The turkeys have been surprisingly silent lately. Apart from the occasional thud and minor scratching, they have been quiet. Fingers crossed hoping they stay that way!
Today was Market Day on campus. Basically, Market Day is when lots of clubs set up tables around the Great Court and advertise. There were also lots of tents with clothes and iron on patches and records, among other things. I had a list of about four clubs I wanted to investigate. Unfortunately, only one actually had a table. That was rather depressing. The club that was there is a no audition choir on campus. I figure I enjoy singing, it should be a good time.
One of the guys at the table handed me a little flier about the club and said that practices are Wednesdays at 7. Conveniently enough, today just happened to be Wednesday! We’ll get to that in a moment. Settle down. We’ve been over this, kids, chronological order is really the way to go.
After spying a few other stands that turned out to be busts, I headed to meet with my research professor. He took me on a tour of the lab (actually the post doc that I met with earlier did most of the touring, but he was there!) and gave me a huge stack of information to start reading. Its probably a solid inch of paper. There is a summary of the project, a heftier more beefy description of it, a list of other things the lab has worked on, and a sample report I am going to have to write. The report is really intimidating, there are color graphs and lots and lots of words. Not only that, the words seemed to form a very clear picture of someone who knew exactly what he was talking about.
That being said, I’m still pretty excited to get started. I have a mandatory lab safety session on Tuesday, after that I can start working hopefully. I am going to be doing lots of lab work I think, which is great. It seems to be a lot like what I was hoping the research would be. Lots of taking of data, using lab equipment and such.
I headed home and rested for a while then headed to the choir meeting. It was in a classroom right off of the Great Court. Basically, they are in the process of preparing for a concert. In two weeks. They handed out the music (all in Italian) to the new people and started in. They’ve had this music since about a month before their winter break. Did I mention I’m not the best sight reader? I am, however, really excellent at matching someone’s pitch. Like, it’s actually kind of a problem if someone of a different part sings right behind me because I tend to match people around me. This came in very VERY handy. The girl next to me told me she was impressed I was actually singing, despite never having heard the music and not knowing Italian. Hellz to the yes.
Don’t get me wrong, it was fun. The people were pretty nice too. I was kind of hoping it would be something different though. I love singing, but I’m not big on the type of songs choirs tend to sing. I haven’t decided if I want to go back or not. I think it will be fun; I’m just not sure how much fun. I might want to dedicate that time to something else. Also, if I wanted to do the concerts I’d have to buy quite a few things. Black pants, black long sleeved shirt, black shoes. All things I have, just not here. Problems problems, indeed. Ah well, I have a week to figure out if I will go back.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Turkeys and Classes
We have a turkey problem.
Remember the cute fun eccentric turkeys that I talked about earlier? Yeah? They won’t shut the eff up.
So our roof is tin or some sort of tin-like substance. It is also flat and apparently very attractive to turkeys. Literally all night Sunday night a turkey decided it would be fun to run around. From midnight when we went to bed until 6:30 when we couldn’t take it anymore and got up (of course the bugger decided to stop then) this stupid turkey was pounding around. The things have talons, so there is scratching and a surprisingly loud pounding constantly. There has been talk about investing in an apartment sling shot to help with the problem.
Anyway, moving on. Classes started! Our first tutorial (which is like a recitation) was canceled. Erin and I didn’t realize this until we got there, but it was nice to see where the room would be. The next class was another tutorial, this one not canceled. It was kind of intimidating. We were given a sheet of problems, 4 of them, and told to essentially have at it. Erin and I pretty much knew none of them. It was a good time.
I’m thinking this semester is going to suck class wise. You see, at Purdue we go through a year of general engineering and BS classes and then begin to get into the actual major sophomore year. I’ve had all of three actual chemical engineering classes so far. At UQ, they do nothing BUT classes in their major. Things might be a bit difficult just due to sheer lack of knowledge volume. We may just have to work hard and ask for help. There will be a lot less filler homework, so I think it will help dedicate a lot more time to learning the concepts rather than doing the homework.
Ah well, only time will tell.
Side note, I'm sick of the numbered titles so I'm going to name my posts things that are relevant rather than the numbers now.
Hey look! It’s a much shorter blog post! Golly geepers!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Day 10
I found a research project! I actually found two, so I chose the one that is more something I might want to deal with. I’ll explain more about it once I actually pick the project I want to help with, but a short explanation would be I might be working with catalysts in tiny amounts with varied parameters. Or possibly membrane reactors. NERD ALERT, it’s pretty cool.
I also tried Tim Tams with delicious hot chocolate. Holy fudge cake, it was amazing. I was going to write a post dedicated solely to how epic an experience it was but I got distracted looking for where I can find them in the US (World Markets apparently, thanks Steven!) and writing Pepperidge Farm telling them to sell them. Apparently they did for a limited time, but they discontinued them in March. Curses!
Basically the warm hot chocolate melts the Tim Tam making it a gooey, delicious experience the likes of which your taste buds has never seen. Er…tasted. Anyway, I will try and bring some back with me but I’m not sure how many will make it to friends. I must go questing to a World Market.
