There's No Place Like Home

We have just arrived home after 30+ hours of travelling and we're exhausted but happy to be home.  I was excited to see my dad, brother and puppy, Kaiba waiting for us at Detroit's airport! Maybe the jetlag has made me a little fuzzy, but on the drive home I recognized everything, yet being back feels so surreal, like it isn't really happening..

Reflecting on everything that I feel I have learned and accomplished this semester, I'm more and more grateful for all the things that made this semester possible.

A quote from the best movie ever, Finding Nemo:

"Marlin: But how do you know when they're ready?
Crush: Well, you never really know, but when they know, you'll know, you know?"

Thanks to everyone who believed me when I said "I know" and who helped me actually believe it myself.

Saying Goodbye

After cleaning, packing, turning in my key and moving to our hotel, my mom and I went back to the city to have one last day of spontaneous activities in Sydney.  We took the train from the station near the hotel to Central station and then took a monorail tram to Paddy's Markets, a great spot for souvenirs and awesome, kitchy, touristy things.  Of course, Tuesday is the only day of the week that the markets aren't open, so that idea was scrapped quickly and sadly.  We continued on the tram line to the Sydney Fish Markets where we quite literally followed our nose to the warehouse of fresh fish, prawns, oysters, squids and lobsters...there was even a sign for "Bugs" but we didn't feel like finding out what that meant..  For lunch we fought off the seagulls outside while we split half of a grilled lobster that was covered in garlic butter..It was fresh and delicious and made me realize again how much my taste in food has drastically changed in the last few months.

Opera House Barbie; Although this is clearly
a "must-have" we just didn't think we had
enough space in our luggage...

Making our way to Circular Quay at the Sydney Cove harbor, we went to the Opera House to have a guided tour inside.  With some time to kill, we had some wine and people watched, then perused the Opera House gift shop, which has everything you could possibly want to own with an Opera House on it...including the one of a kind collector's item: Opera House Barbie!

During the tour we learned a lot of really interesting things about the Opera House, and I will now try to remember as many as I can:
-There are 2 large main shells which house the Concert Hall (for orchestras and concerts) and the Opera Hall (for operas and ballet) and a few small drama theaters and 1 small main shell which houses the restaurant
-The Concert Hall is the largest of all of them and is made of only Australian timber
-With over 1500 events a year, and open 7 days a week, there is always something happening at the Opera House
-2 out of every 3 people in the world can recognize the SOH
-The seats in all the halls and theaters are specifically designed to reflect sound when empty exactly the way they would if a person were seated there, allowing for perfect acoustics that are consistent from empty rehearsals to packed opening nights

In front of the 2 main shells of the Opera House

-The Grand Organ in the large Concert Hall has over 10,000 pipes ranging from pinky size to 3 stories tall.  It took 10 years to build and 2 years to tune.
-The outside "sails" are made of ceramic tiles of 17 different shades of beiges and creams and are self-cleaning.  The inside ceiling is made to look like the bottom of an upside-down boat and the windows in the shells are ideal for views of the harbor
-The architect (whose design was chosen from a world-wide competition) estimated that the construction would take 3 years and 7 million dollars...it actually took 16 years and 152 million dollars, which was paid off within the first 3 years of its opening
-Since his estimates were so wrong, the architect, Jorn Utson from Denmark, was removed from the project and left Sydney before it was finished
-Utson, who died a few years ago, never saw the final Opera House in person

While we were being shown the main Concert Hall, we got to listen to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra rehearsal...it was amazing and I don't even particularly enjoy orchestras.

Pizza and drinks at Manly Wharf Hotel

After our tour we took the ferry to Manly and walked to the beach.  Since the weather was taking a turn for the worse for the first time all week, we didn't stay long and went back towards the ferry docks to Manly Wharf Hotel where we got some unique and yummy pizzas (pumpkin, spinach, feta cheese, onion and sauce) and drinks and watched the clouds change colors with the sun as it set.

Back at Circular Quay, we met up with my best Aussie friend, Ben, to say goodbye.  We went to Oyster Bar right on the water with a great view of the bridge and chatted for awhile, trying to avoid the inevitable.  Eventually we had to part ways, promising to see each other sometime in the future, not knowing when that might be.  Waiting at the train station to go back to the hotel, I said my goodbyes to the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, but I think it will take some time to come to the full realization that this city I have fallen in love with will soon be much further than a bus ride away..

