Well, well, well. A lot has happened in the last few weeks, including a trip to Sydney and another trip to Noosa. Highlights of Sydney: the aquarium (dugongs are perhaps the cutest animals in the world); Opera House; shopping; home-cooked meals courtesy of our lovely host; quality time with J-Rod. Highlights of Noosa: beach; home-cooked meals courtesy of the more domestic of my friends; making new friends; watching the meteor shower on the beach; sleeping on the beach. Although of them were a lot of fun & I could say a lot more about them, I really am consumed with the next trip looming in my future: the trip home.
As I write this, I have less than 8 hours until I go to the airport, where a series of 4 flights will take me back to Kansas over a span of about 24 hours. Not only will it be stressful, boring, and exhausting, but I will be incredibly sad for the duration of the trip. Of course, I am SO excited to see my family, drive my car, watch New Moon with my friends, hang out with Eric, go to Sonic, etc. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I would be devastated if I missed it. But at the same time, I have never felt so bummed about something ending.
The friends I've made here are seriously some of the most hilarious, loving, carefree people I've ever met. I could go on and on about why I love the team, but suffice it to say they are the sole reason I have been crying on and off for the past 24 hours. Don't get me wrong: I love the beach and the sun and the fact that I have been mainly directionless for the last 5 months. I will miss having the opportunity to go snorkeling and skydiving. But in the end, what really breaks my heart is saying goodbye to these people. The saddest part is that, with the exception of Treibs and Biagio, the friends I've made here go to WashU (if only we could convince them to transfer). I really shouldn't be complaining. I am so so thankful that I will have them around next semester. It's just that things will be different. We won't eat every meal together. We won't hang out every single night. It won't just be the 7 of us wandering around in Australia. We are all going back to our normal lives. This is really the end.
Ultimately I am happy that I am so sad. It means this experience has been meaningful. I've had so much fun, done so many cool things, and I like to think I've grown up a little bit. I am so much more carefree and spontaneous than I was before. Although I wouldn't go as far as saying I can take care of myself (let's be real, they cooked me every meal, took out my trash, and even did my laundry), I am definitely more independent.
I am so incredibly grateful to my family for not only allowing me to go halfway across the world, but for encouraging me to make the most of my time here. I have appreciated every card, every care package, every skype chat, and every email. It's so good to know that even though I am leaving people I love, I am coming home to people I love even more.
I'm a pathetic mess right now. I think I'm one of maybe two or three people left in my college, so it's eerily quiet. I have had to say too many emotional goodbyes. Those of you who know me well know that I DO NOT cry, so the fact that I have broken down at least 7 times since last night may come as quite a shock. But this has been the best semester of my life and it's just really, really, really hard to say goodbye to my friends, my lifestyle, my home for the past 5 months. Australia is so amazingly awesome and I cannot wait for our reunion here in 2011 (it's happening).
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
adventure mode
It's been awhile since I've shared any of the fun/unusual/weird stuff that I'm doing here. It almost seems like I am just a regular student going to class and writing papers. I can't have you thinking that because this is Australia and let's face it, things are just better here. With that, a quick recap of some recent highlights.
Friends visiting: Emily's friend Diss came to Brisbane. It's always a good time when we add people to the team. With a majority of Long Islanders in the room, I felt like I needed to be a part of the team. I fit right in, yes?
Beach: We went to the real beach this past weekend at Byron Bay. It was an intense weekend. We climbed up to this lighthouse. It was the most strenuous exercise I've had in months.
The ocean never gets old.
Kayaking: I have no pictures from this because my camera cannot afford to be anywhere near water. Kayaking was really intense. I was not good at it. Poor J-Rod had to do all the work and tell me what to do and we still ended up always floating in the wrong direction. Highlight: seeing dolphins 30 feet from us. Lowlight: getting hit in the back with the kayak after we fell out trying to ride a wave. Note to all: kayaking is not as calm and relaxing as it appears (unless you have upper body strength, then it may be okay).
Story time: After Halloween, I had a pseudo phone-breaking incident (because I really cannot keep a phone intact for more than two months at a time). Long story short, I thought my phone was broken and thus couldn't set an alarm (turns out I had put the battery in the wrong way... genius). I was planning on waking up at 6 am to go skydiving. Guess who can't wake up at 6 am without an alarm!? I woke up at 6:45, devastated that I had missed my one chance to go skydiving. I sulked in bed for a few minutes until Christine pops in saying that it had been raining all morning and skydiving had been postponed. I like to think God was so sad I had overslept, he had to shed a few tears for things to work out. Because of the rain, they hadn't left yet so I ran around trying to get ready in 5 minutes. It was stressful and hectic and suddenly I was in a van signing a document that read, "Serious accidents can and often do happen. Don't blame us if you die." Maybe in slightly different words but you get the point.
