Whirlwind last weeks...

My final few weeks were full of tearful goodbyes, celebrations, good friends and lots of good food.  Todd and I celebrated our one year anniversary (festivities orchestrated by me) by having a super date.  On Saturday July 24^th , we rode our bikes to Burleigh Heads and enjoyed brunch by the ocean while watching surfers , kids and their harassed looking parents.  We spent the rest of the afternoon doing some errands via bike which was really fun and very environmentally friendly of us :). Our super date came to a close with a night in surfers which ended up being fairly short because we were both tired from our biking adventure that morning. 

The next weekend Todd and I tried to hike into Stinston Wreck which was a hike that we had tried to plan for months, but something always got in the way… We ended up leaving the house earlier than expected and by the time we arrived at the start of the hike we only had a few hours of daylight left.  We walked 300 meters in and were confronted with a swollen river and a log straddling the river as our only means across.  We proceeded to wrap our legs around the log and crawl across.  Fifteen minutes later we had managed to inch ourselves across.  We were wet, muddy and the sun was already beginning to set.  Another kilometer or so in, we discovered that the trail was becoming harder and harder to follow so we decided to set up camp by the river (on the trail) and attempt to get to the site on Sunday.  We knew it would be a big return trip but figured it was worth a shot.  Two hours later we had set up camp, had tea (dinner) and were playing cards in the tent.  We discovered that we only had one bedroll because of some packing errors and were laying across a tree root in our hot, stuffy tent.  We quickly agreed that this was just not meant to be and so we headed home, with a celebratory stop at McDonalds on the way.

The following weekend, my final weekend in Australia, was spent in Sydney with Al and Gav (two of Todd’s friends from work).  We were originally supposed to run the city to surf, a 14K run from Hyde park to Bondi beach, but Todd and I decided to be lazy and so Gav and Al showed us up by their impressive running abilities.  Todd and I used that morning to walk from Bondi (where our hostel was) down the cost to the neighboring town of Bronte.  It was a beautiful morning and it was nice to get some exercise without hurting our joints through running :)  The previous day, Todd purchased a GPS and so he spent much of the morning trying to figure it out to make sure we didn’t get lost on the well marked, self explanatory path we walked down.  After Al and Gav finished the run we all met up and then Todd and I managed to meet up with Miles in downtown Bondi.  I really had an amazing time meeting up with Miles.  The time flew by and I think we are both happy that we have kept in touch throughout our time in Australia. 

Our weekend concluded with a night on the town with Al and Gav.  We went to a classy wine bar and then moved the party to a BYO Mediterranean restaurant where Todd discovered a new region of food that he really enjoyed.  Woo experimenting! :)  I am really glad that we spent that weekend in Bondi.  It was a new part of Sydney that I had not seen and the endless houses on hills reminded me a lot of San Francisco’s architectural silhouette.  Saying goodbye to Al after that weekend was, once again, really tough.  I met him within the first month of being in Australia and I don’t think I have ever met such a kind, spiritual, funny individual.  I really had an amazing time getting to know him and I really hope our paths cross again in the future.  

Al and Roman (two friends I miss a great deal) at Moreton (another weekend) 

Straddling two worlds

I know that I have yet to really conclude my last few weeks/ days in Australia and I will but not today... I think it is hard for me to write about it coming to an end because I am still in denial that it is the case.  I miss Australia.  I miss the beauty of the land and the people that I met there.  I miss the life that I had and yet at the same time I am glad to be back and start a new part of my life.  I am currently in Berkeley visiting lots of friends from school etc and it has been amazing to catch up with them all but right now it still feels kinda fake... I mean of course I am glad to see them but there is still a part of me that is rebelling against discussing my experience in Australia in the past tense.
I updated my cover letter and resume this morning so I can start applying for the dozens of jobs I have saved in my "indeed" profile (excellent website, by the way).  I know this is all stuff I have to do it makes the "grown up" part of life all the more real.  I am looking forward to finding a job, and interviewing with different companies (I am weird, I know) but it all takes a bit to get used to.
Next week I am visiting my grandparents/ mom's family back east and I am very excited to see everyone but I feel like with each passing day I am getting further from Australia; and I don't like this feeling one bit.
I guess all I am saying is that I will tell you all about my last few weeks in a bit but right now I still want to hold on to it and not let it all come to a close.

