If You Cairns Cairns Cairns

Hellllllllo Friends and Family! Giving you all a shout out from the lovely Cairns, Australia which is located in Queensland. Today is our last day here and we wanted to give everyone an update on what we have been doing while here!!

We are on our midsemester break which is 2 weeks long. The first week has been spent with our study abroad group, IES. There has been 39 of us travelling around together from Saturday to Friday.

We started off our trip veryyyy early in the morning. We met the 3 other girls that go to Macquarie with us who were going on the trip at the train station at 5:30 am. We caught a train to the airport and got on a plane to Cairns.

We got welcomed by lots and lots of rain. We got in around noon and had the afternoon to explore the city after getting settled into our hostel. Our hostel is MASSIVE!!!! It has over 550 rooms. While exploring the city we stumbled upon a mexican food restuarant which was a huge shock. We devoured our mexican food and spent the rest of the afternoon walking in and out of shops.

That night was our "aboriginal cultural dinner". We had no idea what to expect going into it. All of us got on a bus and had an hour ride into the forest. We barely made it across a flooded street to the dinner but luckily we made it. To sum up the dinner, it was basically one of the best dinners of our lives. It was in a candle lit tent with chandeliers. We had unlimited wine and tons of food. We ended up eating kangaroo bruschetta, salt and pepper crocodile, lobster, coral trout, black angus sirloin, and a chocolate mud cake. It was insanely good. Everyone was whipped after the dinner and passed out in bed as soon as we got back.

The next day the group was split up into 2 groups. The University of Sydney Kids would be doing the same thing as us just on other days. The UNSW and Macquarie kids were together. It was a rainy day again and we enjoyed it while carrying our huge amount of luggage (we had packed for our 2 weeks) to the boat. We got on the day boat that would take us to the great barrier reef to snorkel before getting 0n the boat that stays at the Great Barrier Reef nightly. The ride out to the great barrier reef was a rough hour and half for Becca who was throwing up at the back of the boat with a lot of the other kids from the group. Becky was luckier and managed to not get sea sick. The snorkeling was suprisingly good for the constant rain.

We got transfered to the night boat where we would be spending the next two nights and three days. The boat rocked less which everyone was thankful for. We shared a room and even had our own bathroom!! Fancyyyy! Everyone was again, worn out, and managed to only stay up for dessert before passing out at 8:30 pm. We were wide awake at 7:30 am for breakfast and a full day of snorkeling. Luckily, our full day on the boat was the most beautiful and the sun decided to join us for most of the day. The reef was inexplainably beautiful and it was unreal to see the colors of coral and fish. Becky pointed out a shark that morning while snorkeling and as cool as it was to see it, we decided to get back on the boat right after. Becky worked up her courage to do an intro scuba dive and struggled with a leaking mask the entire time. She was however, a ninja, and powered through. Becca kept with the snorkeling throughout the day. We got to see sharks all around the back of the boat at night before the scuba night dive. The light from the boat attracts the fish, which attracts the sharks and was totally cool to see. We were in awe of the clear sky and the overwhelming amount of stars that we aren't used to seeing. The next day was a half day of snorkeling before being transfered back on the other boat to return to land. We got to see another shark that morning while snorkeling and Becky decided to go for another scuba dive. This time she had a better mask and got to see a sting ray!

The boat ride back was luckily smoother and there was no throwing up for anyone. However, we did anticipate the dry land despite the fact that we felt like we were still rocking. We got moved back into our hostel and then enjoyed a free night. We asked a lady where she would recommend eating and she told us about an amazing authentic italian restuarant. It was a perfect dinner which was followed by dessert simply because the food was so good. We came back to the hostel and enjoyed a bottle of wine with some other girls in our group while having a fun night of playing bananagrams and listening to our favorite 90's songs.

The next day was pretty hilarious. We had to have our schedule changed due to a lot of rain in the rain forest (go figure). Our coordinator didn't want to get us stuck in the rain forest with no way to get out so she decided to plan a full day of activities for us for Wednesday and then go on a day trip to the rain forest on Thursday.

