Goodbye

I felt like my room was so full and that I had so many things. I felt at home.

Now 90% of my belongings are packed away in my two suitcases and I'm nearly ready to go. It's 11:00 pm and I leave in 8 hours and I still have so much to do. I just had a "Boost" smoothie though so I don't feel tired. Besides, I'm going to want to sleep on the plane.

I'm so thankful for my time here in Sydney and all of the travels that I was able to do while I was here. I've seen much more of Australia than I've seen of my own country! That needs to change :) I plan on traveling for the rest of my life. This is just the beginning! I'm only 20 years old!!

I am ready to play my guitar everyday again, kiss my stinky dog, and love on my family. I'm not excited to lose this tan I've accomplished =P

I'm not coming home with an accent (aww man) and I'm sorry Brooke, I didn't find you a man. But I am coming home with lots and lots of storied that you all will be sick of by the second day I get home :) I'm just kidding I will try not to bore you. But I did have lots of exciting adventures and I'm so thankful for being able to come.

I will be home in "less than 20 hours"... what a looooong day December 3rd will be :) Don't worry though, I bought sleeping pills so I don't have to remember it.

See you shortly!

Brittaney
(or Bricky) haha

It's go time...

I feel like I just got here.

I'm really excited to come home and see my family and friends, but my world still feels like it's crashing because I'm really going to miss my wonderful friends I've made here. Sarah, Clair, and the Dirs family a re some of the best friends I have. I know we will be life long friends, and Philip and I will be back sometime soon.

Right now I'm taking a break from packing. I have no idea how I fit all the things in my suitcase to being with. In one hour, I will be able to say I leave TOMORROW. Oh my goodness.

I have so many feelings and emotions right now. Before I came it felt unreal that I was really coming. Now it feels unreal that I'm coming home! I'm used to my Australian life now, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to adjust. Driving on the left side of the road is not a problem and seems natural. Vegemite when spread thinly is actually not bad (not good either! haha). Even simple things like spending every Tuesday evening at the Dirs house seems 'right'. I'm really going to miss that.

There are many things that I look forward to about coming home though. First off, I can't wait to see my family. I have a new love for each member. I'm not just saying that either, I see things about them that I've never seen or appreciated before. My mom is the most loving and beautiful woman there is. She would do anything to make sure her children are safe and happy. My dad makes so many sacrifices for his family. I'm so thankful that he's worked as hard as he did to get me into a safe neighborhood and in a financially safe home. He has hurt his back day after day just to provide for his family. I'm so incredibly proud of my sisters. Both of them are incredibly smart and stunning too! They seem to have it all :) I love how Cassie does not care what anyone thinks of her. She will wear whatever she wants wherever she wants and she doesn't care. She has a great sense of humor- but a corny one and I love it. I love how she aggravates Teddy and is so athletic. Alicia is incredibly humble and adventurous. Alicia has a very funny and sarcastic sense of humor, but she is one of the nicest people out there. When she believes in something, she stands up for it 100%. What a wonderful trait to have.

Before I thought I didn't really need my family. It sounds horrible, but it was true. My sisters annoyed me, my parents drove me crazy, and I didn't appreciate what they did for me. I'm so thankful for what I have now. I know they are not perfect. I know they will drive me up the WALL... but it's okay. I know that I drive them up the wall too :) And I'm pretty sure that's normal, and I'm positive that it's okay. The difference is that I will not only love my family now, but I will appreciate each member for different reasons.

I can't wait to see my friends and neighbors too! I'm really excited to sleep in a house without cockroaches for the first time in over FIVE MONTHS! The first kiss from Teddy will probably make me cry. I can't wait to see Man Wang and Daniel and my cousins. I'm excited to beat Grammie in a game of rummy and eat Mimmie and Papas delicious chili and desserts.

I'm honestly not excited to go back to EMU. I won't like being away from Philip. I also don't look forward to the plane ride home. (My back is still ruined from the first plane ride to Fiji- no joke. I couldn't get it fixed here, so I will for sure need a chiropractor when I get home.) But even so, I'm extremely excited to re-meet you and become friends again.

It's going to be really weird having American food again. It will be weird hearing AMERICAN accents!!! :) It will also be very strange having to share a bathroom again =P

Tomorrow I'm packing, closing my gym membership, possibly going bowling with the Dirs kids in the afternoon, and donating my things that don't fit in my suitcase to charity such as my pillow.

Friday, Clair and Sarah are picking Philip and I up at 7:00 am and taking us to the airport and I will be home at 6:00 pm "the same day". Yeah, it will be over a 40 hour day.

