G’day,
Well today is my last day in Sydney. It’s really hard to believe that this experience is over. I have had the most incredible time here and I have very mixed feelings about heading home. On one hand, I am very excited to see all the friends and family that I have missed SO much over the past 4 months. On the other hand, I have made some lifelong friends here and am going to have a really hard time leaving them, knowing that they will be on the other side of the world now when I talk to them and that it will most likely be a very long time until the next time I see them.
Spending four and a half months in Australia has taught me a lot about myself. I’ve learned that I am a much more independent person than I ever knew. I always considered myself to be a fairly independent person, but being on my own in a brand new country without knowing a single person really pushed me to do things for myself and learn how to adapt to a new environment.
Australian culture is very similar to the U.S. which was neither good nor bad. In one way, I sometimes wished that I had gone somewhere that I would experience a completely different culture with a different language and people with different values and traditions. However, in another way, going somewhere so similar to the U.S. made me really look deeper into the small differences between the two countries. Australians seem to be much more laid back in general which makes for a much more relaxed environment in school and in the work place. Also, even though the language is the same, there were times when I felt like I needed a dictionary to translate the slang words and terms that are so different from our slang. For example instead of “how are you doing” they greet you with “how are you going?” These slight differences aren’t very noticeable on the surface, but they are things that I will miss and will have a strange time adjusting to not hearing or experiencing once I’m back home.
Being abroad has been a life changing experience and one I will never forget and will always hold close to my heart. I hope that anyone who has the opportunity to study or work in a different country will take that chance because until you do, you can’t understand the emotional and life-altering effects of being on your own in a foreign place. I am going to miss Australia SO much and it’s really hard to leave all the great friends and acquaintances I have been here. I’m sure that someday I will come back and visit everyone and re-visit all the amazing places that I’ve been.
In 24 hours I’ll be landing in Boston, Massachusetts with a whole new perspective on life and a whole new appreciation for traveling. I can’t wait to see all of you and give you big giant hugs and kisses!! See you back in the U.S!!!
Love,
Lauren
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
FIJI
BULA!!
That's hello in Fijian :) (Once again my internet connection is not working so I still can't upload pictures...I'll keep trying though!!)
I got home from Fiji Tuesday night and had the greatest trip! Emily and I left on Friday and got to the Fiji international airport around 8pm. We were welcomed with shell necklaces and live fijian music and lots of people shouting BULA and asking if we needed help getting anywhere. Fijians are without a doubt the nicest, happiest most helpful people I have ever met! A man in a skirt and bright flower button down shirt helped Emily and I get a ride to our resort which was a 2 hour drive from the airport. On the way we learned the meaning of "fiji time" which is a phrase they use a lot to explain that something may take a long time or not be right on schedule...it's just a very laid back environment where no one is ever in a rush.
We finally got to Mango Bay Resort a little after 10pm. We were once again welcomed with loud BULA shouts and smiling faces. We signed into the resort and were taken to our 8-person dorm. Mango Bay is mainly a backpackers resort so they have big dorms with 8 beds and you just pick your own bed when you get there. Every bed has a mosquito net to keep out the bugs at night. Here's a picture of our place:
The first night we got there, Em and I went to the bar which looks out to the ocean. We got a drink and made some friends playing ping pong and pool. We met a girl named Heather from Canada and two Aussies named Leon and Godfrey. We all hung out for a while until everyone was tired and we went to bed. The next morning we woke up and it was really overcast and cloudy but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the day. We ate breakfast which consisted of white bread toast and fruit (not ideal...but it was free!) Then we took a trip into the closest town to our resort, Sigatoka. When they said we would drive into town I figured it would be a 5 minute trip, but it was actually an hour away and the only thing separating our resort and the town were a few small villages. The rest was just open land and lots of wild horses, dogs and cows.
The rest of the week was filled with relaxing on the beach, going on hikes, playing volleyball and hanging out with the Fijians who work on the resort, and more. It was such a great experience and a wonderful vacation to top off all the amazing things I’ve done since I’ve been abroad!!
I absolutely LOVED Fiji and already want to go back!!
Next post will probably be the day I am leaving Sydney and it is going to be a really really weird experience! I’ll talk about all the things I’ve learned and how I’ve grown through this experience. For now, I’m going to get some sleep and get ready for final exams!
Love always,
Lauren
That's hello in Fijian :) (Once again my internet connection is not working so I still can't upload pictures...I'll keep trying though!!)
