Blogs from Oceania - page 7755

Tuesday I said goodbye to my time at The Magdalene Centre. I cannot even begin to explain how difficult it was to part will all of the relationships formed over the past three months. I was and still am so honored and blessed to have had the great pleasure of working with and for a great group of individuals. My heart overflows with thankfulness for their openess, kindness, and hospitality. I was given a proper Aussie roasting which included a beautiful breakfast meal and an Aussie farewell sing along that Peter (my supervisor) wrote for all volunteers present to sing chorus. I was moved to tears and very much speechless. I did not expect to be honored in such a way...Peter shared a few words along with come other volunteers, everyone pitched in a purchased a ... read more

"Steggy" is short for stress-o-saurus which is appropriate since Aussies shorten words and names. Steggy was given to me at the footy match as a gift from Kameron. She thought I needed a little something to cope with the stress of leaving the group in a couple of days. So, not only will I use Steggy when things get tough but he will also travel with me throughout my remaining time in Australia. We (that is, Kameron and I) decided that I needed to take photos of Steggy over the course of my last month's travel. With that said, here is Steggy's first stop: AAMI Stadium.... read more

After spending a few days in Nimbin i had a crazy idea that i could hike all the way back to Byron Bay. Armed with a novelty map and a few days rashions i headed off solo into the mountains in the hope that i will find the ocean. I was so wrong! It didnt seem that long a way perhaps only about 50 km however i didnt expect that the majority of it would be uphill and steep aswell. After meeting a crazy man who told me the whole track had been closed off and that there were evil bunyips up there ( see Australian folklore ) I was determined to press on. Anyhow after the first day i was already completly exhausted and decided to camp anywhere i could find. It was next ... read more

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What a fabulous weekend. It was so nice to get out of the city and view the Barossa and a footy match. Footy is short for Australian Rules Football or AFL. It’s not rugby or gridiron (USA NFL football). The best way I can describe it is as a mixture between rugby and soccer. It’s very fast paced and the blokes are incredible athletes. Fortunately, we had tickets to the “big showdown”-Adelaide versus Port Adelaide. We decided to “go for” Adelaide which was lucky for us since they won the match. The stadium was packed full of very loyal Adelaide and Port fans...we attempted to fit right in. Do you think we pulled it off? Fun times! Word Bank: Fortnight- every two weeks Suss it out-check it out Dinkidi-for real Port-suitcase And….more rhyming slang--- Dog and ... read more