Aussie Aussie Aussie...

As I write this, I am sitting in my room with the window open and the fan on - it's hot here today (not to rub it in for those of you who are freezing). Yesterday (January 26) was Australia Day here - my first national holiday. It's like 4th of July except no fireworks - well, they had fireworks in Sydney and Perth and maybe other major cities but not here. Everyone had the day off and there was a BBQ with the church in the afternoon/evening. Everyone brought their own food and just set up chairs and stuff in a park and visited. There are a few traditional Australia Day foods like lamingtons (sponge cake squares dipped in chocolate and covered in coconut) and damper (apparenty a bush "bread" thing made of just flour and water and cooked over an open fire - I never saw any, though). I took my camera but forgot to take any pictures. I'll try harder to remember next time. I'm really enjoying getting to know the people at the church -I've met some great people. This Saturday there is a group from church going to Byron Bay, which is about an hour and 1/2 drive away. I'm not completely sure what is there but I plan on finding out.

I finished my last course on Sunday so I don't have to go on campus anymore and I have more control over my time. However, I still have to do all of my assessments and because I have no set schedule, it is far too easy for me to procrastinate. Please pray that I will have the focus to get everything done before mom and dad get here - that is my goal. I have to do 5 assessments before that point and at least 3 of them are 2000-3000 words. I'm going to have to learn to manage my time well. I guess it's not that much different than doing the online classes, in terms of actually making myself work. You'll be able to tell if I am procrastinating by how often I update the blog. If I am on here a lot in the next few weeks, I'll need you all to keep me accountable and tell me to get my stuff done. I'm actually putting off work at the moment...I should probably get back to it.

*By the way, the title of this one is actually a chant that they do and when you say "Aussie Aussie Aussie" other people respond with "Oi Oi Oi". Just a fun bit of Aussie-ness in honor of the holiday.