Jan's Oh Too Short Adventure....

It is a good thing that I like Berkeley because if not Deb would have had a roommate for much longer than 10 days. While I am already planning my next trip here that will include much more travel throughout Australia, I can not imagine a place more perfect to spend a year than the Gold Coast. It is everything you would presume Australia to be- gorgeous beaches, surfers galore, exotic birds, enjoyable accents and perfect weather. Every day I saw a new, unique, modern apartment building that I wanted to live in, an area I wanted to explore and new chocolate bars that I was dying to try. (In case you were interested, Deb and I ate over 32 chocolate bars between the two of us, yes they are that much better than the ones in the US.) another fyi, my personal favorite ended up being TimTams, which are a chocolate cookie, with soft chocolate and honeycomb on top, covered in chocolate. Yummm…..

For the majority of my stay, I explored, taking long walks on the beach, sitting in the sun, and eating delicious kebabs. I did daringly get in the water once, which was not too cold once you are in it but the signs warning you of strong currents do not lie- I almost lost my bottoms giving me ample reason to get out after being in for a short 15 minutes. The combination of canals and ocean makes the Gold Coast even more picturesque, but also confusing as it becomes difficult to distinguish the two in some areas as they intertwine and merge. Deb and I discovered this the hard way after walking two and a half hours along the beach and then unable to find an outlet to the main road. After another long hour in the sun, we caught the bus in front of Sea World and made our way back to Surfers Paradise. By that time eating Deb’s index finger looked pretty appetizing so we got sushi followed by McDonald’s desserts of which I double fisted a frozen Fanta and an ice cream cone- once again, they are just that much better than the ones in the US.

As interested as you all are in my eating and walking habits, I will try to get back to the interesting stuff. The day after my arrival we left to go on a camping trip that was excellently planned by Todd. Our first stop was this campsite right next to a lake. We pulled in around 9 pm. By that time it was pitch black (because of winter the sun goes down around 5 pm) and you could not really see a difference between the land and the lake. We claimed our spot directly adjacent to what I assumed was the lake and began setting up the tents and the air mattresses. I was grateful for something to do seeing that it was so cold standing still just made me realize my inability to feel my fingers and toes. Once everything was set up and ready we sat out, staring at the vast sky scattered with endless amounts of beautiful twinkling stars. After a competition of who could see the most shooting stars, we got in our tents to sleep. Damn it was cold. I was very glad to be sharing a tent with Deb and Tellu, who I had just met but was prepared to get to know much better that night as the only way I could even remotely stay warm was by snuggling up right next to her under the covers. After what I think was one of the longest, coldest nights of my life, I awoke to the screeching sound of a horrifying bird. It was cawing away, so loud I was convinced that the only thing separating us was the thin canvas of the tent. Once it flew away, I realized that it was sunny outside meaning my misery was almost over. Outside the tent it was getting much warmer and we could finally see our beautiful surroundings- the clear lake, surrounding hills and cows across from us, eating grass and mooing away. We were all anxious to get the day started as people began to take turns on the jet ski and wakeboard. I was very impressed with Todd’s skills who has done it for a while, but even more so by Tellu who seemed a natural as she had only done it once before. I was not surprised when my turn came and I was unable to get up on the thing, which is essentially a snowboard in the water as balancing is not one of my skills.
After an exhausting day on the water we cleaned up and left the campsite to go to our next destination which was the property of one of Todd’s coworkers. This friendly, warm couple is living in paradise. Their 24 acres of land is located on a creek surrounded on all sides by beautiful greenery. From on top of the hill they overlook the entire valley. When we arrived the games begun, first gathering firewood for the bonfire, then archery and helping prepare a delicious dinner of corn, steak and potatoes all cooked directly on the fire. Dinner was followed by a game of darts where the people with the highest score and the lowest score paired up to wash dishes. As the competitive little sister, I was glad to beat my sister’s high dart score of 60, which sadly made me have to clean up. The night was much warmer with a more durable tent as I passed out almost immediately and did not move an inch til the morning when we had to wake up early to get Deb to class.

Other fun adventures included a trip to Brisbane with Deb’s friend Steph, where we wandered around the city looking at outdoor markets and the beautiful city. As all of Australia is very new, Brisbane’s architecture and design was clean-cut and unique with bridges everywhere and a fake beach next to the river. Our parents must have taught us well, as we went into a museum to look around at the interesting exhibits and beautiful textiles. Parts of Brisbane contain areas that are much less cared for and ‘sketchier’ than the Gold Coast, but this change of scenery was refreshing and added to the city’s character. The only downside of going to Brisbane was with the public transportation what could be an hour drive becomes three hours each way, therefore our six hours of travel was more than the time we actually spent in the city, but with good conversation it was well worth it and the time flew by.

I was VERY sad to be leaving Deb (and even more so to be leaving Australia ;) But I made sure to take back lots of chocolate with me so that I can eat my sorrow (and jealousy) away.

