OIRS

Conclusions drawn from this past week alone at the trailer park:

• I don't think I could be a reef coral biologist
• I hate wearing a full body protection suit to snorkel
• corals are pretty but just not really that exciting (no offense)
• I am pretty good at writing papers in 3 days.
• I am not going to take my GREs next year.
• I like Vegemite and cheese sandwiches.
• I love my friends here too much to leave.
• I am VERY sad about the missoula house selling.
  
• I am also very sad about missing my brother prom.
• I am so excited to see my dad and New Zealand... I may never come back to oz.

New pictures are up!
p.s. Dont' tell Michael I put this picture up...

I think i might need to shorten my blog entries...

The radio was on as we were driving out of town this weekend. Funky Town was playing and we were singing and then Lindsey said, "Funky town would be a pretty cool place.".... "yeah Lindsey. It probably would."
That pretty much sums up our trip this weekend....

Our destination was Mission Beach, but we didn't spend time there. We didn't book a hostel before we got there, instead we hunted around for a place to stay. After ruling out Bed and Breakfasts ($130 a night for a freaking spare bedroom in a house? I don't think so....) we found a backpacker's for $20 that was run by an old Swedish couple who were extremely nice to us until the got our money.
We got there and because it wasn't much of a beach day (cloudy and chilly) we decided to drive to a tropical fruit winery. Its a highly advertised place, I've seen brochures every where for it and we were definitely excited to see what it was about. It turned out to be a small one room building in the middle of a sugar cane field with one person working. It had good wine and stuff but it was just funny how (yet again) we were deceived.
We keep driving and found beautiful creek. We stopped and hung out did a little yoga and went on our way. We kept noticing signs for a Paranella park and Lindsey had heard of it somewhere so we stopped. Immediately upon pulling up in the parking lot, one of the employees came up to our car and started talking about how beautiful and magical this place was, how people from all over the world come to see this place. How it's well worth our money and we'll love it. Mind you, we don't even know what this place it about so we (like any tourist would) were like "oh yeah, that sounds great where do we pay?" $30 later, we find its just a house one Spanish man had built in 1913. It did have it's own water fall and eel pond and a few gardens but really thats it. It just looks ancient because 2 years ago a cyclone and fire had knocked it down and the rain forest had taken over. We still had a good time making fun of ourselves for being suckered into paying 30 dollars for walking around a poorly build house.
We drove back to Mission Beach (not before almost getting killed by a mad truck driver) and made some tofu curry for dinner, encountered 2 naked girls in the bathroom rubbing each other with lotion, and went to bed laughing hysterically . End of day 1.
Next day, we woke up early, saw the naked girls rubbing each other AGAIN, and after calming the fits of giggles, we decided to have breakfast (pb and j) on the beach. We took our time driving back to t-ville, turning off when ever we thought there might be something cool to see. We found Murry Falls. It was prettier than wallamen (not as big but more beautiful) and there was a creek to swim in. It reminded me of Oak Creek. It made me happy and sad all at the same time.

On our drive back it was quiet in the car and I had time to think about the past 2 months here. Its gone by so quickly its weird to think that I will be home so soon. That creek made me think about Flagstaff and Missoula and it gave me homesickness that hasn't gone away yet. At first I felt silly for missing home. Being here in Australia in all its glory and missing snowy gray missoula and flagstaff? But I now realize I am allowed to miss it. I am allowed to be sad that I am not there enjoying spring with you guys. I am allowed this because that is what I am feeling. I am entitled to that. I can't stop my feelings, they come just like water in the creek. I can try to stop the flow or change the direction in regards to other people's feelings, but it will alway keep flowing in its natural path. So I am just letting it surge and taking it as it comes, sometimes getting knocked down by it's force.

I miss you.

ella minnow pea

Went to Wallamen Falls on Saturday.
Its the tallest waterfall in Australia.
It was beautiful.
Rented a little yellow car to get there and I drove.
I did very well, it felt like freedom.
Look at the pictures.

My dad and I just booked our tickets to New Zealand. We are leaving at the end of May and staying for 10 days. We are renting a car and just going with it. No plans at all. Its the best way to travel in my opinion.


