No worries, mate

So.... a lot has happened since my last post.

1. I am moving out of my apartment. For reasons I'd rather not talk about, I am moving to my own place. I will have my own room, living room, kitchen and bathroom for about the same price.

2. "O" week started yesterday. I've been in and out of sessions for the past 2 days. Yesterday, I had a 4 hour orientation for international students and boy, was I itching to get out of there! It's so hard to spend time inside when it's so beautiful outside!

Speaking of outside, I went to the beach at South Bank over the weekend. I got SO sunburned. I honestly look like a lobster and I can't sit or sleep on my back. I've put aloe vera all over myself in hopes of controlling the constant burning.

As I've spent some time wondering around Brisbane, I've realized that this is my ideal place to live. First of all, as I've mentioned numerous times, it's beautiful. There are trees and wildlife all over the place. I've had some pretty startling run-ins with possums and big fruit bats...but besides that, it's so nice to wake up and hear the birds chirping. Also, Brisbane has the city feel, without all the pollution and people. It's like living in Chicago, in Hawaii. Brisbane is also very big on recycling. They use all recycled water in the ponds and all the plastics bags are biodegradable. At the grocery store, you don't see anyone getting plastic bags because you have to pay for them. I love that the city is so clean and beautiful, yet there's so much to do.

This weekend 6 of us are going to the Gold Coast. I am hoping to take some surfing lessons, or at least watch the surfers at the beach. School starts next Monday, so I want to have as much fun as possible before the works starts.

I miss you and I'll try to blog more often.

Lauren

Australian Lingo 101/Settling In

I am finally getting settled into my new apartment. Things are not quite relaxed because there are a couple of random errands I need to complete, but I feel much less stressed.

It's been really fun living with other people from all over the world. Marc, one of my roommates knows a lot of people from the UK, so I've had the chance to meet some of them. Although we all speak English, we definitely run into some language barriers at times. For me, it's difficult to understand Marc's Scottish accent. I usually ask him to slow down or say things a bit slower :-P Matias and Marc also use different words than I am used to, so we run into some awkward but funny moments. For example:

mozzi: mosquito
barbie: bbq
tomato paste: ketchup
bogan: bum
mate: friend
take a piss: make fun of-apparently this is Brittish and you DON'T want to confuse that
no worries: you're welcome

ranger: red headed person, usually followed by "ginger, let's find a cure"

mole: slut

slurry: slut

bush pig: ugly girl

bloke: guy

dahl: darling

beaut: great, fantastic

bloke: man/guy

bloody oath: that's certainly true!

bludger: lazy person

bonza: great

budgie smugglers: men's speedo

chewie: gum

cobber: friend

dag: a funny person, nerd, goof

dero: tramp, hobo

dill: an idiot

dunny: a toilet outside

esky: cooler

fiar dinkum: true, genuine

grog: liquor, beer

gander: to look

larrikin:  bloke who is always enjoying himself

maccas: mcdonalds!

oi: hey, come here!

pash: a long passionate kiss

perve: look lustfully at the opposite sex

pokies: poker machines

ripper: great, fantastic

root: shag, get lucky, sex

schooner: large beer glass in queensland

servo: gas station

sickie: day off from work when you're not actually sick

spewin': very angry

spunk: a good looking person of the opposite sex

stoked: very pleased

sunnies: glasses

thongs: flip flops

tinny: can of beer

turps: alcohol

veggo: vegetarian

wanker: no one likes one of these guys

yank: american

I can't think of any more right now, but I'm planning on making a list because I find it very entertaining. Unfortunately, my American accent and antics are a prime target for teasing. I get a lot of crap for being the typical "American" girl, but it's all in good fun. Australia culture is so much more laid back than American culture and people spend the majority of their time making fun of each other. It's incredibly entertaining and hilarious. Matias is trying to teach me to "dish it out" as well as take it, and luckily I'm making some progress...In Australian culture, the more someone likes you, the more they will make fun of you so my friends keep trying to reassure me that it's all out of love :)

The weather in Brisbane is so up and down. Some days, it's incredibly hot (like 90s) and other days, it just rains. We are in the wet season right now, so these rainstorms are ordinary. I spent the entire day on Monday outside and by the time I got home, I was suffering from a mild case of heat stroke. Luckily, my roommates made me drink a lot of water so I wouldn't throw up and they also gave me aloe to put on my burns. I actually wasn't too burned.

