University of Massachusets Athletics
Erica Shapiro's Summer Diary From Australia: Update #2
August 04, 2005 | Women's Lacrosse
Aug. 3, 2005
AEDELAIDE, AUSTRALIA -
Hi again!
Much has happened since I last wrote. I just got back from a six-day trip to Melbourne. It was a lot of fun as I got to see the city and catch up with my friend Jackie from back home who is studying abroad at the University of Melbourne for the semester.
Although Melbourne's only about an hour plane ride away from Adelaide, it's a very different place. The biggest difference is its size as it's a lot bigger than Adelaide. I got to see a lot of the city and meet a lot of cool people.
We rented bikes and biked along the Yarra River, took the tram to the beach at St. Kilda, and I went to my first footy- Aussie Rules Football- game. It's a really fun game that I think is nothing like our game of football, but the Australians like to compare the two and say that ours is wimpy because the players wear pads and they stop the clock so much. Whatever!
Last week Claire (the teammate I'm staying with) took me to her holiday house a couple hours away. It's in a place called Second Valley, which is close to Victor Harbor, a more well-known tourist place. The scenery was amazing. The green hills were filled with cows, sheep, and kangaroos, and I felt like I was in England or Ireland (minus the kangaroos of course). The coast was so pretty as there are a lot of places where the land hits the ocean without any businesses and homes taking away from the view.
Other than my trips, I've been spending a lot of time in the city and hanging out with the Australians. Oh, and playing lacrosse as well! With everything going on, I often forget to write about the thing that gave me the opportunity to come here! My team is doing well and we've been preparing for the playoffs as we have only three games left until it begins. I can't believe it's already August, and I have less than three weeks left until I go home! Until then, I'm enjoying every second that I'm down under.
Talk to you soon, Erica