I got home from Fiji Tuesday night and had the greatest trip! Emily and I left on Friday and got to the Fiji international airport around 8pm. We were welcomed with shell necklaces and live fijian music and lots of people shouting BULA and asking if we needed help getting anywhere. Fijians are without a doubt the nicest, happiest most helpful people I have ever met! A man in a skirt and bright flower button down shirt helped Emily and I get a ride to our resort which was a 2 hour drive from the airport. On the way we learned the meaning of "fiji time" which is a phrase they use a lot to explain that something may take a long time or not be right on schedule...it's just a very laid back environment where no one is ever in a rush.
We finally got to Mango Bay Resort a little after 10pm. We were once again welcomed with loud BULA shouts and smiling faces. We signed into the resort and were taken to our 8-person dorm. Mango Bay is mainly a backpackers resort so they have big dorms with 8 beds and you just pick your own bed when you get there. Every bed has a mosquito net to keep out the bugs at night. Here's a picture of our place:
The first night we got there, Em and I went to the bar which looks out to the ocean. We got a drink and made some friends playing ping pong and pool. We met a girl named Heather from Canada and two Aussies named Leon and Godfrey. We all hung out for a while until everyone was tired and we went to bed. The next morning we woke up and it was really overcast and cloudy but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the day. We ate breakfast which consisted of white bread toast and fruit (not ideal...but it was free!) Then we took a trip into the closest town to our resort, Sigatoka. When they said we would drive into town I figured it would be a 5 minute trip, but it was actually an hour away and the only thing separating our resort and the town were a few small villages. The rest was just open land and lots of wild horses, dogs and cows.
The rest of the week was filled with relaxing on the beach, going on hikes, playing volleyball and hanging out with the Fijians who work on the resort, and more. It was such a great experience and a wonderful vacation to top off all the amazing things I’ve done since I’ve been abroad!!
I absolutely LOVED Fiji and already want to go back!!
Next post will probably be the day I am leaving Sydney and it is going to be a really really weird experience! I’ll talk about all the things I’ve learned and how I’ve grown through this experience. For now, I’m going to get some sleep and get ready for final exams!
Love always,
Lauren
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Lots of Catching Up!
Hi Everyone!
So once again it's been a little too long since my last post...sorry!! But I do have lots to catch you all up on so I'll just get started! A little disclaimer...my internet connection is really bad right now so I'm going to upload all the pictures later!
First off, Since I last wrote, I have finally gotten over all my sicknesses and am almost fully recovered! With that out of the way, here's what I've been up to:
Emily and I made an Aussie friend in our Gender and Human Rights class, Whitney, and she invited us over for dinner at her house last week. She lives in North Sydney which is on the other side of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Her house was absolutely GORGEOUS right on the water and really secluded with a big jungle of trees and wildlife in her backyard! Here's a picture from her back deck:
So once again it's been a little too long since my last post...sorry!! But I do have lots to catch you all up on so I'll just get started! A little disclaimer...my internet connection is really bad right now so I'm going to upload all the pictures later!
First off, Since I last wrote, I have finally gotten over all my sicknesses and am almost fully recovered! With that out of the way, here's what I've been up to:
Emily and I made an Aussie friend in our Gender and Human Rights class, Whitney, and she invited us over for dinner at her house last week. She lives in North Sydney which is on the other side of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Her house was absolutely GORGEOUS right on the water and really secluded with a big jungle of trees and wildlife in her backyard! Here's a picture from her back deck:
Her parents are both from the U.S. but met in Australia after they had both moved here years ago. Whitney had done a year at a prep school in Massachusetts which was how she initially struck up conversation with Emily and me in class (she said she recognized the way we dressed!) It was so nice of her to have us over and her family was great!
The next night, Emily, Theresa, Brian and I decided we wanted to have a fancy night out! There are a few bars in Sydney which we have come to know as very high class and swanky and we thought it would be fun to check them all out! The three of us started out at a bar called "The Ivy" which was absolutely amazing inside. Here are a couple pictures of the bar:
At the Ivy we met up with our friend Alex who joined us on our classy adventure. Our next stop was a bar called "The Establishment." This is basically the kind of place where older business men go to show off their money by buying young gold diggers expensive drinks. I opted out of that scene and remained an innocent observer :) After exploring the Establishment for a big, we took an elevator upstairs to a place called "Hemmesphere." (and you all are probably thinking that I am a terrible speller...okay most of the time I am...but that actually is the way they spell it!) The best way to accurately describe this place is by quoting my Lonely Planet Sydney Guide Book where it says, "This mature, private lounge is pure Sydney opulence; a lush gentlemen's-club vibe peppered with Moroccan twists. Melt into a deep, leather chair, order a cigar and mandarin caipiroska and wait for someone famous to show up."
