Time could not be moving faster if I wanted it to! The semester ends in three weeks time, and then everyone will go their separate ways into the world. This week will definitely be the most stressful of all for me, which I'm not looking forward to. Just hoping everything goes smoothly! I've got two finals, one monday, one tuesday, and a paper due. Plus a few minor homework assignments and studying for another final. And I've got to do it all by thursday at the latest! Me and girlies are leaving for Melbourne on Thursday night for a few days, then to Sydney for a few more days. I must say that I'm most excited for these trips because I've been itching to see a new city for quite some time now.
Nothing else really going on as of right now though... This past week went super fast, and I really think it's only because I've actually been well enough and strong enough to go back to classes. That was an adventure! I feel so far behind, yet at the same time I don't have much to do in order to catch up. I guess just attendance reasons make me feel like I'm missing out so much. But oh well! It'll all be over soon, and hopefully I'll get to feeling better before I have to start the next round of classes.
I had to go to a counseling session this past week in order to get extensions on some of my assignments. Basically, if you can plea your case, they'll give you the extensions for all classes/tests/assignments etc. I really had no interest in talking about other things, but they make you fill out a questionnaire beforehand where you essentially rate aspects of your life on a scale of 1 to 10. Well, I'm not one to lie, so I was as honest as I could be. Little did I know that we were going to discuss the things that had been rated poorly! It wasn't part of the original reason for going, but she suggested that it couldn't hurt to speak about it. And now, I must say, I have had quite a good head on my shoulders the past 48 hours. I'm highly enjoying it! Let's hope it keeps up.
So here I'm sitting, drinking a wonderful cup of English Breakfast Tea, contemplating my life. Again. Nothing new on those lines. There is just too much to do and too much to see, I really need to start cramming it all in. Truly live life to the fullest! And that's what I'm going to do. Starting with trying something new every chance I get. I find that inspirational quotes really do hit home for me sometimes, so I'm definitely going to start living by those as well.
Cheers to life!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The trip to Slicker's Riding Ranch this past weekend was more than I could have ever asked for. After meeting the rest of the group at 6.30 am Saturday morning, we headed out to the Sunshine Coast. It took us about 2.5 hours and a stop at McDonalds for coffee to get there, but everyone loves road trips! Once we arrived, I immediately knew it was going to be a good weekend. We had to wait around for a bit to get all of the horses saddled up and ready, as there was about 11 of us from Bond, then about 25 or 30 others there. Each person was matched with a horse based on number of times on a horse, weight, and height. That's how they do it at these places, I guess. I'm sure I've been on a horse more times than I could count, but I know I'm not advanced. Plus I wanted to stick with my friend Kaitlin, who had never even touched a horse before ha ha.
Therefore, I was paired with a horse that wasn't a beginner horse, because there were too many beginners and not enough horses. I found myself on top of a fiesty Redhead, rightfully named Redman. He normally leads the experienced group, so walking for 6 hours in one day was not necessarily his cup of tea. But we managed! We rode for about 3 hours up and down mountains, through rivers, over valleys and rock croppings, to find ourselves at a Winery, which is considered a hidden gem. It was the most beautiful ride I have ever been on! We had a glorious lunch, then headed back to the ranch. We were all so dead tired that we didn't do much that night but stuff our faces with pizza and junk food and sleep.
The next morning, I switched horses with another girl who wanted a faster one for the experienced ride. I took her horse, Sonny, and we headed out for a four hour property ride around the 3500 acre ranch. It was such a good ride!! We went through bigger river crossings and more hills that day, but it was equally as fantastic. The feeling of running a horse up an incredibly steep hill is something else..definitely an experience I'll need to do again. It was a perfect weekend! I'm still pretty tired, and sore as all get out. But that's alright.
Sunday night was the series finale of Master Chef Australia, which I have been following since the beginning. Therefore, I became addicted! It was the most exciting episode, even though my first choice for the winner didn't win. But it was still fun to be apart of it! It's the highest grossing television show in the history of Australian television. Pretty exciting! Ha ha the simple things in life.
I've actually managed to get to classes this week so far, which is refreshing. Getting out of the house for something as simple as classes is so nice. I also met up with a group of 12 or so people and went to $8 movie mondays to see Inception. Words cannot describe the brilliance that is this movie. I had already decided that I needed to see it again ten minutes into it! Otherwise, I've just been hanging around the house and around campus this week. It's been raining cats and dogs for the past three days! Pouring like no other, which is no bueno because I have no umbrella and walking to campus is, well, outdoors. Ha!
