Sunrises, shopping & surfing

Hey dude, how you going? 

Sunrise

This weekend myself as well as 40 other people from the states/Arcadia group when to Lennox Head and Byron Bay for the weekend. Byron Bay is a small "hippie" town about an hour away from Bond University that has recently attracted many tourists, because of its great shopping, beautiful beaches and small town feel. Friday afternoon came around and we headed off for Byron Bay. We arrived in the late evening and then headed to our rooms, just to remember that we had to make our own beds with the sheets we had to bring from our own bedroom at Bond....oh and there was NO pillow either!! Great, sleeping on a bed in a hostel, with one sheet, NO pillow and dirty blankets that have been provided and probably not washed for about...EVER (in the end we did get a pillow). After that, we headed to the beach for a evening stroll and watched the stars and the moon. 
We then went to bed around 11:00 pm to get only about 5 hours of sleep because we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m!! I also didn't help that I pretty much stayed awake the whole night, because my pillow was WAY to puffy which kinked my neck and kept on slipping off the hostel bed and onto the floor! We then all woke up at 4:30 pretty much walking around like zombies, looking like death and headed to the bus for a 20 minute ride to the most easterly point of mainland Australia to watch the sun rise. After arriving, there was this amazing lighthouse at the top of the cliff that was so cool and beautiful. It was amazing, we were all waiting around for the sun to finally rise and to be the first ones to see the sunrise on October 23rd, 2010. While we were watching the sun rise, we even saw whales swimming and one even jumped out of the water for everyone to see....well except me of course, who knows what I was doing, probably passed out on the grass from exhaustion, ha! 

lighthouse

Then we were on our way back to Lennox head for a full day of activities. We stopped at this amazing coffee shop and we all got breakfast and I ate the most AMAZING chocolate croissant ever, I wish I could have them all the time! It was so flaky and buttery and the chocolate was dripping everywhere, even on my shoe, of course! 
Then we headed back to our hostel and got ready for SURFING!! Hang loose dude. We met up with the surfing instructors, who were the spitting image of what you would imagine a surfer in Australia to be like. We then hit the beach and were taught the proper way of catching a wave and how to stand up. Then it was time to hit the water, I put on my wet suit and strapped on the ankle strap of the board and caught some "gnarly tubes," well actually if you wanna consider falling in the water about ten times before that, then yes I caught some gnarly tubes, ha, but finally I did stand up about 5 times and it was awesome. Surfing was amazing and I definitely appreciate that sport much more after trying it. After that activity was done, we had just enough time to change and hop on a bus into Byron Bay for the rest of the day to shop, get some lunch and sit on another beach. While in Byron, me Kina, John, Shaun, Evan, and some of the other boys went to Hogs Breath to get some lunch. Lunch was amazing and we sat outside on the deck with a view of the water and the wind blowing against us, just another normal day!! After that, shopping was a must and then we headed to a park to have a Barbecue. Being the very responsible and helpful girls that we are, Kina and I helped out Mazz (our leader) cooking the hamburgers, kangaroo sausages, and the steaks! It was an awesome cookout and everything was really good!

Byron Bay Beach

We then headed back to the hostel to get ready for another big day. After sleeping decently that night, we all woke up and headed to Byron Bay to meet up with some aboriginal people to learn about their land and their culture. We took a hike, swam in the ocean again and went kayaking. I was so excited to kayak, until I found out that it had to be girl/boy groups and OF COURSE, Zach had to be my partner. Zach, the one who tipped over the kayak about 5 times in Cairnes while kayaking with Megan and could never seem to get back in (just kidding zach) you were a great partner! We kayaked for about a good hour and a half and after first kayaking into the wind on the way there and against the current on the way back, I am pretty sure I am DONE kayaking for a LONG time! We had finally finished and the weekend had come to an end, Byron was amazing and I am definitely going to head back there again before I go. 
Talk to you all soon, look forward to my adventures in Sydney this upcoming weekend for Halloween!!! SCARY!! 


Hang loose!! xx

Whitehouse, Brisbane, Yum Cha & food!!

Hello Mates, How you going??

So, these past couple of day were so busy. After the week had passed and the weekend (Thursday) rolled around it was time to start all of the festivities again!! Thursday we headed to the bar (Don's) on campus and socialized until it closed. After sleeping in until and woke up about, oh 10 minutes before my class. This is the first time I have had Friday class since my first year in Uni, so this is unusual to me and OF COURSE it has to be when I am in Australia! Then after class, I headed to the mall and went on a shopping spree (well, not really spree, because everything is so freakin' expensive here. So I only ended up buying some earings and a dress, haa). Then after doing all that shopping, I worked up quite an appetite and Kinda, Rachel and myself all headed to Market square which is right by the Blocks (where I live) and shoved our faces at our FAVORITE place called Royal Yum Cha. I am pretty sure the people who work there think that me and Kina are some kind of fat, american weirdoes, because we are obsessed and go there all the time. After the second time of being there, they handed us a card to get stamps, and pretty much looked at us, like "you will be needing this," haha.

