Brissy Wrap-Up!

Relax, Relate, Release!

So I haven't posted much recently...all is well here and I'm still loving Australia! We're about to start the second to the last week of classes so this month has been C-R-A-Z-Y with work :-/ (I could have stayed at WU for that lol). But the papers (except one due the last wk), exams, and projects are all finished(!) so I can finally breathe!! After turning in a paper on Friday, got a chance to hang out on South Bank for dinner, their weekend market, and a movie (btw, Couples Retreat...HUGE disappointment lol...If only we had Where The Wild Things Are). In fact, to celebrate the end of this "rough patch" we planned a nice little visit to Surfer's Paradise for Saturday (most ppl compare it to Vegas). Unfortunately, my lack of sleep the past few days caught up to me and I slept right on through the trip...hopefully we'll get another chance to make it up there lol. But when I finally woke up (I will not share the time of my awakening lol) I got to relax for the first time in a LONG time. Took a nice shower, washed my hair, gave myself a mini-facial1 and foot rub, drank some tea, and watched some movies (Beauty and the Beast being first :-)..."Tale as old as timeeee..."). So I didn't quite make it to Paradise but the much-needed Me Day was right on time.


1 While we were at the market (which has everything from clothes to magic tricks to art works to fudge), we came across a booth selling hand and facial treatments. There at least 3 booths selling similar products but she reeled us in with the free 60-second hand treatment...what did we have to lose right? After we rinsed off the product our hands felt SOOO GOOOOOD, she had us hooked! So even though I normally wouldn't buy random products like this, I am the proud owner of an authentic Australian-made hand, body, and facial treatment (plus some other stuff that came with)...all for about 35-40 American bucks lol.

Trip #5: Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef)

Sooo… to keep it short and sweet, this trip was nothing short of ::insert ALL synonyms of “amazing!” here:: Courtesy of WU, this trip was for my marine environment class. After an 8 hr bus trip, followed by 2 hrs on a catamaran, we arrived at the Heron Island Research Station last Friday afternoon.

Two hours later, after some orientations and paperwork, we were in the ocean…SNORKELING! Now, I’d never been snorkeling before, and I’m not the greatest swimmer, but after a bit of practice w/ some other students and the professor, I was a snorkeling machine for the next few days. Saturday, the class went out on two boats and snorkeled in the middle of the ocean. It was like 1000x better than Finding Nemo lol…so many beautiful fish, gorges and coral, a sea turtle, and about 3-4 small sharks lol (they were pretty far below me so the instant fear of seeing a shark went away pretty fast).

"All the single ladies, now put your hands up!"

Ok so you don't have to be a single lady to read this... but we saw Beyonce in concert this past Sunday and it was AMAZING!!! Carmen and I ordered the tickets last semester so we've been looking forward to this for a while.  The last time I saw her perform was at the Big Jam sponsored by WGCI in Chicago in like 2003(?) I know it was right after her first CD came out...needless to say, I was long overdue.

From start to finish, "Crazy in Love" to "Halo," she didn't disappoint.

One Fine Day

Last Saturday, we (Carmen, Alison, Tiffany, and I) decided to get out of Duch for the day. First stop, Gallery of Modern Art.

We saw a few pieces along the way but the main exhibit was about Easton Pearson, an Australian fashion line. Pretty interesting to learn about them…who the designers are, how they choose their fabrics, signature pieces throughout the years...

The best part was the replica workroom. Check the vid.

I’m pretty sure it was meant for children but there were plenty of adults making fashion dolls too lol.

After the museum, we walked over to the Brisbane River to take in the Brisbane Festival activities; mainly the fireworks show that evening (think: Taste of Chicago on July 3). All in all…good day!

For more info:

Easton Pearson

Brisbane Festival