Back home, my mum and I like to paint rocks to hide around town and bring joy to people that find them, so I decided to take this idea with me to New Zealand. I really wanted to give it away in New Zealand because that’s the place I’d wanted to visit for so much of my life, and it … Continue Reading →

Australia was an amazing place to visit, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity. Even after seeing a lot of Australian films, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I arrived. There were some things that weren’t quite as they seemed in a lot of the movies, but others that fit pretty well. First, the way people talked was … Continue Reading →

Melbourne was definitely one of my favorite cities we visited on this trip, and I wish we could’ve spent more time here. While on our tour, we learned some pretty interesting things about the city, though much of our tour was history related rather than film. We did see the shooting location for one film though! On the Beah, with … Continue Reading →

I was looking forward to visiting the Australian Center for the Moving Image from the beginning of the trip, and it thoroughly lived up to expectations. The exhibit was divided into three sections: one on the history of film, one on voices, and one on sensations. While I enjoyed all of them, Voices and Sensations were the two that stood … Continue Reading →

On today’s episode of HGTV, we found our new home at Brighton Beach! jshaw9More Posts

Learning about and experiencing indigenous culture from Australia and New Zealand has been a wonderful experience. Both the Maori people of New Zealand and the Tjapukai tribe of Aboriginal Australians were incredibly welcoming and kind in sharing their cultures with us. This process of getting to know other cultures is so important to being a good global citizen. No two … Continue Reading →

I’m so thankful that I got to see the beautiful Great Barrier Reef once in my lifetime. But I think once is enough. Although the reef was lovely and it was super cool to find Nemo and see the other sea life in their natural habitat, I’ve never been more seasick in my life. In fact, it is the only … Continue Reading →

Spending some koala-ty time with my new friend Rocho. jshaw9More Posts

Five very professional surfers pose for photos on Manly Beach. jshaw9More Posts

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good film festival, and Flickerfest was no exception. In fact, Flickerfest was amazing. Where other than Bondi Beach can you spend an afternoon relaxing on a beach and then wander into a film festival? And not just a regular film festival, but one that gives you a lovely outdoor amphitheater with … Continue Reading →