What a week!

This week has been a very influential one in my life.There have been both ups and downs. One thing is for sure, it is a week I will never forget.

We'll start at the beginning...

My 21st Birthday
At midnight on Monday, Emma, Michelle, and I went down the road to the Alfred Hotel to get a beer. We were the only three in the pub, and even though the drinking age is 18 in Australia, we made the bartender ask for my id so we could take a picture.

When I woke up the next morning Emma, Michelle, and Lindsey had decorated my door with birthday signs and streamers. I skyped with my family, and when they appeared on the screen they had balloons and a birthday sign in the background and were singing happy birthday. Half was through skyping, Emma barged into my room throwing balloons everywhere and gave me flowers.

That night, some friends and I got tight a** Tuesday pizza and sat out on the picnic tables to eat. After dinner, my friends gave me a card which they had had a bunch of people sign, a potato peeler, a cookies and cream kit kat (two things believe it or not, I've been wanting ha ha), and a birthday crown for me to wear for the remainder of the night. Later they threw me a birthday party at Lindsey's appartment with cake and everything. From there we went to a couple of local pubs and with the last stop being the Alfred hotel, where we had begun my birthday at. It was a birthday that I will never forget! I am so thankful to have such great friends and family which made my day so special!

Other News
As some of you may know, I have been waiting to hear whether or not I got into my major of Exercise Science at the Ohio State. Thursday morning, I received the email saying that I got in!!! What a relief!! All that work in chemistry last quarter finally paid off! Feeling motivated from the good news..I tried again to find a physio to observe with no luck. However, I did get in touch with someone about helping out with little athletics (a little league track club) and I may be volunteering with that in May.


Weekend:
 Friday-I spent the day at Coogee Beach. As Australia is moving into its cooler season, we are trying to take advantage of every nice day there is! The sun was hot, but the water temperature is dropping because of the cool nights. Friday afternoon a friend we had met in Byron Bay on our mountain climbing adventure came to visit us. His name is Tyler and he is an American studying 2 hrs. north of Sydney up in Newcastle. Tyler, Michelle, Lindsey, Emma, and I got all dressed up that night and went out to a nice birthday dinner at the Rocks. It was our first nice sit down dinner in Sydney. We went to a little Italian place called, Amoroma Ristorante. After dinner we went to the Lowenbrau, where a trumpet player from the band came to our table to play happy birthday, upon my friends request.

Saturday- In the morning I saw that I had missed some text messages from my Dad. My stomach dropped, because all they said were to give him a call as soon as I could. I knew what they had to mean. My Grandpa was diagnosed with Leukemia a couple of months ago, and not given much time. When I called my Dad, he told me the news. It makes me sad that today was his funeral and I am half way around the world. But I think what upsets me even more is that I didn't get to visit with him in his final months. He will be missed by many, but there are so many stories to tell about him to reminisce. One of my favorite stories is the one about when a horse bit him. That horse didn't know who he was messing with because my Grandpa turned around and punched the horse in the head and knocked it to the ground. My Mom always jokes that she could write a book full of Levi stories. I just want my family to know that my thoughts and my prayers go home to them in this time of loss. 

Saturday evening, Emma and I went to an Australian friend, Scotts 21st birthday party. Although 21st are big in the U.S., they are big here too, but in a different way. Families rent out venues, get dressed up, and close friends and family members give speeches in honor of the birthday boy.

Sunday- ANZAC Day:
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. News of the landing on Gallipoli had made a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.

To celebrate ANZAC day our apartment complex had a bbq with an inflatable twister and bull riding. I only last 30 seconds before getting bucked off. In the afternoon Emma and I played tour guide and showed Tyler around the city and took him down to Darling Harbour.

Monday- We didn't have class because of the Holiday. I spent the day preparing for two uni presentations that were this week. The first was a debate in my fitness training class, in which my team argued that cardio is the key to weight loss. The second was a presentation in my sports leisure and youth course about the experiences of Aboriginal people and sport. Monday night Emma, Michelle, and I booked flights to Melbourne for a weekend in the end of May. I started to panic as we planned the trip when I looked at my calendar. My weekends are filling up and my time in Australia is flying by. I don't want it to end!!!

Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday cards!!! Sorry for no pictures, the uploader was acting wacky. I'll add some later if it starts working!


Have a wonderful week!         

  Cheers, Betsy