Alive and Have Not Been Steve Irwin-ed Yet

Apologies for being MIA for quite some time. Not having a computer can make communication with the northern hemisphere a little tricky from time to time. But have no fear, I am alive and have not been killed by something poisonous, a crocodile, or roid raging kangaroo (yet)! However, I've had my first encounter with a huntsman spider when I was weeding garden...google pictures of that. Nightmare material.

My time here has been great. I spent most of my second week at my friend Annie's house in Warrnambool, my old stomping grounds. It was very relaxing, and great to catch up with her after 3 long years. The weather was a bit undesirable--typical Victoria-- but I got a couple of great days in. I even got to walk myself to the beach on a particularly sunny and warm day...how's your life, upstate New Yorkers?

Shortly after, I spent 8 days at an amazing farm about 20 minutes outside of Warrnambool. My stay was with the Doeven family, a colorful clan of 2 great parents, 2 sons my age, 2 dogs, 40ish chickens, 6 pigs (one knocked up), 3 cows, bees, and more amazing flowers than I could count. Thankfully I don't have any major pollen allergies and don't require an epipen for my minor bee allergy... Their main enterprise was cultivating native flowers and selling them to local florists and at farmers markets. I learned oodles about horticulture, Australian flora, and the art of being a florist. I even learned some basic flower arrangement, which was absolutely awesome! We got a couple nice days, and the family took me to a local beach that they always go to in the summer. It was a gorgeous little cove with the clearest blue water imaginable. Some exploring with Andy (the father with the spirit of adventure not unlike an 8 year old boy), Bretan, and Luke along the cliffs revealed a dead whale that had gotten wedged in between a rock and the cliff wall at some point during it's migration. We're pretty sure that we may have been the first to discover it, since most people don't go to that spot and it's a pretty big deal when a whale washes up. It was all pinkish and bloated and whatnot. Sort of like most Americans after Thanksgiving dinner. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get a chance...which most likely means I'm going to completely forget, so may apologies.

I'm finding that I'm falling back into Aussie culture pretty quickly; I almost barely notice accents anymore, and have caught myself using some slang such as 'bloke' and 'mate'. The best thing EVER is the fact that they have $1 and $2 coins-- pocket change adds up crazy fast! Take that, 25 cent American coins! Also no pennies--way more convenient, get on the America. Side note: Dad, you could buy way more Hallmark ornaments out of your coin collections in peanut butter jars each year if you lived here. As for Vegemite...that's a cruel mistress that I still have no intentions of dancing with. My taste buds are still traumatized from getting duped into trying it 3 years ago. Just say no.

Shipping up to my next WWOOFing spot in Woodend tomorrow. I'm staying with a retired couple interested in environmental repair and management, so yes, I will FINALLY be able to apply my degree (or at least I hope)! An Ivy League migrant worker, as my father so aptly describes me. Hmph.