G'bye Australia!

So this is it. In just about an hour I'll be picked up, shuttled to the airport, and beginning over 28 hours worth of travel until I am back home in Philadelphia Friday night. I know I've been horrible at this blog thing. And putting up pictures, too. Sorry about that. I have a lot of pictures to get online once I get home since the internet is so slow here. Hopefully I won't forget about that but chances are I will. If you're really looking forward to pictures, as I know so many of you are, let me know and I'll get them up quicker.

Basically, this trip has been amazing and I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I love it here... not so much since winter started, but I love it nonetheless. I met amazing people who I really hope to keep in touch with and reunite over the next year.

Thanks to whoever read and kept up with my life over the past four months. I know I haven't talked about much but that's what stories are good for in the future! I can't wait to see everyone again. All I ask is that our reunions involve food because I miss it so much.

And... that's about it. I know I haven't seen much of this country, but that will just make me come back ASAP when I'm rich and famous and can blow thousands on travelling!

See you in the USA!

Two Week's Notice

I realize I've been kind of bad keeping up with the past two months or so. Things haven't been that out of the ordinary and I'm always too lazy to write about it. What is crazy is that 2 weeks from right now i'll be on a plane heading back across the Pacific.

I've been asked to go on some trips lately and due to a lack of interest and money I've decided to pass them up. I've thought about it a lot and I don't think that I'll regret the decision. Also, it's gotten a LOT colder here, going below 50 at night. I have no heat in my house and I am frozen all the time. But Melbourne, one place I was asked to go, is further south (colder!) and I've heard a lot of iffy things from people who've gone there in comparison to Sydney. Of course there are new, fun things to do there, but is it worth a couple hundred dollars to see a very similiar place? The other place I was asked to go was the Whitsunday Islands, which are apparently some of the most beautiful islands in the world. It's basically a sailing trip. And while I would love to do it, I feel like I'd want to go with certain people, when it was much warmer, and not when I would be borrowing money from the world. Hopefully I will make it back here when I am disgustingly rich and do everything I have missed. I really wanted to go to the outback, too, but that's over $1000. Traveling here is ridiculously expensive! So in the end, I'm planning on spending my last two Australian weeks in Sydney, going around and exploring different places I have yet to see over my last couple of days.

Good news: I got a much needed scholarship so I will not be dirt poor when I get home while also being able to put a substantial amount of money towards my (too many) credit cards. Then maybe I'll cut some up.

More good news: camp starts in about three weeks! I can't wait!

Even more good news: I will soon be eating all of the foods I've missed. Sometimes, I feel like I miss food more than anything else. That's kind of sad.

Sad news: this all means I'll be leaving this amazing place and people. Hopefully I will be able to meet up with some over the next school year and really keep in touch.

More sad news: I have two big papers to write and my ADD is not letting me start. And I'm sick. I doubt this will stop me from going out though.

Even more sad news: I have nothing else to say. So, to everyone from home reading this, see you all in two weeks!

:'(

So sad.

It's MAY!

It took 2 weeks, but Fiji pictures are finally up. There's not much to update on, though, I guess. I'm finally becoming active. I played soccer with the house yesterday and went out running today. Hopefully I'll be seeing Spiderman tomorrow. Hmm... yeah, nothing new and exciting to really write about that you haven't already heard (i.e. beach, downtown, and drinking too much).

Quick Photo Update

After taking forever, I was finally able to upload the rest of my Jervis Bay photos and pictures from Tara's visit. They're in their own folders at the top so look out for them. Problem is, photobucket throws everything out of order. Jervis Bay album is all over the place and Tara's visit is completely backwards. Fiji will be up by the end of the week, I hope.

Tara, Fiji, Lots of Work, and Passing the Halfway Mark!

BULA! (That's Fijian for "Hello")

Sorry that I haven't updated in forever (AKA since before I left for Fiji). I know it's been hard, but we'll all get over it together. Now, I'm not making any promises but I'm going to try to do my best to recap the past 3 weeks. Because of my Alzheimer's, I don't remember that much. (Whoever is trying to make an alcohol joke, you're not funny. I really just have a crappy memory.) Regardless, bear with me. This update should be a beast.

(*The Tara week might be a lie in terms of when things happened, but the actual events did occur. I'm trying to work off of a picture timeline here.)

