It's Been Way Way Way Too Long!!!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long which means that this might be a long post.  And unfortunately I have done a ton since the last post which is why I also haven't posted in so long because I have been so busy.  So lets start with my time since September 19th- my last post.  That week my camera broke completely which really was unfortunate because I had one week to use a pass I bought three months ago that let me go to the Aquarium, Manly Oceanworld, Sydney Wildlife Park, and the Sydney Tower.  I was able to borrow a camera from a friend but I still don't have all the pictures I would have liked.  I really enjoyed all those places and got some amazing photos from the top of the Sydney Tower which offers a 360 degree view of all of Sydney. The other amusement places were also pretty sweet and I'm really glad I did them even though they are very touristy.
     The next weekend (last weekend) I went to Melbourne which is in another state, Victoria with two girls Ellena and Alex. We flew down there for only $90 round-trip and instead of paying for accommodation, we did couchsurfing.  Basically it is like a facebook page of sorts in which people have profiles that say that they have a couch available for people to sleep on while traveling.  So we found these two guys and one girl who were 19 and who lived in a really lively part of town. Don't worry it isn't as sketchy as it sounds.  They have people who have stayed with them and written reviews and it's a pretty legit thing because there are couches literally all over the world which allows students who can't even afford hostels to travel on a decent budget.  Now to be very gracious, the house was a wreck with holes in the walls and floors (a possum even fell through the ceiling wall and was running around the house).  But they were seriously the most amazing hosts ever and I seriously want to be best friends with them.  We saw a lot of the city, went to the Tim Burton Exhibit (which had the actual clothes that Johnny Depp wore in a lot of the movies), went to an aerial circus show, saw alleyways full of professional graffiti artists, and went on a road trip down the Great Ocean Road.
     The Great Ocean Road is a really long road that literally leads right along the ocean.  This was scary for the fact that we rented a car and I had to drive being the only one over 21.  Yes I had to drive on the left side of the road and yes I was on the right side of the car making it a little more tricky but overall not too hard.  The views were spectacular and since we were on our own, we were able to stop at all the places we wanted to to take pictures.  Literally we saw everything from flower fields, farms, grassy hills, ocean views, and rain forests (with wild koalas!).  After six hours of driving, we finally reached the Twelve Apostles which started out as a huge rock formation that eventually crumbled apart leaving 12 rocks out on the ocean shore.  Currently, only seven or eight are left standing due to weather corrosion.  But these rocks were INSANELY beautiful and truly spectacular.  The picture at the very very bottom is of the Twelve Apostles but the one to the left/above is just a picture that was taken along the road.
     As my facebook status says right now: "What causes one to get dirty looks at the Sydney Opera House Symphony performance, asked to move seats or leave entirely, and not sleep for hours until given Codeine? Oh that's right, my COUGH!!!!!"  So last week my cough was so so so much better and I only coughed about 50 times a day which is really really little compared to the last few months.  However, this past week I got a cough and this time it is a different kind where it is more my throat than my lungs.  So I went to a Beethoven music performance by the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House.  It was fabulous and only $25 for students if there are seats remaining the day of.  So we got amazing seats and I was literally in the dead center of the row.  I started coughing but only a few coughs every few minutes.  People around me started glaring at me, a random woman gave me her already half drunk water (which I drank because it was better than having people attempt to kill me during the performance- Sally I know you disapprove), and during intermission was told to "get my cough under control" and to "leave the concert completely and go home."  Then the man who told me to leave went up to my friends and said "if you were good mates, you would send her home."  Then the usher came up to me and said that "we have had a lot of complaints, even the stage manager said something."  Now I realize my cough was kind of loud but I was not the only one continually coughing.  He told me to go home basically and when I refused he said he would put me by a seat near the door and give my throat lozenges.  The whole second half I only coughed about twice and made sure to do it only during the really loud parts of the song as to not bother anyone.  Then two rows in front of me a fight broke out during the clapping at the end of the performance between two men until finally the man said "let's take this outside" and they left together.  I didn't even know that phrase "let's take this outside" was actually used; I always thought it was a joke saying, but clearly not.  Also, I never knew that symphonies and Beethoven drew such a rough crowd.  I mean these people are listening to classical music so I thought they would be classy people.  Clearly I was mislead by this word "classical."  Then last night I laid awake for five hours until 7 am due to coughing and finally watched a movie and was given cough syrup with codeine in it (which is served over the counter in Australia so don't worry I'm not some drug fiend) and slept til 3:30 pm.  So basically, the cough is back.  Although during my whooping cough research they said lot of people get it back for about two weeks or so and then it goes away completely.  In other words, my entire time in Australia will be infused with the whooping cough.  Awesome!

     This last week and this upcoming week will and have been all about school work. Basically my last class is on Thursday and I'll be done with work completely by November 1.  I have an exam coming up on Thursday for my International Relations class and I'm really really really really worried about it so if you think of it, send up a prayer for me and yes, I do mean this in all seriousness.  I have two 10 page papers to do as well but fortunately I'm half way done with one of them.  I leave October 24 for Tasmania and get back the 28th.  Then on the 30th I leave for Ayer's Rock and Darwin and get back the 11th.  So again, I will not be able to write much because I'll be gone for so long but I'll a post in in between my two trips so that it won't be as long as this one.