Amanda Goes To Oz

The Final Post

2008-12-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

And so this is the final post for my Study Abroad trip to Australia in the spring of 2008.

I was independent. It is a challenge to everyone, some more than others, to pick up life in one country and drop it in another country. For me it was an easy transition; that's certainly not to say that I didn't miss loved ones back home, but that I do welcome and embrace change. There was virtually no culture shock on the departure. The return, however, was an entirely different story: I felt like I could share my adventure with someone but that they wouldn't fully grasp what I was telling them (unless, of course, they, too, had been abroad for 6 months or longer). It was odd to experience culture shock more on my arrival back to the US, but in retrospect it makes sense: I made sure I had a completely open mind when I left for Australia, this disabled any culture shock from occurring, in a way, whereas when I came back home I did hold expectations. When reality wasn't exactly what I'd expected, culture shock came into the picture. Not that experiencing culture shock was a bad thing - it's healthy - but it wasn't what I'd had in mind.

I learned so much about myself, the world, and life. I gained perspective on myself, the world, and, most dominantly, my home country, especially during the presidential campaigning. I made numerous life-long, world-wide friends; Ingeborg and Tamara being outstanding. In case you're wondering, we all keep in touch on a regular basis, and just this week I received an endearing phone call all the way from Inga in Norway.

I experienced my first long-distance relationship with Adam. His visit to Australia (and Fiji) will always be special to me. Those three weeks were three of the best we had and of my life. To share such an adventure with such a person is such a blessing. May 2008 was an amazing month for the two of us.

In closing, I am so thankful that I was able to visit Australia for a semester of Study Abroad. Thank you to my family for all of your support, Mom and Dad especially. Thank you to Adam, for all of your love and devotion while I was gone. Thank you to the friends I made - all of you! And lastly, if you ever have the chance to take a journey like this, take it! You won't regret it. I promise.

-Amanda

The Last Night

2008-12-13T21:06:00.001-05:00

The last night I was in Australia was interesting, to say the least.

Tamara had visited and stayed the previous night, and we said goodbye on the day before I left. After she headed back to Surfer's Paradise I began to finalize my packing. I remember having to repack strategically, haha. That evening Sam asked me if I wanted to watch a movie with him, and so we watched Memoirs of a Geisha. It was a really good movie, and I'm kind of glad I didn't read the book because it was a really long movie and may not have been my type of read. I definitely recommend the movie for those who've not yet seen it.

After the movie I felt utterly bored and kind of lost. I was really excited to head home the next morning (not so excited about the getting up to head to the airport at 4:30 in the morning), even though it would surely be a long two days of travel (which it was, and uncomfortable). I learned that I am able to travel west very well; not so much going east. -Any way- the night before I left I'd been unable to reach Laura, the person who so kindly took me to the airport at such an ungodly hour.

The flight home was miserable and seemed much longer than it was, but I made it home safely. The worst thing that happened (and it brought tears to my eyes) was when I was shuffling some bags in my hands and accidently dropped my glass Australian Christmas bauble ornament which shattered into heaps of pieces. But my parents and Adam were there to greet me, and we promptly went to the place that could satisfy my American hunger: Steak 'N Shake. It was so deliciously American!

I apologize for waiting half a year to post this. It was actually hard for me to bring myself to do since it is a closing to my trip abroad. And what a wonderful trip it was.

Ingle Bingle

2008-07-07T00:55:00.000-04:00

This entry is dedicated to my best friend from Australia: Ingeborg Hagan. She quickly became known as Inga or Ingle Bingle. Inga has been the best of friends during this trip, and I want to take a trip down Memory Lane on all of the great times we've had together. = ) Before I do, however, I want to say thank you, Inga. I am so glad to have met you! What can I say? I love you, Ingle Bingle [in my pants]!

February 2008
Thursday the 14th, Valentine's Day, was the day I met Inga. We were standing in line together, waiting to get our QUT ID photos taken. She assured me that my hair looked okay.
The next day, again at an orientation for QUT, Inga and I had lunch together. She was still hunting for accommodation, and I gave her the information for my landlord. She moved in the next week. We became roomies! Also, this night Inga joined me and some other newly made friends to Irish Murphys. This was our first night out to the bars.
On the 16th Inga and I browsed the Queen Street Mall together. She photographed me with a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. Inga and I had lunch at a quaint little pizzeria. We had a great chat on the balcony that afternoon.
The next evening I invited Inga to join me and my flat mates at le Tigre for a drink. I was thrilled to have her company!
The following Tuesday (19th) we went on the River Cruise and had a blast! This night was the first of many for us to have a blast on the dance floor. The Vic was such a great time that night! I'll never forget it! Earlier this day I helped Inga buy a chic new outfit for the cruise. She also bought a really cute clutch that afternoon. It was a fun time shopping with her!
On Thursday Sara and Iain joined us to see the Andy Warhol exhibit. Inga and I browsed the place for a couple of hours. We had so much fun taking our Andy Warhol photos together in the photo booth! This night we went to see The Bucket List. We found it to be a really great movie.
Saturday we went with Iain, Neil, Rudy, Nick and Richard to Surfer's Paradise. Inga and I had entirely too much fun when we took heaps of photos of us in our cowboy hats! Later that night she posed with a statue of a Native American. It's a priceless photo. It was also this night that Inga and I cracked up when Richard tripped on the sidewalk and admitted that it really hurt (which, upon hearing him state, caused us to laugh harder). This was also the night that my pink halter broke free, and I had to have Inga assist me, haha!
Monday the 25th we watched Kangaroo Jack together. We were so excited to get into an Aussie-based film! It was cheesy but as we found ourselves laughing we figured that meant we were enjoying the movie.
On Thrusday the 28th we joined in the fun at the International Student Party - it was a blast. Inga and I had so much fun with photos on the bus ride to Fortitude Valley.

March 2008
Tuesday the 4th we celebrated Inga's 22nd birthday. Everyone went out to The Fox. I bought her a glass of her beloved James Boag beer, and wished her a very happy birthday. It was around this date that I was a shoulder for her to lean on when she broke up with her boy-friend who was back in Norway.
On Thursday it was the Norsk (Norwegian club at QUT) Pub Crawl - naturally we went out for a great night! The Beach House and The Brewery were our favorite stops.
Friday evening the flat had a barbie - this was me and Inga's first Aussie barbie! We had kangaroo meat that night! Yum!
A week later Inga, Sara and I went to dinner at Punjabi Palace and to see the fabulous musical of The Phantom of the Opera. We had a lovely girls' night out.
On Friday Inga and I headed up to Noosa for a girls weekend get-away. We laughed the whole way up there (no smoking [pot]), and had a great time. We laid out at Mooloolaba and Noosa, took photos at the Noosa National Park, shopped a bit and missed our bus back to Brisbane, haha. We made the best of the extra night we had in Maroochydore, though. It was this night that we determined how to spell something very tricky to spell. = )
From 22 March to 30 March Inga and I (along with Neil, Rudy and Iain) had a trip of a life time traveling around Tasmania and Fraser Island. Yellow! Jinx! Oh, the great memories - really too many too list! It was one of the best weeks I've ever had. I won't forget how Inga was so frustrated when she overheard the Swedish girls talking about walking barefoot, haha! Or dancing to Grace Kelly! It was this weekend that Inga and I had the pleasure of meeting Tamara.

April 2008
On April 2nd Inga's cousin's visited from Cipan. We met up with them at the Down Under Bar that night. I remember making silly faces with her cousin's husband, haha. By the time I arrived Inga's cousin had passed out! She also won the hot-dancing competition, haha! Wild child, I say!
On Saturday the 5th, Inga and I learned to surf! It was a lot of hard work but we both had a great time learning the Aussie sport. We also got to do some shopping at Surfer's. I'll never forget getting trapped indoors by the rain at the Honey shop! Boy, was that honey tasty!
The following Friday the two of us joined some friends at The Victory. We danced the night away!
The next evening we went to the Three Monkeys for the first time, along with Sara and Iain. We had excellent conversation and enjoyed our relaxed evening over tea and coffee.
Four nights later we shared a Vietnamese dinner together. It was so delicious, and we had more great conversation together. I remember I had a lot to babble about that night, haha.
That weekend John Pav visited and the three of us headed to Stradbroke Island for the day. It was rainy, but we made the best of it. When we got back to Brissie we stuffed ourselves at the Pancake House. That evening we had a grand time at the Down Under Bar and the Brew House! We all loved the live band. Since I already [accidently] let it slip, I might as well mention how cute it was John Pav kissed Inga - awe! = P
Saturday night we all went to Normanby's for Judith's birthday. Inga was the ring leader, and I'll never forget chatting with so many random, but great, folks!
On the 25th Inga and I joined the flat mates for our first Rugby game! Inga and I laughed at all of the Barbie cheerleaders, were awed by the fireworks after our team, the Brisbane Broncos, scored, and we just had a great time. Subway before the game was a nice time, too - we were starving that night!
Four nights later Inga and I shared another dinner together at Ouzeri. This was the night we started our friendly relationship with Tony! Inga and I had white bait (we ate them whole!) and octopus! It was a fun meal!

May 2008
[I was in Sydney for the first week of May and visiting with Adam for the remaining 3 weeks. Not too much to comment on here for this post.]

June 2008
Inga and I had so much fun getting ready for the Tour de Chambre house party! I loved her theme and how she had especially found the matching coasters! Haha, we had some interesting moves on her bed!
The next morning we went to the AAMI horse race with the flat mates. I really enjoyed spending some time with Inga when we watched the horses cool down after having raced. It was then that I learned the horse used to have five digits on their hooves. The four main ones evolved to form the hoof while the fifth digit moved up towards the horse's knee. Interesting stuff!
On the 14th Inga and I shared our "last big fling" in Surfer's with Tamara. There is so much to say about this amazing weekend - the tour, the dolphins, the movie, the photos, the game of Kings, shimmying, the relationship with Jim Bean, the Bitch song, the singing along, the falling down and blue spots, the dancing - oh, it was an amazing time (in my pants)!
The following Wednesday Inga and I joined everyone out at the Down Under Bar for the last time. It was a great time, and I'll never forget the shots of Jagger, doing the YMCA or rocking to Jon Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer! And, we can't forget doing the shimmy!
On the 20th I had the pleasure of dining at Ouzeri with Inga and her visiting mother, Ingrid. We had a 3 hour dinner, lovely conversation and a great time together. Afterwards Inga and I made an appearance at the Intergalactic Get-Down party at the Hardgrave House. It was a great time, and it was this night that Inga gave me my diploma. I will always cherish that piece of paper.
The next evening Tamara came up for the night. We played Kings, and had more fun as the three of us, plus some flat mates. It was a somewhat sad evening as it was Inga's very last night out...
On the following Monday night Inga, Iain and I watched The Emperor's New Groove, which each of us either loved or fell in love with. Afterwards Inga and I had a really wonderful chat and finally swapped all of our photos.
The next morning we had to say our good-byes, which were kept short and sweet to avoid the flood of tears that were going to happen had the good-bye not been short and sweet.

I miss you so much, Inga! Thank you for everything, Inga. You're a best friend of mine, and I look forward to our next meeting! Hugs, hugs, hugs!

-Amanda AKA Amara

This Just In

2008-06-26T07:58:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's been so odd around here lately. Only a handful of the 18 flat mates (including myself) are still around. It's been very quiet here at 65 Boundary. The kitchen stays a lot cleaner for a lot longer, however.

I've been working on staying up late and getting up late - to help me get on EST a little bit. Tonight I have to try to stay up until 4am. I've been so lethargic lately that I've really been quite tired by the time 2am rolls around. I guess I'm getting old as I am unable to stay up like the night owl I once was a few years ago. Oh, well. Any way, we'll see if I make an 8 hour snooze from 9am to 6pm on Brisbane (body) time, ha.

Lately the weather has been dreadful and just sitting in the 50s. But! Today the weather smiled upon me, allowing for a tanning session! Yay!

Guess what! Today is my brother, Sam, and Chucky's girl-friend, Michelle's birthdays! Happy birthday Sam & Michelle! I can't wait to celebrate with you when we go camping over the 4th of July weekend! And an early happy birthday to Daddy and Andy! (Their birthday is tomorrow.) = )

I've recently discovered iMovie HD on my Mac. So, the new DVD plan is this: a DVD for photo slide shows using iDVD, and a DVD for videos using iMovie HD. I'm playing around with the two programs. They're pretty cool.

Last night I had a splendid dinner at Punjabi Palace. Oh, how I will miss that restaurant... Afterwards I met up with Laura for tea at The Three Monkeys (another place I will dearly miss). We had a fabulous chat about what it's like going back to one's home country, culture shock, keeping busy, friends, keeping in touch, etc., etc. She was brilliant when she caught that my flight out of Brisbane was NOT international! Yay! This means I don't have to be at the airport Sunday morning at 4am but rather 6am! Woot! AND! She's offered to give me a lift out there - she practically insisted! She's pretty great. = ) I do hope we can meet up when she's in Canada from August until February. We'll see how things are after graduation.

In Purdue news: one of my classes counts towards both my major and my minor so I'm able to drop a class that is now unnecessary. Great thing, too - it was a 7.30! Happiness!

Just a quick update on Adam: He's received some rather upsetting news regarding his study abroad to Italy... the uni he will be applying to is a business uni and may not accept him as he is not a business major. = / At least we are finding this out now and not in September. I'm crossing my fingers for him - gotta hope for the best!

In better news: he has been learning the piano lately! I'm so excited to hear him play! He has been teaching himself the theme song for a show called The OC - California by Phantom Planet. Not only that, Dick is learning the same song on his Ukelele. I told them they have to do a performance at our get-together on 3 July!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of catching up with Miss Beth White! We are looking forward to hanging out this fall - Cactus nights, baby! Also, we're going to host a girls' night party together. We're thinking wine, chick flick, manicures, pedicures, and a massage circle. Plus Beth and I are all about the snacks, so we'll be cooking up a storm! I can't wait!

Last bit of big news: Chucky is going back to Purdue this fall after all. He'd forgotten that he's tied into a lease up there. I'm glad he's coming back. Hopefully we'll be able to hang out a little more than we did last year.

That's about it for now. Toodles!

-Amanda

The Final Days

2008-06-24T09:54:00.003-04:00

Lots has happened here and back home in the last week. Here's the latest scoop!

Back home...

Tons of flooding going on. One of Sam's friends' house was washed off the side of a cliff. Can you believe that? I have a really close friend, Kristin, who lives in Iowa. I keep her and her family in my thoughts. Last we spoke she said her family and friends hadn't been hit by the flooding. The Grand Rapids area has been hit pretty bad, however. Here's a link with photos (unbelievable): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/mississippi_floodwaters_in_iow.html

Sam may be going to Orlando to play in an Xbox tournament! It's hosted at a Disney resort, and Dad is working things out with the chaperones. I think it's pretty cool that my little brother has been scouted to go on a trip like that! Too bad it's the weekend before I get to Orlando for my internship, haha. Any way, he'll be fully sponsored and has a great chance to win some money and place!

Mom and I are 3 and 3 for our Nike+ Challenges! She just blew me away in our last challenge, First to 40 Miles. Congrats to her, though - she's a little powerhouse! I'm pretty sure we still have a challenge going for the Fastest 5K (it may have ended?). Last I checked, she was beating me there, too, by - get this - 11 seconds! My mother! She's pretty killer. This just in: new challenge from now until I get home. There are some other racers competing, too. We'll see what happens.

My good Purdue friends, Nick and Kelly (aka the Peelmans), are ENGAGED! Congratulations, you two lovebirds!

Adam has been doing well. He was on a training trip at Purdue for Crowe last week, so that was pretty fun for him. He has been keeping busy with work. I was sad to hear that he had to give up Krav Maga (membership fee of $150/month). He's been having fun with his Ultimate games, though. Overall, he's doing pretty good, and enjoying his summer. Karan and Ed have also been keeping busy with their lake house - they're all pretty excited about it!

Here...

Last Friday Inga's mom, Ingrid, got in from Norway. That evening Inga and I took her mom to Ouzeri! Mmm, it was so delicious (as always), and the service was superb. Ouzeri has definitely become the place that I made a friend at (Tony, the guy who always takes photos for me and whomever I dine there with) - I read in some Study Abroad materials that one should find a friend at a local diner/coffee shop to feel more connected with the area. It was pretty cool to become a bit of a VIP at Ouzeri. Tony said that if I ever needed anything, "you come ask for me," haha. He's so sweet!

So dinner was great. The company was amazing, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. We were there for 3 hours! I think that was the longest dinner I'd ever had. We had coffee/tea afterwards, too, that was pretty cool. I had English Tea with peppermint (first time having that) - really good. Some topics of discussion were scarfs, desserts, deserts, how animals "go" (i.e., a chicken clucks) and what they say (i.e., a chicken says "cockadoodledoo"), Ingrid ate the head of a squid (the platter we ordered gave us whole squids - they were like little alien octopus things - yuck!), I counted from 1-10 in Norwegian for Ingird (making Inga quite proud), and we reflected on how we missed the bus in Noosa, haha. It was a fun dinner! Plus we had the second bottle of wine that my grandma sent over with Adam. Inga and Ingrid really liked it! It was SO good!

After dinner Inga and I went to the Hardgrave house to say goodbye to everyone. Inga delivered her diplomas (little certificates she made for everyone in the house), and we had a nice farewell. We didn't stay long because Inga had an exam the next day.

On Saturday I laid out for a few hours, and then met up with Tamara who was visiting Brisbane. We went to Mt. Coot-tha and the Brisbane Lookout Point (where she could see Moreton Island and Kim, haha (don't forget "hard like a rock"). Then I showed her around South Bank. We went through the markets where I tried on a white scarf and looked like Santa Claus, haha. I did find a scarf that I fell in love with and had to have (black with multi-colored threads through it). Tamara and I split some churros, too - Mmm!! After that we went back to the flat and prepared to play Kings. While waiting for Inga to get back from dinner with her mom, Tamara and I made up the Kings rules. We got pretty creative (my favorite was Fuzzy Duck). We got to playing (Iain, Neil, Rudy, me, Inga, Tamara, Sara, Maija) and I ended up "winning" the Kings' cup (ugh - a combination of beer, Red Bull and vodka). At one point I told Tamara that something was really "modular" when I meant to say "tubular," haha!

Eventually we all met up with some other flat mates at The Family, down in Fortitude Valley. I did not care for the place; $20 entry, crappy drinks and even crappier techno was just not my thing. I did meet a nice Aussie fellow, Richard, at one point, though. We chatted about America for the most part - he was very interested in what college is like and "the real Cancun." I tried to give him a more accurate description of how things are in America, and in the end we agreed that TV doesn't portray America very well.

Any who, I ended up leaving The Family at 2a and crashed when I got back to my flat. Tamara and the others rolled in around 5a. Wild ones, I tell ya.

The next morning Tamara and I chatted about boys, leaving countries, China, friends, fringes and bangs, and how last night went. She left just after noon because she had tickets to the eviction show for Big Brother. It was really great to have her up for a visit. She's heaps of fun! Great news: she's visiting again on Friday to say goodbye. Awe... I don't want to think about it.

Aussie Slang:
*goss = gossip
*sus = suspect
*stickybeak = a nosey person

Aussie Difference: Aussies are quite a bit quieter than Americans. On occasion one may come by an Aussie who is considerably louder than a typical American.

I was killing some time on Facebook the other day, and I came across a couple of groups that caught my attention. These links should work if you are a member of and logged into Facebook:

Petition to Revoke the Independence of the USA
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2208523152&ref=share

Petition to Annex the UK as part of the USA
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2231433061

I just wanted to note that I think if I'd read that first one before going abroad, I think I'd be very upset and shaken by it. But, after having been exposed to the world outside of the US quite a bit (i.e., on occasion being harassed for being an American and speaking American English, etc.) in the last half year, I'm not really phased. Yes, some of the ideas brought up make me a little upset, and others make me feel sorry for fellow Americans and their ignorance, but here's what I think about this sort of thing (meaning these kinds of groups): different cultures live differently. I wonder what makes people so upset that they feel the need to bash others? Personally, I don't mind people living differently than I do; I think it makes life more interesting.

Link the new photos on Facebook (Adam's Visit - 1/5): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2377757&l=2d827&id=13700420

By the way, after perusing some of my Study Abroad documents I came across the following, taken from a list titled, "You might see the following curiosities in a travel guide for people coming to North America:"

"US elections are too confusing to explain. They follow 50 sets of rules and schedules that are determined by each of the 50 states. The votes of the people who live in the capital city don't even get counted."

Ha. I'm not alone in my lack of comprehension for the US election process!

Continuing with the rest of my weekend, Sunday I went on a 5 mile run. I also began packing. I sorted out which clothes I'd need for the rest of my stay here, and packed the rest into my gigantic suitcase.

Monday was a really great day. I was up at 8a to Skype with Adam. It was so nice chatting with him. Oh, I miss him to death! My grandpa rang me over Skype; turns out the family was at his house to have a late birthday and Father's Day celebration since it didn't work out for them last weekend. It was also really nice to chat with the family. Mom and the girls are quite excited for the trip to Orlando this summer! It's going to be a lot of fun!

After Skyping I made a loop around the city. First stop was a pay-phone (I've run out of credit) to make a call for checking out with my landlord. I have to check out Friday morning, but I'll be crashing in Alice's room that night (yay, no couch business!). I also made a call to Qantas - I had to get some information on weight limitations and prices for additional checked items. I've since packed up pretty much all of my things, but I can't squeeze everything into my luggage. So, even though I'm okay weight-wise, I'm going to have to pay the bucks to have 3 checked items. Not too bad - I can't imagine what I would have done had Adam not helped me out with that extra suitcase.

Going on with yesterday, after the phone calls I picked up a requested deck of cards for Lauren (a little girl form Ohio that my mom used to babysit). I also picked up something for Sharon and Asheton (Lauren's mom and sister). I hope they like the gifts!

Next up was Target. I wanted some sockettes, and I got a great deal on some Cadbury Crunchie bars! I paid half the price I would have at Coles! Yippee! Target saved me $10!

That was the last stop in the city center. I made my way over to the Botanical Gardens and did a promised sketch for Kristin. I'll post the photos of what I sketched and the sketch itself to Facebook soon. Then I mosied into the sunshine for a nice nap in the gardens. Laura, you were right, napping there is just splendid! Despite it being such cold day, the sunshine was incredibly warm on my back as I drifted into the zzzs.

Monday evening Inga, Iain and I watched The Emperor's New Groove - so funny. Then Inga and I had a great chat... our last one... we also swapped photos. This morning she left for Sydney with her mom. I made it a short and sweet goodbye because if it hadn't been I would have been a mushy puddle from crying. I sure am going to miss that girl...

All right, I'm going to skip running and watch a movie instead. I'm being very bad, but I'm in a very odd, un-motivated mood. There's not much else to do around here. The flat is empty save for a handful of us. It's disturbingly quiet. I suppose that is a sign that it's truly time to go home.

-Amanda

Statement of Purpose Reflection

2008-06-23T22:45:00.000-04:00

During the application process for a Study Abroad trip I was required to write a Statement of Purpose. This post is a reflection of how my trip has been in comparison to what I expected (based off of my Statement of Purpose essay).

In my essay I opened by mentioning how I came across the Study Abroad program. Mandy Nurrenburn (whom I met through the Triathlon Club) was the person who gave me the first push for my trip. She had been to both Australia and New Zealand several times and really encouraged me to check out the program. I wrote, "Whenever I spoke with someone [i.e., Mandy] who had participated in a Study Abroad program, their faces would light up with excitement, and they would launch into a detailed story of where they went, who they met, what they did and how amazing the experience was." I have a sneaky suspicion that I will be doing just that when I get back home. I can't wait to share my trip with my friends and family back in the US! You guys are going to get ear-fulls, I'm sure, haha!

Regarding what I wanted to gain from the experience I wrote that I wanted to gain "a new perspective of life and the world, engagement with an exciting culture [that is] different form my own, to travel, to create new circles of friends, and to be educated in an extraordinary academic atmosphere." Well, I'll be darned, I did every one of those things listed there! My eyes have certainly been opened to the world beyond Indiana; I have jumped feet-first into Australian culture through music, trips, activities, markets, fashion and language; I have traveled all over the place: Sydney, Whitsundays, Fiji, Tasmania, Byron Bay, Fraser Island, Stradbroke Island, Noosa, Surfer's Paradise; I have made several new friends from all over the world! Inga and Tamara have become best friends, and I'm so thankful to have met them! Lastly, I attended Queensland Uni of Technology for a semester and got to see student life through Aussie eyes.

In discussing why I chose the QUT Exchange Program I wrote, "Brisbane seems to be a very exciting area, having a lot to offer." I couldn't have said it more accurately! With South Bank and the Parklands, the Botanical Gardens, the new Cultural Center, the Queen Street Mall and the markets - the place is just booming and so exciting! I've fallen in love with this city!

In my essay I talked about my behavior while abroad. I have put forth my best efforts in representing the US and Purdue; in essence I have been an ambassador for both. I'm proud to say that I have the ability to stand up for myself, my school and my country, that I did not allow myself to become sloppy with the partying and that I promoted what I represented while I've been in Australia.

I mentioned becoming involved with the Women in Technology group at QUT; this was an item I didn't have a chance to explore as the university didn't promote any such group. I did notice, based on the number of women in my IT class, that women were certainly a minority in Australia as well, however.

I'm really glad that I made the decision to study abroad. If I hadn't I'm 100% I would have regretted it. I'm not even able to express in words how much this trip has meant to me: the friends I've made, the trips, the images, the culture - everything! It has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

-Amanda

The Last Big Fling

2008-06-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

Last weekend (14JUN08-15JUN08)I had the extreme honor of visiting Tamara Condotta! Inga and I hopped a train (a noisy train at that - some baby wanted to push the emergency button, and some teens were acting like, well, they were acting like teens and being obnoxious) - any way, we hopped a train Saturday morning and met up with Tamara that afternoon.

Originally we thought we'd hit up the beach but the weather was a bit too chilly for that. Instead Tamara took us to the largest cinema in the southern hemisphere! Don't worry, we got a photo at the entrance. We had fun discussing the Sex & the City movie on the way to the theatre. Tamara concluded that the shows were better, too. Maybe I'll have to rent a DVD of the first season after all...? Inga had seen just about every movie there was to see at the time, I'd seen a few and so had Tamara but we managed to find a movie that none of us had seen: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian! I really enjoyed the movie. Some parts were a bit far fetched, but that's what makes it so much fun - to be a kid and use that imagination! Tamara and I found it almost more comedy than drama at some parts, haha! The mouse, Dennis Rodman, lovey dovey-ness between Caspian and Susan, and the Vera Bradley dresses, pointy little friend - too funny!

After the movie Inga confessed her love for King Peter. Tamara said she had a thing for Caspian. Lucky for me I have Adam. = ) Oh yeah, we had fun taking photos on the throne of the movie display in the foyer, haha!

After the movie Tamara took us on a bit of a tour around the Gold Coast. First stop was Hungry Jack's where we met some of her co-workers. She's a vet at that place and sounds like she has heaps of fun there! Plus they have great fries. Mmmm... Hungry Jack's! Next we went to The Grand, where we met her sister and brother-in-law while they were having a nice lunch at Coconut Joe's I think it was. We also got to meet some of Tamara's close friends there. Too bad none of them joined us in going out that night - their loss!

We went to The Spit next. There was a big pier but we chose to walk in the sand and along the beach. We were "attacked" by the waves and had to "retreat," haha! It was quite lovely out there. It's supposed to be a "making out" hot spot, haha.

Next up was Broadbeach. We drove through a pretty cool strip there, and then hit Burleigh Heads - my favorite portion of the tour! There we saw DOLPHINS! It was so cool. And to think I doubted Inga, haha, although I'm not sure I buy into the "black spot in the wave" business, hehe! We have some pretty great videos from the dolphin-sightings. It was a beautiful sunset that evening, too. And we got to watch some surfers do pretty well. It was great.

For the ride Tamara had some great Aussie music for our listening pleasure: Thirsty Merc is awesome. She gave me some other CDs along with Merc, but they're Windows files and my Mac is confuzed. I'll have to get my hands on the files when I get back home I suppose.

By this time we were getting pretty hungry. Tamara took us to The Mandarin Inn, a little Chinese cafe that has AMAZING food! I ordered beef and cashew with fried rice and it hit the spot, man. So good! I just realized that I hadn't had Chinese food since America. I think the last time was with Adam - awe. So we had some good dinner conversation (boys, chopstick theft, and Chinese dining etiquette), then decided it was time for D'Murph's! Haha, we got to Dan Murphy's and stocked up on some Jim Bean (the jumbo bottle), some Mudshakes (ooooh, so goooood) and some Coke. With those items we were totally set, and upon arriving at the cashier we got a pretty funny double-take, haha.

