I miss youuuuuuuu!!!!!!
I've got a million and one things to do before I get kicked out of my room today (Alicia's boyfriend is coming to stay with us and of course I'm the one who gets the boot), so this will be really quick. Argentina can be described very aptly with Alicia's words: "meat factory." We ate tons of steak and salad and steak and steak and steak....you get the picture. And desserts. Yummmm dulce de leche is my favorite thing in the whole world. We did a whole lot of shopping in Argentina, and I got a cute new red-flowered sundress in honor of Mel, among other things. In Chile, we ate a whole lot of seafood. Locos (abalone) are my favorite, and angulas come in a close second (baby eels). I ate a lot of congrio (a big eel), which was pretty good, but kind of blah tasting after a while. Hmm, let's see....what else....oh, machas (razor clams), but I don't really like those too much....yeah I guess that's really about it. I just was really excited about the locos. I got to see Maria Jose, whose grandparents were really close to my grandparents, so Lelo sort of adopted her and her brothers as his own grandkids too. I met her when I went to Chile when I was 15, and she's really sweet, so I was glad to see her again. We spent Christmas with her family, and New Years with my dad's friend from college's family. It was an okay trip, made kind of bad because of the imposition of a Brazilian girl named Carol whose dad works with my dad and asked if she could go (of course dad can't say no without risking losing some business), and she was just basically annoying and ruined the whole trip. Actually I was really getting peeved whenever she was around. The worst part is that she didn't speak either Spanish or English, so we were trying to communicate with her in signs. That got real old really fast. Ugh. It's making me upset just thinking about her. Anyway, I'm glad to be back in my house, even though I won't be able to be in my room for who knows how long (I don't even know when Andy's leaving...ugh). Okay I've really gotta run to Victoria's Secret cuz it's their semi-annual sale and it's the only time I can afford their redunculously priced bras, and then I've gotta clean my room for a stinky boy, and make some phone calls and see if maybe I can get together with a friend I haven't seen in almost a year tonight. Yeah. I hope everyone in Australia is having great holidays!!!
PS- I've noticed that I still ask for the "toilet". My mom keeps telling me to quit being so vulgar. lol. Just thought you'd appreciate that. ;)
I'm home.....bored.....to tears......
Well, I've made it home alive and in one piece. Not that it seems anyone really noticed or cares much. Sorry to be so cynical, I think it stems from spending a week alone in a country during a military coup and then arriving in LA to hear that my mother didn't know when or where I was arriving back in Boca, and was completely unconcerned and not very interested in what had happened. And so now I'm home, and I've spent the past two days on the couch, all alone, watching TV with only Marmie to keep me company. It's a fascinating life I lead, I know.
Fiji, I must admit, was somewhat disappointing. I guess when you're as spoiled as I am, and have traveled so much, you've got high expectations for such an esteemed place. I think it would've made an awesome 5-star vacation like Tia Linda or Lelo would've gone on, but as far as backpacking goes, it just wasn't all that. I think I was a bit jaded from the beginning-- in Melbourne airport they argued with me about my carry-ons (they literally weighed my carry-ons, and told me I was only allowed 7 kilos....MY LAPTOP WEIGHS 7 KILOS! And the guy didn't care, he wasn't letting me on the plane unless I got rid of some of my stuff), and when I first got to Fiji, exhausted after having spent the night in a cramped Air Pacific jet (which, by the way, are even more stuffed than Qantas' coach seats are), I was put in a 2-bed dorm with (get this) AN OLD MAN. Seriously. I'm not lying when I say this guy was around 50 years old, chatty as anything, and sleeping in the bed below mine. Creeped out doesn't begin to describe what I felt that night. The beach on the mainland wasn't anything to rave about either-- muddy water and coarse sand. The only thing that made that trip fun was the Wanna Taki cruise, which was rather enjoyable. And the food was pretty good too. The military coup was a bit scary, just because they said everything in Fijian and the locals wouldn't tell the tourists what was going on, more than "don't worry, tourists will be fine, they wouldn't hurt you." These are comforting words to a 21-year-old American girl traveling alone halfway across the world. Sorry for the sarcasm; I haven't had a real conversation with anyone since leaving Melbourne, and I'm a bit desperate for someone to talk to. I'm not really cut out to be a loner after all. Anyway, I've been keeping myself "busy" by watching movies (a total of 4 today), doing loads of laundry (at least 7), and unpacking my bags (I'm not quite sure where to put all the....stuff....I now own). And being told for the hundredth time how Marmie has been leaving "butt balls" all over the house, and in particular, using Mom's newly shampooed bedroom carpet as a litterbox. I think he's not quite normal, and Mom just thinks he's angry about having a house full of workers practically all month. I wonder if having to be shut in a house that's being painted for 7 days in a row might have anything to do with it? Poor thing just wants to be left alone to lounge on the couch cushions all day and nap. What more can he ask for? Maybe some eucalyptus leaves to justify his laziness. :-P Anyway, I've got to see the sun tomorrow. I'm going crazy shut in this house all day, and I need to get out and at least breathe in some fresh air. I'm going to Lelo's house for dinner tomorrow night; that should be yummy and fattening. I think maybe if I can wrangle the car away from Mom I may get up early to go to the beach and watch the sunrise. That's one of my all-time favorite things to do, and I've really missed it this year.
