Assimilation

Phew it's been a while, mates!  I hope this post finds you all going really well and that you had a beautiful Chrissy with your family and friends :)

Well, I'm not sure where to start.  I guess I'll just recap the rest of the year since I left you in August.

• The trip home was wonderful!  Got to catch up with all my besties.  Mom's wedding went off with out a hitch...except her hitch to Mike (haha).  And Mallory's wedding was the same.  Wow, what an amazing trip!  I can't believe it has been so long since I have been back already.  Missing green chile, and all my friends and family heaps like always!!
• Got to travel to Freo, Western Australia, where I presented at the Australian Conference for Science and Medicine in Sport.  It was my first presentation at a conference ever and Dr. Robergs said I did really good.  We also had a ton of fun while there!  Got to go to Rottnest Island where we did some snorkeling and rode bikes all around!  What an amazing time!  Glad we got out of there when we did - an American was eaten by a shark 2 days after we left in a bay just around from where we were at most of the day...yikes!  This was such a good trip all together, I got to see the Indian Ocean and further my experience in my field - couldn't have asked for a better time!
• The couple months following this trip were filled with writing my thesis, working when called in and getting to know my new flatmates.  Everyone I moved in with upon returning from the states is awesome.  Seriously awesome.  We do trivia every Tuesday night.  They love drinking Shiraz wine, which I love also.  We do themed dinners - I have made mexican food several times which they all enjoy.  We've also indulged in homemade sushi, laksa, salt and pepper squid, apricot chicken, you name it.  Thanksgiving was fun for everyone as I introduced them to the extremely filling feast!  By the end of the night they were complaining for have food babies.  Mission Accomplished :)  Altogether, all 4 of them are just really awesome flatmates and we get along so well, I couldn't imagine being in a better place.  They have made my return to Aus that much easier and better.  Unfortunately, 2 of them will be leaving us soon, but I am sure we'll be able to find another one to come in and fill the spot just fine :)
• The past couple months have also been full of fun times with Amy and Tegan - the two girls I couldn't live without down here!  We all took a trip to Canberra to go to the ForeShore Music Festival with Tegans 2 brothers - this weekend was awesome!  The weekend before we did an 8k run in a small town just 30 minutes from Bathurst - the Church Hill Climb was the name - damn that hill was a tough one but we made it, without stopping once!  We'll keep searching for more runs in the new year to keep us training for something :)  Tegan and I finished our Theses and turned them in, an also received offers for scholarships for the PhD program next year!  Tegan received the Australian Post Graduate Award.  Being an international student, I wasn't eligible for this, so instead had to apply for the CSU International Scholarship - I took the offer with conditions that I receive a First Class mark on my honours thesis - fingers crossed please!!  I should find out in the next month so we'll see.  
• Sister and Marty were here just a few weeks ago!  Had heaps of fun with them.  Picked them up from Lithgow and brought them to my home in B-town.  Showed them all around, and took them to the Church Bar to eat delicious croc pizza.  Then went and spent 4 days in Syd where we got private surf lessons at Manly Beach and did all sorts of touristy things!  Ahh it was amazing!!  So lucky to get to see them on Christmas Eve before they flew back to America after their awesome 2 week tour around New Zealand!!  So sad that they have come and gone already though!!
• Just before Chrissy, Amy finished up her 3rd study for her PhD.  The final three days were full of muscle biopsies and blood analyses that we helped her with in the lab.  3 days of super early (4:30am) starts and exhaustion but we got it done with no major dramas!  (Aside from the 5ml of blood I splattered all over the floor at one point...).  Otherwise, things were good and two days later Amy and I found our selves driving to Sydney for a week long of holiday-ing which we have yet to finish.  Right now we are on a day break back in Bathurst, and then will head back towards Sydney for the new year soon!  Anyways, details of the holidays will have to be in another post as this one is getting quite lengthy...

If there is one thing left to say, it is that things are back to going great.  I feel so good about everything yet to come and can't wait to get my mark back for my thesis that confirms my entry to the PhD program.  I said to mum the other day that if for some reason I don't get into the PhD program, I don't know what I am going to do...I sure am not ready to assimilate back into American culture.  Looks like I'll have to find a nice Aussie bloke to get hitched too :)  haha well until I get a chance to tell you alll about Chrissy on the Beach and my travels all around NSW..from Bathurst to Sydney to Picton to Gymea back to Sydney to Newcastle back to Sydney, out to the Farm (Forbes), back to B-town, tomorrow out to Mudgee, and then back to Sydney), I hope you stay well and have a beautiful New Years!  Heaps of love to you all! xx

When I Grow Up I want to be...

