AHHH UPDATING IS SO HARD.

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last update. I think it's especially hard for me because although I'm having fun in Melbourne, I look back at a lot of my blog posts and cringe. My entries seem to be so trivial and mundane. But I'm going to cut myself a little slack because I think that's what uni life is...kind of. You live your life and things are fun because the people around you are fun. You have little pleasures each day like a good conversation or sunny weather, but there aren't many huge occasions that blare PAY ATTENTION TO ME.

I'm just going to do bullet points for me to jog my memory.

• Night Market at uni. Lots of yummy food from all different countries, seriously Cornell you are lacking. Live performance with an emo band HAHA, it is so awkward watching unnatural performers that haven't been trained by professionals to look "cool" while they rock out to their guitars or jump around stage singing into the mic. They imitate, but not quite well enough and it's just funny and adorkable and it kind of ruins their street cred. Confession: I am a total sucker for azn anime hair that sticks up all crazy (and you know it's with massive amounts of hair gel). It is my guilty pleasure.

• Watching the movie Taken, which reminded me a lot of Trade. It's unbelievable how people can dissociate themselves so much from human emotions. I imagine that human traffickers must either be psychopaths by the clinical definition or psychopaths because they are so unbelievably self-serving and evil. The movie villains basically echoed the same sentiment: It's just business, no need to get personal here. As a sane, emotion human being, I don't think anyone could understand how that sentence EVEN MAKES SENSE WHEN IT COMES TO SELLING PEOPLE. There must be some chasm of CRAZINESS or MISANTHROPY that you have to cross to be part of sex/human trafficking.
  

• Late night talks with Cathy and Astrid about our crazy families and growing up too fast. Very satisfying, insightful conversations that make me feel thankful these girls let me know so much about them :).
• AHAHAH GETTING LOST WITH ASTRID ON THE WAY BACK FROM TURF. REALIZING THAT WE WE WALKED MORE THAN 40 MINUTES IN THE WRONG DIRECTION because we were so engrossed in our conversation...almost getting trapped in uni hahahahah oh man. my legs hurt for DAYS after that lol.
  

• HIIIII BENJA!!! I'm sorry I only got to see you for one night 4/21 :(, but it was a very, very fun night! The only bad part is that I felt homesick the entire day afterwards haha. Alright this happened the day I got back from Easter Break (which will be a whole new post...sometime?). Arranged to meet at Flinder's Station, couldn't find each other haha until Benja comes out of nowhere and yay hugs! Mm, then me babbling and walking into people...Benja guiding me out of the way of obstacles. I didn't realize my klutziness was so well-known that people around me automatically accomodate for it. **Ahaha now I'm remembering how Jenica always complains I walk diagonally and shove her off the sidewalk, and Dan subtly nudging me toward the right direction--AHH I MISS YOU GUYS (EVEN THOUGH YOU NEVER READ THIS JEN BABY)!!!!!!!! ** Met Michael and Lauren, who are total sweethearts! Then got Shanghai Dumplings after wandering around in the maze of alleys that is Chinatown. Feeling like unwanted children by the very curt and NOT helpful waittress while trying to figure out how the whole process of getting water/plates worked. Went to get some yummy gelato from the place at Melbourne Central...making that poor girl wait lol while we asked her what all the different flavors were, erk. Sitting on State Library lawn again eating our ice cream messily and generally ending up totally sticky and gross. Proceed with Michael to Cho Gao's and then Lion's (during which I realize I lost my phone and had to go look for it on the lawn...ahah *awkward turtle*). Then more fun conversations :). ALL IN ALL A VERY SATISFYING VISIT.

• essay, essays, essays, more freaking out about essays, which I turned in today...only to find out that two more assignments have been posted due in two weeks *is dead*. hokay i'm too brain dead because i've pulled two all nighters within 3 days and I am t-t-t-t-tired. WILL MAYBE UPDATE WITH MORE LATER. <3!
  

So I have 2 essay and 2 assignments to finish before a Easter break...and this is a nice enough reason to procrastinate.

Lately I've been a bit of a homebody (and lazy), so I haven't been going out to many clubs. That's not to say that I don't have a lot of fun back at UniLodge though. I just happen to enjoy movie nights and pretending to study while actually having random side tangents that usually end up being about feminism? Frigging Sex and the Screen + pervy men. It's amazing how many "uncomfortable" moments I've already endured in Melbourne. Having an old man of AT LEAST 60 with thinning white hair ogle my boobs and make a slurping noise will forever haunt me. All this attention would be flattering if it weren't for the fact that EW EW EW.

I played in a mini-poker tournament the other day which was pretty fun. Everyone chipped in $2 and whoever won got the entire pot. I have no poker face, so I eventually got beat outtt but I wasn't the first person to lose so that's okay haha! While we were playing there were 3 fire alarms...I did not leave for any of them. It is really too bad that if there actually is a fire, we will all die. tis the fire alarm who cried...FIRE? too many times.

Vic Market for groceries again!! It is so cheap, way more so than even Farmer's Market back in Ithaca. I was kind of lost because there were just so many vendors selling the same vegetables/fruits! An older Azn gentleman saw my confusion and I think took pity on me b/c he gave me advice on how to pick the freshest produce. He kind of looked like my grandpa, so when he came out with a really strong Australian accent, I was definitely caught off guard haha. I realized that most people, when they see me at a loss or asking them questions, either think that they should help me b.c I am so pathetic/harmless? or that they should pretend to help me but actually exploit me. HMMM. Maybe I should work on being more intimidating...

