Sitting here in my own bed in my own room in my own house in New York, I have come to a realization. I have been dreaming for the last five months. It was an amazing and very real dream: that I lived in Australia. But did it actually happen?

The souvenirs, the great friends, the tan, the pictures, and the memories all tell me that this dream was, in fact, real, but everything else makes me feel as though it was all in my imagination. Which seems possible due to the fact that the past five months flew by so fast.

I’d like to thank the University of Queensland for giving me the opportunity to be a Study Abroad & Exchange blogger this past semester. I love writing, and am glad that I was able to share my experiences with all of you. I’d also like to thank everyone who has read all my blog entries (especially the long ones!) I hope they were exciting and enjoyable to read.

If you’re a student deciding where to study abroad, I don’t think there’s even a question. Australia is a unique, wonderful, friendly, cultural, beautiful and overall perfect place to live. More specifically, I have come to love Brisbane and it will forever be a place where I feel at home. UQ is filled with friendly students, teachers, and staff members, and I wish I could stay longer. Watch the new Tourism Australia video, which shows that I’m not lying about how wonderful Australia is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvH4vSeGz4I.

Well, I guess it’s time to finally wake up from my five-month-long dream. It has been the best five months. An absolutely life-changing and mind-blowing experience that I am so lucky and thankful to have had. I can’t believe it’s over, but I will never forget it. And the dream itself isn’t over: I know I will be back to Australia in my future. How could I possibly stay away?

So for all you future UQ-ers, I am endlessly jealous of you. Enjoy every moment, every little second, because it will go by so fast. Write things down (blogging helps you remember everything that you did), and take tons of pictures. Make new friends and try new things. Don’t hold back, and make sure you make the most of your experience. I definitely did, and it was the best five months of my life.

There’s nothing like Australia.

Cheers,

Jen

In exactly one month, my great Australian adventure ends. I can’t even believe it! Time really flies by…didn’t I just get here yesterday?? Well, I guess not…for finals have arrived. Everyone is starting to get tense: I’ve never seen so many people in a library before! But rather than talking about the boring stuff (finals) and the sappy stuff (my overwhelmingly bittersweet feelings about leaving), I’m going to talk about the FUN stuff: Australian animals!

Though it took 3 months, I finally cuddled with a koala! I went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and absolutely loved every second of it. Yes, koalas look really cute, but holding them makes them a million times cuter. They are soft, cuddly, and they try to climb all over you!

how cute is this koala?

Lone Pine had a ton of other creatures as well. I saw emus, wombats, dingos, Tasmanian devils (that look nothing like Taz from Looney Tunes!), kookaburras, lorikeets, cassowaries, crocodiles, owls, raptors, lizards, a platypus, and others. But of course, those who know me can vouch that my love for this next animal is everlasting. So, drum roll please, the BEST BEST BEST part of Lone Pine……THE KANGAROOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Imagine playing in a large field filled with at least 50 kangaroos. Yep. It’s as if the kangaroos are throwing a party and everyone is welcome to join! They are so friendly and cute, though a little feisty. Early in the morning, the kangaroos were really hungry. Luckily, I had bought some kangaroo food, which acts as a magnet (perfect for me, the kangaroo lover). Once you opened the bag with the food, the kangaroos smell it and all crowd around you. The trick (that I learned the hard way): keep your hand filled with the food low to the ground. Or else they’ll literally stand up tall and knock it out of your hands!

Kangaroos are very human-like animals, so watching them is a fascinating sight. When they stand up, they can actually be as tall as you. And though (most) humans don’t hop around like kangaroos, there is an uncanny resemblance of the two species when they interact. Well, at least in my opinion. Even when the kangaroos scratch themselves (pretty gross, yes), it looks like a human scratching his own tummy!

Me and my kangaroo friend!

All in all, my life dream of hanging out with the kangaroos has finally been fulfilled. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and highly suggest you do it too. It’s a must-do in Australia, and don’t be surprised if I somehow find a way to smuggle a kangaroo or koala back to the United States (just kidding).

