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

Trip #4: Brisbane!

Soo… Ok it was really my family’s trip to Brisbane but it felt like I had a mini-vacay too.  My Dad, Nikole (my stepmom), and J (my little bro) came in for a little less than a week and it was great! Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t warm enough to visit one of the beaches on the Gold Coast but we had a good time anyway.

They took J to the Koala Sanctuary and got a chance to experience the CityCat ferry. Nikole looked up some of the best restaurants in the area so we ate pretty good J (nice change from Duch food). I was so glad to have some familiar faces around and spend time with them…it was almost like I was on break from school. J and I also got a chance to spend some much needed quality time together.

We played with his cars and the AFL football I got him, rode on the ferris wheel, ate ice cream, watched the movie Cars, and talked. 

I miss him soooo much when I’m away at school…but that’s what makes our brother-sister time together even better :-)

So little time...

Sooo... I'm late with updating my blog... I promise to post updates and a few photos later... but it's "mid-semesters" (a.k.a. midterms) season... yeah...

“All you mocha lattes, you gotta do Pilates”

Sooo… since I stopped playing basketball, I’ve really wanted to get back into shape (“in .shape” like getting my cardio up and becoming more flexible, definitely not losing any weight lol)  Those 3 visits to Loop Lofts gym last school year just didn’t cut it. Soo… I signed up for Fit Chicks, an 8-week all-girls fitness class that involves running, water running, pilates, and other exercises. It meets twice a week at 6am…twice a week…not so bad…6am…it’s quite a stretch for me lol. We’re going into our 4^th week now and I’m enjoying it. I’m finding myself wanting to workout and stretch a lot more…and I can def. see that I’m more in shape than when I started. I’ll let you know the results!

New Friends

The good thing about living on campus in a college is that you get to meet more people than you would living off campus. Funny enough, most of the people I’ve gotten closest to are all international students lol. I guess it’s not too surprising since we all moved in early and are in a new environment…we’re in the same situation, we get each other. Aside from Carmen (the other black girl from WU), there are about 6 other international girls here (Tori, Liz, and Lorin from the States and Alison, Tiffany, and Amreet from Singapore). I went to Noosa with Carmen, Tori, Lorin, and Amreet, and I joined a fitness class with Tiffany, Alison, Carmen, and Tori. I’ve also met a lot of nice Aussie girls (too many to name…some of their names I can’t quite recall…so embarrassing lol). One day while walking on campus, Carmen and I found the African Students Association and couldn’t have been happier...it felt so good to see some color for a change. We met a few cool Africans and one other African-American guy but unfortunately the ASA is nowhere near as organized at as WU’s Association of Black Students…no meetings or activities that we’ve heard of…hopefully, if we can catch one of them on campus lol, we’ll be able to meet and hang out with more of them.

Trip #3: Noosa!

Some of the exchange girls in my college and I decided to take a weekend getaway so we decided on Noosa. It’s not too far, accessible by public transport, and, best of all, one of the girls we met here (Kathryn) lives there and was able to be our tour guide. The weather was beautiful (as it seems to be everywhere in Australia, or at least in

Queensland). We stayed in a student-housing lodge about a block away from all the stores and restaurants of Hastings Street, and, best of all, the beach. On the last day, we met up with Kathryn and she and her mom took us to her house.  It was ridiculous! First thing we see as we’re driving up the driveway is her neighbor’s plane (yes, plane…like it actually goes up in the air) and the hanger housing two more planes. It was no big deal to Kathryn’s family as they have one of their own (that does aerobatics no less) but our jaws were definitely on the floor of the car. They also have a few horses, a chicken coop, 3 dogs, and fruit trees (lemon, lime, oranges, and passionfruit <-- which none of the Americans, 4 total, had ever seen in real life.) It was def. nice to see how others live. 

Amazing trip!

Trip #2: Moreton Bay

Sooo… as mentioned in a previous post, one part of the Marine Environment course involves field trips. We took our first trip a few weeks ago to the Moreton Bay Research Station (LINK). The purpose of the trip was to learn about the marine environments on the rocky and sand shores and conduct a science experiment. Day 1: We arrived around 10 or 11am. 

