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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! 
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!
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! :)
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!!
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...
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!!
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...
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. :)
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! 
