Perfectionism, organization, to-the-minute planning: The perfect storm

For this week's Indie Ink Writing Challenge, Joelyn presented me with this one-word challenge: Illness. I challenged Bewildered Bug with a term very near and dear to me: long-distance running.

*****

She rolls out of bed and carefully straightens the twisted bed sheets. Tucks the blanket ends under the mattress. Fluffs the pillows and puts her tank top and boxer shorts underneath her pillow.

She showers, dries her hair, gets dressed. The same routine every morning. She grabs granola from the cabinet and pours a glass of orange juice.

The dishes from last night's dinner, which ran late, linger in the sink, and it makes her cringe. She does a quick wash and lays them on the drying rack, checking the clock to make sure she's on time. She packed her bag last night - keys, this week's New Yorker, wallet - and throws in her phone - personal and work - house keys and a small bagged lunch. She checks her watch and heads out the door. Right on schedule.

As she approaches the subway station, she notices a sea of people. It can only mean one thing. The train isn't running to Manhattan. This isn't the first time she's had to deal with this during rush hour. Deep breaths. She glances at her watch. If you're late, you're late. Your boss will understand.

She heads back up the stairs and walks to the next stop for an alternate route. It's frustrating, but these things happen. Deep breaths. She doesn't freak out this time. The MTA's bullshit is "an uncontrollable," she calls it. There's nothing she can do except take a deep breath and make the best of it.

And she's getting better.

But there are still times when she can't help but let the uncontrollables get the best of her. Like last weekend. The damn MTA again. So she took a cab. And as fate would have it, the parkway was backed up for several miles. She was going to miss the boat. Literally. Usually he can keep her calm by telling her they'll make it. But this time even he knew they'd miss it.

She tried to remain calm. But the tears started coming. Anger, frustration, sadness spilled out. Yes, it looks like a 3-year-old child's temper tantrum. She knows that. But for someone with many traits of type a personality (sense of urgency, perfectionism, difficulty relaxing), it's hard to take these seemingly "end-of-the-world" events lightly. He tries to calm her. Rubs her back, tells her it's OK. But it doesn't help. She digs her nails into her legs. Immediately, a bruise forms. "Should have cut my nails," she thinks.

It's embarrassing - overreacting to something small, uncontrollable. Her New Year's resolution was to relax more, stay calm. And she's getting there. But often, disappointment and things not going according to plan seize control.

It's not quite OCD. Yes, she likes routine, organization, plans. But she isn't debilitated if the bed isn't made (he never makes the bed) or someone wants to play something by ear instead of planning it out days, weeks in advance. And it's not quite full-blown type a personality. But it's an illness. And every day, she tries to overcome and persevere.

Observing the unobserved

My Indie Ink Writing Challenge this week comes from Cab: While somewhere outside, close your eyes for 10 minutes and just listen. Then write about what caught your attention and how you felt about it.

At first, I wished I had had time to do this while at home in the Boston suburbs this past weekend. But having sat outside in Manhattan and really paid attention (I did more than listen; I watched, I listened, I smelled) to what was around me, I was glad to do it in the hustle and bustle of the city.

*****

Streets filled with colors. Yellow, red, blue cars and trucks drive by. A sea of color on Sixth Avenue. The Concrete Jungle isn't all grey. Languages. English. Spanish. Chinese. It no longer phases me. Catches my attention, yes, but no longer surprises me. Smell of street meat. Middle Eastern cuisine. Taco truck. Mixing with the stink of exhaust and summer. I take a deep breath but I don't feel refreshed. My lungs feel polluted. How did I run a half marathon in this city? How will I run a marathon next year? Honking. Brakes. Engines. Subways running beneath the grate under my feet. Talking. Shouting. Cell phone conversations. Aside from a revving truck, these sounds become a quiet hum in the background. Will my hearing be compromised? I'm used to seeing young mothers without wedding bands or engagement rings. This time, I spot a married couple, but she is not wearing a ring. He is. My mind drifts. I'll be wearing a wedding ring. So will my husband. Why do men choose not to wear one? Even more rare, why do women? I pass a store I pass almost every day. It's closed. It's always closed. I don't think I've ever seen it open. Passport photos. Head shots. Why is it always closed? I turn the corner. I mind my own business. Cat calls. I ignore them. Why can men get away with that? I pick up my pace. Hear the thumping of my boots against the pavement. The ruffle of my shirt. I leave the sights, sounds of the city behind me. Enter the office building. Blast of air conditioning. Ding of the elevator. Back to work.

