Since posting my last blog, I've been a bit slack. What better time to write up what has been happening over the last 12 months, than one year after my last blog.
There have been birthdays, social nights and house warming parties. Dinner parties for friends whose time in Australia was up, weekend trips to the beach, trying out new sports and going out for salsa dancing, but ending up sitting it out because it was Halloween themed salsa dancing. The best night out however, was certainly the tartan skirt night, which was the result me winning a Harry Potter bet.
In October I was able to get my hands on a ticket to go to RnB Friday Live, where I saw Ne-Yo, Sean Paul, Christina Milian, Kelis and a lot of other preform live. Even though it was raining all day, it took nothing away from the concert!
There have been birthdays, social nights and house warming parties. Dinner parties for friends whose time in Australia was up, weekend trips to the beach, trying out new sports and going out for salsa dancing, but ending up sitting it out because it was Halloween themed salsa dancing. The best night out however, was certainly the tartan skirt night, which was the result me winning a Harry Potter bet.
In October I was able to get my hands on a ticket to go to RnB Friday Live, where I saw Ne-Yo, Sean Paul, Christina Milian, Kelis and a lot of other preform live. Even though it was raining all day, it took nothing away from the concert!
Even though I've lived in Brisbane for a year and a half now, there is so much to do and to explore in and around the city. From the lifeline bookfest, an actual heaven for book lovers, to the Marvel exhibition, from the Science Center to the beautiful national parks, there is always something to do. I finally visited both Dream World and Movie World. I've done a day trip to North Stradbroke Island, where I saw koala's kangaroos and dolphins up close. This trip was followed by a long weekend in Noosa to visit with a teammate of the QLD team and a lot of walking around the national park. On the weekends where I did not go away for both days, Shannon and I drove down to Springwood and Springbrook to go on hikes and take in the beautiful views while catching up.
In 12 months it can't all be rainbows and sunshine and right before the school holidays, cyclone Debbie came to Brisbane. Schools were closed, rain kept pouring down, roads were flooded and a tree fell over in the back yard.
The kids loved the weather and were playing outside in the rain the entire day and during the holidays we went to see the Nonnies, went to the circus, saw some movies and just relaxed at home. We spend some days at the beach and had some amazing food at the Eat Street Markets.
The kids loved the weather and were playing outside in the rain the entire day and during the holidays we went to see the Nonnies, went to the circus, saw some movies and just relaxed at home. We spend some days at the beach and had some amazing food at the Eat Street Markets.
A little over 6 months ago, I started dating someone who has become a very important part of my life. Chris and I have been spending a lot of time together, playing handball and going on a few trips. Over the holidays, he was travelling Europe and since I did not want to miss him for 9 weeks, I convinced my parents to meet up with him in Vienna for Christmas, so that he could be approved (not that it would have mattered much if they didn't ;) ). |
I went to see my very first Rugby League game. I got to cheer the Broncos on and see them score a bunch of goals from seats that were almost on the field. Next to Rugby, Chris also dragged me along to see the Brisbane Roar play a very exciting *ahum* soccer match. Of course my sports experience cannot be complete without seeing some handball games as well. I went on a beach handball camp in Melbourne in winter, when the temperature was very low and killed it at the trivia night, acing the Harry Potter round and winning a beanie by eating an Oreo from my head without using my hands. |
However, I haven't spent all of my time in Australia this last year. I have made two trips abroad. In May I traveled to Italy, where I spent a few days in Rome with my parents. We visited all the highlights of the city: the Colosseum; the Forum Romanum; the Vatican; Castel Sant'Angelo and a lot more! Of the 9 days I spent in Italy, 4 were spent playing beach handball in Gaeta. Spending time with my amazing teammates and going home with the bronze medal, made this trip incredibly special and definitely worth my while (even though the travel was almost as long as the actual time spent in Rome).