The next day, went to St. Kilda's again over the past weekend, yay sun and beach! Tried out some meat pies (which are actually quite yummy), bought a few things. Attempted to go out but failed because I am a bum haha...

which is why I decided to go out this weekend. Went to Perseverance again on Thursday -- fun music, justin again with the amazing 90's flashbacks shouting, "OHEMGEE GREAT SONG. AGAIN. HOW DO THEY DO THIS?" But perhaps more entertaining than him was my battle with gravity before we even got to the club itself. In my defense, I was being a good wingwoman and helping my man Dave-o with his hair...it sort of resembled Alfalfa from the Little Rascals movie. He's a tall enough bloke, so when I was looking up, I totally missed a curb and bit it on the sidewalk. Hoon says it was a faceplant, but I do not concur! My elbows protected my face, thus not a true face plant! Alcohol may have had a large role in this unfortunate occurrence, but it also gave me the strength to power through the pain! I kept dancing and ignored the little voice whispering that well, my knees did really hurt and ow jeans chafe a lot don't they? After finally gettin back to UniLodge, I peeled back my jeans, only to find a scrape/cut/bloody oozing abrasian the size of a quarter on my right knee along with a hole in my jeans...and various other scrapes on my body. So I sat there while Austin patched me up and Beej forced me to use soap to clean it off :(. OW, behold the power of goon, the devil's drink.

Let's just say the next day I was tired beyond belief. blah blah i'm getting lazy but basically we went to rooftop again to celebrate Spyro's birthday, who was awfully morose and serious. he basically reminded me that each birthday is bittersweet. Oh, how I wish I were back in freshman year again. There are so many things I would have done differently! Sigh, anyway we meant to go to st. jerome's because it was closing for good since the building that owned the alleyway it was in wanted to expand :(. Farewell epically cool little bar! Then went to Tof which was in the same building as Rooftop. Melbourne is just so good at utilizing space! This one building has 4 or 5 bars/clubs in it, each of which has a very unique layout. Tof in particular was like a maze of different areas. It really catered to your personality and what you preferred doing on a night out. There was a dancing area + bar, an outside area where you could smoke and be more laidback, or a secluded intimate booth area where you could actually shut out the rest of the club with your own sliding door and a button to summon the waitress--BEST PART would be the collection of trashy romance novels they provided. I don't know exactly what kind of shenanigans they wanted to encourage, but Austin ended up stealing one.

And unsurprisingly, we poor college students shunned the pricey menu and went to Mac-ers instead and ended up eating on the State Library lawn--classy I know. We decided that an appropriate end to the night would be a rolling down the hill race. I lost... but then did it 3 more times just for kicks :). Went back to UniLodge only to find a cockroach AGH that austin helped me kill--WAY TO BE MAJORLY RESILIENT, MR. BUG. He ended up helping me cut up cardboard to plug any nooks or crannies in my room since we were pretty sure the bug crawled out from there...and to make matters worse! Austin spent the entire time convincing me that his room is haunted. I found it very reminiscent of Barber's creepy hospital experience. Austin's is even more compelling though because Justin was THERE TOO. and supposedly there's a creepy girl and old man always popping up when he's sleeping/waking up. CREEPY. I refuse to think about such things because we all know I am a wuss wuss wuss.

Watched the boys barricade beej's door, only to be surprised and sprayed with dubious looking white-liquidy concoction... woke up this morning needing to pee REALLY REALLY BADLY, only to find the barricade in front of MY DOOR. As I crawled out from underneath the stacks of chairs and tables with my bladder full and DYING, I thought to myself, "well, 'snot a bad weekend at all." :)

School and other ponderings

This week has definitely been a bit strenuous. I'm starting to freak out over what I want to write about for my essays and how I don't understand what's going on in my MDA class.

Sex and the Screen is very interesting, but kind of not what I expected. It has been mostly focusing on gender roles and how directing techniques/camera shots (that I thought were just kind of inane and meaningless) actively objectify the stars/actors, namely the women. Having never been a huge movie buff, it is hard for me to read the many scholarly articles analyzing cinema because half the points the authors bring up had never even crossed my mind--and those little things that I could never put a finger on but did cause a little discomfort are brought under a magnifying lens and articulated. I've always classified "good" movies as those that move me and stick in my mind afterwards, the ones that make my breath catch and forget that what I'm seeing is only artistic vision and not reality. As a child of the age of technology and CG, I am spoiled by special effects and "realistic" acting. The special effects speaks for itself--King Kong from the 1930's cannot compare to the CG version of 2004/5/6?. What I mean by realistic acting is that the movies I've seen for class that were made 'back then'...suck, to me at least. I know this is almost blasphemous but I almost fell asleep during Casablanca. I can't get past the type of acting so prevalent in those movies, where every emotion is melodramatic and exaggerated, and every plot line can be predicted before the movie even starts. Everyone acts the SAME way and talks the same way and it's just so campy. Sure, nowadays movies rely a lot on shock value (gore, sex, violence, etc.) but the movies that truly stick with me do so because of their subtleties: the slight tic of the jaw, furrowed brow, biting of the lip, eyes darting left and right. I don't know if I can write an essay about this because I feel limited--I've been lucky that usually when I have to write an essay, I find at least one topic I want to argue about. But this time, all I want to say is, "fuck you directors of the past for only coming up with movies where women have but one choice of acting: to fulfill your sexual fantasies. Women really don't faint all the time. and not every female needs to be punished for her sexual desires. THANKS."

My complete disinterest for this essay is countered by my attachment to my Australia Now essay. We had a choice of either doing a research essay or reading/analyzing an autobiography. I chose to read one about a Chinese-Cambodian girl growing up in Melbourne but amidst her oppressive family and white societal pressures. I was lucky enough to have a fairly liberal upbringing, while many of my other Asian friends were not. I can't say that I completely empathize with what the author says, but I do understand much of what she describes. Her book is funny, but at many times, borders and crosses the line into mocking. I don't like it. At one point she says, "Constantly sighing, lying and dying---that is what it means to be a Chinese woman, and I want nothing to do with it." I want to tell her FUCK THAT. Fuck that, my mother has never been like that (though she puts up with more than she should), nor would she ever want that for me. I want to yell at her to stop giving readers reason to look down on us, that maybe she should have just grown a fucking backbone and that it has nothing to do with being Chinese. She writes about how everyday was a struggle to not look too peasantry, to not look fall under the stereotype of "looking too immigrant-like." I can't even get mad because I realize that's what American-Asians do everyday, that's what I do everyday. We joke around about FOBs and squint and poke fun at their "outrageous" sense of style and the fact that we're everywhere. Because once you start mocking your own kind, that's when you know you're finally fitting in. Even writing this, I feel like an imposter shrieking about all these "injustices." I didn't even have it that bad as a kid. My parents were progressive, but I feel myself nodding my head as I read Alice Pung's book, recognizing what she describes in my own family dynamics, parental advice, or life stories of friends of friends of friends. What she writes hits too close to home. I don't know if I can write this essay objectively without me not-so-subtly trying to counter every negative image she has protrayed in her novel. Yes, I'm defensive. I feel like some of her anecdotes are actually snapshots of my life and my loved ones that she had no goddamn right to show.

