Straddie!!!!

This past weekend I was able to attend the QUT Island Dream Camp on the beuatiful Stradbroke Island! Our group of 100 exchange students left early Friday morning and took a bus and ferry to the resort at which we would be staying! The water was low so we were stuck on the ferry for a little while before we were able to dock! Once we arrived we were divided up into our rooms, each with three or four people, and then taken to the Bowls Club for lunch. My room had four girls including me! One from Sweden, one from Norway, and one from Tawain, we all got along really well and I’m excited to see them again. After lunch we were divided into four groups and then taken to do the first of the four activities they had planned for us! My group’s first activity was surfing, for many of the people in our group it was the first attempt! The weather had not been its friendliest, but luckily it was not raining when we got to the beach. After a two minute introduction on how to surf and a quick run down the beach to warm up we were sent to the water! It was a struggle to actually get past the first set of waves but luckily the instructors were very helpful to those who were struggling. I was able to stand, a little, on my first wave and assumed that the rest would be smooth sailing… boy was I wrong!! After the first wave it seemed like I did absolutely everything wrong! But it was so much fun to try it and I will definitely go again… when its warmer! After surfing we went to dinner and then were able to listen to a native about his culture and see all the spears and boomarangs that the aboriginal people use. He also gave us quite a performance on the didgeridoo and brought a couple of the students up to teach them a native dance! It was soo interesting to learn about thier culture! Once the talk was over we all headed down to the beach where they had some fires lit and music playing! Everyone was having a great time just relaxing and meeting everyone! It was unfortunate when the rain started, but luckily we were able to move it inside!

The next morning my group had free time iso my roommates and I spent it exploring the beach and taking pictures of everything!! Everyone was a little nervous when it was overcast as we were waking up, but the sun soon came out and it was gorgeous! We were able to hang out on the beach, swim, play frisbee and soccer-futbol- and just relax until lunch time!

After lunch my group went on a guided walk a couple miles down from where we were staying! We were able to see a wild Koala, some Kangaroo, some stingrays, and a turtle! Other groups had seen whales and dolphins, but we missed out on those. After the walk we had dinner and then played Australian Trivia… I did not know nearly as much about Australia as I should have. 🙂 But it was still a great way to introduce ourselves further to everyone else! Once the trivia was over we headed down to the local pub and hung out for a while before coming back and heading to bed! Everyone was so tired!!!

On Sunday we woke up to warm sunny skies with just the perfect amount of wind! My group went kayaking and saw more stingrays and turtles! It was so nice! After kayaking we relaxed on the beach for a little while longer and then began to make our journey back to Brsbane! It was a busy weekend full of many introductions and lots of names! It was definitely a perfect way to end our summer and get us ready for classes! 

Monday for me was FREEZING!!! Luckily I didn’t have any classes so I was able to stay indoors and finalize my schedule! I will be taking Australian Culture and Society, Film and Tv Genre, Australian Dance, and Accouting!! I couldn’t have asked for a better schedule and am so excited that I have four day weekends!  But with that I have almost run into the start of my first class and need to run! Sorry I couldn’t add any pictures to this post! I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer and enjoying the warm weather over there!! I love and miss you all!!