Living in the Land Down Under

It’s been a little over a month since I have left Australia and I cannot get it off my mind! Maybe it’s because the weather here in PA is depressing. It could be that I don’t have much to do besides work since I’m living at home for the rest of the semester and all of my friends are busy with classes. Or just maybe it’s because I miss Australia in general. The people were amazing, the sites can’t be justified by pictures alone, the cleanness of everything you touch there is incomparable to any place here besides my own home. I’m always replaying certain moments in my head. The day at Bondi Beach and the last night in Sydney will never be forgotten. I’ve had at least 3 dreams about them already.

That little taste of traveling makes me want to go out and explore new areas and try different activities. I started to make a bucket list. Not the one where people put unrealistic things. I’ve read and reread it to make sure that I will be able to accomplish at least 90 percent of it before I die!

I not only keep in touch with the group of students that went along with me on this trip but I also talk to the friendly people I met while down under. These people will forever be my friends!

The group from The University of Melbourne.

The students from Penn State.

My two new best friends!

Tash and Luke.

Tall, dark, and handsome John from Virginia who is currently traveling the world!

When I hang out in the city of Pittsburgh I find myself really missing Australian cities. Pittsburgh is so dirty and unfriendly compared to Melbourne and Sydney. I by far loved Melbourne the most because the people were so open and it had a very laid back lifestyle.

I enjoyed how we went from city to rural area to city again. Having a taste of each made me feel like I was able to see a lot of what Australia has to offer. Deep down I know I’m always going to be a country girl. I don’t mind all the bugs, the smells, the dirt, and hard work of course!

Only regret I have from this experience, not missing my flight and staying longer! When I arrived in Pittsburgh, I felt like I never left! Everything was the same as when I left, family and pets were well with snow on the ground and a freezing temperature. It was as if I were in a dream for a month. That dream made me learn so much about myself and life. I know that I have yet to realize some things but here is what I do know . . .

1. Living in the middle of nowhere my whole life had me sheltered to the aspect that I thought I would hate city life. Living in Melbourne and Sydney for a little made me realize I love being around people! I like the convenience of being able to walk to places and have something to do every night!
2. I don’t get homesick as easily as I thought. Only once on the trip did I find myself really upset that I was away from home. This was because my cat had walked up to the laptop screen to say hello.
3. There’s no reason to be shy around people you don’t know. I found it rather easy to just start conversations with people I never met while I was gone. At home I’m that shy girl who is afraid to talk to new people and ask questions. I now realize that it’s ok to just talk. If people don’t like you then that’s fine. Move on and don’t let it bother you. Your only one person and can’t impress everyone!
4. The best days are unplanned. I have always been that girl who has to have a plan! While In Australia I had no idea what was going on. I just went with it and damn was that a good feeling!
5. Live in the moment! My phone is always glued to my side. Not having a phone in Australia really allowed me to get the full experience. I was doing me the whole time and talked to friends and family when I had time. I knew they would be at home when I got back and that would be when I can tell them details. I wanted every second possible to myself while I was gone to experience Australia the way I wanted to. I didn’t have a boyfriend at home waiting around for me to Skype him. To me Australia was my book and I needed to do everything I could in the short amount of time I was there. No strings attached!
6. There’s a world of opportunity out there and you need to take it while you’re young! I met several people who were between 21 and 25 who were from different areas of the world and just living in Australia while they could. I have no clue where I want to work when I’m out of college. I’ve always said I wanted to stay close to home but now I know I have the courage to be away for a period of time. Maybe one day I’ll be that girl who an American college student will talk to while in a different country!
7. I have an amazing family. Walking around cities makes me really feel for the people who are homeless because they do not have the chance to have what I have. I have a wonderful family who will do anything they can to help me through college and make sure that I am safe and healthy. I won’t be taking anything for grantee.
8. I have an interest in sheep. I’ve limited myself to just wanting to learn about companion animals. After getting hands on experience with livestock breeds I have an itch to learn more about them. I disliked my nutrition class last semester because it covered all animals. Now I can’t wait for classes like that in the semester ahead of me!

