The finish line is in view.

Hey everyone!

It's been a few weeks. Sorry 'bout that. Lots going on down here I guess...although not nearly as much as at home I think - since the last time I wrote there have been TWO student productions put up at BC - Jesus Hopped the A Train went up two weeks ago and Putnam County Spelling Bee is happening right now. I feel indescribable sadness at missing both of those ): but hopefully there will be videos.

Anyway, last time I wrote I was on my way to the One Movement music festival in Perth - we spent all day there on Saturday, and what a good time it was. Matt Nathanson played, he was great and very funny, I wish he'd had longer than a half hour set. We met him afterwards and got him to sign our free One Movement tank tops (HUGE tank tops...I look like a baller when I wear mine). He wrote "Kelsey is da bomb" on the back of mine, which I think is code for "I'm going to leave my wife and marry Kelsey." Just a thought. He was very friendly though, and really happy to meet some Americans in this corner of the world. One Movement was a long night - I saw probably 8 or 9 bands, most of them of the folk/rock persuasion. Whoever set up this festival did a really nice job of keeping people entertained - not only were there four stages with music playing all the time, there was a silent dance floor (you get a pair of headphones and can switch between a few stations and dance to whatever you feel like, but anyone without a pair of headphones can't hear what's going on - pretty humorous to watch and to be a part of), and...this was my favorite thing EVER...DUN DUN DUN...a Moon Bounce volleyball court. I know, I know, WHAT?! IT'S TWO OF THE GREATEST THINGS IN THE WORLD COMBINED! Exactly. You can dive after any ball and not hurt yourself. You can jump higher than you ever could on a regular court. I don't know why this is the first time I've come across one of these. I could literally spend all my time on one of these and not be unhappy.

What else has happened since then...introduced some of my friends to the beauty that is Wet Hot American Summer, that was a good time. We've set up a schedule for playing volleyball two or three nights a week - also a good time. On the 21st there was an early performance of Wounds to the Face for the 21st anniversary of Howard Barker's Wrestling School - I got to call the show for the first time, from this strange little stage management alcove just off stage right...very odd, but it went well, the few people that came to see the show enjoyed it overall. Since then we've been having night rehearsals with tech and my enjoyment level of this whole process has increased greatly. The show opens on Wednesday for real, runs until Saturday, then we strike and load-in Twelfth Night for another week of performances. GAH. And no time to study for my one, extremely important exam. I'll be doing ecology flashcards in the green room the whole time most likely.

Friday night a few of us went to a "springtime celebration" party at our friend Willow's apartment. She's got a really nice setup, the backyard has a fire pit and a patio and a hammock (the hammock tips easily, but the ground under it is relatively soft...), and there's a ladder going up to the roof, which is perfect for watching sunsets and sunrises. A few of us stayed over and attempted to watch the sunrise, but woke up juuuuuuust too late. Bummer.

Last Sunday was designated Family Day - Octave, Nelson, Jen, Lauren and I got into Jen's car around 10am and drove to Caversham Wildlife Park, about an hour away. Jen had me navigate, using a MAP of Western Australia - does she not know me at all? I guess I deserved it for sitting in the passenger seat...basically she ended up navigating herself and I just turned the pages. On the way back I was somewhat helpful. The park was pretty cool - kind of like a zoo, but better, because you get to interact with the kangaroos and koalas and the farm animals, and all the other animals are just generally less confined than in a zoo. It was definitely a worthwhile experience...got plenty of pictures of me petting roos and koalas (there were a TON of each...and the koalas actually opened their eyes and climbed around this time), but in general it made me pretty depressed. The animals are all totally domesticated, they have lost their natural instinct to be defend themselves against invading humans...I had a long think about the usefulness of zoos and wildlife reservations after that. But it was a really lovely day, a lot of quality time with the flatmates, and I fulfilled my "me+kangaroo picture" quota.

Keith scored a very legitimate gig at a hotel in North Freo last Sunday night, so a bunch of us trekked out to see that - very, very professional and cool. Keith actually thought about staying down here another semester to keep working on his music. The musical scene down here is a lot better than it is in Miami I guess, at least for the type of music Keith plays, and he's really gotten his name out in the bar scene in Freo. In the end, he's decided to go home, but he'll be remembered down here for awhile.

Last week was pretty quiet...lots of rehearsals, a few more gigs, some salsa dancing on Thursday night, Nelson's birthday...a lot of work. There's one week of classes left - ONE WEEK - and then we have a week of studying and then exams start. I've only got one exam and it's very very early, so really my semester is almost over. I'm feeling bittersweet already. Uncle Mike and I have made some great New Zealand plans though, and I think that will be a good distraction from this third home that I'll be leaving in a few weeks. Oy. I think everyone is starting to feel that race-to-the-finish-line syndrome...we're all working a lot, and spending as much time together as possible. Leaving is going to be tough.

