The end of break

I'm dreading for this Labour Day weekend to be over because, once it is, I have to go back to school. Apparently, the way I deal with this is by doing absolutely nothing, which isn't actually that good because all it means is that I have less time to finish the assignments my lecturers have given for the break.

Dear lecturers everywhere:
Do you really not remember what college is like? In what universe do you think students actually care about school during spring break?

Given, "spring break" is different in Australia than it is back home- I talked to some Aussie students in my classes and they said they usually just catch up on homework during the two weeks. Of course, they probably don't think Australia is as exciting as we international students do, but even in the States we usually find things to do over our spring breaks. Spring break is a time to go to the beach, not a time to work on a paper about elliptic curve cryptography. I mean, as fascinating as that sounds...

I have to say, though- this break was pretty brilliant. The first week was obviously fantastic with the whole road trip, but this week has been really nice too. Unigames has been running all this week, so Adelaide has been filled with other uni students. It's really easy to tell who's not from around here (oh, look at me, speaking like a local) because a) they all wear uniforms from their home schools and b) they're loud and drunk most of the time they're off the field.

Sometimes they play sports, though. I went to watch our boys play lawn tennis one day- bless their hearts, they lost every game, but I think it's less of a big deal when you only have to travel 2 kilometres to the venue rather than 1500. Most of the guys from Uni Adelaide were newbies to the sport, while the guys from Perth and stuff were super into the game. One guy from the other team kept on talking to himself the entire match, which is ok I guess, but he was loud enough that it seemed like he was trying to talk to someone else. Awkward. I think I may have accidentally responded to him once or twice.

Also, fun fact: apparently tennis began as lawn tennis? This is news to a girl who didn't even know lawn tennis even existed, let alone was the covering for Wimbleton. Shows you how much I follow the game.

Basically, I love everything

This is just going to be a list of things I love. 1. The outback trip

2. Everyone who went on the trip 3. Kings' Canyon

4. Climbing trees

5. Pyramids on the sides of cliffs 6. Planking on the sides of cliffs

7. The Julian face 8. How everyone caught onto it by the 2nd day we were on the trip

9. How we always went swimming 10. Even if the water was green and nasty-looking

11. Campfires 12. Mallory's great storytelling abilities

13. All the girls 14. The Ulgas

15. How the volleyball was always out 16. How we annoyed everyone else during each sunset and sunrise 17. How dirty we all got

18. Uluru 19. Waking up at 6 am to see a sunrise and being delirious for the next few hours

Things I hate: Pitch Black

Outback Photo Album

Kings' Canyon. I think we're about 150 m from the ground. Kings' Canyon was our first hiking trip and it was ridiculous. We all just climbed rocks and trees and went swimming. Photo by Katti.

The outback trip was brilliant. Right now, it's difficult to find words that would describe it well. Maybe pictures would be better? Photos it is, then.

The sunset on our first night out. We slept on the side of the road. The stars are amazing in the Outback. I thought there were lots of stars in Adelaide, but nope. We could see the Milky Way. Sometimes we'd just stop talking for a few minutes to look up. Photo by Amel.

We had two of these bad boys (the camper vans, not the actual boys) that we drove all around. Petrol is so expensive here! Out by Uluru, we were paying about $2.50 a LITRE. That's around $10.00 a gallon. Ridiculous. Photo by Amel.

It got way hot here. During the Uluru walk, it was above 36 C (96.8 F)- I only know this because that was the reason the climb to the top was closed. Of course, there wasn't much shade, and so we were exhausted even in the beginning of the walk. We all drank so much water. These shelters were a Godsend. Photo by Christoph.

We got up around 5:40 am to see the sunrise at Uluru. I have to say Uluru was probably the least exciting part of the trip. Our feet were so sore by the time we got there, and it really is just a rock in the middle of nowhere. I liked Kings' Canyon a lot more. Photo by Flo.

