I meant to post this blog earlier but I didn't. Deal with it. Don't worry, it''s mostly pictures.
This weekend I decided to walk to Mount Coot-Tha. It's the highest peak in Brisbane and gives a pretty good view of the city. It's about a two and a half miles from my house so I lathered on some sunscreen (a lot of sunscreen), and hit the pavement. On the way up the hill I happened upon the Brisbane Botanical Gardens. It was free admittance so of course I had to check it out, and I was not disappointed. The Gardens, which appeared to be run by a group of delightful elderly women, was spectacular. I walked around the whole park just looking at the wildlife. There were certain sections dedicated to certain plant life, like an arid section (I have no idea how they keep it arid, it's been raining for days here), a jungle section, Australia country, the fern house, the Bansai house. It was really a very cool place.
Here are some pictures.
Arid country. It's like a little piece of SoCal (Southern California to the layman) in Brisbane.
Bio-Dome. If you've been wondering where Pauly Shore has been living all these years, it's here.
Inside the biodome. Pretty wicked.
Water Dragon. There were literally thousands of these in the park. This was one of the bigger ones, but every step you took you would hear the scurrying of the little ones as the ran away.
Did a double take here.
Ibis. They are viewed as somewhat of nuisances by Australians. They just hang around outdoor cafes and restaurants scavenging. I find them quite beautiful but I'm sure in a couple of months I will hate them too.
Ibis among the Bamboo.
Kookaburra. I don't think he's in a gumtree though.
Saw these spiders everywhere. They would often make there webs across walkways. I let one bite me in an attempt to gain super powers but all I got were a couple extra eyes and the ability to repel people. Total ripoff.
Flower of the plant variety.
When they grow old enough they fall off the trees and become Hedgehogs. But really I'm not sure what this is.
Plants and water.
Giant stick bugs.
Sighting of the day. When I showed these pictures to the lady at the front gate she said that it was a Goanna and that I was lucky to spot one, although she also said that this was probably a baby and they could get much bigger. It was the biggest lizard I had ever seen in the wild.
On the road.
Again.
Photography coutesy of pleasant Asian couple.
Okay, so after an hour or so walking around the botanical gardens I continued my walk up to Mount Coot-Tha. They didn't really have a walkway for pedestrians and it wasn't a very scenic route getting there but once I reached the observatory it was pretty nice. There are a couple of restaurants and some gift shops. After taking some pictures I sat down with a cup of coffee and did a crossword puzzle while surveying one of Brisbanes finest views.
Brisbane in all of it's glory.
View that doesn't show Brisbane.
I clearly just found out about my camera's panorama feature.
Cafe.
Met a Japanese father and son at the summit. They took my picture and I took theirs. Very nice people.
Someone once told me that only about 20 percent of college is learning how to do your job and that the other 80 percent is learning how to live your life. When you think about it there are a lot of things you learn about life in college: living on your own, buying your own groceries, learning how to cook your own meals (or for me, getting better at making sandwiches). But I think there a lot of psychological, social, and emotional hurtles you learn to deal with: leaving your parents, meeting new people, getting used to new places, coping with regular mustard rather than dijon. One of the hurtles I've been dealing with is this feeling of "I have no idea what's going on". This is something I've encountered a lot since I've entered college. I mean, they probably could have named Linear Algebra "What are you talking about...Algebra". I hate not knowing what's going on. All of public school I felt like I knew what was going on and it was comforting. It is disconcerting to have no direction, but as the great musician Marvin Gaye once said, "Oh, you know we've got to find a way/ To bring some understanding here today". So I suppose that if college is just a class about life, then studying abroad is the immersion therapy portion of the class because I really have no idea what I'm doing.
Okay, are you tired of hearing the philosophical ramblings of a 21 year old? Me too. Substitute that Nietszche for some Miche and take a bite out of my blog sandwich. I'll talk about me not knowing what I'm doing in Brisbane.
I've been in Australia for about two weeks now and I've spent most of that time just wandering around. I found permanent housing in a suburb of Brisbane named Toowong. It's in a share house with a bunch of different people. It's a large and pretty nice house, although the kitchen is a bit gross. I'm learning to cope with seeing geckos and cockroaches inside, which I guess is something most Australians are comfortable with? The doors to the house are generally open to allow airflow so I live in constant fear of a taipan wandering into the house, one of the many reasons why the door and windows of my room are constantly shut. My landlord claims to have seen a Huntsman spider, although Australians are known to inspire fear in unwitting Americans who are terrified of the Queensland fauna. All of this combined with the fact that nobody is ever around and that the rooms are somewhat ill lit results in me being very jumpy when I go around the house. It is all made up for by the house's enormous porch where I can sit out on at dusk doing a crossword and watch the Flying Foxes glide over the city.
*Word to the wise, do not look up flying foxes if you are afraid of bats. Completely harmless. Completely terrifying.
My room (only ever clean for when I'm taking pictures of it)
Porch where I spend most of my time.
Kitchen where I cook as fast as I can because it's gross
Living room to porch
Toowong is a nice suburb, although somewhat busier than what I'm used to. There is a nice mall called Toowong Village, which is different from malls in the US because it includes a produce market, grocery store, and library, as well as other small stores. I got a library card which is nice because Brisbane's library system is very extensive. There are also some nice cafes in Toowong as well as a number of bars of restaurants that I haven't had the time to check out yet.
Last Saturday I walked into the Central Business District of Brisbane to just sort of walk around. I really didn't go in with a plan because I just wanted to see what it was like. Downtown Brisbane is a fairly easy place to get around in. All of the architecture is pretty modern which is what I've found to be one of the most enjoyable things about Australia. When I was walking around St. Lucia, which is the suburb where University of Queensland is located I was shocked to see how many cool and hip houses were just surrounding the school, which I think is somewhat of a far-cry from what it is at Cornell.
