The Final Chapter: No Longer Upside Down!

G’day blog followers…

For those of you who aren’t tech savvy and grossly intertwined in the facebook/twitter world let me proudly announce that I am currently sitting in an AMERICAN airport. That’s right people…I am finally right side up! It’s sad to think that this might be my last blog entry. I think I’m going to have to travel more because I have thoroughly enjoyed blogging this entire trip. It was such an amazing and wonderful experience and I am so grateful to my parents and F&M for allowing me to have this marvelous adventure.

Despite the lack of sleep on my flight from Australia to LAX, I am in very high spirits and SO excited to get to JFK. My contentedness may or may not be heavily influenced by the Michael Buble Christmas album I’m jamming to, and the pumpkin spice latte I’m currently sipping on. SO yummy. (both the latte and Buble J)I’d post a photo but you don’t want to see me in my current state. My face is swollen from flying…and the dark circles are spooky. BUT I’m almost home!

so instead enjoy a photo of me in a shark!

Anyway, enough of that for now…the last 5 days of my Australian shenanigans was spent in Melbourne.

SO many pillows.

I got in to Melbourne at around 5 pm and took a taxi to the Marriott, which my lovely mother arranged for me to stay in. The bed was GLORIOUS so spacious and tons of pillows. The Marriott was basically in the center of downtown and every little day-venture I went on was just a short walk or tram ride away. I’m not going to lie, we rode a lot of trams for free because we had no idea how to pay for them. OOPS.

 Side note: it is easier to type we, but to clarify, we is Ronald and I since he also happened to be in Melbourne. Such a great week.

eiffel tower?

you can call me flower if you want to...

The first day we did a LOT of walking. We walked to the river and saw the “Eiffel Tower” of Melbourne. Apparently its way better than the actual Eiffel tower because Melbourne is way better than any other city in the world. According to this one guy who clearly is a bit of a Melbourne fanatic. We walked to the Botanical Gardens and around the 4km sand track. We didn’t walk the whole thing because it was kind of hot and I really only needed to be in places long enough to take pictures. Kidding…maybe. The gardens were…gardeny. Some cute alcoves and lots of lovely flowers, none were planted by plant pies though obviously so there was definitely room for improvement.

women's memorial...i think.

self explanatory photo.

Dayventure two was to the Melbourne Aquarium. Now I’m going to be honest…knowing I was coming home sooner than planned made me be very pro-America and I compared everything to its USA equivalent. So the Melbourne Aquarium, while it was somewhat entertaining has nothing on the Mystic Aquarium, because that aquarium rules from what I remember. The recommended time to explore the aquarium was 2-2.5 hours. We thoroughly explored it in an hour. Not cool. 

oh hey, manta ray.

weird fish.

Ron in a fish tank?

There wasn’t much to see, lots of fish (duh) and sharks and manta rays. I think the shark world was the best part because there was like a glass tunnel you could walk through and see all the fish swim around you. There were even divers in the tank swimming with the sharks. Apparently this feat was completely possible for all aquarium visitors for a low fee of just $300. If only I was rollin’ in the dough so I could go rollin’ in the deep with the sharksss. OH well. Maybe next time I visit.

look out for bleeding sharks?!

calm ocean water scares me.

Hmmm…the next day we went to St. Kilda’s beach and had lunch overlooking the water. After that we just sat by the beach for a while, walked up the pier and sat on the rocks. Unfortunately we were there too early in the day because supposedly at around sunset there are little penguins that come up on the rocks. After that we got on a very crowded tram and I really thought I was going to pass out . It was so hot, smelled so bad and I must have stumbled and stepped on this guys foot like 5 times. Poor dude. I apologized and smiled nicely despite the heat and misery I was dealing with. 

You will all be proud to know how well I survived the heat. I wasn’t even that miserable! GO ME!

st Kilda's

so much meat.