The evening kicked off when we began our game of Kings with Jim Bean and Coke. Talk about a heck of a fun time! The three of us were laughing, and singing, dancing, getting ready for the bars, and having an absolute blast ("in my pants" haha)! We rocked out to the hits of the 90s (Vanilla Ice, E17 (performed specially by Tamara, Meredith Brooks), and Inga and I worked on our shimmying. We sang to hairbrushes, pens and Coke bottles (as our mics), and we all had nicknames: T-Dog, Ingle Bingle and Amara. I learned that Inga, too, enjoys flat pop more than fresh pop, as a side note. Before we left we got a fabulous video where we are singing Meredith Brooks' "I'm a Bitch." It became our anthem for the evening, haha.

Later Tamara's dad, Rod, was kind enough to drive us girls to the bars. First we made a bathroom stop where Inga and I toppled over in a fight for the camera, haha - something about a blue spot! = P The first bar we hit was the Bourbon Bar - Surfer's best for R&B and hip hop. I'd been missing that music scene, and I really enjoyed Bourbon Bar because it reminded me a lot of The Cactus. Inga and I got to see some people "crumping" on the dance floor, and we showed off our shimmying moves whenever we were in doubt. There was a guy crumping that night who was wearing a white mask and gloves; he freaked Inga and Tamara out a bit. He was a really good dancer, though. We grabbed a chocolate frog shot (Bailey's and Crem de Mint - delicious!), and headed to Shooters (Tamara got us free entry!). We danced there for a bit, and Inga danced with the warm guy in the blue shirt (that's all she remembers about him), haha. After we lost her for a bit we went back to the Bourbon Bar, then called Rod to kindly pick us up. He was very cool for being the DD that night. On the way to our pick-up location Inga was rejected for a photo with the Aussie policemen, and we saw the famous "clock" tower, haha.

On the way home we reflected on how much fun the night had been. Inga and Tamara pointed out that there were a number of Maori (Indigenous New Zealanders) at the Bourbon Bar. She also commented on how someone we know "met this guy on a bus, and he said 'mmmm,'" haha! We got back to Tamara's and crashed. All three of us fell asleep in Tamara's big, comfy bed, but Tamara left us at 5a to throw up and shower, poor girl. By 10a we were pretty much hang-over free, and ready for some grub. Tamara took us to Hungry Jack's! We sat and chatted a bit, then it was time for us to catch a train back to Brisbane.

All I have to say is that was one of the most fun weekends in Australia I've had. Thanks Tamara and Inga for such an amazing girls' Last Fling weekend! I love you two!

-Amanda

Animal Noises in Different Langauges

2008-06-22T07:36:00.001-04:00

On 17 June, last Tuesday, I went out with some flat mates to visit Sara who works at the Melbourne Hotel. She hooked us up with some free goods (great potato salad and vanilla chai tea lattes!), and we hung out and chatted. The main topic of discussion was that of animal noises in different languages. Proves to be a pretty interesting thing to talk about. Enjoy!

The Final Weekend

2008-06-20T00:25:00.003-04:00

Wow. My final weekend is here. By final I mean my final weekend with all of the flat mates, etc. It's hard to believe that I leave Australia in 10 days.

This week I've mostly been studying for my management and German finals. The management exam went well, and in a couple of hours we'll see about the German exam. I'm not terribly worried about them because they're only worth 30% of my final grade. Any way, I've been studying, so I should feel decent about the test afterwards.

After my last exam (yay!) I'm meeting Inga and her mom, Ingrid, at Satchmo's for dinner. I've not been there yet, and it'll be nice to spend some time with Inga and her mom. After dinner Ingrid is planning on catching up on sleep from the jet lag (23 hours flight time from Norway - killer), and Inga and I will be heading to the Inter-galactic Get-Down at the Hardgrave house. This party is for Soyoungs' 20th birthday, and will be the last one with everyone from both flats. Tomorrow people will be leaving for the Whitsunday Islands and heading to their home countries from there. It's making me sad just thinking about people leaving. I know that Inga will be here until Tuesday, Iain will be here all of next week, and Sara and Toby will both be here another semester; that's comforting to know.

By the way, I'm having some Double Stuf Oreos and milk right now. And all of the Girl Scout cookies are gone with the exception of one box of Thin Mints. I've most of one box of Cheez-Its left, some Animal Crackers, and a few Pop Tarts. I think I've done well to make the American lollies last through next week.

Speaking of lollies, I've purchased almost all of the Aussie lollies I'm planning to take back home. Mmmm! I'll have some to bring for 3 July, Salamonie and Dale Hollow. = ) Prepare to fall in love with Arnott's

Here are the links to photos from Surfer's last weekend:
The Last Big Fling - 1/2
The Last Big Fling - 2/2

I've mentioned this in a previous post, but Tamara gets to Brisbane tomorrow afternoon! We're going to check out the Brisbane Lookout Point and Mount Coot-tha together! And when it gets to be party time, I'm going to show her how things are done at the Dunda Bar!

Here's something pretty cool: when Ingrid met Maija (Finnish) they exchanged a few words in that Norwegian/Finnish middle-language. I UNDERSTOOD WHAT THEY WERE SAYING, haha! It was pretty cool. John, I know what you mean now, haha! Any way, they were talking about how Maija is from Finland but is studying in Sweden. Fun stuff.

Today I got a letter from home! Thank you, Momma! It made my day!!! That was probably the last bit of mail I'll get before returning the the US.

That reminds me, Mom and I started up a game of Othello! It's been a while since I last played, and I can definitely see that I've lost some skill, haha. The thing with Othello is that it's so hard to predict who will win in the end, so who knows what will happen. I just need to be sure NOT to make any wagers with that woman, haha! Also, Karan had been having technical trouble with the Scrabulous game, but it's all figured out now. Adam's turn!

Aussie Slang: "crumping" is when one or a few people dance off at a bar/club. Usually people gather around and watch.

In news from home: Adam had an Ultimate game tonight. I am waiting to hear how it went. Tonight Mom got with the ARRC and made smoothies. Mmm! I miss her smoothies! Her strawberry-pineapple-banana smoothie is unbeatable! Chucky has given me consent to borrow his car the weekend I get back from Orlando so that I may join Adam and company up at the the Dunes! I'm so excited for that trip! Thank you, Chuggy!

Latest on solitaire: I have been playing Aces Up (eh, kind of dull) and Block Fourteen (better than Aces Up, but still just so-so). I'm hoping to stumble across a really fun version of solitaire soon. = )

That's all for now!

-Amanda

Study Abroad Reflections

2008-06-19T07:54:00.003-04:00

"I don't know where I'm going, but that's the beauty of it."

I came across that wonderful quote on a Facebook BumperSticker photo, of all places. Before my study abroad I always had things laid out, organized, schedule, RSVP'd - everything was totally planned. Rarely did I ever face uncertainty. Now, after being in Australia for 6 months, I have learned so much about letting things happen as they will, the joy of not planning everything (i.e., Easter Holiday in Tasmania). So, I'd like to begin this entry by pointing out how much splendor there is in not knowing exactly where one is going. Trust me. I've flown half-way around the world to land with no where to live, no one to turn to, and no clue, and making that flight was one of the best things I've ever done.

Here are some general things I've learned about Australia:

Government: Parliament (not a Republic)

Politics inQueensland: the Premier is Anna Bligh

Where I Lived: West End, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

TV Shows: I don't watch TV, but some shows I've seen the flat mates watching are Sex & the City, Ugly Betty, and Big Brother

Celebrities: Mel Gibson, Kylie Minogue, Cate Blanchett, Russel Crowe, Nicole Kidman

Sights to See: Sydney Opera House, the Three Sisters, Great Ocean Road, the Australia Zoo, Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Glass House Mountains, Bondi Beach, Coogee Beach, Wine Glass Bay, Cataract Gorge, Cradle Mountain, Mount Coot-tha, the Great Barrier Reef, Q1 Tower, Luna Park, Sydney Center Point Tower, Treasury Casino, 12 Apostles, the Blue Mountains

Travel: I lived in Brisbane, Queensland. 45 minutes away from one of the best-known beaches in the world (Surfer's Paradise). I got around mainly by walking, train and sometimes the bus.

I have always enjoyed visiting cities, and now I know that I enjoy living in one. It's especially nice to live close enough to uni or work that you can get by without a car. Saves a lot of money and helps the environment a bit, too.

I'll be doing a separate post on favorite songs that were played all the time at Australian bars and clubs. You'll quickly notice that most of the songs are American. Throw in a lot of techno, and you've got Aussie music. As for movies, pretty much American there, too.

In case you were wondering, yes, the US Dollar is getting weaker by the day.
5 February 2008: 1 USD = 1.1 AUD
18 June 2008: 1 USD = 1.06 AUD

And if you think things in the US are expensive, here are the prices of some common purchases:
*pint of beer: $8
*2L of milk: $4
*paperback novel: $25
*cuppa joe: $6

On another note, Inga leaves Brisbane in less than a week. It's hitting me how much I will miss her between now and our rendezvous in Paris in several years... I'll be writing a post for her, but in these reflections I'd like to say how amazing a friend she has become. We went from being total strangers to spanking each other. = ) She is a best friend, and I will miss her so much.

This leads me into how I've realized something about myself, socially. For those of you who don't know, my dad served in teh Navy, and I moved around a lot growing up. (For the record, I have moved fourteen times.) Naturally I became used to making friends and leaving them. Going from elementary school in Cincinnati to middle school in Anderson was the toughest transition, and after middle school I "learned" that if I don't get too close to friends, they can't hurt me (translated, when we go our separate ways I won't feel as much pain). All through high school, sure, I had friends, but no best friends. It didn't bother me back then, but I find myself thinking "I wish I'd known then what I know now." Since I started school at Purdue I've learned that if you don't risk anything (pain of losing friends or going separate ways), then you can't gain anything. This notion has been emphasized in my time abroad. I can't imagine how dull it would have been if I hadn't opened up and became close friends with Inga or Tamara. Because I risked the pain of leaving them after my study abroad is complete, I have gained SO much: life-long friends.

While I lived in a house of 18 people and only 2 were Aussie and only 1 of those 2 were ever around, I did get to know several great Australians:

*Sam: an older fellow (29) working towards his Masters degree. He is a child at heart, very kind and always interested in how people are doing. He makes this pasta that smells amazing, and he plays rugby.
*Peter: I had German with Peter, and our housemates were all great friends, so we got to hang out a lot. Von Zipper! I'll never forget how much fun we had in Sydney!
*Maya: I had the great fortune of meeting up with her in Sydney (we met last fall when she studied at Purdue and lived with Roy). It was really great to chat with someone who bleeds Black and Gold. She was even wearing Purdue thongs when we met up for lunch!
*Laura: Another Aussie whom I met when we were back at Purdue last fall - she is a fellow QUT student, and we had a great chat at the Three Monkeys. Again, it was great to catch up with someone who loves West Lafayette!
*Tamara: I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I've had with this Aussie! We first met at Fraser Island where she was my tour guide, then we partied it up in Surfer's Paradise! She's a ton of fun, and I hope and pray that we can meet up in Chicago next spring when she is abroad in Canada.

Aussie language has rubbed off on me. I say "heaps," "uni," and "no worries" all the time. What can I say? Six months will do something to ya. I'm sure I've picked up other Aussie tendencies, but I am not noticing them. I'd lay money that you'll point them out to me.

That reminds me. When Adam was visiting he asked me if I still notice the Aussie accent. I had to admit that I don't any more. Makes me wonder what it'll be like to hear American accents when I get home.

The following is a quote that I totally relate to. I found it in some reading material I was given before I left the US.

"As time passed, the way we referred to this place changed. Before we arrived in China, we referred to it by using its formal, commercial name. But after we arrived, no one in our group called it anything but 'the hotel'. And after a couple of months in China, we all found that if we were out in the city and getting ready to go in for the night, we were all referring to the hotel as 'home'". -Study Abroad Student Handbook

Substitute Australia for China, flat for hotel and you've got me. 65 Boundary Street became my home away from home. I often refer to it as home. I'll miss this place. Even if the kitchen is always a mess.

I've thoroughly enjoyed keeping this blog. I hope readers have enjoyed it, too. It's been a great way to record thoughts and activities. I'll be printing it into book format when it's completed. And, certainly, photos have been a great way to capture the moments. I have gazillions of photos, haha. You guys know me, "the Photo Queen." I think I'm over 200 photo albums on Facebook now. Crazy, I know. I also have heaps of videos! I'd never been too into taking videos, but I've learned how much fun they are!

Never in my life had I ever experienced "homesickness" before Orlando last summer. That empty, chill hit me in the last two weeks of my internship; that summer of 3 months was the first period of extended time I'd been really far away from home. Now Florida seems like a short drive away from home in Indiana. This time around, on this trip, I didn't feel homesick at all until after Adam left from his visit out here. So, I lasted about a month longer before the homesickness kicked in. The feeling hasn't been too terribly overwhelming; I've only cried once. I remember crying about 5 times in Orlando last summer, so I've been doing pretty good. Any way, homesickness isn't fun, but it's part of the whole package of picking up and moving away for a while.

Similar to homesickness, I've also experienced "Adam-sickness." Yes, I do believe I coined that term. I miss Adam so much it hurts inside. My being gone has made this the first long-distance relationship for both of us. Of course neither of us knew exactly how to handle things when I left, but we have come so far together! We are closer than ever, and I thank God that we are still together after such a long 5 months. I love you, Adam.

What am I going to miss the most about Australia? The accent (I remember how cool it is from before I became immune to it), the weather (bright blue skies, such a warm sun), Punjabi Palace, Ouzeri, the cinemas (HUGE theaters and really nice), the Three Monkeys (it's right up there with Vienna), Nutella (there's nothing quite like hazelnut spread), Cadbury (they get it here all year around, not just at Easter), QUT (home for a semester), West End and all of it's personality, South Bank (so many hours spent walking through there, running by, tanning, reading, enjoying life), the Queensland State Library (another place I've spent a lot of time at and usually it was when I was Skyping back home), Inga (she's the coolest Norwegian I'll ever know), Tim Tams (simply irresistible), Mint Slice (see previous), rugby (so much fun to watch), Tamara (she does the best Killer Kangaroo), $0.69 1.5 liter bottles of water (what a steal!), clothes lines (it's an Aussie thing that's grown on me), the Pancake House (can't go wrong there), Boost (the best smoothies ever - besides yours, Momma), the train (so cheap, reliable, fast, and good for the environment), kangaroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils, and frangipanis (so beautiful and aromatic).

What am I going to do when I get back to the US? Steak "n Shake, IHOP, Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, Taco Bell, Wendy's Frosty, BW3's, enjoy freshly dried clothes' warmth and softness, soak up the summer sun, appreciate 24-7 convenience, enjoy our ice cream (Australia hasn't quite figured it out yet), grind with Adam on the dance floors, walk on the "right" side of the sidewalks, have a glass of milk with Double Stuf Oreos, munch on Cheez-Its, have a Tootsie-Pop, enjoy a hot bath, and work on my scrapbook for my trip in Australia.

The following is a quote I found on the Purdue Study Abroad website.

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." - Nelson Mandela

I can't wait to see how I've grown in the last six months!

-Amanda

Study Abroad Tips

2008-06-19T06:55:00.001-04:00

Go with the flow. Tasmania was the most un-planned trip I've ever been on. It turned out to be one of my favorite trips while abroad.

Read the Culture Shock book for your destination prior to arriving there. Reading any material before leaving will be tremendously helpful.

Be ready to adapt to different hours of operation at businesses.

Study up on your destination's current events. Know the geography, cities, nearby attractions and local's travel destinations.

Take advantage of hostels. They are incredibly cheap ($20-$30/night), and cater to back-packers. They are usually a lot of fun!

When you pack to go abroad, include a collapsable bag, a clothesline and favorite snacks from home.

When you go on trips within your big trip (i.e., a weekend trip to Sydney for while in Australia), pack plastic bags and/or zip-lock baggies for toothbrush kit, shower kit, wet bathing suit, and the unexpected (shells, etc.).

Read a local paper while abroad.

Keep a journal (I recommend a personal one and an online one to share with friends and family back home).

Get into the local sports (Rugby League games are tons of fun!), art (the Andy Warhol exhibit was awesome), culture and history.

Explore (getting lost in a city is really fun and adventurous, and going on organized trips are a great way to make new friends).

To cut accommodation costs, look for a shared-living house (everyone has their own room but shares bathrooms, kitchen and living room, etc.). Also a great way to meet people.

Plan trips well in advance so you can make sure to do everything you really want to do. Plan time-wise and with regards to finances. You'll want to do everything you hear about, so be prepared to prioritize.

Read books by local authors. Watch local movies (and TV shows if you watch TV). (By local I mean your country.)

Only purchase souvenirs for close family and friends. Souvenir expenses climb very quickly.

Sending post cards is a fun way to send a bit of your adventure home to friends and family. Be sure to keep an eye on postage.

If you know you'll have a friend or family member visit you, request that they bring an extra suitcase for you. Ask them to bring goodies from home in it, and send home souvenirs and other items you no longer need abroad. This trick really lightens the load on the way home (and keeps costs down from having to send things by mail).

Don't stick around too long after the semester ends or you'll be hanging around on your own and bored. If you plan to go on a trip or two after the semester ends, be sure to calculate that into your financial budget so you don't run out of money and get stuck bored for that excess time before your flight, etc.

-Amanda

On Being An American Abroad: Voting Systems

2008-06-19T04:20:00.000-04:00

The episode I am about to share with you was quite embarrassing, I must say. It taught me something, though, and so I want to share the story.

One day while at Kelvin Grove, waiting for my lecture to begin, I was on my computer at the laptop cafe. An Aussie student sat next to me with a poster. On this poster were several world-wide landmarks: the Eiffel Tower, La Torre di Pisa, etc. Among them was Chitchen Itza, a famous Mexica pyramid which I have visited (Cancun, Spring Break 2006). I showed my interest to the girl, and we started chatting.

After a few minutes of conversation she said, "I take it you're from America?" "Yes," I replied. Suddenly she got this happy expression on her face and asked, "Oh, great! I've always wanted to ask this one question to an American!" At this I got a little nervous, but I said, "shoot."

"How does the voting system in America work?"

Oh, crap.

It wasn't so bad that I didn't have an answer for her. It was bad because it was an answer I should have had for her. I don't think I'll ever be so interested in politics that I'll understand our voting system 100%, but! I certainly know now a lot more about it than I did before coming to Australia.

I ended up telling her something about how I was the worst person to ask, but that there was about a year of campaigning among candidates, that it was a big hype about the first woman and first African American running, and that sometime in November I vote. It was the worst answer I have ever given.

As you can see, quite embarrassing. That sort of thing happens while abroad, and it was a good lesson learned.

On another note, in Australia it is compulsory for all Australian citizens to cast their vote. They have a couple weeks of campaigning, and on a certain date they make one vote and know who is in charge the next morning. Too easy.

So, here's a great tip for people going abroad: know your own country's voting system.

-Amanda

Bond Quote

2008-06-17T22:48:00.000-04:00

Before I left for Australia I was hitting the library for travel books all the time. I later purchased a favorite one of those books: Gutsy Women by Marybeth Bond. I've read the book straight through, and I often consult it for different things that I've experiences as a woman abroad. It is full of inspiring quotes and anecdotes. It's a great book for any woman who enjoys traveling. I highly recommend it.

Bond is the Gutsy Traveler. "Marybeth Bond is the nation’s preeminent travel expert on women and family travel — no other author, journalist or media personality brings her prodigious experience and expertise to the page, the screen, the podium or the airwaves. As a dynamic travel author and woman speaker, she offers a truly unique perspective providing insider’s tips, advice and stories." -Her Website, Gutsy Traveler Bond has published numerous books, and has been featured on Oprah. For me she has been a source of great inspiration while I've been in Australia.

In my travel journal there is a great quote by Bond regarding traveling alone:

"What's so great about it (traveling alone)? The responses of addicted solo travelers will vary: to experience the world unfiltered by anyone else's perspective, to live intensely, to meet people more easily and be invited into their homes more readily, to avoid a difficult travel companion, to get in touch with oneself." -Marybeth Bond

I wanted to post about this quote for a couple of reasons. First of all, before I left for Australia and upon learning that I was headed there on my own, people often asked me, "but why would you want to go alone?" Before going and experiencing a big journey on my own I couldn't purely say, but my response was always something along the lines of wanting to gain a new perspective of the world while out on my own and to engage in a new culture while on my own. Studying abroad in Australia was something I wanted to do on my own for myself.

Now that I have been abroad and on my own for half a year I can answer the "why would you want to go alone" question much more soundly. Reflecting on Bond's quote I am in total agreement. For me traveling alone is so great because of the thrill of the unknown, figuring things out by myself, being independent, living intensely, and getting in touch with myself on a new and deeper level.

This trip has been so amazing. I am so glad I was able to make it happen.

-Amanda

Indigenous Australians & Native Americans

2008-06-17T16:12:00.001-04:00

Over the course of my stay in Australia I've gathered some thoughts regarding Indigenous Australians and Native Americans. Let me present some history of each nation and parallels between the two peoples:

Both nations, Australia and the United States of America (it is the Native Americans of the USA that I am writing about, by the way, not the encompassing Native Americans of all of North and South America), began as new colonies. The USA (hereon referred to as America) was founded out of revolutionary means - the breaking away from England. Australia began as series of convict settlements. Both colonized and formed as countries from these respective beginnings.

Both Indigenous Australians and Native Americans inhabited their respective lands before white men arrived. Both people were significant in numbers before the white men came, and both people's populations decreased drastically after the white men came.

Why? In America the white men brought disease. Smallpox and measles were common but rarely fatal for the immune white men, but for the Native Americans these illnesses often ended in their deaths. In Australia white men killed Indigenous Australians for reasons along the lines of sheep being stolen for food. Many Indigenous Australian tribes incorrectly assumed that relations with white men were communal - white men's sheep were also Indigenous Australians' sheep. This was not the case, and when white men found Indigenous Australians stealing or killing livestock for survival, the white men shot and killed the Indigenous Australians.

Here is an excerpt from one of my Australia Culture & Society lectures:

"Robert Hughes listed a string of horrors in his book, entitled "A Fatal Shore." He talked about kangaroo hunters shooting aboriginal Australians for dog’s meat, and of whites who killed Indigenous Australians for sport." -Keith Moore, Lecture

In addition to being shot and killed, Indigenous Australians' population decreased largely due to malnutrition. When white men came they scared off many sources of food for the Indigenous Australians (i.e., kangaroo). This is a likely reason as to why tribes assumed that sheep were for everyone to eat.

Here are some numbers on population:

Before White Men (late 1700s, early 1800s):
*Indigenous Australians: 1 million
*Native Americans: couldn't find an exact figure, but "80% of Native populations died due to European diseases after first contact" -Wikipedia's "Native Americans in the United States" article

After White Men (2008):
*Indigenous Australians: 517,000 (2.6% of Australia's population of 20 million)
*Native Americans: 1.6 million (0.53% of America's population of 301 million)

White men reacted to the native peoples in horrid ways. In Australia there were the Stolen Generations (more on that in a minute). In America white men made effort to remove Native Americans (The Long Walk of the Navajo, for example), and placed them in reservations.

So what were the Stolen Generations? "Between 1910 and 1970 up to 100,000 Aboriginal children were taken forcibly or under duress from their families by police or welfare officers. Most were under 5 years old. There was rarely any judicial process. To be Aboriginal was enough. [These years] are known as the ‘Stolen Generations’." -Eniar

While Indigenous Australians were being oppressed by the white men, their inclination to repopulate was very low. However, through the tragic process of the Stolen Generations, Indigenous Australians were "assimilated." Basically, through assimilation, Indigenous Australians were meshed into white society. Native Americans are still very segregated from white society in America.

I just wanted to post about these similar histories in my own country and Australia. I find it very interesting how similar the two histories are. It makes me a bit ashamed of my country's past. It doesn't make sense to me how the color of one's skin or their culture could offend someone else so much that that someone else feel the need to remove or kill that different person. I am glad that times have changed and that the native peoples of Australia and America are living in better conditions than they once were. Since the worst of what I've discussed here, things have made positive progression, and that is a very good thing. Reflecting upon this topic has reinforced the notion of treating one as you would like to be treated for me.

-Amanda

Most of the information in this entry is from my schooling on American history, and from my QUT Australian Culture & Society lectures. Population information came from Wikipedia.

For more information, here are some links to get you started:

Indigenous Australians (Wiki)
Australian Aboriginees (Wiki)
Aboriginal Australians (Crystal Links)
Native Americans in the USA (Wiki)
Indigenous Peoples of the USA (Wiki)
Native Americans

If you are interested in watching a movie on Indigenous Australians, here are a couple that I recommend:

The Rabbit Proof Fence
Quigley Down Under

Adam's Visit: Fiji

2008-06-17T04:15:00.006-04:00

Friday morning we made sure to be at the airport on-time. We got there 2 hours early, and it's a good thing because the check-in line was enormous. We met an older couple from Melbourne and chatted with them during the wait. On the flight we had the really cool fortune of sitting next to one of the top 40 best surfers in the world! There were several surfers on the flight to Adam scoped out that his name was Luke Monro.

We got into Nadi at night. I got a little worried about the quality of the hotel I had reserved online. Sometimes you can't really tell by judging things online alone, and I was skeptical since it was such an unfamiliar country. We shuttled over and it turned out to be just fine. The resort had two pools, two restaurants, live music all day and night, a cinema, a game room, library, shop and Internet cafe. We were set for a nice weekend.

After checking in that night we had dinner and drinks, then called it a night. Saturday morning we laid out all day by the pool, soaking up that good warm sun, and sipping on some tropical beverages. Mmm, they were so good! That afternoon we booked our excursions for the rest of our time in Fiji.

For dinner we taxied down to Port Denarau for the Hard Rock Cafe Fiji. Oh, man did we get full that night! I'm talking, 'slow down, I can barely walk' full! Haha, the nachos and burgers and pasta were SO delicious, though! It was nice to get have some true American food, too. That night there was a wedding reception that entertained us a bit, haha. Interesting location for a wedding reception, if you ask me.

That night we watched 21 at the cinema. Somehow the people putting on the movies got their hands on films before they were even in theaters. Hmmm... Oh, well. It was a good flick. Kevin Spacey's character kind of pissed me off, but that was the intended effect. I really liked the main character - he did a good job playing his part. I wasn't a fan of the lack of character development throughout the movie for the other characters, however.

Sunday through the day we laid out again. I had a yummy pina colada while Adam tried some Fijian beer. We hopped online briefly for some things, too.

That evening we shuttled down to Port Denarau to go on a sunset dinner cruise to First Landing Bay (the bay has an island in the shape of a huge foot to symbolize the first landing in Fiji). Of course, it was overcast that evening, haha, but that didn't keep us from having a great time. On the cruise to the bay we were entertained with Fijian singing and wine. At the bay we were "greeted" by traditional Fijians, and ushered to the dining hall. The food was absolutely delicious! Adam and I ordered a huge drink that was served in a coconut! Throughout the dinner there were several traditional Fijian dances (knee-shaking, spear dances and hula dancing) that were very cool. After nightfall we went outdoors to watch the Fijian Fire dancing - very cool! Also, there were several newly-wed couples and a birthday - the Fijians had everyone come up and they taught us some Fijian dance moves - it was hysterically funny! After that we had dessert and watched a bit of a hermit crab race. On the cruise back to Port Denarau we had Fijian singing, again - they sang Isa Lei Lai (the song my grandpa sang to me and my cousins while we were growing up - he learned it while serving as a nurse in WWII in Fiji). It was so cool! I really enjoyed that part of the trip. And, I'll never forget all of the stars we saw that night. I had NEVER seen so many at night - it was breath-taking.

Monday was our last full day in Fiji, and we went on a day cruise to an island called Tivua. Again, we shuttled to Port Denarau, and we got on bard a really cool sail ship (unfortunately they didn't use the sails that day). The ship ride to the island was so much fun! We got some great sun, they served tea and cookies (morning tea), we enjoyed more Fijian singing and music, and tried some Kava (basically dirty water that makes your mouth go numb - after several drinks it will make you very relaxed and happy, but it's not alcoholic). While at the island there was an open bar of which I took water, haha. Adam made good use of the beer, though. We had lunch (scrumptious pineapple!!!), and laid out for a while. THIS was when we got burnt, haha. The last day, and we went home with burns. It was bound to happen. The most fun of the day was snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef! It was so colorful, and we swam with the fish! At one point I almost knocked into some coral because the tide was so low, but Adam helped me back away from it without being burned. On the way back to Port Denarau we had more tea and cookies (afternoon tea), and more music and singing. It was a lovely day!

That night we did some souvenir shopping and had Hard Rock Cafe again for dinner - this time we didn't overeat, haha. When we got back to Nadi we got online for a bit, then watched another movie at the cinema, but I can't remember what it was for some reason? (Adam, help me out?)

Tuesday we packed up and headed to the airport. It was unfortunate and unavoidable that my flight left at 11a and his left that evening. I was really sad about that, but it was the only option. We had breakfast together and said our good-byes.

