46 Hawken Rd, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, AUS

I have a place now !! Check it out, Google-it, satellite-it !

I'm one of 3 students, and living with a couple who are native to Queensland. I find them very entertaining (also travelers), and the house just feels extremely homie. I could have walked and walked and walked some more, and roomed up with strangers, but once I stepped foot in this place, all furnished, I said why bother for something else when this place feels just right.

I am super excited now! I had a tiny 'worry' about finding a place (once I started the actual ground work) and realized that I have to settle in somewhere sooner than to wait till school starts. This way I can move in my stuff, and then head off to visit some friends. This house was meant to be mine since: I called, checked it out, and moved in all on the same day. And there was someone else the couple was waiting on to see the place, but after some time they told me to come and see it anyways (I think they were done waiting for the girl before me). Someone's loss is my complete luck!!! And now I am relaxed and 20lbs lighter for getting this one checked off my list.

This is just my room, but the rest of the house is just amazing. Beautiful wood kitchen, hardwood floors, and books are stacked all over (the woman was a librarian, and the gentleman has literature and communications background).




MY first few days have been interesting as well (never a dull moment in this land). Believe it or not, there are more furry and leathery friends I would like to introduce you to. Meet my new friends the gecko family. I have not had the chance to name them all, and well, I think there are some who stay and some who go (each night), so I would say this house is quite the high traffic area for them. They are fast and great at keeping the house clean from bugs, so there's a bonus. There is one very cute little gecko who I think is a regular to my bedroom. Reason being: I am starting to recognize the patterns on his skin. While reading in my bed today and watching a chick-flick on TV, this little gecko constantly came over to me to make sure I was doing ok. He must have, because he only came to hang out with me when I got teared up to the silly movie (hate when I get so sloppy over movies).

So, every time this tiny gecko came over to see me, I stopped tearing up and started to laugh out loud (lol). By the end of the movie I have decided to give this little guy (only) a name. Ladies and gentlemen please meet my new friend Homer (hahah it's only fitting, unless you have a better one, feel free to share you ideas).

Look very closely beside Lammie. In this picture he is hanging out with his buddies Lammie and Buzz.


Homer does like to hang out with the big boys. They are teaching him how to be a sleek hunter. Again, look carefully, Homer is the tiny dot between the two large geckos.


Now, the furry friend I have to introduce through Google images (I have to mention this so I am not plagiarizing). This is not a picture I took, but it's a perfect representation of what I saw on my way home from the grocery store, hanging out on the electric wires near my house. I have not named this 'precious' fellow, but I am sure something will hit me in the next couple of days. These guys hang out just outside my window and each night they try to decide who owns the territory under my window seal. A little noisy at times, but let's not forget, I am the one who decided to come and live in a tropical climate, therefore I have to get accustom to all creatures living near by.

Just because I don't have a name for these creatures, then are called a possum. Cute huh?



Ok, I think that is a all for now. If you would like to know/see more of my place just call me on skype and I can show you around :-)

Miss you all!
xoxo

Jan 2010 - Byron Bay

Road trip to Byron Bay with 2 Canadian girls and 3 Ozi boys. I have enjoyed getting to know the city of Brisbane and find it very entertaining with the city lights at night, and amazing places to visit and things to do, but also I have enjoyed the exotic looks and feel of the place. However, let's talk about looks of other places more down south on the coast. Once arriving to Byron Bay I truly started to believe that I wasn't just in another city/place adding (another) initial to the end of my name.


I am living my dream (and if this is a repeat I apologize) but I am truly living what I have been wanting to do. I feel as if: I have signed up to do more education, for the better I hope, and along the way they threw in a free all-inclusive vacation. "Why not? She's worked hard up to now....let's make her last year worth while".

