Happy Thanksgiving!

My Thanksgiving is almost over, for most of you it is just beginning. Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but we convinced the school into making Thanksgiving dinner anyway. So yes, I did get a Thanksgiving meal... turkey, gravy, potatoes, pumpkin, and an attempt at pumpkin pie. Not the same as back home, but the effort was much appreciated.

I feel like I've been meaning to blog all week but just haven't gotten around to it. Classes are winding down, not a ton going on, but its been another thinking and reflecting week. I managed to get some decent sun on Tuesday and did a whole lot of trip planning on Wednesday. I leave for New Zealand tomorrow! So excited. On the agenda: canyoning, volcano islands, a Santa Day parade, tallest building in the southern hemisphere, hostel with spa and sauna, and a whole lot of exploring. Its going to be a fun filled three days. I'll be sure to tell you all about it:)

I'm starting to think extreme homesickness is actually a contagious disease. I don't know if it's because this Thanksgiving is most people's first holiday without family, or its just that stage in our trip where people are ready to go home. Either way, a whole lot of people are getting really homesick right now. I love and miss you all... but I'm going to be home in three weeks, I'm not going to start dwelling on it now already. I believe I can thoroughly enjoy my time here, and miss people from back home all at the same time. It's been happening a good part of my time here. There are constantly reminders that my time in Australia is coming to an end... my shampoo is running out, December starts on Monday, I'm done with classes (only 4 hours of review and a presentation, plus 3 finals). I'm trying to ignore them and enjoy each day I have left.

Today was my last day of lectures with McRae. She told us that "10 weeks is all you get" and she would not be teaching next week. Fine by me. I'll get home from Auckland Monday night, still have time for yoga before working on my marketing presentation. The only class I'll have next week is from 10-noon on Thursday, and my presentation on Friday morning. Oddly enough I was a little sad to be done with her classes. We had a great discussion in cross cultural management about work motivation. We had to write down the top five motivators for our personal work life. Everyone had different answers and many had cultural ties I never would have thought of. It was really interesting. I was the only one that had purpose or service to others in my top 3... turns out its a very American thing. I learned that Australian's don't have any service work programs like Americorp or PeaceCorp. She made a few American generalizations and I just let them go, I think I would have felt jipped if she didn't make at least a few cracks at me on the last day. While I don't agree with a lot of the things she says, once you figure out that she's not malicious in her actions, its kind of entertaining.

In my second class with her, managing workplace conflicts, we spend a lot of time talking about conflict, feelings, fear/anger, etc. She felt it would be good for us to share what we had learned about ourselves this semester and then formally appreciate our classmates. Now I hate to say it, but honestly, there was a lot of personal development in this class. Many students felt they had finally confronted and moved on from major conflict in their personal lives and had increased confidence. I still don't agree with all of her teaching methods (especially humiliation) but the end sort of justifies the means.

The big shock came at the end of class. We were passing around a ball formally appreciating each other. I never ended up getting the ball, not a big deal, but someone pointed it out and McRae told me that I was "charmingly Midwestern, analytical, and a thinker... different from the other Americans." She also said she appreciated my sense of humor. So there you go, maybe all of her fuss was just to get me going. I don't forgive her for making me sing the Star Spangled Banner, or many of the other things she said/did... but its nice to know she has some respect for me as a person. It's the third time this week someone has pointed out how Midwestern, Minnesotan, or "different from the other Americans" I am. I didn't think it was that obvious, not sure if its meant as a good or bad thing... but I'll take it as a compliment. I guess no matter where in the world I am, I'll always be Midwest at heart.

So there you go... done with school. First time I've gone to school on Thanksgiving Day, but if it means I don't have to go after, I'll consider it a fair trade. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Enjoy your buffet style dinners and family gatherings. Remember to give thanks. I am thankful for the opportunities I've had to study and travel abroad, for the new friends I have here, and for my family and friends that support me back home. I am thankful for my good health and safety overseas, and so much more. But alas, its almost 1am... no longer Thanksgiving and I should probably sleep.

