Life in Toowoomba is an interesting thing. I’ve been in classes for nearly 2 weeks and compared to Grove City academics, USQ classes are a breeze. I spent a total of 4 hours on Tuesday learning how to calculate the median and mean for my statistics class, so let’s just say I’m not too worried about failing. Along with statistics, I’m taking a basic biology class, an online business law class, and an advanced international business class (where 17 other international students and I get to sit in wheely chairs for 3 hours every Friday.) So the academic part is going OK; it certainly gives me a lot more free time than I would back in PA.
I also started my job last weekend and have 2 more shifts this weekend, which is exciting. The people are nice, and it’s usually pretty busy which keeps it fun. Right now I’m just running food out to tables but soon, I’ll be trained and then I’ll be a real waitress… I had to get a bike (because taxiing from downtown to USQ was ridiculously expensive) and the bus systems stops at about 5 PM every day here in the small town of Toowoomba. It’s getting delivered today and it’s hot pink so I’m (obviously) pretty excited about that.
But my life in Australia would be no fun if it was all just school and work, right? That’s why I’m leaving for New Zealand in 3 weeks! 3 of my friends here and I just bought our tickets to go to the southern island of New Zealand over uni holiday and we will be there from April 2nd- 20th. We are still deciding on if we are going to go through a tour company to see the whole island or if we’re going to plan our own trip, so we shall see. I have no idea what to expect in NZ so I’ll have to do some research.
Some random things about life here: They have drive-through bottle shops (what they call liquor stores) which I find odd because drinking and driving is illegal here… hmmm… There’s also no stop signs; only roundabouts which I think is very cool and something I wish we did in the States. Random things here are inexpensive/expensive, like you can get a pineapple for $1 but a candy bar costs at least $2.50. Guess I’ll be eating healthier… Although Domino’s delivers medium 4-topping pizzas here for $5.50 on Tuesdays. Perhaps not…
3.12.2009
3.03.2009
To All of You American Girls
So after living in Toowoomba for a few weeks, here are a few things I've noticed.
1.) There are crickets everywhere. Like lying dead on my carpet or in my shower. Ew.
2.) I’ve already grown accustomed to looking to the right side first when crossing the street. Which means I might die being hit by a car when I return to the US.
3.) Perk: Every Wednesday someone comes in to change my sheets and vacuum my room. Even my mom doesn’t do that.
4.) Because of the humidity, my hair takes probably a good 10 or 15 minutes to blow dry.
5.) The giant window that takes up my whole wall is always open, even at night.
6.) It always startles me when I hear the birds that sound like they are cat-calling right outside my window.
7.) All the dirt here is red or black because Toowoomba used to be a volcanic site… or something like that.
8.) They don’t have bagels here. Like I don’t even think they know what they are. I’m craving a Panera Asiago Cheese Bagel with cream cheese like crazy.
In other news, I just got a job! I start this Friday working at the Hog's Breath Cafe (which is less like a cafe and more like a restuarant) running tables. Classes have been OK (A lot easier than at GCC which is a refreshing change) and they leave me a lot of freetime which gives me time to enjoy the sun :)
1.) There are crickets everywhere. Like lying dead on my carpet or in my shower. Ew.
2.) I’ve already grown accustomed to looking to the right side first when crossing the street. Which means I might die being hit by a car when I return to the US.
3.) Perk: Every Wednesday someone comes in to change my sheets and vacuum my room. Even my mom doesn’t do that.
4.) Because of the humidity, my hair takes probably a good 10 or 15 minutes to blow dry.
5.) The giant window that takes up my whole wall is always open, even at night.
6.) It always startles me when I hear the birds that sound like they are cat-calling right outside my window.
7.) All the dirt here is red or black because Toowoomba used to be a volcanic site… or something like that.
8.) They don’t have bagels here. Like I don’t even think they know what they are. I’m craving a Panera Asiago Cheese Bagel with cream cheese like crazy.
