A bit of our trip

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All good things must come to an end.

The only thing I have learned from my ivy league experience is how many things are more important. I can't believe it is all over. Just in one simple conversation. Things can't be more involved than they are. I am getting to attached. I am leaving in two weeks. I can't be any more attached than I already am. I don't mean to cry. I don't mean or want to be so upset. This is just how it is going to be. I don't want to leave you. How am I supposed to be sure that I am going to find some one better or even as good as you. I was so happy. I have never felt like that before. I have never been so sure of someone and the way they felt about me. I know that summer flings are meant to come and go, but I still do not want it to go. I don't want it to be over. I want this summer to last forever. I have been so comfortable with my self and the way I act. I have been accepted for just being me. I knew that I shouldn't just fall, fall so hard for someone so fast. It was just so great I didn't even mean it. I have never had a guy hold me and cry. Cry just as hard as I was crying. I have never felt like that before. I have been crying over meaningless guys since I was in sixth grade. Now I know how dumb and stupid I was. Now I don't know even how to express the feelings that I have except for the same way I have been expressing them all along, and now they don't mean what I want them to mean. I have so may things that I want to say to him, so much to make heard. These things will never be said. No one will ever get to meet him or know the way I felt or what we did.

He wouldn't kiss me. It is better for him to just end it all and completely cut off all contact. Turn your head as if I don't even matter Hug me and tell me it will be ok, but then completely change the way things used to be. I guess that is for the best though. It must take a real man to be able to not give in to the temptation of a female laying right next to him. To not even kiss her, when you know how much he loves her.

Think of the good stuff

So I am sitting here thinking about how depressed I am going to be when I get home. I knew that I was going to be sad, but now I am just thinking of how much I am really going to miss it out here. I should not have met someone. The worst part is that he is absolutely perfect for me. Everything in a guy that I am always hoping for, but on the other hand on the weekends he does a lot of stupid shit like immense drinking and some variations of drugs. So, I guess what I am learning and taking home with me is what I want in a guy, minus a few major attributes. I have had so much fun hanging out with him it is ridiculous.
My birthday was amazing. Heather, Sam, Abel, Anthony, and I walked down the street to this awesome fresh fish place. We had prawns and dori fish and muscles. Prawns are HUGE shrimp, they are pretty scary actually. Heather kissed one just to be gross:) We took it all down to the beach and sat and ate it together. It was so great. They even snuck and bought me a chocolate creme roll when I was right there and I had no idea! We all just laid on the beach and thought of what an awesome time were having all together in Australia. I look like a total hippie.
The night before we had cooked the boys a huge dinner because it was Abel's last weekend. He had to move back up to Airlie beach because there is no work here for a carpenter at the moment. I made them chicken rice and lots of sauteed veggies to put on top. We lit candles and drank some wine and it was amazing. After dinner the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole was playing on the ipod. Pampy got me up and we slow danced together to it. Heather and Sam noticed that I was on the verg of tears and quickly joined it to make it a slow dance party with Abel coming soon after. The five of us are a perfect match together. Before Abel left we sang as loud as we could "Now I've had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you" from the movie dirty dancing. We even taped it. We are all really going to miss Abel.
That Friday night we went to Brisbane to see a show and it was really fun. Partying in the city is so different from partying here in Mooloolaba.
This weekend on Friday night we took the bus and train south to the Gold Coast. It took 6 hours to get there but it was totally worth it. We went out to some crazy clubs and did even crazier things on the walk there and on the beach. IT was so fun. Then after 2 hours of sleep, Heather, Sam and I went out to the beach to catch some rays. Well, on the way there we got side tracked by this wonderful dress shop. 200$ and 4 dresses later we made it out to the sun. It was so breath takingly beautiful. The sun was so strong that we were getting burnt with in minutes. We came back Saurday night because we didn't want the hassle on Sunday when we hae so much work to do. And that was a very good thing since it took us 7 hours to get back! Yuck transfering busses.
I think that I am going to be so sad because right now I am constantly surrounded by two amazing girls. Its so nice to have two people with you all the time that are so amazing. When I get home I wont have any of my friends any more. Jenn moved to China. Cassie is at Cornell. Laura got a job teaching up in Saranac Lake (which is awesome by the way). Emma is at Ithaca. Eliana is in Florida. Ancolie has 3 boys under the age of two. And Rob will be back at school. It will be really cool to hang out with mom and all, but its just not the same. I am looking for different types of jobs right now, like nannying and tutoring so that I can be kinda flexible and hopefullymake some quick cash. I don't even know where to live. I want to move away, I just don't know where to yet. I will hoefully get some good pictures up. I'll work on it.

