As some of you may know, and others may just be finding out about now, I recently got back from the most amazing trip of my life. I got the opportunity to spend 2 weeks in Tanzania (in east Africa) with 6 other students from Notre Dame and two teachers - Dylan and Janeen. This wasn't a holiday I was on. I went in conjunction with Notre Dame and Caritas Australia, which is a Catholic aid agency. Janeen was our representative from Caritas Australia, and Dylan was our instructor. Once a week all semester we attended a meeting together to learn about development in countries, and how to develop from the ground up, meaning starting with the people themselves, not starting with the government. All the studying and preparing we did over the duration of the past 4 months never could have fully prepared us for what I learned while actually in Tanzania.
The people we met in the villages have the most beautiful souls of anyone I've ever met. They are so joyous, thankful, and welcoming. Here we are, a group of "mzungus" (white people) coming to their village look at the way they live. But the way we were welcomed with dancing, and singing, and bottles of soda was so humbling. "Asante, asante, asante" (thank you, thank you, thank you) was a constant choir among the village. But what were they thanking us for? For the money we've donated to Caritas Australia which went to Caritas Tanzania and to this village? I haven't donated anything (yet!). For coming to visit them? Yes, but I mean, I was in Africa! What they were so thankful for was that we were going to go back to Australia and tell THEIR story. The story of the single mom who was given a cow, which she now gets milk from. She can use it's fertilizer for her banana plantation to make the bananas sweeter, so they sell at a more competitive price. The story of the husband and wife who now know how to keep records of all they buy and sell and who have been able to send their six children to private school for education, a huge accomplishment. But that's just the surface of their stories. Another village up north thought it no big deal they used to have to walk 5-6 kilometers to get water, only to carry a 20 litre bucket back on their heads. Now they have a water tap 400 metres from their homes. When asked how we get water, how do you explain that we have several faucets IN our homes, and showers too. It's so humbling.
Peter Mduki was our Caritas Tanzania representative that came along on our long bus rides to bring us to the villages. Not only did he translate everything for us, but he kept up entertained on our several 400-910km bus treks across Tanzania with stories of the country. The dating world and how it works, the Masai people (who are the traditional herders who still practice female circumcision), the history of Tanzania and how it got its name (Tanganyika and Zanzibar squished into one), and who put up with our constant comparisons to The Lion King, our singing along to Jambo, Jambo (Hello, hello), and our ongoing questions about what Caritas Tanzania does and how it works. Tanzania wouldn't have been the same without him.
My fellow students I went with were amazing, too. Every one of us is studying something different, from politics to nursing, from teaching to environmental science. Each of us had something to contribute. We all joked with each other and shared our hand sanitizer and toilet paper for our many bush stops.
I don't quite know how to sum up Tanzania in a blog post. We had so much fun that not even 48 hours after we returned (5 of us had continued on exploring in Dubai for a week), we had a reunion dinner, and I know there will be more to come, with tea African style (filled to the brim) and khangas wrapped around us (the traditional cloth women wear over their dresses to keep them fresh) and stories filled with laughter.
To end our trip in Tanzania, Peter had surprised us with a safari in Ngorongoro Crater. Seeing lions, zebras, buffaloes, hippos, in their natural environment is surreal. Ah-mazing. Incredible. It topped off the trip in the perfect way. (Yes, we did see giraffes as well, in a different area).
Tanzania would not have been possible without the help of my mom or my dad. I had to get travel insurance, which I didn't know a thing about, a bazillion questions about what vaccinations I had or had to get, "I need some more money," and last but not least - here's my contact details while away, but know that "no news is good news." I'm sure it's great when your daughter is in Africa and you haven't heard a word from her.
This short blog doesn't nearly explain the time of my life that I had. I learned so much and I'm sure stories will be forever coming. I just can't help it!
Asante sana (thank you very much)!
Oh - and for your ever curious minds:
Hakuna Matata really DOES mean "no worries" and they DO use it in daily conversation.
Simba means "lion". How creative Disney, how creative.
Rafiki means "friend." He sings Asante Sana squash banana. "Thank you very much squash banana"!?! sure....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBwp9k0i-3I - we listened to this on repeat for 12 hours. no joke. you learn to love it!
Take the Serengeti - have a beer
It's Kili time, make the most of it - Kilimanjaro beer slogan, a drink often consumed at night, as it was 500 shillings, or 50 cents, and cheaper than water. Besides, we're in AFRICA, baby! Let's make the most of it!!!!
aaaannnnddd, after Tanzania, five of us girls headed to Dubai for four days worth of adventures there. From shopping to camel riding, water sliding to Lebanese food eating, we did it all. Dubai was so very different from Tanzania, yet I think coming from there made us appreciate it even more. It's quite shocking when you have come from one of the world's poorest countries to being in what must be one of the richest cities. Though by no means did we live roughly in Africa, we were spoiled in Dubai. The people there are so kind as well, walking us personally to the mall when we were lost, explaining to us that it doesn't matter if we pay for dinner or not (which of course we did, they treated us like princesses) and meeting a Kenyan lifeguard by merely shouting "Jambo" and getting a "Mambo! You speak Swahili!?" in response. Camel riding in the desert was a fave, as well as the combination of British and American stores in the malls.
I cannot wait to go back to Africa, climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and laugh with the "happy days" people.
Kwaheri (goodbye) for now!
Megs
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
"Look at me, look at me, hands in the air like it's good to be alive!" These lyrics pretty much sum up my life for the past month. Sorry I have be soooo bad at updating my blog recently - I guess time flies when you're writing papers (or studying).
So I guess I'll just start with our first study break, seeing as we are coming up on our second one right now (or ending it, since it's taken me a week to write this blog. Man, I put the pro in procrastinate). My first study break was consumed with a class field trip for Australian Ecology leaving Thursday and coming back Sunday evening. I left Thursday in a panic - my Australian history paper was unfinished, I threw some random clothes in my bag and I was sleep deprived. I was in no state to go away for three nights, yet excited at the same time. Luckily, my teacher allowed me to use his computer and e-mail my paper out that night, so I woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to learn about Australian environments. We spent our trip traveling from the coast moving inland and learning about the relationships of plants, animals, and people to the environment. We got to go on a nice hike, see some kangaroos outside my window, get COVERED in red dust from the world's largest aluminum bauxite mine, and experience the country (as in not a city) Australia. Because I have so much to update y'all on, I better keep my experience short. The rest of the week I spent babysitting Nicole's kids - taking them to the park, doing arts and crafts, and calming the crying Zoe.
And now in the interest of getting a lot of weeks in in a short amount of time and space, I'll summarize in bullet points...you might be able to tell I'm done writing in 'essay' format.
Things I have done recently:
Catch y'alls later! Please, I'd love, love, love to tell you more about my time here in Australia, just don't know what you want to hear...so ask away!
Love, Megaroo
So I guess I'll just start with our first study break, seeing as we are coming up on our second one right now (or ending it, since it's taken me a week to write this blog. Man, I put the pro in procrastinate). My first study break was consumed with a class field trip for Australian Ecology leaving Thursday and coming back Sunday evening. I left Thursday in a panic - my Australian history paper was unfinished, I threw some random clothes in my bag and I was sleep deprived. I was in no state to go away for three nights, yet excited at the same time. Luckily, my teacher allowed me to use his computer and e-mail my paper out that night, so I woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to learn about Australian environments. We spent our trip traveling from the coast moving inland and learning about the relationships of plants, animals, and people to the environment. We got to go on a nice hike, see some kangaroos outside my window, get COVERED in red dust from the world's largest aluminum bauxite mine, and experience the country (as in not a city) Australia. Because I have so much to update y'all on, I better keep my experience short. The rest of the week I spent babysitting Nicole's kids - taking them to the park, doing arts and crafts, and calming the crying Zoe.
And now in the interest of getting a lot of weeks in in a short amount of time and space, I'll summarize in bullet points...you might be able to tell I'm done writing in 'essay' format.
Things I have done recently:
- Visited the Western Australian Maritime museum and spent too much time there - on a submarine, using the rowing machine (Katherine and I are "not too bad"), and just being kids. It was a blast and very informative.
- Had the aim of making nachos to watch during round two of the footy final, but took too long planning them out at the grocery store. And then proceeded to eat nachos and cookies for our next five meals. Or something like that.
- BIKING in the swan valley. Stop #1) iced chai. Aka - chai with ice cream in it. Stop #2) the chocolate factory. A great day with Katherine and Krystal, even though I slipped off my bike in the rain.
- BIKING in Rottnest. BEST WEEKEND EVER. Yes, that did need caps lock on. A group of 7 of us from Port Lodge, plus one girl's friend visiting from home, spent a Saturday night camping out on Rotto, which is a 30 minute ferry ride from Freo. We rented bikes for the day, swam, biked to the lighthouse, biked to the far side of the island to see the "humpback highway" (yes, we did see a whale in the distance), had a broken pedal on a bike and walked the 10kms or so to the campsite, ordered pizza for dinner, enjoyed the company of quokkas, ran a 10k road race the next day, and collapsed on the beach to nap. Cleo's (another dorm full of Portland kids) was on the island camping by us as well, which made our trip extra fun. I can't even describe how great this "family vacation" was. Mini golf? check. Strongbow cider? check. R&R? check and check! It was perfect and just what I needed (since I was done with all my assignments by then).
