Surprise Song Sunday: Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis.

To make up for the lack of Oasis at the Opening Ceremony. 60 years of English music history, and no Oasis. I ask you.

Word of the Day: English

These could be the best days of our liiiiives.

The more astute of you would have realised that I have been back home for a while now. Up until now, I haven't really found the effort to write about it. But here I am, backstory and all explaining why I've taken so long to do what I'm about to do.

Right into it then.

Hong Kong was fun. Saw some relos, which is always a good experience, given that I see them about once every half a century. Or something. I also bought far, far more than I should have, mostly because stuff is so cheap there, but also mostly because stuff is a lot more cooler over there.

By stuff, I mean clothes and stuff. Hey, I never claimed to be a wordsmith.

The trip as a whole was absolutely amazing. Yes, there were difficult moments. Yes, it was a long time to be away from home. Yes, it did cost me a fair bit. But you know, it was all in the name of learning and having fun. And all of the experiences I had, all the stuff I learnt, all the places I visited, all the sights I saw, all the fantastic people I met, all the tan I got, made all the minute difficulties worth it.

I am, however, glad to be home. There's nothing quite like going overseas to strange countries (I'm looking at you, Poland and Lithuania) to make you realise how great Australia really is. I also got a bit sick of living in hotel rooms, not driving myself around, and just generally being semi-beholden to what fate/mischance had in store for me.

I also missed people back home. Friends, family, etc.

And Melbourne water. That stuff is heavenly. They should export that stuff. Especially to Poland, where the water is acidic and filled with mercury. Or something.

Coming back home, however, means dealing with all the homie stuff. You know, assessments, thesis, losing my tan, readjusting to actually having to do work, remembering to not start speaking Polish to people (I'm pretty much fluent in Polish now, it's kind of like my mother tongue, except my mother isn't from Poland), readjusting to the fact that people aren't surprised at the fact that I speak English, and reverting back to not enunciating clearly when speaking with strangers. Not all of that is necessarily bad, but I'll let you sort out which is which.

Thesis is killing me a little bit. I'm still trying to figure out which direction I'm going to take it in. Urgh.

And because I didn't get enough of England (or lack of sleepness) on my trip, I'm going to do a pre-dawn wake-up to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, which, for my friends who dwell under rocks, is in England this time around. I'll see you online tomorrow morning then.

Word of the Day: Back

Surprise Song Sunday: Coming Home - John Legend

It feels like I've been everywhere,

But someday I'll be coming home.

In case you didn't know, I'm back! 

More on that later.

Word of the Day: Home

Hong Storm.

This place is contriving to give me zero sleep today.

I try to go to bed at 1:30, but I think a combination of the heat and anticipation of being home kept me up for about an hour.

Then, around half an hour ago, I awoke to the sound of thunder clapping and the pitter patter of rain. Actually, more PITTER PATTER. And THUNDERRRRR CLAPPING. The sound more like canon shots. I'm not even kidding.

So now I can't sleep. Won't stop me from popping on The Beatles and trying though.

There were birds

In the sky

But I never

Saw them winging

No, I never saw them winging

Til there was you.

Word of the Day: Pitter

Honky Town + more substantial summary/reflections on the tour.

Good morning from Hong Kong. I've only spent a night here, but I've already managed to have dinner with my aunty and most of her family, which was full of happy times. 

So what's there to look forward to in this place? Mostly shopping and eating, I imagine. Wooooo.

That's enough about the future. On to the past. Namely reflections on the tour.

The tour was amazing. I particularly liked the mix of mostly depressing days, and almost always fun nights. I don't know about everyone else, but the mix kept me from being overwhelmed by all the death and destruction that we were reliving in the death camps and mass graves. 

These fun nights only came about because of the people on the tour though. And most of these people were absolutely amazing. For the most part, kind-hearted, generous, fun, and funny, and I'm glad to have met them. I'm already starting to miss them, and I think I'm getting withdrawal symptoms because of it. The symptoms manifest themselves in things like thinking that Scarlett and Sarah were shouting for me from the back of the plane I was on, hearing what I thought was Flick being outraged at something, thinking Sam was shouting 'oi' at me at the airport, and thinking that I heard Louise laugh on the plane. It's not happening anymore, so don't call a doctor or anything. 