Typical architecture just in St. Lucia. I just remembered Cayuga Heights but whatever.
Anyway, back in the city I found what could be equated to the Ithaca Commons of Brisbane, sans bong shops, and avec security (I had to look up the word avec). The result was an absolute delight: bustling with people, open air restaurants, and a respectable amount of quality performers.
I spent the rest of my day looking at buildings, walking into shops, and taking pictures. Brisbane is a pretty swell city.
George V, known for being played by Michael Gambon in "The King's Speech", who is known for playing Dumbledore.
Commons area in Brisbane which I can only imagine is named "The Ithaca Commons", but I may be wrong.
Cool thing
Treasury building which I later found out was a casino.
SOOO PRETTY, SPONSER ME FUJIFILM
I suppose the best cure for not knowing what's going on is experience. This week was orientation for UQ, and although I have an extreme aversion to orientations since freshman year of college, this one wasn't that bad because I've learned since then. I knew more about what was going on because I'd been through it before. Orientation is just one big confusion festival. Pressures to get involved and make friends. Eh, just go at your own pace. I'll write another blog once I do something else interesting.
Okay, I probably should have started this blog earlier. Sorry Mom (I know you and Grandma are probably the only readers). I just had nothing to write about before I came here. I tried to sit down and write something while I was in LAX, but as far as I got was a quote from the first line of "Party in the USA", by Miley Cyrus. So here is a short intro: my name is Art and I'm a (male) engineering student studying abroad at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. My favorite movie is The Notebook and I enjoy long walks on the beach.
I've never seen The Notebook.
Alright, let's get to the good stuff.
Contrary to what I have told many people, my middle name is not Spaghetti. It is Benetti and it originates from Northern Italy (I think). Now although Benettis are good Catholics, I haven't run into any other Benettis besides my immediate family...until now. Hold on, rewind, let me go back to 2011. In September of that year, Cathy Williams (née Benetti) visited Des Moines, Iowa to meet up with my Mom, Grandma, six of my Aunts and Uncles, and a handful of my cousins (I guesstimate about 12 of them). This was their first meeting and they all fell in love with each other despite both sides being somewhat nervous about the encounter. Okay, now fast forward to the winter of 2012 and I have just announced to my Mom that I'm going to Brisbane for the semester. She immediately got online to message Cathy and tell her that I'm coming to Australia. With an equal amount of haste, she responded by asking if I wanted to stay with them for a spell when I arrived. I readily agreed because I had heard nothing but absolutely good things about these Aussie Benettis.
Fast forward again to a week ago. Brisbane, Australia. I am tremendously anxious about being in a new place. I was picked up at the airport by the youngest of Cathy's two sons, and the third youngest of the family, Jack. We chat on the car ride up from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast where the Williams family lives. Jack is somewhat of a clown and speaks with a good amount of Australian slang, which makes the car ride a good bit of fun. It's striking to me how friendly he is despite having just met me; a characteristic I have found common in Australians so far. When we arrive at the house I'm greeted by Cathy, who could fall into line with my Mom and her sister and not be picked as the odd one out. She immediately hugs me and shows me around the house, which is beautiful. Really, probably one of the most superb homes I've ever seen. *See pictures*
Cathy is honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met. I couldn't have imagined a more welcoming entrance into the country. She treated me as if I was a family member who she hadn't seen in several years rather than a family member she has never met. It was a form of hospitality I didn't think I would see outside of the havens of comfort I have back in the US. She gave me vegemite on toast, and Australian candy, and cheese and crackers while we got to know each other.
Through the rest of the day I met the other members of the Williams as the family arrived home. Colin, Cathy's husband, runs a business that designs and manufactures the interiors of buildings. The quality of his work is apparent in his home, which he designed. He was generous enough to drive me around to certain hotspots on the Sunshine Coast, and we had many good talks about sports, traveling, accents, and our native countries. Three of the children work for the family business: Ben, who is the oldest child; Jack; and Chelsea, who is the youngest child. Tegan, who got a science degree from QUT, works in Brisbane but spends a good amount of time in the Sunshine Coast as well. Overall, the family spends a lot of time together, which makes the household absolutely delightful to be around. I suppose that's what you miss the most when you leave home: the organized chaos of family. A Williams family dinner has the same qualities of a Benetti family get together: good food, good conversation, good laughs...a respectable amount of alcohol. Needless to say my first weekend in Australia was delightful and I can't thank the Willams family enough.
On Sunday, Tegan drove me down to Brisbane. We went to South Bank with Jack and some of his friends, which is like a man-made sandy beach within the city. I got sunburn almost immediately. After that, Tegan was kind enough to take me around the University of Queensland campus while we waited for the landlord for the apartment I was staying at to get home. I should take this time to say that Tegan is one cool lady and was super helpful when it came to getting situated in Brisbane. For the rest of the week I just wandered around St. Lucia, which is the suburb where UQ resides, and looked for housing.
Here are some pictures I've taken so far. I added captions on some of them.
Kangaroos at University of the Sunshine Coast. They are wild animals but just sort of hang around the campus.
Super artsy photos in Montville. We got coffee there. It was pretty foggy that day, but you can see to the ocean when it's clear.
Proof that it's me
Beach down the road from where the Williams used to live. The beach has been washed out due to flooding. Still very beautiful.
I am about to move into a more permanent housing situation this afternoon. I guess til next time. Sullivan out.