An Adventure of Her Own!

I am now officially done with my academic career at University of New South Wales!! My last exam went well (as it should have because I feel like I've been studying for years..) and now we are headed to my church to say goodbyes to people there, and then staying in to pack everything up.

While I was taking my exam, my mom had some adventures of her own:

Carly's beautiful beach for the last 4 months (Coogee)

After seeing Carly off on the bus to Randwick Race Course for her last exam, I walked the few blocks east to Coogee Beach and started on the seaside walk to Maroubra Beach. This 5 k trail follows the beautiful cliffs that line the coast south of Coogee. It was another warm, breezy, blue sky day... not your typical winter afternoon here in the southern hemisphere!  The solitude and scenery made for a great hike, even though I got a little "lost" when the trail veered into the neighbourhoods a bit . But I found my way... keeping the ocean on my left, ending at another spectacular sweeping cove beach. Taking off my shoes and socks to stroll through the Pacific one more time, I then stopped to read a little in the sun. I even happened to look out at the ocean just in time to see a whale going by in the distance. Then, all by myself, I found the right bus to return to Coogee Beach, completing my adventure just as Carly was finishing her exam. We walked back to the beach a short time later to get a quick dinner from "Chish and Fips", and now we have the job of cramming everything into our suitcases in preparation for the return flight on Wednesday!

The aqua waters of Maroubra Beach.. end of the trail 

The Australian Weight Loss Plan: Day 4

Mom with a grey kangaroo!

In the morning we got up really early, had a small breakfast, packed up lunches and snacks and got on the bus to the train station where we caught a train out west.  What was supposed to be a flawless day of utilizing Sydney's public transport system quickly turned into a really long day of waiting around for Sydney's public transport to get itself together.  Delays on the tracks and trackwork made us late to arrive in Blacktown where we had to wait for a bus to Featherdale, but we finally got there (ahead of all the tour buses and screaming kids) to see the animals.  We saw, pet, and fed wallabies, kangaroos, dingos (even little dingo puppies!!), a tasmanian devil and wombats, emus, cassowaries, and of course, koalas.  We loved the dingo babies; they acted just like domestic dogs and reminded us a lot of our golden Kaiba who my mom decided is part dingo because she can dig just as much, and who we are both excited to see in just a few days!  It was so fun to see all the Australian animals again, who were all really hungry and knocked the food out of our hands within seconds, and I think my mom really enjoyed it too.

Mom and me at the base of Wentworth Falls in the
Blue Mountains; enjoying another beautiful day!

Then it was off to the train station where we had to wait for a bus to a nearby city so we could get a train further out to the mountains. Once there, we hiked the Charles Darwin Walk out to Wentworth Falls and I got to take in my last view of the Blue Mountains.  It was quite noticeably cooler and "autumn-like" out there, but when you can hike in the mountains in the middle of winter without a coat, you shouldn't complain...winter here is nothing compared to what we are used to in good ole Michigan!  We went to the bottom of the falls via the "Grand Stairway" and stayed there for awhile, snacking, talking and feeding the birds.  As the sun was setting, we made our way back up the steep stairs along the cliff with the valley at our backs and the waterfall to our left.  It was almost the end of yet another day of perfect weather, even with the crisp air of the mountains the sun was out all day and kept us warm.

Once back in the town of Wentworth Falls we caught the train and took it to another mountain town where we were meant to take a bus back to Sydney (because of the trackwork).  Here we were involved in a few stampedes as people from our packed, double decker, 8car train tried to make it onto one of 4 charter buses...Moral of the story: people are crazy and panic way too easily.  We got back to Sydney where we had to wait for yet another bus to take us back to my suburb..and of course missed the bus that goes right to my house by about a minute, so we had to take a different one and walk from the beach. At this point we started to joke that I had put my mom on the "Australian Weight Loss Plan"; walking everywhere all day, and eating only peanut butter and jelly for lunch.  All joking aside, I have really enjoyed feeling healthy and active here, a lifestyle I intend to maintain once I am stateside again.


We got to video chat with my dad, brother and Nana, and it was great to hear from them and made me even more excited to be home.  Today is my last day as a student at UNSW, my last exam is in two hours, and I am ready to be done and start packing.  Tomorrow I will turn in my key and we will check into a hotel near the airport for my last night in Sydney!

