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

Life in Brissy, Brisvegas, Brisbane!

            Wow, it seems like ages since I last wrote in this blog.  So sorry about not being more on top of things but there has been a lot going on.  I have now been living in Brisbane for a month and in Australia for 5 weeks!  In some ways I am shocked I have already been here that long and in others, I am so used to life here now that it feels like much longer.  Ok, I will now try to recap the last few weeks for all of you.

My apartment building from the bus stop

Beautiful Brissy!

            The first few days in Brisbane were spent grocery and toiletry shopping, organizing my room, and meeting a ton of people.  The first week here was the Orientation Week at University of Queensland.  Everyday there were various informational sessions that one could choose to attend or not.  I was required to go to the International Student Orientation, which is where it really hit me that I was not in America any more.  There were over 100 countries represented from around the world, it was incredible to see the diversity.  This same night, my friends that I met in the elevator on the first day, invited people over for dinner and to hang out.  Some of the guys cooked pasta with a meat sauce.  It was delicious, but the meat was not any ordinary meat, it was KANGAROO!  I ate kangaroo meat and I really liked it, although, I have heard since that it is something that usually “bogans” or hicks eat in Australia.  That was on Monday of O-Week and the next day I went to campus was on Wednesday for Market Day.  This was a day that was devoted to the clubs and organizations at UQ.  Each one had a table or booth set up for people to ask questions and sign up.  A few of the ones I signed up for were the Social Science Association, the wakeboarding club, and I bought the “L Card” which gives various discounts around Brisbane.  It was a really fun and exciting day that was also my first experience of just how lively and populated UQ really is.  The rest of the week was spent with various people exploring more of Brisbane, attending every free sausage BBQ on campus, and embracing the end of our extended break before classes began.  However, that Friday was “the event of the year,” at UQ, the Toga Party!  It was on campus and had tickets that needed to be bought ahead of time.  Figuring out how to create the toga was quite the ordeal but once we got passed that, Mimi, Kristi, and I joined other friends to bus to campus.  There were thousands of people there and it was a fun night of socializing with other UQ students.  Although, it was the first night we were introduced to the term “Sepos” or “Septic Tanks” that some Aussies use to refer to Americans.  But all in all, it was a good night. 

Kangaroo!

"Lift" Friends: Kristi, Mimi, John, and Tom

Toga Party with Mimi and Kristi!

            On Monday, February 28^th, my 3 month break from school ended with a 10am class that morning.  As many of you know, I am not quite a morning person, so I was definitely not the perkiest to get up early for school.  I guess it helps that the University of Queensland campus is beautiful!  But, despite being tired and lacking a little bit in focus, I enjoyed my 2 hour lecture on International Journalism and Mass Communications.  I have a different perspective from most in the class since I am an international student, so it makes it more interesting.  I also had my lecture for my Introduction to Public Relations class on Monday, which is a practical and hands on type of class that UCSD does not offer.  On Tuesdays, I have Television and Popular Culture and Celebrity Culture.  It is nice because there are people from my program that I know in all of my classes except the Journalism one.  On Wednesdays, I have 2 of my tutorials or discussions, and then the weekend begins at 1pm.  It has been really nice only having school 3 days a week and it goes by pretty fast because I like all my classes so far.  The teaching styles and set up of lectures and tutorials are pretty similar to UCSD so I have not had much adjusting to do in that sense.  One big difference, however, does seem to be the large number of cute, tan boys walking around in tanks everyday…but that’s nothing to complain about.  J

Great Court at UQ

            My first weekend after classes was a rather eventful one because it happened to be my birthday.  This was also not just any old birthday but the big 2-1.  My birthday was on Saturday, so of course we had to go out to the bars at midnight on Friday.  I’d say that my 21^st was done right and in typical fashion.  I did not pay for anything the whole weekend and Mimi and I actually became friends with the manager at one bar, so we had a good time.  The actual day of my birthday was a pretty low key day spent hanging out with friends.  At night, I went to dinner with Mimi, Kristi, and Sara.  Then the big group of our American friends went out to the Valley together.  This night was a joint celebration with my Canadian friend Max, who’s birthday was the day after mine, the 6^th.  The next day a group of us decided to head to the beach at the Gold Coast, which is about an hour long trip.  There was a professional surfing competition that we watched for a bit and then we just hung out on the beach working on our tans and relaxing.