So I'm going to go to bed now, and maybe I'll be able to wake up early tomorrow. Just for everyone's information, I will be updating this blog (mainly for my Aussie friends, but for anyone else who happens to read this and find my life just that fascinating too), at least until I make a new one for Italy. I guess it wouldn't be very fitting to write about Italy in a blog titled Land Down Under, right?
Alaska can come too....THE END!!!!
So yeah....this is the end. I can't believe how incredibly fast this semester has
flown by. I don't think I've ever enjoyed school this much, ever. I've had great times, some disappointments, and lots of new friends and experiences. I only wish I had come here from the beginning of college. I think the only part of Williams that I like more than Whitley is the food. I must say, Italy has some HUGE shoes to fill.
It's so weird to look around this room and see bare whitewashed walls, empty shelves, and a plain mattress without my sleeping bag and stuffed animals on it. I think it's more depressing to see that all my belongings fit into two suitcases and two fairly small carry-ons. I liked it better when my room looked like this:
Today Mel and I are going to go to the IMAX and the Melbourne Museum, cuz I haven't been to the museum yet, and it looks really cool. Then we're going to go to Mel's new house and maybe Lara and Jen'll come too and we'll make a nice dinner (maybe some kangaroo?), and at 9 Jen and Mel are gonna take me to the airport, and sit there til my flight takes off at midnight. And then I'll be in Fiji for 6 days! I'll probably send Dad an e-mail or two just to let him know I haven't been killed by the militants that are threatening the government there, so I may have some time to post a bit about it. Otherwise, I hope that Mom and Dad remember to pick me up on December 4th! (Someone remind them that I'm getting in at 5am please!!) See ya on the other side (of the International Date Line, that is).
Signing off from Australia,
Christina
So many things, so little time....
On Sunday Robyn got here, and the two of us and Jen and Lara went to the Vic Markets to shop for souvenirs and other random stuff. On Monday, Robyn and I went on a tour. We went on the Puffing Billy, which is an old train that used to be used for logging the Victorian forest, but now is just a passenger train. A lot of little kids go on it. It was pretty cool-- they let us sit on the railing and hang our feet out of the train. Definitely not something you'd be able to do at home! Then we went to a winery for a spit-roast lunch, which was really yummy. After that, we went to Healesville Sanctuary and got to see all the native Australian wildlife, including platypuses, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, and of course emus, koalas, and kangaroos. I got a cute video of a platypus swimming around in circles. On Tuesday Mel drove us and Lara to Phillip Island, where we saw the Penguin Parade. This is when the Fairy Penguins (which are rather tiny-- around 8 inches high or so) come out of the sea and crawl into the sand dunes to find their chicks and feed them. They were so cute! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures, because they have poor eyesight and the flash would ruin it further. On Wednesday Robyn and I woke up really early and caught a flight to Tasmania. As soon as we got in to Hobart, we checked in to the Pickled Frog hostel and had to run outside to wait for our first tour to pick us up. Turned out that the two of us were the only ones on it! It was a walking tour of Mt. Wellington, which has a rainforest growing on it. We got to see lots of things that we probably wouldn't have been able to see if we were in a large group, like black cockatoos and other birds. It was very pretty, and I bet it would've been gorgeous if it had been sunny, a bit warmer than 5 degrees Celsius, and not raining. When we got to a lookout point, our guide gave us lunch-- really yummy organic sandwiches, chamomile tea, and a ginger snap. After all that, combined with the cold rain, I felt like taking a nap! However, I didn't. Instead, Robyn and I walked around Salamanca Place, which has a bunch of shops and restaurants, until dinnertime. After dinner we fell exhausted into bed, and didn't move til 6AM the next morning when we had to get up and ready for our next tour. Thursday's tour was a mishmash of everything- we first went to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, then on a river cruise for lunch, then to a wildlife sanctuary, and finally to historic Richmond, before taking a taxi back to the airport and flying back to Melbourne. At the wildlife sanctuary, we got to pet a koala and a wombat, and feed kangaroos right out of our hands! I have a picture of me trying to kiss a kangaroo's face, and he's pretty close, but I was afraid to get much closer because I didn't want him to feel threatened and decide to kick me or something. They can be vicious with those back legs. Anyway, yesterday Robyn and I went back to the Vic Market and bought tons more things, and after dinner we went to Max Brenner with Mel and Lara. I realized that it was the third time I've been there in 3 weeks. Oops. No wonder the girl who served us recognized me. Today Margaret's son Paul is going to pick me up for lunch with their family, so I get to meet Aunt Lily's sister and her kids and grandkids. After that I'll probably pack a bit, or help Mel finish moving out if she's still not done, and then Robyn and I are going to try our hardest to find a restaurant in Melbourne that serves kangaroo but isn't rediculously priced, so that she can try it. Tomorrow morning at 6:20 we're leaving Whitley to take Robyn to the airport, and then I've got to get back to Vic Market and get a last minute 50 more pounds of stuff that Mom requested of me last night, and then pack up my entire room (and hope I have enough empty space in my suitcases for all the extra stuff I'll be buying tomorrow!). It'll be really sad to see my room all empty and bare. It's going to be really hard to leave, even though I'm going to Fiji before going home. I hope I can plan my next trip to Australia soon!
