while last minute reviewing for my exam this morning, my cleaning lady knocks on my door to give me an "EMC Glaister 2009" shotglass that she made!! she definitely just like wrote it in puffy paint, but it's awesome, and i love her. it just made my day, so i thought i should share.
in other news, my one and only final is in an hour. yuuuckkk
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
ending
welp, my time is almost over here, and i'm really excited to get back but definitely sad to leave at the same time. things i will miss the most:
tim tams
monte carlos
dc++
the sun.
muesli at brekky
my running path
a 3 min walk to coles and subway
good public transit
cleanest city ever
accents
so i have my one and only final tomorrow, in my Terrestrial class, and i spent 2.5 hours today at a picnic table talking with one of my friends and looking at my notes a little, then went to lunch and the movies with megan, and went for a run when i got back. sweet deal. the next few days (after the exam) should be pretty good, and then packing and returning home is going to be a huge, huge pain. wonderful.
tim tams
monte carlos
dc++
the sun.
muesli at brekky
my running path
a 3 min walk to coles and subway
good public transit
cleanest city ever
accents
so i have my one and only final tomorrow, in my Terrestrial class, and i spent 2.5 hours today at a picnic table talking with one of my friends and looking at my notes a little, then went to lunch and the movies with megan, and went for a run when i got back. sweet deal. the next few days (after the exam) should be pretty good, and then packing and returning home is going to be a huge, huge pain. wonderful.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Parents Visit/New Zealand
I usually post mainly for the parentals, but since they were in NZ with me, this will be kind of brief. And I am just lazy, and there is too much to say. So here goes.
Oh, pre-NZ I went to the Australia Zoo with my Terrestrial class, and that was pretty sweet. It is the Steve Irwin zoo, so they kind of highlight the crocs. I think I liked the zoo in Sydney better...but this was still sweet. Saw my first echidna...they are amazing. Video on fb.
So anywho, the parents came on May 30 to Brisbane! They were in Sydney and Cairns first (and I'm a little jealous because I won't get to Cairns at all). So I tried to meet them at the airport, but my mom gave me the wrong airline so I missed them...it was hugely sucky. I finally met them at their hotel, and gave them a walking tour of a lot of the city. We took the ferry and I showed them a bit of campus as well. They got free snacks/drinks at their hotel, so we ate dinner there and had unlimited glasses of wine...it was fantastic.
Sunday the 31st we did some more city exploring by foot, and met up with Megan at lunch! Continued exploring...ate at the hotel....good times.
Monday, June 1 I brought Megan to South Bank, but it was rainy and kind of sucked. Got lunch with the rents, and then went to the Fourex (XXXX) Brewery for a tour with parents and a few of my friends...it was pretty ridiculous, but the beer was good (4 tastes at the end!) We met up with Megan for dinner afterward, and she was a little pissed she was the only one who didn't get to drink. Hah.
The next day I had a presentation, and I took a break from the fam. We had a farewell dinner for my program, which was really good.
Wednesday I had class...then dinns with the fam, and then I took Megan to the bar on campus because the first State of Origin game was on. It is a HUGE deal here - it is rugby...Queensland versus New South Wales. I had to come back early to finish packing and make my way to my parent's hotel...but it was fun anyway.
Thursday, June 4 we left early for NZ. We had to fly into Auckland (on the north island) before flying to Christchurch, so it was a long day. Still not really sure why we had to do that. Our hotel was right in the main square behind the cathedral, and it was pretty sweet.
Friday we did an alpine tour. Our guide, Terry, took us out in a 4WD and we drove to Springfield, where we had tea and we switched vehicles. We had our first glimpses of the Alps - they are absolutely gorgeous. We got in a huge thing called the "Pope-mobile" (it actually looked like one) and drove through a private farm, looking at sheep and cattle...driving through riverbeds and all over the place...it was sweet. This was when I realized that the scenery in LOTR is real. It's incredible.
After we drove around the farm, Terry took us to the (Dart?) river where we went jetboating. Jetboating is sweet - its basically a motorboat that is flat on the bottom, has two lexus V8 engines, and propels itself by pushing water out of the back. It can operate in less than 3 inches of water....crazy. So basically it goes really fast and they drive like they're going into the rocks in the canyon and do 360s. It was sweet because it was just me and the rents in a boat that could probably seat about 20. Good times. My mom had pics and a video, but she lost her camera at the end of the week.....long/awful story.
Afterwards we went back to Springfield for a 3 course lunch - it was awesome. Then Terry drove us to the trans-alpine train, where we got on at Arthur's Pass. (P.S. we drove by the place where the Narnia battle scene was filmed and Terry almost didn't mention it.) The train ride was incredible...and I took waaay too many pictures. It took us back to Christchurch, where we had dins. My dad ordered a wine called Roaring Meg from Mt. Difficulty....and we all DIED. I don't think we have told Megan yet....she's going to murder us.
Saturday, we went to the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch. They were AMAZING. I fell in love. There were markets in the arts center we went to as well. We took this old school tram around the city and went to the art museum. Did some shopping later in the city...and found that they stock every kind of Tim Tams at the convenience store. Ah. And this day I decided that I wanted to live in Christchurch.
Sunday we woke up early to fly to Queenstown. It was only a 50 min flight, but we flew over the Southern Alps...which was just INCREDIBLE. Oh em gee. Then we landed in Queenstown, and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking (see fb pics...can't even describe). Again, I was feeling very LOTR. We rode the gondala and the luge, which were both pretty cool.
Monday, June 8 we did a Milford Sound cruise. It takes 4 hours on the bus to get there and back, but it was definitely worth it. The bus ride back was when my mom lost her camera. Bad news bears. Anywho, Milford Sound was absolutely beautiful. Fun fact: it is not actually a sound, but a fjord. We were really lucky because we had a sunny day, and it rains there approx 200 days of the year. Also, we saw dolphins, which they see 2-3 times per month. The dolphins rode along at the front of the boat and it was sooo sweet. Again, mom had a sweet vid, which is now gone. There were tons of waterfalls there, and we drove right under two of them. The rocks go straight down into the water because of the way they were carved by the glacier, so the boat can literally pull up right under the waterfall. We saw a gorgeous sunset on the way back...and the moon was awesome...so the long drives turned out to be not all that bad.
Tuesday we slept in a little...did a little shopping...then we rented a car/driver to take me BUNGY jumping and to some wineries! I did the first bungy in the world - Kamarau Bridge. It was friggen incredible. Words cannot describe. So afterwards we did two wine tastings...the first one we tasted at least 6 wines, so we were almost all wine-ed out at that point. But we went to the next place and tried three more, and got a huge cheese plate. It was delicious. Our driver, Pam, was nuts/hilarious. We were going to go to the ice bar that night, but decided we had had enough alcohol for one day...
Wednesday...GLENORCHY LOTR TOUR!! Not as great as I expected...probably because it rained...but it was still sweet. It was basically 4 hours of driving, but beautiful scenery. Glenorchy is a small town, pop 250, that has only had a paved road to Queenstown since 1995 or something crazy. So in terms of LOTR, we saw the forests of Lothlorean, Isengard, and the snow scenes in the first movie where Frodo drops the ring. (P.S. In that scene they madea ring that was like 12 feet wide or something for the shot when the ring is in the foreground in the snow.) The last one we saw was where the fight scene with the elephants took place in the second movie. I should really figure out what the actual names are....but too lazy. We also saw the forests from the movie Wolverine, and the forests filmed in Prince Caspian. We had to fly back to Christchurch afterwards, for our flights out the next day.
THURSDAY JUNE 11 - the big two one!!!!
Parents left before I woke up, and I had a few hours (alone on my bday...) to kill in Christchurch before my flight back to Brisbane. Obvi I went back to the Botanical Gardens, because they were amazing. Then I went to the airport and walked to the Antarctic Center, which was supposed to be incredible. It was okay...there were penguins, and this crazy room where they let you stand through a simulated Antarctic storm. They also drive you around in this vehicle that they use in Antarctica...which can drive over crevasses like 3 feet wide and float. It was madness. So then I flew back to Brissy, got back to my room around 7...and went out for the bday. It was sweet as.
On Friday I went to Mooloolaba (on the Sunshine Coast) with Megan and her friend Liz. We did a day trip the Eumundi markets and Noosa on Saturday...the markets were really good and Noosa was absolutely beautiful. On Sunday we just chilled on the beach...which again was amazing. Now I'm back at school and have 3 papers to write by Thursday. AH!! (I'm really just watching the extended versions of LOTR, so it's cool.)
Oh, pre-NZ I went to the Australia Zoo with my Terrestrial class, and that was pretty sweet. It is the Steve Irwin zoo, so they kind of highlight the crocs. I think I liked the zoo in Sydney better...but this was still sweet. Saw my first echidna...they are amazing. Video on fb.
So anywho, the parents came on May 30 to Brisbane! They were in Sydney and Cairns first (and I'm a little jealous because I won't get to Cairns at all). So I tried to meet them at the airport, but my mom gave me the wrong airline so I missed them...it was hugely sucky. I finally met them at their hotel, and gave them a walking tour of a lot of the city. We took the ferry and I showed them a bit of campus as well. They got free snacks/drinks at their hotel, so we ate dinner there and had unlimited glasses of wine...it was fantastic.
Sunday the 31st we did some more city exploring by foot, and met up with Megan at lunch! Continued exploring...ate at the hotel....good times.
Monday, June 1 I brought Megan to South Bank, but it was rainy and kind of sucked. Got lunch with the rents, and then went to the Fourex (XXXX) Brewery for a tour with parents and a few of my friends...it was pretty ridiculous, but the beer was good (4 tastes at the end!) We met up with Megan for dinner afterward, and she was a little pissed she was the only one who didn't get to drink. Hah.
The next day I had a presentation, and I took a break from the fam. We had a farewell dinner for my program, which was really good.
Wednesday I had class...then dinns with the fam, and then I took Megan to the bar on campus because the first State of Origin game was on. It is a HUGE deal here - it is rugby...Queensland versus New South Wales. I had to come back early to finish packing and make my way to my parent's hotel...but it was fun anyway.
