Typical

Hello!

My days here have been just the typical day for an average teenager. Nothing too exciting has happened yet. Last night (February 27, 2014) we had a couple friends over before going out. It was the first night that all the girls (10 or so of us) got to go out together, it was such a good time! This morning (February 28, 2014) I woke up, uploaded my picture for my uni card, so there I am smiling on my Sydney Uni card with crazy hair and no makeup, and wished my sister a happy birthday! Although its a day early for me, I just wasn't sure of when I would have wifi tomorrow because I have early morning surf lessons and then Mardi Gras parade at night. I just want to wish Al a happy birthday and I hope you get good presents! After eating an apple and peanut butter for breakfast, the girls  and I decided to head down to the Gleeb market for some cheap clothing. Unfortunately, it was closed since it was rainy but at least we got a good work out walking there! We decided to stop for lunch but I didn't get anything. I decided to wait to get home for lunch. We took a different route home back to the apartment complex which allowed us to see more of the city than we've seen before. Even parts of the city I didn't want to see like the huge dead bat on the side of the road. Although it was quite the hike it was worth it. We stopped at Pady's market for Mardi Gras outfits but I didn't find anything I really wanted but I did find LOTS of clothes I really want. Looks like I'll be headed back there very soon to enhance my closet. My class schedule finally updated and now I have the 4 classes I really wanted and the perfect schedule. No class on Friday and only one, one hour class on Thursday! We aren't too sure what we have planned for tonight but I'm sure it will be fun. The pancake breakfast did not happen because we were told there was going to be construction all day in our apartment...they never showed up. Breakfast for dinner it is! I start school in a couple days and I cannot wait! The last couple days here have just been typical college kid days, hanging out, going out and exploring our new city. I'll keep everyone updated with what I am doing wether if it's boring or not! Love you all :-*

From Down Under

Em 

Not My Everyday Supermarket

G'morning Mates!

Sorry I did not get to post yesterday (February 26, 2014), I got caught up hanging out with friends in my apartment last night and totally forgot. Yesterday, was a lazy day. I woke up and finished stuff for school with Nicole. We cleaned up our room and reorganized our closet. Around 1:30ish, I went to the fresh fruit and vegetable market right across the street. The prices were amazing! I got apples, oranges, onions, lettuce, and garlic all for under $6. I have never been to a place like this. Everything is so cheap and so fresh. Its kind of like a Produce Junction. I plan on going there every week for cheap fresh food! After that I decided to have an early dinner because I was kind of hungry. I am becoming quite the chef here and making delicious meals! I cooked sautéed onions, jalepenos and broccoli and put it in a wrap with a piece of breaded chicken. Of course I dipped it in ketchup, typical me. Last night, the girls from upstairs and next door came over and we just hung out and drank boxed wine, which is called Goon. There aren't many TEAN people in Ultimo, my apartment complex, so its nice because we all get to bond and hang out with each other often. Tomorrow morning (February 28, 2014) we plan on having the girls over on our balcony because it is HUGE and we all make breakfast. Each person will buy one ingredient and we'll eat and tan. We want to make pancakes, possibly with choco chips, and fruit salad. My days here haven't been too exciting because of moving into my apartment and organizing everything. In a couple days I start school so hopefully my posts will become more exciting and thrilling. But for now, love you all!

From Down Under

Em

Beach Bum

Hi Friends!