At some point during the year, I also celebrated my 23rd birthday. The day itself was a nice and quiet one with the family and a visit to Cirque du Soleil, the Avatar show. The weekend after Chris and I went to the Gold Coast together and we spent the weekend climbing Mt Warning and hiking around Springbrook national park. 3 weeks later a few girls came over for dinner and drinks and we had a lovely night out, where we danced so much we had to take our heels off in the club at the end of the evening.
My second trip abroad this last year was to go home and see my family and friends again. I was longing to catch up and spend Christmas and New Year's with everyone. Chris was in Europe over this period and I convinced my parents to spend Christmas in Vienna with him. It was a bit difficult to find him, because he went to the wrong train station, came back to the one we were waiting at, couldn't find us and then left again. After we finally found each other, we spent a few lovely days together walking around all the Christmas markets, having lunch at 116 meters in the Danube tower with Cassie and Kay and visiting Schonbrunn, the zoo, the Spanish riding school, the Hofburg, the Sisi museum and we even went back in time at time travel Vienna. It was a a nice holiday within a holiday and I was really happy to spend some time alone with my parents for a few days, before I was meeting up with all my friends and family members. I saw a few handball games, played beach handball, visited Utrecht, Amsterdam and the Efteling with Synne and had breakfast, lunch or dinner with all the people that mean the world to me, who I hadn't seen in over a year. Unfortunately I couldn't fly out on my designated day because I had the flu and had to postpone my flight for a few days. My parents and I were all sick as dogs and then a tree from two doors over fell on the roof of the kitchen. Thankfully no one got hurt, but mum and dad are now waiting for everything to be fixed.
The previous au pair of the family, Saskia, came over for a month and we went to the Ekka (a big Carnaval in Brisbane), hiking at Mt Coot-tha, visiting Lone Pine and enjoying the sun at southbank. We also went for a camping trip on Fraser Island with Karoline. Even though it was my third time there, I saw a lot of new spots, such as the Champagne Pools, Lake Wabby and the Pinnacles, it was just as breathtaking as the other times.
Another city I visited in Australia was Cairns, where Kim was living and working for a couple of weeks. We walked around the city, went for an introductory dive to find Nemo and a snorkel. On the last day of the weekend we hired a car and drove around to visit some of the waterfalls (the one from the Herbal Essences commercials) and lakes around Cairns. Unfortunately we did not get to see everything and swim everywhere we wanted, because our car broke down and we had to wait for RACQ to come and fix it in the middle of nowhere.
Another city I visited in Australia was Cairns, where Kim was living and working for a couple of weeks. We walked around the city, went for an introductory dive to find Nemo and a snorkel. On the last day of the weekend we hired a car and drove around to visit some of the waterfalls (the one from the Herbal Essences commercials) and lakes around Cairns. Unfortunately we did not get to see everything and swim everywhere we wanted, because our car broke down and we had to wait for RACQ to come and fix it in the middle of nowhere.
As far as handball is concerned, there have been some amazing developments. I have been helping out with come and try days, open days, playing for the QLD league, watching the Handball League Australie and Unigames and I've played another two big tournaments in Australia. In October we got another team together to go to Sydney to play indoor nationals, where we absolutely smashed it and went home with the gold and a best goalkeeper medal for me. We celebrated our win with a BBQ and a small award ceremony where Rosa handed out lovely certificates to everyone.
Last weekend, we gathered up the Queenslanders and the Kiwi's to attack beach nationals with the Galahs this year. This year, I played in both the Mixed and the Women's competition again and after losing only two out of the 18 matches, my team and I ended up going home with the gold (mixed) and silver (women's) medals and I got voted the best goal keeper in the mixed competition, so nothing changed from last year.
Last weekend, we gathered up the Queenslanders and the Kiwi's to attack beach nationals with the Galahs this year. This year, I played in both the Mixed and the Women's competition again and after losing only two out of the 18 matches, my team and I ended up going home with the gold (mixed) and silver (women's) medals and I got voted the best goal keeper in the mixed competition, so nothing changed from last year.
I know it was a long read, but thanks for pulling through! See you next time :)
xoxo
xoxo