Melbourne

Thank goodness we finally made it into Melbourne! After a 5-hour train ride in order to avoid flooding and a 4-hour delay on our flight from Brisbane to Melbourne we are finally away from all the flooding. My prayers are still with the residents of Queensland. 

The group boarding a Tiger Airways flight to Canberra.

The train ride that we went on first to escape the flooding.

Today my group had two company visits; one with a beer brewery called Fosters group, and the other with the Australian Football League. At Fosters, we met with the CEO of the company Ian Johnston. He talked to us about how Fosters had to be reinvented from the inside out through creativity and innovation in order to increase profits. One thing that I noticed about his demeanor that was different from some American corporations was that he did not broadcast his company's strengths; he mostly talked about ways that they could improve. Perhaps this was an example of Australia’s "Tall Poppy Syndrome", which is when Australians never choose to brag about anything. After our talk with the CEO, we took a tour of the brewing facilities. I never realized how efficient and sanitary brewing facilities had to be in order to produce premium quality beer. 

Fosters International Beer company

Ian Anderson, the CEO of Fosters

After our trip to Fosters, we went over to the headquarters of the Australian Football League and talked with their CFO Ian Anderson. After, we had a tour of the main stadium in Melbourne. 

Me in the lobby of the AFL

Me posing with an AFL football in an AFL stadium

I had front row seats to a 20/20 cricket match between Australia and England. Australia won!

Bundaberg

Today I went to the Bundaberg Rum distillery in Bundaberg, Queensland. Our group got a tour of the rum distillery and learned how rum is converted from molasses into alcohol. In the distillery the alcohol is put into giant kegs for at least two years in order to obtain the unique flavor that is associated with Bundaberg rum. The wood from the kegs comes from the Appalachian Mountains on the border of the U.S. and Canada; however, 96%of the rum is not available outside of Australia. To make the tour even more amazing we all got a sample of the pure molasses used to make the rum and two types of rum. All of us were not 21 but that is ok because the drinking age is 18 in Australia. 

On our way to lunch, a car ran into our bus. Our millionaire casino-owner coach driver got out of the bus very upset, but luckily no one was hurt. 

While we were eating lunch, I heard some loud noises coming from a tropical tree nearby. When I got a closer look I saw that the tree was full of parrots! These birds were so beautiful; they were green, blue yellow orange and red.

Great Barrier Reef!

Today I went on the Lady Musgrave Great Barrier Reef day cruise. The sky was clear and sunny plus the temperature was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The cruise was about 90 minutes and we learned how Captain Cook established the area of the Great Barrier Reef where we were going in 1770. Once we arrived at our platoon location, there were scuba diving, snorkeling and a nearby island tour.  When I took a tour of the island, there were plenty of vegetation and birds, specifically a black bird named “nookie”. The tour guide Simone explained to us how the bird population on the island is controlled every year because the trees on the island produce a sticky seed sap that gets stuck on the Nookies feathers. Eventually, this sap weighs the Nookies down and about half die of exhaustion and starvation every year. 

Tour of an island during a Lady Musgrave Cruise

I went snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef and it was amazing! The fish swim all around you and yet never touch you. While snorkeling in the platoon, I saw schools of eels, swordfish, angle fish, clown fish, neon blue starfish and many more species of marine life. We went on glass bottom tour boats where the tour guide explained to us that there were many different types of coral; some are meant to protect the weaker coral from strong currents and some grow faster than others.  

Me and Deanna getting ready to snorkle!

Jackie, Jenna Deanna and I can't wait to get in the ocean

Me and Deanna waving from the plantoon

Before I arrived in Australia I heard about all the major flooding in the Northern East coast. I heard the government officials here say that it was a flood of Biblical proportions. However, hotel staff told our trip planners that we were safe from the flooding and all our plans were to remain stable. On the third day of the trip when we were to travel north from Brisbane to Agnes Waters to tour Frasier Island and the Great Barrier Reef, we could not make it that night because the roads were closed because of flooding.  Everyone in the group was heartbroken and very sad that we would not be able to see the Great Barrier Reef. We ended up backtracking back to Brisbane and spending the night in a hotel.  The next morning, we got great news that the road we needed to travel on was open so we headed out that morning to Agnes Waters. I kid you not, as SOON as we crossed the road that was flooded the previous day, road workers put up a road-closed sign blocking everyone else’s entry. Everyone on the bus was cheering ecstatically and high- fiving each other.  Despite our driver’s warnings that we might not be able to get back, all we cared about was being able to see the Great Barrier Reef.
 

A view of the Queensland flooding from our bus

Another picture of the flooding

Now since we have all had the experience of a lifetime in the Great Barrier Reef, we have to deal with the consequences of not being able to make it back to Brisbane by bus to catch a flight to Melbourne.  Dr. Wellman and Ms. Donelly have arranged that we try to take a 24-hour route around the flood in order to make it south. 

Koala's and Kangaroos!

I have had such an eventful few days that I am just now getting some free time to write this blog. Yesterday, I went to a Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. The center was along the river so we all took a Brisbane river cruise to the center. During the cruise I learned that in Australia in the 1960's women were not allowed to drink in the bars, so in protest, some women chained themselves to a bar along the riverside and eventually that led to a change in the legislation. The Brisbane River is brown, however it is not because it is dirty, but because the currents change direction four times a day, which stirs the mud in the river floor. When I arrived at the sanctuary, I was so excited to see the Koala bears at the sanctuary. However, I was most surprised with the Kangaroos. The Kangaroos there were very domesticated and I was able to pet and fed them.

