Back Home in Texas

This trip has honestly been the trip of a lifetime, and I wouldn't trade any second I was given in Australia. The people I met and the friends I made will always be a major part of my life, and I can't wait to catch up with some of them very soon. Now that I am back in the states it has seemed pretty easy to readjust so far... except for the sleeping thing. Im tired every day around 5PM, but then by 11 I am wide awake. It will take some time, but for now I am just exhausted. I managed to get all of my laundry done today, and to be honest it hardly even looks like I left. Unfortunately, I am back in the real world, so it is time to finish my project and get my graduate school applications in. However, I almost wish every second I was back in Australia. I am still working on catching up on emails and with all of my family and friends, but I have been blessed to be able to share my experiences! Thank You all for following me this past month! I hope I have not been too detailed or too boring. See you when I start my next blog... maybe never :)

Sydney Day One

Unfortunately, our continental breakfast is scheduled for us, so we had no other choice than to get up by 8:30AM for breakfast, but I won't complain too much because it got us out of bed early enough to get our day started. We began by walking to Market City, which is a three story market and shopping center. Luckily, I didn't spend as much money as did at the market in Melbourne, but I did get a few things for myself today!

After spending a few hours at the markets we made our way back to the hostel to drop off the things we had bought and caught a free shuttle bus to the Sydney Harbor to see the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. It is absolutely incredible how many people there were on the Harbor pier today. everywhere you looked there was someone. Not only that, but there were artists and street performers lining the sidewalks. 

We finally got around to take pictures of the Opera House and the bridge, and without thinking about it we made plans to take the 5PM ferry across to Darling Harbour because it was a closer walk to our hostel. Once 5PM finally came around I came to the realization we would be sailing out during sunset, and needless to say it was absolutely gorgeous. I no longer want to come home... 

Although all my friends and family are in America, Australia will forever have my heart after tonight. Once we docked in the Harbor we made our way to get dinner and then back to the hostel to relax for a while. Since it was Alan's last night with us some of us went out for a few hours for a last hoorah. I am excited for another day in this beautiful city tomorrow, and since we have accuse to our kitchen in the hostel we are making a home cooked meal for dinner tomorrow night. Goodnight everyone! 

Goodbye Cairns, Hello Sydney

Today was a very depressing, but exciting day. When I woke up this morning I realized that many of the friends, and what I have considered to be my family for the past three weeks, had gone back to the states. On top of some leaving I also came to the realization that I would be leaving some of my closest friends in Cairns for a few more days. One of my favorite boys on the trip, Mark, left Macy and I a note under our door before he left, and we both almost cried while we were packing up our things to check out of the hotel. Once we checked out and stored our luggage we made our way down to breakfast and to the pier to walk around one last time in the gorgeous warm weather. Luckily, since it was Saturday there was a small market set up and a live band playing so we had plenty of entertainment for our last few hours in the sunshine. 

After a little bit of last minute shopping and some lunch we made our way back to the hotel to collect our belongings and head off to the airport. This was the final goodbye to Katie and Chelsey, which was VERY sad, but I was excited for the next journey of my trip. 

By the time we got to the airport we had just enough time to relax for five minutes, and then it was off on the gateway. To my surprise our flight was very nice including individual TV’s in the back of the seat. I was able to watch Mirror Mirror for the first time and it was a precious movie. No sooner than when my movie ended we were preparing for landing, so I opened the window shade and stared at all of the city lights. Unfortunately, Sydney is only in the 60's so it was back to the cold weather. Once we collected everyone in our group from the terminals we found a shuttle to take us to our hostel. I will say it's definitely not a five star hotel, but I have a warm place to sleep and shower so I am perfectly content. AND to be honest it might actually be better than the AIS in Canberra... other than the food. Once everybody got squared away we began our walk around the city. We made our first stop for dinner and then continued on to Darling Harbor. This Harbor is not the same one as the Opera House, but it is still very pretty at night, and lucky for us every Saturday night they have a fireworks show, so we got to see fireworks before the fourth!! Once we made our trip around the entire Harbor we began our slow walk back to our hostel for the night. Although I am already in love with Sydney, yes I will admit it, I am almost ready to come home. 

