Its really depressing having to say bye to people I will most likely never see again.    Yesterday, before Holly and Gretchen left (she left this morning, Gretchen left last night) we were sitting on Holly’s balconylooking around, and we all started to cry…it was the last time all three of us would be in Australia together.    This is my last day in Australia..and then i come home which is totally bittersweet, so far i haven’t met a single person that was super happy to go home.  Everybody i know wishes they could stay here for the rest of their lives..I was packing yesterday, must say it was the most depressing thing i have ever had to do.  Holly and Emma were with me, watching me..haha..and for some reason sad songs kept coming up on Itunes..songs about going home, missing people..bla bla bla…so we had to keep finding new HAPPY ones! haha..

DAY ONE: After we got the car we decided to go to the Great Ocean Road first and then come back to Melbourne.  We just started driving and didnt really know where we were going, or where we were going to sleep that night (or any night for that matter).. Once we entered the Great Ocean Road (GOD) in Torquay the roads were much like driving in Colorado..Narrow, curvy, and no rails off the side of the cliff…it was fun!  the views were soooo pretty and supposedly it looked a lot like New Zealand (but i didnt get to go there).   We stopped in Angelsea (Aireys Inlet) to see the Split Point Lighthouse. Then kept driving the little curvy roads until we finally arrived in Apollo Bay at 7:00pm where we decided to stay at the Backpackers Beaches Hostel.  We had pizza, went grocery shopping for breaky that next morning and then also got apples, pringles, chocolate, stuff to make pbj sandwiches for lunch (we were aiming for cheap). 

DAY TWO:  We got up early, like 7:30am, made our eggs and toast for breaky and made our lunches.  We got back on GOD we just kept driving and stopped whenever, and where ever we felt like..we even stopped in the middle of the road a few times to take pictures of something random..dont worry nobody was coming.  being able to stop whenever you feel like it is really nice!  When we got to the turn off for Cape Otway Lightstation (In Great Otway National Park) we decided to go see another lighthouse..little did we know that it was about 30 minutes down to the cliffs and then we had to pay to see it..so once we got down there, we turned around and left again..haa.  We kept driving, stopping randomly on the side of the road to take pictures..we got to Castle Cove and took some more pictures, its just a pretty cove with cliffs and the ocean..After that we hit the Otway Fly.  So we did spend the $20 to do the tree climb since we heard it was worth it..it was a hike..first i saw a path in the jungle that said dinosaurs (keep in mind that its still early in the AM and we are some of the only people in the jungle at the moment)..I thought it would be a really good idea to see what that meant..WELL…their were statues of creepily real dinosaurs scattered around the path and mixed in with the trees.  I saw most of them, but the little raptors…they were another story.  I was taking a picture of Emma with one of the dinosaurs and i bumped into one of the raptors..Wow, not going to lie that was SCARY!! i turned around and there it was!!  I know it doesn’t sound that scary, but it was..we got to the tree top climb, this is where i first realized just how out of shape i was.  It was a bunch of stairs, and ramps up above all the trees!! it was really neat, and totally worth the money!!  We got back to the entrance, and decided that we were now going to do the Triplet Falls walk (Free–we were all about the free).  The book said it was 4 stars (meaning it was advanced)..well we didnt think much of it, but this was the second time i realized how out of shape i was, lots of stairs…but it was totally worth it! the falls were sooo pretty!  After this we got back on GOD–we had to take a small detour..which happened a lot.  When we arrived in Princetown we saw the Twelve Apostles (we are now in Port Campbell National Park) which used to be 12, but now only 9 large land masses sticking out of the ocean (the other ones fell over), they were like big chucks of land sticking out of the water..pretty neat!  We ate our lunch..we were going to eat it outside, but it was raining and really cold, so we ate in the car, it was soo good!  Then a little ways down the road we saw Loch Ard Gorge.  This was really pretty too!!  Well the whole GOD trip was GORGEOUS! this is where ships normally crashed (in the old days) and people were taken to Davey Jones Locker..but I thought it was really pretty! Man i cant wait for everybody to see pictures!!  Wondered around here for a while (side note: when i say we stopped at the main tourist spots on GOD, we stayed for at least 30 minutes at each place i would say).    Our goal was to do the whole GOD (well the length we were going to do) in one day and make it back inland to Halls Gap.  So we started driving back inland and then all of a sudden Gretchen and I saw a sign for Whale Nursery!!  The whole trip we wanted to see whales soo bad.  So when i saw the sign we had to go, because in my mind i saw the word nursery, so i figured it meant like a tree nursery.. baby trees, whale nursery..baby whales..right!?  Well we drive 45 minutes back to the ocean and we end up at Logans Beach…the ocean…we waited for about 20 minutes to see one of these whales (because its whale season), and didnt see one!!! I did see a rainbow though..So after that huge disappointment we went back on track and headed for Halls Gap in Grampains National Park..me driving the whole time, driving in the rain, the dark, but we were having a blast because the radio was playing good tunes!!  At one point we had to stop because cows were crossing the road, that was entertaining!  But we finally made it to Halls Gap at 7:30pm and decided to stay in the Holiday Inn since we couldn’t find the hostel..plus this way we got our own room, shower, bathroom, and tv!!!  All we wanted to do, and did was watch tv, and talk about how sore we all were for those hikes!

