I finally saw a possum. I saw two in one day, but unfortunately both were dead. BUT they weren't flattened like last time, so I took a picture. The one not shown was bigger and much more yellow. I had no idea they were this cute and orange. Sorry if this is a bit inappropriate putting up a dead possum, but I wanted you all to see one. Rest in peace little possum~

I haven't mentioned just how hilly it is here. The streets near my house are almost a joke. Absolutely no one would be able to leave Indooroopilly if the roads were ever covered in ice... Anyways, I took an uphill walk to a shopping center I haven't visited yet. It wasn't very good for clothing ad accessories, like the mall next to me, but I've noticed one thing about Brisbane- food is everywhere. Grocery stores are in malls, even markets, bakeries, and produce stands are in weird places like a shopping center. Oh and indoor cafes, where sitting "outside" is really the inside of the mall. I'm not sure how everyone here isn't fat. I sure am. I've been here almost 11 weeks, and I think I've gained ten pounds (as you will notice by the change in cheek volume in the picture). It's very tragic, but at least I enjoyed all the wonderful food here. I'll start my healthy lifestyle again once I'm back in AZ.

Much like Europe, chocolate here is very good. Fancy Lindt chocolate bars and Cadbury bars are found in huge displays and isles at the grocery store. And while those chocolate bars aren't horribly expensive, a normal, tiny candy bar is a $1 when on sale. I'll bring some back for everyone to see. They are so different and very fun looking- cherry ripe is by far the most popular.

At the shopping center, I finally forced myself into buying a meat pie (I know, so horrible to have to eat something containing pie crust...) It was just average though. Steak and beef filled with gravy are the most popular. I have yet to see a chicken pie. Australians eat their meat pies with ketchup and with their hands. This is a picture of me eating it. I was laughing awkwardly to myself as I tried to quickly snap a picture while people were walking by.

I was reading a blog of my friend in France doing this same research program, and I definitely agree with her- American tourists are so stereotypical, and it's so sad. I rarely ever see Americans in Brisbane, but the times that I have, the ones in their twenties are just obnoxious. They talk loudly and it always seems to be about alcohol, and yell profanities. They just act so disrespectful. Oh well, at least I've made my mark on some people here as a nice, respectful American.

Lastly, I am excited to announce that I may finally have gotten some soluble protein.... on my last week here :(

Background: when you make proteins in a somewhat" artificial" way, they tend to be mass produced (if produced at all) insoluble, which means you can't really do anything with them. I think am the first and only person in the world attempting to get this particular protein produced, and I may have got it!

This weekend I went for a very long walk. I suddenly realized that I only had two weekends left in this amazing city, so I decided to get off near the actual city part and just walk, walk until I had seen a whole bunch of Brisbane. I got off the train and went straight to Roma Street Parklands. It's a big park where people bring their kids to play, but it is also a great place to take a walk and relax. Next, I ran into a grammer school built in the late 1800's. The architecture was so beautiful AND I saw a boxer while I was there. It was an Australian boxer, and it was cute. Soon, I came upon a lovely cathedral. I had only seen the one right in the middle of the city, but this one was just as beautiful. Then, I walked through the outskirts of the city until I found the Brisbane River. I followed the river, looked through some Sunday markets, and spotted some cool cafes I can take Grami to for a riverside setting. Then, I ended up at the City Botanical Gardens. This was also super pretty. I followed the river until I found the actual city again, and I wish pictures could capture what it's like...It's very crowded on the weekends, but in a fun way. It's just like any other shop-filled big city, but with more interactive stuff. There are lots of performers and outdoor markets and cafes mixed in. After over 3 hours of walking, 1 new shirt, and some cheap sushi (which I will miss so much!!) I found another train station back home :)

Today, I made some cornbread to take to work and let my roommates try. No one eats corn bread here and I found that very tragic. I made sweet honey cornbread, and I think everyone really liked it. Please excuse how weird I look in the picture... You know, I don't think they even know what chili is either...

Sometime last week I had a nice dinner with some friends, more Harry Potter of course. I hadn't seen Deathly Hallows Part 1 yet. I am discovering more and more that Asians can handle some serious spice. Mexicans have nothing on them. Their sauces are so spicy! Because I was cooked such a lovely dinner, I offered to cook Mexican on Saturday night. My roommates were going to the Renaissance Festival equivalent here in Brisbane for the day :) so I finally had room to squeeze four more people into my little condo. The enchilada casserole failed, but the oreo ricotta cheesecake was delicious!

On Sunday, everyone from the lab hung out because one of our girls is going back to Singapore soon. I had a real Aussie burger, meaning that it had beet root AND a fried egg on it. Of course, I chose to eat my egg separately. We shopped in the city a bit afterwords where I found an almond milk tea that did NOT taste like my usual at Miss Saigon in Tucson. So disappointing. But I do love this city. The actual city part is so cool. Tons of shopping and people and just amazing-ness.

On Monday, we had a "goodbye lunch" for me at work. Dr. Kappler will be leaving for Germany and a conference in Canada on Thursday until after I'm already back in the US, so we all walked to the fish and chips place off campus. It was pretty yummy, but $$. Oh well. Mai (my semi-boss) made thee yummiest cheesecake ever to go with our lunch, and Dr. Kappler brought me some gifts! She gave me an Australian novel and a stuffed animal bacteria. So nice of her :) On Thursday I plan on giving her my saguaro honey, javelina cookie cutter, arizona magnet, and mexican restaurant gift card.

Last but not least, today I had to give a research update presentation to the lab group. Of course, I did my usual sarcastic, casual, laugh-y talk. But hey, people actually pay attention and I feel like when I taught this way as a TA assistant in biology 181, the kids responded well. Dr. Kappler thought she could stump me with a couple of hard questions, but I showed her :) She seemed to like the presentation and my overall work here. And trust me, she would definitely tell me if she had even a slight problem with how I was doing things. I wish I could keep working here!! I have so much more I could do! I've really only gotten through the baby steps of the project and could use another couple of months...maybe after I graduate? who knows...

One of the coolest things about being in Australia is the fact that I was able to travel half way across the world to look at the other side of the universe. So cool. Are you all aware that the stars are different over here? I'm looking at a totally different part of the universe that I've never seen before!

My boss and semi-boss are going to a conference this week. That means a much less stressful environment, but it also means I need to be super on top of things and independent. I think I can manage though. I'm kind of a pro at enzyme assays now.

My friends Kiong and Linda experienced Mexican food for the first time. We found this little restaurant, and it was quite hilarious seeing them try to pronounce 'quesadilla' and 'guacamole.' I finally got to eat my favorite food in the whole world!! There is nothing better than a burrito with everything in it. We also started re-watching Harry Potter in preparation for the new movie. Although I've never read the books, I do like the movies a lot.

So I want to make a cheesecake, but they don't have graham crackers here!!! Instead, I've been told to use "digestive biscuits". What the heck? That doesn't sound appetizing at all, so I think I'll stick with Oreo's.

Have I mentioned the toilets here yet? They all have 2 buttons to push for flushing. One is for a half flush, and the other is when you need a "full flush". I think that's hilarious :)