In other news, I just got a job! I start this Friday working at the Hog's Breath Cafe (which is less like a cafe and more like a restuarant) running tables. Classes have been OK (A lot easier than at GCC which is a refreshing change) and they leave me a lot of freetime which gives me time to enjoy the sun :)
3.01.2009
Island in the Sun
So far my time in Toowoomba, while it started out difficult, has felt like an extended summer vacation. And our little trip to Surfer’s Paradise didn’t help me feel more prepared to go back to class after a 10 week break. But the coast was SO fun. The 9 of us left Thursday morning taking the city bus into the Bus Interchange here in town where we loaded our stuff into a big shuttle van that was going to Brisbane. After the 2 hour shuttle, we took the Brisbane train to the Gold Coast, then took a bus to Surfer’s Paradise, and then a taxi to our hostel. So after 6 long hours of traveling, we finally made it to the beach! The hostel we stayed in was nice, and felt like a little bungalow right across the street from the beach. We dropped our stuff off in our ridiculously hot rooms and then sprinted over to the coast. It was absolutely beautiful! I haven’t been swimming in salt water in as long as I can remember, so that took me aback, but the water was so warm, it was nearly bathwater. The beach was so beautiful and clean and the sand squeaked when you walked across it. After swimming in the crashing waves (they probably averaged about 1.5 meters the whole time we were there, some getting to be probably 2 meters!) we played volleyball, but not before I got my first jellyfish sting! After everyone told me about all the poisonous animals here in AUS, I felt 3 little bites on my foot and saw a little blue tentacle sticking out of it. I panicked, but they were really tiny jellyfish so the sting didn’t last for more than a few hours.
After swimming, we went back across the street to this little marina that our hostel was right in front of and checked out all the nice yachts and parasailing companies. We went out for dinner and got gelato at this little place next door which was nice. Fun fact: all the bars/restaurants here all have signs on the door saying “No thongs or singlets.” We knew that thongs were flip flops, but we wanted to know what singlets were, so we asked. I was under the impression that singlets were those things that wrestlers wear which is why I was confused that they would need a sign, but it turns out that singlets are tank tops, although the rule is more for guys than girls. We walked down the beach at night which was a little eerie, and then came back and played games on the balcony outside our rooms which was a relaxing way to end our first day outside of Toowoomba.
On Friday, we woke up expecting to go surfing in the morning but it was all booked so we just decided to spend the morning at the beach. We packed lunches and headed down to the beach. For being a very touristy city (it kind of reminded me of Miami) the beach was fairly empty. We lathered up on sunscreen since the Australian rays here are wicked hot, but we all ended up getting a little burnt. In the afternoon, we were all drained from the sun so we decided to head over to the mall that was right next door. It was a smaller mall, but kind of reminded me of Somerset in MI because it was really ritzy and had all these nice boutiques and this really nice art gallery (although I would never walk around Somerset with a bathing suit on). Also, at McDonalds here, they sell their ice cream cones for 50 cents! (Which is really only about 33 cents US). Jealous? The whole day was very relaxed; all the showers we took were cold ones, we wore sunscreen and aloe instead of make-up, and we took naps whenever we wanted to. Before dinner, we played a game of Monopoly (which has Aussie money) and surprisingly I won, despite the fact that Brandon wasn’t there to bribe me to play with extra money and properties. For dinner, we had a BBQ on the patio that the hostel provided for us. We had heard that there was this farmer’s market downtown on Friday nights, so we headed down to the main strip expecting to stock up on groceries for the weekend, but it turned out that it was more of a craft fair and actually reminded me of Dexter Days, but it was still fun. The walk home from the main strip took about an hour on the beach but it was nice to see the stars that we don’t have in the Northern Hemisphere.
On Saturday, we had booked surfing lessons in the morning so after making breakfast, we got a ride to the main strip and suited up with our sun protective tops, lots of sunscreen and our surfboards. There was a group of about 20 of us and we started on the beach learning technique and then we got into the water to just try and paddle with a wave. After we had all gotten the hang of it, we tried getting up on the board. It took a couple of tries, but I was successfully able to stand up! It’s actually not as hard as I thought it might be and I felt like I was straight out of the movie Blue Crush. Very cool. We all got up several times and it was a blast… Also our instructor said I did really well at one point, so I feel like that counts for something. :) Our lesson was over by noon so we got lunch on the strip and walked around for a bit before we went back to hang out/nap. That night, we went out to this club called Melba’s which was very Hollywood and surreal, but definitely fun and a great way to end a day of surfing.
