A Religious Debate

Boy, I love Stanford students. You stick them in a situation where there's controversy or just plop one into a conversation on a heated topic and they'll go off on a spree. Today I witnessed this tendency to a most interesting extent. We had the afternoon free, so a couple of girls (myself included) went downtown to get a few supplies. Unfortunately, everything closes at 5pm, so we had a good hour to shop and then nothing! We therefore decided to check out the old treasury which had been turned into a casino! You only have to be 18 to get into a bar or casino, so this was a great opportunity. It is the first time I have ever stepped foot into a casino or have been carded!

That said and done, we head over to a restaurant called JoJo's, for dinner. It's this hip joint with four kiosks and slightly upscale dining. I had stir-fry, good, nothing special (www.jojos.com.au). Then we had gelatissimo for dessert! I shared a chocolate hazlenut and coconut mix with Omer! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Now is when the fun starts. It's 10pm and we're walking back to the train station. This guys is on a little stool preaching about Jesus, sinning, and atoning. Katie gets into a heated debate with him. This goes on for a while and then we decide to move on. Another guy comes up to Katie and we continue this conversation. He seems to think that the world was created no more than 6000 years ago. Then Sarah (the geologist) steps in spouting out evidence of radioactive dating and the like. Still no go. Then, Omer (who's Muslim) starts talking to the guy. They keep going round in circles because the guy thinks he knows the "truth" and Omer is trying to explain that this is all relative to your beliefs. Finally, we've had enough. They agree to disagree and we move on our merry way after a good hour! Exciting evening; the whole thing was being taped and people were planted in the audience!

-Peace

The Gold Coast

This really is a surfer's paradise!

The past three days were kind of excititng...Wednesday we went on a boat tour of Brisbane city. This was for Australian Studies. The city is really pretty, situated on the Brisbane river. There are towering residential buildings all with balconies and a lovely network of paths along the river. One of the really interesting sites was on the South Bank: a man-made beach! It was kind of cold and rainy, though, so we just ate lunch there. Then we went to a museum and saw a wonderful BBC nature photography exhibited! There were some amazing photos even in the categories of 17 and under!

Thursday wasn't too exciting with just hours of classes! But, today we went to the Gold Coast. We stopped at a bunch of places along the way, like a sugar refinery, fishing site, and pie factory just to get a better idea of the culture and history. Then we got to Surfer's Paradise and spent three hours at the beach. I get some color, had home-made gelati, and wore my new bathing suit. I know, rough life, and we're being tested in this class, too! When we got back we had a welcome dinner, which was a lot better than the food we've been getting in the dining hall. Then a couple of us walked back to the apartments. About half the group went out for drinks and dancing, and I'm going to bed! I have work to do in the morning and class until 12pm. Then a free day. Woopeedoo...not like the other days have been particularly strenuous!

-Signing off

Koala and More

Me petting a koala at the sanctuary

So, today is my second day in Oz. I flew in on Air New Zealand, which has a very nice flight to Auckland, NZ. I had my own personal tv screen and watched Over The Hedge, Thank You For Smoking, and 99% of The Great Wonderful (we had to land). I had two meals in the middle of my night, which was discombobulating. Then, 24 hours later I land in Brisbane.

I got in yesterday morning and we spent a lovely day wandering around Indooroopilly, had lunch, and lazed about. For the week our group in staying at the Forest Lodge Apartments. We had a little barbeque and then I crashed at 9pm! Today was a little more productive. I woke up easily at 6am, got lost going for a short run, and then got ready for the day. We hung out at a cafe for a bit; there are lots of cute ones here. Then, we took a bus to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It may have been worth the price, but I'm not sure. I got to pet a Koala and a Kangaroo, though. Now, I'm just hanging out until the dinner bus comes to pick us up at 5:30. We get a free weekend next one, too, so I will probably check out the city next weekend.

-Signing Off

From the Emerald City to OZ

Tonight is my last night in good ol' Seattle. It was also the night that my family went to go see Wicked on OPENING NIGHT!!! It was my birthday present, and long anticipated. We first went out to dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, Il Fornaio. As half Italian (and my mom being fully), I quite enjoy good Italian food and especially good Italian bread. Perfecto!

It only got better, though, because we had some great seats at the Paramount Theater for Wicked (http://www.wickedthemusical.com/). As any of you who have talked to me in the past year probably know, I have been obsessed with Wicked's soundtrack. Hearing and seeing it in person tonight was absolutely amazing! I could keep gushing, but I'm getting over a sinus infection and flying for 24 hours tomorrow, so I should probably get some sleep.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-

Welcome

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't written in such a long time, but it's time for a new leg of my journeys this year. In six days I am leaving for Australia, the wonderful land of OZ. Let me tell you a little bit about the program I am going on.

Background: This is a Stanford program that was started about four years ago. There are 47 Stanford students (mostly Juniors) going on this trip. The program is through the Marine Centre of the University of Queensland. We start on the 25th and finish final exams on the 16th of December. Then I am jetting off to New Zealand for five days.

Locations: As you may have noticed, I included a map in this posting. We start out in Brisbane and stay there for a week. Then we go off the Moreton Bay Research Station in Stradbroke Island for a week and a half before heading to Lamington/St. Lucia (half the group is in one place for four days and then we switch). We then spend two more weeks in St. Lucia on Heron Island; I should google this place and see what's so special about it. This long stint is followed by five days of gruesome traveling (and lectures) to get to the Daintree Rainforest. We spend a week and a half there before booking it to Sydney where I only get a week! Three weeks in Brisbane finish off the quarter, with classes and exams.

Courses: I have a fun-filled quarter of amazing classes! Everyone takes the same five courses, so they better be interested in ecology and conservation! We take both Coastal Forest Ecosystems and Coral Reef Ecosystems; Coastal Resource Management; Australian Studies; and the Targeted Research Project (I'm hoping for Coastal Resources and Indigenous People).

It should be an exciting trip that is very much along the lines of what I am studying. We don't get weekends off, but we have 9 free days and a lot of fun exploring for classes. I mean, snorkeling around a coral reef to look at the ecosystem just isn't the same as sitting in a lecture hall. So, I'm super-excited, super-nervous, and have a super-large amount of things to get done before I leave.

-Signing off, but stay tuned!