Let me tell you about my morning..This morning I was woken up by a lovely and painful charlie horse in my left calf after maintaining that crazy muscle spasm I started to fall back asleep. Luckily enough for me, my right leg then decides to get a charlie horse. What a perfect way to wake up! As I laid in my bed for a couple minutes checking my phone I hear lots of noise coming from our living room so I went out to investigate. There I find 2 construction men doing mysterious work to our room. The one could hardly speak english so to this moment we have no idea of what was being worked on. The washer and dryer were taken apart, a man was placing a tarp on my closet and then preceded to drill a hole in our ceiling. You know its time to leave the apartment when you hear the construction men, the ones who are suppose to be reliable, start screaming "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit". At that moment, I got my bathing suit on (which was a hassle to get to since there was a tarp and a man working on my closet) and went to the lobby to meet up with the girls to head over to Coogee Beach. After 5+ hours of sunning myself it was time for me to go home. When I got home, Nicole and I inspected our room to see the construction that the man did. Nothing looked different, we're still confused. Since I was starving, I cooked myself a magical meal when I got home. Of course it was chicken and broccoli. It would have been better with hot sauce, lots and lots of it but I survived with my insane amount of Heinz ketchup. Since my mommy loves me so much, she might send me some hot sauce. The best news I've heard all day! Tonight I was extremely productive. I did laundry, got a grocery store reward/discount card and picked classes for the semester. Sammi, my friend from TEAN orientation and I headed down to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. Ice cream cones are only $0.30 here! How awesome is that?! Here I am writing this blog, after sending my usual morning text to my mom around this time cause I know she's awake about to get ready for work, about to fall asleep. Goodnight and love you all! :-*

From Down Under
Em

Newbie In Sydney

G'day!

Yesterday I finally arrived to my apartment after many hours of waiting in Cairns and traveling. A couple minutes before the clock struck 10 pm I made it to my apartment. Since I was the last one to move in, my room was already decided for me. Not a problem at all, less drama! My roommates and I mesh great and I see all of us as great friends in the future. Nicole, my actual roommate, goes to school in Wisconsin but is from New Jersey. My other two roommates are Kelley and Rachel. Upon moving in I was shocked by the balcony attached to our apartment. It is practically the same size as the whole apartment! How did we manage to get so lucky? We have no idea. When moving in Christian, TEAN leader, advised me to not be concerned about the furniture because it is going to be replaced with in a couple days. To be honest, the future is nice! Our closets are huge and spacious but our room is a little tight but it doesn't matter cause we won't be spending much time there! The kitchen is equipped with all the essentials, too. We all went to bed late last night because we sat in our room just talking getting to know each other. I feel as though we are all a great match. Luckily enough for me, my two really good friends from TEAN orientation are only 3 floors above me and I was able to see them when I arrived. This morning we all woke up and walked to the uni (university) for orientation...let me just say it was POINTLESS, except when they informed us of all the times and places of where they serve free food. I learned how to pick my classes I want..and none of the classes I originally wanted are a good suite for my Australian life, way too much work. I def don't have time to casually write multiple 3,000 word essays. After orientation, I came back to my apartment and went to the grocery store with Sam and Sami. I got ham and cheese, chicken, spaghetti, apples and peanut butter (of course other things too). Tonight for dinner I had pasta with breaded chicken and alfredo sauce, it was delicious. Since I don't have classes or anything to do until next Monday the girls and I are going out tonight, to where? Not quite sure yet. Tomorrow I have a big day ahead of me of laying on Bondi Beach.

From Down Under
Em

Why Live On The Edge When You Can Jump Off?

Hello my friends!

What a wonderful way to spend my last day in Cairns (February 22, 2013). I woke up to housekeeping cleaning our mold infested ceiling and spraying the carpet with a mysterious bottle of liquid awfully early. Since I was up early because of house keeping I headed down to the town lagoon pool to spend my day tanning. I got so much color! After tanning we loaded the bus around 5 pm to head over to the bungy jump and minjin swing park. I was so pumped and not nervous until I saw it. I warmed myself up to the dropping feeling by starting off on the minjin swing, so fun but heart stopping. After the swing, I went up 160+ feet of stairs to the top of the bungy jump area. Sooner than later my name was called, it was my turn. With my clamy hands I walked over in my harness to the ledge where I got tied up. They wrapped a towel around my ankles and a rope which was attached to the bungy. I was also clipped in at my waist. Now it was time to waddle to the ledge. The view across was gorgeous, best view of Cairns, but looking down was not an option. Benny, the boy working, counted down from 5 and I swan dove down off the ledge. Why live on the edge when you can jump off? I knew I just had to jump, I could look down or stand on the ledge for a long time. Next thing I know I was being rescued by the retrieving boat. It was an adrenalin rush! Luckily enough I purchased the video to share the experience with everyone at home. Mom, I'll be sure to email you the video! Today I am leaving my moldy and moist room in Gilligan's hostel to my luxurious (I hope) apartment in Sydney. I cannot wait to be back in a city, stop eating out at restaurants and to be able to do laundry. I am nervous to meet my roommates but so excited to finally be in my house for the next 5 months! Love you all :-*

