I rule this Sydney

Ok, once again - I have been wayyyyy to busy to handle my life, or keeping up with everyone at home ☹ SORRY!!! I love & miss you all and to console you - THREE FUCKING WEEKS!!!!! holy moly - that’s insane, but im excited mixed with sad. anywho, I haven’t written in this in forever and it will just be a jumble of stuff from the last 2 weeks. possibly in paragraph-ish form. so put on your reading glasses and get excited to learn about my awesome aussie life.
*Surfers Paradise/Gold Coast
ok so this trip was a long time ago, so this will be brief. We flew up to the goldie with some good people. overall, it was fun. everyone took a surf lesson but I passed since I did that in Hawaii/am poor. but it was funny to watch them struggle. we beached it up, went out a few times, went shopping and generally chilled. some drama went down with one of the intense roomies, but we weren’t staying together so didn’t affect me much. it was just like a chill weekend in FL or something, played minigolf, ate shit food, beached, window shopped, and hung out and people watched downtown at night. it was fun cuz I got closer with one of my fav roomies, and overall it was fun. Good times, nice little break to get away from SYD and the apt, which I def needed. I was a lot better when I was back. The highlights were running into like a legit bicycle gang straight out of Waldorf style. they were awesome, and really sweet in a sketch way. we had fun joking around with them. Also, we went to Dreamworld - aka Disney World OZ. Home of BIG BROTHER!!!!! haha I tried to spy on travis!! but it was fun, went on lots of rides and water park slides which was ballerific!! so yey!

*General Sydney Since
Ok, I have been MAD BUSY! Schools ending, so I have had a couple finals and been busy getting ready. We have been packing stuff in to do around here. Just as I am finally feeling like I legit live here, I am leaving. I have also been crazy busy trying to get my volunteer hours for my KNES class sorted out. Besides school, which isn’t entertaining, I have been going to karaoke and singing O-Town and Carrie Underwood with my roomies & some other loves. I went with one of my fav roomies into the city one day and walked around Hyde Park, the Botanical Gardens, Opera House, Circular Quay, and then went to the Queen Victoria Building to see a really cool photography gallery. I had a weekend field trip to Botany Bay where Capt Cook landed to found Australia & did some tide pool drawing, no joke. We had an end of semester party where we went lawn bowling & my team (Jews for Jesus - which of course I named) killed the competition. Turns out I am a pretty decent lawn bowler. Then the next night we went legit bowling and I did pretty good. Later that night we went to 3 Monkeys Bar and had some fun dancing to a really good band. Umm…what else have I been up to in the past 2 weeks? Lets see - I went to Ice Bar - where, guess what, everything is made of ice it was really fun. One of my friends was in Oz the past week, so he came out with us for a few nights, including when we went to the Opera House to see Edward Scissorhands the musical, which was so fun. We also went to see an AFL game with some of the people in the building, and I really enjoyed it. I also got some really precious flowers that everyone was super jealous. I think that’s most of what I have done in a really brief summary. Overall the situation here is good. While the apartment politics are kindof wearing, just general mess and bickering, but w/e its been alright. I have been hanging out with more non-apt people, esp my one good friend from class, so it has gotten a bit better. Recently the weather has been kindof dull and rainy, but I think its clearing up. Overall, I am just getting ready for exams and trying to fit everything in that I want to do here. I am so happy I am coming home soon, but will be really sad to leave here, because I am so comfortable being on my own, and love where I live. I am a bit sad classes in Australia are over, esp b/c I will miss some of the friends I’ve made through school here. Though the fact that I am seeing my friends and family so soon is making the weeks go seemingly slow, but fast in the sense that I love Sydney more than anywhere in the world. Ok well I am going to watch a movie with some roomies, but I really miss my loves at home and cant wait to see everyone!!! xoxo I will try to keep up a bit better. LOVE YOU GUYS - MISS ME!!!

