mid-session already?!

We are halfway through the semester, can you believe it? My goodness, where does time go? Life has been wonderful lately, although moving at a very fast pace, leaving me feeling very sick. The past two weekends I have left the Gong to go backpacking, since the biggest sights of Australia are found in the wilderness. The first hike I completed was about 45 minutes north of Sydney. We took the train and hiked about 7 hours the first day (including one hour in the dark) and spent the night next to a gorgeous bay, however the insanely strong winds made for a very long night. We made the best of it, however and hiked to the next train station in the morning. I went with two guys and we definitely bonded in our misery, and it has made for some excellent stories. Last Wednesday was a Campus East Rubix cube party. You were required to find clothing of the 6 colors on a rubix cube that you didn't mind losing and at the party you would trade with people until you were all one color. It was a very fun night, definitely a lot of laughs. This weekend me and two other girls decided to take on the Coastal Track, a breathtaking hike that goes along the cliffs and beaches of the coast in between Wollongong and Sydney. Our final distance walked was around 32 kilometers. The hike was incredible, the views were dizzying, and my legs are still very sore. After these two excursions, I don't think I will be keen on eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich again for a very long time, as that is the only food that was taken on each trek. The weather has been fabulous after the incredible windstorm that took trees down last week, and all of my free time is now being spent at the beach. The weeks to come are full of lazy days in the sand :) On Thursday night we are leaving for Sydney in order to catch a 6 am flight to Perth Friday morning. After that, we are headed to Bali for a week, Darwin for the weekend and rounding the trip out by flying to Brisbane and camping our way down the coast to Sydney. I will return to Wollongong on October 4th. I am so excited for my adventure, I am only taking a carry on bag for 18 nights! I know I must really love this place, as I am already sad about missing my friends during these two weeks. Now it is off to finish some homework before dinner and a night at the local pub. Life is good! Love you all :)