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)

If home is where the heart is...Can i go back home?

So it's my 2nd lovely day back in MA and I've been up since 5am..thank you jet lag! Well after crying hysterically at leaving all of you at the airport, I figured it was a sure shot that all of this was out of my system. -ha "doutable" The weathers nice at home and all (no real complaints) but really, did those 3 weeks just happen?!? I've spent the past 4 hours researching how to go back and if my degree transfers to Australia because I for sure have not had my fill of that country. I can legitimately say that was the most amazing, exciting and outright entertaining experience of my life thanks to each and every one of you! Yes I just said legitimately but really, let's be honest, you'll all probably start using wicked on a regular basis now (i thoroughly enjoy that word as you've noticed).
Anyways, I think we can all agree that the learning wasn't all bad and really I enjoy their medicine (acupuncture and such) far more than what we have in the US. Probably because I'm bitter the ER doctor thinks I have patella tendonitis and the orthopedic surgeon isn't available till Tuesday! Yea, gotta love doctors back home..apparently that loud crack was my tendon snapping over the bones in my lower leg? (that should probably scare many of you seeing as well, he's a very highly paid and respected individual that has no idea what he's talking about! lol) O well, future updates to come..
But really, back to reality and what's really important about this trip. I could not have had a better time with a better group of people and I can promise that I will never forget any of you! Whether it's Mike's sarcasm, Tom's late night lusting, Alex's..well....habits?, Jared's love for Fabulicious, Jenny's fish, Beth's motion sickness, Lauren's leeches, Deanna's wonderful picture taking! (not ha), Danielle's adventures (or what the boys version of them were) or all of Megan's blonde moments (elevators still don't move sideways!) I'm sure I will be telling these stories for a long while. By the way, the parents loved the Cheeky Monkey pics - WARNING - do not go to sleep before removing you're camera card! haha
Well, I hope I've left you all with some good memories and good luck to everyone with whatever you choose to do in life! For some of you this isn't goodbye it's more like see you soon but to the others, stay in touch and never forget what was Australia 2009!

A busy day in Sydney...

This morning started early with a lecture at the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) by Dr. Thomas Gan. He explained the sports medicine team at the institute and the different programs and scans available to both the athletes and the public An interesting fact was that the scans here in Australia (MRIs, X-rays, etc) are much cheaper here. Where our MRIs costs thousands, theirs run about two-hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars. Sorry Mom and Dad, I guess you'll have to send me Australia from now on. ha After the informational lecture it was time for a tour of NSWIS. The facilities are much smaller than the AIS, but basically run in the same manner. NSWIS does include more sports than AIS. So much of what sports are held at the institutes depend on the governments funding. For instance, softball is no longer a program at NSWIS or AIS because it lost government funding by not performing well enough. As we toured the building we realized that most desks were empty. Luckily it wasn't that they were missing, instead all coaches from all programs were in a meeting with the dietitian's. It was great to see how well the communication and resources work at the institutes. Then it was to a group meeting with Dr. Jutte about our papers. I think a lot of us had chose to excuse them from our memory for the time being. ha I guess it's almost time to come back to reality, although we never really left. Once the tour and lectures concluded we all went our separate ways. Some went and ate, some went and slept, and some went into town. Personally, I went into town, eating on the way of course. Laney, Tam, and I went to the subway station to go to central station For two country girls, Laney and I have dominated the subway. We can definitely put a check mark for that life skill. The three of us then went off to find a post office. Who knew that finding the post office, which we hadn't seen since Lennox Head, would be the easy part? After asking and finally getting there, Tam went to find out how to send her package back to the United States. After three or so tries and being told "you can't send it that way, try again", we got a little frustrate and asked how we COULD send it back. Let's just say it involved a mall floor, lots of bubble wrap, lots of packing tape, many laughs (both from us and those staring at us), a couple rubber bands, and strategical planning to get it sent. Whew. After that we just did some shopping and got some pretty sweet things. Sorry, but if I told you what they were they wouldn't be surprises, get pumped. Then it was back to the subway. During our walk back Laney and I were hit by a swooping bird and then both almost hit by a bus, literally within inches Luckily Tam had enough bubble wrap in her hand to probably save us. Once everyone finally got to our destination, the entire group went to dinner at Macchiato, an Italian restaurant. It was amazing food and dessert, and best of all, Dr. Jutte paid for everything but the drinks! Bonus! I think it's fair to say that no one left hungry. After dinner is was our separate ways again, so it was to a few more shops, headed back, and now I'm talking to you. Time for bed now, we've got an early morning ferry ride to the zoo! Cheers!!!