We spent so much time in those dang cars. I couldn't drive, so I mostly ate and slept. And now I wonder why my clothes seem a little tight....hmmm. Photo by Marcel, except he's in the picture so I don't know who's actually taking it.

More to come!  I am still in the process of stealing everyone's photos so there should be more soon :) I have to say I recommend this trip, though. If you're ever in Australia, find a group of 8 Germans, 1 Parisian, 1 Finn, and 1 Canadian and plan a trip to the Northern Territory together :)

The Final Stretch!

Guys, I am so excited about spring break starting tomorrow. You don't even know.

I leave in less than 24 hours. Until then, I am going to be super busy. I've got to pack, get some veggie food (probably just lots and lots of peanut butter), make a ton of cds to entertain everyone for that ridiculously long drive, clean for our apartment inspection, and study for yet another ecology test on marine and freshwater systems. I'm debating whether or not I should even try to do laundry today- part of me thinks that it's the proper thing to do, but the majority of me sees it as a waste of time considering everyone on this trip will be so disgusting after only the first few days.

To be honest, I have no idea what we're doing or where we're going or how anything is being planned out. All I know is that we're driving north and should see some big rocks on our trip. I can't drive since I'm soooo young, so all I have to do is get on a bus and meet everyone at the grocery store. And then we'll be off! Thank goodness I trust the people driving :)

The week after won't be super exciting, but I hope I'll be able to (finally) take a surfing lesson and catch up on those major assignments that every class feels is necessary for the break. Plus, there are a few gatherings already planned, and so it'll be good to just relax and hang out with people.

It feels so weird being more than halfway through school, especially since everyone back home is still in their first month of the semester.

Not so hot

I've had a barking cough for the past month. I'm pretty sure it's getting on everyone's nerves- my own included. Of course, the university clinic says I'm fine, so that's got to be the case because only the best doctors volunteer to work on college campuses, right?

I really just want to be well by Friday. It'll be a long drive to Uluru if the main soundtrack we're all listening to is my bronchial tubes...

Happy Spring!

September 1st is the "official" first day of spring in Australia. I'm not completely sure why--spring equinox isn't until the 23rd--but my gosh, it's gotten beautiful outside. Lately, it's rained every day. The mornings will be lovely, but by 1 pm it'll rain and be windy and cold. But starting yesterday,  the weather has been nothing but pristine. The sun's been out and it's been in the low 20s. It feels like May feels back home :) My only complaint is that I just spent money on proper winter clothing here. Really, Adelaide? Now I need to spend even more money. At least I'll be able to get away with not doing laundry for longer now.

Yesterday the roommate and I cycled to Henley and Glenelg. It was my first time at the beach here. Henley is about 10 km west of the city, and Glenelg is about 3 km south of that. I think in total we biked around 25 km, not too shabby for one day. Henley's beautiful- white sand, not much development, wide beaches...it was a bit windy and the water was way cold, but it was worth it. Glenelg's beach wasn't as great, but there's a decent shopping area around with some awesome kebabs. Overall, we were at the beach for about 4 hours. I'm surprised I didn't burn, to be honest--I thought with the ozone hole I would have fried. The roommate definitely did today, though...guess that's just what happens when you're British.

Now that the weather is (finally) turning around, I am so pumped to go on some adventures. Spring break is 2 weeks away (crazy!) and I'll be going to Ayers Rock with 1 Canadian, 1 Frenchwoman, and 9 Germans. 9! There are so many Germans here, it's ridiculous. You almost think Germany's trying to colonise South Australia. But I really like everyone I know who is going on the trip, so it should be a lot of fun. We're taking these giant RV-type camper vans and staying for a week. No one knows exactly what we'll be doing, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. There's really only so much you can do in the outback.

The Black Keys are coming to Adelaide in the end of October. I really, really want to go--it would be completely sick to have them be my first concert. Trying to find others who want to go might be difficult (not many Europeans go to rock concerts any more, it seems) but eh, I'll deal.