Destination: Procrastination

You all should be very happy that Uni is in full swing and I am finding any way to procrastinate. I have even washed my sheets and semi- picked up my room. As promised- I have long delayed pictures of my fabulous apartment. I really enjoy living here (except there's no air conditioning) and have come to call it my home.

Possibly my most prized accomplishment- a full cupboard

The seldom used eating area

The kitchen

Our living room/common area

My messy bedroom

Again...But notice the decorated bulletin board!

That is my apartment in a nutshell- I believe it's the nicest college accommodation I have ever seen- no shared bedrooms or bathrooms!

I have a few updates and stories to share with you- I realized my blog may become a bit boring as I am trying to be a good student and focus on my studies!  I finally made it to the dentist and got my retainer glued back in. I had about a 15 minute walk to the dentist from my apartment and as I was stopped at a very busy intersection waiting to cross the street, a middle aged Indian man starts to make polite conversation. I responded with quick answers but was very distracted because I was running late to my appointment. The next thing I know, he has asked me out for the weekend and I am left speechless- instead of responding I pretend to take a phone call and have a one sided conversation with myself the rest of the way to the dentist. That should teach me never to talk to strangers!

My first package from the states arrived today and I could not be more excited- it felt like Christmas morning when I opened the box! I finally received clothes that I ordered a month before I left the states (although it is now turning too cold for most of them- guess I need to do some more online shopping!) I also received some necessities- band aids (for my now infected feet) bobby pins (they are ridiculously expensive here!) and reusable shopping bags. And to my surprise I received some extra goodies- Twizzlers and a book I've been waiting to read. The other day in the mail I also received some recipes from home- although I have yet to cook them!

Yesterday was Toga Night at Ubar and I am glad I experienced the stereotypical college toga party (although we were legally drinking.) It was a very fun night, and I discovered making a toga is a lot harder than it seems.

Before toga party (the middle one is my flatmate Ally)

All in all, I have really started to feel finally settled and in my element. I have become very close to the girls in my apartment and am truly grateful to them for showing me the ropes. I am beginning to learn the very fine tuned balance of uni, study, and social-although I think social will always outweigh the others!

Just an Update

Hello All, as I promised, I am going to do a better job of keeping you informed. And I realized- updating my blog is just another way of procrastinating from all those pesky readings and assessments I need to do. Oh don't you miss the college life? I'm going to back track a bit to the first week I got here. I finally found my camera amongst the clutter that has covered my room and discovered that I actually have some photos to share!

What the weather was like 2 days before I left...

The weather 2 days after I arrived at Manly Beach

As you can see- I'm not missing the Iowa weather, but sadly, it is turning a bit cold here and I am in need of the cold weather items I left at home! I also have a few pictures of the Harbor Bridge and my cousin Tawnya and I in front of the beautiful scenery...

And lastly, I had to get a picture with the name of my school (Does this count as the annual first day of school picture mom??)

It has been quite an eventful week as I have experienced a lot of unexpected problems. My computer crashed and I luckily had internet on my phone so I could find a tech expert nearby to come and fix it. It ended up being quite easy, but my bank account is a little lighter because of it! A few days later I was eating a carrot and ended up breaking off my permanent retainer. I still have yet to fix this problem, but I have found a dentist near by! 

This past weekend my flat mates and I went into the city to attend a going away party for a friend. The restaurant, Black Bird Cafe is set right on Darling Harbor and had amazing views of the city. The food was delicious- entrées, cocktails, and dessert (needless to say I hit the gym the next day.) Sydney was also celebrating Marti Gras that day and because of the celebration, a huge fireworks display was shot off right in front of the restaurant we were at. The fireworks were amazing, and I was told that the display was nothing compared to what Sydney does for New Years. Afterwards we went to the casino for a bit (no worries- I did not gamble.) I just wanted to go because I was finally legal! Although I find when asked for an I.D. to get into a bar or casino, the bouncers look very confused with my Iowa license- I don't think they believe it's a real I.D. 

I had to learn my lesson the hard way about wearing heels in the city. Our trek involved lots of walking, and the next morning, I woke up with what looked like battle wounds all over my feet. I won't go into detail- but it's very disgusting and I'm definitely going to think twice about my choice of shoes next time! 

Tonight, we went to a chocolate restaurant called Max Brenner. Everyone in my apartment is addicted, and when one person craves it, suddenly everyone else does! Words cannot describe how good the chocolate is. I had a chocolate lava cake with molten chocolate in the middle- the best dessert I have ever had! Once again, I'm going to have to hit the gym. 

I have finally begun to test my cooking skills. After a full trip to the grocery store, my cupboards are stocked with cooking essentials and I have meat in the freezer ( I was basically a vegetarian for the first few weeks) I am not much of a chef, but have been craving a lot of meals from home. So far I have mastered sausage and am working my way up to Parmesan chicken. I have yet to burn the apartment down with our gas stove- although I have come close a few times! 

A few randoms for you:

I experienced the pain of paying for laundry last week- not something I'm looking forward to doing again in the very near future.

Ubar (the bar on campus) is notorious for its themed parties. Last week was pajama themed, this week it's toga party. I am very excited as I feel like it's every college students goal to go to a toga party

I started my small group tutorials last week and have almost all Australians in them- I find it makes discussions very interesting and I have already learned so much about their way of life and how they were raised

I have a bad habit of getting coffee every morning. Not only are the sizes much smaller than in the states, but the prices are much higher. I made myself feel better by getting a punch card...Only 9 more coffees to go to receive a free one!

Well I supposed I should hit the books and do at least one productive thing today. Stay tuned for more updates!