Goodbye Sydney

Just finished packing... After re-packing a hundred times and getting so annoyed that I started throwing out things I wanted to keep, oh and after sea-mailing my school papers and books back home (see ya in 3 months!), I was able to fit everything into three suitcases and one duffel bag. Geez that was tough... hopefully it is all within size weight limits otherwise I may go postal in the airport!

So this is it, my last hours in Sydney- killing time before I head to the airport. I'm sitting in my empty room, feeling a bit blue, and thinking about the incredible year I've had. I have met some amazing people, seen amazing places, and done things that I only ever dreamed of. Now I am so sad to have to say goodbye. It feels like it was not long ago that I was sitting in my room at my parents house packing and wondering what the heck I was getting myself into traveling across globe to go back to school. And at first it was tough adjusting to my new life, but relatively quickly I made friends, felt more comfortable exploring the city, and Sydney became home to me.

Now its time to go back to my "real life" and my "real home". Strangely I feel that same reluctance as I did before I left. I know I have some amazing things waiting for me at home, but I can't even think about that now because I just want to love this city for the few more hours I have left.

This year I learned a lot of good lessons. I learned that:

- When you give people a chance, and open yourself up to friendship, they usually won't let you down.
- I still hate awkward situations, but when I force myself into them I usually feel good about myself afterwards.
- I love being a beer drinking, flip-flop wearing, smart-assed, Texan girl!
- What I consider to be my extreme shyness, other people usually perceive as bitchiness... so I gotta work on that.
- The worlds a big place, and there is still SO much of it that I haven't seen... but I will someday.
- I'm too old for Student Housing, even a shared bathroom is a bit of a stretch for me.
- No matter how much you want something it won't change whether or not someone else wants to give it to you.
- I'm a lot stronger than I think I am...

Goodbye Sydney! Hope to see you again someday.

Coogee Beach

Yesterday Ashleigh and I went to Coogee beach to enjoy the summer sun. Finally I got into the water in Sydney! We were in the water for awhile when I saw something blue and jellyfish-like in the water. So I started screaming and pushed it away from me. Ashleigh saw it too and said "I don't think its a jellyfish, it looks like a used condom". God I hope so!

Right when we got out of the water the lifeguards made an announcement over the loud speaker that a group of blue bottle jellyfish was spotted coming in and that people in the water should use caution. Craziness! What if it was a jellyfish I saw?

Also, my skin is highly traumatized right now... too much sun, and so much pain! :(

Other things I have crossed off my "to-do before I leave Sydney list":
- Movie at the IMAX theatre, largest screen in the world!
- Ferry ride from Darling Harbour
- Mexican food at Guzman y Gomez
- Walk around Sydney Uni and Victoria Park
- St. Mary's Cathedral

Ten Days of Sydney

After an amazing day in Sydney, I just said goodbye to Jackie, my closest friend here, because she is going back home for the break. So much sadness!! And this made me realize that I will be saying goodbye to Sydney in just ten short days. It makes my heart hurt just thinking about that. I am SO in love with this city, this country, and the past year I have spent here. I will be so heartbroken to say goodbye... but as they say 'all good must come to an end'. I hope to make these next ten days amazing, and hopefully I can cross off some of the items on my "I will eventually get to those" list.

Sydney Beaches

On Lisa's last day we wanted to go to the beach, since I have never ever been in the ocean in Sydney, but alas it was too cold. So instead of a swim, we did the beach walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach (pronounced "could-g"). This walk took us two hours and it was beautiful. It made me anxious to visit all the best Sydney beaches. In fact I think I will make it my mission to do just this before I leave.

Check out this pic below... I just love it. See the tiny sailboat? All alone in the big blue sea :)

Scuba Diving in The Great Barrier Reef

Once again Australia has provided me the opportunity to cross something else off my "Life To-Do List". I not only snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), but I got to do an introductory scuba dive there. Amazingness!!