Today I went into the city with Kylie and Erin. It was beautiful. It’s different than the cities in the States which I have experienced such as New York or Chicago. The whole place just seemed a lot cleaner. There was no city smell, no cramped housing, no odor of people crammed together.
We ate lunch in this swanky café in the middle of a shopping center. This wasn’t a mall; it was like an outdoor strip mall I suppose would be the most accurate description, only very nice. There were classy stores and a Croc store and everything in between. The café was a great people watching place and the food was really good. I tried some Bulmers, which is like cider for adults. I’ve discovered that I don’t like the taste of alcohol. In my time here I’ve tried an Australian beer, some wine, and Bulmers and have like none of them. I think for me to want to drink it will have to not taste like I’m drinking. Erin is determined to see me buzzed at some point, as smashed is out of the question. We’ll see. Side note; shout out to my parents who are reading this!
After lunch we walked around the Botanical Gardens. They were really pretty; there are some crazy trees in Australia! There were some that had branches with natural supports that turned into roots. It looked like the tree was melting, it was absolutely stunning. There were at least two weddings going on while we were walking around, just small intimate little get togethers. Beautiful setting for a wedding, but they had to be small.
We also ate at Hungry Jack’s for dinner! Hungry Jacks is like a Burger King, down to the sign. Instead of saying “Burger King” however, it says “Hungry Jack’s”. The food was the same and was very yummy in a fast food way. We took our food out to this ampatheatre which held free shows. Several high school bands were playing there, and we ate and watched one group. They were pretty crazy good. They were a percussion band and used like tribal drums and whistles and chimes. It was pretty awesome.
We only got to watch one of the bands play because we had already bought tickets to see Bruno. It was very good and if you liked Borat, I strongly suggest you go see it. I wasn’t really amped to see it, but I’m glad I went.
After the movie we decided to take the City Cat back to campus. The City Cat is a ferry service that runs on the river; it’s basically like a floating bus. As it was about 9:30, the city was all lit up. It was glorious. The air was chilly, especially with the wind blowing as we floated down the river, but the lights. Oh the lights. They would take your breath away as they flowed by. I couldn’t even bring myself to take pictures, because it would only bastardize how beautiful it was. There was the Ferris wheel lit up blue and white, and the normal lights, and a building that was all a-glow pink for breast cancer.
In short, Brisbane is wonderful and I predict many trips shall be made to it. It’s only a bus (or City Cat) ride away. I think we are going to ride the City Cat in the daytime to see the city go by when we can actually see everything. I’d also like to go again at night, as we could only stay out there for half the ride. Erin and I were both wearing short sleeves and it was pretty cold. We could actually see our breath on the walk home! Oh snap!
I also tried Tim Tams with delicious hot chocolate. Holy fudge cake, it was amazing. I was going to write a post dedicated solely to how epic an experience it was but I got distracted looking for where I can find them in the US (World Markets apparently, thanks Steven!) and writing Pepperidge Farm telling them to sell them. Apparently they did for a limited time, but they discontinued them in March. Curses!
Basically the warm hot chocolate melts the Tim Tam making it a gooey, delicious experience the likes of which your taste buds has never seen. Er…tasted. Anyway, I will try and bring some back with me but I’m not sure how many will make it to friends. I must go questing to a World Market.
Today I went into the city with Kylie and Erin. It was beautiful. It’s different than the cities in the States which I have experienced such as New York or Chicago. The whole place just seemed a lot cleaner. There was no city smell, no cramped housing, no odor of people crammed together.
We ate lunch in this swanky café in the middle of a shopping center. This wasn’t a mall; it was like an outdoor strip mall I suppose would be the most accurate description, only very nice. There were classy stores and a Croc store and everything in between. The café was a great people watching place and the food was really good. I tried some Bulmers, which is like cider for adults. I’ve discovered that I don’t like the taste of alcohol. In my time here I’ve tried an Australian beer, some wine, and Bulmers and have like none of them. I think for me to want to drink it will have to not taste like I’m drinking. Erin is determined to see me buzzed at some point, as smashed is out of the question. We’ll see. Side note; shout out to my parents who are reading this!
After lunch we walked around the Botanical Gardens. They were really pretty; there are some crazy trees in Australia! There were some that had branches with natural supports that turned into roots. It looked like the tree was melting, it was absolutely stunning. There were at least two weddings going on while we were walking around, just small intimate little get togethers. Beautiful setting for a wedding, but they had to be small.
We also ate at Hungry Jack’s for dinner! Hungry Jacks is like a Burger King, down to the sign. Instead of saying “Burger King” however, it says “Hungry Jack’s”. The food was the same and was very yummy in a fast food way. We took our food out to this ampatheatre which held free shows. Several high school bands were playing there, and we ate and watched one group. They were pretty crazy good. They were a percussion band and used like tribal drums and whistles and chimes. It was pretty awesome.
We only got to watch one of the bands play because we had already bought tickets to see Bruno. It was very good and if you liked Borat, I strongly suggest you go see it. I wasn’t really amped to see it, but I’m glad I went.