Add comment June 6th, 2008 Devon

Day to Day Sydney: Projects & Polymorph

Hi. I feel bad. My 2 fans im sure have been missing me sine ive been mia for pretty much forever. ive neglected to include you homebodies on all the shit ive been thinking - and trust me theres been a lot. so - im ending week 7 of my semester - meaning ive been doing midterms - 2 tests, 2 group presentations, and starting my client project. so - busy busy. but I think I did pretty good on everything. Australia is still amazing, but its crazy cuz I have 9 weeks left. that’s nine weekend to go out and enjoy everything. and I have been so incredibly lame recently - I have literally not gone out at all. for random reasons - im too lazy, my roommates suck that night, too far, too poor. im lame. really lame. anyway - that’s about to change. at least one night a week im going out now. come on Im freaking in Australia. but I will step up my bar game fo sho!!! so many places I want to go to downtown, out in coogee, the rocks some more, darling harbor, I need to step up. soon I will FINALLY get my exam schedule, and then I can figure out if my last weeks will be a fun breeze, if il have time to maybe travel, or if I will be swamped. hopefully a mix of the first 2. ok so since ive been a bum, I feel like not along has gone on here. im just being lazy - enjoying being here. one of my group projects (the one for my sex class on flirting) has been having a lot of meeting, so that’s kindof taken up a lot of my days off from school. also, its been raining for about 2 weeks straight - and im way to lazy to go out in the rain. but projects except my 6week client one are done, im easing up on work, the rain has stopped (I even laid out to get some sun today), and I am ready to enjoy my last months here. I feel so torn - I cant wait to come home - like, ive just been thinking how nice it will be to get back to my house, play with my pup, drop my bags in my room and throw myself down on my couch. then 5 seconds later get up and race around to everyones houses cuz I miss you all so much!!! haha of course - in reality I will prob get in the car and stall out halfway down the driveway il be so bad at driving stick!! oh well J. so yeah, I cant wait to come home. ahhh. I miss my girls, my man, even my parents. not to mention the pones, pups, and kitties. but I love it here. and its been so nice living on my own, in a cool city, and being legal - its gonna be mad hard to go back. like where I live in incredible, I have no one to answer to, and I can do whatever I want, especially because no one here even really knows me. its very liberating - im a big fan. regardless, tomorrow I have an early in the am for a field trip, so that’s why im not going out tonight even thought I want to. and all of my roomies suck theyre either gone or sick or have work - its ultralame. im hoping to go out in coogee tomorrow with this girl ive started making friends with (outside my apartment thank goodness!!!) She actually goes to Cuse so we know a few of the same people back home. But she in 3 of my classes and was in my sex group, so im hoping to meet up with her out tomorrow maybe, or with some of the other Coogee girls im friends with from class or from Thailand. O0O0 I am also really excited b/c me and this girl signed up to go on some trail riding thing around one of the beaches here. im so0o0o pumped. and - im doing something rather drastic. even though im sure everyone who reads this already know, im pretty much 100% going to get my lip pierced on Tuesday omg ive said it so that makes it true haha. im really nervous excited. some people both here and at home, one jackass in particular, were kindof dicks about getting it done - telling me ill look like shit and people will judge me and stuff. but, after a lot of thought and research, ive decided I want to do it anyway. I wont have it for more than a year, but ive pretty much made up my mind. thought I am worried il have a bad reaction or something - sometimes my skin is weird sensitive to some stuff. so yeah, big step for plain boring me. —– Ok so I took a break writing this - I went to the aquarium and it was cool but lame cuz I had to do a worksheet. I never went out cuz I got sick, and I just had a fun night in with the roomies. its been slightly tense around here the last week or 2, but I think we are all past that. we just a giant semi-costumed dance party and then call on me themed workout session. so yeah - good times in apartment 141. makes me miss being home but I love it here too. uhgggg this is way too hard. umm… I dk what else has gone on here. I went to the Sydney international 3 day (horse things for you non pony people) which was really fun. met a lot of cool people. saw a lot of sweet jumping. and nothing bad happened. yey! and I started my hard client project - and I feel like im already behindOK - so I just got my lip pierced. holy crap. what an experience. it actually was fine. the girl I went with got her clit pierced, and I was in there to help her out and make sure she was ok b/c she has a tendency to faint apparently. so, that was intense. but she was like you know, you seriously are the best person to go get pierced with! so that was very nice to hear. and then I got mine. it hurt, obv, but it wasn’t too terrible. haha I hope it works out ok. I mean, it def hurt at first, and he actually had to do it twice idk the jewelry wouldn’t fit the first time. but they put a huge needle spike thru your lip at first, then leave it there for a sec then put the jewelry in. meanwhile Alexa and Sara and sitting there laughing at me going your lip has a spike, wtf, etc etc. hmph. but w/e - im happy. and it hasn’t hurt too much after. I took some motrin to lessen the swelling a bit - the hardest challenege is def gonna be eating. im going to bed but il put pictures up soon. xoxo miss my lovers at home I cant wait to come home even tho I love it here. 

