its been a while...

hello!

so same old - same old here in bundaburg. ive been here offically for over a week now. enjoying myself for sure. the work hours are short which kind of sucks because i am wanting to make more money then what i am going to spend on accomodation, food,internet etc. but sofar it doesnt look that way. oh well - the main point is im having a great time here. everyone in the hostel is pretty cool.

a few nights ago julia and kata and katherin (all german girls! julia is my friend julia, kata is a german girl travelling alone and katherin was traveling with 2 other girls but got in a fight with them and started hanging out with us) were all drinking bundy rum and coke (which is REALLY good by the way) and i was having tea because im on a detox regime. anyways, they were all drunk and kata wanted to go swimming, but julia didnt want to go change into her bikini so i was like 'i know! lets go with our clothes on!' they all thought it was great so julia pushed kata in, and then derek (a scottish guy) threw julia in and kathrin walked in herself and i stood bythe pool and watched - then ran into my dorm room with kata chasing me (shes not a small girl either) to grab me and shove me in the pool. i managed to get into my room and lock the door.i then changed into my bikini and went for a swim. julia was so mad ' it was your idea to go swimming with ourclothes on!!!' but thats why it was funny. i cheated muahahaha. we all hd a good time anyway.

decided to create a swim team -the team consists of: Me, Julia, Kata, Derek and Jono. we swim after work every day, and on the days we dont work. we started at 20 min and now are at 30 ( i was the only one who swam today, besides derek, he swam too but for only 15 min. and jono swam too but only for 6 min -lightweights). our names are the Bundy Dolphins. one day we will have a swim meet.

today while pruning i stuck my hand in a little hole in the plastic that the tomato plants grow out of and something moved! it was a toad! it hopped out of the hole and i screamed and jumped around a little bit. then i caught it and tried to get julia to kiss it but she would have nothing of it

we are planning a 'dress up day' here at the hostel. there are a few good second hand shops around town and we are going to find the worst possible dresses and suites to wear and wear them and drink very sophisticatidly - i hvent gotten my outfit picked out yet but i will take lots of pictures!

speaking of pictures, i am still uploading onto aliab.myphotoalbum.com they are quite a few weeks old but i will continue toadd them daily

much love

alia

photos

so i have begun the gruelling process (seriously it takes forever!)of uploading my photos. check out aliab.myphotoalbum.com for the first 10 picutres

work is good! i am UBER sore - we pruned 6 inch tomatoe plants today for 5.5hrs that means leaning over for 5.5hrs! booo! but its aight - day off tomorrow, a few of us are gonna hop the bus to the beach! very nice!

lovelovelove

alia

j-o-b!!!

what up? so finally it is true - i have a JOB! weeeew. i'll be working 6 days a week for around 6-8hrs a day pruning tomatos. not my idea of a dream job but hey, it will help pay the bills and a few extras thats for sure. so yah, for the next 4 weeks or so thats what i will be doing. unfortunatly that means for you faithful readers, there wont be much of anything interesting to post here in my blog so it will be lacking. I still would appreciate your love in the form of emails or just random posts to old blogs . ha.

so until something new and crazy goes on in my world,


much love!

Alia

bundaburg = bundaboring!

bundaburg is the equivelant of barrhead when it comes to stuff to do. nothing but drink, drink, drink. the first night we were here we met some locals - one of which, kent, offered to take us out, show us the beaches, the rum distillery in town, some of the local hotspots where there is nice snorkelling etc, etc. but twice now he has ditched out. last night we hung out with another one of the locals, luke who took us to central (the main club in town) and it was pretty fun. its a great club, there are 3 areas, one which plays top 40 dancing stuff, another that plays grunge music and an outdoor beer garden area with a live band. i thought that would be a pretty awesome place to have in edmonton then all of my friends could go out and party together and have a great time. today luke called me up and we went snorkelling together - bundaburg is on the southern tip of the great barrier reef so we saw lots of fish and stuff - pretty cool. no sharks or stingrays or anything interesting like that but alot of fun otherwise. met some canadians in our hostel and rented a movie. thats about it. now im gonna go for a run. ive decided while im here im going to detox (the past week and a half or so ive been drinking every night) and jog a few times a week. just so i dont feel SUPER lazy (ive also been having naps every day since ive gotten here and i feel like such a slob, but there is nothing else to do!!)

