She's alive!

*peeks out from behind a shadowy corner*
Hi....so I haven't blogged in a while, oops...things have been very hectic and my mind has been scattered all over and lots of stuff has occurred since I last posted. Like, a LOT of stuff. I won't go into too much detail but despite the stress of exams and the impending knowledge that I have to leave Australia in a month, this lovely month of May has been fantastic. I've had many laughs, lots of good memories made with my friends, and have felt more settled and happy than I ever have here, so that's a good reason for forgetting to blog, right? (...right?)
I'm typing this as I wait to go to the airport. That's right, I said airport...I'm going to Auckland, New Zealand for the week to see what there is to see! It's our third and final study break before exam period officially starts on Saturday, 10 June. I'm a bit apprehensive for my final exams because for a couple of them it seems all we can really do to prepare is know everything. For Nature-Based Tourism, I think I've got a pretty good grasp on the exam since it's really just going to consist of some of the study questions we've had throughout the semester to think about. For Water & Earth Science and Spies, it seems like the exams are sort of free-for-all, where everything is fair game. This gives me anxiety because that means I can't really have a clue on what to prepare for specifically. However, I have confidence that I will do okay on them, especially since the grading system here is different than back home.
So far, I've done very well in Spies and Nature-Based Tourism, because for the last few big projects/tests in those two classes, I've scored HDs (High Distinction: A) and a D (Distinction: AB or A-). For the other two classes I haven't gotten enough grades back yet to determine whether I'm actually doing well, but I'm not failing and that's all that matters at this point, right? *insert grimace here*
Aside from academics, I've been having a beautiful and wonderful time. I've really found good people who I have lots of fun and many, many (many many many...you get the point) laughs with. It's such an amazing experience to be able to connect with certain people such that you can truly be yourself around them. Maybe that shows my growth as a person; I've put myself out there a lot this semester and tried new things, let myself feel uncomfortable, and figured out more about myself as an individual. I think this has really helped me feel more at ease around the friends I've made these past few months. As someone's told me, my own confidence in my personality acts as a filter so that I only have to spend time with the people I actually care about and who make me feel good about myself. I don't have to waste my time and energy around the things I don't like or care for. And being able to recognize this fact has been pretty eye-opening and I find I can be more outgoing and accessible to people. I'm still introverted, but now I'm way more confident in what I am.
That being said, I will miss the friends I have made here a lot. It's the home stretch, I've already had to say "see ya later" to a few friends who are leaving earlier, and though I know I should be appreciating and enjoying the time I still have here (and I certainly am), I still can't ignore the fact that my time in Australia for the semester is nearly at an end, and I'll have to leave behind the little niche in the world I have made for myself here, and part ways with some of the people who have become intensely dear to me. It's sad when I put it that way, but as the saying goes, we should be happy that it happened. Stay strong, June!

Okay, now that I've temporarily made myself and all the people reading this really sad, I'll get to actually talking about some stuff I've been doing. I'm running out of time and I want to post this before I leave for NZ, so let's make a list, shall we?

• went mountain biking in Jarrahdale (not actually at a mountain, but same concept). It was about a half-hour drive from Murdoch, and this was the first time I'd ever done off-road biking so I was a little freaked out. Fortunately I was in good hands because my friend who I went with is quite experienced and showed me the ropes. I only fell a few times, and only managed to get away with a few bruises (to my body and ego).

it was a lot more tricky than it looks it this picture, I swear!

• went to Yanchep National Park with my Nature-Based Tourism class, where I tried to spot koalas but they were all up in the trees. We watched a presentation on Aboriginal culture and learned about some tools and handmade items that the local Indigenous people have used. The presenter was very good, as he was informative and hilarious and did a fantastic job engaging the audience. We also got a tour of a cave there, and if you know me, you know I LOVE CAVES. Needless to say I was very excited about this.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
•  went to the Purrth Cat Cafe! All the cats were adorable and friendly and I hadn't petted a cat in months so I was very happy. I went with the person who took me mountain biking, Zee. He has officially declared himself my personal tour guide around Perth, which I am more than happy about.

