Spring Break- Cape Tribulation

We arrived in Cairns to hot hot heat and sun! It was fantastic. Our hostel was quaint and we immediately searched through brochures of things to do. The first day trip we were able to book was Cape Tribulation National Park and Coastal drive. It was really beautiful.

We set out early and drove to the national park for bush walking, lunch on Cape Tribulation beach and Alexandra Lookout- considered a view of where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef.

We also took in a view of The Low Islands, where Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray. There was so much beautiful scenery in the rainforests and trees that looked like they were from Jurassic Park- it turns out they were! Some of the trees were thousands of years old and grow only 1 centimeter each year.

We were also able to swim in a fresh water river- which was a highlight for me being a girl from Lake Erie. It was glorious.

The day finished with a drive back down the coastal road at sunset, stopping at Rex Lookout as the clouds started turning purple. It was a great way to start off our trip :)

Easter Break Approaches!

Happy Almost Easter!

Here in Australia we get TWO reading weeks- the one this semester is for Easter Break. Last semester I took off to New Zealand for 8 days and now I'm heading to Cairns in Northern Australia and the Whitsundays.

Me and my British friend will be leaving on Saturday afternoon and returning on Monday. We are very excited to swim on The Great Barrier Reef. Also, the more north you go in Australia the hotter it gets, unlike Canada. My tan is starting to fade as the weather here gets colder so I cannot wait to throw on my bikini and spend some more time in the sunshine!

I'll be blogging when I get back so you all probably won't hear from me until after the trip. But rest assured I will fill you in :)

Teddy Bears and Gender Stereotypes

This week my friends and I went to Build a Bear- to build a teddy bear obviously!
The whole shop is quite a performance. You pick a 'skin' of sorts of the bear colour and shape you like. Then an employee holds him onto a long metal pole that shoots fluff into him. It can be soft, medium or hard to the touch. Then you put a "heart" into the bear. Most are red satin ones, however, for $10 you can make yours have a heart that beats when you squeeze it (probably the creepiest thing I've ever heard/felt).
Then it's time to close your eyes, make a wish and give the heart a kiss (humiliating for over 20 year old girls), but we went along with it.
Now it's time to shop for your bear- and here is where my problem began. Is my bear a boy or a girl?

They had sports outfits, princess dresses, male and female versions of everything- I had never seen so much pink and baby blue in my life. The girls I was with b-lined for the pink fluffy sparkles, but I was torn. Why can't my teddy bear just be a bear? I chose an Australian themed t-shirt- something cute and basic that reminded me of my time here. It also says "hug freely" which I love. I picked a black bear cuz I dont have one that colour.

I neglected to chose pants, glasses, shoes, cell phones, leashes, an ipad or sports equipment for my bear- it's a bear of simple needs. And my favourite bear has only worn a bow tie his whole 14 year old life.

And now came the problem: Is your bear a boy or a girl? What are you going to name it?

I don't know... I wanted to name it Tim Tam after the tasty cookies here in Australia (and I have a reputation for naming all my stuffed animals after flavours- i.e. chocolate, vanilla, walnut, strawberry, cherrycheesecake and now Tim Tam).  

I feel like I'm too old and too educated now to want to define things by gender. I've always been an advocate of gay rights and all the issues involved with that community- now this bear was giving me a crisis! People have been guessing that he's a boy because his name is Tim Tam, he's wearing  t-shirt so he's a boy, but she's fluffy so she's a girl. It's a freakin teddy bear!

*Lightbulb* a teddy bear I will use to educate my friends- meet my GENDERLESS BEAR- shocking, I know. I refer to this bear as an it- or by it's name Tim Tam (TT for short). Point- pink does not mean girls, pants and t-shirts don't mean boys. If more people think they way I think maybe I wont have to have a mini meltdown in Build A Bear ever again.

I want to teach my kids this too one day. You can like WHATEVER you want to like, REGARDLESS of your gender. That's important! Be comfortable, not conforming.

I learned a lot that day at build a bear hahaha. But seriously, these are the things I think of. 

Tim Tam- Halle Beary- Kiki

Tower Parade- I will survive

Last week we had our residence tower parade. My residence is divided into 12 separate buildings with 3 floors each. For the parade party we had to dress up in the theme of our tower (mine is Mardi Gras) and then do a dance for the rest of the tower. The dances were judge by our tower Warden and some other people affiliated with the college.

I was given the lucky task of designing a dance for our tower to the songs of Mamma Mia and I will surive and then teaching it to the 20 or so other people that wanted to participate. We all got together the night before to practice and then when it came time for the parade... WE WON!!