The first meal I will eat in America will be in Dallas Texas because they have a Taco Bell. I missed it so badly (how sad).

For dinner, Philip and his family and my family are going to Panera- the other food I missed!

It's 11:30 and I'm so tired. I need to wake up really early so I need to get going. I can't wait to see you. Please be patient with me when I get home, I'll probably be an emotional wreck from being happy/sad/happy/sad/happy/sad. I already am!!

Love you all,
Brittaney

Amazing Experience

Hey family,

We just got back to Sydney. What an amazing time!

Since I haven't been on the internet for so long, it's impossible to write everything that happened. I've had so many wonderful experiences in the past week and few days. Here are a few memorable moments...

We went to Kakadu National Park, which is a very famous national park that people from all around the world go to see. It was getting near wet season, so the flies were REALLY bad. They bite too! And it really hurts. But if you kill a fly, the others will smell the scent and come and attack you even more. Honestly- if you had 10 flies on you, killed one, the next second you would have 30 flies biting you. But the park was gorgeous! There were so many waterfalls and beautiful hikes! It didn't rain except for at night, so it was really humid. Philip couldn't sleep :( I slept, but I woke up dripping wet- literally.

One of the hikes at Kakadu was to a waterfall and it was several miles long and took 3 hours to hike to! By the time we got there we were sweating like crazy, had fly bites everywhere, but had amazing pictures on our cameras because the view on the mountains were amazing. The walk was so worth it! There was a bunch of huge boulders we had to climb over at the end, and when you stood on top of the last one you could see this beautiful waterfall and water hole. I immediately took my clothes off (I was wearing a swim suit- don't worry!) and jumped in. The water felt soooo good. And the flies couldn't get me either! Philip and I swan to the waterfall and swam underneath it letting the water rush on our backs. So amazing!

We also had a three day tour from Darwin to Alice Springs. Darwin is over 1,000 miles away from Alice Springs. It was a loooong bus ride. But we had great tour guides! Their names were Wayno and Rael. Rael was getting trained to be a tour guide. He was my favorite. He was so crazy! He ate bugs, jammed to music, danced like a crazy man, and was really nice. The drive would have been boring at times if we didn't have him with us. The other guide, Wayno, was a retired chef from France. Well, he trained in New Zealand, but cooked at a 5 star restaurant in France. Anyways, he made all of our meals for three days. They were AMAZING! He could chop veggies so fast and would put the weirdest ingredients in our food, but it always turned out wonderful.

During that tour, I think my favorite part was stopping at all of the little mom-and-pop shops that were in the middle of nowhere. Some towns had a population less than 10 people! At one stop, we played bowling on the road. No one ever comes so it was safe! lol. Another store has all of the people stop in there leave something of theirs that represents them. The entire shop was filled with knick-knacks from all around the world. I left a "Boost Dollar"- a coupon for my favorite smoothie shop here. I wrote my name on it and stapled it to the wall. I thought it was neat to be able to leave something of mine somewhere in the middle of the desert.

We also did famous stops such as Devils Marbles, Kings Canyon, and lots of other mountains. I climbed many mountains and canyons this trip. Today alone I have walked over 8 miles! And half of the day I was in a plane!

I guess I will tell you a little about today and then I will stop writing. This is already a long post!

Last night we set up camp right underneath Ayers Rock. We watched the sun set over it and had an Australian BBQ complete with camel and kangaroo. I tried both and liked both! OH! And earlier that day I saw a wild emu! SO COOL!

Anyways, after our BBQ we were supposed to go to bed because we had to wake up today at 3:00am. Yup, that's right, 3:00. I have had like no sleep in the last week. Mostly 4-5 hours a night. So anyways, Philip and I decided to camp under the stars for out last night instead of in our tent. So we took our sleeping bags outside and as I set mine down a 1.5 inch cockroach climbed up my leg and a spider crawled out of my sleeping bag. I'm over it though. I've lived with cockroaches for 5 months now. I've seen spiders larger than a dinner plate that ate birds. I decided that I can't live in fear of bugs, spiders, and snakes anymore, I just wanted to buck up and really experience the desert. So I did it. I slept outside with the bugs and the cold (the desert it REALLY hot during the day, but extremely cold at night) and it was amazing. The stars were beautiful and I felt at peace. It was the best night of sleep I had since we left Sydney.