I Promised A Story....
And I can't break a promise, so here I'm sitting, in pajamas, at 11AM, eating "breakfast" (read: Ferrero Rocher chocolates from my birthday and a half-flat can of Diet Coke I opened last night for dinner...yes, I'm a college student), and recounting the night Mel and I went to the Northcourt Social Club to watch her friend Petey play in his band.
Mel and I drove over to Libby's house, where Sade and Sam and she were putting makeup on and straightening their hair. We ordered two large pizzas filled with every kind of topping imaginable (Aussie, veggie, Hawaiian, and chicken), and devoured the entire thing in about 5 minutes flat when it arrived. Then the five of us piled in Mel's car and drove around long enough to find the Social Club, and we arrived just in time for it to start raining. I must interject that Melbourne rain isn't real rain. It's constipated rain. I guess it comes from being in a drought, but this rain is barely a Williamstown-drizzle, and all it's good for is making you very cold and have frizzball hair. Anyway, we walked in, handed the lady our tickets, got a monkey stamped on our wrists so we could wander the band room and the rest of the pub if we so desire, and went in and got drinks. The opening band was really good, and so were The Fakes. While they were playing, Mel, Petey's mom, and I were standing near the bar talking, and this random drunk older man was standing behind us. I thought it was strange that every time we'd move a few feet up the bar, he'd follow. Then, all of a sudden I saw out of the corner of my eye his pointer finger move slowly toward Mel's lower back. I grabbed her arm and pulled her forward so he wouldn't touch her, and the three of us sort of exchanged this-is-scary glances. We kept talking, but kept a sharper eye on this creepy guy, and sure enough he reached out and touched Mel again. She turned around and firmly but politely asked him to stop and move away (a reasonable request), and he began cursing at us, saying we were all filth, rubbish, other stronger names, and told us all to F-off. The three of us moved to the opposite side of the bar because he was clearly not moving, and sure enough, within five minutes he was standing in front of us again. He started talking again, and to make a long story short, Mel and I went to the bartender and asked him to get the bouncer to escort Mr. Drunk out. While we were talking to the barman, the old man tried to get away into the crowd, but he ended up coming back just as the bouncer came into the room, and luckily the bouncer pulled him aside and walked him out the door without a fuss. Don't get me wrong, the entire night minus these 15 minutes was really fun, but it was definitely a scary experience. Lesson learned: always have someone's large boyfriend hanging out with the group so we're not the only ones in a group of just girls.
YAY!
I'M DONE I'M DONE I'M DONE I'M EXHAUSTED! I can't believe I just took three exams in three days, all worth 60-70% of my final grade in those classes. I think everyone else won't believe that I didn't eat much or sleep hardly at all during those three days. So, in true Christina fashion, I am eating a prociutto sandwich (yes, I treated myself for a job well done....and I've had my eye on this sandwich since my first week in Melbourne and just haven't gotten around to getting one til now). And as soon as I put the final bite in my belly, I am going to have a long, glorious sleep. And by long, I mean until dinnertime. MORE FOOD! Sweet! Although it's college food, so maybe not so sweet. Last night was Shepherd's Pie, which I must say they did a pretty good job with this time. The mashed potatoes weren't flaky and hard! ::gasp of shock:: Can they outdo themselves tonight? Maybe we'll have a repeat of "Mexican lamb" (read: lamb chunks coated in chilli gravy). As long as it's not battered fish, I don't care what I put in my stomach tonight. Oh, or meatloaf. Or silverside. Okay those three are really gross, I swear. I think we should protest the battering of fish...after all, you can't batter your wives, children, or animals anymore, why should you be allowed to batter fish? They've got feelings too. Okay obviously I'm delirious from lack of food and sleep. So, off to bed I go (perfect sleep weather too-- rainy and freeeeeezing!). After dinner, Mel and I are going to watch her friend Petey play (he's in a band called The Fakes) and then maybe I'll report something interesting. Oh! here's one interesting fact: remember that information I posted about Antechinus? It was on the exam!!!! And the only reason I remembered all those facts about it and could write a whole essay on it was because I shared it with all you lovely folks. So thank you, I just got 15 points right! Nap time!!!
Shortest post ever.
Dangerous Earth is officially done with! And I think I did really well on this exam too! Yay for having lots of choices between essay questions! Tomorrow is biology of Australian flora and fauna. That is why this post is so short. I'm off to study; hopefully it'll pay off tomorrow morning! I will report back when I am free for summer (yes, summer) vacation (or should I say
holiday, to be Australian?).
;-)
