Watch for kangaroos!
2019 is the year that our daughter could have potentially been orphaned. I became rather acquainted with the hospital that year both as a vistor and as a patient. But the highlight of that year was when I was selected to visit Australia as an escort for a homestay delegation of 3rd grade JHS students from my town and to function as a translator. It really wasn't much in terms of work to be done, so it was a rather pleasnt vacation. We stayed in Helensvale, a suburb of Gold Coast. It is pretty much straight south from Japan, so with only one hour time difference, jet lag was negligible. The students stayed at the homes of host families while my boss, the principal from one of my JHS I worked at, an English teacher I had worked with in the past, and myself stayed at a rather beautiful motel/RV park in the area.
It was the first week of August, so we went from the hot part of summer to a rather mild part of Australia's winter. A jumper was necessary in the cool mornings, but by the afternoon, short sleeves were adequate and I wish that I had packed those instead of the long sleeve shirts I had brought. We flew overnight Sunday and arrived in the very early hours Monday morning, and we were taken directly to the school. Going from summer to winter, our bodies were telling us that it was colder than it really was. I won't go into much detail about the school activities and such, but during that first morning we were all startled and excited to hear a laughing kookaburra bird's call from the trees across the street. It's something I'd only ever heard in movies, come to think of it. Pretty wild and exotic.
The students did a homestay program with host families while we teachers stayed at the motel. There were some strip malls and such within walking distance, including a fish & chips place I ate at twice. In the early evening we'd take a bus down to the shopping mall where there was a train station. We took the train to Surfer's Paradise, a cool tourist hotspot where we'd have dinner.
One day all the students visited the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, and I believe it was Friday when we met up with a former coworker of mine, who used to teach with us. Then Saturday was a day when we could do anything. I took the opportunity to visit the interesting places I had passed by on the train, including a Chinatown of sorts.
It was a fun trip, getting to visit a country I'd otherwise not ever visit. I got to meet someone I knew online too, and we had an evening of great conversation. I just never got around to posting these pictures until now. Frankly, it had been depressing to watch Australia fall to the totalitarian oppression of medical tyranny. A marriage between corporations and the government is a the heart of fascism, and that is exactly what happened with Big Pharma and the Australian government to violate the Nuremberg Codes, as the society took a nose dive directly into fascism. I saw videos of stuff like a man getting arrested for being maskless in his own car with the windows rolled up, a crazy official at the beach with a megaphone, threatening people who were swimming in the ocean without a mask (wearing a wet cloth strapped to one's face? Really they'd go that far?), and even the police assaulting little girls for not wearing masks. It's just terrible to see what had happened, but lately I've seen Australian politicians fighting back against Pfizer and their fraudulent assault on human rights. In Japan I was spared from vaccine mandates. Fortunately, two friends of mine in Australia were able to avoid the mandate and still keep their jobs. Now that the mass formation psychosis has died down in Australia, I've felt more comfortable feeling nostalgic about the time I spent there a few years ago, just a few months before this medical tyranny began.
Walking to the school, the atmosphere and sights along the wide boulevard made me feel like we were in southern California! Except for the cars driving on the left side of the road, of course.
...And of course also except for the wild kangaroos we spotted in an open field alongside the road! To the right is the Helensvale train station, where we took the light rail to the main part of Gold Coast.
Here is the light rail we took.
Pictures I took while riding the train.
Here is Surfer's Paradise. A nice spot on the beach with lots of restaurants and gift shops.
Here was a covered area with restaurants and bars. I'm sure it is a bustling place at night, but we were there in the early evening hours before things got started. Chinese, sushi, plenty of different restaurants.
Left: I took this picture by mistake, but it looks cool. Right: I had to have my Australian friend explain to me what "kiss & ride" means. It's a place to drop people off and pick them up so as not to interfere with the buses and taxis.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the few places in the world where you can hold a koala. The guide told us that even this will be phased out because as I could witness myself, the koalas start getting restless after being held by too many pepole and they need to be changed out to keep their stress levels down. Makes sense. Who wants to be held by strangers all day? So when I was asked, I declined the opportunity to hold one. I respect their space. Besides, I wouldn't want one of those critters to drop a deuce on me.
I did get close to kangaroos though.
Here is that motel/RV park we stayed at. The heated pool looks rather beautiful, lighted up at night like that. There is a cafe there, and I ate a fantastic hamburger there.
There was a liquor shop near the motel where I bought some booze. The Brookvale Union Ginger Beer was alright I guess, but the Jameson whiskey and cola was fantastic! Right: Friday was a freebie day, so we boarded the train and went back to Surfer's Paradise. There we met up with Erin, who used to be an ALT. She worked with us for about a year or so.
So this is Skypoint Tower, which provides a fantastic view in all directions.
Check out these fancy homes located in the lagoon area. You can either walk to a neighbor's house or take a boat.
There you will see the train station far below.
On Saturday, I was free to do as I pleased. I stopped by the locations I thought looked interesting that I had passed by on the train on the previous trips to Surfer's Paradise. I poked around a small Chinatown of sorts. There were restaurants and an Asian grocery store there.
That day I just walked around, taking pictures of architeture, and drinking booze. Alcohol in Gold Coast is pretty pricey though.
The 2023 All-Japan Model Hobby Show is next.
Go back to the "Greg's Life" Table of Contents
"Life moves by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." ~Ferris Bueller
mail: greg -atsign- stevethefish -dot- net