Battling Perfectionistic Tendencies

This semester, I wrote a paper to get extra credit points (my Macquarie and UiT credits didn't add up). The task was fairly simple; all I had to do was write a 5-10 page paper on something pertaining to one of the classes we have this semester (so either Health Psychology or Organizational Psychology). I decided to write a paper on perfectionism and how it relates to mental health. The reason I chose this topic was primarily because I am a perfectionist. Not in all areas, but definitely in regards to academics. My Grandma has always said "As long as you do your best, that's fine". Well, one can always do a little better. There's always more time that could be spent studying or tweaking a paper.

Excerpt from my paper: 
Perfectionism entails having “high standards of performance which are accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations of one’s own behavior” (Frost, Martin, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990). Features that characterize perfectionists are: being overly concerned with making mistakes, dichotomous thinking style (i.e. it is either perfect or worthless), and having an overemphasis on precision, order, and organization (Frost, Martin, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990). Perfectionists often have trouble with procrastination and/or finishing things. This is likely due to the fact that they are worried about not achieving a perfect result and put off starting altogether or they keep nitpicking because they have trouble realizing when they have reached the point of diminishing return (Burns, 1980). 

Perfectionism has been linked to a large array of psychological and physical disorders, and other forms of maladjustment. However, perfectionism isn't purely a bad thing. Differentiations have been made between healthy vs. neurotic perfectionism. The differentiation is between a component of perfectionism that is maladaptive and causes distress, and another component of perfectionism that is relatively neutral and in some cases even adaptive. People can set high standards for themselves and strive for achieving them without it being unhealthy or debilitating. The evaluation tendencies of healthy and neurotic perfectionists are different. For instance, a healthy perfectionist will be able to accept minor flaws in their performance while still believing they have been successful. Contrary, a neurotic perfectionist will be characterized by a very black and white view of their performance; either they were perfect and succeeded, or they were flawed and failed. The goals they set unrealistically high, resulting in a constant battle of wanting to achieve and their failure to do this. The psychological maladjustments and pathologies associated with perfectionism are likely more due the overly critical evaluation than purely having excessively high standards. So the key point here is that you should try to be a healthy perfectionist. 

In one of my tutorials the other day, we were discussing a research paper we had to write. The instructor gave us tips on what to include, and how to structure and write the paper. One of her tips was "Don't get it right, get it written". Her point was to first get it written, then edit, and make it right. This hit home with me because, like the perfectionists in my excerpt, I either procrastinate the whole task or don't realize when I've reached the point of diminishing return (meaning that beyond a certain point the effort you put in doesn't proportionately increase the benefits). 

While procrastinating at the library, I came across a list on Buzzfeed: "The 30 things you must stop doing to yourself". Number 23 was "Stop trying to make things perfect. The real world doesn't reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done". Earlier this evening I met a friend in the laundry room (laundry is a great way to procrastinate). His response to me not knowing what to write about was "Just write something, and it will work out". At this point I felt like the universe was telling me that I just needed to finish the term paper. Just write something, edit it, and be done with it! So that's what I'm going to do... I will have a first draft by the time I leave for Brisbane tomorrow evening, you mark my words! 

This is the song that automatically plays in my head when I need to get motivated to write. 

This may take all night... But thanks to my awesome Papa, I can eat lots of Norwegian chocolate while getting this first draft done. I can also straighten my hair if I feel like it. I wasn't expecting 800grams of goodness when I hinted that maybe he should send some chocolate along with my hair straightener... He knows me too well. Tusen takk, far! 

(Don't worry, Heidi and Martin, I won't eat it all... I will bring some along to Brisbane!)

Anywho, back to paper writing. Let's do this! Hammertime! 

Love,
Suzy

Excerpt references:
- Burns, D. D. (1980). The perfectionist’s script for self-defeat. Psychology Today,14, 35 – 52.

- Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449 – 468.

Australian Delicacies

When I was a little kid, I was a very picky eater, and didn't like trying new things. Dinner time was always a joyous affair. I've heard stories about me only wanting to eat potatoes, frozen peas, and nothing else (FYI frozen peas are actually really tasty. You should give them a try). I've grown out of this, and my diet now includes a variety of things other than peas and potatoes. I even like olives now! That deserves some grown-up points, right?