I couldn't have said it better myself! This place was seriously out of our league and honestly none of us even really knew how we got let in at all! But we rolled with it and took a seat at a little round table in the outdoor section of the bar. We tried to order drinks at the bar but they told us to please have a seat as it was table service only! I chose not to get a drink here seeing as we were only pretending to be rich and my bank account was telling a different story...but the guys did order some fancy cocktails which was fun...Alex's actually required the waitress to light the glass on fire...it was quite entertaining! Anyways, we didn't take any pictures of hemmesphere sadly, but hopefully this description can give you an indication of what the night was like.
The rest of the week consisted of studying for my Gender and Human Rights final on Friday and working on my take-home exam for Australia: Land and Nation that was due Tuesday. Luckily, Emily and Becca are both in my Gender class and we were all able to help each other out with the studying. When Friday came around we all felt pretty good and after the exam we all agreed that we definitely passed!! This was certainly means for celebration, so we had a big party in UniLodge to celebrate the end of the semester! (Friday was also the last day of classes.) It was really fun to have everyone hanging out together...and also sad to think that our time together is coming to an end!
After our UniLodge party, we went across the street to a local bar for a little bit before calling it a night. The next couple days were spent working on my take home final for Australia: Land and Nation which I successfully turned in yesterday! After turning in my paper, Emily and I went to the Sydney Aquarium!! It was SO much fun and I took a billion pictures so I will just post a couple favorites:
I should have noted earlier that a group of our friends left on Monday for the Whitsunday Islands and it has been me and Emily holding down the fort in Sydney. Most people did their Student Vacation trips this week, but Emily and I don't leave for Fiji until Friday so we have had some roommate togetherness time!! After the aquarium we went to the gym and then came back, watched a movie and went to bed.
This morning, my friend Brett from the Sydney Uni Ultimate Frisbee team picked me up outside of UniLodge and brought me to a place called The Featherdale Wildlife Park. He had asked me what I hadn't done that I wanted to do before leaving Australia and I told him that I hadn't really been able to pet kangaroos and koalas, so he said he would take me to this place where we could do all of that and more! He packed us a picnic lunch of peanut butter and jelly which he hadn't ever eaten before but said he was trying to make an American lunch for me!! (Aussies think PB&J is really bizarre...) Anyways, we got to the park and immediately stepped into an open sandy area full of hopping kangaroos!! They were SO adorable and you could just go up and pet them and feed them like it was no big deal. We played with the kangaroos for a while before moving on to the rest of the park where we saw a million different types of birds (Brett knew almost every one it was really impressive!) and a bunch of different marsupials! I even got to pet a koala! :) It was a fantastic day and I really really appreciated him taking the time out to bring me there! Here are some of the highlights:
And now we're about caught up!! After the wildlife park, Emily and I went to the gym to take our weekly spin class, came back and watched another movie and now we're about to get to bed! Tomorrow is our last free day before we leave for Fiji on Friday!! I'm not sure if the place I'll be staying will have an internet cafe so I may not write until I get home next Wednesday. Of course I'll be taking millions of pictures and I'll be sure to update everyone as soon as I return for my LAST week in sydney!!!
Love you and miss you all!
Lauren
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sick in Sydney!
Hey all!
Don't worry, the title of this blog is not sick OF sydney...because that would be entirely false...but rather sick IN sydney...because, yes, big surprise, I've been sick for the past week!
Those of you who know me well know that I can't go a month without getting sick or acquiring some strange injury or disease. Well my time in Australia hasn't been much different. The first couple months weren't bad, just a few minor colds here and there. But this past week has certainly been a doozy! It started out with a cold that got progressively worse to the point where my voice was gone and I was considering turning myself in to the swine flu police! Instead I decided to try and fight it with some sudafed and advil and I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, during this little bout with the potential swine flu, I somehow managed to contract some sort of virus of the armpit (just don't ask...) I had to see a doctor and was prescribed some perscription medication to make it go away. A week went by and everything was clearing up nicely. Then one morning while Emily and I were in pilates class, I lifted my arms over my head to get into one of the positions and to my surprise, I revealed a HUGE nasty rash going from my armpits down to my elbows on both sides of my body!! Mortified, I scuttered out of the pilates class half way through and ran back to my apartment. So back to the doctor I went, only to be told that I am apparently now allergic to pennicilin! I was prescribed more medication this time to clear up the allergic reaction. For the past 3 days I have felt like a little kid with chicken pox...I can't remember the last time I've been this itchy! So needless to say I haven't had much sleep because I wake up every 5 minutes scratching my armpits like a monkey!!
