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