Winding Down

Hi all!

I have not been posting lately since nothing too exciting has been happening. I've been getting really anxious to come home since summer is begining and many of the other Study Abroad programs have ended. It's a bittersweet feeling, because I know that home will always be there and Australia will only be here for another 41 days, but being away from everyone for so long has started to get old. I miss you guys! And on top of that, I knew it was definitely time to start getting anxious when I saw an american car (with steering on the left) and thought it looked weird. At least it's nice knowing that most of the other kids on my trip feel the same way.

This past weekend I went on a wine tour in Perth, which included 2 vinyards, a brewery, a coffee roasterie, a chocolate factory, honey factory, a lavender farm, and candy shop. It was a very relaxing day. One of the things I wanted to do while being in OZ was to learn about wine, so it was nice to get to taste and learn about all that goes into the wine process!

One thing I've been having fun learning about is how to make coffee. In many ways, Australians put as much thought into brewing coffee as they do into choosing wine. I ended up getting a job at a cafe in Fremantle, so i've been fortunate enough to learn now to brew coffee and make fancy drinks! However, the coffee drinks here are not like the specialty drinks you would get at starbucks or caribou at home. If you were to ask for a shot of any flavor in a latte here, they would laugh at you. My boss told me that "you wouldn't add sugar to wine, so don't add that flavoring to coffee" It was a hard adjustment at first, but now I really like it! Also, they do not brew normal drip coffee like we do at home. If that's what your interested in, you would ask for a 'long black' which is basically a pure shot of espresso.

We've been getting emails from just about every professor/ study abroad office worker saying that booking a trip to Thailand over study week was the worst possible idea we could have done. We're not to concerned... but that just means I need to get studying now so I don't fail! That said-- i'm going to get started now.

Toodles!