August 5, 2003 Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous!  The waters I saw were unreal!  I saw the bluest of waters, islands made 98% of sand dunes, whales the size of trucks... there were turtles that kept coming up to the surface of the water.  These turtles were massive, and I felt like I was in heaven =)  The whales kept coming closer and closer to our boat, and they did huge leaps for us in the water.  I felt like I was in seaworld! At Moreton Bay, the water was so clear and beautiful that I could make out the coral reef under it.

Moreton Bay, here I come...

I need to write in here about today, my first day of work.  My two bosses, R. and J. are incredibly caring and friendly.  I'm not working in Milton, but in Darra (which I'll get to by train).  This morning R. drove me to Darra, and on the way he asked me about 9/11 (what my views were and what the rxn was in the U.S.).  Nice convo.  At lunch time, R., J., and I went to this nursery place with a restaurant attached to it... very interesting.  R. made me order lemonade (and not pop, but real Australian lemonade!) and for lunch I had smoked salmon.  After lunch, J. took me around to the whole site and introduced me to like the whole QCL world!  He also showed me the chemical, concrete, and cement tests run.  He explained everything that QCL did and what I could do while I was there.

My work, QCL

My boss at work is so sweet!  He told me I could set my own times... that if 5 weeks worth of work took me a day to do it was fine... that I could check email anytime and "till my heart was content"... that I could take time off to travel... that obtaining experience wasn't just about work but also traveling and experiencing the places and people... that I had the choice to pick my own projects.  He also asked me if I needed any religious accommodations!  They've never asked me that in the states before.  Toward the end of the day, he took me to the train station and explained everything to me.  He asked me if I had found a mosque yet.  He seemed very well-versed in Islam too.  I was quite impressed.

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