Just Like Home

Last week I had a lot on my mind so it was very nice to get away for the weekend. It was ANZAC Day (Australia New Zealand Army Corp... I think) on Friday so we didn't have Uni. ANZAC Day is like the American Veteran's day from what I understand. Either way, I went to a small town (90,000 people) called Bendigo with my flat mates, Alex and Katrina, then Jojo and her flat mate, Erin. Alex and Katrina grew up near each other in small towns (Alex is from Bears Lagoon and Katrina is from Jarklin) which are just outside Bendigo and about 10 minutes from each other. Alex's dad is a sheep farmer and Trin's dad has both sheep and cattle. It was so nice to be out in the middle of nowhere again. We all know I'm a country girl at heart! I was longing for my cowgirl boots....

We took the train to Bendigo where Alex's mom picked us up and we had a quick tour of their farm. We then went to a family friends to see their lambs and horses. I know I hate animals, but these lambs were so incredibly adorable. I took a liking to a particular lamb named Nicholas. I fed him from a bottle and everything! Australia is changing me... seriously. This is a prime example. But moving on, the next day I had a day in the life of a true Aussie. First we met Katrina's family and saw their cattle. Then, we went to watch Alex play Netball (it's like basketball with no dribbling and no backboard... more or less) and the local guys play footy. The tradition is to eat a meat pie with sauce (ketchup) while watching footy and this I did! It's a brilliant sport, I'd love to play. I kicked the ball around afterwards and even made a goal. I don't remember if I've talked about it yet... I don't think I have. It's a weird mix of American football, rugby, soccer, etc. I've been to 2 professional games and luckily I sat near an Australian at the first so I understand the majority of the rules. I might understand it more than American football even! Basically, there are 3 posts and if they kick the ball between the middle 2 it's a goal worth 6 points but if it goes on one of the 2 sides, it's only worth one point. There is no throwing; they can kick or "handball" the ball to each other. To handball is like serving underhand in volleyball. Sounds fun, huh?

It was just so nice to spend the weekend with a family and away from the city. We even made ourselves a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, baked beans and on Sunday morningI had such a good time and I love those girls so much! When we got back on Sunday night we had what we like to call a "Foyer Party" where we sit in the entryway to our flat and curl up on the floor and watch DVDs on the laptop while eating a lot of junk food. It was a perfect night. We watched one DVD, made our wonderful dinner consisting of the traditional Sunday treat of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and then watched 2 more DVDs while eating caramel and peanut butter Hershey Kisses. Does life get any better than that?