**
bril·liant

   /ˈbrɪlyənt/ Show Spelled[bril-yuhnt] Show IPA

adjective

1.

shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous: the brilliant lights of the city.

2.

distinguished; illustrious: a brilliant performance by a young pianist.

3.

having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc.: a brilliant technician.

4.

strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright: brilliant blues and greens; the brilliant sound of the trumpets.

5. splendid or magnificent: a brilliant social event

...because, why should I sell myself short??

**

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Go get your PhD.  Yep, I guess sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you realize...no, everything will be okay.  Couldn't have had a better take home message this week.  Look, not to say that I'm100% confident that I can do this for 3 more years like I talked about in my last post, especially without all of my support systems...but hey, who's to say I won't develop that support here (a common theme that I heard over and over in the last few weeks)

I was talking to a really good friend last week and he listened and kept telling me ideas and things that made perfect sense about how to make things better out here...but if you know me at all, you know I'm too stubborn at times to admit that you are right even though I know you probably are.  Anyways, while talking to him, my true taurus signs came out and I'm sure he was about fed up with everything I came back at him with despite knowing that deep down what he was saying to me was exactly what I needed to hear.  After a good couple hours of arguing over how miserable I was in this situation, this was finally my response to him: "i know i'm being impossible right now. lol you are right about everything its just hard for me to agree when i feel so shitty but i do know that everything you are saying is true :) so thank you"  That goes to all of you out there who have offered me some kind of thoughts/help/rationalization/encouragement in my crazy moments.

My point is, sometimes we just have to be impossible to realize that hey - deep down, I know I'm being irrational, it can't be that bad, and in really, if you're impossible, nothing is possible (right?) but if you're possible, then what's stopping you??

I knew all along - you might think i'm lying - but I really did know that something would happen - whatever that may be - to keep me here in the long term.  This week was the start of something good.  The start of millions of ideas that make me excited about being the serious science nerd I am.  The start of millions of avenues that I have yet to explore and really good things that I have yet to accomplish.  Without giving too much away, I'll let you know that I had an epiphany today.  Actually, I had two.  I don't know anyone who has ever had two epiphanies in one single day - if you have, and if they are as profound (subjectively speaking) as my epiphanies, you are a lucky person.  But because of this, I now have an idea for my future.  I'm not lost in space wandering what the hell I am doing here, thinking how do I do what I really want to do. 

One day, I'll explain to you my ideas for my PhD.  Call me egotistical, but these are ideas that I don't necessarily like sharing (especially over the internet) because I want to be the first to do it.  Science (especially exercise science) is a race...no pun intended..haha...but really, it's a race to develop the new theories, a race to develop new techniques, to pinpoint the best training methods, the most appropriate ways to determine fatigue to prevent injury, the race to figure out which biochemical intermediaries signal which pathways and the implications for disease, a race to determine whether or not we as humans have a physiological limit whether it be goverened by a little 'mini me' in our brains or our peripheral feedback due to a change in homeostasis in everthing that works together to make up our physiology (superficially speaking as it's been a long week and my brain is quite 'fatigued')....anyways, it's a race to be the best. 

Anyways, if you so desire, one day we can have a lovely conversation about what my ideas are for my future, for the future of exercise science, for the future of defining the word fatigue and the mechanisms which lead to fatigue (specifically speaking about task fatigue in which you can no longer perform a given task due to decrease in neuromuscular drive or function).  You simply have to ask.  Because if you don't, I'm going to assume that you don't really give a shit. And if you do, I'm going to assume that you are going to stop listening to me after I say well, its about intense exercise and the metabolism ocurring in the muscle and new ways to measure it bla bla bla...because really, who cares?  Haha, but act interested and I'll talk to you about it for hours :) 

Well, to be the best:  sounds like an overwhelming task to me that in itself is making me fatigued to think about, however, let me just say that I am refreshed.  I am happy.  I need to remember these opportunities that are being presented to me (not that I ever discounted them in the first place) but I need to keep that big picture in mind in order to do what I really really do want to do.  So soon I'll be heading home for a visit that will be short lived, and will likely make me want to stay there forever, but now I can honestly say I don't want to, because I know I have been handed an amazing thing here and I intend to continue on with it.  Phew, what a lovely feeling, I never didn't want to, I just wanted to know and feel that I would be okay doing it, and finally I do.

Finally, to sum all this up, just now, I read a post by another good buddy that said:

"When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open." 