Birthday parties and weather updates

So Thursday night we went out for my friend Sofia's 20th... and then Friday went out for Deb's 21st. It was a lot of fun to finally push homework aside and go out, but after two days I'd had enough. Friday night was also karaoke at school. There were 9 contestants and it was more like ICMS Idol than karaoke because the screen was behind them and they more or less performed for the crowd. It was nice to have the SandBar open again. After the competition the American guys went up to sing "Born in the USA" and a group of girls sang "Time of my Life"... everyone kind of looked at them like they were nuts. Apparently group karaoke is an American thing. The school hired a coach bus to drive us down the hill at 10:30. Not only were teachers and faculty at the karaoke event, they came out afterward as well. Still weird.

PC starting off the karaoke event. He also MC'd all night in his shiny purple coat. He's awesome, one of my favorite faculty members here.

Lana, Chelsi, Deb, and I at Shark Bar for Deb's birthday!

Saturday night it was freezing! I know Minnesota is still colder, but I guarantee even people in Minnesota would complain about 50 degrees with 20mph winds in June. I stayed in to watch The Holiday and drink champagne with Deb and Linnea since Saturday was Deb's actual birthday. Amy came later with fun fetti cake. Deb's mom sent her cake mix and Amy was able to go to a friend's to bake them. They feed us desert with meals, but its just not the same as fun fetti cake. Seriously delicious. Amy said her friend's parents were appalled that we would make cake from a box mix. This is a foreign concept in Australia, adding it to the number of reasons I'd never be able to survive here long term. The others are ranch dressing (BBQ sauce is my substitute, one of the girls from Texas actually had her mom send a bottle of ranch here), and Chipotle. So maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But within 24 hours of returning to the States I will eat boxed cake, ranch dressing, and Chipotle.

Sunday it rained... again. I've managed to go to the beach on the few nice weeks we had early on, but it was kinda crappy all weekend and looks to be raining all week again here. I don't know if this is typical of Sydney or not. I went to the city anyway to finish souvenir/Christmas shopping at Paddy's Markets. We took the train there but were able to walk back because the rain stopped. I realized it'll be one of my last times in the city. This weekend is New Zealand, one inbetween (I might head to Canberra for a day, or go into the city), and then Melbourne. After that I'm back home. 25 days... whoa. Its coming too fast, but I'm excited too.

Christmas decorations popped up everywhere here. Its hard to think about Christmas without snow. They don't wait til after Thanksgiving here because, well, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. A few people were going to go talk to the chef about making some turkey and stuffing on Thursday because of the overwelming American presence on campus this term. We'll see how that goes over. Found out Australians don't make pumpkin pie either. Which is odd because they eat pumpkin all the time.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Enjoy the short week ahead:)

Many thoughts

Nothing too crazy or exciting happening this week... mainly just going to class, group meetings, and working on final papers. I went to yoga on Monday and tried dance class again on Tuesday. The theme of the week was salsa dancing. You're probably thinking "Tanya you're the most uncoordinated person ever, how did you manage salsa dancing?" Well your thoughts are correct, and I wasn't very good. But I "had a go" as the Aussies say, and it was a decent time. This dancing venture was followed by a night out. It also happened to be the night the Today Show was filming in Manly because of the new Australia movie coming out. I saw the set but didn't stick around to watch the filming or be on TV. A few of the Americans got on the air which was pretty cool. The red carpet premiere event happened in Sydney and a few friends of mine were able to check it out. They had a great time and actually got to meet Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackson... I had class, bummer. Everyone here is pretty excited about the movie even though it has nothing to do with Sydney... its a big thing for the whole country.

