The drive to Grinnell is a startling pretty one - I am always surprised by how much I enjoy it. Driving south down I-35 is a straight shot through farm country; but along the way I pass prarie resotrations, wetland restorations, and funny stands of trees left over from when they tried to forest the prarie. (Remember in that Laura Ingalls Wilder book? Pa plants a tree for each daughter.)

And right next to the corn fields and the soy fields are wind farms that stretch as far as I can see. This is southern Minnesota and north-central Iowa. And pooh on all those who say this is a boring drive - they're clearly just not looking hard enough.

Its good to be home

So I'm back in Grinnell now. I've been back in the states for a few months, and its pretty lovely to be home. And its lovely to be back back in Iowa. (cue Dar Williams). I missed it more than I realized, now that I'm back here. My first (or maybe second) night back on campus, I ran into a friend at a party, and as we hugged, he asked me how I was. I responded, "its good to be home." And it is.

on my way home. . .

I'm in the San Francisco airport right now. I wasn't going to post again until I got completely home, but my flight was (is) delayed, so I'm bored. I'm saving my book for the flight, my iPod is charging, and I'm exhausted. (Which will probably become apparent as this gets longer).

I spent my last full day in Melbourne running around, getting gifties for my family, and spending time at my favorite spots. I spent a few hours at the Queen Victoria Market, in the "souvenir" side - this runs the gamut from clothes to jewelry to knicknacks and there's even a pet store. (It had super cute puppies. I didn't think they'd clear customs, though.)

I got up (late) on Saturday and took a shuttle-bus to the airport with some of the other IES students who were also leaving today. Emma and I had the same set of flights to San Francisco, and so we hung out at the Tullamarine Airport and the Auckland Airport. The flight from Auckland to San Francisco had the worst turbulence I have ever experienced on a flight. Because of that, I didn't get much sleep, and so I've now been up for 24 hours. I don't get home for another 5-6 hours, so I'll be pretty much certifiable by the time I see my family. Emma and I parted ways at SFO, since we were at different terminals.

I'm super excited to be going home. Its been a long, wonderful 5 months, but I'm ready to be back. Minneapolis, here I come!

And I'm done!

I took my last exam this morning; and it was lovely! Well, lovely to be done, at any rate. Its super sunny today, and so the exhibition hall was actually warm-ish. My seat was in the back, and the sun came through the windows to hit the back of my neck and it made me all warm and toasty. It was a nice change from the normal icicle I've been in my other exams. This is the fountain right outside the Royal Exhibition Hall, where we took our exams. Its in what are called the Carlton Gardens, which sandwich the R.E.B and the Melbourne museum. There are several playgrounds, one of which Cari and I hung out at after our Famine exam, and the whole area is about the same size as Grinnell and its all green-space. Its really nice.
This is a sketchy panorama of the Royal Exhbition Hall right after the morning exam. Obviously, the building is not skewed the way it is in the panorama, but you can get the feel for how big it is, and the students.

After the exam I went out to lunch on Lygon Street with Nerissa, my study-buddy from the lecture. It was a nice way to finish out the educational bit of my semester. I really love Lygon - its got tons of italian restaurants, and also lots of cafes, gelato places, and really fun clothes stores.
I spend a fair bit of time on Lygon - its really close to Uni, and theres a lot to do. I've been out to eat several times there, and love window shopping. Plus, the closest movie theatre is on Lygon - and it shows mainly Australian (ie independent) films.

Kate, Cari, Olivia and I went to Federation Square and checked out the museums there. Olivia and I bailed after the first one, though - we're both super exhausted. The museum we went to had several galleries of Aboriginal art - both traditional and modern. I think it all was created post 1970. The explainations next to the art were fascinating. It reminded me of the Chicano Art Exhibit at that super cool art museum at the U of M several years ago. The pieces varied from highly political to self-expression to traditional work. Most of it was variations of the "traditional" pointilist style depicting dreamtimes and/or landscapes, but some pieces were woven statues and figurines. It was a really powerful exhibit.
This is a painted pony outside the Melbourne Racing Museum.

I realized that I've never included an image of a tram. This is (I think) a 19 tram, which I can take from the east side of Uni to RMIT or into the city. The line ends at the Flinders Street Station. I go through a 10x2hour pass about every two-three weeks. I take the tram mostly to go grocery shopping, though I used to use it to go to training. The tram system makes it really easy to get around the city - I have a map of Melbourne with tram routes posted on my wall, and I can get almost anywhere by myself. Its decently cheap, as well, which is nice, because taxis are super costly. And to close, I found this image while studying for my Statistics exam with Nerissa in the bathroom of the Economics and Commerce building. It is so ridiculous I had to share it; I can't imagine anyone actually needs these instructions!

Birthday! and exams

Happy 21st to me! Instead of having a party, or doing anything special, I studied for an exam. It was a little lame, but I think I did well on the exam, so. . . Instead, I've spread my birthday celebration out. On my birthday, I opened the birthday cards my family sent me - it was so nice to have cards! On Wednesday, Cari and I went out for dinner after our exam to "celebrate" the end of our class and my birthday. And then last night, Cari, Amanda, Carolyn and I went out for Indian at this super fun, cheap place in one of the northern suburbs. And tomorrow I'm going on a pub crawl. So I'm having the longest birthday ever.

I've had one exam, and still have the two I'm most nervous about to go. Our exams are held in the Royal Exhibition Hall (I'll take a picture at some point). Its a huge building on the World Historical Buildings Register or something like that. Its really pretty inside - I'd take a picture to show you, but they're really strict about electronics in the exam hall. About 2,000 students take exams at the same time. We get split up into two groups, depending on which side of the hall we're on, and we're assigned a number - I was 706 in my last exam. The hall is set up with rows and rows of desks and chairs. My Famine in the Modern World class took up about 3 columns of desks, which would be about 120 students. Its super intense. I miss exams in a small room, but obviously that wouldn't work here. The exam hall is also really cold, even though they have portable heaters spread throughout the hall.

My Famine exam wasn't too bad - it was 100 questions multiple choice, and a lot of them were pretty straightforward. Cari and I decided that our favorite question was "Patriarchy is indirectly responsible for child malnutrition. True or False". (True). I'm glad its done; it was a pretty depressing subject, and studying for it was a downer.

