Call Me Dorothy, but There’s No Place Like Home!

This is it. The last post! I’ll start off thanking those of you who took the time to read my words. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed keeping you updated on my adventure! I hope you got SOMETHING out of it…or at least feel the desire to go to Australia!

I’ve been home for two weeks now! I have spent a lot of time….sleeping. Jet lag sucks. Regardless, it has been great to be home. I LOVE MY BED. Sadly, being away for four months means I have had to acclimate to my dog again – turns out I’m allergic to him. Ha! Sneezes galore! I have, to the slight chagrin of my family, been madly plunking on the piano. Turns out I’m pretty rusty (and I wasn’t great to begin with). My wardrobe since coming home has consisted of wool socks, long-sleeved shirts, and boots. And my down coat. And my wool scarf. AND JEWELRY. When my grandma died in April, I chose to keep one of her cameo necklaces. I absolutely love wearing it (especially when people ask where I got – “It was my grandma’s!”), so I didn’t want to risk wearing it to Australia. It’s been nice to incorporate some of my regular jewelry back into my wardrobe. I’ve been able to visit with friends, see movies with my family, go to church… It’s all very pleasant. I’m also getting very excited to return to school. Two of my best friends and I found out we’ll be dorm neighbors in the building we wanted; I’m excited about my classes; and I’m going to be doing so much singing I might puke. Which I love. (Singing, not puking. I hate that.)

Over a month ago now, during out last meeting as a group, Peter warned us about coming back to the States and acclimating to being home. I kind of poo-poo’ed it. He said people might ask how Australia was, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean they would want a play-by-play of every minute. To avoid being disappointed from people’s only polite interest, he suggested coming up with a few good sentences to summarize what we did in Oz. He also cautioned us about not feeling “special” anymore. In Australia, being a young American made me stand out (especially with the accent — even if it was mistaken for Canadian!). He suggested it might be hard to become part of the normal crowd again. So, with all this, I still didn’t think I would have a hard time. And, I really haven’t. Sort of. But let’s be real: there have been so many times I have thought, “Oh, this wouldn’t happen in Australia…” (Such as BLIZZARDS followed by 50 degree [Fahrenheit] rainy weather – come on, New England! Get your act together!) I notice little things that remind me I spent the last few months somewhere different. For instance, the garbage cans here are bigger. At least I’m almost sure they’re bigger. I thought, “Does this reflect the overconsumption of America?! They could be smaller if we composted… Why am I analyzing garbage cans?” Food in the grocery store has also become fascinating for me. With so many Australia products in Australia, I thought, “I wonder how many products are actually made in the States?” And you know, there are not tons. We get a lot of stuff from Mexico, Chile, Italy…and of course California and Florida where they can grow stuff in the winter. I guess I’m looking at things with a post-Australia lens. I’ve adopted little habits as well. I find myself looking the wrong way when I cross the street, which is especially troublesome when driving for the first time in months. After a few close encounters in Oz, I became quite accustomed to looking right, left, right before crossing; this is dangerous in good ole Connecticut! Whenever I go in the basement or the garage of my house, I instinctually do a spider check to make sure a huge huntsman isn’t lurking in a corner. Then I remember it is frigid outside, and what would they be doing here this time of year? (…and if there was a spider, he wouldn’t be a huntsman or nearly as big as one…) The bummer about being away for so long was I had doctor and dentist appointments (and still have a dermatologist appointment) BOOM! one right after the other. When filling out the forms, I had to think about how to write the date. In Australia, the first number is the day of the month rather than the month. It would take an extra second or two to write the date after becoming so used to writing it in Australian fashion! Perhaps the most jarring things to happen to me are to hear songs I associate with Australia playing here. There are a few favorites of mine that I will forever associate with Australia:

Riptide

Royals

Wake Me Up

Nothing Really Matters

Patty Griffin songs like this one

I love when one plays on my phone and I can drift down memory lane and consider where I was in Australia when I listened to the song…. Those who have encountered me have had to deal with many  “When I was in Australia…” stories. As the two weeks have gone on, I find myself telling my family little random stories about the time my roomies and I accidentally bought cabbage instead of lettuce, or that time I encountered a huge spider on my way to the bathroom every night and decided to name him “Peter Parker” to try and make him less scary (which actually worked pretty well). So. Clearly there’s still a part of my brain that’s not entirely back in the States, but I don’t think this is a bad thing. After such an experience, I’m happy to hold those memories with me, if anything as a reminder that there is a world outside the U.S.

Well, I’ll stop my rambling, but before I do, I have to mention the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it! It’s one of the movies my family and I have seen since coming home, and it hit close to home after having an adventure (not-so-secret life, perhaps?) of my own. I could identify with the main character in many ways. (It also made me want to go to Iceland.) The quote and theme of the movie was, “To see the world, things dangerous to come, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

And now I’ll come to a close. Kitty Blankie, which you may remember I was reluctant to take, made it home in one piece, as did I. Australia feels like a dream since I’ve come back to reality, but it’s been one I will never forget! If anything, it has sparked a desire in me to explore more places and to connect with different people, yet also has helped me see the value of home and keeping close bonds there as well. Like Walter Mitty, I saw (some of) the world and felt new things, which is, indeed, the purpose of life. No complaints there!

THE END. 🙂

The Australia Adventure: Family Edition

As Judy Collins sang, “Who knows where the time goes?” During my time in Australia, there were honestly times when the days dragged; however, more often they slipped by before I could really grasp the fact that they were passing. My family arrived in Australia on the 15^th, and it has been a whirlwind of activity since they got here. The ten days before their arrival were great – I spent nice time with my homestay “gran” and the rest of Colin’s (mom’s pen pal!) family, as well as reconnected with a friend in Melbourne! I spent glorious time napping and reading – I managed to finish the book I was reading, read all of Kite Runner, and begin another. Yet I couldn’t wait for my family to get here. Colin took me to pick them up at the airport, and I quickly spotted my dad in the baggage claim, thus (<fancy word choice, eh?) ending my “solo Hayes” adventure and beginning what I like to call “The Australia Adventure: Family Edition.”

Melbourne

To keep the family awake that first day, we met with Colin’s family for dinner in Chinatown. Dinner was not only delicious, but it was a crazy 25(ish)-year pen pal reunion for my mom and Colin. To explain why she hugged Colin before me in the airport, she pointed out that it had been over 20 years since seeing him, and she had seen me the day before on Skype. (Touché, Mom, touché.) So. Dinner was great. And the family fell asleep within five minutes of returning to our hotel room.

The next day, I played tour guide and suggested we meet up with homestay gran for lunch so my family could meet her and spend time with her. Dad braved driving windy roads, and we had a nice lunch, as well as saw the Puffing Billy train — a famous tourist attraction!

The next day, Colin and his son took us to the Healesville Sanctuary where the family got to see all sorts of native animals. We really liked the bird show, even when a Barking Owl swooped close to our heads making Mom scream (and embarrassing me). The family was thrilled to see the kangaroos of course. I was excited to finally see a platypus and a Tasmanian devil! On the way home, we stopped at a game of cricket where Colin explained the game to my parents. Mason and I played on the playground. Typical.

LOOK AT THOSE EYES.

My favorite part of the Melbourne trip (family edition) was when Colin and one of his daughters took us to Wilson’s Promontory. It was nearly a three-hour drive from the hotel to the southern tip of Victoria, but it was worth it. The sites were among the most beautiful I have seen since being here. We went on a hike and ended up at a lovely beach. After lunch, Colin’s daughter and I played in the waves (Dad played for a few minutes), Mason played in the sand as usual, and Mom and Colin talked. It was great. Then we parted ways with Colin (after thanking him for everything he and his family had done for us!) and drove back to Melbourne.

