So this past weekend was probably one of the best weekends of my life. It was sooo much fun.
So on Friday we left Bond Uni on a bus at about 8:30 P.M. This bus was a huge charter bus and was really cool. On the bus we watched a couple movies and listened to a huge group of Brazilians sing song to Portuguese. In all the bus ride was around 5 hrs with two 20 min stops. When we finally got to Spot-X it was around 1:30. We were all really tired but we didn't get to go to bed right away. First of all we all met in the eating area and had a 20 min talk and then got a tour of the area. We then went on a little walk to the beach and finally got to bed at around 2:30.
The next morning we got a wake up call at 7 A.M. It was raining pretty hard but we were all still excited to go surfing so we got up and had a quick breakfast. Cereal and Australian Bacon which is basically Canadian bacon / cooked ham. We then met in the surfing school place at 8 and got a quick list of rules and safety precautions. At about 8:30 we finally got to put our wetsuits on and take a surf board to the beach. We did this in twos as the boards were quite big and kind of heavy.
Once we finally got to the beach the instructor showed us how to get stroke and stand up on the board. It was pretty simple on land but a little difficult once we got in the water. After about 30 mins on the sand we were given the ok to go in the water. I was the first one out there so the instructor gave me a little help and I caught the very first wave. It was amazing. I got up and surfed on my very first try. We then got to surf for about 3 hrs. It rained the whole time but no one cared because we were in the water anyway and the ocean was really warm. In all the first session went pretty well. At the end I was actually getting up consistently on my own.
After the first session we went and got lunch. I had hot dogs, pineapple, and some Salomi. After eating we went back out for our second lesson at 2 P.M. By this time the rain had stopped but the waves had gotten quite a bit bigger and rougher. When we all got into the water the change in waves caused a few problems at first but ended up being a lot of fun. I even got to go out a little farther with one of the instructors and catch one of the biggest waves of the day. It was so sweet. By the end of this session I was doing a little better but was extremely tired.
After getting out of the water at about 5 we changed and talked for a while until dinner. I got to know the other people in my room. In all there was 9 girls and me in this room. lol. 5 of the girls were my friends for Bond (all Americans) and the other four were from various places. Laura was from Scotland and she came with Sebana from Ireland. They are doing an architect internship in Brisbane. The other two, Constanza and Daniela were from Germany they are studying in Australia too. After talking to everyone for a while we finally went to dinner at about 6:30. I had Porch Schnitzel, fries, pineapple and some chocolate cake thing. It was all pretty good.
After dinner the real fun started. There was live band and a bonfire. After listening to the bands a little I went to the bonfire where I met a ton more people. First of all I met 5 girls from Canada, Melissa, Stephanie, Stephanie, April, and Amanda, who are getting teaching degrees up on the sunshine Coast. I then met a huge group of people from Great Britain. One of their names was Harry and his middle name was Peter so everyone called him Harry Potter. I also met another guy named Chris who was pretty cool and hung out with us for the night. The rest of the night was just me talking to everyone and watching people get drunk off of goon, an extremely cheep and disgusting wine. I only had one glass and couldn't take it so just talked to everyone the rest of the night. At about 11 just after the DJ started I went to bed because I was so tired.
The next morning we had another 7 A.M. wake up call. This time it was sunny out but for some people that was bad as they were a little hung over. And no mom I was not one of those people I only had one glass of cheep week goon all night. After having another breakfast of the same thing we went out for our third and final surfing session. It was extremely hard to get into the wetsuits though because they were so wet and cold from the day before. After we got out suits on we went back down to the ocean, had a quick stretch session where the instructor told us of a few trick we could try, and then hit the ocean. The waves were perfect this time. Some big and some small. Perfect for all of us beginners. The surfing went well and I even got in once trick. I jumped and switched feet. I actually landed it and stayed on the board for about 5 seconds afterwords.
After our last surf lesson we changed, packed, and had lunch. I just had hot dogs again. I then went and bought a hoodie package which came with 15 pictures that I will be posting once I pick them online. We then boarded the buses for another 5 hour ride. This time we took a quick 45 minute stop in Byron Bay which another very nice tourist town. I got some Gelatto which was really good.
Well over all the weekend was great. Next up is a Rugby game and Frasor Island.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
More Pictures!
Hey so not to much new has happened lately but I did just post more pictures. I got the Scuba dving ones developed and I posted a few from the beach. http://christopherberger.shutterfly.com/
I should have a stories after this weekend though. Going Surfing!!! wohooo
I should have a stories after this weekend though. Going Surfing!!! wohooo
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Classes Started Today
So I finally have started classes today. Not sure what to think yet but they don't seem to horrible so far.
As for last week it was extremely busy. There was a ton of stuff to do on campus and a ton of people to meet. We did things like go to a trivia night, bowling, ride the bus and the beach. This was the first time I ever road a public bus and it was kind of interesting but I'm getting the hand of it and it's not too bad.