Thursday, June 4 we left early for NZ. We had to fly into Auckland (on the north island) before flying to Christchurch, so it was a long day. Still not really sure why we had to do that. Our hotel was right in the main square behind the cathedral, and it was pretty sweet.
Friday we did an alpine tour. Our guide, Terry, took us out in a 4WD and we drove to Springfield, where we had tea and we switched vehicles. We had our first glimpses of the Alps - they are absolutely gorgeous. We got in a huge thing called the "Pope-mobile" (it actually looked like one) and drove through a private farm, looking at sheep and cattle...driving through riverbeds and all over the place...it was sweet. This was when I realized that the scenery in LOTR is real. It's incredible.
After we drove around the farm, Terry took us to the (Dart?) river where we went jetboating. Jetboating is sweet - its basically a motorboat that is flat on the bottom, has two lexus V8 engines, and propels itself by pushing water out of the back. It can operate in less than 3 inches of water....crazy. So basically it goes really fast and they drive like they're going into the rocks in the canyon and do 360s. It was sweet because it was just me and the rents in a boat that could probably seat about 20. Good times. My mom had pics and a video, but she lost her camera at the end of the week.....long/awful story.
Afterwards we went back to Springfield for a 3 course lunch - it was awesome. Then Terry drove us to the trans-alpine train, where we got on at Arthur's Pass. (P.S. we drove by the place where the Narnia battle scene was filmed and Terry almost didn't mention it.) The train ride was incredible...and I took waaay too many pictures. It took us back to Christchurch, where we had dins. My dad ordered a wine called Roaring Meg from Mt. Difficulty....and we all DIED. I don't think we have told Megan yet....she's going to murder us.
Saturday, we went to the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch. They were AMAZING. I fell in love. There were markets in the arts center we went to as well. We took this old school tram around the city and went to the art museum. Did some shopping later in the city...and found that they stock every kind of Tim Tams at the convenience store. Ah. And this day I decided that I wanted to live in Christchurch.
Sunday we woke up early to fly to Queenstown. It was only a 50 min flight, but we flew over the Southern Alps...which was just INCREDIBLE. Oh em gee. Then we landed in Queenstown, and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking (see fb pics...can't even describe). Again, I was feeling very LOTR. We rode the gondala and the luge, which were both pretty cool.
Monday, June 8 we did a Milford Sound cruise. It takes 4 hours on the bus to get there and back, but it was definitely worth it. The bus ride back was when my mom lost her camera. Bad news bears. Anywho, Milford Sound was absolutely beautiful. Fun fact: it is not actually a sound, but a fjord. We were really lucky because we had a sunny day, and it rains there approx 200 days of the year. Also, we saw dolphins, which they see 2-3 times per month. The dolphins rode along at the front of the boat and it was sooo sweet. Again, mom had a sweet vid, which is now gone. There were tons of waterfalls there, and we drove right under two of them. The rocks go straight down into the water because of the way they were carved by the glacier, so the boat can literally pull up right under the waterfall. We saw a gorgeous sunset on the way back...and the moon was awesome...so the long drives turned out to be not all that bad.
Tuesday we slept in a little...did a little shopping...then we rented a car/driver to take me BUNGY jumping and to some wineries! I did the first bungy in the world - Kamarau Bridge. It was friggen incredible. Words cannot describe. So afterwards we did two wine tastings...the first one we tasted at least 6 wines, so we were almost all wine-ed out at that point. But we went to the next place and tried three more, and got a huge cheese plate. It was delicious. Our driver, Pam, was nuts/hilarious. We were going to go to the ice bar that night, but decided we had had enough alcohol for one day...
Wednesday...GLENORCHY LOTR TOUR!! Not as great as I expected...probably because it rained...but it was still sweet. It was basically 4 hours of driving, but beautiful scenery. Glenorchy is a small town, pop 250, that has only had a paved road to Queenstown since 1995 or something crazy. So in terms of LOTR, we saw the forests of Lothlorean, Isengard, and the snow scenes in the first movie where Frodo drops the ring. (P.S. In that scene they madea ring that was like 12 feet wide or something for the shot when the ring is in the foreground in the snow.) The last one we saw was where the fight scene with the elephants took place in the second movie. I should really figure out what the actual names are....but too lazy. We also saw the forests from the movie Wolverine, and the forests filmed in Prince Caspian. We had to fly back to Christchurch afterwards, for our flights out the next day.
THURSDAY JUNE 11 - the big two one!!!!
Parents left before I woke up, and I had a few hours (alone on my bday...) to kill in Christchurch before my flight back to Brisbane. Obvi I went back to the Botanical Gardens, because they were amazing. Then I went to the airport and walked to the Antarctic Center, which was supposed to be incredible. It was okay...there were penguins, and this crazy room where they let you stand through a simulated Antarctic storm. They also drive you around in this vehicle that they use in Antarctica...which can drive over crevasses like 3 feet wide and float. It was madness. So then I flew back to Brissy, got back to my room around 7...and went out for the bday. It was sweet as.
On Friday I went to Mooloolaba (on the Sunshine Coast) with Megan and her friend Liz. We did a day trip the Eumundi markets and Noosa on Saturday...the markets were really good and Noosa was absolutely beautiful. On Sunday we just chilled on the beach...which again was amazing. Now I'm back at school and have 3 papers to write by Thursday. AH!! (I'm really just watching the extended versions of LOTR, so it's cool.)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Australia Zoo
Went to the Australia Zoo with my terrestrial class yesterday...it was sweet. Got to pet a koala and a wombat...and saw cheetahs that weren't even supposed to be on display yet. Lots of crocs - obviously, because it was Steve Irwin's zoo. Currently sitting in the library trying to work on a paper that's due in 3 weeks so I don't have to worry about it when the fam is here.....fun stuff.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Melbourne.
Well, I figure I've put this off long enough...here's the deets of last weekend.
So I went to Melbourne with my friends Michelle, Kelly, and Robin. Our friend Andy was there too - he planned his trip alone though so he was in a different hostel than us. Basically, Melbourne wasn't exactly what I expected - when I was deciding where to study abroad, it was between Brisbane and Melbourne. I chose Brisbane because it is warmer here - but I'm so glad I chose it for more than just warmth. Melbourne feels like much more of an American city than Brisbane does. It also has deciduous trees, which were changing color and losing leaves, which was really weird. Our hostel was also in a kind-of-sketchy area, so that wasn't the best impression. We didn't have nearly enough time to see everything we would have liked either.
So here's the run down. Had a MARS exam on Thursday at 1, then peaced out directly after. (I talked to my Mom while she was in L.A. on her way to Sydney with the fam - I was so excited!!) We landed around 7 30, took a bus to our hostel, checked in, and did a little exploring. We saw Federation Square, and went to a few bars around the area. We went to this place that had infused vodka....including vegemite. Robin got it - I stuck with caramel. Good stuff. It was an overall good night.
Friday, we woke up early, and started at the aquarium. We are all bio nerds, so it was sweet. After, we went to the Rialto tower 360 view...basically a lookout over the city from the 55th story. It was cool...but it was a bit smoggy, which I wasn't expecting (photos on FB). After that we shopped around the funky/pricey area, which was pretty cool, but looking back I wish we had done some more sightseeing. We came back to the hostel exhausted because we were walking allll day, then headed out to find some dinner. We found this cute little street that had a Little Italy feel, and found some really good food. Only problem was that our waiter took forever and a day to bring our food, without any kind of apology or anything. So that was frustrating/a waste of time, so we ended up coming back to the hostel and watching a movie with some other people there. We watched Wolf Creek - about these kids that go on a road trip through the outback and get killed. It was based on a true story. I'm glad I'm not going to the outback now...
Saturday was a REALLY early morning for our Great Ocean Road tour. It was really cool - and our bus driver was hilarious, as most tour guides here have proven to be. The only thing that wasn't so cool was that it was a ton of driving, with little short stops. That's the only way to do the whole thing in a day though. So we saw the coast all day, last stops at the Twelve Apostles and the London Bridge, and we saw a bushfire on the side of the road!! It was MADNESS. Then, we got dropped off for dinner, and our bus wouldn't start back up. About half the people on our bus got put on buses with other tours, but my friends and I weren't so lucky. So basically we sat in this noodle place for an hour and a half pissed off without anything to do, until our driver got another bus and took us back. We got back around 10 30, pissed off and exhausted, so went to bed shortly after.
(Oh, and this whole trip happened without an iPod. Which blew. Mom's iPod arrived Monday, thank god. It has been absolutely killing me.)
Sunday we got up really early again because we only had until 2 to do stuff. We went to Max Brenner for breakfast - a chocolate restaurant. We all got Belgian waffles with melted chocolate, fruit and ice cream- which were amaaaazing. Then, we took the free tourist shuttle to the Queen Victoria Market. It's this huge roofed in market area with tons of vendors set up selling really cheap stuff. You can get lost in their for hours....which we obviously did. We planned to go to the Royal Botanical Gardens afterwards, but the tour bus took waaayy too long so we just rode that back for about and hour and a half or more, then it was time to grab lunch and head home.
Also, realized on Friday that I had 80 dollars left in my bank account, and made it out on Sunday with literally $ 0.20 AU. It was impressive.
So yeah...not the best trip, but I'm glad I went. The parents/Megan are coming on Saturday, and I CAN'T WAIT!! I've been talking about it constantly...I'm probably being really annoying. Whatevs, it's going to be bomb. And we're going to New Zealand.
I have crazy amounts of internet left (I didn't realize how little I was actually using)....so video chats are more than welcome! Miss you all....one month left! :(
So I went to Melbourne with my friends Michelle, Kelly, and Robin. Our friend Andy was there too - he planned his trip alone though so he was in a different hostel than us. Basically, Melbourne wasn't exactly what I expected - when I was deciding where to study abroad, it was between Brisbane and Melbourne. I chose Brisbane because it is warmer here - but I'm so glad I chose it for more than just warmth. Melbourne feels like much more of an American city than Brisbane does. It also has deciduous trees, which were changing color and losing leaves, which was really weird. Our hostel was also in a kind-of-sketchy area, so that wasn't the best impression. We didn't have nearly enough time to see everything we would have liked either.
