I took a visit this week to Broad Beach which is a little further south from Surfers Paradise. It was beautiful. . .the beach was even nicer then surfers paradise and everything was a bit more spread out so it was more relaxed. Also, since its not as popular as surfers paradise you have more locals bumming around there then you do tourists so its not as chaotic and crazy.
Last night I went to the GPS (greater public schools) swimming championships. Bruce coaches The Southport School team and so he was able to get me into the event. Apparently this swim competition has the best high school swimmers in the nation competing in it. The competition was all boys and I wish I could describe the atmosphere in the aquatic center, it was pretty impressive. The meet was held in the Brisbane aquatic center which is amazing. It has an Olympic size pool with 10 lanes and then there is a warm up pool with 5 lanes and then they even have all the Olympic diving podiums. The great thing about this event is that there were actually Olympians there because they used to go to some of these schools. Also, before we left for the meet a former Olympic gold medalist, I am drawing a blank on his name right now and feel like a terrible person, gave an inspirational talk to the team and then I got to talk and meet him afterwards! Pretty neat. Anyways, it was exciting and unlike anything I've ever been too, and Bruce’s team came in 2nd.
So on to Game 2. . .it was a great success! We played 3 20 minute periods. We won 4-2 and we played a Brisbane team which was much more skilled then the team we played last week. We started off with a 1-0 lead, I actually scored off of a corner, I was at the far post and tipped it in. And then they scored and tied it up and then we scored to make it 2-1 and then they tied it up again. So the score was 2-2 after the 2nd 20 minutes. And then in the 3rd period we scored 2 other goals. One was off of a corner and the other was off of a 2v1 breakaway. For this game I played as a striker and a center mid. The game was fun and fast paced! The girls and coaches are very nice and I have been learning a lot of new things from them. I am so far having such a blast playing with them all. We played a lot better as a team this week, although there are still plenty of things we need to work on.
We have another game tomorrow at 5pm, I will be sure to let you know how it goes. That is all for now.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Insects.
So in the last couple of days I have come across some pretty frightful creatures.
To start, the other night we were outside and there were a bunch of toads jumping around and I went to pick one up and Karina said “no don’t do that they are poisonous!” hmm ok. . .so she went on to tell me that they are cane toads and they are the biggest pest in Queensland. I came to find out that when they get scared they spit poison and if it gets into your blood stream it will attack your heart. . .or if it gets into your eyes it could blind you! So needless to say, I will not be trying to grab any more cane toads. Good thing Karina was there to tell me HANDS OFF!
The next night I was walking into my bedroom and there was a spider about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. . .I literally stood 5 feet from it with my shoe in hand for at least 20 minutes contemplating how to kill this thing. Finally I went and asked Karina to take care of it for me. . .she went and got this chemical spray that you just zap the spider with and it slowly crawls to its death in about a minute! She reassured me that the spider she just killed is the SMALLEST I will see. She told me a story about how she was coming in from the garage once and there was one about 5 inches in diameter! YIKES.
The next day I was sitting in the living room and I looked down and there was a spider that was a little bit bigger than the one from the night before right next to me! Same kind though. . .they are called huntsmen spiders. This time Bruce came to the rescue and put it in a bucket and brought it outside and saved it. I really hope it doesn’t come back!
There are still plenty of lizards around, but they aren't scary and they are actually kind of cute now, compared to all the other creatures I've seen at least.
In a book that I read, I learned that Australia has 10 of the top 12 deadliest animals in the world. . . so with that said, everything I see I am going to stay away from just in case it is one of those 10!
Other than that the past couple of days have been spent going to the outlet shops again, working out, wandering around and traveling on the bus, and I even have a bike now so I ride that around but the hills are so big that I can’t ride up them. . . I literally get off the bike and walk it up! Haha. I also had practice tonight which went well and I still can’t believe they only practice once a week for an hour and a half!
Tomorrow I plan on heading to the waterfront, to broad beach this time instead of surfers paradise, and just explore a little more.