Planning for the beach this weekend. The weather is really starting to warm up, minus the rain! We're also going to visit a place called the Carerra Markets, which is essentially a flea market of sorts. Let's see how that goes! Only two weeks of classes left! Then a week off to travel to Sydney and Melbourne, then finals week. I only have one final, and so do most of my friends, so I'm pretty sure we'll be traveling around that week as well. Not sure where to go yet! We'll have to figure that all out pretty soon. And then it's three weeks off until classes start again haha. It never ends!
Cheers!
Therefore, I was paired with a horse that wasn't a beginner horse, because there were too many beginners and not enough horses. I found myself on top of a fiesty Redhead, rightfully named Redman. He normally leads the experienced group, so walking for 6 hours in one day was not necessarily his cup of tea. But we managed! We rode for about 3 hours up and down mountains, through rivers, over valleys and rock croppings, to find ourselves at a Winery, which is considered a hidden gem. It was the most beautiful ride I have ever been on! We had a glorious lunch, then headed back to the ranch. We were all so dead tired that we didn't do much that night but stuff our faces with pizza and junk food and sleep.
The next morning, I switched horses with another girl who wanted a faster one for the experienced ride. I took her horse, Sonny, and we headed out for a four hour property ride around the 3500 acre ranch. It was such a good ride!! We went through bigger river crossings and more hills that day, but it was equally as fantastic. The feeling of running a horse up an incredibly steep hill is something else..definitely an experience I'll need to do again. It was a perfect weekend! I'm still pretty tired, and sore as all get out. But that's alright.
Sunday night was the series finale of Master Chef Australia, which I have been following since the beginning. Therefore, I became addicted! It was the most exciting episode, even though my first choice for the winner didn't win. But it was still fun to be apart of it! It's the highest grossing television show in the history of Australian television. Pretty exciting! Ha ha the simple things in life.
I've actually managed to get to classes this week so far, which is refreshing. Getting out of the house for something as simple as classes is so nice. I also met up with a group of 12 or so people and went to $8 movie mondays to see Inception. Words cannot describe the brilliance that is this movie. I had already decided that I needed to see it again ten minutes into it! Otherwise, I've just been hanging around the house and around campus this week. It's been raining cats and dogs for the past three days! Pouring like no other, which is no bueno because I have no umbrella and walking to campus is, well, outdoors. Ha!
Planning for the beach this weekend. The weather is really starting to warm up, minus the rain! We're also going to visit a place called the Carerra Markets, which is essentially a flea market of sorts. Let's see how that goes! Only two weeks of classes left! Then a week off to travel to Sydney and Melbourne, then finals week. I only have one final, and so do most of my friends, so I'm pretty sure we'll be traveling around that week as well. Not sure where to go yet! We'll have to figure that all out pretty soon. And then it's three weeks off until classes start again haha. It never ends!
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Time Moves Quickly
It's hard to imagine that I've been sick for three weeks already, but when I've been sleeping most of the days away, I guess it makes sense. But at least I'm able to eat some solid foods now! Enjoyed a quesadilla the other day that was quite delicious, although it tasted nothing like Mexican food ha ha.
Haven't really done much of anything this week. Been watching this show Master Chef Australia, and it's finals week. Someone gets eliminated every night! I'm so addicted, I must know who wins! That's been about it, really. That and sleeping and watching movies. I went to a place called Teriyaki Mate yesterday with Sunniva and we had the BEST dessert of my life. Banana tempura, which is essentially a caramelized banana with ice cream and caramel sauce. AH! So fantastically delicious. We've decided to go there once a week just for dessert ha ha. Pathetic, really. Guess I just take after my Granny that way!
I've just noticed how most of this post is about food. Well, I guess that's what happens when you've been deprived of it for nearly two weeks =)
Went out to see a movie last night, which was nice. I haven't been out to the Cinema since March! And goodness knows that's one of my favorite things to do. However, when it costs $16 dollars for one movie, I can now understand why we haven't gone out much. Missing Elvis Cinemas just about now! We went out to meet the bus at 12:14, but we had about half an hour to kill. Epic photography shoot, let me just tell you. However, the bus never came, and that's because we looked at the weekend schedule, not the weekday schedule. HA! Hello taxi ride.
Got into a bit of an argument with one of my roomies yesterday, so that was pleasant. Selfishness is quickly becoming one of my least favorite traits in a person. More and more everyday! It amazes me how people can act that way and think it's okay. Or perhaps they don't realize how incredibly rude and wrong they are. Oh well! Such is life. Somethings will never change.
Headed to what I'm sure will be my favorite trip of the summer this weekend! Horseback riding on a 3500 acre ranch. Bring on the smiles and memories!
Cheers!
