A quiet Wednesday in the library

So I'm getting a late start on this blog thing so I'll try to recap these last couple weeks a little. I was the typical tourist when I first got to Australia - mouth hanging open and camera attached to my hand. I was also so excited to be away from the snow in PA that I paid little attention to the Australian sun which, I must say, is somewhat of a freak of nature. It does NOT play, especially with someone with pale skin that has barely seen the light of day for months. Anyways, lesson learned (hopefully).

Michael, my adorable Greek host-dad, picked me and Denise up that first day and took us to our adorable Greek house. His wife, Marina, is a very good cook and LOVES to feed people. You might think you know someone who likes people to eat but you have no idea until you've been around a bunch of Greek women. We had orientation the rest of the week and classes started the following Monday.

Classes have definitely been interesting. If you know me at all, then you know I'm not an artsy kind of person. I'm too white to dance (as witnessed by a certain hip-hop dance performed at the coffee house last year...). I also can't draw, Sam K. has attempted some but it has ended in my utter failure. And my idea of graphic design is coloring Disney princesses with my roommates and putting them on the fridge. Yet, I'm in hip-hop, drawing, and graphic design. You may be wondering, doesn't that involve artistic talent? I asked the very same question and was told that no artistic talent was needed. Perfect for me, right? Instead, I've found out that while no talent is needed to pass the class, talent is needed to not look like a fool. I'm learning to laugh at myself. A lot.

Sydney is definitely the coolest place I've ever been. I bought season passes to Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife World, and Manly Beach Reserve. No shortage of enthusiasm for Australian critters here! I especially liked the wildlife world (pics on FB!) There are so many other things to see and do here though. I probably won't even get it all in 4 months! Denise and I have also done a lot of shopping. I was looking all over these Australian stores for some shoes and ended up buying two pairs at K-Mart. Oh the irony.

Went to the beach this past weekend with Denise, David, and Trevor. Denise and I were being girls and weren't gonna get in the ocean because it was kinda chilly. David ended up throwing us both in. I learned not to dash his dreams. He'll throw you in whatever's handy. Denise learned not to turn her back on him.

Later that night, went to a Greek church with my host family. They had a dinner afterwards and the food looked amazing! Then I uncovered this pot. Big mistake. I found little, pink baby octopus! Now I know I'm supposed to be trying different foods but that was just a little too much. Speaking of weird animals, Denise and I found a dead bat on our way home from school. Now when I think of bats, I think little nasty things that need to be avoided at all costs. This was all true of this bat except for the little part. This thing was like a mutant groundhog with wings! Moving on. They also have lots of little lizards running around. They're fun to chase if you're in the mood to look like the idiotic American chasing lizards.

Well, this has been a wonderful procrastination method but I must go :) Talk to ya later!