Friends.

On Friday I finished my last day of classes for the semester. We now have a week off before the 2 week exam period begins. I am one of the lucky ones that only has one exam, and it falls at the beginning so I will be done with the semester on November 3. I can’t believe how quickly the semester has gone by. It is hard to believe I have less than 3 weeks in Australia and just under a month left in this part of the world. I am excited to come home and see everyone but I will miss Australia and all my new friends over here. I thought I would share some photos of some of those friends with you today.

Two of my friends from my BIOL3005 class. In Australia it seems to be common to refer to courses by their number rather the subject or title. Lael is on the left and Sheila is on the right.

This is a picture from Trish’s birthday and includes several of my friends who live in my apartment or the building. From left to right: Tyler (PA), Mike, Amanda (IN), Jess (MN), Natalie (CA), Trish (PA), Daniel (Germany), Hannah (Scottland), Annalena (Germany) and of course me .

The last group of pictures are of some of my friends from Impact, a Christian group I have gotten involved with on campus. I’m gonna miss these people .

A large portion of the impact crew.

Mindy, Josie, Allie and Kirsten.

Me, Jillian and Allie.

Let’s be silly.

Springtime in Australia, Tim Tams & Random Musings

Exams are just around the corner and as a result I have spent the past weekend and week frantically at work on some assignments that are due shortly. I will leave you with this collection of observations while I get back to work.

Springtime.

Spring is here in Australia. I was originally a bit disappointed to realise I would be missing my favorite season (fall) back home and the colours that accompany it; however, spring in Queensland more than makes up for it. Instead of fall colours there are bright pinks, yellows, purples and oranges as all of the trees and plants are flowering despite the drought. My favourite trees are the Jacaranda trees: they are bright purple this time of year. I have never seen anything quite like it and they are absolutely beautiful. To make it even better they are every where livening up what was a brown landscape. I imagine if I were to stay around Australia for all four seasons this would be one of my favourite, although winter might be a close second because the temperature is that much more bearable.

Tim Tams.

Erica reminded me in my last post that I have not shared the amazingness of Tim Tams with you yet. I am not sure I will be able to do these cookies justice in words but I’ll try. Tim Tams are the quintessential Australian cookie. They are made by Arnott’s which seem to have a monopoly on the cookie and snack industry in Australia. The basis for the cookie is chocolate and nothing but chocolate: it consists of two chocolate cookie pieces that have a layer of chocolate between them and are covered by chocolate on the outside. They come in many different flavours: original is quite good, although my favourite would have to be the double-coat variety which has been dipped in chocolate twice giving it more structure which is especially beneficial in the current heat when the cookies get a bit soft. Other flavours include: coffee, toffee, caramel, dark chocolate, raspberry and more.

Click here to See the Inside of Tim Tams!

Tim tams are good eaten alone; however, once you have eaten them the Aussie way there is no going back. The experience has many names, but my favourite is teh “Tim Tam Explosion”. You need a hot beverage (tea, coffee or my personal choice hot chocolate) and a tim tam. You bite off a bit from two diagonally opposite corners of the cookie and use the Tim Tam as a straw. The moment you start to taste the liquid it is necessary to shove the cookie into your mouth (unless you desire a huge mess). The melted, gooey cookie is absolutely delicious. The Aussie’s have something going here .

Australian Money

I will miss Australian money, although not Australian prices. The money here is very pretty – it puts our new coloured bills to shame – and interestingly designed. As the domination increases the length of the bill also increases. Not only does the colour help you find the desired bill quickly but the size difference actually is informative when you are busy doing something else (like talking) and aren’t really looking at what you are doing.

Driving Aussie Style.

This past weekend I went to see the movie Michael Clayton with some friends. The movie was pretty good but more significant to me was the numerous driving scenes in the movie. The first time one came up I was quite shocked. The cars were of course driven on the US side of the road and I couldn’t believe how wrong that looked to me. Every time a scene came up I was still caught off guard. I never imagined that the driving on the left would become normal to me but apparently it has sunk in more than I would have thought. It took me 3 months to fully get used to this system, I wonder how long it will take me to convert back to the old system I’m used to. Hopefully not too long — I really didn’t like numerous close calls I had early in the semester .

Australia Capital Territory: Canberra

The Floriade Festival, Canberra.

This weekend I set off to experience Canberra: the capital city of Australia. It is set up much like Washington DC, as Canberra is located in the Australian Capital Territory which is distinct from the 7 states. Canberra was established in the early 1900s. It’s location close to New South Wales is also interesting as at the time Canberra was established, New South Wales felt that it was successful enough to function on its own. Location of the capital close to the state was a condition of their remaining part of the country. Although the capital city is relatively “new” it was interesting to learn more about Australian government and the history of the country.

A tribute to the surf at the Floriade Festival.

My first day in Canberra I visited the Floriade Festival. This month long annual festival consists of numerous gardens – the majority of which included tulips. The theme for this year was Aussie icons with the garden beds depicting famous Australia sites, people, past times and inventions. Some of the “icons” included: the surf, Uluru, Tim-Tams (the most delicious cookie ever), the Melbourne cricket stadium and more! Since it was the last weekend of the festival many of the tulips had already passed their prime but the gardens were beautiful none-the-less.

