Last Night in Melbourne.

Its kind of like the feeling you have when your about to wake up from an amazing dream-your telling your mind and body "fuck ! no,don't wake up yet;I don't want this to be over".The "Im about to wake" feeling started when the goodbyes did.Thank you Australia-but more importantly-thank you to all the wonderful people I met.I wish I had the words to explain the wonderful ways in which you all have impacted me. I love you all.I will miss you all; best of all, I will see you soon.Next stop: Fiji and then into the arms of loved ones I have missed at home.

Thanksgiving Down Under

Who said you needed to be in America to celebrate Thanksgiving ? I mean, there wasn't any turkey involved but there was enough laughs and love going around and I don't know about you but I'd take that over any Turkey.

A Few Gobbles.A Few Laughs.

Message sent via Facebook to people attending Thanksgiving event ::


"Enjoy your last few days because you will miss it more than you think"

A friend of mine told me this a few days ago. And the words have been stuck in my head ever since.
I know many are bitter about missing Thanksgiving dinner with their family- missing moms turkey, dad's awkward jokes, the moments when you glance at your siblings and think to yourself 'Geeze, how did we grow up so fast- where did the time go?'. I know how special that is, and understand the feeling at the pit of your stomach when you realize you will miss those moments this year- maybe its the first time ever- that you have missed such a family affair. I am sorry for this and hope that the smiles on the faces of the friends you have made here have made things much much easier. The smiles of your family are far off but it won't be long before you can feel the warmth of them again. You are here, you are here in the now, in Australia and there is so much surrounding you to be thankful for. There will be heaps of thanksgivings to come and there have been heaps to reminisce on of which you tasted the love your family put into their food. But there will be only one, just this one, where you will be in Australia, at the village, surrounded by people from all over, and be able to laugh about getting busted for jumping in the pool at 3am; at the fact that Mondays will never be the same with out the smell of Turf at night; that hopping on a friends balcony is so much better than giving them a ring; at the overwhelming feeling we felt when first at the QVM- all I wanted was an apple !!; that the sight of Moe at night brings so much joy because Adrian is such a dueche- who needs to find a cliff to jump off of, like today. It will be only once that you can do this. So I ask, no I beg, that you don't be down. Because the family you have gained here will surely give you a Thanksgiving to remember for years and years to come. I know this. And for this, I am over the moon just for being here. And so excited for tonight. I hope you are too. Remember, we all have to enjoy these last few days as much as possible because we will miss all this more than we think.
::I am thankful for the memories and friends I have made here/ for this entire experience:: Thank You
Happy Thanksgiving my friends.

Love,
Alta
P.S WYLIN' !!
P.P.S Thanksgiving will begin tonight at 7pm in the glasshouse. Bring a good spirit, a warm heart and a dish would be nice. Actually the dish is pretty important.
See you tonight !

Marble Losing During Finals Week.

I LOVE ENERGY DRINKS.



There have been plenty of times where I thought I was losing it. But this time I mean it more than ever. I have been in the study room since Sunday...I wish I were kidding. I have not left the Village since ... I ...honestly .... don't remember. O wow. I didn't even realize it was that bad. Anyway, I have two more left. Two finals left. My first was last Monday - Cognitive Psychology (which I think went okay). Well, technically my first was nearly a month ago- the African Drumming & Dancing Performance which also went well- Was heaps of fun. But tomorrow is the Australian Indigenous Studies final (oh damn-- "racism, whiteness and self-determination") and Tuesday is the Abnormal Psychology final (great, lets study all about people who have lost their marbles while I am slowly losing mine) and Wednesday of course is nothing other than CELEBRATION DAY. I must admit I am stressing, stressing hard- which of course has lead me to stress about everything else. But I find comfort in knowing I will get it together - like I always do.

This is not my performance, but its a performance. It was a good one.



Some of our friends came to support (Erika, Kelsey, Isaac, and Deep). So sweet of them. Not only did they wake up extremely early for it, they dressed up too. Well, the boys did... my ladies looked kind of like they were still asleep... but still as beautiful as ever.



And some study room fun of course.





P.S There is a new study room at the village. It is legit. Much, much better than the last. Except there is not fire place- I miss the fireplace. But there is better lighting, better furniture, bright colors, and beanbags- I mean beanbags... come one, definitely a win.

