I miss you.

It's been almost two months since I left Australia and I feel as if I am stuck in time. I am no longer in Australia but I am not back at school yet which is causing me to feel lost and alone. I don't have my support system of almost 100 Australian people that I knew in Warnie and I am not back in my old groove with my long time friends at Iowa State.

Sometimes when I'm bored, I find myself reading through my blog or looking through my pictures on my phone from Australia and I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach. You know when you're in a public place and someone says "I have something to tell you" and you feel like your stomach has disappeared and all of your organs are sloshing around and your skin is tingling? That's how I feel when I look through the pictures and realise that it has all happened already and all of my friends are 9576.2 miles/15411.4 km (yes, I googled it) away and there's a 14 hour time difference.

I wake up to their crazy, drunken, night out Snapchats and go to sleep when they are rolling out of bed hungover to go to class. Basically I just want to say that I miss you all so much. I wish I was back there, living with all my old housemates and everything was back to how it was. I know now that if, no, when I come back to visit, nothing will be the same as it was in those four months I was there and that's what scares me the most.

I miss you all more than words can do justice and there are too many of you to tell you individually, so this is to all you crazy Aussies on res, off res, my fellow exchange students, I miss you.

Do I have to leave?

For no one's entertainment but my own, 

here is a list of things I am looking forward to having when I return to America 

(although, most of it I am willing to live without if it means staying in Aus close to my friends)

1. This list of food:
Goldfish, Diet Mt. Dew, Mom's homemade pizza, Dad's homemade orange chicken stir-fry as well as his drunken chicken, strawberries from the strawberry patch, and homemade chicken noodles. Yuuuuummmmmmmmmm.

2. The convenience of having my car.

3. More than one outlet so I can charge more than one electronic device at a time. Also, not having to use a converter.

Funny story about this: I had a dream the other night that I was at my old high school, sitting and staring at a power-point. People kept walking past and asking what I was doing and I just kept repeating, "it's so different." I guess that's my subconscious noting the impending reverse culture shock? 

American vs.Australian

4. A job which equals money, because I am honestly and truly broke. Not in an "haha I'm a broke college student" type of way, in an actual "I have $0.00 in my bank account because I spent it all in Australia" type of way.

5. Summer = Sun = Tan (no one wants to see me pale...it's pretty scary).

6. My kitties and dogs to cuddle with.

7. Lastly, being in the same time-zone as (2/3rds) of the people that I love most in this world. (If you hadn't guessed...I'd be leaving the other 3rd...)

Rain, Rain Go Away...

How does four months feel like 10 years and two weeks at the same time? I remember thinking, "I have more time," and by the time the thought had processed, I was eight days from flying home. 

I'm not ready. 

I wasn't fully prepared for the ways that Australia would change me. I am no longer the same girl who I was when I left Chicago on February 16th. I sometimes think about all of the things I have done and marvel at the fact that I did them. I don't believe that I can put together words in a way to describe the way that Australia has made me feel and grow, so I won't try. I will have to keep this piece of me close to my heart and just always know that it's there.

Sarah left. 

We packed up her room and put it in her mum's car and they drove away.

Jacinta left.

Not completely...

but she is on placement in Cobden for two weeks so she's been staying there.

Kitchens 3 has been rather lonely...and quiet. 

Because of exams, it has been "quiet period" here on res (ha...). 

But we've found ways to make our own fun. 

Intense games of Farkel, putting bras on Aiden, and headstands.

While writing in my journal about how much I love it here 

and listening to my Band of Horses Pandora station, 

I finish writing and look at what song was playing, 

and it just coincidentally had to be Australia by The Shins. 

Fitting. 

After finishing my one and only exam, I got caught up on the second half of Teen Wolf season 3 which shattered my little heart to pieces.

Drunk selfies are inevitable. 

It was recently Friday the 13th, my favourite day, although not many others like it. Quiet period=Dry period, so we watched some "horror" movies in the common room at NRAS. Despite my suggestions to watch Insidious or A Haunting in Connecticut, we started off with Fright Night 2 whose only redeeming quality were the beautiful eyes of the protagonist. After that, by some twist of fate, we watched Teeth. If you've never seen it, don't watch it. Those are images that I can't un-see.

Last night, my friend, Dom's, band played at the Loft and we all went to support him. I wasn't positive of the music genre of his band, and was surprised to find out that it was a 1950's sound, reminiscent of The Notebook. The night was amazing. We were all dancing around like fools, feeling like we were back in the days of saddle shoes and polka-dot dresses. 

We eventually made our rounds to the Shan and the Gal and were in our beds by 3:30 am. 

After such a killer night, the fact that I have to leave hurts that much more.

WARNING: If I were you, I would just listen to the videos and not watch because at one point I just started dancing while recording and the camera was flailing everywhere...and will probably make you nauseous. :)

Cuddles on Cuddles on Cuddles

Much resi sports. 

Such fun. 

We played soccer the other night...which I admittedly sucked at.  But when we played netball, I got the hang of it pretty quickly and I'm not saying our team won...but our team won.

The other day, we saw a koala on res! It was literally five or so feet from us. It was such a cutie...and to those of you who say to touch it or cuddle it...you obviously don't realise how un-cuddly of creatures that koalas are. They'd rip my face off. 

Maggie had her 19th birthday the other night, which we celebrated in style. So many birthdays...so little time. The theme of the night was "High school stereotypes" so the girls in my house decided to go as goths...granted I ended up wearing an outfit that I would probably have worn regardless. Meng, Jonno, and Wu were geeks and look totes adorbs. 

Many photos were taken. Many many photos.

Those of us who live in Kitchens 3 are completely sane...I promise...

Cuddling has been one of our favourite activities to do together as a house lately too...that and going to the gym!