Wednesday I worked on papers all day. It was the one month mark for my trip back to the States. I spent most of it being frustrated with my marketing assignment, and freaking out about the realization that for the first time in over a year I have to look for a job AND a summer internship. The selection is looking slim right now. I'm also contemplating my major(s)/minor combination and wondering if its really worth the trouble or maybe I should just graduate early. Ever since deciding to come to Australia, figuring out study abroad has been my only focus. I would put off planning my future and just focus on the present. Well now my study abroad experience is coming to a close and planning the next year or so of my life is becoming critically important. I know I shouldn't be worrying about this stuff, but its kind of my nature to do so. I'm not worrying myself sick, just had a lot of time to think about things because I couldn't go to the beach (rain) and needed something to occupy the time while I was procrastinating.

I released my tension with a nice walk and a night at the movies with Deb and Amy. We saw the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Good flick. I hadn't been to a movie in a real long time, but this one was worth it. Few odd things about Australian cinemas... the chairs don't have a fold up bottom nor do they recline. Just a normal padded rigid chair. They also don't have cup holders. Granted this was just one cinema... but Amy said it was typical. She was in Perth for 6 months before joining us at ICMS. They can also advertise alcohol in the previews. Finally, their rating system is different. Bond was rated "M"... no idea what that means.

I'm currently on my two hour break from Thursday's class marathon. Its probably a good thing I had this schedule here because my schedule next semester back home will be very similar. Its been a pretty typical week in class... few interesting discussions and stereotypes about America as usual. In Workplace Conflicts we had a discussion about how women are at a disadvantage when it comes to top management positions. It was the opinion of a few men that a woman's only way to the top was to sleep with their managers, and they did this because they felt incapable. I'm not going to go into the fit of rage that put me in but I didn't have the energy to fight it at the time. In Cross Cultural Management, McRae read us an article about the state of America's economy. Now I'm not arguing that there aren't some significant issues right now, but American's use of credit and borrowing on mortgages to finance education is not the end of the world. It was also brought up that Australia is the land of mediocrity and has a "tall poppy syndrome" of cutting people down that are viewed as having an advantage. Distinctly different from America.

Now today McRae was talking about Americans lack of humor and how we're all too literal. She was making a lot of generalizations I thought were a bit off and mentioned that Americans are not all the same and geographical location may play a part in ones cultural upbringing. I cannot identify with everything she says is "American" because her only experience in America is Harvard and Washington DC. I'd argue the Midwest in general is a bit different from Harvard, much less Stearns County where I've spent the better part of my life. This was of no interest to her and I let her keep talking. I'm from "one of those states no one pays attention to and just flys over" so it didn't really matter. And yes, that is a direct quote.

After finishing up my marketing project and writing my last section for a group paper, I'll be done with homework for the semester. Then comes finals. I still have trips to New Zealand and Melbourne to look forward to. Deb's birthday is this weekend so we're planning on a BBQ and maybe even a bon fire at Shelly Beach. I hope the weather is nice.

I had a few discussions this week with friends back home and had a look through my pictures from the past two months (I have over 600!!) and it made me realize what a wonderful opportunity I've had here. I heard time and time again, that studying abroad would be one of the best decisions I could make, and I agree. It hasn't always been easy, lots of frustration... but the new environment and challenges I've faced have allowed me to better understand who I am and appreciate what I have. It has given me a chance to slow down, relax, and enjoy the present. I've changed, probably more than I even realize. Little changes but they're there. We've been talking a lot about reverse culture shock in class... I hope its not too bad. I'm excited for my last few weeks here... also very excited to see family and friends when I return to the States. I can't wait to share pictures and stories. Thankfully my schedule will allow for many coffee and lunch dates... as my friend Hanna says, "face time". E-communication is just not the same.

Congrats to whoever is still reading at this point... its a pretty spontaneous train of thought. I've had a lot of time to think this week. I reckon its a good thing to do. Yes... I just reckoned.

Scando parties and zoo fun!

So after staying up til 4am on Saturday morning to register for classes I slept until brunch. Normally I don't like sleeping in here, but I figured I deserved at least 6 hours of sleep. I went down to get some food and then worked on homework for the next five hours. Jolly leaves to stay with friends in the city every weekend and Dana was out with friends doing karaoke in Chinatown so I had the room to myself. I was actually productive and got my second case study written... two down, two more to go. I finally got out of my pjs at 5pm to go down for dinner. It was a lazy, but productive day. I decided to treat myself to a night out with the girls.