DAY THREE:  We once again got up by 8:00am and went to Silverband Falls (still in Halls Gap)..when we got to the falls, it was soo cool!!! The falls was  a normal waterfall, but when the water hit the ground at the bottom..the water just disappeared!! there was NO puddle of water or anything! ..now i realize the water went straight into the ground..but the concept of no water at the end of the waterfall is really cool!  Then we headed up the mountain in Halls Gap and saw signs for Grand Canyon, Bridal Vail Falls, Silent Street, and the Pinnacle.  I didnt really need to see any of this, but Emma really wanted to, so we stopped.  The sign said Grand Canyon (0.1 km), Silent Street (1.8 km), and Pinnacle (2.1km)..now when we saw these signs we thought 2.1 km equaled 1 mile..so we thought we could do this easily..once again ignoring the warning for experienced walkers only..not until after did i find out that 1.7 km equals 1 mile.  So we started at the Grand Canyon, walked though that, over rocks, hopped over creeks..ya know the typical.  then we realized that the Grand Canyon rain into the Bridal Vail Falls..by this time we were about ready to die (third time i realized just how out of shape i am), since we were climbing up the mountain.  We made the mistake of asking one couple coming back down how much farther we had to go to the Pinnacle, turns our we were JUST ABOUT half way up.  Then we reached the Silent Street..which was a narrow canyon, and it was creepily silent–no wind or anything..before we entered the street..by this point we were sweating, it was freezing out, and we were really tired..so being 21 year old girls we were complaining and laughing at the same time..luckily we were the only ones that heard us complain though.  We thought we must be almost there by the time the Silent Street was done..but NOO that would be too easy right!?  It was completely up hill, climbing over rocks in jeans and pumas…Emma wasn’t even wearing covered toed shoes.., and trying not to die..We did finally make it up the the Pinnacle.  IT was a overhang at the edge of a cliff looking over Halls Gap and the surrounding 200 miles!! IT was soo pretty..but sooo cold (the whole trip it didnt get above 58 degrees) and really windy since we were on top of the stupid mountain.  We really didnt want to have to walk all the way back down, but then i turned around and saw a really old grandma WITH A BROKEN ARM walking up behind us, and i realized just how pathetic i am..But at the same time i was very impressed that she made it up to the top..because it was hard, i had to use BOTH my arms most of the time..We looked at the car park and our red car looked like a lady bug..it was soo little!  But we finally made it back down..2 1/2 hours later..and drove further up the mountain to Mackenzie Falls.  By this time our legs hurt soo bad that it hurt to even walk on flat ground..so the 600 meter walk (on flat ground) was quite a struggle.  But we made it and it was soo pretty!! We took pictures and then ate our second lunch containing the same as our first days lunch..pbj, apples, water, pringles, and chocolate!  Then we got back into the car for the long drive back to Melbourne.  We arrived in Melbourne at 6:00pm and checked into the Backpackers Hostel.  We got all ready to go out to the Crown Casino, eat dinner, and go out.  We did make it to dinner and the Casino, and then realized that we didn’t have enough money to put down a $15-$20 first bid down..so we went back to the Backpackers and saw some comedians..but they weren’t very good, so we decided that we would go find some bars/clubs to go too..well we got back to the Casino and wondered around for a little bit, and then found a movie theatre..so we decided to go to the Sex in the City movie, and scrap everything else we were planning on doing..so we went to a movie dressed up!!  The movie, i must say wasn’t that good, but everybody else really liked it.

