The Fun Never Ends... :)

It is hard to remember that I am in school here :-D There are these restaurants/ pubs called surf clubs here everywhere. They are a members only place so you have to be with someone that lives within 15 K of the establishment and they are pretty awesome. Really low key atmosphere, you order from the bar and then they bring you your food but much nicer than a fast food joint. Tellu, Todd, one of his friends from France that he met in a pub and I went to the surf club called Northcliff last night for dinner. It sits right on the water and I am sure the view during the day is astounding. Even though the view is worth a million bucks the menu does not reflect that. It is decently priced and the food is excellent. After a good time there we picked up another friend and some of my friends from Canada joined us at a pool hall in Mermaid Beach. The next 3 hours flew by and I learned some very interesting and new things about pool. For one, it is often called Snooker as reflected by the name of the joint: Snooker World. The tables were much bigger and the balls much smaller and we played by “Australian rules” which are really the “American rules” I have always played by: only ball you have to call the pocket for is the 8 ball. Apparently in the real American/ Canadian version you are supposed to call the pocket for each ball. Well after 3 hours I only sunk 2 balls which is startlingly low for me (not that I am half way decent) but I think snooker is on my list of things to get better at while I am here.

On my way to uni this morning I appropriately learned a little more about the city in which I am now living (Surfers Paradise) from the book that I mentioned earlier (In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson). Apparently, up until 1933 it was called Elston, Queensland until the town elders decided to change the name in order to attract more visitors. The only hotel in the area was called Surfer’s Paradise (as surfing had just become popular here) and the name stuck. This city stayed fairly undeveloped until 1962 when the first high rise was constructed. By 1970 a construction frenzy began and the city has never been the same since. I can’t imagine what the place looked like before the development boom, definitely a sight I wished I could have seen (looks like a google image project in the works… :) . Well I am off to my Screen Business class that I am extremely excited about. It is pretty much the reason I decided to go here (outside of Jan’s persuading) so I hope it lives up to its potential!

New Campus, New Experience...

I am once again submerged in the hustle and bustle of university life. The feeling is not any different. There are still students goofing off, throwing balls and complaining about their previous class. I guess I don’t know what I was expecting. Berkeley was/ is such a special part of my life and so I feel like this place should be lacking in some hugely profound, slap me in the face kind of way. So far the lacking is fairly unnoticeable. Sure their gym sucks and their food is not organic or nationally ranked but I haven’t had a class with more than 50 students and the campus is quite beautiful.

The feeling here is completely uncompetitive. When you first meet people they ask about your nationality instead of your major. This removes any pressure or judgment between students. I am really quite keen on this philosophy. It emphasizes the celebration of everyone’s individuality instead of everyone competing for GPAs and “hard” majors.

Ok well I just had friends join me for lunch so I have to run but I will discuss classes etc more later! Love to you all… ;)

Pictures Madness :)

This is for my friends/ family who are not on facebook. You should be able to access this picture album through this link. Give it a whirl!!
:)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2500302&id=1226070&l=788d84c9ab

Appetizing Commentary... ;)

Ketchup is never the same in different countries. I am not totally biased in saying that American Heinz ketchup is the best anywhere. It is often the most expensive type of ketchup offered and often in high demand but short supply. As I get acclimated to my new home I have a constantly expanding list of things that I want to buy, forget to buy and must buy the next time I am insert store here. Ketchup was on my list of staples for the grocery store along with oatmeal, plain non fat yogurt and vegetables and so with my list on scraps of random paper I have frequented Coles and Woolworths (the grocery stores). Interestingly, all supermarkets are located inside indoor malls which is dangerous in itself because if you think going into COSTCO and purchasing $100 worth of stuff you didn’t think you needed was bad, try walking past clothing, shoe, and electronic stores every time you want an apple. Anywho, I walk into Coles (deemed the best one for deals) and search for the sauces aisle. Low and behold, right next to the tomato sauce is Heinz ketchup. But this stuff looks completely different. The fake, brilliant red ketchup that I know from home has been replaced by a maroonish brown sauce in the same characteristic bottle. I decide to trust this new (probably less processed) version and wander into the cereal aisle. I have learned that the Uncle Toby brand is the Kellogg’s of Australia. After staring at all the different varieties of hot cereals (none of which say oatmeal) I pick out a high protein blend. And so my mission for food continues…

