seeking silence

Classes started yesterday... I almost forgot that I was here for school! I'm pretty excited for classes though... especially Biomechanics. Our first lab is at the beach! Holla!

I've been really craving some peacefulness recently. I just need time to be quiet. To just be. It's been O-week here, and a bit loud and crazy for me. I'm not the partying-type really, and when I'm surrounded by it so much it just kinda makes me feel off-kilter, ya know? I've had a blast getting to know more friends n such, but phew I just need to breathe in quiet air more often... so thank God for my bike! The other day I just rode down to the beach (only a quick lil 10 minute roll away) and sat on these gorgeous rocks that were jutting out into the ocean. Surrounded by crashing waves and the setting sun behind me, falling behind the mountains. I got out the Book of Truth, and read aloud, for all the sea to hear, Psalm 51 (I read a Psalm a day and this one happened to be next). And alas, some wonderful words jumped up at me:

"Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart; Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me; Uphold me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and I will declare your praise."

ah, how awe-some is that?! I am reminded that I was brought here as a blessing, and that I shall learn more about my Savior while i'm here, and experience Him in a new, fresh way. And He will speak to me in my secret heart, teaching me more about himself if I have a willing spirit to learn.

in other news:
yesterday, I went to the campus gym for the first time and took an aerobics class called BAT (booty, abs, thighs) haha, it was prettyyyy entertaining. i wish i had a video of my instructor doing superman moves across the floor, leaping like a gazelle. he was quite flamboyant, and i loved it the whole time.

this morning while i was riding my bike home from the beach before class, i got whistled at by a garbage man. mind you, i was a sweaty, non-makeupy mess because i had just gone running. I don't know if i should be flattered, or just feel sorry for the bloke.

well, i'm off to day two of classes.

peace :)

horses, cliffs, and climbing, oh my!

Yes, I know, I've been majorly slacking on my postings. Oye, okay so now I have a lot to catch up on! I'll keep as short n' sweet as possible!

Well, our weather here has been a bit strange recently. A few days ago Holly, Jack, and I were planning on hitting up this amazing beach spot, but on that particular day it happened to be absolutely freezing out! And by freezing, I mean about 68*... but when you're wearing shorts and a tank top it feels pretty dang cold. Especially when the wind is blowing your face off, it's so strong. So we were at "the Farm", which is a national park that has been preserved since its time as a farm from way-back-when, and it has a great surf beach that extends all along the coast, with lots of cliffs marking off various points. Oh, it was absolutely breathtaking!! I felt like I had flown overseas and gone to Ireland for the afternoon, only a warmer Ireland that has beaches. We decided to venture around the cliffs, trying to reach a cave that was hidden in the rocks. Unfortunately, it was impossible to get down to the cave without falling into an abyss of swirling waters and crashing waves upon rock crevices. But it was still fun! Our bare feet were a bit sore from the jagged black rock, but twas worth it. The only sad part about our excursion is that my sunglasses plummeted off of my head and into the sea. They were cheap. After thatttt, we still went to the beach, even thought it was frigid... the water felt so hot in comparison to the air! And we got out the "Piping Hot" boogie board that I splurged on at Target. Finished the day off with some Mackers hot cocoa and chilled out at home the rest of the evening. So good.

Next day we went rock climbing again withs some Kooloobongers, but this time Holly and Des came! It was a pretty intense 2 hours, I'd say! I felt a lot stronger than I did last week, so that was quite exciting. I'm pumped to get a group together and go outdoors to climb soon. Afterwards, we all headed out to the beach, Fairy Meadow (isn't that name just amazing?!). Played some touch football (which I absolutely suck at), threw some frisbee, sun-baked, and played in the water like a little kid. Yayyy I'm in love with the ocean!! But not in love with that rip current.. mannn it's strong! So I'm staying close to shore, no worries. I tried swimming to a sandbar with a friend, and just about guzzled a gallon of salt water.

Hmm.. what else did I do... oh! I went for my very first true bike ride yesterday with a pal that I met here in Wollongong. We rode about 30 miles, I'm guessing, and it was so beautiful I can hardly describe... on my left there was a continuous stream of mountains, and on my right was the breathtaking beach and ocean! I cannot believe that I live here!

