St. Pattys Weekend - ooops forgot to finish posting this one!

St. Pattys day here is as insane as it is at home! We just had a super rainy weekend so everyone was stuck inside. A little jealous looking at all the pictures of everyone drinking outside in the 80 degree weather. Thursday after a long day of classes (all 3 hours) we went and had some beers at the campus bar, or U-bar. There were lots of parties in the village area where I live so we just bounced around our area here. We introduced some aussies to the american drinking games. They think its the funniest thing that we drink out of red solo cups because they see it in all the american shows and movies. We just hung out again on Friday and watched A Bugs Life. Haven't seen that movie in ages - but a good throwback. Saturday was a fun day! Slow start because of the pouring rain but we went and ate a local place called Burgers and Pancakes. So good! We took the train into town, which was so entertaining with the "heaps" (they say it all the time here) of uni students going into the city wearing their green. Managed to make it to McDonalds twice in one night - which is a pretty typical american st. pattys day routine! We are planning on going to the aquarium this week! But here are some pictures over the last few weeks that we took with the underwater camera!

Party in the USA

Hey guys! Sorry I have been super busy lately. Lots of schoolwork actually.. Surprising I know. I am excited for this weekend because we get to go to Jervis Bay for my marine science class! Though we are doing a lot of fieldwork and research - it will still be lots of fun because it is a really nice area. Heres a picture of Jervis Bay that I googled :)

That's just one of the inlet beaches! I will take my underwater camera for sure. This past weekend was lots of fun. We decided to host a little party at our apartment - and I'm pretty sure the whole village area and their mothers attended. We had chalk set out so people could write on the walls (comes right off too!) which was very entertaining in the morning. Heres a picture of Julie, Max and I. We are all roommates and Julie attends MSU with me. Max is from Indiana and goes to Olivet College! 

The next day it was gorgeous out! So we all struggled out of bed and went to the beach! A friend of ours (who happens to be from Michigan as well) has some local roommates who drove us up to one of the most northern beaches in Sydney - called Whale Beach. We drove up to one of the lookouts and of course had to get a picture!

And meanwhile - we saw a proposal in the sky! So adorable! <3

Heres another picture of whale beach as well! 

Last night (tuesday night) we went into the city to a nice local bar with outside seating down in darling harbour! So prettty! They had a 10$ steak special. So worth it - especially in a place where the cheapest dining is generally a 20$ meal. Of course we hit up some late night happy hours and made a night of it. Always something to do on week nights in a big city. Welll not much more to say here. I am excited for our Jervis Bay trip and will be sure to take lots of pictures! I had to do a project on how the commonwealth (british/australian capital territory) owns part of Jervis bay as it has a naval base there as well. The weather has been quite rainy again, so we're crossing our fingers that it doesn't rain all weekend. I'll be sure to check in on sunday or early next week! 

Back 2 Skool

Hey guys! We all had a good weekend. This week was filled with themed parties. There was a back 2 school themed party wednesday at one of the local bars which is apparently one of the biggest parties. It was crazy for sure. Thursday there was a toga party at our university bar, but I was too worn out from wednesday.  We also chose friday to stay in, chill out, and save money. So I got some laundry done. First attempt since I've been here. Good thing the washers are expensive and the dryers barely work. I've had to buy more hangers to dry my clothes. Saturday we went to another local bar nearby where some of our neighbors work. A lot of the bars here are in hotels, I think it might have something to do with the licensing. But anyways, the free drinks were a plus. There were maybe 10 people there and of course the 5 of us were tearing up the dance floor. We met a rugby player who is I can't even tell you how tall. But he wears a size 17 shoe. No big deal. We are all taking it easy this week to gear up for the St. Pattys day weekend!! Kinda wishing I could be in Chicago to see the green river! 

Monday Funday

Yesterday was so much fun. Best monday I've had in a long time. Since not many of us have class on mondays, we decided to do some adventuring. We went to a wildlife park (really just like a zoo). It was so interesting. First of all the cliche koalas and kangaroos were there!

These were the coolest birds. They are attracted to color so of course my pink sunglasses, nail polish, hair ties etc were the greatest attraction to them. So much fun. Koalas remind me of old grumpy men, and they apparently sleep 20 hours a day. Must be nice, right mom? 

After the wildlife area we decided to go to a local bar for these crab races that we had heard of. Racing hermit crabs doesn't really seem like an exciting night, but after the bets are in - people go crazy. This bar gets more packed for these crab races then on thursday or friday nights. All you do is bet one dollar on a crab and everyone stands around cheering them on. As Joey bogard put it "its like the daytona 500 here".  I named my crab "Detroit Rock City" and placed 2nd. I won a hat, but first place can win cool getaways like canoe trips and things like that. You can now predict my monday nights when you watch this video. Not to mention they have "jugs" (pitchers) for only $7.50! what a steal eh?  Might work out better than their cases of beer that sell for 45$ a piece. 

Mona Vale

Today we went to a smaller local beach called Mona Vale. When I say small, I mean there are only three beaches that connect to it. It is a non-touristy area and we found out about it because it is the easiest to get to, and one of the locals loves it here. There is this huge rock face and we took a trail up to the top. It was amazing views, yet scary for someone who is quite clumsy like myself. The views were amazing, and of course the boys had to go adventuring into a few caves and whatnot. We were excited to get to the beach because it has been raining for the last five days. I wanted to go to Mardi Graas on saturday night but when it comes down to it, we just stayed out way too late friday night. The Mardi Gras fest is one of the biggest events here in Sydney but the rainy day kept me away unfortunately. I will catch up on the last three weeks but thought this would do for now. This was the greatest beach I've been to, and it feels like a hidden gem because it is not one of the popular crowded beaches by any means.

Hello!

Hey guys! I decided to start this blog because it is much easier for everyone to keep up on my pictures, videos and day to day activities! We have been here for just about three weeks now and it seems like we have been here for a few months already. Everyone here is so great and we are loving everything around us!