Forgive me God for I have sinned. I ate kangaroo and I liked it. I am sorry.
My Dad and Debbie arrive tomorrow. I can't wait to get good meals and be taken on fun excursions. Everyone here is dropping like flies. These next few days are most people's last. It's going to be weird to be back at home. But I still have a lot to look forward to in the next few weeks. We will be enjoying Sydney for the next 4 days and then off to Cairns where we will experience the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest. Then we go to Adalaide for reasons I'm not sure and then to Kangaroo Island. I probably wont have my computer so I'll have to tell you the stories first hand once I'm back in the states. I land July 10th. If you love me, you'll have a Dairy Queen waiting for me upon arrival.
Cheers
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
June 15
I have managed to accomplish almost everything I’ve wanted to do here. This weekend I checked off two more items that were on my list. The first one is driving. On the way home from Shabbat dinner, Brett offered Jenna and I a chance to take the wheel. I felt like a 16 year old in the car for the first time. I heard comments from Brett that I was sure came from my father: “curb Shira, curb!” and “green means go, Shira.” All I kept thinking was: I wonder if I’m insured in Australia. haha, just kidding. But I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Driving on the opposite side of the road isn’t that hard… it’s sitting on the opposite side of the car that is hard to get used to. There were at least 3 times within 10 minutes that I used the left handle to single a turn but instead got the windshield wipers. It was awesome and I’m so glad I got to try it.
The next item marked off of my to-do list was going to a gay bar on Oxford Street. Oxford Street is lined with gay bars and walking down the sidewalk could keep you entertained for hours… you see the darndest things. About every 30 minutes inside the bar, there would be a show put on by… someone. The first time it was 2 guys dancing on the bars moving in ways no heterosexual man could ever do. The second time was a ladyboy named Beyonce G-Spot, singing the little Mermaid, (refer to pictures). That’s something you don’t see every day. Anyway, we lasted about an hour in there; the amount of unavailable men was giving us a headache. So that was our memorable night on Oxford Street.
Not much more to tell ya. I went to the markets yesterday and a dance class today. The weather sucks. It has been raining for 2 weeks now and the wind is out of control. Well I have nothing further so it’s time to go raid my kitchen. Happy Father's Day to all :)
The next item marked off of my to-do list was going to a gay bar on Oxford Street. Oxford Street is lined with gay bars and walking down the sidewalk could keep you entertained for hours… you see the darndest things. About every 30 minutes inside the bar, there would be a show put on by… someone. The first time it was 2 guys dancing on the bars moving in ways no heterosexual man could ever do. The second time was a ladyboy named Beyonce G-Spot, singing the little Mermaid, (refer to pictures). That’s something you don’t see every day. Anyway, we lasted about an hour in there; the amount of unavailable men was giving us a headache. So that was our memorable night on Oxford Street.
Not much more to tell ya. I went to the markets yesterday and a dance class today. The weather sucks. It has been raining for 2 weeks now and the wind is out of control. Well I have nothing further so it’s time to go raid my kitchen. Happy Father's Day to all :)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
June 12
As expected I don’t really have any news. The things I look forward to in my day are…
- finding a new remote location in the library
- taking the train home so late that I don’t have to pay
- seeing how many books I can fit in my backpack
- Seeing how many times the people sitting next to me come and leave while I'm still there… max so far is 11
On Monday it was the Queen’s birthday so it was a national holiday. I went to Jenna’s so I could use her internet because for some reason mine has been very temperamental. Anyway, I had been facebook messaging with my professor who is 27 and way too much of a kid to be teaching. (The last day of class was held in the campus pup). And he was organizing a night out and invited us all in the class to come. Since my grades have been horrendous this semester, I hoped that making an appearance might have an affect. By the time I got there with Jenna and Major, he was wasted. He bought us all beers and we sat and talked. I purposefully brought Major along so he could hold a competent sport’s conversation with my sports class professor! It worked perfectly. By the end of the night Jenna was scolding him for making me write a 10 page pager as the final. His response (and I quote), “oh what does it matter, Shira’s already got an A.” Between me and you, that is anything but true. But as long as that’s what he thinks I’m not going to complain. But I am proud to say that I actually boozed with my professor! I don’t think that’s a statement many are able to make. It was quite an experience.
Tomorrow I hand in all three of my papers. Upon handing them in, my soul is returned to me and I am a free woman. Except I have one more exam on the 20th but it’s not an essay so that’s all that matters. Then during the evening, I’m going to shabbat dinner at the guy Brett’s house (Aussie guy who is coming to Texas next semester).