Janet and I share a love of foreign grocery stores. We love to go into a new store and see what is offered, what is missing and what has been substituted. I realized today that one of the reasons that this exploration mission was so fun was because we would soon be home and so if we couldn’t find that treasured food in our current location we knew that we would have it soon at home. Well let’s just say that I am insanely missing Mountain High non fat yogurt right now. I think I may have found an ok substitute but man oh man will I be paying dearly for it. I know what you are thinking, isn’t going to a new place about exploring the new foods that are available all around me? Yes of course that is true and I already have stories about new food adventures but Heinz ketchup and Mountain High non fat yogurt will be dearly missed.

Well I have yet to try kangaroo but I have tried Vegemite. Ok it really is as gross as everyone says and it smells even worse. I have to say that I am not that surprised after I learned that it is the byproduct of beer production. It is basically the residue found at the bottom of beer barrels. Tellu’s roommate is an amazing guy from Tasmania named Todd and he shared this splendid fact with me. I have to be fair, Todd made me some Vegemite on toast and it wasn’t actually that bad but I couldn’t really taste it. He spread it so thinly that I had to squint to distinguish it from the seeds in the bread. I think I can handle this beer byproduct in this small dosage. Their bread is also quite different. White bread is the standard (think 50’s America style) and I had to pay through my teeth to get a loaf of bread with actually flavor/character.

I have also had some trouble remembering to use the metric system. America really should just get with the program and follow along. The other day I was baking non-dairy (Tellu is lactose intolerant) and non gluten (Todd can’t eat gluten) banana bread which was a challenge in itself but then I forgot that the oven would be in Celsius. When I went to turn on the oven I noticed that the oven only went up to 250 but I figured that it was just a weak stove or something (clearly I was delusional). So I turn the oven up full blast and within 10 min the top of my banana bread was complete toast. I did manage to salvage most of it but I still claim it a disaster. One of these days this clueless American will get with the program…. : )

I met my first American the other day. So far the closest I had come was a group of Canadians staying at the same motel as me. I often get confused for a Canadian which I have come to learn is a compliment. I remember travelling in the past with school groups and they always said “just say you are from Canada.” I am completely aware of the obnoxious, loud, pushy American stereotype and I have definitely experienced it first hand while travelling but until this trip I had never been told that I was “the nicest American they have ever met.” Since I have been here I have been told this by 5 different people. I mean yah I guess I am a nice person but wow “the nicest American they have ever met.”? Wow…

And with that I will call it a night. I am sleeping in my bed in my apartment for the first time tonight. My roommate (Guy) and his mother came up today to help get the place sorted out and we did accomplish a lot although there is still a ton of work to do. Guy’s girlfriend (Krystal) is coming up Thursday so I am sure there will be a great deal more sorting and organizing in the days ahead. It’s nice to have a place and I honestly love this house remodeling stuff so I am pretty peachy right now ;) Till next time… Cheers!!!

Adventure continues ... with a new friend :)

They say that you know you have learned the language (or accent) when you begin dreaming in it. Well no dreams yet, and I have yet to open my mouth and have a badly pronounced Australian word flop out but I have begun to think in an Aussie accent… I guess I am part way there! The other night when I was on the phone with another potential housemate I was told to “please speak more clearly” because he didn’t understand me through my “thick accent.” Imagine that ;) I think the last time I was told to speak more clearly was in 3rd grade prepping for one of ATID’s (my elementary school) infamous Hannukah programs Needless to say, it has been awhile.

