Queenstown

Queenstown

Friday, October 29, 2010

Camping with the Sheep.

There is so much updating to do. Sometimes it makes me sad to think that I am going to forget things, just because I haven't documented them all.

Well, I haven't been online for a little while just because I've been at a sheep shearing... place. It's called Mt. Nicholas and they farm sheep for wool. We left on Thursday morning to board a boat on lake Wakatipu. It was about a thirty minute boat ride and Savannah fell asleep on my shoulder.

When we got there half of us chose to sleep in the sheep shearer's cabins and the other half chose to pitch tents on the beach. Well... you better believe I was pitching a tent! Christy Parent and I set up our two person tent without help from the boys! And, it was much sturdier than theirs at that. It's funny that I take pride in silly little things like pitching tents.

After we set up camp, we had a packed lunch and then went to learn about sheep. It was interesting because we got to watch a herding dog jump fences and scare the crap out of some silly sheep.

Dinner was delicious! We ate lamb, Chicken, and Steak! ALL THREE! then for desert we were treated to a rhubarb cobbler. It was some of the best food I've had since leaving America. Plus, I got to have some really wonderful conversations with everyone in the group. I love sitting down and learning a bunch of unexpected things about people I thought I knew backwards and forwards already.

Amount of work left before freedom: 2000 words and 4 final exams... oh and one spiffy journal.

Eventually we all gathered around a roaring fire on the beach and had a singing devotional. I am always impressed by the harmonizing our group does, and really... everyone else is too. If we're having chapel or some sort of devo when strangers are around... they usually comment on how amazing we sound. I don't mean to sound like a snob... but I guess I didn't realize how good we must sound.

We're a bunch of random college age Americans. No Kiwi would expect us to sing such passionate songs together and know all of the parts so well. I think we just catch everyone off guard.

SOOOOO.... back to the camping.

We slept in tents. It was cold but I loved every minute of it. When I woke up, breakfast was ready. Nothing like hot coffee and hot food. I think the reason the food was so good was because the family who lived on the sheep farm made everything. Fresh eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Plus there was greek yogurt and pears. It's wonderful to find out that the "Tomato Relish" is homemade and grown in their yard. Figuratively, it takes me home to Indiana when we have our fresh tomatoes. Sigh, I love it.

After Breakie, we went on a hike to a "waterfall" aka... drippy water. Our guides had never taken that particular trail before, but kept assuring us that it would be "an adventure!" Ha ha, we ended up walking through a couple of streams, some how I ended up in water that was knee deep. Most of the people kept complaining about how much they didn't want to get wet and how they kept stepping in sheep poop (and let me tell you... the poop was EVERYWHERE, I started calling them land mines). I however, enjoyed the little journey through Middle Earth. I needed the exercise.

Finally when we got back we had some yummy lunch and packed up to go back to Queenstown. By then everyone was wet, muddy, greasy, and covered in sheep excrement. I kept thinking... "I can't wait until I'm back at the Glebe."

We floated back over the lake and sooner than we realized... we were warm and clean... and avoiding homework/studying.

Here are a couple of random bits of information I deemed it important for you to know:
1. I have been suffering from homesickness on and off. Really I'm just craving Christmas with my family... p.s. I've already compiled a Christmas list. I'll post it sometime before I leave.

2. If anyone wants souvenirs, speak now or forever hold your peace.

3. I am going bungee jumping at 10:15 in the morning tomorrow. If you want to know the details it is the "Nevis." you can look it up online.

4. JAPAN, I can't believe I am already planning for Tokyo. I am going to probably stay at a hostel with a really unique name: Tokyo Hostel... yep. It's located in between Uneo and Asakusa, whatever that means.

5. I still need to ship stuff home, and I don't know how much money that's going to be. But I need NEED to do that because otherwise I'm gonna have to throw a bunch of stuff away.

6. I am SO psyched for finals to be over with and papers to be written.

7. I've been working daily on trying to be an artist. New Zealand is the best place for inspiration.

8. I craved McAlisters today for the first time. sigh, American food... Sandwiches here are just so weird, I can't put a finger on it but they're just incredibly different.

