to enjoy it so much.
My other 2 classes, Portrait Photography, and Digital Imaginng and Manipulation are going pretty well also. My teacher for this class is a whole lot more strict and he really expects a lot out of his students. For those of you who know me, you KNOW that studio portraits are NOT my thing! For my last assignment I felt like one of those low budget photographers taking Senior Class pictures- what a drag! I love the world in it’s natural state so I hate setting up people in a mock environment to make them look pretty!

sorry..... wow... hard shit!

Hello everyone,
For those of you who are interested in every little thing I write in this I apologize for not writing much lately! Suprisingly we are just past the mid semester mark here at JCU! It has just gone by sooooo fast! Lately I have had a very difficult time keeping up with studies, playing tennis, and being social with my friends. Trying to find the right balance has been hard and stressful! I still promise to write a thorough review of New Zealand but I havent even uploaded the pictures yet so its obvoius Ive been hella busy! Below is a copy of the journal entry I wrote for Australearn. It will kind of give you an idea of whats going on in my life right now. Australearn even put in a sidenote in brackets.

April 12, 2005

[Please note that an AustraLearn student studying at James Cook University was killed in a car accident on April 10, 2005. The student was not on a program sponsored activity and details are still not available for all aspects of this tragedy. Directors of AustraLearn are involved with the family, home university and James Cook staff. This is a difficult time for all parties involved and we hope other study abroad students and those considering study abroad will recognize that accidents can happen even though cautions are put in place. The staff at AustraLearn request that those near to the family and situation, including those studying overseas, take a moment to quietly reflect on this tragedy and take all health and safety precautions seriously.]


Wow, so much has happened the past couple weeks. Mostly good things but just recently a bad thing. I feel that as a student here at James Cook University I have the right to discuss the loss of a friend.


This past weekend when I got back from New Zealand I was bombarded with news of a fellow Australearn student here at JCU who died in a fatal car wreck. News such as this really comes as a reality check for me. That could have been me! We take our lives so much for granted and the death of someone really puts things back in reality! What has kept me from sleeping is the thought of the family upon hearing the news of their daughter. I honestly couldn't imagine the pain they are going through! Please say a prayer for them if you are reading this. Take at least 2 minutes and meditate on what they must be going through. Instead of going more into detail about this difficult situation many students are having to live with here in Townsville I will discuss the good stuff that has happened the past couple of weeks! I think what I have said is enough and I don't intend to offend anyone in any way.


Last Sunday I left for New Zealand with 3 fellow friends of mine who came with Australearn, Jeremy, Kevin, and Dana. We had the absolute times of our lives during our lecture recess. All 3 of us were very cautious about how we spent our money so we did more hiking and scenic stuff instead of paying for tours and shopping. We rented a car in Christchurch and drove from Christchurch to Wanaka, to Queenstown to Fox Glacier then to the North Island where i was able to spend the night with my friend I met there weeks ago in Brisbane. For anyone planning to do some traveling I definitely think you should try your hardest to make and maintain contacts in Australia and New Zealand. It really cuts down on costs! Then if they come to visit you in America they will have a place to also stay! I was very fortunate to have met this guy because he is genuine as they come! I absolutely LOVED Queenstown!! If anyone is thinking about studying in New Zealand, try to get somewhere around there! I honestly think I have been to the most beautiful place on earth after visiting Queenstown! If I had the chance to study there I definitely would!! IT'S AMAZING!!!


When people think of New Zealand what else do they think of? oh come on.... I know your thinking it.... LOTR - if you are movie wiz you know what that stands for! haha Lord of the Rings. The landscape in that movie is exactly what its like to be in New Zealand! AWESOME! haha So if you are a huge LOTR fanatic there are several tours you can go on. We did a couple of the self-drive ones that were incredible!! There is this one place in Queenstown where you donate $20 and on this hill there are several landmarks where scenes where shot! There is one with the "Remarkables," a mountain range in the background that is just breathtaking! When i saw the movies years ago i didn't think half of the backgrounds were real, well i was WRONG! Most of the mountain ranges you see in the movie DO exist!! If you are planning on coming to NZ you should definitely do some research on where you want to go. If you have any questions about places you are thinking about visiting please feel free to email me! lizmail@bellsouth.net I'd be happy to answer all of your questions."

I am going to get a little serious now. Just recently i have felt the affects of this medicine I have been on called Zoloft. I started taking it last Septemeber to help with anxiety and depression. I cant decide if I should stop taking it or not b/c it has really started numbing my emotions. For example I dont feel sad when I should or over excited when i should be. I am not able to express myself as I wish I could because of the effects of the meds! Does anyone have any clue if this is a long term side effect? It has really worried me. I am sad that my friend died but I only cried a little and over a year ago it would have been a much bigger ordeal for me. Maybe its a sign Im maturing and I am learning that its a way of life or maybe its the Zoloft? blahhh I dunno, but I just hate not feeling things like I used to.

Yours Truly,


Liz

After 2 hub caps gone, 4 showers later, and 1 week past....

New Zealand was AWESOME! I wish I could go into detail about the trip right now but it would take hours! I just got home from New Zealand (Townsville=home) so I really need to do some re-cooping! I hope I have left a good enough cliffhanger to leave you curious to what I did! Lets just say I have never seen such beauty ever before in my life! We take our eye sight so much for granted! Although my eyes are going to shit because of bad genes I am honored to see what I can! There is no way any photograph can describe or show what it really looks like! WOW! Lets just say I will remember this week for the rest of my life!! It will be a while before I go into detail or post any pictures but I hope I have left you interested! =D TIME TO RECOVER!! SLEEP!!!!!!!!!

Liz

Easter Weekend =D

This past weekend I was supposed to go to Sydney to hang out with Gary, a friend of mine back at WCU. Due to plane ticket prices I was unfortunately unable to go hang out with him for the Easter Weekend. I was bummed out because I was looking forward to going to Sydney and seeing someone more familiar than everyone else I know here. Luckily my friend Brett had some ideas up his sleeve for things to do this weekend to help pass the time. The weekend actually turned into something amazingly fun! Thursday we hung out at the Townsville Tennis Courts for the North Queensland Tennis Open. I was just given a photography assignment to take photographs of a particular sport so I decided since I was given the chance to watch this I would use this as my assignment. Little did I know they needed some publicity shots so they asked me to take some shots for them. Unfortunately I can’t be paid for the job- due to my eVisa regulations- but it was great practice. Tennis is definitely one of the most difficult sports I have ever photographed! It’s extremely hard to focus on the players when they are moving so fast! I didn’t get many shots in on Thursday; I just wasn’t in the right mindset to take photographs. But on Easter Sunday Championships I got over 500 shots!

Anyways, back to Saturday. Brett drove me up north to check out mud crab racing! YES, mud crab racing! Haha On our way up we stopped at several places he wanted me to see. The first one was Rollingstone Creek. I got in a couple photographs of this clear water creek where people were swimming and relaxing. We even saw this guy having a beer and smoke while sitting between two rocks. What a life!!! If you saw the pictures you will have a better idea of what I’m talking about. This guy was hilarious! After leaving this creek we did a pit stop in this famous North Queensland Ice creamery called “Frosty Mango.” They have several varieties of Australian fruit ice cream. Over half of them I had never heard of before. After eating my bizarre fruit named ice cream that I can’t remember haha, we went to Lucinder. For Easter weekend Australians are known to camp out and travel a lot because most things are closed. So this place had a busy campground where there was an Easter fair going on. Lucinder is known for their long boat-ramp and long sugar jetty. Our next stop was 5-mile creek swimming hole. This place was beautiful and very similar to Rollingstone creek.- It was a little bit deeper though. Our last and final stop was Cardwell for another Jetty and their famous crab-race. This down is a very southern like town with what you might call back in the states, “rednecks.” The people were very nice but they were more interested in drinking than anything else. I found it quite amusing! The crab-race was a neat experience to witness also. It happened so quickly so I didn’t get very many shots in. The guy who won decided to start a tradition and allow his winning crab back into the mud-covered ocean across the street from the pub we were at. Saturday was very fulfilled for me but little did I know Sunday was absolutely amazing!