To start, the other night we were outside and there were a bunch of toads jumping around and I went to pick one up and Karina said “no don’t do that they are poisonous!” hmm ok. . .so she went on to tell me that they are cane toads and they are the biggest pest in Queensland. I came to find out that when they get scared they spit poison and if it gets into your blood stream it will attack your heart. . .or if it gets into your eyes it could blind you! So needless to say, I will not be trying to grab any more cane toads. Good thing Karina was there to tell me HANDS OFF!
The next night I was walking into my bedroom and there was a spider about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. . .I literally stood 5 feet from it with my shoe in hand for at least 20 minutes contemplating how to kill this thing. Finally I went and asked Karina to take care of it for me. . .she went and got this chemical spray that you just zap the spider with and it slowly crawls to its death in about a minute! She reassured me that the spider she just killed is the SMALLEST I will see. She told me a story about how she was coming in from the garage once and there was one about 5 inches in diameter! YIKES.
The next day I was sitting in the living room and I looked down and there was a spider that was a little bit bigger than the one from the night before right next to me! Same kind though. . .they are called huntsmen spiders. This time Bruce came to the rescue and put it in a bucket and brought it outside and saved it. I really hope it doesn’t come back!
There are still plenty of lizards around, but they aren't scary and they are actually kind of cute now, compared to all the other creatures I've seen at least.
In a book that I read, I learned that Australia has 10 of the top 12 deadliest animals in the world. . . so with that said, everything I see I am going to stay away from just in case it is one of those 10!
Other than that the past couple of days have been spent going to the outlet shops again, working out, wandering around and traveling on the bus, and I even have a bike now so I ride that around but the hills are so big that I can’t ride up them. . . I literally get off the bike and walk it up! Haha. I also had practice tonight which went well and I still can’t believe they only practice once a week for an hour and a half!
Tomorrow I plan on heading to the waterfront, to broad beach this time instead of surfers paradise, and just explore a little more.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
First game = first Aussie beer.
I finally had my first game today. It was 95 degrees out. . .so add 10 degrees and it was about 105 degrees on the turf! Our game was at 3pm so I guess it could have been even hotter. I should really stop complaining about the heat, I act like I didn’t know it was going to be this hot here, but sure enough I knew!
I am happy to say that we won 4-0! We played alright as a team. . .it is obvious that not all of us have played together before but we will surely get used to one another soon. I played as a center striker (forward for those of you who may not know what a striker is), and it wasn’t that bad. I actually scored the first goal of the season with a reverse chip shot from about 10 yards out! Crazy huh? Too bad I couldn’t do that when I played for BU. Haha. I also had another goal that was just a shot from the top left side of the circle into the far corner. Besides all the running a center striker does it was a pretty fun position.
Also today was my first post game beer, it was an Australian gold (I think was the name of it) and to be honest I would have much rathered a big jug of Gatorade because I was so dehydrated! Haha but I wanted to fit in of course so I felt the need to have a beer.
Overall my first game experience was hot, but fun. The level of play is pretty similar to what it was at BU. This game was just a preseason game so between the 2 teams we both seem to have a lot to work on.
In the past couple of days I have done some more sightseeing. I went to some outlets that are not too far from the house and I even went up to Broad Water where a huge triathlon was being set up. I went up yesterday and today was the actual competition. Yesterday all the contestants had to register their bikes and a lady told me there were over 800 bikes in the lot already! Seeing 800 bikes in one area was pretty impressive. I went up to the triathlon today for a bit because an old friend of mine was competing but I had to leave before her group even started. Bummer.
Today before my game I went to a luncheon with Karina and Bruce’s extended family. It was nice to meet other family members, and they were all very interested in where I came from so I had to give them a nice little run down of what Boston is like.
That is all for now I guess. I miss you all lots.
I am happy to say that we won 4-0! We played alright as a team. . .it is obvious that not all of us have played together before but we will surely get used to one another soon. I played as a center striker (forward for those of you who may not know what a striker is), and it wasn’t that bad. I actually scored the first goal of the season with a reverse chip shot from about 10 yards out! Crazy huh? Too bad I couldn’t do that when I played for BU. Haha. I also had another goal that was just a shot from the top left side of the circle into the far corner. Besides all the running a center striker does it was a pretty fun position.
Also today was my first post game beer, it was an Australian gold (I think was the name of it) and to be honest I would have much rathered a big jug of Gatorade because I was so dehydrated! Haha but I wanted to fit in of course so I felt the need to have a beer.