Add comment May 6th, 2008 Devon

Thailand…paradise found

ok so lets begin shall we? i am writing this in segments from internet cafes in thailand, because i am too lazy to write in a journal and then recopy it later. so ill just pay like 50baht and sit here. so, this trip is unreal. so far, that can be taken in both a good and bad way. getting here, i was convinced i would have the worst time ever and already want to come home. then yesterday was both the hardest and most amazing day of my life all rolled into one - woohoo, youre in suspense already arent you?
ok so, getting here. first off, i was not prepared. usually i get super excited about trips, plans day s in advance, and am so nervous/excited the day i leave. i wasn’t like that, nor did i ever get like that. the morning before i was running around handing my resume out and watching a friends marathon on tv. then i was all of a sudden like ‘oh, hmm - i have to shower before i go’ like really bad, like my hair was a greaseball and my legs had like 4 day stubble. and i was off to the hottest country ever. good work gumshoe, arent i so smart for figuring out to bathe prior? so yeah, did that packed semi-well (not really) and looked up the bus to get me to the airport on time. usually i check and recheck and arrive mad early, but i literally made the bus by pure luck that the elevators were ungodly faster than normal in the tiffany. then, 40 min into the ride with another 20 to go, the bus breaks down at the mall. yey - theres that pretrip panic i know and love! so, i was about to hop off and catch a taxi but he finally got it movie again, just in time for me to make it to the airport and check in. so, get there, meet up with some people i pseudo know, and get on the plane. ok cool. just kidding, i sleep for an hr then the bitch next to me wakes me up grabbing for her dinner. i put on juno to hopefully fall asleep to which of course i cant, then the entertainment system breaks down and my ipod dies so for the rest of the time im listening to plane whirring. oh and the jackass in front of me starts slapping at my legs telling em i sit funny and my knee is in his back the second i sit down before we take off. then to spite me he starts slapping into the back of his seat to bruise my kneecaps every time i move or he moves. plus he gets his ugly gay life partner to turn around and give me glares. sweet life, and may i say very immature. i hate french people.
so, we get there, the one thing that did go right is my bag wasn’t lost, and we go to get a taxi. we were warned beforehand to get a fixed price and that 250-300baht is a fair price. so some guy offers us 300 and hes right there so gravy. yes i will use that there, dont judge. then i reconfirm this when he and the drive
put our bags in the back, and once again with just the driver when we are in the volvo cab. ok, all good. so then we get to our hotel, hand him 300, and he goes no 800. wow, ok if your gotta try and rip of the tourist at least try like 400 or something. not almost triple. i dont feel like typing all of it, maybe i will later - but he says fuck you and i deal with the asshole for 10 min before i start yelling. before then i was amazingly polite. he finally gave in, and then we get to the hotel and the guy has given our room away. and checks about 5 groups in before us. we had to get up 4 hours from when we even landed, so i was really wanting a bed. awful. the room was sick tho. ok so next day, and early morning, amazing breakfast, then another flight. too short to nap on, laaaame.
so now we are in chiang mai after leaving bangkok the first night. we get to our next hotel only to repack and head out for a night in a rustic Karen tribe village. we hop in the back of a tiny truck and ride for 2 hrs - first on normal highway then on bumpy turny
backroads where i got kindof motion sick, but held it together. we stopped at a village where the awful frat boys who, are of course on my trip, try to buy valuim and end up with tylenol pm - hahahah. fun time for me telling them thats what it was. so we stop finally and start our 3 hour hike to the village. through a crazy jungle and some rice fields etc. its was fun, but really long. by 2.5 hrs iw as about to start getting annoyed. but the sights were cool, and it was fun watching the jap girls cry when they fell in mud; not so fun to wait 30 min for them to make it 20 feet.
so we get to the village and its sweet, so traditional and so many cute kids. we split into groups and go to our beds - aka thin mats or blankets on the floor, a brick or sawdust pillow, and a thin blanket. we put our stuff down and change to warmer clothes. we had been sweating all afternoon but we froze even in front of a fire by nightfall. we all hung out and they
made us an amazing dinner or sweet & sour chicken, stirfried veggies, and rice. with mango slices and plantains for dessert. so freaking good. some stuff wasnt as great, mainly the toilet situation and the bloodsucker flies which are to blame for the count them 17 red welts all over my legs. but it was so fun. no electricity and you have to get there walking onm tiny logs over huge creeks or mudpools, so we didnt stay up late. after dinner, the kids sang and danced tribal traditions for us, then exploited their cuteness
to get us to buy crafts from them. we got some beers and hung out the the kids, playing with them and doing some crazy game involving balloons and shirts that was awesome. we went to bed around 9 but woke up to roosters around 430. i managed ot fall back asleep
to about 7. not comfortable at all, my hips were bruised and my back was killing me but so worth it. breakfast was amazing too. we made toast on the fire with bamboo skewers, they made us scrambled eggs with onions, and served us tons of pineapple, watermelon, and
Plantains. all the food the grow there, which is the coolest part. then they sell it as well as their craft to make a living. we learned some cool cultural stuff then drove off  the elephant farm, where we rode elephants. amazing.
really fun, the elephants were crazy and we named ours muffin. the guys in front of us actually smoked up on mongoo, their elephant. a little jealous, but i got some fumes. then we came back and i reunited with my twin love and some cool people finally. more later
ok so cooking school was really fun. we went to the oldest cooking school in chiang mai, and the one with the bst reputation that is in a ton or travel guides etc. usually the course is 5 days but they broke it down in like 3 hours for us. we made all kinds of stuff - ill find out what- and then ate it and it was delect. im such a good cook and i
had no idea. my partner andie was sweet and let us not make things super spicy cuz im a spice pansy. we cooked then ate all the stuff we made. then we went to a temple. so insane looking. the trip us was once again more crazy curvy roads that we flw up cuz the
were so steep - nauseating, but the top was cool. we then had to go up 304 steps, but they were flanked by plumeria trees so i wasnt too distressed it was really pretty, gold everywhere. we learned some stuff about Buddhism, luike if you are born on a tuesday
which is think i was you are lazy, cuz thats buddahs lazy day. then we went to a cool dinner place where you sit on the floor but theres space to put your legs under, and had kindof not so great food but hey had really cool dancers do traditional thai dance and
like story dance. it was really cool, and they did the story of the ramayan which is what i read in asian studies and that the little princess is based off of, so i remember that and liked it alot. i got a really good pina colada, but the girls next to us got mai tais
which came in a pineapple and were huge, so we all drank some of that and got a litle tipsy. next, we went to a thai german brewery.
funniest thing ive ever seen. HUGE pavilion place that looks like a small concert hall, big stag with a crazy thai band rapping thai or singing santana, and performing for 8 people till we walked it. so freaking hilarious. they had beer towers, and matt our guide from study australia got our tables 3 to split. honestly, i finished like 3/4 of our first one, because i was the only one drinking. also, when your beer is like half empty or more they refill it so it seemed like i just had 2 but when i calculate dit i actually had about 8. oops. i only stayed
for like 45 min because I wanted to go back and shop, plus we had to get up mad early the next day. so i did,
we took a crazy sketch taxi back with some wasted annoying japs. they were mad retarded, but it was funny just cuz they almost fell out fo the back of the truck. haha. ok so yeah, got back, went shopping - bad decision to do it drunk. i def was not at my haggling peak, nor was i very good at figuring out if 850baht is a good deal
cuz i cant do math after lots of alcohol. shocking, but true. anyway, i got my lovers gifts, so if you are one (which you prob are cuz no one reads this) get pumped for a present!!! i shopped for an hr, got so shit i prob overpaid for, then met up with my roomie from the trip eleni and this guy mark. we all got massages. its pretty cool being
semi still drunk and then getting an amazing but dirt cheap massage off the streets of Thailand at midnight. try it, its a good time. it felt amazing. they did feet, lower leg, shoulders, neck, head, arms, and a little back for 150baht, which is about $5 US. nice. so then, buzzed and loosened, we walked back and passed out to wake up like 4 hours later at 515. then we hopped a flight to Bangkok, then had a 3 hr layover which turned into a 5 hr layover - first they flight was delayed then which we lined up at the gate they realized the plane didnt work so we had to go to a sketchy different one like 40 min later. long ass and shitty day, but still good. cuz of where we got into. Krabi, also known as paradise. we hopped a bus then a crazy thai longboat to our resort. holy fuck.

