Aussie phrase of the day: Spot on = exactly right, "You're spot on!"
I just finished a bowl of really unenjoyable ramen noodles and some toast with peanut butter... remind you of college? I was trying to watch a movie I downloaded on iTunes yesterday, but I wasn't really into it so I checked my fave blogs on Glamour.com and decided that's what I should do... instead of writing the feature article that's due in class tomorrow. No worries, I got an extension. I've written myself nearly to death. Every day I've been staring at my computer screen for hours on end, typing away til my fingers nearly bleed, my butt and back ache and my eyes are blurry. I'm sorry I haven't had more interesting things going on in my life and in Oz and that I've been so damn whiney in my recent blogs. The bottom line is I'm here to get my Master's degree and eventually that was going to start taking over. The first month or so I felt like I was walking around with a heady glow, like I was in a fairy tale and life was finally getting started for me. There was so much to do and see and friends to make. It was all very exciting and fast. That's what they (school counsellors) call the 'honeymoon' period. That honeymoon seems like ages ago now.
This weekend will be new and exciting and will have a few pics to go along with it! I'm going to a place called Monkey Mia. It's several miles north of Perth and I've wanted to go there since my first visit to Australia... mostly to feed the dolphins, which I hope to do this weekend! It will be nice to get away again and couldn't come at a better time... the end of my semester! I can't wait to tell you all about it!
30 October 2007
25 October 2007
The end
Aussie word of the day: rubbish bin = trash can, it's pretty self-explanatory, instead of trash can you just say rubbish bin.
Except for daylight savings starting this weekend here in Perth and the beginning of summer, everything else is coming to an end. It is the end of October and almost the end of the year. The end of the semester is in sight (just two more weeks!), the end of my scuba certification course, the end of the 30's for one friend! Happy BIG 4-0, by the way! The end sounds so sad, so tragic, but why should it? The end is also the beginning for new things and sometimes brings a little relief and freedom with it, like quitting my job and coming to Perth. The end means the beginning of something else, something new. It is the sound of hope and renewal, like springtime or fall. The trees must shed their leaves in the fall to welcome the vibrant new green ones in the spring and everyone forgets that those trees were so stark and bare for the last few months. It is the end of being single for my friend Sarah who got engaged in Niagara Falls last weekend and also the end of being pregnant for my friend Teagan who welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world last week. But most people would look at Sarah and Teagan and only see the beginning of something new, a new marriage and, in both cases, a new life. And right about now it is starting to look like the end of our nice weather as the clouds roll in over Perth.
The thing I am most excited about ending aside from the semester, is my scuba course which has taken me over a month to complete with all the bad weather and crazy scheduling. Today, was my first ocean dive! I really enjoyed it and saw some really great things. We visited a dive trail in Rockingham, 30 minutes south of Perth. The dive trail consisted of a string of sunken boats and airplanes connected by a rope. The boats and planes are not side by side, but spread out over a few metres of ocean floor about 20-30 feet apart. The sunken boats and planes are covered in all forms of sealife, from marine plants and coral to various types of fish. We mostly saw smaller fish today. I petted a real life seahorse, which was pregnant, held sand dollars and touched star fish and other interesting things. It was really amazing seeing those things alive in the ocean instead of dried up and dead. I could've stayed down there all day. Of course, that may have had more to do with my inability to get out of the water without falling down and once you are down, there isn't much hope for getting back up. In the shallower water along the shoreline, my legs were like jelly and I couldn't catch my balance to bring myself back up with the weight of the scuba gear holding me down and all the waves crashing against me. It was pretty embaressing, but luckily I did make it back to my feet before the guys had to drag me to the beach. I also had trouble getting my fins on in the water, but by the end of the day I was a natural *cough*. So now that it is nearly the end of my scuba certification, I will have the freedom of scuba diving anywhere in the world! Next stop, The Great Barrier Reef! See how good The End can be?!?! The underwater world is my oyster.. haha!
It was also the end of my loss of appetite from the stress I've been having over the last week and a half. So what could be better when you feel like eating again than KFC! Good ole American Kentucky Fried Chicken. This is actually the first time since I arrived here to eat American fast food, but it was damn good! Tomorrow is another ocean dive, this time off a boat. Today was a shore dive where you walk into and out of the water. Then tomorrow night there is an American style Halloween party on campus... Saturday is a day of exploring Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth, followed by... the gay pride parade. It wasn't my idea, but who knows.. it might be fun! That's why gay people are called gay right.. because they are always happy and fun! Besides that, my gay American pal, Charlie, is hosting the Halloween party Friday night. It's a weekend of gaydom!
