It's all over *clap clap clap clap clap* (Repeat) Lol.

So here we are in the Las Angeles airport waiting for our plane.
I am so excited to come back to all of you!!
I miss everyone (well mostly.) Haha, just kidding.
I have had so much fun!!! If this is your first time to my blog go all the way to the oldest post and read from there! I hope you guys didn't miss me too much. Lol. Jk.
Alright gotta go, plane's gonna be here soon. See you Monday!!

America

Finally here.
America.
Let me just tell you... the security in to The United States was harsh. They did a full pat down on every person including babies and then you stood in line to get your carry-on completely taken apart. Like, they took everything out and inspected it. It was pretty crazy. But, did make me feel safer. The thing that was ridiculous was that some people got their didgeridoo's taken away. Security said that the wood was too thick and could be used as a club. However through a long debate we got security to put them in a box and put it with the checked baggage, they'll get them back in Boston.
Right now I'm at my mom's cousin's house in San Fransisco. It is a small apartment. Not really a house. We are going out soon. I'm hungry.

The plane ride was not bad actually. I watched the movie, The Invention of Lying. It was really good. I started watching it on the plane from Sydney to Auckland and finished it from Auckland to San Fransisco. I watched a few TV shows and then fell asleep. I slept right through the Cyclone's we went around on the pacific ocean. I guess there was a lot of turbulence. When I woke up a lady was asking me what I wanted for breakfast (I hadn't even heard the options) and she was getting impatient. I was like hold on lady I just woke up! Ahaha. Anyway the breakfast was disgusting. As usual. But other than that the plane ride was good. Now, here I am in San Fransisco. Waisting my time writing on a blog. Lol. This is fantastic.

A Time of Mourning

A time of mourning.

This is the title of my blog today. It is depressing. We are packing. Today is our last night here. We are leaving tomorrow. I just can't quite grasp this at all. This whole trip went by WAY too fast... I have homework to finish...Did I see everything I wanted to? What could I have done that I didn't? Did I do enough? Should I have done more of my homework? These are the questions running through my mind. And as I am typing this I realize that my answers are: No. A lot. Yes. Yes. I may not have seen everything I wanted to. But I did see enough. If I saw any more I would have been more wiped out than I am right now. Which is saying a lot.

But the symphony on Wednesday night was okay.
Honestly it wasn't the best orchestra. Honestly, it was amazing to be watching an orchestra in the Sydney Opera House. But to tell you the truth the Sydney Orchestra wasn't amazing like you may think it would be. But overall it was surreal.

Today, we went to the Blue Mountains. It was spectacular. There is no other way to describe it. Lush. Prehistoric. Huge. Rainy. Beautiful. AMAZING. FANTASTIC. MARVELOUS. Fun. Just great. We were dropped off by a big, red, double-decker, Explorer bus in Katoomba town. We took a trail called the Prince Henry Cliff Walk to Scenic World. We took a cable car called a Skyway with a glass floor across a canyon to the side of the mountain with the Three Sisters. We then walked to the Three Sisters and took pictures. Back to the Skyway and to the Railway next. The Railway is in the Guiness Book of World Records for steepest track. It was so much fun. This took us down to the Rainforest floor. We walked around and it started to rain. Go figure. We saw many birds and lush trees. It was amazing. We traveled back up the Cablecar. It was pretty fast. We then went to a mall to buy gifts. We got opals(: They are beautiful.

Thats all I have time for today folks!! Updates later from the airport. I am going out with the groupp. It's 10:38pm(: I'm baad. Okay. Love you guys!! SEE YA SOON!

"Why dont you eat yer fruit flakes?!!"

Title= exact quote of grandmother to little child complaining about hunger.

