Brisbane

Although it has been ingrained in our heads that if we do not travel as much as possible we are wasting our lives away here, there is a small factor called money that somewhat deters that philosophy. Therefore, this past weekend we decided to make a day trip to Brisbane. Fortunately, the round trip on train cost us 8 bucks, which you can only imagine how many times throughout the day I brought up what a great deal that is (when you're as cheap as I am, you tend to fixate on those things).

It was not as if I had low expectations for Brisbane, but I was overly impressed that I could actually spend an entire enjoyable day in a city without feeling too claustrophobic or suffocating from exhaust fumes. The day began by visiting St. John's Cathedral (which is not the church pictured below; deal with it) which I absolutely loved because its beauty reminded me of Hope's chapel back at home.



After spending the morning walking around on one side of the river, we crossed the bridge and that was when Brisbane's awesomeness truly hit me. There is a long boardwalk along the river called South Bank that was filled with markets, cafes, and most importantly, pools/lagoons. The picture below is just one of the countless lagoons in which you could swim. Because we didn't have our swimmies, we people watched, which observing human behaviour/stupidity always provides ample forms of amusement.

After walking some more, we came across this huge concert/rave/something that was hearding drunk people like it was their job. Being the naive person I am, I initially thought it was some fundraising walk to raise money for the betterment of humanity, yet after watching an exciting episode of cocky males who think they have too much testosterone try to break down a fence to get in, I realized otherwise. Amusing, nevertheless.


By the end of the day, we were so exhuasted from walking that I was contemplating investing in either a wheelchair or stroller. We crawled into an Italian restaurant where we met up with some other friends who were also visiting Brisbane. The train ride back was pleasantly uneventful, besides being caught taking a picture of two guys who were sleeping on each others' shoulders.




Looking at this picture is painful because as I write I am eating what dad would call cardboard fritters (chicken nuggets). Believe it or not, I am still a typical college student who drinks instant coffee and waits until I wear my last pair of clean underwear to do the laundry. I just try to hide that part of my Australian existence.

Mojosurf

I'm hooked.

This past weekend, I, along with a plethora of other desperate foreigners who were yearning to learn to surf, traveled to Spot X for a weekend surf camp. After a 5 hour bus ride, filled with wise people who think it's a good idea to drink on a bus, we arrived at the location and were tossed into our accommodations. They were.. small, yet we can't complain because at least they were clean.

6:00 AM rolled around and we were off for our first 2 hour surf lesson. Our instructors were the stereotypical surfer, which only added to the experience. Besides teaching us all of the ways that we can die when we set out feet in the ocean, we learned the basics to surfing and how to stand up on the board and what not (below is a picture of us getting warmed up). We started out on the beginner boards with beginner waves so that our self-esteem wouldn't be too damaged. Either way, it does take sometime to get used to it.



After stuffing our faces at lunch (which many of you know, I can eat my body weight in food), we had another 2 hours of surfing. The afternoon waves were a lot more difficult than the morning's and I had my fair share of being knocked over, salt water plunging into my nose, and other surf boards mulling me over. It was exhausting, yet nothing beat the feeling when you actually caught a wave and road it to shore.


The next morning we had our last 2 hour surf session and by that time I could definitely see improvement. Our bodies, though, had taken quite a beaten;when I was on my stomach on the board I thought quite possibly my ribs were collapsing and that all of the skin on my knees had rubbed off. It was completely worth it, though.

Making a brief stop at Bryon Bay on the way home, we arrived back Sunday evening, which should have been the time in which reality sets in and you realize that you have classes to attend this week, but I waited until Monday to let that horrific feeling arise. It was a fantastic weekend, spent with great friends, and I can't wait to surf again. I already splurged on some surfing gear, and for being such a cheapskate, that's saying a lot.

It was gorgeous there (just like everything else here, including people) and because it was a private beach, there was not an abundance of annoying tourist like me clogging the area. I wish I could go back!

Bond Week

Let's be honest- My cause of death will be due to being hit by a speeding vehicle on a roundabout outside my house. I always look the wrong way to see if any cars are coming (due to them traveling on the opposite side of the road) and I swear they purposely speed up when they see an innocent victim step onto the street.

As you can tell, I have experienced what the overly educated call "culture shock," yet I find myself adjusting already to the new environment, culture, and way of life. This past week was called "Bond Week:" 6 full days for the nervous newbies, entailing both long lectures and social activities (my polite way of labeling parties). I learned what to expect in lectures and tutorials and that the Aussie motto of "no worries" does not mean slack off. I watched a highly inappropriate hypnotist (this post would be rated R if I fully explained what I witnessed), saw a movie under the stars, indulged in one-too-many barbies (BBQ's), and experienced Australian nightlife (no worries, I'm not an uncontrollable partier that has been released from its cage like most study abroad Americans are).

