flaxer

dave flaxer adn his friend sam came to visit me for a a couple nights. they came on sunday and we went to coggee beach. me and dave went to the corner and sat up on rocks, looking down on everyone. it was really pretty and so great to be with him. dave and sam were amazed by the place i am staying. We went to the hot tub and sauna and jsut relaxed. That night we went food shopping and legit made chilli together and it tasted great. The next day they went on like a five hour hike and i was not having that so i went to luna park with cody which i told u about. then at night of course they wanted to go in the hot tub and sauna again haha. The next day i had class and they did things around sydney. then at night lindsey cooked us all food cause i had told them how amazing she is as a cook. after we went to george street and went to three wise monkeys and scruffy murphys. it was a little quiet because it was a tuesday night but still a good time. those are the normal collegey bars in sydney. the next day was rough but i had a presentation in business class and we did great ( me cody and april) we got a igh distinction! the company was great, i enjoyed his stay :)

Luna Park

My work gave me two free tickets to Luna park which is kind of a carnival place that never closes on the other side of the sydney harbour bridge. cody and i went adn we didnt know it was a school holiday, which meant that all the younger kids went. we went on the ferris wheel, got some cotton candy, walked around and such. its free to go but it costs to do the rides but not for us because i had the free passes. We had a good day but it made us feel very old. That night we had the send off dinner from out program. It was a lebanese place and we sat on low cushions. there was great hummus and falafel, etc. and the baklava for desert was deliciousss. we all got joke awards. mine was most "go with the flow" cause im so easy to be around. and then we got a collage of our trip.

Ice bar

During Easter break me and about 15 other people decided to go to minus five bar which is an ice bar in sydney that is 5 degrees celcius. it was a lot of fun, we had a reservation and all went down to circular quay together. we all had a pregame in the penthouse before and then went to the bar. an amazingggg night! and lots of good pictures! they gave us big coats to wear that kept us warm. we were only allowed in there for a half hour because it is so cold. everything was made out of ice, the bar, the walls, the seats...everything. And usually the glasses are ice but they didnt have them so we got in for 20 dollars instead of 30. After we headed to the rocks which is a nice area not too far away. we went to argile which some people couldnt get into because they werent "properly dressed" so somehow lauren and i were left alone in argile. we hung around and met some people and then went home. the next day i did absolutley nothing because i ddnt feel well if u know wat i mean. lol.but it was a great time

Passover then easter

So the day of passover i got really sick and ended up going to the doctor. She thought it was bronchitis and gave me meds. btw their medical system is grrrreat in australia. despite my sickness i went to a passover sedar that night. It was in bondi junction which is about an hour traveling away from where i am staying. It ended up that it was a chabbad and the family had ten children. They were each very interesting and there were two girls around my age that i spent the majority of the night with. we compared traditions in judaism and for countries. The food was also great! there was brisket and potatoes and guacamole. But we prayed for like 4 hours! I left a little early and I left at 1 am. A man at the sedar noticed that I had looked worried and looking at my watch so he figured I was worried about getting home which I was. all of the busses and trains had stopped running. So him and I walked back to his place which isnt far from where i am stayin and then from there he drove me to my apartment.
The next night I wasnt feeling well and knew i couldnt sit through another long service so I cancelled and stayed in. Apparently bondi Junction is where all the jewish people live. I eventually found out that there was a little tiny kosher section in the back of coles ( a local grocery store) right by me. But it was hard to find things around my area that were kosher.
Australians are not very religious people but they do take every excuse for a day or two off. My boss said that if a holiday falls on the weekend, they take either that friday or monday off as a public holiday. They also have four weeks of vacation time, and 10 sick days. And thats just average. I later talked to someone that said the minimum wage is 15 dollars but everyone usually gets 20. and he was older but he said he usually get 45 an hour....wldnt it b nice. Anywaysssss. so on easter they have that friday and monday as a public holiday for everyone. meaning that NOTHING is open. and i mean it wen i say NOTHING. on thursday night all bars close at midnight and dont open till saturday. there was really NOTHING to do. so of course we had to go to the beach and hang out. crazy australians lol. but ill tell u more bout easter weekend later..

another date with linds

Linds and I decided to do some shopping awhile back so we went to paddys for a good portion of the day. We got some good souvenirs and then were hungry so we decided to give china town another shot....BAD IDEA. We thought that it was only that specific place that was bad but it was that bad againnnn. the rice had ham in it...EW. the beef was really chewy, the wanton soup tasted seafoody. it was all just not good. but we thought we wld give it another try cause it was only like 15 dollars for a four course meal.but turned out to not b worth it. still a great date tho :)

IMAX date

April and I had a date day! We went to the biggest IMAX theater in the world which is on darling harbour. We got there by first going to cicular Quay and then taking a ferry to darling harbour. We saw Alice in Wonderland in 3d. It was a great movie and the effects combined with the hugeness of the screen was INCREDIBLE and so real. Then we went to a thai restaurant which i really liked. it was just a lovellyyyy day :)

Brisbane with Sista Marisa

Many things happened in between thailand and brisbane but o welllll. So i went to brisbane to visit marisa, one of my roommates in amherst. I got in at ten thirty at night and on the flight I had a man that just kept talkin and talkin and talkin to me, reminded me of someone but i just couldnt put my finger on it...haha. anyways wen i landed i took a bus to the train and then when i got off the train there marisa was!! We watched a little Dexter which is a tv show we are OBSESSED with. Her roommates are really cool, i got along with them well, and one of the roommate's friend alex who is a backpacker was also staying there.

The next morning all of us got up, hap a delicious breakfast burrito courtesy of marisa, and then headed to the lone pine koala sanctuary. it was a lot of fun! we gotta to see a gajillion koalas and other animals. it was exciting cause they had baby koalas and i actually saw them move cause usually they are asleep,i mean they do sleep for 20 hours a day or something like that. We also got to learn all about them cause we stayed for a presentation on koalas. We went into a feeding section where there were emus (which i am terrified of, i mean NO bird should be that big), and kangaroos! it was fun and we got to get sooo close to the kangaroos and they were just EVERYWHEREEEE. Then we went to hold koalas. You can hold one for free but u have to pay to take a picture with one... its DEFINATELY worth it. I was the last to hold one from the group and wen i got handed the koala, it just looked at my face and seemed to be like, OH NOOOOOOOO. haha. i thought that the koala was just gonna slap me across the face with its claws but luckily that didnt happen. instead they brought out a new koala for me. I turned around to laugh with everyone and then found out that the koala had POOED on me! ewwwwww! but then i held a cute koala who was nice. We stayed for hours at the zoo, it was a great time. Then we all went back for nap time.

