I won!

...why, you ask? because back in November, a blog that I love reading, CAKIES, was having a contest. I submitted an entry, and then I was off to Australia! with my mind on little else but my travels, you can imagine my excitement when I got an email from a social media rep at Houzz saying that I won (that, and I've never won anything before)! what's better is that my prize was a $250 gift card to Anthropologie. amazing!

I received a $200 gift card and a $50 gift card by email. since I was relying a lot on others for accomodation after I left Darwin, I decided to re-gift my $50 gift card to Virginia, the daughter of my host parents, and her fiance Craig as a thank you/wedding gift. they let me stay at their place in Melbourne for three days, and they hadn't even met me before. such kind, generous people - they definitely deserved it. I think they really appreciated it, and I know they'll use it to get something super cute for their apartment :)

I waited until I got home to spend my card, thinking that Jordan and I could look at the house and home section and see if there's anything we'd like to have in the apartment.

here's what we bought:

I can't wait for it all to arrive! I loved shopping around on anthropologie's website. although their clothes are really nice, I wanted to get things we could both use (except for the tights - a little something just for me :D) and I think we did pretty well. another BIG thanks to Ruby - you should all check out her blog! it's full of beautiful photos, heartfelt sentiment, and creativity galore. you'll love it as much as I do :)

kawaii goodies

so, I've decided that even though I'm not in Darwin anymore, I still want to update this blog. I have too much fun with it to desert it. plus, if I travel elsewhere, I can change the title, and viola, a new blog is born.

in light of this, here is a small update, and somewhat Darwin-related.

I decided to get myself a necklace from one of my favorite etsy shops (Kawaii Culture) as a homecoming gift, and it arrived yesterday! when I was deciding which to buy, it was a toss-up between the avocado necklace (which I will own some day!) and the mango necklace; both of which represented the fruits I ate HEAPS of while in Australia. I had to go with the mango. at first, Sarah didn't have any mangoes in her shop, so I requested one, and the result was gorgeous!

the colors are absolutely beautiful, and I love how she sliced one side of it :) cute enough to eat!

it really meant a lot to me that Sarah remembered me, and included an adorable note and gift with my necklace. isn't she the best? her shop is full of the most adorable mini food jewelry, which she hand-makes from clay. definitely check out her etsy shop, and be wowed by her talent! but beware, you might just find that one piece that you must have (I found several)!

celebrations and settling in

now that I can post photos again, I'm ready for an update!

Aussie Santa uses the NT news for wrapping :O

as I mentioned in my last post, I crashed at my parents' house for a few days when I got back to the States. while I was there, we celebrated Christmas, my birthday, and my dad's birthday, in a pretty rapid-fire fashion. it was tons of fun. we celebrated Christmas right away - Aussie Santa even came with Aussie gifts for all :)

happy birthday to my favorite dad! ;)

for my birthday, my mom cooked at home instead of going out. I was a bit relieved, as I was still in settling-in mode. she made chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, stuffed shells, and pavlova for dessert. it was, of course, incredible. I'm only sorry that I didn't have a better mind to take a photo before we all dug in. Jordan and his parents came over and we all feasted. shortly after, they had to leave to pick up Jordan's brother and his wifey from the airport, but I'm still glad that they came.

(mostly demolished) sashimi tuna
@ Bull's Head

then, I spent a couple days touring around the state with Jordan to have Christmas(es) with his family. we went to his aunt's house for dinner and back to his parents' house for new years. we spent a little time in the casino on the way through, which was fun, even though I didn't gamble. there were a couple notable times when I got really sad missing Darwin, and New Years was one of them. I remember excusing myself to go to the bathroom just to pull it together.

coneys @ One Stop

after the weekend, Jordan dropped me off back at my parents house and went back to Grand Rapids while the fam and I went out for my dad's birthday. my mom and I spent the whole day shopping, which was frankly miserable, and I think she can agree. we came home a while before dinner at least, which was a relief. we went to a restaurant in town that we had never been to, which was quite deserted, but quite good. we were all so stuffed that we saved birthday tiramisu until the following night, which was soooo good.

drinks @ Hopcat

since I've been back, I've been a bit indulgent in a few of my favorite GR spots. The Bull's Head, One Stop Coney Shop, Hopcat, Flanagan's, Founders, we went to a Griffins game, and to Peppinos... I also stopped by at work and filled out some tax forms so I can start making money again. I think working will help improve my mood. it will get me out of this apartment on days when I don't have class, for one. classes have begun as of the 9th, but I'm only taking 2, and teaching one day/week until March. my new student teaching placement seems wonderful, and I'm sure I will love working with my new (very tall) students. first time teaching high school!

my very snowy strreet

lunch @ Founders

I still get sad sometimes, but I'm working on coping. I know that it's okay to feel that way because it just means that the people I met and the experiences I had really made an impact on me, and they will be with me for life. for now, I'm here. I'm graduating in May, there's snow on the ground, and I have lots to look forward to and be happy about.

homecoming

success!

so, after 8 weeks, I'm finally back in the States!

connessione

after we explored Sydney for one last time, Pete was lovely enough to drive me to the airport, and I was officially on my way back to the States. I checked my bags with no problems and went off to security where they confiscated the Vegemite I bought for my sister's Christmas present, as well as my skinID face wash. the Vegemite was stupid on my part because I forgot it was in my carry-on, but my face wash was 118mL (limit is 100), and more than half empty. so stupid. so upset.

anyway, I walked all over the Sydney airport looking for a shop to buy more Vegemite, and I finally found one, close to my gate (of course). the largest size they had was in a tube, which I thought was pretty cool because it was portable :) so I bought it, along with a ton of Aussie candy for pretty cheap, as far as airport prices go.

