Melbourne and The Great Ocean Road

For the first of our two consecutive Monday holidays, a few of my friend's and I were trying to plan a trip. And, since the first day of classes, a Tuesday, would have a Monday timetable, most of us weren't going to have class until Wednesday. Put it all together and you have a 5 day weekend in the middle of the semester.

Originally, we were thinking of camping at Fraser Island, since that was once place that we were all told to visit before we left Australia. But we soon realized that since it was a public holiday and some people had already been there, that we should go somewhere else. Conveniently, the other masses of French people had planned a trip to Melbourne and The Great Ocean Road for this weekend about 1.5 months ago. So, the previous weekend, we made a few phone calls and decided to go along with them. And, due to a mix-up in ordering the plane tickets, there was an additional ticket available. We found some one to take the ticket - another Frenchman - bringing the group total to 17.

We arrived intermittently to Melbourne as the weekend started. Some came on Thursday night and slept in the airport, I came by myself on Friday night, and the rest of the group showed up Saturday morning at around 2:30am. I didn't mind flying by myself and the Aussie girls sitting next to me were nice enough to sing Happy Birthday at midnight when we were sitting on the tarmac. Once I had gotten my bags and got in a long line to bus a bus ticket to the city, I asked the people behind me if they wanted to catch a cab instead. They, Guillame and Benedicte, agreed. Oddly enough, they were also French and working in Brisbane. When I got to my hostel, my friends were out and I couldn't get a hold of them, so I just walked around until going to sleep.

The next day was my birthday and the hostel that we stayed at had a pretty good internet connection and webcams on their computers, so I had a Skype conversation with Mom, Dad, Mark, and Nate back home - my first encounter with Milwaukee for the weekend. The rest of the day was spent walking around and soaking in the sights of Melbourne. We quickly realized that there were tons of things for us to do and see, so we did our best to hit some of the highlights. It helped that we broke up into small groups and picked a meeting place for lunch, but we still needed 2 or 3 days more before we could see everything that was on our list. So we saw some old Parliament buildings, gardens, shops, and other old houses and then met up to eat Sushi for lunch at Federation Square. From there, we walked to the Botanical Gardens and ANZAC Memorial. It wasn't a very long walk, but I was wearing the new shoes that I had purchased from the Queen Victoria Market that morning and they were giving me horrible blisters, so I went shoeless for the rest of the day.

The Botanical Gardens were really nice, but everyone was falling asleep except myself and a few others for an assortment of reasons. Since I wanted to see more of the gardens and I also had planned to see one of Nate's old teammates, Shae McNamara, play at Victoria park in his VFL game, I left the big group and did my own thing.

I basically ran through the gardens and across town, asking for directions along the way, to get the nearest train station. I had planned to see the last hour of Shae's game since his girlfriend told me that they usually last for about 2.5 hours when I called his phone. By the time I got to the train, I was glad to see that I would make it with about half an hour left to play. I got the train that I needed and then absentmindedly got off at the stop after Victoria Park. So I walked around to the other platform and waited 10 minutes for the return train. The train came, as scheduled, and took me all the way back to the station that I just came from. Why? Well, it was an express train and skipped the stopped that I needed plus a few more. So I walked around to the opposite platform again and waited for the train to take me to Victoria Park. This time, I got off where I needed to and ran to the park to find the crowds shuffling out of the exits. I just missed it.

So, I met up with Shae's girlfriend Kari, another Milwaukee native, and waited in the clubhouse until the team came out of the locker room. Now, Kari is a really nice girl, but the following 30 or 40 minutes that transpired are relatively indescribable. Some words that come to mind are hilarious, depressing, illuminating, and tolerable. The story goes something like this. Shae plays for the Collingwood Magpies. Collingwood is impoverished suburb of Melbourne, and for whatever reason, it's residents are extremely diehard fans of the Magpies. So they formed a fanclub of sorts called "The Magpies Club". This club consists of local residents and relatives of the players who, after each game, sit outside the locker room discussing famous footy players from the past and highlight's from the days game. Unfortunately for Kari, the people are mostly over the age of 50, only talk about the Magpies, and want to get to know her better as Shae's girlfriend. Luckily for me, I only had to go to that event once and they had free food. I don't know what they put in those meatpies and sausage rolls, but they taste delicious. So while we had our ears chewed off about the Magpies glory days and how so-and-so's famous friend that did something in America, one of Shae's teammates noticed our distress and pulled us away. I often wonder how long we might have been subjected to that if he didn't rescue. From there, I went back to Shae's apartment, told him about my trip and some of the places that I had been to. Then he drove me back to the hostel. It was good to have that Milwaukee connection on the other side of the world.

The next day, we started out on the Great Ocean Road - all 17 of us, in 4 cars. The Great Ocean is a road that hugs the shoreline from Melbourne to Adelaide. There isn't much to say about this trip because we were either sitting in the car or stopping to take pictures. I think the facebook album link at the bottom should work for people that want to see what the trip was about.

