Crikey! The Australia Zoo!

The weekend here on the Sunshine Coast lived up to its name! It was beautiful, sunny and hot all weekend! Saturday Nikki, Jess, Tahlia and I took a bus to the Australia Zoo! We left around 8:30am and were supposed to return around 4:30pm. A full day! We ended up meeting Amy, from New York and a student at USC, and she toured the Zoo with us. There were posters and photos and life size statues of the Irwin’s everywhere! It was the perfect day outside for walking around. We saw everything there was to see (you’re only there once right?). Our First stop was the saltwater Crocodiles. They look so weird when they aren’t moving. You can’t even tell they are breathing, they just stare and give you the evil eye. So many crocodiles to see and each of them equally large and scary. Then we (well everyone but Jess because she is scared of lots of animals, especially birds) got to hold a Koala! Unfortunately they were fed some type of weird food and were non-stop pooping while everyone was trying to hold them. It was pretty nasty. Lucky for me, they brought out a different Koala for me and the rest of the line to hold, poop free! Poor Tahlia got pooped on L quite an experience though. Koalas are not as soft as they look! In fact they are coarse and have sharp claws that made a mark in my shoulder. 

Next we all went to the Crocoseum to watch the ‘Wildlife Warriors Show’. There they introduced most of their large classes of animals. We saw lots of colorful birds, crocs of course, Asian elephants, and snakes. It was a fun show to see! Then we walked around the zoo and I pet a wombat, fed and pet kangaroos, fed the Asian elephants, saw tigers and tortoises and many more! The zoo was also an educational experience! I learned the difference between a turtle and a tortoise (tortoises have legs for walking on land, turtles have flipper like feet) and that the ninja turtles were incorrectly named because they have legs (should be the ninja tortoises, not quite the same ring to it I suppose).   There were two tortoises together, brothers, and became quite excited to play with each other when we were there. We learned a lot about the conservation of the animals, especially the tigers, which could become extinct by 2020 if people don’t stop exploiting them. All in all, it was an enjoyable and educational day!

Sunday was a lazy day! Sat by the pool and read for class (I can be lazy and productive at the same time!). Then Nikki and I went to the beach with her roommate Ellie. It was so hot but gorgeous outside. The perfect day for the beach. Some woman decided that Mooloolaba should be a nudy beach because she tanned topless (she was given large gifts so it was quite inappropriate) in front of many families with young kids! Not my style, but whatever I suppose. Then we walked around the shops and got a smoothie! Sooo delicious. I stopped in to the restaurant Karma Waters, where Allison’s friend Dayna worked while she was living here a few months ago, and said hi to her friend Jackie on behalf of her! She was very excited for the random hello!

Today started the second week of classes. It is so hard to lose the stressful, organized, chaotic mentality that I have at UND. I am head of my readings and such, but it seems all of my assignments (mostly essays) are piling up fast. I don’t feel like classes are quite as organized or laid out as well as I am used to. Being the organized freak that I am, that does not work well for me! I’m trying not to stress, even though my grades count towards my GPA unlike most of the study abroad students here. Living in the moment and trying to get ahead so I don’t have as much when I want to travel!

I’m quickly learning that I miss mom’s cooking, and groceries and unlimited selections of food. It didn’t seem like that always, for some reason, but compared to this, it was heaven. Cooking for one is hard and very expensive. Food gets old so much faster here. I miss kemps skim milk, light mayo (they only have full fat or no fat), hidden valley ranch (the ranch here is so gross) and baby carrots. Also, they don’t really have strawberries and any time I want a burger, it is stuffed with something unexpected and nasty! Can’t a girl just get a beef patty with some cheese and ketchup? They have tomato sauce which is their ketchup and obviously don’t have American cheese (its cheddar here) so that means no orange colored cheese! Sad day. They think us Americans are so weird for having orange colored cheese. Anywho, I can’t wait to eat a good burger with fruit when I get home!


