Yay Mother Earth and Indian Food!

So I decided today that I am really a big fan of mother earth. Not that I haven't always been, but I appreciated all that she has to offer today (aka... dirt, water, weeds, grass) for about 5 hours... Ha, ok so I really did have fun volunteering to help clean up the Swan River with other curtin volunteers friends. We spent the afternoon outside in beautiful "winter" weather (cough cough... sunny and 70) weeding and planting to help keep the river clean. Plus, we got free muffins and cookies and well... that just made the entire trip worth it. Especially since they were blueberry muffins. Ok but seriously guys, mother earth is a cool chick so recyle ok? And pull weeds once in a while or plant stuff.

Another new experience was Indian food with Mville and Rob and Ben. First of all, for those of you who saw "dinner date" in my away message... it was not an actual date. That was just a phrase I used to tell all of you compulsive away message checkers that I was simply out to dinner with 3 good friends. There was no "date" involved. Anyway, so Rob and Ben have been to this Indian food place down by the Bell Tower in Perth and it was amazing. It's a buffet style dinner of authentic indian food where all the money they make goes to charity. You pay what YOU feel your meal is worth, and since it all goes to charity, most people feel there dinner is worth a lot more than it really is. Not being a huge fan of spicy food, I was not a huge fan of the actual meal... although I must admit, it was better than I expected and there really was no need to actually "worry" about if I'd enjoy dinner or not. When one does not like spicy food at Indian, might I suggest eating lots of rice and the yummy yogurty type drink. I really have no idea what it actually was, but it wasn't spicy so that made it my favorite part of dinner. Anyway, over dinner Mville and I basically listened to Ben and Rob talk about all of their amazing travels across the world. They have actually been to India which was fitting. Listening to their stories of all these travels makes me restless to get out and see more of the world. It's so big and I've seen so little of it. My new goal is to develop a plan to see the rest. All of it I think. Ok... maybe not Iraq or Afghanistan b/c I doubt those guys would be friendly towards me. Everyhwere else though.

Just want to say yay flat 36 for having a kick ass first ever flast dinner. Ok, so the whole flat wasn't really here, but we picked up some strays and still had a great time. Juwita and Steph... you guys are awesome. Dinner was amazing. Glad I could help with the salad and pre-sliced chocolate chip cookies. ;) Way to be real cooks and make amazing Asian food. I love you guys... and your food.

Ok... other quick updates. Sadly, the Blue Dragons lost our netball game this week in the rain and cold. Being sick (STILL) and having no voice didn't help, BUT we did win team of the week because we had the greatest costume theme. I've never even heard of a Bogan before, but that's what we were... aka: bums. Ha. Ben looked oh so hot in his blue wig, winter hat, flannel shirt and whatever the hell else he was wearing. It was great fun though and our team looked fantastic. This is Ben dressed as a Bogan. Hot yes? Hahaha. We all make great bums. Something to be oh so proud of! Also, as long as the weather holds up this weekend I'm off white water rafting down the Avon river. Should be pretty sweet!

Hope all is well with everyone back home. :) That's it for now folks. You stay classy.

Kate

Blue Dragons Rule!

So I just wanted to send a quick update to those of you who were so anxiously awaiting the score of our netball game tonight. WE WON!!! This is a picture of me happy because we won! The Blue Dragons managed to win by one point (one basket) over Charme. Despite being sick and playing in the rain (sorry Mom, but we needed players...) we had a fantastic time and came out on top. Netball is fast becoming my new favorite sport. Thanks to all of you who were sitting in class this morning sending good luck vibes 1/2 way across the world. (I know all of you actually did that ;)) Anyway, I'm done for the week and the goal before this coming weekend is to get rid of this stupid cold! Wish me luck my friends.

Oh yeah, P.S. for any of you who are technologically sufficient, look into skype. Ok, so you don't even have to be technologically anything b/c technology and I don't mix and I figured out how to use it. Ok that's a slight lie b/c Sarah Hartman had to help, but whatever... just go to www.skype.com and you can talk to me 1/2 way across the world if you want! It's incredible. My skype name is tallkate61 so if you're reading this and want to chat, add me :)

P.P.S. I must just throw in a good word for my flatmates. They are amazing and always make me laugh and sometimes they even feed me incredible food. I love it. You guys rock my socks off.

Yay Blue Dragons!

Bali Baby!

