GREAT Barrier Reef

You know that a trip is good when the place has the worst weather it has seen in months, yet you still come out of it thinking it was the best trip ever.  So was our experience in Cairns.  Cairns is in Northern Queensland (about a 2 hour flight north from where we are in Gold Coast) and is known for its sunny, tropical climate.  The 3 days we were there, we witnessed the tropical side of the climate with an absence of the sunny side.

We arrived late Thursday night and got to bed since we had a shuttle picking us up at 6:40 am to go White Water Rafting.  We made the shuttle and eventually got onto the river about 9:00.  The day was filled with Class 3, 4 and 5 rapids, cliff jumping, natural water slides and swimming down rapids outside of the raft.  Our tour guide Marty was the perfect fit for our raft of five young guys.  He was all about the thrill and gave us a great tour.  Perhaps the best part of the trip was the incredible scenery.  Literally we were rafting through the Australian rainforest with breath taking views of tree lined mountains, waterfalls, and incredible rock arrangements.  What a trip.  That night we went out and had a good time around town, despite knowing we had another early bell.

We got up the next morning and walked to the marina to catch our cruise to the Great Barrier Reef.  Throughout the day, we went snorkeling and scuba diving while seeing some of the most colorful fish and marine life around.  I cannot put into words how awesome it was to be right next to the cast of Finding Nemo.  The colors and majesty of the Reef was an experience I will never forget.  Despite the occasional sea sickness (clearly aided by the amount of drinks we had the night before), we were all thrilled to know that we had yet another experience in Australia we will never forget.

The next day in Cairns we simply walked around enjoying the touristy feel to the city.  We hit up a few more pubs that night, but took it easy and simply enjoyed each others' company satisfied that our expensive trip was well worth the money and stress.  We all talked about just how lucky we are to be able to have these experiences before we really have to "grow up."  It's a thought I've been having a lot lately.  I am slowly realizing that I am getting to the point where I need to start looking for jobs that will lead me to a career with graduation on the horizon.   It is a nice refresher to know that I still have a few weeks left in Australia to have some last fun, enjoying the company and good times with my mates.

Moreton Island and BrisVegas

Staying behind from Byron Bay to get ahead on school work: fail.  I had a rather unproductive weekend, but it was still nice to relax around campus knowing the hustle and bustle of the next few weeks.  Regardless, I got my paper finished and we headed off for a great trip.


Moreton Island is the 3rd largest island made up of completely sand in the world.  We took a ferry across the sea and were loaded up onto a 4 wheel drive.  The "road" on the island was a sand path.  At some points it was a two way path about 8 feet wide.  The whole island was a natural reserve, so there was incredible views of nature for the whole trip up the hill.  Once we arrived at the top of the island, we unloaded some thin, waxed strips of wood which we were to ride down the 100ft sand dune.  We got off the truck to some spectacular views of the Desert.  Our guide told us that the record for sand boarding was 10 times.  After 4 times of climbing up the dune I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest.  It was such a thrill regardless.  We got up to speeds of about 35mph and had a full meal's worth of sand.


After sand boarding we took the trail back down to the beach where we had a session of snorkeling old ship wrecks.  After a nice lunch and some time to relax on the beach, we geared up with snorkels, masks, wetsuits and fins.  We spent about an hour swimming around the wrecks (mostly floating in our buoyant wetsuits which we all decided would be a purchase.  Great for lounging around the pool in the backyard right?)  We saw sharks, rays, ducks, and to steal Jeff's line: the entire cast of Finding Nemo.  We could have stayed there all day.  After snorkeling we boarded back up on the ferry and headed back to Brisbane to celebrate Adam's 21st birthday.


We had a nice Thai dinner (I had a really good Duck stir fry solidifying how duck might be one of my favorite meats) and then took to the town.  My mate Andrew was nice enough to come down and show us some of the best bars/clubs in the area.  The area, Fortitude Valley, is completely lined with bars and needless to say, we had a good time.  Between making friends with the Jagermeister girls, finding Budweiser specials, and making our way in and out of a few places, we stumbled back home for a nice, long, deep sleep.  Quite the jam packed day, but heaps of fun for sure.


