Hey everyone!
So the year is now officially in full-swing...meaning we finally had a lecture worth going to this week lol. All of the lectures so far have been introductory things, and it was great to have a lecture that introduced fairly new concepts. During "acute inflammation" the professor actually zoomed through her 1 hr lecture in 35 minutes and half the class was literally just blown away by all of the information. Yesterday we had our first pharmacology lecture which was really interesting. So my "vacation" as my mom calls it is officially over and it's time to get down to the grind. But that doesn't mean we're still not having fun!
I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but it's SOOOO HOT here. Like, I step outside and I'm sweating in under a minute. When there's a breeze, it really just feels like someone's breathing on you because it's hot and humid. I don't even take showers with hot water anymore. I just turn on the cold water and away I go...and it still steams up because of my body heat!!! lol It's crazy. Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining. But I'm kind of looking forward to the Australian winter where I'm not sweating ALL THE TIME and where you actually get a cool breeze.
Nothing else exciting to report, but I'll keep you posted! :)
~Christine~
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Gold Coast baby!
Hey everyone!
So the Brisbane River is receding, we've finally gotten a break from the torrential downpour (however small since it's thunderstorming again here), and classes are officially starting tomorrow. So a few of us decided to take a short trip to the Gold Coast to Surfer's Paradise. OMG...it was amazing. It was exactly what we needed in order to veg and relax before our hectic school schedule starts. It's super easy to get to. We just take an express "Gold Coast" train from downtown and then a short bus ride to "Surfer's Paradise". As soon as you get off the bus stop, there's a hostel called "Nomads" which actually used to be an old hotel. It was pretty awesome for $32.00/night. We had our own bathroom and there was also a pool and hot tub for use.
Our room wasn't ready until after 2:00, so we changed, put our stuff in a locker, and then head to the beach! It was so hot and sunny and amazing. The water was warm, and the waves were lively. The lifeguards are very watchful and there is only a small area of the ocean that you're allowed to swim in, and you have to be really careful to stay in that area as the tide will suck you in diagonally. The area between the 2 flags isn't very big and it's easy to drift beyond those perimeters. In fact, the lifeguards call out to the swimmers to remind them to go back within the flagposts. I was in the water swimming back towards the flags when my thigh started prickling. The prickling turned into a stinging, then burning. After making sure there wasn't a leech or crab or some other type of parasite on my thigh, I saw a bright red line on my skin. So...my first time on the Australian coast was punctuated with a jellyfish sting. I ended up going to the lifeguards who then sprayed my thigh with some type of magic elixer and told me to ice it...an hour later it went away! Yayy! Needless to say, despite the jellyfish sting, the day was awesome.
It started to cloud over so we went back to the hostel, changed, then went out for dinner and drinks. We were so tired that we were in bed by midnight. In the morning we checked out, put our stuff back in a locker, then headed back to the beach. We kept saying how amazing it was to actually be there. We're all on a tight budget, but understand how important it is to have a life-work balance. Our schedules are the most strenuous...we start about a month earlier than everyone else and finish about a month later. In total, we get about 8-10 weeks out of the year off from school. According to my schedule for this week, Thursday I'm at school from 8am - 4pm, and Friday from 8am - 5pm...and next week this will be everyday. Not to mention fitting in studying also. We know that we won't have time to enjoy this once school starts, so we were so grateful and fortunate to be able to soak it in beforehand. Don't get me wrong; I am SOOOO EXCITED to be starting school!! But I'm also happy I was able to thoroughly enjoy the beach. That's all for now, but I'll let you know how the first days of school are!!
~Christine~ xoxo
So the Brisbane River is receding, we've finally gotten a break from the torrential downpour (however small since it's thunderstorming again here), and classes are officially starting tomorrow. So a few of us decided to take a short trip to the Gold Coast to Surfer's Paradise. OMG...it was amazing. It was exactly what we needed in order to veg and relax before our hectic school schedule starts. It's super easy to get to. We just take an express "Gold Coast" train from downtown and then a short bus ride to "Surfer's Paradise". As soon as you get off the bus stop, there's a hostel called "Nomads" which actually used to be an old hotel. It was pretty awesome for $32.00/night. We had our own bathroom and there was also a pool and hot tub for use.
