Final Exam

Hey everyone,

I'm taking a quick, 15 minute study break and thought I'd use my time to blog instead of mulling around on Facebook or something equally less productive. I have my last exam of the semester tonight at 6:15pm and I have been studying all morning for it. You'd all laugh if you saw me now, I'm hibernating in the back corner of the dining hall, completely hidden behind textbooks, highlighters, papers, pens and cups of coffee - it's quite the sight. My friend walked in this morning and was like "Yo slippy (my Australian nickname) you look half asleep" and another friend called me a walking zombie - oh how I love finals week.

On the bright side it's my last final and it's actually in a subject I enjoy learning about. It's social psychology so it's all about how people interact in social situations (relationships, stereotypes, power, influence ect). Hopefully I'll do okay on it, most of the stuff seems kind of obvious and it's 140 multiple choice, so maybe the process of elimination will work in my favor :)

I had to say my first goodbye last night and it was horrible. Everyone is packing and getting ready to leave and it's the most heart breaking thing to watch. I have been avoiding my room at all costs because it reminds me of everything Australia means to me and everything I have to say goodbye to shortly. I've actually become really good at finding ways to avoid my emotions about leaving - I can only imagine how I'm going to be in a week. Get ready family :)

On the bright side I'm looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone I have missed these past few months. I can't wait to see my baby brother all graduated and turning into an incredible young man. I can't wait to drive around singing obnoxiously with Kathleen in the car and laughing about everything.

Anyway - my break is up.. talk to you soon!

Finals Week!

Hey everyone,

I thought I would take the five minutes of free time I have between studying to quickly update you all on my super fun life. It's finals week here and everything is crazy. Emotions are running wild as the semester comes to an end and the fact the Americans are all leaving lingers over head. In addition we all have exams looming worth between 40-60% of our grades (ugh!). George Roberts is dead silent at all times, sweats have become the outfit of choice and you wont see anyone without a coffee cup in their hands. It's literally out of a movie.. I will never, ever think finals week at Quinnipiac is stressful after this.

I literally have never studied so hard for anything in my entire life. I spent all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday studying for one class - my favorite, Learning and Behavior. I absolutely LOVE learning about learning (please note the sarcasm). It's all about Pavlov and his stupid dogs eliciting conditioned responses in unconditioned stimuli (and that's the easy stuff..). Anyway, so I spent all that time studying, went online and found the review questions (there were 80 of them.. oh yes, 80) and I couldn't answer a single one!

This is me once I found out I knew just about.. NOTHING after hours and hours of studying for three days straight. I mean hours of studying too - the only breaks I took were for meals. I read almost 400 pages of my textbook and created study guides for 10 chapters. Please note this is all for one exam 

This is my relationship with my Learning and Behavior text book.. it's clearly love. 

Anywayyyy.. I did some breathing exercises (I wish I was kidding..) and had a nice Skype session with Mom and some how came out of my emotional break down. Saturday, Sunday and Monday I put on my game face and locked myself in my common room with heaps of coffee, highlighters and my favorite pair of sweatpants. Needless to say it was a fantastic couple of days. I did take a couple of breaks on Sunday however.. a bunch of us headed out back of George Roberts and made this amazing fire. It was a great way to get away from the stressfulness of GR and hang out with some amazing people. That's the hardest part about this whole thing - not only am I hidden under textbooks and pages of notes, but all the studying keeps me from spending my last few weeks with the people I'm going to miss the most. 

The friendships I've made since being here are incredible and so unexpected. I knew coming to Australia I would have the chance to make new friends and have insanely amazing opportunities but I never could have imagined how close I would get to some people. It seems cruel that I have to say goodbye to people I've become so attached to, who know me in ways I never thought people would. They have helped me learn so much about myself, given me the courage to test my limits and I can never thank them enough for that. I will take them with me where ever I go. 

For those of you who can't stalk me on Facebook - here are a few of my favorites :)

Chase is from Boston and one of my closest American friends - this kid has been with me since day one and such an amazing guy. He is like the big brother I never had! :)

This is my Australian family. At George Roberts I live in D4 and these three amazing people (Whitney, Jesh and Bec) live right next door in D5. I spent about 95% of my time in their room and love them to pieces. 