Sydney In A Day

Continuing to be touristy with yet another picture with the Opera House

Early this morning we got on a bus and went into the city, starting our day at my favorite restaurant; Pancakes on the Rocks.  Mom got the "Strawberry Patch", buttermilk pancakes with fresh berries, ice cream and cream and drizzled with strawberry coulis, and I got "Bavarian Apple", buttermilk pancakes with ice cream and cream, apples and sultanas (like raisins) and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  It was sort of a poetic way to start my last weekend in Sydney since that was the way I started my very first weekend here way back in February..

After filling up on deliciousness we headed into The Rocks Markets to have a look around and try to walk off our huge meal.  Then, back in the harbour we took more pictures of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge before walking to the Royal Botanic Gardens, a beautifully landscaped stretch of green along the water's edge behind the Opera House.  We enjoyed yet another perfect and sunny afternoon strolling around the ponds, flowers and trees and found a spot called "Mrs. Macquaries Chair" the best spot in the gardens to see the Opera House and Bridge and named after the wife of a past governor of the convict settlement.  We took more pictures here and then made our way back to the ferry wharves where we caught a boat to Darling Harbour.

Here we went to the aquarium (which I actually got to enjoy this time around) and saw lots of amazing marine life like sea dragons, jellyfish, mantarays, a platypus and tons of fish...including the ever-illusive Nemo!!!! We also saw Crush and Bruce (the sea turtle and shark in the movie) and I came to the realization that I am the oldest Finding Nemo obsessor in Pixar history.  One section of the aquarium is a touch-tank where we got to pet sea cucumbers and starfish, which were squishier and harder (respectively) than I expected them to be.  Besides what seemed like hundreds of screaming and crying kids at every exhibit, it was a fun afternoon activity with lots to see and do.

After four months, it's only right that I find him the last weekend I'm here!

At the Opera Bar for sunset

Leaving the aquarium we walked around Darling Harbour for awhile, got lost while trying to find the Sydney Fish Market, decided we didn't care about it all that much and took the ferry back to Circular Quay.  From there we found a spot at the Opera Bar and shared an appetizer and some wine while we talked, rested our feet and watched the sun set behind the bridge for the second cloudless night in a row.

When we got home we had dinner, changed into nicer clothes and are now awaiting the arrival of my friends who are joining us and my roommates for a good old fashioned college party..my mom's first one in 30 years, which I know she is really excited about! :)

More adventures tomorrow!

A Whale of A Tale

A fluke up dive (left) and pec wave (right) of two humpback whales

This morning I sat my second to last exam (and may or may not have used some Harry Potter spells to label parts of a mollusc that I didn't know...) and then after a quick lunch, mom and I went into the city for her first views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge!  After weeks of rainy, grey, and in the words of Winnie the Pooh "blustery" days, we have had a few perfect, cloudless days in a row and today was no exception.  We took a whale watching cruise from the harbour that took us out into the ocean to have some close encounters with the migrating humpback whales.  The migration itself, from Antarctica to the North-east coast of Australia, is a long journey taken by the whales mostly in June and July away from cold waters to breed where their baby calfs won't freeze to death.  Alongside the boat we saw one whale fully breach and lots of tail flukes, pec fin waves, and blowhole spouts followed by the arched-back dives that are signature of humpback whales as we followed a few pods up the coast.  We learned that each humpback whale has a white "fingerprint" on the underside of its tail that is completely unique, which I thought was pretty incredible.  Our pictures weren't the greatest, but we had an amazing time together.  We were both awed by the size and sheer muscle of these beautiful marine creatures of the deep and I was definitely able to appreciate how majestic they are, in both their movements and ability to entertain.

Kangaroo pizza and "Taste of Australia" beer paddle
at the Australian Heritage Hotel in The Rocks

When we returned from the cruise, the sun was beginning to set so we found a spot along the side of the Opera House and watched the sun go down behind the bridge.  With still no clouds to be seen, it took a while to get dark and the sky was a perfect fade from orange to blue while the bridge became just a silhouette.  As the lights of the city started to come alive, we walked around to Campbell's Cove and into The Rocks and sat down at the Australian Heritage Hotel to have kangaroo pizza (mom's first experience with roo meat!) and we both loved it!  We even paired it with a "Taste of Australia" paddle with five different classic Australian beer brews.  The Australian is the oldest continuously licensed pub in Sydney since it was opened in 1834. Though the original building was destroyed in an attempt to stop the spread of the plague in the 1900s, it transferred its license to its current building and has been serving delicious gourmet pizzas and microbrews ever since!