Our bus driver Ron, who is a true character took us around to some hot spots on Wednesday. We started off by going to Barron Falls, then he drove us to a human size termite mound (seriously), and then to a grave yard so we could see some authentic Italian graves, which looked like mini houses. It was seriously a neighborhood of dead people. We wanted to take a picture, but decided against it. We had a classy lunch at a diner/casino. Questionable fish and chips, people missing numerous teeth, and drunk people that the bus driver told us not to make eye contact with. We were then taken to a Mango Vineyard where we were going to a wine tasting. This event was equally classy with plastic lawn chairs lined up for us in front of a tractor in the middle of the warehouse. We enjoyed lots of wine and were then guilt tripped into getting a bottle of wine due to the lady using the phrase "this is how we survive". We drove back to the hostel and got ready for a delicious dinner at a restaurant across the street. We heard a rumor about karaoke night at a bar nearby and were instantly excited. We got a big group of girls to go and we all enjoyed singing on stage. Becky did a solo. Don't worry, video to come.

Running out of internet time, next blog post will include the rest of our Cairns visit and the start of our next adventure!! Hope all is well and miss you all!!

Up briiiiiight and early to set off on our 2 week adventure around Queensland!

Gorgeous decorations everywhere at our Aboriginal Cultural Dinner

Mmmmm our favorite course out of the 5 courses we enjoyed at our fancy dinner; stuffed lobster with salt and pepper crocodile. Aren't we adventurours?!

Out on the boat where we spent 3 days exploring the Great Barrier Reef!

Becky getting ready to SCUBA DIVE!

The sundeck on the boat where we lived for 3 days. We didn't get too much sun, but we took advantage of the precious few times when the sun decided to grace us with its presence.

Look! It's the Great Barrier Reef!

Our bus driver, Ron, educating us about the wonders of termites. That huge structure behind him? It's a termite mound.

Barron Falls

Mango wine from the mango winery!

Bringing the house down with our rendition of the Backstreet Boys classic "I Want It That Way"

Still Lovin' the Land of Oz!

Hello All!

Sorry we've been MIA in the blogging world lately. First of all, check out the post "videos galore" from February 18th. We added a few videos from Queenstown. They're pretty funny. :-) So much has been happening! We've been busy entertaining visitors. Becky had 3 friends from high school come visit over the course of two weeks for their spring breaks. Becca got to play with her madre and padre when they came to visit for a week as well. Highlights of both of the visits:

1. We both got to see Wicked! It was phenomenal! Becky had seen it in Tulsa and loved it, but the Sydney show was even better! Becca knows all the songs, but had never seen the show.
2. Lots of beach time building sand castles, burying Becca, avoiding blue bottle jellyfish, watching for sharks, attempting to learn to surf, and working on our beautiful tans
3. The Lautens discovered what they claim is the greatest pizza in the entire world. Loved it so much they had dinner there TWICE. It must be good!
4. Harbor cruises and ferry rides that let us see the opera house, harbor bridge, Luna Park, etc. from the water. Gorgeous!
5. Discovered the amazingness that is Pancakes on the Rocks. Becky loved it so much that she went 3 times in 1 week! They have perfected pancakes and serve them with ice cream. It's MAGICAL!
6. Everyone got to see all the cuddly animals they wanted to. Koalas, kangaroos, tasnamian devils, you name it!
7. Mama Lauten brought goodies galore from the States! Mac n cheese, Cheezits, and FREE WILLY ON DVD were some of the prizes we got especially excited about. They just don't know how to do cheese correctly in Australia. Hence the mac n cheese & cheezits. And Becca found Free Willy on DVD for $3 on amazon!!! What a bargain!
8. Went to our favorite night spot in Coogee Beach on our last night having visitors in town. Danced the night away and made it home sometime in the wee hours of the morning. The thing about Coogee is...by the time you get there, public transportation pretty much stops. So you have to wait to take the morning train home. This was just fine and dandy with us because we got to take a walk on the beach and enjoy some Pancakes on the Rocks (see #5)

Bottom line: we are now both experts on every tourist attraction in Sydney. We've got this town figured out! As of late, we've been busy working on that "school" thing. Within the first 2 days of this week, we had our first 3 Australian assignments due. A take home test (that was basically a 1500 word essay) and two esays. Not fun. But we're done! Now we have so much to look forward to. One more day of class tomorrow and then it's already our mid-semseter break! We get two weeks off from school so we've made some big travel plans...

