I’ve been trying to immerse myself a bit more into Australian culture. I’ve tried some of their foods – meat pies, kangaroo, lamingtons, Vegemite (I have to admit I’m probably one of the few non-Aussies who will admit to actually not hating Vegemite). I’ve been attempting to learn the language (some of it is quite different). And I’ve been introduced to rugby (or “footy”). Wednesday night was the final game of State of Origin, which is a series of three rugby games played between two Australian states – the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues. Everyone repped Queensland all day in their maroon jumpers. To be honest, I know nothing about rugby (a bunch of buff guys in tight clothes tackling each other to get this thing that looks a little like a football, but not really). But then again, I don’t really know much about American football. I just go to the games because they’re fun and I act like I know what’s going on – you know, cheer when everyone else is cheering and boo the other team. So that’s pretty much what I did for State of Origin. I watched the game with some of my new Australian friends – they had a television set up on the back wall of a friend’s house with couches and chairs around fire pits in the backyard. Even if I didn’t know what was going on half the time, I still had a great time watching the game, especially when Queensland won for the eighth year in a row!

Queensland champs

Today I had the day off and ventured into the city with another au pair, Sophie from England. Sophie is an incredibly sweet girl – she’s been traveling on her own since February and has been in Brisbane for the past couple of months, so she was more than happy to show me around the city. Here are a few of the pictures I took throughout the day:

Southbank beach overlooking the CBD

Southbank

Ibis (these guys are creeping literally everywhere in Aus)

CBD 

Me and Sophie at Mt. Coot-tha

Although I’ve only been here a short time and haven’t met many people yet, something I’ve already started to realize is how different it is to have friends here. It isn’t hard to meet people – it’s easy to get in touch with other au pairs online and everyone is always happy to meet new people. No matter where we’re from and what kind of people we are, we bond instantly because we’re all on this grand adventure, doing the same thing in the same place at the same time. But girls I’ve met and will continue to meet are coming and going so often. I have always been the type of person who will get to know someone well, make close friends, and keep them for a long time. This is different because everyone is constantly on the move in different directions. It is so awesome that I have the opportunity to meet girls and make friends from all over the world, but I reckon it’s going to be quite hard for me to have to say goodbye so quickly and frequently, while also constantly letting new people into my life.