Once arriving to the open beach, I was shaking my head: how did I get this lucky. I am on the beach, sun on my face (maybe even too much sun, but at this point I am not even thinking about that), luke-warm salty water, and it's all real. Hahah, ok so some of you have comprehended the fact that I am living in an awesome place (even before I got here), but to me it is still a little surreal!

After my first round of sunscreen, I head to the waters, the waves are awesome, not overly large, just right for the little youngsters around me that are learning to surf. I can't wait till it's my turn to learn, but for this trip, I'm sticking to body surfing. Once rested and dry, the group decides to check out the light house, called the most eastern point of Australia. After applying round 2 of sunscreen this is what you see on our walk ...



Sand, water, rocks, and trees. These pictures do not do justice to the sight, but I have never seen such strong coulours in nature. During the walk we are all sun-kissed (I can already tell my skin is done for the day), and getting thirsty and tired. Once we re-fuel with some fish and chips, decide hey, why not check out Surfers Paradise on the way home. We have energy to swim some more (forgetting that we are already burned to crisp).

We arrive to Surfers, and my mouth drops. Ever since I knew this place existed I had a clear image in my head when I hear 'Surfers' Paradise' ...



..however, the picture above is still Byron Bay. I was not able to take a picture of Surfers' because the large concrete buildings didn't allow for much view that I felt a need to capture (now this is said when sitting in a car). It is definitely a happening place, but completely not what I have pictured. Not a bad place to visit at all, I do enjoy the city feeling combined with the beach right next to it (I need to experience this place some more, up close and on foot). But I guess I am just used to being on the beaches in Canada, and they are usually surrounded by nature, and little/ no skyscrapers in sight (Vancouver is an exception to this rule, but I was always a tourist there, not a regular).

I am still very excited to visit some friends at Surfers and have the full Gold Coast experience, but now I fell much more in touch with reality. Byron Bay does have a more hippy feel to it, which some of you know, is right inline with my taste :-)

The gang ended up driving through this place, we were just drained from the sun, 3rd round of sunscreen would not help us now, and it was too busy for a sunset swim. However, I really appreciated the eye-opening experience, and now I know to do a little research on a place before I invade and conquer it lol.

I am still planning on a Surfers' invasion ...but waiting for a perfect time: when I am all charged up with energy and ready to party !!!

Still Byron Bay :-)


Light house - Byron Bay

Meet Bruce (short memo)

Hey Guys !

This is going to be short but sweet.

Second day in Brisbane, and I think both my new best friends have been met and dealt with. Now the anticipation is over, and the cat's out of the bag!

Meet my other new friend, Bruce.

He was hanging out on my bathroom floor but did not notice him untill I was done with my business and noticed him in the corner near the door-way. I freaked out, called for my roommate but she was not in her room (she was out with a friend). I threw a towel on Bruce to keep him warm and hopefully contained in one space till Brigitte gets home.

I was hanging out in the living room, fell asleep, but when Brigitte got home I told her my encounter with Bruce, and she saved the day by first: a chasing session, and finally, stepping on him to end his life.

Brice was fast and furious while living his freedom, but he is now in cockroach heaven with the rest of his mates.

the end
:-)

Renata vs. Totto (Arriving to Brisbane)

I could start my next post by letting everyone know how my 34 hour flight went, how my first day was at the temporary apartment I am staying at, BUT there is a rather significant issue we need to get out in the open and out of the way here.

I decided to go for a little walk on my first day in this magical and tropical land. I searched online to find a nearest bank where I can open an account, and then I would just walk and see what's near my place. Nothing too stressful for today, and I have to be home on time because the roommates and I are going for dinner, Brigitte, Jay and Shawnda. On my way to the bank nothing exciting happened, only that I consciously have to tell myself to LOOK LEFT before stepping off the curb, then right. I'm still doing the cross check at each lane b/c I get flustered at times, but otherwise made it to the bank safe and sound.

