Welcome to Brisbane!

We finally arrived in St. Lucia, the suburb of Brisbane where UQ is. It was a little awkward at first. We were dropped off on the curbside, in a place we didn't know, with people we also didn't know. And we were going to be stuck there for the next several months. My living arrangements turned out well, though. I was roomed with Maria and Carrie. Maria is from Ohio and goes to Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Carrie is from North Carolina and goes (guess where?) to UVA, also. I think we both found it a little strange that our program roomed us together, since we are studying abroad to get away from UVA. But what are you gonna do?

We had a few days to kill before classes started. So, I used them up by exploring the UQ campus and Brisbane. UQ definitely has one of the prettiest campuses I've seen (not quite as nice as UVA, but that's some tough competition). Most of my classes are centered on the Great Court, the "lawn" of UQ (in the picture). I really like how close my apartment and school are to the city. The Brisbane River runs right past campus and into central Brisbane. The Citycat Ferry (in my opinion the best way to get around) gets you to the city in 10 minutes. Brisbane seems like a very laid back, accessible, and clean city. I've been to the Queen Street Mall, a huge pedestrian mall in the center of the city with more stores than you would ever need. Just across the river is South Bank, with lots of restaurants, museums, parklands, and the lagoon - a manmade beach with palm trees!