So let's begin with Tara's arrival on April 2nd. I woke up at about 5am to catch 2 buses and meet her at the airport. I thought I was tired, then I realized she was just getting off a 24-hour flight to come see me and felt kind of bad. Not that bad, just a little. We hung around, ate a little breakfast, and headed back to Coogee. After making best friends with her concierge (baggage person? I don't even remember...) we headed to the beach for a relaxing day in the area. Too bad there was an earthquake in the Solomon Islands (wha?) and the "tremors" created tsunamis. Therefore, the beaches on the east coast were closed down for a few hours because I think the water was a little rough. We found this out the second our feet touched the sand. Actually, we found this out just before we hit the sand when a crazy old woman ran to us to tell us. Turns out she wasn't that crazy... just a little. We decided to hang around her hotel pool for the afternoon until her room was ready, got some lunch, then went back to the reopened beach. After dinner, we headed over to a bar in the area and made it an early night.

The next day we headed downtown to Circular Quay and saw the bridge and Opera House and all that usual stuff. Then we went to the zoo (my second visit - each time is amazing) and had a blast going picture crazy, avoiding duck bites, petting baby kangaroos, making best friends with seagulls who wanted our food, and watching seals flip. Due to more tiredness, we once again stayed in the area and called it an early night.

Wednesday we went to Darling Harbor. We were originally saving this for Thursday (I think?) but the weather was not the best that morning. (It obviously got sunny as we were halfway downtown.) There we visited our future home, the Chinese Garden of Friendship (really? what is that even?!), and wandered around like fools until we headed over to the Aquarium. Tosh already knew my stance on that place (it's kind of a letdown, esp. after visiting the zoo). She claims she liked it, but I know the truth. We did pet a shark, though. Let me rephrase: She pet a shark, I just tapped it and jumped. (And by shark, I mean a baby one about a foot long, if that.) That night we headed over to the Palace where she met many people (including Cookie). We both were a little sloppy that night but as far as I can remember, it was a good time. We ended up leaving not too late (we arrived early), getting some food, and feeding random birds instead of ourselves.

Because of class Thursday, we didn't head out until later. We spent the early evening walking around the Rocks area, which is an older looking spot by the bridge. Tosh got some souvenirs, and after meeting Brian, the three of us headed to dinner at a small pizza place. We then headed back to the Darling Harbor area where we hit up Star City, the only casino in Sydney. Basically, the night did not end as planned, as the place is only meant to crush dreams. In the end, we learned our lesson and vowed never to return.

The weather was bad the next day (AGAIN!), once again crushing our beach dreams. We had actually planned to go scuba diving but due to Tosh's fears, we chickened out. We spent today relaxing around the area and I couldn't even tell you how that night went. No, I didn't drink. I just can't remember and have no pictures to remind me. (Also, I feel like I should address these alcoholic comments. I'm not one - and especially compared to the majority of people here, I've been doing pretty good as far as my alcohol intake is concerned. So you should be proud and not worried...or laugh at me.)

Saturday was her last day and we were committed to make the best of it. For the past few days, we had been planning to take the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach (something I had yet to do) but the morning weather kept deterring us. Today was the day that we'd do it, rain or shine, preferably shine. While the sun was out in the morning, it got cloudy and rainy quickly. Obviously the one day the weather flips on us, we're on the wrong end of it. The good thing was that it didn't pour while walking along the edges of cliffs. We actually watched a storm come in from the ocean and as it was heading right for us, decided to just stop and go to the left, completely missing us. It was a pretty good moment getting to avoid that. We finally made it to
Bondi, but instead of seeing a shiny, crowded beach, we saw a sad, dark, empty place. Of course, it wasn't the excitement we expected, but we were nonetheless proud of doing the whole 7km walk. We were champs. We then went to Bondi Junction (between Bondi and Coogee) which is basically just a HUGE mall and transportation depot/terminal/whatever and shopped around. We went back to Coogee, had our last supper, and after much debate, went to the bar area under her hotel for a little.

After saying goodbye to Tosh and apologizing for a hectic week of bad weather, I made my way back to the house to finish my packing for Fiji. My flight was around 8am, so the cab was picking us up at 5:30 and I was no where near ready. It also didn't help that my laundry hanging outside was soaked, therefore causing me to go into panic mode, hanging everything on top of fans and praying for the best. Luckily, things got as close to dry as they could get in that short period of time. I also got 0 sleep and heading to the airport feeling a little delirious, but extremely excited!

When we (Cookie and I) arrived at the gate, we saw two girls who went to UNSW - Danielle and Jen - who actually had the same flights and itinerary as us, so we figured we'd be spending our trips together. It was nice to know we'd be around other people. I actually knew Danielle from the first day, as we were in the same van that dropped people off at their housing. Our flight was on a tiny tiny plane that we had to board by stairway (which - I'm not going to lie - was kind of fun). Still, for one helluva expensive flight, there was zero entertainment or food provided. They all cost a lot of money. And when I say no food, I mean not even peanuts. We tried to sleep and did a little (I completely missed take-off), but the rest of the way wasn't too bad. We first realized where we were when we got off the plane (another stairway) and were blasted with heat. We were in Fiji! (More specifically, we were on Viti Levu, Fiji's main island. I think Survivor was filmed somewhere off the other big island: Vanua Levu. Kind of disappointing...I got over it, though.)

