Finding Nemo

I have just returned from five exhilirating, adventurous, slightly dangerous and tiring days in Cairns, in tropical North Queensland. I arrived on Monday morning, and was at the hostel by about ten a.m. After grabbing a delicious lunch in town, I went off to the Flecker Botanic Gardens, which had been on all the Cairns "must-see" lists I had looked at. The gardens were very pretty and compromised of mostly rainforest plants. After this, I began to walk around the boardwalk, which went through the rainforest, swamps, and mangroves. Throughout this walk, I really began to learn way more than expected about myself. It was a very strange experience walking through the rainforest alone, where you are the only person around, and the sounds of the various animals and insects are all around you. Since it was a new place, and I had no map, it was also a little nerve racking. It was amazing the comfort I felt when I saw any random person walking by, and as we would share a smile and a hello, I could tell that most of them were feeling the same way as me. After I made it to the other end, I was soaked with sweat. The one thing about the rainforest, is it is extremely hot. It was 100+ humidity. Later that day I went back to teh hostel, exhausted, but very pleased with my day. The next morning I woke early to go on a hike that had been recommended by a tour coordinator at the hostel. Once I found it, and got started, it was another completely new experience. After walking for about 1.5 hours uphill, I finally reached the top. It was absolutely beautiful, and looked out over Cairns, across to other mountains, and the water. I don't think I've ever been more excited to begin a descent down the mountain, but when I got to what I thought might be the bottom, it all of a sudden went up again. At this point, I was drenched, tired, but I knew I had to keep going. After a while, I realized something terrible. I was at the top again. I had gone in one big, sweaty loop. With the help of a local, I finally found my way off the mountain, and felt a great sense of accomplishment. It was one of the most physically demanding things I've done, if only for the heat, but it felt great to have done it after. Then with little time to spare, I was back at the hostel to get picked up for a horse ride through the rainforest, and outback.
I ended up being the only rider that day, which was excellent, so I didn't have to worry about others slowing me down, and the guide was very excited as well. As we wove through rainforest areas, swam on the horses through muddy streams, and passed giant termite mounds, I was having a great time. I rode for about 2.5 hours, and I am very glad I splurged and did it. I fell asleep early once again, after a very physically demanding day.
Wednesday was the day I had waited for...The Great Barrier Reef. I pre-booked a scuba dive, and once on board went to the training (since there is no need for certification there, as long as you are paying) When I went down on my first dive, it was a very strange sensation. The fact that I was staying under water and breathing, was quite eerie. Once you were under water, you had no idea you were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with nothing around you, and no experience. As I began to get comfortable, we swam around, seeing very big fish, see turtles, and of course, Nemo! Eventually, the air was coming to an end, so we went back up, and they asked if I wanted to buy a second dive--of course I said yes! The second dive was even better, I was much more comfortable, and we saw even more great things, including GIANT clams, and big string rays. I was hoping to see some of the "friendly sharks" but they were not around that day...Which I guess is a good thing.
The rest of the vacation was pretty relaxing, with another hike, a power hour at the favored local bar, and an afternoon by the towns large public lagoon. This afternoon, on the flight back to Sydney, it was interesting because I felt like I was coming home. Perhaps because I knew that I would be much more comfortable here, but it was a cool feeling to have Sydney be my current home.
This is the last weekend before classes start, and I am frantically trying to figure out everything, and get into classes I am not in yet. I hope to surf this weekend, and see some more things on my "Sydney's Top 25" which I am trying to complete as soon as possible, so I don't run out of time!

Until next time...Stay where you are Nemo!

Thoughts from Down Under-Part 1

I've decided that every Sunday I will write a little wrap up of the week, my thoughts, and general things in order to please Northeastern with my journal requirment. Since I've already stated my goals, in a previous post, I can officially say I have completed several. Goal#1-Complete. Learn to surf! Completed on Feb. 22nd at Manly Beach. Goal #2-In Progress. I have already spent a lot of time by myself, and it has been just like I thought it would be, which is very freeing. Goal #3-In Progress. I have played with kangaroos, giraffes, and just need to finish up with a koala or two. Goal #8-In Progress. I have wandered around the city, and spent two lazy days at the beach. Goal #12-Taronga Zoo-Completed. Goal #15-Complete so far! I am extremely surprised that I have not yet been homesick. I'm sure I will be at some point, but I am apparently still in the "Honeymoon Phase." Apparently next I will be in culture shock, complete with irritation and hostility...hmm...I can't see that happening at this point, but you never know. Then comes the gradual adjustment, followed by feeling at home. I'm wondering if it is possible to speed through all of these, because although I do miss home, I am really beginning to feel comfortable here. I am becoming acclamaited with the city, the climate (which was clearly extremely difficult...!!), and the people. Although whoever thought "Australian" is the same as "English" is seriously mistaken. Although we all speak basically the same language, I have had several encounters with the fast talking aussies whereihavenoideawhattheyaresaying.