Above is a picture of Bond University, which I have already fallen in love with. Having 3,000 students, it's the only private Australian University created in the traditions of America's Ivy League colleges (is it obvious that I copied and pasted the last part?). What I love most about the school so far is its diversity. 40% of the students are international, meaning that the majority of the conversations I have entail me saying "What? Can you say that again? I can't understand you." It is such an opportunity to be exposed to so many different nationalities and everyone is eager to learn about each other's cultures.

Allowing my inner geek to come out, I could go on and on about the tea I had with my professors or the referencing style that is required here, but I suppose you would rather here about the beaches. WORD. I'm living on the Gold Coast, and it is freakin' gorgeous. This is my first time ever seeing big waves and I'm like a little kid running up and down the beaches. My Aussie friend, Kit, already called me Neemo. Surfer's Paradise is about a 10 minute bus drive away and if you get tired of the beaches (impossible for those who are not lame), you can always walk into the city and be plenty entertained.

Oh, and keep in mind, this is their winter. WHAT?!?!!?

Cairns, AU

After my dad's parting words of, "I don't care a crap; I'm not the one flying," I embarked on my journey that entailed over 20 hours in the air, 14 of which I didn't get to see the light of day. Everything went rather smoothly, much to my surprise... I suppose my only complaint was the Japanese woman who I sat next to on my trip to L.A. who showed me every picture she has ever taken on her digital camera and then wanted me to defend my argument that pyschology wouldn't turn me into an atheist. I also lost a day of my life: I never got to experience Sept. 3. I'll deal.

We (as in the rest of the AustraLearn group, which in my opinion, has its fair share of idiots), arrived in Cairns early afternoon on the 4th for our program orientation. Although exhausted, we had a full day of sessions to endure. It didn't matter though because it was amazingly beautiful there and we had a lot to look forward to in the next few days...

• Rainforest- Word. AWESOME. We got to get our pictures taken with a koala, but I felt really bad for it because I would hate to have its life. Then we entered into this area where there were kangeroos literally jumping everywhere around us; this has the potential to be the greatest animal experience of my life, minus when I once got a grasshopper stuck in my jeans. We basically got to hang out with kangeroos for awhile, and then we watched an Aboriginal tribal dance and learned how to throw a boomerang. We ended the day going on a safari, riding in an Army Duck (I could totally be butchering what it's actually called.. but it's a boat with wheels).





• Great Barrier Reef- SERIOUSLY?!?! Best day yet in this continent. We headed out early in the morning, and took about a 2 hour boat ride to the area in which we would be snorkeling and scuba diving. Words can't even describe how gorgeous this place is. I felt like I was on the Travel Channel. Snorkeling was a lot of fun, but the highlight of my day was scuba diving. I gotta admit, it was kind-of scary at first. But once you trust that you aren't going to breathe in a mouth full of salt water instead of air, it was a blast. I wish I could have taken pictures of all of the beautiful coral and exotic fish I saw, but just know that the pictures you do see on the Discovery Channel are the real deal.

In our spare time, we were allowed to go off on our own and explore Cairns. I fell in love with their downtown; it was so alive at night and there was much to do. We did get lost one time for an hour trying to find our bus stop, and I suppose asking someone for help just because they have an accent wasn't the best idea. About 15 minutes after having them lead us around, I finally asked one where he was from, and he replied England. Figures.

After our weekend in Cairns, we flew back to Brisbane and I'm finally at my University, sitting here in my new apartment. More on that later, but everything is really great, overwhelming the majority of times, but I'll learn to cope.

Pre-Departure

I cannot believe that by this time tomorrow I'll be headed toward Australia. That seems like an overused statement, but I just cannot grasp that I will be away from this country for the rest of the year. I guess when all I see is blue water below me it will finally sink in. Until then I can continue being in denial.

So far in my preparations for traveling I have practiced crying so when I get lost in the airport and have no clue what I'm doing, people will feel bad for the girl who looks like she is 12 and is traveling alone. I figure it will work. Going into this whole situation, I basically have the mindset of "how is life going to kick my butt this time?" I'm expecting that everything that could possibly go wrong, will indeed go wrong. Therefore, if my luggage and I both make it to Australia in one piece, I'll be quite satisfied.

Nevertheless, the ideal situation is that I will successfully make it from Columbus to Chicago to Los Angelas to Brisbane and finally to Cairns without dying of stress. Those who know me well will know this is a difficult feat, but I think I can manage.

I'll wrap it up now because I don't want to bore you. I'll try to do my best to keep my posts short (therefore avoiding excuciating details of how many people I saw wearing fanny packs or the count of how many people used the bathroom on the plane flights) so that maybe you'll want to continue reading what I post next. It's just a goal.