Wish me luck on finals, and I’ll update you more later.

Cheers from down under!

Jen

What’s the best way you can think of to spend your 21^st birthday? Normally, I would probably go to a pub with some friends, have some celebratory champagne, and call it a day. But in Australia…no. It’s go hard or go home! So on my 21^st birthday…I jumped out of an airplane 14,000 feet in the air!!

I know in a previous post I said that I am a wimp, and I still am. But now I can officially say that I am a wimp with guts! The weekend of my birthday, I went with a few friends to SYDNEY. It is an absolutely amazing city. Seeing the Sydney Opera House in person is an indescribable and unreal feeling. It is so beautiful, and fun fact: it’s not actually white! It’s tiled and cream-colored. I even got to touch the Opera House roof! I also hiked up the Blue Mountains, which was very historic and had beautiful scenery. The rising eucalyptus makes the mountains in the distance ACTUALLY look blue. I also went to a bar made completely of ice (it was negative 14 degrees Celsius inside and we had to wear winter coats, boots, and gloves!), hung out with the famous lifeguards at Bondi Beach (yes, from the TV show!), and did a ton of other exciting things.

The Opera House!

Anyway, onto the good stuff: SKYDIVING. Let’s recount the scenario from the very beginning.

I’m all suited up: attractive red body suit with full-fledged harness. I’m on the next plane to depart, meaning I get to watch people on the plane before me partake in the adventure I am about to have. It takes 15 minutes for a plane to reach an altitude of 14,000 feet, so for 15 minutes I pace (more like waddle, thanks to the tight harness) around. My instructor/guide/life savior Rob (you don’t think I would jump out of a plane without being attached to someone, right?) comes over to me and points up. “You see them?” Me: “No…” Rob: “Look, right there.” And after squinting my eyes and REALLY looking, I see this tiny tiny tiny dot. AKA THE AIRPLANE. And then I see a lot of tiny little dots. AKA PEOPLE JUMPING OUT OF THE AIRPLANE. Me: “Wait…those are people? WAY UP THERE?” Rob: “YEAH! You pumped? LET’S GO!”

Thoughts going through my head: “THAT’S RIDICULOUS!” “I’M NOT DOING THAT!” “THERE’S NO WAY THAT’S HAPPENING!” *insert any absurd thought*. To put it lightly, I’m literally freaking out.

So as the people are parachuting downwards, the plane lands, and we GET IN. I actually voluntarily got in the airplane after watching the craziness take place 5 seconds before! (What was I thinking?) We’re sitting in very tight quarters, about 15 people fit into the tiny plane, and then my instructors starts telling me what to do (well mostly what not to do, aka freak out!)

He directs my attention to three lights: Red means “3 minutes,” Yellow means “1 minute,” and Green means “GOOOOOOOOO!” When the door opens, the first person jumps out, and in a very organized manner, everyone jumps in five second intervals. So pretty much once the green light turns on: its show time.

The 15 minute flight to 14,000 feet is beautiful, yes, gorgeous scenery, but I don’t breathe the entire time (or at least that’s what it feels like). RED LIGHT. Rob starts maniacally strapping me up to himself, everyone’s freaking out, and my heart is literally pounding outside my chest. I don’t even see the yellow light. GREEN LIGHT, the door opens and someone jumps. I can’t even explain the fear that passes through me at that moment. I’m not ready, I’m not going to do it, I want to go back to solid ground. But, that’s not an option… My friend goes immediately before me, and hearing her blood-curdling scream as she fell out of the plane makes me even MORE terrified than I already am.

So the moment has arrived. My feet are dangling over the edge of a plane, and I am looking down into nothingness. “You ready?” asks Rob, and before I could scream “NO,” Rob FLINGS himself over me and I’m falling over the edge…

I’m upside down and screaming so loudly, yet no sound is coming out because of the intense winds. I’m SO SCARED as I’m falling, falling, falling and plunging straight to Earth!!!!!! At first I can’t even breathe, but then I calm down, let my arms go free and have a BLAST. I am actually flying!

