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.       

New Zealand: Day 3 & 4

Day 3 (Mon. April 25^th)

On Monday, we woke up early to catch our bus up to the Bay of Islands.  Camille and I booked a three-day trip with a company called Kiwi Experience that provides cool sightseeing trips for 18-25 year olds backpacking and traveling.  They provide your transportation all over New Zealand and help you book accommodations and activities wherever you go.  We decided to go to the Bay of Islands – an area of TONS of islands almost at the northernmost point of the north island of New Zealand.  It’s beautiful!  It poured rain for the entire bus ride, but the countryside was so incredibly green that despite the storm, I couldn’t help but stare in awe out the window.  We arrived in Paihia (pie-ee-uh) around noon and once Camille and I problem-solved a huge transportation miscommunication fiasco for our departure on Wednesday, we took off on a long walk with our new friend Carrie.  She was on our bus up to the bay and asked to come walk with us.  She was really cool.  She had just finished a year working for BBC and was heading to work for Al Jazeera at the end of her trip.  It was really interesting to hear her story.  I think that’s been one of my favorite parts of traveling – meeting so many interesting people.  Anyway, we set off during a short break in the rain, but don’t worry, it resumed its steady downpour once we’d reached the point when I no longer could go back to get my raincoatJ.  We followed a walking trail around an inlet, through a sanctuary forest, and eventually found Haruru falls.  As we ventured through the forest, we eventually came to a cool bridge across the inlet that led us to an even cooler bridge through a mangrove forest!  For those that don’t know mangroves are a really interesting kind of tree that lives in swamp areas in Australia… and apparently New Zealand.  Their roots grow up out of the water to get air, but the actual tree sits in water.  It’s cool.  Anyway, the falls were beautiful and I realized that it was the perfect place to walk to in the rain because they don’t care if they’re wet, so I tried to not care that I was wet too.  Our walk ended up being about 10 miles.  It was long and wet, but still fun and very beautiful.  After we’d gotten back and sufficiently dried off, Camille and I went down to the wharf and sat at a little café and just talked while I sipped on a coffee.  Later, we went back to the hostel for a big BBQ that the hostel put on.  It was really delicious!  I love BBQs… especially the way they do them here.  Pretty much everyone from the hostel went to the BBQ and it was fun socializing and making more friends, but then I realized how tired I was and called it a night pretty earlyJ.   

Day 4 (Tues. April 26^th)

