Reality Check

Hello Everyone!

Long time no blog. A lot has occurred in the past week! The biggest, most important thing is it was orientation week!!! Now, although I used three exclamation marks, orientation still stinks in another country (I'm sorry Lay! I didn't have you as my orientation leader to make it better at BW!!). I give Australia credit though, they really tried to make it interesting. They had multicolored ribbon lining the sidewalk, breakfast three of the five days, a scavenger hunt, tours, mentors, CANDY! And yet it was still a struggle to make it through. Oh well, it's over and done and now it's time for classes to start. I also discovered that they serve pancakes here....with ice cream! Seriously, perfection.

Biggest reality check of my life. I had a great week and half filled with so many new friends from all over the world. I was in my own little bubble I swear! Life. Is. Perfect.

Then tonight (it is 7 pm Sunday night) I got on Blackboard. Worst decision of my life, because in that moment I realized I am here for school. Huh, completely forgot about that. So, because it's me, I, of course, had a panic attack for an hour over classes.

But when I sit back and look at all of my stuff, it's truly not that scary. I'm overall very excited and nervous and truly ready to start classes. I'd go broke if classes didn't start to occupy my time!

One more very important thing, I hope my family members read this article because you were all right!! Mackenzie Kaddl I'm talking to you! I was walking around campus with my good friend here and all of a sudden we hear this awful screeching and BAM!! A BIRD WAS DIVE BOMBING US!!! So naturally we take off screaming and running across campus while these birds are trying to scratch our faces off and these three women are just sitting back and watching us. It was the most traumatizing experience of my life. If anyone goes to Australia, stay away from these birds nests!!!!!!! Consider yourselves warned.

Megan (Philly)

Brady!

Kayne :)

Barth! (NY)

Michelle with Sarah Brault (NY)

Sarah Barth (NY)

Sarah Brault (NY)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is real

Buffalo Girls, Meg, and I

Megan, Oscar (my roommate), and I

That is all I have for everyone this week! If you are friends with me on Facebook I will continue to put pictures up as I take them!

Peace and Love,
Bugs

Getting Closer!

Hello Fellow Mates,

I have arrived at UniCentral!!!!!!! 60 hours of flying later. I got in at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night, their time of course, and have zero luggage. So this is a really good test of my patience I believe. I'm starting to talk like them a tiny bit by accident. It's fun though, they're trying to help turn me Aussie!

This is a shorter blog post, but this is all I have time for at the moment. Also, ORIENTATION STARTS MONDAY!!!!!!!

I'm only a little excited :) I look forward to posting on this to you all later, just know I am safe, and have gone shopping for some goods so I don't smell!

Peace and Love,
Rach

These are all of my new friends at USC! Even the little Roos :)

Houston, We Have Several Problems

Hello Mates!

Do not let the exclamation mark fool you. I have been traveling since Monday at 9:30 A.M. It is currently 1 P.M....on Thursday (New Zealand time)!! And I'm not even quite into Australia yet. Due to super bad weather in Dallas, I missed my connecting flight to Brisbane. Because I missed this, apparently rare, flight, I have been sent all over God's creation this week.

I stayed the night at Dallas, which was quite the experience. I did not get go round up steer or go to a rodeo while I was there. I know, very disappointing. I guess I should fill you guys in on my new flight schedule. I was then instructing, in order to get to Brisbane the quickest, I had to go to LAX, then Tahiti, then New Zealand, then finally to Australia!!

I had an 8.5 hour layover in LAX....and I'm too broke to look around anywhere, so that was a downer. Following the 8.5 hour lay over, I had to go on a 6 hour plane ride. Then I was greeted by belly dancers and ukalali (that could be spelled wrong) playing men. As exhausted and stressed as I was when I arrived, that was very interesting to see. Then, I was rushed, and I mean RUSHED, through the tahiti airport. Apparently my flight got in late, go figure, and my plane to New Zealand was boarding. No biggie. I was rushed through, everyone was very nice, and I reached my plane just in time! To find out it is another 6 hour flight. Now I am sitting in New Zealand, speed typing this blog entry to fill everyone in because I only have 30 minutes of wifi available.

