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Du Vihn, Sophie, Me, and Robyn

Me and Calum

Dinner at Nandos

On Monday (Drea’s last day in Perth) we went to Carousel shopping center with Livia. Once we got back home, Drea packed all of her stuff up, and we headed to dinner over at Don Watt’s. Calum cooked spaghetti, and he made a really special pudding called self-saucing pudding. I had never tried anything like it, but it was delicious. After dinner Drea and I hung out there for a while because her flight was not until midnight. My friend Dave ended up taking us to the airport. It was sad to see her go…and hard to believe that our time together was already over. Her departure also meant I had to start studying for my exam, which I was not looking forward to.

So most of the week was uneventful. I kept busy studying, but it was still hard to focus because I had spent a week without doing any work so I was really starting to feel like I was on vacation. I was really excited for the weekend because I knew it was our last weekend together in Perth. On Friday, Livia, Komal and I went into the city for some shopping. I wasn’t really going for the shopping though…I just couldn’t handle studying anymore. After shopping we decided to hang out at Komal’s place and watch a movie. Livia even made a Brazilian chocolate cake for us. It was delicious.

On Saturday, I studied during the day because I knew I would be busy that night. I spread the word that we were eating dinner at Nando’s, and about twenty people showed up. It was awesome! We had a lot of fun at dinner. Some people decided to go the Casino after dinner, but I went to see the movie “Angels and Demons” with Matt, Komal, and Layla. Divya offered to drive us to the movies even though she couldn’t stay; however, unfortunately, we had to wait about an hour for a taxi once the movie was over.

This morning I went to Curtin community church. I can’t believe this is my last Sunday in Perth. After church Du Vihn and Robyn invited me over for lunch at their house. Robyn will have the baby any day now. I’m glad I got the opportunity to go over to their house one last time before I leave this coming Saturday. My exam is tomorrow night, and I am so ready to be finished. After Monday, I will start packing up my room, and I will spend as much time as I can with all of my friends before everyone leaves!

Wine tour lunch

Night Club in Subiaco

At Lake Cave in Margaret River

Wine Tour

Rock Climbing (Me, Dave, Komal and Jaymes)

Last Sunday after going to Fremantle for most of the afternoon, we decided to go rock climbing in Perth City. I was so excited because I went rock climbing a number of times during January and haven’t been rock climbing since. We had a lot of fun, and we pretty much had the whole rock climbing gym to ourselves! We were so sore the next day though because we did so much climbing.

On Monday, Drea and I headed to Cottesloe beach. It looked as though Monday was going to be the last day the temperature got above 70 degrees, so we decided we should go the beach while we still had the chance, and we especially wanted to see the sunset at the beach. We packed a picnic and had a late lunch on the beach. It was a very relaxing day and we saw a beautiful sunset.

On Tuesday our adventure to Margaret River began. We headed into the city after breakfast to catch the bus that goes from Perth all the way to Margaret River…about a 5 hour bus ride. Once we arrived in Margaret river, we waited for our hostel shuttle bus to pick us up. After an hour of waiting we finally got picked up. We found out that it had taken so long because the shuttle broke down as it was coming to pick us up. Once we got to our hostel, which was just a two minute walk from the beach, we were famished but we didn’t have many food options nearby. But we did find Gnarabar (a classy restaurant) and we sat next to the fireplace and enjoyed a delicious meal. It sounds kind of crazy that we were eating by a fireplace, but it actually gets pretty cold in Australia, especially down south in the winter. After dinner we headed back to our private room, and watched some T.V. for the first time in a while. The hostel was really nice and new and we got a really good deal, especially for having a room to ourselves.

Wednesday morning we woke and up and got ready for the wine tour we had booked a few nights before. The tour guide came and picked us up from our hostel and we headed around town to pick up the other 7 who were also joining us on the same wine tour. We went to four wineries, one brewery, a chocolate factory and a cheese factory. The tour even included lunch during our stop at one of the wineries. Drea had really wanted to try kangaroo meat, and the lunch included a little kangaroo meat. Neither of us liked it too much, although it wasn’t bad. I just don’t like the idea of eating Kangaroo. I feel that I have learned a lot about wine in the last few weeks, and slowly the taste is growing on me. Later that night, Drea and I headed back to Gnarabar for dinner because it was just that good (and we were excited to sit by the warm fire again, especially after an extremely windy and rainy day). After dinner Drea taught me how the play chess on a giant chess board at the restaurant.

