Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

   

FINALLY, we made it to the zoo! Took a few weeks between getting settled in at school and having the wrong date on the groupon, but the day came and it was amazing! Got off to a rocky start at first though. The guys were lazy about getting up in the morning so we took the 12 o'clock bus, the only problem was that I knew where we were going, but not what stop it was. I had the second bus number and the time and that's about it. We don't have public transportation in my town. Luckily the boys were smart enough to be able to  read a map and get us to currumbin. Unfortunately we missed the second bus and had to wait for the next one. By the time we arrived it was 2pm and the ropes course last group was at 3 so we rushed over to get our 2:30 spot.

They gave us some pretty cool outfits to act like monkeys climbing and swinging from the trees. 

  

  There was zip lining...

               And tunnels...

And sooo much more!! (for more pics look on facebook)

Most importantly were the animals, first stop was the kangaroos...

The largest crocodile in the southern hemisphere...

the cutest koalas...

And even a tazmanian devil and a dingo!

   The most important part is that at the end of the day we survived the rope course and got to pet a kangaroo...now if only we weren't late to hold a koala :(

Bondstock

                          BONSTOCK

A week of fun filled activities that are sure to keep bond's students distracted from their school work. The down side; tickets are EXPENSIVE. For the full week they are around 250 AU dollars and then each event is sold separately. The only free events are the two public speakers visiting the university.

While some decided to blow all their money at once, my friends and i made the economical decision to choose one event to go to, the one that was sure to be worth the cash. The Secret Location Party is held every year as apart of Bondstock during the week. This year's cost was 95 AU, which turned out to be 103 American when ordered online. The details were kept secret until we arrive, all we were told was cocktail attire, unlimited drinks and free food. 

 

 

Movie World  was revealed to be the location of choice and we had the place to our selves. Security was smart in fencing off part of the park so people didn't run wild. We had access to Scooby-doo's castle and ride and a bar/cafe across the street.

  




(line for the roller-coaster ride)












(bars, video screens, fountains, light up tables and chairs)






Being not such a fan of roller-coasters I was hesitant to try it, but because it was indoor I assumed it was a smaller one that I could handle. Boy was I surprised, most would still say it was small, but for an indoor ride it was really something. It was almost complete darkness, 4 people per cart, and you dropped down several hills, zig-zagged back and forth and had "creepy" images popping out at you. It was unexpected but a thrill, especially for it being a school function.

(Ryan C, Ryan R, Ben, Corinna, Jane in front of the cinema)

(me and my girls in the cafe/bar)









The night ended around 11:30 (or so we thought), we assumed that there would be at least a few buses heading back to campus, while the others headed into surfers for the after party...BOY were we wrong. We hopped on the bus and surprisingly didn't fall asleep by the time we got to shooters. Probably because there were no seats so I was standing the whole time, trying not to fall onto people, while the whole bus screamed the lyrics to, call me maybe...

Shooters was fun,  had a run in with the "bad" bouncer that kicked me out my first night at bond, but was luckily able to still get in. Plus being a bond student secured us at least one free drink when we arrived. We stayed and danced until the crowed formed a circle where a dance off was taking place. Surprisingly I actually knew one of them...

Gary....an HPU representative!!!

Not a bad ending to a pretty epic night...

3 Steps to Surviving Infestation

Campus Concierge take note, THIS is a weekly schedule. BOND has proven that they have the most activities offered by their student organizations. The downside is money. As an international student from America we came here to experience the culture and have fun, not spend all our money and return home broke! Each event at Shooters night club costs roughly between 10-20 dollars entrance fee, and that's without the drinks. This week the law club is holding their "Illegally Bond" night at a club in town, the baseball team is holding a fundraiser at shooters called "Jersey Bros & Sporty Hoes", it's opening night for the semester at Don's Tavern Thursday and Friday night is the grand finale of "Zombies & Survivors" Pub Crawl. Now as a new student to Bond and that it's the first week of classes where no one really does anything I wanted to attend everything.

Tuesday-$10
Wednesday-$10
Thursday-$10 (if you have not paid for your SAN sticker)
Friday-$30

That is a grand total of $60 dollars minimum. Granted to you locals that might not seem that much but when you factors in additional drinks, emergency taxi rides and late night cravings, your bill will increase significantly. So for those of you who are planning on taking day trips around the Gold Coast, a weekend to Sydney or a vacation to the Great Barrier Reef, be sure to pick and choose which activities you participate in during the week that way you can return home with more than just a beer gut.

The Welcome Dinner

Welcome to Australia!

