Thanks for everything!

Hello All!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that read my blog the whole semester and kept up with my Australian Adventures! I was pleased to be able to share my experience with everyone.

A special thanks go out to my parents and family for all of your help with this trip. I wouldn't have been able to go without you guys and your encouragement. I am so thankful that I got to experience Australia!

Kimmy- I would have never been able to do all of the things we did in Australia without you! I had the best time sharing my Aussieland adventure with you and cannot wait for more KP(squared) adventures!

Aussies and new American friends- I can happily say that you guys made my trip! It wouldn't have been the same without you guys. You are some of the best friends I have ever met and will never forget you! You will always have a special place in my heart! <3 Can't wait to see y'all again! And know if you ever make your way to Arizona, you will always have a place to stay!

Studying abroad was the most amazing experience I have ever had and will never forget it. I highly encourage everyone to do it! The process is long, but well worth the wait. This was the by far the best semester of my college career. It has helped me become ready for the real world and all that it has to offer. I can't wait to be able to travel again! Thanks again for keeping up with my adventures.

Cheers,
Kylie :D

Last days in Australia!

Hi guys!
It has been awhile since we last talked. Let me catch you up on things.

Kim and I finished our last few days in Newcastle by packing up and saying goodbye to friends. It was a sad moment! We finally headed out to Sydney for our last 3 days in the country. We did some last minute souvenir shopping and got in our last cravings of meat pies. We finished our day by sitting in Circular Quay enjoying the views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The site of them just never got old.

The next day we planned on heading to Manly Beach. Our friend Edgar that was staying in the country longer, met us in Sydney and off we were. The beach was beautiful as always. It was nice and sunny at the beginning, but the weather got cloudy and started to rain. Kimmy, Edgar, and I hung out at a pub until it slowed down. We headed back to our hostel, grabbed some Mexican food and said our last goodbye to Edgar.

Our flight left November 27th at 9:20pm, so we had some time to spare. We walked around the city for some last site seeing then it was off to the airport. The bus we took was a bit late and then the line for to check in was extremely long. Security was annoying also...they took my Vegemite!! Thankfully I was able to grab another bottle on our sprint to our gate. We made it to the gate right as we were boarding! It was a close call! Fewf!

It was a long flight of not being able to sleep which wasn't the most fun thing. When we finally arrived in Hawaii, we had to go through Customs and check our bags again and then security again! Thankfully this process was smoother than in Sydney. It was weird being back in America!! Three hours later, Kim and I were on another plane back to Phoenix. My mom and sister were there to meet us at the gate! Marli made me a sign and they were waving American flags. It was a very warm welcome home.

Our Luggage on the Train!

Kimmy, Edgar, and Me at Manly Beach

Our Favorite Meat Pie Place!

Welcome Home!

Thanksgiving!

Obviously, Australia doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, so Kim and I had to take things into our own hands to celebrate it some how. As weird as it sounds, turkey isn't a very popular meat here. The only place I've seen it has been at Subway. So Subway it was for Kim and I. We each got a turkey sub sandwich to get our turkey fix on Thanksgiving. It hit the spot, but it was nothing like my Aunt Carin's cooking! Today is Thanksgiving in America so my whole family is together in California. they skyped me earlier today which was fun. I got to see all of my aunts and uncles along with grandma and cousins. I miss them terribly and can't wait to see them in person! It is weird being in a different country that doesn't celebrate the same things you usually do or the same way you to. It would be something to get used to if I ever moved here.

As the semester is coming to a close, I have had to say goodbye to my friends here. I have shed a few tears. It won't be the same back home with out my crazy group of Aussie friends. I have met so many great friends that I will never forget. This has been the experience of a life time. It is now time for some packing and more goodbyes. Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving! :D

Birthday Aussie Style!

Only a few days ago was my birthday and I got to celebrate it here in Australia! A good friend Laura made cupcakes that we ate for brekky! I skyped my parents and opened the presents that they sent me! It was a good start. We went into town for lunch and got food from my favorite Mexican food place, Macho Nacho then it was off to the beach. The plan was to head to the beach for a fun day in the sun, but sadly the weather didn't want to work with us. We only got one game of volleyball in before it got really windy and cold, plus it was overcast which wasn't much fun either. We all headed back to TEDs to find out the weather was better on campus. Kim and I sat out by the pool and got some more sun. We got ready and had dinner. It was then for an evening out on the town. We started in the Rec room downstairs with some games and then it was to Customs, a local bar that is fun on Wednesdays. We danced the night away. I had a blast! I had great friends to make it special. Only down part was having to say goodbye to one of the best friends I made here. Amy was leaving to travel around Australia for the summer. It was a reality check that I will be leaving here soon. :/ But besides that I had a great day!