Basically, we left Melbourne, stopped in Torquay for lunch, stopped at a two beaches and a lighthouse along the way, and made it to The 12 Apostles by sundown. Then we backtracked to Apollo Bay where we met up with the others at cabin looked like it would better suited in northern Wisconsin. We had communal dinner and breakfast the next day and then headed out again. This time, we took a detour to see wild Koalas and Kangaroos, before heading back the Gibson Steps, and the 12 Apostles for a second time. We continued along to the road to Loch Ard Gorge, Port Campbell for lunch, London Bridge, and then Bay of Islands. Then we backtracked along the GOR for a bit and took a detour through the inland to catch a glimpse of Triplett falls before the last ounce of sunlight had vanished. After that, it was a nice 4 hour drive back to Melbourne. In the morning, we checked out, drove to the airport in the rental car, and caught our 8:30am flight.

The Great Ocean Road: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2709875&id=8645910&l=7518438acd

Moving On

After two weeks of looking at online listings, using the UQ Accommodation website to find local ads, and spreading the word among my friends that I'm looking for a place to live, I finally have living arrangements!

I had visited several houses in St. Lucia that were near where I had been living, but none of them seemed too keen on me staying for such a short period of time (7-8 weeks). Most people wanted to leave rooms open for people that would be living for 6 months or more. And since tenancy laws in Queensland are very strict, it's almost too much of a hassle and risk to sign people on for such a short period of time. At one point, I considered living on a futon in the corner of the living room of some people that I had only met once before because rent would be so cheap.

About a week ago, before deciding on a place to live, I decided to head down to the Accommodation Office to see what my legal rights were as a tenet and to let them know that they were facilitating the ads of the person that was putting me out on the street. They told me that she was one of those rare cases that they always hear about, but still more sane than some other people in area, which was mildly consoling. But, in my conversation with the people there, they told me that a person in one of their houses recently moved out. Apparently, the university owns houses that are right next to campus that they don't tell anyone about, but reserve to help out students that would have issues in finding a place to stay or finding a place that would suit their disposition. In other words, not me. But, since it would be such a short stay and they thought I might have a hard time finding a place to live, they offered it to me. It sounded good to me, so I told them that I'd probably take the room.

Then, my friend referred me to a friend in her building that was willing to let me stay at his place for a few weeks if I needed to. He, like most Australian's, felt really bad about my circumstances; both the moving out at bad time, and having to live with a deranged 50 year-old woman. After meeting the guy, his flatmate, and seeing their beautiful apartment, I had basically decided to live with them if the rent was going to be reasonable. But then he told me that their lease ended May 30th and I'd have to find a new place to live after that.

At this point, looked to my schedule. Classes end June 4. The next week is a study week. My first exam is on the 19th. I'll be leaving Brisbane after exams on the 26th. Maybe I should take a trip after classes and before exams? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. But I still need to find a place to live. So, I asked around some more for people that would let me stay at their houses for the month of June. To this, my French friends, Amelie and Alexandre (fraternal twins) answered with an offer for me to stay at their house from June 1 through the point at which I leave Brisbane. They have extra places for people to stay and it would be a lot of fun for us to hang out, since we basically had been seeing each other every few days since I arrived.

Things were starting to look good. I had basically found places to stay from when I moved out of Alice's house until I would leave Brisbane for a road trip. Then, this past weekend, I went over to my friends' apartment. While, I was there, they asked about my move out situation and offered for me to sleep on their couch if I wanted to instead of going to the other apartment first. Seeing as I had known them for several weeks, they are American, and their apartment is twice as close to campus as the other apartment, I decided to live with them instead.

So, two days ago, I packed up all my stuff, cleaned my room as best I could, and moved out of Alice's house . . . finally. It only took two trips, but I made it. And, after two nights, I would say that things are looking up. I just need to worry about passing my classes now.

So things have been busy lately

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not posting in a long time. I've been doing a lot of travelling and sightseeing, which is really amazing, but it has left me with little time to update my blog.

Secondly, I am being evicted from my house at 18 Fifth Ave for some unknown reason! It's a really long story and you don't have to worry about me getting in trouble with the police or anything. My lessor/landlady Alice is just a bit wacky and decided that everyone had to move out for her "health". It's probably not the real reason why she's kicking us out, but that's neither here nor there. I'm currently looking for a new place to live, which isn't the most fun thing to do in the middle of the semester, and I'll post some details about that when I get the chance. But for now, know that I don't live at 18 Fifth Ave. Also, if you've mailed something to that address and I haven't acknowledged that I received it, then it hasn't arrived. Let me know if you have sent something so that I know not to burn any bridges when I leave. :)

Thirdly, once I get a chance, you'll be able to see some pictures and hear a little bit about my Scuba diving liveaboard, the volleyball trip to Byron Bay, and my most recent trip to Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road!

Cheers

A Week In Cairns

About a month previous to the Easter Holiday (April 3 - 11), the UW people started planning for the week that we would have to really sink our teeth into what Australia has to offer. We decided, but not at the same time, to go to Cairns. Some of the people were going to be skydiving, bungee jumping, and whitewater rafting, while myself and a few others would be SCUBA diving on the Great Barrier Reef and then checking out the rainforests in the area.

For me, the plan was to arrive on Sunday morning, take it easy for two days, head out on the reef from Tuesday to Thursday, come back for a day and then do a day-long tour of the Daintree Rainforest, the Daintree River, and surrounding area. For the most part, that's exactly what happened.