ok so they screwed up the reservations, so they didn’t have enough room at the other place so we were upgraded to a nicer 5 star place. you’ll see pictures, but omg. villa for every pair. your own hot tub and porch. king bed, crazy romantic place. kind of depressing for someone to the be there alone with honeymooners everywhere, but its too nice to be sad about. 3 beaches, 10 insane bars on the beaches, sweet restaurants, shopping. holy cow. our villa is right next to the pool and 20 feet off the beach. plus, the other group was at the other resort, so i finally got to hang out with cool people. the people on this trip have been shitty, all japy  blackberry girls and annoying frat assholes. everyone on the trip before us, including my twin lover, is cool and im friends with, or loved instantly upon meeting. so i finally had a great night. they surprised us with a crazy seafood dinner. not so great for me but i ate salad and veggie spring rolls, plus friend plantains which are so freaking good. then they got us fire dancers to perform during dinner which were so cool. then i met up with whit, twin lover, and we went to her place where i showered and got ready. sidenote: i brought nothing cute for this trip knowing id be sweating my ass off and helping the poor, not beachin with the rich. lame, so i looked scrubby, but its cool cuz its so chill here. so got ready at whits place, hung with her and like the 10 ppl on the trip i know now, all who are sweet, and drank some thai beer before hading out. we went to a crazzy bar where they do kickboxing and snake shows, then we went to a marley bar. people were smoking all over the place. i couldn’t participate, but it was still cool. it was so chill, we laid on the porch out by the water looking at the stars drinking, it was so fun. i went home early so i could start the day off right. i woke up at 845 and got breakfast, met my friends from the other group before they left and went sea kayaking. one of the coolest things ive ever done. me and whit were in a kayak, and 4 others joined us. we went out into sea caves and to other surrounding islands. then we went to some 25ft cliff someone told one fo the guys about, climbed up, and fuck yeaaa - i jumped off. i am still a goddess. my feet not have 3 huge gashes in then that im sure will get infected from the sand and dirt, plus my bikini pretty much came off when i jumped, but i resituated before anyone really saw me. it was so fun. and i have a video. yey me. then we came in and went shopping more, got more fun presents - i am so spoiling some people! then we laid out with the other before they left at 1 to go snorkeling and off to the next island. now im wiritng this, and tomorrow ill be laying out all day. i love thailand.
Ok, next. later that day, matt caught me walking out on the beach, and said he wanted to go with someone to feed the monkeys. so we went. and neither of us brought cameras cuz we suck so bad. we fed them all these corn kernels, and they all came down into the tips of the trees and ate from out hands. as we got better, we got them to sit on our arms and shoulders, it was so freaking cool. about 50 random tourists have our pictures with monkeys in our hands, but we don’t have any. I stole a few off this other kid, but they aren’t the same. lameface. still so cool thought. of course, where we walked back to grab our cameras then came back, they were way up the cliff again and didn’t come down. I stayed in that night, we were all so tired a bunch of us did and passed out at like 1030 - crazy I know.
Next day I just laid out on the beach for a few house, then grabbed lunch with Andie and headed out. we saw a bunch of beautiful islands, some we just swam at and others we snorkeled at. I didn’t snorkel, but I did get the job of throwing bread pieces infront of unsuspecting snorkelers faces, leading to fish clustering around and eating it, scaring the shit out of them. haha. we stayed in a shitty resort that night, then did the same island hopping the next day. it was fun, but we were all sunned out and over it. we did go to the island where the beach was filmed, and at a few stops they made us cool alkie drinks and sweet brunches. next day we went to a prostitution island, then left. the flight back was fine, I watched enchanted and slept. the trip was so fun. I am so happy I got to go, it was without a doubt the coolest trip ive ever done, and id really like to go back. so yeah, that’s my fun. im sure I missed stuff but this is long and im not writing more. everyone go to Thailand, its worth it. xoxo miss my home lovies!! miss me too

Add comment April 2nd, 2008 Devon

Irish & Greek Fun, Thailand Tomorrow!!!

Ok, hi & bye. this is the first post this week and my last for a while sing after the 2 strenuous first weeks of school UNSW has decided we already need our ‘mid-semester’ break. Cool, what happens in week 7, when I am dying after midterms and just want to sleep and eat peanut butter m&ms for 3 days.  Regardless, I leave for Thailand on Saturday night here, but I’m not really excited yet. Usually I am all over what we are doing, but I have no idea the itinerary and haven’t really planned. Ok so, feeling bad about this I just found my itinerary. Apparently the first night we are staying in a hotel in Bangkok, but then leave the next morning for Chiang Mai. We get there, drive up to the mountains, sit in a hot spring, and walk around the jungle. That night, we have dinner and stay with a local tribe who lives a ‘traditional life’. Should be interesting. Next day we ride elephants through the forest and then go to the city to shop and go out. Then we have our last night in Chiang Mai to go to cooking school, then travel to see a really nice temple. Next day we travel to Krabi to go to the beach and see monkeys, then we have the option of caving, climbing, or getting a massage. damn. Then omg, best day ever. We go to where The Beach was filmed. I am so pumped I love that movie yeyyyy. The we go out again to another city and look around, and fly home the following day. Wow, now im super pumped. So, I am off tomorrow, hopefully I don’t contract malaria or bird flu. If I do remember how awesome I was before the infection. So, the week has been passing kind of slow otherwise, I am so not ready for school to have started, and I have been struggling to do the simplest amount of work. I will do a quick recap. Monday, St. Patrick’s Day - much fun in a town with 2 huge Irish bars. Most of us went out dressed in green for some fun and good times. I got kissed against my will by a creepy Irishmen who hopefully doesn’t have oral herpes, and danced to some Irish jig music. Then I went to class most of the week, and then a toga party at my school. UNSW is awesome because it has a sick bar and lounge on campus, and throws really cool parties. There were tons of people at the toga party, and even though I am a member of greek life stateside, this was my first toga party so I was even more excited. It was fun, met this group of guys my roomies know who were chill. Then some aussie asked me to make out with him cuz hed never hooked up with an American, but I graciously declined, even though it was quite tempting lol.  I need to go to bed, happy easter to the 4 people who read this. I will have so much exciting stuff to write about when I am back from Thailand, so get excited for next Tuesday!!! xoxo I miss all my favorites back home!!