I woke up at 5am Easter Sunday to go to a church service on top of Castle Hill. We got up there about 30 minutes early so we could get some photographs. I honestly think that some of the photographs are professional quality. I won’t be posting them for a while because I need to copyright several of them just incase someone steals them off of me! Not only was it a perfect morning because there were actually clouds in the sky (rare for Townsville) but it was a full moon too! Talk about AMAZING! During the service I skipped out in the middle of it to walk up the highest point of the hill and got some photographs of the sun rising above the mountains behind the city of Townsville. The light reflected on the ocean and the photograph turned out amazing. I also got some shots of the moon lowering. It was at the perfect height to get photographs of it. I got an amazing one of this guy who had just walked up the hill looking out at the ocean. It is absolutely gorgeous. I gave myself a big pat on my back for this one! He wasn’t set up or anything- I don’t think he even knew I took the photograph- which is what I think makes it so good! I also climbed out onto the rock- which you aren’t supposed to do, but everyone was paying attention to the service down below- and got some photographs with the greenery and shrubbery in the foreground and the city in the background.

After the service we had brekkie at this café on the beach down at the strand. We took a couple photographs of us in skirts then headed back to our college to get some sleep. I woke up around 9am to the sound of Brett calling my room to wake me up and let me know he is on his way to pick me up for the North Queensland Open. I quickly got dress and put together my camera supplies and I was ready. After an amazingly photographic morning I was in the mood to shoot the tennis players. I had tons of fun photographing them. They gave me access during the tournaments to get some really good shots! I felt very privileged to be out there. The tournament official ushered me out on the court and asked each of the players if it was ok if I took some publicity shots. They didn’t realize I was also doing this as an assignment so I was in major luck! Haha Anyways yesterday was awesome. I didn’t get home until 9pm and I was exhausted so I basically passed out! Haha

Note:
I went into great detail with this entry because I want people to know there ARE things to do when you are getting low on cash. I was pretty bummed out at first when I couldn’t go to Sydney but after this amazingly fun-filled weekend I realized there is so much I would have missed here in Townsville. Getting a chance to be involved with the locals was an incredible experience.

Liz

Brisbane and Gold Coast Trip!!!

Thursday:
This past weekend my friend Laura and I went to South Queensland and visited Brisbane and Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. We had a blast! Thursday night we left for Brisbane then we took an hour train ride out to the Gold Coast. To our surprise we had a limo pick us up at the train station and drive us about 20 minutes the hostel we stayed at. We thought we only paid for a taxi when we paid the ticket counter at the Train station in Brisbane but to our luck we got more! Haha. When we arrived at the hostel we were gretted by tons of people, all of which were extremely pissed (pissed in Australia means DRUNK). It was St. Patrick’s Day and supposidly the owner was Irish so he put on a huge party there for all the people staying. They had a keg of spiked green juice the residents shared.

We quickly put away our belongings in our room and headed out to the party to get started in on the fun! We were WAY behind and we wanted to feel the fun they were feeling! Haha wink wink! About 30 minutes went by and people started walking out, I was on my way to my first PUB CRAWL! They had planned a pub crawl for all the backpackers in downtown Surfers Paradise. We walked about ¼ a mile and we were in the heart of everything! The first club we went to was just a regular pub with the top hits, rap and all that jazz. We all got a free drink at the club for staying at our particular hostel. Laura and I met this guy named Rowan their who was partying with the people at our hostel but was actually residing at another one down the road. He ended up becoming our big brother for the weekend- he was very very nice and just watched over us for the entire time we were there. The 3 of us decided to hit up some Irish pubs. For those of you reading this in Cullowhee you will think this is awesome… The first Irish pub we went to was called “O’Mallys,” just like the one back home!!! This one is much more fun though! There was all kinds of live music and people dancing! Rowan was really sweet and bought me a drink. It was this icy green St. Patty’s day treat. It was VERY good! I ended up having 2 of them! Then we ran into this awesome midget who was dressed like a leprachan!!!! He was the coolest guy ever! He loved having his picture taken with us! After about an hour in the pub we were ready to do some more exploring. Rowan then tol us to another Irish pub. It was a lot more crazier than the first with hard rock music. We ended up getting drinks and just going upstairs to watch the people dance. Around 1am both Laura and I were exhausted so Rowan volunteered to walk us back to our room and then we said our goodbyes. He told us he was planning on going to Brisbane the next night, just like us so we exchaned telephone numbers so we could meet up.

Friday:
Laura and I woke up pretty early. We packed up and handed our luggage to the receptionist for the day so we could do some exploring. I read in their newspaper that they had a surf contest going on. We walked about 2 miles down the beach and found the tournament. It ended up being the “NRMA Australian Surf Life Saving Championships.”
This is a once a year tournament that takes place where people from all over Australia compete. The most popular specular competition is rowing. We asked an official where the surfing was but when we went to that part of the beach but there was nothing. It had either not started yet or was over? Laura and I weren’t sure but we were a little disapointed because there were supposed to be some famous surfers there competing. It started pouring rain so we took a taxi back to downtown Surfers Paradise and did some shopping. I got a really cute pair of ROXY shorts and also bought some gifts for friends back home! =D After shopping we walked back to the hostel and got a ride to the train station to go to Brisbane. When we got to Brisbane we checked into “The Prince Consorts Backpackers,” hostel. The hostel was in the middle of a very popular part of of Brisbane, China Town. We walked around to get an idea of the clubs for later on in the night and then went to China town to see what all was still open. They close shops very early here in Australia!! 5pm is LATE! Haha We had a bite to eat, bought some Vodka and went back to our room to do some pre-drinking! There are some really crazy random pictures on the picture site of us drinking! We had fun! Around 8pm we called Rowan to see what he was up to. After having dinner with his cousin and his cousin’s boyfriend, they (Rowan and his cousins boyfriend- his cousin didn’t want to go out) met up with Laura and I. We went to a bar called RG for some drinks then went to Maccas for a midnight snack! Laura got to feeling a little too good so we called it a night pretty early- around 1:30am. The 4 of us came back to the hostel and played some cards while she sobered up. After about 2 hours of card playing Laura and I went to sleep and the other guys went back out to party. Once again the guys bought us some drinks and we had a fun time that night!

Saturday:
We both woke up pretty early again today. We took a shuttle over to the other part of Brisbane where the man made beach is and Queens Street market. On our way to the beach we walked through this “Rainforest walk” connected to Griffith University. Once we reached the beach there was this huge street market going on. We checked out what each tent was selling then headed to the beach. The water was freezing so we decided to lay out for a little bit then walk over to Queens St. The walk was a little further than we anticipated, we ended up walking about 2 miles. There were tons of fun stores and venues their. We did a little bit of shopping then walked about 2 miles back to our hostel. We cleaned up then walked up the street further near the hostel to see what there was. We found this really neat Mexian resturant we decided to eat supper at. I ended up taking pictures of the toilet seats in the resturant because they were cute, yes… CUTE! There was a metal plaque on it that stated: “Loo with a View.” Have you ever seen tables at resturants with sand and seashells in them? – Well the toilet seats at this resturant had that!! Talk about random!!! After eating we headed back to the hostel and decided to make it an unactive evening just because we had to be up at 6am for our flight! When we got their we hung out in the lounge area watching movies and reading mags. I started talking to this cool chick Shannon from Chicago, IL who was sitting next to me on the couch. She is 27 yrs old and studied Graphic Design in Chicago years ago. Now she is teaching English in S. Korea and on her time off she does some backpacking through Australia. We noticed the balcony outside but couldn’t figure out a way to get out their. Every door was locked shut! We ended up finding this window that we were able to pry open. We went outside, talked and watched the people walk by! It was neat being out on this old fashioned balcony! We felt like such rebels too because we obviously we weren’t supposed to be on it! Shannon came up with this crazy idea of walking towards the famous “Story Bridge” in Brisbane. We walked up a little ways and then stoped in complete awe- Brisbane at night was absolutely beautiful! We walked a little over halfways out on the bridge and I got some incredible pictures of the city of Brisbane at night. We walked down this pathway at the edge of the bridge and walked out on this pathway parrallel to the river. I also got some good pictures of the Bridge from down there. I am really happy Laura and I made the decision to go with Shannon to check out the city at night. Honestly this is the most memorable memory I will have of Brisbane. We got back around 11pm and called it a night!

