Land Down Under

It's Saturday...time to go out and play!

Well, I had a lovely day today if I do say so myself. Oh but I did say so myself (okay, that was a quote from a movie that only Jodi would understand. And possibly Sunmi and Dawnie, if they can remember Van Helsing quotes). Anyway, today I woke up at 11, called Mom, was told that she was out to dinner and dancing and that she'd call me back later (yeah right, she hasn't called me once while I've been here...all 3 weeks so far...), took my time in the shower (which really hates me-- no matter how I turn the hot/cold knobs, the water vascillates between scalding and freezing....the entire time), and then left Whitley to go on a long walk and run errands. My first stop was Union House, to buy sushi for lunch. I must say, $4AU for 2 huge salmon rolls is an AMAZING deal. And very yummy. The only thing that concerns me is the scary, huge seagull that kept creeping closer to my food, and tilting its head back and forth. I suppose it thought it was menacing. It kind of was, and I just ended up looking stupid as I said to the bird, "NO! YOU CAN'T EAT MY FOOD! IT'S MINE! ALL MINE! I WON'T SHARE WITH YOU! GO AWAY!" Then I realized I was talking to a bird (which obviously wasn't planning on moving away from me no matter how loud I screamed at it) in a very public place, and I definitely got a few strange stares. I suppose that signifies that all is normal and well in Christina's world. Moving on. I made my way slowly down Swanston Street, until I got to the mall. This was about a 45 minute walk in all, since I wasn't in a rush (my legs are very short). At the mall I went into the music store across the street, bought a nice shoulder rest for the violin I'm borrowing, and then started to make my way slowly back up Swanston Street. I stopped at a Gloria Jean's for a small chai (which, by the way, is a third of US small cup sizes....too tiny for what I paid for it, but oh well), and read a bit in the coffee shop. Apparently I do need to study while I'm here. Go figure. Once I started getting concerned that I wouldn't get back before it got dark, I went into a 7-11 and bought a monthly metcard. This will come in handy, and I have no doubt that the AU99 that I spent for it was extremely worth it. And since I bought it, I decided that being lazy is more my style, so I took the tram back up to the uni, walked across to Royal Parade, and took the tram up to Whitley. Then started the interesting part of my day. I frantically searched the internet for any sort of cheap trip to the Great Barrier Reef for Spring Break, and I finally found one! For AU 894 (US 622, approximately), I (assuming I find someone to go with me) can fly to Cairns, spend 9 days there, including 3 on a sailboat in the Whitsundays, go snorkelling, stay at a youth hostel, and fly back. The only things not included would be food for the 6 days we're not on the boat, diving, and surfing (and shopping, of course). I'd say that's a pretty darn good deal, and I'm really hoping that one of my friends'll agree with me and come. It's a lot cheaper than the uni trip I was originally planning on going on, and this way I get to do exactly what I want (and not repeat a trip to Fraser Island). I'm so proud of my internet skills. And to reward my effords, I promptly went down to dinner.....and was given a plate with fish and chips plopped onto it. Not the most appetizing thing I've ever eaten, but I must say, at least it wasn't meatloaf!!!


I forgot the other day when I wrote my first post to include my trip to Melbourne Gaol. Natasha, Victoria, and I visited the old jail, where Ned Kelly (Australia's famous outlaw) was held. Apparently cell 17 (I think it's his cell, but I'm not sure) is haunted. The only thing I found creepy about that cell was that they randomly had a transparent cutout of a woman's figure in the middle of the cell. Weird. Anyway, I have pictures from it, so I'll go put those up on the picture site now.


Tomorrow: footy game! My first Aussie-rules football game. Let's hope I understand it more than American football. At the very least, the guys all wear really short shorts, so it should be interesting. I mean... I'm just going to cheer for Whitley to win.....yeah.....that's my story and I'm sticking with it....




PS- for those of you wondering (ahem, Jodi), the picture is NOT of a dead kangaroo. Contrary to popular belief, I am not that morbid. He's lying down. I thought it was more appropriate than finding a kangaroo in action, considering I enjoy sleeping more than hopping around.

posted by Christina @ 6:37 PM