Easter Holidays, Hunting, and Two Months Left!
Easter Holidays were fairly quiet for me. My birthday turned out to be very mundane, but on Easter Sunday I went to visit my host auntie with my host mum in the Hunter Valley, and we went to Wollombi, a quaint, historic town nestled in a foggy valley - very green. So it turned out to be very relaxing and we had a few good laughs as well (as we always do).
But other than that, with my host brother gone, things became a bit depressing. My grandmother passed away, which didn't help me dealing with a lot of other things at the same time, including my sudden inclination to plan what I'd like to do after exchange (university, working, and much thinking about the dirty phrase "going home").
Although it was very quiet for a while, the day Jade came back from JP we went to the Morisset Rodeo for a good time - I had the Akubra in tow.
I moved in with my new host family, the McCormacks, the next day, just to the next suburb, and things are going very well. We have a trip to Canberra (Australia's equiv of Washington, D.C.) planned, and we've been pretty busy.
The weekend of the 28 and 29 of April I did something I've been wanting to do for a very, very long time. Kill something. Okay, that sounds very morbid and actually quite scary in relation to the state of my mental health. So I'll put it this way - go hunting for animals. I went to Werris Creek, near Tamworth, northwest of Newcastle (about a 3-4 hour drive) and had an awesome time. I've never been more dirty in my life really. We couldn't go shooting on the Friday night because it was raining (heaps of good rain for the region, but bad for our little hunting holiday). Early the next morning we had a roo rather quickly, and the boys felt they needed to initiate me, so as the cut the animal open and the rear hind off, Mitch wiped the bloodied leg on my. Absolutely appalled, I just stood there staring at the warm blood and fur on my sleeve. And he chased me around with it, attempting to put it in my face when I ran to a tree, and just as I was about to hide I felt the leg, flesh side first, hit me in my lower back (Mitch had thrown it over his head) and I was knocked to the ground! Once something like that happens, you just give up on any hope of being "clean" and roll with it - which is exactly what I did.
Spotlighting that night I got myself a roo - I think. Mitch was by the 4WD and I had gone out into the bus about 100 yards away to get this roo, I lined up the shot, saw Mitch load his weapon, and we both fired at EXACTLY the same time, so it really is a mystery who hit it. Nonetheless, I claimed it, and it was added to the list totalling (and I'm just guessing here) 10+ roos for the weekend. Before anyone who loves animals reads this, the kangaroo is a pest in most of Australia, over-populated and very bad for farms like this. As are the rabbits. And I'm just going to say foxes as well because we shot some of those too. I don't take vast amounts of pleasure out of killing animals, especially little joeys we find in the pouches after we shoot the mum, it is purely sport and management of a pest.
This past weekend I went to Nelson Bay on Saturday to hang out with Nic and Kristian, and we were blessed with beautiful warm weather (which is still sticking around; I'll go to the beach tomorrow for sure!). The next morning was the Fernleigh Track Challenge at Whitebridge (very near my school), a Rotary of Charlestown event demonstrating small electric vehicles. It was great to see some of the efforts, and it was another beautiful day.
Dance lessons are going well, by the way.
That just about sums up the past few weeks. Of course, every day is special, and I learn to appreciate each as time goes on and I realise how little time I have left. 17 days of school left today, for instance. I have nearly all the rest of my weekend in Australia fully booked out. We're planning farewell parties. It angers everyone when the subject of going home is brought up; how yes, we can stay in contact, but no, it won't be the same, and will we really visit each other as often as we can, even though we live all over the world? Thoughts of regret, and 'what I could've done differently' have crossed my mind so many times. But these are not happy thoughts, so I must just stay positive.
There is heaps going on in the next two months to make my exit very exciting. This weekend is the much anticipated concert in Maitland, Groovin' the Moo, featuring arguably the two biggest bands in Australia, Newcastle's own SilverChair and the very catchy electronic Sneaky Sound System - which has became a definite favourite of mine. It should be awesome, and everyone and their mother seems to have tickets!
The next weekend is Canberra, and the weekend after that perhaps a holiday up the coast, then the big trip for the month of June, followed by a plethora of parties to drag out the whole good-bye thing (that's the best way to do it), and then I'm out on the 9th. Oh and my parents are flying in somewhere in that time and I must also entertain them whilst they're in Newie and Sydney, which should be very weird, because they fly back on the 3rd and I six days later....so its a really BIG HELLO oh my God look how much you've changed from them, then a good-bye see you in a week, then a hello welcome home, we're still unpacking too from them. And then I battle depression.
