Flying to Christchurch, NZ

April 3 9:55am

Well I finally made it to Christchurch, New Zealand. I left Brisbane at 6:30pm and had a nice flight until we began our descent and the captain came on the radio and said there was heavy fog in Christchurch but he was going to try and land but there was a good chance we would have to divert to Auckland to refuel. Well we were coming in for the landing and things looked pretty clear so I had high hopes he would make the landing and things would be fine. However, just as it appears we’re about to hit the runway, the engines roar to life again and next thing you know we are climbing back into the sky. We are then informed the fog is too thick and we are going to Auckland, which is on the North Island and another hours flight. So we land in Auckland and we’re still not entirely sure what is going on...are we going through customs, do we get our bags, etc... Airline officials take us to this open space and tell us to wait for further news. We are then told that we are going to be here indefinitely and we will need to go back through security to get back into the terminal. This is like 2:00am local time. Security lines don’t open until 3:00am... So we sat for an hour, and then an hour and a half. It was nearly two hours before we even got through security. Then they tell us our flight won’t start boarding back to Christchurch until 5:20. Then the replacement crew was late showing up. Once we finally took off, it was past 6:45 and we still had an hour flight ahead of us. We finally landed in Christchurch, got through customs (I got another stamp in my passport J), and found a shuttle into the city. I had a room booked at the Hotel So for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until we picked up the RV on Monday. Since I missed last night, the manager upgraded me from a standard single to a premium double room so I have a bigger bed and a room with a window. I am now getting ready to get out and explore the city. While getting here was a battle, at least I made it safely and we didn’t crash in the fog. It was so awesome flying into Christchurch this morning. There were mountains and fields and lakes and rivers and just stuff as far as the eye could see. Hopefully some pictures will find their way on here a little later but for now, its exploration time.

Aussie School...

March 31 11:00pm

Today was another great day off of classes. I got up in the morning and had a bowl of cereal for brekkie and then I went to campus around 10:00am with Steve, Casey, and Troy since they had class and I needed to talk to the UQ people about getting internet at our apartment. After discussing the issue with them, I found out that getting internet from the school would be an activation fee of $192 + a couple hundred dollars from the phone company to activate the phone line + $110/mo for the actual internet. We decided that was way too much money and I ended up buying a pre-paid plan that will hopefully last me the rest of my time here. I then went to the post office and mailed some letters. This arvo was a pretty calm one. I went to Cole’s to get some groceries to help with what I was going to make for dinner and ended up buying way more than I was planning on. The good news is all the extra stuff was on sale so I got some really good deals even though I had to spend money to save money. On the way back home, I met an old guy walking a dog that looked remarkably like a Miniature Schnauzer. As I approached him, I realized that it was indeed a Mini, but with a tail. This is weird cause Charlie does not have a tail but it was a Mini and he was awesome. Made me think of Charles anyways.

Check that...as I was writing this I got my grade for my first assignment for one of my poly sci classes...didn’t turn out near so well as I was expecting. Aussie school is hard. I came in thinking it would not be very hard at all to get the grades I need to get credit for classes at home, but after that first essay, things may not be looking so bright. It seems like all my drive is gone that I have at home to do well in school, and I don’t know where to find it again. The fact that internet is not unlimited cuts deep into the research I can do in order to better do my assignments. I really am looking forward to getting back to school at ONU where I can get on the computer and research till 1:00am and not have to worry about how many KB I have used up. I never thought a country like Australia could be so far behind on the times in this regard. I have two classes tomorrow that I really need to go to. We have a group project due the Thursday I get back from New Zealand and we get class time tomorrow to plan it out so I really need to go to that. I’m so excited to get there it is insane... I made fish for dinner tonight. It was really good. I melted some butter and basted it on while it was frying, then sprinkled some garlic and seasoning salt over top of it. I really should get mom to make more fish at home. It was easy to make and relatively inexpensive by Australian standards...only $8/kg, which figures out to a little less than $4/lb. Will probably get to bed early tonight so I can sleep good. Casey and I did a tiring 15 minute workout from Men’s Health today that kind of kicked my butt so I’m ready for bed and its only 11:00. Oh well I guess that’s how things go sometimes...especially with age...

