June 30th - The next round of Farewells

I fly out for Ohio in 4 hours. Where I will spend a couple days with my Ohio friends and then I will head up to SLT for the month of July.
I most likely won't have internet for this month so I will not be updating my blog but I will be taking lots of photos so I will update it when I get back to WA on Aug. 3. I will be home for about 13 days and then I will head back to Ohio for band camp and then start school at the end of August. Hope to see you somewhere along the way.
Love, Julie

June 28, 2008 - A day at My favorite lake with some of my favorite people.

The Brezicha's spent the day at "camp wittenberg" which was so much fun to see

everyone and spend the day on the water. I stayed up till 3:30 this morning to get my boaters card that is now mandatory in WA and it was SOO worth it.

June 27, 2008

I hung out with Laurel and Shae and we found some neat dresses in a friends closet to try on.

June 24, 2008- Meeting up with Ange in Seattle

It was so nice to get together with Angela back in America. We met at U. Village for lunch so I could pick up some of my stuff she brought home for me. It is crazy two days ago we were both in the middle of winter!

June 23,2008 An Evening with Alyssa

I was very impressed with myself because not only did I navigate through

Seattle by myself but I didn't hit anyone or get hit and I stayed on the correct side of the road.

June 22, 2008 - Welcome Home BBQ

One of my favorite families. I was STOKED that Calvin remembered my name.
Shae and Lola checking out my Australian Photo Album

June 21, 2008

June 20th The longest day EVER!

A nice suprise.

June 20th Farewell

Farewell Menzies! It was the best farewell that could have been. It was sad but also nice. I received a signed flag that was really neat and I really appreciated. There were tears shed.

Farewell Land Down Under

Well my time in Australia is coming to a close. I now have less than 12 hours on the ground. Which is crazy! It is amazing how quickly this semester has passed by. It feels like it was February just yesterday. I have had such a Sweet Sweet Wonderful ( I could go on) time here and have LOVED every minute of my time in Australia. I look forward to seeing you all soon some within hours some within days or potentially months but I am still one step closer to seeing you! Farewell from Down Under!
Love, Julie

June 19,2008 Final Day

I spent the morning watching Lookign for Alabrande which is a really good Australian coming of age film. Then more packing. It is amazing how long it takes to pack up and decide what to keep and leave. After lunch Ange and I went to the mall and did some last minute Australian Shopping. I got Vegemite to share with all of you. :) Then some more hanging out and an extended dinner time. We then watched Australian Rules and Steve's Skydiving video and flight of the conchords. There obviously wasn't much to do becuase so many people still had to study but I did a lot of photo transfering. The photo is of my "revenge" on Simo for his part in mondays prank. He had just cleaned his room so we filled his made bed with the foam balls so when he pulled back his sheets he found a pleasant suprise. We told him that we had been ponded so we got to miss out on traveling with wet clothes in our suitcase.

June 18, 2008

It was a relaxed packing day, I spent the whole afternoon getting my room all packed up. Which was super fun to do with all the little white foam balls from yesterdays prank. After dinner we had our final bible study/ prayer night which was really good. Then we headed off to The Ranch which is a pub near by for the last time ever! As my friends like to keep telling me..

June 17, 2008 Pranks and Shopping

I woke up to what I thought was a steam cleaner and then there was a loud knock so I open the door and have a whole bunch of little white balls fly into my room. I knew it was Sly because I had seen the bag of foam bean bag chair balls in his room but foolish me thought he was going to stuff a bean bag. So I spent the next 45 min cleaning up little Styrofoam balls. Then I headed into the city to do some last minute shopping with Kate and Diane it was a fun day and a good use of time because everyone at RMC was still studying. I got some good Souvenirs and a couple new shirts. Kate and I came back and I watched some Ed before dinner. It was great because today was vacumming day so the custodian was extra nice and actually vacummed my room even though it was a little messy with styrofoam and stuff. Dinner was great we stayed and chatted for about 2 hours then we headed to the movie theater where we watched ‘What happens in Vegas’.

June 16, 2008

I woke up to study and I called my dad for Fathers Day and had a lovely chat. Then I headed off to my exam. Which I think I totally rocked, I knew all the answers I needed to and I felt I answered all of the questions well. The only thing that gave me a little fright was the fact that I had 6 pages left in my booklet and other testers were asking for a second booklet but I did only need about 5 points out of 30 so I wasn’t to worried. Then I went and helped my friend Julia practice her hearing testing so she practiced on me and I came to find out that I potentially have hearing damage that isn’t bad right now but if I continue with my music at the same decibel it could be damaging. So I will be doing some volume changing. Then I got to spend the rest of the night hanging out with friends, watching Ed, and having some good convos. :)

June 15, 2008 -Why Would you have this in your Car?

I spent the afternoon studying for my politics test then Steve and I went to Hillsong’s evening service. Which was one of the last things I wanted to do that I hadn’t gotten a chance to do, it was really cool they just planted a Hillsong Church in Cape Town South Africa and it was their first service ever and they did a video feed with the City Campus and with the Cape Town church so all three of us were communicating and it was just AWESOME to realize how God’s church is a global mission and how the church can come together with the help of technology and encourage each other it was pretty sweet! The photo is of a car I saw in Hillsong’s parking lot. It kind of creeped me out. Then Ange and I handed out our modge podge picture frame gifts we have been working on now for several weeks and it was fun to see everyone’s reactions, they were a hit :) There is now only 5 days until I am home in WA!

June 14, 2008 - Exam & Fun!

For Grandma

My exam was at 9:20 and it went well. I knew to much, Everyone was giving me crap about not studying yet I did fine, Well at least I think I did, we will see but I knew all of the answers and discussing it with others our answers were the same and I am pretty sure I only needed about 5 % on it to pass the class and I think I got at least 5% for putting my name on it and showing up J I then spent the afternoon doing modge podge and watching the TV show Ed. Then 13 of us went into the city as a good bye Julie. Which was really fun to just spend my last weekend here with all of my great friends. We went to Luna Park which is kind of like Coney Island but way less exciting and it was really empty because it is winter here. The funniest part of that was Steve stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and he flipped out and he pulled out this ‘thing’ and threw it on the ground and it was really gross and as he pulled it out he realized it was a dread as in one of Lukes Dread locks that he cut off and put in Steve’s jacket the night a few weeks back when we did all of our pranks so pretty much it was disgusting! After Luna park we walked across the Harbor Bridge and then went to Pancakes on the Rocks which is a place that only sells pancakes and crepes but they are really fun. We were going to head to a pub to end the evening but we got to the bouncers and I had left my id in my pants pocket of the pants I had changed out of so I couldn’t get in so we headed back to RMC for the night which was a good idea because a couple of the girls were tired and had to get up for work in the morning.

June 13, 2008 Study, Study, Study

I have spent the day studying which is pretty much my least favorite thing to do. I would rather spread cow manure… just for a nice mental picture of how much I don’t like it. I feel like I should maybe get stressed a little because my exam is tomorrow but… I just don’t like to be stressed, and either I know it or I don’t and I attended all my classes so I think I am good to go. I took a break at lunch and went to the mall and made my purchases with a friends discount. I got some neat stuff, new clothes. Then I had a lovely chat with my friend Julia and she is a Speech Pathologist (I believe) so Steve was complaining about not being able to hear so she went and got her scope thingy and I am sitting there and was like “can I have a look” because doctors don’t let you do that so I got to see in it. It was pretty exciting/ interesting. Who knew that is what an ear canal looked like J The other photo was just to representative of today to pass up. Amy is trying to edit Steve’s paper while we were eating dinner, it didn’t work too well but it shows how everyone is study, study, study. I annoy them with my lack of stress mentality.

June 12, 2008

I should have been studying but… I just didn’t really see the need I studied for about an hour which was plenty. I went to the mall with some girlfriends and did some picking out of clothes to go back and buy tomorrow. I learned how to apply eye liner, something’s I just never have learned, and I watched a couple episodes of Ed. When we got back to Menzies the fire alarm was going off so we sat and watched the show. It is funny because all of the RA’s coming running to see where it is then they have to go check it out and then they announce that there is no need to evacuate (most of the time) so this is Johnny announcing in a non normal baritone voice that there is no need to evacuate and then the firefighters came it was very exciting.

June 11, 2008

I spent the day doing washing and crafting and bludging (wasting) away the day. It was great. Tonight was the State of Origins Game 2 of a 3 part series of NSW vs. Queensland. It is now tied 1-1 NSW got their butts kicked!! 0-30! It was bad. The photo is of everyone doing a 8 minute abs video from the 1980’s that starts with “Hi Gang, Are you ready to get abs?” by some fake tanned guy in a leotard….during half time.

June 10, 2008

I spent the day having fun :) I went to the mall twice running errands and visiting friends and I worked on my crafting project. After dinner I watched Cloverfield which is a sci fi thriller about aliens in NYC. Not my choice of movies but Vinnie was really excited about it. Vinnie is a little nerdy obviously. This is him showing off one of his alien sci-fi books.

June 9, 2008

We were suppose to go to breakfast with his church at the beach but it got rained out so instead we slept in and then drove to Seal Rocks. At seal rocks his parents had to go back to Taree because his mom had a student coming over (she does music lessons) but Kerri, Sly and Pam (a friend of Sly’s sister that joined us for the ride back) did a little more sightseeing on our drive back up to Sydney. We saw the tallest tree in NSW, had dinner with Kerri’s dad and then made it back to Sydney by 9:30. It was a long drive but a fun time. When I got back it was good seeing everyone back at Menzies it was kind of a nice first test leave. Then Ange and I were hungry so we made ourselves macaroni and cheese which I brought with me and I just haven’t had time to cook.