I have just over a week left, and then I go home. I'm getting excited to go home - I miss my family and friends, and I really want some mexican food. Its a little hard to believe I've been here almost 5 months - it seems like I just got here! I'll be sad to leave Melbourne - I really love this city. Cari and I were discussing how sad we are to leave the amazing tram system; the buses in Minneapolis just don't compete. I'm starting to plan out how I'll pack in my head, which is helping with the anxiety. I'm terrified I'm going to miss my flight, or lose my passport, or something else stupid and travel inhibiting. I've triple checked my flight time already, but I know I'll check it several more times before I leave next Saturday. I'm getting excited for next semester at Grinnell, too. I've been hired as a manager at Phonathon, and I've been elected one of the captains for the Ultimate team, which I'm pretty excited about. I've signed up for my subjects, and already have homework in one of them - of course, watching four movies isn't much of a hardship! So I'm pretty ready to go home, even though I'll miss Melbourne.

Adventuring!

Yesterday, I had adventures! They weren't particularly exciting, but they were a lot of fun.

I spent the afternoon shopping and exploring with Olivia. We went to the CBD, to Meyer, where we both spent more money then we meant to, and had fun examining ridiculously expensive clothes. We then took a tram to Collingwood, which is a suburb northeast of Melbourne. We accidentally took the wrong tram (my fault) and so ended up doing a lot more walking that was originally intended. Collingwood is a really cool part of the city. Its a bit like Uptown, only not so many chains, and a bit like Linden Hills, but much bigger. Gertrude Street is the main street in Collingwood, and the intersection of Gertrude and Smith is where the main part of the shops and cafes are. We walked by a bunch of independent clothing labels, and indie/artsy cafes which I would love to stop at. I bought a camera bag at Crumpler, which is the Aussie version of Timbuk2, except much cheaper. We stopped at a shop that sold African imports, and chatted with the owner for probably a half hour. They had some way cool metal statues - I'm trying to figure out how to get one home for you, mom! We also stopped at a funny park where they had statues of Russian stacking dolls.

Russian stacking dolls in the park.

We then turned down a side street and walked to the Cathedral of St Patrick, which, despite its imposing size, I had never seen before. The cathedral, from a block away. It covers a city block, more or less.

It was starting to rain, so I slipped inside to check it out. It was super quiet, but I've been spoiled by the cathedrals I've seen all over the rest of the world, and while the outer architecture was pretty cool, the inside was nothing new. I lit a prayer candle, and then had to explain my non-protestant love of ritual and the Virgin to Olivia. Oh well. It was a nice place to stop - and I haven't been inside a church since I left the states.

This was over a doorway on the street we took to get to the Cathedral. The buildings were all at least 100 years old on this block, which is pretty old for Melbourne.

On our way back to RMIT, Olivia and I cut through the CBD, and discovered all the expensive shops. We were clearly out of place. There is something about walking by Prada, Ralph Lauren, Hermes, and other big names in fashion while wearing converse that just feels wrong. And everyone else in the area was super dressed up, either in buisness-wear, or just plain fancy-wear. I'd never actually seen any big name stores before - they're way imposing. And they have security. I did like walking by and window shopping, though I'm still much more partial to the more independent lablels we found in Collingwood.

Last night, I went to see an Australian film with Amanda called Mary and Max. Its claymation, and fun, but really bizarre. I liked it. The basic premise is that theres a little girl named Mary who lives in Australia and has a pen pal named Max who lives in New York. Max is 44, obese, and has a mental disability. Mary is 8, has a crap home-life, and has no friends. It was a sweet movie, in a weird way. One of my favorite parts was Max describing a frisbee: its like a boomerang, but it doesn't come back.

There are a couple of other Australian films out right now that I'd like to see, but one of them is (I hear) a complete tear-jerker. I guess thats to be expected with a title like "Samson and Delilah". I am hoping to go see "My Year without Sex" sometime in the next few weeks. Its supposed to be really good.

So far, I'm enjoying my SWAT-vac. My adventures have been fun, and I've added a few places to the list. I've made a schdule for my days, and I spend the morning working, and either the afternoon or evening on an adventure. If I'm not adventuring, I do some more study. Its working pretty well.

SWAT Vac!

No, I don't know what SWAT stands for either. But this is my reading period, which is a week long. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with myself - a whole bunch of my friends went to New Zealand, but I stayed in Melbourne. I'm planning on doing a lot of city-exploring; I already have a couple of destinations in mind. I'm going to go shopping - I have a gift certificate for one of the main department stores, plus directions to a "cute, indie" neighborhood with cute shops and cafes. I also plan to go to several art galleries, some museums, the aquarium, and back to the beach.

Last weekend, I had a tournament in Bathurst, which is in New South Wales. We drove 10.5 hours to get there. Bathurst is about as far away as Sydney, and I think its as close as I'll get to Sydney. Our team was mixed, meaning we played with a 4-3 gender ration - 4 men, 3 women. We won three of our seven games, and came in 7th, breaking seed by two. I had a fantastic time. Two of the other women played for Honey as well, and it was really fun to play with them again. The men were pretty fun to play with as well - they all respected the playing abilities of the women on the field. I'm pretty bummed that this is the only tourney I'll get to play with Moho - the Melbourne Uni team. The major tourney - Uni Games, is a month after I leave, and there are no tournaments between now and then, unfortunately.

Its hard to believe the classes portion of my semester is already over. I leave Australia in 28 days. Its making me feel panicky - I want to get "everything" done before I go, but I also have exams to study for. I'm really excited to go home - my bed is possibly the most wonderful thing ever invented, and I miss my family and friends. But I also suddenly have realized that my time here is short - and getting shorter rapidly. Several of the women I played ultimate with have left to go home - be it Canada, the US, or somewhere in Europe. Others are getting ready to do some major travelling - Annie is going to Nepal, where she's going to hike to the base camp of Everest or something crazy like that. In some ways, its nice that others are leaving as well; it makes it easier to prep to go home emotionally, since most of my friends here are other internationals.

Honey Bee, lets fight! Want that disc? Its ours tonight!

This last weekend, I went to the Australian Ultimate Championships in Perth (also known as nationals). The championships are a four day tournament, with two days of pool play, and two days of bracket play. There were 11 women's teams - including three from Victoria -Honey A, Honey Bee, and Team Box. The favorites for the women were Team Box and Wildcard (from Sidney). There were many more mens teams, but again three from Victoria - Heads of State A and B and Chilly.

Tournament logo on a disc. Black swans are native to Australia.

