Missing Australia and friends

It's been about three weeks since I've been back and I am just now starting to get a little homesick for Townsville and all the people I've met there.I started to miss it during my trip to Sydney with Katlin, even more so when she left to go back to the US.Now that I'm back and can't sit and recall with anyone the memories I've made there, I'm even more homesick for Townsville.


I'm not sure exactly if homesick is the right term because I lived in Townsville for less than a year but whatever the correct term is, it should describe the longing I feel for a place and all that I've come to love about it.

I've found myself missing simple things about Townsville such as the buses-the fact that drivers offer change (here in Hawaii, they don't and bus fare is 2.50 flat for adults while in Townsville it's 1.25 onwards depending on how far you need to go).I've also started to miss Australian currency.I miss the feel of Australian dollars and the fact that their smallest denomination is 5cents so if I were there, my purse wouldn't be so heavy from all the pennies I carry around.I also miss hearing the Australian accents.

Lately I've been longing for Uni hall food, which I never thought I would especially because I hated most of what was made by the dining hall workers.But sometimes they did make delicious food like Fish and Chips Fridays or Pasta Thursdays (when the pasta wasn't under or overcooked and they didn't add so much sugar to almost kill a diabetic).And I can't forget the mini pancakes and tater tot patties on Saturdays.Yes, I do miss Uni Hall food, even the part about having to make a mad dash for the fruit platter so I could have some kiwi, passionfruit, or other rarely cut up fruit.

I've also been missing my room which was perfectly located, right next to the kitchen and across from the common room, far enough from the bathrooms so as not to smell the after-effects of someone that has gone #2 and close enough to walk to the shower room in my bath towel without being seen.I miss the conveniences of having my own room, which living at home doesn't render me.

But most of all, I miss everyone I've met.I remember how nervous I was about making friends before I left for Australia.This is because at Oxy, I was mainly friends with people from the Christian club on campus, so when I met one friend, she introduced me to all her other friends, providing me with a network of friends.I wasn't sure there was a Christian club at JCU and I wasn't sure I'd fit in.But after being persistent about meeting people and being friendly with everyone I met, I finally found a group of friends.One night, I asked to sit with a group of people and since then, we were inseparable throughout my stay in Australia.But now that we can't easily call one another's land line (JCU provided telephones with each room) or knock on one another's door whenever we want to hang out, communicating doesn't come that easily.I am sad that this is so, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised because after all we are on different time zones and etc.But I really hope that we do follow through with our reunion because I really do miss everyone.

Back at home

After finals, life has been a blur.My Sydney trip with Katlin went by sooo fast,too fast.It was really awesome to get away from school life and to actually get to vacation without thinking about schoolwork that needs to be done after the vacation but at the same time, I really didn't want my life in Australia to end.

It truly has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.Not just because I was on my own in another country, because at times I did miss home, but also because I have done many things I don't think I'll ever get the chance to do again, such as be close to the Great Barrier Reef, go trekking through a world heritage area that's thousands of years old, touch and be around flora and fauna endemic to Australia, and be with the most wonderful group of people all at one time all in one place.

I am so glad that I was able to do this.I've learned so much about myself, about my academic focus (biology), about another country's cultures and customs, but most of all I've learned to really love life.I've had so much time this semester to reflect on myself and my future as well as my past.With the hustle and bustle of school life at Oxy, it's very rare to be able to do this so I relished all the breathing space that JCU allowed me.

I'm so sad that this semester has come to an end but I am so glad SO SO glad that it happened at all.

My first attempt at a video blog:]

Studying for exams and excited/sad about leaving

I haven't really been up to much lately except for studying, which is kinda lame but I really want to do well on my exams.

At the same time, I am thinking about how I should be using this time to explore Townsville more thoroughly and spend as much time with everyone as possible, because after today, I'll only have 15 more days in Townsville.Fifteen more days of being in this beautiful place.I admit, I didn't really like it here at first but after I adjusted and sorted some things out with accommodation (that's what they call the office of Residence Life), I've really learned to love this place...well except for the heat.I don't think I'll ever get used to the heat.