Haven't really done much of anything this week. Been watching this show Master Chef Australia, and it's finals week. Someone gets eliminated every night! I'm so addicted, I must know who wins! That's been about it, really. That and sleeping and watching movies. I went to a place called Teriyaki Mate yesterday with Sunniva and we had the BEST dessert of my life. Banana tempura, which is essentially a caramelized banana with ice cream and caramel sauce. AH! So fantastically delicious. We've decided to go there once a week just for dessert ha ha. Pathetic, really. Guess I just take after my Granny that way!
I've just noticed how most of this post is about food. Well, I guess that's what happens when you've been deprived of it for nearly two weeks =)
Went out to see a movie last night, which was nice. I haven't been out to the Cinema since March! And goodness knows that's one of my favorite things to do. However, when it costs $16 dollars for one movie, I can now understand why we haven't gone out much. Missing Elvis Cinemas just about now! We went out to meet the bus at 12:14, but we had about half an hour to kill. Epic photography shoot, let me just tell you. However, the bus never came, and that's because we looked at the weekend schedule, not the weekday schedule. HA! Hello taxi ride.
Got into a bit of an argument with one of my roomies yesterday, so that was pleasant. Selfishness is quickly becoming one of my least favorite traits in a person. More and more everyday! It amazes me how people can act that way and think it's okay. Or perhaps they don't realize how incredibly rude and wrong they are. Oh well! Such is life. Somethings will never change.
Headed to what I'm sure will be my favorite trip of the summer this weekend! Horseback riding on a 3500 acre ranch. Bring on the smiles and memories!
Cheers!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Dolphins, Gelato, and a Taxi Ride
Still feeling pretty under the weather, but I thought that a bit of fresh air and a stroll along a beautiful coast line would help me out. And it did! Kaitlin, Sunniva, and I headed south to Rainbow Bay yesterday to enjoy the scenery and the beautiful weather. It was the most gorgeous stretch of coastline I've seen yet! The trees were typical palm trees, laying next to clean cut black rocks, with crystal clear water splashing over everything! And there were surfers everywhere. It was unbelievable. We walked on a path that hooked around the end of the bay, then up a steep hill to the main lookout point. Beautiful! And the city of Coolangatta was beautiful as well. Seeing all of that was just what the doctor ordered.
We headed down the other side of the bay, around the beach again, and found a rocky pier that had some vicious waves crashing into it every few seconds. It was so loud! But again, amazing. We walked out as far as we could without getting soaked and took some fantastic photos. There was a bunch of kids on boogie boards out in the vicious waves, riding them until they crashed into the receding water. It was hilarious! It was as if the whole purpose of being out there was to be drop kicked by the waves. So long as no one got thrown into a rock, it looked like tons of fun. And watching it was highly entertaining.
There was another outlook, so we hiked up the steep path to that as well. While we were looking out at the horizon, some guy started shouting about a pod of dolphins and a few whales playing in the waves. We ran over to where he pointed, eager to see some real marine life. Well, we never saw the whales, but we did see a pod of dolphins! They were jumping in and out of the waves, about five or six of them, and because the water was so clear we could see them even underwater. We watched them while the circled the entire lookout, then continued down the coast. It was too cool. The highlight of the last few weeks, that's for sure! That's definitely not something we can see in Colorado ha ha. After a quick break in the shade and out of the vicious wind, we headed back to the main street. We found a store that sold food in bulk, so we stocked up on some dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate covered goodies and headed to the bus stop.
Last night everyone was going out for dinner and drinks to celebrate Chris' 21st birthday. I felt like death after all of that walking, but I decided I could at least go for dinner. Not that I could eat anything, but being there would mean something to Chris. We found ourselves at the Hog's Breath Cafe in Broadbeach, which is a pretty popular chain down here. We didn't realize it was an attempt at an American restaurant until we noticed all of the license plates on the walls, one from each State, among other American-esk things. It was cool! I had decided that swallowing wasn't so painful at the moment, thanks to extra strength tylenol times 3, so I ordered a quesadilla. Well, it didn't taste anything like mexican food, but it was delicious! And I could actually eat it. My throat felt rather raw afterwards, but it was worth it. My first solid meal in more than a week. How thrilling.
Everyone was going to a club called East afterwards, but I had no interest in that. All I wanted was to sleep! My bed was calling, and I could no longer ignore the comfort it offered. With the tickets everyone had to get into East, they would receive a free drink. Kaitlin wanted her free drink, but then wanted to leave after that. So I agreed to wait outside for her. At this point, my throat was protesting my early decision to eat solid food, so I found some gelato and sat outside at a little table, playing games on my ipod. I only had to wait about twenty minutes, and it was worth it because riding the bus alone at night is scary. She and I wandered over to the bus stop, only to find we had just missed the bus by five minutes. At this point in the night, the buses only come once an hour. Last night was particularly cold for Australia, we were both dead tired, and I just wanted to be home. So I said screw that to waiting for an hour and decided to take a taxi. Cost me $15 bucks, but I didn't care ha ha.