On Tuesday, Camille and I woke up early again to catch the bus for our day trip up the North coast.  Our first stop was a Kauri forest (pronounced like cordy).  The trees are massive!  They can grow to be 4000 years old, although the ones we saw were estimated to be barely 1000 years old.  The oldest Kauri tree is in a different area of the North Island and it is called Tane Mahuta (tah-une-eh mah-hoot-ah) by the Maori people.  It means “God of the Forest”… I thought that was cool.  After the Kauri forest, we drove down Highway 1A to some sand dunes.  Oh, by the way, Highway 1A is also referred to as “Ninety Mile Beach”… yes, their beach is a highway!  It was so strange to drive on sand, but mostly just coolJ.  We made it to the dunes, which were huge!  The driver parked and we all grabbed the body boards and started trekking up the side of the biggest dune.  And then it was time to lay down face first on your board and do your best not to dieJ.  Seriously, it was scary, but such a rush and really fun!  After scraping sand off every surface of my body, I boarded the bus and we continued to the most precious, secluded beach for lunch.  It was beautiful, quiet and perfect.  I could have stayed there all day, but we were given about 20 minutes to enjoy it and then we were off again.  Our next stop was Cape Reinga – the northernmost point on the North Island and where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet.  It was incredible!  The water was so pure and the force that exploded in each wave was beyond words.  The two bodies of water are in constant opposition, yet somehow it’s beautiful.  It made me think about ancient mythology and how I could definitely understand the cultural significance that Cape Reinga has for the Maori culture.  There is a single tree that sticks out of the side of cliff along the point and the Maori believe that this tree is where the souls of their dead go to make the journey back to the sea and the afterlife.  The tree has been there for as long as the Maori peoples’ oral history goes back and even though those trees typically flower every December, that specific tree has never been known to blossom.  Maori people still make the pilgrimage to Cape Reinga to wish their departed off and to mourn loss.  It is a deeply spiritual and powerful place.  After that stop, we went to a Kauri wood shop.  This place was really neat!  A farmer a few years ago was trying to build a fence and encountered something really hard when he was putting the posts in the ground.  He dug around the area and realized it was a huge tree!... a Kauri tree.  He dug around a bit more and discovered that a forest had been buried under his land.  Because of the swamp-like conditions, the wood had been perfectly persevered.  After some investigation, it was discovered that a huge tsunami had knocked down the entire forest and buried it… 40,000 years ago!  The forest of preserved Kauri wood is being harvested and this shop that we stopped at makes furniture and other cool trinkets out of the crop.  It was super impressive!  There was the coolest spiral staircase that I have ever seen in my life, carved out of the trunk of a piece of the biggest Kauri harvested.  It was so impressive!  After the woodshop, we went to Mongonui (mong-ug-new-ee) for a fish and chips dinner.  The fish shop we ate at is famous within New Zealand for having the best fish and chips… I fully agree!!  Their secret is that they have their own boat and catch all the fish they serve daily.  When we arrived at 5pm, we ate the fish that had been brought in from the boat at 4pm.  It was SO fresh and SO delicious!  Also, we sat overlooking the harbor where the fish was caught and watched the sunset while we ate.  It was perfect.  That moment is one of my favorites from the entire trip.  After we finished eating we loaded the bus again.  The sun finished setting as we drove – it was so peaceful and beautiful.  Once we got back, Camille and I decided that we wanted ice cream so we went to the small store in town and bought ice cream bars and then went down to the beach and ate them and gazed at the stars.  They were so bright!  And I saw the Milky Way!!  It was so cool.  After we’d enjoyed the night sky for a while, we went back to the hostel and checked emails, showered, packed and went to bed.    

New Zealand: Days 1 & 2

As I’m sure many of you know, I spent my Easter break in New Zealand.  It was INCREDIBLE!  I had so many awesome adventures and fun experiences.  This blog will be posted in sections as I find time to write about all the cool things Camille and I did throughout the week. 

Day 1 (Sat. April 23^rd)

I traveled with my housemate and friend, Camille - she is the one from London.  We left around 8am for the airport as it takes awhile to get there on public transport.  We flew out of Melbourne mid-day.  I had a great flight (watched a movie) and we made it to Auckland without any problems.  It was strange, though, going through the airports, as I’d forgotten that New Zealand was its own country.  It may sound ridiculous, but in my mind, they’re always associated and so I hadn’t even thought about how we’d have to go through customs and security a million times.  But it was simple – they only took my apple.  We flew into Auckland as the sun was setting and it was GORGEOUS.  I decided about 3 minutes before our plan touched down that I loved New Zealand and I didn’t want to ever leave.  Clearly, I did… but still, it was really beautifulJ.  We took a bus from the airport to our hostel, put our stuff down and then decided to explore a bit.  We saw a sign for free pizza at the hostel, so took advantage of that for dinner.  After we walked around and just took in the city.  A few things I noticed right away is that 1. There are many more indigenous people in New Zealand than I’ve ever seen in Australia.  It was really cool.  They actually have Maori language on many of the signs.  2. There are many more American stores in New Zealand than in Australia.  I saw Dunkin Donuts, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Starbucks, The Body Shop, etc.  It was comfortingJ.  After walking around for a while, we decided to go to the Skytower and view the city all lit up.  It was an incredible view!  It was really similar to the Space Needle, except higher.  After we finished there, we found a place with coffee and free wifi so that I could email my parents and let them know I’d made it safely.  After that, we headed back to the hostel for bed.