So here's the run down. Had a MARS exam on Thursday at 1, then peaced out directly after. (I talked to my Mom while she was in L.A. on her way to Sydney with the fam - I was so excited!!) We landed around 7 30, took a bus to our hostel, checked in, and did a little exploring. We saw Federation Square, and went to a few bars around the area. We went to this place that had infused vodka....including vegemite. Robin got it - I stuck with caramel. Good stuff. It was an overall good night.
Friday, we woke up early, and started at the aquarium. We are all bio nerds, so it was sweet. After, we went to the Rialto tower 360 view...basically a lookout over the city from the 55th story. It was cool...but it was a bit smoggy, which I wasn't expecting (photos on FB). After that we shopped around the funky/pricey area, which was pretty cool, but looking back I wish we had done some more sightseeing. We came back to the hostel exhausted because we were walking allll day, then headed out to find some dinner. We found this cute little street that had a Little Italy feel, and found some really good food. Only problem was that our waiter took forever and a day to bring our food, without any kind of apology or anything. So that was frustrating/a waste of time, so we ended up coming back to the hostel and watching a movie with some other people there. We watched Wolf Creek - about these kids that go on a road trip through the outback and get killed. It was based on a true story. I'm glad I'm not going to the outback now...
Saturday was a REALLY early morning for our Great Ocean Road tour. It was really cool - and our bus driver was hilarious, as most tour guides here have proven to be. The only thing that wasn't so cool was that it was a ton of driving, with little short stops. That's the only way to do the whole thing in a day though. So we saw the coast all day, last stops at the Twelve Apostles and the London Bridge, and we saw a bushfire on the side of the road!! It was MADNESS. Then, we got dropped off for dinner, and our bus wouldn't start back up. About half the people on our bus got put on buses with other tours, but my friends and I weren't so lucky. So basically we sat in this noodle place for an hour and a half pissed off without anything to do, until our driver got another bus and took us back. We got back around 10 30, pissed off and exhausted, so went to bed shortly after.
(Oh, and this whole trip happened without an iPod. Which blew. Mom's iPod arrived Monday, thank god. It has been absolutely killing me.)
Sunday we got up really early again because we only had until 2 to do stuff. We went to Max Brenner for breakfast - a chocolate restaurant. We all got Belgian waffles with melted chocolate, fruit and ice cream- which were amaaaazing. Then, we took the free tourist shuttle to the Queen Victoria Market. It's this huge roofed in market area with tons of vendors set up selling really cheap stuff. You can get lost in their for hours....which we obviously did. We planned to go to the Royal Botanical Gardens afterwards, but the tour bus took waaayy too long so we just rode that back for about and hour and a half or more, then it was time to grab lunch and head home.
Also, realized on Friday that I had 80 dollars left in my bank account, and made it out on Sunday with literally $ 0.20 AU. It was impressive.
So yeah...not the best trip, but I'm glad I went. The parents/Megan are coming on Saturday, and I CAN'T WAIT!! I've been talking about it constantly...I'm probably being really annoying. Whatevs, it's going to be bomb. And we're going to New Zealand.
I have crazy amounts of internet left (I didn't realize how little I was actually using)....so video chats are more than welcome! Miss you all....one month left! :(
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Other fun.
I bought an awesome pair of red Ray Bans yesterday at Market Day and they are amazing. (Every Wednesday is Market Day on campus - there's usually some live music and a bunch of tables set up with jewelry/clothes/sunglasses/fish/artwork, etc. It's awesome.)
People here don't say "how are you" or "what's up"...it's always "how are you going?"
I went to a yoga class the other night that was mostly partner stretching...kind of awkward but I was with this cute little Asian woman named Tatima. She gave me a bomb massage at the end, and then we chatted for like 20 minutes. She's from Pasadena and just moved here with her husband, and is looking for good yoga classes. She was awesome, I don't know why I chose to include that story, hah.
I know I was thinking of other things I wanted to say, but again I can't remember so will add later.
People here don't say "how are you" or "what's up"...it's always "how are you going?"
I went to a yoga class the other night that was mostly partner stretching...kind of awkward but I was with this cute little Asian woman named Tatima. She gave me a bomb massage at the end, and then we chatted for like 20 minutes. She's from Pasadena and just moved here with her husband, and is looking for good yoga classes. She was awesome, I don't know why I chose to include that story, hah.
I know I was thinking of other things I wanted to say, but again I can't remember so will add later.
Whitsundays! Sailing!
Well, now it is Thursday and I got back from the Whitsundays Monday night, so I feel it is getting to be time for an update. I have huge amounts of work to do, but I will put my efforts into trying to describe my trip instead.
In summary, one of the best weekends of my life. We had very considerable amounts of rain, but nothing got my spirits down (not even a broken ipod!) Here's the play-by-play (taken from accounts in my journal, my memory isn't nearly this good):
Friday, 1/5/09
Took a bus at 9 30 to the city, got a cab to the airport, and arrived approximately 2 hours before our flight. Note: Flying in Australia is amazingly easy. They never ask for ID, if you check in online you can go straight to security, the only things you can't have in your carry on are sharps and aerosols (which you just have to take out and then they give back to you), and you don't have to take off your shoes or show your boarding pass through security. It's awesome. So we flew from Brisbane to the Prosperpine airport, and got to Airlie Beach around 3. We thought we'd have some time on the beach, but it took forever to check into the hostel and then check in for our sailing tour (which had hidden local fees...bummer). So once that was all done, we walked around a little...Airlie is basically just the beach and a street with some shops, restaurants, and bars. The area around there is all for tourism - our bus driver told us there is really no other businesses there. That night I bought some sweet Havaianas - I've been wanting them for so long, and I got a green pair that have an Aussie flag and lists all the beaches in Aus on the bottom! They are sweet. We got dinner and ice cream (and Macca's, because my friends are huge) and then we just played cards/Bananagrams (yes!) in the hostel and went to bed really early, for an early wake up on Saturday.
Saturday, 2/5/09
Woke up early, had "free breakfast" at the hostel, which was just toast and PB. It was hilariously pathetic. We got picked up at 8 40 for a ride to the marina, as our boat was supposed to leave at 9 30. Our group was: me and 8 of my friends, a 26 year old girl from north of England (Charlie), a German couple who never spoke, Mark (our captain) and Jess (our cook). Jess and Mark were awesome - they really made the trip. Jess is 21 and from New Zealand - she studied marine biology, then became a dive instructor, decided that was boring, and decided to work on boat tours. Mark is an older guy who used to race sailboats professionally - kind of a hippie dude, he told me about a bunch of really good health foods and is supposed to email me some info. Anywho, the boat was kind of small, with beds in the hallways and stuff, but it was sweet. So we sailed out in the morning and went for a snorkel. It was pretty good, but not nearly as good as at Heron Island! I was playing my iPod through the speakers on the boat, and after we went sailing for a bit (I don't remember which time) I came downstairs to change the song, and it was soaked! I have no idea where the water came from, but it wouldn't turn on the rest of the weekend. (So obviously I was pretty freaked. I brought it to the apple store on campus yesterday, and apparently the battery is shot and it got sent in for service. Will keep you posted.) The rest of the day I think we just hung out on the boat and sunbathed/chilled downstairs during little rain squalls, which were on and off in the afternoon. (It was also pretty cloudy, but not horrible). Later we had some dinner and some drinks, and I went to bed early after reading some Twilight...(yes, I am embarassed).
Sunday, 3/5/09
Didn't sleep at all! Woke up around 6 30 because we had to head out early because of the tides. We were motoring rather than sailing, and I felt really seasick. After breakfast we went to Whitehaven Beach - probably the most popular spot in the Whitsundays. When we got there we walked up to the lookout point, took a few pics and then got poured on for about 10 minutes. The weather cleared up after this though, and we had a nice hour or so on the beach. The sand there is white and very fine - and can be used to polish jewelry! I didn't know this so I didn't bring anything, but I was wearing silver earrings and I tried to polish them. It seemed to work pretty well...it was impressive! Then it started raining again so we booked it back to the boat. Then we sailed a bit, I got seasick-ish again (but still having a great time!!) and we had lunch, then went for another snorkel. (The weather cleared.) We saw HUGE fish off the side of the boat - one was seriously about 3/4 of my size. It was absurd. I stole two pictures from Brynne, which are at the top of the post because I can't figure out how to move them. There were a lot of soft corals there unlike at Heron, and those were pretty sweet. Some looked like spaghetti. After snorkeling we chilled on the boat and sunbathed, but got more rain as well. We sailed to our next stop and it was pouring rain the whole way (and I was nauseous). It ended up clearing up, and we saw a beautiful sunset (photos on FB...too many, sorry I swear I deleted some). I layed out for a bit on the deck and watched the moon/stars/clouds....the moon was amazingly bright. We chilled and drank for a while, and it turned out to be a really nice night.
Monday, 4/5/09
Slept like a baby, after taking an Ambien. I woke up early, around 6 45, but I was wide awake so I just went up and chilled on the deck for a while. It was absolutely gorgeous, and really peaceful because no one was up yet. I could tell we were going to have perfect weather for the day. So we had bfast, then motored over to Blue Pearl Bay. We had the option to snorkel again, but JK, Michelle, Kelly and I passed up on it so we could hang on the beach. Mark took us out on the dingy to this small, deserted beach - we had it to ourselves for at least an hour, and it was absolutely gorgeous, and perfect weather. We hiked a little bit up the hill there and it was so beautiful. We had a Le Tan photoshoot - it is the sunscreen we bought in Airlie, and made jokes about all weekend, just in case anyone was curious in reference to my facebook album name. We spent all morning on the beach, then went back to the boat for tea, chilling, and lunch. We got a lot of sunbathing time - I am probably the most tan I have ever been in my life. It is absurd. Around 1 30 we sailed back to Airlie - it took about 2 hours. And it was gorgeous. And perfect. I didn't want the trip to be over! Then we took the bus back to the airport (which was very similar to the airport in Belize - very small building, gates outdoors). The sun set while we were waiting for our plane, and it was beautiful. The plane ride was only an hour and a half but painful because I didn't have my iPod and I finished Twilight! When we got back, it took way longer to get home than it should have because we had to wait an hour for the bus back to school from Brisbane, and I was absolutely pooped when I got back.