Some highlights:

We rented a car, and Dad braved driving on the opposite side of the road. Colin kindly showed us to our hotel after getting the family from the airport, but coming back from our lunch with “Gran” the next day, we got into a bit of trouble. Driving in Melbourne would be tricky even if we were driving on the usual side of the road. Melbourne’s tram system, though convenient for tram-users, requires cars to do a “hook turn,” which is code word for tricky-right-hand-turn-that-requires-a-local’s-explanation-because-the-signage-does-not-explain-it-well-at-all-and-almost-gets-the-American-family-rammed-by-a-tram-and-shunned-by-local-drivers-honking-their-horns. Well, at one point we were going along, and, while he was trying to avoid getting too close the tram on our right, Dad accidentally smacked the s*** out of the passenger (left-hand) mirror on a passing garbage truck. OOPS. We pulled over to check out the damage, and the garbage truck driver didn’t even realize we had hit them, yet our mirror was cracked. Badly. Well, to add to the bad luck, we got a bit too close to a parked car again (damn tram!) and smacked the mirror again, which resulted in the complete loss of the glass. OOPS. The GPS (appropriately named “Sheila”) tried to make us turn right when we avoided the dreaded hook turn that would have taken us to our hotel, but what Sheila failed to realize was that said right-hand turn was not okay during rush hour, which was when we were trying to turn. We sat for two lights waiting for the “no right-hand turn” sign to change, then realized it wasn’t going to change. While patiently waiting, we noticed a police car pull up behind us. Bad news. When the light didn’t change, Dad pulled back into normal traffic and tried to act casual. BUSTED. The police car flashed its lights, and we had to pull over. Luckily the policewoman was just wondering why we were trying to turn right at that intersection at that time of day. We explained our situation, she gave Dad a breathalyzer (which we realized later is just procedure – not what happens when you’re missing a passenger mirror), she explained the hook turns, and she sent us on our merry way. I closed my eyes for the rest of the drive and thought of a happy place till we got to the hotel. Needless to say, the Hayes family made it back in one piece — though the same can’t be said about the mirror.

Aside from car drama, there have been some great Hayes family discoveries. Mom, it turns out, loves the Aussie “bickie” Tim Tams. Her usual Chips Ahoy craving has been turned, for the time being, to Tim Tams. Mr. Mason has discovered his chocolate milk equivalent in the form of iced chocolate, which is basically chocolate milk with ice cream. As if this weren’t enough, I created a monster in introducing the kid to Cadbury chocolate bars. He asks for them frequently. As for Dad, he has discovered the hard truth about Australian coffee: there is no drip coffee!! Therefore 5 dollar lattes (another hard truth) have become his friend.

I’ve had fun explaining some vocabulary to the family as well. One of my favorite Aussie phrases is “Good on ya!” My original homestay mum in Lismore would say this to me fairly often, so it holds a dear place in my heart. (You may also remember Bruce the Shark using the phrase in Finding Nemo. Look it up!) I’m working on incorporating the phrase into the fam’s normal speech patterns. Stay tuned on that. Aside from my favorite phrase, I explained the Aussie tendency to nickname things and shorten them. For instance, Christmas is tenderly known as “Krissy”; a cooler is an “eskie”; Tasmania is “Tassie”; biscuits (or cookies) are, as mentioned earlier, “bickies.” Good stuff.

Sydney

Our first day in Sydney was wicked hot. We made our way to the Opera House and wound our way through the Botanical Gardens, but I’ll be honest: it was a little miserable. We may or may not have spent the afternoon napping in our air-conditioned hotel room watching some Laverne and Shirley and Happy Days reruns/reading in bed.

The next day we did a double decker hop-on-hop-off bus tour, reminiscent of the ones in New York (though without a human tour guide, which was a little disappointing – recordings aren’t as fun!). We took the bus to Darling Harbour and had a nice time walking around and checking out the stores and restaurants. We returned that evening for carols, a nice dinner, and fireworks over the harbor! I love any opportunity to do “Krissy” activities, even if they lack snow!

The following day we took our bus tour to Bondi Beach. We plopped our hotel towels (shhh) on the beach and observed everyone else for a bit. The beach itself was fairly packed; there were lots of people between the flagged areas playing in the ocean waves, as well as tons of surfers waiting for a nice break. The parents wanted to sit and observe, soak up some sun, and Mason wanted to play in the sand (AS USUAL). So….I decided to brave the waves on my own. Those waves were HUGE and there were SOOOO many people around me. I definitely got spoiled in Byron playing in medium-sized waves in the company of my friends. After getting tossed around (into strangers) for awhile, Dad joined me, and we bobbed above the waves and ducked below the crashing ones together for a bit. We were all quite tired when we finally got back to the hotel, but the family humored me and walked to St. Mary’s Cathedral that evening. Homestay Gran had told me about the Christmas projections shown on the front of the church the nights leading up to Christmas, so I wanted to see for myself! I was not disappointed, and the family was impressed with what they saw. I couldn’t believe the crowd that gathered, but we all watched in awe at the different scenes playing out on the church. Very Christmas spirit-y.

The next morning was an early one where we caught our bus tour to the Blue Mountains. This was my doing. I was supposed to visit the Blue Mountains with my study abroad program, but we weren’t able to when the weather was poor. So I got to do the Blue Mountains Adventure: Family Edition. Our bus driver was very informative and seemed to like his job, but he upset me early on when he talked about rising sea levels being natural processes, “regardless of what the news says.” While there may be an element of natural processes involved, he seemed to insinuate that climate change had nothing to do with it. Therefore I did not feel super guilty when I fell asleep during the bus ride. (I JUST LOVE TO SLEEP.) Our tour took us to a little town named Leura, as well as a place called Scenic World, which was, yup, very scenic. We saw the Three Sisters, a famous rock formation with an Aboriginal story associated with it. (The bus driver told us the tale, and rather than ending it with an aura of mystery to let us think about it, he suggested if we believed the story that he had some property he was looking to sell us – basically that we would be foolish to believe the story. I was not impressed with Mr. Bus Driver. It seemed very rude to make the story sound foolish!) After Scenic World, we saw an Aboriginal presentation, which was a little reminiscent of the Welcome to Kuntri experience my group participated in in Byron early in September. The Aboriginal men invited men to join them in an emu dance, and Dad got wrangled into doing it. Mom, Mason and I were all very surprised when he actually did it! And of course we were very proud of our emu. After the presentation, we got to look out at Echo Point to see some more beautiful scenery. Mom said it reminded her of the Grand Canyon – but with lots of trees in place of canyon! It was breathtaking. One of the highlights of the day was going to Featherdale Wildlife Park to see native animals. Luckily we’d seen them all in Melbourne with Colin, so we were able to go straight to the interactive koala and kangaroo section. We got a family picture with a koala, and Mason and I had a blast feeding and petting the ‘roos.  I was brave and also fed an emu! (Not my dad.) After our animal encounters, our bus dropped us at a ferry, which took us to Darling Habour where we had dinner. It was a long, but very productive day.

