Part 1

We are all very excited. 

Left to right - Brenna, me, Christine (missing Joe who's upstairs glued to the sports network and Kaylee who's not currently with us but will be soon)

Nervous jitters - check

(also, I speedily downed a cup of coffee about 4 hours ago which, combined with emotional rush and excitement/jitters, left me shaking for a solid 2 hours)

Weighing and re-weighing our luggage - check

Passports - check

ISIC card - Joe fail

Boarding passes - check

Prepay baggage fee - check

Sleep - .......doubt it

Underwear - check

Bugspray - FORGOT IT (*&&*&!!@@!kj1!)

Manders

This is it folks

These are the final few hours I'll spend in my bedroom for a very long time. I'm going to miss all the airborne pet hair, the sound of my parents grinding coffee drifting through my permeable walls at 6 am, the light switch so strategically placed outside of my door for anyone who really wants to piss me off while I sleep, the queen-sized dream bed from heaven, the 100-year old windows that let in more air than they keep out, and the overwhelming amounts of clutter that have accumulated because of this awkward time of life where I'm not sure where I really live.

Yep.

Packing went much better than I had anticipated. I'm like 10 pounds under my weight limit which opens a dangerous door for opportunities. I had already figured out exactly what I could leave behind, but now I could technically pick a whole bunch of new things to add. So the mini sorting process begins all over again.

I borrowed a scale to weigh my bag and inadvertently found out that I weigh a lot less than I used to. Cool. Not that I felt like I needed the loss, but it's like I've done a little spring cleaning and cleared away a big space that can now be used for some Australia food :)

Speaking of! Vegemite! I've gotten a lot of mixed reactions about this Aussie cuisine, so I'm excited to try it for myself. All I really know is it's a spread/paste thing...

Haha omigosh I legitimately didn't know it came in a Nutella-looking jar. Worth trying for that reason alone.

Uhhh....also just found out that it's concentrated yeast extract ^

Am I looking at the right thing? Is this what all vegemite is like? This is a bit discouraging but, you know, here's to adventure.

On a completely different note, for those of you who read this blog, look forward to seeing pictures of Amanda learning how to surf because it's happening.

In about 5 hours, I'll be driving down to the cities to spend the night with Brenna and her family (and I believe most of my other travel buddies) which is gonna be a blastie. Nothing like a pre-transcontinental slumber party! (Rachel V, if transcontinental is a vocab error, I blame you)
Tomorrow our flight leaves at 2:55 which gives us enough time to double and triple check everything, which I'm relieved about. It should be a relaxing ordeal, or at least not a hair-pulling trauma.

Ugh, trauma is a terrible word. Let's not use that word anymore.

Excuse me while I go assist my mother with some technological problem.

Manders

*Sigh*

You taught me how to sink or swim: when I was scared that day, you just pushed me in

^Title. They're lyrics to a song I was listening to today and it's a good way to put my current feelings in a nutshell. I'm feeling quite unprepared.

Packing is so hard! I've been told to bring about 50% of what I think I'll need for a semester, and right now I feel like I'm at 10% and I still don't have enough room in my bag. Another bag? Thoughts?

Excuse me while I help myself to a glass of wine.

Also, first blog from my new Macbook Pro! Three cheers to that! Did you know you never have to hit the back button while using an internet browser? You just swipe a couple fingers back and forth across the keypad. SO COOL (#findingjoyinthesimplethings).

Ha, I just got a Twitter, I'm trying to be cool. I don't really know how hashtag works to be honest.

Whoa, random discovery, if you press and hold a letter on the keyboard, it comes up with all the different language options for that letter. Example u = û ü ù ú ū

Back to packing. What if I forget something vital?? Like...my chapstick? I feel like I need training for all of this. For the packing, the traveling, the budgeting...I kind of want to throw a parent into my bag so that when something goes wrong, they can sit me down on a chair, tell me to watch their things, and go pull all the right strings and make everything work again.

Also, whilst doing my laundry for the trip, someone decided to lock the dog in the laundry room, which ended in a few chewed pairs of underwear. Dog, if you're gonna chew something, chew something I'm not sure if I need to bring, but don't chew my underwear! That's the only thing I'm sure about and the only thing I can't do without!

