5 days, 7 hours and 10 minutes

Until I board my plane to Brisbane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Graduation, packing and countdown

Hi everyone!
Exciting news: I graduate from the University of Oregon in less than a week! It has been four years well spent, and while I am sad, it is time to move forward. I have so much to do before then, however. First, I need to pack up my entire house here at the University, and then I need to pack my house at home, because my mom is moving to Washington. Then I'm going to spend a week at the ranch in Montana with the family, and finally it will be time to go to Australia! At this moment, it is only 27 DAYS AWAY! I can't believe it is less than a month now. 

55 more days

And then there were 55 days.

71 DAYS

That is all.

UPDATE: 91 days and counting!

The day is drawing near! Only 91 days to go until I board that plane to Oz. It seems like just yesterday that I learned I was going, so this is getting crazy. A few updates and random facts:

• After talking to my host family, I have learned that it is indeed likely that I will see a kangaroo bounding across the horizon...I can't wait.
• They also assure me that Australia is not the deathtrap that the Discovery Channel makes it out to be...I hope they aren't just trying to make me feel better. :)
• They are planning to take me to a lovely place called Hervey Bay, a mecca for whale watching. It looks spectacular. Perhaps I will run into the crew from Whale Wars. 
• I will be spending time working with Maroochy Waterwatch, a local watershed organization. This is a great opportunity to help me to meet some people and build my skills in preparation for grad school. Here is their website if anyone is interested.  http://www.maroochycatchmentcentre.org.au/ 
• I have learned that a "jumper" is a light jacket. 
• 3 of us have our birthdays during a week and a half span in September. It will be a glorious time of celebration.
• I suck at converting from Fahrenheit to Celsius.
• I've been meaning to get to this for awhile. Sorry for those who have been waiting! This is the website if you are an American citizen who wishes to apply for a Working Holiday visa for Australia. You have to meet specific age and education requirements. http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/462/usa/
• I just applied for graduation. (I realize this isn't Australia related, but it's exciting)
• Life is good.

Australian Stereotypes

Truth be told, we don’t hear a whole lot about the Land Down Under in the United States.

“No,” you argue, “I just saw that Outback Steakhouse commercial for the 5^th time today alone, and Finding Nemo is my favorite movie. I know all about Australian culture! We grew up watching the Crocodile Hunter, right? I expect Australia will be granting me citizenship at any time. Now can we ‘throw some shrimp on the barbie?’”

"Shreeemp on the baaaaaabie" Thanks, Outback Steakhouse. (quality television, culturally accurate)

When it boils down to it, what do we really know about the sunny country? Even I--at the risk of sounding all high and mighty--a geography major in college, have not once studied Australia in school that I can remember. My only understanding of the culture is based on vague stereotypes, a few movies, my uncle’s foreign exchange student Oliver, stories of my family’s travels (lots of opossums, Vegemite, it’s like California in the 1950s, Vegemite, really long semi trucks, Vegemite, and an overall better quality of life) and doing my own research based on personal interest. That limited knowledge is probably more exposure than the average person gets.

Because of the lack of Australian cultural education we have here, I decided that prior to leaving on my trip, I should make a list of things that are undeniably Australian to the American people. A few of them may be true, many of them I know are not, and some of them I have no idea either way. This is in no way a comprehensive list, just a few funny things that popped into my head.

The question that I think is the most important of all, however, is if the toilets really flush the other way. I could Google it, but I’d rather wait and see for myself. I’ll report back to you all. I expect you will be waiting with baited breath. Here goes:

Australian Stereotypes/Perceptions 

• ·      P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney
• Just keep swimming.

• ·      “Shrimp on the barbie.”
•  Anyone up for a Bloomin’ Onion?

• ·      They drink a lot and party hard
• ·      Steve Irwin
• I still tear up thinking about him, not going to lie.

• ·      Crocodile Dundee
• I remember being slightly scarred by these movies.

• ·      Sunshine, tan skin
• ·      Surfing, oceans, reefs
• ·      Tough men
• ·      Overall a generally attractive bunch
• ·      Poisonous things lurking EVERYWHERE
• Please don’t let me run into a snake…pleaseeee.

• ·      Uluru/Ayers Rock
• ·      Aboriginal people
• ·      British/Colonial influence
•  A bunch of convicts on a giant island

• ·      They eat weird meat
• Kangaroo, Crocodile and God knows what else.

• ·      The bush/outback
• ·      The Man from Snowy River
• Please say this is true, and that Jim Craig is a real person living right now, but not because then he wouldn’t be THE Jim Craig and…oh, I’m rambling.

• ·      Everyone wears epic looking hats, preferably with a crock tooth hatband.
• ·      Lifeguards wear funny hats.
•  No one cares what their hats look like, because everyone’s too busy trying purposely to get rescued.

• ·      Koalas
• ‘nuff said

• ·      Kangaroos
•  I fully expect that I will shriek with delight the first time I see one in the wild. Yes, I understand that they are to Australians what deer are to us. Sorry in advance, host family! J

• ·      “no worries” attitude.
•  Hakuna Matada 

Participating in snake phobia therapy. (thanks Kelsey) That's my "I'm so terrified it's actually funny" face.

Uh, yeah, that is a super hot "Aussie" barbie with a KOALA HUGGING HER ARM. I just can't compete with that.

This is real!

So, I (aka my mom) just bought a one way plane ticket to Brisbane. Crazy. If I may say so myself, I'm a pretty good deal hunter. I have been doing a lot of research, and finally found a great 1-stop flight for $820! Sounds expensive, but that is CHEAP in comparison to any others out there. I got the ticket on Student Universe, and checked to make sure that I could travel on one of their tickets even after I graduate. The deal is, you just have to be a student when you purchase the ticket, not when you travel. I need to go through some of their other adventures and see if there is anything fun that I should buy before graduation. (Great Barrier Reef anyone?) Also, I have received my visa to work and live in Australia, so I am good to go on that front. That was way easier than I thought, although pretty expensive. It only took 15 minutes from the time I submitted my application until the granted me the visa. Anyways, I'm super excited! 133 days until I leave!