"Long live the walls we crashed through, I had the time of my life, with you"

So many mixed emotions right now. It is the night before I leave Australia. Tomorrow morning at 730am I leave the Village for good and head to the airport. 14 hours later I land in LA then 12 hours later I will finally be home. I really can't believe that this is it and that it has been 5 months since I have been home. This has been the semester of a lifetime with unforgettable memories. It had its ups and down but through it all I have become such a stronger person. I made it through my finals and even got to see the Harry Potter exibit this last week in Australia. The people that I have met here are my family and it is going to be heartbreaking to leave them. This time tomorrow we are all going to be messes at the LAX airport.. =/ I am writing this sitting in my usual chair in Danielle and Emily's house and it is going to be wierd not seeing these two every single day.. They literally have been there for me this whole trip espically when I was in the hospital. Even though they live close at home, it is just going to be so different not being with them. Some people that I have met here I may never see again but I will always remember them. This semester has been a once in a lifetime experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. Pictures(even though I have taken about 3000) don't even compare to the amazing sights I have seen while I have been here. Although I really want to go home and see my family and friends, I wish I could stay in Australia longer. It is a bittersweet goodbye but I believe that someday I will be back.
"cause it's not over till it's over
every ending's a new beginning
one more chance to get it right
one more chance to get it wrong
its not over till it's over
sometime's nowhere leads to somewhere
and it all starts again
in the end "
<3 Australia 2011

a rough patch at the end of my adventure in aussie...

So i last said that i had an infection near my tailbone and it was very very painful. well that same infection landed me in the hospital for 3 days, 2 nights and had to have minor surgery... Not how i wanted to spend my last 2 weeks in Australia. The infection ended up being an abcess that needed to be drained. It was an hour long procedure and I was in alot of pain. I was finally released and allowed to go home. But that was just the beginning. At first it was horrible. I couldn't move from my bed and had to rely on everyone for even the smallest thing. Thankfully I have amazing friends here that I can not thank enough for everything they have done for me. Emily and Danielle were with me everyday in the hospital and have been taking great care of me. Mara too! I wasn't allowed to go on my Gold Coast trip which was a bummer =/  But I have been slowly making progress. Walking downstairs used to be a challenge but now I have come to master it. I even walked over to Mara's house for a change of scenery!
The two people though that have gotten me through this and have literally been there for me even at the most inconvenient hours were my parents.(Sorry if this makes you cry) I really couldn't have done this without them. All the late night phone calls to calm me down and tell me it is ok really mean alot to me. Mom even if you are mumbling and dont remember talking to me, thanks! I am glad I took your advice and went back to the doctors. Dad you are my rock. You even offered to stay on skype with me until i fell asleep. I thank-you for everything you do. Espically that email. At first I was like "oh great a long sappy email from dad." Yes it did make me cry but you know what, it was a great email that had alot of truth in the words. I love you both so much! I really wish you both could have been here with me through this whole terrible mess but I know that you are always thinking of me. Can't wait to finally be home in 2 weeks!
This whole mess has really made me a stronger person that I was before I came here. I know it is not an ideal situation, but I just have to make the best of it!

what have I been up to?

It is now november 12th and I have been seriously slacking on updating my blog! In exactally 3 weeks I will be home. It is so unreal to think that its almost over =[ Anyways so in the past 2 weeks I have celebrated halloween, Meghan came to visit, had my last week of classes, took a final, and had my farewell dinner with my AIFS family. Halloween was so much fun! One night we were zombies, another night wore togas, one night i was a hula girl and the best night of halloween danielle,emily, meghan and i were the ninja turtles! It was the most epic costume and we had such a good night! We threw a party at my house which was a huge success and really not that bad of a clean up! When Meghan was here we went everywhere! Opera House, over to Manly Beach where a seagull ate a piece of pizza right out of my hand!, botanical gardens, pancake on the rocks, Australian Beer Festival, Paddy's market, the Rocks, Darling Harbor and the Hard Rock. It was great to see someone from home and we did so much! After Meghan left it was crunch time for classes! So the next 2 weeks were pretty uneventful! The only good thing was we went on a village cruise with a bunch of people that live in the same area which was fun! Then I got deathly sick with the worst cough ever! It took me until about a few days ago to finally start feeling better! Then I go and get an infection near my tailbone and am on antibiotics! I am literally fally apart over here! Today all I wanted was to be home and have my parents take care of me =[ I called them so many times today but I know they didnt mind talking to me =] love you mom and dad! Cant wait to be home soon but these next 3 weeks are going to fly by! Next week I have 2 finals and a paper due then it is off to the Gold Coast with Danielle for 5 days! Relaxing on the beach and going to theme parks sounds great right about now! Then it will be Thanksgiving and then I will be home! It also amazes me that today at the mall... they started taking pictures with Santa... I know they dont have thanksgiving here but come on!! over a month before Christmas?!  oh well whatever makes Australians happy I guess!

