Dangerous Bushwalking Adventures

Hey All!

So sorry it's been so long! I shouldn't have waited this long to write... but I will still try to fill you in on everything absolutely ridiculous that happened last weekend :)

Well first of all... last week, I found out that I made the musical, "Cabaret", here on campus!! I'll be playing the role of a Kit Kat Girl. It's not a lead part, but more of a "supporting character" and more or less the lead character's prostitute posse. Yep. Prostitutes. I'm sure my mom is thrilled and proud of me :) Finally doing what I LOVE!!!!!! Hahaha kidding! Rehearsals will be Sunday afternoons, Monday nights and Tuesday nights. I'm sure I will keep very busy with that. I'm thrilled that I'm getting the chance to get back into the "theatre" scene. It will definitely remind me of high school again-- in a good way!

Other than that, Friday night was the fabulous and fancy DLC Commencement Dinner. Everyone dressed up in formal attire and scholarships were given to several Australian students who live at DLC. There was a cocktail hour beforehand in the courtyard followed by the dinner inside. The food was nothing to rave about--aka I wasn't really sure what I was eating--but it was fun to see everyone dressed up! Afterwards, everyone headed to "The Ranch" bar up the street. I didn't stay too long because my heels were hurting my feet and I had to wake up early for the full day of Bushwalking ahead!

So yeah.......... and then there was the Bushwalking trip on Saturday. This was an absolutely hysterical day, to say the least. Bushwalking is what the Australians call "hiking"! Fancy lingo, right? I signed up with my friend Anna through "Macquarie University's Bushwalking Club". Anyway, the day started off a little rocky and we were convinced out fearless leader had no idea where he was taking us. It took a good 2 1/2 hours to get to La Perouse Beach from Uni. I'm convinced we could have gotten there in an hour! But at least we got there, and started our 17 km (10.5 mile) hike along the east coast of Australia. The sights were beautiful and the weather was perfect. It was sunny and warm, but definitely not miserably hot. It was great to go with Anna and this guy I've met a few times, Matt from Connecticut, ended up going on the trip as well. 

Now the adventurous part. As many of you know, I'm deathly afraid of spiders. I need my Dad or someone who is around at the time to kill them if I see one. I have this fear that they will jump off the walls at my face and eat me alive. Pretty vivid, but it's the truth. SO Australia is known for their poisonous spiders--cool, right? WRONG. We saw plenty of spiders along the walk and they honestly looked like the man-eating spiders in my dreams. It freaked me out, but I put on my big-girl pants and took pictures instead of freaking out! :) Besides the deadly spiders, our "fearless" leader Matt Lee also was insanely dangerous. Before the walk he told us all he had walked this path a couple times before... probably a good thing considering he is leading us and all... Well, turns out he is full of it and none of us believed him when all of a sudden were trespassing on two different private properties. #1) A fancy golf course along the coast that was crowded with old men at the time. Turns out, we just happened to run into the manager and owner when we entered the course and they told us we needed to leave the premises immediately. Awesome. We ended up having to take a good 5 mile detour around the golf course and through this little town. #2) Towards the end of the trip, we were exhausted but all seemed to wake up when we heard what sounded like guns firing near us. Guns? No way. Oh, but you better believe it. Once again... fearless leader MATT lead us onto an active rifle shooting range. Unbelievable. We walked/booked it along the very edge of the shooting range, but still were freaking out!

So. Deadly spiders, dodging flying golf balls, and dodging flying bullets. An adventurous day to say the least.... We got on the bus and it started to downpour. Anna and I were cracking up about the day and told one another we would never go on another one of Matt Lee's bushwalking trips again.... Just a little too dangerous for me.

Life is has been good, but unfortunately I think all of us international students have discovered that Australian Uni's actually DO have work to do. A whhhhat? Professors and students don't hang out at the beach all day every day? Yeah. Weird. I know! I actually have a large paper due on Tuesday for my Australian Contemporary Arts course that is worth 40% of my final grade... so that's just wonderful. It's a beautiful day for the beach, but I'm going to try and be productive and lock myself in the library. At the rate I'm going, chances are I won't get there until lunch and then get cabin fever after an hour in the library and go lay out on the grass :) 

I need to get some stuff done today because I have some activities planned for tomorrow and later tonight! Tonight, Anna, Kim, Abby, and I are going to make a Mexican dinner and then go watch our friends, Taylor and Abby (different Abby) perform in the musical "Dark Day's Knight" on campus! It's a musical about Star Wars... hmm... I've never seen Star Wars (*gasp* I know) but I'm sure my father would be proud of me.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to the city with a few friends to visit the Sydney Aquarium, see a movie at the iMax on Darling Harbour, and grab some dinner out and about! It should be a good time... hence the reason why I'm killing myself with this Arts paper today... ekk, I hate just mentioning it!

Only a couple short weeks now until I get to see my parents. I am so incredibly excited to see them!!!! They will be traveling in Cairns near the Great Barrier Reef for a little less than a week before coming to Sydney for a few days around my big 21st birthday! From there, we'll be leaving on April 10th for a week in New Zealand. I miss my family, and seeing their familiar faces will be the best thing ever. After they leave, I will have another full week of my "Fall Break" so I really need to start planning out what I want to do! I cannot stay at my dorm back on campus because they rent out the rooms to various people (Who are these mysterious visitors stealing my room? Who knows!?) so I will need to stay busy traveling around so I have a place to stay! 

After that, it will only be about a month and a half until Derek visits!! I am too excited for all my wonderful visitors :) It will be great to show this country!

Sorry about the wordy post! Let's hope I can write an Arts paper as easily as writing in my blog :)

Enjoy the pictures:

DLC Commencement Dinner! Tons of bread and wine bottles with the DLC logo on them! Truly fancy.

My friend, Erika, and I at the dinner

Where the Bushwalking Day began... La Perouse Beach on the East Coast

Can you see the spider?!?!? I think this could give anyone nightmares! They were all over the place!

Posing like a true "bushwalker" :)

Matt, Anna, and another girl from Austria (forgot her name!)

Anna & I checking out the beautiful view

We walked 17 km along this coast

Trespassing adventure #1: Private Golf Course. You can see the manager and owner walking towards us in the distance... hahaha

More nature shots :)

This one is for my Mother!!! It was a pretty big cliff too! Hahaha, typical Miller thing to try and freak out Mom...

Trespassing adventure #2: Rifle Shooting Range. Look at how close we were to the red and yellow flags!!!! ahhh!

Finally at the end of our trip. I wish I had a video of this. Everyone was so disgusted with Matt (the one with the hat in the middle of the picture) and so ready to go home. Hahaha

My friend, Cassie, and I taking the train to King's Crossing on St.Patrick's Day!

The group outside of O'Malley's Hotel Bar! We all embraced our inner-Irish side for the night :)

Casse, Kimberly, myself, and Julie celebrating St.Patrick's Day!

That's all for now!

Love you all & Miss you constantly!

xoxo,

Carly