So glad to report that I successfully survived all of my homework assignments!! Unfortunatly that was indeed ages ago so I have a lot to write about!
So my birthday was on the 12th of May and little did I know that it was about to honestly be the best birthday that I've ever had in my entire life! In the beginning of the month I was a bit sad that I was going to have my 21st away from home, family and friends so I had just planned on getting together with a few friends for a little Mexican dinner then going salsa dancing with whoever else wanted to come along (this is basically what I do for all of my birthdays.... lets be honest, it's the only time I can get people to actually try salsa dancing!). The day of my actual birthday was quite stressful because I had a presentation I had to do alone in one of my classes, but it ended up going really well so I was on cloud 9 the rest of the day! That night Carrie came back to Sydney and planned on staying for week and a half! That Friday night Carrie and I were able to go on a cruise, basically for free using my student credit so we danced the night away under the Sydney Harbour lights, it was amazing! The next day we had planned on going to the beach but knowing our indecisive selves we ended up just have a lazy day at my place. That night we headed over to Erin's place where I had planned on having dinner with a few close friends. When we go there I could smell the food from down the stairs so I had assumed that they had started cooking without me... little did I know that Erin was going to lead me into a dark room, wher upon turning on the lights a ton of people screamed "suprise" at me! I was so ridiculously overwhealmed I had no idea what to do with myself! Erin and Carrie had planned an entire surpise party without my knowledge! I still to this day don't understand how this was even possible! Anywho Erin's roommate (my future housemate) even made me a koala cake!
I was physically like shaking the entier night because I couldn't believe my eyes! There were friends from Uni, Church, SUV (where I live) and even some friends from other Uni's too! They prepared and entire taco meal that we ate, followed by cake and ice cream! Then Erin announced another surprise and ushered everyone into the sanctuary (Erin, Jess and Ricardo live in the appt in the chruch so we had access to the whole space). We all sat down and I nervously awaited what was going to happen. Then the screen lit up and there were videos from all of my friends and family at home! Some of them were hillarious (part of what was so funny was that everyone was watching my crazy friends to weird things that no one understood but Carrie and I! haah) but some of them were extreemly touching. I was basically either crying or laughing through the entire thing. Still in shock that not only everyone around me here in Oz knew about this party but also everyone at home! I felt truly universally loved! After the videos were over a few of my aussie friends, Carrie & Erin gave speeches about me! I could not handel the love! It was so encouraging, words cannot explain how amazing this entire night was! Then we took a group picture, here's the majority of the poeople that were present:
Then some friends from Canberra came up, even they knew about the surprise! After that we all just hung out and talked... and even made a fool of ourselves... all in great fun....
After the party came to a close some of us went out to a salsa dancing club! It wasn't the same as good ol' Famous Daves or The Loring Pasta Bar... no one knows how to salsa like Minneapolis! Well ok... maybe South America, but other than that... haha
The next morning I woke up & headed to church then Pancakes on the rocks with my Canberra buddies, then spent the arvo chilling in the harbour, then worked at night!
The next week Carrie and I went on multiple adventures! On that Tuesday we took a day trip to Katoomba where the Blue Mountains are located. We did a 4 hour hike through the mountains and got fantastic views of the Katoomba falls and The Three Sisters, here are some pix:
Here's my nerdy tourist picture with the Three Sisters:
here's a photo of the falls after 2 hrs:
The hike was pretty intense... we had to go up 47948394853489 stairs and down 4857398437 stairs. Our calves hurt for a good 4 days after this hike! After the day we were pretty tired, slept on the train home and all. We went to bed early becase Carrie had a big day ahead of her....
The next day Carrie went sky diving! Our friend Michael (aka Zebra Cakes) came up from Canberra to go sky diving with Carrie, I'm saving up my money for bungee jumping when I get to New Zealand so I decided to sit this one out. I got to be their personal photographer for the day, which was actually pretty fun! It was so pretty to watch them fall from the sky (that sounds horrible... but look, it's pretty!)
Then afterwards we headed to Zebra Cake's house! His family is from El Salvador and his mother made us some delicious food, it was sooooo good! We hung out there for a bit and took a look at Carrie & Zebra Cakes sky diving videos!