When I graduate I am buying a one way ticket to Australia to see what life has in store for me. I started saving the day I came back home <3

Oh dear! No one can ever warn you about how jet lagged you will get from that experience! I arrived at my house at 1:30 AM. I did not go to sleep until 4:30AM. I woke up at 6:30 PM. Talk about being all sorts of out of wack! I ran downstairs asking my mom what day it was! My body was not happy with me.

For a week straight I couldn’t fall sleep until 1 AM or later. I would only eat one meal a day and it wouldn’t be until at least 8PM. I spent that week just laying in bed relaxing and sleeping. I have never gone 5 weeks straight waking up no later than 9AM each day and going non stop till at least 1AM everyday. My body was telling me it was worn down! I have a me day once a week and not having that for 5 weeks straight took its toll on me.

After a week of being a bum I needed to get some structure in my life! My boss was getting ready to take her vacation so she put me in charge of taking care of her animals for the week she would be gone. This worked in my favor because I was waking up everyday at 7:00 to take care of them. Come 10PM I was tired. Finally back to my normal sleep routine!

I woke up from the most exciting night while in Australia! I wouldn’t have changed anything that happened!

I woke up for breakfast late so I had to hurry up and eat so I could start packing. I was able to fit everything in my suitcase! Denille on the other hand, well she had so much stuff but it was ok since she was staying in Australia longer. I was sad to leave her! The students leaving today packed into the bus that was to take us to the airport. Such a bittersweet moment leaving Australia.

My flight from Sydney to LAX was great. I had the whole row to myself so I was able to lay down. I got a really good nights sleep! I watched the sunrise on the way to Sydney and was able to see the sunset on the way home!

The flight home felt much shorter than the flight to Australia. I actually watched a movie that they played so that help pass the time instead of just listening to music.

My second flight from LAX to Huston was irritating. I had my own personal tv to pick movies from but the airline kept shutting it off! I was watching The Great Gatsby. A two and a half hour movie on a 4 hour flight and I wasn’t even able to finish it! Man was I worked up when I got off that plane!

The third flight from Huston to Pittsburgh was better. The seat in the middle was open so I had some knee room. I was able to relax and forget about not being able to finish the movie!

12:30AM I landed at home!

My last day in Australia :(.

Denille, Sam, and I woke up early so we could make the best of our last day here in Sydney. We had a few things to get done before we caught the ferry to Manly Beach!

We adventured off to a museum so we could full fill our last assignment while in Australia. We were so worn out yesterday that we didn’t put forth the effort to find one to go to. That made it first on our list! After spending some time at the Anzac Museum, Sam and I headed to the botanical garden while Denille searched for a place that would help her change her flights.

This botanical garden was more lively compared to the one in Melbourne. Over half of the people there were doing some kind of exercise other than walking. We saw several psoriatic groups come out of nowhere running at full force. We figured they must be training for something! Regardless of how many people where there, it was still a peaceful place. It was an ideal location for business workers to come to on lunch break! Once we met up with Denille we walked through the garden all the way to the Sydney opera house. That was such a nice change from walking the street! We were able to see different scenes and not have to dodge people except for the runners of course.

Check out this cool tree that was in the garden. Its branches grew into the ground!

I was not that impressed with the outside of the Sydney Opera House when we walked up the steps to get a closer look. I like the shape of it but not the material it’s made of. It just looks choppy and sloppy to me because all the crazy lines don’t blend well.

After checking out the outside we wanted to see the inside. There was no way for us to see anything unless if we bought a ticket for a show so we resorted to the bathroom! Talk about a modern building! The stalls had a waving motion going on. You would shut and lock the stall yet it would look like the door was about to open because of the angle you were looking at it. I was shocked at how each sink area had everything a person needed. A mirror and your own soap and paper towel dispenser. Paper towels were right under the mirror and the soap to the side. Which was automatic like the faucet. The sink was flat when you looked at it. How cool is that!? I had to look under it to see how that was even possible. Only downfall about the bathroom, it was extremely hot in there!

Sydney Opera House bathroom selfie with my girls!