Philip Island

Went to Philip Island on Sunday! Walked along the beach and up a path to see some absolutely beautiful scenery. REALLY REALLY GORGEOUS. There's something incredibly peaceful and calming about standing on a cliff and looking at the ocean with the sound of waves crashing. But then the torrential downpour and wind started. I've never had rain hurt so much before lol . OW MY EYEBALLS WERE NOT MEANT TO BE PELTED WITH RAINDROPS. Eventually made it back to the van alive and soaked. I forgot how uncomfortable wet jeans are...

Then drove to the Koala Sanctuary. ARRAHHH they are so cute! They're like furry, grumpy little Yodas who can sleep anywhere! Like one butt cheek wedged between two wispy thin branches is enough. One or two moved though and wowed us with their branch-leaping skills; we were very much in awe considering we pretty much didn't expect them to move, ever. I'm ashamed of this, but for one split second I thought, were koalas really meant to exist for a long time (as in, not die out)? I thought this b/c our guide told us that parts of the trees had to be wrapped with plastic tubing so the koalas couldn't access certain parts of the tree and accidentally eat it to death. I mean, wouldn't they just naturally kill their dwindling food source left and right!? Of course, I then remembered that before humans, they most likely had enough trees to go around... OOPS.

Then! We got to feed wallabies and kangaroos. THEY ARE ADORABLE. I WILL HAVE PICTURES SOON, HOPEFULLY. The wallabies look like kangaroos but darker and much smaller. They've been well conditioned by now in that once they see you have a paper bag, they know you're there to feed them. They inch closer and closer until you finally extend your feed-filled hand--at which point they grab onto your fingers with their little claws and hold on tight lest you try to pull your hand away before they're done. You could pet them so long as you didn't touch their faces. It kind of reminded me of girls trying to avoid being kissed on the dance floor: *weave, kiss dodge, head bob.* The kangaroos were a lot more...insistent. aggressive. GREEDY. They do that big dog move where they put their front paws on you and leaaaaaan and breathe stank ass air into your face until you give them what they want. You had to resist. or at least feed strategically! A couple of the kangaroos had joeys in their pouches. If you wanted to feed the joeys, then you had to get a sneaky partner to feed/distract the mother so you could get the food near her kid.

Bad: we saw some black swans; *backs away* THEY ARE DEVIL BIRDS, DEAR GOD. Absolutely vicious things that attack you and anything else that moves...

Fairy penguins! They are absolutely tinyyy! They're about a foot tall maybe, probably less. You know toddlers/babies waddle around and tend to just barrel forward without looking out for potential obstacles? They just want to get to THAT DESTINATION no matter what as fast as possible. Fairy penguins are like the toddlers of birds. They run head lowered a little, like they're going to tip over any second BUT THEY HAVE TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING. and when they do eventually trip over something (because you know it is inevitable), they just sh-sh-sh-shake it off. I kind of wanted to pick them up and put 'em in my purse. and run for it.

If I don't make it back to the States, it's probably because I've been arrested for penguin snatching.

Another quick random recap of the past few days!

First. Random sing-alongs in the kitchen. Each floor in my building has a communal shower for each sex, kitchen, and lounge. The kitchen is basically the place to beeee. Everyone seems to play the guitar so there's always at least one person just strumming around. Anyway, this inevitably leads to everyone else grabbing their guitars and the vocally talented singing along. I have never heard Tears of Heaven or Wonderwall played so many times in succession hahaha. Tis good fun when you're eating dinner and there are people serenading you :). The greatest sing-along though was when I was on my way to the bathroom last Sunday. Austin + Justin + cheap wine = best rendition of Mulan's I'll Make a Man Out of You EVAR. Oh my god they had CHOREOGRAPHY, it was epic. I love it when people have such enthusiasm for Disney! Yay celebration of our childhood!...and maybe pre-teens!

Second. The Record. I'm standing in the kitchen minding my own business, making myself a sandwich when Maya bursts in and says, "Guys, guys! Austin's onto number 8! He just finished 7, oh man he looked exhausted though! Beej, he's gunning break your record..." "What record?" I ask. Could she be talking about a video game level? No, that can't be right, why would everyone be that impressed and laughing so hard? It must be something ridiculously hard or just plain ridiculous. An outraged shout from Beej clarifies the confusion: "What, seriously?! I can't believe he attempted the record today of all days. May the force be with him. and his penis."

Yes, the record is about the greatest number of times you've masturbated in one day. At my "What? For real?!?," every guy then offered his number, and some even provided the setting & times with fond expressions on their faces. I thought our group at Cornell was open about sex. So wrong! There wasn't anything pervy or shameful about the ensuing conversation. Both girls and boys spoke candidly (and sometimes quite proudly) about their experiences/records. It was a hilarious...3 hours haha interspersed with encouraging catcalls to Austin through his door. If anyone is interested, Austin surpassed the Crazy 8's and joined the elite Terrible (or Tendinitis) 10's.

Third. Spring break planning. A-U-C-K-L-A-N-D, New Zealand. Seven days. Countless adventures!!!