We met up with our driver (unfortunately, no one was there to give us a song and dance and shell necklaces like the internet told me) after about an hour waiting to get through customs - it was a ridiculous line. He told us our ride was a half hour long. Two and a half hours later, driving through the streets of Fiji, with cows, dogs, and horses walking around wild on the sides of the roads, small huts and villages with people looking to hitch rides to the nearest towns, green EVERYWHERE, and beautiful beaches, we arrived at our first location: Tsulu, which is in Fiji's Pacific Harbor. We were a little disappointed, seeing as though we missed out on the whole day due to travelling. The four of us got our own private room (we each had our own set of bunk beds), set up, and went to eat. We didn't see any beach around us...or anything for that matter. All we could see were a pool, a bar, and an area to eat at. Needless to say, we were let down. Still, we decided to make the best of it. We got dinner, eaten alive by bugs, and went for a swim. It was actually a really fun pool, with a big tiki man head that had a waterfall coming out of its nose, a jacuzzi in its mouth, and a water slide. We later went to the bar to watch a world championship rugby game with a lot of locals. Fiji won. They went nuts. Still, there were no Americans there, no younger people, no other guests really. It was a little odd. We decided not to drink, seeing as though we had a bar tab and wanted to wait until we were more awake to use it.

The next day we got up to go lay out by the pool. Then, we finally decided to see what the brochure was talking about when it mentioned all different shops and restaurants. After wandering around, we finally noticed that Tsulu was part of a whole little village which was soooo nice with places to eat, shop for souvenirs and groceries, and spas. It really made staying there so much nicer. We looked around and after eating, decided we would find the beach. When we did, I really felt like I was there, as the second we step foot on the sand, see all different islands out in the ocean. It was really pretty. They buried me in the sand, we spent some time in the ocean, then walked along the beach before heading back. That night, we definitely used our bar tabs and made best friends with Litiana the bartender. We also found the only 24-hour store there, where they make hot bread. And let me tell you: the fact that I was able to get a huge roll for 65 cents (which is about 35-40 cents American) really made my night. All in all, it was a lot of fun!

Our last day there we hung around, got massages (by big burly spiritual Fijian women) who - instead of giving me a back massage like I asked, rubbed my butt for 30+ minutes. We spent our last night hanging out around the pool and talking to Litiana.

The next day we had to catch an 8:30 bus back to Nadi (where the airport is). After making a couple of shady connections which included a scary cab driver and waiting for a bus at a random rundown hostel, we were on a nice big boat headed to Beachcomber Island. After about a half an hour, we arrived on the tiny tiny island (you could really walk the length of it in 10 minutes tops) and realized were in paradise in the middle of the Pacific with other little islands all around us. It had the clearest water with coral reefs.

Basically, here was the next few days summed up: mornings consisted of make-your-own omelet breakfasts (if we got up in time) with the greatest chef who loved me and knew my name. (I think all the Fijians loved me. Maybe I made that up because I loved them and don't like the rejection. Who knows...) We would lay out on the beach most of the day, maybe spend time around the bar area listening to the island band, and doing random afternoon activities such as snorkeling and banana boating. Lunch was always the worst meal of the three but would hold us off enough for when dinner would come, which was usually good and had a different theme every night. After dinner we would watch the sunset/shower and then go to happy hour. After that, there was usually a themed show, whether it was traditional Fijian song/dance, contests (limbo, dance, etc.), or a hula show with all different Polynesian dances. After that, it was usually just a dance party the rest of the night. Then we'd go to sleep in our 100+ person hut with no a/c and the loudest snorer in the world, hoping to fall asleep before we sweat to death. It was great!

I also should mention the drunkest older women I have ever seen. The three of them (Mama Chris, Lil' Brownie, and the other one we didn't name because she wasn't as exciting) arrived wasted the first night we were there and were so bad they needed to be carried off their boat because one almost fell off the side. They were drunk from the minute they arrived until we left, dancing like crazy people, running behind the bar, harassing the band, and just being all around amazing. Mama Chris claimed it was her 60th birthday, but even spending that much time in the sun, I can't imagine 60 could look so old. She had to be at least 70. I'm sticking to it.