It was overcast and rainy for the first few days that we were there, but it cleared up for the rest of the trip

Daintree Rainforest: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2703636&id=8645910&l=52a893c2b7

Great Barrier Reef: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2703596&id=8645910&l=8a2ca58b97

Status Update

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog so I apologize if you’ve been holding your breath. It seems that I am still having trouble finding the time to sit down and write because I've been keeping busy with so many things. Even now I'm a little embarassed to see that my last updated was for the Gold Coast Hinterlands, the trip organized by QUEST, since I've been able to see many other things since then. But, I will try to keep the chronology of this blog consistent so as to keep a good record of what actually went on down here in Australia. This blog will cover a few events that happened since GCH.

In the weekend following GCH, I participated in a 4’s volleyball tournament and another QUEST Event, an NRL football game.

The volleyball tournament was being put on by the UQBVC and the basic premise was to get there early, randomly assemble four person teams and play volleyball for the rest of the day. And for the most part, we did exactly that. People brought some beer or wine which helped make it a really relaxing day. Most people had shown up by 9:30 and we began the pool play by 10am, which is still really early for a Saturday in my book. There were eight pools and four teams in each pool. Once each pool winner had been determined, we set up a bracket and played single-elimination until the end. Although this may sound like we were taking volleyball seriously, the clubs main focus was on the social aspect. Since only four teams could be playing at any one time, most people were just hanging out, talking, and making new friends. We kept ourselves busy by practicing on high jump equipment that was just behind the volleyball courts, by playing Frisbee, and by kicking around the soccer ball. University students have such short attention oh look a bird! They even had this gigantic volleyball that we thought would be really fun to play with until we realize that it was much heavier than we had anticipated and had almost broke our arms trying to hit it like a normal volleyball. Anyways, my team won all three of its pool play games and continued on through the quarterfinals to lose in the semifinals. It was really a heartbreaking loss since we were about to win, lost a point and the serve to a technicality, and then ended up losing the game. But, like I said, it was a very social event and we had forgotten about the loss by the time we were off the court. We also played a game where everyone got in a single court and we played the game with normal rules. Except in this game, if it’s your fault for losing a point, you have to leave the court. Slowly, the number of people that are on the court becomes just one, who is declared the winner. That was a surprisingly really fun game, especially when the really good people were the first people to get out. When all the games had been played and food consumed, the sun was setting and it was time to go home. My feet and back were scorched, but the day had been really well spent. It was time to get some sleep before the NRL game the next day.

The NRL (National Rugby League) football game was a match between the Brisbane Broncos and the New Zealand Warriors. But before the game, we met at a sports bar up the road to have a few drinks, eat appetizer food, and learn a little bit about Australian sports (NRL, NRU, and AFL). After that, we all walked down to the SunCorp Stadium, took our seats, and began roasting under the midday sun. I had been told that the Broncos were the winningest team in the league, so I was expecting a blow-out. And that’s exactly what we got. The Warriors killed the Broncos, 48-16. Of course I don’t really hold allegiance to any team, but the game also wasn’t particularly interesting to watch. NRL rules are a bit different than the rugby that I’m used to watching and it wasn’t a close match. I guess you could say it was like watching an indoor American football game somewhere in southern California, except it was being played outdoors. The Kiwis made a lot of noise during the game though. They were having a great time. It was almost more interesting to watch them than it was to see the match itself.

The next weekend was the beginning of our Easter Holiday, which means that we didn’t have class on Friday or the rest of the following week. (I'm still not sure how the entire country shuts down for a religious holiday. If you ask an Aussie's about it, they're either quite proud that the reason for the holiday is Easter, or they don't care as long as they don't have to work. If Easter is the reason for the holiday, it automatically becomes sacred to them. I guess I can't blame 'em for that.) It also marked the beginning of my trip to Cairns where I had planned a 3-day/2-night scuba diving liveaboard. You’ll hear more about that in the next post.
Cheers

The Hinterlands

On Sunday, I went to the Gold Coast Hinterlands with QUEST. The Hinterlands is a rainforest region that is near the Gold Coast, but a bit further inland. The trip was really cool. It only took us about 1.5 hours to get there, the sun was out all day, and the waterfalls were particularly nice since it has been raining here recently. In the same trip, we drove 20 minutes to The Natural Bridge. The bridge itself wasn't too spectacular, but the river and rainforest around it were so awesome. Everything is green, green, green. You don't always see the wildlife around you, but you can definitely hear it. Anyways, here are some pictures from that trip.

Status update

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't posted a blog recently, things have been pretty busy down here, but in a good way. Everyday there is something different going on and there are new people to meet. I've spent a lot of time learning about different events, both on and off campus, and trying to take part in as many as I can.

The picture that I have posted here is the front of my house from the street. There isn't much to see, I know, but it's actually a decent house on the inside. My address is 18 Fifth Ave, St. Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia in case anyone wants to Google Map it or something. If you do that, you can also see what the other houses in the neighborhood look like. The big fence in the front is there to keep people out of the pool just on the other side. Seems odd since the pool never gets cleaned and nobody wants to swim in it anyways.

Last week Tuesday, my roommate Charles invited me to go bowling with his friends and it turned out to be a great decision. Virtually everyone there (9 people) was also French and absolutely terrible at bowling. They had done the same thing last week and knew what types of scores to expect, so they asked me how good I was. I hadn't bowled in 2 years, so I didn't think that I would be so good. Well, the first game I bowled a 111, the next highest was around 90, and the average was probably 60. Already, the French were heckling me and telling me that I'm a terrible liar, etc. In the second game, I bowled a 169 almost entirely by accident. Meanwhile, I watched gutterball after gutterball. I would have felt bad for laughing, but everyone was enjoying themselves. That game, my Charles bowled a 38. In the end, all the French people just assumed that all Americans are great bowlers and I made a few more friends.

