Brisbane Week 1

Today marks the end of my first week in Brisbane, Australia. Everything is so different here than in the states. There are no four-way stops, instead they have all these round-abouts that I guess helps to keep traffic moving but are annoying and make streets harder to cross. I have also yet to get used to the fact that you need to look to the right before crossing the street instead of to the left. There have been so many times where one of us has walked out into the street and nearly been run over because we look the wrong way before crossing the street. The weather has been unbelievable. Warm and sunny. The last two days; however, have been very, very hot, making the walk to campus almost unbearable. Speaking of walking to campus, it is a nice walk, not too far and not too many hills and there is a "Ghandi Mart" on the way there that we stop at every now and then.

The view from our rooftop is gorgeous. You can see parts of the river, uni, and several parks that are located on the river. The river can be a pain in the keister, separating the city in two and making it necessary to find a bridge to cross. To help make this easier, the city council has started the City Cat, a high speed ferry system that can get you through the city and also to other parts. There is also a lagoon here, and it is cool because it is more of a beach type thing with sand and stuff. It is located right on the river, so you look out over the wall and see the river that we are not supposed to swim in because Bull Sharks have made the river their home.

During one of our days here, we went down to the Gold Coast and spent the day at Surfer's Paradise. It was beautiful but also very touristy so that kind of put a damper on things. Classes start again on Monday, it has been weird being here not doing anything and hearing from people from back home and how they're studying for finals and all this crap. Hopefully school goes ok and doesn't make me want to kill myself. I shouldn't be under too much pressure since my grades don't transfer back so we'll just take it easy and not worry too much so that I can hopefully make the best of the short time I have left in the land down under.

Culture and Adventure Week

So its been a little while since I have updated this but I finally found a free minute to catch up on some things. The last four days have been very, very busy. On Sunday we went to the rainforest just outside of Cairns. It was very pretty but also very humid and wet so putting up with the weather was quite the challenge. I got to hold a koala and also held a snake. Now all of you who know me know that I am not a snake person. This was an experience for me and while I am still not fond of the creatures I faced my fears and grabbed the snake by the tail. We then took a ride through the rainforest on an old Army Dukw (Duck) which is an old vehicle that can be driven right into the water then act as a boat. This was cool but the engine gave off so much heat that it overpowered the breeze acquired from moving. All in all, a very cool place that was fun to experience, especially since like I think 80% of Australia's different species are found in a place that occupies 1% of the country.

On Monday we had a free day in which we could participate on a planned tour or have the day to ourselves. My group of friends and I decided to spend the day exploring Cairns and we found some really cool places and also had a chance to interact with the locals. We found a "lagoon" which is a public pool in the middle of the city since the beaches in Cairns are cursed with hundreds of jellyfish the size of your thumb nail that can sting the bejeebers out of you. It is amazing how nice everyone is here. At one point, the seven of us were standing on the sidewalk trying to find out where we were on a map when a lady comes out of her store and asked us if we needed help. I have yet to find a city back in the states when a storekeeper will come out of the store to ask someone if they need help finding something. This country really is "no worries" and any time Australians can help someone they will.

On Tuesday we volunteered at this conservation station this old lady from southern Australia has started up here in Cairns. Australia has this bird called a Cassowary which is slowly dying out in number. The lady's goal is to replant trees the bird eats in order to try and get them back into their native environments and to start reproducing at a faster rate. This was actually kind of fun, although the heat and humidity once again made staying comfortable a pain. While we were here, we found some green ants that our guides told us were rich in vitamin C and that Australians eat them when they get sick. So, lo and behold, I have eaten an ant while being halfway around the world. It actually tasted quite delicious, a little citrusy and very juicy. The only problem was I did not get him between my teeth right off so he was crawling around in my mouth for a little.

Today we spent the entire day at the Great Barrier Reef. We had the opportunity to go scuba diving so I sucked it up and paid the extra money to experience the reef up close, for the Lord only knows when I'll have this chance again. The first stop did not have too many fish, but the coral and different plants were unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it in all my life. There was this big, ugly brown fish that was following us around, and we touched the inside of a giant clam. The scuba sensation is what I really enjoyed. It is so peaceful under the ocean in the clear blue 30 degree water that I just wanted to sit on the bottom for hours just taking in the surroundings. At the second stop, we saw many more fish and different creatures. The coral was once again brilliant, and we saw several clown fish (Nemos) and a lot of GT's (giant somethings). These big fist would swim right up to you and check you out then dart away at the last minute. The instructors told us later that they can swim 12x their body length in one second. We also saw three stingrays and a sea turtle. The rays were cool to see in person swimming about the reef, but the turtle took the cake. He was sitting in the reef and we went and sort of prodded him out so he started swimming with us. We got to pet and touch him as well so I think I have touched more animals in four days than I have in all my life. This is our last night in Cairns so tomorrow we will fly to Brisbane for a week orientation at the school and then classes start March 1. We still do not have our room assignments but there are a lot of people here who are living in the same building as I am so it sounds like we will all know each other and have a good friend base to start out with.

First Days

So we finally arrived in Cairns, Queensland after more than a day of flying. I was actually suprised that my luggage all made it here, with all the layovers and changing planes I did. I finally achieved my dream of flying on a 747-400, and when it pulled up to our gate at LAX I was dumbfounded. The thing was huge. For a 14 hour flight, it seemed to go by fairly quickly, which was nice. I was not able to sleep on the plane, but upon landing in Brisbane [Briz-bin], adrenaline and excitment took over and I felt as though I had slept all night. We then had a small layover in Brisbane before taking off on our domestic flight to Cairns. I was randomly selected to participate in an "explosive residue" test and passed of course. I was also randomly selected in Cleveland to be patted-down so I don't know if I looked suspicious yesterday or what.

While we were flying to Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef was off to the right side of our plane. I have never seen anything so breathtaking in my life. It was just blue and green and the most tropical, clean looking water in the world. Luckily, we will be scuba diving there on Wednesday. So far, I would not complain one bit about having to live in Australia. Everyone is so relaxed with "no worries." Hopefully I will find the time to keep this updated but I figured this would be an easier way to keep everyone updated on what is going on.