midterms, haircuts, salted prunes and bubble tea!

Well another eventful week is over! Time sure is flying over here. This week was midterm week meaning this coming week is STUDY BREAK, aka SPRING BREAK and a bunch of us are off to Bali for the week! I still haven't fully packed, but I have a few more hours until I leave and decided to blog some of that time away so I can fully inundate you with all the greatness of Bali when I return. We had a pretty great week, the weather was a little rainy, but from what I hear about home its always rainy there so we'll be happy with a little bit of rain. Plus once the rain stops the sun comes out and the sun here is just so warm! Probably has something to do with that missing ozone...AND if the sun comes out before the rain stops there are rainbows! I saw one on Sunday I think that started in a really dark and cloudy part and reached across the sky to a brightly lit section, it was pretty snazzy. I took a picture of it, but it was through my screen window so not the best but at least I can share it somewhat with you...

rainbow through the screen window

Midterms this week were pretty uneventful. I only had one for Australian Economic History and it was called a Sight Seen Test, so the professor gave us the 3 possible questions and we studied for all 3 and then on the day of the test we were only tested on one of them, it was a pretty different type of test but I really enjoyed it because I felt like I really knew my stuff...unlike last week's micro midterm where as soon as I walked into the room I forgot everything...fail.

Yesterday I decided to get a hair cut. I was going to try to grow it out but it was getting thick and heavy and I was not a fan. So I called the hair salon that was most recommended and got an appointment for 5pm. Since I don't have a car here and needed to take a bus it was a little more complicated than a usual hair cut trip. Thanks to Ryanne, we managed to find the correct bus to take and map out my route. Since I am an anxious traveller I left about an hour before my appointment and got off the stop near the salon. I found the salon, crossed the street to the other side and found out what times the bus back would be. I then went into a shopping center, bought a few magazines and then sat in a coffee shop and caught up on my celebrity gossip. The hair cut itself was pretty uneventful, except the lady tried to convince me to shave a part of my head which apparently is very stylish in Australia. I kindly turned her down informing her that I am in fact, not that trendy. I walked out of the shop at around 5:50 which was unfortunate because the bus came at 5:47 so I had to sit in the cold and wait until 6:20 for the next bus. The bus that didn't finally come didn't go directly passed UWA so I had to get off an walk a couple of blocks back to Currie. Overall it was a very successful, 3+ hour adventure.

bubble tea, tapioca pearls

Last night we went to a Currie Hall event called the Global Cafe. These are put on once a month and showcase different countries each time so we can learn about the many cultures of our fellow residents. Last night's topic was Taiwan. Zoe did an amazing job presenting on her country that I previously knew nothing about. Lots of informative and entertaining videos and tons of information. After the presentation was Bubble Tea time. Bubble Tea is a Taiwanese treat. It is basically tea, milk and tapioca pearls in a sealed cup with a big fat straw. It is served cold and pretty delicious. I really liked the tea part but was not a huge fan of the tapioca balls. They were kind of slimy and sort of chewy, but for the experience I had to try it.

salted dried plums. YUM.

For the experience I also had to try the salted plums. Let me tell you, if zoute drop makes you cringe and squirm salted plums are NOT for you. They looked harmless enough so I popped one in my mouth and bit into it. First of all, you can't bite into salted plums because they have a seed in the middle. They also are very very very salty. Like painfully and uncomfortably salty and sweet. Sort of like the face you make the first time you eat a war head, but saltier and chewier. I managed to chew all the plum off the seed without spitting out but others just couldn't handle it. Worth the experience, but still not sure I will be jumping at the chance to eat one again, especially since someone felt the need to record my painful experience.

Anyway, I have to finish packing and getting ready for the trip tonight. Our flight isn't until like 7:40 pm so I still have some time but if I keep procrastinating I won't ever finish. I can't wait to share all of the photos and stories with you guys when I get back. I will be absorbing all the sunshine for you guys back home just like Frederic. Have a great week! xo

childhood flashback.

Currie Ball and Indigenous Tour

most of the exchanges

awwwww.

Last night was the Currie Hall Ball! It was so much fun. The whole thing was absolutely fabulous, the food was so delicious, it was decorated really well and the music was awesome. Everyone looked amazing and it was all around just a great time. Plus, my date, Liz was adorable and we took a standard prom photo since I never got the chance at HS prom...There was a really cool winter wonderland-esque backdrop and we could take professional photos in front of that as well. There were props for taking photos ranging from asian parasols, to pimp hats to machine guns...so random. BUT so FUN!

table setting of a champion.