Skydiving: Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. We got to the skydiving place, got into our harnesses and learned what was going to happen. Of course all the training in the world can't prepare you for the actual jump. We flew up to 14,000 in a tiny, rickety old plane while I was strapped to my tandem master, a small intense woman who does this 12 times a day. It was terrifying and I repeatedly asked myself why in the world I decided to do this when I get scared even jumping off a bunk bed. However there's really not much you can do once you're 14,000 feet in the air. I was second in line so I had the pleasure of watching the first person fly out. They literally push you to the edge of the plane for you to get into position. Position: stick your legs out of plane and bend them back so they're wrapped along the bottom of the plane. Arms are holding the straps of the harness. Head is tilted back. I was expecting some sort of calming statement or at least a countdown but nope, I was sitting there for approximately two seconds when I feel myself FALLING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE.
The initial drop was by far the scariest moment of my life. I have nightmares about falling from heights and here it was actually happening to me. We fell out upside down and I had a moment where I wondered if I was going to die. After about five seconds we had leveled out and from then on I was absolutely amazed. It's a 60 second free fall. It's just indescribable. I was literally flying. When she pulled the parachute I felt a wave of relief. We floated around for a few minutes while I took in the view before safely sliding into the ground. I can't even explain how awesome it was. I would recommend anyone and everyone experience this at least once. It's so cool to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
I got a DVD of the whole experience, which meant that a third guy jumped out of the plane with us and filmed the whole thing. It's fantastic- from the look of absolute terror the moment I jump out to the views of Australia that are in the background. My only grievance is that I paid for pictures too but the guy didn't take any while I was in the air! The only pics are from when I landed. Lame. I stand on the ground all day every day- when's the next time I'll be 14,000 up!? Oh well, the DVD is really awesome. And actually doing it was okay too I guess...
Ladies Day: All the girls in my college dress up strangely, walk to a random field, and engage in an afternoon of debauchery.
Friends visiting: Emily's friend Diss came to Brisbane. It's always a good time when we add people to the team. With a majority of Long Islanders in the room, I felt like I needed to be a part of the team. I fit right in, yes?
Picnic: The boys arranged a lovely BBQ in the park. This area of town is called South Bank and there are a bunch of shops, restaurants, and free grills, not to mention a man-made beach. Oh Australia. The real beach is only 2 hours away but it's always smarter to create one 15 minutes away.
Beach: We went to the real beach this past weekend at Byron Bay. It was an intense weekend. We climbed up to this lighthouse. It was the most strenuous exercise I've had in months.
Byron Bay is the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland... as this sign says.
The ocean never gets old.
Halloween: Although Halloween isn't as huge here as in America, we did what we could. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of wearing a headband like that. Also it was an excuse to use my peace sign as much as possible.
Kayaking: I have no pictures from this because my camera cannot afford to be anywhere near water. Kayaking was really intense. I was not good at it. Poor J-Rod had to do all the work and tell me what to do and we still ended up always floating in the wrong direction. Highlight: seeing dolphins 30 feet from us. Lowlight: getting hit in the back with the kayak after we fell out trying to ride a wave. Note to all: kayaking is not as calm and relaxing as it appears (unless you have upper body strength, then it may be okay).Story time: After Halloween, I had a pseudo phone-breaking incident (because I really cannot keep a phone intact for more than two months at a time). Long story short, I thought my phone was broken and thus couldn't set an alarm (turns out I had put the battery in the wrong way... genius). I was planning on waking up at 6 am to go skydiving. Guess who can't wake up at 6 am without an alarm!? I woke up at 6:45, devastated that I had missed my one chance to go skydiving. I sulked in bed for a few minutes until Christine pops in saying that it had been raining all morning and skydiving had been postponed. I like to think God was so sad I had overslept, he had to shed a few tears for things to work out. Because of the rain, they hadn't left yet so I ran around trying to get ready in 5 minutes. It was stressful and hectic and suddenly I was in a van signing a document that read, "Serious accidents can and often do happen. Don't blame us if you die." Maybe in slightly different words but you get the point.
