Overseas Journal

I found my journals from when I was overseas and I'm going to type them up on here so that I have another copy in case the journals get lost or something.

Do not attempt reading this-- it's a very detailed journal of every single day I was away. It's long. It's boring. Do not put yourself through the agony. (In case anyone was considering it.)

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Saturday 20/06/09
Left Brisbane today. I'm currently on the flight to Sydney, it was pretty sad saying goodbye to everyone and knowing I won't see or talk to them for a whole month. But hey, that's life.
I think it's safe to say that by the end of this trip I will have conquered my fear of flying. Even now, I'm feeling pretty comfortable. It's mostly just taking off and the occasional bout of turbulance that gets me. Speaking of which, we've just started our descent...or whatever you call it. I think Pa's picking me up from the airport - hope he knows which gate I'm at.
My writing's got a bit messy because I've had to put the table up.
I love landing :D It's so reassuring and makes me feel safe - kind of like getting off a rollercoaster. ...can tell I'm bored, right?
It's weird, I've barely left home and I miss my best friends like nothing else. This is gonna be tough.

It's just a bit past 8pm now - over 7 hours since I last wrote in this. Thought I'd recount the rest of the day. I really want to get into the habit of writing in this notebook because this next month is going to be busy, so a) I want to be able to remember everything that's happened, and b) I'd quite like to prevent my head from exploding. I don't really like bottling up my feelings and masking my frustrations from people, but on this trip I think it will be wiser for me to just grin it bear it when (and I do mean 'when') things get a bit beyond my coping. Usually I would vent to Caity and Chrissie but they've got a whole month free of that; lucky them.
Anyway, hopefully this journal thing will help. Gah, pen...dying D:
I found a new pen. Admittedly, had to make a few detours to get it, but all in all worth the effort. Shut up, I'm lazy.
So anyway, the rest of my day. I met Pa at the gate after a bit of confusion - I've left my phone at home (*sniff*) so am not contactable. Anyway, found Pa eventually. We got back to Lane Cove and Nana had crawled through a window to get inside once she'd gotten up with waiting for us. Lol. I had some hot chocolate (didn't taste great but in the miserable weather it made me a bit warmer), and then we went back out. Drove with Nana to the Holden dealership; Pa took his car and we met up there. Pa and I crept over to this awesome coffee robot - I had more hot chocolate and that one tasted substantially better. We waited for Nana to sign some forms (she's buying a new car, it's pretty nice but I always liked her Audi), then left in Pa's car - the one Nana and I had driven in had been loaned to her by the dealership, so we left it there. We stopped at a Shell, bought some magazines and ice cream, and headed back to Lane Cove. Pa and I started cooking dinner and Nana spent the mealtime and an hour afterwards teaching me about Roman history. I have to say, visiting Italy is the part of the trip that I'm looking forward to the most...bar the history lessons. Oh well. It's kinda interesting.
Sorry this is so messy but I'm writing on a bed. Random. Anyway, that was my day. I know I'm rambling majorly but I'm missing my friends. Usually I bother them with my ramblings rather than an inanimate object :)

Sunday 21/06/09
I tell you what, I should be sleeping. Blame my slight case of OCD for writing in a journal at 0200 Brisbane time. So, my day?
Woke up at 0700 (God knows why) and got up an hour later. Pa and I got dressed and such and then left to go to the Doolans' house. I was a bit wary about that, seeing that I haven't spoken to them in almost 2 years or been on good terms with them in almost 10. Well, it was fairly awkward but only lasted about 90 minutes (thank God). Had some bacon and eggs and that was it. We went back to Lane Cove, packed, cleaned, etc, and a cab picked us up at 1330. Went to the airport, baggage claim, customs, rah rah rah, got on the plane. 8 hour flight. Not fun. Watched episodes on Two and a Half Men, Family Guy, and The Simpsons; played Solitaire, Chess and Space Invaders; read Wicked; listened to my iPod... yeah. They gave us 2 whole meals, AND ice cream and offered hot chocolate, juice, etc. Jeez, lots of food.
It got so boring and uncomfortable - longest time I've stayed still (whilst conscious) in my life. But oh well, I survived.
We scurried off the place and got to baggage claim, got our bags and went on an air...train? or bus, I dunno. Basically a huge lift that went really fast sideways. Found the hotel - it's pretty nice! Lots of Asian design - running water, bamboo, ec. We had to walk outside to get to our room and GOSH it's warm out there! And so humid. Especially in a hoodie and jeans.
Our room's alright; the first thing I noticed, though, is that the wall separating the bathroom from the beds and such is glass. Glass with flowers around the edges. It's crazy! But I, super genius that I am, found a screen that you can lower so that no one can see you showering. Lol. Nana and Pa went out for a bit, so I had a shower (HOORAY) and got changed; they came back and showered and went to bed and here I am. In Singapore. And it's midnight local time (0200 in Brizzie). Have a wake-up call at 0530, yuck. Flight to Penang at 8. Better go to bed.

