MTV Awards

We had tickets to the 2009 MTV Australia Awards and it was definitely time for a girls weekend :) Beth, Amanda, Samantha, Mary Kathryn and I left for Sydney on Friday morning and headed to the hostel to get ready. How long does it take five gorgeous ladies to get ready for the red carpet? The answer is two hours. After hours of preparation, we made our way to Darling Harbour and found a nice restaurant on the pier. Ahhhmazing. What a view! Our previous trips to Sydney had never taken us to Darling Harbour - unfortunately. But, after some delicious dinner and a couple of bottles of wine, we were ready to head over to the Sydney Convention Center for the Red Carpet Pre-Show. Audrina Patridge from The Hills was the host and we caught a few photos of some stars making their way into the building. When it was time to start the show, we headed inside and inched our way towards the front. Pete Wentz hosted this year's event and his wife, Ashlee Simpson, surprised him by making an appearance! The Fray, Kings of Leon, Vanilla Ice, Sia and a few others performed. It was AWESOME to see The Fray!! We were hoping that maybe a few more celebrities would brace the stage. Oh well. Either way, we still had a great time. The show was over by 11 so we followed the crowd and ended up at a bar along the harbour called Cargo. It was an inside/outside bar and it was PACKED. For some reason or another, the fact that we attended the MTV Awards was merit enough for two free drink coupons. Solid deal. We mingled and before we knew it, the night was over.

On Saturday, we took a bus to Bondi Beach. You may have heard of it - it's known as one of Sydney's best beaches. That is the absolute truth. It was simply stunning. I'm pretty sure I would have no problem living near the beach for the rest of my life. I could have laid in the sun for hours, but we were on a schedule! We met Amanda's parents at a quaint pizza place on the harbor and, after inhaling pizza and gelato, headed back to Newcastle. Had an easy Saturday night, which included boxed wine and a late night grocery run for chips and salsa. Classic combination. 

My parents are finally here! They arrived at my doorstep around 5 p.m. tonight. It's so good to see them! I don't miss a lot from home, but I sure miss them. We had a nice dinner along the harbor and spent the rest of the evening looking through photos and telling stories. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time in Cairns. I was shocked to find that my mother actually let my father talk her into renting a motorcycle. I'm tellin' you - Australia has a way with people :)

Tomorrow we're heading to the beach - after we wake up for an early breakfast. We've got a few things planned for the next couple of days while they're here in Newcastle. On Thursday, we're heading for the great city of Sydney. We've got quite the agenda while we're there: Sydney Bridge Climb, harbor cruise, zoo, Opera House show, aquarium, beaches and shopping! Did I mention I'm glad to see them!?

Here's an FYI. Australia is ahead of the times when it comes to fashion. They're always a step ahead of the states. So, as a forewarning to all my girls back home, the 80's are making a comeback! Watch for it. And, yes, that includes parachute pants ... unfortunately.

I've got a busy schedule ahead of me and I am looking forward to writing about it along the way. I hope that my writing is portraying Australia as an amazing experience. I would highly recommend that everyone visits at least once in their lifetime. Here, you're given the opportunity to slow down and live a little. No one's in a hurry and there are no worries. Life is easy and life is good. 

I'll leave you with that. 

XOXO, Jennifer Lynn 

Glamorous and live at the MTV Australia Awards. 

Still living the dream ...

Ok ... so I'm procrastinating right now. I truly don't want to start this paper I have to write, so I figured I'd update my blog as a sort of warm up. It makes sense if you think about it.

School is going well. The grades we receive here don't transfer back to the US. The only thing that transfers are the credits and the fact that you passed. So, really, I only need to pass these classes. That line of thought makes it extremely difficult to put a lot of effort into my assignments. A lot of people ask me if the classes are harder here. The answer is no, but yes. There is no busy work here and the professors could care less if you showed up or not. So, it's up to you to stay on top of it. Your entire grade for the class is made up of two to four major papers, projects or tests. So, if you bomb one of those, there's a good chance you'll be re-visiting that course the following semester. 

This past weekend was Surfest. We made our way down to Merewether Beach on Sunday for the finals and got to witness both the male and female champions on their last run. The waves weren't the biggest, but they worked with what they had and it was pretty sweet. We'll be attending Surf Camp as part of our spring break trip - so I'm hoping that I can be a fraction as good as the champions by the time I'm done :)

My parents are in Aussie!! They arrived on Monday and are currently in Cairns doing the whole tourist thing. They fly into Newcastle on Sunday and will stay with me for five days. Then, we're off to Sydney for five days of fun! I can't wait!! Then, it's only three days after they leave and I'm back in Sydney and ready to start my 18 day spring break adventure up the east coast. I'm about to become a very busy girl.

