Well, I’m finished in Australia. Went to see the fireworks on Australia Day, saw some more kangaroos, went shopping in Ballarat again, got a delicious dessert called a vanilla slice, went to the University of Melbourne with Imogen for her academic advice day. It was so hard to say goodbye. I had so much fun in Australia!
As for right now, I’m finally in NZ! And it really is the land of the kiwi. Everything has a kiwi bird on it! The hostel is really nice. And clean. That’s a bonus. We did a lot of walking today. Went downtown—to one of them anyway. Bought a few things. Went grocery shopping. Tomorrow we’re planning to go to the beach, provided we can figure out the bus system. Pray for us! I’ll post pictures on facebook as soon as I can. Off to school in a couple days!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Melbourne and the ocean!
The past two days have been awesome! Yesterday, Ebony and Imogen and I went to Melbourne. We took the train, which was totally cool! I wish we had a train to ride in Saskatchewan. It was so fast!
In Melbourne, we went to this adorable market called Vic Market where there were all these little shops and food. I bought a scarf and some kangaroo earrings (yes, I know, such a tourist! haha). Then we went to the art gallery, ate lunch, and saw some really old European paintings.
There was one painting I just couldn't get over--in the modern art section... Oh my goodness, it was, well, to say the best of it, unimpressive. It was just...paint. Red and orange and blue and purple and green and yellow spread over the canvas--and the frame--in no order or shape or anything! Not even a special texture! And some of the colours were overlapping, and it just looked terrible! I could have painted it with my eyes closed.
Then we went to a restaurant called Koko Black. It was a chocolate restaurant, and we had a drink called an iced chocolate. It had milk and chocolate and icecream and I don't know what else in it, but it was sooooo good! After that we went to a department store called Myer that was seven floors! That was a bit of an adventure trying to find what we wanted.
That evening, Imogen let me drive. That was totally weird, driving on the left side of the road on the right side of the vehicle...I kept turning the windshield wipers on when I wanted to signal. But an interesting experience. And now I can say I've done it!
Today, Imogen and I went to the ocean. We drove to Geelong and got lost there. When we finally found the Great Ocean Road, we went to a beach and went boogie-boarding, which was totally awesome! The water was surprisingly warm too. But yeah, we rode the waves, and I got salt water in my mouth and my nose lots. Got tumbled around under a big wave at one point. Kind of scary.
After we'd finished at that beach, we kept driving and found a fish 'n' chips shop. Besides the fish and chips, we had calamari rings...yeah, that's octopus tenticles. So gross! Well, actually, they didn't taste that bad except for the texture was slimy and rubbery.
We went to a lighthouse and to another beach. Got some more pictures. Then we went home. It was a great day.
Oh, and I found my new favourite chocolate bar ever! White chocolate KitKat. Mmmmmm :)
I also have a prayer request. I think I might be catching a cold, so if you could pray for me not to, that would be great.
In Melbourne, we went to this adorable market called Vic Market where there were all these little shops and food. I bought a scarf and some kangaroo earrings (yes, I know, such a tourist! haha). Then we went to the art gallery, ate lunch, and saw some really old European paintings.
There was one painting I just couldn't get over--in the modern art section... Oh my goodness, it was, well, to say the best of it, unimpressive. It was just...paint. Red and orange and blue and purple and green and yellow spread over the canvas--and the frame--in no order or shape or anything! Not even a special texture! And some of the colours were overlapping, and it just looked terrible! I could have painted it with my eyes closed.
Then we went to a restaurant called Koko Black. It was a chocolate restaurant, and we had a drink called an iced chocolate. It had milk and chocolate and icecream and I don't know what else in it, but it was sooooo good! After that we went to a department store called Myer that was seven floors! That was a bit of an adventure trying to find what we wanted.
That evening, Imogen let me drive. That was totally weird, driving on the left side of the road on the right side of the vehicle...I kept turning the windshield wipers on when I wanted to signal. But an interesting experience. And now I can say I've done it!
