35%

Today marks 35% of my trip completed, with 65% still to come. When I think back to the first portion of my trip until now, the time seems as though it's gone fast and yet exactly as it was supposed to at the same time. I feel as though I've settled in to life here, with my room and apartment as my home base. I've stopped dreaming that I'm in Ames or West Des Moines, only to wake up confused. I've had my fair share of ups and downs, coming off my most recent low this weekend. Iowa State losing to Ohio State did not help!!! The hardest and most pressing issue about studying abroad, I feel, is finding the balance between missing home and family and friends, and making the most of being away. I don't want to completely disregard my friends and family for four months and even if I tried I don't think I could! I try to stay engaged in their lives without spending all of my time absorbed with what is happening in Iowa. I think I'm doing better with finding that balance, especially as school work has started taking over more of my life, not giving me much of a choice! :)

Last week Joe and my dad left Friday morning, so we spent Thursday in Melbourne. Our first stop after checking in to their hotel was a pink lake. Not like "there's a slight tint to the lake making it look pink from an angle," but a lake where the water was pink. There are a handful in the world, and this one popped up due to the very hot and dry summer. It'll stick around for as long as the temperature stays up and the moisture stays down. For as beautiful and intriguing as the lake was, it stunk! The stink stayed in my nose for the remainder of the day.

The sign reads: This SALT LAKE is less than 1 km from the sea, and quite deep, possibly below sea level. The lake is PINK due to what we believe to be the natural interaction of: a harmless, single cell green alga Dunaliella salina, and, an also harmless halobacterium Halobacteria cutirubrum, in response to very high salt levels, temperature and light. D.salina grows in the salt crust at the bottom of the lake and produces a red pigment - beta carotene. The colour intensifies as the water evaporates in summer heat and salt content increases. Pink lakes are rare - there are several in the Murray-Sunset National Park in Victoria, some in Western Australia, and a handful in other countries.

We then headed back towards the hotel and explored around there. We stopped in a souvenir shop, listened to a guy playing guitar, and grabbed some wings for dinner. It was then adios as I headed back to the train station and they went to their hotel to fly home the next day.

Saturday, I watched Iowa State lose :(

Sunday, I went to church.

Monday, I had class and then attended a young adult Bible study, and I've been doing homework and class since then! I did stay up until 1 am to register for my next semester classes at Iowa State, which I'm very excited about. I'm taking sign language (ASL) and only fourteen credits!

Much shorter read today. :) Enjoy the warming weather! As always, thinking of all of you!