Confessions From a Shopaholic:

Oh P.S. I did not overdraft while in Australia, Yay me! Coming home well.....that's a different story :) But for "Buying half of Australia" (thanks Beth) I think I did pretty good! Well, off to the mall..........










(Just Kidding) ;)
Angie

I TRIED VEGEMITE!

Yes, indeed I did! It was gross :P very salty and when it was on my tongue it left like a burning feeling of all the Vegemite yuck! Anyways, I am happy to be home, but still there is a part of me that wishes I was back in Australia. I absolutely love it and plan to go back someday and visit places I didn't have time for. Thank you Dr. Jutte and Tonya for this amazing experience. I've learned alot and had so much fun. I still, a week later, have jet leg haha. The first Sunday when we came back I went to bed around 4 am and woke up around 6pm. I definitely adjusted much better over there. I still haven't looked at ALL of my 1,500+ pictures I took, but soon will have them uploaded to facebook, well maybe not all of them but the best. Also people keep asking me to tell them all about Australia and my response is well do you have about 3 hours for me to talk to you? I miss everyone and still feel like I can wake up and everyone will be sitting out in the kitchen talking. I hope sometime soon we can all meet again and catch up! Have a great year and keep in touch! :)

Cheers,
Angie

Can I go back?

Australia...there are no words. I keep getting asked how the trip was and I feel like by just saying it was an amazing time is not doing it any justice. I've just been telling everyone that you have to go and experience it yourself. I could show pictures and tell stories but no one will realize how amazing that place is until they see it for themselves. I've been home a week now (can't believe it) and it's still all I talk about. I think people are getting sick of me, but I seriously can't stop thinking about it and wishing that I was back there. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we will be back the first chance we get. I loved the people and the culture and I learned a ton of new things while being there. I can't express how grateful I am that Dr. Jutte and Tonya gave me the chance to share this experience with everyone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. All your hard work definitely paid off and I highly recommend this trip to anyone thinking about going in the future. I'm also fortunate to have made new friends and I have intentions of seeing you all again in the future. I can't imagine how I could share this experience with you all and then never see you again so keep in touch! London 2012? haha I've heard negative things about places like Italy and London but I always wondered why I have NEVER heard a negative thing about Australia. Well now I know. Thank you the trip of a lifetime. I will never forget this!

When are we going back??

First off, I would like to say thank you to Dr. Jutte and Tonya for making this whole trip possible. Not to be cliche, but it really was the experience of a life time and the two of you did a wonderful job. We had some very valuable lectures and some life lessons taught by the man himself Phil the maintenance man. Everybody that was on this trip brought something to the table that made the trip special. If there is one thing I took from this trip and all of the Aussies it is not to let your occupation get in the way of life. I for one get very wrapped up in school work and clinical hours and all that other stuff that gets in the way of doing stuff like fishing or shooting hoops with the guys. The Australians don't let their jobs define who they are or how they live their lives. It is quite impressive. Well, I hope everyone has gotten reacclimated to the U.S., Lord knows I'm still jet lagged. If you guys are ever in Holland, MI give me a ring.

Cheers,

The trip of a lifetime

I have been home almost a week now and I still can't believe I spent the last three weeks in Australia! As I have been telling family and friends about the trip I realized how much we did in the short time we were there. During the trip I guess I just didn't notice, but we crammed ALOT into the short time we were there. Throughout it all, not only did I have a lot of fun, but I learned quite a bit as well. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the trip seeing as how I really didn't know anyone else going. We didn't stay strangers for long though and one of the things I liked best about the trip was getting to know each of you who went. A different group of people would not have been near as much fun. I can honestly say going on this trip was a great decision, and I know I will remember it forever. Thanks everyone for making this trip to Australia such a great experience. Have a wonderful summer!:)

I think I'm still on Australia time.