Honey Bee was the only "B" team at the womens tournament, and every team we played were impressed with both the fact that Honey had a development program, and by how hard we played. Honey Bee did, in fact, lose every single game we played, and our total points throughout the weekend would have won us one game. However, we were upbeat and positive every game - we knew going into this that we weren't going to do very well!

I missed the first day of the tournament - thursday- since I had tutorials I couldn't miss. I then managed to miss my flight (I never, ever want to go through that again); but I got into Perth at about 12:45 that night. One of my teammates drove to the airport to pick me up and bring me to the "villas" where we were staying. We stayed in Scarsborough, right off the beach. We had a full kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bath in our villa, and the other was just like it.

Honey Bee cheering before a game. Visible players are
(from left to right) Carolyn, Amanda, Annie, Pam, and Emma.

On Friday we played three games. One of them was against Honey A, and we scored twice against them. The first point we scored was a play-book perfect point - we did absolutely everything correctly. It was beautiful. One of the Honey A women - Mel Gange (who reminds me forcibly of Hart) told us that seeing us play that well brought a tear to her eye. Which, as corny as it may sound, was one of our biggest confidence boosters all weekend. We scored a grand total of three points that day, but we did (mostly) make the other teams fight for their points. We were in the "top" pool, and pretty much had no chance against any of the teams. (For all you stickies out there, it was like playing a pool made up of Luther, Carleton, and Madison). On Saturday, we played light-years better than Friday, scoring four points in a game, which was fantastic. Our flow was really good, and we looked like a different team. Bunker (a teammate) had a really bad ankle injury in our second game, and Mon got hit in the head, so while we were playing more aggressively, it was also much scarier - Bunker went to the hospital.

Honey Bee on the line in our game against Wildcard.
L-R: Annie, Me, Emma, and Jude (captain).

I was fresher than my teammates, since it was only my second day, and so I played a lot, particularly in the third game, when our rotations got messy, since we were down two players. I was really proud of myself on Saturday - I played really hard and really smart, which I don't always do. My throwing got a lot better, and I only threw five discs away all day (all time low). My defense was also some of the best I've played in a long time. I had several d's in zone defense, and didn't get broken once my mark was set, and kept up with the cutters. It was some of the best ultimate I've played, which was pretty awesome.

Me cutting in the game against Wildcard. Jude is in the corner.

On Sunday, Honey Bee didn't have any games, since we lost all eight of our games. We watched Honey Bee play Sugar Magnolias for 3-4, and they lost by one in hard cap, which was heart-breaking, particularly, since Honey had been ahead for most of the game, and had a turnover in the endzone in the last point. The women's final was between Team Box and Wildcard, and it was really, really close. The victorian teams were rooting for team box, the underdogs. Wildcard is composed of a lot of World's players - mixed, juniors, and womens. Team Box took the game to half, and then traded points with Wildcard, until Wildcard won in hard cap. It was really sad - Team Box played beautifully.

It was really amazing to watch ultimate of that caliber. With that many worlds players on the field, the game looks completely different from what I've come to expect. (For any frisbee players out there, both teams are of the caliber of Bella Donna). The mens championship was won by Chilly, the victorian men's team. It was a good game, but not as close as the women's game, and so not as interesting. Honey A won the spirit championship, and one of the Honey A women won MVP for the women's tournament, which was really cool. They also announced the worlds training team, and there is a Honey A woman on that as well.

Nationals was really, really fun. I finished the tournament wanting nothing more than to play more. I can't wait to get back to Stickies - I've said it before, but playing with another team makes me appreciate Stickies much, much more. I also have lots of new ideas for plays, as well as a new enthusiasm for Ultimate. The great thing about playing in Australia is that Nationals is smaller than regionals in the states, but it is still high quality Ultimate. To play at Nats was an experience I probably won't get again, and it was really amazing.

Tassie!

Wow. Its been a while since I posted anything. Not much other than school was going on until last week, which was my Easter holiday. I got a week and a day (Good Friday) off, and went on an IES sponsored trip to the Australian state of Tasmania, which they call Tassie here. We flew out midday on Tuesday. Our flight was delayed by several hours, so instead of having a nice sit-down meal, we ate at mackers (MacDonalds). We spent the night at the first of several hostels. That day we woke up to rain and decided we wouldn't let that deter us. We hiked to Wineglass Bay, which despite appearances is actually in the shape of a Wineglass.

It was a fantastic hike up and over the saddle of a mountain, and then down onto the beach. On the beach we saw a wallaby that was quite tame. It hopped up to us and sat around calmly while we took pictures and petted it. I was amazed at how calm it was, though I think it had been fed by tourists before.
We then drove to Tarana, where we checked in to the Fish Lips hostel, and had a fantastic dinner. We all then went on a ghost tour of Port Arthur, which was silly and fun. Port Arthur is the former prisoners colony for repeat offenders. Criminals who were transported to Autralia and then re-offended while in Australia were sent to Port Arthur. On the ghost tour we saw the church, the mortuary, a few of the houses, and the asylum.

The next morning we went to the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park, which also had other Tassie animals. We saw a bird show and a devil feeding, which was intense. When people talk about the weird noises devils make, they aren't kidding! They're smaller than I expected, but apparently have almost the same force in their bite as a saltwater crocodile. They are scavengers and eat everything from what they scavange. They are also being wiped out by a cancer of the face which results in tumors that grow on their face, and they eventually starve to death. The conservation park has a completely healthy population, and the University of Tasmanina is hoping to come up with a test for the cancer soon.
From the devil park, we went back to Port Arthur for a "cruise" around the bay there. We got a tour of the Isle of the Dead, which was the burial grounds for all baptized members of the community, free or not. However, the island (which is really small) is split into two burial sites, separated on the north and south ends, for free and imprisioned, and then further split by class. Most of the prisioners who were buried there don't have headstones, and there isn't a full count of how many are buried on the island. They think its about 1,100 people. Our tour guide was a hoot, and gave all of us exchange students a hard time about not calling home often enough. I was glad I'd called home right before I left!

