Trip to New Zealand Part 1

Telling everyone about spring break, it would be ridiculous to retype everything when I have to write two travel stories about it for class... So I'm going to paste them on here to save myself some typing, and if there are specific questions, you can ask me in person where I don't have to worry about typing and getting bored. Enjoy Part One

Are you ready to jump off the Auckland Bridge? Of course you’re nervous, or maybe just excited, maybe both, I was. The very idea of plunging towards open water with only a few rubber bands holding me from certain death was intoxicating and terrifying all at once. What if I died? What if I become some kind of adrenaline junky? Other friends of mine here are going skydiving and I said “screw that!”. They asked me why I would want to bungee alone when I could jump out of a plane with a person with me. I’ll tell you why… because if I die, at least my body will still be attached to the rope and my mom can have an open casket if she wants. If you die skydiving, you probably look as much like you as a bug does after it nails your windshield. But you’ve got a whole day of travelling before you need to worry about that! Because like every real travel story you can’t get to your destination and enjoy your vacation without that plane ride, and if you are anything like me, you are going to remember two things about this trip. The plane rides, and the bungee trip. The plane ride is not an event to be taken lightly. It has the ability to affect your entire mood for at least the next day and a half, and this is where my story begins.
I can’t afford to pay eighty dollars for a taxi ride at 2am. Who would want to? So on the advice of a friend, I took the last trains to the International terminal and planned on just exploring the airport for a few hours until I could check in for my flight. The task seems simple enough. Nay, right away I could tell this was going to be one of the most frustrating travels of my study abroad experience.
First of all, when I arrived at the airport I went up to the International Departures section and took a seat and opened my book to read for awhile so I wouldn’t kill my ipod battery. I was sitting there for maybe ten minutes when a security officer approached me and asked “Excuse me, are you going to be here overnight?” I nodded and he politely continued “I’m sorry but we shut down this part of the airport from midnight until three, so you’ll have to wait downstairs.” That was fine, not a big deal. So I picked up my bag and went back down the escalator only slightly annoyed that my reading had been interrupted. There were tons of people sitting around the chairs that were directly at the bottom and clearly no room for me, so I turned and went towards the arrivals gate because I doubted anyone would be sitting over there, and indeed I was right. Once again, I sat down and opened my book, ready to laugh out loud in public at Chelsea Handler and her ridiculous tales. Moments later, the same security officer approaches me “Excuse me are you going to be here overnight?” Is this guy for real? “Yeah my flight is at six.” Again he told me they shut down this section of the airport and that I would have to go to the overnight section, which was of course, the place where there were no seats left that I had purposely avoided by coming to the arrivals gate. This time he escorted me, and I thought to myself Ok I’m not going to run rapid and cause mischief I just want to read in peace!
When we got to the overnight section, I took a look around, and decided to sprawl out in a place where no one had placed their bags near a door. It did not take five minutes for me to realize this was a bad idea because everyone and their mother in this place appeared to be a chain smoker and were constantly going in and out of said door, causing my body to shiver from the cold that rushed in every time. Determined not to let it get to me, I grabbed some change, and went to the vending machine for some goodies and a coke. The coke came just fine, but the goodies were against me. I pushed the buttons for the chips and the bag started to come and instead of letting go of the bag, it remained pinched at the very top by that stupid coil. This is not happening… I’ll just buy the chips next to it and it will fall down and then I’ll have a snack for later too. Fate had other ideas, as I put another two dollars into the machine and when the chips beside my original choice fell, they only shifted the other bag instead of breaking it free. There was no way I was letting some vending machine get the best of me or letting someone else get free chips! I bought another bag and now had three bags of chips with my coke, and went back to my seat very aware that everyone around me probably thought I was either a stoner or a fatty. It took me fifteen minutes to move away from the cold all the way down a hall near the bathrooms and at this point, my mood had taken a sour turn for the worst.
Three hours later I had finished my book and I was finally allowed to check in upstairs and I approached the counter to a man who was way too friendly for three in the morning. “Hello darling, how are you going?” I tried really hard to smile and said “I’m really cold.” He was nice, and I didn’t want my mood to effect his day, but then he said it. “I’m sorry, are you going to Auckland today?” I nodded, completely aware that I was about to hear bad news. “Unfortunately you are an hour early for check in, but the food court should have something open if you want to get a coffee or something to warm you up.” I was defeated, I walked over to the food court, got a hot chocolate and pulled out my ipod to watch one of Kathy Griffin’s HBO specials to try and find a good mood. After an hour, I went back, checked my bag, went to customs, and did a straight shot to my gate, which felt like it was on the other side of the airport completely.
There was still a good 45 minutes before I needed to board my flight when I got there, so I put my headphones in and listened to my playlist entitled “Back in the Day Café” and indulged in music from anywhere from 2005 back to the 1990’s. The woman behind the counter repeatedly told people who approached her that they weren’t ready for people to line up so she would call when they were. Everyone seemed to get the message, except one group. All of a sudden about fifteen people walk up and get in the first class line even though they clearly have economy seats and just stood there talking loudly in a language I don’t understand. The woman tried to explain to them exactly what she told everyone else but they either didn’t understand her or were pretending not to. I hate these people at airports. The people who think they are holier than thou. It truly is enough to make you want to scream. So I sat in my seat listening to ‘Nsync while glaring at these people, not caring if they noticed me because clearly they felt they were above everyone else anyway.
When it came time to board, the woman behind the counter did exactly what happens every time boarding begins; she retrieved the people who are handicapped or travelling with small children. This has got to be the most typical part of flying besides going through security and removing any metal from your body, it is just the way things are done and it is for the benefit of all. Now, I am not the most patient person, and I was clearly in a bad mood, but the behavior that happened next almost made me explode in the middle of the terminal. One of the group of phony first class ignorants starts flipping out that there are people getting on the plane before her and her clan. I don’t have to speak her language to know that’s exactly what she was pissed about when she wouldn’t stop pointing at those being let on the plane and practically screaming. Are you seriously that rude and selfish? What the hell is wrong with you that guy is in a wheelchair and you’re pointing and acting like a five year old throwing a tantrum?! It was almost more than I could stand, then the “woman” standing behind her starts up too. Woman is in quotations because I honestly couldn’t tell what that person was but I was leaning more towards female. That was it, the high school girl in me took over and I began judging them in the most shallow ways possible, by making fun of their clothes in my head. I don’t understand how you are flipping out about people who have real problems but you are wearing a suit that is not only two different colors but two different kinds of a freaky checker/plaid design that should be burned not worn… and your friend has matched her horrendous outfit to her horrendous purse. Who wears lilac croc shoes? Croc shoes already make everyone look like a jackass! You are dressed in 3 different shades of purple with some stupid kangaroo on your purse, are we in pre-school?! The thoughts went on and on until finally we were allowed to start boarding the plane.
Exhaustion. It plagued me the second I found my window seat. I just wanted to sleep, but I knew I would fail at that, I can’t sleep on planes. But three hours of daydreaming didn’t seem so bad at this point. With exhaustion comes annoyance, and the last thing I wanted to do was listen to the safety procedures over the intercom. I wanted to sleep. Eventually we got pushed back, and I got to feel the rush of takeoff, and that moment of fear that comes as you elevate thinking that the tail of the plane will either hit the ground or that the plane will just fall. I’ve been on planes since I was seven and it happens every time. When we got into the air I relaxed, “Ding”, the captain turns of the fasten seatbelt sign and I can now be saved by my ipod. Time for the “Sleep” playlist… After these series of events, jumping off a bridge would be a nice escape. It was that glimmer of hope that allowed me to drift into daydream state as my head rested against the window and I forgot myself for awhile.

