Watch out, you Walla Walla College freshmen :) I just got a job as one of the Jump Start leaders this year. That means I'll be guiding these poor newbies through their transition from highschool to college life. I'll work for a week before college starts: showing my group around campus, answering questions, getting to know the students, attending "sessions" (whatever that means), leading social activities, and then following up throughout the quarter to make sure they are doing ok. It's really a pretty cool idea and I see a few major benefits for me:

1. Leadership. I'll be growing my leadership abilities whether I want to or not. This is outside my "comfort" zone, but I know it will be good and useful for me.
2. Friends. It's an easy way to scout for friends in the freshman crowd - they have to meet me :P
3. Money. Granted, it's not much, but I'm not going to complain about making some extra cash.
4. Time. It'll get me to college a bit early which means I'll have time to settle in to my room, time to hang out with friends (hoorah!), and time to get a routine of excercise/sleep/work together for the coming quarter.

It wouldn't be Australia without genuine kangaroos ;)

Here, you can see my very limited Aussie travels. Most of my time has been spent in Sydney (or near it). The green line indicates the roadtrip I went on with Jen a week ago, and the blue represents the travelling I will start tomorrow with Sharona. We are going: down to Melbourne for a few days, flying up to Brisbane for a few days, back to Sydney for a day, and then flying back home. Should be exciting ;)

Clearly someone stepped in kangaroo doo one too many times... Jen and I came across this piece of art in Kosciuszko National Park - this sight was almost woth the entire roadtrip in itself.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Well folks, I'm back home. In Australia... I suppose home is wherever friends and family are, but there's something about the culture here that sets it apart.

I've tried writing this blog post many times and it never comes out the way I want. Sydney, friends, the wedding, the animals, the sounds - it's all fantastic, but I lack the elequence to write about how much it means to me. I'll keep working on it, but for now it is enough to say that I'm loving my time here in Australia and it is every bit as good as I remember and hoped it would be!

There are so many stories, memories, and adventures to tell. It's rather daunting actually. Oh yeah and pictures are on the way, of course ;)