This weekend we're heading to Sydney to attend the MTV Australia Awards! They just announced that The Fray will also be joining the list of performers. It's a girls only weekend - we can get all dressed up, go out for a fancy dinner and pretend to walk the red carpet. Maybe we'll get stalked by the paparazzi?? Let's hope not.

Other than that, I don't have much else to report. Our St. Patrick's day keg was heaps of fun. I'm sure we'll be having another one soon. Looks like I have to start in on that paper now.

I'll post again soon. No worries, mate :)

XOXO, Jennifer Lynn

Are you ready to rock?

It's Monday - the start of a new week. Most people would spend their Mondays at work or at school ... not me. I have the day off, so I haven't been doing much. But, we did book our Spring Break trip today. Hard hit on the ol' credit card ... but I'm SUPER excited. We're spending 16 days traveling up the east coast, starting in Sydney and ending in Cairns. Along the way, we'll be attending surf camp, sailing in the Whitsunday Islands, camping on Fraser Island and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Hard to imagine that it's only 25 days away! Time flies here. Sadly. We leave Friday, April 10. Can't wait to write about all of it :)

This past weekend, we went to Sydney again. Can you tell how much I adore that city? We caught an afternoon train on Friday and spent the night in a hostel. On Saturday, we woke up early and headed to the Sydney Cricket Grounds for the Sound Relief Concert. We promptly took our spot in line and waited for the doors to open at 11 a.m. And, although it was general admission, we ran like hell once the gates opened and secured a spot about four rows back from center stage. Coldplay started the day off. What an amazing performance. They were incredible! A few Australian bands followed ... and our next big performer took the stage at 5:30 - TAYLOR SWIFT! I was about 10 feet away from here and screaming like a little girl. You can imagine it, I'm sure.

This was hands down the best music festival I've ever attended. It was ten hours of live music, and included Coldplay, The Presets, Josh Pyke, Taylor Swift, The Bee Gee's with Olivia Newton John, Jet and others. All of the proceeds went to the victims of the recent bush fires and floods in the area. All in all, we helped to raise 5 million dollars. Wow. That should give you a rough estimate as to how packed the place was! We were right in the center of the mosh pit. Which, I have to admit, has always been something I wanted to experience. It's officially been checked off the list. What's worse than a rowdy mosh pit? A wet one. Yes, it started to pour down rain right before Taylor Swift took stage. Did that stop anything?? No way. The music continued - and the crowd get even crazier. It was AWESOME.

We took a late night train back to Newcastle after the concert on Saturday night and spent all day Sunday on the beach. The waves were the biggest that I'd ever seen them. I attempted to 'ride the waves' like all of the guys were doing. And, you guessed it, I almost drowned. So, I think I'll stick to the beach for a few days before trying that again.

This weekend is Surfest, Newcastle's largest event. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the competitions ... and attending the Wine & Wave festival, of course. 

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! We ordered a keg and we plan on having a sweet ShamROCK the House party. I think we might need a few lessons before we try and set up the keg, though. They are extremely different from the ones back home. If you wish to order a keg, you have to order a magic box with it. This is a giant black box, filled with ice and has a tube coiled around it. You put the keg on top of the magic box, and turn the gas on, which carbonates the beer and sucks it from inside the keg. The beer then travels through the ice tubes and comes out in your cup ice cold. Sounds cool and confusing. Let's hope we can figure it out. Our balcony has been yearning for a big house party :)

T-minus two weeks until my parents arrive! They are ecstatic about bringing me my own suitcase full of clothes and other necessary items :) Can't wait!

I'll check up with you all again. No worries :)

XOXO, Jennifer Lynn

After the rain. Can you see the huge crowd behind us?!

So close to Taylor Swift!

A gay ol' time

This past weekend we went to Sydney and experienced our very first Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras celebration. Upon arriving, we somewhat knew that the weekend would be crazy and that we were sure to witness things that were new and ... semi-awkward. I've been contemplating exactly how I was going to describe this experience to everyone back home and I've come to the conclusion that there are no words.