9. I drank coffee without creamer yesterday and today... I like it.

10. I need people to talk with me and send me some love. I think about my friends and family constantly. Miss you guys.

11. Mom, I am still in the Glebe, in fact we have a much larger apartment with FOUR bedrooms and a fireplace. I believe we have the largest apartment out of anyone in our group. Meghan and I are still sharing a room but we don't mind.

Again, I am sorry for the lack of pictures but here's the deal. Pim-Pam pays for us to have internet, and photos eat up all of the internet she pays for... she has already spent 1,200 NZD on the internet in New Zealand alone! We have been told to only upload a couple of photos and not to watch ANY videos... etc. AND, since I uploaded a ton of photos from Milford Sound, I didn't feel like it was fair for me to upload anymore while I am here unless it's the last day and we have a bunch of leftover internet. Either that or I have to pay for it at an internet café. So... Here's to being frugal!

I will try to upload pictures whenever I get a chance, but I don't know if that is going to happen on the trip anymore at all. No promises.

Peace and Love

Sunday, October 24, 2010

STRESS overload.

Here we go. I'm tired and my head has a slight ache. I've got only about 4,000 words between me and being done with serious homework.

And you know something funny, I thought I would be worry free by now, but I'm not. I'm going to gave to ship some of my stuff home... which is going to cost some money. This is a bummer for sure, but it will be a relief not to have to worry about how much my bag weighs anymore.

Recently, I've started worrying about my life and future and all of that crap again. I've started just looking at potential grad schools, because at this point... thats what I'm going to have to do. I don't hate the idea of it, I just dread spending more money for the uncertainty of my degree. I want to be successful so badly, but I am really afraid of failing. I am worried that I'm not talented enough or driven enough to succeed.

If I want to do well, then I need to be working on being an artist EVERYDAY... not just when the time is right. I need to make it my life and drown myself in it. I need to be developing a strong portfolio now, if I have any hope of getting into any kind of well known grad school. I don't want to go to some po-dunck little ho-hum grad school. I want to learn from people who really know what they're talking about. sigh.

Mom: If you want, while I'm gone you could look up some when I don't have internet.

Anyway, Right now I'm just worried about internet usage. We can't upload photos, or watch videos or anything anymore because it costs a lot of money. Pam has spent 1,200 dollars on internet just in New Zealand. I blew it this morning when I uploaded photos and I feel super guilty about it. So, News Flash: I can't upload anymore. Most of you guys will just have to wait until I get home in early December.

OH, and I worry about money: I know I shouldn't because everything all works out, blah blah blah. But I am going to be UBER broke when I get back. I was wondering if I should try to find seasonal work somewhere when I return from my trip abroad, but I don't even know if anyone would be hiring. sigh.

listen to me all paranoid. I need to take a chill pill.

AH, Also I think I need to take summer classes. I want to take something like ceramics or more painting classes. I need to be doing art all year and that definitely needs NEEDS to encompass the summers.

Okay, I want to talk about my awesome trip to Milford Sound and all of that mumbo jumbo, but I honestly cannot think of anything else right now besides all of these things stressing me out!.

Peace and Love

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Angela Versus the Mountain...(A.K.A. Really Big Hill)

Dear friends, It is an idiotic thing that I am right now blogging.

I really have so much on my plate right now, what with school and all. Here's the Dealio: Don't be fooled, classes abroad can be really intense. Especially if you have teacher's who are already strict at school. Ugh, I know there's only two weeks left of classes, but that only makes me more nervous about getting everything done on time.

Somehow though, I found time on Sunday to take a leisurely walk. I told everyone in the apartment that I had a headache and just needed to go for a quick little walk to get some air. Little did I know, this was not what fate had in mind. I walked over to the sink to refill my water bottle then mindlessly jammed my feet into my tennis shoes.

I figured I would just walk around town for maybe an hour at most, you know... see what Queenstown had to offer. So that's what I did. I walked around and went into this bead shop I'd seen earlier. It was an adorable place with beads... EVERYWHERE, but it was also unnecessarily expensive, so I left almost as soon as I'd entered.