I have started to walk with my head looking up all the time because the birds are just fascinating here. (Liz, you would not be impressed lol) There are parrots, with amazing colours, hanging out on tree tops. There are birds considered as pests which are birds I find tropical and interesting. But then again, people who live here are accustom to it, the same way squirrels don't excite Canadians anymore, but tourist eat them up 'they are so cute'! I am in the process of collecting pictures of the birds in this area and will make a separate post on it when I feel that I have captured a fair amount.



After, I got a yummy chi tea latte on ice, asked where there are cute stores to check out and a way I go. I took the same road back to get to the shopping strip, and about half way there my mouth drops and I am about to run the other direction screaming HELP! However, there are senior citizens out walking, don't want to scare them, and well, I have anticipated this day for about an entire year (since I decided to apply to UQ for my masters). So, I shut my mouth, kept walking, and said: your going to be ok! But then I stopped walking, took a deep breath, pulled out my camera, slowly turned around, looked up at what I saw and took a picture! I walked under this giant spider on my first walk, but on my second walk, with latte in hand, I was checking out the scenery above, and well this was waiting for me on my way back.

A spider, who now I have named Totto, was hanging out between 2 trees on his web. This guy is the size of my HAND if not larger since I was measuring him from the ground 5 feet and 3 inches up, and he was maybe another 3 feet from me. Here are the measurements to my hand: from pinky to thumb 19 cm (7.5 in) and from my middle finger to the base of my wrist again approx. the same 20 cm. This spider was that or more.



During the rest of my walk I was walking around the trees along the sidewalk (Thanks Karissa for the tip), and thinking to myself: Good that I saw Totto, now it's done and over with. Seen it, and over it. And then I thought, all those people who told me that spiders this large do not hang out in the city, I say: you lie ! (in a totally humorous tone lol) I had no doubt that Totto and I will meet sooner then later, but I never expected to be it my first day out and about.

I am still extremely excited to be here, but Totto will stay on my mind, and hopefully he will not confuse me for an insect or an antelope for dinner. I felt silly introducing Totto to my new roommates who are native to this tropical world, and are probably sick of me pointing out what seem to me glamorous, and to them average and boring.

I guess now I could tell you a bit about my arrival and flight of 34 hours. I flew Toronto-Vancouver for about 5 hours, slept the whole way since I got no sleep the night before, I was up packing till about 3 hours before flight. Once I arrived to Van city, there was a delay of 3 hours, and waiting, sleeping, reading, chatting at the airport for another 5 hours. There I got a voucher for 10$ due to the flight delay, and was told that if I miss my connecting flight in Hong Kong, I will also be treated to a hotel and a one night stay in the city. I said: Sweet :-)

On my 13 hour flight to Hong Kong, met my neighbor, she's from Winnipeg, and is heading to Melbourne to work and live the Ausi experience. We chatted a ton and got along real well. We made plans to check out Hong Kong together if we both miss our transfer flight. However, for some odd reason we ended up being early an hour, and we both made our planes, because they rushed us to boarding with those little cars. Bummer!

So after a 13 hour flight, I went pee, then was back on a flight of 7 hours to Carins. At this flight I met a rookie undergrad student, he was going into engineering at UQ. He was excited and asked loads of questions, even when I was watching my own movie. Now I know what it's like to hang out with me, or work with me :-) But he was very sweet, and talk just about anything pop culture has to offer.

Once arriving to Carins, we had to get off, pick up more people, and board to fly another 2 hours to Brisbane. Flying over the coast was beautiful, however I wasn't able to take pictures because my window was super messy. I slept the 2 hours because I was exhausted, and finally at 12:35 on time, arrived to humidity and sunshine to Brisbane, AUS. I got one of my check-in bag, and when I realized that everyone has left from my flight, I went to luggage services and asked: Have they seen a black suitcase? Sure enough, there was an announcement over the PA, calling my name but I was chatting probably and missed it.

