Last saturday I had my last social evening for a while, as the uni work load picked up way too fast for me to handle. I went to the Oxford Art Factory with my roommates to watch my Aussie friend Arthur's band play. I don't think I have seen more hipsters in one room in my entire life, but it was so much fun, nonetheless. If I had known, I may have dressed a bit differently, but whatever. The live music was great, and from there it was on to a super cool hidden bar called the Shady Pines. I met up with some friends I met in Cairns over Spring Break. The bar was in a sketchy random alley way and is apparently very unknown to visitors. My friend had read about it in a bar guide book and wanted to check it out, and I'm so glad we did. It was Australia's version of a country western bar and was near impossible to get into-the line was about an hour long wait outside. It was underground and had lots of dead deer heads and such on the walls. I had missed country music and it reminded me of good ol' Tejas. Tried their famous drink-a whiskey apple-a green apple was put through a machine and crushed into apple juice, which was then mixed with whiskey. Surprisingly delicious (probably because it tasted like apple juice). It made me think of Halloween and fall and pumpkin patches. Aka started to get a little homesick...
SMU had their graduation (sad... wow I will miss all you seniors so much, it's not even funny) and everyone is back home in summer mode. I, on the other hand, am in stress mode at school. I have been having so much fun here I think I forgot how hard school is. So having to write three 3,000 essays all due within 2 days was a bit of a shock to my system. Naturally, the stress and lack of sleep got me sick. After a terrifying claustrophobic overwhelming experience at a discount chemist and attempting to find medicine, I finally found some at a real pharmacy. Since Dayquil does not exist in Australia, I found that Sudafed also works wonders. I almost forget I'm sick (until it wears off). But I am still milking it and allowing myself to be as lazy as possible for the next few days-I figure I deserve it after working my butt off last week. Feels SO good to have those papers turned in!! Only two more weeks of school-one easy week followed by hell week round 2. Then a solid three week break until my one and only final. So I will be traveling to Fiji during that time and possibly Bali. So yes, I miss home, and I miss my friends and family and wish I was in summer mode with y'all, but it's not too hard to remind myself how incredible it is here and how lucky I am. I decided these are the top 3 things I miss the most though (besides all of you guys-duh!): 1) My mom's cooking. Pasta is starting to get real old... but don't worry. I learned how to cook chicken-expanding my horizons!!! 2) My car. I can't wait to just be able to hop in and go where I need to go instead of waiting for the bus. 3) Real internet. The internet is so terrible in Australia.. I don't understand it. Skyping is almost a waste of time because you can hardly hear or see them. So yes, I look forward to those three ridiculous things when I get back to Oregon-funny the things you miss while abroad!!
I went to an AFL (Aussie Rules Football) game with my study abroad program yesterday-Sydney Swans v. Melbourne-and we won by about 100 points? So clearly I didn't understand the rules all that well, but it was so much fun. Great weather, atmosphere, and company. We went out to a club, Soho, for a friend's 21st birthday in King's Cross that night. A pretty fancy club with house music blasting-perfect for dancing into the wee hours. A terrific day all around. Lazed around all day today, watching movies with friends while snuggling on the couch and ordering in Thai since it was raining (boooo!). It is truly bizarre how it changed seasons here all the sudden. I have definitely noticed Fall is in full swing-the trees are changing colors, its getting dark out super early, and it has definitely gotten much colder. Strange that I will be going home to summer. My roommates and I wanted to get in to Australian television, so we watched the premiere of a new Aussie drama called Tricky Business last Monday and decided to make it a regular thing. So can't wait for our show tomorrow night... Keepin up my local status as much as I can-what can I say?! Finally bought my flight home-June 23rd it is! Absolutely unbelievable that I only have one month left here. Time flew by... A truly life-changing experience thus far. Best decision of my life to study abroad here in beautiful Sydney, Australia.
