Tomorrow's Friday?!

So this week has flown by.  Exams have come and gone.  One more on Saturday.  Monday we finished our exam and then spent the sunny day at the beach.  Despite being here for 3 months we continue to underestimate the sun.  We put on sunscreen yet all of us came back a bit burnt. Still a great December day at the beach.  Tuesday was a study day for our 8am exam on Wednesday.  We got studying done and the exam went pretty well.  We'll see when the grades come back in January.  Wednesday we tested our luck again with the beach after our exam.  The weather had different ideas and we got rained on.  That night was apparently worth celebrating being halfway done with exams.  We met out with some friends and went down to the bars.  Weird that no place was hopping on  Wednesday night.  We decided to just head back to a friends apartment and chill there for the night.  We sat around talking with friends, reminiscing about our time Down Under.  It has certainly been a great experience.  We all threw around memories that we were going to remember.  There have been plenty.

The highlight of the night came when it was time to go home.  We got into a taxi to take us back to Bond.  A few moments into the ride the driver asked if we wanted music.  We said sure, and he turned on the radio.  Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody" came on which we all were very excited about.  The driver got the notion that we really liked the song and cranked up the volume.  The 10 minute cab ride was full of six friends singing Bohemian Rhapsody and "I Would Walk 500 Miles..."  The cab driver was even into it.  Imagine six rather inebriated Americans, and an Australian taxi driver singing our guts out at 1am in the morning.  To top it off, the driver was turning the cab lights on and off.  Great music and strobe lights?  Who needs clubs?  We're just driving a cab around on Wednesday nights from now on.  Oh wait, we don't have any more Wednesdays in Australia.  Yikes!  Regardless, the taxi made our night and I hope we made his as well.

Another brilliant idea we had that night was to play golf before we left Australia.  Putting the number of the golf course into my phone at approximately 2:30 am, I called the course when I woke up to see if they had any openings.  We made a booking for 1:30 and were excited to play again.  To be honest, I was quite nervous playing with Adam, Jeff and Fink because I was carrying the reputation of Bond Uni golf team.  Regardless, I was excited to get out and play with my American mates before we had to leave paradise.  Mother nature must have been offended at how much we were trying to fit into our last week here.  The radar looked like a rainbow as we were preparing to leave.  As we were walking across campus with our clubs, Andrew (from the golf team) was running towards the car park to move his car because there was a hail warning coming.  Great.  This should be interesting with a bag full of 14 metal rods.  Even our taxi driver laughed as us as we walked towards the cab.  Despite the warnings, we only had a brief delay in the clubhouse as we waited out the rain.  Once we teed off we were only rained on for 2 holes.  The rest of the day was great fun.  We even managed to find some leftover cigars from the Sydney trip and had them on the course.  What a great way to go out.

Tonight we fought off the temptation to go out since most of us still have an exam on Saturday.  Studying eluded me again as I got together with Jeff and Adam and continued to reminisce about our time here.  We all share the same sentiment about having a bittersweet return home.  All of us can hardly wait to see our families and celebrate Christmas, but it will be really hard to leave this paradise.  As we laid around, watched the "tele", and reflected on our experiences, I remembered why I chose to study here.  I remember complaining to Ashley about being bored on occasion in Australia.  She responded simply with: "Enjoy it.  That's why you chose to go."  The truth is, I have learned to embrace the boredom and free time.  Despite being broke, having this great time in Australia with no job, a rather easy class schedule, and new friends to share the experience with is something I will always remember.  December sunburns, roos on the golf course, watching cricket over dinner; it is these things that will be unforgettable.  Do I miss home?  Absolutely.  Will I miss Australia?  Always.  I'm already planning my trip back here at some time in my life...

"We have begun our decent back into... reality."

Weird to think that we are already toasting to our "Last..." here in Australia.  This week, we have no classes.  It is called Study Week.  All of my Australian mates are hitting the books really hard, while us exchange students are confident we can study for our Australian Pop Culture finals in less time.  That means we have a week to get out and do all of the last things we want to accomplish while we're here.

In one day, the forecast turned from rain all week to sun all week.  Not sure how it happened, but none of us were complaining.  We got to spend a great day at the beach, working on our tans to show off for Christmas pictures back home.  The next day a few of us went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.  We got to hold koalas, feed kangaroos, see some other native animals, and partake in a really cool ropes course.  This was the second adventure in Australia that I have done that was titled "Extreme".  Apparently in Australia, they're not kidding.  XTreme Whitewater Rafting was certainly extreme.  The Extreme Ropes Challenge at Currumin was no different.  I'm writing this more than 24 hours later and my arms have never been so sore.  Still, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.  The whole day was full of great memories.  The ropes course provided a unique opportunity to be at tree height in this gorgeous forest amongst the sounds of animals.  Serene does not even begin to describe how peaceful it was so high up.  There was even breaks in the serenity for catching your breath and speeding down zip lines.  Great day.

