Monday, February 28, 2011
'Roo For Dinner, Togas At Night, Smiles In Between.
I'm very sorry I haven't been writing. It seems as though I've disassociated myself from posting a lot on facebook and keeping in touch with anyone other than my mom and dad. I've just been so happy going out and about in Brisbane that I haven't wanted to sit down at my computer and write a whole bunch about what I've been doing!
So, last week was orientation week. It was supposed to be a bunch of days filled with things to do on campus, but the main event was marketing day. I signed up for way too many clubs and got way too excited. I felt like a freshman all over again, starting a new life in a new school and ready to discover all of these activities I'd never thought of doing before. For example, I joined the beach volleyball team, the ultimate frisbee team, the wakeboarding club, the wine and cheese club, and then in Miriam fashion the accounting club. I doubt I'll have time to do all of these things but I'm only 20 and in Australia once so I might as well get my butt out of bed and dive into the culture of uni face first!
In other exciting news I did some crazy stuff last week like...
So, last week was orientation week. It was supposed to be a bunch of days filled with things to do on campus, but the main event was marketing day. I signed up for way too many clubs and got way too excited. I felt like a freshman all over again, starting a new life in a new school and ready to discover all of these activities I'd never thought of doing before. For example, I joined the beach volleyball team, the ultimate frisbee team, the wakeboarding club, the wine and cheese club, and then in Miriam fashion the accounting club. I doubt I'll have time to do all of these things but I'm only 20 and in Australia once so I might as well get my butt out of bed and dive into the culture of uni face first!
In other exciting news I did some crazy stuff last week like...
EAT KANGAROO!!!
It was actually really good. I had it in a meat sauce on top of pasta, thanks to one of my new friends Alex. He is quite the chef.
Go to a TOGA PARTY! I usually hate theme parties, but this was an organized event by the University of Queensland. I wanted to show some school support and dress up. There were thousands of students there decked out in tons of toga attire with a great DJ and some crazy techno. This is on the bus on the way to campus after a bump in the road and laughing after almost falling.
I also tried some local foods (as you know I'm obsessed with tropical fruits). There is a smoothie/ice cream stand called "New Zealand Naturals" a ten minute walk from my building. I absolutely LOVE walking in south bank down by the river and I went one afternoon with Rachel to sit and people watch while drinking an AMAZING milkshake.
We also went adventuring out at night. If you haven't noticed I'm happy all the time here.
It's actually quite crazy how different I feel after 2 weeks of being here. I'm less stressed, I'm happy all the time, I'm relaxed and excited to go to uni and meet new people. There literally hasn't been one bad day since I've gotten here. It's hard to imagine going back to New York after having such an amazing experience here.
I don't know what it was about London, but most of the time I spent in bed watching Netflix. Okay, "most of the time" is a bit dramatic but compared to never being in my flat in Brisbane it seemed like I never left the house in London. I can't help but kick myself for not going out more and being more adventurous. In all honesty, I can make a new friend everywhere I go here and people in London were not that friendly. I went shopping the other day at the Queen Street market, basically a huge shopping center, and made friends with a guy checking bags at the door who I'd love to see again.
Yesterday was the first day of classes at UQ. Although I'm dropping my Monday class to have a four day weekend, I still enjoyed sitting in it yesterday morning. It was all about fashion and seeing it more as an art form then deciding whether a white skirt is nicer than a black frilly one. Today I had Television and Popular Culture which will prove to be my favorite class of the semester. During class we were discussing the wave of reality television and to my horror the professor showed a clip of Jersey Shore. I sank low in my seat making sure I didn't stand out and no one knew I was from New York. It will be interesting to see a student's perspective of the American culture from an Aussie standpoint. I'll also be getting their perspectives in my Australian Popular Culture class. Here's a Foster's add the professor showed today:
He also showed the same advert but for a Canadian beer. It was funny.
OH! BUT! He showed it because literally no one in Australia actually drinks Fosters and proved how it was catered to Americans.
Anyway, I've gotta run! I'm going to the market to buy some groceries!
Righteous!
Mimi
Monday, February 21, 2011
Don't Feed The Birds
As I promised, I will now tell you about the new wonderful city I call home.
We flew from Cairns (pronounced Cans) to Brisbane on Thursday February 17th. We arrived at Urbanest, the apartment complex for students in South Bank to find that Australearn told the staff we weren't arriving until the 18th so our flats weren't ready. We sat around for about an hour and were then placed in our rooms.
I walked into my room and was immediately happy. I have my own space away from everyone, which is something I definitely needed in London. I even have my own BATHROOM! Check below...
We flew from Cairns (pronounced Cans) to Brisbane on Thursday February 17th. We arrived at Urbanest, the apartment complex for students in South Bank to find that Australearn told the staff we weren't arriving until the 18th so our flats weren't ready. We sat around for about an hour and were then placed in our rooms.
