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I've finally got internet up in my room! The tech guy LITERALLY walked away two minutes ago. And here I am, posting a new entry in my journal for the sole purpose of your enjoyment, enlightenment, and overall mental well-being. How thoughtful of me!

The wait is over

Andy Tew
2007-05-25 19:53:41

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supper. Also called Liz. Bought a muffin (my first purchase made with Aussie currency!) and chatted with the other Americans.

The Butler people (not actual Alfred-from-Batman"butlers," mind you, but the representatives from Butler University, my study abroad intermediary) eventually put us all on a charter bus. We drove Northwest for about 3 and a half hours. Almost entirely farmland- lots of sheep and cows. Grass looked the same color brown that it does in Savannah in the winter. The temperature wasn't bad- about ten or so celsius (50 far.), but windy. We watched the movie "Muriel's Wedding," which I thought was hilarious and poignant. No one else seemed to like it, though. Takes a certain sensibility I guess.

Jotted these thoughts down during the bus ride: "Hopefully we'll get to our destination soon. I'm starving. Also I suspect I'll be able to get to know the other students better when we aren't traveling in some form or another. Met a few kids from NESCAC schools (Colby, Wesleyan, Middlebury, Bates, etc) and while I was loading my luggage on the bus a girl recognized me as an Amherst student- she goes to Mt. Holyoke. She thought I was on the sailing team-nope. The crew team? Strike two. She probably just saw me at some college event and couldn't burn the image of my god-like features from her mind. Happens all the time."

Orientation was, in a word, FANTASTIC. There were about 35 kids going to four schools (UWA, Murdoch, UniAdelaide, Flinders) there. We stayed at the "Grampians retreat" in Grampians national park. It is a place where school kids and other small groups of people go for a week of relaxation, teamwork building, etc. There is a main dining hall, a multi-purpose room, a few cabins, and lots and lots of land. The main buildings are at the halfway point along a gentle hill shaded by eucalyptus trees. There is a ropes course, many trails around the area, and kangaroos everywhere. The 'roos are all wild, although the ...