M&M & Chocolate chip Pancakes!

In the theme of make your own food items in the dining halls, I had
M&M and chocolate chip pancakes!! They taste way better than they
look! Yummy!

Dorm Room

I have finally got organised and purchased everything I think I need!
I am set up and ready (theoretically) to study. Luckily, my dorm is
one of the bigger ones (I know, hard to believe!). Settling in well!

Chocolate!!

Okay, I am not going to lie – a leading factor leading to my choice of
studying abroad in the United States was the availability of critical
supplies, such as Hershey's. I am very happy with my decision. It is
great to see old friends – Cookies'n'Cream Kisses, Milk and Dark
Hershey's chocolate – as well as meet some new ones – Mr Goodbar and
Krackel! I ♥ Hershey's!

Weekend trip to Boston!

I am all booked to go visit Tahlor on September 9th in Boston, MA! It
will be fantastic to catch up again, it has been almost a year since
she was on exchange at Griffith and we had the notoriously boring
Management Concepts! Unfortunately there is no direct flights from
Indianapolis to Manchester (her closest airport) so I have to change
planes in Washington DC. Add in travel time from West Lafayette to
Indianapolis and I am in for quite a long trip (although nothing
compared to my trip to get here). I can't wait for that weekend!!

First day of class.

Playing pool (a 5 player version called 'cut throat'), air hockey,
ping pong and watching the Hangover in tiny dorm rooms! Yes, this is
college! Oh and there is this thing called class, which I sometimes
make time for :) Today was my first class – 50 minutes of reading the
syllabus and listening to lecturer reading out his credentials... I
was so not interested, so I checked out the week topics and it seems
like CSR 342 – Personal Finance is a combination of Corporate Finance
and Financial Planning... Shouldn't be too hard :)

Food Food Food!

Dining hall food is so good. There is so much variety. From
quesadillas to make your own pizzas and pastas and of course the
largest range of salads and lots of fresh fruit! But just as there is
a lot of variety in the healthier options, there are the desserts and
deep fried foods like I have never seen! Pictured above is a 44oz
(1.3L) soda from a local store (The Den)... there about 12 flavours
that you can mix and match... the most disturbing/best part? It costs
70c. Yep, 70c for 1.3L!

Great Night Out!

After having random shopping trips till 2am all week (yes, AM) – I
have not had the time (or energy) to see the nightlife in West
Lafayette. After watching Jersey Shore on MTV in someone's tiny dorm
room (the dorms in Shreve are SMALL!!), we hit the town. Just because
we can't drink, doesn't mean we can't go into bars! Like all good
nights, it ended in a fast food restaurant (Taco Bell) in the early
hours!

Welcome to Purdue University!

I am finally here at Purdue University, Indiana! After a short holiday
in a few US cities, I arrived pretty tired on Sunday. Resting these
last few days has not been an option with activities scheduled from
7am to 2am every day. But I am having the time of my life! Cool
people, cool lifestyle; all I need now is more than 4 hours of sleep
:)

Dear New York,

It's been real, but I am off! I love you and will miss you, but we
both knew that it was only a short time I was visiting for. My
question is when are you coming to visit me, Manhattan? I am always
coming to see you! Till next time,
Love, Alex.

Staten Island Ferry

I know, I know... I am a broken record, but the Staten Island Ferry is
by far the best free thing in New York! The views are amazing. You get
within a couple hundred meters of the Statue of Liberty as well as
great views of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge!

Grand Central Station

I am not one for museums, but I do appreciate nice buildings (thanks
dad!). The main area of Grand Central Station is probably one of the
largest enclosed areas I have ever been in. It is so beautiful. Words
can't describe how much detail went into this masterpiece – luckily
photos can, see above!

Central Park

Walking around central park was a nice way to spend a few hours. I
went to the great lawn and sat under a tree, ate some strawberries and
watched a game of baseball. It was very relaxing!

