By Marc Steiner
After a rewarding week of research and studying we all travelled
through various means of transportation to arrive in Brisbane, a beautiful city
where we will be spending about a month’s time. While most of the students flew
on airplanes, a few of us took a 15-hour overnight train to reach our
destination. Despite the fact that the duration of the train ride from Sydney
to Brisbane was nearly the same amount of time for the flight from Los Angeles
to Sydney, the train was a much more enjoyable experience. We were able to see
more of the Australian countryside. Parts of the landscape looked familiar to
the United States with rolling green pastoral hills that only had a few fences
and cows to graze in between. At the same time the eucalyptus trees seemed out
of place in the memory of open fields in the United States. The train rode
through land that epitomized the natural country of Australia. At points we
looked out the windows of the train to see only bushes as far as our eyes could
see. The scenes beyond the window were very illustrative of why the world
refers to Australia’s natural land as “the bush.” We were able to watch the
sunset before we fell asleep. We also watched the sun rise because our stop was
called out only a little after five in the morning.
When we arrived in Brisbane, we saw puddles and wet pavement
from the windows so we knew it had been raining. I was in my short shorts with
all of my warm clothes packed away. I guess I wasn’t expecting colder weather
in Australia. The train rode over the river before coming to our stop. After
leaving the train station we got to see a little bit of the city before having
to check in to our school office in preparation for upcoming classes. After
seeing the river, upon leaving the train station we could see the mist drifting
toward the ground and falling against our skin. The river, mist, wet pavement, trees,
and bike lanes (something that Sydney had never heard of) all seemed
reminiscent of good ol’ Portland. As the day went on I could tell that I was
going to enjoy Brisbane and that the time here would be less hectic than
bustling Sydney. There were posters advertising the city’s bike share that
contained what looked like knock off stereotypes of Portlanders. The target audience
for these posters is definitely some of us on this trip. The familiarity
present on the first day in Brisbane boded well for our stay here.
An exciting aspect of Brisbane is our new living situations.
We are staying with different families to experience Australia while being
immersed in regular home life. So far it has been awesome and presents a
different dynamic from our previous dorm and hostel living or our camping
trips. The family I am living with is very kind and has offered insight on the
way Australians live. The surprising thing about the Australian house and home
is that it really isn’t too different from home, despite being in a foreign
place. I haven’t even witnessed water spinning around the drain in the opposite
direction yet. I hope to before I leave the country though. The family is truly
great; they are open-minded and have interesting things to say about both
Australia and America. The family I am with loves to cook and prepare all of
the food they eat, which means I am well fed. I am definitely eating healthier
than I was while living with my friends at college. It is definitely multiple
steps above the standard of living among college kids, which is very nice to
experience. The family has four kids, the youngest of which being the same age
as me. They are all very funny and offer good insight on what life is like in
places other than the Pacific Northwest. So far we all seem to be falling into
place with our host families as they generously let us live in their houses.
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| A view of Brisbane from a residential area |
Before classes started on Monday, some of us spent the
weekend exploring the city. We rode the city’s ferry to get to the central
business district. The ferries here are a luxurious form of public transportation
because we can sit outside in the sun as we travel to where we need to go. We
walked through unfamiliar streets without knowing where we were headed while
looking for nothing in particular. It was nice just to see a brand new place.
We ended up passing historic sites on our way to the central business district.
The business district was swamped with shopping people, but the entire
atmosphere made it seem like the city was relaxed for such a large place. The
people in the outdoor market were very friendly and some of them took the time
to talk to us. One girl seemed genuinely interested in the fact that we were
from the United States, which was a first. After buying some new things we left
the central business district well fed and smiling. We moved on to find the
botanical gardens along the river. The gardens had a wide array of flora, but
most of all I liked to see the palm trees. There were people out lying in the
grass enjoying another gorgeous day in Brisbane. There were large colorful
spiders that I was glad to have never seen anywhere else. There were big ibises
stalking around in the grass. It was nice to sit on the park bench with my
friends, to look out at the beautiful gardens, and quickly feel comfortable in
a brand new place. I’m already sure that Brisbane will be great.
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| Brisbane's Botanical Gardens Photo courtesy of Rachit Malhotra |
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