Brisbane!

Hey everyone!

This last weekend we went to Brisbane! It was a lot of fun. We ended up going Thursday night and stayed until Sunday with some friends that go to the University of Queensland. Thursday when we got there we basically just hung out and relaxed considering it was pretty late. The next day we woke up and walked around and shopped. We also went to this pool and saw some of the city. It was really cool being in Brisbane and experiencing the big city life again.

Friday night we went out to a club called The Beat and had a lot of fun. We had to take the bus system which would definitely take a while to get used to but it wasn't too bad once we figured it out with the help of the people who lived there.
Saturday during the day we layed out on the roof of our friends' aparment building and hung out all day. We got together with some more people and went to to a huge club called The Met. It had a ton of different rooms and was a lot of fun. It had a Moraccan theme and it was pretty awesome.

Sunday we just hung out and then took the bus back to Lismore. I'm pretty tired now, have class this week and then the big twenty first is on Thursday!! NO huge plans yet, probably going to The Standard and just hanging out. Frasier Island is coming up on Sunday so that should be a great time!

Hope all is well! Miss you guys!

Keegs

Outdoor Ed Trip and Race Day!

Greetings everyone!!

Well last week was definitely one to remember. Friday a bunch of my friends surprised me with an early birthday party because a lot of them willbe traveling over my actual birthday so they got me out of the apartment and I came back to an apartment full of decorations and cake and a ton of people I have met while I've been here. I really appreciate everything they have done to celebrate my big twenty first so far. My friend Scott and a few of his friends that are going to school in Brisbane also decided to stop by on Friday and they spent the night and we hung out all night and had fun just stayin in.

Saturday we woke up bright and early for Race Day and started the day off with Mamosas. It was a lot of fun. A bus picked us up from Orion and took us to the races where we got free drink tickets and got to place bets on horses if we wanted. They were a ton of people there and everyone was dressed to impress. A band played and we basically hung out on the grass all day and listened to music while we watched the races. It was probably one of the best days in Lismore thus far.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to go on our last Outdoor Education trip to Giraween National Park which was about three hours away from Lismore. The first day we walked with our huge 20lb packs and set up camp and then did a side trip up Mt. Norman to explore the caves. It was a lot of fun. I went through this one really small area that required you to squeeze through a tiny hole at the end to get out. I was pretty clostephobic but I made it and it was definitely worth it. Day two we walked again with our packs and had to do some navigation using the maps and compases to get to our next campsite. My group had a little trouble on the navigation part but we eventually made it even thought it was pitch dark. It was probably one of the most difficult things I've done in my life but I pushed through, and it proved to be worth it in the end. Day three we walked again to our next campsite (with our packs of course) and dropped them off and then climbed up South Bald Rock and Bald Rock. The views were awesome and the sunset was pretty sweet too! The climbs were really steep but the caves and view from the top made it all worth while.

Now I am back in Lismore ready to give a presentation for my Stress Management class tomorrow and then am hopefully headed to visit some friends in Brisbane for the weekend. I'm excited for our Frasier Island trip that is coming up next sunday but am even more excited for my BIRTHDAY!! Wish all of you were here to celebrate with me on the big day! We'll definitely make up for it when I get back! Love you guys!

Keegs

Sydney and everything in between!

Hey everyone! Sorry this is long overdue.In the last few weeks I have been catching up on homework, taking a few tests and working on some projects. Things are slowly starting to wind down here so it's crunch time and that means I actually have to feel like a student once in a while. Not going to lie...it's a little more difficult to focus than I thought it was going to be. Oh well though, life goes on.

Two weekends ago we basically hung out around campus and went down to The Standard, the pub in Lismore. Then the next day one of our Australian friends took us to this really cool secluded beach called Whites Beach. We were the only ones there for most of it and it was pretty amazing. Other than that we didn't so much that weekend, just hung out and watched some movies.

This past weekend I went to Sydney! It was awesome! The first day we got there Aviva and I did the bridge climb on the Sydney Harbour bridge. We were connected to the side and walk uo some stairs and latters half way up. It was an awesome view and our tour guide knew a lot about the city and the sites. He showed us where Nichole Kidman used to live, the Prime Ministers House and of course, we had an awesome view of the opera house. That night we met our roommate and she was from Canada. She was a lot of fun and we ended up going out with her to The Side Bar, which is a pub right in the Hostel we stayed at. The hostel's name was The Wakeup and it was really cool and modern. They turned an old building into the hostel and it was right downtown.