Today random things were happening to me. Well, one in particular I suppose. One of the maintenance workers at Unicentral has a gray cat that roams around with him. I left for a study skills class at 8am and locked the doors. When I came home, I unlocked my doors and started to make lunch. All of a sudden, I turned around and sleeping on the couch was this gray cat! I was startled and so surprised to see a cat. I have no idea how it got there. Must have jumped the fence in back I guess. After lunch I hit the pool to do some reading in the sun and water and came back 2 hours later. My room was clean and I locked the door when I left, so I unlocked it when I got back and was startled to find a cat sleeping on my bed! I have no idea how it snuck into my room while I was gone. Must have been sneaky  when I wasn’t looking and hid until I left. So crazy and random! But, I love cats so it was okay. She’s cute (not as cute as Nala) and nice so I let her be until I had to kick her out when I had to lock my room for class. Well, Until next time, I’m hoping it’s a good week ahead!

First Week of Classes

On Saturday Jess, Nikki and I took the bus to Mooloolaba and went to the Beach for the first time! We met two 14 year olds on the bus and they showed us around the city to the beachside shops and cafe's. Mooloolaba Beach was seriously the most beautiful beach I've ever seen! I got to walk in the Pacific Ocean and feel the waves! I know I'll see beaches all the time here, but the first one did not disappoint! It was so hot though, we had to be in the water most of the time. It was very busy on a Saturday but fun to people watch. The teenagers wear this weird sunscreen that is colorful and looks like warrior paint... kinda wierd but it is the cool thing to do I guess. We will definitely be back!!

Once again, it continues to rain with some sunshine in between. Nikki and I have been spending lots of time over at Varsity, the other housing complex for Uni students. Jess and Tahlia live there and we have gotten to know their room mates well as well as some people from Missouri, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Norway. The Varsity complex is set up differently than Unicentral. It is more closely packed and includes aircon and a beach volleyball court as well as two pools and a small (and ancient looking) work out room. Nikki and I seem to have met friendlier people there than where we live so we don't mind spending time there too.

I started classes this week! In Australia a full course load is 3 or 4 courses. Compared to UND, this is crazy light! I am used to atleast 5 classes. Each class has one lecture and one tutorial (tute) a week. It is so nice compared to normally having classes 2 or 3 times each a week. It is difficult to sit through 2 hour lectures here but professors are pretty good about giving a ten minute break between hours. They also prefer to be called by their first name... seems so informal compared to what I'm used to. Monday and Tuesday I have one class only and then Wednesdays and Thursdays I have 3 each. Not too bad! I'm taking health and developmental psychology along with intro to indigenous Australia and a counselling for the human services professional course.

This week though most of our tutes don't start so it hasn't been too stressful. The format of classes is definitely different though because I am so used to having many exams throughout the semester and then a final and the occasional paper. Here, Most of my assignments are essays and some classes  have a multiple choice and short answer final. Not sure if I'll like this set up better or not. I guess we will see! Being the good student I am, I read all my chapters before hand and am still prepared for class. I can't slack off completely! Some schools accept pass/fail grades from abroad programs but UND doesn't so my grades matter! The grading scale here seems alright though. I don't think I'll have an issue. Writing papers will be different though because they spell some words differently than we do. They use double l's in some words we don't and exchange an s for a z in most words. Hopefully spell check is there for me!

On Friday we are taking a trip to the Australian Zoo, home of Steve Irwin's Legacy and the zoo his family supports. I am so excited to see all the animals and hold a Koala! (note to self: never call them Koala Bears...just koalas or you will get beaten up.) Its fun hearing from Australians the things people from other countries stereotype about them... they don't say Crikey! G'day isn't used as much as you'd think and instead of saying thank you, they say cheers, its alright or no worries. Also, how are you translates to 'how you goin?' I'm still getting used to the slang and wierd words but most Aussies are fine with explaining it to you... and getting a giggle from you not getting it. I'm hopefully going shopping and to the beach this weekend along with the zoo! Then more adventures to come and to plan!

*Me and Jess (yes she is wearing a poncho! haha taco night)

 These are a few pictures of where my accomodation is at Unicentral.