Let me start from the beginning. After debating over the hundreds of GBR tours offered in Cairns, Lisa and I found a fun one that stopped in two locations around the reef including a private island. The ride out to the GBR was pretty long, but we passed the time by lounging on the boats netting and soaking in some sun. I have been trying to work on my tan, so of course I didn't wear any sunscreen, but after awhile my skin felt like it was on fire and I had to cover up. :)

The first stop was Paradise Reef. This is where I did my scuba dive. Lisa couldn't do it because she was honest and told them she had asthma, so she snorkeled while I dove. We both rented stinger suits to keep the jellyfish away. These jumpsuits were very attractive... (sarcasm here)... and included mittens and a hood, in addition to the fins. Although I suppose the jellyfish could still sting our faces- so no worries there! Eek!

This is me in my stinger suit and my scuba gear... you can't see the tank in this picture, but it was very heavy. Like I said it was only an introductory dive, for 30 minutes. And I guess if you are not certified you can only go under 12 meters max and are supposed to stay within arms length of the instructor. But my dive was only me and one other girl and we were both pretty comfortable so we didn't stay that close to him. The only uncomfortable part was the pressure on my ears was a pain, so I kept having to equalize the pressure. Plus I was worried that my mouthpiece would come out and I would get water in mouth, so I was biting really hard on the mouthpiece and my jaw hurt for days.

Here was my scuba instructor, Rob. Obviously I had an underwater camera on my dive, but of course the pictures are totally crap compared to what the GBR actually looks like. Basically it was incredible! There were these gigantic schools of fish that were all around, and the reef itself was so colorful especially when the sunlight hit it in particular ways. We didn't see anything scary which I was disappointed about, but Rob kept picking up these weird things, like sea cucumbers that we got hold. I was surprised that the fish were not that big- the biggest one I saw was maybe 2-3 ft long. But it was So SO SO beautiful under there.

The next place we stopped, after lunch, was called Michaelmas Cay, which was much more shallow that the first stop and was also within a short swim of an island. Lisa and I snorkeled here, but at one point we got separated. I didn't realize until I pulled my head out of the water and I was far away from everyone else in our group, and the boat. I was a little spooked by this, especially because it was really deep where I was and I was certain a shark was going to attack me. So I decided to head back to the boat... and as I was swimming back I swear, I swear I saw a jelly fish coming towards my face. So I screamed underwater, pushed the water away and swam even faster to the boat. What a great day in Cairns.

Cairns... Pronounced "Cannes"

I'm so happy that I finally got to go to Cairns, Queensland. This is the main tourist city around the Great Barrier Reef and I was worried that I wouldn't get a chance to see it before I leave. So when Lisa said she was down, I was stoked! However no one told me that November was the beginning of "stinger season". Yes, stinger as in jellyfish... specifically box jellyfish, or "the most venomous marine animal known to mankind". Perfect!

So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when we got to the beach on the first day and there were warning signs all over. Everyone had to swim within this sectioned off area of the ocean that was surrounded by netting. It was odd, and slightly concerning, but because it was SO hot in Cairns (like in the 90s) we had to get in the water for a little bit.

I guess Cairns is not really known for its beaches anyway, I mean we did have take a 30 minute bus ride to the "nicest beach", but they are well known for their Great Barrier Reef tours which we would be partaking in the next day. I'll admit I was a little concerned about sharks already, and now I'd have to be worried and jellyfish too... eek!

