Another Amazing Week

Hi everyone!

This past week was my last week of the semester before the trimester break. After the break, I will have one more week of classes, followed by a reading week and then exam week. I only had two hours of lecture this week, which was pretty nice, I have to say! In those two hours of Freshwater, we watched a video on freshwater and marine birds. It was really interesting, and I am always surprised by the amazing diversity and adaptations amongst birds. They’re really great animals!

During the week, I was hard at work on a Genetics prac report from our chicken sexing experiment. While I wasn’t doing that or working at the kebab shop, I did some pretty great stuff. Sam and I set out a beach towel on the grass and looked at the stars. The constellations are different to what you’d see in America, and I can easily recognise the Southern Cross now. We were laying by the Hopkins River, and we could hear the ocean from where we were. It was amazing.

On Thursday, Sam and I went to Thunder Point. It was a gorgeous day, and spring has definitely come to Victoria at last! I can’t describe how amazing the water looked, and pictures don’t do it full justice. We looked over some cliffs and then we climbed down to an area with heaps of tide pools. The water there was so clear! To make things even better, we saw an echidna in the bush when we were walking back to her car. It was my first echidna!

Friday was another amazing day. After work, I walked with Hannah along the beach and the breakwater. The water was so turquoise, and I couldn’t believe how gorgeous it was. After our walk, I went back to uni, got my wettie, and went bodyboarding with Mat and Stevo. It was heaps of fun!

Today I went to the beach with my friend Michael. We walked from town, and we took a scenic route behind the train tracks and through Lake Pertobe. I tried to swim in just my bathers, but the water was cold as! He seemed to think the same. But once I got my wettie on, I went out almost to my shoulders. There were hardly any waves, and it didn’t get too deep. The water was so clear, too! I could see my feet even when I was far out in the water. It was amazing, and I am stoked as for summer!

This coming week, I will be going to Canberra to see one of my friends who was actually an exchange student at Stony Brook from New Zealand. It’s amazing the friendships these experiences can give you. She’s proof of that! I know that I’ve been bad with posting pictures, as I encounter so many camera moments when I don’t happen to have my camera on me. But I will definitely be taking heaps of pictures when I’m there, and I may even go into Sydney for a day.

Sometimes I still can’t believe that I’m in Australia. It feels so surreal some days because this is a better experience than I ever could have asked for. I’ve grown so much more independent and forged so many relationships that I hope to keep for my whole life. And I’ve realised that this is where I really want to spend the rest of my life as well. I honestly never want to leave! But, seeing as I have three more months, I don’t have to think about that for a while!

Cheers!