The last week or so has been a blur! We took a trip to Freo to be culturally introduced to some indigenous history and we were blessed into the country by Ingrid, an aboriginal Australian, and we were taught some of the cultural history of the aboriginals. We then took a quick look at the first jail in Western Australia called the Round House. It was originally used to process aboriginal prisoners and then the prisoners were taken to Rottnest Island (where we stayed last week).

After our tour we spent the day shopping and wandering around. Here K-mart is a big thing. It actually is very similar to Wal-mart in that it has pretty much anything you could need as in necessities but it isn’t as dauntingly big. I’ve been going to K-mart and Coles, a chain of grocery stores, for the majority of my shopping. One of the things that still fascinates me is that here they do not refrigerate eggs or milk. Apparently in the US things aren’t as fresh so it is necessary but here there is no need. Fast food is very similar to that back in the States. They call McDonalds “Mackers” and Burger King is pretty much the same but it is officially named Hungry Jacks. One thing I could get used to is Jesters which is a shop that sells pies. I’m not talking blueberry or apple, this place sells pies with meats and cheeses.

The next day we took a trip to Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth. This trip was amazing because we were able to get in the enclosures with the animals and actually feed them. Here we got to pet a Koala, get right up close to some Kangaroos and I was even pooped on by a Wambat (not my greatest moment).

To finish the week of, we went for surfing lessons on Sunday. From what I’ve heard, surfing is supposed to be really hard but I think just about everyone in our group stood up by the end of the one hour lesson and most of us were catching our own waves.

Last Monday classes began and I figured out fast that Australians expect a lot more out of you than most schools in the U.S. While most areas of study don’t require many exposure hours and lectures, the sciences do. I am taking Plant Diversity, Animal Diversity, and Indigenous Sustainability as well as a 2 credit course on living in Australia with Paul (our CIEE contact/”Cool Younger Uncle”) which is keeping me busy. While studies are important, I am going to try and still enjoy my time here as much as possible. Until next time!

Cheers,

Andrew