So I know it’s been a little while since the last time I wrote (sorry!!) but now that I’m taking classes, I’m not having quite as many new and exciting adventures every single day! But don’t fret, I’m still having the time of my life and enjoying every second of my time in Australia.
This past week was our second week of classes and things are definitely starting to get harder as far as school work goes! My “Approaches to the Arab-Israeli Conflict” class has LOTS of reading as does my “Gender and Human Rights” class. I am definitely happy that I dropped Ancient Greece and switched into my Sports and Learning class because BOY is it a lot more fun and a lot less work!! I know I’m not usually the type to run away from a heavy workload, but I figure I’m in Australia and I gotta leave some time for fun!
I have two papers due on March 30 which both count for 25% of my grade so things are getting started pretty quickly. Since I don’t have classes on Mondays, I’m dedicating every Monday to reading and writing papers and getting as much work done as possible!
Today (Sunday) we had a field trip in my Sports and Learning class. The only assignments in the class are to go on these field trips to different sporting events and write 1000 word reflection essays on our experiences (sounds pretty tough I know!) So today our trip was to a lawn bowling field where we actually got put into teams and had a lawn bowling tournament! Lawn bowling is basically like bocce ball except that instead of throwing the balls to try and get it as close to the little while ball, you roll it. The balls are also heavier on one side, so you have to be strategic about which way the ball is facing when you release and it about where you release it because it curves. Now I know you all know how good I am at regular bowling right...okay maybe not… but I found out that I’m actually really good at lawn bowling!! My team ended up losing in the finals, but it was such a good time!
Now I guess I’ll back track to the rest of my week and weekend. Thursday I had my second Frisbee practice which is so much fun and I am getting really excited to play in my first tournament this coming Saturday! Thursday night after Frisbee Becca, Laura and I met up with a group of guys we’ve been hanging out with (the ones with the penthouse apartment on the harbor) and we all went out to a couple new bars in Darling Harbor. The second bar we went to had a live band playing salsa music and we had SO much fun salsa dancing the night away!! It was great practice for the 8-week salsa dancing course I’m taking here starting this Tuesday. Yes, I’m taking salsa dancing classes…don’t laugh! Anyways it was a great night, but I ended up leaving a little early because I had been feeling sick and probably shouldn’t have gone out in the first place becaaaause now I’m sicker!
Friday night our friends Martin, Ying and Peter had us over for a barbeque at Peter’s apartment. They all go to Sydney Uni but live off-campus (as do most local students.) The barbeque was AWESOME!! We had sausages, chicken kabobs, and most importantly…I TRIED KANGAROO MEAT!!! I was definitely skeptical at first…but it was actually pretty tasty! We spent the beginning of the night eating and talking on Peter’s balcony. It was a beautiful night and perfect for my first outdoor barbeque in Australia!
This is me and Becca on Peter's porch
After the barbeque I decided to stay in and take it easy while they all went out because I still wasn’t feeling 100%. Saturday night, however, I wasn’t so successful in resisting the peer pressure to go out, so I went with a big group out to a bar called Argile which is on the Rocks (another part of Sydney). It was definitely my favorite bar we’ve been to so far and we had another awesome night there! Laura, Becca, Emily and I decided to all wear each other’s clothes which was fun because it was like having a whole new wardrobe!! Here are a few pictures from the night.
Emily, Becca, me and Laura at Argile
Me showing off my great dance moves...
Laura, me and Emily in our black and white!
Aaaand here is a picture of the unfortunate event that took place after the bar…
Yes that’s right…at 3am we went to a place called “Pancakes on the Rocks” which is a 24 hour pancake house. I’m sure it seemed like a great idea at the time…but man do I regret it now!! Needless to say, I’ll be putting in a little extra time at the gym this week for sure!
And I think that just about brings us up to speed! This morning I slept the latest that I have since I’ve been here (I woke up at 11:30!) I still feel a little sick and look forward to going to bed early tonight! Tomorrow morning I am getting up early and Brian and I are renting out a tennis court for an hour…great way to start the new week! Then I’m going to spend the rest of the day studying, reading and being productive! Love you all and miss you as always!!
Lots of Love,
Lauren
2 comments:
Gosh, Uncle Ian and I spent a year and a half there and I don't recognize any of the names of the places you mention. Oh ya...they're all bars. Haha...only kidding, we certainly went to our share. Sounds like the time of your life continues. So happy for you. Hope you feel better. BTW..kick some butt in tennis. xoxoxoxo
I know you're no slacker but I'm so glad you dumped that Ancient Greece course. Ew! Sounds like the good times are continuing, which is what it's all about. We love you and miss you too!
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