Lots of food

Last night Marianne (the Croissant as I like to call her but with all affection) invited us to her new flat for cava and snacks. We were going to come back to our flat afterwards so Gian could cook stroganoff for dinner but he ended up bringing all the ingredients over and we had it at her place. It's a very nice flat with better heating than ours and very cosy looking, but smaller. (Photo: Alexis and Mel, the posers)

The Croissant also opened a bottle of wine her family made, which had Christmas spices in it, like cinnamon and cloves. It tasted like a Christmas pudding- very delectable. Gian also made caipirinha and we were all made to drink too much. Poor Mel felt so seedy today. But we had a great time. The stroganoff was great. I somehow managed to eat two plates of it and was so full Mel had to roll me home. (Photo: Mel, me, Marianne and Gian on couch)

Today Javi's mum invited us over for lunch and she cooked absolutely delicious dishes- one of them, her own invention, was chicken, ham, cheese and something else sauteed on a toothpick. She's the loveliest woman imaginable, so adorable and friendly and cheery. After lunch (I probably look glazed in the photos because I ate so much I could barely move) we all sat around the fire and played a spanish board game called Parchi and I won, ha ha. Javi's mum played with us as well. She's so cool. She teaches little kids in a church nearby, for communion or something and gave us a tour of the church. It's very small and ancient, from 1521 but in good condition and neat and lovely. (Photo: lunch- Em, Mel, Javier's mum and me)

Before lunch, she suggested that since it was so cold in the room, we should go upstairs and put on dressing gowns to keep warm. It was a bit incongruous because we had such great food, and elegant table settings and we looked like geriatrics, shuffling around in our bathrobes. Javi especially looked like Hugh Hefner, with a quilted dressing gown and a sleazy look in his eye. (Photos: me and Mel; Em and Javi)

Back in Spain

On the ferry to Tarifa, it was a bit choppy so a few people were feeling seasick and they put on music like 'We All Live in a Yellow Submarine' and other sea ditties over the sound system to make them feel worse. How appropriate. When we returned to Spain from Morocco, we had a day to spare so we decided to head over to the Rock and see what it was like. It was SOOOOO incredibly, unbelievably comforting to be in a country where the official language is English and no one says 'Ni hau' or 'Konichiwa' to you. Actually, the people have a bit of a bizarre accent. They sound british but a bit europeanised. I think most of them speak Spanish as well and their Spanish had a foreign accent to it. (Photo: me on ferry back to Spain. I look incredibly classy. Because all my clothes got wet from the bus to Rissani, I had to wear Lisa's stuff but the pants were too big so I put a belt on to hold them up and her pyjama bottoms on underneath to keep me warm. But then they were too long so I tucked them into my orange socks to stop them from trailing on the ground.)

Gibraltar has so much history and intrigue for a piece of limestone that doesn't produce anything and has a population of 300 000. We did the official 'Rock Tour' which was fascinating. Mario, our guide, took us up to the national park, we saw the caves, the tunnels, the monkeys, the views... slightly disconcerting to be standing on british territory and be able to see a part of Spain in one direction and across the water, the continent of Africa. (Photo: gibraltan rock ape looking at gibraltan rock ape stuffed toys)

We headed to Cordoba that night, but didn't get there till 2:15 am. Absolutely exhausted, especially after our 14 hour bus ride from Rissani. There were two babies on the bus from Rissani who wouldn't stop bawling. Lisa was ready to murder them but I thought they sounded hilarious. Sort of like they were being tortured and branded with firey pokers. There was absolute silence on the bus, except for the crying, and then I started giggling and couldn't stop and ended up nearly crying myself, with glee. The sound of their anguish sustains me. (Photo: Lisa with ape on her shoulder)

Our hotel was right opposite the mezquita and in the old town- perfectly situated. The mezquita is utterly indescribable so I won't even try. It's a mosque from the moorish times of Spain but when the catholics took over, they sort of built a cathedral in it, so you go in and see the muslim design, and when you enter further into the bowels of the mosque, you see a cathedral with christian motifs. (Photo: mezquita from the inside)

