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