Mom Arrives!

This morning I got to pick my mom up at the Sydney airport! I think I scared some people around me because when I saw her come out I squealed and started running to give her the biggest possible hug...I couldn't be happier :)

We started our day off with the Coogee to Bondi walk and enjoyed the warm, sunny afternoon along the coast.  Even in winter, the water is as blue as ever and it was a beautiful walk.  We found the Aboriginal carvings that I've been looking for all semester and then spent some time playing in the Pacific at Bondi Beach.  From there we took a bus to Bondi Junction where we bought carmelized peanuts and cashews and walked through the markets.  Another bus took us to the bottom of campus and I got to show her all my favorite spots while we walked from lower to upper campus.

Me with my beautiful mom; Sunset Point near Bondi Beach

Now she is taking a short nap before dinner while I study for my second to last exam, which is tomorrow morning.  I'm so glad she is finally here and that I'm getting to show her around my life for the last 4 months but in some ways it feels like the beginning of the end. But, we still have lots of adventures left in the next few days and I'm definitely ready to be done with these exams!!

University Life

This should probably have been one of the first things I wrote about but I'm just getting around to it now... while an unexpected and ominous looking set of black clouds has forced me to resume studying indoors and I'm feeling pretty burned out.

Everyday this semester I have made the 20 minute walk to and from campus for class (well, most days..) and realized I haven't written about it or even campus in general.  Over the semester I've accumulated a few pictures from my favorite places on campus and my walk there.

The front of our condo complex (and our kitchen window in the background) on the way to campus

These flowers (and lots of other really tropical-looking ones!) bloom all over in people's yards.

The first street I turn onto off of my own..
Notice the "Refuge Island" sign, a personal favorite that just means there is a boulevard in the road

My favorite tree on the walk to campus; sort of marks the half-way point,
but is also oddly the tree I'm usually under when it decides to downpour 

The main road that takes me up to campus; Coogee Bay Road. Closer to the water are the majority of the shops in our suburb; our grocery store, a few pubs, boutiques, and lots of Thai restaurants.  I have loved walking home from campus and being able to see the ocean. It's especially great when the moon is full or the sun is setting.

My home for the last few weeks; the library.  This front lawn has been a great place to nap, study and hang out between classes...except for the creepy white birds with really long black beaks that are the Australian equivalent of squirrels and are always around, trying to steal your lunch.

The ever-coveted bean bag chairs of the 3rd and 4th floor levels of the library.  I haven't seen one unoccupied since before classes started in February.

I like the irony of the sundial in the quad on campus; everything else is so modern and then there's this ancient form of timekeeping right in the middle of it all. On the other hand though, it really sucks when you're late, your phone is dead and it's cloudy...

UNSW's lower campus at sunset.  Awkwardly, my favorite bathrooms are the ones at the top levels of the biology building because they have huge windows that overlook all of campus, or the city on the other side.

Horses and a Ferris Wheel

Otford Farms

My lack of communication as of late can be easily explained with one word; finals. I’ve been to the library an average of 8 hours per day everyday this week to study and still have so much left to do.  On Friday I finished anatomy with a surprisingly difficult exam due to what I thought were unfair and poorly written questions as well as an overly intimidating exam setting. However, I appreciate the unique opportunity to draw male genitalia in an exam booklet for points.

My horse: SJ

To reward myself for studying so hard the whole week, I took a full day off on Saturday and had a great day with my roommate, Amanda.  We took the train south to a town called Otford where we went to Otford Farm and met SJ and Cassius, our horses for the trail ride we had booked for the afternoon.  The farm itself was so peaceful; tucked away in the mountains, but only a few minutes ride from the coast.  The family who owned the farm asked us all about America and our semester and told us that they had hosted a home stay for two girls our age doing exchange at a nearby university. I have loved living in Coogee and everything about my exchange experience, but seriously how awesome would that have been?! 

