It's All Coming Full Circle...

The past 3 days have been a whirlwind of fun, spending as much time with all of my friends as possible. Things have really come full circle, people from the beginning of all of our times in Australia reemerged. I just cant believe that this time next week I will be sitting on an airplane heading back to the United States. It is incredibly bittersweet. Laura and I (We are basically the only 2 left) went through some photos of Melbourne Welcome, and it seems like just yesterday we all arrived here and were getting to know each other. Now, I feel like I have made some of the best friends in the world, and I know that although our time here in Australia has come to an end, it is only the beginning of many long friendships.

Katie and I holding the eggs that represent Laura, Char and Hamish

Since finishing up all of our exams, we have been super busy. On Tuesday, Hamish and I went to DFO where I did some shopping. I bought 2 more cardigans from Cotton On and 5 more pairs of undies for super cheap. I love buying undies. (lol). After shopping we went our separate ways but then met up after dinner and went to Borders for a few hours to try to find some books. It was then I discovered just how expensive books are here! For a paperback book that would cost me 10-15 in the US, it is 27 here! Crazy. Needless to say, I didn't buy any books, but I read a few plane magazines and Cosmo. After the bookstore, even though it was freezing, we went to Brunetti's for some gelato. Hamish and I both had Apple and Blackberry gelato. We came back to my warm room and watched finding nemo. It was a relaxing but great day!

Starting Wednesday, Katie and Laura finished their exams. On Wednesday morning Hamish and I walked into the city and I went to a bookstore where I found some cheap books! I bought 2 books- one for 4 and one for 6 dollars (the same book last night was 27!). I was super excited because I haven't had a chance to read books in ages. College life always comes in the way of leisurely reading. Later that evening, Katie, Hamish and I met up and walked in to the city to buy some Tim Tams for our Tim Tam Challenge that night. The Tim Tam Challenge was created by Katie to determine which Tim Tams were the best... She bought 3 types: Arnott's (original brand), Coles, and Woolworths. We did a blind taste test, with only Katie knowing which was which brand, and we all came to the conclusion that Arnott's was the best by far! After buying the Tim Tams, we did some souvenir shopping and then went to Shanghai Dumplings where we met up with the rest of the group. Katie, Laura, Hamish, Charlotte, Tina, Leah, Peter, Robyn, Duncan, Alan all came to all you can eat.

Dinner at Shanghai Dumplings

We all stuffed our faces, and it was so delicious. We were really happy because usually they are out of 1 or 2 items on the menu, but this time they had everything. Full circle, full circle. After dinner I headed over to Chris's where we spent a relaxing evening together.

On Thursday I headed back home and met up with Hamish, Laura, Katie and Charlotte who all beat me to my kitchen. We made a big brunch. Scrambled eggs with tomato and capsicum, french toast, pancakes, bacon & English muffins. It was so delicious and lots of fun to get together and cook together, especially breakfast, my favourite meal.

Family photo at Breakfast!

We all got to use up some of the ingredients we have. After breakfast, we walked to the National Gallery of Victoria, an art museum right across the Yarra River on St. Kilda road. It was lots of fun, even though Hamish and I mostly sat on the chairs to observe art. The contemporary art, European Art and other exhibits were neat.

Hamish, Katie and Laura in front of the Museum

After the museum, we headed back into the city where Katie, Hamish and Charlotte got some fresh donuts. Then we stopped in some more souvenir shops but didn't buy anything. We stopped at the Reject Shop, which I wish I had known about when I first moved here. They had super cheap household items- like dishes and stuff which would have been super useful. After we showed Katie the cheap bookstore where she purchased a few books for the plane.

Hamish headed home, but Laura, Katie and I headed over to a restaurant right across the street where I live called Mark's Place. I never thought about going in, but they advertised a "Avocado Cheesecake." Of course, us being obsessed with food, couldn't pass this $4 piece of delight up, so we headed into the restaurant. When we ordered just the cheesecake and 3 forks, we got some weird looks from the staff, but come on, who can eat a whole piece of cheesecake by themselves? It was quite tasty, and we could taste the avocado, but it was not overpowering. I forgot to take a picture of the cheesecake, but luckily there's a thing called the internet, which I found to have a photograph similar to the one I would have taken. We walked for about 5 hours that afternoon so we were tired, so we each went home to relax for a little while. About an hour later Katie, Laura and Hamish came over to UniLodge for Casto's barbie!