From Port Arthur we drove to Hobart, which is the capitol of Tassie. We stayed at a hostel called the Pickeled Frog right near the central buisness district (cbd). Hobart is a port city, and I had fish and chips several times, at Mako, which is (apparently) a famous floating fish and chips place in constitution dock.
The next day, we went on a tour of Cadbury, which has a huge factory just outside of Hobart. We watched a funny little movie all about how chocolate is made, and why Cadbury's is special. It was pretty fun and resulted in a lot of free chocolate, and cheap chocolate. From Cadbury we drove to an apple orchard, and picked apples and strawberries and had a picnic lunch, which was a fun, quiet few hours. From the orchard we went to a winery, and did a wine tasting, which pretty much reinforced the idea that I don't really like wine. But it was fun to do all the silly swirling and sniffing and checking the color. We then hung out at the winery for a while, and played a bunch of group games on the lawn, providing entertainment for the people at the restaurant. The winery was in one of Tassies wine regions, and was really beautiful.

After the wine tasting, we went back to Hobart and had free time. I went and got fish and chips and ice cream, which was the meal I had most often (3 times!) while in tassie. Olivia and I wandered around the cbd and other areas, and then pretty much went to bed early.

The next day we all got up and went to the Salamanca Market, which is sort of both on the docks and in the cbd. There were tons of booths with really cool, cute stuff - shirts, bags, scarves, hats, jewelry, art, and food booths, both fresh produce and hot food. I bought lunch there, as well as two pairs of earrings, a scarf, a hat, and some postcards. It was good shopping! Olivia and I wandered around the market together, and spent about three hours there. We then went looking for the Royal Botanical Gardens, but after walking probably 3 or 4 k, we didn't find them, so we wandered back to the hostel and rested until dinner. The whole group went out for Indian together, and it was a fantastic meal, and really fun to hang out with everyone.

The next day was our last in Tasmania, and we got up really early to go rafting. It was a level 2 rapids, which basically means nothing was very difficult and we got more wet from water fights with the other rafts than anything. It was really fun, though the water was really cold. After rafting we all piled into the bus to head back to the airport. Our flight was delayed several hours (seemed to be a theme!), so we arrived in Melbourne at 10:50, and got home just before midnight. It was a really great trip - I loved tassie, and Hobart especially. I do have a lot of work to catch up on, though!

Pictures:
The first is a group photo at the lookout to Wineglass Bay. The front row, left to right, is Philip, Cari, Sam, myself, Kayla, and Olivia. The next is Natalya, girl whos name I have never been able to remember (Stacey), and Chris. Next is Heather, Austin, Rachel, Arielle, and Mark. The back row is Ray, Laura, Kate, Cari, Emma, Suzanne, Nathan, and Alisha.
The second photo is of Wineglass Bay from the lookout.
The third is Kate, wallaby, and Ray.
The fourth is a Tassie devil.
The fifth is the Port Arthur penitentiary.
The sixth is the Isle of the Dead.
The seventh is my favorite fish and chips place, mako.
The eight is a view of the wine region from the winery.
The last is a view up the river from the landing point.

Adjustment

One of my favorite things about Australia is that for $2.70, I can get on a tram and go to the beach. And there's ocean, right there! When I left for college, my core group of high school friends gave me a really hard time for being the only one who couldn't "touch ocean". I challenge them to get to a beach faster than I can now! Its really lovely to be able to pack up my homework and take a train to Brighton Beach, and spend the afternoon studying and playing. Getting work done can be a bit difficult, though. :)

I am getting settled in to a routine, though it has been difficult. I think the majority of my trouble is that I don't pack a lunch in the morning, so my midday trek back to my apartment makes leaving to study in the afternoons less appealing. I am trying to figure out what to do about that - I'm a bit lazy and getting up even 15 minutes early to make my lunch sounds like way too much work! It helps that the weather is lovely, so I've been doing some studying outdoors with friends. The school work is much easier than I am used to, though some of that might be the whole I-never-have-to-turn-things-in thing. Its hard to be motivated when my reading doesn't seem to inform my lectures, and my problem sets are for my benefit only. I am doing it (don't worry, mom and dad!) - its just more self guided than I'm used to. I do miss Grinnell in my discussion classes, though some of that might also be the whole 100 level subject problem - the students don't quite know enough to have the type of discussion I've been craving. I do really like my Australia and America discussion class - its the saving grace of my Tuesdays (which are interminable). There are a few students who remind me of Grinnellians, and I love it. (Just don't ask me about how Brittney Spears informs American religious and political life; an Aussie in the class said something about it, and the Americans were so stunned we couldn't even react).

I think the hardest thing about studying abroad is that I am no longer surrounded by Grinnellians. I know that other friends who are abroad, and those who have graduated, are struggling with this as well. Kate and I talked about how utterly terrified we are to leave Grinnell and the community we love. For all we complain about the Grinnell bubble, it has been the first place I've really felt able to be most fully myself, and I miss that here. I censor myself here; I feel like a guest, unable to critique in someone else's home. I tiptoe around things Charlotte says that I would never allow a friend, or even a roommate (back home, at least), to say without some sort of criticism. The ultimate community is fulfilling my need for Grinnellians somewhat - the sport seems to draw intelligent, liberal people like a magnet, but I miss the intellectual atmosphere in the lecture hall and discussion room.

This is not to say that I am unhappy here; far from it. Its an adjustment period, and part of that lovely graph they showed us back in Grinnell about home-sickness and culture shock. But it is hard. I'm pretty solidly independent here, for the first time, and I've gotten past the "wow! Independence!" phase to the "I am so not prepared to be an adult" stage. (Part of that might be the realization as I was writing about making lunch that I do NOT have food for lunch tomorrow). Its a weird double vision thing: even as I am thankful this is just a sort of trial period, I think Melbourne is really cool and I'd love to live here live here - but as a grown-up. I feel like I am constantly looking around, saying "Where are the grown-ups?" and then two seconds later, realising that I am supposed to be an adult. Eek. Thats a terrifying thought for you!

The first photo is Kate and me at Brighton Beach, on the pier there. The second is me, studying at the park at University Square. The third is a shot of Port Philip Bay from the pier at sunset.

Ballarat!

This weekend I went to Ballarat, which is where regionals for ultimate were held. Ballarat is about a hundred km north-west of Melbourne, more in the interior of Victoria. It rained all weekend, which was a bit rough, but also needed. I drove up Saturday morning with two other Honey women, and we stayed at someone's grandpa's house! It was about 12 degrees on Saturday, or low 50s, with lots of wind and rain, but it did get sunny by the afternoon. Today it fluctuated between about 10 and 12, depending on wind, rain, and cloud cover. It was, in other words, pretty chilly - especially for this Minnesotan who didn't really pack layers! I had a great time, though, and got to know a lot of the players better. Ballarat is famous for its historical gold fields, and I would like to go back some time - I've heard its a pretty fun weekend trip.