The beach was absolutely amazing. The waves are crazy. I did some body surfing which was a lot of fun. My first time i failed epicly and got my face jammed into the sand which hurt a little but I got better. I caught some really good and went really really far. It only took a few scratches to get the hang of it.
I also went to my first rugby game ever. It was actually kind of boring but it was just our club team at school so I am getting tickets to go to a professional game on June 11th.
Before that though we are going to go to a surf weekend. I'm super excited. We get to to stay two nights on the beach while having three surf lessons and even a bonfire on the beach. It sounds really cool. There are also going to be a bunch of live band there so that should be really fun. It's going to be the last week in May so I will make sure and post some pictures then.
As for last week it was extremely busy. There was a ton of stuff to do on campus and a ton of people to meet. We did things like go to a trivia night, bowling, ride the bus and the beach. This was the first time I ever road a public bus and it was kind of interesting but I'm getting the hand of it and it's not too bad.
The beach was absolutely amazing. The waves are crazy. I did some body surfing which was a lot of fun. My first time i failed epicly and got my face jammed into the sand which hurt a little but I got better. I caught some really good and went really really far. It only took a few scratches to get the hang of it.
I also went to my first rugby game ever. It was actually kind of boring but it was just our club team at school so I am getting tickets to go to a professional game on June 11th.
Before that though we are going to go to a surf weekend. I'm super excited. We get to to stay two nights on the beach while having three surf lessons and even a bonfire on the beach. It sounds really cool. There are also going to be a bunch of live band there so that should be really fun. It's going to be the last week in May so I will make sure and post some pictures then.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Great Barrier Reef and arriving at Bond
On sunday I went out to the great barrier reef. It was soo pretty. First to get to the reef though we had a two plus hour boat ride. This was really fun because the front of the boat had two huge hamock like things on the front that we could sit in. This was a really good way to get wet but I found a corner that only got wet once or twice. Once we finally made it to the reef we took a smaller little boat to an island where we got to snorkel. (these picture are on my water proof camera so I need to get them put on a CD). There were so many fish and I got to touch a turtle. It was awesome. After snorkeling for about 45 mins it was then finally my groups turn to scuba. This was so much fun. We just swam around the reef for about 45 mins. We saw a stingray, a giant shell, and even nemo =D After we got done scubaing we had lunch on the boat while it moved to another spot. We then got to scuba again in this new spot which there was no island at. It was a little waiving but there was a huge drop off we could swim around and see a ton of fish. Finally after everone was done we took the boat back into shore but this took even longer than 2 hours because we went by sail.
The next day (Monday) we had to say goodbye to our leader Russel who was really cool. He really helped us get ahold of being in Australia. We then took a 2 hour plane ride to Brisbane. Then we had a 1.5 hour bus ride to Bond. Once we finally got here (about 3 pm) we threw all our stuff in our room and went over to the Uni to see it. It's so pretty. Pictures are coming I promise. We then did all the first time school stuff like getting our Id's and email addresses and stuff. We then went back to our room to unpack. Finally, it is so nice to not live out of a suit case anymore. When we got back to our room my roomate Felipe was here. He is from Brazil and seems cool. I also got to meet one of his friends Xavier from Caledonia. One of the neighbors roomates was also here. Here name is Basia and she is from Poland. She is soo funny.
We didn't do too much on Tuesday went to Bond and got more information. Stuff like bus passes and books and access to the gym. I also went to a resume seminar because I am applying for an on campus job for a little extra spending money. The main thing we did Tuesday was go to a welcome party where there serve wine. It was crazy the school was serving alcohol at there party. So strange. At the party we met more people from all over the world. One from Norway, Canada, North Carolina, Ukraine, Sydney and more but I don't remember.
Well thats all for now. Cheers.
Chris
The next day (Monday) we had to say goodbye to our leader Russel who was really cool. He really helped us get ahold of being in Australia. We then took a 2 hour plane ride to Brisbane. Then we had a 1.5 hour bus ride to Bond. Once we finally got here (about 3 pm) we threw all our stuff in our room and went over to the Uni to see it. It's so pretty. Pictures are coming I promise. We then did all the first time school stuff like getting our Id's and email addresses and stuff. We then went back to our room to unpack. Finally, it is so nice to not live out of a suit case anymore. When we got back to our room my roomate Felipe was here. He is from Brazil and seems cool. I also got to meet one of his friends Xavier from Caledonia. One of the neighbors roomates was also here. Here name is Basia and she is from Poland. She is soo funny.
We didn't do too much on Tuesday went to Bond and got more information. Stuff like bus passes and books and access to the gym. I also went to a resume seminar because I am applying for an on campus job for a little extra spending money. The main thing we did Tuesday was go to a welcome party where there serve wine. It was crazy the school was serving alcohol at there party. So strange. At the party we met more people from all over the world. One from Norway, Canada, North Carolina, Ukraine, Sydney and more but I don't remember.
Well thats all for now. Cheers.