Here's the gang right before Groovin' the Moo. Tommy, all the way on the right is one of the most genuine people I've ever met. Jess and Steph in the middle are super sweet and make anything a good time. 

Gabby and Jesh - my experience in Australia wouldn't have been the same without them. They were two of my first Australian friends. 

My Americans! <3 Love them - I travelled to Melbourne with these girls and had the most amazing time exploring the city with them. 

Melissa & Leotta.. Melissa is American and one of the funniest people I've ever met. She has an infectious personality that makes it almost impossible not to be happy in her presence. Leotta is one of my closest Australian friend who has taught me the most about life and the importance of embracing every moment. 

My American girls <3 I don't know how I would have gotten through some of the insanity without them. These girls have been with me since the first day. 

And it wouldn't be complete without my roommate, Mark, who I've loved since day one. I'll miss this kid and our little home away from home in D4 <3 

So there you go, some of the people who have changed me in more ways than I can count. These are the people who have gotten me through the hard times, laughed with me through the fun times and made my time in Australia five months I'll never forget. These of course aren't the only people who have made my time here, but I don't want to bore you with my sappiness! :) 

Love and miss you all <3 

Melbourne!

Hey everyone,

I'm home finally (well Townsville home)! After my five day adventure in Melbourne I'm ready to crack down and start studying - right after I write this blog of course :).

I left for Melbourne around 9:30am on Friday and arrived in the city at 2:00pm. Once there Amy and I decided to take a shuttle right to a cafe to grab some food because we were absolutely starving. We were dropped off at this tiny little cafe in the heart of the city and I enjoyed a chai latte and a smoked salmon sandwich. We then lugged our bags through the busy city streets up to our hostel where we checked into a ten person dorm for the night. Once in the room we literally dropped our bags and were out the door, heading back to the center of the city to go on our chocolate tour. Amy had researched all the chocolate shops in the area and for the next two hours we strolled through the city tasting and buying the most fantastic chocolate along the way. We ended the day with a stroll around the city at night, taking pictures of the huge and artistic buildings.

The next morning the rest of our traveling group arrived at 6:00am and we headed to a near by cafe for some breakfast before we could check into our new room. We were now a group of five, making us a large enough group for our own private room which we couldn't check into until that afternoon. To occupy our time we strolled around the city and went shopping for groceries so we could save some money on food. I got a bunch of frozen dinners and roasted chicken for sandwiches and cereal for breakfast. We looked like quite the sight everyday pulling out our little packed lunches and eating them while everyone else was sipping on expensive lattes and nibbling gourmet sandwiches.

While in Melbourne we also went to the Royal Botanical Gardens and an Australian Football League game. The gardens were gorgeous and we walked around them for almost three hours (we did a lot of walking on this trip). The AFL game was my favorite part of the trip. The game was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and was filled with insane fans. We watched the Collingwood Magpies completely dominate the West Coast Eagles, but we didn't care because we were more interested in trying to figure out how they scored, who the people in bright yellow were and what each goal post stood for. We sat next to this older man and his son who ended up buying us all meat pies at half time because apparently it's like having a hot dog while watching a baseball game - something that is tradition! The meat pies were actually really good and the warmth radiating off of them was very welcome as we were all absolutely freezing. It was so strange to be in Australia and actually be cold!

We also hit up the Melbourne Museum and saw an IMAX 3D movie about wild animals. Other than that we spent most of our time wandering around the city, taking photographs and sight seeing. Making dinner was always eventful at night when we would cook up our meals in the hostel kitchen - you never know who you are going to run into there! It ended up being a fantastic trip, but I'm so happy to be back to the place I've called home for the past few months. The reality of leaving is really starting to set in and I want to spend as much time in Townsville and with the people I've become so close to as I possibly can. Hopefully I'll be able to fit a little studying in there too :)

Love you all and miss you  -  I'll be seeing you soon!

Stress Free?

Hey there,

I have finally finished my two huge papers and can breath a little! I've been so swapped with work I haven't even had a chance to get excited about my upcoming trip (tomorrow!) to Melbourne! I leave tomorrow morning at 10:00 and arrive in the beautiful city at 1:00pm. I'm heading there with four other girls, but for the first night it will just be me and my friend Amy. We are staying in Space Hostel which is right in the central business district.

