Bucket List

To Do While in Australia: (in no particular order)

1) Pet a kangaroo (Currumbin wildlife sanctuary had a huge, barely monitored enclosure where you could go inside, feed, and pet the kangaroos)

2) Eat a kangaroo (had a piece of kangaroo meat during orientation at a student organization's booth. It was quite good)

3) Take a ferry in Sydney Harbor (Took a ferry to and from Manly across the harbor. so pretty)

4) Gain respect from Aussie frisbee team (I made the team, and it's clear they are happy to have me, but I'm more grateful for them welcoming me)

5) Get a standup barrel (I came close, but I was too deep to make it out. I'm going to be picky on these surfing objectives because I hope to improve my surfing while I'm here.)

6) Land a big air (launched a big one, landed with my feet on the board, but just couldn't ride it out. really close)

7) Land a blow tail

8) Land some kind of reverse, either an air reverse or just spinning through a turn

9) Jump off something tall: a cliff, bungee jumping, sky diving, etc. (sliding down the Clarrie Hall Dam satisfies this one)

10) Watch the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast at Snapper Rocks (I watched Taj Burrow win in a very close final)
11) Surf Snapper Rocks (I caught 2 waves out at the peak, neither of which were good. I got spooked by the 10+ people duck-diving right underneath me as I dropped in...very crowded)

12) Surf Kirra Point (wasn't breaking while I was there)

13) Snorkel a cool reef

14) Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef (looks like I'll have to go back to mark off this one)

15) Have my American accent admired by a girl (I was working the ultimate frisbee booth, and when these 2 girls stopped to sign up, a very energetic girl said, "oh, he has an accent!" after the words I spoke...but I'm update this if a there is a better occurrence)

16) Pick up a good Aussie accent, but rarely use it (it's decent at most)

17) Learn about the history of Australia (Intro to Aboriginal Studies has sufficiently taught me)

18) Go to and spectate an Aussie rules football match or rugby (watched my first AFL match on TV...interesting sport) (watched the Australian team take on Scotland in Newcastle)

19) Drive on the wrong side of the road (the left side) (I drove "the Stallion" around the Gold Coast all the while flipping the windshield wipers on instead of the turn signal because they are the wrong side of the steering wheel here)

20) Cage dive with sharks

21) Learn to play the didgeridoo (learning)

22) Learn to throw a boomerang (apparently it's similar to a frisbee)

23) Buy a round at a bar for my friends ("Gaeta's shout" as they will say) (At the Nationals party, I smuggled in a "goon sack," which is a bag of wine, and shared it with my mates...that counts. Also, I shouted individuals on multiple occasions)

24) Go to mass at least three different churches (got 3 just in Newcastle, but I wolln't be stopping there)

25) Watch an Aussie movie (just watched "The Dish" with my housemate. Good feel-good movie!)

26) Go on a walkabout

27) Explore a new surf spot (Stoddard and I walked around a small headland to a spot inaccessible by car...waves were bad though, which kind of reminded me of home)

28) Make friends with at least 3 people in each city I visit (and I hope to go back and visit them)

29) Get someone to sing a verse of "Land Down Under" by Men at Work to me (Justin, Mary, and Challiss sang me a verse over Skype. I didn't count it by itself, however with the addition of a room full of Aussies singing the Star Spangled Banner on the 4th of July by my request...item completed!)

30) Eat veggemite (I put some on the corner of a piece of toast....grooooss)

31) Teach the Aussies "the odds game" (I recently got Davies to do Mustache March with me! Even though I have crossed this one out, I will not rest until the entire nation plays the game)

32) Enlighten the Aussies about Ricky Bobby (I have been wearing El Diablo my jerseys, but while everyone knows Will Ferrell and Anchorman, no one has seen Talladega Nights. Fortunately, however, they don't know much Spanish, so for the most part they don't know what el diablo means)

33) Compete in the semifinals....or quarter finals.... of Australian Nationals (that's ultimate frisbee) (I-Beam finished 8th at Nationals)

34) Collect some Australian currency to bring home

35) Return a better a version of myself

36) Bring back an Aussie frisbee (I got from Regionals and from Nationals)

37) Learn to cook an Aussie dish (I have made fish and chips and have a recipe for meat pies although I haven't tried making them yet)

38) Bring back an Australian flag (cashier forget to charge me for it and I didn't notice until we had already left...let's say he meant to give me the flag to bring home)

39) Surf with a pro surfer (the day after the Quiky Pro was over, I surfed with Mick Fanning and Josh Kerr at Snapper Rocks. I shook hands with Mick on the beach afterwards)

40) Find an Aussie musician that I like (I learned this weekend that Jet is Australian, and I have already been listening to "are you gonna be my girl." Also, the national public radio station Triple J is awesome. I learned of The Wombats while I was there, but they aren't Aussie. However, Sparkadia is Australian)

41) Go to the Sydney Aquarium (it was pretty cool. The Great Barrier Reef exhibit was gorgeous)

42) Check out the Outback

While I may not have every item crossed off the list, I did accomplish many things that were not on the list: I got signatures from many of my favorite pro surfers, I shook Mick Fanning's hand after surfing Snapper Rocks with him (well I more just watched him shred), I was a Eucharistic Minister for the first time ever for the Easter mass, I surfed waves so large I was one of only a few people out there (and I was pretty nervous), I made friends with Frisbee players all over Australia and made a bit of a name for myself (an Aussie came over to UNCW for a semester and he recognized me and knew my name), and made many more memories and friends!
Looking back, it seems surreal that I went and had that adventure! I will cherish those experiences and memories!