Police Ride Along

This week I went on a police ride along with Lawrenceville Police Department. It was a very cool experience. I had to choose some activities to write about for a class, so that's what I picked. We didn't see too much action, which is a good thing, but it was really good to see how things work. Everyone was really nice to me, and interested in the way Australians do things.

On Saturday I picked up rubbish along the side of the road with Braselton Rotary club, in support of an event called Rivers Alive. We also checked out an 'open day' at the hospital, and picked up some goodies.

In the afternoon we went to the Braselton Fall Festival, which was nice to have a look at. They had lots of little stalls with antiques, home made preserves and jewellery. I got this really cool cup which is now my new beer mug! They fill it up with soda for you, and then you get $1 refills for life!

When I got back to school a few of us decided to play raquet ball which was a good bit of fun, and much harder then squash!

Stone Moutain

On Friday night the three GGC GRSP girls watched GGC play the University of Georgia in rugby. It was really nice to sit outside and watch the game, which was played right near our dorms. It was cool outside, so we all sat with hot chocolates I made.

On Saturday morning we went shopping and I got a coat and boots, so I should be all set for winter. In the afternoon we went to Stone Mountain, which isn't really a mountain, but a really big rock.
It was a pleasant climb to the top, it was really sunny, but not too hot. It was a really great view from the top. It's highest point is 514 metres.

There is a carving on the side of the mountain depicting three Confederate figures during the Civil War.We also watched the laser show which was projected onto this side.

That night we went to Athens with some girls from the University of Georgia. We spent a lot of time in traffic because there was a game on, but it was interesting to see all the people out and about. We stayed up really late talking, it was really great to spend some time together.

The Haunted house

I went to this place called Cracker Barrel for breakfast one morning. The meal serving size was huge, I got french toast with syrup, apple, nuts and muesli, and bacon and eggs. It was a really old American style place and looked really cool.

We went down to Savannah for the weekend with most of the other GRSP students. On the Friday evening we all got together and explored River Street. We did lots of shopping and sampling of taffy and praline in some of the candy shops. On Friday night we had burgers by the water, it was a nice meal with a lovely  view. That night we went on a ghost tour. Savannah is meant to be one of the most haunted towns in America. While I was not one of the people who were scared, I did find the history really interesting.

On Saturday we went to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, where we learned about the Eighth Air Force that served around Europe in World War II. It was really interesting, and while we were there it rained a lot.

We then went to a lighthouse on Tybee Island. It was built in 1732, and has 178 stairs to the top, it is the tallest lighthouse in Georgia and 16th in the US.  We got a pretty good view from the top and the weather began to clear in time for us to go to the beach.



We had a bit of a 'base' at a home a short walk from the beach and I was very excited to swim in some salt water. We went swimming, for walks and played soccer. There was also a pirate festival on, so we had a look at that too.

We had a low-country boil for dinner, which consisted of prawns, crayfish, corn and potato, there was also chicken and carrot cake. We spent time talking, playing games, and then the night ended with fireworks over the ocean.

Australian Education and a Diner

So a few more strange things I have noticed. Here, a drill is called a screw gun. Also, entree is usually meat with a side item, not something you would eat before a main course. They also call round beef patties sausage, which makes breakfast confusing sometimes. They don't do pork sausages for breakfast like we have back home.

I went on a tour of Rainbow Village with Duluth Rotary Club.They are one of their supporters along with other Rotary clubs and organisations. It was really nice to see their facilities and what they do. The following is copied from the Rainbow Village website:

"Our vision is to be a national model of an educational and holistic approach to breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence."

There was an international night at GGC where different people set up tables for the other students to learn about different countries and cultures. I set up a table and told people bits and pieces about Australia. There was also salsa dancing where it was reconfirmed that I am a terrible dancer.

On Friday night I managed to convince four others to come with me to a pub in Atlanta to watch the Australian Football League Grand Final. It was an event hosted by the AFL team here in Atlanta. It was like a normal Grand Final party, beer, first goal scorer, winning team and margin and a raffle. I bought three raffle tickets and won two prizes, so I did alright! Despite the result, we did have a nice time. The others did say that AFL is a very exciting game.

I also went to a diner for dinner which was a really cool experience. I got a huge meal, that I took home for the next day, and I got a massive slice of pie! The place just looked really cool! The menu was the size of a small novel and they had rows and rows of cakes and pies. It was very hard to choose what to have.