And the Verdict Is...!

Well it wasn't really a competition but I have had an overwhelming response from people that I should continue my blog when I return home so I will be doing just that :) Speaking of votes, mom, Jan, and I got REALLY into Master Chef Australia when they visited and I have to say that Australia's overall response to the show is just massive.  Over 10% of the population tuned in (more than the percentage for American Idol) and the upcoming election debate was postponed an hour so that it would not interfere with the competition :)  Amazing what TV can do! ha ha.  Although I am not up to their caliber I do have some recipes that I have been changing/ working with etc and I will be sure to start writing more about my cooking in the months to come.  And finally, here are two more of my recent paintings that I have completed for Todd and Russ.  I still have two more in my brain at the moment and am looking for some "get my butt into gear" inspiration :)

Explanation: Russ plays guitar ALL the time; i guess it doesnt look like a
guitar though, neither him nor Todd knew what it was :) ha ha

Multi panelled painting for Todd; he loves lines and angles; hence the triangles;
I made if for him to decorate his living room while he sells his apt

Tassie -> Whales (the animal ;) )

My second trip to Tassie was just as much fun but unfortunately much shorter than my first.  Mom and Jan and I flew in on Saturday morning, waited for Todd at the airport and then started our speedy journey.  We fit in lots of Foster family time, a stop at the Raspberry farm for jam and fresh ice cream, BBQ, and a trip to the Nut, this Ayres Rock shaped formation on Tassie coastline.  It was a beautiful 3 km walk around the top.  We saw a wallaby in the wild (mom was ecstatic!) and then proceeded to the town bellow (Stanley) for some amazing fish and chips from this eccentric place with a lobster on the roof :)

Our trip came to a rapid close and we left on Monday for Sydney! Sydney is much different from Melbourne.  Melbourne is just a gorgeous city in itself and doesn't attempt to brag about its splendour.  Sydney is also beautiful but a tourist town through and through.  Most people say they would love to live in Melbourne but visit Sydney and I think this is a very good way to sum up my feelings for it.  With my mom and sis, I did much of the same as I did when Steph and Anna visited.  We walked a ton, visited Darling Harbour, saw the bridge, and took a few ferries.  The variations in this trip included a visit to the oldest Synagogue in Sydney, a tour of the opera house, trip out to the blue mountains, and a visit to the Sydney zoo.  The synagogue was beautiful with stained glass windows and place for a choir, and the tour guide was informative and gave everyone a surprisingly good overview of Judaism.  I was very impressed overall and was glad that we took this little cultural side trip :)

Blue Mountains 

The blue mountains were beautiful and blu-ish but I find most mountains are during a certain point in the day... It was still a very worthwhile trip but I was more impressed by the zoo :) I am a sucker for cute little animals even if they are in a cage.  We saw a seal show and I think I was as amused as all the little kids around us :) The elephants were cool although our experience was dwarfed by Janet pronouncing that they are much cooler in the wild.. duh... she saw them in Africa, lucky girl :)

The opera house tour was led by a 65 year old (or so) woman with an entertaining way of mingling her own stories with the history of the opera house.  She talked about how her favourite show there ever was sumo wrestlers from Japan and how she remembers our dear governor, Arnold, competing for the Mr. Universe title.  Although the price of tickets for a show weren't as high as the most expensive price ever for a show ($850 for one ticket!), we still felt that the ticket prices were a little ridiculous and so our opera house experience ended.

