Adventures Down Under: February 2011

I ate kangaroo today. That is all.

No I am just kidding. This entire week, my group and I have seen advertisements for this Pako Cultural Festival in Geelong, so we decided to check it out. It was really hot and sunny today, so besides the crowd it was really fun. We took the bus there then started going from stand to stand to see what types of cultural cuisine was being offered. The first stand we stopped at was the Australian Aboriginals who were serving kangaroo. I had to try it. It was pretty similar to lamb in texture and taste. I don't think I would order it at any restaurant, but it had to be done. We then made our way to a Korean stand where they had these potato chip like thing on a stick. They were delicious. There were foods from every where you can imagine, along with live cultural entertainment. It was a pretty cool festival and supposedly the biggest free festival in all of Oz.
Yesterday, Kate said she wanted to go into Melbourne to go to an American super market to buy graham crackers to make s'mores for Australians because they don't have the slightest clue what they are because there is no graham crackers to be found here. We all decided to join her. We took a bud then a train to get into the city. Our plan was to go to the Melbourne Zoo because we were told it was "heaps of fun." It was also a nice day for this, but it got cooler at night.

Tomorrow is the start of orientation week, or O-week on campus so Deakin has a lot of events set up, so hopefully the weather is nice and we will all check it out. I am pretty sure people start to move into my building tomorrow, so maybe I won't be the only one and I can meet some more Aussies!

Abby and I

Lauren and I with a wombat statue

Kate and I

This picture belongs with the previous post, but this is from Lorne. It was windy.

This one is for you dad.

LITTLE PENGUINS

Timon

Simba

Melbourne

Abby, Lauren and I at the Pako Festival

Kangaroo

Spanish food

I got back from Deakin's beach welcome trip yesterday. It gave us all a taste of Australian culture and everyday life. We went to the coastal city of Lorne. We took the Great Ocean Road to get there. We were put up in a really nice hotel over looking the ocean. Emily, Lauren and I stayed in an apartment style room that had two floors. Bedrooms and bathroom on the first, kitchen and living room on the second. Once we arrived we had some lunch and then my group and I explored Lorne and walked down to the beach. We all decided to build a sand fortress. Right off the beach was a park that included a bunch of trampolines built into the ground. We all took turns bouncing around until we decided to head back to shower and change for dinner. Dinner was a typical Australian BBQ with all of the international students at Deakin. There was also a DJ and a band who played games and provided entertainment for the night. They had us playing some really ridiculous games and all of the prizes was Australia candy, chocolate etc... My group and I convinced the DJ to youtube a bunch of typical American songs by boy bands and other similar groups. I requested backstreet boys, so the DJ continued to call me Backstreet Boy all night.
The next morning we all had to wake up super early to eat breakfast and begin our day of physical activity. My group's first activity was surf kayaking. At first I was terrified for this because it was cold, the waves were big and I didn't want to get eaten by a shark. Our instructor, Brownie, lead us around the pier and out of the bay into the ocean. My partner was Emily and we would freak out every time a big wave rolled in. We were no where near the shore and Brownie told us that under the pier was the type of sting ray that killed Steve Irwin. After hearing this there was no way I wanted to go in the water, but I had no choice when people started going after each other's kayaks to tip them into the water. Ryan and Lauren tipped Emily and I and Emily's ore hit my foot and I thought it was a shark attacking so I leaded into my kayak thinking my life was soon to be over. After this I calmed down a bit and realized I was over reacting slightly. Brownie taught us how to ride the big waves by paddling as a wave approached. The wave would then pick us up and we would go zooming. It was so much fun and exciting once we did it once. One time we got the timing wrong, so a huge wave turned our kayak parallel to it and Emily and I thought we were done for. Between looking at each other, then at the huge wave, then at each other and screaming we balanced ourselves out and we were okay. Every time we caught a big wave I would scream "RIGHTEOUS. RIGHTEOUS" like Crush from Finding Nemo when he rode the East Australia Current. After kayaking, and after peeling off my wet suit we walked down the beach to where we picked up bikes for mountain biking. This "mountain biking" was not so mountainous, but it was scenic. We rode along the coast for about an hour or so and took in the view. After biking we had a break so we grabbed some lunch and decided to walk back to the hotel to nap for an hour. We then had to walk back to the beach for surfing. Once again I had to squeeze into a wet suit. Our instructor lined us up on the beach and taught us the basics. I laughed to myself when we were on the beach because all I could think about was the scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall when Peter wants to learn how to surf. Literally after stretching and learning to surf for 5 minutes we were out on the water. I have a newfound respect for all surfers because surfing is easily one of the hardest things I have done. It is a work out to get out because the waves keep pushing you pack, the cable you hook yourself up to gets tangled around your ankles and body a lot and it is super quick paced. Next thing you know you are already at the beach and you have to start all over again. I got up about 2 or 3 times, but getting up is saying a lot. I wiped out way more than I stood up. I had one really bad wipe out into the sand which ended in me spitting sand out of my mouth.
Dinner the second night was a roast, which was so good. The same DJ and band was there again and Lauren and I were partners for a trivia game, which we lost by one point. The next day we packed up and went onto a bus ride down the Great Ocean Road to a park/river where we spotted some koalas in the trees and some parrots. These parrots would swoop down and land on people or brush their wings all over the people. I was not a fan of this after my experience of a bird pooping on me the first night. Our next stop was the rainforest where we followed a trail around. It was a cool temperate rain forest. It was so peaceful and quiet. We didn't see any wild animals, but some of the trees were huge. Our final stop was the 12 Apostles and the Loch Ard Gorge. These sites were unbelievable. It looked like a painting how pretty it was.
Once we got back to Deakin, we went shopping for decorations, dinner and cake for Lauren's birthday and celebrated with the other international students and the RAs.
I registered for classes today and my schedule is not that great, but I got into a class about Australia and it also takes field trips to the sites in Australia.