I've been back at Golder Associates for 2 days now and am really enjoying it! I've been mainly using Excel to create spreadsheets, but at the end of this week I'll be using a program called Slope/W to analyse failure planes in soil embankments.
On Friday night I'm going to the UQ Engineering Alumni Celebration Dinner at Customs House as part of the university's centenary celebrations. It'll be a great way to meet some of UQ's senior engineering alumni and hear about which paths they've taken to get to where they are today. A nice way to end the week!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Back home in Brisbane
I arrived back in Brisbane on the weekend and have almost adjusted to the time change. It's nice to have internet again and I can finally update my blog. My exchange to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) only lasted a semester, but I can honestly say that it was the most exciting and rewarding semester I've had so far. I learned so much from living and studying in another country. In many ways, my time on exchange was like something out of a stereotypical teen movie: having a room mate, red cups (yes those actually exist), frat parties, hot dogs and sodas, jocks and cheerleaders, beer pong, taco bell and shopping at the mall. I also experiences a different teaching style: the class sizes were much smaller compared to UQ and a lot of the assessment was weighted towards weekly 'homework' rather than one final exam. But the most memorable times were the ones I spent with friends, whether it was going bowling, hanging out at the DC (dining common) or just watching TV together. I made some amazing friends at UMass and it really doesn't matter where you go on exchange, it's about the people you meet. I cannot recommend going on exchange enough, despite the huge amount of effort it takes to organise I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
After my semester at UMass I spent about 5 weeks travelling around the USA. I started in Boston, then I headed up to Niagara Falls, Toronto and the Thousand Islands, followed by New York City and then a week long camping tour around Florida which went through Orlando, the Everglades, Key West and Miami. Then I flew to San Francisco followed by Las Vegas and a 10 day camping adventure of the canyons and national parks in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. I visited the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. I spent my last few days in Los Angeles. I have so many photos from the trip, unfortunately there's no way to put them all here. However I've picked out a few of my favourites...
Giants baseball game in San Francisco...it went on for about 6 hours
The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
'Painted Ladies', San Francisco
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
View from the Navajo Native American Village in Monument Valley
Forrest Gump scene, Monument Valley
Grand Canyon, this photo doesn't do it justice
Double Arch in Arches National Park, it was worth the hike
One of my new favourite buildings: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
I start vacation work again with Golder Associates at Toowong in Brisbane either at the end of this week or the beginning of next week. I'll be working in the Civil Design Group again and can't wait to get back into it!
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