Thanksgiving Day Miracle

Being the "token American" in my group of friends is a title that I not only relish, but try to milk for all its worth. For this reason I decided to host a Thanksgiving in Sydney for my non-American friends who had never experienced the glory of the most physically painful holiday (with stomach muscles stretched to maximum capacity). Luckily I had Lisa here, and help from Jackie too, because I am sure I definitely could not have done it alone. It also helped that Lisa brought some essentials from back home (Stove Top, canned cranberries, marshmallows, canned pumpkin pie, etc). But even still- cooking for 10 people is quite a feat.Our menu included the standard American dishes: turkey, ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, baked mac 'n' cheese, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry, rolls, gravy and for dessert pumpkin pie... oh and s'mores because they really wanted to try these.We were most concerned with the Turkey as none of us had every made one before, but Lisa had no fear and like a pro ripped out the neck and removed the liver of the raw turkey, and off she went. After we remembered to foil-tent the bird, it went very smoothly. Everything did in fact... we were like a well oiled machine, working in the tiniest kitchen using the tiniest oven imaginable, and using American recipes having to convert weird measurements. I even surprised myself with my first attempt at baked mac 'n' cheese from scratch. Okay, it wasn't as good as my sisters, but give it a couple more tries and I am sure it will be perfect! My favorite was the turkey, but most everyone else loved the sweet potatoes. "How can a vegetable be so delicious?"... uh, maybe its the tons of butter and sugar added. Here's the final products:We also had everyone make a "hand turkey"... you know, because you always make a hand turkey on Thanksgiving- ha! They really got into it anyways, and it kept them busy while we finished up in the kitchen. Thanksgiving was a phenomenal success and I am thoroughly impressed with us for not screwing anything up. And even though we couldn't watch American football. Lisa and I both wore Texas shirts to pay homage to the Longhorns, this years future National Champions.
I realize one of the best parts of Thanksgiving is leftovers, but unfortunately Lisa and I didn't get to have any because the next morning we were off to Cairns to swim the Great Barrier Reef. PS- I love having the biggest meal of the year and then getting into a swimsuit twelve hours later!

Just a Friendly Visit

I've just put Lisa in a cab and she is off to the airport- back to Texas. We've just had a great 10 days together and did lots of stuff which I will blog about soon enough. But first, I think I should warn you about something... my accent has changed... apparently!

My roommate, Will, always tells me that I am starting to sound like an Australian, but I never believed him. That is until Lisa told me I sound weird. What?!? Specifically she said that I only sound weird when I ask questions. Like I put the emphasis on the wrong words or syllables. I dunno... but I do NOT want to have some creepy wanna-be faux accent. How do I change back? What if I've forgotten my regular voice and can never get it back to me? Who am I?This is us on Lisa's first day in Sydney. Not sure why we were taking an engagement pic here, but pretty good for just getting off an 18 hour flight... me not so much! Eeek! :)

So Long Suckers

Jackie, Ashleigh and I wanted to do something special to commemorate the end of school and the beginning of the end of life together in Sydney. Sad! So we planned a weekend away which I tastefully called "So Long Suckers Weekend"- the girls hated the name at first, but of course it stuck. :) Jackie's aunt has a beach house about three hours north of Sydney, which is where we spent a very fun relaxing weekend away. We were very excited to chill on the beach and soak in some sun. Jackie knew of one beach close by, I think its called Boomerang Beach, that was supposed to be really beautiful. So we hiked down to it and as soon as we set foot on the sand, we saw naked people everywhere. Turns out it was a nude beach... so when in Rome.... JUST KIDDING! We did stay there, but we set up our stuff next to the clothed people, and kept our on... but of course we still looked. I finally got to swim in an Australian ocean... and it only took ten months after I arrived. Every other time I've been to the beach it was always too cold to get in. This time however, me and Ash decided we would not "toe test" the water, and instead just run in and not stop until we were halfway under. It was a bit cold, but once the waves almost drowned us and forced us under it was pleasantly cool.

Now not only have I officially gotten rid of the stress from exams week, but I have a nice base tan and great memories with great friends. So Long Suckers!!

Graduate Diploma in Event Management!

Finally I'm finished with uni!

Immediately following my last exam I went out for "Post Exam Drinks" with kids from class.
We went to New Town, rocked out, threw back way too many beers and tequila shots and generally got ugly with happiness. Do you think I maybe should have waited to celebrate until I got my results back? Nah...

Team Edward!

What can say? I've succumbed to the dark side... literally. I finally finished reading the Twilight series, and I can now officially say I did not hate the books. Okay, I maybe liked them a little. Okay, maybe I really liked them and am SO in love with Edward that my heart aches! That is Edward in the book, and NOT that actor that plays him in the movie... whatever his name is. Yes, I am now a total Twilight freak. I am slightly embarrassed to say that saw the premiere of the New Moon last night at 12:01 AM. I think that makes me one of the first people in the world to see it, you know, because of the time difference. Not only that, but I saw the double feature and watched the original Twilight movie right before the new one. That's right, I spent five hours in a movie theatre instead of doing what I should've been doing which is studying.