Pictures laterz. Ciao.
But other than that, with my host brother gone, things became a bit depressing. My grandmother passed away, which didn't help me dealing with a lot of other things at the same time, including my sudden inclination to plan what I'd like to do after exchange (university, working, and much thinking about the dirty phrase "going home").
Although it was very quiet for a while, the day Jade came back from JP we went to the Morisset Rodeo for a good time - I had the Akubra in tow.
I moved in with my new host family, the McCormacks, the next day, just to the next suburb, and things are going very well. We have a trip to Canberra (Australia's equiv of Washington, D.C.) planned, and we've been pretty busy.
The weekend of the 28 and 29 of April I did something I've been wanting to do for a very, very long time. Kill something. Okay, that sounds very morbid and actually quite scary in relation to the state of my mental health. So I'll put it this way - go hunting for animals. I went to Werris Creek, near Tamworth, northwest of Newcastle (about a 3-4 hour drive) and had an awesome time. I've never been more dirty in my life really. We couldn't go shooting on the Friday night because it was raining (heaps of good rain for the region, but bad for our little hunting holiday). Early the next morning we had a roo rather quickly, and the boys felt they needed to initiate me, so as the cut the animal open and the rear hind off, Mitch wiped the bloodied leg on my. Absolutely appalled, I just stood there staring at the warm blood and fur on my sleeve. And he chased me around with it, attempting to put it in my face when I ran to a tree, and just as I was about to hide I felt the leg, flesh side first, hit me in my lower back (Mitch had thrown it over his head) and I was knocked to the ground! Once something like that happens, you just give up on any hope of being "clean" and roll with it - which is exactly what I did.
Spotlighting that night I got myself a roo - I think. Mitch was by the 4WD and I had gone out into the bus about 100 yards away to get this roo, I lined up the shot, saw Mitch load his weapon, and we both fired at EXACTLY the same time, so it really is a mystery who hit it. Nonetheless, I claimed it, and it was added to the list totalling (and I'm just guessing here) 10+ roos for the weekend. Before anyone who loves animals reads this, the kangaroo is a pest in most of Australia, over-populated and very bad for farms like this. As are the rabbits. And I'm just going to say foxes as well because we shot some of those too. I don't take vast amounts of pleasure out of killing animals, especially little joeys we find in the pouches after we shoot the mum, it is purely sport and management of a pest.
This past weekend I went to Nelson Bay on Saturday to hang out with Nic and Kristian, and we were blessed with beautiful warm weather (which is still sticking around; I'll go to the beach tomorrow for sure!). The next morning was the Fernleigh Track Challenge at Whitebridge (very near my school), a Rotary of Charlestown event demonstrating small electric vehicles. It was great to see some of the efforts, and it was another beautiful day.
Dance lessons are going well, by the way.
That just about sums up the past few weeks. Of course, every day is special, and I learn to appreciate each as time goes on and I realise how little time I have left. 17 days of school left today, for instance. I have nearly all the rest of my weekend in Australia fully booked out. We're planning farewell parties. It angers everyone when the subject of going home is brought up; how yes, we can stay in contact, but no, it won't be the same, and will we really visit each other as often as we can, even though we live all over the world? Thoughts of regret, and 'what I could've done differently' have crossed my mind so many times. But these are not happy thoughts, so I must just stay positive.
There is heaps going on in the next two months to make my exit very exciting. This weekend is the much anticipated concert in Maitland, Groovin' the Moo, featuring arguably the two biggest bands in Australia, Newcastle's own SilverChair and the very catchy electronic Sneaky Sound System - which has became a definite favourite of mine. It should be awesome, and everyone and their mother seems to have tickets!
The next weekend is Canberra, and the weekend after that perhaps a holiday up the coast, then the big trip for the month of June, followed by a plethora of parties to drag out the whole good-bye thing (that's the best way to do it), and then I'm out on the 9th. Oh and my parents are flying in somewhere in that time and I must also entertain them whilst they're in Newie and Sydney, which should be very weird, because they fly back on the 3rd and I six days later....so its a really BIG HELLO oh my God look how much you've changed from them, then a good-bye see you in a week, then a hello welcome home, we're still unpacking too from them. And then I battle depression.
Pictures laterz. Ciao.
posted by Carl at 5:22 PM
2 Comments:
Don't I rate a mention?? Poo to you then! LOl, you spelt favourite with a u!!
Good for people to know.
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