Thursday morning we were originally supposed to check out, but we decided to stay another night because we wanted to explore other areas of Margaret River. Around lunch time we headed to the actual town area of Margaret River where all the shops and restaurants are located. It was fun walking around the candy shop, fudge factory, and souvenir shops. Soon after we headed down to the lighthouse …which is the southwestern most part of Australia. It was extremely windy and it was even hard to walk. Then, we headed to Lake Cave, and we had a guided tour of the cave. It was incredible. We had to climb down 200 ft before reaching the entrance of the cave. Throughout the rest of the afternoon we went to a few beaches and other scenic areas. Everything was so beautiful, and it was pretty clear why Margaret is a very popular area during the warmer months.

Friday morning we woke up and checked out of the hostel. Our bus back to Perth didn’t leave until around four o’clock, so we were able to explore the area a little more. We went to another candy shop and we got to see a honeycomb-like candy being made and we got to try it. We also stopped by an animal farm and a olive oil factory. The bus ride home seemed to last forever. We finally arrived in Perth around nine pm and we had to catch another train and bus to get back to Vickery, so we didn’t get home until around ten thirty. And, because we hadn’t eaten dinner, we made pasta and ate a very late dinner.

Saturday we woke up and made pancakes for breakfast because we didn’t have any other food in the house. So, accordingly, we went to the grocery store and pick up a few things that would last us for the remainder of Drea’s stay. In the afternoon I took Drea to Kings Park because I thought she would really enjoy the park that overlooks the city. We, again had a picnic, and enjoyed reading for the afternoon at the park. We then came home and made pasta and a delicious chocolate cake. And, we even had a glass of wine with our dinner (The wine that I got for my birthday like 3 months ago). That night we decided to go out the night clubs with some of my friends. Rather than going to Northbridge, my friends wanted to change it up and go to a night club in Subiaco. We danced all night long and didn’t get home until around 4 am. We had a lot of fun…this was only my second time at the night clubs here.

Nine o’clock Sunday morning came pretty early. We got up and went to church on campus. We saw Du Vihn and Robyn, and she is due to have her baby this Thursday! After church we went to lunch at Nando’s with Jenn and Livia. Afterwards we went and hung out at the Don Watt’s flat and we played some volley ball. I still haven’t even thought about studying for my exam, but I still have a week. Drea leaves tomorrow night. It’s hard to believe we’ve already spent a week and a half together!

Me, Komal, Dave, and Alex (Souvenir shopping)

And they already love Drea!

Michelle and I after the Steamboat dinner

Steam boat dinner...after all the food was gone

Drea arrived on Wednesday morning! I spent much of Monday and Tuesday working on assignments and I pretty much got everything finished before she arrived. On Wednesday I took two buses to get to the airport to pick her up because most of my friends with cars had class during that time. I saw her waiting outside the airport even before I got off the bus! It was so good to finally see her. We then took a taxi home, which was pretty expensive. Once we arrived back on campus, we went to the Tav for lunch, and Drea got to meet some of my friends. I also showed her around campus, and we headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Later that night Jenn invited us to dinner at Don Watt’s flat because she was making meatloaf. We went, and even though I didn’t think I really liked meatloaf, I really enjoyed the meal. Drea also got to meet a lot more of my friends over dinner. After dinner, we went outside to watch the boys play some Footy (Australian football), and we even played a little bit too!

On Thursday I took Drea to my Australian studies class. We basically just handed in our final papers and then we had a party, and everyone brought food and drinks. Drea got to experience Tim Tams and Lamingtons (somewhat Australian desserts). After class ended, we went into Perth city and walked around near the Jetty and the Mall. Later that night we made a pasta dinner, which consisted of pasta and garlic bread…how healthy. I had a little bit of Math homework to finish, so Drea researched some activities we could do during our trip to Margaret River. We booked our hostel and a wine tour later that night, and we are scheduled to head down there on Tuesday by bus. We are both really excited!

On Friday I took Drea to my dreadful math class. Now she knows what I had to go through twice a week for 2 hours. But finally, Classes are OVER! When we got home from class, we decided to make brownies for the Bible Study dinner. This week the Bible study was different because it was more of a bible talk than a study because it was more geared towards non-Christian friends that we invited. Then, we went to Du Vihn’s house for a Steamboat dinner. Divya also was able to join us for dinner, so she got to meet everyone as well. Steamboat was quite an experience. It is somewhat similar to Fondue, but it is more focused on seafood, including all kinds of fish balls you can imagine (and this was my first time trying fish balls). It was a lot of fun.

