The Sarabellum

I am officially home! The end!

What the Beach Boys said is true. When you are learning to surf and catch a wave, you feel so amazing. Sadly, I really suck at surfing. It was heaps of fun, but I was only able to stand up once, for like one second. I can tell that I was improving though. It's very fun to swim on a surf board too because you go so fast, and it's always nice to mess around in the water with things that float. There were no sharks, dolphins, fish or any other visible marine life, but there was a lot of seaweed. I am less afraid of seaweed if I am wearing a wetsuit (I have a wonderful wetsuit-induced farmer's tan now), for some reason, but it is still not something I like stepping in. I am a bit crispy, and a lot exhausted, but it was very fun and I feel like I learned things.
Tonight is Linda's last night here, so we're going to dinner again. Tomorrow I will probably take slowly, and I'm getting a pedicure at 2:00. I really feel sorry for the poor cosmetology student who will be dealing with my feet... Maybe they'll take one look and turn me away! Whatever. $20 saved, if that happens. I should probably spend the rest of the day packing my bags in a more conducive manner, and maybe go to Markets by Moonlight at the Rocks. Saturday I'd like to use to explore one of the Sydney suburbs - Glebe. From what I can gather, it seems to be an artsier area, but I can't tell for sure. Hope it's worth it.
Then, of course, on Sunday I leave! Finally! I'll spend 2 days in LA with my godfather and then back to good ol' Ohio. It's been fun, and I wouldn't take back any of it (I think...), but I will be very very very very very very very very very very very happy to go home and see my family and eat good food and own pets and have plants in my room and everything.

Edit: Linda and I met up and I had the most amazing Subway sub I have ever had. Nothing was especially different about it, but it was DELICIOUS. Spicy Italian with Caesar dressing... mmm... Then we saw "Couples Retreat" and it was just the dose of good ol' American humor I needed. I used to really hate Vince Vaughn, but I like him more and more with each successive film. Now I am back at the hostel and I am ready to pass the heck out. Good thing I don't have to wake up until noon (although I'll wake up at 8:00am anyway. Stupid wacked-out internal clock.).

This morning, Linda and I got up early and went on a trip to the Blue Mountains. It was really neat. We saw kangaroos in the wild and even a kookaburra sitting in a gum tree (sadly, there was a lack of gumdrops...). Lunch, a bit of hiking, rode the steepest railway in the world (50-something degree angle!). Unfortunately, I was told by the receptionist that I would be back around 5:30pm, but it turned out that I wouldn't be back 'til 7pm. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that I had a ticket to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performance of Russian things which was to start at 8pm (and I didn't want to go in my sweaty hiking clothes). Fortunately, after one of the most nerve-wracking car rides in my life (just because I was anxious), I got back to the hostel at 7pm, changed clothes faster than I ever have in my life, and ran to the subway. I made it to the Opera House with perfect timing and enjoyed the show. The inside of the concert hall is gorgeous, especially the ceiling. It's like buttery palm trees. When I post my illegal pictures, you'll understand. Now, however, I am absolutely exhausted, and I'm going to do surfing lessons tomorrow! This, I'm sure, will prove to be highly entertaining.

As you may well know, today is my Australian/New Zealandish birthday. Since I skipped a day coming here though, technically I am only 19 and 364 days today, so my real birthday is tomorrow. Yay for the 2-day birthday extravaganza! My presents to myself include: Trip to the Blue Mountains and the Sydney Symphony tomorrow, and Surfing Lessons (a.k.a. Sara-Makes-A-Fool-Of-Herself-AND-Gets-Eaten-By-Sharks Lessons) Thursday, possibly. Today I spent worrying that Linda's plane had crashed somewhere in the Tasman Sea and that she was unable to text me of her arrival because she was busy drowning. In fact, she was busy napping. So while I waited, I baked cookies, watched TV and cooked 2 zucchini as my lunch. Mmmm. Oh, and hung my laundry up to dry since the stupid dryer didn't dry my stuff all the way. Grr. And I think it stained one of my new shirts. Double Grr. And I seem to have lost some of my jewelry. Very very Grr. And my entire body is peeling. Not Grr, but still not very attractive.
ANYHOW, very soon I will be meeting with Linda to go out to dinner, which will be good. It'll be SO nice to have a friend here. Now to continue the search for my necklaces. Onward!