One Month Absence part 2

In case anyone missed the memo, I'm officially legal for everything but renting a car in the United States!!!!! Although, as expected, not quite the shebang it would have been due to the fact that the drinking age in Australia is 18... WHO CARES!!! Let's talk about the nights events... or at least, the parts I am 100% sure of.

Small group, and anyone who knows me knows I prefer this anyway. We met up after Sarah had me take quite a few shots of tequila, and then Katie had me drinking Goon. Took the train into the city, and went to the Minus5 bar, which was quite possibly, one of the coolest things I have ever done! You wear snuggly coats, and gloves, and they have Ugg boots for you in case you wore flip flops or something... but this didn't interest me nearly as much (probably due to the shots and Goon) as the wall made of purple carpet. I thought this was the coolest thing ever! And made people take pictures in front of it before we went in. Then we went in, it wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it was going to be in there, but apparently everyone else thought it was freezing... But they had carvings of the Opera House and stuff in the ice, and the black lights made it look SO cool! I tried to turn the flash off of my camera to take pictures to show this effect but they came out rather blurry so I don't know how effective that really was. Because I was the birthday girl, my drink was turned into a WICKED strong shot, which I took from a shot glass made out of ice, and had it not been made of ice, I might have tried to steal it. But it was delicious... I think my drink was called an avalanche, and I don't remember what was in it but it was delicious beyond all reason and I left that bar feeling even happier than when I walked in!