Day 2 (Sun. April 24^th)

On Sunday, we woke up and went to church for Easter.  The church I’d found was St. Matthews and it was very close to our hostel in the city.  It was a progressive Christian congregation and an incredibly interesting experience.  It was formal, similar to a Catholic service, but the pastor preached a much more liberal message than I was used to hearing.  The congregation was very small, but incredibly diverse – Maori people, homeless people, elderly people, teenagers, families – an incredible mix.  One thing that was tough was that the hymnals were printed in both English and Maori language.  It took me awhile to realize what was happening with that… a sweet old lady had to keep helping me turn the page to where I needed to be… a little embarrassing, but I eventually figured it outJ.  Once I did, I realized how cool it was that both languages were represented and how it created a sense of inclusion.  I do not know how common Maori language is within New Zealand, but it is neat to know that it is being preserved, at least within Christian hymnals.  After church, Camille and I went to Denny’s for our Easter breakfast.  Camille was SO excited about this.  She’d never been to a Denny’s before and couldn’t wait to experience it.  Her Dad is from Pennsylvania and she is very familiar with American things, but hasn’t experienced a lot of it on her limited visits to the States.  Initially, I wasn’t super stoked about our “special Easter breakfast” being at Denny’s, but her enthusiasm was contagious and her smile was enough to convince me that this was the best way to celebrateJ.  It was interesting to note the differences in the menu – my traditional breakfast came with cooked mushrooms and tomatoes as well as the typical American hash browns and eggs.  Don’t get me wrong, I love vegetables, but it’s still just a bit strange to see them on my breakfast plate.  After breakfast, we began our exploration of Auckland.  We wandered around the waterfront, through the central business district and through some of their parks.  After hours of walking around, we decided to take a break and went and saw the movie “Limitless”.  It was fun to go to a movie – it’s been awhile since I’ve watched any – and it was nice to have a break for our tired feet.  After the movie, we set out to find dinner and ended up at a restaurant on the waterfront.  It was beautiful and had delicious food.  Following dinner we found hot chocolate and pulled out my trusty deck of cards for a few games of rummy before calling it a night.  On our way back to the hostel, we stopped to get a snack for breakfast the next day and they had cheap bananas!!  I was SO excited.  Because of the cyclone in Queensland earlier this year and the mass destruction of Australia’s crop, bananas are SO expensive here.  I have been missing them tons.  It was such a treat to indulge in them throughout the week in New Zealand.  The rest of that night was spent getting caught up on emails, showering and then sleeping! J. 

