Day 4, 5 & 6

So it has been several days since my last posting but since blogging isn't my thing I think I'm doing pretty good!! So let's start back to Sunday:
Amber and I went to Sunday morning service at Edge Church, which is apart of the Assemblies of God Australia. It was a really good service! Afterwords we had lunch at the church and I got to meet some more people. After service we went back to Amber's place, chilled and took a nap. We then went to another service that evening that is geared more towards young adults. We finished up the night by getting a tour (by car) of Adelaide with some friends and dinner.

Monday we went to Gorge Wildlife Park, which is ten times better than a standard zoo. Some of their animals are in cages but then some are free ranging so you can pet them. I was able to pet kangaroos and wallabies, which was amazing! If you have food they all herd around you and some even get a little pushy. I also was able to hold a koala, which I will be honest, almost ran off with. It is my understanding that unless eating they can be quite temperamental. Regardless, I still want one...
Since basketball training was canceled we ended up going into the city and walking around for a bit. We had sushi, which isn't the same as it is in the states. In the states the log is cut into 8 pieces, where as here it isn't. The sushi is kept in one long log. It still tastes the same!!

Tuesday it was about 95ish degrees so we when to the ocean and layout at the beach. It was so hot that I was sweating just lying on the beach. It was so hot that we couldn't stay on the beach for long. Just long enough to work on the tan :). After the beach we went to basketball training. I enjoyed seeing Amber play again, even if it was only at training. We then returned home, where I cooked dinner and we watched tv until bed time.

The one thing I am appreciating about this trip is that we aren't on the go all the time. The worst thing about some vacations is when you have to take a vacation from your vacation when you get home. This has been a great relaxing time so that I am able to rejuvenate!

Day 2 & 3

On Friday Amber, Augustina (Amber’s roommate) and I went down to Middleton, about an hour and a half south of Adelaide.  On the way I got to enjoy more scenic views, of which I do have a few pictures. While there we enjoyed a 2 hour surfing lesson (yes surfing!!). We had a great teacher and with his awesome teaching skills we were all able to stand up by the end of the lesson (I wont tell you how many falls it took).  I drank so much salt water that I probably have high cholesterol.

After going to Middleton we went to Port Elliot, about 10 minutes away. Every year they have a big event called Schoolies. All the graduated seniors come to the city to party for a weekend. Friday afternoon things were just starting to get set up and kids were arriving. We had lunch and then walked around the port for a bit and then enjoyed yet another beautiful scenic drive back, only this time it was different.  Amber’s car decided to start acting up and we lost the cd player and clock, then the car starting acting up. We were fine until we got about 10 miles from home and then the car died. After letting it rest for a bit we were able to make it a couple of more miles. After doing that a couple of times we finally made it home.

This morning we took the car a couple of times a short distance and the car so far is drivable but isn’t 100%. It hasn’t been looked at so we’re not entirely sure what is wrong with it. Amber is going to take it in for a look-c-there as soon as she can. Pray that it isn’t a major fix. Everything in Australia is a lot more expensive than it is in the states. If you would like to help with some $$ just let me know!!

Today was a relaxing day. Amber went to a training session while I stayed home and attempted to work on some stuff for church, I failed miserably at it. When she got back we went to the beach to lie in the sun. I learned that I am a sun block applier retard and missed several spots.  Now I have some interesting red blotches on my body. In the evening we met up with Georgia’s, an Eastern Michigan University student, for dinner at a nice restaurant. 

Tomorrow is church and whatever else Australia holds for us!!

Australia - Day 1

Yesterday was nice relaxing day with some scenic drives through the countryside. Honestly, Australia isn't what I expected! Along the coast there is a lot of lush greenery, rolling hills and beautiful Spanish influenced homes. The day started with a trip up to the Big Rocking Horse & Toy Factory - and yes, it is exactly how it reads. Along with the big rocking horse they have a large fenced in area that you can walk around and pet various animals. Today I was able to pet some wallabies, small pony, alpacas (I actually more chased them because they kept running away when I went to pet them), and goats. The Toy Factory, in my opinion puts the Amish to shame with all they make; they had a wide array of wooden toys and Australia themed items.

