Heaps and Heaps

So, I love Australia. Just to clarify for those who might be doubting that fact. I have noticed that Ozzies really are more laid back. I can't pinpoint why I feel that way, but it's true. I now completely forget that I'm not Australian most of the time, and when people as out of the blue, "Where are you from?", I have to sigh and remember that I don't have a cool accent. Bah.

I had to write two essays over the past three weeks. My essay for literature physically painful to write, but I actually enjoyed researching my essay for American History. I spent a lot of time at the State Library of Victoria, a positively gorgeous building in the middle of the city, researching the causes of United States isolationism prior to WWII. You can't check out books from this library, so I had to do all my work there, but that made me so much more productive.

My friends Jules and Steph moved into a house close to Uni, so now I get to spend a lot of time there just goofing off and getting nothing accomplished. We had taco night again for Cinco de Mayo.

Chris and I go bicycling all around the city all the time. That is one of my favorite things about Melbourne. You can access so many places by bicycle, and you can even take your bike on the trains. I'm not very good at observing the rules of the road, and I frequently get mean looks from pedestrians. I also learned how to ride the tall bikes that Chris's dad builds. It's not as hard as it looks, but apparently I picked it up quickly. I love people's expressions as we ride past. Most people just swear and point! We made a movie of us riding around on the tall bikes one lazy Saturday afternoon. It's probably going to come out in theaters pretty soon.

This past weekend I went scuba diving again around Melbourne. I went to Mornington Pier on Saturday, and as I was the most experienced diver out of the three of us that went, I got some excellent practice in underwater navigation. There wasn't a whole lot to see there, but I did see some monstrous jellyfish, a stingray, and tiny squid, and tons and tons of starfish. On Sunday, we took the boat out into the bay from Queenscliff. There is a gazebo-like structure in the middle of the bay where a colony of seals lives, so we dove underneath. The seals are extremely curious, and they came down to play with us. We then did a drift dive over a large stretch of reef. That was amazing fun because you just hold onto a rope so you don't lose your buddy and let the current take you away. The Queenscliff boat launch area has hot showers, so that was my favorite place to dive!

I am keen to do a lot more climbing in the next few months while I am here. Friday, Chris and I went to an indoor bouldering gym called Lactic Factory. It was a very neat gym with some challenging problems, and my forearms are still sore. This next weekend, a few of us from the mountaineering club are going to go camping and climbing in the Grampians. We want to sleep in a cave that we saw last time that looks like a house. There is a bouldering problem there that is so hard only two people have ever completed it. I am thinking about conquering that one while I'm there.