This Week

This week flew by especially fast for no apparent reason. Nothing too much went on this week aside from uni and going out last night. Inga, Iain, Neil, Rudy and his visiting girl-friend, Gemma, and I went out to The Victory. The drinks were half-price so I treated myself to a White Russian. It was pretty good and so was the music. Actually, a little too much techno and not much variation, but a great time nonetheless. Tom and I left around 1.30a and on the way back home he told me a hilarious story about a spider in his bedroom and how he had to get Judith to help him get it, haha! I think I've met more Aussies who are arachnophobic than international students. Got home and chatted with Adam before he had to run to his exam, then it was to bed for me.

Today I slept in until 11, did some stuff around the room, had some cereal. Inga and I went to the parklands for a nice sunbathing session; it was the first time it'd been sunny enough in almost 3 weeks. I was so happy to get out and relax and soak up some rays. Afterwards we grabbed some kebabs and we just finished watching The Outsiders, haha - childhood story/movie - it was fun. Inga and Sara lapped it up, haha. And now we're just about to go to The Three Monkeys here in West End for some coffee and hanging out. When I return I will be pulling my own teeth to get myself to study and prepare for my German text next week.

Edit: Just got back from The Three Monkeys. I. Absolutely. Loved. That. Place. The atmosphere was the epitome of what I feel a coffee shop should be: warm, eclectic, lounge, unique, interesting. It was perfect - Adam, you're going to love it. They had Chess and Scrabble boards, tons of Three Monkey figurines (some were of four monkeys? I know the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys but I'm not sure what the fourth one represents?). I went with Inga, Sara and Iain - great company. We chatted about lots of stuff over our drinks and cakes - I had a NY baked cheesecake (delectable!) and a bowl of Chai (yes, it was served in a bowl? - but oh, so good! But not so good as Vienna's - gosh, I miss going there with Adam...). But yeah, we had some good conversation: Lucky Charms and how they are banned from Scotland, our stripper (first pet's name + first street lived on) and soap opera names (middle name + current street lived on), double jointedness, hiccups, honey shots, music (Sara has played the piano for 13 ears and also plays the drums - oh, I can't wait to take up piano again!), and a ton of other interesting things. = ) An evening well spent for sure!

Tomorrow it's supposed to be warm, bright and sunny again, so Inga and I are going to shop a bit (we need jeans with the chillier weather) and then we'll lay out some more. Tomorrow night I'm not sure what's going on.

Some new slang for you all back home: she'll be 'right = sounds like everything will be okay; oi! = hey, you!

New lollies I've tried:
*Picnic (Honey and Almond)
*Strawberry & Cream Shortbread
*Assorted Family Cookies
*Assorted gummies from the Kelvin Grove candy shop

Oh, a bit more about the weekend I went surfing: after the surfing we drove up to Surfer's Paradise. Inga and I had lathered up in sunscreen just in time for the rain to come down on us, so we browsed the shops. I bought 2 new shirts and 2 post cards and 2 pairs of earrings. Two was a big number for me that day, I suppose. We each got a yummy Boost smoothie and then rode back home to QUT to call it a day.

So I've finally figured out when I'll be paying my visit to Sydney: Thursday, May 1 to Tuesday, May 6. I'm going with Sara, Alice, Peter and maybe some others? I thought about going alone but why not go with friends! More pictures, more stories, more fun! Plus I'll get to meet up with Maya - she was an Exchange student at Purdue last fall and is back in Sydney now. Also in travel news: Sara and I are planning to see Uluru after exams end instead of New Zealand as we've deemed NZ as worthy of a trip of its own someday.

On another note -I've discovered the awesome concept of online non-live game playing! I'm playing Chess with Adam, Battleship with Dad, Checkers with Mom, Othello with Chucky, and Scrabble with Adam and Karan! Oh, it's so fun! I think it's a really neat way to keep in touch with friends and family back home. = )

Yep. I'm going to work away on some snail mail, email and get some rest for tomorrow. Lots of love!

-Amanda