Ke$ha

I should have known better; a free concert, in the middle of the
largest city in America, by a #1 artist? Yeah, I saw Ke$ha for about 2
seconds and only her head. A police officer told me that there were
people waiting from 3am for the 9am concert. Seriously? 6 hours, for
what 4 songs? All that said, Ke$ha was really great; she did an on
stage rehearsal with 4 songs about 6.30 – 5 minutes after I got there.
That was real nice of her (she only performed 2 songs on air at 9am).
I left after the rehearsal. I would love to see her if she comes down
under! I would rather pay $100 for a ticket to see her (and more than
her head) than wait for 6 hours.

Catching up with Barbara

A night on an airplane without sleep means that staying awake to meet
someone for a 2.30 'lunch' is harder than it would ordinarily be.
After more coffees than is healthy, 2.30 finally came around. It was
great to see Barbara! She took me to a little boutique restaurant on
the Upper East Side. It was so busy; I overheard someone say that had
waited for over an hour for a table! Lucky we had a reservation! A
frozen hot chocolate was the 'hot' item on the menu and I can say
justifiably so. We finished up the afternoon with a walk along the
East River (a very original name) and it was 7pm before we knew it!

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge

After not having time to walk this New York symbol last year, it was
at the top of my list of things to do this trip. After an all night
flight from Los Angeles, I arrived at my hotel at 7.15am. Now, whoever
said New York is the town that never sleeps is lying – it's more of a
town that goes to bed very late and sleeps in :) With most stores and
attractions closed at that evil hour, I made my way across to Brooklyn
and walked the famous Brooklyn Bridge (which was built before the
invention of the car, originally for pedestrians and horse and karts).
It wasn't as great as walking the Golden Gate in San Francisco, but it
was definitely a worthwhile experience! The views of lower Manhattan
are spectacular.

Guy Sebastian

You are probably as surprised to see a blog entry with "Guy Sebastian"
as a title as I am. I am not his greatest fan – can't even think of
one song of his I ever liked. I never watched Australian Idol, nor can
even remember if he was the one who won. He is an Australian. He is a
celebrity. He is talented. And he did sit 2 rows back and 2 seats
across from me on my LA to NY flight. When he boarded, I thought that
guy looks like Guy Sebastian. I didn't believe it. A 5 hour flight
later and I am at baggage claim. There is a man waiting to pick up a
passenger and on the sign it says "Sebastian". This is when I believed
it. I waited within a few metres of this person. Yes, like a stalker.
It was him! I knew I would kick myself if I didn't speak to him. So
whilst everyone was waiting for the checked bags to come through I
casually asked him "How was your flight?" We spoke for a couple of
minutes, I discovered he was in New York filming X-Factor (a TV show)
and he asked me what I was there for. It was pretty cool, probably
would have appreciated it a bit more if I hadn't been on an all night
flight without sleeping!

Chinatown in San Francisco.

Chinatown in San Francisco is the largest (by population) outside of
China! It is (naturally) very busy, the health practices are
questionable, but souvenirs are dirt cheap! I picked up a couple of
T-shirts for myself for under $2 each and got some gifts for people
back home. All that said I had a great day and had tasty Yum Cha for
lunch!

Sausalito

Sausalito is the most beautiful place I have ever been. It is about
10km from San Francisco, on the other side of San Francisco Bay, but
yet it feels like it is in another world. As much as I ♥ SF (yes, I
did buy a t-shirt to tell the world this) the weather is not the
nicest. I am here in the middle of summer and there are maximums of
15°C, nearly always thick fog and strong winds. Sausalito is the San
Francisco escape that has weather that California is famous for! A
beautiful 25°C today with spectacular views – as I said, it is the
most beautiful place I have ever been.

Walking the Golden Gate Bridge

It is a unique atmosphere on the Golden Gate Bridge. First, let me say
that San Francisco is one of the windiest cities I have ever been in.
Combine that and with the thick fog that it is famous for and the air is
very windy, thick, almost wet at the 'city gate' on the Pacific Ocean.
There are unbelievable views but the feeling I experienced whilst
walking over the almost 3km bridge is one that simply must be
encountered to understand.