- Study retreat. 5 girls. Chili for dinner, breakfast, and breakfast again. Mmmm. Thanks giving, loving, sharing, movie watching, $37 pumpkin carving, carnival ride spinning. An awesome weekend away to reflect and clear the head for exams
- Walked from Cottesloe beach to North Fremantle, after a failed attempt to see Heath Ledger's grave. But we still had fun.
- Dinner in the city with the girls I am traveling to the land of The Lion King (aka Tanzania) and Dubai with in two weeks. So good to have their company outside of the classroom setting.
- Studied for finals? I'd like to say that happened, but let's be honest here. A whole week of to study? Nah. A whole week off to de-stress, and re-stress myself.
- Worked - or 'volunteered' my time as a swim instructor, taking both the AUSTSWIM and CPR class here in Australia because they don't recognize my American certification.
- Got lost on my way to my other job with the Department of Sport and Recreation.
Catch y'alls later! Please, I'd love, love, love to tell you more about my time here in Australia, just don't know what you want to hear...so ask away!
Love, Megaroo
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Standing Up
This semester I have gotten much more involved in UNDA campus life, and I love being busy with different events that are taking place. These past two Wednesdays have been particularly eventful. Wednesdays are normally my day off, so I go to the city to get lunch with Cheryl, but last Wednesday we celebrated Multicultural Day here at Notre Dame. This year's theme was "The Americas," and my role was to organize 5 students including myself who had volunteered to have a stand about their country. I got the opportunity to meet some really awesome international students from Columbia, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Canada, as well as my friend Bruno from Brazil who kept me company at the USA stand all day. Each of us had a bulletin board filled with facts about our countries of birth and samples of food ranging from PB&Js (which are uncommon here) to maple syrup candies from Canada to bananas with sweetened condensed milk from Ecuador and guacamole from Columbia. Mmmm! I got lots of curious looks for my PB&J, some disgusted faces, and many compliments and "Ooooh! This is better than it sounds!" That's right - Americans know whats up! I wrapped up the day with some tossing of the American football around the common room - always a blast!
This Wednesday I was a part of another group putting on an event at campus - this time Stand Up Against Poverty! I am a part of a group of 7 students from UNDA who are going to Tanzania in November as a part of a Caritas Australia immersion trip. As a part of our class we have been learning about poverty and development and what we can do to help. As a part of our commitment, we decided to hold and event with this year's Stand Up theme: MAKE NOISE!!! The seven of us got a drumming and dance group to come in and make some noise for us as we read out the Stand Up pledge in front of the crowd in the courtyard and counted all those who stood up against poverty. This is a worldwide event happening over the next two days, so maybe there's an event near you! You can check it out at http://standagainstpoverty.org/suap/.
Both events were a great success and it was a fun way to spend my day off.
You can check out an article about multicultural day here (where I am mentioned):
http://www.nd.edu.au/news/media-releases/2010/media_release_9_9_2010_multiCultural.shtml
and another article about Stand Up here, with 4 of us pictured:
http://epaper.communitynews.com.au/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RkcvMjAxMC8wOS8wNyNBcjAwMzAy&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Next on my agenda? Papers, papers, papers! I cannot believe we are coming up to our mid-semester break! Yikes! Time has flown by and before I know it I'll be on a plane to Tanzania. Can't wait!
Make sure you get your voices heard today - stand up against poverty and MAKE SOME NOISE!!!
~Megan
This Wednesday I was a part of another group putting on an event at campus - this time Stand Up Against Poverty! I am a part of a group of 7 students from UNDA who are going to Tanzania in November as a part of a Caritas Australia immersion trip. As a part of our class we have been learning about poverty and development and what we can do to help. As a part of our commitment, we decided to hold and event with this year's Stand Up theme: MAKE NOISE!!! The seven of us got a drumming and dance group to come in and make some noise for us as we read out the Stand Up pledge in front of the crowd in the courtyard and counted all those who stood up against poverty. This is a worldwide event happening over the next two days, so maybe there's an event near you! You can check it out at http://standagainstpoverty.org/suap/.
Both events were a great success and it was a fun way to spend my day off.
You can check out an article about multicultural day here (where I am mentioned):
http://www.nd.edu.au/news/media-releases/2010/media_release_9_9_2010_multiCultural.shtml
and another article about Stand Up here, with 4 of us pictured:
http://epaper.communitynews.com.au/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RkcvMjAxMC8wOS8wNyNBcjAwMzAy&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Next on my agenda? Papers, papers, papers! I cannot believe we are coming up to our mid-semester break! Yikes! Time has flown by and before I know it I'll be on a plane to Tanzania. Can't wait!
Make sure you get your voices heard today - stand up against poverty and MAKE SOME NOISE!!!
~Megan
Monday, August 30, 2010
a week in the life...
Seriously - I have been slacking this semester on updating everybody. Sorry!
It's been really good to be back this semester - my classes are more fun, I actually know people (not the Americans I live with) in class, and I have Wednesdays and Fridays off. I have also taken up quite a lot of extracurricular activities, which has been good to keep me busy and meet new people.
Mondays I go to class for 6 hours and then play a soccer game for the uni soccer league. It's indoor and it's a blast!I bumped into my friend Kalon on the street a few weeks ago - he's an Aussie who lived in the other dorm last semester and we had GIS together and he wanted another girl on the team - so despite my slight fear of soccer balls and lack of foot-eye coordination, I said I would play. We're really just there to have fun, and fun it is! (plus, I can then count it as my workout for the day)!
Tuesdays I go swimming in the morning and then learn about Australian history (so far all I've gathered is that Australia was colonized because Britain lost the war with America and could no longer send their convicts there...) Community dinners are also Tuesdays nights. Mmmm...
Wednesdays I have off - and I either head into the city and get coffee with Cheryl (my "mom" here, or go to her house for lunch and play with Zoe. Then Wednesday nights, Lyndsay (my RS) and I take a jazz dance class!!! It's fun being able to be "friends" with Lyndz this semester and not just a student, if that makes any sense.
Thursdays I have Theology - and I love it! And then community dinner...
And Fridays - oh boy - I wake up at 4:30 for work at 5am! I work at the Fremantle Markets - at a fruit and veggie stand. My friend Maurice from Switzerland works there and got me the job (thanks!) and this other guy, Brink, works there as well. It's the three of us, plus Jamie the boss, and between the four of us, we come from four different continents, as Brink is from South Africa! How cool is that? All of us are international students at Notre Dame.
I work between 8-17 hours on the weekend, depending on the need for me and my plans, and between that I do homework, enjoy the beach (it's starting to warm up here) or hang out with my friends here.
Last weekend a group of us ran the 12km City to Surf in the city (I'm still really sore). Today, the crew from the dorm headed up to Singapore for their business class, so there's three of us left to enjoy the quietness.
Other than that, it's been really good to be back here. I definitely miss Colorado, but this is my home for now, and we'll see where I end up after I graduate in July 2011!
Cheers,
Megs
It's been really good to be back this semester - my classes are more fun, I actually know people (not the Americans I live with) in class, and I have Wednesdays and Fridays off. I have also taken up quite a lot of extracurricular activities, which has been good to keep me busy and meet new people.
Mondays I go to class for 6 hours and then play a soccer game for the uni soccer league. It's indoor and it's a blast!I bumped into my friend Kalon on the street a few weeks ago - he's an Aussie who lived in the other dorm last semester and we had GIS together and he wanted another girl on the team - so despite my slight fear of soccer balls and lack of foot-eye coordination, I said I would play. We're really just there to have fun, and fun it is! (plus, I can then count it as my workout for the day)!
Tuesdays I go swimming in the morning and then learn about Australian history (so far all I've gathered is that Australia was colonized because Britain lost the war with America and could no longer send their convicts there...) Community dinners are also Tuesdays nights. Mmmm...
Wednesdays I have off - and I either head into the city and get coffee with Cheryl (my "mom" here, or go to her house for lunch and play with Zoe. Then Wednesday nights, Lyndsay (my RS) and I take a jazz dance class!!! It's fun being able to be "friends" with Lyndz this semester and not just a student, if that makes any sense.
Thursdays I have Theology - and I love it! And then community dinner...
And Fridays - oh boy - I wake up at 4:30 for work at 5am! I work at the Fremantle Markets - at a fruit and veggie stand. My friend Maurice from Switzerland works there and got me the job (thanks!) and this other guy, Brink, works there as well. It's the three of us, plus Jamie the boss, and between the four of us, we come from four different continents, as Brink is from South Africa! How cool is that? All of us are international students at Notre Dame.