Monday 22/06/09
Today's been so long. We woke up at 5am (a bit before the wake-up call), which I suppose is 7am our time so wasn't too bad. We caught the air train to Terminal 2 and EVENTUALLY found baggage claim. My suitcase seems to have gained 1.2kg. Weird.
Anyway, we went through customs and Nana got some breakfast. Pa and I tried out the free internet but the computers kept freezing. Grr. We walked to our gate and whilst going through security I got felt up by some random security guard, -.-. Waited at the gate for a while and got on the plane (one of the guards told me how beautiful the name Jade was. It annoyed me). The flight was 90 minutes long and therefore AWESOME. Played SuperMario for a bit and had a chocolate...wrap...thing for breakfast. We signed some forms before disembarking. Customs is a lot easier to get through than I remember - just security screening everyone so often and that's it. We had to wait a while for Nana and Pa's luggage to come out on the what's-it-called...rotating...thingy. Then we went outside to get a taxi. It was so warm!!
Oh and y'know how each country (from my small amount of experience, anyway) has a different smell? I found Bali very sweet and floral and Singarpore was a bit...rougher, if that makes sense. Well, I got all excied when we went outside because I thought this place smelled like popcorn...then I realised that I was standing next to a popcorn machine. Lol. Actually, Penang has sort of a garlic-y smell.
Anyway, we got a taxi to the hotel and the trip took about half an hour. It reminds me a lot of Bali - mostly the Nusa Dua part. Except, Bali is a lot more naturally beautiful, I think. But Penang's much less crowded and the people aren't so in-your-face. So yes, more peaceful. It is gorgeous, though, in a rough diamond sort of way.
At the hotel (which greatly resembled the Nusa Dua resort) we met up with Dad and Indi. Got to our room and the air con was at 18*C! From 35 to that, it was freezing. The room's pretty nice and there aren't any glass walls. Lol. We went down and saw Mum, Dad and Indi. We all went and had lunch at Cool Bananas (the hotel cafe). Then Dad, Nana and Mum went for a walk. Pa, Indi and I thought we might go for a swim but when we got changed, it had started raining and they'd closed the pool. So we went back to our room and Pa and I slept until 5:30pm. Then I was woken up (urgh); had a shower and we all met up in the foyer. We walked around the night markets for a while, got some drinks and Dad bought some dvds (including Dexter S3). Walked for a fair while, then went back to the resort and hung out in the foyer. We thought about going for a swim but they'd closed the pool again, -.-. I found a cat and was petting it, it was pretty friendly. I really miss Bridget and the rats.
I then remembered that it was Monday and was kind of homesick for a while cause I'm usually at home watching DH on Monday nights. :(
We went back out and got dinner - some really nice satay. Then bought some Oreos and lady-finger bananas and went back to the hotel. I'm missing my best friends a bit, I hope they're both happy at the moment cause last time I spoke to them they were both going through some stuff. Hope they're okay.

Tuesday 23/06/09
Long day. Again. I have a feeling they're all going to be a bit that way.
Woke up at 7 or some stupid hour and couldn't get back to sleep. I pretended to be asleep while Nana and Pa got up so that they'd go to breakfast without me. Watched the Disney channel for a bit, then had a shower and got dressed. Nana and Pa brought me back some breakfast, -.-.
Went for a walk which was pretty arduous but we got some nice drinks on the way back. Pa and I changed into our togs and went for a swim in the pool because it was so hot today. The pool was actually not as cool as I would have liked but was fair good. We had some drinks and sat around and then headed back to the room. I had a shower because I was actually pretty cold at that point. Then I think we went searching for the games rom but it looked fairly crappy, then saw Mum and Dad back from their snake temple tour thing. We walked to the place that we'd gotten drinks at earlier then had lunch. Satay, yum. Walked back to the hotel. Mum, Dad and Indi went for a swim. Pa and I took his laptop to the lobby and tried to connect to their Wifi. Didn't work. Back in the room we connected it to Broadband and Pa and Nana went to sleep. I chatted to Chrissie on Facebook for a while. She's got some pretty awful things going on. I feel like such a bad friend; it's really difficult to be helpful when I'm not even in the same country as her. I hope things get better for her. I had to say goodbye after a while, went walking around the hotel. Then Pa, Nana and I walked across the beach; got some drinks, took some pictures. Went back, met up with the others and we had some nice Lebanese food for dinner. Looked at the night markets, I got a bag for money, etc. Ind got sweet corn ice cream. Yuck.
Went back to the hotel; the others got some drinks but I just lay down, I'm super tired.
Early morning tomorrow.