well thats the update - boo waiting on work! booo!!!

love alia

bundaburg!!

left hervey bay today and made it to bundaburg in about 2hrs time. i was a bit sad to leave because the past few days (on fraser and in hervey bay) i hung around with a cute british guy named david. He's going to arlie beach to do a whitsunday sail for a couple of days and then going home. he asked me to come with him to arlie but i declined - he's travelling with 2 of his friends and they were just planning on going out and drinking every night...boourns! but we will keep in touch - and he said i can come to london one day and he will show me his country house and make me fish and chips and we can have tea and crumpets lol.

Staying in a place in bundaburg called 'cell block' apparently its a converted jail?? verry interested. totally caters to the people working here - ive got a week booked sofar. there is a work manager on site and all you have to do is fill out a work file and he will put everything in the computer and take care of it all for you! verry nice! I prolly wont be packing bananas though- most likely do some tomato work - whether is picking or packing i have no idea.

wish me luck with work etc, etc - this is starting to feel like a whole other adventure! wowee!!

love much

alia

weeew!

if i never see sand again in my life i will die a happy person - sand, sand everywhere - in your pants, in your bra, in your eyes and ears - ALL OVER! it feels SO good to get back to a place that isnt the biggest sand island in the world. what a rough, but fun, 3 days - i had a great time. it was exhausting but a blast. saw dingos, and big spiders and lizards and a snake! it was supercool! and beautiful. except i burned my eyelids yesterday falling asleep on the beach without my sunnies on - BIG mistake! but hopefully they will heal up soon.

we got an extra night here in hervey bay and then up to bundaburg tomorrow! wooo!!! talking to a few people in my group, who just came from bundaburg, told us about a nice place to stay that has bus transfers to worksites for free and stuff so we're gonna check that out. and then work....booo! but thats fine. keeps my mind occupied. yesterday i was homesick for a while - i think its cuz the camping was over and it was back to real life in australia.

otherwise, life is as per usual - im doing fine, everything is fine - had a bit of a dramatic experience with julia on fraser island but nothing anyone would be really interested in (it involved alot of goon (which is what boxed wine is called here in australia) and julia wanting to head to the beach, alone, at night, with snakes and dingos creeping around in the bush it was a hassel to get her in bed)

much love everyone!

Alia

in hervey bay!

so safely in hervey bay - boring bus ride but the 2nd shortest one ive been on sofar!!

got here to the hostel and discovered we have to dish out a whole bunch more money for food, booze, fuel, cash on hand, deposits, shower - blah blah blah and julia has NO money left....so i believe i will be left lending cashola to her....which is fine if we get jobs banana packing (which i sure hope we do!)

up bright and early tomorrow to get orientated - we will be in groups of 9-11 i think and we pool $20 of money for food and $20 for alcohol i think. supposed to bring a small bag with us, where my daypack comes in handy. i know julia is feeling alittle uneasy and its making me uneasy, but what can you do? just dive in head first!

i think that working at WS with you chris would be FANTASTIC!! you should totally get me a referral! and i hope we can cross paths as i will be going the opposite direction you will be going - maybe we can meet near brisbane - in noosa or some other close town because I will be flying out of there hopefully on the 1st of June. haha i didnt know i looked like such a banana packer- maybe us schimankes all make great banana packers and no one ever got a chance to figure it out!

christine - alia is a great name for a baby! i think you should go for it - boy or girl alia is a great name! you could even change the spelling if you want! i'll allow it lol ;)

well seeing as i will be on the biggest sand island in the world for the next few days i dont think i'll be posting - so mama dont get your panties in a twist alright?

love much

alia

brisbane....again - not for long this time!