We don't have much planned so far, other than lots of walking around and exploring. Melbourne is known for it's cafes and hidden bars. It's also considered a very cultured and artistic city, so hopefully I'll hit a few museums while I am there. Although I'm sad I'll be spending some of my last days in Australia away from Townsville and George Roberts, I think it will be good to get away from the tension and emotions surrounding leaving and finals (at least for a little while).

I took my final exam in Photography yesterday and earned the equivalent of our "B" back at home (total buzz kill). I have to continuously catch myself when I begin to get all stressed about grades and my GPA. I've gotten very good at convincing myself off the ledge in regards to the fact that for me this semester wasn't about coming home with an amazing GPA and that most of the learning I've done hasn't occurred in the classroom and that is okay. The effect this semester will have on my GPA will be well worth the experience (or at least that's what I keep telling myself hehe!)

Oh, I forgot to mention the couple of things we do have planned for Melbourne. The first night there my friend Amy and I are heading on our own make shift chocolate tour of the city. There is this company that takes large groups throughout the city to famous places, eating chocolate and other delicious cafe treats along the way. We only just found out about the tour company and unfortunately they are completely booked while we are there. So instead, I pulled a Melissa (haha) and decided to create our own tour! We have researched all the places the tour goes to and made our town little map of the city. I'm really excited :).

In addition to our chocolate tour we are going to head up Eureka Tower, which is one of the tallest (if not the tallest) building in the city. The top of the tower is completely glass and I've been told it is the most amazing view of the city right at sunset. Hopefully I'll experience some great views!

Once I'm back from Melbourne then all the intensity picks up with finals right around the corner. I used to think finals week at Quinnipiac was stressful, but I had no idea. With exams worth at least 40% of your grade studying is crucial and people get a little twitchy. It's almost three weeks before finals even begin and people are already studying ridiculous amounts of hours in order to prepare. Hopefully I'll do okay.. I have one in Learning and Behavior, one in Social Psychology and one in Environmental History. Social Psychology is my favorite subject and I'm doing pretty well in it at the moment so I'm not too stressed about that exam. Learning and Behavior and Environmental History on the other hand might send me over the edge. Both tests are worth 40% of my grade and are going to be extremely hard (not to mention I'm not doing well in either class). Keep your fingers crossed for me! It would be greatly appreciated :) 

Anyway, I guess I should go start packing.. or studying. Hopefully I'll get a chance to catch up with you again soon. Love and miss you all xoxo 

Procrastination!

Hey everyone,

Twice in one week, this must be a new record! :) I decided to take a break from all my studying to write a quick post since the only thing Dad wants for his birthday is a blog post (the silly man!). So here you go Dad, two in one week, just for you!

It's officially SWOT VAC here which means that George Roberts is to be quiet at all times of the day, with an exception around meal times. There is to be no talking outside of rooms, no loud music and absolutely no parties. The RAs aren't required to give warnings and if you are caught speaking too loudly you will be fined $25.00.. and let me tell you, they are serious about this! Two of my friends already got fined yesterday for standing outside their room and talking after dinner. Apparently in Australia the only thing relative to University they really take seriously is exam time. It's made GR feel like a ghost town!

In addition to the 24/7 quiet hours the dining hall is also open all day (shocking!) for studying purposes. The kitchen staff provides cakes and cookies for those who study late into the night and hot chocolate, coffee and tea are also provided. Although perhaps the best part is that they put wireless internet in the dining hall, meaning we can actually move from the confines of our desks and get internet access! How exciting :)

So far this week and past weekend have proven to be very stressful and I think it's only the beginning. As our time here dwindles emotions are high and the looming exams and final assignments just make matters worse. This past weekend arguments and tension broke out between numerous people, all over simple and stupid matters. I have attributed the quickly approaching departure date to these misunderstandings.

Last night I was talking to one of my Australian friends about the whole concept of leaving. We were discussing what a strange experience studying abroad truly is. You leave your home and create a new one for five or six months, only to get up and leave your new home and return to your old one. Upon returning to your old home, it's as if the last five months never existed and everyone becomes memories. You get close to people, have experiences and make memories and suddenly you have to pack up and leave it all behind. Despite the semi depressing concept, we ended the conversation realizing that the experience was completely worth it.