Adam, thank you so much for visiting me in Australia. Those three weeks were three of the best weeks I've ever had, and I'll never forget all of the fun times we had together here. I love you!

-Amanda

Adam's Visit: Brisbane 2

2008-06-16T21:11:00.000-04:00

When Tuesday rolled around it was sad to leave the Whitsunday Islands. Daydream Island was one of the best places I'd ever been. Namely because of the great company I had.

When we got into Brisbane that afternoon we unloaded and started to unwind. We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants: The Gunshop Cafe. Adam really liked it. The food was delicious and we worked on our MAPS (a special list of things we want to do together: Movies Activities & Places to See). = )

After dinner we chilled at the house, then went with a huge group of flat mates to see Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. We enjoyed the flick. It was decent as a fourth movie tacked on to the original trilogy, but it wasn't anything compared to the first or third movies. The alien business was a little far-fetched, too, but I can go with it for the sake of enjoying the movie.

Wednesday I had class all day. The day started out with a really fun and interesting excursion around Brisbane (Adam really liked getting to see the city this way) for my Australia Culture & Society class. Afterwards we had salads at The Coffee Club (I wasn't too impressed, but it was okay), then we went to my Core Project Management class. Nothing too exciting there, and I couldn't get the Internet to work (password reset issues, haha), so we went to the library. I reset my password, did some stuff I had to do for my Creative Writing short story. He was craving some Boost, so he grabbed that for us, and we met up in time for a few games of pool at the Guild Bar before I had to go to my last German lecture. It let out an hour early, so I met up with Adam, we played another game or two of pool (I started to get the hang of it), then headed back to the flat.

For dinner we split a dish at Wings on West End (Vietnamese). We also caught part of the State of Origin game on the TV they had up. The food was great, plus it had lots of cilantro! Mmm!

Thursday Adam joined me while I had a meeting for CPM class. It was pretty brief, so that was nice. Then I skipped my Creative Writing lecture and tutorial so we could visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Adam loved it! It was a lot of fun to see the farm animals (cows tongues are scratchy like that of a cats, by the way), all of the hundreds of koalas, the koala show (they're such interesting animals), and the kangaroos! Adam couldn't get enough of them, haha! I think one of the highlights of the visit was catching the sheep-dog show. Those Australian Sheep Dogs are so fascinating! Adam has said he'd like to have one someday since they're the best dogs to play Frisbee with. = )

That night we had a Jagger shot and headed to the Dunda Bar. I couldn't let Adam come to Brisbane and now have him experience the place! We danced, and danced, and danced! It was a ton of fun! We met up with the flat mates and hung out, but left shortly after that. It was a great night out!

Two Weeks To Go

2008-06-16T04:25:00.001-04:00

Friday Inga and I laid out at the Parklands. The weather was a little too cloudy for her, so she left to hang out at Kelvin Grove. Meanwhile the weather cleared up and I got some sun, hehe. That evening we met up at the library for the Internet, and she purchased a Moleskine-like note book. She was so excited about that. Later that evening we hung out, booked flights (me: to/from Orlando, her: to/from Arizona), chatted about random things, and journaled together while enjoying Samoa Girl Scout cookies. Mmm!

I'm doing a separate post for the weekend with Tamara in Surfer's Paradise (see The Last Big Fling).

After returning to Brisbane on Sunday, I checked things online and started studying for my remaining finals. I had to put my heavy coat to use at the library breeze-way, it was so cold!

Here are some interesting clips from the Mx (local newspaper) "It's True" clips:
*04JUN08: It is illegal to carry fishing tackle in a cemetary in Muncie, Indiana, and it is illegal to fish on horse-back in Utah
*06JUN08: New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote
*?: the doughnut originated in Holland when they threw bits of left-over dough into boiling oil; they were originally known as "oly kaeks" (spelling?)

Australian Difference:
*You're never rushed or given a bill when dining out; you have to request it (or go up to pay)

Monday I ran in the morning, showered up and met Adam on Skype. There has been a lot going on for him this summer! I told him about my weekend with Inga and Tamara, and what I was up to this week, and about how I was missing home but recently have been feeling like I'm not ready to go home because of how much I'll miss Australia. He said that he and his family had a nice dinner for Father's Day, that he got to hang out with some friends at a farewell party for Danielle, and that he had lunch and hung out with co-workers. He is also enjoying working on his Facebook Application for Crowe and Krav Maga lessons.

I also Skyped with Mom, Dad and Chucky for a little bit. A lot has been going on with the family, too. I had fallen out of the loop on things:

Chucky has dropped out of Purdue, is moving into the shop out back, selling his bike, and looking into attending somewhere with the likes of Ball State. He is also working at Lowes.

Sam is now looking for a summer job.

Mom took Jenny to a dog show over the weekend. She did really well with Creasy but confused him about sitting, hehe. Oh, well. She won part of the show and was disqualified (since Creasy laid down out of confusion) for another part. Jenny had accidently signed up for the wrong thing online, so she just watched and hung out.

Last night I grabbed my travel journal and a deck of cards and went to The Three Monkeys. I ordered my usual chai latte with honey and snacked on some Animal Crackers that I brought along. I enjoyed winding down to some games of solitaire. It sparked my interest in learning other games besides Klondike and Free Cell. So far I've taught myself Accordion (very hard; nearly impossible to win) and was not impressed with Aces Square - no strategy involved from what I can tell. Aside from playing solitaire I also read through my travel journal thus far. It allowed me to see what a wonderful semester it has been. I sure am going to miss Australia.

I chatted with my mom about my budget for the remainder of the year. If I stick to it and there aren't any major surprises, by January I will have about $3.5K in the bank. We'll see what happens. Either way, I'm really proud of myself for figuring the budget files for each month - I love Excel.

If you are interested in taking in a cat, please let me know. It seems my lifestyle (traveling so much) is not working out for Ashes' best interest, and I need to find him a good home. Email me at ambennett86@gmail.com if you're interested or know someone who might be.

Two weeks to go...

-Amanda

Adam's Visit: The Whitsunday Islands, Daydream Island

2008-06-13T23:45:00.000-04:00

Thursday I skipped some minor classes, and we missed our flight to the Whitsunday Islands! I wish I was kidding. A hefty payment later and we had a same-day flight with another airline - yay! While waiting at the airport I fixed Adam up with a Whopper, complete with beet root (haha, "you're gonna have to show me"). He loved it! A little while later we were on our way to Daydream Island!

When we got to Hamilton Island airport we took a FantaSea Cruise ferry to Daydream Island. It was a nice (but chilly/windy) 45-minute ride. We soaked up the beautiful islands surrounding us and the crystal blue waters - the Whitsunday Islands are gorgeous!

Once we arrived at Daydream Island we received a friendly welcome (including a mock-tail and brief tour of the main building). We checked in and immediately fell in love with our suite: huge, fluffy bed, heaps of space and a great balcony. We checked out the resort by night and had dinner at the fish and chips diner (much fancier than it sounds, haha). There we had some great conversation and were truly annoyed by the knock-kneed scavenger birds, haha. Kind of funny looking back on them. I'll never forget when we saw not one - but two birds get spooked and take flight so quickly that they smacked on the ceilings! Too funny!

The next morning we grabbed a nice, big buffet breakfast (mmm - Rasmus cereal and fresh fruit and pancakes!) Next we got to feed the fish. There is a live aquarium on the island called The Living Reef. The guide was really friendly and knowledgeable (and funny: he poked fun at himself for needing the human equivalent of male shark "female hookers," haha!). So we learned about all the sea life - so much cool stuff. I got to feed a baramundi fish with a herring (first time I've braved up to holding a fish bare-handed; don't worry, Adam got a photo or two). The baramundi looked like a really fat, slow fish but was surprisingly swift when a fish was just dangling there in front of it. It snatched the fish from my hand so fast that I jumped, haha! We also got to see sharks and clown fish (so cool!). There were really exotic, brightly colored fish and anemone. We got to hold a rhino star fish and a sea cucumber (very neat creatures), and feel a couple different types of anemone. Adam's favorite part must have been petting the sting rays. We also watched the guide feed the big sharks.

Afterwards we laid out at our favorite of the several pools (also the warmest, haha). The weather was beautiful! We didn't get burnt at all through the entire stay on the island - hooray! We had tons of fun in the pool and actually went under one of the bridges while a huge snake sat by our heads along with 3 geckos (we had no idea about the snake until a lady told us about it). With the wind there was a slight chill so we decided to take a dip in the hot tub. Little did we know that it was actually a cold tub, haha. Looked just like a hot tub but it had freezing water. Made the pool water seem a lot warmer, though, haha. We got a lot of reading in during our afternoons at the pool. So wonderful to look out at the other islands, the blue waters, hear the water coming and going with the waves... ah...

Two of the nights on the island we were able to watch a movie at the outdoor cinema. Adam loved it! The first night we watched Scoop (a movie I like but Adam wasn't so keen on), and the second night we watched Rush Hour 3 (funny, but not that great a movie). Each night we were able to cozy up in big, warm blankets and look up at a clear sky to see the bazillions of stars.

Through the other days there we mostly took it pretty darn easy. We lounged at the pool every day, we had a breakfast buffet every morning, and dinner was either the fish and chips place or Mermaid's. The chicken parmigiana and nachos at the fish and chips place were amazing, as well as the wine that we fell in love with at the resort! Brown Brothers, I believe it was. We dined at Mermaid's and had lovely meals - so tasty! The night we were there a wedding reception was taking place. The resort's four-man Fijian band (who covered American music) played some really fun songs for them. We really enjoyed the music. Dessert was absolutely to die for: flour-less chocolate cake pudding goodness. MMM!

We took tons of photos - they're on their way to Facebook. We captured so many memories and beautiful scenes. I can't wait to show them to everyone back home!

We also saw lots of wallabies! Adam was able to get really close to one of them; it was pretty cool!

One day we kayaked for a little bit. We were a little restricted with where we were allowed to kayak, but it was still fun!

One day we played putt-putt. The course was the coolest and most challenging I'd ever seen or played. The theme was "Around Australia in 18 Holes." Each hole had a theme: the bush, Sydney, the Three Sisters, sailing, the Whitsunday Islands, etc. Adam and I made a wager that whoever lost had to give the winner a 10-minute back massage. I lost by 5 points, haha, but it was fun all the same.

We also had the fine opportunity of playing chess on one of those giant scale boards! I was tickled to death! I lost, as I usually do to that master mind strategy genius, but it was a lot of fun, and I was able to learn something more about the game. I remember that evening there was a breath-taking sunset...

When Tuesday rolled around it was sad to leave. Daydream Island was one of the best places I'd ever been. Namely because of the great company I had.

-Amanda

Deer Hunting with Jesus

2008-06-13T04:38:00.000-04:00

Wow. I FINALLY finished Deer Hunting with Jesus, by Joe Bageant! Yay! (Note: the emphasis on the word finally doesn't mean I didn't like the book, just that I was very ready to be done reading it.)

If you've never heard of the book before, it is a book of 7 essays regarding the class war in America, focusing on the "middle" (i.e., low) class.

I first came by the book over Easter Holiday when Iain was reading it (borrowed from Sara). He really enjoyed it and insisted that I, as an American, should read it. When I posed the question of why he replied with something along the lines of "because every American should know what's going on in their own country." While I took some offense at this comment because I'm not ignorant to the state of America's lower class, the topic was pulling some interest. Before studying abroad I never really followed politics, so off the bat the book didn't really catch my eye. By the end of my discussion with Iain I had promised that I would read it so that we could discuss it.

So, a few months later, I found myself wondering if Iain had forgotten my promise. I was not looking forward to 200 pages of politics, and whatever else the book might hold. One day I was talking to Sara about it and she suggested that I read the introduction and, based on how I felt about that, read the rest or don't. Brilliant.

That's just what I did. I read the introduction and found that Bageant was a pretty funny writer and had a unique honesty to him. I decided to read the book.

My overall thoughts are that the book was pretty good after all. I read 5 of the 7 essays and skimmed over the remaining 2 (I was really struggling to finish the book). Like I said, I have been aware of the serious problems in America: economical, political, class-related, medical, the list goes on. But, before reading this book, I didn't have the perspective I have on America now. Of course I love my country, but I do recognize that it's not the America it once was. Time has changed the nation and its people. I particularly liked Bageant's coined term of the American Hologram. I realized that the perspective I gained after reading this book was not so much new as deeper, and I'm glad I took the time to read it.

Turns out Inga is going to read it next. I think it's pretty cool that Sara brought a book about America abroad with her and has shared it with others (mainly non-Americans) and myself.

If you're planning on going abroad, I really recommend you the book. It will help you see where you're coming from on a really different level (mainly because if you're able and interested in going abroad, you don't truly know what it's like to be in America's "middle" class). Here's my advice: at least read the introduction. = )

-Amanda

Adam's Visit: Byron Bay & Brisbane 1

2008-06-12T03:30:00.000-04:00

All right, folks! I know you've been waiting for it, and here it is: the posts on Adam's visit! I've broken the trip down into 3 sections. Here is the scoop on Adam's arrival, Byron Bay and our first stay in Brisbane.

First of all, I can't tell you how excited I was for Adam to get to Brisbane. It had been 4 months since I'd seen anyone from my close circles of family and friends, let alone not getting to see my boy-friend on a regular basis. I can't recall anticipating anything more than his arrival. We started our countdown for his visit the moment he booked his flights. Oh, I couldn't wait to see him!

Adam was a sweetheart and brought an extra suitcase full of American goodies (I would have done just about anything for a Double Stuf Oreo or Cheez-Its). Of course that suitcase was the one that made it to Brisbane while the one with all of his clothes sat in LA for an extra day. We managed, though, and had the suitcase sent to our weekend destination, and that was the end of his bumpy trip over here (poor guy).

Rushing up to him when he walked into the arrivals area of the airport was such a wonderful feeling. He hugged so passionately I almost melted. Neither of us could stop smiling the rest of the day.

We gathered what luggage made it and caught the next train to West End. Adam particularly enjoyed the graffiti. Once at my apartment we unloaded some of his gear, prepped our things for our weekend in Byron Bay, grabbed lunch (the best kebabs in Brisbane) and headed to the Greyhound station. I felt bad for tacking on a 3 hour bus ride to his day of transit, but he took it well. We talked the whole drive down and got checked into our bed and breakfast.

The room was so perfect: fluffy bed, huge spa tub and a 5 minute walk away from the beach. The lady who ran the B&B was extremely friendly. Our first night there we took it easy. By the next day Adam had recovered from what little jet lag he had.

The only objectives for our day was beach and relax. Byron Bay was beautiful. It was one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen. There were mountains to one side, fine, soft, white sand, dogs playing around every where, people were so happy, the weather couldn't have been more perfect, and we had a great time.

We found several great places to eat: a Mexican taco stand (that was the first Mexican meal I'd had since the US, and boy was it amazing!), Earth & Sea (recommended by Inga) for specialty pizzas (I was sure Adam was going to order the banana one, haha), and The Balcony for some dessert.

We strolled around the town, browsed some shops, but most of our time was spent at the beach where we relaxed or played Frisbee which was so much fun! Adam taught me some cool ways to toss the disc; I have lots of room for improvement, haha. We were planning to see the Byron Bay light house up close but little did we know that it was a 2.5 hour walk away, so we did fine with photos of the landmark.

One evening I had to find an Internet cafe (it did rain at night, and when I say rain I mean absolute down pour) to submit a homework assignment. It was the introduction to my Creative Writing short story. Adam was kind enough to help me with that project. His feedback was really valuable.

This weekend was all about relaxing and catching up with one another, and that's just what we did. We had a wonderful time in Byron Bay.

Monday morning we caught our bus back to Brisbane. We grabbed some lunch and Boost (mmm - Boost smoothies!) at the Parklands and I showed him around South Bank. It was great to stroll around with him in such a lovely park area. We took some photos and crossed the pedestrian's bridge to QUT. For a couple of hours Adam played some pool at the Guild Bar while I went to my German lecture. It was quite a surprise when Adam learned there is bit of a difference in the size of American and Australian pool balls.

After German we went to my favorite coffee house in Australia: The Three Monkeys. Adam just about died when he saw the place - instant love for the eclectic little coffee house. I had my normal chai tea latte with honey and he had one served cold, I believe. We enjoyed one another's company and conversation. I had to keep up with my short story, so I worked on that a bit while he read more of his Bourne book.

Tuesday was splendid! For starters I took Adam to one of the best pancake houses I've ever come by, originally named The Pancake House. We strolled around the Queen Street Mall where I bought him a silhouetted-crow shirt. I can't wait to see him wearing it! We gorged ourselves to the fat and happy status and made our way to QUT. I showed him around a bit, we took some photos, and then we went to the neighboring Botanical Gardens. I pointed out my favorite tree in Australia, and, oddly enough, he recognized the type form a book he read as a child: it was a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banyan tree - they are truly fascinating plants - the tree can grow to be several hectares large! I also showed him my favorite flower: the Frangipani. We strolled around the gardens, saw the lilly pad pond, tossed around the frisbee and enjoyed the afternoon.

Afterwards we had a wonderful dinner at Ouzeri - my favorite Mediterranean diner in the area (any where, actually). The service was unbeatable, and Adam and I shared a bottle of the wine my grandparents homemade (which is illegal to do in Australia - ha!) over an excellent dinner of lamb, chicken, Greek salads, Tzatsiki and bread and oils and vinegars - oh it was amazing!

Wednesday I had class all day, but Adam joined me for some of it. First up was my Australia class. I think Adam enjoyed learning about the culture from a classroom perspective, plus he liked the teacher a lot. We cut out of the 2-hour long class 45 minutes early to grab lunch at a cafe on George Street. We got sandwiches that were enormous and we topped it all off with some cake. Next I had tutorial for the previous class. We watched a couple of presentations then watched part of Crocodile Dundee. My 3-5p class was canceled, so we got online for a bit, then played pool before my German class. After the day was over we went back to my place and just took it easy.

Thursday I skipped some minor classes, and we missed our flight to the Whitsunday Islands! I wish I was kidding. A hefty payment later and we had a same-day flight with another airline - yay! While waiting at the airport I fixed Adam up with a Whopper, complete with beet root (haha, "you're gonna have to show me"). He loved it! A little while later we were on our way to Daydream Island!

-Amanda

In Response to the DVD Adam Sent

2008-06-11T01:11:00.000-04:00

Okay, here are my responses to your questions and comments from when Adam got you on video back around Easter (in order of appearance):

Jon - the cushion and duck figurine were quite fascinating! I'll be sure to hook you up with all of the Aussie slang so you know what's going on.

Tree - beer pong? a fluke? I think not. Danielle and I were destined to beat you and Adam.

Ryan - ah, I miss all you guys, too! The party looked like a great time, and I'm excited to celebrate your 21st when I'm in the Indy area.

Mike - I'm not sure about what you were talking to Adam about when Jon got you on video, but regardless, miss ya, man!

Ali - hey, girl! Glad you're enjoying your summer! Can't wait to see you!

Dick - there was one time when I was laying on this really beautiful beach with fine, white sand, a warm breeze and a cloudless sky when I thought about how much fun I COULD be having in Alaska. I just wanted you to know that.

Feras - hey, buddy! How did C&IT430 go for ya?

Jason - when I watched your part of the video I was so jealous of your being at the Hookah Bar. Oh, man, do I miss that place! Any way, I can't tell you how many times people have asked me about which way the water spins when you flush the toilet in Australia. To quell everyone's deep need to know the truth, expect a video; this is the only way to truly explain how it works Down Under.

Alex - yes, winter approaches in Australia as summer approaches in Indiana. Very clever observation, mister. Here's the thing: winters here are 60s=70s. Hehe!

Karan & Ed - oh, it was wonderful to hear from you guys! It was great to hear the happy barks of your pups, haha! Australia has been absolutely amazing and your son's visit was the high light!

Toni - 51 girls for DOIT?! That's awesome! I can't wait to see the t-shirt designs! Glad to hear the Etiquette Dinner went well - better luck with the numbers next year - it's so hard to tell how it'll be each year. I'm sure Jen is working wonders as the new WIT President! See you in the fall!

Sean - Leshney! I miss you! Glad to hear you'll be at Purdue for another semester with me! Australia has been great! Don't worry, I've not puked in any cars. I double pinky promise.

Jordan - Okay, you and Jared were hilarious on that video! Your Kermit impression cracks me up EVERY time! Oh, I miss you, Gibby.

Jared - How were those cookies that Jordan offered you? I'm sure they were very special. Hope sleeping on the couch that night wasn't too rough on things between you and Jordan, haha. All kidding aside, I can't wait to see you in Orlando this summer! Oh, I think Old Greg is still the reigning king of Internet Videos. Those pandas have nothing on Old Greg. "Do yeh lev meh?"

Pirita - I must say that I almost cried from laughing so hard when I watched your bit of the video! I miss you so much, girl! I'll be at Purdue on the 8 and 9 of July - we MUST go see The Wanted! I don't know how much of an Australian accent I'll bring back with me, but I have picked up a couple of phrases that I can share with you. Oh, it wasn't me you guys saw Cloverfield with - I haven't seen that movie yet.

Nick - you looked fabulous the day Adam got you on video, I must say. Brad's right in that you look like a hippie. You and Pirita cracked me up when I saw the video - oh, man! I miss you two goofs! We have to hang out on 8-9 July!

Sam - awe, I miss you muchos! I hope you had a nice Easter - I sure wish I could have been there. I'm sure grandma's hors d'oeuvres were delicious! Can't wait to take you out for that movie when I get back in town!

Chucky - I've decided you are taking me out for a ride on that bike of yours. Pretty mean lookin' machine you got there. TWENTY-NINE! AHH! By the way, I totally can't wait for snow!

Grandma & Grandpa - awe, I like the "Brissie Girl" nickname! I'm glad you have been enjoying my blog. It's been a great tool not only for sharing my adventure with those back home but also to help me record my journeys and thoughts. Inga, from Norway, has been a wonderful friend - we are planning to visit one another sometime in the next few years. School has been good here - two more exams to go and the semester is over, can you believe it?! The wine Adam brought me from you guys was some of the best wine I've ever had! It was SO good! Ask Adam, I was raving about it when we had dinner at Ouzeri, a really great Mediterranean diner. I still have the second bottle. I'm going to share it with Inga and her mom when she visits in a week or so.

Mom - your mani and pedi looked fantastic! We should treat ourselves when we have our mother/daughter evening together! I love the jewelry you had on during the video - very chic! We must do yoga when I get back! I'm practically craving it!

Mom & Dad - yes, my boy-friend is something, isn't he, going around and video-taping all of my friends and family. I'm a lucky girl. I really missed you all on Easter - I hope you had some good eatins' for me, too! Haha, the newfy towel is perfect for you, Pops! Dawn was right in that sometimes an unplanned adventure turns out to be the best kind - Tasmania was one of my very favorite parts of my stay in Australia! Time does indeed fly - I'll be home in just a couple of weeks!

Adam - thank you so much for putting together the video for me. You're incredible, and I love you more than words will ever say. XOXO

-Amanda

This Week

2008-06-10T23:22:00.000-04:00

*Sigh. Lately things have been a little crazy here in the 4101. Here's the latest:

It sounds like I'm finally getting somewhere regarding housing for my internship in Orlando. A lot of emailing - I feel bad because I'm not able to just pick up the phone and call, so I feel like I'm really burdening some people, but they've been great in helping me work out the details. Any way, it sounds like I'll be staying with a friend from Purdue, Jason Brooks, who works in the same office as I did last year (and will again this summer). When Adam and my family visit I'll stay in a hotel with them. Another plus is that it sounds like I won't need to rent a car for the entire month! Things are starting to fall into place. I was beginning to really worry!

Yesterday was the errand-running day. I got a ton done: Post office stop, library, finished buying souvenirs (a nice relief), and did a lot of work around the room for moving out (throwing out stuff I don't need to take home, etc.) I also got some work done on my scrapbook and tonight I'm going to start on my DVD of the trip. Another check off the list was in finalizing my last semester at Purdue to make sure I'm good to graduate this December. I'm waiting to hear back from Angie with confirmation. Oh, that reminds me! I got a $500 scholarship from the COT (Amoco)! Woo hoo! And, another $560 will be on its way to my funds after I receive my rental deposit from my flat here in Australia. But back to errand-running: I knocked out $20 of the $40 voucher I have at Kodak Express by purchasing some cute photo albums. All the photos on my wall are going into them. Also, I deposited my canister full of change: $180!!! Woot!

The other night I watched Ice Age with Inga. I laughed so hard and thought of Chucky when Diego exclaims, "Woo! Who's up for round TWO?!" She liked the movie, but is still deprived of having seen Finding Nemo. = /

Great news: today Adam booked his ticket to visit me in Orlando! The plan is to not make too many plans. The only agenda is to visit his aunt and uncle and friend, Ben, who all are in Orlando. That, and the beach, naturally. = )

The weekend after Adam visits will be a girls' weekend! My Mom, Aunt Dawn and Grandma are coming down for a visit (I'm not sure if my cousin, Lana, is still coming or not?). We're going to go see La Nouba (I LOVE that show and this will be my third time of seeing it, haha), the beach, and do other fun stuff!

Australian Difference:
*police get public holidays off

Saturday Inga and I are going to Surfer's Paradise to meet up with Tamara, a friend we met at Fraser Island back in March. She's heaps of fun! We're going to hang out at the beach and live it up Saturday night. It's going to be a great time (also the last trip of my stay in Australia - so sad to think about!).

In case you're wondering, YES, I am homesick. I miss America. I miss Steak 'N Shake. I even miss checking left whenever I want to cross a street. Most of all I miss my family and friends, especially Adam. Okay, I can't go on or I'll get all sappy.

Sounds like plans for 3 July are set: get-together in Indy with Adam's gang. It'll be the only time I can hang out before some of them move for their full-time jobs (i.e., Danielle). Plus we're going to share some Kava with everyone (namely Jon), and we're going to have an early celebration of Ryan's long-awaited 21st birthday since we can't make it on the night of his actual birthday. Adam and I will be camping with my family at Salamonie! But during the day of the 4th we'll be having a nice picnic with his family and company. I can't wait!

Running. Ugh, I'm totally out of shape. I have cottage cheese for thighs right now. Gotta work that off for sure. So I've started two new Nike+ challenges with Adam and Mom. One is where the winner is the person to run the fastest 5K by 25 June. Right now I'm in the lead with 30'08" and Mom is less than half a minute behind that time - she's a quick one! The other challenge is where the winner is the first person to run 40 miles by 25 June. My mom and I are really fighting for this one, haha. The three of us (and more?) are planning to run the Indy Half-Marathon on 18 October! So I know Adam will be joining us in running. I'll have to draw up a training plan for the half. Adam has been taking a martial arts class for Krav Maga. He is really enjoying it and I'm excited for him to teach me some cool moves. = )

Yesterday I met with my friend Laura for tea at The Three Monkeys. Laura just got back from a year abroad at Purdue (we met last semester before I left). We had a great time catching up and chatting about our experiences abroad. It was great to hang out with her. I think she's going to join Inga and I to see The Incredible Hulk on Sunday, and we're aiming to hit Punjabi Palace before I leave. Yum!

Lastly, the other night 21 of us went to see the Sex & the City movie. I had very low expectations, and, as it turns out, I was pleasantly impressed with the flick. It was rather long (2.5 hours?), but VERY funny. Some parts were uber predictable, but I still really enjoyed it. Apparently, if I was one of the four girls, I would be Charlotte, and I take that as a great compliment as she's the glue of the group, the mind of reason and seems to have figured out a good bit of life. Personally I liked Samantha's pizazz. Favorite parts: the coloring scene and when Charlotte drank the water in Mexico - I laughed so hard it hurt to breath. = )

That's all for now!

-Amanda

Proof of a Difference Made

2008-06-10T06:04:00.001-04:00

The other day I received an email from Samantha. This fall she will be a sophomore in the College of Technology, and she is a member of WIT. Over the summer she will be giving a speech for the annual Day on Campus Women's Luncheon. For the last several years I gave the speech (being in Australia is obviously a problem for me to do it once more this year). Any way, Toni recommended that she email me with regards to the speech's key points, etc. I got her email, and replied with helpful information, along with my own speech notes from last year.

The following is her reply. It made me feel great, and I am so happy to know that I am indeed making a difference in the world, especially for women in Technology. = )

-Amanda

======================================

Thank you so much for your help! You are amazing.

Here's something kind of amusing. After looking through your notes I actually remember you speaking at the luncheon when I was a freshmen. I remember you mentioning Navy ROTC and I stopped to talk to you afterwards because I was going into Air Force ROTC. I remember the things you said about women studying technology were very encouraging.

Maybe in two years someone will write me asking for help and I'll be able to pass down your notes along with some stuff I've added and they will remember me speaking at the luncheon. I hope I can make the same kind of difference you have made for women studying technology.

Thanks again so much. I'll shoot you an e-mail if I have any questions.

Sam

More Photos Online

2008-06-08T02:41:00.001-04:00

I'm all caught up in posting except for Sydney and Adam's visit. Yay! Here are the links to Tour de Chambre and the Horse Race:

Tour de Chambre 1
Tour de Chambre 2
AAMI Horse Race

-Amanda

My Moon, My Man

2008-06-07T04:10:00.000-04:00

Wow. I have been doing quite a bit of blogging lately, huh? I'm all caught up except for Adam's visit. That post is coming up next. For now I'd like to share what Adam has been up to and how we've been doing lately.

Distance has definitely made my heart grow fonder for Adam. Enduring months away from one another has made each moment together on AIM or Skype so precious. Over the years I've come across the following quote:

"Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire."

There's no question about it; our love is a bonfire. Oh, I miss him like mad.

Adam turned 22 on 1 June. We are celebrating with my family when we go camping over the 4th of July weekend at Salamonie. I'm really looking forward to that trip!

Since Adam returned to the US from visiting me he has been very busy! Last week he started his internship with Crowe - they are treating him very well, and I think Adam is really enjoying Crowe so far! He's meeting folks from all over the state, networking and having fun. Through the week he has caught up with his friends and family, had an Ultimate Frisbee game and ran a race for skin cancer research with my family.

We've been having difficulty catching each other online recently, but in a few weeks we'll be able to spend lots of time together. I can't wait for 4th of July celebrations, camping and Dale Hollow!

I love you, baby! XOXO!

-Amanda

Tour de Chambre & The Horse Race

2008-06-07T03:36:00.000-04:00

If you ask me, I would say that Friday's Tour de Chambre was the best party in Australia ever. Each of 16 rooms had a unique theme and drink. My theme was the Eighties, and my drink was a vodka sunrise (I kind of modified the screwdriver by adding raspberry cordial and glazed cherries). Inga did a western theme and had whiskey and coke, Maija did a sauna theme, Judith's room was the forrest and she had Jagger Bombs. Alice's room was "under the sea," and she had jello and ice cream. Soyoung had Asian beer and coconut rice laid out in an Asian setting, complete with origami cranes. Sara's room was a pirate ship. Laura's theme was France with French martinis. Toby's room was Mexico, and, naturally, he had tequila shots - and in addition he had oranges with cinnamon! Props to Rasmus who thought the whole thing up. When you walked into his room you were transported to a drinking festival in Denmark. Morten and Henrik had great music and Red Bull drinks. My favorite two were Tom's Fire Fighters theme with flaming sambuca shots, and the Scottish boys' teaching everyone how to do some Scottish jigs and dances to bagpipe music! Oh, it was such a great time. After making the rounds I felt like I'd been around the world in 16 mini-parties: Finland, Germany, the US, Denmark, Scotland, Mexico, Asia, France and even the sea!

Yesterday was Australia's premier spring horse race! Even after a night of drinking and mayhem 13 of us managed to be up and looking fine for the race (it's a very posh event). I'd been to the horse tracks once before in Anderson. It wasn't anything like the race in Brissie, though. Here women dressed up in fancy ensembles, complete with feathered hair accessories, and the guys wore suits and ties. We had a lot of fun. Horse #2 won the race that we watched. Shortly after that we grabbed some lunch, hung out, and then Inga and I went to see the horses after they raced. Horses are such beautiful creatures! I learned that horses used to have a thumb-like digit but it's kind of sawed away - you can spot it on the inside of the horse's knee. Any way, it was a fun event! (Here's the website for the race.)

Back home the family has been busy, busy! Mom has taken on several new children at the daycare, including some babies. I don't know how she does it, but she's a powerhouse. Sam is tossing around the idea of getting a summer job. He's thinking about the go-kart track or the horse track. Dad's been busy with work and senior portraits, and Chucky just started life guarding at the Dolphin Club.

Yesterday a bunch of my family and Adam went to run a race for cancer for my Aunt Dawn. It didn't quite go according to plan, but the bottom line was that everyone made the best of it, had fun, and got Coldstone Creamery ice cream. = )

Here is some new Aussie slang:
*Goodonya = good job, good for you
*Goon = cheap, boxed wine
*sexy time partner = friend with benefits
*are you right? = are you okay?, are you being helped at the moment? (in a shopping setting)

New Aussie food/snacks:
*meat pie (think pot pies but not nearly as good)
*tongue brush mints (they're Eclipse mints with ridges so you can brush your tongue)
*nougat (mmm, plain, with almonds or ginger - yum!)

Some Aussie differences:
*speed limits are painted on the road
*tyre = tire
*people don't wear tennis shoes unless they are doing something regarding sports
*fries in Australia = chips in the US
*biscuits in Australia = cookies in the US
*women wear stretchy pants and tights with just about anything

The other night I saw Ironman. I am so proud of myself: I have no quelms with going to the movies alone. It was kind of nice. I got the popcorn all to myself, hehe! Any way, I had no idea what to expect of the movie since I'd never heard of the comics and hadn't seen any previews. Turns out Downey, Jr. and Gweneth did a great job! I loved it - the suit and house were pretty awesome! I thought it was pretty funny when Pepper said she even took out Mr. Stark's trash, haha!

I've been working on plans for an un-official Purdue C&IT reunion in Florida while I'm in the area this summer. Should be lots of fun. It sounds like we'll be in Melbourne and Orlando so we'll get both the beach and city night life. I miss those guys so much, too! Now we just need the Sees, Leshney and Peelman to move South, haha.
purdue reunion in florida

New Nike+ challenges have been started. Last I checked I was in the lead with 7 miles. The challenge is the first to 40 miles. I can't let my mother beat me, again! = P

Here is the plan for my three weeks in Indiana before I head to Orlando for my internship:

29 June - Return to the US
1 July - Mother/Daughter day
2 July - Father/Daughter day
3 July - To Indy with Adam
4 July - Picnic with Adam and company, to Salamonie
5-6 July - Camping at Salamonie
7 - Evening with Mom
8 - Zoo with Mom and company
8-9 July - Purdue visit
10 July - Running with the ARRC
11-16 July - Dale Hollow with Adam and family
17 July - Adam's Ultimate game
20 July - To Orlando

It's going to be three crazy weeks! Oh, I am excited, though - I miss home so much!

New Photos are up on Facebook (that wraps up Easter Holiday - yay! I did it!):

Easter Holiday: Fraser Island, 28 March
Easter Holiday: Fraser Island, 29 March - Part 1
Easter Holiday: Fraser Island, 29 March - Part 2
Easter Holiday: Fraser Island, 30 March

Okay, that's all I've got for now.

-Amanda

New Photos & The Rest of Earlier Photo Batch

2008-06-05T19:00:00.000-04:00

Here are the links to three albums I just put up from Easter Holiday in Tasmania (no captions or tags yet, but they're up):

24 March

25 March

26 March

And, I wasn't able to finish uploading a batch of photos before Adam's arrival, so here they are. Enjoy!

John, Inga, Me, and One-of-the-twins-I'm-not-sure-which on our way to Normanby's for a night out:

Me and Inga saluting to fun:

Me and John being silly:

Me and Sam:

At my first Rugby League game:

Me and Inga having a great time watching the Broncos win:

Me having chocolate milk and cookies at the game (Sara claimed that was not appropriate as she proudly held up her beer):

A shot of the stadium:

The Gang just before the rugby game:

About to eat octopus at Ouzeri:

A Clear Midnight, Walt Whitman

2008-06-05T18:20:00.001-04:00

A Clear Midnight
Walt Whitman

This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou
lovest best.
Night, sleep, and the stars.

======================

I love this poem so much! Here is my analysis:

Line by Line:

“This is thy hour O Soul” – This moment is significant for me on a deep level
“thy free flight into the wordless” – Words cannot justly explain how my soul feels
“Away from books” – I fly away from what has been written, opinions, facts, theories
“away from art” – I fly away from what is left for interpretation
“the day day erased” – I fly away from history and the past
“the lesson done” – I fly away from what I have learned though this lifetime
“Thee fully forth emerging” – In this moment it is my true self that comes forward
“silent, gazing” – I am observant, watching, taking in the moment
“pondering the themes thou lovest best” – Thinking about what most makes me happy in life
“Night, sleep, and the stars” – The most peaceful, magical, transient times with the most precious lights; these times are of a recurring, reviving and miraculous display

Title:

On a beautiful evening, at the deepest hour, my soul is clear and I take joy in the bliss

Overall:

A person is taking in a special moment. The moment is very open and clear and calming. Everything else fades away and just this person and his soul are there, having a silent conversation together. The stars represent this moment’s amazing sense of peace, preciousness, and how little miracles happen all the time.

What Someone Else Thought:

http://www.daikynguyen.com/eet/print_archive/united_states/new_york/2006/05-May/29/B7.pdf

-Amanda

Faith

2008-06-05T18:20:00.000-04:00

Faith has been popping up a lot for me lately. In discussions with my parents and Chucky, in books I've been reading, in emails, and in my thoughts. Considering that I often talk with my family, read books, send and receive emails and think - Faith has popped up in just about every place it could. I think I should take that as a sign.

Just the other day I learned that Chucky had recently had an enlightening experience with God. We didn't get into deep conversation on the topic, but knowing alone that he is on a path with God is fantastic. I'm truly very happy for him.

Chucky's discovery, my cousins' beautiful lives with God and a number of other things have made me realize how I have been holding Faith in an empty sort of way. Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, I have been baptized. Yes, I lead a life of a good person. But I am missing that special bond between myself and God. I think I'm ready to start working on that now.

Today

2008-06-03T01:41:00.000-04:00

This is pretty interesting. My dad has been really into photography these last several years and shot some school photos of us kids. My mom has always cut the hair of the men in the family. Here is an email I received from my mom this morning:

===================

I'm a professionally featured hairstylist:

HAHAHAHAH LOLOLOLOL
Guess you probably heard that one of Dad's pictures of Chucky made it into a men's hairstyle web-page. But do you realize that I'm the one that cut Chucky's hair? That means I'm a pretty good stylist, Huh?

Here's the link:
http://menshair.about.com/od/picturegalleries/ig/Short-Styles/short3.htm

===================

Today I had my Australian Culture & Society final exam. I feel really good about it, and I'd darned well better feel good about it since I studied my butt off from Friday until this morning. I am not exaggerating when I say that I only ate, slept, ran or read outside of all of my studying. No laying out (granted it was rainy all week, but that kept me to the books), no visiting the parks, no watching movies, no partying (well, I did make an appearance Friday night - I had to since the party was at my own house)... I was such a good little student. Any way, goes to show that hard work pays off (assuming I get a good mark in the class). As a reward for my efforts I am going to see Ironman tonight. Adam and Inga have both had good things to say about it. Plus, I am going to the movies by myself. Ha. I am not afraid! Plus, I get to enjoy all the popcorn goodness, hehe!

THIS JUST IN: Ironman shall be seen another night. Why? Tonight the house is watching Titanic and The Notebook. Chick Flick Night? Exactly. Again, why? As I was cleaning the kitchen (it's my week to make sure it's clean before Thursday's cleaners arrive), Richard starts making dinner and starts watching whatever is on the TV. Whatever is on the TV happens to be a show feature the Top 20 Women Films (aka, Top 20 Chick Flicks). So Richard is snared in by the bubbly movie reviews and comments, then Sam (the biggest guy in the house, a rugby player, a guy who can pulp anyone in his way if he so chooses) joins Richard and they are both intrigued by this Top 20 list. I finish the dishes and retreat to write this entry when Inga knocks on the door exclaiming something about Richard and Sam going to get movies. Before she gets the whole sentence out I've figured out what's going on: Richard and Sam have been inspired to have a Chick Flick night. I'm not kidding, haha. It's quite humorous. And so tonight I will watch some girly movies. Actually, I was just thinking today how I'd like to see Titanic sometime soon.

Here's to Pretty Woman, Bridget Jones' Diary, etc., etc.!

-Amanda

I Heart Sydney!

2008-06-01T14:11:00.001-04:00

Before visiting Sydney I imagined it to be a city with the likes of Chicago. Relative to Brisbane, the laid-back, sun-soaking, relaxed-paced Australian capital city, I thought Sydney would be really rushed and have a colder feel to it.

Visiting Sydney allowed me to have more than an imagination of the city: an opinion of the city. To me Sydney is not like Chicago. Sydney is certainly not like Brisbane either. I found Sydney to be a really great balance of class, fun, freedom and cool. I fell in love with Sydney: the Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, Oxford Street, Chinatown, downtown, Hyde Park, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Darling Harbor, the Blue Mountains - Sydney has so much to offer!

By miracle the weather during my visit in Sydney was perfect: sunny and warm. We couldn't believe it (we = myself, Peter, Sarah, Maija and Alice). Here are the highlights of the trip:

Thursday night, after checking into our hostel, we decided to wander around the city. On the way to the harbor we stopped at a few little shops where I purchased a herring bone beret, a pair of fresh water pearl earrings (one of which I lost in the Whitsunday Islands - sadness), and a pocket watch necklace.

We saw the Sydney Opera House at night - the sails were lit up and the Australian icon looked quite magnificent against the backdrop of the night sky (too bad none of the photos turned out really well).

Our hostel gave us 15 coupons for free beer or wine to promote local bars and night clubs. We took full advantage. After seeing the Opera House we hit two bars and I had some of the best wine I've ever had. At The Orient Hotel in The Rocks district I had a glass of Tyrrell's Winery Classic Dry White (from Hunter Valley in Victoria, I believe). It was really great (despite it being a dry wine - normally I don't like them). At the second bar (Jake's?) I had another glass of Tyrrell's Winery: Moore's Creek South East Australia Chardonnay 2007. I didn't care for that wine very much.

Friday we were up bright and early, ready to see more of Sydney. After breakfast Sarah and I enjoyed the Art Gallery of New South Wales. I bought a really cool miniature painting there. After getting lost from the rest of the group and seeing bats and beautiful flora in the Royal Botanical Gardens Sarah and I finally met up with the gang at the Opera House. We took gobs of photos and then trekked over to the Harbor Bridge. I went up in the tower and got some great photos of the city. The walk across the bridge was quite lengthy. We took a break for a snack and were on our way to Luna Park just for kicks (the place is pretty run down these days). We took some fun pictures in the goofy mirrors and strolled around. Next we played Twister, teeter-tottered and climbed a tree at a little park. We opted to take the double-decker bus back in to the city - that was my first time on a double-decker train and I was quite excited about the ride.

The gang wound down from the day while I went on a run to the Opera House. It was really fun to run around Sydney, plus I saw the city at night - so glittery! We showered up and went to a sushi diner in Chinatown called Mandono (progressive Japanese cuisine). The bar that night was The Sidebar. The free house wine was the same as the glass from Jake's, so I wasn't too thrilled. But the live music made up for it. A duet of two French, young, bald guys made up Melville. They did some really great acoustic covers: the Eurythmics, Creep, Karma Police, Skin & Bones, Sublime's What I Got, and others.

Saturday morning there was some tension between everyone, so I put on my iPod on the train ride to the Blue Mountains. They were absolutely beautiful, and I enjoyed the trail/hiking to the Three Sisters. They were breath-taking. Unfortunately I lost my photos from most of this day, and while I was very upset about the loss, I am over it and cherish the memories.

When we got back to the city we had dinner. It was during this meal that I had my first Maccers (Aussie slang for McDonald's) meal in Australia. Whoopee. I had a McChicken burger (I prefer the term sandwich, but they call everything burgers here).

Later that night Maija was kind enough to do my hair up in French plaits. It looked really pretty (lost those photos, too). Tonight we were hitting Oxford Street: the gay district. The main strip had all sorts of stores with plays on words. One Thai diner was called "Thai Me Up;" Peter and I got a kick out of that one. There was also the "Lick Her Store." It was an interesting area of town.

We went to several bars that night. My favorite time of the entire trip was at O'Malley's. There was a guy doing live music (he had a guitar and used the pedal recorder thing) - and he was great (except for the fact that he didn't know any Tom Petty - Petty isn't known at all in Australia from what I can tell). Peter and I had a ball watching the drunk fellow who was nearby, and the entire stay was a ton of fun - we danced, we sang, we had a grand time.

Sunday morning we went to the Paddington Markets to browse, grabbed lunch at Nando's (a mediocre Portuguese restaurant), and split to see what parts of the city we wanted to see but hadn't quite agreed on. I chose to seek out the giant chess board in Hyde Park, the Victoria Building, the Sydney Center Point Tower, and I found the statues of Mr. Flinders and his cat, Trim (hidden gem that Inga told me about). After a couple hours of doing our own thing we met up and saw Deep Sea 3D at the Darling Harbor IMAX theatre. It was an awesome show, narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.

After the show we got drinks at a posh restaurant on the 40th floor of a city-center building - the whole restaurant rotated. We got some really great photos, and the drinks were great.

I started Monday off with a second run around Sydney (this time running around Hyde Park). After showering up we checked out and I met up with my friend Maya (she's from Sydney but studied at Purdue last year). It was so great to meet up with her and chat about what it's like being abroad, the US, Australia and all sorts of things. Then it was off to the airport and back to Brisbane.

Bottom line: I heart Sydney.

-Amanda

PS: Unfortunately I did not see any street signs labeled Wallaby Way (re: P. Sherman / 42 Wallaby Way / Sydney, Australia). = P

This Week

2008-06-01T07:59:00.000-04:00

First of all: HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY TO ADAM! I wish I could be there to celebrate right now. Save a date for me in 28 days. = )

There are a couple of other birthdays worthy of mentioning:

*My Mom's was on 6 May (my apologies for not announcing it earlier - it was just before Adam's arrival and I was going crazy with business)
*Today is also the Queen's birthday
*Tomorrow is Jordan's birthday (there's a birthday card on its way to Purdue since I don't have your new address yet, I hope you set up mail forwarding)

So, happy birthday, everyone! = )

Since Adam's departure things here in Brisbane have been on the move. Well, nothing moving aside from school really, but I've never set to business this much. After the school week ended I immediately started studying for my Australia Culture & Society exam on Tuesday. So far I've been through all thirteen lengthy slide sets less two (which I'll go through after this post; my motivation for studying those slides may be seen by the length of this post). It's a lot to cover, but at least it's interesting material. I am really working to get a good mark in the class. Having done so well on my essay should be some help, but I want to perform well on the final, too.

After Tuesday things will really die down for me. I am hoping to meet with a friend who attends QUT but studied at Purdue last year - shooting for The Three Monkeys but I've not heard back from her yet. This week is my week for kitchen clean-up duty. Ugh. I hope the place isn't a wreck come Wednesday... Friday there's a bit going on: International Student Farewell Function, a Jazz concert for Griffith Uni that I might check out. Adam has an Ultimate game, and the house is having a themed party which I'm really looking forward to. The party is called Le Tour de Chambre - each room has a theme and a drink. Naturally I called dibs on the 80s theme and screwdriver. I'm excited! Saturday is the big run for Dawn (I think I have that in my calendar correctly). And not much else is planned between this week and my last two exams on 19 and 20 June. Well, not much aside form heaps of studying. *mumble grumble*

Lately my mom and I have been working to set things for my internship in Orlando. I'm in touch with my HR contact about my flight to and from. Mom and I are trying to get a month stay in a moderate hotel for the duration of the internship. I kind of put it off since there's been so much else going on, so I've my fingers crossed that it will all work out.

I had a really great chat with my mom the other night. It was all the juicy, good stuff, but I can't go into detail on here (sorry!). Any way, it was heart-warming to catch up with her and exchange thoughts and the like. I've been emailing with my dad - things there weren't quite so happy-happy, but the conversation has been deep, honest and good-hearted. I love my parents so much. I'm very blessed to have them for parents.

Enough with the sap stuff. On to something random: I think I may have chipped a bone in the ball of my right foot. I've no idea how I managed to acquire the pain, but it started up the day I got back from Fiji (Tuesday). It's since gone down, and I daresay is almost gone, but I'm really not sure. Hmm...

Any way, I'm looking forward to hanging out with Inga after hopping around so much lately. This week we've both been holing up in our rooms, studying.

In the world of books: I finished King Kong. I wasn't really impressed, but reading it allowed me to re-watch the movie in my mind's eye, so that was kind of cool. Now I'm reading Deer Hunting with Jesus. I find this really odd considering it's a political book and I am not really big into politics, but it was strongly recommended by Iain who borrowed it from Sarah who also recommended it. The book is basically a deep dig into America's class war. Pretty interesting stuff, actually. Some of it's really sad and eye-opening. The author is a great writer; very engaging and humorous. Plus it's been a fast-paced read so far. I'm undecided as to what book I'll read next. Maybe the Mary Higgins Clark mystery or the 2nd Stephanie Plum book? Who knows!

Well, that's all for now. Leave a comment telling me the highlight of your weekend! = )

-Amanda

Easter Holiday: Fraser Island

2008-06-01T00:51:00.000-04:00

Inga, Iain, Neil, Rudy and I got back to Brisbane around 12:30a on Friday, 28MAR08. Quickly turning around, unpacking and repacking, got to sleep around 1a just to get up 5 hours later. It was raining that morning, so Inga and I took a taxi to QUT, where we were meeting up with the rest of the group going to Fraser Island. We were to meet Neil and Rudy there (Iain hadn't secured a ticket in time and didn't go with us).

Irony set in as we had just taken a taxi to avoid getting wet, but we stood in the rain at QUT for 30 minutes before the caravan arrived. Don't worry, no one melted. We loaded up our packs, hopped in the four-wheelers, and set out for a 3 hour drive and a ferry ride to Fraser Island.

The drive there was quiet and sleepy. Because the caravan was late we had a rushed schedule upon arrival at Eurong. We unpacked, checked into our "hostel-hotel" rooms, grabbed dinner at the buffet, then went to my favorite part of Fraser Island: Lake Wabby. It is a lake created by a sand-blow. It used to be a river, but so much of the sand kept blowing across the river that it was no longer a river, but a lake. The sand-blow wall was HUGE. It rained all evening, so we were all drenched as we trudged through the sand. It was actually quite fun and a bit of a workout. Because of the rain the lake was super warm (don't ask me how that works). It was a lot of fun at Lake Wabby.

Afterwards we drove back to Eurong and went to the Beach Bar for a while, then it was off to bed for an early rise.

(Saturday, 29MAR08) We were up at 8a and on our way to a rainforest for a long walk. Inga and I stuck together and walked barefoot (we were one with nature). There was a funny episode where some on-coming Swedes were saying how dirty we are for walking the trail without sandals, Inga understood them and was disgruntled, shared the story with me, then we both laughed at the Swedes because we DID know what they said when they'd clearly assumed we had no idea what they were talking about - hehe.

The trees in the rainforest were enormous. I learned about a new favorite tree: the strangler tree. It isn't a parasite because it doesn't have a host (not technically). The strangler tree grows around another tree, steals it's sunlight leaf space (this causes the "host" tree to die), and then the strangler tree continues to wrap around the "host" for support. It's cool.

We went to Wangoolba Creek, what used to be Central Station on the island, then to a perched lake for lunch. Several of the lakes at Fraser Island are tea tree oil lakes - they're a "clean" brown. One of the lake's sand was so fine you could clean jewelry with it.

Through the day I got the tour guides to sing Waltzing Matilda on video. They taught us a really great children's nursery rhyme, too: A Home Among the Gum Trees (with lots of PLUM TREES)! Great fun with the motions!

Next up was dinner, then a nap for me. Tamara (one of the tour guides who was really awesome) demanded my presence at the Beach Bar that night, and we all had a blast. From the Killer Kangaroo, to the Shower, to the Popcorn, to the juke box and Grace Kelly ("ahhh") - oh, it was a blast! There ended up being an after-party in our hotel room, and me being such a sleepy-head, I fell asleep on my bed while there were 3 others still sitting on it, carrying on with the rest of the party, ha. I was really tired, I suppose. Oh, this was the night that one of the guys from Norway tried to say Rudy's name "Rurianda," haha - cracks me up!

(Sunday, 30MAR08) For the last day we grabbed breakfast, packed, checked out and were on the road. We stopped at Eli Creek (where I napped while laying out and caught some sunburn - eek!), the ship wreckage site (pretty cool), and the rocks that had three different colors of sand (pretty cool, too, but they were closed for some reason so our photos are from a distance). Then we had lunch and were back at QUT.

What a fun weekend trip with some great friends!!!

These photos are also on their way.

-Amanda

Easter Holiday: The Rest of Tasmania

2008-05-31T17:48:00.000-04:00

Okay, folks. I know I'm a several months behind with this post, but here it is. Better late than never, right? Sorry it's going to be so brief. I just wanted to post about what I did, the highlights and such. If anything it is a record of my trip for myself to read through in a couple years. Last I posted about Easter Holiday I left off with Saturday night, the only plans made at this point being that of hiring a car the next morning.

I was the only one of us eligible to legally hire the car, so I took care of all that, and got to be the first to drive! It was pretty nerve-rattling to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, but it's easy to get used to and I did fine. We ended up with a station wagon, much to Inga's dismay, and named the vehicle Black Betty. Throughout the driving there were some arguments about whose music CD to listen to, but we all agreed that Evil Scotsman was our trip anthem, haha. Along with lots of music were lots of driving games: Yellow!, Slug Bug, Jinx, and others we probably made up.

(Sunday, 23MAR08) We drove to Swansea and stayed at the best hostel I've ever seen (building and cleanliness-wise). The drive was very scenic - Tasmania is a gorgeous state. We stopped at Nine Mile Beach on the way to the hostel (lots of awesome shells!). That night we played Uno (so much fun!), I played my first drinking game ever (Kings), and we had a tickle fight and a totally exhilarating pillow fight (no, really).

We only slept for 4 hours that night because at 4a we set off on an hour-long drive to Wine Glass Bay to see it at sunrise. Of course it was overcast that day, but the photos are still magnificent if you ask me. Turns out sunrise in Tasmania is around 6.30, so we had plenty of time to hang out and bond with one another (this was actually my favorite part of the trip). I shared some Easter chocolate my mom had sent me, and we played thinking games like the kind Darin taught me (the kind where a tricky bit of a story is explained, and the guessers ask yes/no questions until they figure it out). It was freezing so we all huddled together on the little bench. After we saw the sunrise we drove back and slept for a few hours until we had to check out.

(Monday, 24MAR08) Next destination: Launceston. On the way we stopped by a beach where the water was crazy cold and the sand was infested with little jumping worm things. We packed up within 45 minutes. It was a nice drive, although it was quite difficult to sleep with Neil driving, hehe.

Later that day I was driving, Inga sitting shot gun to give me directions, the boys all fast asleep in the back. We come to a T in the road, and Inga's not sure which way to go. Rather than just sit there I turned left only to hear Inga says she thinks we need to go the other way. We turn around and I'm still a bit dazed, and my foot is lead. I see an on-coming cop flash his lights, and I automatically hit the brake a bit (but I'm still tooling along pretty swiftly). The cop turns off his lights, I'm relieved, and then horrified as the cop pulls a U-ie, pulling me over. I'm flipping out, the guys are confused as they wake up, and Inga's not sure what to do but tell the guys to snap their seat belts. I turn the music off and wait for the officer to approach. He leans over and asks for my license - surprised that I'm from Indiana, USA he asks if we're lost -nah, you think? He wrote me a warning for going 36 KMH over (I know - insane!!! Good thing I'm an out-of-towner!), and gave us solid directions to Launceston. Quite a nice fellow, that policeman.

We checked into the hostel above Irish Murphy's which was really old but really cool. I needed some time to wind down and catch up on sleep, so I grabbed Subway and stayed in for the night.

(Tuesday, 25MAR08) The next day I got up early to check my email, then we checked out of the hostel, had breakfast and browsed the pedestrian mall (a lot like the Queen Street Mall here in Brisbane). We left the city that afternoon and headed to see Cataract Gorge (very beautiful - great sights when in the ski lift), and the Tasmania Zoo (yes! We got to see Tassie Devils and all sorts of cool animals; the kangaroos were especially friendly here). Afterwards it was time to head to Queenstown where we stayed at The Lake Side Chalet.

(Wednesday, 26MAR08) Today marked the last full day of our stay in Tassie. Destination: Hobart. On the way we went to Lake St. Clair National Park - it was pouring rain and freezing (we weren't adequately dressed in our shorts and sandals, haha), so it was kind of miserable, but we made the best of it. We saw some beautiful nature, wildlife, and played a stick in the river game (Inga and I were the winners!). We looked and looked for platypus but they were no where to be seen. Afterwards we warmed up indoors with some hot chocolate. We were all pretty crushed to learn that the previous night we'd driven by Cradle Mountain (one of the big sights I really wanted to see), but we couldn't do much about it, so we got over it and drove on to Hobart.

We checked into a hostel that was a 15-minute walk from the city center, then went out for a nice dinner. There was some interesting conversation. Then we went out to a night club that was filled with 18-year-olds just granted the liberty of attending the legal scene (I found it annoying and didn't really enjoy it), but it was okay.