Wednesday 24/06/09
My back is so sore :(
So, today. We got up at 7:30 and went to breakfast, sigh. Dad got the sago he'd specially asked for, it tasted pretty good. After breakfast a driver picked us up in a van and took us to the tropical fruit farm. We went on a tour where a man showed us a bunch of different plants and fruits. It wasn't very interesting. He did give us some sour cherries to try (blech) and then gave us this little fruit called a Miracle Berry or something. You roll it around in your mouth then spit it out. It was really sweet. We tried the sour cherries again and they tasted sweet because of it. The aftertaste lasted for ages.
Then we went to the butterfly farm. It was pretty cool. Not sure how they breed butterflies but meh. We then went to the spice garden but it was so hot and I was so tired that I barely paid attention. The others spotted some monkeys though.
The driver took us back to the hotel and Dad, Indi and I went for a swim. I had some hot chips. It looked like it was going to start raining so we went inside. Nana and Pa went to sleep and I went online but no one interesting was there to talk to. Pa and I went for a walk and looked at a random art gallery, wasn't very interesting. Then Indi, Nana and Pa went out and I stayed inside and talked to Chrissie. Everyone then went out to dinner except me and Ind. I talked to Chrissie a bit more. She's saying something about buying me something :( She's mean.
The others got back a while ago. I'm a bit worried right now, to be honest. But I won't write down why because I've been told to stop worrying.
Tomorrow's our last full day in Penang.

Thursday 25/06/09
This morning we got up at about 9, had breakfast and the driver picked us up at 11. He took us to the Botanical Gardens, which as fairly nice but hot. I spotted squirrels, monitors and monkeys. We then went to see the Reclining Buddha in a Thai temple. We had to take our shoes off, and I was surprised they let us take photos. The Buddha was massive! There were also shrines and ashes and statues. We also went to a Chocolate and Coffee Factory, which was alright. Walked along a pier. Got lunch at a nice Indian restaurant. Indi bought an outfit and we got some Baafi. Back at the hotel we went for a swim and I had a shower. We got dinner at the same place as the other night. I checked my emails and there's some awful stuff going on back in Aus. I honestly want to go home. I want to help and just be there if needed. I'm so useless here.

Friday 26/06/09
Writing this on Monday. I've been so busy. We went to breakfast at 10am, Mum wasn't there at first cause she wasn't hungry or something but she ame eventually because it was Nana's birthday. The staff brought Nana a piece of cheesecake and sang happy birthday. We started to walk to the room but in the lobby we ran into Pa's cousin Martin. Bizarre. Talked to them for a while, then went to the room and packed. Afterwards, Nana, Mum and I walked to the Happyfeet Fish Spa as a present for Nana's birthday. It was so weird. We had to wash and dry our feet and then put our feet in the middle of the small fish tank. It felt so strange and tickled so much! We sat there for half an hour and then they told us to go to the big fish tank. I was like '....whaaaat?' Lol. Apparently the small fish help blood circulation and the bigger fish deal with skin and all that. It felt pretty much the same but a bit stronger. My feet were so smooth though. We walked to a place and got a drink and then walked to the hotel. Basically sat around and talked until 3pm which is when our cab came to take Nana, Pa and I to the airport. It was so sad saying goodbye; I was actually almost in tears. On the way to the airport we drove past an accident where a guy had been knocked off his motorbike. I saw him. Pretty sure he was dead. :\ Got to the airport alright and the flight was okay but a bit bumpy. At Singapore airport Nana got into a massive fight with a customs officer because she didn't want to fill the forms out and then again when they wantedx us to go through as individuals because apparently I'm 'just a child'.
Then at the airport hotel we had dinner, which was really good. I checked my emails and things at home are getting even worse. I stayed up late worrying about that and trying to think of ways I could help.