Disclaimer: This post, from here on, is almost solely about ultimate. See very bottom for photo descriptions.

This weekend, at regionals, we went 0-5, but played super well, and grew a lot as a team. We had ten Honey Bees, and picked up three junior players from Geelong (one was 14, the other two 16), another player from Geelong who will be playing with us at Nationals, and two others - I don't know who they normally play for. The juniors were a bit hard to get used to, though they were nice and had a lot of raw talent and energy. We hadn't played together before, so working as a team was really hard at first, and we got better at it throughout the day on Saturday. On Sunday, the junior Geelong girls didn't pick up with us, and we lost one Honey, plus the two extras, so we played with nine for the first game since the tenth player had car trouble. We picked it up a lot on Sunday, playing harder and better, and with a lot more flow. This is the basis of the team that will go to Women's Nats, and once we've practiced together a bit more, I think we'll do well.

On Saturday, we played Honey A, Team Box, and Bush. Bush is the Tasmanian team, and they had a few ringers we couldn't shut down, though the rest of their team was still quite good. Team Box won the tournament handily, and beat us very quickly. Honey A took second, and beat us handily as well - they are, after all, our A team!

On Sunday we played two games against Indies, and I don't remember where they are from. We scored three points in each game, and got a lot more competitive against them. The scores didn't reflect the games we played, which was frustrating, but we'll do better next time. They were the team that we best matched up against, and these were both our best, and most fun, games of the weekend. We ended up placing dead last, but we are headed to Nats in Perth in April!

Its been a huge learning experience so far to play with a new team. Almost everything they do is set up at least slightly differently than what I'm used to with Stickies, so I'm getting a lot of ideas for discussion with captains next year. Its hard, though. I'm used to setting up the field in certain ways, and I have to think really hard about really simple things - like where to be for the dump. I am definitely learning a lot, and I think I'll come out of this a much better player. At the very least, I'll be more fit - fitness training is really emphasized on this team. I really like it, though. Honey Bees remind me of Stickies, and they are all really nice and inclusive. I have the feeling that these will be some of the friendships that stick around, and make my stay in Melbourne memorable.

Photos: The first I took on M8 Ballarat, the highway between Melbourne and Ballarat, as we drove up, right before it started pouring. The second is a team pic after our last game, on the sidelines of the Honey A-Team Box final, wrapped in our sleeping bags. I am sitting in the tan blanket in the front row. Left to right, the players in the front are: Alice, Bec, Jen, Maddie, Mon. In the back row are: Jude, Amanda, Lauren, Carolyn, and Tiff. The third picture is Tiff, giving her "end of tournament" speech, and awarding most improved and most valuable "bee". She's one of the captains, along with Jen and Jude.

Rain!

It rained this week! Several times, actually. In proper arid-area fashion, the grass and flowers immediately perked up, and the city is much greener today than it was three days ago. What was not so cool was the pouring rain as I walked to class or took a tram to practice (and subsequently practiced). But it was needed, and whats a little rain-water?

My second week of classes is over. I seem to have a magical inability to arrive to my first lecture of the day on time, no matter how much extra time I think I'm giving myself. I'm still in the Grinnell mindset - even though I know better, I still think I can leave ten minutes before class and get there in plenty of time. Fat chance. I really need twenty minutes or so. My classes are good, and going well. I'm not a huge fan of Probability for Statistics, but I'll survive. We had a guest lecturer in Australia and America, and he was not very good. And he is the United States studies guy at Uni. I'm hoping that it was just an abberation, and the other lectures will be good. I know the readings are fascinating - the current bunch are about the stolen generations in Australia and the US, which is depressing, but fascinating, reading. I had my first tutorials on Monday, and it was such a relief to have actual discussion, even if the tutor had to do some major prodding - there were some definite crickets in the rooms! Classes are definitely going well.

This weekend I am headed to Ballarat to play regionals with Honey Bees. I have a jersey and everything. I'm pretty excited. We'll be seeing different teams than our last tournament, which is always a good thing! We had a "practice" game against one of the division one league teams on Wednesday (in the rain), which went really well. I think we'll play well together, even though this weekend will be the first time we've all played as a team.

Other than a fair amount of ultimate and reading, I haven't done much this week. Its been a bit of a relief to be a homebody, actually. I discovered the "for fun" library in the Student Union a few days ago and have been back already for new books. There are signs posted everywhere that say "Please, do NOT study!" or "No studying!". I have enjoyed the books I've checked out so far. It might seem really obvious, but its an entirely different selection of books than at any library back home, which is nice. The "American" authors and books are puzzling to me - I can't figure out why they picked who they picked. But I'm trying some Australian writers, and so far so good! There's also a large DVD collection, which I'm definitely going to check out the next time I have a free weekend.

Hope all is well with all of you, wherever you might be! I miss you all!

Earthquakes and the beach!

Earthquakes? In Melbourne? You bet. Friday night, just after 9, we had an earthquake - 4.6 on the Richter scale! Apparently some buildings suffered damage, but nothing severe or anything. I was sitting at my desk when the building started to shake. It lasted maybe half a minute, and then it was gone. I heard other places had some pretty big aftershocks, but I didn't feel anything. It was pretty weird - and something I thought I'd left behind when we moved from San Francisco! Earthquakes are fairly rare here, and I heard its the largest one in a long time, so I'm not too worried about any other shakes. It was definitely an adventure, though!

I finally made it to the market again. It was a great way to spend my Saturday morning, though in the future I will remember how crowded it is and go on week-day mornings! Aside from an astounding variety of produce, the market also sells live birds, which I don't know what to think about! Some of the birds are laying hens, but others are definitely for eating. Its something I've never seen at a farmers market back home, that's for sure. I did find peaches that seemed to be pretty ripe, which I'm really excited about.

This afternoon, Olivia, Ray, Mans, Natalya, Laura, and I took the tram to Flinders Street Station, and then the train out to Brighton Beach. We walked on the beach and went shell-hunting. There were a lot of jellyfish washed up on shore. The jellyfish were much more blue than I expected - I thought they'd be clear, since that the color of the bits of tentacle that wash up on shore. It was a fairly grey and windy day, though the sun broke through a couple of times, so we had the beach more or less to ourselves. Brighton Beach is famous for its bathing sheds, which are basically brightly painted sheds. We saw one with a boxing kangaroo painted on it, one with sea horses, and one painted like a rainbow. Apparently they've been there for years, and many of us had read about them in guide-books.