After we walked around the shop and the animal area we grabbed lunch at the Mad Cow. Amber and I both has a Gyro (Yiro in Australian), but with their lack of exposure to the Greek culture it wasn't that good. We then took another scenic drive to Starplex, where Amber assists in basketball training for kids. After a couple of hours there we returned home and I made a nice steak and potato dinner.

Interesting tid-bit for the day: in AU they have random breathalyzer testings on the road. The cops set up random road block on busy streets and then choose certain cars and have the drivers do a breathalyzer. Amber was chosen for the first and don't worry everybody, she passed!!! Way to go AU for cracking down on drunk driving!!

Today we will have surfing lessons. Oh man....

Getting to Australia - 2nd & 3rd Leg

Well after combined 30 hours of flight I finally made it to Australia in one piece!! Here is everything I had to do to get here:

1. Fly from Detroit to LA, about a 4 hr flight. Once arriving in LA I had to take a 5-10 minute walk from one terminal to another, Go through security and find my gate (all mentioned in my previous post)
2. Fly from LA to Brisbane, AU, about a 13 hr flight. Once arriving in Brisbane I had to go through customs (which is about 3 different stops), pick up my luggage, walk to the other side of the airport to the domestic flights, check in for my last flight, hop a bus to go to the domestic flights terminal, go through security, board my flight!
3. Arrive in Adelaide, AU!!

Here are some pointers I give to my fellow flyers:

• Don't wear baggy pants, unless you want to be padded down.
• Be careful with who you use the public bathroom after. Some woman clogged the toilet enough to where it would sort of flush so by the time I used it it took about 5 flushes to make it sorta flush. Of course the next person blames you, not knowing the situation you walked into. 
• Don't get an aisle seat unless you want to get up every time the other 2 people want to use the bathroom or stretch their leg. The aisle seat is best if you are the type of person who uses the bathroom. If you have a severe public bathroom phobia then the window seat would be sufficient for you. 
• Internationals are generally more helpful than Americans when you are lost. 

When I finally arrived in AU Amber met me off the plane and we went to her house to unload all my stuff. In order to adjust to the new time schedule I tried to stay up as long as I could. We went for a walk on the beach (which is a mile down the road) and around the shops by the beach. Things are much more expensive here. A candy bar is about $250.00. If you are needing to go on a diet I suggest moving to Australia as the cost of junk food is quite high and would be a great deterrent. After walking around we went back to Amber's and made dinner (well she made dinner) and had ice cream. I stayed up as long as I could (which I think was about 7). I slept for about 12 hours and I'm ready for another day!!

Getting to - 1st Leg

In order to get to where I need to be in Australia I need to take 3 flights. Here are some of what has already happened (I know you are thinking how can there possibly be anything to write about, you just wait)…

I arrived early for my flight leaving from Detroit, which was a good thing. I got to the ticket counter to check my bag when the attendant asked me to my visa; I in my utter geniousness gave her my Visa credit card. When she gave me a “Is this a joke” stare I realized that wasn’t what she was talking about. Apparently you need a travel visa in order to get into Australia. Since no one informed me of this requirement I was ill prepared. By God’s grace an Australian travel visa is the only visa that the Detroit Metro Airport can issue. So for $20.00 the attendant was able to apply for one for me.  Praise the Lord! One step closer to Australia!!

The flight felt longer than expected which isn’t good seeing as I have about a 13 hour flight in front of me. I was able to watch about 10 minutes of Inception (didn’t like it) and Dear John. I did get some pretty good cookies on the plane. Not sure what they were but a lot better than expected. I got an isle set, which meant I had to keep moving for the other2 guys next to me to use the bathroom. Note to flyers don’t down a can of soda, then go to the bathroom, then down a cup of coffee and go to the bathroom while I am in the aisle seat! Especially don’t wake me up to do so. I even had a slightly traumatizing moment when the window guy’s butt grazed by temple, guess it serves me right when I didn’t want to get up.

Maneuvering the LA airport I realized isn’t the easiest thing to do. I had to walk a bazillion miles to get to my terminal (okay like 5 minutes). Once inside my terminal it became apparent that the airline I was flying isn’t very popular, which resulted in people not really knowing where my gate was. None of the flight boards had my flight, which had me really worried. Finally after asking 3 people who told me the general area I found my gate among the sea of gates.

I am now sitting in the LA airport waiting more 11:15pm flight, which is way past my bedtime. Wouldn’t it be a bummer if I fell asleep and missed my flight…