Week 1

7.30.10

Well,

The first week of classes is finally done. I have met all of my professors but am not sure where my tutors are for the classes; I will find out in week 3. My official classes are: World Religions, Australia’s Marine Environment, History of the Supernatural, and Wind Symphony.

In World Religions, all we pretty much did was the general “welcome to this course” and then had mini discussions and group discussions about religion. I found out that religion is taught in more schools than I thought. This part of the discussion I could not put in any input. One of the requirements is that I go study three different religious worship services. One of those will be to the Hillsong church. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is a mega church (from what I have been told) with a group call Hillsong. The peeps from the church I play at were bugging me that I have to go meet them while I was here. Thus, I will try!

In Australia’s Marine Environment, I got another general “welcome to the course.” This was followed by explanations of the two field trip options. The first one is to the Moreton Bay Research Station on North Stradbroke Island. This is a three day trip. This is the trip I will be going on. The second one is to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef. This is a five day trip. Both trips will include a small research project and then some fun things. If you are wondering, “Brian, Why aren’t’ you going on the one to the Great Barrier Reef?” well, it’s because it is twice as expensive, I already have plans to check out Sydney during that trip, and I will be going to the Great Barrier Reef anyway. We also learned about the scientific method…oh joy!

In the history of the Supernatural, we once again we had a “welcome to this course.” Then the professor started making us think differently about words like just (i.e. “oh, that is JUST a myth”) and how words like “History” can be put in the title of a course and it count for credit but if the course is called, “Angels, Ghosts, and Vampires,” will get rejected.

In Wind Symphony, since this is basically a year long course, we dove right into playing. We are playing ‘Four Scottish Dance’ and ‘Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.’ And then we played through some other pieces. This is where I met quite a few people. This ensemble seems like it is going to be a blast.

Other events that happened this week include: QUMS, Market Day, and the Williams Dinner. I will start with QUMS, the Queensland University Musical Society. It is a non-auditioned, mixed choir. They are singing Handel’s Solomon. I did not get the greatest vibe from the group and I doubt I will be joining for reasons stated later. Now on to Market Day. Market Day is the day when all of the clubs and sports and everything set up booths around the Great Court and get people to sign up and get e-mails and such. Similar to the one DU has during Discoveries Week; I can’t remember what it is called. I signed up for the Club Golf team, we’ll see how that works since my clubs are at my house in Denver; an international group called QUEST; and the Ultimate Frisbee team. I am hoping that I do not injure myself again at the first practice like I did at DU. This is the conflict with QUMS. Both Ultimate and QUMS meet on Wednesday nights. Since I would rather do Ultimate Frisbee, I must forego QUMS. Now to the Williams Dinner. This is annual formal dinner at King’s. We all were given Harry Potter Gowns for the dinner and had to wear shirt and tie under it. At this dinner, the high table had the Governor of Queensland, The chancellor and Vice Chancellor of UQ, the Head Master of King’s, and a few other people along with significant others. At the dinner we were served spicy carrot soup, rotisserie chicken and polenta, and lemon-lime cheesecake. This was one of the most delicious dinners I have had while here. This also was the time for the Williams speech in honor of Dr. Williams, hence the name of the dinner. This lecture was given by the Chancellor and since 2010 is the Centenary for UQ, it was about UQ’s past 100 years and looking forward to the next 100 years.

That was my first week of school. I am hoping that the folowing weeks are just as exciting!

Checkin' out Brisbane

7.24.10

Well,

Classes are slowly approaching. This is my last weekend before the semester starts. With my last few days, I got to check out the city a bit more. There is a large walking mall similar to 16^th street mall but without a mall ride and much bigger with a couple indoor malls as well. I am starting to learn the bus system but am nowhere close to mastering it. I am feeling more and more comfortable exploring and not needing to keep track of where the bus stop is that I need to be at. I have also used the City Cat which is basically a water bus. Since the river runs from campus to the city and to suburbs, it is a fun way to get back and forth.

The other night I went to the RE and got my first drink. I also checked out the bar scene in Fortitude Valley and have decided that I am not a fan of the bars, so I doubt I will be going out on the town very much, if ever.

On Friday, the DU gals and I headed to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This by far has been the best thing I have done since I got here. This place was like a zoo. There were birds, snakes, reptiles, wombats, kangaroos, emus, and of course Koalas. I took over 280 pictures and like 5 videos. The ones that aren’t blurry or anything will be posted on Facebook. While there I got to feed emus and kangaroos, and hold a koala. I just had a blast while I was there; it was absolutely fantastic.