About 70 seconds later (which seems really long as you’re falling from the sky), Rob pulls out the parachute, and it is a relief to no longer be speeding to the ground. He congratulates me as we’re floating high above the earth. I get to steer the parachute and actually enjoy the beautiful scenery (I even see a CAMEL when we get closer to the ground). We parachute for a while, soaring high above everyone, and then land on our butts, flinging dirt everywhere. Being back on land is a great relief. WHEW: I MADE IT!!!

Seriously, skydiving was the scariest yet coolest thing I’ve ever done. Rob had a camera tied to his wrist the entire time, so my entire journey is documented on film. I get to relive the rush any time I want! I don’t know if I’d honestly do it again anytime soon… I probably aged 5 years up in that plane. But it was the greatest birthday EVER and although I may still be a wimp, I WENT SKYDIVING! I think I can officially say that’s about as extreme as it gets!!!!

That's me...proof I actually did it!

Cheers from down under,

Jen

…and I failed miserably. Well, not miserably. I still had a lot of fun! But let me backtrack. I was able to actually get my body on the surfboard and I also was able to kneel on it (which is quite the accomplishment). Unfortunately, getting from the kneeling to the standing position is harder than it looks. To all those awesome surfers out there: stop making it look so easy! I DID stand for .4 seconds, but then completely wiped out, hit my head with the surf board, and somehow my stomach too. So I guess only obtaining a few minor injuries is not too bad for my first time, right?

Kowabunga dude!

Well I can tell you right now, one thing is certain: I WILL stand up on a surf board before I leave this country! I’ll obviously keep you posted on my attempts!

Cheers from down under!

Jen

Hello friends! I bet you’re wondering what “flat out like a lizard drinking” means. And if you’re not, at least it got your attention! That’s Australian slang for “really busy,” and as you can see, I’ve been really busy! So I’ve just been flat out like a lizard drinking! But in the best way possible.

Hope you all had a good ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day. Some background (though for more information, check out http://www.anzacday.org.au/): ANZAC Day is a day of remembrance for all those Australians and New Zealanders who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during WWI (and subsequently all battles for their countries). On 25 April every year, the two countries stand together in remembering their soldiers and the sacrifices they made. There are a number of services and marches throughout the two countries on ANZAC Day, and I made it to the dawn service this year!

The service started at 4:28 AM, and though waking up at 3:37 (every last minute counts!) was painful, it was totally worth it. ANZAC Square is located in the city of Brisbane, and by the time my friends and I made it down at 4:20 AM, it was completely packed. I would estimate that there were over 500 people, and of every age group imaginable. (I can’t see the really young babies being too happy to be up at that hour, but oh well!)

A veteran’s march began the ceremony and then all lights in the Square were extinguished, except for the Eternal Flame which burned brightly throughout the morning. There were a couple of speakers, a lot of songs and hymns sang, and moments of silence. The most moving part for me was when the entire crowd joined in singing the Australian national anthem. Imagine 500 people of all ages, all standing, hats removed, eyes welling up, and belting the tune that they have known since primary school.

Unfortunately due to the lack of sleep that is paired with waking up way earlier than even the sunrise, I missed the rest of the ANZAC Day events because I went back to bed! I do know there was a large parade throughout the city, as well as singing throughout the streets. See… Australia is about more than just beaches and kangaroos. It’s a very prideful nation and I am thankful that I was able to take part in such a moving ceremony.

In other news, I went to Melbourne last weekend! This was my first time really leaving the state of Queensland (geography lesson: Melbourne is in Victoria), and though I still can’t figure out the proper pronunciation of the city (though I think it is Mel-BUN), it was an amazing place.

Aerial view of the city!