So i made it to brisbane nice n safely as per usual. staying at a really awesome hostel in the heart of 'the valley' which is supposed to be the night club area not that im interested. i find thats what most australias talk about or even other travellers - where the best place to party is. thats prolly one of the last things on my list of things to do - party. i dont find that very cultural at all. i agree with most people who've been here who say that australia is just like canada just on the other side of the world because this is what alot of what canada is like - partying, going out, getting drunk and thats not why i came here but its the first thing people say when i ask them about the city im about to embark on 'ohh its a nice place, only about 2 pubs in the whole main area of town so there isnt much to do...' does that mean that a place is boring without clubs or pubs? i think thats all what backpacking seems to be about these days. and when i did it through europe almost 3 years ago i'll admit that thats alot of what i did, almost every night going out and drinking but im 3 years older now and just grown out of that stage. some people havnt i guess.

anyways enough about my rant - julia and i have decided to head up to bundaburg(???) to do some banana packing - supposed to be a higher paying job with lots of hours. sounds good to me. sounds also like alot of intensive labour (and people say that red-back spiders come around often! eeekkk!) but im comfortable with that - even if we work for a couple of weeks (im hoping we push through for a whole month!) we'll at least make a few pennies and that will definatly help me out.

but tomorrow at noon julia and i are off to hervey bay for one night and then our 2 nights 4wd self drive camping safari of fraser island. ive only read great things about this island so im really looking forward to it. i have to do some laundry but i think i'll wait until after the camping to get it done.

learned today that my chances of getting into uni for the fall are extremely low so im having mom put in an application to gmac for the fall. im extremely dissapointed but what can you do? soon enough i'll be able to go to uni. (they call it uni over here and in europe, not university)

much love for all of you

alia

nothing nothing nothing

its been a boring few days here in manly - i missed a spot on my back with sunscreen and now i have a funny shaped burn...yep thats it. last night the 3 german girls in my room invited me out to the pub so i joined for a little bit - got up early and checked out. and now here i am. my bus leaves tonight at 7pm to get into brisbane at 11:30 tomorrow. and then saturday off to hervey bay! wee! something new to do im really pumped. i was thinking that julia and i could stop in noosa on the way up to arlie beach for our whitsunday tour for a week or so but aparently noosa comes before hervey bay and i cant afford to go backwards :( oh well, maybe at the end of my trip i'll be able to stop in all those places i wanted to go to at first but missed out on.

anyway - thats about all

much love

new beginning

so yesterday i booked a 4wheel self drive tour of fraser island for myself and julia. we got a package deal with a whitsunday sail so my next few weeks will be in the whitsundays - i hope the weather is beautiful!

today i booked my bus ticket BACK to brisbane (i'll be spending one night there with julia before we head up to hervey bay for our fraser island drive) and then getting the party started. im really excited!

other then that, its sunny out - and hot - and im gonna enjoy the sunshine..and maybe go for a surf

much love

alia

garsh

so ive come to discover that i dont think things through near enough. coming back to sydney was a BIG expensive mistake on my part. i wish i could see into the future.

i called julia and we've decided to meet in surfers in a few days (next week sometime) and book a fraser island/whitsunday tour. its expensive but probabley worth it (i hope) and then gonna take my time going further north to noosa and cairns and then to alice and down to adelaide - great ocean road and then header to bali.

im sitting here shaking my head because of the stupid stupid choices ive made thus far. it took me 3 weeks to figure it out. jeeze. this little 2 day trip back to sydney is costing me $300 (for bus fare to and from brisbane, 3 nights in hostel plus food and ferry/bus trips). i try not to worry about money but i always do and it SUCKS.

but you live and you learn....and i am definatly learning

much loving

alia

well

alright thats enough re-assurance for me. im done with the work thing. although, again this was a stupid move to go back to sydney (ive had my fair share of stupid moves this holiday) i will spend tonight and tomorrow deciding whether i should go south to melbourne through the great ocean road to adelaid and then taking the ghan up to alice springs and then fly to brisbane and move my way up from there - or will i bus it BACK to brisbane and go the orignal intended route. i think the former makes a bit more sense.