Ray, who is from Hawaii and goes to the University of Puget Sound with Olivia, Mans (Ray's Swedish roommate), Natalya (from Alabama and attends a Claremont school), and I wandered into Brighton to get some fish and chips. I introduced Ray to the concept of vinegar on your fish; I think it was a hit. In my book, fish and chips are just a vehicle for vinegar and salt! Olivia and Laura (who goes to a small school in her home state, which escapes me at the moment) headed back to Melbourne without us, and so the four of us had a leisurely walk back to the train station, critiquing and praising the beachfront houses we passed. Like most of our outings, it had its near-accident-due-to-us-looking-the-wrong-way moment, but we got to the train station just fine! We took the train back to the city, and then the tram back to RMIT. It was a really great way to spend an afternoon, and I definitely want to go back sometime - if you plan the trains right, its only about a half hour away.For reference, Olivia has the black hair, Natalya has the really curly brown hair, Laura is the red-head with long hair, Mans has blond curly hair, and Ray has black hair.

Week One

Well, my first week of classes ends tomorrow. My finalized schedule is: metric spaces, probability for statistics, Australia and America, and Famine in the Modern World. I, unfortunately, have lectures every day of the week - I have friends here who have a four day weekend every week. I had some massive scheduling conflicts that I finally got figured out. I had three lectures at 11:00 on Wednesdays, which clearly wasn't going to work out so well - especially since two of them were maths lectures. So I dropped two subjects, and added two new ones. I think the new ones will be fantastic, though. I went to my first Famine in the Modern World lecture today and I think it'll be interesting (and sobering).

All my subjects here are broken into two parts: lectures and practicals, or tutorials. Some have two lectures a week, and Probability for Statistics has two practicals, but I spend what feels like a lot less time in class, and a lot less time interacting. In Grinnell, my only "lecture" style classes all had mentor sessions, where I could talk to a science major who took that course about homework. Most of my other classes were lectures with a place built in for discussion and questions. Here, I take notes and don't talk. It was most noticable to me in Famine in the Modern World, which is an anthropology subject - somewhere I'm very used to having discussion that can sometimes over-run the lecture. Its very different, and I think I prefer the Grinnell-style. Its only the first week, though, and my tutorials and practicals don't start until next week. That may change my mind some.

I am starting to get less lost when I venture out, which is really great. I seem to have a wonderful ability to get home from wherever I am, even if I can't make it to where I wanted to go. I'm perfectly happy with this arrangement! Uni campus is still a rabbit-warren I can't make sense of, though I am starting to be able to routinely get to the same place using the same route - and even beginning to figure out shorter ways to get places.

I am more and more able to navigate the city on my own, which is lovely. I bought a 10x2hour pass, and am using that to get around. I take the tram to Ultimate practice, to buy non-market grocery items, and to venture into the city. I have even begun to understand the layout of grocery stores, which has so far stumped me. I can now enter and find what I need fairly quickly. I am also a bit in love with the Australia GST (general standard tax), which is 1) included in prices already, 2) not on essentials like: bread, dairy, eggs, noodles, juice, meat, tortillas - pretty much everything I eat, and 3) not on boxed tea. Its beautiful. Tea is considered an essential household commodity. I love Australia.

Today I went into the city, by myself!, to buy notebooks and other school supplies. I took the tram from Uni, which is not where I'm used to getting it, and got into the city just fine. I took the wrong tram out of the city, but figured it out, and was able to catch the right tram further down the line. I was (am) very proud of myself, especially since the last time I missed my tram stop, I ended up having to walk several blocks to figure out where I was. Its a really small thing, but really important for me, that I can get around by myself. This weekend, my big adventure is going to be taking the tram to St. Kilda's Beach by myself. Or at least figuring out how to do it by myself. I'll probably invite a friend or two along. I promise photos in the next post!

Canberra and Ultimate

This weekend (I just got back), I flew to Canberra, the capital city of Australia, for an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. I've picked up with a women's team here called "Honey", and this was my first real experience with them, though I did join them for training on Thursday.

But let me back up a bit. This week was both orientation for Melbourne Uni and O-week (orientation week) for RMIT student apartments, where I'm living. I spent a lot of the week getting lost on the Uni campus figuring out my schedule, which, although classes start tomorrow, is still a mess. When I wasn't on campus, though, I was doing O-week with RMIT. We had a night of comedians (they weren't very good, but it was still fun), a nineties party, and a pub crawl during the evenings, and a variety of activities during the day. I went to St. Kilda's beach, which is about a half hour away by tram, and have decided that I need to spend some more time there on another weekend - it was beautiful even though all the Australians kept telling the international students that it wasn't a great beach. I'm not that picky - the water was clear, the sand seemed clean, and it was sunny, so I was happy. The nineties party was a lot of fun - it was held in our courtyard with a cover band playing all sorts of music from the nineties. My group of friends and I danced for several hours, and then went with a much larger group to a pub about a fifteen minute walk away. It was a great night.

On Wednesday night, instead of going to the O-week activity, Laura, Olivia and I went to the Queen Victoria Night Market. Its held the same place as the day market, but has food stalls instead of produce, and a lot more clothing and knick-knack stalls. I (finally!) had fish and chips, which were pretty darn good, and then the three of us split these funny deep fried dumpling-like things with vanilla ice-cream and chocolate on top. It was fantastic. We also heard some live music and watched a free dance show and then dance class - it was all about Cuban dances! Unfortunately, it was the last night of the Night Market, since it runs during the summer - November through February.

