Days 14 & 15 - School

Day 14

I started classes today - they weren't too bad. I am having a realllllly hard time scheduling the one I need to graduate but I am sure I will work it out eventually. I also got offered a "trial" at Cafe 99 (one of the places I put in a resume) for tomorrow. Some of you already read about this but I have decided to go through with making plans for a trip to Western Australia (please see description of trip below). I paid my down payment this morning - so it looks like I'm going. It was absolutely frigid today so I was excited to get back home and into my toasty room. For dinner, the other Americans, new students, and I were invited to attend pre-dinner drinks with the College administration and were seated at the high table for Hall (Hall is held twice a week at dinner - all the students and officials wear black robes [Harry Potter style] and then are served dinner instead of going through a line, it is supposed to promote students to get to know each other better and allows for announcements). After dinner we attended an after-dinner drinks meeting with the officials before heading off to our evening's activities (mine were a shower and bed)

Western Australia has some of the most remote and unspoiled environments Australia has to offer. A trip that is particularly difficult to organize alone, the Melbourne University Outdoors Program offers students the opportunity to venture into some of the most spectacular and contrasting environments of all our trips, offering students a unique experience that they are unlikely to forget.

Run during the Easter and Spring breaks, this ten day camping trip starts and finishes in Perth, Western Australia's capital. Not long out of Perth we encounter the Pinnacled Desert of Nambung National Park, where spectacular limestone pillars punctuate the yellow desert sands. from here we drive to Cape Range national park, with a brief stopover at the Geraldton sand dune system. The next four days are spent swimming amongst the beautiful corals and abundant marine life of the Ningaloo reef. Sightings of Rare loggerhead turtles, reef sharks, manta rays, dolphins, and clownfish are all common occurrences. Students also have the option of heading further out on the reef with on the commercial operators and during the trip have the opportunity of swimming with the incredible whale sharks.

The trip them moves inland, and into the spectacular Karijini National Park of the Pilbara region. The ancient gorge system here is simply stunning, and has to be seen to be believed.

Day 15

I had my trial this morning - a bit strange. I think that once I get used to it, it shouldn't be too bad. I need to file for a tax ID number and some other official stuff. I mostly helped keep the kitchen clean and prepared food for catering purposes. (The cafe is housed within the Victorian Archives building so it isn't extremely busy) I also delivered prepared orders to customers and bused tables. All in all I hope my schedule gets fixed so I can set up some hours! I met with the exchange advisor today and still haven't solved the problem - sigh. Hopefully with a bit a research and visiting some faculties tomorrow I can figure this out. My evening was devoted to class searching, plane ticket finding and trying to get through my emails. I took some pictures of the campus for Pam. Enjoy :)

So I apologize for not actually knowing any history about these buildings - i missed the cultural tour. I just picked out pretty ones

There is a lot less green open space on campus then back home - but more vegetation growing up walls and sort of surrounding everything so it still feels green.

A little cafe - there are a lot of these too

This is the clock in the old Quad - most of the older looking buildings are situated around it

Many areas are tiled over like this - there all sorts of little secret spots to eat a packed lunch or read a book between classes (if it ever gets warm)

A pretty ceiling - I know that's lame

This courtyard sort of reminded me of a castle...

More ceiling - Mind there are plenty of modernish boring square buildings about but I figured you'd rather see these. and of course like all major universities - there is construction EVERYWHERE - just like home

Day 13 - Last Day of Freedom

Today I was a bit of bum. I spent most of the day reading and working on emails. I figure after today I will have school work so I might as well enjoy it. In the afternoon I attended a College function the exec. committee put on out in the courtyard. I met some new people and had a good time learning about everyone. After dinner a whole mess of Whitley folk went out to a Salsa dancing club where we danced the night away (I am a terrrrrrrible salsa dancer - for the record). It was a fun, relaxing day of freedom. I am interested to see how tomorrow turns out ( I need to reschedule again!) - hopefully I find and like all my classes if not I have till Aug. 8th to change them.