SWEET TOOTH. (I'm a little late on this one)

Your walking down the streets of Australia and find yourself craving a fruity, juicy treat. You walk into 7-11. Oh hey !, a solution - Starburts. I mean, you could get the regular hard candy treats. But why get boring geometrically shaped bursts of juicy flavor when you can have them not only chewy but in the shape of happy, smiley, babies. Strange? Fact. I still don't get it and still am not sure how I feel about them.



And Chico's??!! I really don't know what to say about this. Seriously, can someone please explain to me what this is supposed to be. I am not impressed.



MMMMM. Something I will miss- Tim Tams. Good thing I have Kelsey Smith to mail me heaps of Tim Tams from down under. Right, Kels? Of course.
Tim Tams are chocolate coated biscuit layers separated by a thin layer of chocolate cream. They are best when eaten as a Tim Tam slam. Coffee is necessary for the Tim Tam slam. Take a TT and bite opposite corners. Then dip it in your coffee and use the TT as a straw. All the chocolatey creamy goodness mixes with the coffee and provides nothing but happiness and joy.



Lamingtons are also pretty popular here. At least that is what I was told- I mean I'm not to crazy about them but they're not bad. Lamingtons are chocolate covered sponge cakes sprinkled with coconut shavings. Just a little too dry for me.



Im thinking .... I'm hungry.

The End is also the Beginning.

When I first arrived to Melbourne. I was a mess. I was lost. I was broken in ways I thought were impossible. An unfortunate event created what turned out to be the worst time of my life. Since then I have met some of the most amazing people ever. And a group effort put me back together again. No longer am I lost. No longer am I broken. I am whole and better than ever. I also came out of the storm believing I was unable to ever feel attached to anyone or anything at least not for a while. And as always I was wrong. The emotion bug snuck up on me and bit me hard. It has been some time since I have been as sad as I am right now. But at least this time its for good reasons. This morning two of the people I have gotten extremely close to left for home- Isaac and Deep- Better known as Mr. Sass and Gupta. If there is anything I can regret on this trip its not meeting these two earlier. For the last two months or so I have seen their faces everyday multiple times a day and it has brought nothing but joy. Together they are a dream team. But the two of them as individuals bring so much to the table as well. The next few weeks truly will not be the same without them. No more Sunday television sessions with Isaac-Junior Master chef just won't be the same without his commentary. No more Deep making random 7-11 runs for Boo-Berry slurpies,
But its more than that. They are the first of the ones that I hold dearly to go. And it made me realize that I am going to have to do this good- bye thing a few more times. Its the beginning of the end of something amazing. I was told going abroad would be life changing. Going to Australia will be breath taking- the great weather, water, and sights. But its not the sun, or the beaches, or the exotic animals that I am going to miss or that I feel attached to. Its the connections I have made while being here. We all came here wanting the same thing - this thing called the abroad experience. The excitement. The unforgettable memories. The nights we ask our selves why did I have that extra shot. The sessions in the study room that were more laughs than they were studying. And wanting the same thing has lead us to give each other exactly what we were looking for. Now that its coming to a closing I realized how much this experience has transformed me. It was here that I learned a heart break can heal with time and the help of good laughs from those you grow to love. That the ability to love again is always possible. That you don't need to know your friends your whole life to feel the comfort that comes from knowing someone your whole life. And that exchanging "I miss yous", updates, and skype sessions with friends back home is just enough to feel the love equivalent of that found in the 'perfect families' of corny television shows. In just a few months I have learned things that I will take with me forever. Like that Erika asks a lot of questions about you when she is down, that Kelsey screams BAHAH when she has had too many drinks, that Julia puts on head phones to calm herself, that Drew studies best with a glass of Jack&Coke; Ashok- Gin&Tonic, that Liss will never get through a night without mentioning something about hoops, Liz will always go in and out of being a real person, Amber is still afraid of the dark, Sean is Google, Jon will always be casual when talking about punching people in the face, Isaac rather shrug his shoulders than give solid answers, and Deep likes his slurpies with all flavors mixed. And I consider these some of the most important things I have learned while abroad.
It is the beginning of the end of something amazing. But it is also the start of something even better. We all have homes and hearts spread throughout the USA and overseas. Though it hurts to say bye here its exciting to know that we will once again say hi there, there, over there, and there. As Julia Pan says its not good- bye, its I'll see you later.

P.S Did I mention I still have 3 finals and won't be free till the 23rd. ARG !

Last Night- Isaac and Deep's farewell.