Last week was another great week, although fairly uneventful compared to some I’ve had this semester. The biggest distinguishing factor was that it was my last full week in Melbourne. On Monday, I went to all my classes, which was a small victory for me considering it was the last week of the semester and all my assignments were finished except for finals. There was a lot of good review, though, so it was helpful that I showed upJ. Later that night, I went to an “Australia/Callie’s Farewell” party with all my church friends. It was SUCH a fun night! Everyone brought his or her favorite Australian snacks (except for me… I represented America with some peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches and muddy buddiesJ). Everyone LOVED the muddy buddies! We all hung out and then watched “Castle”… a movie full of very Australian humor. It was fun watching it after being here the full semester – I understood and appreciated most of itJ. On Tuesday, I slept in a bit, which felt GREAT, then had a normal rest of the day (class, run, watched a movie). In the evening, my housemates and I were all hanging out and lamenting about the fact that our house dinner planned for Wednesday was falling apart since Michael (the cook for the week) was going to be gone. It was about 10pm and Stefanie and I decided that we were going to save the day! We went to the store and got everything Michael needed to make Tiramisu (his chosen dessert of the week) and we had midnight “house dinner” with everyone. It was SO great! It was our last full house dinner/hangout before everyone starts traveling and heading home. The last little bit has been weird because I still have awhile before I go home and say “bye” for good, but I’ve already had to start goodbyes to some people that I won’t see between now and when I leave. I’m definitely caught in a weird transition phase and everything about this time is bittersweet. Anyway, Wednesday was a fun day. I went to class in the morning, did a bit of work on campus and then met up with my friend, Marisa for coffee. It was great to see her and hang out a bit – she’s one that I might not see again before leaving. After coffee I went running and then got ready for dinner. Stefanie and I decided the night before when we were saving the day that we both wanted dumplings for dinner the next night, so we made it happenJ. Of course, we invited Camille and a few other friends and made it a party in Chinatown. It was really fun and as always, the food was delicious! On Thursday, I decided to spend the day in the city. I started at the Queen Victoria Markets and then made my way to Starbucks. I worked there for a while before getting hungry and finding lunch at Grill’d. It is a delicious burger place in Australia!... seriously, SO good. Thursday evening was low key – I studied a bit and finished watching Mrs. DoubtfireJ. Friday was a workday and I spent most of it at the Library. When I came home in the afternoon, I was so tired that I took a nap… it was the BEST! I don’t take naps often (or really ever), but I was definitely overtired and it felt so good. On Saturday, I woke up early and headed to the city again. I wanted to go to a cool Egyptian exhibit at the Melbourne Museum, but when I got there, it was all pre-booked and sold out for the day. Plan B was essentially repeating my awesome day from Thursday… went to Starbucks and read, ate lunch at Grill’d and wandered through the Queen Victoria Markets. That night, Camille and I flipped between Sister Act and Seventeen Again – both movies were showing on TVJ. Sunday, I woke up and went to church. It was my last time attending as the next two weekends I’ll be out of town and then I’ll be home. After church, we all went out to lunch and then I had to say my first round of goodbyes. It was sad, but cool knowing that I was able to meet so many wonderful people. Immediately after I got home that afternoon, Camille and I left to go to the Royal Botanic Gardens just outside of the city. It was such a beautiful evening and so fun to spend some quality time together. We see each other often, but it was nice to hang out just one on one. On Monday, I slept in a bit and then Camille and I made homemade pancakes together. When we were coming back from the Botanic Gardens, Camille had said they sounded good and when we discovered that we already had all the ingredients we needed, we couldn’t NOT make themJ. It was a delicious way to start the day! After I did a few errands, I went to the city again, got some coffee and read. I came back and worked on some homework and then played cards with Camille and Michael before going to bed. Today (Tuesday), I spent time at the library studying for finals (even though I only have to pass my classes, which means for most of my classes, simply showing up and putting my name on the final will be good enoughJ), and packing for Sydney. I leave tomorrow morning and will spend the night with Holli before meeting my family at the airport Thursday morning!! I can’t wait to see everyone… it’s going to be a GREAT two weeks in AUSTRALIAJ. Life is good.