Morocco: Part II

The Sahara is a completely alien, otherworldy place at night. Our guide Hassan was amazing. He led us to the camp practically in complete darkness and to me it felt like we were just going around in circles but we made it to the camp eventually. You can see the stars so well when there are no lights around and the only sound is the wind whistling over the dunes. It' such a bizarre feeling to know that you're alone for miles around except for two camels and your companions. (Photo: my camel Herbush)

After a dinner of tajin, which took almost 2 hours to cook (we'd eaten a banana for breakfast and nothing else that day- I was so hungry I was considering cannibalism) Hassan took us for a walk up the dunes. In the darkness they just look like tiny hills but they're seriously impossible to climb up. It's not so bad at first but towards the top, when the sand is softer, you keep sinking and you have to practically run to stop from sliding back down. And they're unbelievably steep. Lisa gave up after half an hour, but I kept going and when we reached the top, we could see the border between Morocco and Algeria. The moon was rising behind a dune and that was the only light we had. (Photo: Lisa struggling up the dunes hee hee hahahahahaha)

The next morning, we watched the sunrise, then trekked back to the hotel in Merzouga where we'd started from. Abdellah, the guy who picked us up from Rissani drove us back, gave us a tour of the town and made us Moroccan pizza for lunch. He was the coolest guy imaginable. He wore this brown cloak with a pointed hood (a bit like the KKK) and looked like Chewbacca from Star Wars. Well, until you saw his face because he's human, obviously. But that was mostly hidden by the hood. We caught a 6 pm bus from Rissani to Tangier that took 14 hours to arrive. But this time the bus was normal, with heating, unlike the other one that was so old and rickety it was held together with string in some parts and had a guy to wipe the windows down every now and then because the windscreen wipers were broken and the windscreen kept getting covered in snow and dust. Also, on that bus the windows didn't shut properly, so when we drove through the mountains, I'd fall asleep and wake up with a coating of snow on me. (Photo: Lisa with her camel. She was scared of it so wouldn't stand next to it when I took the photo. She sort of edged towards it, then leant in a little. Hassan said he was an agressive camel)

Morocco

Morocco was amazing. Amazingly cold too. I was unprepared for how cold it was and spent the majority of the time huddling into my thin jacket with the broken zip. We ferried across to Tangier and caught a train the next morning to Fes. No one told us there was a one hour time difference between Spain and Morocco, so we got to the train station for the 10 am train and realised it was only 9 am and we'd just missed the 9 am train by 5 minutes. In Fes, we stayed in the youth hostel with the best staff imaginable. There were mandarin trees in the courtyard and every day Abdullah, the guy who worked there, would pick us a bag of mandarins. (Photo: plaza in Granada)

We went to the medina and saw the tanneries, the spice shops, mosques, donkeys, food, carpet factories, textile factories, real estate agent (a stall with a grey wall and a faded photo of some Moroccan person)... it was fantastic and unlike anything I've ever seen. My favourite was the spice shop. My mum would have bought the whole shop if she were there. (Photo: sunset in Fes)

We also went to some towns near Fes- Ifrane, known as the Moroccan Switzerland because it's near the ski slopes and only the rich people and foreigners live there, Sefrou, with a pleasant medina, a berber village with cave houses and we drove through a national park and visited a waterfall and a lake. The general idea of Morocco is that it's busy, filled with stalls and camels and spices but there's another side of it too that's completely different. It has beautiful landscapes and it snows in the mountains; there aren't too many problems with two girls travelling solo; there's so much more to it than travel agents sell. (Photos: tanneries, a street in the medina)

After Fes we travelled down to Rissani by bus. We were supposed to catch an overnight bus but the bus couldn't get through the mountains because the roads were flooded so we had to catch the 6:30 bus the next morning. About 20 km away from Rissani, the road was still flooded but the bus drove through the slush anyway. Our bags were in the hold and got completely soaked. You'd think they'd be kind enough to remove them before driving through. Apparently not unless they get paid to do it. When we got to Rissani, we went straight to Merzouga and did a camel trek to a berber camp and stayed overnight in the dunes. (Photo: sheeps' heads)

