Danielle is apparently broken??

So much has happened in the last few days, I don’t even know where to begin writing. If excitement keeps up, my blogs are just going to get longer and longer!! To make it easier, I think I will break it down day by day….

Friday 29^th: Fish and chips the night I arrived didn’t happen due to the tail end of a cyclone hitting Noosa and the torrential downpour with high winds prevented us from enjoying a dinner on the beach. Instead, old family friends Jean and her kids came by Marilyn’s house for munchies, wine (juice for the kids) and a quick visit before dinner. I haven’t seen Jean since I was 6 – almost 15 years ago! Now she has kids of her own, and it’s a bit surreal. Of course, these little ones are ABSOLUTELY adorable. They are so cute, with their Australian accents….man. They were shy at first and didn’t want to talk or draw any photos for me (they were playing with markers and paper, both Marilyn and Jean were recipients of these masterpieces but not me!) until the little girl, Lizzie, decided to give me a drawing with “sparkles.” The sparkles were just pencil shavings from the sharpener, but still. After that happened, the dam gates opened and the youngest, Andy, became brave enough to draw me some photos and give me “gifts” – old business cards in envelopes. When I opened them, he told me they were bandages and I needed to be fixed since I was broken. I asked why I was broken, and he said “cus you sound funny. You are brokened.” He was apparently referring to my Canadian accent, and proceeded to tape these old cards to my legs with masking tape. I’ve included a photo since after he was done, I looked like a walking mummy!!

After Jean and the kids left, Marilyn and I went out to pick up a pizza and a movie, but I barely made it 30 minutes into the movie before crashing on the couch. I stumbled to my bed and slept a solid 12 hours – the best, uninterrupted sleep I’ve had in years!

Saturday 30^th: Marilyn got up early this morning to go for a walk with friends in the National Park nearby and I slept in until 8am….which is a feat – trust me! Waking up here was like waking up in the middle of the tropical rainforest section of the Calgary Zoo. It smells AMAZING, there are all these exotic birds chirping and the sun is blaring through the blinds in my room. It’s so warm, humid and I absolutely love it! Anyways, I got up, made some breakfast and got caught up with some emails and skyping. I also made a call to my Dad in Canada (he was surprised to hear from me!) and my Aunt called the house so I had a nice visit with her.

When Marilyn got back home, it was about 40 degrees out and sunny, so she decided to take me to one of the famous beaches here – Hastings. I was excited at the opportunity to sport one of my new bathing suits and swim in the warm Aussie waters! Marilyn told me not to bring valuables since we would be swimming, so I left my camera behind but I’m kicking myself now. The beach was spectacular. It looked like it came straight out of a paradise resort in the Caribbean or something. And the water? Unbelievably warm and clear! Before lounging in the water, we walked up and down the main street and then headed into the National Park to try and find the KOALA that Marilyn had seen earlier on her walk. We walked for about 15 minutes before becoming drenched in sweat and decided to skip the koala and just swim.

That evening, after freshening up from the beach, we headed out to Jean and Warrick’s place for dinner. The kids were so cute again – this time not shy at all and basically clung to me the entire time. They managed to catch a lizard/gecko thing, which I had the fantastic opportunity to hold! Marilyn and I stayed fairly late into the night just talking and catching up. It was another great day!!

Sunday 30^th: This morning, I actually was up at a decent hour according to Aussie standards (6:30am, since the sun rises at 5am) and had breakfast with Marilyn. She was off again this morning to paddle down the river with her boating crew, so I opted to stay home and do some research into flights to Sydney etc. I’ve booked my flight to Sydney for Feb 10^th at 10am – which will allow me to meet up with my cousins around noon. That’s going to be an exciting part of my travels for sure! Now if I can only convince them to book a hostel….

After Marilyn got back from paddling, we went into Maroochydore – another town on the way to Noosa. She was in the market for a new computer desk, so we searched around for a bit. Not finding anything, we headed back to Noosa for an afternoon coffee at the Grind. Did you know that black coffee doesn’t exist over here? If you want just plain, black coffee you have to ask for a “long black” and it comes out as a double espresso!! Needless to say, I was a bit wired. We finished up the afternoon with a walk down the river, where I had the unfortunate encounter with the largest pelican in Australia!!