Ladies and Gentlemen it was a pleasure sharing the last three weeks with everyone. I saw things I never thought I would see (thank you to Dr. Jutte and Tonya) and some things I wish I never did see (that was probably my own fault). I arrived back in Miami late friday night and I heard a song by Train on the radio when I was driving home from the airport. I became very emotional. I wanted nothing more than to be back in the observer, singing obnoxiously loud and generally having an awesome time. Despite all of my shenanigans I actually learned a lot on this trip. I learned about hot-cold baths and the proper exucution of a power clean. I learned about the importance of stretching and how stiff we can become if we spend all day hunched over a computer. I'll stop listing things there because if I go on I'm sure to leave things out (looking back on my notes I really did learn a fair amount) Again I can't thank everyone enough for making the trip as incredible as it was. As soon as I got home I packed my bags for Montana and hopped on a flight the next morning. I still wonder if I'm ever going to get back on a regular sleeping schedule. If I don't I guess I'll just have to go back.

It's Friday In Australia

Alright people, I've had enough. No more whining about not being in Australia anymore. We are back in the good ol' US of A! Old Glory! The Red, White & Blue! Supersize meal options! These colors don't run, people! I for one am glad to be rid of that waste of space they call Australia and hope to never go there again. I prefer my weight in pounds and my spiders small. I for one can say that I, without a doubt, hated Australia.
Just kidding, but could you imagine if I was really like that? No, my friends, I loved Australia. I had an awesome time and I think all of Australia knows it. Jared mentioned basically everything fun so refer to him at this point for a refresher in many of the events that took place that I, for one, will not be forgetting anytime soon. I even learned stuff. I learned they have a plant that cures hangovers (thank you, Phil). I learned that Australians hate mustard (and therefore I hate Australian Subway restaurants). I even learned how to read good...gooder....goodly.
In all seriousness, I would like to extend a sincere thanks to Lisa and Tonya for all the work they put into the trip. I know we may have been the cause of some undue stress at times, but I do hope that they enjoyed us and got as much out of the trip as we did. I think we made it work relatively well considering the majority of the 18 students that went were strangers before the airport. I hope to stay in touch with many of you and look forward to stealing your facebook pictures. I can't wait until I get to return to Australia.
I really would prefer smaller spiders though.

Back to Reality

So it hasn't exactly hit me yet that were all seperated back around the U.S. and basically gone from the best place on earth. I keep thinking i'll wake up and be back in Australia, this is all just a dream that I'm home. Then i wake up and its back to reality, not Australia. Looking for jobs, carpooling siblings, driving on the right side of the road. Such a nightmare! But Australia was the most amazing experience of my life. I KNOW i'll be back one day, i have too! I can't die without doing the bridge climb ofcoarse. I learned a lot on how others live and how much school I really dont have to do. I took care of my first stubborn athlete and knee injury. Thanks Sarah for preparing me, sorry to hear the bad news. The trips were amazing and I couldnt have asked for a better group of people to travel with. I went into this trip not knowing anyone and came out with friends that I'm sure will last a lifetime. Yes, i know its clique but its true. I had an amazing time, tripping and falling and laughing my way through three weeks. I wouldn't of had it any other way. Thank you so much Dr.Jutte and Tonya you guys did an amazing job! I know how hard it was for you both to set this up and deal with us but I hope you both enjoyed it as much as we did. Thanks again. Miss you guys and Australia
No Worrie ;)

Judment Day

As promised, this is my blog about what actually happened to me on this wonderful adventure. After the results of my MRI and the visit to my lovely orthopedic surgeon today, the verdict is....

1. Torn ACL
2. Partially torn MCL
3. Sprained LCL
4. Meniscus

This means that Megan was the closest in diagnosing the meniscus and ligament combo..Everyone was correct in assuming the MCL was more severely injured rather than the LCL due to MOI..and not even the ER doctor found an ACL component!!..the ortho nicely explained that this is because it was not checked bilaterally (note to self lol)

However all is well that ends well..he's making me get full ROM back w/o using a brace before performing surgery and after that I will be having reconstructive surgery..which in his words ends in a month with crutches and a brace, then 6-9 months before I'm back to full capacity..In my words that means we'll see how I feel =) Moral of the story, don't be stupid (I clearly have yet to master that concept!)

Back home!

Well I am back home and I actually adjusted to the time change pretty well. Australia was a blast! I have always wanted to go there and now I actually got to! I had so much fun got to try so many new things..Surfing, the beach, the ocean, flying, train rides, learning how to use a train system (which was very interesting for a country girl), and climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge ( I am afraid of bridges..thanks Mandi) haha. I am so glad I got the chance to go and if I get a chance I will be going back again!!!!