Climbing up to Coit Tower

I am not going to lie – it is quite a walk up from the piers to Coit
Tower! But the views more than compensate you for your efforts. Views
of the whole city, from the Golden Gate Bridge all the way around to
the Bay Bridge and beyond! Fantastic views of the San Francisco Ferry
Terminal, Pier 39, Fishermans Wharf, Downtown, Lombard St, Alcatraz
and all the way up to Canada, well at least theoretically. Plus the
elevator is so old school – it has an operator who opens the 2 doors
(1 on each floor, plus the mesh one in the elevator).

San Francisco

San Francisco. Words cannot truly express what a beautiful unique soul
this city has. Today I toured around and saw many of the city's
attractions, including the famous 'Painted Ladies' Victorian houses
(pictured above). Taking an open air tour bus over the breathe taking
Golden Gate Bridge to the small area of Sausalito was one of the many
highlights. It is a one of a kind village, where the average price of
a home is over $2,000,000 (and worth every penny; imagine having the
Golden Gate Bridge as part of your daily commute!). After doing some
shopping in my favourite area, Fishermans Wharf, I finished the day
with a night tour and saw the city lights!

Australia Fair

In the distance I could see it – a store that had Australia in its
name! I was so excited, what would it sell? Did I really need to have
carted Vegemite and Tim Tams half way around the world? From my hotel
window I can see an UGG Australia store, so perhaps this was it, San
Francisco was really an Australian city stuck in America.
Unfortunately not, the store had closed up – clearly I was the only
Aussie in San Francisco.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a massively spread out city. There are lots of
beautiful areas! Today I had the pleasure of touring this freeway
kingdom and some of the highlights were Hollywood (and its famous
sign), Rodeo Drive, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, just to name a few! My
favourite place would have to be Santa Monica. I really do love the
pier, the beach and just the general neighbourhood. The stores and
atmosphere on Rodeo Drive were unbeatable. It was probably the most
perfect public area I have ever been in. It was so tended to (the
gardens would have been tended to on a daily basis). Oh and yes all
the lamp posts are like that!

Universal Studios Hollywood

I am finally on US soil and to celebrate I spent the day at the theme
park where all the big movies and TV shows are made. Universal Studios
is very similar to Movie World back home, but with one key difference.
Movie World is a theme park with a studio attached. Universal Studios
are studios with a theme park attached. The day I was there we
couldn't visit the Desperate Housewives or the Parenthood set because
they were actually filming! By far the stand out of the day was the
'Universal Studios Studio tour'. The hour long guided tour was worth
the entry fee alone. There were some great rides as well; The
Simpson's Ride, Jurassic Park, Mummy Returns just to name a few. I
definitely cannot wait to go back!

The Last Supper

With less than 18 hours until my Los Angeles bound plane departs,
emotions are running high. I am excited, but nervous; feeling
adventurous, yet apprehensive. What to do on my last evening in
Australia? Dad suggested chilling out; ordering in pizza. Mum floated
the idea of going to my favourite restaurant; the revolving restaurant
on top of Crowne Plaza and watching the sunset over the city and
hinterland. On a normal evening I would jump at either idea, but on my
last evening in Australia, I felt that an Aussie Barbeque (pictured
above) was in order. And it was delicious!

23kg is not enough!

Packing is hard. 23kg sounds like a lot, but when you have to pack for
30 degree summer days to snow and everything in between it gets used
up fast! Add in any possessions that you wish to take on top of the
fact the suitcase ways 4kg, its nothing. It's all good – it is only 2
days, 22 hours, 33 minutes and 37 seconds until I leave, but who's
counting?

The desserts were devine, the cocktails were chic; The Farewell Party.

It was a great farewell party. It was a farewell to my friends, family
and to the freedom of being able to drink alcohol. Not that I am an
alcoholic (read: get me another drink – discussing such thoughts is
stressing me). Delicious foods were on the menu - Bianca's cupcakes,
Jenny's variety of crackers and cheeses, Nellie's Cookies'n'Cream
cheesecake, Amie's lemon tarts, Cathy's quiche and of course then
there was chocolate fondue (pictured above). Between the 'to die for'
food and variety of cocktails (Cosmopolitans, Japanese slippers and
Miami Vices), I must have gained 5 pounds! It's a hard life!