melbourne? did i update about that? well, it was amazing. 8 of us (9 maybe? can't be bothered to count) did a great ocean road trip... which ended up only being partially amazing. the stupid rental van broke... THREE TIMES. instead of towing us, the mechanics just kept "fixing" it, only to have it break a few short hours later. my favorite was probably when it died while we were on the edge of a cliff in the pitch black. but the next day was filled with lots of wine on a winery tour and our last day was spent shopping and exploring.
i skipped out on SWOTVAC (our studying week before finals) and flew over to new zealand with another american (meg) and izzi, an english girl. we spent a week driving on the wrong side of the road with an unreal number of sheep, skydiving, snowboarding, hiking fox glacier, cruising milford sound, hot air ballooning at sunrise, and exploring queenstown (AMAZING place). we didn't sleep much and could've used a vacation after our vacation! it was incredible. the south island is breath taking, so i definitely need to make it to north island while i'm still over here. it's so cool being able to see the ocean AND the mountains... at the same time!
i ended up heading back to minnesota for "winter" break. it wasn't the most stress-free break as i had approximately 392486529 doctors appointments. just a rough estimate. i coached tennis a couple hours here and there and spent the rest of my time cuddling with picabo and relaxing at the cabin with friends. the good news is that i don't have adrenal tumors, pulmonary renal stenosis, pulmonary emboli, or any of the other zillions of things they seemed to test for. apparently though i have a stress fracture in my spine! luckily, my heart/being on too low of a dose of synthroid was making me so tired that i wasn't working out much at the end of last semester... which helped mask a lot of back pain. so random. i also got diagnosed with... second degree atrioventricular block? or something like that. it doesn't mean much except that i can't take some antibiotics and there's a vague possibility that i'll need a pacemaker at some point in life. anyway, yes. break was filled with far too many needles for my liking.
now i'm back at school, trying to figure out my next move! so what else is new, hey? i have a couple ideas lined up for "summer" (thanksgiving-valentine's day basically) break. 2 aussie boys are in the mood for a US tour and are hoping i will be back in minnesota to play the role of american host. i also want to live in new zealand for 3 months and work. AND i want to go to haiti. if i manage to find a job this semester (not looking promising on any front, but i'm waiting to hear back on a tennis job), i may try to head home for a month to see family/friends and then head to haiti to volunteer for 6 weeks. if i don't find a job, i will obviously be in dire need of employment, so new zealand it'll be.
on another note, i may only have ONE MORE YEAR of uni left after this semester. i have to wait to see if i can get all my credits from CC. i can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! mark your calendars: november 2011 may be one epic, world-wide party. after graduation, i'll hopefully head back to tanzania or some other place where i can do some humanitarian relief work. i am antsy as ever to get away from... well, civilization. less so the civilization and moreso the superficial people, material wealth and competitiveness.
have you seen invisible children? i just re-watched it today. it's a documentary about child soldiers in uganda. it's heartbreaking, but at the same time, it's something that absolutely needs to be watched to remind us of how much help is still needed in other parts of the world. it's easy here to get wrapped up in partying and traveling to fun, exotic resorts in new zealand or bali or fiji or sunshine coast or the great barrier reef. i'm finding though that no matter how much fun i have here, there's always a little part of my heart that feels empty. being in el salvador or tanzania, or hopefully soon-to-be-haiti, centers me. it helps me feel whole and alive and meaningful. the part of me that is usually filled with new clothes and expensive electronics and celebrity gossip gets replaced with dancing and singing and real conversations. it's a beautiful thing, really. no number of good grades or cheap vodka shots can replace it.
this semester is sure to be busy. four classes with lots of homework, hopefully a job!, some volunteer work, possibly another round of mafia... just gotta check college off the to-do list. another new batch of internationals are here, so i've been meeting "heaps" (as the aussies say) of new people, which is always fun. we don't have classes next wednesday so we can dress up, wear ridiculous feather headpieces and go see horses run around a track. we've also got college ball coming up soon, so lots of fun things to look forward to. if only stupid class didn't keep getting in the way of my life!!
'they came to sit & dangle their feet off the edge of the world & after awhile they forgot everything but the good & true things they would do someday.' --storypeople
'when i grow up, i want to remember that i always wanted to be a thousand different things & one lifetime didn't seem nearly enough. when i grow up, i hope it's at the very end when it doesn't matter anymore anyway.' --storypeople
