Free Weekend!

Hey folks, I’m back in Brisbane! This past weekend in Surfer’s Paradise was awesome, and very relaxing. Being able to explore yet another area of Australia proved to be quite the experience, in that we didn’t have anywhere to be, or anywhere to go. We just... went. The first night on the Gold Coast, the group decided to stay at the hotel and cook lasagna for dinner, so we went grocery shopping, and ended up eating for under $6 a person. In the United States, that’s no big deal... but in Australia, where the prices are so much higher, six bucks is a deal. The second night, after a day full of the beach and the pool, we stayed in again, and made an amazing meal of hamburgers, “chips” (what we would consider to be french fries), and salad. Andrew, a guy in the building science group, recommended that we put eggs and peanut butter on our burger, and it was AMAZING. Thank you, Andrew, for the revelation I’ve been needing.

Jason's beach attire

This morning, we woke up, and got the hotel all cleaned up and presentable to the house keeping. It was a pretty uneventful trip back to Brisbane, other than my backpack constantly rubbing my sunburn. That, my friends, wasn’t fun. 

My younger brother cannot eat gluten (wheat) or casein (dairy). Yes, it’s a hard life, but we make do. That said, there are so many gluten and casein free meals at restaurants here in Australia. I see little “gf” insignias all over the menus, and can’t help but think of Jared! Whether it’s due to allergies or not, eating gluten free is much healthier for you, which leads back to previous comments about how healthy Australians are. They seem to focus on health, and good diets, much more than Americans do.
 

We aren’t quite halfway through this trip, and I feel like I’ve been here for months. I miss you all, just not enough to come home!

View from balcony