From Down Under
Em

Raging Thunder

Cheers mates!

The 5:35 alarm yesterday (February 21, 2014) was 100% worth it. We loaded the bus and took off on a 2.5 hour journey to the booha of Australia for white water rafting. As we were traveling up to the top of the river we passed many scenic towns and places. We drove through the Southern Hemisphere's largest banana plantation, it was amazing how many banana trees were growing! Once we reached the top of the river we put life jackets and helmets on and grabbed our paddles. We had the best boat leader, his name was Rob and he was from Wales. We started off in the river learning simple maneuvers such as forward paddling, backward paddling, get down, move left, move right and the honeymoon shuffle. We were on a level 4 river. Level 6 is Niagara Falls which will kill you instantly. People have died on the Tully River, but here I am alive re-telling my experience. So many fun rapids that it's hard to explain all. At one point Rob instructed myself and Paige to sit on the front of the boat with our legs hanging over the edge while holding on to the OS line. He then instructed the others to paddle forward so we headed down rapids, that was literally the coolest thing I have ever done, obviously hanging on and screaming for dear life. After rapids there were usually flat pools of water were we played games with the people in our boat. We learned how to save people and pull people into the boat after falling out by ourselves, I got some nice big muscles today. One of my other favorite parts of the day was a part of the river which was extremely dangerous. Rob instructed all 6 of us to sit on the front of the boat linking arms. Next thing I know we are going down the rapid backward and soon enough we're all in the water. The reason why we did this is because of the vertical world pool, if someone fell in they'd be taken under and not been able to escape, so doing this maneuver allowed all of us to dodge the world pool and have fun. To get back into the boat Rob insisted on me listening to him instead of stepping on the closest rock and lifting myself in. Thank god I listened to him cause what we did next was so fun! I was on the side of the boat facing outward holding onto the OS line. I then went under the water and lifted my legs up and next thing I knew I was flipping into the boat with the help of Rob. Every time from then on when I got out of the boat Rob flipped me in! For lunch they had hamburgers and sausages made for us when we made it half way down the river. My muscles feel like jello but overall today's experience white water rafting was so fun! I want to find more rapids to white water raft because of the many smiles and laughs it brought to me. Although there were crocodiles and lots of creepy crawlies, the smiles and laughs over shined the scary-ness! Oh my god and today was the first time I took my belly button ring out for the first time other than changing it in 6 years! Thank god I did, I didn't want it to get ripped out. I wish I had pictures to share with everyone but phones and cameras were to be left on the bus. Miss you and love you all!

From Down Under
Em

The Not So Magical Rainforest

Hi!

Today was NOT what I thought it would be and to be quite honest, it was not worth it. After a long night I woke up at 6 am to get picked up at 7 to go to Kuranda, a city part of the Australian rainforest. Once we got there we went though an animal park just like the one we did in Sydney, except we were able to eat ant abdomens and see spiders as big as our hands in their webs, not my type of fun. After the animal park we were sent off to hang out with Aborigine people to throw boomerangs, spears and play didgeridoos. We also got to watch the Aboriginal people do a performance which was very interesting. After that the rest of the day was a snooze. We took a army duck tour to look at the plants and trees of the rainforest, it put me right to sleep. Finally, after that torturous thing had finished we headed to the town of Kunranda for lunch and to catch our train home to Cairns. The salads in Australia are highly over priced and not worth the money. I'm disappointed I spent $16 on a ceasar salad but I was withering away to nothing and there were no other options. I'm still pretty heated that TEAN does not feed us during this trip to Cairns and we have to pay for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But anyways, I scarfed up my expensive lettuce and croutons and then treated myself to an ice cream come since I was still hungry. The train ride home was 2 hours, yes 2 hours because it's the scenic route..please tell me why we chose this option? Tonight for dinner we are going to a local place in Cairns called the Pier, our meals will be $12 (TEAN deal) and I am not sure if I am going to go or if I should just pick up a salad or sandwich from subway for much cheaper. You can never go wrong with lettuce, onions and jalepenos. This week has literally created a zombie out of me due to the lack of sleep. Tomorrow I have another 5 am wake up call to white water raft all day, so excited! Goodnight and I love you all! :-*