This past week wasn't too exciting. It was mostly a hassle since I had a major paper due Thursday, as well as my usual weekly mini essay for Australian Cinema and an article due for Marine Environment. Funny story, though, was when I went to my Writing class for the first time in 3 weeks (2 weeks ago I didn't go since Tara was here - then we were off for break) only to find there was no class at the other campus because of "Research Week." I don't even know what that means! Regardless, I wasted $6 and about an hour travelling back and forth so early in the morning. Luckily, I got all of my work done, even being STUPID and going out Wednesday night and drinking way more than expected. Friday was spent downtown chasing the Real World cast around. We were literally on our way back home and out of the corner of my eye I see an 8-person camera crew in black trying to sneak around. So we turned and followed them back to the club, walking directly behind cast members. We really weren't as creepy as I'm making it out to be. Regardless, we were at the same club as them, and at one point, the crew was taking a break from filming at actually sat at the same table as us. Being a schmuck, I didn't say a word, but they seemed so busy, listening to their headphones and figuring out when to bring out their bright bright light and film the cast some more.

Tomorrow I have an oral presentation on KARAOKE that I'm trying/failing to get ready for. It shouldn't be a big deal but I should really have some sort of plan of action.

In other news, it is April 22. In less than 8 weeks I'll be back in Philly, eating Rita's, Olive Garden, Fridays, Coldstone etc. etc. etc. It's kind of exciting! I'm having such a great time, but of course I still miss a lot of things/people/places from home. After all, I've never been away for this long. I'm actually kind of proud of myself. I know it will be so hard saying goodbye, as who knows when I'll be back in Australia or seeing most of these people again. Still, I can't wait to see everyone and start camp!

If you've read this far, you're a superstar. Thanks for caring/skipping the entire middle to see what I left at the bottom.

I'mma Goin to Fiji

This past week with Tara was sort of great/sort of a mess, but I'm so happy she came. I'd update on that now but I have a cab coming in a little over an hour to shlep me and Caryn off to the airport. I'm running on no sleep dealing with wet clothes but I think it'll all work out. I hope... When I get back from Fiji (!!!!!!) I'll have a major update on the past 2 weeks.

Leave me lovin' for when I get back!

Is It Really April Already??

Right now, I'm sitting in my room, watching The Biggest Loser (it's literally on every single day here), and eating a big bowl of ice cream. I guess it's kind of a contradiction but I'm happy either way. I also just found out that The Amazing Race: All Stars is premiering here in 2 weeks! Granted, I'll be away for the first episode, but I can handle it. All in all, things are going pretty good right now!

I haven't really updated in a while because there haven't been any crazy new things to write about. I know I said I'd write after my trip last weekend, but I sat down and tried and couldn't think of what the hell to say. Basically, I've been drawing a big blank lately. Maybe it's because I'm settling in more and things are becoming more of a routine than new and exciting. Who knows...

Since I last wrote here, I have dropped the internship class and am just sticking with what I'm in. Real World never got back and the coordinator was the biggest flake ever. He got someone to get in touch with me who wanted me to help out with something along the lines of putting on musicals in schools. What does that have to do with me at all? Then I found out the class I was going to drop, Live Entertainment, counts for credit at Penn. I just figured I'd keep things the way they were and keep on keepin on. Now I have to look for an internship for fall...

Last weekend I took a trip with Study Abroad to Jervis Bay. I can't for the life of me remember, but I think Jervis Bay is about 3 hours...south?... of Sydney. There were 13 of us on the trip: Me, my neighbor Graham, this guy Jonathon who lives with Caryn, and 10 girls. We left really early Saturday, took a stop in a place called Wollongong (yes, really) for coffee and then headed out to an emu farm. People thought they were pretty ugly, but I'm not going to lie - I loved them. They were just so ridiculous looking and kind of crazy and I wanted to set them free. I say this because it wasn't like a petting zoo... those emus were gonna die. Apparently emus have this really helpful oil in them for medicines, etc. And they also use the meat. I know this. I had some emu pie... I know, I'm going to hell.

Then we finally got to Jervis Bay! We were supposed to take a dolphin cruise that day after lunch but since it was so hot out, our guide Brett thought it would be a better idea to go to the beach instead and come back the next day. We finally get to the beach, which claimed to have some of the whitest sands in the world. I don't know exactly what that means or why it's important, but the sand was kind of close to white, I guess? All I know is that it made a crazy squeak when you walked on it. In a funny turn of events, it became extremely cloudy just as we arrived. Instead of going in the water, I went investigating over on some rocks, saw some crabs, took some pictures, etc. Then Graham and I were determined to set up a volleyball net that came without half of the right equipment. When we were finally victorious, we got some of the girls to play and gave up after it fell for the fourth time. All of a sudden, it became extremely windy, families there screamed and ran off, and we were stuck waiting for Brett to come pick us up. On the way out, we saw a wild kangaroo and I took some pictures. He liked us.