BTW- the books are at least 217 times more amazing than the movie... at least... but the movies were okay. Based on the book- Team Edward, but based on the movie alone I'd say I'm Team Emmett all the way! :) PS- One more exam tomorrow and then I will finally be done!!

While I Should Have Been Studying...

I checked out a new art exhibit along the beach walk between Bondi and Tamarama beaches, called "Sculpture by the Sea". The weather has been perfect these days and the beach walk alone is amazing, but with cool art to look at its even more awesome. Here are some if my favorite pieces of art:This one was a gigantic straw coming out of the ocean. Most of the other visitors took pictures of themselves in the foreground drinking from the straw in the background... typical! So I decided to be different and not take one, but I regret it now. This one was actually much more impressive in real life. The shoe trail started behind where I took this picture it included 200 pairs of shoes and trailed off the cliff.I liked this one because the eyes were really life-like and they stared out into the ocean. Also, you could see the eyes coming out of this rock cliff from really far away and it was slightly creepy.When I saw this one I stared at it for a long time pondering why the artist chose that particular time. Like maybe at 5:01 something really important happened in his or her life... I wonder what it was. Or maybe it was totally random.
I found the carpark, but not the other one. This artist had a lot of signs, like this one, all along the exhibit and each said interesting or insightful, but this one was my favorite. This piece drew a huge audience, it was a disproportionally tall naked boy afterall. I'd even heard about this one before I'd gotten there because I guess there had been some controversy over it. People felt it was inappropriate and I'd heard that the artist was asked to put shorts on the boy, but I guess not on this day. It was an amazingly life-like... but still how can art make me feel so weirded out?

Anywho, back to studying- three exams to go until freedom...

First Australian Sun Burn

A couple weeks ago I got to check the Australian state of Queensland. I met up with my Texan friend Jason in Brisbane (pronounced Briz-bin) and while he worked I toured the city. The temperature in Queensland is much warmer than New South Wales which I LOVED! I spend the day walking around the city- I checked out a modern art museum, the first catholic church in the city, and a park that included, among other interesting stuff, a man-made beach and pool. Sweet right?
After Jason got off work we headed off to Surfer's Paradise which is about an hours drive outside the city. We stopped about mid-way to get something to eat, and the place we ate at was called "Lone Star Cafe"... you know, just because we had to. :) Although the inside looked exactly like a Texas Land and Cattle restaurant, the food was nothing compared. They didn't even have chicken fried steak for crying out loud! But they did have complimentary peanuts in the shell which I guess was supposed to make up for it.
So we finally got to Surfers Paradise and headed out for a night out. Surfers can best be described as the epitome of every "spring break" beach town- young girls in tiny clothes and drunk guys without shirts! Despite this it was a fun time. We were there on a weekend when they were having a huge car race, so there were a lot of people out.

Although we heard it, we never actually saw the car race. We did however go to the beach and get some sun. Although it was really hot out, the ocean water was too freezing to go in, so we settled for the hotel pool. That night I was so red and burnt, and in so much pain... not surprisingly not long after the trip, the entire top layer of my skin peeled off- nice!

So all in all, a fun trip and I got to have some much needed R&R in the sun. :)

Uni Life

Good News: Almost done with school... just have one huge paper to write, a presentation, and three exams... then all done! Yay!! 

Bad News: All this has to happen in the next three weeks... kill me! How am I supposed to do all that, and finish reading the last book of Twilight, and work over twenty hours per week (totally not allowed), and get back into running (which I haven't done in forever), and blah blah blah...! There's just not enough hours in the day. 

PS- I got my first High Distinction (HD) grade... Amazing-ness!! Apparently those are so hard to get... usually people just try for a Distinction (D). Must be getting smarter these days!! 

More Melbourne

(So behind on my blogging... no excuses!)

So the rest of my Melbourne trip was spent mostly outside the city. We got to see a lot of the country-side and this was probably my favorite part of the trip. We rented a car and drove along the Great Ocean Road outside of Melbourne. It was beautiful... very cold and mostly overcast, but the sights were gorgeous. 