Snags and Kangaroo Kebabs

His family is visiting and he wanted to show them an authentic Aussie BBQ. They made Kangaroo Kebabs, Kangaroo Fillets, Snags on Bread (which is almost like hotdogs/sausages, but a lot better.. and Aussies don't seem to use buns for Snags, so we always wrap it in bread). They also bought some Boags Beer, which is an Aussie beer from Tassie. It was a great time with everyone, and meeting Casto's family was lots of fun. After dinner, I got ready to go out and met up with Stephen, who drove in from Frankston. We went over to the village and had a few drinks and headed to Elephant and the Wheelbarrow where we listened to a life acoustic band. Hamish, Laura, Katie, Stephen and I all enjoyed ourselves; it was really relaxing and refreshing. That's basically our favourite pub, because it has life bands a lot with the dance floor and its fun. But I didn't realize that it was a bit of an older crowd. But it was funny and loads of fun spending time with the people I love.

Then, yesterday, Friday was Katie and Charlotte's last day. We woke up and headed to Brighton Beach. They had all been there a few times, but I hadn't been. Brighton Beach is beautiful; its about a 30 minute train ride out of the city. The way the land bends, gives Brighton Beach the best view of the city skyline.

Posing on the Beach with Melbourne in the background

It was absolutely gorgeous. Also unique to Brighton Beach is the little beach huts/cabanas along the seaside to store belongings and whatever else They are owned by families who come to the beach often, and they are all painted uniquely.

Australia Flag Cabana on Brighton Beach

It was one of my favourite sites here. The weather was pretty gray, chilly and windy, but the rain had stopped from earlier in the day and we got home just before another big rainstorm came in. So all in all, it was perfect for a winter's day.

We headed back in the city where we stopped at Brumby's Bakery for some date scones. So delicious. Then we headed up to Vic Markets where we each got a freshly made donuts at the famous donuts truck. I can't believe I hadn't tried them earlier- but thank god I didn't because I would be a huge fatty. We walked back to the Village and hung out while Katie packed. The rain started coming down in buckets so we were all relieved to be inside in the warm next to Katie's heater. After she finished packing, we made some dinner. We made cheese, chicken and tomato quesadillas with the left over tortillas, which were so delicious. We also had some pasta with butter/salt/pepper and some marinara sauce as well as a mix of beans and corn. It was a great meal and we sat on the floor of Katie's kitchen reminiscing and not wanting the time to go by any faster. I headed back to my place to change and grab the hand luggage scale my Mom had given me to Christmas. MOST USEFUL PRESENT EVER!! All of my friends have used it, success. We decided to make Melbourne friendship bracelets, so now Katie, Laura and I all have similar bracelets on; so when we miss each other and our time in Melbourne, we will know we aren't all that far away. We will wear the bracelets until they come off.

Melbourne Friendship Bracelets

Stephen and two of his friends, Tyle & Sean came over and we had some drinks and headed out to Perseverance, a club/pub, on Brunswick Street. It was my first time there, and on Fridays they have 90s night, so they play all this 90s music, which was amaazing. We got there at 1030 and didn't leave until 130. We danced for 3 hours nonstop! It was so great. Michael from Sydney, was down in Melbourne and had some time off from the army, so him and 2 of his buddies came to meet us. It was so crazy seeing him again, but it was super fun. We headed back to village where we all hung out and then the guys headed out so we could say bye to Katie and Alan as our little group. We waited outside for their Taxi and then it was time to say goodbye- to Charlotte too, who was leaving a few hours after. It was so sad, but I know I'll see them again soon. It won't be the same as in Australia, but I guess that is life...

Dont leave me Katie!! Don't go Charlotte!

Hamish and Laura walked me home where I was sad for a while but luckily Andy in NY was able to distract me and I went to bed feeling a bit better. I woke up this morning, feeling quite empty and sad, because things are so quiet now. I am happy to be going home to see family, but SO torn because I really don't want to say bye to Chris. It will be so hard to leave him, as well as Hamish & Stuart. At least I know I will be back next year, as long as things go according to plan. I am happy that Laura is here- she leaves July 1. So we will have some fun the next few days. We have plans to go to Parliament, The Immigration Museum, State Library for a picnic. We also have plans to cook lots of good things- tonight is Butter Chicken and tomorrow is Banana Bread and Stir Fry- so we can use up all of our left over food. We made omelets for breakfast this morning, which were so delicious. I finally made decent omelets- the secret to success was the smaller frying pan.