Today I played golf for the final time with James and Andrew, my two closest Australian mates.  We decided to go out with a bang and played at one of the nicest courses in the Gold Coast: The Glades designed by Greg Norman.  The views were immaculate.  The course was pristine.  It was such a great way to conclude a great golfing experience down under.  We just hung around the clubhouse for about an hour after the round just enjoying the evening in Australia overlooking the great course.  Despite all the crazy days/nights I have had down here, it is moments like that which will stick with me for the rest of my life.  Moments when the chaos stills, and the realization that I'm in Australia having the time of my life sets in.  I've been seeming to have a lot of those moments recently.  Suddenly the time is winding down.  I have no doubt that these 21 days of December will be the quickest 3 weeks of my life.

I got home from golf convincing myself it was time to start studying.  I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I have a weird tendency to do everything else but study before I finally get down to studying.  In the few hours I had tonight to study, I cleaned and packed up my golf clubs, did some laundry, cleaned and organized my room, and (deep breath) even began packing for home.  While this only meant organizing a few miscellaneous things and folding some unworn clothes, it was just another reminder of how quickly this experience is coming to an end.  Like I've mentioned before, I have tried to not take one moment in Australia for granted.  I've spend countless moments just getting lost in the scenery here.  Yes there have been crazy nights, yes I do go to class, write papers, and do homework.  But at no other time in my life will I be able to just put everything aside and live in the moment like this.  I'm hoping more of the moments will come in abundance this next week, and I can't wait to relive all of them with you really soon.

Thanksgiving and... December?

Time flies when you're having fun is for sure an understatement.  Realizing that I have two weeks left, it is December, and I will be home in less than 20 days is astonishing.  Sorry for not posting much recently.  I'll try and update you of life since Cairns.


The week after we returned was Thanksgiving week.  It was definitely the most homesick I've been throughout the entire trip.  Friday morning was the long awaited Australia vs. U.S.A. Cricket match.  We gathered some beers, put on some makeshift uniforms with sharpie tattoos which ranged from an American flag to "Liberty" and took the field against our Aussie mates.  The turnout was not quite what we were expecting, but the beers were cold and the sun was out, so it was a great day.  When we only lost by a little bit, we were quite proud of our Yank team since we were expecting quite the humiliation on the cricket grounds.  As the game dispersed, we all headed back to our rooms to get ready for the night.  Most of the Americans in our group were getting together for a nice Thanksgiving feast.  While it was hard for me to miss this, I had other plans.


My friend James invited me to his 21st birthday dinner on Friday night.  I felt very honored because it was a very big dinner that he was treating 20 of his closest friends to.  Some of them there had known him for 18 years.  I met him less than 18 weeks ago.   James, the Vice President of the Golf Club, had actually just gotten into golf a few months ago.  For those of you that looked up the results from Perth, his was the score that you had to do a double-take of.  Regardless, we love him anyway.  Andrew organized for a few of us to go in together and we got him a nice 3wood.  He was very surprised and thankful.  Dinner was fantastic, the company was great, and the after party was very entertaining.  All in all, Thanksgiving was very memorable.  Replace football with cricket, turkey with sashimi, and the Schwendeman family with my new mates in Australia, and you've got yourself a Holiday.  As great as the night was, I'm still certainly looking forward to my first family meal back home.


The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back.  Everyone was kind of in a funk from not being home for Thanksgiving.  Not to mention that we had our last week of school coming up before Study Week and eventually Finals.  I managed to be very productive, get some papers and assignments done, and have a rather unstressful week.  By Thursday, we were all ready to go out and celebrate our last "Uni Night" in Gold Coast.  We went down to Surfers Paradise (the more touristy part of Gold Coast) to hit up some new bars and clubs.  We arrived smack in the middle of "Schoolies".  Schoolies is the month long celebration that the high school graduates have.  Words cannot describe the chaos of Schoolies in the Gold Coast.  Parents rent hotel rooms, bars have specials, there are volunteers lining the streets with vans and "Sober Up Stations".  It is insane.  I have never felt so old in a bar (not that I have been to many bars, Mother).  The club we ended up at had Schoolie specials and all the staff was dressed up in school uniforms.  While it was not quite the night we were expecting, I think we all had a good time.  


By the weekend, we had all suddenly grasped the fact that we were done with classes in Australia.  We were ready to relax on the beach, but the wettest spring in Australia continued.  It rained all day Friday and all day Saturday.  When we woke up for lunch on Sunday morning, the campus was flooded.  The lake that runs through the center of campus was flooded close to five feet and it was covering some of the walkways of campus.  It was quite the spectacle.  It got us all to talking about how great our trip has been DESPITE the in-climate weather and harsh exchange rates.  It has gotten to be about that time of our trip where we all start recollecting memories.  There have been plenty made.  None of us will have shortage of conversations at the dinner table over the holidays.  I think we are all looking forward to being the center of attention as we share about the greatest semester of our lives.  More than that, I think, we are looking forward to seeing the smiling faces of family and friends that we have missed so much.


I do want to give a sincere thank you for all of you who have been following the blog.  I was looking up statistics the other day and was amazed at how many reads this blog has gotten.  It serves as a constant reminder of just how blessed I am.  Not only was I able so spend a semester of college in Paradise, but I was missed and loved by many friends and family along the way.  You all mean so much to me.  This time apart from the States has put a lot of things into perspective.  At the forefront of this new perspective is the great life I have to return to in 15 days.  Can't wait to see you all soon.  Australia, get ready for a great 15 days as I start my concluding chapter in the Land Down Under.