The Last Couple of Days

On Tuesday I didn't have class, but I still managed to spend a few hours in the library working on mid-term projects. Then, Tim and I planned on going out, but ended up just hanging out around Uni-Central. On Wednesday I had classes in the morning and evening and the remainder of the day was spent either playing cards or just being lazy. When classes were done Brendan, Amanda, Rosie and I went to dinner, it was a great meal. After dinner I went up to Bec's room and played cards and hung out for a few hours. Today I am going to get my hair cut and then head to the library to get some school stuff done. Tonight I am planning on taking the night off and getting some school work done so I don't have to bring my along book this weekend to Fraser Island. Next week is when all my mid-terms are, so I have a lot of crap to get done (1 test and 3 group projects).

~Andy

A LONG day of school

Today I was on campus from 10:30 until 7:45, sounds like fun huh? Today was Megan's 21st birthday so when I got back we had cake and everyone hung out for a while, but other than that it has been a pretty slow night. Played some cards with Tim, but now everyone is studying/sleeping so I guess I will do the same.

~Andy

A night at Fridays and a day at the library

Last night a group of us went out to Fridays because there was nothing going on at Uni-Central. It was a pretty good night at the club. Today I will be spending a few hours at the library to get ready for Monday, my big day of school (1:00-8:00). After the library closes at 5:00 I will most likely take a short break and maybe have dinner and then continue studying in my room. Today doesn't sound all that exciting to me, but oh well, it was a fun weekend none-the-less.

~Andy

The Beer Tour Adventure

Yesterday Tim, Brendan, Christie, Kendra, Kaylie and I went to Brisbane to tour the XXXX Beer factory. We took the train to Brisbane, had lunch at the Ale House (attached to the brewery) and then went on the tour. Included in the price of the tour was a ticket to try four of the beers in the Ale House, so we all sat down and had some beer, after a while the girls and Brendan decided they were going to go shopping so they left Tim and I there. Eventually at around 6:45 the Ale House closed, still no sign of the others, what are we going to do. We decided one will stay outside the brewery and the other will go check the train timetables, Tim leaves me there. Eventually Tim returns and we decide we will wait until the next train and then leave, figuring the others had left us behind. Tim and I have dinner sitting on the steps at the brewery and then eventually leave and get on the train, we get about half way home and the train stops, and there is no train to transfer to for over an hour and a half. Hmmm, what should we do? Tim and I decided well we have to wait until 11:20, might as well go have a few beers at the closest bar, so we set out walking. We arrive at the bar and sit down and plan what we are going to do if we can't get home (including drawing a map in case we had to walk). After about 45 minutes i feel a tap on my shoulder and a "hey don't I know you" and we turn around to see the other group stranded in the same location! Everyone sits down, has one last beer and then we head to the train station, catch our train and get to our stop, only one bus ride away from home now. As we arrive at our station we see our bus and for fear of it leaving, we begin running, and we do catch the bus. We finally got home after about 5 hours after leaving Brisbane (a 45 min drive from school via car) and everyone is together, Whew! Time to call it a night.
That's my story from last night, today I think we are going to just hang out, maybe some cards or ping pong to pass the time but other than that no plans so far.

~Andy

March 24th

The last couple of days have been pretty uneventful, but I guess I have found a way to keep busy. We finally got our spring break trip booked, the tour is linked on the links section. Today since our reef tour was cancelled we are going to Brisbane to tour the XXXX Gold beer factory. Other than the tour I don't really have any plans for the weekend other than maybe doing school work because midterms are coming up.

~Andy

March 22nd

Last night was Brendan's 21st birthday so we all went out, it was a blast. About 20 of us went to the Hog's Breath Cafe which is know for its prime rib, so we had a good dinner for a change. After dinner we went to Fridays and spent the remainder of the night there. Today it was raining all morning, and now it is just overcast out. Not too many plans for today, just trying to get our New Zealand spring break tour booked. We may go to the plaza later to look for some backpacking bags. Other than that I think everyone is going to take it easy tonight, even though there is a dance on campus. I don't think anyone has really made up their mind whether or not they want to go. I have been putting pictures up on a pretty regualr basis, so everything is updated. That's all I got for now.

~Andy

March 21st

Today is my day off form classes, so obviously it rained. I guess it is ok because I had some school stuff to get done. Today we found out that our reef trip scheduled for the weekend has been cancelled due to the cyclone. So today hasn't been the coolest day, but hopefully we can get our plane tickets booked for New Zealand booked tonight so the prices don't go up anymore. Today is Brendan's 21st birthday so we are all going out to dinner and then out to Friday's for the night, so tonight will be fun. That all I have for now. It is nice to hear from people, I miss you guys too.