First, our class did two seine nettings to capture different marine animals. The net was about 50 meters (yeah, the metric system is crazy) and extremely heavy to drag through the water, but it was pretty fun (def. an experience). We caught a good number of fish, including a sting ray, some toad fishes, and quite a few long, pointy-nosed fishes (it was nearly a month ago…don’t remember the names lol).  After lunch, we explored the rocky shores and all the organisms living there (i.e. snails, oysters, sea cucumbers, algaes, star fish, sea urchins, and another ray). That night, we watched an authentic Australian film, Priscilla and the Queen of the Desert (think: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar but with Australian accents, except this came first). Day 2= Experiment Day… we basically had to conduct the experiment, analyze the result, and put together the results in our day. My group’s experiment was to estimate the population of gobies in the tidal pools. All went well and later that night we all played three very long, but fun rounds of Mafia. 

Day 3: We went on a gorge walk, got some gelato, went to the beach and went home. 

Great trip!

Classes

Sooo… as you know (or don’t know), I am double majoring in Marketing and Organization & Human Resources (OHR for short) with a minor in Finance…a mouthful, I know…basically I’m studying business. So as a student of business, I had quite a few requirements going into my senior year of college (btw, save the date: May 21, 2010) J For Marketing, I needed another 1.5¹ credits plus a class that can only be taken as a second semester senior. I needed two more classes for OHR. Finance is done (thank God). I also needed to take macroeconomics (or Global Economy as it’s called at WU) and one science class that I have been avoiding since freshman year (don’t judge me). So for those of you counting, that’s 15.5 required credits.

This semester, I’m taking a full course load (5 classes) this semester as usual and I actually like my classes…well most of them. (Sidenote: the courses are a bit different here. In addition to lectures, there are contacts and tutorials. Lectures are like regular class, which can be an hour or two. Tutorials are like sub-sections, sometimes more important than the lectures because that is usually where any work is handed in. Contacts, not offered for all classes, are similar to tutorials as another way to go over the subject. I like the reinforcement of the “tutes” and contacts.) Ok… Let’s do a rundown shall we:

• Managing Workplace Conflict – counts toward my HR major (score!) ... Title is self-explantory…Really useful for life and the workplace
• Product and Brand Management – counts as a Marketing elective (nice!) ... Surprisingly not offered at WU (unless it’s through U College²) but a good skill to have going into the workforce ... I joined an “elite group” … meaning that for 6 extra credit points, my group has to do 6 case studies (so easy in comparison to Olin) and “present” them to the class… in this case, present = teach the tutorial ...There’s the potential to earn up to 15 credit points based on how well we do compared to the other elite groups…not quite sure of all the details right now
• Introduction to Macroeconomics – counts for my BSBA (cheah!) ... Again, self-explanatory…but, I’m actually understanding economics for the first time ::knocks on wood::
• Australia’s Marine Environment – counts for that one science course I need to take (FTW!)⁴ ... You know how they say good things count to those who wait…sometimes that can turn around to bite you in the, er, butt J But in this case it actually worked out in my favor. Ok the science part of it is not so great, but the field trips are! We’ve already had our first one to Moreton Bay³ and our second is to Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef), and it’s all paid for by WU J

Can you guess which one I’m not a fan of? …No? That’s because it’s Australian Popular Culture (which may count for something…IDK)So we’re learning about Aussie identity and whatnot and how it all relates to and is represented in pop culture. My issues: 1) We have a lecture (1 hr), a contact (2hr movie screening), and a tutorial (1 hr) ALL ON THE SAME DAY…and the professor/lecturer presides over each and every one…luckily, she’s entertaining K 2) We have assignments and readings (to see if we read) due every week plus two essays…ok ok, so we don’t have any exams…but this is “Pop Culture”… not a big deal…why am I doing more work for this than any other class???