We woke up on Sunday, packed up our stuff and went to the beach for the last time. None of us wanted to burn our burns, so we weren’t out for that long, and then we just hung out until we took a ridiculously expensive taxi back to the Gold Coast. From there, we took the train to Brisbane and the shuttle back to Toowoomba. It was a bit sad to go back but it was a great beginning of school vacation. The atmosphere there was different- it was a definite tourist destination, but it was still relaxed and I felt like I was staying at someone’s beach house for the weekend. One other interesting thing I noticed was that EVERYONE wears surf brands like Billabong, Roxy, Ripcurl, etc and it made me want to come home as a surfer girl. We’ll see…
Classes started today and they don’t look to be that hard. I’m trying to get all my books/class timetables together but it should be good. I’m putting up pictures on Facebook soon and I’ll try and get some up on the blog so you all have proof that I actually surfed. :)
After swimming, we went back across the street to this little marina that our hostel was right in front of and checked out all the nice yachts and parasailing companies. We went out for dinner and got gelato at this little place next door which was nice. Fun fact: all the bars/restaurants here all have signs on the door saying “No thongs or singlets.” We knew that thongs were flip flops, but we wanted to know what singlets were, so we asked. I was under the impression that singlets were those things that wrestlers wear which is why I was confused that they would need a sign, but it turns out that singlets are tank tops, although the rule is more for guys than girls. We walked down the beach at night which was a little eerie, and then came back and played games on the balcony outside our rooms which was a relaxing way to end our first day outside of Toowoomba.
On Friday, we woke up expecting to go surfing in the morning but it was all booked so we just decided to spend the morning at the beach. We packed lunches and headed down to the beach. For being a very touristy city (it kind of reminded me of Miami) the beach was fairly empty. We lathered up on sunscreen since the Australian rays here are wicked hot, but we all ended up getting a little burnt. In the afternoon, we were all drained from the sun so we decided to head over to the mall that was right next door. It was a smaller mall, but kind of reminded me of Somerset in MI because it was really ritzy and had all these nice boutiques and this really nice art gallery (although I would never walk around Somerset with a bathing suit on). Also, at McDonalds here, they sell their ice cream cones for 50 cents! (Which is really only about 33 cents US). Jealous? The whole day was very relaxed; all the showers we took were cold ones, we wore sunscreen and aloe instead of make-up, and we took naps whenever we wanted to. Before dinner, we played a game of Monopoly (which has Aussie money) and surprisingly I won, despite the fact that Brandon wasn’t there to bribe me to play with extra money and properties. For dinner, we had a BBQ on the patio that the hostel provided for us. We had heard that there was this farmer’s market downtown on Friday nights, so we headed down to the main strip expecting to stock up on groceries for the weekend, but it turned out that it was more of a craft fair and actually reminded me of Dexter Days, but it was still fun. The walk home from the main strip took about an hour on the beach but it was nice to see the stars that we don’t have in the Northern Hemisphere.
On Saturday, we had booked surfing lessons in the morning so after making breakfast, we got a ride to the main strip and suited up with our sun protective tops, lots of sunscreen and our surfboards. There was a group of about 20 of us and we started on the beach learning technique and then we got into the water to just try and paddle with a wave. After we had all gotten the hang of it, we tried getting up on the board. It took a couple of tries, but I was successfully able to stand up! It’s actually not as hard as I thought it might be and I felt like I was straight out of the movie Blue Crush. Very cool. We all got up several times and it was a blast… Also our instructor said I did really well at one point, so I feel like that counts for something. :) Our lesson was over by noon so we got lunch on the strip and walked around for a bit before we went back to hang out/nap. That night, we went out to this club called Melba’s which was very Hollywood and surreal, but definitely fun and a great way to end a day of surfing.