I cleaned up and had some wine before heading into the city. There was a Scando party at Side Bar. I didn't really know what to expect, but the Swedes were pretty excited about it. We took the 10:15 ferry and caught a taxi to the bar. It was a great night! The bartenders had viking helmets on and Swedish or Norwegian flags painted on their faces. There were people with flags and jerseys, and others dressed in blue/yellow or red/blue. We didn't wear any special attire but it was fun anyway. Every now and then the DJ would play a popular Swedish song and you could definitely tell who was actually Swedish because they were the only ones who knew the words. Also, the DJ was my marketing professor... that was kind of weird. We took a break from dancing and some guy told me I looked European. I was surrounded by blonde Swedes, but am pretty sure I look about as American as you can. When 2:30 rolled around we called it quits and got a taxi back to Manly.

Ellinor, Helena, Melissa, and I before we went out. I got to wear my new dress and Dana straightened my hair for me:) Too bad it didn't last long... it was misting outside.

Notice the Scandinavian decor

I woke up at 8:30 Sunday morning to go to the zoo with Brittany and Candace. I've had several people tell me Taronga Zoo is well worth the trip, and after going, I'd agree. The zoo is huge! Much bigger than Como Zoo which is the only zoo I've been to in the past five years. To my utter disappointment, it was penguin breeding season so they were not in their normal showcase habitat. I did catch a glimpse of them from far away, and also through a little underwater glass viewing spot swimming around. I love penguins. I had to settle for entertainment from the gorillas. They were really funny to watch.

The gorillas I watched for about 20 minutes

The real koalas were sleeping, so I settled for this guy

Side note: they have bandicoots in the zoo here. It'd be the equivalent of having a racoon in a zoo back home. While endangered, they're still just nocturnal rodents. I thought it was kind of odd. We walked through the entire park and then headed back to the city for Pancakes on the Rocks before catching the ferry home. I realized how much time I spend on boats here... with all the ferry travel on Sunday it was 1 1/2 hours. I spent the night relaxing and watching the Office with Deb.

After the heaps of food I ate on Sunday, I felt the need to get some exercise. This morning I woke up at 8am to go to the gym with Deb and Chelsey before starting on homework for the day. I'm ready to hand in two reports to McRae tomorrow morning that are worth 80% of my final grade. Little scary, but its nice to be done. I also found out that I got 25/30 on the midterm I thought I failed!! Its not a great score, but much better than I was anticipating. Nothing too exciting going on this week just more case study and group work for classes. Friday night they are having a karaoke night at the school bar (which I thought was closed? maybe they just won't serve alcohol?) and Saturday we are going out for Deb's birthday.

The weekend was a little chilly and it looks like it'll be overcast and raining most of the week. It would be nice to finish up all of my final reports ahead of time so I can spend a full two weeks preparing for finals at the beach. We'll see if that happens or not.

Hope all is well back home:) Have a great week!!

Another week flies by

Once again its Friday and I don't know where the week has gone. Since Tuesday I've managed to spend a few hours at the beach, write one of my final papers, give a presentation, and go to all of my classes. Its nice to be able to cross a few things off my laundry list of assignments due in the next three weeks. I keep telling myself that I'll do more homework, but somehow I always end up talking to people from back home or hanging out with people here. Maybe this weekend I'll find some motivation. I have plans to go to the zoo on Sunday... that won't help much.

I just finished registering for classes back home. It really hit me that I've been gone for more than two months already. I have a lot to look forward to in my last month here, but the time is going quick. People keep mentioning flight dates home and planning reunion trips. I have to realistically start job hunting and hopefully find a job or two before I actually get home. These things are not much fun to think about.

Something that IS fun to think about is my sister being accepted to the U of M:) I'm so excited to have her join me in Minneapolis next year. Other fun things include the package of Halloween candy I got from my Mom today. It was really exciting to get an email that I had a package, even though I knew it was coming.