DAY FOUR:  We got up again by 8:00am, ate breaky at the hostel.  We were soooooo sore from all that hiking, and really tired too! so we went back to the Casino (there was a food court and shops there too) and had coffee and planned out what we were going to do that day.  We ended up walking the around pretty much the whole city, went to China Town, then Greek Town, and then went to Queen Victoria Markets.  Ate lunch at Subway and then brought the car back to the airport untouched!!!  which is good because if something would have happened to the car, it would have been a $3000 deductible..EEK!  We arrived back at the Sunshine Coast at 8:00pm that night! 

This was my last Aussie trip but it was sooo much fun!  My favorite Aussie trip was Whitsunday hands down!! but this is definitely second!!

People are starting to leave, and its sad..but the worst part is, is that i didnt even really know the people that left…and i almost started to cry..yikes! when my roommates drop me off at the airport..i WILL loose it.  Yesterday Kelly and Jess were talking to me and we were watching One Tree Hill and they took turns saying how much they were going to miss me, i would cry a little after each time they would say something, they would stop and i would be ok for about 3 minutes and then the next one would go..and at the end Jess goes ohh its ok, dont be sad, we will never see each other again.  I pretty much lost it right then and there, and me crying made kelly cry and almost made jess cry..superman is going to have a mess to deal with once i actually do leave.   I also saw some NEW BAD PEOPLE moving in today!!!!  AH! WHAT ARE THEY THINKING!?  HOW DARE THEY MOVE INTO MY HOUSE!?  ..ok its not really my house, but its my territory..what do i need to do, pee on a bush?!  i told my roommates that they NEED to hate their new roommate!  I am going to leave post it notes all over the room telling them they need to move out of MY ROOM!  ..ok im not actually going to do that, but seriously! 

Tomorrow i am going to Melbourne for one last trip, and then i will officially be FLAT BROKE!  my bank account will be nada, zip, nil…a big fat ZERO!  ha..oh well..who needs money right?! 

So now on to today…i woke up at 6:50 am this morning to quick study for my Medical Nutrition Therapy of Chronic Disease exam that i had at 9:00.  WELL..it was 48 Degrees, i was tired, and i had to walk all the way down to Uni before 9:00 to take a three hour exam.  Well i would like EVERYBODY to know that this exam tops the last one i was complaining about because i didn’t even finish this one!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!!  THREE HOURS..and I DIDN’T FINISH!!! Its not even that i didn’t know the material…maybe i knew too much of it because who doesn’t finish an exam within three hours..well apparently half the class.  BOOO! 

Well its still not very warm, probably mid 60s to low 70s and i am going outside to lay by the pool and think about starting to study for my next two exams i have Wednesday and Friday of this week.. TA!

I have figured out why they call it the Freshman 15!!!!!!!  WELL first off there are 27 kilojoules per gram of alcohol…yuck.  A can of beer (375mL) provides you with a nice round number of 490KJ.  BUT thats not it!!!  Alcohol increases carrier-bound hydrogen that stimulate the production of fat…increasing the amount of abdominal fat. so besides the KJ from the beer, the alcohol stimulates the synthesis of more fat.  HOwever, i have found out that its not the Freshman 15, it SHOULD be called Study Aboard 4,000..  YIKES!  Now..if alcohol isn’t one of the questions on my THREE hour exam on Monday i will be very disappointed.. i havent studied that much yet…but i read that once, and i know it!!  so it better be on the exam.  But lets get realistic, i know that stuff, so its not going to be on it. 