I’ll write back in the next couple days – but expect to hear about a BBQ, bank accounts and more beach excursions!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo Danielle

Auckland? Check. Brisbane? Check.

I just finished 20+ hours of pure hell.

Well, not really. Although my travels did have quite the rocky start while I was still in Canada. First off, I’m in Calgary, clear through security and get directed to my gate (B20) only to find myself in this holding area which I can’t get through. There is only me, locked glass doors and a security camera in the ceiling. I swear the guards were laughing at me on the other end of that camera because I was seriously confused as to where I had to go!! None of the doors leading to the gates were open, and I spent about 5 minutes trying to open them, or get someone's attention. Turns out, that area doesn’t open until 3pm, and I was there about 2:45pm….so I had to stand awkwardly in this weird area until the commissionaire came by to let me into the gate area.

Apart from a sketchy Tim Horton’s tea (they ran out of hot water so used tap water??), nothing went wrong per say until I arrived into Vancouver. I’ve never been to the airport, and I knew that I was arriving into the domestic terminal, but had to transfer to the international terminal. Upon arriving, I immediately went to ask the nearest Air Canada agent for directions, and I got a nice, cold glare and was told to “look at the screen for info.” Thanks. It wasn’t that bad once I found a nice fellow passenger who was headed in the same direction to catch a flight to Heathrow – he was this old man who’s done this a couple times so he walked with me to the international area. Here’s where the fun begins.

It’s 5:50pm, and we are supposed to have started boarding around 5:45pm for a 6:45pm depatrue. As the clock slowly ticks by, there is no indication that we are near boarding, and people are starting to get antsy. By the time out departure slot has rolled around, no announcement has been made and we are all waiting in the gate area. Finally, one of the ground crew comes on the PA and announces that the crew is “late due to bad weather.” Of course, Vancouver is clear as glass and a guy next to me jokingly says, “ that’s air talk for the crew is sitting in a bar, drinking.” Lovely. Anyways, we had to wait an extra hour and 30 minutes before boarding, and 2 hours later before taking off. I wasn’t complaining about the wait since I knew that I had a 14 hour leg ahead of me, although I was getting hungry….

Finally, the crew arrives, and we board. I'm near the front of the plane, which is where (I find out later) they place all the babies. Reason? They have hooks to hang make-shift Air New Zealand bassinets to let the babies sleep in, and all these hooks are located on the front wall separating business class from economy. So, I'm enjoying my plasticy-chicken airplane meal when it hits me - these babies are not going to make the 14 hour flight without crying. And I'm sitting behind all of them. Brilliant!!!! NOT. True to form, when one baby would quiet down, another would wake up and cry. As much as my heart went out to them, I seriously contemplated going over and covering the bassinet with a blanket or something to muffle the sound.

I did try to sleep, although mistake number one was forgetting to take gravol, which was conveniently tucked away into my backpack, which was stored in the overhead bins. I did manage to get some on and off sleep in, but I have to say that when we pulled into NZ, I was really struggling. So much so that I tried to get a 1L bottle of water through security!!! The kiwi's are great though, instead of reprimanding me about it, the fellow at security told me that if I finished the water, I could keep the bottle! I told him no thanks, and I was sorry about trying to get it through. We definitely had a good chuckle about it!!

The flight from NZ to Brisbane was no problem - again, slept most of the way and only was awake to enjoy more airplane cuisine....(this time, pancakes, bacon and yogurt). Upon arrival into Australia though, it was INTENSE. I've never seen a customs area SO strictly guarded. There were beagle dogs everywhere sniffing luggage, everyone had to go through a second round of x-ray screening and if you didn't pass this screening, you had your luggage rooted through by security members. I was slightly freaking out since I didn't declare that I had prescription medications with me, but luckily I was not one of the ones pulled aside to do a manual search. I made it through customs, met up with our family friend Marilyn and she drove me to see my rental place.

My landlord, John, is about the coolest Aussie I've met so far. He's this 60 yr old hippie, with a long ponytail and tattoos and the craziest fellow. He took me on a quick tour of the place (we have a sweet lounge/deck as well as cable TV!) and gave me my new keys! I didn't move any of my stuff in yet, since Marilyn and I were headed back to her hometown of Noosa, but I'll be making my room my own next week sometime! I also met one of my flat mates - Carol. She seemed really excited to have another female in the place, and said she would show me around when I got back from Noosa! Yay for one friend already!!

After meeting with John, Marilyn and I left for Noosa. It's a small surf town located about 2 hours away from Brisbane by car. We took the scenic route and I was blown away by the coastline - and the heat. Even with the air conditioning, I was sweating balls. Seriously - it is SO freaking hot over here I think I may die. It could have been my hoodie and sweatpants....but now that I've arrived into Noosa, had a cold shower and changed into shorts and a tank, I'm no cooler than before. Something to get used to, I guess!

Anyways, I should run since I have to organize a bit of my suitcases before heading out to dinner tonight. We're having fish and chips with old friends that I last saw when I was 6....and I'm sure I'll have some stories (and photos - now I have my camera out!) to share with you in the next couple days. Just know that despite a long travel time, the heat and the accents, I have arrived in one piece and am loving it so far!!

xoxo Danielle

Goodbye -20, hello +40!!!!

As I sit here, in my humble abode and write to you all for the last time on Canadian soil, I'm glancing out the window at the thermometer (which is secluded from the wind might I add) at it tells me that outside is a solid -20 degrees. Lovely. All I can say about that is good riddance. Am I ever glad to be headed to warmer climates!

And that is precisely what this post is about. My departure. In 4 FREAKING HOURS. You know, it still hasn't really hit me yet. All this planning and organizing, booking flights, choosing courses and accommodation....it seems like an eternity ago when this whole exchange business was just a mere idea to play with. Now, it's happening. I have to admit, I'm super excited to leave but also a little nervous. I mean, I have such a great routine at Queen's - I know I will create a new one in Aussie, but it's the idea that I am starting out all over again. This time, I'm not really a phone call away from home - I'm much further and more removed. I'm sure I'll do fine though!!!

One thing I'm concerned about - the flight. Here is my itinerary:

Calgary to Vancouver = 1 hour

Vancouver to Auckland, NZ = 14 hours

Auckland to Brisbane = 3 hours

Total travel time is 18 hours. I've never EVER been on a flight that long before. NEVER. I'm hoping I can pop a couple Gravol, curl up against the window and just crash on the 14 hour leg.....then again, I've never been good at sleeping on planes at the best of times!!

Since my last post, not really much has happened on the planning end. I've chatted with my cousins about ideas, but true to form, nothing has been booked. All I know is that somehow, I have to get myself to Sydney for Feb 10th, and then between the 10th and the 22nd, we are making our way from Sydney back to Brisbane so I can start orientation week. My hope is that we spend a couple days in Sydney (see the opera house, climb the bridge), stop over in Byron Bay and surf, then hit up the Koala reserve outside of Brisbane. If I can accomplish those things, then I'll be golden! Well, I'll more than likely be red as a lobster from the sun......

I'm getting picked up at the Brisbane airport by a family friend named Marilyn, who lives in a town called Noosa. Noosa is just outside Brisbane, and I'm going to be spending about a week there before meeting up with the cousins. I think Marilyn and I are meeting with my landlord in Brisbane before heading back to her place, where I was told I am attending a "fish and chip dinner on the beach." How amazing does that sound?? I'll be sure to take photos and start uploading them to this blog. If I can figure out how!!!

I should probably run and wrap this up as I need to finish the last minute packing. I always seem to feel like I am forgetting something major.....passport? check. Tickets? check. Luggage? check, check. (and you should see these bags - SO full it's insane!!) I am bringing my computer, but I don't know when I will have internet access again so consider this my last post for a while until I get things sorted out.

Until then,

xoxo Danielle

PS. Feel free to add me on skype! Just message me on fb for my skype name!

ONE WEEK. Dear freaking god.