There are certain things one must try when studying abroad in a foreign country. It's part of the experience. The things Australians have told me are "must eats" have been Tim Tams, Golden Gaytime ice cream bar, Vegemite, and kangaroo meat. Other less traditional things that I want to try are crocodile and emu. 

So far I have only tried the three items on the list: Tim Tams, Golden Gaytime bar, and Vegemite. A Tim Tam is a cookie (or biscuit as they say here). It has two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, a light chocolate cream filling, and is coated with a thin layer of chocolate. They're made by a company named Arnott's, and only the real deal will do. There exists a variety of different Tim Tams: original with milk chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, turkish delight, dark chocolate, mint +++. I've only had the pleasure of trying a few of them, and of the ones I've tried the white chocolate ones are the best. YUM! 

One fabulous way to eat a Tim Tam is by doing a so-called Tim Tam Slam. To do this, all you need to do is grab some Tim Tams and a cup of coffee (or tea, whichever you prefer). Bite off the ends of the Tim Tam, dip it in the beverage, and suck. Highly enjoyable albeit a little messy. 

I wish I had a better picture of the Tim Tams, but they pretty much disappear into thin air once the package is opened. 

A Golden Gaytime bar is toffee and vanilla ice-cream dipped in compound chocolate and honeycomb biscuits on a wooden popsicle stick. Their slogan is "It's hard to have a Gaytime alone", so I met up with two of my American friends, Evan and Rich, at lunchtime and we had a Golden Gaytime (ice-cream bar) together. 

I think Rich was worried that people would see he was about to have a Golden Gaytime. 

The verdict? It was very enjoyable right then and there, but I haven't been craving another Golden Gaytime.

So many innuendos... 

Vegemite is a dark brown paste that is made from leftover brewers yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. Australians eat it with butter on bread/toast.
The Aussies I've spoken to have emphasized the importance of lots of butter and spreading the Vegemite very, very thinly on top. I was pretty excited about trying this. Some people like it, while others find it disgusting. I'm not really sure if I liked it or not. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't thinking "Oooh, I want to eat this every day!" It's hard to describe the taste of Vegemite. It's unlike anything I have ever tasted before. It's pretty salty, a little bitter, and... Weird. I think I'll have to try it a few more times. An Aussie friend of mine said that Vegemite can last for a REALLY long time, so it's not like I have to eat it straight away. I'll give it another try... Sometime. 

I wonder if I got the butter/Vegemite ratio correctly? 

 As for the kangaroo and other exotic meats, I plan to try these this weekend when I go to Brisbane. I will be visiting a friend/ex-advisor/ex-coworker, Heidi, and her boyfriend, Martin, from Thursday to Sunday. Heidi was my advisor when I attended the American College of Norway (ACN) in Moss, and she passed on the International Student Advisor torch when I worked there for a year from 2011-2012. These two are so pleasantly hilarious, and I'm so excited for all the fun we'll have this weekend. It will be grand! I will let you all know how the rest of the Australian food trying goes. I've heard kangaroo tastes gamey. I've also heard good things about emu burgers.Isabelle has tried crocodile, and said it was tasty. It will be an interesting weekend for my tastebuds! 

I feel somewhat sorry for the people who study abroad in Norway in regards to traditional Norwegian food, like lutefisk, fårikål and smalahove. Lutefisk is dried cod soaked in a lye solution before boiling to give it a gelatinous consistency, while fårikal is mutton stew with cabbage, and smalahove is sheep's head. Doesn't that sound delicious? Mm, mmm, mmmm... Nothing like some sheep's head! I'm happy (or maybe a little embarrassed?) to say that I have tried any of these. These meals aren't too common on a day to day basis; it's not like lutefisk is served on a regular Tuesday. You usually only eat them on special occasions. 

