We left the University of Melbourne on Friday morning, the day after our big exam. The city was fun and a great experience but I can only handle so much hustle and bustle at once. The group traveled on our coach bus along the Great Ocean Road. If you have never heard of this road it is indescribable. The 200 kilometer road was the first coastal road built in the south of Victoria, Australia after World War I. The workers built it completely by hand and were employed by the government through a program during The Great Depression for the unemployed. I tried to stay awake, but the winding roads made my stomach churn. I don’t think I have ever been that close to actually being sick while traveling. We stopped at a few sight seeing spots such as The Twelve Apostles and ship wreckages.

After sight seeing and all of the motion sickness, we arrived at Kangaroobie. Kangaroobie is a campsite we stayed at for the night. Most of our first reactions were a little skeptical and unsure of how this camp was going to be but after walking around for a few minutes we all had high hopes.

First, we had dinner and ate their homegrown beef from the commercial farm the owners of the camp run. We had some down time to relax so a few of us crowded around my lap top screen and had our eyes glued to an exciting episode of Dexter. If you have never seen Dexter and want a good series to watch, watch it. We thought we were going to watch a movie on the big projector screen they had but instead we had a surprise pick up from the owner of the camp. All 15 students, and the owners adorable dog, piled into a caged truck (for animals) and were driven out to a field of beef cows. Along the way we spotted some wild Kangaroos hopping across the field which was such a great experience to see even though we have seen so many in zoos. We stopped in the field and fed some of the cows. Most of them were pregnant but some had calves with them and they were soooooooooooo cute. Afterwards we stopped by and fed some pigs too!

To finish the night off  we went back and watched the movie Gallipoli.  I didn’t watch the movie because I fell asleep after two minutes but I heard it was really good. I also heard that Mel Gibson was in it and was looking pretty good in his 20’s.

Before we went to sleep we went outside to look for the Southern Cross, a constellation that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere. This star can also be seen on Australia’s flag. The stars were breath taking. I have seen some beautiful skies in my lifetime considering I live in a small town, but this was a lot different. The constellations are different in the south; nothing like Pennsylvania. Unfortunately we can’t take a picture of the sky, but take my word for it!

The next morning I did not want to get up because it was the first time I ever slept through an entire night; I felt like a baby. I finally convinced myself to stand up and it was worth it. We were taken to a ropes course which was so much fun and challenging. As a team we had to go through the course without touching the ground. At first I thought it would be a piece of cake but the ropes showed me otherwise. It took all 15 of us about an hour and 22 touches/ falls to get rough the short course. I made it almost all the way until the end before I fell and thought I died. I was holding onto a rope and balancing on wobbly tires until I fell backwards 6 feet to the ground and did a complete backflip with the ropes twisting around my head. As I was landing I hit my head off of a tree stump. I blacked out for a second and brought my head up as I saw Arianne’s, a friend on the trip, jaw drop. The Irish lady in charge ran over to me and asked if I was okay and I shook my head yes. She asked me my name and I answered her, “Gabby” as tears filled my eyes. I felt shocked and embarrassment more than anything at the time and I tried to keep back the tears but I couldn’t help it with the shock. I finished the course and didn’t touch a rope after that.

Once we got back and loaded the bus I started to feel groggy. I think I got a mild concussion. I have never had one before but I am positive the feelings I had were symptoms of one.

Anyway, after a shocking experience I was ready to leave. Kangaroobie surprised me with its amazing scenery and outdoor fun. Every place we go to no one  ever wants to leave but I think I had enough after that point. Onto Halls Gap, our next campsite spot in the Grampians.

(I will try and post pictures later but I don’t have access to my pictures yet because we barely have wifi!)

Last Sunday afternoon: Everyone started studying for the exam. Last Monday night: After classes everyone started getting down to business for the exam in a few days.

Last Tuesday night: The information for the exam was really piling up…everyone started freaking out.

Last Wednesday night: Stressed out to the max. The exam was in a couple of hours.

Last Thursday: Exam day.

Our exam started at 9 am on Thursday morning and ended at 12pm- a 3 hour exam. It reminded me of the dreadful SAT’s, but only this time it was without breaks and it was all short answer. There were 3 subjects on the exam: History of Australia, Animal Welfare, and Animal Production. There were 25 questions on the entire exam which doesn’t seem too horrible but considering they were all short answer/essay questions it required a lot of thought…you really had to know the info. In the middle of the exam I started to blank. My brain just stopped so I had to go outside for a minute and grab a drink of water so I didn’t go brain dead for the rest of the exam. After the exam everyone was so happy and felt relieved, but I still was not satisfied. I just felt like I could have done better but 9 credits worth in 2 weeks of information is a lot to do. The professors did warn us! Thursday night, our last night in Melbourne, we had to celebrate for finishing the exam so a few students took us to an irish pub in the city. The next day we had to wake up early and start our journey on The Great Ocean Road. Monday night the group had a meeting…we were getting our exams back. All of us were so nervous and didn’t even want to see them. After all of the stress, the grade I received was not too bad. I think after every exam I realize that I freaked out too much and gave myself too much stress, but I also think that helps me get a better grade. If I wasn’t worried, then it was a bad thing.

Our second “exam” is this Thursday. All of us were randomly assigned to a group and given a topic to focus on. My groups name is the Ursines which means bear. My group of three includes Katie, Denille and me. Katie is my best friend on this trip so we were happy to be put into the same group! Our topic is Wars in Australia. We have to give a 12-15 minute presentation on the wars, how they affected Australia, where and when they happened. I am excited on learning more about the wars in Australia. I think that it is interesting how a war or a battle can bring a country together, or apart. For example, the Gallipoli battle in Turkey was a major part in Australia’s history. It was a failure, but it was also Australia’s first time of uniting together and fighting as a federation. It was the first feeling of nationalism.

Although I wish our topics were about animals since that is my focus, this is still interesting as well. We will see how everything goes on Thursday. If you have any creative ways to present a project rather than the lame, boring power points let me know!