The Trip to Sydney

Well this blog is a day late but I couldn't get to internet yesterday! Yesterday we had stretching and toning class which was actually yoga! I love yoga. Our instructor had us do some of the common yoga poses, the ones most people think of, the tree pose, downward facing dog, cobra, but then she gave us a more advanced pose, I am not sure I remember the name but it was basically a modified hand stand. We finished the yoga lesson with relaxation. We relaxed everything from our toes to heart to thyroid and parathyroid. Who knew you could relax your thyroid gland!! We then had a lecture on nutrition which helped me to learn what a pre-game, during game, and post-game meal should consist of. I have been trying to learn about sports nutrition and this really helped! It was then we were off to our bus that was taking us to the train station. We were all excited to see a kangaroo while on the train we were told by many people that we would see lots of them but no luck. We never saw a kangaroo in the wild I guess we will just have to wait until the zoo! When we got to Sydney it was a little hectic trying to figure out the train system especially for a country girl like me! To my suprise I actually figured it our quite quickly! I would say I am on my way to being a train system pro! haha, okay maybe not that far. I am excited to see what the rest of our time in Sydney will bring us!

Sydney

We left Canberra yesterday and began our train trip to Sydney. This train trip turned out to be one of many train trips to come while staying in this large city. When we finally arrived at our wonderful hotel, we quickly put our things in what little floor space we had and got ready to go downtown. After about what seemed like an hours worth of train riding, we got to the downtown area near the famous Opera House. It was a wonderful site to see. We split into groups and explored the area and the culture it had to offer. It was a great night to kick off our stay in Sydney. The morning was a little rough for some of us but we all made it somewhat on time for our tour of the Olympic Park. It was very interesting to see the top of the line facilities. After the tour we all gorged ourselves, some on Subway and others on McDonalds. We all miss Canberra for the simple fact of all you can eat food. I would kill for a plate of spaghetti for breakfast now. Alot of us chose to go to the Sydney Aquarium. It was somewhat crazy and difficult to get to but it was worth it. We saw some of the most dangerous animals in the world like the Blue Ring Octupus and the Stone fish. I finally got to see the elusive platypus. What an odd creature. Some of us also elected to do the Sky Tour, which is a skyscrapper view of the city. It was a magnificent site. After a few bus rides, I am now back at our luxurious hotel to clean up and go back out. As for the rest of the night, it is to be announced. Cheers!!

We Heart Footie

So today started off like every other day at AIS with some breakfast (fully stocked with the infamous spaghetti... PS Jared, I know a lot of places that serve baked beans as a side for breakfast, might be a New England thing). The nice thing about today was that breakfast was at 9 which meant we got to sleep in for once. After breakfast everyone did their own thing, most of us packed and did laundry (which took forever because the dryers in Australia take a minimum of 3 hours to dry your laundry) in anticipation for Sydney tomorrow. Then at noon we had lunch (basically all we do here is eat, sleep and learn... what is this place?)
So after taking forever to eat we left to go take yet another group picture to document our time here. Then the excitement started as we made our way to Canberra Stadium where we would soon get to see a rousing game of rugby or footie as the natives call it. We were excited because this was a Rugby League game which was supposedly more violent (aka more injuries and more excitement for us sports medicine students). The game was very interesting to say the least, especially with Mike pretending he knew some of his made up rules. We got to the point where most of us understood the basics so that we could cheer for the Canberra team at the appropriate times. There were many times where the refs (who were dressed in bright pink shirts) would do weird things indicating some penalty (like drawing a square in the air with their hands) and there would be a scrum.

