Well I'm just killing some time at the library before my LAST exam in Australia! In a few hours time I will finally be free of my studies here and can goof off to my heart's content! I had a somewhat social weekend which was nice after such a grueling week of studying. I had some great Thai food with Leah (though thanksgiving dinner would have been better I have to admit), played at a youth group with Tim and Steve, spent a great afternoon in Avalon for a Christmas light extravaganza, and made it to Hills last night for church. Intermix that with a little bit of studying and it was a pretty rocking weekend.

One momentus occasion for this weekend . . . I tried the Australian phenomenon which is Pavlova for the first time. Let me tell you about pav. It's like pure sugar in squishy form. Sort of like angel food cake, except squishy and basically no flour. It's sugar. Seriously. And I don't get it, because Aussies will always say that American cakes/lollies/etc. are too sweet but yet they eat this pure sugar-cake thing. Talk about a double standard. I - the American - couldn't even finish my slice. Give me a fat slice of rich chocolate cake any day my friend.

Lastly, pictures are up from Cairns. http://pictureoz.blogspot.com

I was thinking last night about how I've done such a crap job keeping this thing up to date while I've been in Australia. I had really good intentions when I left of having this be a document of my time here. So much for that. Honestly it's all a matter of accessability. I don't have easy access to the internet here, which really doesn't cater to the spur-of-the-momentness that a blog often requires. Instead I feel like I'm just catching up every time I post here, which is essentially annoying. So I don't do it. Sorry to those of you who mostly rely on this to keep up with what I'm doing.

So, here is a bit of catch-up. My five days-ish up the coast of Queensland were great. I got to see and learn about Aussie wildlife, see tropical rainforest, eat ice cream made from fruits I'd never heard of, and best of all see the Great Barrier Reef (and Nemo!). The highlight of the trip was most certainly the reef. I got to see it twice; the first time off the coast of Cape Tribulation and the second time off the coast of Cairns from an island called Franklin Island. I had the most fantastic time snorkeling. I realized that was actually my first time in the Australian ocean. It's been too cold in Sydney to hit the water at the beach. I really like swimming in the ocean. I have really huge sand issues. I like to be clean, and I hate having stuff between my toes. But Australia and its beach culture are teaching me that it's okay to feel dirty for a while. The sand eventually will come off, and I will be clean again. It's becoming less of a crisis each time.

I'm sure you really wanted to hear about how I'm obsessive compulsive.

Now that I'm back it's been all study study study for exams. I had my first one yesterday and have my second one tomorrow. Yesterday was fine, quite easy really. Tomorrow's the really big one, and probably my hardest. I've been studying since I got back though, so I'm feeling okay about it. And I have all afternoon and evening today to devote to it. I would definitely appreciate prayers for God's favor though - there are certain essay questions I'd definitely prefer over others and it would certainly be God's grace to see those questions on my test.

Here's a random moment that I actually made a mental note to remember. My favorite part of this week was seeing my roommate from Hong Kong stir her pasta sauce concoction with chopsticks. Italian meets Asian. I love it. I want to eat with chopsticks. It's something I've learned here, and it makes eating very fun. It's sort of like a game, and it makes me eat more slowly.

Tomorrow will be great rejoicing that my essay test is over, and hopefully a trip into the city to The Basement. Friday, yet another trip into the city to meet with a guy about a music dist. website, dinner with Leah (hooray) and wrapping up the night at Hills. Oh, and somewhere in there will be yet another chat with my Jehovah's Witness pal Rosie. I like her a lot. She makes me think about what I believe. Unfortunately she's quite deceived. Wow I just made a little rhyme. I hope one day she comes to know Jesus for who he really is. And with that, I'm off to start studying once again.

I saw little Nemos today swimming in an anemone. It made me very happy. Less than one day in the tropics to go. I think my skin is quite glad about that.

Tomorrow I'm off for Australian traveling adventure number 2. I'll be heading up the coast of Queensland to see beautiful rainforrest and the Great Barrier Reef. My friend told me today not to walk a dog while I'm there because it will attract crocs. I told her I'm not bringing a dog. She said that I should walk with anyone that does have a dog. That's really good advice. She is the smartest person I know. Must have something to do with grad school.

So I'll be gone until Thursday, which I'm now realizing is going to put a bit of strain on my studying for exams. Oh well, you only live once, and you only go to Australia once...or something. Even though I've been here twice.

Yesterday I went to Hillsong Women and the woman who spoke was Canadian. I totally called it once she said "aboat." She talked about thanksgiving and said her family celebrated it. I wanted to ask her if I could come to her house. I'm so sad I'm missing thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite days of the year. For sure my favorite meal of the year. But my Mom told me today that we'll have turkey on Christmas for sure so that makes me feel a little better. Oh Thanksgiving, how I long for you.

Finished my last assignment today and all I have left is exams. A couple of killer exams. I'm going to be studying my head off when I get back. I got a pretty crap grade on an assignment in one of my classes, which means I'm going to have to kick butt on the exam to pull out an okay grade. Don't you just love that kind of pressure. But I'm glad that my value doesn't rely on my performance. God loves me just the same. I have been telling myself that all week. It's been really good. And with that, I'm off to do some more errands and pack and make banana bread. Yes, make banana bread. I'll take it with me and it will be my breakfast each morning. How's that for a money saver.

You know you've been in Australia too long when you start having dreams about cricket. I did. I know. How bad is that. But, in my defense the cricket was really nothing like cricket. In my dream it was an "alternate version" and it was basically baseball with a cricket bat and a baller. So I adapted the dream to my own tastes. But seriously, how weird is that?

It's been a long week, but a good one. I had a fantastic birthday last weekend. It was such a rich day filled with so many great things; I couldn't have asked for more. I had a mini celebration on Sunday night as well with a couple of other friends. Then on Monday my family's package arrived. I have never been so excited to see taco sauce, or reeces peanut butter cups, or jam. It's been fun to give peanut butter cups to people from other countries and see their reactions, because it's a very strong candy. Tuesday was Melbourne Cup Day, which was a great Aussie cultural experience. It's basically like the Kentucky Derby except everyone takes time off work to watch it and it's a bigger deal. Only in Australia would there be a day where everyone takes the afternoon off to spend in the pub/hotel. Well, not only in Australia, but certainly not in America. The last two days have been somewhat boring, filled with uni work and running errands. It was hilarious to see US election coverage in Australia. NBC took over one of the networks here basically and we had continuous live coverage for like 5-6 hours.

Today is a day I've greatly looked forward to though. Tonight Leah and I once again head off to the Opera House and get to see/hear the Mozart Requiem. So much excitement. And we're having a little Mexican Food party (or should I say fiesta) before we head off. Happy day.

Last night (this morning) I got up at 1:15am to register for my classes at home. It was not very fun, I wanted to be sleeping. But I got up anyway and tried to register. Yes, tried. It didn't work. I've ended up having to play email tag with someone at registration this whole morning and now I'm finally enrolled - all done by the reg office, nothing by me. I hope at some point I regain access to my account. What a pain. But at least I have all my classes, so everything worked out okay. I'll be so glad when I never have to register for classes again.

Today has already been deemed a lazy day because I have my lazy, comfy black pants on. Plus I got up at 10 because I was so tired from my failed registration ordeal. And it's raining outside, which just makes me feel lazy. It's not too bad though, it's a lovely spring rain so it's not cold at all. I hope it lets up tonight though, I don't want to be walking around the city in the rain.