We left the beach and headed to the liquor store. Brett suggested that he, myself, Graham and another girl (Kat) split a 24 pack. The way I obviously interpreted it was that we'd each be buying 6. Little did I know when we finally got on the bus, Brett and Kat only claimed to have bought 3 bottles each, leaving Graham and I with 18 beers to share. This was not going to work out. Regardless, we traveled about 20 minutes into the forest to get to our lodge and it began to pour (aside from the crazy winds). We were stuck in for the night. We showered, watched Finding Nemo (it's everywhere here!), and ate dinner. By that time, we were treated to a special private show by a well-known group of Aboriginal dancers who tour the world. They were really nice guys and had us all participate (the guys had to do a kangaroo dance... it was awkward). When they finished, the rain had stopped but it was pitch black out. Brett still thought it would be a good idea for a nature walk...

(Sidenote: For those of you who want to know how far behind Australia is in TV, Grey's is on right now and Mark just got the job at the hospital. Yeah… that old. Taking a brief hiatus writing this to play poker… Back. That didn't go great.)

Anyway, the first part through a forest in the dark was a little hectic, but I had been drinking a little and was too busy laughing at the absurdity of it all. Then we got to the beach. And it was amazing. It was so windy! We're all laughing because we can't walk fast because we're being blown away. I lost my flip flop (but found it, thankfully) and a girl lost her camera but got that back, too. I can't even describe it exactly but it was just a great experience. We got back, hung out for a little, ate some kangaroo (I can't believe I did it either. It must be sacrilegious or something...), and went to sleep.

The next morning, it was daylight savings (now it's a 14 hour difference from the east coast) and went kayaking on a little river/pond/body of water outside the lodge. We ate breakfast, made lunches, and then went off to take our dolphin cruise. Funny story, though - since the weather had been so bad the day before, the water was extremely choppy. They couldn't promise us any dolphin sightings. We stayed above the ship for a while - it was VERY windy - and after not seeing any dolphins for over two hours, a storm blew in and we headed to the inside of the boat as we pulled into the dock. In the end, we got free vouchers for a return trip, but that probably won't be too likely. Regardless, I had a lot of fun on the trip and met some really nice people, a lot of whom are in a couple of my classes.

This past week class was nothing special. I did have my first project due for Writing and I'm hoping it went over well. For the first time, I stayed awake through my 5 hours of Wednesday classes. I figured even though I don't like coffee I'd try it out and see how it works. After 10 minutes I was on edge, but this was good since I made it through my Cinema class movie. This was bad, though, because it made me pretty gassy. I didn't fart in class, though! It was also bad because the movie we watched, Wake in Fright, involved a 20-minute or so scene involving a kangaroo hunt. About 20 kangaroos were shot, attacked, hit by cars, etc. The thing is though, those scenes were real. Kind of a downer. The only upside would be that in my joke of a Live Entertainment class (seriously, I stayed awake the whole time and still had no notes to write...) we watched vaudeville clips of dogs doing backflips and seals playing trumpets.

Last night, Jamie, Sam, Linden and I went to an Aussie Rules Football game. It's one of the pro-rugby games here. It was the Sydney Swans (really, Swans?) vs. the West Coast Eagles and while we were down by 36 points, we caught up and.... still lost by 1. But it was a great comeback. The first half was slow (and I was pretty tired - I had a ridiculously boring field trip earlier that day and had to be up at 5:45am!!!) but the second half I pepped up and it got really exciting.

That about catches us up to now. That Pussycat Dolls show is on right now and I wonder why this crap makes it over here but not Survivor. It's depressing! Still, I've gotten all caught up on Survivor and Lost (which has been amazing!) and now I guess I'll try to tackle Grey's. The Pussycat Doll show, though, just seems like a cheap rip off of Making the Band. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure one of these girls was a finalist. Funny. I definitely won't make a habit out of watching this.

In more exciting news, Tara's flight arrives in 8 hours so I better run off and get to sleep. Or clean up. Maybe both? That's impossible. All I know is that this week will be a great one, full of things to write about!!! Then when she leaves, I'mma headin' off to Fiji! Let's hope my replacement camera comes in time (Mom had me email NBC10 and they contacted those schmucks and wouldn't you know, they just didn't realize how easy it would be to ship to Australia. I'm not holding my breath that the camera will come but I have what I have, Caryn has hers, and I'll have some underwater disposables to work with.) To sum it up, the next 2 weeks will probably be sort of amazing!