Once I got to the warmth of my bed, I took some nyquil, hoping for some legitimate sleep. Needless to say, that didn't happen as well as I would have hoped. I'm wicked tired this morning, and my throat is screaming at me. The plan for today? Nothing of any productivity. Sleep, liquids, movies, that sort of thing. Ugh can't I just be better already?!
Cheers!
We headed down the other side of the bay, around the beach again, and found a rocky pier that had some vicious waves crashing into it every few seconds. It was so loud! But again, amazing. We walked out as far as we could without getting soaked and took some fantastic photos. There was a bunch of kids on boogie boards out in the vicious waves, riding them until they crashed into the receding water. It was hilarious! It was as if the whole purpose of being out there was to be drop kicked by the waves. So long as no one got thrown into a rock, it looked like tons of fun. And watching it was highly entertaining.
There was another outlook, so we hiked up the steep path to that as well. While we were looking out at the horizon, some guy started shouting about a pod of dolphins and a few whales playing in the waves. We ran over to where he pointed, eager to see some real marine life. Well, we never saw the whales, but we did see a pod of dolphins! They were jumping in and out of the waves, about five or six of them, and because the water was so clear we could see them even underwater. We watched them while the circled the entire lookout, then continued down the coast. It was too cool. The highlight of the last few weeks, that's for sure! That's definitely not something we can see in Colorado ha ha. After a quick break in the shade and out of the vicious wind, we headed back to the main street. We found a store that sold food in bulk, so we stocked up on some dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate covered goodies and headed to the bus stop.
Last night everyone was going out for dinner and drinks to celebrate Chris' 21st birthday. I felt like death after all of that walking, but I decided I could at least go for dinner. Not that I could eat anything, but being there would mean something to Chris. We found ourselves at the Hog's Breath Cafe in Broadbeach, which is a pretty popular chain down here. We didn't realize it was an attempt at an American restaurant until we noticed all of the license plates on the walls, one from each State, among other American-esk things. It was cool! I had decided that swallowing wasn't so painful at the moment, thanks to extra strength tylenol times 3, so I ordered a quesadilla. Well, it didn't taste anything like mexican food, but it was delicious! And I could actually eat it. My throat felt rather raw afterwards, but it was worth it. My first solid meal in more than a week. How thrilling.
Everyone was going to a club called East afterwards, but I had no interest in that. All I wanted was to sleep! My bed was calling, and I could no longer ignore the comfort it offered. With the tickets everyone had to get into East, they would receive a free drink. Kaitlin wanted her free drink, but then wanted to leave after that. So I agreed to wait outside for her. At this point, my throat was protesting my early decision to eat solid food, so I found some gelato and sat outside at a little table, playing games on my ipod. I only had to wait about twenty minutes, and it was worth it because riding the bus alone at night is scary. She and I wandered over to the bus stop, only to find we had just missed the bus by five minutes. At this point in the night, the buses only come once an hour. Last night was particularly cold for Australia, we were both dead tired, and I just wanted to be home. So I said screw that to waiting for an hour and decided to take a taxi. Cost me $15 bucks, but I didn't care ha ha.
Once I got to the warmth of my bed, I took some nyquil, hoping for some legitimate sleep. Needless to say, that didn't happen as well as I would have hoped. I'm wicked tired this morning, and my throat is screaming at me. The plan for today? Nothing of any productivity. Sleep, liquids, movies, that sort of thing. Ugh can't I just be better already?!
Cheers!
Friday, July 16, 2010
An Update From the Sickly
Oh to celebrate the joys of solid foods! How I wish I could partake in your glorious tastes! And one would think that after nearly a week of antibiotics, that I would be able to. Truth is, I'm in as much pain as day one, and that's with extra strength Tylenol. Why?! Oh why?! I just wish I could eat instead of drink. But oh well. Such is life, I guess.
Finished my biggest assignment of the semester today and turned it in well before the deadline. I felt accomplished! Now that that's done, the rest of the semester should be smooth sailing, minus a final in five weeks. Not too shabby! It's nice to feel almost done... a ton of stress off my back, that's for sure. And goodness knows I don't need any stress on top of this mono crap. Ugh! Otherwise, I didn't do too much today. Watched a movie, black and white! I'm really starting to love old films. You can't go wrong with the classics. There's just something about the, oh what's the word...the innocence of them. That's where true Hollywood comes from.
