For some reason Blogspot on this computer is in.... possibly Japanese???

My weekend in Sydney was absolutely amazing. Shilton was a wonderful host/tour guide and managed to show me the major attractions in the course of a day and a half. She will hopefully be coming down to Melbourne for my 21st at Perseverance with a few of her friends so that I can return the favour by letting her sleep on my floor :) We both came to the realization at the end of my visit that we should definitely hang out when we get back to Bryn Mawr. Sunday was the most random day- there was some cultural festival so there were crazy Asian events everywhere (like sychronized knife chopping). We saw the Opera House, Darling Harbour, the Rocks, the Botanical Gardens, took a ferry to Manly Beach, had breakfast/cocktails in Newtown, and had a farewell gathering of goon and tim tams on top of the International House. It was really an amazing trip and I'm looking forward to going back to Sydney and staying with Rafal, whom I actually got to have lunch with while I was in town as well. Overall, first half of my crazy impromtu break was good.

Currently I'm sitting in an internet cafe in glorious Salamanca place in Hobart, Tasmania. Despite having to wake up at 5:30 this morning after going to bed at 3, I am functioning surprisingly well. I had no trouble getting to the airport and slept for the entirety of my two hour flight. When we landed I was greeted by an expansive panoramic view of green mountains and blue sky filled with puffy clouds. It's breathtaking here, although in a completely different way from Sydney. Today I'm mostly wandering around Hobart taking pictures and doing touristy things. There are a lot of really good art galleries and museums, so there is a lot of stuff to look at for free (and I like free after spending heaps of money in Sydney). Tomorrow I'm off on another crazy bus trip up the coast, although I doubt it will be as insane as my time with Team the Best. But we'll see. Anyway, I should probably end this since I'm paying a dollar for every ten minutes (and I'm distracted because the guy running this place is rather attractive).

Keep leaving me comments- they make me feel loved :)

Team the Best

So I'm in Sydney! Yay! I haven't actually seen anything yet because I woke up not too long ago. I'm currently typing in my hostel waiting for Shilton to show up so she can show me where things are. So far my random crazy adventure trip has been really fun and I've made a lot of friends already. I am excited for Tasmania and can't believe that I have done so much in the course of three days. I am slighly anxious about getting back to Melbourne just because I realized the other day that my computer really doesn't work, which means I'm going to have to find an alternate way of saving pictures/writing papers/facebooking. I already have a ton of pictures from my three day trip to Sydney, as well as from the silverchair/Powderfinger concert (which was absolutely glorious by the way!!)

I am feeling slightly better health wise, although I look like death and everything I own is dirty. Hopefully I'll be able to organize and clean up a bit while I'm staying with Steph. I'm hoping to get in touch with Rafal today once I figure out what's going on, but so far I'm just playing it all by ear and it's working rather nicely.

I really enjoyed the fact that I was the only American on my bus trip (and was appropriately nicknamed "Team America"). It was mostly Brits actually, an Irishman, two members of Dane-land, and a couple of Koreans. Really cool group for the most part. I'll put pictures up from everything once I have a functioning computer.

So yeah, don't worry about anything, I'm having fun, I'm safe, and I am truly having an adventure. Miss you all! Leave me comments/send me love!

LONG OVERDUE ENTRY

I realize it's been a LONG time since my last post, but there are a few reasons for this:
1) I was in a play
2) I had 6000 words to write in a week and a half
3) I got sick
4) I've been planning my spring break
5) My computer broke

Therefore, let me attempt to update on what has happened in my life since the beginning of September.

On the first Thursday of September, I ended up finally meeting with my Australian cousin, Rafal. He's the most delightful mix between a stereotypical Polish guy and an Aussie it's ridiculous. He also seems to have a fair bit of money (he was going to have his personal driver take me back to Whitley from the center of Melbourne). He also is very keen on getting to know me, and the American side of the family, better. This means he won't mind terribly when I come with two suitcases and knock on his door in November.

The weekend of the 8th was Grease weekend. It was really fun to do a musical again, even if I wasn't the lead. Before the Saturday show I went on a wine tasting in the Yarra Valley. This ended with me being ridiculously pissed and giddy- making my choreographed moves for Grease much more over the top than they usually are. The winery tour was absolutely lovely- we went to four different wineries, had a wine and cheese picnic, drank wine on the bus, and generally enjoyed the weather and the company. I really appreciated the fact that most of the people on the tour were international students and not Americans.

I really wish my computer was working right now.

Anyway, Grease went tremendously well- I took tons of photos which I may or may not be able to show you, depending on whether or not my computer is revivable or not. I am really glad that I was involved in the production since it helped me to get closer with a lot of people from Whitley.

Last week was essentially the week from hell. Post-Grease brought the realization that I had three papers due on Friday, once of them being a research paper that I hadn't done any research for yet. It also meant that my break was around the corner and I hadn't made any travel plans yet. Someone, I managed to write three really good papers and arrange some sort of travel plans. I am traveling by myself, but I'm pretty excited about what I'm doing.

So far, I have gone to Glo Camp with a group of people from Whitley, which, although religiously based, actually wasn't that religious but was TONS of fun. Like my experience with Grease, Glo Camp really let met get to know people a lot better. The theme of the camp was secret agents, and my agency was "Control." We won all of the activities (including trivia night) and had strong comebacks from behind each time. We were an absolutely terrific team.