(Thursday, 27MAR08) Our flight was in the evening so we had some morning and afternoon time to kill. We checked out of our hostel, returned the car, paid the parking ticket we'd earned overnight, grabbed lunch and decided to do some souvenir shopping. My souvenir from Tasmania is a coffee mug with a Tassie Devil. I use it all the time for my chai tea. Mmmm! I also snagged a great deal on some SD memory cards for my point-and-shoot camera: 2 x 1 GB cards for $40! This day I learned that Rudy has been to Doune Castle - the one from Monty Python & the Search for the Holy Grail. After shopping we went to the Tasmanian Museum - learned about the Tasmanian Indegenious people and the icy Antarctic. We still had time so we decided to see The Other Boleyn Girl - I loved the movie. Scarlet was amazing, Natalie was infuriating, and I found the story to be really engaging.

We had some afternoon tea, taxied to the airport and flew home to Brisbane.

I just realized I never posted photos from Easter Holiday past Sunday, 23MAR08! I'm working on 'em.

-Amanda

On Being an American Abroad - German Class

2008-05-31T03:08:00.000-04:00

This post is the first of several yet to come. The main topic is my reflections on being an American abroad. In this post I'll discuss some occurrences that took place during my German class.

The first item has to do with a phrase I've heard all too often since my arrival in Australia. The lesson started with Herr Hamernik (Mr. Hamernik was my German professor) was going over the verb "sein" (translated: "to be"). One of the things he was relating the verb to was the equality in sentence structure. For example, the cat is orange - this sentence is equally weighted on both sides of the verb "to be" - which is "is" in the example.

So, in German, Herr Hamernik wrote the following on the board:

Die Frau ist ein Mann. Die Frau ist der Mann.
The woman is the man. The woman is a man.

He was basing this particular example off something he'd recently read or heard about the US. There was a woman who was a man. Well, the man was a woman - etc. He was poking fun at America, and that is to be expected - I wasn't bothered by any of this, for the record, I'm just making an observation.

After Herr Hamernik finished making his point about the sentence structure, my friend, Peter, leaned over and said "only in America."

And, for the most part, he was right.

The second item was when Herr Hamernik had sevearl papers laid out on the front desk and asked us to come up and grab one apiece. I was on the left side of the room, so, naturally, I picked up the papers from left to right. The rest of the class came from the right, therefore viewing my approach as the wrong way.

One student said, "count on the American to do things their own way."

It was embarrassing to be the only American in the class when a joke like this was made. These happenings were funny, but I remember having to force my laughter a bit. I was kind of shocked that the teacher would make such a joke - for all I know, I'm the only American he or anyone in the classroom knows, and there is certainly no confusion as to my gender, so who is he to roll me in with the Americans who are questionable? That's the line of thoughts I found myself thinking that evening as I mulled over it.

On one hand I was offended, embarrassed and ashamed to be American. On the other I knew that I had to accept the situation, after all - I came abroad to have an eye-opening experience; this qualified as just that, so why was I so upset? (I say ashamed in a temporary manner - I am very proud to be an American, so don't let these posts make you think otherwise. It is a challenge surviving as an American abroad, and it is frustrating at times, causing one to feel a bit ashamed of their background.)

I'll end this post with a piece of advice for those planning or just starting to think about an extended trip abroad: know that non-Americans do poke fun at us just like we poke fun "at the 'fraidy-cat French" and their "Freedom Fries." This fun-poking is unavoidable and it's okay; it's a part of the grand experience. The best thing you can do is accept it - pure and simple. Don't make a fuss when it happens right in front of you; just take it all in, think about it some, and see then see how it's stretched your mind for the better.

A bit more the wiser,

-Amanda

Back to Basic (but Brilliant) Brisbane

2008-05-28T06:21:00.000-04:00

Bula, everyone! That's Fijian for 'hello.' = )

I have returned to Brisbane after three splendid weeks of traveling around Australia and Fiji with Adam. A quick recap: he arrived on the 9th, we went to Byron Bay for the weekend, a couple days in Brisbane, to the Whitsunday Islands for a week, Brisbane again for a few days, and topped off Adam's visit at Fiji for half a week.

I'm so sad that we had to say good-bye a second time during this trip, but it was entirely worth having him here for 3 weeks. I'm such a lucky girl to have such a guy who would travel across the world to see me.

So, until I get back to the US, I'll be in Brisbane. I'm broke and can't afford any more big trips (all the more reason for a second visit to this side of the globe, hehe!), so my return date has been bumped up a bit. Mom's hashing out the flight changes, and as it stands right now I'll be back in Indy on July 5th. I'm hoping we can score something around June 29; it's not looking so good from LA to Chicago, but I'm crossing my fingers. It would be so cool to be home to celebrate Dad and Sam's birthdays and the 4th of July.

It's the last week of class here at QUT. I did outstanding on my Australian class essay. I earned an 86% - sounds like a B, but it's really great by Aussie standards since 60% is average (equivalent of an 80% back home). I'm pretty happy about that. On the down side, however, I missed part of my German final when I was in Fiji, so I took a hard-hitting zero on that, and then, tonight, I feel pretty crumby about another part of the final we did tonight. Ugh, what a hard class! I've my Australian final next Tuesday, a take-home exam for Creative Writing tomorrow, and a potential presentation for my Management class (there's a time clash, so I don't know what's going to happen there?). Then, my Management and German written finals, and viola! I'm done with another semester, and one more to go!

All right, I've gotta get going for the time being. Expect to see some posts coming in the next few days - I've lots to catch up on!

Cheers!

-Amanda

Some Photo Links

2008-05-14T08:07:00.000-04:00

Photos from John Pav's visit:
Saturday at Straddie Island & "The Dunda Bar"
Judith's Birthday & Normanby's

Byron Bay with Adam

2008-05-14T01:44:00.001-04:00

Hello, everyone! Here is a quick update! I'm sorry it's not much, and I know there aren't any photos, but bear with me and in a couple weeks there will be gobs of them. So, without further ado, let me tell you about Byron Bay:

Adam made it safely to the world down under, and I am so happy!!! He was one of the last to come out of the quarantine section of the international airport, so whenever I saw a tall person with lots of luggage on their trolley through the translucent wall, I thought it was him - and I got so fidgety waiting, haha. Any way, I picked him up from the airport last Friday, and, after a warm welcome, we went back to my apartment briefly: dropped off luggage (well, half of it, hehe - the suitcase with all of his clothes was stuck an extra day in LA - but the suitcase full of snacks and candies for me made it, haha! - but of course!). I introduced Adam and a few of the flat mates who were milling around, then the two of us grabbed some kebabs at my favorite kebab diner.

A bit later we bussed down to Byron Bay, checked into our bed & breakfast and relaxed. The Cavvanbah Beach House was perfect! It was a short trail away from the ocean and town, and it was so beachy and quaint! Saturday and Sunday we took it easy, dined at some really good places, and enjoyed a nice, laid back weekend together. Inga recommended Earth & Sea, a famous and delicious specialty pizza place. We had some tasty food there, and then had some good dessert at a place called Balcony.

Monday we got back to Brisbane. Both Mediterranean places I wanted to take him to for a late lunch were closed (sadness), so we had some pizza from a place on the South Bank food court strip. It hit the spot.

Yesterday I showed Adam around Brisbane. We strolled through the Queen Street Mall where I bought him a really cool French Connection shirt, we went through the Botanical Gardens where we took lots of photos, played some Frisbee, and enjoyed South Bank.

Today Adam's joined me for some of my classes; they're really different here, so I think he's found them interesting. We had some amazing burgers with eggs (different but tasty) at a coffee/diner place. Right now we've got some down time since one of my 2-hour lectures was canceled.

Tomorrow we leave for the Whitsunday Islands - and neither of us can wait! !!!!!

That's all for now! I love and miss you all!

-Amanda & Adam

Photos Galore

2008-05-01T00:30:00.000-04:00

The Ladies of the Crew: Sara, Judith, Soyoung, Inga, Maija, Yours Truly:

Peter and I before going to Normanby's:

Myself with Birthday Girl Judith and Inga:

John, Inga and I at The Brewhouse:

Me & Inga shaking what our mothers gave us:

John and I at the "Dunda Bar:"

John, self & Inga at Brown Lake (a tea tree oil lake) at Stradbroke Island:

Me with a bus. On a ferry. Yes. The bus is on the ferry. Odd. But I got a photo with it!

There are more photos coming. I'm not able to upload anymore on my house's Internet connection (I've exceeded my quota - whoops! So Jimojo has me on a slower connection until the next month rolls over). I'll post the rest of these photos and the new ones (from this up-coming weekend) after I return from Sydney.

-Amanda

To Sydney!

2008-04-28T07:58:00.000-04:00

Hello, hello!

Tomorrow I head to Sydney! Lots of things to see, namely the Opera House and Harbor, but also the Blue Mountains and the statue of Mr. Matthew Flinders and his cat, Trim. I'm hoping to try out kangaroo pizza at the Australian Hotel, too! I return on Tuesday, and am not sure if/when I'll have access to the Internet. Send emails, and I'll reply to them as I can. = )

New Photos Up:
Three Events

Aussie Slang:
*bulldog = rabbit ear paper clip thingy
*robot = traffic light (this is actually South African slang)
*chook = chicken
*billy = pot (i.e., as referenced in Waltzing Matilda)
*swag = a large sleeping bag

Our final schedules were made available this week. Here's what mine looks like (not too shabby at all):
*Creative Writing- take home exam during Week 13 (this week is Week 9, BTW)
*Australia Culture & Society - exam during Week 13
*German - exam on June 19 (2 weeks of studying after Week 13)
*Core Project Management - exam on June 20

After my last final I hope to do some sight-seeing. Main goal is Uluru, but it's going to cost a pretty penny. I'll keep you posted with my plans between the end of finals and my return.

Countdowns:
*Sydney in 1 day!
*Adam visits in 10 days!
*Adam's 22nd Birthday in 32 days!
*I return to to the US in 72!

A random tidbits:
*I learned in German class the other day: "kohls" is the German word for cabbage. Haha.
*I am sending a lot of mail home in the next day or two.
*The best hot chocolate I've had here came from Dusk, a coffee/bar at QUT's equivalent of "The Union."
*It's becoming chilly enough here in the evenings that I may be investing in a space heater. Crazy.

Okay, must be going. Have a great rest of the week, and I'll post when I get back from Sydney! Cheers!

-Amanda

Latest on "White Lightning"

2008-04-28T06:41:00.000-04:00

NINE DAYS UNTIL ADAM ARRIVES!!! YES, I'M PRETTY DARN EXCITED! NINE DAYS!

Adam's been pretty busy studying up for Finals week. He's knocked one out and has two tomorrow, then one on Saturday (yuck). Aside from studying he's also been working with Feras on a freelance website project. I'm excited to see the end product! Those two are brilliant with programming.

During Dead Week Adam was pretty busy, too, with finishing class projects and research papers. Towards the end of the week Adam had some friends from Indy up for a visit - Grand Prix weekend! They hit the Cactus, the Hookah, and did the Breakfast Club thing - I'm SO jealous! Another year has gone by, and I've still not experienced Grand Prix at Purdue. I'll get to that another time, I suppose. Any way, over the weekend Adam did a session of roofing for Habitat for Humanity and celebrated Passover with a nice family dinner. I miss joining him for his family dinners; they're always so wonderful.

In other news, Adam and I are playing a game of 20 Questions via email. We've started a fresh game of Chess. Neither of us has lost any pieces, and it's too early to tell who's got the upper hand. I'm determined not to throw away my Queen, haha. Speaking of games, I've been in touch with Lauren, Adam's second-oldest sister, and she is going to join us in our next game of Scrabulous. = )

I'm in the works of securing accommodation for Fiji!!! That will be the end of the bookings for his visit - I'm so proud of myself for keeping up on it. The hard planning will make for a smooth vacation. My mother taught me well.

All righty, I need to get to my tutorial. Cheers!

-Amanda

Holmes Quote

2008-04-27T20:40:00.000-04:00

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., (August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was a physician by profession but achieved fame as a writer; he was one of the best regarded American poets of the 19th century. Wikipedia Entry

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (check out that killer mustache!):

Here is the quote:

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Since researching Holmes I've learned that the source where I first saw the quote had modified the quote itself slightly. Holmes originally said "new idea" rather than "new experience." It's almost the same thing, but the term experience applies more directly in a traveler's mind.

I really like this quote because it is so simply true. After having a new idea or experience - or both - a person is changed. Thought and experience are such dynamic things to the human mind. There is no doubt in my mind that I will return to the US as a different version of myself. I'll be me, but with some new perspectives because I've been stretching my mind for several months. I'm sure I've noticed some ways that I've changed, and I'm sure I haven't noticed some ways that I've changed. The latter is what I'm excited to see through my family and friends when I return and visit with them after having been gone for so long.

-Amanda

Stranger Than Fiction

2008-04-27T08:20:00.000-04:00

I just finished watching Stranger Than Fiction with the flat mates.

Before I get started, I'd like to point out that this is the first time in ages that I've sat and written about something immediately after the matter. I'm excited because the thoughts are so fresh in my mind, and I'm a dork for being as excited as I am. Regardless of my level of dorkiness (if that is even a word; I wonder because it has the little red squigglies under it (and so does "squigglies")), I'm going to post about this film which I find to be great and excellent.

So here's a photo of the movie's cover (some eye-candy for you folks who tend to skim = ):

A few links if you're interested:

Official Website
IMDB Website
Trailer

And if you're still with me, I'll begin sharing my thoughts:

To start with, I'm going to pause because my chai tea, biscuits and chocolates are ready for me - BRB.

Okay. To start with (goodness, I feel like I'm some kind of quirky author (or am I?)). Oh, for heaven's sake. To start with! I loved the movie. But why? Maybe because I relate to the main character: Mr. Crick, portrayed brilliantly by Will Ferrell, an actor who has been steadily growing on me since Elf. And how do I relate? Well, we both share characteristics of OCD. Hmm. Not really OCD, but you guys know me: I record just about everything with pen and paper, I like numbers, I get caught up in the details, and so does Mr. Crick. I don't go so far as he does with the OCD behavior; at least I don't count the number of strokes when I brush my teeth yet. Any way, he's an IRS agent who hates his life. I don't relate there because, well, I love life, but any way - I liked his character. He's really sweet, caring, and he's just stuck with live-life-block (if you've seen the movie, you'll get that little play on words).

So the film starts off with the following narration:

"This is a story about a man named Harold Crick and his wristwatch. Harold Crick was a man of infinite numbers, endless calculations, and remarkably few words. And his wristwatch said even less. Every weekday, for twelve years, Harold would brush each of his thirty-two teeth seventy-six times. Thirty-eight times back and forth, thirty-eight times up and down. Every weekday, for twelve years, Harold would tie his tie in a single Windsor knot instead of the double, thereby saving up to forty-three seconds. His wristwatch thought the single Windsor made his neck look fat, but said nothing."

After becoming very distraught in hearing a disembodied woman's voice talk about how he brushes his teeth, Mr. Crick realizes he may be the main character in a fictional narrative written by the amazing author, Karen Eiffel: the modern queen of tragedy. Yes, this poses quite a predicament for Mr. Crick. From the moment he hears a voice - one that only he can hear - narrate the words "Little did he know that this simple seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death," Mr. Crick becomes very interested in the story and, most importantly, its ending.

When he heard the words "little did he know" Mr. Crick realizes several things, namely that the voice he is hearing is omnipresent meaning that it's not a made-up voice in his head (well, the psychiatrist still recommended prescribed medication, but he wasn't too keen on that idea). Also, after discussion with Dustin Hoffman's character, a literature professor, Mr. Crick learns that he is being written into either a comedy or a tragedy. ...

Darn, this isn't a synopsis, it's my thoughts of the movie. So I'll get on with them: in the beginning of the film everyone watching seemed to be hooked, laughing here and there at the comical parts. I was really engaged, even throughout the duration of the movie, where some folks decided it got too "strange." Naturally, when the movie had ended, people sat and talked about it. I can't say much of what they said for it would give away the ending, which I thought was done very well, but I will say this: when posed with the question of "what is the moral of the movie?" I have a simple and concise answer for you: death is inevitable, but that doesn't matter, so live.

I loved the ending, and, again, I can't say much here, but it was done creatively. I liked the narration; Emma Thompson has quite a lovely voice (by the way, she played Professor Sibyl Trelawney in the Harry Potter movies). I think you'll agree that Karan's outspoken thoughts on why she did-something-that-I-can't-disclose-or-it-would-ruin-the-movie... Okay, this is difficult to explain - but if you see the flick, I'm sure you'll agree with me that her ending thoughts are really meaningful and true on a level deeper than just writing an ending to a book.

I highly recommend the film, especially if you like quirky stories (think Scoop and Elizabeth Town) that break the mold, have a little comedy, have a pinch of romance, has to do with books, or if you just want to see Will Ferrell talk to his tooth brush. I think I'm going to have to own this one... of course I'll have to purchase it in the US since Aussie DVDs might mess up the settings on my laptop's DVD player. Hmm. Any way... yep! That's all I've to say about the film.

-Amanda

[[EDIT: I really liked the use of green apples through the movie.]]

Lindbergh Quote

2008-04-26T22:04:00.000-04:00

In my travel journal there are several quotes. Some quotes I jotted down from a travel book geared towards women who are traveling alone, others are from the travel journal itself as they are provided on some of the journal pages. I'd like to share some of these quotes and what they mean to me.

The first one is a quote by a lady named Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Anne contributed time and time again to aviation and literature. She was a pilot and assisted in surveying transatlantic routes, and she wrote about her travels in books and journals. Wikipedia article.)

"It is difficult today to leave one's family and friends... and yet, when it is done, I find there is a vitality ot being alone that is incredibly precious. Life rushes back into the void, richer, more vivid, fuller than ever." -Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Her words have become a favorite quote of mine. It is very hard to pick up and leave loved ones, especially for a long period of time. It's been hard getting through these last couple months without being able to have dinner with my parents, go run with my Mom or watch a movie with Adam... And just like Anne says, when we do leave, we fill in the emptiness with a renewal of life. Not that my pre-Australia life was in dire need of renewal, but this was an amazing opportunity. I once read a quote that "Luck happens when someone grabs on and goes with an opportunity." This trip is that sort of thing: I've been very lucky and yet, anyone can be just as lucky.

Back to the quote, Anne hits the nail on the head with her description of how life rushes back in: everything is more vibrant. I wasn't particularly fond of her choice of words in using "void." My loved ones are still a major part of my life even when I'm traveling, which is why "fuller than ever" makes such an impact on me: life was full before I came to Australia; now it's fuller. And I suppose life isn't really "richer, more vivid" or "fuller than ever," it's just new to you all over again because you're in a different setting, gaining a fresh perspective. And that's what traveling is to me: a way to make life that much fuller, and a way to gain a new look at life. Traveling has opened my eyes to so many things, thoughts, ideas, concepts, things I've never thought of or realized before. Simply put, traveling is amazing.

-Amanda

Today I Met an Unfriendly Aussie

2008-04-26T20:26:00.000-04:00

Today I met an unfriendly Aussie; this was a first for me. Quite an unpleasant experience, really. Here's what happened:

I went to Coles for a few items, less than 12, so I went to one of the busy express lanes. In front of me are 3 people: one being helped and two waiting in the queue. The guy waiting closest to me has a shopping cart and items in the seat part of the cart. I push up my own cart behind him, but there's a DVD stand kind of in the way and, since I didn't want to block the flow of traffic to my left, I pulled up behind him in a diagonal fashion.

Moments later a squat, buzz-haired and unhappy lady walked up and stood in a spot such that she made a triangle with myself and the guy in front of me. It seemed as though she thought she was in line behind the guy in front of me. I thought for a moment, wondering what she was doing. It was pretty clear she intended to check out in the lane, but as the line behind me had grown by several people, I thought it my duty - and a favor to her - to point out that the end of the line for this particular register was back that way, pointing towards the end of the line. My exact words were "Excuse me, Ma'am, the end of the queue is over there." I didn't raise my voice. I didn't say it in any sort of demeaning way, but instead an informative, kind way. Just pointing out a fact.

She rounded on me and got very nasty. "I know where the end of the line is. Don't bark at me like that. I'm not stupid. I'm actually very intelligent." All the while I just kind of gaped in awe at the backfire of my intentions which were to inform her in case she wasn't aware. I was at a loss for what to say at first but found my words and said, "oh, okay." Apparently she was aware, and I didn't need to interact anymore with her. Just as I was turning away she snapped, "I'm with that guy behind you, but I felt like waiting here instead."

I was completely disgusted with her behavior. First of all, why not just wait in line with your friend rather than appear that a, you don't know where the end of the line is, or b, you're trying to cut line? Secondly, I thought she had a poor way of expressing her so claimed intelligence in being so rude towards me.

Any way, as the guy in front of me was checking out he turned and said with a smile, "good luck." Not sure why he chose those words, but I appreciated that he was acknowledging how ridiculous she was acting. I overheard her talking to her friend who was waiting in line behind me (as any normal customer does in a line), and she was going on about how I was trying to insult her intelligence and how I was accusing her of line-jumping. The guy she was with kept telling her to hush up and to quit it. I certainly don't blame him for being so embarrassed to be associated with that lady.

I'm not sure why I got so emotional about the episode but as I was checking out I had tears welling in my eyes. I'd been made to look like a bad guy when I had purely good intentions. I am thankful for having been raised in an environment that taught me how to politely handle situations like that, and I sincerely pity that lady.

I'm also very thankful that she was the first (hopefully the only) unfriendly Aussie that I've come by. Everyone else here is really kind, and helpful. Goodness, I remember asking for directions when I first arrived and the local practically followed me to my destination just to make sure I got there okay. I suppose I was going to bump into a person like that lady sooner or later. At least it's over. I hope she has a better day tomorrow.

-Amanda

I Love Rugby!

2008-04-26T15:12:00.000-04:00

The rugby game last night was really great! First of all, I had some great company! I sat next to Inga and Alice who is from London and knows a bit about Rugby rules. She helped me out when I got lost in the beginning of the game. After the first 15 minutes I understood the game. It's a lot like NFL but still very different. At the rugby game I made several observations and noted some random things:

*Brisbane Broncos colors are burgandy and gold (at first I thought I was at a Quidditch Gryffindor match, I saw so many gold and red scarves!)
*Rabbitohs colors are red and green (horrid unless it's to do with Christmastime, if you ask me), and I thought they looked like little elves running around. It really hurt my eyes to look at their rally socks or their striped jersey shirts.
*yesterday's game took place on ANZAC day, so they had a cool ceremony; I enjoyed the lone trumpeter's bit
*I had chocolate milk and cookies to which Sara said, "Amanda. Chocolate milk and cookies. Now, is that rugby food?" as she held up her plastic cup full of beer, haha. It was funny.
*There was an RC blimp floating around the stadium - random
*the cheerleaders were pathetic: they were all fake tanned, wore hot pink skimpy outfits, half were horrid bleach blonds, all looked like Barbies. They didn't tumble or do anything fun, they just waved around. They were basically models with pom poms. Terrible. The same cheerleaders performed for both teams, and there was a cheerleading mascot of a hot pink wart hog. Yeah, I didn't really get it. I think these cheerleaders cheer for whatever team is playing at the stadium. I dunno.
*The Broncos mascots went over to the Rabbitoh's main section (although Rabbitoh's fans and Bronco's fans were totally mixed through the stadium), and there was no hostility. If a rival team's mascot came to the Purdue section that mascot would be boo'd or shunned and then Purdue Pete or Rowdy would come over and save the day! At rugby games they were all friendly with one another, taking photos with the opposing teams mascot - didn't make sense to me.
*there were fireworks after each Bronco's score - pretty cool
*rugby games have two 40-minute halves

The final score was 32 Broncos to 18 Rabbitohs. Yay for the Brisbane Broncos! Click here for the details on the game at the Broncos website. Photos will be up shortly. I promise.

After the rugby game we walked home and while everyone went to a house party, I crawled in bed, chatted with Adam and called it a night. Everyone stayed out pretty late and made a rucous, but lucky me, I had my ear plugs.

Today I've been having a light breakfast, chatting with Adam, and am about to go lay out and study some German. I plan to read and journal, as well. Later today I'm not sure what I'll be up to. I've no big plans for this weekend except to get busy with my Australia research paper.

Today is National Pretzel Day, so if you can, go eat a pretzel for me since they're hard to come by here. I've not seen any! Oh, I miss Auntie Anne's!

I'm losing in Chess. Well, I've made a come back move that currently has Adam in check, but I'm still hurting. I lost in Scrabble, haha - but it was a lot of fun! Adam won, and Karan took second. We've finally started a second game. I kicked off the first word with "tickle." Dad and I are neck-and-neck in Battleship. Ah, games are so much fun!

I learned the other day about Aussie marriages. Divorce rate for Australia is slightly worse than that of the US. 46% of Aussie marriages end in divorce while ony 45.5% of American marriages end with divorce. Neither are very good statistics, but any way. On the happier side of Aussie marriages, they celebrate mostly the same way we do: rehearsal nights, wedding day and ceremonies, reception, etc. But, what I thought was pretty interesting, some Aussies have their marriages take place while scuba diving! They call them underwater marriages. Crazy! Goes to show how closely tied Aussies are to their beaches and water life. Breeze through this! Here she's in her wedding dress!

Okay, I'll post about the creative writing stuff later. Time to sunbathe!

-Amanda

Package from Adam!!!

2008-04-25T21:05:00.000-04:00

I absolutely LOVED the package Adam sent me! I received it a couple days ago and cried when I watched the DVD he made for me! It was entirely sweet of him to video-tape my friends and family so that not only he but all of my close ones could send their love my way! Oh, it was wonderful. And I loved the slide show! I hadn't even seen a couple of the photos before. Oh, it was a beautiful surprise! Thank you SO much, baby! I love you! And I love everyone who was in the video! Thank you so much for thinking of me while I'm abroad! I miss everyone, and I'm working on a "reply" to all the questions and such in the video.

So John's visit went well. Monday we slept in a little, had a bite to eat, sunbathed at the Parklands and then I saw him to the station where he caught his train to the airport. Thanks for visiting, John! It was a pleasure!

I've gathered that Aussies and Europeans do not favor PB&J. I know. They're weird. I have a PB&J practically every single day for lunch. They don't know what they're missing out on. Or maybe I don't? Apparently Vegemite is really tasty if you like soy sauce? Vegemite sammiches are the Aussie equivalent of PB&J in the sense that kids here grew up on it. John told me about cheese spread that they have here. After he mentioned it I kept an eye out for it at Coles, and, sure enough, there was tons of cheese spreads. I'll have to try it sometime.

As most of you back home surely know, there was an earthquake last night. I saw about the clip below and was surprised. I've not heard about anyone being harmed, so that's good to know.

The U.S. Geologic Survey confirms that it was a 5.4 magnitude on the Richter scale. The center of it was 24 miles southwest of Vincennes, just inside the Illinois line, near West Salem. It was felt in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. For some people, it lasted 10 seconds. For others, as long as 45 seconds. If it stays at a 5.4 magnitude, this will be the strongest earthquake in Illinois history. The last Illinois earthquake with comparable magnitude was in Olney on June 10, 1987.

A couple countdown numbers:
Less than 80 days until I return to the US. I'm getting sad...
15 days until I get to hold my baby!!! God, I cannot wait to see that handsome man!
I leave for Sydney next Thursday! Exciting! Lots to see there!

Here's some Aussie slang for you:
floater - meat pie served with mushy pea soup
fruit loop - idiot
goodonyermate - good for you, well done!
hoo-roo - goodbye

This week was good. Classes are going well, and I've plans to knock out my Australia research paper by the end of next week, before Sydney. I also realized that I need to start studying for the finals... Later I'll be posting some stuff about my creative writing class. I got some feedback from the tutor, and I want to share.

In other news, I was invited to attend a conference at IU in the fall. It's for students in Indiana who've just returned from Study Abroad/Exchange trips. I'm excited (plus reimbursement from Purdue - yay!).

Today I rolled out of bed and ran 5.4 miles. It was really great. I added a little section to my running loop. After that Inga and I laid out at the Parklands for a couple hours. I tried to nap but it was pretty unsuccessful, then I got up, showered, and here I am.

Tonight a group of 20 of us are going to a rugby game! I'm so excited! I've never really watched it, but am really interested in it. John kind of got me going on it a bit when we were at dinner, and there was a game on. Any way, should be a great time!

Me holding on my hat atop the ferry to Fraser Island:

Inga and I after our fabulous dinner at Wings at West End (Vietnamese goodness) [note how I am the one pulling faces this time, hehe!]:

More photos to come. I just wanted to get a post up since there was much to chat about.

-Amanda

Update via Email to Adam

2008-04-20T04:30:00.000-04:00

Hello, darling!

It was such a sweet surprise to wake up and see an email from you this morning! It made my day so bright, and what a wonderful start!

It sounds like you had a good time at The Cactus with everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed the Piano Bar and had fun dancing. Yeah, I can only imagine the length of the line with it being Grand Prix week; I'm surprised the place wasn't packed, though. Mmm... I long for Hookah!