After the movie we decided to take the City Cat back to campus. The City Cat is a ferry service that runs on the river; it’s basically like a floating bus. As it was about 9:30, the city was all lit up. It was glorious. The air was chilly, especially with the wind blowing as we floated down the river, but the lights. Oh the lights. They would take your breath away as they flowed by. I couldn’t even bring myself to take pictures, because it would only bastardize how beautiful it was. There was the Ferris wheel lit up blue and white, and the normal lights, and a building that was all a-glow pink for breast cancer.
In short, Brisbane is wonderful and I predict many trips shall be made to it. It’s only a bus (or City Cat) ride away. I think we are going to ride the City Cat in the daytime to see the city go by when we can actually see everything. I’d also like to go again at night, as we could only stay out there for half the ride. Erin and I were both wearing short sleeves and it was pretty cold. We could actually see our breath on the walk home! Oh snap!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day 7
Shiny new apartment, shiny new interwebs connection!
I moved into my flat with Erin and Kylie (That’s her name!). She is super super nice and I think we are all going to get along swimmingly. She’s from South Carolina and seems normal and is chatty with a good sense of humor. Whoo! I seem to really luck out in terms of roommates.
We were met and let into the place by a guy named Malcolm, but we’ve taken to calling him Marco and he shall hence forth be known thusly. Is thusly a word? Spell check says yes, so I’m going with a yes.
Marco is a pretty cool dude. He was born in the US but has lived in Brisbane for 11 years. He is 20 but certainly doesn’t look it, I would have guessed 25. He let Kylie and I into the flat and told us what 3 out of the 6 keys we have do.
The flat itself is pretty nice. It has a common room and a very nice balcony and two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a decent kitchen. The only problem is there is some obvious lack of care for the place. The dishes hadn’t been washed since the last people lived here, there is stuff on the walls, the majority of the light bulbs were dead, and Erin’s mattress pad had some….stains. Let’s leave it at that.
Most of the things that are wrong with it are easily remedied; the flat itself is pretty nice. Blatantly meant for two people and not three. My bed is actually in front of a door to another small balcony that both bedrooms lead out onto, but I don’t think the door actually works so it doesn’t really matter.
Marco took Kylie and I to buy sheets and go grocery shopping. We also got these delicious bacon and cheese pizza like things, except there was no sauce. So yummy. I want to find the bakery again and get another, because WHEW it was good.
We got our sheets at a place named Pillow Talk (snicker), and Kylie and I spent around twenty minutes looking for the cheapest ones there. We surprisingly ended up with some nice ones, I would actually use my bed spread in the states, it’s got polka dots! After Pillow Talk we went to Coles, a grocery store. It is pronounced like Kohl’s…but it isn’t Kohl’s. It’s a grocery store. I was confused at first, but thankfully this is a textual medium so you won’t have to be.
One thing that I noticed is that Australians pretty much all have those bags to replace plastic ones. In the states they are just now becoming big, but pretty much everyone already had them. I felt odd with my groceries in plastic bags, that is how many people had them. Thankfully we have recently had time to explore our place a bit more and found a decent sized stash of them.
Erin got in at around 4, and Marco, Kylie and I were just getting back when she pulled up. Through a team effort, we managed to get everything up to our apartment in one trip.
We probably should have looked around the flat before going shopping, because we missed a few key things. Like napkins and/or paper towels, a bath mat, paper for the printer. Some things were left behind from the previous tenants such as trash bags and some dish soap, but we didn’t take inventory before shopping so it’s just odd.
The flat also has a strange cacophony of eggstraneous items (Picture of egg for pun relevance). Among the odd items is body paint (two colors), several books about Australia (obviously), one on Autism, Jenga, a single 9 volt battery, and a copy of The Lake House. Some of it will be useful (Australia books) and some is just interesting (body paint?!).
This week has been Orientation Week (AKA O Week), so we’ve been going to some mandatory meetings on campus. They’ve been alright, some boring some interesting. There was a guy named Rus who was very entertaining. It turns out he was actually Erin’s tour guide in Sydney, so that was snazzy. He showed a group of four students how to eat Tim Tams.
Oh man, I need to describe Tim Tams. They are these delicious cookie wafers. The proper way to eat a Tim Tam is to bite off opposite corners. Then stick one end into a drink such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and suck like a straw. The liquid will saturate the cookie and it will begin to implode. Quickly stick it in your mouth and prepare for what is known as a Tim Tam orgasm.
I haven’t tried it that way yet, only eaten them straight but man they are yummy that way too. I need to get my hands on some hot chocolate to try it out.
The funny thing about Tim Tams is that they are universally loved. Literally EVERYONE loves Tim Tams. They will walk by and try and resist, but the things draw you in. There is nothing in the US that everyone loves. I mean, people like Oreos or candy bars of some sort, but nothing that every single person will buy and love.
I’ve been looking for someone to do research with this week. I was supposed to meet with someone yesterday, but he was out of his office at the time. Still working on it, I have two good leads. I am meeting with them tomorrow and Friday and hopefully one or both would be willing to take me on. I only have to pick one, but options are always fantastic.
