Outback Trip / Dolphin Cruise

Hi Everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated this thing in a few days! Not much has been going on! Anyway, yesterday the International Students got to go to Oakville Farm and Fauna world to see kangaroos, koalas and a lot of different Aussie animals. After the zoo, we went on a dolphin watching cruise around Hunter Bay. We saw tons of dolphins, but catching them on film was really hard since they only came up for water every so often. Also before I start, know that at the bottom of this post there are 2 videos you can watch of the kangaroos. For some reason, the site won't let me integrate them with the pictures soooo be sure to check those out at the end! So right off the bat we saw a kangaroo WITH a joey in its pouch! Here I am feeding the joey:

These 2 girls are who I spent most of the day with: Malasya (from Malaysia...coincidence, I know) and Frieda (from Korea). Here we are posing with out first kangaroo!

Frieda feeding the joey. Isn't it soooooo cute?! Look at its little head and paw!
Here's a horse... nothin' too special. Ha ha
Okay so feeding the camels was OBVIOUSLY disgusting. It felt soooo gross and hairy and slobbery! Has anyone else ever done this?! SO NASTY.
Here's my favorite picture from the whole day! I fed and pet this kangaroo for a while. We bonded. Look how close we were allowed to get!
Here's another one eating out of my hand
A HUGE cow-bull-steer thingy. It doesn't look like it in the picture but it was absolutely massive.

A goat pretending to drive the tractor! So cute!

See the video that goes along with this picture. But for some reason all of the big kangaroos had to be fed behind this post, we couldn't get up close with them. Still cool, none the less!

A KOALA!!!!!!!!!!!!! It STUNK and they were all really sleepy but I cant believe I got to see one in real life- I've been waiting to take this picture for a long time! :)

Here's a wombat! SO precious! We all got to hold it and pet it.

There were multi-colored peacocks everywhere!

Okay, so now we're starting the pictures from the dolphin cruise! Don't get me wrong- I had a lot of fun, but the sea sickness that came along with the ride was totally not worth it. The boat rocked like no other boat I've ever been on. It was nearly impossible to even stand up. I think I'm still sick from it....blahhhhhh.

People were setting up tents on the beach and camping out there. I thought it was pretty neat.

The water was soooo clean and blue and there were green islands (like the one shown) all around. It was really picturesque. (<---sorry for the poor spelling on that word).

This was the best picture of the dolphins I got. They were all around. I was worried the whole time that the boat was going to run one over. Beautiful animals though....
Yeeeeeep, not such a good hair day, lets move on.....
Here's the boat we were on!
We had to wake up for this day trip at the crack of dawn, so here's the Australian sunrise from my window. The picture doesn't even do justice to how pretty it was!
WATCH THESE 2 VIDEOS!

So anyway, all in all it was a really fun (but HOT and HUMID) day in Aussie-Land. The other kids who came over from NAU were also on the trip so that was good to see them. Things are kind of slowing down here now that classes are beginning but I'll still try to impress you guys with my life from time to time. I have a really great group of friends here now that live on the floor below me, so that's awesome. And Daddy- I'm keeping my room clean, are you impressed?! I know I say this every time but I really really really REALLY miss you all. I'll write soon.

--LP--

Oh and by the way, the area I live in is under a "high tsunami watch" because of the earthquake in Chile. A little swim would be fun. Right? AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Laser Tag

So this is going to be the shortest post yet, BUT here are 2 pictures from our Laser Tag adventures tonight! This is the group of friends that I hang out with now. They're really fun! Starting from the left: Jess, Katie, Talia, Me, Claudie (ducking), and Caz.
I know the whole Charlie's Angel posing thing is TOTALLY from the 90's but whatever, it still works. :)I'll write more tomorrow, but I just wanted to get these posted before we went out tonight! I love you and miss you all!

--LP--

P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!!!!! It was really special.

Top 20 Things I Miss...

1. TEXT MESSAGING!!!
2. The American accent
3. Taco Bell, Olive Garden & other common restaurants
4. Food that doesn't taste like *&%$#@!+
5. Having a car
6. My Dad (+ Andrew & Betty!)
7. Everyone at NAU, and NAU itself
8. The lack of humidity and bugs in Arizona
9. MY BLACKBERRY!!!
10. Not having to calculate time differences for EVERYTHING
11. Cold water / drinks with ice
12. Not having to use a web cam in order to see my friends
13. Being able to wear long sleeve shirts, jeans or long pants
14. AIR CONDITIONING!
15. Going places without having to figure out a bus/train schedule
16. Casual Shopping
17. Going to church on Sundays
18. Having a roommate
19. My dogs Rusty and Snickers
20. Having the ability to straighten my hair

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I'm pretty sure I could make this list go on FOREVER, but I'll cut it off there. Hope you're getting the hint that I'm really missing home today!!! Ahhhh.

