My fellow Pointers,
First things first: Sorry for such a delay in blogging! It’s been a pretty hectic winter break and start to the semester.
Next: I hope you all had an amazing and safe holiday season and that your semester is off to a good start.
Third: Here’s what happened to me over break …
Back in October, I was accepted to go to Australia for a study abroad program over winterim to study Communication and Social Change through the UW-Stevens Point Office of International Education. What an experience! I had been talking to one of the girls who was also going on the trip, Hannah, and we chose to drive down to the Chicago O’Hare Airport together.
Once we got to the airport, all the travel drama began. Our flight from Chicago to San Francisco got delayed 10 minutes, then half an hour later it got delayed 30 minutes, then another half hour later it got delayed an hour, etc. Eventually we were able to get on the plane and head out to San Francisco. When we finally landed, we had missed our connecting flight to Sydney so we had to stay overnight in San Fran; you may be thinking, “SWEET!” but it was 2 a.m. and we were so far from the city to even do anything.
So, the next morning we searched and searched for new flights to take us to Sydney and we finally found one that we could get on! So almost an entire day later, we boarded the plane to Sydney. And so begins the 15-hour plane ride … Luckily it was not a full flight so Hannah and I were able to have a row to ourselves that allowed for us to spread out a little bit and get a bit more comfy for the flight. We were able to watch as many movies as we wanted (I watched Inside Out and Poltergeist). We were also given dinner and dessert, so it was like a cute little dinner date with Hannah and me. Later on in the flight we were given breakfast, as well. A few naps later, and BOOM, we were in Australia.
But the struggles were not over yet … Hannah’s luggage and my luggage got lost in the confusion of flight changes and unexpected layovers. We had to wait four day, FOUR DAYS, until our luggage got to Australia. Once we got our luggage, however, the rest of the trip was pretty much smooth sailing.
We spent a lot of our days touring the city, different museums, gardens and government houses. We had days filled with lectures from Aborigines (Native Australians), professors and local citizens. We had nights and most afternoons off to explore, shop and learn about an entirely new culture.
During our trip, we were allotted five days of “free travel” where we could go out and explore any part of Australia we wanted and go on any and all adventures we wanted to go on. Hannah and I chose to take the four-hour flight to Cairns; don’t worry, we didn’t check any luggage so we were all squared away once we landed.
We got to our hotel room and were extremely satisfied with how nice it was. We had an amazing view of the water and the mountains. This mini-vacation was definitely the highlight of the entire trip.
First, we went to the Great Barrier Reef to go snorkeling. Let me tell you, it was amazing. We went to a part of the reef where there was a drop-off (yes, the first thing I thought of was Finding Nemo, too) where the coral just stopped and the water went down forever.
The next day, we went white water rafting down the Tully River. Hannah and I sat in the front row of the raft so we were the first to experience everything. It was a rush!
The third day was an adrenaline rush: I went bungee jumping! That was probably one of the most terrifying things I have ever done, but so worth it.
That night, we went to a night zoo where we got to hold a koala and see the animals that you do not normally get to see at a zoo during the day.
The fourth day was mostly just a relax day where we started to pack up and reflect on everything we had just experienced.
On the fifth day, early in the morning, we flew back to Sydney. When we landed, we made the most of our last “free day” and took some surf lessons. That was so fun; I got up on my first try!
Just five days later, and my amazing three-week Australian Adventure was over and I was headed back to good ol’ Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Honestly, I was relieved to be coming home, weird, I know. Once I got home, the time change was really hard to adapt to. It took about a week and a half to actually get back to my normal sleep schedule.
Finally, the start to my semester. Can you believe that we are already on week three?! I feel like this semester is going to fly by! So far, ROTC has not been too stressful. We have been having PRT and labs as usual. I ran the second PRT session of the semester and it went really well. We ran for the majority of the time, and it was just a wonderful (sarcasm) start to the semester. And, now, I am running our lab for this week. We are doing Squad Orders; this means that we are going over how to use the orders process. The orders process is the way that the Army formally passes down information regarding training and missions in documents. It sounds kind of confusing, but we do everything in “crawl-walk-run” phases meaning that we take baby steps before we actually do the real thing.
Our first lab of the semester included “welcome back” talks and an awards ceremony. The awards ceremony recognized the cadets for their semester achievements, whether it be participating in Color Guard, Ranger Challenge, or doing well on the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test – 2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups and a 2-mile run). The awards ceremony is always a morale booster to motivate people to improve themselves and uphold the standards of ROTC.
This semester also includes a couple of firsts for me. I have been accepted to be a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Wisconsin and I am so excited to make a difference in a child’s life. It will be an amazing experience. I am also now a TA for Sociology 101 where I lead a discussion group for those who would like to go over, more in depth, the class material. I’ve taken on a lot for this semester and I am up for the challenge.
Bare with me as posts may not come as often as they did last semester, but I’ll be sure to keep you updated on all things ROTC and all things Rilee.
Good luck with the start of your semester and keep on keepin’ on.
Until next time! Pointers Lead the Way!
Cadet Newell
Rilee Newell is a cadet in the UW-Stevens Point ROTC program. She is majoring in sociology with an emphasis in deviance and social control with minors in military science and peace studies.