Add comment March 21st, 2008 Devon

UNSW Ruckus

hi lovelies - I have officially made it through my first week at good ole Uni here. Yes, I feel like an ass even thinking of saying Uni but I have to fit in. So, at least the first part of this post si geared towards in for about studying abroad here, so if that doesn’t interest you - pass. I don’t feel like going in detail explaining the system, but the credits are different. for most people, this means they can get away with taking 3 to 4 classes and have class at most 3 days a week. The courses I got approved were of course low credit, and when I got here they had me signed up for 7 classes 5 days a week. 24 credits. Not ok. Also, if you are my major it means a lot of the classes you’d like to take aren’t offered to study abroad students, because we are all apparently retarded and cant handle it. the ones that are offered are hard to work it or I have of course already taken. Lame, but whatev.
At first, I thought I worked it out, and then the teachers in one of my much needed classes emails me saying I cant take it. After struggling with him, he allows it, but then I find out the other class I was signed up for, Skeletal Muscle in Exercise and Rehabilitation is IMPOSSIBLE. It is 9 hours of class a week, plus a lot of outside work to catch up. So I strated stressing like whoa. Plus, I was stressed. The reason I didn’t want to commit to these hard classes is because the grading system is different. It is not like in American where a certain amount have to pass, most students are working just to get the 50-65 passing mark. Since my grades are important for PT school and these grades will tansfer, I don’t want to be stuck with bad grades from here.
While waiting in line to get my courses worked out for the 3rd of 5 times. these stupid fucking NY JAP girls with their stupid fucking blackberry phones talking about their handed-to-them internships in the city, when daddy makes a freaking phone call. standing next to these girls for 10 minutes and I know they have rocks in their heads, however they are talking about their jobs at law firms and sports marketing powerhouses, the kind of jobs id love to dream of and never get. it made me so upset. I mean, im not the best student ever, but I work really hard, and here is still a good chance that I wont even got into PT school, at least the ones I would like to like UMD. And these girls have a stacked resumes to go wherever they want, it is so frustrating, My only hope is through riding connection I can land the US Equestrian Olympic team PT position with some contact from the farm. Keep dreaming, but its so frustrating seeing people like that. The girls here are really frustrating in general. you feel dumber standing in the elevator with them. They are so oblivious to the fact that they are guests in a new culture. No, Australia isn’t completely different, but we aren’t on vacation. nd you come not to just go to the beach and get drunk every night, but to get the whole experience. And they are all so oblivious. What really sucks is then they send a bad impression of Americans to the students and people around where we live that us normal folk have to interact with too. Impossible to fix, but frustrating nonetheless.
Anyway, so I freaked out about class and was super stressed. I don’t want to feel like I am wasting a semester only taking one class for my major, but I also want to have fun, but able to get involved on campus and get a job to meet people and experience actually living here. So, I dropped one hard class, added an easy marine biology class, and now have no classes Wednesdays or Fridays. Yey me. So, I freaked out on campus midday, but now my schedule is fixed and I now have a whole day at the beach tomorrow. Go me. Awesomeness is oozing from my pores, I know. Otherwise, class is ok. Most are pretty easy. I am taking the Psychobiology of Sex, Love, and Attraction, so get pumped if your planning on sleeping with me ever - I will be even better than when I left. 2 other courses seem pretty easy, one ok, and the one really hard but I think it will be interesting. I will take on my own client and act as their exercise physiologist, so hopefully I wont kill them. Im sick of writing this and am watching grand prix pony jumping on tv here, so im easily distracted by the pretty ponies and critiquing the riders like I know what the fuck im talking about. Ok I actually do, but I don’t quite ride at this level. Ok, I miss homelife and my friends, but here is fun. LOVE YOU!!! xoxo

Add comment March 13th, 2008 Devon

Last Few Days of Freedom

Morning lovers! I don’t feel like typing a lot but I feel bad so I will give a rundown of my past few days here. the boy left today, not cool. And even though he is the one who made me make this blog, he didn’t want me spending alone time with my comp, only him. so I am late, blame him. yell at the danosphere.

a few days ago we went to darling harbor to check out Baltimore abroad, then saw went to the Powerhouse museum. Also reminiscent of B-more, it was a lot like the Science Center at home. It had a lot of crazy art, fashion, and décor, like chairs and crazy tables. They has a lot of cool interactive stuff. I designed an awesome fountain. I tried to make it as ugly as possible but they still built it, as opposed to Whit who tried and hers wasn’t accepted by the public haha. They had a cool exhibits of innovation, ecology/preservation, historical Australian transportation stuff, and lots of other shit. We got kicked out we stayed so long. There was a scam though - a chocolate tasting presentation. We waited through a 4 min spiel on the aroma, how its made, etc - and it was out of chocolate! Ahg! We were not pleased, so be warned if you try and go. It’s a mean trick for sure.