We woke up on Sunday, packed up our stuff and went to the beach for the last time. None of us wanted to burn our burns, so we weren’t out for that long, and then we just hung out until we took a ridiculously expensive taxi back to the Gold Coast. From there, we took the train to Brisbane and the shuttle back to Toowoomba. It was a bit sad to go back but it was a great beginning of school vacation. The atmosphere there was different- it was a definite tourist destination, but it was still relaxed and I felt like I was staying at someone’s beach house for the weekend. One other interesting thing I noticed was that EVERYONE wears surf brands like Billabong, Roxy, Ripcurl, etc and it made me want to come home as a surfer girl. We’ll see…
Classes started today and they don’t look to be that hard. I’m trying to get all my books/class timetables together but it should be good. I’m putting up pictures on Facebook soon and I’ll try and get some up on the blog so you all have proof that I actually surfed. :)
2.22.2009
February Air
So things have calmed down enough to post again. Orientation has slowed down and classes start next Monday, so there’s not much left to do until then… Which is why we’re planning a trip to the beach this weekend! A bunch of the international students that I’ve been hanging out with are planning on taking a trip up the Gold Coast this Thursday for a long weekend on Surfer’s Paradise (Google image it). Needless to say, I’m very excited and can’t wait to learn how to surf :) I’ll be sure and tell you how it goes and how many times I crash into wave.
Other than that, I’m adjusting to life in Toowoomba. I went out job searching over the past couple days and it’s looking pretty good. It’s not too hard for a uni student to get a job working at a café or as a waitress at a bar, like I am trying to do, so hopefully I’ll get something lined up pretty soon. Over the weekend, we hit the town of Toowoomba and last night was our friend Casey’s birthday, so a bunch of us planned a birthday barbeque last night which was super fun (since we’ve all been craving some cheeseburgers).
Toowoomba is a difficult town to describe. It’s roughly the same size as Ann Arbor but it also has this small town feel to it. The houses have a Spanish look with the terra cotta roof and then there are trees that look like they are straight out of the Lion King, so it’s definitely got this eclectic feel. I’m going to start to try to take more pictures of town and the campus so you can understand what I’m talking about. There are certain brands that are different but it’s not too hard to find what you need in a grocery store. I was surprised though at how many brands Australia shares with the States. There’s a Target, a K-Mart, a Baskin Robbins and a Pizza Hut all fairly close to the uni. And Burger King is known as Hungry Jack’s down here. Same food, same logo, just a new name. Also, I’ve gotten pretty good at using Public Transportation since I take the bus anytime I need to go downtown.
Some weird things about Australian life:
1.) The locks turn the other way. Which gets me every time I go into the bathroom.
2.) Actually, everything goes the other way. Including cars and the direction you walk on the sidewalk. Meaning I’m constantly running into other people.
3.) The driver’s seat is obviously flipped to the right side, so I’m always taken aback when I see what looks like a ghost driver driving down the street.
That’s about for now, I’m sure I’ll write back after Surfer’s Paradise.
P.S. Aussie kids are SO cute. They all wear uniforms and little hats to go to school and one little boy offered me his seat on the bus the other day. I might take one home with me... Kidnapping isn’t illegal here right? :)
Other than that, I’m adjusting to life in Toowoomba. I went out job searching over the past couple days and it’s looking pretty good. It’s not too hard for a uni student to get a job working at a café or as a waitress at a bar, like I am trying to do, so hopefully I’ll get something lined up pretty soon. Over the weekend, we hit the town of Toowoomba and last night was our friend Casey’s birthday, so a bunch of us planned a birthday barbeque last night which was super fun (since we’ve all been craving some cheeseburgers).
