Weeks Thirty-five and Thirty-six: De Ja Vu

There's a strange feeling hanging around at the moment. On the odd occasions that it is both sunny and a non-uni day, it feels like summer again. Days of lazing on the beach, listening to music and having inordinate numbers of showers.

A beautiful day for a run along Nobby's.

A lot of the time, though, the weather is a bit grey and muggy. Or raining sideways. Or maybe the weather is perfectly pleasant, but we all have assignments to write or work to do. It's times like that which feel off. Like being back home, except without your family or your favourite so-worn-in-they're-a-biohazard slippers. I guess it's because we've now been here long enough for it to feel like home. Now that Autumn has set in even the nicest days Down Under are accompanied by a cool breeze, making it feel more like late spring in England.

I officially land at Heathrow in 3 months, 5 hours and 10 minutes. It is scary how quickly this year has passed. Back in November, as exams loomed large and all we could see was the vague mirage of summer on the horizon, I remember talking to Kirsty about going home. We both agreed that by the time we went home, we would probably feel ready - but for now, absolutely not. We had the whole summer, the whole rest of this year ahead of us.

Fast forward four months, and so much has changed. Summer was incredible, everything we wanted and more. We made amazing friends, bid some adieu and made some more. That so much happened in those four months is proof that I have much more to experience in my final three. Yet we can already tell that our predictions were right. Maybe its just the usual reaction to an increasing workload and decreasing daylight hours; but suddenly being home, on my sofa with a Gin and Tonic a la Mum (ie. hold the tonic) and all of England's homely delights doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world.

The past two weeks have been back into the familiar Uni pattern. My limited hours this semester mean I haven't actually spent too much time on campus (always a good thing), but the workload is increasing. I have moved houses, after my mouldy room actually became unbearable. I now live next-door-but-one, in a far nicer room with a view (and, unfortunately, many resident cockroaches).

My new room :)

We've had another house party at 28, an ABC party at James' and Joe',s and a St Paddy's party at my new house. I am still struggling to rid my room of green glitter - each morning I wake up looking as if I've gone 5 rounds with Tinkerbell overnight!

ABC Party!

St Patricks day!

Surfest - Newcastle's surfing competition - has been running at Merewether for the past week or so, and we went down to watch the final.

CRAZY!

Awaiting the mens pro final.

My parents arrive in Perth in 5 days, and I meet them, along with my little sister, in Sydney a week later. I'm definitely excited to show them around Sydney and Newy We're also heading up to Byron Bay (favourite!), Brisbane and over to New Zealand. It's going to be a lot of fun, and my feet are itching away to get travelling again!

Weeks Thirty one to Thirty four: So long sweet summer...

And so it has come to this: a whole summer of adventures - of desert island sunrises and smooth turtle shells; of blue glacial ice and bone white sand; of countless memories never to be forgotten - finally coming to a close. This has been, with no exception, the best summer of my life.

This past month has been frittered away basking in the hot Australian sun, chasing Dolphins through the surf on my morning runs, praying for rain to clear the air - and bemoaning it when it does... It has been - in contrast to the months preceding it - a month of relaxation, of reading trashy literature and achieving my aim of memorising the entirety of Triple J's Hot 100 for 2009, 10 and 11...

Last week was O-Week 2012, a week where all the newbie international students are given the chance to learn from their own mistakes... and therefore introduced to both On-Campus accommodation and Fanny's nightclub. Oh dear. It was a lot of fun though - we have met a lot of new people, and reaped the rewards of an afternoon browsing the Expo - Newcastle's equivalent of a Freshers' Fair. Many Freddos were consumed.

We endured Fanny's with the Newbies for the Teds Tight and Bright Party - an unmissable opportunity to coat yourself in apparently indelible neon paint and regret it the next morning. You'd think neon orange handprints were not common decorations for runners in Newcastle, judging from the looks I was getting... It was a lot of fun though, and the paint came off eventually!

Captured precisely the moment a drink was poured down my back!

The past week has played host to three birthdays: Liz's, Roseanna's and Josh's. For Liz's 21st, we bought a Groupon for an inordinately large number of cocktails in Sydney, where we spent the night sampling far too many Mango Daiquiris, and failing to find the fabled Salsa club upon which we had stumbled months before. Roseanna's 22nd was a much more sedate affair, consisting of a lovely BBQ by the foreshore, with too much food and not enough cake, as ever. For Josh's 21st, Liz cooked a colossal English Breakfast, followed by a candied Bacon-topped Birthday Cake and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Smart.

Sydney with the Girls

TOO.MANY.COCKTAILS.

Josh's incredible Birthday spread!

JD and Bacon Cake. Smart.

Birthday Cake numero dos!

We have booked tickets for Groovin' The Moo festival in May, which I am incredibly excited for. Anyone who has spent more than 2 minutes with me will know that I've been waiting approximately FOREVER to see City and Colour live - and had three missed opportunities. But FINALLY I have the chance to see him, with heaps of other amazing artists in... Maitland. A small, bogan country town - not exactly the venue I'd imagined for this momentous occasion, but hey! I'm not complaining! I'MSOEXCITED!

MAY 12TH AAAAYAYAYAYA

And so it is, that the most incredible summer of my life so far has come to an end. Two days ago, the Australian summer officially ended and autumn has begun. There is still so much to look forwards to in my last three months in this incredible country. Uni has restarted, but my mind is preoccupied with squeezing every last drop out of my time here. Already suggestions are abounding as to our next destination: the Blue Mountains? Western Australia? Tasmania? Australia is such an amazing, varied country - I have lived here for eight whole months and still feel that I've barely scratched the surface. Uni has restarted and eaten into my free time, my funds are nearly non-existent after a summer of travelling, and I have little over three months left - but I will travel more. I will see more. Australia: I'm not finished with you yet.

<3