Leave me some lovin'! Holla!

Pictures!

My pictures on photobucket.com are pretty much all up to date! Finally! They don't include Aquarium or Mardi Gras pics but that's really not a big deal seeing as though I'm not in any of them. Hopefully I will be able to stay on top of it! I have my trip to Jervis Bay this weekend, so I will do a big post after that!

One Month Down...

I can't believe I've already been here for a month. With 3 left, I still have so much I want to do! I'm excited for Tara to come in 2 weeks! I'm excited for Spring Break! And by then... this whole thing will be halfway done. It's pretty unbelievable.

The past week was a good one. Classes still suck. I have some work I need to get done, but whenever I try to, I find myself doing nothing instead. But that's how it's like at home, right? For next week I need to write a mini essay (I have to do it every week for my stupid film class - it's kind of ridiculous.), an article for Marine Environment (current events because we're in middle school - but I won't complain if that's all the work we do for the semester), and I need to get started on my first project for Writing that's due next week. That shouldn't be hard, though... as long as I actually sit down and do it.

Right now, I'm actually going crazy from mosquito bites that cover my feet, legs and arms. I don't think I've ever gotten them this bad but I just wish I could rip my skin off and start over. I've been scratching like crazy for the past two days. So... if I come home all scarred up, you'll know why.

Since I last updated, I went downtown with Caryn last weekend to go on a Jews Cruise. Turns out it was a bad plan and we decided against it. Then a bird pooped on me. After I cleaned off, we walked around an area called The Rocks which was nice - right next to the Bridge. We got lost a little, but ultimately found a fun pancake house. After we ate (too much) we found a street fair going on and hung around there for a little. The rest of the week consisted off class, going out, the beach, and a whole lot of nothing too. I'm good at doing nothing.

Between Wednesday and Thursday, half of my house left to go to Melbourne for the weekend for the Grand Prix...F-1? Something like that. While I would have loved to go, I realized it was too much money to waste on something I wasn't interested in (i.e. car racing). I stayed back with Samir and the two Germans, Chris and Andy. Even though it's been quiet, it's been a fun weekend. Thursday and Friday nights I ended up trekking down into Sydney with my friend Brian and we checked out a lot of different bars. Usually whenever we go out here, we know a huge crowd of Study Abroad people going to the same place. We had no plan this time though and were surrounded by Australians. Last night I had a Study Abroad event - a St. Patrick's Day Harbor Cruise (aka a booze cruise). It was a LOT of fun! We left the boat around 11 and headed over to a bar and then went home.

I guess that's it for now. Actually, I forgot to mention my camera broke. It still works, actually, just the LCD screen is cracked and I have to blindly take pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to work something out with that. In the meantime, I'm STILL trying to upload pictures. I will definitely get more up Monday and/or Tuesday.

I miss you all!

Third Week Update

The second week of classes have ended and I'm feeling pretty good about them. They're mostly kind of boring, but seem pretty easy and I guess that's all that matters. My writing class is still pretty retarded. Australian TV is okay but we watched an hour + silent film and I slept through it all. Then I had that Live Entertainment class and I'm pretty sure everyone slept through that. It's pretty awful. My new marine class is good though and I think I made the right switch.

I met with the internship coordinator today and if I can get in touch with them, I'll hopefully be interning for The Real World. I'm not getting my hopes up at all. The chances of getting something like that seems pretty ridiculous. His other option for me was this travel show called Get Away (I think?) which I should look up. Didn't sound awful - I help with production when they're in the area and research while they are away. We'll see how it goes. I'd probably drop Live Entertainment in that case.

Nothing crazy worth mentioning has happened. I had a pretty bad night at the parade because of dehydration but things have been looking up since. This Sunday I have a Jew Cruise with the Jew Club here - it's pretty cheap and comes with lunch on "Shark Island." (I'm still not convinced that's a real place.) For St. Patrick's Day I'm doing another cruise with a nice dinner with the school. I'm also going on an organized trip with Study Abroad to Jervis Bay the weekend of the 24th, which, if I'm right has really nice beaches, nature trails with kangaroos all around, dolphin cruises and aboriginal performances. Tara booked her trip so she'll be headed here on April 2nd. By then, my trip would already be almost halfway over. While I'm definitely missing home every now and then, I really am having a good time with some really nice people.

I have a ton of pics waiting to post but now my flash drive is broken so I can't put them up on another computer. I hope hope hope it'll be fixed soon!!!!!

We were about to go to the beach but once again it's about to thunderstorm. The weather is ridiculously unpredictable here!

Hopefully I'll have some great stuff to update you all on soon. Until then...

