Arrival Down Under Feb '09

G'Day! I finally made it to the land down under, the beautiful Queensland, Australia! Travel was a bit of a task seeing that my carry on was more the size of a checked bag and ended up costing me $106 USD to get to my destination. Walking through the airports with 5 months of luggage is not a fun thing, I can tell you that much. Through the delays and mishaps, I made it here all in one piece and as happy as I could ever be.

It all started when we arrived there Monday morning Australia time and got to our appropriate hostel. We spent three days in Cairns for our Program Introduction through Australearn. We had leaders that helped us with the transition and they gave us heaps of useful information. Anywho, we all filed into our rooms and settled in for the next few nights.

We got up early the next morning and went to a place called Rainforestation which was a wildlife park with all the indigenous Australian animals/plants. We got to hold a koala bear and feed kangaroos and wallabees. There were crocodiles, dingos, rainforest, and boomerang throwing of course! There was much to see in so little time. On Wednesday we went to the long awaited destination-the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). I am going to have a hard time describing what it was like to people who have never dove before, but basically it was better than the best playground you have ever seen. So many things to see and watch, it was just incredible. The pictures to the right are from the boat trip and we had a blast! We had to wear the stinger suits because jellies are a huge problem in Northern Australia. They have the kind that will kill you if you aren't careful, it's nothing to mess around with. I took plenty of pictures that I hope to upload soon and I can't wait for you all to see them!

We departed the next day to make our 4 hour bus journey to our campus in Townsville, QLD. When we arrived, we were escorted to our rooms by our R.A.s and then we toured the campus to see what was around. I am at James Cook University and the campus is fairly large. It is going to be a good 10-15 walk to class every morning but I am okay with it. I have wallabees on my campus!! Getting around is either by bus or taxi which is different from what I am used to. Culture shock hasn't really hit me because everyone is super nice here and they make you feel at home. They love to make fun of Americans because they love us so much, it's the truth. I have a new room mate and his name is Jason. I am living in a shared apartment with two other people and we each have our own rooms. He is from around here and I can't wait to learn more about the area and what he does at JCU. He has already taught me a little bit about cricket and rugby! There should be a girl moving in soon and I cannot wait to meet her! That is about all I can think to say right now. This is a rough post I know, but I am working to improve my writing. I am rushing to get this out as it is. Love you all. Til next time.