We woke up this morning at 3:00 and watched the sun rise at Ayers Rock. I've never watched a sun rise before and I can promise you I will do it again. It was amazing seeing the rock turn red as the sun rose. Afterwards, Philip and I walked around the base of it which was over 10 km, or 6 miles. After that we went to the Olgas and walked around them for another 4 km. Then we hopped on the bus to get to the airport. Thank goodness we are home in time for my exam tomrorow!!! Yikes.

I wish I could write down every one of my days but I don't think most of you would want to read it because I could write a novel on them. I've learned so much about myself and who I am and it's wonderful. I've completed my journey to Australia now. I've seen everything that we hoped to see, and more. Philip and I are still coming back here someday though. Australia is so big and I want to see even more! But I'm so thankful that I got to see most of the major cities and attractions that Australia has. I'd say that it's pretty good for a 20 year old to accomplish!

All that's left is three final exams and 12 days. I can't wait to give all of you a big hug.

Love you!

Brittaney

I love Australia!

Today was an amazing day!

We started off the day by feeding crocodiles! They were up to 6 meters long! I have some great photos of them jumping out of the water and grabbing the meat on a stick.

Then we went to several different waterfalls and swam underneath. One of the places had freshwater crocodiles, but they were small so we were able to swim with them. How many people can say that they swam with crocodiles?

Philip and I climbed partly up the waterfall and there was a little bath that the waterfall had carved out. We stayed up there for a while and then jumped down.

The water was 20+ meters deep, so Philip climbed up a tree on the side and jumped off. I have a video. I also jumped off a mini cliff into the bottom of the waterfall. What an experience!

The other place we went to was a "natural 5 star spa". It was so amazing. It's hard to explain but I will show you pictures when I get back home to Sydney.

We ended the day with a sunset dinner overlooking the ocean. What an amazing day.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now.

Love,

Brittaney

Darwin!

Hey family,

We made it to Darwin! What an adventure!

Yesterday was our flight and I was nervous because last time the trip didn't end so well for us. Have you noticed that every misunderstanding we've had has somehow involved a bus? We've gotten lost/stranded several times and every time either begins or ends with a bus.

Well out flight was on the "airbus" since it was such a long flight. I became even more nervous because of the name.

We got to the airport and the security guard stopped me for a search. I even got tested for explosive material on my skin! It was crazy. But the security guard was really nice. And obviously I didn't have anything bad so I got to go though.

I was even more nervous now. But the flight ended up going really nicely. There was probably 20-25 people on the plane, and over 100 seats. Every person got their own row of 3 leather seats. It was a nice ride.

When we got off the plane it was HOT. And 12:30 am so we knew it would only get hotter. We checked into our hostel and got a great night sleep.

Today was a fun day of just plain exploring Darwin. It was HOT. I've never been in such extreme heat. We started the day at 9:00 by taking a hike through the rainforest until we hit the ocean. Philip touched the ocean just to feel the temperature (even though there are crocodiles!) and it was really warm. It's sad when it's so hot that the ocean is even warm!

We ended up finding a place we could swim. It was a lagoon that was barred/netted up so that crocodiles couldn't get in. The water was too hot so I didn't end up swimming. IT IS SO HOT!

After we layed out and tanned (possibly fried? It's too soon to tell) we walked around town and went into different and random shops just to feel air conditioning. It was actually really enjoyable.

We ended up booking a tour of Litchfield National Park for tomorrow and I'm really excited! We will get to feed wild crocodiles on a boat ride, visit massive termite mounds, swim under three different waterfalls, and end the day with a sunset dinner overlooking the water. We didn't plan on going here, but we got a good deal on a tour and we're here for a few days so why not take a day doing it? Who knows when/if we will ever be back.

By the way. In one of the art galleries, there was a cockroach that was the biggest insect i've ever seen. The worker didn't see it and it was almost on her foot and I was so scared for her/grossed out and I just pointed and tried to talk but no words came out. It was so gross! It was the size of my hand not counting my fingers. And what did the worker say? "Oh that's not big at all! I've seen WAY bigger!" .... I can't wait for Michigan bugs.

Well so far I really like Darwin and the outback. We've seen several, several Aborigines people already which is really neat. Their artwork is amazing!

I need to go though but I can't wait to see you all in a few days.

Love you!

Brittaney

I lied- THIS is the last post 'till I get back

Hey family,

I just finished making flashcards, packing, and last minute things like that.

I am on my way to hop on a plane right now. It's SOOO hot here in Sydney (85 degrees F) and I can't imagine getting to the desert where this will be the lowest temperature it gets a night. Philip hates the heat, so he is probably going to die. Maybe this will help with my albino-ness. Alicia- my goal is to come home and be the same skin color as YOU! :)

I just want to say how lucky I feel. I am so blessed to have been able to come on this trip. Thank you so much to everyone who helped me be able to go. This is truly the experience of a lifetime. I would recommend every university student to study abroad- not just because it's fun or it looks good on a resume, but because you will grow immensely as a human being.