Last Sunday, we went to the South Bank and went to the beach. It was SO awesome because the beach is literally in the middle of the city. It's the largest man-made beach in Australia. There was sand, salt water and people every where! We took the City Cat there-it's a ferry type boat that goes back and forth across and around the Brisbane river. It's an awesome way to travel because it's so fun every time! Public transportation is a big thing here-there are buses, trains, ferries and the city cat.

I've gone out a couple of nights since I've been here. One of the best nights was Valentine's Day. We went to Fortitude Valley and walked up and down the streets to all kinds of bars. Unfortunately, there was a dress code so we were rejected form quite a few bars because Dave, cough cough, was on a pants strike and wore shorts. At least we learned our lesson!

Last night, we went to an Irish pub on Queens Street (in the city centre). It was super fun and there was live music! The night was going pretty well until we sat next to a convict 3 days out of jail. I'm not sure why he decided to tell us that, but it was fairly shocking?

I saw "He's just not that into you" two nights ago. I actually forgot for a couple of seconds that I was in Australia because I felt like I was at home. It was a cute movie and a relaxing way to spend out nights.

I've met a lot of really cool people since I've been here. Most of my friends are international students, but we all get along and have a good time together. We are hoping to take a weekend trip to the Gold Coast on Friday, but we'll see if it actually works out.

Anyway-long blog session. I promise I will try to put up some pictures as soon as I take some good ones. I miss everyone from home/Madison. xoxo

G'day mates

Apartment Pictures

For those of you who wanted to see pictures of my apartment:

One of my roommates if Scottish...so he left his flag in my room

kitchen, obviously

living room

view from the balcony

view 2..so beautiful!

my closet

my bed/room

Mission Accomplished

This is a picture from campus

Picture from the game

This is Mila-it was pouring

This is me-I match!

Sorry for the constant blog changes...I was having a lot of trouble with the other layout, so I'm hoping this makes things easier.

First things first, I FOUND AN APARTMENT and it is absolutely incredible.  It has a wrap-around porch that has the most amazing view of the river and city. (Random fact I learned: the river has bull sharks in it?! YIKES!)

Now when I say amazing, this is amazing in contrast to what else is on campus.  Some of the places we looked at were terrible.  Because housing is in such high demand, all of the apartments/houses that are close to the St. Lucia campus cost WAY too much money.  A standard apartment near campus is probably around 650-800 AUS/month.  If this was Madison, the quality of these apartments would be worth like $200/month.  All in all, I probably looked at over 20 places, called 50 and walked about 30 miles.  We spent 4-5 hours everyday walking around Toowong, Taringa, St. Lucia, Auchenflower, West End, Dutton Park and Highgate Hill .  Mila and I were talking today about how Australia seems so familiar to us already because we were forced to learn our way around so quickly.  So I move in tomorrow-expect some pictures!

Last night, I went to my first soccer game.  Brisbane's team, the Roars played NSW (New South Wales) in the semi-finals.  The game was really fun, despite the rain.  (It's been raining for 3 straight days).  There was a group of 10 guys behind us (all shirtless and all Aussies) going nuts!  They kept singing songs and yelling at the top of their lungs.  At one point, they started singing about a "Queensland Player" and by player, they didn't mean soccer player.  I was shocked that they were allowed to use such profane and crude language, especially since all the 7 year old boys in front of us were looking at them wide-eyed and laughing.  The chaperone of the kids in front of us just shook her head, probably because she knew she would have some explaining to do in the car...

After the game, well all went out to the bar.  It was awesome and super crowded. Unfortunately, since we weren't expecting to go out afterward, we were underdressed.  Our attempt to get free drinks failed for the most part, but it was still a fun night. 

Tonight is Valentine's night and we are going to Fredrick and Dave's place.  (Fredrick is from Norway, Dave is from Canada).  We are planning on going out to the bars in the city tonight.  It will be my first time going to the city. 

Hopefully I'll have some good pictures from the night!

I miss you!

Lauren

First Impressions, cont.

So I still don't have an apartment...we are waiting to hear back if Tony will let us rent the two rooms he has to offer...fingers crossed!

I almost got caught in the web of one of these yesterday-they are everywhere and GIGANTIC!

