Today was pretty neat.  We started at 9:30, and for $16 I did the following.

Our first stop was the Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere.   We spent most of our day here, and we got to do a lot.  We started off with an introductory meditation course.  I was really excited for this because we recently studied the benefits of meditation as a psych. treatment.  I liked it, but I had a very hard time thinking about nothing.  We did two forms, walking and sitting.  We were supposed to concentrate on walking and breathing, respectively.  It was nice and relaxing, even if I would need to practice to keep my mind "empty".

Then we took a guided tour of the temple.  The architecture was absolutely gorgeous- tradition Chinese.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I'll be sending out an email with all of the outside pictures soon.  The sanctuaries themselves were all colorful and very ornately detailed.  I was a little confused as to the religion aspects of Buddhism as the guide explained the basics, and a google search didn't really clear things up.  I understand the whole concept of a conscious life, but some thing I've read said there were no gods in Buddhism, but we definitely saw some statues of goddesses.  Anyway.

We did origami next.  I made a lotus flower, but it doesn't look very nice.  I think I want to try again on my own, because everyone else's seemed to turn out really nice.  After that class we got a vegetarian lunch.  It was very good, though I have no idea what most of it was.  I do know that I conquered my squemish with mushrooms enough to try one that was deep-fried in batter. 

After the temple we stopped at a Hindu temple.  We didn't get a guided tour, but we got to look around.  The difference in atmosphere was overwhelming.  The Buddhist temple was very bright and "welcoming" I guess.  The Hindu temple was not either of those things, and was felt very intimidating to me. 

We made two more scenic stops on our way back to Fairy Meadow.  One was one of the outlooks where you could see the beaches around Wollongong from the mountains.  You could also feel the very powerful updraft that allows people to hang-glide there without actually jumping off a cliff- they just kind of take a little jog and they're off.  The other stop was the  "Sea Cliff Road".  You'll have to see the pictures, but it's basically just a long bridge over the ocean because there was no way to actually build a road into the cliff.

When we got back there was a BBQ since the dining hall is closed in preparation for the international food fair tomorrow.  I've been working on my counseling paper since.  I was amazed to find that adding my in-text references added nearly 200 words to my essay (good thing I didn't try to write more first, huh?).  It's supposed to be a 2000 word essay- so a tenth of my paper is references.  I think that's insane.  I'm going to finish draft two tonight so I can work on a third tomorrow.  In between all that I desperately need to study for my psych quiz on Monday and start working on my presentation.  AHHHHHHH!!!!!  Four more weeks, I can do it!