Who Knew I Could Be So Unproductive?

Ok, so as Ya'll know, I'm a fairly motivated, responsible, proactive person. Well, the moment I stepped into Australia, that pretty much went out the window. For the life of me, I cannot get the motivation to do school work here. Yes, I go to class every week, and do my reading for the week, but now that it is "mid-terms" time I have NO motivation...here is why. I am 12 days away from my glorious 17 day spring break. So, that means I am 12 days a way from flying to BALI, staying at this incredible resort, snorkling at the #1 ranked snorkling place in the world, among many other things like swimming with dolphins, repelling from rock formations, etc. Seriously, I'm not trying to make Ya'll jealous :). I'm just pointing out that I have a lot to look forward to and get excited about! That being said, I have 10 assignments between me and Bali; these are no small assignments either. Normally, I crank school stuff out, no worries. However, being in Australia brings a new life-style. Do I stay in and do homework on a Saturday night? of course not, I go out into the city and stay out till 3am. Do I spend all day Sunday doing work? of course not, I go to the beach because it is beautiful out and I can.:) Note to self,if I need to get things accomplished don't go to Australia. Needless to say, I will eventually get my work done, but it is VERY difficult.
With it being "mid-term" time here, it also means that I'm halfway though my semester :( I cannot believe that half of my time in Australia has passed. Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink" song comes to mind, that life really does go faster than you think. I've learned a lot from Aussies during my time here--mainly things involving alcohol--but one of the most valuable lessons I've learned thus far from the Aussies is to celebrate each day, good or bad, because as much bad stuff can go on, all the good things in our life that make us happy trump the bad no matter what. Australians really do have it made. Not gonna lie, I've looked into a few graduate schools here (Mom and Dad don't freak out). I hope by the end of this, I can have as much of an impact on my Aussie friends as they have had on me.
One funny story from this week. Well, as the Purcell family is OBSESSED with March Madness, I was determined to find a way to watch the games. I did have a rather difficult time at first because most online TV stuff is not available outside of the U.S. and a lot of them you had to buy a subcription to. I finally found out that I could watch the games live on mmod.ncaa.com--I was thrilled! Except for the fact that I had to take into consideration the 13 hour time difference. Yes, I did wake up at 6:45 this morning to watch my Tar Heels beat LSU. I also watched Ohio State's pitiful performance against Siena. The funny thing is, the night before the OSU game, I was explaining March Madness to my Aussie roommate Daniel because he loves sports, but college sports are not really a big deal at all here. So, I explained it to him, and he thought it was really neat. Come the next morning when I am screaming at my computer about the number of turn-overs Ohio State had in the second half (keep in mind this was 9am), Daniel came into my room and was like what the heck is going on. He then proceeded to watch the Bucks loose with me, and at then end of it he said, "your team is not good at all, how did they make it to the championship last year?" haha.
That is all for now. I promise I will upload more pictures soon, but now I must attempt to do some school work.
Cheers!

Feeding Roos, Petting Koalas, Riding Camels, Mom and Dad Visit= One Happy Girl :).

I have now been in lovely Australia for 5 weeks! I cannot believe it has been that long. Nor can I believe the amount of stuff I have gotten to do in that amount of time. Last weekend, I went to Caversham Wildlife Park, which was pretty awesome. While I was there, I had the opportunity to feed kangaroos, pet a koala, ride a camel, and see a joey come out of a momma kangaroos pouch. I absolutely love koalas! I am tempted to smuggle one home with me and pretend it is my child. Koalas do have a pretty sweet life; they sleep 20 hours a day and eat the other four hours. Feeding the kangaroos was pretty neat as well, except when one came flying at Ally and I and we thought it was going to drop-kick us. Seeing the joey come out of the momma kangaroos pouch was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Riding a camel was also on the list of things that I'd never think I'd do in my life. I could not get over how big the camels were. Random fact about Australia, Australia has more camels than people, so they export them to the Middle East. All in all, Caversham was a very smelly but fun day.

My parents came this past Monday and left today for their cruise. It was SO nice having them here and showing them around. They came to my school and saw where I lived, my campus, etc. Due to the fact that I had classes and such, I could not spend much time with my parents besides at night. Therefore, we mainly spent out time going to dinner and walking around downtown. I did get to take them to Freo, which is one of my favorite places in Australia. In addition, I took my parents to Kings Park, which is a famous park in Perth that overlooks the city. I had never been to Kings Park, so it was equally exciting for me. The park truly is one of the most beautiful parts of the city. I really did enjoy having my parents here because it gave me a taste of home. Plus, now my parents are able to see why I love it here as much as I do.

Other than that, nothing new and exciting to report. This whole going to school and doing work is not really working for me. I am very much looking forward to my 17 day spring break in 3 weeks! I am going with my friends to Bali for the first week and then taking a bus tour up the Coral Coast for the second week.