So it's been a while since I've last blogged... and by a while I mean a month. My internet hasn't been working, but surprise! When I got home from Bali last night it was magically back! Mville has been the greatest, letting me use her computer to keep in touch with you all as much as possible. Thanks Mville :) I owe you big time my friend.

So anyway, quick update before we get to Bali. Since the last blog I've been to Caversham Wildlife Park where we got to see lots of fun Aussie animals including feeding kangaroos, patting koalas and holding wombats. We also went to a wine tour and visited a chocolate factory. All of it was very fun and I especially liked playing with the roos... they are my new favorite animal :) Mville and I also spent a day a couple weeks ago back at Yanchep National Park. This time we went horseback riding on the beach. It was an amazing experience riding on the beach... something I've always wanted to do. Granted, I've always imagined it being at sunset with some guy I'm totally in love with... but this version works too! Hahaha. Let's see... netball is under way and we've had our first game. That was an adventure. Not having any idea really what to do until about 3 minutes before my first game, I somehow managed to survive the game and actually played pretty well for my first time. They have me playing some shooting position (don't remember the name of my position) which fits me just fine. I like shooting :) The Blue Dragons next face off against some unknown team this Tuesday night. Our geology teammates will be back from their rock fieldtrip this time so we're ready to kick some ass!

Ok... so Bali. The plane ride should have been an indicator as to the rest of the trip. On the 3 hour flight we got fed about 10 times, free drinks and got to watch Hitch on the way there. Man, it's like the lap of paradise! We even got ice cream and tim tams! I love it. So the island of Bali is an incredible little place. The exchange rate is way in our favor... $10US is worth 100,000 rupia (sp?) We were typicall tourists and got massages and facials because they are so cheap there. We also spent a lot of time in the markets bartering with locals for their merchandise. It's amazing how these people, day in and day out chase you down the street or walk in front of you just to get you to look in their store. I guess it's how they make their money though... after a while you get used to the constant shouts and grabbing, but I won't miss that aspect. It is part of their culture though and a way of life that I am only just begining to understand.

The crew that came with me to Bali included Mville, Sarah, Renee, Will, Lara, Brittany, Katie and Whitney. We split up a lot, but all stayed at the same hotel and always ran into each other. The city of Kuta, where we stayed, is where the Bali bombings happened in 2002. Our hotel was a couple of blocks away. There is now a memorial standing at the corner between the two night clubs that were hit. It was a little chilling knowing that the target in those attacks were Australian tourists. Needless to say, we stayed away from the night club scene and found other ways to have fun.

One of those such ways was probably my favorite part of the trip. On Tuesday we took a bus through the country to the top of a mountain that was overlooking 3 volcanoes. One is still active, one is dormant and one went off a few years ago. Anyway, we got to eat our second breakfast of the day overlooking these volcanoes before taking the bus for a short ride to pick up the bikes that we would end up riding the 20 miles down the mountain on. We got cool biker gloves and helmets to complete the trip. The bike down took about 3 hours and every minute was incredible. Riding through the back roads and hills or Bali was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced. All through the hills are fields upon fields of rice, workers farming them throughout the day. Houses are built right up along side the road and children came running out as we passed and lined up along the street to slap us high five. Adults stopped work to say hi to us and at times we got to pull over and get off the bikes to talk and meet the local villagers. The children from the mountain villages of Bali are amazed with our digital cameras. The fact that you can see a picture of yourself seconds after it is taken is such a new concept to them... they were fascinated by it. We were able to see a few temples scattered along the mountain road and even stopped in to see the inside of one family's house. Drinking water for these village towns is a 30 minute walk away and they have made their lives out of the most simplistic of things. At one point in our ride we were stopped in one village while a funeral was taking place. The body was placed in a giant bull replica and was being taken to the temple down the road. There was a long procession ahead of us that kept us waiting in the street for a little bit. It was amazing to see and to hear the songs the villagers sang. We got a chance to talk to some local school kids who again had fun with our cameras.

The end of the trip was wonderful as well. We spent our last night in Bali at a sunset dinner on Kuta Beach. As the sun set we ate seafood and chicken by candle light while locals sang us songs on their guitars. It was beautiful and I didn't want to leave.

I'm back in Australia now, getting ready for a big 3 week grind of class, work, papers, presentations and midterms before heading off on my next adventure around Western Australia. Of course there will be more updates before then but don't forget... wish the Blue Dragons luck on Tuesday night! Hope all is well with you all my friends. Eloners... hope school has started well and that ya'll are enjoying it!

love, Kate