The city is so modern and intricate: I fell in love immediately. From the public transportation system of trams, to the nicely-designed modern buildings, to the traditional and powerful older buildings, to the tall skyscrapers that had me feeling like I was back in NYC, I just couldn’t get enough of frolicking around the city! Sometimes the best days are the ones where you don’t really have a plan and just find things that are entertaining.

That’s how I spent one of my days in Melbourne! We stumbled upon the Queen Victoria Market, which for trinket lovers like me, was amazing. Imagine the largest farmer’s market / flea market / any market you’ve ever been to, and at least triple the size in your head. There was such a wide range of things being sold: from fresh fruit, to aboriginal art, to t-shirts, to sporting equipment, to jewelry, to hot food, etc. Pretty much anything you can think of!

One of the many entrances to the Queen Victoria Market

After spending too much time at the Market, we went on the FREE Tourist Shuttle, which takes you to popular destinations throughout the city. We stopped at the harbor (very nice, but not as nice as the Brisbane River!), the Olympic Training Centre (saw some intense hockey games and ice skaters!), the Eureka Skydeck (the tallest residential building in the Southern Hemisphere: the view from the 88^th floor is breathtaking), and even went to see a comedy show as a part of Melbourne’s Comedy Festival.

And what’s a trip to Melbourne without seeing baby penguins? That’s right, baby penguins come out at dusk in Phillip’s Island and also on the St. Kilda dock. Since we weren’t allowed to use flash on our cameras (though some people broke the rules and did!) my pictures didn’t come out TOO great, but look: how cute is that penguin? Fun fact: penguins actually waddle!

BABY PENGUIN! Sorry it's so dark!

The highlight of the trip was definitely the Great Ocean Road tour that my friends and I took. The Great Ocean Road is pretty much just a really beautiful huge stretch of ocean that lies parallel to a lot of towns and to the roads in Victoria. I don’t know how else to describe it (maybe google it for more information?) Anyway, driving along the Great Ocean Road was indescribable. All I have to say is that I’m really glad I wasn’t the one driving, because we totally would have crashed as I stared at the beautiful scenery! The bus stopped at a few places along the three different coasts of the Great Ocean Road, and each one was more beautiful than the next.

A stop on the Great Ocean Road!

Some of our stops included Bells Beach (one of Australia’s largest surfing beaches), Kennett River (known for its abundance of koalas! Fun fact: eucalyptus is toxic to humans in large quantities and koalas eat the equivalent of only one cereal bowl filled of eucalyptus a day. That’s why their metabolisms are so slow and they’re so lethargic. Imagine eating just one bowl of cereal all day every day!), little beach towns (which have the best gelato ever!), a rainforest (I’m a pro bushwalker now), the gorge where the Loch Ard shipwreck occurred, and just some beautiful lookouts along the road. We also saw London Bridge. While sadly this London Bridge was not the true inspiration for the song, it did, indeed, fall down.

Rainforest!

London Bridge (is falling down!)

I obviously had to post the picture of a koala!

But what’s a Great Ocean Road tour without seeing the touristy/most famous spot? The Twelve Apostles are rock formations in the water. It is the second most photographed landmark in Australia aside from the Sydney Opera House! It’s pretty cool/unsettling to see how erosion is eating away at the rocks, and I believe there are only 8 Apostles left! (But don’t worry, I took enough pictures to document these 8 Apostles forever).

The Twelve Apostles ... well some of them!

In conclusion, Melbourne is a really really cool city. If I had the opportunity, I would definitely go back. And if you have the opportunity to go, you should definitely take it. Well now it’s midsemester exam time (yuck!) so I guess I better get working on those papers that I have to write…

Cheers from down under!

Jen

Hello! So I’m back from Easter Break as a completely changed person. I traveled to Heron Island (the Great Barrier Reef) and the Whitsundays…two of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. So how have I changed, you may ask, aside from the fact that I’ll never again be content with water that isn’t the most beautiful shade of turquoise you’ve ever seen? While I was away, I had an epiphany. More like an amazing discovery: there are some extremely awesome jobs out there!

