Australia, you have stolen my heart…

            I definitely realize that I have been kind of terrible at writing in this blog on a regular basis.  The reason I haven’t written as frequently as I thought I would is because I have felt like I should only write about exciting things that happen.  There were a few weeks that I got into a funk of just going to school during the week (which only lasts Monday-Wednesday), and then going out in Brisbane with friends on the weekend.  It was fun but I didn’t think it left me with too much to write about for you all to read!  But don’t worry, I have added some more excitement to my life!

Typical night out in Brisbane with Friends!

I am definitely loving having a 3 day school week.  It makes me appreciate the time that I spend on campus and gives me plenty of time to keep in contact with friends at home.  I have loved getting the chance to Skype with a lot of my friends, it keeps me up to date with everything that is going on back in the states in SLO and SD.  I miss home but at the same time, I see my return date looming already and I can’t imagine how I will leave behind Australia and all the friends I have made here.  It is weird to think that I have only had this life for 2 months now.  I am so used to living in Brisbane, going to UQ, and hanging out with these people, it is hard to think about going back home, especially to start my last year of college.  Don’t get me wrong, I am super stoked to see everyone and know it will be nice to be home.  I am so happy that I will be returning to UCSD at the beginning of September to be an Orientation Leader for Sixth College for my 3^rd and final year.  And I have begun to figure out housing, which sounds like will end up being pretty legit.  I have tons to return to, but also a once in a lifetime experience to leave behind.  Wow, I am halfway through, with so much more to see and do, and I am already being sentimental and corny.  Typical Rachel, huh?

Shot of the Lake on campus at UQ

Ok, enough of all that, now I will get to the stuff you come here to read about: my adventures! 

Mimi and I decided to venture to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), which is just a few blocks from our apartments and free(important factor), on a rainy day a few weeks ago.  We didn’t get to see the entire thing because we went too close to the closing time, so we will have to return sometime.  I normally don’t like modern art too much, but I found this museum to be really cool and fun!  There was an exhibit that was a wall of bracelets with wishes written on them.  You could take one and then write your own wish on a piece of paper and leave the wish in the slot.  The artist will read all of the new wishes submitted and could possibly use your wish for a new bracelet later.  I chose a bracelet that said: “I wish I knew what I wanted.”  I thought this was pretty fitting for me considering how indecisive I am and that it takes me 30 minutes just to decide what I want for dinner.  There was also an entire interactive exhibit on youtube that was really fun to play with.  And then there was a slide that you could go down from the 3^rd floor to the main level…didn’t get to do it this time, but don’t worry, I am all over it next time.

Wall of Wish Bracelets 

Adding my Wish!

YouTube Exhibit

Sweet Slide

The next weekend, I ventured to the Gold Coast with my friends Mimi, Kristi, Sara, and Robin.  We decided it was time to hit up the beach again and work on the tans everyone expects you to have when studying in Australia.  Last time, I went to a more local place, Coolangatta on the Gold Coast, and this time we opted for the touristy place, Surfer’s Paradise.  There were tons of people there and they have a huge shopping center right next to the beach that attracts a ton of people.  Every few feet we walked, we were approached by people attempting to convince us to go on a Pub Crawl that night.  We turned them down but are definitely considering returning to go out and experience the night life of the Gold Coast sometime soon.  After a quick food stop at our favorite fast food joint, Hungry Jacks (the Burger King of Australia), we spent the afternoon lying on the beach getting our bronze on and chatting with randoms.  It was another beautiful day in Australia with great friends.

Surfer's Paradise - Gold Coast

Kristi, Me, Robin, Sara, and Mimi 

The following weekend, last weekend, I got the chance to be a bit more adventurous and explore some of the Australian nature.  My friend John invited me to head out to the Sunshine Coast to the Glass House Mountains.  I took him up on the offer and woke up at 6am for an hour train ride out there.  There were 5 of us that ventured out there: John, Jeff, Lisette, Rebecca, and I.  As soon as we arrived, we hit up the Info Center to find out which mountain we should conquer first.  Since all the mountains are pretty spread out, we had to chose wisely.  Mount Ngungun (we loved the name) won and we did about a 30 minute trek over towards it.  Since I am not the biggest hiker in the world, I was a little worried about it but the trail seemed to be pretty tame…for the first 10 minutes.  We then came to a portion that was pretty much straight up, awesome.  It ended up not being as bad as I thought it would be.  But I was still sweating up a storm (thanks dad), especially since I was carrying a big backpack filled with stuff.  We got to the top in about an hour, we were super speedy.  After taking tons of pictures, we found a ledge that was perfect to sit, admire, and eat on.  Despite the millions of bugs that seemed to love us, it was pretty perfect.  We even saw a wild wallaby hopping around down below us.  The view was absolutely beautiful and it was a gorgeous day.  After lunch, we trekked down the mountain, which was a scarier task especially considering my tendency to sprain my ankles doing simple, everyday, and tame activities.  But, all was well as I made it down safely, although, I was inevitably limping some the next day because my ankles hate me.  The next mountain we decided to head to was Mount Tibrogargan, the biggest one of the Glass House Mountains.  On our way, we came across a farmer’s market that we stopped at.  Then we walked for over an hour on a small winding road, which we quickly realized people don’t usually walk on, to the mountain.  We opted to do the trail around the mountain and said we will try to return sometime to go to the top.  After that, we headed back into town to wait for our train.  We had some time to kill so we hit up the town Tavern to reward ourselves with some much deserved cold beer.  Rebecca and I also ordered off the kids menu, it was a great deal.  I felt super cool eating my kids burger and drinking a beer at the same time.  It was a very fun, rewarding, tiring, and awesome day!