After that minor adventure we headed to the dock area where the fairy would be leaving. Sam and I ordered fish and chips and waited for Dr. Pate to meet us so we could get on the ferry.

The ferry ride took about a half an hour but to me it felt like 10 minutes. I love being on any kind of boat. Being on water is so relaxing and makes me want to go fishing!

When we arrived to Manly Beach we parted from Dr. Pate so we could finish our shopping. We were all wide awake and knew what we were looking for today. The stores also had more of a variety of items so we were able to get our shopping done rather quickly. The first time we ran into Dr. Pate she asked us to choose which restaurant we thought would be good for our last group dinner. We felt honored to be able to pick! After we finished shopping we walked to the beach. Denille and I put our feet in the water while Sam stayed up by the steps. After that we walked around bare foot like the Aussies do. I completely understand why they do that. It’s so much easier on the feet after walking around so much on the concrete. When you wear sandals your soles really start to ache. We still had about 2 hours of time to kill before dinner so we decided to go to a rooftop bar for happy hour.

The rooftop bar was so relaxing and my kind of place to be. It had a beach yet country theme to it. The three of us sat in wicker chairs that were placed around an upside down barrel. Talk about a cheap way to make a table! It’s actually a really good idea for a hangout area on the back porch of someone’s house! I felt right at home here.

Just hanging out in the lounge area!

My favorite piece in the whole bar. It would be an easy piece to make!

Dinner time was arriving so we headed to the restaurant to meet up with the group before sitting down. The place wasn’t ready for such a large group but they handled it better than any other restaurant we went to the whole stay. The waiters were very attentive and didn’t seem annoyed with us. I think they enjoyed knowing we were from the US. After dinner it was time for our Sydney Night Live skit.

Most of the group was stressed out about this assignment. It went very smoothly if you ask me. Everyone knew the general idea of the skits we wanted to do. We just needed a leader for each skit and then we could wing the rest. I participated more than I thought I would which was a good thing. I had fun acting and watching until some of the group had to do a skit about Gabby peeing the bed. The point of the skit was to portray how we see Australia not about our inside jokes that only the group knew. After the skit I stopped having fun . . .

The ferry ride back in the dark was the highlight of my day. Seeing Sydney at night was beautiful. The Opera House looked amazing. Much better than how it looks during the day! I liked it because the crazy lines couldn’t be seen. The structure was solid white and looked like it belonged there in the harbor.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge looked very elegant lite up at night. It also looked like it belonged there!

Denille and I took a cab back to the hostile once we got off he fairy. We had enough walking for the day and wanted to get back as soon as possible. I was going to pay with a credit card but the driver said there was a 20% surcharge. I said forget that and had Denille pay with cash! It would have been a rip off if I used my card!

Ready for our last night in Australia!

Today was the day to get all of my souvenir shopping done! Talk about a long and miserable day. Why Sam 1, Denille, and I did that to ourselves we will never know! We woke up early to eat breakfast and get ready for a long day of exploring the city.

We started off at the wrong end. We went opposite of where the rest of the group went and found that there were no good shopping stores. We grabbed some snacks then headed in the other direction. Sam wanted to see Darling Harbor so we stopped at stores along the way. The first store we found had a lot of things I wanted for friends and family so I ended up having to carry a large bag within the first hour of our long day :/. (Let me tell you I wanted my arms to fall off by the time I got back, the amount of stuff I was carrying was crazy!!!)

When we got closer to Darling Harbor we saw a really cool fountain. The way it was set up was like a sheet of glass was placed over top of it. The flow was perfect!

As we walked a little farther we saw plywood that was painted with a paint that had a texture of a blackboard. We assumed that since Valentine’s Day was approaching that people were allowed to sign their names and write a little message. We wanted to do so as well but we couldn’t find any chalk. After passing a few more really cool fountains we arrived at the harbor. Low and behold there was a huge heart at the top of the stage and hearts around the edge of the harbor to celebrate Valentines day.

The heart above the stage.

