Dreams Do Come True

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What a week!!!!

Well, this was the last week of classes here in Australia which is kind of crazy to think that an entire semester has come and gone so quickly. I think it seems so short because each subject only meets one day a week, which means we only have 12 classes....as compared to the 30ish classes we have per subject at Bellarmine.

I got my test back on Wednesday and I got an 87. I'm happy with that....because that equates to an American A+.
Here's the scale for grades:
100-85 High Distinction = US A+
84-75 Distinction = US A
74-65 Credit = US B
64-55 Pass = US C
54-50 Conceded Pass = US D
49-0 Fail = US F

Yes, that means a 4.0 is anything above about an 80 and a 3.0 is anything above about a 70. It just shows how much harder it is to get high grades here. Hence, why I got a 68% on that one paper, but really, it was still a B- in the States.

Thursday was the last day of classes for me here at Swinburne. I realized how much I really love the structure of their classes here and I'll be sad to go back to the 3 days a week for an hour schedule. Plus, I've enjoyed having lectures and discussion time separated out, but I'll be going back to it being all lumped together...I'm sure that will be an adjustment to get used to, the same way it was an adjustment to get used to here. My last class on Thursday only ended up lasting about 25 minutes, so I came back here for a little bit and talked to Kristina before heading off to Taco Bills with the gang. It was a lot of fun to just go out to dinner and get off of campus for the night to celebrate the end of the semester. They have the biggest margaritas I've ever seen in my life! We split it among the 8 of us and we got a pineapple flavored one...my first margarita! Also, when you order one of their large margaritas you get a Taco Bill hat and the decision at the table was made that I should be the one to get to keep it! So, not sure how I'm going to get this huge thing back to the States, but I'll smush it into my suitcase somehow! After Taco Bills, we headed down to Camberwell and to Target! This was the first time I had been to Target here in Australia. It was quite different than the US. Not near the selection, no food section, and just not as quality products as in the US. But, I was able to find a nice pair of flats for the races on Saturday. I was going to wear heels, but when I wore heels on Monday (only for about 2 hours) my knee was killing me afterward. I knew I'd be standing all day on Saturday and heels would be a bad idea, so I found a nice pair of sandals. After Target, we headed over to Blockbuster and rented 28 Weeks Later. Except, as we were catching the train back to campus we realized that none of us were up for watching it, so it was kind of pointless. When I got back to campus that night, it was around 10 pm and time to get to work on my essay that was due by 5 pm on Friday afternoon!

Let's just say the essay writing did not go so well. I ended up getting it finished, got no sleep that night, and turned it in at 3:48 when I had to be at a meeting at 4 pm. I've never felt that rushed in my life except for last semester at the poster presentation for Psychology. Not a pleasant feeling. I'm not happy with the quality of the paper, but there's nothing I can do now but hope for the best!!! Then, I went to the Returning Home session where we had to fill out surveys about our experiences, we took a group quiz on how well we know Australia now that we've been here for 4 months, we talked about the best/worst things about Studying Abroad and the best/worst things about going home. It was nice to know that EVERYONE is feeling the same way...no matter what continent you're from...Europe, Asia, South America or North America. Then we talked a bit about what feelings to expect when we return home and how we will feel the curve of emotions again just like we felt when we arrived here....I guess it makes sense. I've made a whole new life for myself here...and while I can't wait to come home and see everyone I've missed so much, I know physical things will have changed, people will have changed, and I will miss Australia and my new friends here. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. I'm not ready to say goodbye to this set of people that I have become so close to and this lifestyle that I have become SO COMFORTABLE living out every day. I have never felt so comfortable in my own skin. But, the thought of seeing my friends and family again is the one driving force that has me moving toward coming home. Never wanted to be in 2 places at the same time in my life...