Year 11 camp

I have not been in the mood to write lately at all. Its like I am doing so much awesome stuff, but I just don't feel like putting it down into words. I still write in my journal for school, but I don't really write in it for any of the outside stuff. Strange Anna Banana.
So the last three days I was at year 11 camp. It was awesome. There were 120 year 11 students at a place called camp Maranatha building their leadership skills. I got to build mine to. There was 11 students in my group A2 or Chatoas as we named our selves. We did a fire dance and many other activities together. At my school there is a huge variety of international students and all of those students must attend camp. My group had two Italian a German one Chinese one Brazilian and 6 Australian. We had so much fun together. On the first day we got to do the high ropes. I got to do it because I pretended I was a student and the guys in charge had no idea until I started flirting with one of them and gave myself up. They let me do it any way though and I was sooooooooooooooo scared but I climbed all the way up and jumped and made it across all of the ropes. It was nuts. A student Tod was my partner and he was awesome. I will put up pictures later, I'm not on my computer right now. We also had to do an amazing race type game, a few students were really into it at first, but they were really tired so it was rough towards the end. It might have helped if they didn't stay up all night. The guys snuck in some bottles and the girls kept trying to sneak out. I wouldn't have cared so much, they just kept me up to. The third huge activity that we did as a group was called rock and water. You have to find your center of balance or center of gravity and its just really cool. At the end we all broke a piece of wood in half.
All together there were nine groups and my group came in third after all of the activities. Which is sweet! Last night there was a dance and they taught all sorts of Bush dances that were soooooo fun. Then they were like, Hey American girls, teach us an American dance! So Meredith and I taught Cottin Eyed Joe. We taught it to a few teachers before the dance started and then a group of like 5 teachers started it and we got almost ALL of the students to join in. Then the teacher who was in charge told everyone to turn around and do it again so that the back of the room could be in front. So I ran all the way around and came up in front again so I could lead the kids in the back. I was so into it all of the teachers were laughing histerically and having a great time. We did a whole lot of group dances including The Time Warp and Macarana. It was an excellent night. Oh I forgot the theme of the whole camp was cowboys and indians so I was of course completely decked out most of the time including face paint. It was a great couple of days and now I feel a lot closer with a lot of the teachers. I'll put up more pictures soon I promise. I'm going for a run now

Mom wanted to know what I wore out last night. I figured I would give you a small taste :)


And this was last weekend... I figure I should up hold some sort of ridiculousness here. It also helps so less guys talk to me... That doesn't mean I stop talking to them though! They just walk away :( haha

The last few weeks

So it has been a ridiculous three weeks. The trip was awesome. I did some pretty freaking amazing stuff. I am constantly exhausted now because I want to do so much stuff. Teaching the first week was really intimidating but there are some awesome teachers in m department. I am teaching 4 of the hardest maths classes in the department, and one more tenth grade class. Has anyone ever heard of annuities? That is what I taught today. Crazy. I will definitely right more about my trip soon. Right now everything is in my head and I am savoring it there for a little while longer before I want to talk about it. This past weekend we went to the zoo. The Australian Zoo home of the famous crocodile hunter. It was awesome. Not only did I hug a Koala, but I fed an elephant, laid on the back of a (fake) crocodile, and of course, spooned a kangaroo!!! On July 4th I went White Water Rafting. The day before that I had snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Just days before that I went on a tour of Magnetic Island with my roommate Heather. Then I got to dance on stage with some aboriginals, well cause I'm Anna Sullivan so I invited myself on stage :)

We made small pizzas for dinner tonight, amazing. We went running together just before that. Today at school the female teacher that I am working with was absent. She had asked me to prepare lessons for the two classes that I am in with her for today so I was able to totally teach them because she wasn't there. There was another teacher in the room who was supposed to be the sub, but she came 20 minutes late so she just sat in back. At the end of the lesson she wrote a lot of really great comments about how I was teaching. THEN she brought it to the principal! He came in during my last period and told me congratulations! In front of my teacher too. Yeah so I have two teachers, a guy and a girl. The guy is my real actual teacher, but I also have another teacher and I am in two of her classes. Alright time to write some lesson plans, then bed.