Sending warmth from Australia... I know Minnesota could use some right now. Hope you all have a great weekend:)

Today I learned...

Australian's don't know what rootbeer floats are... the concept of rootbeer itself is foreign.

Veterans Day is called Remembrance Day here. Also, I was told the only thing that happens in America on Veterans Day is mattress sales.

Everyone here assumes and expects to work overseas at some point. Actually work overseas and not just travel to do business overseas. A lot of people do "gap year" just to live in a different country and work to sustain themselves. Sounds kinda fun... maybe after I graduate?

Being overseas is a bonding experience, no matter where in the world you are. Thanks Heejin:)

Every time I say I miss food (example: lasagna) we have it for lunch the next day, it doesn't taste good, and makes me miss it even more. Australian's spell it "lasagne"...weird.

PepsiMax might just taste better than Diet Coke.

I guess its true, you learn something new every day! So its not my normal ramblings, but that might be a relief for you all at this point. Have a good day:)

PS--I walked from Spit Bridge to Manly today. It was a good 4 hour excursion with my classmate Kah Mun. There are pictures on my Flickr site.

Australia is becoming normal

My friend Danielle came to Manly on Friday with her friends from Bond University at Gold Coast. We walked from the wharf where their ferry came in, through the shops on the Corso, and to the beach. They had been told by people in the city that it was worth seeing... and I guess they were impressed. I showed them my castle on top of the hill and their reaction, like many others, was "Its just like Hogwarts!" Yes, ICMS does look a little bit like Harry Potter-ish. We talked a bit more before they caught the ferry back to the city. I proceeded to lay out on Manly Beach, as usual. When I was walking back through the Corso and up the hill to school I got really annoyed with the tourists standing about in my way. I shouldn't have been annoyed, it's not their fault they have no idea where to go. Not that there are many places to get lost here. I realized I've gotten used to living here. Not that I'm taking it for granted, but I think the transition back home might be a little more difficult than my adjustment to living here.

Things I don't think twice about:

-Greeting people with a hug and/or kiss on the cheek
-Being able to get into bars/clubs
-Being able to walk to two beaches within 5 minutes
-Living in a world class city
-Guys wearing speedos, mostly old men
-Women tanning topless
-Taking ferries instead of buses
-Having palm trees, cockatoos, lizards, and bandicoots everywhere
-Walking along the beach every night watching surfers
-Not tipping (anywhere)
-Going to Coles instead of Rainbow
-Waking up at 7 am
-Drinking at least two bottles of water a day, rarely drinking soda
-Listening to Chinese and having no idea what it means
-Listening to digeridoos (Aboriginal music)

Ok so those are just a few random things... I'm sure there are more. I haven't picked up on much of the Aussie slang since there aren't that many Aussies at school. A few words/phrases that I do use quite a bit: "No worries" and "heaps" once I also used "reakon" that one even caught me by surprise.

Lately I've had people ask me if I'm coming home. Australia is great... I'd definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation or fun place to study abroad. It's made me appreciate a few things back home that I look forward to upon my return, such as:
-US academic system and organization
-Using the letter z
-Having a campus to walk around and a city to live in
-Beef
-Lasagna and Mexican food
-Living space (besides a bedroom)
-Being able to call people up without worrying about a 17 hour time difference
-Having pedestrian rights
-Being busy (working/student groups/coffee dates)
-Having access to various websites (Hulu, pandora, etc)

I was talking to people back in Minnesota where it was 20 degrees and snowing. Seems kind of unreal...I'm looking out my window and its currently 76 degrees, sunny, with a calm wind. I think I stay in contact with more people now that I'm overseas than I did back home. It's different than physically being there, but even people from high school or others living outside of Minneapolis that I normally didn't see or talk to on a regular basis. It's been nice. For those of you that I haven't been contacting, feel free to send an email or letter... I haven't forgotten about you either:)

Ok, time for class. I'm sure there are more things I could add to the lists, I'll update if I think of them. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Time is flying!

