planes, trains, and broomsticks

Hello all!!
Even though I've been here for so long, there are still things that happen here that are so different than back in the states that I'm having trouble getting used to.
One is Halloween, and the celebrating or not celebrating it. Here is the opposite of UNC: its non-existent. Kids don't trick or treat, no one dresses up: its just another day. But not to worry, the international students showed them how its done. :) One of my friends threw a party and we all dressed up, ate candy and generally had a good time. She even carved oranges into mini jack-o-lanterns! Another interesting side note: in the UK, everyone must dress up as something scary. You can be a princess/cat/movie character, so long as you make it scary. This, combined with the wardrobe limitation inherent in studying abroad, meant that along with three friends I was a witch. Complete with the hat. :)
However, the "Australians don't celebrate Halloween" does not apply to my street. :) The suburb I live in is a bit... alternative, for lack of a better word. The street has 4 or 5 goth stores on it, and during the day of Halloween the sidewalk in front of every single one was overflowing with people in costumes, either scary or cute, but dressed in all black. Additionally, the two funeral homes on the street capitalized on the opportunity as well: one seemed to be holding a raffle/ market out front, and the other had a carriage pulled by black horses holding a child-sized coffin on the street in front of it. A bit morbid, but also funny to see everyone all decked out. There was more eyeliner being worn on that street than in a Broadway play. :)
But anyways, another difference is weather. As everyone back in the northern hemisphere is breaking out the jackets and quilts, it has gotten HOT here. Seriously hot. In Sydney it's always in the 80's and 90's, and hotter in other parts of the country. I just got back from a trip to Alice Springs, Uluru, and Adelaide, and it was 118 one day in Alice. Yikes.
To university students here, the first week of November is known as "study vacation" because after classes are over there is a week off before final exams begin. For me, however, I emphasized the vacation part more than the study part. I only have one final and it is on the 16th, so I figured I'd have plenty of time for studying later. :)
Two friends (Jacob and Elyse) and I headed to Alice Springs. The first few days was we spent traveling around the outback visiting sites like Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and King's Canyon. Because these are so spread out (both from each other and from the 30,000 person metropolis that is Alice Springs) we did an organized tour. We slept outside in swags (basically a canvas bag with built in mini-mattress you put your sleeping bag inside) which was really fun. The stars were incredible, and the only light around was the moon. We also got up ridiculously early both days- 5am and 4am- but in the end it made sense, because hiking at 7 sounds pretty good if it means you get to do it in 70 or 80 degree weather instead of 100+.
Let me back up: Uluru (also known as Ayer's Rock) and Kata Tjuta (also called the Olgas, but the lesser known of the two) are monoliths. To call them giant rocks doesn't do them justice. They are MASSIVE. We hiked around the base of Uluru- it was a 10.6km hike, nearly 7 miles. Its about 370 meters high, and the thing about monoliths is most of their mass is actually underground (like icebergs). It was huge and beautiful... I can't really put into words what it was like. But we spent time hiking around all three, which was really fun.
We also learned a lot about the local Indigenous culture: the Arrente nation actually owns Uluru and lease it back to the Australian government. Miles, our guide, knew a lot and told us about the dreaming (their creation stories). It involves animal ancestors whose actions shaped the landscape: stories explain various features of the rock. To the Arrente people, Uluru is a sacred site, and you aren't allowed to take photos of certain parts of it.
We were given the option of climbing Uluru: that is, to climb up to the top of it. However, its really disrespectful to the Aborigines to do it, so I wasn't going to do it (along with most of the group). But then it was closed (too windy), so none of us did.
After that trip, we spent a couple days in Alice. We saw the desert park (which is like a zoo but without fences), the original overland telegraph station (which connected Australia much more effectively with England), the spring Alice Springs was named after, and a base for the Royal Flying Doctor service. The latter exists because of how uninhabited central Australia is- there often aren't doctors located in the various towns (or even smaller cattle stations), so they are flown in or come to fly out the patients. After we went, I thought of a question: if a baby is born in a plane (which does happen, apparently), what do you put on the birth certificate for place of birth? ;)
To mix things up, Elyse and I took the train out instead of flying- Jacob had to go back before us because of exams. The 22-hour trip took us through the outback to Adelaide in South Australia. The train moved surprisingly slowly, but I guess it can't pick up too much speed when it has to make sure there aren't cattle on the track. We only had one afternoon in Adelaide- our flight back to Sydney left the next morning, but it was enough time to check out a cool museum, a chocolate factory, and the main streets of the city. Its a cool city I guess, but not so much a tourist attraction, if you know what I mean.
That was the trip! As is typical of me, I took 700+ pictures throughout the week, which I have yet to begin editing. There are too many! :) Doubtless it will be a procrastination project later this week when I'm avoiding studying.
Another interesting thing I've noticed: here, mall Christmas directions went up before Halloween. Which to me seems way too early: I'm okay with them after Thanksgiving, but late October seems a bit premature. It was only when talking to a couple Australians about this that I realized they don't have the Thanksgiving as a way of ushering in the Christmas season. :) In addition to the decorations going up super early, they don't seem to fit Australia. They have Christmas trees, fir wreaths, and icicles. ICICLES. What? It just blows my mind that in a place like Adelaide, where the weather is regularly over 100 in November/December, they line the streets with light-up snowflakes. :)
This is my last email for the foreseeable future. My final is on Monday, and I move out for good on Wednesday. That day my epic travels begin: first a road trip through Canberra (Australia's capital- bet none of you knew that) to Melbourne, and then two weeks in New Zealand! The first week a group of friends is exploring the south island, but the second week I'm headed to the north island to do some traveling solo, which I'm actually really excited about. :) Then I'll be in Sydney again for 4-ish days before flying home- I can hardly believe it!
Like I say every time, thank you all so much for your encouraging emails/letters/messages. Its so great to hear from you all.
I'll try and send some kind of final update either during or after New Zealand, but even if I don't, know that you've got
Love from down under,
Emma