And I of course wake up way to early for school. I take a picture of the sunrise every morning...

two weeks

Google this shit
Rockhampton
Emu Park
Townsville
Magnetic Island
Cairns
GREAT BARRIER REEF
Longreach
Barcaldine
And I am not sure where else.

A bit more fun

So tomorrow we leave at 7 a.m. for the two week trip. We are backpacking all the way up to Cairns and swimming the Great Barrier Reef, and then back down through the outback. It is going to be sweet. I wont have any internet or phone in that time though. So today was sweet. My last Saturday of nothing really to do. It was beautiful out and I finally got some sun. Good thing I have SPF 70 with me!! I went surfing with Anthony and his friend, so I brought my crazy friend Sarah along with me. She is awesome. She is a nationally known pole vaulter and is the most jacked female I know besides Cassie Kovac. We both did really well, and the invited us over to have some shrimp on the barbie. I'm gonna bring my roommates with me so that we don;t have to buy dinner tonight:) I am craving tuna fish, but I can't have it because then I would have to buy a can opener and mayonnaise which is a lot of effort and money. Yesterday was my last day of class at the University so now time is really going to start to fly. Especially after this two week trip. I am finally looking forward to student teaching again. Its good to learn from past experiences, but at the same time I wish I didn't always have them.
I am not feeling to homesick. Its just frustrating when you wanna talk to someone but you know that you can't. I wonder if anyone has skype. That would be great. My roommate has it and a webcam so I can use that if I want. People are being so weird about email these days. My roommate Heather's mom never responds to her emails, and my other roommate Sam's boyfriend if being dumb too. I feel like we used to email all the time about everything and now we barely do as a family. I have written a bunch of emails to family and friends and only 20% of te people have responded. So strange. Maybe it is because I am here and normally at home I wouldn't really respond either. Plus if I was home right now I wouldn;t go on the internet ever since it loads slower than Alec choosing playing fairly over CHEAT CODES. Yeah so no internet at home for Anna. Time to start packing for tomorrow...

I forgot!

I went SURFING TODAY!!!!!!! This guy Anthony that I met out last Sunday who is super nice saw me at the bus stop yesterday and said hi, and then he drove past and beeped this morning, and then he was at the beach today... Stalker??? I think so! but he taught me how to surf today and it was so fun! I even stood up! Twice. He said I'm a fast learner. He doesn't have my number or anything so if we run into each other again (which I guess is likely) we will probably go surfing again! I just got back from a run with my roommates and on the way there was an aboriginal man playing Jimbaes (spelling) but he had a ton of them and invited us to play. Thank God for the Woodstock Day School I knew how to play and jumped right in. It was great fun. Sam was dancing in the middle like a regular old New Paltz girl and Heather was being a dork on the drums. Wish you guys could come visit! OH! and there was this insane insane strorm here and it took the beach away! About 5 feet high of sand was eroded back into te ocean so they are going to have to take some drastic meaures to get it back. I guess with some big machines or something. So lying on the beach today we were surrounded by debris everywhere, but nothing can stop me from being by that water. I blame mom :) I should have a picture of my with the board sometime soon I hope!

I am having so much fun here!!!! These are some crazy pictures of my friends and I at the beach me "reading" (or sleeping cause our book is so awful) hanging out with some of the girls and what not. Oh and the crazy escalators that they have here! I must say, that crazy personality I have has been rubbing off on the others. Everyone is coming out of their shells!!!!