Yesterday we watched an Australian game show on television. It was pretty amazing. It was something along the lines of generations competing, but they were all so sassy! There was a baby boomer team, generation X team, and a generation Y team. There were just little quips and I’m not sure how they decided the winner, it was very arbitrary. Also the only prize (as far as I could tell) was a little tiny trophy that they had to give back. It was a really good watch.
Sorry there are no transitions here, I’m just very tired. It seems that I always get really exhausted at around 8. It isn’t just me, both Erin and Kylie are just finished at around then. We think it might be due to it getting dark at around 6 here (like it is completely black outside by 6). Normally the daylight slowly recedes and it is a transition into winter hours, but since we all went from summer to winter times it is just disorienting to our bodies.
Sleepy sleepy, my other updates will be better honest!
I moved into my flat with Erin and Kylie (That’s her name!). She is super super nice and I think we are all going to get along swimmingly. She’s from South Carolina and seems normal and is chatty with a good sense of humor. Whoo! I seem to really luck out in terms of roommates.
We were met and let into the place by a guy named Malcolm, but we’ve taken to calling him Marco and he shall hence forth be known thusly. Is thusly a word? Spell check says yes, so I’m going with a yes.
Marco is a pretty cool dude. He was born in the US but has lived in Brisbane for 11 years. He is 20 but certainly doesn’t look it, I would have guessed 25. He let Kylie and I into the flat and told us what 3 out of the 6 keys we have do.
The flat itself is pretty nice. It has a common room and a very nice balcony and two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a decent kitchen. The only problem is there is some obvious lack of care for the place. The dishes hadn’t been washed since the last people lived here, there is stuff on the walls, the majority of the light bulbs were dead, and Erin’s mattress pad had some….stains. Let’s leave it at that.
Most of the things that are wrong with it are easily remedied; the flat itself is pretty nice. Blatantly meant for two people and not three. My bed is actually in front of a door to another small balcony that both bedrooms lead out onto, but I don’t think the door actually works so it doesn’t really matter.
Marco took Kylie and I to buy sheets and go grocery shopping. We also got these delicious bacon and cheese pizza like things, except there was no sauce. So yummy. I want to find the bakery again and get another, because WHEW it was good.
We got our sheets at a place named Pillow Talk (snicker), and Kylie and I spent around twenty minutes looking for the cheapest ones there. We surprisingly ended up with some nice ones, I would actually use my bed spread in the states, it’s got polka dots! After Pillow Talk we went to Coles, a grocery store. It is pronounced like Kohl’s…but it isn’t Kohl’s. It’s a grocery store. I was confused at first, but thankfully this is a textual medium so you won’t have to be.
One thing that I noticed is that Australians pretty much all have those bags to replace plastic ones. In the states they are just now becoming big, but pretty much everyone already had them. I felt odd with my groceries in plastic bags, that is how many people had them. Thankfully we have recently had time to explore our place a bit more and found a decent sized stash of them.
Erin got in at around 4, and Marco, Kylie and I were just getting back when she pulled up. Through a team effort, we managed to get everything up to our apartment in one trip.
We probably should have looked around the flat before going shopping, because we missed a few key things. Like napkins and/or paper towels, a bath mat, paper for the printer. Some things were left behind from the previous tenants such as trash bags and some dish soap, but we didn’t take inventory before shopping so it’s just odd.
The flat also has a strange cacophony of eggstraneous items (Picture of egg for pun relevance). Among the odd items is body paint (two colors), several books about Australia (obviously), one on Autism, Jenga, a single 9 volt battery, and a copy of The Lake House. Some of it will be useful (Australia books) and some is just interesting (body paint?!).
This week has been Orientation Week (AKA O Week), so we’ve been going to some mandatory meetings on campus. They’ve been alright, some boring some interesting. There was a guy named Rus who was very entertaining. It turns out he was actually Erin’s tour guide in Sydney, so that was snazzy. He showed a group of four students how to eat Tim Tams.
Oh man, I need to describe Tim Tams. They are these delicious cookie wafers. The proper way to eat a Tim Tam is to bite off opposite corners. Then stick one end into a drink such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and suck like a straw. The liquid will saturate the cookie and it will begin to implode. Quickly stick it in your mouth and prepare for what is known as a Tim Tam orgasm.
I haven’t tried it that way yet, only eaten them straight but man they are yummy that way too. I need to get my hands on some hot chocolate to try it out.
The funny thing about Tim Tams is that they are universally loved. Literally EVERYONE loves Tim Tams. They will walk by and try and resist, but the things draw you in. There is nothing in the US that everyone loves. I mean, people like Oreos or candy bars of some sort, but nothing that every single person will buy and love.
I’ve been looking for someone to do research with this week. I was supposed to meet with someone yesterday, but he was out of his office at the time. Still working on it, I have two good leads. I am meeting with them tomorrow and Friday and hopefully one or both would be willing to take me on. I only have to pick one, but options are always fantastic.
Yesterday we watched an Australian game show on television. It was pretty amazing. It was something along the lines of generations competing, but they were all so sassy! There was a baby boomer team, generation X team, and a generation Y team. There were just little quips and I’m not sure how they decided the winner, it was very arbitrary. Also the only prize (as far as I could tell) was a little tiny trophy that they had to give back. It was a really good watch.
