July 31

Our original plan to wake up and go to the farmer's market downtown was foiled because we woke up, hungover. Instead, we just made some breakfast and packed up to head down to the Gold Coast. We met Chey and went out for some lunch (sushi), picked up some drinks for later and hung out at her beachside abode for the rest of the afternoon. Here, they sell pre-mixed Rum and Cokes, only next time we will mix our own because they were only 5% alcohol. Anyway, we took a late night walk on the beach after dark. It was beautiful and still pretty warm. Sometimes I just can't believe I'm in Australia. Life felt pretty good with the sand beneath my toes, surf on one side, friends on the other and a blanket of stars above. I felt pretty darn lucky.

We got ready and went out for Lina's birthday. I'm getting very sick of the $10 weak drinks. Last time I checked a Vodka Red Bull was yellow, I don't know why ours was brown. I guess some coke got mixed in, too. Horrible. We ended up running into a guy from Lina's class and all of his friends. One of them mentioned that if my grandfather was an ANZAC, I might be able to get citizenship and reduce my tuition. What a great idea! I looked later, though and I think my parents have to have been citizens, so it might not work. Anyway, Jillian and Chey went back home and Lina and I went to a club which the guys had to pay $20 (each!) for. They played only trance music so we left pretty fast and found Jillian and Chey trying to hail a cab.

Here is a photo of the view from Chey's apartment in Main Beach. Gorgeous!