I went to my school and it is absolutely awesome! I am going to be teaching calculus though! Yikes! Its gonna be nuts. But my teacher did something awesome for me already.... The Queensland (the state that I live in which is the size of seven NY states) So the Queensland state volleyball coach is going to be at my school and she wants me to be her assisstant coach!!!!!! So I bought a volleyball and I have been brushing up on my skills. Alright we are going for a run, then to the store to get food, then watching the huge rugby game of New South Wales versus Queensland. Big night. Last night was awesome. Danced all night long with everyone from the group after the boys cooked us dinner! The boys love that there are 3 of them and 24 of us ladies. Seriously though my school is so awesome. I can't wait to take pictures and post them. I also learned what a hair cut is, inquire through email. Love you all!

Noosa Heads

SO that is Heather and I as the first official captains of our trip. We were awesome. We played my i pod over the PA system by putting the headphones right up on the microphone. As captains you have to tell everyone on the bus what we'll be doing for the day and times and stuff. Well we started with Jump Around on my ipod and then Heather told a joke and I gave the fact of the day that Sunday would be the shortest day of the year even though at home it would be the longest. The sun is setting at 5:30!!!! Our supervisor guy, Colin, was really proud of us. He said that we made great first captains. We went to Noosa heads and did this huge hike through the state park. No Koala's apparently they were all sleeping. Then the hike takes you right on the beach and then suddenly through crazy forest again. It was awesome.

We stopped in a couple of small towns and took a group picture in front of the water wheel. I was really good and didn't buy nearly anything! Oh! We also went to the Eumundi markets. Think of the Woodstock Saturday morning market but WAYYYYY better! Hundreds of vendors and such cool stuff. I bought a few cool things there, and we are going to go back again another Saturday I think. I was sooooo exhausted (and so was everyone else) that we got home at 7 and were passed out by 8. It was great though. During the day we tried dragon fruit (very good for you, but doesn't have to much flavor) and I tried KAngaroo! Tastes kinda like steak actually. Little crazy I think! Alright time to make Quesdillas!!!!

Things I may need

When I think of something Iwill definitely let you know. My roommates and I are going to look at bikes to buy today. I am really excited about that. We have a 300 page novel that we have to read by the end of next week for this class. I am kind of nervous about that because I am not a very fast reader. Alright it is 8 a.m. time to get on with my day! If anyone has any sort of international calling you can call my room phone which is 011 61 7 5442 0494. If you call in it is free for me. Your best bet at reaching me would be to call at like 4 in the afternoon. That way you can just catch me at 6 a.m. Mom you could buy a phone card for real cheap if you wanted. I have one I just can't figure out how to work it yet!

MY ADDRESS!!!!

Anna Sullivan
Newport Apartments
PO box 772
Mooloolaba, QLD 4557
Australia

So those pictures are from my balcony at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday June 17th. The other is one of my roommates and two of my floor mates. We are sharing the internet to save money. And of course my first dead fish

My first weekday

Things were good on the flight. I got some food actually three meals so I was not hungry barely. I still ate one of the bagels, and I ended up throwing the other one away. Its alright though. I sat next to some cool people, crying babies. I didn't really sleep at all on the planes so I was really tired when I got here. I didn't make it out Saturday night, but last night I went out with almost the whole group. It was awesome. We went to a bar called Omalleys and it was Karaoke night. It was AWESOME! Australian people are so nice. A whole group of us sang the Spice girls. I picked it out just for you. This place was bumpin! So many people and they were all so nice. I danced my butt off!!!!! It was a Sunday and we were out til past 1. It was soooooo fun. My two roommates are all about getting in shape and running and yoga and pilates!!! Its so amazing. Running on the beach is amazing in the morning. I've been doing like two miles at a time. Its awesome. They also really like to eat really healthy which is great. I just made dinner for a few of us girls. Bow tie noodles, steamed fresh broccoli, peas, and avacado. Yummy! Oh today we saw Kangaroos finally today and we saw a dead dolphin on the beach:( Apparently there are no sharks on these beaches I'm sure it will happen soon.... haha Well I have to go. I swear I will write more when I get over this Jet Lag. Everyone else is fussing about calling home. Sorry that I am not so upset about calling. Email is good for me. Every time you feel like writing please do. I Will read them all:)

I'm here!

