So I thought I would catch everyone up on everything I've been doing over the last few weeks.

Two weeks ago I took a surfing lesson in Byron Bay:



Easily one of the scariest and best experiences of my life. I was petrified out there in the ocean, and I was god-awful at it, but I'm just proud of myself for getting out there and trying something completely new and different.

After we went surfing, we explored Byron Bay, which is the most beautiful place I have been to. Right up there with Fenway Park and a 24-hour bagel shop.





After spending the whole day at Byron Bay, I ended up getting a second degree burn on my face. I looked like Sloth from The Goonies. But I was a trooper, and the next day we went to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, about an hour away from school. I got to hold a koala! And feed a kangaroo! And now I know what a dingo is! It was an incredible day.








That's a video of the Aboriginal dance troupe we saw and their didgereedoo player, who was AMAZING. It's slowly becoming one of my favorite sounds in the world.

Last Saturday was Australia Day, which is just like the Fourth of July, minus the hot dogs. We spent the night over in Brisbane, a major city about an hour away from the Gold Coast. We watched dancing, and fireworks, got temporary tattoos, and drank some beers. The night did not go as well for me as it should've, but these things happen. Then the next day a bunch of us stayed in the city and went to the Andy Warhol museum and visited the botanical gardens. Aside from the night, I had a great first experience with Australia Day.











Then this weekend was fun as well. On Thursday, Bond hosted this night at Don's called "Palaver Grease," meaning what, I don't know. My loan finally came through and gave me enough money to actually start doing fun things, so I decided to spend 30 bucks on a ticket. I thought we all would get to dress up and dance to Grease so I could fulfill my dream of being Olivia Newton-John (and also free drinks from 7:30 to 11 were promised). However it kind of sucked. Again, Australians can't hold their liquor.

On Saturday we went on a wine tasting tour! It was fantastic. We went up to Mt. Tambourine and visited five different wineries, each of whom gave us 5 different wines to sample. I learned how to smell the wine, how to taste it, what to eat with it, and I even liked some of the reds which is short of unbelievable. I bought a bottle called Jacarranda White because knocked my socks off when I drank it. Overall it was a great experience and I'm glad we did something smaller that wasn't touristy and something that not all Bond students do.

THIS WEEK WE'RE GOING TO FIJI!!!!!!!!! We leave on Wednesday night and come back on Monday. I'm beyond excited. I fully recognize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm so ready for it. And I dropped a grand on this trip, so it better be life-changing. :)

Superbowl tomorrow, GO PATS!