thanks mom, jenn and craig for your support. although i do fear my cash reserve is going to run out extremely quickly - but thats what i got ma and pa for right ;) that and a plethura of other things i guess.

pheww what a weight off my shoulders.

much love everyone

alia

blaaeehhhhgarrb

So i am honestly considering just ditching the whole 'try and find work and a place to stay for 6 weeks' and just going traveling. spending more time in bali and thailand then originally planned and returning home with my sister the end of july. trying to find work and a place to live is stressing me out too much, and i havent even looked very hard. i spoke to naomi (a girl with iep) today and she said that she would take a look for me and get back to me later today or tomorrow.

what do you guys think? does this make sense to you? because as far as im concerned, unless i get one of those fantastic jobs where i get free food and accommodation im not going to make very much money anyways (especially us working/travelling visa-ers get taxed $0.30 on the dollar) in such little time - ESPECIALLY since i will be spending what money i do make on food and accommodation. So today i will go to manly, wait for naomi to get back to me and if i get nothing i do think i'll continue on my trip onward and upward to cairns, down to alice springs and through to adelaid....drive the ocean road and then get back to brisbane around the middle to late april - stay in bali for a month and in thailand for 2 months.

am i just giving up? did i not give it a good enough shot?

i met a guy yesterday from winnipeg and he did just that - he got his work visa but didnt work. once he got here he decided to travel. and he seemed to have a pretty good time with it. he's off to singapore in the next couple of days - then thailand and then europe.

like my mom said, i wont be setting up my paypal account - keep your monies for yourself, for your babies (christine), and your new floor (jenn) and i'll just bum whatever i need off my ever-so-loving ma and pa!

id love to hear your guys opinion on this!

Alia

new camera

hey guys so i picked up a new camera. its the same as the one i had before, same memory card, same batteries - its just a newer model with 6.0 pixels instead of 5.0! oooh fancy! so i will be setting up that paypal account very soon here (mom could u please find one of my cheques that has my bank account info on it and email it to me so i could set all that up? thanks!)and feel free to send me money and i will repay you in other ways (ie in the form of a gift from thailand or bali and a postcard) so if ur planning on dontating, please also leave an address i can send a postcard to!

and if you dont want to or cant afford to dontate thats cool too - i still love you all very very much!

thinking about working in a country pub in the outback for free food and accommodation PLUS pay - wouldnt that be nice?

love all

alia

back....in sydney!

wow what a bus ride. i have never been more uncomfortable in my liiifffee!! i got the 2 seats to myself but they totally wernt catered to lying down on both of them to try and get a sleep thats for sure. well im glad thats over with. im also really glad i decided instead of heading right to manly (which is a train ride, a ferry ride and about a 20min walk away) i decided to spend one night back here in good old sydney central YHA. its 7am now and i cant check into my room until 12 so i think im gonna have some breakfast, watch a little tv and maybe take a short nap

thanks to everyone who offered to donate to the buy alia a new camera fund! its really appreciated! im gonna go get my camera officially looked at today and if there is no hope i will definatly be setting up that paypal account! you guys are too awesome!

and UNCLE WILL!? I had no idea so many people knew of this website - definatly good to hear from you! And thanks for the tip - i will look into Kiama, if manly doesnt work out so good!

I do believe i missed a day of blogging so i'll fill you all in on my saturday (your friday):

walked the hilly walk from my hostel down to queen street mall in brisbane. its like any other mall. nothing too interesting. then made my way across the river to 'south bank' - its a man-made area for those people of brisbane who complained that brisbane doesnt have a beach im sure. it had a little lagoon filled with kids and probabley pee, a jungle walk, and a bunch of restaurants and stuff. i lied myself out on the grass and proceded to read 'nineteen eighty four' (which i am done now, and i have to find a decent book exchange to exchange it because the one here at YHA is crap). i then began talking with these two guys who clearly had an accent. i asked them where they were from, one guy said 'brisbane!hahaha'. they had been in brisbane for 9 years but were refugees of bosnia!!! very nice guys. we talked about movies and about canada and bosnia and all that stuff, went for a drink and then i headed home. they invited me out but i told them that my bus left at 6am the next day and i couldnt go out. now i wonder if thats antisocial of me. not accepting invitation out with two perfectly nice guys, was it because they were bosnian? or because they were guys? was i being smart? or is this why im not making so many friends? anyway, i headed back to the hostel - stopped in at a movie theatre (an old one like the princess or the garneau) and saw 'the notorious bettie page' which was a pretty good movie i guess. too expensive for the venue it was in but, oh well. then i went up the hill to the hostel and to bed. met a very nice irish girl in my room who had been living in vancouver for the last 2 years.