Chris
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Adventures
So Australia is pretty much amazing. I finally met the fourth Bond Student. I think we're all going to get along quite well.
After meeting Kristin all four of us went white water rafting. We went in the mountains of the rainforest. It was beautiful. I took some pictures with my water proof camera that I will develop after the great barrier reef tomorrow.
Friday was even cooler. We went back up into the rainforest and went to rainforestation which is an Australian animal/aboriginal place. We went into this enclosed area that had wallabies and kangaroos running around that we could pet. It was so cool. Then we got to get our picture taken with a koala for free. Then we went up to an old hippie town and went to the markets. We then went back and took a nap before dinner and a pub crawl. The downtown area is really nice.
So today is Saturday and we are sitting outside by the beach in a really cool restaurant that has free wi-fi. Cairns is so awesome but I can't wait to go to Gold Coast and move in. Miss you all.
Cheers,
Chris
After meeting Kristin all four of us went white water rafting. We went in the mountains of the rainforest. It was beautiful. I took some pictures with my water proof camera that I will develop after the great barrier reef tomorrow.
Friday was even cooler. We went back up into the rainforest and went to rainforestation which is an Australian animal/aboriginal place. We went into this enclosed area that had wallabies and kangaroos running around that we could pet. It was so cool. Then we got to get our picture taken with a koala for free. Then we went up to an old hippie town and went to the markets. We then went back and took a nap before dinner and a pub crawl. The downtown area is really nice.
So today is Saturday and we are sitting outside by the beach in a really cool restaurant that has free wi-fi. Cairns is so awesome but I can't wait to go to Gold Coast and move in. Miss you all.
Cheers,
Chris
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
I'm Here
So I'm finaly in Australia. I'm using free wi-fi at McDonalds right now so I'll post pictures when I get to my room in a couple weeks. So here is my airport adventures.
So first of all I get to the Detroit airport and g0t told my tennis bag is too big so I had to stuff everything into my backpack. Crazy because there was a guy with a guitar bag :P. Then I finally get to Chicago and am sitting at the airport and they change my gate so I have to run to the opposite side of the airport. After the 4+ hours flight to L.A. I have to ride this bus thing to the international airport which took me forever to find. I then got to meet two of the three other americans that are going. They both seem really cool. It's going to be a lot of fun. After sitting in the L.A. airport for over 4 hours we finally get to board the plane to Sydney at 10:00 L.A. time. The plane was amazing. We all had our own screens which we could choose between over 100 movies plus play games. I only watched Sherlock Homes because I slept a lot of the way. The plane ride was over 14 hours long but actaully went really fast. There wasn't too many people on the plane so there were extra seats for extra room. So After we touched down in Sydney two days after I left (we left May 3rd and it was May 5th when I arrived) the real fun started. First of all my visa was not completely filled out or something so I had to step asside for a few minutes wile they fixed it. Once I finaly got through customs we had a hour delay which was killer as the three of us were so anxious to get to take a shower and go to bed. Finaly we made it after around 24 hours in an airplane plus over 10 hours in an airport and took a shower. Then got our cells phones and went out to eat. Then we all went to bed at like 8 o'clock local time but we were so tired.
So now it's my first full day and we walked to mcdonald before we go white water rafting :D. The best part is the mcdonalds is right by the ocean so were stopping by there in a few before we head out. Like I said I'll post pics as soon as I can.
Cheers everyone!
Chris
So first of all I get to the Detroit airport and g0t told my tennis bag is too big so I had to stuff everything into my backpack. Crazy because there was a guy with a guitar bag :P. Then I finally get to Chicago and am sitting at the airport and they change my gate so I have to run to the opposite side of the airport. After the 4+ hours flight to L.A. I have to ride this bus thing to the international airport which took me forever to find. I then got to meet two of the three other americans that are going. They both seem really cool. It's going to be a lot of fun. After sitting in the L.A. airport for over 4 hours we finally get to board the plane to Sydney at 10:00 L.A. time. The plane was amazing. We all had our own screens which we could choose between over 100 movies plus play games. I only watched Sherlock Homes because I slept a lot of the way. The plane ride was over 14 hours long but actaully went really fast. There wasn't too many people on the plane so there were extra seats for extra room. So After we touched down in Sydney two days after I left (we left May 3rd and it was May 5th when I arrived) the real fun started. First of all my visa was not completely filled out or something so I had to step asside for a few minutes wile they fixed it. Once I finaly got through customs we had a hour delay which was killer as the three of us were so anxious to get to take a shower and go to bed. Finaly we made it after around 24 hours in an airplane plus over 10 hours in an airport and took a shower. Then got our cells phones and went out to eat. Then we all went to bed at like 8 o'clock local time but we were so tired.
So now it's my first full day and we walked to mcdonald before we go white water rafting :D. The best part is the mcdonalds is right by the ocean so were stopping by there in a few before we head out. Like I said I'll post pics as soon as I can.
Cheers everyone!
Chris
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