Today we went into the city for souvenir shopping. A big group of us went to the city to have lunch and then we headed separate ways. Drea, Komal, Dave, Alex, and I headed around to the souvenir shops and a few other random shops. We stayed in the city until about 4pm, and then we headed back to Curtin. A few hours later Drea and I went to Du Vihn’s house to have dinner with his family. Drea is staying at their house tonight because she is only “supposed” to stay in my room a total of three nights. Tomorrow morning I will meet them all at church. Then, I am taking Drea to Fremantle for the afternoon :)

Some pictures from the wine tour

Outside the first winery

Me and the Birthday Girl!

The second winery

The tour bus

On the bus

Last Sunday I went to Nathan’s church in Subiaco with a few friends. We got to see Nathan play the drums during worship. It was also really cool because he invited a lot of our friends who don’t usually go to church. After church, we headed to the markets in Subiaco. It was my first time in Subiaco (which is more “high class” suburb of Perth), but it is always exciting to go to the markets, because you can find pretty much anything you can imagine and more. Later that afternoon (as well as Monday afternoon), Komal, Jenn, and I got together to finalize our sexology presentation. We rehearsed our presentation in front of our friends a couple of times. I have never practiced a presentation three times before, but I guess it paid off because we did really well during our actual presentation in class on Tuesday.

Later on Tuesday, Komal, Jenn, Dave, Matt, Livia, and I went over to Divya’s house for dinner. Her mom made us pasta and about ten different India dishes to try! All of the food was wonderful, and her mom even boxed up the leftovers for us to take home. It was quite an enjoyable night, especially having our sexology presentation finished (so now we are completely finished with assignments for that class).

Wednesday I played tennis with Du Vihn and Mark again. I am finally getting my swing and my serve back after playing racquetball for the past few months! Because the tennis courts are very close to Du Vihn’s house, his wife Robyn and daughter Sophie usually walk down to the courts to watch us play. Sophie is adorable and she loves to run around the court and play with the tennis balls. When I first met Sophie she could barely talk, but now she says my name all the time!

This weekend the weather changed drastically. I think it had maybe rained twice since I arrived, but since Thursday, it has been extremely windy and rainy. This weekend is the first time the temperature hasn’t reached at least 70 degrees during the day. Anyway, despite the weather, I went to Bible study on Friday, and afterwards we went out to dinner at a Malaysian restaurant.

Saturday, I went shopping with Livia and Kaitlyn, mostly in order to buy groceries and a birthday present for Jenn. Jenn’s parents are visiting from the U.S. this weekend (especially for her birthday) and today they are took us on a Swan Valley Wine tour! It was also Jamee’s birthday as well, so we celebrated both of their birthdays during our tour. We rode around in a tour bus this afternoon and visited three wineries, one brewery, and the Margaret River Chocolate Factory in Perth. It was a pretty cool experience, and I certainly learned a lot about wine even though I am not too fond of the taste. Then, after our 5 hour tour, Jenn’s parents treated all of us to dinner at a pizza/kebab place in the city!

Aside from all that, I am diligently working on my LAST paper in order to finish it before Wednesday when Drea arrives. Unfortunately I haven’t received my last math assignment yet, so that probably won’t be finished before Wednesday. I am really excited for Wednesday, and it will be here before I know it!

Last Saturday night, I had a lot of fun. I texted a few friends about dinner and told them to pass the message along, and about 12 people showed up, and many of them I hadn’t seen in a while. It was really good to catch up with everyone over dinner. Then, after dinner, Me, Komal, Divya, and Dave went back to Komal’s flat and watched Momma Mia. After we watched to whole movie we went back to the parts of the movie with the best songs and we did the “Sing Along Version”!

Sunday, I went to church, as usually. Later in the afternoon Komal, Jenn, and I got together to work on our presentation for our sexology class. This is the only presentation/group project that I have had all semester, and I am quite glad because I am not a fan of group projects. Then, Sunday night, a few of us girls were going to see a girly movie, Ghost of Girlfriends Past. However, it was sold out. Instead, we bought tickets for a later showing of Star Trek for all of us and a bunch of the guys that wanted to see it as well. So, we went home and came back to the movies two hours later. By the time I got home, I had no motivation to do any schoolwork…so much for a productive Sunday.

