Booked and Booked :)

Levi, Lily and I are booked and heading to Chicago this weekend! Many things are on the schedule including going to the top of the tallest building in the United States - Willis Tower (previously, the Sears Tower). After doing some shopping and eating Yum Cha in Chinatown I think we might check out Millennium Park.

Then on the October break I am heading over to the west coast of Canada to see my favourite person in the whole of Canada, Bing!! My flight departs Indianapolis bound for Vancouver on October 9^th. Unfortunately, I have 2 stops on the way there and 1 on the way back but I am sure it will be worth it!

First American Football Game!

I had purchased my ticket and was ready to go! Of course knowing I had to get up at 9am, I made the not so wise decision to go out the night before and stumbled in at 4am. I wasn't feeling so great when we got to the stadium and couldn't stand for the first quarter, but I promise it was worth it! The atmosphere was incredible in the second row of the absolutely packed student section. Hearing everyone scream Purdue chants, like "1,2,3,4 first down, bitch!" and "Ball State HIGH SCHOOL!", it is no surprise that Ball State lost 13 to 24.

Mack’s Apples

I bought some really sweet apples here, but I didn't actually get a chance to go apple picking - I don't think Southwest Airlines would hold the plane for me - how dare they! They were honestly the best apples I have ever eaten in my entire life. I still have one on my desk as I type this :) As well as dozens of different varieties of Apples they also grow and sell pumpkins. Tahlor and Patty taught me how to pick a pumpkin! Can't wait for Halloween!

Tahlor’s House

On Sunday morning we went to Tahlor's family home – a cosy log house! It was great to meet her mum, Patty, and brother, Danny. Patty cooked us the BEST waffles ever! Some had blueberries in them!! Kept me full for my long journey home to the corn, I mean Indiana!

The Atlantic Ocean

Loved Ogunquit Beach, Maine! It was great to touch the Atlantic Ocean for the first time – really cold. And no, I didn't see the Titanic :(

White Mountains

Part of the great Appalachians (which runs all the way from Alabama to Canada) the White Mountains are one of the most spectacular sights in New England. I have never seen such a dense number of mountains. They just go on forever! My knowledgeable tour guide told me that it takes 5 months to hike from one end of the Appalachians to the other! Tahlor also told me she has climbed Mt Washington, the highest peak in Northeastern United States!

Zeb’s General Store

Next stop on the tour was the small touristy town of North Conway, NH. Very much reminds me of those small tourist towns in NSW, except not coastal. Zeb's is a landmark of the town - a classic American General Store. From souvenirs to bathroom supplies to every type of sweets you can think of it – they have it! Zeb's branded clothes, candy, soda and even bottled water! Tahlor got some boysenberry and snickers fudge - not together of course! I got a chocolate and peanut butter covered pretzel. One of those "only in America" things!

The JB

What is the JB? I am glad you asked!! It is a Tortilla with 2 fried eggs, hash brown pieces, bacon, tomato ketchup, American cheese, all wrapped and grilled. Pictured above is Franz's Food in Durham, NH – home of the JB. New England is full of small businesses – it is great to be able to support the local community!

Partying UNH Style!

Going to a college party with red cups has long been a dream of mine. Add in drinking games and I am sweet! Had an incredible night! Love experiencing everything college life in America has to offer!

UNH Campus Tour

With some time to kill before the night started, Tahlor gave me a quick tour of the campus. A lot more hills than Purdue, it was nice to walk around the windy streets surrounded by beautiful old buildings! Naturally, the only ugly building on campus is the management building, poor Tahlor!

Community Dinner

Durham, HN is such a caring and close nit community - every month they have a free community dinner. Nearly all the produce was grown by a UNH community garden and the rest all locally grown! We had several different types of bread, a Vegetarian Entree (Australia: Main course) and vegan red velvet cake for dessert (not as good as Amies, of course :) It was a heart warming atmosphere!

New England Aquarium

My only request to Tahlor was that we get to go to the New England Aquarium. It was amazing! We saw some 'wicked cool' (it's a New England saying ) penguins, which happen to be Tahlor's favourite animal! I also saw some fellow Australians – the Australian seahorse! The New England Aquarium is one of the largest in the United States - over 20,000 animals!

The Pedicab tour of Boston

I am not going to lie – there were moments were I thought I was going
to die. Fighting Boston traffic in on a pedicab isn't exactly the
safest way to get around! But it was lots of fun at the same time! The
only other time I had been on a pedicab is in China and I really
enjoyed it both times :)

Mike’s Pastry’s

After a short walk over to the Italian district and we arrived in
heaven. This place was so busy, we waited for about 10 minutes inline
before even getting served! After our big lunch Tahlor and I decided
to split something and she left the decision totally up to me. It came
down to my favourite dessert ever, a profiterole, or something I can't
ever remember eating, a Cannoli. I decided on an Italian Yellow Cream
Cannoli. To say it was delicious would be the understatement of the
year!