That night it was Sara’s 21st birthday so we went out to wait till midnight and then awkwardly sing to her in a public bar. Classy. The boy bought me all my drinks and 2 songs on the jukebox (I picked the bad touch and call on me) so it was a grand old time. The next day we had orientation at UNSW. It was kindof boring. Going through a program like Study Australia totally babies you through the process of going abroad. I like it, because you get a chance to be on your own and do your own thing but you get a cushion when you come and a support system if you need help. Especially depending on the university, I think these programs are really worthwhile. UNSW seemed pretty good, but when I was getting ready to go abroad, everyone at the UMD study abroad office told me not to go to U Sydney because they have no student services. So, back on topic, we got some free food & club merch, then split early. After that we hung around Bondi and went out to a nice bar called the Eastern for Sara’s bday dinner. We got all dolled up and I wore my precious $10 dress I bought at the market in the Junction. It was really fun too, but I was tired from waking up so early from orientation so I didn’t stay out so late.

The day after we headed to the beach, and then pregamed at home before going to a really nice nightclub one of our friends got a job promoting. Its in kings cross, the red light district of the city - NICE. No it’s a cool area to go out and party in, and we were on the VIP list so getting in was sweet. We didn’t even leave until the last train ran around midnight, so we only stayed for an hour or 2 before we went back. It took forever for us to find a bus stop to take us home, but we did pass the Lambo, Ferrari, Bentley, and Maserati showrooms along the way. The next day we left to go downtown for a bit, just me and the boy. We went to Circular Quay, saw some street performers blowing fire and playing didgeridoo, then headed to the Rocks, hooray! We walked around and headed to the market. The boy got ‘lost’ and left me, then came back and had gotten me a really cute necklace with matching earrings, as well as this adorable music box they custom make for you there. So cute. He also bought me BEAUTIFUL flowers, a bouquet of pink lilies and yellow somethings I don’t know. Then we stopped at Lawenbraus, a German bar with liter beers. Then we headed down to walk past the harbor to go under the bridge. Its really pretty down there, and I have actually never been. There are palm trees are really sweet benches to sit and enjoy the view of the opera house and boats passing through. There was a wedding, and the bride had the cutest dress ever so I was happy for her. Then they drove off in a porche limo which was insane looking. That was the boys last night, so we just stayed in and watched movies together with Whit and her boy. Today he left, which was a huge hassle at the airport. We got breakfast in Bondi in the morning, they got to the airport to be told the flight had been cancelled earlier and they hadn’t tried to contact us in anyway. After not standing to be in the line they put us in, he got a flight to San Fran, and will hopefully get a better flight out. Hes prob eating shitty airline food as I am writing this. Sorry babe! I didn’t do shit today except hang out around the apartment and go soak in the hot tub with some students. I start class tomorrow, and I am a little more anxious than I thought I would be. Hopefully everything works out, I have to go figure out where my classes are, books to buy, etc. The campus is cute, and I am excited to start real life here. Love & miss me back at home. xoxo

1 comment March 9th, 2008 Devon

Taronga & Manly

This city = awesome. Fact. tehehe. Anyway, it really does. Yesterday, I went to Coogee with 3 of the roomies and the boy. Good times. Coogee is sick. I love living in the Junction, but I wouldn’t mind Coogee either, especially since I am going to UNSW. The beach is a lot smaller than Bondi but really cool, and there is a really cool rock formation pool and all these crazy cliffs, plus a lot of cute shops and cafes, more so than surrounding Bondi. We watched some surfers (the waves at Coogee are much better than at Bondi) and got some sun. My boy is beyond pasteface, so he got some much needed UVA & UVB.
There is a really long walk from Coogee to Bondi along the oceanfront cliffs and beaches, that is famous for being breathtaking and a ‘must see in Sydney’. So, we decided to do that. First we stopped at the crazy rock pools. The waves like crash into it but it is really pretty and has steps carved into the rocks around it. These 2 boys from our program who live in Coogee were playing football on the beach when we walked by. I remembered them from orientation but felt awkward talking to them, so we did the even more awkward look back and away a few times, about to speak but then just pretend to be distracted by something shiny thing. Nice. Clearly these web-published words of wisdom & entertainment come from a very mature college student. But moving on, the boys sat under one of the rocks at the edge of the pool and let the waves like crash over them like the angriest waterfall ever. It was funny and lame at the same time. If you have seen Mulan, remember when they all hide behind the rock to avoid the avalanche and the snow sprays right around them? Yeah, you know you’ve seen it and know exactly what I am talking about. And it was like that, with water.
Then I went climbing on some rocks to get cool pictures of the cliffline and some waves. The walk took us about 4 and a half hours, probably because we stopped to take so many pictures, as well as for lunch at one of the beach cafes. but, as you will see - the sights were beautiful and it was a lot of fun. Exhausting but fun. I also managed to get the weirdest sunburn lines ever created - I have like a strip of red down the side of my things that is all squiggly, then it narrows out until below my calf muscle, then covers my entire lower leg. I don’t know how I manage things like this, but it is the kind of thing you would only see on someone like me. Pretty impressive, I know. After, we came back and all just hung around the apartment. Some boys from all over the building came over, as well as another girl from UMD we are friends with, and one of my roomies new Aussie boyfriend. It was a grand old time.
Today, me & the boy went on a double date with one of my roomies, W, and her new aussie boy. We met in Circular Quay and took the ferry to Taronga Zoo. It was really cool, you take a cable car ride to the top then walk down through all the animals. They had zebras, so I was happy. It was really fun, but we spent about 3 hours longer than I expected there. I feel like the person at the bottom of the design layout class builds all zoos. Why can they not be arranged in a simple fashion so you don’t miss half. I hate getting to forks and having t pick to go see the lions and otters or to head down towards the gorillas and seal theater. I mean, who has the capacity to make those kind of potentially life-altering decisions? not me, that’s for sure. I just ended up waiting for one of the other 3 to come and turn one way for me. Its too hard - zoo planners need to unite and form a master zoo layout. These places are for children, remember? I am 20 and cant decide which I’d rather see. So not cool. Then we got the bus to Manly beach, which actually wasn’t as fun as I remembered. The beach was nice, but we were all worn out from the zoo we just walked by it and then got a pizza and ate by the shore. We went to a couple shops, but everything at all the surf shops like Roxy & Billabong were wayyyyy overpriced, even Bondi (which is considered one of the most posh suburbs of Syd) is cheaper. so we just walked around for a bit then took the ferry back. I am getting really sick of public transportation already, The bus drivers here are by far the meanest people in the city. I am sure once I am better at knowing where the hell I am going I will do better. Also, the people at public transportation are really bad about ripping of tourists, so we have to be really careful until we are more familiar with everything. But, still fun. We may go out to the Tea Gardens tonight, a low key backpacker bar right across the street. Nothing fancy. We are probably heading downtown again tomorrow, so the boy can be a tourist and take 50000 pictures like he does every day. Don’t forget about me if you are back in lovely MD. xoxo