Fourth. Cube Cafe. I've had to explore different cafes to find a suitable place to read and study as a replacement for the library. Libraries here close around 6 or 10 pm at the very latest, and studying at UniLodge is kind of hard since there's always something loud and fun happening on my floor. Like a water fight. or shaving cream fight. or or or fun conversations. Anyway, I got all of these coupons to use before they expire and consequently am dragging my friends along by enticing them with a free house dessert. Yummy food and "board game" themed. I'm thinking one needs to open up in C-Town just for us to have board game night.

Fifth. Went to Bimbo's. Alright pub/bar overall, but best part was the courtyard on the rooftop-ish area with dangling lights/heat lamps. Kind of romantic, nice alternative to the techno-y downstairs. Also, Hoon found a pair of inflatable boobs on the way back. Win.

Sixth. Movie nights! When I am too lazy to go out...a lot! Watched the Wrestler, did not think that the acting was so Oscar-worthy, but then again I was hiding my eyes most of the time to avoid the squick. Um, was maybe a little bit tipsy too. OH, WAIT, Hot Fuzz was hilarious, especially b/c of the drinking game. Drink when you hear his name! Drink when there's gunfire (constant chugging)! I love that there were 6 tipsy people squished next to each other on my bed :). ETA: Maid of Honor was cheesy cheese. but HAHAHA HEE, i love boys and their dude love. Bros before hos all the way! "WE WILL MAKE YOU THE BEST MAID OF HONOR, EVAR." If I ever have the position of "MOH," I will ask boys to make the gift baskets or whatever, just to try to reenact the scene of guys trying to figure out which scented candles should go together.

geek-out

UHMMM so I'm going to be massively dorky right now, surprise surprise.

I just came back from my Managerial Decision Analysis class and I'm really looking forward to learning from this professor. He's really enthusiastic about the course subject and, from what I've seen, seems to have a unique perspective on the subject. I wish I were more like him--Sunny (aha his name, so cute) is obviously one of those people with an insatiable academic appetite who just loves learning for the sake of having that knowledge. He is obviously mad smart considering he has 3 PhDs, but is amazingly cute/dorky/charming. He tried to liken learning martial arts to this class by giving us a demonstration of kung fu and karate and something else I can't remember; he kept saying he was too old to do really high kicks but he looks like he's only in his late 20's! It must be the Asian aging genes or something because according to his various anecdotes, he's at least 30 years old... yay looking like a 12-year old FOREVER. The only downside to this class is that it's very lecture based and you can't rely on slides--my hand's going to be cramped like woah. He also has a very strong accent, which he acknowledged very elegantly, but I think I'll get used to it in a few weeks. I feel that this course is going to be very useful in sharpening my analytical and spreadsheet/probability skills. hooray for practical, applicable lessons!

AAAHHH in a good way :)

I wish I updated this thing more often. I always think in my head, oh I want to remember this moment, but I never remember when I actually have the chance to write it down. Blogging is about the only thing I can do online (besides checking my email) that doesn't feel like a waste of time. Sooo here's what's happened the past few days in non-chronological order because that's just too much to expect from my brain:

St. Kilda's
St. Kilda's kind of reminds me of Boardwalk but not really? There's a huge beach there that you can sprawl on and an amusement park right near by. Rollercoasters not really being my thing, I like the shopping part of St. Kilda's better haha. The streets are a mish-mash of cafes, dessert shops (for which St. Kilda's is famous), and little clothing stores. It was fun just wandering around window shopping and peeking at the various wares offered. This one guy just had a bunch of old, rusty looking stuff for sale. He had old cigarette tins, pins, coins, other metally things--pretty much taking vintage to the extreme. I wonder where he found all of it... Anyway we later watched the Oscars in a big ol group with people shouting for their favorites (ahaha like YAY WALL-E!!!). I've never actually watched an awards show the entire way through. I only remember being ecstatic that Slumdog Millionaire won quite a few awards, and then being very sad whenever Heath Ledger was mentioned. I am usually not too affected by celebrity gossip but it truly upset me when I realized that there would be no more Heath Ledger movies. No more roles like Enis in Brokeback Mountain or the Joker in Dark Knight. :(

Victoria Night Market
So much fun! Unfortunately it was the last one of the summer/time I am here in Melbourne. It was like another big fair but with live bands and loads of yummy food for cheap. Melbourne is pretty awesome in the food department. Unlike Ithaca where there is like one really good Indian/Greek/etc place to eat, Melbourne is all about international cuisine, so much so that Australia doesn't really have its own special dishes. I'm in heaven because there's Thai, Indonesian, Greek, Italian, Chinese, Japanese all for fairly decent prices...holy hell I'm going to be such a fatass by the time I go back! Anyway, I had these epicly amazing fried dough dumplings with ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. Tastegasm. D-d-d-damn Tallie and I just DEVOURED it in less than 5 minutes. I am the fat kid that loves cake. or just fried dough + sugar. Anyway, it was just a great atmosphere because there were a bunch of tables outside and hundreds of people were just sitting in the night relaxing with their friends and sharing a few jugs. And then there were people dancing salsa to the band, hee that was cute.

Pugz and Perseverance
Fun fun night again. I heart going with my building mates :). Everyone's always into dancing no matter how sober they are haha. No pressure to dance a certain way and no shame! A lot of people in the US have to dance WITH someone, meaning single guys often just lurk around in the shadows. Here, all the boys are the best dancers ahahahaha. They just go crazy and do whatever moves they like. Amazingly, boys are quite charming when they're not always trying to sneak up behind you and start grinding, GO FIGURE! Best part is that clubs play old school artists like Whitney Houston and James Brown (remixes, too); ahaha best dance moves EVAR. OH ALSO, I met these Mauritian guys and am totally smitten with the way they dance. I saw one of them do this hip swivel move or whatever and when I commented on it, I was told that it's a move common in traditional Mauritian dance. Which um, made it that much sexier. It reminds me of an abroad student from Mexico who, upon receiving my complements about his hip-moving skills, replied, "The dancing...it comes with the passport." HEE hahahaa SO TRUE; yes, Fabian, I am looking at you! Melbourne is so awesomely diverse, even with the insanely large number of American exchange students here. IIII don't know if I want to leave.