The End
Except for daylight savings starting this weekend here in Perth and the beginning of summer, everything else is coming to an end. It is the end of October and almost the end of the year. The end of the semester is in sight (just two more weeks!), the end of my scuba certification course, the end of the 30's for one friend! Happy BIG 4-0, by the way! The end sounds so sad, so tragic, but why should it? The end is also the beginning for new things and sometimes brings a little relief and freedom with it, like quitting my job and coming to Perth. The end means the beginning of something else, something new. It is the sound of hope and renewal, like springtime or fall. The trees must shed their leaves in the fall to welcome the vibrant new green ones in the spring and everyone forgets that those trees were so stark and bare for the last few months. It is the end of being single for my friend Sarah who got engaged in Niagara Falls last weekend and also the end of being pregnant for my friend Teagan who welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world last week. But most people would look at Sarah and Teagan and only see the beginning of something new, a new marriage and, in both cases, a new life. And right about now it is starting to look like the end of our nice weather as the clouds roll in over Perth.
The thing I am most excited about ending aside from the semester, is my scuba course which has taken me over a month to complete with all the bad weather and crazy scheduling. Today, was my first ocean dive! I really enjoyed it and saw some really great things. We visited a dive trail in Rockingham, 30 minutes south of Perth. The dive trail consisted of a string of sunken boats and airplanes connected by a rope. The boats and planes are not side by side, but spread out over a few metres of ocean floor about 20-30 feet apart. The sunken boats and planes are covered in all forms of sealife, from marine plants and coral to various types of fish. We mostly saw smaller fish today. I petted a real life seahorse, which was pregnant, held sand dollars and touched star fish and other interesting things. It was really amazing seeing those things alive in the ocean instead of dried up and dead. I could've stayed down there all day. Of course, that may have had more to do with my inability to get out of the water without falling down and once you are down, there isn't much hope for getting back up. In the shallower water along the shoreline, my legs were like jelly and I couldn't catch my balance to bring myself back up with the weight of the scuba gear holding me down and all the waves crashing against me. It was pretty embaressing, but luckily I did make it back to my feet before the guys had to drag me to the beach. I also had trouble getting my fins on in the water, but by the end of the day I was a natural *cough*. So now that it is nearly the end of my scuba certification, I will have the freedom of scuba diving anywhere in the world! Next stop, The Great Barrier Reef! See how good The End can be?!?! The underwater world is my oyster.. haha!
It was also the end of my loss of appetite from the stress I've been having over the last week and a half. So what could be better when you feel like eating again than KFC! Good ole American Kentucky Fried Chicken. This is actually the first time since I arrived here to eat American fast food, but it was damn good! Tomorrow is another ocean dive, this time off a boat. Today was a shore dive where you walk into and out of the water. Then tomorrow night there is an American style Halloween party on campus... Saturday is a day of exploring Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth, followed by... the gay pride parade. It wasn't my idea, but who knows.. it might be fun! That's why gay people are called gay right.. because they are always happy and fun! Besides that, my gay American pal, Charlie, is hosting the Halloween party Friday night. It's a weekend of gaydom!
The End
20 October 2007
To stay or to go?
Aussie phrase of the day: Rocked up to = got to (like walked up to), "My friends and I rocked up to the party about 7 o'clock." or "I rocked up to work late."
That is the question. I just found out today that two of my good friends that are here on exchange might be staying at ECU to get their masters degrees as well. They are German and the education system in Germany sounds like shit from what they have told me. I am really excited to hear that they might stay because then our circle of friends won't be broken after all! Not that I am against making new friends, but it's so nice when you can keep your friends around a while once you have made such a good connection with them. The only problem is that it is a lot of money for them to stay and go to school here and Germany doesn't offer federal school loans.
