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~