Sunday:
We woke up around 6am and took the train to the airport. Our plane arrived in Townsville around 10:30 and my friend Brett was nice enough to picked us up from the airport. Brett dropped Laura off at her college (dorm) and then we decided we would hang out and go down to the Sunday Market on Flinders Street. We drove down their and did a little shopping. There is this store called “Discount Jeans” that sells all kinda of surfer brands like Roxy, Billabong, RipCurl, etc. They have posters up for grab near the counter. They must have just put out some of their summer display poster stock ones so I got 3 new posters. 2 of which are HUGE billboard quality posters. They are about 6 feet by 4 feet! My roomate were so jealous when I arrived home with them! Brett helped me tape them up to the wall! Mom… now I will have to take pictures of my room! You have been asking for a while now for me to take some, now I have a reason too! The room has been VERY bare and boring! These posters would sell for over $60.00 back in the states! They are NICE!! Well that’s it for now from my exciting weekend! I had loads of fun!! Thanks for reading this way too long journal! I hope you enjoyed it!

Liz

"F'n Kangaroos" - inside joke

This past weekend I decided to stay here in Townsville and hang out with friends here. On Saturday my friend Brett invited me to go to “Billabong Sanctuary.” In my opinion, this wildlife reservation was better than the one in Cairns. I got to interact with several different animals. When we first walked in we went towards the back where I got to hold a Wombat. On our way there I realized I had no clue what a wombat was! I learned that it is related to the Koala. Honestly, I think it looked like a guinea pig on steroids! Haha It was a cute large fellow! I had to hold it a specific way because of how much it weighed! After holding it a couple Kangaroos hopped up and they had Joey’s (Baby kangaroos) in their pouches! What a fun site to see!! This is what I cam here to see! I was so excited to finally get to see a joey! Later in the day it had came out of its mothers pouch and it came up to kiss me on the lips! I also got a couple pictures of it. Other things I got to do throughout the day were hold a crocodile, hold a python, hold a blue tongued lizard, see a crocodile jump above a human, hold a koala, and see a dingo get fed. In the rainforest part of the sanctuary I got to pet and play with these smaller breed of wallabies I had never seen before. The wallabies also had babies and after I got some pictures in with the baby/Joey, I witnessed the baby get back inside its mothers pouch! Such a cute site to see! While walking around the place you can hear this sound that resembles the sound of a baby crying. Its actually hundreds of fruit bats up in the trees! Supposedly it is breeding season for them and they had their babies on their backs. They come to the Sanctuary because its safe for them and they don’t have to worry so much about the environment out in the wild. Its amazing how many birds do the same thing just because its safter their for them.

So yeah, I have mentioned this to a couple people but to those I haven’t you will be quite surprised. Yes I have already gotten the “only to liz” response! Haha But I had a crazy encounter with one of the Kangaroos- and not just any kangaroo, one of the red large ones! After feeding her, she decided to attack me, yes ATTACK me!! haha What happened is after I fed her I turned my back to her and she didn’t quite like this. She got up on her hind legs and wrapped her arms and claws around my neck and started biting the top of my head. My friend who was taking pictures of me at the time ran up to her and hit her head and pulled her arms off of me! It all happened so fast but it scared me to death! I walked away with a couple scratches, very minor, but I sure as hell have a good story to tell friends back home!
Liz

Distance and Time Change:

Distance between Atlanta, Georgia, United States and Townsville, Australia, as the crow flies:
9156 miles (14735 km) (7956 nautical miles)

You learn new things everday...

Time Difference: If you ever want to know why I never see you online, this is why! =)
Queensland Aus – Atlanta Ga
1AM – 10AM
2AM – 11AM
3AM – 12 NOON
4AM – 1PM
5AM – 2PM
6AM – 3PM
7AM – 4PM
8AM – 5PM
9AM – 6PM
10AM – 7PM
11AM – 8PM
12 NOON – 9PM
1PM – 10PM
2PM – 11PM
3PM – 12 MIDNIGHT
4PM – 1AM
5PM – 2AM
6PM – 3AM
7PM – 4AM
8PM – 5AM
9PM – 6AM
10PM – 7AM
11PM – 8AM
12 MIDNIGHT – 9AM

Liz

An Interesting yet frightening email I got the other day!

Below is an email i got from Australearn warning the Americans studying over here in Australia about possible attacks. What an interesting reality check for us! Definately puts things in an interesting perspective!

Dear AustraLearn Students,
Periodically the State Department updates their website. In an effort to keep our participants informed about such updates, AustraLearn will notify you as these occur.

On March 8, 2005, the US Department of State issued a Worldwide Caution. To provide some context, within the past three years, worldwide cautions have been issued on May 11, May 29, June 22, September 7, September 12, September 28, October 7, October 23 (issued in 2001), February 1, March 17, July 1, September 9, October 10, November 6, November 20 (issued in 2002), February 6, March 19, April 21, July 29, September 10, September 26, November 21, and December 21 (issued in 2003), January 9, March 19, March 23, April 29 and September 10 (issued in 2004) and, of course, this current announcement.

Please read the Notice below:
Worldwide Caution Public Announcement - March 08, 2005
This Public Announcement is being updated to remind U.S. citizens of the continuing threat of terrorist actions and anti-American violence against U.S. citizens and interests overseas. This supersedes the Worldwide Caution dated September 10, 2004 and expires on September 7, 2005. The Department of State is deeply concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and interests abroad, as well as the potential for demonstrations and violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas. U.S. citizens are reminded that demonstrations and rioting can occur at any time. In reaction to the execution of hostages in Iraq, there have been demonstrations and associated violence in the hostages' country of origin. While Americans are generally not the targets in such incidents, U.S. citizens could be caught up in the violence. U.S. citizens are reminded to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.

The Department of State remains concerned by indications that al-Qaida and affiliated groups continue to prepare to strike U.S. interestsb abroad. Al-Qaida and its associated organizations have struck in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Future al-Qaida attacks could possibly involve non-conventional weapons such as chemical or biological agents as well as conventional weapons of terror, to include explosive devices.

Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to assassinations, hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. These may involve aviation and other transportation and maritime interests. Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. These may include facilities where U.S. citizens and other foreigners congregate or visit, including residential areas, business offices, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels and public areas. U.S. citizens are encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. U.S. Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or suspend public services from time to time to assess their security posture. In those instances, U.S. embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. Americans abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Beach party and boys

This week has been very busy. I still haven’t gotten the chance to post photos from this past weekend. One thing I forgot to mention my last journal is that I went to my friend Mike’s Birthday party on the Strand (Beach) on Monday night. Mike is the Australian friend of mine I met through my roommate Crystal. His parents and several friends showed up for his celebration. His parents cooked sausage on the barbi and served up chips and Coolio (A liquid form of Coolade you have to mix with water before drinking.) We got to play on this rope swing that you sit or stand on and someone pushes you and you go like 40 feet across the rope attached this upper line. I think when I post the pictures what I’m trying to describe will make more since.

I have got a lot on my mind right now because I have met many nice guys here but I just don’t want a relationship for this short of time. Its obvious that some of these guys are interested in more than just a friendship. When I first began this blog/journal I warned people that some serious and personal stuff about me might be written, well here I go, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

As many of you know I have had a difficult time moving on and dating since my last relationship. It had now been about a year since my devastating breakup and I don’t think I have completely been able to take that next step and allow myself to begin another serious relationship. I am still afraid of getting hurt as much as I did in that relationship. I contemplate a lot about whether or not I want to date guys I meet but then I find myself thinking of other things when were hanging out. I am not one to be nervous so I think it might be a boredom thing. It might be an issue of self-confidence that I’m fighting inside myself? I have certainly grown and matured in the past year but I still don’t think I am ready to find a serious boyfriend yet. Obviously I am independent- I came to Australia not knowing a single person! If anyone has any advice to relieve this pain please share! Not only have I disappointed myself in guys I find attractive off the bat, but its not fair for the guy if they feel like I have played them when I just don’t know what will make me happy. I’m sick of feeling like I wont be good enough for another guy! UGH!