The final 10 minutes

So this is my first Indie Ink Challenge. I'm glad I finally remembered to sign up. And then I'm glad I remembered to write it. I was away for a few days, and even someone has organized as me has their slip-ups.

My challenge comes from Christy and while I think it's a pretty morbid one, I can't say I've never thought about it before: You die, but are given 10 minutes to talk with one person before 'passing on'. Describe that scene.

Having had to write my own obituary for a reporting class in college (and a few bumpy plane rides), I've done my fair share of thinking about this conversation. And it's never easy, and it usually leaves me choked up, trying to think of something more fun like ice cream or a cartoon.

But one person? It should go without saying that one person would be my fiancee (and husband come Oct. 1). But part of me cries out to my mom. But given that I've thought about this scene before, on a bumpy plane ride, that is where this scene will take place:

It was a bumpy takeoff, but I had Jeff next to me. I clutched his hand - my knuckles white - until we leveled off. I breathed a sigh of relief and Jeff squeezed my hand.

"It's OK," he said. "Planes are made to deal with turbulence."

But it was raining when we took off. Lots of air pockets. Lots of bumps. The seatbelt light went on, and the captain came on the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing a bit of turbulence. Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts," he said.

But something doesn't feel right. And all of a sudden we are falling. Fast. My stomach comes up to my throat and I grab Jeff's hand. But this time he doesn't seem calm. He squeezes back. We are still falling.

"Jeff," I start.

He forces a smile.

"It'll be OK, Heather. I'm here."

But I'm not as strong as he is and I start to cry. Not loudly like the woman behind me and the man behind her. But the tears slowly trickle down my face. Jeff's bright blue eyes are wet.

"At least we are together," he says.

I don't know how fast we are falling or how high up we were when we started. I can't do the math to figure out when it will all be over.

"I love you Jeff," I start. "I am so happy I found you."

He leans over and kisses my forehead.

"I love you too."

I read somewhere that time slows down when your body is in fight or flight stage. Hitting the ground or the water at our velocity couldn't have taken very long. But I'm filled with panic and dread. There are so many things I want to tell Jeff. Tell my mom.

But maybe I shouldn't wait until I have 10 minutes left to get it all out.

There's no place like home...

You all seem so close!

I am back in the United States after what seemed like an eternity. Our flight in Fiji was delayed so I missed my connecting flight in LA to Boston, but only because the stupid travel agent screwed up my ticket, and the airline couldn't issue me a ticket. I missed that flight and sat in LAX for four hours until they could get me a ticket and then for another three and half hours until my red eye flight. That flight was miserable, but at least it was only 4.5 hours until I arrived in Boston.

There's a lot for me to say…let me try to remember. The last week in Australia was a bittersweet one for sure. I feel had I been staying a year abroad I wouldn't have been feeling like I was ready to go home, but since the flight home was impending, I was anxious. My roommate Jamie's parents came to visit. They were nice and took us out to a Thai restaurant for dinner. My taste buds expanded whilst abroad, definitely. The last week also consisted of lots of group goodbye activities. We had a barbecue on the cliff edge overlooking Coogee Bay, which was a lot of fun. It was really warm out and really pretty.