Sadly, I'm still out of space for photos so I can't post any at the moment. I will post to my Facebook, if you are my friend then you will be able to see them. :D

Adelaide!

Our last stop was Adelaide which is where my friend Jason lives. Jason is the one that took me to watch AFL earlier in the semester. the first day we flew in and hung out at Jason's house for a bit since it was a really early flight. We headed to the Rundle Shopping Center to grab some lunch and look around while Jason had to run some errands. We ventured over to the South Australian Museum. We spent a majority of the evening looking around the museum and learning about Australian history. We headed back to Jason's side of town for some pizza for dinner and visited him at work. It was then off to bed since we were dead from getting up so early.

The next day we slept in a bit then headed over to Glenelg. It's the part with the beach! We got some ice cream and headed out to the jetty to snap some photos. It was really windy, but we didn't let that stop our fun. We headed back in to play some mini golf. There was a lifeguard competition going on so we sat and watched that for a little bit also. We then caught the tram back into town and got ready for dinner at Jason's roommates work. Both of the boys work at a pub/ restaurant. We went for drinks after at the Beer Garden which was a really neat place.

On our last day, we hit up Adelaide Zoo. We saw all sorts of animals. My favorite was the kangaroo. They had some in a petting zone so I made friends with a few. I really really want to take one home with me!!! What was neat about the zoo was they had pandas, Wang Wang and Funi. They were so cute. After the zoo it was off to the airport to head back to Newcastle. We were going to be cutting it close in order to make the train from Central Station in Sydney to our train that would take us to Newcastle. We only had 15 minutes to make it off the plane and to the train! Oh yes, we made it! Steven picked us up from the stop in Newcastle. He was leaving the next morning so it was very bittersweet.

That ends our final traveling experience before we head home...few more posts to make though. Talk soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/klp224/sets/72157632069989337/

Melbourne Round 2!

On the second part of our trip, Kim and I ventured to Melbourne. This was my second time here, but Kim had never been. We flew to Melbourne early in the morning. We checked into our hostel and met up with our friends from TEDs that were visiting the city also. We got some lunch at our favorite new place Pie Face. They sell all different kinds of meat pies. So good! We all adventured to the Queen Victoria Markets to do some shopping. They have all kinds of fresh meats, cheeses, veggies, and fruits. The shops also have heaps of clothing shops and souvenir shops. It is kind of like a flea market. After we took a look around the markets, we headed over to Federation Square and went to the Australian Center for Moving Images and looked at the history of digital culture like movies, television, and Internet. It was neat to see how things had changed in just a few years! They had a few interactive exhibits that we played with. One was a room that you could do a move and make it look 3D ish or like the Matrix move. You could view the scene then email it to yourself.  http://www.acmi.net.au/timeslice/Timeslice.htm?file=ts-20121113-048436a2e72ae143f1604ef5eb2714a1.flv  Here is the link to our video!  Once we were done being movie stars in our own little films, we walked outside and found ourselves in an episode of Master Chef Australia! It was being filmed and we accidentally walked right into on of the scenes with the competitors! It was awesome! We stayed and watched them film for a bit then walked over the St. Paul's Cathedral which was across the street. It was a beautiful church! We then took a trolley over to Harbor Town and had dinner at Nandos. Harbor Town was just another shopping center that was by the water. Nandos is a restaurant that serves chicken in all sorts of ways. They are famous for their peri- peri sauce. Oh its good! Each one is a level of hot sauce! On our way back we passed a huge stadium and guess who was playing?! Coldplay! And we didn't even know otherwise we probably would have gotten tickets. The next day we were going on a tour on the Great Ocean Road.

