http://s933.photobucket.com/albums/ad171/ashleymharrell/?action=view&current=Australia001.jpg

here's the link to my picture website. You should be able to see all of them if you just keep hitting next.

Sorry i haven't written in a while! I was in Byron Bay from Wednesday until Friday. It's so gorgeous there. Me and some friends joked around that our trip was like fat camp in disguise because the whole trip was a workout. The first day we hiked to a lighthouse, the hike was awful because it was all uphill but we got to see some great views on the way. We also went to the most easterly point of the australian mainland. The next day we went sea kayaking..also a killer workout on the arms. I was in a kayak with this guy from germany. We didn't tip at all until the end we flipped over as we were coming in and right as I stood up another kayak was coming at me full speed and completely ran me over and then flipped on top of me. Not many people can say they've been run over by a kayak. The third day we got surf lessons..another workout! Im glad I got to learn though, I stood up on the board and actually rode one tiny wave, but i'm sure I looked completely uncoordinated doing it. I have a friend who surfs and he said he would take me for lessons sometime, so maybe i'll actually become decent at it. Probably not though. We also had free time on the trip to lay out on the beach and go out at nights. It was my first hostel experience..it wasn't too bad. Now that i'm back from byron bay i've just been hanging out with friends. I saw the 6th harry potter sunday and today we went to the beach. Tomorrow I start classes, which is weird because I still kind of feel like i'm just on a vacation. Friday we are going to go to dinner at the Hard Rock in Surfer's. Then Saturday is race day which i'm really excited for. It's pretty much the equivalent of the Kentucky Derby. A bunch of us went shopping the other day and I got a dress and a flower to put in my hair. Should be a good time. I'll update again at the end of the weekend to write about it. I also made a picture website that I can put all my pictures up on because it takes to long to put them on here, so I will post the link to that too.

I am officially in love with surfer's paridise! I went there Saturday night with a big group of people. We went to a friend's ocean view apartment and then to a club. The next day I went there with 3 of my friends from England to get lunch and look at the beach. Its a very busy place, very touristy i think, but I love it and its so pretty there! I honestly cant remember what all i've been doing the past few days. I've been very busy getting everything organized and also meeting new people. Last night there was a barbeque at the village (note- when i say the village i am refering to griffith university village which is where i live). I tried kangaroo meat there, it wasn't bad but I just couldn't get over the fact that I was eating a kangaroo so I only ate a bit. Today I layed out by the pool for a little bit and actually got a lot of sun..if only our winter back home could be this nice. Tonight im staying in for the first time since i've been here to let myself rest since i've been going non-stop since ive been here. Tomorrow i'm going on a trip to Byron Bay with a bunch of the study abroad students. We're going to a wildlife sanctuary, a lighthouse, getting surf lessons, and going kayaking. I'll be there until Friday.
I'm going to put a few pictures up. I've taken loads more than this but I can't put them all up at the moment.

A guy in surfers playing the diduri doo (im sure i spelled that completely wrong). It uploaded twice and i can't get one of them to go away.

Surfer's paridise!

Me and 3 of my roommates. Just missing Isaac and it would be all of us.

Surfer's again!

A part of campus

I wish I could upload more but it takes FOREVER to do it on this, so I'll probably just end up getting a picture website to put all my pictures on.

Yay for my first blog entry!! It's 6am in Cincinnati but its 7pm here, weird.

I guess i'll start from the beginning with my trip over to Australia. I was really nervous to fly by myself and make all of my connecting flights, but everything went really smoothly and I didn't even need to ask anyone for help! The worst flight was my flight from Denver to LA i felt really sick the whole time. When I got to LA I met another girl from my group and we started talking, and then this girl from Australia started talking to us as well. Ironically, she goes to Griffith, the same University I'm going to and she just so happened to be on her way back from visiting her friend in Cincinnati who goes to UC! Its a small world. The 14 hour flight to Brisbane I slept most of the way and watched a movie and TV. I also sat next to this really nice guy from Canada who goes to a boarding ski school and wants to be on the Canada olympic team. When the flight landed I waited in line for customs for forever and i finally got through and was greeted by people from the University. A bunch of us rode in a van and got dropped off at where we were living.

I live at Griffith University Village which is right by campus. Its apartments but its a really social place and everyone loves to go out all the time. I have a five bedroom apartment with 1 full bathroom and 2 half bathrooms. When I first got to my room it was really creepy because everyone was sleeping. Finally, the two guys woke up and I got to meet them. Isaac is from Brisbane and Sean is from Canada. We were the only ones there for the first day, Sean and Isaac had already been there a week or more. That day me and Sean walked around campus and I got a phone which I already broke because i put the sim card in the wrong way and it won't come out. Later that day, me Sean and Isaac walked to the supa IGA (literally that's what its called) and went grocery shopping. We took the cart with us and walked it all the way back to our apartment. The guys said it was okay for us to do this, but i'm still not sure if its allowed or not. Either way, I thought it was funny that we were walking down the street with a grocery cart like we were homeless or something. After that we ate dinner and went to another apartment in the Village. I met a bunch of people, everyone is really nice but I feel like everyone already knows each other because they have been here a few days already. Today another one of our roommates came, a girl named brooke from England. We decided to take the bus to a shopping mall to get some more stuff we need for the apartment like towels and coat hangers. Me, Brooke, Sean and 2 other people went and it was a productive day because we got a lot of things we needed. Tonight me and Sean are going to an animal party at another apartment in the village. People are supposed to dress like animals but apparently everyone is just wearing random animal prints and horns and things. Then later we might go to some of the clubs in surfers paridise. I think tomorrow me Brooke and one of her English friends are going to go to the zoo.

So far Australia is really good, and i'm adjusting to everything pretty well i think. The weather in the daytime is really nice even though its winter. There are poeple laying out by our pool all the time during the day. As soon as the sun goes down though it gets really cold. As far as the people driving on the oppisite side of the road, I really don't even notice it. The steering wheel is on the opposite side, so it feels normal. People also said the toilets would flush the opposite way, but it just goes down straight really. I really like my roommates a lot so far. We have one more coming, a girl from Canada, so we have a really good mix. The 2 guys are upstairs in the apartment and the 3 girls are downstairs. We are also from different countries which is really cool and this is all our first time at the university. I'm really excited for the next few months I think they are going to be really fun.

I wrote alot more than I thought I would, and I haven't even done anything exciting yet. More to come later!