The following night we were going to this ice bar called Minus Five. Basically it's a bar made entirely of ice. Apparently its vodka is served best at that temperature. Because it's so cold you're only allowed in for 30 minutes, and they give you wool coats and ugg boots. It's pretty expensive too. Anyway, during dinner, I got a phone call from my Frisbee friend Ryan who invited me to the beach to throw with my other Frisbee friend, Abra. We had fun throwing and then we watched movies and Chris Farley SNL skits.

I also celebrated my friend Warwick's birthday at this hotel and sadly said goodbye to some good friends. Hopefully Frisbee will bring us all together again, which it may, since Worlds is in Vancouver this August, and I'm going to try to save up and get out there. Yet another birthday! My last weekend in Sydney I took a two-hour train ride out west to celebrate with my Australian friend Lily, who I met in class. It was a movie-character themed party, and I used my Peter Pan Halloween costume. I met a couple really cool people, and we listened to subpar live music and hung out. Lily was really happy that I came, so that was good. We camped out in tents and I was kept up all night by these ridiculously loud and nasty cricket-like bugs. The next morning I drove home with two guys I met (one I knew from class). I had to drive since one doesn't drive and the other was…well he had a bit of a crazy night and was not up for driving. I did quite well on the highway…on the wrong side of the road and all.

The last couple days in Sydney I laid on the beach quite a bit and even went swimming! I threw on the beach again with some Barefoot guys, which is one of the Sydney club Frisbee teams. We went out to dinner (where I ran into Abby who had wanted to hang out…oops) and then celebrated Abra's roommate's birthday. My second to last night (Abby had moved out that day) I went to the botanical gardens, where I took even more pictures of that damn opera house, but this time from a different angle. I also went up to the Pylon Lookout with my friend Mrinal, which goes almost as high as the bridge, but doesn't cost $179.

That night, I had over my Frisbee friends, Mrinal, Abra and Ryan for some poker…which I won. Unfortunately, no one paid up and I didn't receive my 20 bucks. I ended up moving out that night since Mrinal was able to drive me and my massive bags to Abra's, where I was staying until I left. My last day I went to the beach pretty much all day. Abra had to work so I couldn't get back to his house until that evening, when I went to his Frisbee practice with him. I was hoping to see some good mens ultimate, but unfortunately the fields were closed, hence no lights, hence a conditioning practice. Abra and I ate some Thai food and watched a vampire movie starring Josh Hartnett, which was pretty lame but nonetheless scared the bejeesus out of me. That morning I had a somewhat tearful goodbye with Abra, and I headed off to the airport.

This jerk greeted me in the check-in line. I had three big bags, a laptop and my backpack, had just said goodbye to all my friends and was pretty exhausted and alone. He asked me if "I slept" because I was not keeping up with the line. I said, no, I'm doing the best I can. And he cut me in line. That sort of triggered it for me, and I started bawling. He chose to ignore me until I probably annoyed him, so he turned around and offered me a tissue. I refused and he insisted, and I refused and told him he was extremely rude and had no right to yell at me. Then he offered to help with my bags and I refused and looked away. (Hey, if you're going to stand up for yourself, there's nowhere safer than in an airport, right?) Finally, he took my biggest bag and I reluctantly took a tissue. He then told me that I could be quiet now and life is tough. Once I hit check-in, the lady thought we were traveling together, and I informed her he'd been helping me. She said that was nice and once he left, I told her the story. She told me to look out for myself.

I landed in Auckland and met up with my friend Sarah from Syracuse and her roommate from Brisbane who also goes to Syracuse. We checked into the hostel and pretty much passed out from being so tired. We got up early and took a four-hour bus ride north to the Bay of Islands and paid half price to ride "The Excitor," which was everything but. It was half off since they were filming a safety video, which of course I starred in. They asked for a volunteer, so I volunteered to be the person getting life jacketed in. It was a high-speed boat to the Hole in the Rock. There was hardly any swell, so it was just a lot of wind in our faces and no jumps. The hole in the rock was pretty, and on the other side was the wide open ocean, which is always kinda cool to see. Then of course, it started raining so we went back to the hostel and played some board games until it was a reasonable time to go to sleep.