Oh I forgot one thing - I went surfing on Thursday! Well, I attempted surfing on Thursday. Not at all successful. Kevin has a surfboard and a wetsuit, so he, Keith and I went to Scarborough, which is about an hour and a half away...loooong commute, the beach is beauteous, but GOSH is surfing difficult. Keith was the only one of us who managed to stand up once. I knelt on the board once and rode in, but mostly I was underwater and the surfboard nowhere near me. Once my exam is over I'll have a ton of free time, so maybe I'll find somewhere to get a surfing lesson and actually ride a wave...but I'm not promising anything.

I've also started teaching myself to play guitar...Octave and Nelson have guitars that they let me use whenever I want, and the online lessons are actually pretty good...maybe I'll be able to play a few songs when I get back, but again - not promising anything. I love it though - the fingers on my left hand are sore all the time from trying to learn chords; I can actually play a few pretty decently. If Jake lets me steal his never-used guitar when I get home I'm gonna keep this up.

TTFN - ta ta for now (:

Miss you guys!!!

So much sunshine.

Hey everyone!

A few highlights from the last week:

Rehearsals for Wounds to the Face continue to go well, but I will be beyond happy when I don't have to work with this director anymore. He's probably the least-respectful director I've ever worked with - talks over his actors every time they're onstage, doesn't let them make their own decisions, doesn't let his designers do their jobs...the rest of the cast/production team doesn't really know that what he's doing is wrong, I think, but I still hate it, they deserve so much more than that. The cast is doing such a good job, working so hard, and I'm actually enjoying watching the show more and more instead of getting sick of it.

Saturday Lauren and I explored Freo for awhile and found the COOLEST thrift store in the whole wide world - I don't need more clothing, but it was so cool. I tried on like twenty dresses. Then we returned home for a fondue party at our friend Emily's place - delicious, many chocolate-covered strawberries were consumed. Everyone was so, so tired afterwards though, there must have been something in the cheese...so Lauren and I went home and made a love nest, I can't remember if I've told you guys about this yet - we push the two couches together in our common room and it makes a nice little box of cushiony fun, then we put blankets and pillows in it and do homework or watch a movie or read or whatever. Lauren usually naps. It's the best thing ever - I think Jess started the trend, and I hear that now people do it all over the village. We usually love nest at least once a week. It's so cuddly.

The weather is BEAUTIFUL now, it's been at least 75 degrees every single day, and has started to get even hotter than that this weekend (today it's supposed to be 92, eek), so we spend a lot of our free time playing volleyball and jumping in the pool. SO Australia. I feel like a bum sometimes, but then I remind myself that I am here to experience the culture and meet people and enjoy Australia, and as long as I can get everything else done, I can play as much volleyball as I want. So I do. One night I played with a bunch of French guys - they were really, really intense and I thrown off-guard. Needless to say I was the worst one there, but they let me play anyway, and I learned a lot. I won't be surprised or offended if I don't get another invitation, however. My game has definitely improved since I got to Australia - so that's something (:

Tuesday was set building day at the theater, and out of the whole cast only four of us showed up...Serge was in a terrible mood, so that was a ton of fun. I shouldn't complain this much; here I have a great opportunity to stage manage a show, coming from very little stage management experience, I'm lucky that they let me do it. But me being lucky has little to do with how grateful Serge should be towards his cast and designers. I will be so happy to return to BC theater, that's all.

Tuesday afternoon I did another photo shoot with Lauren - actually I'm not sure if I told you guys about the first one; she's doing a project for her photo class on the human body and movement, so she's had Octave and I come in and do Kendo (that's Octave's specialty) and ballet/dance stuff. I love this...not only does she take wonderful pictures (it's amazing what a good camera can do), but it's made me realize that I miss dance SO MUCH. And it's really cool to have a big open floor to see what I am still capable of doing...which is a lot of stuff, surprisingly, but the days after each shoot I was so, so sore.

Wednesday I worked at the hospital again, went to the market to get some produce, played some more volleyball...no big deal. Thursday was another open mic night - Keith played at Moondyne's, this time in the sports bar, which was a HUGE venue, he played a few new ones and he and I sang a few together...we do a cover of Oh My Sweet Carolina by Ryan Adams now, and it went over really well this week - HOORAY. I had a sudden "wow I'm gonna miss this a lot" moment at Moondyne's that night...thinking about how sad it will be when I'm home and it's Thursday night and I'm not at some random bar in Fremantle with a group of Australians and other Americans watching Keith play, maybe getting to sing with him...now is not really the time to think about it (there is never a time to think about it while I'm down here), but the time is going so, so fast now. We've got four weeks of classes left, and then another 3-4 weeks in Australia. I had a conversation with a few girls last night about how everything down here is pretty much "everyday life" now - we're totally settled in, it's almost not a big deal that we're in Australia anymore, this is just what we do. There are always more adventures to be had, and I try to have at least one a day, but I feel like I've been doing this for years. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It feels like home, that's for sure. Not like my home in Uncasville or in Boston, but a home.

