one day i am going to surf...today was the day!

they title says it all! i finally did it...i've got my ticket back to portugal for the end of the week (in 2015 =P)
so after some research i found this surf school at main beach ( more or less in line with my house, a 20min bike ride) that hires surf boards for a reasonable price ($25 for 2 hours..believe me..that is fair in Australia)
so i got up early this morning and went to the beach at 8.30.. they hired me a softboard - an 7feet (2.10m) something made of this "soft" material..an ideal board to start!
so i jumped imediatly to the ocean!! the water was very good and the waves were very good to start...close to the beach and strong enough so i could easily get some speed after they break and ride just the "white" part ( that is the technical term!)
the hardest part was to paddle but i figure if iam just there to catch some waves i am going to be off the board and catch them when they are close!

i have to say i caught the movement pretty well and after 1hour i was catching waves easily...when i say catch..just standing up till the end! but it was lots of fun and a very good exercise!

i say i wasnt that bad humbly and it was not just me thinking that..there was this girl with a board from the same school and she asked me for how long was i surfing..i told her it was my first time..she: "what?? you are very good!"   true story!

after that i bought a board!! =)
during the week i was checking prices online for a 2nd hand board and there is a lot of offer...the thing is that for a beginners board is not that easy!
so i went to "Stuarts"..it is a surf school far away from the beach i was on and it took me awhile to find it..but it was recommended so got there.

As explained to me it is not easy to get a beginners 2nd hand  board because people usually dont sell them..because it was their first board and they sell to friends or pass through generations...the thing is that people are looking and it is very hard to find!
so for a very good price i got a "mini-mal" surf board. it is about 7feet and it is ideally for the first year of surfing!

there are basically surfboards and longboards..in the surfboard group there are malibu>minimal>funboard>fishboard (decreasing in size =P). So the minimals are ideally to start because are bigger and thick but will provide the possibility of turning and practice some manuovers! one of the good things of buying this board is that when i need to change for a smaller board i can sell that board to the same board and they will offer me almost $200 for it!! so i consider it a bargain!

oh and because i dont have a car and dont want to spend money in the bus ( also the bus doesnt go to that beach and just start at 7.30) i bought also a bicycle rack!

so now i can go wherever i want without spending any more money! the plan is going in the early morning..maybe 4 times a week if the body can handle!

before saying goodbye just a couple of pics from the Gold coast

at the office

now i am going to show you guys around... sometime soon i will upload more pics of this town..the beach..the marina
but first things first this is where i am working...where everything will happen! (hope so)..from where iam living now its less that 5min with my bike
and for the first in my life i have my own desk,my own personal phone and extension..

there are 6 other PhD students working in this room.. the access to the room is not made with a key

but with an electronic key! high tech aussies!

we have a small fridge in the room..so most of us take our lunches with us in the morning

i am getting used to the anglo-saxon lunch.. sandwiches and fruit! this avoids returning home for lunch   wasting time and that sleepy feeling after a harm meal!

another good thing is that there is no schedule and nobody is controling nobody.. so i usually start at 9am at leave at 5pm but it can be changed if i want too.

also my tutors office is in the same floor so if i need anything..i can just pop in!

inadapted

so the first ones need after arriving at a new country is how to get good and cheap food!
in the beginning is always a strange feeling not having idea where to get it..so i visited subway a couple of times and bought milk and bread for $6! but that was just in the first couple of days..
but even if i knew where a big supermarket was i needed a bike!
cash converters resolved the problem for $99.. 2nd hand bike..and in good condition. interesting fact in Australia is that cops really fine when a rider is not using an helmet..so i had to buy one as well.

after buying a camping bag..shopping starts being easy and not a concern! the only incognit now is where to buy the cheapest products.

oh and by the way i was watching in the news here that IKEA is ridiculously expensive in Australia...when i move out i hope i dont need to buy furniture!

day1

from the first day in Australia there is not much that can be said! the only interesting thing is that i was a zombie that day!
i toke a fast shower (yes mom and dad..i can do that!!) and run to uni to meet my supervisor and take care of papers and other stuff!
 - "simaio (i am tired of being called like a mayo brand...but i need to be patient..if a year in england taught me is that nobody but i mean nobody calls me a chicken! (ups wrong movie...2-0) ..ok..no english native speaker can say my name properly...i dont even try to teach the "ão" part..but even without that detail nobody say it right) you look tired? jet lag? (naaaahhhhh..no kiddin)

so had a subway sandwich and went to bed at 7..pm..and woke up the other day at 6..am..for my surprise the sun was high in the sky and i decided to take a walk