Ok, now that I have all the misery out of my system, today was quite nice. I started with a delicious lemon tart thing, which I ate on the way (by ferry) to Manly Beach. I found a new book at the exchange and it was nice to lie on the beach and read. I can feel productive without being productive. It's great! For dinner I GOT 2 ZUCCHINI FOR $0.97(!!!) and cooked one to eat with my ravioli. It turned out really well! The book is finished, I watched "The Big Bang Theory" (TV show about nerds) for the first time, and now "The Mentalist". Tomorrow is my birthday, although it doesn't feel like it, and Linda gets here! Yay! Company!
So, sorry for my breakdown, but things are looking up.

I want to go home. I am done being here, and alone, and broke, and blistered. Today I toured the Government House (NSW Governor's former residence) and walked around the Art Gallery of NSW. Both were very nice. I have more blisters. I had a gross pasty for lunch. The worst ever. It was full of rice instead of potatoes and had stupid bell peppers in it. A heinous crime against pasties everywhere, if you ask me. And the hostel is out of laundry detergent and I have no clean clothes. I did, however, have my first cookie-dough ice cream in 5 months. So delicious. Amen for Baskin Robbins.
Discovery of the day - the bathrooms in the Botanic Gardens have little yellow metal boxes to allow you to dispose of your syringes safely.

Edit: I tried to watch Psych on my computer and it didn't work, then I regretted my decision not to try kangaroo meat, then I wanted to work on my platypus bead thing but was sexiled from my hostel room, meaning I was forced to watch Max Payne which is an awful awful movie, and my head hurt a lot. Dinner went ok. I did some sort of cooked asparagus, pine nut, carrot mixture topped with cranberries and blue cheese. I JUST WANT TO DO MY LAUNDRY.

...was lame. Ok, it started out fine. I went to the weekend market at The Rocks, which was good. I bought christmas ornaments, at Mom's request, although we need more ornaments like a hole in the head. I also got myself a painted wooden wombat. It is muy adorable. I did a self-guided walking tour of the area, which was ok, although sort of boring. I had a coupon to Wagamama noodle bar for lunch, and, being incompetent at finding things, walked 10000 blocks to get there, and then realized I'd lost the coupon along the way. I had some sort of soup thing, which was good, but it would've been better if I'd gotten $4 off. I am so sick of spending money. I feel like a black hole. I can't wait to work again. I think I am going to spend more money and have a $10 steak dinner. Maybe then I can convince myself not to have more ice cream... I am ready to go home.

Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a [brush] across my head.
Had brunch. Decided to go to the zoo. Caught the train and the ferry to the zoo. Zooed it up.
ADMISSION WAS $40. HIGHWAY ROBBERY. It was a nice zoo, and I saw a really cool bird show, featuring some black-winged doodleybuzzard (can't remember its real name) that is one of 2 bird species to use rocks to break open eggs and we got a demonstration and it was really cool. (I know it probably bothers the heck out of my older readers, but I do know how to be grammatically correct, I just like having sentences that go ____ and _____ and ______ and ______ and ____ because I'm in my first childhood.) There were also these weird Asian Catbears (not their real names. It started with a B...) that were adorable. ...Ok, it's a binturong, and it didn't come up when I searched "Asian catbear" so I had to go find its name on the zoo website and then looked it up and all the results included the name "bearcat"...great. Here is a picture - http://www.columbiabc.edu/images/.xvpics/Bintourong2.jpg So cute! I saw another platypus, and some penguins, one of which was being silly and trying to eat his own bubbles. I didn't see the baby elephant, but was sort of pressed for time, having woken up late and not actually getting to the zoo until 2 (it closes at 5). I left on the 5:00 ferry, after buying a Taronga Zoo sticker, featuring their adorable platypus logo (http://www.thunderjetboat.com.au/images/content/Image/Taronga%20zoo%20logo.jpg), and riding the Sky Safari cable car (Free with admission! Darn right with what I paid...). All in all a good time, although it would have been better if it was not as overcast and if I had people with me. I am tired of being alone. Pasty and a salad for dinner, and another mint chocolate chip milkshake for dessert. That part should probably not happen any more...
Also, I am in love with lemon tart things now (another thing I don't need to be eating). I have had 2 so far, and they are really good. There is the most adorable pastry shop down the street (I think it's called Croissant d'Or or something like that) and the one I had today was from there and it said "Citron", which I assume is French for "lemon", on it in chocolatey cursive writing.
Speaking of French, I find that I am getting more and more intolerant (specifically towards foreign languages) as this trip goes on. I am hoping it's just because I want to go home and not that my character is being changed for the worse.