Later, I went to a horse race for the first time. The boys next door and Holly, Jack, and I got all dressed up and left at noon. and I wore my little fidora hat (because it's quite common knowledge that you wear cute hats at horse races). I bet on a horse that was numbered 8, because that's my favorite number, and her name was Lady Lohnro, which I thought was just swell. And she won! And I won! Twenty-five buckeroooos! Twas pretty exciting, I must say!

Ohh and uni classes start up tomorrow... I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually kinda excited! It'll feel good to have some sort of schedule to my days again. I haven't even been able to keep track of what day of the week it is... everyday feels like Saturday... tough life, hey? ;)

Well those are the basics thus far. Pictures are coming, but I can't figure out how to put them on here because they've got a different file name than my other ones did. Hmmmf...

day-trip to Sydney

Went to Sydney for the first time! Began the day with a lovely stop at the absolutely delicious, Max Brenner's Chocolate Shop. So yum! I had a Banana Milk Mocha Frappe. Ohhhh yes. I didn't have those truffles in the picture, but man do they look fantastic or what?! Then we all (Kooloobongers) split up and did our own things... everyonedecided to go to a film festival, called TropFest, but Holly and I went off to meet her pal who's living in the city, Tosh. And we ended up at a Mardi Gras Gay-Lesbian fest! haha quite interesting, I assure you! This picture is only the beginning. Check out my facebook for more fabulous photos of the event... but approach with caution, and don't blame me if you don't like what you see. I only take photos of those things that catch my eye, however crazy it may be! hehe. But we really had a great time there. And I bought a lovely anklet, so now I look like a super outdoorsy Aussie, of course.

But goodness, after a long day of walking and traveling, I was quite tired indeed, so I didn't feel like doing all that much at night. Sunday nights are usually the big "going out" nights here, odd huh? And Wednesdays. Who woulda thunk it?

However, the train from Sydney conveniently let off right at Lighthouse Church, so I proceeded straight to the night service there, and I'm very glad I did. They played "You Won't Relent" by Misty Edwards, which is a keen favorite of mine. Then I met with some lovely ladies who I shall be in a Bible study with this semester, and thenn my wonderful friend, Sally, invited me to her abode for a dinner of pumpkin&zucchini&chickpea salad! nom nom.

After all of that, I came home and met my new, fantastic roomie, Desiree! She loves Jesus as well :) The house is filling up with life and happiness and I'm just lovin it. Our place is feeling homier each day, and we all get along so well (sitting in the hallway talking is a good sign I'd say).

Amen ;)

wandering

First, a few lessons in Australian slang:

swimsuit= "swimmers"
sunglasses=

"sunnies"

McDonalds= "Mackies:

"yeah"= "yer"

you're welcome= "no worries"

(and I would have to say, this is hands down, the most commonly heard phrase... i like that)
something tastes good= "mm that's so yum" or "that tastes yum"

Also, everyone loves short shorts. The shorter the better.

Young guys love to wear cut-off

shorts that are cuffed at a little below mid-thigh, and their decently tight as well. Same goes with their swimmers, minus the cuff. Oh, and they wear lots of tank tops. Not spagetti-straps, but pretty close. I don't think I like it. Their all too pretty.

Young girls, similar to the states, love to show as much skin as usual. Their shorts are giving them wedgies. And their shirts are falling off of their bodi

es. If they were naked it'd

be a lot less hassle with the we

dgie-picking and the shirt-adjusting.

Even the old men like things short.... as in speedos. So many speedos. Ewwwww...

So that's that for the lesson.

In other news, today was truly fantastic

al.

Woke up, got my hair cut (it's pretty short again hehe... it's just so freakin hot here I can't stand it to be any longer than it must be!), then I went and bought a new swimmer (it's got a map of the Pacific Islands on it, shwe

eeet. and it was cheap), and then I bolted out on my bike some more. Gosh I love her.

Speaking of my bike... she has a name now. It just suddenly

popped into my head this afternoon, as if she finally told m

e herself (haha I'm so lame, I know). But regardless, her name is Betsy. And she's one of my best friends. Maybe she finally told me because I let her come with me to Australia. I guess that's true friendship. Sorry Nesters... haha ;)

Anyways, so Betsy and I wandered up and down the coast, and I finally whipped out my camera.

