Pictures

I am going to try and figure out a way to get some pictures on here aswell. I have troubles with my internet connection at home. If i cant get them on here i will post them on facebook for anyone who wants to add me to check them out there, go ahead. I don't have any yet but ill try to get them up as soon as possible!

Fredrick From Denmark

I have started to find myself both enjoying it here, and really missing home still. This week school has been good, i feel that it has really been helping me to like it here. The people here are so nice and the work well lets just say i have never done so little school work. That is not because i haven't been doing the work, it simply is easy and we are given ridiculous amounts of time to finish the work. I am currently liking my media class the best, i have an assignment where i am making a traveller’s guide magazine. It is something that i both find easy to get ideas and that i love to do. By far my least favourite class is phys ed. It is very different from home, we are in the classroom 4 times a week and in the gym doing fitness things like running and checking our pulse, then doing sit ups and the checking our breathing rate. I find myself behind in that class because everyone knows the bones and muscles but i don’t. I am however not worried about not knowing them because the work that we get is straight out of the text book. I just wish that we were doing games in the gym, like net ball. It is a game that they play here in Australia and I’ve never played it but would like to without having to join the team and I don’t know if I’ll get the chance to try it.

Other than that this week I went to another Rotary meeting, it wasn't my club but I went because there was a new exchange student who just arrived. His name was Fredrick and he is from Demark. I thought that it was kind of cool that the first person that I met was from the place where my family is from. He spoken very good English, I wouldn't have known that he just got here less ten a week ago. He was still very jetlagged when I saw him- thankfully I am over that, that was tough. We talked about being here and the differences that we found, together we came to a conclusion that it is colder than we thought, the uniforms suck but the people are great. He too is going on the safari at the end of the year and we both are very excited about that. The meeting itself was actually quite interesting. I just finished reading a book by Michael J Fox and he spoke of his disease but I didn’t really understand it. At the meeting was a man that was suffering with the same disease and I learned so much. It was hard to sit there and listen to his experiences and not feel like I wanted to do something, anything to help him. There was however nothing that i could do, i felt helpless. I did however speak to this man after and he said that he was doing better than he was before, which made me feel a little bit better.

Tonight i am home alone, Alison and Andrew have choir practice, i plan to finish off some homework that i have due and then going to bed early.

I also just wanted to mention that if you are keeping up with what i am doing i wanted to say thanks. No matter what i say on here i am having a great time and know that I am going to love it here. I cannot thank you all enough for reading to see what it is that I am doing, i really appreciate it. I hope to have some better stories for you soon.

Stay well, Love always, Colleen

Heading Into Week Three

So i have been here for nearly three weeks and i have experienced what seems like alot now but i am sure that in a few more months this will seem like nothing. Over the weekend i didn't really do to much. On Friday night i went to an art gallery opening, although you might see this as exciting it really wasn't something i would like to do again. Don't get me wrong i love art but the art that was at this gallery wasn't exactly my cup of tea. They were all very well done but there is something about looking at painted landscapes that just doesn't interest me in the least. Thankfully thre was food there, so that kept me entertained haha. After going there Alison, Andrew and I went back to their sons house and had some pizza, probably the highlight of my night unfortunately. There is definitely a change as to what i do here on weekends to what i used to do at home. Saturday in the morning i woke up to a familiar voice, my phone was ringing and on the other line was my dad and Lori so i spoke to them for a while and then go up and got ready for my day. Saturday in the day i went to Fred and Pams house, they too are in Rotary and i will eventually be moving in with them in a few months. Fred is also my counsellor, the one that i go to if i ever have a problem. Anyways, i went there for lunch and then headed to a footy game where the team i was cheering for won. Not only did they win, but they won in a landslide destroying the other teams confidence I'm sure. Freds grandson also plays for the team that won although he has been out with a foot injury for a couple games now, so i have met my first "celebrity" over here.
Saturday night we stayed in, Alison and Andrew had to babysit two of their granddaughters. I watched a movie in my room and was asleep by 11.
Sunday morning was a bad morning, i was feeling very homesick and was just having a bad day. Nothing i did made me happy and all i wanted to do was see my family and friends. I was alone for most of the morning, as Alison and Andrew were at church, so i just watched another movie hoping that it would keep my mind off of things. After lunch we went to Torquay which is the surfing capital. As i got out of the car to look at the surfers i saw fins in the water, there were dolphins!!! right away my day got a whole lot better, i got to see one of my favourite animals. There were probably about five of them in the water at least. The excitement didn't stop there, following closely behind there was a... whale! it was beautiful, i had never seen something so amazing. These animals were swimming so close to the surfers and didn't seem to mind. I wished that i could have been out there in the water swimming too, but that wouldn't have been a good idea as it was probably about 15 degrees outside. After watching the whale rise out or the water for about 10 minutes Andrew and Alison and i kept driving. We were driving past a golf course and there in the field were about 30 kangaroo! we stopped and i got a couple pictures and then we went into the golf course and i got a couple closer pictures.
Over all yesterday had its ups and its downs but by the end i was as happy as any Canadian would be after seeing wild dolphins, a whale and a mass of kangaroos all in one day.

xoxo, keep well everyone!