On my Tuesday, your Monday, I went to the famous Bondi Beach. It was amazing. As a landlocked Midwestern girl, I am amazed by beaches in the same way that I am amazed by mountains, and the Great Lakes don't count. I mean they do, but they're not the same as ocean beaches. Anywho, I did apply sunscreen, but I forgot how hard it is to apply sunscreen to one's own back, and didn't want to ask a stranger (because that would be creepy) etc. etc. and now I am viciously burned. Skin cancer, here I come. But it was totally worth it. I made good progress on my book and, hopefully, my little neurons are synthesizing seratonin as fast as their enzymes can carry them. I'm not sure that makes sense. Whatever. I did go in the water, which was cold and salty and also inhabited by fish. This was not ok. Water with people is not supposed to also have fish in it, and even though I could sort of see the fish, I couldn't see them all the time and I have fish fear. Say it: "Cray-zee."

Wednesday I intended to see both the Australian Museum and the NSW Art Gallery, but only made it to the former. I had a giant blister on the ball of my left foot, which has since turned bloody and been drained and all sorts of fun stuff. Anyway, the pain from that, plus sunburn pain, prompted me to go have a lie down after the first museum. The museum was pretty good. No Te Papa, but it had plenty of skeletons and a nice exhibit on threatened Australian species. I learned that wombats have cubic poop, and that there used to be a giant prehistoric duck that is now commonly known as "Demon Duck of Doom". The gift shop sold ice-cube trays that make ice-cubes shaped like dinosaur bones (making them not really ice-cubes anymore...), and I didn't buy one, but I will when I have my own kitchen and have the need for ice...in novelty shapes. That evening, I was invited to a club called "The Bank" for free drinks (which were disgusting, seriously) with a bunch of fellow hostelers. I finally got to wear my "nightclub appropriate shirt", making that purchase not a complete waste! At first it was awkward because I didn't really know anyone, but alcohol being the wonderful social lubricant that it is, people and I ended up talking and it was fun. I walked home, bought delicious Indian food on the way, and ate it outside when I realized I'd forgotten my key card. Eventually I caught the door as some other people were leaving. Perfect.

Today, I did more museum-like things and am now pretty much museum-ed out. I started at the Sydney Aquarium, which was pretty cool. I saw platypuses! They are so cute. That will be my next atypical stuffed-animal purchase. There were also dugongs (adorable), octopi, jellyfish, sharks, stingrays and millions of irritating school children. Admission was also absurdly expensive. $25 WITH a 20% off coupon! Ridiculous. Afterward, I went to the (FREE, THANK GOODNESS) National Maritime Museum, which was nice. Way less kids. I went on a free tour, which was pretty boring, but I went back and read 100000000 plaques and am now totally done with museums for the next few days. Interestingly, Australia seems to be the country of kidnapping. Aboriginal kids were kidnapped to raise them "properly" in Christianity and whatnot, British kids were kidnapped to be trained on these farms to provide a new generation of white workers for the colony... What next?! American tourists kidnapped to be properly raised as white workers... All very interesting. On the good side, I FINALLY HAD A MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP MILKSHAKE! So good. I didn't realize how much I'd missed them. No Graeter's, of course, but delicious.

Now it is raining. It was awesome, because literally 2 minutes after I walked in the door of my hostel, there was this enormous thunderclap (also the first thunder I've heard since I left the States), and it started raining. Great timing on my part!

The hostel internet does not seem to like my attempts to upload photos, but if I'm successful I'll post the link to the album.