Days 10, 11, and 12 - Kinglake

Day 10

Not a lot happened here again. I spent most of the morning applying for jobs online and dropped one off over in North Melbourne (about) a thirty minute walk - but I think I can take a short cut through he park behind me if I would get offered the job. The manager sort of interviewed me on the spot so I came off I bit dumb sounding - my bad - but I wasn't prepared for that at all. After my poor interview I went to campus for a few meetings and some generic tasks, one of my classes still isn't doesn't have class times posted and unfortunately the department thought that it was strange but didn't know what to tell me except to email the prof. - so waiting on that. Of course it was a beautiful day ideal for taking campus pics and I forgot my camera cause I'm awesome. After Uni I went for my first run in the park across the street with some friends. I decided to just do one lap of 3.2 k so as not to aggravate the ankle. I watched some more WARTS rehearsal before calling it an early night. I finally investigated the library upstairs so now I have a book to read.

Day 11

I spent the morning setting up my computer account through the college so I could print in the lab. I also watched a very funny run through of the musical. I headed to Uni after lunch to drop off more applications and attend some meetings about traveling. Laurie's friend Sally (Laurie is my friend from work at PSU and Sally is her "Aussie Sister" from when Laurie stayed here as an exchange student - Laurie put me in touch with Sally since she lives in Melbourne and could possible give me the opportunity to see a bit more of the city and surrounding area - Does that make sense at all??) - Anyway Laurie's friend Sally sent me an email asking if I wanted to head up to her (Sally's) sister's place in Kinglake for the night. Since I didn't really have any plans and I decided to take her up on the offer. I rode the Tram to Coburg where I met Sally and her two children (Diana and Alex) to drive to Kinglake (about 45 minutes) - we dropped Alex off for a sleepover. Unfortunately we were in a car accident (someone hit us from behind because someone hit them from behind and drove off) - Whoo who for my first Australian car ride! Anyway besides a bit of a stiff neck no one was hurt - the car's boot (trunk) won't upon anymore. Soooo we finally got to Kinglake I met Sally's sister, Poss, and her daughter and son, Hallie and Matthew. We left the kids at home with their grandfather and went to get something to eat at a local pub. A local country pub - I was so keen to see some Aussie rednecks and hear a bit of country music. We made a night of listening to karaoke and playing pool - I even taught Sally, Poss and their friends some line dances and they played me their best Aussie country artists. It was great time! On the way home a wombat ran across the road - but of course I didn't see it...

Day 12

I actually slept in - this is a major accomplishment for me. Sally and Poss made me eggs which was just amazing. After breakfast I headed out for bush walk around Poss's property and I saw my first wild Kangaroos! and fox and whole assortment of new birds!! yay! We headed down to St. Andrew's market for lunch (excellent curry) and some light shopping with the kids. We drove through Kinglake National Park where I will be going hiking next time I visit. I saw heaps of Kangaroos grazing and sleeping in the sun along the way. Upon returning to Poss's I took another bush walk and saw some more new birds and a lot freshly dug dirt- echidna evidence perhaps??? All in all it was a wonderful experience and I was just so happy to be out of the city and back in the woods! Sally, Diana, and I headed back to her house for dinner before bringing me back to college. I went out for a bit to a very crowded pub before calling it a night.

This here is a budgie (Budgerigar) - they are wild around here but I figured I won't be able to convince one to sit as still as Poss's pet. They come in many colors domestically but the wild one's look like a greener version of this guy.

Poss's backyard - the trail loops around the back, she has about 10 acres

My first kangaroo sighting, actually I first saw them lying down and I thought they were someone's pet llamas until they stood up.

A real live wild kangaroo!

A roo hanging out along the road

St. Andrew's "bush" market - a lot of neat homemade crafts and food

Grey Shrike Thrush with a worm - I saw a bunch of LBJs (Little Brown Jobs) this one I could actually identify


This was my find of the weekend - a Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo. There about 10 of them carrying on in these trees. He's pretty large as well - think big pet store parrots...

