This week was pretty relaxing so I can't regale you with many fascinating stories or photos. Classes are mostly quite interesting and - even though it's winter- my ten-minute bike ride to campus already has got me arriving to class glistening with sweat. It's about time for all the Swatties in the US to be returning to campus, which has got me a little nostalgic, but luckily I'm enjoying myself too much here for that to be a problem. Among the week's highlights I might mention going out to Uni Club (the club on campus) with friends on Thursday and going to Cactus Jack's for chocolate nachos on Saturday. Cactus Jack's is a fairly nice restaurant/bar in town that serves TexMex food but also has a signature dessert dish that was just irresistible. For chocolate nachos, Instead of tortilla chips, the chips were chocolaty and coated in chocolate sauce with a mound of ice cream and whipped cream on top. It was delectable... The following day, I went to the pool and swam 2500 meters before water polo practice.
I've been attending water polo three times a week, and am really enjoying getting exercise, refreshing my degraded water polo skills, and befriending the other players. Practices are co-ed and the team consists of mostly Australians with a few Americans thrown in and it's really a fun group of people.
I can also report that my cooking skills are slowly but surely improving, as this is the first time in my life that I've had to shop and cook to provide my own regular meals. My successes so far include burritos and pasta (duh), as well as soup, tofu, asparagus, baked potato, and most recently couscous. It's not quite the makings of a gourmet menu, but I feel like I've already come a long way already and am continuing to try different dishes.
So there you have a little update on daily life. What I'm really looking forward to at the moment is my dad's visit - this upcoming weekend we will be traveling to Papua New Guinea! Let's hope we don't contract malaria or typhoid or dengue fever or Japanese encephalitis or... Okay, don't worry. We have vaccines and pills and DEET. Nonetheless, expect next week's post to be full of wondrous tales!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Cowboys, Culture, & Crocodiles
This schoolweek was awesome because I had a few cancelled classes so I could pretty much take it easy.
Townsville is the home of the National Rugby League team the Cowboys so on Friday I headed over to the stadium to watch them play the Bulldogs from Sydney with my friend Marissa, also a Southern Californian. The Aussie uni students (nobody here says “university,” it’s just “uni”) who drove us there explained the general rules of the game in the car so we could follow what was happening. The game is impressive – the players wear no pads, and they hit hard! After head-butting an opponent, one of them was knocked out for at least five minutes. Also amusing was that although there seemed to be no proper mascots, there were inexplicably costumed people walking around the edges of the field. We took a photo with Energy Man. The Cowboys lost 22-12 but it was so much fun to watch.
Saturday afternoon I went to the Strand with Marissa and Kelsi to check out the Culture Fest. We arrived just on time to watch a traditional Aboriginal dance performance. I took a video of it on my camera and plan to upload it at some point so you can see too. We browsed the stalls selling all kinds of exotic goods as well as the stands selling food from all over the world before leaving to lounge on the beach.
I spent Sunday afternoon with friends at Billabong Sanctuary, a zoo of native Australian animals. I watched a crocodile feeding, during which the presenter calmly said, “If you place yourself on their dinner plate, they can and will eat you. Their dinner plate is right about where I’m standing.” There’s also a photo of my friends standing next to a model of Goliath, a 5.2m (17’2”) crocodile and the largest ever held in captivity in the Northern Territory.
I got to pet a kangaroo (with a joey in its pouch!) and a dingo puppy, and I had the chance to hold a koala, baby crocodile, and sand python.
Townsville is the home of the National Rugby League team the Cowboys so on Friday I headed over to the stadium to watch them play the Bulldogs from Sydney with my friend Marissa, also a Southern Californian. The Aussie uni students (nobody here says “university,” it’s just “uni”) who drove us there explained the general rules of the game in the car so we could follow what was happening. The game is impressive – the players wear no pads, and they hit hard! After head-butting an opponent, one of them was knocked out for at least five minutes. Also amusing was that although there seemed to be no proper mascots, there were inexplicably costumed people walking around the edges of the field. We took a photo with Energy Man. The Cowboys lost 22-12 but it was so much fun to watch.
Saturday afternoon I went to the Strand with Marissa and Kelsi to check out the Culture Fest. We arrived just on time to watch a traditional Aboriginal dance performance. I took a video of it on my camera and plan to upload it at some point so you can see too. We browsed the stalls selling all kinds of exotic goods as well as the stands selling food from all over the world before leaving to lounge on the beach.
I spent Sunday afternoon with friends at Billabong Sanctuary, a zoo of native Australian animals. I watched a crocodile feeding, during which the presenter calmly said, “If you place yourself on their dinner plate, they can and will eat you. Their dinner plate is right about where I’m standing.” There’s also a photo of my friends standing next to a model of Goliath, a 5.2m (17’2”) crocodile and the largest ever held in captivity in the Northern Territory.
I got to pet a kangaroo (with a joey in its pouch!) and a dingo puppy, and I had the chance to hold a koala, baby crocodile, and sand python.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Maggie Island and Mountain Bikes
On Magnetic Island there is a Full Moon Party each month, which a number of people said I shouldn’t miss out on – so on Friday I took the ferry over to the island with a number of friends. It was fun and I got some cool shots of the party’s lights on the crowd but didn’t stay too late into the night. I don’t think I’ll go back if only because of the expense and hassle of trekking out to Maggie for a party – but enjoy the pics!
On Sunday I drove up Mt. Stuart with my landlords and some housemates to watch their son and our friend compete in a mountain bike race. It was fun to watch as bikers sped over obstacles and jumps, although one of the guys crashed and might have broken his hand. There’s also a beautiful view of the valley.
Today I have attended a lecture and turned in my first practical report. I have one more lecture to attend this afternoon and tonight is water polo practice!
On Sunday I drove up Mt. Stuart with my landlords and some housemates to watch their son and our friend compete in a mountain bike race. It was fun to watch as bikers sped over obstacles and jumps, although one of the guys crashed and might have broken his hand. There’s also a beautiful view of the valley.
Today I have attended a lecture and turned in my first practical report. I have one more lecture to attend this afternoon and tonight is water polo practice!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Another weekend
I’ve joined the JCU water polo club and will be practicing with them three times a week. It’s been awhile since I played formally but it’s a lot of fun to be doing it again. On Saturday I hiked Castle Hill for a second time.
That evening I hung out with my housemates. Here’s a photo of all seven residents of my house – we represent the US, Australia, Ireland, and Germany.
That evening I hung out with my housemates. Here’s a photo of all seven residents of my house – we represent the US, Australia, Ireland, and Germany.
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