There were some similarities to American sporting events at this stadium:
- Annoying people at the door trying to sell programs... check
- Over priced food, drink and merchandise... check
- Tons of fans wearing brightly colored wigs, #1 fingers, thunder sticks and jerseys... check
- Mascots trying to be funny... check
- Advertisements everywhere you look... check
- The golden arches... check
- Cheerleaders that can't dance and are not dressed weather appropriately... check

We found some differences in Australian sporting events though:
- Small children being used to advertise on a 4 wheeler... Only in Australia
- Running time with no time-outs for a shorter game... Only in Rugby
- Men in shorts that were far too short... Only in Rugby
- Refs wearing pink... Only in Australia
- Cheerleaders that have seats to sit in on the sideline (lazy)... Only in Australia

Over all it was a really great day, the weather was perfect and the footie was fantastic. Canberra took the game with ease which was nice because that was the team we chose to root for (I chose them purely due to them wearing lime green). After the game we went to dinner after going over with Dr. Jutte what our plans were for tomorrow so she could drill the plans into our brains. I think its safe to say that we are all a little over excited to go off to Sydney tomorrow (especially because before this trip a lot of people thought that was Australia's capital and not Canberra). Hopefully it lives up to our expectations.

Cheers!
Jenna

Canberra, "the Meeting Place"

Saturday morning we started off with our breakfast of champions at 7:45 am, (Jared eating his baked beans and spaghetti), with pancakes, eggs, cereal, toast and fresh fruit. After our hearty meal, we started off the day with a bus tour around Australia’s capital, Canberra. Our bus driver for the day, Barry, gave us all the knowledge that we ever need to know about Canberra. In doing so, Canberra has over 200+ roundabouts, and roughly 200 stoplights. Plus, Canberra means “meeting place”, and that is why it is the nation’s capital. (Sorry for all you who thought Sydney was the nation’s capital, but you’re wrong.) On our journey to our first destination, Parliament, we learned about the Australian government. The tour was very informative and gained knowledge of their government. In a way, their government is like the British. As our time came to an end at Parliament, we got back on the bus and headed to the Australian War museum. There were a few that didn’t know Australia was in wars, especially WWII. (However, I learned a few days earlier Australia was in WWII while in Lennox Head because I talked to a retired veteran of the Air Force named Gram who happened to be in WWII.) Anyways, our bus tour came to an end around 12:30pm and it was time to head back to AIS where we had the rest of the afternoon free. For some of us (Angie, Beth, Jenna, Laney, Lauren, Mandi, and I) decided to head back to the city to go shopping; ending up at the mall, Canberra Centre. The mall had the normal department stores, but also had a butcher and grocery store in side as well. As our day came to an end, we all sat down for our supper around 6:30pm, and then over to the theater to watch Muderball, which was a documentary on the 2004 USA Paralympics Rugby athletes. In all, our day was fun filled and even very educational.

May 22-Mind, Body, Name-calling

Hello out there Sports (Medicine Field Study Australia 2009) Fans,
You're all in luck because I am back to chronicle for you one of the best days we've had in Canberra. Tom feels that you all do not care what I have to say, but I know different. I think he is just an angry person because he has red hair and burns easily, but I suppose that is neither here nor there.
My day got off to a great start. We had fried eggs for breakfast. I loaded them up with salsa, as I like to do with eggs, and sat down eager to indulge in the most important meal of the day (besides second breakfast). Unfortunately, the bottle I thought was salsa was actually sweet and sour sauce. Not exactly what I was going for, to say the least. Regardless, this little setback could not keep me down for I was very excited for the morning's lecture. We would be talking with a Strength and Conditioning coach here at AIS. Since I am in the minority in this group because I am not an athletic training major and instead major in exercise science with an internship in strength and conditioning (I only picked up the sports medicine minor so I could go on this trip...man it feels good to get that off my chest) I had a vested interest in this lecture. I assumed that their training techniques would be very similar to ours in America, but it was good to have my assumptions verified from a professional. Their techniques were very similar to those we use in America (aside from the weekly bouts of crocodile wrestling), but I did learn a few new tools I could use in the future.
After the lecture we had a hands-on practical titled "Trained By Some of the Best". There we got to showcase our skills in basketball (stop laughing, Jake) for our good friend Brock and another ball player here at AIS, Shane. There were a few minor injuries: Tom caught a ball in the nose and Megan got a nice bruise from putting her knee in the way of mine (shouldn't have been standing there). Alex showcased some impressive range with his shots while the rest of us did some charity work and built a shelter for the homeless with all of the bricks we shot. If nothing else, I hope we gave Brock some confidence in his own abilities as he prepares to play for Washington State in the Fall.
After lunch (where there were thanfully no condiment malfunctions), we had a lecture with a Sports Psychologist. Many people in the group were eager to see how a Sports Psych works with the athletes to improve performance. I already had an idea, having lived with a psychologist for 18 years (hi Dad). She did a very good job making absolutely sure we understood all of the basics of her field and even managed to hypnotize Alex in the front row.
Immediately following the Psych lecture, we had another lecture with a "Physio" here at AIS, which is something of a mix between an Athletic Trainer and a Physical Therapist in the states. I was actually surprised by how interesting it was. In Australia, they take a much more hands-on approach to injury prevention and treatment. In America, an Athletic Trainer usually only sees an athlete once the injury has already occured. Here at AIS, the athletes are made to complete a survey every morning detailing how they are feeling. If the physio feels the athlete is coming close to an overuse injury or needs a break from training all it takes is one phone call and the athlete is rested for the day. Their philosophy is that the greatest injury treatment is preventing it all together, which seems simple enough for me. The athletes also have mandatory bi-monthly meetings with the physio for checkups and, according to Brock, are "forced" to get a massage once a week. It sure is tough here at the Australian Institute of Sport.
With our lectures done for the day, many of us decided to get out of AIS for a night and go to a local pub to watch a Rugby Union game. This is different from Rugby League and you better not mix the two up. Believe me. The Chiefs beat the Hurricanes 14-10, a chicken sandwich was $16, and I used the terms "wanker" and "tosser" roughly 317 times while referring to the shaved gorillas playing rugby on the television. I learned many things at the pub that night. For example, I never want to upset a rugby player in Australia. They are massive and they can run forever, so they take away both the fight and flight options. Also, I learned that American Football is for "wusses and poufs". I'm not 100% sure what a pouf is, but I think we all have a good idea what he was calling me. Perhaps most surprising, though, I learned that Dr. Jutte isn't mormon (I know she went to BYU. That's what I said. Who knew?).
We addressed the body, we addressed the mind, and I got called insulted by a middle-aged taxi driver. All in all, a very successful day.