Saturday 27/06/09
This was the first day of my real trip. Penang didn't particularly count because I still had Mum, Dad and Indi.
Nana, Pa and I checked out of the hotel and left our bags there (at Changi Airport) at about 10am. We caught the train to City Hall and walked around. Had lunch, which was good.
After that we tried to find our way to China Town. It took a while but we got there eventually. It was pretty good, I bought a Cookie Monster t-shirt and Spongebob pyjamas. Nana also bought me a solar-powered flower toy. We went and looked around in a department store and Nana and Pa spent ages trying to find some rainbow shoelaces for my Converses that I didn't even want.
After they gave up we walked a fair way and then hailed a taxi. Nana got pissy because he didn't know what 'ferries' were so he dropped us off at a shopping centre. We found a desk which sold tickets for Duck Tours which are basically buses that are also boats. They had sold out of tickets so we just booked a normal river cruise. We then walked outside and saw the Fountain of Wealth. I walked around the fountain 3 times with my right hand in the water and wished for things at home to be okay. We then went into a small Japanese cafe and got some pretty nice ice cream. Afterwards we walked back to the Duck Tours desk and just outside to where the buses where. We got on a purple double-decker bus which took us on a small tour and then to the river. Waited for a while and then got on the boat. The cruise was pretty nice, lasted about half an hour. We got some drinks on the pier and got on another Duck Tour bus which took us back to the City Hall train station. The train was so crowded but we eventually got back to the airport. Nana and I went to the bathroom at the hotel and when we got out Pa had picked up our bags. Nana went off at him. Apparently she'd wanted to have dinner at the hotel first or something. Pa said he could send the bags back but Nana just kept bitching and moaning. She kept having goes at him because she 'couldn't have dinner now' even though there's restaurants in the airport which Pa even said we could go to. We dropped our bags off and went to the QANTAS club after going through customs. Nana kept bitching. I checked my emails in the QANTAS club and found out Chrissie is in hospital. That made me just break down crying, after everything else it just kind of pushed me over the edge. I was so worried and also so angry at myself for being so far away.
We waited until midnight and then boarded the plane. It was such a long flight - 14 hours. There were kids behind us who were kicking my chair and yelling. Nana got into a fight with a kid and then his mum. She then told a hostess to sedate the kid and ordered two scotches and as loudly complaining. I watched Two and a Half Men for a bit and turned my iPod on. Managed to sleep for 3 hours, had dinner, Nana complained some more, and yeah. Just watched The Simpsons and some other stuff and that's about it.

Sunday 28/06/09
We had breakfast on the plane and landed at about 7:30am London time. Finally. Went through the airport and had to catch a bus from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5. It took 20 minutes! Heathrow Airport is huge. We went through customs and then into the QANTAS lounge. I emailed some people and Nana kept badgering me about eating breakfast even though I already had.
We got to our gate and instead of a place there was a bus. It took us to our plane which was fairly small. The flight was pretty good except when they brought out lunch. There was a choice of a ham and cheese sandwich or tomato and cheese sandwich. I didn't want either because cheese is gross and I told Nana I wasn't hungry anyway. She made this huge thing and was telling the hostesses that there should be food for people who don't eat dairy. She made it such a big deal that they made me a special lunch which I then of course had to eat. We flew over Paris and the Swiss Alps and Pisa, which was pretty cool.
Landed in Rome and caught a train to baggage claim after going through customs. It took a while for our bags to come so of course Nana was complaining. Got our bags and walked to the train station. Caught the Leonardo Express and then got a taxi to the Fontana di Trevi. Our hotel was really close so we just walked the rest of the way. I'm sleeping on a fold-out couch because the room is fairly small but I don't care. It's a bed and that's all that matters. We then went to a small cafe just outside the hotel. I ordered a small gelato and the guy listed off about 20 different types. Lol. I just got coconut and it tasted so nice. We walked to the Fontana di Trevi and had a look. It's gorgeous. But so crowded. We then went back to the hotel room and I completely crashed.
At around 7pm Nana and Pa forced me to wake up and go to dinner. We walked to another cafe and got pizza and salad. It was good, but I wasn't hungry and just wanted to sleep. So we went back to the hotel and I was out.

Monday 29/06/09
Wanted to stay in bed when I woke up. Didn't want breakfast. I hate food, I'm sick of being forced to eat.
They made me eat again. We walked around for a really long time and saw lots of churches and monuments and stuff that were gorgeous but came with a free never-ending history lesson (Nana and Pa). Oh well. Took lots of pictures. We had lunch (-.-). I had spaghetti carbonara. Yum, but ugh. Food. When we eventually got back to the hotel, Pa tried to use the internet. It's broken and because it's a public holiday in Rome they can't call a technician. We (being Pa and I) walked to an internet cafe but the internet was broken. We went back to the hotel and they told us about another one which we went to but they needed photo ID. Walked back to the hotel and got ID and walked back again. I emailed Chrissie and checked all my accounts. Then we bought some batteries for my camera and went back to the hotel.
Hung out at the hotel for a while, then went out to dinner and that's about it.