I've learned so many useful and practical things about the world by coming on this trip. But the more I learn here the more I realize that I don't know very much at all. Traveling keeps you humble I guess.

I plan on traveling for the remainder of my life and trying to learn as much as I can about the world by experiencing different things rather than reading about it in a textbook.

I honestly am not ready to come yet, and don't know if I will be by December 3rd. But I am really looking forward to that first hug with my mom and dad, I'm looking forward to letting my sisters know how much I love them and how much I value them, and I can't wait for that first gingivitis-infested kiss from my doggy. I'm really excited to see the kids I babysit and to see my neighbors and extended family. Although coming on this trip definitely made me more of an independent person, it also made me realize how much I value and love you all.

This is getting sort of sappy and I really need to go. Please keep me in your prayers and pray that this trip will go smoothly. I will see you all very soon!

Love,

Brittaney

"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing"- Socrates

Last update until the outback!

Hey family,

Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. It's been pretty busy. Plus I only have 22 days left here. So I'm trying to spend them wisely- not at a computer.

Last weekend was an eventful weekend! Philip and I went to the city several times and explored many different parts of the city. We went to a famous restaurant called "Pancakes on the Rocks" which was amazing, and we saw a show at the Sydney Opera House! It was amazing. I'm so thankful that I got that experience.




Today was my last day of class. In two weeks, I have my final exams. So what am I doing in between? I'm going on a 12 day outback excursion! We will be in Darwin for four days (the very northern tip of Australia), and then riding busses, jeeps and 4 wheelers, and a camel all around the desert of Australia for over 1,000 miles for the rest of the 12 days seeing different touristy things. We'll be doing all sorts of crazy things like feeding a wild crocodile (there are LOTS of crocodiles... you can't swim because of them sadly), hiking up Ayers Rock, and camping in the desert. It should be interesting.

I really don't want to come home yet. Sadly, I have to because of EMU. I really wish I could stay here for one more semester, but I am so thankful for the semester I was able to stay here. I've learned so much about myself and the world that it's crazy. I'm definitely different and I hope you like the new me.

I will tell you a few of the things that are different about me, and I will let you figure out the rest when I get back home.

*I am a more confident person.
*I understand how to travel more. I know that you MUST call to confirm EVERYTHING.
*I've learned to roll with the punches more. I'm more laid back I guess.
*I can stand up for myself.
*I have my own opinions now. Before I would mainly agree with people just because I didn't know how to defend my own position. Now I will disagree with you if I don't agree (not like fighting-disagree. Just being able to state my opinion if that makes sense)
*I understand Christianity more and I'm closer to Jesus.
*I can laugh at myself.
*I understand myself more - I know what I like and what I don't.
*I realize that I don't need as much as I thought I needed before. I've learned to live with less.
*I try new things.
*I'm not afraid of getting dirty (probably because after this trip I will have camped for a total of a month. And not the camping you are thinking of. Like camping without toilets and showers.)
*I like the outdoors.
*I fell in love with the beach.
*I love Philip even more.
*I've learned that you will have problems no matter where you are in the world. Before I thought that Australia would be different and that I would not have to face any problems. But in reality, I had just as many problems and setbacks- possibly more. I just had to learn how to deal with them and laugh about it later.
*I am more accepting of people who are different than me.
*I've learned that you don't have to be a cookie-cutter, perfect little person for God to love you. You can have a crazy past. You can be a little rough around the edges. You don't have to have a comb-over :) Thanks to Nathan Dirs, Philip and I have learned to be a little more fun, I guess.
*I absolutely love to cook and bake and create new things to eat!
*I am now a pre-pharmacy major and plan on getting my doctorate in pharmacy in 2016.
*I've learned that I need space. I'm not as much as a people person as I thought I was. I need alone time in my life. I'm not anti-social, just once a week for a few hours I need to do something by myself. It could anything from laying on the beach for a few hours, to just spending sometime in my room relaxing. I need "me time".

I still love animals, I still love playing guitar, and I still love to hang out with friends and do fun things. I guess I've just learned a lot more about myself and have learned to be more relaxed.

I will see you all in just a few more weeks!

Love,
Brittaney

=)

Hey everyone,

Yesterday and today were amazing days.