Three Sisters

Our last full day in Sydney was a big day for Dad. Before coming to Australia, he had mentioned wanting to do a Sydney Habour Bridge Climb. I told him I would do it, even though the thought terrified me. When push came to shove, he decided the price wasn’t worth it if he was going to be pushing Mason and me into doing it rather than us wanting to do it of our own volition. He then decided not to do it either. Well we all knew he really wanted to do it, so Mom pushed him to buy a ticket for himself, which we did. And he loved it. He was so excited to suit up and climb, and Mom, Mason, and I waved as we went to climb. The three of us did our own bridge climb and walked across the bridge, which was a little scary for us. On the other side, Mom took Mason and me to Luna Park, which is a little amusement park/carnival. She indulged us and bought us a few tickets to ride some rides, and Mason and I found a roller coaster named “Wild Mouse,” reminiscent of the similarly-named ride at Lagoon, our amusement park in Utah. That was a rickety roller coaster, and I was convinced our car was going to come off the tracks, but we got a nice picture out of it and had a fun time. We all met back up with Dad and heard about his little adventure, and we told him about ours. For dinner, we had a nice Christmas Eve meal at the top of the Sydney Eye. I tried to get Mason to try kangaroo, but he wouldn’t budge. I enjoyed some pumpkin (in case I can’t find an equivalent in the States), as well as my last legal glass of rosé before I turn 21 at home.

…in closing…

Needless to say, it’s been a jam-packed ten days with the family. It has been fun to see them experience the country where I’ve been living for over three months and get a taste of what I’ve experienced. Yet it was a great new chapter to the Australian adventure and like its own mini vacation!

I’m posting this from the Sydney Airport (because wifi has been SO limited – heaven help me), and I can’t believe the time has come to actually leave Australia. We’re off to Hawaii next, and then we’ll be back home on the 28^th (not the 27^th like I thought – oops!). I am excited to go home. I’ve missed family friends and church friends. I’ve missed my dumb dog. My bed. Fires in the fireplace. Playing (/plunking on) the piano. EXERCISING. Unlimited internet and Netflix access. Even the snow (but don’t tell anyone). I have lots of things I’m looking forward to, like doctor/dentist/dermatologist appointments within two weeks (that’s a joke, I’m not excited about any of those). I’m really excited to be reunited with my friends at school and get back in the swing of singing in all of my free time. My next adventure will be to Tokyo in March with choir. I’ll also be planning for the summer, as well as whatever senior year at Vassar will hold! Lots of things. Good, good things.

But I’ll miss Australia. I have so many places I have yet to visit and so desperately want to see, like Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef and Perth. Yet I also have many now-familiar places where I’ll want to return, like good ole Lismore and Tassie and cute towns in Victoria! Luckily I have some connections here now! The people I’ve met have been wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for more lovely Australians to support me while I was here. As I said at the beginning of this (very long) post, Colin drove me to pick up my parents from the airport. As we were driving, we had a nice discussion about homesickness and the matter of “home.” He talked about my finding a bit of Grandma at Homestay Gran’s house, therefore finding a bit of myself on the opposite side of the world. He compared these pieces of ourselves to horcruxes, which, if you’ve read Harry Potter, you’ll know is a bit of your soul. J.K. Rowling describes creating a horcrux as one of the darkest forms of magic, but don’t let this description (and the fact that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, the darkest wizard of all time, was one to create and use them) overshadow this bit of insight. What I got out of Colin’s comparison was that “home” is always going to be “home.” It’s okay to feel homesick, but know that one can always go home and feel that comfort by returning there. Yet still go out in the world and explore it. In doing so, one may come across parts of themselves they didn’t know were out there. I expected a Mom connection in Australia, but I had no idea I would find such a Grandma connection. It was like I was meant to stay with Homestay Gran and make that connection. My grandma’s gifts were physical proof of a connection, but the key is to find spiritual bonds as well. Having experiences in new places forces one to think about where they come from and why they are the person they are. So, I’ll miss Australia because now there is a bit of me here. It isn’t “home,” but I know a part of my being will be here because of the places I’ve seen and the people I’ve met. Thanks to all!

Grandma in Unexpected Places

I know I only posted a few days ago, but…I have more time now than I’ve had for three months. 🙂

Yesterday, Mom’s pen pal, Colin, very kindly picked me up at the airport and shuttled me to his mum’s house outside Melbourne. On the drive there, he excitedly pointed out Melbourne landmarks (a silly ferris wheel, for instance) and discussed plans for when my family gets here in a week and a half. He also gave me a few letters he found that my mom sent him in the ’80s! Of course I was very excited to see them — I love these kinds of things. For her sake, I won’t go into detail about what they said, but I found them highly amusing (bands were mentioned, as well as high school sports drama — among other things). In addition to Mom’s letters, there was one letter my grandma sent to Colin’s mum. Grandma had written a few pages and there was only the last page in the envelope, but let me tell you: seeing her familiar handwriting in a foreign place was a very surreal feeling, and I got goosebumps reading it. Seeing Mom’s letters caused a similar feeling, but it was like discovering something new about my grandma. She’s been gone over seven months now, and there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought of her. Reading the letter, I could hear her voice in my head. She talked about my grandpa and going to their cabin in the mountains, something they loved to do. The highlight, though, was hearing her talk about none other than my dad. She sent the letter recently after my parents got married, and she wrote of how kind my dad was (….still is) and how happy Mom was (…she still is). Grandma was always a big fan of my dad…

I had dinner with Colin’s mum that evening. I told her about my experiences from the past few months and spoke of home, and she told me about her family. She also told me about gifts my grandma gave her when Colin and his family visited the States in the ’80s. She went and found them for me to see. One gift was for holding napkins or sewing materials. She also showed me two flowery placemats my grandma had made from blue and white yarn. I couldn’t help but touch them and imagine my grandma handling them many years ago, before I was even born. I can even picture the room in the house where she probably worked on them. Colin’s mum said we could keep them on the table as a little reminder of my grandma.

I came to Australia wanting to connect with my mom’s history here, but it looks like there was unexpected Grandma connection here as well. I’m sure glad I brought Kitty Blankie… It seems right to have it in this place where other Grandma creations are dwelling!

All My Life’s a Circle

Pete Seeger’s “Circles” song has been stuck in my head for the past few days. It has come from rejoining my group at the end of my Independent Study Period! With the program drawing to a close, I have started thinking about what kind of a person I was when I began and what kind of a person I am now. Certainly changed – hopefully for the better. But more on that in a bit! My last week of ISP, I wrote up my big paper and prepared for my oral presentation. Writing the paper was a bit rough, but luckily I had to keep a work journal throughout the internship, and this actually proved helpful in writing the paper. Citations nearly did me in. (I HATE THEM. Damn plagiarism.) I had a few really late nights trying to make good progress on the paper, which resulted in some late-night personal dance parties to stay awake. Eventually I finished and got the paper bound by a very kind gentleman running a very small print shop in the middle of town. He congratulated me on my work and my parents’ investment in orthodontia – he liked my smile. Therefore I liked him. 😉

