Watch Out! Consistent internet Access!

Hello BLOG nation! 

Today marks the first day since I have arrived in Australia that I have had stable internet access where I am staying and it feels GREAT! Above are a few pictures I took off my laptop.,, the first one is the view from Brock's deck in Townsville. The island you see in the close distance is magnetic island. I am planning on having a visit one of these days because i hear the beaches are amazing and they have some pretty cool hiking trails. Its only a 20 mins ferry ride away! 

The second picture is of Brock's Pool! NICE HUH?! I have gone swimming at least once a day since being here. 

The third photo is of me writing this post! Ha! I have found a cafe job in Townsville at the Coffee Club. Not my favorite place in the world but its still good. I work on the Strand which is the main beach in Townsville. 

I have finally made a plan for the rest of my time in australia! I am going to work in Townsville for a few weeks until around April 11th or so. Then I am going to take a trip down the coast ending up in Brisbane. I lucky to have found a ride! One of the boy's friends Justin from Texas is taking a surf trip down the coast and said I can come with!

It will be a great way to see the coast. He is a surfer and plans on stopping by all the great beaches along the way. So i cant complain! He also has an extra surf board he said i can borrow. Hopefully I can get a little better :). Next, I am staying with a friend in Brisbane and leaving some stuff there while I attend the Blues Festival in Byron. After the Fest I am going to stay in Brisbane for a week and then go to Sydney for a week or so. I am flying out of Sydney near the end of May! 

So much to do so little time. Now I begin saving some money! More to come soon! Remember its a jungle out there. 

Hello From TOWNSVILLE

Hello Friends and family :)

ONCE again it has taken me forever to post but a lot has been in the works. Since I have been done at Camp Quality I have become pretty restless in Melbourne. I loved it there and could have stayed for my whole trip but the point was to see new places and try new things. So i made the move to Townsville which is located in North Queensland. Yes, this area WAS just hit by a massive cyclone but its not looking too bad besides for a lot of trees being down.

I was looking for different and thats exactly what I got. For starters its SO HUMID and HOT here. It def. feels more like I thought Australia was going to feel. I am still getting used to the weather and have been taking three showers a day and changing clothes almost double that.
Life is A LOT slower here. It takes some getting used to after living in a busy city. Everything closes really early and the public transportation is never on time and is a lot harder to use.
I am still having a good time exploring the city and it only gets better once you meet some cool people.

For now I am staying with a friend Brock Bergseth who graduated from DL with my brother. He is here going to school for a masters in Marine Bio. at the local Cooks College. He has two roommates who are also studying at the university.

I had two ideas.. one was to work on a nearby tropical island at a resort and live there (while working) or to work in Townsville, Live with Brock and take trips from here. Both SOUND great but the problem is.. to find a job.

I have been here for three days only but I still am getting nervous about finding a job before all my funds run out so i think for now ill search for a job here during the day and then at night search online for an island job. Whichever one happens first is the one im going to take!

Did I mention Brock's place is AMAZING and has the best pool and deck area! Its only mins from the ocean.

I got the word that I was accepted as a volunteer at the upcoming Blues Festival in Byron Bay at the end of April . I am so excited for that! should be lots of fun with an amazing line up. Bob Dylan is playing TWO NIGHTS!

ta ta for now i will post soonish! Love you all ,,, good luck to the Lady Bulldogs in the playoffs! March Madness BABY!

and remember its a jungle out there...

IM A COLLEGE GRADUATE!

Hello bloggers!

Last Friday was the last day of my internship with Camp Quality. It is very bittersweet, I am going to miss the people in the office a lot. We had a lot of fun! I am excited to be finished with my degree tho. Now I enter the REAL WORLD... NOT! I happy that I don't have to start looking for a "real" job yet,,, maybe ill never have a real job...

I'm not going to worry about that right now. I just need to decide where to move next! In the mean time I need to save up some money so I can move to another part of the country. The shifts at the bar are not enough to save money so I am going to do something a little more drastic. I am going to work at an Orchard and pick some fruit!

Turnbull Orchards

After Feb. 14th, I plan on moving to the Orchards and working for awhile to save some money. I am also going to be living there. I will miss Melbourne a lot but I can always come back if it doesn't work out.

I have to get going but ill post again tomorrow to tell you all about my Great Ocean Road trip and the music Festival I went to over the weekend. :) I also have some pictures that i need to post which is long over-do. Only for you V.

Love you all
Remember its a Jungle out there

Holidays and Byron Bay

Hello fellow bloggers :)

Its been awhile I know,,,, a lot has happend since my last post. I got a job at a bar in Richmond which is close to where I live. Its called the Post Office Pizza Bar aka. the Posty. Its a cool place, a little more upscale than I am used to but im making it. I have realized I have little to no knowledge concerning wine/fine dinning but I am really good at clearing glasses which is fine with me. I have been working 3-4 times a week usually until three am. I usually stay after an have drinks with my co-workers and I have ended up pulling all nighters a few time. I am NOT cut out for this lifestlye and will be looking for a more stable job when my internship is finished in Feb. but for now its fun and good money.

I had a really good Christmas. Of course I missed my family and friends but I ended up having a really good day at my roommates parents place. New years and my birthday were both spent at the bar (working) but I didnt care becuase I was getting ready for my trip to Byron Bay.

Byron Bay was AMAZING!!! The town has several beaches which are popular for surfing. It is a resort popular with both domestic and international tourists, including backpackers, who travel along the Australian coast, and the scenery attracts sky divers. The area is also noted for its wildlife, with the whale watching industry a significant contributor to the local economy.^{[citation needed]}
An oceanway runs from the centre of town to the Cape Byron lighthouse. Visitors are encouraged to use sustainable options for moving around town like walking and cycling.