There was a pre drink time period at the beginning where we enjoyed champagne, beer and other drinks outside of the actual ball room. When I heard the news that inside I could only drink wine or beer, I asked the bartender for assistance and he gave me the brilliant idea to bring in extra drinks for "my friends." Thus allowing for my table setting to make me look like a total lush. Totally worth it. I can't drink beer and I was so not in the wine drinking mood. Thank you brilliantly helpful bartender!

eagle rock

After dinner there was dancing...soo much dancing. There was a time period where they were playing all set dance songs like Cotton Eye Joe, Macarena etc. And then all of the sudden they played a song that I have never heard before, and literally all the boys dropped their pants to the ground and danced in their boxers. I was really flustered and overwhelmed, especially since I was in the center of their pants on the ground circle. Apparently in Australia, the song Eagle Rock, means drop your pants and dance around in circle around the girls. Shocking, but awesome. Dance your pants off boys!

winners!

There were also lots of prizes given out! Best dressed boy and girl, cutest couple, and 3 random door prizes. Yay for being ticket number 29 and congratulations to all the well dressed people! I won a box of chocolates! It was so unexpected and thrilling. Its the little things in life, especially when those little things include chocolate!

one of Sheila's giant masterpieces

Sheila :)

The ball was super fun, but not nearly as fun as having to wake up at 8 am this morning! The trip we went on ended up being totally worth it but this morning I was not at all pleased to be awake and in a van before noon. We went on a really unique indigenous tour. Our first stop was the home of an aboriginal woman who a member of the Stolen Generation. The Stolen Generation was a really unfortunate time in Australia when the government took aboriginal children away from their families in the hopes that spending time with white people would make them more cultured and also that eventually the darker skinned people would die out. The government even went so far as to arrange marriages between lighter skinned aboriginals and darker ones to try to get rid of the darker skinned people. Sheila was taken from her parents when she was just four years old and placed in an orphanage and raised by mean spanish nuns. At one point her mother tried to take them away from the orphanage because she heard they weren't being educated, they were apprehended from the police, put in handcuffs (even though Sheila was only 10) and brought back to the orphanage. Sadly her mother passed away while she was in the orphanage and she never got to see her again. Her life was clearly really hard, and even when she had children of her own the government tried to take them away! She has managed to deal with her anger and sadness from her life by painting and telling her story to groups like ours.

if you look closely you can see people standing on that green leaf

my family

Sheila is an extremely talented woman and her art is amazing. She is even in the Guiness Book of World Records for creating Australia's largest piece of aboriginal art. It was over 10,000m and made from sand in a huge field.
Her backyard was super cute and set up really nicely. We listened to her story, looked at her artwork and then she taught us what the symbols meant and how to make our own aboriginal art. My picture may not look like much, but Monty and Jake are there, as well as my whole family, a lizard, a kangaroo, mountains, the sun, the moon, stars, and and emu. Not bad eh?

snacks!

After Sheila's, we climbed into a van and went to an aboriginal gallery. Where we also ate bush food and saw a family of emu's. One of the baby emus had just hatched that morning! It was so tiny and small, and it couldn't stand up, and then one of its parents stepped on it which was really rude, so the owner took it out of the cage and brought it inside to try to help it stand and get dry. Inside the gallery they fed us lots of little snacks like bread and cracker dips, and even dessert before the meal! The main course was kangaroo sausage. It had a weird texture and from what I hear its really difficult to make well. It was okay, definitely worth trying at least once, but not my favorite.

oh lannccc.

YUM.

Its a small world after all! After our lunchy snack we went to a winery, called Lancaster wineries! Apparently the wealthy young man who bought it, purchased it for his girlfriend so she had more space to ride her horse. But after buying the winery they told him he wasn't allowed to remove any of the vineyards so he kept it going. It is supposedly one of the best wineries in the Swan Valley. We tried 3 white wines, 3 red wines and 2 dessert ones. The red dessert wine was 18% alcohol and it was a brutal one. It was thick and potent. They also gave us a cheese platter, with yummy homemade cheeses!  Anyone who wants to come and visit me I will be more than happy to take you on a tour of the Swan Valley! :)

didgeridoo lessons

ginormous didgeridoo

After the winery we climbed back into the van and drove to Fremantle for a didgeridoo lesson. A didgeridoo is an aboriginal instrument made from a eucalyptus tree. They are hollowed out in nature by termites. After the hollowed trees are found, they are debarked, and decorated. In order to get the right sound they need to be at least one meter long. It is really difficult to play but once you master the blowing part you can add other sounds and noises and make it sound like their are birds in the room, dingoes howling or even kangaroos bouncing around. Apparently the trick is simply circular breathing, being able to continuously blow air out while breathing in through your nose...maybe I just need a little bit more practice.

