E-mail to Family January 10th 2010
I have to wake up at 7 to get ready to go to the airport. The bus for us is coming at 745 and the flight is at 10 am. Then get Brisbaine at about 12 and then an hour drive to Bond.
The Great Barrier Reef was AMAZING! I went scuba diving because they have a program where the instructors will take uncertified people down for a little while. I LOVED it. Got to see some Nemo's. We wore these blue wetsuits that made us look like huge smerfs but they protected us from the sum and jellyfish which are really prominent this time of year in Queensland and I didn't get stung yey! I felt like a penguin walking around on the deck trying to get over to where we jumped off from and me feet are sore from trying to flap them in the water the right way. You can tell dad that it was a big 90 ft. boat and I got to drive it for a little bit. Make him jealous :-). Since it was torrential down-pouring for about 12 hours strait yesterday and today the water was not as clear as apparently it can be but it is still the clearest water that I have ever swam in regardless. Also it ended up being a nice sunny day so I was happy for that. After the dive we went snorkeling and I felt like I drank about half the ocean. The water kept coming in the tube and I didn't like that part to much. I rented an underwater camera and it was completely worth it. I got some really great pictures and since I had so idea what type of fish I was looking at, I got a card that described all the species of fish in the Reef. I got to take it so I will give that to dad when I get home. Where we stopped was an bird sanctuary and a lot of people laid on the beach but I was to interested chasing fish around the reef to take there picture that I never made it to the beach. Dad would have really liked today with all the fish and the boat. I'm not sure what to call it but I'm sure that he would be able to tell me. I did have a motor and a sail though. There were these strange net things that people sat on and got waves crashed on them on the boat ride out there. I sat on them on the way back where I met a very nice New Zealand couple. The are 3 and 5 years older than me and just got engaged over here on vacation. I really liked talking to them and getting to know them. I learned a lot from them too. For example "choice" means cool and in New Zealand when you are coming off a buzz from alcohol it is "naked". I couldn't figure out what he said the first time lol. I think one of the biggest differences that we talked about was the schooling system. We had discussed it a little bit with Australean but here you can not go to college and get a good job. The woman that I met was out of school since she was 16 and had a good job. Also what would be a Community colleges to us are not looked down upon here. They are the specialized in certain trades which are valued by the job market which then makes the Universities are very highly looked upon. They also graduate high school when you are about 17. I got their information(like Granddad would have wanted) and maybe I can go visit them if I ever get to New Zealand. I am trying to put up pictures at the moment but they are on facebook so you might want to head up to Cort's if you can.
I will probably be on for about another hour. I hope that you get online so I can talk to you.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
E-mail to family January 8th 2010
Yesterday was the free day and I did the whitewater rafting. We went up into the mountains/ jungle and it was cool I had a good time. The day before we went to this place called Rainforeststation. They had Aboriginal people showing examples of some of their culture. So basically we watched them dance, played a diderdo (spelling?) threw a boomerang(was not successful) watched them throw spears. They also an animal part where there were kangeroos jumping around and we could hand feed them. Took a picture with a kola(still have to find it) and watched a HUGE crocodile eat a chicken. It is very very hot and HUMID. People have told me down by Bond is cooler. Hopefully they are right.
Today we are going to plant trees and help some type of bird but tomorrow is the Great Barrier Reef! They take take people to scuba dive even with out a certificate so I think that I will go for it.
Anyway, love you, time to go help some birds.
Yesterday was the free day and I did the whitewater rafting. We went up into the mountains/ jungle and it was cool I had a good time. The day before we went to this place called Rainforeststation. They had Aboriginal people showing examples of some of their culture. So basically we watched them dance, played a diderdo (spelling?) threw a boomerang(was not successful) watched them throw spears. They also an animal part where there were kangeroos jumping around and we could hand feed them. Took a picture with a kola(still have to find it) and watched a HUGE crocodile eat a chicken. It is very very hot and HUMID. People have told me down by Bond is cooler. Hopefully they are right.
Today we are going to plant trees and help some type of bird but tomorrow is the Great Barrier Reef! They take take people to scuba dive even with out a certificate so I think that I will go for it.
Anyway, love you, time to go help some birds.
Blog to friend January 9th 2010 11:23 a.m.
