hopping on the blog-wagon

Among the last of the study abroad students to leave, I am stuck between worlds. I have left behind the world in which my fellow Brandesians have already begun classes and auditions and the like, yet I have not joined those who have already moved into their new homes abroad. Suspended in a purgatory-like state between my past semester and my imminent future with nothing to do but wait, I have come to the conclusion that other than the packing, limbo doesn't suck too badly.

A little bit about Australia that Americans know:

-cool accents, weird slang

-surfing

-everything in the ocean can and will kill you, explicitly illustrated not only by Discovery Channel's Shark Week and Killer Jellyfish, but also in Pixar's Finding Nemo.

-vegemite

-uggs

-koalas and kangaroos

-Steve Irwin

-The Rescuers Down Under (not to be confused with Fievel who is also a mouse, but he travelled "West")

What Americans may not know (abridged):

Australia is huge, and (as I am learning in planning excursions) not extremely close to New Zealand. The country is the sixth largest in area, the population is currently about 22 million, and the country has (according to Wikipedia and I don't feel like checking up on this fact) the thirteenth largest economy in the world. The capitol is Canberra. The country runs as a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers. All hail the Queen. Tasmania is a state in Australia, where there are, in fact, tasmanian devils. For those of you who don't know what a tasmanian devil is outside of Loony Tunes context, it is like a black opossum that kills, eats, and reproduces. Terrifying. Contrary to the belief that everything in the water will kill you, everything on land will kill you too. Australia is home to the world's most poisonous snakes. Because it is in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite the United States. The time change from New York to Melbourne is 16 hours.

Australia is big. Here's a map to prove it. My goal is to travel from Melbourne to Sydney, Cairns, Tasmania, and New Zealand. I'd also like to camp out in the Outback and survive. We'll see how that goes. And how poor I am by the end of this.

Goals of this blog:

-satisfy the parents, teachers, friends, and stalkers with somewhat frequent updates

-keep a travel log (because I don't have the greatest memory)

Yes, those are my only goals. Aim low and achievement is possible, right? If you know me, you know I'm not the type to set a goal such as "self discovery" for a site, and that I understand that my great great grandchildren will not be searching for my autobiography on blogspot.

I leave for Melbourne with Arcadia on February 5th, and I arrive on February 7th.