Descriptions of the photos perhaps?

Well, the random man's name is Eril (weird name), and I asked him to take a picture of me by the water, like the most seasoned of tourists ought to do. He happened to be American, and he also happened to be a Rockstar rep... so I vowed to never drink Red Bull again. It wasn't a difficult promise to keep.

Then, there's my first viewing of the lovely game of Cricket, played here by a group of pre-pubescent boys. It doesn't look all that exciting... kind of a spin off of baseball, and I'm not really that big a fan of baseball. So there's goes that. I probably won't ever play the game. Just sayin.

Mmm and after a long, hot day of riding around town, all I wanted was something cold. And lo' and behold! An ice cream truck... bright pink... sitting in the parking lot at the beach. So I got me a delicious choco-dipped hazlenut gelato cone, and ate it at this neat little natural tide pool by the ocean. Until my serene moment was interrupted by an Asian mother and daughter, screaming at each other, in words that I'm rather glad I didn't understand. I moved to sit in the sand instead after that.

Oh and one of those pictures has a crab hidden in it! Do you see?! Eek!

Once at the sand, I sprinted up and down the water's edge a bit and now my calves feel like they're about to be stretched off of my body. Yay! Great feeling!

Twas a good, good day :)

to the Temple, ending with the King

Today I woke up in such a rush.Literally, got ready in about four minutes. Because I didn't want to miss the bus to go check out the Nan Tien Temple with some other Kooloobongers! It's supposedlylargest Buddhist temple in the Southern

Hemispshere... also referred to as the "Southern Paradise". Hm, I m

ean I was thinking that Fiji could be called that, but a temple? Er, okayy, I guess this lil Buddha looks like he's quite enjoyinghimself in paradise, on a fake rock, in a fake river shrine.

Anyways, it was actually really beautiful, and I feel like I learned a lot about Buddhism from our tour guide. I was feeling pretty ignorant upon entering, but after our first go of taking off our shoes and walking into the first shrine room, I felt a bit more ease because

our guide kindly answered all questions. One thing that I found especially interesting about Buddhism, is that it's centered around the

self. You don't really worship Buddha, you just perform rit

uals respecting him, and you strive to achieve his values. But it's all about you, and anyone can practice. Personally, I would feel a lot more comfortable knowing that there's something much higher than a just a really good and meditative man that I can be like and worship. Ohh

yeah... I do serve a God like that! My man, Jesus Christ. Don'tworry folks, I didn't convert. But it would be nice to go on their grounds and spend some quiet time on the rolling hills n such some time. Here's a few pictures... (takin with my iphone, so they suck). The one on the far left really captures my immaturity. He's pouring out water and it's funny (get your mind outta the gutter). And the other on the left just blows my mind! Some monks carved this out of sandlewood just like 20 years ago, so it's not quite an ancient relic. It's just terrific though. Who has that much time on their hands?! Anyways, the trip to the temple ended with some yummy fried tofu and some sort of delicious sauteed greens, so I left happy indeed. A lot of Kooloobongers seemed very interested in Buddhism, so it'll be interesting to strike some conversations on that topic soon.

Pretty soon after coming back, Holly and I decided to head to the beach.... absolutely perfect day for it! It was hot and breezy, and Fairy Meadow (local beach spot) was populated with a pleauthera of other Uni students who were thinking the same thing. After getting pummeled by the strong waves of the ocean deep, I baked out a bit, and then got bored so I went for a jog down the beach and back. My calves are sore now, but ohhh how beautiful and effortless it feels in the moment. I'm planning on doing that much much more. Nothing more liberating.

The night winded down with Holly and I making some dinner and browsing through some magazines, which we planned on cutting up and putting on our walls for a bit of decoration frenzy. However, within about four sips of wine and two flips of my mag, we had gotten a stream of Kooloobongers coming in, urging us to go out to karaoke with us. Well, peer pressure won, and we endedup going. Glad I did, because I wouldn't have wanted to miss my pal, Lulu (real name: Liam) from Ireland, singing this terrific song. I even learned how to hold a pool stick more effectively! It was a nice, chill night, finished off with some glorious Tim Tam slams (little chocolate biscuit cookies, which you bite off each end of and then use as a straw as you sip up warm tea... gooey yummy goodness), but I'm still craving to get a better night's sleep, because nomatter how late I stay up, I can't sleep in much because I feel like the birds outside my window are always yelling at me.