That night we went to a club or bar scene called fridays. it was fancy and we had a good time and met a bunch of people. we stayed out and later walked down the streets of brisbane. brisbane is a nice place, it seems like a much smaller version of sydney. and i liked the train system, it was simple like the one at home. We then took a cab home and when you hail a cab they start the meter at 6 dollars! ridiculousness!

The next day we went to the man made beach! it looks exactly like a beach, with sand and everything! but it is enclosed and has a little clorene in it, just like a pool. We stayed for awhile adn then went to the market right next to the beach. it was a nice little area, we got some churros there which were delicioussss. then we headed into town and got really good sushi! then it was dexter and nap time!

We went out again to a really nice place and of course had lots of fun! after we had pizza from a New york pizza place of courseee haha. but it definitely filled my pizza craving.... i mean for a little while.

The next day we hung out and then i headed back to the airport. i was waiting and waiting and zoned out and then realized my flight was supposed to have already taken off. but no one ever came over the speaker and said so. turns out my flight was delayed which sucked but wat can u do. it was a great weekend tho!

lazyyyy

so im sorry ive been so lazy and busy lately. Ive had projects, papers, and of course ive been living it up over here. so ill try and update u on what has happened and hopefully ill go in a good order.

Alright well to wrap thailand up, the last day we stayed there was Sunday and we went out and stayed on the beach as much as possible and then got ready and flew into, where do u think?.... BANGKOK of courseeee. From there we parted ways, and even though I told mom it would only be another month until I saw her, she still cried :) gotta love mom. Then I flew to china first class. I took first class cause it was the only way to get me home on time for my classes. Even though that was a short ride, it was still really nice. i took cathay pacific and it was nice and they were really accommodating.Then i had a nine hour flight back to sydney. the first class to sydney was UNREAL! the seats reclined so that u were completely flat as if u were in a bed, they gave us little kits with special creams and lotions and lipgloss and toothpaste etc., the blankets were basically down comforters. i cld live there forever. the TV screens pulled out and were flat screens, there were games and tv shows, and there werent just a couple movies but rather a tonnnnn of new releases. all these things made it difficult to sleep, on top of all this they served us champagne and food every like two hours which of course i ddnt want to miss haha. there was a nice rose drink that they had which was good. so yea, i got in to sydney and then relaxed for the rest of the day and then that night we had a mid semester dinner with everyone. and where did we go? where do u think haha Thai food hahah. just cldnt get enough.

Overall i LOVEDDDDD thailand and would love to go back. It was a great place and not disgusting like I thought it would be. It was a lovely vacation with mom and dad :) the shopping, the food, the sights, they were all amazing and I would definately encourage everyone to go there. Thanks mom and dad, ur the best! c u soon!!!!

Fridayyyyy

We went on a sea kayak trip! It was a lot of fun! We went in kayaks and one of the tour guides paddled us. We went in a bat cave, saw beautiful scenary, and ate delicious food. It was really a great trip and nothing like I have ever seen. It was a full day event. We saw monkeys just living on an island which was really cool. Then at night we went to the town of karon which was really nice and ate dinner there and shopped. Its not as hectic and we ate amazing food in the middle of markets and for all of us to eat and have water was like 10 us dollars. Craziness. It wasnt far from our hotel so we walked back and on the way we got some drinks together :)

saturday was another beach day! sooo hot tho! i went parasailing which was great! the water was sooo pretty! but i did get a little sea sick ish. at night we went into puhket town weekend market with our driver and it was amazingg! great food, of course crazy shopping, but it was more local stuff and cool close unlike the touristy things we had seen, there were dvds, and just everything u cld think of and it was huge. it was definately my favorite market that we had been to in thailand.

BEACHHHH finally some relaxingg :)

the night before when we arrived the airport was crazyyy, the taxi drivers bonbarded us and of course bardering, it was really helpful that we had someone there waiting. We had a great breakfast and the hotel had these amazing towels that they soaked in lavender and then put in the freezer...amazing, i loved it, it made me feel better all the time. we stayed by the beach for most of the day but it was so hot that we couldnt stay forever. the water was even warm, all three of us went in the water multiple times which is a big deal for me and mom. we had DELICIOUS mango on the beach. then we went to the pool and cooled off. of course the staff came over and offered us fruit and lavender towels. Then there was happy hour! we tried a bunch of different fun fruity drinks, and then there was even a certain time that it was half off at the bakery!we went to patong for dinner which was a good cab ride away, its where all of the backpackers stay and its a crazy place, verry loud, some ppl said it smelled, lots of shopping and markets, but a little too hectic for me. we went to dinner there. you pick ur seafood personally and then they cook it. i got mussels, dad got fish, mom got shrimp and we of course got an order of pad thai and morning glory. daddys fish had bones in it tho :( most of the fish there does, they eat fish kind of like how we eat chicken.