So now I am back, and have outrageous amounts of work to do. But, this weekend I don't really have any plans so I have a lot of time to work. Oh, a side note about the boat: the "shower" was just the sink faucet that pulled out, and there was just a drain on the floor of the bathroom. HOWEVER, Jess told us that we shouldn't wash our hair, because there was a limited amount of freshwater on board and we would have to go back if we ran out. So, I didn't wash my hair for 4 days (same with everyone else), and my shower when I got back was phenomenal.
That's it for now, I'm starting to get sad that I have to leave here in less than 2 months....so I have to make the most of what I have left!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Emmanuel
Just got an "Exit Form" in my mail from Emmanuel. Saaaad.
The weather is absolutely perfect now...you can wear pants or shorts during the day (it is kind of chilly in the shade and in class, but very warm in the sun) and it cools down a lot at night, but not uncomfortably. It's kind of cold in the morning, but I can't complain. The sun has been shining nonstop for weeks, and it's incredible.
The weather is absolutely perfect now...you can wear pants or shorts during the day (it is kind of chilly in the shade and in class, but very warm in the sun) and it cools down a lot at night, but not uncomfortably. It's kind of cold in the morning, but I can't complain. The sun has been shining nonstop for weeks, and it's incredible.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Byron Bay
Best place ever!! I was just there Friday-Monday. We took a 2 hour bus on Friday afternoon, and got there around sunset. We walked along the beach up to a lookout point on the rocks and took tons of pictures - see Facebook. It was absolutely gorgeous. After that we got some din din (kebabs) and gelato, then I hung around in the town with my friend Mackenzie and we listened to some street performers. Then we hung out in the hostel (which was really nice) for a while and I hit the bed early because I was exhausted, and we signed up for a bus tour for Saturday and I wanted to be well-rested.
Saturday - Grasshopper bus tour to Nimbim. I was really hesistant about it because I wanted to spend the day on the beach at Byron, but I'm so glad I went! Nimbin is about an hour and a half away, so they take you there, hang out for an hour and a half, drive to a BBQ area by some nice lakes and where you can do a nature walk, then drive to waterfalls where you can jump off the rocks (I didn't!). All the driving time was beautiful - we drove through farms and forests and pastures the whole way. It was really fun and amazing...one of the best trips yet. On Sunday we just spent the day laying out on the beach and doing a little shopping around Byron - the beach was amazing and totally different from Surfer's Paradise, where I went at the beginning of the semester. Surfer's is all high rises and really commercialized, and Byron is very low-key hippie town. It kind of felt like a beach town in Maine...except bigger, and in Australia.
So now I am back, and have 4 papers and a presentation to do over the next 2-3 weeks. And I'm going to the Whitsundays next weekend, so obviously no time to do work then. So, it's time to buckle down (and not spend time blogging...woops).
Saturday - Grasshopper bus tour to Nimbim. I was really hesistant about it because I wanted to spend the day on the beach at Byron, but I'm so glad I went! Nimbin is about an hour and a half away, so they take you there, hang out for an hour and a half, drive to a BBQ area by some nice lakes and where you can do a nature walk, then drive to waterfalls where you can jump off the rocks (I didn't!). All the driving time was beautiful - we drove through farms and forests and pastures the whole way. It was really fun and amazing...one of the best trips yet. On Sunday we just spent the day laying out on the beach and doing a little shopping around Byron - the beach was amazing and totally different from Surfer's Paradise, where I went at the beginning of the semester. Surfer's is all high rises and really commercialized, and Byron is very low-key hippie town. It kind of felt like a beach town in Maine...except bigger, and in Australia.
So now I am back, and have 4 papers and a presentation to do over the next 2-3 weeks. And I'm going to the Whitsundays next weekend, so obviously no time to do work then. So, it's time to buckle down (and not spend time blogging...woops).
A few things, I'm surprised I haven't mentioned so far...
STARBURST BABIES - Only in Aus, so funny. Apparently they have ones that explode. Who would think to make food shaped like babies?!
TIM TAMS - Best chocolate biscuit thing EVER. They have tons of different flavors, but original is probably the best. The thing to do is the TIM TAM SLAM - bite off both ends of the Tim Tam, then use it as a straw in coffee or hot chocolate, and melted chocolate comes through. Mmmm.
KEBABS - They are everywhere here! And they are called ke-BABS, not ke-BOBS. They are basically like grilled wraps with a ton of stuff in them...and lots of sauces....I'm not a huge fan (I get falafel) but apparently the meat ones are pretty good.
TIM TAMS - Best chocolate biscuit thing EVER. They have tons of different flavors, but original is probably the best. The thing to do is the TIM TAM SLAM - bite off both ends of the Tim Tam, then use it as a straw in coffee or hot chocolate, and melted chocolate comes through. Mmmm.
KEBABS - They are everywhere here! And they are called ke-BABS, not ke-BOBS. They are basically like grilled wraps with a ton of stuff in them...and lots of sauces....I'm not a huge fan (I get falafel) but apparently the meat ones are pretty good.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Break, continued.
P.S. The manta ray was probably about 25 feet across or so, in case anyone other than my mother was wondering. Effing incredible.
Anywho, back to Thursday, 16/4/09.
Got up early to run again, and ran to the other side of the island and saw the second most amazing sight of my life....a whole nest of baby turtles making its way to the ocean. They usually only move at night when it's cool, but these guys went down after sunrise! It was so so amazing - the sun had just rose, and ~100 turtles were making their way down the beach to the water. They were trying to climb over some rocks, so they would climb up and fall over on their backs (and they have little white tummies), then roll themselves over and try again. It was sooooo amazing. I think I have to put it second to the manta ray though, because that was just too good to be true.
After breakfast that morning my group did some work measuring distances between corals, which was pretty fun. We did another boat snorkel too - amazingness. Let's just say, I found Nemo. There were two clownfish swimming around in an anenome - I mean, come on. I probably watched them for about 5 minutes. On the way back to the boat I saw a really cool squid too. And obviously tons of other amazing fishes. Bomb.
We did some more data collection after lunch, had dinner, and then had a talk by one of the research station staff about turtle conservation. He told us that we could pick up the baby turtles as long as we directed them back toward the ocean with our lights, so OBVI I went out immediately after and held one!! (See facebook pictures.) They are the cutest things ever, it's disgusting. After playing with turtles, I saw out and stargazed for a while. The stars there were the second best I've ever seen (number 1 - Belize).
Friday, 17/4/09.
Woke up at 5 30 for the sunrise and brought my camera this time for pics, but it wasn't as good as the first two days, unfortunately (photos are on facebook). So basically I have to commit the good ones to memory, which is already starting to be unsuccessful. After breakfast we worked on our presentation, then basically had the rest of the day free. I sat out by the ocean for a while, and we went on a mini snorkel on the reef flat in the afternoon. There were some HUGE fish, and my friend Sarah saw an ~7 ft shark! We also saw a few sting rays - so scary, but so cool. We had to do presentations at 3 30, then we had a mini slideshow, dinner, and then another night snorkel!! We only saw one turtle, two cuttlefish, and a squid, BUT we jumped off the jetty, and it was SO much fun. I went once before the snorkel, and twice after. I could have done it like 10 more times. Stargazed again afterwards, and stayed up way too late, but it was worth it for the last night!
Saturday, 18/4/09.
Woke up for bfast, then a cleaning of the station. We ended up having a lot of time before leaving for the ferry, so we chilled on the beach and went to the gift shop at the resort on the island. I bought a few postcards, a shot glass, and this little sand-filled turtle - he is my new favorite thing, and his name is Ned Plimpton. (It is one of the weirdest things I have done, but I don't care, I love him.) Anywho, he is the best. The ferry was supposed to be at 1, but it came late and we didn't leave till probably 1 45. So that took 2 hours, then got back and took the bus back, stopped for din part way, and got back around 11 30 pm. Long freaking day. I rested (aka attempted to nap) the whole way back, so I didn't think I'd sleep that much, but I ended up sleeping almost 11 hours! It was madness. So I finally got to all my emailing and crap yesterday, and started studying for my MARS exam that I have on Thursday (aka sat by my friend's pool and read my notes, completely ineffective).
So that's it. I wish my pictures showed more of my adventure, but I didn't want to obsess over taking photos while I was gone. Hopefully that long-winded summary described my break somewhat well. I'll just say - those two trips were freaking amazing, probably two of the best I'll ever take in my life! Now it is back to reality (kind of). I am planning a trip to Byron Bay for this weekend, and have one planned to the Whitsundays for next weekend. Can't waaaittt. More stories to come!
Anywho, back to Thursday, 16/4/09.
Got up early to run again, and ran to the other side of the island and saw the second most amazing sight of my life....a whole nest of baby turtles making its way to the ocean. They usually only move at night when it's cool, but these guys went down after sunrise! It was so so amazing - the sun had just rose, and ~100 turtles were making their way down the beach to the water. They were trying to climb over some rocks, so they would climb up and fall over on their backs (and they have little white tummies), then roll themselves over and try again. It was sooooo amazing. I think I have to put it second to the manta ray though, because that was just too good to be true.
After breakfast that morning my group did some work measuring distances between corals, which was pretty fun. We did another boat snorkel too - amazingness. Let's just say, I found Nemo. There were two clownfish swimming around in an anenome - I mean, come on. I probably watched them for about 5 minutes. On the way back to the boat I saw a really cool squid too. And obviously tons of other amazing fishes. Bomb.
We did some more data collection after lunch, had dinner, and then had a talk by one of the research station staff about turtle conservation. He told us that we could pick up the baby turtles as long as we directed them back toward the ocean with our lights, so OBVI I went out immediately after and held one!! (See facebook pictures.) They are the cutest things ever, it's disgusting. After playing with turtles, I saw out and stargazed for a while. The stars there were the second best I've ever seen (number 1 - Belize).
Friday, 17/4/09.
Woke up at 5 30 for the sunrise and brought my camera this time for pics, but it wasn't as good as the first two days, unfortunately (photos are on facebook). So basically I have to commit the good ones to memory, which is already starting to be unsuccessful. After breakfast we worked on our presentation, then basically had the rest of the day free. I sat out by the ocean for a while, and we went on a mini snorkel on the reef flat in the afternoon. There were some HUGE fish, and my friend Sarah saw an ~7 ft shark! We also saw a few sting rays - so scary, but so cool. We had to do presentations at 3 30, then we had a mini slideshow, dinner, and then another night snorkel!! We only saw one turtle, two cuttlefish, and a squid, BUT we jumped off the jetty, and it was SO much fun. I went once before the snorkel, and twice after. I could have done it like 10 more times. Stargazed again afterwards, and stayed up way too late, but it was worth it for the last night!