I miss Katie tremendously. And Charlotte. And Holly who left on Friday morning. And Steven, and Matt. I miss everyone. But that's part of life. I've had such an amazing time in this country, and I wouldn't change a thing.

On our last Sunday night dinner last week, Katie made a slideshow, documenting our time here. Here it is; it sums up our entire time in Australia. Here's to the memories <3 style="text-decoration: underline;">

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7pEYZwuAQc

Done, Done... Did I Mention I'm Done!?

My Study Abroad semester at Melbourne University has come to an end. I took my second and last final yesterday for Behavioural Economics. I thought I was going to fail it, but I definitely didn't fail. I was pretty happy with it. Now, let the fun begin!

Yesterday before my exam, Hamish and I went for a nice walk. It is so autumn-ish outside, it's gorgeous with all of the leaves changing colours and falling on the ground . I didn't want to think about my exam, so we just walked around, played on the playground, went on swings, and took photos..

Hamish and I - Self Timer Action at Melbourne Museum

I have 10 days to do whatever I want in Melbourne. Today, I am going to DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) to do some shopping. Tomorrow, Katie and Laura finish their exams, so we have plenty of stuff planned out to do. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are going to be busy days, making the most of every hour we have together.

Tree 'Climbing' at Carlton Gardens

I honestly don't want to leave this place. I want to see my family and friends and have summer in NY, but I wish I could do that closer to Melbourne... I have fallen for this city so hard.

Beach on a Winter's Day

While finals are still going on, me and my friends have taken it upon ourselves to make sure we have special and fun things planned almost daily, to make the hours of studying seem less daunting. Yesterday, we all woke up bright and early (9am!) and headed to St. Kilda.

Human Pyramid

I looked up the weather before I left and it was a measly 6C (43F), but luckily the sun was out. In Australia, when the sun is out, it seems like all problems disappear. The sun is always warm, and this is particularly wonderful on a chilly Friday morning. I wore my sweatshirt, peacoat and boots and was all ready to go walk along the beach. When we got to St. Kilda, we all took off our layers and walked around sleeveless. I guess it had warmed up, and with the breeze minimal off of the bay it was perfect.

Laying in the sand

Charlotte, Laura, Katie, Hamish and I took lots of posed picture and jumped around in the sand and went to a playground. It was just an amazing time, and it was so great to be able to spend time with my close friends. Time is fleeting and it's important to make the best of what is left.

Swings with Laura!

After spending an hour or two along the beach, we headed to Lentil As Anything for a second time in the last week. This time I had the Moroccan Hot Pot, which was a vegetable curry with rice, bread and salad.

All of our food

We also all shared the Japanese Pancakes which was a vegetable pancake that was delicious, along with 3 dips and bread. It was all delicious.

All of us at Lunch at Lentil As Anything

After lunch we came back and all went our separate ways to "study".
All in all it was a great day!

The Final Stretch...

Since I came back from New Zealand, there has been lots of down time and studying. I'm 3/4 of the way done with 1 more final on the 21st and then I am free to do what I want until July 2nd when I have to leave.

It has finally turned into fall here and we've had a few nights of very wintry weather. I wish I had warmer clothes and I wish Unilodge has central heating, because every time I go to the bathroom or out in the hall I freeze. We've also had some wild weather- i.e. wind and lots of rain at random points in the day. This morning it became torrential and I couldn't even see out of my windows. And then, water starting pouring through the window, obviously the windows have not been sealed properly. I thought the building was going to blow over, but it passed and now it is sunny.

Turning into fall on Campus

When I am not in the library with my Library Club (LC) members... or my LLC girls, I am out doing some things in Melbourne I haven't had much chance to do. This is what the last month has looked like:

Gym. Katie and I joined the gym again, and we have been gym buddies throughout the month of June. It's definitely helpful to have a gym buddy, because we motivate each other. We also went swimming at the gym pool, which was super fun. Before I go home I want to get down to about 62kg, which is like 135, because that's about what I was when I left New York. Silly Australia making me gain weight.

