Dan Mickelson
Welcome to my blog! For the next five months I will be in different parts of the world, experiencing new things, and brainwashing people making them believe that Michigan Football is not just a game, it is a way of life. I just graduated from the University of Michigan with majors in Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science. I have eight months off until I start grad school (I don't know where), and this seemed like the best thing to do with my time! I set this up so friends and family could keep up with my life, and so I could brag about how there is no snow in Australia! Here are the dates of where I'll be! Enjoy!Go Blue Dan
Orlando, Florida: December 24 - January 2
San Francisco, California : January 10 - 14
Sydney, Australia : January 16 - May 1
The Middle East (cities TBA) : May 3 - May 19
Travel Blog Posts
April 21st 2008
Well if the second half of our trip was anything like the first half…we were in for more adventures. We landed in Bangkok around 4pm, and the second our cab reached the city, we realized that Songkran (the Thai water festival we were apart of in Phuket) was still going on. We had no idea that it was a 4 day festival in Bangkok!! That night we headed out to find a nice restaurant and walk around the city. We didn’t make it ½ a block from our hotel before we were soaked and covered in more baby powder than the 0-2 nursery at camp goes through in a summer. I guess we should have seen it coming…on the plane ride up, I’d say at least 40 people carried on their water guns. Jake was a ... read more
April 14th 2008
So we are half way through our vacation within a vacation. I do have to warn you that if you are jealous of what you have read in the past few months...stop here. Right now it is a beautiful monday afternoon in southern Thailand...later today we are flying to Bangkok! We had three CRAZY days here in Phuket. The first day we hung out at the beach, walked around, and just relaxed. We went fishing that night, so we didn't want to do anything crazy during the day. Our fishing trip was a blast. We went with an Australian couple.and between the four of us...we caught one fish. I'd love to say I caught it, but the one and a half foot baracuda that jake snagged isn't worth it. It was just relaxing to sit out ... read more
A vacation within a Vacation!
Published: April 10th 2008Asia » Malaysia » Wilayah Persekutuan » Kuala Lumpur
April 10th 2008
WOW... Asia is awesome...and I've only been in Kuala Lampur!! The only reason we flew into KL is because it was the cheapest way to get into Asia. I'm so glad we did. KL is a melting pot of cultures. One minute we would walk past some Muslim women in full coverings...the next we would see a Chinese woman walking around with her stomach showing. Around the next corner would be an Indian shrine with locals praying infront of it. Awesome. We basically only had one day in the city...and it was plenty. After out 8 1/2 hour flight (which I was not ready for) we had a huge Malaysian meal and wandered around the area where our hotel was. We booked it blind and fortunatly, we got in an awesome area. After dinner, we went ... read more
Planes, Vans, and Fred Flintstone
Published: April 7th 2008Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Surfers Paradise
April 7th 2008
Adventures with Dan and Jake never seem to get boring! Last I wrote, we were in the Central Coast and about to take off driving up the coast in our van. About 15 minutes after we left Mark's house...POP! Our van was stuck in first gear, and unable to drive pretty much anywhere fast. Our gear box had basically exploded, and our van was nothing but a pile of car parts waiting to be sent to the junk yard. Thankfully, we were close enough to Mark's and we were able to spend the night back with him and his family. It actcually worked out great 'cause we went out with his frineds that night to watch the Rugby games, and drink beers. We finally got a new van the next afternoon and continued what we already ... read more
April 4th 2008
Our trip has begun! I'll keep this short because I'll be updating more often now. I'm currently at my good friend Mark Dunston's house in the Central Coast...about two hours north of downtown Sydney. We spent Wednesday night at Max (one of my Harbord roomates) holiday house. It is basically a time share, so we went up for the night. It is on this tiny island, so we had to take a ferry to get there. We missed it by an hour, not even close and we faced with paying for an eighty dollar water taxi...or not going. Thankfully, we gave some guy a beer and he drove us over in his tiny tin fishing boat. We spent the night there relaxing and cooking a HUGE meal. It was nice to take a hot shower for ... read more
March 28th 2008
Hey everyone! I hope everything state side is going great. The past few weeks have been amazing. I’ve had a good mix of work and fun. Jake and I are in Harbord for another week before we take off on our three week adventure up the Australian coast and into Asia. One of the best things Jake and I did out here was schedule our days off together, we’ve been able to either go off on an adventure or just hang out at the beach. We made a list of the things we wanted to do before we took off, and over the past two weeks…we were able to do everything we wanted. The last time I put a blog up was the 12 of March, so I’ll try and be concise with the update of ... read more
March 6th 2008
Hello from sunny Sydney, Australia! The past week has probably been the busiest since I landed here back in January. Not only did I work 30 hours at the Deli, but I picked up another job…this time waiting on tables and helping out at the café where Jake got a job. Having a lot of work is nice, because I finally have a nice surplus of money to spend! Last Thursday I went down to the Opera House with Jake and Mike. We got tickets to an awesome symphony which had been played publicly for the first time the night before. I’m not a huge fan of the symphony, but how could I not enjoy some wonderful music in one of the world’s most famous music venues?! After we wandered around downtown Sydney grabbing a few ... read more
February 26th 2008
I have to be honest. When I told everyone I was going to come to Australia, find a job and a place to live…I had no idea how I was going to do it. After about two weeks when we had nothing, I was beginning to think I would come home early with my tail between my legs. Luckily it worked out because I am really enjoying living north of Sydney five minutes from the beach, working five days a week, and spending my days off seeing the sights. I found more steady work at a deli in Manly where I work the counter, and make sandwiches. It’s a pretty nice situation. He pays me cash, and is flexible with me taking days off to do things around Sydney. I work the afternoon shift from 2-6 ... read more
February 10th 2008
Well I’m finally settled in! It is funny to think that I came to Australia with no job, no place to live, and no clue what I was going to do until May. I have to admit, I underestimated how hard it would be to get set up here. I figured I would just waltz in, find a place to live and a job where I could make money. The first major hurdle was finding a place to live…no realtor will lease a place for less than six months. We thought about signing a six month contract, but we would have left Australia with a bounty on our heads that would have been collected it we ever returned to OZ. When we arrived, we stayed a few nights with a camp friend that was subletting a ... read more
A Pirates Life For Me
Published: February 4th 2008Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Manly
February 4th 2008
**Sorry this this is kinda long, I have a whole week of adventures to update you on!** Last weekend, Jake a I flew down to Melbourne to visit with some camp frineds. We had no place to live, no jobs, and really no place to stay in Sydney...so it seemed like the best thing to do! Our friends Anna and Scott picked us up and took us to Scuba's house. (all camp people of course) Friday we were on our own, so we ventured into the city. There is a ton of stuff in Melbourne to see and do! We didn't see any of it...we spent the whole day at the Australian Open! We bought $19.00 open ground tickets, and were able to watch everything but the big match that evening. We got there right before ... read more
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