settling in

g'day mates! how are you going? i'm doing really well. i finally rid myself of that horrific cold i had. however, upon the cold leaving, i gained a horrific 2nd degree sunburn from the day we spent at bondi last sunday. it was a beautiful day and i, being the genius that i am, only put sunscreen on my face & shoulders where i normally burn back home. i am, however, extremely close to the sun due to the hole in the ozone layer that is by us and the sun is a heck of a lot stronger here than at home..
i am still recovering from the burns but my legs, back, stomach, and arms will be beautifully tan after the pain subsides. :)
school is going really well. it's a bit overwhelming at times but i'll get the hang of it. i'm taking really neat classes and have great professors. i am in some classes with friends so that makes it a bit easier. this weekend a group of us are going on a surf trip. i'm so excited. they promise that we'll stand up by the end of the trip. i sure hope so. we're going about 4 hours north of sydney where there are less sharks. i am very excited about that, haha.
i guess there is not much to report on as of late but if any of you have skype, add me. it would be wonderful to talk to you! i hope you're all doing well. i miss you and am thinking about you as i lay on the beach :)
xoxox
dustialynn.
me at bondi beach!! see my sunburn? haha.

some of my friends who went to bondi that day: leon, erik, erika, kristen, kailyn, me, keara.

aussie life is always rushed..

G'day friends!


How are you going? I hope you are all doing very well. I know I sure am. Minus the cold that I have that causes me to cough excessively for an unlimited amount of time. But, hey! I'm in Sydney!! I arrived in my dream city on the 16th. I can't even try to explain the emotions and excitement that was flowing through me, for my words would not be enough for you to understand. This has been an absolute dream come true and, by the aide of the Lord, I am here. I truly believe everything happens for a reason. If I hadn't gone to OC or decided to make music or decided to move to Portland, I would not be sitting in unit 73 of the Macquarie University Village writing to you. This is an answered prayer and all so surreal. At times, my friends and I will stop and talk about how weird it is that we just sat in orientation for uni in Sydney, Australia, or how we're so so excited to be here. No matter where we go, it feels like vacation a bit. I mean, we start classes Monday so that will get me back into a routine, but until then, it feels like vacation. Anyway, enough of that. As of late, we've been on the go none stop. It's exhausting to be honest.
A brief rundown of what I can remember is as follows:
Monday was move in day. I don't remember a lot about this day except that we were all veryyy happy to be here & we decided we do NOT enjoy being grown up as it is very overwhelming. We enjoy our mommies & daddies, haha.
Tuesday we went shopping for our apartment rooms & bathrooms. We are staying in the Village which just so happens to be where the athletes of the 2000 olympics stayed. That's right, I sleep, eat, shower, & live where a champion once did! It's pretty neat. There is a shopping centre that is about a half a mile away from us where we shop and get all our goods. We spent aaaallll day there. It was another tiring day being grown up. :)
Wednesday was orientation. That was brutal. 9:00 to 3:30. It was good because we our at a new university with 30,000 other students so I have a lot to learn but, oh my goodness, it is so so overwhelming. I won't bore you with the logistics but rest assured, it is unbeliveably confusing and I would not wish this on anyone, haha.
Thursday we had a bus tour. This was an awesome day! We went to Bondi Beach, Lady Macquarie's Chair, and a couple other locations inside the heart of Sydney and its suburbs. We went to the Sydney Wildlife World after the tour where we saw koalas & kangaroos! It was a lot of fun. We also saw huge bull ants, giant spiders that we might find in our rooms, and the world's most venomous snake.

Friday the Village had a welcome/beach party. I just went for the free food then on to the shopping centre for groceries. It is hard shopping here when you don't know the brands very well. It's not wrong, just different. The girls & I might have gotten back to campus with a shopping cart due to the inability to carry the large amount of bags we had.. It was a good day to say the least.
Today we planned on going to Bondi again because on Thursday we only had an hour, but it was rainy all day so we went to the Aquarium instead! It was AWESOME! I found Nemo, Dory, Gill, Bubbles, and Flo which you will get the chance to do as well. We also saw the "World's First Mermaids," also knowns as the "Dugong," or Manatee! The story behind them being mermaids is a bit X rated so ask me for it later ;)
find all the fish from the movie! [this might not be the right picture but still try :) ]


the giant mannatee. just imagine, the tunnel made the animals look 25% smaller than they actually are so picture i HUGE wall in yr house. that's how big this sucker was. it was scary and beautiful at the same time.

i am terrified of sharks so this is a pretty neat picture if i do say so myself. :)

the "pinochio" fish my friends and i decided strongly resembled a human.

Overall it's been pretty amazing. I'm so glad to be here and can't believe I am actually here. I hope it will not fly by too fast. I have made a lot of really awesome mates and met some neat people. I'm learning a lot about myself too. This is going to be an awesome semester. Stay tuned for more.
I love you guys.
Talk to you soon.
xoxox
dustialynn

* when i say "we," i generally mean the group of 10 i hang out with but sometimes not. eitherway it's not just me & the frog in my pocket. :)

I'M IN SYDNEY

HEYYYY!!
i just wanted to check in really fast.
i'm on my way out for dinner with some friends because we are all staaaarving!
we arrived on campus around 2 and just finished with orientation. i bought an internet plan so we can talk from now on!!!
this is an absolute dream come true and i can NOT believe i'm here! all things are possible through Christ and i am an example of that.
i miss you all very much and will be talking to you soon.


much love from down under,
xoxox
dustialynn.

day of rest

BULA!
Today we went to visit a Hindu temple. It was really interesting and beautiful. This time of year, every year, they have a celebration for 10 days celebrating a demi - god; the second son of lord Vishnu. He is the demi - god in which astrologists pray to. I am sick and sunburnt so I went to rest and it just so happened to be under the "tree of life." It was the tree of Vishnu, Monshiva, and Broma. Lords of Creation, Protection, and Destruction.
All very interesting and wayyy over my head but still a great learning experience.
My tattoo is of lord Vishnu, it has been confirmed :)

After that we had a free day but I opted to sleep instead of go on the Eco tour for $97.
The food here is not the best but I'm trying, haha.

That is all for now I suppose.
I'll put pictures up later.

xoxox
dustialynn

I HAVE ARRIVED!!

BULA!
[Fijian welcome]

so, as i entered the beautiful beautiful island of Fiji, i realized my luggage had NOT!!
that's right! i'm here, without my cute swimsuit that i bought for my first day here and all my clothes but, hey! i'm in FIJI!!
my bible study today was from matthew 26 reminding me to not worry about my clothes or food because the Lord will provide. He has, a girl let me borrow a swimsuit and my roommate gave me some shorts anddd i found an extra shirt in my bag. i'll be going to town later to use the $50 the airport gave me. God is good all the time.
after a 10 hour flight and a weird weird allergic reaction/nervous/panic attack which resulted in a red face and a throbbing headache, i made it alright. :]]
i slept most of the way, of course, but i totally needed it.
i have met some really cool people already and some that are just ridiculous, ie spending tons of money on alcohol already & getting wasted at 9 am!!

we're headed to beach comber today & i'm going to snorkel!! :D
sooo stokkeddd.


the flight was wonderful and i miss you all already.
hope to hear from you soon!
xoxo
dustialynn

I leave in 4 days and couldn't be more excited/nervous/overwhelmed.
I have yet to pack, hahaha.
It's going to be an exciting couple of days.
I hope you will enjoy my tales that will come in the next couple of months.
As I sit and watch the 43rd Annual Superbowl, I would like to leave you with these wise words:

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung.
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

Talk to you soon!
Keep on loving lovers.