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.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
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?!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
May 14
I know it’s been awhile since I’ve written but not much has happened here. School overtook my life for about a week. I spent my days in the library and in my room writing a paper. I really was hoping that studying abroad would be more abroad and less studying but oh well.
Two weekends ago I had my friend Alex come to visit me. She’s studying in Brisbane and she and 3 of her friends came to see Sydney. I did more touristy stuff with them than I have in a long time! We went on a ferry boat ride in the harbor which was fun. I took them to one of Sydney’s many markets called Paddington market. It’s tons of booths and tents set up with anything from produce to souvenirs. I bought an Aussie sweatshirt, thongs (known in American as flip flops), and a purse all for $40 bucks! Wahoo. That’s really the first shopping I’ve done since I’ve been here- things are just way to expensive. Then we also did this walk from Coogee beach to Bondi beach. It’s just this beautiful walk along the ocean front for about 5 miles. It was absolutely amazing! I took a bunch of pictures which I’ve posted for ya’ll. I also included a pic of my new house!! Don’t let it fool you though, it is terrace housing so I really only live in half of it, haha.
This weekend I went to a local rugby game for a fieldtrip. Sports here are SO VIOLENT. It’s almost hard for me to watch. But this was just a community game- it reminded me of watching little league but with adults because it is such a family attraction. It was cool though to see how the whole community comes out to support these teams.
Anyway, I handed my paper in today so I feel like I got my soul back. Now I gotta go get ready for some celebrations!
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