The Semester Has Finally Started!

I can't believe I'm back in school. I've felt like such a drop-out since December. The first week of classes are over and they went over pretty well. Tuesdays I have Writing for Digital Media at a different campus which is a short bus ride from main. My class is all Australian, so it's a little awkward. Other than that, it's pretty ridiculous what we've done so far, which included mad-libs. And there are post-grads in my class. Hmmm... Wednesdays I have a long day. From 10-1 I have Australian Cinema & Television. I liked it - the professor seems like a nice guy and I have a couple of friends in it. The only problem is that he kind of expects us to not only make the 3 hour lecture and the 1 hr recitation, but he's setting up extra screenings of movies weekly. I don't think anybody will be attending them. We watched this crazy movie this week in class about aborigines that I just did not get at all. We'll see how that one pans out. Even worse is Live Entertainment and Popular Culture, which is later that day. I know it sounds easy... and it most likely is... but - at least for the first lecture - the professor didn't use any powerpoint slides and talks so low and in such a monotone voice that most of us fell asleep. That one can only go up from here. Last, on Thursdays, I had Cities: Experiencing Sydney. It was actually not that bad and seemed ridiculously easy. One of our big assignments was to go to any place in the city and... just write about it. While it sounded great, my housemate Jamie was in a Marine Environment class at the same time. There's only one exam and it's on the last day of class and it includes 3 field trips. Plus, I think I get credit for it towards my science requirement and the Sydney class was just an elective. So hopefully things will work out. I don't forsee too much work in the future.

Aside from that, I really am having a fun time. My house (Jamie, Dan, Sam, Linden, Samir, Andy, and Chris) is great. I've met a lot of really nice people. I'm going out a lot. Too much. But it's been so much fun! I'm pretty sure that in the two weeks I've been here, I think I've only stayed in 3 nights: the first because I was so damn tired, Sunday because the house just decided to hang out together, and Monday because I watched the Oscars. I'm sure things will slow down once we get more into the semester. Who knows.

In other news: my friend Tara might be visiting me which sounds amazing! I really hope she can make it but I know her schedule is crazy. I'm not getting my hopes up, but if her butt doesn't fly to me, the friendship is over.

Also, I'M GOING TO FIJI April 8-14 for Spring Break with my friend Caryn from the plane. Really?

I'm a little upset that some of my shows aren't on the free website that I thought they'd be anymore. They took down Survivor, which hurts the most. I still have yet to see Lost or Grey's... and actually have no idea what's happened on them since I left. I HAVE seen some of the latest Idol performances and I'm still pulling for Melinda.

I guess there's not much else to talk about... we're headed out to Darling Harbor tonight, which is a really nice area with bars and clubs. Tomorrow is the big crazy Mardi Gras. So I'm definitely keeping busy.

I love hearing from everyone - emails, calls, etc. - so keep 'em coming!

Oh, and as far as the picture situation goes, I don't know why it is such a hassle. Facebook uploads so fast, but it seems like all of the photo sites take hours. If anyone knows a good quick one, let me know! Otherwise, I'll keep posting them whenever I get a chance.

Photos

For the first batch of photos, check out www.photobucket.com and in the search box put "michaelkoppel" - it should direct you to my album. I still have a lot to put up, like the zoo and the aquarium but it literally takes forever to do it. Bear with me. A bigger update will come later.

Having Internet is Amazing!

I finally have internet! It might not be the best and it's limited, but it definitely makes life 1000x better here. Not being able to communicate lately has been a killer but this is definitely a big help! So now everyone can Skype me and I can answer and hear your voices!

I WILL have pictures up soon. I promise! I just think it's gonna take up too much memory to do it here so I'll have to on campus or something.

I went into Sydney today for the first time with my friend Caryn and it is soooo nice and clean. Saw the bridge... saw the Opera House - now I really feel like I'm here. Being at the beach is amazing but getting into the city was definitely needed to feel like I'm really in Australia. We took a ferry to the Taronga Zoo and it was amaaaaazing. I took so many pictures of everything, including a bear going to the bathroom in mid-air. It was pacing back and forth across a log and I realized it was just like Teddy and Kolby before they're about to explode. Anyway, that was fun - so was seeing the middle of a ridiculous gorilla fight. Saw kangaroos and koalas for the first time here - along with the apparently "cuter-than-cute" Bilby - and the usual lions, tigers, zebras, and the most photogenic giraffes in the world.

I'll definitely update more later - although there hasn't been so much going on - or maybe there has and I've just had too much to drink and forget it all. That's happening way too much in too little of a time period but I'm sure things will slow down once classes start.

It's Hot As Hell Down Here!