During this time, I also had to say goodbye to the wonderful people I had met while living in Lismore for the past month. It was difficult. I know I said I was homesick a few blog posts ago, but…as I knew I would, I really came to like where I was. I actually shed tears when I parted ways with my original homestay mum. She gave me a pat and a hug, told me I was a good person and that we would keep in touch. (I love her, guys.) My Knitting Nanna Against Gas delivered my “Chook Against Gas,” and I waved goodbye as she drove away. My advisor and I had a nice bonding moment when she took me to see the new Hunger Games movie. (“This is intense!” she whispered during the movie. I nodded in agreement!) For Thanksgiving, my friend and I went to our adopted homestay parents’ home for dinner where we ate a delicious meal…for which I was very thankful! The last day I was in town, I had a “cuppa” (mocha!) at my favorite café in town, Goanna Bakery, with one of the women I had worked with for the past few weeks. My last bit of time spent at my “home” before leaving to meet up with my group, I played with the five-year-old girl. (I had to say goodbye to the boy in the morning before he went to school – sad!) She liked the slinky toy I had given to her and her brother, so we played a game she made up, which inevitably resulted in my losing. She also discovered a love of taking pictures with my camera, so of course we had a photo shoot. My actual departure was a bit rushed, but I hugged my adopted family, thanked them for everything, and went on my way. It is amazing how after one month I had started feeling much more comfortable in my little environment with my little Australian family. I liked the dinner routine, watching Shaun the Sheep and Adventure Time, eating toast before bed…  Since reconvening with the group, we have already experienced a lot. First off, it was fun to reconnect with everybody I had not seen for a month! Considering how many people I had met and the experiences I had gained, I could only imagine what everyone else experienced. Our oral presentations were a wonderful opportunity to see this. Everybody did such a great job talking about their research (walkability of an area, dingoes, sustainable beer…), their internships (community gardens, rainforest regeneration, blogging for One Million Women…), and creative projects (creative writing, songwriting, journalism….). All good stuff. All very inspiring. I was so proud of everyone! I thoroughly enjoyed giving my presentation, if you can believe it. I was a bit nervous, but having gone to a performing arts school for high school, I like to look at presenting like a performance. This helps – I put on my performer face and act as though I’m not scared! I clutched my Chook Against Gas and gave a very condensed version of what I had been doing for the past month. My favorite part was talking about the interviews I had conducted and what I got out of them (so much!!). After our second day of presentations, we got up early the next morning to return to Byron to go sea kayaking. I was SUPER excited to do this. I knew I would be better at kayaking than I was at surfing all those weeks ago! It was incredible. Byron Bay is known for being a favorite whale and dolphin hangout. I wasn’t all that optimistic about seeing any sea critters.  Oh, how wrong I was!! Curious dolphins approached our group of kayaks. As the emerged from the water, I could hear them breathing. They were within fifteen feet of my kayak partner and me – maybe closer. I was just in shock! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! The experience left me speechless and feeling much more connected to this huge mass of water around me. I have always considered myself a “mountain person” having grown up in the Salt Lake Valley, making connecting with the great and powerful ocean more difficult. After this, though, how can one not feel some sort of connection to the water? Riding the waves into shore (and getting tipped over in the process) was thrilling and exciting. Kayking in the ocean is so different from kayaking on a lake…or Long Island Sound… I loved it.  The following day we had a free day in Lennox, which involved sleeping in (…till 7:30 – whoa!). In the evening we had a goodbye picnic, which proved to be quite enjoyable. It started at 6, and we stayed till nearly 10 talking to our fellow peers and SIT staff (who we all simply adore). We took great pictures in our matching orange t-shirts and laughed about certain events from the past semester. It was wonderful! Today, our last day, we returned to the Crab, which was where our camping orientation was held. This was when Pete Seeger’s “Circles” song began running through my head. The last time I was in the space, I was very homesick and very paranoid about spiders and snakes. I was anxious about the future and wondering why I had decided to take on such a big adventure. I had no idea what I wanted to do for my ISP project and worried I would be a complete failure. Well. I can say I am in a bit of a different place now. I am still slightly homesick, but I am seeing my family in t-minus ten days. I also love Australia. Love it. As for the spiders and snakes, I still don’t love them, yet I have realized my fears of them were slightly irrational. My spider encounters, while fairly numerous, were not lethal. If anything, they proved amusing after the fact, and I even came to admire them in some odd way. I did not encounter a snake in all my camping experiences, which was lucky on my part. I can say taking on the adventure of living in Byron, playing in big ocean waves, hiking in Tassie, camping with Aboriginals, and taking action with environmental activism groups has proved rewarding, to say the least. My ISP project came through, and I had an amazing experience. I feel like I have become more independent and definitely more confident. Before coming here, I felt I knew who I was, and this whole study abroad thing heightened that awareness. I wouldn’t change a thing about it…and I wouldn’t change a thing about myself either. I am proud to know what I am capable of as well as being able to acknowledge my limitations. I cannot wait to put this newfound knowledge to good use in the future. When my group gathered in the Crab, Peter had us gather in a circle (“All my life’s a circle…”). Eshana joined us, which was all too perfect – it would not be a sharing circle without Eshana. We all expressed our joys and our thanks to each other as a group. There were tears. What I really came out feeling was inspired and loved. Eshana commented on our “kind hearts” and Peter told us he knew we were going to do great things. We ended our talk with a group hug and then a beehive group hum, which reminded me of the similar supportive circle we formed in Foresthaven. We were all connected, all one humming being!

Now that the studying/working chapter of study abroad is over, I am moving on to the more relaxing, vacation-y aspect of my Australian adventure – off to Melbourne! I am a bit tired, so I am looking forward to actually relaxing in Australia, especially when my family arrives (which I am SOOOOOO looking forward to!). Regardless, this study abroad experience has proved to be so unique in the most wonderful way. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The people I’ve met and the things I have experienced have made this adventure unlike any other.

“All my life’s a circle, sunrise and sundown.

Moon rolls through the nighttime till daybreak comes around…

Seems like I’ve been here before, can’t remember when.

I got this funny feeling we’ll all be together again.

No straight lines make up my life, all my roads have bends.

No clear cut beginnings, so far no dead ends.”

– Pete Seeger, “Circles”

Maddie’s Murwillumbah Hulla-ba (loo)

Last weekend, I decided to go visit my friend, who has been coming to Lismore to visit. It seemed only fair that I venture to her at some point, and it seemed like a good weekend to do it.

Oh, man.

That Saturday, I took part in a Non-Violent Direct Action training. I had read Aidan Ricketts’ book The Activists’ Handbook beforehand (which I recommend!), so most of the material was familiar, but it was exciting all the same. Plus I saw another girl from my program who I hadn’t seen for a few weeks, which was nice. 🙂

Well, because of this workshop, I had planned to catch a bus in the evening to allow myself time to get back from the workshop. The bus was scheduled to leave at 7:30. The workshop got out at 4:30, so the timing was going to work out quite well. I could grab take-away for dinner and eat it while I waited for the bus!

Oh, man.

At my workshop, I had no cell service, so I did not see the text from the bus company until I was riding home. The handy dandy text informed me that the bus was running (drum roll please) 80 MINUTES LATE. That’s right. 8-0. I did some quick math in my head and figured the bus would be coming closer to 9.

Big problem. 7:30 was the latest I was willing to sit alone at the bus station. I’ve had multiple warnings from people to not be wandering alone here at night. The lady who I’m renting my room from had been planning on a girls’ night, so I knew I couldn’t ask her for help. I considered calling a taxi. But then I’d have to ask them to sit with me for a bit. Hmm. I texted my friend to warn her of my problem, but assured her I would get there eventually – just a bit later than planned.

I caved and asked my friend’s homestay mum (from here on out referred to as Homestay Mum #2), who I’ve been spending time with on the weekends, to help me out. I felt bad. So selfish. I could have just taken a bus early in the morning, but my God! I had my heart set on spending the night in Murwillumbah! I wanted to see my friend!!!