Saturday, 18/4/09.
Woke up for bfast, then a cleaning of the station. We ended up having a lot of time before leaving for the ferry, so we chilled on the beach and went to the gift shop at the resort on the island. I bought a few postcards, a shot glass, and this little sand-filled turtle - he is my new favorite thing, and his name is Ned Plimpton. (It is one of the weirdest things I have done, but I don't care, I love him.) Anywho, he is the best. The ferry was supposed to be at 1, but it came late and we didn't leave till probably 1 45. So that took 2 hours, then got back and took the bus back, stopped for din part way, and got back around 11 30 pm. Long freaking day. I rested (aka attempted to nap) the whole way back, so I didn't think I'd sleep that much, but I ended up sleeping almost 11 hours! It was madness. So I finally got to all my emailing and crap yesterday, and started studying for my MARS exam that I have on Thursday (aka sat by my friend's pool and read my notes, completely ineffective).
So that's it. I wish my pictures showed more of my adventure, but I didn't want to obsess over taking photos while I was gone. Hopefully that long-winded summary described my break somewhat well. I'll just say - those two trips were freaking amazing, probably two of the best I'll ever take in my life! Now it is back to reality (kind of). I am planning a trip to Byron Bay for this weekend, and have one planned to the Whitsundays for next weekend. Can't waaaittt. More stories to come!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Mid-Semester Break: Fraser Island and Heron Island
I'm back!! Break was absolutely incredible - I wrote about mostly everything in my journal, so I'm going to use that to write this entry, since my memory is forever failing me.
Thursday, 9/4/09.
Woke up at 6 am to go to Fraser Island. It was really stupid because we had to be at the bus stop at 7 and we didn't leave until 8, and it didn't take nearly an hour to pack up the 4WDs. Anywho, we drove all morning, with 2 stops - one at a rest stop and one before we got on the ferry so we could let air out of the tires for beach driving. I think we finally got to Dilli Village on Fraser around 3 pm, and we were all exhausted! We had free time for the rest of the day, so we walked to the beach and played frisbee and stuff. It was pretty sweet. I skipped trivia and went to bed realllyy early that night, so I could get up early and run the next morning.
Friday, 10/4/09.
Woke up at 5 45 to run on the beach with my friend Sarah. It was mad hard but really good. We got out just after sunrise, and it was beautiful. After breakfast we went out in project groups to do a beach transect...so we basically just had to identify plants and record our data. Not too bad. We went back for lunch, then drove for a while to Eli Creek. We went to a ship wreck on the way, which was really cool. The creek was pretty but we were disappointed because we were expecting a good swim and it wasn't exactly conducive to swimming...but it was alright. So basically it was an afternoon of mostly driving around in the 4WDs, getting bounced around in the backseat.
Saturday, 11/4/09.
Woke up again at 5 45 to run, but it was raining a little bit so I decided not to. We had breakfast at 7, then headed out for another morning of work. My group went to the schlerophyll forest to do pollination/dispersal stuff. I ended up finding flower and bud samples with Brynne and Sarah, which wasn't too hard. We had about a 3 km walk to the forest, which was really pretty. Afterwards we came back for lunch and then set out for a 6.3 km walk to Lake Boomanjin. We thought it would be a decent walk and we would have a lot of time to hang out at the lake - WRONG. We walked for probably an hour and a half, and the tutor who led the way was absolutely booking it. We got to this place where there was a HUGE sand dune and we weren't sure if it was the way to go, but the tutor said he thought it was so we all climbed up (which basically meant falling all over yourself in the sand on the way up) and it was really cool, but not the way to the lake! Basically it was a huge expanse of sand dunes. So we climbed back down, and had to walk a bit farther to the lake. We finally got there, and it was kind of grassy/again not conducive to swimming, so another disappointing afternoon. I walked back to the car park with our tutor and we had to wait probably an hour for my professor and some other people to come back from playing on the sand dunes, because they had all the car keys! In the meantime, one kid from our group tried to break into the cars to get afternoon tea (he managed to get into about half of them). Also, we saw a bunch of Australians that were shitfaced and camping by the lake - three of them were dressed as the Village People, and a bunch of kids from our group were hanging out with them and had them sing the YMCA. They were so drunk they could barely sing it. It was pretty hilarious. When Steve (our prof) finally got back, we had a nice, long, bumpy drive back to Dilli.
Sunday, 12/4/09.
This was my group's day for rainforest work. We had a long, bumpy drive out to the rainforest where we did some work with arthropods. Basically we looked for spiders and trapped ants using tuna and honey as bait. It was really pretty out in the forest, and the work wasn't too bad. We went back for lunch and then headed out for Lake Birrabeen - which was finally the kind of lake we expected! The water was really nice so we swam for a bit and then layed out - it was incredibly nice. Unfortunately we weren't there for that long, but it was sweet anyways.
Monday, 13/4/09.
Had an earlier wake-up than usual, and it was rainy/yucky. I couldn't be mad about it though, because we lucked out with weather for the rest of the time we were there. We had to pack/clean up our rooms after breakfast, and then we headed to Lake Wabby. We had yet another long, bumpy drive there. We expected to be at the lake when we got there, but alas, we had a 1.8 km walk from the cars. It was really nice though - we walked through some forest and then some sand dunes. Finally got to the lake, and it was gorgeous - Sarah and I ran down the dunes and dove in the water, and it was perfect temperature and just amazing. It was one of my favorite things I've done since I've been in Aus. It rained a little bit while we were in the water, and it made the coolest noise and looked really cool splashing in the water. After, we went back to Dilli for lunch, then left about 1 pm and drove to the ferry, and a bit after the ferry we got to switch to a bus! Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic, and we got home around 7 30 pm. I was absolutely exhausted, and had to pack for trip #2. We had to be at the bus stop at 11 30 pm for the next trip, but some people were late so we didn't leave until about 12 30 am. Apparently some of them thought we were leaving the next day....So it was a long night of travel.
Tuesday, 14/4/09.
On the bus from about 12 30-8 30 am. We had to wait for the ferry for about 2 hours, just laying in the wet grass outside...and it was really buggy. Not the greatest time of my life. We got on the ferry at about 11 am and it took about 2 hours. It was a really nice boat and really comfortable, unlike the bus! We got lunch at the research station when we got there, and it was pretty good. After lunch we got fitted with our snorkel gear and went for our first snorkel! It was awesome, even though I was exhausted. We came back for dinner, and a bit later one of the tutors took us out to look for baby turtles on the beach. We saw a bunch, and they were sooo cute! I went to bed really early, and it was really nice to have a bed to sleep in...
Wednesday, 15/4/09.
Woke up at 5 30 am to go running on the beach with Sarah. It was kind of a failure because the sand was really soft and hard to run on, but it was worth it because the sunrise was amazing. There wasn't really anywhere good to run on the island - it is such a tiny island there isn't really anywhere to go. I didn't realize just how small it was until the last day I bought a postcard that shows the island from above, and I could see part of the beach I had been going to most days was on the opposite side from where I thought I was. Madness. Anywho, we had time to go for a nice walk in the woods before breakfast as well. After breakfast we had some free time, then went for a boat snorkel at 10 am. They boated us out pretty far and dropped us to snorkel for about an hour - it was AMAZING. After we were out there for at least a half hour, one of the staff people started screaming MANTA RAY!!! So everyone swam out to where it was, and I swam my ass off to catch up to it - it was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I followed it for a bit, but it was going really fast. It was so freaking cool. I didn't see any turtles and some of the kids in my group did, so I was kind of disappointed, but I'm just so glad I saw the manta it doesn't even matter. So we went back, had lunch, then went out for a reef "walkel"...walk/snorkel. Basically we just walked on the reef flat and used our snorkels to look at stuff - I thought it was a lot of fun, but most people didn't really enjoy it (probably because most of them cut themselves on the coral). I found a bailor snail, which was basicaly a snail that was as long as my tutor's forearm - it was sooo cool. Google image it or something. We also saw some sea hares, which are really cool/cute. On our walk back to shore, we took a "new" way, which was probably the worst idea ever because people were stepping all over the coral. My heart died a little inside. We saw a sand shark on the way back, and it was really sweet. You could barely see it because it camouflaged so well. After the walkel we made our project groups, then I went out and watched the sunset. I put some photos on facebook...most of them are very similar, sorry, but I did cut out a lot! After dinner everyone went on a night snorkel, but I skipped out because I wasn't feeling very well. Apparently everyone saw lots of turtles and it was a lot of fun, but I got to do one the last night so it wasn't such a big deal I missed it.
Thursday, 16/4/09.
I am mad tired, and going to finish this some time tomorrow.
Thursday, 9/4/09.
Woke up at 6 am to go to Fraser Island. It was really stupid because we had to be at the bus stop at 7 and we didn't leave until 8, and it didn't take nearly an hour to pack up the 4WDs. Anywho, we drove all morning, with 2 stops - one at a rest stop and one before we got on the ferry so we could let air out of the tires for beach driving. I think we finally got to Dilli Village on Fraser around 3 pm, and we were all exhausted! We had free time for the rest of the day, so we walked to the beach and played frisbee and stuff. It was pretty sweet. I skipped trivia and went to bed realllyy early that night, so I could get up early and run the next morning.
Friday, 10/4/09.
Woke up at 5 45 to run on the beach with my friend Sarah. It was mad hard but really good. We got out just after sunrise, and it was beautiful. After breakfast we went out in project groups to do a beach transect...so we basically just had to identify plants and record our data. Not too bad. We went back for lunch, then drove for a while to Eli Creek. We went to a ship wreck on the way, which was really cool. The creek was pretty but we were disappointed because we were expecting a good swim and it wasn't exactly conducive to swimming...but it was alright. So basically it was an afternoon of mostly driving around in the 4WDs, getting bounced around in the backseat.
Saturday, 11/4/09.