In my last post I forgot to mention Home Ball, which is like prom but for George Roberts. We rented the top of Mad Cow (one of the clubs down town) and had food and drinks provided. Everyone dressed up in semi formal dresses and I wore the one Melissa and I bought during her visit. The dress is my favorite dress I've ever own, it's unique and so beautiful. I love the way it flows when I twirl around and how it fits around my waist.

Here's a picture of us all getting ready for Home Ball. I wish I had a better one of the dress because it is so lovely, but this is the best I could find. I also got myself a pair of true Australian heals (so fun!) that were almost 4 inches tall! :) 

Anyway, I better be going, I just got back from an afternoon at the river and really need to get studying. I have a final exam in photography tomorrow morning and two huge assignments due on Friday. I've been trying to finish this one history assignment for over a week now. It's about the environmental history of Indonesia and I'm really struggling with it. I never realized how hard it is to write a research paper! Everything I say I have to research and because I have absolutely zero prior knowledge on the subject I am starting at square one. Wish me luck! 

Love and miss you all <3 

Better Late Than Never!

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't posted in about a month and I suppose it's mainly because my alone, free time has been extremely limited. As the time draws near for me to leave I've noticed that everyone has been spending every waking moment together in an attempt to enjoy the last few weeks together. It's quite a bitter sweet feeling, knowing that in a very short time I will be flying back home.

Anyway, enough of that! Since I've last posted I spent a wonderful week with Dad and Melissa, showing them around Townsville and exploring Magnetic Island with them. It was so amazing just to have them here and show them simple things like my room, my campus and some of the places we hang out. I took them to the Strand which is a long stretch of beach and we had some of the most fantastic meals. I think perhaps my favorite part about having them here was the meals and long talks, just catching up and sharing stories. I loved just being in their company and having the opportunity to share a part of this amazing experience with them.

Here's a picture we took on their last night in Townsville. We had the greatest meal and the best service! I even got to taste dessert wine! :) 

Melissa and Dad left on a Friday and that Sunday I experienced my first all day, outdoor live concert. It was absolutely incredible! There were three different stages and food and people everywhere. The sun was shining so brightly and I'm shocked I didn't get extremely sunburned. The best part was that everyone dressed up in crazy home-made shirts so it was easy to find people from George Roberts really easy in the crowd. Almost all the music was Australian too which was a great experience because I haven't heard much of it yet. 

These are the shirts we made for the concert. It was called Groovin The Moo which is what the GTM stands for and the spots all over our tank tops are supposed to be cow spots. As you can see the bright colors made everyone really easy to spot. 

Since Groovin and the visit with my family I've mainly been doing work, trying to finish up my last few assignments of the semester and prepare for finals. I'm finally realizing how truly different the education system here is as I ready myself to take a test that is worth 40% of my grade. They take studying very seriously here, even giving us an entire week off before finals just to study. They open the dining hall to study after 8:00pm and provide people with tea and coffee as they study into the late hours of the night. I'm just hoping that I do well enough not to completely kill my GPA I've worked so hard for!

Oh, I almost forgot a couple weekends ago I went on this amazing camping trip on the beach with a bunch of my friends from George Roberts. There was a group of eleven of us and we packed up a couple of trucks and found this great spot right on the beach where we set up some tents and the guys set up their swags. Swags are Australian versions of sleeping bags, basically the same thing expect they have a mattress pad in the bottom of them that makes for a very comfortable sleep. 

This would be an example of a swag. You can also not set up the pop up cover and just use it like a sleeping bag. That's what I ended up doing in the tent. 

Camping was absolutely amazing. We made a giant fire and introduced the Australians to 'smores. The water was pretty warm and proved to be a nice shower in the morning. We cooked sausages, eggs and bacon over the fire for breakfast and dinner and just hung out, lounging on the beach during the day. It was one of the best camping trips I've been on - despite the fact with the night came heaps and heaps of rain. We had set our tents up under a tarp though and some how managed not to get wet. 