Not much else to report, I'm afraid. Going to try and get out of the house for a bit tomorrow. I think some fresh air will do me some good, so long as I bring plenty of pain killers and avoid the sun. I'm just hoping that sleep will be my friend tonight. I could really use a decent night's sleep for a change, that would be lovely. Other than that, not much planned for the weekend. Just rest, as the doctor ordered! Really, really hoping for the ability to swallow by monday. That would be glorious. This is two weeks in a row that I've missed Eggs Benny breakfast on fridays! Not happy for that. Guess I'll just have to make up for it once I can eat again. However, this is an excellent diet plan. Loving it!
Cheers!
Finished my biggest assignment of the semester today and turned it in well before the deadline. I felt accomplished! Now that that's done, the rest of the semester should be smooth sailing, minus a final in five weeks. Not too shabby! It's nice to feel almost done... a ton of stress off my back, that's for sure. And goodness knows I don't need any stress on top of this mono crap. Ugh! Otherwise, I didn't do too much today. Watched a movie, black and white! I'm really starting to love old films. You can't go wrong with the classics. There's just something about the, oh what's the word...the innocence of them. That's where true Hollywood comes from.
Not much else to report, I'm afraid. Going to try and get out of the house for a bit tomorrow. I think some fresh air will do me some good, so long as I bring plenty of pain killers and avoid the sun. I'm just hoping that sleep will be my friend tonight. I could really use a decent night's sleep for a change, that would be lovely. Other than that, not much planned for the weekend. Just rest, as the doctor ordered! Really, really hoping for the ability to swallow by monday. That would be glorious. This is two weeks in a row that I've missed Eggs Benny breakfast on fridays! Not happy for that. Guess I'll just have to make up for it once I can eat again. However, this is an excellent diet plan. Loving it!
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
It's Official
And the results are in: I do, in fact, have mono. The excitement of this statement is, obviously, hard for me to contain. So please, won't you celebrate with me? Nothing but bedrest and some movies for the rest of the week. Chin up for a better monday! I'm in a particularly interesting writing mood the last few days, so I'm just warning you. I probably have nothing very interesting to say, but I feel the need to write it down nonetheless. Feel free to comment, or ignore it for that fact. Ha!
Lately, I have felt somewhat, bored with this place. I've fallen into a routine, one that does not suit me. If you know me at all, you know that regardless of what the routine is, routine is not good for me. I get antsy, bored, uninterested, essentially I feel stuck. And as of now? I'm feeling rather stuck. I'm bored! Australia just isn't doing it for me. However, I've forced myself to think long and hard about this, because I don't want to make any rash decisions. Any decision made now would probably only be made because I'm sick, and home is always comforting when you're sick, especially when you're alone across the world. And although I feel as though I'd much prefer to be stuck in a boring routine back home where I could be saving tons of money, I've come to the conclusion that there is a reason I'm doing two semesters here. Australia hasn't given me what I'm looking for yet, but it has a chance to redeem itself. After all, 5.5 more months is a very short time in the grand scheme of my life. Plus, I'm sure I would regret it once I got home. I need to find something here within the next few weeks that will convince me of Australia's worthiness in my book.
And lucky for me I received an email two days ago giving me a chance to love this country for what it truly is. A trip to a cattle ranch up north! Precisely the definition of Australia, in my mind. Riding horses, canoeing, swimming, delicious food, a ranch, wine tasting.. exactly what the doctor ordered. Paid my share just this afternoon! I'm being rather optimistic about this adventure, hoping that I can eliminate the "This trip was a bad idea" bug that's been bothering me as of late. So cheers to a cure for this bug!
On a side note, I've decided that I very much dislike when people around me think they are better than me. Who gives them that right? Exactly, no one. So grow up, stop being a spoiled brat, and consider yourself an average Uni student, just like the rest of us.
Cheers!
Lately, I have felt somewhat, bored with this place. I've fallen into a routine, one that does not suit me. If you know me at all, you know that regardless of what the routine is, routine is not good for me. I get antsy, bored, uninterested, essentially I feel stuck. And as of now? I'm feeling rather stuck. I'm bored! Australia just isn't doing it for me. However, I've forced myself to think long and hard about this, because I don't want to make any rash decisions. Any decision made now would probably only be made because I'm sick, and home is always comforting when you're sick, especially when you're alone across the world. And although I feel as though I'd much prefer to be stuck in a boring routine back home where I could be saving tons of money, I've come to the conclusion that there is a reason I'm doing two semesters here. Australia hasn't given me what I'm looking for yet, but it has a chance to redeem itself. After all, 5.5 more months is a very short time in the grand scheme of my life. Plus, I'm sure I would regret it once I got home. I need to find something here within the next few weeks that will convince me of Australia's worthiness in my book.
