Beaches, Chocolate, Cheese and Wine...What Could Be Better?

Last weekend, I had the privilege of experiencing one of the rare treasures of Western Australia; that treasure being Margaret River. While I had been told by people that have studied here in the past to visit Margaret River, I really had no idea what to expect. Therefore, Jillian and I planned a trip for twelve of us to rent cars and drive Down South to explore Margaret River. After spending two hours at the car rental place dealing with miscommunication, and nearly loosing a surfboard on the freeway, we finally made it to Margaret River. Once we arrived, we checked-in, and immediately hit the town; mainly because we were hungry and everything in Australia closes around 6pm, but we couldn't wait to see the quaint town of Margs either. We had a nice dinner and relaxing night on Thursday, so we would be raring to go Friday morning. Friday we spent the day at two different beaches. We boogie-boarded and surfed at the first beach, and snorkeled/hung out at the second beach. I have been to a lot of beaches in my day, but I have never seen anything like the Margaret River beaches- they we SO unique. We were exhausted from being at the beach all day, so we went into town again for dinner, and then called it an early night. Then, Saturday, we had a nice breakfast in town at a cute local place, and then spent the rest of the day on a wine tour with our awesome bus driver Kim. Kim picked us up from our hotel and took us to four different wineries, in addition to the cheese and chocolate factories. Thus, I had many free chocolate samples, brie and wine; I was a happy camper :). I was really excited for the wine tour because since I am not legally allowed to drink in the States, I had not had much of an opportunity to try different wines. From the wine tours, I discovered that I absolutely love Chardonnay and most Sauvignon Blancs, but I detest red wines. After our amazing wine tour, we went to the beach to watch the sunset, and that was the end of our wonderful weekend in Margs. It was a great way to end our "holiday" before starting classes this week.
Yes, I actually go to school here. I was very scared at first when I walked into my first lecture of 300+ students. From this week alone, I can tell that I definitely made the right choice to go to a small school. While I think I am going to enjoy the content of my courses here a lot, I am not a fan of no interaction between professors and students--it's boring! School here is very different than Elon. We don't have a bunch of assignments throughout the semester, but our few major assignments are worth much more with much stricter grading. I do enjoy not having Friday classes, so I can go to the beach for the day :). Other than that, I'm just living a dream and will post again soon.
Cheers :)
I posted heaps more pictures (I've taken so many since I've gotten here). Here's the link:
http://s611.photobucket.com/albums/tt200/jpurcell5/Aussie%20Part%202/?albumview=slideshow

Little Creatures: The Aquarium and a Pub in Fremantle

There is never a dull moment here in Australia. We have a few hours to eat and sleep before we are off exploring somewhere else. I have experienced so much in the past 10 days that I am still trying to take it all in. Last Tuesday we drove to Yanchep National Park to continue our "orientation." While we were at Yanchep, I had the opportunity to go surfing for the first time in Lancelin. Considering, I tripped on my ankle cord while still on the beach practicing, I knew I was going to be a pro. My advisor has already pinned me as the klutz of the group. Surprisingly, I was able to get up on the board and semi ride the waves. Granted, the waves were about a half a foot high and I was more so squatting on the board, it was a success by my standards. Also, in Yanchep I saw Kangaroos and Koalas for the first time. Note to everyone, Kangaroos are not that cute in real life; they look like giant rats with long legs. Koalas on the other hand are adorable. I wanted to take one home with me. As the last part of our "orientation" we learned a little more about the aboriginal culture while at the same time learning an aboriginal dance--I was pitiful.
Since returning from Yanchep, we have been on our own free to do whatever we want until classes start next Monday. We have pretty much gone to a different beach everyday, and explored various areas around Perth. On Saturday it was very overcast, so we decided to venture to the famous Aquarium of Western Australia. It took us two buses and two trains to get there, but we made it. The Aquarium was rather small, but still pretty neat. One part of the Aquarium consisted of a giant tank that was built around a conveyor belt that you went around on looking at different animals, mainly sharks; I was not a fan of having sharks swim over my head! I also got to see all the jellyfish that are at all the beaches I've been going to, which is really comforting. Although I enjoyed the Aquarium, our adventure to Fremantle is by far my favorite thing I've done thus far. I would describe Fremantle as the Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA of Australia. It is such a cute historical town..I LOVE it! If I could live in Australia, Fremantle is where I would live. There are a bunch of markets and cute shops in town, and a beautiful beach surrounding it. We did a little shopping in Fremantle (Freo is what Aussies call it) and then we experienced our first "Sunday Sesh." The biggest culture shock I've experienced since arriving in Perth is the amount of drinking Aussies partake in; they drink everyday!! They enjoy challenging Americans to drinking contests because they think it is funny to kick our butts. Anyway, Sunday is a big drinking day for Aussies. I told my Aussie roommate Meegan that I am used to doing heaps of homework and having a bunch of meetings on Sundays, and her response was, "we should probably do that, but we are too lazy and we would rather drink." So, for my first "Sunday Sesh" we went to this pub in Freo called Little Creatures, which is my new favorite bar/pub. They brew their own beer and cider there, which is pretty tasty :). Plus, the pub looks out on the harbor, which is pretty beautiful as well. I could definitely get used to "Sunday Seshes." I feel as though I still have a lot to learn about the Aussie lifestyle. I adore my Aussie roommates and friends I have made. In fact, a big group of us are renting a van and driving down to Margaret River this weekend for yet another adventure. Margaret River is most known for the abundance of wineries in the area; so we will definitely be going on a wine tour, in addition to seeing the caves and hanging out at the beach. I live a pretty rough life here if you can't tell :).

I've uploading heaps more pictures, and will post again soon. I miss Ya'll!!
http://s611.photobucket.com/albums/tt200/jpurcell5/?albumview=slideshow

You Can Hold on to Your Jumper

After 38 hours of flying and being in airports, my luggage and I finally made it to Perth! As I waited in line in customs getting my luggage scanned, a sweet, old, Australian man told me I could hold onto my jumper. Needless to say, I was very confused because I have not worn a jumper since about 1st grade, but he in fact was referring to my sweatshirt. After being in Australia for two days, I have quickly found out that while this is an "English" speaking country, some of the words/phrases over here are completely foreign to me. After our advisor picked us up at the airport, we had just enough time to check-in to our hotel and shower before hitting the streets of downtown Perth. Where was the very first place I went in Australia? Of course, the BYOWS (Bring Your Own Wine and Spirits Store). Our advisor had each of us pick up a bottle of wine to take with us to dinner. I bought my first bottle of wine legally--it was very eliberating. Then we enjoyed a delicious meal downtown, and afterwards were introduced to Australian nightlife. Simply put, it was an incredible first night down under. Today I moved into my flat, which I must say is rather cute; it is almost like a beach condo, except we are not quite on the beach. As of now it is just Kendal and I, and our other 4 roommates are coming within the next few days, none of which are Americans. Tomorrow (Monday, I'm a day ahead here) we have a full day of orientation activities, and then Tuesday we leave to go the "the brush" where we will go surfing, see kangaroos, learn aboriginal dances and other things of the sort. All in all, it should be a pretty amazing first week. It is still surreal to me that I am even here. Perth is absolutely georgeous, Aussies are incredible friendly, and I forsee this as being a remarkable 5 months.

Here is a link to a few pictures from the past two days. I stole them from Ally because I haven't uploaded my own pictures yet. I will post again soon, with more pictures of my room and me attempting to surf, haha.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=335633652210.571532215210.1234095601121&page=1&sort_order=0&navfolderid=0&folderid=0&ownerid=0

Cheers :)