Location= Museum of Australia-mineral floor

Time= no clue. sorry



The day started rough. We didn't actually get to the museum until like 1 because of a late wake up. We decided we would only see things particular to Australia, not mummy's or dead animals that were stuffed (we already saw the real ones!) just aboriginal things, plants maybe, dinosaurs, and minerals. These were very interesting. The Aboriginal section was touching, moving and horrible all at the same time! The history is that the Aboriginal people had been living in Australia for thousands of years. One day the English came and took away their children and gave them to foster homes or put them in factories to learn to be a white man or woman. They believed that Aboriginal people were wrong. They also forced marriage between Aboriginal women and white men and Aboriginal men and white women. It was terrible. They wanted to really get rid of any trace of Aboriginal people. These generations of children is called "The Stolen Generations." I remember one women's story clearly. She was ather nana's house and an English soldier didn't bother to knock just barged through the door and took her away. This poor woman remembers the look on her grandma's face. She was put up for adoption and raised as a white woman. She hated it. When she got older and free she went back to her people and she said that she knealed on the rock and her mother blessed her and thanked the god's she had returned safely. Now I just kept saying why and how could you ever do that to someone..

So there is your brief history of Australia.



We got home late after that but just in time for my dad to go off.







Yesterday we went for a tour in the Sydney Opera House at 12. It was amazing. They talked about the structure and Engineering it took. It was supposed to take 3 years to build. Guess how long it took..................



14. They began building in 1959 and ended in 1973. Yeah. You know... only 11 years behind schedule. The arcitect actually never got to see the final product.

After the tour we were told we could get a discount on tickets!! We now have tickets for behind the orchestra for a symphony on Wednesday night at 8. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! A SYMPHONY IN THE OPERA HOUSE!!!!!!!! You know what that means...SHOPPING!! I mean you can't go to the Sydney Opera House in a little Sun Dress. No No NO!!

So yeah. Cool.



Now, Today!! We went to Manly Beach!!



So cool!

And gorgeous!

And tropical!

All of the above.



We took surfing lessons at 2. The instructor was kind of cutee. (;

I stunk. To put it bluntly.

Yeah so the most exciting part of my day: *drum roll please*





I WAS STUNG BY A BLUE BOTTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yeah... ouch.
This is a blue bottle. And yeah they are small... BUT... they wrap their little tail around you and there are tiny hooks that inject venom/poison into you. It is not deadly.. But it does kill like a bi*** no joke. When I got stung the guy goes " It only lasts for like a half an hour, run fresh wata ova it and ice." Yeah that numbed it for a little while but honestly it hurt the whole day and it still does!! It was rediculous. It hurt omg I can't even explain it. Aparently "I gotta good one" says all the locals and surf instructers. It really sucked. Haha. Anyway. My dad took pictures of my arm (it got me right on the inside of my right elbow.) They will be up when we put all of the other pictures on. Which hopefully will be soon. Sorry about the hold up... I love and miss you all!!! If you know someone who hasn't been looking at my blog that I know. Tell them I love them and miss them as well. K bye!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

Koala=Sheep?

So we went to wildlife world and it was amazing!! We started off the trip with insects, they were creepyy. Spiders, centipedes, crickets, stick bugs,beetles, praying mantis', SPIDERS!! It was creepyy. Next were the snakesss. There were some huge ones and some little cute but deadly ones that are aparently very common in Sydney.. GREAT! Then we saw lizards, gheccos and things of that nature. They were cool. Then *drumroll please* we saw the GIANT CROCODILE!! And, I'm telling you... It was HUGE!! Haha, the funny thing is was they tried to save him because he was aparently snatching dogs off the bank and it was only a short jump th children. So they moved him to a wildlife reserve to try and breed him. He ate his first mate then a couple years later ate the 2nd one. They figured he wasn't meant for breeding and brought him to the Wildlife World. I think that was a good idea. Don't you? Next... BATS! They were nothing compared to the bats we saw in real life on my mom's birthday. We then saw these cute little rodents. I forget what they were called but they looked like giant mice that can hop! Next, KOALA's!! We got to pet them. They really felt like sheep.. (hense the title) and they were so gentle. It was really the best moment of my life. Next we saw the Kangaroos. Now these creatures are the wierdest things you have ever seen. Like ever. They are sooo strange and skinny. The hop sooo fast. Then we saw these frogs. And one of them looked like a blob of green goo stuck to a leaf. No joke. Then we saw wallabes. These little things are so adorable!! Then we saw a cookabara. Not very interesting just sits on the branch. Next, more koalas!! Last, but not least... BUTTERFLIES!!! They were amazing. You stuck your arm out and they would land on you. They tickled. Heehee. Wait, on our way out there was an owl thing that they showed people. He was super soft.