I work between 8-17 hours on the weekend, depending on the need for me and my plans, and between that I do homework, enjoy the beach (it's starting to warm up here) or hang out with my friends here.
Last weekend a group of us ran the 12km City to Surf in the city (I'm still really sore). Today, the crew from the dorm headed up to Singapore for their business class, so there's three of us left to enjoy the quietness.
Other than that, it's been really good to be back here. I definitely miss Colorado, but this is my home for now, and we'll see where I end up after I graduate in July 2011!
Cheers,
Megs
Monday, July 26, 2010
relaxed, not rested...
Woah! Ok. It's been a long, long, lllllooooonnnngggg time since I have updated y'all. My bad. Please forgive me.
So - I'll make this brief. I don't even know who reads this, so shoot me a comment if you want to hear more about my crazy life in the past month - I'll gladly tell you!
Sooo, finals came and went, and the very next day I had to move out of the dorm, but the very next day after that my best friend in the whole wide world (and it's a big one, you can ask her - it took her many many hours on a plane to get here) came to visit me! Sam(antha) and I took a trip down to Margaret River for a few days - explored the beach and the wineries, headed back up for a day in the City of Perth, and a final day biking around Rottnest Island - the highlight was seeing wild dolphins!
We hopped on a plane the next day up to Singapore to spend some time with my dad and step-mom and had a wonderful time walking around the zoo, bird park, and also the night safari. We rode on the world's largest ferris wheel and celebrated our birthdays in China Town and Little India together. We had some amazing food and some good laughs at how hot and HUMID and STICKY it was.
After a week in Singapore and two weeks with Sam, it was time to hop on a plane back to the states, where we parted at the airport (soon to be reunited though). As this was the first time I was back in the states in nearly 6 months, and the last time I will be there for at least a year, I aimlessly ran around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to spend as much time with my mom, brother and (now wife) Marie, and all my friends. I managed to squeeze in a camping trip, a trip up to Malo's to visit the camp I worked at last summer, and a Stroke 'n Stride race at the Boulder Reservoir.
Of course, the highlight of my time in Colorado was my brother's wedding. We had perfect (but very hot) weather and I got the honor of being a part of the bridal party as a bridesmaid. There were good times to be had by all, good food to be eaten, and of course a brother-sister dance (though we're not so good). I am so excited for my brother and can't wait to see where life leads him and Marie.
Then, as usual - Megan was off on a plane again. Haha. It seems to be what I do best. Jet-set. I am excited to be back here in Fremantle for round two, though I know I will really miss my family back home. Classes started today, and I am already procrastinating on homework (just kidding - I really don't have anything to do). The new group of Americans I live with are pretty fun and nice and I can't wait to get to know them better, though overall I am excited to catch up with my Aussie friends and start living more of a "life" here rather than a 5 month vacation.
I cannot wait for summer to come and the beach weather to be back, but my classes seem pretty cool (after the stress of being dropped from needed ones and added to unnecessary ones) and it's all working out. Yay!
Well, that is all for now. There are so many neat stories I have and I am thankful for my time back home - relaxing yes, restful - not at all. So - if you want to know more about my 4 week vacation - hit me up! I'm all game for telling you everything you want to know!
Toodles for now!
Megsie (as I am now called at my new job!)
So - I'll make this brief. I don't even know who reads this, so shoot me a comment if you want to hear more about my crazy life in the past month - I'll gladly tell you!
Sooo, finals came and went, and the very next day I had to move out of the dorm, but the very next day after that my best friend in the whole wide world (and it's a big one, you can ask her - it took her many many hours on a plane to get here) came to visit me! Sam(antha) and I took a trip down to Margaret River for a few days - explored the beach and the wineries, headed back up for a day in the City of Perth, and a final day biking around Rottnest Island - the highlight was seeing wild dolphins!
We hopped on a plane the next day up to Singapore to spend some time with my dad and step-mom and had a wonderful time walking around the zoo, bird park, and also the night safari. We rode on the world's largest ferris wheel and celebrated our birthdays in China Town and Little India together. We had some amazing food and some good laughs at how hot and HUMID and STICKY it was.
After a week in Singapore and two weeks with Sam, it was time to hop on a plane back to the states, where we parted at the airport (soon to be reunited though). As this was the first time I was back in the states in nearly 6 months, and the last time I will be there for at least a year, I aimlessly ran around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to spend as much time with my mom, brother and (now wife) Marie, and all my friends. I managed to squeeze in a camping trip, a trip up to Malo's to visit the camp I worked at last summer, and a Stroke 'n Stride race at the Boulder Reservoir.
Of course, the highlight of my time in Colorado was my brother's wedding. We had perfect (but very hot) weather and I got the honor of being a part of the bridal party as a bridesmaid. There were good times to be had by all, good food to be eaten, and of course a brother-sister dance (though we're not so good). I am so excited for my brother and can't wait to see where life leads him and Marie.
Then, as usual - Megan was off on a plane again. Haha. It seems to be what I do best. Jet-set. I am excited to be back here in Fremantle for round two, though I know I will really miss my family back home. Classes started today, and I am already procrastinating on homework (just kidding - I really don't have anything to do). The new group of Americans I live with are pretty fun and nice and I can't wait to get to know them better, though overall I am excited to catch up with my Aussie friends and start living more of a "life" here rather than a 5 month vacation.
I cannot wait for summer to come and the beach weather to be back, but my classes seem pretty cool (after the stress of being dropped from needed ones and added to unnecessary ones) and it's all working out. Yay!
Well, that is all for now. There are so many neat stories I have and I am thankful for my time back home - relaxing yes, restful - not at all. So - if you want to know more about my 4 week vacation - hit me up! I'm all game for telling you everything you want to know!
Toodles for now!
Megsie (as I am now called at my new job!)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Study week?
Wow. I have A LOT to catch y'all up on. Where has the time gone? Sooo...the last I posted was from my field trip in week 11 or something like that, which means a few more weeks of school have gone by, plus a study week (what is that) and now I am on to finals. But let's rewind.
Study week. Simple enough. A week off to study for the upcoming two weeks of finals. But wait. I don't study. Or at least not for an entire week! Everyone in our dorm peaced out of town for the week except for three of us. That's right. 27 Americans were running around Bali, Singapore and Phuket, or New Zealand while me and two guys (plus Pricey the RS) chilled back in Freo for the week (and Lyndsay did pay us a visit one night).
I'll start at the beginning. Class on Friday. I had THREE - count 'em...1, 2, THREE - major papers due that day. You can say I was excited for school to be out for the semester. Two of them were for Geographic Information Systems and another for Natural Resource Management. I think I edited some 50 odd pages of my own writing over the course of that day. Gross. So, due to my lack of sleep over the week, and the fact that I had an entire week ahead of me to hang out with my newly found favorite PL (that's short for Port Lodge, where I live) boys, we all kind of agreed to put a movie in and call it a night. For real.
Saturday I had been waiting for, as all week I had been talking about this apple pie I was going to make. I went to the grocery store after finally sleeping in and got down to business. My recipe: Colorado Apple Pie sent to me from the momma! Although I didn't have any Colorado apples to use, I managed alright substituting in Aussie ones. It called for three types of apples at least (sweet and tart) cut in three different sizes. I made the dough from scratch (with apple "cider" aka juice) and it actually turned our really well. This was a perfect Megan day - baking therapy to ease my mind from school. I started around 1pm and didn't get to enjoy my pie (after patiently letting it cool) until 4pm! That evening Tim and I headed to Mass at the Basilica as we wouldn't be able to attend the next day - you'll find out why soon enough! It's always nice to go to the beautiful basilica for Mass. Then we met up with Pat and a few Americans who had newly arrived in town for an internship at headed to the Orient Bar down the road before finally ending up at Metros, a club for the night. I had a blast dancing away the school year and not having a care in the world for the night.
Sunday afternoon we headed off for a footy game - the Fremantle Dockers vs. the North Melbourne Kangaroos at Subiaco Oval. Footy is Australian Rules Football (AFL) and is somewhat the equivalent of football in America -it's the big pro sport in the country. So it was pretty exciting to be going to a pro game, and I had got us tickets from the International Student Organization on campus that I am a part of. We joined a few others from Notre Dame, caught the train to the stadium, and enjoyed our FRONT ROW seats. Yes, front row. I even got a picture with Johnnie their mascot and got to high-five a player. The Dockers dominated (they're doing really well this year) and I even bought myself a scarf to support them. We got free hats with our tickets (since they were sponsored by the team and some other silly gifts). That evening Pat, Tim, and I headed back to our favorite place, the Orient, with the other students at the game to enjoy some victory beers. We concluded the night with me falling asleep (as per usual) on the couch during a movie.
Monday the three of us headed into Perth City to hit up King's Park. It was Memorial Day in America, so I guess it was rather fitting that we celebrated the Aussie Veterans that day...I did miss running the Bolder Boulder back home though. More movies were in order that night, and I may have actually managed to stay awake for at least one of them.
Tuesday I worked in the morning and don't remember what I did in the afternoon...
