Wow, I cannot believe it has been a month since we left Minnesota! Time is flying!! The last two weeks have been full of fun!! We started classes on Feb 14th and they have been going well. They are set up a bit differently here. For each class (unit) there is one lecture per week and one tutorial per week. In the lectures, we just listen and take notes. There is no discussion really at all. In the tutorials once a week, we discuss the readings that were assigned for that week. The lectures can have up to 100 plus people in them and then the lectures are smaller groups made up of about 10-15 students. In each of my classes I have 2 written assignments and then a final exam. Nothing too terrible! I am in three units/classes. The first is an aboriginal studies class, the second is an Asian Cultures course, and the third is a philosophy class. I only have lectures and tutorials three days a week. I am off on Mondays and Wednesdays which is AMAZING!!! All my readings are due on Thursday because that is when all my tutorials are. So I have plenty of time to get stuff done during the weeks. Whenever people aren't in classes during the week, everyone hangs out at the pool which is right outside my flat! The pool is very much needed since it is averaging about 100 degrees each day here! It is the only way to stay cool since we don't have air conditioning in our flats or anything. All the lecture halls are air conditioning so it actually makes me want to attend classes. No problems there!

Our group likes to have "dinner parties" and we have had about 4 or 5 of them since we have arrived. I guess they are more of a pot luck. Everyone brings something to contribute to the dinner and then we all make it and play card games before and after we eat. Usually there is only like 5 people each time, but it is always different people.We have made Zucchini Pie, Breaded Chicken Parmesan, Asian Stir Fry, and French Onion Soup. Brownies for desert, of course!

We have parties in the flats here if we don't feel like going out. Going into the cities like Fremantle or Perth can sometimes be a bit of a challenge and the buses and trains stop running at midnight every night. If you miss them, you have to take a taxi back which can get VERY expensive. Staying in the flats is a lot more stress free. We of course celebrated the Packers winning the Superbowl and had a party that night after getting up at 7am to watch the game. It was the quietest Packers game I have ever seen because we were all sooooo tired still. Nonetheless, we were all more than excited to be able to watch the game in AU!

There are some pretty interesting/annoying/ creepy creatures around campus. First of all, the crows here are the most obnoxious things I have ever heard. They go crazy around dawn and dusk! They sit in this tree and just squawk their heads off for about an hour. Without fail, everyday at those times they are there! They wake me up every morning around 5:30. Shutting my windows help, but then my room gets even hotter to the point where I can't sleep anyways. At night, there is also an animal called a Quenda that runs around in the bushes. They literally look like VERY LARGE rats. I have yet to get a picture of one, but if you google image them, there are plenty of pictures for you to see! I am still waiting to see a Quokka. They kind of look like a mini version of a wallaby. We were told they are very popular in Western AU but I have yet to see one. They said we would for sure see them on the Outback trip that we are going on in mid March. Spiders in Perth, AU = HUGE!! Seeing them on the sides of buildings and stuff is the creepiest thing ever. I have yet to take a picture of one because they gross me out so much! Well, I guess that about catches me up on blog posts. I will try and stay more on top of things!!I will also post a few more pictures of the village and the pool area!!