Breakfast Variety

So the other day we had breakfast for the first time at Canberra. I looked down at the spread on the buffet line and saw the usual suspects like pancakes, egg loaf, fruit, and spaghetti. Wait....spaghetti? Yeah you read this right, spaghetti. Pretty bizarre a mate? When I think of eating spaghetti I usually think of it around dinner time or sometimes lunch. But for breakfast? No way. So then I figured it was just a fluke and maybe the chefs messed up or something. Man was I wrong. This morning they had it again for breakfast along with some delicous baked beans. Nothing says waking up like a nice plate of baked beans and spaghetti. More like a day filled with gaseous excretions whether they be the sneaky ones you let out in class or the ones you let rip in your room. I am still puzzled at the fact though that someone things spaghetti is so delicous at breakfast that they need to serve it on a consistant basis. That someone is sorely mistaken. Thats all I have to say about that. Cheers!!

Welcome to Canberra, where you can't have too much fun

This morning began bright and early with breakfast at 7:45 am. Most of us were up around 7 and not very happy about it...strange considering if any of us could sleep til 7:00 four days ago we considered that sleeping in. After breakfast we were off to Pilates class, we never knew we could contract the muscles we had to contract for the exercises required for Pilates. After an invigorating and refreshing workout we had the pleasure of a tour of the Australian Institute of Sport. The facilities are top notch here, which is not surprising seeing as how the best of the best Olympic athletes train here. Part of the tour included playing in Sportex, which brought out the inner child in all of us. We had a break for lunch before out lecture on skill aquisition which translates to sports psychology to Americans. We went through some skill exercises ourselves and some of us discovered we wouldn't quite cut in as Olympic athletes. A tour of the physiology lab was next on the agenda, we found out they're doing some pretty high tech research here too. The main focus seems to be on finding the best way to detect drug doping...good to know this is a problem worldwide. Following the tour of the lab we had a little bit of much needed downtime before our next lecture on recovery methods. This lecture probably made Dr. Jutte really happy seeing as how it was all about rehab and preventing injuries. The information could not prepare us for our recovery lab after dinner. Before our recovery lab we had "social sport" we got to pick the sport we wanted to play. We ended up playing a game of football with a rugby ball. Minus Lauren who sat on the sidelines nursing her swollen ankle. The game was going well and everyone was having fun until tragedy struck. Sarah hurt her knee which brought the game to a screeching halt. After taking care of her we moved on to our recovery lab. First we did a pool workout, which wasn't bad at all and we were all thinking we could handle this. But then the real fun began. We were taken into a room with a cold pool (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit) and a hot pool. We had to get in the cold water for a minute and then get into the hot pool for about 4-5 minutes. It wasn't too bad the first time, but we had to do this cycle three wholes times. Except for Tonya how was a pansy and skipped on the last cool bath. Deanna on the other seemed to enjoy the process and even spent an extra minute in the ice water...what a trooper. Thankfully our day ended after this torture. We were all pretty tired after our jam packed day of learning fun. Hopefully we will survive tomorrow, because it looks to be as busy as today.