We walked around the city some more, went to a few more bars, but I don't remember what they were called I only remember what I drank at one (Raspberry Rave = SO GOOD) and then that one of them when we were walking in all the insanely good looking guys were leaving and we were with super creeps... But you know, when you are drunk, who cares? That bar had a live band that was good. By the way, live bands love to play them some Blink182 which makes me happy because I love them. At around 3am we decided (there were only 4 of us left of the party by the way) that we should try to get a bus back to campus so we walked to the bus stop after getting some food, where we met some rugby players who had recently moved over from New Zealand. They were cool people. We sat there for about... an hour and a half freezing our asses off, before we realized... "Oh yeah, it's Easter Sunday, the busses aren't going to run until 5:30am" ... So we snagged a cab back to campus for 55 bucks which I don't think is that bad of a price considering how far away it was and there were 4 of us. So we get back at 430am, Sarah passed out, I did not... My body was still so cold that I shivered for what felt like hours and ended up just going on Facebook to start answering all the happy birthday messages I got. So you know what that means... I was up for 48 hours of birthday!!! Go me!!! I don't know how I didn't die, but I lived, and that is all that matters.

I ended up taking Sarah to Manly Beach, the Opera House, where I got to introduce her to my new buddy Bianca whom we convinced to try and study at CSU next spring (fingers crossed, she's cool shit), Um I took Sarah to the aquarium and wildlife world as well... Showed her some of the shopping places... She took herself to the Blue Mountains for a day, and then her last day I took her to Bondi Beach for her house before her plane to Auckland. I am so happy she got to come visit me, I have been insanely jealous of everyone who had people from home coming to visit and stay with them and even though that didn't technically count because she was already here, WHO CARES!!! I got to see her, and I get to see Kelsey Hobbs in 5 days!!!! YAY!!!!!

In other events... Baseball season has started and this Red Sox fan is pissed she can't watch the games... looking up what happened on ESPN is not fun or exciting. I don't have to bother with the Rockies since Dan is their number 1 fan and all, I'll just assume if he's extra chipper they are doing well and if he's slightly down they either lost or he's lacking food. Nevermind that any Colorado person is always happy to rub that their team has won when mine has not. I'm covered. Plus Punky keeps me updated with Basketball so I suppose I can't complain too too much but still. As far as my sports are concerned June can't come soon enough! ... Actually as far as money goes June can't come soon enough, after Easter Break is over and I return from New Zealand I will have no more money and only school work to look forward to... LAME x 98237498236492!!!!

Oh well... I should probably at least TRY to work on my 2000 word paper on homophobia, but why start at 9pm what you can put off until tomorrow at 9am? I'll go to youtube and watch Looney Tunes tonight!

One Month of Absence

I have literally not been on this thing in an entire month... And coincidently, that would be the month in which a million and a half things have happened that will surely not be as good a story as they would have been if I hadn't been so completely neglectful of this blog. Whoopsie. This could take more than one post to catch up... Here goes...

In March, I went to the Blue Mountains, Featherdale Wildlife Park, Rip Curl Surf Camp at Seven Mile Beach, on a St Patty's Booze Cruise, and learned that passing all my classes at Macqaurie is going to take a miracle. So where do I begin?

Blue Mountains- Gaby, Katie and I started our 6am day trying to get down into the city to catch the bus that would take us up to the Blue Mountains and the Wildlife Park. Gaby and I both had late starts so we practically ran to the train station to meet Katie. In case I haven't mentioned Gaby before, she lives 2 doors down from me, is from Boston, and is pretty much awesomeness. We met our shuttle bus thing, and were introduced to our crazy guide Ronnie, who was one of those people who are probably in their 40's or 50's but still think they are 23, so they use phrases we use and usually wrong. Big talker, but he made random comments that just cracked me up. It was about an hour drive to Featherdale, which was our first stop and we got off to explore the park. There were TONS of tourists there that day, which I suppose happens when it is a beautiful day on a Sunday, but there was a big tour group of elderly Americans and that was just slightly odd. I got to hold a big huge python! I don't remember what kind it was, but it wraps itself around you and it was so mellow I loved it! I've always wanted a snake, too bad mother is terrified of fake ones and the word snake nevermind a real life one. Then we headed towards the Koalas, which are just as adorable and soft in real life as they look in pictures, so we got our pictures taken with them and headed in to feed the kangaroos. Kangaroos I've discovered are the most awkward animal I have ever seen. They are so big and when they aren't hopping and they use their tail and legs and arms to move around it just looks funny. But they, again, are just as soft and adorable as they are in pictures. The nice kangaroo time was interrupted by the 2 or 3 large emu's that were walking around, they are not only scary, they are vicious. We basically threw our cones of animal food at them because if you didn't they would chase you around trying to snatch them from you, I know... mine was ripped from my hand. We walked around some more, saw birds, crocs, dingos, lizards and turtles... everything you would think to see. The Tasmanian devils and the wombats were funny though. The wombats would sleep in the weirdest positions so that they looked dead, and the tasmanian devil just ran around in a circle, the whole time. We passed by there later, still running in that same circle. We got to see little penguins, which were blue instead of black and so small, they were adorable. They were waiting to be fed, they knew it was time for them to be fed, and the sign said it was time for them to be fed... The three of us were standing there for at least a half hour and the penguins were never fed... so on the way out in the guestbook I gave the place a 7/10 with the comment "You didn't feed the penguins! I was there!".