Jeff, John, Lisette, Rebecca, and I at the top!

Me with the view

Last week, I was pretty perturbed to have a big assignment due for my PR class.  I did not know how to deal with real schoolwork after my 3-month hiatus at home and then month long chill period in Australia.  Who knew you actually do work abroad, right?

Now you guys are caught up to the current weekend!  I know I mentioned before that I would be going to the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo a few weeks back, but it ended up raining that day so we changed our plans.  We ended up going yesterday though!  I went with my friends Robin, Mimi, and Kristi.  It was about an hour train ride up towards the Sunshine Coast.  On the way, we passed the Glass House Mountains and I was quite proud to point out Mount Ngungun, that I climbed to the top of.  Once at the train station in Beerwah, there was a courtesy coach to the Australia Zoo waiting for us.  The driver gave us suggestions and tips on where to start off and what time shows were at.  As soon as we got our tickets, we headed to the Crocoseum for the Wild Life Show that was about to begin.  We might have gotten a little confused along the way and stopped to take various pictures of giant tortoises, ones sitting on top of huge, fake crocodile, and of fluffy wombats, but we eventually made it!  The show included a bunch of colorful and exotic birds and then the main attraction was a crocodile, of course!  Steve Irwin was after all, the Crocodile Hunter.  The entire zoo is pretty much a shrine to the late Steve Irwin.  It is evident that he made a huge impact on wildlife in Australia and people here love him.  There is also a ton of love for his daughter, Bindi, who was referred to as the Hannah Montana of Australia (lucky her). 

Giant Tortoise!

Crocoseum, Wild Life Show

Pretty Parrots

Don't mess with a Croc!

Kristi, Steve, and I

Robin, Me, and Krisit on a Croc

After the show, we took a lunch break and then headed for the kangaroos.  Mimi and I had hung out with some kanagroos in Cairns with our program but Kristi and Robin were excited to meet them for the first time.  We got to go into this huge area just for the roos where we could feed, pet, and hang out with them for as long as we wanted.  It was a lot of fun and we got plenty of pictures with our new friends.  Following a sufficient amount of time in “Roo Heaven,” we checked out the koalas, elephants, and tigers.  I realized that I am kind of love elephants and now have a new life goal to ride one.  And if I ever have the land for it, I will so have one as a pet.  We then walked around some more seeing more crocodiles, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, and wild birds.  We made a pit stop for some drinks and ended up with some souvenir cups.  Mimi then freaked out about a lizard, which was kind of hilarious. 

I think I enjoyed this more than he did...

BFFs

Cute Koala

New fave animal: ELEPHANTS!

We then headed back to check out the exhibit on Steve Irwin more thoroughly, which resulted in a few more photoshoots.  The first one was a wall meant for taking jumping photos with Steve…it took a while to get it right.  We then came across “The Crocodile Hunter” van and obviously needed some pics in it.  We did not seem like tourists at all.  We had perfect timing in the sense that as soon as we reached the exit of the zoo, it began to down pour.  It was sunny and nice out most of the day, so we lucked out.  We had an epic and memorable day at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo, filled with tons of new inside jokes and quotes that will not soon be forgotten.

Jumping pic with Steve! 

Showing off my driving skills

Chilling with Steve and a croc

Mimi, Robin, Kristi, and I leaving the zoo!

So, sorry for another epicly long installment to my blog.  As always, I will say that I will try to be more frequent and prompt, but most likely, you will hear from me again in a month or so.  I hope you are all doing well.  Remember, if you feel like dropping into Australia sometime in the next 3 months, you so have a place to stay!  I love it here and I’m sure you all, my family and friends, would as well.

Cheers!!!  J