We stopped a lot along the way to see wild koalas and random other things. But the pièce de résistance was the Twelve Apostles- which is an amazing rock formation in the ocean. Of course my picture is crap... but trust me it was awesome and totally worth the very long drive. 

Also amazing was London Bridge, pictured below... but as you can see the weather was hating us that day... and we had to get indoors quickly. 

After a strange night, we spent the next day doing some more country sightseeing. At some point we stopped to see a lighthouse and on our hike there we saw a wild echidna and a wallaby... both Australian natives and both very shy! But somehow we never saw one kangaroo... which was disappointing for me.  

All in all it was a really great trip. We spent our last night living it up in Melbourne and, of course, the next day recovering. I heart this egg-shaped swing! :) 

A Week in Melbourne

I finally got to see a little more of Australia! Traveling with my friends Liv, Bahareh, and Adam, I spent five days of my spring break in the southern state of Victoria. Most of my time was spent in Melbourne, but we also traveled through the country along the Great Ocean Road. Here is a brief recap of my vacation:

Day One:
Our first day was spent walking around the city center, and along the Yarra River which runs through the city. The weather in Melbourne is very different than Sydney and it was a chilly day. So in order to warm up we had an amazing long dinner in the Italian district. Then we went to a Lebanese restaurant to share a hookah pipe (... apparently its also called Shisha).

Day Two:Whenever people describe Melbourne they talk about its art, and I've even heard it called the "Europe" of Australia. So naturally we had to see an art museum, and we chose the National Gallery of Victoria. They had a Dali exhibit called Liquid Dreams which was amazing! After tapas and sangria, for lunch, we went to Brunswick Street which is known for its array of small boutiques and trendy cafes. We ended up spending all night on Brunswick street. We made friends with a server at a brewery we stopped in and ended up going to some cool underground places with him. Very cool!

Day Three:
We had heard of this place, called Philip Island, about an hour and a half outside of Melbourne which was famous for its Penguins- the smallest in the world or something. So we rented a car and hit the road. Along the way stopped a koala sanctuary, where we saw baby koalas and a wild wallaby which was just a few meters away from us. We also stopped at a beach where we saw a dead seal, but I'm still trying to forget that one. The penguins were our last stop, because the penguins only come out of the ocean at sun-set and race across the beach to their burrows. It was actually really sweet, they would only cross the beach in groups for fear that they would get harmed. And occasionally there would be one penguin standing along the surf all confused. It was heart-breaking.

Next we go to the Great Ocean Road... I'll put another post up about that later.

Laugh of the Day

Set-Up: On a venue tour of the Sydney State Theatre, for a class project, with a few classmates and mostly old women who were on the tour for fun.

Old Lady: (talking to another old lady as we were entering a gentleman's lounge area, outside of the men's toilets) I have never seen the inside of so many men's bathrooms in my life!
Me: Oh, you haven't lived then!
Old Lady: ...
Me: (laughing nervously) Just kidding!
Old Lady: (laughing politely)
Jackie: She's American, Texan actually... So...
Old Lady: (relieved) Oh... (laughing like it all made sense now)

Huh? Is that what Australian grandmas think of Texans? Also, why was I making sexual bathroom jokes to old strangers? :)

PS- I just got back from the chilly city of Melbourne. I will blog about it as soon as I upload my pics and get the energy to do anything other than read "Twilight" (... kill me now!).

The Sydney Bridge Run

Last weekend I did the impossible, or at least very improbable. I participated in the Sydney Bridge Run and completed the longest distance, timed run of my life- 9K!! (...pause, to wait for standing ovation).

Liv and I ran together and completed with a time of 1hr, 6mins! Check out my official time here, I placed number 9907. Sweet As! We only walked two times for like two minutes each. I would've walked much more, but Liv wouldn't let me. Which was good because my goal time was an hour and a half, and my secret goal was an hour fifteen. So I basically killed both of those times. And I even got a fancy schmancy medal. Here we are after the run.
It was actually a really amazing route. We started on the other side of the harbour at Milson's Point and they closed traffic on the bridge so we ran over the water.
You know on movies when it is the end of the world and everyone on the highway gets out of their cars to see whats going on? It was kinda like that, spooky almost. And Liv wasn't wearing any headphones, and she said it was really quiet even with thousands of people around. Creepy! The run finished at the Opera House and afterward everyone hung out in the recovery village in the Botanic Gardens. For awhile, Liv and I watched the marathon finishers. How can anyone possibly run that long... 42K and some took up to six hours!! Wowza!!