The second State of Origin Footy game was on last night.  Queensland beat New South Wales 30-0…now, it was either NRL (National Rugby League) or AFL (Australian Footy League)–i think. AFL is their version of the NFL in the States.  Aussies call Rugby and Footy, Footy.  And they LOOK very similar–ohhh but dont argue with an Aussie saying they look the same, because then you will hear the difference (in more ways than one if they think your a stupid american), and then you will hear how much easier AFL and NRL is than the NFL.  One of them you have to roll backwards and it needs to be kicked into the end zone, and the other one you can pass sideways and backwards , but not forwards and have to slide into the end zone to score.  Yesterday they could pass the ball instead of rolling the ball and they had to slide into the end zone.  But thats all i can tell you…OHHH no, there is one more thing..in both leagues they were EXTREMELY SHORT SHORTS!  haha…

Here are just a few pictures so you guys can get an idea of what its like down under.   These will have to do until I get back to the States to show you all the pictures!

Aussie Sunset over Uni

Aussie Sunset

At the World known Sydney Aquarium..haha..i couldn’t resist this..

Ok, so this shark is a normal size shark..like 5-6 feet long..check out the ray above the shark!!

Sydney Opera House

At the Sydney Harbor Bridge with Emma

Surfers Paradise, the ocean!

Surfers Paradise at hotel, Gretchen (US), Ashley (Canada), Tara (US)

Birthday Buddies!!!  Tara (US, 21) and Damen (England, 23) at Hogsbreath for dinner!! SOO GOOD!

Raf (Australia) and Jimmy (Australia) at the party

My 21st birthday Party!! These four are my favorite!!  Dan (Canada), Damen (England), Jimmy (Australia), Matt (Australia).

80′s theme party!!   Sabastin (Germany), Gretchen (US), Megan (US).

First (of three) State of Origin footy game.  New South Wales vs. Queensland.  MY AUSSIE ROOMIES!!! Superman (scott), Jess, me, and kelly!  They were cheering for Queensland…but sadly they lost.

Whitehaven Beach in Whitsunday.  It doesn’t look that pretty because it was down pouring..but it was soooo PRETTY!!  the sand is white silica sand, and crystal clear water, just watch out for the jelly fish and rays..they freaked me out when i was in the water with them..its like a sandbar..

Whitsunday Island, Airlie Beach

Diving in Whitsunday Islands

Noosa

Noosa National State Park looking towards the Ocean

Cool picture from the city 1770.

Lady Musgrave–Great Barrier Reef.  The whole island is made from Coral…no animals but birds, and spiders on the island because it is made from coral-it continues to grow

After the horse races!

At the Horse Races…they were canceled because of the rain..but ohh well! Ally (US), Ashley (US), Dean (Australia), Jason (US), Megan (US), Me, and Emma (US)

Lake Mackenzie on Fraser Island.  Fraser island is the largest totally sand island in the world..people live on the island with generators..

Lake Mackenzie Fraser Island.  Fresh water lake with a high pH..so nothing lives in it and it makes your hair and skin SUPER soft!!!  and its really that color!! Water is CRYSTAL clear and when the colors change..its like a line, its really strange. 

The cute little roo at the Australia Zoo!

Unicentral Apartments.  This is where i live!!

International Education/Student Relations Building at Uni.  AKA the Trolley Building.  Cafe J is right next to it too, where the umbrellas are.

Well after that test was finished I thought i had arthritis in my whole right arm..it hurt sooo bad!  I mean really..who writes for three hours straight?! Well I came back to my apartment and walked into supermans room and pretty much flopped on his bed.  He had some good news though..he learned how to play hearts, instead of studying for his finals.  He also informed me that he has broken another wakeboard…thats 4 since I’ve been here, and 14 so far this year (and he says he hasn’t wakeboarded as much this year)…and these boards aren’t CHEAP!  he gets the expensive ones(like $400)…for like $30 because he works at a wakeboarding magazine and the suppliers give them to him.  I also found out that he had two wakeboarding/water skiing handles that are worth $200 each..and he got them for free because the people never came to pick them up after the photo shoot.  Cool huh!?  Anyways, back on subject..I convinced him to go to Narnia 2 with Katie and I..which i must say didnt take much persuasion..he likes that movie.  It is a very good movie..not as good as the first one, but its really good! 