Don't get me wrong, there are some Norwegian things that are especially delicious, like vaffler (waffles), brunost (brown cheese), and Freia melkesjokolade(milk chocolate). 
Fish is also delicious in Norway. As Norway has a very long coastline, Norwegians eat a lot of fish (e.g. cod, salmon, herring, mackerel) together with boiled potatoes and vegetables. Kjøttkaker ("meat cakes") and other types of meat are also common. Potatoes are a staple, though rice and pasta are also used. Norway has a lot of international cuisine, so you can find all sorts of restaurants and food types in Norway now. Don't expect a HUGE variety of options like in the US and Australia. We don't dedicate whole aisles to one particular item. The other day I went to the grocery store to pick up butter, saw the insane amount of possibilities, and decided I didn't really need butter after all. Today I managed to make a decision... It was tough. 

Too many options. 

Norway also has incredibly fresh, amazing water straight from tap. Ahhh... I miss Norwegian water. That's probably what I miss the most (aside from friends and family, of course). The tap water here isn't terrible, but it can't compare to what I'm used to. The water is, however, much better than the Grand Forks (ND) water in springtime. 
I bought a Bobble when I got here. I'm still on the fence of whether or not I like the design... I still think it looks kind of silly. It also makes a weird sound every time I take a sip. So not only does it look silly, I draw attention to myself. Hah! I may have to learn to tolerate the tap water...

Speaking of beverages, regular filtered coffee is something that isn't easy to find here in Australia. When we first arrived to Macquarie, Isabelle and I stopped by the coffee shop on campus to get caffeinated after the long flight from Singapore. "Regular coffee with milk, please" translated into a "long black with milk". A long black is really just a double shot of espresso with some water, so it's almost like an Americano. However, it's not quite the same. I was told that the order of water and espresso determines whether it's a long black or an Americano: 

Water + espresso = long black 
Espresso + water = Americano 

Coffee is relatively expensive here (I can't justify buying the amount I'd like to drink each day at least). A medium sized long black usually costs around $3.50 (20,7kr/US$3.30). At most places they also serve the coffee in a doubled cup (so two cups inside one another). Aside from one place, I've gotten my coffee in a double cup. WHY? I've been questioning this for the last month. It's actually gotten to the point where I want to start asking the different places why they just don't get coffee cup sleeves. Wouldn't that be a lot easier and environmentally friendly? Come on, buy some sleeves! 

Back at UiT in Norway, it's common to have travel French press coffee mugs. They're great! Fresh coffee on the go. It's cheaper, tastes good, and I don't waste two paper cups every time I want coffee. I left my trusty Bodum mug at home in Norway, but thought it would be easy to find a new one here. Not the case! It was a challenge to find a travel French press mug as well. This was partly because there's not really many companies that make them, and partly because no one knew what the heck I was looking for. After stopping by three places, the woman behind the counter realized what I wanted. "OHHH! You mean a COFFEE PLUNGER!" Once I knew what Aussies call a French press, I was able to locate the same kind that I have back home. Hurray! 
(For those of you who would like one of these gems, Myers has them for $25 at the Macquarie Mall. Highly recommended!)

I have also been able to locate "knekkebrød" (crisp bread) at the local grocery store, Woolworth's. After traveling in Southeast Asia for a month (where white bread is the norm), I am still very content eating this for breakfast, lunch, and sometimes even dinner. Now if only I could find some Freia melkesjokolade...

On a totally different note, I have to mention that there are few things that brighten my day as much as coming home after a long day, opening the mailbox, and seeing something addressed to me. I also enjoy getting emails, phone calls, and texts, but mail.. It's just the best. A big thanks to the wonderful family members and friends who have taken the time to send something off to Australia. I really appreciate it! You put a big smile on my face! 

For those of you that suddenly feel the urge to brighten my day, my address is: 
Unit 8/122 Culloden Rd 
Marsfield, NSW 2122
Australia 

Well, enough about my eating habits, food, and mail. I need to do a little more on this lovely term paper of mine. It's coming along... Slowly but surely! Slow and steady wins the race, right? 

Love, 
Suzy 

Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road

It was time to get out of Sydney, so a few of the girls and I decided to go to Melbourne for a few days. With a population of 4 million people, this is Australia's second largest city. That's approximately 80% of Norway! It is located in the state of Victoria, which is in the south-east part of Australia. 

This weekend's travel companions included Devan, Isabelle, Sydney, Omi and Kaley. Omi is originally from Columbia, but goes to school in Canada, while Kaley is an American from New Hampshire. All of us (except for Sydney who flew down on Friday) headed for Melbourne on Thursday (March 20th) after our lectures; Sydney had tutorials she couldn't miss.

