9 Feb

went to burleigh heads beach on saturday and laid around for a few hours.  it was magnificent.  a little windy, so once again i was completely covered in sand when i got back to school.  i don't know how that always happens to me.

got invited to a party in the common room of the Accommodation Center, where i live by some girls who live down the hall.  it's really adorable because we've met this girl, jorja, a couple of times now and think she is just the greatest.  it just melted my little black heart that she would think to invite casey and i to her shindig.  so she and her roommate, kasey, were the ones hosting the party.  well, on the facebook invitation it said "champagne, chocolate, strawberries, and chick flicks" so i was expecting some girly bonding night with a plethora of 17-year-olds.  however, about an hour into drinking and eating the $95 worth of snacks jorja provided a bunch of other kids started showing up and it turned into yet another booze-fest in the common room.  we played "never have i ever" (never a good idea when making new friends) and hung out until the wee hours of the night.

the funny thing, or should i say, one of the many funny things about Uni in australia is that kids here graduate from high school when they are 17, so they are freshman here when they are 17.  however, the drinking age isn't 18.  doesn't stop them.  they're just like freshman in the states, except 17.  so i have found myself hanging out with a lot of 17 and 18 year olds lately.  which is hilarious for so many reasons, not least of which that my younger sister is older than about half of them.  you know what though, i don't even mind it.  until they start talking about how excited they are for their 18th birthdays.  then it gets a little weird.  i just have to keep telling myself i'm not REALLY hanging out with high schoolers...

also, i got an email from my mother asking me to inform her of my whereabouts seeing as there are some pretty massive natural disasters happening around here these days.  however, do not fear.  the bush fires are in Victoria, a state much farther south of me, around melbourne.  the flooding is in northern queensland, which is much farther north of me, around cairns.  however, my friend kathryn and some other people have been in cairns all weekend and are safe as far as i know, but may be stuck there long than expected due to the flooding.  keep all those people that have been killed in the fires and floods and their families in your thoughts and your prayers, but don't worry, i'm safe.