Shelle

Today I held a koala. Koala claws are sharp. I was also bitten by a giant black swan and a red tailed black cockatoo decided we were bffs. Today is the 19th, it's 7:30pm here. I leave in three days, my first flight leaves at 5:45am the 23rd. I'll put up koala/mean swan/clingy cockatoo photos after that. I still love it here but now I'm missing home, so it's a perfect time to leave. Always leave wanting a little bit more. My last sunset will be spent on horseback on the beach of the Coral Sea. What a way to go. To my cousin Carrie- I thought about you today when I was playing with the koala. Apparently, koalas remind me of you. It's probably those claws. Or its nose. Your nose does not look anything ... read more

This is my last day in Perth. My flight leaves for Cairns in 11 and a half hours. W00t. See you guys in about 10 days. I get into Little Rock at 7:05 pm the night of the 23rd for all of you enthusiasts who want to meet my tired tired self at the airport. Bye Perth, it's been great.... read more

The end of last week was a laidback trip down south. We've heard the whole time we've been here the south would be incredibly cold. Freezing even. I had dad ship me long underpants from Sydney just for the trip. How cold was it, you ask? Oh about 18 or 19C. Upper 60s. That's freezing cold to Australians, or at least Perth-ians. Perthites? You get it. Day one was a quick drive to Mandurah. Really the only thing school related we did was point out a road or two with a Nyungar name and learn the word for pelican... which I've forgotten. We checked into our incredibly nice cabins where I got a room and a queen bed all to myself and 3 other girls slept in a loft above me with 6 beds in it. ... read more

Just a quick photo update so my next entry doesn't take forever to write up. Last night was my first time to step into the Indian Ocean, but the Indian Ocean didn't much want me. A gigantic wave came up and soaked me to my waist, it was hilarious.... read more

I've been here almost a week, and it's amazing. The very first day I saw koalas and kangaroos and parrots flying loose in the trees like it was nothing special. I walked around town a lot on my own for three days then more people from the program showed up and I became the tour guide, fine by me. Yesterday was the first day of class. We arrived to a man painted in traditional handprint ocre doing traditional aboriginal dances which we had to join in on. We had to take part in a smoking ceremony where they burn native tree limbs and leaves and you walk repeatedly through the smoke as a cleansing of the mind and a releasing of any evil spirits you brought with you. It welcomes you into the nation as brothers, ... read more

I just bought my plane ticket. It was almost $1000 less than the study abroad office told me it would be. Awesome. Still freaking expensive, but the bright side is the best side, no? Tomorrow, as soon as the transfer goes through from savings to checking, I'll be booking my hostel, scuba diving trip, and rainforest trip in the last week in Cairns. People and myself are just starting to realize where I'm going and I'm getting a lot of requests for koalas. Way more strangely, I'm getting a lot of "why are you going there?" in that odd, why not Europe way. Let me answer this in several ways. First and foremost my program studies Aboriginal language, an excellent resume filler for a girl who wants to go to grad school in linguistics, and where ... read more