Leaving

So this my last post. I am sitting in JFK airport in New York with mixed feelings. My fear is that I didn't love every moment as much as I should. I know that I will experience times in the next few months (and I am sure years) where I just wished I was back at Purdue and I don't want to feel like I wasted a second. Levi will tell you for sure that I did spend a lot of time homesick, but overall I don't think I wasted a second. I feel that to not experience homesickness is an injustice to the place and people you come from.

I was asked by many on my last weekend in Purdue will I miss it? If I had left the weekend before, when it was still a bustling campus filled with my friends, then the answer would have been yes. For this reason I think it was very good that I left after everyone else did. I was also asked if I enjoyed my time in Indiana and could I live there – surprisingly the answer to both of those questions is yes. I would have never thought that I would actually like living in a small town. I have realised that the single most important factor for me is not the amount of department stores, restaurants or entertainment options an area has, but the people that make up that community. I couldn't have asked for nicer friends and acquaintances than those I found in Indiana.

Going on exchange has been a truly amazing experience – one for which I am definitely a better person!

Goodbye Shreve.

With most people finishing or finished their last exams for the semester the time had come to have one last night of fun in Shreve Hall. Sounds simple enough – 4 friends, monopoly, youtube (for all your music needs) but it is one of those nights that I will keep dear forever. It will be forever the last night I spent doing the "American college experience".

Snow!

Well it is official – I have been very lucky with the weather this year. On average, Indianapolis (I couldn't find data for Lafayette) gets just over 6 inches of snow in December, but I can personally testify to seeing about a foot on the sports fields across from Hillenbrand Hall! I do love sitting inside looking out my 7^th floor window watching the snow covered outside world (pictured above)!

Outback Steakhouse – America’s Australian Restaurant

If I had a dime for every time I was asked if we had Outback Steakhouse in Australia or if I had ever been to one here in the States, I would be a wealthy man. To sum up the experience – they basically took American food, minus hamburgers and hotdogs, plus steak and shrimp (read: prawns), did some re-naming (e.g. French Australian Fries) and Outback was born. I did really enjoy the restaurant - I had a barbequed steak and some really delicious soup! Oh and I may have told the waitress that it was Kimberly's Birthday so we got a free dessert which was huge! Kimberly's younger sister, Lauren, also joined us for this meal!

Frosty the Snowman

Building a snowman is something that I have always wanted to do! The first time I saw a snowfall of more than an inch was whilst I was in Fort Wayne at Kimberly's house.  Without hesitation Kaila (the token Californian, pictured above) and myself (the token Australian) ran outside and began work on Frosty! We may have taken over an hour and taken snow from half of Kimberly's yard but we did it! Frosty the Snowman stood at less than 2 feet tall but we were so happy!

Shopping in Fort Wayne!

Combining my favourite three activities; travel, spending time with friends and shopping, I just knew I would have a blast! Kaila, Cassie, Kimberly, Tara and I (all pictured above) started off at a craft store (where Cassie was like a kid in a candy store, or in this case a Primary School teacher in a craft store), headed around to a luxury chocolate store (where a single truffle was $2.75!) and to Vera Bradley, oh and of course hanging out with four girls meant a stop at Victoria Secret! As pictured above, the trend of outdoor malls is as big in the US as it is Australia – except we don't have Christmas trees that big!!

Fort Wayne

As it was my third consecutive weekend of travel it was great to go to a family home to just chill! Kimberly's mum, Debbie, was exceptionally welcoming and nice, but won my heart by the delicious breakfast she cooked! All in all, the weekend was a testament to wonderful Indiana hospitality! I just realised that I don't have a photo of Debbie and I :( , but this is a photo of Kimberly's home!

Black Friday

After a long day and too much food we all sat down with the dozens of Black Friday Special catalogues from all the big retailers! The massive sales started as early as 10pm on Thanksgiving Thursday! Without any sleep since 9am Thanksgiving morning we headed out in the snow and got in line (pictured above) and shopped all night! 10pm was Toys'R'Us, midnight – Old Navy, 4am – Macy's and 5am – Meijer! My best buy of the day (or night as it happened to be) was a 5 piece Tag suitcase set for $49.99 (RRP: $200). Mrs Doreen was so nice and went to JC Penny's and got Levi and I each a limited edition Mickey Mouse 2010 Christmas snow globe! I had such a blast doing it all, but a rest was in order and we were all asleep at 7am. But we did make it back out later that day to get some more bargains!

Thanksgiving

Shaina, Levi and I were picked up my Mr Craig (Shaina's dad) on Tuesday after class to make the long journey back to Detroit for Thanksgiving break. All day Wednesday was spent preparing for the feast on Thursday – Levi and my task was peeling the vegetables. It was well worth the effort, Thanksgiving dinner was amazing. There was so much food – we even had an 18lb turkey! In the traditional spirit of the day there was a TV dedicated to the numerous football matches being played across America and, for the rest of us, we had a full band and a few Guitar Hero games on another TV! It was great being in a family home – Mr Craig, Mrs Doreen, Shaina and Erica were all so welcoming!

Eastern Market

It was our last morning in DC before heading back to Indiana and Lily and I had different priorities as what to do. Lily headed to the White House Visitors' Centre and I to Eastern Market. It was really nice to get away from Government building tourist traps and see what the locals do on their weekends. The markets had everything from original works by local artists to preloved clothing. Oh, and I got an Almond Croissant there!