I was the last one to Arrive on Saturday at 1. Everyone else was waiting for me at a near by mall. It is totally unreal. I have two awesome roommates, Sam and Heather. They are perfect roommates for this adventure. We all eat the exact same thing, which is so great. Plus everything else we do the same. I woke up at 5:30 after going to bed at about 8. We just spent most of the day at the beach after searching for towels. Most we found were 40 - 60 dollars, finally we found some for 17.99. Its not even 3 o'clock here yet, we are eating lunch and watching a movie. Class starts tomorrow. We just bought internet from down stairs of the hotel. 40 dollars a week. Not so bad. I think I am already burnt. Who knew

Today I am an Art Teacher. Soooooo cool for subbing, I don't know how fun it would be if it was my full time job though. I was talking to the first graders about how I am leaving on Thursday and I was having them guess where I am going. First I told them it is not in the US. So the first two guesses I got were Hawaii and Alaska. OK I said. It starts with A. Allegheny... hahahaha It is a continent I said. I think I got Africa 7 times and Asia about 4. There of course were a few other places thrown in there including Alabama but no Australia. Finally after giving them Aust a little girl in the back who hadn't even raised her hand yet blurts out Australia! She was so excited. I wish I had a prize to give her!



I guess I am going to start packing today... Maybe. Maybe I will just clean out my car. I put it up on Craigs list. Dad is gonna sell it for me:)



So I promised myself that I wasn't going to meet anyone before I left. Well this person just happened to fall into my lap last Thursday. I met him while I was out in New Paltz. I hate timing. I also hate saying, "Well we will see what happens when I get back" He is pretty awesome though so who knows.

Less than 1 week

So today I am a phys ed teacher at Cahill Elementary school. Totally sweet. I could not do this every day though! Even cooler is that I am subbing with my friend Sarah who was my roommate up at school. She is actually going to be a phys ed teacher so I am 'allowing' her to do all of the hard stuff while I just play with the kids. Its kinda like camp when I get to yell at the kids and Alec just plays with them all day and dunks them in the pool. I just played an hour of ulitmate frisbee with 4th 5th and 6th graders. Sweet!

So I leave next Thursday for anyone who is wondering. Mom keeps reminding me to start packing. I got about 1 hour of sleep last night because I went out with two of my friends in New Paltz. Very fun. Kinda shady, but a good time all in all. Got home at 5:30 this morning and mom was very confused! I have to hang out with my friends though as much as I can. Jenn is moving to China on the 13th, and God only knows where Rob will be when I get back. Same with Laura. What if I don't get to hang out with them the same again? That I think is the most difficult thing for me right now. I know I will have a great time while I am there, and that teaching will be awesome. But what will things be like when I get back? They could be completely and absolutely and totally different. Maybe I should just move to Hawaii...

I got a letter from RIT saying thank you for my interest in their grad programs and then gave me a list of the programs they offer. Its just funny because I applied for a specific one, I obviously already know what they are offering. I hope I get in. That would totally blow if I don't!!!! Where am I living next year??? Probably Rochester, but who knows things could change.

So I just got an email.....

I just received an email from my teacher in Australia. He seems really cool, but now I am all sorts of extra nervous. He teaches all year 12 math, which means more difficult stuff. One of his classes is primarily Chinese students and they are all higher level!!!! AHHHHHH It is going to be so hard. I don't even think I know enough math to be able to teach that stuff. He has three daughters. One teaches Japanese. One is a pharmacist, and the last is getting her doctorate. So basically he has a genius family. Now I am more nervous than ever and I totally wish that I had just student taught with Ms. Machuca in Rochester. I already know how awesome she is and I know I would have had a great time. Less than 2 weeks now. I wonder if I should start packing?

Memorial Day

So Yesterday was my graduation party. Amazing. So much of my family came!!!! And it was so fun. I had never been a hostess before and it was funny how my sister Arin kept reminding me of my responsibilities. It was cool to see everyone before I left because I wont get to see people again til at least October. But it will probably be Christmas. I realized also that I will miss camping at that lake... There is always next year though right? I am with my BBB Cassie right now, and we are about to go sit on some (rocky) beach called Fawn stock. Good stuff

Last Chance

The last thing I am writing from Brockport. I am totally gonna miss it.