Yuck! Enough with all the mushy stuff! The Harbor was small but was nice to look at. We were there before noon so it wasn’t crowded by any means. We wanted to grab some food and spotted a Hard Rock Café that had outside seating. We looked at the menu outside and the cheapest plate was $25 so we said let’s go somewhere else. We walked into the shopping area and just went with the food court. Can’t go wrong with that! Sam decided on KFC while Denille and I went for an American style caesar salad! Once our bellies were full we were ready for more shopping. Denille really wanted to find a new dress to wear so we spent over an hour in a store with items priced at what we could afford. We all tried on ridiculous outfits we knew we wouldn’t like just to make it fun. Even after trying on clothes we thought we would love, we left the store empty handed. We killed about 45 minutes finishing up exploring the harbor.

The small and peaceful Darling Harbor.

After that we headed back to the main road to walk to Sydney Harbor. We looked in several stores on the right side of the road. We ended up running into the rest of the group at some point. With all our stop and goes, we were exhausted by the time we got to Sydney Harbor. Ice cream and a sit down break was needed! I had on sandals so my feet were killing me. What a terrible idea on my part! After a good 30 minutes we were off to do more shopping. I found another really good souvenir shop where I purchased a good bit of items (now carrying two very large bags and a small bag, at least I could even out the weight). After the 5th souvenir shop at the harbor we were sick of shopping. Everything looked the same and we weren’t finding what we really wanted. We headed back to the hostile. Half way down the main road we decided to go into an IGA so Sam and Denille could get kangaroo, emu, and crocodile jerky for their family. The prices were the cheapest we have found but the line . . . half way through the store. Yikes, but we waited anyway. It’s not like we had anywhere to be at a certain time. Just when I thought we were done with stores, Denille spotted a dress store with everything for $10. She didn’t want to give up with finding a dress. I was about to sit down outside when I thought “naw just look around”. I did and I found an amazing dress. Denille was the one to spot it on the rack and I knew I had to try it on. It’s a style of dress I have been searching for! It’s revealing of my tattoo on my back but still classy looking. I will be wearing it my last night in Sydney! Last and final stop, the liquor store. We FINALLY found boxed wine! 1 gallon in each box, 2 boxes for about $20. Life doesn’t get much better. Only downfall was carrying them at least 10 blocks back to the hostile. This was when I was ready to freak out. All I could do was laugh at how much crap I had to carry because there was nothing that could be done. Once we got in the elevator to our room, I ran to our room to drop everything! My arms couldn’t take it anymore! I had line indents from the bags on each arm that lasted at least 15 minutes.

We decided to make use of the kitchen in the hostile. Three broke girls with left over food supplied to us by our host families called for an easy night for dinner. We put on comfy clothes and headed to the kitchen with our cereal and milk. Typical college student dinner right there! Haha but man did we enjoy it!

After dinner we relaxed then got ready to go out. We decided to switch it up a bit with where we went. Denille and I headed to a place called Bar Century. I contacted a girl who I knew from Penn State that has been living in Australia and asked where the good bars were. She recommended this place only because it had cheap drinks. Cheap drinks indeed, $5 vodka red bulls when other places it costs at least $8. We were having a chill time until random creeps came to talk to us. After that we left as soon as they weren’t looking, we decided to stay at Scubar and Sidebar since we felt safer and were closer to the hostile.

Highlight of the night. . . walking through the cross walk and a random guy asking Denille and I if we were American. We both stopped and looked at him, laughed, and said “Nope” in sync. He laughed and said “I thought so”!

Last night got a little out of hand for Courtney’s birthday . . . Sam ended up cutting the top of her foot on a broken beer bottle. I woke up early with her to talk to Dr. Pate. I about passed out when I saw the cut! It was too early for me to be seeing that kind of stuff.

After breakfast Sam went to the hospital to get it checked. She’s lucky since all they had to do was glue it. No stitches needed! Only downfall was that she had to keep it dry for 24 hours and today was the day for the beach! Sam took on the role of being “mom” and watched everyone’s stuff for the day.

Bondi Beach was our destination. Since all of the girls went together we arrived at the beach later than I wanted to because we can never make up our minds. Some want to eat this kind of food while others say “no I don’t like that”. . . the list goes on. Denille and I just did the American thing where we grabbed a sandwich and walked on the sidewalk while eating. No shame with us!