Detroit airport tree!

best airline food EVER (never thought
I'd say that)

THEN I realized that I forgot to get tiny Vegemite packets as gifts, so I found a Macca's (which was easy enough) and asked for some Vegemite. I bought some fries because I felt guilty just asking them to give me some.

by then I was exhausted just from walking around the airport, so I sat and waited at the gate. surprisingly, I managed not to get too teary. leaving Darwin was much more difficult than leaving Australia. luckily, I have had contact with Kaye and Roger and other Darwin people throughout my travels, and it has really helped.

the plane ride was as awful as ever. I had a middle seat in the middle row in economy, same as I had on my arrival flight. impossible to sleep, and if the person next to you is sleeping, you can't get up to pee. I had a very sleepless flight, so I ended up watching 4 movies :X they were all pretty good, but my favorite was Crazy, Stupid, Love. hilarious, heartfelt, unexpected. I actually had to stifle my laughter the entire way through. I was on the new flight direct from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth. the flight was more than 14 hours, but I was surprised how fast it felt once we landed. and the Dallas airport is massive! they have a sky train/people mover that takes you from terminal to terminal, which was pretty fun. customs in the US was a breeze. they just asked me a question or two and sent me on my way. going into Australia (from the US and Indonesia), my bags were searched and everything, and I had far less luggage then. a bit more strict than we are, evidently.

Silvie, enjoying his Christmas gift

Santa came!

once I found my terminal, I worked my ass off to get an earlier flight. I really, really didn't want to deal with that 17-hour layover after the exhausting week I had. I got on the phone with Qantas, and they put me on an earlier flight (10 hours earlier to be exact), and waived all the fees. amazing.

Jordan met me at the airport at midnight, and drove me to my parents' house. the next day, I woke up to SNOW! I may not have had snow on Christmas day, but this was good enough for me. and it continued to snow for 2 days. we only ended up getting a few inches, but it was snowing so hard and it was so perfect.

adam, pretending to be cute ;)

french toasting

my dad made the best french toast ever, and we hung out until my sister came over. she was in town from Florida with my 3 nephews, and I loved seeing them. we opened presents and had delicious food (always the case at my parents' house), had a few drinks, and played Apples to Apples :)

as much as I miss Darwin, I'm happy to see my American family. I still get teary reading emails from Kaye, and I get disappointed when I wake up and I realize I'm no longer in the tropics, but they're thinking of coming to the States for Christmas next year, and I couldn't be more excited! I met people in Australia that I know will be in my life forever, and I'm so grateful for everything they've done for me. for now, Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. 2011 has been unforgettable.

Merry Sydney Christmas!

a Christmas deejay at the airport!

Sydney has been wonderful. I have been staying with Fran's brother the past couple days. he and his daughter Georgia have been so great. they invited a perfect stranger to stay in their house and I couldn't be more grateful.

Christmas champagne at Pete's

the night I arrived, Georgia invited me out with her straight away. so we dropped my luggage and went to her friend's house for drinks and nibbles before going out. since it was Christmas Eve, the bars were PACKED. literally sardines. right after we got to the bar, Fran called me and she, Pete and I went to meet up with Carlee on her last night in Sydney. Georgia didn't come, but she recommended this bar that was impossible to find. we must have looked lost, because a nicely-dressed man standing in a creepy alley asked us if we were looking for the bar. when we said yes, he pointed to a blank white door in the middle of the alley. probably prompted by our confused expressions, he opened the door, and there was a bar inside! sensational. a well-kept Sydney secret, and so much fun.

Pete's daughter Courtney and her
puppy Pumba - cutest ever!

an amazing Christmas feast

Christmas the following day was great. we turned on Christmas music, and hung out, chatting and having champagne. Pete cooked dinner and Georgia decorated a gingerbread house. before we knew it, lots of people were arriving, including Pete's other daughter Courtney and her adorable little pug puppy, Pumba! I was in love. he is such a cutie (though he bites pretty hard).