last day in chang mai

we had a deluxe breakfast at the hotel and then went shopping and finallyyyyy found the aladdin pants that i had been looking for!!! we shopped around the city and then mom and i got foot massages! they are really cheap there like 7 dollars for an hour! we laid on these flat beds as the women massaged, slapped and everything else u cld think of to our feet and legs. and of course dad was the little paparazzi over there snapping pictures every second.... soooo embarrassing. Then tony took us to more and more and more temples which by the end all looked the same. Tony told us about a guy that could pick us up in phuket which was really helpful. all the flight again had to go thro bangkok so we went back to bangkok again and then to phuket

tuesday in thailand

We went to the elephant camppP!!!!!! i said hi to the mother and her baby at the front and from there we went for an ox cart ride! the guy loved us and even got off the front, gave me the reigns and said "i take picture now" haha. it was greattt! then we got to the elephant part! mom and i went on one elephant and daddy went on his own. The elephants were so cute! but the ride was really bumpy. There was a trainer who made sure everything went right and they sat on the elephants head! we went up hills, and through water! Then we went to lunch which was really really good! yummmmmm! huge buffet of everything! Then we got to see the elephants and take pictures with them and such. I got to go on top of one bare backed which was really cool! elephants are such lovely animals, and so sweet. then they took a bath! and then they did a cute show! they danced, painted and many other things it was great! then we went on a bamboo ride down the river, felt like tom sawyer.haha. but it was relaxing and nice and definately made us feel like we were in thailand. after the elephant camp we went to the monkey zoo! there was one monkey that we got to hold and the rest were chained to polls or trees. they made a huge deal about the mokey zoo and this and that...and then we walked in and it wasnt too exciting and we were the only ones there haha. then they had a big show to show off the monkeys!... which consisted of the three of us haha. a gay thai man with bleached blonde hair stood there with a microphone doin a show which was really funny and he kept sayin woaawwwwww. it was HILLARIOUSSSS! then we went to tony and meows restaurant and learned how to cook ourfavorite dishes! first we went to a food market and bought a bunch of vegetables and all together it was like one us dollar. we loveeeee morning glory, its a GREAT vegetable! anywyas, we learned how to make spring roll...dad wasnt so good at it haha, had a little trouble rolling it haha. then vegetable stir fry, then pad thai!!! yuM! then the amazingggg soup which wen i get home i want to LIVE off of it was so good. not to burst my own bubble but it i made AMAZINGGGG soup! we were sooooo full after. so much then when we got to the hotel i passed out and mom and dad went to the market wat a shock haha.

Monday

We went to a mall down the street and I tried some cheesy fries from McDonalds which sounds good but its just their greasy fries with gross cheese on top. Then we found Black Canyon Coffee. They have a deal that every Monday you can buy one coffee and get one free so fo course we haddd to get four and then were hopped up on caffeine haha. But it was the first good coffee we had in Thailand. Then we went to the Bakery at the Watergate Hotel and its supposed to be famous and amazing and don’t get me wrong, it was really good but the selection wasn’t too big. I had a spinach quiche, mom had some bread and an apple thing which she really like and dad had some bread thing. It was good. Traveling options included walking, Tuk Tuk, taxi, and sky train. The sky train is a train but its not like ones we have at home, instead its high up above the city. So we decided to walk to the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was an American who started lot of silk stuff in Thailand to put it simply lol. So we saw him amazing house which was both pretty and interesting. Right outside of the Jim Thompson house was a little stand making smoothies and they were delicious! Dad got orange, mom and I got strawberry. And it was like a dollar each, gotta love Thailand lol. Then we flew to Chang Mai where our driver Tony was waiting for us. Tony’s wife is named Meow which I just thought was great lol.

Sunday

We hired a driver for the day who was a cute thai man who loved talking to us. He told us how Thai people love America. He said that he loves the Beatles and named a bunch of other American bands and artists. He told us a joke... What is the difference between a snake and an Indian? A snake you eat first because Indian food is fast food…or something along that line. So anyways he was driving us to the floating market which is kind far away. So we stopped at the gas station and mom and I went to the bathroom…which usually isn’t so hard but this time it was. It was basically a flat bathtub on the floor and then there was no toilet paper but a bucket with water with a smaller bucket… yea it was not what we were expecting haha. And we also found out that the taxi there doesn’t run on gasoline like ours do but instead it runs on natural gas. They put it in under the front hood and its kept in back of the seats. They do this because it is a lot cheaper. We arrived and it was the coolest thing to go to. You pay to be taken around for an hour. Its basically a bunch of canals and a man in a long motor boat type thing there a people on other small boats, they kind of look like little canoes. The “stores” are on the side of the canal so if you want to look at something then the driver of the boat pulls up to the side and you bargain right there….bargaining is a little different in Thailand…you ask them a price and they say o I have a discount for you! And always take out a calculator and put down a price which is usually around twice the price they would sell it to you for. Then you laugh and say that its way above ur price range and then they ask you to type in what you want to pay and it goes from there. If you don’t give them a price and just walk away they usually drop the price to about half. Eventually they say final price and write it on the calculator, but you can usually get it lower. Ok so yea we tried different soups that were made by people on the little canoes and we had the most amazing one ever and then dad and I had the most amazing spring rolls ever. It was crazy, a different thing than I had ever done. Thailand is a place that is very different and I really enjoyed my time there. When our boat person dropped us off we realized that we were the only people who didn’t get to get up and go into the markets in the middle of the canal town area so of course mom complained to the people and we got an extra free ride! Our taxi driver came with us and he was so cute because he had never been to the floating markets and he was so excited, smiling and taking pictures and stuff haha. Then we went to MBK which is a shopping center but not ur typical shopping center… it was a mall but there were small tiny stores and you can bargain with them. One floor is full of technical stuff and there were ipods and fake ipods and stuff for sale, they were definitely cheaper but still not cheap enough to buy because there isn’t a guarantee that they will work. Then we went to the temple where there is a reclining Budha which doesn’t sound exciting but it was pretty amazing. The Budha was hugeeeee….BIG BUDHA!

Saturday

We woke up in the morning and went to the weekend market. There was everything there you could ever think of; from food to dogs to plates to souvenirs. By the way, the shopping everywhere was amazingggg! Not only was there great finds but also everything was so cheap! And they were all happy to bargain with you. 30 baht is equal to 1 US dollar so buying things for a couple hundred is actually a really good deal in us dollars. So of course we had to try the food as soon as we got there! We had the BEST pad thai I have ever had in my life! Dad and I shared a plate using our chopsticks! The shopping went on and on and on. After we shopped we went to the Grand Palace where the emerald Buddha is. And how did we get there? Of course we took a long tailed boat down a canal to get there lol. We got a tour guide and learned a lot about the palace and thai culture and the king. The king is much like the queen of England, mostly just a figure head and there is a parliament. We also had to cover our shoulders, and legs out of respect otherwise they wouldn’t let you in the temple. We also thought that you had to wear close toed shoes but apparently recently that has been changed and they don’t care about your shoes. Actually in order to go into the temple and see the Buddha you have to take off your shoes. The other temples we ended up seeing made you take your shoes off but they didn’t care about the legs or shoulders. From there we took a tuk tuk! Which is like a taxi but not… it’s a small little thing with open sides and …its hard to explain but its cute.