While I was waiting to get picked up, I decided to cook myself some dinner! I’m a big girl! With my extra time, I had bought some rice, tofu, and veggies. Well. Then I couldn’t turn on the stove. !!!!! IDIOT. I reminded myself that I’m not a dumb person. But apparently I am because who can’t figure out how the stove works?! To add to the matter, I had already opened (and spilled half of) the bag of rice and put it in water on the stove. When I couldn’t get the stove to work, I ended up throwing it out. I was so mad at myself. I cooked the veggies and tofu in the stove, but because of my impatience, the veggies were still pretty raw. UGH!

Oh, man.

Right before I left, I found a fairly large spider in my room (by American standards), right under my bed where my head lies. Now I knew I wasn’t going to be staying there that night, but I couldn’t just leave the spider in my room. What if it got cozy under my covers while I was gone? I got a broom and “encouraged” that spider to leave out the door. Which he did, luckily. Score one for Maddie.

When Homestay Mum #2 picked me up, I thanked her profusely and apologized for the lateness. Then we parked at the bus station to wait. I enjoyed our chat, like I usually do. I heard about her job, I told her about my excitement to see my family in a few weeks. As 8:50 approached, I started making sure I was packed and ready to jump out for the bus when it came. 8:50 came and went. Then 9:00 came and went. Then 9:15. Then 9:20. At 9:25, Homestay Mum #2 thought we might be at the wrong station. I called the bus company, and Bus Company Lady said we were in the right place, the bus was just running even later than planned. !!!! Finally at 9:30 it rolled into the station. I gave Homestay Mum #2 a big grateful hug and went on my merry way.

Oh, man.

On the bus, I actually relaxed a bit! I listened to my tunes, played some Tetris… The ride was supposed to take just over an hour. Not too shabby. As 10:30 approached, I texted my friend and told her I would be there soon. Well, we didn’t stop at 10:30. Around 11, we stopped somewhere (looked pretty desolate…), and I asked a lady if we were in Murwillumbah. She told me she thought it was about another half hour away. ANOTHER HALF HOUR?!?! I wanted to shout. I was so tired at this point but didn’t want to nap for fear of missing my stop. (Wouldn’t that just be my luck?) I texted my friend and apologized for how late it was going to be. I was getting concerned about her walking to the bus stop that late at night!

At 11:30 I finally made it to Murwillumbah. My friend has been staying at a little hostel, and she and the owner ended up picking me up at the bus station. Nice. So. I did make it eventually. And the next day my friend and I had a nice time chatting over breakfast (I had AMAZING French toast) and walking around town. I was glad I ventured to see her.

G’day, Mount Warning!

I was nervous about coming back “home” considering the difficulties I’d had going the other direction. Well, no need to worry. My bus was on time, it got in on time, I got picked up at the bus station by the lady I live with, she still had hot soup leftover from dinner for me to eat, and I spent good time with the kiddies that night! When one has difficulties traveling, it makes coming back to familiar settings (“home”) all the better. Lesson learned.

Thank you for letting me express my frustration. Haha. This week was my last week working, which was weird! I can’t believe it! I have one more interview to do, and then I go into heavy-duty writing mode. Boo yah. More reflections on the internship and the paper-writing to come.

I’ve compiled a few songs that I will be playing often this next week. Have a look.

The Easy-Listening-Don’t-Worry-Maddie-Everything’s-Going-to-Be-Fine Songs:

Do You Remember – Jack Johnson

Have You Ever – Brandi Carlile (One of my favorite songs ever!)

Tomorrow Will Be Kinder – The Secret Sisters

Man on Fire – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes (This is actually a great music video – makes me smile every time!)

Sons Of – Judy Collins

The Get-Psyched-Your-Paper-is-Going-to-Rock-Maddie-but-Remember-to-Also-Prepare-For-Your-Oral-Presentation-That’s-Okay-You’ve-Got-Plenty-of-Time Songs:

Roar – Katy Perry

Girl On Fire – Alicia Keys

Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi (In honor of the parentals)

Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore

Wake Me Up – Avicii

La-dee-da

For the past…..three weeks or so, I’ve been working on my independent study project. I’m working with an organization called the Rainforest Information Centre with a wonderful advisor woman with lots of good experience under her belt. She has been giving me tasks, like making a Facebook page to connect different groups worldwide protesting unconventional gas drilling (whoa, what a mouthful). She also connected me with two other organizations, Lock the Gate Alliance and the Palm Oil Action Group. Let me just say my days are never the same. I’ve been doing a lot of data entry for both organizations, but I’ve also had to make calls to people asking for more current contact information; I’ve had to call newspapers asking about media releases; and I’ve had to call councils to see what we need to do to set up an information stall on council land. Yeah. Lots of stuff. It’s been very good for me – quite a learning experience. Making the calls is outside my comfort zone, but you know what? So was peeing in the wilderness, but I overcame that, and I’ve (mostly) overcome the phone fear. Yeah! Well, I should probably write about this “growing experience” when it’s over, but when it’s over, I have to write a gigantic 20-40 page paper about it. So. The time is now, friends. Plus I feel like writing about it now. Boom.

I’ll be honest, last week was not a great one. My advisor was offline, and I think that was part of it. She’s good at motivating and inspiring me. I was also just a bit bogged down with how much time I was spending on the computer. I wanted action!! I wanted to protest!! My academic director said I wasn’t allowed to get arrested, meaning I couldn’t “lock on” or do anything of that nature, but I wanted to be out with my people protesting, taking action!!

Aside from being on the computer too much, I was also dealing with all sorts of things at home for when I return. Pre-registration for Vassar is in process, so I had to figure out all my classes for spring semester, which just got me excited for my next academic endeavors (NERD!). Housing for Vassar is also happening. Two of my besties and I were inboxing all last week discussing what we should do, what would happen if we were all put in different dorms, wondering if we would end up back in “Mama Joss” or in booneyville, Cushing. Aside from that, I also got some great news! I’m going to be touring with my choir for spring break to (drumroll please) Tokyo! Two weeks in Tokyo in March and underwritten (<important)! Exciting!! Yay music! I had to send in an audio recording “audition” weeks ago, and I’m still amazed I have the opportunity to go! (And I’m so grateful!)

So. Clearly I was thinking about going back to school a lot. Plus I miss my family A LOT. A lot a lot a lot. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing them. I’m always in good contact with them (sometimes accidentally texting at 3 AM their time – sorry, Mom), but nothing beats the comfort of home. Seriously. We have a good rhythm together, and I just miss being home!! (Also, parentals if you’re reading, I’m feeling incomplete since I didn’t watch the end of Battlestar Galactica with you, so…we might have to watch the last few episodes when I get home. Yup.)

Where does this leave me? Still a little homesick. Still a little burned when it comes to the computer. But I only have one more week of my internship, and then I have less than a week to write my big ass paper (not BIG ass-paper, for clarification). And then I’ll have a week before my program is over. And then two weeks-ish till my family gets here. And then two more weeks till I’m home. I know as soon as my internship time is over, I’m going to miss it. When my program’s over, I’ll miss it. When I have to leave Australia…I’ll miss it. The kookaburras. The accents. Above all, the people. That’s what always happens. And that’s why I’m kicking myself for being so homesick.