I don't know who said this, but I think he was talking about my life directly...even if it was said many years ago, haha. Big Loves xx

I wish there was an easy solution...

to decipher when exactly it's time to throw in the towel and head home. For good.  So many emotions and thoughts running through my head at the moment..can I stick it out for 3 more years?  Do I listen to my brain? or listen to my heart?  Whats the pros and cons on both sides of the coin?  Can someone toss that coin for me and make this, the hardest decision I've come to in my life, for me?  Why was it so easy to pack up and move 10,000 miles away in the first place, if it was going to be so hard to live 10,000 miles away in the end?  

There are many answers/theories/observations I have had, but the one that I keep coming back to is simply:  If it's this hard feeling so alone and so far away for one year doing this honours program, what's it going to be like trying to get through 3 more years without my life, my support system, my networks, my friends, and most importantly my family.  The PhD program is all about focus and perserverence, neither of which I feel I have over here.  I thought that moving out here would be a way for me to blossom, to find who I really am.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I have never been so lost in my life....

^ I miss this girl ^

  



^ And This (Super Happy) Girl ^



And all of these girls...





And all the fun I have with these girls...

I miss my crew...



...And i miss this girl

..and times like these.



...and these



and this..



and nights like this..

and even though she's far away anyway...i miss this girl ...

of course, there's no doubt I miss this girl too..



Even more important, I miss these girls...



and this girl...



and believe it or not, I even miss this guy... :)



And it goes with out saying I miss all of them too...

There ya go.  And this is only a fraction of the things that have me dying to be back home...(if you don't have a picture in here, trust me i had a million others to put up, but my computers taking too long...) but how and when do I know that that's actually what I'm supposed to do?  How do I have faith that things will work out the way they are supposed to when they haven't so far?  I need some support, some stability and some laughter and fun because I'm learning quickly that I can't survive without all of this.  It has been the key to my success thus far, and without it, I'm pretty sure that I'll soon be a failure.  If any one's got some easy answers out there...I'm wide open to thoughts and opinions but to be honest, at this point I think I know where my heart is....and unfortunately, it's certainly not here  :(

Is there a chance that might change?  Of course.  It could change in an instant...but I've been waiting several months for something that just says to me..you are so dumb if you leave.  How much longer do I play this waiting game?

 My mom, at the very beginning of this adventure said to me that she knew I'd be okay out here.  As long as I was able to network and find myself a group of people like I have back home.  But the truth is, there is no one like them, no one that compares or comes close to understanding me like them and that's what I miss the most.  I guess mom always knows best...



I should certainly add...thank god for...

...this girl

and times like this...

...experiences like this



and places like this...





..and this girl.  i surely don't know what i'd do without her...



Clearly, the past 8 months has not been a waste of my time.  It's hands down been the best experience I have had, and I have learned so much about myself, about life, about different culture and opening my eyes to the world...  So is it really time to give all of this up?  That's the million dollar question.  Yesterday and today I say yes.  Tomorrow I might find the strength and determination to say maybe not.  But maybe not is not a definite no, so then, is the answer the former of the two?  You. Tell. Me.

Mudgee Wine Tour: Delightful, Delicious and...Nutritious?

Mudgee...population: 9,000.  Number of major roads: 2 (from what I saw).  Chance of falling off a cliff while driving there:  Fairly high; especially in rainy weather.  Wineries around:  Upwards of..I'd say about...30..talk about Wine-o heaven.  Amount of fun to be had in town:  A whole lot if you are with Tegan, Amy, Kaycie, Ellie and Yours Truely!




 Saturday we decided to take a trip up to Mudgee (just north of Bathurst) and stay with Tegan's family for the night.  We had previously planned to do our own tour and ride tandem bikes from one winery to the next as there are several in fair proximity to each other.  However, upon waking up to pouring rain and heavy cloud coverage outside in Bathurst that morning, we thought plan B will be taking the tour bus instead!  Couldn't possibly be as much fun as 5 wine happy (drunk) girls attempting to get along on tandem bikes, but it would suffice!  Looking back, we would have been absolutely miserable had we rode bikes despite the weather.  Good thing there were exactly 5 seats left on the only bus tour of the day.



Back Seat Bandits



Driving to Mudgee was an experience.  The rain continued to come down light and that didn't help the dodgey conditions of the road itself.  Regardless, it was beautiful.  A bit dry and somewhat brown, with some random bright green patches - and a small lot of Christmas Trees ... okay, they were just pine trees, but it was the first set of pine trees I've seen since I have been here!  Along the way we came upon an accident.  A car somehow didn't follow the curve of the downhill portion of the road and ended up off the cliff, only saved, thank god, by a lone tree.  When we passed the police were there and the people were standing on the side of the road, giving us the impression that everyone survived.  At that point we told Tegan our lives' were in her hands so she'd better drive safe :) 

Tour Bus!