Things left to do: NSW Art Gallery, Zoo, Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach again.
Any other suggestions?

I am already sunburned. Yay! (sarcasm) Fortunately I brought some aloe lotion, despite not having sunscreen (I bought some when I got back, don't worry).
I spent today on an epic walk around the Sydney Botanic Gardens, involving passing by the Government House (which I'll go back and tour on Friday), the Conservatorium of Music (not joking, that's what it's called and I am never saying just "Conservatory" again) and the Sydney Opera House (the most photographed building in the southern hemisphere). The Sydney Symphony will be doing some performances in the Opera House for a mere $35 while I'm here, so I was thinking about getting a ticket to go see one of those. It could be fun and would give me an excuse to wear my nice clothes (I hate packing things for nothing).
I spent approximately 1 billion hours in the gardens, not because of their coolness (they were really awesome), but because the place is a freaking maze. Also, THERE ARE SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOOS EVERYWHERE AND THEY WILL EAT BREAD OUT OF YOUR HAND AND THERE ARE ALSO LITERALLY 10-11,000 GIANT FRUIT BATS THAT HAVE WINGSPANS OF UP TO 1.2 METRES AND THEY ARE REALLY CREEPY LOOKING WHEN THEY'RE ALL ROOSTING TOGETHER IN THE TREES AND THERE ARE URBAN PARROTS AND GIANT IBIS THINGS AND IT'S SO CRAZY. I'm loving it so far.
Tomorrow I am thinking about going to the beach. I am very excited because I found a good book at the hostel book exchange thing and I can go to the beach and swim and get more sunburned and read my book. I am also enjoying cooking for myself. ASPARAGUS WAS ONLY $1.89 A BUNCH! I <3 Asparagus. Tonight I had ravioli and one of my favorite salads (baby spinach with dried cranberries, blue cheese, pine nuts and vinaigrette dressing) with some sort of frozen mango thing for desert. It was mostly delicious.

In other news, since the library is closed and I have no money to buy new books, I've been reading my travel journal, which dates back to my Nuestra Cabana trip (Mexico) in '05. Jeez, I was one angsty 15-year-old. Sorry, everyone.

Dear Everyone,
Sorry that I have not posted in approximately forever. It's been nothing but busy-ness. First finals, then a last-minute road trip, then packing, now leaving. I fly to Sydney tomorrow (although for a large portion of the day I thought I was leaving today) and will be there until November 22nd. Sadly, no snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef as originally planned, but I am determined to have a relaxing vacation where I sleep in the same place every night. In any case, I'm having trouble keeping this updated, as well as my personal journal, but I did just add a tonne of photos to the following album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114138&id=511052206&l=dc8a858a72
Hopefully I'll have time in Sydney to update everything and give you more details on all the goings-on here and there and everywhere. If not, you'll just have to track my jet-lagged self down on November 24th (when I finally reach Ohio again) and beat them out of me. Yay!

Sorry it's been so long. Everything in the world was due this past week, including two Knox-related applications (Green Oaks Term and Ford Fellowship). Now all I have left is a presentation on the fungus that causes Eucalyptus rust and a project due for Landscape Design (and 3 finals, but those aren't for a while).
This weekend, Alison and I took the TranzScenic train across the South Island to Greymouth. The trip was beautiful, although the group of singing, hand-clapping hyperactive Asians next to us was less than enjoyable. All sorts of mountains and gullies and snow on the ground and tunnels. Greymouth is pretty much one street, at least, all of it worth seeing. We stayed in this adorable hostel, Global Village, which was built on the slopes down to a river, so most of it was below street level. They decorated it with all sorts of African objects and it was a really neat atmosphere. We toured the Monteith's Brewery, home of one of the best ciders I've ever had, glanced in an art gallery, had lunch on the riverfront, cooked pizza for dinner, went to a jade workshop/place and hopped on the train back to Christchurch. The train ride back was better because we spent the whole time outside on the observation deck taking pictures once we found out that our entire car would be filled by another loud, beer-filled, Asian tourist group. I felt bad for the English/Kiwi couple sitting across from us because they spent the whole time trying to sleep, but couldn't. When we got back, we had dinner at the ever-delicious Tandoori Palace.
All in all, a good trip. Photos will appear in the "Weekends are for Wandering" album eventually.