The girls at Whitehouse!

After all this it was time to get ready for Whitehouse, ANOTHER party that Bond University had set up for all of the students.  Whitehouse is an event once a semester that all the students go to and everyone wears white (as you can probably get from the name). After curling 2 other girls' hair including my own, Kina and I, along with 4 other girls crammed into a car to be dropped off at the buses because it was pouring outside. Whitehouse was held at this awesome location right on the water and there were free drinks provided all night, once again, and waiters were walking around the whole venue with little "nibbles." Whitehouse was really fun and the after party at East was super fun as well! After the night had finished at I made it home, I went straight to bed to get ready for Brisbane the next day!
After waking up MUCH later that I anticipated, I finally rolled out of bed (looking like a mess with my hair all over the place, ha) and got ready for Brisbane. Kina and I hopped on an hour long train ride to Brisbane. I was so excited to finally get out of the Gold Coast and go into a big city!! We finally arrived into Brisbane, and the first thing that I saw was Starbucks!!! OF COURSE, I had to get one. This was the first time I had a Starbucks since I had been here and it was like drinking liquid gold...soo good!! We then proceeded to head into the department stores and look at all the expensive items that we wish we could have afforded. After doing a little shopping, we went to look around for a place to eat. We finally came across this place called, Vapiano *Muah*! At this restaurant, they made everything fresh, I mean EVERYTHING!! You saw them making their own noodles for pasta and you walked up and ordered what you wanted and they made the pasta fresh right in front of you. So, I took great advantage of this and Kina and I decided to split the most AMAZING tomato and Mozzarella bolognese and Caprese pizza!!  The mozzarella just melted in my mouth and the pasta was done to perfection, (hah I feel like a food critique). I felt like I was in the movie/book, "Eat, Pray, Love," when the woman is sitting at the table eating the most amazing Italian Pasta ever and "hallelujah" music is playing in the background! This was one of the most amazing places I have ever eaten at and it was so simple, and creative!

Christian Louboutin Shoes!

After that we sat there for about 10 minutes trying to get up and leave, but failing, because we were so full. We then did some more shopping and decided that was enough shopping for the day, especially when you are so full, and we headed back to the train station!!
We finally arrived back at Bond Uni around 5 p.m. and decided that once again we need one last meal of the day and headed to, of course.....Royal Yum Cha!! As we entered they greeted us as though we had been friends for ages and we ordered the same thing that we usual order!!
It was quite a event filled weekend and now I have to return to my normal life. I am so crazy busy with school and need to try and get many things done before I head to Byron Bay!!!

Talk to you all soon!! Look forward to many more stories to come.
Catch ya later!! xx

Nightlife, nightlife, nightlife.....school!

Kina and I at Bond Music Festival

Well since I have already been here a month, I guess I have a lot to catch you up on and a lot to tell. As you can tell from the title, since I haven't been doing a lot of traveling I have been spending my time experiencing the great nightlife in the Gold Coast, along with doing a lot of * cough* studying *cough.* During the first week that I was here, Bond set up a huge week of events, called BONDSTOCK for all of the new students to participate in and get to know each other. Most of them involving alcohol and parties, hah. The first event that I went to was called Tight N' Bright. I wish that I would have known that there were all these events, so that I could have brought the proper attire, but I guess a tied died shirt did the trick!! After getting ready, Kina and I decided to go down to "animal house", because it was extremely noisy and we wanted to join the fun! That was the first night that we met all the awesome aussie guys and started to become friends with them all!! After that night had finished and I had slept in pretty much all day, like the lazy person I am, I was ready to go again!! This night everyone from Bond was going to this house/mansion which was turned into a bar in a place called, Sufers Paradise. This event was called "Illegally Bond," and it was quite cool and very fun! The house had many different rooms and it felt like the whole of Bond University had attended that party since it was so crowded. I then proceeded to leave and go back to my lovely room!!
Another event that Bond had set up was called The Secret Location Party! For these events, you have to buy you ticket ahead of time and then there are drinks provided the whole night and since it was a secret location, nobody knew where we were going. I am so excited to go to all of these events, because it is very unusual for many Americans to attend these events, but since I had made so many new aussie friends, I felt like I was a part of the gang, hah! Upon arrival, I realized that this was at Jupiter's Casino, which is right down the road from Bond, and it was a pool party!! (I knew there was going to be some kind of swimming involved, because they told us to bring our "bathers.") Isn't that funny??? They call them bathers!! This place was amazing, there were about 5 different types of pools and 2 different spas. They had people walking around with nibbles (appetizers) and they also provided towels!! This was one of the best parties that I have been to and the venue was amazing! A couple days later and another BONDSTOCK event to go, there was a music festival in the Bond gym and then there was Students Ball!!! I was so excited about this, because it felt like I was going to my high school prom again....minus the HOT DATE, hah! I had my mum send me a wonderful dress for this event, thank you mom, and I got all "dolled" up for it. I was so excited, because I was one of the few Americans that were going to this Ball. I was lucky enough to be asked to sit at a table with all aussies and I was so exited to get the night started!! The event was held at the same Casino that the Secret Location Party was held, but inside in one of the banquet halls!! When arriving at the Casino and standing in line, we were handed wine and champaign and it felt to elegant!! We then went inside, ate dinner and danced like crazy!!! Bondstock week was amazing and it allowed me to meet so many new people and I feel like I have actually attended this school since the beginning, since I know so many people, also due to the fact that there are 5,000 people total (undergrad and postgrad) that attend this school, hah!!