I spend a lot of time walking through town to camp out in a café to do work, and I’ve started thinking about how people come back “changed” after studying abroad. And I can say I’ve learned good things about myself.  Brace yourself for a very self-centered list:

1. I need to be able to sing. Just singing in the shower does not cut it. I miss choir and voice lessons at Vassar so much I almost want to cry. It’s difficult to not have the creative outlet that really makes me happy. Word to future Maddie: join a choir. Keep on singing.
2. I need to interact with people in my work. Working on the computer has made me realize this. When I have face-to-face meetings with my “colleagues,” I am much more inspired and energized to do the work I need to do. I can be independent for a bit, but some balance is needed.
3. I have a sugar addiction. It’s bad, friends. Might need an intervention….just don’t make me feel like a crummy human being if you do it. I’ve discovered $1 Cadbury chocolate bars at Woolie’s. DANGER. DANGER. With no ballet and no running to keep me moving, my only exercise has been walking around town and doing the occasional 5Rhythms dance with my former homestay mum. And friends, my metabolism has slowed down. I no longer have the ability to eat whatever I want like High School Maddie did. Thank God there are no scales around (even if there were, they wouldn’t be in pounds!).
4. Aside from interacting with people in my work, I find I am very happy to just connect with other people. My former homestay mum came to my current accommodation and randomly brought me an avocado. She remembered from my stay with her that I liked them a lot. Talking with my current homestay mum at dinner and playing with her kids also makes me very happy. I forget my homesickness because I feel at home in theirs. Talking with my advisor about things other than my work makes me feel connected on a more human level, you know? When my friend’s homestay parents (SO MANY HOMESTAY PARENTS…SO COMPLICATED) let me crash at their place on the weekends, I love listening to their music (Patty Griffin anyone?) and hearing their stories. These kinds of things and these kinds of people are what warm my little heart. And in my homesick state, I need those people.
5. What’s probably most important that I’ve learned is the fact that I can do this thing called being independent. I still do have a lot of help in a lot of ways, but I can do this. I’ve made it this far after dealing with a spider in my suitcase (yeah, remember that?) and cooking for myself/roomies in our apartments, camping in Oz and figuring out an internship… I have to remind myself of this when I start thinking “I wanna go home.”

In closing, I decided to give you a list of songs relating to rain. Why, you may ask? Well we’ve been experiencing some crazy thunderstorms for the past few days, which is so weird for me – it’s November! Where’s the snow?

Enjoy. (And thanks for bearing with my ramblings.)

Classic:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w40ushYAaYA)

Guilty pleasure:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvBfHwUxHIk)

Bit of a downer, but ooh! Judy Collins!:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phsq-1dEC5w)

Sing it, gals:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN-Qb6tP7to)

Need some Adele in here:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri7-vnrJD3k)

Song I heard at Jesus camp:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZjRMa7Pmj4)

Possibly my favorite shower belting song, rain or shine:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAVlk4F2qkw)

Ooh, scandalous:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY1ufFfo3tw)

Very necessary:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I)

And last but not least, my favorite rain song:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzFnYcIqj6I)

Finding My Songline

I love Australia. Let me just put it out there.

But…I love the U.S., too, and I’ll be happy to come home when the time comes. (Mom, Dad, Mason, you don’t have to worry about me staying here forever…because I’d miss you too much.)

This week I’ve been spending time working with different organizations, mostly inputting data and making phone calls. It’s not the most glamorous work, but I really feel like I’m helping – who else would have the time to do it? It’s allowing me to see how the organizations function and just how important it is to have an organized database. Communication to others is key, and having correct information is crucial for that.

Working on my own time frame for the most part, I’ve had time to wander Lismore a bit. When I arrived here last week, I immediately felt comfort in familiar surroundings. After traveling around so much with the program and having to adjust to new surroundings so often (living out of a suitcase is just not my style!), it’s nice to have a handle on where I live and to be able to walk confidently. I love sitting in the cafes in town for lunch and doing some of my work. (I’ve discovered a real liking for mochas – this is a dangerous discovery.) I have also met many wonderful people, in less than a week! Everybody is so encouraging and friendly, and they’re grateful for what I’m doing. Can’t complain about that!

Last week I went to a NORPA (Northern Rivers Performing Arts) event with my friend’s former homestay mum (http://norpa.org.au/productions/the-gathering-bundjalung-in-story/). Over the next couple years, NORPA will be working on a creative project with Bundjalung artists (the indigenous people in this area) about Bundjalung country. The “conversation” was with the artists involved, Bundjalung people who are storytellers, performers, curators… Afterwards, my friend’s “mum” took me to dinner (very generous, right?), and we had a lovely chat. My favorite part, though, was talking about connecting with the landscape. The NORPA conversation had touched on Songlines, paths across the land from the dreamtime. The Aboriginal cultures in Australia have a great sense of place because of this ability to connect with the land from Songlines (as well as many other things). We discussed knowing where we’re from. This is always a tricky question for me. “Well,” I usually start, “it’s complicated.” And it is! I feel obligated to mention being originally from Utah, having lived there most of my life. Yet I currently live in Connecticut and have lived there a fair amount as well. However, my school is in New York! So complicated! Not mentioning one part feels like I’m leaving out a bit of who I am since each has played a significant role in my life. My friend’s “mum” mentioned a similar situation with herself. She grew up in a place different from Lismore. It isn’t where she currently lives, and she did not raise her family there either. Yet when she returns, she has this feeling of being home.

And honestly, that’s how I feel about Utah. I have given Utah so much shit (sorry) for so long. Any mention of being from Utah brings on questions of polygamy and alcohol laws, which embarrassed me. When we lived there for my high school years, I felt like a bit of an outsider, even though it’s where I was born. I had experienced life outside the Utah Bubble and realized just how different Utah culture is from other places in the States. Living in Utah as a non-Mormon is not always easy. There. I said it. The Mormon population is a fine one (especially because a significant portion of my extended family is Mormon, and I love them dearly). Their values are pure and their intent is good. However, when you wear a cross around your neck, you stand out. Being a cross-wearing United Methodist in Utah is a rarity, and if I hadn’t been involved with my church youth group throughout high school, I may have felt overwhelmed from not identifying with the dominant religion. This has made it difficult for me to identify as a Utahn since I did not fit the stereotypical mold (to add to the matter, I don’t even ski – what kind of a Utahn am I?!).

My view changed a bit my senior year of high school. I mentioned in my first post how my AP Environmental Science teacher, Monica, sparked my interest in the subject. Well she also sparked my interest in Utah by taking my class to Southern Utah to go camping. It was like a whole new world! The red landscape took my breath my away, and I felt such pride in being from Utah. After moving back to Connecticut, all I wanted to do was return to my home state and explore the beauty I had only had a small taste of.

My longing to return home was heightened this past summer when I read Terry Tempest Williams’ book Refuge. Whenever I mentioned my Utah origin to anybody in the Environmental Studies department at Vassar (friends and professors alike), many people would ask if I had read anything by Williams, particularly this book. I said no, I hadn’t and made it my mission to read it this summer. And I did. And I loved it. She identifies as Navajo and Mormon. I’ll be honest, at first I was a bit turned off by the Mormon aspect. That chip on my shoulder from my living in Utah as a non-Mormon made me resistant to hear even more about Utah as the place to be for the Mormon culture. (I mean, I shouldn’t complain since that’s why Salt Lake was founded!) Yet what got to me was her description of the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Valley. There were places she spoke of that were familiar to me, her descriptions of the mountains and even street names in downtown Salt Lake. There were many things unfamiliar to me, though. And this made me realize how little I actually knew about the place I claimed as my home. This made me not only want to return to Southern Utah, but even to my home valley, simply to explore the landscape. I’ve never spent significant time at the Great Salt Lake, which is crazy! My knowledge of birds and plants of the area is poor…which is crazy!