The lesson of appreciation

Lisa and I got back to Logrono last night at midnight. The first thing we did was raid the pantry for food. Mel had cooked a green chicken curry (green curry chicken? Green thai chicken curry? It wasn't the chicken that was green) so I devoured the leftovers, then I fossicked through the fridge and considered going through the rubbish for some scraps of food. I felt like a half-starved Ethiopian refugee. During our time in Morocco, Lisa was so paranoid about the food being unclean that she made me paranoid as well and as a consequence, I didn't eat as much as I normally do. I was deprived of food for a week. When I got home, I realised how good it is to live in a country where you don't have to worry about food poisoning (well, except for the five times I got it this year). (Photo: Gian, Mel and me doing Keira Knightley impersonations)

Before we left for Morocco, everything was completely crazy and hectic. On Friday night we cooked a farewell dinner for the Croissant because she was moving out of the piso on Saturday, then on Saturday we went horse riding and in the afternoon had people over for dinner and videos. We ordered Chinese takeaway and Javier thought it would be hilarious to make me call up since I'm the token Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Asian. Afterwards we went to Concept, the only nightclub in Logrono that you have to pay to enter. Luisfran nearly burst a blood vessel because he paid 4 euros for a 330 ml bottle of water. (Photo: farewell dinner with our flat and Em)

On Sunday I cleaned the flat and at 2 am Monday morning, had to go pick Lisa up from the train station. She was instantly recognisable because she was so wrapped up in a boufy red Arctic weather-proof jacket she looked twice the width of a normal person. (Photos: Luisfran with a heart attack, group photo with some random guy in a red shirt who decided to jump in)

I thought it would be an excellent idea to invite Em and her flatmates, the Croissant and Javier over for dinner on Monday to meet my sister, but by 7 pm we hadn't even started cooking, the landlady was over to collect the rent and I was cursing my stupidity. It turned out well though. No one got food poisoning and Lisa managed to stay awake for twenty minutes of it. (Photo: Gian- popular with the girls)

We left for Granada early Wednesday morning and by this stage I was so exhausted I slept all the way to Madrid. Lisa nearly got left behind in Soria. Soria is a town whose only distinction is being the midway point between Logrono and Madrid. Anyway, so Lisa woke me up to tell me she was going to the bathroom during the 15 minute rest break at Soria and I was so tired I nodded and fell back asleep. Five minutes later she wasn't back yet. Ten minutes later she still wasn't back yet and everyone else had returned. Fifteen minutes later the bus started leaving and I stumbled down the aisle shrieking 'Wait! Wait! My sister isn't on!' The bus driver had to drive back in, open the door and let me out to look for her. Lisa came running up to me, looking a bit stunned. Apparently she'd got on two wrong buses and couldn't get out of the second one because everyone was entering and shoving her back. She thought she was stuck in Soria with no money, no phone, no knowledge of Spanish and with me asleep on the bus. It would have been quite funny actually, in a horrible sort of way.

Two months

Two months from today till I touch down in Sydney! I'm so excited but sad at the same time. When we went out with Javi and his friends on Saturday, I realised it will be one of the last times I do that because Lisa comes next Sunday and then we'll be travelling during the Christmas break. (Clockwise from left: Beza, Louis, Reuben, Fernando, me, Emily)

I've been lazing on my arse for the last week or so. Mel left for the Netherlands on Tuesday and without her around I don't have anyone to prod me to go to class (although usually I ignore her anyway). And Emily was in Madrid so there was no one I had to meet up with so unless I was out of food or going to the gym, I didn't leave the house at all. However, that will all change once Mel returns (which I think is tonight some time). (Photo: Reuben exorcising a demon from his lungs, Fernando trying to look like a 90 year old hag)

Last night the Croissant made dinner for us and we opened a bottle of rose which she made in her enologia class. It was a pretty good wine- very surprised. She's moving out this week and I'm a bit horrified to discover that I don't actually mind her any more and that I might miss her a bit. But she wants to come over and use our internet so I guess it won't be the last of her. She's moving in with two 18 year old Spanish girls. I feel sorry for her already. (Photo: Bobi, me and Andres)