Week Two

This week has been quite a dull week, i haven't really done much. I had the Rotary meeting on Tuesday and been doing nothing since. Both Wednesday and Thursday night i was at home alone, Alison and Andrew had to go out to meetings and to choir practice so i was left at home alone. I didn't do much, as there was not much for me to do.
I was able to organize my itunes, as well as do a bit of homework. Other then that I didn't have anything going on.
This weekend i hope there will be a bit of excitement. Alison and Andrews three grand kids are coming over on Saturday night to sleep over, so ill be with them for the evening. Tonight im going to an art show, i guess that that should be okay, not something that i am super interested in though. Tomorrow I think that i am going to another footy game as well, hopefully this time it will be a better experience then the last time i went.

Sorry this was short but nothing really happened this week.

xoxo, stay well

First Rotary Meeting

Today was also my very first Rotary meeting. I found myself walking into a room with people who were about 3 times my age, there was no one there who i felt remotely close to in age. I sat down a table with one of the two women that was there. Within the first 10 minutes of being there Andrew was introducing me in front of everyone on the microphone and i was up at the speaker ready to say a few words. Having no previous knowledge of having to say anything i babbled for a minute and took a seat. The palms of my hands were sweaty but i was satisfied with what i had said. Left and right people were coming up to me, asking me obvious questions such as where i was from, how i was liking it here, and how i found school. After being asked these same questions repeatedly, i found the answers to be getting shorter and shorter.
Overall i had a good time meeting all the people and the food was good. I'm sure that ill be coming back again next week.

Time is Already Starting to Flying By

It has been nearly a week since i last posted, i fell like i am on here much more often but i guess time is just slipping by me. I didn't realize that i had been keeping you all waiting for my next update!! Sorry about that! If time is going by quickly now i can't even begin to imagine how fast it is going to go by in 6 months from now.
The rest of last week was good, i met some more people, talked to a few more school mates and started feeling more comfortable in my new surroundings. The girls here are so nice, i can't imagine being placed into a better school, although the boys are pretty immature-but I'm sure that is the same at all schools. :P
Over the weekend i went to Borwan Heads, a place where Alison and Andrew have a cottage. Andrew and i drove up there-about 25 minutes away-and he stopped along the coast to let me look out and snap a few pictures. A soon as i saw the ocean there was a smile on my face on my face from ear to ear. There is something about the ocean that makes me happy each time i see it, no matter how sad i was, there was no hiding the feeling of excitement by seeing the ocean, the ocean that i feel at peace with. Every since i can remember i have loved the ocean, i don't know what it is that draws me in, the power maybe, the open space? whatever it is, i love it.
When Alison got there she and Andrew stayed at the cottage for a bit cleaning up and catching up with a friend who was staying at the cottage for a week. I went for a walk along the beach, the tide was high and the air was crisp but there was nothing that i would have rather of been doing, nowhere that i would rather be. It made me think of how the world was all connected, how i had swam in the body of water a year ago, and half way around the world, i was speechless.
On Sunday i went into Melbourne for a birthday party, Alison and Andrews grand daughter was turning 3. We got there and i was introduced and right away i felt welcome, like i had been coming there for years. That's the thing i like about this family, i have never felt so welcome in such a short time. Of course i am still homesick, i still desperately want to see my family and friends but for the mean time, this is a pretty good substitute if you ask me.
Heading back to school Monday was well, dreadful. After being able to sleep in again on the weekend i found it hard to pull myself from my warm bed and run to the shower to be warm again. Once i got to school i felt better, going to see my new friends, enter my new classes and learn new things. I feel like i have also been going to this school for longer then a week, i am confident in saying that i think I'm really going to like it here.
The weather though, oh the weather. The wind is crisp, and freezing.The sun is bright, but cold and the days are short and dreary. I'm sure all of those are because of the fact that it is winter, but I'm sick of winter, i just want some summer!!!

anyways, once again i need to get back to school work

hope everyone is well and enjoying their summers.

oh and sorry about the bad editing job on here, there are many "I"'s that need to be capitalized and I'm sure some spelling mistakes but i didn't have time to check that, sorry.

xoxox

The Beginning of School

It is day three of school and so far it doesn't seem too bad. The people here are nice, they are very welcoming, at least compared to Aldershot people. I have found a couple girls who i am hanging out with, who i can have lunch with, and yes who i can have recess with. The thing that I hate the most here is all the rules, but of course i hate the rules, im a teenager. The rule that i hate themost is no nail polish, i know that that seems silly but i love nail polish and can't stand not having it on, so for now it stays. there are a couple girls who wear it so i can just say that im new and i didnt know that we weren't allowed. Thats the good thing about being new, i can use the excuse of "not knowing" things for a while. :P

Everything at school is pretty good, my teachers seem nice and overall the work is pretty easy. There isnt a class that i dont have anyone to sit with so i am pretty happy about that! The one thing that i notice that is really weird is that it is very separated here. it seems like the grades dont hangout with other grades and boys and girls don't hangout together either. So that is a little weird when i come from having half girl friends and half boy friends and hanging out with people in all grades, older and younger. so that is something that i have to get used to for sure.