When we arrived, we weren't sure we would even catch a bus, but we lucked out and had to meet the bus at the end of the drive way right away.  Talk about service, they picked us up and dropped us off right at the house (actually we had to drive to the end of the road on the pick up because she couldn't find it).  We were 1 of 3 groups of people on the bus, and we claimed the back, proclaiming ourselves the "Backseat Bandits".  Yes, be jealous...everyone else on the bus was!  It was quite cozy to say the least, especially after the first 2 wineries!



Inside Peter van Gent



Bunamagoo was our first stop.  It was very modern looking and nice inside.  Nothing too special, but quite good for the first stop.  The lady liked us because she could tell we were amateurs.  Next on the list was Peter van Gent.  This was a gorgeous place.  Aside from the views outside alone, when you walk up to the winery, there were two huge brown doors to open.  When you did, you walked into a large room just filled with humongous casks that line the walkway all the way down to the bar.  Talk about a cool atmosphere, it was beautiful!  We all loved the wine here as it seemed be be a bit sweeter.  As amateurs I'd reckon our palates aren't acquired to the more sophisticated wines quite yet. 

They had several I was keen on including an Angelic White (The style of wine Michael Angelo and Cupid drink together. Bouquet: Citrus ands paw paw characteristics; Palate: Luscious with a crisp fresh finish. Food: Peaches and cream, cheese and dried fruit, raspberry and blueberry tartlets) that was quite tastey, as well as a White Port (Smooth and luscious with nectarous overtones).  The Liquer Muscat was probably my favorite, it was very lovely, made from "Black Muscat grapes grown by some of Mudgee's more colourful characters, this Muscat is very rich, raisiny and deliciously sweet. A great after dinner drink that has been known to find its way into many a dish of ice cream."  If you know me at all, you could assume the reason I liked it was because it is paired well with ice cream. You are probably right!

Frog Rock Winery

Moving along, we went to another one which I can't, for the life of me, remember the name..perhaps I was a few too many drinks in to even recall at this point.  This one was very small and set up like a vintage home from the early 1900's with the vineyards all around.  We took a few tastes of the wine and then decided the vineyards and camera were calling for us to go do photo shoots :)  When the group was ready, we moved along to Frog Rocks.  The room here was set up much more contemporary and even had some bread and loads of different dips and dressings to taste which got the better part of our attention.  After having a few tastes of wines that were good (I should have been taking notes of what they were), we again wen't out and frolicked (love saying that word) on the grass and took pictures among the human size chess board and trees surrounding the winery.  Aboard the bus again, we got lucky and got to stop at one more winery that was not on the list, di Lusso Winery.  This was was no doubt Italian, and was slightly more sophisticated than the others...I'd say it was for those with a much more developed palate, but not to say I didn't like some of them I tried.  They also had some carmelized figs out for tasting and those were quite delicious!

All in all, it was a lovely day out with some great company touring just a few of the wineries in Mudgee.  To top it off, we ate a the local brewery in town and met a couple of guys the girl's knew from school.  You'll never believe that these boys had New Mexicans working with them!  What are the chances of that?!  A small town of 9,000 people, in the middle of Central New South Wales, in Australia, and I run into people who are working with 4 other people from Albuquerque?!  I suggested they invite them out with us so I could be among some fellow foreigners, but they were all having a barbie and the boys didn't know their numbers.  Oh well, just the thought of what a small world it is makes me smile. 

Other things that made me smile this weekend...I found out I am a vegan (according to Tegan)..but no, I really am not.  She just likes to tell her mum silly lies.  The first thing Kaycie and Ellie said when they found out I am from Albuquerque was, "Oh!  I know where that is. High School Musical was filmed there!"  (In fact it was filmed in Utah, but I wen't along with it because the movie does say Abq).  Dutch pancakes (they are like small pancake balls but flat on one side).  Spending quality time with some awesome girl friends...I haven't had that since I left all my ladies back home!  
 

Exercise Science Girls - Me, Amy and Tegan



I'll leave you now with a few things in the making:  1.  Uni starts again this week which means I have to get going on some school work.  2.  I am going to get a job this week.  3.  I am heading up to Forbes with Amy for Easter, so I'll be filling you in on farm life out in Oz next time (Camel races here I come!..I haven't asked Amy if we can go yet, but I saw a commercial that they are happening in Forbes this friday! Haha, She's going to think I'm crazy..).