And the explorations of Thailand begin!!

Friday I went to half a day of work and then took a taxi to the airport. Got on the flight for 9 hours which went right into Fiji. Then I searched the airport for someone who spoke English and found out where mom and dad’s flight would come into. I met them at their gate and they were thrilled to see me! We went through customs and of course nothing can be done easily haha…daddy had some issues with getting his picture taken and the whole process. Then we took a taxi to our hotel. It was a really nice fancy hotel. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriot and they were very nice. We settled in and went to bed on the hardest mattresses I have everrrr felt.

Before thailand

Ok so since it was so long ago ill give u a quick synopses. So linds and i had a great day which then turned weird to worse. So we took a little journey to the harbour and walked around and then we went to the aquarium! which was really fun! all the pics are up on fbook. and then we went to china town and got dinner and did a little shopping. then lindsey lost her bus pass and then the bus was really late. so we knew the night had to either get better or was just gonna go down hill from there. Basically me and linds went to meet some friends out at bondi on Sunday night…long story short she ended up fracturing her elbow and we were in the emergency room from around midnight to eleven am the next day. The week went well,school and intership as always and then the night before I left me cody and linds went to the clevland bar which isn’t too far from here and played pool with some kiwis and met all of the other capa group who were leaving for home the next day. Then off to meet mom and dad in thaland!!

wednesday, rappelling

ok so wednesday was a crazy intense day, i went rappelling, eventually down a 90 ft waterfall! read all about it at thewordaustralia.com which is where im interning. and then click on blog, you will see a bunch of blogs. the ones writeen by janna g are clearly me and so far i have written three so check it out. the one called abseiling aka repelling and the one called leap before you look are both about my trip. the pictures will be up on facebook soon but if u cant wait that long or dont have fbook here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wordaustralia/show/

enjoy!

Food

OK so they Looveeeee meat pies and what we call chicken pot pie. They put salt and pepper on EVERYTHING including burgers... which brings me to the fact that they put beetroot on their burgers which is what we call beets. They eat a lot of schnitzel and kababs. Sushi and thai food is everywhere. They love their avocados, they put avocado spread on everything. Oh and I did the math and wen I work on Fridays I walk 14 miles a week.

Sunday

Woke up at around 8am, set out to the center of Sydney with linds around 9:30. Went to paddy’s market which is is a great market with clothes, souvenirs, toys, everythinggg…u name it, they got it. I bought some postcards, a really cute dress, and a cheap bag with all the city name of Australia on them. It was fun but overwhelming. And if you want anything let me know and ill get it! At around 2 we headed back and tanned on the rooftop. It was a nice and relazing day. Ive been getting those bad headaches again :( so hopefully ill drink more and keep myself hydrated :)

This past weekend

So Friday was an easy day, the two main bosses were at a conference so it was pretty laid back. That night me and some people went out to oxford street which is a very popular street and notorious for their gay bars. We chose the Gaff and most of the capa students were all together. Me and a bunch of girls experienced our first jager bomb which was fun. We all ended up splitting up and going separate ways. Me linds and lauren had met these two guys from the UK that were nice and decided to go to another bar with them. We ended up at coco cubana which was a café that was also a bar. It had delicious deserts-which we of course tried- and coffees and then alcohol. It had a kind of starbucks setting which was nice and tame. We chatted and then met some nice three other gay guys who were very entertaining. And then ran into some people on the street that were nice too haha, we were just meeting everyone! The next morning I slept in pretty late and then skyped with mom and dad, they finally met linds! By the time we were ready to go it was like 1:30 and there was supposed to be a barbeque and then they had to go to a movie for class sooo me colleen and Lindsey just went to cogee beach and then I came back and fixed up the place and made dinner. Then I went to bed early, around eleven. Stayed in so that we cld get up early in the morning!

This week

Then the week started up and it was the same routine, classes and work all over again. This week was the other interns last week which is really sad because I will have no one to hang out with and eat lunch. I found out a lot about her Finish culture which was really interesting. The one cool thing that happened this week is that work told me that I am going to go abseiling next week with another girl. They are paying for me to document and experience it which is really cool. Abseiling is what we call rappelling, and I will be doing it down a waterfall! Also, my exam for next week got changed to a take home which is always nice.

Last weekend

So last weekend on Saturday afternoon I went with the two laurens and christa to walk around Sydney. Most people were on the surf trip that weekend. As you might have seen in my facebook pictures, we walked down to the opera house and took some touristy pictures. Then we walked around and eventually made our way to the market on the rocks but it was closing and it OF COURSE started raining so we headed back. The stuff there was really nicely crafted jewelry, shoes, and clothes. Oh and all weekend as I had mentioned we had a flood so I was staying in another room that was smaller but had a king sized bed which was nice for me since my roommate was gone for the weekend. But it was very frustrating because I had to go back and forth from the old room to the new room with clothes and food and such. And the old room REAKED. That night the same group of girls and the boys and I went back to that area to go to a place called argyle but they wouldn’t let the boys in so we went to a place by there that was a hotel bar, I remember the name started with an O. we had a lot of fun, we danced upstairs and we met a guy named Graham who lives right by manly beach, a true Australia and he was really nice. Later we left and went to three wise monkeys on George street. Sunday was valentines day. I woke up feeling horrible, and it wasn’t from the night before. I had a skype date with Steve for an hour which was great until I threw up :( the whole day I just felt horrible and hot. Then I officially switched rooms to my new one. Colleen and I like this one better, its bigger and has too floors which both have balconies. We had issues with the place though, our dishwasher broke and the clothes that they cleaned for us came back wet and therefore smelled but everything eventually got cleared up.