I'll keep you updated on the apartment search.

xoxo

First Impressions

Hello everyone,

I thought it might be an appropriate time to post my first blog entry while being in Australia.  It was a VERY long journey to get here, but I can tell already that it is going to be totally worth it.  A quick note about the flight-it was a 30 hour experience finally arriving in Australia.  My flight was MUCH better than expected.  We were constantly being offered snacks, drinks and anything else to make our flight more comfortable.  We got blankets, pillows, socks, eye patches, mints, chocolate, and a menu for each meal.  We were also each given a set of headphones and an individual TV where you could watch movies, TV shows and a lot of other things.  I watched Australia because it was long and it seemed fitting :)  I met Juan on the plane as well.  He is an exchange student from Mexico city.  It was so cool to hear about his life and compare it to mine.  The challenges that he's had to face made him seem so much more interesting than me...but in the end, I learned a lot and made a friend!  I had my first instance of culture shock when he said goodbye to me and kissed me on the cheek.  I knew from my Spanish classes that it's customary for people from Mexico to do that, but I was still very awkward and I felt bad.

After arriving and spending 2 days here, there are a couple of things that I've already noticed about Australia:

1. It's beautiful-the trees, ponds, birds and wildlife in general are magnificent!  

2. The people are very laid back and incredibly nice.  They are also very upfront and tell it how it is

3. There is a major water shortage here.  Your showers are limited to 2-4 minutes or the government will penalize you with fines

4. I've had to get used to bugs and lizards inside my dorm and room-the cocoons hanging from my curtains made me a little uneasy, but nothing has hatched from them yet...

5. It's HOT and there is no air conditioning.  And when I say hot, I mean hot and humid.  I am getting used to the feeling of always being a little damp from sweat but it's pretty uncomfortable to sleep in.  I just have the fan two feet away from my face blasting at full speed all night.

6.  I can wear my clothes once, and then they are dirty.  By the time I change into my pajamas, my stuff is damp and definitely unwearable.  Looks like I'm going to be doing a lot more laundry this semester!

Right now, it's 5:30 in the morning Australia time (aka 1:30 pm Minnesota time).  I didn't have jet lag as bad as I expected, but I NEED to try to wake up later than 5:30!  I've already met a new friend.  Her name is Mila and she is from Canada.  She is going to be here for 4 years for the pharmacy program.  We have been hanging out quite a bit and it's been really nice to have someone to eat breakfast with and someone to go apartment searching with.  

The apartment search is going all right... We looked at 4 different places yesterday, and nothing was promising.  The first two apartment were horrific and way overly priced because they are on campus.  We've learned that the best thing is probably to live a little off campus and take the bus in because we will get the best deal.  I am going to look at a share house today and I'm crossing my fingers that it becomes a serious option.  

Other than the hours we've spent walking around campus looking for apartments, I haven't really done much.  Mila and I took a walking tour around St. Lucia and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  Yesterday, we took the bus to Toowong, a neighboring area where there is a big shopping center. Inside, they had a fresh fruit market that took up a huge portion of the mall.  It was so awesome!  We think it was inside because all the fruit would be ruined from the heat.  

I am hoping that by this weekend I will have found a place to stay, so I can celebrate and finally go out!  Maybe by that time, my body won't be exhausted by 8:30 pm...

Well, as the Australians say, good day!

ps. Here is a picture of my school.  It is SO pretty!  (This is the Great Court)

Packing Fiasco

First of all, I leave tomorrow morning at 6:15 am! Eek! However, I have a long journey before I finally get to LA. In case anyone is confused, as most people have been, I am not officially leaving for Brisbane until Saturday, February 7th. Here is my itinerary:

Wednesday: 6:15 fly from Minneapolis to Phoenix.
Thursday: Pick up Grandma Prast and drive to LA.
Friday: Take Callie, and my cousins Jake and Sean to Disney Land.
Saturday: I finally get to leave for Brisbane!

Once I arrive in Brisbane, I will start my apartment search. Right now, I am homeless and it's making me fairly anxious. I will blog more when I actually get to Australia. I'm hoping I won't have too many crazy stories to share!

I finished packing about an hour ago and it will probably be the hardest part about leaving. My friend, Kelsey, came over and brought me a suitcase and gave me some very helpful packing advice. I originally had 2 50lb suitcases, a backpack and a carry-on suitcase to take. I did some "practice" walks around the house and realized I couldn't get more than 5 feet without having to rearrange everything. I knew that my arms would fall off if I had to take all my stuff up stairs or walk more than 10 feet. So, with careful planning, I left some unimportant things out and moved my stuff into one suitcase and a duffel bag.

I'm getting very excited about leaving. I will miss all of you very much and I will try to blog when I arrive.

Much love xoxo

Lauren