The last day we went to the Queen Vic Markets, which were pretty lame. Just lots of stalls of cheap stuff and it was the same thing aisle after aisle. Not really that exciting. Sorry to say. Blah blah. Not much else happened during this day. I started to feel anxious about flying and napped for most of the afternoon while watching golf on tv in my nice comfy bed, which was a great way to spend the afternoon if you ask me.

Ron and I went to dinner near the Crown Casino by the river. There were no tables for two when we got there, but there were these two women who also wanted to dine and the manager said he could do a table of four but not two. So we sat at two separate tables but they were literally inches apart and we were not under an umbrella. It was supposed to rain but luckily it didn’t and we had a great “last supper”. After dinner we sat on the benches along the river and waited for the fire tower show. At around 9pm all these pillars along the water started blowing different amounts of fire into the air. It lasted about 5 minutes but it was still pretty cool. We were going to go to the casino and try our luck but I was so tired from all the dayventures that we decided against it. Better luck next time!

fire display! (not my photo)

My flight to LAX was pretty average. I was sitting at the gate in Melbourne and my name got called on the loudspeaker. I thought they were going to tell me I wasn’t getting on the plane and I was panicked. Instead they informed me they had changed my seat to an aisle seat instead of a window, which was a huge bummer since I wanted to take a picture out the window, my last photo of OZ. Not only was I in an aisle seat but I was in the middle section of the plane and across the aisle from a very large woman who: wore a fanny pack, yelled at her tv out loud when it wasn’t working properly, snored, had this hacking cough of a lifetime smoker which never stopped, had a child who vomited during the flight, and hit me in the face with her sweatshirt every time she took it on or off which she did often. Then when the flight attendant was giving her a beverage the soda can exploded all over me. WIN. During the meal period we hit a tremendous amount of turbulence and the entire crew was seated for over an hour. It was SO scary. But I managed to watch: The Help, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Grinch, Arsenic and Lace, and Robots, as well as a wide array of tv shows.  When I wasn’t watching tv I was playing this video game called Zuma which was a puzzle game and I played it until my eyes were literally crying. In the entire 13 hour flight I didn’t sleep at all. Mostly cause the noisy distracting woman next to me made it difficult. Also did I mention the woman who sat in front of me kept violently putting her seat back?! SUCH a great flight. But honestly, I’m just so happy to be reunited with the family that I don’t even care! Seriously in the best mood ever right now. (it’s the Michael Buble Christmas album…everyone listen to it!)

This blog entry is so bittersweet. My adventure is over after five phenomenal months.  I met so many amazing people who I will never forget. I’ve had so many experiences and made so many lifelong memories. I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity and feel so truly blessed to have known all those who made this trip so amazing. I love you all! . As Hannah would say “I’ve got cherry eyes.” A few tears have been shed in the conclusion of this blog. I can’t believe its over, but I am so happy that it happened and I can’t wait to relive the whole experience when I share it through photos and stories with everyone back home.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas (even if it isn’t a white one!) and a happy and blessed New Year

LOTS OF LOVE FROM AMERICA! XOXO

fun facts coming at you from the backseat...

SO I'm posting again just so that I can share with you all the adventure that was this weekend as well as have a blog that is just about Melbourne where I'm going this afternoon. This weekend was actually unbelievable. I must have said "this is not real life" and "we are going to get murdered like in a horror movie" at least 10 times and meant it.

The story begins with this guy. Mostly because it was his birthday that we were going to. I was informed that it was 6 hours away from here. BIG lie. Regardless of how far away it actually was, Happy 21st Knighty, and thanks for giving us the opportunity for such an adventure.

21.

