End of May...early June. Nearing the end.

Ashley, Lauren, and Mel studying at The Loft

The last two weeks have been so busy. School work definitely slowed down after turning in my last essay of the semester (which I did not do too well on. Oops.) I have been trying to look at lists I got from some lovely friends, Tina and K.C, and fit in seeing all the cool places there are to see around Perth and Freo and check off everything I put on my bucket list at the beginning of the semester. Tai and I finally made it to the Pickled Fig. It turned into my new favorite cafe. It is all open between the inside/outside portion and right on South Beach. We have spent numerous hours there reading and hanging out, and more recently studying for finals. It is about a 30-40 minute walk from Cleos, but so worth it once you get there. The walk back at sunset isn't too bad either. Another new favorite hang out that we just discovered is The Loft. I went there the other night with Mel, Ashley, Phil, and Lauren to study ethics. We got some cider and frites and studied the night away. It was a really cool place to just go hang out with comfy couches and board games just laying around that you can play. 

Cleos (the smallest of the 3 study abroad halls) showing some pride
Black out at the 3rd all halls competition

Putting a puzzle of Australia together to get
the next clue

Last week was the third and final Hall Competition between Cleos, P&O, and Port Lodge. The first was the Bather's Beach Triathlon which we came in 2nd for; the second was the Bake Off, we got 1st. This third challenge was a relay race type thing where each hall was represented by 10-15 people and we had to accomplish tasks like eating different Australian foods including Vegemite and  Weet Bix (super dry 'cereal bars' that you're supposed to eat with milk...but they had to be eaten dry at the competition), shooting baskets, dribbling a footy ball back and forth across the gym, answering Australian trivia, 3 legged race, balancing an egg across the gym...and the final challenge was to use our bodies to spell the word 'koala'. Cleos won the challenge as well as the overall semester competition. It was a big win for Hotel Cleopatra because they haven't won in like 8 years or something ridiculous. 

Another thing that was on my to-do list for the week was to walk to the Lighthouse at Bather's Beach. Tai and I took a break from studying on night, got some wine and went to watch the sunset at the lighthouse. It was a really ugly and boring lighthouse compared to those that I have seen on the Oregon Coast, but it was just nice to get out of the house and relax for a bit. 

what better place to spend a 20th birthday than the Orient?!

It was really fun celebrating my 20th birthday in Australia and being able to go out to bars and clubs. Friday night before my birthday I went into Perth with Stephanie, Phil, Lauren, and Tai and we went to the Mustang which is supposed to be a country bar and resemble an American bar...which it didn't do a very good job of. It was still really fun though. They had rugby and footy on tv and a dj and dance floor. Everyone made sure I had a good night by provided several different types of shots with inappropriate names. On Monday, the 28th, I had class alllllll day. It was also the day of my final theatre performance. Sooo I got to dress up as a man and go fail at acting first thing in the morning. Later that night though I went out to dinner with a bunch of people in the house to La Porchetta. After that we went across the street the the Orient for a little birthday gathering. Annie booked the backroom and had beer pong set up. There were a couple Australian guys who decided to join the party and learn how to play beer pong, which they had only ever seen in movies. Phil and I ran the table all night of course. Until Jason and Andrew beat us...but we had already won enough games by then. The night ended with tequila shots with my good friends from Port Lodge, Cory, Brendan and Jess! 

a little drunk dancing...

a little bit of beer pong...

First tequila shot. happy birthday from Corey, Jess, and Brendan! 