On a side note.... sorry to all of you in MN and ND for the insane amounts of snow you've been getting while I'm basking in the sunshine and 90 degree weather. I do not envy you! :)

Nature Walks!

It has been a rainy week off and on which makes getting some rays difficult! Thursday was Uni and taco night at Duporth Tavern in Maroochydore. Free busses were set up to take Uni students from Unicentral to tacos! Unfortunately, Jess, Tahlia, Nikki and I waited and waited and no bus came… so we chatted with some Canadians and then walked to the public bus station to get there. I was craving tacos all week and was so excited! Go figure that they had run out by the time we got there… not cool! It was my first time being ID’d before going into a bar and the bouncer stared at my ID for about 5 minutes making sure it was me (the blond hair fools everyone now). Once we got it, I quickly realized that I was more than ok with the drinking age set at 21 in America… the 18 year olds were so out of control and immature. It was hard to be around them. But, it was an experience none the less!

Friday us four girls took a bus with other Uni students to Kondalilla Falls Park and got to see tons of beautiful scenery, waterfalls and nature. We drove up tons of hills and were at quite an altitude compared to where we started. The hills are incredible here! It’s hard to imagine vehicles can actually make it all the way up the steep slopes. Because of all the rain, the park was a little more muddy and mushy than usual, so we got a little dirty. It was a long hike on uneven ground up and down this park. Quite the work out!!! Luckily most of the park was shaded by trees or we would have died! What is crazy about the scenery here is that there is so much depth to it, it’s impossible to capture it on camera and do it justice. After about a 2 hour hike it was time to load the bus again.

We had lunch at a café in Maleny, a small town nearby. It was a quaint little place. Then it was time for our last adventure of the day! We drove to Mary Cairncross Rainforest  and got to walk around that for awhile. It was a much easier walk! It was my first time being in an actual rainforest so I was excited! The vegetation there is so unique. The trees and roots were so old and looked like nothing I have ever seen. I saw a Rainforest Wallaby but it ran away quickly. Luckily I didn’t come across any snakes! From the park we had a perfect view of the Glass House Mountains. If only my pictures did it justice. It was amazing!

Our bus tour was very tiring and hot so we were glad to hop in the pool when we got back! Then we had a taco night (because we were deprived before) at Tahlia’s apartment. Soo delicious. Life here is so happy and laid back. I could definitely get used to having less stress in my life… then again classes haven’t started yet. Looking forward to a fun weekend of the beach, shopping and relaxing!

 

Adjusting to the Sunshine Coast

The last few days have been busy here on the Sunshine Coast! Since I last wrote, living here has become a bit easier. Nikki and I walked to Wooly’s a grocery/everything store and learned the trick of taking our trolly(shopping cart) home with us. We are able to wheel all of our groceries back to Unicentral and leave the carts outside for someone to pick them up. Very handy however, the carts tend to roll sideways and it is still over a mile walk. Besides that, we made our first LEGAL alcohol purchase! Not quite as exciting as we had hoped…. Goon (boxed wine) will soon be our best friend with some added flavor! It’s crazy being around 18 year olds that are able to drink… Makes me feel old.

Sunday morning Nikki and I woke up early (still getting used to the time change) and took a walk on the path behind Unicentral to the Uni to have a look around. Campus is small yet exciting. It has a modern feel to it with some interesting architecture. The most well known building is pictured here and referred to as “the Cheese Grater”.  On campus we saw our first kangaroos! They are bigger than you’d think and look so cool when they hop around. We can’t get too close though, they could definitely beat up a grown man if they feel threatened.  

We spent our Sunday afternoon by the pool relaxing and getting a tan. Not bad for a February day. It was hot and humid the first few days here. Monday was our first day of orientation! We attended some sessions, learned about the Uni, and made a friend! Her name is Jess and she goes to Adelphi University in New York. She is from DC and also happens to be a Delta Gamma! Who would have thought my first good friend here would also be a long lost sister! She is so nice and quite funny with many stories. We plan to travel a lot with her.