And that is the story of my week being sick in sydney! Sorry for potentially too much detail but I tend to overshare! Anyways, I'm happy to say that today I am finally really feeling on the mend!! I was able to go to the gym (twice to make up for lost time) and got a good night sleep last night! Now, the rest of my week will be spent studying and writing all my final papers! We are in our last week of classes at Uni and then we have a week vacation (called StuVac because they abbreviate EVERYTHING here!) and then finals week after that. I'm working on getting as much work done this week as possible because next week Emily and I are off to FIJI!! We are SO excited to have a little getaway on the beautiful island! Some of our friends had gone to fiji in the first couple weeks that we were here (when we went to Cairns) and we are staying in the same resort that they stayed in which they told us was fantastic. We are leaving next Friday (June 12th) and returning to Sydney on June 16th. When we get back, I have one final exam on the 19th and a final paper due on the 20th, and then school is over and I have a few days to enjoy Sydney before heading back to the states!!
Speaking of enjoying Sydney, a couple weeks ago Emily and I decided to walk around Sydney Uni campus and take some pictures so our friends and families could get a bit of an idea of where we are going to school! Here are some of the pictures I took that day:
First off, here is a shot of the great UniLodge that I'm always referring to. This has been my home for the past 4 months and has treated me very well! Emily and I live in room 2103 and our room looks into the middle of the building which is a big courtyard.
This is the bridge I cross every day to get to class. In order to get on campus, we have to pass through Victoria Park which has lots of trees, flowers, grass, and a little pond with birds, ducks and fish. All of which I will showcase now:
These flowers are everywhere and they remind me of the orange-beaked ducks two pictures ago! I love them :)
And here are just a few that I took of some buildings on campus:
This should give you a bit of an idea of the massive hill that we have to trek up every day to get to class! At the top of the hill is the Great Hall where I have my Arab-Israeli Conflict tutorial class.
Here is a close-up shot of the Great Hall. It is pretty much straight out of Harry Potter!
This is the Sydney Uni Library...but as you can see it's nothing that great, so when I want to get some quiet studying done, I go to the Law Library, shown below:
This building is brand new and the architecture is really cool. I go into the basement to study and I also have my Australia: Land and Nation class in one of the lecture halls.
I don't have any classes in this building but I think it's beautiful so I took a picture!
Okay and that's all I have for now!! Hopefully you can sort of get a better sense of my academic life here in Sydney! Yes, I DO study on top of all the partying and adventuring! :) I can't believe how fast this last month is flying by...I have really started to feel at home here and it will be so sad to leave but of course I have all of you to look forward to seeing when I get back to the states!!
xoxoxoxo,
Lauren
P.S. Just wanted to give a little shout out to the little bro...he came in 6th in the 400 meter run at the all-district track and field meet the other day and broke his personal record by running it in under 52 seconds!! Anyone who has run the 400 before knows that that's a great accomplishment! CONGRATS BUDDY!!
Don't worry, the title of this blog is not sick OF sydney...because that would be entirely false...but rather sick IN sydney...because, yes, big surprise, I've been sick for the past week!
Those of you who know me well know that I can't go a month without getting sick or acquiring some strange injury or disease. Well my time in Australia hasn't been much different. The first couple months weren't bad, just a few minor colds here and there. But this past week has certainly been a doozy! It started out with a cold that got progressively worse to the point where my voice was gone and I was considering turning myself in to the swine flu police! Instead I decided to try and fight it with some sudafed and advil and I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, during this little bout with the potential swine flu, I somehow managed to contract some sort of virus of the armpit (just don't ask...) I had to see a doctor and was prescribed some perscription medication to make it go away. A week went by and everything was clearing up nicely. Then one morning while Emily and I were in pilates class, I lifted my arms over my head to get into one of the positions and to my surprise, I revealed a HUGE nasty rash going from my armpits down to my elbows on both sides of my body!! Mortified, I scuttered out of the pilates class half way through and ran back to my apartment. So back to the doctor I went, only to be told that I am apparently now allergic to pennicilin! I was prescribed more medication this time to clear up the allergic reaction. For the past 3 days I have felt like a little kid with chicken pox...I can't remember the last time I've been this itchy! So needless to say I haven't had much sleep because I wake up every 5 minutes scratching my armpits like a monkey!!