Tuesday 30/06/09
We got up at about 8am and got ready, then went down to breakfast. After breakfast we tried walking to a bus stop but couldn't find the right one so we walked all the way to the Colosseum. And then past it. Which kind of sucked. Finally got on the right bus and listened to the audio guide for a while. Got off at the catacombs and bought tickets for an English-speaking tour.
It was pretty good. It was fair cold down on the second level and a bit eerie. There were so many tombs, most of which were empty but some were still sealed or buried. It was like a labyrinth. At the end of the tour we saw 2 bodies but they were basically ruined.
Caught the bus back to the Termini and walked to a place to have lunch. After that we caught the bus to the Colosseum. That was pretty cool. I got some good photos. We then caught two trains and walked back to the Fontana di Trevi. After resting for a while at the hotel I walked with Pa to the e-cafe. Emailed Chrissie. Caity had commented on my Facebook status saying she missed me. It's been exactly 2 weeks since I've seen or heard from her. I can't believe I've only been away for 10 days. 17 to go...

Wednesday 1/07/09
We woke up at 7, left by 8:30. A driver named Alesandro drove us (via very fancy car) to Pompeii. The drive was about 2 hours so I listened to my iPod.
Pompeii was okay. Exhausting. Hot. Not very exciting. There were lots of stray dogs though and a golden retriever was following me around for a bit. Cute.
Had lunch, drove to Sorrento (very pretty), took some photos, drove back to Roma. Went to the e-cafe. Had dinner. Now feeling very homesick and depressed. Is that selfish? Is it ungrateful of me not to want to be here when lots of people would be happy to be where I am? Ugh. I just want to be home, especially now with everything that's going on.
16 more days.

Thursday 2/07/09
Slept fairly late so we had breakfast at 10. Pa and I then walked a fair way to buy bus tickets and then to the bus stop. At the bus stop I was elbowed out of the way by a nun. We then caught a very crowded bus to the Vatican. Pa led me to the end of a line that was 400 metres long and completely unshaded. A bratty kid and his parents were in front of us in the line. He was running around for a while, then ran up to me, said something in Spanish, and spit on me. It was so disgusting and honestly I almost cried. I want to go home.
St Peter's was fair boring and by the time we were inside I was so dehydrated that I was shaking. We then left, got a drink, and walked to the museum. It was so big and walking through it my legs started shaking again. The Sistine Chapel is amazing, though. So beautiful. I hope I can go back one day. Which reminds me - this morning I threw a silver coin over my right shoulder into the Fontana di Trevi. The Italians say that it means you'll return to Rome. I hope I do...maybe with different company.
We caught the bus to the hotel after getting out of the museum and having the best gelato I've ever tasted. I then waited around the hotel for a while and went to the e-cafe. Emailed a few people. Then there was a huge storm so we waited in the hotel until it'd settled before going to dinner.
Dinner wasn't great, and Nana's sick. I'll probably get sick too, knowing my luck.
Should go wash the spit off -.-
15 days...

Friday 3/07/09
Woke up at 5am. Yuck. We had a car to the airport booked for 5:30. Alesandro was the driver. It was good to see him (and his comfy car) again. 10 minutes into the drive, Nana cried out and announced that she'd left her bag at the hotel. Drove back and got it, and the rest of the trip was uneventful. Sorry about the line just there but Nana threw a towel at my face. My finger hurts now :/. Anyway, at the airport we stayed in the club but there weren't any computers or internet points so hm. The flight was boring. I mostly just listened to music.
When we arrive in London it took us a while to find the bus stop where we were supposed to get a bus to the hotel. Found it and found the hotel. We went into our room but were barely there for 5 minutes before Nana and Pa decided that we should go out again. We walked 20 minutes to the station and got a train from West Dreyton (I think that's how you spell it) to Paddington. We then had lunch at a little Lebanese cafe. Wasn't quite Jasmine's but it was still nice. After that we got on a double-decker tour bus. Basically just looked around London. We did make one stop and that was Hamley's. That was awesome. It's a 5-storey toy shop. Pretty cool. I bought some things :) It was a bit crazy there though, as one can imagine.
After all the sightseeing, we caught a train to Paddington , then one to West Dreyton, and then the 222 bus to the Novotel. Once we got inside our room, Nana decided that it was too hot and blah blah blah. She called management and threw a tantrum, and they offered to move us to a better room for free and supply us with free internet. O_o What the hell?
Anyway, once we'd moved rooms, Nana and Pa went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. I stayed in the room and sent some emails, had a shower, etc. That's about it.

