Devon is 22! (April 3)

Today is my sister, Devon's 22nd Birthday! This is the first time she is celebrating her birthday as a working woman and not a student. It is so weird to think that will be me in only 2 short years. I am so sad I am not there to help her celebrate or that she is not here to celebrate, but I know she will have a wonderful birthday. Due to my lack of attendance and missing out on her birthday I had flowers sent to her office as a little birthday gift to brighten up a birthday at work. I loved receiving a text from her showing me the flowers she got.

For the family birthday tradition, what I love about my sister Devon is that she is so creative, caring, loving, and always thinking of others. She is so generous with her gifts and talents and loves using those gifts and talents to better the lives of those around her. I love how she has such a sense of humor and loves imitating people and doing impression. She never fails to make you laugh or be entertainment. I am so grateful to have grown up with such an amazing sister who was a role model that I constantly and still look up to. You set such great examples for me, our family, and the people in your life. You are always showing us to never give up and once you set your mind to something you and it, follow through, and go above and beyond everyones expectations. I love you so much!! Hope you have a fabulous day and another adventurous year ahead of you!! Miss you lots <3

Running Trail (April 2)

Today Suzy and I went on a morning run together and she showed me this really cool trail that goes through a handful of different parks and field. There were signs naming the trail but I forgot to pay attention to what it was called but I will most likely be running the trail again so I will post more about the trail and hopefully some pictures next time I go. I really liked it because not only was it through all of the different parks, but we also ran through some neighborhoods so it was cool to see all the different houses and neighborhoods.
For dinner I discovered a said to be very traditional winter English dinner. Rose, Rachel, and I cooked 'bangers and mash' at first I called it 'mash and grave' and they want that to be a name for something now. Anyways bangers and mash is carrots and broccoli, mashed potatoes, sausages, and gravy, gravy, and more gravy. You put it all on your plate then drown all your food in gravy, if you food is not swimming in the gravy then you simply do not have enough gravy. Needless to say I did not drown my food in gravy but I did put it all over everything and it was delicious.
Sorry for the lack of pictures lately I should be getting my new camera this week!!

Palm Sunday and Stations of the Cross (April 1)

This morning I went to Palm Sunday mass at St. Anthony's church. I loved the mass because not only were their palms so different from ours back at home but this mass had music (the 6pm does not) but we also started mass outside with a blessing of the palms and a gospel reading then we all processed into the church singing a Hosanna song.

These were the most 'normal' palms I found out of the assortment we could pick from. A lot seemed to be olive branches

I was also very happy to see an advertisement spot in the back of the bulletin telling people I was looking for work as a babysitter. I introduced myself to the priest after. He is an awesome priest, very friendly, loves his community, especially the kids and he is always just so happy and smiling.

Whoops should have said 10 or less years but did not think about it until after it was posted in the bulletin. Goes to show my sense of time. 

Later that afternoon I went to Stations of the Cross with Claire (Natasha's flatmate). It was at a beautiful sculpture Park at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium. The cemetery was huge and gorgeous. It was a beautiful day that turned ugly as we were going through the stations of the cross. I decided to walk them instead of watch from a distance, but it was a very short 'walk' but I am so glad I went and experienced the Stations of the Cross in a cemetery.

Anglican section

Fountain in the center near the main office

The Family Volts

Stations of the Cross

Jesus was nailed to the cross station

How the sky looked when we first started

The stations were so detailed and interesting

The Manual they gave us so we could follow along

The sky changing as we were going through the stations. Just shortly after we got home it began to rain.

The last station

I think this was one of my favorites, although I loved them all.

The priest and alter server who led the Stations of the Cross

Pancakes (March 31)

I made breakfast for Minna and Suzy this morning. I was going to do a full out 'american' breakfast but they were not in the mood for that so I will do it next time with more people. I cooked pancakes for them and they loved them. It was very interesting to see what they put on the pancakes. Suzy used maple syrup and brown sugar and Minna used heated up frozen berries and apples sauce because she does not like maple syrup. I found out that there is a difference between maple syrup and syrup and apparently what I made are the 'american' version of pancakes. Neither Minna or Suzy said that was what their pancakes at home are like, they have something more similar to crepes. I love learning all of the little things like that which differ from our cultures. I can't wait to make them a full on breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast, orange juice, etc. : ) I forgot to take a picture of the pancakes but we happened to finish the whole plate between the three of us . . . we were just a little hungry. I forgot how good pancakes taste especially on a weekend morning when every one is home.

Goon and Lemonade (March 30)

I thought I would educate you a little on the drink of choice around here for most college students, especially ones on a budget. At home we have this thing called box wine, franzia, slap the bag, etc. Here they have the same thing but it is a little better and they call it Goon!
You can purchase a 4 Liter box of Goon for only $11 or if you buy it with someone else you can get it for $10. Then you go to Woolworths and buy the homebrand Lemonade 1 liter (which is basically sprite but everyone here calls sprite Lemonade) for 88 cents and you are set for a few nights.
We mix the goon with a little bit of lemonade to give it a better flavor and to change it up. It is actually pretty good and very inexpensive.
Once the box is getting low you can take the bag out of the box and it takes up a lot less room and its easier to squeeze out when you get to the end. So just when you think its empty you easily will have a glass of wine left.
They sell both a red and white wine in this box and there are a few different brands but we mainly buy Golden Oak or Stanley.

These two flavors are the best because they are not too sweet

The 'Sprite'

The black thing sticking out of the box is the very nice pourer they attach to the bag for you so it makes it a lot easier to pour. (They put this on all of the box wines).
I have yet to try the red wine with either brand but they do sell them.

How to go to the Bathroom (March 29)

I have noticed here that in almost every bathroom on the back of the stall door there are instructions and pictures showing you the correct and incorrect ways of how to go to the restroom. The first time I saw one of these I thought it was a joke that the place had going but apparently people do not know how to use the toilets right so they need to remind them or they just want to make sure that when you are drunk and may have forgotten that you not only have instructions on how to pee but also illustrations. There are a few different looking versions of these signs but they all have the same thing. I don't know who wouldn't know how to use the toilet but apparently it has happened enough that you will see these signs in a lot of restroom stalls. Enjoy the photos!

This is the most popular one that is on most stall doors

Global Leadership Program (March 28)

Today I had my first Global Leadership Program (GLP) colloquia. GLP is a program Macquarie University offers that allows students to enhance their degree and develop their potential to become a global leader. The program can equip you with the leadership potential, professional skills and international experiences to pursue a truly international career.
For the program we have to attend 5 colloquies that are each 3 hours long learning about different issues and learning new lessons. We also have to attend the Distinguished Speaker Series Event towards the end of the semester where they have someone who is very well known come and speak with us. We have a networking social before then we have the speaker present and it is always somewhere downtown.
So far I have completed 2 of the 5 colloquies. I did one called Business Etiquette and the other was was called Leadership.
They have one conveyer come and speak to you and they are all different. I really enjoyed both of the colloquies that I have been to so far and I look forward to attending the other 3 that I will sign up for.
At the end of the program you receive a GLP Certificate and Resume saying all the programs you did and what you accomplished. It is going to be a great asset to add to my resume and have to present in all my future job interviews and application processes.