Story through pictures :)

Jan has been here for the past 9 days and it was SO wonderful. We had loads of fun and when I woke up on Sunday morning and she was gone it was pretty darn sad... :(

Well Jan has written a really awesome blog entry to tell you all about our adventures and since I don't want to steal her thunder I will just upload a few pictures from our excursions!

The stream/ watering hole outside of our tents the second night :)

Jan wedging herself into Todd's wetsuit :)

Jan on the beach outside surfers...

The lake we wakeboarded in... And I got up this time!!!!

The puppy... Oriton (Ory for short)- named after Guy's underwear brand... ha ha :)

Jan and the mechanical kangaroos in Brisbane...

Short and Sweet....

I just ran 13K. I guess the 10K Bridge to Brisbane won't be that bad ehh? :) Man I am so proud of myself right now!!

Oh right... the reason I am here... classes!!!

Seeing as it is 3 weeks into the semester I figured it was time to write something about the classes I am taking. They are now set in stone and for the next 12 weeks I am committed!
Performing Cultures: This is a mish mash of different activities, readings and discussions all about art and performance. I think the best way to describe it is a combo theater, history, sociology class. We are studying different performance artists and then tying them and their messages to a historical context.
Media Law- This class is geared towards journalism students and is a crash course in staying out of trouble. We are starting to learn about the Australian legal system and their government and how this pertains to the journalism field. Although it is Australian law I think it will be a really important class as far as developing a foundational understanding for law in general. Maybe law really is my calling! Yah no…. :-)
Screen Business- Amazing class already! It is comprised of a series of guest lecturers who will talk about their focus in the business. In our first class we had a woman speak to us about how she test ran different jobs in the field until settling on producing. She then discussed her current role as a producer. I think this class is going to be exactly what I am looking for! At the end of the class we have to pitch an idea for our own show/ movie to a real panel from Screen Australia: http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/ eek! :-)
News Production- This class is going to give me a great deal of hands on experience. We will be working over the next 6 weeks to create a tv show that we will then air live in week 10. The professor is really awesome about allowing us to try out any job we want and I am excited to learn about the technical side of production.
Onto other less educational news, I am feeling MUCH MUCH MUCH better. Almost 100% and trying to store sleep so I can have loads of fun when Jan gets here. My housemates are very excited to meet Jan although their excitement has been overshadowed a bit by their love for their new PUPPY! Yes that is right we have a puppy! Well they do… :-) which is the best way to do it. It is a miniature poodle named Oriton (ory for short) and he is super cute and actually quite well behaved for a puppy which is really really awesome. Can you see him in this picture?

To top it all off Todd and I went for a walk the other day near his apartment and we turned around to witness this… Man I love my life right now :-D

Being Crook

I would have to say that Australian slang is one of the most interesting, unique, and utterly nonsensical vernaculars in the world. Some make minor sense, “bring a plate” (bring a plate of food- similar to a pot luck) or “how you going” (how are you doing) but then there are phrases such as “fair dinkum” (true, honest) or “been crook” (been sick). I have never considered myself a skeptic but I have no idea how one gets from crook to sick. Crook almost sounds like crick which makes me think of a crick in your neck which could kill you I guess so if you follow that convoluted thought process you can ascertain that crook= sick. Hmmm……. I promise I will follow up on more Aussie slang. It really is quite unique but ties into their culture quite well. And the whole point of that brief language lesson is that I have not been writing for the past week because of my poor crook self.

Last Tuesday Todd had to drive into Brisbane for a work related errand and so he offered to drive Tellu and I into the city that way we could have a fun day of exploring. Although I was starting to get the sniffilies and we had to get up at the crack of dawn I still tagged along for the adventure. Unfortunately, by 10am I felt weak and exhausted although I did manage to get some good pictures! :-D Griffith (my uni) have several different branches and pictured here is the south bank branch in Brisbane.

By the end of my brief and slightly pathetic exploration of the city I was completely beat. I tiredly made it to the train station and slept through the hour and ten minute ride home (those of you who really know me would know that this would be a HUGE sign of my crook-ness… does that work? Crook-ness? Don’t know… but yah, me napping in the middle of the day? In public?)

In short, the next few days were pretty shaky. I was tired all the time and a little nervous seeing as both of my housemates had swine flu when I first moved in. By Friday morning I was a mess and decided that skipping my two favorite classes already for the good of my health was definitely worth it. Swine flu has become so common in Australia that they have run out of the medication at the dr. and according to the news it is best to stay at home and rest unless the sickness progresses to the chest. Well although my virus may have been animal related it was nice enough to stay away from my lungs and so I have yet to step foot in an Australian medical facility.

Incidentally I soon discovered that I had no need for fancy prescription medication. I had all the herbal remedies Australia can provide as supplied through the generous hands of Guy and Todd. Guy’s mom is very interested in nutrition and the natural healing power of herbs and Todd experienced a similar upbringing. No they are not crazy. They would both go to a doctor if things got out of hand which is very comforting because if they got sick I don’t think I would be very successful at herbal concoctions.