On the bright side, I am finally sitting down...not a plane, got some protein in me, and the countries I have seen so far have been absolutely beautiful. It is pretty unreal to think I just saw three extra places within 2 days. Although it's stressful, it has been quite the experience. I also would not have been able to carry out this experience on my own. I met a couple at the airport that was taking the same flight I was out of Indy. I am so incredibly grateful I found them!! They became my designated parents and kept me calm/got me to where I needed to be. They did not have to do any of what they did for me, but, like I said, I am soooo greateful they did. Huge shout out to Mark and Denise Hilton!! I love you guys....even I have only known you for approximately 30 hours!

Stay tuned to hear if I actually ever get to my apartment. I know, the suspense is nerve wracking! Wish me luck :)

Peace and Love,
Rach

Designated Travel Parents

Rainbow view from the plane

Dallas, Texas

New Flight Plan...Gross

LAX

Tahiti

Very Polite Boards at New Zealand

New Zealand Scenery

New Zealand

AUSTRALIA

First Roo spotting

Typical University of the Sunshine Coast Picture

T minus One Week!

Hello fellow followers and mom!

First of all, this blog has nothing to do with the bugs in Australia. Bugs are icky, and the size of my torso there. In this case, Bugs/Bugsy refers to my nickname my family has for me. Not a clue how I received it, but it makes for a killer blog name.

As most, if not all, of you know by now, I only have one week left!!! Now, we'll take this in two different directions.

Direction One:
I'M SO DANG EXCITED!! Well, I'm freaking out of course. I mean who wouldn't be?? However, I'm freaking out in the best way possible. I wish I could describe the feelings and emotions this all brings me, but that is nearly impossible to do. As much as I love 'Merica, I am ready to expand my horizons.

I've started packing (kind of, even though mom has asked me like 5 times to "please start packing". Sweet woman I tell ya. I love her), I've made a list of the snacks I want to take on the plane, packed my coloring book Abigail made me, also my bottle opener penguin (compliments of the beautiful Alayna Chlad), and started my list of adventures I will embark on while gone for four months! Now I just wish my suitcase would finish packing itself so I could get the heck out of here already!

Direction Two:

*WARNING! About to get sentimental*

Pretty up and down emotion wise. While I'M SO DANG EXCITED!!, I'm also decently sad. I don't want to leave my family and friends for four months. I really don't. I have the greatest support system with the mix of them. I could not have better people in my life. I am truly blessed with the biggest, closest, funniest, and loving family anyone could ask for. Each one of them is trying their hardest to keep me home, and I can't blame them, I'm pretty amazing to be able to fit in with all of them! Just kidding. But, I do love all of them, right down to little miss sassy/sissy pants Claire Bear.

My friends, that's a whole other story! They are all so exciting, heart warming, and beautiful souls. I try to surround myself with the best people possible, and I've definitely succeeded in doing that! I'm going to miss my house mates for sure. They are four of the greatest girls I've ever had the honor of meeting. I cannot wait to live with them in January. I would name everyone off that I'm going to miss, but it'll probably just be easier to say I'm going to miss BW!! But I know as soon as I return, everyone will hear my Australian stories a million times, get sick of me, and my pictures, and life will continue the way it always has.

So I have four months to live the life I've always wanted before returning to my still pretty amazing reality. And in almost exactly a week, I will be running my little hiney through Dallas Airport catching the flight to Brisbane, Australia, where it will all begin. Also where I will be arriving at 5:00 A.M. Lord help me that's early in Australian time (3:00 P.M. our time; not that bad). I hope everyone can keep up on my blog, heck I hope I can keep up on my blog! Enjoy the next four months and I'll see you mates soon enough.

Peace and Love,
Bugs