Rock Climbing!

I got the chance to go rock climbing for $6 (regular price over $20) because it was an IH event! They had the price subsidized as a social event, so not only was the price low, but I got to do it with a bunch of awesome people too! Here are some pics!

Check in here. They have energy bars, soft drinks, etc.... The kids section is on this right. The yellow board in the middle of this picture is the trial board where an instructor teaches a group how to climb, harness yourself, etc.... After that lesson, you can go on with your partner to anywhere else in the gym.

Kid's zone.

I went to the grown up ones with my camera inside my shirt just to get this picture! That's my foot on the right! :D No matter how high you'll comment this to be, I will still say it's higher than it looks. The blue is the harness strapped onto your butt. It wraps around your thighs and waist, and you attach it to the pulley.

Here you can see that I've reached the very top! (Again, high, I promise.)  The scary part now is yelling at your partner that you want to come down. They scoot you down slowly if they're nice.

Everyone had a partner. While one climbs up (girl in this pic), the other (guy) stays on the ground, attached to the rope which is attached to the ground. 

Here I am climbing the top of a 3-sided wall! This one was my favorite climb.

YAAAAAY the group!

Exploring the city again!

So what is this? A bike... security... lock.. stand thing, OBVIOUSLY! Look how cool it is!... Alright just one more weird picture.

I decided I really needed coffee from the late night I had before + my obsession with coffee, so here's me having an iced coffee from the local Starbucks equivalent, Gloria Jean's.

There were several malls which were really cute. One of the main ones here that seem equivalent to Bloomingdales is David Jones, or Myers. I believe I'm in one of those malls when I took this picture. THE NEW MARC JACOBS PERFUME! I feel like with the near complete loss of internet access/freedom, I've become so separate from the world, but alas, here is something that makes me feel current again! The perfume itself smelled average. Cute display though!

Enjoyed some beautiful street art before the sun officially set. There were also a few street performers who were quite excellent. : )

Next we went to dinner at a wonderful Taiwanese restaurant! The ambiance was great because there was a live band playing. Food was great too, though I felt bad because we switched dishes, and I'm sure the one I picked that he ate wasn't as good. :(

Is this... the ma-la mein with ground pork? Forgot.

More typical Taiwanese beef noodle soup~~ <3

Still not done eating! Went to a Chinese dessert place for this Signature Herbal Jelly treat! Super good!

 

Came back in time for the IH Slave Auction, where residents offer anything (talent, services etc...) that they can, and auction these off for charity. I daringly offered hip hop dance classes, and they forced me to perform on the spot with no preparation! T__T Did a little choreo from Missy Elliot's Mommy because it was the only thing I remembered at the time. Sold for $10!

One guy offered (same as last year) to have water balloons thrown at him! People bought his water balloons for $0.50 each and we all moved outside to see the spectacle.  The host offered himself as well.

Just when I thought that would be the end of my night, I was convinced to go clubbing at the Ivy, a really high end club in the city. I went on the party bus and the night was just alright. The group of us moved to another bar with an upstairs club, which played way ghetto music as opposed to the trancy stuff, and I think I was one of the few people who didn't go back to the prissy Ivy because I loved the black music too much. Missing my pledge sisters at this point. <3

EXAMS!

(Let's pretend I posted this like 3 weeks ago... XD)

The time has come for... assessments! I just finished my last one, actually. I SURVIVED! Although I only slept 2 hours last night to rush this essay, I'M FREE, I'M FREEEEE!

What's coming up? Mid-semester break! I will be traveling with other International House people (group of about 8) up to Cairns, Magnetic Islands, and Whit Sundays for the next week, Sunday to Sunday! Buses, flights, and hostels have been booked! It's just time to count up my money and see what other activities I should do! Sky diving? Snorkeling or diving? If I'm just that broke, I will begin my journey towards trying to understand why people like going to the beach so much. These conversations usually go:

Them: Come to the beach with us!
Me: I don't know... What would I do there?
Them: I DUNNO MAN, LIKE CHILL!
Me: ... : ( How?
Them: Hm... nevermind.

I would probably just want to bring a book then... or play volleyball. : )

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Okay, onto new pictures! :D

Treating myself to the first time of Japanese food in Sydney!

Sushi to share...

Donburi!

Otherwise, went to The Rocks in the city, which is a really old part of Sydney. Enjoyed the markets and street food! Kabobs. :D

Then toured around some more, enjoying the wonderful weather!

Saw everyone having afternoon drinks, soooooo we went to get our current favorite Australian beer, Sun Down at Darling Harbour.

Yay for the group willing to go spend the day exploring instead of sitting around! :D Thanks, Robert!

Chinese tea garden! Beautiful pond, trees, and rocks, but above it you can see the high rises and traffic. Kind of kills the mood.

Good flower idea, Danny! And then Jelly's behind, as Robert takes a picture of her sniffing the bush of flowers. : )

Exiting! Pretty rocks~

Next... CHINATOWN, for their street markets! Cheap stuff everywhere!... False. Cute Asian things everywhere, for still sadly expensive prices. -____-U So upsetting.

Made me wonder if I should have studied abroad in HK or something... x)

And that was the night! :D Will update more later!

Guided explorations!