Toga Party

Hi Everyone!! It's technically my birthday!!!!!! Woooo. Just got back from a pub called The Royal for our dorm's toga party! It was really fun! Who would have thought bed sheets would be so hot?! Not me!! We were there from 7pm until 12am which made for a looooong 5 hours! So about this first picture- I tried taking a picture of the crowd in their togas but accidently got those 2 love birds in the lower left corner instead! Whoops! Made for a great picture though!
These girls are some of the people I spent the night with. Totally forgot their names already but they were a lot of fun!

Here's a better picture of the crowd and their various bed sheet togas.

This is a picture my neighbor snapped of me a couple of minutes ago once we were home. I was REALLY excited that my outfit survived the night! Ha ha cheesy, I know!

I "accidently" slept through my academic orientation this morning so tomorrow is the make up day for that! Better show up to that one! Also tomorrow I'm going on a beach and city tour which I'm looking forward to! Another cool thing that happened tonight was that I told a couple people that it was my birthday at midnight and the WHOLE shuttle bus sang happy birthday to me. There was probably 75+ people. Oh and at the end of their Happy Birthday song they say "Hip Hip HORRAY!!!! Hip Hip HORRAY!!!!!!!!" It was totally ridiculous and really embarassing, but still a good memory.

Anyway, I love you all! I'll write again tomorrow!
--Lauren--

Trivia / Talent Show Night!

Hey there! So tonight was really fun! We had Edwards Hall (aka: Ted's) Trivia! Every single question was about Australian culture...which obviously I know very little about, so I let my teammates carry us to victory! In between each round people were asked to preform various talents. This guy in the picture lives 2 doors down from me on my hall and did a whole routine as Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter. It was HILARIOUS!! He was so dead on! Every time he said ANYTHING I would lose it laughing! I know the picture is a little dark, but it was soooo funny.
These are the boys who were on my team tonight, Colby and Ryan (Along with "Steve Irwin" on the left!) We were supposed to all be dressed up like we were going into combat but none of us had camouflage so we just all wore tank tops and painted black lines under our eyes. Everyone kept referring to us as the "Football Player" team.....FAIL.
Among the teams there was a 3-way tie. So how do the Aussies settle it? A speed drinking contest, of course!

I'm glad to NOT be going anywhere tonight. I really need to catch up on my sleep! Tomorrow morning I start academic orientation at 9am. I'll be there until 1pm when I come back and Skype with Ant Judy and Uncle Mark! By the way- if you haven't given me your Skype username please do! I use it all the time and would love to talk to you! Anyway, after that I'm participating in a photo scavenger hunt around campus. Tomorrow night at 7 is the dorm's TOGA PARTY at a local pub. I've already tested out my bed sheet and it's all ready to go! Not too sure if I'll be posting pictures of that though! Ha ha.

Last but not least, I'd like to announce that I have 24 bug bites on just my left arm ALONE. I probably have about 30 or so more in other various places. I'm coating on the bug repellent THICK every time I go outside but it's not working!! I'm so itchy!!! It's horrible- Ahhhhh...!! Does anyone know any home remedies besides toothpaste and salt??

I love and miss you all in the states!
--LP--

I love you, Edwards Hall.

Soooo the social life is starting to pick up! It's awesome! It's 2:50am and I just got home... tonight after dinner (of horrible mystery meat) we had an ice-breaker event to meet everyone on our corridor. The people I'm living with are SOOOO great. I live next door to an Aussie guy (named Jusslin) and diagonal from another Aussie guy (Tim) and we've decided to name our 3 dorm rooms the "Bermuda Triange" because everyone is going to be quote--"getting lost in all the fun we're going to have!" I know it's cheesy but they're really awesome! So after the ice-breaker time we all went downtown to a pub called the Customs House. I got this stamp when I walked in and aparently it disappears after 24 hours, but it can be seen in black light for up to 3 days. Pretty neat.
These are 2 girls I've become friends with- Laura (on the left) and Abby (on the right). I think it's SO funny how pink I look in this picture compared to them- but I guess that's what I get for not wearing makeup! Anyway- they're really sweet and they're taking me out (along with some other of our hall-mates) for my birthday on Tuesday. I had suuuuuuuuuch a great night at the pubs tonight. I met a ton of really great people (all Australian's of course...) I still havent met any Americans, although I hear there are some around...

After we left, our whole group took the train back to campus. By this time our high heels were killing all of the girls. So we decided it would be smart to take our shoes off completely and walk through the swampy/rocky/sharp area barefoot. Obviously- big mistake. I've never been in so much pain before! Owwwww. I owe my feet a BIG one.

I feel like today was a huge improvement on the social aspect. I know my whole floor on a first name basis and a lot about each one. It feels so strange to be in the minority, but I like it. We had name tags today and mine said "Lauren Price (the American)." Ha ha... I'm so excited for the rest of this week and all of the other events we have. Tomorrow we're doing Aussie Trivia soooo...I'm toast but it'll be funny.

