Georgia's Here!

My cousin Georgia arrived this Friday and is here to visit me for a few days. We've been so busy trying to make the most of the Spring Break, and we've still got so much more to do. So luckily this week I have lot's of pictures, and will hopefully have lots more to come!

Firstly, with the hot weather the animals have been coming out a lot more. Lots of my friends have seen koalas around the campus and have been taking photos, the same goes for snakes (we've been officially warned about this) and i saw my first kangaroo on Saturday!

As soon as Georgia landed we didn't waste any time, it was straight to the Unibar post-grad party, a quick stop-off at the flats and then out to the valley:

Georgia and I went on a trip to the Farmer's rock-pools near the Gold Coast, apparently we were the only two who signed up for the trip so it was truly exclusive and really serene:

A quick walk up-stream to the old saw-mill:

We then headed to Surfers Paradise, famous for it's hustle and bustle, nightlife and lovely golden beach:

We were definitely very worn out after only 3 hours of sleep and a very busy day:

But the day was nowhere near over, the Riverfire was honestly one of the best experiences I've had here so far. With over 16 tonnes of fireworks there was an electric atmosphere:

Afterwards we went for a bite to eat then went to the Cultural Centre and enjoyed some Latin American music and salsa dancing:

We spent today walking around the city, doing a bit of shopping and enjoying a bit of sightseeing:

Academic Week 8

So this week I had two exams, which means I can now relax a little in preparation for Spring Break. This time next week my cousin Georgia will be here so i'm starting to arrange things to make sure we have an amazing week.I have one little essay to get out of the way then i'm free :)

One of the current student vouchers this month is 2 for 1 at G's cafe, resulting in me having visited G's 3 times this week:

I've still been doing a little bit of work, but it doesn't seem as strenuous when you're doing it in the sun. The weather is really starting to get nice now:

We got invited to an AASC (look it up) house party, however the theme kind of dissolved and it ended up being a regular house party, but we still had loads of fun and made a lot of new freinds:

I had a nice Skype catch-up with the family as well, chatting to my Nana over the phone via Skype and seeing little Campbell:

And today i've just booked a day trip for me and Georgia to Tangalooma! Starting to look forward to all the exciting trips ahead of me:

This week coming week i'm going to be planning things to do with Georgia during spring break, but i'm also going to make the most of my friends being here as they're going to the Great Barrier Reef (jealous!)

Academic Week 7- I've been here two months!

This week I've really been focusing on revision as I have my first exam next week, so I've tried to keep the procrastination to a minimum. Therefore I don't really have a lot to report to you, but hopefully in the next few weeks there'll be fun things coming up.

My flatmate Jack studies art so I said i'd be a human canvas volunteer for his project, this is what he practiced on me the night before:

Probably the most interesting thing that happened this week was when Anna and I went shopping and happened to end up at a VIP event in Wintergarden shopping mall. They were giving out free food (canapes, oysters, cupcakes) and champagne (and also vodka and passion-fruit mixers) and all the shops had special deals on. We ended up spending hours there circling the shops for freebies and even talked to one of the designers!

Trying the oysters:

On Saturday, Ben, Anna and I went to the city to see some of the free things at the Brisbane Festival and get away from revision. We ended up at Southbank- singing and dancing with a busker who happened to be from England, then moved on to an outdoor bar (and were provided with free candyfloss!). We headed across the river to the casino, but swiftly left once we realised we couldn't join in any of the games because we're hopeless.  We decided to get something to eat, and ended up at Pie Face- guessing the name of the cashier which lead to Anna adding him on Facebook. All in all it was a good night.

As always I love looking out my window at all the different sights, I saw a lizard/tree dragon but it was too fast so I couldn't get a photo. However I did manage to capture a picture of this bird (i'm not entirely sure what it is), although it is very hard to see:

Academic Week 6

So this week I've been really busy with coursework, but after a stressful start to the week with a presentation on Monday I've managed to balance work and play, on Tuesday Tord and I went to the lagoon for a post-lecture relax:

A new garden has opened at Southbank, it has everything from Mangoes and Paw-paws to Cabbages and Coffee Beans:

 

 

 

As always, I continued to be impressed with Griffith and life at Nathan Campus, there's always free food, entertainment or just something to do. On Wednesday I enjoyed a free serving of chilli with nachos, a diet coke and a freshly-made strawberry and mint smoothie while strolling around the on-campus market:

I was really tired after a long session at the library, but I always love waking up from a nap to this view:

On Friday the residential colleges KGBC threw a paint party in the lane. It got very messy but was a load of fun:

I think it's fair to say we'll all still be blue and green for a week...

Anna, Tord and I bought tickets for the Cultural Gala and it was definitely worth $10! It included 2 welcome drinks, a selection of starters and 2 main meals, cultural performances, a fashion show, DJ and dancefloor and a photobooth (which was our favourite):

In the photobooth, also with Dom and Dianna:

The Birsbane Festival started this weekend, so i'm looking forward to seeing some of the things it has to offer, it's on for most of the month so I'm sure there'll be some pictures up here soon :)

This is the Southbank schedule: