Back to some fun stuffs: The Bathers Beach Triathlon was this week!!! And we didn't lose!!....we didn't do anywhere close of winning either, but we had a great time! Molly Jarrell did the 200m swim around a couple buoys at Bathers Beach, Sydney Henderson (roomie!) did the 3km run around the park in the scorching sun, and I did the novelty event--grabbing a 2L milk carton with holes in it and running to fill it up in the ocean and go back and forth to fill up a big bucket till it overflows. Ha it was a chore, but SO much fun!...It started at about 7am on Wednesday and as soon as it was done I went back to bed for a nap til 11. MUCH needed! My day of exercise was not over yet though....Netball started that night! It is sad to be more of a 'girls sport' but it's a Co-ed league and the guys seem to like the new challenge. We needed a team name, so since we live in the renovated P&O Hotel, I thought we should include P&O in our name. Since we've been playing cards a lot lately, I naturally thought of P&A (Presidents & Assholes, for those of you that don't know the game) and I changed it to Presidents & Ozholes!....hehee clever side coming out!! =) The game is similar to basketball in which it is played on a court, there is a ball (like a basketball), two hoops (with no back-boards), and a semi-circle at each end around the hoop--much like the 3-pt line. However, there is no dribbling, no running with the ball, no contact (have to be 3 feet away from everyone), there are 7 people that play at a time on each team, and each player has a specific title in which they can only go within certain sections of the court. Seems very confusing, I know....because it was, until we got the hang of it! I advise you to look it up on YouTube if you still don't understand, and want to watch a silly (and long) video about it. Honestly, we watched it and at any point I was expecting to hear Patches O'Houlihan chime in with the 5 D's of Dodgeball!! Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive and...Dodge! Haha....Dodgeball movie reference, for anyone that didn't get that! ;) .....But for our first game ever as a team I think we did pretty well! We scored 2 points so that was awesome! (the other team scored a lot more, but we're focusing on us now). I believe we are the only team that hasn't ever played too, so that's our excuse. Only two people on the court have the title to be in the semicircle and shoot, so it's hard having been in basketball and wanting to just pop a 3 when the timing is right, but you can't. Plus you can only get one point for a made basket, which has to be in the semicircle. It's only a matter of time to get used to it... Also, the next game after ours needed an extra girl for one of the teams, so naturally I volunteered! It's a sport that I didn't really know how to play, and here was an opportunity to play with Australians that actually knew the game; no doubt I'd do it!! I really didn't do much, but it was a workout and our team scored around 50 points (which is a lot)! They were super nice, remembered my name, helped me learn more of the rules and what to do, and even giggled when I pronounced their names with an American accent. It was an awesome experience! I can't wait til next Wed to play again! Luckily I have some insight to pass on to my team from playing with experienced players! Go P&O!!
I just have to say I love this place.... yes it's like a vacation, but there is so many new things I've experienced already that I'm going to take with me forever. There are already nicknames for a bunch of people and inside jokes that are filling up my notebook so I can remember to put them in my scrapbook to turn in at the end of the semester. This is going to go soooo fast, but I'm ready for each part of it!....This weekend we get to go to the Wildlife park called Caversham! I"M SO EXCITED, I just can't hide it! haha There is going to be kangaroos and koalas and emus that we can all feed and hold and pet!! Eeeeeee.....being the animal nut that I am, I'm getting worked up just thinking about it now! My camera is already charged! (I will post my favorite picture (or two) in my blog next week!...and the rest on facebook so anyone who's my friend already can see em all! They even said that we can possibly ride a camel while we're there!! YEAY!...but I'm hoping to hug a koala. I hear they are quite aggressive, so I want tap into their loving side, and maybe steal it and bring it back to Bemidji with me.......just sayin! Who'd not want to make friends with a girl with a koala!? Seriously!.....Also, since our big group excursion no longer includes the trip to Broome, we wont be able to ride camels along the beach at sunset like all the groups that have previously been on this trip. (SO not fair, but that's a whole other topic I don't want to get into). Instead, we're going on a very long road trip up to Shark Bay! I'm being optimistic and just hoping for the best. They won't give us too many details because they don't want to ruin anything, but I've heard these excursions have been life-changing, and I know the school would try to make the new trip just as inspirational. So we'll see I guess... For now, I'm just enjoying the present! =) cheers!
