Home sweet Brissie.

Brisbane (or I guess I should say St. Lucia, the suburb where our campus is located) is starting to feel more comfortable every ten minutes, I swear. Even so, there are definitely some things I don't think I will ever get used to, like:

1. Having to switch on power outlets even after plugging things in. Each outlet has its own little switch, which I forget to press every time.

2. Ordering coffee. I'm not convinced that regular drip coffee exists here. According to the barista at the coffee shop I found today (who immediately knew I was either American or Canadian), most drinks are espresso based here, which is delicious but expensive. I still don't know what asking for a "long white coffee" will get me, but my hazelnut latte was good enough!

3. Using Australian currency. At both the coffee shop and the post office, the people working basically had to take the money from my wallet. The bills are awesome, so colorful and made from plastic-y material, but the coins are wicked confusing. You can't lose track of them like you can American coins either, since Aussies use coins for $1 and even $2 pieces.

4. Passing on the right when you walk. I try to move out of the way by getting to the right side of the path, and end up zig-zagging as I remember that passing etiquette is the opposite here.

Other than those minor mishaps, things are great. Today after eating lunch with some other St. John's students, I took a long walk around campus to get my bearings. UQ is so, so beautiful! Between the palm trees, lakes, sandstone buildings, and constant sunshine, I was whipping out my camera every two minutes. Definitely full-on tourist mode. Here are some of my faves:


This is one of the lakes near my college, of which I was unaware until I stumbled upon it today.


One of the previously mentioned sandstone buildings. Each brick is swirled with orange, white, and purple. Love you mean it Vandy, but these beat your brick buildings by a mile.


I believe this is called the Great Court. Whether or not that's right, it was gorgeous and full of people reading and playing frisbee. Soon enough I will definitely be one of them.


Quick trip to the rainforest? Oh, no, just to the middle of the UQ campus!


And finally, my newest home away from home, St. John's College. The front, anyway. My flat is wayyyy in the back!

Tonight a couple of the other girls on the program and I had a planning session for our potential travels this semester. Some spots at the top of the list: sailing the Whitsunday islands, snorkeling/diving in Cairns, Fiji, New Zealand, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road, the Outback, and Hawaii. And that's maybe half of what we came up with. Spending five months on this side of the world calls for ambitious plans though. Oh, here's that kangaroo I promised: