TRAVELOGUE.jesswrites.com

Oi everyone! I finished my last exam today so I’m pretty much completely done with school now. I still might go on Wednesday and Friday just to see people and say goodbye, but its not mandatory. It feels good to be done. I can’t believe I’ll be home in less than 2 weeks now… it’s a little strange to think about. I’ve already said goodbye to some of my good friends that are leaving for the holidays and won’t get back until I’m gone. The strange thing is, I’m looking so forward to coming home that I don’t really get sad when I say goodbye. I had a great weekend though. It was Grace’s birthday Friday so we spent most of the night celebrating. I’m at Becca’s house right now though so I don’t wanna spend the entire time on the computer. But I’ll write again soon. Can’t wait to see you all! Much love, Jess

Hello from Brisbane! I’m at my friend Cindy’s house right now and thought I would tell you about my trip which has been GREAT! I got here on Thursday morning and we spent most of the day shopping–downtown in the morning, and at a big shopping center in the evening. On Friday I went to school with Cindy’s younger sister (she’s 16) for a couple of hours. She goes to an all girls Catholic school so I thought it would be interesting to visit. It was, kinda… I’ve never been to an all girls school before. But around noon my friend Edan, whom I met in Cairns back in February, came and picked me up and we spent most of the day seeing the city. First he took me to South Bank which is the man-made beach and esplanade area. It was very pretty and had a fantastic view of the city. We also went to some markets. We went on quite a long scenic walk though the city, and then went and got lunch and saw a movie. It was really good seeing him again even though I’ll probably never see him again. But anyways… I met up with Cindy and Jess (one of Cindy’s friends) in town in the evening and we went to some massive night markets. Then on Saturday Cindy and I went to a suburb called Stones Corner because they had all these warehouse shops with really cheap clothes and stuff. In the evening everyone (Cindy, Paul, Tom, Jess, Brad, and I) all went to a lookout point to see the city at night. You probably didn’t know this, but Brisbane is the worlds largest city in area. The population is only about 2 million, but it takes up more area than any other city in the world including New York and Tokyo. So at the lookout point all you see it miles and miles and miles of lights. It was an incrediable view. Today we went to Surfers Paradise Beach in the Gold Coast which is GORGEOUS!!! And we had the perfect day for it as well cuz there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We also went to Tamborine Mountain which had some amazing views and a big water hole and stuff. Fun stuff. Now I’m at Cindy’s house for the night and tomorrow we are going to a big theme park called Dreamworld. It will be fun, I’m sure, but I then I have to fly home tomorrow which I’m not really looking forward to cuz I have school the next day. Well I’m gonna go for now cuz I need some sleep. So have a great day everyone and I’ll see ya all in 3 weeks!!!!!

On Monday morning I was sitting on the top of a mountain staring down at miles and miles of the Australian outback. I realized then how lucky I was because not many people ever have that experience.

Since it was the Queen’s Birthday public holiday on Monday, we spent Saturday and Sunday night camping. This time it was just Gordon, Tricia, Lana, and myself instead of the entire Scoville/Hattin/Zipperer clan. We had a good time though. On Saturday night we went to a tiny tiny town called Hot Springs. The only thing that the town had was a pancake restaurant, a pub, and the little camping and caravan park which we stayed at. It’s a popular vacation destination though because the river that runs through the town is hot. I don’t really understand why, but the spring naturally produces almost boiling hot water. People go there to soak in the hot water because it’s filled with minerals and very good for your skin. The park had several natural and mand-made hot tubs to sit in as well as a decent size pool to cool off in. It was pretty cool.
On Sunday night we went to a town called Einasleigh which was even smaller than Hot Springs. But we camped out in the bush on a small river. We were right on the river bank and had a nice sandy beach all to ourselves. It was a very beautiful area. And then, like I said earlier, we went on a hike up a mountain on Monday morning.
We also made a stop at the Herbert River which was the river that ‘Survivor II - Australian Outback’ was filmed on. If you watched the show you might remember that one of the tribes names was ‘Jabaru’ after a native bird. Well, I saw one of those birds while we were there and they are very cool looking. But yea, our camping trip was really nice and we all had a pretty good time.

Friday was Mark’s 18th birthday so Lana and I went to his party and I also took my friend Alice. (from Switzerland) That was pretty fun and I met some really cool people but left earlier than planned because I was too tired. On Saturday morning Lana went to Palm Cove Beach to film a chewing gum commercial which she got a part in. She wore my togs, my sarong, my jewelry, and my belt in it so if anyone ever sees the commercial (which isn’t likely since it is a Scandanavian ad) then you’ll see all of MY clothes. So if I can’t be famous, at least my clothes are. haha… okay, that was lame. But I oughta go for now. I’m leaving for Brisbane on Thursday and I’m not sure if I’ll update before then. Probably not so it might be a few days before you hear from me again. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Can’t wait to join ya in a few weeks. Have a great day. Love Jess

Hey everyone-
Less than 5 weeks to go and I’m so excited! The musical that I went to on Friday was fantastic! That’s an understatement, actually… it was by far the best production I have ever seen put on by high school students. On Saturday we had the Relay for Life and although I wasn’t on the team, I ended up staying their all night with some friends and even went 28 laps! We had a good time but I was really tired the next day and then yesterday at school I had to take a nap in the sick bay because I was getting a headache from a lack of sleep. Well I’m really getting down to the nitty gritty as far as school goes. I only have 8 days left after today. (That’s because I only have 2 days per week for the last 3 weeks of school because of exams and my brisbane trip and a long weekend…) I’ll be so glad to have a summer break. I’m jealous of all of you who start summer break tomorrow!!! I’m leaving for Brisbane next week and I’m really really excited for that cuz I’m sure it will be a blast. We are going camping in the bush this weekend but I’m not sure where yet. I better go cuz I’m in class but I hope to hear from you all soon! (And since there was some confusion, jvandrick@australia.edu is the ONLY email I check regularily so please don’t email me at any of my other email addresses!) Have a fantastic week everyone, and NO water balloons on the last day of school! Haha, j/k. Buh-bye.

Hey everyone-
Almost down with school over there, ay? You guys are so lucky. I have 4 weeks of school left after today but one of those weeks there are only 2 days, so I guess it’s not too bad. We have a public holiday next weekend for the Queen’s birthday so I think we may be going camping again. The Thursday after that I am finally going to Brisbane and I’m quite excited. Tonight I’m going to see Lana is in the Cairns High Musical which I’m sure will be great. Yesterday I went boating for Marine Studies class which was fun but now my face is sunburnt. There’s really not a lot more to say at the moment but I’ll update again soon when more is happening. Have a great day everyone! I’ll see you all soon!!!!

Oi! It’s been awhile! There isn’t a lot of news but I do have a couple things to report. Firstly, I got my belly button pierced last Friday! I know that’s not a big deal but at least you won’t be surprised when I get home. It didn’t hurt at all and it wasn’t even sore afterwards. Two of my friends got it as well and they were whining about how much it hurt… haha, I guess I was just lucky. Or maybe I’m immune to pain.
Secondly, I got the highest mark on my Marine Studies exam that we took last week! (Out of like 50 people.) My teacher was lecturing all the classes about how they let an American beat them at their own subject. (Since the class is about all the Australian marine and boating procedures and rules and stuff. hehe… but just cuz I know all the rules and stuff doesn’t mean I’m good at applying it. Last week at boating we were hopeless at the docking and control excersizes that we did. Infact, Kelly and I almost ran into the propeller of a very big yacht from Singapore and the people on it were standing at the bow laughing at us!! I’m sure we’ll get better with a little more practice though…
My weekend was very relaxing. Lana’s birthday was last week so on Friday night we went down to the beach (full moon) and had the most delicious prawns I’ve ever had in my life + garlic bread and chocolate cake. I stuffed myself as much as I could because as soon as I was done eating I started the 40 hour famine. It wasn’t actually that hard to go 40 hours without eating and I raised like 50 bucks or something. Alice and I sunbathed at the beach on Saturday because we’ve been having BEAUTIFUL weather. Honestly, there’s no way the weather could be any better. Saturday night I had a movie marathon at one of my friends houses and we did a little shopping on Sunday. (I got new togs for my Brisbane/Gold Coast trip!)
I’ve been keeping myself really busy during the week lately because I want the time to go fast. Grace and I go on this mountain hike called the Red Arrow two times a week. (Mondays and Wednesdays) It’s getting us into shape because there are so many stairs! We both can already notice the difference. Some of are other friends tag along sometimes as well.
You guys will be utterly amazed at my tan when I get home–I’ve been working on it hardcore. I’m tanner than most of the people that live here and I still have plenty of beach dates scheduled to get even darker. (And yes, I’m being careful as to not get skin cancer, thankyou very much. I’ve already gotten that lecture.)
I’m going out to dinner with a big group of friends this evening since it’s a Wednesday night. However, I’m still going to school tomorrow because I have a Modern History Research Paper on the Russian Revolution and it’s like the most complicated paper I’ve ever had to write. But anyways, I made a list of all the things I need to do or accomplish before I leave the other day because I’m starting to get down to the nitty gritty on time. Wow… I can’t believe I’ll be home in about 7 weeks. It sounds like awhile, but I know it will go by FAST! I’m so anxious to see you all again!
I better go now cuz I’m on my friends computer but I’ll update ya all again soon. I hope everyone is having a nice spring with great weather! Have a great day everyone! Love, Jess

