So this is it.  Tonight was the big hurray before the end.  Although I don't officially leave Australia for another two weeks, I am leaving my friends tomorrow; I am leaving this temporary home.  It's sad.  Very sad.  I don't think I'm ready to leave.  

Tomorrow night Melissa, Jess and I head for brisbane.  We arrive at 10:30 p.m. will be spending the night in a 24 hour pancake house-our reason being: 1) we don't want to spend money on a hostel 2) it will be an adventure!  In the morning we will jet off to Adelaide to start our week long road trip to Sydney.  We've got plenty of things to see along the way.  I am confident it will be a week to remember!

I will then be flying to New Zealand for about 4 days.  Just enough time to see a little bit of the country I have heard SO much about!  After an exhausting couple of days of traveling alone, I will return to Brisbane--catch the bus home to Lismore to say one last farewell gather the rest of my bags and fly out of Brisbane the next day on the 24th.  I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update before I leave, if at all; a "pre-cap" will have to suffice.

Once again, I am so sad to have to say my goodbyes tomorrow.  I've decided once I get home I don't think it will feel like I was actually here.  It's just been such an unbelievable time.  Time has disappeared so quickly and it will take me some time to comprehend what actually just happened. 

Pray that I travel safely.

Current Events At Southern Cross Uni-the Life if Tabitha Blanchard:
While playing ultimate frisbee on Monday night there was a tragic head on collision between one Tabitha Blanchard and teammate Johny Unkown. Miss Blanchard was thrown to the ground by 200 lbs of human flesh, resulting in two sprained toes, one laceration on her next-to-pinky toe, a gargantuan lump/bruise on her left theigh, and abnormal pain in her lower right back. Luckily her injuries were minor and she should be active once the swelling and bruising has gone down in her foot. Until then she has been nicknamed, "Gimp" and endures the jeering names frome her roommates and friends. (Slight exaggeration.)

Other than her current state of health, Tabitha is doing quite well. She recently was seen at the social event of the year, Lismore Race Day. Tabitha reported that her luck was lacking when after betting 4 dollars on the first race her horse came in last, the social extravaganza was worth her loss. Uni students spent the day in their finest attire dancing to the live music, and watching the horse races until the days end.

Another week goes by. Friendships continue to blossom. Experiences come and go and what seems like a boring day at the time leaves an imprint in my mind that will last a much longer time than I could ever imagine. My flatmates here have become my family. We cook together and eat together, we work out together, we slack off together, we chill together, we adventure together, we laugh together...and so on.

Last Monday we had a Unit Dinner. This included all the residence in Unit 14; 24 students total. Each of the four flats, containing six people each, made food from a different culture. We had Mexican, Italian, Indian and Chinese and believe it or not, there was so much food we even came away with leftovers! Amazing. I am hoping to post pictures asap, but until then you will just have to picture it in your minds eye. Think along the lines of the first Thanksgiving dinner with all the Pilgrims. mhmm.

Today, was also good fun, as we went to a friends rugby game. I am finally beginning to understand the rules a little. haha It's a lot more interesting when you know what is going on! But the games are intense and fun to watch even if you're not quite sure what is happening!

Mk...well, to be honest, things have been very uneventful in Lismore for the past week. It rained 5 days in a row which was quite a bummer. The lack of transportation limits us to going many places on a whim, so it takes some planning, and due to our lack of planning in the recent past, we haven't gone too many places. Keep checking though, I will let you know when I go somewhere extroardinary! hehe

As for tonight, it's off to Mary's, our favorite local pub, for live music and dancing!
Cheers,
Tabi

oh my...I'm so bad at updating. I get so lazy and so distracted by other things. Things such as going to the beach, camping in the outback, movie nights, weekends in hostels going out to night clubs and irish pubs and of course the occasional night in, making dinner for masses of people and playing cards for the rest of the evening. There's almost always something to do, and if there isn't I want to find something!

I just got back from the Outback yesterday, after 7 days without a shower, I was ready to be home, but I miss not being able to sleep under the open Australian sky. It is truly magnificent. There were 22 of us on the trip, including leaders, all of which I got to know pretty well. So much laughter, so much hiking, so much mafia...just so much fun. I am really beginning to get attached to this place. I sometimes feel like Wisconsin is on a completely different planet and it was a different lifetime that I lived there.

Today, I went to the beach with 3 friends. My friend Luke has THE cutest convertable, and took us three girls with him so he could go surfing while we played in the waves and tanned on the beach. It was glorious. The beach is brilliant. I wish everyone I know could be there with me and experience the beauty and vastness of the ocean here. It's literally indescribably how beautiful and unending it all is. Not just unending in the sense of how big, but the continuity of the waves and simply the lifelike-ness of the ocean. It's incomprehendable. Ah anyway..
The day was finished with a stop at the local ice cream shop. Unfortunately I gave up chocolate for the time being (I have an ugly addiction/problem), but my strawberry cream and caramel king ice cream cone was TO DIE FOR.

I would also like to say I am very proud of my tan at this point. It has been hard work to get this far; very stressful, let me tell you. But I have been able to withstand the challenge and push through to develop quite a nice skin tone. mhmm

One last note before I run off to bed. I started teaching myself how to play guitar about a week ago, and I promise you, give me a year and I will be the next Missy Higgins. (If you don't know who she is, look her up; she is an AMAZING Australian artist. I'm a big fan.)
Cheers mate,
Aussie Girl-Tabi