Woke up again at 5 45 to run, but it was raining a little bit so I decided not to. We had breakfast at 7, then headed out for another morning of work. My group went to the schlerophyll forest to do pollination/dispersal stuff. I ended up finding flower and bud samples with Brynne and Sarah, which wasn't too hard. We had about a 3 km walk to the forest, which was really pretty. Afterwards we came back for lunch and then set out for a 6.3 km walk to Lake Boomanjin. We thought it would be a decent walk and we would have a lot of time to hang out at the lake - WRONG. We walked for probably an hour and a half, and the tutor who led the way was absolutely booking it. We got to this place where there was a HUGE sand dune and we weren't sure if it was the way to go, but the tutor said he thought it was so we all climbed up (which basically meant falling all over yourself in the sand on the way up) and it was really cool, but not the way to the lake! Basically it was a huge expanse of sand dunes. So we climbed back down, and had to walk a bit farther to the lake. We finally got there, and it was kind of grassy/again not conducive to swimming, so another disappointing afternoon. I walked back to the car park with our tutor and we had to wait probably an hour for my professor and some other people to come back from playing on the sand dunes, because they had all the car keys! In the meantime, one kid from our group tried to break into the cars to get afternoon tea (he managed to get into about half of them). Also, we saw a bunch of Australians that were shitfaced and camping by the lake - three of them were dressed as the Village People, and a bunch of kids from our group were hanging out with them and had them sing the YMCA. They were so drunk they could barely sing it. It was pretty hilarious. When Steve (our prof) finally got back, we had a nice, long, bumpy drive back to Dilli.
Sunday, 12/4/09.
This was my group's day for rainforest work. We had a long, bumpy drive out to the rainforest where we did some work with arthropods. Basically we looked for spiders and trapped ants using tuna and honey as bait. It was really pretty out in the forest, and the work wasn't too bad. We went back for lunch and then headed out for Lake Birrabeen - which was finally the kind of lake we expected! The water was really nice so we swam for a bit and then layed out - it was incredibly nice. Unfortunately we weren't there for that long, but it was sweet anyways.
Monday, 13/4/09.
Had an earlier wake-up than usual, and it was rainy/yucky. I couldn't be mad about it though, because we lucked out with weather for the rest of the time we were there. We had to pack/clean up our rooms after breakfast, and then we headed to Lake Wabby. We had yet another long, bumpy drive there. We expected to be at the lake when we got there, but alas, we had a 1.8 km walk from the cars. It was really nice though - we walked through some forest and then some sand dunes. Finally got to the lake, and it was gorgeous - Sarah and I ran down the dunes and dove in the water, and it was perfect temperature and just amazing. It was one of my favorite things I've done since I've been in Aus. It rained a little bit while we were in the water, and it made the coolest noise and looked really cool splashing in the water. After, we went back to Dilli for lunch, then left about 1 pm and drove to the ferry, and a bit after the ferry we got to switch to a bus! Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic, and we got home around 7 30 pm. I was absolutely exhausted, and had to pack for trip #2. We had to be at the bus stop at 11 30 pm for the next trip, but some people were late so we didn't leave until about 12 30 am. Apparently some of them thought we were leaving the next day....So it was a long night of travel.
Tuesday, 14/4/09.
On the bus from about 12 30-8 30 am. We had to wait for the ferry for about 2 hours, just laying in the wet grass outside...and it was really buggy. Not the greatest time of my life. We got on the ferry at about 11 am and it took about 2 hours. It was a really nice boat and really comfortable, unlike the bus! We got lunch at the research station when we got there, and it was pretty good. After lunch we got fitted with our snorkel gear and went for our first snorkel! It was awesome, even though I was exhausted. We came back for dinner, and a bit later one of the tutors took us out to look for baby turtles on the beach. We saw a bunch, and they were sooo cute! I went to bed really early, and it was really nice to have a bed to sleep in...
Wednesday, 15/4/09.
Woke up at 5 30 am to go running on the beach with Sarah. It was kind of a failure because the sand was really soft and hard to run on, but it was worth it because the sunrise was amazing. There wasn't really anywhere good to run on the island - it is such a tiny island there isn't really anywhere to go. I didn't realize just how small it was until the last day I bought a postcard that shows the island from above, and I could see part of the beach I had been going to most days was on the opposite side from where I thought I was. Madness. Anywho, we had time to go for a nice walk in the woods before breakfast as well. After breakfast we had some free time, then went for a boat snorkel at 10 am. They boated us out pretty far and dropped us to snorkel for about an hour - it was AMAZING. After we were out there for at least a half hour, one of the staff people started screaming MANTA RAY!!! So everyone swam out to where it was, and I swam my ass off to catch up to it - it was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I followed it for a bit, but it was going really fast. It was so freaking cool. I didn't see any turtles and some of the kids in my group did, so I was kind of disappointed, but I'm just so glad I saw the manta it doesn't even matter. So we went back, had lunch, then went out for a reef "walkel"...walk/snorkel. Basically we just walked on the reef flat and used our snorkels to look at stuff - I thought it was a lot of fun, but most people didn't really enjoy it (probably because most of them cut themselves on the coral). I found a bailor snail, which was basicaly a snail that was as long as my tutor's forearm - it was sooo cool. Google image it or something. We also saw some sea hares, which are really cool/cute. On our walk back to shore, we took a "new" way, which was probably the worst idea ever because people were stepping all over the coral. My heart died a little inside. We saw a sand shark on the way back, and it was really sweet. You could barely see it because it camouflaged so well. After the walkel we made our project groups, then I went out and watched the sunset. I put some photos on facebook...most of them are very similar, sorry, but I did cut out a lot! After dinner everyone went on a night snorkel, but I skipped out because I wasn't feeling very well. Apparently everyone saw lots of turtles and it was a lot of fun, but I got to do one the last night so it wasn't such a big deal I missed it.
Thursday, 16/4/09.
I am mad tired, and going to finish this some time tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
MIA
Tomorrow morning I leave at 7 am for my Terrestrial field trip to Fraser Island for 5 days, and directly after that I'll be going to Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef) for my Marine field trip for the next 5 days. So basically I'll be MIA for about 10 days - I'm not sure how much time I have between trips, but I'm sure it's going to be short. If I can get internet access while I'm gone, I'll be sure to post stories...
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Other weird things...
Side note: events at Emmanuel College. Last Sunday was BGFC, or Big Game Fishing Club, aka the boys get smashed in the afternoon. This also involves: dressing up as girls, drinking goon mixed with cordial, everyone throwing up, in a public park. Then they all come to dinner painted blue and get sent back to their rooms to shower/change, then come back tinted blue and falling over. This Sunday was ECLA, or Emmanuel College Ladies Association, which is similar where the girls drink in the afternoon and dress up in pink, then come to dinner shitfaced. I'm glad I missed it...I saw a girl at dinner fall on her ass. Emmanuel is crazy. And loves to paint everyone blue.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Adventure Weekend
Just arrived home from our Adventure Weekend with IFSA-Butler, and procrastinating studying for my Terrestrial exam so here's an update. We left school around 3 on Friday and got to Binna Burra Mountain Lodge around 6 pm. We picked up kids from Griffith University on the way (they are in the Gold Coast...closer to the rainforest). It was rainy that night and really foggy, so there wasn't much to see, but the forest was pretty sweet anyways. We had a really good dinner and then had a movie night, and we watched The Castle, which is a classic Aussie film and it was hilarious. I highly recommend. After that we went to bed, in safari tents which were pretty nast, because literally everything in them was damp, and if you left your stuff out it got damp too. I was on a top bunk that had next to no space between it and the ceiling, so it was not the greatest. Anywho, got up early Saturday, had brekkie and it was still raining and shitty out. My group had to hike first - it was okay, but we got absolutely soaked and everything in my backpack got soaked too. Oh, and leeches are a huge problem there, so we were constantly having to pull them off our shoes/legs. We were out for around 3 hours and came back to the tents, where my tentmates and I all found leeches on our ankles, and pulling them off resulted in profuse bleeding. It was fabulous - I soaked up a lot of blood with my soaking socks, then put on another pair which also got bloody and soaked back in my shoes, which are basically ruined. In the afternoon we did the flying fox - a zip line. It kind of cleared up for us, and it was a lot of fun. We all got to go twice and go upside down the second time. It took a while for everyone to go (~3 hours), but definitely worth it. After that we had dinner and a trivia night....I am really really bad at Aussie trivia but there was a "physical challenge" for someone to eat a cracker with vegemite on it as fast as they could, and I was quickly the nominee. There was hardly any vegemite on the cracker so it was basically who could chew the cracker the fastest, and unfortunately I did not win. It was fun though. I barely slept at all last night (trying to wean myself off Ambo) but today was still a lot of fun, and I'm still running on adrenaline. My group did the ropes course - I was scared shitless and was on the verge of not doing it but ended up doing all 3 things. Some of my friends took pictures which will hopefully go up soon on facebook. We had lunch there and left at 1 - and just got back about an hour ago. So basically everything in my bag is sopping wet, and I am thanking God that I have my laundry day tomorrow. I just found out that I leave for my Terrestrial field trip to Fraser Island on Thursday at 7 am- and we have our exam the day before! I don't feel like packing for another outdoor adventure, and my shoes need recovery, but I think I'm going to take them out for a run tonight and hopefully the water and dirt will slowly go away. I think that's all the fun from this weekend....basically it was really cool but would have been faaaar better if the weather had been nice yesterday. Not much we could do though. I took a few pictures from the lodge at breakfast this morning, I might post a few later. Cheers!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Lazy.
So obviously I've been really lazy about posting, but here's a short update! I went to a rugby game last Saturday and that was a lot of fun. I still don't understand the sport at all but it is really fun to watch. Unfortunately our team lost, but it was fun anyway...
I've been working on my fish dissections a bit lately, and I finished my 20 that I had to do for the month of February (the ones caught in that month). I also went lungfishing with this dude that also works in the lab on Friday - we didn't catch any lungfish, but it was fun. We used a seine net like the one on our field trip at Straddie, but it was a lot harder because the bottom of the river was really muddy so we just sank in and in parts we had to swim with the net. I was going to go next Monday to try again, but realized I have an exam next Wednesday and no time to study. I'm finally getting into school work...it's madness.