Other then that nothing is really happening, i spoke to my dad, Lori and my brother this morning and really started feeling homesick again. i have been good lately but for some reason today is not a good day, i miss home alot. There are times that i do say to myself i cant do this ans want to go home but i am sure that that is a faze, that in a month or two i will really love it here and by the end of the year i am not going to want to leave!

anyways, i need to get back to doing my school work.

i hope everything is well an ocean away!

xoxo

ps, it is FREEEZING here, didnt know it could be this cold in Australia :(

so i've been pretty busy since getting here, lots of crying and sleeping in between everything! On Saturday i was able to go to a footy game, it was actually pretty cool because everyone here is REALLY into their football. the people in the stadium were so loud, it was hard to hear myself think and when a team scored... that was a different story! im surprised that you couldn't hear the crowds roar back at home.

Yesterday I didn’t do too much, I walked Alison and Andrews sons dog and hung around his house for a bit. Him and his wife have three kids so I was with them for a while. I actually helped with... gardening... something that I would normally complain about at home, but here I'm on my best behaviour. Haha. After that I didn’t do too much, managed to stay up until 8:30 last night, I'm still getting used to the huge time difference.

Today I got my uniform; going in the shop I was SO excited, I have always wanted a uniform. After seeing what I had to wear I had a new outlook on uniforms, the suck. I have to wear a “warm kilt” which is basically a kilt that goes to my ankles.. I think that my family anf friends would have a good laugh at what I look like, and don’t even get me started on the shoes. They have to be the ugliest things that I have ever laid eyes on. There is no way that I will ever wear them out of school.

The weather here is okay, it has been about 14 each day give or take a couple degrees, so it is cold but it is not so bad that I can't go outside without a coat. I would take this weather over the weather that we have in winter at home any day!

I have to go but I hope that everything at home is going well, I hope that everyone is enjoying summer time.

Just arrived, and Very emotional

DAY ONE
They warn you and you completely understand that you are going to be home sick. They repeat it 700 times in 700 different ways but there is no way to explain it. There is no way to explain the emptiness that you feel, the loneliness that is overwhelming your heart. This feeling is something that is hard to escape, something that can’t be healed instantly by a phone call or a hug. This feeling starts from the last glimpse of your loved ones, the last time that you saw those last people that you know and cherish with all your heart. These are the people that make you feel like you are loved, that fill that void in your heart that is only able to be filled by them. There is no way to obtain the fullness and certainty of your heart in a matter of days. I know that this is going to take time, and it is going to hurt. I am going to cry for the next week, wishing that I didn’t do this, wishing I was at home doing the same everyday thing that i was doing before, wishing that my dream didn’t come true. But the fact is, I'm here, I’m doing this, and I’m going to succeed. I’m going to succeed because I want to, because my family and friends want me to and because I know I can. This is a once in a life time experience that has been handed to me from my parents and Rotary. This is something that i will never forget. I will look back to this day wondering how I felt homesick, how I felt like this was a wrong decision, like I have made a mistake that now i can’t take back.
It has been a long day, taking two connecting flights, 26 hours later i have arrived. Arrived to two amazing people who I know I will be able to count on, who will make me feel better about being here.
For now that is all I can say, I feel like I haven’t slept in days, goodnight Aussie!

DAY TWO
Well, it’s only day two and it feels like i haven’t been home for a life time, I'm going to have to get used to this feeling of uncertainty, of curiosity, of anxiousness. I don’t want to feel like I have wasted my time. This town is different then what I thought it would be like, it’s very old looking, but that must be because it was rainy yesterday; hopefully it will be sunny today! Alison told me that it was a cold winter this year, and by cold they mean 10, so ill survive! The day so far looks nice, looking out my window the sky is pretty clear.
I'm feeling a little better, trying not to think about it today. Give me an hour and I'm sure I’ll be balling again though, it’s going to suck for the next few weeks. I'm not going to let it stop me from experiencing anything; I will not sit alone in my room ignoring the new country that is waiting outside my window! I think that it is good that I will be starting school next week so that I have people here to talk to, so that it will all feel more normal to me rather then just having Alison and Andrew to talk to. I think that is the worst part, I don’t have anyone to sit with me while I'm upset, no one to dupe my feelings onto while I try to understand the circumstance I have placed myself into.
The difference here to Burlington is crazy. It seems like every house is fenced off, there are so many hills, and driving on the other side of the road! Let’s just say I couldn’t do that to save my life. It will take some getting used to for sure!
I went to my school today, chose my classes, looked around, met a few people. It all seemed so different from my school. The halls are open to outside, and the classrooms are very small. I think that ill like it there though, the staff seems nice and hopefully I don’t get lost! The class that I chose for the first semester were English (because I didn’t have a choice), media, photography, environmental science, gym, and geography. All these are things that I'm interested in so I hope that I do well at them even though they wont give me any credits back at home.