Well that sucks I thought that I was getting the right number. It’s so stressful trying to figure out the whole international calling thing. Although the person from Australearn did say that it would be a good idea for the people that you talk to the most to get a calling card. Anyway, I am at a hostel in Cairns and we have to pay for Internet so that is why I have not been on. Not to mention the fact that we have been getting up at like 6am every day, getting back at like 7pm and then I have either been tired and fell asleep, gotten sick or went out. It was nice to see that people still remember me lol. So now that I am logged off of the Internet and actually have some time to write I can give you the run down.
The flight was good. Very long. We had a good selection of movies and whatnot to watch. For dinner on the plane I had chicken with pasta and for breakfast some sort of quish thing. We got off the plane and it was like the blind leading the blind. No one knew where to go but we just tried to follow the signs. We got to the fist part of customs where we declared what we had just fine with the carry on and such. However we went to get our checked bags, which took a long time for mine to come out because apparently every 2nd person has a large red suitcase lol. Their real problem was when we went to the second part of customs. The line was freaking huge and by the time we got through it we had to run to the Quantas domestic desk and the plane was already boarding. The people were good at getting us as quickly as possible and after a little running we made the plane on time. The last flight was about 2 hours and we watched All About Steve which I saw in theaters and didn’t really like all that much but figured what the hell. I originally had an isle seat and ended up switching with someone because they wanted to sit on the isle to talk to their friend and thank god we switched because the view out the window was amazing. We flew over the Great Barrier Reef and the coast, which was breathtaking. As we were landing I began to realize that there were mountains along the coast that came to meet the water. It is amazing and beautiful.
So the first impression of Australia was HOT. We got out of the terminal and to get to our luggage we had to walk outside. Awesome. I was sweating the moment I walked outside. We went to get our luggage only to discover that because we had gotten to the plane so late they would be late as well. This ended up being about 100 of the 150 of us. But the luggage came later that day so all was well.
After filling out claim forms for the luggage we took a chartered bus to the hostel. The place we are staying is very nice despite the fact that I have to share it with 5 other people that have exploded suitcases. There is a salt-water pool, palm trees a bar and AIRRRRRRR.
We had a bbq later on in the day, a welcome session and dinner. I split a pitcher of beer with someone that I had meet earlier that day and had fish and chips. I ended up almost falling asleep with dinner and falling asleep on the way back to the hostel.
The first day I surprisingly didn’t have that much trouble waking up. We woke up around 7am or so and headed of to an actual hotel where we ate breakfast and had meetings through out orientation. Breakfast was interesting. I tried vegemite which is yeast left over from making beer and is apparently like peanut butter over here. I will NEVER try it again. After a session with our leaders about Australia we went to a place called Rainforeststaion. It is something like a Aboriginal theme park. They took us around played a didgeridoo, showed us some examples of weaponry and threw a boomerang. We got to try and I was not successful. However, one of our leaders picked up a green ant that collects sugar and tastes like a sour warhead. Guess what. It does ☺ We watched a Aboriginal dance as well. Then we took a ride on one of the land and water vehicles and the guide showed us some dangerous plants like one that draws silica out of the ground as it is growing and then when someone walks but it, it will get into their skin and burn and itch for up to 6 months. I think my favorite part was when the guide shut off the engine and hopped on the hood of the vehicle and was just casually showing us a native plant. Then we ran into a parrot that talked to us and took our pictures with kolas. They are very cute. We saw lots of kangaroos that ate out of our hands and hopped around the park. Also we watched a HUGE saltwater crocodile eat his lunch of a dead chicken on a pole. Also we were the first ones to see a pregnant Koloa that when the baby is born will be adopted by Australean. That night when we got back some girls and I went out by the pool. I started to feel nauseous and went to go take a shower to wash of the sweat. However it was one of those you just know moments and I was sick for the rest of the night. I felt 100x’s better when I woke up in the morning. Which was good because it was our free day. I chose to book a white water rafting trip through Australearn. One of the girls that is in my room was also on the trip and thank god she was because her friend came by knocking on the door at about 6am saying that the bus was going to pick us up in about a half hour. Seeing that I didn’t call to confirm because I was sick I was very thankful that he did come by. I woke up my roommate and grabbed all that I thought I needed and ran out the door. I made it and so did she. It was long trip away from Cairns and towards the river. We passed a lot of sugar cane fields and banana fields. I didn’t care that it was a long ride because I just stared out the window the entire time. WE got to a transfer point and we got some safety information and I had to end up renting water shoes. Oh well. I also had the best chocolate chip muffin that I have ever had and pineapple and orange juice. It was another longish trip up to the actual river but again I didn’t care because I was staring at the jungle scenery. WE got to the river and brought everything down and of course I fell on a rock. Anyway we had a great day on the river and I ended up in a raft with some other people from Australearn and I bonded with them, which was nice. We didn’t fall out and didn’t tip over either. I jumped off a rock and hurt my neck I am still waiting for it go away. I also went out to a bar with the two girls that I bonded with on the raft. It was interesting.
