Summer, Bundaberg, Cricket, Byron Bay, Rotary

School has ended so my official academic career in Australia is over! I still have a few more classes back in Mississippi at my Uni (Belhaven) to finish my MBA. For now though, I have some free time to enjoy my remaining time here and will also take a trip to New Zealand before I leave for good. 

Recently the weather has been nice and hot for the beach as the summer months here are December to February. Therefore, I am trying to get in as much surf and sand as I can before I return to the cold weather. I remember the temperature being such a dramatic change when I left Mississippi for Australia in January. I will experience that once again but this time it will just be the opposite.

It's been a while since I last blogged so let me tell you all that I been up to since my last post...

Bundaberg
About two weeks ago I traveled to a place four hours north of Brisbane called Bundaberg. I traveled with the Rotarct Club of South-West Brisbane to help serve at a Powerboat Race event called Bundy Thunder.  Rotaract is basically Rotary for people between the ages of 18 and 30. This was a really great experience as I got to see another part of Rotary and hang with some great people my age. The power boat racing was exciting to watch as well. My job was filling up canisters of petrol for the racers.

 I could really hear the work paying off.

Bundaberg is well known for its large sugar cane fields, Bundaberg Rum and Bundaberg Brewed Drinks.

Bundaberg Sugar is the largest cane grower in Australia. For your information, sugar is one of Australia’s most important rural industries, worth around $1.5 - $2.5 billion to the Australian economy. 

                      Great with a coke                               I love Ginger beer

Cricket
The Cricket season is starting up so I went to a local game the other day with some of my house mates. Cricket was just ending when I arrived in January so I have not really been able to experience it as I have experienced the other Aussie sports.

One thing is certain though, Australian's take Cricket very seriously and there is so much history behind it. One only needs to look at the Legend of the Ashes to understand the international implications of the sport and its great rivalries. I would give you the run down on how Cricket is played but I don't understand it and actually found it quite boring when I watched it. None the less, I asked a lot of questions but would need a lot more time to really understand the strategy and rules behind the game. To make it simple I will let you listen to an excerpt from Bill Bryson's book, In A Sunburnt Country, on the sport of Cricket in Australia. It's very funny the way he describes it.

Byron Bay
I went to Byron Bay the other day which is two hours south of Brisbane. This is a very popular place to visit for both international and domestic people and most backpackers stop to visit as they travel up and down the coast of Australia.  It is actually located in New South Wales on the border of Queensland and is even a one hour time difference from Brisbane.

With as much beach as I hope to get the remainder of my time here I am sure some Mississippians will think I have been spending my time at the tanning bed. Let this be known to be false.

O yeah....It's a special time right now for all students graduating high school as loads of them travel to the Gold Coast to experience what is known as Schoolies week. This is essentially the same as what we may refer to as "first week" when we head to Florida to celebrate graduation. Don't worry, I didn't hang with any Schoolies, as the one's who do that are known as Toolies.

Rotary
I went to my last rotary meeting last night at my host club. They had a little special presentation for me which was very nice and we all got to exchange some very nice words to each other. I have thoroughly loved my club so it was sad saying goodbye to the many friends I have made throughout this year. They also presented me with a plaque and gave me an Aussie hat. We concluded the meeting by singing  the Star Spangled Banner together. 

Now, I just need to get my hands on a knife. 

 That's all for now folks. You stay cool.