Just a few hours ago I got back from this weekend's trip to the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns.  I'll update you soon on the fun we had there.  Other than the weekend trips, I'm still loving life at Bond Uni.  It's been a great semester where I have really learned a lot about myself.  I think being away from St. Louis for the first time in my life has really helped me develop an appreciation for the life I've been blessed with so far.  It's great to meet new mates from literally all over the globe.  Having this front row seat to this interaction of cultures has really helped me form a no worries lifestyle that will stay with me for the rest of my life.  No Mom, the heavy drinking is not the cornerstone of that lifestyle.  Instead, it is the conversations, lessons, and fun times I've had with these people Down Under.  There has certainly been little to worry about so far...

Welcome to Sydney!

Just when I thought my experience down here could not get any better, Australia steps up its game.  We had been planning on being in Sydney for Halloween for a few weeks.  When I mentioned my trip to a few Aussie friends, they talked about meeting us down there.  That decision made our trip.


We were greeted at the Gold Coast airport by a fire alarm.  Great.  This sets a good tone for the trip...  Turns out it was just a false alarm.  The flight went smoothly.  For those of you who have never flown Virgin Airlines (particularly the young men out there) I'd recommend it.  Something about it just makes the flight seem more comfortable.


Anyway, we arrived at our hostel on Thursday and were immediately told that there were free drinks on the roof.  Roof party?  Cool.  We dropped off our stuff and headed upstairs.  The free drinks ended up being boxed wine, but the views were incredible.  From our roof, we had a perfect view of the Sydney Skyline and the Harbour Bridge.  Welcome to Sydney!  We hung around the roof for a while and eventually walked about the town, soon to realize that we were in the Red Light District of Sydney.  Welcome to Sydney!  We kept our eyes down and mouths shut and ended up having a great time that night.


A few of our friends were coming in later on Friday.  I got up early, actually was woken up early by a friend saying "C'mon Man!  We're in Sydney!"  Thanks Pat, it's 8:30am.  Regardless, I got up, took a quick shower (very quick considering there was no hot water and the shower head was at the height of my neck), and joined the guys on a walkabout of downtown Sydney.  Opera house picture, Harbour Bridge picture, Opera House and Harbour Bridge picture, walking across the bridge, all done.  I told my mom I got a great picture for the Christmas card only to hear that it was already completed.  For those of you that are not aware, the making of the Schwendeman Christmas Card is like the construction of the Taj Mahal.  Many of you know that the day after Thanksgiving you are greeted with a poem about the lives of the Schwendeman family and wishing you a Merry Christmas season.  It's kind of a big deal to Jane.  So despite my efforts to make the Christmas card with a stereotypical Australia picture, I'm sure I'll still make Mom happy with all my pictures.


When it came time for our friends to arrive in Sydney, we got a call from them saying their flight was cancelled.  They chose to fly a cheap, less reliable airline and arrived at the airport to hear that there were no more flights on the airline going to Sydney that day, they would be refunded in 4 to 6 weeks, and if they wanted to get to Sydney that day they would have to pay full price for a ticket on another airline.  The Gold Coast airport is just not very hospitable.  Fire alarm and cancelled flights...


They paid for a new flight and met us at happy hour where we had the pleasure of watching the World Series.  That night we just took it easy knowing that we were getting up early tomorrow to go sailing.  We got up (some quicker than others) around 7am to catch a taxi to the Marina.  We got there on time, and got out onto the Harbour around 10am.  We spent the entire day sailing around the harbour on a 70ft sailboat.  One of the coolest experiences ever.  Check out Facebook for pictures and I'll try to post some on the blog.  We sailed right past the Opera House, under the Harbour Bridge, stopped in a cove for a swim, unreal.  Somehow Sydney trumped the flight from last weekend.  