recap continued. Cairns!

Pictures are also on facebook due to my uncontrollable urge to take a million pictures... I can't help it!
After being home for literally 3 days from Melbourne, I boarded a plane with 23 other people from my AIFS group and travelled to Cairns. All I can say is that Cairns is very humid and hot with some rain! We got to our hostel around 11ish and went straight to bed once the room situation was sorted out. The next morning we got up early and went straight to the dock to board a boat to the Great Barrier Reef! Leta just say everyone on the boat got seasick (including me) because the sea was so choppy from the storm. We finally made it out to the reef and it sun finally came out! It was a rough swim out to the reef from the boat but it was totally worth it! Words can't even describe how beautiful the reef is. The coral was all different colors and there was fish everywhere! I even found nemo and his family =] I got beat up by the reef but the scar will always be a good story. We swam back to the boat and had lunch which was a challenge on a rocking boat but we made it through. I even saw a sea turtle coming up to the surface which was amazing! Just wish i took a picture of it =/ After lunch we headed to a second location of the reef to snorkel again. This time it was eave harder to swim out there but still worth it! We came back to the boat and headed back to Cairns. We then spent the rest of our night at the hostel hanging around playing cards.
The next day was our day off. I opted to not do anything this day and I was pretty happy I did. It was raining all morning and the people who were going skydiving had to keep getting their jump times pushed back. After the rain stopped I went into town with a few friends and walked around and shopped! I bought a cute anklet and a present for my mom (yes another turtle!) We went back to the hostel for a hat party and just spent the night hanging around again playing games!
On sunday we went to the rainforest for the day! We first stopped at once again another wildlife park to play with kangaroos! We then went on a short hike through the rainforest which was really cool! After we had a nice lunch and spent about 2 hours on a gorgeous beach! We then went on another short rainforest walk but this time it got really humid so it wasn't as fun. We then stopped at a lookout for a quick group picture and the guide pointed out to an island in the distance. This was the place the Steve Erwin died. It was crazy to think that i was looking at it. We then made our way to a crocdile cruise down a river which was kind of disappointing.. We only saw 1 big croc and 1 baby croc. It was still fun though! We then headed back to the hostel where we watched the final of the rugby world cup and saw New Zealand finally win against France.
Our last day I went into town quickly before we had to check out then we headed  to the airport to fly back to Sydney. It was a great 5 days in Cairns and I really want to go back again sometime in my life!

So far this week I have just been super excited for Meghan to finally visit! I get to pick her up today and she will be here for about 5 days! Last night we went to a halloween party at the Ranch and we were zombies. pictures to come on facebook about out terrifying costumes! Miss and love my friends and family but I will be home in just a short 5 weeks! crazy how times flies!