Toowoomba is a difficult town to describe. It’s roughly the same size as Ann Arbor but it also has this small town feel to it. The houses have a Spanish look with the terra cotta roof and then there are trees that look like they are straight out of the Lion King, so it’s definitely got this eclectic feel. I’m going to start to try to take more pictures of town and the campus so you can understand what I’m talking about. There are certain brands that are different but it’s not too hard to find what you need in a grocery store. I was surprised though at how many brands Australia shares with the States. There’s a Target, a K-Mart, a Baskin Robbins and a Pizza Hut all fairly close to the uni. And Burger King is known as Hungry Jack’s down here. Same food, same logo, just a new name. Also, I’ve gotten pretty good at using Public Transportation since I take the bus anytime I need to go downtown.
Some weird things about Australian life:
1.) The locks turn the other way. Which gets me every time I go into the bathroom.
2.) Actually, everything goes the other way. Including cars and the direction you walk on the sidewalk. Meaning I’m constantly running into other people.
3.) The driver’s seat is obviously flipped to the right side, so I’m always taken aback when I see what looks like a ghost driver driving down the street.
That’s about for now, I’m sure I’ll write back after Surfer’s Paradise.
P.S. Aussie kids are SO cute. They all wear uniforms and little hats to go to school and one little boy offered me his seat on the bus the other day. I might take one home with me... Kidnapping isn’t illegal here right? :)
2.19.2009
Capped Internet...
This is a short update for now, but I’m beginning to adjust to life here which means capped internet. So unfortunately, that means way less Facebook and no uploading pictures, Skype, etc. Hopefully I can figure out a loophole, but for now, the best way to get a hold of me is to email me at w0097092@mail.connect.usq.edu.au because that address doesn’t count toward my quota. I’ll write back more later- I think today, we are going to climb Tabletop Mountain which is this flat rock in Toowoomba, so we shall see… Miss you all!
2.16.2009
Other Side of the World
So I’ll tell you this, uni is a lot different from my weekend in Sydney. While my weekend was very structured and jam packed, after arriving in the Brisbane airport, I got picked up and dropped off at my (nearly empty) dorm here in USQ at Toowoomba. The dorm is small (like 10x10) but it’s fine for just me. There’s a giant window that takes up a whole wall which lets me hear the bugs/birds that live down here. I swear, I feel like I’m living in a rainforest! I live in the Res Colleges and they try to split up most of the international students between the buildings, so right now it’s pretty empty, but it will fill up as soon as the Australian students move in next week. Orientation is pretty boring: a lot of meetings about Visas and health care but it gives me a lot of time to sort out a lot of the logistical work that I have to do to be enrolled, getting a student ID, etc. There’s not a ton of international students here, but I’ve met a few people. I’m trying to get pictures of my trip to Sydney up so hopefully you can see those as soon as possible! Here’s some Australian lingo that they actually use all the time
a. Brekkie= breakfast
b. Fringe= bangs
c. Heaps= lots
d. Scullying= chugging
e. I’ve heard ‘mate’ a lot but I haven’t heard ‘sheila’ yet
f. Good on ya= good job
g. Jumper= sweater/sweatshirt
h. Lift= elevator
a. Brekkie= breakfast
b. Fringe= bangs
c. Heaps= lots
d. Scullying= chugging
e. I’ve heard ‘mate’ a lot but I haven’t heard ‘sheila’ yet
f. Good on ya= good job
g. Jumper= sweater/sweatshirt
h. Lift= elevator
2.15.2009
Life in Technicolor
G’day! (It sounds cheesy when I write it, but they actually DO say that).
I don’t even know where to start about my trip so far. This past weekend has been so jam packed and so unreal… I left Detroit on Wednesday morning to arrive in LA early Wednesday afternoon. My flight to Sydney didn’t fly out until 10:30 PM so I spent most of the day walking around Manhattan Beach and going to this resturant that my parents recommended. The weather in CA wasn’t great- kind of drizzly in the high 50s, but it was nicer than the MI snow. The greatest I experienced jet lag was while waiting in LAX for Sydney because it was nearly 2 AM to me by the time I boarded our flight. The flight down under was amazing. I love flying and the Qantas flight was really nice. I watched a few movies (Australia being one of them, which made me very excited to go) and tried to sleep, even though I could only sleep for a few hours. During the plane ride, as we descended, I started to see how beautiful Australia is- the sky was bluer and everything was so green! We landed at around 9 AM Friday morning and after going through customs, I met with all of the other CIS students, our leader Kym and her son Scott. The way the time changes worked out, none of us were too jet lagged, so the 9 of us left for a tour of Sydney.