Floriade!

Uluru in Flowers.

In the afternoon I visited the National Museum of Australia. This museum is a relatively new addition to Canberra but was fascinating place to go. I especially enjoyed the exhibits about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It was interesting to gain a larger perspective on the indigenous history, both past and present, of Australia. I have really enjoyed learning more about this aspect of Australia during my time here and the large focus of this museum was of extra enjoyment for me.

A view from Canberra. This is of the Captain Cook Memorial Jet that shot water out of the lake. I especially like this shot because you can see a rainbow in the mist.

I spent my second day in Canberra on a walking tour, exploring all of the capital city sights. I started the day at the Parliament House which opened in 1988. Because it is such a new building, the structure is very modern. Although I’m not usually a huge fan of modern architecture, I did like the amount of light that the design allowed in. The design was also neat because you were able to go on top of the roof (the building is built into a hill so the roof is grass). From here there were great views of the city.

The Parliament House.

My next stop was the Old Parliament House. It was built as a temporary structure following World War I because Australia didn’t have the money to build the real intended building. Although I thought the building was quite nice looking (especially some of the decoration in the main areas inside), close inspection of the building reveals the temporary nature of it. Despite these short lived plans, the building was in use for 61 years, making it quite the long-used temporary structure.

Old Parliament House

A Sample of Some Aboriginal Artwork at the National Gallery of Australia.

From here I ventured on to the National Gallery of Australia. This museum has an extensive collection of Australian art; however, I focused on the Aboriginal art section as it caught my attention the most. Not only is the style and colour very interesting to look at, but the stories that go with the pictures is even more interesting. It takes what appears to be a simple piece of artwork and adds another dimension to it, making the artwork that much more meaningful.

War Memorial

My last stop of the day was at the National War Memorial. The mall leading up to memorial is lined by several memorials to the different wars that Australian soldiers have been involved in. The memorial at the end of the mall is quite impressive. It contains the tomb of an unknown Australian soldier and a memorial to all Australian soldiers who have died in combat. The “basement” of the memorial contains a museum explaining and depicting Australian involvement in the major wars. It was interesting to learn about these things from an Australian perspective but I was pressed for time at this point and didn’t get to experience the exhibits as much as I would have liked.

Memorial Wall.

The Memorial to Australia and New Zealand’s Partnership. (ANZAC)

I spent my last morning in Canberra walking around part of the lake and visiting the Old Bus Depot Markets. The markets had a lot to offer and I enjoyed seeing the many crafts – especially some of the hats made out of yarn. They were quite intricate. There was also a really amazing musician who played the didgeridoo, guitar and drums together. He was quite entertaining to watch and very good making it an enjoyment for most of the people attending the market.

The next week and a half or so will be very busy as the last day of class is quickly approaching. I can’t believe how quickly the end is approaching. As exciting as it will be to see everyone back home, I’m not quite ready to leave…good thing I still have 6 weeks .

Gold Coast: Surfer’s Paradise

By a surfboard at surfer’s paradise.

I opted for a quieter weekend this week both as a break from all the traveling I did over the holidays and with the hope that I would get a jump start on the many papers I have coming due at the end of the semester (just a mere 3 weeks away for most of my classes – yikes!). The productivity of the weekend may be debatable — I didn’t get as much as I would have liked to done, but then my goals might have been a bit unrealistic, but I can now at least say I have started most of my assessments.

Surfer’s Paradise

In order to spice up the weekend a bit (and knowing there was no way I could do homework for three days straight ) I decided to use my Friday to visit the beach. Brisbane is about 20 minutes (guessing here) from the coast but there isn’t really any beach there. There are, however, beaches nearby, including the Sunshine Coast (to the north) and the Gold Coast (to the south). The Sunshine Coast (which I visited earlier in the year with my family) is regarded as the more natural beach – lots of national parks and such – whereas the Gold Coast is a bit more commercial and is where a lot of the big theme parks – like seaworld – are located. Since I haven’t been to the Gold Coast yet I decided it was time to check it out. My friend Amanda (UK) and I hopped on a train/bus in the morning for the two hour trip to Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast.

The Beach

The beach was much like many Australian Beaches I’ve been to: soft sand, crystal clear water and coast that seems to stretch forever. Unlike other beaches I’ve been to during my time abroad it was actually warm enough to be in a swimsuit and the water was warm enough to swim in (at least in combination with the sun)! It was the middle of the spring holiday for public schools in the area so the beach was pretty busy, especially in between the flags signifying where you can swim (because it is safest and lifeguards are on duty).

Swim Between the Flags!

Needless to say it was a fun day. We both had a book along and spent the day hanging out on the beach reading and enjoying the waves. And now I can say I have swam on both sides of the Pacific Ocean!

Torres Strait Islander Crafts

Sorry if the pictures weren’t working earlier. It should be now .

Today in my Torres Strait Islander Studies class we got to learn more about the Torres Strait Island culture by learning about and trying some of the weaving crafts made from palm leaves. I really enjoyed it and thought we made some cool things so I though I would share pictures of the finish product with you. Enjoy!

Grasshopper Toy. It has a long stick with which to make it hop along the ground.

Basket.

Top View of Basket.