Grades, Hairspray, Weird Pizza and Good Friday

This has been a BIG week!  On Monday, I got to skype my parents in the morning.  It was so great to see them… I love our weekly chatsJ.  After that I headed to class where I got my first paper back.  I got a D.  Well, a “distinction”.  The grades are different here and they don’t really equate to grades in the States, except that I know I passed, which is all I needJ.  It’s funny, though, because I feel like I’m in grade school again where I could get an “S” or an “E” or an “N” (satisfactory, excellent, needs improvement).  It makes me laughJ.  After class, I went to sign up for a role in my Middle East Politics simulation.  My professor had originally advised that we choose roles that would challenge us either because we were unfamiliar with our character or disagreed with their views.  When I got to her office, she asked me to play Barack Obama.  She needed someone to fill that role and she thought I’d be good.  It won’t be a huge stretch, but it should be fun and really interesting!  After a couple more classes, I headed home for the evening, ate dinner and watched Shrek with Camille and Stefanie.  It was a fun night!  On Tuesday, I woke up early and headed to the city to a Christian bookstore to get a travel bible and then went to Chadstone (a huge mall) to make some returns.  I also got my computer battery fixed at the Apple store.  I LOVE Apple.  They make everything so easy.  My computer is working great now! J.  After hurrying back from the mall, I made a quick lunch and headed to campus for my afternoon classes.  After class, I tried to go play the piano, but the guy who unlocks the building for me wasn’t there, so I just came home.  I’m really excited to come home and have a piano available whenever I want to play.  Holli and I spent a lot of time brainstorming things we LOVE about Australia and things we LOVE about home while she was here.  Piano is definitely on my list of things I LOVE about homeJ.  Since piano didn’t end up working out, I decided to run instead.  It was short, but good.  Tuesday evening, was filled with homework, but was productiveJ.  Also, I tried my bacon cheetos – yes, BACON cheetos.  They were very strange, but pretty delicious if you’re craving some serious junk food.  On Wednesday, I woke up and went to class then worked on some homework.  Then I decided that Nutella was my new favorite thingJ.  In the afternoon, I went back to campus to do a presentation for my 100-level Australian history class.  I had struggled to get the presentation done on time because my interest in the topic was seriously limited, but alas, I finished it and did a great jobJ.  My professor told me that I did excellent and she was giving me high marks, although, I don’t know how much that says when she was legitimately impressed that I had emailed the presentation to myself so I could open it on the computer to project my slides while I spoke.  She asked if I had done that before and when I told her yes, she said, “oh well, you are part of this technologically minded generation.  You all just know how stuff like that works.  It’s incredible.”  It was really funny.  I might have gotten bonus points just for opening my presentationJ.  Also, after I finished, one of the girls in my class said, “not only was your information great, your slides were SO pretty.”  I used a template from PowerPoint so I wasn’t exactly sure what to say.  But, regardless, my presentation went well, and I was SO happy that it was over.  After class, I walked home and changed quickly and then met some friends at the tram to head into the city.  Annie, Marisa and I went to Hairspray (the musical) downtown.  It was SOOOOOOO good.  I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing and just loving every minute.  When we left, we were all so excited about life and were laughing, singing and dancing the whole way homeJ.  It made me wish my life were a musical.  Thursday was another good day.  I woke up early and got some homework done and then had class in the afternoon.  After class, I went to Richmond with Camille to get some weird pizza.  The restaurant is called Mojo’s Weird Pizza and it was SO good.  They have the most ridiculous combinations of toppings and some seriously WEIRD pizza.  There was one that was essentially nachos on a pizza, and one with banana.  I got one with peppers, salami, and jalapenos.  Camille’s had prosciutto ham, parsley and pears.  It was so fun and a delicious dinner!  After dinner we headed into the city to go to the skydeck (floor 88 of a very tall building).  We were about 2 minutes away and it started pouring rain!  By the time we got there, the clouds were so low that we wouldn’t have been able to see anything, so we just turned around and headed home.  I was bummed – rained out again!  I’ll get there at some point.  Today (Friday) was a really good day, although slightly different than I’d planned.  I woke up early to do laundry so I could pack for my trip and then headed to church for Good Friday.  It was such an excellent service!  The sermon was great and I got to see all my church friends againJ.  After church I was planning to head to Richmond to do some errands and then check out a fun café I’d seen from the train, but it’s Good Friday, and apparently that’s a big deal here!  It’s a public holiday and there is actually a trade ban.  Everything is closed on Good Friday… EVERYTHING.  There is more closed today than on Easter or Christmas.  It is so crazy, but actually pretty cool.  It’s just strange to be in a country with religious holidays – I didn’t even think about.  Since my busy day of fun in the city was altered by the holiday, I decided to just go home and ended up watching a movie and having a lazy afternoon – not a bad alternativeJ.  I leave tomorrow morning for my Easter break trip to New Zealand.  I’m SO excited!!!!  It’s going to be a great trip.  I will blog and provide pictures when I get backJ.  I’m still loving Australia and starting to feel like a local.  It’s really fun!  Life is so good.         