A substantial part of the goodness of the tour was due to the people on it, and it wouldn't have been half as awesome without them. Thanks guys. 

My favourite part of the tour is a toss-up between Chopin in the park and the random jam session in Sejny. Chopin in the park because Chopin's music is beautiful, the setting was beautiful, and it contrasted wonderfully with what we'd been seeing and visiting on the tour up until that point. Chopin played again while we watched The Pianist on the bus on the last day of the tour, and I thought it was a coincidentally amazing conclusion because of that. Both Chopin in the park and The Pianist almost made me cry. The jam session because of the awesome randomness of it all, and the mad clarinet solo. 

My least favourite part was probably the (mostly self-inflicted) chronic lack of sleep. Most days were something like 2 o' clock sleep, 7 o' clock wake up. But yeah, even this was a consequence of having fun most of the time, so really, it's not a complaint. 

I think that my actual least favourite part was leaving everyone, and having to adjust to being without the mob. Oh, and Louise getting hospitalised. That was kind of a worrying episode.  

Most random/fun thing was probably going clubbing in Lithuania. What. 

Or the random gay guy in said club who was hitting on Sam and telling him that his drink was spiked, while he was drinking from said drink. Or the ensuing talk about life and stuff that Sam and I had in my hotel room bathroom. 

Or having about five run-ins with the police. Street cred level 100 right here. Don't mess with me, cos I'm a real G. 

Or that time we broke into a concentration camp. Irony level 100. 

Or raving to 'Call Me Maybe' on an open-air minibus to and from dinner in Krakow. 

Or going on random H&M raids in various countries. 

Or going for a highly impulsive and unnecessary walk in a thunderstorm in Warsaw with Sam, Sarah, and Jamie.

Or finding that amazing rooftop bar in Berlin.

The random moments were numerous, and probably the most fun. 

Despite all the amazingly fun times had, I did manage to get a bit of learning and reflection in regarding the Holocaust. I still don't understand how people could have done such a thing, and I've kind of learned that there is no explanation. The entire Second World War was a horrible aberration that can't be explained. The destruction, the death, the Holocaust, the horrors in Asia, the atomic bomb. I did find it incredible that Germany seemed to have confronted and more or less dealt with its role in the War, whereas Poland has more or less not. 

A warmer part of the education was found in learning more about Jewish culture, which I did not have much of an idea about before the trip. Very interesting stuff.

Anyway, that's enough about the past now. Time to engage my brain again and start doing actual stuff soon. 

But man, they were fun times.

These could be the best days of our lives.

Word of the Day: Fun

   

Brief thought/s on tour end.

Tonight was the last night of the tour, and it was, not unexpectedly, quite bittersweet.

It was actually mostly quite a downer of a night, because of various reasons, which I'll probably discuss at length a bit later when I'm not in a state of half-sleep. 

But yeah, overall, good tour, mostly great people, good times, and extremely educational. Shall write something more substantial when the fancy takes me. 

Word of the Day: Bittersweet

Villainous Vilnius.

Yesterday, we travelled for hours upon hours upon hours to get to Vilnius, Lithuania.

Which is pretty much the entire tour in a nutshell.

Anyway, on the way there, I managed to get myself lost for half an hour in the smallest town on Earth.

Vilnius is a nice enough city. Not much that's really special about it that I've found so far.

That's all there is to report in so far.

Word of the Day: Nutshell

Hits and misses.

I thought the following post had accidentally been deleted, and that it was for the better, as it was a bit emo and not very good. However, owing to the fact that I can't be bothered retyping/editing, and also to the fact that it's ok, I'm going to post anyway. So I'm going back on my decision to go back. Yeah. It starts now!
_____________________

Doing stuff in Warsaw, having deepish chats at the hotel bar, going for a walk in the Warsaw thunderstorm, it's all been good fun.

For some reason, right now, I just want to go home. Or at least, Hong Kong.

I think it has something to do with the fact that doing the same thing every day, with the same people, brings out all the nuts from the bolts. Some people I'm starting to get sick of, although they're quite few and far between.

