saying goodbye...

man, it's amazing the things you can cram into 6 days. i feel like this week has been a non-stop string of last minute adventures and goodbyes. monday was spent sorting. i went through everything i have accumulated and tried to decide what i need to pack, and what i could sacrifice in order to avoid the overweight luggage fees at 3 different airports. i'm not sure if i was successful, but we'll see i guess...
tuesday was the last day of class! the asc got an introduction to maori culture before we go to new zealand... it made me even more excited to go!
the last few days i've spent with elle hanging out in the city and getting stuff done. we explored sydney uni (where we were gonna watch the election, but then didn't), went to manly beach, got some shopping done, rode lots of ferries... you know. wednesday night i did my LAST assignment for the semester, a take home theology final, which was a HUGE relief! i'm officially done with school for the semester! woohoo!!!
yesterday (thursday) i hung out with elle again and we went back into the city to get a gift for our host parents, then we went and got lunch at this delicious sandwich place. after that, we came back to get ready for the end of the year dinner, which is a thing wesley puts on every year. this year's theme was "swing the night away," so there was a live swing band (all wesley students... i'm telling you man, these kids got talent!) esther sang, too! she was great. the dance was SO much fun. the place was gorgeous... it looked like a wedding reception! and everyone was all decked out, and dinner was super classy. i ate calamari... it was actually really good! and guess what was for dessert... haha :) after dinner we all just danced and everyone was really into it, which always makes it a lot more fun. it was really bittersweet, though, because it was so fun, but i also knew it was the last time i will probably ever see most of my wesley friends! it was sad saying goodbye at the end of the night...
but after the dance about 8 of us asc'ers went into the city to have an ALL NIGHTER! we went out dancing to kill some time and keep ourselves awake, then afterwards we went to pancakes one last time :) then we went up on the overseas passenger terminal at circular quay to watch the sunrise over the opera house. it was beautiful... until a giant cruise ship came and docked right in front of us so we couldn't see it anymore. haha... it was actually really funny. it was a fun night though, and a good way to say goodbye to the city.
it's so weird thinking that i won't be in sydney anymore! it's gotten past the point of being exciting and become just a place that i live... but every time i pull into circular quay and see the opera house and bridge, i get excited all over again! it's gonna be weird not doing that anymore... and not going into class on monday, not hanging out with the townsends, not waiting for buses and trains all the freakin time...
i don't think it'll hit me really until i'm gone.
which is SOON!