There are a few things that by now in my life I should be extremely good at…two of which are packing and moving. And even though I hate it, I can say that I have the packing thing down. It’s the moving thing that’s still hard no matter how many times I’ve done it.
It seems like only yesterday that I was waiting to board my plane to leave the U.S. to head to Australia, the other side of the world. Just over ten months later, with only a few hours left until I leave for the airport, I’m now about to leave a place that I’ve grown to love. I never listened to people when I was growing up when they said that “time will fly as you get older.” However, now I know just how true those words are.
Simultaneously, it feels as though I’ve been here forever and at the same time like I just got here. The people I’ve met and things I’ve been able to do have made this experience incredibly memorable, and I will never forget it. Brisbane is an amazing city, and I will miss it as well as everyone I’ve been fortunate to meet.
Brisbane from Kangaroo Cliffs
I know I’ve been slacking on the updates to my blog over the past few months, but that’s not due to lack of things to talk about. There have been several Rotary fundraisers and events, and speeches at clubs among other things. (All of which, will be blogged about later). On top of that, I finished up school and am leaving with a graduate diploma in communication for social change. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have this year as a Rotary Scholar and am happy to be part of such a great organization. I’ll especially miss my host Rotary club here in Brisbane as they are an amazing group of people.
With a few of my host Rotarians after cooking them a Mexican lunch. I don’t think we were ready for the picture to be taken.
Now, I’m off. On to another adventure. First up is a trip through Singapore to visit my cousins and then to Thailand with some friends before heading back to the U.S. to spend the holidays with my family. Then in January I’ll move to Denver to work at TVP Communications, a boutique public relations agency specializing in higher education, with a great colleague.
By now, goodbyes are another thing I should be good at but am not. Instead, I prefer to exchange “until next times.”
So, until next time…cheers!
I think they made these signs just so people would pose with them…
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
— Steve Jobs (via mondobarbie)
(Source: vi-xix)
Since I’ve been in Australia, I’ve received a lot of questions about the wildlife that lives here. Most people have visions of kangaroos hopping freely through the streets or koalas scaling buildings…well, maybe not the last one, but it would be interesting to watch.
I hate to disappoint, but living in the city here is just like living in a city anywhere else. You have birds and random other animals, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Sure, some of the birds that fly around are pink parrots, and no, there are no squirrels here—instead we have the ibis, which is just as pesky albeit much cooler to look at, and if you underestimate them, they will snatch your lunch if you happen to be eating outside.
They really are everywhere, I promise.
Anyway, one of the great things about Brisbane is the proximity of the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary a few minutes west of where I live. The name is semi-misleading as they not only have a host of koalas (130+ actually), but also a wide range of other indigenous Australian wildlife. It’s a fascinating place where you have the opportunity to get up close and personal with many of the animals, as it’s not like a traditional zoo. If you recall, I posted some photos from Lone Pine in my last update (click here to see me feeding a kangaroo and holding a koala).
Animals are best seen in pictures, so without further blathering on my part, I wanted to post an update solely about some of the Australian wildlife I’ve seen so far!
What would this be without koalas? I was able to snap a few pics of a baby koala last time I was at Lone Pine!
The other Australian staple…up close and personal with a kangaroo
Perentie lizard—he wouldn’t come out for me to get a better picture.
Kookaburras are pretty cool…until they start laughing (yes it really sounds like laughter) early in the morning outside your window.
The tawny frogmouth—quite possibly the coolest bird I’ve seen.
The southern cassowary is endangered, and it’s believed there are only 1,500 left worldwide.
Fun fact about wombats—if a predator comes into their dwellings, they will squash them against the roof with their hindquarters.
I was very disappointed when this tasmanian devil didn’t start spinning around. Looney Tunes lied.
The saltwater crocodile was smaller than most, but I still wouldn’t hop in there.
Found this little guy sleeping away. It’s okay to say “aww.”
Hey look, an inland taipan—the world’s most venomous land snake.
Random miniature horse? Why not? This little guy was shy and would turn his head whenever I pointed the camera at him. Had to fake him out to snap this.
White dingo
This picture does no justice to how colorful lorikeets really are.
I asked this koala to smile for me—and she did it!
Emus are crazy. This guy followed around a tourist all day and another one flipped over a kangaroo feeding trough.
Barking owl
And for good measure, another pic of the baby koala—this time eating some eucalyptus.
And then of course, an Australian wildlife post wouldn’t be complete without the all too common bush turkey. This photo was taken in my backyard. Just like the ibis, these are everywhere.
I feel as though I start every post with a disclaimer about how sporadic my updates are, mainly because it’s the truth. However, it’s not due to lack of things to post about. Since I last posted, I’ve finished my first semester at UQ, hosted several visitors throughout the month of June, helped with several Rotary fundraisers and functions, gotten sick including an ear infection (all better now), and a host of other things!
It was a great first semester, although admittedly it was weird getting back into a school routine and not working a full-time job. It ended well though and I have to say that I learned a lot of interesting things about the communications for social change and development fields. I’m excited to get back into classes later this month.
One of the greatest things I’ve done on my winter break—yes ‘winter’ break, although the high temperature seems to be hovering around 70 degrees—was to host some of the New Zealand Rotary Scholars that I visited back in April: Amie, Chase and Caresse. Amie was the first visitor I had and we spent a great deal of time just enjoying Brisbane and getting to know the wildlife at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary outside of town—which I also visited with Chase and Caresse. Side note: I might be just a tad obsessed with the koalas, and have subsequently joined the Sanctuary as a member.
But I mean, look at them…how could you not fall in love with these guys
And of course, here’s the obligatory “I held a koala” photo
Not only do they have koalas, they also have a host of other indigenous animals to Australia, including, of course, kangaroos. With which you can also get up close and personal.
They’re pretty relaxed creatures
Especially when you have food to feed them
After Amie left, I had a day to finish my last assignment for the semester before Caresse arrived. Chase was supposed to arrive on the same day, however the Chilean ash cloud had other plans for him (read more about that on his blog here). Eventually Chase made it to Australia and met up with me and Caresse on the Gold Coast where we spent several days enjoying the sun and sand. Reminder, I am on my WINTER break, yet was able to spend several days relaxing on the beach. Winter indeed. Below is a photo from our apartment window. Somehow I made it back without taking a single picture of the beach.
The Gold Coast is pretty much a cleaner version of Miami
One of the great things about it being winter here is to see the lengths the Aussies go to in order to create a “winter experience.” Case in point was the Winter Festival held in the central business district that featured all the makings of a holiday celebration, complete with vendors and an ice rink. Mind you, with the daily temperatures nearing or just over 70, the rink was less of a solid and more of a solid/slush hybrid. It was great watching people ice skate in shorts and t-shirts…and even more fun watching them fall and get back up soaking wet because of the inch-layer of water on top of much of the ice.
However, it was a great place to capture shots of this beautiful Brisbane sunset
Before Chase and Caresse left, we were able to all work at a sausage sizzle fundraiser hosted by my Rotary club. It was great to be able to help out, especially since they allowed us Yanks to man the barbecue—which I have learned is quite an honor over here.
Grilling up the sausages and onions
The three scholars
Posing with some of my Rotarians
In addition to the sausage sizzle, it’s been a pretty busy few months for my club. We recently hosted a trivia night to raise money for local institutions affected by the floods as well as had our annual changeover dinner.
At the risk of turning this update into a novel, I’m going to end it here. Look for another post in the coming days specifically about the wildlife at the koala sanctuary.