Melbourne is only a 1,5 hour plane ride from Sydney, so it was a convenient destination. We got in at around 5:30pm, and after a relatively short cab ride we were at our hostel. We stayed at a hostel in Flinders St named United Backpackers. It was right in the city center, within walking distance of everything. This was likely the nicest hostel I've ever stayed at (this was a 5-star hotel compared to some of the places in Thailand). We stayed in a 12 bed mixed dorm, and the experience was great. Nice, clean, and pretty new. As Devan would say, "That's perfect for you!". Yes, it was, indeed! 

Our dorm mates could have been a little tidier… 

Clean communal bathroom/showers

They also had something I had never seen before: a communal kitchen with communal fridges! We've come across small kitchens that have a small fridge and a toaster, but this was so much nicer. And people actually used this area! Apparently this is very common in Australia/New Zealand, but this was the first time I had seen the hostel kitchen being used so avidly. When we stopped by in the evening, it was packed with people cooking, drinking, and socializing. 

We went out for dinner and a few drinks the first night. A friend of Omi goes to school in Melbourne, and he took us to a nice rooftop bar after dinner. He said that there are lots of rooftop places all around town. I wish I could tell you where this one was, but alas, due to my terrible orientation skills I don't remember where it was located. All I know is that it was only about a 7 minute walk from our hostel.

Lovely rooftop bar. 

Isabelle and I woke up early on Friday morning, and decided to go have breakfast while the other girls slept a little longer. Our hostel was right next to Degraves Street, a street with lots of restaurants and cafés. A cozy street that I would definitely recommend. The pizza at Adiamo was delicious! (We didn't have pizza for breakfast. Isabelle and I went back the next day for dinner before heading to the airport).

Degraves Street by day

Neither of us had done much research on things to do or see in Melbourne, so the majority of the day was spent just walking around the city. We occasionally stopped to eat something or have a glass of wine. We heard that Melbourne was known to be a great shopping destination, so we naturally had to pop into a few stores, too. We also crammed into the free tram that went around the city for a little bit. A nice option to get around, but we would rather walk. Aside from the overcast weather, it was a great day! You get a feel for the city when you just walk around and don't just focus on all the touristy stuff. I guess it pays to not to do research at times. 

Southbank is an area by the Yarra River, and this was a very nice place to walk around. Lots of restaurants, cafés, and bars along the way. Some eccentric art, too. 

The worldwide phenomenon of locking padlocks to bridges has made its way to Southbank. This started happening in 2013, so it's relatively new here. People lock padlocks on the bridges to signify their love (awww). 

Sydney (the person) got to Melbourne on Friday evening. We went out for a quick bite to eat before a few of us headed to the Eureka Skydeck 88. Eureka is 300 meters/984ft in height, and is the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere. There are 3680 stairs, 92 floors, and 52,000 sq meters of windows. The elevators travel at more than 9 meters per second, so we were up at the top in a jiffy. (Aren't you glad I saved the brochure so I could share those nifty details with you?) 

Sydney, Devan, me, and Isabelle

Though many cities look the same from above and at night, there's still something about being so high up and seeing all the cars/people down below. I just love it. The entry fee was $18, so a little bit pricey. To me it was worth it though. There was a little café at the top, and you could see all angles of the city. You could also go out on "The Terrace", and be exposed to the outside elements almost 300 meters above the ground. Chilly! For an additional cost ($12) you could also visit "The Edge", an observation deck consisting of a glass cube that projects 3 meters out of the building. 

One of the main reasons we decided to go to Melbourne was to visit the Great Ocean Road. This is a 243km/151 mile scenic coastal drive that streches along the South-Eastern coast. We would have loved to have been able to spend a few days driving it ourselves, but because of time constraints, we opted for a full one-day tour in this spiffy van on Saturday (March 22nd). 

There was a total of 26 people on the tour (including the guide and the 6 of us). The van was spacious, and the young guide was really nice. 