What are these mystery herbs you ask? Oh don’t worry for the sake of full disclosure they are listed bellow with alongside their claim to healing fame.

1) Olive Leaf Extract + Zinc + Vitamin C- (definitely one of the grossest) contains Oleuropein which is an antioxidant that helps maintain a healthy immune system

2) Collodial Minerals- basically A LOT of different minerals… “actually more important than vitamins which most people don’t realize”- Todd

3) Zinc- this was a really interesting one; when you have zinc imbalance it helps illustrate that you are ill. If you have an imbalance you cant taste the zinc when mixed with water. Thus, I would put 1 ml of zinc in 100ml of water and drank that once a day until I could taste the zinc (meaning I was well again). Still cant taste it, ha ha

4) Apple Cider, Vinegar, Honey and Hot Water – Todd’s “paps” (grandpa) has it every day and swears that it cures everything from cancer to the common cold… nuff said. (it actually was very helpful and soothing on my achy throat)

5) Detox Liver Plex- I think the name summarizes the use and the catchline is just an added bonus “pre-party and post-party recovery tonic”

6) Barley Grass – I drank it dissolved in water and barely gulped it down a few times a day. The label on the container says it can be sprinkled into cereal, mixed in smoothies and salad dressings; needless to say I did not try that. Todd had a fairly small bottle in comparison to Guy’s barrel of the stuff. It was seriously COSTCO sized… HUGE!!! And he drinks it all the time…

- it is supposed to help you shift from an acid state to an alkaline state to result in improved wellness… when I researched this further (Todd had pamphlets in his apartment… ha ha :-D) I discovered that it is basically a fancy way of saying that it helps you maintain a balanced diet… the end!

Last but not least….

7) Lemsip- this actually isn’t an herbal remedy but something I purchased at the grocery store. (kind of like Theraflu) but the best part was that it had paracetamol in it (painkiller) so it helped me a ton! This one was probably my favorite, and the best tasting by far!

Well after taking that laundry list of herbal medicines several times a day (not all of them) over the past week my body had no choice but to get better. I honestly think it was just tired of ingesting such foul tasting and smelling concoctions. :-D (no offense Todd, ha ha) I am still not totally out of the dark but definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (the non-scary metaphorical version) and I have managed to drag my sorry, tired self to school today. Countdown: Jan arrives in 4 days!!!!! YEEEEHAWW!

So excited for Jan to come!

Fun At The Races

Well I can now say that I have officially experienced a Griffith University Race day. I had an amazing day (and weekend). So now that I am an expert on the subject I can explain what it is.. ;) It is basically exactly what it sounds like, a day at the horse races. Add in some semi-formal attire, good food, live music and open bar and you have race day. The festivities started at noon and went until 5pm. Tellu and I managed to get tickets for Todd and one of his friends (Al) so we all left Todd’s place and headed to the Gold Coast Turf Club via taxi. Al is one of Todd’s friends from work and an engineer who graduated from Griffith last year. The four of us had a really amazing day. Alas we never won any money but it was very entertaining. Sorry dad, nothing like the race scene in “My Fair Lady” because everyone was pretty obnoxious by the end of the day and Henry Higgins would not have had it! :-D One redeeming “My Fair Lady” reference was that there were a ton of girls with very outrageous and enormous hats/ feathers. Tellu and I were not daring/prepared enough for the head pieces but we cleaned up pretty nicely :-D. After five hours of good times we were all pretty tired and hungry and I was cold (of course) so we had a cab take us back to my place. After I changed and added on another 5 layers or so ;) we went to the Clock Hotel for dinner. Man if one knows where to look there is cheap and good food everywhere. The rest of the night was a great mix of good food, and amazing company as we pub hopped.

The life style/pace in Australia is SO different. Early on Saturday Todd made the suggestion that we have a BBQ at his place on Sunday. Of course I was thinking that this requires planning and previous notice etc so I started inviting people as soon as the idea was agreed upon. This is obviously not the Australian way as Todd didn’t invite his mates until around 3pm on Sunday (for a 5pm BBQ). So different!!! Everyone is just very laid back here. The other day Tellu and I played tennis (badly, ha ha) and so on Sunday we challenged Todd and Al to a doubles match. My performance was really quite pitiful. I left the court at one point to get banana bread out of the oven and Todd did much better without me as his partner, ha ha. Oh well, I guess that is another addition to my list. So far in the next year I need to get better at: wakeboarding, pool, tennis and surfing (although I haven’t tried that yet). I am sure the list should just keep growing. I suppose I should add running to that list. There is a charity run on August 30th called Bridge to Brisbane and Tellu and I are going to be apart of Todd’s work’s team. It is 10K and I have never run anything that distance so I have been doing a fair bit of training to prepare for it. Actually I have only run 3 times or so since I have been here but I will get there! First a 10K and then the world! I can conquer both ;-D