~Andy

March 20th

Today I had class pretty much all day so that was fun, but tonight and tomorrow I have free. Tonight we are going to book our spring break trip to New Zealand. We are going to be there from April 14th - April 25th, we will be backpacking around the south island. If you want to see which places we will be staying, click here. There will be about seven of us, all students from the U.S., Wyoming and North Dakota. It will most likely be Brendan, Jake, Katie, Megan, Amanda, Jessica, and Me (Tim and his brother may come too). Tomorrow I have the day off so I will be getting some school stuff out of the way because we are going to the Great Barrier Reef this weekend and Fraser Island next weekend. Then we have a weekend free and then it is spring break, so I will be pretty busy for the next month, but it is okay I am really excited about all the things I am going to get to see. I hope everyone s doing well.

~Andy

March 19th

Today I am going to head to the library and get some reading done for classes tomorrow, then I will be taking it easy and avoiding the sun for the rest of the night. Pretty uneventful day here so far, everyone is still at the rodeo. The weather is beautiful again today, but I can't enjoy it which kind of sucks. Next weekend is the Great Barrier Reef trip so I will make every attempt to heal up before that. Hope everyone is doing well, keep me updated.

~Andy

March 18th

The last few days have been pretty busy. The weather has been beautiful here and we have spent a lot of time around the pool. On Thursday most of us went to Tav' night after partying at Uni-Central. It was another good night at the Tav, there were a lot of people there and the place wasn't too crowded so that you couldn't move around. On St. Patty's Day Tim, Brendan, and I got up at 7:45 and woke people up to have greens eggs and beer with us at the barbecue. From there the party moved into the pool for the next few hours. When we finally got out of the pool we spent a little of time taking it easy and then we went to a Local Irish Pub called O'Malley's. There was a mix of live bands and recorded mixed music to dance to. It was a lot of fun there, it seemed like everyone from Uni-Central was there. Today some people went to the rodeo, Jake and I decided not to go. The rodeo isnt exactly my cup of tea, and I am pretty worn out from the past few days. I am also pretty sun burned from yesterday, as I wasn't planning on being in the pool for 6 or so hours, so I hadn't put any sun tan lotion on. I am feeling the pain today, but I have seen much worse sunburns while I have been here. Today I am doing some laundry and after that no idea what we will do. Happy St. Patty's Day to everyone back in the states.

~Andy

The Last Few Days

The weather has been great the last couple days so I have been busy. When I am not on campus we are always doing something here. We have played a lot of basketball and tennis as well as hanging out around the pool whenever we aren't at class. Last night a large group of us went out to one of the clubs here, it was a great time. Today we already have played basketball for a little while as well as watched some Family Guy, now everyone is having a rest for a little while. I am not to sure what we will do later tonight, but I am sure we will find something to keep us busy. I don't really have much school left this week, which is nice. On Friday my only class is cancelled and Tim & Bredan don't have classes on Fridays so we are going to get up early and have a modified "Kegs and Eggs Party" as beer kegs are too expensive here ($170 or something like that). Tim bought some green food coloring so we will be drinking green beer all day most likely. After that we are going to a local Irish Pub on the beach that is pretty popular on St. Patty's Day, so St. Patricks Day should be a lot of fun. Now I think I am going to go sleep for a while.

~Andy

March 12th

This morning a group of people decided to go to the beach, I decided to stay back and get some stuff done. I spent the majority of the morning doing laundry and cleaning my room. When everyone got back we spent some time hanging out around the pool and then played some cards. Now Tim and I are on campus getting ready for school tomorrow. Tonight we plan on ordering some pizzas and then maybe watching a movie or playing cards and ping pong. I hope everyone at home is doing well, I know that it was a hard day after putting Bailey down. I am thinking of you.

~Andy

March11th

Yesterday after class I spent the night just relaxing and playing cards. Today Uni-Central is pretty deserted, so Jake, Tim, and I played basketball for a few hours. Then Tim and I played ping pong and went for a swim. Now everyone is pretty much taking a rest, as we are all a little worn out from all the sun. Tonight will most likely consist of cards and hanging out around the pool.

March 9th

Today I have one class from 4-6. Tim and I already have about three games of ping pong played and I am sure there will be more. Tonight we are going to go to the Tav. Today I received bad news from home, our family dog Bailey (17 years old) will be put to sleep this weekend. It is sad news, but he had a long, happy life, I will miss him.

~Andy

March 8th

Today it was FINALLY sunny out again, it has rained everyday for the last week atleast. Today I had class from 9-11 then Tim and I played tennis and the went for a swim. The remainder of the day was spent playing ping pong, cards, or hanging out around the pool. Tomorrow I only have class from 4-6 so another pretty easy day. Hope everyone is doing well.

~Andy

March 7th

Today was my day off, I was pretty lazy all day. I went to campus for about one hour to get ready for school tomorrow, but I really didn't have too much to do. I pretty much just hung out and played cards all day.