So, as the title of this post suggests, I am literally one week to the HOUR away from leaving Canada for 8 months. Yikes. I am SO excited, but also very nervous about the upcoming semester and the uncertainty regarding courses, accommodation, new friends, travel etc etc. 7 days is not a ton of time to get the last minute things done, but at least my to-do list is much less daunting since I came back from Christmas holidays.

Nothing much is new, although I did make a whirlwind trip back to K-town to visit a few folks last week, which is what most of this post will be about. I must admit, when I first took on this whole exchange business, I had no idea what kind of preparation would have to go into it all. From analyzing risks for the security form, to making sure I saw all my doctors at home, to packing, making sure addresses were updated....little tasks that certainly build up!!

Anyways, I left for Kingston on Wednesday and got it late evening to a nice, home cooked dinner (thanks Danny!!) and just relaxed for a bit. Thursday was an epic, all around "meeting" day with a PLA meeting to choose team leaders for next year, followed closely by coffee with a professor, then meetings with University Registrar people to a) sort out my Alberta insurance forms and b) settle up with my balance from my student award. That was a burden since I can't pick up a cheque until this week, but guess what? I'm no longer in Kingston. So that was a disappointment, but I have a friend on call to pick up the cheque and mail it to me out west before I peace out of the country. Friday and Saturday were other days filled with coffee dates, friends, etc and Sunday was a nice way to end the trip as a brunch was held for the PLAs at Elspeth's before madly packing and heading back home.

Since being home, I've basically torn apart my room, laid out all my clothes and am trying to decide what needs to come and what will stay behind. Obviously the winter articles of clothing are staying behind, but I'm having trouble cutting down on the wardrobe. I mean, I don't have an extensive one to begin with, but I may have to enlist the help of my aunt (a seasoned Australian traveler) to narrow my selection.

I've picked up my expedition pack from MEC, adaptors from Apple for my computer, all appointments have been attended...now it's just a matter of finishing up the last few things, visitng with the last few friends and family members and then goodbye Canada until August! I think my grandma and Dad are planning a goodbye dinner for me next week, but I'm not sure... :)

I don't have any real plans for once I reach Brisbane. I'm chatting with my cousin tonight, she and her brother are joining me down under to travel a bit before classes start up, so I may have more of an idea by tomorrow. All I know is that I arrive into Brisbane on the 29th, stay with a family friend for a bit until I can move into my apartment after Feb 1st. And then, I have to make my way to Sydney for Feb 10th or so to meet my cousins and travel until classes start on the 22nd. I'll be sure to update you all with a list of activities and dates once I make plans. Which may be as soon as tomorrow!

Anyways, I have to run and meet up with another family member for dinner, but I will write again soon!

xoxo Danielle

Welcome 2010!!!

Happy New Year to All!

As this is the first post of the new year, you can imagine I have quite a bit to get you all caught up on. Mainly the accommodation front - which is very exciting news indeed!!

So, without further ado - I HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE IN BRISBANE!!!! My aunt Cheryl has a friend in Noosa (a town about an hour north of Brisbane) named Marilyn. Turns out, Marilyn works with a fellow in Brisbane who owns a house that he rents out to students. AND, there was an empty room up for rent JUST when I needed it. So perfect eh??

Pros: I'm about a 5 minute walk from downtown Brisbane and the hub of everything.
Cons: I'm far from the university. I can't walk, but will have to take public transit (some sort of metro system I think?) but you can't have everything!!

All in all, I am just SO glad to have the accommodation front sorted out, since that was my primary concern. Now all that's left to do is sorting out my timetable and ensuring that my courses I've registered for don't conflict with each other, figuring out some sort of idea of what my cousins and I are going to get up to when we backpack for the first couple weeks, sending over payment for the rental room, packing (man - that will be a day's worth in and of itself!) and tying up other loose ends here at home....

But, my Australian Adventure is 20 days away from beginning. Which is amazing - I am SUPER excited. I can't even begin to explain it!

Anyways, I have to wrap this up as the intermission of the Canada vs. USA Jr Hockey game is over and I want to catch the end!

Until next update,

Danielle

P.S Here is the link to my new room if you are interested!!

http://www.innerbrisbane.com/html/available-rentals/50/851/spring-hill