MaxLibris

Ok so no jokes about the name of the state I am in (and by that I mean one of the states of Australia.) I arrived in Brisbane on Tuesday evening after teaching two days in Sydney. So Sydney was unfortunately very short, but I hope to go back someday. Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia. Queensland is much warmer than Victoria, which is strange for me since I come from the Northern Hemisphere. It’s strange to go north and for it to get warmer and more tropical! One of the nicknames of Brisbane is Bris-Vegas. I don’t really see why, but then I guess if I took a drive down to the Gold Coast, I could see it. I am probably not going down there, mostly because I am allergic to obnoxious lights after growing up in Florida. If I were to go to any beach, it would probably be at the Sunshine Coast, a little more low-key than the other from what I am told. BUT, I probably won’t go to either one. I only have really one more full day here in Brisbane so I will probably do a little more sight-seeing here, along the Brisbane River.

Oh yeah - work has gone really well also, the classes I am teaching so far here in Australia are being very well-received. I have made some new international contacts for when I move here (oops) I mean when I want to compare um, library stuff, yeah, that.
I am meeting with Richard from CAVAL tomorrow morning to talk about any future collaboration between SOLINET and CAVAL. We are both interested in doing more distance education together as well as more long-term staff exchanges.

Looking forward to Sunday - when I fly to Christchurch, New Zealand! I’m not sure why I am so excited to going there, except that from everything I have heard, it is a truly amazing place to see. I will have an extra day in the beginning of the trip there, so I am considering some things to do. Give me an idea of what you think I should do via the comments! Some ideas I have are:

• Gondola Experience
• International Antarctic Center
• Christchurch’s Original Ghost Walk
• Southern Encounter Aquarium and Kiwi House

Unfortunately a lot depends on time and money. I don’t have a lot of either one, so I have to be a little picky about what I do. I would love to go any of the fab tours within a few hours of Christchurch, but again, time and money are culprits there.

Having a great time here though, the people I have met so far in Australia are so nice and willing to help out. Plus I have been generally eating some incredible food and taking in some awesome sights! Want to hear the most bizarre thing? You can actually drink the tap water here! Also - while I don’t think I live vegemite, I have had lemon lime bitters and that is quite good.