Vince and I are in Sydney staying with his brother Fred. Vince and I needed to be back at Macquarie at 10am to get a ride to the birthday party. Now Vince has a parking spot in another apartment complex across the street. He was supposed to park in spot 765, but when he got there someone was parked in his spot so he just parked in a random empty space. Saturday morning we went to get in his car and head to Macquarie but the car whose spot he parked in took it upon themselves to teach him a lesson and parked him in so he couldn't get his car out. So we obviously couldn't go anywhere. We had to go get the security guard who said it would take some time to find all the car owners and get them to move. It ended up taking a really long time and we had breakfast in the meantime. They still hadn't called when we finished breakfast so we went back to Fred's to wait. The boys we were supposed to drive with had already left so we called other people and were planning to go with them and leave at 1pm. The guy still hadn't called so we decided to get our stuff out of the car and just take a taxi. When we got to the parking garage to get our stuff the cars were all relocated and Vince's car was free. So frustrating since the security guard said that the car was still blocked in. Struggles.

We get to Macquarie and meet up with Cain and Sam who are driving us down to the party. We were aware that there was some flooding where we were going but everyone else had managed to make it so we figured we would be fine. The drive itself at the beginning was pretty uneventful...except for the fact that it was way longer than 6 hours. We called to make sure we were going the right way and Knighty's mom told us to call her when we got to one part of the road because it was flooded over and she would drive in front of us since their were huge pot holes. Cain told her that we had pretty good drivers and we would only call if we hit trouble. It was getting dark and we were in the middle of the country/middle of nowhere. We drove through the first set of water and it was really scary, pretty deep and just a frightening experience. The check engine light came on every time we went through water but eventually it would turn off. When we got to the water that Knighty's mom had warned us about Cain and Sam got out of the car and walked through the water to check how deep it was and where the pot holes were. They decided the best way to make it through was if Cain drove the car and Vince, Sam and I stood in the water marking off the pot holes. So basically we were all knee deep in water, being attacked by mozzies and being used as traffic cones. I will be nicer to traffic cones from now on since their jobs terrifying. This is a photo of Cain's car driving through the next day. The water had gone down a lot, but it still came up over his lights. The drive was only so scary because it was dark and we couldn't see anything. Plus when Vince and I were waiting for them to walk the water we heard something swimming in it...it was like a horror movie.

its a lot less scary in daylight...

We had to go through about 4 more of these types of water covered roads and everyone was just as terrifying as the next. Especially when we were speeding along and one appeared out of nowhere. Sam and Cain got out and walked through most of them just to make sure Alfie (the car) would make it through. We took a wrong turn when we were close to the house and had to call Knighty and have him come out and meet us. We finalllllly made it to the house at about 10pm making it a very stressful 9 hour drive.

We put our stuff in the dodgy house we would be sleeping in, got changed and went to the party. Apparently the party was a cocktail themed event which Vince and I didn't know so we didn't dress up for the occasion. Plus when I was putting on my pants I broke the zipper so I had to walk around looking like an idiot all night. RIP fave party pants. The first drink I had at the party I spilled on myself...so shirt and pants were a fail.

Me and my roadtrip pal Sam

 Things got rowdy when we started playing that stupid game where you hit the top of someones full beer with the bottom of your bottle and it explodes everywhere. I am a sneaky expert at this game but other people struggle. Cam tried to do it and smashed the bottle on the ground. I bent down to pick up the bigger chunks of glass and so did he. Now he claims his other drink cup spilled on me but I swear he spit it out onto my hand. So here I am cleaning up his mess and he spits up on me like a baby. So rude. Everyone was laughing about it and he was not pleased. Later in the night I made a joke about it and he threw a beer in my face. My eyes were wide open and it got all up in there. Luckily for me Knighty's mom Sally is a saint and she took me inside and gave me eye drops and took excellent care of me. My eyes were burning so bad for so long. That's what I get for teasing drunk boys I suppose.

When we first got there I was sprayed with bug spray but based on how itchy I am today it wasn't very effective. I have huge mozzie bites all over my legs, back and arms. So unfortunate. But I will say this, the mozzies might be bad...but the stars in the country were INCREDIBLE. I could not get over how amazing they were. You could see so many and I saw a bunch of constellations and a few shooting stars....hopefully that luck helps me out in the future.