Saturday we walked around Sydney and shopped and saw some of the sights. It was Anzac Day, which is like their Veterans Day so there were people partying in their uniforms at nine in the morning and by night time, things got pretty crazy. That night we went to The Jerry Springer Opera at the Opera house. It was amazing seeing The Opera House at night and taking pictures by it. The show we saw was pretty packed and it was pretty funny too! It was basically a Jerry Springer episode but someting goes wrong and Jerry gets shot and then God and Satan have to argue over where he goes, to heaven or hell. After the opera we stopped and got desert for one of the girls' birthday and then went out to Oxford Street which is where a lot of the clubs and pubs are in Sydney.

Sunday we shopped and walked around the city again. We went to Darling Harbour and it was really pretty. We decided to go to the markets in China Town. Everything was really cheap. We found North Face jackets for extremely cheap so of course we took advantage. Other than that we just kind of hung out, we were pretty tired by this point so we layed low until night came and went back down to The Sidebar to celebrate another girls' birthday.

On Monday we went to the Imax Theatre, which has the biggest screen in the world. We saw the animated movie Monsters Vs. Aliens. It was pretty funny. I forgot how cool Imax theaters were until we got there and put on our huge glasses. Afterwards we went to Subway and sat by the Harbour and enjoyed the sunshine. We caught our train back to Lismore that took us 12 hours. It wasn't too bad considering it was overnight so we slept most of the way.

Other than that, I got the great news that I will be the new president of PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) at SCSU. I am really excited for that and all the great opportunities it will bring.Until this weekend I am just working on projects and homework and enjoying the sunshine. It's getting pretty chilly here at night but it's kind of nice. I am definitely missing the warm sunshine a bit though, you can barely lay by the pool anymore! :)

This coming weekend we have Race Day. Which is horse races in Lismore and I guess it's HUGE. We basically get up and celebrate all day. The next day I leave for my second and final camping trip for my Outdoor Ed class. I'm excited to go and see what it's like but I'm also excited to get the trip over with so I can look forward to Frasier Island and my Birthday which are coming up pretty quickly!

Hope everything is going well for all of you! Miss you all!

Keegs

Easter Weekend

Hey everyone!!

Hope you all had a good easter! I miss all of you!

Well this weekend we didn't really do much. We decided to stick around Lismore because not much was open because of Easter and we wanted to save as much money as we could.

Thursday night we went out to The Standard and had a few drinks and danced. It was a pretty good time considering we were in Lismore.

Friday night we stayed on campus and hung out. There weren't very many people here bacuse a lot of them went home for the holiday. We hung out at "The Lounge" which was actually complex #14. A bunch of people decided to make it our own night club for the night so we hung out there and had a pretty good night. We got the brilliant idea to T.P. one of our CA's doorway. It was pretty funny when he opened the door and saw all of us running away. He was a good sport about it so that was a plus haha.

Saturday night we hung out around Orion again. A couple of us ended up going out to The One night club here in Lismore. It was a pretty good time. A lot of the younger locals were out because they all came home for Easter weekend to see their families. It was a pretty weird feeling being the American minority considering usually it's the other way around when we all travel together.

Sunday we woke up early and did a rainforest walk. We were originally supposed to go to The Channon Markets but they were closed because of all the rain we have been getting. The bus driver took us to Protestors Falls and on a rainforest walk which was pretty fun. We stopped in Nimbin and shopped for a while and then ate easter lunch at a park! All together it was a pretty good easter!!

Hope all of you are doing well!! Miss you!!

Keegs

Cairns!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone!!

ust got back from Cairns and it was probably the best weekend of my life!!

We got there on Wednesday and layed by the pool and enjoyed the sun for a few hours before we all got ready and went out to dinner and a few pubs. Thursday during the day I woke up early and went skydiving with 4 or 5 other people and it was AMAZING!! We got an awesome view of The Great Barrier Reef as we floated down over the ocean. We jumped at 14,000 feet in the air and had a 60 second free fall before the instructor pulled the parachute. We landed right on a beautiful beach and got to hang out for a while and wait for the others to jump. It was pretty much the biggest adrenaline rush of my life and it was definitely worth every second!!! I also got a video of me skydiving and some still photos from the video! That night we all went out and celebrated our adventures and a local pub called The Woolshed. It was a pretty cool place and they had a meal and drink for 10 dollars. Later in the night everyone gets up and dances on the tables so it was a lot of fun.

Friday we all took a boat out to The Great Barrier Reef and they fed us and gave us an introductory Suba lesson which was awesome!! I loved being down there and getting up close and personal with the reef and all the inhabitants! We got to touch a giant clam and see tons of fish. It was beautiful. We also got the chance to snorkel and one of the guys took us on a snorkel tour and showed us sea cucumbers and we got to hold them and stuff, overall it was pretty amazing. Of course, we went out again that night, had dinner and enjoyed the night life.