Denille and I could not sit still on the beach. We were so excited to explore Sydney. The bus ride to the area was a bit longer than we thought it would be. Sitting just wasn’t an option anymore. We laid out our towels and walked to the edge to put our feet in the water, talk about ice cold! We jumped back then decided to let the waves bury our feet till we made a plan for the day. After checking out the surfers we gazed the coast. We saw a bunch of rocks to the left us. It would be about a mile walk but it was better than sitting still at the beach. We say c-ya to the beach bums of the group and were off on our stroll.

The rocky area is where we were headed to.

We learned fast why Bondi Beach is one of the best beaches in Sydney. Walking to that part of the coast was the best idea we had. The site was outrageously beautiful. At first we are mad because we didn’t wear shoes. Just about every inch of the rocks that were close to the water had shells on them. Man did those things hurt your feet! I can walk bare foot in gravel at home but these things make me cringe.

This area was mild compared to some rocks!

I felt like I was in an obstacle course. If you go this way it’s tough on your feet. If you go this way then you have to jump over cracks in the rocks. It’s safe to say that we did what we had to do to get to the other end of the rocks that weren’t viewable from the area we dropped our belongings off at. Pictures can not do this place justice! The waves would hit up over the rocks like shown in movies.

We watched a few groups of people waiting for the waves to hit them. I decided I wanted to try it. That water was freezing but it was such an experience! I loved not knowing when a huge wave would hit me. Oh the suspense! Sorry Denille for making you take so many pictures of me. I just wanted the perfect one!

As we ventured farther along the coast the sites of waves hitting the rocks became more frequent. I saved Denille’s life when we were on one of the higher rocks. It had a large amount of algae on it. She walked directly on it and slipped. If I didn’t hold my hand out as fast I did she would have knocked herself out! After that we decided to head back.

On our return we saw a group of three ladies. Two were tanning topless while the third was just chilling and talking away like nothing weird was going on. It’s amazing how the beach scene in Australia is different from any of the beaches I have been to in the United States. If ladies tanned like that in the US they would get fined if it wasn’t a nude beach! Let alone I’m not sure if people in the US have the guts to do that. A lot of people are insecure and worry about what other people think! Seeing this really showed that Aussie’s have a laid back life style!

When we first arrived at the beach I thought hey this is nothing special. It’s just another beach that’s crowded with people who want to play in the water and soak up the sun. The only difference I noticed was that the sand was finer than beaches like Myrtle and Virginia. The water was also more clear. It had a true blue look to it. You didn’t see any seaweed or little pieces of trash floating in it.

As time went on I observed more minor things that others might not notice.
1. Surfers everywhere! Yes they were farther out so people who wanted to just jump the waves by feet could be more in land. Some surfers could have been pros while other were clearly fixing their technique. There was a designated area in the water and on the beach for all age groups to learn how to surf. Denille and I walked pass it on our way to the rocky area. It was cute to see everyone in matching wet suits.
2. Lifeguards everywhere! On foot that is. Life guards here are not in chairs the whole time. They are on their feet with their whistles and life saver device ready to go at any moment. Maybe this is because the currents are stronger?
3. Designated “No Swimming” area. This area was right where the waves from each direction collided. There was definitely a strong under tow there. Life guards kept a close eye on the area to make sure no swimmer tried to “sneak” into the area.
4. Limited dirty birds. I wonder why this is . . .Aussies don’t seem to snack as often as Americans do. Denille and I of course brought out the American in us and ate some bacon cheese balls. We attracted a dirty seagull who wouldn’t let any others in the area! Limited birds means limited poop to step in!
5. Clear and icy water. Yep, the water was ice cold even though the temperature gets up to 112 degrees Fahrenheit. On the plus side, once your whole body is in the water, it feels so refreshing! One just can’t stay in the water too long. I was in it for about 15 minutes and had enough. I felt like I had just got a bath when I walked out. The water is that clean! No seaweed to get wrapped around your body parts. Limited amount of shells to step on. Everyone should be able to experience that feeling because after I get out the ocean on the east coast of the US, I feel disgusting. You also do not see trash washed up by the tide as you walk along the beach.
6. Heaps of beautiful people. Yes I used the word heaps :). Haha. Obesity is very limited in Australia. Just about everyone can pull off a two piece bathing suit. Half of the men had speedos on, even the old guys! That was weird for me to see but it’s an everyday thing for the Aussies. It’s where their lack of caring comes in!
7. Not just beautiful but friendly human beings. Everyway you look people just smile at you. Denille and I walked pass a group of guys throwing a ball. The ball came right by me but I didn’t think to grab it. I walked pass the guy that threw it and he joked with me that I could have threw it back to them. Oops!
8. More than just a chance to relax. There were not only chances to learn how to surf but there were volleyball nets set up in the back for people to get games going. There were grass areas with grills and pavilions for little family functions. If you travel to the road then you have restaurants, bars, and places to shop. This leads me into the rest of mine and Denille’s day.