This is really random so don’t take any offense guys if you don’t fit all of these qualities but this is what I realized I am most attracted to in guys:
Blue, Green, or Hazel eyes (First feature I find myself looking at)
A pretty smile
Dark Brown hair- shaggy is such a cute look.
Between the height of 5’8 and 6’0 – I’m only 5’4.
Athletic built and plays sports well.
Can sing and play t he guitar well- Being in a band is a plus!
Has an outgoing, optimistic, and spontaneous personality.
Doesn’t party too much and likes to just hang out and cuddle some nights.
Is complimenting of me
Is very open in communicating about issues of a relationship whether it be good or bad.
Snowboards and Skateboards
Can sometimes come across tough and rough- Skater boy complex.
Doesn’t mind dressing up fancy for formals and dinner dates.
Has surprises up his sleeve.
Can be romantic and sweet.
Blah blah blah…. I could go on but I’d be boring you or disappointing nice guys out there that might be self conscious about themselves.

I'm going to bed, hopefully I can sleep tonight! I have a difficult time sleeping when I have so much on my mind!

Liz

Camping in the Rainforest

This weekend was a very busy one. I don’t think I have ever sweat as much in my entire life as I did this past weekend. I went camping in the rainforest about an hour north of Townsville.

I did a volunteer abroad project with Conservation Volunteers of Australia. It was fun but we did do a LOT of work! We left early Friday morning and arrived home Sunday afternoon. Camping out really gave me an appreciation of the nature here too. The campground was covered in bush turkeys! They were pesky little things when they could smell your food. I have several friends back home who would be so proud of me and my camping experience- and perhaps jealous because I got to camp out in the rainforest. Lets just say that you need a GOOD rain cover or else your tent will be flooded like ours did! It wasn’t the greatest feeling to have water falling on your face when you’re trying to sleep. Luckily we didn’t have an ant problem in our tent like the other girls did. It was also fun to know you couldn’t use soap in the showers because the mosquitoes would just stick to you if you did! So I came home Sunday very smelly but content because I did the environment a good thing!

The volunteering part involved planting trees on a sugarcane farm. Basically the reason behind this was to help control the flow of the silt into the creek down below. The water flow in the creek we built the trees along eventually ends up in the ocean. The people here have been giving the cane farmers a hard time in Queensland about how they are affecting the environment and causing harm and adding to the deterioration of the coral on the Great Barrier Reef.

Saturday after working we hiked around the campsite, about a miles worth and walked up this mountain to see this waterfall. Honestly I wasn’t expecting much - but I was wrong!! The waterfall was gigantic!!! It was made up of over 100 falls covering the entire mountainside. I can’t wait to post picture of it! I have never seen water in this way before! It was like something out of a movie! On Sunday on our way home we made a pit stop at Crystal Creek for lunch and a swim! This place was also amazing! It was a freshwater river that had a part away from the rocks where people could swim and dive into the water off of the rocks! It was crystal clear, hence the name! Overall my weekend was great, I worked and had fun! It was about time I gave some time in helping out some people here after so many people have helped me out!

Liz

My weekend on Maggie Island

This past weekend was amazing! Me and a couple friends decided to go over to Magnetic (Maggie) Island for the weekend. It was AWESOME! On Friday we left Uni and took a ferry over to the Maggie Island- Its about a 30 minute Ferry ride. When we got to the island we got on an Xbase shuttle that brought us to our hostile we were staying at. The view from our room at Xbase was unbelievable! I paid only $20 a night and from our room we could see all of the ocean. We even left the door open so we could hear the waves crashing when we slept! Friday night they had whats called a “Full Moon Party” at Xbase. This was part of the reason why we decided to visit the island, to attend this huge party! Prior to it getting too crouded (about 1500 people attended) I asked the DJ’s if I could take pictures of them during the party. They said sure and so I ran off to get my camera. They party was growing so quickly and I really wanted to get some cool motion shots of the Turntabelists! After I got my camera I got a few shots of the moon rising above the horizon on the ocean. It was them most beautiful thing I have seen! The moon here is bigger than it is in the states! My pictures of the moon aren’t even close to capturing the beauty I saw with my own eyes! (Its hard to photograph a moon!!) After getting a couple shots of the moon I hung out with the Turntabelists and got a TON of shots of them! After showing them a couple pictures on my viewfinder on my Camera they were content and asked me to take more! After doing so they offered me a couple free drinks! I was set to party now!! I put up my camera and was ready too have some fun!

After dancing for a little bit with my roommate Crystal and 2 guy friends of ours I was on a mission to find some friends from Australearn that I had gotten to know well through orientation. Because I was sick for O-Week here I hadn’t seen them in quite a while! Finally I found my friend Lauren and her brother Briant. We hung out for a while and then met some guys that play tennis for Townsville. They bought us several drinks also! Such nice gentleman! I didn’t spend a dime on drinks that night b/c I met so many nice guys. And we made sure to stick together and watch the guys just incase they slipped something in our drinks. Also, her brother stayed around the party and continually checked on us.

Around 2:30am I decided to walk back to my hostile and hit the sack! I was exhausted and a little tipsy! Haha I woke up around 8am and packed up my stuff and got on a bus meet up with some Australearn friends. We hung out around Horseshoe Bay for hours. A group of us also walked over to the rocks about ¼ a mile from the roped off part of the beach. When we got back we got back into the ocean water and cooled off! The ocean felt so good to be in. On a very funny note we saw the craziest thing when we were in the water. There was the kid about 3-4 years old that was just doing his own thing without his parents in site. He was only wearing a tshirt, no pants or anything so yeah his thingy was hanging out. He took the phrase “When you gotta go, you gotta go” way to seriously. In the middle of the roped off part on the sand he decided to take a crap on the beach! Then 5 minutes later his mom came in site and just covered it up like some damn litter box! So far this is the wildest thing I have seen here in Australia.
Around 4pm we decided to head back to Townsville. On our way back on the ferry we had the most beautiful sky! On one side there was this Rainbow and on the other side the sky you could see the path of a storm.


On Sunday I slept in a little bit then headed out to Flinders Mall and got lots of goodies for friends and family back home! I can’t wait to mail these things and hear about their reactions! As soon as I got back I signed on MSN and my friend Mike invited me to go see Constantine. After the movie we went to this community center church. It was a nondenominational church so this was a new experience for me since I grew up Catholic. It made me feel good to go and kind of makes me want to check out the Catholic Cathedral here. I might just try and go next Sunday. We didn’t get back till late last night. So as soon as I got back I did a little homework and went to sleep!

Liz

Random Ass Day!

Yesterday, I had one of the most random days ever! I did sooo many things on my day off of class! (I don’t have classes one Wed) Haha First, me and a new friend who happens to be from here (Townsville) just went on an adventure.

He picked me up around 9:30am and we were off to our first place, the Indoor Archery range here in Townsville. First off we stopped at McDonalds (Maccas) and I got a bacon egg and cheese croissant. I asked for a bisquit and was looked at in a face of confusion! They DON’T have biscuits here!!! What a reality check it was for me, I AM in Australia! I was explained by my friend that Biscuits are cookies here and contain a large amount of sugar. I tried to explain to him my best example of what OUR biscuits are! Would someone please leave incredients from scratch and tell me how to make biscuits, I want him to have a taste of an American biscuit.

Once we arrived to the Indoor Archery Range we realized it didn’t open till 11am so we decided to drive around Townsville. He showed me around a little bit and we made a couple tourist stops. The first place we went to was a place called “Castle Hill.” What an unbelievably beautiful drive! WOW! On the way up the hill (mountain like) we saw a “Goanna” up on the hillside just above the road! A Goanna is a large lizard if anyone was wondering. After exploring the top of Castle Hill we drove around the Strand (part of the road that is along the beach. Then we stopped at the “Queens Gardens.” The Queens Gardens is this huge part of land in the city they designated for beautiful trees, gardens, and bird habitats. There are several paths we too within the gardens. One led us to the Birds. The birds were sooo cool! I got really hooked on this one Cocatoo. I honestly had a 20 minute conversation with it! REALLY I DID!!! I thought I was in the twilight zone or something!!!! Hahahahahaha When we walked away from it started cursing and yelling at us! Talk about hilarious!! I can’t wait to upload pictures of this creature they call a Cocatoo! Haha

Anyways, onwards and upwards…
Finally we made it to the archery range and shot for about an hour. Unfortunately what they let you shoot with is cheap. I didn’t do so well and became embarrassed because I told my friend that I used to be a VERY good archer! haha

After archery we came back to the Uni and had lunch with the Christian Union and met up with some other friends. After lunch, 4 of us decided to go to this walk wall walk that is at the end of the Strand. Its neat b/c you are able to walk about ¼ of a mile on this sidewalk into the ocean. By the time I arrived home it was 5 and I was exhausted but the day wasn’t near over!! I had a tennis practice from 6-8 and then ate out with some of the team! I have really connected with them quickly!

