We can't believe it's been a month!




 

G'Day!

'COOLY' BEACH, One of the most beautiful beaches in the Gold Coast. This is where Tyler and I had a great beach soccer match against some locals and friends from our trip. We also jumped in for a warm, salty swim. The current was SO strong. Pulling us back to shore. It only made body surfing that much more fun!

My boys giving me some love before we headed on the bus to a cowboys and indians gathering for the Bond students. We all got T-Shirts and FREE food. Yum!        

    

Here are some pictures of us from tight and bright. We worked hard finding these costumes. You should have seen what some Aussie's came up with!

Here we all are with our roommates! On the left is Ty with Andre. Then in the top right corner is Amelia, Rachel, and Stacey, my roomies. Then in the bottom right corner is Tyler, Eric, Mikey, and Jeff. Tyler isn't Mike's roommate but wanted in on the picture :).

 Mike and some of our good friends headed to Brisbane last weekend to do some snorkling and sand-boarding. They had a blast, and lots to tell Tyler and I when they got back! Hopefully we will get the chance to sand-board. Looks like a blast.



While Mike was gone, Tyler and I had our first soccer game. It was a hot day, but we stuck it out and made some cool friends from other countries. They do take there 'club' sports here VERY seriously. We were not expecting that. Everyone is very fit here.

Tyler, Andre, and I also did a boxing class and got our butts kicked. We were sore for about 6 days after...

Today was the first rainy day but I am looking out the window now and it looks like the sun can't resist us! Hopefully it will get nicer by the time Tyler and I are out of class at 4pm.

Tomorrow we plan on going to Broad Beach for some surfing and suntans :).

LOVE, A.T.M

Bond Uni

How you goin', mate!?


The second week of school has ended and were finally getting in the swing of things. Teachers here seem to be supper nice, along with all the local students. We have noticed the very high number of international students and actually find it hard to meet Australian's our age. Besides the Americans most friends we have made are European and Asian. Its really eye opening being placed in such a diverse place and can be very beneficial to all of us. We are all so privileged and are eating this opportunity up.


Bond Uni is one of the most prestigious schools in Australia. Therefore every school event they run is well done and a lot of fun. So far the three of us went to the Toga party, Tight and Bright, and Bond-stock. Toga and Tight and Bright were on campus and for Bond-stock they bussed us all to a field near Broad Beach. Tight and Bright was packed and everyone looked ridiculous. Bond-stock was supposedly the best concert for college students in the area, but we all thought it was to big a venue for the amount of people. However, we all loved it and dancing to the techno music was good fun. Since it such a great school the prices are through the roof but everything so far has been well worth it.


Alli and me made it to club sign up day. I couldn't believe how awesome it was. There was a DJ, free food and drinks, and "heaps" of people. We were both so excited we signed up for ball hockey, soccer, handball and extreme sports. I honestly can't wait to get involved and meet new people. It's also going to be great fun and exercise.  Handball starts today so we will see how it goes.


Andre my roommate, who's a junior from Quinnipiac College, which is in Connecticut, is the man. He's in soccer and handball with Alli and I. Him and me also joined the "Res Wars" together. All the dorms join and battle every week in a new event. On Wednesday we had our first event which was dodge ball. Our dorm had the biggest turn out and we all had a blast. Girls and Guys were both first place, so team red started off strong. Next week is trivia then we have beach volleyball, indoor soccer, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, res sports carnival and we end with a team dinner.  Its going to be awesome.


A lot of the kids from Mikey and my orientation group all signed up to go to Cairns October 12th to the 16th. We are all going to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef and go on a ATV tour together. Though Alli has been already, she didn't get to do these excursions and is excited to go back. The Weekend after, the same group is all going to "Spot X" for surf lessons with some local pros. Well all came to Aussie with the intention to travel and now that everything is booked we can't wait to go on our trips. We love Australia.


NO WORRIES,
CHEERS!

Bond University- ROBINA, AUSTRALIA (Queensland)

Our first week was awesome! The different places we live are so much fun, and give us such a different variety of things to do. The classes we are taking are all very interesting. The three of us are in Australian Pop Culture together :). It has been a challenge to get around campus because it is so big. We also have got to get used to the opposite traffic thing. These Australians drive like maniacs. 


Everyday has been beautiful, and getting warmer as it creeps into Spring. Nights get chilly, we wish we brought more stuff to keep us warm. That's when we jump in the hot tub or sauna. 


We are going to have to get used to the price differences over here...good thing we worked as hard as we did this summer! A pack of ketchup (approx. a table spoon) is $.30, water is $4.00, and a burger is $12. It's wild, but we are getting used to it.


Last week was "O" Week which is orientation here at Bond. There were some themed get-togethers like a Toga Party and Tight and Bright. People got real into it. They don't celebrate Halloween over here so it was fun to dress up and meet new people. 

The oceans are like screen savers. SO BEAUTIFUL. 

                                                          View from Mikey's room 

                                                     Alli and Mike, on Mike's Balcony

        The View off Alli's Balcony

                                                Ty's View Right before a rain shower

      

                                                The Arch (Center of Campus) and Ty!

We are working on a getting together a surfing trip and a trip to go back to the Great Barrier Reef...and maybe Bali? We'll keep you posted. XOXO

Alli's Orientation: CARINS, AUSTRALIA

The first day I got to hold a koala bear and hang out with kangaroos! We saw an Aboriginal performance, and I was also taught how to throw a boomerang. We also went on duck boat tours that were used in the Australian Army thousands of years ago. We were hoping to see an alligator but none were in the mood to come and see us. 

I also went snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, and a full 5 hours of white water rafting up in Telly, Australia. 

Passion Fruit- SO GOOD!!

AustraLearn! We all bonded so well this week- So many new friends :)

Community Service Day for AustrLearn. Just pullin' weeds.

(Rion, Julie, Stacey, Me, Caroline)

What an amazing start to this incredible adventure! XOXO

Tyler and Mike's Orientation: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Orientation for us was a lot of fun. We got to see Sydney inside and out we did one whole day of walking around one of the most beautiful cities both of us have ever been too. We saw the Opera House from all angles, one of the coolest angles was the bridge climb, where we were strapped into harnesses and scaled one of the worlds most famous bridges. We got to go to the zoo and saw kangaroos and koalas. We had wild cockatoos land on our shoulders. We ate kangaroo and spent $4 for a soda...We also went on a Sydney Harbor cruise.

Here are Some Pictures:

Cockatoo's! 

    Tyler and Eric

Mikey and Ty at the Oprah House in Sydney, Australia

                                                                                                       

                                                           Study Australia Crew!

Most Popular Beach in the World- Bondi Beach, Australia