Overall my first game experience was hot, but fun. The level of play is pretty similar to what it was at BU. This game was just a preseason game so between the 2 teams we both seem to have a lot to work on.
In the past couple of days I have done some more sightseeing. I went to some outlets that are not too far from the house and I even went up to Broad Water where a huge triathlon was being set up. I went up yesterday and today was the actual competition. Yesterday all the contestants had to register their bikes and a lady told me there were over 800 bikes in the lot already! Seeing 800 bikes in one area was pretty impressive. I went up to the triathlon today for a bit because an old friend of mine was competing but I had to leave before her group even started. Bummer.
Today before my game I went to a luncheon with Karina and Bruce’s extended family. It was nice to meet other family members, and they were all very interested in where I came from so I had to give them a nice little run down of what Boston is like.
That is all for now I guess. I miss you all lots.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Older women can play hockey?!?!
That's my bedroom window, and then the beach at Surfers Paradise.
Tonight I had my first training session with the Division 1 Labrador Tigerstix, the team I will be playing for. It was really great to finally meet most of the girls and get to play with them. Our coach is a woman who used to live in Canada and apparently was an assistant coach for the women's national team for a little while. She is nice and real skilled. Training was quite interesting because the Div. 1 trains with the Div 2 team. The Div 2 team is made up of a lot of older women, for example some mom's who have some daughter's on my team, and some younger girls are on that team as well. The older women were actually pretty darn good and it was enjoyable to watch them since I have never really seen people their age play before at a decent level. (Disclaimer: Tracey, I know you are a GREAT player and this information does not include you). As you may expect it was another hot practice, and I am starting to get worried for our games which are during the day. I mean if it is this hot at 7:30 at night I can only imagine how unbearable it will be for me during the day.
Another interesting thing about our training sessions is that they are only an hour and half long! They go by so quickly. . . which is good for now I guess since I apparently can't take the heat.
Oh there is also a girl here from Germany, she's 19, and is here for several months. It's nice not being the only one not from Australia. Don't worry Sal and Trace, I will be very nice to her so maybe I can get her to come play for BU. haha.
Anyways, that is all for now.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A few pictures
From top to bottom. .
Surfers Paradise sign (pretty self explanatory i know).
The side yard and pool of the house.
the house from the front.
One of the summit ave hills. . .the picture doesn't look that bad but trust me, it is.
and My lizard friend who lives in my room with me.
Buses are FUN
Late last night I made a list of different buses that would take me to Surfers Paradise and home and when/where they would pick me up. All I can say is good thing I wrote down multiple choices. . .
8:45am I left the house to walk to the town center to see if I could get a daily bus pass. I was out of luck. They told me the closest place was about 5k down the road and although I walked about 2k to get to the shopping center I was not planning on walking 5k more. A girl told me that I could pay with notes (cash) once I get on the bus.
9:40 I was at the bus stop (at the intersection of Uplands Dr. and Napper Rd.) waiting for a Rt 14- Southport 14 bus. As I was waiting patiently by the sign I saw the bus coming and then it zoomed right by me. Hmm I thought to myself. Luckily there was a man mowing his lawn and he stopped and walked over to me and told me I need to hail the bus, that so many different buses come through they don’t know which one you are waiting for. I thanked him and then looked in my little notebook for the next bus. It seemed there was a 10:15 bus that would leave from Upland Dr. and Greenacre Dr. Fortunately when I went on my run yesterday I passed Greenacre Dr. so I sort of new where it was.
10:00 I reach my new bus stop and waited for the now, RT 15 – Southport 15 bus. When I saw it coming I was sure to hail it down. As I got on the driver asked me where I was going and I told her Surfers Paradise. She immediately asked if I had ever taken the bus before. I don’t know what gave away the fact I haven’t but I didn’t ask. I paid my $2.30 fair and sat down.
10:20ish we reach Southport station where all people who want to go on to Surfers must get off and switch buses.
10:30 I boarded a 707 – Burleigh Heads 707 bus.
10:45 and I arrive at Surfers Paradise. . . or did I? I realized the bus stop I got off was called Surfers Paradise but there was no beach to be found and now esplanade. I began to walk down the street searching for a map.
