PRIME Presentations

Hi all! Sorry about the delay in updating this thing, but I had to put it off for a while to focus on preparing for a presentation (which went well- see pics below!). This may be my last blog for a while, since next week is my last week (*tear*) and I don't know if I will have time to post. It is crazy how fast time has flown by! It is strange to think that I will be leaving here in a little over a week. I have such mixed emotions... because I miss being home and seeing family and friends very much, yet I don't want to leave Australia and the people I met here. However- I am very much excited for our upcoming adventure in New Zealand!! I wish we had more time to explore there, because there is SO MUCH to see.

Well, since I can't remember what I did last week to my lack of memory =P I went through my pics to remind myself. Last Tuesday, we (me, Steph, and Liz) joined our German friends (Matthias, Michaela, and Lena) from the Claremont and went to a restaurant/bar right on the Yarra River near Flinders Station.
Here we are on the train, on our way there.
At the place, they have huge heat lamps set up all around, so we could sit outside without freezing, and it was a beautiful night! You can see part of the city lit up behind us across the river. We stayed there for a while, just hanging out and talking, since it was a really nice atmosphere there.
Michelle's sister, Lisa, joined us too! The restaurant is behind us here.
This cool tree was next too us, lit up with blue lights. All the trees along the river in this area were lit with colorful lights- a very nice effect I must say!
Another shot of the river and the city at night.
This was our view in the other direction- down the Yarra River. This is actually the direction that The Claremont (our guesthouse) is in, since our hotel is very close to the river too.
All of us (minus Michaela- who was taking the picture)

On Saturday, I went for a walk down the Yarra River in the morning with Stephany. It was a beautiful morning! We walked about 2.6 kilometers, then turned around and walked back down the other side of the river. I definitely want to walk that route again- there is a walking/biking path that goes along the river the whole way. After that, Liz, Steph, and I went down to Queen Victoria Market to do some shopping. Haha, that place sucked us in and we ended up being there for 3 hours and I spent all the cash I had on me, and then some (I borrowed from Liz =P) Twas fun! Then we walked around the city, exploring some places I had never been.
Here's Steph and Liz in Flagstaff Gardens- basically another park near the market. Apparently it used to be a cemetery lol.
Trying to figure out what time it is on a sundial when the sun is behind a cloud is no easy task let me tell ya!
Eventually, we just gave up... and kept walking.
A wide view of Flagstaff Gardens- the city is behind it.
"Witches in Britches" Haha. It looked kind of like a Medieval Times sort of place, as they put on a show at night. I just thought the name was funny. =)
The "Public Baths" in Melbourne (disclaimer: back in the olden days, baths meant pools)
The oldest prison in Melbourne! No longer functioning, but cool to look at.
I'm just glad they are on the right side of the gate =O
Lygon Street- the Italian precinct in Melbourne. It was very fun to walk down the street here- it was one Italian eatery after another, and they all looked really tasty! There was several cafes and little shops too. Lots of families and big groups eating here, which I think shows Italian culture pretty well.
We stopped at one of the restaurants to grab dinner as the sun was setting.
It was called "Cafe Cavallino," and it was a good choice indeed! I love Italian food.
We sat outside, under heaters, so people walking on the sidewalk would walk right by us.
Here's me and my delicious cannoli!
On our way back home, we saw this salsa band playing in the middle of Federation Square! So we stopped and listened to the few songs they played before they stopped for the night. They were very good!
They had strung up lights all the way across Federation Square as well.
We got back to The Claremont and met up with the Germans again.
PRIME shoes! Can you tell which one is mine?
John and Andres joined us too. I'm not sure what Andres is doing in this picture, haha.

The next day (Sunday), we went back to the city early in the morning to look down some arcades and alleys that have tons of cafes. Here we are outside Flinders Station:
First we went down Degraves street, which was a little alley that had more graffiti in one place than I had ever seen!So colorful! While we were taking pictures, a trash truck driver came by to pick up trash, and he was highly amused that anyone would find this place worth taking a picture of. Haha, I think we made his day. We told him we were from California and he told us we could find plenty of better places to take a picture of.
Still, I thought it was pretty neat =)
From there we explored some arcades- which were really just little areas packed with shops and cafes.
Here we are checking out the chocolates they were selling at Koko Black- a chocolate shop.
"Gog and Magog" were watching over the arcade.
These arcades are practically hidden, as we had passed by them many times before and didn't even realize they were there! I'm glad we found most of them while we are here.
After exploring, we had to head to the office to work on our powerpoint presentations (yes- on a Sunday). Here is a view from the window of our floor at Monash Uni.
Finally, Tuesday came- the big day for our presentation!! Steph looks nervous...

Liz and David setting up the projector. A fair amount of people showed up to hear us (I never knew we were so popular! hehe).
Liz presented first...
Then Saleh...
Then Steph...
Then me...
And finally Michelle!Michelle's was obviously the best because she put so much emotion into her presentation.
Larry Smarr happened to be in Melbourne at the same time (perfect timing!) so he came to hear us too. He even said a few words of his own at the end about PRIME and Calit2.
Here's the whole gang- looking very relieved to have our seminar over with. It was good practice too for our presentation for PRIME once we get back to UCSD.
That night, we went over to John and Andres' new accomodation in Upfield, on the other side of the city. They have a really nice place! It is above a karate school, and it is huge! It has 8 rooms, kitchens, a big bathroom, washer and dryer, 3 refrigerators, and even a gym complete with a sauna.
To celebrate our presentation being over, we tried making popcorn on the stove. But...
It was popping everywhere! Lol, this was hilarious- there was popcorn everywhere.
A little burnt, but we still ate it =D
Hanging out with John! He pulled out his laptop so we could listen to salsa music.
John was trying to teach Saleh how to salsa.
Then we all joined in! A mini salsa dancing party began.
Me and Michelle did a little swing dancing too, just for fun. A bit odd to do with salsa music, but no worries!
Oh man- pop the collar!
Hahahaha, Saleh and Liz's modeling shots. It looks like Liz's hair is blowing in the wind or something.
On our way home, we saw North Melbourne station- home of my beloved Kangaroos AFL team!

Since Tuesday, life has been pretty normal. We made another microwave cake last night, yum! With a ton of Milo in it too hehe. Now it's Friday, and we are getting ready for our second to last weekend! It's essentially our last weekend with Liz, since she is leaving us next Saturday (*sob*) I don't know what we will do without her.

That is all! Cheers mates!