Unlike a lot of people I didn't choose Australia for the comfort of knowing the "English" language. I've spent a lot of time trying to remember exactly why I chose this wonderful city. I had thought long and hard about going to either Spain or Costa Rica, or doing the semester at sea, but I somehow ended up halfway across the world, on some big, hot island. I think that there are various reasons I chose here--good science classes, beaches, warmth (although I am missing snow), and the ability to travel, but that the main reason was adventure. Being so far away, in a completely different place than the U.S. is a huge adventure. I love the outdoors, so I am able to spend time in the ocean, walking through the rainforest, hiking, skydiving, and generally just being outside. No matter the reason, I am extremely happy that I chose Sydney to study in.

I am also going to start a segment on lessons learned here in Oz. Here goes my first set:

#1. Do not try to make a kangaroo pose for a picture...It will punch you.
#2. Do not jaywalk. You will forget which side the cars are coming from, and you will get hit by a car.
#3. Do not tip. Just in general, it is considered rude.
#4. Do not expect that once you walk up about 100 stairs, while starving, to an observatory tower, on a hill, that there will be a cafe at the top and you will be able to eat. You will not find one. And you will need to walk back down.
#5. Do not walk home at 4:30 in the morning, from the bar. Just take a cab.
#6. Wear sunscreen. Do not expect that you will not burn with the spf 15 you brought from home, and applied a couple times per day. You need Aus spf 45, and it must be applied hourly. Or you will turn into a lobster.

That is all for this weeks update. I'm off to the Cairns (The Great Barrier Reef) tomorrow on a 7:10 am flight. I'll be back on Friday, and hopefully will have many new adventures to share!

MANLY...SURFING...!!!!

Today a group of us went to Manly Beach, and I finally completed a goal I've waited my whole life for-I SURFED!
A thirty minute ferry ride brought us to the north of Sydney and out to Manly Surfer's Beach. We left early, so arrived there around 10:30. The water was magnificent, clear blue, and a bit warmer than at Bondi. After laying out and swimming for a while, Brian rented a surf board and after he had been on it for a while, he taught me! I hopped on the board, and with a push from him, and some intense paddling from me, I was up on my first wave. It's safe to say I'm addicted. It is a very cool feeling to be up on the surf board riding the waves, and I can see why so many people do it all the time--I plan on that for the remainder of my time in Sydney. It is also an amazing workout, as I seemed to be using every muscle in my body. Tonight we are relaxing, because tomorrow 5 of us girls leave for Cairns! For those of you who don't know what is there, it is the Great Barrier Reef! It is a trip I've been wanting to go on for my entire life, so I'm very excited. There seem to be scattered thunderstorms for the week, but hopefully they will clear up for our cruise on Wednesday!