I study advertising and marketing, and don’t get me wrong, it’s great…but why would I sit in an office in front of a computer all day when I could be sailing a boat on the Whitsundays? Or snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef all day? Or driving an ocean raft that goes up to 100 mph from island to island? Who knows where my future will take me, but hopefully it will be somewhere that promotes travel!

Anyway, this could be an extremely long post, so in an attempt to not bore you and have you stab out your eyes from reading a computer screen for too long, I will tell you only about the highlights of my trip! For more intense detail, let me know, for talking about it never gets old : )

Heron Island is a remote, small island on the Great Barrier Reef: walking around the entire island will literally take you 20 minutes, it’s that small. But its size doesn’t compromise its beauty, it was gorgeous. Very well kempt, bright blue waters, and white, smooth sand. This was another class trip with my Marine Environment class, so after settling it, it was straight to snorkeling!

Heron Island: so pretty!

After finally finding a mask that fit my face correctly (I must have a big face because water kept coming in my first few masks!) I learned to LOVE snorkeling. We did a bunch of snorkels: including a “deep-sea snorkel” where we went into really deep waters. I can’t even remember all of the cool creatures that we saw, but here are some of the highlights: SHARKS!! (small ones, but still…how cool?), huge turtles, baby turtles, sting rays, squid, sea cucumbers, colorful clams, and so many fish. Not to mention the beautiful coral!

Some shark and some fish! (My tutor took this photo...I didn't have an underwater camera)

The coolest thing about snorkeling is how there is such a different world underneath the water. It’s truly like Finding Nemo: there are so many creatures and so many fish that it’s like they’re just having their own party without even realizing that there are humans alive. They don’t care, they’ll just swim around you. At one point I was swimming amongst so many fish that I felt like I was one of them. And then when you come up for a breath of air, and see the surface of the water and the sky, it’s just such a different world.

One of the nights we even did a night snorkel. It was 9PM and pitch black, so every snorkeler had a glow stick attached to their snorkel and we all got torches. It was SO SCARY, yet so awesome. These fish called “Hardy fish” literally swim on top of you. I’m surprised one didn’t get down my wet suit! And they make this clicking noise that is very audible in the stillness of the night. We saw sleeping turtles and fish, and there are luminescent bacteria that light up when you flick your hand in the water back and forth. We even saw a sleeping shark ray. It’s a sting ray with a shark fin, and even though it was sleeping, I still flipped out a little bit. Seeing the underworld at night is possibly even cooler than seeing it during the daytime!

Baby Turtle! Only 1 in 1000 survive :(

Now on to the Whitsundays, which are 74 islands in Northern Queensland, close to Cairns. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen in my entire life and one day I WILL live there.

After flying in to Hamilton Island, my friends and I got on the ferry that would take us to our first destination, Airlie Beach. We literally didn’t talk for an hour because it was just the most beautiful sight in the world. The water was SO turquoise and SO crisp and SO clear, it was breathtaking. I must have about 120 pictures of just the water (sadly I’m not exaggerating).

I had my first true hostel experience (no I have not seen the movie Hostel nor do I plan to so please don’t even bring that up!!!) and it was REALLY COOL. I met the best people ever. We met so many backpackers that it has inspired me to become a backpacker at some point in my life!

I went on a sailboat with 23 other people, a 2 day 1 night trip. Everyone was really awesome, and there were only 4 Americans (including me and Angie!) People came from Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, England, France, etc. I was impressed that everyone spoke pretty good English. Because the weather was SO beautiful (apparently it had rained for the past 2 weeks, but for us it was over 90 degrees) it wasn’t prime conditions for sailing, but it was PERFET conditions for postcard-esque pictures and just relaxing on a boat!

Snorkeling at the Whitsundays was really cool: the coral was much more colorful than it was on Heron, and I saw a HUGE fish whose nickname is “Fat Albert.” We all chased him to try and get a good look: he’s literally half my size! And I’m pretty tall!