So what this all comes down to is I love Australia, but I’m finding it hard to connect with the landscape. My appreciation feels very superficial. How can I when I still need to fully connect with my own origin? When it comes down to it, Utah is my home. It’s where my parents were raised, as well as my grandparents. It’s a place where I have some history. Even if I live on the East Coast of the States, I’ll always feel I am a Utahn deep inside.

Being in Australia has been a wonderful experience for me. My program really emphasized the importance of having a “sense of place,” and the indigenous cultures are an incredible example of that. Now after traveling across the world and experiencing such beauty, all I want to do is go home. I want to go to Utah, spend time with my family, and truly develop my sense of place in Utah, find my Songline in a sense.

“The birds and I share a natural history. It is a matter of rootedness, of living inside a place for so long that the mind and imagination fuse.” –Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge

The Times They Are A-Changin’

I was going to blog about the Social Change workshop I participated in about a week and a half ago, but I lost my momentum this last week with finals and proposals and readings and a paper and journals and Vassar matters oh my God housing and scheduling classes for next semester how weird is it going to be to be back at “school school” and living in a dorm on a meal plan again in the middle of the cold bitter winter so cold WEIRD. Anyway… I started going through my notes and picking out things I thought were important to talk about, but it was feeling more like an obligation to write about it rather than something pleasurable. And friends, I do this blog because it’s fun. And to put some info about there. So I’ll give some very brief highlights.

We talked about finding our strengths and using them to communicate and facilitate change effectively. As for our weaknesses, those are usually other people’s strengths, which is why it is important to band together with like-minded people — yay balance! It’s important to see how society might be able to change, especially if considered from a psychological standpoint.

Eshana, who facilitated the workshop, threw some good quotes at us:

“Just do it!” –Winona LaDuke

I liked this one, but not because I’m a Nike fan. I recognized LaDuke’s name from my Native Studies class! Plus “Just do it” is something my APES teacher, Monica, said to us ALL THE TIME. I’ve internalized the mantra a lot since high school and find myself saying it to get me through challenging things (including, but not limited to, doing my laundry).

“Faith is taking the first step, even if you don’t see the whole staircase.” –Dr. MLK, Jr.

Always inspiring, eh?

“It’s a privilege to be alive now.” –Joanna Macy

I like this idea. I get caught up wishing I could be a hippy in the ‘60s (for music reasons, friends, if you couldn’t tell from the post’s title) or a rocker chick like Pat Benatar in the ‘80s (again, for the music). I find myself getting frustrated with our world’s current condition, so seeing it as a privilege to be alive now is much more positive.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead

Well said, MM.

“Almost anything you do will seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” –Gandhi

It’s all about humility, folks, and feeling empowered in your actions.

Boom. Also, I think I posted this video a little while ago (or maybe I posted “The Story of Stuff” – can’t remember!), but we watched it in the workshop. It’s a good one! Have a looksee:

I had my first day of “work” today for the independent study project portion of study abroad. I’m doing another sort of homestay while I’m doing my project. This homestay, I’m staying with a lady and her two kids (which are all the details I’ll give, for privacy reasons!), so that’s been fun. More on that stuff later, though! I’m…so…tired…

But here are some pics from my last few days in Byron Bay!

For the Birds

“His Eye Is on the Sparrow” is perhaps one of my favorite hymns. Back in high school I sang in a gospel choir with my little United Methodist church. It was only about a three month commitment conveniently running right through AP tests and prep, but I looked forward to it every year. It was a good source of stress relief for me, and it was spiritually uplifting, especially when my little church was going through turmoil my junior year (…which is another story for another blog…). I even wrote about it for my college applications! One of my favorite songs we sang, though, was a jazzed up version of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” I identified with the sparrow and singing because I was happy. Perfect.

This afternoon my friend and I ventured to the beach for a break from our work. We had a fun time splashing in the waves and snapping pictures, and then we decided to walk down the beach to this special outlook I love. Walking along, we encountered many dead, black birds. We had heard about them in the news and talking in our classes. With the recent storms, these seafaring shearwater birds flying out at sea get exhausted and cannot keep flying. So they often wash ashore, either dead and battered from the storm or slowly dying in the sun. This is actually a fairly normal situation, but with the recent extreme weather, the numbers have been larger.

Eshana, one of our leaders in the program, told us in class one day how she encountered many dead birds on her walk along the beach one evening. She came across a live one, and decided she would wait till her return trip along the beach to do anything about it. If it was still alive when she returned, she decided she would move it to a safer location away from the waves where it might survive the night. Well as she started walking, she came across many more partly alive birds. It made her very sad. So she decided to move every bird she came across further up the beach. She said it turned into a sort of meditative process. She wasn’t sure if her efforts would save them, but she couldn’t help but try. She thought maybe at least one bird would survive the night. The next evening on her walk, she went to the area where she had moved the birds and found none. She assumed the best and figured they had survived the night and flown away. She didn’t tell us her story to tout her own horn, but rather to tell us about making little efforts and how even the smallest of differences can be made. I was inspired! She is such a good woman, such a force of positivity.

I remembered her story today when my friend and I encountered such a dying bird. We approached it cautiously and observed it. It didn’t seem to be in too much turmoil, and it didn’t look all that battered. Regardless, we took a deep breath and knew what Eshana might do in the same situation. (WWED?) My friend offered her sarong, and I carefully picked up the bird. It didn’t resist much. As we walked to a bush area up the beach, it did try to move its wings a bit. I carefully set it on a high area out of reach of the water if the tide were to rise, as well as somewhat shielded from the wind. I stroked its back with my finger and sent it positive energy rays, and then my friend I left.

We were quite proud of ourselves. We took the initiative and actually did something! I said I was so happy Eshana told the story, otherwise we may have left the bird there. Honestly, it may have been completely fine. We joked it may have been enjoying its beach vacation when we came along and made him move to the bush. Still, we were happy.

…till we encountered another one. We came upon a lady who was watching a dying bird and was waiting on the phone with what I assume is Australia’s form of animal control. This bird’s neck was a bit bent, and its wings were more ruffled. She picked it up and handed it to me for some reason. I carefully held it and started walking to a grassy area where I could set him down. The woman and her little daughter followed us, and my friend was explaining the bird situation, how they are dying in massive numbers. The lady had assumed they’d been poisoned or something, not that they were the victims of severe weather (and maybe, on a wider scale, due to climate change). We found a good area to set him down, but as I held him in my hands, he died. It broke my heart. It was just one bird, but it made me so sad to see him suffer and then to not be able to help him.

I was reminded of my favorite hymn. “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” relates to the Bible verse (don’t ask me which) where it says God cares about every living creature, down to the smallest sparrow. I couldn’t help but think of this as I looked at the dead bird in my hands. I was so distraught because it was an innocent living creature that didn’t deserve to die so gruesomely. Sure it may have been a natural cause, but to some extent, I felt responsible. Maybe I was a bit hormonal or letting it affect me too much, but it really bothered me. I sniffled the whole way back to the apartment.

I decided to look at this is a big metaphor with a bit of a spiritual influence. I do believe His eye was on those shearwater birds. We should take it upon ourselves to be just as watchful and caring. We should take actions, big and small, in important things but not allow our egos to become too inflated with our accomplishments. My friend and I may have saved one bird, but we lost another. The reality is that after winning one battle, there’s still another to be fought, and you just might not win. But that doesn’t mean you stop fighting.