Sorry there are no transitions here, I’m just very tired. It seems that I always get really exhausted at around 8. It isn’t just me, both Erin and Kylie are just finished at around then. We think it might be due to it getting dark at around 6 here (like it is completely black outside by 6). Normally the daylight slowly recedes and it is a transition into winter hours, but since we all went from summer to winter times it is just disorienting to our bodies.
Sleepy sleepy, my other updates will be better honest!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Day 4
OK time for an actual post. Yesterday was spent mostly exploring. I managed to steal a few hours by myself to wander around campus. My wandering is best done alone as I am easily distracted. I like to go around, behind, through buildings. Walk down interesting paths that lead nowhere sometimes, but other times lead to the best places. I sat out in the Great Court for probably a half hour, just enjoying it. The grassy, fresh smell was very soothing, and the sandstone buildings seem friendly. They’re huge, but they don’t make me feel small, if that makes sense.
After absorbing the sandstone feel, I was off again. Behind the Great Court there was this awesome art museum. Outside there was this little statue that is shaped like a grave stone but has a big smiley face engraved in it, I’m a pretty big fan of it. Inside the museum on the first floor was a big exhibit done by this guy who played with his paintings making them like giant Rorschach tests. He would paint one side of the canvas then fold it to make it almost symmetrical. That was my favorite part about the paintings, the near symmetry. He seemed really fond of skulls and snakes, there were a few too many for my taste. I spent around fifteen minutes staring at one of his paintings trying to figure out what I saw in it before looking at the little placard which said what it actually was. I was torn between a bunny being held upside down and torn open or two faces. It was actually two skulls. It was obvious after I read it, but I like my interpretations. My other two favorite paintings of his were two where he went outside the canvas. There was one that was a few trees with a giant skull in the sky, but the painting was blotchy. It made me feel like I was inside the mind of someone going insane or on some pretty severe drugs. It spilled over onto the wall the canvas was hung on, as if the canvas alone couldn’t contain the painting.
The other was one of the Rorschach paintings, this one featured Jesus. The wall behind it was decorated in this crazed, dark way. I don’t know how to describe it, there were snakes and anger and more near symmetry. It was towards the back and as I was walking through the rest of the exhibit I had to stop and just stare. It took up nearly the entire wall, just staring at you as you walked by. I guess the rage and sin and anger looming behind a spiky, blotchy Jesus just fascinated me.
After the art gallery I met up with Gloria and we went looking for an apartment for her. We asked this guy for directions to a place she was going to look at and he was ridiculously well informed; he even know whereabouts the house number would be. I don’t know that much about anywhere. The house ended up being kind of hinky, it was like six people living in it and no air conditioning or dryer and it was kind of dirty and gross. After we were looking for a place called The Manor or something of the sort, we met these two really cool Asian girls who were living there. We were (yet again) asking for directions and lucked out; they were headed that way to sign their lease. Whoo! One of the girls heard I was from the US and started wringing me for information, she is thinking of going there for her PhD I believe, or maybe study abroad. I can’t remember, but she wanted to know about the cost of living. There were no places open at The Manor (Manors? I think it might have been pluralized), but the two girls pointed us to a real estate agent who helped them. We headed that way, but it was closed.
After our adventure to find Gloria housing, I steered us toward the street I will be living in, I wanted to take a look at the house and have an idea where I would be going. Turns out it is way further from campus than I thought. We walked for probably a half hour before turning back because we were both too tired to keep going. Plus I was sort of wearing shoes that weren’t fully broken in and now have a nice sized blister to show for my escapades.
Google maps says it is about a half hour of walking to campus, I will probably end up taking the bus if I can’t find a quicker way there.
When I saw it today (what with sitting there for about two hours), it was really nice. There were balconies and the building seems pretty new. I’m excited to see inside. We will get our own buzzer! I’m pretty stoked, I’ve never had a buzzer, even one to share.
After lunch I went for another walk around campus, by myself again. I saw a few more things that I wanted, but it was very quiet today. No one was there since it is Saturday. I got a few pictures I wanted but couldn’t take earlier due to people being in the way and/or thinking I’m a creeper. I also got a picture of a cuckaburro! They are really cute and sound like monkeys! It landed close to me and I thought it was adorable so I snapped a picture, then it made a little monkey noise and flew into a tree.
Speaking of birds, there are wild turkeys on campus. They are actually brush turkeys, but turkey will suffice. They go around digging these huge holes in all the mulch around campus and the university has to pay people to clean up after them. Silly turkeys! They’re really cute though. I’ve decided that around Thanksgiving I am going to rig some ridiculous traps (picture a box held up by a stick with bread crumbs under it) to try and capture a turkey. It will eventually digress to me just chasing one trying to reassure it that I just want to pet it. Gotta celebrate our nation’s holidays somehow.
As you can see, I am working hard on our foreign relations. Don’t worry, folks. I. Got. This.