Hope you have a beautiful and Happy Easter with your families.  I sure wish I could be with mine!  Much love!  xo

Settling Down to a "Normal" Life

Again, I'm getting pretty bad at this blogging thing - Life is getting normal.  I'm starting to settle down here in Bathurst and it's..well...you know, it's everyday life that you probably don't want to read about.  I could tell you that every morning I have been waking up between 5 and 6:30 without an alarm...what the heck?  It's drivin me nuts, I can't even sleep in when I can. And when I can't I'm sure that's all I will want to do.  Why does it work that way?!  I then make a delightful cappuccino and have it with some amazing raspberry jam and toast.  Then I go for a good run (actually usually I run before the cappuccino, jam and toast ritual), come home, watch some of the Today show, which, just so you know is probably my favorite show out here.  I think I have my first real 'celebrity' crush.  One of the guys is sooo cute!  I'll try and find a pic to post :)...anyway depending on the day, there is not much to do after that except read and write and my personal favorite, day dream about the 1 bedroom apartment I want to move into with the puppy I want to get which then encourages me to continue my massive job hunt - and by massive, I mean, this job hunt is so big you couldn't beat it with an amber alert.  Or, if it is Wednesday, I go to school.  Except not this week..or last week, because we are on 'holidays' (break).  And yes, we have only been in school for 1 month.  As my dad said, you could go to Australia and major in taking a break!!  haha, true story.  Let's think about this...literally we have been in school for 1 month and we have a 2 week holiday...how does that even make sense?  Granted, in the Honours program that I am in, we technically don't have holidays because we are just consitantly working on our research studies (or should be anyway), but still..America should seriously consider these holiday schedules...just saying.

Tonight we went to dinner at Church Bar Woodfire Pizza.  Talk about delicious!  There was a large group of us from the Honours/PhD program and we all shared a variety of pizzas - duck, chicken, cherry tomato, salami, spinach, thai, cashews, feta, sweet sauce, you name it - the list goes on.  Combine it all together and all we were missing was the crocodile and kangaroo pizzas (honestly - I really wanted to get one of them, but they all said that we needed to try croc and kangaroo not on a pizza).  We did get to engage in lots of fun conversation topics ranging from our plans for the wine tour we are going on this weekend in Mudgee (we are riding tandem bikes all around the town to the different wineries all day on Saturday!!!), to why Australians call different groups of people funny names - for instance, we Americans are termed the Yanks, British are Pommies or Poms, New Zealanders are Kiwis...the list goes on I am sure.  We especially got to the nitty gritty in our convo about eating strange things such as:  snails, worms, play-do, some kind of chemically induced medicince you put on mozzi bites, dog biscuits, etc...regardless, It was a lot of fun to get to know everyone in our program even better :)

Well if you have been reading my FB posts lately, you would know that my beautiful beach weather and summertime sun has gone away.  The temperature dropped sooo quickly in the last week.  It was 9 degrees yesterday!  I know..cold right?!  Now figure that out in farenheit and you'll think I'm a big baby.  But, let me tell you my rational.  I left the coldest winter we have had in the Burque in a really long time, to come to AUSTRALIA.  I dunno about you, but when I think Australia, I think beach, tanning, gorgeous surfer guys and just plain old bliss.  Bathurst has been quite the contrary this week.  And really, 49 degrees (yes, thats right 49 degrees F) is technically not that cold but here is where the shitty part comes in.  I won't have a summer until next year sometime!  If I finish out the program in October, it is only barely starting to warm up at that point and then I'll probably be going back to winter in the states for a month and a half which means I will miss peak summer season here in Oz!  Oh geez, all forces are working against me on this one.  I'm screwed.  In the meantime I'll continue bundling up.  Although, we finally began to turn the heater on which means that instead of doubling up on every piece of clothing I am wearing I am only doubling up on socks and sweaters which just about does the trick!

What else what else?  Are you bored yet?  Well here is some exciting news.  My beautiful momma is getting married to her wonderful boyfriend (cough cough..and by wonderful I mean weird).  Ha ha just kidding, Mike!  I am very excited for them.  Especially because I am attempting to convince them to have their wedding this summer in the states so I can get out of winter for a short time!  Not that I'm back tracking to that tangent...I'm just sayin..hint hint, nudge nudge to momma if you're reading this!  And to Mike, in all seriousness, it is wonderful to see my mom happy.  And if that means waking up to your lucious head of insanely crazy bed head hair when I come home to visit, hey..more power to ya, and welcome to the family!

Lastly, I'll be putting in my research project to the Ethics Committee for review tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed that everything gets passed this first time around!  Also, I submitted my abstract to ACSMS (Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport) so hopefully it will get accepted and I'll be heading out to Perth towards the end of October to present on the research study I have been helping my professor with since last year!  I won't know until late May about that though. 