~Andy

March 6th

Today was pretty uneventful, all I did today was school. I was on campus from 10:30-7:30, so you can imagine how much fun I had, oh well no school for me tomorrow. Tonight I played some cards with Tim, Christie, and Bec and then watched some t.v. at Brendan's.
~Andy

March 5th

Yesterday I took it pretty easy, got a little bit of stuff done for school and then played basketball with Jake, Tim and Brendan for a while. After that we went for a swim and then pretty much played cards all night. Today was the Hinterland wine tour, we (Tim, Brendan, Jake, Katie, Becka, and I) went to a 130 acre portion of the rainforrest sancuary, two vineyards, one cheese place, and then spent the rest of the days sightseeing around the Hinterlands area. Tonght all I have planeed is to finish some reading for school and relax.

March 4th

Last night we (Tim, Beth, Katie, Megan, Brendan, Loclin, Norberg, Chrisite, Jake, and I) went to the movie Syriana because it was raining again, the movie was pretty long and a little slow but it really made you think about what is really going on with the oil business overseas. After the movie we came back to Uni-Central and hung out. Today it isn't raining yet, but it is overcast. All I have planned today is to finish my laundry and then do some stuff for school. Tomorrow is the wine tour so we will most likely take it easy tonight. I got pretty much all the pictures I have taken so far uploaded, so you can check out webshots to see them. That all I have for now.

~Andy

March 3rd

Last night Jake, Brendan, and I decided to go to the Tav. We met up with a lot of people from Uni-Central and stayed there until the bus left around 1:00. Today it is raining yet again and classes still weren't cancelled (they keep saying classes may be cancelled due to flooding). I am not to worried though, I only have one class today so it is a pretty lazy day so far. Tim and I are going to go to the pavilion and play some cards and maybe some ping pong until it is time for class. On Sunday we are taking a wine and cheese tour through school and other than that I have no plans other than relax and get some school stuff done. Hopefully the rain will let up over the weekend, but I have been told we are in for about one solid month of rainy days, oh well atleast it isn't snowing and cold like back home.

~Andy

The Group

This is the main group I have been hanging out with. This is us getting ready for the Beach party on campus during O' Week. From left to right they are: Me, Jake (NDSU), Megan (Wyoming), Tim (NDSU), Brendan (Wyoming), Norberg (Germany), Katie (Wyoming). We have done a lot of activities together, from attending the school orientation activites to traveling to the Gold Coast.

March 2nd

Last night we took it pretty easy, we played some card games and a few drinking games. We called it a night around 11:00 because everyone was a little tired from classes. Today I got up around 10 (it was nice to sleep in for a change) and finished my homework for my International Business class at 4:00. It is raining again, but sadly school wasn't cancelled. Tonight we may go to the Tav or just hang out around Uni-Central if we are feeling lazy. I uploaded some pictures from our Zoo trip and the Brisbane/Gold Coast weekend. I will try and get some pictures up of people we have been hanging out with. We have met a lot of people from the States, primarily the NDSU/Concordia area and Wyoming. Now it is time to face the day and get cleaned up.

Later,
Andy

What I have done so far

Since my arrival in Australia on February 10th I have seen and done many things. The first few days I spent time settling in and hanging out around our pool meeting all the people from Uni-Central. After a few days I made my first trip of many to the beaches here in Australia, we went to the beaches in Mooloolaba. When O' week started on Feb 13th things really started to get busy, along with orientation sessions all week there were nighttime activities each night. Monday of O' week there was a welcome barbecue at Uni-Central, Tuesday night was a Karaokee night at a local bar (Tim and I sang "Ice Ice Baby," it was a big hit), Wednesday was a beach party/dance held on campus, and Thursday is known as "Tav" night in which a bus drives us too and from a local tavern frequented by the college students here, Friday we were on our own to find entertainment. That Saturday a group of us went up to a city called Eumundi, where each Saturday local people set up shops and sell Australian goods, after we shopped we took a bus north a little while to a beautiful beach town called Noosa. We spent the remainder of the day making sand snowmen and taking hikes through a state park there. On Sunday all of the International students went to the Australia Zoo, we saw and fed many kangaroos, saw koalas, crocodiles, and many other animals. That Monday we actually started having classes, I only had 4 classes that week so we spent a lot of time around the pool and beaches. Last weekend Tim, Brendan, Katie, Megan, Norbert, and I went to Brisbane via train. We spent the first night bar hopping and ended the night in a local backpackers hostel there. The next day we did the tourist thing and walked around the city, we saw a lot of old churches, some of them being very impressive. After we had our fill of sightseeing we continued south to the Gold Coast, we eventually found a hostel there near Surfer's Paradise, and had a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. After dinner we went on a bar crawl led by our hostel bartender. The next day we spent the majority of our time on the beach at Surfer's Paradise, eventually catching the train home around 6 pm. Today classes started up in full swing, and with the new month comes the rain, today it rained all day long. Our pool is full to the brim and there is talk of canceling school tomorrow due to the threat of flash floods. We plan on taking it easy tonight and watching a movie. Now that I am all caught up I hope to post each day to keep you up to date on how things are going here in Australia. I miss you all and wish you could be here.

~Andy