Deprived

Here is a list of things that I've been deprived of because Australia just doesn't have it.



My American friends and put a list together of stuff that America has that Australia doesn't.
The selection here is terrible. I will never take variety for granted ever again.



1. All of my favorite stores.
2. Swedish Fish
3. Disney Channel
4. ABC Family
5. Twizzlers
6. Lemonade
7. The letter "z."
8. Variety/ Selection of everything
9. Stores that have shopping and food such as Wal*Mart
10. Egg Beaters
11. Boxed Pancake Mix
12. MTV
13. Ban Deodrant
14. Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste (my favorite)
15. Saltines
16. Dannon Light and Fit Yoghurt
17. Gold Fish
18. 100 Calorie Packs
19. Movie Nights... (Can you believe no one here has movie nights?!?!)
20. Berry Berry Kix
21. Graham Crackers
22. Biscuits
23. Smarties
24. Nacho Cheese
25. Hot Dogs
26. Turkey
27. Cranberry Sauce
28. Hot Apple Cider
29. American Cheese
30. Stick Deodorant (they only use roll-ons)
31. Applicator Tampons
32. Soft Pretzels
33. Provolone Cheese
34. American Cheese
35. Pop tarts
36. Toaster Strudels.
37. Frozen waffles
38. Reeses (or anything that combines peanut butter and chocolate)
39. Peanut butter crackers (they don't use peanut butter nearly as much as Americans do)
40. Participation points for grades!

Finals

I actually have to study now? What?!

I'm pretty nervous for finals coming up. I haven't had to take any exams yet here, so I don't know what to expect. Also, since I haven't had any exams that means that these finals are worth heaps amounts of marks. They are all worth atleast 40% of my grade! So, if one fails finals here, they fail the class. Ahh!!

Finals are so different here. We have one week off to study for them, and then they are all within two weeks after that. We have off  June 2nd-June 8th to study They can be any time or day, including Saturday. In the US, you don't have a week off to study and they are all in a week.

Also, here your lecturer decides how long you get to take the final. In the US, you normally have two hours. Here, some of mine take 2.5 hours.

I have a final on Saturday, June 9th. Then, I have one on June 19th and June 20th. My finals schedule sucks because I leave soon after the 20th. I just want to get them over with!

Well, wish me luck with these finals! I hope they all go well.

Out in the Gold Coast

Goin Out in the Gold Coast!

The Gold Coast is always popping no matter what day of the week it is.

I'm going to tell you the hot spots for everyday of the week.

A night out at Sincity!

Surfers Paradise is where the majority of the clubs/pubs/bars are. There's one to fit everyones needs. If you never know where to go, just go to Surfers Paradise and walk around and you'll find atleast one place that is jamming that night.

Sunday: Waxy's Irish Pub in Surfers Paradise. Every Sunday there's $2.50 steaks and $2.00 beers. You can't beat those prices!

Monday: SinCity in Surfers Paradise. Every Monday night is Industry night. SinCity is my favorite night club by far. The music is really good. They play alot of mixed stuff, which I love. Drinks are also pretty cheap. They always have specials too. The dancing is alot like what you'll find in the states.

Best nightclub on the Gold Coast

Tuesday: Shooters Night Club in Surfers Paradise. Tuesday is Uni Night. All of the Uni students go here and get drink specials. Also, anytime you have no idea where to go, go to Shooters. It's free entry all the time for Griffith Uni students as long as you show your id. The drinks might be a little more, but since you get in free, it evens itself out. The dancing and music are great too.

Night out at Shooters

Wednesday: Escape Night Club in Surfers Paradise. There's a $15.00 Cover Charge which includes your 1/2 shot basic spirits until midnight.

Thursday: Parkwood Tavern in Southport. This is within walking distance of Uni. Every Thursday is uni night. It's free entry and it's always busy then. It's always crowded, when it's one of the bigger places. It's always a good time because it's all uni students that go.

