Back to Reality

The mid-session break ended very well. The Weather Gods cooperated, and we were able to lay out by the pool at Gilligan's for the majority of the last two days. Ahhh... Finally some consecutive time in the sun! 

This is a foxtail palm tree. Pretty, huh? 

Fancy pool area. Notice the waterfall in the back... And the pretty girls! 

We made sure to take advantage of the free sunscreen before soaking up the strong Australian rays

Caitlin's cousin studied abroad in the Cairns area, and recommended the Lily Pad Café across the street. Though I keep getting the name wrong (I have been consequently referring to as the Lotus Café), this is a place I will never forget. The food was DIVINE. Everything, and I mean EV-ER-Y-THING, on the menu sounded amazing. Even the simple order of multigrain toast an scrambled eggs was fabulous. If I could eat this every morning, I would be happy as a clam. We (Caitlin, Sydney, Isabelle, and I) enjoyed this place so much we ate there four times in two days. We would've eaten there six times had it not been for the fact that they closed before dinner time (and we have some sense of dignity, of course). 

Time to detox with a green veggie smoothie

At one of our exceptional meals at the Lily Pad Café, the four of us sat around the table playing a game of "highs and lows of mid-session break". This very simple game involved listing what your most and least favorite things about the past two weeks. We also played some other various games, like "what-would-you-change-if-you-could-change-one-thing" (to which we all replied weather) and "what-would-you-change-if-you-could-change-one-thing-besides-the-weather" (here we weren't quite sure). The past two weeks had been so exceptional, and nothing had really gone too wrong either. What was our favorite activity: Exploring the Waitomo Caves? Hiking in the Tongariro National Park? White water rafting? Zorbing? Hobbiton? Jumping off the Auckland Sky Tower? Zip lining in the Daintree Rainforest? Diving in the Great Barrier Reef? We did so many fun and exciting things that it was hard to decide on just a few. 

Many of the adventurous activities certainly made the list of favorites. I was apprehensive for a few of them, and it always feels good to overcome a challenge. However, in addition to these, all the little random things and the time spent with good friends are really what made the trip so memorable. Traveling with Isabelle and Sydney was a blast, and it was also great meeting up with the others in Cairns. I can't believe how lucky I am to experience all these fabulous things with all these fabulous people. From time and again, I will get this overwhelming feeling of happiness and gratitude. The wave of gratitude is always accompanied by a stupid grin on my face, the urge to hug everyone, and me proclaiming how lucky we all are. The hugging doesn't always go over well with Isabelle, but she usually (sometimes unwillingly) complies to make me happy. 

Thinking back on our two weeks, here are some of my favorite little things (in no particular order): 

• Driving in New Zealand; I felt a great sense of accomplishment because I was driving on the opposite side of the road (so silly). 
• The random people we met (the passive aggressive hostel owner, the little girl at the thermal pools in Taupo, even the crazy British girl that crawled in my bed accusing me of being a thief)
• Sydney and I using the word "hobbity" for everything after visiting Hobbiton (we would laugh every time)
• The fact that I wrote "drive approximately 1 hour and 59 minutes" on our NZ-itinerary (of course I made an itinerary for the trip... A very accurate one, too!)
• Singing in the car (especially to our road trip theme song Waves)
• Having to "dive" into the Zorb
• Getting somewhat stuck while diving into the Zorb
• Our reaction to the size of the 4,5-star hotel room
• The fact that we went to the movies THREE times because we didn't have appropriate attire for anything else 
• Sydney snapping "Don't tell me what to do!" when I suggested that maybe we all were a little famished and needed something to eat (HAHAHA!)
• The llamas at the Lilliput Farm Fun & Animal Park (and the fact that we actually visited this place)
• All our charming guides (we had crushes on almost all of them)
• The hot chocolate with Bailey's at the restaurant across the street from our hostel at the Tongariro National Park 
• Listening to the rain hit my jacket and my soaking wet shoes hit the ground on the way down from Lake Tomo
• Having a picnic lunch at Mt Eden in Auckland
• The realization that our hostel Gilligan's was essentially a giant bar/club with rooms on the upper floors
• The look on Sydney's face when the Jungle Surfing guide, Jeremy, kept on talking and talking and talking (Isabelle and I were cracking up over her priceless facial expression)
• Isabelle and Sydney (literally) singing Hallelujah to the fact that they got to hold a koala (for 17 seconds) at Cairns Tropical Zoo
• The size of the GIANT raindrops in the Daintree Rainforest 

On Sunday, after 5 days in Cairns, Isabelle and I flew back to Sydney. It was bittersweet. We were tired after two adventurous weeks, and were ready to head home. At the same time, this meant we would have to go back to reality, and stop living in our vacation-bubble. 

I may not enjoy flying, but I do enjoy the pretty views once we're up in the air (granted there is no turbulence)

Luckily, reality in Sydney isn't really all that bad. I mean, come on, it's SYDNEY! How difficult can study abroad reality be in this beautiful city? I spent Monday going to my tutorials, and realizing how many things I have due in the next two weeks. I have managed to put all assignments and obligations at the back of my mind while traveling. Within the next two weeks, I have three papers to write, a midterm and a few quizzes to complete, and a bunch of errands to run before heading to California (for my big brother's wedding). Oh, and I have to start training for this 10K that Sydney and I are running on June 1st (only 31 days away, yikes!). With so many things to get done, I thought it was wise to spend a good hour creating a to-do list, followed by some more time cleaning the drawers in my bedroom, and randomly searching the web. Hello, Procrastination! Rather than get started on assignments on Monday evening, I met up with some Norwegian friends that are visiting Australia for dinner (very worth it!). We went to a nice Italian restaurant, and then walked around the city. Don't worry, I've been oh-so-productive yesterday and today. 

After-dinner walk around Darling Harbour

These next two weeks will definitely be hectic, but nothing that I can't handle thanks to my organized and detailed to-do-list. Bring it on! I'm confident that everything on my to-do-list will be crossed out by the time I get on the plane to Los Angeles on May 16th. I also have some fun things on my list in addition to the more boring things (all work and no play makes Suzy a dull girl). The weather forecast says it's going to be nice and sunny on Sunday, so I'm planning on walking from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. Seeing as this is a scenic, coastal walk, I feel like I need to take advantage of the good weather. Perhaps I should try running it, and get in a little workout session for the 10K? We'll see. 
In addition to this lovely walk, more travels are in my near future (surprise, surprise). Next weekend (from May 9th - 11th), Isabelle, Sydney, Devan, and I are going to the middle of Australia, in the outback to see Ayer's Rock. 

Ok, enough blog writing for now (I can cross off "write blog" off my list). Now onto finishing a paper for Psychopathology, and off to bed. 

Love, 
Suzy