ps. I'm in dire need of a cure to sunburnt/chapped/crispy lips if anyone has any!

From Down Under
Em

Jellyfish Protection

Greetings from Australia,

Sorry world, I didn't have wifi yesterday so here I am posting what happened yesterday! Yesterday, February 19, 2014 was a very active day. We had our alarms set for 6:15 am since we had to catch our boat to an island, Fitzroy Island, at 7:30. Once we arrived to the island we broke off into two groups. This, not like I needed anymore justification to my theory that I was NOT made for the wilderness, 100% proved that I am in fact meant to stay in doors except for my tanning. We took a 25 minute hike through the forest and mountains in flip flops seeing creepy crawlers (EW) to reach our destination of Nudey beach..no it was not a nude beach. It was a beautiful white sand crystal clear water beach where we were to snorkel. Little did we all know, it was jelly fish stinging season so we were lucky enough to wear head to toe coverings (a jump suit) everytime we stepped foot into the water because it prevented stings if we came in contact with a jelly fish. We all look like aliens. Every inch of our bodies were covered but our mouths. After snorkeling the barrier reef for 45 minutes or so we headed back to the meeting ground through the wilderness, yet again, for lunch. What was lunch you ask? HAM AND CHEESE SANDWICHES!!!!!! I almost fainted of happiness. After lunch what other way to finish our painful leg work out by working out our arms with a nice long kayak ride against short choppy waves to go snorkeling again...yay for big biceps, not. Ouch is more like it, since my little arms don't do much working out. Finally I reached the shore after exploring the barrier reef some more. The Great Barrier Reef is an amazing place with so many species of animals, I could probably name all the Phylums but don't worry Mom, Rick and Al I'll save that for one of our biology lessons at the dinner table. (maybe the fish are even in my atlas!) After taking the boat back to Cairns every girl rushed to get ready for wild Pub Crawl we were about to attend. Of course we had to eat up so I went and got more ham and cheese with lots of jalepenos literally in heaven! To be honest the pub crawl was a bust so we all went home before midnight because my bed in the hostel seemed more appealing than vodka sodas, Jell-O shots or beer.  Good morning from Australia!

From Down Under

Em

Tanning in Cairns

Hi!

Today couldn't have been better. I slept in until around 9ish (yes, that's sleeping in) and hung around the room talking to people from back home for a little. After done chatting with all my loved ones from America I put my bathing suit on and headed down to the Cairns community pool in the middle of town because most of the delegation went skydiving. Luckily enough, there was free wifi so I was still able to chat with everyone! Laying, trying to tan my back (something I never do) I became very sweaty so I decided to hop into the lagoon style pool. The pool was amazing! After a quick refreshing dip I laid back on my towel and took a little nap. Because of yesterday on the barrier reef I decided not to tan my front because of the amount of sun it had already received. The sun here is extremely dangerous because the Ozone layer is depleted over Australia. I loaded up with sunscreen today, happy mom? :) While laying I met some boys from England who asked me to watch their stuff while they swam, of course it was McDonald's..I almost ate instead of watching it. After chatting and hanging out with the boys I left to go get lunch. Typical me, I went to subway for a much needed ham and cheese hoagie on a wheat roll, my personal favorite. I wanted to save my skin and protect it so I decided after lunch it was time to head back to the hostel because of the amount of sun I'll be exposed to tomorrow I didn't want my skin to become crispy. Shocking, I know! While hanging in the hostel I got to catch up with more of my favorite people from Tampa who I miss so much! Also, a little side note a girl from Tampa attending Sydney Uni with me is staying in the same hostel so we are going to meet up tonight! Tonight for dinner we are all going to a pub type restaurant, I could really go for a nice greasy cheeseburger, lets keep our fingers crossed they have one! It's mid afternoon here and I plan on having a relaxing night tonight because of the extreme activities we have planned for tomorrow. Goodnight, love you all!