Our ride was a little over an hour of walking, trotting and cantering through the rainforest part of the farm’s 300 acres.  In Australia they mostly ride English instead of Western, which is what both Amanda and I had ridden before, so we took a little time to adjust, but both got comfortable fairly quickly.  At one point in the ride we reached a field where the horses are usually taken for runs, so our guide said we could take them as fast as they could go.  I’ve been riding a few times before, but never on a full-on sprinting horse, and it was incredible.  My hair was whipping my face, mud was going everywhere, all I could hear was the beat of SJ’s gallop and all I could think was how amazing my life is; flying across a field on a beautiful brown mare somewhere in the mountains of southeast Australia.

After our ride, we took the train back to the city while the sun went down, and it was fully dark by the time we got to the station.  A second train took us across the Harbour Bridge and we walked to Luna Park, a small theme park at the water’s edge built in 1935 with free admission and a pretty creepy theme of clowns and moons.  We walked around and admired the flashing lights, cheesy rides and games, and the view of Sydney Cove with both the bridge and the Opera House.  We bought fairy floss, of course, and took pictures with the Luna Park mascot and some clowns on stilts.  Then we bought a ticket for the ferris wheel, set our iPods to the same set of songs and had an awesome silent dance party while we rode it around and took in the lights of the city and the full moon on the water.

Today I'm taking a half-day off from studying...I woke up early to get some work done and then this afternoon I'm going to a rugby game at the ANZ Olympic Park stadium with a few of my Aussie friends from class. 

In even better news my countdown says that my mom will be landing here in 3 days and 21 hours :) It's weird to think that I will be coming home soon, but I'm enjoying every remaining second I have here.

Cockatoo Island

Today my friend Grace and I wanted to do something fun and spontaneous, so we went into the city together but had no real plans after that.  We got off the bus and went to the ferry wharfs.  After a little while we settled on the place that sounded the best: Cockatoo Island.  We were just in time for the boat but as we neared the island, we started to question whether it had been a good idea to just pick up and go somewhere.  Despite the exotic sounding name, Cockatoo Island is actually an abandoned prison work camp and shipyard from World War II.  It was an eerie place since we were almost the only people there, (even though it claims to be a World Heritage Site) and the self-guided tour took us on a path through rusted warehouses that echoed the sounds of their bustling past.  The island had been used by the navy to repair US, British and Australian ships, submarines, and even aircrafts during WWII, but has been empty since its end.  We learned a lot about the living conditions of the prisoners, the process of ship building and the war history of Australia as we walked around.  Apparently it is now a popular campsite..I guess since it's so quiet yet close to the city, but I don't think I would want to be there at night.  However, during our sunny afternoon stroll, we managed to find the artistic value of this somewhat forgotten place.

Entrance gate to the island; where we first realized that this was not what we were expecting

Inside one of the shipbuilding warehouses

Inside the military guardhouse, the first building on the island;
looking out at one of 50 cranes that were abandoned here

An old warehouse building with the kind of character that only rusted corrugated iron can give

View from the plateau of the old dockyard and weapons workshop; Sydney skyline in the background

When It Rains, It Pours...Especially In The Desert

Day 1


At 4am Saturday morning I got into a taxi and headed to the airport for my early morning flight through Adelaide to Alice Springs for a camping tour in the outback.  When I got there, I was told that my first flight had been cancelled and they couldn't offer me another one that would get me to Adelaide to make my second flight. I walked away from the ticket counter convinced that travel plans that actually go my way are just not meant to be for me in Australia, but a few minutes later I was handed a boarding pass for a direct flight to Alice Springs that left later that morning.  So after buying the most expensive cup of tea and muffin I have ever eaten, I watched the sunrise over the tarmac and the airplanes that were covered in the morning dew.


Once we landed in Alice Springs the weather was incredible...warm and sunny! Our hostel had a pool so we spent the rest of the afternoon laying out and then walked into town to get dinner.  The town of Alice Springs was...interesting, to say the least.  While it was an obvious tourist town (actually, the only town around) we got a lot of exposure to Aboriginals...in a bad way.  Apparently, in the Aboriginal communities (reserves) there is no alcohol allowed, so anyone who wants to drink has to come into the towns, where they really take advantage of this right.  Further, we learned that up until the 1960s, Aboriginals were not recognized as people, but rather classified as "flora and fauna" in the area and some white Australians still struggle with the concept and still often reserve the right to refuse service to them.