Andrew told me that me and a few of my mates could spend the night on the boat.  We had a great time anchored in a quiet cove, enjoying music, conversation, a great dinner, cigars on the boat deck, and initiation into the crew of the boat.  Andrew and Mike (boat captain) had been talking about initiation all day.  It was something everyone who spent the night on the boat went through.  All of us were convinced we would be climbing the mast or something crazy.  Initiation began by all of us putting on goofy hats.  I was in a Santa hat, there was a Scottish wig, a ninja headband, and many more.  Andrew and Mike walked around the cabin gathering things for initiation.  In order, they went: Fire extinguisher and bowl, flashlight, a giant knife, a tomato for every person at the table, a power drill, a bottle of rum, and a box of Tim Tams (Australian cookies).  Oh Lord, what on earth are we going to do?  After an elaborate speech by Mike, he demonstrated the initiation.  Cutting off the corners of the Tim Tam, he proceeded to fill up the bowl with rum, and suck the rum through the Tim Tam.  The technique was to just suck until you feel the rum on your lips, and then you consume the cookie.  Somehow this came as a relief to all of us who were thinking of how we would be sprayed with a fire extinguisher while eating a whole tomato covered in rum with a power drill against our chests.  It was all in good fun and we spent the next few hours having some great conversation and hearing stories about Mike's adventures in Eurasia.  Throughout the entire day, my friends and I were talking about how we were going to remember this day/night for the rest of our lives.  It did not disappoint.


We got back into dock around midday Sunday.  The 4 of us that were left just went down to Bondi beach, a popular beach in Sydney.  It started raining as soon as we got off the bus, but we were unphased, still on a high from the day before.  We sat down to a nice dinner and made it back to the hostel to enjoy our last night on the roof.  It was truly a great weekend that we will never forget...


As for this week, we are booking our trip to Cairns (pronounced Cans) to snorkel and scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef and do some "Xtreme Whitewater Rafting."  Yea, we're Xtremely Excited for that trip.  That will be the third weekend in November.  The previous weekend we are going up to Brisbane to celebrate my friend Adam's birthday.  Midterm grades are coming back relatively well.  No real complaints so far.  Tonight is the Student vs. Staff golf challenge.  The first inaugural tournament.  Winner gets a trophy, so you know it's legit.  This weekend a lot of my friends are going to Byron Bay to sky dive.  They got rained out their last attempt so they all have vouchers they are redeeming.  I decided to skip out, save some money, and attempt to get ahead on some work.  We'll see how productive I actually am.  I registered for classes in the Spring which was the first reality check that this semester abroad is not forever.  I'm trying to enjoy each day, and so far Australia is making that pretty easy...

Whitehouse, Golf, Flying and Blues Awards

Hello friends and family.  Sorry it's been a few weeks.  I've had some great experiences that I can share with you.  We finally had a few days without rain, which allowed the Gold Coast to dry up.  Ironically it is pouring down rain outside as I write this, but we've had some beautiful days the past two weeks.


School is in the midst of Midterms week.  Last week I had a big assignment for Database Management and a test in Australia: Dreamtime to Dust.  The test went relatively well.  I got an 85 percent which is equivalent to the lowest A here.  If anyone wants to know any facts about the geological history of Australia, I'm your man.  It is actually fascinating stuff.  I have grown up my entire life in Catholic school systems so learning about evolution is quite interesting.  I haven't heard back from Database Management yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
This week I have a few papers due, and a test in Database Management on Wednesday.  Another week of studying.


Since my last post, I have spent a lot of time hanging out with the guys from the golf team.  We played golf last Friday (the first day of no rain in weeks).  The course was almost completely underwater.  We were a bit too eager to get out and play.  Following the round we were completely muddy and the course was full of cart tracks.  O well.  At least we got out.  The following day, the guys convinced me to buy a ticket for an event called WHITEHOUSE.  This is consistently one of the most popular events at Bond.  Everyone dresses up in all white, and we are bussed to a pretty classy location for appetizers and an open bar.  The venue was incredible.  We were in a nice, multi leveled banquet room of a hotel right on the riverfront.  Of course, it was raining which made things very interesting with everyone in all white.  Regardless, we had a great night.