We then headed to the Blue Mountains, which, if you Google them, look EXACTLY like the pictures. That blue haze is not fake, it is not photoshopped, it is dead set what this place looks like, it's beautiful. Sidenote: in my travel writing class I am learning not to use words like beautiful because it is an empty adjective. I feel like if it were empty no one would use it. Screw you Vanessa Barry! ... Anyway... We went to some lookout that has something to do with a Princess and got to see Wentworth Falls, and essentially, the whole valley that is the Blue Mountains, which are more like Plateaus than Mountains, but who really cares? Then we went on the hike through the rainforest that was about an hour or so, and learned about the part of the mountains that has the 3 hump things. It's an aboriginal legend that a monster used to live in the valley, so a witchdoctor put his 3 daughters up there so that they would be safe from the monster when he went into the valley to hunt. One day, the monster woke up and headed up to get his daughters so the witchdoctor used his magic bone to turn his daughters into parts of the mountain. Then the monster went after him and he turned himself into a Lyre bird in order to escape, but in the process lost his magic wishbone. So, as the story goes, the Lyre bird is always scratching at the ground as if looking for something, presumably the wish bone, so that it can turn back into the witchdoctor and he can change his daughters back. Apparently it is pretty famous.

Rip Curl Surf Camp -It was a 2 hour drive south of Sydney to get to Seven Mile Beach, and the place where we stayed was a mobile park. The little cabins we stayed in reminded me of Summer Camp and that is not at all off I assure you. The big middle with picnic tables, bugs everywhere, and like 4-6 beds in each cabin. I got to meet and spend time with some pretty cool people... there was a pub up the road but it was literally up one of the steepest hills ever and there was no way having overpriced drinks there was worth that walk back, no way. The next day (Saturday) we got up for breakfast at 7am (ugh) and were in wetsuits and heading to the beach by 8:30. Definitely not ideal for a Saturday morning. So, then they gave us boards, split us up into groups, and the day began. In my group there were about8 or 9 of us, and thanks to Adam, our team name was the "Notorious Nipples". This was due to the fact that when Owen (our extremely hot instructor) was teaching us what to do he would tell us to put our thumbs to our nipples on the board. So when Owen told us to say the first thing that came to our minds, only Adam spoke and he screamed "Nipples!" ... Awesome. By the way, in case no one ever tells you, surfing, is HARD. The concept is easy, but the actual process sucks, you need to have balance (which I don't) and lots of upper body strength (again, I'm lacking) in order to get the hang of it quickly and be successful. The first day was really hard and after bashing my body into sandbar and swallowing more ocean than is safe I'm sure, I managed to twist my ankle which gave me a gimp the rest of the day. Now surfers only care about 3 things... Surfing, Eating, and Sleeping. They told us that we were going to get hungry and eat a lot while we were there... Anyone who knows me know that it is a big deal when I have more than one meal a day. I just don't really get hungry unless I'm on my period, it's a fact. --- I ate more in that weekend than I eat over a period of two weeks. I was literally starving when it came time for lunch and dinner for those 2 days. Even breakfast seemed more appetizing than usual considering I can't eat breakfast when I first get up normally because it makes me nauseous. Day Two was the day we had to learn to stand. I came close and fell 9345938465983 times before I finally started catching and getting up. But my ankle started to kill again so for the last hour and a half of the camp, I decided to drift with a girl on my team Sarah, because Owen took her board so he could surf since she didn't want to. So we floated on my board until one of the other instructors Mitch came and asked what we were doing, took my board from me and gave me his sunglasses and hat to wear so he could surf. This was fun, until a big wave creeped up on me right after one had just passed and slammed me so hard I swear water went into one of my ears and out the other, taking his sunglasses with it. I kept the hat for him, but I searched for the glasses for like, 20 minutes and felt so awful. When he asked if I lost his "sunny's" he said he went through about 2 pairs a week usually and it wasn't a big deal, but continued to give me shit. When we got back up to the cabins I tried to give him money for them because I felt so bad and he chased me down and shoved the money into my pocket and ran off refusing to take it... So I went to the store and bought the same pair and wear them myself. It was really cool learning to surf, but there isn't really surf in Massachusetts so I don't know when that will happen again, nevermind that my body hasn't been that sore since preseason of field hockey if you added pre season of freshmen basketball to that. SO FUN though, definitely happy I did that.

There isn't really anything else necessary to blog about right now... I could talk about my birthday but that can wait

Wear Sunscreen...

BREAKING NEWS!!!!
Australia has in fact passed the US on being the most obese country in the world!!!! AMERICA FUCK YEAH!!!!! ... Judge me, I got happy.