Collecting firewood in the bush; Mt. Connor in the background

Day 2

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)

Our tour guide arrived at 6am to pick us up from the hostel and we went up to Alice Hill to see the sunrise over the town.  We slept and chatted with the others in our tour group (17 of us total) and eventually ended up at a camel farm where some people paid for camel rides, but most of us just bought coffee or tea and wandered around to look at all the animals.  Back on the road we stopped to collect firewood near Mt. Connor, on land that is a cattle station owned by the Kidman family (the station is 1million acres, or approximately the size of the country of Belgium.)  After lunch at the campsite outside the Uluru- Kata Tjuta National Park, we drove to Kata Tjuta (pronounced Kah-tah Ju-tah), or The Olgas to westerners, to do some hiking.  In the language of the Aboriginals of the Western Desert, the Anangu (prounounced Ah-nah-nu), Kata Tjuta means "Heads Many" since they don't have a number system past 3 so anything more than that (there are 36 total "heads" in the formation) is just "many."  We learned some things about the plants in the area and how they were used by the Anangus for medicines and weapons and also saw the Wottle trees which bloom bright yellow flowers when it rains and are the reason that Australian sports teams use the colors green and yellow when their flag is red, white and blue.

We returned from the hike in time to see the sunset at Uluru (Ayers Rock) and then went to the campsite for dinner.  I can see why sunset/sunrise at the rock can be so special, but we didn't get lucky enough to see any heartwrenching, awe-inspiring colors like the ones that made Oprah cry when she saw it. In the Anangu culture there are women's and men's business and each gender will never learn the secrets of the other.  In celebration of this, the guys in our group built the fire while the girls did the cooking.  We had an Aussie BBQ complete with camel snags (sausages), roo and beef steaks, grilled veggies, homemade coleslaw and cajun-style potatoes...definitely a lot more than I was expecting!  Later we sat around the fire roasting marshmallows (the people from the non-english countries had never done this before!!), playing games and telling scary stories.  With the fire still going we set up our swags (individual cargo tents with no top that surrounds a sleeping bag) and settled in to get some sleep for our very early morning the next day.

Day 3


We woke up at 5am and had brekkie at the campsite (cereal and toast with jam or nutella) and then packed up and went to Uluru for sunrise.  Afterwards we went into the cultural center to learn about Anagnu artwork, music and most importantly Tjukurpa (pronounced chook-orr-pa), which describes the law, religion, relationships and moral systems of the Anangu people.  Their systems are based on respect, so as you gain respect in the culture, you are allowed to learn more about your respective business (women's or men's) from the elders of that group.  Tjukurpa is also a collection of stories known by the people of the area about how the formations on Earth came to be.  Essentially, Tjukurpa is the basis of all the knowledge of the Anangus, continually passed down through generations, but only revealed to those who have proved themselves worthy of that knowledge.

Uluru (Ayers Rock) at sunset

Later in the day we did the Base Walk around Uluru.  There were lots of "sacred sites" around the rock where we weren't allowed to take pictures because to the Anangus taking a photo destroys a piece of your soul.  While we walked we tried to think about what it must have been like to live here, on the side of this huge monolith in the middle of the desert.  Partway through we came across a waterhole where the Anangus used to hunt (men's business).  The men would cover themselves in plant oils so the animals couldn't smell them, and then wait until the last animal left the waterhole and take only that one.  Since kangaroos, emus, etc. can't look behind them, they wouldn't know what had happened to the last animal or even notice that it was gone until they were far away.  This way, the animals never associated the waterhole with danger and continued to feed there each day.

After finishing the hike, our guide, Shaz (Aussie nickname for Sharon), took us through the last part that had a lot of interesting stories associated with its features as well as ancient Anangu paintings in caves.  We learned that they used the walls of the caves like blackboards, using the paintings to teach their ways to the young Anangu boys and girls.

We had lunch back at the campsite and then drove to a new one, near King's Canyon, for the night. On the way we saw wild camels, which are an introduced species to the country.  The 30 originals were used for building the overland telegraph line through Australia for communication with Europe because they were better adapted to the climate than horses.  After the line was completed, they were released...there are now more than a million camels in central Australia.  We stopped to collect more firewood for the night and then had another campsite cookout, this time switching the women's and men's business (and we made a much better fire than the boys!)  After dinner we made Aussie bush bread, or damper bread, in the fire, which were like scones and were absolutely delicious..they will be a must-have for campfires back home!