Now that I've finished my third week of classes, I'm beginning to form a routine of sorts. I go running whenever I get a chance and there is still light out, which is suprisingly rare. It gets dark around 6 pm here, so I've only gone about six times so far. I also try to go a different route each time to see more of the neighborhoods, so it actually serves two functions. One thing I noticed on all of my runs is that it smells like food everywhere. Bacon, chicken, BBQ sauce, cucumber, pasta are some that I can identify. It's strange, yet soothing at the same time.

My roommates are all very nice and we get along quite well. I have had similar experiences with everyone in the house so it's easy for me to have conversations with them, with the exception of Leandro the Indonesian guy. We talk about variety of things; from TV shows, to US colleges, to evolution, to medicine, to engineering. Mostly, though, we swap stories about our"lessor" Alice and the animals that she has running around. Occasionally I will see them on campus, which a nice relief from the sea of unfamiliar faces that I'm accustomed to.

Even though things are busy now, they will continue to get busier. The projects and homework assignments are starting to kick in and so are some of the plans that I had made. This Saturday, I'll take part in the 4's volleyball tournament put on the UQ Beach Volleyball club. Then on Sunday, I signed up to go to a lunch/rugby game with QUEST. The weekend after next is the beginning of our Spring Break. I'll be spending the entire week in Cairns and partaking in a 3-day/2-night scuba liveaboard. I haven't planned for the rest of the days, but I have a feeling it will be filled with sightseeing/hiking, swimming, and possibly whitewater rafting!

Australia Zoo!

This past Saturday, my other WI friends and I went to the Australia Zoo with the QUEST (Queensland University Exchange Student) Society. Actually, I almost didn't go. I had found out about the trip on Wednesday, but didn't realize that you had to buy a ticket ahead of time until Thursday. On Friday, I got some information about QUEST from the UQ Union and gave the treasurer a call. And, well, they were sold out. But then I received an e-mail later that night from some one else saying that they actually did have room and that I should just show up on Saturday morning. So I did end up going in the end.

The zoo is about 1.5 hours straight north of Brisbane (or so I'm told, I was asleep about 15 minutes after we left). Now, I had heard that the zoo was massive and that it was jam-packed with so many amazing animals that it would be impossible to see the whole thing in a single day, even if you were that from 9a-5p. That definitely wasn't the case, although I will say that it was fairly large and the animals were really amazing. When we got inside, we broke up into smaller groups, thinking that we would be able to cover more ground. It was only a few short minutes later, that the low battery warning showed up on my camera. Bummer. But, I got some good pictures in before it died. And then when it did, I was standing right next to one of the executives, so I ended up meeting some new people as a result.

Definitely, the highlights of day were feeding kangaroos, feeding elephants, seeing red pandas, petting koalas, watching the main show at the Crocoseum, and seeing the tiger show. Overall, it was a complete zoo experience, except this zoo has mostly animals that are native to Australia, plus some other Southeast Asian animals. No penguins, polar bears, monkeys, giraffes, or lions. The hyena exhibit was soon to come. It wasn't just the animal selection that made this zoo experience different, however; the way in which the animals were exhibited was different as well. The two kangaroo pens were large areas, sparsely populated by trees, in which you walked through. The kangaroos came up to you or hopped away as they pleased. Feeding them was wild as well. They immediately recognize you as a potential food source and make their way over to you. The signs in the hut said to put the food low to the ground so it was easy for them to eat. I think they wrote that there so people don't get scratched when the kangaroos try to pull your hand when it wasn't low enough for them. Either way, they diligently eat the food and then perk up when they hear some one coming. Many times you will see their ears independently swivel towards nearby footsteps and their heads would remain perfectly still. Then when they walk around, they use their tail as a "fifth leg". Well, all I have to say is that it was a neat experience.

The main show in the Crocoseum was a one-of-a-king experience as well. The handlers started off with a bit of humor and then began bringing out the animals, from small to large. A majority of the animals were birds and they just kept squaking and flying circles low overhead after they were introduced. The only types I remember were the macaws and the only native Australian crane. But there were about 10 or so species total, all with different shapes and colors. Then they walked around with different species of snakes (all of them extremely venomous, of course). After that, they brought out the elephants and showed some diving birds. Predictably, they finished up with a crocodile, but it did not disappoint. The crocodile's tail is much large than I imagined it to be and is the source of much of its killing power. I would guess it's about half of its body mass. It helps launch itself out out of the water and swim really fast when it needs to. But on land, the tables are turned. It can barely walk at all with the stumpy legs that it has. Still, crocodiles haven't really changed in about 200 million years (an amazing fact, considering that dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago), which goes to show how specialized they are at water's edge feeding.

The show also had a very strong message of environment conservation. So strong that they even had a warning to the parents before the show. I though it was a bit odd at the time, but after watching the show, I understood why. After each animal, they explained how it, or its habitat, was being destroyed and how we can take steps to prevent that from happening. And then they would throw in a quote from Steve Irwin. It was another thing that I thought sounded funny at the time, but after hearing about Steve Irwin over and over again, as if he had taken the day off, I realized that Australia may have an unhealthy obsession with the Irwin family. I guess the bronze cast of their family with a crocodile and a dog should have been a tip-off, but I thought that it was nothing more than a commemoration (albeit an odd one). The handlers in the show would relay opinions and thoughts of Steve as part of the show. Turns out that he coined the term "Crikey" and they don't want you to forget it. Its obvious that he was a very positively influential person and now that I've seen some of the things that he has done for the wild animals, I'm considering watching the Crocodile Hunter Diaries.