Saturday 4/07/09
I woke up and no one was in the room. That was nice. I was also severely confused at the time because I'd had the strangest dream which combined London, Lewis, me, Jaws, Saw, and my family together. Basically Lewis and I went to London and I got pregnant and my family came after me like serial killers. It was odd.
I had a shower and Nana came up to the room with breakfast, ergh. I checked and sent some emails and then we went out.
Caught the bus to the station, then got a train to Paddington, then got a double-decker bus to the pier. We got on the river boat, which took us on a small tour down the river and ended up at the Tower of London. We went and had lunch at a nice place and I bought some more presents. Pa then bought tickets for us to go inside the Tower of London and look around. I wasn't very interested in it but it did have some cool stuff. If I actually found the Dark Ages interesting it would have been great because there were execution spots and pieces of armour that belonged to Henry VIII, etc. After that we caught 2 more trains to get to King's Cross! We found Platform 9 3/4! :) Lol.
Then caught 2 trains and a bus to the hotel. We had dinner (after I sent some more emails) at the hotel, it wasn't bad. That's about it, I think.
Early morning again tomorrow.

Sunday 5/07/09
Woke up at 6:30am, had a shower and went down to breakfast. That was fairly uneventful. At 7:30 we dragged our bags downstairs and a driver was waiting to pick us up. We got to Heathrow Airport and checked our bags in. Nana decided she wasn't happy with our seating arrangments on the plane so she threw a spac about that to all staffmembers within eyesight. We went to the lounge and basically did nothing. When we got to the hate they informed us that we had been upgraded to business class. What. The. Hell. Manipulative old cow was pleased with herself. I wish people wouldn't give her things for her complaints, it just encourages her. Business class was brilliant though. They brought around champagne and there was so much space, and seats that reclined into beds, and doonas, and cool travel packs, and headphones that cancelled out all noise. Mostly I read, and watched The Matric and the 1st half of Transformers again. I think that's about as far as I'll ever get through that movie. Lol. My tv screen was broken so I just used Nana's, but of course she complained to the hostesses about the technology. It's like, shut up you ungrateful old bat, you have free fucking business class. I was happy with how comfy the seats were. All the rest was just like ":O". Lol.
We arrived in Chicago airport 8 hours later and went through customs. We had to get fingerprinted and Nana didn't even put her fingers on the machine at first -.-. *exasperated sigh*
Checked my emails in the lounge after switching terminals and got on the next flight.
We were on a baby plane! 1 seat to the left of the aisle, 2 to the right. We also had an...um...interesting hostess. She elongated aaaaall heeeer vooooweeeeels like she was on PlaySchool. It was amusing :). She also told me I looked like a famous actress *raises eyebrow*. Must've been drunk.
Landed in Ottawa 90 minutes later. It's pretty, but small. Temperature's very nice but of course it's Summer here. Wouldn't want to be here in Winter.
Got to the hotel, had some dinner, and that's about it.

Monday 6/07/09
Today was a nice day. We left the hotel at about 11am and had some lunch. Walked around for a while and went into a department store. I got Spongebob band-aids and a Mr Men handwarmer. Lol. They have cool cereal here, too. Then we walked to the markets and bought some maple fudge and looked around. At 1:30 we went back to the hotel and I went on the internet for a while. At 2pm Jason picked us up. He's really nice. He took s on a small tour of Ottawa and then to his house. It's really beautiful. His wife designed it. They have 4 sons - 3, 6, 16 and 18 years old. The older two are away for the summer. The 3yr old is named Jonah and the 6yr old is Owen. They're both so cute. I played a card game with Owen and watched tv with both of them - Owen had his head on my shoulder and Jonah sat in my lap. Jonah likes hugs. Lol. Nana, Pa and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood. It's so pretty. It's really green and quiet and peaceful. The weather wasn't cold. We saw a fair few squirrels. I like it here. Mightn't have if it was Winter, lol. The town is so sleepy though! I'm sure it can get noisier but at the moment it's quiet.
After the walk we just sat around and had dinner. I went on the internet fo a while. That's about it.
I thought I'd hate it here but the people are so nice and it's the first time I've had a room to myself for the whole trip. The room even has a tv and dvd player. Pa's laptop is also here and the bed is comfy. I like this. It feels more like home than a hotel does. But it makes me realise how much I miss home.

