I've been a bit preoccupied with life lately and thoroughly enjoying my time in Australia. As a result, this post has been a long time coming. A few of the highlights of the past couple of weeks include another night spent at the Luna1878 night market, an australian gig and a trip with friends to Phillip Island.

The next weekend, I went on a trip to Phillip Island with 7 others. We rented a private beach house. It was a nice break from Melbourne and the city, although I do wish we could've stayed longer. We spent a lot of time down on the beach. We went for walks, played catch, played soccer and a couple of guys brought a guitar and mandolin. The weather was PERFECT for being the first couple days of spring! I even went into the ocean. It was a bit chilly though. On Saturday night we went down to see the Fairy Penguins, also known as little penguins. They we TINY but so cute!!! It was so awesome seeing them wash up on the shore then waddle through the rocks to get to their burrows. We also saw a kangaroo up on the hill while we we watching the penguins - my first kangaroo sighting! Overall, It was just an amazing weekend spent with amazing people. Definitely one of the highlights of my time here so far.

While going for a run in the park a few weekends ago, I noticed there are TONS of wild parrots in Melbourne. They're noisy, but beautiful. I knew there were parrots here, but I didn't actually see them until then. They drove the dogs in the park nuts - they stopped at the bottom of the tree and kept barking at them. I've seen quite a few more since then - they seem to be out closer to dusk, it's interesting!

I'm falling more and more in love with Australia every day and this has been one of the best decisions of my life deciding to come here. I can't complain about a single thing, this place is awesome.

In my mind, there are three different speeds of time. There is normal time, college time and study abroad time. I'm not sure if it's because I go to school in a huge city, but before starting school at NYU, life seemed to happen much slower. Even when I find myself home in upstate New York, time still seems to drag. But once I got to NYU, between classes, my internship and my club involvement, time seemed to fly. I blinked and it was already midterms. It was crazy.

Studying abroad, it's a whole level above that. I'm already a quarter of the way through my course at Universitu of Melbourne. I feel like I just got here last week and it's been almost 4 weeks already (I really have no problem with it as long as it starts to warm up soon)! It's just crazy how fast time goes by here. It makes sense though - being in a new place, there are TONS of things to take up your time such as meeting new people, seeing new places and getting used to a new university. I really do love it here, though. It's such a nice place, both the university and the city itself!

I haven't really had a chance to really explain more in depth on my in-class experience here yet. Back in NYC, I've never had a semester where I haven't had at least one homework assignment or quiz/exam per week. Here, I have one assignment, two papers and two midterm exams during the semester, in addition to 3 finals during our three-week long exam period. I'm now starting to understand what was discussed during orientation week - it's easy to give yourself a false sense of security and get behind by thinking you only have a couple of things due at the end of the semester. I'm hoping to get ahead on one of my papers by the end of next week. 

I actually really like the concept of the tutorials here, helping to lead discussions on the topics covered in the lectures. They allow a lot more interaction between classmates and help you see different perspectives on ideas. I feel that this will definitely enhance my exchange experience here, too, by having these more intimate settings and getting to see how the local students think. 

This past Sunday, a friend and I explored Melbourne's lane ways. Some, such as Hosier Lane and Union Lane are just fully covered with graffiti while others, such as Centre Place, are lined with discrete, cozy cafes. In a way, some of the lanes (the ones with small boutique shops) reminded me of SoHo. In the visitor centre at Federation Square, we picked up the lane way maps and weaved through the map of different lanes - some even took us into beautiful arcades with pretty ceilings. I will have to go back when it gets a tad warmer and take more pictures! Below are some more graffiti pictures from Union Lane!

On Sunday, my friend told me of this cool night market he was planning on going to Wednesday, so we went last night. As we were walking toward the food, I'm pretty sure I said something along the lines of "Oh, I really wish they had pierogies, I've been craving them for so long!" And then he pointed at one of the stands and I couldn't believe it - polish food!!!! The pierogies were AMAZING and I hope to go back the next two Wednesdays and have them again - I can't find any polish restaurant in this city! At least in NYC I have Veselka just blocks from school to curb my pierogi cravings!! Although, Lomzynianka in Greenpoint is definitely the best - cheap, unbelievably good polish food! It's just such a hike though!

I also found a really pretty necklace at one of the craft stalls and I ended up buying it. For me, it symbolizes flight and travel, so I had to get it!

Besides having tons of great food stalls and craft stalls, there was live music, people on stilts and a silent disco to add to the entertainment. I can't wait until next Wednesday to go back :) That's all for now!