Random

So it is very weird to watch the winter Olympics while sweating here in Australia in 80 degree weather haha. I have been cooking a lot more, you should all be proud! Ive made tuna casserole, spaghetti and meat sauce, hamburgers, and much more. And tonight I made my ultimate meal! First I had a salad with lemon and pepper and salt on it and then I had pasta, vegetables, and dim sum which are basically like the Chinese dumplings at home. And I put pepper, garlic, lemon and some butter and milk on it… DELICIOUS! Lol. Ive been eating a crazy amount of watermelon here, I mean u have to when its hot outtt! Ive been having issues with lunch because I don’t like their deli meat here, it tastes weird so ive been eating a ton of peanut butter, mother always says u gotta have protein! Lol. Still the bats freak me out at night, I don’t think I will ever get used to them flying around everywhere cause they are just grossss! Ive had thai food here twice, pad thai both times and it was amazinggggg! The sushi here is also pretty amazing! But no good Mexican food :(

distance

so i just thought i wld let u all know that from my apartment to my work is about 2miles which means that on monday, thursday and friday i walk four miles a day! crazyyyyy!!! o and i have loads of posts to put up but they are on my comp so they will go up on tuesday (tomorrow) so get excited for that!

week to week

Ok, so i do realize that it seems to u guys that all i do is drink because of what I write on my blog but FALSE. i really only go out twice a weekend and dont go out during the week. but during the week i have gotten into a pretty routine agenda. i have class twice a week and work 4 times a week. i get my meal card on tuesday and shop usually on thursdays. Colleen and i usually switch off making dinner but every night we make a legit dinner. i am doing well and being healthy. overall im having a great time and just trying to take in the city. ill write another blog soon about the rest of this weekend, i had a lot of fun and toured a little of sydney! more to come! and im really excited for next week because i think my friends adn i will go to manly beach and meet up with some local aussies and go to paddys markets,...well thats the plan for now anyways, lets hope it doesnt rain! o and im doing three projects and case studies for class and one of them is on israel and the controversy of openning an arbys in israel, so anattyy ill b speakin to u shortly!!

the work place

Noticed people are a lot for laid back at work here than at home. Yesterday one of the guys I work with had a huge problem and a bunch of things weren’t going right so he was screaming FUCK and said fuck about 5 times in each sentence. Then the lady that works next to me got changed in the bathroom before she left work and she was wearing a tube top so she had taken her bra off so she just held it in the wide open and was swinging it around. Its very different to say the least lol

Thursday and Saturday

Ok so lately its just been classes and work and blah blah blah. Its is cool though cause despite all of the difference, sometimes I get so used to it and forget that im halfway across the world and then I go across the bridge and see the opera house twice a week on my way to school and it hits me every time. But anywyas yea, nothing too too exciting until today…well yesterday too
So yesterday was a long day and I bought a cappuccino at lunch and it is soooo strong. I had trouble drinking it at first and they don’t put much sugar in it so I wasn’t used to that either. It made me so wired, I was basically twitching and felt like I ran the 45 mins back to my apartment hahaa. And then at night we all went to sidebar again because one of the kids in my groups works at the hostel connected to it and gets us a deal on Thursdays blah blah blah. So yea it was fun but people were leaving early and stuff or getting kicked out cause apparently colleen and Jeremy got kicked out for being to drunk which apparently the do all the time at bars in Australia. Well anyways so then me cody and linds went to a gay bar on oxford street which was really fun and we only stayed there for a little.
The next morning majorrrr hangover. Went to bed at 3am and woke up around 7am for work. a real trooper.i was sooooo tired but I made it through, NBD. At work I had to call, email, and fax companies about getting more of their brochures to continue circulation which I actually didn’t mind because I got to talk to a bunch of Australians and hear g’day a bunch haha. Actually one person I talked to had a real thick accent and used some words I wasn’t familiar with so I could not understand him for the life of me. And then I worked on the website a bunch. Then went home and chilled for a couple hours. Y roommate and a bunch of other people went on a surf trip for the weekend so I have the apartment to myself which at first I was really excited about. Then I went up to april’s penthouse (I think I mentioned how they had been moved cause of bed bugs) cause she invited me up for a movie. Me, Natasha, Christine, aamar, erin, and april watched a movie which they had neglected to tell me was for their cinema class so it blew haha. Then went down to my room after watchin that and hangin and watchin more tv...
Sat on my couch and then got something to drink and then sat on the couch. I was really tired by this point but I was like oh I feel like my slipper socks are wet... YUP, my whole apartment wasflooded with water. The livin room, the bedroom, it was a big puddle. So I had to call down and talk to someone who gave me another room which I am sleeping in tonite, by myself and its actually nice cause theres a kingso I have plenty of room. And we will c wat happens with it all.

just catching up

so lately ive just been busy and tired. my days are so much longer here. school is good, i dont really mid it much except for the length but i usually end up checking my email for a good part of cllass and then we start working on our projects. i have a project for each class which means three projects in which i have to stand up infont of the class and give a presentation and two of them come with case studies...yea not happy but it shouldnt be tooooo horrible. things have been good tho, i have been cooking a lot at night for me and colleen and then for lunch i pack a lunch of usually a salad, peanut butter on bread, and an apple. o and they call mcdonalds, macas which is just weird lol. yesterday i did some work on the website again and then went out with the distribution buy for a couple hours and he was very interetsting and then went to class for 5 hours...needless to say i was veryy tired. today i am working all day probably on the website and then quick dinner and then off to sidebar again for the same thing as last week with all of the capa program. it should be fun cause i had a lot of fun last time! then this weekend is the surf trip which i decided against but colleen and lindsey are goin on it so im excited for a weekend with cody, lauren, and her roommates the other lauren and christa. hopefully beach! ill let u all know!