And lucky for me I received an email two days ago giving me a chance to love this country for what it truly is. A trip to a cattle ranch up north! Precisely the definition of Australia, in my mind. Riding horses, canoeing, swimming, delicious food, a ranch, wine tasting.. exactly what the doctor ordered. Paid my share just this afternoon! I'm being rather optimistic about this adventure, hoping that I can eliminate the "This trip was a bad idea" bug that's been bothering me as of late. So cheers to a cure for this bug!
On a side note, I've decided that I very much dislike when people around me think they are better than me. Who gives them that right? Exactly, no one. So grow up, stop being a spoiled brat, and consider yourself an average Uni student, just like the rest of us.
Cheers!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Week 2 of Bedrest
Woke up this morning feeling no better than I had when I first could barely swallow my own spit. Excellent. I rushed off to the doctors to get another check up, where they took some blood samples for testing. I'm still waiting for my results, but they are pretty sure I have glandular fever AKA mono AND tonsillitis. How splendid! I was given a stronger prescription to help with the swelling, which I only started taking about two hours ago, so let's hope that really kicks in by tomorrow. I'd like to enjoy some solid food for once in almost five days.
So I'm meant to do nothing again this week, doc's orders. And then I had a thought! Perhaps I could go to the beach and sleep it off in the warm sun, because the weather is supposed to be glorious this week. Yesterday and today were, so that's usually a good sign for the rest of the week! However, upon receiving my new drugs, there is a massive warning label that says to avoid the sun for long periods of time, otherwise I could end up with an unsightly rash on my arms and legs. Wonderful.
So here I'll be, enjoying the indoors yet again until these meds are gone. Then it's about six weeks of total recovery, which makes me super angry. That's the rest of the semester! And then I started thinking, it's a really good thing that I'm spending two semesters here because I'd be super pissed if I was sick for the remainder of my trip. The doc did say, that by the looks of my tonsils, it could get much worse instead of getting better, but let's just hope that doesn't happen. If I do go home early, I don't want it to be on such horrible circumstances.
Any suggestions of what I can eat that's non-dairy and easy to swallow? I'm bored of smoothies, and peanut butter is painful. =)
Cheers
So I'm meant to do nothing again this week, doc's orders. And then I had a thought! Perhaps I could go to the beach and sleep it off in the warm sun, because the weather is supposed to be glorious this week. Yesterday and today were, so that's usually a good sign for the rest of the week! However, upon receiving my new drugs, there is a massive warning label that says to avoid the sun for long periods of time, otherwise I could end up with an unsightly rash on my arms and legs. Wonderful.
So here I'll be, enjoying the indoors yet again until these meds are gone. Then it's about six weeks of total recovery, which makes me super angry. That's the rest of the semester! And then I started thinking, it's a really good thing that I'm spending two semesters here because I'd be super pissed if I was sick for the remainder of my trip. The doc did say, that by the looks of my tonsils, it could get much worse instead of getting better, but let's just hope that doesn't happen. If I do go home early, I don't want it to be on such horrible circumstances.
Any suggestions of what I can eat that's non-dairy and easy to swallow? I'm bored of smoothies, and peanut butter is painful. =)
Cheers
Sunday, July 11, 2010
This One's a Long Time Coming...
First of all, let me just apologize for the very long amount of time in between posts. But I do have, what I would classify, as good reasons. Last week was just one exciting event after another, so there was no time for blogging. And this monday I woke up with the strangest Australian flu bug ever, and it's still working its magic on me. So unfair! But allow me to update you on my other adventures, post-bed-ridden.
The previous week started out as nothing too fantastic, just a few classes, some studying, Taco Tuesday, and so on. Wednesday was when things really started to get exciting! My friend Kaitlin and I adventured out to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was very similar to the Rainforestation place I went to in Cairns, like an interactive zoo, but much bigger. We actually got to feed the kangaroos this time, and we saw a few with joeys! So precious. I even got to hold a baby crocodile while they took a professional photo, which I later stole ha ha. They print them all for everyone to look at, then if you don't buy it, they just throw them away! Well I wasn't going to pay $16.00 for a 5x7, so I just took it. Hmm yes there is thievery in all of us.
Before the stealing could commence, however, Kaitlin and I did what they call a Challenge course. It's basically a ropes course, where you have to wear a harness and suspend yourself from wires high up in the trees and make your way from tree to tree on different obstacles. Not sure if I've had that much fun since I've been here! It was so neat to be up in the trees like some sort of primitive beast. Oh wait.... Well in any case, check out the photos! Amazing.
Thursday wasn't all that thrilling, but it was nice to actually relax a bit. Studying is cramping everyone's style lately. Friday we went out to have some fun, and ended up stuck walking a couple miles in the pouring rain. Crappy as it sounds, it makes for a good story and some excellent memories.