Had a very constructive day. Tried to make a bat from recycled material with empty coke cans for wings but got a shard of aluminium can in my eye so I decided to make a ballerina instead. Or a punk, haven't decided which. It's one of those toys where you pull the strings and it waves its arms. But not being very good at engineering/physics, I can't make it wave properly. It sort of flails. So then I gave up on that and made an adorable little monkey from an empty yoghurt can and was papier mache-ing it when Gian came along and said 'What a pretty rat.' (Photo: Em and Javi, Fernando continuing with his impersonation of a 90 year old hag)

Found!

I found my Lost Underwear!!! They were crouched behind my swimmers in my drawer. Very exciting. It's the highlight of my week because now I can put off washing my clothes for a few more days.

My cat puppet is called Dr. Perejil and perches on my hand when I'm at home and acts as my psychologist. It's usually quite nasty and tells me off for losing things but it also tells me it's ok to leave dishes unwashed in the sink, especially if they're not mine.

I went to see my doctor again this morning. He is definitely a very peculiar looking man. He's practically bald, has large, drooping jowls and big pointy ears that stick out from his head. They resemble those of Legolas so much it's freaky, except they're much larger and stick out more. He looks like a cross between a pixie and a goblin. But very friendly. And he doesn't speak with an unintelligible regional accent.

Last night the Croissant couldn't sleep and I was in the kitchen, reading, so she came in and started talking to me. Then the Boy joined us and we stayed up till almost 4, chatting.

I love my art class

After many many sleepless nights, I have finally finished my art projects for my art class. The cat is a puppet- very beautiful I have to admit, especially since I'm awful at sewing and I had to sew the two sides of the body together. I superglued it to the head and accidentally superglued my hand to it as well but I finally detached myself, along with a few layers of skin. I love superglue. I once superglued a red frog to my friend's notebook in class when I was bored. It was so he wouldn't have to remember to bring lollies to class, he could just lick the cover of his notebook.

I was going to make a demon instead of a cat because I thought it would be funny to scare my sister's child with it but Em and Mel told me it was too cruel. The penguin is for Allen for Christmas. It's SOOOOO CUTE!!! It's one of those toys where you push it but it stand back upright when you let go. The body is made from a small light bulb. I spent forever trying to separate the metal part from the glass without breaking it, and then chipping away the inside bit that has the tiny wires. The first one cracked and I threw it at the wall in a fit of rage.

Our next project for this class is some sort of toy made from recyclable material. I thought about getting two empty cans and some string to make those stilt-like things that you can stand on and walk about on but it seems to be a bit of a cop out because they're so easy to make.

Segovia

It was so hard to get up this morning. We got home from the hot springs at about 1:30 am. Em was hiring a car so we could drive to Segovia and then tomorrow she, Chris and Tamara are heading to San Sebastian. Stefano decided he wanted to come to Segovia as well so he took his car with Javi, Gian and Alexis. We left for Segovia at 10:30 am ish but didn't get there till four hours later. I was sitting between Mel and Tamara and they both started feeling carsick because the road was so windy and I was petrified one or both of them would throw up on me.

Had lunch at this dodgy place called Disnei Bar which sold hamburgers for really cheap (when we ate them we found out why). Walked around a bit, saw the cathedral, then went to the castle. Segovia is famous for its aquaducts (which are cool- you walk through them to get to the old town), cathedral and castle apparently. The castle was very attractive but by the time we went up the tower, it was almost 6 pm and freezing so I wasn't too upset that it was closing time. (Photo clockwise from left: Gian, Stefano, Chris, Javi, Alexis, me, Em, Mel and Tamara)

We got back home just before midnight. This time, we didn't take the windy, mountainous road but went through Burgos, which is a longer route but is mostly freeway and straight. It was Javier's birthday on Thursday and Sevi's yesterday so all the boys were out celebrating and getting drunk. I felt bad that we couldn't go join them but we were all dead tired. It's not like I did much today besides walk around Segovia and sit in a car for eight hours but I just felt totally slumped.