Last Week of Classes Before Break

March 30 10:30am

Yesterday was a typical day off at 77 Sir Fred Schonell Drive, aside from the Public Administration final I had to send back home and the 1,000 word essay I had to have turned in by 1:00. But after getting up at 8:00 and working diligently for a few hours, I had the email sent and the essay done and was still able to go to the Bible study at 1:00. After the Bible study, Casey and I went to City Beach on South Bank and laid on the beach for a while. Of course, as soon as we got there it got overcast but we weren’t going to leave just because the sun was gone. Later on we walked up to Queen St. where we spent a few hours just walking up and down the street and going into a few stores. We found a Krispy Kreme donut shop, but a donut was $2.80 so we decided to pass on that. Right next door; however, was a sushi restaurant with about 15 different kinds of sushi rolls. Since sushi is one of the best foods on this planet, I had a fresh salmon roll and a California roll. Both were excellent, especially after adding a little wasabi paste to “kick it up a notch.” Tonight, Casey, Andi, and I decided to hike up Mt. Coot-Tha, which is a nice mountain that overlooks the city. One of our roommates went up at night and said the view of the city is incredible. Sure enough, after walking nearly five miles up this mountain, we finally made it and the view was, indeed, breathtaking. The entire city was sprawled out in front of us, making Brisbane look about ten times bigger than we ever thought it could be. It was cool picking out the sights we could recognize: a City Kitty on the river, the Central Business District (CBD), the “Brisbane Eye,” lights at the aquatic and tennis centre on campus, and of course Brisbane International. It was cool being able to see the planes way off in the distance and track them on their decent into the airport, which was a jumble of lights way off behind all the skyscrapers but still cool to watch. I then realized that in about four days I will be flying out of that airport when I fly to New Zealand for Easter break, and that made everything that much better. On the way back down the mountain, a bus passed us but was off duty so it wasn’t allowed to stop and pick us up. However, when we were walking past the bus depot about 10-15 minutes later, this guy was walking towards us and asked us where we were headed. We thought this was kind of sketchy so we told him Toowong and hoped that would satisfy him. He then tells us that he was driving the bus that passed us and told us to get in his car. After driving us to Toowong, he asked how far from there we lived, and after telling him we were like a mile down Sir Fred Schonell Drive, he decided just to drive us home, free of charge. So the trip home was definitely a lot quicker than the walk there, which is good because we got back close to midnight with the ride.

I also have a ticket booked to Melbourne for Anzac weekend, which is like the Australian Memorial Day. I will be by myself for five days, during which time I hope to rent a car and drive out Great Ocean Road and see the 12 Apostles and whatnot. It will be good to take a break from school and get out and see some parts of Australia on my own, and will hopefully be enough to get me through the last two months. I am still trying to get to Japan or Thailand before I come home, as I think seeing part of Asia would just be icing on the cake for this trip but we’ll see once how feasible that is. A few days ago, there were tickets to Tokyo for $230/person but we got online too late and they were already double price, which still isn’t bad to Tokyo but you needed two people to book that ticket and I couldn’t find anyone else that wanted to go.

I got a nice surprise in the mail today. LaRue and Shirley sent be a box filled with all kinds of food and candy. On the outside, I was informed that Australian customs had opened the box for quarantine purposes and confiscated the popcorn and chicken noodle soup mix that she had in there. I was slightly disappointed they took the soup mix, but I was devastated when I found out they took the popcorn. I guess that is on the list of things never allowed in here so I guess I’m SOL until I get back home. As I’m writing this, it is now past midnight and I need to get up early on Tuesday and head into campus. We lost our internet signal today and now the only way I’ll have access to cyberspace is by trekking to campus so I won’t be able to post this until tomorrow morning. As it turns out, I have a small test tomorrow in one of my classes that the reading is online for so I need to go in and read that before class. I may just have to suck up the extra cost and buy a wireless modem, since most of my readings are online it would be a convenience to have internet in my room.

Trip to Noosa

March 27 11:15pm

Yesterday and today were two of the most fun days I have had here in Australia. Friday night, Casey, Troy, and I left to head up to Noosa, which is one of Australia’s most beautiful beaches and a lot less touristy than Surfer’s Paradise. On the way up, we were able to catch an express train from Toowong to Caboolture, and then from there we hit a train from Caboolture to Landsborough and then to Maroochydore and from there to Noosa Heads. On the bus to Noosa, we met a girl who immediately picked us out as being “foreigners” and asked where we were from. We told her the States and she was like “Well I knew that much I meant where from in the States...I used to live in Houston, TX.” At this, I of course had to tell her that my aunt and uncle live in Dallas and that my aunt’s parents used to live in Houston (I think), and that I have been there several times. Just goes to show how small a world we actually live in. Also on the bus, we ended up picking up this extremely loud group of drunk teenagers who seriously looked like they were twelve. Soon after we picked them up, the one who was behind be decided it would be a good idea to throw up. Luckily, I had seen them get on and moved further away from them so I was untouched by it.