Grey Currawong - a bit smaller than a crow, but incredibly fierce looking...

Day 9 - classes, i think

Today was another low key day, I spent most of the day at Uni trying to fix my classes. After being at a near breakdown level someone finally helped me rearrange. Of course I have one class that isn't listed for some reason so I need to go investigate that tomorrow and make sure it doesn't clash with anything. I also went on a scavenger hunt of the campus activity for new students and listened to workshop about working/taxes on a student VISA before heading back to college. After dinner I watched some more WARTS rehearsals before retreating to email and job searching for the night.

Day 8 - Settling In

Today I got up early and revised my resume before heading to Uni (apparently using the word campus is very American). I met with my course advisor and scheduled my classes. Unfortunately when I later checked my timetable they "clashed" meaning they over lapped in a way that I couldn't take the ones I wanted to, sooooo I'll have to head back tomorrow and sort it out. (Bummer) I wandered about Uni for a bit and took care of getting my student card and health insurance card and I also swung by the job center and travel agency to pick up brochures. I was planning to walk into the city and explore but it started raining so I came back to College. Before dinner I walked back to Kmart for some more supplies and started looking for jobs. After dinner I went to the new batman movie ( The Dark Knight) with some of my new friends and we wandered about the city for a bit laughing and window shopping. Not the most exciting day but I did get some new birds :)

I know this isn't the highest quality picture, but the terror expressed in this dove's face as a certain individual stalks him down the sidewalk with her camera is priceless. This is a Spotted Turtle-Dove (pigeon sized)

I know you already saw this big boy but I wanted to suggest you listen to his song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ_pkvO5ia8&feature=related because it is really neat to hear.

This is a female Magpie-lark (you can tell by the eye stripe)

This is the donut from the outside...

Day 7 - Visiting Uni

Today I had to make a briefing for new students on campus. I gotta say on a side note that I really miss eggs, breakfast is continental here on the weekdays (no more omelets!) and I think I have been going through egg withdraw. Anyway, I went to campus and got schedules for the upcoming Orientation Welcome week put on by the university - I also found out that I am in the Faculty of Science. Later in the day I received my accepted courses, Biology of Australian Flora and Fauna and Field Biology of Australian Wildlife. Unfortunately the two classes I need to graduate (an art and an English) were rejected (crap) - so I have to come up with some new options and try to push them through. Tomorrow I meet with an advisor to actually enroll me as a student and set up a timetable for the semester so hopefully I can fix everything before classes start on the 28th. It was raining so I didn't really get to explore much but spent the rest of my day working on my never ending email account and looking for new classes to try. After a delicious dinner of mashed potatoes :) I hung out with my new Aussie friends and watched them rehearse for their play. Whitley College puts on plays every semester through their WARTS program (Whitley Assoc. Residential Theatre of Students or something like that). This semester they are doing "The Pajama Game" a musical by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. They asked if I wanted to be in the chorus and I am still thinking about it - I'm just not sure I will have the time to practice - it goes on in 3 weeks! I took some pics of the courtyard when the sun peeked out for you.

Here is the courtyard of Whitley College - nick named the donut because as you can see it is round. It has another building that is rectangular and connected by a hallway. They call that building the Tim Tam.

There a lots of pretty plants and birds in it - unfortunately I am on the outside so I can only look over a tin roof (oh well it will stop me from running outside every two seconds to catch a new bird on film

Here is the website for the College if anyone is looking for a more detailed description...

http://www.whitley.unimelb.edu.au/

Day 6 - Whitley College

Today was pretty slow compared to the others so far. I moved into my new home in Whitley College (aka the Donut). The students living here are all really nice and have helped me figure out the ways of the college. Whitley sits between two parks and is about a block from the Melbourne zoo so I'm looking forward to exploring the area if it ever stops raining. Some of the students took me to the local shops and I was able to get a hairdryer along with some other stuff I've been wanting. In the evening I went out with my new friends for a drink before calling it a night. I will put up some pics of my new residence when it gets nicer because the wet thing does not do it justice.