¹ I needed to take Marketing Research for my major, but it’s only offered in the fall at Olin (WU’s business school). So in order to come to UQ, I had to take it through the MBA program, which only counts for 1.5 credits since those classes last for a half-semester.

² U College= University College= Night classes

³ Separate post coming soon about this trip

⁴FTW=for the win

Pineapple Queen

So in addition to the events listed in the post about Ann below, she also took us to a play a few weeks ago at a nearby university…you know, to get some culture…Aussie-style. The play was titled The Pineapple Queen and we thought we were in for a quirky, off-kilter, slightly crude but funny performance. And…well…we were wrong. The play, which only had two actors, was about a young woman…let’s call her Sue (b/c I don’t remember her name). Sue dreamed of becoming the Glasshouse District’s Pineapple Queen. After winning the title and falling in love, things got weird and the play kinda restarted. Long story short: her boyfriend starts treating her terribly only to “transform” into her father, who also mistreats her and tells her that she’s too ugly to be a Pineapple Queen. So she never won, never fell in love, oh…AND she saw her mother give herself an abortion. ::And scene::

What a way to end the night…

Ann

As mentioned before, our WU contact down here is a woman named Ann. She studied abroad here many moons ago and is now the abroad contact for Washington University and Dickinson College (never heard of it? Neither had I…it’s somewhere in PA). So aside from the orientation that she had for us, she also has these free coffee breaks randomly throughout the semester just to check out how we’re doing and answer any questions we may have. She also took us to an Australian Football League game (look out for a separate post coming soon) for free this past weekend, and Wednesday she’s having us (just WU) over for a pizza/movie night. At the end of the semester, she’s taking us to Byron Bay I believe for a few days for the beach and surfing…for free. Notice a common theme…you should… all these events are pretty much 100% covered by WU (which is the least they could do since they DID NOT pay for housing, plane tickets, or student visa…but don’t EVEN get me started on that). Um yeah, so…that’s Ann.

DC!!!

Sooo… all you need to know about the letters D and C is that when placed together they equal greatness. It’s an intracampus file sharing network for like lecture notes and stuff ;-).

Since I’ve been here I’ve gotten caught up on How I Met Your Mother (Seasons 1-4), Gossip Girl (S1-2), The Boondocks (S1), and 90210 (S1). Grey’s Anatomy is up next…all 5 seasons J AND I’ve stepped my music game up with the likes of John Coltrane, The Beatles, Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker…and songs/albums that I didn’t already have (i.e. The Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5, a little Mariah Carey, and others). Umm yeah… that’s all I have to say on that note… unless of course anyone wants to suggest a movie/tv show/artist/song I should try to check out ;-)

Dorm and Food

Sooo… I’ll have to take some pics of my dorm (or college as it’s called) but I can still write about it lol. Luckily, WU holds a certain number of spots for students to stay on campus as opposed to having to find an apt. nearby. So, for the semester, I’m a Duch (pronounced “douche” :-/) girl! Duchesne College is an all-girls (Catholic, I believe) college on campus. It’s kind of weird going back to dorm-style living but I like it. I have my own room with a bathroom that’s shared with the girl next door. I like it. And it’s pretty cozy, twin bed and all. What I don’t like is the non-free laundry (oh how the Lofts spoiled me). It’s $3 total to wash and dry a load of clothes, and the washers barely wash your clothes without a ridiculous amount of detergent. :-/

Instead of a meal plan and 7am-1am food facilities like at WU, there is a cafeteria in Duchesne that serves breakfast (6:30am-9am), lunch (12:15pm-1:30pm), and dinner (5:15pm-6:30pm). The specified times to eat have actually been as big of an adjustment as the actual food. It’s nice having 3 square meals a day though. It’s usually 2-3 entrée choices (plus a vegetarian option) and a full salad bar. And there’s always dessert with dinner, usually ice cream. The common room has a small kitchen with free hot drinks (i.e. tea, coffee, cappacino, and hot chocolate), bread and English muffins, fruit (usually just apples and oranges), and packets of peanut butter, jelly, butter, and vegemite¹.