G'day everyone! It's 5pm here on Wednesday. I've missed American Idol and am trying to cope with that but I think I'll make it. I still don't have internet yet but hopefully will by this weekend. I am seriously going insane without it! I do have a cell phone though, so if anyone ever has a phone card and wants to call, my number is... 416813538 - but you have to put the country code and all before that. I think you add something like 01161 before but don't trust me with that. My mom knows and the internet probably knows, too. So get at them.

It's so damn hot and humid here but I'm having a great time. Monday I got in and got my classes situated. Then got home and passed out. Yesterday I got up, met some friends at the Study Abroad Office and bought phones. Then I went out with my housemates to one of their friends' houses and had a lot of fun and met some really nice people. Granted I drank way too much and had not eaten since about 11am - it wasn't pretty. We headed out to a bar called The Palace, which apparently is the hot spot for students here. (I can't believe I just said that - I sound like I'm 90.) I don't remember much there... except sleeping next to the toilet and then throwing up over a wall onto the beach. I probably shouldn't talk about that but it was pretty funny. Then we all sat on the beach for a little and went home. Today I went to the beach and laid out for a while. It's so nice there! I have pics and will post as soon as I get some damn internet!

That's basically what I've been up to so far. Tomorrow is orientation so hopefully I'll meet a lot of people. I don't remember if I mentioned my house yet, but people are still moving in. Everyone so far has been great, though, even if our house is a beast. Dirty as hell... dead (mostly) cockroaches laying all around. We actually did get a brand new fridge today which is great. The other one was covered in mold.

Hopefully my next post will come from my room (which has a TV in it - randomly - the only one besides the one in the common room) with pics and all. As much as I love it here, I miss everyone so so so so so so much and love to hear from you. So comment here, email me, text me (i can get them on the cell phone number i wrote before - i might not always be able to respond because it costs like 25 cents a text but I'll definitely try).

By the way - I have yet to see any kangaroos or koalas. I thought they were supposed to be at every corner! What's up with that?!?!?!

And another thing: this is the hilliest place I have ever been. I swear if walking as much as I do every day does not get me in shape, the world is against me!

Until next time!!!!
Michael

Australia!

I'm here! But I don't have a phone or internet... I don't know when I'll get it. I'm at the Study Abroad Office where they have a 10 minute limit so I gotta rush, but I hope to talk to everyone soon!


By the way, it's HOT here!

Pre-Departure

In just a few days I'm shipping off to Australia! I have not yet begun to pack and am kind of freaking out over everything I still have to do. I have NO clue what to expect, but I hope to keep in contact with everyone while I'm gone! I'll try to post here as much as possible with pictures and info of what I've been up to!

In the meantime, anyone can always write to me at:

202 Oberon Street
Coogee UNSW 2034
Australia

My SKYPE name is: michael.koppel (i needed a break from gramkracka). For those of you who do not know what Skype is, it's just like AIM but it's a free way to actually speak to other people online. So, if you have a microphone or a webcam, you could download that and talk to me. (Click the link to go to the download page!)

Otherwise, I bought a number which allows you to use any phone - house/cell/whatever - to call my computer and we can talk that way. It's a PA number, so whatever it would normally cost you to call a PA number, that's how much it'll still cost. It won't give any sort of international fee. Plus, if I'm not there, you can leave me a message, which I would still love! That number is: (215) 764-6324. Call me all the time! I need to hear what everyone is up to! (And basically... I doubt I'll ever be able to actually call anyone myself.)

I'll still try to get on AIM as much as possible!!! (and if I'm on Skype I'll most likely be on AIM at the same time...) And I'll eventually post a photo site because I know I won't be able to post them all on here. (For those who have facebook, they'll all be there too!)

I leave this Saturday and arrive in Sydney the morning of Monday, February 19th. Remember, it's 16 hours ahead there! And just in case any of you feared for my safety travelling all alone (I know... I would, too!) I found a friend online named Caryn who's on my flight. (Honestly, she made me add this part.) I will refer to her in later posts as Cookie --- as in, "Cookie made me hold her hair back as she puked all throughout the 24-hour flight."

So, until I hear from you all next, I hope you have a great... 4 months without me? Comment, email me (gramkracka@verizon.net), IM me, Skype me, call me, write me!

Michael

(By the way, do NOT keep me updated on TV shows. First off, I'll never speak to you again. Harsh, but true. Second, I hope to keep myself updated online. I'll initiate the TV talk! And lastly, if you throw out a "CAN YOU BELIEVE ____ GOT KICKED OFF SURVIVOR LAST NIGHT?!?!" just to be funny... I think I'll come home and kill you.)