Righto well its time to jet.  While you early birds are gettin your day started in ABQ, I'm just gettin ready to hit the hay :)  Hope you all have a fabulous day!  Cheers! xo

Catchin a Break

Hey there!  How ya goin?  Finally I am up writing again. It's been a while.  The last few weeks have been filled with things here and there that are keeping me busy!  I'm certainly not complaining though.  I'm still on the hunt for a job, gosh it's exhausting searching for jobs like this. I'm far from over it.  I know someone who needs a an assistant coach for Rugby.  What do you think??  It's with 7 year olds. Couldn't be that difficult, right??  I can catch and throw a ball on some days anyway, haha.  I'm hoping one of the cafe's or coffee shops I applied to calls back.  I hope anyone calls back, dang it.

Last weekend we took a trip out to Willongong.  It is a coastal town just south of Syndey and it was so beautiful.  The day was actually really over cast and cloudy, it was even raining for a bit, but we got to the beach and went swimming any way.  We brought the boogie boards with us and had a bit of fun in the waves!  Water was so warm and right at the end the sun came out. So perfect.  The waves were great, nice size too. Lots of fun to body surf and boogie board in because they just tossed us all over the place :)  Reminds me of summers in Cali with my wonderful sister and family!  On the drive out there, I wish I got a picture of this, but there was a building (not sure what kind) but it said in big words, "We Love the Gong!"  I love that.

On the way out to Willongong, we stopped out in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains to see the incredible vistas from the look outs.  We got to see the Three Sisters, a famous rock formation standing on the side of the mountain among kilos and kilos of vast blue/green tints from the trees that you look out upon.  It is breathtaking.  I can't wait to go back and see what else is hidden in the valleys of the mountains. Waterfalls could be seen and we hiked down a steep incline of stairs to get right up to it.  I can't even explain how gorgeous it is. 

Last week I got to help out a friend with her study.  She is doing a short term and long term training intervention and comparing it between caucasion and aboriginee groups.  It's difficult to do studies with the aboriginees because they are 'government protected' so getting it passed ethics is really tough. Sounds familiar, right?  But they are a huge at-risk population for diabetes/obesity and other sedentary diseases so it's also really important to get them in studies.  Anyway, it was fun helping her set up and being around for the study - part of it included muscle biopsies which was awesome to see. 

It rained off and on here for several days but the last week has been positively gorgeous. It is definitely getting into fall here - it is quite chilly in the morning/afternoons and there is usually a crisp fall air during the days.  We had dinner at a the receptionist, Jenny's, house last night.  She made us a delicious roast with potatoes and sweet potatoes and green beans.  It was very delicious.  We also went to Amy's house the other night for dinner - she made us burritos!!!!  That was the first taste of New Mexico I've had since I left, and I have to say they were mighty good!  Of course, I could have used a bit of green chile, but hey, at least it was something!  How weird is this though - they put cucumbers on burritos.  Now that's just not normal to me! haha!

Well I know more things have been happening, but nothing else stands out for me to go on and on about.  I'll leave you with some fun new sayings that I've heard. 

Last week Dr. Roberg's mum (mom) was in town and she was hilarious.  At one point when we were driving to Willongong, he was saying that he had a secret place that he was going to take us.  We asked his mom, Evy, if she knew what the secret was.  She laughed and said, in a very endearing, elderly lady type of way, "oh no, Rob doesn't tell me things like that I'll bubble over!".  I thought that was the cutest thing ever!  Don't tell someone a secret if they are going to bubble over :)

Later that day, Dr. R. was reversing out of a parking spot and he had to do a three point turn.  We were standing outside the car and Evy says, in a somewhat annoyed/sweet way (if that is possible), "Oh, he's going to have to take a couple bites out of the cherry on this one".  So cute.  It was lots of fun hanging out with her, though it made me miss my grandma and grandpa quite a bit! 

Needless to say, I'll be anxious to come home the first time.  Missing you all a lot, but  I love it here so much.  I couldn't possibly be happier with school and that, of course, is the whole reason I am here :)  So I'm gonna keep on keepin on, livin and lovin it.  Rightio, lots of love and cheers to a good week ahead!  xo

Dying with Dignity

Just sitting on the couch this lovely evening, watching tv, and the news started talking about the choice to die.  Got me wandering if this is a controversy in the states as it is here, as I hadn't heard anything about it previously.  The idea is euthanization on demand from a doctor if or when you want to end your life.  I haven't done any extra research, but it sounds like it is only available for elderly people.  Please do share your thoughts/ideas on this.  I'm a bit bewildered by the idea myself.

Beaches, Big City and Beautiful Sights to See!