The next day we took a ferry to Russell, which basically had two buildings in the town, and it was pretty terrible for $6 for the ferry. Once we got back, I took the hostel's rickety, rusty bike to the grocery store. At first I didn't have the helmet on since who knows who's been wearing it, but then when I realized how shaky the handlebars, I figured even a lice-infested, way-too-big helmet may help some if I crash. Once we got back to Auckland we hung out and retired early again. The next day we had plans to skydive (yes, me!!!), but with our luck (and my mom's) it rained, and it was cancelled. We took several bus transfers to the foot of Mount Eden, a dormant volcano and walked up. The cows were probably the most exciting part of New Zealand. I tried chasing one, but once it looked at me, I ran the other way. I guess being on a volcano was cool, but of course, it started raining. That night we wanted to see a movie, but figured for $15.50 it wasn't worth it. Yet another early evening in New Zealand.

Fortunately, our flight to Fiji was moved to 9 40 am, so we didn't have to kill more time in rainy, humid Auckland.Of course, it was beautiful the next day as we flew out, and it was raining when we landed in Fiji. Fiji WAS HOT. Our bad luck in New Zealand turned fantastic after the rain our first afternoon in Fiji. Once we got to our beach bungalows, about an hour and a half from the airport, Sarah and I ventured into town to get some groceries. Oh wow. We took a "taxi" to this depraved little shopping area. (A lot of things in Fiji involve quote marks because it's hard to tell what is really legitimate). We stuck out like sore thumbs in Fiji, especially in town, being the only white people around. Naturally, the people at the markets scooped us up and tried selling us junk. They separated me and Sarah. My lady gave me a "free gift," aka a crappy bracelet and then told me about her "deaf and dumb" son for some pity. She tried selling me all sorts of crap for way too much money. I think I made better items at Camp JORI arts 'n farts center.

Anyway, I found a pretty cool wooden bead bracelet and shut her up with five bucks. Bracelet value: two cents. Sarah didn't fare as well. She laid down $25 on absolute crap. They liked her. Finally I ran away and grabbed Sarah and we ran to the grocery store, where we learned there is no regular milk in Fiji…just powdered and long-life whole milk. We bought a few things and ventured off to the "bus stop." Mind you, this is a rut-tut bus that doesn't leave the stop until it's jam-packed. We were hoping it was the right bus when the surroundings looked unfamiliar, but luckily it did, indeed take us back to our bungalow. That night we had some pizza at our "restaurant" and retired early.

The next morning, after some dodgy directions to this beach called Natadolah, we got on public transport again and drove for 45 minutes and got dropped off at the side of the road. We started walking but were informed it's actually a 15K walk to the beach so we reluctantly hopped into the bag of a sketchy pick up truck and sat on some benches that were tied with basically dental floss to the truck. Most of the resorts in Fiji don't get busy until Christmastime, so we were like the only ones around. The beach was absolutely magnificent, and the water felt like a bathtub. You could see for miles. The sun was blazing, and it's a good thing I didn't want to deal with a burn on the 16-hour flight home, which is why decided to lather up.

Some kids came by to try to gyp us out of our money. After awhile, one of the little girls came back and accepted my offer for two artistic shells for five bucks. She knew she wouldn't make anything else from us. Sarah and Lynn decided to go horseback riding…I am not a fan of horses, horse smell, riding with sketchy locals or spending $30 to do it. It's a good thing too, since Lynn's stirrups broke and she's all bruised and they tried getting Lynn to pay the full amount, and she refused since she didn't get a full ride and she was bruised. The "businessmen" didn't have change, and good for Lynn- she refused to pay until she got change, which they couldn't provide. Eventually she bought a bottle of water and paid them. We left after that.