After the meeting, I came back to the apartment and went to get sushi with Ayako. She also taught me how to use chopsticks!!! YAY! Then, I fell asleep on the couch watching some TV and we heard a pounding at our door. It was Tom, Theresa, Tomiko and John coming to get me. They told me I was not allowed to sleep and that I had to come watch a movie at their place! (Did I mention I didn't sleep on Thursday night?!) So, I went over there and we watched the movie we rented. It was so disturbing and terrifying to think that something like that could happen- I don't know what'd I do!!! Then, when the movie was over, I told them I needed to come back to the apartment and hang out with Ayako a bit because Dacil went home again this weekend and I didn't want Ayako to spend Friday night alone. I came back over and we watched two movies: In Good Company and Serving Sara. She has been watching seasons of Friends on her computer so seeing Matthew Perry in Serving Sara made her night. Then, as a surprise, when Berrak got off work, she came over to spend the night. As happy as I was to see her, I knew this meant night #2 of no sleep....but, I did end up getting about 4 hours last night.

Today, Saturday, I woke up at 7:15 and started to get ready for the big Derby Day!!! I put my dress on, dolled myself up and headed to the train station to catch the train down to the city. About 50 of us were meeting up at Southern Cross Station (another station in the city) to get our tickets and then hop on the train out to Flemington to the race track! So, we got our tickets, got on the train and arrived at Flemington. It was crazy how many people were out and it was only 9:30 am on a Saturday! We were all exhausted to say the least. We got there around 10ish and the "big race" wasn't until 3, but there were less important races all day leading up to that one. I put bets down on two different races and ended up winning a few dollars on each one...so, it wasn't a bad deal at all! I had a lot of fun, I'm so glad I wore flats and it was good to experience such a landmark event in Melbourne! It's one of those things that if you're here, you really should experience it, so I'm glad I did! It was so cloudy all day but only sprinkled for a few seconds so it was perfect! I was sad that I wasn't getting any sun, but come to find out, I did!!! I got a little sunburnt today...haha. They weren't kidding when they said that the Australian sun was intense! If it's going to be sunny and warm for the next few weeks, I better go invest in some sunscreen. Because if I got burnt on a semi-cold, cloudy day, I can only imagine what it's going to be like the next 3 weeks now that it's summer here.

Right now, it's 11 pm...I'm absolutely exhausted, but I don't want to go to bed because I'm afraid I'll wake up at like 8 am and have nothing to do. So, I downloaded some of the new Carrie Underwood songs (makes me think of you, Ash!) and decided to update this thing.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I have another essay due Monday evening at 6 pm so I'll be working on that one tomorrow. Then, of course, it's time for Australian Idol...only one of the best parts of the week! And other than that essay, this week is going to be time to get my study on! Now that classes are over, it's time to get down to business and start studying for these two finals I have coming up. It's a bit more daunting the way their finals work. I haven't had a test/quiz or anything in either one of these classes so I've never been tested over 12 weeks worth of material. Plus, it's only 90 minutes long and they say a lot of people don't get finished because they don't watch their time closely enough. I'm used to have a mid-term and so the exams at BU are usually only over half a semester's worth of information, plus, I'm used to being tested over it a few times before the final actually gets here....and I'm used to having 3 hours to get it done. So, I think I better study pretty hard...especially because they're both worth 30% of my final grade. Other than that, I plan to hit the beach a few days, get the last of the souvenirs, and spend time with people before we all go our separate ways...I think the first of us is leaving next week. A lot of people are off to travel after their finals are over, so once their finals are complete, they're outta here! So sad how quickly time has gone by, but oh how amazing it has been to have a dream come true.

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Photos

See You Soon
Postcard that I received from Dr. Beeny this past week! It's a bunch of my friends holding a sign that say "See You Soon". What can I say....I have the most amazing friends and a woman in Texas who cares about me....I truly am lucky.

Taco Bills
Me at Taco Bills with the margarita and my new sombrero!

Elvis
Elvis playing the trombone at the races.

Stef, Theresa and Me
Squinting very badly

The Fuzz
The first horse I bet on....The Fuzz! His jockey's name was Craig Williams...haha. That's the EXACT name of my friend Craig here in Australia...so of course, I had to bet on this horse! And I won!

Winner!
Me with my money that I won thanks to The Fuzz!

The Gates
The Gates of the Big Derby Race

Crazy Australian Sun
Sunburnt on a cloudy, rainy day