Went to the beach again this weekend. It was lovely and I actually laid out in the sun for hours and am getting the color to show for it, can't wait to go again this weekend because you bet your ass I will be going even if I have to go alone. But anyway, I only applied sunscreen once and happened to fall asleep lying on my back and completely fried it. When in a quite sunny place, not only remember to put sunscreen on, but reapply at least once. But thanks to my italian side it has since turned into a quite splendid tan and I'm loving it. My face is starting to freckle the way it does when I've been in the sun alot, which means soon enough I'll have a tan face as well and I wont feel so disgusting when people take photographs of me. Everyone feels better when they are tan, except the people here I see walking around with umbrellas on beautiful days because they enjoy looking like sun has never touched them in their lifetime. Milky white, no shit. I couldnt live that way, I would look sick.
I am completely envious of Caitlin who apparently never wants to come home from italy, and takes classes about cooking and what wine goes with what kind of food. You know what I learned today? How communities started on some random encounter in europe in the 1500s and about how it was nearly impossible to prove your identity without certain scars or tattoos back then because there was no fingerprints, dna, or drivers licenses. Interesting? Kinda, but I'll be quizzed on this and won't remember the dirty details. And how do I know this? Because within 10 minutes of walking out the door I couldnt really remember a damn thing except "my teacher talks cool, and he knows im retarded". Ugh... after this quick little update I have to write 200 words about a character I've met in my life in a way that would make someone who had never seen or heard of them picture them without using stupid descriptions like beautiful and such. 200 words eh? Thats like what... 5 sentences? That's not gonna happen. I happen to write the way I speak and not in some sensible way that researchers and novelists write, so 200 words to describe a person, place or thing is not happening anytime soon.
I discovered the true meaning of homesickness by the way. It's not missing people or places, but rather the simple comforts of "home" that you take for granted from day to day. Let me tell you how I figured this ish out. I went to the store because I was craving cranberry juice... I had to go to 2 different grocery stores and no one here has ever even heard of Ocean Spray, its some random brand that tastes like crap. Definition of drinks in Wareham... Juicys... No where to be seen. Not even an Aussie version! AH! So I gave up and as I was walking home with my fake cranberry juice listening to my ipod (Painting Flowers by All Time Low to be exact, my new fav song of the moment) I looked up and appreciated all the stars in the sky that I could see quite clearly and then it hits me... You can't see the Big Dipper from Australia. I know this sounds completely lame, but I didn't quite feel so far away until this moment... Look outside at night, can you see the Big Dipper? You should probably appreciate that it's there, because it's a constant in your life from as far back as you can remember that never mattered until it is gone and not hidden by a cloud I mean gone. There is an extreme lack of it in my sky and an abundance of Orion. So my point... enjoy the Big Dipper, the little dipper, Juicys, and good cranberry juice, whichever flavor suits your fancy because I swear to god you will be more devastated by that damn drink or star in the sky than you will by the fact that your mommy cant cook you dinner for a few months.

Time to write about a random character. Maybe I'll get creative obnoxiously because I don't honestly feel like anyone cares about Travel Writing... Hmmm

Indecent Exposure? No Worries Mate! It's Mardi Gras!

Possibly the biggest event I've ever been to in my life, and one of the most fun things I have done since I arrived in Australia was this Mardi Gras parade. It was intense! It's really not that big of a deal as it is in the US because it is really only about gay pride and advocating for equal rights but it's still a HUGE turnout and absolutely entertaining. Katie and I had to fight our way from the train station to Oxford street where the parade was taking place and they had so much stuff blocked off and people were just everywhere, you could barely move, everyone was getting bitchy because people were literally stepping on you to get a better view. We maneuvered our way to a spot where we could see and I grabbed the wrong camera battery so I'm very upset at my lack of photos but I did take a bunch of videos which along with the pictures that were not appropriate for facebook will be posted below.

It started out with a bunch of people dressed up riding on motorcycles and they were just having so much fun that you couldnt help but BE in a good mood. I really don't know if I will get used to seeing so many boobs out in public though, this would never happen in the US, not the way the aussies do it anyway. Then there were a bunch of different floats and organizations that danced and cheered as they walked through, and in the entire state of New South Wales they would have the police, firefighters, nurses, even the army and navy and stuff, they would all march to show their pride. Some of the costumes were crazy on the people who were just there for support and dancing, I mean like, intense dominatrix, cross dressing, and the kind of stuff you would see in a fetish porn. I've never seen so many women with no shirts on and I've been to a strip club before! The music was fun, the people in the parade just made everything fun, and the only complaints besides my camera dying before the really cool stuff (and after watching the videos died way before i thought it did) was the fact that my feet were killing me from standing there so long and because the people standing behind me would not stop either stepping on me, screaming in my ear, or acting like they owned the universe and pushing people around. Like I saw them push a child. Really? I hate you people.