Tallie's Half Birthday!
Bought pastries from Thresherman's, which is AWESOME. It's this restaurant + bakery that prices all of its leftover pastries and bread at discount after 3 pm. So basically, yummy pastries for like...$1.50. As I'm spending way more money than I want to here, I am so on Thresherman's like white on rice. New favorite place to go. Anyway, the dozen of pastries were for Tallie's little impromptu bday gathering. We celebrated with some vodka and sprite, hooray, before going out to Club Chase. Chase wasn't bad, played a bit too much techno for my taste. But they had this swanky room that you could just sit and converse in. Best part had to be the fans though. Frats take a lesson here--fans and ventilation are AWESOME for dance floors where people inevitably become very very sweaty. and AHAHAH also awkward moments that I'll leave alone. Came home, talked with Tallie and Maya till 4 in the morning. Wooh wooh slightly drunken conversations :). I love that I'm getting to know people better here. In some ways, I missed out on this freshman year since I kind of abandoned my Donlon floor. I don't really regret it at all considering I ended with you guys as friends :), but it's just buttloads of fun coming back to my room and always having someone to talk to/do something.

First Day of Classes
Went to my first Sex and the Screen lecture. I am SO excited. It's about how relationships, gender roles, sex, love, and suggestiveness on screen affect our real-life perceptions of each. I love that additional viewing materials include L Word, Queer as Folk, and Gossip Girl. AHAHA already half done. I am actually excited to research and compile now. Dear god though there's a lot of essay writing to do... Also went to Australia Now. Conclusion is that I still hate history but am willing to take this class b/c hey, I AM IN AUSTRALIA! In addition, I would like to mention that I only have class 3 days a week. Australia's very geared toward independent study, meaning only one lecture and one tutorial a week. I need to keep on top of my shit!

Cooked dinner with Rohit and Kent. MM butter chicken! Also, I am officially sick for the first time in Melbourne. Trying to sleep last night was miserable. I managed about an hour of sleep despite my congested nose, wooh! I've noticed that around here, no matter how early I plan to go to sleep, I was always end up talking to someone until 3 am or something. I'm not too disappointed :)

Friday & Saturday 20-21 February

Friday night was SO much fun!

There was a large get together at the pub Turf where a lot of the study abroad/exchange students could meet and greet. I was really excited to go because I wanted to reunite with some of the people I had met at the Melbourne Welcome. Beforehand I went to my friend Tallie's room and met some of her friends in the same building. I've realized that after constantly meeting new people all the time, I'm slowly getting used to defusing awkward silences and retelling stories that get the most positive responses and help everyone loosen up. After we got to Turf, I bought a jug of Stella for Tallie & Lauren (haha classy I know) and lo'n'behold...I was drunkedy drunk. The best part of the night was that I met a whole bunch of non-American people from my building. There was no initial awkwardness of "Uh, hi I'm only talking to you b/c I was forced into meeting you." They were all super nice :) and welcoming. Um this probably won't come as a surprise but I then went to the dance floor! Huzzah that was so much fun. I was so self-conscious about being a dirty American dancer that I had been holding myself back before but this time I think the alcohol kind of took over. It was a weird feeling because I kind of just went with the music and didn't feel all that pressure to be sexy or whatever b/c Aussies don't look for that exactly. Going out drinking is for socializing and having some fun conversations with your friends. It's not really about getting a random hookup or grinding with the party hottie on the dance floor. I just felt free to dance however I wanted to dance just for myself and I didn't care if there was an audience watching me be crazy. It made me remember how much I like dancing n' doing my own thang ;). It was quite exhilarating!

Something that I was also very happy about was that I met this gay guy on my floor who is such a phenomenal and FUN dancer. Oh man he wore me out and was just so sexay! We are now forever dance partners hee. I kind of let myself be all crazy with him though because it didn't really matter...poor Sunil was all disappointed when he found out that no, I did not take that boy home; haha I find it funny when guys are excited for their girl friends to hook up :P. ANYway, some crazy American (I'm assuming) guy did the typical frat boy move of spontaneously grabbing and trying to sweettalk me whilst grinding and the Aussies I just met pretty much hovered around and got me out of that situation real fast. Thanks for taking care of me even though you knew me for all of 20 minutes!! Although I blame all of the boys in the common room/tv lobby for showing me the movie Jackass and making me like it. Self-respect minus 8063437940 points.

I really really like the people here. Everyone is just so friendly and warm; honestly, the only negative feelings I've gotten are from Americans. Maybe it's just b/c some people are shy being in a new place, but I feel like them being cut off and withdrawn defeats the whole purpose of going abroad! IF you feel awkward, you should be reaching out and putting yourself in some not-so-easy situations. That's the only way you'll grow to like it here! Don't just stick with the few Americans you met at the Melbourne Welcome. The friends you made are so that you can explore the city together. They are not supposed to enable you to isolate yourselves!

On the other hand, I spent today with a few American girls in the building I had met at MW, and they are so interesting and sweet. The conversations we had really changed my perspectives on a lot of things. Never have first impressions been so, so wrong. We talked about relationships, introspection...absolutely awful things that people & them have gone through. I can't go into anything because they're not my experiences to tell, but I can certainly say that by the end of the conversation, I was tremendously sad. I was sad that some atrocities in life, whichI think are so despicable and could never even imagine going through, are commonplace/not unheard of for others. I felt so naive yet thankful that my sheltered childhood had allowed me that naivete. The strength that those two girls have... I don't think I could ever hope to match it. They have my utmost respect. Even though I've just been here a week, I'm already so thankful for just having had the opportunity to meet all my friends here :).

yep I'm a sap. I also miss you and you and you <3.>

Cindy, I am totally winning. Look how many times I have blogged. Score: SweetCheeks 0, HoneyBuns 1.