I started to grow a little tired of the whole town thing. It's nice, but I needed fresh air and there were a lot of car emissions down in the valley. Lucky for me I read the sign that read, "Queenstown Hill Walking Trail." I love walking and I love trails, so I thought to myself..."why not!"

Well, turns out hills are much steeper than I thought they were. This one was no exception. I began hiking up the sidewalks to the trail head. Passing several people who were going the opposite direction. The key in trying NOT to be seen as an American is to pretend like you're not out of shape. They way I do this is hold my breath and smile as I pass others while I secretly feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest. As soon as the Kiwis pass, I huff and puff like an 80 year old man with emphysema... okay not that bad.

Finally I made it to the beginning of the trail... and let me tell you, it was truly the beginning. The trail was heavily wooded and fairly remote. Being in a tourist town, I assumed it would be, I don't know, busy. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be alone most of the way.

And It was wonderful to be on my own. This is a hike that most of the people from HUA took in groups, but I am so glad I chose to go it alone. I was able to contemplate things like spirituality and who I am. There's just something about nature and God's creation that inspires me to think inward about my life and outward about the whole world. I like to imagine that the hike was actually, in itself, its own church service. (If this were the case then I'll have you know the preacher went WAY over in his allotted time, ha ha).

I wasn't sure how far I would go when I started out, but after a while I became determined to make it to the top. I wanted to say that I did it on my own and have it symbolize (for myself) what I've overcome in my own life. The longer it took, the more adamant I was at summiting. The scenery changed the further up I climbed. It started out looking like a fairy tale forest and got darker as I kept trudging upward. Eventually the trees were leafless, save for the top branches in the canopy. The branches below were numerous and bare, like little bones reaching down to capture a lone hiker who wasn't paying attention.

As an imaginative person, I let my mind get the best of me. I started wondering who I would run into on the path. Rolling my eyes at my own stupidity, I realized that I'd wandered up the hill... into a dark forest... completely alone just like every other stupid Horror story or murder victim. Genius... not. Of course I started hearing things and that only pushed me up the hill faster.

I finally reached a point where the trees had cleared and I was nearing the top. This was the steepest and most difficult point in my "epic journey." The Summit was 15 minutes away and the wind was whipping at my cheeks and biting at my lips. My legs were aching and I was running out of time before the scheduled church service... and the sunset. It took a lot of strength but I somehow forced my body to the top. I was half expecting to see more inclines and required hiking, but it was such a relief to see nothing besides one of the most spectacular views I've ever seen.

New Zealand. It feels like it could go on forever. It really is exactly like what you would imagine a fairy tale land to look at. Think of any fantasy novel... I bet it was based on New Zealand. If I could live anywhere out of the United States, it would be here. I heaved a sigh and said a prayer, then began my hasty descent down the "mountain..." Ahem, hill. (it really stinks that it is considered a hill... because it makes my hike sound wimpy). I enjoyed smiling at people on the way down... I know they were secretly hyperventilating.

I made it back in time for church and before I nearly peed my pants. It was wonderful and I am so glad that I challenged myself in that way. I think it was good for my soul (and my butt, which is still sore).

Peace and Love

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Queenstown Adventures So Far

Well, its Sunday Morning in Queenstown and luckily, I'm the first and only one up in the apartment. We won't have church until seven so I suspect most of the other girls will be asleep for a while. This is a relaxing thought for me.

Well, Queenstown... what can I say... It's my favorite place on this trip so far. The views are absolutely breathtaking. We're located right in with this mountains called the "Remarkables" and they're pretty remarkable.

On Wednesday I went skydiving. I jumped out of a plane at 12,000 feet and free fell. Woah man, what a rush! It was so much fun and not nearly as scary as I had anticipated it being this summer. Really, if you can do it then you should. Everyone was gushing about the guy that I was lucky enough to jump the plane with, Marius. My whole apartment thought he was some hunk of man. lol. My photographer was pretty cute too, but I have a hard time thinking I matched their "attractive-rebel-jumping-out-of-a-plane" look with my dorky hat and goggles on. Anyway, both of them were nice guys.