At the end of the day, I really felt as if I had stepped millions of years into the past. Even though the crocodile is actually millions of years old, everything felt so foreign to me. The emus, kookaburras, macaws, cassowaries, and kangaroos all seem fairytale-ish. It was a good experience and I would encourage everyone to visit there if they come to Australia.

Second week of classes

March 11

Nothing major happened since the last time I posted except that the rain has stopped and the sun is out. The combination of heavy rain followed by sun has made everything exceptionally green. I've been trying to get out and take pictures of the campus and St. Lucia area so that I'll be able to capture my neighborhood at its finest.

Last time I left to go to the UQ Beach Volleyball meeting which turned out to be just playing volleyball for about three hours. And it was a lot more fun than I was expecting. Turns out that this level of volleyball requires you to be tall and you automatically have an advantage. So I've been doing pretty well and meeting people in the process. About 60 people were there last Thursday and there have been between 30-50 people at the two meetings since. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday nights for two hours, but usually some of us stick around for a third hour. It's crazy to think to that these types of college clubs exist and are active year-round. UW beach volleyball? Sorry, not happening. But as one might expect, very few participants are not exchange students. One of the executives said that around 10% of any semesters participants are still there for the next semester. So far, I've met people from Australia, Barbados, Zambia, California, Indiana, New Hampshire, Germany, and Florida.

We had heard about this place downtown that was having a Free Bucket of Wings promotion tonight, so we decided to check it out. The wings were great and the South Bank side of the downtown area is much less crowded and somehow harder to navigate than the main downtown portion on the north side. The most interesting part of the night, however, was taking the CityCat to get there. Travelling the river at night is really awesome. All the car and foot bridges are lit up, plus all the lights from downtown buildings make it very photogenic. I will try to bring my camera along the next time I take the ferry at night.

A Slow Start

This first week of school wasn’t quite as action packed as I was expecting. I knew that most of my class meetings were weighted towards Thursday and Friday, but I didn’t realize what it would mean for all discussions and labs to be cancelled for the first week. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all reduced to a single lecture and today, Thursday, has been nothing short of nodding-off in class mixed with sitting on park benches. It seems all fine and dandy for now, but almost all of my classes have very highly weighted final exams and final projects with only one or two graded assignments in-between. I’m afraid that things will go very slowly at the beginning and come crashing down at the end. But it’s a different learning style and I’m interested to see how things pan out.

So far my favorite class is Popular Music from Elvis to Madonna. Today we talked about 8 famous blues musicians and the influence that they had on most of the big rock music from the 60’s to the 90’s. Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, and Willie Dixon were the headliners. So many people played with, covered, or wrote tributes to the blues heavyweights. There were clips of the Rolling Stones playing with Muddy Waters in an old Chicago bar basement and then U2 at some stadium playing with BB King. Then he put on a clip of Kurt Cobain covering Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Leadbelly at an MTV Unplugged thing in 1990. The clips were from all over the place. My favorite part, though, was that Leadbelly went to jail for murder in 1925, went back to jail for attempted murder in 1934, and then went back again in 1939 for assault. You may be wondering how the Texas prisons could let a convicted man escape, especially if he’s the type of guy that’s going to get caught again. And I agree, you make an interesting point. Well, Leadbelly supposedly wrote a song which was so moving and “bluesy”, that the guards let him walk. And it worked. Twice.

The weather here has been very wet. Wetter than most Australians can remember. I was told that huge thunderstorms hit with a week or more time gap between them, but recently it has been almost non-stop rain which fluctuates between drizzles and downpours. Actually, aside from today and the first 3 days I was here, it has been raining almost constantly for 2 or 3 weeks. Many towns in Western Australia and in southern Queensland set new 24-hour rainfall records over the weekend. A Brisbane meteorologist said, “Most of western Queensland has now received around 500mm of rain since December, which has caused flooding over every river basin in the state’s southwest.” I don’t really care so much about the records, but it made me realize that I’ve never experienced such extended rainfall. In the Midwest, it rains hard for overnight but then it stops by mid-day. Here, it stops for about 2 hours at night and then pick up again for the following few days. Even though it seems like normal sub-tropical weather, just about every Aussie will tell you that they’ve never experienced anything like the past month before.

Things are also starting to settle down on the home front. The final room was filled by a French garcon named Charles, who is also spending his last semester of college at UQ. He’s an IT engineer and a personable fellow, so I think we will get along nicely. Once Charles moved in, we crammed into Alice’s tiny car to go shopping at Aldi’s for food. I didn’t realize that there were Aldi’s in Australia, but the fact that they exist and that Alice is driving us to the store is helping me save money on food. I think my best purchase of the night was Breakfast Biscuits. They’re basically thin corn flakes layered together and cut into rectangles that are basically the size of two Nature Valley granola bars. So you can break them up in milk to make cereal or just eat them dry on your way to work/school. More news on the food front to come.

Now I'm off to UQ Beach Volleyball club.