RAIN

apparently it’s the rainy season here... that’s wat they said and the first week it barely rained.. but now, it rains pretty much EVERYDAY which sucks because theres really not much to do when it rains. Im hoping the rainy season is short but we will just have to wait and see...ughhh

EXCITING NEWS

Ok so cody found out the other day that the top twenty of so you think you can dance Australia are staying on lindseys floor! And the top people or whatever from australias biggest loser are staying here in two weeks! Apparently it’s the place to be! Maybe they will have tweety bird shirts haha!

hunter valley

So yesterday I went on the Hunter Valley Wine tour trip. It was a lot of fun. James, the tour guide from our blue mountain trip was the tour guide again! The first place it was called the Drayton’s or something like that. We tried about ten different wines. I tried the best wine I have ever tasted in my life. It was called Lilly and it was a white wine. They do something with the process they like stop it early or something. It basically tasted like grape juice with a side of wine. Mom would’ve loved it. Tried a lot of dry things and some red. And some ports…which is wen I decided I don’t like ports. And then some liquors. The setting was alright. It was just a room with wine everywhere and we all just sat in some chairs. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Then we went to blue tongue which people tried pallets of beers. But I don’t like beer so basically just watched them lol. Then we went to a chocolate factory store and it was alright. Then we went to another wine place and it was called something like mcgorners or something and we liked that place the best. It seemed more authentic. They brought us into a room full of barrels and they had a bar like setting and the person explaining was in the middle in front of all of us. He explained each wine. We had a really sweet sparkling wine and I liked it a lot so I bought a bottle. It was like 15 dollars. We tried red sparkling wine too which was good. And the grossest, driest, red wine I have ever tasted and it was 50 dollars a bottle. Then I asked him to try the Riesling but it wasn’t as good tasting. Then from there we tasted different cheeses. They were really good, there were some brie cheeses, sharp cheddar, and some others and then the last one looked like an herb one so I took a bunch and spread it on my cracker and then took a big daddy like bite and it was HORRIBLE. The girls around me thought the reaction was hilarious but not so much for me. It was blue cheese, the strongest blue cheese I have ever had. It kind of tasted like a really harsh goat cheese! After getting the taste out of my mouth we went inside to try other things. They had jams and oils and stuff and I tried an apple balsamic and it was realllly good. Then we went to the last wine place and it was sooo pretty. There was a gazebo and flowers and hills and hills of grapes everywhere. Definitely a beautiful place to get married. Speaking of which, apparently it’s a really popular thing for a bachelorette party to go to wine tastings and we saw a couple, one was the funniest cause it was 80’s themed and the outfits were outrageous. The place had an okay setting, it kind of just looked like a bar in a souvenir place. We tried a bunch of different stuff, none of which I liked. The last thing we tried is called dragons breathe or something like that. It’s chilli schnapps... its butterscotch schnapps with two red hot chilli peppers in it and we had to take a shot of it and o dearr... it was hotttt! We all ran for water haha. Then we took the two and a half hour bus ride back. I know my blog about this day isn’t that great but the pictures are sooo much better so keep your eyes peeled on facebook! We all took a lot of pictures! And I got to know april, Kristina, and erin a lot better and I really like them! So those are the girls in most of my pictures with me

thursday night

ok so thursday was a really good day at work..i spent all day updating a manual for distributions interns and then i spent about an hour talking to one of the head guys about how the company works and different things that happen within the company to make the company run. i was super tired after work so i watched some tv and ate dinner with colleen adn then linds came to the room and told me to start getting ready cause the thing started at 8:30. got ready real quick and headed out and then it started to rain. it was really fun at the place. its called sidebar adn we got free wine and beer for a couple hours which was good. its a big backpacking place so i met a lot of cool people. me linds, and cody met thre swedish guys and two guys from scotland. we got veryyyy drunk and then cody and i couldnt find lindsey so after calling her we decided to leave. we were both drunk so didnt know how to get home. we started walking and then some man came up to us and told us about some free snadwiches so of courseee we were down for that. we got free sandwiches and then decided to just take a cab home. the driver was chinese with a very thick accent that we could really understand. apparently cody left basically half his free sandwich on the drivers back seat so wen we got out he yelled at us. then we went up to linds' room and hung out there. we met some poeple in the hall...always interesting and yea thats basically the jist of the night! it was a great time!

Australia

Last night, after working from 9-1 then sitting in class from basically 2:15 till past 7, i was exhausteddd. Lindsey has to watch some movies for her australian cinema class so she asked me to join her to watch the movie Australia. It was pretty long but realllyyy good. it was really intense and sad...yea lindsey was crying pretty hard for some of it haha. the only bad thing about it is that some of the history of australia wasnt touched on but i would definately recommend it. I definately need more sleep tho cause every morning it is harder and harder to get up. today at work i looked over the operations mannual and am adding a bunch of changes which is pretty cool and next week i will b working and following the distribution guy so im pretty excited. all things are looking pretty good. tonite one of the kids on my trip pat, has invited us to some bar because of his work and for the first couple of hours the beer and wine are free! pretty exciting. needless to say i dont think im going to work tomorrow haha but  we will see. thats it for now, im sure there will b more to come. 

Rain slash nothing :(

ok so it barely rains here. today it rain for the third time since ive been here. it takes me 45 mins to walk to work adn about 5 mins in it was RAINING and i was like ughh realllyyy ten mins later it stopped raining. by the time i got to work I was not even wet anymore. i know this is a really lame post but i dont ahve much to write about lol. classes are good, work is pretty good... o yea i wrote another blog for them so check that out. and u have questions just ask me and ill blog about ittt!

Monday

Ok so monday i went to my internship and my boss wasnt there so basically i just went on the internet for a few hours and then had class. My teacher was the same canadian guy i have for all my other classes haha. then later i went to the gym cause i have been lacking a little bit cause i have been so tired but dont worry cause i still have the 45 min walk to work, then the ten minute walk to the bus, the the ten minute walk from bus stops. yea, so its not like im sitting on my butt all day lol. i wouldnt have a problem with this but i have come to learn that my shoes arent as comfortable as i thought. i am definately looking forward to the weekend already cause i have been super tired. i watched the grammys last night which was good but i dont think they covered the red carpet here! which is basically the whole point. anywaysss... i dont know wat else to tell u for now, im settling into a routine so my life wont b as interesting for u haha