The next day we went to the Museum of Sydney. It was very cool. My favorite thing was the Aboriginal Gallery. I learned that they made their canoe's out of paper bark. And they also used paper bark to mend canoes, make baskets, and use as bandages. It was really cool. That whole gallery really was all I got out of that museum. Pictures later.. For our first days go to this link for pictures of our first day out in sydney.

Aquarium!!

So, yesterday we went to the Sydney Aquarium. It was spectacular!!! The fish were so exotic and I would never have seen them anywhere else. It was breathtaking. There were this one animal that looks like a manatee with a dolphin tail. It was pretty cool. It's called a Dugong. We also saw lots of sea horses. They were so cute! There was this one that literally looked like a seaweed plant! It was so surprising. Then we saw penguins! They were adorable(: When we first walked in we saw a platapus. That was the wierdest and coolest thing I have ever seen! It was so abnormal, and strange. I wish I could own one; they are soooooooooooo cute. I will post pictures on facebook later. So go on my facebook page. That was all yesterday. It was amazing and today we are going to the wildlife place. KOALA'S AND KANGAROO'S!!!!!! WAHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Today... was interesting.

I am tired. That is the summary of my day. We got to sleep in this morning since my dad had the morning off. We had fruitloops for breakfast at the dorm. It was perfect(: We then stayed at the apartment and just hung out until lunch. We walked over to the dining hall and ate a small lunch (pasta again.) Then, the girls, Jonathan, my mom and I went to the Mcdonalds town train station. No not the fast food place!! It's a town. But, we had to pay for tickets and the minimum change was $19.90 and all we had was a $50 dollar bill and a $5 dollar bill. So, we had to go to a different station. We walked all the way to Newtown and got tickets for that train to the city. That took FOREVER!! We finally got to the Quay and walked around. We went to the botanical gardens. We walked until we saw the Government House but we couldn't go in. It closed at 3 and by this point it was 4:40. We then walked to a pathway that we saw baby birds, HUGE trees, and it was HOT. We got to a path that followed the Sydney shore to the Opera House. We took many pictures witch will be here soon. After that, we got icecream and walked back to the train station. We walked to King St. and went to Thai La Ong 2 and ate there. It was yummy(: Then we came back to the apartment and watched Backyardagins with the kids until they fell asleep. Now everyone is asleep except my mom and me. We finally have quiet time. Haha. NO KIDS!!! That's it for today!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!! BYE!!!!!!!!!

February 1, 2010- Mom's Birthday

This morning we woke up and waited until 8:30 to wake up poor Anna who had been asleep. We then traveled to the Hoochie Mama for breakfast. They had the best banana bread ever!!! It was amazing. We then went back to the apartment and chilled for a little bit. It was very hot. The corps then came back and Bella and Anna went with their parents to lunch and us too. Lunch was pasta, meatsause and carrots. Well, that's what I had. After lunch the kids returned with us. We watched tinkerbell and during it, towards the end, our parents returned from practice so we paused the movie and they went off. When they had to leave again we turned on the movie again. After the movie Anna took a nap and we all did our homework. Then, our parents came home yet again and this time for good. We got ready to go to the city for dinner since it was my mom's birthday. We took a bus and the lady thought I was over 15 so she charged for me (heehee) and so my dad had to ask for a refund. On the bus there were cool looking stick figures that looked like the female and male icons for the ladies and men's bathrooms.

We got off the bus and walked to the botanical gardens. We found some ruins to an old building.

We walked a little farther and realized there were bats! Everywhere! And flying into this one tree! It was amazing. Yeah, you're thinking bats? AHHH!!!! But, they were so cool. It was absolutely amazing! After that, we found our way down to the Sydney Opera House. It was actually not as cool as you think it would be. And I know you all are like "What! Are you kidding!" Well no, I'm not, personally the bats were a lot cooler. The opera house was just another building. There is like no other way to describe it.
But, the Sydney Opera House does have 73 stairs AND it is made of tile.