It was an early morning as we headed out to the day long tour to the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. It is a road that goes along the ocean! We started off the tour by leaving the city and our guide/driver Jason told us random facts about Melbourne like it's the second biggest city in Australia! We past through Geelong which was the city our friend Steven's favorite AFL team was from. Our first stop was Bells Beach. This beach is famous for the Rip Curl Surf Competition that is held around Easter each year. The town that is right by the beach was also the home of the companies Rip Curl and Quicksilver. The beach was absolutely beautiful. We got a glimpse of some surfers too! Made for a good photo opp! The next stop was the lighthouse! It is a famous lighthouse in that is was the base of an older Australian children's TV show, Around the Twist. There were some great views from the area and beautiful homes all around the area. Our tour guide was very familiar with the area and some of us wanted to see some kangaroos so he took us to a golf course that gets heaps of them. Luckily we found a few sunbathing and got a few photos. He told us stories of how much they can be a pest on farms with crops and a hazard to drivers on the road since at night they just jump out in front of cars and cause accidents. EEEKK, scary! We headed to Kennet River where there was a safe koala area that wild koalas were hanging out in the trees. There was also a part with birds that just flew straight to you and landed on you, partially since the drivers had bird seed in their hands. But I stayed FAR away from that area as some of you may know I'm afraid of birds! Ick. We saw a few koalas which was neat since I've only seen them in the zoo. We had a lunch break at Apollo Bay. Us girls headed to the fish shop which turned out having the best fish and chips I've ever had! It was then on to the Gibson Steps that led down to the beach with two of the Twelve Apostles. Fun Fact: There are actually only 9 Apostles left out of the 12 original. Now for those of you that are still confused at what the Twelve Apostles are, they are huge pieces of limestone rock that formed in a vertical formation in the water. The ones that are no longer there was caused by erosion and fell over. After we got our fix of the Apostles from ground level, we headed to the next stop to see the other Apostles. It was a pathway that led to a higher view of them. We counted all 9 from that spot. It was awesome! We then headed to another spot that head a story to it. the story in a nutshell goes like this...It was about a boy and a girl that got stranded after a shipwreck and got stuck in this gorge. Finally, someone came and the man had left to signal for help and received it. The couple were in love, but after they got rescued the man received a reward for being a hero and the girl just went back home. Anyways there is a huge hole in the side of one of these huge rocks and that was the gorge that the couple was trapped in. It was a beautiful beach on the other side of the park that we visited with the gorge. We headed over to the London Bridge. It is a large rock formation with an arch open at the bottom on the rock. There used to be two arches, but one fell off. People used to be able to walk on the bridge, but once the first arch broke off there was no way of getting people on it anymore. when the first arch broke off there was a couple stranded on the bridge and had to get helicopter rescued out. Seeing the London Bridge in Australia was funny since we have one in our home town and our friend Amy from London talks about the one there too. The bridge was our last stop of the tour so we headed back to Melbourne for some Pie Face for dinner then an early night since Kim and I had one last stop on our travels that we had to catch an early flight for. Again, the photos won't upload so here is the link to see them!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/klp224/sets/72157632069929617/

Up at the Gold Coast!

Hi readers!
Sorry it has been so long since I've last blogged! I've been traveling and saying goodbyes since sadly it is that time to head home. But I will start off with filling you in on my travels first!

We started off at the Gold Coast, to be more specific, Surfers Paradise. The traveling was exhausting. The flight got delayed and the buses are always interesting. We had to walk to an office to get our apartment key and then walk to the apartment and of course we got lost for a little, but eventually found it! By this time, we were starving so we hit up the Hard Rock Cafe upon Amy's request. It was a fun girl's dinner out! We then walked around the shops and found this place called Infinity. It was a walk through maze but each room had something different to offer. Each person had to wear glow in the dark shoe covers and gloves. You walk through the pathway through 20 "futuristic interactive environments". They had rooms with lasers, twinkly lights, a bubble floor, a ball room, and even a scary room which we all didn't like too much. It was a very unique experience. We finished up the night with some grocery shopping for brekky and dinner.

The Gold Coast in known for its theme parks. So we hit up one of them, Movieworld! It is a version of Universal Studios. This trip definitely made me miss my car even more since the buses weren't on top of their schedule and we had to wait 45 minutes for one bus to take us over to the park! It was ridiculous!! Once we finally got to the park, we hit up every ride! We even saw Batman!! We went on the log ride and of course I got soaked! We saw a few shows while there too. We got to see awesome stunt car drivers, and part of the Ice Age movie in 4D. Definitely a good day at the park. We finished the evening with a pasta dinner cooked by yours truly! We had a perfect view from our balcony of the beach so naturally we had dinner on the balcony and watched the waves crash in.

The next day was a rainy one which was a bit depressing. After we finally got up and going, it was still rainy so we hit up Starbucks since they had their holiday drinks out. Amy wanted to try them and sadly, wasn't very impressed. But to be fair, Australia does have some delicious coffee!! Kim, Amy, and I decided to walk around the shops and see what they had to offer. They had some pretty cool surf shops. We went back got ready and headed back out for a cheeky bevie before dinner and our night out. We had pasta again for dinner and then headed out to Sin City Night Club. I got my groove on as did Kim and Amy. It got pretty crowed to we headed out early.

