Time is Flying!

I can't believe it's been another week already, it's crazy that I've been here for nearly a month now, and that I've been out of the hospital for 3 weeks!  I have really enjoyed emailing and skyping with several of you this past week, but I've been a little thrown off since you had daylight savings and we didnt.  On a random note, one different thing I've noticed about Freo is that there is no twilight.  It goes from light to dark with very little transition and I think it is why most of us are getting tired earlier. Weird.
    The highlight of my week was definitely our field trips to Caversham park and to Penguin and Seal Islands.  We left Saturday morning for Caversham and it was really hot.  Both days this weekend reached over 40 degrees C, about 104 degrees F!  It was pretty miserable at times, but being able to see the awesome wildlife definitely made up for it.  There was two parts to our tour at Caversham, during the first part we got to feed and pet so kangaroos and joeys(kangaroo babies), we got to see and pet a wambat and several koalas!  It was so cool.  The animals were pretty domesticated, which was slightly unfortunate, but I doubt we would of been able to pet them if they weren't.  Also on the first tour, we saw some other native Australian mammals such as Dingo's, Emu's, and a variety of colorful and loud birds.  We couldn't pet these animals because they were not as tame and they would of loved to nibble on our fingers.  During the second part of the tour, we sat in a barn and watched the Australian sheep dogs bring in the sheep, which was the coolest thing ever.  The dogs are born with natural skills and instincts and they only take about 6 months of training to master it.  After the dogs rounded up the sheep, we watched as one of the guides sheered a sheep.  It was all a really fun experience and despite the ridiculous heat, we all had a great time.  The next day however, was even better.  We had to get up early, again, but this time we headed down south for about an hour to a beautiful bay, which I am forgetting the name of.  After unloading the vans and getting brief lessons on kayaking and safety, we paddled our way over to seal island, where as its name suggests, there are lots of seals chilling on the beach.  We weren't allowed to land on the beach, but since we were in kayaks we were able to get pretty close.  From there we cruised over to Penguin island, where also as the name suggest there are normally little penguins hanging out.  However, due to the extreme heat, they hid in their cool (temperature) homes.  We did get to see a couple of domesticated ones as they were being fed, so that was nice.  While on penguin island we went snorkeling, a first for myself, and unfortunately my high expectations were not met.  I was expecting to see some amazing colors and exotic fish, but none were to be found.  I did see some cool Nemo-like fish, so that was fortunate.  Overall, it was an amazing trip and I was so thankful that we were in the water all day.
    Other than that, nothing much has been going on.  I filled out my bracket for march madness, I did a couple of homework assignments, and explored a bit of Fremantle.  Actually, I did go golfing at one of the public courses and that was pretty fun.  It was a really narrow course and the greens weren't too well kept, but for only $12 it was great, and I'm planning on going back tomorrow.  Well I think that's about it, I would love to hear from more of you, so please feel free to email me or skype me.  Thanks again, for the support, I really appreciate it.

Philip

To The Beach!

Greetings from Down Under,

                Another week and a half has gone by and believe it or not, I still enjoy it here! J  Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support; the recovery is going great and I have been at full strength for the last couple of days.  Congratulations to the Hawks for winning state!  I was able to stream the game from over here and it was so fun cheering along with all the fans.  Unfortunately I can’t watch any U.S. sports and I have been going through NBA and NCAA withdrawals; I don’t know how I am going to survive without March Madness and the NBA Finals. 

The first week of classes went well and despite the unusual schedule, I should have plenty of free time to explore Fremantle and the surrounding cities and beaches.  Mondays and Tuesdays are great because I don’t have class until the afternoon and so I’ve been able to visit places while it’s still relatively cool.  Wednesdays and Thursdays are more filled up for me, but there are still nice gaps where I can head to the beach for a quick cool off. 

                I was able to go exploring a bit this last week and it was great.  I visited Kings Park in Perth, WA, which is the largest park, within city limits, in the world!  There is a fantastic war memorial as well as many kilometres of paths, showing off the colourful and numerous plants and animals that are unique to Australia.  I would have to say that my favourite place that I have been thus far is definitely Cottesloe.  It’s only a 10 minute train ride from Fremantle and the beaches and water are amazing.  It is a very popular beach because it is the beach that Heath Ledger grew up at and where his ashes were spread.  It is by far my favourite beach and I have been there several times already, including a trip earlier today. 

                The next several weeks should be rather busy, with organised trips to Caversham, Penguin Island, and Rottnest Island filling up the weekends.  I am really excited because we are going to be able to see a bunch of wildlife and we get to go snorkelling!  In less than a month our group is travelling up north to Broome, where we will be staying in the outback with Aborigines, learning about their culture and history.  I have only heard amazing things about this trip and I can hardly wait.

                Well that’s about it for now, if you have any questions please feel free to email me or message me on Facebook.  Thanks again for all of your prayers and support, I’m looking forward to talking with you soon.

Philip