So a couple of days back while I was sick, I decided that it might be a good idea for me to go jogging... you know, for health reasons! Sounded like a good idea to keep in shape and to get my heart running. I asked around and discovered Centennial Park, which is a park right next to the race track, which is about 10 minutes jogging distance from campus. Surprise! I didn't get too lost! :3

I may or may not have gotten on those swings later... 9__9 Jk, I actually never got a chance to play around because there were kids and couples everywhere taking up space. :(

 

There were so many ducks hiding under the shade of the bridge.

And then it's party time in IH again! This time it's a beer pong tournament... I lost both rounds. :( You're out once you've lost twice. Here's what happened to me. My partner, Silvia, and I played a couple who knew nothing about the game. Fair enough, I explained. We were killing them at first, then all of a sudden we were at two cups for us and one more for them. They shot and made it. So rebuttal. I turn to my partner who goes first, and I say "No pressure! It's all good." She makes it, obviously. So now the pressure is on me.... I shoot... and miss. :( 

The second time the same scenario came up. Two left for us, one for them. They make it. This time I shoot first. I MAKE IT. (*little dance time*) Partner shoots and misses. D: Oh well!  

So this Saturday I went to the city with a friend to do some shopping and exploring. I finally got to see Chinatown! It was pretty darn Canto there, which is nice after hearing so much Mandarin everywhere. It was actually quite clean compared to the other China towns that I have been to. 

The best part was seeing these little shops set up under a building. Reminds me of the markets near the Asian subways! This isn't a great picture, but I hope you get the idea. I saw these SUPER cute kangaroo and koala keychains, but.. was discouraged to get one. :( Kind of regret it nowww. I enjoyed the rows and rows of Lakers and Heat jerseys, caps, and sweaters though. :D

Um, I forget what this is. :)

We later came across this SUPER cool park which reminded me of Golden Gate Park. :D I needed to climb this thingy! Here's me posing coolly while freaking out about how high I am. Don't be fooled by the level angle that this picture was taken in, the guy who took it is kind of tall. .__. I got down safely though! Not before POSSIBLY swearing in front of all the kids around me. :)

Um... birds. :) In Darling Harbor.

I walked on water to get to the middle! Just kidding, there are two strips of spirals that don't have that much water on it. Otherwise, the water on this structure swirls around very beautifully. :D

Pay your respects to the Queen! Here's a statue of her outside the Victoria mall? o_O It's very gorgeous inside, but it basically sells super high class stuff.

Looking for a specific shop at the mall? Check out this video of us using a touch-screen stand to help us find our way!

After spending an eternity shopping, we came back outside to see the beautiful city night lights. Here's a pic of me in front of the official Chinatown entrance. My camera refuses to turn on flash recently, so... :/

Ajisen (?) ramen! It's that famous global ramen brand... I ordered tan tan noodles, mild! The noodle that night made me WAY too happy... XD Enjoyed this meal with Ayumi Hamasaki's concert playing at the nearby TV.

An interesting alleyway that had beautiful cloudy artwork on its walls. Wanted to explore it, but then realized how shady it still was.

All of a sudden we're catching a late night showing of Ted, so I finally give into my coffee craving! You know, so I can survive the night. :D Got my classic, peppermint white mocha. Sweet as hell though. :/ Btw I may look a bit strange because it was pouring outside, and we basically got caught in the rain a whole bunch of times. D:

We have time to kill before Ted! Off to the harbor again to see the bridge and opera house in all its glory! This is an absurdly horrible picture, but trust me, it was dazzling. Plus the misty drizzle was making things look even more sparkly. :D Ran through the rain again!

Overall, was SUCH a great night! Came back to eat packaged ramen and look over my new goodies! Here's me the next day wearing my new Zara sweater and white flat shoes! I look the same as usual, you say? My style is never gonna change.. :/ PLAIN GIRL FOR LIFE.

Mostly food...

YES, starting off a post right with food once again! This is cake from 800 Degrees, the Taiwanese bakery (I think). I know we have one in LA and all too, so this isn't particularly special, but it was nice because it was a gift! :D The lighter one is a strawberry something, and the darker one is a... chocolate one. LOL I forgets. :)

I am sick. Yup, I'm actually in the recovery stage already because I haven't blogged in so long. In any case, a friend took me to a Canto restaurant and we got served soup! :) It was pretty good! (notbadface.jpg) Reminds me of home, kinda. :D

There were a ton of delicious things on the menu, but I decided on fish fillet porridge. It was good though!

Is this selling anywhere else? This is a Coke glass from McDonald's; you get this free if you order ... a large meal? LOL Don't worry I didn't order it, I was given it by a fatass friend. ^___^
 

 

Coffee here is expensive, as I have already mentioned. BUT! The other day I was walking along our Westwood-type village and saw this sign! FREE COFFEE?! Is there a catch?  So I went into find out, obviously.

NO CATCH!! Cappuccino, here! :) But it is through this cup of coffee that I discovered my sore throat... The sugar was quite agitating. :(

I also went to King's Cross to have Burgerlicious. It was aite. LOL

The UNSW Exchange program put on a BBQ for us at the beautiful Library Lawn. :) How thoughtful. I'm proud to say I started the queue. xD I was hungry... 9__9 The grill is pretty neat though, it's stationed here, and the sign says you can just use it whenever to BBQ, unless an official UNSW group has signed up for it and needs it.

Here's my hotdog on toast, and my shadow! And my ultra-pale wrist.

Time to go back to stressing out over upcoming assignments! T______T