Everyone, I need to figure out skype times. How often are people free for skyping and when in your time is good?

ho-hum, there is so much to do

Hello again, State Library. I have been visiting you quite a lot these past few days. Although I do not stay long because I am trying to overcome my addiction to my computer, please know that I truly enjoy my time here. I must confess that I am not here for your decor or your vast collection of literature; rather, I am exploiting your generous, albeit slow, offer of free wi-fi. I sit here on your cold hardwood floors writing my memoirs of getting used to this bustling city. As I clatter away, I write about all the HARDCORE!!! fun I've been having. In reality, I seem to vacillate between feeling totally excited and completely overwhelmed. There is so much to do and so much to see that it's intimidating just figuring out where to start.

We had orientation today for the Study Abroad students. I couldn't even imagine having classes! As I sat there, the fear started creeping in again. Because Melbourne is so big and there are so many students, you don't necessarily become BFFs with people right away. You have to find people you can connect with. Who will you have lunch with if your friends are busy? Most of the Aussies already have their groups, why would they feel the need to include you? It's these stupid but persistent questions that slither their way into my mind and totally FUH-REAK me out. Suddenly it's like all the confidence and high hopes you have for the semester go down the crapper. And then you have to remind yourself to fucking suck it up. It's really not all that hard to do considering every time I start feeling a little down, something happens that cheers me right up--like meeting my floor mates :). the rooms/entire facility is kind of craptastic but at least my floor seems awesome haha.

I've got a map of the city tacked up in my room, and I'm slowly putting pins in all the little places/cafes/bars I've been. The only problem is that I seldom remember where exactly I went...But not to worry! I'm working on it. Melbourne is a city made for drunk people. The roads are all perpendicular to each other and the trams all go horizontally along the main horizontal roads. Should you get lost, all you need to do is find Swanston St. or just a friendly Aussie who's always ready to give directions. I'm slowly becoming okay with getting lost (though it's much less disconcerting when you're with someone else). You find little cafes and shops that you try to remember for next time when you have more time to explore, and it has never been more clear that Ithaca just can't compare in terms of culture and THINGS TO DO. You can get anywhere and do anything with at most 15 minutes of travel!

I don't know why, but until today, it had never really occurred to me that I would to do a lot of travelling. I figured, I might go see one or two cities but I want to spend most of my time (as little as there is) in Melbourne. Now, not so much. Great Ocean Road. Barrier Reef. Rock Climbing. Philip Island. I want to go to all of them. Granted I'll probably have to get a job to fund all of these doubtlessly amazing trips, but we're already planning some weekend getaways. I have 2 weeks free for Easter holiday...I don't even know how many places I'll visit then. :O :O :O yesss that is jealousy you are feeling :)

anyway! i don't have internet very often and the internet that i will eventually be paying for is VERRYYY limited as it is quite the money gobbler. that said, i probably won't be commenting much on blogs or facebook though I'll try to read people's blogs as much as possible! i hope you are all having a WONDERFUL time wherever you are :D!!! really, i miss you guys and think of you lovelies all the time :). The only other thing I miss about Cornell is the feeling of not being confused aka any kind of familiarity ahahaha...

18/19 February

Finally got my cell phone and set up my bank account. Took the day to nest and buy some dorm room essentials. The only thing good about my room is that there's a sink inside. oh and that there are cool people nearby. oh wait, i guess that's all that's really important :).

Tuesday/Wednesday 17-18th February

Yarra River Tour. Lunch. Got my phone and bank account finally. Fancy dinner with awkward topics. Went to bar.

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End of program and settling in.

Monday 16th February

Monday 16th February

Today we all went to the beach and got surfing lessons. We left Uni around 745 AM (which was HELL to wake up for considering I went to a pub the night before sighhhh). On the bus over, we watched this Aussie tv show called Summer Heights High. Hi-fucking-LARIOUS, oh my god. The show is about 3 characters at one high school: a drama teacher, a smartass trouble maker, and a girl who just transferred from a private to public school. It took me an episode to finally realize that one actor plays all 3 characters, all of whom are fucking crrrraaazy haha. The show was basically a satire of all the typical stereotypes (albeit way exaggerated in the show) that we have in high school; I was told that it’s representative of Aussie humor in that people are very sarcastic and poke fun indiscriminately. I am soooo downloading it when I get back to the USofA; think Arrested Development + 30 Rock + a little bit of Mean Girls?

Yay, beach time! We were separated into 3 groups so that we wouldn’t overcrowd the waves and crash into each other, a strategy that didn’t work out so well but that’s okay! The water was actually pretty freaking cold so we got wet suits, thank god. I must say that putting on a still-wet wet suit is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Every inch was painstaking, and I was too short for it so I had bunches of fabric around my tummy and had to roll up the legs. I looked like a black-blue spandex version of the Pillsbury Doughboy. What what, who’s a total sexass?

The first time I managed to actually balance on the board was such an awesome feeling. It was like boogie boarding but way faster because you’re actually riding the wave and can steer around obstacles if necessary. The success was all the fun had. The failure was pretty much everything else :). I'm fairly certain that even if I try this again, I won't get much better. Surfing requires some semblance of grace, timing, and balance. I, unfortunately, cannot manage any, let alone all, of those qualities for extended periods of time. It's okay though cuz I accepted it long ago. So after an exhausting day of mastering falling and closing one's mouth before swallowing gallons of sea water, I watched Crocodile Dundee on the way back to the Uni. As a first time watcher, it was somewhat entertaining. The little kid was the best though; I find it so weird when kids have accents, they sound so serious and mature haha.

blah blah blah shower, dinner, and night time!

Hosts took us to two bars. First, we went to Rooftop. ahahahha I almost didn't make it up thereeee. The bar Rooftop is coincidentally on a rooftop! Gasp, surprise, no way! We climbed up at least 10 flights of stairs. Worth it? Um, hell fucking yea-uhhh. It was so beautiful at night just being up there and seeing all the buildings lit up and watching the energy of the city. Bad part = d-d-d-damn SO EXPENSIVE. Holy crap a Long Island was $19! Yeah so didn't drink anything there, but the atmosphere was enough. I'll just make a note of it to go there already drunky face :). The best part was that half of the rooftop was covered in astroturf. There are some table with umbrellas, but if you're lucky, you can snag some massive beanbags and just lounge on them with your drink. Fun fun funnnn, I'm just sad I didn't take enough pictures to show what it really looked like. I'm trying not to draw attention to the fact that I am such a tourist :P.