The next day, I went to my Residence Office to get approval for Drea to stay with me a certain number of nights. I was under the impression that our guests could stay a few nights at the beginning of their trip and a few at the end (so I was thinking she would be able to stay atleast 5 or 6 nights in my room). However, I found out that we are not allowed to have guests during study weeks or exam weeks, and she is only going to be here 5 days before study week. I tried to get approval for her to stay those first 5 nights she is here, but the manager told me she couldn’t stay five days in a row…only 3 nights total! We are planning on doing some traveling, but not for 9 days! I have been talking to friends and trying to figure other options, and my Bible study leader offered to let her sleep at his house a few nights, and I am very greatful for that!

Later Monday night, I went over to my friends flat at Don Watt’s (A Residence area on campus)for dinner. We have Breakfast for dinner…eggs, pancakes (with strawberries), and bacon. It was quite delicious. It is quite interesting how different the dynamics are at other flats. My flatmates and I always cook on our own, and we don’t really hang out with each other much. On the other hand, my friends that live in Don Watt’s take turns making dinner for everyone during the week, and they all hangout quite regularly.

Wednesday I went to the foodbank, I think for the last time. Later that afternoon I played tennis with Du Vihn. After tennis, he invited me over for dinner at his house. I really have been so fortunate to have met such a wonderful Australian (and Christian) family! On Thursday, we went on our last excursion in my Australian Studies class. This time we went to Northbridge (which is the area with all of the night clubs). Our guide was a guy who was probably in his late 60’s, and he told us all these stories about murder and hangings that occurred a few centuries ago. It was kind of interesting, but the stories were a little difficult to follow.

Last night I went to Bible study and dinner afterwards. I can’t believe we only have two bible studies/dinners left! I am really excited that Drea will be here for the last dinner, which will be extra special because we are doing a “steamboat”. I am not exactly sure what that means, but apparently it is similar to fondue. Tonight I am going over to Don Watt’s for dinner again. My friend Calum is cooking, and the funny thing is he doesn’t even live there, he is just always over there!

Sorry about the lack of pictures lately…I have been getting lazy about taking pictures. I will try to work on that!

This week seemed to go by very quickly. It wasn’t exactly the most eventful week, but I still managed to keep pretty busy. On Sunday, I went to Divya’s church as planned. I enjoyed the service, although it was probably one of the longest services I have ever been to since it was just over two and a half hours!

Monday has become my normal grocery shopping day each week. Since I don’t have class on Monday, I usually sleep in (of course), go to them gym, and walk to the grocery store from there. It is actually quite a work out to go to the grocery store and walk back home because it is about a twenty minute walk both ways (and on the way home I have to carry all the groceries)! I also was able to my family on Skype that morning, and it was really good to talk to them and actually see them! I usually try to call them or Skype with them every weekend. The rest of the afternoon I worked on a paper for my sexology class. I finished revising it before dinner time, which is really good for me because I usually am up late the night before a paper is due. Since my paper was finished, I went over with Livia to Komal’s house to hang out and watch some T.V. for a few hours.

Tuesday is my longest day of classes because I have five hours of lectures. The best part is that when Tuesday is over, I am pretty much finished with half of my week because I only have 10 hours of class total. We were going to go see a girly movie that night, but things didn’t quite work out. Instead, I was able to get ahead on my assignments so I won’t have any assignments left once Drea gets here!

On Wednesday I had my weekly meeting with Sean, my study abroad advisor. Then, I went to the food bank as usual. This week they seemed unprepared for us (even though we come the same time every week) because it took about twenty minutes for them to find something for us to do! Later that afternoon I went to play tennis with Du Vihn again. It was just the two of us this week, but we found a few new players for next week. I also ended up babysitting for Du Vihn’s daughter, Sophie, on Thursday night. They had me over for dinner before hand, and they even put Sophie to bed before they left! It was a pretty relaxing night for me!

Yesterday (Friday), I went to Bible study and then to dinner at Du Vihn’s house afterwards…two home cooked meals in one week! We actually had a bigger group than normal on Friday and almost everyone was able to stay for dinner. We started talking about dinner plans for the next few weeks, and I realized we only have three weeks of bible study/dinner left! I am excited that Drea will be here for the last bible study and dinner though! Tonight I am meeting up with a few friends for dinner, and then I am not sure what we will do after that!