and then today i got up early, walked DOWN the hill to the transit station and sat around until 2pm to catch my bus, ran into irish girl again she was at the transit station waiting for her dad's girlfriend's son - they were getting together to do a trip of fraser island together. aww how sweet.

yup other then that not a thing new here. gonna get my camera looked at later today, tomorrow gonna head over to manly and get my butt in gear to find a job and a place to live.

i sorta semi-started posting pictures on the net but its gonna take some time. i think theres 2 up there now you can check the site: http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u168/aliabeth/

much love for everyone!

alia

my camera...

...is BROKEN! :(

anyone care to donate to the 'buy alia a new camera' fund?

koalas!!!

so today made the long trek to the lone pine koala sanctuary! it was pretty darn cool! totally go to cuddle a koala (go to http://www.koala.net/photo/0903015594.htm if you dont believe me) got to feed kangaroos and wallabys and stuff it was pretty neat - except SOMETHING is up with my camera. i have to go home tonight and try and figure it out. i really hope its just some button i accidently pushed, cuz if its not...oops new camera! another $300 swimming down the drain. jebus.

otherwise - i bought my bus ticket back to sydney today. its another long one. leaving 2pm on sunday arriving 7am on monday so that will be loads of fun im sure!

tomorrow i think i'll just be lazing around brisbane. the hostel im at is too far away from anything so we'll see how keen i am on heading out.

love you all very muchly!

alia

brisbane....eehh

so i made it to brisbane - and to be honest im not very impressed. the hostel im staying at is in the middle of nowhere, quite a walk or bus ride to anything. i think i'll just be doing the touristy things (going to koala park and the man made lagoona) and then heading back down to SYD. i did like surfers paradise but from talking to everyone around me they found it very difficult to find a job, and i want to work somewhere thats not so busy. i think manly would be PERFECT. and although id rather not do the serving thing (like i do back at home) nows not the time to be picky about what kind of job i get. i have to get a job. no if's and's or but's. So another 20hr bus ride it is for me. leaving sunday evening at 4:30pm and getting into sydney at 10:30am on monday. i really believe that this is the best choice for me. and its really not so bad that i took a mini vacation before work started.

much loving everyone

alia

you live and learn

so i think i made a big mistake with coming up the coast to surfers. i was looking forward to going to brisbane to find a job until i learned today that brisbane dosent have a beach......WTF!?!?!?!?!?! i dont know if this is being picky or not but i dont think i can live for a month and a half in australia and not live near a beach. i think im gonna go back to sydney and work on manly beach. its a huge blunder in my trip, and wouldve been smarter to just stay there but you live and learn right? from what i have heard there arnt much as far as bigger towns up the coast and i will prolly have trouble finding work in one of those places. im trying not to blame julia but in the end i am. i think i wouldve been happy to stay here and work but she doesnt. im not going to make my trip about her so, after i leave here tomorrow (for brisbane, ive already booked my ticket and my hostel so i have to go now) im gonna text her to let her know that im going back to sydney. shes starting to drive me a bit nuts anyways. really nice girl but id rather have independence i think. and the two american girls i met at iep are staying in manly so maybe they are looking for another roomate ;) so this sets me back about $300 for airfare from brisbane to sydney and back. not such a huge deal.

i know im all over the place with my future plans but seriously - its really hard to make a decision on anything when you have no idea which is going to be the right one.

mamma i may be calling you tomorrow to hear your opinion on this

love love love

alia

the list

so ive decided to make a list of things i want to do while im here in australia - so i dont miss anything. But of course, if i do miss something that is a good excuse to come back. here it is:

• go to the lone pine koala sanctuary and cuddle a koala ($12 entry plus $15 for cuddle)
• go to australia zoo ($25 for entry? not sure)
• go sailing in the whitsundays (2 day and 1 night trips average around $300)
• snorkle in the great barrier reef (i think this can be combined with a whitsunday sail)
• see ayers rock (no clue what this might cost from alice springs)
• take 'the ghan' from alice springs to adelaid (i think the train ride is about $350)
• drive the great ocean road (hopefully i can catch a lift with someone but the greyhound costs $53)

and i think thats about it. of course added to that list is the obvious, get a job. and see my family in adelaid but that stuff is a given. let me know if you want me to add anything so you can live vicariously through me and i'll let you know how it goes

much love

alia

surfs up!

hello!

so today i had my first surfing lesson EVER! it was lots of fun! would've been more fun if it hadnt been so darn windy out! but i had a really good time, i will be hitting the waves again for sure in the near future!

tonight at the hostel we had a $5 all you can eat pizza (julia and i stole a whole ham and pineapple for dinner tomorrow!) and a 'dive-in movie' which is a big tv screen in front of the swimming pool - we sat in the hot tub and watched you, me and dupree. it was a pretty good time

tomorrow, julia and i are heading out to the rainforest with a friend of hers from here and then pubcrawl tomorrow night - ive booked my greyhound ticket and hostel in brisbane so im movin on, although i do really enjoy this hostel, and surfers paradise - its time to get settled down and find a job and a place to lay my roots for a little while. the hostel im staying in - i believe its called banana benders - has a 'job club' that posts job openings in the area, hopefully it will be really helpful.

thanks for all the love everyone! its good to hear from you all!

alia

another day in paradise

sorry about the double blog last time guys - the computer here isnt so fab...

today is day 2 in surfers and its a bit cloudy, the plan is just to do laundry and there is a pub crawl tonight i may indulge in, we'll see how the day goes.

trying to make plans for where to go as far as work goes. i want to go up north to maroochydore or noosa, i think maroochy and then if we dont find work there, then go to noosa i think thats a good idea. haha in my own opinion.

also been looking at what kind of work i could find in a zoo, like the lone pine koala sanctuary or australia zoo but applying onlne usually takes a while for people to get back to you.

so tomorrow im taking a surf lesson, im really excited! i think i may stay here until sunday and then head up to maroochy. julia is sort of wishy washy in her plans, as am i, so its hard to make a decision on anything.

either way, life goes on and on - soon enough i'll be home

love much everyone

alia

ps craig it doesnt matter how much i smile, you dont have to tip in australia so i wont make much, if any at all!

in paradise

so after a 16hr bus ride i made it to surfers paradise. it wasent so bad. slept pretty good for being on a bus. met up with julia at sleeping inn and all is pretty good. on the way here we passed through a town called byron bay. i was wishing i could hop off the bus and stay there, it looked so nice. but after talking with julia, we decided to head back down to byron together next week. i think i will head there on thursday (tomorrow or the day after i plan on going to surf school, wednesday a friend of julia's is taking her and i to the jungle for a few hours.) its very nice here, definatly paradise but very hot. the hostel is a converted motel so there is a pool, hot tub and on tuesday nights you can watch movies from inner tubes in the pool. pretty neat - tonight is a free dinner at a bar called shooters so im definatly gona take advantage of that. im starting to take notice of the money situation - NEED TO FIND WORK!!!

so julia and i are gonna see if we can work and get an apartment in byron - i dont really know what her plan is as far as how long she wants to work for or anything but, i have to start doing something thats for sure.

other then that, not much is new - its nice to have someone i know here but at the same time, i was getting used to being alone

much love

alia

ps i got to see the beginning of mardi gras parade yesterday - very interesting! lots of cute boys - too bad they're gay!