From Down Under

Em

The Great Barrier Reef

Hello my fellow Americans,

Today I finally found Nemo! I had an extremely early wake up call to go to the Great Barrier Reef! I could not wait to go snorkeling and scuba diving. We were fed breakfast on board, which was gross, before we docked in our first part of the barrier reef. We had an option of an introductory lesson to scuba diving if we wished. I obviously said yes! While the first groups started their diving lesson the others snorkeled around the reef. The reef was so amazing with so many different type of fish. It was finally my turn to scuba dive and lets just say it was not my cup of tea. I bailed before actually scuba diving around the reef just like the rest of my group. The feeling of only breathing through your mouth and having your ears constantly pop just isn't for me. Instead I decided to head up to the roof of the catamaran and tan..now that sounds like my cup of tea. While sunning my pale skin I fell asleep and missed lunch, oops! But on the plus side I woke up a tan goddess. After lunch we boated over to our second spot which was more amazing than the first! I saw Nemo, Dory and all their friends...including a jelly fish which caused me to swim as fast as Michael Phelps out of the barrier reef and have me end up back on my tanning bed. Finally we were on our way home after 9 hours of being on a boat. Dinner was at a local restaurant in cairns but I did not feel well probably because of dehydration so I could really eat but on the walk home I had gelato which was delicious! I finally made it back to my room and am calling it an early night due to the fact that my head is pounding. Love ya!

From Down Under

Em

Sydney to Cairns

Greetings,

THIS IS YESTERAYS POST ( February 16, 2014). Today couldn't have been worse. As we arrived to the airport to fly to Cairns for the weekend apparently Student Universe managed to book myself and 3 other girls on last nights flight so we did not have tickets. The leaders of our group were running around frantically trying to book 4 tickets to Cairns with the rest of the TEAN group. The flight was scheduled to leave in an hour and myself and the girls were sitting in the airport lobby just waiting. As the TEAN leaders are at the sales desk they find out there are only 3 seats available on the next flight to Cairns and there are 4 girls. Luckily enough we all managed to get a spot on the flight and get to our gate in time. The 3 hour flight went by quite fast seeing as how I napped the whole way. When we arrived to Cairns the sun was shining and all was rainbows and butterflies until we tried to get into our room. The lock was broken and the front desk/maintenance team would not help. It was beyond frustrating for everyone involved seeing as how the 4 girls that had no tickets were in the room that did not open. We shoved our bags into our neighboring room (girls we know) so we could meet up with the group to do a walking tour of Cairns. At the end of the walking we ended up in a community room where we were able to plan our free days on this trip. I chose to do a tour of the rainforest on Thursday. Since Tuesday is suppose to be nice weather I decided I'll spend my day at the beach, a simple walk from the hostel. Here I am finally in my room with the help of the front desk and their magical key (hopefully our door will be fixed tomorrow, keep our fingers crossed) with a wake up call for 6 am to go snorkeling and scuba diving on the barrier reef! Goodnight :-*

From Down Under 
Em

Orientation aka Fat Camp

G'day mates!