Wandering Around the City

Today was a great day, as I wandered around Sydney by myself, without much of a plan. I decided to take the bus to a destination called Miller's Point, of which I was not sure where it was. The 15 minute bus ride ended up taking me to The Rocks, a place which I have been wanting to go anyways. The Rocks' tagline is "A Story Around Every Corner," a tagline which I found to be very true. As I walked around, going down various alleys and twisting and turning streets, I kept ending up at various interesting places, such as Pylon's Lookout (which is under the Harbour bridge), The Rocks Discovery Museum, Sydney Observatory tower, and The Rocks Marketplace. Since it was a Saturday, the market was full of people and various booths filled with everything from food, to clothing, to various potpourri dried leaves representing different parts of Australia with each scent. It had been a cloudy day and soon started to rain, so I decided I needed to find a place with shelter for a while, so I found the Museum of Sydney. The museum was relatively small, but I learned even more about the roots of Sydney, and a lot about the building of this fantastic city, including a video from 1932, made right after the Harbour bridge was built. Eventually it became sunny, so I continued on my journey, and made my way to the Royal Botanic Gardens. The Gardens were immense, and breathtaking. A sign in the entrance says to "Please feel free to walk on the grass and stop and smell the roses" so I did just that. I went through the rose garden, stopping to take in the scents I have not smelled since the summer. Here they seemed to be even stronger. I then began taking various footpaths, ending up in different locations, including the pyramid tropical flower dome, a rainforest path, and an area with at least 1000 bats all sleeping upside down from the trees. It was one of the coolest things I've seen. Some of them were flying around and the screeching was extremely loud. I then began the walk to Mrs. Macquirie's chair, which I had earlier learned (at the Sydney Museum) was made for the Governers wife in 1810. It looks out over the Harbour, Fort Denison, and the pacific ocean. I then made my way over to the edge of Woolloomooloo, which I have been SO excited to get to (purely for the name) but only went to the edge of the neighborhood (I will be exploring it more thoroughly later.) I went to Hyde Park via the Sydney Hospital. The hospital was much different than any hospital I have seen in America. It is in a very old building, and did not seem to have much going on. I am hoping to explore inside at some point so I can thoroughly compare, and learn more about the differences in the health care system here. In Hyde Park I met up with Mike, a friend from Northeastern who is studying in Melbourne this semester. We wandered the streets, ending up at Darling Harbour where I got my first Australian pizza. It was, as expected, nothing like the pizza at home. We took the monorail around a bit of the city, but it did not provide the spectacular views I had hoped for, and seemed to be much more an actual mode of transportation, not so much for tourists. Later, we were wandering around the Harbour when a street performer began his act. It was one of the more entertaining things I've evern seen. We then walked back to Circular Quay and found a little bar, and hung out for a while until I had to head back for girls movie night. We went to see He's Just Not That Into You and it was excellent. Very funny and very entertaining. The movie theater was right next to Unilodge, and it was nice to be able to crash as soon as we got back!

Until next time..

Punched by a Kangaroo

My first week in Sydney is nearing an end, although it does not feel like I have only been here for six days. I am already in love with Sydney, and am having so much fun. I truly feel like I'm already growing, and learning to be out of constant communication with people from home is not as hard as I thought it would be. As much as I miss everyone, I am having a ton of fun, and I know that once I get back, everything will still be the same. Lately I am having a very hard time keeping track of the days. I know that today is Friday, but as I think about what to write, I can't quite differentiate the days clearly.

Wednesday, a small group of us began to really explore the city. It was supposed to rain that day, but we had a very pleasant surprise when we woke up to sunshine and heat. We walked through the streets all the way up to King St. and turned to find Darling Harbour. After that we continued walking until we reached the place we had all been waiting to find--Circular Quay. Once we arrived, the sight of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House was fantastic. The sun was bright, it was warm, and everything was amazing. We took one of our many photos we believe are perfect for MyNEU Photo of the Week!

You can look for us on there soon! That night we decided to take it easy, as we were all pretty exhausted from the day, and still quite jet lagged. There was a concert and BBQ on the roof top

On Thursday I woke up, like usual, at about 6am. But it was finally the day I'd been waiting for--my 21st Birthday!! A group of us left around 8:30 to head off to Bondi Beach, which was absolutely breathtaking.

It was a perfect hot day, and we all left with various parts of our body burned. The waves were immense. Because of the rip tide, there were only certain areas that were swimmable at any given time, and they were indicated by flags. The water was much colder than expected, but felt very good on such a hot day. After we had all had our fill, we went back to Unilodge to rest and get ready. We made homemade pizzas on pita bread that were delicious (I could easily eat them every day) and then the girls surprised me with a DIVINE chocolate cake! After then getting ready in a very sparkly outfit, we went upstairs to the other girls rooms, and they got me even more delicious chocolate cake! It was really fun, and meant a lot everyone was thinking of my birthday! After donning my princess birthday tiara, we left to go to an international welcome bar night. We stayed for a drink, and then went to the 3 Monkey's Pub. After a lot of dancing, we went to our favorite go-to spot-Scruffy Murphys. We partied until 4:30 in the morning...it was a birthday I won't soon forget.