On Friday morning I woke up bright and early to head out to Sydney for the weekend!  Upon leaving the house, I realized that the directions I had gotten off the internet for the bus stop were wrong.  6:00 in the morning and here we are driving around foggy Bathurst, completely lost.  Luckily we happened to come across a gent walking across the street and he kindly pointed us in the right direction.  It was 6:15 when I arrived at the bus station - good thing it was running a bit late!  I squeezed on the bus in a hair, and set off to catch the train from Lithgow! 
 
When we arrived in Lithgow, however, the train was broken.  Not a bother though, because they simply bused us to Mt. Victoria where we caught the train.  The bus ride up there was long - total from Bathurst to Mt. Victoria, about an hour and  half, and had I a window seat, would have been much better.  Mt. Victoria was awesome, see the pictures below - I felt like I was living in the 1940's traveling far and about to see someone dear to me on the other side.  In fact, there was no one on the other side, just a giant, exciting city!!


The train ride through the Blue Mountains was delightful.  I met a very nice Lady and her friend who were headed out towards the city as well, but departed the train long before I did.  3 other elderly ladies ended up sitting next to me.  Ingrid, Jesse and Igna - Ingrid and Jesse were from Florida, so immediately we got to talking.  They were so wonderful, Igna lives here in Australia, and was telling me all about what I needed to do and see in Sydney - I don't think I accomplished half of her to do list.  When we arrived in Sydney, they sort of adopted me, and wanted me to go with them around the city, however I had made plans to go to the beach previously, so I skipped out, though I am sure it would have been a very fun day if I did go.  Imagine spending the day with the Golden Girls.  A few were missing, but these three were the epidemy of the characters. 


Dumped in Central, the huge, overwhelming train station in the heart of Sydney, I was left to figure out where the hell I was going and how to get there.  It was somewhat of a daunting task, but I was proud of myself by the end of it.  Eventually I found the train to the Bondi Junction and I headed out west towards the Beach!  The train only took about 10 minutes to get to the junction at the most and from there I took a 15 minute bus ride to the shoreline.  HELLLOOO BEACHH!!!  Part of me has been missing this whole time I've been in Oz; that is until I found myself sitting on the sand, watching the surf competition and bodysurfing in the water.  Absolute Bliss!!  

The day was a bit bleak, it rained for a while, at which point I took cover under the large area for changing and getting lockers.  But the sun came out eventually.  I met a friend from UNM who is working on his PhD out at the University of New South Wales.  Together we walked around the shops near the shore and found some lunch.  While eating, the sun came out and we thought it a good idea to go back to the beach and finish the day on a good note!  We swam and laid around for the remainder of the afternoon, and eventually headed back into Randwick where he is staying. 


The suburbs of Sydney are much like any other large city.  They are tangled together and, on the first visit out, are impossible to piece together or separate exactly where you are.  The evening we just relaxed, and hung out at his place.  Exhausted from the travels of the day, I turned in early and got ready for a long day of exploring on Saturday.


The sun greated us Saturday morning and it was obviously going to be a warm, humid day.  We set out early to the harbor, hopped from bus to train and made our way out to the Sydney Opera House.  Talk about an exquisit work of art.  I'm no architect, but it was stunning.  I reckon anyone would think so.


After walking around it, we ventured through the Botanic Garden area - it was full of grass and interesting art here and there, a couple of neat rock formations (pictures below) and then a tropic sort of area where you ran into spiders whose leg's spanned as big as your hand around every corner.  Looking up at the fig trees were hundreds of large bats sleeping through the day while tourists (like me!) stared in awe at how many there were.  That bat I caught in the 3rd grade were nothing compared to these babies!  Finishing the walk through the gardens, we were dumped out at the New South Wales Art Museum.


The most noteable thing in the museum to me, aside from all of the normal historic art exhibits, was the high school art exhibit.  I saw some of the most unique pieces of artwork that were seriously intriguing and made you think about what the work meant.  I was very impressed by the work of art the young population is doing around here.  Of course this is the best of the best in the city, but what a great representation!


Leaving the art museum, we ventured and wandered our way over to Pott's Point.  This is a lively area that is filled with eclectic people, backpackers, hippies, busnessmen/women, you name it.  Tons of small shops along the walk ways, unique buildings and a market that was going on, which I think occurs every weekend.  What a fun community to live in.  I really enjoyed this part of the city.  After walking around for a bit we found the train sign (actually we had to ask because we couldn't find it).  We popped back on the train and headed back towards the harbor to find some authentic fish and chips for lunch. 