Today was our second day of ‘O’ Week and we spent it in a few sessions, tried to get some free stuff at the Uni Market day (which wasn’t like the GF involvement expo….nothing was free! Not even pens!). Then we hopped on the bus and headed to the Sunshine Plaza in Mooloolaba. It was our first bus experience and it went well! We saw beaches on the way that we will get to soon, no doubt. I can’t wait to walk around and discover all these smaller cities have to offer. Sunshine Plaza was beautiful, but different compared to our malls. It was enclosed in some parts with AC and in the sunshine with bridges and water fountains and beautiful scenery in others. Definitely lots of cute things could be found there! I had to use lots of self control.

The last two days have been rainy! I suppose it is the rainy season here, but it is called the Sunshine Coast for a reason! Hopefully the sun will come out soon so I can begin my bronzing. Another few days of ‘O’ week left and then hopefully a fun, yet relaxing weekend! Nikki, Jess and I have started to plan a couple weekend trips coming up in the next few weeks and hope to meet lots of new people in the process. Every day gets a little bit better. Until Next time…

My address is:

85C/ 7Varsity View Court

Sippy Downs, QLD Australia 4556

G'Day Mates!

G'day From Sippy Downs, Australia!

I finally made it after a long long day of flying. Unfortunately I never got to live through Thursday, Feb. 11^th 2011, I skipped right to Friday the 12^th. After arriving in Brisbane, Nikki and I caught our shuttle to Unicentral, our apartment complex. It was beautiful! A pool, Barbie area, palm trees, exotic flowers… the works! It was so warm out and surprisingly humid. The complex is nice and I don’t think I’ll have a problem roughing it here for a few months. The time change is hard to get used to... fell asleep at 9pm here and woke up at 6am... that needs to change a bit! In time I suppose.

So far I have two room mates, Nick and Morgan. Both are Aussies and nice. One more room mate to come tomorrow. Getting used to a new country and people is definitely challenging but that’s what I hoped for coming into this. Being away from home was harder than I expected, but that feeling will disappear soon, as I will start at Uni and meet lots of new mates.

Walking a mile to the grocery store was a challenge. Especially since I had to carry my groceries all the way back in 85 degree temperatures. Life is definitely different here, but it is interesting to see how the Aussies live… they walk barefoot everywhere (even in the grocery store), roll their own cigarettes (my roomies atleast) and drink! I’m starting to learn some of the lingo but it doesn’t all make sense… a bench means a counter in Australia… that will take some getting used to but it’s all a part of the experience.

Can’t wait to sit by the pool, catch some rays, go for a walk and socialize tomorrow. Orientation starts Monday and lasts about a week. Then classes start! It will be weird being in school again! I like a schedule though and will be able to make friends.  There is a BBQ on Tuesday for all Unicentral residents so that should be fun too. So far, life is good on the Sunshine Coast and hopefully will improve everyday! Until Next time,

Ready to Leave!!

Hello friends and family! I can't believe today has finally arrived. I can not wait to set out on my 24 hours of plane rides to end up in Brisbane! I will be flying with my friend Nikki and we will leave Minneapolis around 2pm today for Denver. Then head on to LA from there. We have a long layover in LA and then around midnight, or 2am your time, we will board our plane to our final destination of Brisbane, Australia (a 13.5 hour flight!).

Packing for this trip was harder than I thought... granted I have two suitcases, it is hard to know what I will need for 4.5 months! Plus, I'm a girl and will over pack even if I try not to. This day seemed so far away for such a long time. I can't believe it is here! Naturally I am feeling about every emotion possible... crazy excited, nervous, sad (because I am the emotional child in the family), a little scared and happy of course.

My Uni (thats what the Aussie's call a university), is located in the city of Sippy Downs, in Queensland. I'm not sure what my address is but I will post that when I get it.

Next time I post, I will be in Sippy Downs, Australia (I hope). Summer, here I come!!

Until next time, enjoy your winter weather!