Today we went back up into the rainforest and did some community service and potted native plants and planted trees.
We had another session at the hotel downtown and had some time before the bus came after the meeting so we went to go grab food after waiting for a while we ran through the torrential rain that started when we were waiting for our food to catch the bus. It has been down pouring for about 4 hours strait and I’m pretty sure that I have never seen rain this hard and long before.
Anyway that pretty much brings everything up to speed.
Well that sucks I thought that I was getting the right number. It’s so stressful trying to figure out the whole international calling thing. Although the person from Australearn did say that it would be a good idea for the people that you talk to the most to get a calling card. Anyway, I am at a hostel in Cairns and we have to pay for Internet so that is why I have not been on. Not to mention the fact that we have been getting up at like 6am every day, getting back at like 7pm and then I have either been tired and fell asleep, gotten sick or went out. It was nice to see that people still remember me lol. So now that I am logged off of the Internet and actually have some time to write I can give you the run down.
The flight was good. Very long. We had a good selection of movies and whatnot to watch. For dinner on the plane I had chicken with pasta and for breakfast some sort of quish thing. We got off the plane and it was like the blind leading the blind. No one knew where to go but we just tried to follow the signs. We got to the fist part of customs where we declared what we had just fine with the carry on and such. However we went to get our checked bags, which took a long time for mine to come out because apparently every 2nd person has a large red suitcase lol. Their real problem was when we went to the second part of customs. The line was freaking huge and by the time we got through it we had to run to the Quantas domestic desk and the plane was already boarding. The people were good at getting us as quickly as possible and after a little running we made the plane on time. The last flight was about 2 hours and we watched All About Steve which I saw in theaters and didn’t really like all that much but figured what the hell. I originally had an isle seat and ended up switching with someone because they wanted to sit on the isle to talk to their friend and thank god we switched because the view out the window was amazing. We flew over the Great Barrier Reef and the coast, which was breathtaking. As we were landing I began to realize that there were mountains along the coast that came to meet the water. It is amazing and beautiful.
So the first impression of Australia was HOT. We got out of the terminal and to get to our luggage we had to walk outside. Awesome. I was sweating the moment I walked outside. We went to get our luggage only to discover that because we had gotten to the plane so late they would be late as well. This ended up being about 100 of the 150 of us. But the luggage came later that day so all was well.
After filling out claim forms for the luggage we took a chartered bus to the hostel. The place we are staying is very nice despite the fact that I have to share it with 5 other people that have exploded suitcases. There is a salt-water pool, palm trees a bar and AIRRRRRRR.
We had a bbq later on in the day, a welcome session and dinner. I split a pitcher of beer with someone that I had meet earlier that day and had fish and chips. I ended up almost falling asleep with dinner and falling asleep on the way back to the hostel.