4 more days! Last night - hanging out with friends til early hours in the morning. Crazy happens. And sometimes you're called to work much too early in the morning to have fully recovered from all the crazy (@Kristen T). Today/tonight - skating and pictures with Anderpants and dinner and a movie with Danny. Should be great times! Tomorrow night my parents are taking me out. My dad told me he plans on getting me to sob, which I think is vindictive and unfair. We already know that all you have to do is say "sunsets on the beach" and I turn into a sop.

Oh and I already do an unhealthy amount of talking to myself ssoo... comments and responses are welcomed! Even if it's like a "hi!" or "you talk too much" or "miss you" or "I just pooped" (@Brenna H), I'd love not to feel like I'm just rambling to myself. I have a journal for that.

Manders

P.S.

Today is also my last official day of work at the bank. They bought me a cake, which I proceeded to devour with all the heart I could muster. 

Teehehe :)

Manders

Five days 'til five months...

I shed my first departure tear today. One little, inconspicuous tear (as crying is generally looked down upon in the banking world). You may be expecting me to tell you how sad I am about leaving all that is familiar to me and embarking on this crazy journey in an unknown place on the opposite side of the world, but that's not what that tear was all about. I'm not nervous to go, I'm not anxious, I'm not scared. I've always claimed to have a heart for adventure and this preparation has been quite the test! Which I've passed with flying colors, thank you very much.

No, I'm gonna tell you that I was overcome with the realization of how magnificent of an opportunity this actually is, and I cried a little.

I'm not a weepy person, so don't brush me off as irrational and emotional. And no, I'm not on my period either. I am, however, sleep-deprived, so if you want to attribute it to that, be my guest.

As a judge of my own emotions, however, I'll attribute it to the fact that I'm just NOW realizing what it is I've gotten myself into. I read something about 3 minutes ago by a former study abroad-er who was writing about her experiences and making suggestions for us Australian rookies. One paragraph went a little something like this:

       "Bathers beach is a block away from the P&O (where we'll be staying). It is a smaller beach, but you will learn to love it. I never really swam there, because a lot of seaweed drifts in, but I would lie down and tan between classes or study there. I don't think it's legal, but we had bonfires there at night! Also, this is a great beach to watch sunsets at - watch as many sunsets as you can. You'll miss them when you're back in the States. We saw dolphins along this shore too. Simply amazing. This is a great time to sit and relax and take in the fact that you are in Australia."

Okay. Beaches? Bonfires on the beach? Bonfires on the beach while watching the sunset? Bonfires on the beach while watching an Australian sunset?? Holy crap.

I just....cannot believe this is all happening...

It's like...I just...my insides hurt right now from the excitement and the overwhelming gratitude I'm feeling right now. I'm so incredibly blessed. I can never, EVER thank my parents enough for helping me and encouraging me to go on this trip. And I can't thank God enough right now for letting me be where I am now, five days away from the most amazing five months of my life.





We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder

Moving right along

Did you know?

There are actually animals called Tasmanian Devils? And they look a lot less like this -

and a lot more like this....

I'm unsure how Warner Brothers made the transition from vicious-looking black rat to somewhat cuddly bear-like creature with a lisp.

Oh, fun fact, it has the jaw strength of a crocodile.
Cool. Well add it right on to the list of things that can kill me in Australia.

I got all ambitious and started packing tonight. I now also know that I'm bringing shorts, which to me, feels like progress. Then I quit and now I'm watching New Girl on Hulu (another shout out here...Rachel Vogt, Schmidt happens).

Fun time chilling with the gurl fraann...said goodbye and surprisingly, no tears yet. This is good. I'm still in my alternate reality.

That's all. I'm super excited but I'll stop making all these worthless blog posts until I actually have something of interest to report.

Manders

This is so addicting

I remembered what else I need to bring. Dry shampoo or whatever it's officially called. I'm gonna try to find a happy medium between avoiding showers and being outstandingly grimy.

Well so far the small group I'm traveling with is planning on staying in Queenstown, New Zealand for a few days and then packing everything up in this psychedelic mystery machine and taking off down the coast of NZ -

I'm so proud of her...



Anyways, in order to spare my fellow travel-mates (Joe, Brenna, Christine, and Kaylee, sup guys!) a tremendous amount of displeasure, I'm gonna pack extra large portions of deodorant and this mysterious "dry shampoo" that everyone keeps talking about, because I don't anticipate a whole lot of opportunities to shower on this road trip.