Busy busy

I've had the best weekend in ages but now I'm completely exhausted. Em's friend Tamara came to visit so we got to do heaps of cool stuff. On Wednesday, we finally climbed the mound/hill/mini mountain in Logrono. It took us less than an hour to get up the top, despite it looking so high and scrubby. We were going to have a picnic at the top but there was no wind cover and it was freezing so we moved down a bit but the ground was covered in prickly plants and things and it was very uncomfortable. We moved down a bit more and by this time we were practically at the bottom anyway. But someone had grown a vineyard on the hill so we sat in it and ate.

Quique, one of the students going to UTS next year, had organised to drive us to a wine museum so we met him at the uni at 9 am on Friday. The museum also had a bodega and the most amazing views ever. The photo on the left was one of the views you get of the vineyards behind the museum walls. They also have a crazy corkscrew collection and some original Picasso paintings, amongst other things. We got a free glass of wine at the end but I didn't like it that much. (Photo: Em, me, Mel and Tamara).

We then went to see a hotel designed by the same architect who designed the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Very interesting, if hideous. Absolutely didn't go with the backdrop at all. And the town it's in is practically a ghost town. We walked through it for half an hour and saw three people at most. I have no idea why anyone would want to stay there.

That night, Javier (not the one who went to UTS, a crazy guy who likes to hang out with international people) invited us to his parents' house in Arnedo and we had the biggest dinner imaginable. I swear I ate my body weight in food. They had a fire and a fire oven so his parents roasted potatoes, garlic, chicken drumsticks, chicken wings, pork ribs, pig snouts, mushrooms, eggs, some other kind of meat and apples and we also had bread, salad, homemade marinated capsicum, brownies and tiramisu (it was Tamara's birthday). And lots of wine, coke, champagne, beer and a homemade berry liquour. Afterwards we went to the natural hot springs. There are four temperatures: very hot, quite warm, comfortable and freezing. It was all outdoors so we had the mountains and stars in the background. Luckily the only light came from the moon because I was so bloated from the food I'm glad no one could see me.

The Croissant has arrived

Our new flatmate came today. She's staying for 8 months and has enough stuff to fill two rooms. Pity she got the smallest room YAHA HAHAHAH HAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHA. She's the one with the horrible mum and I have to say I feel like she's taken after her mother in that respect- she's horrible. We've decided to call her the Croissant (pronounced Croy-son) because she's french and is a bit like a croissant. All right to look at but makes you feel sick if you go anywhere near it. She just has the most pompous, patronising, pretentious way of speaking.

Lisa sent me this photo of Gryffin. He's so beautiful.

Ghengis will never be forgotten

He has passed away. It was an awful shock to my system and I ran shrieking to Mel's room to tell her the news at 6 am in the morning. She told me not to give up hope, that perhaps he was hibernating but when we looked again a few hours later he was indeed deceased. I keep asking myself why. What did we do wrong? Was it because he was anorexic and never ate? Was he just too young? Was he not destined to stay in this world for long? Perhpas it would have been better if we'd never had him. I loved him so dearly. So tiny and yet with such a large personality.

We skipped the uni party and had a funeral for him. Mel read an Emily Dickinson poem ('A death blow is a life blow to some'- one of her few not-too-depressing ones), I said a few words and we closed the casket and drifted him to sea on the Rio Ebro. We found a casket that actually had a turtle on the lid and we put a few shrimps in with him so he wouldn't feel so alone. Goodbye, my unique little friend.

Mondayitis

I think it's called Mondayitis. The disease people get when they feel like they can't get up on a Monday morning and go to work. Except I think I just have Dayitis because it doesn't happen on a Monday to me, it happens every day. The only reasons I get up are because a) I need to pee and b) I need to check how Ghengis Khan is. He fell asleep mid-crawl when he was sliding off a rock into the water so he ended up sleeping with his face in the water and his shell/body still on the rock. I thought he'd died so I splashed water on him and he looked up at me irritably and went back to sleep.