My luggage was still in Hong Kong but would arrive that day at midnight. They will send it out the next day before noon. I said: Sweet! Less stuff to carry for me :-)

I went out to meet my driver. He was a super nice man, big smile on his face. I think I may have looked scary since I just flew 34 hours and felt like I haven't showered for a week.

Once I was at the new apartment, I met with Shawnda, who's room I am renting for a week and did some catching up. Then I was introduced to my new roommates as they came home from work, Jay, who's in construction, and Brigitte, who's working for the railway company, in the office, and has some interesting office stories.

That is all for now! Enjoy some of my camera work with a point-and-shoot.

The weekend is going to be hot hot hot :-)

Looking forward to Australia day on Tuesday, January 26th !!!

Love
R :-)

278, 279 days ... ready or not here I come !

Some of you may remember, but I was supposed to head to Australia June 2009, however, due to my decision (and now I realize it was the most appropriate decision) I had to postpone school for the following semester. Since April 15th, 2009 there has been 279 days which went by so fast, I am still in disbelief that I am heading down under. (mind you, I am writing this message form the Vancouver airport, yet my future still does not feel real)

To give you a little insight into how much I am in disbelief, here is a story about the night before departure. My plane to Vancouver departs at 9am, which means I have to be at the airport in Toronto 2 hours before departure, and I am still packing, at 4am on Tuesday 19th, 2009.

Now, some of you know me as a perfectionist and some know that I am very organized, usually much in advance, but I have been taking on a new form. No checklist, only a mental note on what I have to get done before my departure. I did not officially start getting ready till after the holidays, but tried to get somethings done here and there.

I now recognize that 2 weeks to prepare for a year of adventures might not be the ideal time line, especially when you are trying to box up your life entirely. So frantic and in overdrive mode, I kept packing, uploading my new computer, and re-organizing my room all day Monday. I still had loads of running around to do Monday morning, so I did not technically start my packing till about 4pm. Ha, I am looking back now thinking what was I thinking and "hope I did not forget anything!" (but I did: my travel mug!)

The only thing I did not get around to doing is write a thoughtful note on my blog. I wanted to share what I was feeling the night before I am heading off to an unknown yet super popular and fun place. I remember having some juicy ideas I was going to write about, but to be honest, I have lost them all while I was trying to finish up my last minute tasks. I was so exhausted from Mondays events, that I slept through a 4h flight to Vancouver.

My plane to Hong Kong is delayed an extra 2 hours, and I am trying to think hard on what I was going to share here but I feel useless :-)

Maybe after my 14h flight, or even on it, I will get my creative juices flowing.

I did want to mention here that I fell very luck to have such an amazing and supportive family and friends! You all know who you are and know that I am so grateful to have you in my life.

I have always been an independent soul (following my dreams), but over the past year I have realized how wonderful life is when you can celebrate, together with those who care for you. At times when I had the faintest doubt of what the future holds, your support gave me a chance to re-think and keep on the path assigned to me. So thank you everyone! And I know that this trip is only a tiny experience of the big picture :-)

What I found strange through this experience: now that I am comfortable in a place and surrounded by wonderful people, it is much more challenging to maintain focus on what my goals were in the past. I always felt that traveling was my calling, but all last week I found myself questioning why am I leaving all these wonderful people. And the only answer I can find is what my brother pointed out to me: Leaving people on a good note makes it a pleasure to come home!

Thank you all for an unforgettable year and I will make it my goal to keep you all in the loop throughout my travels and be a witness as I conquer my dreams :-)

Ok, and if I have to tell you one thing that makes me nervous (still): thinking about the size of these spiders who are all waiting for me to land!!! Why did I even bother packing closed toed shoes.

xoxo
R :-)

Current Events !

Just a heads up on my blog: it is still in the works but if you really think about it, it's my travel page so as long as I'm on the road it will always be in the works!

So read on, comment, send me your thoughts and hope to see most of you keep in touch on my trip!!

XOXO
R :-)