Today, Imogen and I went to the ocean. We drove to Geelong and got lost there. When we finally found the Great Ocean Road, we went to a beach and went boogie-boarding, which was totally awesome! The water was surprisingly warm too. But yeah, we rode the waves, and I got salt water in my mouth and my nose lots. Got tumbled around under a big wave at one point. Kind of scary.
After we'd finished at that beach, we kept driving and found a fish 'n' chips shop. Besides the fish and chips, we had calamari rings...yeah, that's octopus tenticles. So gross! Well, actually, they didn't taste that bad except for the texture was slimy and rubbery.
We went to a lighthouse and to another beach. Got some more pictures. Then we went home. It was a great day.
Oh, and I found my new favourite chocolate bar ever! White chocolate KitKat. Mmmmmm :)
I also have a prayer request. I think I might be catching a cold, so if you could pray for me not to, that would be great.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Just an update
Well, I've been in Australia two days now, and it's been amazing so far! The flights over went okay...long, but okay. I didn't end up sitting beside anyone who was extremely loud, or smelly, or fat, or anything like that. ;) Watched some movies. By the way, Coraline is definitely worth seeing.
Something really amazing on the thirteen hour flight was that I flew from the northern hemisphere to the southern. It was dark the whole time, and the constalations changed. That wasn't even the coolest part though. It was that I got to see the world from God's point of view. That's how I see flying on a plane. It was amazing to see the stars that way. Silence on the airplane, staring out the window at a billion stars at the same level as me. I could have been on a space shuttle! It was absolutely stunning.
As for all the security and customs stuff, I got stopped at security in Saskatoon and in Auckland. Random explosive tests both times. I don't know, I guess my carry-on looked like a bomb. :P However, I got through customs fine. The baggage check took forever, especially since the guy who asked me if I had "anything to declare" (like fruits or vegetables or meat or drugs or whatever) kept the paper I'd filled out and didn't give it back. Supposedly I needed it later on. Go figure. The guy who was going to check my suitcases was super nice though and went to find the form for me. He was gone for like ten minutes, and I got so worried that he wouldn't find it or whatever. Eventually he came back...without the card. I was like, oh crap. And then he just said, you're done. Go ahead. I was sooooo relieved! Thank you, God!
I'm in Ballarat right now, a small town about an hour and a half from Melbourne. It's so cute. Lots of historical buildings and stuff. I'm staying with friends on the outskirts of the town, so I ended up seeing some kangaroos yesterday in the backyard! That was so cool! Definitely a highlight already.
Oh, and I got sunburn today. Just thought I'd mention that for all you Saskatchewanians in the cold back home. Supposed to be thirty degrees tomorrow. ;)
Something really amazing on the thirteen hour flight was that I flew from the northern hemisphere to the southern. It was dark the whole time, and the constalations changed. That wasn't even the coolest part though. It was that I got to see the world from God's point of view. That's how I see flying on a plane. It was amazing to see the stars that way. Silence on the airplane, staring out the window at a billion stars at the same level as me. I could have been on a space shuttle! It was absolutely stunning.
As for all the security and customs stuff, I got stopped at security in Saskatoon and in Auckland. Random explosive tests both times. I don't know, I guess my carry-on looked like a bomb. :P However, I got through customs fine. The baggage check took forever, especially since the guy who asked me if I had "anything to declare" (like fruits or vegetables or meat or drugs or whatever) kept the paper I'd filled out and didn't give it back. Supposedly I needed it later on. Go figure. The guy who was going to check my suitcases was super nice though and went to find the form for me. He was gone for like ten minutes, and I got so worried that he wouldn't find it or whatever. Eventually he came back...without the card. I was like, oh crap. And then he just said, you're done. Go ahead. I was sooooo relieved! Thank you, God!
I'm in Ballarat right now, a small town about an hour and a half from Melbourne. It's so cute. Lots of historical buildings and stuff. I'm staying with friends on the outskirts of the town, so I ended up seeing some kangaroos yesterday in the backyard! That was so cool! Definitely a highlight already.
Oh, and I got sunburn today. Just thought I'd mention that for all you Saskatchewanians in the cold back home. Supposed to be thirty degrees tomorrow. ;)
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