Today marks the end of my first week here. I keep forgetting that I am actually here to study but I am really looking forward to the structure that school will give me. I met a really amazing woman at the airport from Finland named Tellu and we have been pretty inseparable for the last few days. I have to say, however, that we don’t really know what to do with all our time. Our daily routine is walking on the beach, running errands and eating… sounds good to me! The other day I discovered that she is also an avid Harry Potter fan so we went to see that last night.

It was a very different experience. The “large” soda and popcorn was probably the size of our smalls. The theater had maybe 15 other people in it and the movie came out one day ago! There have been several things that remind me that I am not at home and that is definitely one of them. It is hard to grasp just how oversized our portions are until we come to a new place.

In other news, I finally found a place to live! I think I probably saw at least 20 places but I think I will be quite happy at my new home. I am renting from a young couple who just bought this flat. The woman is 22 and a student and the man is 28 and a surfing instructor (Tellu is very excited about this!). The suburb is called Surfers Paradise and the area is called Chevron Island.

I am about 20 min (by bus) to school and a ten minute walk to central Surfers Paradise and the beach. The flat itself has three bedrooms and one bathroom. The place is kind of a fixer upper but I think I will enjoy being able to make the room/ apartment livable. Don’t get me wrong, it is not disgusting but it definitely needs some new paint and light fixtures and love :) There is a very large IKEA between here and Brisbane so I am going to try and make a trip next week. I have some more orientations next week but I don’t officially start school until the 27th. I still have not finalized my classes but I think I am ready to start that learning stuff again.. ;) until next time… love to you all!!!

Pretty deceiving outside and... well... not so pretty inside...

I can now officially say that I have joined the house/ apartment/ townhouse hunting bandwagon. For the past two days I have literally worn holes in my shoes (well at least the right one… and its only in the netting but let’s ignore that for the sake of my argument :) ) and searched high and low for a place. And now, two days later I have nothing to show for it but a hole in my shoe and images in my head of a wide spectrum of places. Today my housing experience fluctuated from a mold filled, dingy, black hole of a place to the tallest residential building in the world http://www.q1.com.au/home.html. I know two days is not that long but when I am paying so much for a hotel room I just want to find a place already!!!

The second place (Q1) is AMAZING and I would love to live there but I have several reservations about it and the people I would be living with. I met three Canadians at orientation and then it turned out that they were in the same hotel as me so we all went to look at this place together. I am sure they are very nice people but I am not 100% positive I would want to live with them and for the price… I would want to be 300%. It would be perfect if it was with people that I already knew I could get along with. I already told Jan that she should drop out of school and we could live in this place like royalty for a year… she was tempted but I guess I still have to sweeten the deal.

My guidelines have also completely changed. I started looking at places for a certain price and only with girls. The next day I started looking at the same place but with girls and guys. Today I started looking at places for $50 more a week and all my gender bias has gone out the window… The upside is that I have started getting a handle on the bus system. Of course I still have to ask how much the fair is as it changes per “zone” but I am getting there. The bus drivers are not exempt from the “Australian niceness” disease and so they always say “yes dear” or “that’s ok love” whenever I ask them a silly question. One of these days I will be able to answer someone else’s question and say “yes, your beaut (great).” When that day comes I will know that I have truly settled in… whether that be in another hotel room or my own place… Cross your fingers that tomorrow will be more productive folks! :)

Fun Facts and Figures

“Australia is the world’s sixth largest country and its largest island. It is the only nation that began as a prison.(…) It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world’s ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. (…) Eighty percent of all that lives in Australia, plant and animal, exists nowhere else…” – Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country.

I walked up to the campus today and then back down and along the canals that line the coast. I actually have not seen the ocean yet because the canals are the size of small lakes and the ocean lies beyond them. I stopped into this fruit and vegetable stand that I discovered yesterday and was once again greeted by the kind Lebanese man who owns it. After chatting for a few minutes I bought some apples (at a reduced price “just for me” ;) ) and then walked along the water. As I ate I started this book that I quoted above.