This is a much slower, less jazzy version than I sang in gospel choir, but it’s very pretty:

Look Ma, No Pictures! Or Phones… Or Watches…

I’ll just jump right into it: last week my group went on an Aboriginal camping trip. We weren’t allowed to bring any technology, even our watches! We weren’t running on a schedule. Leaving behind my iPhone was most difficult (even harder than my camera!) because I like to listen to music as I fall asleep, but I decided to (wo)man up and leave it behind. I read my Amy Tan book instead! Boo yah! Aside from that, I had heard rumors of there being quite the brown snake population, and this of course made me nervous. Lots of snakes here are shy and skedaddle when people come around, but brown snakes are aggressive and may chase you and eat you. (Actually just slither after you and bite you. And you may die.) SO, I was apprehensive about camping, to say the least. Luckily there was only one snake sighting by a girl in our group, and it was not a brown snake. I also did not have any spider encounters! The biggest challenge, therefore, was the pit toilet. But hey. I’m not scared of those anymore.

We had two wonderful guides, but one has to tread carefully in Aboriginal matters for privacy reasons, so I won’t get too specific about them or the stories we heard. Trust me though: they were wonderful resources. My group learned a lot from what they had to say and what we observed.

When we got to the camp, one of the first things I noticed was a rope swing (with a Styrofoam-ish ball to sit on) hanging from a tree. It was a little thing to love, but I hopped on whenever I could. Getting a push and going so high gave me such a little thrill. It’s the little things, I tell you! I love swinging. My Grandma and Grandpa Wells used to have a plastic yellow swing hanging from the tree in the backyard. There are pictures of my grandpa pushing me, so I kind of wonder if that’s where it stems from.

We had to collect firewood for our fire that first evening, but there were some serious storm clouds rolling in. We hurried to throw sticks into the collection wheelbarrow, and luckily we had it filled as the rain started coming down. We ran back to the structure where dinner was prepared and our food was stored, wheelbarrow bouncing the whole way back. As we all huddled together, the rain just POURED. I hadn’t seen rain like that since being in Australia, even in Tassie! Then it started hailing! It was outrageous! After a few minutes it passed, and it was sunny and calm again. It reminded me of Utah weather…

One major theme from the trip was learning about different trees and plants and their many different uses. One was the “soap tree,” whose leaves, when wet, can help with stings, cuts, and burns. I got a little, but painful, burn on my hand, and it seriously didn’t hurt after I scrubbed the wet leaves on it. Another thing is using a melaleuca tree’s paper bark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca). It can be a pot holder, an egg cooker (or fish cooker by wrapping them up and placing them in the fire), a water carrier, even a raft. It was amazing!

The first evening there we learned how to throw spears. I couldn’t help but think of Miss Trunchbull from Matilda, known for her shot-put, javelin and hammer throw. Haha. Sadly my spear-throwing capabilities are not worth mentioning. Others in the group got ahold of it quickly and even managed to throw it far and accurately, some hitting the distant target! I just went back and swung on the swing.

I was on dinner crew the first night, and we got to prepare kangaroo stew. Yup! ‘Roo stew! I was excited to try the ‘roo, but I preferred to help prepare the vegetarian version. Regardless, when the time came to eat, I eyed that ‘roo, took a deep breath, and ate a bite. It was actually tasty! I tried not to make eye contact with the wallaby that had jumped into camp, seeing as how it was too reminiscent of what I was eating. Sorry, wallaby.

Once it got dark and the kookaburras started to sing, we gathered around the campfire and listened to stories before bed. It was very relaxing. This happened every night, ranging from stories about plants and animals to personal recollections of life in Australia.

The next day we learned how to throw boomerangs. I can say that they do, in fact, come back! There is a method to how you hold them and release them into the wind. I was much more successful at this than spear-throwing. My first try was a disaster, but I get better after that. I’m glad I kept trying! I will never go to the Olympics for the sport, but I’m excited to say I learned how to throw a boomerang in Australia!

Everyone in our group was assigned a sort of spirit animal to represent the personality they had expressed so far. I made the list of names for our Aboriginal elder guide, so when he was thinking whose personalities fit which animals, he asked me if I wanted to know mine. He said I was a firefly. I didn’t expect that! I usually imagine myself as a sort of bird since I like to sing so much. He said I was a firefly because I’m “bright,” meaning my smile. I can live with that. After that, I helped him figure whose name went with which face. I liked feeling like I was offering the inside scoop, although not giving my own opinion of personalities. I was curious what he would gather from the limited time he had spent with us. He assigned an emu, a colorful parrot, a peaceful dove, a pelican, a wallaby, a rainbow….lots of different things. I felt he was pretty accurate, too!

After relaxing for a bit, we got to actually paint two boomerangs. I was pretty excited for this. I’m no artist, but I do love me a good craft. I decided to paint one for my little brother, as well as my family. The nice thing about having no set schedule was I did not feel obligated to rush by any means. I took my sweet time figuring out what I was going to paint and which colors I was going to use. It was very relaxing. They came out okay. Again, I’m no artist, but they certainly were made with love! Haha…

The third day we left camp and got to go to the beach. Because I failed my swimming test way back during orientation, I can only go in up to my waist, but that’s perfect for me. Hopping the waves or diving beneath them is so much fun. My friends and I were giddy with happiness and sunshine, singing Disney songs and splashing each other. At one point, we looked back to shore, and there were quite a few people standing up and looking out, pointing to something in the water and waving at us. My first thought, “OH MY GOD SHARK I’M GOING TO DIE EVEN THOUGH I’M ONLY UP TO MY WAIST IN THIS WATER.” There was a huge shadow, and we saw what we thought was a HUGE stingray!! We screamed and ran back to shore. It got my heart beating! In retrospect, I think it was a manta ray given its size, meaning it’s harmless, not the Steve Irwin-killer. To be fair, stingrays are harmless if you leave them alone, so we were safe regardless. It was a very exciting/TERRIFYING moment! Well, I had to go back into the water to….well, honestly, to pee. Sorry guys. It’s a big ocean. I was scared to go too far in in case I encountered another ray, so I tried casually sitting in shallower water. This backfired tremendously because waves would come in and toss me backwards. I got sand all throughout my hair and in my swimming suit. It was not very successful, seeing as I got tossed around like a baby doll. Embarrassing…

After the ocean, we went to a watering hole with brackish water. The water here was very dark, but I was told I did not have to fret about critters. So…I didn’t! I floated around on my back, treaded some water, and relaxed. As wild and adventurous as the ocean was, I guess this kind of water reflected my milder manner. I liked it.

Swimming wore us all out, and when we returned to camp, we all chilled. A tarp had been laid to paint boomerangs, and a lot of us ended up lying down for a bit. I actually fell asleep…in the fetal position. I was exhausted! I found out later that my face got quite some color. (More freckles, actually.) I completely forgot to reapply my sunscreen after swimming in the ocean – oops! I’m sorry for being a hypocrite about sunscreen and then forgetting the all too important lesson of reapplication! Live and learn?

We had to leave camp the next morning. All of us were a bit sad to return to reality, the land of watches, computers, and quickly approaching independent study projects. Aaaah! I don’t think I’ll forget the camping trip anytime soon. It has definitely been a highlight of my experience here so far.

We’ve been back to regular classes since being back in Byron. Our last stay in the surf town was relaxing, but this stay has been dominated by work: essays, sustainability journal updates, independent study project research, our final independent study project proposal, and a couple of exams approaching. Plus readings! Aaah! It’s not much as much as it would be at Vassar, but in the land of Oz it is!

Today we finished a two-day Action for Social Change workshop that left my quite inspired. But that’s another post for another time! So that’s all for now – thanks for reading!