The humidity and mosquitos (or Mossies as they're called here) are still horrible, but I'm learning how to live with it.

I'm leaving out a lot of details on purpose because I know I've gotta keep this blog G-rated, so I'll end it here...

Thanks everyone for reading! It's finally time to sleep. I feel like I'll be sleeping foreverrrrr!

I love you guys!!!
Lauren

I'm still in my first week here, and I'm already running out of titles for the blogs! Anyway, today I took the train into Newcastle and went to the beach! (See the above picture). I grabbed lunch from this little burger joint and took it to the beach. Everything was going fine until a segull flew up LANDED ON ME!!!!! (Betty- it's our worst fear! Can you even imagine?!) So I had a panic attack and all that did was make it flap its wings in my face! I was FREAKING out. Ughhh it still gives me the frights, and this happened nearly 10 hours ago! Needless to say, I was done with the beach.

After the beach I came back to the dorms and had dinner with some people from my hall. I FINALLY HAVE REAL FRIENDS!!! Wooooo. They all got me really excited for Orientation week next week. Aparently it's the best part of the whole school year. Every night there's a different event and after every event the school hires the city busses to take us to and from the bars downtown. I'm super excited!! Actually, as a matter of fact- I'm gonna post the schedule on here:

Monday: 2pm Scavenger Hunt; 7pm Toga Party
Tuesday: 3pm Beach/City Tour; 6pm BBQ Dinner; 8pm Trivia Night
Wednesday: 7pm LASER TAG!!!!
Thursday: 6pm Australian Themed Dinner Night
Friday: 4pm Barefoot Touch (???) 6pm College Party Night
Saturday: 9am Dolphin Cruise/Zoo Visit; 7pm Tight 'n' Bright Party!

Sounds like fun right?!?!

Another thing I learned today is that Aussie's don't use grade terms such as "freshman, sophomore, junior and senior." They had NO CLUE what I was talking about when I asked if they were sophomores. They've never even heard of them- that's so weird to me!!! Here it's "Firsties, 2nd years, 3rd years and finnishers." Another thing is that instead of saying Thank You, they say Cheers. To EVERYTHING.

Sorry this is a short post! I'll update this again tomorrow. I love you guys!!!!!

--LP--

Day 3 in AussieLand & MAILING ADDRESS

Hiiiiiiiii!

I went to the post office today and got my campus address:

Lauren Price

Edwards Hall Room #B244

University of Newcastle

University Drive

Callaghan, NSW 2308

Australia

Also, today I went to the Student Union and got my ID card...I look WAY to happy to be getting my picture taken! But being a student here is definitely legit now:

I met my R.A. today, her name is Luey. Pronounced Loo-ee. She's really cool! She has a lot of hall events planned for next week once everyone else arrives! Sooo I'm holding out for that! :)

Here are more pictures from around my campus:

^This is the main "foot path" or sidewalk that I take everywhere to and from my dorm.
^This is the rainforest surrounded bridge that connects the university to the Student Hub. It's really long and underneath is a huge swamp! On each side you just see Eucatyptus (spelling?) trees for miles and all types of wildlife.
^Side view from the main bridge...sorry if these pictures are becoming boring!

BACKWARDS CARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!^

I also got my class schedule today! I'm only going to school for 2 days a week (Wednesday and Thursday). I'm taking 3 classes. Unfortunately, ALL of the classes I had originally intended to take are full. I'm going to try and get an override into my Intro. to the Outback class.

One last funny story- I went to the bank this morning to convert the rest of my money. When I walked in, the man behind the counter said, "Hello, can I get your phonie?" (...meaning phone number), but I thought he said "Hello, you're funny!" So I did this cheesy little giggle and we stared blankly at each other for 30 seconds before he REALLY slowly asked me again. It was embarrassing. And then once I realized what he was talking about, I had to whip out the post-it note with my number on it. I'm sure I looked really cool.

Miss you all,

Lauren

P.S. THERE ARE NO BAGELS IN AUSTRALIA!!!! :( :( :(

Dorm Room / Campus / Groceries / Random Thoughts...

Helloooooooooo. This post is a compilation of unorganized thoughts and pictures, so try and bear with it! :)

First off, I know I said I'd post pictures of my dorm room here in Newcastle, so here they are!

^^My new towels, chair and half-assembled fan. I'm glad I got towels because it wasn't fun taking a shower this morning and using my CLOTHES to dry myself! Ha ha. And even though the fan doesn't have it's base screwed on yet, I'm pretty proud because I assembled every screw on there with my bobby pins because I didn't have a screw driver! That's talent my friends!

^^My closet...which currently looks bare (but don't worry, I'll shop and fill it up by the end of the semester!)

