I named one of the Twelve Apostles "Skrypture" because they're rocks and you guys rock!!

So I basically had the best weekend ever. Starting Thursday night. Whatever had been wrong with me the past two/three weeks has completely reversed; I have bee psychotically happy all week and this weekend was no exception. Thursday night was booze cruise for Whitley- I had been trying to convince Tim to come but he had basketball and couldn't make it. It didn't really matter though, because I had an amazing time nonetheless. I got ready in about 15 minutes since I had a tute presentation from 4:15-5:15 (that went pretty well) and basically got back to Whitley and threw a dress on. Here is a booze cruise picture:

Friday was a gorgeous day. The weather has been so nice lately. I spent the majority of the day reading in the courtyard, then I had footy training. Yes, I am attempting to play an organized sport here. It's hard. I'm terrible at it. But it's SO MUCH FUN. Then I went to see the girls play Netball and went for parmas at Puggs. In the evening I went out (I think on a date??) with Don for a couple of drinks. Then I went to bed in order to rest up for the amazingness that was Great Ocean Road.

Here is what we did: Saturday morning commenced with a surf lesson. I was sore and tired from footy, so surfing didn't go to well. I wasn't able to actually stand up, but I did get up to my knees without falling so I think we a little practice I could probably be get up eventually. Afterwards we went to a photospot where we saw the beginnings of Great Ocean Road. It was really nice because I actually knew most of the people on the trip, including the girls I stayed with the first few nights I was here. Here is a picture:

However, I actually spent most of my time hanging out with new people/people I met recently, namely Antonio, Sneha, Adam, Bryan, Kevin, Sophia, Catharina, Sean, and others. We had a tremendous time together and took way too many goofy photos. The rest of Saturday we went to see more koalas, went to another beach, saw some waterfalls (and walked down a million stairs) and then checked into the hostel. Saturday night we went to a pub where a local band was playing. The band's name was "Skrypture" and was composed of two sixteen year old and one seventeen year old boy. Basically they just played lots of silverchair covers and rocked the house. I was in a really goofy mood and told them that I was their biggest Ameircan fan, so they dedicated "Israel's Son" to me and gave me a cuff/guitar pick. Here is the soon to be legendary Skrypture:

Sunday was an absolutely brilliant day. The weather was gorgeous and perfect for driving around stopping at various beaches to check out the Twelve Apostles. I have some truly amazing photographs which I sadly can't post all of up on my blog, but I'll put up a random assortment. I had an amazing time hanging out with all of my new friends and hopefully now have some people to go travel with. I am feeling tons more relaxed about everything now and honestly want to do nothing else but have adventures and not worry about "real world" issues. I have never been as sore or tired as I am now, but I really just don't care. I am really happy to be here and am very excited to see what else Australia has to offer. Now if only I could get this excited about doing my work, then life would be golden :) Enjoy the pictures- I know I enjoyed taking them!

Procrastination

So I have nothing really of value to write today, but I'm in no mood to read anymore about Australian/American political similarities, and I don't have any new porn novel to read, so I guess I'll free write for a bit! (This might be a good thing- the fact that I have 4 papers due in the next five weeks means that there will be a fair amount of blog writing as an effort not to actually do any work). Yesterday I went to see the second half of "1984" and "Macbeth." I didn't like the second half as much as the first, since CCash's prediction of George admitting he loved Big Brother didn't actually happen, and it was basically just straight plot until the end without any of the entertaining commercials, musical numbers, etc. Oh well. "Macbeth" was really good and has helped me figure out exactly what I'm going to do for my production next fall. Ilana told me today that Goodhart might be finished undergoing renovations by then, which means I MIGHT be able to do my production in the lobby like I wanted to. We'll see I guess.

Nobody has really been around this weekend, so I've been pretty much doing work (sort of) and hanging out in my room and watching movies/listening to music/trying not to call people in the US/Facebooking. It'd be really nice if people left me comments- I know I don't really get comments anyway, but I feel like since I'm on the other side of the world comments would be really nice. Or send me mail. The next couple of weeks are going to be really busy and I really should get a head start on things, but I really just utterly lack the motivation to do anything. This really needs to change or else I'm going to be in BIG trouble. I think the only reason I'm still double majoring is because I like being forced to read novels in between historical accounts- it definitely makes the work a lot easier to stomach, and I feel as though I'm accomplishing something culturally relevant at the same time.

Things to gather from this post: I want you all to send me mail (preferably something really American, like a package with Reese's and Tastycakes). I procrastinate here much more than at Bryn Mawr. I miss having friends. I need to do my work.