But now that i have  a week break before my next finals, all im going to be doing is laying by the pool..once the sun comes out, take pictures so i dont forget this place, and study..and of course harass my roommates…since i wont be able to do it for much longer  

On Friday May 30 all of my friends from Unicentral went to the horse races in Caloundra.  We all got dressed up (Pretty Woman Style) sundresses with the huge hats, and all the guys wore dress suits, we all met at Jimmys apartment to have champagne at 11:00am and then went to the races in Maxi Taxis.  It was raining all day, and has been raining for the past week and will continue to rain for the next week .  The races didnt get canceled until about 30 minutes after got there..so i actually didnt even get to see a race, which is a bummer..but it was still fun, we stayed there for a few hours and danced along with the Jamaican drummers..interesting choice for race music..but thats ok.  It was soooo cold and it was raining, and pouring at times, but it was worth it. 

After everybody got sick of being at the canceled races we all headed off to the Mooloolaba Pub…at like 3:00pm.  It was soo  cold there, but when i arrived a FREE…ya..FREE BBQ was going on..so i got to eat for FREE!!  We all hung out there until some people from Unicentral got kicked out for starting a stupid fight with some old guys..so we made our way to Chanclers Tavern..spent about 30 minutes there and decided that we actually wanted to go to Fridays instead.  So We all got to Fridays (somehow we got a FREE BUS), and spent the rest of the night there.  While i was there i met a guy and his pick up line was… “I know that accent from anywhere..your American..i dont like Americans, but if you talk to me, maybe i will change my mind.”  HA…RIGHTTTTTTTTTTTT..i will get right on that pause not!! 

It has been cold here..like low 70s..and raining!!!! what hap-pend to Australia being WARM AND SUNNY!??! I mean..i live on the SUNshine Coast..where is the sun?!  All of my classes are DONE!! All i have left to do is a portfolio on intangible, and tangible evidence of the Ancient Greek Athletics and relate it to my Global Citizens class, and then take four finals..Im almost done with all my classes..forever!! but that also means that i need to come home soon   booo…i dont want to leave these people…im never going to see them again!!! (  I dont know if i can deal with that?! 

When I went to Woolies the other day I found CHERRIES!! YUM…although they were $14/kilo..and please tell me why ANYBODY would buy those for that much!?

Ya know when something happens or you hallucinate and you tell somebody what happened..and well after you tell that person what happened..you really regret doing that?!  Well thats happened to me quite a bit..One night i was talking to Simba (a really cool black guy with dreads) and while he was talking to me i all of a sudden pictured him as SIMBA…the lion..it totally worked for me that night, i saw Simba from the lion king, with the mane, the teeth and all the fur..but his mouth was moving to what the real Simba was saying, but i wasn’t listening to WHAT he was saying, I was looking at his MOUTH moving, and his mane swaying..well some things are meant to stay in your head..and this was most definitely one of those things..(side note: i was completely sober).. Everybody has done it, i am just the only person to actually admit it..and for probably good reasons too.

Its getting REALLY cold here at nights, like 50s..its a drag..because now i don’t want to walk the garbage all the way (and by ALL THE WAY i mean like 150 ft to the dumpster..) because i think i might freeze.  For instance, right now its 10:45 am and i am wearing a sweatshirt, and and jeans, and im COLD! 

MY bestest friend from Concordia sent me a post card from..get this..FARGO!! I didn’t even know Fargo was cool enough to get post cards.  But looking at that post card, compared to the ones that i have bought really makes me want to go home..NOT!! The post card from Fargo is an aerial shot of WestAcres Shopping mall, and the surrounding 2000 miles, considering there aren’t any hills..really ugly.  Jess (my roommate) looked at that picture and stared to laugh at it..haha..she couldn’t believe that anybody would ever want to live there..

By the way..im the freak who likes the moldie oldies..like Meatloaf, Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Boston, Grand Funk, Elton John, Toto, The Who, Whitesnake, Kiss, Firehouse, and Damn Yankees…thanks for that.  Well actually im the ONLY one here that listens to GREAT music!!  Its everybody else that has the problem..RIGHT!?