Wednesday was a writing day for me...I needed to fill out my application to be an RS here in the dorms next semester, but to keep you from the anticipation, I can tell you now that I was just informed I did not get the job. Oh well. There were several qualified applicants.
Thursday was my usual 8 hour work day, and time flew by as our fellow Port Lodgers were arriving later that night from their vacations away. and I had not yet cracked the books to study, but that wasn't a shock. I wasn't planning on doing that till Friday at the earliest, more likely to be Saturday. One of the guys brought me back a Bintang Beer singlet, to match everyone else as they are really popular in Bali, and I was totally surprised. So comfortable.
The rest of the "study" week was spent catching up on their stories, hanging out with Maria my mentor, and writing "snippets" for everybody.
Saturday night we had Port Lodge Prom and we all dressed up, enjoyed a steak dinner and some delicious cheesecake while watching a slide show of all the pictures over the course of the semester.
Sunday was crack down day, although my first final wasn't until Tuesday. So that brings you up to now. Wednesday. I have had two finals (GIS and Hist of Western Civ) and am thankful they are over. Our first person to go is leaving late tonight, as she has an internship back home she needs to get back for. I cannot believe how fast these four months have flown by. I have one more final on Monday, then my last one on Friday (yuck) and then I move out Saturday and my best friend Sam comes on Sunday night. WOW. Seriously. Time has gone out the window and I will be back in my beloved CO hiking in less than a month.
I am excited to come back to Australia for semester number two. There will be a new group of Americans I will be living with, but I am planning on hanging out more with the other international students in the other dorm - road trips here we come!
I could have done better in school this semester but slacked off a bit - nothing drastic, but not up to "Megan's standard." Such is live. I've had a great time and can't wait to see what the next year holds...
Well, now that I have 4 days until my next final, hmmm....movie time?
Love ya!
Megs
P.S. I am making a resolution. I almost forgot. After I finished my final today (which I dominated...I knew there would be a question about faith throughout history) I was bored waiting for dinner so I went for a run, which I haven't done in a while...(I almost forgot I live by the ocean. Sad). So - y'all need to hold me accountable - from now until the Stroke 'n Stride on July 15th in Boulder, CO, I will be either A) running B) Biking or C) Swimming, excluding the days I will be on a plane. Better make sure I do it. It's written now. Motivation time!
Study week. Simple enough. A week off to study for the upcoming two weeks of finals. But wait. I don't study. Or at least not for an entire week! Everyone in our dorm peaced out of town for the week except for three of us. That's right. 27 Americans were running around Bali, Singapore and Phuket, or New Zealand while me and two guys (plus Pricey the RS) chilled back in Freo for the week (and Lyndsay did pay us a visit one night).
I'll start at the beginning. Class on Friday. I had THREE - count 'em...1, 2, THREE - major papers due that day. You can say I was excited for school to be out for the semester. Two of them were for Geographic Information Systems and another for Natural Resource Management. I think I edited some 50 odd pages of my own writing over the course of that day. Gross. So, due to my lack of sleep over the week, and the fact that I had an entire week ahead of me to hang out with my newly found favorite PL (that's short for Port Lodge, where I live) boys, we all kind of agreed to put a movie in and call it a night. For real.
Saturday I had been waiting for, as all week I had been talking about this apple pie I was going to make. I went to the grocery store after finally sleeping in and got down to business. My recipe: Colorado Apple Pie sent to me from the momma! Although I didn't have any Colorado apples to use, I managed alright substituting in Aussie ones. It called for three types of apples at least (sweet and tart) cut in three different sizes. I made the dough from scratch (with apple "cider" aka juice) and it actually turned our really well. This was a perfect Megan day - baking therapy to ease my mind from school. I started around 1pm and didn't get to enjoy my pie (after patiently letting it cool) until 4pm! That evening Tim and I headed to Mass at the Basilica as we wouldn't be able to attend the next day - you'll find out why soon enough! It's always nice to go to the beautiful basilica for Mass. Then we met up with Pat and a few Americans who had newly arrived in town for an internship at headed to the Orient Bar down the road before finally ending up at Metros, a club for the night. I had a blast dancing away the school year and not having a care in the world for the night.
Sunday afternoon we headed off for a footy game - the Fremantle Dockers vs. the North Melbourne Kangaroos at Subiaco Oval. Footy is Australian Rules Football (AFL) and is somewhat the equivalent of football in America -it's the big pro sport in the country. So it was pretty exciting to be going to a pro game, and I had got us tickets from the International Student Organization on campus that I am a part of. We joined a few others from Notre Dame, caught the train to the stadium, and enjoyed our FRONT ROW seats. Yes, front row. I even got a picture with Johnnie their mascot and got to high-five a player. The Dockers dominated (they're doing really well this year) and I even bought myself a scarf to support them. We got free hats with our tickets (since they were sponsored by the team and some other silly gifts). That evening Pat, Tim, and I headed back to our favorite place, the Orient, with the other students at the game to enjoy some victory beers. We concluded the night with me falling asleep (as per usual) on the couch during a movie.
Monday the three of us headed into Perth City to hit up King's Park. It was Memorial Day in America, so I guess it was rather fitting that we celebrated the Aussie Veterans that day...I did miss running the Bolder Boulder back home though. More movies were in order that night, and I may have actually managed to stay awake for at least one of them.
Tuesday I worked in the morning and don't remember what I did in the afternoon...
Wednesday was a writing day for me...I needed to fill out my application to be an RS here in the dorms next semester, but to keep you from the anticipation, I can tell you now that I was just informed I did not get the job. Oh well. There were several qualified applicants.
Thursday was my usual 8 hour work day, and time flew by as our fellow Port Lodgers were arriving later that night from their vacations away. and I had not yet cracked the books to study, but that wasn't a shock. I wasn't planning on doing that till Friday at the earliest, more likely to be Saturday. One of the guys brought me back a Bintang Beer singlet, to match everyone else as they are really popular in Bali, and I was totally surprised. So comfortable.
The rest of the "study" week was spent catching up on their stories, hanging out with Maria my mentor, and writing "snippets" for everybody.
Saturday night we had Port Lodge Prom and we all dressed up, enjoyed a steak dinner and some delicious cheesecake while watching a slide show of all the pictures over the course of the semester.
Sunday was crack down day, although my first final wasn't until Tuesday. So that brings you up to now. Wednesday. I have had two finals (GIS and Hist of Western Civ) and am thankful they are over. Our first person to go is leaving late tonight, as she has an internship back home she needs to get back for. I cannot believe how fast these four months have flown by. I have one more final on Monday, then my last one on Friday (yuck) and then I move out Saturday and my best friend Sam comes on Sunday night. WOW. Seriously. Time has gone out the window and I will be back in my beloved CO hiking in less than a month.
I am excited to come back to Australia for semester number two. There will be a new group of Americans I will be living with, but I am planning on hanging out more with the other international students in the other dorm - road trips here we come!
I could have done better in school this semester but slacked off a bit - nothing drastic, but not up to "Megan's standard." Such is live. I've had a great time and can't wait to see what the next year holds...
Well, now that I have 4 days until my next final, hmmm....movie time?
Love ya!
Megs
P.S. I am making a resolution. I almost forgot. After I finished my final today (which I dominated...I knew there would be a question about faith throughout history) I was bored waiting for dinner so I went for a run, which I haven't done in a while...(I almost forgot I live by the ocean. Sad). So - y'all need to hold me accountable - from now until the Stroke 'n Stride on July 15th in Boulder, CO, I will be either A) running B) Biking or C) Swimming, excluding the days I will be on a plane. Better make sure I do it. It's written now. Motivation time!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Supa Shakes
Last weekend...err, let me correct that - last Monday through Friday I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a required field trip down south. The trip was for Natural Resource Management, a small class of 12 students and one lecturer. Monday morning at 7:30am (an hour before class normally starts) we all squeezed into a van and got on the road. Our first stop was to look at the Wellington Reservoir and Dam and talk with people from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). As we would all soon find out, DEC would be a common theme on this trip. I'll spare you all the academic stuff we learned, unless you are curious, as I have to write a field trip report for it by next week and would rather tell you about all the neat stuff we did (that of course had some academics built it). What I will tell you about this being a field trip for natural resource management was that it was neat to actually get out in the field and apply what we have learned about in the classroom to real life scenarios.
The first night we spend the night at the Perup Nature guest house, in the middle of the woods, and it's run on solar power mostly. It was really neat, and I loved being right in nature. We made lots of steak and potatoes for dinner, sat by the campfire, and learned about bandicoots - or rather how we're not supposed to call them bandicoots, but rather, oh shoot - I don't remember the proper name (clearly it was late at night and we were still learning). Bandicoot is the Indonesian word, not an aboriginal one like most people think. It's funny to see that I still don't know the animals of the area, as when a picture went up for us to identify, the three Americans on the trip all looked at each other blank faced. Then if was off to bed in our actually chilly rooms - even by Colorado standards I'd say for autumn. I'd put the temp in the low 40s.