I probably should have written then when I had a better memory of everything, but it was so ridiculous you really had to be there to enjoy it or understand... So I'll post the photos and the videos and leave it at that! PS sorry for the annoying screamer that is the stupid girl standing behind me.

I also figured out that for the first week of my spring break I am going to New Zealand, where I will visit Kelsey Hobbs and go bungee jumping and camping!!!!!! Woo hoooo!!!!!!

The long video was too big to post so I put it on youtube, it has some crazy dancing, a giant joint, a group that wants US troops out of Iraq, tons of stuff... here is the link :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4P1_CZ1bnI

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Thank you Immune System...

That's right, I have managed to get sick. I hear strep is going around... Don't think that I have that but my throat def hurts like a mother and my nose hates life. COOOOOOOLLLLLLLL. I've definitely been eating plenty of vitamin C too so this is just ridiculous.
I'm definitely going crazy without being able to talk to my sister every day... this time difference is SO annoying! And it's not that I don't miss everyone else who normally inhabits my life but I mean... it's Kathleen. Sorry, she's my other half. But on a separate note I miss everyone, Massachusetts, Colorado, wherever you are, believe me stuff happens everyday that reminds me of people home in the USA and I automatically want to reach for my phone and then have that awful realization that I can't call/text you, hang out with you, etc. Some days it's worse than others. Now that I have classes it isn't so bad, but there are just some days where there is nothing to do and if you aren't with people at some random moment it's this intense feeling of "this has been fun but it's time to go home". It comes and goes so quickly I feel bipolar most of the time. It will literally come for a period of 15 minutes and then I'm totally fine and ready for an adventure here and couldn't care less that I'm thousands of miles from home. Those bad days though... where I have no motivation to leave my apartment, or my bed because as soon as I start a day it's the start of a day in another country, without anyone who I've become accustomed to having around me. Not fun, let me tell you. And I thought about not saying anything about my homesickness moodswings but I've also decided that I just don't care. It happens.
Classes are... "different" than at home. There are lectures and tutorials. Lectures are the same as any school, tutorials are broken down sections of the class where you discuss, debate whatever in depth about the lecture. It's mandatory to go, and it's pretty much forced participation. I hate that. If I have a comment or a question I'll ask I don't care to be pressured into having something to say, because not only will my mind go blank, but then I'll just feel AND look stupid. Not a fan of this. I think that is the thing that people complain about most here besides randomly missing home... the way the schools work. They told us at orientation to remember that "its not wrong its different" ... whatever. There isn't as much work in the classes but the work you do is worth SO much that if you do bad on one assignment you are pretty much going to have to fight to the death to get what would equal a high C in the states... HATE THAT! ... Who studies abroad with the intention of being studious? Not me!
I finally unpacked my stuff... until about 15 minutes ago my clothes were either thrown across my floor or in a pile in my suitcase. I organized and cleaned, Kathleen would be so proud, and pissed because I never clean at home ;) ... Have to go buy hangers now though, and that is annoying. I feel like everyday I have to walk across campus to go to the shopping centre because there is SOMETHING that I am missing or need to get that I forgot on the last trip. I need to find a job or I'm gonna run out of money so fast...
Anyways... time for bed for me. I don't feel well and I am determined to get to the beach this weekend. Gnight all!

This is for you Wareham... You're own fault Makenzie haha

What do you mean your friends call you Trogdor?

