Classes, Piercings, Werribee Zoo, and Self Care

One week of classes under my belt! This semester (trimester here) I'm taking three classes total, two in person and one online. I'm having a hard time figuring out what else to say because they went about as expected for the equivalent of syllabus week. My two in person classes are full of majority freshman and because this is their first trimester in college ever, we had to spend time discussing the differences between high school and college which quickly became tedious. I suppose there is one glaring difference between the United States and Australia when it comes to college; the teachers really insist on being addressed by their first names and not Dr. so and so, saying it's too formal and we're all adults. While there are some instructors I've had in college that I've eventually addressed in emails by first names, I'm pretty sure I never have when the instructor had their doctorate. I think I heard a graduate student tell us once at Iowa State, "they earned that degree so they deserve to be referred to as Dr. so and so." Bit of a culture difference. One of my sociology instructors is Australian but worked near Council Bluffs, and therefore knew exactly where I was from when we did introductions in class. What a small world!

Thursday after Nina got out of class, we headed to Geelong and got our cartilage pierced! It was spur of the moment (although I've wanted this piercing for a long while now) and I love it so much. As soon as it heals, however, I'm switching it to gold so it matches my nose.

Today after church, Nina (a Kinesiology student from Canada), Daniel (an IT student from Denmark), James (an Australian student getting his bachelor of arts), and I took a trip to Werribee Zoo. Normally I am appalled by zoos and the concept of locking animals away for human entertainment, but this zoo should be a model for all zoos to go off of. The zoo for the most part was open range, with a free safari type ride through the various "climates" set up. I took way too many pictures to remember all of the different species we saw (three species of antelope start to get confusing), but I'll do my best to identify them below. As an added bonus for us, it was windy and cooler and spitting rain, meaning the animals were up and moving instead of hiding from the heat in the shade! Even off the safari, certain exhibits were open for the animals. For example, in the Australian walk through area, kangaroos and emus were walking all over the place! It was such a cool experience and I'm really glad we made the drive.

Top: (L) taking off on the safari! (R) one of many species of antelope to come

Bottom: (L) some camels just chilling (fun fact: their humps store fat, not water). (R) a rhino

Top: (L) more rhinos! (R) a zebra (pronounced in Australia as "z-eh-bruh" not "zee-bruh"

Bottom: (L) some giraffes chilling. (R) an ostrich very close to us

Top: (L) a gorilla. (R) me, Nina, and James posing by some painted cheetahs

Bottom: (L) three (count them!) hippos hanging out in the water. (R) inside a tent filled with traditional African artwork and pictures

Top: (L) a lion sits perfectly framed by a frame already put there. (R) five other lions

Bottom: (L) a monkey snacking. (R) a koala staring right at us!

Top: both: posing with kangaroos!

Bottom: (L) an example of a schedule of historical Australian wool shearers. (R) me inside a replicated shearing pen, with a fake sheep (excuse my messy hair- it was windy!!!)

Top: (L) me getting nervous about being so close to an emu as Nina kept telling me to get closer. (R) Nina and me watching Daniel attempt to get closer to the same emu as before

Bottom: (L) goofing around in the gift shop. (R) hanging out with my new gorilla bestie before heading back to Waurn Ponds!

The last couple of weeks I've heard the same remarks from a few friends about how happy I look, and while I appreciate the comments I also need to be transparent. The last 26 days have been some of the most memorable days of my life, both because of the cool things I've done and the difficulty I've faced being away from all of you. While FaceTiming Matt on Wednesday, I started crying for the first time since being here. Not only did I realize it was the longest Matt and I have been apart in the seven years we've known each other/dated, I was finally allowing myself to admit that I missed him and my family and friends. I'm honestly surprised I made it that far without crying like I did, which is a testament to the last year and a half of trying to get my mental health issues in order. A year ago I was not in a mentally healthy position to have been able to go on this trip. Knowing how far I've come has comforted me some. Later that night, Emshia (who lives in the unit next to mine and is my friend and regular grocery shopping buddy) and I went and saw Captain Marvel (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and even though there was no way she could've known exactly what it's like to be abroad, it was wonderful to have someone. The next day I was talking with Nina and we agreed that those feelings come in waves. Just as they should. While I appear to be and while I am having a fantastic time over here, I really do miss you all and can't wait to be back with you again. I think about you all everyday, and thank God for you.

Happy Lent, I love you all and have a great week!