Kangaroos, Koalas, and Mentally Disturbed Wombats

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I am a terrible, terrible blogger. Full apologies. Warning: I have seven minutes before this computer charges me another dollar, so that's all the time I'm going to spend writing this blog.

Anyway... where did I last leave you? I believe it was prior to our series of epic failures throughout Indonesia. Prior to our 36 hour bus/ferry journey from hell, with multiple Indonesian vomiters, more screaming babies than I have ever experienced at once, stink bugs, and no sleep whatsoever. Prior to booking flights to Australia to visit friends we met in Bali. Prior to meeting an awesome group of people that we named "The Community." Also prior to deciding to say "Screw it" to Kuala Lumpur and checking out the east coast of Australia instead. ...And I believe that brings us up to date.

We stayed in Perth for two weeks at our friend's house, which was an amazing reprieve from all of the crappy hostels and the lack of air-con (which was not needed considering it was FREEZING when we first arrived!). It was SUCH a good time. The first day we got there was on a Monday, but it happened to be some sort of public holiday, so everyone had work off. We spent the day drinking wine and eating cheese with a bunch of Chris's friends at King's Park, overlooking the city. ...Definitely a big change from scoop toilets and cup-a-noodle. Chris's dad took us to the beach a couple of times, we had some amazing meals, and had a little toooo much fun at this massive annual wine event. (One of Chris's friends organizes the whole thing and this year 1800 people attended! Crazy!) We went to the zoo and got attacked by a wombat. Seriously. As in, it really attempted to jump out of it's cage to hurt us. We also saw kangaroos and I was reminded why koalas were my favorite animal growing up - they're even cuter in real life! We spent a couple of nights down south in Dunsborough, which is renowed both for the surrounding wineries as well as some of the best beaches (for both beauty and surfing) in the world! (Any surfers ever heard of Margaret's River? World wide surfing competitions are held there every year!) It was a fantastic time. The day before we left, someone I know also booked a flight to the States to meet Christina's family for the Christmas holidays, so anyone in the California/Phoenix area should get ready to meet a very important Australian in the next few months!! =)

We're now in Melbourne. The weather is finally getting a bit nicer (it was raining non-stop the first few days we got here) but it really doesn't matter - the city is SO amazing in it's own right that the weather is just a side note. We've spent a lot of time on the free trams that run around the city, checking out the harbour, the parks, the nightlife, and the free museums. There is a ton of culture here in the form of live music, art galleries, and huge art/film festivals throughout the year. It's been an absolutely amazing time and I'm definitely considering Melbourne as a potential place to call home soon. (Oh yeah, by the way... I'm moving to Australia after Christmas. Oh yeah, and I'm coming home for Christmas. And I'll be in Phoenix for New Year's. ...Just a side note!)

We're heading to Sydney tomorrow and staying with some friends from Ireland who are here on a working holiday visa (part of "The Community" from Bali!) Hopefully it will be warmer there, so we don't have to continue to wear Chris's clothes. (Yes, Chris is a man. Yes, that means we're wearing men's clothing. Christina is, at this exact moment, wearing both his jeans and his sweater. Oh, and his long underwear. We look really awesome.) We're heading for India on November 2nd.. we haven't bought tickets home yet, but we're thinking about the beginning of December. We were hoping to stay in India longer but Christina needs to get home to sort out her life prior to Chris's arrival and I want to spend some time with the family before heading to Phoenix! Anyway.. the stupid thing charged me another dollar but I don't have much more to say. Worst. Blogger. Ever. The bus/ferry story is absolutely hilarious but too much to write at the moment, so ask me to tell you about it when I get home. I think there's even a picture!

Hope all is well back in the States (or in Ireland or England or wherever you may be)! Love you guys!

(I love you all! Love, Christina)
byebye!

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