It was very surprising. We finally found a restaurant after like 10,000 other ones. It was called Pony. I ordered the sirloin to share with my brother. The walls were covered in fabric! It was very cool (temerature wise and adjective.) It could have been because we were right next to the fridge... Nah... But another thing was the lights were made out of sails!!! That was cool. We then went to a choclater and got chocolate bars. Let me tell you... Best chocolate bar I have ever had!! We then walked around for an hour trying to find, in the dark mind you, our bus station. We finally found it and it only took like 15 minutes! Wierd.. anyway we got back home, washed up and went right to bed. The end. Lol. Love you all!!!! BYE!!!!!

hot, sweaty and church

Today, was a little bland. We woke up. (Me at about 6am-not used to the time change yet) Went to breakfast-sausage, giant tatertots, and fruit. Walked down to the field where MCV was practicing with my mom, brother, Anna and Bella. Very hot and tiring. Then we went back to the apt. to get changed for church. We were planning on going to a church called St. Stevens of New Town. It took a long time to get there. So, we went and it was completely wrong. They were talking about all of these things I did not believe in. It was quite awkward to tell you the truth. The adults were seperated from the kids. And to tell you... the best part was when we watched Veggie Tales at the end. They were talking about how everyone should tell people how great Jesus is. And i was like.. Uhm no... everyone should have freedom of religion. Not everyone has to believe in what I do. But anyways... thats not what I want to talk aboooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut (stolen from Timaya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tU4fB9nUgc) I wanted to tell you guys how awesome the tree was!! The roots were like 3 feet of the ground! It was amazing. It was so beautiful. Anyways... So on the way home we stopped at a grocery store and bought ice cream, towels, and a tooth brush for me. We came back and had lunch. I asked for just pasta but the angry chinese lady gave me fried rice and sweet and sour pork (aka. fruited pork.) I didn't want fried rice and fruited pork!!!!!!!!! So anyway I ate the carrots and peas then got back in line for the pasta. After that we left lunch and went to the apartment. Oh and btw the milk is the absolute best here. Anna took a nap for like ever then woke up with a 103 degree fever!!! YEAH! We watched the incredables and then went to go watch the MCV practice. Now we are back in the apartment and going to dinner. They are waiting for me. So i'm gonna go now. BYEE!!! Love you all!!!!!!!!!

Finally Here!!

So, we finally have internet here! Right now it is 12:22 AM. It is bright, sunny, and HOT! There is no air conditioning in the dorm we are staying in. We are staying on the St.Andrews campus. It is a college in sydney. It is amazing!! Suprisingly, there is little difference between Sydney and lets say... New York City. Yes I am taking lots of pictures. Babysitting the little girls is a lot of fun. They are so adorable(: I miss all of you and I wish you were here with me. There are lots of cute boyss with hot accents. Oh, and MCV is starting to sound really good. Oh, and missing the 28th was wierd it was like going through time. We actually didn't completely lose it, we experienced like 3 hours of it but we were sleeping on the plane so that doesn't really count. Haha. Those couple of days were like a blur. They went by so fast! And the fact that people drive on the left side of the road is very strange. The money here is cool. It's like purple and blue and yellow. The coins are wierd too. The smallest coin is worth $2, the medium sized one is worth $1 and the biggest one is $0.50! It's strange. And we spend $183 US dollars to get $200 Australian dollars! Lucky us! Also, suprisingly there are a lot of asians here. (Not being racist just stating a fact.) It's weird because it's not what you would expect. I'm going to try and put pictures up. If you see them it worked. If not... oh well. They'll be on facebook.

New Zealand-Australia

I’m on the plane heading to Australia and i’m really bored right now. Lol. We are flying on Air New Zealand again. The tv screens are touch screens!!! And you can plug in your ipod so it doesn’t lose charge!! It’s very cool. The scenery isn’t that great because we’re so high up that all you can see is white. But we keep turning and dropping and my stomach has almost had enough. Lol. We are 10972 m up and it is 10:50 am in Aukland and 8:50 in Sydney right now. It is -55 degrees Celcius. Everything is so different here. Oh! And there is this new soda called L&P and it is really good! I’m obsessed with it now. Oh crap. We’re hitting some turbulance. Scaryyyy!! Oh crap we are now at an altitude of 11582 m!! We should be in Sydney in about an hour. The pancakes on this plane are yummyy. It feels like we are on a roller coaster!! It is dropping and rising. My stomach is literally in my throat. K i’m gonna go now. Love you guysss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BYEEE(:

p. s. leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail. either on facebook or aol: exxeriin@aol.com