It was so awesome to get the recognition- and we were really the only tower with an intensely choreographed dance. Here it is on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUpHrp7XRvE

It was really fun and getting dress up goofy was great too. Here are some pictures of the people I live with.

The guys, dressed in their best!

The girls :)

Future Music Festival Melbourne

Hey readers!
Sorry I've been slacking on the blogging lately. My course work has taken off at full speed so I've been very busy. I've switched out of my terrible internship class and am now in a much better online publishing class (how perfect right?) I am now a writer for upstart magazine http://www.upstart.net.au/2012/03/05/meet-the-new-upstart-team-3/

I wrote my first article on an amazing electronic music festival I attended with my british friend and a friend from the states. We had an amazing time. It was an all day event from 1:30pm until 10pm at night. I had the most sore feet in the world, but it was worth every minute. Here is my article from that event: http://www.upstart.net.au/2012/03/13/put-your-hands-up-future-music-festival/

And here are the photos! I got to see Jessie J, Gym Class heros, The Naked and the Famous, Tinie Tempah, Fatboy Slim, Skrillex and Swedish House Mafia- what a day!

KONY 2012

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything"- Peter Marshall

Ladies and Gentlemen, my heart is sad and my brain is angry. After viewing the video for KONY 2012 
http://vimeo.com/37119711 seen here, I was really inspired by the group Invisible Children. I'm not going to really explain the video, because I hope you all watch it for the information.


I am a mediocre activist. I like peoples pages on facebook, I sign up for petitions and give my email, and I always sponsor my friends in their runs and races and fundraisers against cancer, or anything else that plagues the world, $20 here and there to help. It matters to them, so it matters to me. But now I am sad that not everyone can get behind me and this cause that I think is so important. Friends that I've supported want to be cynical, want to be experts. They post videos and blogs and articles about holes in the plan of Invisible Children. They want to be right, they don't want to act, don't want to change and I think that is taking the easy way out.


I think that Invisible Children did a really great thing. They have worked up to the goal of getting noticed and their issue getting noticed. It has also undergone changes over the years it took to get a following and get action from the government. However, all this attention has seemed to place more responsibility on the group than they really have. The group wants to motivate the U.S. government, informed leaders and experts, to help people in need. How they help is up to them, as it always has been. People are having to dig so deep to shit on this campaign- criticising the financials of the organisation, saying that the Ugandan people are safe, that the information is out of date, that Kony isn't a big deal anymore, that they have EXAGGERATED his crimes.


 I think it's great to bring awareness to an issue that hasn't got a lot of attention, maybe then more educated people will come up with a plan. Maybe then Kony and others can be stopped. What's wrong with that idea? People who are supporting them and their video aren't claiming to be experts on Uganda; they are not claiming that they've always cared- because we didn't know before. We are more aware now and hopefully will become increasingly aware. Cynics in your cozy little bubble, you don't have to change, but maybe butt out of criticising those who do. No plan is perfect. I REPEAT, NO PLAN IS PERFECT. All the money and all the resources in the world cannot come to a perfect conclusion because human beings have a choice on how to act, but the point is, they can act.


I don't think that everyone has to agree with the STOP KONY campaign, hell, they don't even have to like it. But I don't think that it's simply good journalism to promote both perspectives. I don't think that that kind of "balance" is necessary in the reporting. These people are trying to do something good, to make a change about an issue THEY care about. If you don't care about it, and if you don't have a better plan, then please, I'm begging you- shut the f&^% up.


I want to believe in the good, and the possible, and maybe even the naive. I want to believe in the kids, and change and safety. When I go to sleep I have my own bed, I have a door that locks. Appreciate the simple things you have; and there is nothing wrong with trying to help others to get the same.


This is not my eloquent arguement against the criticisms, although I do have some of those too. This is my call for people to think positive, take the hard road, because it's easy to fight for the status quo- after all, it's take Invisible Children 8 years to change it.
You don't have to stand for this, but for God's sake stand for something.


If you read to the end of this I'm impressed.

Canadian Charm

I decorated my res room this week. I used old postcards and birthday cards as well as the flag I bought for the rugby world cup in New Zealand last semester. Then I went to target and got a bedspread and matching pillow case for $15. It made my bland room a lot more cozy and a bit closer to home.

They are always looking for ways to keep us busy here on residence. Each Thursday night is the local campus pub, Eagle Bar, night. This week was particularily rowdy because of a blow up fight ring they had in the beer garden. Here is a picture of two of my Aussie friends going to battle!

This was my outfit on Thursday night

Finally, this friday night we had a family dinner taco night. Out of the 6 people that came no two people were from the same country- pretty cool!