That last part was copied from good old wikkipedia :)

We were there for 5 nights and six days. I went with my roommate Jules and her friend Helena and Kate. They are great girls and we had a blast. The highlights for me was walking to the lighthouse, eating amazing food, and of course the beach! We attempted to surf one day. It didnt go very well becuase the wind was out of control but I still felt like I accomplished being cool at least.

On friday night we went to a concert at the beach hotel. Sneaky sound system was playing. They are a popular group here and they were playing a free show that night! We got there really early and ended up being in the very front row next to the stage. It was AWESOME!! She was amazing and a great preformer.

I dont think i have EVER been that sweaty in normal clothes but it was worth it.

We also went on a bus tour to Nimbin which is Australia's weed capital. It was a really fun day and we met some cool people on the trip. We got to go to a waterfall, have a BBQ, and spend some time in Nimbin! 

It rained a lot when we were there but I still managed to get a tan :) There are really bad floods in Queensland which was close to Byron Bay but it missed us when we were there. Today is my first day back at the office. I am working at the Posty for the next 8 nights!! Its going to be a lot but after a trip like that I need to make some money. I am thinking about going to this music festival in Byron over Easter weekend. What do you think?

BLUES FESTIVAL

I miss and love you all! Hope you are all staying warm back home. And remember its a Jungle out there :)

xoxo Jordanne

Summa Time

The weather is finally turning around in Melbourne! I actually went to the BEACH yesterday :) and yes my back is a little burnt but it still felt good to lay in the sun and go in the ocean. The beaches here are not great becuase Melbourne is in a bay but it was good enough for me! It makes me excited for Jan. when I will be going to Byron Bay on a proper "beach" vacation with my roommate and a few of her friends.

This Saturday I went to a music Festival called Stereosonic. There were six stages and it ran from 12pm-10pm. The day was amazing. Very hot and sunny. It was a different experience from other festivals i have been to. I was told that if I called the artists "bands" one more time that I would have to leave. Apparently you HAVE to say DJ or you are kicked out.

Whatever.

It was a good weekend and I am looking forword to a busy week. Tomorrow I am going to a golfing event for Camp Quality and have to wake up at 5 am but it will be nice to be outside and out of the office. We have out Christmas party on Wed. at the Comics Lounge which should be fun and I plan on looking for a part time job as I am getting worried about running out of money.

As always I seem to be living a lifestyle outside of my means. I miss and love you all. Check ya lata!

Remember ,, its a jungle out there!

xoxox JO

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Ella can officially start playing her Christmas music! Even tho I bet she has been at it since the first snow fall. For the past 5 years I have been away from home on Thanksgiving so this year didn't seem all that strange to me. I made a pumpkin pie :) It tasted "normal" but not amazing. My roommate purchased the ingredients from the USA store because we couldn't find the stuff anywhere else! My endless search for Leffsa has still been unsuccessful but I'm not giving up just yet! In a city this big they have to have it somewhere....

Since it has been awhile since my last post I need to fill you all in on a few things!

1) The races: It was a BLAST! I only saw one horse because I was too busy being a social butterfly ha ha. A lot of stress went into picking out the right outfit but by the end of the day it didn't matter. My feet were KILLING me but I kept my heels on ALL DAY. The weather was gorgeous and I didn't lose any money.

2) The ZOO: Jules (my roommate) and I went to the Melbourne Zoo. I have some pictures that will be up sooner or later but you all know what a zoo is like so I wont go into detail.

3) Jr. Camp: For my internship I have been helping plan a camp for kids 4-8. The campers are kids with cancer and their siblings. I had a really good time on camp and met a lot of cool people. The kids were beyond cute. My favorite was a little girl named Ivy. She is four years old and just finished her second round of Chemo. She got tired a lot and I got to hold her and rub her back while the other kids played games. Needless to say,, I love her. We did a lot of fun activities and the kids had a great time.

4) Comedy club: I went to a comedy show the other night (my first). The guy does voices for family guy and American Dad. I am not a huge fan of these shows but he was funny. The person who opened for him asked the audience if there were any Americans in the crowd, I told the people I was with not to say anything but of course they did! So I was a small part of the show, answering questions and what not. My face was bright red the whole time and I thought I was going to throw up. After it was all over I ended up with 5 free tickets so it wasn;t the worst thing that has ever happened but really close.

There is a small update! I promise I will be better at posting more often. I miss everyone so much and I hope that your Thanksgiving is wonderful! p.s It was 90* on Tuesday! Its so strange having back to back summers! I miss wearing my leggings,boots,mittens,hat, scarf, and sweats while inside Melrose,, You don't know what you have until its gone. :) love you all xoxox

And remember its a jungle out there!



Happy Halloween!!!

Hello loved ones!

I hope everyone is having a geat holiday. I can't wait to check out all the pictures of everyone dressed up! Good news, im out of the hostel and live with a great roomate in a really cool part of  town. I am really like living there. It takes me about 45 mins via public transportation to get to work now but I dont mind it. There is a great river walk type thing close to where I live so thats a perk!

This weekend I went to an Aftican Dance show. It was SO COOL! I have never seen such great drumming and energetic dancing. I also went to a BBQ with my roomate on Sunday. I did not dress up for Halloween but theres always next year!

I had to go dress shopping (i know feel bad for me) becuase this coming weekend I am going to the horse races. They are a huge this here and I even get tuesday off of work becuase of it. Guys wear suites and girls were pretty dresses and hats or head piece things. Its really fancy and i need to wear heels so we will see how that goes.

People just drink a lot and by the end of the day no one looks classy. ha ha

The internship is going well and I am learning a lot! Everyone in the office is great. The weather is still pretty cold but at least its not snowing! miss and love you all xoxox

And remember its a jungle out there