June 12th.

Such Slackness! 

Things have happened and I haven’t even written about them!

Firstly, and probably most excitedly, ECU has officially said goodbye to us. 

(I think they want to get rid of us!) 

So… uh, okay, rewind. I was going to talk about the people that I’m going over with, but I haven’t introduced you all to them yet!

So let’s settle in and get our Pitbull on… To understand the future, we gotta go back in time.

I am an awful person. You all are probably thinking, ‘and she’s just realising this?’. No, honestly. 

So, the date is the 9th of May and the exchange office is holding a US consulate session for all those unlucky non-US citizens that have to fork out to get a visa --snicker--. This morning, in Authorship and Publication (a unit I'm doing this first semester), we were working on our monographs. This is the snooty, literary term for a short story. The first one I read, I liked; it was just that it was too big of a story to fit into our 2500 word limit, it jumped all over the place and, well, I thought it wasn’t particularly realistic. I told the author of the work so. Not in a mean way, in a constructive criticism sort of way. 

I should have kept my mouth SHUT. 

Because, when I walked into the consulate session, low and behold, there she sat, the only other person in the room. Earth, please, eat me up! 

She was nice about the whole ordeal when I sat with her. I apologised and she informed me that it was a creative non-fiction work. FACE-PALM! Christ, everything made sense then. And as a creative non-fic, it wasn’t too bad! A little rough; it was the first draft so that’s understandable, but over all a really courageous story. And I’d totally shredded it. I apologised again, naturally. Somewhere, she found it in herself to forgive and forget and introduce herself. Introducing Karina. 

The similarities between us were oddly spooky for two strangers who’d met that morning. We both are writers. We both are US citizens and going over on passports. And we both are heading to Colorado.

Fast-track to the 4th of June and I’m sitting in Dome, in Ellenbrook, talking with school friends: Tash, Courtney and Rachel. So, here’s the thing, not only does Courtney know the one girl who spent first semester at UNC, but another who is attending in the second. 

I mean, apart from me!

Emily. She gave me her details and, of course, I facebook stalk her. It’s alright; Courtney admitted that she’d given my details to Emily too so she could facebook stalk me too! I hesitantly FB messaged her to introduce myself, praying that Courtney had been truthful to me when she’d given me her name. 

She would do something like that to me… 

I have wonderful friends that I love and that love me back. 

Can you tell? 

Well, she must love me because it was the right Emily. Introducing Emily. I think we may be complete opposites; I think I’m going to get on well with her.

There are four of us going from ECU. The last is a boy named Dan. I think. I don’t really know him yet, but as soon as I do, I will introduce him, too.

Jumping forward a few more days, and we’re caught up to the 8th of June. The day ECU said goodbye. A little fact that I haven’t yet shared is that I was a successful applicant to be an ECU exchange ambassador at UNC! It’s another one of those fancy terms, pretty much just saying that I get some money from the Uni and have to attend a few events. Meh, like I wasn’t not going to go to them anyway! I am also required to keep a blog about my experiences over there, directed to potential exchange students. It’s a joint effort with Emily. You should go check it out; it might be interesting. 

Now, back to the start. So, ECU said goodbye to us at the Joondalup Tav. We were all told before we got there that we were to be on our best behaviours because important people and the Vice Chancellor would be there.

 Another fun fact: did you know ECU is in the top 100 best university's in the world? 

Go figure; apparently we sit at lucky 100!

Take that UWAians, Murdockians and Curtainians.

The session gave us outgoing students the opportunity to talk to the exchange students who have just finished their semester here from the university that we will soon be attending and returned exchange students from ECU. 

There, I met Kendra (again, I think. Cripes, I gotta get better at this name thing!) 

I asked her what sort of weather I’d be flying into in August in Colorado. She had such a cute accent. I kept asking her questions just to hear her talk… I can’t wait for all the people to sound all cute and weird when they talk. So mature, I know! 