As you all know, I am coming back to the States for a month over the holidays. I am ready to go home and run away from my assignments and the stresses of my life here in Oz. I am excited to see everyone again, especially Teagan's new baby girl, Danna Kate, and my long lost pal, Sarah, who moved to Ohio two months before I left for Australia. But as ready and excited as I am to go home, I am also starting to remember why I left the beloved 'burg in the first place. I was purely bored having never experienced much life outside of the great midwest state of Missouri. Everyone I meet here asks me where I am from in the States. They probably expect something really exciting like a well-known city like New York or LA, or at least a state they have heard of, like Texas or Florida. Alas, they always wait with a look of anticipation for an explanation when I say Missouri. I just say, "it's right in the middle.. lots of fields and cows." I guess I should tell them I live near the B-2 bomber.
So I'm not really sure what I should do with all my time in Missouri. One particular friend here keeps asking me if I am still going home and what I am going to do there for a month. Of course, my family and friends are there and who better to celebrate the holidays with than your loved ones. Do you have a better suggestion, my friend? But recently it has occurred to me that maybe my friend is right to wonder what I will be doing at home for a month because I have started wondering myself. I can do most of my catching up with friends and get my fill of American home-cooking within a few weeks. I can talk to family on the phone at normal hours of the day where we are on the same day on a phone instead of the computer, but I don't have a car to drive, a cell phone number, or a job in Warrensburg. That is when fear strikes my heart.. and it occurs to me that when you leave home for any significant amount of time, returning to the place you used to call home will never be the same. It will never be the place it was when you were growing up or going to college, where you had friends to hang out with and keep you entertained. Returning will always be pleasureable but only temporary. Having a taste of another place leaves me forever changed and with a knowledge that I will never return home to stay. I am already restless to come back to the city and my life here in Perth.
That is the question. I just found out today that two of my good friends that are here on exchange might be staying at ECU to get their masters degrees as well. They are German and the education system in Germany sounds like shit from what they have told me. I am really excited to hear that they might stay because then our circle of friends won't be broken after all! Not that I am against making new friends, but it's so nice when you can keep your friends around a while once you have made such a good connection with them. The only problem is that it is a lot of money for them to stay and go to school here and Germany doesn't offer federal school loans.
As you all know, I am coming back to the States for a month over the holidays. I am ready to go home and run away from my assignments and the stresses of my life here in Oz. I am excited to see everyone again, especially Teagan's new baby girl, Danna Kate, and my long lost pal, Sarah, who moved to Ohio two months before I left for Australia. But as ready and excited as I am to go home, I am also starting to remember why I left the beloved 'burg in the first place. I was purely bored having never experienced much life outside of the great midwest state of Missouri. Everyone I meet here asks me where I am from in the States. They probably expect something really exciting like a well-known city like New York or LA, or at least a state they have heard of, like Texas or Florida. Alas, they always wait with a look of anticipation for an explanation when I say Missouri. I just say, "it's right in the middle.. lots of fields and cows." I guess I should tell them I live near the B-2 bomber.
So I'm not really sure what I should do with all my time in Missouri. One particular friend here keeps asking me if I am still going home and what I am going to do there for a month. Of course, my family and friends are there and who better to celebrate the holidays with than your loved ones. Do you have a better suggestion, my friend? But recently it has occurred to me that maybe my friend is right to wonder what I will be doing at home for a month because I have started wondering myself. I can do most of my catching up with friends and get my fill of American home-cooking within a few weeks. I can talk to family on the phone at normal hours of the day where we are on the same day on a phone instead of the computer, but I don't have a car to drive, a cell phone number, or a job in Warrensburg. That is when fear strikes my heart.. and it occurs to me that when you leave home for any significant amount of time, returning to the place you used to call home will never be the same. It will never be the place it was when you were growing up or going to college, where you had friends to hang out with and keep you entertained. Returning will always be pleasureable but only temporary. Having a taste of another place leaves me forever changed and with a knowledge that I will never return home to stay. I am already restless to come back to the city and my life here in Perth.
13 October 2007
Hellfire and damnation
Aussie phrase of the day: chuck a sickie = to call in sick to work, "I am thinking of chucking a sickie on Monday."