Couple things... first of all, I highly recommend watching the SNL clips of Zac Efron paroding High School Musical and Taylor Swifts monologue song. Quite funny. Second of all, in this country there are some things I feel like sharing... brace yourselves... first of all, Mosquitos are called "Mossies". This makes them sound cute, and is therefore not a good term for them. Second, they dont have juicys!!!! I know, it's the saddest thing ever, I'm just as disturbed as you are. And third, not only do they charge you 10 cents for a stupid plastic bag at target in case you didn't want to carry your 99 ridiculous and pointless purchases home in your arms, but they don't even sell popcorn to microwave here! YEAH! You have to go pay the outrageous movie theater price if you want popcorn! Oh, and for the Wareham people, if I EVER hear another person complain about the price of tickets at flagship cinemas, even if I am in that god forsaken vest, i'll have to inform them that a STUDENT DISCOUNTED ticket, is 14 dollars. Yeah... fuck you grandma who talks about when it was 25 cents, if you havent been to the movies since you were 12 thats not my problem. .... Anyway, I will give them this, if you feel like coughing up 25 bucks, you can buy 3D glasses that are AVIATORS. Yeah, badass? I think so! Their movie theaters also have assigned seating. It means that when movies sell out everyone is guaranteed a seat and no on can sneak in. At first I thought this was the worst idea ever, who wants assigned seating? BUT, it really makes the whole experience better I think. You don't debate with people about where to sit because you don't have a choice, and chances are the people who came in 15 minutes after you that you can't stand for some absurd reason probably aren't sitting anywhere near you. Catch on to this trend America!
I can't remember if I wrote this in the last post, but speaking of Zac Efron, I was at the same beach as him the day I took my tour... unfortunately by the time this was brought to our entire groups attention he was already jumping into a car because he was about to be mauled by girls. The point is that I was within like 300 feet of an American heart throb and no one told me he was coming. And while we are on the subject of Americans coming to Australia, our President will be in Sydney tomorrow I guess. I learned this when I saw a poster on campus where there will be a rally IN the city being put on by 3 of the clubs from my school PROTESTING his visit for all kinds of anti war causes and being against US involvement in stuff... I think when I go into Sydney tomorrow I shall wear red white and blue... my red sox jersey perhaps? 
I hung out with Katie for most of today, we are having the same up and down feelings on this trip, seem to have the same money issues, and in general have the same sarcastic humor and both thought we were the only ones who were this way until we really got to talking. THANK GOD! We did some retail therapy as Katie called it, then grabbed some lunch. Kayla joined us later and we went to go see the movie Valentines Day, which I loved, and then somewhat hated. You know when you watch a movie, and random parts of it make you think of people in your life, or you just go "oh my god that's me"? Yeah... I didn't like how this movie did that to me. I'd go into details but it's possible that people I don't want to know that information would see this and, well, my life is awkward enough thanks! Anyways, loved it though. Definitely going to buy that... But we all started talking about our friends from home and such and it was mentioned that I had an abundance of friends that were boys and that something could happen with any one of them... so I told them that I am called "trogdor" and/or "dude" by most of them to get my point across about those relationships. I think I might be the only girl who isn't offended by those nick names, and I mean I suppose I could be but it's all in context. If I were into a boy who called me those things, yeah, might sting a little, for those who didn't catch on, those names aren't exactly feminine. But if it's just, the boys... who cares? I can't, who has the time or the energy to deal with that? Not me!
Anyways... Sydney tomorrow to party with Britney, then beach/film festival on sunday! I can't wait!!!!

The Ocean makes me want Summer at home...

Today was amazing... Went on the City to Surf bus tour of Sydney and got to explore and see all kinds of fun things. Also finally met Danielle who Ryan introduced me to so that is a definite plus. We went to a place where you can SEE the Sydney Opera House and Bridge, which I have made it a personal goal to climb and not just because Mary Kate and Ashley did either, that sounds like it would be amazing beyond all reason. Then we went to Bondi Beach where I saw the biggest waves I have ever seen in my entire life! So huge! But the beach was so beautiful, Sydney apparently has 17 of them and I plan on going to the beach a significant amount over the next 5 months. I need a tan! I feel like I'm one of the few people who didn't go tanning and get black before they came here... so not prepared. But we did see a man in a speedo, an old man, and he was rockin it... I gave him credit until he started doing stretches in which case I had to walk swiftly away because there was no way my laughter would stay silent. No way. I met a girl named Lauren who is from Canada, she and I went to eat at this place where we both got burgers where they had cucumber instead of pickles on them and they were so big I barely finished a little over half of it. Their ketchup packets are evil here. It is not that little baggie type thing where you rip the corner, you have to like squeeze this plastic thing together that looks like the stuff jelly comes in at ihop and such, it definietly exploded in my face. No lie! No warnings just BOOM ketchup on my face! How convenient lol.

Then we went to the Gap, which are these cliffs you have to go to in order to get to Sydney Harbour from the Pacific Ocean, (which is surprisingly blue by the way). Little detail I didn't need to know is that when people want to commit suicide, they often go there because you can easily climb over the railing and then leap to your death. Now, I'm no expert, but I think advertising that that is a problem, may give people ideas. But that is just me. It was so pretty there though. Lauren and I took so many pictures it was quite hard for me to narrow it down when I was uploading to Facebook. And as much as I just wanted to be near the ocean in all its glory, it really kind of just made me homesick and ready for summers at onset with people, even though that water is FAR from being blue.

I had my first glass of wine at a bar legally today. It was pretty good but with how summery it is here right now I really wanted something more fruity... unfortunately those were not a part of our free drink voucher. Tonight I am supposed to go out with my friend Mary but I'm so wiped out from the trip I may have to reschedule... totally dragging. Actually having severe problems concentrating on what I am typing right now. But I told her and she said it was fine. Kinda don't want to pass out though, that would be extremely lame! DEFINITELY going into the city this weekend to visit Britney for Mardi Gras though! Absolutely the best way to party before classes start! So excited for that! But anyway... All in all it was a great day. Except when I discovered that my straightener either doesnt work in the converter plug I have or the converter fried it... I hope it just doesnt work, but I have to go buy a cheap-o one for while I am here which I am not at all thrilled about but I'm sure it's fine.

