Australia - 1 month down!

Hey all!

Sorry I've been slackin' with the postings, but I figured Lara was on top of it.. I gotta say, I'm definitely loving Australia!!!! :) It's absolutely gorgeous here, pretty much every single day, I still can't get over that it's technically their winter right now, lol...crazy! Classes are interesting, I'm taking Invertebrate Biology, Aquatic Animal Ecophysiology, Biodiversity of Tropical Australia, and Animal Adaptation to Environmental Change.. The first two I'm taking because they count towards my major, yayyy, so I should be set when I go back to UNH next semester. Not sure how I feel about them yet, I'm not so much into the inverts, I'm more of a large mammal kinda gal, but unfortunately I've already taken classes in that, and I had to do what was best for my graduating on time next spring. We'll see how it goes, could be interesting, I just know that Invertebrate bio will be really intense and will take up a lot of time. :/ ugh.

Compared to last semester however, this semester can only be better...I hope, lol..... As much as I love being here, it's extremely hard because of missing and worrying about Derek. The second week I was here, I discovered that as long as I'm outside the U.S., he's not allowed to contact me via phone or letter :/ That was a huge blow, I honestly didn't think it could get harder until that moment hit, and I realized it still could.. But I'm managing, one day at a time..and I was able to talk to him online for a little bit last week which was amazing :) It's a hard balance though, because I want this semester to go at a good pace because I'm in Australia and that's amazing and possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity, but at the same time, I also want this semester to speed by so that I can be with Derek finally.. I already have a countdown, lol.....

But no matter how hard it gets at times, I'm thankful I'm here and I'm trying to enjoy each and everyday and just get through it all with a smile on my face. I'm lucky to be here, and I'm so lucky to have met such awesome people already and have such amazing friends here! :)