•  went to the Perth zoo with CIEE! We saw many animals. Obviously. Jerry was very disappointed that we didn't get to actually see river otters, and I was disappointed that the red pandas were all up in the trees sleeping, but other than that it was a blast. The zoo was quite large so we spent a lot of time speedwalking everywhere to see what we wanted to see. Afterward, Jerry, another dear friend Jenna, and I took a ferry across the Swan River from the zoo to Elizabeth Quay in downtown Perth (a quay is like a pier, harbor, dock sort of thing. I'm just throwing synonyms at you now). Our destination was Northbridge in Perth to eat dim sum. We must have visited at an off-peak time, because there was only one cart going around, which was slightly anticlimactic because we were hoping for a smorgasbord. But dim sum is dim sum and it was still great. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
•  went to Serpentine National Park with my cousin! There was a waterfall, a dam where we had coffee at the Cafe on the Dam, and the geology there was great. It was a rather quick trip, but lovely nonetheless. The weather had been kind of sketchy a few days prior, so it was nice to have some sunshine again that day. I've been getting really cold at night, no thanks to the dinky heater in my room and the poor insulation in the buildings; the Australian winter is definitely on its way!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

There was definitely more that I've done, but I can't remember and don't have the time or attention span currently to write about it. But just know: I'm okay, I'm alive and kicking, and having a great time. Now to go spend a week adventuring in New Zealand!

Until next time!

~ JP

Espionage and late night adventures

I learn a lot of things while I'm studying. I know, shocker, right? But I don't just mean I'm learning because I'm studying; I mean when I sit down to study I get really easily distracted by my own thoughts and end up googling the most random things that pop into my head. Maybe that's a good sign because it means my brain is working. Maybe it's not so good because it means I succumb to distractions easily. Either way, while doing some reading for a class yesterday evening, I managed to come up with burning questions like "where are churros originally from?" and "how does the nickname Dick come from the name Richard?" and my personal favorite: "do all animals in Narnia talk?" which led to me reading a bunch of Wikipedia articles on Narnia which then led to me really wanting to reread all the books which then led to an article debating the order in which the series should be read, which finally led to me adding a Chronicles of Narnia boxed set to my wishlist on Amazon.com.
Also, now I'm just ranting, but have you ever thought about the fact that some animals in Narnia can talk and some can't? I thought all of them could talk and were sentient, which would naturally mean that humans would have to be vegetarians; otherwise they'd be killing and eating sentient beings and that'd just be really messed up. Heck, even natural predators would have a hard time hunting if their prey could argue and plead for mercy, right? But according to the Narnia Wiki, Aslan the lion gave all animals the choice between having the ability to talk and not being able to talk; thus, some creatures in Narnia can and some can't. This made things a little better for me, but I was still unsatisfied with the answer, and then the rational side of me came out and I remembered it's just a fantasy children's series. It's cool. It's fine.
If you're reading this right now and getting a little concerned, I'm not intoxicated or anything, I promise. I'm just really passionate about the Chronicles of Narnia. And the power of Google.

Anyway, our second out of three study breaks happened two weeks ago and I spent it frantically doing assignments. I had an online midterm for my Spies class and let me tell you, that was Stressful (so much so that it warranted a capital S)! We were given a list of nine possible essay questions a week beforehand, and then three of those would be chosen by the professor for the actual test. This is all swell and good, except for the fact that all the questions had complicated answers which required lots of research and lots of thought and lots of pain and suffering on my part. I'm not sure how many hours I put into preparing for the exam, but I can tell you that in addition to an hour or so here and there during the week, I spent the entirety of the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before the test opened online figuring out how I would answer the questions. When I say entirety, I mean during those three days, all I did was eat, sleep, and work on the questions. But as a result I now know a lot more than I thought I ever would about espionage and intelligence operations in the 20th century. And there's still more to learn, folks!
After I took the exam, I still wasn't done with assignments. I had a Water and Earth Science lab report to do, which required lots of data and Microsoft Excel work and in summary I don't want to hear the words "sand, silt, and clay" for a loooooong time, thank you very much. I also had a short synopsis for Indigenous Sustainability, which was easy to type out since I understood the material. This is more than I can say for some others in the class, because I overheard some people talking during class who said they didn't understand the topic at all. This put me off a little bit, but confirmed what I have said before: sometimes people have a super tough time grasping certain social issues because they really have never had to think about it since it has never actually affected them directly. And that's the definition of privilege!