in paradise

so after a 16hr bus ride i made it to surfers paradise. it wasent so bad. slept pretty good for being on a bus. met up with julia at sleeping inn and all is pretty good. on the way here we passed through a town called byron bay. i was wishing i could hop off the bus and stay there, it looked so nice. but after talking with julia, we decided to head back down to byron together next week. i think i will head there on thursday (tomorrow or the day after i plan on going to surf school, wednesday a friend of julia's is taking her and i to the jungle for a few hours.) its very nice here, definatly paradise but very hot. the hostel is a converted motel so there is a pool, hot tub and on tuesday nights you can watch movies from inner tubes in the pool. pretty neat - tonight is a free dinner at a bar called shooters so im definatly gona take advantage of that. im starting to take notice of the money situation - NEED TO FIND WORK!!!

so julia and i are gonna see if we can work and get an apartment in byron - i dont really know what her plan is as far as how long she wants to work for or anything but, i have to start doing something thats for sure.

other then that, not much is new - its nice to have someone i know here but at the same time, i was getting used to being alone

much love

alia

ps i got to see the beginning of mardi gras parade yesterday - very interesting! lots of cute boys - too bad they're gay!

1 week in australia

so its been one week...wow - feels like 2 or 3 already

last night catherine and nora (two girls from america) came over to manly and had to spend the night in the 'party hostel' it was so busy and noisy in there i was thankful that i got the bed in my little cottage. it made me feel better. we hung out for a bit, went for icecream and then went off our seperate directions. i will email them to find out about their adventures for sure.

today i checked out of my hostel early and headed back to sydney central via the ferry. met up with barez and went up the sydney tower, saw some beautiful sights and sort of walked around all day. tonight is mardi gras so there are tonnes of people around. ate pizza hut all you can eat buffet. and thats about all - pretty standard last day. i have to pick up my stuff from the short - term storage locker at 8:00 though and my bus doesnt leave until 9:45 so that kind of really sucks. i was hoping to catch some of the mardi gras parade but i dont want to check it out while ive got a suitecase on my back.

i heard from jamie last night - he said he was taking his RSA today and then would call me after but sofar havent heard from him. i dont know if he knows im leaving tonight. prolly not. oh well - maybe i'll catch up with him later on

love love love

alia

goodbye manly - hello paradise!

so i made a decision today (even without hearing back from newcastle YHA about working in their hostel for free food and accom.) to go to surfers paradise. i decided to leave tomorrow because i dont think i could handle 2 more nights in the hostel im staying at. people there dont make me feel welcome. with an exception to one guy from morocco - he is the only person who has spoken more then a few words to me.

the only bummer part about that is - tomorrow night is MARDI GRAS! i didnt know it was mardi gras until berez, a guy i met from vancouver, told me after i had already booked my ticket and hostel in surfers that i should wait until sunday to leave. so now the decision is, do i stick around for mardi gras and stay at his place tomorrow night (which im not too sure about) or do i just leave. im leaning more towards just leaving. i dont really want to spend the night at berez's place. hes a very nice canadian guy but, with acception to a few guys (craig, chris you two being prolly the only two) boys are scum!

so i bought a one way travellers ticket that will go from sydney right up to cairns i have 183 days to use it and i cant go backwards on it so one decision made! next goal to accomplish is to get a job and a place to live and i cant do that until i get into surfers right!? right.

i spent most of today on the beach - walked around the wharf and was going to go into oceanworld but thought well, if you've seen one aquarium, you've seen them all - so just kept walking. came across a few deserted, smallish beaches and lied down for a few minutes at each one. went on a sort of 'jungle walk' and saw a whole bunch of massive huge spiders hanging from spiderwebs above me. gave me the heeby-jeebies for sure.

tonight cathy and nora (two american girls i met through IEP) are staying in manly so im really glad i'll have someone to hang out with tonight. tomorrow up early to check out and back to sydney central! gonna meet up with berez (and maybe jamie! i know he's in town but he has yet to call me. hes emailed a few times) and go to the sydney tower. busy busy day again but im really happy to make some changes, some decisions.

ooh and i ate mcdonalds today! they have a McOz burger here- i asked the girl if it was made with kangaroo meat and she said no. darn.

much love everyone

alia