Saturday (Which was yesterday) I went horseback riding through Glenorchy and Paradise falls. This is where they've filmed beaucoup Lord of the Rings sequences, Chronicles of Narnia clips, Wolverine scenes, and (believe it or not Andrea) some scenes from The Lovely Bones. My horse's name was Biscuit and we became kindred spirits. I'd never had to ride a horse with an English Style saddle but it wasn't bad at all. The only scary parts of the ride came when Boris, Carter's Horse, decided to infringe on everyone's territory. Biscuit was not about to be a wuss, so he wouldn't let Boris through... unfortunately that meant infringing on Zodiack's territory. Zodiack decided to frighten biscuit away and it worked fairly well. Biscuit went running towards a cliff.

After several worried shreeks from the guides and attempts to get biscuit turned around... I finally succeeded. (and was scolded for not knowing what "Shorten your reigns" meant. Sorry, I don't ride horses everyday. At my house we drive cars). However, the whole trip was a worthwhile one. Nick said I should be a horse woman because I looked good in the helmet. I also couldn't get past the fact that I was where Orlando Bloom once was. ha!

The guide pointed out different Lord of the Rings scenes. We got to see where the fellowship was caught by the Elves when they entered Lothlorien forest. We also got to see where Boromir was killed, and where Isengard was flimed as well. LEGIT!

I loved hearing a bunch of behind the scenes stories, but I really loved the landscape more. I can see why so many filmmakers love to come out here to film. It's so much more amazing than anything I've ever seen.

After getting back from the ride, I went back to the apartment, ate a Peanut butter and Jam sandwich (b/c they don't have jelly) and fell asleep until dinner time. It was a good day.

Peace and Love

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My First Days in New Zealand

October 11th 2010

Hello from Queenstown, New Zealand!

We made it successfully here after spending several days in Christchurch. Here’s the play-by-play.

THURSDAY: We arrived in Christchurch and moved into the YMCA, and let me tell you; it is fun to stay there (Pun intended). 6 of us to a room… not unusual and I got the bottom bunk. I don’t mind the bottom bunk, it’s not a bad place, however the bed above me was a bit janky and when Meghan slept above me, her butt was inches from my face. Lol. I didn’t mind so much except for when I would sit up and get my hair tangled in the mess above me.

One thing about New Zealand that I was aware of before: it is cold. We wandered around Christchurch for a while outside and my first souvenir purchase was a pair of cheap “All Blacks” gloves.

We found some botanical gardens right across the street from the YMCA and explored a bit. There’s this lovely river that runs through the town filled with ducklings. And the gardens were full of huge green trees. It was a perfect escape for about 40 college students who spent the majority of the day crammed like sardines on an airplane.

Also, I sorted everyone on our trips into Hogwarts houses. It was something that Jim Hassell and I did while we were bored before one of our econ classes back on the Gold Coast. This was just a silly idea but most people in our group have taken the idea and run away with it. We already have house rivalries between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Jennifer Mills lets us do things because: “As the Head of Gryffindor house, I give you permission to go shopping before the Cathedral tour.” Its funny, however it seems like all of the Huffelpuffs are mad they didn’t make it into Gryffindor. Sorry guys… What the sorting hat says: goes.

FRIDAY: Breakfast was fake eggs. Yum? It wasn’t as good as Harding’s fake eggs though. After breakfast a bunch of us headed into the city to buy outdoor sports clothes. I fell in love with this legit jacket from “macpac” but it was 160 NZD and I couldn’t bring myself to buy it. I left my heart with it though. Instead I bought a cute beanie (hate that word. It reminds me of stoners and crack heads) from Colombia.

After Shopping, Taylor Kee, Marcus Brinley, Laura Kelly, and I all paid 12 NZD to see the “Ron Mueck Exhibition” at the art gallery in town. Woah man. It was absolutely amazing. He is a sculptor and he creates sculptures of people…. And chickens? Well, I was going to upload pictures but the internet here in New Zealand is less than satisfactory, so you’ll just have to look him up on your own.