Also, Tuesday afternoon I volunteered to speak to students who are coming to the US next fall on exchange. I ended up meeting 3 more kids who will be at Texas! I get so excited just thinking about it. I’m glad that I’ll be able to take a piece of Australia back with me… or a person for that matter. Can’t wait to be able to show them the TEXAN WAY :)
I'm going to be home in less than a month.... WEIRD
- finding a new remote location in the library
- taking the train home so late that I don’t have to pay
- seeing how many books I can fit in my backpack
- Seeing how many times the people sitting next to me come and leave while I'm still there… max so far is 11
On Monday it was the Queen’s birthday so it was a national holiday. I went to Jenna’s so I could use her internet because for some reason mine has been very temperamental. Anyway, I had been facebook messaging with my professor who is 27 and way too much of a kid to be teaching. (The last day of class was held in the campus pup). And he was organizing a night out and invited us all in the class to come. Since my grades have been horrendous this semester, I hoped that making an appearance might have an affect. By the time I got there with Jenna and Major, he was wasted. He bought us all beers and we sat and talked. I purposefully brought Major along so he could hold a competent sport’s conversation with my sports class professor! It worked perfectly. By the end of the night Jenna was scolding him for making me write a 10 page pager as the final. His response (and I quote), “oh what does it matter, Shira’s already got an A.” Between me and you, that is anything but true. But as long as that’s what he thinks I’m not going to complain. But I am proud to say that I actually boozed with my professor! I don’t think that’s a statement many are able to make. It was quite an experience.
Tomorrow I hand in all three of my papers. Upon handing them in, my soul is returned to me and I am a free woman. Except I have one more exam on the 20th but it’s not an essay so that’s all that matters. Then during the evening, I’m going to shabbat dinner at the guy Brett’s house (Aussie guy who is coming to Texas next semester).
Also, Tuesday afternoon I volunteered to speak to students who are coming to the US next fall on exchange. I ended up meeting 3 more kids who will be at Texas! I get so excited just thinking about it. I’m glad that I’ll be able to take a piece of Australia back with me… or a person for that matter. Can’t wait to be able to show them the TEXAN WAY :)
I'm going to be home in less than a month.... WEIRD
Thursday, June 5, 2008
June 5
Unfortunately, I’ve done most of the exciting things here and my days have become repetitive. School, food, and sleep seem to by my major activities. I’ve been loaded with a lot of work lately so I haven’t been experiencing much of anything anymore other than the Sydney libraries. But I just turned in a final essay today so I have one down and 3 more to go over the next two weeks. Most of my friends are traveling and doing exciting stuff but that’s because their school isn’t as hard and their grades don’t transfer. So I’m the loner stuck here by myself.
Last weekend we discovered a cool place in the city called karaoke world. We went there with about 10 people and sang karaoke the whole night. It was a cool place- it had tons of rooms that you rent out for a night. Then you fill the room with friends and sing without the uncomfortably of people you don’t know. Jenna and I performed a very convincing Danny and Sandy in Grease’s Summer Nights. But as the night continued, everyone just ended up screaming each song on the top of their lungs and it was turned into one big headache.
I also had a few of my friends that I met on the NZ trip come and stay with me for a night. They were going to Cairns the next morning and wanted to be closer to the airport so they came to visit. It was really great to see them- especially since who knows when the next time will be…
Then last Sunday I had my last bit of fun before the hell of finals began. A group of 4 of us got tickets to the Sydney Opera House. We went to see Edward Scissor Hands. It was an amazing show. It was mostly dancing and it had a great set. The theater was surprisingly small. I learned that there is more than one theater in the place which I didn’t realize before. But I’m glad I can say that I saw a play in the Opera House.
Don’t expect much exciting news during the weeks to come :(
Last weekend we discovered a cool place in the city called karaoke world. We went there with about 10 people and sang karaoke the whole night. It was a cool place- it had tons of rooms that you rent out for a night. Then you fill the room with friends and sing without the uncomfortably of people you don’t know. Jenna and I performed a very convincing Danny and Sandy in Grease’s Summer Nights. But as the night continued, everyone just ended up screaming each song on the top of their lungs and it was turned into one big headache.
I also had a few of my friends that I met on the NZ trip come and stay with me for a night. They were going to Cairns the next morning and wanted to be closer to the airport so they came to visit. It was really great to see them- especially since who knows when the next time will be…
Then last Sunday I had my last bit of fun before the hell of finals began. A group of 4 of us got tickets to the Sydney Opera House. We went to see Edward Scissor Hands. It was an amazing show. It was mostly dancing and it had a great set. The theater was surprisingly small. I learned that there is more than one theater in the place which I didn’t realize before. But I’m glad I can say that I saw a play in the Opera House.
Don’t expect much exciting news during the weeks to come :(
Sunday, May 25, 2008
May 25
It’s so weird to think that I’m going to be back in my bed in a month and a half. Most of my friends are already home which is even more weird to consider. I’m not ready to be done yet!!!