Sunday 14th February

OKAY!! So this is the first time that I have had internet for more than 10 minutes at a time. I'm gonna have to recap the past few days, which makes me really sad because I have an awful memory :(. Here goes!

Sunday 14th February

First of all, I must say that this program is totally keeping me on a good sleeping schedule. Jetlag gets me to bed by 11ish and I have to wake up by 730! Maybe this will continue throughout the semester and not get overridden by my laziness... Anyway! Had brunch and then went to the Queen Victoria market. It's basically like a huge flea market with tons of stalls with pretty much the same items: sunglasses, clothes and shoes (mostly not so great quality and knock-offs, but not too shabby), toys, touristy items, etc. The best part of the market is definitely the food/fruits & veggies section. You can get kilos of fresh produce for mad cheap and visit the butcher/meat section. I've found some people who are living in the same building as I am, so I'm hoping we can buy some fresh foods and cook together! On a side note, my building is one minute away from campus and right next to a tram stop, yay!

After the QV market, we all went to the Melbourne Zoo. I haven't been to a zoo in AAAGGEESSS, so it was kinda surreal b/c I really did feel 12 years old again. The Oz hosts pretty much herded all of us around like small children or sheep. We saw the typical Aussie animals (koala = yoda; giraffes = SO AWKWARD, haha love the knobby knees). The best animals were probably the tamarinds with their crazy old man Gandalf beards and freaky faces. Unfortunately, the kangaroos were lazy bastards. They pretty much laid around and looked at us; I must say, they were giving a lot of attitude. I've never seen an animal look so nonchalant, like "Yeah, what?"

While I was there, I had a really good conversation with a student from Finland, Tove. She majors in Aboriginal culture and went on a field excursion for about a week before the Melbourne Welcome (MW) started. In the distant corners of my mind, I knew that the Aborigines were treated much like the Native Americans were in the US, but talking to Tove, I realized that Australia is actually a lot further behind than I had thought. Sports teams refuse to play Aborigine teams. Society doesn't really acknowledge their existence and refuse to even acknowledge the possibility of returning to them their spritual lands. Only recently (last year, I think?) did the current prime minister finally issue an apology for ripping Aboriginal children away from their families and trying to brainwash them into forgetting their heritage and previous life. Hearing this really saddened me and made me remember that it wasn't that long ago that the US had slavery and that basically, all minorities/indigenous peoples get screwed... On a brighter note, I'm really glad I met someone like her. She's kind of indie hipster artsy like and very interesting to talk to!

After the Zoo, we headed back to the college, ate dinner, and then got ready for a night activity. I went bowling! Let me just say that bowling is not nearly as lame as it is in the states. Whereas in the US, bowling alleys try to squish as many lanes in as possible and really don't bother with decor, the places we went to were INSANE. They were all dark and lit up like dance clubs are with neon lights and plush couches. There was pool and air hockey on the side, and a fancy bar to the left of us. Me + alcohol + bowling = 45 points total. I'm impressed with myself. The best part of the night was probably afterwards though...

The hosts decided to take us to some bars/pubs hidden in the alleyways. And when I say alleyways, I mean alleyways. We went to St. Jerome's and Section 8 (which was closed ]: ). To get to St. Jerome's, you have to go down an alley with graffiti and bird poop on the walls. Go past dumpsters on either side and then finally stop at a nondescript door. Opening that correct door leads you into a dark room that then leads to the other side of the alley/converted bar area outside. It was REALLY cool. Like wow I had to restrain myself from being a total tourist and taking pictures. It was almost like this bar happened on accident, except that there was a DJ cage and wooden porchy area. I really felt like I was at a locals only kind of pub. I don't know if I'm adventurous enough to look for more alley pubs, but maybe with a group of friends...!

OMG I'M FINALLY HERE!!11!!one!!

SFO to LAX. Delay for 3 hours. Take-off. Emergency landing in Hawaii. Exploration. Back to the Honolulu airport. Take-off. Arrival in Sydney. Arrival in Melbourne. Getting to my Melbourne Welcome an hour late and 25 hours after I had originally planned.

-------- DETAILS ---------

Getting to Melbourne…

Apparently way easier said than done. Everything was going smoothly until I hit LAX, at which point everyone boarded the flight in a timely manner and were all set and ready to go. Until the captain said that we were having a few mechanical errors. Little by little, the 30 min delay became a 3 hour one. Their many excuses included having too many passengers on the plane (which they apparently had to remove???) and overfilling the fuel tank. We had to stay on the runway for another 30 min just to burn off the excess gas (POLLUTION MUCH!? MAJOR WASTE OF MONEY!??!). Anyway, after finally taking off, I wake up to the sound of the speakers saying that we have to make an EMERGENCY LANDING in Hawaii; I still don't even know what was really wrong with the plane... Since we landed at around 430 AM, we pretty much woke up the rest of Honolulu. We disembark, grab all of our luggage, and wait for the buses to take all 300+ of us passengers to the hotel…

Here’s where my story gets a little better!! For the majority of our short-lived flight, I sat next to and talked to a guy (Hi George!) traveling to Sydney to go to a conference. And wow THANK GOD FOR THAT. He and his colleagues took care of me for the entire trip. They ended up paying for a taxi to take us to the hotel to bypass all the other passengers and to avoid the inevitably huge line at the hotel check-in counter. Because of them/him, I got taken on a small tour around the city (as they had been their numerous times for business) and ate at some yummy restaurants. It was really a lot of fun because even though we were in much different age groups, I had some great conversations. It was really interesting because I don’t usually talk so candidly with adults. We exchanged a lot of ideas and he was pretty insightful; it’s strange how open you can be with strangers about your life and opinions. If I had to get delayed/diverted anywhere, Hawaii wasn’t the worst that could have happened haha. So after spending the entire day in Hawaii, we finally boarded our flight at midnight…and arrived in Melbourne 25 hours after we had originally intended to.