- Can you please shut up and tell us about Australia?

i know it took me 3 and 1/2 posts to start describing and adding pics but i appreciate your patience!

i left home with no map..i just decided to walk half an hour and then come back.
the first thing i noticed was that there was a lot of movement in the street although it was only 6.30...lots of cars around and people running or walking their dogs ( and saying goodmorning...). it was hot and humid again and i was very surprised with what i was seeing. i've never been in a country like australia..in a way it is similar to america..the streets are very large and no apartments around..only houses of medium quality with small gardens. but what surprised me was the trees! loads of "eucaliptos" ( i am tired of google translator) and  palm trees..the grass looks a little bit dried but it is everywhere. the vegetation is similar to florida if i can say that (never been there..just speculating from movies).other thing is the birds..lots of different birds making a huge noise!

here are some pics off my street...

yeah..that is a small pool..but just wait...

saturday i had an awesome day with Geoff and Elizabeth! the beaches are just amazing..42km of straight beach with lots of trees,grass and showers..
before going to the ocean Geoff told me that the water could be a little chill but during the summer it gets hotter..well it was more than good! the water was at an awesome temperature and very clean. from the beach it can be distinguished two different blue/green tones in the water...b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l

and..sorry

the trip

15 of November! 468euros..Etihad airline..
to describe all the trouble I had to be sure Etihad was recognized! (thank you cota Arrais!) just an advice..dont buy anything from Almeida Viagens..they will try to convince you that a company that charges half the price will leave you at an arab airport and you will have to leave the airport and have problems with the passport...(this is true!)

anyway at the 15 of November I left Lisbon..could I thank all my family ( all the people there were family ;) ) that went there to say goodbye? ( this also applies for the rest of you that didn't went there!)...i don't think so..

i had 33 hours of flight and airport changes in front of me!

Lisbon-Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi-Singapour-Brisbane
for the second flight was  was sitted next to me a nepalasian guy (have no idea if this is the way to describe a guy from nepal..) that lives in the base of the Himalaias..
and on the last plane an australian guy..travelling sick! poor dude..in the first meal he asked for a cup of water and spend like 30min just taking water out with his fingers and wetting his brow.. but he hold up although i have no idea if he got quarantined at brisbane airport!

the meals were alright (in the end you can recognized that smell..that very particular taste of airplane food) and the entertainment was top! every single passenger has a small screen in front with the "e-box". basically you can choose from like 20 recent movies, 20 old movies..lots of tv shows, radio, games- yeah games! and the best part is that you can choose whenever you want to start,pause,rewind,forward..etc! totally different from the system i knew when i went to the USA in 2003

trip advice #1: every company have their own way to deal with the luggage..for example TAP allows you only to check in a 23kg single bag - yes single! and they dont weight you hand luggage..with Etihad you can take the many bags you want but the total has to be the same 23kg and they weight your had luggage..a pain!
so family and friends that are planning to visit me: be carefull!

another advice #2 is to sleep! i could only do it for like 7 hours..and it is not enough|

#3 Frankfurt airport is freaking huge! i arrived on terminal A and had to go to terminal E..had to walk miles and take a transport to change terminals!

arriving in abu dhabi was also interesting! very dry...those arab villages...

some pics at abu dhabi:

so after 2 days ..and on the 17th of November at 9am (+10 GMT time) I arrived at brisbane international airport!

first australian land pic:

and brisbane airport..

so there I was! Australia! the first impressions are always the smell..i always will now for sure that i have landed in Faro airport. It smells like sugar...a sweet smell of fruit. Brisbane airport didnt had any specific smell it was not very hot but slightly humid. after a dog sniffed my bags i walked out of the airport not even knowing if there was anybody waiting for me. Griffith Uni has this service that for the first flight they will send someone to pick you up and leave you wherever you want! the problem is that i applied but i didnt had any email confirming that someone would be there. but there it was...a nice chinese lady with my name on it!

second unknown: i wasnt sure if the accomodation for which i applied had received the bond payment. i sent several emails but the manager didnt replied back. but when i got everything was ok! no bond was received but the manager was expecting me!