I walked into my room and was immediately happy. I have my own space away from everyone, which is something I definitely needed in London. I even have my own BATHROOM! Check below...
Along with the picture of my bathroom I have to deliver some bad news. The water doesn't flush the other way here in Aussieland. It doesn't even spin. The toilets flush the water straight down. My astronomy professor from last spring broke the news to me about the toilets so I was prepared for the heartbreak.
As I was unpacking from my journey of epic proportions, I had to open the drawer to my desk to place some of my crap in it to make the room look neater. When I opened the drawer, to my horrified surprise, a MASSIVE cockroach crawled out to greet me to my new room which I apparently was sharing with him. I screamed but was too panicked to immediately kill him, so it decided to crawl behind the desk where I couldn't reach him. There was nothing I could do about it except let it be and hope to find him later to murder the poor bastard.
I went to lunch with my new best friend, Rachel, down by the river at subway. They have $10.00 footlongs here, I laughed and was sad that nothing was going to be cheap here for the next few months. As I got my sandwich, we decided to sit on cute little tables outside in the sunshine (it's summer here, are you jealous? good.) that was out in the park area.
As we were about to sit, I put my sandwich down to look at a very interesting bird. It was quite large with a white body and a black head with a very long beak. It saw me staring at him, so it stared back. All of a sudden, it flew at my face which made me put my sandwich down in the table, scream like a little girl, and run the other way. I then watched in horror as I realized the bird didn't actually want little old me, it wanted the 7 dollar 6 inch subway sandwich I had just bought and was dying to eat. After waiting for an hour for my apartment to be ready and after realizing I was sharing my new room with a 1.5 inch long cockroach I was not about to let an evil bird take away my lunch. I screamed in its face and let it fly away. Only problem was it didn't leave me alone so I had to move inside to another restaurant because the waiter felt bad for me.
This was all 3 hours into living in Brisbane.
Evil, Evil Bird.
So, today is Tuesday which means I've been in Brisbane for about 5 or 6 days now and it already feels like home. I met some nice guys on the elevator and they invited me and Rachel over for dinner on Thursday. We've become a group since then and it's been really great to hang out with awesome guys who actually cook dinner. That first night they gave us gin and tonics along with a gourmet salmon dinner with mashed potatoes and asparagus. I plan on cooking for them this week to repay the favor.
I've been out on the town a few times since arriving. The hot places to go are the main city and a place called fortitude valley. The "valley" is just bar after bar with 20 somethings lining the streets dancing and having a good time. I love it. Only problem is the price of alcohol. To give you an idea, a 6 pack of Corona is 20.00. A 6 pack of Becks is 23 dollars. A normal sized bottle of Jack Daniels is 65 dollars. The cheapest thing to drink is boxed wine, which is anywhere from 10 to 17 dollars.
Yesterday was orientation which was as boring as you can imagine. UQ is full of international students, with 107 countries represented during orientation. They were naming countries I had never heard of. There was a barbeque after which was good but it was so painfully hot I couldn't stay outside. The heat was making me feel like I was either going to throw up or faint. Hopefully the head today won't be as bad.
So, that's my update for now! Here are some other pictures of Brisbane!
Kristi, Rachel, Me in Southbank
Southbank area with shops and restaurants
The Brisbane Ferris Wheel
Briizzzyy
UQ!
Me and Brisbane in the background
Righteous, Dude!
Mimi
I've Found My New Home.
Hello Everyone!!!
I am SO SORRY for not posting since I've been in Australia but I didn't have internet for a week in Cairns and I'm just getting my footing now that I'm in Brisbane.
As you obviously know, I have been to many places all over the world but I am here to tell you that the most beautiful and wonderful country is Australia. My first fear of coming over here was the plane ride(s). In total, it took my 25 hours in 4 different planes and going to 5 different airports to arrive in Cairns, a city in North Queensland. The scariest flight was the 15 hour flight from LA to Sydney but as soon as we were in the air I fell asleep without taking any Ambien or Advil PM. The stress on my body from being so nervous just put me in a coma and I woke up with only 3 hours left of the flight. I watched The Social Network and the Madonna episode of Glee. I then took two short flights up to Cairns.
Cairns is a very hard place to describe. It's in the tropics so it is blaring hot partnered with extreme humidity so the option of straight hair goes out the window for every girl. The Australearn program set us up in a hostel type facility called the Bohemia Resort so I got two roommates, one from Texas and the other from Massachusetts. We bonded pretty quickly, but it was hard to meet everyone because there were about 140 people at orientation. 100 of those students were going to Griffith University on the Gold Coast, which is one of the most beautiful beach areas in all of Australia. Another 40 of us were going to University of Queensland (UQ), 37 of which were girls. Needless to say it was cliquey and quite annoying to hear every girl yelp when she talked about finding an Australian and marrying him. I mean, that's OBVIOUSLY why I came to study here, too, but I'm not going to squeal and say it out loud.