Whitehaven Beach is a beach with PURE white sand that never gets hot. It’s made of pure silica, and apparently you can polish your silver in it! The Lookout at Whitehaven is absolutely breathtaking.. Oh man. The pictures don’t do it justice, but you’re just looking out onto swirling white sand and beautiful blue water…so awesome.

My friend Angie and I at the Whitehaven Beach lookout

I slept on the deck of the boat (under the stars!) and saw the sunrise in the A.M. It actually got pretty cold at night (and wet from morning dew) but it’s awesome to see how calm and serene the water is so early in the morning. Also, apparently turtles take a HUGE breath of air and then hold their breath while they sleep the entire night, so in the early hours of the morning you can see (and hear) the turtles coming to the surface to gasp for air. That was cool also. But from the SECOND the sun rose in the morning, it was literally sweltering hot again. For those of you who don’t know me, I am the biggest fan of sun and the heat there is. The hotter it is, the better. But by the end of that second day I was sick of the sun. SHOCKING RIGHT? Me, actually sick of the sun? On the boat there’s no shade whatsoever! And there were no clouds! I did get some pretty good color though : )

Sunrise on the Whitsundays!

On the way back to Airlie Beach we were able to sail the boat because we were traveling in the same direction as the wind. We learned all about it, and then me and 2 other girls hoisted the sail. It’s actually a really hard thing and I got rope burn on 2 of my fingers and my arms actually hurt! By the time you get to the very top of it it gets SO HEAVY, we needed one of the captains to come and help us hoist it the rest of the way. But sailing is so serene and peaceful. It’s so awesome that the crew on the boat does it for a LIVING (hence my new life epiphany).

Well I totally just “talked your ears off” and there’s more to say but those were the highlights! As you can tell it was an AMAZING break, and if you EVER have the chance to go to the Whitsundays, please do! And TAKE ME WITH YOU!

Well if you made it this far, then wow…good job! Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed experiencing/writing : )

Cheers from down under!

Jen

Before you read this blog post, I have to make a confession: I’m a wimp. I’m afraid of heights, spiders scare me to no end, and not gonna lie, I’m not a huge fan of the dark either. Now that you know that, I think we’re ready to move on.

At midnight on Friday March 26, I got on a bus from the Gold Coast to Mount Warning (I know…what a daunting name). At 1AM, along with about 30 others, I began my 3 hour journey up the mountain. Mount Warning is technically located in New South Wales, and in the winter, is the first place in Australia (and arguably the world) to see the sunrise! I have never actually seen the sun RISE (sunset, yes, but sunrise?)

Within the first 5 minutes I was completely out of breath and second-guessing my sanity. It was PITCH BLACK…so dark that I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. Luckily we all had little torches (flashlights), but little sounds in the night are 150% magnified when your sole source of light is from a little tiny torch in your hand.

The hike up wasn’t TOO bad. There were a ton of stairs and sharp turns, but my hiking partners and I occupied ourselves by telling jokes and playing games. I even tried starting a round of “I spy with my little eye…” (I’m kidding…all we could really “spy” was mud on the ground). So the mountain wasn’t TOO bad until about 3:20 AM. That’s when our group leader said “Oh we’re almost at the top!”

Now I’ll never trust anyone saying “we’re almost there” ever again. In front of us was the steepest incline I’ve ever seen, along with a rusty chain that we had to use to propel ourselves up against the rocks. I was almost ready to turn around and call it quits, but I had made it so far so I was determined. It was hard to get up since we had to grab the rope with one hand while holding the torch in the right angle with the other, meanwhile trying to balance ourselves. I kept telling myself that I was almost there, but it seemed never-ending.

I wasn't lying when I said it was a steep cliff...

After a lot of work, we FINALLY MADE IT to the top of the mountain!!!!! The feeling of relief and accomplishment once we reached the top was extremely satisfying. I can’t even describe the amount of stars that were in the sky. We were high above the ground and I felt so close to them. I just wanted to grab some and put them in my pocket. That would be the ultimate souvenir!

