Business: Travel: Fitness
Hey everyone!
Its been a long time since I posted! A lot has happened since my last post, so read on to learn more.
First off, I hope everyone has continued to follow your dreams and do things that you’re passionate about! Never be willing to give in and take the easy way out. Keep the Rise and Grind mentality towards what you want to do and I guarantee you will live a happy and successful life.
Business & Travel: (Australia)
My motto “Rise and Grind” was in full display while in Australia. Working everyday from about 8:30am-6:00pm, combined with exploring the Melbourne and the rest of Australia at night or on the weekends.
I was in Australia for 4 weeks interning with Ernst and Young, in their Melbourne office. It has been an incredible experience and was literally one of the coolest places I have ever been to. In Melbourne, I was put into the FSO assurance practice, where I would be helping engagement teams on year end financial statements for financial service companies. I was on two different clients during my time in Australia. The first was a major stockbroking firm in Melbourne, and the second one was the Treasury for the state of Victoria, which is the state Melbourne is located in.
I went to Australia as part of the GSE (Global Student Experience) program. The program took around 75 total interns from across the world and sent them to various countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, England, and Germany. In Melbourne, there was a total of 11 of us including people from Atlanta, NYC, Dallas, and more. (Shoutout to the boyz crew Dylan, Seth and Ryan). We were set up with nice accommodations near the office and right in the heart of the city. As part of the Global Student Experience Program, I was assigned a “buddy” and his name was Stuart. I was with Stuart every single day I was in Australia and I can’t thank him enough for all his help and willingness to give me tasks and answer my constant plethora of questions I had.
Excursions in Australia
Weekend 1:
- Yarra Valley Wine Tour: My first wine tour. I don’t like particularly like wine and this tour didn’t change that lol. However, the vineyards we went to and the mountain scenery were breathtaking.
- Great Ocean Road Tour: This tour is probably the second-best thing I did while in Australia. A full day car tour with multiple stops at various lookouts and beaches on Australia’s coast. Before coming to Australia, I had no idea how beautiful the country actually was. Australia truly has it all… from beaches to rainforests, to desert.
Weekend 2:
- AFL Footy Game: AFL to Australians is like NFL to Americans. AFL especially in Melbourne, is the talk of the town. AFL or “footy” is a cross between soccer and football. There is a total of like 36 guys on the field at one time and the field is oval shaped and about the size of three football fields put together. Its difficult to explain, I would suggest watching a YouTube video or googling it instead of listening to me try and explain it.
Weekend 3:
- Great Barrier Reef: The number one thing I did/saw in Australia. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. The squad and I did a day trip out to the Agincourt Ribbon reef, stopping at 3 different locations. I ended up snorkeling and had such a great time. The reef is truly breathtaking and beautiful. Seeing if firsthand it is really like what you see in pictures and in the movies.
Random Australian tid-bits I took away:
Aussie Slang: Using Aussie slang become a way of life for us. Not only embracing it but literally saying “cheers” 100 times a day for no reason became the norm in the group of interns. Here are some key slang terms that you need to pick up on: cheers, mate, keen, reckon, avo, to easy, no worries, zed, brekky, Brizzy, Melbs.
Food: Meat pies. Kangaroo. There wasn’t really one particular dish that you could consider Australian. In Melbourne there was all types of really good food to eat. A big one was Chinese food as Australia is pretty close to Asia.
Social Life: Australians value social life way more than in the United States. The people were very friendly and value relationships and getting to know one another on a personal level.
Work: Worked everyday from about 830-530. Coffee breaks, good atmosphere. Less hierarchical. Work-life balance is actually a thing in Australia and not just a buzz word that floats around every U.S job. Very friendly and value relationships.
Random: Australians don’t really like Americans a whole lot. They think we are stuck up and cocky. You can’t blame them. After a few interactions with someone though, they tend to lighten up. Also, Shrimp on Barbie isn’t a really thing. They don’t say Shrimp on Barbie and they call the shrimp “prawns”. Lastly, OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE is not Aussie lol. They hate that this restaurant tries to perpetrate them.
Fitness:
Currently still holding on for dear life trying to train for a marathon. I could probably squeak by doing a half marathon right now. I am also still trying to maintain as much muscle mass and strength as I can. When you do excessive cardio like running, you tend to lose muscle since your body is using so much energy. Also, having tons of muscle on your body and running long distances isn’t exactly ideal. However, I am determined to become a “hybrid athlete”, meaning I can run long distance and still be beast in the gym.
BIG Plans for the Future:
I have some big stuff coming up. I went down to Disney in Orlando for a couple days after Australia for the international intern leadership conference. I will talk more about this in my next blog post.
I head to Detroit from Aug 3-6 for State-wars, which is a nationwide roller hockey trounament. I am really looking forward to this as I love roller hockey and haven’t played in this tournament since I was like 13 years old.
I head to South Africa on Aug 8 to visit my girlfriend Dana, who just started working their as part of her graduate school public health studies.
FINALLY, I will be starting a separate YouTube channel at the end of August, where I will be vloging my life and documenting my graduate studies, CPA exam progress, and work out life. This will also be a platform for me to launch into setting aside time to start doing online coaching and obtaining my personal training certification!
Remember: Rise and Grind!
-Brett Skibba
Business: Travel: Fitness.
Brett Skibba Business: Travel: Fitness 