^^Closets with the doors closed. I'm really impressed with how much storage this small room has. There are drawers and closets hidden everywhere (like under the bed, next to the desk, etc...)

^^My desk area! It's actually really spacious and the view from that window is amazing!

^^More junk, blah blah blah...

^^My bed! I've never had a boyish looking bed, but all they had in this style was blue! Oh and guess where I shopped for all of this....

The "BigW" aka Australia's version of Walmart! It was an almost exact resemblance! Oh and another similarity is a place called "Hungry Jacks," which is a Burger King in the USA. They have the same logo, Whopper burgers and everything, just called by a different name. Lastly, "Coles" is the Aussie version of a Walgreens. Here are some more differences I found (and bought) while shopping:

^^Doritos as we know them...all of their chips had generic names to them. There weren't any bags of Doritos, or Cheetos, or Lays.Another thing is that in Australia, all of their cheese is white. ALL of it. I checked myself, and you can't find yellow cheese anywhere! Therefor, my EasyMac was white too. ^^

Some things about grocery shopping I noticed were: shopping carts are called "trolleys," the prices are higher, AND stores don't carry grape jelly, chicken noodle soup OR Mexican food and ketchup is called "tomato sauce" ONLY, never ketchup. I bought items that I recognized from the U.S. over things I actually wanted to eat. There were VERY few products that had brand names I knew. Obviously Pepsi and huge labels but nothing else ...

BY FAR, the weirdest thing I saw while grocery shopping were these snack packs of crackers and Vegemite sandwiches, instead of crackers with peanut butter or cheese. I hope you know what I'm talking about, you had to have seen it.... :)

PICTURES FROM MY CAMPUS:

^^There are all sorts of tropical birds that live here. This is one of the funny looking ones, but there are parrots (with rainbow feathers and all) just randomly flying around. It's wild. I feel like I'm inside of a zoo exhibit! OH and the mosquitoes here are horrible! You've gotta cake your whole body down with bug spray just to go outside (and even that doesn't stop all of them!) I guess this is what you get for going to school that's in the middle of a swampy rain forest....

^^This is the "StudentHub" or student union. I'll be going here tomorrow to have a University ID card made and also to register for classes next week.

^^This is just another random photo I really like. The WHOLE campus looks like this!

So there are a couple more things I wanted to post, but they have no place in this entry so here are some random thoughts about Australia:

1. People commonly don't wear shoes in public places. The "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" law is obviously not in place over here. It's really strange seeing bare-footed people in stores!!!!

2. My dorm room building has co-ed bathrooms! Each toilet and shower is in its own separate room, rather than stall. But still! I was going to the restroom and heard a guy talking next to me so I asked him if I had gone into the wrong bathroom and he looked at me like I was crazy. It was awkward. REALLY awkward.

3. Speaking of toilets- the rumor that they spin the opposite way is totally true! Useless information, but it's kind of neat.

4. Everyone is LOVING my accent. It's really weird being the minority! Every time I open my mouth to a new person they cut me off and say, "OH MY GOSH- YOU'RE AMERICAN!" And then ask me a million questions. It's kind of fun but I still think THEY'RE the ones with the accent and weird living styles!

5. The sun goes down here at 8:30pm. It stays light for a looooong time.

6. I played "Cricket" in my hallway last night with the Aussie's I live with. I still have no clue what the actual rules were, but it was fun hitting a ball with this weird bat and running up and down the halls. I don't think I'll be making a career out of it! :)

Anyway, thanks for reading! My new phone number is below in case you didn't see it!

I love you all

--LP--

P.S. There are about 4 BATS hanging upside-down outside of my window right now. YES-- BATS!!!! I'm trying to get a picture but every time the flash goes off they fly away and the picture is blurry. Eeeeeek! Creepy!

**TEMP. PHONE NUMBER**

Hey there! I got a pay-as-you-go cell phone! The number is:

+61412032992

I'll only be using this phone to answer incoming calls from the US because calling you guys from my computer is much cheaper. BUT, if you need to get a hold of me- this is how! :)

1st Night in Aussieland!

So tonight was pretty cool! After eating dinner alone in the cafeteria (I know, I know), Whitney picked me up and showed me around the town of Newcastle! We got to visit all of the beaches and I went to my first bar (or pub as they say here). It was an all around good night!

And this is just day 1....

It was a little windy out there if you couldn't tell...
Beautiful rock formations...and HUGE waves tonight! It was wild!

I can't believe I live here...picture perfect

The Newcastle light house! It's amazing!

NEWCASTLE IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!! I never EVER want to leave!

After the pub and visiting the beaches, Whitney took me out for a quick shopping trip so that I could get a fan for my extremely hot dorm room. Oh, and also for a pillow so that I wont have to sleep on bunched up clothes tonight! Miss you all.

--LP--