A light-up frisbee? That's pretty cool. I'm sure you enjoyed throwing the disc around. You'll be happy to know I've spotted a few nice locations for some frisbee, so don't forget to pack one. = )

Did you dress up for Breakfast Club?! Jeesh - an hour wait! Yuck! Sounds like it was a great Breakfast Club, despite the wait. I can't wait to celebrate with you again this fall! I was thinking about doing Sandy Olsson as one of my costumes.

Glad to hear you made it through the HfH session, and I'm glad the weather was bearable.

Mmmm! What I would give for a home-cooked meal! God, I can't wait for Thanksgiving, haha! How are Jade and Lauren? The 'rents? The pups?

John Pav's visit is going well. His flight was delayed Friday night, so we finally got to my place at 4am on Saturday, haha - poor guy. He's had quite a bit of transit-trouble. Any way, we got up 2 hours later, and headed to Stradbroke where it rained all day, haha. It was still fun with John Pav and Inga, though. When we were at Brown Lake (a tea tree oil lake) it wasn't raining (yay!) so we splashed around a bit, but I didn't even have my suit on since I predicted crappy rain. Any way, we went to a beach but it was pouring so we went to town and visited this Aboriginal art shop - a lot of really neat stuff there. I saw a few I'd like to buy, but they were still out of my budget. If I make it to Uluru I'll be sure to get some Aboriginal art work. Still, we had a nice time, the three of us.

We got back around 5:30 and went straight for dinner at the pancake place on Charlotte. SO good! Not so great service-wise, but the meal was very satisfying after a long, dreary day. We got back to my place, napped, showered up and the three of us went to The Dunda Bar. Spent a while there, then headed to the Brew House. The Dunda Bar was all right; we had fun dancing to some good non-techno music. The Brew House was great, though, because there was a live band. You would have loved them! They were playing Fuel, Third Eye Blind and some classic rock. I really enjoyed their cover of Shimmer and Blue Suede Shoes/Memphis song (not sure of its title).

Today we all slept in. I cleaned the kitchen because I couldn't fix breakfast in a filthy kitchen, and it had gotten pretty bad. So I cleaned up and made some scrambled eggs and toast with Nutella. I had some strawberries and watermelon, too. Not sure how John Pav turned the fruit down; he must be ill.

We freshened up and I took him on a stroll of Brisbane. We tanned for about 45 minutes since it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day. We strolled through the Sunday markets, walked along the river bank, went through Queen Street Mall, down through the Botanical Gardens, around QUT campus, and had dinner at a cafe in the Queen Street Mall. We've just got back, and I've got to work on a post for Creative Writing that's due tonight.

Sounds like everyone in the house is going to be going out tonight for Judith's birthday - destination: Normanby's. Drinking is scheduled to start around 7p so I'll probably hold of until 8 or 9, then we'll head out. Should be fun and not too late of a night. Tomorrow I've got lots of errands I want to run. Not sure what I'll do until John's gotta leave for his flight. We'll probably hang out and then I'll walk him to the train station. I've got some research due for German, too. Damn, almost forgot I had to do that still.

Well, you should send some photos if you can! I'd love to see them! I'll be sure to get mine posted soon. Although I'm still behind with posting the Easter Holiday ones, haha. You know me...

I love you, baby.

Love always,

Amanda

3XC1T1N6 W33K3ND !

2008-04-18T02:28:00.000-04:00

This week I made excellent progress in my goal of trying out as many coffee houses and ethnic cuisine as possible. I'm very happy to report that I tried Thai and Vietnamese dishes this week, as well as The Coffee Club and Origins chai tea (even though it's just the packets - I've become obsessed with chai tea). The Thai was very different with the coconut milk-based soup, but I did like it. I especially enjoyed the Vietnamese Crispy Beef dish; plus Inga joined me for dinner that night, and we had a great time catching up with one another.

Classes are going well. I had two oral exams in German this week, both of which I feel good about. We just finished one of Mel Gibson's first movies, Gallipoli, in my Australia Culture & Society class - I liked the movie, despite its abrupt ending. My Core Project Management class has had a change of pace lately: my team and I have been cranking out assignments (and doing well on them) but we have a two week break between now and when the next assignment is due. Also, lecture has been canceled for the next 4 weeks (we'll still have work, but it's nice to have the 2 extra hours free on Wednesdays). Which leaves Creative Writing; I love it. I am really enjoying thinking outside the box, learning how to critique peer's poetry, learning about poetry and now short story fiction. I'm working on a poem that's due this week; I'll post it sometime tomorrow. Oh yeah, in my Australia class I learned that palm trees are not native to Australia - they're imported and referred to as weeds. Found that interesting.

Another thing I've noticed about Australia is that men will jog/run in anything. Actually, Scottish people, too (Iain, hehe)! The other day Iain and I ran around Brisbane; he was sporting a collared shirt and khaki cargo shorts! At least he had tennis shoes!

I booked a hotel room for the first weekend Adam visits in May! We'll be staying at the Cavvanbah. = ) EEEE! I can't wait!!! We're both very excited!

Stumbled upon this video the other day. If you ask me it's pretty cool; I really liked the creativity of putting the sound effects to the "hand motions." The guy in the red shirt cracks me up - he's always going crazy with his eyes and tongue, haha!

John Pav arrives in Brisbane tomorrow night! I'm so excited to see his familiar face! We may or may not go out tomorrow night since his flight gets in after 11pm, but tomorrow we're going to Stradbroke Island for the day with Inga, some bar hopping that night, taking it easy or maybe some shopping on Sunday, then to Normanby's for Judith's birthday. A lot of fun stuff is in store!

I've been reading a book called Date with the Devil. It's actually three short stories in one book, all tied together with the common theme of a girl going on some sort of blind "date from hell." I really enjoyed the first story, and I'm really into the second one now - just about to finish it and start on the third. = ) Next book will be either Deer Hunting with Jesus, King Kong or (hopefully) Silence of the Lambs. We'll see how it pans out.

Next weekend the flat has a themed party planned. As per Rasmus' idea (which is kind of stolen from the American frats), each room is going to have its own theme and shot. I've laid claim on an 80s theme (fitting, huh?) and OJ & vodka shots. = ) I'm excited to make a tubular play list!

I've a couple photo albums up from Easter Holiday:
(1) Sun 23MAR - Part 1/2
(2) Sun 23MAR - Part 2/2

As for today, well, it was rough. I learned some things today that were quite upsetting. I'm not sure how to best handle some of the situations, and others I'll have to grit my teeth and bare... But, despite all of the chaos of this afternoon, Adam was there for me. I can't tell you how thankful I am for him! I love you, honey!

So Adam and I have tons of plans for after my return from Australia. Among the many is a camping trip! We're thinking of a weekend later in August, and it will probably be his crew + me. = ) Mmm - a full-fledged eggs-pancakes-sausage-bacon-toast breakfast! Puppy chow and Chex mix! Brats with the fixin's! Hamburgers, mac 'n cheese, chips - yum! Plus, Adam has mentioned the possibility of taking the boat so we could get out on the lake! His family's boat holds 10!

Mom, Dad and Sam just got back from a weekend in Pennsylvania for one of Sam's national wrestling tourneys. Sam's team took 2nd overall, up from previously best of 7th place! Individually Sam did very well with a record of 4-3 against some tough competition. I'm very proud of him! And I got to Skype with him today! It's not often that I catch him online. Any who, during the visit, Rachel and Ethan met up! I'm so bummed that I missed a chance to visit with them, but I'll be sure to correct this when I return to the US! (Side note for Sam: I painted my nails with a polish you bought me! I think of you whenever I see the gold glimmer on my nails!)

I'm losing terribly to two geniuses in my Scrabble game - who's idea was that, any way?! Hehe! Adam and Karan are killing me with their word/puzzle skills! It's quite amazing what these two can do with a few lettered tiles. In chess Adam has taken several of my pawns, but we're almost even aside from that. I'm learning lots about how to play the game. In Battleship, with Daddy, we've sunk each other's 4-length ships, and now we're working on our second ships. I had quite a few mis-hits there for a streak of turns, haha. Win or lose, it's fun all around!

Tomorrow holds a lot in store before John Pav's arrival: laundry, working on my research paper, poem and short fiction work for class, and studying some German. That, and maybe a few errands. I'm out of bread; this is unacceptable. The other day I realized that bread, eggs, cinnamon and butter were necessities for me these days. And chocolate. Can't forget chocolate. = )

-Amanda

I'm Going to Sydney!

2008-04-15T15:27:00.000-04:00

The other night everyone met up and we hashed out the flights and hostel bookings for Sydney! We're leaving on Thursday 1MAY and returning on Tuesday 6MAY. 5 nights in Sydney! I am excited! We're staying at the "Legend Has it Westend" hostel; Inga recommended it. = ) It'll be me, Sara and Maija (flat mates upstairs), Alice (flat mate downstairs) and Peter (friend of the house and fellow German student). Should be a good trip! I'm glad I don't have to go by myself like I would have if I went before classes started and before I met anyone here. Yay for Sydney! 42 P. Sherman Wallaby Way, Sydney Australia! Haha, if I see a sign that says Wallaby Way in Sydney, you can bet you'll see a photo of it on here!

My family just got back from a weekend in Pennsylvania for a national wrestling tournament for Sam. They met up with Rachel and Ethan and said Sam's team took 2nd! I can't wait to catch up with them about it all! Mom's sending photos, too!

I posted some Easter Holiday photos - I know! Finally! Here's the link to photos from Saturday, 22MAR08: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2349716&l=b31e6&id=13700420

I meant to have this in the previous post. Here's Iain and I at The Three Monkeys:

Also meant for this one to be in the previous post. I took this photo to convey the atmosphere of The Three Monkeys. Looks comfy and cozy, huh?:

-Amanda

Photos Work Again!

2008-04-13T19:29:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo! Photos are uploading again! Here are lots for your enjoyment!

Toby, myself, Inga and Iain about to leave for The Victory Thursday night:

Me and Inga at The Victory having fun:

After finding the non-live games through itsyourturn.com and not seeing Scrabble among the game choices I hit up Google to help me find one. Scrabulous.com was the answer and so Karan, Adam and I are playing! Here's the board as of 3.15p today:

And the score (please take note that I'm in the lead; pay no attention to the fact that Karan and Adam have their turns yet to go this round, tee hee!)

A fun photo Karan sent me of her, Ed, the girls, Carly, her husband and Mikey (I'm guessing Amber was playing photographer) - they just finished building Ava & June's Christmas present:

Another one Karan sent: the girls Easter Egg Hunting

This photos is from the ferry ride back to continental Australia from Fraser Island two weekends ago:

At Fraser Island we tried to get a group shot of everyone jumping in the air; here's yours truly:

We sometimes have company over for a late-night snack:

Mom sent this one; Creasy and Cali celebrating Creasy's birthday on March 21st:

Here are images of the first post card I bought while in Surfer's Paradise last weekend:

And the second post card I bought there:

Yesterday Inga, Sara and I went shopping down Boundary Street. None of us bought anything with the exception of my purchase of The Kite Runner (supposedly an amazing story) for a steal of $3! After that we laid out, came back, had some Swiss cheese and crackers over conversation about childhood stories we're told (eggs are egg-shaped so if they roll down a hill it will curve instead of go down (haha, what, Iain?), if you eat bread crust your hair will be shiny and pretty, and eating the skin of the apple is healthy for you (although the general consensus was that this is a fact). Fun convo! I sewed my bronze shoulder bag since the strap had completely fell apart, haha. I love that bag, though. It's all better now.

Today I had some breakfast and went to lay out at the Parklands with Inga. Very nice time; worked on my snail mail. I got to chat with Adam, and later I'm going on a run with Iain. Then it's more German studying for this girl (oral exams this week!).

-Amanda

Email Happiness

2008-04-12T03:56:00.000-04:00

Today I was overjoyed with two emails from two wonderful people:

Karan sent me a lovely email complete with photos of Ava, June and their new play ground. And Adam sent me such a sweet email simply saying that he loved me. Highlights of my day!

Also wanted to say that I've started reading Date with the Devil and I'm reading it like mad! It's a quick read, and I really like the style and story. I can't wait to see what happens next in the book! Oh, I love to read!

Mom, Dad and Sam are in Pennsylvania right now. Sam's wrestling in a national tourney this weekend, and they get to meet up with Rachel and Ethan! I wish I could be there! I've instructed Mom to pass on my hello and love to Rachel! I miss her so! Good luck, Sam! Knock 'em dead!

Oh, yeah! Tonight at The Three Monkeys we were talking about how the Beckham's named their children after the location they were born at. If I was named that way I'd be called Anderson. Eh, that's an okay name. But Sara - she would be Spotsylvania. Now that's a name: Spotsylvania Merganthal. How awesome is that?! = P I'm not going to attempt what Inga said her name would be as it's all Norway gibberish with a sing-song way to it, hehe. But! I did learn to count from 1-10 in Norwegian tonight! Yay for learning new languages!

-Amanda

This Week

2008-04-12T03:20:00.000-04:00

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

Going How the Wind Blows

2008-04-10T07:33:00.000-04:00

In my Creative Writing Class we were assigned to write a free verse poem.

Going How the Wind Blows

Traveling all around, never before have I braved this off beam side of passage
Accelerating obliviously, six and thirty above and beyond
Series of horizontal curves, uphill and back down, they came one after the other
Making additions to my anamnesis, intangible souvenirs
Adventure, stepping with comfort left behind, I face uncertainty
Not with me, Care is working diligently elsewhere, free from my mind
Integrating these thrills, making better the greatest present I've ever been given
And I'm winding down two roads at the very same time

The winds tangle up mane and mind
Rocking out to music that everyone knows or very soon does
At first so bothered but transforming to really know my own motto
Very uncertain of what the next four and twenty bring
Excitement builds for the slapdash scheme
Lets make a game of it, shouts of "yellow!"
Sunshine through the panes, such welcomed warmth

Then, in tutorial this week group members critiqued one another's free verse poems. Here is a critique from Patrick White (the most poetically educated of the group whereas I am the newb):

Form: Free Verse
Metre: N/A
Rhyme: N/A
Alliteration: “my mind” “welcomed warmth” “slapdash scheme” “mane and mind”
Asonance: “mind, time, behind” “motto, yellow” “uncertainty, free, obliviously”
Consonance: “beyond, mind, build, braved”
Theme: Driving, breaking law, adrenaline, carelessness, freedom.
Language: Excellent visualisation. Language invokes a stark image of freedom.
Improvements: Fewer “and, the, but etc”

Overall Patrick loved the poem! He said it dripped with freedom and adventure and all the things I wanted to convey through the words. He especially enjoyed the visuals I created through the words. He didn't, however, pick up on the TASMANIA TRAVELS part of the poem, hehe! But this was a good thing because I didn't want it to be noticed right away. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, look at the first letter of each line. Clearly the poem is about my adventure in Tasmania over Easter Holiday. Such a great trip and so many wonderful memories!

-Amanda

Back Home Fries

2008-04-08T01:15:00.001-04:00

A quick post about some loved ones back home. = )

Chucky is ecstatic about his new toy: a motorcycle (eek!)! I'm so very happy for him, but at the same time I worry like mad. He better be careful out there! Any way, over the weekend he got to know his baby on a couple rides around Anderson with our cousins Josh and Jared and one of Chucky's high school buddies, Ian - and then about 30 other bikers. I'm sure they all had a blast. I must admit that I do look forward to the ride Chucky promised me for when I return! = )

I've been chatting with one of my favorite people a lot lately: the one, the only Jordan. He's had a couple bumps lately but graduation is steadily getting closer, and he's excited about starting a new chapter of his life. He'll be working for Abbott in Chicago, and I'm excited to pay a visit sometime! In the fall he has promised to visit Purdue - I totally can't wait to go out with all the guys like the old days. Maybe I can scrounge up a camping trip for September?

Jordan also performed well at the Association of Information Technology Professional's National Collegiate Conference (aka AITP NCC). It was held in Philly this year, and from what I hear everyone really liked the area. Jordan, Jared and Tyler all did really well, winning many places for Purdue! I'm so proud of them!

Quick blurb about Adam's visit: today I booked our 5 night stay on Daydream Island in the Whitsunday Islands! Yippee! Flights and bus rides are all figured out for the entire trip, now we just gotta figure out where we're staying for the first weekend he's here (Byron Bay) and where we'll stay in Fiji. = )

-Amanda

I Learned to Surf!

2008-04-06T02:59:00.000-04:00

I just cut my bangs. On my own. Well, I did have some trusty advice from Sara (thanks!). For the most part you probably won't notice a difference in the photos, but what I did was added some thickness to the bangs and made the cut more of a rounded pyramid versus the previous cut of a from one side of my forehead to the other. They were getting too long any way. I'm happy with the (new-to-me) look.

Went to the Dunda Bar (aka the Down Under Bar) Wednesday night. It was Ladies' Night and Wet T-shirt Contest Night and Dirty Dancing Night, so, naturally, the entire flat was going. Iain and I weren't drinking that night, but we went out for an hour or so. (See link to the photos below.) It was a fun time. Inga's cousins were visiting from Sipan (not sure of the spelling, but it's some remote South Pacific island) and Goril (the girl, name is pronounced "gord-ill" - the r is a rolling r and sounds like a d - Norwegian names... hehe). Any way, Goril won the Dirty Dancing contest, haha - the photos Inga showed me! Goril was trashed by the time I got there, and she'd already left, but Matt, her husband was still around. Sara and I had to explain the true meaning behind Soulja Boy's Superman dance to Morten, hehe. Good fun, over all, though I'm not much of a Wednesday-night partier.

BIG NEWS: I learned to SURF yesterday! And I am REALLY SORE today, haha! Oh, man - it was complete fun! Inga and I trekked to QUT, a group of 20 of us bussed down to Currumbin Alley (about 30 minutes south of Surfer's Paradise in the Gold Coast). We did some safety and instruction lessons, then we were off to give it all a go. First of all let me say this: people you see surfing make it look like a piece of cake. People you see surfing for the first time make it look like that nasty dish Aunt Petunia always brings to Thanksgiving. It was really hard, fighting the waves to get in the back (behind the waves so you can ride them in), but if you can persist and just keep trying, it IS possible! Yay! I would say that I got 4 or 5 good rides yesterday. The instructor told me I was one of the best beginners there that day. Now that may not be saying much, but it was enough motivation to keep trudging into the waves and going again and again until my body was able to feel what it's like to really get up and surf. After my body felt the correct feeling of surfing, it was easy. I loved it. I don't even mind feeling so sore today, haha. Trying to put my hair in a pony tail was a challenge. I can't wait to "teach" Adam how to surf when he visits! As far as photos, I gave my camera to Zarina (the QUT trip advisor lady) who was "okay" with the camera. She stood really far away and obviously didn't figure out the zoom feature. Any way, I'm in a good number of the photos. Check 'em out!

Other new photos up: New Year's Eve & New Year's Day

Here's some randomness for ya: I was doing some homework on a bench on campus earlier this week. Some guy walked by and said hello. Then he told me about how a year ago a small bit of Fool's Gold (the movie with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConneghey (however his name is spelled)) was filmed on the QUT campus! He could have been just crazy, but I've no real reason to think he was making it up. I've not seen the film, so I don't know, but if you have seen the film and there's an older looking court-house like building, that just may be the one on the Garden's Point QUT campus!

Oh, guess what! John Pav - a guy I got to know a bit before I left for this trip and who is studying abroad down in Melbourne at Monash Uni) is visiting me in two short weekends! He booked his flight earlier today, and when he gets here I'm going to show him around Brisbane and we'll go on a trip to Stradbroke Island for a day! Yippee!

Tried some new lollies over the last week:
*Violet Crumble (Nestle's version of Cadbury's Crunchie bar)
*Bounty (a bit strange tasting version of a Mounds bar)
*Mars (I think the US has these but I'd never tried it - very tasty, just like a Snickers without the nuts - Snickers are so much better, though)

I'm about 3/4 done reading Brave New World. I'm really enjoying it! Huxley's ideas of how life would be if children were hatched instead of born (which, in this story, is a socially expelled way of life), how some people caught in the middle of both worlds (the futuristic and the "current") have to cope - I think there's more to that part of the story but I've not finished the book, so this is all I know so far. Any way, it's becoming a favorite book. Thank you to Adam for the inspiration to read it!

Iain recommended I read Deer Hunting with Jesus soon so we could discuss it. At first I was pretty set against it (weird for me since I never turn down a book), but he swayed me into interest. So I might read that book in a few reads' time. I think next I'm going to read a happy book... maybe Chocolat or Date with a Devil.

I've got quite a bit of slang for ya:
*mozzie - mosquito
*nong - idiot
*olds/oldies - parents
*petrolhead - car enthusiast
*Rafferty's Rules - having no rules
*sunnies - sunglasses
*tall poppy - a successful person rising above others (frowned upon, hence the notion to "cut down the tall poppies" so everyone is equal)
*unit - flat, condominium
*wog - illness, like the flu
*yakka - hard work
*zeds - sleep, "stack some zzz's" (z is pronounced "zed" here. likewise, h is pronounced "haytch")
*Aussie Salute - waving away annoying flies
*bathers - swimsuit
*crash hot - wonderful, the best
*Drizabone - brand of waterproof wax coating (dry-as-a-bone, Aussies smear syllables together a bit)

Well, that's enough for today. Hmm... maybe I can squeeze in another Easter Holiday post. I really should. Okay, I've talked myself into it. But first I have to study German for a bit. = )

-Amanda

What Adam's Been Up To

2008-04-06T00:41:00.000-04:00

Before I post more about my Easter Holiday, I want to post about how things are going with Adam, his family, us, and our plans for his visit!

With three exams and a presentation, last week was pretty busy for Adam. He made it through well, just as I expected, with some high scores! After the rush of midterms, this coming week shouldn't be too bad for him, class-wise.

Aside from class, he got his living arrangements for next year sorted out. He was having trouble finding something for the fall semester only since he'll be Studying Abroad in Italy next spring. He contacted the Study Abroad office, asked around for anyone who was going to be studying abroad during the fall, and guess what! He's signed a one-bedroom lease for a room in a four-bedroom apartment at College Station. He's going to live there in the fall, then a random person whom he contacted through the Study Abroad office is going to take over in the spring when Adam's in Italy. Brilliant! I'm so glad that worked out so well for Adam. Plus! College Station is pretty close to where I'll be living with Nick Peelman; just right down the road!

Adam and I have been working on our plan for when he visits. At first we were thinking something like this:

1st weekend: road trip to Uluru
2nd weekend: sail around the Whitsunday Islands
3rd weekend: Fiji

We scratched the road trip to Uluru since it's so far away, too long a drive for 2 people, and with my classes the dates were too few. Then we thought, well, let's do a road trip from Brisbane to Sydney to Adelaide and back to Brisbane. Had to scratch that because we learned that the weekend in the Whitsunday Islands was going to be pretty expensive. So here's what we're doing now:

1st weekend: Byron Bay (staying in a hotel or a cabin for 3 nights, surfing, relaxing on the beach)
2nd weekend: Whitsunday Islands, specifically looking into Daydream Island
3rd weekend: Fiji

So right now we've got our Greyhound bus trips booked to and from Byron Bay for that weekend. Got some good deals on it with the Buy One Get One Half Of promotion (yay!). Currently I'm working to find a nice hotel or cabin for the weekend. I'm most interested in a rainforest cabin resort that is a few miles out of Byron Bay. = ) I'm waiting for his feedback on a few places I looked into, so we'll see what happens.

After Adam's exams and presentations he was able to unwind with a special visit from some Indy friends, Dick and Danielle. They all went out for a good time at the Neon Cactus (oh, how I miss that place). He said he had a great time. For the weekend he went home to celebrate his grandparent's 57th anniversary! (Congratulations!!!) While home he also went out to dinner with his parents and friends Kevin and April, then to see The Rolling Stones at the IMAX.

When I got back from Easter Holiday I learned that Adam had visited my family for an Easter dinner (Mom said he loved Grandma's hors d'oeuvres and left-overs.) Any way, he said he had a great time and my family enjoyed his company over the holiday. I really wish I could have been there, but (hehe) I was in Tasmania. = P

Hearing about how he'd been spending time with my family got me to thinking about how I'm missing his family. I'm sad that I am so far away and unable to join him to family events like birthday and anniversary celebration (oh, I miss his family). So, I asked Adam to give me the latest news on what everyone's been up to. Here's the scoop:

Ed & Karan have recently finished remodeling their bedroom. I'm sure it looks wonderful, judging by the rest of their house and how awesome the decor is. Karan has also just finished her first rasterbated image. I can't wait to see it!

Amber & Mikey are doing well, keeping up with their little angels, Ava and June (who turns 3 on May 12!). Adam said that Ava has really taken to her Uncle Adam (awe!), and that Junie is starting to talk more! = )

Lauren & Wyatt recently returned from Peurta Vallarta (I bet that was a great trip!), and Jade is living it up in Chicago. So, as you can see, Adam's family is doing very well. But I miss them so!

*Sigh... 33 days until May 9th. Oh, I get giddy thinking about it! That weekend in Byron Bay I'm going to teach him (well, do my best to "teach" him, haha) to surf! = )

-Amanda

New Photos on Facebook

2008-04-05T22:29:00.000-04:00

Noosa con Inga 14-16MAR08 h
Noosa National Park 15MAR08
Scotty's, Ava's 4th, Checkers at Potbelly's

Enjoy!

-Amanda

Easter Holiday: Saturday Night Mayhem

2008-04-04T07:20:00.000-04:00

They coax me into going, and on the way to the train station I'm telling myself that everything will work out. We take the train and fly out to Hobart, arriving at 9pm.

So we land in Hobart at 9pm, take a $50 taxi ride to the city center, and head straight for the hostel that screwed us over with the glitch in the system since our 5 reserved beds were non-existent. Reception was closed by the time we arrived, so we called the night manager. He bumbled down the stairs and we explained that it's Easter weekend, Hobart is fully booked, it's 8 degrees Celsius outdoors and we have no where else to go; can you help us out? He said he had no available beds for us but that we could take the lounge for the night. YES! I bed he'd never seen folks so happy to be offered measly couches for the night! He gave us the key to the day storage, we stashed our packs and went on a hunt for some grub.

We wandered around, finding a pizza join. The pizza was pretty good, and we randomly bumped into Soyoung and Ivan! Turns out they, too, were spending their holiday in Tassie! (I'd met each of them a couple times previously, our flat mates all tend to meet up when we go out as a big group.) We hit a couple Hobart pubs together, finding one that had a really great live band who covered a lot of Green Day! I ordered up a White Russian! (Yay for the place having milk, as opposed to the last place I tried ordering a WR.) Good: the drink was one of the best I'd ever had. Bad: it cost me a whopping $12.50. Oh, well.

I ended up turning in early, leaving with Soyoung and Ivan since they'd had a long day; this meant that I got first dibs on the lounge, hehe! I chose a couch next to the TV, despite its noise; the couch I chose appeared to be relatively new. I read, post-carded, did some journaling, popped my ear plugs in and got what sleep I could. No, it wasn't great, but it sure beat sleeping on the streets of Hobart in 8 degree weather. By the way, Tasmania's weather is crazy: 34 degrees through the day, then the Arctic winds come up and drop the temperature to the likes of 8 degrees (this is all in Celsius). Kind of like an extreme version of Indiana?

So we got into Hobart, managed for the night and had no real plans for the rest of the trip, aside from hiring our car Sunday afternoon. This was all very chaotic for me, haha - you should have seen me Saturday before we caught the train. I was a wreck. Any way, I came to terms with what it really means to "wing it." And this was all very good for a person like me, because I'm the type who has everything so planned out, down to when I'm going to brush my teeth kinda thing, haha. I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea. Any way, the lack of planning ended up being good for me. I'm happy I faced the fear of not knowing where I'm going to stay at night, not knowing where I'm going day-to-day, and just going with the flow. Funny, "go with the flow" has been a personal motto. I guess I got out of vibe with it lately. Glad to see I'm back in touch with the phrase on a very deep level, haha.

That's the Easter Holiday installment for today. Up next: Sunday's Adventures!

New photos up: Misc.

Facebook Videos Up:
*The Chicken Dance
*Tamara the Killer Kangaroo
*A Home Among the Gum Trees

-Amanda

Count Downs

2008-04-03T12:01:00.001-04:00

Today marks my having only 100 days left in Australia. I am becoming mopey about having to leave Australia already (so is Inga). And at the same time, I am excited to see friends and family again upon my return to the USA.

Today also marks me and Adam having only to endure 35 more days before he visits here in Australia! I can't begin to explain my sheer happiness and excitement to see him!

My First Sonnet: Father's Coin

2008-04-03T10:56:00.000-04:00

Father's Coin

The day I left he gave to me a coin.
So priceless, old and dull, my memories.
To keep it near, he bid to me. To join
Me on my journey. Silver, salt in breeze.

The token his before now mine, at ease
I am to think of it. He held back tears
And tucked the coin. There were no extra fees.
In this fine moment I could see its years.

The tarnished silver chip of metal, Nears
Another journey to be had. It gave
My father things a many, he still steers
Me distantly. Again it rides a wave.

