I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I'm actually really going to miss Rugby League. I've been to heaps of Broncos games down the street at Suncorp Stadium, and when I'm not there, I'm cheering them on through my TV screen. Last night was the first game of State of Origin - a series of three games played between Queensland and New South Wales every year. As I watched the game last night, it hit me that I've been here for almost a year... Last July, I made it to Australia just in time for the third State of Origin game. It was one of my first true Aussie experiences. A year later, I'm ending my time in Oz with Origin. A few of my mates and I went to the Chalk Hotel (by the way, have I mentioned that hotel = bar?) to watch the footy game, decked out in maroon to cheer on the Maroons, and expecting a win - after all, Queensland has won State of Origin for the past eight years. That's right, there has never been a Facebook post about NSW winning Origin. Unfortunately, Queensland let us down last night - but it's all right, we still have two more games to go! I may shed a tear or two when I'm not here to watch them though.

Nate, Nenad, Pat, Barra, Caleb, Tessa, Kelsey and I at the Chalk. Go the Maroons!

Aussie Food Favorites

Meat pies

Australia is famous for its meat pies. It was actually my first meal when I got to Australia a year ago... a freshly baked kangaroo pie. I've loved them ever since. They're hand-sized, filled with meat, gravy, veggies and other savory ingredients. You can get them at the local bakeries for lunch or dinner, or for a late night snack at Pie Face (a chain that's usually open 24/7). But my favorite has to be Yatala Pies - famous for its gourmet pies, located at a pit stop on the way to or from the Gold Coast beaches.

Cafes
Paddington - the suburb I've lived in for the past few months - is filled with tiny shops and quirky cafes. I have to say, I've had some of the best cups of coffee since being in Australia. Kelsey and I have explored a lot of the little cafes down the street from my house, and we've spent many mornings while our kids are at school sitting at Sassafras (left) or Three Monkeys (right), sipping our flat whites.

Guzman y Gomez

I love my Mexican food. It's one thing I just can't get enough of. But in the past year, I've learned that it's super hard to find good Mexican food in Australia - after all, we are pretty far from Mexico. Guzman y Gomez has got to have the best burritos I've experienced down under. I think they're one of the only places where you can actually find black beans...

Burrito Bar
But when I'm not up to trekking into the city and paying for a $12 burrito at Guzman, I can walk just down the street to the Burrito Bar for a $5 burrito. The guy who works the counter knows my order now that I've been just about every Tuesday, and he always comes to chat while I eat.

Markets
You can find markets in just about every city in Australia. They sell everything from food and beer to clothes to souvenirs and crafts. This past weekend, I went to the Eat Street Market that opens on Friday and Saturday nights, and drank some beer, ate some dumplings, and listened to live music. Another one of my favorites is Brisbane's Wednesday market - filled with fresh fruit and veggies, and all sorts of foods from so many different cultures. I love to go and taste all the free samples and grab some lunch to eat on the steps of the casino across the street.

Orgasmic
Byron Bay is filled with little stands and restaurants with a focus on health food. Most of what you eat down there is organic, fresh, and a lot of the time vegetarian. I happened upon Orgasmic the first time I went to Byron. It's a tiny Mediterranean restaurant with falafel pockets that I could just about live off, and the most beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed, tanned, tattooed Aussie man works the counter.

Tim Tams and Squirms

 For that sweet tooth fix. Tim Tams are my favorite cookie (or bikkie) in Australia. Chocolate biscuits, sandwiching chocolate cream, covered in chocolate. When I open a pack, I can't stop eating until they're gone. The same goes for squirms - sour gummy worms that always find their way into my backpack on long hikes or road trips.

Plough Inn

Located in Southbank, the Plough is the perfect place for a Sunday session - I've spent many weekend days sitting outside, listening to live music, and sharing rounds of $15 pitchers with my mates.

Green Beer
I've spent just about every weekend at Nate's in the past five months, and his fridge is almost always stocked with Clear Skins. For those days when we're too lazy to go all the way into the city for a drink, we'll walk down to First Choice bottle-o and grab a case or two of green beer to last us through the weekend.

Down Under Bar
When I first got to Brisbane, I learned that Dunder was the meeting place for au pairs on a night out since it's located right across the street from Central Station in the city. It's a backpackers' bar with cheap drinks and meal deals. Luckily, all my Aussie friends love it just as much as I do. I'll miss their $7 chicken parmy, $10 pitchers, $2 spirits, vodka jars, foreign bartenders, and finding fish-eye photos of myself (that I have no memory of taking) the next morning on their Facebook page.

This weekend, my favorite Aussie guy turned 29! Here's Nate, psyched for his fiesta birthday party on Saturday - complete with quesadillas, guacamole, Cantina beer from Mexico, and a homemade sombrero piñata filled with tequila jelly shots.

Happy birthday Nate!

Sometimes I hate technology. It's always been one of my biggest pet peeves to have people around me living inside of their phones, sucked into their screens, spending time with their "friends" on Facebook and Twitter, rather than the ones they are actually physically there with. Maybe I sound like a hypocrite as I sit typing on my Mac, iPhone beside me, and Facebook open in another browser. But despite my own use of technology, I have always been one to live in the present moment, and I wish that the people I spend my time with would do more of the same, put down the phone and just be with me. Recently, I saw this video that explains it perfectly.

But all that being said, technology can be an amazing thing as I sit here in Brisbane, Australia, across the world and 14 hours ahead of my family and friends back at home. Today was my mom's birthday, and I called her on FaceTime when I woke up this morning to catch her at the end of her day. She had just landed in Tennessee with my brother Alex to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins for the weekend. I got her as she was pulling into the driveway at Mema and Granddaddy's house. My family was outside, waiting in the yard, and she brought me around with her to see everyone. I got about five or six virtual "hugs" on FaceTime, and while I couldn't feel their warmth, it felt almost the same as every time I go to visit Tennessee. I could not have loved my little iPhone more for letting me be there for that.

I don't know how long I can do this, he said.

I think the universe has different plans for me

& we sat there in silence

& I thought to myself that this is the thing we all come to

& this is the thing we all fight

& if we are lucky enough to lose,

our lives become beautiful with mystery again

& I sat there silent

because that is not something that can be said.

- Brian Andreas

As everyone at home is starting to pull out their shorts and sandals for the beginning of summer, I'm getting my first taste of "winter" in probably a year. And by winter, I mean it's a high of 70 degrees F during the days. I went to a kids' footy game on Sunday and parents were sitting on the side lines in their beanies and mittens. The past week, I've been bundled up in any warm clothes I can find... borrowing jumpers and ugg boots that are way too big for me. I wore socks for the first time in months this weekend. And I'm trying my hardest to go as long as I can without wearing real pants (jeans) - I'm sticking with the cropped leggings and my signature flowy zebra pants until it dips below 60. I'd say I'll be in for a rude awakening when I get back home just in time for a real winter this year.