I promised myself that if I started a blog for my semester I would update at least twice a week. I've been doing pretty good, but lately it seems like the days fly by and I forget about it. After skydiving on Tuesday, I promised myself Wednesday would be a productive day. Election results started coming in around noon here and I was glued to my computer for the next four-five hours (minus the 15 minute break for a fire drill). I could hear people discussing the election in the hallways, everyone seemed to be watching it. There was quite a bit of celebration when Obama won. Someone told me that 76% of Australia was backing Obama (not sure if that was legitimate or not) but it seems about right. It has been interesting reading about it in the Sydney papers and hearing reactions from my classmates from around the world. The general consensus is that the right decision was made.

So Thursday I had class all day, as usual. I walked into my 8am with McRae and she told me to sit in front so I could sing the Star Spangled Banner to the class. I thought she was kidding and refused. Eventually she let me off the hook, but made sure to refer to me as "America" throughout class. I got to my 4pm class with her and she asked all the Americans to stand at the front of the room. She then proceeded to have us sing the Star Spangled Banner. Turns out she was serious and did this in the rest of her classes. I didn't sing, but I stood there while everyone in the class laughed at us. I'm not sure why I didn't just leave class... probably because I'm still terrified of failing her classes... but I'm about done with the public humiliation. I'm looking forward to being in lecture halls with 100 students and professors that actually lecture and give normal tests again. Small colleges are good for some people, I'm quite alright being a 7 digit number at the U.

My marketing class got cancelled this morning so I've been able to get some homework done before lunch. It's a beautiful sunny day, so I'm planning on the beach after lunch. My friend Daniell from St. Thomas who is visiting Sydney this weekend just called and said they were going to check out Manly Beach today. Conveniently, I'm a 5 minute walk away. I'm so excited to see a familiar face!! Tomorrow is Whale Watching, and Sunday (if I can get some homework done before then) I'm thinking about making my way to Bondi Beach in the city. Its one of those places I just need to see before I leave.

Hope all is well in the States (or whereever you're reading from)... I hear the Minnesota weather hasn't been as brutal as most years. I'm sure the minute I return, the temperature will fall dramatically. Have a great weekend!

I'm kind of in love with skydiving...

It would be raining the day I decided to go skydiving again. Luckily it was a light drizzle and by the time we made it to Wollongong, it was clear skies. I went with Brittany, Candace, and Jenna... there were also three study abroad students from the States going to a school in Sydney that rode with us there. We got out of the bus and were suited up on our way to the runway within 15 minutes. There was little time to think, but that was ok. I was so ready to go, and I'm not sure the other girls would have made it if they had any more time to think about it. My tandem instructor was Dan. He's done over 2000 jumps and also does BASE jumping which is much more intense than skydiving. I'm not sure why I trust strangers with my life, but I did and it was well worth it.

The result:

Me, Candace, Brittany, and Jenna all suited up

Me, Dan, and the plane I jumped out of. I didn't actually scream, it was more of a "wow this is amazing sort of look. Hard to tell when you're falling at 250 km/hr.

More free falling:)

And then there was parachuting... oh yeah, I was floating over the ocean and an amazing beach!

There are few words to describe how much I enjoyed skydiving. The view was incredible and it was so cool to free fall for a minute and then enjoy parachuting down. They give you a voucher for a discounted or free dive if you bring friends with next time. There are a few more Americans that want to book, if its a day that I don't have class, I might seriously go again. I was really bummed when the weather didn't work out the first time, but I think it was for the best. It was so much more fun having the other girls along. The weather was 100% better today too... bright sun, still too windy to land on the beach (we landed right behind it), but we got to jump from the maximum height of 14,000 feet. The view was breath taking, and honestly, the only time I was really nervous was when the first guy fell out of the plane. You can see it in the video... fun to laugh about it now. The day was truly amazing.