Since we splurged on sandwiches at the beach, we cooked up some delicious Fijian brand Ramen noodles. I almost threw up and we threw out the whole pot of it. I was up all night feeling pretty subpar. The next morning we got up super early for our day cruise to South Sea Island. For only $99 we got a cruise to one of the islands, buffet lunch, unlimited drinks, transportation and access to snorkeling gear, catamarans and kayaks. Unfortunately half the bus was filled with annoying, loud Canadians from Vancouver who were in Fiji for a wedding.

The island was unreal. (See pictures) This was Fiji. I can't even describe it. We laid out for awhile under some tiki huts and then you know, when that became too strenuous, we went kayaking. The island was maybe 20 meters in diameter so it wasn't terribly grueling to go around the whole island. After that we had some lunch- tasty meat and different salads. Since the buffet wore us out, we laid out again. Then we went snorkeling. This was the first time I'd gone not off a boat. I just sort of waded into the water and started swimming with all the fish and coral. I kept an eye out for sharks, and fortunately did not see any. I even splurged for a back massage. I kept telling her to go harder, that I was really sore, but she paid no heed. It still felt very good, and after I was all greased up, I jumped in the pool and conversed with some Australians. After some more lounging and snorkeling, we went on a catamaran. The guy who took us knew I was nervous so he told me the sharks weren't interested and proceeded to splash water and make me let go of the rope. It was a nice ride.

Eventually the boat came to pick us up and we took the cruise ship back to the main island. A perfect day…well not yet. Once we got back, we showered and got dressed up for a really fancy, expensive dinner at the nice resort next door. They gave us cool, minty towels since it's soooo hot and humid. I got basil encrusted salmon, which was delicious. They sang us a farewell Fijian song, and I tried not to laugh. Now, a perfect day.

Our last day in Fiji, it rained, but that was OK since we were too wiped from the sun to lay out again. We packed up and snuck into the nice pool at the resort next door and swam for awhile. No one even questioned us. Then we showered and watched a battle between and Asian couple who for some reason refused to pay for their night (we think they didn't sleep there but had it booked and wouldn't pay). The fight went on for two hours and then the lady tried taking our cab, and I was about to give her a piece of my mind. Surprisingly, all of our ten huge bags fit into the taxi station wagon and we dropped it all off at the airport and then went shopping in town before checking in. Then we bummed around the airport for like four hours, before embarking on our 10-hour flight to LA.

I can't believe I'm home. It's weird, especially with the drastic weather change…and time change. I'm all out of whack, and really cracked out since I haven't slept in two days. There's lots of cleaning and unpacking to do, but I can hardly keep my eyes open! All in all, these past five and half months have really been indescribable.

Cheers,

Heather

…or is there?

Happy Thanksgiving from Down Under!

Hi all,

I hope you're enjoying your Thanksgiving feasts. I didn't do much of a Thanksgiving dinner; I went to a friend's apartment for stirfry which she made to get rid of food that was about to go bad since we're all leaving within the week. I haven't done much since Tasmania, but there are few tidbits to share, mostly so I don't forget them, as my e-mails are my only source of collection of my goings on in Australia.

A few friends and I saw "sea monsters" at the IMAX theater. It was alright, I suppose. It was all computer-animated, which these days is almost flawless, but since it was all prehistoric animal stuff it was hard to get into. We wanted to see Deep Blue Sea with narration by Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp, but there was a school field trip so it was rented out. After the movie the rain had cleared so I had the genious idea to walk home from Darling Harbour, which we guessed is around six miles; we're not sure. Dodging traffic and following signs back to Coogee was quite entertaining and adventure-packed.

The weather has been nice up until yesterday. I got a less than favorable sunburn, which is slowly getting better. I'm hoping the next five days that I'm in Australia will clear up so I can enjoy summer before heading back to cold and rain and snow.

The other day I went to tour the Great Synagogue in Sydney- Australia's second temple. It's a reall nice building with sort of gothic characteristics. The inside is really ornate, and the ceiling is cool because it's dark blue with all these stars. The tour itself was merely an information session, and while most of the group (I was the only person under the age of 50) was Jewish, the film was about basic Judaism, and what wasn't, I learned at the museum a couple weeks ago. But hey, for three dollars I'm glad I saw it.

