Goal #3: Travel (8 days left)

What is Canberra?

A) A fruit similar to acai that’s high in antioxidants and found only in the Australian outback

B) Yogi Berra’s son, born in Sydney, Australia

C) Australia’s national beer

D) None of the above

If you answered D, none of the above, congratulations! You have won a free trip to Melbourne, Australia for as long as you would like. The trip includes room (you can sleep on my floor) and board (I will feed you cereal and milk). Airfare is not included.

Come visit me at the top of the world.

In fact, Canberra is the country’s capital (the capital city was a tug-of-war between Sydney and Melbourne, so officials settled on a physical semi-median of the two, giving birth to Canberra, the largely unknown but most highly populated inland city), and one of the many places I’d like to visit. Also on my list of travel destinations are Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, Alice Springs, Tasmania, and New Zealand, to name a few.

You may wonder, “But Audrey, how will you ever get from Melbourne to all of these wonderful and not typical tourist places?” Enter the campervan: “Each budget camper comes with a unique paint job, comfy bed, kitchen, and loads of storage space” (http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/).

So the vans may be slightly inappropriate. But unicorns and rainbows don't really make a strong statement.

But, dear readers, you’re smarter than that and then ask me, “But what about Tasmania and New Zealand? They are an entire ocean away!” To that, I respond, “Dude, she’ll be apples.” (That’s Aussie slang for “don’t worry about it.”)

And if I bring my charm, I may even qualify for this 10% discount.

Comic of the Day (11 days left)

Lessons from the Great Australian Flood (12 days left)

I’ve learned two things from the deluge in Brisbane, Australia:

1. Combined with California’s impending doom (according to the movie 2012 and Yahoo News), the Apocalypse is coming. See video below:

2. However, when Judgement Day comes, it’s good to know that everyone will become best friends. Yes, you will be hugging that terrible teacher you hate from middle school, while kissing that jerk who cut you off in traffic this morning. Check out my proof below: snakes don’t lie.

The snake who saved the frog in the flood. It's toadally dorbz.

In spite of In light of the weather and the end of the world, I have officially put my name down for river rafting during orientation. My best friend, Wikipedia, so aptly describes a Class 6 rapid:

Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death.. Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill.

How convenient - everyone knows I've got mad skills and enough luck to meet a leprechaun. See you on the other side!

Happy Australia Day! (13 days left)

Also known as Foundation Day, Anniversary Day, Survival Day, Invasion Day, and Day of Mourning... Let the celebration begin!

Mutant Message (16 days left)

I’ve been reading this book called Mutant Message Down Under, given to me by my professor. Whether or not the story is factual is debatable, but essentially, an American woman who was abducted by one of the few surviving Australian aboriginal groups. The tribe, who refer to themselves the Real People, called her a “Mutant” (no, this is not some crazy sci-fi nonsense) because she, like the rest of the non-aboriginal world, had lost touch with Oneness, controlling one’s actions to benefit the happiness of life everywhere. They adopt this Mutant for a few months on a walkabout, where they teach her their beliefs in the hope that she will share their legacy with the Mutants of the world.

The book is a big source of my fascination with the native Australians. I admire the way they live – unattached to materials, content with recalling the happy memory the object provided; endlessly roaming the outback, but never taking more than they need; and trusting completely in a higher power, always grateful for everything that crosses their path. I’ll admit, the best way to describe my feelings for the aboriginal culture is jealousy.

I’ll probably pick a few more fun quotes to post here, but I really recommend picking up a copy if you have even a little free time. It’s easy to read and really made me rethink the way I live.

In response to the suggestion that the Real People tribe have something we don’t, one skeptic said, “It’s their ideas against ours, and can a whole society of people be wrong?” Yes, I think it can.

Picture of the Day (17 days left)

Looks like Australia, right? I think I can see the Great Barrier Reef from here..

I'm not really sure where this picture came from (I found it on my phone) but it doesn't matter, I'm so there.

Goal #2: Chill (19 days left)

Relax, have fun, smile.

Also, look at the cute panda my baby cousin showed me:

Quote of the Day (21 days left)

"They also have special shark-patrol lifesavers. Being eaten by a shark is not a common occurrence but is enough of a problem to warrant the special training."

--Marlo Morgan, Mutant Message Down Under

Goal #1: Let's be friends (22 days left)

“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” – Colonel William Prescott to his soldiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775.

Fine, making friends can’t exactly be compared to the Revolutionary War, but I've always liked that quote, so I jumped on the first opportunity that had any resemblance of relevancy.

