It's finals time? Oh, right...

I would just like to take a moment to explain how finals work at Sydney Uni as opposed to Duke.

Duke:
Friday - classes end
The weekend + Monday - FRANTIC STUDY TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Tuesday- finals begin, lasting through Sunday
Merri's schedule - normally includes three finals three days in a row; other people's schedules often have two finals per day (each three hours) and often three in just 27 hours!
Worth - 30 to 40 percent of final grade in class

Sydney Uni:
Friday - classes end
Saturday to following Sunday - study vacation, fondly known as STUVAC! :)
Following two whole weeks - finals (none on weekend)
Merri's schedule - one final the first week on Thursday, two the second week, one on Monday and one on Wednesday, all in the afternoon
Worth - 50 to 70 percent of final grade in class (eep!)

So the point of this is, there was absolutely ZERO motivation for me to study during the actual "study vacation" because my first final isn't going to be until almost two weeks after classes have ended! As you all know, I went to Melbourne for the first part, and once I came back, I had a very relaxed rest of the week. I spent a LOT of time talking on Skype (by the way, there is now a SIXTEEN HOUR time difference between here and the East Coast, and nineteen hours between here and the West Coast - how crazy is that?), and went to the BLISSFULLY AMAZING Justin Timberlake concert at Olympic Park on Wednesday. (Sadly, they didn't allow cameras, but that was okay, because the experience, which was much like a three ring circus with Justin as the star, will be imprinted upon my mind forever...hehe.)

I've basically been staying up REALLY late not doing much of anything in general...I decided it would be a good idea to start studying this weekend, so I tried a little on Friday. I had great plans for Saturday, though. In the morning, I actually woke myself up super early to go to the Good Living Grower's Market, which only happens on the first of each month. Unfortunately, it was rainy and somewhat cold, which was quite unpleasant. (Sydney has decided to be MEAN and the forecast for the rest of the time I am HERE is cloudy with showers! WHAT??? I was supposed to go to the beach EVERY DAY! Come ON, Sydney!) However, this didn't stop Dana and me, because we really wanted to see this market, which was on the other side of Darling Harbour. And it was totally worth going to it in spite of the rain because it was definitely different from any other open air market I've seen so far! It was still fairly crowded despite the weather, and just contained stalls that were completely food or produce based. We got the BEST pancakes for breakfast and got to sample all sorts of fruit juices, chocolate, cheese, sausage, etc. I also got fresh strawberries and peaches, which was AMAZING. (Most of the time produce like that is so expensive that it's just not worth buying it.) If I had a real kitchen, I would go to this market and then throw a dinner party that night using all of the fresh produce that I had just bought. Mmmm.

Right after that, I headed to Bondi Beach (only been there once before, way back in August, and forgot how long the bus ride is...haha), where I was meeting some friends of friends of the family for lunch...kind of a roundabout connection but this couple turned out to be pretty much the coolest couple I have EVER met. Not only are they Australian (automatically makes me like them), but they are both powerhouse people in advertising (so very wealthy), but extremely unpretentious. (Which is exactly the kind of lifestyle I want to have when I grow up, probably complete with living in a nice Sydney suburb...hehe!) We went to this place called North Bondi Italian Food, which was incredibly fancy but also really loud and fun, and he just kept ordering all these dishes and we shared them all...risotto balls, calamari with mint and zucchini, two different kinds of pastas, rocket and fennel salad...YUM. Apparently most upper class meals in Sydney consist of Italian food (when it's not Modern Australian cuisine). Which would be why I haven't had Italian food that much - but it was SO good! And I love the idea of an incredibly leisurely long lunch on a Saturday...I should make that a tradition. (although mine would probably be a brunch that went into lunch and lasted like five hoursJ) So I didn't get home till about 3 in the afternoon, and didn't really feel like studying, although I did start later that night.

Yesterday when I woke up, it was FINALLY sunny. I decided this HAD to be taken advantage of, so Dana agreed to accompany me to Coogee Beach, which is almost directly east of Newtown (to the south of Bondi) and definitely closer. (You have to understand that Sydney is pretty much surrounded by water and bays everywhere, so there are actually like 20 beaches you can choose from...it's amazing.) It was perfect weather, and we brought some notebooks, and she studied harder than me, since she has a final today, and I waded in the water and walked along the beach and relaxed in general. SO NICE. I love this whole going to the beach in November thing!!! Then last night, though, I went over to my friend Andrew's apartment and had my first real study session of space engineering (the final I'm most worried about) for like three hours, so I am already feeling better about that. Today, the weather is back to being SUCKY, so I'll go study right now, I guess. Just updating this is more fun!

---

---