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

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 :(

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.

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?!

May 16

Sorry mom... sorry dad...

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!

April 27

I MOVED!!!! I’m so excited about being in my new place! It’s in Bondi Junction which I am quickly becoming obsessed with. And it’s so close to Jenna, that now it only takes me 20 minutes to get to her rather than an hour and 20 minutes! The only downside is that it will take a little longer to get to school but that’s it. I have my own room and my own BIG bed; I love it! The woman I live with is really cool. I think she’s a party girl on the weekends because she doesn’t get up before noon! I’M not even that bad anymore!! But she’s sooo sweet and so nice, and a very eccentric and dynamic person. The guy who lives here is the same age as her and he describes himself as “a little flamboyant.” I have yet to meet him but I’m very excited about it. This sounds like it’s going to be a fun house!!

For mommy and anyone else who might want it, here's the address:
131 Ebley St
Bondi Junction NSW 2022
Australia

Living over here is so convenient. Jenna and I went out last night for a friend’s birthday, we took the train back to the Junction and we were so tired that she was able to just crash at my place. (She is currently still sleeping). It’s really nice to be able to do that. Saves money on transportation too!

Yesterday was the first day in 2 weeks that it didn’t rain! Ya right Australia is in a drought! They say this is the weird year of weather they have ever had… GREAT!! So on this one last day of summer Jenna, Liz and I went to….. THE HORSE RACES!!! It was such a crazy experience. We had to get dressed up in fancy attire at noon. I’m talking high heels, hair-do’s and all. When we got there, they had complementary Clinique makeovers! So we all got our hair done. I felt like a princess. When we finally made our way inside, there were crowds of people placing bets. So the 3 of us, who knew nothing about what we were doing, bet on some horses to make sure we got the full experience! Of course we all lost, but at least we had fun doing it! It was kind of weird to be surrounded by such fancy people at a horse race. I felt like I was in the 1920’s or something. All the women had these huge feathers and hats on their heads and the men were in ridiculous looking striped suits. It was quite the scene. Anyway, I really enjoyed that!

Friday was a national holiday called ANZAC day. It’s kind of like our Memorial or Veterans Day except with a lot more drinking and gambling. It’s the one day out of the year that it is legal to play a gambling game called 2 Up. It’s basically like flipping coins and calling heads or tails but with money. I was too busy moving to see this extravaganza but I hear it’s really crazy. Then they have all different kind of sporting matches throughout the day which is some big tribute to the Army. I had to watch a game for one of my classes but I didn’t find it much different than any other game.

So I got my first paper back the other day… and for the first time in my college career, I got a D!!! If you don’t remember me telling you how impossible it is to get good grades, here is a perfect example coming from a straight A student. Australian universities are highly competitive and only 4% receive high distinction. So the good news is that it would transfer back to UT as only a B but it was still a slap to the face none the less.

I can’t think of anything else noteworthy right now so I should probably go wake Jenna up. I’ll be posting more pictures soon!!!

XOXO