Oma & Opa's Visit

Here are some pictures from the first couple of days of Oma and Opa's trip to Brisbane!

Mid Semester Break

Lorin and I were fortunate enough to spend time with a host family, the Southams. They showed us all around the gorgeous Hunter Valley. We toured vineyards, national parks and beaches. This was an awesome break from classes!!

Sandstorm!

I experienced my first real sandstorm yesterday! It was a red fog that took over everything. Nothing like the miniature Texas tornados we see at random times. The storm lasted for a few hours and coated the area with a red haze. Here are some of the pictures taken from around Australia.

Riverfire

So yesterday I took a trip to southbank for the Riverfire Festival with Lorin, Amreet and Kay who joined us later. We arrived around 4 and the firework show didn't start until 7 so we had some time to walk around. The only problem was that we weren't the only ones who had this idea. The area was soooooo crowded that we couldn't walk two full steps without running into another person. We walked for about an hour just trying to find an adequate view. The show started and it was absolutely gorgeous! There were about three different stations along the river coast all with the same show with accompanying music. I cannot even describe the presentation. It started with a flyover and then went to a huge firework show as big as most of the fourth of July shows in the states. Riverfire ended with a flaming jet flyover and a long trip home. =) p.s. the show cost 4 million dollars!!

Mt. Coot-tha

Today Amy (from Oregon) and I went to Mount Coot-tha after our classes to do some exploring. Our first bus dropped us off at the botanical gardens. Here we looked at the variety of Australian plant life and the huge lizards that were running around. It was peaceful and there weren't any other tourists around. We then got on another bus that took us to the lookout point on Mount Coot-tha. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! From this point we could see all of Brisbane and it was gorgeous. This trip was a nice break from being in the city for so long and it was a great break from work.

Mt. Glorious

This weekend has been a very relaxing one. I got a bit of 'uni' work done and one of my friends from class (Leonie) invited me on a trip to Mount Glorious on Sunday. We rode there with a small group of her friends and had brunch in the picnic area. After napping in the sun we went bush walking around the mountain and discovered its' beauty! The mountains here lead to rainforest areas full of plants that I have never seen. It was also much cooler at the higher altitude so the hike was enjoyable. I am hoping to go to about two more mountains this week so we will see if they are all so 'glorious'. bahaha bad joke! After this week of classes I am halfway done with the semester!!

Noosa

We (Lorin, Amreet, Carmen, Monique and I) went to Noosa Heads this weeekend for our first beach trip. It was a one hour bus trip and a two hour train ride, not too shabby. When we arrived we searched for a place to stay and found a hostel called Halse Lodge. We were placed in a room with 14 beds which is not as bad as it sounds as we met a few other travelers. After sunset on the beach we went to grab a mini dinner and then went to sleep. The next day we stayed at the beach for a few hours then walked around the town before returning back to the lodge. On Sunday we stayed for about 5 hours on the beach then went to Kathryn's lovely home (a girl from our dorm) where she took a few of on a tiny, tiny plane ride (a tail dragger) and we also picked fruit from her orchard =) It was so nice to be in a home for the first time in a month. So to sum up the weekend we saw a beautiful beach, read a few books, stayed in a hostel for the first time, met some new people, stayed at a beautiful house and had a great experience!

Koalas and 'roos!

I finally got to see Australian wildlife this past weekend! It was basically a mini zoo called the Lone Pine Sanctuary. There were typical barnyard animals like sheep, goats, chicks, guinea pigs and mini horses that were not very exciting at all. Then we went into a kangaroo petting area where there were around 30 of the hopping creatures that were gentle enough to pet. Next we explored the rest of the grounds and found tasmanian devils, wombats, bats, lizards, pythons, poisonous frogs, dingos and lastly koalas! There were mommy, daddy, baby and even retired koalas. I was able to get close enough to all of the animals to say that I enjoyed the experience. =) Next weekend we have a trip planned to Noosa which is an area full of beautiful beaches. I will find out what staying in a hostel feels like and going without plans of where to stay or anything of the sort. It should be an adventure.

New Activities!

So this has been my first real week of classes because tutorials were included. I typically go to class for three hours a day, Monday through Thursday. The classes still are semi exciting so I hope this semester will be hokay. So I had my first practices with the beach club team and the beginnings run pretty slow, but towards the end more people started leaving so it was mainly those who had played for a few years and was a lot more competitive. I believe that I will try to stay involved with the organization. Let's see as far as weekend plans go I think I will try to head over to South Bank to shop during a market day for some Christmas presents. I figure the faster I get them outta the way the more money I have to spend on my trips. I am also hoping to head over to the Lone Pine Koala and Kangaroo sanctuary to get some candid shots with the beautiful creatures =) Some of the girls and I are planning to go midnight, neon light bowling in the city one of the days this weekend. Sounds super exciting!

Classes

Week one of classes just finished and they were quite interesting. My classes include Tourism and Leisure Behavior, Meetings and Conventions Management, Event Management and the Arts and Leisure in Society. The main difference is that instead of having multiple tests we basically have one presentation and one test in each class. No pressure there.. I joined a beach volleyball club that meets every Tuesday and Thursday which should prove to be quite exciting, I hope. Tomorrow is laundry day! Whoop! Until next time =)

Melany

I went on my first adventure out of the town with the Brisbane Christian Church today. They drove most of the teens out to a beautiful area called Melany. The outskirts of the town were in mountanous areas with some rainforest spots while the town was adorable and had plenty of little shops, kida like Fredericksburg in a way, but better. I believe the drive was an hour and a half(ish) north in the sunshine coast. We even passed the Australia Zoo! =) But it was a day of worship and fun with the people of the church. Other than that, I start lectures on Monday (whoo) and we have activities all week with Duchesne so we will see how that goes. Until next time!

Week One

Hello! This has been quite a hectic week. It began with a 13 hour flight into Brisbane and has continued with many fascinating events already. On the flight in I was seated next to a girl named Jessica from Duke University and we became instant friends only to realize later that we live very close to one another. After unpacking and taking a short nap I went to explore campus. No, I did not get lost. On my second venture into campus I found the sand volleyball courts and wandered over to them to see if the aussies would let me play and they did! This week I also found a church that I am very excited about! It was so lively and the fellowship surrounded the worshippers. Australian church is quite different than the type of church I am used to: it was more of an informal gathering with just as strong of a message. Jessica and I also took the risk to take public transportationg into 'the city' and found a grand mall full of designer products that were outrageously overpriced but pretty to look at. Anyways, the college grants me very little internet time and this blog seems like the best way to reach many people soI though I would try it out. P.S. I'M IN AUSTRALIA!