No man is an Island

In addition to Australia I have been to a couple islands in the last week or so.  Last week a group of us (Alan, Andrew, John, Kevin Bell, Derek, Zack, and Mary Kate) took the Saturday off from doing work and took a journey to Penguin Island.  "How did we get to it?" you ask.  A. Ferry  B. Swam  C. Flew  D. None of the above.   For those of you playing along at home the correct answer is D. None of the above.  We actually walked to this island through roughly 700m of waste-deep water.  I was a fairly cool day with the wind, but once we got in and started walking it wasn't too bad.  The island itself was pretty small and we only saw one wild penguin because most of them usually only come on land during the months of December and January to molt their feathers.  We walked all over the island and ended up on the beach while a group of people went snorkeling. I had the foresight/powers of observation enough to see while we were walking around that there would be nothing cool in the water to look at so I spent my time watching a penguin feeding and laying on the beach instead.  We saw people kite-boarding which looked super fun.  Basically it involved hooking onto a wake board like item and being pulled around by the wind, all while jumping high into the air being pulled up by the kite.  So that day was a success.  I use the term success loosely because we still got trounced by Navy that night, but I have come to expect us losing (helped by our game this weekend versus Tulsa).

In between that trip and the next island trip that I took today I finished up classes last week and am now in 'study' week.  They seriously give us a week off for studying and then proceed to spread out our exams over two weeks.  A huge change from Notre Dame where we get Friday off before one week of exams.  Don't get me wrong, I will be studying during this week and even started yesterday, since exams are worth so much here but I thought it was fine just to take a break today and head out to Rottnest Island since a group of ND kids had gone earlier in the year and were raving about it.  I was hesitant about going just because I want to save money for traveling after but it wasn't too expensive and got persuaded to go.  The was one huge difference between when the other group went and when we went that we didn't account for: flies.  There were so many flies on that accursed island that it made the trip pretty unbearable for the most part. 

This island was quire larger than Penguin Island and a pretty big tourist spot for Perth.  The scenery was actually very nice around the entire island (we rented bikes and were thus able to circle it) but the flies were just terrible.  I thought there was not another creature that I hated on this planet as much as mosquitos but flies have made a strong case for second place after their showing today).  We eventually ended up wrapping towels, shirts, or in Spencer and Will's case, boxers, around our faces in an attempt to keep them at bay.  It must have been pretty comical looking.  It was such a disappointment to go to this nice island on a beautiful day and get it ruined by these little bugs, but I do kinda regret going.  On the bright-side our trip to Rottnest will be unforgettable; that much is true.  

It was Erin's 21st birthday yesterday and while most of the other ND kids are off on trips to Bali or up north, the group of us that were still here (mostly guys) went out to the Deen to celebrate.  I was privileged enough to be able to buy her first legal (in America, which is a semi-moot point since we are in a country where the drinking age is 18) drink, and went with the house special mango daiquiri.  She had a fun night which was the only thing that mattered.  Erin's birthday also signaled the first of November meaning that our trip after is only 17 days away, 16 now.  Its getting so close I cannot wait. Got to bear down and focus here for these 16 days and then Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef here I come.