THIS is what makes me really sad. I had planned to get to Melbourne a day before my “orientation”-ish week started with all of the international students. I could’ve had time to open up a bank account, get an international cell phone, and basically settle in/absorb my surroundings. Instead, I and some fellow passengers were late to the Welcome and completely exhausted/jetlagged from our 13+ hour flight. It was unbelievable how fast cliques were forming already. I learned that everyone had already been in Melbourne for at least a few days and had already familiarized themselves with the city and gotten all their errands done. I didn’t have much time to feel jealous because as soon as we got there, everyone was separated into smaller groups as our hosts took us around the city.

I’m really worried about figuring out the tram system that we took to get around. The metro cards are interesting because you can buy them for certain time periods. For example, you insert the card into a machine and “validate” it when you get on the tram. If you bought a 2-hr card, then you can only use the tram for the 2-hours after you first validate. So essentially, you can use it as many times as you want as long as it falls within your time window. – I found this kind of interesting as it gives a new meaning to planning and time management haha. I don’t know how on earth I’m going to figure out all the stops though; I just might have to sit down and just memorize hahaha. Melbourne streets really remind me of New York City. There are so many shops and cafes just lining the street (which made me decide that I have to eat at every single little quirky place I see). Buildings aren’t as overwhelming in terms of blinking lights and signs, but the city is absolutely BUSTLING. and wow really really hot. We saw the Eureka tower where the view was insannneeee. 88 floors high (the elevator went to fast my ears plugged/popped!). You can see the entire city and d-d-d-damn, I have a lot of exploring to do.

I was feeling pretty good until we had a wine-and-cheese party after dinner. THAT was when I crashed. I could barely keep my eyes open let alone try to mingle and make friends. I tried, I really did, but it was kind of awkward. A lot of people were on school programs with each other and didn’t branch out. Some kids were already forming their little cliques and didn’t really invite conversation. I think the most disappointing thing is how drunk some people got. Yes everyone, it is legal for you to drink, but that doesn’t mean you should be having a freak train in the middle of the room (especially when the Australian hosts distinctly told everyone that grinding is a definite prelude to sex here)! I sort of felt like I do at Cornell frat parties nowadays: a little bewildered and half-wishing that I had no shame either…. I realize that a lot of people go to Melbourne to party, but I dunno, I guess I was hoping for more than that. It's kind of like summer camp but with booze haha. We'll see what happens!

First Post!

SO, this blog took freaking forever to set up. I don't know why I had so much trouble; I'm going to blame it on my indecisiveness and utter inability to color coordinate (yes, Jenica, you may decorate my room next year). Alas, I found this template and COULD NOT HELP MYSELF. I might change my blog to something a little less adorable ridiculous when I'm actually in Australia and frolicking along the beach. Maybe.

Anyways! I'm sitting at home right now in bum attire playing Scrabble on my new Nintendo DS (wooh I'm such a gamer girl) while simultaneously contemplating how much cash I should exchange when I get to the airport and where I'm likely to find the best rates. Talk about stretching my mind, right!? In between playing my words "expo" and "triage," I've decided that I'm gonna buy the necessary bond payables at the airport and then open up an account there after I've settled in...? and then use a credit card as much as possible? How is everyone else doing this?!? Whatever! I'll figure it out during my 20+ hours of traveling on Feb 11th. Yes, you read right! Only 5 more days!!!!!!!!

I think Dan's the only one besides me who hasn't left for Study Abroad yet. Late-goers unite! Although I love Cali, I am going stir-crazy, forrealz. I feel as if I've been waiting so long that it doesn't seem like it's happening anymore! Oh btdubs, I've been reading everyone's blogs (mostly!) and ya'll are writing in complete sentences with pretty imagery and big words and WELL, this blog just might end up degenerating into AIM/internet speak. SORRY. I feel like everyone's blog is keeping track of his/her own journey of spiritual enlightenment, and mine's going to be like: "So I was trying to get to the supermarket and got lost. Again. How do trams work? WHAT DOES 'DINKUM' MEAN?" + other incoherent rambling.

I think to prevent that from happening I should make a to-do/goals list. Right now, if I'm being truly honest...I have to say that first of all, I just really want to see kangaroos and koalas and platypuses (sp?). I mean, koalas because they remind me of a furry midget old man b/c they eat/chew slowly and have these kinda squinty eyes AND OKAY SORRY RAMBLING; playtpuses because they are awkward just like me HEE :) ; and kangaroos because if you really look at pics of them, they are SO WEIRD -- their faces remind me of deer, they have skinny forearms and then huge feet (?) that could knock you out, and there's this hardcore tail that reminds me of a DINOSAUR tail. Cute, but deadly. What kind of American touristy student would I be if I didn't see them!?

On a more serious note, I would like to push myself some more this semester. Most people already know that I'm not quite that adventurous of a person (AHHA, understatement), so I'm going to try to change that. I especially want to go to "events" or something throughout the week and especially during the weekends: music/art festivals, museums, pubs, clubs, or maybe just quirky little cafes. I've never been one to ooh and ahh while visiting historical sites or monuments. I know I know, I can hear my AP History teachers weeping, but I'm more interested in just exploring the local Aussie's everyday atmosphere and lifestyle. So hopefully, I'll open myself up to having more adventures and at least tiptoe on the wild side :).

ALSO, I want to make friends! My shyness has a pesky way of recurring during the most inopportune moments. BUT! I'm participating in a Melbourne Welcome program in which many of the international students get to Oz a week early and are taken on tours/intros of the area. I think it'll definitely be beneficial for me to get my bearings and assimilate a little before classes start. We'll see how things go!

xoxo