Friday: Melbas on the Park in Surfers Paradise. Every Friday night is Sweet Sensations Night. There's topless men that walk around with sweet treats, like cupcakes and cookies. Ladies get in free all night. Everyone gets in free until ten.

Girls Night with some Aussie.

Saturday: Anywhere you go is good. All of the night clubs are busy.

The Gold Coast is the place to be. It never gets boring, no matter what day it is!

Wine and food festival

Wine and Food Festival

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to see a little more of Australia.
My roommate, drove us 2 and a half hours to a wine and food festival.

The girls at the festival.

The way there is all country-side. I've never seen Australia like that, so it was really nice to see. We went to a little town called Hampton. It was very small, but it felt homey.

When we got there, we got lunch. For lunch, I got the famous Australian beef sausage with a piece of bread. I never get sick of it. It is so good.The wine and food festival was really fun. We got to try all sorts of wines from diffrent wineries. They were delicious. Also, we got to sample all kinds of organic foods from nuts to jam. The food was also very good. There was also a little art section filled with paintings. The paintings and art works were beautiful. For dessert, I got strawberry Dutch pancakes. Hands down, the best food I ate all day.

Dutch pancakes!

After the festival, Bettina, drove us to a town called Toowoomba. This town was adorable. We went to the highest point of Toowoomba in a park and could see over the entire town and then some. It was beautiful. Then, we took a walk in the park and enjoyed the views.



At the top of Toowoomba.

Overall, it was a good day!

Things I miss

15 Things I miss from the States:

1. Cheaper everything
2. Free WiFi and Unlimited Internet
3. Free printing at YSU
4. Free gym at YSU
5. Driving
6. $5 foot longs
7. My Full wardrobe with shoes
8. More than 6 TV channels
9. Yoghurt that actually tastes good
10. My cell phone constantly going off
11. Swedish Fish
12. The letter "z" is words like "organize" Here, it's "organise."
13. Squirrels
14. Biotin pills
15. Oh, and my friends and family, I guess...

What is going on??

This weekend I had the opportunity  to go to the Gold Coast Titans game vs the Wests Tigers. The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby team. The club competes in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. There are two rugby leagues in Australia. One is NRL and one is the AFL, Australian Rules Football. Then, there's the Rugby Union.

Gold Coast Titans mascot!

The main differences are that in Rubgy you use your hands, and in football you use your feet to control the ball. The AFL, is just like our soccer.
Rugby Union and Rugy League are very different also.
The main difference between Rugby League and Rugby Union lies in what happens in the tackle situation. In Union when a player is tackled (Their progress is physically halted by the opposition) the ball is recycled by a ruck (if the ball is on the ground) or by a maul (if the ball is held up off the ground). One recycling of the ball is called a phase and there is no limit to the number of phases as long as a team keeps possesssion of the ball. In League when a player with the ball is tackled the referee will halt play and it is restarted when the tackled player stands, places the ball on the ground and rakes it back with his foot to the player (dummy-half) behind them. The opposition must retreat 10 metres from the play-of the-ball except for two markers who line up in front of the player of the ball. The team in possession can recycle the ball 5 times in this manner but if they are tackled with the ball a 6th time then the ball is handed over to the opposition. 

Just enjoying the game

Confusing right?
That's what I said. I went to the Rugby game, and had no clue what was going on the entire time. What I got from the game: Someone kicks the ball to the other side. The team that recieves it must try to score. The players can pass the ball, and if they get tackled they must pass the ball behind them. That's the game then. There are two 40 minute rounds.
Lucky for me, I got to see what it was like to go into overtime. Overtime is 5 minutes and the first one to score, wins. Unfortuantly, the Tigers won.

Elizabeth and I at the game.

Even though I had no idea what was going on, I really enjoyed the game. It was fun to see what other kinds of sports are out there. Also, the fans were great. They aren't as rowdy or as crazy as in the states. They cheered for their favorite team, but were not obnoxious about it. It was a fun day!