On Sunday, it was still a bit icky weather, but we tried the beach. It was soo windy that we couldn't stand on the beach without getting pelted with heaps of sand!! We went to a Lifeguard Club pub/restaurant and had lunch and got out of the wind. As we were eating, a bike drove by twice, but this bike was not just your typical bike it was a 4 seater!! So naturally the three of us had to go find out where this place was to rent one! And yes, we did!! We rented a "tribike". It had 3 seats and 4 wheels, but only two peddler spots so one person got a free ride at the front of the bike. Oh man was this an adventure! We biked all over the main esplanade. We got so many weird looks and giggles, but hey it was a good time!! Only down point was when we needed to ride against the wind, it took some effort! We all got out work out for the day in our hour ride. We returned the bike, had a dinner out, and then it was off to bed since we were pooped from the bike ride.

On our last day, it was finally good beach weather! We hit the beach for about 2 and a half hours. We got sushi for lunch and walked around the shops some more since we had a late flight. It was finally time to head to the airport! It was there that we all realized how sun burnt we got! Man we all looked like lobsters!! We had dinner at the airport then it was back to Sydney! Amy left us once we got to Sydney and she headed back to Newcastle. Kim and I stayed in a hotel near the airport and headed to catch an early flight the next morning to Melbourne!

Unfortunately, I can't fit anymore photos on here for some reason! So I have uploaded my pics to my Flickr account! Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/klp224/sets/72157632069839753/

Let's Catch Up!

Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged! It has been a bit hectic around here lately! It is exam time so everyone is running around like a chicken with its head chopped off trying to get all of their projects, essays, and studying for tests! I lucked out and ended up with no exams at all! I just had a few final group projects and papers. I still have one last essay that is taking some time to finish. Only part about this whole situation that is a bummer is all of my friends either don't have exams or their exams are in the last week of exam weeks meaning that they are all laying out by the pool and relaxing! Boo! :/

But to catch up, the Sunday that we all got back from Coffs Harbor was Garden Party for TEDs. It is another tradition that the college has. It was like senior year of college when everyone votes for the silly titles like class clown, most likely to succeed, etc. Well they have an Aussie, TEDs version which is a bit more entertaining than the high school version. They had awards that were more college appropriate like messiest eater, boy who is whipped by his girlfriend, and heaps more that are not exactly blog friendly. The names of all of the awards were silly witty names. It was pretty funny! Each winner had to do a lay back which is having goon (boxed wine) poured into their mouth. Besides the awards, it was basically a pool party with face painting and a huge blow up slip'n'slide! It was such a fun day!!

This past week was Halloween. Sadly, Australians don't really celebrate Halloween like Americans do. At home, there are heaps of decorations in all of the stores and haunted houses every where. Here, I only saw one little section of Halloween things in the front of the store and that was it. Our friends did use us Americans as an excuse to celebrate it though! The bar on campus had a Halloween party with a really good DJ so we all went to Bar on the Hill. It was a lot of fun!

Over the weekend, Friday was our college's last formal dinner. Everyone got dressed up in their spiffy clothes and robes and enjoyed a very nice dinner in the TEDs dining hall. There were a few speeches and students that did well/ helped out with TEDs events were acknowledged. us college kids had a dance party in the cellar which is the big room underneath the dining hall. It was a great way to end the semester.

Saturday night, Laura, Kimmy, Amy, and I had a girls date to Max Brenner. It is the coolest chocolate shop. We each got something chocolaty and delicious! It was just what we all needed. It was a friend's birthday so we went out dancing that night. So fun!

Anyways, I should probably go finish my paper. Talk soon when I'm completely done with my classes here in Australia!! :D

The girls at Garden Party

Grace and I on the slip'n'slide!

Our face paintings!

Swimming

Halloween costumes...can you guess what we are?!

End of the Year Formal Dinner!

Kim and I with our TEDs Pride!

Dining Hall decorated! Note: Amy's face bottom left! :P

A chocolate lick with strawberries!

My coffee in a Kangaroo cup (there is a pouch to put a piece of chocolate so it melts into the coffee!)

Road trip to Coffs Harbor

Hi all!
This weekend Kim, Amy, and I went up to Coffs Harbor which is one of our good friend's, Steven, hometown. It was around a 4 and a half hour drive. We arrived at his house which was adorable and only a 5 minute walk to the beach! Steven took us to a good pizza place for dinner and drove us around the town. We met up with one of Steven's good friends from high school, Matt. We decided to go bowling which I haven't done in ages, but it was heaps of fun. All of us walked down to the little playground by his house which was also right by the beach so I just had to go out and feel the water. It wasn't too bad. It smelt very oceany compared to some of the other beaches we have been to. It was off to bed for an early morning!