San Fransisco-New Zealand

So right now I am in New Zealand. The plane ride from San Fransisco to here was amazing. (video below) It was so cool. But it was HOT!!!! I tried to do my homework but it didn't happen. I fell asleep for 7 hours. There are hot boys everywhere. Lol(: I'm a teenager girl what do you expect?! Hahaha. But anyway, the plane food was gross but the water was crisp and delicious. I kept asking for more! There was a tv on the back of every seat and you could watch tv, movies, and music videos. You could also play games. The plane ride actually seemed shorter than from Boston to San Fransisco. It was wierd. I love everyone's accent!!!!! I want to pick it up. Lol. It would be so cool. So the plane, Air New Zealand, was great. I miss all of nyou already!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont text me though. It costs money. So i'm gonna go now. There is really nothing else I can say. Love you all!!! BYEE(:

p.s. leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail. either on facebook or aol: exxeriin@aol.com

San Fransisco Airport

Hey guys!! So right now i'm in the San Fransisco airport. It is hot as heck here!! We just ate at a mexican restaurant and it was wierd. There are like Coach, Gucci, and Chanel stores here. The ride ofer was long and uncomfortable. The seats were cramped and uncomfortable. There were people all around our gate with Australian accents. I am so excited!! Oh! on the way over there were asian people and there was a guy bringing cart over (on the plane) and my mom goes: "What do you have?" and he goes "Oh.....just some stuff." and my mom goes "Like what?" and he goes "oh....like some drinks.... you know some coffees some teas, some wataa" omg it was soooooooooooooooo funny. Anyway, I miss everyone but I am so excited for Australia! Okay love you all!!!!!!!!! BYEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. leave me a comment of drop me an e-mail (either on facebook or aol) exxeriin@aol.com

Hot and Sweaty

So, we are in the airport and it is HOT!!!! We are at Logan airport in Boston. We are drinking juice and eating breakfast. We have made it through security and my dad with his guitar suprisingly. I miss everyone already!! I'm so excited though. Oh! And I forgot to tell y'all that when we were checking in we almost got on the wrong flight!! We were scheduled for LA to New Zealand rather than San Fran to New Zealand!!! We figured it out though. Meanwhile it is hot, sweaty and sticky. I can't wait to get on the plane and sleep! This is boring and did I mention HOTT!!!!!!!!!!!! Alright, I'm gonna go eat some hashbrowns. Love you all!!! BYEE!!!

PS. More updates when I get to San Fran!!

"Why are you going to Australia? Family? Vacation?"

Lately, you all have been asking me why I am going. Family? Vacation? The answer is no. I am going because my dad will be performing. Yes, on an instrument. It is called a fife. A 6 hole fife looks like this: There are also 10 holed fifes, 11 holed fifes and even 7 holed fifes. He plays this instrument in a group called a fife and drum corps.
So, this is how my dad was invited on this trip to Australia. My dad is performing in 5 performances at the Sydney Olympic Stadium! Meanwhile my mom, brother, 2 little girls (2 and 6: Anna and Bella) and I will be traveling around Sydney. Their parents are also in this group. They are called MCV (Middlesex County Volunteers) you can look them up on youtube. They are really good. I will be leaving from Boston on January 27, 2010, flying 6 hours to California, then flying 13 hours to New Zealand and then I think 4 more hours to Sydney, Australia. We will be stopping in San Fransisco on the way back from Sydney and visiting my mom's cousin and brother. We will be returning to Portsmouth on February 18, 2010. I will be missing about 3 weeks of school or maybe 2 and returning during February vacation. I am so excited and I hope to get caught up with everything via e-mail and internet! Also, to find out the time difference: Australia is 15 hours ahead of us. The way I do it is add 3 hours to the current time and you add the opposite AM or PM.
Example:
America: 4:00 PM +3:00=
Australia: 7:00 AM (next day)

I hope you don't miss me too much(:

Introduction

I am making this in large print so my grandma can read this blog. In this blog I will post pretty much a journal after every day of my days in Australia. As you all know I will be there for about 3 1/2 weeks and I will be posting pictures. You guys will get an inside look on our visit to Australia. The first blog entry after this one will probably be on the 30th. Check back every day to see what we're doing down undaa.