Even though my time is running down, my adventures still continue. After I went skydiving, I got sick which I believe was my parents still finding a way to punish me from across the world. I could even hear their words in my head: “that’s what you get for being stupid, Shira.” So I’ve been dealing with a sinus infection for the past week which is no fun.
Once I felt better, I went with my friends to an amusement park called Luna Park. It’s a kiddy theme park across the harbor and I’m pretty sure we were the only people over the age of 11. But we still went on the rides, won stuffed animals, and had a blast! On Monday, my friend Liz and I went on a little date. We went out to lunch in the city and then walked around window shopping. Then we went and saw the Real World house. (The house where the cast from the MTV show Real World lived). After that, we walked around the Chinese Gardens which was very pretty (recommended by Uncle Allan - thanks!).
Then Thursday night I went to a friend’s 21st birthday party in north Sydney. This is an Aussie boy who is conveniently studying in Austin next semester so that’s really cool! But his parents had the most amazing dinner party for us. I haven’t been that well fed since I got here. Thank you Jewish parents.
Friday I left for Brisbane to visit my friend Krueger who is studying there. It was a really nice visit – the weather was amazing and I was able to layout on the beach again!!! We spent a lot of time in the city and walking around town. Brisbane is nice but it’s nothing special. Also, her school is kind of in the middle of no where. But she lives with all Australians so it was a fun atmosphere. Now I’m back in cold Sydney and getting ready to live up the next few weeks before I have to start preparing for finals. Talk soon! Cheers.
Even though my time is running down, my adventures still continue. After I went skydiving, I got sick which I believe was my parents still finding a way to punish me from across the world. I could even hear their words in my head: “that’s what you get for being stupid, Shira.” So I’ve been dealing with a sinus infection for the past week which is no fun.
Once I felt better, I went with my friends to an amusement park called Luna Park. It’s a kiddy theme park across the harbor and I’m pretty sure we were the only people over the age of 11. But we still went on the rides, won stuffed animals, and had a blast! On Monday, my friend Liz and I went on a little date. We went out to lunch in the city and then walked around window shopping. Then we went and saw the Real World house. (The house where the cast from the MTV show Real World lived). After that, we walked around the Chinese Gardens which was very pretty (recommended by Uncle Allan - thanks!).
Then Thursday night I went to a friend’s 21st birthday party in north Sydney. This is an Aussie boy who is conveniently studying in Austin next semester so that’s really cool! But his parents had the most amazing dinner party for us. I haven’t been that well fed since I got here. Thank you Jewish parents.
Friday I left for Brisbane to visit my friend Krueger who is studying there. It was a really nice visit – the weather was amazing and I was able to layout on the beach again!!! We spent a lot of time in the city and walking around town. Brisbane is nice but it’s nothing special. Also, her school is kind of in the middle of no where. But she lives with all Australians so it was a fun atmosphere. Now I’m back in cold Sydney and getting ready to live up the next few weeks before I have to start preparing for finals. Talk soon! Cheers.
Friday, May 16, 2008
May 17
Hi everyone - now that I've come down from the high of flying, I can share with you my experience. Friday morning I woke up at 530am to take a train with 8 of my friends to the city. From there, we were shuttled into a town called Wollongong which is 2 hours away. After signing my death certificate and promising not to sue them after an accident, we all put on our jumpsuits. We then get our harnesses attached and prepare ourselves for departure. Right before we're about to leave, a women comes into the office and says in the most nonchallant voice, "Suzanne, what's that number again to call and report accidents?" The room goes dead silent and then we all start yelling. The woman cracks up and goes "whoops, I mean car accidents. I just saw a hit and run." That was not a smart business decision because we all can't stop freaking out. And no sooner after that occurs do they tell us its time to go. So we pile into a van and head to the airport. We meet our tandem divers and they give us a 3 minute briefing on what we're supposed to do upon take off and landing. 3 minutes of instruction and my life is on the line... great. Next thing I know, we're loading the plane. 17 people cram into this tiny jet and take off. Somehow I still wasn't scared and it didn't really occur to me what was about to happen. After 15 minutes of flying and at the height of 14,000 feet, the pilot shouts out "one minute" and the door opens. At that point it hit me and it hit me hard. Everyone starts screaming and one by one they drop like flies. My instructor inches us toward the door. I don't remember much about the first 5 seconds of freefall probably due to shock, but I know I was screaming on the top of my lungs. The entire drop you hear nothing because the wind is so loud. On the website it says you freefall for 60 seconds but I don't remember it feeling that long. The rest of the ride down took about 6 minutes. All in all, it was an incredible experience and something I just had to do once in my life. I posted lots of pictures onto my website and I have a DVD documenting the whole experience. And in case anyone is interested, if I recruit 4 people, I can go again for free... any takers?!
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