Below: View of Noosa from a lookout point at the national park

By the time we got to Noosa, it was fairly late in the evening and we still had not booked a room anywhere. So this girl tells us about a Sheraton down the street that her friends said was pretty reasonable so we went to check it out. We walked in and instantly knew it would be out of our price range: the lobby was extravagant and everything looked brand new. After consulting with the desk lady, she told us that a room regularly went for $400 a night but since we were there so late, she could drop it down to $295 for us. We said thanks, but no thanks, and walked out of there to try and find another place. On the street, we met this Aussie who told us to try some lodge thing he was staying at. After walking up there, we find that the office is closed and will not open till nine the next morning. There were about fifteen couches upstairs on the balcony of this place that we were thinking about staying on. However, we decided to walk up the road and try out a place called the Koala Bar. Once we got there, one of the workers came up and said the office was closed and they were going under new management so he did not even know how to access the system anyway. Luckily, there was a manager on duty who was able to get us into a room so we spent the night there. We then got up early the next morning (Troy got up before the rest of us and headed out) and hit the beach. We had been down there the night before in the dark, and picked out the Southern Cross, but in the daytime, it was a sight to behold and I instantly knew I wanted to retire here. To our right were mountains of green forests and white, sandy beaches and to our left, the beach extended for as far as the eye could see. Straight out in front of us, you could see other mountains too so it was almost like we were in a cove but it was still the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. Around lunch time, we decided to skip the expensive eateries and ended up buying a loaf of bread and some turkey and ham. We found a spot under a tree and ate, all the while being pestered by some of Australia's many turkeys. We ended up throwing bits of bread at them and it turns out they are pretty violent birds. They liked to attack each other and the biggest one of the group I’m pretty sure got the most bread. After lunch, we walked down the beach some more and got the idea to do handstands for a while. Of course, having never done one, I ended up going heels over head and splattered down hard on the beach...let’s just say that it did not feel too good.

Above: Troy, Me, and Casey at the lookout point

Below: Noosa's pearly white beaches

Later, we walked up to this lookout point that was in Noosa National Park. It was quite a hike up: all uphill and it was kind of far too. Once we got there; however, the view was totally worth the time. You could see for miles, and the beach was just extended out below us and you could see all these little coves and lakes within Noosa itself. Absolutely breathtaking. At the lookout point, this other Aussie was there with a girl from Brazil who was there for English School but who spoke English quite well. As it turns out, she loves to surf, brought her surfboard from Brazil, and the guide was showing her all the best places to go. The three of us all agreed that Men’s Health had it right when they said that Brazil was the country with the best-looking people...

Above: Me, Troy, and Casey on the Beach

Above: Noosa from the boardwalk with the mountains in the background

Around 4:20, we got on a bus ready to make the trip back home, thinking it would take the same amount of time to get home as it did to get there. The first two bus rides went as planned, but the train ride took twice as long. This is probably because there was no express train back, so we had to stop at every stop along the way instead of just going to the end. Also, at the train station, we met two girls who were from the States, studying at the Sunshine Coast, and were going to Brisbane for the next two nights. Naturally we got to talking and told them everywhere they needed to visit while they were here and whatnot. We were planning on going to the rugby game tomorrow afternoon so we invited them along. They agreed, saying that they have wanted to see one since they got here in February but hadn’t yet, so we will hopefully be doing that tomorrow. I don’t think there is anything else of importance to put down anymore. Today was a blast and I can’t wait to get back to Noosa.

12 Apostles Here I Come

March 25, 2010 1:25pm

Today is a Thursday here at Uni, which means it is my longest day of classes. I started at 9:00am this morning and I go until 5:00 tonight. It is not too bad because each class usually gets out an hour early, it just means I have an extremely long break in the middle of the day in which I can either go back to my apartment or hang out on campus. However, if I walk all the way back home, chances are slim that I make the long walk back so sometimes its better just to stay here.

Above: Suncorp Stadium and the view from our seats at the rugby game

Yesterday was pretty much business as usual. I woke up, ate breakfast, then tried to get started on my public administration final. I really need to get this done and sent back so I have it off my chest. With all the other assignments I have due after Easter Break, it would be better if I did not have this to worry about when I got back from New Zealand. I then chatted with dad for a good long while, even though it was after 10:00 back home and he was falling asleep on the computer. I actually booked a flight to Melbourne yesterday. As of now I am the only one going so we’ll see once if others join up yet or not. My plan is to rent a car and drive from Melbourne out Great Ocean Road for a day or two and then spend the last two days just walking around the city and seeing new parts of Australia. I talked to a couple of the friends I met in Cairns and they said that I could stay with them for a few days so that will be nice not having to pay for a hotel room.