Today was Zoo day. I have been looking forward to Taronga Zoo for as long as I can remember. Most of the Northeastern group went, but then I decided to go off on my own. As one of my goals in a previous post states, I really love doing things on my own. That way I can go at my own pace, see what I want to see, and not worry about anyone else. The ferry ride to the Zoo was great, with picture perfect scenes of the harbour. Once we arrived, we took a Sky Safari ride up to the main entrance, and then my journey began. I spent many hours walking around the various exhibits, and they were all great, but some definite highlights. Like when I was in the "Australian Walkabout" exhibit. You are supposed to stay on the path, but on my second time through, I was the only one in the whole area at first. So when I saw a kangaroo come close to the path, I decided to friend it--her name was Joanne (it wasn't until later, when I realized she was actually a he, but the name stuck).I pat her and it was so cool to be with a kangaroo. After a little bit, another person came into the area and I asked her to take a picture of myself and Joanne. When trying to put my arm around her, she punched me with her two arms! It did not hurt, because she was little, but definitely caught me by surprise--and also fit the exact thoughts I had about kangaroos--they can be very mean! We quickly made up, and spent the next 15 or 20 minutes sitting together. Later on at the Chimp exhibit, there was a very feisty little Chimp, who kept running up in front of me and kissing the glass with his face--one of the cutest things I have ever seen. My last big encounter was with a giraffe. There was no-one around (after 3:30 or so, the zoo seemed to be filled only with the animals and me) and the giraffe, Jim (I seem to like to name my animal pals) came right up to the edge of the exhibit. He was very close to arms reach, so I stepped into the forbidden zone, and pat him. He then proceeded to stick out his tongue at me for about 10 minutes--very adorable. Eventually, I realized I would have to leave the zoo, which I have come to love. As I waited for the boat to come, I walked around the area in front of the zoo. The views of the city were spectacular, and I know I will cherish those moments for the rest of my life. I found today, as I've always found, that the moments I seem to remember the most, are ones I spend by myself, completely in my surroundings. It is so freeing not to have to talk to anyone, or think about anyone else--freeing to be able to just be. On the boat ride back to Circular Quay, I decided to continue on the boat to Luna Park and onto Darling Harbour again. Although it meant more walking (and by this point my knee was excruciating) I was not about to let it stop me. I walked around Darling Harbour for a bit, and then headed back to Unilodge.

Since it is now Friday, the weekend is about to start, and I am looking forward to every single moment I have left of this trip. At this point I would like to thank Jess, for her very great words of wisdom--do not put anything off while you are abroad, it will be over before you know it. I have not taken these words lightly, and it has completely been important to think about. I don't want to waste a minute that I'm here, because there is so much I want to see and do before I leave.

Until next time!

Wait, Where Did Saturday Go?

Greetings from Australia! I've finally arrived, and now been here almost 24 hours! I have slept a total of 5 hours since Thursday night, so I'm feeling pretty tired. I might as well start at the beginning of the journey here.
I woke up Friday morning, and got to the airport at about 12:30. While I was holding up the moving sidewalk (since I was standing, and not walking--lazy, I know) I turned around and saw Laura! We checked in our bags, which were amazingly under the 5o pound each weight limit, and then went to get food with our families. After tearfilled goodbyes (on my mom's end), we boarded United flight 181 to San Francisco. As we were waiting, they told us we would have to make an emergency fuel stop in Minneapolis. Once we got on the plane, we were waiting for a while, and then the captain came on. "Ummm. There have been some problems with the plane...Uhhh. We hope to have them fixed, but everytime the mechanics find one problem, there seems to be another...ummmm." After that little message, we were not too keen on flying with this pilot. We finally left about an hour and a half late, and a few hours later, we were in Minnesota. This is when we realized it was Friday the 13th, so of course we wouldn't have good luck. Then while we were fueling up, the flight attendant came on the microphone, telling everyone to clear the aisle, so that the paramedic could come on. Turns out, the man across from us was having an allergic reaction to spinach. SPINACH! The item that was listed in the magazine as an ingredient of everything on board. Finally we took off again, and ten hours later we were in San Fransisco.
We only had about a half hour to spare before our next flight, so we got some food, and then stepped on our 14 hour flight. I slept for an hour after taking benadryl, but that was it. Finally, we arrived at 8am on Sunday, which spared us all Valentines day...Nice!
We eventually got to our new home--Unilodge. It's actually pretty nice, the downstairs is very hotel-y. Our room has a loft, which is supposed to hold our beds. But since getting up the spiral staircase is extremely painful for my knees, we decided to throw our mattresses down to the main floor. We have a tiny little bathroom, television (which plays about ten channels, but all of them are repeated about 3 times, so there is approximately 4 choices), desks, and a microwave.
Yesterday once we unpacked, we did a little shopping, got some food, and searched for a calling card. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they had them, so we gave up that search.
Last night, most of our group went out to find dinner, and get to know one another a bit. We ended up eating at a German restaurant, and Laura and I enjoyed a large piece of chicken schnitzel, and our first Aussie Beers! Once we got back to Unilodge we went to the roof, and realized how close we are to the CBD. It's really beautiful. Then after 4 hours of sleep, I'm up and off to orientation all day very shortly.