There have been a few last Frisbee get togethers; last week was a farewell to "Seppos" (see your Australian dictionary for that meaning). Tonight I'm celebrating my friend's birthday in the city, if I can find the place. Yesterday a few Frisbee kids and I went to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch Tasmania play New South Wales. (If you were unaware, I am in the state of New South Wales) It was a test match, which means you play one game over the course of five days. I can't really explain the rules though; I am just learning them myself. It was a six-hour game, and I left after about three, because it's pretty boring, but cool to see nonetheless. I played in a women's ultimate game earlier this week, which was lots of fun except my hamstring really is in tough shape. I need to nurse that back to health. I played really well and the Australian women said it was too bad I'm leaving before their club season; they'd like to recruit me.

I have my last exam in a couple hours, so I guess I should review a bit more before heading off to the racetrack to take it. Yeah, they don't have space on campus for all the exams so we take them in the betting rooms and derby rooms at the racetrack. After that, I'll be spending my last few days packing up!

Stay warm whilst I soak up the sun on the beach!

Heather

And it's strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky are next to mountains anyways

Hello!

Warning: This e-mail is going to be pretty long, so get comfortable. On the plus side, there will be lots of pictures to go with it!!

I'll start off by filling you in on my trip to the Sydney Jewish Museum located in none other than Sydney's redlight district. Needless to say, it was a good thing I went during the day. The museum was fairly small, but really nicely designed. Some fun facts include: Australia, second to Israel, accepted the largest number of Jews after the Holocaust per capita. Among the first boat of convicts sent to do time in Australia, 11 were Jewish and eventually became bankers and shopkeepers, of course ;-). One of Australia's finest generals, Gen. Monash, was Jewish, and in Melbourne there is a university named after him. We creamed them in uni games....I guess Jews really aren't athletes. Hehe. I bought a fair amount of things at the gift shop- hey gota support fellow Jews! All in all, the musem was really incredible. I'm hoping to check out the Great Synagogue in the next week or so.

Well, my big trip was touring the west coast of Tasmania, which I just got back from tonight. A lot of Americans don't really think to check out Tasmania, it seems. I knew I wanted to do something else before I left, and I didn't get to see the Great Ocean Road, so I thought a trip to Tasmania would be awesome. Originally I was supposed to go with three other girls, all of which bailed AT the booking agency. I was pretty upset, but then decided I wanted to see Tasmania regardless if I went alone. So I booked the trip and a few days before, a friend of mine said she'd like to go, so I had a travel mate. I left last Friday and flew into Launceston. All of Tasmania was about 500,000 people, so it's pretty tiny- mostly farms. I guess it's similar to New Zealand, which I'll see for myself in a few weeks. We stayed at this really sketchy hostel that night. The guy was no where to be found, and then when we found him he gave us a key to the wrong room, and we really freaked out the girls in there. I don't blame them. After spending the night in probably bed bug-ridden sheets, we ventured off in the Under Down Under tour bus, with our guide, Tony.

We first went to Cradle Mountain National Park, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Cradle Mountain, can you guess? Looks like a cradle, and it sits above this huge lake called Dove Lake. Kendra and I decided the two reccommended trails were far too easy for us athletic folks, so we decided on the hard trail. It should say that hard really means rock climbing. We thought the first set of rock stairs were tiring, and then we got to areas where we were literally rock climbing. Eventually we got to a sign that told us to go a weird direction to get to the parking lot; it pointed us away from the lot, so we decided to keep going around the lake. We eventually were climbing directly upward and found ourselves in the cradle. It was absolutely stunning, but a little unnerving, considering there were no signs that we should've been there besides a few metal poles. We had to get back to the parking lot no later than 7 20 for the bus, and since we had no cell service, we started to get a little concerned about making it back in time since we weren't sure if the trail was ever going to back down! Finally, after nearly being mauled to death by a bird that wouldn't leave me alone so I ended up sprinting down somerocks holding onto a metal chain, we found a sign that pointed toward the car park. But the sign said 1.45 hours so we had a ways to go. Upon running out of watr, we found a stream and I felt like Bambi drinking out of it, but it was delicious. Way better than the tap I drink in my apartment. We then entered the rainforest, but luckily it was all downhill. We kept going and met an older couple (who we later meet again), and FINALLY after nearly collapsing, we made it to the end!