April 3-9: Cairns with IES (our study abroad group)
We'll spend 2 days & 3 nights exploring the Great Barrier Reef on a private chartered boat. It's going to be really rough: snorkeling, sunbathing, eating constantly. Sounds like a hard life, but we're up to the challenge. We'll also get to see the Daintree (the oldes rainforest in the world) where we get to kayak, do a jungle ropes course, and hike through the forest with a guide. Sweet!
April 10-13: Brisbane
Brisbane is north of Sydney in Queensland. We're just going to explore the city and do some touristy things. We're most excited about hugging koala bears at the koala sanctuary!!! Ahhhhh! Holding koalas is illegal in New South Wales, but it isn't in Queensland! Score!
April 13-18: Hervey Bay & Fraser Island
Supposed to be a beautiful area. We'll stay on the mainland at Hervey Bay for a few days then take a ferry over to Fraser Island for our last part of the break. We have absolutely no plans except for being beach bums and playing lots of Bananagrams (our latest obsession; we play for at least an hour every day)

Now you're up to date! We can't wait to share stories about our trip! Hope all is well back home in the U.S.A. Glad to hear it seems to be warming up a bit! We leave you with some pics from the last 2 weeks to enjoy...

Becky & Amanda Vining (visitor #1!) taking in a lovely view of the Opera House

Becky, Emma Sitton, & Sophia Olsen (visitors #2 & 3) playing in the waves at Manly Beach

Steve & Janice Lauten (visitors #5 & 6!) saying hello to Luna Park on a ferry ride around Sydney Harbor

WICKED!!!!

Becca making friends at the Zoo

Cuties at the Capitol Theater in the city ready to see Wicked!

1 Month Anniversary!

Well, it has officially been one month since we have left the states...and to celebrate the milestone we have come up with a list of what we have noticed, however, not gotten used to, in the land down under.

WARNING: Some of these differences may seem shocking, in need of the fashion police, or just plain disgusting. We have been taught to react by saying "it's not wrong, it's different".

Observations on Australian Life:

--Jean skirts are in style again for grown women

--People don’t jaywalk; they actually stick to the pedestrian crossings…AND cars stop to let you pass!
--No courtesy wave when you cross the street

--You don’t have to tip. Ever.

--There are lots of Asians here and they all carry umbrellas…rain or shine they’re out protecting from the elements.

--Australians really like Thai food & kebabs.

--No one knows what an enchilada is...tragic.

--Mostly all uni students live off campus with their parents or grandparents

--It’s completely normal to refer to your professor by his or her first name

--Movies are reallllly expensive. As in $18 a piece.

--Baked beans and spaghetti are normal breakfast dishes. Yum.

--Each class we are enrolled in only meets twice a week for one hour. We have a lecture portion where a lecturer stands at the front of the room and prattles on with a slideshow. Then we have a tutorial portion with a smaller group of people that is more interactive and usually involved group work.

Aussie Words:

--Brekkie = breakfast

--Dodgy = sketchy

--S’arvo = this afternoon

--Cheers = goodbye

--Pash = make out

--Root = have sex

--Dag = adorably nerdy

--Olds = parents

--Mob = cell phone

--Uni = university

--Shel’ll be all right = it’s OK

--sms = text message

--whats doing= what are you doing

As for our lives...

We have settled into our dorms and decorated the space as creatively as possible using as little money as possible. This means our decorations for themed parties (such as wings) hang above our beds, and wrapping paper adds color to our bulletin board. Thanks to Becky's perfectionism, we both have hearts on our walls made out of pictures of our adventures and of back home. In case you were wondering, we do have pictures of Chipotle burrito bowls developed and on our wall.