Anyway, back to the temperature. She replied to me in her little drawl, "It’s hot, usually about 25 to 30 degrees". In the middle of summer? Then, she told me, "It’s not like here, it’s more of a dry heat."

 HA. I think I can handle dry heat.

 She was really lovely and helpful, if not a little confused to what hot is. However, I'm sure she'll be like "This isn't cold!" and I'll be freezing my butt off in layers and layers of clothing! 

She and a boy, whose name evades me, both from UNC, told us that we had to do various things. Attend a football and softball match; go the Blue and Gold!

(Is it ironic that I was in those two factions? Gold in primary school, and Blue in High?)

I really wanted to share this pic I totally stole from the UNC viewbook!

 I didn't believe Dad when he said they used to play in the snow. 

Faithful daughter, now!

However, doesn't it look like a heap of fun? 

*Cough cough* Courtney Turner?

I’m going to have to get someone to explain the point of the game tho… like, apart from winning. It’s not weird for a girl to admit to wanting to watch the cheerleaders at half time too, is it? I mean, it’s a winter sport and their dancing around in teeny tiny clothing… he he he… I promise pictures! 

Also, apparently I have to go snowboarding, so comment up your tips for me from those who have been! 

And September means homecoming events, eep… I’m a little excited for that one with all the college spirited hullabaloo that comes with it! 

I also want to go ice skating outside. I want to build a snowman. Or something that somewhat resembles one that I can throw a scarf around and shove a carrot in the middle of its face.

Other little fun facts since I last posted:

•  I went ice skating the other weekend, spontaneously, with my h/s friend, Rachel. P.S. if some cute boy comes up to me at an ice rink in Colorado and asks if I’ve ever skated before, I am undoubtedly going to lie! The answer is NO, people. I’m actually a pretty good skater; for someone who’s so damn clumsy on the ground, it doesn’t show on the ice. Anyway point being: my phone got stolen. I can look at it now and say it was a bit of a blessing  because my iPhone was getting a little slow and was on its way out. However, it really could have happened another way. You have no idea how much your phone is your life until its gone! So, this meant that I could upgrade my phone, I'm not taking a camera to the states because the camera in my phone is awesomeness and, really, it is much more convenient to carry around in its slimlinedness design. It doesn't have the range of cases, however. I'm a little disappointed that I can't continue the craziness of cases.
• My cousin got engaged. As in, my cousin who I haven’t seen for ten super long years and that, in a few months, I will reside in the same state as! The extra exciting thing is that she’s actually getting married while I’m there. I'm still in the process of planning how to get there and what not, but, hopefully, it will all work out for me, I'll be able to go to a wedding and, meet, for the first time, a heap of rellies. And, of course, have bunches of fun.
• I finished up my semester at ECU. (No surprise there, it had to come around eventually!) I did feel a little sad driving out of the car park onto Central Ave after my one and only exam, knowing it would be 2013 before I would potentially study in one of those class rooms again! It brought up old memories of when I first moved to Perth into the Village. And what times I had there. My Sopie. Things I was going to miss. Ah, such sentimentalities from a silly girl! 
• I’m in the process of booking my air tickets and organising my parents. I set up Skype on my mum’s computer as well as my sister’s iPhone and grandmother’s computer (the internet is more stable here than in Goomalling!). Just got to show Mum how to use it now! I promised that I would be connected at all times, just in case she needs to contact me. Look under my 'Remember me!' page for all my contact details if you wanna hit me up on Skype, too!
• With the awful weather we’ve been having in Perth this week, I’ve committed tomorrow to starting tying up loose ends here in Perth, so that I’m not living in two places at once like I have seemed to be doing for so many years! I’ve decided to use this time to de-clutter and generally throw shit out! I’m hoping it will be as cleansing as I’m predicting it to be. But if I post in a few days that I still haven’t got around to it, well, then, it wasn’t so cleansing.

So, I’m thinking I’ve rambled enough. Got to leave some things for another day.
<3