Our room wasn't ready until after 2:00, so we changed, put our stuff in a locker, and then head to the beach! It was so hot and sunny and amazing. The water was warm, and the waves were lively. The lifeguards are very watchful and there is only a small area of the ocean that you're allowed to swim in, and you have to be really careful to stay in that area as the tide will suck you in diagonally. The area between the 2 flags isn't very big and it's easy to drift beyond those perimeters. In fact, the lifeguards call out to the swimmers to remind them to go back within the flagposts. I was in the water swimming back towards the flags when my thigh started prickling. The prickling turned into a stinging, then burning. After making sure there wasn't a leech or crab or some other type of parasite on my thigh, I saw a bright red line on my skin. So...my first time on the Australian coast was punctuated with a jellyfish sting. I ended up going to the lifeguards who then sprayed my thigh with some type of magic elixer and told me to ice it...an hour later it went away! Yayy! Needless to say, despite the jellyfish sting, the day was awesome.
It started to cloud over so we went back to the hostel, changed, then went out for dinner and drinks. We were so tired that we were in bed by midnight. In the morning we checked out, put our stuff back in a locker, then headed back to the beach. We kept saying how amazing it was to actually be there. We're all on a tight budget, but understand how important it is to have a life-work balance. Our schedules are the most strenuous...we start about a month earlier than everyone else and finish about a month later. In total, we get about 8-10 weeks out of the year off from school. According to my schedule for this week, Thursday I'm at school from 8am - 4pm, and Friday from 8am - 5pm...and next week this will be everyday. Not to mention fitting in studying also. We know that we won't have time to enjoy this once school starts, so we were so grateful and fortunate to be able to soak it in beforehand. Don't get me wrong; I am SOOOO EXCITED to be starting school!! But I'm also happy I was able to thoroughly enjoy the beach. That's all for now, but I'll let you know how the first days of school are!!
~Christine~ xoxo
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Flooding
Hey everyone,
Just a quick update. I'm currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and we have been plagued with the worst flood on record. Although it could have been much worse, the low areas along the river were flooded which included some of campus, downtown Brisbane (think downtown Toronto and all the businesses and shopping :( ), the West End which is full of cafes and nightlife, Toowong, Taringa, Indooroopilly, and Southbank which hold big shopping centres, cafes, restaurants, and where many students choose to live off campus.
When the flooding started on Tuesday, January 11, I was at the Royal Brisbane Hospital where the medical school is located. I live across the river from the main campus in St. Lucia and was unable to make it home. A friend of mine lives very close to the main campus and I was able to go with him. I walk to campus from home using the "Green Bridge" which is reserved just for pedestrians, cyclists, and buses. I was unable to get home because the pathway on campus going towards the Green Bridge was flooded. As a result I stayed at his house, along with approximately 10 other people who were unable to get home, for 2 days.
Thankfully, my place was not flooded as we are on high ground, and nothing was damaged. I was able to get home on Thursday as the founder of OzTREKK (the organization I applied to school with) was in town with a large van to drive us to appointments and such. He was able to find a way around towards downtown to a bridge that was not flooded over. By Thursday evening, the river had gone down considerably, and cleanup is occurring as I write this now.
The university is closed until Thursday, January 20, and classes have been postponed until Monday, January 24. As devastating as this flood has been for the people of Queensland, there have been many heartfelt stories of heroes that live among us. I have also been able to forge a bond among my fellow classmates as we were stranded together in a big brother/survivor house lol.
Anyways, all is well here and I can't wait to start classes. I'll keep in touch.
~Christine~
Just a quick update. I'm currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and we have been plagued with the worst flood on record. Although it could have been much worse, the low areas along the river were flooded which included some of campus, downtown Brisbane (think downtown Toronto and all the businesses and shopping :( ), the West End which is full of cafes and nightlife, Toowong, Taringa, Indooroopilly, and Southbank which hold big shopping centres, cafes, restaurants, and where many students choose to live off campus.