I am very lucky to have already met Australian friends that have a car! I am very limited to what I can do without a car here at Uni. This is why I really appreciated my friends for spending time with me and driving me around to see this place. Because I have been hanging out with Australians one on one for the past couple days I have picked on a whole lot of slang too! My guess is by the time I come home it will be pretty funny! So I’m prepared for whatever jokes you have coming at me!

Sidenote: The birds I discussed in previous entries that I thought were parrots are not, they are really Rainbow Lorikeets.

Liz

Classes have begun

The last couple days have been hella crazy with classes! First off here is a list of what I am taking here in Australia: Sorry it has taken so long to list my classes for you! I just got them settled last Friday!

Digital Imaging and Manipulation 1

Creative Photographic Lighting

Applied Photography 1

Linking Indigenousness 1

My Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are BOOKED full! Luckily I have Wednesday and Friday off- 3-day weekend!!! YAY! This will definitely be nice if I want to do any traveling!
Before classes started yesterday (Monday) me and my roommate Jo had to bust into our other roommates Crystals room to roll it and put balloons all over it! We had SOOOOOO much fun!! It was her birthday so we really wanted to surprise her and we did! I didn’t take any pictures but they did and I’m sure sooner or later Ill upload our fun mess!

I have the same teacher for all 3 of my Creative Arts class. So I hope I end up getting along well with him! He started off class yesterday playing a song by Nirvana- I was like ROCK ON! The only downside here at JCU and being in the art program is that I have to take a bus to a separate campus, about 15 mins away from where I’m living. The bus is free but its still a pain in the ass to have to worry about making it to the bus stop on time. So basically I spend most of my time on what’s called “Vincent” Campus- yes the story gets better, It used to be an Insane Asylum!!!!!! You heard me right! haha! It’s definitely haunted and there are bars over ALL of the windows- SO CREEPY! Although the facility isn’t the greatest in the world the actual photography department has a pretty good amount of money! I couldn’t believe how much supplies they have to lend out to their students. They have 3 top of the line Digital Cameras- Brand new for us to rent! I don’t need one any time soon because I have my own but I just couldn’t believe how well the art department is supported! They also have many lights, stands, and umbrellas to rent. I wish Western has this amount of money!
So after all my classes yesterday I came back and discussed with my roommates what the plans for the night were. Crystal decided for her birthday that she wanted to head down to this rock pool- part of the beach- and then hit up a nice restaurant. We did so and ended up getting a lot of exercise in the process! I had a lot of fun walking up and down the beach. I got in a couple good shots in the process also! We left home around 6 and didn’t return until 11 so we were all exhausted on our return and just passed out!

While out last night I realized that just by looking at the moon I came to a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt ever before! It also gave me this feel of connection with friends and family back home. Because even though its daytime here when its nighttime there we are all looking at the same moon wherever we are located, and for just a couple hours we can look at it in sync under a dark dark sky.

Last night ended perfectly on the way home. As soon as we got off the bus to walk about a block to our college it started raining! It felt so amazingly good! This was the first rain I had felt since I have been in Australia! Yes, weird, b/c I live in a rainforest!

Today went pretty well also. I got up around 7 got ready and headed to a full day of classes! I got a ride back from my class today by a new Aussie friend I made so I didn’t have to take the bus. After I got back I took a power nap then headed out to the Tennis Courts to meet up with the tennis club. We hit the ball around for 2 hours in 80deg weather! I was sweating more than ever but it just felt sooooo good!! I have a feeling I’ll be losing a good amount of unnecessary weight and gaining muscle here- also gain energy! I can’t wait to see what shape I’ll be in on my return to the states! At the end of playing the Club Captain asked me to play on their tennis team here. I was stunned! The only downside is that the tournaments are on Saturdays, and I wanted to do some traveling. I told him I’d love too but I would have to give him a schedule of when I would be traveling and when I could participate in the games! One good thing about the team is that they do some bit of their own traveling so I plan on finding out where they plan to go. Well that’s all for today except for my random tidbits below. Farewell.

Random tidbit 1: My joke of the day: Sunscreen is like make-up here, for most people it’s a necessity to put it on! But really… The sun is so bad here they don’t even sell anything below 30SPF sunscreen here! This is what happens when you are missing an ozone layer! And in the city there is a Skin Cancer Facility about every 3 blocks! You can get a sun burnt here at 9am!!!!!

Random tidbit 2: I never thought I would ever have to explain the geology of the USA and try to describe where the state of Georgia is. I get questions like: Is it on the East or West Coast? Do you have heaps of snow? How far are you from NYC? Etc…. How would you describe where you lived to a person who doesn’t know where the different states are in the USA? Please leave your comments.

Liz

NO BRAS =D

Today was fun! Me and 2 roommates, Jo and Crystal and one possible future roommate, Christina, decided to go into the city to what’s called the “Flanders Market.” They only have it on Sundays from 8am-1pm. Unfortunately we only made it to the last little bit of it and looked around at some of the souvenir tables. There was a shop I saw last week that I really wanted to go to but just didn’t have the time to so today I was so excited to see that its open. So many of you know my last name is “Goettee”- So yeah you can imagine I have some Goat things laying around my house back home. They have this store here called “Drunken Goat.” So I bought something there today for someone special! This person might find out sooner or later what it is when I can eventually figure out how to mail it home! ; ). I’ll reveal what it is in about a week or so when they get it!- This person also MUST send a picture of what I send them (with the item) to me also and I’ll post it up! Haha.

Tonight, we had another free Barbi here at Rotary and we nominated people for the Executive committee for this college! I was nominated for VP, so I’ll find out tomorrow if I got the job. I don’t care either way if I do or not! I’d just do it for fun! So a little while went by and Jo and I decided to come back to our place and chill and plan a surprise birthday for our other roommate Crystal tomorrow. She turns the big 21!!! We were thinking about going down to the beach and putting up the Tiki torches we bought last week (the ones we got in trouble with here at our place). We are going to have a barbi down there at sunset and drink back a few! Hopefully it will be fun! - No more getting in trouble! Haha. While we were blowing up balloons Al, our older roommate from Vietnam (but now has a house in Brisbane, AUS.) just arrived back here from a 4 day trip back home to grab his belongings. Jo went down first to help him bring up his boxes then as soon as she came back from her trip downstairs she was like “LIZ you GOTTA COME SEE THIS!” So I went down to help and what do I see! He drives a top of the line yellow sports car all supped up! Both Jo and I were STUNNED! This 35sh year old driving this incredibly kick ass car! To our surprise he also told us that he had 3 more cars back home. All I know is that one of them is a Mercedes, I’m not sure about the others! I must say, every day here comes with its own suprises! I LOVE IT!

Here is a funny site my friend Alexis sent me today! I tried to find it last week but had no luck! But luckily enough she sent it to me! Its pretty funny!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/endofworld.html

Oh yeah.. one more thing- I have given up wearing bras for a month or so- It’s just too damn hot! Haha- I KNOW you wanted to know that! I'll keep you posted on wether or not I give up that resolution! hahaha
Peace,

Liz

Another snorkeling trip!

Wow! The last couple days have gone by so fast!! I still have the flu but last monday I signed up to go out to the Great Barrior Reef again Saturday. Well yesterday was Saturday and I was like F*** it! I gotta get out and do something! I was getting bored out of my mind sitting in my room! Once again I had so much fun out at the reef! It was beautiful and I saw an even larger abundance of fish here than last week at Paradise Reef (Part of the GBR) in Cairns. Friday was pretty boring but the night was fun. The japanese man here, HARO, and his girl made dinner and made some extra for me. It was sooo good! My first REAL japonese dinner! It was delicious! I forgot what it was called unfortuantely but I'm sure they will make it again! I'm having trouble right now posting pictures, I'm not really sure what the problem is but hopefully ill figure it out sooner or later! Classes start for me on Monday! Here are my classes:
Digital Imaging and Manipulation 1
Creative Photographic Lighting
Applied Photography 1
Linking Indigenousness 1
They should be pretty fun!
Bye for now,

Liz

Still sick but maybe getting better...