Last Night in Cairns

Today was my last full day with everyone in the study abroad group and it was kind of bittersweet. We woke up this morning and caught some taxi's to a local beach called Palm Cover where we took a one hour surf life saving course, which was very interesting and informative. We were split in two groups, but my group started on shore talking about the dangerous animals to be aware of in the water. The main one we discussed and got to see (dead and in a jar) was the box jellyfish. This animal is the most deadly animal in the world. One sting from this jellyfish will stop your heart in under 90 seconds. However, we were told that it is possible to survive from this type of sting if someone is able to give the victim CPR for up to fifteen minutes after the sting. For some reason after that amount of time the venom starts to leave the body, but that is not to say that the recovery process isn't slow and painful. Plus the victim will have visible and mental scars for the rest of their lives, many often not going anywhere near the water. The other major threat this beach has is crocodiles and sharks. The crocodiles fortunately only come every now and then and they are often trying to make their way to a new home up the closest river. Also, the sharks are only around in certain times of year. In order to make the beach safer for swimmers and tourists the lifeguards have placed a net around the perimeter to limit the amount of jellyfish and sharks, but they will still monitor it each day. After our quick talk about the animals to beware of in the water I was a little hesitant to go swimming, but it was now my turn to learn how to save someone who was drowning or in danger out in the water. With rafts that looked very similar to surf boards, but were much more sturdy and thicker we learned first how to paddle out into the water on our stomach and our knees. Although this seems fairly easy the mixture of balance and energy to move your arms makes it very tiring. After that we learned how to pick a victim up out of the water and get them back on the board, and then we practiced all of our newly discovered skills on our classmates. Overall this short course was very useful and one that i will never forget. Once all of our "hard" work was done we spent the rest of the day on the beach looking for shells, playing chicken in the water, and laying out. It was a very nice, relaxing, and fun day to be able to hang out with everyone one last time. We made it back to Cairns by about 4PM, and while some managed to do some last minute souvenir shopping before making our way in to get primped and polished for our last group dinner I went for a run with Mark. Our run was very nice and peaceful along the coastline of the lagoon. The last group dinner was at Outback Jacks where Mark decided it was a good idea to try the 2kg challenge, which was 1kg of steak and 1kg of veggies and potatoes. We were all pulling for Mark, but in the end it got the best of him, so we went for a quick walk to settle his stomach a little bit and them it was time to go out! Several members of the group were leaving for the airport at 3AM, so we figured why not spend the rest of their last night out and awake, so they could sleep away on the plane! The beginning of our last night was a little slow. Everyone seemed tired and sad, but after Macy and I found a pub crawl going on we decided to join, and the rest of the night was a success. It was very sad as people gradually left for the night to say goodbye, but eventually Macy and I made our way to bed and when we woke up...... all those who were leaving were gone.

Cairns Day 6

Today was a very long day. We had to be in the hotel lobby by 6:30AM, so we could catch our bus ride to the river for some white water rafting. I was very excited to go, but at the time all I wanted to do was sleep. After a quick pit stop at the headquarters we began our 2 hour journey to the Tully River. With about 30 minutes left we got our safety instructions along with what to do when we arrived at the river. Although it was a nice day outside, probably in the high 70's, the sun was hiding behind the clouds and the water was ice cold. However, we began our three hour journey down the river, and it was a blast!

I have never been more excited, scared, happy, and nervous in a three hour span as I was today. We went down so many rapids and under waterfalls, but on top of that the scenery was breathtaking and the air was so clean.