11:15 I eventually reached the big Surfers Paradise sign, with no help from a map. and I felt relieved. At this point, of course, I was hungry so I went and got food at a restaurant called Kitty O’Sheas. . .sounds familiar to some of you huh? I did the whole sit alone thing and I “read” a book so I didn’t look too loserish. Haha. I got some lunch and a beer. . or 2 and totally just people watched.
I walked around for quite a while and everything was so beautiful and there was so much entertainment as you walk around. I went into a few shops and even checked out a learn to surf place to see if it’s something I want to do in the future. So at about 1:45 I realized a bus would be leaving in 15 minutes to take me back towards home. I found my way back to the same bus stop I got off at. The bus was supposed to arrive at 2 and when 2 came around there was no bus. I then looked down the street onto the other side of the road and saw the bus I was looking for. I was supposed to be at the Surfers Paradise stop going back the way I came from. . .silly me didn’t think about that one. So then I literally ran to the bus and made it before it took off. I paid $2.60 this time.
According to my notes, I was supposed to get off and switch buses at Helensvale station. When I got there, I asked some guy if he knew how long it would be until bus 15 came and he looked at me and said no bus 15 comes through here. Awesome! The guy was nice enough to call the translink bus company to find out the best way for me to get to where I needed to go. I had to get on another bus, back to Southport and then take another bus from there to Upland dr and Napper Rd. Sound a bit confusing? Tell me a bout it.
I waited for 30 minutes. . . so at about 3 I got on a bus back towards Southport. I must have looked confused because the bus driver asked where I was going and I told him and he said I shouldn’t be on this bus. So when the bus stopped at the next stop, Griffith University, I got off and waited a few minutes for the next bus which was 709 heading back to Helensvale station. As we were driving along I realized I saw a shopping center that knew was on Napper Rd so I figured if I got of here I could find the road my house is on if I walk a little bit. I asked the driver to let me out and he did. From there I walked about 35 minutes and FINALLY made it back to the house!
What an adventure. Needless to say the bus system here is not as straightforward as Boston.
Although the travel home was a bit long and confusing, I loved Surfers Paradise and will definitely be heading back for surfing lessons in the near future.
I am trying to figure out how to post photos so hopefully I will have some up in a little bit.
8:45am I left the house to walk to the town center to see if I could get a daily bus pass. I was out of luck. They told me the closest place was about 5k down the road and although I walked about 2k to get to the shopping center I was not planning on walking 5k more. A girl told me that I could pay with notes (cash) once I get on the bus.
9:40 I was at the bus stop (at the intersection of Uplands Dr. and Napper Rd.) waiting for a Rt 14- Southport 14 bus. As I was waiting patiently by the sign I saw the bus coming and then it zoomed right by me. Hmm I thought to myself. Luckily there was a man mowing his lawn and he stopped and walked over to me and told me I need to hail the bus, that so many different buses come through they don’t know which one you are waiting for. I thanked him and then looked in my little notebook for the next bus. It seemed there was a 10:15 bus that would leave from Upland Dr. and Greenacre Dr. Fortunately when I went on my run yesterday I passed Greenacre Dr. so I sort of new where it was.
10:00 I reach my new bus stop and waited for the now, RT 15 – Southport 15 bus. When I saw it coming I was sure to hail it down. As I got on the driver asked me where I was going and I told her Surfers Paradise. She immediately asked if I had ever taken the bus before. I don’t know what gave away the fact I haven’t but I didn’t ask. I paid my $2.30 fair and sat down.
10:20ish we reach Southport station where all people who want to go on to Surfers must get off and switch buses.
10:30 I boarded a 707 – Burleigh Heads 707 bus.
10:45 and I arrive at Surfers Paradise. . . or did I? I realized the bus stop I got off was called Surfers Paradise but there was no beach to be found and now esplanade. I began to walk down the street searching for a map.
11:15 I eventually reached the big Surfers Paradise sign, with no help from a map. and I felt relieved. At this point, of course, I was hungry so I went and got food at a restaurant called Kitty O’Sheas. . .sounds familiar to some of you huh? I did the whole sit alone thing and I “read” a book so I didn’t look too loserish. Haha. I got some lunch and a beer. . or 2 and totally just people watched.