Until next time, mate!

Goals for my "GAA"

My best friend, Amanda, just shared with me a very interesting observation (via skype video chat--my name is kathryn_hayes ..add it!) When you write something down, it is much more likely to happen. She found this out, several times over, by that same practice-write it. Don't worry A, that's all I will share...! Since it worked for her, I figured out it might work for me. So in that spirit, and also so I can look back at what I was thinking about before I left for my Great Australian Adventure (GAA), I have decided to write out various goals of mine. Some may be literal, some more broad, but all are very important to me.

1. Learn to Surf--this includes being taught by a very attractive young aussie male.
2. Spend time by myself--not just sitting in a room alone, but wandering the city and areas by myself, and, at the risk of being extremely cheesy, finding out who I really am, and what I want.
3. Play with kangaroos, koalas, and various other Aus animals
4. Make friends from all over the world
5. Skydive
6. Learn how to be out of communication with the rest of the world--as much as I love everyone at home, and am going to miss them dearly, I want to not worry about staying in constant communication, but to truly just be where I am.
7. Relax--not just laying on the beach all the time (although I plan to do that...every weekend) but to relax my body, mind, and soul before I begin the rest of my life when I return home.
8. Soak in the Australian culture--wander around the city, spend lazy days at the beach, get to know Australians, etc. Basically, I can hang out with the NU crowd whenever I want to at home, so I really want to focus on being with the Australians too.
9. Share all these amazing experiences with Miss Laura Simons (http://lauraholmes11.blogspot.com/) and get her to eat VEGEMITE...It's really not THAT bad (thank you Ned!)
10. Unplug myself from most technology--not worry about watching any television shows, not going on the computer more than once or twice per week, and learn to live without a cell phone.
11. Dive the Great Barrier Reef
12. Various random Aussie things I want to do: Climb Sydney Harbour bridge; go to the opera at the opera house, see the real world house (is it still there??), go to the taronga zoo, relax at byron bay (with Ned), hike in the Blue Mountains, and go to Tasmania.
13. Visit NED in Melbourne
14. Have a fabulous trip to New Zealand
15. Not get homesick! I realize this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so lucky to get to go when I am young. So basically, have the BEST time of my life, without missing home.

So now my goals are set. I will refer back to them once I do them throughout the next 5 months. So before I go, my plan is to pack today (I've been trying since 9am...that is 5 hours ago), last physical therapy session tomorrow, birthday dinner with the jones' (my second family) hopefully tomorrow night, Wednesday- ski at Okemo, and go to china gourmet with dad, and then Thursday ski at Stratton with my mom and Lo. Thursday night is "the last supper" with my fam at Red Robin. YUM. and then Friday I fly out at 2:40!

Back to packing...

The Week Has Come

After many months of waiting for this week to come, it is finally here--the week I leave for Australia. I will be going to Sydney, NSW for 19 weeks. I still don't think I understand how long that is. For one, I will be missing the entire Spring season in the U.S. as I get back June 28th. I can honestly say, I have never been more excited in my life though. 19 weeks of "living the life," as everyone says. What is this life I will be living? I have no idea. But I will be finding out in a few short days. (the plane days will not be so short though...24+ hours. yikes!)

I have not quite started packing yet, another reason to begin this blog now--procrastination. I do have a list though, of course. My life seems to be made up of lists and 'to-dos'. After 4 years of NMH and 2 and a half years of intense college classes, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and committments, I am most excited to have some time to relax and stop worrying about everything. This new life I am creating will be made up of learning to surf, traveling, and hanging out with kangaroos, koalas, and crazy tropical fish.

This is my first blog, so it will take some getting used to on my part, but I look forward to being able to keep my family and friends at home updated on what I'm doing. I must go for now, as I still have plenty to get done at home before I leave (including two more days of skiing!) and packing of course.

Until next time--in AUSTRALIA!