The Day Before School

When I left off, I was about to visit the house which still had an available room. I did, and it was somewhat different than what I had expected. It’s a house that’s owned by a middle-aged woman that has her own piano teaching school and has been inviting international students into her house for many years. The house is a bit off the beaten path, but it’s very nice and clean inside. Just the way she likes it. Most of the other residents are about my age, maybe a bit older. I was introduced to a girl from Seattle that’s attending medical school, an Indonesian guy that is studying classical piano, the 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 guinea pigs. I was also told that a Japanese-American from Manhattan lives there and that the woman, Alice, was looking for a European person to fill the last room.

She showed me around the house and the front porch, and all I could think was that this house was somehow very familiar and very strange to me at the same time. Anyways, we talked for a bit on the back porch and then she told me all the rules of the house, of which there are many. Everybody has a day of the week in which they clean the kitchen and mop the floor plus another chore that needs to be done on the weekend. She understands that people have people have different ideas of what is considered “clean”, but she is quite adamant about having the house completely spotless. “If I find a hair in the bathroom, it’s completely unacceptable.” So, logically, I agreed to live there. She admitted that I looked well dressed and that I was a good conversationalist. Then she asked if I had played any musical instruments, and I told her that I had played the piano and the trumpet. “Well why didn’t you say so!” Basically, anybody that has every played the piano in their lifetime is a friend of hers. She then went on to tell me about her students and about how her daughter lives down the street with an English bloke who is an excellent chef.

Before dragging on too long, I asked about specifics for paying rent or signing paperwork. She told me not to worry about that since I would be paying her in cash or check and she would be giving me a receipt. This was a big relief for me, since renting a room or a house in Australia is very serious business. Every single detail needs to be looked over carefully before signing a lease otherwise people will take advantage of you as soon as they possibly can. There’s even a branch of the government, called the RTA, which protects the lessors and the renters from being ripped off. Well, getting cash is not an easy thing for me to do, especially 6 weeks of rent (2 weeks up front, plus 4 weeks for the security deposit). So, I decided to open a bank account, which wouldn’t happen until Monday, when the banks were open again. I decided that I would move in once I at least had a bank account.

I had found a place to live and then on top of that I found my bags had arrived at my friend’s apartment when I returned. Then I opened one up and found that my toothpaste had spilled onto a few of my shirts and jacket. Oh well, I didn’t have to wear the same pair of pants and shoes that I had been for almost 5 days now.

Yesterday was an interesting day. I walked to campus, got a few things out of the way, ate lunch, and met up with the other UW guys. They had heard about a park where the sand volleyball club was meeting for an all-day event. After a lot more walking, we found the park and a guy recognized us as being “not from around here”. They offered us a beer and told us that they had a mini tournament going on, but that we could play on the back court. So we met a few people and played volleyball for about 2 hours. Meanwhile, the weather was very slowly changing from a slight drizzle to a downpour. Most everyone there had a car except for us. So the guy who was running the place offered us the rest of the beer in the keg if we helped clean up at the end. We happily agreed. The take-down took a while and we got pretty wet. But we also got 3-4 beers each, plus a sausage out of it. This guy and the other woman were really cool people. The guy told some really funny stories and the woman gave great advice about places to go for weekend trips. We ended up taking a cab back to the other guys’ place at around 8pm. Within an hour, we were all asleep. So, I picked up my stuff, told one of them I was leaving, and headed off to the apartment where my suitcases were. On the way there, it rained. Again.

Trying To Get Situated

Have you ever been to the Mitchell Park Domes? Yeah, it’s kinda like the rainforest exhibit here, except more sunny and breezy. The trees look the same, the air feels and smells the same, and it’s hilly everywhere you go. Just a thought
.
Today is Friday, I arrived on Wednesday, and left on Monday. Still wearing the same clothes and I still haven’t got a hold of my luggage. I’ve made so many calls and checked in at the front desk of my hostel so frequently that most people have come to know me by name. Even the people in the airport ask me if my name is Neal when I say that I’m calling about lost luggage for Brisbane. Last night, I got word that the Brisbane airport may have one bag and they asked for a description for confirmation. They claimed to have one that belonged to me and offered to deliver it in the morning. Best news I had heard so far on this trip. But I still needed to find a place to live and my phone had run out of pre-paid minutes. A friend let me use her phone and I began calling the different people who had posted rooms on the UQ rentals website. One of the rooms that I was interested in answered and offered to meet me last night.

I went to the room, which turned out to be an apartment, and it didn’t have any furnishings in the bedroom. The people seemed nice, but it wouldn’t be an easy place for me to move into. By the time I left, it was 10:45 pm and I needed to take the bus back downtown. As I waited by the bus stop, I started to hear all these strange noises and saw leaves and branches falling down around me. A walked around the surrounding area and realized that there was a very active population of bats in the area. Big ones, too. When the flew across the street, I would guess they had a 2.5 - 3 foot wingspan. They really freaked me out though. All habitable land is covered by houses, roads, trees, and bushes. So every 20 seconds or so, the bats would start screeching and breaking small branches. They’re probably harmless but it sounded as if they were going to jump out of the bushes at any moment and attack. Either way I got home safely thanks to the extremely reliable bus system they have set up here.