On another sidenote, Psalm 46 was especially encouraging today. Check it out. We've heard it all before, but let it run over you again right now like fresh rainwater after a long day of

heat. Mmm, delicious Love from the King Himself.

a mountain, goon, and a peaceful beach

I'm feeling a bit behind in my postings! Oopsiedaisy.

Yesterday I woke up with the intention of doing all sorts of errands that kinda needed to be done but weren't quite vital to my life keeping in good order. On my way to do these ever-important errands, I ran into some friends who were just about to make their way up Mt. Kiera, so me and my housemate, Holly, decided to join them! It was absolutely breath-taking. There were a lot of wooden, winding stairs, covered with vines and moss. Literally, it is a rainforest in there. Wow! I know what you're thinking... um, pictures please? I know i know, I wish I would have brought my camera too, but I didn't. Another oopsiedaisy moment. But now I'm inspired to hike up it again, even if just for the pictures. It only took us about two hours! There's a part where we climbed up a creek bed, and I really liked that, minus the fact that there were a lot of webs that we had to pick through, and one of the girls saw a snake on our way down. Eek!

Oh, and speaking of snakes: it's true that most things here are poisonous/more deadly that any bugs n such that we have in America. Good to know, eh?

So that was definitely a wonderful highlight of my day. That night a group of us went out to some of the local pubs. I must say, I feel like I'm back at IU when I'm around a lot of these students here. It's just that the bars are a heck of a lot cooler. But all everyone ever wants to do is drink. They all drink this wine cooler, like Franzia, that has been dubbed the awesome name of "Goon". It's cheap and you get drunk fast. It doesn't taste good. The guy in the picture has made his very own goon-hat. Classy, huh? haha I just don't get it, and I don't think that I ever will. Drinking is so unnecessary. And they make it the main event! Like the whole night is just about drinking more and more. Shoot, that's dumb. I would love to meet people and go and have fun with them, but if that's all that their going to do and all that they will talk about, then I'm bored, and totally disillusioned. No thank you! Luckily, I actually met one normal guy out, who also wasn't drinking, and he's a cyclist, so perhaps I can get some good routes to go on. I'm looking forward to meeting more people who are like me, but I am really grateful that I have a wonderful housemate!

So I woke up feeling a bit poopy about the former night, so I decided to make this day count. I spent some time in the Word, and was struck by Matthew 14:23 where it describes how Jesus went alone to pray. I realized how much I needed some space, and time to be alone with the Lord as well. So I hopped on my bike (so glad that I brought it over here!), and wandered my way towards the beach.

On my way, I got caught up at Uni because they had lots of brochures, free food/weird drinks, cute animals, and I met a lovely group of students from a Christian group called EFC (yay!).

And then

I got caught up downtown because there was a sale on these beautiful little sundresses, and then I had to scavenge up some food as well...

So I didn't actually end up at the beach until like 5. That was not my plan. However, it made the water smell that much sweeter, and the sun felt that much more glorious. My suit was wet when I was leaving my room in the morning, so I didn't bring it. Very unfortunate. Luckily, I had on some sporty undies and a sports bra... hehe. Nobody even noticed. Besides perhaps this creepy man named Rory who came over to my secluded spot to say that he was really hungover, thought I had nice lips, and was intrigued about what I was journaling. I didn't tell him, and I pretended to be really bored by our conversation (it wasn't hard to "pretend"). He eventually left, thank goodness. And then it was quiet. Sighhh.

I cannot even describe how great it is to be able to just hop over to the beach like that.

My soul rejoices!! ;)

I then navigated my way back home... I'm finally getting the hang of my directions here. Mostly I know that if I just ride toward Mt. Kiera, I'll find my way back, and if I go away from Mt. Kiera, I'll be at the beach. Pretty simple, really.

I am currently sipping on some warm soup, eating brie on crackers, and drinking a bit of merlot as I wait for Casablanca to finish downloading on itunes, where I rented it for cheap. This is my kinda night.

yum

Sidenote:

I love crumpets.