I can't think of much else that has happened recently...but when I do I will try to not be lazy and post some fun stories. This weekend my IFSA-Butler group is doing an "Adventure Weekend," so we're staying somewhere in the rainforest to do a ropes course, hike, and who knows what else. Next Thursday I leave for my first spring break trip to Fraser Island....I can't believe it's so soon! Time is flying.
I've been working on my fish dissections a bit lately, and I finished my 20 that I had to do for the month of February (the ones caught in that month). I also went lungfishing with this dude that also works in the lab on Friday - we didn't catch any lungfish, but it was fun. We used a seine net like the one on our field trip at Straddie, but it was a lot harder because the bottom of the river was really muddy so we just sank in and in parts we had to swim with the net. I was going to go next Monday to try again, but realized I have an exam next Wednesday and no time to study. I'm finally getting into school work...it's madness.
I can't think of much else that has happened recently...but when I do I will try to not be lazy and post some fun stories. This weekend my IFSA-Butler group is doing an "Adventure Weekend," so we're staying somewhere in the rainforest to do a ropes course, hike, and who knows what else. Next Thursday I leave for my first spring break trip to Fraser Island....I can't believe it's so soon! Time is flying.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Vegemite!
Fun fact: I got paid 10 dollars last night to eat a package of vegemite all at once on a spoon. It was awesome.
Also: Brynne spontaneously cut her hair short the other day and I got to witness it. We're basically twins (but not really, Meg!)
Basically what everyone does here is either: play sports, drink, or watch things on DC++. It's this program that you can use at the colleges (dorms) here to download shows, movies and music. Whenever I walk down the hall it feels like the majority of people are watching something or other in their rooms. It is amazing because it literally has everything you could want to find, and uses very little of our internet quota. I was struggling to get it to work on my computer for a while, but finally got this computer whiz kid to fix it for me the other day. It is AWESOME, and I think I'm going to download a bunch of shit and save it to my hard drive so I can have it at home. It is bomb.
Other than that...St. Patty's day was a ton of fun and I'm about to go out for one of my friend's birthdays. I'm going to play with some more dead fish tomorrow, yay!
Oh and today I went to Brisbane Forest Park on a field trip for my terrestrial class. It was pretty cool, we learned about lots of plants...and I got to see a platypus!! I couldn't get a picture because it was behind glass, but I took a video and I'll definitely try to post it. That was definitely the highlight of the day. Be jealous.
Also: Brynne spontaneously cut her hair short the other day and I got to witness it. We're basically twins (but not really, Meg!)
Basically what everyone does here is either: play sports, drink, or watch things on DC++. It's this program that you can use at the colleges (dorms) here to download shows, movies and music. Whenever I walk down the hall it feels like the majority of people are watching something or other in their rooms. It is amazing because it literally has everything you could want to find, and uses very little of our internet quota. I was struggling to get it to work on my computer for a while, but finally got this computer whiz kid to fix it for me the other day. It is AWESOME, and I think I'm going to download a bunch of shit and save it to my hard drive so I can have it at home. It is bomb.
Other than that...St. Patty's day was a ton of fun and I'm about to go out for one of my friend's birthdays. I'm going to play with some more dead fish tomorrow, yay!
Oh and today I went to Brisbane Forest Park on a field trip for my terrestrial class. It was pretty cool, we learned about lots of plants...and I got to see a platypus!! I couldn't get a picture because it was behind glass, but I took a video and I'll definitely try to post it. That was definitely the highlight of the day. Be jealous.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Fish guts!
So today I went to the lab of one of my profs and learned how to dissect a fish! I am working with a grad student and she assigned me a fish, the boney bream, and I will be dissecting I think ~20 a month and doing things like measuring length, weight of body/stomach/gonads, and taking out the otoliths, which is really hard! I thought I was going to hate dissecting, but it's actually pretty fun. I watched a kid do one and then I did one myself. So I'm going to be able to go into the lab whenever I want to and work on them. Apparently the work might lead to writing a paper by the end of the semester...but we'll see! It was totally gross but I was really excited about it...so I will now be playing with fish guts on a regular basis :)
Moreton Bay Research Station
This past weekend I went on a field trip for my Australia's Marine Environment class, to North Stradbroke Island which is off the coast of Queensland. It is a pretty small island, and it was a lot of fun. We had to get on a bus at 7 30 Friday morning, and we got to the island around 10. The rest of the day we spent eating/walking around the rocky shore and sandy habitats, learning about all the organisms that live there. It was so cool! We saw a blue striped octopus, which can kill you, and it was sweet. We saw lots of other cool stuff - spoon worms, sea sponges, sea cucumbers...among lots of other stuff. My favorite was probably the soldier crabs - they come out around dusk and run around together on top of the sand and when you go near them they burrow really quickly. I tried to get some pics/videos but we'll see how they came out...it was really hard to get. Oh, also the first thing we did when we got there was a seine netting, which is this huge net that some of the students took out to bring back the fish by the shore. Our prof pointed out all the fish that came in - and we got to see a few sting rays that got caught in the net. They were awesome. Towards the end of the day our tutor (groups of 10 were assigned to one tutor), asked us what we wanted to do an experiment on, and Brynne says that it would be cool to look at why hermit crabs clump together, and I was thinking the EXACT same thing for like 20 minutes. It was unreal. I am still in shock. Anyway, so that was what we did our experiment on, so on Saturday morning we had to go get crabs and we observed how they clumped...then we had a lot of the day to chill because we finished quickly and we had to give powerpoint presentations after dinner. Side note: they fed us like every 2-3 hours, which was sweet, and the food was pretty good. And the rooms were pretty nice - just bunks like a hostel but the bedding was pretty good and it was just cozy, kind of hard to describe. So anyway, the presentations took a while, then after I was just going to go to bed but then I decided to go out to the bar down the street, which normally closes at 10 pm but the people at the station asked them to keep it open because we were there. It was ridiculous...there was a high chair in the corner and I saw like a 5 year old kid. There was a local band playing and it was all these old dudes...and all these middle aged women were dancing ridiculously on the dance floor. I was majorly entertained. I don't think I went to sleep until 3 though and had to wake up at 6 30 because breakfast was at 7...but it turned out not to be too bad. After bfast we had to clean our rooms, then we left at 9 to go to Point Lookout and Cylinder Beach. Basically we walked along the beach/rocky shore for most of the morning/afternoon, and it was absolutely gorgeous. We stopped at a gelato place half way through, and it was amazing. I got fig flavored - best idea ever. So we had time to swim and stuff (which I did not because they didn't tell us to bring a swim suit...bitches) then we came back at 2, and got home about 5 30. So it's been a long day but I'm actually pretty awake...I was going to go out tonight but I'm going to save my energy for St. Patty's day! Anywho, it was a great weekend and expect to see pics on facebook soon. I didn't take too many, but I brought Brynne's camera on the walk today so I'll steal her pics and probably put some on the blog.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A couple of other random things
It has been rainy/cloudy/humid since Monday, which has been really nice because I can finally recover from my sunburn and it's not so hot so we're not sweating constantly. Yay.
Last week I started UQ Dance, which is a group that meets on Wednesdays and the leaders teach a different kind of dance every week for an hour, then have 2 hours of free dance afterward if you want to stay. Last week it was salsa, and it was great. Not sure if it will definitely happen because of rain (and we dance outside), but we'll see...
I talked to a prof/grad student about doing some marine research, and it looks like I may be able to get involved in some fish stuff, so that should be pretty cool. Details to come.
Another fun fact: Australians go out almost every night, start drinking between 5 and 7, go to bed on the early side, and always wake up early. They don't really need sleep. It is outrageous.
And, yesterday I booked a trip to the Whitsundays, which are islands off the coast of Queensland that have beautiful beaches and people mainly go to for sailing. We are doing a 3 day/2 night sailboat trip with snorkling and stuff. Sadly not till May 1 though!
This weekend I'm going on a field trip with my Marine Environment class to the Heron Island Research Station at Moreton Bay. I don't know much about it, but it should be good!
Last week I started UQ Dance, which is a group that meets on Wednesdays and the leaders teach a different kind of dance every week for an hour, then have 2 hours of free dance afterward if you want to stay. Last week it was salsa, and it was great. Not sure if it will definitely happen because of rain (and we dance outside), but we'll see...
I talked to a prof/grad student about doing some marine research, and it looks like I may be able to get involved in some fish stuff, so that should be pretty cool. Details to come.
Another fun fact: Australians go out almost every night, start drinking between 5 and 7, go to bed on the early side, and always wake up early. They don't really need sleep. It is outrageous.
And, yesterday I booked a trip to the Whitsundays, which are islands off the coast of Queensland that have beautiful beaches and people mainly go to for sailing. We are doing a 3 day/2 night sailboat trip with snorkling and stuff. Sadly not till May 1 though!
This weekend I'm going on a field trip with my Marine Environment class to the Heron Island Research Station at Moreton Bay. I don't know much about it, but it should be good!
Fun Fact
I have an assignment due for my Marine class tomorrow, so we aren't going to have a lecture. And last week we had an entire lecture on how to write a good paper. It is great.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Surfers
So looks like it's time for another update. This past weekend I went to Surfers Paradise at the Gold Coast with a bunch of friends from UQ. We went Saturday morning and came back Saturday afternoon. Surfers is a popular beach for tourists - the sand was really white and the waves were huge! I didn't go in the water very much because I was scared I was going to get caught in a rip. The lifeguards put flags out to show where you can swim - it was a VERY narrow range but the beach was really long. I met up with 2 of my friends from Butler who go to Griffith University which is down there - they have a 20 minute bus ride to the beach! It took us about 2.5 hours to get down there, but only cost about 4 or 5 dollars. We had to take a bus, train, then bus again. We stayed in a hostel which was basically rooms with 2 bunk beds, a bunch of showers/toilets, and a bar. We started off at the bar there on Saturday night then headed out to this place called the Beer Garden - it was TONS of fun but Sunday was not the greatest haha. Everyone got burned basically...the sun is so strong here there's not much you can do about it. So it was really hot all weekend, but it was cool and cloudy this morning and rained this afternoon. I was really glad it wasn't so hot. I'm wearing jeans right now and hanging out in my usually sweltering room...I'm been really wanting to wear jeans lately for some reason!! Ok well we're heading to the Ville to get some food and stuff, send love!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Class sched - mainly for madre
Tuesday: 9-9 50 Terrestrial, 10-11 50 Aboriginal, 1-1 50 Marine
Wednesday: 10-12 50 Meditation (12-12 50 Terrestrial, might just not go to lecture this day), 1-1 50 Marine, 4-6 Buddhism
Thursday: 12-12 50 Terrestrial, 1-1 50 Marine
Then there will be an Aboriginal tutorial Tues at 12, 2, or 3
Party!