One thing I'll miss is all of this nature I see everyday.I know Australia is one of the oldest continents and it has so much biodiversity..but that statement does not do justice for all that I've seen in nature.It brings me peace when I walk around campus and am followed by several butterflies and am stopped by a turkey crossing the sidewalk or a possum scurrying away from me.I don't have that in LA so I would get so excited everytime I'd see another animal.

Another thing I'll miss is having a single.I think this will be the only time ever in my life where I'll have my own room.It's given me a lot of freedom because I can just lounge around when I want to, how I want to,etc.And I don't have to worry about disturbing anyone while I study or when I suddenly break out in song...or when I have emotional conversations with Lance/family.And I don't have to worry about having company when I don't feel like having company.I'll definitely miss this room.

And of course I'll miss everyone here.I think that's what I'll miss the most.All the people I've met here are so wonderful and each has helped me learn at least one new thing about myself.It's also made me feel sort of like an ambassador for the US and Hawaii because there's such a large international presence here...there's people from all over the world, including developing countries and countries at war with one another.With all these things happening around the world, including anti-terrorism policies and stigma towards minority groups, I've realized that it doesn't matter how different I am from everyone else.At Oxy there's a divide between the financially advantaged group and the financially disadvantaged group.Here, everyone treats one another the same.I guess it's partly due to the fact that Australia tries to aim for an egalitarian society.But I really enjoy how I've made friends with people from all over the world and from all social strata.



And now I have to go back to studying...blah.lol

Addie's Birthday Dinner/our "United Nations" get together

Well I'm supposed to be doing work right now especially because I was stressing earlier about how I have so much to do in so little time.I trust that God will help me get everything done (see I'm getting better at this).


Tonight the gang celebrated Addie's 21st with a Fajita dinner.It was awesome especially because most of us were there and we ate Mexican food and had a guitar jam session.Laura made her famous 7 layer dip and it was gone within 20 minutes..literally!I had a veggie patty fajita and others had the chicken.It was awesome!I miss spicy Mexican cuisine.We're planning a night out on Tuesday also.I'm excited about trying some new drinks but I'm going to limit myself to 3 so I don't get drunk outta my mind.I have a class the next day.

It's really starting to hit me that I only have one more month in Australia, and less than a month here in Townsville with all of these wonderful people.I am sad to go, especially because I'm going to miss hanging out with everyone and being able to do all of these fun things (with the workload at Oxy I think I'd be committing academic suicide if I went out/hung out as much as I do here) but at the same time I can't wait to go home to Lance and my family.I'm excited about winter break, even though I know I'll probably be working most of the time, because I really can't wait to be at home and not having to worry about deadlines and stuff.

Anyway you're probably wondering wth the United Nations has to do with our dinner get-together.It's more of an inside joke.We discuss anything BUT UN issues (well actually I take that back.We have talked about terrorism and some human rights).The group of people I hang out with, usually during mealtimes, is comprised of a very diverse group of people.Literally we represent 9 countries (US, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Mauritius).I love it!

Lately, I've been thinking more and more about life after undergrad.I'm really excited because it's another step that Lance and I are taking together and also a little relieved because it'll take away some tension about living at home.We still have to do more planning and research but I really hope things work out for us.

My favorite song right now

Lecture Recess Part 2

I really wasn't in a great mood yesterday.Well today I feel a little better.I really do need to get started on an essay that's due next Monday (that's with an extension) though.But before I do, I want to recap on my trip to Cairns/Cape Tribulation during the last half of Lecture Recess:

Day 1:On Thursday (Katlin's Birthday)we left on a greyhound to Cairns.It was a pretty smooth ride, except for the last 15 miles when we drove on a dirt road and the driver started speeding.haha.At one point he almost drove off the road and into a river.Omg thank goodness I didn't die that day.lol.