Sunday and such

Ok so after our horrible hangovers started to pass me and Linds and Colleen decided to go to Coggee beach. It was like 1 or 2 when we got there so I figured that the sun wouldnt be that bad so i didnt put sunscreen on... bad decision. I also decided that since my back got more tan then my front last time eventhough i had layed on my back, i wouldnt turn over onto my stomache...also bad idea. I am veryyyy red on my boobs, neck, STOMACHE, and things. NOT COOLLLL.lets just say aloe vera is my new best friend. I have missed a couple days at the gym only because i have either walked a TONNN that day or am verryyy tired. but i figured that since im walking so much, as long as i eat right and make it to the gym when i can ill b fine. FINALLLLY getting used to things here and really settling in, except for classes so far. i have a lot of things i wanna do like go to the three different markets (def let me know if anyone wants anything from australia... besides kualas and kanagaroos lol), explore the other beaches etc. also i have checked the calendar the trip gave us and theres some community service options that seem interesting so ill keep u postedd! today just internship and classes...just like the rest of the week. nothing too exciting till prob friday but ill let u know :)

saturday night

So before I tell this story u have to not worry about me and realize that what I thought about all night was that if anything were to happen I would have been around a lot of people and I would have been safe. So saying that… me Lindsey, colleen, Kayla, Christine, Natasha, and the boys were goin out. We pregamed at the boys and then headed out. The bus was taking forever and Natasha and I really had to pee so we went around the corner and u know... lol. Then the bus came so we rannnn for it. Then after walking awhile to a train. Something you have to know about this story is that the boys walk reallllyyy fast so its hard to catch up to them, especially in heels. So me and Lindsey were far behind. Wen we got off the train we met someone who was meeting their brother and cousin. We were so far far behind from the group that we decided to join them. They were all Portugese but from Australia and in the Army, heading for Iraq or something in a couple months. We tried to go somewhere on kings crossing but it didn’t work out so we went somewhere else. We went to a bar called FEVER in some town. The boys bought us drinks all night and their friends were really cool, they were the first nice Australian girls that we had met. We dance a lot and partied till like 2 or 3. It was a lot of fun and we spent no money. The night was a success haha.

thursday and such

Thursday night we were all very tired. Most of us had the internship and then we went to school to listen to a presentation about traveling. So we were exhausted. Btw it takes me 45 mins to walk to the internship and it takes a little over an hour to get from the internship to school.so anyways…. Linsdey made me dinner: mac and cheese and a salad with lemon and pepper and salt. It was a really good meal. Me Lindsey, and lauren all ate together and then me and linds watched animal house until I fell asleep lol.Today not feeling so well but im plaaning on going to George street with colleen.ill let u know more

work and school

Wednesday and Thursday were the first days of classes and my internship. Both were not what I expected but what can you do. The internship so far is very casual, they all wear jeans, theres only a couple people in the office and none of them are Australian lol. Most are from new Zealand or England, so at least they have accents! Luckily there is a girl my age from Finland so it is really interesting to learn about her home and also she tells me about places she has gone in Australia that she likes since she has already been here for a month. The classes are legit classes which I wasn’t really expecting haha. There are papers, presentations, mid terms and finals. Both my classes so far have been taught by the same guy who is Canadian and not the greatest teacher. He even told us he is nervous and paces a lot. He loves when we suggest things and he likes interactive activities. We will see how it goes.

australia day

Monday night me, Lindsey, and colleen hung out, watched tv and drank wine. It was a good girls night in. ive decided that I think lauren and I are very alike and I like Lindsey so much because she reminds me so much of marissa brown! The next day, Tuesday was Australia day. Me, Lindsey, colleen, Kayla, Christine, and Cody went to Cogee beach. It was ridiculously crowded but we had a great time. Unfortunately my suntan lotion was not really working and sprayed on weird and basically gave me the blotchiest tan everrr… gross. O and also u are allowed to not wear a top to you bathing suit in Australia and Lindsey figured when in rome lol. The rest of us didn’t follow suit for now haha.

spelling

they spell fiber--> fibre and harbor--> harbour...weird, lots of little things like that

weekend

Sunday and Monday were kind of nothing days. Went on the internet a good amount but the internet is horrible hereeee. It isn’t so bad in the morning but towards the afternoon it just doesn’t work at all. The most frustrating things in Sydney are the public transportation and the internet, cause they both suck. The other night me and some girls rented the movie flirting with forty and stayed in which was a really good time. Still been going to the gym! Been everyday except the day we went to the blue mountains cause there was a gajillion steps. So its pretty good. Ive been eating well cause my roommate cooks for me and cooks healthy for the most part. Overall happy as always :)

the bad night

Then that night we went to kings crossing which is a nicer area with a cover charge and long lines in the front. Lauren didn’t have the proper ID so no place would let her in. both of us decided we would just go home so we tried to make our way home cause the boys had gotten us there. We got ourselves extremely lost and it took about an hour and a half to get back. Luckily the people are very nice around Sydney and not at all sketchy. We ended up getting home at around 2 eventhough we didn’t go out haha.

blue mountains

today we went to the blue mountains. Very pretty but not something that amazing compared to other places ive seen. We also went to a zoo which was really nice. At the three sisters (which are mountains) we had to walk down a gajillionnnnn stairs and there was a nice spring we drank from at the bottom. We ate lunch at an adorableeeee little town and I tried a knew fruit that is a little ball with spikes on it, I forget wat its called but it was very sweet and it was alright. Then went to dinner cause it came free with the trip as long as we bought a drink. It was called GAFF and its on oxford street. Worst food everrrr. Had pasta and meat and it was soooo soupy. grosss

internship orientation day

So I went to the gym today!!and I went the next dayyyy!!! We had internship orientation today which was pretty good. We learned about how Australians work and what we should be prepared for and also different Australian terms we should know. Then the program treated us to pizza at a place downtown but not just any pizza... yes there was regular cheese pizza but they also had emu pizza and kangaroo pizza :( Then after me and four of the girls went to george street which is the main street in central Sydney. We walked around and they got phones and then we decided we were too tired and took the bus home haha. So as I mentioned I went to the gym! And then we went out. There were about five girls and five guys and we went to a place called three monkeys which was pretty cool. The were about three or four floors and all of them were pub like with tables and talking and then the top floor had dancing and a band. It was fun but drinks are really expensive. A simple mixed drink, nothing special, was 8 dollars and some beers were ten, and the drinks were not large. Then we left and went to scruffy murphys or something like that which was good and the security guard was a typical aussie and very cute lol. Then the girls and I decided we wanted to go back so we left and tried to get a bus before they stopped running and walked very far there and then very far to the meriton. Unfortunately we had all decided to wear heals which was a baddddd idea. Our feet were killing so we decided to take of our shoes. As we walked we noticed there were cockroaches everywherrrreeee. AND at some point we saw a huge bat flying! As u all know Im not ok with that and of course freaked out.