Well, our hike was over, but we had missed our tour guide so we had to find the other parking lot with the shuttle bus, which meant more walking. It was getting to be dusk, so we saw tons of wallabies (small kangaroos) and wombats chiling along the road. It was pretty amazing. They were fairly tame too. We walked for awhile, but still no sign of our van. Eventually a car pulled up and it was the old couple who offered us a ride. They dropped us off at this lodge where we ate steak dinners. It was expensive and not that great, but we were starving and scarfed it down in a matter of minutes. I learned the way NOT to open ketchup (tomato sauce as it's called here) after spraying it all over my T-shirt. (Pam, it's the Australia one you gave me...gota bleach that baby out). The whole restaurant got a laugh at me. After dinner, we had to continue walking, but luckily our tour guide was genuinely concerned we hadn't come back yet and came looking for us and picked us up on the side of the road. We felt bad we worried him, but we said if we weren't back by 9 to worry (of course, that was in jest since we didn't think we'd be gone that long). Apparently he told the other people on our tour that he looked for us, couldn't find us, and decided we could easily be replaced by other Americans (we were the only Americans). They believed him. We passed out from exhaustion.

The next day we headed to Montezuma Falls in the rainforest. It was a 3-hour walk, but didn't have hills so that was good since we were recovering from Cradle Mountain. There was a big suspension bridge, which I crossed, twice, but practically cried the whole way. It was pretty scary. The waterfalls were beautiful, but due to acid, we couldn't touch it. Nice. Later on, we stopped at the Henty Sand dunes, which were dunes at least 30 meters (90 feet) high. Some kid sprinted down them and tripped, smashed into a sandbank and broke his collar bone. I thought he broke his back. After that, I walked down...slowly. We had to take him to a medical center...poor kid. We also Ocean Beach, along the west coast, which is the start of the longest stretch of ocean in the world. The next time you see land is South America. It's pretty crazy. The western beaches are pretty desolate, and kind of eerie, but beautiful. The water is brown because of the tanen (also in tea) which runs off the rivers.

That night we stayed at some nice cabins- tiny but very comfortable. The last day of the tour consisted of a few more rainforest walks with waterfalls, and hiked up to this great lookout over the Franklin River. Throughout the trip we passed through some tiny towns- literally nothing was going on, since they used to be mining towns, but all the stuff was used up. By the end of the third day, I was beat. I don't know how people do 5-day or weeklong tours. I was exhausted. We crashed at this hostel in Hobart after I had my first fish and chips experience. Not too bad until I saw the blue fish skin and couldn't eat anymore. We got up early this morning and went to Claremont, about an hour outside Hobart for a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, the world's second largest Cadbury factory outside England. (We also stopped by a smaller chocolate factory near Launceston where they had a plethora of samples.) We had to wear hairnets and we walked through all the processing machines. I felt like I was in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, but unfortunately there was no Johnny Depp. It smelled like heaven, and I was so sad to see the throw out huge trays of chocolate which touched the ground. Five second rule? I guess not when you're serving to millions upon millions of people. We got some freee mini bars and a package of chocolates at the end. I bought some "less than perfect" discounted bars for my roommates. My stomach hurt from my samples so I passed on chocolate for me. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Hobart and eventually falling asleep in a park until we had to catch the bus to the airport. The flights were OK, but I was tired and the chocolate was still churning in my lactarded stomach so that was annoying. Now, back in Sydney, I have two exams before heading off to New Zealand and Fiji and then home! I'll be home in 24 days, which is crazy.