Saturday we focused on studying because a few of us would be gone all day Sunday, so we needed to make sure everything got done. After only a few hours of sleep, we found ourselves standing on a street corner waiting for our ride to Moreton Island at 6am. The island lays about an hour north of us, then about 1.5 hour ferry ride east of there. It was so cool to actually drive the 4WD vehicle onto the ferry! I've never done anything like that. Moreton Island is the 3rd largest sand island in the world, so tons of locals and tourists make a day trip out of it, if not an overnight camping trip. Because the ferry ride itself was so fantastic, I was sure the island would bring equal amounts of excitement. By the time we arrived on the Island, it was about 1015 am, so we had the whole day ahead of us to do the many activities listed on the brochure ha ha.
There are no roads on this island, mind you. The highway is the beach—we were about three feet from the surf while driving. Our guide, Russell, took us into the middle of the island, through some incredibly bumpy sand roads through a thick jungle. Once we got through it all, we found ourselves in the midst of rolling sand dunes. Bring on the sand boarding!! We hiked to the tallest dune, at the steepest part, and waxed our boards. These boards are about a foot wide and three feet long with one rough side and one smooth side that we waxed. The wax helps the board glide easily over the sand. At first, Sunniva and I didn’t want to do it because the hill was so steep! But we decided to buck up and at least give it a try.
So you lay on your stomach, grip the front of the board and pull it back, elbows up, abs and legs tight, and toes pointed. If you drop your elbows, that’s when you get a face full of sand. No bueno. However, the four of us had some master skill and we rode that hill like pros. The walk back up to the top was the worst! It’s nearly impossible to walk up an almost vertical wall of sand, especially more than once. Your body gets too tired to handle that. We had a contest of who could board the farthest, and I held the winning spot until literally the last run! Some Aussie guy beat me by only a foot, but he beat me nonetheless. I tried so hard!
After that, we headed back to the 4WD truck (named Tina) to remove the sand from every crevice imaginable. We bounced around in the back of Tina during the 45 minute drive back to the camp, where Russell made us some excellent sandwiches for lunch. The afternoon was meant for snorkeling and/or sea kayaking, but this was when I started to really feel sickly. I just wanted to curl up on the beach and sleep away the afternoon in the warm sun. So that’s just what I did! I know that it wasn’t what the trip was all about, but I honestly don’t think I could have held my own weight in the water, let alone constantly remind myself to breath. They dove in a man made cove just off shore from the camp. In the early 1970s, massive ships were purposefully sunk in order to create the cove, so divers can explore in and around the ships. Apparently the place is just teeming with fish of every size and color!
Everyone spent about three hours with their water fun before it was time to close up camp and head back to the ferry. The line to get on the ferry was crazy! Almost 100 cars, I was sure that they wouldn’t all fit. But after waiting to get on last (we had the biggest vehicle) I was surprised to find that there was still room for nearly 20 more vehicles! That ferry was massive. I managed to stay awake long enough to catch the sunset, which was gorgeous, but then I headed to the second level to have a sleep before we got back to Brisbane. I was so deliriously tired; I could barely stand it.
During the day we hung out with three German girls, who said they wanted to talk with us to perfect their English skills. Glad to be of service! We also hung out with a girl from Ireland, who was insanely nice. It’s so cool to meet people from all over the world like that. It’s probably one of my favorite things about traveling abroad.
It took us about four hours to get home, from the time we got on the ferry to when we walked through the front door of our villa. So tired! I knew then that I was getting sick, but I figured a good night’s sleep was all I needed. Moreton Island was beautiful! Absolutely worth the trip… just wish I wasn’t sickly for the second half of the day.
It’s taken me nearly five days to finish writing this. Everytime I’ve been up long enough to want to write, I’ve gotten too dizzy to continue. I went from simple flu symptoms to full on tonsillitis. Ew. Still in major pain this morning, but I’m taking antibiotics now. I really hope things start looking up for me soon! Being sick and being alone sucks. Just wish I was home for this! And I promise to update more frequently now.
Cheers
The previous week started out as nothing too fantastic, just a few classes, some studying, Taco Tuesday, and so on. Wednesday was when things really started to get exciting! My friend Kaitlin and I adventured out to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was very similar to the Rainforestation place I went to in Cairns, like an interactive zoo, but much bigger. We actually got to feed the kangaroos this time, and we saw a few with joeys! So precious. I even got to hold a baby crocodile while they took a professional photo, which I later stole ha ha. They print them all for everyone to look at, then if you don't buy it, they just throw them away! Well I wasn't going to pay $16.00 for a 5x7, so I just took it. Hmm yes there is thievery in all of us.
