The Country

Sorry that it has been almost a week since my last post, but it is very difficult to find enough internet time to actually write! But, here I am...two hours inland in Murrurandi, Australia...A.K.A...the middle of freaking nowhere...using Jesse's (our conservation team leader) computer and the free wi-fi that is supplied by our accommodation. So far, my time here in Oz can be explained by me as nothing but strange. This discription is neither positive nor negative, but neutral until I am able to have a deeper understanding of my experiences here. Let me start from where I left off last week.

Most, or all actually, of last week was spent weeding. The boring work was inturrupted by sporatic jokes and laughter about the menial work that nobody was excited about. Lunch time was generally the best time of day, and we all explored the different location we were weeding in. One day, we even got to make video snapshots for the partner organization that we were volunteering for...nobody took it seriously...and therefore, it turned out much better! Tom, the hilarious guy from "near Amsterdam," even pretended to be a superhero in his. At times, we all found it difficult to be motivated to do the work because they did not have much for us to do. Jesse even was frustrated, but did a good job of not letting it show. He would often pull over to the side of the road and say "OK guys...lets weed here for about twenty minutes and then we'll go." He is really cool and doesn't mind if we take it easy! My favorite day was probably at the Hunter Wetlands. We worked for a total of an hour, and listened to music the whole time. After, Jesse took us on a bushwalk, and we got to see beautiful birds and wetlands.  On Friday, we were all exhausted and the weather sucked so we ended work at noon and had the rest of the day in the volunteer house relaxing and watching movies (The Beach, with Leo...I would recommend it!). Hannah, from Scottland, made awesome cupcakes, which was a huge plus. Also, two new guys came to the house...Cel from Belgum and Simon from France. We all went out on Friday night to a pub and then the beach...it was a great night!

On Saturday, CVA organized a trip to Port Stephens for us, a beautiful area about an hour north of Newcastle. Jenni, a CVA staff member tagged along to show us around. First, we visited a cool hostle that rehabilitates Aussie wildlife. They hadraised a kangaroo that we got to pet and play with. That was definitely the highlight of my day! We also got to hold exotic birds which was pretty cool as well. After, we had a classic Aussie barbie (BBQ) at a beautiful park on the beach. I, of course, ate salad, while everyone devoured sausages. It was funny to watch Simon eat them though because he keeps kosher at home...yes he is a Jew! After some time at the beach, we went for a nice little, meaning huge, hike up to the top of a mountain to get a 360 view of the beautiful area. We ended the long but fun day at amazing sand dunes. I felt as if I had taken a brief trip to Egypt beacuse of the endless sand and camels hiking along the dunes. When we got back to the house, I realized that I had my first tick. Hannah is a great doctor though and was able to remove it for me.

On Sunday, we all went to the Newcastle beach, the norm, for a while to get a nice tan. After we met up with Jana, from Germany, and ventured to a new beach, Bar Beach. It was amazing, and probably one of the top three most beautiful beaches that I have been too. It was hidden inbetween huge cliffs and had huge red rocks all along the water.

This week, we are on a residential project in Murrurundi. There is virtually nothing to do in this town because of its extremely small size. It is two and a half hours north of Newcastle, but is pretty cool. The only downfall is that we are of course, weeding all week in the most random places ever. It is still very hard to get motivated to weed on the side of a road. Yesterday, we only worked for an hour because of our late arrival in the area. Work was followed with a trip to the grocery story and another car ride to our accommodation. We were all shocked to see we were staying in a huge, beautiful mansion, on a graveyard. It used to be a monistary and has a church on the property as well. It is clean though, so that is all I can really ask for. With nothing to really do in the area, our afternoon was spent playing soccer, cooking dinner, playing cards, and hangman. Today was even hotter than yesterday, and we ended work at around one. After, we all went to town for a beer, minus me because I hate beer. I also had to go to the Chemist...the pharmacy in American English, to get a toothbrush and toothpaste because I forgot that at the Newcastle house! We also started a puzzle but I got so frustrated after ten minutes and here I am now!

I am very excited for this weekend because a bunch of the volunteers are going to Sydney to explore the massive city for two days. I am also pumped beacuse I am seeing Margot from camp there! Also, I will be home in nine days!

So, it is only appropriate for me to say, nine more days of Aussie adventures to come!