About halfway through we stopped for a quick BBQ lunch, tea, and coffee, which was a nice warm up. About an hour after lunch we made another quick pitstop at a very tall rock which we were able to jump off of. Since I had signed my life away on three out of the past four days I figured I might as well go for it. Once I jumped it seemed like a very long fall before I finally hit the freezing cold water.

Eventually however, we made it to the bottom of the river and began our two hour bus ride back to Cairns. As exciting and adventurous as the day was by the time we got back I was exhausted and ready for sleep, but after a quick power nap, and knowing I only had two more nights left with these amazing people I went out. This night out was probably the most fun I had the entire trip.

After a lot of singing and dancing some girls and I made our way back to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep before a long day at the beach tomorrow. I can't believe it is my last day of the trip already.... It feels like only yesterday that I was leaving LAX.

Cairns Day 5

Hello Everyone!

Im sorry I have been so behind, but there is just so much to do that I am constantly busy. Today we spent the day at Hutley's Crocodile Farm. It was very interesting and depressing to experience considering this farm raises crocodiles for harvesting their skins. We started our day at the crocodile farm with an exclusive tour of farm itself, and how they go about obtaining and raising the baby crocodiles. The guide showed us the hatchery as well as various tanks that they leave the crocodiles in to grow. These tanks are kept at specified temperatures and are pitch black to allow for optimal growth all year long. Once they are big enough they are kept in enclosures with a lot of others to continue to grow. The way the crocodiles were all packed in the enclosures was actually kind of gross.

After we got all of our questions answered our tour guide held a baby crocodile for us to touch the skin and take pictures with. It is amazing how different the top of the crocodile and its belly feel so different!  We also learned how much the value of a crocodile skin can change due to the amount of nicks and scratches it has on it, typically from being in the wild. 

Once we left the behind the scenes portion of the tour we were guided to the crocodile feeding. This farm has about 16 crocodiles within the man made lagoon that surrounds the facilities. Unlike humans crocodiles can go months without eating, but they get fed a little bit each day at this farm. After the feeding it was time for lunch and a short break before we took a boat tour through the lagoon. I was a little nervous especially when the boat driver explained the safety rules in case something happened to the boat out on the water. Don't worry we made it out safely! As soon as the boat tour was over we had the rest of the afternoon to explore the whole park. Lucky for me they had kangaroos and wallabies, which we got to pet and feed! It may have been the highlight of my day. I stayed there playing with them for a solid hour before moving on.

Right next to the kangaroos was a koala enclosure, but as cute as koalas are they are really no fun to watch considering they sleep for about 14 hours or more a day to digest the eucalyptus leaves. Once we all got bored staring at the sleeping koala we decided to watch the snake show. This show was very intriguing because although it was all about snakes it revolved more around how to avoid snake bites and what to do in case you do get attacked. However, the speaker was holding the most venomous snake in the world at one point. Im not a huge fan of snakes to begin with, so knowing how deadly this snake was made me move from the second row next to everybody to the second to last row.

Directly after the snake show was the crocodile attack show where a guide got a crocodile to simulate a n attack in real life. With this show he described ways to avoid crocodile attacks and also what to do if you get attacked although there is not much you can do. Watching these animals eat was rather repulsive.

The crocodile farm was a very interesting experience, and although it was fun I think if it would have been half a day instead of a whole day it would have made it that much more interesting. By the end of the day I was just laying in the sun reading my book. After a long day at the crocodile farm, and with an early morning tomorrow for white water rafting we found a nice place to enjoy dinner and then it was an early night to bed.

Second Free Day in Cairns

Hello Everyone!

Today is the day I got to cross another item off my bucket list, snorkeling and diving in the Great Barrier Reef. We had an early wake-up call this morning because we had to be at the pier and on the boat by 7:30AM.

