My Life Down Under

The HDU group

2006-12-15T00:16:00.000+11:00

Here's one final picture for you of the Houghton Down Under group when we flew to Tasmania for one of our four day weekends (included and paid for as part of the HDU program).

The Christmas Tree

2006-12-15T00:11:00.000+11:00

As Christmas is approaching we are getting ready to come home. Since this is my last semester at Houghton I won't be blogging any more, however, if you have questions about the Houghton Down Under Program or Houghton in general I would love to talk to you about it. Please e-mail me at katherine.brown@houghton.edu and I promise to get back to you :) Merry Christmas!

Christmas time!

2006-12-15T00:08:00.000+11:00

The city is absolutely beautiful for Christmas! It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit without snow since it has been in the 80's for the past few weeks, but the decorations throughout the city sure do help :)

Country Party!

2006-12-12T11:50:00.000+11:00

One of the best aspects of Kingsley College is that the kitchen and student center are open for great parties like this one, our country party. Several students decided to celebrate country music and southern cooking by throwing a country party! We all had a blast eating fried chicken, mashed postatoes, and corn, and learning to country line dance!

Flinder's Station

2006-12-06T09:57:00.000+11:00

Here's a picture of the train station in the center of the city. It's about a 25 minute ride from Kingsley College and a close walk to many fabulous shops and restaurants in the city.

Kingsley College

2006-11-25T19:58:00.000+11:00

Here's a picture of the beautiful Kingsley college. The campus may not be as nice as Houghton's, but the wonderful community of the college along with being so close to the city has made it one of my all time favorite places! :)

Aussie Rules Football

2006-11-25T19:44:00.000+11:00

Australian Rules Football, otherwise known as footy, seems to be one of the biggest parts of Australian culture. One of our activities was to go see a professional footy match between two rivaling teams. We had a blast watching the game and my favorite part was that our tickets were free because the game was a part of our Engaging Australian Culture class. The game is similar to American football although at the same time very different. I especially liked the game because it is more action packed and fast paced then American football.

Night Life

2006-11-08T12:32:00.000+11:00

One of my favorite parts of the city of Melbourne is the night life! Melbourne becomes a different city after dark so it is fun to go into the city and enjoy the fun! There are lots of restaurants, ice cream parlors, movie theatres, bowling allies, and so on to take advantage of in the evening. When we're short on cash, we like to walk around the city to people watch and take fun pictures. Here's one of the pictures we took after eating at a fabulous cheese cake restaurant!

Stay Left!

2006-11-01T20:35:00.000+11:00

Dr. Shea, better known by our HDU group as "Papa Shea" is the Houghton professor who came as our on-site supervisor this year. It's been fun to get to know Papa and Mama Shea outside the classroom. We have become close as a group through our weekend trips. Spending up to five hours in the car each weekend singing, sleeping, and joking around as we explore Australia has been one of my favorite parts of being here. One of the on-going HDU joke is about Dr. Shea's driving, as we are constantly reminding him to "Stay Left"!

Federation Square

2006-10-25T11:47:00.000+10:00

Above is the modern structure called Federation Square. This area is full of unique coffee shops and restaurants. There are also often street performances in front of the building. It is always an exciting spot to hang out and be entertained!

The Great Barrier Reef

2006-10-17T14:23:00.000+10:00

I also was able to vacation in Cairns along with eight other students from our HDU program. Overall, our favorite part of Cairns was snorkeling/scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef.

Sydney

2006-10-17T14:21:00.000+10:00

One of the highlights of the HDU program is the two week holiday we received after being in classes for the first month of the semester. I took this picture from the plane as I was leaving Sydney for Cairns during the two week break. Sydney is known around the world for the magnificent architecture of the Sydney Opera House.

Birthday Dinner

2006-10-08T14:19:00.000+10:00

One of the advantages of the HDU (Houghton Down Under) program is that only a small number of students from Houghton and a few other colleges are accepted to participate in the program. This semester there are 18 of us. It has been great to bond with our fellow classmates and I often feel like we have all become one big family since being here. It is especially nice to have the support of one another when we become a bit home sick during the three and a half months we are here. In this photo, we are celebrating two students' birthdays at an Italian restaurant in the city.

Aboriginal Artwork

2006-10-08T14:07:00.000+10:00

Another fun part of the city of Melbourne is all of the Aboriginal artwork that can be found throughout the city. It has also been interesting to learn about Australia's past in the required class "Australian History" which has helped us to better understand the past of the Aboriginies (similar to the Native Americans in the United States).

John Wesley

2006-09-29T12:44:00.000+10:00

Since many of the professors at Houghton College love quoting John Wesley, we thought it was appropriate to show our appreciation for his work in establishing the Wesleyan Church. We found this statue in the city during one of our weekly shopping sprees!

Wild Kangaroos

2006-09-29T12:38:00.000+10:00

The Australia program is designed to give the students four day weekends each week! During the various weekend trips and activities are planned to help us see more of the Australian landscape and to learn more about the culture. The first weekend here, we were taken about fifteen minutes out of the city to an area where herds of kangaroos can be found! We had a great time watching the kangaroos in their natural habitat.

Koalas

2006-09-23T19:05:00.000+10:00

One of the world's most adorable animals is the Koala. In Australia, Koalas can be found in the wild. While traveling along the Great Ocean Road, about an hour from Melbourne, I spotted more than a dozen Koalas! It was great fun to watch them climb across the trees in search of their favorite flavor of the Eucalyptus leaves.

Shrine of Remembrance

2006-09-18T11:50:00.000+10:00

Above is the Shrine of Remembrance, a spectacular monument designed to honor the men and women from Victoria State who have served in the armed forces throughout Australia’s history. One fascinating feature is a hole in the roof of the Shrine of Remembrance that allows sunlight to shine on the “stone of remembrance”, located on the floor in the center of the shrine at exactly 11 am on November 11th each year. That date and time is significant in world history because it marks the end of World War One.

Australian Spirit

2006-09-18T11:45:00.000+10:00

One of the projects for the required class, “Engaging Australian Culture”, was to break up into groups and compete in a photo scavenger hunt. We were challenged to explore the city of Melbourne to creatively photograph various landmarks. We all had a blast and learned "heaps" about our new home town! This photograph was taken of the winning team displaying their Australian Spirit.

Flora and Fauna

2006-09-17T23:35:00.000+10:00

One of my favorite parts about Australia is the beautiful scenery! Every morning when I wake up I watch various parrots, kookaburras, and cockatoos put on a show in front of my flat. It is spectacular to watch as they jump from branch to branch in the Eucalyptus trees. A cacophony of various bird songs can be heard, especially in the morning; a good wake up call for those of us who forgot to bring an alarm clock!

The view from my flat

2006-09-14T22:54:00.000+10:00

This photo was taken from the front porch of my flat on the day after I arrived in Melbourne, Australia. I was jet lagged from the flight and woke up at 5:30 am. We have such a great view from our flat. It's also a great location. The computer lab, library, student center, and a basketball court are all within a one minute walking distance from our flat. I love this picture because it reminds me of my first experience of Australia's beauty.