Getting run over by a car is no longer a major concern of mine, finally. You would never believe how strongly the look "left, right left" before crossing the street is ingrained into your mind until you try jaywalking in foreign land. Cars drive on the left side of the road here. And it's scary, or was anyway. I was constantly grabbed by my shirt collar and yanked back to the curb by friends in a effort to save me from a trip to hospital. I would say I'm fully adjusted to that, except now when I see cars on tv it takes at least 30 seconds to figure out if it's an American car or Australian because I can't remember which side the steering wheel should be on. It's very disorienting.

The weather here is finally shaping up a bit. It's been so damn cold here. I was decieved. Apparently I should have been on the east coast first, then traveled down here when it was too hot up in Brisbane and Sydney. Oh well, you know what they say about hindsight.

I bought a frisbee and it has turned out to be one of my best investments, second only to the skinny jeans mommy bought me before I departed. I'm almost fashionable here. Scary. When the weather is nice we trek on down to a park and throw the frisbee for a bit then pop up to the chocolate shop for an iced chocolate. Yesterday I took all Jake's money in Texas Hold 'Em. Unfortunately it was really my money that I loaned him but whatever, I won.

I had a 12 hour day trip up and down the Great Ocean Road last week with Jodie OPT. We took the dog and went all the way up the coast to the famed 12 Apostles and back again. We nearly ran over 2 wallabees, saw a lamb that was literally just born, and 2 koalas on the side of the road. Or maybe it was the same one but either way that is EXTREMELY rare! It was incredible! The ocean was the most incredible color. I can't wait to get back there later in the summer and get in that water. There are a couple national parks that way too that we drove by that look amazing for camping and hiking. Perhaps even a bit of climbing if I can just find a climbing partner.

Last weekend Barlow and his brother, friends from camp, came to Melbourne for a couple days and we had a small camp reunion at Blue Bar on Chaple Street. It's unbelievable how many camp friends are here.

This week I'll be staying in a hostel in the city to try and meet some other backpackers and find new cool things to do for the next few days before some traveling begins. I've found that living out in the burbs has gotten me into a pretty lame lifestyle. My time off is during the week, when everyone else works so I don't do a whole lot. BORING. So this week, that will change.

A bunch of us are heading to the Grampians National Park or possibly Wilson's Promontory if the weather is bad up north, for the weekend. Either way I'm excited to do some hiking and swimming in the falls. Then on Tuesday Jake and I are heading to Brisbane, Byron Bay and the Sunshine Coast for 2 weeks. 7 days now....I can't wait. Those areas have a bit more outdoorsy things to do.

I've figured out that life is a bit more expensive here, but it's offset by the $15/hr minimum wage. Anyway I thought I'd give you all a little insight to prices here, if anyone is interested.

Movie (Facebook...pretty good actually): 17$
Pint o average Beer: 8-9$
Small Cafe Latte: 3.20$
Double Cheeseburger from McD's: 4.35$
Sandwich from average restaurant: 13-5$
Daily Train Ticket: 10.60$
Cold 20 oz Coke (Mr. Bill): 3-4.50$
Warm 1.5 Liter Coke: 2.29$

P.S. The chocolate here is WAY FREAKIN BETTER. And Mr. Bill, the Coke tastes different here. In fact, all the sodas and gatorades and all that business do because of sugar regulations. No high fructose corn syrup here.

That's life for now. Love and miss you all.

xx
Liz

New Beginnings

G'day everyone! Where to begin...well my first week was pretty much eaten up by jet lag. My original plan involved me passing out on a beach for a few days and wearing it off that way but I was sadly mistaken about the weather here. Turns out it actually gets cold in this country. Way to do your research, Liz. So I spent it in bed at No-e and Dub's, which is a close second to a beautiful, sun kissed beach. :)

Dub to Jake and I to Rickett's Sanctuary, which is a lush garden that winds around to sculptures of aboriginal people and scenes of the earth. It was created to address the destruction of nature at the hands of capitalism and progression.

Also we went to Phillip Island, south of Melbourne to a wildlife park where we saw all kinds of native animals and birds. We got to feed wallabies, some sort of terrifying dinosaur looking bird, Emus (not me thanks, they are worse than the dino bird), and of course KANGAROOS! There were hundreds of them just hanging out in the fields.

After the wildlife park we went to the Penguin Parade near by. Every night after sundown hundreds of Little Penguins, formerly known as Ferry Penguins (not pc), come out of the ocean and waddle in little groups back to their buroughs on land. They made there way up the beach and actually walked right by the boardwalk. I must have seen about 30 at once. So cute and little, can't be much more than 6 inches tall. Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take photos, but the memory will live on forever. :)

Our first weekend in Melbourne was the Grand Final. It's basically the Super Bowl for Australian League Football...nothing like the NFL. We took a train into the city central on Friday and happened to arrive just in time to see the parade. We had some grog (beer) at the pub and watched as thousands of people got smashed for their local team. It turns out Australian beer is stronger than American beer, which finally explains why all our Aussie friends drink the Americans under the table.

On Saturday St. Kilda played Collingwood, who has a reputation for being a bunch of bogans (white trash). Most of their fans have no teeth. No-e and Dub put on a big barbie (BBQ) for us and a load of their friends and we all sat around drinking a watching the footy on a projector Jess flogged (stole) from work. St. Kilda was predicted to get their arses (asses) handed to them but it ended in a TIE! Now in AFL if there is a tie you just play a rematch the next week. Even if it's the biggest game of the year. The only other time there has been a tie in an AFL Championship match was in the 70's. There was a strange vibe in the city the rest of the weekend. Can you imagine if the Super Bowl just ended in a tie and they said 'Right guys, well see you next week and we'll just do it all over again.' Weird. Anyway that's exactly what happened so this past Saturday the rematch was played and St. Kilda did in fact get their arses handed to them.

I started work last weekend at a cafe called Palate by Chapel St, which is a massive party scene. The area is very hip and the cafe is great. I bartended a couple night functions over the weekend and so far it has been a blast. The girls I work with a great and my one day shift was really slow. The coffee scene here is huge and since I don't drink that shit, there has been a lot to learn. I'm getting the hang of it though.

Today I started work at a hostel in Southbank, right near city central. So far it's pretty boring but hopefully it will lead to some helpful travel tips, deals, and connections in the future. I've got a phone now and the bank account is happening tomorrow.

Overall, or so far at least, Australia is really not that different from the States. Obviously the culture shock is nothing compared to my time in France. The people are really friendly and my mates from camp have helped out loads as far as sorting out jobs and places to stay and entertainment. We did however, go out last weekend with some friends and had a bit of trouble getting into the bar because the boys were wearing flannel shirts and flip flops...not classy enough for party life in Melbourne. They let us in after Greer explained that they were American and didn't know better but it was only after the bouncer said "Next time, teach your friends how to dress." :)

One other key difference that I think should really be integrated into the American lifestyle is called The Sunday Session. Sunday Sessions involve sitting outside in the sunshine (it's warmer now) and drinking with friends. It usually starts early afternoon and ends around 8ish, so you can get enough rest for work Monday. Our first Sunday Session was last weekend and it was fantastic. I am really loving it here so far.

That's it for now. I love you all and miss you and home so much! Shout out to Meghan! Happy BIRTHDAY Little Girl! I love love love you!

xx,
Elizabeth

P.S. Having some problems with my computer and internet access at the moment, will post photos as soon as I can work it out.