There were thirteen of us who decided to go on this journey today, and it was probably the best choice for a free day. When we got to the boat they handed us some paperwork to fill out, some flippers, a snorkel and a mask, as well as a wet suit. Once everyone on the boat had their paperwork filled out we were free to set sail. As soon as we got underway we had a safety briefing about the boat like where the life vests were and what to do if you felt sick. This didn't take very long considering it was all common sense, and after it was done I made my way to the top deck of the boat to bathe in the sun for our first hour ride out to the reef. About thirty minutes in Lucy, one of the dive instructors, called everyone in for a meeting about the dive equipment, safety instructions, and various hand signals to use underwater. She also split us into groups of four which were our dive groups for the day. Luckily, I was with three other people from my study abroad group. Once we made it to our first dive location everyone began putting on the wetsuits and those who were not up to dive went snorkeling, and those who were up to dive got fitted with their weight belts and tanks. I was group number two and since there were two dive instructors I was one of the first groups to go. I got my weight belt and then went to go sit on the dive platform which was slightly submerged in water. While waiting to receive my tank I put on my flippers, and got my goggles prepared to put on. One trick most people don't know about snorkeling or diving is that it is best to spit in your goggles, swish it around, and then rinse them off before putting them on to prevent them from fogging. Apparently, your saliva has a natural enzyme in it to keep them from doing so. After I let me goggles soak in a little saliva I rinsed them off and made sure they were nice and secure. Then came my oxygen tank. I seriously underestimated how heavy one of those things can be!

Once everyone in my group was fitted and ready to go we flipped our way into the water, and held on to the boat with our faces in the water until we got accustomed to the unnatural feel of breathing underwater. After about five or so minutes Lucy took each of us down underwater one by one. No she didn't just let us roam free.... there were a few things she had to test us on first. As she brought us under there was a three step ladder attached to the boat and we held the bottom rung while we tested emptying our goggles of water, popping our ears, and reinserting our regulator in case it falls out of our mouths. I passed the test, and so did everyone else in my group, so we linked arms and went for our first dive in the Great Barrier Reef. Once Lucy felt that we were comfortable letting go of her we were free to swim within arms reach of anyone in our group and explore on our own. Lucy showed us some very cool thing underwater. I got to see some HUGE clams, and gorgeous fish. I finally got to see Marlin and baby Nemo up close and personal in their own habitat! I also got to touch the anemone, which felt VERY strange.

Just like with skydiving the other day I never realized how beautiful something like this could be. Sure you see it in pictures all the time, but be up close is a completely different story! Unfortunately, my time of diving was quickly over and I was taken back to the surface to remove my gear. While the other groups got their turn at diving the rest of us went out snorkeling on our own. Although I got to see a lot of really pretty coral and fish while snorkeling it was much harder because you were being tossed about by the waves. We spent a couple of hours in this first spot, but once it was time to pack up and eat lunch before we moved one of the lookouts blew there whistle signaling it was time to come in. During lunch we got to see some of the pictures taken by the professional photographer on board, which was fun to see. After lunch was all packed we began moving to our next diving location. According to the dive instructors and the marine biologist aboard there would be far more turtles and sharks in this portion of the reef than before. Once the boat was parked it was the same drill. I was in the second group to take another dive, but this time it was a little bit longer and a little bit more relaxed and free. This time I went down with pat and he showed us some very wonderful creatures. I got to hold a starfish, a sea cucumber, and see baby crabs no bigger than my thumb nail. Needless to say I enjoyed Pat's guiding much more than Lucy because he was ready and willing to help us explore. Unfortunately, as it got closer to the time to surface we still hadn't seen any turtles or sharks. I got out of the water, took of my scuba gear, and went plunging back in the water to snorkel. While I was snorkeling I was finally able to see a small shark swimming below me, and according to some of my other group members they were able to see a sea turtle. After packing up from this location it was time to head back to Cairns. It was a very bumpy and rocky ride back, but I just sat on the top deck with a book trying to ignore how much I was getting thrown about. By the time we docked and walked back to the hotel I was exhausted. It was time for a shower and to find some dinner before an early night to bed.