For once, I'm speechless.

I mean, how can you really put it into words? It might go something like this ... 

We woke up super early on Saturday morning to ensure that we could get 'the perfect spot' for the parade. So, we made our way to Oxford Street at 10:30 a.m. - the parade started at 7:45 p.m. We found a bar with an upper-level that had windows overlooking the halfway point. So, we settled down and ordered our first beer for the day. Nine hours and many beers later, the parade began. There were people EVERYWHERE. Our window seats proved to be quite useful, because I couldn't imagine being in the madness on the street. The streets were filled with intoxicated heterosexuals and homosexuals, all of whom were content on showing their 'free spirits'. Love was definitely in the air.

The parade was filled with everything from Dykes on Bikes to Demanding Dominatrixes. A lot of the floats would stop in front of us and put on a show ... and 90 percent of these shows would have been Rated R by the American Motion Picture Association. Instead of going into all the details, let's just say I have officially seen it all. It was a great weekend, though. Whether or not you support that lifestyle, the atmosphere was truly amazing. It got a little out of control, but for the most part, everyone was interested in defying the norms and just letting their free spirits out - which is sort of what Australia is about!

Here are some pictures of the evening. I have PLENTY of stories, but I'm sure not everyone is interested in them. So, I'll save them for a rainy day :)

Today, we had to check out of our hostel by 10 a.m. - which was brutal. But, we got ready and met up with a family friend of Beth's. We went on a ferry across the harbor and had a fabulous lunch at a restaurant at Manly Beach. It was gorgeous. And, we got our first glimpse of some of Sydney's main attractions. See below.

We're heading back to Sydney this weekend for the Sound Relief concert with Coldplay and Taylor Swift, among others. I'm stoked! Stay tuned :)

XOXO, Jennifer Lynn

Upcoming Adventures

Hey All.

My first day of school is tomorrow! Apparently there are no tutorials during the first week of school, leaving me with only one day of classes. Pretty sweet. Wish me luck tomorrow!

We've been planning a lot of things to do lately and so last night, we all sat down and filled in our new Uni planners. Turns out, we're booked solid until the middle of May! We've got some super sweet things lined up. Be sure to check this blog often so you can read all about it. Here are some of the things I've got to look forward to:

• This weekend we're heading to Sydney for the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras! It's said to be a huge, crazy party all weekend. We've already bought some sweet outfits and we can't wait! The estimated attendance? 700 to 800 THOUSAND! Bring it on.
• On March 14, we booked tickets to the Sound Relief Concert. This is a last-minute benefit concert that is being put on to raise funds for the bushfire victims. Who's coming?! Coldplay, TAYLOR SWIFT!, Jet, Josh Pyke and about 10 others. Can't wait to hear Taylor!
• March 15 - there is a St. Patrick's Day celebration on Beaumont Street in town. I'm hoping they serve green beer here.
• On March 21 and 22 Newcastle hosts its largest event, Surfest. Tons of surfers from around the world come into town to compete for the winning title. Along with watching the surfers, there are a lot of side parties and activities going on ... such as the Wine & Waves festival at Merewether Beach. 
• On Friday March 27, we have tickets to go to the MTV AUSTRALIA AWARDS, hosted by Pete Wentz and Audrina Patridge. How exciting is that!? We get to line the red carpet and go indoors for the main show. Beyonce, Kings of Leon and The Killers are performing. I'm definitely going to need to go shopping for this. 
• Then ... on March 29, my parents arrive in Newcastle!!!

So that's enough to take me until the end of this month. Sounds thrilling, right? I think so. Can't wait to write about them!

Today we went shopping. I know what you're thinking and the answer is YES I WENT AGAIN. They've got adorable clothes here. Summer is officially over :( And now we're just waiting for fall to come to town. All of the locals say it gets 'really cold' in the winter. I was concerned until I realized their idea of really cold is 50 degrees fahrenheit. Can you tell they've never been to Iowa?

It's still beautiful here, though. Mid 80's and sunny! I spend most of my days on the beach soaking up the sun and watching the surfers. Tonight is Wednesday, which is the Uni party night. Most pubs and clubs have really good drink specials and the pubs are packed with students. You could say it's like Thursdays in Iowa.

We just had dinner (Sloppy Joe's, finally!) and now I'm going to take a nap before the evening festivities begin! Catch up with you all later!

XOXO, Jennifer Lynn