Until then, enjoy your winter while Sydney is just warming up!

Love,
Heather

I think I'm going to have some issues leaving Australia

Hey everyone,

I'll be home in just a little more than a month, and it's starting to freak me out. I'm excited to get home and see people, but Australia is definitely somewhere I'd like to stay. Despite the weather not really turning out in our favor, things are going well, and now that classes and papers are done, it's almost smooth sailing. I have two exams spread out over the next two weeks before I can officially be halfway through my junior year.

About that surf lesson I mentioned...I didn't do too badly. I got up twice, which is more than most people can do. Granted, I didn't stay up for very long, but maybe next time. I wore a wetsuit, which was great since the water is still pretty cold in Sydney. My friend Kendra took me and told me to avoid the bluebottle jellyfish, which I saw all along the beach. Once I got that fear out of my head, I enjoyed the water, although the waves tired me out due to the fact I'm not a strong swimmer and even the smallest waves are taller than me. I was extremely sore afterwards, but it was a great full-body workout. Good thing I can do all those pushups!

I went on my kayaking trip in Watson's Bay, which was pretty spectacular. The flies are pretty awful, but once we got into the water they left us alone. My friend Sarah, from high school, and I partnered up in a two-person kayak. I guess I'm renown for being strong because my roommates always ask me to open the jars and bottles, and Sarah asked for me to be in the back to be the power steerer. We went pretty well, I reckon. We kayaked almost to Manly, which is part of Sydney's northern beaches. Along the way we saw an old, pretty wrinkly naked man walking along some rocks. We giggled and then realized it was a nude beach. Haha. We kayaked a bit further to the entrance to the Tasman Sea. This was pretty surreal because it looked like a drop off; it was just a small opening and then wide, vast sea. Kind of eerie, really. Then we kayaked into various other bays with some incredible houses that apparently go for $10 million. We even saw Paul Hogan's Sydney House. (Speaking of houses, I've seen the 'Real World: Sydney' house in Darling Harbour; Paul I thought that might interest you.) I took the ferry back to Circular Quay, which was faster and way better than the bus.

Halloween in Australia isn't as big as it is at home, but I found some ways to celebrate. My ultimate team and I planned a bit of a Halloween party and then ventured off to this club, which was hosting a party with live music. I went as Peter Pan. My costume was pretty awesome considering I'm not my mother and can't sew and I was on a bit of a budget. I'll attach a picture. I did get some of my mom's creativity genes though and everyone loved my costume. The party was great, and there were some good costumes. I didn't go out on Halloween though. I got dressed to go out and then decided I'd watch Ghostbusters and study for an exam, which I think I dominated.

Last night was our big, formal Frisbee dinner. We all got dressed up and ate at this Nepalese restaurant. We had our own private room upstairs, and we sat on pillows on the floor. I was a bit skeptical about trying Nepalese food, but it turned out to be pretty good. Unfortunately we didn't get much for our $25, so that was a disappointment. My friend Waz and I were in charge of making and giving out awards to everyone, and that was a lot of fun. I was in charge of making the awards for the boys. My award was "Best Costume of the Year," with regard to my ridiculous outfit at one of the uni games party. After dinner we went into the city for some good ole karaoke. The place we went to had absolutely no ventilation and was seriously 100 degrees. Eventually we didn't even bother trying to wipe off the sweat anymore because everything just became drenched. I sang some tunes, "I Will Survive" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" were my spotlight moments.

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to some of my friends last night in a hurry because it was raining and we were hailing cabs. I wish I had had more time to say my goodbyes considering I may never see these guys again.

I'm headed off to Tasmania on Friday for a three-day tour and then in Hobart I'm going on a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. It turns out I'll be traveling with someone afterall. Originally some friends bailed, but it turns out my friend Kendra just booked the trip as well. I'm pretty excited.

That's about all the news from down under.

Cheers,
Heather