Anyway. Back to the weekend! On Thursday, I went to training with Honey, and met most of the team for the first time. I (successfully) took a tram by myself there and back. They all seemed really nice and it was great to meet some of the team. On Saturday morning, I got up at 4:45 to shower and then catch a taxi to the airport for my 7:05 flight to Canberra. I got in at 8:05, with three other Honey players on my flight. We met up with a fifth player and took a cab into the city to have breakfast at a cafe. We were picked up by teammates at 10:30 ish, and went to the fields for our 12:30 game. Since a team dropped out at the last minute, we only had 2 games on Saturday. We lost both of them, though our first game was much better than our second. It was really hot and dry - I drank four bottles of water in the two games. The teams were from Canberra - Machine Girls- and (I think) Sydney - Sultry. We got back to the cabins we were staying and all jumped into the pool, which felt lovely! We then went to the tournament dinner, and then stayed for part of the party. Since a number of us had gotten up very early to fly in, we had an early night, and I was in bed before midnight. This morning, we got up and went to the fields. We played a team called Wildcard. They were really, really good - they took second at Women's Nationals last year. We scored once against them, but it was a good game, and we really stepped it up. Our second game that day was the first of the semis, and so we actually played Wildcard again. We sort of fell apart during this game, and played fairly poorly, but managed to end on a good note with it. Our next game was against Sultry. At this point, all the women who drove up had left, so there were only five of us. Sultry gave us the players who weren't going to nationals so we could field a team, and it ended up being the best game any of us had played all weekend. We won the game, so our final record was 1-4. We also won the Spirit Award, which came in the form of chocolate bars. Several of us were flying back on the same flight, so we all went out to dinner, and then took a taxi to the airport. We drove past the parliament building, as well as a few other famous Canberra monuments, though I didn't get a chance to take any pictures. I arrived back in Melbourne at 10:30, and am now quite ready to head to bed and get some much needed rest!

Uni Melb and sundries

Well, I've finally got enroled in "subjects" (classes, for all us Americans), and will be taking Australia and America, Ethnic Nationalism and the Modern World, Data Analysis 2, and hopefully Metric Spaces. That one's still up in the air. It took two and a half hours of running around the Uni to get all that straightened out, but I now have both my student ID and my health care card. I will definitely be able to get to all my maths subjects - I know my way around that building pretty well by now! (And I still got lost trying to get out of it). The campus is pretty big, especially compared to Grinnell, and its not laid out on a grid, which makes it pretty confusing at times. I have been able to get home pretty easily from uni, though - at least that part of my sense of direction is good!

I'm really glad I don't have to drive here. Its pretty crazy. Sometimes drivers have to do this thing called a "hook turn". Keeping in mind that aussies drive on the "wrong" side of the road; a hook turn is turning right from the left lane. You pull more or less into the cross walk halfway across the road, and then wait for the other light to turn green, at which point you finish your turn as the cars behind you wait. Its a bit terrifying to be in a car while the driver does this, but it works. Walking is difficult here, though. Crosswalks are often few and far between, or only get you to the tram stop and not actually across the road. Speaking of crosswalks, the signal to walk here is a green man walking and also a sound emitted that sounds like a manic woodpecker attacking a telephone pole. Its a bit panic-inducing.

Last night Kate, Cari and I went bowling with some aussies we met at Ormond. The place we went is a bar, with a buy a drink and bowl for free policy on Sundays. We bowled two rounds, and then we all went to the Crown Casino. We wandered around, looking at everything, since the three of us hadn't really ever gambled before, and then Cari and I played a 1cent game and won $28! (Okay, 26, since we each spent a dollar). But we're going to use it to go out to eat brunch. We also decided at that point that we would stop while we were ahead, and got all our coins changed to notes so we couldn't spend them. We also got free juice boxes for being in the casino and gaming, which was pretty sweet. The guy handing them out was really funny and helpful and also gave us each an extra juice. All in all, it was a pretty sweet trip to the casino.

I can't wait for the semester to actually start. I start my subjects a week from today and I'm really excited. It seems like forever since I've actually had to do something with my brain, and I also think that the partying will die down some once all the international students actually have something to do. People have been out to bars, pubs, and clubs almost every night we've been in Australia, and that is definitely not my scene. I've gone out a few times, and I had a really good time, but partying more than once a week is exhausting, both physically and on my cash supply. As Kate and I have discussed, food seems much more important than going out, so we try to keep it pretty low-key, even when we do go out.

On Saturday (today is monday) I went to the Queen Victoria Market to buy fresh fruit and veggies. It was amazing. Everything was pretty cheap (even avocados!) and really fresh. Its a big open air market, with two long aisles of stalls for fruits and veggies, an indoor meat market, two smaller aisles of what are considered "deli goods" here - spreads, dairy items, sliced meat, and bread. There are also stalls of leather goods, tourist items, clothes, and shoes. It was pretty incredible, and I think I'll make it part of a weekly routine. Next time, I'll bring a camera. But I was able to buy avocados, cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes, onions, bread, sliced turkey, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, asparagus, and bean sprouts, all of it fresh and lovely and yummy. Most of it is from Australia, as well, which makes me feel good too! I've been having fantastic turkey sandwiches ever since.

pictures!

just a quick note to say that I managed to get pictures up and you should all check them out.

settling in. . .

Finally, I am in my apartment for good! We just got back from our second orientation, at Ormond Residential College. The Melbourne Welcome Program is for study abroad students, so I got to meet a whole bunch of new people from all over the world, plus our group leaders who are all from Australia (mostly). Ormond is a residential college, which basically means its like a dorm in the US, plus its like Hogwarts with a high table in the wood paneled dining hall. I forgot to take pictures, but it was incredible. It looked like a small castle. There are some classrooms within the Ormond Campus for tutorials and things, but its mostly residential.
We arrived on saturday the 14. Kate, Cari and I walked there together, and managed to both leave late and then get really lost on the uni campus. But we did finally arrive in one piece, and got our Melbourne Welcome t-shirts, and joined our groups. We then did a scavenger hunt on the Uni campus and in Melbourne City (downtown is called "the city" here) designed to help us learn where all the important things are, as well as how to use the trams. It was definitely a learning experience - this whole looking right when you cross the street thing is hard! That night I stayed back from laser tag and went to bed, because I was feeling a bit sick, and then next day I woke up with a nasty cold. So I skipped out on the beach day and napped in my room, as well as ventured onto Lygon Street (good for restaurants and cute clothing stores) to get some lunch, and then headed to bed early.
On Monday I went to the Melbourne Museum and spent about 2 and a half hours there, and hope to go back. I could have spent a lot longer there! It was really interesting, with a whole section on Melbourne and indigenous culture. Then in the afternoon we went to the Melbourne Zoo. We saw lots of animals, including kangaroos, echindnas, emus, and platypi! I want to go back there, too! On Monday night we had an Australian themed party, which was tons of fun. I wore an Australian flag as a sarong, and we danced this dance that we learned the first day of orientation. I may have to show it to you all when I get home - its to the song "spin me right round". (or whatever its called).
Yesterday, we went to a cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, which was really boring. I have no need to ever go to another cricket match. It was a long and boring few hours. Then in the afternoon I went "necessities" shopping, which was interesting - prices are really different here. In the evening we had a formal sit-down dinner, which we had to dress "cocktail" for, and it was fancy fancy fancy! Then we all went out to a club/pub afterwards, and danced the night away. (If dancing the night away means staying out til 12:30. . . )
Now I'm back at RMIT, and its so lovely to be here and have space of my own! I'm about to head out grocery shopping, since my meagre pantry contents do not look like they'll make dinner. I have all day tomorrow off - I think we're going to go to the market to get some fresh fruit, veggies, and meat - and then on friday I (finally) officially enroll in the uni and meet my advisor. Oh boy!