And that is the story of my week being sick in sydney! Sorry for potentially too much detail but I tend to overshare! Anyways, I'm happy to say that today I am finally really feeling on the mend!! I was able to go to the gym (twice to make up for lost time) and got a good night sleep last night! Now, the rest of my week will be spent studying and writing all my final papers! We are in our last week of classes at Uni and then we have a week vacation (called StuVac because they abbreviate EVERYTHING here!) and then finals week after that. I'm working on getting as much work done this week as possible because next week Emily and I are off to FIJI!! We are SO excited to have a little getaway on the beautiful island! Some of our friends had gone to fiji in the first couple weeks that we were here (when we went to Cairns) and we are staying in the same resort that they stayed in which they told us was fantastic. We are leaving next Friday (June 12th) and returning to Sydney on June 16th. When we get back, I have one final exam on the 19th and a final paper due on the 20th, and then school is over and I have a few days to enjoy Sydney before heading back to the states!!
Speaking of enjoying Sydney, a couple weeks ago Emily and I decided to walk around Sydney Uni campus and take some pictures so our friends and families could get a bit of an idea of where we are going to school! Here are some of the pictures I took that day:
First off, here is a shot of the great UniLodge that I'm always referring to. This has been my home for the past 4 months and has treated me very well! Emily and I live in room 2103 and our room looks into the middle of the building which is a big courtyard.
This is the bridge I cross every day to get to class. In order to get on campus, we have to pass through Victoria Park which has lots of trees, flowers, grass, and a little pond with birds, ducks and fish. All of which I will showcase now:
These flowers are everywhere and they remind me of the orange-beaked ducks two pictures ago! I love them :)
And here are just a few that I took of some buildings on campus:
This should give you a bit of an idea of the massive hill that we have to trek up every day to get to class! At the top of the hill is the Great Hall where I have my Arab-Israeli Conflict tutorial class.
Here is a close-up shot of the Great Hall. It is pretty much straight out of Harry Potter!
This is the Sydney Uni Library...but as you can see it's nothing that great, so when I want to get some quiet studying done, I go to the Law Library, shown below:
This building is brand new and the architecture is really cool. I go into the basement to study and I also have my Australia: Land and Nation class in one of the lecture halls.
I don't have any classes in this building but I think it's beautiful so I took a picture!
Okay and that's all I have for now!! Hopefully you can sort of get a better sense of my academic life here in Sydney! Yes, I DO study on top of all the partying and adventuring! :) I can't believe how fast this last month is flying by...I have really started to feel at home here and it will be so sad to leave but of course I have all of you to look forward to seeing when I get back to the states!!
xoxoxoxo,
Lauren
P.S. Just wanted to give a little shout out to the little bro...he came in 6th in the 400 meter run at the all-district track and field meet the other day and broke his personal record by running it in under 52 seconds!! Anyone who has run the 400 before knows that that's a great accomplishment! CONGRATS BUDDY!!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Bathurst!
G'day Mates!
So as I wrote in my last really quick post, I just spent the weekend in Bathurst which is a very small town in the middle of nowhere about 4 hours from Sydney. I went with the Sydney Uni Ultimate Frisbee (SUUFA) team for a tournament called "the bathurst stampede" and it was an awesome weekend! It started with getting picked up at 5pm on Friday evening by a "party bus" which was really just a rental 12-person van, but we certainly managed to turn it into a party bus! (I'll spare you the details.) It took us about 4 hours to get to Bathurst and when we arrived a lot of the team had already gotten there and were settling in to our accomidations which were really cute little cabins. We were told to bring our own sleeping bags which obviously I don't have so I had my sheets and then a blanket that Becca let me borrow and thank goodness she did because it was FREEZING! The girls in my cabin were Fiona and Hammer (that's her nickname, obviously) and they were really sweet and a lot of fun to room with! We stayed up and chatted a little bit and then got to bed a little after midnight. The beds were only about 5'5 long and about 2 feet wide so I JUST barely fit in it and I like to move a lot in my sleep so I definitely woke myself up a few times by almost falling out! Needless to say I didnt have the best night sleep and then we woke up at 7:45 the next morning to go to the fields and play in our first day of the tournament.