We have learned that if we expect horrible food, then we tend to be pleasantly surprised with what we are eating at our dorm. Our favorite dessert night is ice cream sundaes because it's pretty much impossible to mess that up.

School is going well...lectures are basic and we are expected to do a lot of reading for each class. We are thankful that our grades are more determined on essays rather than tests. We don't get bored in class thanks to the casual relationship between teachers and students. Our favorite examples would be our teacher constantly snapping at us (the whole class) to focus and a student blaming a teacher for saying something that he didn't.

We are both really looking forward to the constant flow of visitors coming up in the next few weeks! Amanda will be arriving on Sunday, Becca's parents arrive on Friday, and Emma and Sophie will be getting here on Saturday! We have been mentally preparing for lots of fun.

Besides school, we have filled our free time with cupcake making, painting to fill rainy days, and some movie watching. This past weekend, we decided to go to the biggest Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in the world, simply because, this is the only time in our lives to see it. We went there with a group of friends that are also here from the states. We got to Mardi Gras about 3:30 and the parade wasn't until 7:45. We filled our time by enjoying a glass of wine while people watching (there was plenty of it). There was lots of boas, glitter, and bright colors, and it was all on the opposite sex than you would expect. We were pretty exhausted (people watching wears you out) by the start of the parade and figured that if we saw one float, then we would be happy. We had a long walk back to the train station since a lot of the closer stations were impossible to get to because of closed streets for the parade. We made it back and were both in bed by 9:30 pm.

That is about all that is new in our lives! We talk about you and miss you all everyday! We love to hear from you so keep emailing us, and skyping us!

Lots of love from your aussie girls!

Picture hearts by Becky Long! Aren't they amazing?!

Sunday was a rainy day, which called for a trip to the dollar store. We found these paint kits and had a relaxing afternoon of painting...Becky found paint in Becca's hair the next day...a sign that it went really well

Becky and Becca at the Macquarie train stop getting mentally prepared for Mardi Gras...of course we brought out crowns, and they were a huge hit.

Videos Galore!!!

So. We have quite a collection of videos to share with our Blog World, but sadly only the ones from Becky's camera are working. Most of our video antics were on Becca's camera. Such a tragedy. Above is a little taste of how Becca was feeling on our way up the gondola to where we were about to bungee over the city of Queenstown. Needless to say, we were a little iffy on the whole jumping of an elevated platform suspended 400 meters over a city halfway across the world from everyone we loved.

But look! As can be seen above, we survived! And were so glad we were hardcore and bungeed!

Settling in to Australian Life

Well, we're attempting to find a routine here at Macquarie University. We're all moved in, starting to get the lay of the land, figuring out public transportation...we've been busy girls!

We've had some big discoveries since our last post. A train station just a 2 minute walk from our room means we can easily get to the city whenever we want. Across from the train station...wait for it...THE LARGEST MALL EVER!!!! 4 stories, ice skating rink, movie theater ($17 tickets?! What?!), food and shopping galore! We're talking a mall so big that it has supermarkets inside of it. What else is inside? A Mexican restaurant we're thinking can be our stand-in Chipotle and a TARGET!!!!!! Hallelujah! We have yet to actually go inside the Target (it was closed when we discovered it), but it's on today's agenda. We'll let you know how it goes.

Things at Macquarie are going to take some getting used to, but as we've learned things aren't wrong they're only different. We have a meal plan at Dunmore Lang College (where we're living), but mealtimes are specifically set. So if we want munchies outside of those times, we're out of luck. It has been wonderful not having to shell out cash for food every day, though! We enrolled in 4 classes: Australian Media, Intercultural Relations, Contemporary Australian Arts, and Music Theater (this one should be entertaining--we'll keep you posted). We conveniently worked our schedule so we only have class on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Jackpot! We're foreseeing lots of beach days in the future on Wednesday and Friday when we have zero school obligations. Life is just so rough.

