Coming to an end...

Readers:

I apologize for not posting in a while. I have been staying incredibly busy with numerous assignments. Luckily I turned my last assignment before finals (a Theology paper describing the significance of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ according to St. Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and Karl Rahner) on Friday. These past three weeks have been busy with presentations and research papers. I can now take a breath! :)

Where has the time gone? We are already in week twelve of the semester, with next week being the last week of classes. Although I believe I have learned a lot over my time here, there is so much more I want to learn and experience.

Next Saturday (June 4th) a group of Americans and myself are flying up to Phuket, Thailand for a few days. We will leave Perth on Saturday and return on Thursday. I have never been to Asia, let along an Occidental (not Westernized) country. I have heard a lot of things about Thailand, both good and bad. I will keep you all posted with my next blog. It will indeed be quite an experience.

Also, even though the semester is coming to an end, I am not coming back to the states for a little while. Instead of coming back to the states and "bum" around for a while, I have decided to stay in Australia for the month of July and volunteer in a remote Aboriginal community. My lecturer for my Aboriginal people course has hooked me up with a group up there. Likely, I will be working with the Yiriman Project and the Kimberly Aboriginal Law and Cultural Centre. Here is the link:

http://www.kalacc.org.au/


I will likely be staying in Fitzroy Crossing for a portion of time in a house with other volunteers. I will also be staying in the "bush" (the outback/desert/nothing, etc.) for a period of time. I will probably be working with at-risk youth. The project hopes to bring Aboriginal children into the bush to reintegrate them into the culture to show them where they came from. I will be driving the kids around, as well as helping with the different events. Should be an eye-opening experience. Again, I will keep you all posted.

Here is a picture of me after surfing. I just got a new tattoo on my right shoulder blade. Its a cross in a heart in a cross. The symbol has much meaning to me. In eighth grade I received a little "cross in my pocket" at church. It is simply a little piece of wood with a prayer on one side and the symbol on the other. Each morning and night I kiss my little piece. Since I have had the chip for about seven years, the woods is becoming very faded and cracked. I cherish it very much. Also, the tattoo, in a sense, marks my time here in Australia. I am very happy with it. No doubt.

As you can tell, I have had a wonderful experience here. In all honesty, I really do miss my family and friends back at home. I try to call my parents whenever I can. 

Well that is it for now. I will post later. Bye.  xoxoxo

An Incredible Easter Holiday Break!

Hello readers:

I cannot even describe the past week. Unfortunately I can barely do any justice to my experiences while here in Australia. No matter how hard I try to convey my thoughts, it is near impossible to express the emotional feelings behind my times here.

As you may know, I have been on my Easter holiday break. One word. Incredible. My break was from April 22nd to today (May 1st). A lot of the other Americans here went roadtripping up north for the entire week. Unfortunately because of my work schedule, I did not have the luxury in joining them. Although I could not go with the whole group up north, I definitely made the most of my time.

While everyone was gone, there were not many people around the dorms. I spent a lot of time with Kyle (from Iona) and Greg (from Cabrini). They also did not go on the long road trip. I also spent a lot of time with my host family, the Bakers. Oh how giving they are!

I spent most of Easter with the Baker family. They took me to church at the local Basilica and then we all went out for a nice lunch at a great restaurant in Fremantle. Meeting up with all of the aunts, uncles, cousins etc., we ended up staying at the restaurant for about four hours, eating, drinking, and socializing. Quite the treat. After the time at the restaurant, we all decided to go to a bar near by. Again, such a giving family. I am blessed to have them.

On Monday was ANZAC day, which is Australia New Zealand Army Corp day. This holiday is like a combination between Memorial Day and July 4th.  I woke up early (4:30 AM) to attend the dawn service with some other friends. There were about 2,000 people at the Fremantle dawn service. Later that day, the Bakers brought me down south to a family member's barbeque, again eating and drinking plenty.

On Tuesday me and Kyle and Greg went to the Orient, the bar right below our hotel. I met an absolutely incredible Australian girl. Very nice indeed. We talked, drank, danced, and had tons of fun. Hopefully we see each other in the future again. I am sure we will.

Worked Wednesday at the Australian souvenir shop. That night we all went to Clancy's Fish Pub for Bingo Night. Out of the three games, the Americans won two! We won 50 dollars in gift vouchers, two bottles of wine, two bottles of cider, and a bunch of candy. Best part: Bingo was free.

Worked Thursday. Went to Fast and Furious with some friends at the local cinema. Took it easy that night.

Here is where it gets really good: Margaret River. We took our coach bus down to Margaret River Friday afternoon. Forty dollars round trip! Margaret River is the most visited tourism place in Western Australia. Margaret River is known for its many wineries, vineyards, breweries, and massive waves. We pulled into Margaret River late Friday night and got settled into the hostel. Quite a nice hostel too! We then went out to a local bar. Great, great fun! In the end, we didn't get back to the hostel until 3:00 AM. Good fun!

On Saturday the wine tour company picked us up. We toured and tasted three wineries, one distillery, one brewery, one chocolate factory, and one cheese factory. We ate and drank a lot of good things indeed! Got done with the tour (pictures to come later), took a nap, ate dinner, and met up with some other people from the hostel.

We met two fascinating girls from France, one Canadian girl, one girl from New Zealand, two girls from Japan, one guy from Germany, one guy from Ireland, and one super cool guy from Melbourne, Harle.

Our group really clicked and had such a great time. Harle, being on business in Perth, was so generous. He really showed us a great time. He drove us around in the company car, bought food and drinks for us, and just was so hospitable. We hope to meet up next month once he gets to Perth again.

Today we went on a little road trip to about three beaches at Margaret River. The waves were huge, being about 12 feet high! Just a few weeks ago actually Margaret River hosted some premier surf competition for the professionals. I haven't seen many waves, but these are by far the biggest. We also went to a little national park, followed by another winery for afternoon tea. Harle was so hospitable he drove us back to Fremantle from Margaret River. Having said that, we can get a refund for the bus!

I am now back at school getting ready for the rest of the semester. I have many assignments due. I think I will manage though.

Thanks for reading. Bye.