This Past Week

So now to thoroughly confuse everyone, I’m going to post an entry about this past week so that I stay somewhat current amidst my attempts to write about New Zealand.  Last week was fairly focused on school and getting caught up after getting back from my trip.  I focused on getting caught up on sleep firstJ and then turned my attention to my mounds of homework.  Monday morning I began my Middle East Politics simulation.  It has been crazy!  I’m playing Barack Obama and it is SO much work.  I had no idea how time consuming it would be.  I’m legitimately spending hours answering emails from world leaders, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and other players.  It’s been a really cool experience, though.  I’ve learned more about the Middle East and the conflicts of that region in the past week than I ever have in my life.  It’s pretty incredible!  But like I said, it’s a lot of work.  In the past 5 days, I’ve sent about 150 emails through our online interface and had a couple hour-long meetings with other players to discuss our policies and progress.  I only have one more week of it, though, which is nice.  And seeing as it counts for 50% of my grade, I’m trying to stay engagedJ.  Besides the simulation, I also spent time researching and writing an essay for my Sex and Gender in History class.  I finished that Friday morning and turned it in a couple hours before it was due.  To reward myself for such a great week of hard work, I decided to play a little bit on SaturdayJ.  I woke up before my alarm, but didn’t fret as I had a lot of work still to do.  I put on Robin Hood (the Disney movie) and enjoyed some Saturday cartoons while I responded to emails and worked on my simulation.  After the movie, I did a bit more work, ran, and then got ready to go to the city.  Camille and Michael and I all went to an Australian Rules football game (a footy game).  It was my first one and was really fun!  Footy is like a cross between rugby and American football with players that look like a cross between wrestlers and football players.  The game is super rough, but it’s fun to watch, as all the players are really athletic and impressive.  Also, the fans are crazy!  They’re probably my favorite part.  Everyone wears their team colors and scarves were a really big deal… everyone had a team scarf on.  It reminded me of Harry Potter and the quidditch matches where everyone wears his or her house colors and scarves.  I decided to support Richmond (a suburb near Burwood where I live) and they ended up winning!  It was so exciting.  After the game, the three of us went to Mojo’s Weird Pizza for dinner.  It was Camille’s and my second time, but we LOVE it!  This time I got the “Go Bananas” pizza.  It was SO weird and SOOOO good.  It consisted of bacon, bananas, brown sugar, sweet chili sauce, chili flakes, cream cheese and cheese.  It was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten.  After weird pizza, Michael went to meet a friend and Camille and I went to the Skydeck in the city.  It’s the 88^th floor of a building in Melbourne and provides incredible views of the city!  It’s really impressive – Melbourne is so beautiful at night.  After the Skydeck, Camille and I went to Young and Jacksons – a bar downtown that has really fun live music on Saturday nights.  We danced and had a great time!  This morning (Sunday) I went to church for the first time in a couple weeks since I was gone before, and it was a great service, but made me miss my mom.  It was Mother’s Day and the entire service was a tribute to moms.  It was beautiful and helped me realize how incredibly blessed I am to have such an inspiring mentor, loving caregiver, unconditional supporter and genuine friend as my mom.  I spent the rest of the day working on my simulation, blog and other random projects.  I have another big week coming up, but it’ll be great.  My time here is flying by.  My family will be here in about a month and I will be home in about 6 weeks!  I can’t believe it.  I’m just trying to soak it all in and live every moment.  I’m doing a pretty good jobJ.  I’m loving each day and, as always, life is good.