Brisbane River Cruise

Me feeding a kangaroo

Teonna and I on the Brisbane River



Pepsi and I taking a picture



Some of the flooding in Queensland

Surfing and The Australian Outback

It is now 11:20pm in Brisbane and I have completed my first full day of the "Doing Business in Australia" program. The day started off with torrential rain but it ended as soon as we left the Hostel. Today, we went to Surfers Paradise and took surfing lessons with Australia's best. Surfing really is harder than it looks! However, I did manage to sit up on my surfboard. While on the beach, it was cute to see the little Australian children take surfing lessons, it kind of made me think of how some children in the U.S. take classes such as karate, and how surfing is Australia's equivalent.

Surfers Paradise!

Me after a few rigorous hours of surfing



Taking a picture with the instructors.

 Traveling in Australia has made me realize the cultural differences between this country and the U.S. Right now, the Australian dollar is stronger than the U.S. dollar and the exchange rate is $1.1 U.S to $1.0 Australian. Even though I knew that before the trip, I had no idea that the cost of living and minimum wage was much higher in Australia. For example, an average breakfast here costs $10 and a soda costs at least $3.50. Starbucks is not as popular here as in the U.S., I have noticed that Australians have a lot of smoothie shops and are very health conscious people.

After our surfing lesson, our group went to the "Australian Outback Spectacular". This event is equivalent to America's "Medieval Times". First, everyone in the group got cowboy hats upon admission. Then we spent an hour networking in a huge barn area with beautiful horses, dogs and country music playing. After that, we went into a huge arena and enjoyed a show narrating how the Australian Outback was founded along with a three-course meal. I learned that many of the Australian Cowboys were drafted by Britain to fight in World War I. Many of the people in our group were surprised to know that Australia had such a country/rustic culture. I heard one girl saying, " I didn't know Australians had the rodeo, I just thought it was a safari environment." That statement just reflects the stereotype that Australia has in the U.S. from shows such as "The Crocodile Hunter".

Taking a picture with one of the horses in the "Australian Outback Spectacular"



Picture with the Herding Dogs

Today was a great educational and informative day and I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store. Stay tuned!

McDonalds

It may seem strange that I am doing a post on McDonalds but it is really amazing to me. I am here eating breakfast with my friend and I have never seen such a unique place! I learned in my business classes how McDonalds adapts to every county that it goes to for profitability purposes. I really see that first hand here. This McDonalds has a separate bakery section similar to Panera Bread and customers can order a full meal and pay for it electronically. This location has a wrap around patio where customers can eat in the dining area amid very contemporary sit down furniture. They even have different menu items such as a "Breakhouse Brekkie Wrap" which looks like a breakfast sandwich.

Greetings From Sydney!

I am finally in Australia! The trip here was very adventurous, I had two stops in Chicago and Los Angeles. Even though I could not stay long enough to tour the cities, I had an original Chicago style hot dog in "Chi Town". The United flight to Sydney was on a 747 double decker plane, it was very big and first class had their own units with reclining chairs and footrests. I found out on the flight to Sydney that United is merging with Continental. Despite the financial difficulties of the airline industry, I had three full meals on the flight to Sydney. When I arrived here the weather was wonderful, around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Sydney is a very tropical place and I am enjoying it already. I had to get used to the time difference though. Australia is 16 hours and 40 minutes ahead of East coast time; I missed all of January 4th! The British colonized Australia so people drive on the right side of the car, similar to England.

Chicago would not be the same without Oprah!

I didn't get to see the famous Chicago skyline so this picture will have to do. 

Stop two; the city of Angles

I took this picture after 10 hours on the plane. I was so excited that we were so close to landing.

The first view of Australia from the plane.

Pure Joy! 

Never in my life did I see a double decker Airport Train like this. When getting my ticket for the airport train, all I had to do was click a student discount button on the screen to get $3 off. This was intresting to me because the system just trusted that I was telling the truth with no verification needed. To me, this represents the very trusting nature of Australilan culture.

This is a view from our hotel. I thought this was fitting because Qantas is an airplane company my group studied before coming to Australia.

Pre- Trip Questions

 Why did I choose to participate in "Doing Business in Australia"? This study abroad trip is a way for me to expand my knowledge of the world around me. Often as a student, it is easy to get wrapped up in the way that Americans do business. Having this opportunity to study abroad gives me a once in a lifetime chance to see Australia's business culture and the way they successfully conduct business. I have never been so far away from home before and I look forward to this trip building my character and experiences.

What do I expect to encounter? During these upcoming three weeks I expect to encounter many different outdoor habitats that are native to Australia. For example, I am looking forward to going to the beach and snorkeling in the famous "Great Barrier Reef". I am also looking forward to visiting the Blue Mountains and seeing Featherdale Wildlife Park. In addition to the outdoor scenery I expect to become acquainted with the many financial and political systems in Australia. By visiting the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Parliament I should develop a solid understanding of the country's economic and political foundation.  What do I expect life in Australia to be like? I expect life in Australia to be similar to life in America in regards of their infrastructure such as transportation. However, I am expecting a slight language barrier. Even though the official language in Australia is English, Australians have a different dialect than Americans and the differences in vocabulary are distinct. I expect Australia to be very beautiful and to show a strong cultural influence from England as well as neighboring  Asian countries such as Indonesia.