The week was mostly consumed with studying and trying to keep up with school work.  Mondays we play on a social sand volleyball team.  Big win last week.  Wednesdays are Res Wars in which all the residence halls on campus compete in different sports.  Last week was Netball which is like basketball mixed with Ultimate Frisbee.  The hoops do not have backboards on them.  I still don't really understand the rules.  It was very fun and we get free pizza, so even the losers are winners.


The golf club started social golf on Fridays.  This week we played at a new course close to campus.  It was hilly and tree lined, much more similar to the courses I play back home.  The previous courses were more flat and long.  I got to meet some new people and had a great time.  I also finally broke 80 for the first time in Australia, conveniently weeks after when it actually matters.  Where were those 78s in Perth?!  That night we all got together for some drinks.  One of the res fellows (the people in charge of keeping order in the dorms) invited us back to his apartment for beer pong.  This may sound odd and illegal, but remember that 18 is the drinking age and students are allowed to consume alcohol in the buildings.  Therefore, the 24 year old res fellow was just being hospitable.  Haha, anyway, we had a great time.  I had some high expectations from the Aussies as I am an American.  They have the belief that Americans play beer pong far too often (probably true) and every American is quite good at it (probably not so true).  Either way, it was fun to socialize with the Australians over some American drinking games.  (U.S.A. was undefeated that night).


Saturday was the highlight of my days here in Australia.  The captain of the golf team, Andrew, invited me up to go flying with him.  He has his pilot's license and is in the final parts of training for his commercial license (so he can get paid to fly people around).  Myself and another member of the golf team joined Andrew for a flight around the Gold Coast from about 3000 feet.  It was a clear day and we had some incredible views.  Truly one of the coolest experiences of my entire life.  There are some pictures on Facebook, but they really do not do the experience justice.  After we landed, we had to contain our excitement a little bit, because we had a formal awards ceremony to go to for Bond University Sport.  The Blues Awards, as they are called, recognize the top athletes and teams for the year in Bond Sport.  The golf club actually received honorable mention for the best club on campus.  Andrew won three different awards due to his fine performances in both the Northern Uni Games and Australia Uni Games.  We all went out that night to celebrate and ended up going to a bar where the local Rugby team was also present.  I had drinks across from some legends of Gold Coast rugby.  It's funny how completely oblivious I would have been had it not been for the numerous people that kept coming up and taking pictures with them.


Again, this week is hard to put into words how much fun I really had.  The fun will only continue next week as our group has a trip to Sydney planned.  I mentioned this to the guys on the team, and they will be joining us and showing us around Sydney.  James is from Sydney and Andrew actually has a family friend that owns a 70ft sail boat that docks in Sydney Harbor.  Friday night, James is showing us the night life of Sydney, and Saturday Andrew is taking us all out with his friend on the boat around the harbor.  Barbeque on a boat deck under the Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House.  Are you serious!?  It should be an unforgettable weekend.  A true testament to how well the Aussies have been taking care of me since I've been here.  I really cannot thank them enough for being so good to the ol' Yank.


I've kind of developed my group of SLU friends and of course have had some great times with the golf team.  This has given me a great balance of hanging out with Americans and Australians (and really all kinds of international students).  A really unique experience, and friendships I will never forget.


But don't get too jealous.  I certainly have my days of missing home and missing all of you.  I love to hear updates on all of your lives.  And believe it or not, I do love getting Facebook chatted about the epic Blues games that I'm missing.  It is really hard not getting to follow sports here.  Today was probably the hardest day: Blues overtime win, thrilling NLCS final, and MIZZOU upsetting Oklahoma and then rushing the field?  Wow.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade being here for the world, but fall sports in America are always fun to be a part of.


Hopefully you all are enjoying the finals days of warmth.  We're all ready for summer to come.  I'm far behind on my Australian tan, so I have some work to do before I get home.  So far the golf tan is dominating the beach tan.  I'm sure that will change soon.  Please let me know how your lives are going.  My Skype name is jon.schwendeman if any of you are looking to Skype.  Other that that, I love getting emails at jschwen2@slu.edu.  And of course, Facebook is always another option.  Can't wait to hear about everyone's lives in the States!  Talk to you all soon.