Since SUUFA is such a big team, we ended up splitting up into basically an A and B team and having two separate teams for the whole tournament. I got to play on the A team which was really fun because it was with the girls I roomed with in the Cabin as well as Mike and Brett who are two guys I have known for a while from training. The first day of the tournament we played 4 games and went undefeated. It was great to play with such experienced players and I felt like I learned a lot and played really well!
The theme of the tournament was "stampede of your dreams" and therefore the home team hosted a pajama party at a local bar. Pretty much every player from all 10 teams showed up at a bar at 7pm in their pajamas which definitely got us some funny looks, but seeing as Bathurst is a pretty quiet town, we made up most of the population at the bar anyway! Not only were we all in pajamas, but the host team also hired a sumo-wrestling company to provide sumo suits and a mat for the players to wrestle each other. I wrestled a girl named Nikki on our team and it was really funny. I don't have any pictures yet but Brett does, so in my next post I'll be sure to get the pictures from him and post them because we looked pretty hilarious in those sumo suits! The rest of night, Mike and Izzy (another player on our team) took me around and introduced me to everyone they knew at the party! It was really nice of them because seeing as I went into it not knowing anyone, they made it really easy for me to meet new people. I learned some new slang, such as "bogan" which is the equivalent to our "hicks" or "rednecks" and apparently the whole population of bathurst are bogans. I also had a guy named Max help me work on my Australian accent...but it didn't go over so well...I'm really bad at saying "mate" properly! All in all it was a really fun night and the best part was when I got back to the cabin I was already in my PJs so I just jumped into my little bed and went to sleep!
Today (Sunday) we were given breakfast sandwiches at the field before our first game which was amazing. Then we played the top seed at the tournament in a bonus game and we beat them by one point! It was really exciting, but we knew that we would have to face them again in the finals and that they would want revenge. Our next game was the semi-finals which we won pretty easily, and then we faced the same team as the first game in the finals. We played really hard and there was a ton of running, but they ended up outplaying us and we came in second. It was unfortunate to go undefeated the whole tournament and then lose in the finals, but we still had a lot of fun and played really hard so it didn't really matter. The funniest part about the second day of games was that after each game while we would shake the other team's hands, people I had met at the bar the night before were all saying "good game Lauren" but I met SO many people that I hardly remembered anyone elses name! I guess they had the advantage of only having one new name to remember.
The last game ended around 4pm and then we got right on the "party bus" and headed back to Sydney. I just got back into my room now, and I have a 2500 word essay to finish before tomorrow!! Luckily I had been working on it last week, but it still looks like I'm going to be up pretty late finishing it tonight. But I don't regret leaving for the weekend because I really did have such a great time...even though now I'm going to be up all night working on my paper and I'm almost completely broke!! (It got to be REALLY expensive after paying for the tournament fee, party bus fee, accomidation fee, food and drinks!!) Anyways, on that note I should really get going on my work but I wanted to write this first because I've been so terrible with the updates lately. Unfortunately I didnt take any of my own pictures this weekend but lots of other people did and I will be able to get them at some point and put them up! Until then hopefully my words have been descriptive enough! :)
SO MUCH LOVE,
Lauren
So as I wrote in my last really quick post, I just spent the weekend in Bathurst which is a very small town in the middle of nowhere about 4 hours from Sydney. I went with the Sydney Uni Ultimate Frisbee (SUUFA) team for a tournament called "the bathurst stampede" and it was an awesome weekend! It started with getting picked up at 5pm on Friday evening by a "party bus" which was really just a rental 12-person van, but we certainly managed to turn it into a party bus! (I'll spare you the details.) It took us about 4 hours to get to Bathurst and when we arrived a lot of the team had already gotten there and were settling in to our accomidations which were really cute little cabins. We were told to bring our own sleeping bags which obviously I don't have so I had my sheets and then a blanket that Becca let me borrow and thank goodness she did because it was FREEZING! The girls in my cabin were Fiona and Hammer (that's her nickname, obviously) and they were really sweet and a lot of fun to room with! We stayed up and chatted a little bit and then got to bed a little after midnight. The beds were only about 5'5 long and about 2 feet wide so I JUST barely fit in it and I like to move a lot in my sleep so I definitely woke myself up a few times by almost falling out! Needless to say I didnt have the best night sleep and then we woke up at 7:45 the next morning to go to the fields and play in our first day of the tournament.
