Kanga, Roo, & a Koala Too

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School is out and the fun has begun. I finished off my last exams last week and am now on semester break until the end of July. I have finally started doing some of the touristy stuff I haven’t had time for during the school. Matt (a Kiwi classmate of mine) and I went to Healsville Sanctuary. It is about an hour out of the city in the Yarra Valley and home to one of the largest collections of Australian wildlife in captivity. Anyway I got my fill of all the Aussie favorites: kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, wombats and even a Tasmanian Devil. Unfortunately the Kangaroos decided not to be very sociable but were able to get up close and personal with both a wombat and a dingo.

My Israeli friend Soshi also got married recently, so we went to both her “hens night” and ceremony/reception. For her hens night we went to this great Israeli restaurant. I have to admit I’ve never eaten Israeli before and it was absolutely fantastic!

I have also had my first brush with the law…well…not really…more like the tram inspectors. The tram inspectors are these nasty characters that stalk Melbourne’s public transport system…preying on poor international students who are too cheap to buy tickets. The tickets wouldn’t be so bad if we were allowed student prices, but unfortunately international students aren’t allowed to buy student tickets. Anyway am going try to appeal my fine, it’s pretty steep but I think I’ll get away with it. Besides I figure I’m overdue seeing as I have talked my way out of 3 previous tickets thanks to my American accent and a blank stare.

Have also been using the break to catch up on movies and Starbucks. Will update again soon.

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Photos

Just Hanging Out
One of the cute fellows that can be found hanging out in the Healsville Sanctuary.

A Dingo Ate My Baby!
Another resident of Healsville, the dingos were quite friendly. The handlers were even walking them around the park on leashes for us to interact with.

Two of Australia's most popular residents
The Kangaroos were not very sociable , prefering to keep to themselves. But I dont really blame them, because of the school holidays the place was packed with screaming kids.

Girls Night Out
Soshi, Anna, and Rish during Soshi's hen night before her wedding

The IR Gang
A pic of most of us taken at Soshi's reception. Out of the 14 people there are 10 different countries represented.

The life of a grad student....
Glad to get rid of those for a couple of weeks...

Kylie's House
Dont know if Kylie Mingoue has been making a lot of news at home, but she is all over it here. Turns out she lives just a suburb or two over. Kristina and I drove by her house and snapped this pic. Just days before it was crawling with reporters and news orginizations.

Comments

[Patricia]

I need a new pet!
Glad you're doing well. I want a dingo now! They look so cute!

[JOHN HENRY]

IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE IS HAVEING WAY TO MUCH FUN.AND HERE I THOUGHT YOU WERE STUDYING,WELL DONT HAVE TO MUCH FUN,,,PLEASE BE CAREFUL LOL