That night after we had only been asleep a few minutes (listening to the tiny noises of the mice all around us..) our guide woke us all up to move us into tents because it was starting to rain....and then it didn't stop until we got back to Alice Springs the next night.  Our guide told us that it was the most continuous rain she had ever seen in the region.

Day 4

A rainy hike through King's Canyon

In the morning we drove (in the rain) to King's Canyon to do some hiking, stopping at a servo (gas station) to try to buy ponchos.  Apparently the stores there were just as prepared for rain as we were because there were a total of 5 ponchos available for purchase...and 17 of us.  So with half a poncho each, and some without, we went to the canyon and saw some incredible formations and took a lot of great pictures.  I felt like I would have enjoyed myself more had I not been feeling so dismayed about being caught in a rainstorm in the one of the driest environments in the world, but luckily I have been learning all about the power of a positive attitude in the last few weeks, and it was a really fun day.

That afternoon we drove back to Alice Springs (almost hit a wild kangaroo on the road!), checked back into the hostel and then met up with everyone from our group for dinner and drinks.  We had a really fun night and my roommate Lorena and I ended up speaking Spanish with the two guys from Italy in the group since the two languages are so similar. I originally thought I wouldn't like being on a tour because I didn't think we would get as much freedom or time to enjoy the surroundings, but I'm glad we got to meet so many new friends.  With no airline cancellations, delays or turn-arounds in mid-air on the way home, the trip ended smoothly and I got home just in time for my first final exam.

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Anyone who has talked to me recently knows that I've been having a hard time the last few weeks; missing home and my brother's senior events, as well as friends who are on staff with ASP having experiences that I can only read about this summer.  The whole time I've been here in Sydney I've felt really connected to this place and felt like I belong here..but in the last few weeks I've noticed a big change; my heart seems to be somewhere else.  At the risk of sounding ungrateful for my experiences, I have to say that I'm ready to come home.  For some reason things haven't been feeling as fulfilling as they did when I first arrived.  I wish that that weren't true, but feeling like I'm missing out on things at home has made it really difficult to appreciate what's around me now.  Though I've been actively trying to overcome this emptiness (for lack of a better, less depressing word), it has proven a bigger challenge than I anticipated.  With everything I've learned about optimism, I'm sure there is a positive aspect to this situation somewhere..just waiting to find it. So for now I'm anxiously awaiting my mom's arrival, and filling my time with lots of studying..mostly making up for all the studying I haven't done in the last 4 months..

Vivid Sydney

Last Friday a small group of us headed into the city to see the lights and innovations of "Vivid Sydney: 2011", an event in downtown Sydney for the next few weeks that highlights (literally) ideas of new artists and designers.  The buildings were draped in projected colors and interactive artwork was scattered around the harbor and up through The Rocks markets.  One building had a screen where two people could play a game against each other, others had glow in the dark paint and a light flash would capture the silhouette of the people standing in front.  A set of stairs was made into a rainbow where each step was a different color, but only when someone walked on it.  There were even projections onto the opera house that changed and evolved as the night went on, and one on the Commons House building that made it seem like it was filling with water, changing colors, being built and then falling down (the same animations as was used in Prague on the clock tower for their celebration.)  After wandering around by the water for awhile, we went to The Rocks to see the fire throwing show, a timed-to-music fire cannon display that went off every hour and was pretty cool, but not as awesome as what we had pictured.  After that we went up to the markets and enjoyed some live music and warm caramelized cashews while browsing through the markets.   It was a relaxing Friday night in a city that I adore more and more every time I'm there.

I Wish I Could Speak Whale!

Today was my last day of classes at UNSW...I know, I can't believe it either. I also had my first final (marine environment) and did really well without even studying :) It's pass/fail so I only needed a 50% in the class.

Now I've got a few weeks of travelling and studying ahead of me before my mom comes (which is in 20 days, 10 hours and 48 minutes, according to the countdown on my computer!)

In other exciting news, I have bought new shoes to replace the ones I lost on the plane and all my boarding passes are printed for my flight to Alice Springs to tour the desert. I'm so excited to sleep under the stars and hike through some of Australia's famous places.  We have to pack lightly, but apparently it gets down to -2C at night...