We woke up bright and early the next morning to be on the road again...we saw a neat MASSIVE tree nursery and then proceeded to learn from DEC about prescribed burns in the forest. Burns and water - the theme of the class ;) We stopped for lunch in Manjimup and I got introduced to the best thing since sliced bread. K - maybe not, but they were still delish. SUPA SHAKES! It's milk that you shake until you hear no more liquid, and then you gulp it down (slowly in my case). The Aussies sure do love their milk cartons like we have in elementary school for lunch, as they are everywhere. I'll put a link at the end to my photos...
Later in the day we did what I was waiting for - climbing the bicentennial tree! It's this massive tree - 70m high, that all you use is pegs hammered into the tree to climb. No 'stairs,' no railings. And only nets on the side. Yikes! But it was so fun and the view from way up there looking out on the rest of the forest was gorgeous! We ended the night in a backpackers lodge in Walpole with stew on the stove. Mmmm. We got the evening to ourselves - no lecture tonight! We enjoyed pool, TV, and a girls night in our dorm room.
Wednesday morning was another early one, with a boat ride to start the day off. We meandered our way in the inlet to this little dock and got off and walked around. We were of course, learning, but we also got to see THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. I ran straight for it - ask the people in my class. They thought I was crazy. If I had had a swimsuit, I mean my bathers, I would have dove straight in, but alas I refrained myself and only went up to my knees. I have now been in all the oceans except the Arctic...I will get there one day. But for that moment, only water stood between me and Antarctica. HOW COOL IS THAT! Sooo close...
Our next stop was a farm to visit some Angus cows and pick apples off trees. Mmmm. And also push our van to get it to start...good times had by all.
What I was most excited for on this trip, and what I have been wanting to do since I first came to Western Australia nearly 4 years ago is the tree top walk. This was our next stop - in the Tingle tree forest - and it was stunning. I don't know about you guys, but when I think of Australia I think of red dirt and the outback (I still think of that even though I've been here 4 months and haven't seen that yet). I don't think of green forests like the one the tree top walk is in. On the tree top walk you get to walk at the same level as the crowns of the trees - 40m high - on a narrow bridge. It's much safer than the tree we climbed the previous day...at the end of the walk you can walk on the ground and even go through some trees (you'll have to check out my pictures...) It was totally worth it! After visiting a sandalwood factory it was time to hit the road for our 5 hour drive home. And of course, a Supa Shake was in order at our first gas stop!
Well, those were the highlights of my trip. I got back, thought it was Sunday night, but sadly it was Wednesday, which meant I had 8 hours of work ahead of me the next day.
Wish I had more time to update y'all more, but my assignments and class are calling, as there are only TWO WEEKS of class left before finals. YIKES!
Enjoying my Milo (which is not hot chocolate but still good),
Megan
The first night we spend the night at the Perup Nature guest house, in the middle of the woods, and it's run on solar power mostly. It was really neat, and I loved being right in nature. We made lots of steak and potatoes for dinner, sat by the campfire, and learned about bandicoots - or rather how we're not supposed to call them bandicoots, but rather, oh shoot - I don't remember the proper name (clearly it was late at night and we were still learning). Bandicoot is the Indonesian word, not an aboriginal one like most people think. It's funny to see that I still don't know the animals of the area, as when a picture went up for us to identify, the three Americans on the trip all looked at each other blank faced. Then if was off to bed in our actually chilly rooms - even by Colorado standards I'd say for autumn. I'd put the temp in the low 40s.
We woke up bright and early the next morning to be on the road again...we saw a neat MASSIVE tree nursery and then proceeded to learn from DEC about prescribed burns in the forest. Burns and water - the theme of the class ;) We stopped for lunch in Manjimup and I got introduced to the best thing since sliced bread. K - maybe not, but they were still delish. SUPA SHAKES! It's milk that you shake until you hear no more liquid, and then you gulp it down (slowly in my case). The Aussies sure do love their milk cartons like we have in elementary school for lunch, as they are everywhere. I'll put a link at the end to my photos...
Later in the day we did what I was waiting for - climbing the bicentennial tree! It's this massive tree - 70m high, that all you use is pegs hammered into the tree to climb. No 'stairs,' no railings. And only nets on the side. Yikes! But it was so fun and the view from way up there looking out on the rest of the forest was gorgeous! We ended the night in a backpackers lodge in Walpole with stew on the stove. Mmmm. We got the evening to ourselves - no lecture tonight! We enjoyed pool, TV, and a girls night in our dorm room.
Wednesday morning was another early one, with a boat ride to start the day off. We meandered our way in the inlet to this little dock and got off and walked around. We were of course, learning, but we also got to see THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. I ran straight for it - ask the people in my class. They thought I was crazy. If I had had a swimsuit, I mean my bathers, I would have dove straight in, but alas I refrained myself and only went up to my knees. I have now been in all the oceans except the Arctic...I will get there one day. But for that moment, only water stood between me and Antarctica. HOW COOL IS THAT! Sooo close...
Our next stop was a farm to visit some Angus cows and pick apples off trees. Mmmm. And also push our van to get it to start...good times had by all.
What I was most excited for on this trip, and what I have been wanting to do since I first came to Western Australia nearly 4 years ago is the tree top walk. This was our next stop - in the Tingle tree forest - and it was stunning. I don't know about you guys, but when I think of Australia I think of red dirt and the outback (I still think of that even though I've been here 4 months and haven't seen that yet). I don't think of green forests like the one the tree top walk is in. On the tree top walk you get to walk at the same level as the crowns of the trees - 40m high - on a narrow bridge. It's much safer than the tree we climbed the previous day...at the end of the walk you can walk on the ground and even go through some trees (you'll have to check out my pictures...) It was totally worth it! After visiting a sandalwood factory it was time to hit the road for our 5 hour drive home. And of course, a Supa Shake was in order at our first gas stop!
Well, those were the highlights of my trip. I got back, thought it was Sunday night, but sadly it was Wednesday, which meant I had 8 hours of work ahead of me the next day.
Wish I had more time to update y'all more, but my assignments and class are calling, as there are only TWO WEEKS of class left before finals. YIKES!
Enjoying my Milo (which is not hot chocolate but still good),
Megan
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wobble, baby!
As you may or may not know, there are three dorms here at Notre Dame Australia, and I live in Port Lodge. Every Thursday we have an inter-hall shield competition of some sort, whether it be basketball, netball, cricket, a trivia tournament, or this week's: a dance competition! There was some simple criteria that had to be met in order to not be disqualified: we had to have at least 10 people (check!), our song had to have at least 50% of the song chosen for us (barely a check), and we had to have costumes without purchasing anything (check!). There were some others things we were critiqued on such as creativity, appropriateness, energy, etc. Port Lodge seriously had a BLAST with this competition. We got serious and decided that with our given song, "Hold Your Colour" by Pendulum we couldn't do too much so we remixed it with "Wobble" By V.I.C. We started rehearsals last week and practiced nearly two hours every day (I'm not kidding you).
Tonight was the big night and we were stoked! After choreographing our dance, I think it came out well. Our judges were Father John, our rector Jude, and the infamous lecturer (professor) Shane Burke who teaches Australian history to all the study abroaders (and helped me with all my advanced standing paperwork).
Check out the dance video for results of how we did...
A shout out to Viv and Pat for teaching us the moves. You can't see, but I did a sweet flip over Libby's back at the end of the dance before we all bring it in!
Oh - and Pat's group also made a sick video for their Australian history project on the town of Fremantle, if you want to see where I am living (besides the fact that they did an awesome job on their project):
Wobble baby! I had a great time dancing the night away.
-Megs
Tonight was the big night and we were stoked! After choreographing our dance, I think it came out well. Our judges were Father John, our rector Jude, and the infamous lecturer (professor) Shane Burke who teaches Australian history to all the study abroaders (and helped me with all my advanced standing paperwork).
Check out the dance video for results of how we did...
A shout out to Viv and Pat for teaching us the moves. You can't see, but I did a sweet flip over Libby's back at the end of the dance before we all bring it in!
Oh - and Pat's group also made a sick video for their Australian history project on the town of Fremantle, if you want to see where I am living (besides the fact that they did an awesome job on their project):
Wobble baby! I had a great time dancing the night away.
-Megs
Monday, April 26, 2010
Believing in Myself
WhoohoohoohooHOO!!! Although we are in week 9 of this semester out of 13, I have only received back three grades, and the paper I've been waiting for finally got put in my hand today. This paper was my ethics paper. I worked on it for a while, did the research, proofread it, all that jazz, spent time on it, and actually felt like I had handed in something up to my own standard, whereas a couple other things I have handed in I've known I could do better (and my grades have shown that). Now, this ethics paper was one where I felt like I did a good job, but talking to other people, they all seemed to answer it in a different way - everybody. I guess the topic was pretty open ended as to how you could go about answering it, but regardless, I felt like it was a good paper and I was confident handing it in - as long as the teacher understood where I was coming from (I did bring up abortion, which I feel is always a tricky subject to write about). But, as I am sure you could guess by my first sentence, I am so proud of myself! I got a D+!!! and that's a great thing here! It's a Distinction, which is one below High Distinction, which is very hard to get. I guess sometimes I need to have more confidence in myself.