¹Vegemite: a spread of yeast something that Aussies like but is an experience (to the rest of the world) to say the least. Personal experience: I dipped my finger in it to taste and immediately regretted it…the horror. Word has it that the way to eat it is with a piece of buttered toast and just a smidgen of vegemite spread on top. I’ll let you know when I try it the “right” way.

UQ Orientation

Soo…since I am a WashU student, I got a chance to go through, not one, but TWO orientations. ::fake smile:: Our first orientation (just 2 days) was lead by Ann Wadsworth (she’s great btw, may have to do another post about her greatness lol), who is our contact for UQ (University of Queensland) and just Brisbane in general. So when we all arrived July 16, we met up with her to get the little things taken care of like ID cards, Go! Cards (for the public transportation), and she took us to K-Mart to get some essentials.

Day 1 of orientation, we had a 2-3hr PPT presentation on everything we needed to know about signing up for classes, traveling during the semester, and everything Australian (e.g. safety, slang, and culture). Afterwards, we went into the city for lunch followed by a bus tour of the city. I’ll admit, I only really paid attention to the one or two places where the bus actually stopped so we could take pictures lol (one of them being ^Mt. Cootha, great view of the city). It was pretty hard to notice and remember any of the other sites the busdriver casually mentioned on the mic while we drove past.

Day 2 of the orientation started with the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (courtesy of WU)…pretty much a small zoo with majority of the animals being koalas. They also had kangaroos, crocodiles, Tasmanian devils (which, might I add, look NOTHING like the cartoon character), dingos, owls, parrots, and other birds.

It was pretty cool.

After lunch, we went on a 3hr scavenger hunt around the city…it definitely helped to familiarize ourselves with the area.

*WU group for Scavenger Hunt. Instruction: Crawl across the street

After the WU orientation, there was then the UQ International Student orientation…basically the exact same thing as our 3hr PPT w/ Ann but spread out into individual sessions per subject over a period of a few days. It def. paled in comparison to WU's Orientations. And yes, it was painful.

*PPT= PowerPoint

*def. = definitely

Trip #1: Sydney

Soo…before coming to the lovely city of Brisbane, my mom and I stopped in Sydney for a few days. It was a great experience for us since we haven’t taken a trip (just the two of us) in a while, and we’ve never been that far away from home. But we quickly found our way around town/ the hotel and found a plethora of shopping outlets.

We also did the tourist-y stuff like: visiting the Opera house, taking a dinner cruise along the Sydney Harbour, visiting the SkyDeck to get a great view of the city.

While there, I also got a chance to network over coffee with a contact from an advertising firm that I am very interested in (shout out to Ramon for all his help!) Perhaps if we stayed a bit longer and it were warmer, we could have went to Bondi Beach but I don’t feel like we missed out on much. We had a great time and it allowed me to get used to the time change before I actually needed to lol.

Journey D’Unda

Sooo...

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my time here so far. While I do look forward to answering all of the lovely questions, I find myself answering the same questions and accidently leaving out a lot. So it was suggested that I just start a blog, thus Journey D’Unda begins. So I’ll recap a little of what I’ve experienced so far and continue to share my thoughts (random or deep lol), trips, frustrations, and joys with you all!

Let’s begin with the title Journey D’Unda…

For those who don’t know, I am studying abroad in Brisbane, Australia at the University of Queensland. Brisbane is north of Sydney and Melbourne in the Queensland state and it’s Australia’s 3^rd largest city. So that takes care of the “D’Unda” (Down Under) part. While I do plan on exploring other parts of Australia, the “Journey” is not solely travel related. Aside from the Caribbean, this is my first time out of the country. So I’m learning about, not only the Australian lifestyle, but also different cultures and how to live overseas. It’s a lot more than just figuring out how they drive on the left (althought it seems like its an accident waiting to happen, but maybe that’s just me). So the journey will definitely be a personal, yet exciting one. Enjoy the ride!

We’re not on the SouthSide anymore…