When the flooding started on Tuesday, January 11, I was at the Royal Brisbane Hospital where the medical school is located. I live across the river from the main campus in St. Lucia and was unable to make it home. A friend of mine lives very close to the main campus and I was able to go with him. I walk to campus from home using the "Green Bridge" which is reserved just for pedestrians, cyclists, and buses. I was unable to get home because the pathway on campus going towards the Green Bridge was flooded. As a result I stayed at his house, along with approximately 10 other people who were unable to get home, for 2 days.
Thankfully, my place was not flooded as we are on high ground, and nothing was damaged. I was able to get home on Thursday as the founder of OzTREKK (the organization I applied to school with) was in town with a large van to drive us to appointments and such. He was able to find a way around towards downtown to a bridge that was not flooded over. By Thursday evening, the river had gone down considerably, and cleanup is occurring as I write this now.
The university is closed until Thursday, January 20, and classes have been postponed until Monday, January 24. As devastating as this flood has been for the people of Queensland, there have been many heartfelt stories of heroes that live among us. I have also been able to forge a bond among my fellow classmates as we were stranded together in a big brother/survivor house lol.
Anyways, all is well here and I can't wait to start classes. I'll keep in touch.
~Christine~
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Second Suitcase
Hello All!!
So there are 4 full days left until I depart. I'm actually OK with it. Last week I was really freaking out about it, but as January quickly approaches I'm finding myself very excited for school to start. I've been really focused on cleaning up my room and with that I've actually started filling up my second suitcase. This is because I've been clearing out things from my dresser; so perfumes, creams, and other toiletries. I put off doing this sooner because these are things I use on a daily basis...but with only 4 days left (holy shit!!) I can live with using one perfume as opposed to choosing from 7 lol.
My mom has also been exhibiting "hen-like" behaviour and I can understand it. Seeing my dresser cleared of my daily things has her tearing up (which she is blaming on her cold lol). She's going to really miss me, and I'm going to miss her alot too, but it is what it is, right? I have to go and get an excellent education, and experience things I haven't before.
One of my housemates (Harrison) is already there and he has posted a video of the place and it looks really great! Through facebook I have met two other future classmates. Trung, who is from London, Ontario and is there right now with his family in Sydney. He actually stayed in the house with Harrison in early December when he was looking for a place, and will be staying with us from Jan 4-6 while waiting for his new place to be available. He also has a car so he's kindly offered to drive me to the mall on Jan 4th so I can get my BlackBerry!! Woot woot! I've also "met" Michelle who will be with me on the very long flight (along with 13 other Canadians who will be studying medicine with us!) so that'll be really good. So all I have to do is finish packing. Off to it! :)
~Christine~
So there are 4 full days left until I depart. I'm actually OK with it. Last week I was really freaking out about it, but as January quickly approaches I'm finding myself very excited for school to start. I've been really focused on cleaning up my room and with that I've actually started filling up my second suitcase. This is because I've been clearing out things from my dresser; so perfumes, creams, and other toiletries. I put off doing this sooner because these are things I use on a daily basis...but with only 4 days left (holy shit!!) I can live with using one perfume as opposed to choosing from 7 lol.
My mom has also been exhibiting "hen-like" behaviour and I can understand it. Seeing my dresser cleared of my daily things has her tearing up (which she is blaming on her cold lol). She's going to really miss me, and I'm going to miss her alot too, but it is what it is, right? I have to go and get an excellent education, and experience things I haven't before.
One of my housemates (Harrison) is already there and he has posted a video of the place and it looks really great! Through facebook I have met two other future classmates. Trung, who is from London, Ontario and is there right now with his family in Sydney. He actually stayed in the house with Harrison in early December when he was looking for a place, and will be staying with us from Jan 4-6 while waiting for his new place to be available. He also has a car so he's kindly offered to drive me to the mall on Jan 4th so I can get my BlackBerry!! Woot woot! I've also "met" Michelle who will be with me on the very long flight (along with 13 other Canadians who will be studying medicine with us!) so that'll be really good. So all I have to do is finish packing. Off to it! :)
~Christine~
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Officially enrolled..Olé!!
