A Little Bit of Routine Feels Good.

The last couple days have been pretty uneventful, but good.  Wednesday, I had a lecture in the morning and then went to the gym, came home for a shower and lunch and then headed back to campus for a tutorial in the afternoon.  My afternoon tutorial was for my only 100 level class – Australia New World Nation (Australian history after 1901).  It should be interesting.  The actual tutorial was painfully boring as it was aimed at addressing all the needs of a first year student (where to find resources, how to do an oral presentation, etc.)  My professor is a sweet old lady.  She gave a brief introduction to herself at the start of class and I’m pretty sure that was the most interesting part of the hour.  She started teaching high school after college and then taught in international schools all over the world for about 3-4 years at a time with 1-2 years back in Australia in between.  She just kept listing countries she’d taught in and all I could think was “what a cool life!”  I’d love to teach abroad somedayJ.  After I finished class, I got some sushi (I LOVE sushi nowJ) and a coffee at Café Ava.  I was talking with my friend from church who graduated from Deakin and she said that the coffee there was her favorite on campus and I needed to try it.  It was so good!  Everything here is about twice as expensive as in the states, so most mornings I make instant coffee at home.  It’s pretty good, but not the same as an espresso.  It does make me appreciate a good cup of coffee when it comes along, thoughJ.  I did a little bit of reading over my coffee and then walked home.  The evening was pretty quiet, but I did get to hang out with my housemates again.  They’re SO fun!  I really like spending time with them.  Everyone has such unique and strong personalities (not to mention accentsJ), which makes the discussions lively and the laughter plenty.  Today (Thursday), I woke up early and headed to Chadstone Shopping Centre, the “Largest Mall in the Southern Hemisphere”J.  It’s a big deal here, but I’ve definitely been in bigger… thank you America.  I had a few things that I wanted to buy, but I also just wanted to explore a bit.  I got a map of Australia for my wall, which will be great as I plan trips, a couple Disney movies to add to my small collection of classics, a candle that reminds me of home, and most importantly CANDY!  I found American candyJ.  Australia has peanut butter, but they don’t eat a lot of peanut butter foods, for example, Reese’s Pieces or Peanut Butter M&Ms (my favorites!)… OR... peanut butter cookies!  I had the biggest craving for a peanut butter cookie while I was at the mall and I literally walked around for almost three hours and didn’t find a single food cart, restaurant, or store that sold any kind of peanut butter baked good.  I was sorely disappointed, but I bought peanut butter and I’m going to bake some myself this weekendJ.  I also bought vegetables from the fresh market and chicken from the butcher.  I came back and went to the gym and then class, then came home and made a DELICIOUS dinner for myself… baked chicken, asparagus and potatoes.  It was excellent.  All in all, the last couple days were great and somewhat “normal”.  It’s nice having a bit of routine in my life again.  I don’t have any class on Fridays, so I am also officially on weekendJ.  I have a few fun plans for the next couple days and can’t wait to do some more exploring and hang out with some of my friends.  Just living the life… and life is goodJ.