Add comment March 4th, 2008 Devon

Gay Mardi Gras is Pure Hot Sex!!!!!

Ok, so I am sure the four people that red this blog are disappointed in me, as I have been MIA. My sincerest apologies. For like 5 days most of my roomies were gone so I sat around on Skype & AIM. One day I went with 2 girls to Paddington Market, a HUGE open air market that had a lot of really nice stuff. Lucky for my bank account, I brought no money with me so couldn’t go from poor to completely broke at every jewelry stand with something pink or shiny. Then on came back and we started doing slightly more entertaining things. Because of the weather being kinda shitty the first few days, we didn’t do a lot outside of Bondi, hence the nothing exciting to write about dilemma. But, now I def have something amusing to share with my fans. Get pumped. Two days ago, we walked further down Oxford Street to Centennial Park, which is really big & pretty. There is an equestrian center attached, but we didn’t make it that far. I have defiantly explored Bondi further to its boundaries now. I found the Blockbuster - obv very important. The past few days haven’t been terrible exciting, but I have gotten a lot closer with one of my roomies, which is really nice cuz she is awesome and some of the others I think may not like me as much anymore. Oops. Anyway, I love her so I am pumped. So yesterday was my best day in Sydney by far. It was incredible. We went to The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney and my favorite place in the whole world. The reason I love Sydney so much si the fact that you can be in the Central Business District, walk down 3 blocks and then be in Circular Quay looking out into the Harbor with the Opera House to your right and the Harbor Bridge to the left. Around there they have beautiful gardens and palm trees. They also have street performers. You can always find an Aboriginal playing a didgeridoo, but we also got to see a chick contortionist as she called herself who fit into a 16 square cm box. Grossly fascinating. Then you can be in the Rocks, which is directly under and next to the Harbor Bridge. It is so beautiful in that area. It is mostly older stone buildings with historical architecture designs, and all are occupied by quaint little shops and antique stores or small cafes with precious outdoor seating. There are all these narrow alleyways that lead to little circles of shops. Overall, its so precious and I love it to death. Plus, the rocks market was open. Yet another awesome open air market, where I bought a Little Mermaid sticker book & a really pretty pink & gold bracelet. I had quite the time. After this, we caught a bus further up Oxford and went to grab some food, some brews, and get a spot for the insane Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. 4 hours before, and it was already lined with barely any spots right up close. I figured if I was gonna go to this parade I wanted to fucking see it up close and get some ballin pictures. We had some problems, but they were dumb and annoying and I don’t feel like talking about them. So, what happened important was we managed to get great places right up front. So, we were out in the city on our feet for almost 12 hours straight, but it was worth it. The parade was so sweet. It was the right mix of nice tributes to respect for the gay community, but a lot of ridiculous ostentatious drag queens and leather daddys. Also, I saw more penis, butts in assless chaps, and pierced naked nipples on both men & women than I ever expect to see in a lifetime. And I liked it, OBV. We stayed around in the street for like a half hour after. It just turns into a giant party, but people started getting destructively rowdy and the cops came so we left. I got lots of free condoms and a sticker that says anal sex is for everyone, added bonus. It was really fun, and I am so glad we sepnt the time to get right up around it. The crowds ended up being about 15 deep in some spots, so it would’ve been much less of an experience not seeing half of it. Now that my fav new roomie has a sweet local bf, he and his friends hung out with us after - good times. I was supposed to wake up at 730 to pick my boy up at the airport, however I was up so late from Mardi Gras and then uploading all my sweet pictures that I was quite tired. Then my phone got knocked off the nightstand, since apparently I flail in my sleep or something, and my battery got knocked out. So I woke up at 930 with a 40-minute commute on my hands when Dan had landed at 8. So, I ended up taking a taxi to get their faster and spent all my freaking money. But, he was a good boyfriend and not really pissed, obv cuz he was so excited to see my ass, so yey. He got here and we walked around Bondi, lunchin on some delectable Kebabs. Then we just hung around the apartment, got me a tennis racket, and now just went to the Cock & Bull Irish Pub - so much fun and I am slightly drunk. I miss everyone at home but also am having fun here. The irish pub was so fun, there was some drunk bitch dancing alone to Irish songs, and we were all clapping and pretending to sing along. Then we met some creeper. Tomorrow we are going to Cogee Beach, then doing the Cliff Walk from Cogee to Bondi. I LOVE & MISS EVERYONE AT HOME. XOXOXOXO