It was a crazy busy weekend. We have less than two weeks of classes left before mid-semester break and then we're off to Bali! Time sure is flying by...but before Bali I have to mid-term exams and a paper to write.

Hope all is well! Lots of love from down under! xo

Let it be Spring!

Thumper's got it bad.

That's right people back home, spring has sprung down under! Although I am very sad to be missing out on the very best of the fall season AKA "sweaters, boots and pumpkin spice lattes" to quote Lauren Parra, I think the sunshine will pull me through. New Zealand and Australia decided that September 1st would be the first day of spring, so unlike the rest of the world where seasons change on the 21st of the month, in Australia they change on the 1st. So fancy. The first day of spring here was gorgeous, and then it got cold and rainy, but its cleared up now and this week looks like it is going to be phenomenal. On the first day of spring I had a class and the professor asked us why were weren't more hormonal and excited that it was spring, thus why I have included a Bambi twitterpated photo to this blog. :) Apparently there are lots of new and exciting art and plant exhibits in King's Park this month so I will definitely have to go check those out.

I honestly haven't really been doing much. It rained this weekend and was kind of cold so we didn't take our usual beach trip. We did go shopping and it really made me question the fashion sense of Australia. They are kind of strange, expensive and not really my style. I definitely am not lacking for any clothes anyway since I literally brought my closet so I should be fine without them. I did manage to find a purse small enough to bring out with me, but big enough to hold my epi pen! Win!

TiAmo's

On Friday it was our friend Jasen's birthday. So after a few too many drinks at the tavern on campus we went out to dinner at this really cute restaurant called Ti Amo's. We went out with a group of about 18 of us. Jasen had already gotten sick earlier before we went out so we figured he would be fine for dinner. Unfortunately this was not the case and he proceeded to throw up on the table, in the middle of the restaurant, right before our food came out. Luckily it wasn't too messy and wasn't a big deal at all, but still a funny tale that he was so willing to let me share! Happy birthday Jasen! Better luck next year :)

Mauritius

On Saturday everyone went out, but I just really wasn't feeling it. I went and hung out with Julien who gave me a google earth tour of Mauritius in hopes of getting me more excited for our trip there in December. I mean look at this picture, how could I not be excited?! We toured the world via google earth, I showed him the farm and he showed me all the hot spots of MU. The tour of the island definitely got me more excited to go...but first I have to make it through this semester and survive our study break trip to Bali!

Google logo on Father's Day

 Sunday was Father's Day in Australia!!! Happy Australian Father's Day Dad! :) Check out the fancy google logo, also go look at the google logo today! It is Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday, so when you click on the second 'o' it plays a music video. It's pretty cool, I've watched it like twice. No big deal, its not like I need to study or anything.

This week is a pretty hectic one. I have an art test tomorrow, a microeconomics test on Thursday and a paper for my philosophy class due on Monday. Friday is the Currie Hall Ball, the theme is Winter Wonderland, which I find ironic since its spring now... oh well. I'm sure it will be a grand old time.

Despite my hectic schedule, I have been spending a lot of time on google/google earth, as you may have noticed from the end of this blog. Google earth is awesome, I even google earthed one of my favorite places. Its only the best place, because only the best person I know lives there. And despite the fact that this someone wouldn't let me sit in the adirondack chairs that look out on the ocean the last time I visited, I have been promised the next time I go that I can sit in them. So until then, google earth is as close as I can get. Its kind of creepy if you think about it, that you can look up any place and have it come up exactly how it looks. Technology both intrigues and terrifies me. But look how pretty this place is! :) How's that for a blog shout out Sean Mitchell? :)

 The work is definitely starting to pile up over here, but as long as I don't get too distracted by the weather or google I think I will pull through :) The week ahead looks pretty busy so hopefully I will have lots of photos and things to share with you! Good luck to everyone headed back to school, and have a great Labor Day! Love you all! xo

almost all of the Currie Hall exchange girls :)