Mixed Emotions

This is a picture of the river that is supposedly really famous and beautiful in Adelaide. I was told that it had to be drained because of some toxic spill so it isn't as beautiful right now though I see how it could be. :)

Things are ultimately going well. As you saw in my last post, I got to see kangaroos! :) and koalas and many other animals. The kangaroos and koalas were just adorable that I really wish I could have one as a pet. I do hear that people do that...they arent all as mean as they say they can be. A random question that I got from a friend that I thought would be fun to share is if Aussie's actually use phrases such as "cheers" and "mate" and "g'day"....and, well, they do. It is quite common here and I actually am quite used to it now. It's sad to be used to the accent because I almost feel like I dont appreciate it as much as I did before. I still love it though...supposedly us Americans draw out our vowels too much and say our o's like a's.

It has been quite a hectic week since they call this week O'week...where there are a ton of events going on and the clubs have booths and there are concerts and what not everywhere. So far I've chosen to stray away from the party scene at night since it is only tuesday and I dont see the need to go out and drink on weekdays like all the crazy people here do. Since the drinking age is 18 I am pretty sure that most college students are partying every night. At least I met some awesome friends (the ones who live around me) that like to stay in and watch movies and chat and drink tea instead. I love it. :) We dont start class until next week so it is interesting not having a routine yet. I suppose that will start next week. I signed up for some random things at the school like the mountain club (where they go hiking and canoeing and climbing), the softball club (that I dont even think plays this semester :( ), a Christian organization called evangelical students (where I have met a lot of really nice people), the ultimate frisbee club (which I ditched today because there were only guys there), and the water sports club (which I dont know if I will actually do). I guess it's good to be imformed about things though so if I choose to participate I can. :) I need to start planning my trips to explore Australia soon and get down to business with what I really want to do! :)

Today was definitely a noteworthy day. I got to see my lil brother River which definitely put a smile on my face. I also found out that I did NOT get into the U of I graduate program for social work....strange but true. I guess that's just not what I am supposed to do next year. I thought I was okay with it until I really really thought about it and started to feel bad about myself thinking I did something wrong and now what am I going to do next year....but, ultimately I just have to know that that is not God's plan for me to be at U of I next year...and although it stinks, it is so. Now to figure out if I want to apply to Loyola and/or just find a job. Overwhelming is all I can say. Please pray that I'm not so overwhelmed and that I am at peace with this reality. Not to mention I really hope that I find a job here...I need to really get working on putting my resume out there. I'm hopeful that I will find something even if it is only a couple hours a week.

Pray that my internet is working right soon too. It really has been a pain with my credit card company and the internet company. I dont even know what to do at this point...I just keep wasting my minutes on my phone talking to customer service people and getting no where. :(