After absorbing the sandstone feel, I was off again. Behind the Great Court there was this awesome art museum. Outside there was this little statue that is shaped like a grave stone but has a big smiley face engraved in it, I’m a pretty big fan of it. Inside the museum on the first floor was a big exhibit done by this guy who played with his paintings making them like giant Rorschach tests. He would paint one side of the canvas then fold it to make it almost symmetrical. That was my favorite part about the paintings, the near symmetry. He seemed really fond of skulls and snakes, there were a few too many for my taste. I spent around fifteen minutes staring at one of his paintings trying to figure out what I saw in it before looking at the little placard which said what it actually was. I was torn between a bunny being held upside down and torn open or two faces. It was actually two skulls. It was obvious after I read it, but I like my interpretations. My other two favorite paintings of his were two where he went outside the canvas. There was one that was a few trees with a giant skull in the sky, but the painting was blotchy. It made me feel like I was inside the mind of someone going insane or on some pretty severe drugs. It spilled over onto the wall the canvas was hung on, as if the canvas alone couldn’t contain the painting.
The other was one of the Rorschach paintings, this one featured Jesus. The wall behind it was decorated in this crazed, dark way. I don’t know how to describe it, there were snakes and anger and more near symmetry. It was towards the back and as I was walking through the rest of the exhibit I had to stop and just stare. It took up nearly the entire wall, just staring at you as you walked by. I guess the rage and sin and anger looming behind a spiky, blotchy Jesus just fascinated me.
After the art gallery I met up with Gloria and we went looking for an apartment for her. We asked this guy for directions to a place she was going to look at and he was ridiculously well informed; he even know whereabouts the house number would be. I don’t know that much about anywhere. The house ended up being kind of hinky, it was like six people living in it and no air conditioning or dryer and it was kind of dirty and gross. After we were looking for a place called The Manor or something of the sort, we met these two really cool Asian girls who were living there. We were (yet again) asking for directions and lucked out; they were headed that way to sign their lease. Whoo! One of the girls heard I was from the US and started wringing me for information, she is thinking of going there for her PhD I believe, or maybe study abroad. I can’t remember, but she wanted to know about the cost of living. There were no places open at The Manor (Manors? I think it might have been pluralized), but the two girls pointed us to a real estate agent who helped them. We headed that way, but it was closed.
After our adventure to find Gloria housing, I steered us toward the street I will be living in, I wanted to take a look at the house and have an idea where I would be going. Turns out it is way further from campus than I thought. We walked for probably a half hour before turning back because we were both too tired to keep going. Plus I was sort of wearing shoes that weren’t fully broken in and now have a nice sized blister to show for my escapades.
Google maps says it is about a half hour of walking to campus, I will probably end up taking the bus if I can’t find a quicker way there.
When I saw it today (what with sitting there for about two hours), it was really nice. There were balconies and the building seems pretty new. I’m excited to see inside. We will get our own buzzer! I’m pretty stoked, I’ve never had a buzzer, even one to share.
After lunch I went for another walk around campus, by myself again. I saw a few more things that I wanted, but it was very quiet today. No one was there since it is Saturday. I got a few pictures I wanted but couldn’t take earlier due to people being in the way and/or thinking I’m a creeper. I also got a picture of a cuckaburro! They are really cute and sound like monkeys! It landed close to me and I thought it was adorable so I snapped a picture, then it made a little monkey noise and flew into a tree.
Speaking of birds, there are wild turkeys on campus. They are actually brush turkeys, but turkey will suffice. They go around digging these huge holes in all the mulch around campus and the university has to pay people to clean up after them. Silly turkeys! They’re really cute though. I’ve decided that around Thanksgiving I am going to rig some ridiculous traps (picture a box held up by a stick with bread crumbs under it) to try and capture a turkey. It will eventually digress to me just chasing one trying to reassure it that I just want to pet it. Gotta celebrate our nation’s holidays somehow.
As you can see, I am working hard on our foreign relations. Don’t worry, folks. I. Got. This.
I am so cool
This is a story about how unreasonably cool I am. So I am staying at St Leo's until I can move into my flat with Erin and other girl (Katy I think? I should really figure this out). I thought that I was going to move in there today, Saturday. Turns out that Sunday is actually the 19th, not Saturday. I left St Leo's at 10 and waited outside for about two hours. No one showed up, finally I called Gloria and asked her to check the address and time. She told me the 19th, which today is not.
I am so freaking stupid sometimes, it honestly amazes me.
On the bright side it was a gorgeous day, and I found some dude's phone on the stairs. I figure I will be a good person and try and find the owner...that would have been much easier were I living in the complex where I found the phone. I guess I will be a good person tomorrow.
I am so freaking stupid sometimes, it honestly amazes me.
On the bright side it was a gorgeous day, and I found some dude's phone on the stairs. I figure I will be a good person and try and find the owner...that would have been much easier were I living in the complex where I found the phone. I guess I will be a good person tomorrow.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Day 2
Here I am, at day 2 of my Australia adventure. That sounds lame, but I like assonance so I’m going to let it pass. I suppose I should start from the beginning. This is going to be really long and, yes, that is what she said.
The flight was killer long, about 26 hours with 2 plane transfers. I was in the air for 24 hours total, which was fun. My first flight was from Chicago to LA, then from LA to Auckland, and finally to Brisbane. Side note: pronunciation is Bris-bun not Bris-bane.