Saturday we hung out and shopped, got a lot of gifts for everyone! Then we layed by the pool and then went out later on in the night to a few different pubs. Overall it was probably the greatest and most adventurous weekend of my life!

I am not looking forward to settling down and actually having to do homework. Oh well though, life could be worse! :) I hear you're all getting more snow, sorry to hear that guys ;) Hope you're all doing well! Hope you enjoy the pics!!

Comedy Festival and Coffs Harbour

Hey everyone!

Well last Thursday we went to a comedy festival in Bangalow. We went and ate a really good dinner first and had a couple drinks at a nice restaurant and then headed over to the comedy show. There were a couple different comedians and they were pretty funny! One of them had a puppet of a monkey she used for he whole show and I have never seen someone so good at not moving their mouth when they were talking. Overall it was definitely a good night!

Friday me and a couple people went with our Aussie friend Jess back home for the weekend. She lives in Coffs Harbour. We stayed at her house all weekend and her whole family made us feel so welcome. They cooked us meals and we chatted with them for a long time. Friday night we went out to Coffs Hotel which is a bar/club and it was a lot of fun.

On Sarturday Jess took us to this tourist attraction called The Big Banana. It was pretty funny. It was a theme park where they had all different kinds of food and rides and stuff that of course, had to do with bananas. Afterwards we went shopping for a while at the mall and then went back to Jess' house. That night her parents ordered pizza for us and we stayed in and watched movies. It ended up being really nice and relaxing. Their house reminded me a lot of home and it was nice to escape the flats for a weekend and actually be in a house. It did make me miss all the comforts of home for a little bit though.

On Sunday Jess took us to this place called The Promise Land which was a water hole with a rope swing and it was a lot fun. The water was FREEZING and it started to downpour but I decided to go on the swing anyways and make the best of it. After that we went back to her house and said goodbye to her parents and came back home. The drive was about 2 and a half hours one way so it wasn't too bad.

It's Monday now and has been raining ALL day!!! Luckily we are headed to Cairns on Wednesday to snorkel and The Great Barrier Reef and I booked my skydiving for Thursday so everyone wish me luck!! I will let you know how it goes when I come back!! Hope all of you who are going to the Britney Spears concert on the third have fun!! And Hope the floods aren't getting too many of you!!

Love you guys!

Keegs

Meebunn-Bia Trek through the Bush.

Hey everyone.

Well, I safely made it out alive from the Australian bush! That trip was no joke. We hiked with our huge packs on for hours and went up really steep hills and climbed through tall grass and all sorts of stuff. Overall, it was a ton of fun.

On the first day we woke up and got the bus at 7:00am. We arrived at Meebunn-Bia around 9:00 and played a few games to get to know every one's name in our group. Once we got our stuff together we started the hike. Initially it wasn't bad at all until we got to this huge hill they told us we were climbing up. It was pretty steep and more like a cliff than a hill. It was an awesome work out and we were definitely tired after. Once we got to the top we stopped for lunch and chatted a bit then we continued the hike. We got to the first campsite and set up our tents which are tarps with rocks and boards holding them down. The first day we also got the chance to do some ropes courses that were a blast. That night we all gathered around the campfire and the showed us how to use the cooking stoves the provided. We saw about 3 possums and were pretty freaked out considering we heard some girl had one crawl across her face in the night the week before. Luckily we didn't have a problem.

The second day we did our navigation exercise. We split into groups of four and were given a map and compasses and had to take bearings and find our way through the bush from marker to marker. It was a lot of work and proved to be harder than it seemed but in the end we made it. We had a little trouble finding our way in the middle but found that the only way to keep a positive attitude while trekking through the weeds that were up to our waste was to laugh and just enjoy it. I have a few battle wounds, scrapes and bruises. I got into a fight with a thorn bush and it won haha. Nothing too serious though. Afterwards we did a few more ropes courses and an awesome zip line I have a video of, I will have on my facebook. They were a lot of fun. The second night we went to another campsite and once we got there we climbed yet another hill to watch the sunset and it was pretty amazing. It definitely made the trip worth all of the sweat, blood and hard work. No possums the second night either, although there were a ton of them around the campsite.

The third day we did a team ropes course along with a free fall exercise which was awesome! It made your stomach drop but it was a ton of fun. Then we started the trek back down to catch the bus and ate lunch along the way. Once we were on the bus we were all happy to be able to go home, take a shower and finally relax. Overall it was definitely a trip to remember.

This week I don't have any huge plans. Class and laying by the pool I'm sure...the usual! Hopefully this weekend we are going to Byron Bay for a night or two. Cairns is fastly approaching, we leave Wednesday morning and I can't wait to Snorkel and Scuba at The Great Barrier Reef!! Hope all is well! Miss you guys!!

Keegs