Skydiving: Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. We got to the skydiving place, got into our harnesses and learned what was going to happen. Of course all the training in the world can't prepare you for the actual jump. We flew up to 14,000 in a tiny, rickety old plane while I was strapped to my tandem master, a small intense woman who does this 12 times a day. It was terrifying and I repeatedly asked myself why in the world I decided to do this when I get scared even jumping off a bunk bed. However there's really not much you can do once you're 14,000 feet in the air. I was second in line so I had the pleasure of watching the first person fly out. They literally push you to the edge of the plane for you to get into position. Position: stick your legs out of plane and bend them back so they're wrapped along the bottom of the plane. Arms are holding the straps of the harness. Head is tilted back. I was expecting some sort of calming statement or at least a countdown but nope, I was sitting there for approximately two seconds when I feel myself FALLING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE.
The initial drop was by far the scariest moment of my life. I have nightmares about falling from heights and here it was actually happening to me. We fell out upside down and I had a moment where I wondered if I was going to die. After about five seconds we had leveled out and from then on I was absolutely amazed. It's a 60 second free fall. It's just indescribable. I was literally flying. When she pulled the parachute I felt a wave of relief. We floated around for a few minutes while I took in the view before safely sliding into the ground. I can't even explain how awesome it was. I would recommend anyone and everyone experience this at least once. It's so cool to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
I got a DVD of the whole experience, which meant that a third guy jumped out of the plane with us and filmed the whole thing. It's fantastic- from the look of absolute terror the moment I jump out to the views of Australia that are in the background. My only grievance is that I paid for pictures too but the guy didn't take any while I was in the air! The only pics are from when I landed. Lame. I stand on the ground all day every day- when's the next time I'll be 14,000 up!? Oh well, the DVD is really awesome. And actually doing it was okay too I guess...
The after shot.
All in all things have been pretty great. Jeanenne and I are going to Sydney tomorrow for three days which will be awesome. After I get back, though, adventure time is over and school time is back on. 5 finals in 5 days. A tragic reminder that even if I can fly, I still have to write papers.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Apparently it is OCTOBER 25. When did this happen!? Maybe time moves faster in the southern hemisphere. Maybe time moves faster when your life is all fun and sunshine every single day. Regardless I have a mere four weeks left but I am determined to make the most of them.
This coming week is our last week of classes. During finals week I have three papers due and two exams. If only I could get my act together and have some semblance of motivation before finals week. It's just, when your life consists of laying outside, having BBQs at the park, and eating ice cream (but seriously), there is simply no room for analyzing novels or studying types of algae. I can't be blamed.
I have two more trips planned- Byron Bay this coming weekend (thanks WashU!) and Sydney during reading week. I wish I had more time and more money to travel. I would love to go to New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Thailand, etc. but alas, those will be postponed until I win the lottery.
My parents sent me literally three enormous bags of each of my favorite junk foods so I have been in a semi food coma for the past two weeks. The Skittles were a huge hit around here and served to reinforce the idea that Americans do everything in excess.
That's how you know you're loved.
This coming week is our last week of classes. During finals week I have three papers due and two exams. If only I could get my act together and have some semblance of motivation before finals week. It's just, when your life consists of laying outside, having BBQs at the park, and eating ice cream (but seriously), there is simply no room for analyzing novels or studying types of algae. I can't be blamed.
I have two more trips planned- Byron Bay this coming weekend (thanks WashU!) and Sydney during reading week. I wish I had more time and more money to travel. I would love to go to New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Thailand, etc. but alas, those will be postponed until I win the lottery.
My parents sent me literally three enormous bags of each of my favorite junk foods so I have been in a semi food coma for the past two weeks. The Skittles were a huge hit around here and served to reinforce the idea that Americans do everything in excess.
That's how you know you're loved.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
my guys
This afternoon I skyped with Little Al. It pretty much made my day. I still can't believe Alex is already 12. He's like a real person now- he has legit homework and likes girls and goes to dances. Also he has become legitimately funny- when did this happen!? His voice is changing and he makes way too many inappropriate sexual comments but he's still my little brother. I refuse to call him anything but Little Al. I'm going to cry the day he stops calling me Sis and starts calling me Jordan. Not okay.
