Happy Holidays!

A very (belated) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! On Christmas Eve, Rachel and I went to Kat and Tamsin’s for dinner. It was very similar to our Thanksgiving feast (chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing) with a few English touches such as Yorkshire pudding… which in my opinion tasted like a bland pancake. Dinner ended on a bit of a sad note because it was Rachel’s last meal with all of us, the next day she flew home to Maryland. She’ll be living at home and working before heading off to college next fall—although she hasn’t decided where she’ll be attending just yet. I can’t say that I was particularly looking forward to my first Christmas away from home, but I found solace in the fact that I would be lying out in 80° weather while my family would be bundled up in bulky sweaters. No such luck, it rained all day long. Needless to say, I will be home for Christmas next year.

Kat and Tamsin had Christmas Crackers waiting for us at our seats, an English tradition. Each person crosses their arms and pulls on the ends of two different crackers. Inside are a few treats and the paper crowns, which the girls insisted we wear the rest of the night.

Our last picture together as roommates.

New Year’s Eve was much more successful. I joined Tamsin, Kat, and her boyfriend Adam at their friend’s house in Double Bay, which is located between the city and Bondi beach. Not only was the apartment amazing, but we were right on the water and met some very nice people that night. I can't believe that it's 2010 already. I have so much to look forward to this year, starting with my parent's upcoming visit on January 27th. We'll be going on a road trip around the south island of New Zealand for a week, flying up to Cairns to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef and then heading back down to Sydney for a show at the Opera House. I can hardly wait, I'm so exited!

The private beach where we spent New Year's Eve.

We had the beach all to ourselves; it really beat the crowds at the Opera House!

Adam put a whole new meaning to "ringing in the new year" that night... At midnight during the fireworks show he proposed to Kat. She said yes!

There were fireworks at 9pm and then again at midnight. The city actually put on three sets of identical fireworks at the same time in different locations. From where we stood, we could see all of them. It was incredible.

Cheers to 2010!

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

Well these tidings come about a week late, but I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Rachel and I decided to host dinner for our English friends Kat and Tamsin and our Australian mate Chris. Kat actually celebrates Thanksgiving every year with her family because her father is American; it was Tamsin and Chris’s first turkey day experience. Speaking of turkey… we didn’t actually have one. We decided it would be easier on us (and our kitchen) if we bought a delicious pre- cooked chicken instead. And for those of you that think this was a cop out, I will say to you what I said to my sister Jackie: When you have your first Thanksgiving thousands of miles away from home we’ll see how you do. We did cook all the yummy sides like mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and a sweet potato dish. Our delectable feast was followed by an amazing episode of “Glee” which I much preferred to a football game and dark chocolate brownies Kat and Tamsin made from scratch. All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving.

The lovely bouquet courtesy of Colin.

I wish every dinner was a Thanksgiving feast!

The self- timer really comes in handy in times likes these.

This past Monday, I went scuba diving at Gordon’s Bay with my friends Jay and Thijs. I had been there before to take pictures of the fishing boats and search for sea glass on the shore, but never to dive. The water was incredibly rough and we were walking into it from a rocky area. While I successfully made it into the water, the way out proved to be a bit more difficult and I unfortunately was smashed up against the rocks. I survived with a few cuts on my feet and a bruised ego. While underneath, Jay and Thijs used their dive knives to cut a sea urchin open and used that to feed a friendly blue grouper that has become quite accustomed to divers treating him. I know I haven’t posted any scuba diving pictures yet, but that’s only because disposable underwater cameras are expensive and I’m trying to make the 28 shots last as long as I can. Once I do get the developed I will most definitely post them.

I realize I haven’t written about work much and that’s only because it isn’t the most exciting topic- that’s not to say I haven’t been enjoying it though. I work mostly with my manager Katie, who I love and my day consists of assisting customers, making sure the store is tidy, and putting new merchandise onto the floor. The past few shifts I’ve worked 1pm to close, which is 7pm and relatively early compared to American stores. Even though I’ve worked in retail before, I feel so much more important at Reiss because I’m literally closing the entire store by myself whereas at Anthropologie or Nordstrom there were always a few people with me (that of course is because both those stores are enormous compared to Reiss). I expect to more hours as the Christmas season approaches, so I will hopefully have a nice amount of money saved up by the time I start backpacking in February.

All Hallow's Eve

Australians don't really celebrate Halloween, but I didn't let that stop me. Rachel and I invited a few of our girlfriends over to celebrate on Saturday night. Our English friends Kat and Tamsin came, as well as my new friends Kelly and Jen. I met Kelly through my cousin Kendall; they did club gymnastics together as kids and ran into each other again this past summer. Kelly and Jen have been here about three weeks and live near Bondi beach. After hanging out at our apartment for a while we decided to go to SideBar, a well-known backpackers hang out in the city. And where there are backpackers, there are Halloween costumes. I saw everything from an Oompa- Loompa, Papa Smurf, and all five Teletubbies. It made me wish I had put a little more thought into my costume, nonetheless it was still a fun night!

We make such adorable hippies, don't we?

All the girls together: Me, Kelly, Tamsin, Kat, Rachel, and Jen.

Kelly did club gymnastics with my cousins. Small world, huh?