I'm also starting to miss seeing old friends. People that understand me, I understand them, etc. Same goes with family. Meeting new people has been amazing. Some of these people are fantastic individuals, and I'm glad and grateful to have met them, and will definitely keep in touch with after the trip. However, some people have started to grate on my nerves a little on a part-time basis. But whatever. It's just a couple of weeks, and it's almost over anyway. It's also good for practicing patience and diplomacy.

So in a sense, because of this duality, the good people and the getting on my nerves people, I'll be both sad and relieved when this trip ends.

Anyway, it's not all been doom and gloom. In between breakfast yesterday morning and walking in the thunderstorm last night (craziest thing I've done in a while - not that I really do a lot of crazy things), we managed to fit in a Chopin concert in a Warsaw park.

It was the most beautiful moment on this trip so far. Amazing how we visit death camps etc, and the thing that makes me most emotional is some Chopin in the park.

Right at the start, I actually semi-cried. I believe it was this piece:

The piece that almost made me cry.

Just everything together - the park, learning about the Holocaust, the thinking about relationships, missing home, the beauty of the music. It had a wonderful ability to speak about both yearning, hope, and sadness.

It sounds cheesy, but it just made me wish I had a special someone to share the moment with, and really highlighted for me the major thing lacking in my life right now.

It also highlighted how despite man's propensity for killing each other, we are also capable of indescribable beauty. Music speaks, and when it does, it's in a universal language.

After that piece, I just settled into a sort of melancholy, reflective torpor, rather than acute sadness and yearning.

A break from all that faux-deep stuff now. Warsaw city is pretty ugly to be honest. However, the heart of the city, where the Old City is, is quite nice. Reminded me of Venice a little bit.

Anyway, should be ok by tomorrow. Just need to get some alone time for a few minutes at the bar or something.
__________

So after typing that load of drivel, Sam subsequently picked me up from sitting in the lobby by myself like a loser, and semi-conscripted me into shopping with him, tall Meg, and Scarlett. It was kind of what I really needed at that moment, despite my desire to not talk to anyone for a bit. Cheers Sam.

So right now, I'm in Bialystock, which apparently is in Poland. I pretty much know nothing about it apart from that.

And as predicted yesterday, I'm pretty much ok now. I no longer have a burning desire to get away. I've decided not to let people who are attempting to grate on my nerves to actually do it, which has pretty much solved that particular issue.

So off to Lithuania tomorrow. I almost have no idea what that country involves, which should be interesting.

Word of the Day: Faux

The cow finally cracked.

Yesterday was completely insane and off the hook. Stick with me through my rollercoaster of a narrative, my sine graph of a story, my turbulent tale.

So I woke up in the morning, as I do on most days, when I'm being bombarded for Louise's number. I don't have it, so I'm all 'What's going on?' What was going on was that she had been hospitalised during the night. Naturally, I was a tad worried.

My worry eased somewhat an hour or so later when we were told she was more or less all good. My anxiety didn't fully abate however, and where should we be going but to two of the most depressing places on Earth: Auschwitz and Birkenau.

Auschwitz and Birkenau were both quite sad. Auschwitz focused quite heavily on volume: masses of people, masses of shoes, masses of hair. I thought it was a lot more museum-y than Birkenau, and thus wasn't as effective.

Birkenau was hot, big, and more or less in its original state. I think it was quite fitting that the weather was physically draining, as we got a taste of how it must have felt to labour there. I thought it was much more evocative and emotional.

To more or less cap off quite a turbulent day, we were reunited with Louise prior to dinner, which made me simultaneously relieved and glad.

On the way to the restaurant, I spontaneously jumped on an open top bus/taxi/golf cart in the middle of the road that the girls had hired at the hotel. As one does in Poland. Fun times.

At dinner, I was on a table with Louise, Sam and Scarlett. Quite top people all. Had some good chats and stuff.

Following dinner, street magic with Sam, and talks with Karen and Louise, we of course caught one of the kamikaze karts back to the hotel. My favourite part of sitting on the back of those things (I'm pretty much a back-sitting veteran) is the awkward eye contact you get with the people in the cars behind us. Greatest experience of my life.

Afterwards (hey, we have really short and boring days here), we played a bit of cheat with a mass of people, which is always fun.

After that (yeah, it goes on), Sam and I had a good chat-fest. I love those. He's also quite a good bloke.