Kim had been ranting about this Big Banana since we got to Australia. She saw a clip from the Disney Channel of the little clips called "Pass the Plate". They did one on bananas and showed the Big Banana in it! Of course, Kim HAD to see it before we left. It was perfect that Steven just so happened to be from the same town as the banana. Upon arrive there were screams and squeals of excitement. Not going to lie, it was pretty cool. The Big Banana is one of the "big" things that Australia had to offer. After admiring the banana, and walking through it, us girls got a chocolate covered frozen banana! So good! It was a neat place. They had a bunch of different things to do like ice skating and a plantation tour since there was a banana plantation right behind the Big Banana! That ended the trip to The Big Banana!

Sadly, I felt sick right after that, so I had to rest at home. The rest of them hung out and went to the driving range and hit some golf balls! Thankfully, I was feeling better by dinner time. Steven's mom took us to one of the popular pubs for dinner. This place has the biggest meal of chicken schnitzel I have ever seen. Steven got it, and ate it all! We were all thoroughly impressed. Just our luck, that night at the pub, there was an Abba cover band playing. Let me tell you, one of the most funny things ever, but it was fun! We did some dancing with Steven's mom then it was off to the humble abode.

It was an early morning for Kim and Amy. They went to try and see the whales, but didn't succeed. Sadly, I still wasn't feeling 100% so I stayed in bed. It was then off to Newcastle again!

Pizza Place!

Bowling!

Oh Yes..The Big Banana!

The banana plants!

Steven's huge chicken schnitty!

Fabba...the cover band!

At the pub!

A weekend on the farm!

A group of the girls and I drove up to Laura's farm for a night this weekend. It was so pretty! There were tons of hills with cows and horses everywhere. There were even heaps of wild kangaroos everywhere! The drive was interesting. Usually in the US, there is a highway that will take you where you need to go with no stops really in smaller towns. On our drive, there wasn't really a highway. There were a few parts that the speed limit was higher, but then as soon as we hit a town it slowed down. I think we drove through at least 4 smaller towns on our way to Laura's. Wallabadah is the area that Laura's house is located, but the closest larger town is Tamworth. As we got closer to Laura's, you saw heaps of crops and huge open fields. Her house is so cute. I felt like I was in a country movie driving up the road to her house. It was all dirt and had a little fence out front of the entry. We passed the hay barn on the way up the her house which had a cute white fence with grass all around and a tennis court. Coco, her chocolate lab, was there to greet us, so fun to have a dog around to play with. Made me miss my Peanut!

We got our boots on and headed out in the ute to see the land. Fun fact: they call rain boots or work boots, gum boots. Laura drove us all over her family's land. The house and land were her grandparents, but her parents took it over. There were gates that kept the cattle in a certain paddock so one of us had to be the gate girl every time. Laura showed us her two cows that she raised from a baby calf, Speckles and Button. Apparently, they didn't like me much because they kept running away from me. :( We drove around some more of her land. It was absolutely gorgeous. We got some great photos! Laura's mom made her favorite meal for dinner, pesto and pasta. It was so amazing to finally have a home-cooked meal!

We were then off to our friend Angela's birthday party. She only lives about 25 minutes away. It was already dark and I was sitting shotgun in the car. Laura looked at me and said "Kylie, you are on kangaroo watch!" I was in shock! I have never heard of that in my life! It was pretty funny. But kangaroos are like rats or deer kind of a pest in the country. They eat the crops and jump out in front of cars. They apparently make huge dents in the cars. It was a moment I will not forget. The party was fun. It was outside with a bonfire and music. Everyone had a blast.

The next morning we had pancakes and bacon at Laura's. We went on a second adventure around the land. We got some hay and fed the cows! So cool! Her family was so nice. Her dad even made us a cappuccino for brekky! It was then back to TEDs. Such an awesome weekend! This coming weekend Kim, Amy, Grace, Steven and I will be heading to Coff's Harbor to visit Steven's house and family and to finally see the Big Banana! :D

Down the road from Laura's

Driving around the land!

Me with the cows!

Coco!

Riding in the back of the ute!

Angus- Emily- Me- Edgar

Us being cowgirls!

Me- Amy- Grace-Laura

Feeding the cows!

Amy and I being silly!

Gum boots!

Cows in the front yard!