 MARGARET RIVER RETREAT 

Canoeing in Margaret River

Witchedygrubs that we ate

This last weekend was our Cleos Retreat down south at Margaret River. This trip was led by Maddie and the campus minister, Tom Gannon, who is from Portland also but moved to Australia 8 (?) or so years ago to lead campus ministry here at Notre Dame. We left Friday afternoon around 2:30 and it took about 4 hours to get there. That first night we just went grocery shopping and made a family dinner and just hung out together in the hostel playing board games, then went for a walk and Tom led a reflection on the beach. The next morning we went canoeing in the Margaret River and got to see the first house that was built along the river, but unfortunately burned down in a bush fire 6 months ago. For lunch we got to try some 'Australian' foods (not that all Australian's actually eat it...). We had kangaroo, emu, crocodile, and turkey. We also tried a witchetygrub, which is basically a caterpillar. Had I not been in Australia and had been on some weird touristy tour I don't think I would have ever tried it, but I didn't want to miss out on any cool experience in Australia...I think I would have been alright passing on that one though. It does NOT taste like peanut butter like we were told it does. Canoeing was really fun. I was in a boat with Tai, Lauren, and Phil. Phil was the brains in the back of the boat steering, Lauren and I in the middle for muscle, and Tai in the front for...looks? (kidding Tai, i love you haha). We also went into a cave that people used to live in. There were different 'rooms' in the cave and in one of them some archaeologists have found baby teeth and bones so it is believed it was the kids' room. You have to crawl through a TINY space to get to the different rooms and we got to crawl through it. It was so small you had to army crawl through the space and be careful not to hit your head on any rocks sticking down. After crave crawling and canoeing back to where we started, we rushed back to the hostel to change clothes and head over to a winery for a wine tour. The vineyard was called Leeuwin and owned by a man named Dennis who happened to be there and tag along on our tour. We saw where the wine was made and learned about the different processes of fine wine making. This particular vineyard only makes a tiny percentage of Australian wines, but has won many awards and whatnot, so I guess it's pretty good! We got to try a couple different whites and reds. This stuff made me realise the $5 bottles we've been buying all semester at Cole's is pretty nasty. (Other than Passion Pop, a personal favourite, AND it's only like $6/7) But the wines here were actually really good! 

Lauren, Tai, and me wine tasting 

The next day Tom took us the same journey he took his wife on the day he proposed to her. We first went to the lighthouse at the most southwestern tip of Australia. You could see where both the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. After being there we drove to two different beaches, one being the Indian Ocean, and the other the Southern Ocean. It was cool to be able to go in two different oceans in the same day. We hung out at both of these beaches for a little bit because some people went swimming at each other them. I forgot to pack a swim suit, or any shorts soooo I missed out on swimming in both oceans. Next we went to Mammoth Cave where we got to walk through it. It was huge, hence the name, and had icicle looking structures hanging down from the ceiling and poking up from the ground.

Mammoth Cave

The most southwestern tip of Australia where the two oceans meet

At about sunset, we were slit up into pairs and walking along the beach discussing some questions that Maddie and Tom made up for us. They were just things to reflect on about our whole semester and time in Australia. I got to walk with Hannah and while we had a great conversation, we were interrupted by two dolphins swimming right alongside the shore. Other than in Monkey Mia, where the dolphins are notorious for hanging out and it being a super touristy area, I had yet to see wild dolphins just hanging out in ocean water that I could have been swimming in. It was so amazing. This was the beach where Tom proposed to his wife Liz, asking her if she would 'walk with him forever' and presenting her with a toe ring. Classic Tom.

After our long day we went back to the hostel, ate some pizza, and stayed up late again playing Scattegories and Pictionary. 

The next morning we got up and started making our way north back towards Fremantle. We made a couple of stops on the way to different sites. We went to Serpentine Dam in Jarrahdale and some other National Park. They were both just quick spots to take a look and keep going...Our last stop was a park where we fed some birds. They are called 28s(?) and were bright green. I hate birds, but again, gotta get the full experience, so I sucked it up and fed the stupid birds. I was going fine with the one that landed on my hand and was eating sunflower seeds, but when another one landed on my shoulder and touched my face I freaked out and started crying. Naturally, everyone made fun of me. So then since I was embarrassed that a little 6 year old could manage a few birds landing on her and eating out of her hands, i had to try again. Second time was a success, no tears...but i still hate birds. 

It is now Sunday night of finals week and my exams start on Tuesday. I have Ethics and Children's Literature this first week of finals and Theatre and Australian History next week. Luckily, I finish finals on Tuesday and have a couple days to relax, hang out, pack, explore...do whatever before leaving early Saturday morning. I cannot believe there are only two weeks left. It feels like I have been here forever and I miss my friends and family more than ever right now. I have missed so many things like Katie's birthday, my great grandma Yellow Grandma's 90th, and I had to say my last goodbye to my grandpa earlier than I had expected. It has been really tough being away from home during times like this but I know how much you all want me to enjoy my last couple of weeks here in Australia.

I love you Papa and miss you so much. Keep an eye on me from heaven  (: