Still here..

Well, I thought it was about time for another update. I'm still here, I'm still having a good time, but I think I'm starting to get a little nostalgic about home. The first two weeks were easy... making friends, exploring the grounds and the nearby towns, getting a handle on what the coursework is going to be like... but now that we're actually responsible for work and I've fully realized the length of time I'll be away from home, I've become slightly disenchanted. I'm also lonely here... for the first time in a very long time I'm not with anyone, which is really weird and uncomfortable for me. I'm not trying to complain or anything... all of these feelings will probably go away, but I feel sort of trapped here nonetheless.

I've made some plans for spring break... something to look forward to, for sure. Most of the kids here are going to Magnetic Island, which is very close by and relatively inexpensive. I plan to see some Koalas (none out here unfortunately), do a little snorkling on the reef, walk around, generally relax on the beach. Definitely a nice thought. Tomorrow I'll be doing some sort of activity with a local Aboriginal family.. not really quite sure what that will involve, but it might have something to do with bush medicine or bush tucker (basically medicine and food you can find in the forest). It should be interesting. On Sunday we're taking a trip through the waterfall circuit, which should afford me a couple of oppertunites for some photos... we shall see.

I've got a quiz coming up, along with a paper, a number of journal entries and a presentation. The academic aspect of this center is really quite interesting. Every week has its own unique schedule, which is weird. One day we might have five hours of lectures in the hot, stuffy classroom (indeed the only one at the center), another day we might just have to cut open a bunch of cane toads and analyze their stomach contents, and when I'm done with that I have free time for the rest of the day. Totally random. I never know what I'm doing next. We have meals three times a day, and for each day of the week there is a KP (kitchen patroll) team responsible for setting it up and cleaning up afterwards. We have to compulsively wash everything constantly because possums and rats probably climb all over everything when we're not here and pee on stuff... we might get lepto if we don't clean the tables and counters before every meal. On Fridays we have "Warrawork" (a play off of the center's name, "Warrawoo", which means "All are welcome), which is basically the slave hour where we have to clean the whole center and all of the bathrooms top to bottom. Thank god for Iris, our cook, who keeps us well fed. Nate, one of my new friends who is a great guitar player, is writing a song about her.

I can't really think of much else to write about. It's late, but I don't really feel like going to sleep because I know that I will just be thinking for hours about my life. I feel like everything is changing all around me. I'm totally confused about whether or not I'm making good decisions with regards to my career and everything... I just don't know what's going on anymore. I'm having fun, but I'm in a slump all of the sudden and I don't like it.

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe my new Aboriginal friends will tell me something that helps me to figure out my life.

Oh, by the way, I've been spelling things wrong left and right, I'm sure of it. I couldn't care less. I know there's a spell check. I don't care.