Youse

"Youse": a slang term mainly used in Western Australia. Equivalent to the American term, "y'all," it means just that - "you all."

Brad, Rob's 6 year old brother: "Can I watch a movie with youse?"

Wow, my lack of updating is just getting worse and worse. It just hit me today that it's July. It's freaking July, you guys! It's my last month in Australia! I still remember my post in March, when I was saying how time is short and I knew my stay in Melbourne would be over before it knew it. Well, here I am. Even though I predicted that time would whizz by, its speed still caught me by surprise. Some things you just can't slow down, no matter how hard you try. I dread returning home and to my studies. Sure, the weather is nicer in So Cal and most of my friends are there, but I can't help but feel suffocated whenever I'm in Arcadia. It's kind of strange, really, because I never got homesick while I was in Australia. Of course I would feel a bit sad whenever I saw photos of my friends together hanging out and having fun, but it wasn't a crushing, debilitating oh-my-god-i-miss-everyone-and-must-return-home feeling. I blame it on all the fantasy and sci-fi books I read when I was little (I still do, in fact). It has confused my sense of reality and instilled a fervent hope that one day, I'll become a heroine who hacks down monsters and saves damsels (dudes?) in distress, or stumble into a hidden world and experience many adventures. Of course, this kind of thing doesn't happen in Arcadia, so the next best thing is to travel to a foreign country half-way across the world. See Camille run from reality. (I guess I can see why some of my friends said I resemble the main girl character from "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi.")

Anyway, enough of that sad stuff, I must type about Perth before my fingers fall off from the cold (it feels like it's 55 F in here!) Christine and I spent the past week crashing at her friend's house. Even though it rained most of the time and the weather wasn't as warm as I would have liked, the company made it the trip totally worth it. Rob is one of the wittiest guys I have ever met and kept Christine and I laughing everyday. I don't know how many stupid arguments I've had with this guy over mushrooms, orange Eclipses (the best mints ever), and the correct way to pronounce the letter "H" (it's ay-ch! not hey-ch!) but it definitely kept me in high spirits when the cold weather brought it down. Thanks, Robbie. XD

What I did in Perth:
-Freemantle: explored the Little Creatures Brewery, wandered around town, bought Jaffle's pie.
-watched anime in Rob's room, played video games with Brad (he would wander around looking for my company XD), scare Rob when he was absorbed in his WoW, play with his mom's doggies
-walked to the cemetery near Rob's house with Melissa and Christine to look for kangaroos and got attacked by a wild duck
-drove around Swan Valley with Christine and pigged out on the free chocolate in the Chocolate Factory
-ran in pouring rain to retrieve our dinner (Domino's take-out pizza)
-went to the Aquarium of Western Australia
-clubbed with Rob's older sister, Jess, in ugly clothing and borrowed shoes (my Asics were deemed bar-inappropriate, so I borrowed Jess's pink Converses)
-biked around in Rottnest Island, which was unbelievably fun and would have been even better if the water was actually warm and not numbingly cold

Brrr! Alright, my tolerance for the cold is fraying. Before I go, I must say one more thing. I was supposed to leave for Hamilton Island this morning with Christine, but we missed our flight. Yea, that's right, we missed it. All I can say is that tram inspectors are stupid, I hate Jetstar, and timing really is everything. Anyway, Christine and I paid $70 each for the stupid missing-our-flight fee and another $40 for the shuttle to take us back to the city from the airport. -_- Today was a sad day. Anyway, I'm going to hole up in my room, curl up in bed and just spend my whole day watching anime (Christine's conked out from the cold medicine anyway). Toodles!