The weeks are growing progressively busier as I attempt to juggle my new schedule of work and school. I finally got a job last week as a receptionist for an air conditioning company. I need new work clothes and a foot massage (ideas for X-mas presents!) and a fan for my room. Today was about 94 degrees, a huge jump from the mild 70 degree weather we've been having. I'm hot and I can't concentrate and I've had the worst day! For one thing I would have loved to have gone to the beach, but I have two assignments due Tuesday. So I tried to focus on my studies... but then I had two panic attacks in a row. I realized that I have work on Monday, but have already scheduled two meetings that day for school, one in the morning and one in the afternoon that can't be rescheduled. I tried to think of how I could cram it all in, but I just don't think I can do it. I'm going to have to call my new boss and tell him that I can't come to work on Monday now, but hopefully he will understand. Then when I started getting down to the business of my homework, I realized I've lost my USB! It had a lot of important stuff on it, including the info for one of my assignments due Tuesday. So I spent a good part of my afternoon trying to track it down with no luck. I finally had one of the girls from my class send the info to me because I had luckily saved it to her USB as well and now I am ready to begin studying again... at 5pm :(
Last night was a lot better than today. The Dutchies, another American girl and I went to the Perth Glory soccer match (is that better mom?!). We had free tickets so we went for the helluva it. It got pretty cool when the sun went down so we decided we needed to find some hot chocolate to warm us up after the game. You might be wondering how we could be drinking hot chocolate one minute and dying of heat the next, but that's the weather here in Perth - screaming hot during the day, cold at night. We went to a new place in Northbridge called The Moon Cafe. Off the beaten path of the other bars in Northbridge, The Moon Cafe offers a tranquil, bohemian/ 50's diner theme and serves meals until early morning. Always good for those after bar munchies. We shared nachos and a delicious strawberry dessert pizza and tried every kind of flavored hot drink they served, from caramel white hot chocolate to a frangelico flavored latte and went home with very full tummies. We even made friends with a cabbie who let 6 of us cram into his cab, then told us if we were stopped by the cops that we had to tell them we forced him to take all of us, then he gave us his number and told us to call him next time we were out.
I hope everyone is enjoying their comfortably cool fall weather and is having a wonderful weekend!
The weeks are growing progressively busier as I attempt to juggle my new schedule of work and school. I finally got a job last week as a receptionist for an air conditioning company. I need new work clothes and a foot massage (ideas for X-mas presents!) and a fan for my room. Today was about 94 degrees, a huge jump from the mild 70 degree weather we've been having. I'm hot and I can't concentrate and I've had the worst day! For one thing I would have loved to have gone to the beach, but I have two assignments due Tuesday. So I tried to focus on my studies... but then I had two panic attacks in a row. I realized that I have work on Monday, but have already scheduled two meetings that day for school, one in the morning and one in the afternoon that can't be rescheduled. I tried to think of how I could cram it all in, but I just don't think I can do it. I'm going to have to call my new boss and tell him that I can't come to work on Monday now, but hopefully he will understand. Then when I started getting down to the business of my homework, I realized I've lost my USB! It had a lot of important stuff on it, including the info for one of my assignments due Tuesday. So I spent a good part of my afternoon trying to track it down with no luck. I finally had one of the girls from my class send the info to me because I had luckily saved it to her USB as well and now I am ready to begin studying again... at 5pm :(
Last night was a lot better than today. The Dutchies, another American girl and I went to the Perth Glory soccer match (is that better mom?!). We had free tickets so we went for the helluva it. It got pretty cool when the sun went down so we decided we needed to find some hot chocolate to warm us up after the game. You might be wondering how we could be drinking hot chocolate one minute and dying of heat the next, but that's the weather here in Perth - screaming hot during the day, cold at night. We went to a new place in Northbridge called The Moon Cafe. Off the beaten path of the other bars in Northbridge, The Moon Cafe offers a tranquil, bohemian/ 50's diner theme and serves meals until early morning. Always good for those after bar munchies. We shared nachos and a delicious strawberry dessert pizza and tried every kind of flavored hot drink they served, from caramel white hot chocolate to a frangelico flavored latte and went home with very full tummies. We even made friends with a cabbie who let 6 of us cram into his cab, then told us if we were stopped by the cops that we had to tell them we forced him to take all of us, then he gave us his number and told us to call him next time we were out.
I hope everyone is enjoying their comfortably cool fall weather and is having a wonderful weekend!
04 October 2007
When it rains it pours
Aussie phrase of the day: "How ya going?" = "How are you? " or "What's up?"