On Thursday I acutally had to go to my lectures & tuts so I did so, after that Carrie & I headed to the Student Life meeting & dinner. Carrie had to say her goodbyes to everyone there because that was the last time she would be able to see them! After dinner we did some final packing then we were off to Melbourne! It was quite hectic at the airport... we decided to fly really cheap... but unfortunatly with cheap flying comes cheap service...the flight before us was cancelled so by the time Carrie and I got there, there were many upset customrs, it was like a mini angry mob... and we were scared that our flight was going to be cancelled too... luckily it wasn't! We got on our flight at 10:30pm and landed at about 11:30. The family we stayed with were kind enough to come and pick us up at such a late hour, even though they live a good hour away from the airport!
This family was honestly one of the best parts about being in Melbourne. They are friends with one of Carrie's aunts and didn't even know us but they were kind enough to invite us into their home and so much more! We had an A-maz-ing bed to sleep in and our very own room! Rob & Lynn basically became our parents for the weekend. They made sure we had a homecooked meal or some sort of food for every meal and even bought us tonsss of snacks throughout the entire weekend! On Friday Carrie I caught the train into the city and just spent the day exploring and looking around. We checked out Federation square and the many allyways filled with packed coffee shops. I even introduced Carrie to Macaroons, my new all time love. I'm straight up hooooooked! Then we just had a lazy Friday night snuggled up in bed watching movies. It felt really good just to snuggle in a bed in a house hold with hot chocolate! The next day Rob & Lynn filled the car with snacks and took us down the Great Ocean Road! I think we drove for about 7 or 8 hours total the entire day, but we stopped often to take pictues and stopped in Apollo Bay for lunch on the shore. Here are some pics from the drive!
We even did some planking..... for those who do not know here is the definition of planking:
Planking is the act of lying face down with arms to the sides of the body, in unusual public spaces and photographing it.... look it up... it's hillarious...
After the long drive we headed back home where all of Rob & Lynn's children had prepared a meal for us! On Sunday we headed to church, then after church we hit up the Rose Street Markets where there are tons of local artists who sell photography, clothes and much more! We spent some time just walking around the area and checking out all the cheque and indie stores. After that we headed back to church for a youth service and ended the night getting gyros and just chillin. I was pretty tired by the end of Sunday!
Our flight wsa on Monday morning so we were able to say our goodbyes to some of the family in the moring, then Lynn drove us to the airport. We got back to Sydney around 1ish and we were both so tired! Carrie did some final packing, then we headed to Central Station so she could catch her bus back to Canberra! I said goodbye to her at the station... I won't see here for another two months now! That is the longest we will have ever been apart! I know it sounds pathetic but its going to be really wierd....
The rest of this week has been pretty usual, on Wednesday there were really bad winds and raid so I decided to take a personal day. I literally stayed in my room and just relaxed and skyped home allll day. It was really rejuvinating and just what I needed! I feel like my time here is honestly turning me into an introvert. I legit enjoyed staying in a room by myself for an entire day! So unlike me, but I really really loved it! Last night after the Student Life meeting about 10 of us headed to the movies! Normally movie tickets are about $22 but we got some super student discount thing through Sydney Uni so we were able to go for $9!! We decided to see Pirates of the Carrabean 4. Seeing a movie in Oz was one of the things I get to cross of my Oz bucket list yay! Then four of us girls headed over to Jenn's appartment and had a little sleepover, silly dancing, movie making, giggling and all! It was really nice to be able to get to know some of these girls better! :)
This morning we all got up and made oments and tea together, some of the girls had to leave pretty early but I was able to just chill with Jenney for most of the morning. Then I caught the bus back to Newtown, gave my roome a thourough cleaning then headed over to Erins, where I am currently! We're going to spend the arvo together and head out to town for dinner! Then my friend Kathryn from church is having a birthday party out at Sydney Harbour so I'm gonna get a pretty and hit up the city! :)
Tomorrow Erin Jess & I are planning on doing a massive hike on the coast line a few hours from Sydney... we're on a hunt for something... I'll tell you what it is next time... gotta leave you waiting with something to look forward to! :D