We slept on mattresses in a big room in this dodgy house. When we woke up in the morning we showered before we went to eat breakfast. I showered in the most questionable shower that didn't have a door or curtain and no hot water. FUN. We ate breakfast and played with the CUTEST puppies ever and then we decided to hit the road. Vince and I rode home with Cam and Brad instead this time and I had a bit more room in the car so I wasn't as uncomfortable. At one point we encountered a herd of cows that was all up in the road.

moooo-ve cow!

This guy just casually strolled in front of us like it was no big deal. Other than the cows we didn't really have any other struggles. The ride was like 8 hours long and other than a minor delay in taking a wrong turn we made it home pretty easily. It was a chaotic trip and a lot went wrong but it was still an amazing time and the countryside  of Australia was beautiful.

I'm in the airport headed to Melbourne now and I'm really looking forward to it for lots of reasons! SO excited. Missing everyone at home! XO

countryside

goodbye perth, g'day sydney!

Sydney Harbor

 So, I am currently in Sydney hanging out in Fred's apartment with Vince. Gotta love the Oxenham brothers and their hospitality! We had quite the week so far and I'm sure lots more thrilling adventures happening soon. I'm a little upset because I burnt my tongue on Korean food earlier, but it was totally worth it because it was so delicious. I even ate the majority of my meal with chopsticks, even these rice cakes things...imagine eating jello with chopsticks and you will understand my struggle. I struggled the first time so Fred fed me one, with the newly obtained energy I managed to pick one up on my own. WOO. Anyways, I've been in Sydney since Monday night but still had a few adventures back in Perth before my sad departure from Western Australia.

super chefs.

Lets go back to last Thursday to start…so as all you Americans know Thursday was Thanksgiving Day, a day to feast, stuff your face as well as be thankful for all of the wonderful things in our lives. Since a bunch of us were in OZ instead of home in the states we decided to have our own Thanksgiving. Lili, Nikita and Ryanne cooked us up a phenomenal feast and we ate like kings. Unfortunately I had an exam on Friday morning so once dinner was over Dillon and I got right to studying…which lasted about thirty minutes and then we gave up. Friday morning I skyped with my family back home in NJ while they were celebrating Thanksgiving. It was so great to see everyone and I think they gave me good luck to pass my exam….or at least I hope I passed.

winner winner turkey dinner.

newspaper hats

Friday afternoon was the Punch & Hat Party. It was pretty epic. Katrina and Anna made us hats out of newspapers and we rocked them like champions. Per usual my head was too big and I struggled to keep it on since it was kind of a windy day, but we still had so much fun. So the hat thing is obvious, but the punch was a whole different drunken scenario. Everyone brought something either alcoholic or juice to put into a giant garbage can that we made a punch in. After a few cups of that stuff everyone was well on their way to an amazing last night.

Dillon!

Kam and Dev...ramp experts.

But the fun didn't stop with punch and hats. Kam and Devyn put together a sweet ramp that they placed on the end of a jetty. Then the boys took turns riding bikes down the jetty, up the ramp and into the river. It looked super fun, so of course it was only a matter of time until someone convinced us girls to also go in the river. The ramp looked like so much fun and I just had to try it. The bike was pretty wobbly but I managed to make it. I have a funny bruise on my leg from where the seat pinched my leg when I hit the water but I'm no worse for the wear. It was something I just had to try. I was so scared I was going to lose the bike that I held onto the handlebars the whole time and kind of slapped my face on the water. No pain no gain, and I didn't lose the bike!

the RAMP.

I did however lose my ray ban sunglasses and my elephant necklace my mom gave me. They were either snagged when we all went in the river or I just forgot where I left them and by the time I remembered they were gone. Sad day.

I spent most of Saturday recovering from Friday and attempting to pack up. I have way too much stuff per usual and it was a pretty big struggle to pack it all in. I'm pretty sure it only took me soo long because I really didn't want to leave at all. Currie Hall has been such a great place to leave and I am really sad that this chapter of my life is over. I met some of the most amazing people ever there and I really hope that we are all reunited at some point in our lives. I left my mark on the back of my mirror along with all the other residents of B406 have done before. So at least a part of me will always be at UWA, at least until they redo the Currie rooms. Which I recommend be very soon...