Cool so,

•  underwear
• bugspray
• dry shampoo
• deodorant
• CAMERA
• money

It's a work in progress. I was also thinking about what I could buy as a poisonous animal repellant...WD-40? I hear it has like 101 uses (*ahem* Jules). Hey so, there was this one time freshman year when my door was squeaky and I pulled out a can of the WD and Julia Segeleon, my roommate who had never seen WD-40 before was all confused and I had to explain to her what it was. Pah! It was funny, but you probably had to be there. Needless to say, she does not know the magic of the blue and yellow aerosol can.

I had to say goodbye to a bunch of people that I'm really fond of this weekend. Although I know it's not a final goodbye, it still sucks a litt......a lot. I've kind of reverted to this fake reality in which I convince myself that I'm not actually leaving and everytime I see someone for the last time in a long time, I'll just be like, "Oky doke, see ya later! Text meh".

That's ok though, because I'll see everyone again, even if I have to make it happen. Which...I will probably do because I didn't get to spend enough time with everyone I wanted to...

So, in this final week of goodbyes and frantic week of preparation, I'll make the best of the time I have. Tomorrow I'll spend some quality chill time with one of my best friends....get our girl talk on, you know. Later this week I'll spend some time with the rents, butter them up a little before I leave so they miss me more ;)  I might possibly have a date with a pretty cool guy on Wednesday...(uh, yeah, this girl <--)

Annnddd for those of you who didn't get a chance to see a dramatic, tearful, final goodbye from me before I left, you should honestly relish the fact that you didn't have to see me cry (because it ain't pretty), and I'll miss you just as much anyways ssooo...

No bigs. Australia happens!

Manders

Pre-departure plans/jitters/ramblings

Well well! Looks as though I've joined the incredible world of travel bloggers! Cool.

I realize that, try as I might, I can't possibly keep up with the blogs of everyone I know, regardless of how interesting they probably are. So that means I either have to write some fascinating stuff or just be okay with the fact that most of my friends won't have time to diligently follow mine either.

So I'm still in Minnesota....is it okay for me to be blogging already? Don't answer that. I'm getting nervous. After literally like...a year of knowing I'd be across the world by this time next week, it's FINALLY (and I mean super recently) sinking in. And I wish it would have sunk in a while ago because now time is running out and I'm frantically going over my packing list in my head and all I can think about is "bring all your underwear and bring bugspray". There has GOT to be other things I need...

My Visa got approved! This was quite a big deal for me, because although I was supposed to get it done before December 31st, I experienced one of the biggest blond moments of my lifetime and forgot about it until...4 days ago? Thank you God, it went through relatively fast and we're good to go.

I also forgot about getting a computer until last night. It should be here by Wednesday, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm getting a Macbook! We'll cover how extremely excited I am about that later, no time now.
(asidhfkj4#$%#$taosieh MACBOOK!!!!)

Really, the purpose of this blog post is to share some cool trivia about Australia that I learned not too long ago, by an author who actually inspired the title of this blog, Bill Bryson. He's great, read one of his books!

Here goes:

"[Australia] is the home of the largrest living thing on the earth, the Great Barrier Reef, and of the largest monolith, Ayers Rock. It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world's ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures - the funnel web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick, and stonefish - are the most lethal of their type in the world. This is a country where even the fluffiest of caterpillars can lay you out with a toxic nip, where seashells will not just sting you but actually sometimes go for you. Pick up an innocuous cone shell from a Queensland beach, as innocent tourists are all too wont to do, and you will discover that the little fellow inside is not just astoundingly swift and testy but exceedingly venemous. If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback. It's a tough place"

(..heh heh....forget bugspray, do they sell Lethal Creature Spray?)
Sorry for all the reading material, but here's one more cool fact that I quite enjoyed:

"Each time you fly from North America to Australia, and without anyone asking how you feel about it, a day is taken away from you when you cross the international date line. I left Los Angeles on January 3 and arrivved in Sydney fourteen hours later on January 5. For me there was no January 4. None at all. Where it went exactly I couldn't tell you. All I know is that for one twenty-four-hour period in the history of the earht, it appears I had no being." 

( ^ I'm gonna be in one of those soon! EEEeeeee!!)

SO COOL. Can't wait. That's all for now. Stay tuned!

-Manders