Back to reality..

Australia was a place I had always dreamed of going. Who knew that I’d ever get this sort of opportunity? It was an amazing trip full of beautiful scenery, tons of adventures, and so much more. I will never forget the great times on this trip. Just some of them include surfing, Phil, leeches, recovery lab, train rides, the bridge climb, and everything else. The friendships I made on this trip only aided in the experiences I had. Thanks for tons of fun, memories, and laughter. Now it's back to reality for me. Cheers!
P.S. I look forward to hearing from you all.

Our Last Day In Sydney!

Wow, how fast can 3 weeks go? In the blink of an eye for me. We had an early start to the day meeting downstairs in the lobby by 7:15am. We wanted to get to the Taronga Zoo right when it opened at 9am. We headed to the bus stop outside our building and waited in anticipation. We saw a bus go by on the other side of the street and Dr. Jutte thought we missed it, but it turned out a few minutes later one came from the other way and we were on our way to the Sydney Olympic Park Wharf. Now some of you may not know what a "wharf" is, it's simply another word for a ferry. It took us through the harbour to our destination, Circular Quay (pronounced "key"). The ride was fairly nice with not too many problems in the category of motion sickness, except a few. But we all made it safely. Then at Circular Quay we got onto a direct wharf to the zoo. It was a beautiful view of the city from the boat. We all enjoyed taking pictures of the bridge, city, and opera house. We arrived at the zoo and we egar to see the animals. One main goal of our trip was to see a kangaroo, well we did not (all) see a kangaroo in the wild but we did get to see AND PET them in the zoo! The zookeeper was very nice in letting the group take turns, 2 at a time, petting the baby joey. He liked it when we would rub his belly and give him food. He tried to eat my fingers because he thought my nails were food. We all got really good pictures with him. Speaking of pictures with animals, Mandi, Laney, Tamara, and I signed up for a Koala encounter. We were allowed to go into the cages where they lived and have our picture taken with one. Unfortunately we were not allowed to hold or touch them but we were allowed to be as close to them as you could get with out touching them and take as many pictures as you want with your own camera. We saw many other animals there too such as, penguins, lions, dingos, Tasmanian devils, a kimono dragon, 11 of the top 15 deadliest snakes, many different kinds of birds, monkey's elephants, even a baby gorilla with his family. They had a wonderful assortment of animals there that was great to see.
The next adventure of the day came for me, Mandi and Tonya (originally) but we added 3 more people, some reluctantly, Laney, Tamara, and Allen to climb the Sydney Bridge with us. I think I was the most calm about it and others were not happy to be doing it. We started off watching a video of what we would be doing, then we went into another room where we pretty much signed our life away and got a breathalyzer test. Then it was off to the change rooms where we put on what looked like space suits and got geared up with harnesses, radios, hats, handkerchiefs, and our "balls." Which of course were to keep us connected to the bridge safety cable at all times. We did a practice walk up stairs and across a catwalk and down the other side, then it was off to the real deal. We started underneath the road in the frame work where our guide, by the way was hilarious and a great entertainer, told us the history of the bridge and the town. We ascended up the stairs in between lanes 7 & 8 of traffic, don't worry we were not directly IN the road, and up to the catwalk. We waited a bit for our group of 11, 6 BSU people and 5 people from England, to all make it up and then we started the "real" climb up the arch. It really was not that hard of climb once you got to that part, and it was not as scary as you would think because the steps were not see through anymore and just thick steel. We got more stories about the bridge on the way up from Dale our guide, which by the way knew each of our names, pretty impressive to remember complete strangers in less than 3 and a half hours! He told us when the bridge was built at least 1,400 people were working at a time and only 16 people died in 10 years. Almost unbelievable. That was a close guess Tonya...."7,000." Yet we have to give credit to her because she answer almost every trivia question right, props to Tonya! When we almost got to the top we took a group photo of just the 6 of us with the opera house and the city in the background. I really liked the one with all of us giving a thumbs up! Then when we finally made it to the very top, 134 meters (about 440 feet) we took a whole group photo of the 11 of us. it was a great view and we were about to see so much of Sydney. To name a few: the city downtown, Manly and Bondi Beaches, and even the Olympic Park where we were staying at. Wow it sure was a beautiful view! I would recommend it to anyone that goes there. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity that how many people can say, "I climbed the Sydney Bridge!" Also many celebrities climbed it and we saw their pictures in the lobby after the climb. It was a great way to end the trip with one final view of Sydney and reflect on all that we've done on our journey here. Now time to pack those suitcases and head back home!