Red Skies Over Sydney

As you may have heard or read about... yesterday was quite a bizarre day in Sydney. Here is my perspective: For some reason I randomly woke up around 6:30-7:00am, and when I did I was very confused. There was a very strange bright red color filtering through my blinds. Even in my barely awake state, it didn't seem right that the sky would be so bright so early in the morning. Actually it was so unnatural that I was certain someone had put something over my window outside. So I got up and peeked out the blinds to see what was going on, outside looked like this... literally!Mind you, this was at 7am! But I guess I was really tired because I just went back to sleep. I woke up again about an hour later to get ready for work, and the redness through my blinds was almost gone. So I figured maybe I was dreaming, or going crazy or something. Then I walked outside to catch my bus and noticed as soon as I stepped outside that the sky is SO dirty... like a really thick brown fog... something like this. Also, people on the streets were wearing actual medical masks and covering their faces with scarves and such. It was actually a really disturbing and uncomfortable feeling. I hadn't see the news or talked to anyone so I didn't know what was going on and thought maybe something bad had happened.

But when I finally got to work, my coworkers clued me in. Apparently it was just a really bad dust storm... or "the worst dust storm in 70 years!" according to Sydney Morning Herald. So very bizarre! I wish I would have properly woken up when I first saw it so I could've taken pictures, but once again sleep wins! When I got back to my room that night, I realized I had left the window open and my window sill was covered in red dust. Of course!

Package From Home

Yay!! I just got a package in the mail from my sis and nephew. It was the best... among other things was a card that Rev wrote, or dictated to Melissa to write, which made me get misty in the post office- nice! :) But I already decorated my room with the pics that they sent, oh and the Texas license plate. Loves it! I just realized something about this picture... there is a rather pornographic image, on the left side, underneath pics of my precious nephew. That is so wrong! Ha, I feel like I need to explain... The card is from Clay and Matt from my b-day. It is supposed to be a light-switch plate cover (tasteful!), but the light switches in AU aren't the same shape as the US. They are more squared than penis shaped. :)

Anyway, back to my package (no pun intended)... my sis sent me a sealed packaged of some of my favorite turkey jerky which I was very much looking forward to, but the jerks at customs opened my box and took it out. RUDE!! It just made me realize how much I was missing dried meat, and so many other things from home... like:

• Blue margaritas from Blue Mesa on some random Wednesday
• Driving no where for hours with the windows rolled down and the music blaring
• DVR'ing everything (especially hours and hours of Oprah, Dr. Phil, and The Doctors)
• Real Housewives Of... Anywhere (they're all good!)
  
• Crystal Summers making me feel hideous in the gay-borhood
• Wearing orange and watching college football (Go Texas!!)
• All Mexican food, like fajitas from Pappasitos, enchiladas from El Fenix, and chips and dip from Matt's El Rancho
• Chili's dates with my Bestie
  
• The greatest friends in the world, especially the ones that post comments on this blog (do you still remember me?)

Must be Missing Home

I think Spring is officially upon us in Sydney... thank goodness because it means summer is right around the corner. And I have been desperate for some sun on my shoulders!! But, the weather has been so awesome recently that my friends and I decided to have a picnic at the Botanic Gardens, which is right off the harbour overlooking the Opera House and Bridge. Well it was a perfect spring day, we stayed out for hours reading, eating and chatting. Perfection!

There was an awkward moment however, when we were watching the runners pass by on the trail in front of us. At one point I saw a hottie and loudly said "Hey Gurl!", and my friends turned and looked at me like I had said something offensive. (See they didn't know I was saying 'gurl', not 'girl'). I had to clarify that I was indeed talking about a male runner, not female. And then when they asked, "why did you say 'girl' then?", I wasn't really able to explain it. I just said it was something my "bois" back home said and it was just meant to be funny. LOL... Who am I? I must be missing my old friends these days...