Boubar

Finally it was Monday and time to leave. At this point I was the only exchange who wasn't staying for another semester left. It was sad. Kate and Rachel, my Aussie loves, came back to say goodbye to me. We walked to Boubar our favorite coffee shop for one last iced mocha. So delicious. It really meant a lot to me that they came back to send me off, though I'm  not at all surprised since they are such wonderful people! It was really hard to drive away because I couldn't stop feeling like I was going to see everyone again next semester or next year, so strange. I hope that I do get to see them all again soon. Especially Kate who is going to be studying in the USA. (Rachel you should probably start planning your trip now so you can adventure with us as well. :)





I took a few photos of the Currie Hall construction/destruction so you could all see just what we've been dealing with for the last few weeks...

blue room

so much construction

:)

Mowgz drove me to the airport because he is the greatest facebook husband a girl could ask for. (don't worry mom facebook is not real life.) Ronald and the nickname I coined for him, Mowgz will be greatly missed. We had lots of adventures together and he is one the greatest people I have ever met. I hope to one day tell the world I used to know the world's most famous Australian geologist. :)



I arrived in Sydney late Monday night and Vince was there to pick me up. It was a pretty uneventful flight and I was really tired. We went to his dorm and attempted to get ready to go out but then we changed our minds and decided to take it easy. We watched Me, Myself and Irene which was the worst Jim Carrey movie I've ever seen. So painful. We've been following a similar routine for the last few days, go to bed late, get up late and go to the Macquarie Center for lunch. We went to two of his favorite cafes and Tea Too, which was an adorable tea place with yummy sandwiches and delicious ice tea.

the ingredients for an epic night

 Wednesday night we picked up Dillon and took him to the Ranch with us. We all had a great time dancing til 3 am. We even did the New Girl chicken dance on stage...(for those of you that don't get that reference, you should probably start watching the show the New Girl on Fox at your earliest convenience.) PS. If anyone wants the rules to the New Girl drinking game Vince and I made up, let me know, we had quite an epic night on Tuesday watching all the episodes and playing the game with grey goose and wicked (a crazy energy drink.) good times. Dillon spent the night on Vince's floor and I made sure I woke him up nice and early to catch a bus back to the city, so he could pack up and get to the airport in time for his 11am flight. it was pretty risky but we figured it was his last night in OZ and he needed to live it up. His drink combination of butterscotch schnapps and sprite was brilliantly delicious and definitely made the night quite an adventure.



 Thursday night we went on a Sydney Harbor Cruise. It was tons of fun and we had a great time. We had lots of drinks and danced on the boat. I of course tripped on the boat and smashed up a few of my toes so they no longer bend, fail. But so expected.

the dock

the bridge

Vince and I, it looks like a fake backdrop

 After the cruise we went to the Cargo Bar for a few drinks and then we went to this really classy bar in the city called Hemisphere. We only had one drink each since it was pretty pricey but in the meantime I enjoyed the luxurious pillows covering the couches. At this point, I could have fallen asleep on the couch and been happy as a clam!

grr i love pillowssss!

drinks!

This photo is for you Mom! A dirty martini and a champagne beverage toasting to you! Wish you could have joined us for our fabulous drinks.

We spent today packing up Vince's room and moving it all to Freds. I am exhausted and so happy we are done packing. Tomorrow we are getting up early to take a 6 hour road trip to one of Vince's friends 21st birthdays. Should be a blog worthy adventure! Being in Sydney means I am so much closer to coming home. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. I wish everyone abroad safe travels home and good luck with finals!

Just thought I'd share one more photo with ya'll....I brought my big red camera on the cruise and Vince didn't think I could take a picture of us at arms length like you can on small cameras....clearly as the photo below shows its possible...it ain't pretty but its possible.

:)

MISS YOU ALL! xo