The first thing I noticed while walking around Sydney was that everything was so clean! It’s a huge city, and I felt like I was walking around NYC but without feeling as cramped or as dirty. It’s so open and not overwhelming in the least. We walked throgh Chinatown and stopped in this place called Patty’s Market where you can pretty much buy anything. I picked up some forgotten towels and we ate lunch (since all of us were ravenous). The currency is different here and I feel like I’m in Canada everytime I pay with a $2 coin. After Patty’s, we went to this tower that is in the middle of Sydney and allows you to see the whole skyline. Unfortunately, the weather was kind of foggy/rainy so we couldn’t see a ton, but it was still so cool. For dinner, we walked to this pub called Alice Thai which served amazing Thai food. It tasted so good after a long day of walking around. We stayed at this hostel just a few blocks away, which to a lot of people sounds really sketchy (Australians say ‘seedy’), but was honestly one of the nicest places I’ve stayed in. We stayed in rooms with bunk beds and were all very excited to hit the showers that night. I was exhausted by the time we got back so a few of us went straight to bed at about 7:30 and slept straight through til 6 AM the next morning.
The next day started bright and early and after brekkie (breakfast) we took the train up to the Blue Mountains. The mountains are about 2 hours outside of Sydney so we relaxed on the train before hiking. Just our luck, the first weekend we are in Australia the weather is a cool 50/60 degrees and foggy/rainy. So we went hiking through the trails in the rain, but it was still so beautiful. Years of camping experience were no match for this- I kept feeling like we were walking through a rainforest, which essentially we were. Our tour guide would point out various plants, ecosystems, etc. and we ate our lunch inside of a cave. We ended the tour a little early so we all walked around the little village where the train station was and warmed up with hot chocolate in this little café. By the time we got back, we were soaked and couldn’t wait to get past the 2 hour train ride to get into a hot shower. We relaxed a bit for heading out to dinner. The night was a free night to do whatever we wanted, so we all went with Scott to this little bar and grill to get dinner and then went to another bar. Underneath the hostel there was a bar called the Scubar where we ended the night dancing and having drinks (and yes Mum, I got my Wallaby Darned). It was an interesting and unique Valentines Day to say the least…
This morning (Sunday) we woke up to get breakfast at the hostel and then head out to take the train to the Circular Quay. From there, we had an AMAZING view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and we took the ferry to the Tarango Zoo, passing by the bridge and the Sydney Opera House. It was so unreal seeing those things in real life rather than on a postcard (or a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie). The zoo was AWESOME, and for not liking our pets, I loved seeing the animals. I felt like I saw every animal that existed (except we missed the platypuses). And I’ll have you know that kangaroos are a lot smaller than you think they would be. Apparently, they only get to be about 5 feet tall. I was picturing this 8 foot mammoth creature that would kill you by waving its tail at you. But still cute, nonetheless. I took a billion and half pictures so I’m sure you will all see them at some point. We left the zoo, took the ferry and the train back to the hostel and packed up our stuff. Most of the CIS students were going to Macquarie, which is a universtiy in Sydney. I was the only one going to University of Southern Queensland so we all parted and said goodbye. Even though we all only knew each other for just over 2 days, they were all so nice and we all got so close so it was hard to say goodbye knowing that the only people I know in Australia are hours away. But hopefully, we will all reunite before June. I caught my flight from Sydney to Brisbane and am writing this while waiting for my shuttle to come pick me to take me to uni (which is what they call college…) There were so many other things that I’m sure happened that I wish I could write but the weekend was so jam packed and so surreal, that unfortunately, even I can’t remember them all. So goodbye for now, hopefully I will write as soon as I start orientation at USQ!
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