Wow!

So I'm back in Melbourne after two days in Torquay (Tor-key) and Anglesea at Camp Eumeralla. The camp is on the coast, in the bush, with quite a lot of land. I did see kangaroos - two quite large ones (red?) and then several smaller ones. Its really exciting for all us Americans, but the Australians seem rather non-plussed.
Our first night, we went into Torquay, which is the surfing capital of Australia, and watched two "extreme" movies - one was about surfing enormous waves- like 30 ft high, and the other was about mountain biking. Then we all went out for pizza.
Yesterday we went for a 2+ hour mountain bike ride in the bush, from our camp to Bell's Beach. It was really fun, though I was skeptical at first. We were on bikes with absolutely amazing suspension and shocks, so the rough trail wasn't too much of a problem. Then in the afternoon we went surf kayaking, which was a blast. Kate and I were on the same kayak and pretty much spent the entire afternoon in hysterics, but we did manage to catch a few waves in.
This morning, we went surfing. It was a bit ridiculous, but fun. I spent a lot of time getting turned head over heels in the waves, but I did manage to get part-way up once! I am hoping to try another time, and maybe with the basics under my belt I will be able to get up all the way.
Even with the careful application and reapplication of sunscreen, I did get burnt. They really aren't kidding about the strong Australian sun. I am not as burnt as some others, but!
I'm trying to figure out pictures but haven't had much luck. . . I'll upload them as soon as I figure it out.

in melbourne!

Wow. After way too many hours of travel, here I am! My last post was from San Francisco. Since then, I have been in Auckland, New Zealand, and have arrived in Melbourne (finally!). In the live for customs another IES student identified me as a fellow IES participant and after chatting across lines for a bit we realized we have a friend in common - she went to high school with her, and she's at Grinnell with me! We then proceeded to clear customs (even with my declared home-made candy) and meet up with about ten other overseas students, the vast majority of whom were with the IES program, and living at the RMIT student apartments.

I'm living in a student apartment, with an Australian apartment-mate. Her name is Charlotte and she seems to be really nice. She is at RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) studying something. She's from the third largest city/town in the state of Victoria, and the outskirts of her town have been hit by the bushfires. I have seen no evidence of the fires; the sky seems clear to me! Anyway, we share a small apartment with a bathroom, tiny kitchen, and two bedrooms. My room has a flat-screen tv. I have no idea what to do with it (watch cricket? and aussie rules football?), but oh well! We also have a balconey, with a view into an inner courtyard. The RMIT student apartments are a renovated old hotel, so there is an outdoor pool. Its all brick on the outside, with iron grill work on the balconeys and cute shutters and all of that. It seems like a pretty cool place.

Tomorrow, we leave to go on an IES orientation trip on the Great Ocean Road - basically driving southwest from Melbourne. Among the activities planned is a surfing lesson! It looks like it will be fun - apparently there are kangaroos and wallabies living wild where we will be staying and its completely normal to see them. Look for pics of them next post!

airport!

I'm at the San Francisco Airport! Eeee! I fly out in a few hours and its pretty hard to believe. Next post will be from Melbourne!

getting closer. . .

I leave in three days. Its really, really hard to believe. I'm even partially packed! (Thats pretty astounding, actually). I'm terrified of leaving something I'll need behind, but I also don't want to over-pack. Mom and I went shopping today, and I think I pretty much am done with that part. (Thank heaven for small miracles!) Dad and I have been watching "australia" movies, including the new movie Australia - which I would recommend! We also watched Quigley Down Under, which I'm not so sure I'd recommend.

I've been in contact with a women's ultimate team in Melbourne, and there's a tournament the last weekend in February I think I'll go to. I'm missing a lot of the early season training, and I'm going to have to work hard to get my fitness level back up, but its nice to have a group of people there who know I'm coming, and are excited to meet me, and have extended lots of offers for help getting around, settling in, or whatever else I need. It makes me feel a lot less nervous about the friend-making part of this trip/adventure.

I think the part I'm currently flipping out about the most is all the flying I have to do. What if I miss a connection? Get stranded in Auckland? Can't get through customs? What if I can't find the van? I'm, surprisingly, not nervous about actually being in Melbourne. As long as I have space to call my own, I'll be okay, I know. Its the in-between part thats scary.

Well, here's an old-style map of Melbourne and the surrounding area. I'll be staying more or less where the red near "Melbourne" is darkest. I am going to be living in the Old Village Student Apartments. I will have one roommate, and I will find out my exact apartment and my roommate when I arrive in Melbourne. That part is a little bit nerve-wracking, but I'm sure it'll be fine.
I'm getting excited to head out, though I haven't even begun to pack. Thats probably one of the hardest parts - I have to pack for an entirely different set of seasons. Its summer there, and will be in the eighties most likely when I arrive. While from the frozen tundra of the twin cities that sounds lovely, I also have to find all my summer and fall clothes, since I doubt I'll be needing my winter gear! I'm starting the shopping for things I'll need next week, and my list is starting to get pretty long. . .

visa!

I finally received my certificate of enrollment yesterday from the University of Melbourne, and applied for my visa. Today I received the email confirmation of my visa. Its official! I have all the required documentation! I can, in fact, go to Australia!

I'm alternately really excited and really nervous about going to Melbourne, though at the moment, all of my worries center around the flights and connections and worry about making all of those. I have had more anxiety dreams about flying than I think I had total in the last semester. I haven't even started to worry about university life or anything like that, though I do need to find an ultimate team to pick up with. (Hopefully I can convince Kate to join me!) I am anxious about that, but I think thats because there is a definable something (my playing ability in relation to everyone elses) to be nervous about. If I let myself be nervous about all the unknowns coming up, I would be a wreck. Its hard to believe that in a month I will be on my way to Melbourne. . .

So I've caved and created a blog for my adventures down under!
I'm getting really excited, but it also seems like an eternity until I leave. . .