When we came back to the beach spot with the rest of the group we were ready to explore more. We hit up the road with all the stores. We did a bit of a bar crawl then did some shopping. We bought “friendship ankle bracelets” after hitting up a bar where we could people watch. At this bar a guy stopped me and said “They only allow solid color bathing suits in here, you need to leave”. I gave a dumb founded look then he just smiled and said “got you”. He was a local comedian and he was trying out new lines. I didn’t think it was funny because he caught me off guard more than anything. Denille and I chatted with him for about 10 minutes about why we were in Australia. Turns out he was actually from a farm background not too far away from Bondi Beach. It blows my mind how people in Australia just love to talk and are so friendly! After a few drinks we headed back to see what the group was up to. Denille laid out while I got enough courage to go in the water. It was my last chance to be in the ocean while in Australia, I didn’t want to regret not going in. I then laid out with Denille. Once everyone was ready to leave Denille and I finished up the section of the road we did not explore earlier in the day. It was a little after 5 by the time we were done so we headed back to the hostile to get ready for the night.

Scubar and Sidebar bar were the destinations for the night.

It’s the day I have to leave Tash and Luke :(. I only spent about a week with them and I feel like I have known them forever. It was like a sleep over with my best friends the whole week. I lucked out with not only a cool home-stay but also with a cool “sibling”. I’m really going to miss it here. Tash and Luke woke Bradley and I up at 7 to say goodbye. They are headed up to Cairns for a week or two with some friends. Tash’s brother is in charge of taking us to the train station.

They have the cutest little house!

I’m going to miss riding in Luke’s Jeep!

I was so excited to ride on a train for the first time. My hopes were too high because I wasn’t impressed. I pictured a train like they show in the Harry Potter movies. You have your own little private section with a door and people come around asking if you want some food. Nope, this was real life and the ride was very long, slow, and boring. I sat with Sam, Denille, and Ben. We were able to turn the seats around so we could face each other. That was a huge plus. Only other thing we needed was a table so we could play some cards! I’m almost positive we annoyed everyone in the section of our train because we played music and sang for just about the whole ride. There was only one other person who was more annoying than us. A random guy kept walking from his section of the train to the middle divider of our section. He would talk nonsense and act like a little kid by making noises and hand motions. By the last half hour of the ride he was going extreme. I couldn’t stop laughing. There was something not right about him.

Overall it was cool to see Australia by train. Going from town views to rural areas with just fields to city buildings was interesting to see. Train food is much better than airplane food. That’s for sure!

So thankful I had these three to kill the time with!

We arrived in Sydney after dark but everyone was wide awake and ready to explore. Leave it up to Bradley to talk to a few guys who were staying in the hostile to find out where the good pubs were located. Scubar was 10 steps to the left and Sidebar was a block over on the right. My nights in Sydney should be fun!

Oh yeah I forgot to say that I’ll be rooming with Denille and Sam, who would have guessed!