Yesterday, my only class was cancelled. First of all, it's my least favorite class. Second of all, it was practical so we were going to have to walk through the woods in the rain like we usually do. Thank goodness!

So Sarah and Clair, who are in that class with me, came over to my house and we talked for several hours planning our Thanksgiving dinner. We are going to have it November 25th since Philip and I will be gone during the real Thanksgiving.

Eventually it was lunch time. Sarah had to get going, but Clair, Philip, and I went out to lunch. I got Nachos that were delicious. I can't wait to actually have cheap food again. $10 is a cheap lunch here. CRAZY.

We got home at 4:00 and quickly made a chocolate pie and the moment it came out of the oven Philip and I ran to Nathans house. At Nathans house we ate, played Phase 10, and just had a great time.

Today, Philip and I went to Manly Beach. It was beautiful. We went on a hike and it was the most amazing hike. I'm so glad we did it! First we took the coastal walk around Manly Beach and watched all the surfer dudes. Then we walked to another beach called Shelly Beach. This is a protected beach since it has coral, octopus, huge fish, and sea dragons. Philip and I want to scuba dive there!

Anyways, then Philip and I saw a train that went through the woods. It went through some National Park. We decided to check it out and we are so glad we did! We saw wild Bearded Dragons, Water Dragons (HUGE ones), and we climbed a cliff and ended up seeing a WHALE! I'm so glad we are here for while migration. We watched this whale jump and splash for a while. It was so neat. Afterwards, we climbed back down the cliff and went and got some Mexican food. Can you tell I'm craving Taco Bell?

Philip and I took the Manly ferry back to the train and were almost home when Philip and I decided to jump off the train and just explore. It was like 8:30 at night so everything was closed (since EVERYTHING closes at 5:00 here) but we ended up finding a Kmart that was still open! So we played hide-and-go-seek in the clothes racks and just acted like children and had so much fun. We skipped all the way back to the train station and now are so tired and about to go to bed.

I had such an amazing two days, and I hope tomorrow is lovely as well.

Love you and miss you all!

Brittaney

Lets Catch Up

Hey everyone!

I need to write in this more.

So lets see... as of today I have no more homework! I finally finished my 6,000 word essay and I am about to go turn it in! I have two more weeks of school!! Ahhh! Time went so fast here.

This past weekend Philip and I took a tour of the New South Wales (the state I live in) Government House. It was really pretty.



I also went to Bondi Beach and I got a $30 manicure and pedicure deal! It was so nice to have my nails painted a different color (since I only have one nail polish here) and to get a leg and hand massage. Plus it's cheap! I don't think I've ever seen a manicure and pedicure for $30!

We also went out on Saturday night for a night out on Sydney. My Australian friend, Clair, invited us to go to "Star City Casino". I brought Philip of course, and also two of my American friends here, Lindsay and Jana. It was really fun and we lost track of time and missed the last train at midnight! So we had to figure out the bus system. We walked miles and miles to find the bus we needed to get on. My feet were killing me. When I got home, my feet were actually too swollen to get taken out of my shoes so I had to wait a little. :( Was it worth it? Yes. I really like Clair :)



Well I'm off to turn in my paper. See you in a month!

Love,

Brittaney

Meow

Hey everyone,

I didn't sleep well last night. There was more cockroaches in my room. Yucky! So I spent last night catching them and flushing them down the toilet. I also tried spraying them with bug spray. It didn't kill them. Then I tried cleaner spray. It didn't work either. These cockroaches were different from the last time! Last time they were a lighter brown, and this time they were dark brown, almost black. I have no idea how they get into my room!

So the maintenance people are coming over to cockroach bomb the house again, which means I can't be here for several hours. I guess that means I will have to go to the beach =) Oh darn.

So I'm going to "study" on the beach. In reality, I'm going to sleep. I seriously do need to start studying this week though. Exams are in a couple weeks! School in out in less than three weeks!! Horray!

I won't be at my Sydney home until the end of November, which means I'll be away for Thanksgiving. My two Australian girl friends have never had a thanksgiving before and they asked me if I wanted to come over to have an Australian-American Thanksgiving at the end of November! Philip and I are so excited. My mom already mailed Philip some stuffing so we'll make that, Sarah is making Turkey and mashed potatoes, Clair is making sweet potatoes, and I'm going to make broccoli rice and cheese (without Velveeta *sadface*) and pumpkin pie. They don't have pie here except for meat pie. They don't have sweet pies! So I'm going to make homemade pumpkin pie using an actual pumpkin since we can't find canned pumpkin!

Well the maintenance people are here. Time for the beach!

Love,

Brittaney