So today was my last day of work, and it was bittersweet. Sweet because now I can sleep in and I don't have to talk to sometimes stupid (albeit sometimes nice too) people on the phone anymore; but bitter because I worked with an amazing group of people I hope to stay friends with for a very long time. But in life, things change so I just have to deal with it.
One exciting thing is that yesterday I became an official Portuguese national!! This means that in the eyes of Portugal as a country, I am one of their own and can officially call myself both Canadian AND Portuguese. I also got a nice (sarcasm) lesson on how to properly pronounce my last name, and how I should pronounce my entire name as if I were in Portugal (weird, because my name is French lol). So, instead of saying Christine in the normal way, I should be calling myself: Krrishteen (and don't forget to roll your r's lol). Olé!!
Lastly, I got home and got my web ID so that I can set up my university email and enroll in classes. So now I'm officially enrolled in my classes for Semesters 1 and 2!! Problem was that for some reason they didn't give me access to sign up for Semester 2 classes. The upside to this? Weeeeelllllll...I had to call them and as a result got a super hot-sounding Aussie guy on the other line who was VERY easy to flirt with hehe!! Methinks I will be just fine down under ;) lol
~Christine~ AKA Krrishteen xoxo
One exciting thing is that yesterday I became an official Portuguese national!! This means that in the eyes of Portugal as a country, I am one of their own and can officially call myself both Canadian AND Portuguese. I also got a nice (sarcasm) lesson on how to properly pronounce my last name, and how I should pronounce my entire name as if I were in Portugal (weird, because my name is French lol). So, instead of saying Christine in the normal way, I should be calling myself: Krrishteen (and don't forget to roll your r's lol). Olé!!
Lastly, I got home and got my web ID so that I can set up my university email and enroll in classes. So now I'm officially enrolled in my classes for Semesters 1 and 2!! Problem was that for some reason they didn't give me access to sign up for Semester 2 classes. The upside to this? Weeeeelllllll...I had to call them and as a result got a super hot-sounding Aussie guy on the other line who was VERY easy to flirt with hehe!! Methinks I will be just fine down under ;) lol
~Christine~ AKA Krrishteen xoxo
Monday, December 13, 2010
Welcome!
Hey everyone!
As you all know, I will be leaving for Australia in 20 days and I thought starting a blog would be a great way for me to stay connected with everyone. I leave Winnipeg January 2, 2011 and arrive in Brisbane January 4, 2011 (yes, it's a very long flight!) I can keep everyone posted on how everything is: people, place, food, school, and best of all, my adventures! I hope to be able to do a bit of travelling around Australia, and I also hope to do at least 3 electives outside of Australia (Scotland anyone??? Woo hoo!!). I've applied for my European Union passport (God bless my immigrant parents lol) so if I do end up going to Scotland for my first year elective, the airports will be a breeze! :)
Until I leave though, there will still be exciting things to write about, such as all of the preparation I should have started lol. Naah, I'm not that bad. I already have a place to live, and I have my Power of Attorney, my banking, and all of the other paperwork done. What I really have to work on now is cleaning and packing. Anyways, thanks for subscribing to my blog and thanks for reading!! :)
~Christine~ xoxo
As you all know, I will be leaving for Australia in 20 days and I thought starting a blog would be a great way for me to stay connected with everyone. I leave Winnipeg January 2, 2011 and arrive in Brisbane January 4, 2011 (yes, it's a very long flight!) I can keep everyone posted on how everything is: people, place, food, school, and best of all, my adventures! I hope to be able to do a bit of travelling around Australia, and I also hope to do at least 3 electives outside of Australia (Scotland anyone??? Woo hoo!!). I've applied for my European Union passport (God bless my immigrant parents lol) so if I do end up going to Scotland for my first year elective, the airports will be a breeze! :)
Until I leave though, there will still be exciting things to write about, such as all of the preparation I should have started lol. Naah, I'm not that bad. I already have a place to live, and I have my Power of Attorney, my banking, and all of the other paperwork done. What I really have to work on now is cleaning and packing. Anyways, thanks for subscribing to my blog and thanks for reading!! :)
~Christine~ xoxo
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