The Union Oyster House – America’s Oldest Restaurant

First stop on my tour of Boston, the Union Oyster House for some
classic New England clam chowder. Now for those you who know me well,
you would know that I have an agreement with creatures that live in
the sea – when I am in their territory, they don't eat me and when
they are in mine, I don't eat them. But I made an exception and I had
some with crackers (Tahlor's recommendation) and I absolutely loved
it. I also had cornbread for the first time, which tastes a bit like a
scone. I can say for sure that I will be digging out a recipe when I
get home and making both for anyone who is interested!

The unexpected tour of Washington DC

As I flew into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on my way to
New England I saw a dome like the Capitol Building. I thought to
myself "No, that can't be THE Capitol building" – I almost completely
dismissed it. Then as we continue to descend, the Washington Monument
came into view. I couldn't believe it. It was amazing! The airport
would only be a couple of kilometres away from the National Mall.
Pictured above is the view I got as we departed DCA bound for
Manchester, NH. The tall concrete structure is the 'Washington
Monument', the dome building at the end of the long grass strip is the
'Capitol Building' and the grass strip in between is known as the
'National Mall'.

Text BOMBED!

So we are sitting at Windsor eating dinner and Jordyn and Kimberly
start paying out on how they text bombed Cassie last night!! Having no
idea of what text bombing is, I asked. This resulted in a
demonstration - me being the victim. I received 202 messages over a 15
minute period from the evil three! They did a good job... I wonder
when I will get revenge launching my own text bomb? Watch this space.

Stranded

After a long day of shopping both Lily and I were tired and it was
getting late. We decided to head back over to West Lafayette. As we
walked across the parking lot to road we saw our bus. "Oh well, there
has to be another one in like 20 minutes or so" we said. Being 6.30pm
on a Sunday, there wasn't. We were stranded on the sidewalk waiting.
And waiting. And waiting. Until I texted Levi, who was thankfully by
his computer back in the dorm. He texted back "last bus left 30mins
ago. Want taxi number?". We were back by 8pm... Note to self: next
time check bus schedule!

The time had come. I had a choice. Laundry or clothes shopping...

After spending 3 hours studying, Lily and I had had enough and decided
to go shopping! We went to the Tipp Mall and checked out Old Navy
(where I purchased a nice grey T), this big store that was like Myer,
but cheaper (Lily and I could not believe that there were Nike T's for
$10 and not just basic ones, some really nice ones!) and Aeropostale.
I had never heard of Aeropostale before, but I really liked their
items. Pictured above is an outfit I tried on from there. There stuff
was really nice! Definitely will be going back there soon! I also
purchased a really thick Tommy Hilfiger sweater at TJmaxx in the
Pavilions. My first 'real' winter item! Great day – 3 hours studying,
8 hours shopping!

Ford Dining Court

Supposably the best dining court on campus, but to be honest, I was a
little disappointed. I decided to go for Asian food. I had Vietnamese
Pho Bo Soup to start with, which was okay - I have had better. Then I
had Asian vegetable stir-fry, brown rice and sesame honey chicken
pieces. The brown rice and chicken pieces were really nice. I
absolutely loved the sesame flavour and so did Levi – he went back for
seconds! But, Australians and Americans have a different definition of
cooked vegetables. I have not found here vegetables cooked enough for
my liking. They are all still crisp. It's like they are just heated in
water, not cooked. There wasn't much variety in the deserts, but I
decided to have Cherry pie and vanilla ice cream (pictured above). It
represented the rest of the meal and the dining court as a whole quite
well - it looked better than it tasted.

DQ (Dairy Queen)

So it's about 11.30pm at night and I am bored and wanting ice cream.
Where to go? Levi and I walk outside and see a dairy queen sign. It is
way too close to the dorm for my liking. We go in and check it out. I
am in heaven. I honestly sat down and stared at the menu above the
counter for a few minutes – too many choices... I decided to go with
the Oreo Brownie Earthquake. To say it was delicious was an
understatement. Levi got the Brownie Batter Blizzard – "It was really
good!" I really shouldn't go back there...

Rain

My RA: "What's with this rain?"
Me: "I know, it just won't let up"
RA: "We need it though, it hasn't rained in a long time"
Me: "Oh, how many many months or years has it been?"
RA: "Oh, no, its been a couple of weeks..."

I don't think I am in Australia anymore...

Running in the rain.

After hard selling for 2 hours at the Purdue Study Abroad fair this
afternoon I made my way to my Personal Finance class. Naturally, it
started to pour down raining. As any Australian wearing flip flops
(read: thongs) would do, I took them off and carried them. You don't
need to be the smartest cookie in the box to realise running in flip
flops in the rain is a bad idea. Quite a few people stared at my
barefeet as I passed them in the street. One guy, who was walking in
front of me, turned back and stared at my feet. As if he couldn't
believe his eyes, he turned back a second time and as he did he
slipped over! Call me what you want, but I was amused. Today is the
first day of fall and I can feel the temperature dropping...

Observations

1. When class is scheduled to start, it starts at that exact second.
Being there 10 minutes before hand is not considered 'early' but
merely on time. I struggle with this concept.
2. Guys only wear black, white and shades in between. I stand out. But
thats cool - I am an AUSSIE! xD
3. Squirrels are everywhere in Indiana. EVERWHERE! Squirrel,
engineering student, squirrel, flatness, squirrel, beautiful old
building, squirrel. You get the idea.