Health, Holli and Happiness

Well, it’s been over a week since I’ve written, but great news!... I’m HEALTHY!  It feels amazing.  Maybe that’s the reason we get sick?... so that we appreciate when we’re healthy even moreJ.  Regardless, I’m loving life!  It’s been a big week.  I left off on last Saturday – I got to skype my parents that morning and that was awesome!  I was definitely feeling homesick being sick so far from home.  It was nice to see their facesJ.  Later that night, Holli (my friend from Whitworth that is studying in Sydney for the semester) came!  It was incredible to see her and get caught up.  I still felt pretty terrible (I was still running a fever), but I powered through – we had a lot to talk aboutJ.  Also, I had Domino’s pizza for the first time in Australia that night for dinner.  It was good, but nothing too special.  On Sunday, Holli and woke up for church.  I felt AWFUL, but I made it and it was fun for Holli to experience the church I’ve been going to and meet some of my church friends.  After that we went to lunch at the Dumpling King in Box Hill (the Chinese suburb) and then called it a day and watched Boy Meets World on my bed all afternoonJ.  On Monday, Holli went into the city for an adventure and I went to school.  We had tacos for dinner (I miss Mexican food here!) and played rummy afterwards.  It was a very laid-back evening and definitely perfectJ.  On Tuesday, Holli went to the city again to explore a little more and I met her for dinner after I was done at school.  We made our way to Lygon Street in Carlton (their Little Italy) and wandered until we found a restaurant that looked tempting.  We ended up at a place called Copperwood and it was the best Italian meal I’ve ever had!  It was DELICIOUS!  After dinner we walked down the street further and stumbled upon a gelato place with Nutella gelato – I had to get some.  SOO goodJ.  Also, by Tuesday, my fever had finally broken for good, which made me feel a million times better!  It was incredible.  I was healedJ.  We tried to go the skydeck (similar to the space needle – floor 88 of a building), but it was so rainy and cloudy that the ticket counter said it wasn’t worth our money that night.  We were bummed, but headed home for some more rummy – always a good alternativeJ.  On Wednesday, Holli took a day trip along the Great Ocean Road and I went to class and did homework.  Michael (my French roommate) cooked house dinner that night.  We had steak and potatoes au gratin.  It was SO good!  Afterwards, we played rummy (a lot of rummy was played last weekJ).  Holli got home late and we talked for a while before bed.  As we were about to go to sleep, we were talking about how she had to leave the next day and neither of us was ready to say goodbye.  So… she changed her flight and stayed a couple extra days!!  On Thursday, we had a slow morning and then went to campus and each worked on a little homework before getting sushi for lunch (Holli’s first ever sushi – she liked itJ).  After I finished with class, we went to the store and got stuff to make nachos for dinner.  Also, we watched Cinderella (I checked it out from the LibraryJ).  And, I got a care package from Casey!  It was awesome!!  On Friday, Holli and I had another slow day, which included a little Boy Meets World, a little shopping, and then another delicious dinner in Little Italy with two of my roommates and drinks at the Rooftop Bar in the city.  It was a beautiful night and such a fun way to spend the evening.  On Saturday, Holli left really early to fly back to Sydney.  I woke up at a reasonable hour and did some homework, ran and then got ready to head into the city again.  It was a couple of my friends’ birthdays last weekend and they celebrated together with a sushi dinner and then drinks at a fun pub in the city.  The sushi place was SO fun… the chef makes all the sushi fresh and then puts the plates on a conveyor belt and you just grab the ones you want.  It was really great and delicious.  And the pub was really fun too!  There was a live band that played all kinds of fun oldies and popular songs.  We danced and laughedJ.  I left the bar with my roommate and another friend and we went for a midnight snack at McDonalds before catching the tram home.  The people in front of us in line at McDonalds were HILARIOUS.  They loved that we were from the States!  It was so funny.  They kept repeating which states we were from and then saying they wanted to go there.  And then one of the girls goes, “Oh my gosh!  You guys are from the place in the movies.  You guys are like movie stars!”  It was pretty great.  I laughed hardJ.  Sunday was a pretty uneventful day.  I missed church because I forgot to set my alarmL.  But I was able to get some homework done, run, do some laundry, clean my room and go to the grocery store.  Also, I booked a flight to Sydney to go visit Holli in a month!  I figured it was the least I could do since she came all the way to visit meJ.  Today (Monday) was a pretty big day at school.  I got back my first assignment.  I got a D.  Well, a “distinction”J.  Their grading scale is different, which is confusing, except I know I passed! – that’s the most important.  I also got to skype with my parents, which is always great.  And I signed up for my Middle East Politics simulation and the professor asked me to play Barack Obama.  In class she had told us that we should try to pick a role that we are less familiar with or disagree with in order to challenge ourselves, but she needed someone without a partner who would do a good job, so Obama it is.  I’m REALLY excited to do the simulation.  It’s going to be crazy, but I think it will also be an incredible learning experience and really fun!  Okay, I think that’s everything.  A few unrelated thoughts: I leave for New Zealand in 5 days!  I found a new flavor of weet-bix that I can’t get enough of.  We have had the most beautiful autumn mornings the last few days.  I LOVE tim tams, sushi, nutella, and Australian coffee.  I’m more than halfway done with my semester here.  Time is flying by!  Having Holli here reenergized my excitement to see the city and truly experience Australia.  I’m excited to live every moment of my last two months.  Life is good!  I’m so blessedJ.         