(http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114138&id=511052206&l=dc8a858a72)

Saturday morning at 8am we left for Quail Island. It was good to get off campus, although I always get stressed out when we hang out with non-Lincoln AustraLearn kids. Fortunately I handled it better than I anticipated. Quail Island is great. It used to be a leper colony, a quarantine station for humans and animals, and a training area for the animals used on Antarctic expeditions. Now it features a lighthouse-keeper's cottage (moved from a different island for preservation?) and a ship graveyard where ships were intentionally scuttled. It's the perfect size to be manageable, with a walk around the whole island only taking 2.5 hours.
Our work was pretty grueling. Not the tree-planting I'd envisioned. We started by painting the cottage and the Heritage Center. I learned that not everyone is born knowing how to paint like a normal person. Then we collected rocks that had been washed away from the anti-erosion walls around the island and returned them to their point of origin. I didn't mind the work, I was glad I could help, but what really made me mad was how everyone else would not stop whining/slacking/doing a shoddy job. Hello, people, you are the ones who signed up for this. Sure, we are not directly killing possums or something, but we are helping nonetheless. Can you please take some pride in your work? The next day we did some trail maintenance and I took out all my aggression with a grub hoe (a magical tool, unfortunately I took it out on dirt and not on the people in question). By then I was really happy to be heading back to Lincoln and my unfinished Ecology paper. Overall, it had its ups and downs. The food was good, thankfully.

Right now I am pretty homesick. I think it's because I have a giant paper due Monday, and a paper and practical exam on Tuesday. I'm super super stressed and getting paranoid that people don't like me/are excluding me from things. I need to be productive but I can't seem to scrounge up the motivation. I also have the study break coming up and I was intending to travel, but the idea of planning more trips makes me want to cry. Alison and I are taking the TranzAlpine train to Greymouth the weekend after next and I already screwed up the hostel booking and am now probably getting charged $80 for one night (2 people) instead of $40. I know it's only money, but it's one more nail in the coffin of me being totally and utterly frustrated with myself.

Miss you all.

Jeez, sorry it's been so long. Time is moving way more quickly here, probably because the work is piling on. Only three weeks of class left! AAAAHHHHH!

Anyways, two weekends ago I went snowboarding on Mt.Hutt again. It was fun, but the snow was really soft, making it all the harder for me to move around. I was actually able to take pictures this time, which was good, but I haven't had time to post them, of course.
Last weekend, the AustraLearn kids, including myself went to Wellington to see the All Blacks v. Australia match. Both the game and the city were amazing. We saw Te Papa, the museum you could spend days in, and the botanical gardens, complete with a ride on the cable car. I am apparently the mediator of the group, which is nice, but stressful sometimes.
Last night I drove on the left hand side of the road for the first time! It wasn't all that bad. The scariest part was the roundabouts. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting/wanting my first driving experience to be as the designated driver for a bunch of rowdy college kids, but everything worked out fine.
This weekend, the AustraLearners and I are off to Quail Island for some conservation-type stuff. I am awake all too early, and my body hurts from the 3-hour workout I did Thursday so I don't know how much good I'll be. I would be a lot more excited about the trip if I didn't have a paper due Monday, but I guess that's life.

Hopefully I'll find more time to update/post pictures in the future!

( The second week, as copied (mostly) from my journal. )

( The first week, as copied (mostly) from my journal. )

Hey everybody!
Sorry it's been so long, but I've been on spring break, traveling around the North Island. It's going to take a bit for me to process and journalize everything, but here is a link to my photos from the trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103925&id=511052206&l=5dd763bab4

And here is a link to all my photos of NZ so far:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90426&id=511052206&l=6ce7422c6b

Let me know if they don't work.

( A long, frustrated rant is behind this cut. Emphasis on frustrated. I will be fine, happy, loving, etc. in the morning. )

The trash can is my new best friend. Apparently I still don't have swine flu, according to the nurse. Food poisoning perhaps?