I’ve traveled to quite a few places on this little green and blue speck we call Earth, and in my opinion, there are few areas that rival southeastern Oregon.

The crystal clear blue skies over the barren Alvord Desert make the distant horizon seem almost within arm’s reach; the inky night sky, pierced by the brightest stars you’ll ever see, is one of the darkest in the country, affording extravagant, exceptional stargazing; three miles away, the bright white flash of a nervous antelope’s tail strobes like a lighthouse, warning his brothers and sisters of danger.

And what might that danger be? These days, he’s most likely afraid of you and me, but he still has to keep a wary eye out for coyotes and mountain lions, just like he’s been doing for thousands of years.

And what about those strange paintings on the rocks around Petroglyph Lake? Those were left there by the Paiute people, who have also been here for thousands of years.

And what of that column of steam coming out of the ground? That would be the perennial hot waters of one of dozens of hot springs that dot the landscape with boiling pools of sulfuric water, spewing water vapor into the dry desert air. Just like they’ve done for thousands of years.

And it’s all in my backyard.

June 5-8 of this year, I’ll be sharing that backyard with ten people, all accommodations, food and transportation included.
If you’d like to be one of them, click here or give me a call at 800.962.2862.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I am now back in America. Oregon, to be exact.

So let’s see… Tane took me to the Brisbane airport at 8.00 am on 26 December, 2007. My flight departed at 11.45, and after hopping quickly down to Sydney to catch my international flight to LAX, I arrived safely in California at 9.00 am, 26 December, 2007. Huzzah for the International Date Line! And no, Charlie, it’s not a telephone number that you can call to get hooked up with “Hott Asian Girrrrrlz.”

Anyway, I had a long layover in LAX while I waited for my flight to Portland, and after arriving in Portland (where my absolutely amazing dad and superbly wonderful sister Christine were waiting for me), I then drove the three hours home. In the snow. Talk about climate change. Anyway, so all up, it was just about 38 hours from Brisbane to home. I don’t plan to be doing that again any time soon, thank you.

So there. Being back stateside has made me realise just how much I missed my family and friends and has certainly put this whole “living internationally” thing into perspective. More on that later.

But for now, I would just like to let everyone in the States know that I am home and ready to catch up, and I’d like to let all of my new Aussie friends know that I miss you all very much and think about you daily. I’d also like to add that if I were to delete all of my “Friends” on MySpace and Facebook who never emailed me or bothered returning the emails that I sent them whilst in Australia, I would be left with my family and the following individuals: James, Charlie, Janna, Keenan, Lisa, Stephanie, Aileen, Craig, Sabrina, Whitney, Liz, Roger, Justin, and Rachel. In SIX MONTHS. That’s just over two people per month. So, thank you to the fourteen people who remembered me!

I have now been here for exactly four months. Two-thirds of the way through. I’ve been trying to keep up on how things have changed since I arrived, but I think that a more honest assessment of my own development as a person might be conducted once I get back to the US where people that knew me before I came over would be able to conduct said assessment. Personally, I feel as if I have a much clearer picture of what I would like to do for the rest of my life.

Of late I have been trying to balance this lifestyle decision that I have made (that is, a job that, on a fairly industry-wide scale, is not very high-paying) with the desire that I have to want to share it with somebody. Too bad Jane Goodall is a little too old and a little too dead for me, hey?

But seriously, living in relative isolation on the top of a mountain has certainly opened my eyes up to the fact that people can survive quite nicely and contentedly without all of the “necessities” that a city offers. In the last four months I have been off the mountain fewer than ten times. I have survived without a mobile phone. I have done just fine with limited internet access. The last time I bought clothes or shoes was right before I left the US. It’s really not that hard, you know? It’s just that it’s very easy to get wrapped up in all that when that’s what everyone around you is into. Of course, the same thing could be said for the rabid voraciousness with which I now consume book after book about the flora and fauna (specifically, birds) of Australia; it’s just another contagious human behaviour.

For example, when I was living in Roseburg, I found my identity in the music that I played and the “lifeguard lifestyle” that I lived. Then I moved to Bend and started finding my identity more in the outdoor activities in which I participated (and, subsequently, in the gear that was necessary for the completion of said activities). Now I’m here in Australia and I’ve realized that I have stopped caring what people associate me with. I love where I live and work and everyday is a brand new adventure that can either be as complicated as hiking somewhere I’ve never been before or as simple as identifying a new bird call. Anyway, that’s what I’ve been thinking lately. Oh, and happy birthday, Mum! Love you!

Hey there!  I’ve finally gotten around to posting some photos under the Pictures! page.  Navigate to them by clicking on the Pictures! link, yo.

Oh, and enjoy…

I got to go down to Sea World a couple days ago.  They have a really cool program called Research & Rescue that I am reeeeeeally interested in.  Maybe after I graduate…

There’s another thing that I have been looking at as well with a foundation called Animals Asia, but I don’t think that it is what I’m necessarily aiming at.  Until recently I had been strongly considering getting my Master’s in Adventure Education from Prescott College in Arizona, but lately I’ve been considering an Environmental Education option instead.  Maybe with an emphasis on marine conservation ecology…

Which leads me to my next point.  The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority might be one place where I could start, but I’d rather work in more of a ground-level application.  Like scuba training and tours, or resort recreation management in Queensland.

It’s all very frustrating, of course.  But then, if it weren’t, I’d think something was amiss.

Any suggestions?