So absolutely atrocious and slightly distressing morning, depressing and reflective arvo, more or less brilliant night.

And that's Krakow wrapped up.

Word of the Day: Distressing

Krakow/Cracow/Crack Cow + van Persie.

Last night, I went drinking in Krakow. It sounds intense, and it probably was. Had a good beery, and went back home. Yeah, intense.

Today, we did a walking tour of Krakow, which I enjoyed immensely. It's a pretty, lively, and small city, full of stuff to see, do, and buy, all at immensely reasonable prices. So we wandered around, did a few mosques, Schindler's factory, and ended the day by buying a heap of stuff.

Today also made me realise that most people on this tour are essentially pretty cool people.

As of yet, I haven't had a massive Holocaust horror moment, which I guess is good and bad. I do, however, fully expect Auschwitz tomorrow to be pretty full on, both positively and negatively.

Looking forward to it.

Also, van Persie.

I cannot believe it. That's pretty much the zillionth captain to leave Arsenal now. I was always a bit doubtful about his character, as everything he said seemed a bit too PR, but now it's plain for all to see it's all about money.

The club has signed two quality players already, with more probably set to follow. What else could he want in the club's future except for higher wages?

Whatever. We'll move on. Cesc was much more fundamental to the whole functioning of the team, and we managed to cope without him (albeit labouriously at times). We've already signed two quality strikers who are now looking like van Persie's replacements. We're much more on the ball, so to speak, than the last transfer window.

I say sell him. To Man City, whatever. It doesn't even matter. He's a couple of seasons away from being on the decline. If they're willing to pay a zillion pounds for him, go for it I say.

However, I won't pretend I'm not very disappointed, and a little bit sad. He was a good player, a good captain, and scintillating to watch last season. Yes, he pretty much only performed for one full season, but the technique and beauty was always there. When all is said and done, it's still a shame that we couldn't hang on to him. But in Arsene we trust.

Word of the Day: Cow

Eine kleine Berliner gutentag.

I really liked Berlin. It was a smooth, smooth city.

The greatest thing about the city is that basically everything important in the 20th century happened there. The more astute of you would know that I really dig 20th century history. So yeah, good city.

Last night, we managed to find an awesome rooftop bar called Solar.

It was fair good, in that you could talk, and you had an amazing view of Berlin at night. Had a few rums and cokes, and whatnot.

I left slightly earlier than intended, as Caitlin wanted to leave, and one does not simply let a girl walk home by herself, especially in a foreign city. Kind of wanted to go anyway, so no worries.

On a slightly related note, I've rediscovered that I get jealous exceedingly easily.

So I'm now in Cracow/Krakow, chilling with my food and people in stuff.

Word of the Day: Exceedingly

Florence again + Berlan.

On Saturday, I re-visited Florence with uni.

Walking around a foreign city with three friends is actually quite a fun experience. Despite my tone of surprise, I wasn't surprised, if that makes sense.

When I began writing this post, I was on about 2 hours of sleep, so pardon any ridiculousness that I wrote/write. Or don't. I really couldn't care less.

I think, out of all the Italian cities, Florence is the one I like the most. If you want to go to touristy places, you can do so. If you choose not to, you can also just wander the streets for a few hours, and find a myriad of interesting things to see/do/not do.

After getting "lost" and catching the later train than everyone else, us four (being Louise, Jamie, Lucy, and surprisingly, I) got back to the hotel about half an hour after everyone else.

I headed to bed, and couldn't sleep for what I think was three hours. Then had really stoppy starty sleep.

The next morning (being yesterday morning), I thought it was because of the heat and the early sleep time/wake time. In hindsight, I think it may have been me thinking about things and not being able to sleep my brain.

Same thing happened this morning, but you don't really care about that.

Anyway, back to yesterday.

We broke into a concentration camp in Fossoli (as one does), then continued bussing our way to Milano.

Milano was fairly boring, especially as I had been there before, but having a guided tour by the architect of the memorial he was building at the train station was excellent. It would have been cool even if I wasn't doing this unit, because we gained an insight into his thinking and planning processes.

After dinner, we jetted off to Berlin, from whence I am slightly tiredly typing this.

It's a lovely city, from what I've seen so far, and I'm looking forward to exploring it further.

Word of the Day: Pardon