Thoughts from Down Under-Part 5

I can't believe I am now almost halfway done with my 5th week in Sydney! It is really blowing my mind. This past week has been a lot of fun. There hasn't been anything too big or exciting going on, but I've started to fall into a bit of a routine, and think I've figured out what I need to do in all my classes! Classes are still going well, and my favorite is definitely still developmental psych. We have a two hour tutorial in that class, which doesn't even seem like enough time. It is mostly discussion, and is great because there are people from all sorts of backgrounds, some of who are older and working on second degrees, so they have a lot of experience working with people in different psychiatric capacities, so I'm finding it very interesting. The cell biology is definitely becoming more challenging than I initially thought, but at least that means I'm learning something new, right? Bioethics is still great, wrote my first paper, so it'll be good to find out how things are actually graded here. Brain and behaviour is not what I expected at all, and is must more basic psych right now, but hopefully once we get into the neuroscience part it will be more interesting. Today we learned about animal behaviors though, which was fascinating. Tomorrow is my big day-Wednesday. I will be skipping my last class though (ignore that fact mom!) because tomorrow night is the big Carnivale festival! I don't really know much about it, but bought a ticket on a last minute whim! It has several bands performing, and its BYO, so it has to be good! It is based on the Brazillian Carnivale, so I'll write more once I go to it. Thursday and Friday will be pretty homework filled, and then Saturday morning I go off to an overnight hiking trip with the Bushwalkers club (pronounced bushWACKers..at least according to Lo)
I've decided this week to write a little about my new obsessions in Aus, and things I miss from home. So, here goes!

Obsessions in Sydney
1. Pide (see previous post...still love them!)
2. $10 boxes of wine. Enough said. (And that's about $6.50 USD)
3. Veggie spring roles. I can't get enough of them.
4. Hot tub in Unilodge-I hadn't gone in it for a while, but have a couple times this week-luxury at its best.
5. Wearing t-shirts/shorts every day
6. Broadway Cafe Pizza. When I don't have to wait 2 hours for it. But it's only $5! Still has nothing on Village though..
7. BIGGEST LOSER AUSTRALIA. I LOVE IT!

Things I miss from home (Family and Friends the MOST of course!)
1. FOOD; homemade food, cooking, china gourmet, village, cracker barrel, whole foods...I could go on. But I really miss a lot of the food from home, and have been searching for equivalents, but nothing can really compare.
2. My bed; unilodge bed does NOT provide much comfort. As much as I love sleeping 2 inches away from Laura, it would be lovely to be in a comfy bed in my own room!
3. Seuss; I miss sleeping with, and playing with, and just having a dog around. Whenever I see dogs I really miss him a lot.
4. Fast internet; The internet here is TERRIBLE and beyond slow most of the time.
5. As much as I'm enjoying not being bogged down by television shows, I miss Lost, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives, and especially watching Sex and the City.
6. Being able to talk to everyone at any time, not having to always check what time it is.
7. Knowing what is going on in the U.S.! I don't really have time/ability to read the news religiously every day, or even every week, so I have no idea what is going on for the most part.
8. Volunteering; especially SWSG and Family Van! I really miss them!

I guess that's it for now. But just wanted to get those out. I am still having the time of my life though, don't get my wrong, and I know all the luxuries of home will be there when I get home. On another exciting note, I leave for New Zealand in 2.5 weeks! I have a flight in and out of Auckland, but I just booked another flight to go down to Christchurch for 3 days, because I really want to see the South Island as well! So I'm very excited about that! I'm also working on booking a trip to Thailand. So I'll keep you all posted on that! I'll write more soon, but it's back to homework time!