George loves Big Brother

So I have had a fantastic couple of days after a long period of complete crap days. The week itself was fairly uneventful, but yesterday we went to Puggs for Alli's birthday and it was just a whole lot of fun. I really like everyone at Whitley and am really glad that it is small enough here that I can actually get to know people and make some good friends. I am feeling a ton better than I have been, not quite sure why, but I do. Anna, Emma, and Theo made a list of things we're going to do while I'm here as a "family" to keep me from getting bored/homesick, and also so that I can see some more of Australia/feel like I'm doing something with my time. Today Payne and Alli woke me up to drag me out to breakfast for Alli's birthday. Even though it's a small thing, I really appreciate the fact that they did this. It means a lot to me that they wanted to make sure I was included, even if it resulted in my having to cancel my doctor's appointment so that I could actually eat my food. Today I was supposed to go see "Macbeth" with Conall, except it turns out I bought tickets to go see an adaptation of "1984" instead. Conall was remarkably pleasant and I really enjoyed my day with him. We went out for a coffee during intermission (which he bought me) and got back too late for the second half of the show, but it was okay. The show (or at least the first half) was a lot better than we thought it was going to be- it was very clever in the fact that it utilized the concept of the televised "Big Brother" as a medium of putting on the plot of the novel. George Orwell was the "special guest" for the production, so it was interesting to see the actor portraying George react to the "television" actor's portrayal of his novel. I sort of wish I had been able to see the second half to see how they did the torture sequences/final revelation, but it's okay. Conall and I instead decided to go into the city, where we met up with Conall's freinds and ended up having dinner (which Conall also paid for). Apparently his dad does know that I'm in his class now, which means I may have to start being brilliant/actively trying to contribute to discussion. Tonight is Cafe at Whitley, which should be fun. It is going to be a Cabaret sort of activity, and Alli and Anna are going to do an exaggerated performance of Fergie's classic "Big Girls Don't Cry." Later tonight we are heading out to Perseverance for our Friday 90s fix, concluding Alli's fantastic birthday celebration. So yeah, rest assure that I am actually happy now, and that I'm also going to see "Macbeth" tomorrow :)

Cold, Wet, Muddy, and Ecstatic

So as usual, much has happened in the last week. Went to Hilda's Ball this past Wednesday, which was kind of a bust, despite the fact I managed to look good in an outfit that was 90% borrowed. The highlight of the week thought was probably my trip to Phillip Island with the ISOP group through the University of Melbourne. Phillip Island is a small island just south of Melbourne. It is best known for the little blue penguins that come to shore every night to sleep/nest when it's warmer. The penguins are really tiny, only slightly bigger than an average size tissue box. Once it gets dark, they roll onto shore on the waves, kind of like the unicorns in the final sequence of "The Last Unicorn." Then they swim around and waddle back and forth, trying to decide whether or not they actually do want to come onto shore. It was a pretty cool experience, despite the fact I was soaked from head to toe and covered in mud. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pictures of the penguins because it blinds them, but here is a picture off of Google so that you can get a sense of what I'm talking about (I also highly enjoy the expressions of the people in this picture):

But before I go on too much about the penguins, let me start with the beginning of the day. Carissa and I woke up around 8 after a night out at Perseverance (best club ever- 90s night every Friday) and went down for breakfast. Unfortunately, breakfast didn't start until 8:30. I had ordered a lunch the night before, so I wasn't going to leave until I got my lunch. We were due to meet the group at Uni (which is about a 20 minute walk) at 8:45. So, we go down with the mindset of having a quick breakfast and basically grabbing our lunches and running to Uni. The lunches weren't made yet. So we tell the kitchen lady that we need lunches, she says okay, and we sit and have a quick breakfast. 8:40- no lunches yet. We hover. Kitchen lady is cutting rolls for dinner. We say, "Hey, we sort of need to go... now... can you make us lunch?" She says, "Okay." 8:45. Kitchen lady is JUST starting to make our sandwiches, and is taking her sweet time about it. Meanwhile, we're trying to figure out how on earth we're going to get to Uni before the van leaves at 9. 8:50. She gives us our lunches, I call Cheese and beg him to drive us to Uni, which he does because he's awesome. So the day begins with us nearly missing our ride, and we're already frantic and ready for adventure. We both essentially pass out on the van because we are still tired from the night before. But once we get to Phillip Island we immediately feel better and are really excited for the day. The first thing we see: giant pelicans. Huge, man eating pelicans. Here's the photo to prove it:
The pelicans were followed by a visit to the koala sanctuary, where I saw the most emo koalas ever. Didn't get to hold any because they were all napping, but Carissa and I did get a photo with a massive, rather possessed looking stuffed koala for the reversed stereotypical koala holding photo. Here is a picture of us with the koala, and an additional photo that will amuse my family:

After the koalas, we had lunch in nearby Cowes, which reminded me of LBI in the winter time- all of the ice cream places were closed, but you could tell it was definitely a family summer hot spot. After lunch we went to feed giant kangaroos. Carissa and I got brutally attacked because we were not feeding them promptly enough. We're covered in bruises and it was moderately terrifying, but I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I was hopping with kangaroos and jumping in puddles and having a wonderful time. Mind you, it was raining all day, so by the end of this part of the trip we were covered in mud and basically soaked. Luckily I wore my rain boots, which gave me a huge advantage over everyone else since at least my feet didn't get wet (although that quickly changed when we went to the ocean and I, really excited about being able to go in the ocean before everyone else, ended up having a wave splash into my boot. It was definitely worth it though.) The ocean is absolutely gorgeous, even though it was grey and wet. There are two boys that I met a few weeks ago, twins from Colorado, who had never seen the ocean. They were frolicking just as much as I was. The entire day I felt like a ten year old in that I was just so excited to be there and see things. The weather was secondary to my mood. To give you a sense of how gorgeous it was, here is a picture from the Nobbies. I'm really excited now to go to Great Ocean Road, because it this is just what it's like at the island, I can't wait to see the rest of the coast!:

The day concluded with the penguin parade, which I've already discussed. I'm really glad that this was my first real trip in Australia, since it's definitely motivated me to make some active decisions in my travel plans. I am currently hoping to spend my spring break visiting my friends in the country around Melbourne and then going to New Zealand. Later on I am planning on visit Queensland, Sydney, and maybe the rock if Kevin decides to come to Australia after all.

On another topic, my social life has been pretty good. I am so thankful for the family- I have had a tough time for some reason emotionally (I can't really explain it, but it is some combination of homesickness, apathy, loneliness, hormones, anxiousness, and guilt). I have really high highs and really low lows. In all honesty, I will probably need to utilize my Bryn Mawr therapy sessions when I get back. But they have all been really good in terms of putting things into perspective for me and helping me realize that all of my worries are pretty dumb but entirely justified. I am really glad that I have made friends with dependable people and not just the "party" people that the other Americans have been hanging with.

Speaking of parties, however, last night I went to a resident's 20th birthday at his GIANT AUSTRALIAN MANSION. The experience was unreal. He had a cinema, and a spa, and a pool. We ate home cooked food on fine china and drank champagne. Absolutely amazing. I spent way too long in the sauna and am suffering a bit of dehydration today, but the experience was worth it. I am definitely more laid back than I am at home- although I'm not sure if that's more just being abroad or if it's a uniquely Australian state of being. According to Marty (a guy from UPenn who was at Whitley last semester) the attitude remains when you get back home, so I guess we'll see. I do feel as though I don't do as much reading as I should, but when it comes to tutorials it doesn't seem to matter. I guess we'll see how much that changes after I start writing my first paper (which I should probably be doing this week.... maybe....)

One thing I must say though is that I highly prefer doing things with the Australians and not the Americans. Several of the Americans on the Phillip Island trip were just downright stupid and annoying, and for that reason I am thinking of not doing any sort of traveling with agencies that cater to American students. It may mean that I see less of the touristy attractions, but it also means that I'll have had a better insight into Australian culture/life, and in some ways I think that that is much more important. Anyway, I should probably do a little bit of reading, but hopefully I will post soon with more random ramblings and photos.

Oh! I had a wine and cheese party last Monday, Dad. It was pretty fantastic- and apparently wine and cheese parties aren't too common here, so it was a cool experience for my Australian friends as well. Here are a couple photos of us in my room engaging in one of my favorite activities:

Bryn Mawr Wins

While I have often said that I am not going to come back home (half in jest), my procrastination method from Freud today led me to browse through Bryn Mawr's course catalogue for the Spring. Seriously, if Bryn Mawr wasn't offering what to me are the BEST COURSES THEY'VE EVER HAD I probably would stay here. But the fact there is a course titled "Literature & Society in Modern Russia" at Haverford, and Tratner is teaching a course on Nazis, Communism, and the Movies, I'm pretty excited to go home. Mind you, I am having a fabulous time here, and I love the University of Melbourne, but my Communist obsessions have not nearly been satisfied, and considering those two course combined are basically the foundation for my thesis, I am pretty stoked to go back. I really want to just stay in school forever- I am so much happier being an academic than I am at trying to function in a working society. My greatest desire is just to read books and articles all day and throw wine and cheese parties. Maybe I'll just go to grad school afterall.....

Okay, back to Freud.