Speaking of the beach, we spent the day at Bondi Beach yesterday. The weather was much better than our first Bondi trip (although this time there was no hope of spotting Zac Efron--bummer) so we just lazed around and soaked up some sun. Infact, we might have soaked up a little too much sun. Just a little FYI: the Australians aren't kidding when they tell you that there's a hole in the ozone over us and you really need to lather on the sunscreen. Apparently yesterday we missed some spots during that important sunscreen application process. The evidence? Lots of red blotches all over and blazing pain. Lesson learned!

Last night we went on a harbor cruise with the other Macquarie International students. The theme of the party was "When I grow up..." You were supposed to dress up in style with whatever your dream job was when you were little. Naturally, Becky and Becca were fairy princesses. There were only about 10 other people on the entire boat who dressed up, but we were quite proud to be 2 of the 10. On the boat, we got to watch the sunset over the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Then we had the perfect view from the water of the entire CBD lit up at night. What a gorgeous city! It was fun to meet other people who have come from all over the world to study in Australia. After the boat docked, we explored some of Sydney with a few new friends. The funniest part of the night was when we were trying to get back to school from somewhere around Town Hall. First we couldn't find the train station. When we finally did, we discovered that our train was leaving in 1 minute. The chaos that followed consisted of 9 international students running around in various directions trying to locate the right train. Oh, and did I mention we were still in costume? 2 fairy princesses, 2 Playboy bunnies, 1 fairytale prince, 1 jedi, and 3 uncostumed (but equally crazy) kids running rampant through the train station. We caused quite a disturbance, to say the least.

It's hard to believe we've been away from the U.S. for 2 weeks. We keep waiting for it to sink in that this is all real. We're not tourists, we're Australians! Based on all the fun we've had so far, it's going to be a great semester. Thanks so much for taking the time to keep up with us! We love sharing our adventures with you all!

Hugs,Becky and Becca

Your fairy princesses!

Fairy Princesses enjoying the Harbor Cruise

Sydney Opera House

Opera House and Bridge at Sunset

Luna Park lit up at night

Opera House at night

IES Orientation in Sydney

Hellllllo Blog World!! It is Becky and Becca giving you updates about our oh so exciting life!

We got to Sydney on the 13th and had orientation with IES (the group we used to study abroad) until today. There was a total of 57 of us from the states traveling to Sydney. However, only three others besides us ended up going to our school we chose in Sydney.

The first day of orientation wasn't very busy since they were taking it easy on all the jet lagged people. We were supposed to do a hike on the beaches but because of the rain (boo!) and flight delays (12 inches of snow in Texas?!?!) we ended up just going over a few things the first day before she let us just have free time to get acquainted with our new city. We had a good time walking the beach and then took advantage of McDonald's free internet. That night we went to get some drinks at the bar next door to our hotel with some of the people we met through IES. It was a fun night and felt like we were out all night even though we were in bed before midnight.

The next day we got to head to Darling Harbor in Sydney to grab lunch, go jetboating along Sydney's coast and visit the Sydney Aquarium. We had fun getting to see the most poisonous fish in the world (it looks like a rock and can kill you!) and sharks. Since it was Valentines day, we decided to get some cute outfits on and find a place to enjoy dinner. We ended up at a place called the Spit and had a delicious meal! We decided we weren't ready to head back to our hotel rooms yet despite the rain and ended up deciding to go back to the bar next to our hotel again. We enjoyed a glass of wine outside on the balcony. Next thing we know, two lonely Australian flatmates who were each others Valentines just like us decided to join us at our table and we had a great time talking about Australia, and America, and adjusting to a new way of life.

Yesterday, we had a bus ride up to the Blue Mountains and on the way we stopped at a wildlife park where we got to see our first kangaroo and koala! We even got to pet both of them and take pictures with them! They are just so cute!! We had an aborigines take us on a hike in the Blue Mountains where we learned lots about their culture and how they use nature in their everyday life. We had a long bus ride back to Sydney and were happy to have a rooftop pizza party at our hotel. After scarfing down pizza, we took showers and were lazy the rest of the night watching the Olympics and packing.