This morning I checked out of the hostel, gave them my phone number in case they caught wind of my bags, and headed off to campus to attend two mandatory presentations. One of them was actually important, but they were both boring. Afterwards, I went back to the accommodations office and started putting my search into high gear. I began calling almost everyone on the list, beginning with the most updated listing. Most people had already filled the rooms or weren’t available to answer my call. As a last ditch effort, I sent a text message to a place which I had called last night and was rejected. They have a very diverse group of people, including two Americans, an Aussie, a Japanese person, and an Indonesian. It’s a great place to live on paper and they apparently still need a roommate as of today. Shortly after sending the text message, I received a call from the person on the list asking me more questions about myself and agreed to let me come by the house later tonight. I’ll do my best to impress them and hopefully they agree to let me stay. But for now, I will be trying to get a hold of my friends and ask them for a change of clothes.

A Day of Firsts

Upon arrival in Brisbane, I was promptly picked up by a very pleasant UQ driver and taken to my hostel in the CBD (Central Business District a.k.a. “downtown”). The weather was fairly comparable to a humid day at the end of August, so I decided to unload as much clothing and baggage as possible. Unfortunately, I had only a pair of pants to wear and lots of walking to do. The good news was that the food court 1 block away had free internet.

I logged on and made a desperate attempt to get a hold of the other UW students via facebook that I knew were already in Brisbane. I didn’t have any AUD cash since my I forgot to call the bank ahead of time and my card wouldn’t work at the ATMs. I exchanged some USD for AUD at a money exchange booth and then consulted the booklet I was given by the UQ driver on how to get to the school from my hostel. The directions were quite clear and I was able to find the bus stop that I needed. It was about a 15 minute bus right from downtown to UQ, which wasn’t too bad. They have a lot of busses around here and the fare was only $1.35 with a student discount.

My first impressions of the UQ campus were definitely not what I expected them to be. The only pictures I had seen were from Google Maps and everything looked empty and arid. It was not the case when I stepped off the bus. It was very green, full of people, and humid. I began to follow the signs, hoping to find some sort of office to assist me. I knew that I had missed some orientation sessions and I wanted to find out if there were more. I soon found myself walking through this great big semi-circular quad where students were playing frisbee, eating lunch, and sitting in the grass. Around the outside walkway, tents were erected and set in behind columns promoting the various student orgs. I came to learn that this even was called Market Day. Everyone was having a good time, handing out posters and baggies, playing music, and trying to recruit all the newcomers. I passed on through the quad (aka The Great Court) and found the office I was looking for. They gave me a packet of events for this week and told me that I need to attend to important sessions on Friday morning. From there I got my student ID and a Go card which is used for the bus system and the CityCat (catamaran). Then, as I was exploring more of the campus, I ran into the other UW kids by chance. They told me where they had purchased their phones, where they were planning to live, and how they had come about finding that place. Heading their advice, I went to the accommodation office to begin my own search. I picked about 5 places that I thought would work for me and decided to give them a call once I purchased a phone. I eventually ran into the UW kids again and we travelled back downtown together.
I went back to my hostel room, which luckily didn’t smell like molding wet shoe anymore, and had a chance to meet the other roommates. Three were from Germany and had met each other in Brisbane. They are either working or backpacking, but none of them are in school. Two were from West Washington University and had finished an active plate tectonics short course in New Zealand and were spending some extra time in Australia. It was nice to talk to some other Americans, especially ones who had been down under for a few weeks already. I left there to meet the UW kids for dinner and a few drinks. It was at this point I realized that I had been awake for almost two whole days and I wasn’t feeling an ounce of jet lag. I guess all that practice I was doing at home really paid off.

My initial reactions to the city are that it’s very crowded and things are more expensive than I was expecting. The special at Subway is $7 footlongs, which doesn’t seem as catchy. Plus it reminds me of the Dr. Seuss character than had more fingers on one hand than the other. The McDonald’s next to my hostel has burger meals for as much as $9.50. Hungry Jack (the australian Burger King) is the same. I hope these prices only hold true for this busy downtown food court, but I’m afraid that food is an all-around more expensive commodity. I also haven’t seen any grossly obese people around here. Not to say that they are health nuts, since just about every 3rd person smokes. Behind my hostel is the Queen Street Mall which is fairly large assembly of shops and food places. The streets are for pedestrians and some of the buildings are multi-level malls that we are familiar with in the states. It’s a place that has people eating and socializing from dawn to dusk, and then some.

I think I’ll be getting in the habit of putting up pictures. Soon I won’t have as much time to write, so it will be quicker to just see for yourself.

Cheers.

Sydney Airport

The flight went really well. Two meals, some interesting things to watch on the TV, an elderly woman from Minneapolis on my right, an empty seat on my left, and my laptop helped make for an enjoyable 14.5 hour flight. While we were descending to the runway, I looked across 5 people and saw a beautiful view. The Harbor Bridge over the water and the Sydney Opera House just behind it. I was finally in Australia, but the trip wasn’t over.

After passing customs, I realized that I didn’t know where my bags were, their final destination, nor which flight would get me from Sydney to Brisbane. A man at the baggage claim filed a report and told me that my bags would likely arrive in Brisbane a day after I arrive. Then a woman sent me to the United offices (out, left right, straight, up the lift, and down the hall), where I received a FIM (Flight Interruption Manifest) which was redeemable at the Qantas domestic desk in the far corner of the airport. I checked in and did security again and then waited in this tiny room. Once the room started to fill up, they checked our boarding passes and loaded us onto Qantas busses. The busses weaved in and out of the tarmac and then around the outside to Qantas hangars. Once I found my gate, a fellow passenger let me use his phone so that I could inform the UQ accommodation services my new arrival time.