The museum was wonderful! You know me and art. Taylor and I enjoyed critiquing everything and then journaled in the artists annex. Then we all headed back for lunch as a group. We had these (yucky) sandwiches with cucumbers and slimy turkey, plus some meat pies.

P.S. Aussies and Kiwis alike, enjoy putting Beets (beetroot as they call it) on any and all sandwiches… even hamburgers. I don’t mind, because like a good mother. Nancy DeCamp always made me eat my beets with dinner. Yay for having an awesome Mom!

Soon after eating we all crossed the street to go to the Canterbury museum. It was a lovely museum dedicated to New Zealand! We learned about the Extinct “Moa” and other important birds including (of course) the Kiwi! We also had a chance to discover a little bit about Maori culture. I can’t lie It fascinates me. We learned all about the Haka and the tattooing practices of their culture. Something interesting is the “greenstone, or jade.” You can buy all sorts of trinkets made out of it.

Personally, I wanted a simple ring made of greenstone but our guide told us that the jade is only lucky for the person you give it to. It isn’t considered lucky if you buy it for yourself. Naturally I buy into local folklore and animism so I was pretty bummed out that I could buy myself a lucky ring. Oh well, that’s life I suppose.

Somehow after all of the museum fun I found myself in a marketplace right out front of the cathedral. You know, a bunch of people selling tourists random crap they don’t need. Yeah, that one. I wound up buying a cloth headband from a guy for 7 bucks. In my defense, I have always wanted an artsy-fartsy headband. Plus when I tried it on, the cute shop guy said, “oh… that’s hot.” Who can resist buying random junk from a guy that speaks the truth?

Later on I bought a few souvenirs from a three-story souvenir store: a patch a couple of tea towels, and some postcards. I’ve always wondered why tea towels are so popular to buy. What are they? Why are they here? But Christy gave me a genius idea; I am going to make throw pillows out of them! Yes!

Soon we left and went to eat dinner, but while at dinner my wonderful friend, Michelle, “proposed” to me…. Pulling out a simple greenstone ring! She had bought me one, not knowing that I had wanted one so badly. I was so excited and happy and I don’t think I’ll ever take it off! What a great day.

Friday is also the night, after my shower, we discovered that Meghan’s hair dryer smelled disgusting, and stunk up the room at the YMCA… which is odd, because it’s been fairly reliable. Not knowing what to do with wet hair before bed, I discovered that the room radiator was just as good at drying hair. So, kneeling next to it on the carpet, I flipped my head over and dried it all in a reasonable amount of time.

SATURDAY: This was our last full day in Christchurch. Our first activity was a tour of Christchurch Cathedral. I enjoy going into these cathedrals, because I just love the genius of it all. The whole design is mesmerizing, even though most of them down on this side of the equator are much smaller than their European counterparts. (I threw in that last word to sound smart, but I am well aware that it probably means something completely unrelated to what I wrote).

We climbed to the top of the tower in the cathedral and looked down. Sigh. It was nice. And It worked our bums! Yay, Alyson’s bridesmaid dress, here I come!

Soon after the Cathedral we went Punting, which as we all know… is like one large Gondola ride on a river. It was fun because I sat behind Marcus and Ellis, and next to Taylor… this meant complete hilarity the whole way through. I had a hard time listening to what out boat guy said because they were making me laugh the whole time.

After the “Punting” we took a Gondola…. Which as we all know is actually a large ski-lift-esque contraption that keeps you enclosed while it takes you up to the top of a mountain. It was lovely, but I had a bit of a headache at that point. I am not a nice person when I’m in pain. But, I thought I faked it pretty well. The view helped boost my spirits of course.

We left the mountain and drove to a place called Sumner. It was nice, blah blah blah. I have a hard time remembering it all because I was so tired and had an uncomfortable headache. I remember going back to the room and sleeping, then later on, Christy and I went for a run though the park. It was the highlight of Christchurch.

I just love the freedom of running and It was lovely to be on our own running around the beauty of the botanical gardens in Christchurch. I’m gonna miss it….

Tell you about Queenstown soon!

Peace and Love

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Last Day in Australia

This may be the last blog post for several days, because tomorrow morning we are leaving for New Zealand. We will be staying in Christchurch for a few days then flying off to Queenstown which will be our "home base" for the following three weeks.