Later in the afternoon I skyped with my other favorite guy. Eric and I kind of suck at communicating, but every week or so we manage to have a real conversation. In some ways it's quite nice because so much happens in those days that we actually have things to talk about. I was really concerned that this long distance business was not gonna fly (there may or may not have been a meltdown in his bathroom a week before I left...) because we live five minutes apart both at school and at home. Fortunately it's been surprisingly easy to be apart. It's more a general feeling of "I wish Eric were here to see this shark" or "It would be cool if Eric could buy me a cherry limeade right now" rather than a sharp pain of desperately longing for him. I'll be back soon, we'll hang out, it'll be like no time has passed (hopefully? right?).
Here's to Little Al and Little Er. Can't wait until our next movie night where Alex will inevitably join us (by join us I mean he will nestle himself uncomfortably between the two of us) for a movie he is clearly not old enough to be watching (Borat at age 10- holy hell!) and the two of them will conspire against me to steal my candy when I'm not paying attention. I miss both of your huge heads.
Later in the afternoon I skyped with my other favorite guy. Eric and I kind of suck at communicating, but every week or so we manage to have a real conversation. In some ways it's quite nice because so much happens in those days that we actually have things to talk about. I was really concerned that this long distance business was not gonna fly (there may or may not have been a meltdown in his bathroom a week before I left...) because we live five minutes apart both at school and at home. Fortunately it's been surprisingly easy to be apart. It's more a general feeling of "I wish Eric were here to see this shark" or "It would be cool if Eric could buy me a cherry limeade right now" rather than a sharp pain of desperately longing for him. I'll be back soon, we'll hang out, it'll be like no time has passed (hopefully? right?).
Here's to Little Al and Little Er. Can't wait until our next movie night where Alex will inevitably join us (by join us I mean he will nestle himself uncomfortably between the two of us) for a movie he is clearly not old enough to be watching (Borat at age 10- holy hell!) and the two of them will conspire against me to steal my candy when I'm not paying attention. I miss both of your huge heads.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
GBR 09
It's late September and that can only mean one thing: SPRING BREAK. Or maybe that's just on this side of the world. It's pretty sweet to get two spring breaks this year and let me tell you, this one did not disappoint. My marine science class went on our second field trip, this time to Heron Island, which is in the Great Barrier Reef. This trip is the single reason I enrolled in this class because, let's face it, I do not do science.
We left at 11:15 Thursday night and took a loooonngggg overnight bus ride and ferry ride to get there, finally arriving at 1 pm Friday afternoon. Food was obviously first priority and we had a delish lunch prepared by Maggie, the heinous tyrant of the kitchen who barks at you for taking too long in the sandwich line and watches to make sure you don't take two slices of cake. Maggie is terrifying but she makes a mean ravioli. After that we immediately went snorkeling. Mind you I have been snorkeling precisely one time and that was in 8th grade (TCS '03 what up) so my skills were rusty. After a few failures in the realms of breathing (the mouth is hard when I'm used to the nose), seeing (my mask kept filling up with water), and swimming (flippers can be tricky), I was good to go and we floated around.
Saturday was by far my favorite day. We went out on boats (I thought I was going to fly out and never be seen again) to a spot that was in the deep part of the ocean. It was AMAZING. Every two minutes I would think about what I was doing and kept coming to the conclusion that this was the most incredible experience of my life. We were snorkeling in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. The GBR!! Unreal. We saw tons of animals: rays, sea turtles, sharks, and heaps of bright, colorful fish. It is crazy seeing a completely different world beneath the surface of the water. It's just so vast and open and natural. Definitely in the top 10 days of my life.
Definitely not in the top 10 days was Sunday's night snorkel. Okay, I am not a super scared person, and I'm generally fine in water but OH MY GOD I was terrified. We were in the middle of the ocean, at night, with only a wimpy little flashlight guiding us. Reasons for terror: my mask wasn't tight enough and I could not see (partly because it was filling up and partly because it was NIGHT). Then I started hyperventilating (blatant lie, I just started breathing harder) which caused me to worry that I was having a panic attack (I clearly was not). Then every time a flipper would hit me (and this happened quite frequently as we were all in a tight bunch) I was absolutely certain it was a shark because it was NIGHT which, conveniently, happens to be shark feeding time. Basically, I was freaked out the whole time and didn't actually see many cool things because I was entirely focused on: not drowning, not being stung by jellyfish, and not being attacked by a shark. I think I'm gonna stick with day snorkeling from now on.