This ties into a race a I did the other weekend...
A couple Sundays ago I joined in the fun of a team "quadrathlon." My family friends here - Jen, her husband Paul, and their brother-in-law Danny, needed a swimmer for the Coogee Beach Ocean Adventure race they were doing. Jen knows I swim, or at least like to swim, so I agreed. Well, I have never "swam" in the ocean. Laps that is. So I got my swim on - swam once in the ocean and once in the pool (I even bought a 10 punch pass which I have yet to use again) to get the feeling of 750m. Not much training for the big day. I was excited, but also scared I would "let them down" in my speed. I have never done an event like this, but have always wanted to. And it was SO MUCH FUN!!! My swim was the first part, so I put my bright yellow swim cap on, pulled the goggles over my eyes, and took off with the rest of the competitors down a stretch of the beach. Whoo - adrenaline rush for sure! It was over before I knew it. I ran my 200 or so metres (haha - I'm picking up Aussie spelling here and there as that is how I have to turn my essays in) to the transition zone and handed off my ankle bracelet with the timer to Danny of cyclist. Besides being attacked by stingers (little jellyfish like things) I was also bitten the the triathlon bug! I can not WAIT for next summer, or even the Stroke and Stride at the Boulder Reservoir. Overall, my team took 2nd out of 6 teams (there were many individual competitors who did all 4 parts themselves), competed against an Olympic triathlete, and had a blast - we are set to do more in the future. I did my 750m swim and 200m run in 15:02 minutes and was one of the first women out of the water! Again - I am so proud of myself!
Believing in myself is something I am working on, but I love proving myself wrong =D
But now, it's time to write that history paper...
Danny, Paul, Jen and me after we were all done with our race! A beautiful, sunny day!
This ties into a race a I did the other weekend...
A couple Sundays ago I joined in the fun of a team "quadrathlon." My family friends here - Jen, her husband Paul, and their brother-in-law Danny, needed a swimmer for the Coogee Beach Ocean Adventure race they were doing. Jen knows I swim, or at least like to swim, so I agreed. Well, I have never "swam" in the ocean. Laps that is. So I got my swim on - swam once in the ocean and once in the pool (I even bought a 10 punch pass which I have yet to use again) to get the feeling of 750m. Not much training for the big day. I was excited, but also scared I would "let them down" in my speed. I have never done an event like this, but have always wanted to. And it was SO MUCH FUN!!! My swim was the first part, so I put my bright yellow swim cap on, pulled the goggles over my eyes, and took off with the rest of the competitors down a stretch of the beach. Whoo - adrenaline rush for sure! It was over before I knew it. I ran my 200 or so metres (haha - I'm picking up Aussie spelling here and there as that is how I have to turn my essays in) to the transition zone and handed off my ankle bracelet with the timer to Danny of cyclist. Besides being attacked by stingers (little jellyfish like things) I was also bitten the the triathlon bug! I can not WAIT for next summer, or even the Stroke and Stride at the Boulder Reservoir. Overall, my team took 2nd out of 6 teams (there were many individual competitors who did all 4 parts themselves), competed against an Olympic triathlete, and had a blast - we are set to do more in the future. I did my 750m swim and 200m run in 15:02 minutes and was one of the first women out of the water! Again - I am so proud of myself!
Believing in myself is something I am working on, but I love proving myself wrong =D
But now, it's time to write that history paper...
Danny, Paul, Jen and me after we were all done with our race! A beautiful, sunny day!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
to the left, to the left....noooo - to the RIGHT!
It's the little things that make you feel more at home. Like, when I'm running - I used to find myself drifting to the right side of the sidewalk, but now I have no problem staying on the left where I am supposed to be. Or when crossing the street - goodness knows how many times I was almost hit by a car when I first arrived here. But I can finally say, that after 2 months of being in Australia, I have FINALLY learned to look to the RIGHT first, and then the left. Otherwise, there might be trouble. And that is all contrary to what I have known for 21 years of my life. It's the small things like that that make me feel like I fit in here, and am no longer just a visitor. =D
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter Break
I am officially on break now - study week, as it is called here. Fall (Autumn) break. Easter break. Whatever you want to call it! It started on Good Friday and extends till next week! Whooohoo! Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays here in Australia, and I find that kind of odd. I mean, maybe it's because they don't have separation of church and state(?) - I don't know, but it's not as if everyone goes out and runs to church. It was definitely an experience to not forget, celebrating Easter here. Good Friday I took the train up to Nicole's place, as she had invited me to go to Mass with her auntie and the rest of the family. It is so wonderful to be included in their family, as afterward we went back to her auntie's home and had a huge meal of fish curry, fish patties, delicious salads, and everything! I spent the night and Saturday I "nannied" the kids a bit while Nicole ran errands. I entertained them at the arcade, we flew kites in the park after watching Mary Poppins and had a blast! They are precious and I love being so close to them. I took the train home that night to celebrate Easter back in Freo.
I went to Mass at 8:30am with some of the students from Cleo's dorm and that in itself was a beautiful, yet odd celebration. When it was time to receive communion, everyone just rushes up to the front. There is really no order or much of a line formation as there is back home. We all sat in the pew with a confused look on our face and then joined in the "line." I guess everyone is anxious to receive Jesus, but I can't deny that either. Father Tony ended with a joke and we all walked out laughing and thinking of the different ways we celebrate Easter. Although the church was full, it wasn't as packed as I thought it would be, and I had put on an Easter dress, but it was really of no need - regular clothes would have sufficed, but I like feeling special for the glorious day. Christ is risen from the dead, we are one with him again!!! ALLELUIA!!!
Lyndsay, my RS, had invited the 5 of us that stayed home for break over to her family's house for Easter lunch! It was lovely - roast beef, cheesecake, corn on the cob! Sooo good. We stayed there all afternoon and on the way back home we had a brilliant idea of stopping at Blockbuster to rent one movie each for a marathon! Perfect! We all got home, changed into our "jim-jams" and enjoyed movie after movie after movie. We popped some popcorn, Pricey (our other RS) ordered us all Indian food for dinner, and we all sat down an ate like a (little) big family, as the rest of the students are gone. It's really nice having a smaller group around, as we get to bond really well. Pricey always does this thing at dinner where if you are sitting at his table, you always share a high and a low of the week or day, but last week he added in share someway you have helped someone this week, which really makes you think about serving other people and even the little things you do. This week, though, since it was such a small intimate group we added another new thing to share. We all shared something that we need to forgive someone for, or are trying to forgive someone for. It was amazing the hurts that came out and we were all bawling our eyes out by the end. But it was so good to get to know what is going on in some of our hearts. We wrapped up with some ice cream Pricey went out and got, and ended the night with all of us asleep on the couches with Cool Runnings on. What a beautiful Easter. (Oh, and there were some rain showers early in the morning, so peaceful and it just made the town shine and clean. I loved it).
Today, I am off to the beach for a bit, as it is starting to cool down here, and then I must get to work on my Ethics paper, in case I take a trip down south at the end of the week...
Hope y'all have a blessed Eater! (with some jelly bellies and chocolate involved as well...Cadbury creme egg, yes please!)
Happy happy Eater,
Megs
I went to Mass at 8:30am with some of the students from Cleo's dorm and that in itself was a beautiful, yet odd celebration. When it was time to receive communion, everyone just rushes up to the front. There is really no order or much of a line formation as there is back home. We all sat in the pew with a confused look on our face and then joined in the "line." I guess everyone is anxious to receive Jesus, but I can't deny that either. Father Tony ended with a joke and we all walked out laughing and thinking of the different ways we celebrate Easter. Although the church was full, it wasn't as packed as I thought it would be, and I had put on an Easter dress, but it was really of no need - regular clothes would have sufficed, but I like feeling special for the glorious day. Christ is risen from the dead, we are one with him again!!! ALLELUIA!!!
Lyndsay, my RS, had invited the 5 of us that stayed home for break over to her family's house for Easter lunch! It was lovely - roast beef, cheesecake, corn on the cob! Sooo good. We stayed there all afternoon and on the way back home we had a brilliant idea of stopping at Blockbuster to rent one movie each for a marathon! Perfect! We all got home, changed into our "jim-jams" and enjoyed movie after movie after movie. We popped some popcorn, Pricey (our other RS) ordered us all Indian food for dinner, and we all sat down an ate like a (little) big family, as the rest of the students are gone. It's really nice having a smaller group around, as we get to bond really well. Pricey always does this thing at dinner where if you are sitting at his table, you always share a high and a low of the week or day, but last week he added in share someway you have helped someone this week, which really makes you think about serving other people and even the little things you do. This week, though, since it was such a small intimate group we added another new thing to share. We all shared something that we need to forgive someone for, or are trying to forgive someone for. It was amazing the hurts that came out and we were all bawling our eyes out by the end. But it was so good to get to know what is going on in some of our hearts. We wrapped up with some ice cream Pricey went out and got, and ended the night with all of us asleep on the couches with Cool Runnings on. What a beautiful Easter. (Oh, and there were some rain showers early in the morning, so peaceful and it just made the town shine and clean. I loved it).
