G’day!

Okay....so I've been in Australia a total of 5 days and can't believe the things I have seen and the people I've met! I spent the first 2 days in Jerrabomberra, a suburb of Canberra but in the state of New South Wales. The first day, my hosts tried their hardest to keep me awake by visiting Black Mountain, Parliament House, and then hosting a barbie for me with some of their friends. I finally got to be around 9 p.m. (after being awake for 36 hours) and got a good night's sleep. I had to work hard to get on Australia time! (which for you Hoosiers is 14 hours ahead!)

Sunday morning I went to mass and then had a brunch at my host family's home with another one of my team members. It was pretty good and I tried Vegemite for the first time...YUCK! Now I can say that I've tried but probably will never again! Our team then got together for the first time since arriving and took a driving tour of Canberra. We then had a quick meeting to prepare our exchange and then attended another barbie at my team leader's host family's home. There I tried Pavlova, an Australian dessert that was great!!

Monday, I took my first ever train ride that lasted 2.5 hours and brought us the small town of Bowral, in the Southern Highlands. It is absolutely beautiful here! We are in the mountains and it is such a change from the flatlands of Indiana. We were taken on a quick tour and went to a few lookouts to see a panormic view of the towns we will be visiting until we leave Friday.
On Tuesday, I went on my first vocational exchange and met with representatives from TAFE (Technical and Further Education Center) which somewhat resembles our community colleges but it still very different and a satellite campus of the University of Wollongong in Moss Vale. We also went to lunch at an English pub in Burrawang and tasted a few local beers....now I'm not a beer drinker but these were VERY GOOD! One thing I've learned is that Australians are big into beer and wine so all you lushes out there, visit Australia some day!!

Today, we visited the Berrima court house, a historical site that is no longer used. It is a beautiful sandstone building and was fascinating to be in. We also visited the Book Barm and had morning tea (this time, hot chocolate time for me!) We then gave our second presentation to the Berrima District Rotary Club and got to meet quite a few fascinating people. I can't get over nice everyone is being and how they are pretty much all welcoming us into their lives. This afternoon, we visited the Don Bradman cricket museum. Don Bradman is one of the most prolific cricket players of all time and grew up here in Bowral. There was a local high school team practicing on the field and Kay and Jessica took their turn practicing hitting the ball. It was hilarious!

On a more personal note, I'm settling in nicely with my current host family. John and Virginia are great people and I think it was kismet that I ended up staying with them. Virginia had a spinal fusion in November of 2000 (5 months after I had my 3rd surgery) and they also have a Golden Retriever named Sammy! I think he could tell immediately that I am a dog lover and has been at my feet since I got here. Kind of feels like home but no one will EVER replace my baby girl Belle.

Write more later....