John, Me, and Max, the bday buddy

Me and Mimi

Coolangatta, Gold Coast

Surf Comp!

            The next exciting thing that happened was the following Saturday when Mimi and I ventured to West End, which is next to South Bank.  We walked around a huge market that happens every weekend and then ended up watching a rugby game nearby.  It was the first time seeing rugby in person for both of us, and it was super intense.  Neither of us actually know the real rules so we just tried to appreciate the athleticism of the players.  And then today, I dragged Mimi and Kristi with me to an event for the Social Science club, which was lawn bowling.  We were all terrible at it, but it we had fun making friends with Australians and just being silly together.

Intense Rugby!

            When I am not out doing exciting things here, life is pretty calm.  I have gotten used to things and it is turning into everyday life.  It is still awesome and really fun, but going to class and doing homework tend to put a damper on things.  Although, I guess it is a little exciting that I will be going to the Steve Irwin Zoo tomorrow…  Haha, hopefully I will get better at posting on my blog.  Sorry all, I totally thought I would be more on top of things with this. 

            I hope everyone is doing well and I miss you all.  I have a good internet plan now so feel free to hit me up on Skype!  So until next time, whenever that will be, as they say in Australia, CHEERS!!!  J

Program Orientation in Cairns and now to Brisbane

            Sorry for the delay of the blog.  I have been kind of busy and had limited access to the internet since getting to Australia.  I wrote the first entry on word while chilling in the airport.  I am now in Brisbane, Australia, where I will be living and studying.  But I will try to catch you all up on my past week in a half since I got to the Land Down Unda!!

            So my 15 hour flight from LAX to Melbourne went pretty well.  I watched a movie, slept 8 hours, watched another movie, and then it was over!  I got to Cairns around 8pm on February 11^th.  This was the day before the group flight for my program showed up so I was on my own for the night.  I showered and went straight to bed.  The next day, I decided to walk into and explore Cairns on my own so that I could also convert my American dollars into Australian dollars, which are much more colorful and also waterproof.  They also have 2 dollar and 1 dollar coins so I now carry around a lot more change than normal.  Oh and I woke up at 7am that morning, which I know will shock most of you.  So by the afternoon the group showed up and I lucked out with getting the family suite with 4 other girls rather than the dorm rooms.  For the rest of the day we had some introductory information sessions and that night everyone was too tired to go out so we all got a good night of sleep. 

Aboriginal Dancers

            The next day, the 13^th, we were bussed to the rainforest outside of Cairns where I got to pet a kangaroo, hold a snake and koala, go on a ride around the rainforest that felt like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland with an outback Aussie guy, watch an Aboriginal Dance performance, learn how to throw a boomerang, and play a didgeridoo.  Basically, it was a day of doing every single stereotypical Australian thing you can think of.  It was a fun and exciting day!  That night, I went out to eat with my friends Molly, Finley, and Emily and then Emily and I decided it was time to check out the Australian bar scene since the drinking age is 18 here.  Although, I was also excited to find out that turning 21 is also a big deal in Australia, which I will be doing in uhh, 2 weeks from today…but you all know I am not the type to count down my birthday… J 

Cairns from the Rainforest

Emily, Me, and Molly Volunteering!

            Monday was Community Day, so we went to a nearby beach where we pulled weeds and planted 200 trees with Conservation Volunteers Australia.  It was a very hot and humid day so we took breaks often and reapplied sunscreen religiously…which is quite necessary when there is no O-Zone layer.  Oh and my dad will be happy to hear that I was actually complimented on my weeding and shoveling skills.  I apparently dug the perfect wholes for our trees to be planted in.  It would be cool to someday come back and visit that beach to see how the trees I planted have grown.  After that we had more information sessions on Australia and then had the night free.  So naturally we went out again and Emily and I practically became locals at our favorite bar in Cairns, The Woolshed, which Emily kept accidently calling The Woolslayer.  Maybe a future business idea??