I've come to the realization that I am far more skillful at doing certain things here than I am at home. This namely applies to physical/athletic/social things. I organized a volleyball match yesterday (and appropriately declared my team the Mozzies after the mosquitos that were attacking us all weekend) and had a victorious win. I kayaked (and fell out into really cold water, which probably hasn't helped my cold much). I went sailing, played on the beach, ran around in the woods, got dirty, bruised, sore, and loved every minute of it. I love Australia so much and I'm really excited for what the rest of break has in store for me.

Tomorrow, I am going to see SILVERCHAIR AND POWERDERFINGER!!!!! I am going with a friend of mine from Uni (sadly not my blonde haired/blue eyed/Greek/Australian/Jewish future husband) who actually reminds me a lot of Christine. Wednesday I am going to see Hairspray with Emma, and then I leave Thursday for my grand adventure.

Thursday: I am leaving Whitley at 6 in the morning to leave on my three day bus trip to Sydney. I'll be going to Wilson's Prom and more of Gippsland where I spent this past weekend.
Friday: More hiking in Snowy River area, Mt. Kosciusko, and general outdoorsiness. Basically lots of really nice views and fresh air.
Saturday: Heading to Sydney with a stop in Canberra. I am hoping to stay with Steph Hilton in Sydney for a few days and see some things, if not I may end up calling Rafal.
Tuesday morning: Flying out of Sydney for Hobart, Tasmania. Spending the day in Hobart, probably resting from the madness that will likely occur in Sydney over the weekend.
Wednesday: Checking out Port Arthur and Australia's delightful convict history.
Thursday: Tassie beach day.
Friday: Beaches, waterfalls, rainforests, etc. Ending in Launceston.
Friday night: Going to Claire's house!! Staying with her and going to Cradle Mountain until Sunday morning.
Sunday: Taking a bus to Devonport, where I'll be taking the Spirit of Tasmania back to Melbourne.

So that's roughly my break. There will definitely be some spontaneous things that happen in between, but that is part of the reason I'm really excited. I am really enjoying this ability to just do whatever whenever and have it not really matter that much. My grades are fine (I got my first paper back last week and did surprisingly well), I'm happy, I'm sick but getting better, and nothing really can ruin it. It would be lovely if my computer worked, but I am optimistic that someone can figure out what's wrong with it and get it back to normal so that I can show you all the wonderful pictures I've been taking. Otherwise Facebook might have to be all that's left of my time in Australia :)

Anyhow, my computer doesn't work, so don't expect me to be on Facebook much/terribly prompt with emails. I will be leaving Thursday morning, so you'll hear even less from me after that. I miss you all and hope that this entry helped relieve any worries/curiosities/etc. I'm alive and I'm thriving and therefore you should not be concerned.

American Gridiron

This past weekend was the weekend of Aussie Rules Football, otherwise known as the greatest game of all time. After having seen several footy matches since I've been here, the opportunity was presented for me to actually get to play the game. After sever frustrating training sessions and much confusion, game day presented itself this past Saturday. Moderately hung over from the house warming party the night before and exhausted from Grease rehearsals/general madness, the first match of Girls' footy was not my shining moment. Yet despite my lack of talent, I was so pumped. The Whitley girls were all given footy nicknames, mine being "Chains" (the sheer brilliance of nicknames here continues to astound me). Rumor had gone round to other colleges that Whitley had two "American gridirons" on its team- namely myself and Carissa. We got all geared up and got ready to "put the bitches down" as they say here in Australia. Here we are in our footy attire, completely with war paint:

The actual games themselves did not go so well- we lost all three. However, I had a personal win in that I learned how to kick correctly, which boosted my confidence well enough that in the second match I was about to get a mark (a catch) and a free kick. It was pretty awesome actually, and I'm excited to possibly play some sort of organized sport once I get back to Bryn Mawr (maybe rugby?) A couple of the girls got some injuries- I actually tripped on the way to the oval and got a bloody lip. Carissa got some really nice bruises. One of the girls popped her knee and another got a minor concussion. But seriously, it was the most fun I have had in a LONG time and I will really miss playing it back home. Here is a shot of the team goofing off after a long day of hard playing:

While the girls may not have fared so well, the Whitley boys did us proud. It was the Boys' footy grand final this weekend against St. Mary's, and we SLAUGHTERED THEM. I was so proud to be from Whitley, and despite the fact two of the boys got really bad black eyes, one of them has a messed up ankle now, and basically all of them got bruised and bloody knees, Whitley morale was at an extreme high. We all put on Whitley gear and went to Bridie's for celebratory drinks. Today the team even got to sit at high table for hall. It's a big deal, and I couldn't be happier to be at Whitley. Here are a couple shots of the team/Bridie's:

In other news, I spent some time this weekend hanging out with Antonio and Sneha. The house warming party on Friday was a lot of fun, and I saw a ton of people I haven't seen since I got to Melbourne. I also met this absolutely delightful British boy named Andy, whom I went out with last night on a rather spontaneous date for dinner on Lygon street. He is definitely at the top of my "list of potential boyfriends" right now, so hopefully there will be updates concerning this matter. Otherwise things have been pretty much the same- getting ready for Grease to open this weekend, writing some assignments, attempting to stay motivated to do work, waiting to see whether or not I'm going anywhere for break, looking for just the right person to come see silverchair with me, etc. I am experiencing a bit of nostalgia for Bryn Mawr since people are beginning to put pictures up on facebook from Customs Week. Have a great Parade night girls- I miss you and I'll see you all soon!!!

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 :)