vegamite..gross.

HEY all. So i gotta go quick because we're about to have a get together in the dining area of our hostel.

so yesterday we landed and things went smoothly. the flight was great actually, maybe a little too long but they had awesome movies, games, and music on tvs. I met tons of people in different ISV groups and some that i will be with in Fiji, everyone seems so nice and fun.

we met up with our project leader after we went through all the airport crap, his name is Barry. he is absolutely wonderful. he has a great sense of humor and his accent doesnt hurt. (there will be a lot of typos because australian keyboards are weird sorry). we all got in a van and drove 4 hours to our hostel. we stopped midway for lunch at a little pub i guess (pub here is a bar) and had some lunch. there was a little fire going in there and the food was good, ketchup is a little weird tasting but at least they have it.

my intial impression of australia so far is that its very quaint and everything is localized. it's not too different from america customs but it has it's own uniqueness. it's lovely. very lovely.

we arrived in port fairy (where we're staying for the next two weeks) and it's an adorable town. the hostel is quite cozy. we're right on the ocean, and right by a lighthouse *ive never been around a lighthouse before*and we did a little roaming around and i cooked dinner with a few other people. then we hit bed really early. the time difference is hard getting used to, we're 15 hours ahead of home.

this morning we woke up and got breakfast and did a little more walking around. then we went to a barbq/orientation of what we'll be doing for our project. it was at this park where theres a volcano...i forget the name. but it was a beautiful park. on the drive to the picnic area barry spotted a koala so we stopped of course for that. then at the picnic area, me schaller and mk (she's awesome) went out on our own (don't worry mom) and we saw a koala walking and we got right up to it. it was so cool. then we spotted from afar a family of kangaroos and we bolted up the hill through all this shrub and trees to them. we got super close. i was freaking out but secretly wanted to get punched by one just so i could say "i got punched by a roo" haha. then after exploring we went to eat, i tried kangaroo, it was good but it felt weird since i was just right by one.

the orientation was neat. we're working with DSE --department of sustainability and energy-- andt hey're a government agency focused on improving the environment and they're all so passionate. it's really neat. they don't have a lot of funding, hence where us volunteers come in so theyre all very appreciative of us. we'll be doing some really neat things which i'll blog about later. i'm running out of time...its coin operated internet!

so after that barry took us around a little bit to other surrounding counties...we went to this whale look out and we got to see a whale that was migrating. then he took us to this one dock area and we saw a seal, it was right up to the dock by all the people so it was neat.


we came back to the hostel and had some dinner and a little meeting. westart our work tomorrow, i'm so excited.

hm...what else...
there are 12 people in my group, theyre all awesome and nice. since it's a hostel there are others coming and going...it's cool seeing all the different people. oh i tried vegamite..it's disgusting. it's like a gooey soy sauce. that's the only way i can even begin to describe it.

welp...iguess i'll end here. i only have 4 minutes left. much love and i'll try to update again in the next couple days!