Hello from Brisbane, Australia!
It’s been two days since I landed in Brisbane! The weather is beautiful, the city is clean, and I was on full on tourist mode over the weekend. After leaving NYC Thursday afternoon, I arrived in Brisbane on Saturday morning happy to step out of the airport. Halfway through my flight, I got all the feels about this trip. It finally hit me this is really happening.
Saturday — Day 1
My flight landed early, so upon arriving I met four team members at the airport. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and went to eat breakfast at a nearby restaurant.
After breakfast (and multiple coffees), we met up with other members of our team to walk around and explore Brisbane. The hotel is in the heart of the city, so there were a ton to places to go to walking around. At this point, my excitement was able to overpower my jetlag. Cross over the Victoria Bridge, we walked to the South Bank Parklands.
It was so great being in the sun and getting to know everyone on the team. Since we have been meeting over the summer, there were no strangers in the group. During the walk, I got a wave of jetlag and almost tapped out to go back to the hotel. Instead, I continued with the group to the Queensland Museum.
Talking to one of the CSC team members, Navneet, the museum reminded us of a smaller MET Museum in NYC. It has a lot of great wings that tie into the history and culture of Australia. After the museum, I needed to get some toiletries. Near the hotel and on the way back is Queen Street Mall with everything you need. I love going into stores and groceries to check what products are available. The mall is large and has some great architecture that you notice only if you look up at the buildings.
Late afternoon, our team had a quick briefing meeting and this is where all of us were together for the first time! Logistics were said and lots of laughing among the group, and we went off for dinner back to the South Bank Parklands at the Southbank Beer Garden. Again, another round of jetlag hit me, but I was able to stick around and go home… at 8pm. Day 1 was fantastic!
Sunday — Day 2
Our team had orientation all morning going through general information and schedules. Tomorrow (Monday) will be out big kick off event with both organizations! After the meeting, we went on the Kookaburra Brisbane River Cruise for lunch! The three hour lunch travels through the Brisbane River. It was a beautiful day and Brisbane has a ton of new development going on.
After the river cruise, a couple of us walked one through the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens and Queensland University of Technology campus.
On the way to the hotel, there was a market going on in an open area. The Suitcase Rummage is a monthly event when people go and sell items from their luggage. Like a flea market, items range from used clothing, art goods, and jewelry. I loved walking through this because there was a good variety of what was being sold.
For dinner, three of us went to the last night of the Brisbane Night Noodle Markets which is a collection of asian inspired/fusion food in the South Bank Parklands area. To my surprise, there was a filipino vendor, Hoy Pinoy! When my teammates, Ted and Steve said they wanted to try it, I excitedly joined them. We also grabbed halo-halo (a filipino shaved ice desert). It was a great ambiance since it was not crowded and there was a great music playlist going.
It’s been a packed two days! Excited to start getting into the project!
Originally published at medium.com on August 5, 2018.