Today I got a case of cabin fever so this afternoon me and my roomate, Jo, went hiking out back. It is a very foresty area. We saw some really cool birds, scary spiders and heard some weird noises! On our way back we almost crapped our pants because we heard the most erie noise! Who knows what it was! Last night wasn't fun, lets just say the when you have Sinus infection, like the DR said I have, you shouldn't be hovering over a toilet. I think I have a really bad virus, maybe the flu? Who knows!!! I'M READY TO BE HEALTHY AGAIN AND HAVE SOME FUN!! One of my Aussie friends, Holly, brought me a care package today with Vicks cough drops, Kleenex, and a lolly pop! So nice of her to go out of her way for me like that!! I feel bad because I missed her 18th birthday party 2 nights ago! Turning 18 here is like turning 21 in the US- you can drink etc!I promised her I'd take her out to the bar next week when I have recovered!

One thing I never mentioned in previous posts is that the bathrooms here in Australia are called toilets- NEVER bathrooms. Some of the toilets do flush clockwise but most of them just flush down! So if you were wondering about that theory there you go! Also its funny, instead of a handle on the toilet there are 2 buttons on the top of each toilet. Sometimes they have something written on it and sometimes numbers. But the left button means half, the right button whole. In other words, you press the left button if you pee, and the right button if you poop! haha I have yet to see a toilet that has a handle like they do in the states!

Just a good laugh for my readers to enjoy- I sure needed one!


Liz

Sick sick sick...

The past 2 days have been pretty miserable. I have been very very sick and have been sleeping most of the time. Although today a couple exciting things happend. After I got back from the Doctors office (diagnosed with an inflamed Sinus Infection, possible Bronchitus) and Pharmacy I found out that we got internet in our rooms!! So yay! It will be much easier now to write journal entries and keep in touch with friends and family. At the end of my walk a friend came up and asked for help with her computer. After helping her I walked across the patio to my side of the Block and what do you know I saw a wallabee! It was so cute and was eating some of the grass outback. Below is a picture of it.

http://www.southeastusa.net/phimu/gallery/album10/Wal1

Also last night, I decided to go out for about a half an hour to a Toga Party! It was sooo much fun the little bit of time I was there! Because I am so sick I had no energy at all to be there when the croud began to grow really big. The Toga party was at "The Club." "The Club" is a pub/bar here on campus! Its gigantic! A lot of students can go to it to party almost every night! I wish we had these on our campuses back home!! HAHA! Especially at Western where you have to drive 4 miles to the closest store that sells alcohol.

http://www.southeastusa.net/phimu/gallery/album09/DSCF0745

Liz

14/2/05 - Valentines Day

Wow, what a day!
Well first off, as you notice the day is switched with the month. This is how the Aussie’s write the months so I need to get some practice in for papers etc. I woke up this morning VERY sick. I’m really not sure what I have, maybe a sinus infection or possibly the flu. My symptoms include swollen glands, sore throat, sore ears, etc. It’s weird feeling sick in such hot weather. It really just drains you! I made it out to some of the festivities they have on campus here. I joined a bunch of clubs including: Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Surfer, Dive, and a couple more. This week at JCU is called “O Week.” Its basically set up for freshman coming in and International students such as myself to become familiar with the Uni (University), the clubs, and the people, I had an interesting experience at the Ultimate Frisbee club table. The team captain is from Minnesota and is here for her last semester of school and she was very excited to have another American like me to come up to the table. I also hung out with this Australian girl for a while. We walked around and had lunch together. She was telling me some more do’s and don’ts of the Australian Culture. She told me never to mention President Bush because Australians have an extreme dislike of him. We also got on the subject of Shrimp. Supposedly Australians think its funny that we eat shrimp. They think of shrimp as bait. They eat what’s called “Prawn.” I’m not really sure if its just another name for Shrimp or if it’s a completely different sea creature. While we were talking she decided to give me a nick name, “Dunst.” For some reason, she and the other girl I was talking to both think I look like Kirsten Dunst. I found this very funny! They went on and on about how her name in one of her recent movies, “Wimbledon” is Lizzie and that they think I look just like her! I guess that’s a compliment? Haha I don’t remember the girls name but I think me and her have some fun times ahead of us at pubs etc! She knows some hot Aussie boys so I’ll definitely be introduced! Hopefully I’ll catch her name tomorrow! I’m so bad at names! It can become embarrassing at times!
Because I am so sick I missed my orientation walk around campus. This afternoon we went shopping and bought tiki torches for our back deck but unfortunately the minute we put them up we got in trouble! Oh well, it was worth a shot! My roommates said it really wasn’t a big deal but I still feel like I missed out on something! Tonight we made a fun mix of food for dinner. We mixed eggs, potatoes, peppers, and several spices into a pan and cooked it over the stove. It turned out pretty good! I was surprised. We are all on our own to make food so we figured we could some fun while were doing it! Well its about 9pm and I’m gonna hit the sack. Being sick without your mommy is hard! =(

Liz

2/13/05- TODAY

If you havent noticed by now, a bunch of journal entries all went up all of a sudden! Thats because today, Sunday the 13th of February I finally had a chance to bring my laptop down to the comp lab and I just took an ethernet cable out of one of the 3 non working computers.
Yesterday was a busy day! In the morning I finally got a chance to make some phone calls. First I tried calling my mom and step-dad but the line was “busy.” So I left a message. Next I called my dad and step-mom and got through! It was so good to hear their voices. I hadn’t talked to them since the day I left Atlanta so they were pretty ecstatic to hear my voice. After talking to them I headed into the city of Townsville. It’s a really cute area with all kind of surf shop clothes and fruit drinks. We also walked about 2 miles to the “Strand.” The Strand is the beach. We made it to the roped off part and stuck our feet in the water. It felt so good! The reason you can only go in at the roped off part is because its Box Jellyfish season and they can kill you! We left around 3:30pm and came back to our rooms and rested for our planned eventful evening. When we got back we had 2 new roommates, this French guy, we call him Frenchie because no one can pronounce his real name. Also, a Vietnamese man named Al moved in. We were quite surprised with Al because he is in his mid 30’s. But today he decided he was going to try to move out because he needs AC and this weather it just way too hot for him. After meeting our new roommates we drove into town with Al, he is a partier! We went to the city and went pub/bar hopping until about 1am. The majority of us are still jetlagged or at least we think, maybe it’s just the heat of the sun that makes us so tired. Bar hopping was quite an experience of its own! So on our way to the first bar we started talking and walking with some Aussie men in their upper 20’s just about the area and about going to party and it ends up these guys just assumed we were into them so they followed us for the rest of the evening! It got really annoying but at least I got a free “Sex on the beach” drink out of it. Haha. By the time Crystal (my roommate) and I were ready to leave the guy I was dancing with just wouldn’t let me go! He started kissing all up on me and stuff! Guys here are a lot gutsier and touchy feely than they are in America. Hopefully my next pub hopping experience will be better!
Today has been pretty relaxing day. I still don’t have Internet in my room so broke down and just brought my laptop to the lab. This is the only place on my College (Dorm) that has AC. Unfortunately its only a 6*6 foot room. We had a social today with the rest of the students here at my college. There are a little over 100 of us. We got to go slip and sliding, play Cricket, cool off in a kiddy pool and play pool. The pool tables here are different than they are in the US. The balls and holes are much smaller! They are harder to hit! We also had a Barbie (Barbeque) of steak, hamburgers, and sausages. They don’t have ketchup here, instead they have “Tomato Sauce.” It’s basically a more concentrated tomato ketchup. They also don’t eat Mustard with hotdogs. We got on the subject of PBJ sandwiches and supposedly Aussies think they are disgusting! What they do like on their sandwiches is something called Vegemite. I figure ill probably give it a try by next weekend! Well its Sunday afternoon here right now and I should wrap up this journal. I’m so happy to have finally been able to post these! I hope you all enjoy and I can’t wait to hear your comments!
Liz

