did anyone look for me on the price is right??  if you did and you saw me, please tell me.

in other news, the opera was so fun.  it was a strange story, with an even stranger ending.  but overall, the experience was something i couldnt pass up.  i got all dressed up in my little black dress and piled my ever-growing locks of hair atop my head and wandered out to see the opera.  i must say, chelsee and i looked beautiful.  unfortunately, not too many single and attractive men go alone to the opera so we had few to impress.  but it felt good to look nice.

i went to a sydney kings basketball game with some of the girls in the program.  it was fantastically fun.  granted basketball isnt really my sport of choice to watch, it was a nice dose of a different aspect of Australian culture that i felt i had to expose myself to.  rugby or cricket would have been much more appropriate exposure, i feel, but i still dont get cricket and rugby sadly is over.

last nite i went to a halloween party and got a second use out of my price is right t-shirt.  it was funny seeing what ppl were able to scrape together given their limited budgets.  after the party, some of us went out looking for more to do, but sadly found nothing but the 24 hour pizza place a  light spattering of rain.  finally got to bed, only to wake up to no voice and a time change, thanks to daylight savings.  i am now officially 14 hours behind the states, meaning catching up with anyone is pretty near impossible.

i miss all of you at home and hope you are all safe and happy.  please send me email or regular mail and keep me posted on the events of ur life.  here's the address in case you might need it:

Katie Durant
c/o Boston University
PO Box 123 Broadway
NSW 2007
Australia

take care and love always,

Katie

life is GREAT!!

tuesday: free dinner at a spanish tapas restaurant
wednesday: $7 Chinese w/ some lovely people
thursday: free pancakes on the rocks dinner w/ eileen!!! (sooooo good)
friday: off to see the opera
saturday: sydney kings basketball game/ date w/ george?!!  haha
monday: another free dinner someplace w/ the program director ppl
tuesday: staff mtg at school... always a good chance for a laugh or two
wednesday: leave for year 5's camp

i am so happy that i can barely find the words to describe it.  i am so relaxed and so care-free and so stress-free.  there's just something about being in this country that puts you at peace.  i feel like i just cant take in enough.  i love the way it smells after it rains;  i love the sights and sounds of the tunnel that i walk through every morning to catch the train... things from chinese dolls, to dijereedoos (sp?), to rappers, to guitar playing men stuck in the 70's; i love going to school everyday and talking with my class; i love my teachers and my supervisors and my school; i love the friends that i have made and i realize how much i love and miss my friends at home

i know it might sound like i am crazy or something, but this feeling of pure bliss is something i havent felt for a while.  i just know that everything, no matter what it is, is going to work out or get done. 

i have so many exciting plans and am making some of the greatest friends, and having some of the best experiences in my life.  perhaps finally realizing that everything in life, even if it hurts so much you think you are going to be missing a piece of yourself forever, happens for a reason.  everything has turned out better than perfect.

for all of you at home, i miss you terribly, but i will see you all soon enough.

living the aussie-favorite motto: NO WORRIES :)

love always, Katie

I just bought my tickets to the opera for next friday!!!

p.s. it's in the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE!!! in case you wanted to know and share my excitement!!

-love always, Katie

timeline of fun:

9.22- 9.25: Melbourne
10.2- 10.7: Cairns
10.19- 10.21: Year 3 outdoor education camp
11.2- 11.4: Year 5 outdoor education camp
11.11- 11. 12: Year 2 sleepover at Arden
12.8- 12.15: New Zealand
12.15- 12.19: Fiji
12.20: home for the holidays

this weekend has been quite an eventful one for me.
i booked my spring break on friday.  chelsee and i are going to cairns from sunday October 2 til friday October 7.  we got a packaged deal so while we are there we have a bunch of lovely little activities for us.  we get there on friday nite and take a ferry over to fitzroy island.  saturday morning we go sea kayaking and go snorkling on the reef.  we are going on a glass bottomed boat tour, perhaps checking out Nudey beach (only because the beach water looks absolutely splendid in the pictures we have, and because we want to see how many ppl will actually take advantage of an opportunity to be naked).  Swimming at cape tribulation and checking out daintree rainforest the next day.  daintree is the only spot in the world where the rainforest meets the reef.  now all this time it's just going to be me and chels, mind you... but we have superior abilities at knowing just the right pick-up lines

friday nite i went out with melis and gracie to the little italy of sydney.  we got a quick bite to eat and then everyone went home except me and melis.  we spent a little bit of time exploring the area before we decided gelato was in order, going along with the italian theme.  some man who was talking to the gelato chef (or whatever you call him) took our picture... i guess because we were so darn cute.  THEN we got VIP passes to this bar/nite club that was very exclusive and very lovely.  After ripping up the dance floor there for a bit, arthur called and invited us to join him and some other folks down at darling harbor.  So away we flew... taking some striking photos along our walk down and showing off some more of our fancy dance moves down by the harbor.

saturday melis, chels adriane and i went to the Rocks which is this really old an historic section of Sydney.  we went there because we were told by several ppl that breakfast at pankcakes on the rocks was simply to die for and i couldnt agree more.  i got devil's delight pankcakes which were 2 chocolate pancakes drizzled with chocolate sauce served with strawberries and ice cream.  i ate the entire thing even though it was enormous.  adriane then left us but the remaining three checked out the markets at the rocks and saw some pretty outrageous things like crocodile and kangaroo jerky and a backscratcher made from a kangaroo paw.  chels and i proceeded to walk the entire way back home which took a mighty long time, stopping in at some sales along the way.  at nite we went out with the SED crew to this area known as newtown.  we stopped in at this one bar mainly to use the bathroom, and while we were in there, chels and i heard some guys singing waltzing matilda.  the rest of our group decided they just werent feeling the place we were at, but chelsee and i decided to kick our pick-up skills into action and introduce ourselves to a table of australians seated in the back room of this place... and we broke out with "were you the guys singing waltzing matilda?"  a lame excuse for a pick up line, but it worked and we were invited to sit down and chat and participate in some impromptu karaoke.  the guys decided they were leaving and chels and i decided we should catch up with the rest of our group and unfortunately had to say good bye.  however, the nite kind of went for quite a crazy turn after that.  basically, our group didnt want to be found and so chels and i wandered around looking for zanzi-bar.  the security guard we asked for directions wanted to take a picture with us by his car... which was parked in a dark alley... we said no thanks.  we got lost and went way past the bar and ended up asking some greek guy how to get back.  once at zanzi bar we just got some snacks because they were giving them away for free and we decided to walk home.  the boys of the group caught up to us while we were taking a sit break on a bench but they didnt stay to chat long. soon after they left chelsee and i started walking again only to be harassed by some other scary guy who threw a cart when we ignored him.  so we ran all the way home... and had to get some ice cream to allay our fears.

today chels and i checked out the kite festival at bondi beach.  it was very lovely even though we nearly got taken out a couple of times by the kites and/or their strings.  we saw some guy playing a bagpipe made out of what looked like a deer... that was gross.

... wasnt it funny when...

oh... and on a side note, i got a response from christopher who's in kuwait and apparently doing fine.  thank goodness.

calling home tonite cuz i miss those guys like woah.

catch you on the flip side

love always,
Katie