The first O week event we managed to attend, a 3 course meal filled with animals and live entertainment.

Cocktail Hour:
  Platters of Kangaroo sausage and crocodile circled the room, along with 3 fruity mock-tails that reminded me of the beach. Meeting new people with good conversation was only the beginning until the crowd moved to a corner of the room. A large snake was being held by it's keeper and carried around to different students. Was large as the "Slave for you" snake that Britney Spears wore to the VMAs.

Next was some type of lizard, I didn't care to get too close to find out, all I could think of were the lizards in the movie "Holes" and how dangerous they are.

Walking into the Princeton room and seeing a drop screen on the wall only put me in a bad mood assuming that it was going to be another long lecture about the school and all it has to offer. Luckily they started off with a game, surprisingly it was a chicken wing contest. Proud to say our friend Gary from HPU represented by winning the whole thing, even with having to slick his hair back in a pony tail.

Next was a short presentation from campus security on how to stay safe and the laws in Queensland to keep us all out of jail. Following this long yet helpful lecture was a structure competition. Each table had to construct the tallest structure using tape and newspaper within the allowed time limit. Our idea was good, the execution however was not fast enough and we lost before the time was up.

Finally after 2 hours of waiting the main course was served. The choice was between a fish and beef that none of us had heard of and had to spend the time googling to make sure we werent eating something we'd regret. The last and final task was table trivia. We were given 2 sheets of paper with celebrity childhood pictures on it and had to name each one. Next a number of trivia questions were read aloud having to do with geography. Luckily we had an Aussie on our team who knew most of the answers. FINALLY a victory! Our table won all the trivia and we were given cute pencil packs and koala and kangaroo stuffed animal key chains as prizes.

Kangaroos are meant to be played with...not eaten.

Tight and Bright

Tight and Bright!

The night where crazy outfits fill the bars and the line that guys should not pass is extremely blurry.

Night began with the boys vs. girls competition. How many people of the opposite sex each team can sign before the bus arrives for shooters.  Didn't take long but of course after only a half hour the girls had won! Unfortunately many of our encounters were not pleasant.

I guess they don't teach manners to aussie boys because the majority that i have met have been the most sleazy guys I have ever spoken too! They say one word to you and their already asking for your number, writing down theirs, or asking to buy you a drink. Now that may not seem so bad but when you have to lie about where your from in case of starting a fight you know there's something wrong.

Most people who have never been to the states do not know where CT is, naturally I say I am from NYC to avoid the, "where's that?" question. Apparently if your from Sydney that is the worst response they can hear. After only saying that twice to someone I was getting an ear full about why Sydney is so much better than NYC. I hadn't even made a comment regarding that argument and yet i was stuck listening to a guy I had only just met tell me that NYC sucks.

Not only do they hate NYC but they make smart ass comments to you "under their breath" so you look at them with a quizzical stare. Apparently it's not sarcasm, they are just scum and enjoy making semi-serious, semi-sarcastic comments to girls, as they flash their creepy stalker smiles.

Luckily the bar grew boring before the buses even arrived and I decided to head on home. Telling myself that from now on I am from CT no mater if they recognize the name or not and most definitely are going to use the buddy system when out at bars so I always have someone to grab and run away from creepers with.

O week

First week here, no classes but tons to do. Day 1 was getting settled in but at night was a jungle party at Dons tavern followed by the after party at shooters. So all new bondies dont make this mistake, bring your ID card wherever you go along with you bond card. Even though we were told cash and ID was unnecessary at shooters if we had a wrist band from Dons we were still denied entry from a very rude bouncer. We are new to this country, what are we supposed to do when stranded at surfers paradise at midnight by ourselves. He could care less and said it wasnt his problem.

Met a great aussie boy who seems to know everything and everyone at bond. For example there are these black and white birds that for the next two months will swoop down and knock you on the head! And there are these "drop bears" a cousin of a koala bear that will just drop down from a tree near you. So much to watch out for!

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We went shopping for tight and bright clothes for tonights big party. Some how the boys didnt know where to draw the line and ended up buying girls and childrens clothing. We found a great sushi place for only 2.50 a roll! Best deal yet in aussie land! The bond bbq wasnt quite what we expected but we ran into a few people and got invited to Jennas 22 birthday bash.

To pregame we went to 7 elevens bring your own cup day where anything is a cup! People brought buckets and pots, tupper wear, even a hollowed out watermelon! It took 2 7 elevens and 1 hour to acquire the slushies but it was totally worth it.

Unfortunately we missed the carnival but were able to see what stuff they had like a climbing wall and a giant elephant bouncy house!