Our Corner of the World: Off to Australia!

When the idea of studying abroad came up a couple of years ago, Taylor knew right away she wanted to go to Australia. As someone who would like to eventually be a surf photographer, she thought it would be perfect to go there to learn to surf. Well, the day is finally here! She left for Australia at the beginning of September.

This is what the living room looked like 2 days before she left as she tried to figure out what she needed for the next four months..

But - it didn't take too long before we got it all packed. Well, not all - a lot of things didn't make the cut when she realized it was WAY too much to carry, even with a rolling suitcase. Now she's ready to settle in for the 14 hour flight to Brisbane..

She spent a few days in Brisbane with the Study Abroad group before heading to the Gold Coast, where Bond University is - Just south of Brisbane. They got a chance to see a wildlife preserve and kayak along a river through the city.

Bond University - Not a bad place to spend a few months!

The ocean is only a 20-30 minute walk from the school. These are a few friends that she's made - kids from all over the states.

New towel with the names of all the local beaches

One nice thing about the Study Abroad group is that they organize a lot of trips for the kids so they can see as much as possible while they are there. The first weekend trip they took a couple of weeks ago was to the beach for surf lessons while they stayed in cabins on the water. It was a little cold and rainy, but it didn't dampen their spirits!

A little white water rafting?

This weekend's trip was to a small island off the Gold Coast to hike and sand surf. I didn't know sand surfing was a thing! I'm sure Taylor has better pictures, but these are the ones I pulled off Facebook. You can see Taylor sitting on the top of the hill getting ready to go down, and pictures of the girls carrying the boards.