Me and girls before Students Ball

In addition to all these school sponsored events, the nightlife outside of it is really fun as well! We pretty much go to the same areas each weekend and they are mostly nightclubs. Australians just love to dance I guess, hah!
On another note, school has been going well and since I am a senior I am taking a little more difficult classes than other study abroad students. My classes are pretty difficult and the teachers could care less whether you are a study abroad student or not, sot that makes traveling quite hard to do!! This is definitely not like London, where I didn't have school on Fridays or Mondays until 6:00 p.m., ahhhh, I miss those days!!!  I study all the time during the week and just had my first assessment (quiz) in my Marketing class, which was quite difficult, since they do things differently over here!!
Well the time has come and I am going to leave now, but I'll write again soon!! I will be heading to Byron Bay in two weeks time and then Sydney for Halloween weekend, which I need costume ideas for if you  have any!! Then I will be heading to this place called the Whit Sunday Islands the second weekend in November and after that FIJI, so look forward to many more stories to come!!!

School, Cairnes and Nightlife

G'day!

Me at the Great Barrier Reef

I know this has taken me a while to put up a blog, but I guess better late than never..right? So a lot has happened since I have been here since the start of September and I catch you up on what you have missed. I arrived in Melbourne on September 3rd and stayed there 2 nights with all of the kids I came with. We traveled to a town called Sorrento, which is a lovely vacation town for wealthy aussies in the summer (or summa, which is how the aussies pronounce it). Right before that, we stopped at a national park to finally see what we were all waiting for....Kangaroos!! It was so exciting, we hiked though tall brush and bushes to sneak up and see the roos and it was so amazing to see thousands of them bouncing around, ha.
We then spent the rest of our "orientation" learning about aussie culture, listening to aussie folk bands and eating australian cuisine, which I don't really care for.  We then were on our way to the magnificent Gold Coast, where we would spend the rest of our time "studying" here in Australia.
Upon arrival, I couldn't believe where I was, it felt like I was at Pepperdine, where my sister attended in Malibu, CA. I felt like I was at a resort, this was not a school. It has a water fountain out front, beautiful weather everyday and the best part of all....a bar/night club on campus, hah. After taking this all in, I  headed to my accommodation center, where I would be living. When approaching the building, I knew this is not what I signed up for. There was a little problem, not just a little problem.... First of all, I as well as my friend Kina, got separated from our entire American group and pretty much were put into a jail cell!! AHH! I walked into my room,  after dragging my 2 huge suitcases up 3 flights of stairs, I instantly walked right out. I was NEVER was going to make it living in this accommodation center and sharing a bathroom with 8 other girls. I was determined to get out of this place!! But, after a while of thinking it through and speaking with the parents, thank heavens for them, I realized that this may be a good thing  after all, it turned out to be. I now have more Australian friends than I do American and have learned so many new things and been so many new places because of them!!! I live on the third floor and love all the girls that are in my corridor. I also live above many awesome aussie guys who live on the first floor and love to party all the time, they call their corridor, "The Animal House," haha, how funny is that??

Holding a Koala!

Since being here at Bond I have traveled only to one place, which is so funny, because at this time being in London I think that I had traveled to about 3-4 places! Cairnes was amazing and the weather was extremely beautiful since it is even further north than the Gold Coast. The first day there, we took a huge boat out to the Great Barrier Reef and went snorkeling all day long, we then continued to lay out and tan until the sun started to go down and we were then handed glasses on champaign as we headed back in....what a day!! The following day, we went to a wild life santuary and ate breakfast with exotic birds and then were walking all over out tables, EWWW!! We then proceeded to take a tour around the sanctuary and after that I got to hold a KOALA beat!!! It was so exciting, even though I had to pay $16 dollars, it was well worth it. She, "Lucky" was so cute and fuzzy, I never wanted to let it go!! After that, we then took a bus trip deep deep into the rainforest and stayed the night there and slept in little cabins (which was extremely scary, because there were spiders all over the place and I was afraid to go to bed). That morning after we had woken up, we went sea kyacking and it was so amazing looking out from the ocean at the rainforest and all its beauty, couldn't ask for anything better. After this weekend, I was ready to head back home to my "humble abode" and start experiencing all the Bond and the Gold Coast had to offer!!!


I'll write again soon!

Hugs & Kisses...from down under!! xx