G'Day family and friends, it is Monday in Gold Coast and I have a few hours before class (we are watching Crocodile Dundee today) (seriously, i know, right?) and I figured it was time for another post. This weekend was pretty eventful and extremely fun. On Friday, a bunch of us packed up and left Bond for the train station on our way to the Gold Coast Titans semi-final match against the Sydney Roosters. This would be our second time taking the train to Brisbane, which is about an hours travel away so we were pretty sure we knew what we were doing. Just as we expected, things went much smoother the second time around and it was a fun ride. The train was packed with Titans fans and people were giving out free food at the train stations. We got to Brisbane with enough time to walk around a bit and follow the crowd. Once we got into the stadium, I knew we were in for an epic time. The seats were filling up and the place was getting pretty rowdy, especially where we were up in the nosebleeds. With this being said, there was not a bad seat in the house and we had a sick view of the field from our corner in the endzone. The Titans play in the NRL (National Rugby League) which is different from Rugby Union and Australian Rules Football (a rugby league unique to Queensland, where I live) so needless to say, we were a bit shaky on what was about to be played in front of us. Luckily a group of patient New Zealanders helped us out with the rules despite us being both ignorant American students and Titans fans. The Kiwis were cheering for Sydney so they had some fun laughing at us when we would cheer only to realize nothing of merit had transpired.
Unfortunately, our Gold Coast Titans were pummeled to a 34-6 defeat but nonetheless, it was an amazing game. Rugby is non-stop action, a lot like football, but without the pauses for play calling. You get six runs of the ball to make a try (touchdown) and you can only pitch the ball laterally or backwards. You can, however kick the ball forwards which is often done as a Hail Mary style 6th down play. The most exciting parts are when this is done creating a jump ball in the endzone. A successful try is 4 points and then a player kicks the ball (often from the sideline as a PAT but worth 2 points if made through the uprights.) Confused yet? Anyway, the crowd was crazy and the game was amazing except for the outcome. Definitely worth the ticket and the experience. Saturday we failed once again to see kangaroos and koalas. I don't even have a cute excuse this time, it was just rainy and sad. We hit up the beach since the waves were crazy and honestly, when there is a beach 15 minutes away, there's no excuse good enough to not go. We are still looking into purchasing a couple used surfboards. We have a shop in mind and all we have to do is pay them a visit sometime this week. Hopefully we can find some good prices. Anyway, I think that is all the eventful things that happened this weekend. I will be sure to keep you posted on future adventures! Have a great week! - Jeff
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