In a Sunburned Country is a fantastic book that my aunt gave to me before I left. The dialogue is witty and educational. I was honestly laughing out loud as I soaked up the final rays of the setting sun. I have a feeling I am going to be quoting from this book often, it is just THAT good! This author has also written about Africa, Europe, America (and more!) and I think it will really help me get to know this new place!


Concluding random fact for the day:
“Australia is such a difficult country to keep track of. (…) I encountered the startling fact that in 1967 the prime minister, Harold Holt, was strolling along a beach on Victoria when he plunged into the surf and vanished. No trace of the poor man was ever seen again. This seemed doubly astounding to me- first that Australia could just lose a prime minister (I mean, come on) and second that news of this had never reached me.” (Bryson-3)
Ha Ha its totally true though- I don’t think I ever hear about Australia in US news! According to Bryson in 1997 Australia was mentioned in the New York Times slightly more times than bananas but not nearly as many times as ice cream!! I mean I understand ice cream is pretty much the best dessert out there but compared to a country… ? :)
I just realized all of these facts were kind of morbid… more “glass half full” quotes next time :) !

2 planes and 20+ hours later...

I love free wine on international flights. I mean I get that I had to pay an arm and a leg for those two glasses of screw top $5.00 wine but it still felt special... and it put me RIGHT to sleep :) Both legs of my flight were actually quite nice. I sat next to two cute little girls on the way to Auckland and an elderly Australian couple on the way to Brisbane. Of course its not like we actually had to talk to each other for entertainment (sheesh so old fashioned!! that is what tvs are for!)... kidding :) both groups were very nice to talk to... and the movies selection wasn't bad either ;)

Other fun things...
- 10497 km from LAX to Auckland!

- the stars were sooo amazingly clear up in the sky

- Queensland (where Brisbane/ Gold Coast is) actually IS the Sunshine state! (its on their license plates)
- 4/10 channels on my tv in my room are rugby!

I am sitting in my hotel room in Gold Coast after a nice walk around to get myself acquainted with the area. I pretty much stopped into every convenience store and fruit/vegetable market to see what is offered and so far I really like what I see (not that I expected differently...) The food is fairly cheap and the people are incredible. The stereotype that Australians are the nicest people on earth is completely true. I have met so many nice people who have offered their advice and help. It has made this starting out on my own thing fairly easy. After the initial butterflies, that did finally set in when I said bye to my mom at LAX, I have not really felt nervous yet... I am just taking everything one day at a time.

Tomorrow I plan on walking to the university and inspecting the nearby neighborhoods so I can find a place to live. I am sure I will have more fun stories about the area tomorrow.

Although I was kinda nervous about finding someplace to live I have been assured that I will have no problems. Besides, I can always use my "cute American accent" as a last weapon :-D

And I'm Off...

Australia in 2 days... writing it makes it seem more real but there are still no strong butterflies. I honestly think I have more butterflies worrying about when I will actually be nervous. Any second now... no? ok... guess not :)
Well on from the lack of stomach nervousness to the never ending packing for Australia. I am basically going to pack everything I need/ think I might need into two suitcases and a back pack. This is fun that I can't wait to tackle, in fact I am currently avoiding this task by writing instead :)
I think even more important than packing was my trip to Berkeley this past week. Saying goodbye is always hard but doing it over a week period is much easier. I know that I will be back in December so it is only 5 months but it is also this new phase of my life part that is weird.
Kristin, Dan and I (with a guest appearance by Simon) spent a lovely 4th of July evening together at Willard Park and we were talking about things I want to learn. Kristin makes all these wonderful lists of things to do, places to eat etc and I really admire/ applaud this way of planning. Oh boy do I love lists ;) Seriously though, there is no way I will remember all I want to do and see without a list... sort of like a blog but without all my pointless ramblings that don't make any sense! I may have to write this list on paper the old fashioned way but I definitely take suggestions!
Ok well I should actually get to packing now.. bye bye Sunshine State hello Country of Sunshine!!