fridayy

so i went to the gym yesterday which was greattttt. today we all went to the campus again so that we could learn more about our internships. turns out that because there are no classes on tuesday because of australia day (their version of the 4th of july), i wont have ANYTHING till wednesday. more to write later but in a rush now. thanks for following :) o and the head person said that my intership is really great and most of the people are young and it should b casual...all which are great. we learned a lot today about what is normal at australian work places and it mixes more of personal life and work life so she said its very common to go out to drinks and dinner with co-workers which will hopefully happen. k ill update more about this later! o and tomorrow blue mountains and some zooing with kangaroos and kualas and sunday prob beach!

SYDNEYYYY

ok so got into sydney with seth and settled into the hotel. then we walked around for hours exploring sydney. we looked around darling harbour and george street. we ended up eating right on the harbor at a place called plate. I got a delicious ravioli wine thing and seth got kangaroo which i did actually try and i have to admit it was good. next morning i came to my trip. the place is amazingggg we have a flat screen tv, a kitchen with a dishwasher, a washing machine and a dryer, a bed room, and a large bathroom. not to mention people come in to clean once a week. My roommate colleen is superrr friendly and lucky for me knows how to cook and is bartender at home. we went to a little orientation where we learned the rules then unpacked and then me and my roommate went to an adorable little place called trinity. the service in australia is veryyyy different. a tip s not expected at places so its not like they are running to help. at most places u go up and order ur food and drinks and then sit down and they may or not bring it to u. i got a delicious salad with dried tomatoes and different types of lettuce that they call "rocket/ fennel" and chicken and pine nuts....DELICIOUS. then me had a pitcher of pimms. which we learned is a type of alcohol that they combined with strawberries, cucumbers, mint, gin, and lemonade (which we found out is what we call sprite and they dont really have american lemonade)...kind of like a mix between a mjoito and sangria. then bought some wine and grocerries and headed back. they dont refrigerate their eggs adn shopping is very different here and more expensive. o and tax is already included in everything. o and wine is cheap but a small handle of smirnoff was like 35 so yea no hard liqour while im here haha. went back to the place and chilled with the roommate and fell asleep. this morning we had orientation at the school ill be going to and we learned more bout sydney, australian culture, and australian words. lots to remember but it will b good haha. then i went to lunch with the two ladies who are leading the program and my roommate and found out lots of stuff! apparently australian tv is about 6 months behind us so right now she said she is waiting for the new season of greys to come on because she doesnt know if george or izzy is going to die. yea very upsetting so i will have a lot of catching up to do wen i am home haha. saturday i am goin to the blue mountains and sunday probably beach with the group. there are lots of little intersting things that are very different then america but if i told u all of them id make the longest blog everrrrr. so yea thats bout it for now. miss u allll and talk to u soon!

ok so hope ur not toooo suck of me yettttt :) Today we got up at 7 am!!!! got some nice breakfast and headed to a hiking place of the thermal pools. the walking part was really great but lots of uphill and we will just say i sweat a lot today haha. but the sights were B-E-A-utiful. i will be putting up pictures on facebook probably in an hour or so. then we went on a boat cruise thing through a lake and saw some nice wildlife and smoke...it was pretty cool but hard to explain so go to the pictures. we also learned on the boat tour that it is illegal to fish with live bait and it is illegal to sell or buy trout in new zealand! fun facts. the tour was cool but we couldve done without the boat one. then stopped in hamilton for lunch at this ADORABLE little cafe called oxford something and it was so new zealandy and they laughed at me cause i had trouble using their money haha. I ordered a burger and wat came on it was... meat, lettuce, tomato, ketchup,...u know normal stuff...AND beats, carrots and mayo weird right haha. delicious food tho! then came to auckland and ate and tried a local beer. hope ur enjoying my blogs! MWAHHH

New Zealand

TODAYYYYY… woke up early in Tahiti, got on a plane as usual, wasn’t feeling so well on the plane and threw up and the the fat guy next to me was apparently grossed out by it when he should have been compassionate and who is he to judge me, I was sick! He’s fat, I judge him MORE! Anywayssssss we got to auckland, got a car, packed our six bags into the car and realized it was a stick so went through all that again. Seth drove the three hours, on the left side of the road, to rotorua…which smells like sulfur from the thermal pools. We settled in and walked around the town which was dead cause apparently all the stores close at five. Ate at the Lone Star which was very new zealandy and cute. I had a chicken stuffed with sundried tomatoes named after Johnny Cash and we tried a local beer… MY FIRST LEGAL DRINK!! Tomorrow off to the thermal pools and then hopefully a winery and back to Auckland cause the next day its to Sydney we go!!! Hope you are enjoying my blog and not finding it boring! MISS YOU ALL!! And please comment!

first dayyy

Ok soooo my trip has started!!! On the fifteenth I left with Seth (my brother) at 6 am from Boston which is too sad… lets not talk bout it. So then we flew to Chicago, then LA, then Fiji…yes a verryyyy long day. We got to Tahiti at around 9 their time and as soon as we got off the plane it was ridiculously humid. I was sweating so much:trying to roll up my pants while holding on to our millions of pieces of luggage and I could barely hold on to my blanket because it was making me that much hotter. O anddd on air Tahiti we had personal tvs and I watched all about steve and fame and played tetris…is was an eight hour flight from LA to Tahiti. We walked around Tahiti but where we were was kind of sketchy and u guys all know how I feel about that haha so we didn’t go out for long.

FIRST POSTTTTT

ok so first post...still in america, leaving tomorrow morning...EXCITING!!! Ill b on with more exciting news soon! next time I post I will b halfway across the world!