Add comment March 2nd, 2008 Devon

Starting Real Life Here

So, yeah I am now really feeling like this is my life. Kindof. I still don’t feel like this will be my home for 4 more months, but I don’t feel like it is a vacation anymore. I now am settled into my apartment, getting used to the different food, figuring out public transportation for everything, and realizing I am forever living with the 5 other girls I have been hanging out with. In some ways, its so exciting and I know it will fly by. They broke it down for ua, and we really only have like 15 free weekends here. If you could see the amount of dog-eared guidebook pages & websites I have marked, that def seems like a small amount. Not to mention I will be going to Thailand, and hopefully other places too. I have no idea how to gauge my travel budget, but it seems like I can at least make it to Melbourne, and hopefully maybe Cairns or NZ. I feel guilty going some places because I have no money anyway, plus I have been to at least Cairns, but I cant help wanting to go back, as well as getting that feeling like, ‘I’m in Australia, why not make the most out of it because I probably wont be coming back for a while. Regardless, I am really excited to go to Thailand, which is definitely going to be an amazing and unique experience.
I had orientation today, which actually ended up being really shitty. I made some friends with, yet again, more Americans studying here, but some were really nice & live in my building. While I want to get started befriending Aussies, I also do not know a lot of Americans here either, at least well enough to hang out with them outside all our scheduled activities. Unfortunately, in registering for classes today I learned my major sucks and it is impossible for me to take anything I actually needed to take so I will be in at least one lame touristy class, which is currently Sport and Law in the Western World. Like I have any idea what that even means. I am only in one class I actually wanted to take. I could’ve been in 2, but it was literally ALL day Wednesday and 4 hours Thursday for one single class. Cardiac Muscle in Exercise. That doesn’t sound appealing enough to spend 1.5 solid days of class. As of now, I am getting one upper level options course for KNES, a bunch of elective credit, and there are 2 classes I haven’t gotten approved. The one I am really excited about taking, Psychobiology of Sex, Love, and Attraction, I had to really work into my schedule, but I figure if my life is gonna suck I might as well have one or two classes that mildly appeal to me. I really wanted to take Sports Performance & Injury Prevention, which pretty much sums up my interest in the KNES field, however it conflicted with a high credit class that I need. Shitty, but at least going to Maryland has prepared me for class selection disappointments. While I currently don’t have class on Wednesday, a lot of my schedule is still up in the air, so I cant really work off that yet. Hope fully it will stay that way, since after going to Bondi Beach today, I have big plans for my days off. Actually, I will probably just be working on my days off, but whatever. The point is the beach was beautiful.

The water was cool but nice, and even though there were tons of people here, it wasn’t a bad thing. On the plus side, I did see lots of breasts considering it’s of course fine here to sunbathe topless. I’m not quite there yet, but Ill keep you posted if I suddenly become extremely brazen. You take a bus there too, but its pretty cheap and quick. I still cant get used to relying solely on public transportation. I am used to driving everywhere. I also realized I will be TERRIBLE at driving when I get back. Little Asian ladies got nothing on me come June. That’s mean but whatever. And, if I still have the shitty nosecar/escort, which fingers crossed I wont since Momma Gretch thinks its time for an upgrade :-D, I will be hideously awful at driving stick. Hooray. Anyway, in summary, the beach is awesome. My schedule is not. Class ruins tropical paradise. And I miss home. I got a package today with delicious American food, or at least my idea of delicious American food (Snocaps), and it was glorious. But, Australia is awesome and I have the freckles and red tinged cheeks to prove it. Sweet Life

1 comment February 20th, 2008 Devon

Apartment 141, Bondi Junction

My apartment is UNBELIEVABLE! ok wow - anyone who wants to study abroad down here go through Study Australia and live in Bondi Junction Tiffany Apartments. Holy shit. My view is spectacular - I can see they entire CBD (central business district) of Sydney, the Harbor Bridge & Opera House - EVERYTHING. Its so beautiful.

The apartments are really nice we have both an indoor and outdoor balcony with the view, huge windows in all the rooms and kitchen, really nice furniture, and we are on the 16th floor. And the Bondi Junction is amazing. Bondi Beach, which is really world famous for being so beautiful and fun, is a 5 min bus ride away. We are next to like 3 malls with everything, and they have really cool outdoor markets on the weekend. I have orientation in 2 days when I will finally get my classes and stuff all worked out. You can see UNSW, my university, from our balcony as well. Since I have forever lived in the most rural place imaginable, this is a really cool change. I love that I can walk to so much stuff, though me & public transportation don’t always see eye to eye. Hopefully, I’ll get the hang of it since its my only option. Apparently the bus drivers are assholes. A kis today bought the ticket with a student concession on it, not knowing that he needed to have his Australian uni ID to use it. The bus driver asked for it and when he couldn’t produce it he gave him a $100 fine!! Apparently all the locals on the bus were like come on, give him a break, etc and the guy wouldn’t budge. What a dick. So yeah, best make sure I don’t do something stupid on the bus. I opened a bank account at an Australian bank, then went grocery shopping and stuff, so I feel way more like I live here not like im on vacation, which is both exciting and kinda scary, but I really like it so hopefully it wont be bad. Its definitely still pretty surreal. But, everyone who is cool enough to read this should come visit and check out my sweet view, because it is so ballerific I feel it needs to be shared.

Add comment February 18th, 2008 Devon