Saturday we held koalas and fed kangaroos, and pics are on facebook. The koala sanctuary is one of the coolest places ever - it was mad expensive but there were tons of koalas and other animals there so it was worth it. It has been in the 90s every day so yesterday we spent all day at our friends' pool off campus, and today I'm heading to South Bank with Brynne to the man made beach that is gorgeous and free to the public. Saturday night we went to a club called Down Under and it was a ton of fun. Most of the College went out last night, but I stayed in and watched a movie with a bunch of Butler kids because we were absolutely exhausted. Can't really think of anything else notable...I'm really excited for classes but I hope it cools off soon!! Guess it's better than snow though.....
Wednesday: 10-12 50 Meditation (12-12 50 Terrestrial, might just not go to lecture this day), 1-1 50 Marine, 4-6 Buddhism
Thursday: 12-12 50 Terrestrial, 1-1 50 Marine
Then there will be an Aboriginal tutorial Tues at 12, 2, or 3
Party!
Saturday we held koalas and fed kangaroos, and pics are on facebook. The koala sanctuary is one of the coolest places ever - it was mad expensive but there were tons of koalas and other animals there so it was worth it. It has been in the 90s every day so yesterday we spent all day at our friends' pool off campus, and today I'm heading to South Bank with Brynne to the man made beach that is gorgeous and free to the public. Saturday night we went to a club called Down Under and it was a ton of fun. Most of the College went out last night, but I stayed in and watched a movie with a bunch of Butler kids because we were absolutely exhausted. Can't really think of anything else notable...I'm really excited for classes but I hope it cools off soon!! Guess it's better than snow though.....
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Classes/Campus
Forgot to mention some other stuff, and I have some free time that I'm not really sure what to do with! So here are the classes I think I'm taking:
Australia's Marine Environment
Australia's Terrestrial Environment
Aboriginal and TSI Perspectives
Buddhism OR Meditation and Soul Journeys
I'm really pumped about all of them, and the environment one has awesome field trips. We've been around campus a bunch for info sessions and such over the past few days, and it's really beautiful (though large!). There are 3 lakes, and one of them is absolutely gorgeous and we sat by it yesterday for a little bit and there were tons of crazy birds, pics to go up soon. Now it's almost time for lunch - send news from home!
Australia's Marine Environment
Australia's Terrestrial Environment
Aboriginal and TSI Perspectives
Buddhism OR Meditation and Soul Journeys
I'm really pumped about all of them, and the environment one has awesome field trips. We've been around campus a bunch for info sessions and such over the past few days, and it's really beautiful (though large!). There are 3 lakes, and one of them is absolutely gorgeous and we sat by it yesterday for a little bit and there were tons of crazy birds, pics to go up soon. Now it's almost time for lunch - send news from home!
Crazy O-Week
So basically this week has been insanity and it will continue until tomorrow. The other night we did a pub crawl, in which we didn't go to that many places but we had a bunch of tasks to complete and document, and it was absolutely hilarious. We had to pick a group of 10, which was all Americans, but we didn't feel bad about it for long because our group CLEARLY had by far the most fun and it was amazing. We had 3 wing leaders with us and they made us order certain drinks at each place and this one girl was making us all skull (chug), but it was a lot of fun. The best part was probably when we had to "ghost" someone, which means walking behind them and imitating their walk. All 13 of us got behind this one woman one at a time and she had NO idea we were there, and we videotaped the whole thing. Hopefully it will be on facebook soon - it is absolutely hilarious. One of the nights Brynne and I decided to take it easy and we took the ferry (which is our new favorite thing) to South Bank where there is a man-made beach/pool and a stream by the river. Side note: you can't swim in the Brisbane River because it is full of sharks! So South Bank is absolutely beautiful, and we are going back on Saturday after we cuddle with koalas at the koala sanctuary. Last night we had a talent night which was pretty funny except when I couldn't understand what the Aussies were saying (they might as well speak another language), and afterwards we hung out at one of the off campus apartments and that was a lot of fun. Another side note: my wing leader hasn't been knocking on my door in the morning, which I am SO thankful for. A lot of the international kids just aren't getting up so I don't feel bad about it. Apparently yesterday everyone had to jump in a kiddie pool of mud and goon (Golden Oaks boxed wine, it's the cheapest stuff here and everyone drinks it). So good thing I missed out on that. Today we're going on a bus tour of the city with the Butler kids, which should be cool. So everything is awesome, except the food, but I'm getting used to it. I've been eating vegemite every day, which is just really salty but I mix it with peanut butter so it just tastes like extra salty peanut butter. Also, I bought 30 gigs of internet for a really discounted price so I will be using internet more as I get more time and maybe I can even skype. Woot! That's it for now, hope everyone is doing well!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Shout out back home
So I debated creating this blog for a long time, and I finally decided I should do it. We have very limited internet access here (as in we pay by the megabytes we use), so I'm not going to be doing a lot of individual contact with people, and I think this is the best way to let people know what's going on! So going back to the beginning...I left home at 6 am on Feb 15th for a 7 40 flight to LA. I got to LA around 11, and I hung out with Stephanie for most of the afternoon (which was awesome, I should add). The group flight to Sydney left at 10 30 pm LA time, so it was a long, long day. I met some kids at the airport from the program, but basically it was awesomely awkward. We flew Qantas, and the plane was brand new and SO nice! Our seats reclined a lot and they gave us a blanket, pillow, eye mask, socks, and some candy/treats. The flight was almost 15 hours - I slept for about half I think, but they had an amazing entertainment system so I didn't even mind being awake that much. We landed around 8 am Sydney time - the airport with all the kids (~130) was mad crazy, and it took a while to get out (and it was crazy hot) but we somehow got everyone onto buses with kids from the same schools and drove about 45 minutes outside the city to this park kind of area with cabins and an RV park. It was really pretty, with a beach right across the road. We signed up for cabin mates on the bus, and I was the very last person to sign up so I was with two random girls, who ended up not knowing anyone either and they were both great. We had a couple presentations and got our cell phones (which suck, by the way), then hung out at the beach for a bit. We had a presentation on Australian culture that night (Tuesday), and then we all went to be really early. On Wednesday we went to the Taronga Zoo and on a harbour cruise of Sydney. Both were amazing! We had rainy/cloudy weather from when we got there until the end of the time at the zoo, so it cleared up perfectly for the cruise. I got to pet a wallaby at the zoo (see: profile picture) which is basically a small kangaroo. All of the animals were awesome - my favorite I think was the tasmanian devil, it's so cute!! That night we had a presentation on Aboriginal culture, which was pretty cool. On Thursday we had a talk about school stuff for a while, then surfed in the afternoon. There were WAY too many people for 4 instructors, but it was alright. At first I went pretty far out and I rode my first wave in, which was awesome, but then I got absolutely smashed by the next one. After that I found the female instructors, who said to just ride the breaking waves and that was a lot of fun, and I got up a bunch of times. Thursday night we had an Aboriginal dance show, which was reallyyy cool. Most of the dances are mimicking animals, so they were hopping around like kangaroos and stuff. Friday morning we left around 9 for the airport (I had a huge struggle re-packing my bags) and we flew from Sydney to Brisbane. The airport security is so much better here - you can have anything in your carry-on except sharp objects. We arrived in Brisbane around 2 I think (and gained an hour because Brisbane doesn't do daylight savings while Sydney does), then we hopped on a bus and everyone got driven to their different residences. We drove through the city on the way, which is amazing. So I'm in Emmanuel College, which looked to be a palace online but isn't, but it's still really good. I thought it was going to have a nice gym, but it's this really gross room that has like all broken equipment and stuff. We all have memberships to the Uni gym though, so I'm all set. Friday night I took the bus into the city with a few girls to get toiletries and pillows and stuff, and the city was AMAZING. Saturday all the freshies arrived, so it was kind of hectic. They gave us these green hats (basically fedoras with a feather) and everyone gets a freshie name on it, and mine is "DURAG" (dew rag I think, they spelled it wrong). Not everyone knows why they got theirs, but mine is because I like the Celtics. Racist. Anyway, yesterday we had this ceremony where we all got called up to sign a book, and we wore our Harry Potter robes (which are awesome, and we wear them to formal dinners). I explored the campus a bit yesterday as well, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Last night we had "bush dancing," which is where everyone dresses like cowboys and does line dancing. It was SO MUCH FUN. Everyone was sweating like crazy but it was hilarious and awesome. Afterwards they bussed us to the Port Office Hotel bar, which was heaps of fun. (Oh, and we have to wear our green hats everywhere or else we get our names written in Sharpie on our foreheads.) Some other Butler kids (the program I'm in that had the orientation in Sydney, forgot to mention) came to the bar as well. We all went to bed pretty late, and at 6 am the wing leaders came around BANGING on everyones doors to make us run to the cricket field and roll on the ground and do push ups and crap, but somehow I didn't hear it. So glad!! Everyone was really pissed about it this morning. We just had a health talk which was absolutely awful/hilarious, and I have to go to lunch in a few minutes. I forgot to mention - it has been like 90s and humid since we got here, and we don't have AC in our rooms! Today isn't as humid as the past two days, but it's taking a bit of getting used to. Oh, and each wing is 2 floors, one for guys and one for girls. I'm the only international and/or freshie on my floor, so it's pretty quiet because the 2nd years don't come until next Sunday. There are a few boys downstairs though, and they're a lot of fun. We have a chapel ceremony and formal dinner where we get to wear our robes again, haha. They're really great, I'll have to get a picture. I posted all I have so far to facebook, so check it out! And if you want to contact me, email is the best so I don't have to open lots of webpages and use all my internet quota. Ok that's it for now, I'll write again soon!
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