Before the stealing could commence, however, Kaitlin and I did what they call a Challenge course. It's basically a ropes course, where you have to wear a harness and suspend yourself from wires high up in the trees and make your way from tree to tree on different obstacles. Not sure if I've had that much fun since I've been here! It was so neat to be up in the trees like some sort of primitive beast. Oh wait.... Well in any case, check out the photos! Amazing.
Thursday wasn't all that thrilling, but it was nice to actually relax a bit. Studying is cramping everyone's style lately. Friday we went out to have some fun, and ended up stuck walking a couple miles in the pouring rain. Crappy as it sounds, it makes for a good story and some excellent memories.
Saturday we focused on studying because a few of us would be gone all day Sunday, so we needed to make sure everything got done. After only a few hours of sleep, we found ourselves standing on a street corner waiting for our ride to Moreton Island at 6am. The island lays about an hour north of us, then about 1.5 hour ferry ride east of there. It was so cool to actually drive the 4WD vehicle onto the ferry! I've never done anything like that. Moreton Island is the 3rd largest sand island in the world, so tons of locals and tourists make a day trip out of it, if not an overnight camping trip. Because the ferry ride itself was so fantastic, I was sure the island would bring equal amounts of excitement. By the time we arrived on the Island, it was about 1015 am, so we had the whole day ahead of us to do the many activities listed on the brochure ha ha.
There are no roads on this island, mind you. The highway is the beach—we were about three feet from the surf while driving. Our guide, Russell, took us into the middle of the island, through some incredibly bumpy sand roads through a thick jungle. Once we got through it all, we found ourselves in the midst of rolling sand dunes. Bring on the sand boarding!! We hiked to the tallest dune, at the steepest part, and waxed our boards. These boards are about a foot wide and three feet long with one rough side and one smooth side that we waxed. The wax helps the board glide easily over the sand. At first, Sunniva and I didn’t want to do it because the hill was so steep! But we decided to buck up and at least give it a try.
So you lay on your stomach, grip the front of the board and pull it back, elbows up, abs and legs tight, and toes pointed. If you drop your elbows, that’s when you get a face full of sand. No bueno. However, the four of us had some master skill and we rode that hill like pros. The walk back up to the top was the worst! It’s nearly impossible to walk up an almost vertical wall of sand, especially more than once. Your body gets too tired to handle that. We had a contest of who could board the farthest, and I held the winning spot until literally the last run! Some Aussie guy beat me by only a foot, but he beat me nonetheless. I tried so hard!
After that, we headed back to the 4WD truck (named Tina) to remove the sand from every crevice imaginable. We bounced around in the back of Tina during the 45 minute drive back to the camp, where Russell made us some excellent sandwiches for lunch. The afternoon was meant for snorkeling and/or sea kayaking, but this was when I started to really feel sickly. I just wanted to curl up on the beach and sleep away the afternoon in the warm sun. So that’s just what I did! I know that it wasn’t what the trip was all about, but I honestly don’t think I could have held my own weight in the water, let alone constantly remind myself to breath. They dove in a man made cove just off shore from the camp. In the early 1970s, massive ships were purposefully sunk in order to create the cove, so divers can explore in and around the ships. Apparently the place is just teeming with fish of every size and color!
Everyone spent about three hours with their water fun before it was time to close up camp and head back to the ferry. The line to get on the ferry was crazy! Almost 100 cars, I was sure that they wouldn’t all fit. But after waiting to get on last (we had the biggest vehicle) I was surprised to find that there was still room for nearly 20 more vehicles! That ferry was massive. I managed to stay awake long enough to catch the sunset, which was gorgeous, but then I headed to the second level to have a sleep before we got back to Brisbane. I was so deliriously tired; I could barely stand it.
During the day we hung out with three German girls, who said they wanted to talk with us to perfect their English skills. Glad to be of service! We also hung out with a girl from Ireland, who was insanely nice. It’s so cool to meet people from all over the world like that. It’s probably one of my favorite things about traveling abroad.
It took us about four hours to get home, from the time we got on the ferry to when we walked through the front door of our villa. So tired! I knew then that I was getting sick, but I figured a good night’s sleep was all I needed. Moreton Island was beautiful! Absolutely worth the trip… just wish I wasn’t sickly for the second half of the day.
It’s taken me nearly five days to finish writing this. Everytime I’ve been up long enough to want to write, I’ve gotten too dizzy to continue. I went from simple flu symptoms to full on tonsillitis. Ew. Still in major pain this morning, but I’m taking antibiotics now. I really hope things start looking up for me soon! Being sick and being alone sucks. Just wish I was home for this! And I promise to update more frequently now.
Cheers
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