When we got to Cairns at about 5PM, I felt like I was in Waikiki or I guess I was just excited to be in a big city and I became more aware of the small city status of Townsville where everything closes at 4PM and there's not a lot of ethnic diversity and thus very little food variety.When we got to our hostel I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed...let me tell you brochure pictures can be so deceiving!I was worried I would catch mono or something else...I had bed bugs on my bed that kept coming out from a nest I couldn't find...our only window was literally a foot wide by a foot long...I walked into my room noticing hairballs on my bed(eeek!!!)..and lots of other things that seriously made me worry about catching something.Luckily I didn't.After we unpacked a little, we went out for dinner.Our hostel (Global Hostel..right next to Rattle and Hum on the Esplanade) provided us free dinner.But when we got to PJ Obrien's(an Irish pub) where we were to redeem our dinner tickets, we were given smaller than normal plates with a volume of food that could fit 1/3 of a cup).Lol.I guess we were expecting too much for a hostel we only paid 16 bucks for.That night I didn't even floss for fear catching something and I kept waking up in the middle of the night to attack more bed bugs.After that I swore I would NEVER EVER check in at a hostel ever after this trip.

Day 2:After having breakfast at Mackers (that's what they call McDonald's here), we waited for our tour bus to take us on our Cape Tribulation tour.I'm really grateful that we booked it through Tropicsexplorer because we had a really great guide.We went on a river cruise to look for crocodiles/other river animals in the Daintree River,walked through the Maarja boardwalk and got to look at some really old plants (even plants that have been around since the Dinosaurs roamed the earth),and finally we got dropped of at our next accommodation (The Beachhouse) which was an upgrade from Global Hostel I might say.It started raining a couple of hours after we got there so there wasn't much to do.While Katlin and Liz went swimming I stayed indoors to work on an essay that I had to turn in the first day back at school.

That night we were to go on a Rainforest night walk that almost didn't happen because of a mistake with our reservation.Instead of putting us down for 3 people someone put us down for 1.Instead of apologizing and letting all three of us go because we booked our trip a week ago unlike others who booked the night before, we were told that only one of us could go bc there weren't enough spaces in the bus.But we agreed to go along just in case someone decided not to come.It was raining after all.We figured someone was bound to want to stay back.Right before the last two people were to be picked up, our guide dropped us off at another hostel and told us to wait for 2 hours before being dropped back off to our hostel.

I was really disappointed at first and I felt so wronged because I didn't think it was fair.The company messed up.I felt like instead of ruining our plans (we had paid >500 bucks to come out here for three days) she should have done more.For one thing she could have dropped us back off at our hostel because when she dropped us off the other hostel, the only thing open was their nightclub.But we had no cash on us, no ID, and nothing to do except sit around for 2 hours.Alternatively she could have called a coworker to pick up the last two people to be picked up.Or she could have made 2 trips.But after being at the club for 20 minutes being really angry and trying to plan out how we would file a customer complaint, she came back and we got to go:]

I feel like the Rainforest walk was one of the highlights of my trip because it was so peaceful and so Avatar-like.We came across a glowing log that upon showing us, our guide made an analogy to Avatar (the glowing plants that when touched closed up).The log was glowing because of a reaction between the moss growing on it and the environment.It was so beautiful to look at amidst the darkness of the forest.We also saw a tangle of fig stranglers that had once circled a really tall tree (about 30 feet tall) and trees that have been around since even before the dinosaurs were born.I couldn't take pictures of all of these amazing things though partly because it was raining so hard we got soaking wet and I didn't want to damage my camera.Also partly because my camera couldn't capture all the glowing organisms.

That night I stayed up to work on my essay.I was working outside of the cabin so there wasn't much light.I felt so scared as I worked bc who knows what could have jumped on me or hurt me.We were in the rainforest...and also in a not so safe hostel (no security like they promised, very limited lighting, the bathroom was located 4 cabins down).It got me thinking about Jesus and the wilderness so I had a little bit of reflecting time too.I felt a little closer to Jesus because if I read his messages correctly, he spoke out to me about something I have been a little concerned about.

Day 3:This day we woke up early to watch the sunrise and then we went on our Jungle surfing trip!!!!I had so much fun