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STUIE!!! I know it’s not your birthday yet over there but I don’t think I’ll have a chance to get on later today or tomorrow and I wanted to wish you a great 17th! I miss you tons and I can’t wait to see you in 7 weeks. Have a great birthday babe.

This week has gone by kinda slowly. Yesterday I went boating with my marine studies class and got a sunburn, but besides that it was fun. More details later but I gotta run. Have a great day everyone.

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the comments–I loved reading them and hearing from you! My weekend was good. Friday night we went to a musical put on by another school which was pretty good. Saturday night I went out with some friends which was a lot of fun. Sunday was mothers day so we had a big breakfast in the morning and then went out for dinner with the WHOLE family (aunts, uncles, cousins, and all) at the Yorkey’s Knob Boat Club. We had a nice time. I’m sorry I can’t make this longer but lunch is almost over. Sorry I haven’t been posting pictures, but either way you’ll see them all when I get home in less than two months. (I’m so excited!) Send an email my way if you have a chance and I will try my hardest to reply. So bye for now–have a great day everyone!

Hey everyone! We had a long weekend for Labour Day, but I didn’t do anything extremely exciting for it. Friday night I stayed at my friend Grace’s house and we watched movies and ate lots of frozen fruit. (my newest obsession) Saturday I walked around town and did some window shopping, and I also bought my plane tickets for my Brisbane trip I’m taking next month. I met some people that lived in Brisbane (including Lana’s brother Will) and they invited me to come down and stay with them for a weekend. I’m really excited for the trip cuz I’ve been wanting to visit Brisbane (which is about 22 hours south of here) and also the Gold Coast which has some of the most stunning beaches in the world. (Surfers Paradise, which is one of those beaches, was voted ‘World’s Best Beach’ on the Travel Channel last year and I’ve been dying to see it!) I’ll be down there for 5 days. But anyways… on Sunday Lana, Sam, and I went and saw X-Men 2 and then went to Innisfail for a dance Esteddford and didn’t get home until late. Monday I just kicked back all day, went on a long jog, and did some stuff that I had been putting off. That’s about it. I have exactly 2 months left before I come home and I’m getting really excited. As it gets warmer over there, it gets cooler over here. Oh well, I’ll live. Well I’m gonna go for now, so have a great day everyone! Much love, Jess

Just a quick hi to let you know that I’m alive. It’s been a good week. We had Monday off for a teachers inservice so I spent it at the beach. Going back to school hasn’t been as bad as I thought. There’s a new exchange student from Switzerland named Alice and she’s in my grade. I’ve taken her under my wing and have shown her around and introduced her to heaps and heaps of people. She went to Central yesterday with me and Grace and we showed her around town a bit as well. I get along with her really well because we are both kind of in the same boat, and we have similiar personalities as well. But anyways, yesterday Grace and I went on a hike up the mountain and at the top I met two girls from Grand Rapids who are over here on a trip through Grand Valley! It’s such a small world, isn’t it. Well I’ve already missed out on 25 minutes of lunchtime and I’m starving so I’m gonna go. I wish you all well and hope you have a great day! (P.S. Thankyou SO much to the people who emailed me pictures from prom! I loved them!!)