Brisbane Bucket List

Throughout our stay in Brisbane, we created a bucket list of places we wanted to go during our stay.

(Thanks to Deanna for this very detailed bucket list!!! haha!)

Here is the list:

1. Nandos- Ate dinner at the popular chicken joint... it's good but it's no Chick-fil-a
2. Baskin Robbins- We went to get some ice cream during our lunch break

3. Carindale-  Hitched a ride from Deanna's teacher and experienced 'the cool place' to shop according to all of our students, malls in Australia close by 5:30pm weekdays. Late night is on Thursdays when the mall is open until 9pm.
4. Botanical gardens- FAIL... but we did make it to the Botanical Gardens in Sydney!
5. JoJos- Ate here  in the Queen St. mall area, wide menu selection

6. City Cat- Took the city catamaran back from school one day, scenic and speedy ride

7. South Bank- Went over to the Cultural Center to see West Side Story
8. Canteen/Tuck Shop - Bought an Anzac biscuit at the school tuck shop during tea time. Tea time is more like a 20 minute recess and snack time for the students as the teachers grab a bite to eat and relax in the staff room. 
9. Bowling- Played two games at the StrikeBowl bar in Queen St, $8 for the first game, $5 for the second...plus some free, good ole greasy popcorn...
10. Cheesecake shop- Took an Aussie's advice and walked to the local shop after school, I got some the American Style Cheesecake and it was soooo good...

11. Hold a Koala- Went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, held a koala, played around with the kangaroos and saw several other native animals
12. Queen St. mall- Took several walks along the streets of Queen St. Mall, full of 4 shopping malls, food courts, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. 
13. Brisbane Hillsong- Long bus ride, 2km walk, made it just twenty minutes late for a Sunday morning service. Attending the Christmas concert at the church Friday night

14. Play tennis on Medina's grass court-  I borrowed tennis rackets and tennis balls from a student, forgot the rackets at school, Deanna went back up and down the hills to get the bag, the courts were locked, Pauly unlocked them for us, and finally we relived our high school days and played some tennis overlooking the Story Bridge and city skyline!

15. Learn some Aussie lingo and eat their food- Heaps and no worries are our favorite lines. Ate some Vegemite, Anzac biscuits, mangos and TimTams. No kangaroo meat for us!

We did a good job of completing our bucket list during our stay in Brisbane. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone at Whites Hill State College. We had a wonderful time getting to know the staff and students and will miss the fun times in the teacher's lounge. I made sure to video my students doing a sic 'em bears!! Here they are!

Although we were sad to leave Brisbane and Whites Hill, we were excited to start our independent travel in Sydney.  Time of departure: 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Hollywood in Brisbane

I thought it was going to be sunny and hot here in Australia. Instead, the weather has been very inconsistent and the rain seems to be following us wherever we go. The rain came down hard at school today. The students have already received their "final marks" for the year. During the last couple of weeks of school the teachers are wrapping up the end of the school year. Today, the students created treasure maps and then watched a national geographic video on crocodiles. The students also helped set up and decorate for the movie night they are presenting to their parents. The students have been creating, filming and editing these movies for about 8 weeks. They have worked very hard and I personally think Mr. Seipel's class has the best movies ;) We also went to the pool and the brave students swam while the rain was pouring!

Deanna and I planned on returning to the school to attend the movie night tonight. In between school and the movie night, we killed some time at the mall. Deanna's teacher was nice enough to give us a "lift." The store times here just blow my mind. At 4:30 p.m., the malls are packed with people. By 5:00, the mall is clearing out and by 5:30 it is deserted. We went to grab some dinner at the food court and the  restaurants were closing one by one. Hurry! I thought it was ironic that of all the restaurants available, the only ones that were still open by 5:30 were KFC, McDonald's, and Subway!!! The U.S. fast food joints dominate!

We were so proud of our transportation skills tonight. We got on the correct bus and got off at Whites Hill. The students were not in their uniforms. Instead, the girls wore dresses and the boys wore suits and ties. It was fun getting to see them in regular clothing. The teachers dress very casual at school but tonight they dressed up as well!

Mr. Horstman, Deanna, me and my teacher, Mr. Seipel

Caitlyn, me, Nelson, Phoebe, and Katherine

Waiting for the movies to begin!

I feel like such a world traveler when I bum rides off of people. We were a bit concerned about how we would get back to our apartment all the way across town. So I asked one of my students if her parents could drive us and her dad said yes! Much better than having to wait on the bus in the pouring rain or pay for a taxi! We were so thankful!!!