you say aussie...i say open.

finally back on the game. not the blog game persay. but definitely the field trip game.

so i believe that i left off with a very un-interesting week. well it got better. so, on wednesday i just had classes and my last Prac! (lab) of the semester! wooohoo! that was definitely a reason for rejoicing. but it also hit me then that i only have a month left here. a month. where did it go. as much as i want to see my friends, family...etc i am not ready to leave here. the easy thing about going home in september was the fact that i was coming back to australia. but when i go home now, i wont know when i will be back (hopefully 2010) but yet. thats a ways away...and i dont really want to leave this place that i now call home quite yet.

so thursday was just more class and also we went to puggs on thursday night which was fun. it was just me and siobhan and we met up with alycia who was there with a party for one of the girls in her college. it was definitely a good time and i really just wanted to dance. and i did. and it was wonderous.

friday! finally a field trip! so spring in melbourne is finally SOLIDLY underway with consistent temperatures in the 70s-80s and it is absolutely wonderful. australians are always really happy...but they are even happier when the sun is shining. so our fieldtrip on friday, was a picnic to the RipponLea estate about 7 km outside of the city. the estate is some mansion from some guy...kind of like a Mount Vernon (not the campus, gdub...) type of place. it was an absolutely beautiful day so we took the tram into the city which was awesome because it was great to see everyone just enjoying the day. at the state library(in the middle of the CBD), everyone was sitting out on the lawns and the same went for federation square too. so the estate was south east of the city but it was only a 12 minute train ride once we got to flinders street station. none of us (me, siobhan, leah & kristen) had ever take the train before so that was an added plus to the adventure. so we got there...found our way to the estate (with the help of this adorable woman) proceeded to the lawn and had our picnic lunch. it was perfect. although the bugs are now out which is probably the only negative the nicer weather...it was great. we didn't take the tour of the inside of the mansion but we walked around the grounds of the mansion which had various lakes, gorgeous flora and fauna (yah bio) and scenery all around. so that was a really awesome field trip and you can check out pictures on my facebook photo albums.

friday night was pretty uneventful...troy was on TV so we watched that but nothing much really happened. lame. i know. but we did have a long but great day! oh and i almost forgot...we stopped at melbourne central (one of the big shopping centers in the city) to go to this store that leah bought a really cute dress at earlier that day. we all got something but then siobhan and i both bought our first pair of havaianas!!! wooohoo!!! for those who dont know, havaianas are THE international flip flop. they really don't sell them in the states but they are HUGE in australia and pretty much everywhere else. they really don't look like much but they are probably one the most comfortable pairs of flip flops...without having to wear them in...i have ever had (rainbows...once worn it might still take the cake). i bought a pair of pink ones...but i am already obsessed...and i think im going to get another pair of the special aussie ones before i leave.

saturday: so alycia and I were very excited for this day to come. for those who don't know, the australian open is not played in sydney but rather it is played in australia's sporting capital...Melbourne. so alycia and i have been saying that we were going to go to Rod Laver Arena (the center arena) of the australian open since we got here..and we finally went on saturday. we took a guided tour (only $ 9!...it was a steal) and toured the australian open grounds and got some amazing knowledge. there were only 5 people on our tour so it was really nice and personal (the earlier tour had 20) and we were able to spend more time and do cooler stuff. if i detailed everything that i did on the tour i would be here forever so i am just going to share the highlights. we were able to go into the pressbox...the pressbox that they WILL be using to question all of the players come january 14-27th. i sat in the seat that andy roddick, james blake, rodger federer...etc will be sitting in! we also went into the MALE changing room. AWESOME. it was actually a pretty modest place (the public locker rooms almost looked nicer) but i was in the room that the aforementioned super stars will also be in and have also been in. alycia and I like idiots went into a couple of the shower stalls...because perhaps just perhaps andy roddick and alycia's favorite, the aussie, lleyton hewitt were there. in those stalls. ahh! we also went into one of the VIP skyboxes...i'm talking $4000/match. sweeet. but the best part was definitely going onto the court at rod laver. granted, there is no court there right now...but to be standing where this wonderful championship grand slam will be played was unbelievable. unbelievable. so an interesting fact about the upcoming years australian open: we couldn't actually walk onto any of the "courts" because they have torn up all of the courts. you ask why? because this year, they are putting down a whole new type of court. the open was previously played on the Rebound Ace Court but now they are putting down a new WM Loud court which main purpose is to provide a more level playing "field". so they are moving from the standard to a dark blue. so currently all of the courts were just a layer of cement. but all in all, it was a great day! a great tour! gahh I WANT TO BE HERE FOR THE AUSSIE OPEN. they have already sold out the championship matches (aussies love their sport!). the coolest part is that because we aren't quite in season yet...you can just walk around the grounds without any worries. it obviously isn't like that once the open starts or in december...but now. yes. and it was great. supposedly, Jelena Dokic was at the park that same day but we missed her! sad day!

sunday- work work work. finals and papers just around the corner so that is what my life is now. BUT i had the best 2 hour skype conversation with my ENTIRE family...although it took away valuable studying time it made me realize all the great things i am going back home to. it also got me really excited because everyone is coming to NY for christmas this year. should be a blast. oh! and i've officially changed my ticket so i am now home for thanksgiving. although i would have rather had the extra time here...i'm going home for my mom primarily. my dad too (obvi). but my mom got really emotional about being away from me for the first thanksgiving ever. so i'm going home earlier. and i am happy about it.

that leads to today. classes. work. classes. blaahh. now-> aussie idol results show. so this week is the last week of classes!!!! CRAZY. i could go into greater depth about that...but i'm not going to. haha. so i will get back to you later in the week...have a good one! Cheers!