It is sad to think that we're already leaving Australia. I know that we will return briefly for a couple of nights in Brisbane before our cruise, but it still is sort of sad.

Last night was our "farewell" dinner. No one was told where it would be we were only told to meet in the lobby at 5:45pm. Soon we boarded a bus and drove 15 minutes to "Australian Outback Spectacular: Heroes of the Light Horse." This is the Australian equivalent of the "Dixie Stampede" (minus Dolly Parton... and all of her glory). While there, they fed us us as we watched a variety of different performances on horses based on Australian history.

My favorite part was when James would come around and refill my glass with more sprite. Just kidding! (sort of). The food was great. We had a salad wrap for starters. The main course consisted of green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes, pumpkin, and the rarest steak I have ever eaten. Not kidding, the meat was definitely RED. But it was pretty tender and I didn't mind all that much. For desert they had this... marshmellowey thing with fruit sauce, but the real kicker was the steaming hot coffee. mmmmmhmmm. You know coffee is the love of my life.



We laughed and cheered and enjoyed the show. Our side, Warrego Station won the little competition, then we all went home happy, wearing our "outback cowboy hats" (Ellis was, of course, wearing his light up pink bunny ears he'd purchased). I am a little sad that I won't be able to bring the hat back with me. It's a cheap little thing but it was a memory and I'd like to have kept it. oh well.

RANDOM AUSTRALIAN THING: When they want to ask you how your day is going they say, "How are you going?" I find this strange because we're so used to saying, "How's it going?"

Today: Bittersweet. A lot of it was spent studying for an Energy and Pollution test that I most likely failed. ugh. Whatever, "It's College."

Most of this afternoon/evening will be spent packing, or should I say... trying to throw crap away. I honestly HATE going through airport security and trying to check bags/see what I can get away with. I would rather go to Verizon Wireless then a used car dealership than have to deal with airport weight restrictions anymore. I don't understand how to pack for three months in under 30 kilos. For goodness sakes, I don't even know how much a kilo is! Tomorrow could be a bad bad day.

I lost the goop for my new tattoo. Don't know what to say about that. I'll just have to look around the apartment.

Today was the last time I will have bought a Latté from my favorite coffee joint in the mall. I go about everyday, and the guy that works there recognizes me and knows what I will order. sigh. He doesn't know, but he's never going to see me again. Sorry dude.

Other than that, I'm going to miss the warm weather. NZ will be colder and three hours different than what I am already used to. Don't ask in what direction because I don't know.

Now this blog is completely unfocused and random. Oh well.

Peace and Love

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Homework and Rain Make For a Sad Australian Sunday

Well, I've been writing in my blog fairly frequently. I keep trying to think of ways to describe what my life is like in a way that everyone will understand it, but I know that it is fairly unlikely to do so.

This morning I was going to wake up, Jump out of bed and go for a run. Well, I woke up, slid out of bed like a sloth, and made coffee instead. It was pouring outside and the air was rather chilly. This was a bit discouraging because I really want to be healthy and I feel like I am failing tremendously. So, instead of doing anything remotely healthy for me, I decided to do homework. I got as far as my computer in that particular venture and found myself (not surprisingly) ambling onto facebook. Curse this addictive drug.

The problem with facebook is that one thing surely leads to another. OH, Johnny is engaged to Laura!? Is that a new profile pic? etc... blah blah blah. And it's even worse if I have the chat button on. I may as well accept the fact that when I look at my computer screen with the hopes of completing homework, I can certainly assume that It will take me at least two extra hours. (and if it's science... just tack on two more extra hours).

Oh, and don't forget the coffee. You may as well stick a syringe in my arm and pump me full of the warm brown liquid. I'm at the point where I'm drinking two to three cups daily. It makes me feel sad for the smokers in the olden days. They didn't know smoking was so bad for them until after they were completely addicted... what if that happens to me with coffee? What if someone comes out with this study and discovers that drinking coffee causes dementia and 77.6% of people who drink it will get the disease? I think I would just about pee my pants... then forget the whole message (because by then I'd have dementia).

