Life Across the World

Well here I am. It seems like so long ago since I left Chicago but it hasn't even been two weeks and I have already done so much! Even before getting on the plane to Australia I had a full day out and about in LA- breaking up my 8 hr lay over spending the day with Matthew Perrye. It was great to see him and I had a great time walking around LA, good practice of the culture shock to come [a dog sat under my chair because of course pets are allowed to be brought to restaurnts there]. So after my quick tour of LA it was time to be on my way across the world. Just a simple 2 day plane ride away and the whole abroad thing is actually real. And yes- when I say simple...it actually was. Minus the whole 2 am debacle of finding out that one group flight everyone had been expecting was actually two completely separate itineriaries, when you are able to sleep 13 hrs of the 15 hr flight the word simple really works [I was almost upset I didnt get a full movie in!!]. There were so many choices of movies and a full menu of meals had I not have slept through the entire plane ride it may have actually been a pleasant experience- guess I will have a trip home to try again.

Finally the two group flights were actually reunited when we arrived in Cairns for our AustraLearn orientation. We got to our hostel and were assigned rooms, had a major workout as we had to drag all our luggage up 6 flights of stairs, and awesome looks on our faces as we saw the room 6 of us had to be sharing for the next week with our 5 months worth of luggage [yes of course my room was the smallest of the groups!] From there on the orientation was pretty scheduled with early early morning activities starting every day at 6:30 to keep us from actually feeling jet lagged.

1. Rainforestation. Here we got to hold koalas [my new pet], snakes, and feed kangaroos and wallabies. We also watched crocodiles be fed, saw aborgines dance and throw spears, and were taught to play a didgeridoo and throw a boomerang [i think the aborignes were impressed with my athletic abilities!]. The day also included a duck tour around the rainforest which was very pretty, as well as lunch which was what else but chinese food- something that we were noticing to be in every other restaurant in cairns.


2. "Free Day". Rachel and I spent this day white water rafting on the tully river. Our group was the two of us, 3 australians, and a couple from holland, an overall very interesting cultural blend of people. The trip was fun and tiring and horrifying. Considering my fear of splashing water and smashing into rocks, this trip more or less challenged all of them. It wasn't even the rapids that were scary, in fact I think the rapids on our camp trip were more thrilling, but on this trip they were crazy about additional "thrills" in the river like going down the river out of the raft, or jumping off cliffs. All things that I found more or less terrifying but refused to let myself sit anything else when I had come all the way across the world. Crazy things just seem to be part of the culture here? I guess how could they not be when the overall theme is "no worries!".


3. Community service day. Here we went into the rainforest and helped plant trees that provide food for a type of bird that is going extinct in the rain forest. It was a change of pace to be out of the tourist locations we had been visiting and go more locally to an area that needed help. Later that day we were also given a chance to finally explore the city a little more on our own which was nice as we had yet to see much of Cairns in the daylight. A group of us went out for gelato to cool down and explored the shops in the town center. A band was playing music and people were just dancing in the street, making us very late for our next orientation meeting- oops!


4. Great Barrier Reef. This was the last and most anticipated part of the trip. The day consisted of a boat ride out to the reef and snorkeling. There was also an option to scuba but i opted out after my several near drowning experiences snorkeling. It had started off a beautiful day like every single other day of our trip. But of course two hours out in the middle of the ocean it started pouring. At first we thought this was awesome and refreshing to finally feel something other than sweat but soon we were freezing- something none of us had been in weeks. I clearly managed to both face plant slipping on the wet boat and give myself a masssive bruise on my leg and get a horrrible sunburn. I'm not sure how much that trip made me appreciate the great barrier reef but it definately made me appreciate the ozone layer more. I am now an official tree hugger [I have my green shopping bags and everything!!- although here you have to or they make you buy one anyways?!...don't they know its a little too late?!]

So that is about as abbreviated a version of orientation I can give without cutting too much out. The next day was finally time to go to the gold coast- something everyone on the trip was very very ready for by the end of the week after living out of our bags. So everyone boarded the group flight [aka two separate planes] and we were finally headed to griffith university.

Yup- so clearly that all worked out well....because here I am! Coming to you live [and a little delirious] from Griffith University Village's internet. Here I am living in a 5 bedroom/ 2 bathroom apartment with 3 girls, 2 guys, all americans and from different programs. The place is really nice [minus the fact that my bed feels like paper] and I am meeting a ton of new people during the complex's "O Week", essentially an exaggerated version of Madison Welcome Week, which has been great to help settling in as they have been offering a ton of free food and activities every night, even include free transportation to Surfer's Paradise. And going to Surfer's Paradise is something I am always interested in getting to, free or not free. I have now been twice, once during the day and once at night and I am officially obsessed. This is the beach downtown area and it is so beautiful and has so much going on all at once there is literally something for everyone. Good thing I am already an experienced bus master.

Other than buses around here everything is a pretty far walk- again making my "green" grocery bags very handy. Today I even had to bring my weekend duffle bag out with me just to help carry things in walking back from the bus on one of our many shopping endeavours. Rachel and I have already walked to the grocery store area more times than I want to admit in our 2 days here and I never wish to enter that store again. I think the grocery store experience was the first time it truly hit me that I was in a foreign country. Each aisle I walked down they had less and less of the food I was looking for, starting with things I thought was simple like miniature produce- something that would have been handy when my kitchen that comes with silverware came with nothing sharper than a butter knife. Then there is the realization that most things I eat require a toaster, another thing not provided for me [although something I have since purchased so hopefully this will help my next excursion]. And then as if the lack of all things you are looking for is not enough, you are constantly walking on the wrong side of the aisle. On the streets I can remember, walking across the street I have mastered which way to look, put a shopping cart in front of me though and I was lost as could be. But we did make it out alive and with no tears and I am being convinced to go back tomorrow so hopefully tomorrows trip will be a more positive experience.

Ok well I think I have rambled plenty for my first post. If anyone can tell me 5 fun facts of something I said to prove they read the whole thing they may even get a prize?! Who knows I am turning into a crazy Aussie these days- in which case...if you didn't read it and just scrolled to the end...NO WORRIES MATE!