One for the Bucket List

Well we made it through our first week at the University of Queensland. I think we all now know the campus well enough now to find our way from the bus stop (past the lake with the water dragons and mutant turkeys) to our lecture hall and maybe to the student union for lunch, but beyond that it's still a bit of a mystery. All the UQ admin staff and professors are awesome and we're so excited to get to spend time with them over the next weeks.

Yesterday we had a huge treat organized by our wonderful UQ staff. We hopped on the CityCat (or "kitty cat" as some of us have fondly started calling it) to New Farm where we got to go barefoot lawn bowling - something vaguely resembling Bocci Ball but much more civilized and probably best suited for the old or the drunk. (We went for the latter.) After a quick demo and a trip to the bar to fill up our beer pitchers (or "jugs" as the Aussies say - pitcher is just for baseball) we all had a go at throwing the balls across the lawn, to varying degrees of success. But it was great fun for everyone, and our location was beautiful, right along the Brisbane river. Our time here coincides with the Brisbane Festival so after bowling we headed to the Southbank to watch the famous "city of lights" light show. Pretty cool scene.

Today, after a morning on campus, a group of us decided to make the most of the free afternoon and head over the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in a cute little suburb called Fig Tree Pocket. Definitely one for the bucket list. Not only did we get to hug koalas but also were able to get up close and personal with the kangaroos and joeys in the kangaroo enclosure. So cute. (Oh and we met some of the members of Yellowcard and might be seeing them at the pub later.) Not to mention all the other cool animals in the park, many of them looking like they would be more in place in Jurassic park. Seriously. There are some freaky looking things in this country. But we love it. Hopefully this weekend will bring some more adventures. There are some plans to head to the Gold Coast, but whatever happens we will definitely make the most of it since won't have another free day until October 14th. Certainly can't complain though.

Chillin with our new friends.