Today, I am off to the beach for a bit, as it is starting to cool down here, and then I must get to work on my Ethics paper, in case I take a trip down south at the end of the week...
Hope y'all have a blessed Eater! (with some jelly bellies and chocolate involved as well...Cadbury creme egg, yes please!)
Happy happy Eater,
Megs
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The big TWO-ONE!!!
Hip hip - HOORAY!!! I survived my 21st birthday! And although it's not quite as big of a deal here in Australia as it is back home in the states, it is still a big deal to turn the big two-one. It was so nice to have the day off from class and be able to spend the morning doing what I do best, shopping, and then spending time with my "family" here in the afternoon. Our family-friends threw a lovely barbie for me with a delicious homemade chocolate cake for dessert - and of course plenty of wine and champagne. The entire family was there, from little baby Zoe to great-granddad Paul. It was a lovely time, minus the fact that I had to wake up the next morning at 6:30am to catch the train back to Uni to be on time for my 8:30am class. I can't wait to enjoy a beer back home this summer!
On another note - it is now mid-semester break! Good Friday is a public holiday here in WA, and I don't have class on Wednesday or Thursday, so I've been on break now for three days, and have been enjoying the beach, that is for sure! I know part of my week is dedicated towards studying and sleeping, but who knows what else there is to come! I can not wait for Easter, to celebrate here, although I do miss my family and friends back home. Hope y'all have a blessed day!
Cheers,
Megan
Me and all the grandkids of the family friends. They have taken to calling me "Auntie Mimi" as the youngest, Zoe, in the pink, can't quite say "Megan" just yet.
On another note - it is now mid-semester break! Good Friday is a public holiday here in WA, and I don't have class on Wednesday or Thursday, so I've been on break now for three days, and have been enjoying the beach, that is for sure! I know part of my week is dedicated towards studying and sleeping, but who knows what else there is to come! I can not wait for Easter, to celebrate here, although I do miss my family and friends back home. Hope y'all have a blessed day!
Cheers,
Megan
Me and all the grandkids of the family friends. They have taken to calling me "Auntie Mimi" as the youngest, Zoe, in the pink, can't quite say "Megan" just yet.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Getting caught up
Man oh man - it has been a couple weeks since I updated everybody on my random meanderings in Australia, but thanks to Renato, I was reminded to write on my blog today - and what a perfect day to do it, since it is the close of the week (Sunday) and I am not feeling my best. Being sick is no fun, especially when I have no idea really what my insurance here covers. But lucky for me, my excessive sleeping today has seemed to calm down my sore throat, stomach ache, body ache, and random chills/hot spells I have been suffering today. I slept all the way through till 3 in the afternoon, only awake to grab some breakfast, and then some lunch, and then hit the bed again. I am pretty sure this has come from staying up late and being rundown, but yesterday all of us in the dorms took an awesome tour in the swan valley which I am sure didn't help as well. Now this tour, I am sure you are wondering, was a wine, cheese, chocolate, and beer tour. Mmm. So, the mixture of alcohol, plus HOT sun, plus not enough water I am sure helped make me feel not so great today, but it was totally worth it. We started off at a couple of wineries, and although I have been to both before with my dad, it was fun to experience it with a group my age. The cheese was amazing, as was the chocolate (you had to eat it very quickly otherwise it would melt in a puddle in your hand), and rose wine is always a favorite. One of the perks, I guess, of being in Australia is that the drinking age is 18, so we can enjoy a drink with dinner (at a restaurant, as Notre Dame is a dry campus, and therefore dry dorms as well), but by the time I am back in the states, my 21st birthday will have come and gone, so I will have the experience of going out to the bars in the states to look forward to!
I am getting into the swing of things - balancing homework with beach time with work with my social life, but summer is coming to an end here and I hate to see it go (maybe not the 100+ degree F days, but there's just something about summer that is wonderful)! My accent has been mistaken for being Irish twice at work and it always cracks me up. Irish. Hmm...not quite American, but hey, I like accents, so I take it as a compliment. On St. Patty's day all of us from the dorms went down to the local Irish Pub, Rosie O'Grady's and enjoyed the festivities there, which were going on all day, as I work two doors down and watched a flock of people meander that way throughout the day.
I have learned to play net ball, which is similar to ultimate frisbee and basketball. In the sense of ultimate frisbee, you are not allowed to run with the ball (at all), and like basketball because you shoot in a hoop (with no backboard). It's a tricky game but very popular here in Australia. There is no dribbling of the ball either. It was fun being a 'shooter' in the dorm vs. dorm game, although the dorm I am in, Port Lodge, lost.
I have been able to spend a few weekend here with my "family" and it is great having them around. The kids have taken to calling me Auntie Mimi, as the youngest can't pronounce Megan and instead says Mimi...I saw my first wild kangaroos with them last weekend, although it's like seeing deer in Colorado - not that exciting apparently. But I was excited! Gina - I will have to work on becoming good friends with one so I can ride in it's pouch....
Back in Colorado, there was daylight savings time, but not here in Western Australia, so now I am only 14 hours ahead...it still makes Skyping people tricky, as I have to be on in the late morning so it is evening there...
I've already taken one field trip for my Natural Resource Management class down to a National Park in Jarrahdale, which was beautiful, and have another tomorrow at 7:30am. Makes me glad I live right on campus so I don't have to wake up early to catch the train. I've had one paper due, and I am nervous to get it back, but I just have to remember the grading system here is different...no As, Bs, or Cs. It's HD (High Distinction), D (Distinction), C (Credit? I think...) and so on...C being the most common, and HD being very hard to get. My friend told me C is for cookie, and that will make me feel better, as a C here is better that a C in the American system, but not by the looks of it.
We are doing an Iron Chef competition for each cooking group, and my group one the first round, which means we are off clean-up duty for this next round! Whoohoo!!! We have had some excellent dinners and deserts made, one of my favorites being dirt cake with gummy worms!
It is really nice having the campus chapel merely 40 steps away from my back door, but the other week I made it to St. Patrick's Basilica for a daily Mass. Although I was the youngest there, it is always refreshing to go to Mass and I always leave with a smile on my face. I have yet to find a group nearly as good as the St. Tom's community, so if y'all wouldn't mind praying that I find a group like that here, that would be wonderful. The Basilica is absolutely gorgeous, and as there are no kneelers in the chapel, it was nice to be down on my knees. There are some difference is the Mass, but none that are drastic. There is, however, no requirement to fast from meat here in Australia on Fridays (I don't know why), which is a good thing as a few weeks it has slipped my mind.
In two weeks time it will be Eater break (we get the whole week off plus Good Friday) and I am ready for a relaxing week, plus time to get caught up on all my work. As I was not feeling good today, I left my laundry undone, and my errands around town unchecked on my to-do list, but I promise postcards are coming...
Time to do some ethics reading on St. Thomas Aquinas so I can get to bed at a decent time tonight. Maybe there'll be more dreams of Boulder...
Miss you all!
Meg
I am getting into the swing of things - balancing homework with beach time with work with my social life, but summer is coming to an end here and I hate to see it go (maybe not the 100+ degree F days, but there's just something about summer that is wonderful)! My accent has been mistaken for being Irish twice at work and it always cracks me up. Irish. Hmm...not quite American, but hey, I like accents, so I take it as a compliment. On St. Patty's day all of us from the dorms went down to the local Irish Pub, Rosie O'Grady's and enjoyed the festivities there, which were going on all day, as I work two doors down and watched a flock of people meander that way throughout the day.
I have learned to play net ball, which is similar to ultimate frisbee and basketball. In the sense of ultimate frisbee, you are not allowed to run with the ball (at all), and like basketball because you shoot in a hoop (with no backboard). It's a tricky game but very popular here in Australia. There is no dribbling of the ball either. It was fun being a 'shooter' in the dorm vs. dorm game, although the dorm I am in, Port Lodge, lost.
I have been able to spend a few weekend here with my "family" and it is great having them around. The kids have taken to calling me Auntie Mimi, as the youngest can't pronounce Megan and instead says Mimi...I saw my first wild kangaroos with them last weekend, although it's like seeing deer in Colorado - not that exciting apparently. But I was excited! Gina - I will have to work on becoming good friends with one so I can ride in it's pouch....
Back in Colorado, there was daylight savings time, but not here in Western Australia, so now I am only 14 hours ahead...it still makes Skyping people tricky, as I have to be on in the late morning so it is evening there...