The first day I surprisingly didn’t have that much trouble waking up. We woke up around 7am or so and headed of to an actual hotel where we ate breakfast and had meetings through out orientation. Breakfast was interesting. I tried vegemite which is yeast left over from making beer and is apparently like peanut butter over here. I will NEVER try it again. After a session with our leaders about Australia we went to a place called Rainforeststaion. It is something like a Aboriginal theme park. They took us around played a didgeridoo, showed us some examples of weaponry and threw a boomerang. We got to try and I was not successful. However, one of our leaders picked up a green ant that collects sugar and tastes like a sour warhead. Guess what. It does ☺ We watched a Aboriginal dance as well. Then we took a ride on one of the land and water vehicles and the guide showed us some dangerous plants like one that draws silica out of the ground as it is growing and then when someone walks but it, it will get into their skin and burn and itch for up to 6 months. I think my favorite part was when the guide shut off the engine and hopped on the hood of the vehicle and was just casually showing us a native plant. Then we ran into a parrot that talked to us and took our pictures with kolas. They are very cute. We saw lots of kangaroos that ate out of our hands and hopped around the park. Also we watched a HUGE saltwater crocodile eat his lunch of a dead chicken on a pole. Also we were the first ones to see a pregnant Koloa that when the baby is born will be adopted by Australean. That night when we got back some girls and I went out by the pool. I started to feel nauseous and went to go take a shower to wash of the sweat. However it was one of those you just know moments and I was sick for the rest of the night. I felt 100x’s better when I woke up in the morning. Which was good because it was our free day. I chose to book a white water rafting trip through Australearn. One of the girls that is in my room was also on the trip and thank god she was because her friend came by knocking on the door at about 6am saying that the bus was going to pick us up in about a half hour. Seeing that I didn’t call to confirm because I was sick I was very thankful that he did come by. I woke up my roommate and grabbed all that I thought I needed and ran out the door. I made it and so did she. It was long trip away from Cairns and towards the river. We passed a lot of sugar cane fields and banana fields. I didn’t care that it was a long ride because I just stared out the window the entire time. WE got to a transfer point and we got some safety information and I had to end up renting water shoes. Oh well. I also had the best chocolate chip muffin that I have ever had and pineapple and orange juice. It was another longish trip up to the actual river but again I didn’t care because I was staring at the jungle scenery. WE got to the river and brought everything down and of course I fell on a rock. Anyway we had a great day on the river and I ended up in a raft with some other people from Australearn and I bonded with them, which was nice. We didn’t fall out and didn’t tip over either. I jumped off a rock and hurt my neck I am still waiting for it go away. I also went out to a bar with the two girls that I bonded with on the raft. It was interesting.
Today we went back up into the rainforest and did some community service and potted native plants and planted trees.
We had another session at the hotel downtown and had some time before the bus came after the meeting so we went to go grab food after waiting for a while we ran through the torrential rain that started when we were waiting for our food to catch the bus. It has been down pouring for about 4 hours strait and I’m pretty sure that I have never seen rain this hard and long before.
Anyway that pretty much brings everything up to speed.
Australia Day 11
Been in Australia for a while now. Currently at Bond University in my dorm that is set up like a hotel room. Watching Americans get burnt to a crisp beside the pool from outside my window. I might join them in a bit :-)
I hung out with my Bond Mate today. He was very nice and showed me around the Gold Cost. I feel like I know the area a little better now and confidant to go venturing out.
The following posts are e-mails that I sent to friends and family during orientation in Cairns Australia.
January 8th 2010 at 10:40 p.m. E-mail to friend.
Flight was LONNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. Good movies though. Didn't sleep as much as I wanted to though so I was dead tired by the time we got here and were trying to get used to the time difference. It is very hot and humid here but the scenery is amazing. Where we are, on one side is ocean and the other sides mountains. I pet a kangaroo and held a kola. We are staying in a hostel type place but besides being 6 people to a room it is nice. I think that you would like it here besides for the really hot part :-) I will let you know in a couple of days about the flight stuff. Everything is everywhere and bad news for trying to find stuff lol.
ttyl
I hung out with my Bond Mate today. He was very nice and showed me around the Gold Cost. I feel like I know the area a little better now and confidant to go venturing out.
The following posts are e-mails that I sent to friends and family during orientation in Cairns Australia.
January 8th 2010 at 10:40 p.m. E-mail to friend.
Flight was LONNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. Good movies though. Didn't sleep as much as I wanted to though so I was dead tired by the time we got here and were trying to get used to the time difference. It is very hot and humid here but the scenery is amazing. Where we are, on one side is ocean and the other sides mountains. I pet a kangaroo and held a kola. We are staying in a hostel type place but besides being 6 people to a room it is nice. I think that you would like it here besides for the really hot part :-) I will let you know in a couple of days about the flight stuff. Everything is everywhere and bad news for trying to find stuff lol.
ttyl
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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