My cute blue protector suit

Mimi, Me, and Emily

Just snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef

            Tuesday, the 15^th, was by far the best day of the week in Cairns and one of the coolest days I have ever had.  It was our Reef Day where we spent the entire day out on a boat exploring the Great Barrier Reef.  Snorkeling was included in our prepaid expenses but I decided to pay the extra to try scuba diving.  If there is one place in the world that is worth paying more to scuba, I think it is safe to say it is the Great Barrier Reef.  It was definitely the best 70 bucks I have ever spent.  Although the reef is a little damaged from the recent cyclone Yassi that hit the area, it was still absolutely amazing.  We got into some super attractive blue skintight suits to protect us from jellyfish stings and got strapped up.  I was happy that I got to dive with my friends Mimi and Emily, and we had a really funny instructor that we joked with all day.  I am not going to lie, the entire time I was scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, I was replaying and quoting Finding Nemo in my head.  It was awesome…fin, noggin, duuuuuude.  After 30 minutes under the sea, my friends and I laid out and relaxed on our boat.  Our boat sat in the middle of the ocean where no land was visible, 360 degrees of the blue sea.  The sky and the water were so blue and beautiful that it was hard to figure out where the water ended and the sky began.  It was breathtaking.  We then moved to a different sight on the reef were my friends and I snorkeled around or just waded in the 70 degree clear water with the fishies.  I was a little bummed though because I had not seen any Nemos, or as other people call them, clown fish.  I then asked my scuba instructor to please point me in the direction of Nemo and after about 20 minutes of searching, we all began screaming “NEMOOOOOOO!” with our snorkels still in as we found one lone clown fish, who was obviously THE Nemo.  I was really excited.  After this, we headed back into Cairns and also into an intense rain and wind storm.  We had an Aussie BBQ back at the hotel and then hung out for the night.  Basically, the coolest day ever.

            The final day in Cairns was Adventure Day but I had chosen not to pay for one of the ones offered and was happy to find that my friends Sara, Mimi, and Emily hadn’t either.  We all adventured into town to get souvenirs and ended up at the mall, partially for the air conditioning and well, because we are girls.  It was nice to have a little down time after waking up early and being on the go for a few days straight.  We had a Pasta Night with our program and then everyone went out for our last night in Cairns even though we had early flights to Brisbane.  We went back to The Woolshed and made some new friends who we plan to meet up with in Brisbane when they visit here in a week or two.

            On Thursday morning, we left Cairns and I finally got to my new home, Brisbane, or Brissy.  I was originally supposed to live in the International House on The University of Queensland campus but it was badly damaged by the floods that hit Brisbane and a lot of Queensland around Christmas time.  I am now living in a new apartment complex in South Bank of Brisbane called Urbanest.  It is all students and a lot of international students, but still some Australians.  It is really nice and very modern.  I am in a 6 person apartment with 5 other AustraLearn program people.  We each have our own room and full bathroom, we share the living and kitchen area.  It seems to be working out well and everyone is really nice.  My friend Mimi, from orientation is living the floor below me and we made some other American friends in the elevator our first day who are really cool and that we have hung out and gone out with.  Everyone just seems to be really nice and eager to go out and have fun here, which is really cool.  Yesterday, Friday, we went to campus for the first time and got our ID cards and transportation cards.  I am about a 10-15 minutes bus ride from campus, and the bus stop is literally right outside my building.  The UQ campus is gorgeous with sandstone buildings and doesn’t seem to have suffered too much damage from the floods, minus the I-House building.  We did some grocery shopping and such too.  There are a lot of different birds and creatures around here to get used to.  There is a bird called an Ibis, which is the devil.  Mimi and I already had to run away from it as it started to steal Mimi’s sandwich and followed us...it has like a 6 inch long scary beak and is everywhere.  But anyways, later that night, a big group of us from Urbanest went out to the Valley, which is an area of Brisbane with a lot of bars, clubs, and great night life.  It was really cool and fun! 

Walkway through South Bank

View of Brisbane from South Bank

And today, I have basically just been finishing getting settled in to my room and putting up some pictures to make it feel more homey.  I have a limited internet plan at the moment so I can’t skype right now but will let you all know when I can!!  If, you actually made it all the way the end of this, congrats!  Haha.  I will try to update as much as possible and stay in contact so long as I am not attacked by a huge bird!  J