Sorry, I got off track. Okay, so, Cairns. When you're in a car driving down the road you have huge mountains to your left full of lush trees and rainforest and then to your right you see the Pacific Ocean thats a clear blue and warm and inviting (minus the jellyfish that cover the beaches). Seriously. The RAINFOREST is on the left and the GREAT BARRIER REEF is on the right.
Some highlights of Cairns were:
I am SO SORRY for not posting since I've been in Australia but I didn't have internet for a week in Cairns and I'm just getting my footing now that I'm in Brisbane.
As you obviously know, I have been to many places all over the world but I am here to tell you that the most beautiful and wonderful country is Australia. My first fear of coming over here was the plane ride(s). In total, it took my 25 hours in 4 different planes and going to 5 different airports to arrive in Cairns, a city in North Queensland. The scariest flight was the 15 hour flight from LA to Sydney but as soon as we were in the air I fell asleep without taking any Ambien or Advil PM. The stress on my body from being so nervous just put me in a coma and I woke up with only 3 hours left of the flight. I watched The Social Network and the Madonna episode of Glee. I then took two short flights up to Cairns.
Cairns is a very hard place to describe. It's in the tropics so it is blaring hot partnered with extreme humidity so the option of straight hair goes out the window for every girl. The Australearn program set us up in a hostel type facility called the Bohemia Resort so I got two roommates, one from Texas and the other from Massachusetts. We bonded pretty quickly, but it was hard to meet everyone because there were about 140 people at orientation. 100 of those students were going to Griffith University on the Gold Coast, which is one of the most beautiful beach areas in all of Australia. Another 40 of us were going to University of Queensland (UQ), 37 of which were girls. Needless to say it was cliquey and quite annoying to hear every girl yelp when she talked about finding an Australian and marrying him. I mean, that's OBVIOUSLY why I came to study here, too, but I'm not going to squeal and say it out loud.
The masses of people
Sorry, I got off track. Okay, so, Cairns. When you're in a car driving down the road you have huge mountains to your left full of lush trees and rainforest and then to your right you see the Pacific Ocean thats a clear blue and warm and inviting (minus the jellyfish that cover the beaches). Seriously. The RAINFOREST is on the left and the GREAT BARRIER REEF is on the right.
Some highlights of Cairns were:
Petting a Kangaroo!
The cutest baby Koala bear
Kiwis and Passionfruit are cheap here. I have eaten a passionfruit and kiwi everyday since I got to Brisbane. SO DELICIOUS
This was probably a lowlight. Holding a water python was scary. Never again.
Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef
Huge fish that hung out near the boat. I swam with them!
Alright, I gotta run, but I'll try and post about Brisbane tomorrow. I've only been here for about 4 or 5 days but there have already been adventures and crazy moments that could only happen to yours truly.
Since I'm not in London anymore, I feel awkward saying cheers so instead I'll leave you with...
Righteous, Dude
Mimi
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Gail Elliott for Chanel
"Supermodel of the nineties, Gail Elliott, got her strut back at the Chanel show in Sydney last night. Gail, who is now behind the label Little Joe Woman walked the catwalk for Chanel’s spring summer ready-to-wear collection at the MCA. She texted me a few days ago" - Romy
“Just finished my Chanel fitting! Haven’t done a show in probably 12 years!!!” - Gail Elliott
Gail walks for Chanel, Sydney show 17th Feb 2011
Gail & Yasmin Le Bon walk for Chanel 1991
“I love this image of Yasmin, Amber LeBon and I. Amber was just three years old in 1991. I still have the pearls & earrings I was wearing and the belt Yasmin wore that Karl kindly gifted me. And Karl made Amber’s little pink romper suit especially for her. We had so much fun doing that show as you can see on our faces!” -Gail Elliott
Monday, February 14, 2011
Annalise talks to The Messenger
The Messenger, a budding blog packed full of great topics on everything organic asks Annalise a few questions about her healthy lifestyle
Click here to view the full interview
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Losing the last 5 kilos
Losing The Last 5 Kilos by Michelle Bridges has shot to Number One Best Seller Nationally in its first week of release! The bestselling author has previously had success with Crunch Time and Crunch Time Cook Book which were also best seller titles, published by Penguin
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Baby Bodies
Michelle's tips on healthy eating habits before, during and after your pregancy in Sunday Life, 6th Feb 2011
How I look the way I do..
Catriona Rowntree on her simple, natural food & beauty tips
Click here to read the full interview and see a gallery of Catriona in her maternity collection for target
Thursday, February 3, 2011
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