Made it home from Sydney and decided to go up to the Sunshine coast with my parents. I hadn’t been north of the city since getting here and it was really good. We stopped at a place called Caloundra, and it’s on the coast about an hour from home. We had a good time taking it easy, a bit of studying and a bit of holiday. One of the nights Dad grabbed some fish from a local shop and we went down to the beach and had a bbq. There are public bbq’s here, which are really nice to use… no hauling a bbq, and they’re usually in sweet parks. It was just like old holidays with the family… except a lot less kids 🙂

We hit the Australia Zoo, which used to be run by Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Things had changed quite a bit since being there before. A few new buildings and a lot of finishing touches, new paths etc.

Tags: Australia, Photos by David Graff
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Here in Sydney still, yesterday on the bus ride we went from Darling Harbour to the Rocks, Lady Macquarie’s Chair, and up the south bank of the harbour to the top of the Gap.

Today we got up and hit the ferries over to Manly, a beach on the north side of the mouth of the Sydney harbour. The ferries are sweet here and there are lots of them, and for good reason, they were packed full.

Now we are headed south to the highlands to Wongabri.  It will be strange to be there again!

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I am currently in Sydney, which is really neat to be back. I am on a bus tour of the city with my parents and we are just waiting to get started.

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I am playing footy with a team made up of some of myPBL group and another. It’s a touch league, so I’ll be able to keep my ears attached to my head, which I find particularly handy. It’s a pretty intense game that I’ve never really played before, and it makes for a lot of running.

I tore something in my leg and I’m in a bit of pain, which is a stark reminder of the validity of my usual MO of self preservation, but also good to get out there. We play at a field over in Yerongpilly or something like that. It’s a 45 minute walk from here. I’ll have to ask Matt where he played when he was down here. Anyways, we got our butts kicked tonight. The game is very athletic… I’m not. We’ll see over time.

Tags: Australia, UQ by David Graff
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I took a trip to the Fraser Coast last weekend, sutured a pig’s foot and learned to make a plaster half cast (the broken arm kind).  The other thing we saw was the Royal Flying Doctor Service operation at the Bundaberg airport.  Airborne medicine is a big part of Australia’s history and practical logistics.  With 20 million people in a land mass larger than the continental US, getting around fast is a big problem.  It’s so important here that the guy who started it, Rev. John Flynn, is on the $20 bill.  It was sweet to see the equipment they use and the airplane and two choppers they are currently using out of that location.  Maybe one day…

Tags: Australia, Medicine by David Graff
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Well, not here exactly, but by my estimation, they are in a hotel, sleeping, across the city.  I will see them later this afternoon.  Air travel blows my mind…  If they ever invent anything faster I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it 🙂

It will be good to see them here, and together with one girl who grew up in my home town, Steve Reny (a roommate from a few months ago) and the professor that interviewed me last August, they will be some of the first familiar faces I’ve seen on this continent.  I’m looking forward to it, it’ll be really fun for them to show them what life is like down here.  They’ve never been on this side of the equator before.  New stars, opposite seasons and one of the most incredible continents on the globe.

It is Monday morning here and I’m just poking around the apartment.  Brian and I had some friends over on Saturday and it was a really good time… it was the first time a lot of people had seen the place. I’m sure there are some better pics out there, but I’ll put up a few of mine.

And the next morning…

Tags: Australia, Photos by David Graff
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