Next comes stop two in Aussie. The Gold Coast was really fun! I stayed with JP which was just about 5 minutes from the beach and the main streets of Surfer’s Paradise. I was shocked when I walked into his flat because it was 500 times nicer than mine. He had a dishwasher, laundry machines, huge tv, nice couches, closets, 2 bathrooms, etc etc. I could just go on about this.
But anyways, I got to his flat and we immediately went to the beach. It’s such a pretty beach with great sand, waves, everything. I could definitely see why (and how) it’s called Surfer’s Paradise. It was great to just lay on the beach and relax. It was cinco de mayo we had a little Mexican fiesta with tacos and nachos.
In Australia, they all drink “goon” which is extremely cheap boxed wine. I’m not talking franzia. Franzia is the Chandon of boxed wine compared to this stuff. They play goon-pong and all sorts of games with it. Reason being: alcohol is RIDICULOUSLY expensive in Aus. I also brought over Captain Morgan Overproof which was pretty strong. I usually prefer strong drinks over sweet, and I would say this was very strong. But I only found that to be when I mixed it, shots were not terrrrrible.
The next day I woke up with two cravings: Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and a bagel. I am not talking a bagel from DD either, I am saying BURLINGTON BAGEL BAKERY OR GT. For some reason, Kiwis and Aussies have not picked up on the need for good bagels. And the iced coffees are made with espresso, heavy milk, and ice cream. I needed proper filter coffee with ice. But no complaining, I was in Australia. Just saying!
I went to the beach with Rachel that next morning. It was so beautiful but out of control windy. I was eating sand, so we decided to head off and do some shopping. She toured me around the streets a bit and we discovered an amazing store called Ally. We both bought some things (which were very pretty but not too expensive). Then discovered we were starving and headed off to lunch and had some delicious steak sandwiches while people watching. We went back to JP’s complex pool and he met us after classes.
That night, we headed to the “village” where pretty much all students live, located on campus. After a bit, we went to the “Tavern” which is kind of a dodgy fun little bar that all students go to on Thursdays. Buses stopped running so JP and I had to get a cab back to his flat which ended up being an adventure on its own. The cab rider claimed to be Jackie Chan and insisted that we give him our emails so he can send us something inspiring. The email (that he ACTUALLY sent) suggested that we don’t need to go to school to be intelligent. For some reason, I don’t think that’s true but I guess I’ll take his advice for the rest of the semester abroad :) It was a good time!
Friday, we rented a car! I can’t explain how much fun it was just to ride around, windows down, in Australia, with the awesome Aussie music. We almost crashed once into a parked car but regardless of that, it was great!! And we’re all alive (including the rental car) so that’s all that matters! We drove up to Mountain Tambourine with the intentions of visiting a glow worm cave and a canopy walk. By the time we stopped for lunch, picked up JP’s friend, that didn’t happen. We only had time for the canopy walk. It was pretty cool but I’m not sure if it was really worth the $15AUD. It was nice to be up high in the air and breathing such fresh air.
So on this whole Aus trip I have done many things that involve heights! 1) flights 2) Eureka Sky Deck 3) this canopy walk - man, I'm on fire with facing this fear! However, they did think it was "funny" to shake the walkway which terrified me. We stopped at a little bar on the way back that overlooked Surfer’s Paradise and we all watched the sunset. It was so pretty! His friend is Australian and took us to a cool little town for dinner. We ordered pizzas and sat by the water. And there are lots of huge fruit bats in Aussieland. His friend, Josh, was throwing stuff at the trees and one flew right in front of me!!! I was terrified!! We dropped Rachel and her friend Marni off then went back to start our night.
We went to a casino. It was the first time I’d ever been and the guys played a few games as I just kind of watched and absorbed the casino scene. The next day, we didn’t really do much but ended up buying our Pub Crawl tickets. It starts at 6 and it’s an organized pub crawl throughout the city. We visited about 4-5 venues. Some of them weren’t that great but the guys had a whole system down. If it was a dodgy spot, we would get the stamp, free drink, and head back to the flat. It worked out great considering entry fees are around $15 each, beers are $8+, and they live 5 minutes away. PERFECT. We ended up at O’Malley’s which was an awesome little bar that would fit right in Burlington. The scene was so fun. They play a variety of songs that are classics and fun. It was definitely a good way to end the night. We were exhausted so we headed back and Rachel + others ended at Maca’s (McDonalds!).
The next day was Sunday, meaning the last day of my Australian adventure! :(
I packed up, took the bus to the train station and took the train into Brisbane (about an hour away). The airport was really nice and actually bans plastic bags. I bought stuff at the duty free and couldn’t get a bag. So weird. I actually have noticed I am way less environmental since being abroad. There really aren’t opportunities to recycle. I have not recycled one thing since I left in the beginning of February. I bet you thought you would never hear that from me!
Grocery stores charge for each bag (10 cents) so I have my own bags but honestly, that’s just to save money really. I lately have not really cared about being environmental. Shocker, huh?
All in all, a GREAT trip! It definitely was nice to see familiar faces and play with friends!
I had a presentation today which I was extremely nervous about! It was in my Popular Culture and the Media class. I actually don’t mind this class (it’s my favourite one here) but everyone stares at me when I talk. Other classes, they just kind of listen but this one, they literally turn their heads and watch me talk. I feel like I’m a doll or some weird creature. The class is split.. it has a lecture (which 5/30ish are Americans) and then a tutorial, which I am the only American. I obviously don’t mind that and it’s not a big deal. But when I am talking it is fairly odd. The presentation went okay though! It’s done.
It’s funny that everyone is finishing up with school back home and seeing “summer time!” all over facebook walls is weird. Because really- I have another 2 weeks of classes before exams. But I heard it snowed yesterday so have fun with that miss Vermont!
So that’s about all.. nothing too exciting going on these next few weeks but I’ll hopefully have some sort of news or drama to fill in.
xoxo
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