Now gazing patiently in palm it lies.
My trip begins at home and ends with skies.

Easter Holiday: The [Final] Plan[s]

2008-04-02T18:55:00.000-04:00

This is the first entry of several posts on my Easter Holiday in Australia. The title is very descriptive, isn't it? Final? Plans, plural? What?

Originally, just after Adam and I had scratched the road trip plans to Uluru (too far away and not enough time to make the trip worth while), Inga and I decided we'd go together. A week away from Easter Holiday, and the flights monopolized, we couldn't really afford the trip. So the next plan was to hang around Brisbane and do things locally (i.e., Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the Lookout, Roma Street Parklands, etc.). Okay, so that will do; save some money, take it easy... Friday night myself, Inga, Neil, Iain and Rudy decide to make a 5 day trip to Tasmania - haha!

You should have seen me - I was freaking out! Thoughts going through my head: where are we going to stay? Hostels will be booked. The whole of Hobart (Tasmania's capital) will be booked as it's Easter weekend. When are we going to buy food? Everything's shut down this weekend! How are we going to get around? How much are flights? What was that noise? Shoot! The wind blew my door shut and I'd left the bolt thrown so now, in this crazy state of mind, I am locked out of my room, and the landlords aren't available until Monday. But no worries, Tom had a hanger-on-a-stick-device designed to snatch room-key-rings through the window. So I climb out on to the shelf around the second floor, and I hook my key with this hanger, haha - Inga has the photos.

So I've regained access to my room, thank God, and now we're all back to figuring things out for this Tasmania trip. We get a good deal on flights (departing Brisbane Saturday) and book them. Next we book a hostel for Saturday night. Okay, so we have our flights and our beds for the first night. Okay, I'm warming up to the idea of going on this trip.

Saturday we spend all afternoon packing. We have to leave the house at 3 to get to the airport in time to catch our plain. No problem. Then Iain informs us that our hostel's booking was actually a glitch in the system because the hostel is actually booked and we have no where to stay. WTF, mate?! Status: non-refundable flights booked, 5 nights of no planned accommodation, me about to pull my hair out of my head, Inga and Rudy still gung-ho about going.

They coax me into going, and on the way to the train station I'm telling myself that everything will work out. We take the train and fly out to Hobart, arriving at 9pm.

And now I'm going to increase the suspense by making you check back again soon for the next Easter Holiday entry to see what happened next! Muahaha!

-Amanda

PS - Another Facebook photo album: River Cruise 19FEB08

Photos & st00f

2008-04-02T09:10:00.000-04:00

Ah, back into the groove. Went on a 45 minute run yesterday. It was pretty bad since I snacked on some gummies while I laid out before the run, but I'm very happy I ran. Felt sick afterwards, and Inga wasn't feeling well either so we laid on my bed and chatted a bit. It was a nice discussion.

Today has been very good. Got a lot of rest last night, up at 8, breakfast with some great OJ, chatted with Adam = ) and headed to class. We watched a movie today and class let out early. I've just grabbed lunch from Subway (forgot to pack my PBJ), and here I am!

Some photo links:

-Adam's Ultimate Frisbee photos (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2344834&l=c54e3&id=13700420)
-Baugher Christmas 2007 Party (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2344842&l=bb418&id=13700420)
-Bennett Christmas 2007 Party (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2345056&l=6f4ff&id=13700420)
-Norsk Pub Crawl & The Fox (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2345205&l=f43c0&id=13700420)
-International Student Pub Crawl (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2345185&l=0e9b3&id=13700420)

Some differences between the USA and Australia that I noticed over Easter Holiday:

-backpacker accommodation is much better in Australia than in the USA
-Jetstar (a local Australian flight servicer) has no complimentary drinks
-Tasmania has heaters in the hostel rooms and Queensland has fans
-pay phones are all over the place
-round abouts are abundant
-Tasmania hot water turns are on the right side of the sinks

I've tried some new lollies:
-Maltesers (like Whoppers but with a lining of caramel, I think?)
-Pantheon Nougot (there was a small bar of this in the Valentine's pack from home, but they make them in big bars, too)

So what am I up to this week? Well, tomorrow I'll be on Kelvin Grove most of the day. I'll probably be low key or go for a run (depending on if I manage a run in the morning or not?). Friday I'm planning on laying out and enjoying the day. Might run errands if they pop up between now and Friday (hopefully not). Saturday I'm going to the Gold Coast and LEARNING TO SURF!!! I can't wait! Inga is going, and maybe Rudy, too! Also, some girls I met at Fraser Island are going on the trip to surf, too: Amy and Sammi.

Oh! There are some new videos up on Facebook. They are from Fraser Island. Darn, just learned that I can't share Facebook videos like I can the photos. If you're on Facebook be sure to check out the videos. If you're not on Facebook, make it so and then add me as a friend! = )

-Amanda

Relatively Recent Random Recollections

2008-04-01T02:06:00.001-04:00

This post is just exactly what its title says: random thoughts from relatively recent times.

I wanted to share with you all that I am really excited about going to Fiji! Of course my main excitement is because I will be spending the weekend there with Adam. Another source of excitement is that my Grandpa Baugher served in Fiji during WWII. I love to think of him singing his Fiji song and telling me stories about watching movies in Fiji and seeing the Fiji men sneaking around to watch the movie, too. I just wanted to share that bit with you guys. I love my Grandpa, I'm proud of him, and I'm excited to visit somewhere he once was.

I've been trying all sorts of new candies! Some Australian and some Norwegian! Tonight Inga shared Non-Stops with me - they are basically M&Ms that look like Sprees. Very tasty as it's chocolate. = ) Australian lollies: Curly-Wurly, Kit-Kat Cookie Dough and Picnic. All quite yummy!

I've not forgotten to post about some Aussie slang!
*face fungus = beard and/or mustache
*Gabba - QLD Cricket ground at Woolloongabba
*half your luck = congratulations
*icypole = frozen lolly
*stiff shit = tough shit (haha, Inga got a kick out of that one when Tamara (more on her in an up-coming post about Fraser Island) used the phrase)
*jaffa - orange-flavoured choclage ball
*kark It - die
*lippie - lipstick

I finally got a phone! I'm an Optus member using the cheapest, most basic phone ever. It's a pre-paid plan, so that's a bit different. It was nice being phone-free, but it's also nice to have a form of communication with loved ones back home if any emergency was to arise and they needed to get in touch with me quickly.

Sam's girlfriend had her 15th birthday about 2 weeks ago (I found out late) but want to wish her a Happy Belated Birthday! Sam, tell her to expect a birthday card and small gift in about a week and a half. = )

I got two letters today! One from my dear Kristin and one from my Momma! Each brought so much happiness! Speaking of packages, I got an Easter package from home the day before I left for my Easter Holiday! There were "swee-eez" (<--- that's how the Scottish say candies, haha) and a card and a little stuffed bunny who sits upon my bookshelf! I loved it! Thank you so much everyone!

Having such an awful diet on the Noosa trip inspired me to devise a workout plan. I went through one of my Women's Health magazines and took some notes on recommendations of what exercises to engage in and how often/week to do them. I created a little monthly map of what to do and plan to put it into effect starting Sunday. This week is going to be the warm-up week to ease me into the plan. Watch out Mom and Adam, I'm back in business for that Nike+ Challenge!

I bought a new book recently: Chocolat. Iain told me about this gem of a second-hand bookstore down Charlotte Street - such a wonderful little shop! Millions of books - old and new about EVERYTHING! I spent an hour there and left with a single book, haha. I'm excited to read it, though, and then watch the movie.

So this week it's back to school. Today I finished unpacking from Easter Holidays, chatted with Adam (always the best part of my day!), reworked the plan for when Adam visits, did the email and Facebook thing, grabbed much-needed groceries and went to German lecture. I also began organizing my photos from break. I've got round about 850 photos. I know. "Good Lord, that's ridiculous" is the correct response, haha. I won't be able to upload all of them to Facebook even (well, maybe? but it would take me ages), but I'll sure to get the good ones up at least - there will be plenty, don't worry.

For now I'm going to get some stuff done around the room, read and get to bed. I love you all and miss you all! Let me know how things are back home! It's always so pleasant to hear from you guys!

-Amanda

To Noosa Con Inga

2008-04-01T02:06:00.000-04:00

Oh, I hate it when this happens. This post is about my trip to Noosa with Inga from the 14th of March - ages ago. My apologies for falling behind a bit with my blog. Also, no photos in this post because I can't upload at my house. But it's okay! I've posted the Noosa photos and many others to Facebook! Here are the links:

South Bank http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2339742&l=326a5&id=13700420

Chucky's BDay http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2339762&l=a30ee&id=13700420

Lily http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2339792&l=73337&id=13700420

Random in Australia http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2339810&l=20158&id=13700420

Sam's Wrestling http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2340148&l=7e56e&id=13700420

Surfer's Hard Rock & Cheers http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2340214&l=8e45e&id=13700420

Surfer's Club Hopping http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2340203&l=653eb&id=13700420

Surfers Beach http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2340238&l=51aad&id=13700420

Maroochydore YHA and trip to

So for the trip to Noosa Inga and I left on Friday, and, because Noosa was totally booked, we stayed at the Maroochydore YHA, a favorite hostel of mine. That night we hung out at the pool, had some great discussions about life, love and everything in between. Inga shared some Norwegian "Sour Patch Kids" with me; they're called Laban Sure Skrikerunger. No idea about pronunciation, but she helped me with the spelling. = ) They're really good - just like Sour Patch Kids (which I added to the list of things I am requesting Adam bring over when he visits, haha), but they're gummier.

Our hostel room was shared with some German girls. I had some reviewing to do so Inga randomly picked phrases from my German-English dictionary and I worked them out. One of the Germans jumped in and taught me a few things and helped me out. It was fun. Inga was obliged to share the only German phrase she knows with the girl who laughed quite a bit. The phrase Inga knows is "I have sauerkraut in my leather pants." Haha, she is a goof.

There was also a Danish girl in our room. She was working and traveling and about to leave for the US. She quizzed me about what fun stuff there is to do in the US, and I helped her out. Inga helped, too, as she's spent a year more than I on the West Coast. Learning about and telling about fun stuff to do here and there is a fun aspect of staying in hostels. You meet all sorts of people and it's so interesting to see how you change them and how they change you just after knowing them a night or two and probably never seeing them again.

Saturday Inga and I tried walking to the Sunshine Plaza but an oncoming bus driver pegged us as totally lost (which we were) and let us hop on for a two-stop ride to the plaza. Of course "we had our tickets." = ) At the plaza Inga and I indulged in some smoothies. She always gets a banana one (I got to try it - very yummy) and I opted for a berry blend. We looked at a leather purse shop and I almost lost my handheld camera, haha. Luckily some kind person turned it into the Police Beat for me (thank you whoever you are!). We were waiting for our bus to the Noosa National Park but had some time to kill so we smelled all sorts of perfumes. There were several I liked, but I think my favorites were Jennifer Lopez's Deseo and Estee Lauder's Pleasure's Intense. Other top scents of all the ones we tried are Salvator Ferraguamo: Incanto Shine, Incanto Charm, Incanto Dream, Versace Medusa, Gwen Stefani's LAMB, Miracle So Magic!, Euphoria Blossom, Kate Moss' Kate, Kylie Minogue's Darling. So ladies, if you wear any of those, I say you have a great sense of perfumes!

So we finally caught our bus to Noosa. We walked along the path to the park and saw this gorgeous beach; of course we stopped for a couple hours, haha. It was so nice - Inga loved the waves and my polka dot bathing suit top strap decided to break, haha! After the pit stop at the beach we go to the park. We went on a nature walk and enjoyed the Australian woods. We saw a koala, a little lizard and a really cool spider. It was very nice. I was hoping our path would take us along the ocean, but we were on another side of the park, I guess. We also were cramped for time since dusk is around 6pm here, and we didn't want to get caught in the woods when it became dark.

So we headed back, caught the bus back to Maroochydore and hung out at the hostel. Oh, on a side note, my diet this weekend was absolutely wretched, haha! I don't recall ever eating so poorly in my life! Started the trip with donuts, chocolate at every opportunity, Whopper with fries, cream & shortbread cookies, ice cream, smoothies, more chocolate, crinkle chips, lime and black pepper chips (so good, though!), cheeseburger and milkshake, pizza! Horrid! The only positive items in the diet were 3 apples over the course of the weekend, haha.

Sunday we checked out of the hostel and went to Mooloolaba for the afternoon. I bought a nice, purple bikini since polka dot had to be trashed. The new one is an $90 suit that was on sale for $40! Poifect! And I love it! Any way, Mooloolaba was nice (especially since it was sunny this time). Too soon we had to head back to Maroochydore to catch our Greyhound back to Brisbane. We got back with some time to spare so we had dinner at Hungry Jack's, right across from the bus stop. We decided to head to the bus stop at 4.10. The bus was late and we decided to check our tickets - go figure we'd missed the last bus to Brisbane! Whoops! So we trekked back to the Maroochydore YHA, haha, and booked one more night. Same room, same girls, haha! We picked up some drinks and chips and had another evening of fun. We chatted and made the best of the rotten situation. We got another bus ticket booked and left Sunday morning. = )

On the way back to Brisbane I finished Picnic at Hanging Rock. It's also a film that Michael (my Study Abroad advisor) recommended I watch sometime. It's an Australian film based in Melbourne. I saw the book at the library one day and decided to read it before I saw the film. I also read reviews about it before I started the book. The reviews gave me a bad taste in my mouth about the book since they were saying the film was so much better and that the book was really slow and had an awful ending. The plot is that a group of school girls go on a picnic at Hanging Rock, but some of them are doomed to never return or be found. It's actually a true story of the events that took place in 1900. After finishing the book I realized I really did like it after all, even with having read the negative reviews. The way the author depicts the nature, and explains the horrors of the tragedy is really done well. I wouldn't recommend reading the book unless you want to get into some Australian literature, but it was still a good book, nonetheless.

I'm currently reading Brave New World. Started it while in Tasmania. I'm off to a slow start due to Easter Holiday, but I plan to get into it tomorrow when I lay out. Adam has three favorite novels: Dan Brown's Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code, and Brave New World. I'd already read Dan Brown's books (A&D is an all-time favorite), but I'd not read the latter. I am excited to get into the book more since it's one of Adam's favorite books. = ) I think reading people's favorite books is a great way to get to know them a little more. So far I'm really enjoying the world Huxley imagined.

The week before Easter Break I ran and began eating right again. I logged 3.5 miles before leaving for Easter Break to find that I am very behind now, a week later, haha! Mom and Adam are WAY ahead of me but I'm really happy for all the miles they've logged! Way to go, guys! = ) I had my first Assessment at QUT: German. I got the score back today, and I did very well! I even got a sticker to say so, haha! I'm really proud of myself for tackling another language! It's challenging but fun, too! Sunday I had to post a closed form poem for my Creative Writing course. I wrote a sonnet about the coin my Daddy gave me the day I left on this trip. I'm certainly no poet, but I do enjoy writing and am loving the course.

Random: in V Block (aka the Library on campus) there are 3 Salvador Dali paintings. One is Landscape with Butterflies, another is Clock, and the last is painting of things that compose a face but I couldn't find it via Google. Any way, really great painter and I know Adam likes Dali, so I wanted to share. = )

Okay, that's the post for now. There's another one coming after this!

To Fraser Island!

2008-03-27T16:34:00.000-04:00

Short and sweet update: Tasmania was amazing! I'm really glad I went! Lots of awesome photos and stories to come after I return from Fraser Island, which I am leaving for in just a few moments! I love you all and miss you very much!

-Amanda

Easter Break Destinations: Tasmania & Fraser Island

2008-03-21T22:21:00.000-04:00

Hokay - I know I'm a week behind in posting about my adventures (I'm working on it but photos are proving to be quite an obstacle).

I just wanted to post that I am leaving for Tasmania today! Me and 4 of my flatmates are going there until Thursday, then Friday morning we're taking a weekend trip to Fraser Island! I'm excited about it all!

Since I'm the only one of us with a valid driving license and over 21-years-old, I will be the one hiring and driving in Tasmania! I'm a bit nervous but I think I'll figure it out, driving on the other side of the road, haha! Fun stuff!

Oh, I've uploaded tons of photos to Facebook. Some stuff from Australia and some from before I left. Check it out - links coming soon for those not on Facebook.

Love you guys!

Flight to FIJI!

2008-03-13T07:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a good day. Happiest moment: purchasing my flight ticket to FIJI!!! The ticket will be ready for pick up early next week! Oh, I can't wait for Adam to visit! I just can't even tell you how excited I am about it!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <-- me

I tried a new coffee house: Merlo; the QUT Garden's Point campus coffee house. It's got an okay atmosphere; nothing like Vienna (oh, I miss that quaint little shop). Merlo's got paninis which are, again, okay, and they have hot chocolate with marshmallows. It was just slightly above what I would consider mediocre. I learned how to play a new card came. It has a horrible name (shit head - you know a guy dubbed it), but, all the same, it's quite fun. The guys in my Core Project Management - aka CPM because that's so much easier to type - group taught me how to play. The highlight of the day, second to chatting with Adam, was when the fire alarm went off during the last hour of German class. Normally I wouldn't consider that a highlight but after 4 classes strewn across 10 hours I was ready to go home. So class letting out half an hour early was nice.

Today, after my CPM tutorial (aka tute) I took the shuttle bus to Kelvin Grove for my first Creative Writing lecture! I'm such a dork for looking forward to lecture, haha! The instructor is great! He has a wonderful sense of humor - it's just right and works in well with the subject. He's responsive and challenges our minds. I really like him! In today's class he opened up the hour with a couple raps - yes, raps. We listened to Kris Kros' "Jump," haha, I know! And watched the video to Kanye West's "Touch the Sky." Certainly a classic of my generation, "Jump" isn't much of a song lyrically if you ask me, although we were able to apply it to poetry. I really liked "Touch the Sky!" Kanye West is very talented in my opinion, despite his songs typically having strong political themes. Any way, the point of the rap songs was for us to see that rap is a modern take/application of poetry; in other words, rap is poetry to modern music. Pretty cool. There are more aspects that we covered with regards to rap and poetry, but that was the gist of it. The rest of lecture was well enjoyed and I'm excited for next week's class already!

Since I only just added my Creative Writing course at the end of last week, I had some catching up to do. My first assignment was to write my own "ars poetica." An ars poetica is any sort of response to the question "what is poetry?" Here are my thoughts:

Poetry is beautiful. It's beauty lies in entirely in the eyes of the beholder. It is deep and meaningful, yet light and concise. Poetry is expressive and thought through, yet conjured abruptly. Poetry is defining; shaping. It is literary history, marking eras through its words.

The ars poetica is designed to help us gauge how far we've come as creative writers when we look back on our response later in the semester. Even after just one day of lesson I've revised my ars poetica in my mind.

After lecture I decided to tan, read and study. On the way to my unknown tanning location I noticed that the Kelvin Grove campus seems to have housing options close-by for students so they don't have to commute like everyone does at Garden's Point. Their dorms are pretty modern-looking:

Just down the Victoria Park Road was a golf course named Victoria Park (I know, how fitting!). Across the greens was a nice, quiet little lawn in a bit of a valley. I decided it worthy as a tanning location and dubbed it The Greens Valley. Here is my happy self settling down for a couple hours of sunbathing and studying/reading:

Speaking of reading, I finished Wicked. Great book - I absolutely loved Maguire's ingenuity to entwine the Wicked Witch of the West's story with Baum's well-known tale of Dorothy's adventure in Oz. It was a great book and I look forward to opportunity of seeing the musical. So now I've started reading Picnic at Hanging Rock. I'm not sure about this book. There was a movie based off it, and it had great reviews. Before I left the US for this trip it had been recommended to me that I watch the film to give me a taste of Australia culture. I didn't have the chance to watch the movie so when I was in the library and saw the novel I decided to read it. Well, on Facebook's Books iRead application the novel didn't have such hot reviews. In fact they were quite disappointing. But! I'm going to give the book a go any way. Because maybe I'll have a different take on the story, and maybe I'll just happen to like it. Who knows?!

I had my Creative Writing tute at 4.30p. I'm not decided on what I think of the tute leader. She's a bit too energetic in that I'm kind of overwhelmed. Enthusiasm is good, but too much energy is too much, I guess? Any way, she's nice but kind of snappy, too. I dunno - just not sure what to make of her yet. Aside from her, she does know her stuff mostly (and I say mostly because I lost count of how many vocabulary words she couldn't think of - not impressive, lady). But, like I said, she knows her stuff - when it comes to analyzing poetry. I really enjoyed the poems we went through. We went through a sonnet written by Seamus Heaney; he was one of the translators of Beowulf - the first old-English poem). The piece of Heaney that we went through was called "Sonnet IV," and here is my favorite bit:

[...] small ripples shook
Silently across our drinking water
(as they are shaking now across my heart)
And vanished into where they seemed to start.

After tute and on the way to the shuttle bus back to Garden's Point I saw the moon shining brightly at me through the buildings. I decided to take a photo of our friendly, stellar pearl. I tried and tried to upload the photo but it refused to work. = /

On the way home from being dropped off at Garden's Point I picked up my copy of Mx. Top News According to Amanda: there will be 8 Harry Potter films because they've decided to split the 7th book into 2 movies. Cool - can't wait to see the 6th film, haha.

Tomorrow Inga and I are heading off to Noosa until Sunday evening. We're gone!

My March 9th Week

2008-03-08T10:18:00.000-05:00

Sunday I had planned to go outside to tan and study at the Parklands. Weather decided against me and pulled a little number: it was bright, sunny with some clouds. The problem was that those few clouds were rain clouds, so even though it was sunny, it was rainy, too. So, I stayed inside and was pretty darn productive any way, minus the tanning part. Oh, well. It was still a nice day; nothing too exciting, though.

Monday was nice. Got up and chatted with Adam for a bit - highlight of the day! Afterwards I rolled out of the apartment and got some books from the Brisbane Square Library so I could start research on my Australian Society & Culture paper. I'm working to get it done and out of the way. My paper will be on the culture differences and similarities of the various Australian capitals. Should be interesting stuff.

After the library I checked out a nice little coffee shop called Shingle Inn. I had some salad, a chicken chili mango sandwich (really good stuff), and a butterfly dessert cupcake thing. I enjoyed the cafe. Here is the old-English sign:

The comfy inside portion of the cafe:

The outdoor portion of the cafe:

Next I did some hunting for some unique Australian wine charms as a souvenir for my Grandma. I'm having a tough time tracking some down as they are items specific to Christmastime around here. = / I've got my eyes open just in case, and I'm looking online, too. = )

After that I replaced my broken head phones. They were good while they lasted. Now I have some really great Phillips ones. Eh, they're still basic and not that fancy, but they get the job done. I can't survive without my iPod.

And then it was time for German lecture. Afterwards I studied and reviewed notes for class, painted my nails (they look fabulous), had some Cadbury peppermint ice cream and chocolates!

Guess what, everyone! I have a new second cousin! Lillian Kate was born into the lovely Brady Travis family! She weighed in at 7lbs-12 oz.H ere are a couple of photos my momma sent me!

Here's my momma and Baby Lillian:

My cousin Brady and his new baby girl!

Tuesday I was able to get some good sun. I'm finally getting some bronze tones! Yay! Studied and read while I was out inthe sun, came back and showered, then it was time to go! Sara, Inga and I dined at the authentic Indian Punjabi Palace - GREAT food! It was my first time having Indian cuisine and I really liked it - especially the Naan bread! Mmm!

The Phanton of the Opera show was great! The music was "phant-astic!" Haha! And the performance was spectacular! I'm not sure who the company was, but they were splendid! I recommend this musical! Photos!

Don't we look beautiful, all pertied up for the dinner and musical tonight:

Here we are during intermission - we're so excited and are just loving the show!

Today is covered in classes. That's all I have to say about it, haha. Again, the highlight of the day has been chatting with Adam. He always brightens my days! Later today I'm hoping to catch the madre and padre. = )

Tomorrow I have my Core Project Management tutorial (eh), then I got to Kelvin Grove (another QUT campus) for my first lecture and tutorial of my Creative Writing class. I'm excited!

Friday Inga and Sara (maybe?) and I are going to Noosa for the weekend. We're going to check out the Noosa National Park and hit the beaches in the area! I'm excited for some good hiking and some great photography!

Sunday we'll return, wind down and get ready for another week in Brissi!

Sam was featured as the Co-Wrestler of the Year! I'm so proud of him! Here's a link to the photo: Click here!

Here are a couple of photos of the inter-building walkways around the QUT Garden's Point campus:

And now for some Aussie slang:
*till = point of sale/cash register station
*dockette = receipt

Okay, folks! I gotta get to class! Cheers!

-Amanda

Sunny Days, Norsk Pub Crawl, First Barbie

2008-03-08T04:17:00.000-05:00

Photos are up in this entry now! = )

Hello, hello! Biggest & bestest news first: ADAM has his flight ticket to visit me in May!!! I simply cannot express my excitement for May 9th to come around! Adam will be here in Brisbane from Friday, May 9 until Friday, May 23. On the 23rd we're both flying to Fiji; there until Tuesday, May 27th, then I fly back to Brissie and he to the US. An exciting itinerary is in the works: Wicked Campers trip to Uluru (click here), Whitsunday Islands sail
boating (click here), and then Nadi, Fiji (click here)!!! Oh, I get so giddy thinking about it all! I just can't wait to see him!

This week I've been going about uni (university aka school) and working on my tan. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Friday I made it to the South Street Parklands - a nice grassy area for sunbathers, near the man-made beach. This is the view of one spot where I like to lay out:

I love it! I pack up a snack, my ipod and novel, and some study materials and have a very nice, warm, sunny afternoon. I'm planning to go again tomorrow. Sunday I might go up to Noosa heads to hit up the National Park there - last time I tried I was rained out. I'd like to get some good photography of the park and some hiking in! I'm lagging in the exercise area (eek!).

Through the week a lot has gone on: met up with Inga for lunch at a pizza cafe. We had some really great smoothies, too! After class on Thursday I browsed Elizabeth Street: got my 18+ card so I don't have to have my Passport to get into night clubs and such, checked out an Australian Borders (they didn't have Brave New World by Aldous Huxley), checked out a Christian bookstore (kind of foreign to me in that there was a lot of Catholic stuff sold there - just different style of Christian bookstore to me, I guess), checked out an American bookstore (bought a German/English dictionary and The Great Gatsby (ONLY $5!). I'm obsessed with books, I tell you! I bought Bridget Jones's Diary the other day, and got 3 for $15 (quite a steal) at a bargain book store (The Hades Factor, Red Dragon, and a Mary HIggins Clark mystery). I also browsed a chic boutique that sold fisherman's pants - I'm going back with Inga sometime soon - I'll post more on fisherman's pants later, haha!

The Norsk Pub Crawl was a lot of fun! Iain, Richard and I met up with the crawlers around 11p; we were out until 2a. So, not a crazy 8 hours of partying for me like some of the flatmates! Some folks started pre-gaming at 5p and kicked until 4a! Insane! Any way, we met up at The Beach House, mosied over to The Brewhouse (my favorite stop of the night), then capped things off briefly at The Down Under Bar (aka the "Dunda Bar").

Me, Inga, Rudy & Neil at The Beach House:

They forced me to wear that hat, haha. Once they all got drunk enough I was able to "leave it somewhere by accident," haha!

Me & Rudy

This is the week of the summer babies; the March born flatmates! Inga turned 22 on Tuesday, Sara 21 on Thursday, Rudy 22 on Friday and Tom turns 22 on Sunday! Crazy partying for those folks, haha! I got Inga a card, some chocolate and a really cool bookmark in the shape of an "I" for Inga, since we share a love of reading. That evening everyone went out to The Fox to celebrate Inga's 22nd.

Alice, Sara & I

The group

Inga & James Boag (haha, I love this photo!)

Me & the Birthday Girl!

Toby, Sara & I

It happened! We had a barbie tonight (well, Friday night) in celebration of all the birthdays. It was my first Aussie barbie ever!

Views of the barbie folks from the upstairs balcony

Sara & I

Me about to try kangaroo meat! It was really good!

Here's me at the BARBIE!

Tom wanted in the picture so we had to take another one, haha!

Inga, Toby, Judith & I having a great time!

Random bit: Aussies advertise in a few different ways than what the US does. For example, they have people ride around the streets of Brissie on motorbikes with little trailer-hitched ads. Thought it was interesting:

I've been adding to my wall's photo collection. I printed off a bunch of photos of group fun I've had with the flatmates. I'm planning to fill an entire wall with photos, haha!