2/11/05 - Goodbye Cairns, Hello Townsville

Yay, now I am in Townsville! This place isn’t as lush and green as Cairns but it is still beautiful. I was quite surprised they way were so abruptly dropped off at my college (dorm). There are about 8 of us from Australearn here at the Rotary International House. All of us were lucky and got into the new section of the college. The rooms are very nice. I’m basically living in a 7 person apartment. We have a main living room with 4 fans, 1 fridge, 1 half fridge half freezer, and one large freezer. We use hotel like keys to get into our individual rooms. Each room has a bed, desk, dresser, sink and fan. I put in a request for an AC unit today but supposedly there is a long list of others who have already enquired for one. Obviously they are in VERY high demand! Its HOT, and
when I say HOT, I mean DEAD HOT- hotter than Florida ever gets! The wildlife here is crazy! I don’t think half the people I know could ever live in Queensland Australia. There is a hug abundance of insects and amphibians. Every moth here is the size of an American butterfly. And toads are everywhere at night- It’s hard not to step on them! They definitely enjoy feasting on the insects! Also a friend of mine was peeing in the toilet yesterday and a large green tree frog popped out and scared the crap out of him! Supposedly this is common for frogs/toads, lizards, and gecko’s to crawl out of the toilet!

I went to the computer lab tonight and talked to some locals. They told me to check online for classes with fieldtrips because International students enjoy taking those. So I a little bit of research in the time I had and hopefully by next week I might be able to enroll in an Aboriginal studies class.

We’ll its 11:30pm here and I am still jet lagged so I really need to get to sleep! Its about 5am in NC/GA now. Sleep tight everyone and hopefully by the time I post this entry I’ll have a more convenient access to the Internet. Supposedly in the mornings there are Kangaroos and Dingo’s outside of our rooms. I can’t wait to see my first wild Australian animal in its natural habitat and not in a Zoo.
Liz

2/8/05 - Orientation events in Cairns

Sooooo much to take in!
Last night was a load of fun! Me and a couple friends did a little window shopping and then we walked along the beach! We didn’t go a block without seeing a surf shop or the name “Billabong.” I also got to set foot at my first Australian beach. Restaurants are very different over here. As the customer, you are responsible for getting your waitresses attention. Also they aren’t nearly as attentive here as they are in the US. The main reason for this is because they are paid hourly and don’t rely on tips. So they don’t necessarily have as much incentive to satisfy their customers. My friends and family will probably be interested in knowing that I ate crocodile for my first time! It was really good! Tasted a lot like a combination of chicken and fish. Next on my list of foods are Kangaroo and Snake!
Today, Wednesday, I went snorkeling and scuba diving out at the Great Barrier Reef! It was absolutely incredible!! WOW! So unbelievably surreal. I got a chance to swim with the fishes and stingrays! Oh, and I also got to see the real NEMO! Haha! I know there are a couple of my sorority sisters who would be extremely jealous of this. Wink wink Sarah! Haha Love you girl! I told NEMO “HI” for you! I took an underwater camera with me but I don’t know when I’ll have the chance to develop it. Hopefully I can find a Camera shop in Townsville that can put pictures on CD’s so I can share with you my underwater experience. Its only 9pm here right now and I feel like I’m going to pass out! Swimming around was definitely a worthwhile workout. I was invited to go Crocodile hunting with a professional tonight but I just don’t have the energy to go! I hope there will be another opportunity to go. Well I am retiring for the night- miss everyone lots! Please leave comments on this exciting entry! I can’t wait to read them! Tomorrow I am taking 4 hour bus ride to Townsville- Hopefully I’ll have this entry posted by the weekend!
Bye for now mate!
Liz

2/7/05 - 1st Entry Written here in Cairns Australia.

Wow, so much to take in!
As soon as I arrived in LA from Atlanta I had to check in at the Quantas counter and then through another screening process. In the 3 hours of my layover I met a bunch of fellow Australearners and we all became acquainted with each other very quickly. Around 11pm I left LAX and was off on my way to the land down under. The plane ride wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it to be. About 4 hours into the 14 hour flight I took half of an Ambien. I woke up about 4 hours prior to landing in Sydney, AUS. After waking up I played some games and watched Friends on the screen. It was neat, there was a TV screen on the back of every seat- definitely helped time go by. I arrived in Sydney and saw the world renound Opera House right before landing. It was pretty easy to point it out in the plane. Me and my new friends were a little tired. It’s weird because we left the USA on Saturday night but we arrived in Australia on Monday! So we basically skipped an entire day! Haha. We had a 4-hour layover in Sydney- In that time I went through customs and then hung out around the airport. A bunch of us walked around and tried to find the Super bowl game on TV. Every person we asked just laughed at us! I guess the Australians aren’t so fond of American football. After a couple hours went by we were off to Cairns (pronounced Cans). I couldn’t believe my eyes when we arrived in Cairns. It was absolutely beautiful! The land is so incredibly lush and green! It is 100% rainforest here- very humid! After a short bus ride to our orientation destination we had time to swim and play volleyball. I ended up not playing but just taking pictures of my surroundings. They have us living in little apartment like buildings. They are actually very nice with some rooms with AC units and some just with fans. This morning we woke up at 8 for breakfast and a little seminar on “Culture Shock.” After this we headed to the Zoo. I got to hold a Kuala!! It was soo neat! They are such cute and cuddly animals. All I was thinking was how I wanted to own one some day! Haha, but I bet that’s illegal. Then I got to feed and pet Kangaroos. I got to see several types of Australian wildlife. They have what’s called a Dingo, looks exactly like a dog. It was really cute!! The Zoo here was much more of a natural habitation for the animals than they are back in the states. I had a ton of fun at the Zoo. After the zoo we headed over to have lunch and fun at a local Aborigine park. We got to see their traditional dances and learn about their culture and religion. We also go to throw boomerangs and Spears. We just got back from everything, its 5;46pm Australian time and I am cooling off before going into the city of Cairns for dinner and brew.
Liz

More coming soon...

Hellooooooooooooooo
Sorry its taken so long since my last post! I have been so incredibly busy! I have been keeping a journal every day but I have hardly any time to come to the computer room for the internet. Normally there is an hour wait just to get a computer! Hopefully in the near future I will be able to hook up my laptop to the internet- I just have to wait for the dude to hook me up. For the mean time sit back, relax and HOLD YOUR HORSES! Believe me you will have a LOT to read once I get my internet up and running in my room!
Miss everyone tons already,
Liz

Liz's RANT- Ice SUCKS

The past 2 days have been absolute hell! I just gotta rant so if you aren't insterested in my bitching stop reading now - the following entry contains a good amount of cusswords also- so be forewarned! I don't intend to offend anyone- I just gotta rant . It's not that I dislike Chicago, I love it there but I was ready to come home! I guess I was a little selfish, but I just wanted to come home to see my friends and family before I leave this Saturday for Australia. But the weather had other plans in mind for me, the Ice Storm in Atlanta!

Saturday: I was originally supposed to leave Chicago O'hare around 11am. My flight was rescheduled 4 fk'n other times today, each one CANCELLED. So then I asked Delta to just schedule me on a flight for Sunday. um... NOPE! (Oh by the way, each time I called delta I was on hold for atleast an hour, so having to call them really didnt make me happy at all, i was becoming more and more irritated.)