Unfortunately I didn't get to post yesterday (February 14, 2014) because it was a hectic day! In the morning we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge it was a long 3.5 hour climb consisting of over 1,400 steps..needless to say I was starving after since I started at 10:35 and burned over 500 calories on the climb. After the climb I rushed back to the hostel for a BBQ on the roof, coleslaw has never tasted so good..it even had some weird mysterious little prune (obvi picked around that). After lunch I rode my very first public bus, thank god I was with people that knew what they were doing! Of course I would ride any public transportation because I was on my way to Bondi Beach! Little did I know, they drop us off at Clovelly and have to walk past Bronte before getting to Bondi, a 5 mile trek to the beach, definitely not ideal after a bridge climb. While hiking to Bondi we stopped at a water bubbler for a quick drink as we noticed a porno being filmed on the top of the roof of one of the modern house, LOL..we seriously all died. I literally am so excited to get my little bikini on and lay on Bondi beach with all my Australian friends! After exploring the beaches for an hour or 3 we finally decide to head back into town. Luckily enough it was valentines day so there was absolutely NO traffic in town..SIKE! The bus ride was an interesting one listening to the local 15 year olds talk about their wild Friday night they had planned. So you wonder how my Valentines dinner was? It was great, candle lit dinner with my Australian lover, just kidding I ate a prepackaged 7-11 meal in a park with rats running between my legs AH! I ran so fast out of that park I looked like Usian Bolt. I was so exhausted after the many hikes that day that I couldn't move after showering so I had an easy and relaxing night in my jail cell bed. ZzzZz

February 15, today, was a completely different story compared to yesterday. Since it was our last day of TEAN orientation they planned an Amazing Race for all 60 students throughout the town of Sydney, the winners win a free dinner at a very nice restaurant in the college town they're studying in. Unfortunately, my team did not win. My competitive self sprinted the 4 hour race while taking trains to bondi beach, dressing up as a drag queen, playing cricket and stuffing my face with Vegemite at road blocks. Thankfully, I had a huge pocket in my raincoat on my stomach so at the moment of gagging and almost vomiting instantaneously I opened my pocket and spit it all in my giant pocket and ran the rest of the race with a pocket full of Vegemite coated chewed up bread. The end point was a restaurant under the Sydney Opera House for lunch. The view and food was amazing although it was drizzling, which helped cool all of us sweaty people down. Between yesterday and today my legs feel like jello! Finally, we got a break from what the TEAN leaders consider fat camp to relax and get ready before our dinner on a cruise which tours the Harbor for 4 hours while being fed amazing food. I had cheese raviolis and a fluffy s'more like desert with fruit on top. The view of the Harbour and Opera house was aamazing from the different levels of the boat at different times of the night. After the cruise a large group and I went out for one last night together on the town. Knowing I had an early flight the next morning my roommates and I decided to head home early. Tomorrow is the day I move out of the hostel and fly to Cairns (pronounced cans) for a week long adventure full of tanning, snorkeling, white water rafting and yes mom, bungee jumping! Love you all and I will let you know how beautiful Cairns is. Love you :-*

From Down Under

Em

Koalas, Wallabys and Meat Pies

Hellllooo everyone!

Day 2 was a great but very tiring day. Wake up call was around 730 am so I could get ready, eat breakfast and be at our orientation gathering by 9. After the meeting I went on a 3 hour walking tour of Sydney..yes my feet KILL! Not only did I get a beautiful view and picture of the Sydney Opera House & the Sydney Harbour Bridge, saw brothel workers and fed wild cockatoos but I saw Sydney's Westfield Mall. I eyed up and drooled over all those Prada handbags, I will definitely be making several trips back to that mall! For lunch we were taken to the Woolloomooloo Harbour where we ate a famous Harry's pie which consisted of a pot pie filled with meat topped with mashed potatoes, mashed peas and gravy while hanging our feet over the harbour's edge. While eating I got to talk to my mom, I was so happy! After finishing the walking tour we were then shuttled to the wildlife park where I was able to interact with several koalas, wallabies and kangaroos! They were all so cute but smelled SO bad, I knew I was not meant for the wildlife. After quite a bit of time at the park it was finally time to go back to the hostel (never thought I'd be so happy to see my jail cell of a bunk bed) for our free time. 5 girls and I decided to head back down to Darling Harbour for happy hour and dinner. Typical me ordering a water with lemon and chicken ceasar salad. We sat there and got to know each other for quite sometime and eventually around 9pm we decided to walk home. Luckily enough for me as soon as we walk 100 feet out of the restaurant it starts to thunder and pour..yay for a long 3 mile walk home. So here I am looking like a little wet new Australian puppy. Woohoo bacon hair for days! (yeah, Al that's a shout out to you) Goodnight love ya all!

