About a Week Ago...

Hello all from sunny Australia!

After a flight change fiasco I finally made it to the land down under. I have been here since 18 February and I was able to spend about a week exploring Perth and all it had to offer, before starting classes on 29 February.

My first day here I did the most Australian thing I could think of; went to the beach! I had not even put my suitcases down when my roommates came back to the flat, introduced themselves, and told me to come with them to the beach. There are 10,685 beaches in the country of Australia, so if I could check one of them off on my very first day, I was going too.

The water is the most beautiful shade of blue-green here, and it is the warmest sea water I have ever experienced.  I have since traveled to three other beaches, and each is equally as warm, with crystal clear water and hot sand.

Me in my natural ocean habitat

The next adventure I was off too was nightlife in Fremantle. The Newport Hotel had its annual "Welcome Back" party for students who attend Murdoch University. I had so much fun dancing and spending time with my friends, Perth really knows how to make new and returning students feel right at home.

My favorite adventure yet has been Caversham Wildlife Park in Whiteman. There you can find and maybe even feed every Australian animal you can think of. We started off in the kangaroo and wallaby pens. Here you can feed both types of animals and sit and pat them. There were probably 80 kangaroos and wallaby combined and all of them were eager to nibble some pellets out of your hand.

I am the Kangaroo Whisperer

I was also able to pet and take a multitude of photos with the super sleepy koalas. At the park I learned koalas sleep about 20 hours a day. The park compensates with this by only have the exhibit open for two 2 hour blocks a day. We were lucky to be able to go in right before we had to leave.

They were absolutely adorable and definitely had a love for sleep and eucalyptus. They are kept in a section that is temperature controlled and also has an almost constant mist of rain to keep their food watered.

There have also been multiple trips to the pool here in the village I am staying in, into the city to see the new Elizabeth Quay esplanade, and many fun memories made. There will be many more updates to come!

My life in Perth has been absolutely amazing so far, and its only week 2 ;)