Since SUUFA is such a big team, we ended up splitting up into basically an A and B team and having two separate teams for the whole tournament. I got to play on the A team which was really fun because it was with the girls I roomed with in the Cabin as well as Mike and Brett who are two guys I have known for a while from training. The first day of the tournament we played 4 games and went undefeated. It was great to play with such experienced players and I felt like I learned a lot and played really well!
The theme of the tournament was "stampede of your dreams" and therefore the home team hosted a pajama party at a local bar. Pretty much every player from all 10 teams showed up at a bar at 7pm in their pajamas which definitely got us some funny looks, but seeing as Bathurst is a pretty quiet town, we made up most of the population at the bar anyway! Not only were we all in pajamas, but the host team also hired a sumo-wrestling company to provide sumo suits and a mat for the players to wrestle each other. I wrestled a girl named Nikki on our team and it was really funny. I don't have any pictures yet but Brett does, so in my next post I'll be sure to get the pictures from him and post them because we looked pretty hilarious in those sumo suits! The rest of night, Mike and Izzy (another player on our team) took me around and introduced me to everyone they knew at the party! It was really nice of them because seeing as I went into it not knowing anyone, they made it really easy for me to meet new people. I learned some new slang, such as "bogan" which is the equivalent to our "hicks" or "rednecks" and apparently the whole population of bathurst are bogans. I also had a guy named Max help me work on my Australian accent...but it didn't go over so well...I'm really bad at saying "mate" properly! All in all it was a really fun night and the best part was when I got back to the cabin I was already in my PJs so I just jumped into my little bed and went to sleep!
Today (Sunday) we were given breakfast sandwiches at the field before our first game which was amazing. Then we played the top seed at the tournament in a bonus game and we beat them by one point! It was really exciting, but we knew that we would have to face them again in the finals and that they would want revenge. Our next game was the semi-finals which we won pretty easily, and then we faced the same team as the first game in the finals. We played really hard and there was a ton of running, but they ended up outplaying us and we came in second. It was unfortunate to go undefeated the whole tournament and then lose in the finals, but we still had a lot of fun and played really hard so it didn't really matter. The funniest part about the second day of games was that after each game while we would shake the other team's hands, people I had met at the bar the night before were all saying "good game Lauren" but I met SO many people that I hardly remembered anyone elses name! I guess they had the advantage of only having one new name to remember.
The last game ended around 4pm and then we got right on the "party bus" and headed back to Sydney. I just got back into my room now, and I have a 2500 word essay to finish before tomorrow!! Luckily I had been working on it last week, but it still looks like I'm going to be up pretty late finishing it tonight. But I don't regret leaving for the weekend because I really did have such a great time...even though now I'm going to be up all night working on my paper and I'm almost completely broke!! (It got to be REALLY expensive after paying for the tournament fee, party bus fee, accomidation fee, food and drinks!!) Anyways, on that note I should really get going on my work but I wanted to write this first because I've been so terrible with the updates lately. Unfortunately I didnt take any of my own pictures this weekend but lots of other people did and I will be able to get them at some point and put them up! Until then hopefully my words have been descriptive enough! :)
SO MUCH LOVE,
Lauren
Friday, May 22, 2009
quick post!!
Hi everyone!
I know I'm getting really bad at these blog posts and this one is going to be super quick because I'm just about to run out the door! I'm off to Bathurst which is about 5 hours southwest of Sydney (I think). I'm going for a weekend long frisbee tournament and I have to go catch the bus in about 3 minutes! I just wanted to write and let everyone know that I am still alive and I promise to write all about this weekend and what I've been doing over the past couple weeks when I get back. Sorry again for not keeping everyone updated!!
Love you all HEAPS and I'll write a nice long post soon!
Lauren
I know I'm getting really bad at these blog posts and this one is going to be super quick because I'm just about to run out the door! I'm off to Bathurst which is about 5 hours southwest of Sydney (I think). I'm going for a weekend long frisbee tournament and I have to go catch the bus in about 3 minutes! I just wanted to write and let everyone know that I am still alive and I promise to write all about this weekend and what I've been doing over the past couple weeks when I get back. Sorry again for not keeping everyone updated!!
Love you all HEAPS and I'll write a nice long post soon!
Lauren
Saturday, May 9, 2009
More Adventures...lame title this week because I can't think of anything better...
