This past week we were able to go to the Sunshine Coast in Qeensland.  It is an area on the Coral Sea an hour or two north of Brisbane and south of the Great Barrier Rief.  We stayed in Mooloolaba in a nice apartment on the beach. 

 

 

 

 

I was there to spend some time with the Counseling Program at the University of the Sunshine Coast.  I spoke with their 2nd year students about Counselling in the US, visited a field site, attended an advisory board meeting and had some preliminary discussions about a couple of collaborative research projects.  It was quite interesting to see another program in Australia yet many of the same issues were present as I see at La Trobe - broadly this can be characterized by the students "causal" attitued toward their education.  Interestingly class meetings are seen as "tutorials" and the faculty are not permitted to requre attendance so it is seldom that all students are in attendance.

I spent my mornings at the Uni and was able to then spend the afternoons walking on the beach, drinking wine watching a sunset and eating fabulous fresh seafood. 

Australia has a "club" culture - there are clubs everywhere and they constitute a major aspect of the social life.  In Melbourne many are sports related clubs (footy, lawn bowling etc.) and along the beach these are surf and life saving clubs (among other things).  The surf club in Mooloolaba is an elaborate affair with a large restuarant, pokkies (slot machines), a bar, off trac betting and Keno.  They also provide the life guards and surf rescue for the beach.  There are shark nets in place off shore and one is only permitted to swim "between the flags" which is the part of the beach being watched by the life guards.

I did have the gerat treat of being able to watch game 5 of the Penguines - Senators hockey game Saturday morning at the Surf Club.  I couldn't imagine it getting much better - sitting on the beach, drinking a Toohey's Old watching Ice Hockey.



What a contrast Queensland is to Victoria.  You see the beach/surf culture in all its glory and color in Queensland.  We were lucky to see a truely Aussie event on Saturday - a Surf Rescue competition with hundreds of participants running to the rescue boats, heading into the surf - boats flying in the air (often tossing the riders out) as they go over the waves heading out to pick up a person in the watter.  It defies description - the color, sounds and excitement. Just a Saturday out for them.