Above: Me, Troy, and Casey at the Broncos/Cowboys game...and no, it wasn't Denver/Dallas

Above: One of the many fine views of the Brisbane skyline offered from the Brisbane River

I am really excited now for these upcoming trips. It appears as though they are something to look forward to in the coming months when school begins to get heavy and there is not much else going on. The plan is still to try and get to Noosa this weekend, so hopefully there will be a chance to get more pictures up on here and fbook. While I do still miss home, it has become more of a longing for the small things that you get used to, and not so much wishing I were there right this instant. The first thing I need when I get back though is a nice big steak and potato dinner.While I do cook what I can here, it is nothing substantial unless the markets have a good deal. I did get some steaks, fish, and chicken at the grocery store the other day so that will be really good. Also picked up some pasta that was 2/$3 so that’ll be really nice too. I even splurged a little extra and picked up a jar of oregano to put in with it, just to give it a little taste of how mom likes to make it. Hopefully after this weekend, I’ll something more interesting to write about, as it appears as though I have begun to repeat myself but I figure something is better than nothing.

Above: A group of us at Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast. From L to R: Kylie, Kim, Katie, Moe, Artie, Justin(kneeling), Kevin, Danny, Steve, Casey, Kelly, and Deb

Below: The Grand Court at UQ

Going to See a Movie, Interesting Facts, and Whatever Else I Felt Like Saying

March 22, 10:40pm

Today was a Monday here in Brisbane, which means I did not have class today. I relish these Monday’s because it is like an extended weekend with the worst day of the week being my extension day. Tomorrow, I have class at two and then a tut right after so it is not a long day, just a really boring one as my class is Aboriginal Anthropology. I came here thinking this class would be interesting, but, as it turns out, it is not. It is one of the biggest wastes of time I have here but as I need an anthropology class to graduate what better place to do it than in one where the grade I get will not affect my GPA?

As it so happens, we just got back from a movie tonight, Green Zone, which was an awesome movie even though it comes from the American liberal side of the spectrum (I had to specify which liberal side it was since the Australian liberal is comparable to our Republicans). Matt Damon was superb as always, playing a role much like that in his thriller Bourne series. The movie is based in Iraq in the year 2003, and Damon is the leader of a team out to find WMDs and bring them in to safety. As the movie progresses, Damon figures out that there is more behind the action than what meets the eye, and ends up going de-facto in a way in order to find the truth. Even with the liberal propaganda; however, it is a great movie and one I would not hesitate to see again.

On the way back on the City Kitty, I remembered some facts about the Brisbane River that I had not shared with people back home: 1) it is a tidal river so it actually has high water marks on the side of the river when the tide is in (I found this to be quite interesting seeing as how rivers are not normally tidal, but it is an interesting fact about this river); and 2) there are between 500 and 3,000 Bull Sharks in the river, depending on who you ask (Wikipedia says there are 500 but some UQ research team did a study and found there to be around 3,000 from the mouth back to where the city ends I guess, I’m not exactly sure where they ended their study). Just a few fun facts for the folks back home. Speaking of the river, the city is a miraculous sight to behold while on the front of a City Kitty at night. The water appears to be glass, and the lights from the skyscrapers and cars are reflected in it as the boats glide seamlessly along, almost naturally.

Going back to today, it was a fun day. At 1:00 I headed to campus for a Bible study that one of the members of the church we go to puts on during the day. It was nice to take a break from doing homework and get outside for a while and enjoy the weather. However, this morning, I tried going for a run and not even halfway through what I wanted to do, my iPod fell out of its case and went skidding along the sidewalk ahead of me. This was greatly discouraging as I try to take care of all my belongings and keep them in pristine condition, but things happen and there is nothing I can do about it now so why fret on the fact? Aside from the screen is slightly scratched, no other harm came to it that I can tell so far so it seems that all is not lost. I also had quite the surprise when I got back from campus today: my parents had sent me a package. I was expecting it since they asked me this morning if I had gotten it and when I said no they seemed to be in utter shock. As it turns out, whoever addressed it failed to put my unit on the outside so it got delivered to the wrong unit. Luckily, one of my friends lives there and found it and sent me a text saying that it was there and I could come pick it up whenever. When I opened it, I found a card from my mother and a picture, not of the family as I would have expected her to send, but one of my dog, Charlie. This was a nice surprise because I can Skype my parents and see them and talk to them, but I cannot talk to my dog. Mom hates my dog so part of me is still wondering why she took the time to get a special frame and print of his picture but I guess it is what mothers do when they miss their children.