Tuesday 7/07/09
Today after I got up and went downstairs I met Ruth, Jason's wife. She's so nice. She invited me to aerobics and was offering me food and everything. Also met their eldest son Robert, briefly.
Jason drove us to the airport so that we could rent a car. We just drove around to markets and shopping centres, etc. Had lunch and bought ingredients for dinner. Nana and Pa cooked some lamb and veggies which were pretty nice.
I hung out with the kids and played robots, watched Spongebob and Madagascar 2 (so funny!), and just yeah. It was fun.
I think I might be seeing a movie with the kids later in the week and also staying home with them on Saturday night.

Wednesday 8/07/09
Woke up at 6 cause my legs were cramping really badly. Then my ankle was really sore for some unknown reason. Went on the internet til 8:30 and then had a shower and went downstairs. This morning some men came to put a tent in Ruth and Jason's backyard for the dinner they're hosting tomorrow night. That should be interesting. I also got an email from Caity, which was nice. We're planning to have a movie marathon on the 18th which should be fun, and then on the 19th catching up with the group and seeing the new Harry Potter movie :).
We drove to Quebec today - Wakesfield and Chelsea. Had breakfast (well, I didn't eat) in a diner and outside there was a baby squirrel and a chipmunk!
We then went and saw the steamtrain and watched 4 people turn the engine around. Had a wild boar hotdog O_o sounds disgusting but it's pig and pig is pork. It was awesome. We went into the sweets store and bakery and bought some stuff.
We then drove through a national park and saw 2 deer up close! Also saw Pink Lake. Then we drove home. Watched Spongebob with Jonah and Owen and played Snap (which they didn't quite get) and Go Fish (where Owen cheated. Lol). We then had dinner.
I'm feeling fairly upset right now. Haven't had a conversation in so long; I don't think it would be a large step for me to go mute right now. Honestly when I get home it will be so weird talking normally again.
I wish I could hug Jellybean, Budget, Jules, Kelly and Bridget. It'd be nice to see Tinky too. And Mum, Dad and Indi. It's so weird because I feel like my life has changed so drastically that it'll never be normal again, but honestly as soon as I get home it'll be like *click* Here's your life back.
And I miss my phone! I've gotten so used to having email as my only form of communication. Bleck.

Thursday 9/07/09
Today I did basically nothing. The others went out; I went online, watched Spongebob, read Wicked. At about 5, people started arriving for a medical conference dinner that Ruth and Jason were hosting. I stayed inside by myself cause I wasn't invited, which was fine by me. Ruth brought me some dinner, she's so nice. I watched Simpsons for a while and that's about it. Probably the calmest day I've had this whole trip.

Friday 10/07/09
Today I got up, showered, and went downstairs. Met Emma's (Owen and Jonah's nanny) daughter Pia. I don't know if that's the right spelling.
Nana, Pia and I found our way to Omega Park with the help of Emma's GPS. Nana was driving horribly. We also went on a ferry. A bit random.
Omega Park was great. We had lunch and then started driving through the park. We had 6 pouns of (monstrous) carrots and they were all gone in under 5 minutes. Huge deer were sticking their heads in the car and slobbering all over us and the windows. We went back and bought 5 more bags (!!!!) of carrots. One of the deer put its head in the car and grabbed a full bag - I was like "OI!" and pulled it back and carrots went flying. Lol.
We also saw pigs, piglets, mountain goats, raccoons, geese, bears and wolves. It was pretty good.
Bought some presents for family in the souvenir shop.
On the way home and for the rest of the day, Nana was driving me crazy. When we got back, Pia and I played badminton for a while and then were watching Spongebob (she likes it too!!!) when Emma, Jonah and Owen got back. It was so funny, we were watching it and Pia kissed Owen on the cheek, he screamed, ran off crying and was slamming doors. I think he's afraid of girl germs, lol.
I then met Ruth's parents. They seemed nice but I think Nana was annoying them. Surprise, surprise.
Had really nice homemade pizza for dinner and have just been online for a while but all the Aussies have better things to do with their Saturdays. Which is fair enough. I mean, it's 10:46pm here but it's 12:46pm there. That's just midday.