Back Home Again in Indiana

These past three weeks have been unbelievable, a dream come true! From the tears, laughs, and smiles, I loved every minute of my time in Australia. For me it was bitter sweet to leave because I feel in love with Australia and it became my home. One day, I plan to return a) to snorkel and dive the Great Barrier Reef, b) to see the Outback, and c) to find job and live there. Anyways, once I returned to the States, it was back to reality for me, as I worked a volleyball tournament as a first responder (athletic training).

My time in Australia has been a trip I will never forget. Thank you Dr. Jutte for everything that this trip had to offer. I am so glad that I went.

Cheers!

Home Again

This trip has been one for the ages. Australia is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There were so many experiences that I will never forget...surfing even though I can't swim, nights out in Sydney, getting lost in the zoo, leaving places early and getting on the wrong train and having everyone else beat us back, nature walks with Phil, bus tours with Barry, people getting stuck in things (you know who you are). So many memories. I had a lot of fun and met some great people. Cheers!

Lauren

P.S. Beth I better see you in Muncie come September 12th!

The End?

Hello my friends. I am sure you are all experiencing the same emotions I am feeling being back in the USA. My Australia hangover will be around for weeks I'm sure. I think something that will help us get through this withdrawal is to think of some of the best times we had in Australia. I think I can sum them up pretty well with just a few phrases or words for each. Lets get started. The first day in Lennox Head. Surfing with Mojo. Cheeky Monkeys. Boys Night In (haha). Fabilicous. Phil the Groundskeeper guy. All you can eat at the AIS. The first annual Stinky Bowl. Plunge Pools. The guys sweet rooms at the AIS (sorry girls, lol). The Rugby game. Chicken Dance. Singing at the Observer. Uber Night!!!! Alex and I's tardiness. Megan and Sarah running into things, tripping, or injuring themselves in some way. Petting those Kangaroos. And last but by far not the least, "The Incident." Just writing about these things makes me laugh hysterically. Anyways, I am looking forward to seeing lots of pictures. Tag me as you wish, I have no shame. I think we all owe Dr. Jutte a round of applause (CLAP, CLAP, CLAP). She did a wonderful job. If it wasnt for her we would have had average summers at best. I'm so glad I persued her email that I got way back in early fall I think it was. Looking forward to hearing from you all. Tamara and Mike especially because we have a project to do. Stay in touch. No worries!!!! Cheers!!!!

-I have since edited my post. I changed the title to "the end?" because who knows, maybe some of us will see eachother again someday. Hopefully we have all made lasting relationships. Also, I cant believe I forgot this the first time I wrote but here it is. After arriving in Indy, saying bye, and driving off into Indiana, I fell asleep on the ride. I awoke at one point and caught the DJ on the radio getting ready to play a song on the radio. Believe it or not he played "Land Down Under" by Men At Work, a song we should all download. I was in total disbelief as it played. It is as if someone requested it for me. I had sang it almost the entire trip but only new have the words. If you listen to the lyrics, the guy in the song requests a Vegemite sandwhich. Its pretty funny. Well thats all I wanted to add.

back in Mass

To go along with what Sarah said, I do agree that I had a lot of fun over the last 3 weeks. I also agree with almost everything she said. This has been an unforgettable trip in more ways that people can imagine.

I had a hard time with the time difference yesterday; I believe I finally got out of bed at 3:45pm, yeah I slept basically an entire day. It was strange to not wake up to a beach that looks like Lennox Head, or the lovely confines of AIS, or Olympic park and the crazy subway system of Sydney. I am also currently loading the 1000+ pictures that I took while in Australia that will make it impossible to forget.

I'm happy I went on this trip, I'm happy I got to do things I wouldn't have normally done, and I'm happy I met everyone. Hope the rest of all your summers are awesome!!

Cheers! (last time I'll ever write that haha)