Aesthetic Observation

So, since I'm sitting here debating whether or not to partake in the necessary evil that is shaving my legs, I thought I would write a bit. I've been struck by many thoughts this past week while waking home from Uni about a multitude of different things. As a result, this entry will likely be a random assortment of existential, stream of consciousness babblings that 90% of you will get bored with by the end of this sentence. In any case, allow me to begin by making notice of my first two weeks as a student at Melbourne Uni. The people here are smart. In all honesty, I think that the people I have tutorials with are much smarter than people I have had discussion sections with back home (and I love you all dearly). The students at Melbourne are extremely well-informed, very articulate, and seem to come up with these brilliant notions without having done the reading and following an extreme night of pub hopping. I really am in awe of how people here function- it really is some sort of effortless brilliance. The classes I have with mostly Americans seem so elementary in comparison to the discussions I have, say, in my Psychoanalysis and "Porn" tutes. It's hard to keep up, and part of me just wants to sit back and be inundated by well-thought out insights. Not to mention the fact that many of the people are absolutely gorgeous. There is one boy who is in both my Psychoanalysis and "porn" tute who resembles a darker, more broody Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Sadly I'm totally out of his league.

Which brings me to the next point: Melbourne is a very fashionable city. Everyone is at always dressed in the height of fashion, even at Uni. I remarked when I first arrived how everyone (at least the younger people) dresses as though they shop exclusively at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. I am happy that most of what I brought is at least in keeping with the fashions here, although I do wish I had brought some of my more obscure, trendy pieces that Hannah always laughs at me for wearing. It's very funny how easy it is to spot the Americans by the North Faces they are wearing or by the Banana Republic/Abercrombie/J. Crew looks. Australians are not preppy in the way wealthier Americans are.

Although all of this is highly contrasted by the attire at Whitley- which mainly consists of pajamas. I love Whitley though. I have been adopted into "the family" which is the mob contingent of several of the first years here. They are the ones with whom I have been spending most of my time, and I find them delightful. Anna is probably my favorite, and although we had a few days of awkwardness due to an accident on my part, we are still plotting all sorts of things. Cheese is the dad because he drives us everywhere (so weird driving on the wrong side of the road). Cheese has a thing for Theonie, who lives across the hall from me and is my American/Canadian/Twin Cousin. Brett is Matt Mahwinney's Australian twin brother with curly hair, and he and Emma recently picked up (hooked up), so they're sort of together now. Lyndal is the "mom" because she is wise. She's also running the production of Grease. Jodi is the "Phat Bitch" and also one of my favorites. We have weekly Goon punch parties (Goon is the nastiest thing in creation- sort of like Franzia, but worse) and are going to Luna Park next week for free because Emma works there. We also snuck out of High Tea last night and went for $4 pizzas at Bimbos, which was delightful.

Other people I really like here are Liv, who is the socialite of Whitley and is ALWAYS going out somewhere. Sheryl is great because she is sort of like a pseudo-American and understands a lot of the cultural differences that some of the others don't. Payne is hilarious, as is Ripper (best dance moves ever). Oh, a note- most people here end up getting called some sort of nickname relating to their last names. Thankfully they haven't started with the "Link" jokes yet, and I'm perfectly okay with Abomb and Death Adder.

I am still hoping to get closer with the other Americans here, although they're very cliquey. I went to the aquarium with them last Sunday and mostly hung out with Carissa, who also came on her own. It's sort of a weird situation, but I'm continually told that I'm the favorite American at Whitley, so I guess I can't complain.

I haven't really made any friends at Uni yet, but I do know people in basically all of my classes, and see people EVERYWHERE. It's almost like being at Bryn Mawr, except with more people and more boys. It's only awkward on Wednesdays when I'm there by myself and I have lunch alone, although I always have reading to do. I was under the impression that there would be less reading to do here than at home but there is definitely a whole lot more. Actually Conall's dad is the worst with assigning lots of reading, especially since it's Freud. I can handle it all pretty well, and eventually I'm sure it'll come to the point where I'll know what I actually have to read and what I don't, but it's a little overwhelming after having not done much for the months I've been here.

In any case, I do, contrary to what you all may believe, miss being home (although by home I mostly mean Bryn Mawr). I have had a lot of moods (aka I've been listening to a lot of Bright Eyes and Radiohead) this week of just being overwhelmed by things, and felt terribly homesick on Monday. I miss Hannah and Alicia the most, and miss being able to call Dad and talk to him about books. (Oh! I went to the Ballieau, which is the big library on campus just to explore yesterday- it's basically the greatest library on earth. I think it has replaced my love for Swat's library). I do like having books in my room, and a bought a few posters that I'll probably give to members of the family, so my room doesn't feel quite like a prison cell anymore. I have changed the properties on this blog to allow everyone to comment, so please comment because I miss you! Or even better, email me! Or Facebook me! I will try to respond, but I really do like getting little notes just to know that people are still thinking about me. Anyway, I should probably shave my legs since I'm going to a cocktail party tonight in the city and need to look beautiful, so I will end my ramblings for now.