recap of the past 2 weeks. Melbourne

All pictures are up on facebook! I took way to many to actually post them in this blog!
I have been crazy busy the past two weeks. As the end of the semester is creeping up on me I have been a travel bug. I went to Melbourne for a long weekend from the 15th to the 17th with Mara my travel buddy! We had an amazing time! The first day we got in and went to the hostel to put our stuff down. Then we went for a quick visit to the Queen Victoria Market then off to a day of the penguin parade which was such a crazy day! first we went stopped at this little rest stop for lunch and i bought a book for like $3. Then we went to a wildlife park and chilled with kangaroos again which is always a good time. Then off to a beach which was very windy and Mara and I got soaked by the waves but it definately got us a few good pictures and heaps of laughs! After the beach we went over to the Nobbies which is this cute little boardwalk that has a small island off the coast that looks like a doorknob hence being called the nobbies. It was cold and rainy but we still had a good time. Even though it was breading season for seagulls and they were EVERYWHEREEE! We then drove down towards the penguin parade and saw for once heaps of wild wallabies! Brought my wild kangaroo and wallaby count up to 19! Next we stopped in this little town called Cowes for delicious pizza dinner. I even tried a lamb stew pizza which was actually delicious. Our final stop was the actual penguin parade. It was amazing! We were sitting in these bleachers on the beach and suddenly you see these groups of penguins waddling up from the water! I was like a little kid again and was amazed! We watched a few groups of penguins come in from the water then we followed them up the boardwalk. I literally was following one penguin all the way home it was so cute! They are called little penguins and are only a foot tall! I wanted to reach over and pick it up and stick it in my bag! We drove back to our hostel and finally got to relax after a very long day (or so we thought) We hear a knock on our door and went outside and became friends with a whole australian rules football team. They were hilarious! We finally got to bed after an hour of talking outside. The next day we spent hours shopping in Queen Victoria Market which is a bigger version of Paddys Market in Sydney. It was so much fun and I bought alot of my presents for friends and family back home! We then walked into the center of the city and did some much needed sightseeing! We visited the art museum and followed the statues outside that were for an arts festival. That night we went out to dinner at Taco Bills which was known for the huge margaritas! Mara and I split one and had a delicious dinner! The next morning we had to check out early. Then we went out into the city again because our flight was at 7pm. We went out to breakfast at this cute place called the pancake parlour. Then we went up to the top of the Eureka Sky Tower which had amazing views of the whole city. After the Sky Tower we stumbled upon the Ice Bar and decided to go in. It was really really cool. Pun intended! We drank out of ice glasses and bought pictures and even stole to socks! sneaky us! After the ice bar we started to slowly make our way back to our hostel to get picked up to head to the airport. Overall it was a great long weekend trip to Melbourne!

Surprise!

As everyone who knows me I HATE SURPRISES! But for once I loved this surprise! I have the most amazing friends here in Australia! They threw me a surprise birthday party on friday! It was so nice of them to do this for me! Basically my entire study abroad program was there and some of our friends from Australia! It was such a great night! They even made me a pink birthday cake with a ballerina candle =] they know me oh so well!
Yesterday we were up bright and early to go to the South Coast for the day with AIFS. It was nice to see everyone again after my party. We went to the Kiama blow hole again which was cool. We went to Jervis Bay which was absolutely beautiful and it is said that they have the whitest sand in the world! We had a delicious lunch then made our way to this place where people actually live off the land in tribes. It was amazing to see that even today people still live that way. They showed us around through the bush and saw where they pick their food. I tasted wild cherries and even a bush lime! We then learned how to throw boomerangs! I was terrible at it but I can say that I threw a boomerang in Australia which is pretty cool! We then tasted homemade bread and green tea which was good. We then got on the bus and made our way back to uni stopping on the way at Fitzroy Falls. It was this beautiful waterfall in what seemed like the middle of nowhere! After the scenic stop we had a long drive back to Macquarie where we had a much needed relaxing night.
This week flew by! With going back to classes and a blacklight party it doesn't seem like a whole week has gone by. This week will be pretty lowkey because I am going to Melbourne with Mara from saturday to monday! I am pretty excited because we booked this months ago and we are going to Phillip Island to see the little penguins!! Of course we will do some much needed shopping and sightseeing too! Just have to get through this upcoming week first!