I Got Sick

Well, it’s been another week since I’ve written, but it’s gone amazingly fast as I slept for literally the entire second half of it.  But, I’ll start at the beginning… Monday was fun day.  I went to my normal classes and worked out and then met Stefanie and Camille (my housemates) and we went to dinner at a dumpling restaurant in Box Hill (the Chinatown Suburb about 10 minutes from where I live).  It was really fun and SO delicious!  After we got back, I walked with Stefanie and Michael (another housemate) to the store for some juice and ice creamJ.  Tuesday was another good day.  I slept in a bit, went to class in the afternoon, did some homework and then went to two fitness classes on campus.  I tried out boxing and cycling.  They were both excellent and I got a great workout!  I came home and got showered and ready and then went with Camille, Stefanie and Michael to the Hawthorn Hotel for “Uni Night”.  A lot of students go each week for the discounted drinks and the good DJs they always have.  I had never gone, but had a great time!  It was like all the best parts of a high school dance – getting dressed up and really fun dance music.  All in all, it was a great night.  Wednesday morning I woke up for my 9am class and powered through the day.  I was tired from the late night, but I made it through my two classes and even managed some homework in betweenJ.  I came home and went to the store and then got ready for our house dinner.  My roommate Amar left Friday for a 2-week vacation and he wanted this week’s house dinner (his last before leaving) to be at one of his favorite Thai restaurants in Camberwell (20 minutes by tram).  It was delicious food and a fun evening!  It ended up just being Camille, Amar, Stefanie and myself, but we had a good time.  We got back around 9pm and I went straight to bed, as I was not feeling well.  I already knew I was getting sickL.  I woke up Thursday and then decided to not wake up.  I got out of bed about 3 times all day to eat and refill my juice, but otherwise took a series of 2-3 hour naps all day.  I had the worst sore throat, a fever and just hurt all over.  Friday I woke up and decided it was time to see a doctor.  I called the Deakin University Health Center and the receptionist told me that they didn’t have any more appointments with the doctor for the day, but that I could see the nurse.  The only problem was the nurse couldn’t write prescriptions or give referrals.  So… not very helpful.  I emailed my host coordinator here and got her recommendation for a doctor and she directed me to one right near the grocery store I go to.  I was able to get an appointment for that afternoon.  The doctor I saw was really nice and friendly.  He asked where I was from in the States and when I told him Washington, he said he had just booked his tickets for Kelowna, BC to go skiing next winter at Big White.  It was SO funny!  I told him I had just been there over Christmas and he started quizzing me about it and asking all kinds of questions.  If my throat hadn’t hurt so badly and I hadn’t been so focused on not passing out, I’m sure I would have appreciated it a lot more.  So, it turns out I have a bad cold/ flu that’s going around here (darn Australians getting me sick!), but the good news is that I WILL get betterJ.  The doctor was super helpful in what type of medicine I should get – it is all named differently here.  He told me I should get some of their Tylenol with codeine to help with my super swollen and painful sore throat and some decongestant medication.  I got back from the doctor’s at 4:30pm, slept until 9:30, got a piece of toast for dinner and went back to sleep for the night.  I had a very vivid dream about an alien invasion – thank you medicineJ.  I slept terribly most of the night as my fever kept breaking and then coming back, but when I woke up at 6:30am this morning, it had broken for good!  I felt a million times better.  I still have a headache, terrible sore throat and am weak and tired, but getting over the fever helped immensely!  I’m getting betterJ.  All in all, it’s not how I would have chosen to spend my last few days – all the extra sleep was good, all the pain was pretty terrible – but now I’ve had the experience of being sick in a foreign country.  I got to problem-solve finding a doctor, experience what a doctor’s office is like in Australia and learn the names of some medicines here.  It also gave me the opportunity to try some Australian chicken noodle soupJ.  It’s all part of the experience I guess.  I’m feeling better day-by-day.  Life is good.  

An Update for the Week...