Jeovah Jira - God provides...

the morning before I left I was trying to find a passage in Isaiah that someone shared previously but my eyes were conducted to the chapter 41:

"I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. i will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"


 what can be bigger than this!

the beginning

so there i was in my house in Faro at the 4th of April looking for a jobs or PhDs positions at biomech ( the geek site for biomechanics!...with one of those forums: "oh i disagre with you..the center of mass bla bla bla.." lets skip this!)

so yeah..there i was an suddently i found this PhD position at Griffith Uni in the Gold Coast. As I never had heard of such a place I did what i always do: www.google.com....search images: gold coast

chin drop..and i laughed a little bit...LIKE IT!

read the project description..interesting..applied!

well the project supervisor replied really quickly and i was of course surprised. i had applied for several PhDs and almost every single one of them ended after the supervisors checked my CV...

so after several emails and reference letters i was pre-accepted! what?? can't be possible! too good to be possible!

but even better when in one email the supervisor told me: "just pray about it and God will show you what to do". oh you gotta be kidding me!!

then it came the skype interview. it was my first interview on skype so i was kind of worried. if i am not mistaken it was my second interview ever and it was on skype..always different of course. it was scheduelled for 3pm ..australian time! thank you very much! ...5am GMT time zone! "never mind..you can do that..just remember: what are your strong points and weaker ones.." they always ask for that so you better think about that before! i put on my best shirt and pants..woke up at 4.30am and there i was in front of the camera!
because another prof from Uni of Western Australia was on the conference as well there was no video! so i could have just been in my bed lying down!

well they enjoyed my voice and told me to apply! i had already applied for another PhD at Loughborough Uni and got accepted so when i finally applied i had two weeks to confirm the offer at LU or to reject. They told me it would take about 6-8 weeks to decide on my application so I just got on my knees!
and suddently an email from Lboro came: you have until monday to confirm your acceptance. This was the previous monday! I had applied to GU 2 weeks before...i email my supervisor: " i prefer to go there..if you are going to accept me..it has to be this week!"
wednesday...supervisor: " i just came from europe now and i will contact the head of the school"
thursday... supervisor: you got accepted! we just need to discuss the scholarship
friday... supervisor: you have a scholarship! it will pay the international fee ( 24 000 AUSdollars..glup!) and the salary!

THANK YOU GOD!

monday...simao to Lboro Uni: sorry i am going to the land of sun and surf!

oh and funny stuff..here is the description my supervisor made to the head of the school:

1)      Mr Simao Luz is an international student from Portugal 
2)      He has undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Technical University Lisbon 
3)      He is completing a masters of science in Sports Biomechanics at Loughborough University, UK 
4)      Loughborough University is one of the world leading universities in Sports and Exercise Science 
5)      Prof Lloyd can create a full living allowance scholarship from promised ½ GHI and ½ from his current grants, NIH, NHMRC and ARC LP. 
6)      Prof Lloyd needs to recruit suitably trained PhD students into his computational biomechanics research program to establish this at Griffith University. He has only one at the moment. 
7)      For Prof Lloyd’s computational biomechanics research, it highly desirable for PhD students to be trained  in engineering and biological sciences. This is only achieved in an undergraduate and postgraduate (Masters level) training. Mr Simao Luz has this training. 
8)      There is a distinct shortage of such trained students from Australia. 
9)      Simao has just been offered a PhD position at Loughborough University with scholarship, although I believe he would prefer to study for his PhD under Prof Lloyd at Griffith University. 
10)   Griffith University has to act fast to secure a funded PhD position Mr Simao Luz. 


need to be humble!

promo

so yeah...here I am! the start of an adventure! the beginning of something..the end of another!

i was never a blogging type of person..never had the time to read them and never imagine myself writing one!
but this I guess deserves it! this is a new and exciting period of my life and I have the need to share it with my friends and family ( so if you are here by mistake...well I don't care!)

in here i will post some news about my journey...share some funny stories (or some "dry" ones =P 1-0) and some pictures!
and why writing in english? just a way to have it read by my international friends..a good english writen practice and make my grandparents attend an english class! so be patient..i will not express myself properly and i will make alot of mistakes
so here I go! into the Australian territory! guided by faith...leaving everything behind..not looking back!