I've already taken one field trip for my Natural Resource Management class down to a National Park in Jarrahdale, which was beautiful, and have another tomorrow at 7:30am. Makes me glad I live right on campus so I don't have to wake up early to catch the train. I've had one paper due, and I am nervous to get it back, but I just have to remember the grading system here is different...no As, Bs, or Cs. It's HD (High Distinction), D (Distinction), C (Credit? I think...) and so on...C being the most common, and HD being very hard to get. My friend told me C is for cookie, and that will make me feel better, as a C here is better that a C in the American system, but not by the looks of it.
We are doing an Iron Chef competition for each cooking group, and my group one the first round, which means we are off clean-up duty for this next round! Whoohoo!!! We have had some excellent dinners and deserts made, one of my favorites being dirt cake with gummy worms!
It is really nice having the campus chapel merely 40 steps away from my back door, but the other week I made it to St. Patrick's Basilica for a daily Mass. Although I was the youngest there, it is always refreshing to go to Mass and I always leave with a smile on my face. I have yet to find a group nearly as good as the St. Tom's community, so if y'all wouldn't mind praying that I find a group like that here, that would be wonderful. The Basilica is absolutely gorgeous, and as there are no kneelers in the chapel, it was nice to be down on my knees. There are some difference is the Mass, but none that are drastic. There is, however, no requirement to fast from meat here in Australia on Fridays (I don't know why), which is a good thing as a few weeks it has slipped my mind.
In two weeks time it will be Eater break (we get the whole week off plus Good Friday) and I am ready for a relaxing week, plus time to get caught up on all my work. As I was not feeling good today, I left my laundry undone, and my errands around town unchecked on my to-do list, but I promise postcards are coming...
Time to do some ethics reading on St. Thomas Aquinas so I can get to bed at a decent time tonight. Maybe there'll be more dreams of Boulder...
Miss you all!
Meg
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tim Tam Slam
It has been nearly a month since I have been in Australia and time has flown by! Besides getting situated in my dorm, hanging out with the Americans, and meeting people in class, I now have to get down to business and STUDY. Yikes. School here is very into independent learning, as we have an essay and a final in all my classes, and really no homework. Having Wednesday and Thursday off in the middle of the week is like a little weekend, but I have found a job to take up one of those days. I now work at Healthy Byte Cafe and Catering, making sandwiches in the morning and serving customers up front during the lunch time. It was a little stressful learning how to work a cash register during the lunch rush hour, but hopefully next week will be easier. But hey, cash in the pocket is something to have here!
I am slowly picking up on the Australian sports, and so far enjoy watching footy (Australian Rules Football) and even cricket! I am learning to play net ball, which is similar to ultimate frisbee.
A favorite midnight snack has become a Tim Tam Slam. Soooo good. Tim Tams are similar to the E.L. Fudge cookies we have back home, but they are chocolate covered. When you bite of opposite corners and drink milk through the "biscuit" like a straw, you have a Tim Tam Slam! So good!
Yesterday I joined all the study abroad students in a day trip to Caversham Wildlife Park where we got to enjoy a day of Koala and Kangaroo petting! I am still waiting to see one in the wild, though, but they are oh so cute and very soft! I wish I could take a joey (baby kangaroo) home with me!
Well, it is time to enjoy the nice weather outside! It has been much cooler this week than last (being in the 80s), but is expected to be back in the 90s real soon. Perfect weather for the beach!
I am slowly picking up on the Australian sports, and so far enjoy watching footy (Australian Rules Football) and even cricket! I am learning to play net ball, which is similar to ultimate frisbee.
A favorite midnight snack has become a Tim Tam Slam. Soooo good. Tim Tams are similar to the E.L. Fudge cookies we have back home, but they are chocolate covered. When you bite of opposite corners and drink milk through the "biscuit" like a straw, you have a Tim Tam Slam! So good!
Yesterday I joined all the study abroad students in a day trip to Caversham Wildlife Park where we got to enjoy a day of Koala and Kangaroo petting! I am still waiting to see one in the wild, though, but they are oh so cute and very soft! I wish I could take a joey (baby kangaroo) home with me!
Well, it is time to enjoy the nice weather outside! It has been much cooler this week than last (being in the 80s), but is expected to be back in the 90s real soon. Perfect weather for the beach!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Last week of summer
I can not believe school starts on Monday! I have been out of classes for nearly 10 months now, and although I am ready to engage my brain again, I am also nervous (and HELLO! - I love summer and beach time). My sleep at night has been somewhat restless still due to constant dreaming of failing my classes here, but I know if I ask questions if I don't understand, I'll be fine. I finally got my class schedule on Friday (the last of the last to enroll due to my many complications) but here it is:
Mondays I have three hours of Natural Resource Management and three hours of Ethics. Tuesdays I have three hours of A History of Western Civilization, and then on Fridays I have fours hours of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It looks as though I am not in class a lot (Wed and Thur are off - perfect time to work!), but this is a regular class load here in Australia. And the best news of all is that I am over half-way through my Geography degree here! WHHOOHOO!!! After this year, I will be done will all my Geography classes and I will only need three more general classes to graduate! My adviser here suggested I add another major and finish two degrees in two years, and I thought, what the heck, why not? so I added History. Yep. Last minute decision, but it's going to be fun!
Today a group of us caught the train into the city and explored by foot. We ended up in King's park and their elevated walkway, and it was absolutely gorgeous! Yesterday was the big orientation day and it was so nice to walk around and see not only my American friends and but also see my new international friends (from places like Canada, China, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, etc.) I took a campus tour and met a girl who had just come back from the states and Colorado Springs visiting the Focus on the Family crew down there, as her parents help with Focus on the Family here (who knew they had it!?)
Well, it is time for me to go get some dinner. Tomorrow, off the the Fremantle Markets for some reduced fresh produce and veggies! MMmm...
I'm learning lots of Aussie lingo - curly (tricky,throwing a curve ball at you), bub (babe), owyagoin' (how are you doing?), middy (a small beer - a half pint or so), doona (comforter), and many more!
Ta da (goodbye),
Megs
Mondays I have three hours of Natural Resource Management and three hours of Ethics. Tuesdays I have three hours of A History of Western Civilization, and then on Fridays I have fours hours of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It looks as though I am not in class a lot (Wed and Thur are off - perfect time to work!), but this is a regular class load here in Australia. And the best news of all is that I am over half-way through my Geography degree here! WHHOOHOO!!! After this year, I will be done will all my Geography classes and I will only need three more general classes to graduate! My adviser here suggested I add another major and finish two degrees in two years, and I thought, what the heck, why not? so I added History. Yep. Last minute decision, but it's going to be fun!
Today a group of us caught the train into the city and explored by foot. We ended up in King's park and their elevated walkway, and it was absolutely gorgeous! Yesterday was the big orientation day and it was so nice to walk around and see not only my American friends and but also see my new international friends (from places like Canada, China, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, etc.) I took a campus tour and met a girl who had just come back from the states and Colorado Springs visiting the Focus on the Family crew down there, as her parents help with Focus on the Family here (who knew they had it!?)
Well, it is time for me to go get some dinner. Tomorrow, off the the Fremantle Markets for some reduced fresh produce and veggies! MMmm...
I'm learning lots of Aussie lingo - curly (tricky,throwing a curve ball at you), bub (babe), owyagoin' (how are you doing?), middy (a small beer - a half pint or so), doona (comforter), and many more!
Ta da (goodbye),
Megs
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Soaking up the sun
Well, here I am, in the Land Down Under, in Fremantle (Freo) Australia. After living out of a suitcase for two weeks, and the rest of it having been packed up for nearly a month, I can't tell you how good it feels to unpack everything. I am living in the dorms with the American Study Abroad students, me being the "weird" international/domestic one, and two other Aussie girls. It's a great location and everyone is super nice! Across one street is the chapel, and across the other is a beautiful park with green, green grass and some fish 'n chips places on the other edge! I definitely need to get a job as soon as I find out my schedule, as money does not last long...
Today was officially the first day of orientation for the study abroad students, but I am required to attend some of the stuff. So it's been great - the 30 of us that live in Port Lodge have all bonded over Mary's 21st birthday the day she arrived (although the drinking age is 18) and went to the beach the next day. SUNSCREEN! Man oh man. I am really excited for tomorrow to meet the other international students studying here, so that I can make friends that aren't going to be leaving in June!
I got my SmartRider card to catch the train up to Perth, so that way I can visit Paul and Cheryl, my surrogate parents here, and their family whenever I want! I can't wait for things to really get going and get into a schedule, but I am enjoying my last few days of summer vacation, that's for sure!
Cheers!
Today was officially the first day of orientation for the study abroad students, but I am required to attend some of the stuff. So it's been great - the 30 of us that live in Port Lodge have all bonded over Mary's 21st birthday the day she arrived (although the drinking age is 18) and went to the beach the next day. SUNSCREEN! Man oh man. I am really excited for tomorrow to meet the other international students studying here, so that I can make friends that aren't going to be leaving in June!
I got my SmartRider card to catch the train up to Perth, so that way I can visit Paul and Cheryl, my surrogate parents here, and their family whenever I want! I can't wait for things to really get going and get into a schedule, but I am enjoying my last few days of summer vacation, that's for sure!
Cheers!
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