Other than that I haven't been up to much really. I am heading to Melbourne next weekend for five days to experience the city. It's supposed to be the culture capital of Australia, with cafes and museums on every corner. I've also heard that there are amazing open markets everywhere you go where you can get fresh cheese, breads, dips and fruits. I'm going with four other girls and just looking forward to my last little adventure before leaving for good. It should prove to be a nice little break right before finals as well, hopefully keeping me from stressing out too much in my finals weeks here! 

Anyway - I must be off, heading to the gym with some of the other D-Blockers (that's the block I live in at GR) I will try to update more, potentially again before I go to Melbourne and definitely when I get back! 

Love & miss you all 

Easter Weekend!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter weekend and know I had you all in my thoughts. Easter itself turned out to be a complete blast and perhaps one of my favorite days in Australia thus far. Saturday night a bunch of people randomly decided to hit up this huge kite boarding competition in Ayr, about an hour and fifteen minutes out of Townsville. The competition itself started around 9:00am and went until 10:00pm so the next morning we met for breakfast around 7:00am (very early here in Australia!) and hit the road.

In total there were nine of us in two cars, blasting music with the wind in our hair and not a care in the world. That sounds complete cliche, but in reality that's what we were doing. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, blue skies and no clouds to be seen. Even the drive was a great time - but I've always been quite a fan of road trips. We pulled up to the beach around 9:00 and quickly sussed out the situation. There were pitched tents everywhere, people wandering around in their bathing suits, barefoot and sipping on Red Bulls. It was what I had pictured Australia like - laid back, surfer-type people everywhere with their shaggy hair and tan skin.

We found a place on the beach on a little hill which overlooked the entire competition. When we got there most people were just warming up, surfing around on their boards and trying to get the feel of the wind. We were told that recently the wind had been completely horrible for kite boarding and today the strong wind was absolute perfection - I guess we came on a good day! I headed down close to the water with my camera I rented from the art school and started shooting. I had the best time playing around with the settings on the camera and trying different angles - at one point actually laying in the sand because I was convinced it would make the picture that much better. As I was shooting some of the guys boarding noticed and would come up real close and throw tricks out right in front of where I was shooting, which lead to some amazing pictures!

After a bit we took a walk along the beach and passed around the volleyball. The walk and intense sun completely wore us out so once we got back to our little hill we headed to where all the campers were staying in search of food. The company holding the competition had a barbie (BBQ) set up with the classic Australian sausage and slice of bread. I slabbed some tomato sauce (ketchup) on and was all set - we found a nice spot on the grass to eat and laid around there for awhile. Once we had finished someone spotted an ice cream truck and who can say no to an ice cream truck? I had vanilla with chocolate dip and this thing they call a flake - which is basically a giant chunk of chocolate they stick in the ice cream which is absolutely delicious!

While enjoying our ice cream we wandered around the camping area where people had set up all sorts of little tents and were selling the most random things. Most people were selling odd children's toys like sling shots and toy guns. Everyone was so friendly and we lost ourselves in conversation for awhile. At that point I was ready to see some more kite boarding so I took off for the beach, camera in hand. It was later in the day at this point so the competition was further along and the tricks were getting much more intense. I noticed how packed it had gotten and the intensity by the water so I made a beeline for the edge. I was in awe at the men literally flying and sending their bodies in the most insane directions. I have never seen anything like it - I guess it's similar to wake boarding but so much cooler. I could just picture Dan doing it, throwing up tricks like these crazy guys. I decided I have to learn to kite board at some point in my life - it looks like the biggest thrill.

We stayed and watched for awhile and noticed our skin turning increasingly red so around 3:00 we decided to head back. The drive back was equally as enjoyable as the one there and at one point we came to a screeching halt on the side of the road so we could jump out and steal some sugar cane! I don't think I've ever eaten sugar cane right off the shoot but let me tell you, I know why pandas just sit around and eat that stuff all day - it was delicious!

Needless to say I had one of the most insane, beautiful Easters of my life. I missed you all terribly, but was happy I was able to get out and do something instead of sitting instead and thinking about all the glorious food and good company I was missing back at home. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend as much as I did!

Love & miss you,

xoxo Sara

Oh - here are a few pictures if you want to check them out! :)