hmmm

I've finally met some more Australians in my painting course. They're all really nice and helpful. I have to visit galleries for this course so they are going to show me where they are, since Melbourne is a pretty big city. I find it easy to get lost in, or maybe its just the fact that its still new to me and I don't have a car. I wish I did, I feel like I learn the city more when I do. I know more about Omaha than Boston, because I had a car and was able to go to more places that public transport lacks in.

My classes do keep me on the go though, and the Monash Exchange Club and Residential Services have atleast one activity a week planned for international students. Yesterday was the Moomba Festival, which was a 3 day festival and was supposedly in celebration of mauritius culture, although it seemed more like a typical carnival or fair.

Saturday I went swimming with wild dolphins and snorkling with seals. It was really cool to be up and close again to Australian Wildlife, an aspect that really interests me, since they consist of mostly marsupials (sp?), I believe, which are pretty much found nowhere else in the world. It was really tough though, we had to hold onto ropes and be pulled by the boat, and my body is still sore from it.

This weekend I'm going on the Great Ocean Road extravaganza, as it's called. We are going to tour the Great ocean road (obviously), which has beautiful scenic views of the ocean. On the first day we get to take a 2 hour surf lesson, which I'm excited for, how many people can say they've surfed in Australia? Then we tour some lighthouses and other monuments. The next day we get to see the 12 apostles, which I'm most excited about, they just look so beautiful and are unique to Australia, although only about 6 or 7 still remain.

Then the next week is my big trip to Cairns. I've told people about it, and learned that the reef itself is actually disappearing because of Global Warming and what not. This is disturbing, it is such a huge ecosystem of its own, and to hear its disappearing to me is quite scary.

My american music class is going well, it feels just like a music class at NEU, except there are more students in it, mostly from performance backgrounds. Contemporary Australia is really good as well. I feel like that class is teaching me the most about Australian culture. We've been discussing the Aboriginals, and their interaction with European settlers, its not too far off from that of Native Americans. Soon we'll talk about sports, which is a bit more of a happier subject.

I haven't had my drawing class yet but the professor seems quite nice and understanding, so I think it will go well.