Jon

Feeling at Home

So it has been raining for the past few days.  Non stop.  And tonight we've had gusts of wind strong enough to where we're wondering if Gold Coast is in the midst of a tropical storm.  Hopefully not.

The good news about the rain is that it has given us all a chance to get to know one another.  We've had a lot of time to rent movies from the library, hang out, have discussions, and just have a good time getting to know one another.  I think it is finally sinking in that I'm not just a tourist here.  I'm living in Australia for the next few months.  I'm not longer consumed by this idea of fast food tourism.  You know, go to Sydney, take a picture of the Opera House.  Go to Cairns, get a picture with the Reef.  And move on.  Instead, I'm learning to enjoy the little moments.  I'm trying to find the memories that won't be saved on film.  I've surrounded myself with a group of people that I'm very happy to call my mates.  We're all starting to feel at home.

It's been a really cool feeling.  Tonight was a night where we sat in the room eating pizza, watching YouTube videos and pulling out old school songs to listen to.  Nothing huge, nothing epic.  No drunken stories to pass along, no bar tabs, no chaos.  Just the feeling of being at home with your buddies in Australia.  Nothing better.

I'm excited to see where these next few months will take me.  It's been a heck of a ride so far and I can't wait to keep going.

Perthect Week

So I just got back from my week's trip to Western Australia.  It was an incredible week.  I'll try to update you on what's been going on since my last post.

Wednesday's training session was really cool.  Not only did we get our swings critiqued, but we also worked on our mental game.  We put on a headset and learned the science behind the mental side of golf.  The ideal swing occurs right as you are switching from left brain to right brain, so we worked with a machine that measured our focus, muscle tension, nervousness, etc.  It was really, really cool. 

Thursday's night was a lot of fun as always.  Unfortunately, at some point throughout the night, the button on my camera broke off.  The camera still works, but I just don't have the actual button to press down to take the picture.  Bad timing.  No camera for Perth.  I'm in the process of finding a replacement part.  Wish me luck.

Friday was really fun as well.  We got last minute student tickets to the National Rugby League Semi-final match.  The local team, the Gold Coast Titans, were playing the Sydney Roosters about an hour north in Brisbane.  We made the trip only to see the Titans get dominated.  Regardless, the trip was a great time.  The atmosphere there was unlike anything from the States.  Maybe a mix of European soccer and the NFL.

Saturday we went to the beach.  Ho Hum...

Sunday we caught a 5:30 am shuttle to the airport to leave for the Uni Games.  I had met the golf team Wednesday at the training session and they seemed like great people.  After the trip, I can confidently say that they are some of the best friends I will meet on this trip.  As a team, we had high expectations for ourselves.  We came into the tournament expecting to win.  Unfortunately, no one on the team played exceptionally well.  There were 7 golfers on the team and the best 4 rounds count each day.  We did not do a very good job at balancing good and bad rounds.  The second day we all had pretty poor rounds, while we all played well on the last day.  O well.  We finished 4th overall, missing out on 3rd place and a medal by 5 shots.  This was incredibly frustrating considering that the total score was out of more than 1300 strokes.  Bond always does well in Australian Uni Golf Competitions.  Well enough in fact that as we were walking to the bus the first day of competition, all the other universities on the bus made a pact to not let Bond win.  Needless to say, there were happy faces when we didn't make the medals.  The course we played was incredible.  It was called the Vines Resort and Country Club.  The Johnny Walker Classic is played there every year by the PGA tour.  I can't begin to explain how difficult the course was.  It was a great time all week with themed social activities taking place every night.  It was a little difficult for the golf team to get any rest.  Many teams had a few matches throughout each day with a lot of down time.  Our day started with breakfast at 7:30am, walk to the bus at leave on the bus for a one hour commute to the course at 8:30, tee times ranging from 10:30 to 11:30, long round of golf, bus back to the hotel at 6, arriving at 7.  We had Bond dinners most nights that we left the hotel for at 7:30.  Quick showers, quick dinner, and then it was time to go out.  By the end of the week we were all exhausted.

