So, I’ve been meaning to compile a list of some of the differences in culture here, both Australia-wise and college-wise, just for your interest and for me to remember, but every time I think about adding it to the end of a blog entry, the entry is already way too long. Therefore, here is a whole entry devoted to Aussie/Sydney-isms. :) - You can’t ask for a “coffee” here - people will think you are weird. Australians are apparently huge coffee snobs and you order either a long black (I guess like a normal strong coffee), a flat white (kind of [View Full Entry]

---

---

Okay, so the purpose of me writing this entry is to procrastinate doing work for just a few minutes before I REALLY have to crack down and start working on this horrifyingly difficult program for space engineering. I seriously think it's going to take me about 20 hours to finish, but seeing as I don't have that kind of time, maybe it can be finished in like 10 hours instead spread out over the next few days. To complete the assignment, I have to use a MATLAB simulation to shoot a rocket from the Earth into orbit around the Earth, and [View Full Entry]

---

---

A longer entry to come soon, but I just uploaded some photos from the end of Mom and Nick's trip here so I thought I'd post them! I'll also be adding a bunch to facebook for those of you who check that. (and you should because I try to make the captions worthwhile...haha.) [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey everyone! Wow, it’s hard to believe another week has come and gone. Before I know it, August is going to be over, and then the traveling around Australia and New Zealand will begin! Anyway, the obvious highlight of my life right now is that Larissa is here!!!! She came this past Wednesday really early in the morning, and being the ridiculously experienced traveler that she is, actually found her way to my room via public transport. (NOT easy to do in Sydney especially if you have never been here before…I would have been terrified!) So we have been having the [View Full Entry]

---

---

So I woke up today at the lovely late hour of ten o'clock (seriously, the latest I've woken up in weeks!), and there was just rain POUNDING against my window. Mom and Nick left early this morning and I said goodbye to them last night, so it was such a relief to not have to go anywhere and just stay inside! I literally stayed in my pajamas until about three in the afternoon. :) And it's good that I had some fruit in my room, otherwise I just wouldn't have eaten because the prospect of leaving my room was that unappealing. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Okay, now that my mom and brother have left for the night I have a little more of a chance to sit down and write about everything we did this past weekend...which was a LOT. Last week was kind of a hard week because I had a presentation on Wednesday and this assignment due Friday for my Mech Design class which totally scares me, but by the time Friday rolled around, I was just kind of like whatever happens, happens...this is better drawing than I've ever done in my life. (Even if everyone else in the class is like SO much [View Full Entry]

---

---

Okay, rough summary of this weekend: - Paddy's Market - Modern Hip Hop show at the Studio Theater of the Opera House - Powerhouse Museum - Aquarium at Darling Harbour - Full day tour of the Blue Mountains, including stops at some wildlife parks to PET KOALAS AND KANGAROOS!!! I'll start by putting up some photos, and update in detail about the adventures soon! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey! So I've decided it would really be easier for me to have a blog instead of sending you all reallllly long emails. That way, if you want to read this, you can, and if not, you don't have to worry about offending me by being like, "Um, Merri, please don't send me any more emails." Basically, whenever I post, people will be sent a link to the blog (at least I think that's how it works). Feel free to comment whenever you want and I love emailing people so I promise I'll reply even if it's not immediately. :) Anyway, [View Full Entry]

---

---