The people I sat next to for my LA-Auckland flight were a really nice New Zealand couple. The woman told me that she knows the parents of one of the guys from Flight of the Concords really well and went to their wedding! Just a little fun fact for you.
Since I got to Auckland at like 4 in the morning, when I went into the air to go to Brisbane I got to watch the sun rise. It was drawn out due to the direction we were going and it looked like there was a rainbow stretched across the horizon. I’ve always loved watching things while flying but I will cut that out as this is already going to be a long post. Just know clouds are cool.
When I got to Brisbane I got picked up by some people from UQ. I narrowly missed the van they used to take people to campus so I had to sit around for nearly two hours until one got back. That stank. I did, however, meet a nice girl named Gloria. She was on the same flight as me from Auckland and we talked some, we both are staying at St Leo’s college (what they call dorms) for a few days, she is actually right across the hallway from me as I type this. We have spent a lot of time together but let’s keep it chronological here, folks. Don’t get ahead of yourselves.
My first impressions of Brisbane, and by extension Australia, are the colors. The sky seems bluer (pollution or imagination?), there is crazy amounts of foliage, and birds just everywhere. Absolutely beautiful. It’s more than colors though, there is just more. More colors, more sounds, more sky. That’s another thing, buildings are way more open. St Leo’s (the place I am staying) isn’t even closed off from the outside. This is probably due to the rain falling significantly less often and snow never.
I am staying at St Leo’s until Saturday when I can move into the apartment with Erin and Other-girl-who-I-can’t-recall-the-name-of. It’s actually an all boy college but during breaks they let women stay here, which is funny. The food is included and it is average, no Purdue food but not nearly as terrible as OSU’s. The room is decent sized and it’s a single, so that is very nice.
Its winter here now, but their winter is not at all like Ohio or Indiana winter. Its 16 C here, which is 60 F, jacket weather! It is going to be very not fun to go from beautiful Australia summer to freezing (literally) Indiana winter in December. If this is their winter, their summer is going to be so hot but in a fantastic way…because it’s Australia.
So I got in at 8:30 AM, and got to St Leo’s at around 11. After eating, I went and signed up for a bank account with Commonwealth back. The guy who helped me was so ridiculously unreasonably nice, offering suggestions on where to go and making jokes and just taking time to be nice. I think that is a running theme with people here, general niceness. With the exception of bus drivers.
After hitting the bank, Gloria and I decided to head to a mall to get cellular devices. Let me tell you, an engineer and a business grad student and we had severe difficulties with the bus system. It didn’t help that the bus driver we had to ask was very much not happy with us asking, but we got there. I also got towels; did you know that they charge for bags over here?! I didn’t. Nice cashier informed me of this. 2/3 nice people willing to help confused Americans. They also don’t have sales tax added here! I guess they do, the prices just account for it already. Crazy.
The cell phone plans are different here, no charge for incoming texts or calls! That’s pretty snazzy. I got a dirt cheap phone and also a SIM card, which is what keeps track of all the calls and such here. I thought mine was broken and it took me about an hour, Google, and finally Gloria to figure out it wasn’t. The slot was just confusing. And I’m jet lagged. Don’t judge me.
Anyway, I went to bed at like 8 and slept for 12 hours, but I’m surprisingly over jet lag pretty much. Still a little tired but one more night and I should be back to normal. Going back to the US is going to be the hard one. I spent a few hours emailing professors about doing research with them, as that is pretty much the only big thing left to take care of. I have a few leads so things should slide into place by the middle of next week.
After lunch Gloria and I went around campus some, got our student IDs, and met up with one of her friends from Canada (where she is from) that she went to high school with. Both are grad students here rather than exchange students like little old me. Her friend was extremely helpful, took us to a few buildings and showed us where to get bus passes! Yay, bus passes! It isn’t free here like Purdue…which sucks.
Mostly I’ve just been getting things in order. Yesterday I was too exhausted to see much. Tomorrow I am going to quest around campus, take a few paths less traveled hopefully, and take some sweet pictures. Gloria has to find a place to live so I will be on my own. Huzzah!
This post is ridiculously long. Sorry (but not really).
The flight was killer long, about 26 hours with 2 plane transfers. I was in the air for 24 hours total, which was fun. My first flight was from Chicago to LA, then from LA to Auckland, and finally to Brisbane. Side note: pronunciation is Bris-bun not Bris-bane.
The people I sat next to for my LA-Auckland flight were a really nice New Zealand couple. The woman told me that she knows the parents of one of the guys from Flight of the Concords really well and went to their wedding! Just a little fun fact for you.
Since I got to Auckland at like 4 in the morning, when I went into the air to go to Brisbane I got to watch the sun rise. It was drawn out due to the direction we were going and it looked like there was a rainbow stretched across the horizon. I’ve always loved watching things while flying but I will cut that out as this is already going to be a long post. Just know clouds are cool.