It’s Friday! The abattoir was first on our list. I wasn’t really up for going there because I thought we would see the kill process. Thankfully we did not. It was actually a lot of fun. I grabbed the largest boots for some reason so I felt like a little kid walking around in my parent’s shoes! I was drowning in the coat we had to wear. Denille and I kept acting like gangsters before we were off to see the facility. Everything was done by hand! I’ve never see a processing facility like that. I went on a poultry tour with Penn State my first semester at main campus and almost everything was done by machine. The workers here have to work 10 hour shifts 4 days a week. 900 people work there and there’s 40 different nationalities. The tour lasted longer than it should have so we were late getting back. We had a lecture about horse racing issues then it was on to the exam! I found the research information in the lecture very fascinating but my brain couldn’t absorb more information. I was worried about the exam.

Bradley and I walked to the house when we were done. What a terrible idea, it was so hot outside!

We got ready for our goodbye dinner and showed up late because Tash was late leaving work. The dinner was very nice but I didn’t really care for the food. We took group pictures with our families then were off to do the pub tour.

I had a blast with Denille, Bradley, Tash, and Luke. The others bailed on us after the 1st bar. We hit up 6 different bars before ending at The Vic. I wanna do more pub tours like that! This makes me excited for my 21st birthday!

We say bye tomorrow 🙁

We saw the largest sheep sale in the Southern Hemisphere today! I was amazed to see how many there were! Several had something wrong with them so it wouldn’t be the place to go to find “the perfect sheep”. I’ve never seen anything like it so I was ready to take everything in! It seemed like madness at first but after chatting with one of the guys there I found out that there is organization to the process. I was amazed to see how large the trailers are that carry the sheep to this event. There were 3 and 4 story trailers packed with sheep. Talk about something amazing! It seemed like we were there for 10 minutes but it was close to 40 minutes. We got on the bus and headed to the class room for a lecture. Most of the students were bored but I found the lecture interesting because it touched on animal welfare topics we haven’t talked about yet. After lunch we had two more farms to visit. I volunteered myself to be the one to thank the last family for showing us their farm. I took a step in the right direction because I never volunteer for things like that!

After class Tash and I had a girls night. We went and got our nails done. I just got a pedicure. I almost walked away without paying! Tash paid and as we left I asked how much I owed her. I thought they had us pay together and she just looked at me with a blank stare. She said she just paid for hers. I walked back in and said I didn’t pay and the girl who took care of Tash said the lady who took care of me can be a blonde at times! Haha oops. I almost got away with a free pedicure but I would have felt terrible if I didn’t pay. My feet felt great after so I was ready to do a little shopping. I purchased my first romper and found the perfect dress for tomorrow night! I’m so excited to wear it!

I had the best time with farm visits today! Being hands on with sheep was the best way for me to learn about animal production. We started off with learning how to handle sheep. I tried three times to get one to lay down but it only worked once. I had an issue with keeping my balance! Next we learned how to drench them. I was all for that. I’m used to giving dogs and cats pills by hand so when I had an actual tool to use, I was a pro! I also found one sheep that I really liked so I made friends with her so she would corporate a little better :). We were then onto shearing. We watched one of the workers show us how it’s done. I felt bad for the sheep because it got cut a few times on pretty much every area of her body. They say sheep heal with in a week and that they don’t really feel the cuts if they aren’t deep.

After class I mailed myself a package home so I could have more room in my suite case. $106 to do so. Say what! The cheapest option was $68 and it would take 60 to 90 days. No way I need that chocolate to be there when I’m home! Next one up, 7 to 10 day air shipping! At least I know the candy won’t melt!

I finally had the chance to take a bath while on this trip. Ahh yes that was great! It put me in a good mood right before dinner. Tash cooked up her homemade sauce and we had a “spat bowl” (spaghetti).

We headed to The Vic for their beergo night. You play bingo and win free beer. We met Ellen and Morgan there. I was excited to see them since I haven’t had much time to chat with them this week. After they left it was just the four of us left. We decided to get in a fight with the bingo stampers. I got Bradley really good in the face then Luke put a line all the way up my leg! Tash just sat there and laughed! I got some on my shirt so hopefully that comes out! Each day I become closer with Tash and Luke. The hardest goodbye of this trip is going to be when I leave them on Saturday :/.