I got back and played Monopoly with Sop and Lou before my 6pm class. I won! It's taken me five times to even get close. I went to class with McRae (mind you I skipped her 8 am to go skydiving) and surprisingly she didn't give me too much shit. Just a "yeah its easy to get sick for those 8 am classes." There were 18 people missing out of 45 in our night class because of the Melbourne Cup horse races. A few people that did come were still dressed up for the races (they dress up to go to the pub and watch the race) and she nearly flipped out on them for being out of uniform. I figured she can't say anything to me anymore.

My midterm was reevaluated and we have two substitute questions for the vocab that we didn't learn before the test... we'll see how that goes on Thursday. Other than that, I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. Danielle, my friend from St. Thomas studying at Gold Coast, is in Sydney this weekend so I'm hoping to meet up with her. I'm also going whale watching on Saturday! I love Australia. Don't worry, eventually I'll run out of money and have to come home. I miss you all, but having time for myself to relax and enjoy everything this country has to offer has been more than I could have ever imagined.

Tomorrow I get to go to the beach and watch election coverage... if you're reading this and haven't voted yet, please stop and do so!

Halloween and more

Well I didn't go to any spectacular destinations this weekend, but it was still full of adventures. Friday I only have one class, but spent the afternoon doing homework. I started to transcribe a 60 minute interview that is due on Tuesday. This may not sound like much, but 10,256 words (16 pages) and about 15 hours later, I'm finally done. Now if I had really concentrated on it I probably could have been done in 10 but the task was seriously mind numbing. I needed AIM and facebook to keep me sane. Back to Friday...the students visiting from Cairns made us a traditional aboriginal dinner and did some cultural dances for us. I ate kangaroo! Australia is the only country that legally kills the animal on its national seal. Tasted a lot better than I was expecting, very similar to beef. Definitely tasted better than the lamb they usually feed us.

Students dancing

Friday was also my friend Mia's 25th birthday. Since it was Halloween and we all planned on going out anyway, we got dressed up and went to a tapas restaurant. Everyone looked at us like we were nuts walking in. Halloween is recognized here, just not nearly as popular as in the States. There were a few kids trick or treating in the afternoon, none out at night. The only people in costume were in the bars that had Halloween parties. One big difference between Halloween here and back home: they actually dress scary here. People wear masks and actual costumes, not "sexy (insert profession here)" The party was a great time, I'm glad I decided to dress up and go out.

Marica, myself and Helena out for Mia's birthday

Saturday I slept in until brunch and spent the entire afternoon transcribing the interview. At 5pm all the study abroad students hopped on a bus and got to go on a cruise of Sydney Harbour. The bus dropped us off at Mosman Bay and we cruised from 6-10. The boat had two levels with outdoor decks on the front and back, a bar on the first floor, and two dancefloors and DJs. It was awesome to be sailing around as the sun set. It was a little chilly but inside the boat it didn't matter. Everyone had a great time putting the stressful week of midterms behind us and just hanging out for the night. As time went on there were dance parties and dance offs, it was quite the sight. They gave us the option of getting off in Darling Harbour if we wanted to stay in the city. I left with a group of seven other Americans. We went to Cargo in Darling Harbour and a few places in Kings Cross before taking a taxi back to Manly. Kings Cross is known as the party place of the city, a lot of bars and strip clubs... we found a few decent places, but it was a bit much for me. I enjoyed the night though, it was good to go out with some different people.

City at night

Today was a homework day. It was cloudy and windy again so I had no temptation to go outside. A bunch of people got together for the Texas Tech vs University of Texas football game, but we couldn't figure out how to get the live game on and ended up just listening to it. I had very little interest in the game and was surrounded by girls from Texas Tech who were decked out in school colors cheering like crazy. I never realized how seriously Texans take their football. At halftime I decided to finish transcribing my interview and get my reading done for the week. I was really productive for a change. At 10 I stopped to go watch The Office in Deborah's room. It's becoming our weekly Sunday night routine.

I might have sky diving pictures to put up the next time I blog. So excited for sky diving on Tuesday:) I put a ton of pictures up on my Flickr site, feel free to check them out. Hope everyone had a great weekend!