Oh yeah, we were actually there in the name of "education," whatever that is... our project was measuring the sizes of poop that came out of sea cucumbers. Science at its finest. We worked really hard for one day and then rewarded ourselves with several trips to the beach to lay out.
Have I mentioned how intense the sun is here? You know, the whole lack of ozone deal. Yeah, well, little miss I-never-get-burned-so-I'll-just-put-on-a-little-sunscreen here learned a valuable lesson. I am no match for the Australian sun. My face got burned, as did my legs. And my knees. The knees were the worst. You can't really see the burn but I assure you it is there. I have newfound sympathy for people who go through this regularly. I generally just assume people are wimps who can't handle a little sun exposure but holy crap it was painful. I now have ridiculous tan lines and will be coming home a full three shades darker.
Now I am back in Brisbane and not looking forward to the rest of break because it is full of nothing but schoolwork, aka the one thing I do not want to be doing right now. I have four papers and an online debate for the next two weeks, which is a lot of work in any place but seems extra horrible in Australia. I just... don't want to.... but alas, it will all get done after I stop complaining.
Bottom line: if you have the time and the money, you must visit the GBR. Seriously incredible. And if you need a snorkel buddy, I'm your gal. Daytime hours only, please.
We left at 11:15 Thursday night and took a loooonngggg overnight bus ride and ferry ride to get there, finally arriving at 1 pm Friday afternoon. Food was obviously first priority and we had a delish lunch prepared by Maggie, the heinous tyrant of the kitchen who barks at you for taking too long in the sandwich line and watches to make sure you don't take two slices of cake. Maggie is terrifying but she makes a mean ravioli. After that we immediately went snorkeling. Mind you I have been snorkeling precisely one time and that was in 8th grade (TCS '03 what up) so my skills were rusty. After a few failures in the realms of breathing (the mouth is hard when I'm used to the nose), seeing (my mask kept filling up with water), and swimming (flippers can be tricky), I was good to go and we floated around.
Saturday was by far my favorite day. We went out on boats (I thought I was going to fly out and never be seen again) to a spot that was in the deep part of the ocean. It was AMAZING. Every two minutes I would think about what I was doing and kept coming to the conclusion that this was the most incredible experience of my life. We were snorkeling in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. The GBR!! Unreal. We saw tons of animals: rays, sea turtles, sharks, and heaps of bright, colorful fish. It is crazy seeing a completely different world beneath the surface of the water. It's just so vast and open and natural. Definitely in the top 10 days of my life.
Definitely not in the top 10 days was Sunday's night snorkel. Okay, I am not a super scared person, and I'm generally fine in water but OH MY GOD I was terrified. We were in the middle of the ocean, at night, with only a wimpy little flashlight guiding us. Reasons for terror: my mask wasn't tight enough and I could not see (partly because it was filling up and partly because it was NIGHT). Then I started hyperventilating (blatant lie, I just started breathing harder) which caused me to worry that I was having a panic attack (I clearly was not). Then every time a flipper would hit me (and this happened quite frequently as we were all in a tight bunch) I was absolutely certain it was a shark because it was NIGHT which, conveniently, happens to be shark feeding time. Basically, I was freaked out the whole time and didn't actually see many cool things because I was entirely focused on: not drowning, not being stung by jellyfish, and not being attacked by a shark. I think I'm gonna stick with day snorkeling from now on.
Oh yeah, we were actually there in the name of "education," whatever that is... our project was measuring the sizes of poop that came out of sea cucumbers. Science at its finest. We worked really hard for one day and then rewarded ourselves with several trips to the beach to lay out.
Have I mentioned how intense the sun is here? You know, the whole lack of ozone deal. Yeah, well, little miss I-never-get-burned-so-I'll-just-put-on-a-little-sunscreen here learned a valuable lesson. I am no match for the Australian sun. My face got burned, as did my legs. And my knees. The knees were the worst. You can't really see the burn but I assure you it is there. I have newfound sympathy for people who go through this regularly. I generally just assume people are wimps who can't handle a little sun exposure but holy crap it was painful. I now have ridiculous tan lines and will be coming home a full three shades darker.
Now I am back in Brisbane and not looking forward to the rest of break because it is full of nothing but schoolwork, aka the one thing I do not want to be doing right now. I have four papers and an online debate for the next two weeks, which is a lot of work in any place but seems extra horrible in Australia. I just... don't want to.... but alas, it will all get done after I stop complaining.
Bottom line: if you have the time and the money, you must visit the GBR. Seriously incredible. And if you need a snorkel buddy, I'm your gal. Daytime hours only, please.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
time flies and i cries
My Australian adventure is just over halfway done. I cannot believe it. It's been the fastest two months of my life and I'm guessing the second half will fly by even faster. I really want time to slooowww down. Here is the point where I could get all cheesy & sentimental but I'll just say that I am having the time of my life and I am not prepared to leave this behind forever.
Happier news: Great Barrier Reef next week. Plus Jeanenne & I booked tickets to Sydney at the beginning of November. Both are true Australian essentials so I'm glad I'll get to go there.
Even happier news: Gossip Girl is back.
Yeah, I know, I know. I'm in Australia & GG should probably not be my number one source of excitement. But have you SEEN Chuck and Blair?! Loooveee.
Happier news: Great Barrier Reef next week. Plus Jeanenne & I booked tickets to Sydney at the beginning of November. Both are true Australian essentials so I'm glad I'll get to go there.
Even happier news: Gossip Girl is back.
Yeah, I know, I know. I'm in Australia & GG should probably not be my number one source of excitement. But have you SEEN Chuck and Blair?! Loooveee.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
NOOSA
This weekend's trip to the beach was fantastic. It took about 4 hours to get there by a combination of buses and trains (Transportation Committee was on top of it). We rented a villa, which was this 2 story house with a kitchen, a bunch of beds, and an L-shaped couch (only the best of the couch options). The villa is right off the the main street in the town, where all the shops and restaurants are, but more importantly, it's a mere 5 minute walk to the beach.
The prospect of our own kitchen was thrilling, as we haven't seen a home cooked meal in months. Thus we made pasta, salad, and garlic bread. And by we, I mean the Dinner Committee (of which I had no part, but come on, this is no surprise if you know me at all). No worries, though, I was on clean up crew and man, am I a skilled dish-washer. All those years of doing the dishes have really trained me well.
We spent the majority of our time on the beach, obviously. It's a touristy place, so there were tons of people around. A lot of families with little kids, who were adorable to watch. Everyone in Australia wears hats because, awesome news, the hole in the ozone layer is directly above us. Skin cancer runs rampant here. Even I have taken to wearing sunscreen and that is big.
We buried Biagio in the sand one afternoon. Turns out, there was a wedding going on and we were directly in the aisle. To be fair, there was no announcement of said wedding and the aisle was not marked in any way. Only when the bride walked past us did we realize we were being 5 year olds as a beautiful, life-changing ceremony was going on next to us.
We also played a game, appropriately titled Sock Head, where you throw a sock and try to get it to land on someone's head. I told you, we are 5.
All photo credit is due to Xtine. I have basically stopped taking pictures because someone else is always on top of it. Instead I pop in as many as possible, hence the ridiculously high number of tagged pics in the past 9 weeks. Anywa, this was one of the best weekends I've had in Australia. I could easily live in Noosa. Oh, and not to brag or anything, but morale was out of this world this weekend. I take my role seriously.
The prospect of our own kitchen was thrilling, as we haven't seen a home cooked meal in months. Thus we made pasta, salad, and garlic bread. And by we, I mean the Dinner Committee (of which I had no part, but come on, this is no surprise if you know me at all). No worries, though, I was on clean up crew and man, am I a skilled dish-washer. All those years of doing the dishes have really trained me well.
We spent the majority of our time on the beach, obviously. It's a touristy place, so there were tons of people around. A lot of families with little kids, who were adorable to watch. Everyone in Australia wears hats because, awesome news, the hole in the ozone layer is directly above us. Skin cancer runs rampant here. Even I have taken to wearing sunscreen and that is big.
We buried Biagio in the sand one afternoon. Turns out, there was a wedding going on and we were directly in the aisle. To be fair, there was no announcement of said wedding and the aisle was not marked in any way. Only when the bride walked past us did we realize we were being 5 year olds as a beautiful, life-changing ceremony was going on next to us.
We also played a game, appropriately titled Sock Head, where you throw a sock and try to get it to land on someone's head. I told you, we are 5.
All photo credit is due to Xtine. I have basically stopped taking pictures because someone else is always on top of it. Instead I pop in as many as possible, hence the ridiculously high number of tagged pics in the past 9 weeks. Anywa, this was one of the best weekends I've had in Australia. I could easily live in Noosa. Oh, and not to brag or anything, but morale was out of this world this weekend. I take my role seriously.
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