Inside one of the theaters at the opera house

From Sydney we went back to the Gold Coast for ONE day, ha ha in which we pretty much did nothing but gear ourselves for the trip up north.  We flew into a small town called Prosperine and then took a bus to Airle Beach, the home of the Whitsundays.  At this point, the cold mom had infiltrated Jan and my immune systems and so we weren't feeling up to much.  We walked around the tiny, touristy town for a day and debated which ridiculously expensive tour we would splurge on.  We couldn't decide if we wanted to go to the Whitsunday Islands or to the Great Barrier Reef (which was HEAPS more) but in the end we decided to live large and on Tuesday we headed out bright and early to venture to the Great Barrier Reef.  The snorkelling was, of course, very enjoyable although the water was a bit chilly for my still ill self and so I spent the rest of the totalled 4 hours on the reef in a glass bottom and submarine boat so I could see the amazing coral and sea life without constant shivering :) The glass bottom boat was truly miraculous and gave me a very different view of the reef.  We cruised along the top of the reef instead of just on the side, the view we got from snorkelling.

I have to say, however, that my favourite part of that day was the whales! Since landing in Australia I have seen many sea turtles and dolphins in the water but no whales up until this point.  At one point there was a few humpback whales showing off their flippers only 50 meters from the deck.  I could actually see the barnacles on their skin? hide? Unfortunately, we were all smart enough to think that the others were bringing a camera and so we have no pictures of them but we met a very nice couple from Canada who promised us shots of the whales.  If we receive them I will be sure to post them!

Ok I am now off to tackle my growing list of things to do before I go.  I have a few more adventures to tell so come back soon! :)
ps. since my adventures by the sea are ending soon I would like to know if you all want me to continue writing when I get back state side?

Marathon Travelers!

The city hopping has come to a close and my time in Australia is winding down :(  I have 12 more days here and then who knows! But that is not the point of this entry.  The end of my time here post will come later :)  Now I want to comment on what an amazing time I had with my mom and sis (and Todd) when they spent 4 weeks down under.  

They started in New Zealand for a week which I was unfortunately not apart of and so you will have to ask them about that portion of their trip :) They started their Australian adventure on July 3rd and we had non stop fun.  The trip started with a one night camping experience at the foot of Mt. Warning.  I have already talked about this but to recap: camped at the foot of Mt. Warning, boom fire, jaffles, bags, climbed Mt. Warning  and then celebrated that night with some tasty burgers in Coolangata and then collapsed into bed happy, sore, and ready to start puddle jumping!  

Melbourne was first and what a BEAUTIFUL city it was.  What everyone says is true.  The architecture is unique and the skyline is breathtaking.  Mom had to stop on every corner to take a picture of one of the dozens of public art sculptures scattered throughout the city.  Throughout our trip we used Lonely Planet to help guide us in the direction of scrumptious food.  Lonely planet never let us down and one day we went to this place called Pellegrini's, which was a small place right out of Italy (not that I have been there :) ).  Structurally it was long and small with a kitchen in the back and a strong wooden bar running the length of the restaurant.  It was quite clearly a family owned restaurant and the sons shouted food and drink order back at their mother cooking in the kitchen.  It was delicious food and a wonderful step into a different world.  

The highlight of the Melbourne trip for me was the Tim Burton exhibit at the ACMI.  The exhibition is on loan from the New York Met and it was a wonderful collection of his movies, sketches, notes and childhood school papers that gave us a glimpse into the mind behind movies such as Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland (2010), and my personal favorite: Big Fish.  In the next gallery over there was an exhibit that embodied my thesis.  It showed the history of American and Australian film.  Although I felt a bit chagrined at first, I soon put my mind at ease because the exhibit was not as detailed or interesting as my paper (if I do say so myself :) ).  

Our time in Melbourne finished with a bang as mom and I ate fish and chips and beer after watching fireworks over the Melbourne Docklands.  Jan was feeling a bit sick and tired so she did not join us but mom and I had a marvelous last night out before heading the next morning to Tassie.  