O Week

7.21.10

Well,

I am finally done with orientation. It was only three days and it was nowhere near as intense as DU’s 8am-10pm Discoveries week…thank goodness! I have a couple international welcomes and required lectures about the school and about Australian culture. The first one was kind of boring but necessary telling all the international students what “O Week” (Orientation week) is and how to enroll in classes and how to find out what the events for the week were. The next one was the official welcome but the vice chancellor of the Uni (university) and some other department heads and speakers. Again, they told us about enrolling and how to find out the events of O Week. Then there was a break for morning tea. That was followed by a special lecture for study abroad and exchange students. This is where I learned about Tim Tam Explosions, which are supposed to be amazing, I didn’t get to try it, and about how to get cheap flights for when I travel the rest of the country. Then it was time for the BBQ. The next session I went to was “Safety Down Under.” This was entertaining. They talked about how to be safe on campus, at the beach, where not to go late at night, what animals are around and what to do if for some reason we encounter them, and we got lots of phone numbers and contacts for poison control or emergency help. Then I went to an “Exams at UQ” lecture that was super boring and unhelpful. Then I went to a “Learn to Enroll and Read Your Timetable” session which was the shortest and most helpful session I have gone to all week. I think I finally figured out my schedule which I will list later. And lastly, I went to the Bachelor of Creative Arts session which I thought was going to be more talking about the music school, based on the description that talked about the head of the music school coming to talk, but it was worthless to me since I will only be here for a semester.

Around King’s, more people are showing up and I am meeting more Australian’s. The kitchen staff is amazing and the nicest most talkative people I have met. I finally tried vegemite! It looks like chocolate frosting and when I initially tried it, that’s what I thought it was and was sorely mistaken. Then I was shown the proper way to eat it and am still not a fan. I tried it and that was one of my goals checked off. I have met a couple more Americans, a guy from Pakistan, a guy from Seoul-South Korea, and many more Australians since the QUT guys are back from break. The meals are slowly getting better as more people arrive. I am told that by this weekend, everyone will be back and that means about 200 people in the College. The lady that works at the front desk, Sue, is awesome. If I need anything, she knows who to talk to and/or where to get it. It has been very nice having a resource like that.

I have slowly been talking to the DU girls a bit more and we are heading to the city for lunch tomorrow and hopefully the koala sanctuary this Friday! I am really excited for that. This weekend I will also hopefully make it to either the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast. But we will have to wait and see.

So my class schedule is tentatively:

Monday:

World Religions Lecture 10-12

World Religions Tutorial 12-1

Tuesday:

Marine Environment 1-2

Wednesday:

The Supernatural Lecture 10-12

The Supernatural Tutorial 12-1

Marine Environment 1-2

Thursday:

Marine Environment 1-2

And then depending on which ensemble I get into, I will have rehearsal either Tuesday night or Thursday night.

I have posted pictures on my Facebook page in the Album called Aussieland!

And So It Begins...

7.17.2010

Well,

I have been in Brisbane for three days now and it has been pretty sweet. I arrived on Thursday morning at 6:45am local time which was 2:45pm Wednesday afternoon on Colorado. After going through customs and getting searched by three police dogs, I was taken to my Residential College…King’s College. I was given a little tour, with another American, and shown to my room, J3a. In the process of settling in and unpacking, I realized my computer was having issues recognizing the power cord being plugged in. I looked at the converter and my plug and then realized that all of the outlets had their own on/off switch. Upon further exploration, they are like this in the entire building and not just in the rooms. I find it fascinating.

Then it was time for lunch. In the Dining hall, I met a third American. The three of us quickly became friends due to the fact we are all basically the same age, at UQ for study abroad, and pretty much the only people residing at King’s at the moment. There have been guys slowly moving in and filling the rooms, but not too many right now. By Sunday, the QUT guys will be back since they start school next week but the other UQ guys have one week left of break before they have to be back. I have met some people who are living in King’s houses that are around the college. They all seem really nice, welcoming, and willing to help.

After being accepted into King’s, I learned it was the Res College that was furthest from campus…oh well. But, literally right across the street is an area called the Village or “The Vil”. It is like a block of restaurants, a post office, a grocery store, and a Subway. I mention a Subway because I assume the Aussies love it since I have seen more of them than Starbucks and McDonalds, combined. That I never expected.

The time change has been a little rough. The first night I went to bed at 7ish and woke up the next morning around 7am; last night went to bed at 8pm, and woke up at 7:30am; and tonight am amazingly up past 9:30pm with high hopes of finally sleeping past 8am. But by the time school actually starts, I will be fine.

I will be posting pictures soon onto my Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1073370092

I am just waiting until I have a bunch to post at one time.

I made it

Well,

After a 2.5 hour flight from Denver to LA and a 14 hour flight from LA to Brisbane, I am in Australia!!

Heading out!

Well,

Today is the day I leave the country. I can't tell if I am scared or excited..all I know is the adrenaline is pumpin'!!!

HI Y'ALL

Welcome to my Blog. When I get to Australia, I will post more. Thank you for reading!