I was EXHAUSTED after dinner. Fran had to leave, but Pete and Georgia an I turned on Christmas Vacation before going to bed :)

yachts getting ready to race to Tasmania

the next day was my last day in Sydney. I thought I would spend it lounging around and getting ready to go, but after breakfast, Pete surprised me by inviting me into town to walk across the Harbour Bridge (something I didn't get to do my first go around in Sydney). it was so good! the Sydney to Hobart yacht race was launching at 1pm, and even though I had to be at the airport by then, but we still saw lots of boats in the harbour.

best name ever

once across the bridge, we tried hunting down a coffee shop in the city but they were all closed for Boxing Day. we wandered a bit before going to the Rocks market, and then headed back to their apartment for a quick Christmas-leftover-sandwich for lunch before I was Dallas-bound.

the Rocks market

while I was unbelievably sad to be leaving Australia, after this hectic week, I was happy to be going someplace stable. my someplace stable was with the Cowleys' home for so long, and when I left, I felt like I was being pulled in so many different directions. however, I have had so many nice people help me out during my travels, which is so amazing.

I have fallen in love with every bit of this country. the land, the culture, but especially the people. I will miss Australia more than anything. I hope I will be back again.

a few days in Melbourne, and Sydney-bound (again!)

tram'd

yesterday I took the city of Melbourne by storm! well, not really, but I was there anyway.

fed square

I bought a ticket to take the tram into town, which was an experience in and of itself. riding the tram is definitely one of the must-do, iconic things in Melbourne. the cool thing about public transport tickets here is that the same ticket can be used to ride the tram, train, and bus, which I got to do later on in the day.

an aboriginal painting

once I was in town, my first stop was Federation Square. from the Square, you can opt to take a tour, or have something to eat, or do something else touristy, but I decided to just walk around for a bit. after exploring the square, I headed over to the Ian Potter centre at the National Gallery of Victoria, which I heard was free - bonus! they had some beautiful exhibits of Aboriginal art, and other really interesting collections. I definitely spent a good couple hours admiring 3 floors' worth of art and artifacts.

from there, I wandered for a bit, and eventually made it to Chinatown. such a cool place. the smell of the food alone was incredible. there was a Chinese museum, but it was a bit pricey, so I didn't go, but I had a good time walking around in Chinatown for a while, taking in the sights and smells.

ni hao, Chinatown

while looking at my omnipresent map, I realize that the library is close, so I go there. they have free wifi and air con, so I hang out for a while. the building is beautiful, and there were exhibits about books and ideas throughout time, and photographers of post-war Melbourne, which were really cool.

after a bit more window shopping, and a few trips down a few of Melbourne's many arcades, I stopped by the Immigration Museum. they let me in for free with my international student ID, wonderful people. the museum was amazing, and so interesting. I really liked the exhibit about the child immigrants. from the policies, to the transportation, everything was so fascinating.

reading room @ SLV

8 hours later, I was exhausted. it was a fun day in the city. even though I'm sad that I didn't get to do some of the "big" things in Melbourne (walking along the Yarra river, going to the MCG, or seeing the Royal Botanical Gardens), I'm not too broken up about it. that just means I'll have something new to do the next time I'm in town :)

I was really good about my spending as well. I spent $7 on an all-day pass to ride the tram, bus, and train and $15 on food for underprivileged children okay, it was on shoes.

after, I came back and showered and tried to lay down, but I was still so energized from all the walking that it was useless. later, when Virginia and Craig came home, we got ready to go out to a BBQ at their friend's house, and they let me tag along. we took a bus and a tram to get there. I love the way the routes all meld together, even though I'd be useless in figuring it out on my own.

State Library of Victoria entrance

I liked doing a mix of touristy things, and doing stuff with Virginia and Craig. meeting their friends was a blast, and they were so nice to invite me along. I will miss Melbourne, but I've got to go back to Sydney to catch my flight. Christmas is so soon! I'll be missing Darwin people more than ever over the holidays, but I'll be with Fran and her fam, and I know that will help. happy holidays!

Mel-bin!

ciao, Sydney

Melbourne has been amazing so far. I am staying with Kaye and Roger's daughter Virginia and her fiance Craig. they have been absolutely wonderful.

here we go again

when I landed, I took a shuttle to the train station, where Craig met me. I'm so grateful that he did, because I am useless at figuring out which tram to take where, and transfers and all that. it was nice to have help with my luggage as well. I don't know how I ended up with so much stuff, but I'll definitely have lots to remember Australia by when I go home.

vintage'd

a tram and a train later, we met Virginia at the platform, who drove us to their apartment. I got to meet Leo, the most adorable (and fluffiest) cat ever before going out for a fabulous pizza dinner :)

I was up at the crack of 9:30 the next morning and decided to walk over to Chapel St., a popular shopping area close by. as I walked along the road, the shops went from vintage at one end to high fashion at the other. I was proud of myself for not buying anything, but I've got my eye on a pair of shoes that I regret leaving behind. I may have to go rescue them tomorrow.

after about 4 hours of window shopping, a latte, and a snack, I came back to the apartment exhausted. I hung with Leo and planned my Friday in the city. I discovered that there's a free bus and a free tram that go around the city, and I only have to pay about $4 to get into town. bargain!

latte and smut...great combo

my new roommate Leo

when Craig and Virginia got home, we ordered Thai take out which was literally some of the best Thai food I've ever had. they even invited me to tag along when they went out to have a drink with some friends. so nice! I definitely feel very welcome here, and I had a fabulous 1st day in Melbourne.