Three down, one to go.

Scary/funny/insane to think that I'm one exam away from culminating my study abroad experience. Today was my first exam-- PR. Exams in Australia = INSANE. But more on that, later. Let's take a look at the weekend's shenanigans first.

We didn't end up going on the dolphin cruise on Friday... it was all booked for the afternoon, and we weren't about to get up at six a.m. just to check out some dolphins, when there was the exact same cruise offered the next day at a much more reasonable hour. As a result, nothing very exciting came about on Friday. I spent some time at the shops, had lunch and a cupcake at the little cafe deal, and that was about it. Saturday was a whole 'nother story though.

Despite the fact that we were scheduled for the afternoon cruise, we still got up pretty early to take the bus into town. From there, Diane, Rach and I waited around for a while to grab a second bus to Queenscliff. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for such an adventure... about 3o, which is warmer than it's ever been during my time here. Blue skies for the most part, too. We ended up getting to the dock a bit before one, and were immediately sized up for wetsuits. After that, it was only a matter of minutes before we were on our way for our three and a half hour tour. Naturally the idea of a three hour boat tour got my Giligan senses tingling, but needless to say, I am not currently stranded on a deserted isle. The boat did somewhat resemble the S.S. Minnow, though. True story.

After a short cruise on the net-protrusion-thing (I don't know what else to call it, but it stuck off the side of the boat, and was like a giant hammock for you to hang out on. Of course, I spent a good deal of the trip there.), our first top was an introductory snorkel around some rocks in the middle of the bay. We donned our fins and masks, and proceeded to freeze our butts off. Baltic. We spent most of the dive in fits of laughter, trying to keep our faces and feet (the only parts not covered by the wetsuit) out of the water. It may have been gorgeous outside, but that didn't mean jack to the water temperature gods. One day of beautiful weather does not, by any means, make up for three seasons of chilliness. Aside from the cold, there wasn't anything entirely remarkable about our first dive. We saw a starfish and a few others, but it was nothing compared to my last dive in the Great Barrier Reef. Such is life. So, we got out of the water, attempted to sun ourselves and dry off a bit, and were off to our next destination: Seal Island.

Okay, so it wasn't really called Seal Island, but it very well could have been. It was more like Seal Outpost In The Middle Of The Water. Either way, it was completely awesome. There were probably between 3o and 5o male seals just hanging out there. A few babies, some guys that had to be over 3oo kilos... some lounging, some barking, some trying to push each other into the water. Seeing as seals are probably my favorite marine animal, I was pretty pumped about the whole ordeal. The cold wasn't as bad the second time around, and when you looked under water, you could see seals twisting and turning all around, chasing each other, doing flips, and generally enjoying themselves. I took a decent amount of pictures with my underwater camera, and we even posed for one in the water right near the post. The seals could be snarky little bastards, though. More than a handful of times, you'd hear someone scream through their snorkel because they'd turned their head and were faced with a seal bearing its teeth, no more than a foot away. Kindof really hilarious. I definitely enjoyed myself, and I'm super pumped about seeing the pictures. We're due to pick them up tomorrow.

Dolphin sighting was next on our boating agenda, but not before another new Aussie experience: the Duck Spa. Basically, this consisted of hanging off the back of the boat onto the duck board, and having the boat pull you as the motion from the propeller created a "spa." Only in Australia. After our spa experience, Diane, Rach and I camped out on the top deck of the boat, attempting to spot dolphins. I saw a few within a few minutes, but by the time we'd turned around, they disappeared. We cruised for a half hour or so before our guide called us down to say that they'd spotted some dolphins in the shallows, and we should get ready to jump in. Now, how exactly do you snorkel with wild dolphins, when they move much faster than you, and aren't really prone to staying in one spot? Why, you hang on to a rope and get towed by the boat! I know, it sounds ridiculous. Well, it was ridiculous, but it was also completely worth it. Everything was a bit hectic at first... the guys on the boat were shouting at us, and pointing in every different direction trying to get us to see the dolphins, while simultaneously telling us to keep our heads in the water. The first one I saw was sort of far away, and I wasn't necessarily impressed. It certainly picked up from there, though. The dolphins went from crossing underneath us to swimming directly next to us. There were a pair of them, then three, four, and five. All basically within arms reach, flipping around, looking up at you and squeaking. Believe me, it was no easy task hanging on to the rope for dear life as the boat churned along while also trying to take pictures, but I think I managed to get at least a few good ones. It was so completely amazing seeing these dolphins swim right beside us, look over at us, then dart off, only to return to the pod moments later. At one point, I looked up out of the water and saw one flip through the air, like something you'd see at SeaWorld. To have that kind of experience with animals outside captivity is remarkable. When we finally got back on the boat, I couldn't stop shivering, but I also couldn't stop smiling. Our guides told us that they never see that many dolphins in the shallows for such an extended period of time like that, and we had been extremely lucky to be a part of it. It was certainly an experience.