Lauren and Marie

The most glorious thing I've ever seen

I would not call myself a devoutly religious man (and anyone reading this right now that knows me is probably laughing out loud at the computer). Regardless, I do believe I saw Heaven today. Was I at the top of a beautiful mountain looking down at the scenery and saw it reflecting in the snow? No. Did I see it in the clouds as we took our forty-fifth plane ride of the trip today? No. Was it in the eye of a child? I do not know, for I do not go around looking into baby's eyes. No my friends, Heaven is in none of these things, but it is here in Australia. It is here in Canberra at the Australian Institute of Sports. It is the cafeteria.
It would be an understatement to say that after a steady diet of cereal, ham and cheese sandwiches, toast, scrambled eggs, and a very subpar Subway restaurant (No mustard? I wasn't aware Australia had become a Communist country) we were a little tired of the monotony. Jared even got a little twinkle in his eye whenever Alex walked into the room and I can't be sure it wasn't because Jared thought he could eat him whole. Today we entered the gates of Heaven. They were big automatic sliding glass doors (the kind that make you feel like a Jedi whenever you walk through them) with AIS etched on the front.
The spread was amazing. Pastas and meats and fruits and cereals like we had not seen in ages. Jared gorged himself on a pasta with tomato sauce that included both oysters and small octopi. It was interesting to say the least. Alex enjoyed a Chinese spicy steak concoction. If you mixed the two it tasted just like gumbo. Tom dabbled in a bit of everything. I made myself a bit of ice cream. And they had sprinkles. Yes, sprinkles. Now I know you all are thinking the exact same thing: "Well, what kind of sprinkles? Rainbow or chocolate?" Both, my friend. Both. Now you're wondering which ones I put on my ice cream and again I say both. Oh yes. I was able to put both rainbow and chocolate sprinkles on the same bowl of ice cream. My parents once told me that were I to do that my bowl would explode and Santa Claus would die. I have proven half of that wrong, but if the other half was true then my apologies to many of you come December.
I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull off the sprinkles in my ice cream. After all, the last time I had done it I believe Tom Hanks was winning an Oscar for something. Luckily, it went off without a hitch. Turns out eating sprinkles is somewhat like riding a bike. You may go away from it for a while, but you never really forget and doing it too much may cause prostate problems in older men. (That last part may take some extra research)
Now that I have explained to all of you what and where Heaven is there should only be one question left: What time is Breakfast?

Oh hell.."Doubtable"

So we woke up this morning to crazy winds coming off the beach; it looked much like hurricane waves from the beach. However it was goodbye Lennox Head and hello Canberra (aka too cold for me!). We packed up our stuff and bye 10:45 our luggage was smooshed into the bus and Phil was driving us to the airport. The plane ride was only about an hour before we arrived at Sydney airport for a layover. I had my first Krispy Kreme experience and I have to say that I do approve. The next flight to Canberra was only 23 minutes! and by the time we were leaving the airport we were all too wiped to function. All you can eat dinner was next! the boys pigged out and I did as well, not going to pass up free food at this point. The night ended with a brief lecture given by 18 yr old basketball player Brock Motum (future Washington State player). He spoke briefly about the structured life at AIS, his struggles leaving home and his plans for the future. We did our best to fill him in on all that is American culture and a few things to look out for in college. Tomorrow we're scheduled to be up at 7:30am and we won't finish till 9pm, lord help us! I haven't functioned that many hours since leaving the US! Cheers =)

Snapshots!

World's smallest flower

A flower that is related to tomatoes

Kangaroo Tracks

Phil, the grounds keeper here at the camp, gave us a nature tour around the camp

Spider

Jared, Mike, and Tom after surfing

The crew at Lake Ainsworth sign

Harvest Moon