More rehearsal yesterday, more time by the pool, more volleyball last night, and a bunch of the girls went out to a Thai restaurant called Roxby - deeeeeeelicious. I haven't had Thai food in forever; it's just as good down here as I remember it in Boston. We got ice cream afterwards too, then went home and made a love nest. Today we're off to a free music festival called One Movement in Perth - I don't know most of the bands playing, but MATT NATHANSON is going to be there. WHOA. So really I just want to see him (and I'm totally going to try to meet him afterwards and ever so coolly get his autograph), but we'll hang out for awhile after him and see some of the other bands probably.

Oh the only other semi-exciting thing to happen this week - I got bit/stung by an ant like six times. The poor guy was stuck inside my shirt and I was lying on my stomach and he was freaking out trying not to get crushed probably...anyway he survived, I've got six huge welts on my stomach now that itch like crazy...go figure, I live in Australia, home to sharks, jellyfish, snakes, spiders...a ton of animals that will bite you if you mess with them, and I get bit by an ant. Seriously. What is my problem.

That's all for now - down under and OUT.

These are better days, baby.

I have the best flatmates in the whole wide world. Really. My experience in Australia has been so, so wonderful because of them.

Hi everyone (: Jess and I survived the week-long ecology project (we boosted our energy with several delicious dinners cooked by her flatmate Darren - tacos, curry, Asian cuisine one night, mmmmm) with only a few (read: TONS OF) scratches and mosquito bites, and at least fifteen hours staring into microscopes...overall I really enjoyed it though. The biology geek in me was in transecting, dissecting nirvana. The follow-up lab reports I have to write will be pretty difficult, but I have awhile before they're due...so if I get motivated to work on those soon, I should be alright.

Jess and I went to see a play in Northbridge one night - a one-man show called The History of Drinking. SUCH a cool concept. The audience is at most 22 people, and with your ticket you are given a drink menu, with about 25-30 drinks on it. Most of the drinks are alcoholic, but there's also soda, water, coffee, tea, etc. The actor, who's about 25, he also wrote the play, he acts as a quizmaster before every scene. If you get a question right (the questions are super easy, it's mostly a race to raise your hand first) you get a drink off of the menu. The catch is that each drink can only be ordered once, so you want to get a question right pretty early on to get what you want. After you get the question right, the actor will turn into a very sarcastic, very bitter waiter, and he'll come to your cafe table, ask you what you want and make it for you onstage. Then he'll give you your drink and do a scene that has something to do with the drink, or maybe just the name of the drink, whatever. Some of the scenes were hilarious, others were really tragic. It was a great night. Our friend Dave was stage managing, so we hitched a ride home with him - awesome.

Saturday a few of us went to Cottesloe Beach to celebrate our friend Blaine's 21st birthday - WHAT a nice day. The weather has finally decided to cooperate - no more rain, it's about 75 degrees every day now. Perfect. The beach was really, really pretty. It's pretty small but it wasn't too crowded, and even though we didn't swim much (or at all - too cold), we had a lovely time. Threw the frisbee, laid in the sun, read for awhile...very relaxing. And no sunburn in sight. The people-watching down here is a lot of fun - there was a dad and two boys (one belonged to him, the other was probably a friend or cousin) playing cricket - easily the most boring game ever invented, but they were having fun...there were two wedding parties taking pictures, there was another dad telling his teenage daughter to be home before dark...and probably some locals looking at us looking at them and saying "look at them. They're American."

So I've also had an amazing birthday down here. I feel like my birthday lasted about three days - Lauren made me dinner Sunday night - chicken carbonara with asparagus, as well as birthday cake and a really nicely decorated living room. Jennifer made chocolate macadamia fudge, muy delicioso. We had a little family dinner and watched Australian Idol and Knocked Up afterwards. Also, Lauren got me a bottle of champagne AND she made me the coolest scrapbook (she's the best scrapbook maker I've ever met) full of pictures of BC and a few of our time down under so far. I looooooove it and can't wait to show everyone at home. I am so lucky to have the flatmates that I have.

Yesterday was my for-real birthday, and I didn't have any classes, so I spent a lot of the day lying in the sun outside Jess and Keith's flat, had some champagne, threw the frisbee around for awhile, played some volleyball...a very sunny, very relaxing day. Darren made burgers, and he put fried eggs and Japanese mayo on them. Sounds weird, but it may have been the best burger I've ever eaten. Even better than (BC people don't get mad) the burgers in Hillside, I KNOW it doesn't sound possible, but I think it may be. THEN we had a little shindig at our flat, which I was pretty nervous about, but it turned out to be wonderful. I think everyone had a good time, I definitely did, and we totally didn't get fined for noise violations. We did get asked to be quiet by who we think was an RA, but she never came back after that. What a night. Had some serious clean-up to do this morning when I got up, but it was totally worth it.

I guess that's all I've got for now (: I got to Skype with many members of my family this morning, which made me cry, in a good way...and talked to Crystal for awhile after that, got all caught up on the happenings at UConn...life is good. I wrote a whole dang essay today too. I think we're going back to Cottesloe tomorrow - weather forecast says sunny with a chance of beautiful.

Until next time!