Cooking. With more free time, I have been able to improvise on dinners more. Last night I made lamb fillets. Katie and Laura came over and Katie & Laura made cabbage, pumpkin and gnocchi. It was a delicious meal, and the lamb turned out great. I had never made it before! Last week, Katie gave me the idea to make chicken nuggets. I took a chicken breast, dipped it in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and with a little oil in a frying pan cooked them up. They turned out soo good, and they have been making fun of me ever since for being super enthusiastic about it.

Chicken Nuggets from Scratch!

Visitors. Last week Nikita came to Melbourne with 2 of her friends from Uni in Sydney. We made plans to meet up, and along with Katie we went to St. Kilda to a restaurant called Lentil As Anything. Lentil As Anything is a little restaurant that accepts donations in return for food instead of having fixed prices for their meals. It started out as a place where artists could go to eat when they didn't have a lot of money for food, and then when they got money they would pay more to make up for all the free meals they got. They encourage you to "pay what you can or what you feel your meal was worth" It's kind of a cool concept and the food is pretty delicious.
Katie and I shared a Lentil Burger, and an apple curry special. For dessert, we shared a little carrot muffin. We are planning on going back tomorrow for lunch, and it will be delicious I'm sure.

Laura and I on Brunswick Street

Brunswick Street. After not ever going to Brunswick Street throughout the semester, I finally got the chance to go! Katie, Laura and I decided to go to a club/bar called Perseverance. It was the night of the World Cup Opening Game, and it was super packed. As we skipped down to the road, we ran upon a Possum that was pretty fearless and came super close to us. It was cute. Then we got to the bar as it started to rain, and we waited in line for about 30 minutes til we decided to give up and go home. We had grand plans for a movie night with popcorn, but as we walked home we all got tired. We had a run in with an adorable cat (And Katie loves her cats), and then all went home to get warm and dry. Even though it was a fail night, it was still fun.

A few days ago, as I didn't feel like studying, Katie, Laura and I went to Brunswick Street. It was so cute, I had no idea it was as beautiful and eclectic as it was. Brunswick Street is in the suburb called Fitzroy, and I think Hamish and I will look into living over there next year. We walked around and window shopped. It's a pretty alternative area, and is full of cafes and boutiques and vintage stores. We went in a Flower Shop, a fruit store, a garden store, and then decided to stop and grab a coffee. We sat outside and enjoyed the autumn weather.

Beautiful Garden Store on Brunswick St. Note the little sheep statues.

Ice Skating. Tuesday is "Tight Tuesdays" at Ice Skating in the Docklands, which means half price! For only 12 dollars, we got skate rentals and 3 hours of skating. This was our second time going. Charlotte, Katie, Laura, Hamish, Chris and I all had a great time, though my legs were cramping and sore from the gym earlier that week.

The girls Ice Skating

Exam. I had my marketing exam on Tuesday. And besides the fact that I had to take a test for 2 hours, it was awesome. Firstly, the exams for Melbourne Uni are mostly taken at off-site locations in buildings they rent out. In this case, they rented out the Royal Exhibition Building, which is right near the Melbourne Museum, about 10 minutes walk from where I live. It's a huge dome shaped building, and HUGE, (see photo). Inside, there were desks in rows: about 2000 desks to be exact. Each person had a desk number pre-assigned to them, and we had to find our desk. The 'reading period' started at 2pm. I never knew what a reading period was, but apparently you sit there for 15 minutes, not allowed to write anything, but you can look over the exam. I didnt want to do that because I would freak myself out about it. So I sat there bored and filled out my attendance card. Little did I know, we werent allowed to write ANYTHING on ANY PAPER, so I wasn't supposed to fill this out. Luckily, I didn't get in trouble. How was I supposed to know anyway? There were no rules told beforehand. Anyway, the inside of the building was gorgeous- had gorgeous ceilings and architecture. I would love to have a HUGE reception in there for like, my wedding. Except I don't know enough people to be able to fill it up....

Royal Exhibition Building (REB)

All in all, it has been a great finals month. It is nice that my finals are spread out, because it gives me time to have fun and be productive too. I cannot believe that I am down to my final 2 weeks here. It is so bittersweet. I am very excited to see my family and friends and it will be great to be back in NY for the summer. I cant wait to go to a Yankees game, and I am excited about my last summer at Bloomberg. On the other hand, I am really going to miss all of my friends here. It has been an unreal experience, and I feel so close with all of my friends here. On the bright side, the majority of them live within visiting distance and we all have plans to see each other within the next 6 months. And for that, I am happy about. I am going to miss the game of Footy. I'll miss Australia in general- the culture, the coffee, the people, the way of life here. But I know I will be back next year, and so I can only look forward.