When I got to Brisbane I got picked up by some people from UQ. I narrowly missed the van they used to take people to campus so I had to sit around for nearly two hours until one got back. That stank. I did, however, meet a nice girl named Gloria. She was on the same flight as me from Auckland and we talked some, we both are staying at St Leo’s college (what they call dorms) for a few days, she is actually right across the hallway from me as I type this. We have spent a lot of time together but let’s keep it chronological here, folks. Don’t get ahead of yourselves.
My first impressions of Brisbane, and by extension Australia, are the colors. The sky seems bluer (pollution or imagination?), there is crazy amounts of foliage, and birds just everywhere. Absolutely beautiful. It’s more than colors though, there is just more. More colors, more sounds, more sky. That’s another thing, buildings are way more open. St Leo’s (the place I am staying) isn’t even closed off from the outside. This is probably due to the rain falling significantly less often and snow never.
I am staying at St Leo’s until Saturday when I can move into the apartment with Erin and Other-girl-who-I-can’t-recall-the-name-of. It’s actually an all boy college but during breaks they let women stay here, which is funny. The food is included and it is average, no Purdue food but not nearly as terrible as OSU’s. The room is decent sized and it’s a single, so that is very nice.
Its winter here now, but their winter is not at all like Ohio or Indiana winter. Its 16 C here, which is 60 F, jacket weather! It is going to be very not fun to go from beautiful Australia summer to freezing (literally) Indiana winter in December. If this is their winter, their summer is going to be so hot but in a fantastic way…because it’s Australia.
So I got in at 8:30 AM, and got to St Leo’s at around 11. After eating, I went and signed up for a bank account with Commonwealth back. The guy who helped me was so ridiculously unreasonably nice, offering suggestions on where to go and making jokes and just taking time to be nice. I think that is a running theme with people here, general niceness. With the exception of bus drivers.
After hitting the bank, Gloria and I decided to head to a mall to get cellular devices. Let me tell you, an engineer and a business grad student and we had severe difficulties with the bus system. It didn’t help that the bus driver we had to ask was very much not happy with us asking, but we got there. I also got towels; did you know that they charge for bags over here?! I didn’t. Nice cashier informed me of this. 2/3 nice people willing to help confused Americans. They also don’t have sales tax added here! I guess they do, the prices just account for it already. Crazy.
The cell phone plans are different here, no charge for incoming texts or calls! That’s pretty snazzy. I got a dirt cheap phone and also a SIM card, which is what keeps track of all the calls and such here. I thought mine was broken and it took me about an hour, Google, and finally Gloria to figure out it wasn’t. The slot was just confusing. And I’m jet lagged. Don’t judge me.
Anyway, I went to bed at like 8 and slept for 12 hours, but I’m surprisingly over jet lag pretty much. Still a little tired but one more night and I should be back to normal. Going back to the US is going to be the hard one. I spent a few hours emailing professors about doing research with them, as that is pretty much the only big thing left to take care of. I have a few leads so things should slide into place by the middle of next week.
After lunch Gloria and I went around campus some, got our student IDs, and met up with one of her friends from Canada (where she is from) that she went to high school with. Both are grad students here rather than exchange students like little old me. Her friend was extremely helpful, took us to a few buildings and showed us where to get bus passes! Yay, bus passes! It isn’t free here like Purdue…which sucks.
Mostly I’ve just been getting things in order. Yesterday I was too exhausted to see much. Tomorrow I am going to quest around campus, take a few paths less traveled hopefully, and take some sweet pictures. Gloria has to find a place to live so I will be on my own. Huzzah!
This post is ridiculously long. Sorry (but not really).
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day -7
In one week I will be on a plane to Brisbane, Australia. About 158 hours until I step on that plane. I will be flying from Chicago to LA, from LA to Auckland, New Zealand, from Auckland to Brisbane. I have my flights paid for and picked out, my ride from the airport to where I am staying planned, a temporary place to live for a few days arranged, permanent place to live for a few months picked, all of this is sorted out. I’m not nervous yet, though I would bet money that I won’t be able to sleep come Sunday night.
I’m currently staying with my parents. They recently moved, so I’m trying to fit the pieces of my college life into their new one which was never supposed to hold those pieces again. I was supposed to be gone for the most part, and I will be…but my stuff stays. All except the two suitcases I will be bringing with me across the world.
I am assuming that anyone who ends up here will know the story, but for the record let me lay it out. My name is Laura and I am going to Brisbane for six months. I have a friend named Erin who will be coming with me; we are living together with one other girl whom we have not met. This blog is mostly for me, honestly. I want to be able to look back and have a detailed record of what exactly happened. I expect it will be a lot. Oh and one more thing. I’m pretty flipping excited :)
I’m currently staying with my parents. They recently moved, so I’m trying to fit the pieces of my college life into their new one which was never supposed to hold those pieces again. I was supposed to be gone for the most part, and I will be…but my stuff stays. All except the two suitcases I will be bringing with me across the world.
I am assuming that anyone who ends up here will know the story, but for the record let me lay it out. My name is Laura and I am going to Brisbane for six months. I have a friend named Erin who will be coming with me; we are living together with one other girl whom we have not met. This blog is mostly for me, honestly. I want to be able to look back and have a detailed record of what exactly happened. I expect it will be a lot. Oh and one more thing. I’m pretty flipping excited :)
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