Basically I’m talking about that single, decisive moment just before I encounter someone new. I easily spot the stranger from afar and spend the remaining seconds until the dreaded encounter debating my two options:

• Option #1: mesmerize myself in a magazine, the horizon, or a speck of dirt to appear deep in thought, too self-interested and distracted to notice anything else.
• Option #2: a polite nod of acknowledgement, occasionally followed by a whispered “hello” if I’m feeling particularly daring.

Never do I consider greeting a stranger like a normal person. I'm not sure what I'm afraid of, but it's probably related to forced, awkward conversation. I’m surprisingly antisocial, once you get to know me :). But those days are over. Okay, maybe not completely over, but I am ready to ease myself into society. Consider this my long-awaited debutante ball.

Hello, world. I present to you, Debutante Audrey.

My goal this semester is to meet as many new people as I can. Obviously, going to a new country where I don’t know anyone, I am going to make some friends (knock on wood). What I’m really talking about is getting to know the people that could just as easily slip by – the merchant at the Tibetan arts store, the homeless man outside of the subway station, even that intimidating guy with the full body tattoos and piercings.

We don’t need to be best friends, but everyone has something they’re passionate about. I can learn something from all of them - from the Tibetan merchant's favorite Nepalese restaurant in Berkeley to the quality of Colorado's tap water (if you're curious, Colorado's water is top notch, according to the guy with the Air Force shirt). Who knows? Maybe I'll find out that Mr. Tattoo-face did Keith Urban’s ink!

Comic of the Day (25 days left)

You say goodbye, I say hello (27 days left)

The strange thing about making new friends is that the more friends you meet, the less likely you will see all your friends again in one place. In Kindergarten it was easy – invite all thirty kids from my class for a sleepover party! It might have been hell for my parents, but it was still feasible. Now, just imagining an attempt at bringing together all of my friends in one place at one time makes my head hurt. I finally sympathize with the bridezillas.

But bringing everyone together isn’t my concern right now. What bothers me is that I always feel like I’m saying goodbye to someone. Spending time with my friends in California means goodbye to everyone on the east coast. And in order to make new friends in Australia, it's goodbye to all of my friends here.

On the other hand, I believe that meeting new people is so important to being happy. I’d like to draw a parallel to polygamist Kody Brown, star husband of the reality show Sister Wives on TLC. His words of wisdom (cheese alert): “Love should be multiplied, not divided.” (In this metaphor, I am Kody, and my friends are the sister wives.) Instead of adding new wives like Kody, I am developing new friendships, which (super cheese alert) doesn't take away from but rather increases my love for all my friends.

So sure, it sucks that going to Australia means I’ll have to say goodbye to everyone at home, but I’m looking forward to meeting new people, even though I know I will have to say goodbye to them as well at the end of my five months abroad.

My Favorite Wolverine (29 days left)

I underestimated the land down under’s capability of producing talented pop stars. It’s probably because talented Australians are far less trashy than their American counterparts, so they rarely appear on the cover of People magazine with the headline, “Pregnant!,” “Caught Cheating!,” or “Rehab Again!”. Instead, they sing and dance and steal the hearts of women everywhere. Exhibit A - Hugh Jackman:

A little research produces a long list of other famous Australians in pop culture. Here’s just a few of them:

• Country star Keith Urban and his lovely American-born, Australian-raised wife, Nicole Kidman
• Deceased crocodile hunter Steve Irwin
• 1985 Sexiest Man Alive winner Mel Gibson (American-born, Australian-raised)
• Ellen DeGeneres's wife Portia de Rossi

Who knows? Maybe we'll all hang out.

The Countdown Begins (32 days left)

One month until departure. It’s still too far way to be real. In the meantime, I’ve become the self-declared neighborhood bum – occasionally seen roaming the streets in a hoodie and sweats, but usually hidden and sleeping on the corner… of a couch (I have a little dignity and I’m not homeless yet, thank you).

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That's where I'll be living! Just 6 km from the ocean.

Anyways, I’m starting to get my act together. I'm deciding what I'd like to do during orientation - ATV, hike the jungle, tour the port, explore the outback, river raft, or horseback ride. I found out I’ll be living in a 2 bedroom studio apartment that’s a 5 minute walk from Uni (Australian slang for University. See? They like to ‘breve their words too!). And, wait for it... I'm even starting to think about applying for my Visa!

But I’m not the only one who's not on top of their game yet; Australia needs to figure it out too. Excuse me, giant flood in Queensland? No, that won’t be acceptable, although that would make river rafting more appealing.