Chris and I at Ice Skating

That is all for now- must go read a full semesters worth of notes.

Shopping, Fush & Chups and Rain

It has been wonderful in New Zealand. I love where my Nana's flat is located, in the town of Devonport, directly across the harbour from Auckland. I could totally get used to it, and it is a possibility, cause my parents are considering retiring here in the next few years. Pretty neat, but we'll see what happens, and if they are actually able to retire here, considering all that is holding us back in New York..

Anyway, the past few days have been fun. On Sunday, we went over to my cousins' house for a Sunday Roast lunch of lamb, potatoes and veges. It was yummy and it was great spending time with my 2 cousins who are 15 and 11.

Peter, Me and Emma

After, my Uncle dropped me off at my other cousins house- home to Lizzie and Katy and their parents Robin and Richard. They invited me to stay for the night, which was really nice. I love staying with them, because they are my age- 21 and 23. As per my request, we went out to a Mexican Restaurant. Last year when I visited, we went out to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant right at the base of the Sky Tower. The food was so good- authentic- just like the food we get back in the US, so as authentic as US Mexican food is. Anyway, Melbourne doesn't have any Mexican food like that, so I really wanted to go, and they were so nice to take me. We started the night off with some yummy Strawberry Margaritas and some Salsa, Guacamole, and Cheese dip. For main course, I had my usual- cheese enchiladas- with beans and rice. It was absolutely the best thing EVER. I was craving it so bad. I wish I had taken a photo of the deliciousness.

After dinner, Katy and Lizzie and I rented a movie, Couples Retreat, and watched it back at the house. Lizzie and I stayed up for a while, catching up on life and exchanging goss. The next morning, we woke up and had breaky and headed into the city on Queens Street. Lizzie wanted to see a New Zealand film in theatres called "Boy" so we decided to see it before she had Uni. It was such a GREAT movie! It was at Sundance, and it was so powerful. I highly recommend it. Here is the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwqfR8g-Qow

After the movie Lizzie and I bid each other farewell and headed down onto Queen Street for shopping. First stop, Jay Jays! I bought 2 pairs of jeans and a black leather looking jacket that I have been after for a while. Ended up spending a lot of money, but the exchange rate from USD to NZD is better than USD to AUS. After that, I went and bought a wallet down the street, popped into a few more stores but ultimately decided I had spent enough money and couldnt be fucked to do any more shopping. So, I walked to the ferry building and made it just in time for the 2pm ferry.

Ferry building in Auckland

Once I got to Devonport, I had to walk back to my Nana's. I was carrying my backpack and all of my purchases- and stopped at the New World Supermarket to get some NZ chocolate bars and 2 $1 dollar scratch off lotto cards. I also stopped in the $2 dollar store and got some random knick-knacks for people. Then I began the hike home, which took a while, since I was holding so much stuff.

Self timer action on the way home

I was almost home, and decided to stop at the little beach/park near my Nana's, which have some excellent views of Auckland. I took some photos on the self timer and posed and had fun. It was a nice rest. For dinner we had some fush and chups! It was absolutely delicious. I have grown to really like fish since I have been down in the Southern Hemisphere. It was so fresh and tastey.

Today, I woke up around 10 and helped my Mum change my flight back to the US. I am now leaving on July 2nd instead of June 30th, only 2 days difference, but I'm happy cause now I have 2 more days to spend with Chris! After, we headed over to the mall. It was TORRENTIAL rain the entire way there, but luckily we made it there in one piece. I went to exchange my jacket at Jay Jays because I wanted a different size, and stopped at Valley Girl. It was an outlet store, so I got 2 things for cheap- a nice top and a cute little cardigan. Also stopped at Farmers and picked up some stockings, since the ones I have in Melbourne have holes all over the place.

We stopped at the hospital to visit my Granddad, who was in good spirits, and my Uncle and his girlfriend who had just arrived from their Hong Kong flight (Hes a pilot and she is a flight attendant) stopped by the hospital to say hi. We came home, had dinner, and have relaxed the rest of the night. Mum and I played a card game "Strip Jack Naked" which is always fun. What a silly name for a card game!

Tomorrow is my last full day in Auckland, which will most likely be spend doing some homework, and seeing some family. All and all it has been fun, and relaxing!

Auckland