When it was all said and done, I arrived in Brisbane from Milwaukee at 11:30 am after 29 hours of travel time. Didn’t seem so bad now that I think about it. But I really need a shower and clean clothes.

Crisis Averted

Today started exactly the way it was supposed to; definitely a first for me. I finished packing, made deposits at the bank, had a nice drive down to O’Hare with my Mom, passed check-in and security utilizing both my speed and agility, and was waiting at my gate 2 hours before boarding. And then things started to go awry.

The incoming flight was about 30 minutes late. Not a big deal. We boarded the plane with the usual impatient bumping and elbowing. Then, after everyone was seated and carry-ons were stowed, we waited for another 30 minutes. The captain announced, “This is your captain… sorry for the wait… blah blah… paperwork issue.” This was promptly followed by sighs, moans, and an elderly man walking to the cockpit from the back of the plane. A stewardess follows and they get off. 25 minutes later, “A passenger is being treated for medical issues on the walk-way. Paramedics have been called and are treating him as we speak. However, we are unable to retract the walkway until he has been stabilized. Believe it or not, we want to talk off as badly as you do.” Chuckles. Sneers. It’s 6:50 by the time we take-off. A far cry from the 5:20 that was printed on the ticket.

Now I’m getting nervous. I step into LAX soil at 9:02 pm PST, and I recall than my Air New Zealand connection leaves at 9:15. I have no idea where I am, or where I’m supposed to be. I run down the hall behind an acquaintance that’s trying to catch another international connection to Hong Kong, but lose him and ask for directions to ANZ. “Go out the doors, all the way to the end of the ‘zone’, take the ‘A’ bus to terminal 2.” Got it. I get to ANZ check-in at 9:20 and all the lights are off. Nobody’s home. A TSA agent tells me to use the ANZ phone on the wall. I do and reach an agent after a few minutes. She tells me that I indeed missed the flight, that I have been rescheduled for the same flight 24 hrs later, and need to go back to United since they are responsible and they should put me up for the night. So back to the ‘A’ bus and Terminal 7. The people at United unwillingly admit that it was their mistake and try to pull strings for me and my luggage. Click. Click. Click. “Can I see your passport?” Click. Click. I interrupt to tell them that I don’t care which flight or which carrier. I just want to get there ASAP. He looks at me and says, “C’mon let’s go. They’re not going to like this, but it’s worth a try. We’re going to catch the 10:20 flight to Sydney.” It was 10:01. So in true Home alone style, we run to security and cut to the front of the line. Meanwhile, a woman is calling my name over the PA every 2 minutes for boarding. Once we were clear, I sprinted to the gate where people saw me running and waved me in.

Now I’m on the plane and sweating, hoping that nothing fell out of my pockets. The flight attendant tells me that there is overhead storage near the front. I stow my bags there and take one of the open seats. I didn’t know what the flight number was, when it was supposed to arrive, where my bags were headed, but I was on the plane and I would in Brisbane 24 hours earlier than I was previously anticipating. Crisis averted.

USA vs. Canada

Phenomenal game tonight in men's hockey. 5 - 3, USA over Canada. I can only hope they can carry it through the rest of the tournament. U-S-A All The Way

D - 5

Five more days now until Go Time and things are pretty much the same as there were three days ago. I've done a bit more packing and crossed off more things from my checklists, but watching the Olympics has occupied most of my time. For some reason, focusing my attention on sporting events with international participation hasn't been a good distraction from thinking about this trip. So, in an effort to vent my anticipation, I decided to go ahead and start a blog of my semester abroad... over a week before it began.

I haven't got much Australian-specific material at this point, so try and bear with me. Time management and communication are two issues that may pose a challenge for me, so I'm making a preemptive strike. I would like to update this blog as often as I can and Skype with people on a somewhat regular basis. Brisbane is in the UTC +10 time zone and CST is UTC -6 which makes Brisbane 16 hours ahead of Milwaukee/Madison. Assuming a "normal" awake/asleep pattern, it would be better for real-time communication to occur at night CST and in the morning in Brisbane. My Skype name is nh3456 and my e-mail is haas.neal@gmail.com if you want to contact me. I'm not sure what my living situation will be like until after I arrive, so it's hard to say what the internet connection situation will be like, or how busy my schedule will be. I'll keep you posted.

You can probably find a lot of info about Brisbane on the internet, but here is a quick overview:

3rd largest Aussie city @ ~2 million ppl (1. Sydney, 2. Melbourne)

The Brisbane River snakes right through the middle, making for an interesting commuter dynamic

Temp: Avg. high - 78 F Avg. low - 60 F

Rainfall: ~37 in./year (about the same as Milwaukee)

University of Queensland was ranked 41st in the world by UK's Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings (UW ranked 61st)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane for your convenience

I've signed up for all the classes that I will need to graduate for when I return in July, which is a big relief. It took a little while to get things sorted out, but it all fell into place nicely. Those classes are Electronic Circuits, Introduction to Control Systems, Popular Music: Elvis to Madonna, and Analysis of Scientific Data (Statistics). I'm excited to learn in a different classroom setting, especially one in a different country. Frankly, right now I'd be excited to be in a classroom anywhere! Monday can't come soon enough.