I ran out of clean underwear the other day because I couldn't be bothered washing my clothes and I realised I had become a true bum. I decided I could a) not wear underwear b) buy some more so I could put off washing for a few more days c) steal someone else's d) hope that clean underwear would inexplicably rain down on me from the sky. I went with option d) and I'm still waiting. Actually, I did end up washing my clothes and just wore them wet which is not cool. Very uncomfortable.

I also flew into a rage on Saturday night and threw a wine bottle (empty) against my wall and then bashed my bed with my pillow. My poor flatmate who was watching TV in the room next door must have thought I had become a psychotic bottle destroying maniac because he now sidles out of the room whenever I enter it. I'm not mad, I'm expressive.

Vomitorio

This was where we sat for the soccer match. It sounds so Latin. 'Let's meet at the vomitorio after lunch for a regurgitatingly great time.'

Completely irrelevantly, I'm amazed at my ability to look awful on camera. It's a skill I've cultivated over the years and the hard work has finally paid off. Em and Mel aren't so bad themselves.

Pump classes have come to Logrono! I didn't realise how much I missed them till I felt my butt muscles ache from the lunges. It's amazing how fast muscles can atrophy in 9 months. My competitive streak really comes out in this class. After 2 weeks, I increased the weights and the instructor asked me 'What weights are you using? I'll use them too' and increased his weights so I increased them again this week and now I can barely move. But really, I just want big muscles so I can hit people and really hurt them. There's this girl we nicknamed TGB (Temperamental German Bitch) because she's temperamental, bitchy and happens to be from Germany. Anyway, I wouldn't mind hitting her but she's twice my size so I have to make sure if I do ever whack her that I hit her so hard she lands far enough from me that I have time to run away.

Real Madrid vs. Bucharest

Yesterday was absolutely fantastic (except for the part where I had to wake up at 6:30 am). For only 30 euros, we got a bus to and from Madrid and tickets to see the soccer match between Real Madrid and Bucharest. Met up with Monique and Beth for lunch at The Wok (YAY! ASIAN FOOD! ASIAN FOOD!) which was the best meal I'd had in ages, despite the fact that we waited more than an hour for it, so I basically didn't eat all day till 3 pm, by which time my stomach had shrunk so I could barely fit it all in. But I still managed to crawl next door with Em, Beth and Monique for a Starbucks chai latte while Mel and Alexis went to the Reina Sofia.

The game started at 8:45 and our seats were in the last row but one, but near the halfway line so we still managed to see everything pretty well. Bucharest played better in the first half and then in the second half Ronaldo and Beckham came on and they lagged. Someone on the Madrid team scored an accidental goal- one of those really slow motion ones that sort of just roll across the white line while everyone freezes and watches it. The Bucharest goalie nearly killed himself, he was so upset. Just the atmosphere of being at the game of one of the best soccer teams in the world was fantastic. I have decided though, that when I become world dictator, I'm going to ban those hooting things that fans have at the games. They are the most irritating, eardrum popping, horrible inventions of all time, along with nuclear bombs.

Real Madrid won 1-0 because Bucharest just kept missing goals by inches. The end of a game is always such an anticlimax because all the players just stop and start shaking hands. Unless someone scores a goal 2 seconds before the end or falls down dead. We headed back to Logrono at 11:30, got home before 4 am and I spent most of today sleeping. I have become the most incredible bum ever. I had no food left in the house (and I'd eaten practically all of Mel's) but I couldn't be bothered changing out of my dressing gown to walk half a minute down the street to the supermarket. I eventually did because I wanted to check if my package from Allen had arrived and Mel promised to buy me a kinder surprise egg if I went.