Today, we got up and headed to Bondi Beach since we weren't heading to our school until 2 pm. Bondi Beach is a famous beach in Australia and known for its waves for surfing, which we definitely understood once we got there! MASSIVE WAVES! We attempted to lay out, but there was an insane wind that made the sand hurt when it hit us. We wanted to stay there though because Becky had read that Zac Efron (parents, google him) would be doing an Oakely promotion at Bondi Beach today. As we ate lunch and watched people surf, we saw more and more paparazzi's show up. We heard from girls who had been there since 5 am, that he was supposed to be showing up around 1 pm. BOOOOO! We needed to get back to our hotel by 2 and really needed to head to the bus station by 1 to get there. We stayed as long as we could and as the minutes got closer to one, more and more people were showing up. We sadly had to use all the strength in us to force ourselves to leave to catch our bus back.

The 5 Macquarie girls were then on their way to our new home! We got to our dorm and got our room assignments and got somewhat moved in (not much to unpack). So much easier than the moving in we are used to! We had our first meal at our dorm. We are lucky enough to have a meal plan with 3 meals a day. The style is definitely different than we are used to with specific times for meals.

Our room sizes aren't bad and we have beds, a desk, bookshelf, closet and a sink. We feel fortunate to have free internet and a meal plan (which the other 2 school options did not).

Tomorrow we have a full day of orientation for our new school. We both are definitely looking forward to having a schedule/routine again! We just have too much American in our blood to be carefree and relaxed all the time :)

Becca feeding a Kangaroo

Becky having a moment with her new friend, Austin

Becky & Becca at the Sydney Aquarium

Becky and Becca at the Blue Mountains

It's a g'day in Sydney mates!

Well, we left Taupo and took a bus from there to Auckland. The bus was running late, and it was already a four hour bus ride. Lovelyyyyy! We did however get to stop at a really sketchy diner called Dino's that has some seriously questionable food. Becky just stuck with a banana while Becca decided to just wait all together. While passing through Auckland we saw a restaurant called the Mexican Cafe which really caught our interest, since we had been craving mexican food since the second we had left the states. We decided to try not and get our hopes up (and failed). Since we skipped the whole lunch thing, we decided to get ready quickly and walk over to the Mexican Cafe with our fingers crossed. We walked up the stairs and started to freak out when we saw the pinatas...and a crowd. There had been no wait at any restaurant the whole time we were in New Zealand! We went to the bar while waiting for a table only to discover the most amazing margaritas of all time. Becca had strawberry while Becky had passion fruit. We then got a table and had, wait for it... CHIPS AND SALSA!!!! We ordered some enchiladas and a burrito and ate every single bite. We were definitely sad to leave. A few tears might have been shed with the realization that we might not be having mexican food again for a very long time.

We decided to hit the sky tower after hearing lots about it. The night pretty much went completely downhill from that decision. A not so nice lady named Sharina decided that Becky could not have the student priced ticked ($18 rather than $28) because she didn't have a student ID on her. The views were pretty much ruined from that point. Then, Becca started to feel sick with congestion on the last night that any fun could be had! Sad story. Poor Becky had to entertain herself by paying for internet and reading.

The next day we decided to hit a pretty popular street in Auckland called Ponsonby Street. We grabbed a delicious lunch, and enjoyed shopping the streets. We knew it had to be an early night, and after lots of deep thinking, we decided that the Mexican Cafe should be our last New Zealand meal. Yes, two nights in a row. It was just too good to pass up. The waitress then asked for passports, which Becky had stashed at the hostel. It did not hold us back, and Becky ran back to the hostel so we could enjoy one more of the most amazing margaritas. And it was all worth it.

We had to wake up bright and early at 2:30 AM to catch a bus to our flight. We ran into complications at the airport when trying to check in. Apparently with all the mess of the Air Tahiti flight cancelation on the way to Auckland, they had messed up the rest of our reservations. Luckily, everything worked out and we made it to Australia in one piece.

Things have been good since we got to Australia and we look forward to catching up our blog world with our orientation plans!

The both of us at the Skytower

Becky THRILLED about mexican food!