Sunday:
12:00 AM. -my mom gives me a call, I am half asleep because I took a hard sleeping pill around 8pm Saturday night just so I could sleep and I thought hey, I'll be home quicker if I just get some sleep and not worry about crap. She called to tell me that my 5th flight had been CANCELLED!! I was in a rage! So I was up until 1am trying to get through with Delta to get another LATER flight on Sunday (I dont remember my conversation because of the effects of my sleeping pill with them- but I did have a print out of an email they sent me.) They changed it to 11am (once again) but at a different airport, Midway. I thought for sure because it was at a different airport I would be making it home to ATL. NOPE!
8:30sh AM.- As soon as I woke up I thought it might be smart to check the status of my flight. Around 9am this morning I found out that my 6th flight out of Chicago to Atlanta was CANCELLED! I just broke down and started crying! Not only did they tell me that all flights were cancelled but they said that Delta didnt have ANY flights going from Chicago to Atlanta today! So I pretty much mouthed off the Delta representative on the phone (after waiting an hour & a half) telling them that I looked online and it was looking like every other airline was flying out to ATL except them! So they put me back on hold, for 20 minutes- I was in a rage the entire time- and she told me that she was putting me on an American Airlines flight 4444 leaving from O'hare at 4:10 and arriving in Atlanta at 7:10.
1:00 PM. comes around and Steve (the guy I was staying with) and I leave to go downstairs to pick up his car at valet. Here goes another drama story... So we wait and wait and wait and wait, 20 minutes goes by and I ask Steve to ask the attendant to check the status of his car. So he asks him and he just tells him to sit tight and that his car is coming. Another 10 minutes goes by and we both figure out something is wrong here! So we ask him again and he takes Steve's valet ticket- guess what.... WRONG fk'n ticket! The woman inside the box had given us the wrong ticket to Steve's car! We were both pretty ticked off! Eventually the car came and we were off to the airport- traffic was pretty good- finally a little bit of luck!
2:15 PM.- So Steve drops me off at T3 at O'hare where luckily both Delta and American Airlines are located- more luck! So I gave Steve a hug goodbye and I ventured inside of the Terminal. First I went to the Delta counter like I had been instructed to do and they handed me a temporary ticket and told me to head over to the American Airlines check in desk. I waited in line for about 20 minutes and finally it was my turn to check in my bag. I went up trying to be all cheery and handed him my ticket. Something seemed to be VERY wrong because I didnt even exist in their system. I was starting to get fueled up again! After 2 managers come over they realize what the problem was- Delta hadn't paid them yet for my flight. So after that was all figured out he said you are good to go, then he was like "Wait! Your bag is 7 lbs over our maximum weight- either you have to take out 7 lbs worth of clothes or pay $25.00." AHHHHH Could this day get ANY WORSE!?! Because my bag was so carefully packed to the max there was no way I was opening it until I arrived home in Atlanta. I tried to talk him out of it by explaining to him all the crap that had happend to me in the past 2 days, didnt work- he wasn't buying it! Then I was telling him how I only weigh 115lbs and that it's not fair for 300 lb man to get on the plane for no extra charge- he STILL wasnt buying it! (haha yes it's ok to laugh- I really DID say that!) So I took out the money I had in my pocket, only $11.00- I still continued to bargain with him- eventually I gave in and just asked him if they take a bank card- he said no but b/c VISA is a part of my bank card with BankOne I was able to use it! YAY I was finally away from this aweful Russian man who just didnt give a crap for a cute 21 year old like me. haha.
2:50 PM.- Finally, I was finished with that guy and I was on my way towards the metal detectors that marked the entrance to the Gate. I thought I was free-- WRONG once again! So I went through the check, didnt hear a damn thing beep but they insisted in a stern tone that I step aside in the asylum they have set aside for people. They searched me up and down, felt me up etc and were extremely rude! All that went off was my friggen bra and they insisted it was something else! Then I was finally released out of the hands of the airport authorities and I was about to pick up my bag when they told me "No you are not allowed to do that!" WHAT NOW? They told me that no nothing went off in my bag but that it had been picked randomly to be searched. So they ended up taking EVERYTHING out of my carry on bag! Luckily, after it was done a woman there was extremely apologetic and helped me cram all my crap back into my bag! I was HOME FREE!
3:20 PM.- All I wanted now was a nice cold BEER and I got it!!! I was in heaven, I just wanted to relax, something I hadn't done for 2 days! After my nice cold beer I headed toward the gate and waited for only 20 minutes before they started boarding. I called my mom as soon as I was on the plane to let her know I was homebound, FINALLY!
9:00 PM.- So now I write from home and I am EXTREMELY thankful to be here with my family! I have a busy week ahead of me before I head to Australia on Saturday and I hope to make the most with my time!
For those who stayed and read this entire entry, I salute you, and accept any pity! haha blah blah blah! I'm home and HAPPY! I'm good for now! Signing off...
Oh.. one more thing...Steve, thanks so much for putting up with all my crap the past 2 days, sorry about getting so worked up and stressed! Thanks again for your hospitality! Also thanks so much to all my fellow employees and friends in Chicago- You all made my month there very enjoyable.
Liz

Love Learn Live Australia

YAY! So I finally got a confirmation of where I will be living. It's a place called "Rotary International House," and it is part of James Cook University's campus in Townsville. I wish I could find a picture of it but its looking like they are re-doing the Housing webpage for JCU. Although if you want to learn about where I will be living click on the link found above.

Its funny, while I was doing research for RIH I found another page describing its features and it said "It is a self-catering College and accommodates all creeds and cultures." This almost sounds like I'll be living in a house of amphibians! haha!!! Well, i guess this gives my friends another reason to call me "Leezard Leezard." You girls know who you are! I will miss you soooo much while I'm gone and you have to promise to keep in touch!

Thank you so much for those of you who are taking time out of their day to read my BLOG and leave a comment. Please don't be shy! You have no idea how much I enjoy reading what your intake or reaction is to my entries. I love checking my email and having a message pop up saying Jane Doe has left a comment! Also, one idea I had was, dont be afraid to reply to another one of my friends comments. I absolutely love reading what you have to write! It's not every day someone is given the oppertunity to have friends all over read and see what I am doing and reply to it. You might even meet a new friend here! lol Who knows.....

In the next week and a half I have here in America I will be finishing up work here in Chicago, packing an hanging out with friends in Atlanta and then I'm off! I depart from Atlanta on the 5th of Februrary and land in LA. A couple hours later I will be on my long non-stop flight to Australia. Hopefully I will have a chance to write another entry before I leave.

One more thing, I started up a page where I will be posting my photographs, so please check it out and save it in your favorites! So far I only have pictures I found off the internet of the town I will be residing in. Liz's Photographs. You are also welcome to leave comments here!

Well thats it for now, enjoy!
Liz

Countdown: 2 weeks till lift off...

First off, with this being my initial BLOG entry I would like to introduce myself. In case you dont know me, my name is Elizabeth Goettee (Liz) and I am from Atlanta, Georgia – USA. I am currently a student at Western Carolina University in North Carolina but will be attending James Cook University in Townsville this upcoming February for a semester. My major is “Studio Art in Photography.” Not only do I have a love for photography but I also enjoy doing web design and graphic design.

I’m not the kind of person to get nervous to embark on something such as this trip but I am saddened to leave my friends. For a month this winter I have been working in Chicago to make some extra spending money for Australia. Very quickly, I came to realize that it is very difficult to be away from close friends and family for just this short of time. And it’s even harder to imagine being away for half a year. I plan on keeping touch with my friends every bit that I can.

In the past year as I have matured I have finally been able to create a close bond with my family. They will be even harder to leave behind. In November, I became a proud new Aunt of a beautiful baby girl named Emma Angeline. I am saddened that I will not have the chance to watch her grow during her first year of life. I wish my sister and her husband the best of luck with their newborn while I am away.

Its funny, I’m not afraid of the 15-hour flight to Australia but I am afraid of leaving my friends and family. But I guess that’s life and I’m ready for what it has to throw at me! I think I am at a point of my life where I am prepared to step out of my comfort zone.

Just recently I got an email notifying me that I have been accepted for the Australearn Volunteer program. I couldn’t think of anything better to start off my semester! I can’t wait to help out and get involved! The only awareness I have of the Australian culture is through photographs. I doubt any photograph can completely encompass what Australia is all about. I can’t wait to meet her people, see her art, visit her rainforests, and lay on her beaches. I am quite an adventurous person so I hope to do some skydiving, surfing, along with other sports that define Australia’s culture.

As I wrap up my first BLOG entry I am sitting in an office cubicle 16 stories high located off of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois- In the middle of winter. In 2 weeks my life will probably change radically. I will be in completely different climate conditions enjoying the sun, people, and wild life while taking breathtaking photographs. I’m VERY excited and grateful to have this experience of a lifetime!

Liz

The cutest niece ever of course! =)