James Bond and Captain Kirk

Some of the girls before the ball (L-R: me, Laine, Stef, Katie, Cassie).

My friend Beth and me with all of our winnings from the Black Jack table.

Hello Friends,

Today marks the end of a very relaxing, yet fun, weekend in Wollongong. On Friday we had the Casino Royale Ball on campus. It was dinner, dancing, and fake gambling for students who live in on campus accommodations. It was my first opportunity to really get dressed up here, so I wore the only nice dress I brought along (just a simple black dress) and I straightened my hair for the 3rd time since I've been here. A bus picked us up from International House and brought us all to Uni where the ball was held. . .the bus seemed a little out of place (I don't think Cinderella's fairy godmother would have approved).

We had assigned seating for dinner, but luckily I ended up at a table where I knew most of the people. They did some James Bond trivia during dinner (which I was awful at) and gave away prizes for best dressed. After dinner we were given fake gambling money and I went straight to the tables. I think I ended up playing Black Jack for 2 or 3 hours and I am convinced that it is my new calling in life. . .but only if I can always use fake money.

Saturday morning I decided I was finally fed up with the cold that I have been fighting off for the past 2 1/2 weeks, so I went to a clinic in town and got myself some antibiotics. I'm already feeling better and I'm hoping I will be 100% by the time I run my half-marathon next Sunday. I also got to spend a little time at the beach on Saturday and then some friends and I rented some movies from our favorite little video rental store (2 movies for only $6!) and relaxed for most of the evening.

Sunday I tried to put in a few hours of studying, but I got bored quickly. Luckily a group of I-house residents play soccer every Sunday and I decided to take a little break and join them. I was immediately reminded that I have not really played soccer in about 5 years by my lack of coordination on the field. I spent most of the game passing the ball to the other team and missing passes to me, but it was still a lot of fun. We got rained on half-way through the game which led to a lot of slipping and sliding and a few minor injuries (but everyone was just fine). I am feeling a little sore today though. . .

I must admit that I have achieved a new level of geekiness here in Australia. Some of my friends wanted to go see the new Star Trek movie (it premiered in Australia this weekend, but it has probably been out for awhile in the States) and I agreed to go with them on Sunday night. Here's the really geeky part. . .I actually enjoyed it! In fact, it was a really good movie and one of the better movies I've seen in awhile. I highly recommend it to everyone. . .even if you're not normally a sci-fi fan.

This was one of my last "normal" weekends in Wollongong, so it was nice to just relax and hang out with friends. I'll let you guys know if I have any more adventures in the near future and I would love to hear about what is happening in your lives as well so shoot me an email!