Bungy jumping, birthday and the rest of New Zealand

New Zealand was so much fun and such a great experience to visit a country I would never get the chance to visit if I wasn't studying abroad in Australia! On wednesday I went bungy jumping off the Auckland Harbor bridge which was terrifying but also amazing! It was such a rush to finally get the courage to leap off the bridge! I was the only one out of 7 people that jumped that actually touched the water! I had the time of my life! After bungy jumping Mara and I met up with her friend Lauren who is studying in New Zealand. We went over to Devonport which is this really cute historic town near the water. We wandered around, tried some delicioud chocolate, and saw some amazing views. We then met up with Mara's aunt and went to an old war bunker and walked around the tunnels there. We finally got back to her house and we were exausted! On thursday it was my birthday! I can't believe that I am 20 years old! I had such a great day! First we went to a World Press gallery which was really cool. I love taking pictures so seeing pictures that people have taken from all over the world was truly amazing. After the gallery we walked around and shopped! Then we went to Kelly Tarltons which was an arctic animal encounter which made me feel like such a little kid again! After there we made our way over to the skytower for a delicious dinner at the top in a revolving restaurant called the Orbit. It was a lowkey but great birthday overall. On friday we went to Mara's cousins market day where i bought a cute homemade bracelet and delicious food! We then went to the Auckland Museum which was huge and so amazing. I learned all about the settling of New Zealand by the Maori people, and heaps of great facts about New Zealand. On saturday we packed up early and Mara and I went into the city to the art gallery which was a beautiful building with very diverse exibits. We then met up with Lauren again and went to this very cute french market where we bought delicious pastrys! After the market we went to the Auckland Zoo with Mara's aunt and cousin. Even though the weather wasn't so great it was still a good time. We then checked into our hotel because we had a very early flight on sunday and had a great last dinner with Mara's aunt. We then watched some of the Rugby World Cup games and had an early night. At 4am on sunday we got up and headed to the airport for our early flight back to Sydney. It felt great to finally be back in a city that I can truthfully now call home. I miss my friends and family back home but I can honestly say I am loving being here! 
Last night we went out into the city for a joint birthday celebration for myself and Nikki. It was a great time until we couldn't get home on the bus... Lets just say we didn't get home until about 5am and I am still exausted! Oh well it is definately a night i will never forget and a story to tell!
I would post pictures from New Zealand but there are just way to many that I love! They are all on facebook for those that would like to look at my documentation of my week in New Zealand!

Beginning of New Zealand

So far I have been in New Zealand for only 3 days and I am loving it!  We got here on monday and had a nice chill day hanging around Mara's aunts house. She lives about an hour outside the center of Auckland. She has been so nice to take us in for the whole week and feeding us! We settled in and had a nice home cooked dinner which was delicious. On monday morning we packed up the car and headed north to her aunt's parents' house. It was a beautiful 2 hour scenic drive through the North Island of New Zealand. There were rolling hills, breathtaking views and heaps of sheep and cows! The whole island is decorated for the Rugby World Cup. I love all of the banners that decorate the roads. We finally made it to the house and it was stunning. It was a house that you would see in a magazine. It had amazing views from the kitchen, a million rooms and bathrooms, and even a spa. It was paradise! That day we went to the Whangarei Falls which were really pretty then went to a little secluded beach where i of course collected seashells! We went back to the house, had a spa then had another amazing dinner!

This morning we went over to the aquatic center because it is Mara's cousin's favorite. After a little while at the pools we went to the waterfront and had a delicious lunch! We took a walk and saw some great sculptures! On our walk back we went to this crazy park and if you know me then you know my obsession with swings... After the park it was a nice ride back to Mara's aunts house where we have been just hanging around and getting ourselves prepared for bungy jumping tomorrow!! I am scared but i know it will be an experience of a lifetime! wish me luck!

hello New Zealand!

driving through the north island

so many cows!

newborn lambs!

such a pretty beach!

for you dad!

love seashells!

view from the house we stayed in up north

really cool clock near the water

coolest playground

swings!!

these flags are everywhere! love it!

driving back from the north

Canberra and Hunter Valley

I am currentally in New Zealand updating my blog! I figured before i got into detail about New Zealand I would update on my last few days in Australia before I got here!
On thursday I went to the capital Canberra. We first went to the Floriade(spelling?)  which was this beautiful flower festival! After a stop there we headed over to the National Museum of Australia! Since two girls decided to get on the bus late we had our visit cut short at the museum but it was still a great place to explore and learn about Australian history! After the museum we went to the Parliment House and got our own tour. It is a beautiful building and parliment was actually in session when we were there. After the Parliment House we drove past the embassys. The US has the biggest one in Canberra. We then went to the War Memorial which was probably one of my favorite stops of the day. There was just so much to see and videos to watch. I learned alot about Australians in different wars. The we loaded up the bus and had the longest ride home ever.

at the flower festival

an artist was painting these along the water

this was made out of oranges

so many gnomes!

outside the national museum

Parliment House

war memorial

On Friday we went to Hunter Valley. This is where wine is produced in Australia. It was a nice relaxing day visiting wine factories and trying lots of different types of wine.

watching them make fudge

yum

found my favorite poptarts from back home

vineyard

where they made wine

wine tasting