All Good Things Must Come to An End

Welp, I have a mere 27 days left in the wonderful land of OZ. It truly is bittersweet. I am at the point where I really do miss my friends and family, but I will be sad to leave this place. I have gotten to do and see so many amazing things over the last four months, for which I am eternally grateful to Elon and my parents. Recently, I feel like we've been trying to hit all of our favorite spots for one last meal, or one last visit, and it astounds me just how much I've accomplished in my time here. I managed to go to class four days a week, do my school work, and still really get a feel for Australian culture. As I look back at my semester, there are many many things I'm genuinely going to miss. I'm going to miss getting into many arguments over which is the correct way to pronounce a word with my Aussie roommate Daniel;my flat's Mexican/Margarita Mondays;going to Cottosloe beach (the prettiest beach I've ever been to) every Friday aftertoon; going to local pubs to have drinks with friends;footy games; and seeing kangaroos and koalas :).This has truly been a phenomenal, life-changing experience. I can't wait to show everyone my 800 or so pictures that I've taken thus far. PLUS, the fun isn't over yet. Next week, I'm going to Cairns a.k.a the Great Barrier Reef with two of my friends for a few days to snorkel, skydive, and go on a tour through the rainforest. Then, I'll come back to Perth, take my one final and pack up my room, and travel to Sydney and Melbourne for my last week. I'm very much looking foward to exploring the east coast of Australia as I'm aware that it is drastically different than the west coast. I will also be celebrating the big "21" in Sydney, which will be pretty great as well. Before I know it, I'll be back in the good ol' USA working at a summer camp wondering why I didn't stay in Australia?!! Just kidding..it will be good to be home. I'm very much looking forward to seeing all of you soon!

Cheers :)

American Football vs Aussie "Footy"

This weekend was one of the best in terms of learning about Australia culture. My Aussie roommate Daniel and I have a lot of fun together; we very have a brother/sister relationship. We often make dinner together and have long chats about life, which I love. Even more so, I love when we get into "fights" about which culture is better Aussie or American, generally pertaining to sports and other things of the sort. I introduced Daniel to March Madness, which he thought was great. In turn, he taught me about "Footy," which is Australian football. I experienced my first professional "Footy" game today and absolutely LOVED it! If I lived in Australia, I would most definitely become a "Footy" fan. "Fotty" is nothing like any American sport. If I were to describe "Footy," I would say it is a combination of American football, rugby and soccer; it is SO much fun to watch. We managed to get third row seats for $18, which was awesome. Then, after the game we went onto the field; it was great. I hope I am able to go to another game before I leave AUS. Due to the fact that I was going to the game today and didn't want to look like a "stupid American" by not knowing any of the lingo or rules of "Footy", I watched a "Footy" game last night with Daniel so he could teach me about the game. The whole time he was teaching me, he continued to explain why Aussie "Footy" players are such better athletes than American football players, and that "Footy" is so much better than American football. I told him he would not think that if he saw an Ohio State game--besides the Championships that is. The two of us watching the game together really was the funniest thing imaginable. Since I knew nothing about the game I would think something was really good based on American football standards and Daniel would look at me like I was an idiot. Plus, he was so confused when I would say phrases like "that's a riot"...he would be like no there's no riot going on. Or, when I said, "that guy is jacked"...Daniel would look at me so confused and asked me what I meant. By the end of the night I had a grasp of the game and did not look like a "stupid American" at the game today. Oh, and the best part of the game was that the guy sitting next to us was from NC and he said, "GET R' DONE!"--something I never thought I'd hear in Australia that's for sure. All in all it was a great weekend spent learning more about Australian culture.

Parkas in May?!? Australia Never Siezes to Amaze Me

Like many of you, I cannot believe it is May already. I'm heading into my fourth month of being down under, which seems unreal to me. As the semester winds down, it starting to get colder as we are heading into Australia's winter season. I love that right now it is Australia's equivalent to our November/December and it is still 80 degrees and sunny during the day, but then rather cool at night. I cannot get over the fact that I've seen Aussies wearing parkas, scarfs, you name it when it is has been over 70 degrees outside; it is absolutely absurd. Aussies look at me like I'm a weirdo for wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and I just want to say to them, "this is what normal people wear when it is 70 degrees and sunny." Also with it being winter, it is supposedly going to start raining heaps here towards the end of this month and nearly everyday in June. I think it has rained one day I've been in Australia and sunny every other day,so constant rainstorms will most definitely be a change.
My "school year" is quickly coming to a close as I only have four weeks left of classes until I officially done with my junior year of college. Then, I will be spending some more time traveling, except this time on the east coast. I'm beyond excited to visit Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. I've heard that the east coast of Australia is as different from where I am as the east coast of the US is to the west coast of the US. Plus, I will be celebrating the big "21" in Sydney with my Canadian and English friends that I made on my spring break bus trip, which will be fun. Before I know it I will be on my way back to the US. I still have several fun things to do in the mean time though. This weekend I'm going on a nighttime haunted prison tour (kind of like our haunted houses) as well as going to my first footy game! Footy is Aussies version of American football and just as popular. Anyway, I hope Ya'll are doing well and I'm looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone :)
Cheers for now :)