We bid our dolphin friends adieu as they swam just ahead of our boat (like in the movies!), and headed back to the dock. I was completely frozen... I couldn't get my teeth to stop chattering. We made it back to the marina not long after, changed, swatted many a bug, and wandered through town a bit before catching the bus back to Geelong. It was an incredibly tiring, but also awesome day. I made Diane and Rach tacos for dinner, then Janis came over and we watched what we thought was our last episode of House. I slept quite well Saturday night.

Sunday was the first real day of study I partook in. Oddly enough, it was the last day of study week. I spent the day finalizing research and writing my paper on paranoia and conspiracy in one of the books we'd read for lit class, After. I think it turned out rather well. And I finished at a reasonable hour, too! I think I got to bed sometime around 3 a.m. Considering it wasn't due until 5 p.m. yesterday, I'd say that's pretty good. Must've been the pancakes Erin made for breakfast. Aside from the completion of the essay, nothing monumental went down on Sunday-day. Sunday-night, however, I made a series of incredibly awesome discoveries that I will now share with you. First, the Halloween party I thought I was going to have to miss out on due to exams... well, I'll probably be able to go now! My exam isn't until 2, so I figure I can at least dress up and stop by for a bit. My dad's e-mails were also the source of copious good news, in the form of Guitar Hero III acquisition, Keith Primeau's ice hockey team, and the fact that I'll have the opportunity to coach hockey when I get back. And, lest we forget, I found the final two episodes of House s3 on the network! Finally, we can have closure. And we will, tonite. Ahh, that show has taken over my life, and I'm totally okay with it.

Yesterday equated to copious amounts of studying for my PR final. I was surprisingly productive! I definitely thought yesterday would be one of those days where I intend to do a great deal of work, but only really accomplish a small sliver of what I wanted. I made comprehensive guide of everything I thought I'd need to know for the exam (pretty accurate, in retrospect) and studied for pretty much the entire day. I took a time-out only to drop off my lit assignment, grab a bit of lunch, go to caf, and watch Californication. Ohh, David Duchovny and threesomes involving two dudes.... of course they did. Had a bit of trouble getting to sleep after the coffee/tea intake that went down during the day, but such is life. On a side note: I'm about to murder every single one of those damn birds that sound like you're stepping on them when they crow. They sit outside my room and yell all day and all night, and I've had about enough of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for conservation of wildlife and the like... just not during studytime. Thanks.

So, we're up to today: my first exam experience. I get up at 8:3o for my 9:15 exam, brush my teeth, wash my face, eat my breakky, and head to the gym. I didn't know why they were holding the exam in the gym... but now I do. The gym was set up into perfect columns and rows, with over 4oo kids taking all sorts of exams. It was completely insane. Having followed what it looked like everyone else was doing, I dropped off my bag, reviewed my notes one last time, and walked into the exam, armed with my two pens. Apparently I also needed a pencil and my student ID. Oops. Needless to say, I played the hopeless international kid card and had everything figured out without much effort, but it was still a bit nerve racking at first. And so, for the next three hours, I wrote about nine pages for my PR exam. Altogether, it wasn't really terribly difficult... just long. And the setting was insane. In. Sane.

My post-exam day has been spent making fried rice, watching the Golden Girls, and pondering if I should start revision for history yet. Yeah, it's not tomorrow, so that's gonna stay at "no" for the time being. Caf's in a couple hours, and then we're watching our final two episode of House afterwards. Tomorrow is Halloween! We're going into town during the day, Janis's departure dinner is that night, and the party is afterward. Hmm, maybe I should be studying, then. In due time. I think I'll keep jamming to my Fall Out Boy/Michael Jackson/Backstreet Boys playlist for now. I call it-- the depth of pop music. Right.

That's all I've got for you. Until further notice... laterdays!

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