Recently I have made a life changing decision: I am going to open up a cafe/wine bar/catering business with a few friends. Its going to have delicious food and coffee and wine and beer and couches and good art work and live music. Its going to be called Jay-k-el.
But first I am going to need to travel around the world to collect products to use and artwork to hang.
It will happen and it will be a good life.

I just thought I would share my recent revelations.

If any of you have an extra hundred grand laying around, please let me know.

Thanks.

Interesting....

Sydney is beautiful. I didn't think that a city could be beautiful but Sydney is. The architecture is old and magnificent in some places and new and striking in others. It doesn't feel like Australia there. The majority of people aren't Australians. In fact, there isn't really a majority. Its just a melting pot of different cultures. I could see my self living there for a bit.

My mom was in the country with me this week. It was nice having her here to show her around Townsville. I think she really liked it here. She kept saying, "I'd SO live here!". We went to the aquarium and natural history museum the day after she got here. And the day before she left we went to the Town Common. Its a reserve around a big marsh area, perfect for birding. We saw a lot of cool stuff including a mom and baby sea eagle, two rainbow bee eaters and huge brolgas (heron like birds with red heads).
It was also nice to be in Sydney with her. She took me to see Swan Lake (a ballet) in the Sydney Opera House. It was spectacular! The ballerinas were beautiful and the orchestra was amazing! It was such an experience to have been able to actually see a production in the Opera house. So cool. We went to the Sydney aquarium which was also very cool. Lots of exhibits with lots of very pretty animals (including a platypus!) And of coarse, we shopped. If there are 2 things my mom and I are good at, its shopping...and eating. There were markets all around the city with really cool art and craft work. And chocolate. Mmm. And we didn't seem to have one less then delicious meal.

And then... this gigantic man-eating squid jumped out of the water and I saved everybody in Sydney by killing it with my laser vision I acquired from the zombie leech that sucked blood from my eye ball.
(hows that for interesting?)

All in all, a good time with Mom.

Now its back to school again... writing more papers. It seems really pointless because no matter how much time and work I put in to these papers I can't get higher then a freaking 7/10.
wtf? I thought I was better than that.

It seems that I have settled in nicely here. I finally have that feel of coming "home" to my trailer after a weekend adventure and its nice. I put pictures up of all of you guys and it makes me feel a little less lonely when I am there.

I am looking at my brother's senior picture that my mom brought me. He looks like such a handsome man! It makes me so sad to know that I am missing his "blossoming", so to speak. He has changed so much in the past 6 months into a different person, and I have witnessed none of it. It's like all of a sudden he's grown up. He's graduating high school (which I will miss) and then he's leaving for college.
Where did all this time go? I thought I just left for NAU yesterday.

new pictures up.
www.picasaweb.google.com/kristine.akland
love love love

please still be my friend?

I went to Paulma this weekend to collect data for a project I am doing in one of my classes. We are looking at mycorrhizal infection in roots from root mats in recently logged areas and undisturbed areas. But thats not my story. Its a rain forest in the mountains an hour away from here so we left Friday and were in the forest all day Saturday collecting soil samples. It was raining. Really hard. All day. And the leeches, oh lord the leaches. They were freaking every where. Crawling up legs and on rain jackets and notebooks and seriously every where. Including my eye ball. My eye ball! A leech had somehow crawled into my eye ball and started sucking my blood with out me noticing. I did notice my eye was bothering me half way through the day but I just thought it was my contact, so i didn't think anything of it. Then 3 hours later I looked in the rear view mirror of the car and what do you know?.... a leech. On my eye. Of coarse, I started flipping out. Who wouldn't? It ended up falling off, having sucked enough of my blood.
Gross.

Besides that, Paulma is freaking sweet. Misty rain forest awesomeness. Love it.

Moms here, we're going to Sydney tomorrow.

p.s. I debated whether or not to spare all of you from this last picture. But then I thought that looking at a picture of what happened isn't nearly as bad as it actually happening... to you.
so deal.