On Wednesday of the study break I went on a field trip to a farm kind of in the middle of nowhere (okay, to be more specific, I'm told it was near Beverley) for Water and Earth Science, where we walked around and talked about soil, soil salinity, groundwater flow, and geological landforms. It was interesting but also hot and I was exhausted by the end. My favorite part was when we got to look at the layers of soil in the ground and describe their texture. We hopped into a big trench and waddled around trying to avoid getting our shoes wet, all while doing our work. It was quite the experience.
On Thursday and Friday I had other learning sessions I had to attend for the same class, which were frustrating because all I wanted to do was be left alone to finish my assignments in peace. But eventually they ended, I finished my assignments, and I finally got my true break from studying on Friday evening, when I took the train to my cousin Laure's house, where I hadn't been in a few weeks.

I spent time with my family until Wednesday morning, because I had no class on Monday, and Tuesday was ANZAC Day, a public holiday (ANZAC = Australian & New Zealand Army Corps) which commemorates military servicepeople. During the long weekend, we visited New Norcia, which is Australia's only monastic town. It was quiet and quaint.

On Tuesday Laure and her husband Sandy hosted a family lunch party. Sandy's relatives in the area came to visit and it was very nice to talk to people over some good food. His family is Greek and a lot of them lived in South Africa before coming to Australia, so they've all got interesting experiences and perspectives that I enjoy hearing about.

The rest of the week was spent going to classes and studying (of course), and then on Saturday, Paul invited CIEE to a rugby match. We watched the Western Force play against the Johannesburg Lions. The Lions won, to Paul's disappointment. I thought the game was interesting, even though I had no clue what was happening the entire time.

After the game, I was hungry, so my friend Larissa and I decided to go into Perth city for some food (mind you, it was nearly 10pm). This is kind of when the adventures of the night really started. On the way to the train station, she tripped on the sidewalk and fell rather gracefully, in my opinion, but emerged unscathed save for some bruises on her palms. Then once we got into the Perth underground station (which is HUGE!) a man came up to us asking for directions. Here is a comprehensive transcript of the interaction for your reading pleasure:

Man: hey I'm just wondering if you could help me, I need directions.
June: I'm not sure if we can help, we're not from the area. But we'll try--
Man: oh, you're not? I'm from New Zealand, where are you from?
June: America. So what did you need directions for?
Man, to Larissa: actually I need directions to your heart. you're gorgeous.
Larissa and June, in disbelief: !?!?!?

...and then he asked if we were going out drinking. We said no and got out of there as quickly as we could. How pathetic and gross is it that this guy was walking around the train station alone late at night trying to pick up girls?

Larissa and I continued on our quest for food by walking toward Northbridge, which is the hub for nightlife in Perth city, with clubs and bars. It was a really cool experience just walking around watching people progressively and collectively get wilder and weirder as the night went on, and we ended up eating at a place called Lucky Chan's. We got to sit up on the roof of this eclectic place. They have a laundromat theme going on, and serve interesting twists on Chinese/Japanese food. They were also blasting rap and hip-hop music, which was very incongruous to the vibe the place had, yet it seemed to work with the overall feel of the place.

After having some delicious dumplings and popcorn chicken, Larissa and I headed back down onto the street and went into an Asian convenience store where we bought some sweets before exploring Northbridge. Then at around 1am we decided to call it a night and headed toward the train station, where we found out that the train wouldn't be coming for another 48 minutes; we ended up calling an Uber.

The rest of the weekend and up until now, I've pretty much been back to studying and being kinda-sorta-very stressed about impending assignments and the fact that my semester is nearly over here. But let's not dwell on that just yet...

Until next time!

~ JP