Here are my cards from the Going Away Party along with an Andy Warhol/GOMA poster/calendar that I thought was neato:

]

Classes are going well. Two weeks down, eleven to go. German is proving to be quite a handful. I'm sure it's beneficial that I've been working with it a little every day. Australian Society & Culture is a lot of fun - a great way to learn about Australia. Core Project Management is pretty basic; it kind of shocked me how easy it will be. I think I'll have to teach myself how to use MS Project since I don't think it's a requirement that we learn in this course here at QUT. Any way, I like my group and I think it'll be a fun project. I had to add one course here in order to remain a full-time student back at Purdue (I was ONE itty bitty credit short, haha, go figure!). So I looked into both a photo-media course and a creative writing course. I ended up adding the latter - I enjoy both photography and writing but I feel like with the rest of my class load and the way the schedules would have worked out - the creative writing worked best for me. Updated schedule:

Okay, Aussie slang time!
-dead horse = sauce
-earbash = non-stop chatter
-fair dinkum = good, honest, truthful
-similar terms: ankle-biter, bail out, betcha, bozo, cabbie, chuck something, cop out, couch potato, croc, crook (also means ill/sick), cuppa (tea), deadbeat

In other Australian news: A teenage girl has delivered triplets. Again. "A 16-year-old Argentine girl has given birth to a second set of female triplets. The girl, named only as Pamela, had her first triplets at age 15, after having a son at 14. Authorities donated a house when the first triplets were born. The case has sparked national debate about making contraception advice more effective." Yeah, I know: wow.

Last thing: another photo album is up! Power boxes: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2332609&l=25ba8&id=13700420

Ah - I lied - last thing: tonight (Saturday night, technically) I taught most of the flat mates how to play MAFIA! It was a big hit and tons of fun! Turns out Iain has a knack for narrating, haha! Inga and I rocked as the mobsters during out last game, hehe! Rasmus was just like Uncle David when he said "You want to kill me? I'm just a towns person. I work from 9-4 every day and this is what I get in return?" Haha! "The pilla of the communi-tee!" It was a lot of fun!

News of loved ones back home: Adam and his team won their Ultimate Frisbee game last night! I'm so happy for them! Great job, baby! Chucky is off to Colorado for a Habitat for Humanity project! Have a blast, Chuggy!

Okay, gotsta get some rest! I have a full day of tanning and studying ahead of me, hehe! Check back for the rest of the photos soon!

-Amanda

New Photo Album Up

2008-03-05T01:19:00.000-05:00

Post entry coming soon! Tonight or tomorrow! For now, here are some photos for you to see:

Maroochydore & Miscellaneous: http://purdue.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2332082&l=dfbfa&id=13700420

Mooloolaba & Inga's 22nd Birthday: http://purdue.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2332085&l=368be&id=13700420

-Amanda

The Guild, Byrdee's & Other St00f

2008-02-29T04:26:00.000-05:00

Last night was the International Student Welcome party at QUT. The night started out at the Student Guild bar on campus - pretty cool place: lots of pool tables, dancing floor (though no one used it), bar, nearby places to eat, seating areas - nice fun college atmosphere. There was a DJ; he was okay but kept mixing the songs to the next one too soon, if you ask me.

We played pool for a while. Pool here is a little different from pool back home; for instance, the balls are smaller here, and there are lines marking areas on the table here. Any way, I gave it my best shot and quickly learned that I prefer pool back home, haha, because I only made one ball go in the pocket through an entire game. It was a lot of fun, though! Here's me lining up a shot that I'm sure I missed:

Neil, Inga and I posing for a photo in-between our turns:

We decided to take some group shots. In this one it's Richard, Rudy, Inga, Neil, yours truly and Ian:

Another group shot. This one is of Patrick screaming about something, haha, Rasmus, Mijah (pronounced Mya - I was spelling it wrong before), Neil leaning over, then Thomas and I huddling below everyone:

Around 10 there was a bus from the Guild Bar to Byrdee's (a cool bar/club in Fortitude Valley - the bar/club strip area of Brisbane). The bus ride was a lot of fun! Here's a shot of a bunch of people clambering over seats to get in the photo, haha! Rasmus is leaning over Judith; Neil is standing behind me, Ian is by Neil in the back, Richard is right next to Inga:

Me and Inga took some photos together (she was SO happy last night!):

At the Guild Bar folks were giving away Wicked Camper's temporary tattoos, haha. (Wicked Campers is a company that rents vans to tour around Australia or wherever - they have beds and kitchenettes built into them. I'm thinking about checking them out for a potential trip with Adam.) So everyone had these WC tattoos plastered on them, haha! Here's all the ladies of the house with our tats (Judith, girl from Florida but forgive me because I can't recall her name?, Mijah, me, and Inga down in front):

Lastly, yet another group shot we took once we got our drinks at Byrdee's. Rudy, Inga, me, Judith, Mijah and Richard in the front:

It was a fun night. Not a bad deal for a $15 ticket; the ticket got us dinner at Tinpantini Time, 2 free drinks at the Guild Bar (I used one and gave the other to Ian, but everyone was fighting over it, haha), transportation to Byrdee's, and free entry to Byrdee's. Of course the company was great, so we all had a great time!

In random news: I quickly noticed that a good number of Australian women wear these things called sockettes with their Mary Jane/baby doll shoes. I have a black pair of Mary Jane flats and decided to invest in some fun sockettes. I bought some lime/blue, hot pink, white and black pairs. Here are my hot pink ones, hehe!

In the QUT library there is a huge computer lab that is open 24/7 (why doesn't Purdue have a lab like that?!). The lab is great, friendly staff, easy to use printers - all the good stuff. PLUS! Some of the computer stations have really comfy seats! How cool!

My Mom has been inquiring about what my house looks like. Here she be:

Brisbane has a free daily newspaper that I like to pick up whenever I can; it's called Mx. The other day I was sifting through the various articles and found this one randomly interesting:

"Forgetful Story Fishy - Food Beacon ::: A 15-year-old South Australian school student has busted the myth that goldfish have a three-second memory. Rory Stokes, from the Australian Science and Mathematics School in Adelaide, taught a small group of fish to wim to a beacon by establishing a memory connection between the beacon and food. After an initial three-week period, Rory removed the beacon. But six days later, when he once again placed the beacon in the water, the fish swam to it in 4.4 seconds."

Ha! Who knew? Any way, found that interesting and wanted to share.

Australian Slang for today:
*too easy = simple
*choof off = to leave or depart

Some noticed Australian differences:
*Australians obey the crosswalk signs
*Australian bouncers are really hard core
*clerks always check ID and signatures when you make a purchase
*women often wear skirts and dresses day-to-day
*Australians drive on the opposite sides of the road (I thought the US was the only place to drive on the right side of the road but I learned that, aside from England, most of Europe drives on the right side of the road, too - not sure how accurate my source is, but I'll take his word since he's from Europe. Any way, he thought Australia was backwards for driving on the left-side, too, haha!)
*style here is crazy; age is nothing: older women can be found wearing teeny-bopping clothes - it's a strange sight to behold, I tell you
*classes here start at 9am and NOT 7:30am
*QUT's version of SSInfo is AMAZING; it's called QUT Virtual or QV for short
*QUT's Webmail is much better than Purdue's (come on, Purdue, let's take a page from QUT's book, huh?)
*tax is included in the price of an item at a store; no adding 5% of the total to the amount owed - easy peasy!

Tonight Inga and I have decided against going out to a house party themed around guests wearing mix-matched clothes. Neither of us feel like partying tonight so we're going to watch a movie. Not sure if we'll go see one or just watch a DVD here. Regardless, it should be a nice relaxing evening, hanging out with my favorite girl here in Australia! = )

Here is a weekly view of my class load here at QUT:

(If you can't see the time or labels very well, just click the image.)

Yes, you are seeing that correctly: no class on Tuesday or Friday! Yippee!

Question of the blog: has anyone read The Other Boleyn Girl? There's a movie coming out about it soon (Scarlet Johanssen (not sure how she spells her last name) and Natalie Portman star); I think it looks great but wanted to read the novel first. Just wondering if anyone wanted to share their opinion. = )

That's all for now, folks. Check back again soon!

-Amanda

For My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine

2008-02-29T04:23:00.001-05:00

This post is for Adam. It was hard leaving him to go on this trip, but after tons of emails, photos, instant messaging, video-chatting, letters and post cards the flame is going strong. Being far from him makes my heart ache but I keep him in my thoughts always. I often think of fun times we had before I left from New Year's in Chicago to beating him in checkers to him whooping me in chess (I wish I was making that part up) to watching movies all snuggled up together on the couch. These thoughts bring me so much joy.

Along with thoughts of my baby, seeing his photo around my bedroom always puts a smile on my face. I put up some very special photos he and his roommate, Alex, took for me for Valentine's day - they are all around my room. One on the mirror to see when I'm getting ready for the day, one by my bed to see before I fall asleep, by my desk so I can see him as I'm working on this or that, and with my other photos of friends and family back home.

Here are the Valentine's Day photos he sent me (my favorite is the black and white one):

Adam has been sending me some of his artwork he's drawn for his Art & Design class back at Purdue. I'm really proud of his work! Here are a few of my favorites of his:

This one is so dreamy - a beautiful woman with flowers and dragonflies swirling around her face:

An awesome profile sketch of a wizard:

Most recently he sent this next one. It's of a picture of a woman but he had to do the sketch as if the photo was torn - this is my favorite of his so far!

I saved the best for last. Here is the most exciting news for me and Adam: he is visiting me in May!!! If all goes according to plan he'll be purchasing a flight ticket soon, and I'll be happily working away at planning a full itinerary for when he's here. There are wine and coffee cafes I am dying to check out with him; we want to learn to surf with the dolphins down along the Gold Coast; we want to spend a couple nights on a sailboat at the Whitsunday Islands. Of course I can't wait to introduce him to my housemates and show him around Brisbane! When he visits he's going to bring me some very important items such as CheezIts, Tootsie Rolls, Oreos and other things I'm missing from back home, haha! Oh, I can't wait to rush up and kiss him when I meet him at the Brisbane airport! I love you, Adam! XOXO!

I Happen to Have Two Phenomenal Brothers!

2008-02-29T03:56:00.000-05:00

I want the world to know that I have two phenomenal brothers. I miss them dearly, and I want to share some things about them with my blog readers.

Chucky has found his place in life after high school. With much joy and excitement he has taken up being a strong part of the Purdue University Naval ROTC. I received exciting news from him the other day during a chat conversation: he is planning dates for his Cruise this summer! Even though he may be on the cruise when I return to the US, I am still very happy and excited for him! I have heard great things about the trip from some of my fellow midshipmen who went, and I'm sure Chucky will make the most of the Cruise. I'm so proud of you, Chuggy! (PS - you were right: the book only lasted a day in my hands!)

Sammy has awoken from his slumber. An article written about Sam and his awesome wrestling at the Indiana State Meet said Sam was the sleeper of the #145 group as he silently worked his way to wrestling under the spot light for the State Title! I must say that I was completely sad to have missed the event as I'm half a world away. Adam joined in the events that weekend, and I like to think he was representing my support for Sam, too. = ) Sam gave the match his all, taking second place! Sam, I'm so proud of you! Here is one of my favorite photos of Sam wrestling at the meet:

Hodge Podge - Part 1

2008-02-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

Wowzers! I'm a week behind! Let's see if I can't catch you all up on the fun adventures I've been having in the last week!

Wednesday: a big group of the housemates and I went to see The Bucket List. Before the movie I asked Inge to take a photo of me in my first bit of Australian clothing: a cute little garden dress. It has these awesome pockets and I love the colors and pattern. Of course I managed to get pomegranate juice all over it but I was quick enough with the laundry zap stick that it washed out!

The movie was great! I loved it - but did not cry - I'll admit I had tears welling, but there were no tears. It was a really touching movie. Jack Nicholson is his cooky self and Morgan Freeman is great. I recommend it if you want to watch something funny, meaningful and touching.

Thursday: I got to see the Andy Warhol Exhibit in the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art (aka GOMA)!

Towards the end of the exhibit we walked through the kid's corner. We created a picture relating to a particular letter in the alphabet. My name, Adam's name, Andy Warhol's name and the word awesome all start with the letter A so I went ahead and chose A. = ) What I drew was a lacy heart with music flowing out of it. On the heart was written "A is for Adam. A is for Amanda." over and over again. At the bottom of the page there was a space for "[insert chosen letter here] is for ____." I put "A is for a song in my heart." Aren't I clever?

Friday I didn't do anything too exciting: maybe a run to the market for some food, I think I hopped online for a bit, read some. Nothing extraordinary is coming to mind for Friday.

Saturday, however, was a full day! Inge, Nick, Richard, Ian, Sam and I got up early, packed an overnight bag and went to the Gold Coast, Surfer's Paradise specifically. The trip there took 2 hours: 1 hour by train, another by bus. On the train the guys sprawled out and go nice and comfy in our cabin. Here's Richard taking it easy:

When we got there we had to check into a hostel - there were tons to choose from. We wound up picking the worst, I'm sure. Cheers. Ha, cheers, indeed! Not. We get there and have to wait until 11 to check in - okay, that makes sense - give the previous room tenants time to check out, etc. They say the cleaners need 20 minutes to clean the rooms before we settle in. Oh, okay. A full hour later we hassle them enough that they finally clean our rooms. By now it's noon and I am craving some relaxation at the beach.

We trek to the beach - the weather is B-E-A-UTIFUL! Here is a picture of some skyscrapers to show how blue the sky was, and not a cloud in sight:

We get to the beach - the place is even more B-E-A-U-TIFUL! Here's me and Inge excited to have finally made it to our destination:

Here is me next to the Surfer's Paradise sign:

We dropped our stuff on the beach and ran straight for the crystal blue water! Inge and I had a ball catching and riding the waves! Here's a shot of me on the sand line:

We swam for a bit, re-applied sunscreen, and laid out for a bit. During this time I read a good bit of my novel and soaked in some rays (not too much, but I'd rather get what I got than get burned and look like a blonde tomato). The ONLY thing that wasn't perfect was that there was quite a breeze which blowed grains of sand against us such that it was almost painful. I had to put my beach bag by my head so sand wouldn't blow into my ear, haha. Not that it mattered too much because by the end of the beach visit we had sand everywhere any way. Inge got tons of sand in her camera case even, haha!

On the way back to the hostel Inge and I took a couple more photos of us at the beach, but this time in the shade:

We showered up and headed to our dinner reservations at the Hard Rock Cafe, Surfer's Paradise. This dinner was my favorite part of the evening, even though my shirt undid itself briefly, haha - no worries - everything was well hidden and Inge helped me with my recovery, haha! It was pretty hilarious, actually. Any way, my close-to-American-big-juicy-bacon-cheeseburger was delicious! Along with my Tropical Rock (pina colada with a twist of lime) drink:

Naturally Inge and I took tons of photos. Here is one of me with Richard and Neil:

And one of me and Inge:

The group:

Hodge Podge - Part 2

2008-02-27T06:25:00.000-05:00

After dinner we went back to the hostel and hung out. I played my first drinking game! It was called Yee Haw and was loads of fun! I tried some flavored beer (I managed to drink a glass' worth - on my honor - I drank beer!), received a cowboy hat and glow stick for the bar hopping to come over the course of the Saturday night! $30 through the hostel got us a free drink at the hostel and at each of 3 clubs we were heading to - we got free entry to each of them, too. Not a bad deal at all! Here we are at Cheer's hanging out and playing Yee Haw:

Me and Inge had an absolute blast with our hats and making faces. A favorite photo from the evening:

All the boys kept tipping their hats at me and Inge as they said, "Howdy, Ma'am." They're such gentleman! Rudy tipping his hat:

Actually, he was really into the cowboy hats, haha. We stacked all of ours onto his and he reminds me of the Mad Hatter (partly because I just read about the Mad Tea Party in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, haha)

Inge and I decided to give smoking a go with our glow sticks (by now she was getting a bit tipsy - I, on the other hand, only had a little to drink):

Adam, this next photo is for you! Here's a cowgirl kiss for you with love from Australia:

So that was the Gold Coast. Surfer's Paradise, overall, isn't that great if you ask me. Very touristy and just has a crazy vibe to it. It might have been my not being in the party mood towards the end of the evening when we were still bar hopping, or maybe not, but I didn't think the party scene was that appealing. I much prefer what I've experienced back in Brizzy to Surfer's. It's just a big hot spot for people who want to get absolutely slammed. Any way, it was still a great day, and I'm glad I went to check out Surfer's Paradise.

Sunday: unwind. Finished The Black Dahlia at this point. Started Alice's Adventures. I'm almost done with it now - I positively love it! Not sure what I'll read next. I've got a few in mind.

So uni (aka classes) started this week! I love the schedule I wound up with: Monday I have one class from 6-8pm. Nothing Tuesday. Full day Wednesday from 10am-8pm but I made it today and I'm sure it'll be just fine (better be as I can't juggle any of the classes around). Thursday I have an hour class from 9-10a. Nothing on Friday! Sweet! It's basically a 4 day weekend if you count most of the day on Monday!

German is going to be awesome. Technically it's my third language, not that I'm fluent, haha. I really like the class so far. I'm going to work really hard at it and hopefully will be able to hold conversations with all my German friends I've met here.

Project Management should be interesting. Sounds like my group project will be on making the taxi cab systems more efficient. It's more involved than what it sounds and I think with my group members it will be pretty cool.

Lastly, Australian Society & Culture is going to be great! It's light and will be really interesting as it's all to do with Australia! The teacher is great fun and I'm in looking forward to giving a presentation on food next week, haha. I'm in a group with a guy from Norway and a girl from Germany and we'll each talk about our homeland food and then give a few minutes on Australian food. Should be quite interesting to hear about all the differences!

Okay, time for random stuff! First off: new candies tried: Flake, Twirl and Fling.

I was wrong. When I originally posted that "Twirls are good. They remind me of Milky Ways. Yum." I thought they were something else called Twist, I think. Twirls are like Flakes but they've got chocolate confection in them. I am not a big fan of the confection stuff.

Wasn't a fan of the Flake Mint bar - the mint stuff wasn't in my liking.

The Fling was okay. I was expecting something more like a Twix but this was like dried pudding and the cookie from a Twix bar, but covered in chocolate. It was okay.

Inge and I watched Kangaroo Jack the other night. My grandparents gave it to me to watch since I was leaving for Australia and that's where the story is based. It brought on laughs and we enjoyed it.

Funny thing that happened to Inge and I through a conversation we had over the weekend. We were sitting by the pool at the hostel, dipping our feet in, and she was saying something about a word that meant nothing. She said to me, "you know, nothing, nada, squattly doodie." I took a moment and said, "Squattly doodie?" She said, "yeah. what?" I said, "It's funny you say that because we have a word that means the same thing but we say doodly squat." At that point her eyes widened and we burst out laughing because we realized that's the word she meant all along - it was quite humorous, but maybe you had to be there. Just in case you didn't have to be there, go ahead and say "squattly doodie." No, really, say it out loud. See? It is funny. = )

In other news: my ATM card is finally in and I'm no longer bound to the branch's working hours! This is a big deal as not everywhere takes a credit card. Still no Internet in the house. Ugh. Still no phone. Ugh. (But kind of nice not having to deal with it, haha.) Behind in my journal by 2 weeks. Ugh. I've been so busy everything. I need to slow down. Sweet - I have nothing to do tomorrow! I know, but my Thursday class doesn't start until week two! Hehe!

Time for some Ozzie slang:
*Bananabender - person from Queensland State (Queenslander)
*sammy = sandwich

And now I leave you with a question specifically for my readers: what has been the highlight of your day? Leave your response in a comment! It will make me so happy! My day's highlight was catching Adam online and Skyping with him for a bit.

All right. Until next time - cheers!

-Amanda

New Photo Album Up

2008-02-24T05:40:00.000-05:00

A few random sets of photos from the trip over here and from when I first got here and settled in: http://purdue.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2328618&l=b66f8&id=13700420

Two Albums Up

2008-02-21T00:24:00.000-05:00

Here are the links to two albums:

First Week in Brisbane:http://purdue.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2327801&l=d9c3c&id=13700420

Second Week in Brisbane: http://purdue.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2327808&l=0af55&id=13700420

Pre-Departure Photos Up

2008-02-20T04:45:00.000-05:00

Pre-Departure Photos Link: CLICK HERE

Enjoy!

PS - Mom is supposed to send me the remaining photos from the Going Away party (*nudge, *nudge to Mother!) since my camera conked out and I ended up using hers. = )

-Amanda

The Victory & Other Stuff

2008-02-20T03:33:00.000-05:00

Last night at The Victory for the QUT Orientation River Cruise after party we all had a blast! Lots of fun music (a lot of Australian club/bar music is the same as it is in the US: pop, R&B, and techno), lots of dancing, and lots of pictures. Here are some of my favorites from the night:

Inge, Judith, Neil and Nick:

Me and Neil:

Me, Richard and Ian:

Neil and Rudy:

Me, Mya, Judith and Rasmus:

Dancing it up:

Me and the girls:

And, lastly, Mya, Sarah, Rasmus and yours truly:

I had such a good time with all of my new friends. Everyone is really friendly and we're starting to become a tight-knit group. Each of us is so different with different backgrounds, customs and ways of being, and yet each of us has the common thread of being in a new environment and branching out.

In other news: tomorrow there's an orientation function and I have to go inquire about adding a graduate-level course to my course load. Crossing my fingers that they will make an exception for me!

Nothing planned for Friday. I might check out the Andy Worhol exhibit with Inge, Sarah, Judith and Mya - and whoever else is interested, really. I'm not sure if the guys would be interested or not? Or, maybe Friday everyone will be heading to the Gold Coast. Sam mentioned going this weekend - maybe Saturday - I'm not sure. Oh, there was mention of throwing a "barbie" this weekend, too. Who knows what will go down, haha!

For now, I gotta get going. Time to grab a few things from the store, journal, upload these blogs and photos and maybe upload some albums to Facebook, too. And, of course, I gotta do the email thing. TTFN!

-Amanda

The River Cruise

2008-02-20T02:51:00.001-05:00

The QUT Orientation River Cruise on The Island Party Boat was SO much fun! We all met up at QUT to get our tickets. For $35 we were admitted on the cruise and were provided burgers and chips (known as fries back home). Drinks were on us, but not terribly priced. I paid $5 for a screwdriver (orange juice and vodka). I was expecting worse damage by the drinks. Any way, here's The Island Party Boat from the bridge (the Queesland State Library is behind the boat):

Here's our group, occupying a huge table, just before dinner:

There were tons of other QUT students aboard, all up and about, mingling, eating, drinking and dancing:

Here are some shots of my housemates and I:

Inge and Jim Bean (they are smart here in Australia: why not put the mixer (Coke) with the booze (Jim Bean) into a can and sell that?! Brilliant!):

We floated a ways down the river and saw Story Bridge! Mom, this photo is for you! By the way, I'm planning to check it out sometime, take photos and blog about its history. Here's the photo;

Me and Phil:

Neil had a couple beers, haha, they're not all his, but we had fun taking the photo any way (Neil is Ian's twin brother - Ian lives in the house, Neil and Rudy (roommates together across the bridge) visit here a lot):

Me and Richard:

Inge and Judith:

Me and some of the guys:

Me and Inge:

Here's a shot of Brisbane's city line at night:

A group shot, kindly taken by Inge, after the cruise and on our way to the after party at The Victory:

And on again to the next post: The Victory!

le Tigre & Miscellaneous Stuff

2008-02-20T02:07:00.000-05:00

In Australia Sunday is just another night to go out and have a bit of fun. I found it strange that even with Monday looming around the corner people were still right and ready to go out for a few hours into the late Sunday night. So, of course I had to indulge in this new twist on the weekend! I went out with Sam and a bunch of the housemates to le Tigre - Sam knows the owners. It's a nice little diner-by-day, club/bar-by-night. Really cool place: it has a patio and really nice dining area and inside there is a dance floor and some more seating along with the bar. We had a good time getting to know everyone better and just hanging out on our Sunday night. Here are some photos from le Tigre:

I had a French Martini that cost me $16 - ouch! That's a typical cocktail price out here... Any way, I snapped a photo because the straw was stuck to the side of the martini glass, held together with the sweat of the glass - we were impressed, haha.

We had a pretty large group with us that night. Here's a shot of everyone to my left:

And a shot of everyone to my right:

Inge and Mundt chilling with some beer:

Mya, myself and Sam:

So le Tigre was pretty cool. They just opened up about a month ago and no one's sure if they're going to take off or not. I thought it was a lot of fun, but we'll see if they can stand the test of time. Any way, here's some random stuff from the last couple days:

Monday through the day I went to QUT's orientation carnival. It was actually quite a bit of fun! I never got to take part in Purdue's Boiler Gold Rush but I imagine this was similar to BGR or maybe not? Haha! Any way, QUT had clowns doing balloons and fun shapes, people were constantly passing out free food: orange ice pops (which are very tasty), popcorn (with loads of butter), and Subway cookies (yes, I said Subway cookies). I stopped by the Bookstore to pick up my books for class. The only one I needed at this point in time was my pack for German 101; cost me $110 (another ouch). Oh, well, I'm excited to use the materials! Any way, there was this ungodly line in the bookstore and I asked what it was for. Turns out they were giving away free QUT t-shirts so I hopped in line. I went for the blue 08 monkey one:

Later on Monday Inge and I met up to go shopping. She needed something party to wear on the river cruise Tuesday night. We shopped and had a blast.

She found a cute white skirt, a purple top and a nice black clutch that she is in love with. I found myself a new summer-y purse (among other things, haha):

Okay, random stuff: I sketched a koala (one that I took at The Australia Zoo) and have a photo of the original and of my sketch to show you. I'm satisfied with my sketch but I have lots of work cut out for me with regards to sketching, haha.

As I was taking the above photos I thought I'd show you what I've begun on the opposite wall of my bedroom:

Okay. On to the next post: The River Cruise!

Two Photo Albums Up

2008-02-16T22:46:00.001-05:00

I've been able to post two photo albums to Facebook. I've made them available to everyone so just click the link and enjoy!

The Australia Zoo: http://purdue.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2326146&l=6191d&id=13700420

My Apartment: http://purdue.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2325204&l=5748d&id=13700420

-Amanda

Sam at the 2008 Indiana State Wrestling Meet

2008-02-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

I wanted to write a post for my youngest brother, Sam. He wrestled at Conseco for the Indiana State Semi-Finals and beat his opponent 7-0! I'm so proud of him and wish I could be there to support him in person at the Finals. Adam went with my family to be there for Sam and took some photos (thank you, Adam!).

Here's my Mom in her Highland Gear:

Chucky & Michelle:

The Man of the Hour and his lady:

Mom, Grandma Bennett and Aunt Carol:

Good luck at State Finals, Sammy! I love you and am so proud of you!

-Amanda

PS - this just in: got and email from my Dad saying that Sam made it to State Finals! My little brother will be wrestling under the spotlight for the State Title! Way to go, Sam! Love you!

PS again - new Australian candy tried today: Cadbury's Crunchie bar (actually, I've had one before when Mom brought candies home from Europe, but it's been ages):

Saturday the Sixteenth

2008-02-16T02:54:00.000-05:00

Today I slept in until 11:30, moseyed around and headed to the library for - you guessed it! - the free wireless. Did the Internet thing for a bit and then met Ingeborg for lunch at 2. We chatted about this, that and the other and ate at a food court in the Queen Street Mall. On the way we say people sitting atop the big silver no-idea-what-they-are-for-if-anything-at-all balls:

We saw a mime:

We also saw some cork hats that remind me of Mandy Nurrenburn (the girl who got me interested in Studying Abroad here, way back when during my freshmen year at Purdue). These ones are corny joke versions but Mandy's was made with real cork wood and you dip it in something and it'll keep the mosquitos and bugs out of your face:

and we saw a Charlie Chaplin guy who was really funny! He leaned on me:

He hugged and stared at me:

And, finally, took a semi-normal photo with me, haha:

I'll remember next time I wear that green jacket that I look horrid when I stuff a camera case and money into my pockets, haha - yuck!

It was a fun afternoon with Inge. We walked back to my apartment since she might be making a deal with Nick about moving in to take his place for whatever reason - I'm not sure why he's moving out. I guess he's just been here to travel and is ready to head back home? Any way, after that we walked back to the City so I could try to set up my BlackJack - no luck with the code Mom was given (trying to double check because the codes are different for each model), and she went to do some shopping. Now I'm back online to upload this, check Facebook, haha, and I might be purchasing a book, too.

Tonight I begin my koala sketch - really, haha. I'll dig into my novel some more and take it easy. Not sure what I'm doing for dinner yet. I suppose it's time I hit Coles for some real food. Tomorrow's laundry day, ugh. Signing off for now!

-Amanda

Orientation & New Friends 1

2008-02-16T02:43:00.001-05:00

Hello, everyone! Things are getting pretty exciting now that people are moving into the house and QUT orientation has started up!

I've been meeting lots of new friends in the last several days! The house is full, and by that I mean the top floor of single rooms is full, and by that I mean I have 9 housemates now, haha. Last week I met Ian and Richard (both Scottish) and Sam (Aussie). While I was at Noosa Sarah (Virginian) and Rasmus (Danish) moved in. Rasmus and I went to Orientation together last week - we took "first day of school" photos! His was on his camera but here's mine (they person took a blurry photo, sorry!):

The remainder of this entry is below. = )