June 8, 2008 - Taree, Australia's Finest

We woke up and went to the Baptist Church with his family then we came back had lunch; It was pretty much the exact routine as being home in WA. They turned the lights off at the church so that is how we knew it was time for us to leave ;) then we drove around to see more of the Australian Countryside. The weather was raining so we weren’t too excited to get out of the car but we did a little walking around. We got back to his house had dinner and then we played cards, and scategories with his parents which was fun.

June 7, 2008

I packed for Taree and then Ange, Amy and I went to the mall and took coffee and vistited all of our friends that had to work the whole long weekend because of the Queen’s B-day. Then Kerri, Sly and I went to Sly’s Soccer game and then continued on our way to Taree. Sly(Andrew) was going home for the weekend to pick up his passport so he invited me along so I could see more of Australia. We drove for 3 hours and arrived at Taree at around 9:30 chatted awhile with his parents and then we headed off to bed.

June 6, 2008- Valedictory Dinner

I woke up and started editing my papers. I had them all turned in by 3:30 and they weren’t even due till 5 (See I am not a procrastinator) then I got ready for the evening. It was RMC’s Valedictory/ Farewell Dinner. It was great fun I gave a short speech which was good and just enjoyed being in the company of good friends and we took lots of photos! Here is my Speech (yes its that short it can be on here.) “For those of you who haven’t met me, my name is Julie Brezicha, JB, Brezichacha, or yank depending on who you ask. I have been at Menzies for one semester and I have learned so much from my time here. Before coming to Australia everyone would be like why did you pick Australia and my response was because they speak English. Little did I know that in fact Australia doesn’t speak English but another language all together. I have also learned that I am a sepo or Septic tank, thank you Johnny Williams, or that everyone needs to “fire up, Fire up!” Andrew Sylvester, I have learned that all American athletes are cheats thank you Simon Massey and that bonds jocks come in all colors. I have also learned that some people play touch footy just to get a feel. But most of all I have learned that Aussie’s make great mates. I have loved every minute of this learning experience and I hope you all think of me when the Star Spangled Banner is playing at the Olympics and America is taking home all of the gold’s like usual” Obviously there are a lot of inside jokes, but I think you can get the idea. I figured I had to go for the laughing angle otherwise I would cry and I refused to do that, though I almost did when we all circled around the dining room holding hands and sang Auld Lang Syne.

June 5, 2008

I did study all day! I have 3 papers due tomorrow 1 worth 40% of my grade on Australia’s education system and weather it is and equalizing agent or just reproduces the social hierarchy. And then 1 on Justice Higgins and his values that shaped work place relations in the 1920’s and how they are still affecting work place stuff today, like overtime, sick leave, a minimum wage etc, and 1 on how the gold rush affected colonial Australia! Exciting I know J It’s hard because I can’t fill in with stuff I know from dad, or listening to people chat, or past schooling because I have never heard this stuff before. But it has been good and I have learned a lot. I feel like I should now take a refresher course on American History. (Especially because one of the Aussie’s beat me at an American Trivia Game, which I don’t know if I will ever live down) I took a break from study in the evening to do what is important to me! Build relationships J I had Bible study and then we went to the uni bar. I met a former RMC gal that was visiting from the states. And It was fun to see her interact because I can so see myself being similar to her in continuing the relationships I have made here.

June 4, 2008 I am not in WA so why is it raining!!!

For those of you that I didn’t feel any sympathy for I am sorry! The weather has turned to crap here. It just dawned on me when I get off the plane in June I will have to switch from my jeans and jacket to shorts !!! YEA!! It rained all day! I don’t think it stopped at all that on top of doing study all day doesn’t put me in a great mood. But I got over it at dinner. We just had really good convos that put the smile back on my face. Then I had bible study which was good. We prayed instead of studying which is always a good thing.

June 3, 2008 I’m apart of a Myth for Myth Busters

Tuesday’s normally all I have to say is I had class boo… but not today! I received to assignments back that were worth 40% of my grade each and I did great on them so that was exciting. I only need C’s because my grades don’t transfer and I got B’s so that is always pleasant and then I was in my media lecture and one of the assistant producers of myth busters came in and explained that they were looking for people to use in one of their experiments. They were trying to bust the myth as to whether you find people more attractive when you are drunk. They needed people to use to compare. So they took our picture and then I guess would have people rate it being sober and not sober. I am not really sure I will have to wait till the show comes out. I only did it for the free t-shirt. I know I won’t make the cut (which was kind of planned) because you couldn’t smile when they took your photo and I smiled… I couldn’t help it. My friend Steff was taking photos for me and I was too excited to not smile. However a smile would run the validity of their tests so you most likely won’t be seeing me on myth busters but who cares I have the sweet t-shirt to show I was used as a Guinea pig on the show J