It’s about time to head to bed down here. It’s going on 10:30 as I am writing this and I should get up early tomorrow and do some readings and work on the final I need to send back home to receive credit for a class from last quarter. My professor was nice enough to not fail me for missing the final, but thinking about doing it while in Australia is like putting water on a fire but oh well, it needs to be done (come to think of it this will probably be the only piece of schoolwork I actually put any of my typical effort into). This weekend we are thinking about going up to Noosa, which is supposed to be really awesome so hopefully that works out. I cannot believe New Zealand is only two weeks away now. I am really excited to get there. The only downside is the cheapest way to get to the airport is by taking a train and that is still $16AUD so it’s not very cheap at all but you have to do what you have to do I guess. I am not sure if I will be taking my laptop yet, but if I do I will do my best to write and then get things updated when I get back to civilization in Australia, and even calling this country civilised is going a bit far.

This Is Awesome in so Many Ways

Sunday, March 21, 6:40 pm

Today has been a semi-lazy day here in Brisbane, Australia. I could not fall asleep last night to save my life so I am slightly tired this arvo but there is not a whole lot going on so I reckon it is ok. This morning, Casey, Troy, and I got up and went back to the Brisbane Church that meets behind Women’s College, which is one of the dormitories at uni. I reckon it is at least a half hours walk from our apartment there and about a mile and a quarter so we get in a good workout just walking to and from church. Speaking of church, the most ironic thing happened to me today. Yesterday, I went to Queen Street and bought some clothes and a beach towel. I wore my new shirt to church today, and during the break, some kid comes up to me and says he likes my shirt. I was like thanks...? Then he asked if I knew what it was for and I was like no.... So now I am wondering what is going on when he tells me it is a Socceroos’s shirt, a football team here in Australia. This is just my luck because I hate soccer, yet I buy a shirt that looks really cool and it turns out that the logo on it is for the local soccer team...just my luck. When we finally made it back to the apartment, I made a marinade for some chicken breasts that consisted of soy and teriyaki sauces, onion, garlic, and pineapple so we’ll see how that turns out either tonight or tomorrow, I have not decided when I am going to make that yet. Then for lunch, I still had one chicken breast left and just a little bit of ham and one slice of cheese so I decided to try my hand at a little “chicken cordon bleu.” Turns out I am quite the chef and the meal turned out ok. I also sautéed some green beans with some salt and pepper and those were delicious as well.

Right now, I just sat down at the computer to, hopefully, start working on my Public Administration final that I still need to send back home to finally get a grade for one of my classes. I was lucky enough that the professor gave me until April 20^th to do it, but with going to New Zealand and everything coming up so fast I figured I had better start working on it now, especially with all my different essays and other assignments coming due here in Australia. I have found myself being able to relax a good deal more than if I would have this schedule with these assignments back home, but the fact that I am in a foreign country with so much to experience really does not make me want to focus on school work so hopefully I can get by enough to take credit back home.

Last night, Casey and I went to see a movie at South Bank, which is where the lagoon is and also a bunch of restaurants and whatnot. Our original plan was to see Matt Damon's new movie Green Zone. However, when we showed up, the movie was sold out and all that was left to see was The Hurt Locker, which was also a good movie as far as movies go, but realistic and militaristic-wise it was about 20 miles off centre. That is one thing that surprised me about the other night, even though Green Zone has been out for a while, it was still sold out and we were unable to get in.

Overall now, I would say things are starting to get better for me day by day. I have been getting more used to the way of life here, especially the part that you really do not have to worry yourself over a lot of nonsensical issues. The biggest thing I have learned here is that whatever happens has happened and there is nothing you can do to change that. Also, the way things turn out are the way they are going to be and if nothing can be done to change it, whether it be a policy or some other outcome, the best you can do is put it behind you and move on.

These next two weeks of class before break should be fairly easy; I do not have any assignments due and all I have the week before we leave is a short quiz in my anthropology class, which is a total joke because our professor is not a real professor, just someone they brought in to teach the class for a semester while the real professor just takes a quarter off. But I have an essay due the day after I get back and then that Thursday I have two group projects due so I will have to be diligent once we land again. Until next time, everything continues to be fun and the weather awesome. In April, when we will be in New Zealand, the effects of being ‘south’ in the Southern Hemisphere will be felt as the average high temperatures are 64 degrees and the lows 46 degrees. Talk about your average temperature range...