After a nice little barbeque (yes, at 4 in the morning!), and some hot chocolate, we prepared for the sunrise. And at 5:00 AM on the dot, it began. It started getting a little lighter, and then a little bit more lighter, and even a little bit lighter, and finally there it was. The purple, pink, amazing clouds and the sun rising so brightly in the sky. The stars faded away as the sun came out to play, and it was so beautiful and breathtaking that we all just stood there staring.

sunrise on Mount Warning

Going down the mountain may have even been worse since we could actually SEE how scary the mountain was and how high up we were. Aside from the fact that I’m still limping when I walk and my whole body is extremely sore, it was probably the coolest thing I’ve done in Australia so far! The 8.8 km, 6 hour hike was totally worth it, and I’m slowly but surely conquering my fear of heights (and subsequently becoming much less of a wimp!) I was high above the clouds so not only was I one of the first people in the world to see the sunrise, but I was LITERALLY on cloud nine the entire time.

Cheers from down under!

Jen

Hello! Current time: 12:09 PM. Current temperature: 27 degrees Celsius (see, I’m learning! By the way, that translates to 81 degrees Fahrenheit for my fellow non-metric-system users). Clear evidence of why this place is awesome. I could rave about the weather for years, so let’s move on. This weekend I went to Moreton Bay on North Stradbroke Island with my Marine Environment class, and though I’m still catching up on sleep, it was a great trip!

We left bright and early on Friday morning (7AM … aka start sleep-walking to campus at 6). Only 2ish hours away on bus and ferry, anticipation was high (as was incidents of people nodding off). After a brief safety lesson, which was pretty much 100 ways to avoid poisonous creatures and other deathly accidents, we got down to business. It was straight to the rooms to change into bathing suits and awkward-tan-line-giving water shoes ($9 at Wal-Mart…score!) The water was really calm and blue, the sky was sunny and clear…aka it was the perfect day to wade around in the water.

Beautiful View on Moreton Bay

We did some seine netting (taking a humongous net deep into the water and capturing millions of unsuspecting fish and sea creatures), as well as just walking and observing. The coolest thing was that the fact that since the water was so shallow, we were really far from the share and it was as if we were walking on water. We encountered so many creatures (lots of which I have pictures for but have forgotten the names) but I’ll rattle off as many as I can: a stingray, needlefish, squirt fish, (poisonous) stone fish, (poisonous) “happy moment” fish (it’s called happy moment because before you die, the poison makes you really happy…something like that), eels, squids, blowfish, crabs, sea cucumbers (creepy long cucumber-esque creatures with no eyes that squirt water at you when you squeeze them), starfish, an octopus, other poisonous fish (“DON’T TOUCH THAT”, the tutors would scream), other non-poisonous fish, etc.

But probably the coolest creatures that we encountered were actually on dry land (random sand patches in the midst of all the water). Soldier crabs are long-legged crabs with blue backs, and they travel in packs. So there was literally a parade of HUNDREDS of soldier crabs.

I felt like I was in Harry Potter when they go to Aragog’s cave and all the spiders are chasing Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The only difference is that the solider crabs are easily scared, so while all of us students went chasing them to get good pictures, they would burrow themselves into the ground.

After wading through the beautiful sunset, eating a surprisingly scrumptious dinner of chicken and SWEET POTATOES (my favorite!), and showering off the sea (4 showers for 50 kids…do the math), we mentally prepared ourselves for our 5:30 AM wakeup call the next morning. We had to “maximize the potential of the low tide” in order to complete group projects that we had been assigned. But let me move on to the most exciting part of the trip, Sunday at the “touristy” side of Stradbroke Island (the place you would take your parents while they’re visiting to show off Australia’s extreme beauty).

