And Geelong wins the premireship!

After graduating in June, I spent a few months in Maine, a couple of weeks on an island off the coast of Michigan, and now I am in Australia for a year (visits are encouraged!)
Here's a brief summary of what I've been up to in Australia:

• I live in a city that my lonely planet guide says is not worth a stop. A few weeks ago I would have agreed. It's slowly growing on me, though.
• Fortunately, that city is in very close proximity to Melbourne, which is worth a stop.
• The Geelong cats are the town's Australian Football League team (aka uniquely Australian mix of rugby and American football). They had not won a premireship (aka super bowl) in 44 years. They won tonight.
• I'm getting an honours degree in biology, which means I am again an undergraduate.
• I'm studying how some very tiny mussels in a very salty lake tolerate that salt.
• My mussels are actually surviving.
• I'm starting to learn some Australian vocabulary beyond G'day Mate and No Worries: i.e. tea=dinner, swearing is encouraged, especially when amoung people of authority, and any word can and should be shortened with a y attached to the end of it (sicky = sick day, cafy = cafeteria, etc).
• I have seen kangaroo. I have eaten kangaroo.
• I have seen emu. I have not eaten emu. I will eat emu on October 23rd.
• Australia is believed to be the only country that eats the animals that grace its coat of arms.
• I have not seen koala, yet.
• I have been attacked by evil magpies. Several times.
• I have tried vegemite. It is good in small quantities.
• I've visited Canberra, the nation's capital; Sydney; the Blue Mountains; Melbourne; and Rutherglen, a small country town in Victoria.
• I would reccommend seeing all of them.

If you would like to see some pictures...

Graduation: http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012153&l=34103&id=40901628

Maine: http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012477&l=26f17&id=40901628

Katahdin (the tallest peak in Maine/end of the AT): http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014179&l=06047&id=40901628

Beaver Island: http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014181&l=8fc0b&id=40901628

Australia: http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014182&l=c4dd4&id=40901628

and http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014183&l=d710d&id=40901628