PS - the whole dropbear thing was a big joke - I'm an idiot! One of the residents here started telling me about them, but his story was really different from the group leader's version so I realized that I am the most gullible creature on the planet and I need not go on a crusade for the invented critter. The opossums are real though and I saw two more last night (one was in a pizza box) but alas no camera again!

Day 5 - Footy Ball

Today was much quieter than yesterday as it appears most of the students stayed out wayyyy to late. I got up early and figured out (successfully) how to use Skype to call Phil/family and whoever else has skype. I spent the morning catching up on emails and picture loading. (we had an optional campus tour that the group leaders proclaimed somewhat useless). After my morning of computer work I joined the group in learning the rules of AFL (Australian Football League) or "Footy Ball" as everyone calls it here. After some practice the group competed in a mini scrimmage of the game. ( I sat this one out figuring my foot was feeling better and I want it to stay that way - on a side note, all swelling is gone just the bruise remains) There is no easy way to describe this sport - it is sort of a combination between rugby, football, and soccer, except not really at all. The sport is played on a round field with 14? players per side. It is quite interesting to watch but I highly doubt I can do it justice via blog - so if interested please google it. After the practice the group we headed for lunch. After eating we headed out for our first Professional Footy game at MGC (Melbourne Cricket Ground), Richmond Tigers vs. Essendon Bombers. game was fun to watch but hard to get into at first because I didn't really know anything about the teams. The last quarter was excellent as the two teams struggled for the win and finally the Tigers came through with a score of 16.12.1o8 to 15.14.104 (the last number is the actual score, the first number is how many 6 pt goals, and the middle is 1 pt goals). We went to dinner on Lygon street - split up among the many different cafes along the strip. I chose the Italian food group and got a yummy alfredo dish. After dinner we went for gelati - yum. I broke off from the group as they prepared for the bars and went book shopping (seriously I am that bad) I got my bird field guide - YAY!!!!!!. You can now find updated bird ID on all previous pics if you care to check. I didn't get the reptile guide yet because they didn't have it. On the way home I saw a ginormous bat (we're talking about a foot and a half wingspan people) - I haven't had luck on my opossum crusade because i only see them when I don't have my camera. Parkey (group leader) told me about this creature, Drop bear?, that will drop down out of trees onto your head if it feels you are invading its territory and scratch you up. I need to find some person to pay to stand under trees cause I want to see one :)

The Bombers entering the stadium.

Giant pom poms the opposing team would wave to distract the players from making goals

An intense action shot - love the expressions. The little green dudes are refs

A toss up from the ref

Day 4 - The Wildlife Sanctuary

Today we traveled to the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary in the Yarra Valley. It took about an hour to get there but at least we had nice buses and I was able to see some more of the city on our way. The sanctuary itself was excellent - it featured a good number of walk in exhibits so you could get up close and personal with the wildlife. This meaning you could walk into the Kangaroo exhibit and they would hop past you (or over you). The only real downfall of the day is that it rained the whole time. Boo. I refused to let this minor setback phase me though and proceeded to make sure I made every exhibit and enclosure possible. I had a lot of fun fighting to keep my camera dry and trying to adjust for over-exposure since it was so overcast. Many of the normal students gave up and hid in either the gift shop (tuck shop?) or the platypus house, I made friends with the reptile keeper and he gave me advice on which field guides I should purchase (of course the book store was out- drat!). My favorites (besides the snakes) were all the colorful birds flitting about that I was constantly trying to take pictures of - why can't they hold still!!! We had a BBQ in the sanctuary before heading out to our next activity. On the way back to Queen's we stopped at the Dominique Portet Winery (which was run by a French family) for a wine tasting and tour. The wine was tasty but I opted to hold off on buying any for now. After the winery we headed back to Queen's College for coffee parties (little social gatherings in the group leader's rooms where we can ask questions or just mingle - we rotate groups everyday to optimize meeting new people potential) and dinner (fish and chips - yum!). The group leader's organized a pub crawl (bar tour) of four of the local city bars, they spiced things up by giving us white t-shirts so we could write on each other with colored sharpies. The pubs were interesting to say the least but I must say I don't think I'll be going out very often because a pint of the cheapest beer was $7, and cocktails were $16. I managed to only spend $18 the whole evening, but other students spent over $60 (eek). I think I would rather spend my money on traveling to exotic places with cool wildlife instead. View some cool wildlife below.