Anyway, So Australia has been wonderful, but not nice enough to spend any considerable amount of time on the beach, which sort of breaks my heart. Maybe I wouldn't feel so bad about it if I lived in florida or something, But... I don't. I live in Indiana. after this trip, who knows when I'll see the ocean again.

Now. I just need motivation for doing homework.

UGH.

Peace and Love

Friday, October 1, 2010

At Home Across the Ocean

Mmmmm. I loved being settled in. It finally feels like this place is "home."

I went running on the beach this morning, avoiding all of the blue bottle jellyfish corpses that littered the shore. Then came back and chillaxed. I've painted my nails, ate a healthy breakfast and lunch... and even though its kind of a rainy day, it's been perfect. I think everyone is bummed because it's not extremely sunny and warm, but I think it's perfect.

The ocean looks different every time I see it. In the morning, it sparkles with the sun's light. When it's rainy, it has this dark and adventurous color to it. Oh, I just love it. I could never get bored of looking at the ocean.

Tonight we're going back to Surfer's Paradise... a bunch of us girls. (no boys. Sorry Pim-Pam). Then we're gonna come back for pizza (I may skip out on that), and Bridget Jones. It turns out that pretty much EVERYONE has not seen this movie. WHAAAAA??? I feel like it is my personal duty to educate them on the most perfect movie to ever grace the silver screen.

Good news: the sun is making a cameo appearance in the west windows right now. I love my life. Australia, Why must I leave you on Thursday? New Zealand: How can I love you, when my heart is with Australia...

Answer to that question, They may be filming "The Hobbit," while we're there. If so... and if I meet Hugo Weaving.... I could go home and feel complete. New goal: Be an extra in a film.

Peace and Love

Mission Almost Accomplished.

Ah, hello blog readers! I suppose it's about time for an update on my life.

Well, I went to Surfer's Paradise again tonight with Michelle and Ashely. We were there on a mission, of course, however it wasn't quite accomplished tonight... instead we will be returning tomorrow night for completion. However, a 100 buck deposit went towards this mission already, so it will definitely be happening. Sorry for being vague. If you know me well enough, you'll know what I'm talking about soon enough.



Anyway, about Surfer's Paradise. Its a pretty cool city. Its about a 45 minute walk from our apartments in Broadbeach, and well worth it. There are all sorts of shops and places to eat, however our director Pam Little (aka Pim-Pam) has stressed numerous times that we should not go there without men and definitely NOT on a Friday or Saturday evening. Well, I've been to Surfer's Paradise twice, both were with just girls... both were on a Friday night.

The only thing that has happened to me has been some whistling and cat calls... oh and tonight I was sitting at a bus stop, waiting for our friend Christy Parent to meet up with us and join us for our... "mission." While sitting there, minding my own business, a group of guys passed me (mind you this was 6pm, not drunkards) and as they passed one guy jumped up then sat on my lap. Weirdo. He said something like, "Hi there!" and motioned to his friends.



I gave him a look that said, "I'm surprised and you look like a complete idiot, get off of me." Thankfully, this guy was good at reading expressions and obliged. Of course, Michelle just giggled and giggled about it. I have to admit, it was kind of funny. He didn't do anything super inappropriate... just really awkward, and I LOVE being put in those type of situations.



In other news: I've been ordering really strange Subway sandwiches lately. Usually its turkey but tonight it was tuna. On wheat... No cheese or sauce. Only red onions, lettuce, and black olives. I really must be an old person because I like food that I would have hated even just a year ago.

MOM, you are going to be so proud of me. Tomorrow is a Saturday, and guess what I'm going to do. That's right... go for a run at 8am! woo!!! That means you have to be careful about being healthy too. Because we are not alone; We're in it together. Also, remind me that I am not allowed to eat any more cake. Really, I shouldn't be eating sweets at all. But I'm starting with just avoiding the cake in our fridge.

Well, It's midnight... so I'm gonna sleep it up. See you tomorrow you beautiful world you!

Peace and Love

p.s. does anyone know if my grandma reads this blog or not?