Lucky for me, I have one Dallas/Houston friend who is coming to see me! Lisa just told me that she booked her flight and will be visiting me in Sydney in November. I am so excited!! How many pounds... er, kilos.... can I lose in time for beach season?

First Australian House Party

My Australian friend, Gabi, invited me and Jackie to a house party in her 'hood this weekend. Actually, I think we maybe invited ourselves... but we have been wanting to meet more Australians and to get out of Sydney. She lives in a suburb an hour outside of the city called, Campbelltown.

This party was a dress-up/ costume party (FYI- From what I can tell Australians are in love with dress-up parties). Unfortunately, I had no time to get an outfit before the party because it was a crazy week, so Gabi said she had some random costume stuff at her house that I could borrow. I ended up wearing regular clothes and she had a pirate bandanna and sword, so I guess was kinda a pirate, but not really.

Anyway, the party was fun... Apparently having a funny accent, like I do, really helps at parties where you don't know anyone. Who knew being American was such a novelty?

Hakuna Matata

... it means no worries, for the rest of your days.My South African friend, Jackie, sent me this picture which I just loved... Its Pumba and Timone, as seen on an African Safari. Ha!!

Lost in Translation

Sorry friends... I have been such a bad blogger the past couple weeks, but the truth is that nothing too interesting has been going on around here.

I've just started my second semester of school and am already behind. But I did pass all my classes last semester... actually I did better than pass, I got a "Credit" in all except accounting, which by some miracle I managed a "Distinction". The grading in Australia doesn't really translate to American grades but it goes something like this: High Distinction (A+), Distinction (A), Credit (B), Pass (C), and Fail (D/F).

Also, I have been working a lot, which is great because I spent way too much over my "winter break" and am hoping to go on a few more trips before I head back home. On my list to see is Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bun), Cairns (pronounced Cannes)- which is the main stop for seeing the Great Barrier Reef , and hopefully one big trip after school ends... there has been some talk about Thailand. Scary! So in an effort to save up for these amazing places I have been trying not to go out as much. Boring!

But I did think of one silly story, that I'm still embarrassed about, to share with you. So, we were in Risk Management class last week, and we are discussing an upcoming assignment or something. This is our lecturer's first time teaching so he is kinda still figuring everything out, and it came up that he had mistakenly scheduled class on one of the days during the mid-semester exam week. So everyone is trying to explain why we don't have class, and the entire class is sorta talking aloud to no one in particular.

At some point during the commotion this French girl, who is also in events and all my same classes, says loudly to the teacher, "If we don't have class maybe we can go on a trip?" She, of course, means a site visit or field trip, but I guess maybe it doesn't translate properly.

I hear her say this from across the room, so I jokingly say to my friends sitting around me "Trip? I vote for Melbourne!". So, I laugh at my own joke... the people around me are laughing too, but of course my laugh somehow carries above the others. Then the French girl turns around looks directly at me and says "Actually, I don't think its very funny" (imagine this in a French accent). And the entire class goes silent, and the teacher does a nervous laugh and no one says anything for several seconds.

So, I went through my typical stages when stuff like this happens: First I am embarrassed, silent and want to die; then at some point I get angry and defensive; and when that wears off I finally get guilty, want to explain myself and make amends. I asked Jackie if I should apologize to her after class (even though I was NOT laughing at her... I was laughing at my own joke!), but Jackie said I need to let it go. It's been a week now and I still feel awkward everyday when I see her in class. Why do the French hate Americans again? :)

Miss you guys... and I promise to try and keep you updated more.

Goodbye New Zealand

We spent almost the entire next day on the road, heading back to Christchurch (where it all began). This day was pretty miserable for me since I was hung over, had no wallet (ie. no money), and my seat mate and I were on rocky grounds.
But Jackie and I got over it pretty quickly, especially since I needed her help with money and stuff, and she needed my help because she was crazy sick (with like swine flu or something) on the bus. And by the end of the road trip, when I was feeling better, I again started to appreciate the unbelievable scenery around me. My trip to New Zealand was amazing and feel so lucky that I got the chance to see it. And now I'm back in Sydney, back in school, and back to work... no wonder I have been feeling so blah recently.