Day 30 (LaTrobe University) - Bendigo, Victoria Australia

I'm trying to not have a panic attack right now. It would be easier if I was able to go on the intro, one night trip for first years, which preps one who has never been on a trip before - a gradual step to outdoor trips. Not me, I'm going on a two night, three day river safety trip with second years. Very little is being provided for me, and not having any knowledge or previous experience with outdoor trips it's kind of stressing me out a little. I have to constantly think of questions and ask them to figure what I need to get, what to bring, how to do this or that. Thankfully Tanga, the Mills Hall RA, is helping me out. I ask him question after question and he gets them all answered and has even offered to show me how to cook, yea!I dropped a few dollars at Snowgum, the outdoor shop where everyone gets their equipment.I actually got pretty good deals on everything, but there was so much to get and it still wasn't cheap - or affordable (Trey, ever since BCA 311 I'm programmed to use the word affordable instead of cheap…) I'm trying to get away with spending as little money as possible, borrowing from others, but it's tough. The biggest concern is my pack.The one I bought for Costa Rica last year is good quality and will work, it's just 15-20 liters too small. Packs are so expensive that I really don't want to purchase one, nor a rain jacket, even though a rain jacket is pretty important and runs $200-$400. I have two more days (actually one-and-a-half due to an all day navigation lesson on Thursday) to get everything together. Baby steps, baby steps, and breathe, and breathe…

On unrelated news, I went to my first Hip-Hop dancing class today. Evolution, the on campus gym (aka the SAC) has workout classes (as most gyms do) and the first session is free, so a group of 15 of us from the halls went over to try out the Hip Hop session.It was fun. I was reminded on how much of a dancer I am not.But I now know dance steps for the first 30 seconds of Promiscuous Girl by Nelly Furtado. The sessions are once a week and cost $8, too much for me. I don't know if I'll go again, some others are though.For some even more unrelated news, I was asked to help facilitate a workshop/session about how to enhance projects students create with pictures of trips they go on, using video and iMovie. So that's on the agenda for April…