As we’re driving to get to our destination, the bus stops and people start pointing at a random tree. Why, you may ask? I don’t know how anyone even spotted it, but there it was, hanging on for dear life. A KOALA!!!!! I haven’t been to the zoo yet, so my first koala sighting in Australia was in the wild! It was the cutest little thing ever, though it must have been so scared since there were a ton of crazy people hopping off the bus to take pictures. And to make the day even better than it already was, as we’re walking past the beautiful oceans and cliffs, there was… a KANGAROO!!!! Yes, a koala and kangaroo sighting on the same day! Kangaroos are my favorite animal in the whole world so you can only imagine my high-pitched squeal of delight when I saw my first live kangaroo. It was practically the best moment of my life. (Okay that’s an exaggeration- but it was such an amazing thing to experience!)

Koala!

Kangaroo :)

We saw sharks (literally 2 feet from the docks—pretty scary!), dolphins, dugongs (manatee-like creatures), large sea turtles, many tropical fish, swans, and other awesome things. I probably saw more marine-life/wildlife this weekend than I ever had in my whole life! I learned a lot and enjoyed every second of it. The scenery was beautiful, I felt like I was walking in a postcard. Let me just say, it’s been great sleeping in my own bed again though!

Well that’s all for now…cheers from down under!

Jen

Music is an important part of everyday life. However, since I’ve arrived in Brisbane a month ago, I haven’t even turned on my I-Pod once. I haven’t craved any TV time, and aside from keeping in touch with my family and friends, I haven’t really needed the Internet either. Technology just seems so trivial when you’re living in a place as beautiful as Australia.

My name is Jen Alberts, and I am an international student from the USA. I live in New York and am honoured to be one of UQ’s student Study Abroad & Exchange bloggers for Semester 1, 2010. Check back to find out details of how I’m finally living my dream of coming to Australia. It’s hard to believe I boarded a plane (for an 18-hour flight!) exactly one month ago from today, but things couldn’t be better and I couldn’t be happier. I can finally say I’ve fully adjusted to the 15-hour time difference, the laid back lifestyle, and the beauty that is Aussieland.

For starters, I’ve never heard so many birds chirping at the same time. Aside from the beautiful sight of six different species of birds flapping and flailing around by the UQ campus lakes, the melodies these bird calls create is brilliant. It’s so soothing, I almost want to record it and play it before I go to bed every night. Spotting a lorikeet, an astonishing rainbow coloured parrot, is always enough to make my day.

I’m not a huge fan of creepy-crawlers, but there are a million of them here. The spiders are the size of my FISTS (and I’m not exaggerating), and if you drop even a crumb of food on the ground, you better watch out for an army of ants. At night, bats squeak and fidget in the trees, and sometimes even fly very close to your head. I guess you can’t blame them, since they’re blind, but a bat peed on my head the other night and I still haven’t forgiven it!

Taking the public ferry, the City Cat, and standing in the front, gives you a rush of energy like no other. The wind whistles in your ears as you fly across the rippling Brisbane River, and you almost want to pull a Titanic, and let your hands fly over the edge. Even just taking the bus is an adventure, because if you don’t hold on, you WILL fall down (most of the time on top of a poor, unsuspecting passenger).

I’ve only been here a short month and already know these things because I’ve spent so much time exploring. The UQ campus is humongous and stunning, and there are so many places to discover. For example, there is a little hidden picnic area facing the lakes, and I would never have noticed that had I not walked around with open eyes. The public transportation seems daunting, trust me, but it is pretty simple once you know what to do. There is so much to learn about the people, the location, the history, and the way of life, and I am so excited to fill my brain with all the knowledge of Australia it can possibly hold.

I’ve only been here a little while, and I’m already upset that I have to leave in four months. There’s so much to do, so many sights to see. Advice for current students: put the technology away. Say goodbye to the I-Pod and just listen to the amazing sounds that nature has to provide. Stop watching TV and take a walk through the lush green parks. And aside from reading this blog, spend less time on the Internet and go make the most out of your life! Advice for future students: You’re going to have the best time. The long flight will be worth every second. The work you might have to make up at your home university will be worth every library visit. I’ll use the Aussie motto to say it best: “No worries!”

Until next time, cheers from down under!

Jen