I feel like the week should be over already, but there's still one more day.. for me that is. Well, if I was a little bit bored last week, the last two days have certainly made up for it. I am volunteering with the Multicultural week activities at "uni", which, unfortunately are mainly enjoyed only by the international students. I'm sure it was much the same when I was an undergrad in the States. The multicultural week was not something the non-international students got involved with even though it is open for everyone to attend. Now I am wishing I was more into it when I was an undergrad - international student or not. It's a lot of fun!
Yesterday was a viewing of a documentary by a fellow ECU student on Kenya, followed by a sausage sizzle, a very popular type of BBQ here in Australia. Basically, a sausage sizzle consists of grilling up a bunch of sausages, usually beef sausages, but ours were chicken and lamb. You eat them in a "roll" (bun) sometimes with grilled onions and/ or tomato sauce (ketchup), BBQ or sweet chilli sauce. However, I am told that sauces are not highly regarded here in Oz, thus the reason they charge 40-60 cents a packet! And free refills on drinks.. forget about it! Sausages in Oz are the equivalent of hot dogs in the States - better tasting, but just as bad for you. So if you are having a friend over to your house you might say to them, "we'll just have a sausage sizzle at my place."
Today the multicultural activity consisted of a festival with various booths for trying int'l cuisine and other cultural wares such as my new Henna tattoo in the photo. The black part is the Henna, which is a mixture of crushed henna herb and oil that is painted on with a tiny brush. The Henna dries then flakes off leaving an orangey-golden stain that lasts 6-10 days, which is longer than my spray painted kangaroo lasted! Spray paint and Henna tattoo's.. what next? A real one? Only time will tell.. (ooo, mom is not going to like that one.) There was also dancing and music performances from all over the world. My favorites were the African dancing, Irish music, aaannd I played the drum in a Brazilian drum band - think Rio de Janeiro meets Mardi Gras with whistles and crazy beats! I rocked!
Tomorrow and the next day will be filled with more multicultural events and by Sunday I will be ready for a big nap! At some point I have to catch up with my friends this weekend, especially my friend, Ina, who lost an uncle and a close friend last weekend, one to cancer, the other in a car accident in Italy. One of my biggest fears of being so far away from home is that something terrible will happen to my loved ones and I won't be there or can't get back to the States. So everyone BE SAFE.. for me.. and everyone else in your life!
I am also posting a pic of me and Gail, my American friend from Maryland/ Delaware. This was taken on Monday from a bridge in King's Park that overlooks the Swan River. Now I am going to go chow down on some sushi with my housemate and neighbors who are always eating at ridiculously late hours of the day. Ciao!
02 October 2007
Back to the grind
Aussie word of the day: capsicum = bell pepper, "I'm going to put some red capsicum in my salad."
It's back to school this week, which I am a little grateful for. I wasn't really that busy last week, but I hit up King's Park Friday and Monday for the wildflower festival. There is a yummy little cafe there that serves the best carmel latte and scones with cream and jam and offers a spectacular view of the city and Swan River. Friday night I went on a river cruise with Gail's field hockey team, which was a lot of fun. We had drinks and a barbie on the boat. Saturday I went to the beach and the ballet, then relaxed again on Sunday. I also downloaded the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy on iTunes. Looks like another good season for the Grey's doctors.
There are only a few more weeks of school. One of my classes ends at the end of October and I will be finished with all my classes in mid-November, just in time for Thanksgiving! I am undecided about coming home a week earlier than planned to get an extra holiday into the break. I guess it depends on my job status. Well, that's all for now. Sorry I don't have more exciting news, more next time!
It's back to school this week, which I am a little grateful for. I wasn't really that busy last week, but I hit up King's Park Friday and Monday for the wildflower festival. There is a yummy little cafe there that serves the best carmel latte and scones with cream and jam and offers a spectacular view of the city and Swan River. Friday night I went on a river cruise with Gail's field hockey team, which was a lot of fun. We had drinks and a barbie on the boat. Saturday I went to the beach and the ballet, then relaxed again on Sunday. I also downloaded the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy on iTunes. Looks like another good season for the Grey's doctors.
There are only a few more weeks of school. One of my classes ends at the end of October and I will be finished with all my classes in mid-November, just in time for Thanksgiving! I am undecided about coming home a week earlier than planned to get an extra holiday into the break. I guess it depends on my job status. Well, that's all for now. Sorry I don't have more exciting news, more next time!
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