Sidenote - Some people here are not trying to meet anyone at all. They either expect people to want to be their friend, or they only want to talk to people from their own country. I am definitely not a fan of that method at all. I will say however that there is one indian guy I know who never tells me his name when I ask him, who is a bit of a know it all and I am not a fan. Apparently it is appalling to him that I do not know what the meaning of my name is. Kathleen was nice enough to look that up. It means harvester and reaper. Thanks mom and dad. I appreciate it.

This Video is of Bondi Beach

"Oh Look McDonalds! I've always wanted to eat there!" and my Kitchen is a meth lab...

Officially here! After an excessively long flight, (15 + 7 + 6ish hours) finally got to meet some people on my trip. Cool people, funny people, and one of whom is from CSU who I have already met and will probably become a very good friend. Meaghan probably saved my life today and here is why...

Macquarie University Village has 2 sides, West and East... the pictures online are strictly of the West side so you think when you apply you are going to be paying a lot to live in a wonderful place... WRONG-O! The East Side looks like ghettoness. The West Side where Meaghan lives is fantastic, LIKE THE PICTURES ONLINE... ugh. Mine? They are made of bricks and storm drains, my kitchen really does look like it was once a meth lab stains all over the carpet AND my mattress, and because my room is the only one on the bottom level and the kitchen is missing the screens that are supposed to be there, guess who is the only one who is going to be bitten by bugs? ME! A few hours ago I was going to ask to be moved, I still might see if I can get over to the west side, but if I have to stay, I'll just have to make the best of it. It will make me all that more grateful of my other residences! Not to mention that after taking in my humble abode, I got to find out that I forgot numerous things such as razors, but my shampoo and soap exploded in my bag. Cool. My one roomie who is from Australia told me that the laundry place has like 11 machines and that half of them just eat your money and dont actually work. His name is James. He's cool and he has a swearing problem like me and enjoys american sitcoms. We will be pals. He also said that the apartment looked worse before they cleaned it, and that when they tried to mop the kitchen the sponge disolved... and the entire floor is like stepping in gum. Uh, gross?
My other room mates are a girl from France named Marine, a guy who from what James and I are guessing is India named Dewan, and then John who is from Turkey who no one has seen yet I guess. Marine and Dewan seem nice but I can't understand a word they say so this could get awkward, but hopefully my sarcasm will translate!
So anyway, Meaghan and I went on an adventure for cell phones today with a girl from Chicago with an accent just as bad as mine named Mary and another boy named I think Clark? I can't remember... oops. We all got the same cheap phone, which I can text and call internationally on it's just gonna be kinda, expensive. I can't remember the last time I had to pay as I went for anything and didnt just have unlimited text and calling... thanks alot verizon for not just allowing me to make my phone international for awhile! We were supposed to go to Clark and Mary's building on the other side of campus and up a ways for some drinking tonight but we weren't even out the door and it started to rain and thunder and we were soaked and got lost on campus so we turned and went back. It was a let down for sure but there is always tomorrow!
Macquarie's campus is beautiful... it's probably about the same size as CSU maybe a little bigger but its buildings are all together and then there are just tons of trees and plants and lakes. More of a green university than CSU will ever be both literally and with the recycling. No joke. Although James is probably the first australian student I've talked to while I've been here, none of the others are here yet or are avoiding the internationals... hoping its option 1 personally.
Oh the alcohol here, now that I can buy it legally (cool.. ish) they sell jack and coke in bottles! It was so cool! They have all these mixed drinks already made to go in bottles that would be like mikes hard lemonade size! Meaghan Mary and I decided to save all our bottles cash them in for recycling and then throw a rager at the end of the semester. You can buy them in like a single too, you dont have to buy the whole six pack or whatever. I love Australia!

Right now I need to make my bed... its almost 9 here and I am exhausted beyond all reason. Valentines Day tomorrow... so stupid.

7 effing hours

I definitely bought the day pass for the internet here... I can see ONE mountain out the window... Ugh. I can see a bunch of people who I'm pretty sure are going on my trip but I don't know if they are going to my school and if they aren't being a loner, they are two girls acting like the only people alive... so maybe I'll just see if I sit near one on the plane... Otherwise... Orientation? Yeah, orientation lol.
So, I'm watching Friends, season 10, laughing to myself looking like a freak I am sure, but oh well! This is me, and people can deal with it. My ipod needs to finish charging, I have a really long flight ahead of me and my ass already hurts... this is over 20 hours of travel people. And I have already discovered that I forgot my pictures and toothpaste. Good thing I have my favorite TV show to keep my mood up and classy. I'm still determined to make this my life when I'm older, although preferrably not in NYC.
I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL I GET TO SYDNEY!!!! I WANT MY APARTMENT AND WARM WEATHER AND NO MORE EFFING AIRPORTS FOR 5 MONTHS!!!!!

Ridiculous... Get me to warm sunshine and happiness... stat. Sooooooooo tired.