I apologize for my lack of pics in this section.  I did not have a camera with me and Jan has yet to upload facebook pictures for me to steal so you will just have to wait! :)  More of our adventure to come! 

G'day Mate!

The first few months of my relationship with Todd included lots of blank stares and "umm... what?"s.... Americans may think they have slang but Australians practically invented strange slang.  Some of it makes sense and some... is just plain nonsensical :) Here is a list provided by my dear friend Becky.  This is small in comparison to Todd's dialect and "slang dictionaries" you can find online but these are the words of note she wrote down during her visit in April.  Thanks Becks!!!

Australian	American
bloke	guy
speed humps	speed bumps
dinner	lunch
tea	dinner
footpath	sidewalk
heaps	lots
breaky	breakfast
trolley	cart
Maca's	McDonald's
keen	interested
stuffed	screwed
sorted	figured out
pissed	drunk
ey?	what?
buggered	exhausted
chemist	pharmacy
spewed	vomited
duner(?)	comforter
eski	cooler/ice chest
tighty	hot/cool
pudding	dessert
torch	flashlight
trading hours	hours of operation?
corriander	cilantro
crisps	chips
chips	fries
prawns	shrimp
sunnies	sunglasses
stubby holder	beer sleeve
how you going?	how are you?
arvo dacks mate	afternoon trousers friend
thongs	flip flops
sandshoes	sneakers
no wuckas (from "no wuckin furries")	no worries
bushwalking	hiking
in the bush	in the wilderness
I've been really slack	I've been slacking off
tomato sauce	ketchup
try	goal (like at a sporting event)
light globes	light bulbs
cuddle	hug
rubbish	trash
way out	exit
toilet	restroom/bathroom

"Fostering" Gold Coast Adventures

For the last week I have had the pleasure of entertaining (and being entertained by) Todd’s family (whose last name is Foster, fyi…:) ).  Val and Tony (parents), Jodie (sis), Lara and Blake (Jodie’s adorable children) and his Auntie Trini flew in last Sunday and were with us until Monday.  Lots of shopping, eating, swimming in the pool and gabbing ensued and I really enjoyed getting to know them all better. 

I love my friends’ families.  I love my family too! (don’t worry!) I just mean that I love meeting other people’s families because it reveals something new about my friends.  Todd has a lovely family.  They are kind, loving and really have each others’ backs.  It is clear why Todd has turned into such an incredible person himself (he had loads of help ;) ). 

Todd’s niece and nephew (Lara and Blake) are 5 and 3 (respectively) and the cutest little kids.  Of course any children with an accent become instantly cuter especially when they give “cuddles” (the Australian word for “hug”).  Todd clearly adores them but hanging around children for a week has made him decide to wait till 50 to have them (ha ha).  Being around them for a week reaffirmed that they are hard work but definitely something I look forward to tackling (don’t worry, not yet!). 

Mom and Jan are here now and we spent the weekend introducing them to Australia by dragging them on a camping trip and then climbing Mt. Warning.  It was a much longer hike than I remember but we all survived with a smile on our face, but the spring in our step was left at the top… ;)  We had amazing luck camping because although we shared the space with more people than we anticipated, we snagged a little wall-less hut with a fireplace.  We made our typical “boom” fire and taught mom and Jan how to play “bags” (a Foster family card game).  We Americanized the Jaffle sandwich by making some with peanut butter, honey and banana and played badminton on a court that Todd marked out with his blue surveying paint.  It was nice to get away from the city for a bit and have some good ‘ol, no electricity required fun! 

Mom, Jan and I leave in a few hours for Melbourne and then Tassie is next finished off by Sydney.  I will not have much time to write but I promise to take good notes!!! 

Picture Time: 

Lara, Blake and I :) 

Todd being a great uncle and playing airplane

Todd, Roman and I on the top of Mt Warning 

Jan and I on the top of Warning (she is still taller, shucks :) )