Housewarming dinner

I think our housewarming dinner went pretty well. It was a bit hard with the international people and the Spanish because the Spanish spoke too fast for the internationals so the internationals reverted to their own languages, but when you're eating you're not supposed to talk anyway because then you either talk with your mouth full, which is disgusting or you miss out on the food. The Spanish are alcoholics. There were 14 of us, 2 bottles of champagne, 1 bottle of white and around 6 bottles of red and they were pretty much all finished by the Spanish end of the table before dessert was even served. I wish one less person had come because according to Agatha Christie, if you have a table of 13, the first to get up is the next to die. And I wanted to see if it was true and who it would be.

Reuben was supposed to try my hakarl (the putrefied sharkmeat I brought back from Iceland that I put in the freezer) but in the end, only Timon, Beza and I were brave enough to have some. Go us! We rock. We could only eat a piece each so I put the rest back in the freezer for when Lisa comes to visit. (Timon: Mmmm, I'll have some more thanks. Cath: Please, kill me now. Beza: Quick! I need gasoline!)

After dinner we went out to dance at the bars. We had an extra hour of partying because of the daylight saving change but I went home at the same hour I always do except now it was an hour earlier so I stayed up and watched Invader Zim.

Yesterday, The Fellowship of the Ring was on TV in Spanish. Frodo Baggins became Frodo Bolson, the orcs became orcos or orcas and Gimli the dwarf became Gimli el enano. I usually hate dubbed versions because the voices are so incredibly irritating (the females are always high-pitched and whiny and the men sound constipated) but this was pretty good. Still don't like Frodo. He's so useless in the film.

Clockwise at table from front left: Johanna, Ana, Timon, Beza's back, Reuben's nose, Fernando, Javier, Em, Mel, Alexis, Stefano, Gian and Tania.

Stupid Australian laws

I emailed the Australian Office for importing pets and the stupid person said that due to environmental reasons, turtles aren't allowed to be imported except by zoos. But he's so tiny. And so cute. With such a long tail. I'm absolutely devastated. Look at how tiny and adorable he is. I'm going to visit my great-uncle in Germany for Christmas, probably, so I thought maybe I can give him to his granddaughter. I'm so upset. I came up with all these mad ideas about how to smuggle him into Australia in a plastic container in my pocket but I don't want to be imprisoned or fined $50 000. But he's so lovely and... turtley.

It's my grandfather's funeral this weekend. All the international people went out for another dinner last night but I didn't feel like mingling so I came home after going to a free Beethoven concert and watched series 2 of Kath & Kim in one go. I bought Ghengis a rubber turtle model so he doesn't feel like his container's too empty but it's bigger than he is and has no tail. Hope it doesn't freak him out.

I finished and handed in my assignment four days early. Yay for me. I was just really irritable and tired for no reason, but fidgety and nervous at the same time so I decided to channel my energy into something positive. I suspect it's crap but at least it's done and that's one less thing to think about. We're having a dinner tonight at our flat, as a sort of house warming thing. It was supposed to be only around 8 people but ballooned to around 15 and I don't want to have it any more. Javier and some of his friends are coming which will be fun, but we also have other people coming that I don't know so well, so WHY THE HELL ARE THEY INVITED???

The new girl who's moving into the empty room came with her family yesterday to see the flat. Her mum is a fat, pushy, obnoxious, loud, racist, nasty bitch. I hate her daughter already. Mel and I were whispering to each other in English while they were looking around, and her mum was like 'Oh, Americans.' I replied 'Excuse me, not Americans, we're Australians.' And the fat cow said 'Yes, yes, I know, but to us French people, all people who speak English are Americans.' I should have called her a close-minded bitch to her face. And when she met Jian, she rolled her eyes and said 'Oh, a Brazilian boy.' And then later, when they came up again to move in the girl's stuff, I went to hide in my room but Jian kindly offered to help them with the bags and she asked him 'Where's the little chinese girl with the slanted eyes?' When she left, I had a rant to Jian about it. Firstly, I already told her I was Australian, and secondly, I'm Taiwanese not Chinese. Get it right you maggot-brained sow. And lastly, my eyes are not slanted, they're beautiful. I know because Allen tells me and he has very good taste in these things. Get that right too, you rotting carcass. If her daughter is anything like her, I'm going to make her life miserable. I'm very skilled at that- ask Allen.