Saturday 11/07/09
Well, the Canada segment of this trip is over. Honestly, I thought this would be the worst part because I was staying in a house with strangers for 6 days with nothing much to do. Really, people never say "Oh hey, you should go to Canada!" So yeah. I was dreading being here. But I think this has been my favourite part of the trip. The people are so nice, it's so gorgeous here, and it was relaxed. So nice. I really don't want to leave. I mean, I miss home just as much, but now it's seeming less likely to my unconscious mind that we're going home, so it's adapting...if that makes sense. I can't even imagine being home. Lol, I really shouldn't ever go on like a 6 month trip XD I'd die.
Anyway, today. Ruth and the kids were out at aerobics so Nana and I just did nothing til 11:30. Then they got back and Ruth made lunch. We went shopping at a supermarket and I got a few things to take home. Then we went and saw a movie. The cinema was huge, it was one of those really cliche American-type ones. Very cool. We saw 'Up' in 3D and it was hilarious! I loved it :D So so funny. I'll probably buy it on DVD when it comes out.
Jonah and Owen were also holding my hands and all that, it was cute.
After the movie we shopped a bit and then went back to the house. After about half an hour we went out again and got dinner, which was nice. Then came back here and showed Ruth some Australian money and watched 'Bedtime Stories', which was alright. Nana was talking loudly throughout it though which was annoying. She also got up me after the movie cause apparently I seem 'so unhappy', blah blah blah, just being an obnoxious sarcastic bitch -.-. Am I surprised? No.
I'm going to miss Ottawa heaps! Might have to consider moving here one day...hm...

Sunday 12/07/09
Had my alarm set for 6 (apparently I hate myself). Went on the internet for a bit and then Jonah walked in with a pile of books, so I read with him for a while. Then I went downstairs and packed and said goodbye to everyone :(.
We left at 10 and dropped the rental car off when we got to the airport. Then we went through customs, etc, and bought lunch. As we were sitting down, we walked past a friend of Pa's who had been at the conferences all week. So he sat with us and when we left for boarding we discovered he was on the same flight. Lol. Another little plane, I hate them. Wasn't too bad on the flight, except for takeoff where I could hear my hear thudding in my chest. I'm such a wuss, lol. At Chicago airport we stayed in the lounge and didn't do much. The flight to SF was 4 and a half hours and didn't feel like it. It was pretty good. When we got to SF we collected our bags and caught a taxi to our hotel. SF isn't very pretty but it's really interesting.
My stomach was really sore after the flight. After we got into our hotel room, we went for a walk on Fisherman's Wharf and got some dinner. I didn't eat anything because I was feeling pretty sick. Then we walked back to the hotel and Nana and Pa left me in the room. I had a bath and then a shower (lol), then emailed a few people, read for a while, and that's it.

Monday 13/07/09
Today I stayed in bed until Nana and Pa had left for breakfast. It wasn't even 8:30 O_o. Checked emails. Nothing. *Dramatic sigh* Lol.
They brought me back breakfast and then we went for a walk. We saw some sea lions on Pier 39! Lots of them. Watched them for ages, it was good. We then looked in a lollyshop which had barrels full of lollies. Then I tried to win a giant Spongebob toy and failed :(.
Pa and I went into a Spongebob 4D ride, it was good :).
Then we found a left-handed shop!!! I've never seen one before! I bought a toothbrush, 2 notebooks, a mug, a shirt and a hoodie. Lol. After that we looked around a chocolate shop and walked back to the hotel to drop off the shopping. We then walked in the other direction and had lunch in a Rainforest Cafe :D It was so cool! Every so often there'd be 'thunderstorms' and crazy animated gorillas and elephants would jump around. After lunch we bought some t-shirts and looked in the shops. We walked up to the big chocolate shop, which turned out to be small, so we didn't buy anything. I bought Bridget a hoodie from the dog shop next door though. :)
We walked to a spy shop and I got another shirt and a safe that's disguised as a 7up can, haha. Then dropped everything off at the hotel, had a drink, looked at the sea lions again, and walked back to the lolly shop and first chocolate shop and bought things from both. Then had another drink and went back to the hotel. I packed all my new stuff and then we went and had dinner. Came back, checked my emails. Still nothing :\
Not long now.

End of journal.
Tuesday 14th - went to Lombard St and a '50s diner, rode the cable carts and went to a chocolate factory, then went on the 15 hour flight to Sydney where I started getting really sick.
Wednesday 15th - got erased as we crossed the dateline
Thursday 16th - got to Sydney, hung out at Nana and Pa's place
Friday 17th - got home, finally.

I'm sure I've made heaps of typing errors but I could not care less, this took about 3 and a half hours to type. I'm done. Lol.