Bitten by the Travel Bug

Update: I will officially be going on a 2 day boat cruise of the Whitsunday Islands (snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef included!), a trip to the Irwin family's Australia Zoo, a long weekend in Fiji, and finally a week-long New Zealand adventure in December! I'm way too excited to see what this semester will bring. Now that I'm settled in and feeling like an Aussie, the adventures can truly begin! Aside from the large trips, I'm looking forward to hiking around the Gold Coast beaches, exploring Brisbane, meeting Chris, working with Urban Seed missions in Melbourne to connect with the homeless community, & seeing where else this journey will take me! 

I'll give you a little rundown of what I've been up to this week:

• Classes Tuesday & Wednesday-- Our team building "fieldtrip" for adventure tourism was awesome, we watched Crocodile Dundee in pop culture, and of course wine studies was still hard.
• Trivia Wednesday night-- WE WON! The theme was Australian facts and slang, and a group of 4 American girls, 1 guy from Dubai, and 2 guys from Austria beat all of the Australians thanks to Baylee's rock-paper-scissors skills. It was a fun night. :)
• Went for a run Thursday with Baylee & Kiersten, & I ordered pizza hut for us to pick up... We showed up at the pizza hut & realized I sent the order to a pizza hut that was on the opposite side of the city. Good one. 
• Friday we went to Miami Marketa, a cute little street with food carts, little shops, and live music. We ate AWESOME food and had a really great time!
• Saturday was a beach day-- this time at Burleigh Beach. We were in the sun for almost 4 hours but came home with hardly any color... Mom, I wore the SPF 70 you got me. You're welcome. Then we had some good food at Pigs & Pints, where we found REAL RANCH DRESSING! FINALLY!! I got left at the bus stop on the way home.. The bus driver made me get out to throw away my ice cream container then drove away. Made it back safely though. :)
• Sunday was another relaxing day in the sun at the pool. We had fun swimming and taking some go pro pics too. :) We went to Justin's park at night for "Sunday Nights at Burleigh Beach" where they had fire twirlers, a bongo circle, and a street dance. Our friends from Dubai and Austria met us there and we ended up walking on the beach at night just in time to help set off a floating lantern and praying for people who suffer from domestic violence. It was a really cool moment. 
• Today is homework day. :(

So I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately on this journey and what it's teaching me about myself. If you knew me when I was younger, or even in recent years, you would probably never have imagined that I would be in Australia... On my own... Actually talking to new people... 8,708 miles from my parents.
I was the little girl that would hide behind her mom & dad at the supermarket just to avoid the person they were having a conversation with. I was terrified of going to high school from my cozy little elementary/middle school, and even more terrified of leaving home to go to Nebraska for college. I was scared to ride the small roller coasters at Adventureland and even to learn how to drive a car. I didn't realize till recently how much I've actually changed. 
Now I can strike up a conversation with a stranger from places like Austria or India without even stressing. I've made so many new friends at Bond by stepping out of my comfort zone and learning not to care what others think. Now I'm planning to go skydiving, luging down a mountain, and diving with the sharks. I can't believe how much I've changed!
When I first started thinking of studying abroad I wouldn't have even considered going alone. During the process of this dream slowly coming to be, I prayed constantly for courage and comfort. Suddenly, without even realizing it, I've grown up. God's given me the courage and comfort I needed. He's given me this desire to travel & ability to love the people I meet. He's led me into my own & I'm confident in the person I am. I'm much more open to trying new things & I love sharing these experiences with strangers who have become like family. I've caught the travel-bug... And I haven't purchased my plane ticket back home yet. ;)

I've been in Australia for a whole month now. When I first arrived Down Under it seemed like I would never fit in. I heard different accents all around me & felt so far away from home. The time difference was strange, seeing people drive on the right side of the car was bizarre, and the food tasted so different than what I was used to. Bond felt like a vacation spot. I wasn't sure how the cafeteria worked and finding my way using public transportation was nearly impossible.

Now, though, I know what I'm doing. I know my way around & I'm able to function like a normal human in society! I realized that I can conquer Aussie... And that's exactly what I'm going to do. :)