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| On the Swan River boat cruise |
Last post, I can't believe it! My last two weeks in Perth were filled with mostly studying for finals and packing. They still flew by nonetheless. I attended a swan river boat cruise that was for the exchange students. It was a small, two hour cruise on the river that runs through Perth, and it was great to see everyone one last time. Some of the people I spoke to, I hadn't seen since the Northwest Trip and so it was good to say goodbye.
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 At the Footy game. Glasses were worn to possibly win prizes. |
In addition, I went to a footy game. This was an AFL (Aussie rules) rugby game with two home teams (Dockers vs. Eagles) and so the stadium was packed. It was so much fun, and I really enjoyed the game! Aussie rules footy does not have many rules, and the referees are not too stingy on calling illegal moves. I was sitting on the Eagles side and so the lack of calling illegal moves went unnoticed unless against the Eagles. Also, there were some elderly men sitting behind us that were very into the game and had some colorful language to yell at the players. This was also comical. I think I prefer footy to American rules football, the game is more fast paced.
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| The packed stadium |
During the last week, Tom and I met Dan's family from Zimbabwe for dinner. They were lovely people, and I could understand the accent pretty well (for the most part). They talked about their lifestyle in Zimbabwe, and it sounds very different from what I'm used to. They also thought the weather was freezing (it was 65 degrees), and I explained Minnesota winters. They couldn't believe that work and school wouldn't automatically closed if it snowed!
I left Perth at about midnight on Friday and prepared myself for a long couple of days. We had 5 stops on the way home, and travel time totaled about 40 hours. My toothpaste was taken at one of the early security checkpoints and so that was very unfortunate! However, I made it home safely and on-time, and my luggage did as well.
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| Perth is famous for its black swans |
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| Last view of the city |
Studying abroad in general was the most amazing thing I have done, and I would recommend it to anyone. Perth was the perfect place for me to study abroad. It had everything I could have hoped for and more. I was able to do things that I never thought I would be able to do, and I have absolutely no regrets. I am going to miss the relaxed manner that Aussies have. They don't worry about being on-time so much, and they are not in as much of a rush. They also tend to not wear shoes into shops. I probably won't miss that so much. I am also really going to miss the fun accents. In the beginning I had the hardest time understanding them, and by the end of my time there, it sounded like they hardly even had an accent anymore. I am also going to miss the great range of diversity. I was able to meet people from around the world, from countries I had never heard of, and hear about the different ways of life. I now have friends in many different countries that I am excited to keep in touch with. Living in Perth was like a dream, and I know I will visit again some day.
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| Perth Bell Tower |