I walked around for quite a while and everything was so beautiful and there was so much entertainment as you walk around. I went into a few shops and even checked out a learn to surf place to see if it’s something I want to do in the future. So at about 1:45 I realized a bus would be leaving in 15 minutes to take me back towards home. I found my way back to the same bus stop I got off at. The bus was supposed to arrive at 2 and when 2 came around there was no bus. I then looked down the street onto the other side of the road and saw the bus I was looking for. I was supposed to be at the Surfers Paradise stop going back the way I came from. . .silly me didn’t think about that one. So then I literally ran to the bus and made it before it took off. I paid $2.60 this time.
According to my notes, I was supposed to get off and switch buses at Helensvale station. When I got there, I asked some guy if he knew how long it would be until bus 15 came and he looked at me and said no bus 15 comes through here. Awesome! The guy was nice enough to call the translink bus company to find out the best way for me to get to where I needed to go. I had to get on another bus, back to Southport and then take another bus from there to Upland dr and Napper Rd. Sound a bit confusing? Tell me a bout it.
I waited for 30 minutes. . . so at about 3 I got on a bus back towards Southport. I must have looked confused because the bus driver asked where I was going and I told him and he said I shouldn’t be on this bus. So when the bus stopped at the next stop, Griffith University, I got off and waited a few minutes for the next bus which was 709 heading back to Helensvale station. As we were driving along I realized I saw a shopping center that knew was on Napper Rd so I figured if I got of here I could find the road my house is on if I walk a little bit. I asked the driver to let me out and he did. From there I walked about 35 minutes and FINALLY made it back to the house!
What an adventure. Needless to say the bus system here is not as straightforward as Boston.
Although the travel home was a bit long and confusing, I loved Surfers Paradise and will definitely be heading back for surfing lessons in the near future.
I am trying to figure out how to post photos so hopefully I will have some up in a little bit.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Scary horses
What an exciting day.
We left this morning around 6:45 to head to Ipswich for a hockey game. I lathered on the sunscreen before the hour and 30 min drive. We drove past some amusement parks (4 to be exact, all within 5 miles of each other), and then ended up in the country. Horses everywhere. . .and if you don't know this already, I hate horses! Ok fine, maybe hate is a strong word, but i strongly dislike them. I think they are the scariest creatures alive. So anyways, We watched a game that began at 9 and then headed for some lunch and back home. The game was the Gold Coast vs. Brisbane. Brisbane is apparently one of the top teams around so it was real good to watch them play, they had some talented girls on their team.
Tonight we went to dinner at a revolving restaurant on top of a hotel called Four Winds. It was right on the beach, a little past surfers paradise, and you could see for miles. Bruce and Karina pointed out all the places I need to go, and showed me the tallest residential highrise in the world! What a great way to see everything. . .sitting down, eating great food, staring out a window.
Tomorrow I will be traveling on the bus to see surfers paradise in the daylight. I will also finally post some pictures so you don't have to read the boring stuff I've been writing and you can actually see some pretty neat stuff.
We left this morning around 6:45 to head to Ipswich for a hockey game. I lathered on the sunscreen before the hour and 30 min drive. We drove past some amusement parks (4 to be exact, all within 5 miles of each other), and then ended up in the country. Horses everywhere. . .and if you don't know this already, I hate horses! Ok fine, maybe hate is a strong word, but i strongly dislike them. I think they are the scariest creatures alive. So anyways, We watched a game that began at 9 and then headed for some lunch and back home. The game was the Gold Coast vs. Brisbane. Brisbane is apparently one of the top teams around so it was real good to watch them play, they had some talented girls on their team.
Tonight we went to dinner at a revolving restaurant on top of a hotel called Four Winds. It was right on the beach, a little past surfers paradise, and you could see for miles. Bruce and Karina pointed out all the places I need to go, and showed me the tallest residential highrise in the world! What a great way to see everything. . .sitting down, eating great food, staring out a window.
Tomorrow I will be traveling on the bus to see surfers paradise in the daylight. I will also finally post some pictures so you don't have to read the boring stuff I've been writing and you can actually see some pretty neat stuff.
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