We never made it back to the harbor.  We got off the train near the Central Point Tower.  This is the large tower that stands high above the city giving you breathtaking views of what is around.  We did find a small cafe one the path of Hyde park that served fish and chips and, as starving as we were, decided that that would be good enough.  We ate on the patio and watched a life size game of chess that was underway.  The old man in the plaid shirt beating a group of 3 shirtless young mates time and time again.  What a champ!


After eating we walked to Central Point Tower and did the touristy thing.  We took the lift all the way to the top where we sat and watched the sail boats in the bays, pointed out where the footie fields, rugby fields and cricket fields were.  Found where the campus of UNSW was, and where "Home Bush" (the Olympic Stadium) would be if you could see that far out.  Looking out over Darling Harbour you could see the National Maritime Museum and the Navy Ships that were docked.  Anzac Bridge takes you over to another part of the city, as does the famous Harbour Bridge.  The Opera house was absolutley dwarfed by the collosal magnitude of the city.  What an experience.


By the end of the lift going down CPT, I was already overcome by how incredible it is out here.  Then we found ourselves at The Rocks.  This is a small area on the north side of the Harbour Bridge.  The Rocks is enveloped with history but was covered today by another wonderful market that occurs every weekend.  Here we found the most amazing gelato I think I have ever Ever EVER had!! (sorry ECCO)!  I had hazelnut and oh my, was it delicious!  We walked around the market, looking at the stuff vendors had (If only I had money to buy some of it!!) and eventually stopped at a lovely Irish Pub that was packed with people and live music. 

 

By now it was turing into evening and we headed back down towards the harbor where lots of people were out and about.  The views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House at dusk were simply gorgeous.  We stuck around for a few and then made our way to another Irish Pub (we were on a mission to find the best ones around town!..)  This one was called Scruffy Murphys, it was great.  It was where the younger generation hangs out at - maybe not so much David's scene, but it was still fun.  They had a rugby game projected on their large screen.  I had yet to actually sit down and focus while watching a game, but I did it here.  Explaining the difference between Rugby League and Rugby Union teams is much more complex than the different between AFL and NFL.  Rugby League is a bit more popular, it is like a mix between American Football and Traditional Rugby.  All rugby rules apply, however the teams each get 6 tries when they are in possession of the ball, if they don't make a goal, they are forced to kick the ball back to the other team.  It is fun to watch and there is not a lot of time waste

d like there is in american football.  I'm likin it a lot.  In Rugby League, the biggest difference is that there is no designated tries that a team has while in possession of the ball.  Both teams just go for it and don't stop.  I haven't yet seet Footie - but it is like a mix between rugby and soccer.  All of it is fun to watch!  And hello very rough and buff manly guys ;) 

The rest of the evening involved bar hopping a bit, one of the other noted bars we went to was a little strange to me.  The bar area was upstairs while they had more of a night club type area below.  The girls bathroom was located in this really complicated-to-find, completely dark and eery back corner.  With the amount of guys that were in that club - literally a ratio of about 19:1; I was sure I was going to have a go at kickin the shit out of a guy, but in fact it didn't happen.  Haha, seriously strange. 

The next morning involved more walking down to the neuroscience lab that David is completing his research at, as well as a quick tour around part of UNSW (University of New South Wales).  Talk about a huge campus!  Very nice though.  We got brunch at The Spot - which is basically the market area in Randwick.  The number of delicious hole-in-the-wall places that exist around this place is huge, and wonderful! 

If there is one thing that I can say about Sydney, besides the fact that it was impossibly energetic, excititng and culturally diverse, is that I sure didn't feel as much of a foreigner out there as I do in Bathurst.  Not sure which I like more - fitting in, or standing out.  I think I chose the latter of the two - people understand when you don't get something the first time in Bathurst and they take the time to really help you out.  All in all, I love love love Sydney, but I am so happy that I am living here in Bathurst.  A simple $3.90 trip to the big city and the beach is nothin if you ask me.  I'll be doing it often :)

The trip back home to Bathurst treated me with an unexpected surprise.  On the way to Sydney, I was caught up in conversation with people on the train.  On the way home, I was one of only a few people in the cart.  I can't begin to explain the massiveness of the Blue Mountains and the glorious views they have to offer.  It was the most amazing thing ever.  I hope that one day you have a chance to take the Blue Mountain Line from Sydney to Lithgow.  It is marvelous, stunning, spectacular, breath taking, awe-inspiring, fabulous, miraculous, calming, overwhelming, invigorating, the list goes on.  Do you get it?  Do you understand how blessed I am to be here?  I'm not sure I do.  It just keeps getting better.  Cheers! 

You can see more pictures on FB:  https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=11606551&aid=2192336