I apologize for my lack of blog entries as of late: I’ll try and catch up on the happenings of last week.  Last Monday morning I got back from Cairns and STRUGGLED through the day.  I was so tired, getting back from the airport at 7am, showering and then going to Uni for a full day of classes.  It was rough, but I made it and got everything in order for the rest of the week.  On Tuesday, I had my first presentation in any of my classes.  (They LOVE presentations hereJ).  My topic was “Congress” - it was for my American Foreign Policy class.  I decided that I would do a case study of Charlie Wilson (a Texan Congressman that essentially acquired all the funding for the covert operation of funding Afghan troops in their war against the soviets during the Cold War).  I wanted to show that in some instances, Congress could prove to be a major player in foreign policy.  It was really funny, though, because in order to pursue a topic that wasn’t directly from our textbook (aka, something that was interesting), I had to get permission from my tutorial leader and the unit chair for the entire subject.  It was strange.  Apparently, creativity is not encouraged – at least in that class.  Regardless, I got permission and my presentation was excellent, if I do say so myselfJ.  We had a really good discussion afterwards and people seemed genuinely engaged – proJ.  After my classes for the day, I got to skype my parents for a little bit and then headed to the church near my house to get my weekly fill of piano and singing.  After that I went home and started homemade chili for our house dinner.  It was “American food” night and so my roommate Stefanie (Michigan) and I made chili and cornbread.  It was DELICIOUS!  Everyone really liked it.  Wednesday was a pretty chill day, class in the morning, the gym and a shower, then lunch with one of my church friends.  We ate at Einstein’s, our student-owned bar/bistro on campus.  It was really good.  I had another class in the afternoon and then came home and worked on a big paper that was due Friday.  On Thursday, I finished my big paper in the morning, went to class, went to zumba (it went better the second time around) and then went home for Girls’ Night.  Christina and Marisa (two of the girls I went to Cairns with) and my two girl roommates (Camille and Stefanie) and I all had virgin strawberry daiquiris, chips and guacamole, and chocolate chip cookie dough.  Once we were sufficiently stuffed full of delicious “American” food, we started the Hangover and laughed until our stomachs hurt from that.  It was a great night!  On Friday, I turned in my first Australian school assignment (my big paper), wrote my next big paper (not due until next Friday) and went on a great run through the Gardiner’s Creek Reserve.  It was beautiful and filled with people walking their dogs.  I’d go again just to walk past all those cute pupsJ.  It reminded me of the dog-walking scene from the cartoon version of 101 Dalmatians.  Once I got back from my run, I got showered and ready and went to a triple birthday party for some other exchange students I know.  It was a really fun night.  Saturday consisted of catching up on correspondence, research for my next paper, finishing my reading for my classes this week and then an impromptu, super fun night with my roommates.  I was doing reading in the front room because my bedroom started to feel like a prison, and slowly each of my roommates joined me.  Stefanie was making dinner, Camille was reading a magazine and Michael was on his computer, but we were all in the same room, listening to music, talking occasionally and just enjoying each other’s company.  It was REALLY fun.  “Pretty Woman” was on TV that night and Camille and I (and kind of MichaelJ) watched that.  I’d never seen it all the way through – it was really good.  All in all, it was a really fun night and great bonding time with Michael and Camille.  On Sunday, I got up, was super confused about daylight savings time (we “fell” back – it’s fall here, which is still really weird for me), skyped my parents, and then went to church.  I wasn’t able to go last week because I was in Cairns so it was really nice to catch up with all my church friends and see everyone again!  I loved it.  I also tried my first “pav”.  Some of the middle school aged girls of the church were having a bake sale after the service to raise money for African orphans.  It was greatJ.  Anyway, “pavlova” (Australians shorten everything) is a BIG deal here!  They love it.  Essentially it’s a meringue dessert, topped with tons of whipped cream and fruit.  It was REALLY good!  I don’t like vegemite, but I like pav, so hopefully they’ll still accept meJ.  After church, I went to Uni for a little while to work on some more readings and research and then later that evening, got picked up by some church friends for a social outing with all the young adults from church.  The pastor is new and wanted to get to know this group better.  It was a really fun evening!  We went to this little café/bistro place and got coffee and fries and just talked and laughed for a couple hours.  It was really great.  I LOVE my church friends!  It’s always after being around them that I really start to feel the time crunch of my remaining months here.  I come home in about 2.5 months!  I can’t believe how fast the first two months went – I know the next two are going to fly by as well.  But I’m trying not to focus on that.  I’m just living life and loving every secondJ.  Life is good.