This here is a fantastic crumpet, egg, spinach, and asparagus brekkie (breakfast) meal ;)

Crumpets, when lathered in butter, is a surprise of butter crevices in every bite.

Ohh carbs, i love you.

Activities

Yesterday was a ball! I met a lot more Aussies n such ;)

Began the day with a stroll on my bike through the city... I'm really starting to get the hang of it I think! Of course, I've gotten lost a ridiculous amount of times, but hey, that's how you learn (right dad??).

I've discovered that I am approximately 15 minutes away from the beach, via bike.

There is a lovely little path that runs all up and down the coast, and if I were to take it as far as it goes north, I would end up in Sydney! Hopefully I can find some pals who would be willing to do that with me ;) I may not be the best cyclist, but I sure do love the scenery, and love the freedom found in riding fast and smooth!

The air is thick and it smells of salt and sand. It really does!

I went with a group from Kooloobong to this rock-climb gym, called Hangdog... it was alright. It definitely wasn't like our lovely home-gym, dear Hoosier Heights! Miss you guys! And being at this gym really made me feel inspired to be at ours more often when I get home... hint hint Audrey, Mark, and Brod!! Force me to go when I get home.

On the bright side, I got some great hints on cool places to go climb outside! There's a place called Nowra, which I am fully intending on getting my booty and my chalky hands to in the near future.

SO upon arriving back to our wonderful home of Kooloobong, we began a game of Volleyball on the huuuuge open yard of green space next to our apartments. Twas very fun! I was really craving a workout so I got super into it, super sweaty, and kinda won. But not really, because we weren't keeping score and I'm really not very good at volleyball... it just so happened that everyone else quit. Oh well, I can call it what I want, right? ;)

After the epic volleyball match (exaggeration, I assure you), a group of Kooloobongers met in the main meeting area outside, where we received some African drumming lessons from a West African man and an Australian outbacker. I would love to say that I was a pro at that as well, but I really wasn't. All I wanted to do was get up and dance! It was fun learning though!

Anyways, packed day! Good to meet more students!

Down Unda at last.

It's been quite a whirlwind the past few days...

29 hours of traveling. Ugh.

I've been here fore about four days now, and I'm finally settling in.

This is where I shall be living for the session... Kooloobong! (I love all of the happy names that everything has here)

And that's Mt. Kiera in the distance, covered with fog. The campus is really very beautiful.

Here are some notable Australian facts thus far:

1) The University of Wollongong is simply referred to as "Uni".

2) There's a bar on campus... called UniBar... is that even legal?!

3) Australians don't all say "G'day, mate!" and only like 10% of them surf. Maybe.

4) Internet is never free, and much more difficult to obtain. I feel like I'm on detox and I love it!

5) Bathrooms are always called "toilets" ("restroom" is way too formal) and they say that have to "wee"!

6) Tipping is never required.

7) Which is great, because everything is SO freaking expensive here!

8) Religion isn't a big deal, but it's also not judged upon.

9) There's a rainforest outside my front door.

10) There's also an ocean to my left.

11) Just because the men have Australian accents, does not instantly make me feel attracted to them.

12) You can walk barefoot wherever you please... even the grocery store (but I think that's crossing the line).

13) The air smells like eucalyptus and lemon and salty ocean.

14) The metric system is confusing.

15) Nobody who lives down under actually says that they live down under.

Hmm, I guess that's all I can think of right now!

But I am really enjoying my time here so far. My days have been filled with annoying errands, but now that I've gotten most of that done, I'm ready to explore. However, it's been kinda chilly and overcast the past few days, so it'll be great when all of that is gone and it feels like summer again!

I went to a lovely church yesterday, called Lighthouse, and met all sorts of wonderful new people. I'm so excited for what God has planned for this semester :)

I've also been blessed with some really great and normal housemates... so far so good!

More updates to come.

;)

The beginning of it all!

Yep, still packing. It's 1am and my flight leaves tomorrow! As long as I've got Buddy though (fuzzy thing corner of photo), then I know I will be alright, even if I've forgotten everything else.


I shall conquer this mess once and for all, so that I may awake in peace!

Location:Louisville