Our first stop was Anglesea. We stopped here for coffee and tea. Seemed like a nice little area with cute shops. I was still a little tired from waking up so early, so the coffee was highly appreciated. Fun fact: The founders of the world renowned brand Rip Curl started up here. 

Our next stop was Memorial Arch. The road was built from 1918 to 1930, and the Arch was dedicated to those who served in World War I and built this great road. Building the road was difficult and physically demanding, but keeping preoccupied with the road was seen as beneficial for the men that had served in WWI. 

The weather wasn't very cooperative on Saturday. It was really chilly (compared to Sydney), but luckily it only rained a little at the beginning of the day. It cleared up a little as the day progressed. 

Beach near Memorial Arch

A tour in Australia isn't complete without stopping to see some wildlife. We stopped at Kenneth River, and saw lots of colorful birds and an adorable wild koala. 

Unfortunately I don't know the name of this pretty bird 

This koala was similar to the other koalas we've seen (i.e. sleepy). 

The tour started at 7:45am, so we were very ready for lunch by the time we reached Apollo Bay at around 12pm. After restoring our energy levels, we headed for the Mait's Rest Rainforest Walk which was located close to Apollo Bay. This walk was great! It should've been longer; we wished we could've hiked all day. 

There were giant rainforest trees that were up to 300 years old. These are some of the tallest trees in the world. The tree trunks were hallow due to rain, weather, and termites, and when we walked through them, we could see the sky when we looked straight up. 

The stop I was looking forward to the most, was the iconic Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks near the shore of the Port Campbell National Park. Despite the name, there were only ever nine stacks. There are currently only 8 left standing.

While in Australia, I have decided I am going to say yes to as many adventurous things as possible (within reason, of course. I'm not bungee jumping again). When our tour guide informed us that you could take a helicopter ride and see the Twelve Apostles from the air, three of the girls and I decided to do it. I've realized that if I just say yes without thinking about how nervous I actually am helps a lot. So we went on a helicopter ride. 

Helicopter crew: Kaley, Sydney, me and Isabelle

Looks can be deceiving. I was SO nervous. Flying in a helicopter is statistically less safe than flying in a plane; ergo, I was a little (read: VERY) nervous. We paid $95 (537kr) for a 15 minute ride, but it felt like a lot less. Oh well, we survived though (wohoo!), and it was an exhilarating experience. Yet another thing to cross off my bucket list! 

You can see some of the Twelve Apostles off in the distance. I was in the middle, and I couldn't get too many good shots with my camera. I was also very preoccupied with making sure I was still inhaling and exhaling. 

After the Twelve Apostles, we made our way to Loch Ard Gorge. It is said that over 700 ships have been wrecked along the Victorian coast, but less than a third of these have been discovered. One of the best know shipwrecks is that of Loch Ard, an iron-hulled clipper ship that was lost in 1878. Only two people of the 54 passengers and crew survived: a cabin boy named Tom Pearce and a young woman named Eva Carmichael. After spending the night in a cave, Pearce managed to climb the gorge's cliffs and find help. Talk about heroic! No wonder they decided to name the gorge after the ship he was on. 

Our last stop for the day was Gibson's steps. We walked down the 86 steps down to the beach below, and felt dwarfed by the 70 meter/230 high vertical cliff line. In the background you can see one of the Twelve Apostles (I believe the name was Gog or MaGog. Hm…). 

The waves got pretty intense at the beach here. Once we had started making our way up the steps to get back on the bus, a massive wave came ashore. Several people fell over and got drenched. A lady even lost her shoe! Though it sounds pretty dramatic, it wasn't. No one that we saw got hurt… Just a little wet. 

It was a long, but great day. According to Google maps, it took us 7 hours to drive one way (we drove a quicker, less scenic route back to Melbourne). I felt like we got to see all the things we wanted to, and didn't have to risk our lives driving by ourselves on the super windy roads. Always a plus when someone else drives! 



Isabelle and I have class today, so we had to leave Melbourne Sunday morning (March 23rd). After being dropped off in Melbourne, Isabelle and I went to dinner and tried to spend as much time eating as possible. We thought it would be a good idea to save some money and not get a hostel room for the night. Our flight left at 6:35am, so it was "only" a few hours. We've done this before, and every time we regret our decision. It's never fun having to sleep on the hard tile floor, but that's what we did… Just to save some cash. When we were sitting there, on our towels, with clothes wrapped around us, we couldn't stop laughing at how silly we were. Here we had just paid $95 for a short helicopter ride, but we wouldn't pay $30 dollars each to sleep a few hours before departure. We have learned our lesson now though. It never sounds like a horrible idea to sleep at the airport, but it almost always is. Haha! 

The rest of Sunday, was spent being as productive as possible when one has only gotten a few hours sleep. I think this has been one of the more productive days while in Australia. Laid out in the park, listened to some online lectures, cleaned my room, and even went for a run. Hello, productive Sunday! It is supposed to rain the next few days, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Time to lock myself in the library and get this term paper done!

Time to get to my tutorials! Have a good day, everyone! 

Love, 

Suzy

Wine Tasting in Hunter Valley

Wine, wine, and more wine! Devan, Isabelle, Sydney and I went on a wine tasting tour in Hunter Valley yesterday. As anticipated, it was a splendid day. How could it not be? Good company + lots of wine + beautiful scenery = A great way to spend a Sunday. 

Hunter Valley is one of Australia's best known wine regions, and is located approximately 2 hours from Sydney. We booked a tour through Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tours (such an informative business name). The tour cost $120 (652kr/US$109), and included wine tasting at five wineries, cheese tasting, lunch, and transportation. In addition to the four of us, there were eight other people on the tour. Our tour guide, Jenny, was very nice and informative. I would highly recommend a wine tour! 

Devan, Isabelle, me and Sydney

There are TONS of wineries in Hunter Valley. Some are just small, boutique wineries, while others are much bigger and export their wine all over Australia. According to our guide, only 25 or so of the wineries accept bigger groups (like ours) for tastings. The schedule is determined on a day to day basis, so you're not really sure which wineries you'll visit until the day of the tour. As long as we got to try some different wines and gained some knowledge by the end of the day, we weren't too picky about where we headed. 

The most iconic wines of the region are the Semillon and Shiraz. They also produced wine from a wide variety of other grapes, like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Verdelho, and Pinot Noir. 

We tried a great variety of white, red, and rosé wines. Our sensory examination and evaluation of the wines weren't too complex, but we tried. The four recognized stages of wine tasting are: 

- Appearance 

- "In glass" (i.e. the aroma of the wine) 

- "In mouth" sensations

- Aftertaste 

Happy wine tasters

I'm no wine connoisseur, but I enjoy wine. So does Devan. Can you tell? 

We ended up visiting: 

- Blueberry Hills 

- Tempus Two 

- Tintilla Estate 

- Hermitage Road Cellar

- McLeish Estate 

I would have to say my favorite winery was the fourth stop, Hermitage Road Cellar. We ate lunch there, and then were allowed to go to the wine cellar and try whatever we wanted. It was much more informal than the other places, and we could try ones that we thought sounded interesting. The guys behind the counter were very entertaining as well. 

Classy wine chugging photo bomb

The guy in the middle, Terry, had lots of suggestions for what we would like based on our very basic critiques of the wines: 

"Oh, this was good. I like this one!"

"This one was okay."

"I mean I would drink it."

"No." (accompanied by crinkled nose/face of aversion)

To my pleasant surprise, we also visited a chocolate factory. Though nothing can compare to the delicious Norwegian Freia Melkesjokolade (milk chocolate), this wasn't terrible. I mean, it's not like I'm going to say no to chocolate. 

This may not look very appetizing, but believe me, it was. Melted chocolate and fresh strawberries. This photo doesn't do this justice. Delicious! 

Today has been a long day (not because of all of the wine yesterday). A busy day with three tutorials at the university, followed by a traditional St Patrick's Day dinner made by Caitlin. She woke up at 9am, and started preparing corned beef for all of us. The sides included cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. It was worth her hard work and dedication… It was very tasty! I was so impressed. I think I will have to prepare a traditional Norwegian meal while I'm here. Kjøttkaker (meat cakes) with boiled potatoes, perhaps? Or maybe something simple like Norwegian pancakes? I know Isabelle would vote for fiskeboller (fish balls) if we could find them here. We'll see!

Love, 

Suzy