ps. I came to the conclusion that for once in my life I will buy and use sunscreen..shocking I know

From Down Under

Em

20 Hour Flight

Hey Followers!

Today was a crazy day! After being on a plane for a straight 20 hours I arrived in Sydney. The flight was actually quite bareable and I managed to sleep most of the time. I was lucky enough to get my seat changed to an aisle seat which means I got to spread out while sleeping cause I had two open seats next to me. The plane was huge approximately 500 passengers. After landing I gathered my bags, went through customs with out any problems and then went to meet my TEAN group. There is 60 of us for orientation, most (99%) are attending UNSW. After loading all our stuff into the buses we headed off to the hostel which has a beautiful view of the Sydney Opera House and bridge. We had around 3-4 hours of down time to shower and clean up for a casual dinner which we walked to. It was located in the middle of Darling Harbour. After dinner we could do whatever we wanted so my newly made friends and I walked around, got a drink and watched the fireworks to celebrate February, the month of love. Finally I made it back home and here I am laying in a bed with the smallest pillow EVER typing this with the heaviest eyelids ever so goodnight everyone and love you!

From Down Under
Em

Philly to LA to Sydney

Hello!

Here I am writing from US Airways gate A13. I take off from Philadelphia to LAX then onto Sydney. All together the flights will be 20 hours long. My plan is to pop some Zzz qyil and wake up in Sydney. For my last meal in the US my mom and I went to subway, typical me. If you knew me well you'd know I eat ham and cheese sandwiches literally everyday. I just needed one more before leaving my most loved Land O Lakes American cheese. I could eat pounds by the slice daily. So here I am lounged out on four chairs hogging the outlet so no one sits near me, sorry but not really. Well here's to my last post in the US until June 29. I'll miss everyone so much and can't wait to keep updating everyone with all the crazy and fun things I do while abroad. Love you!

Em

Packing Up My Life

Hii!

Well today is my last day in the states and I finally finished packing up everything. My suitcases are about to bust at the seems and my carry on is filled of shoes. Maybe I didn't NEED to bring 20 bathing suits but on the other hand, I did. Speaking of bathing suits, now I need to find room for the beach towel I totally forgot to pack. Packing for 5 months is harder than you think: only allowing 2 suitcases each weighing 50lbs for all my clothes, shoes, jewelry, makeup and bathing suits just isn't right! Luckily enough I found a HUGE suitcases but still its packed to the brim. I am so excited to finally leave the snow weather for Sydney's sunshine. I only have one more night and two long plane rides between me and Australia. Cant wait to be there!

Em

My Tampa Babies

Hi!

As I am starting to pack up everything I need for Sydney I wish I could bring my best friends from Tampa with me. I will miss them so much and will definitely keep in touch with all of you. I created a collage to reminisce on the last semester (the best one so far) I had in Tampa with the best friends anyone could ask for. I hope to make friends half as great as all of you guys while on the other side of the world. Love you all so much :-*

Em

It's Me, Em!

Hello Followers!


My name is Emily and I am leaving my family in Pennsylvania and my life at the University of Tampa behind to travel over 9,000 miles to Sydney, Australia to study abroad. Telling all my friends and family the exciting things that happen while abroad will be difficult so I decided to start a blog so anyone and everyone can enjoy my pictures and moments in Sydney. I will post several times a week to keep everyone in the United States updated with my life in Australia. I will miss everyone while I am gone but I hope you'll enjoy my life in Australia through my blog.



Em