Hey heyyyy,
I know it's been quite a while since I last wrote but I've been doing a good job of keeping myself busy! I guess I'll just start with a recap of last week. Monday night I played in my first division one frisbee league game and it was SO much fun. It's a co-ed league and I'm not actually on the team but my friend Mike asked if I would play for them for the night because they were missing some of the girls on the team. I agreed and when I got there we found out that our team only had 2 girls and you're supposed to play with 4 guys and 3 girls on the field so that meant we had to borrow a girl from the other team and it also meant that we wouldnt have any subs for the entire game! I was a little intimidated because when I started to warm up before the game I was throwing the frisbee with a girl who told me she's been playing for 9 years!! But once the game got going I started to play pretty well and ended up scoring a few points and doing pretty well on defense so I was really excited. The team asked me to play with them again next week so I have my next game this coming Monday. They were all really nice and I had an awesome time!
Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday consisted of doing lots of school work (crazy I know!) and not really too much else. The girls and I would take some breaks to hang out in my room every once in a while which kept us sane:
Friday (yesterday) I had my gender class and then I took a long nap and went to the gym with Emily before heading out to the Orient Hotel which is a bar on the Rocks that we went to last weekend. Becca has a friend here who was studying in Queensland and his semester is over so he and a bunch of his friends on his program are visiting Sydney for a couple days so they all came to UniLodge and we hung out with them for a while before heading out for the night. We had a really good time with everyone and it was a nice release after having studied all week! Here are a few of the many many pictures that were taken:
Laura, Emily and I in Laura's room before heading out for the night
Alex, me and Justin...he's making an angry face at me because for some reason I did that to him in all the pictures last weekend, haha
Aaron, Emily, Laura, Justin, Me
...aaaand of course what would the night be without some of my signature dance moves?!
So that's about it for now...sorry there's not much to update you on. It's really getting to be that time where our school work gets heavy so we haven't been able to do as much during the week. We only have 4 more weeks of classes and then one week off before finals! Unfortunately it seems like all of my big assignments are due within the same 2-week period so I'm spending the rest of my weekend doing lots of reading, researching, writing and studying! I know...so lame! But I'll continue to write updates when anything new and exciting happens!
XOXO,
Lauren
I know it's been quite a while since I last wrote but I've been doing a good job of keeping myself busy! I guess I'll just start with a recap of last week. Monday night I played in my first division one frisbee league game and it was SO much fun. It's a co-ed league and I'm not actually on the team but my friend Mike asked if I would play for them for the night because they were missing some of the girls on the team. I agreed and when I got there we found out that our team only had 2 girls and you're supposed to play with 4 guys and 3 girls on the field so that meant we had to borrow a girl from the other team and it also meant that we wouldnt have any subs for the entire game! I was a little intimidated because when I started to warm up before the game I was throwing the frisbee with a girl who told me she's been playing for 9 years!! But once the game got going I started to play pretty well and ended up scoring a few points and doing pretty well on defense so I was really excited. The team asked me to play with them again next week so I have my next game this coming Monday. They were all really nice and I had an awesome time!
Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday consisted of doing lots of school work (crazy I know!) and not really too much else. The girls and I would take some breaks to hang out in my room every once in a while which kept us sane:
Friday (yesterday) I had my gender class and then I took a long nap and went to the gym with Emily before heading out to the Orient Hotel which is a bar on the Rocks that we went to last weekend. Becca has a friend here who was studying in Queensland and his semester is over so he and a bunch of his friends on his program are visiting Sydney for a couple days so they all came to UniLodge and we hung out with them for a while before heading out for the night. We had a really good time with everyone and it was a nice release after having studied all week! Here are a few of the many many pictures that were taken:
Laura, Emily and I in Laura's room before heading out for the night
Alex, me and Justin...he's making an angry face at me because for some reason I did that to him in all the pictures last weekend, haha
Aaron, Emily, Laura, Justin, Me
...aaaand of course what would the night be without some of my signature dance moves?!
So that's about it for now...sorry there's not much to update you on. It's really getting to be that time where our school work gets heavy so we haven't been able to do as much during the week. We only have 4 more weeks of classes and then one week off before finals! Unfortunately it seems like all of my big assignments are due within the same 2-week period so I'm spending the rest of my weekend doing lots of reading, researching, writing and studying! I know...so lame! But I'll continue to write updates when anything new and exciting happens!
XOXO,
Lauren
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