Perth was pretty fun.  We only had one day off to really see the town.  We had lunch at the brewery on the water, then went to a pub overlooking the town and ocean.  Really cool, relaxing day with the golf team.  Now, however, I'm back to real life.  I have to catch up on all the work I've missed.  Midterms in three weeks, then we're off to Sydney for Halloween weekend.

The weather in Gold Coast has been extremely disappointing.  It has rained probably 1/3 of the days we have been here, including the entirety of last week (say my friends that were here).  The locals say that it has been a very long time since the Gold Coast has seen this much rain.  O well, more time for studying right?

Hopefully I can get my camera fixed and upload some more pictures for all of you.  Thanks again for keeping in touch.  It's always great to hear from everyone, so don't be afraid to Facebook me or e-mail at jschwen2@slu.edu.  I'm sorry to hear about the Cardinals (trust me, one of my best friends is a huge Reds fan and I hear about it quite often).  I am pleased to hear that the Rams have won there third game in their last 29.  Great work guys, you make St. Louis so proud.  I am jealous that I will not be attending the Blues' home opener in a week.  And I am not okay with the fact that I have to stay up until 10 pm to watch the Ryder Cup.

But how can I complain?  It's been wonderful here and I'm sure it will only get better...

Pub Crawl Weekend

The weekend started off with a bang.  Friday, after classes, was pub crawl.  We visited six bars over the span of about five hours.  We got a nice little glimpse of night life on the Gold Coast... as did our wallets.  In the morning, we all recounted the damage and talked about what a great time it was.  Needless to say, for the sake of our bodies and wallets, we're sitting out the next few parties on campus.  We had plans of going to a reserve where we could finally see a kangaroo, but it was raining on Saturday morning and by the time we all got up and were ready to go, the park was closing in a few hours.  Instead, we hung around campus and tried to get organized with some school work.


Sunday we were ready to explore the areas we visited on Friday night.  We got on a bus and took it down to Surfers Paradise.  Surfers is more of a touristy location with many shops and bars.  We walked around for a few hours until we finally decided to go bowling.  We all had a good time with a few games of bowling and then hit the buses back home.


Monday I had my Pop Culture lecture, and then I went to the library to finally get a handle on things for the semester.  I created a time table for my homework, projects, papers, and available weekends I had to travel.  I did my first bit of homework, bought some books, and returned back to my apartment feeling very accomplished.  It was a nice little reality check.  It is very easy to forget that I am actually going to school on this four month vacation.


My friends and I all organized now and ready to start planning some trips.  Our friend Marisa is definitely the planner and we all kind of follow along.  So far she has done nothing but a great job, and we're all hoping she keeps a perfect record going.  We have an "official" meeting to try to pick some weekends.  We have hopes of going to Sydney, Cairns (to see the Reef), Melbourne, possibly New Zealand, possibly Figi, maybe Thailand, and maybe a few close places in Australia as well.  The only problem is that we only have a few weeks free to do all this.  Who knew Paradise would be so stressful?!  We just have to keep in mind that the alternative is deciding between Forest Park or Laclede's Landing.  That should keep things in perspective...


Some updates for the rest of the week:
Wednesday is a training session for the golf team.  We meet with some club professionals and get our swing critiqued in preparation for the Uni Games.  We also get our golf shirts.
Thursday (as in every Thursday) is the big Uni night at the bar.  We all go out (or across the walkway) and have a good time at the Uni Bar called Don's.
Friday is a meeting for all Uni Game participants.  We get our track suits there.  No big deal...
Saturday is the final for the Australian Rules Football League.  We're planning on going to a pub and enjoying the atmosphere.
Sunday we leave for Perth at 5 am.


As you can see, there are not too many dull moments here in the Gold Coast.  I'm sure my next post (hopefully before I leave for Perth) will be jam packed with adventure stories.


Talk to you all soon!




Jon