PS - if anyone has any questions about something in my ramblings please feel free to post as a comment!

A black winged stilt














No idea what this spoonbill guy is - couldn't find his sign - looks cool though UPDATE: Royal Spoonbill (breeding)



















Lyre Bird!! According to the sign it is their mating season, he was singing a fantastic series of calls and noises (Lyre birds combine mimicery, song, and dance to attract a mate)















Bearded Dragon/lizard




















Me and the python at the reptile show, you can see my new friend's arm off to my left. Anybody who has lizard tattoos on his calves is ok in my book :)


This is the Australia Robin (or something like that) alas - I need fieldguide!!! UPDATE: Eastern Yellow Robin


UPDATE: Australian Pelican

Wallaby , I apologize fo the lack of mammal/typical Australia animal pics, since it was pouring they were all hiding/sleeping and I didn't even get to see half of them.

Cool looking duck being chased by that crazy blue moor henish creature UPDATE: Australian Wood Duck


Parrot UPATE: Crimson Rosella




The Dusky Moorhen - i looked it up





Parrot UPDATE: Galah
Parrot with fruit who hit me in the head when he flew away UPDATE: Swift Parrot (90% sure)





Koala - they were all making this pose, apparently they dont like rain



The Winery

Day 3 - The City

Today I managed to get up and get moving quickly so I wouldn't oversleep and be a crank all day. (somewhat successful). We started off by walking to the Melbourne Museum where we were given the chance to roam for an hour. It was a decent museum but an hour doesn't really do it justice to explore. I saw some crazy finches on the feeder, or at least I think they were crazy finches. After the museum we had to the option to keep looking or walk to the Queen Victoria Markets - I opted for the market but now completely regret because it turns out the museum dissected a giant squid live for the people who stayed - CRAP! Oh well at least now I know where to go for cheesy merchandise, meat, cheese, and fresh produce. After a quick lunch back at Queen's we took our first tram ride into the city to be toursity and visit the Eureka Sky deck, 88 floors up, 267 meters or something - it was HIGH!! Gave a great view of the city. Afterwards we picked groups and went on a scavenger hunt around the city to "learn Melbourne" My group consisted of me, Thanh (from Maine), and Chaenny (from Korea) and we had a good time rumbling around. I got a little frustrated because many of the tasks required us to buy things (ie, buy creme filled donuts and return to Queens with them = 50 pts each) UM HELLO - donuts cost 2.50 a piece!!! One task asked you to buy a bar a round of beers. (Beers cost like 4 bucks) I was just annoyed since we had spent so much money already and then they were expecting us to drop 20 on game. So my group took the cheap way and we avoided costly tasks and tracked down everything else. We met many Aussies and all of them wanted to help us, which made it more exciting! We made it back just in time to beat the deadline. I had about 20 minutes to change for the "formal dinner" - which was really formal apparently cause many of the girls were in dresses (cocktailish) and some the guys even had suits. I wore a skirt with a nice top and called it a night. I decided to skip the pubs and catch up on some emails and work on preventing jet lag. Hopefully tomorrow I wont be soooo tired!

PS: The foot has definitely been improving - it's hardly swollen anymore and now this is just a hideous bruise.


Finches? UPDATE: Red-browed Finch (Firetail)




Penguin Display :)


The gateway to the market...





"The City" - this is the Melbourne from all of the books, probably a lot prettier on a non-overcast day

View from the Skydeck




Another View from the Skydeck


Buidling in Federation square (area for outdoor concerts and tourists...not that I know any)