Week 7




(long ligaments ended
 up being handy
 while rock climbing,
and my clumsy self
 only managed to scrape
 one knee!)

This entire week I felt like I was still on the boat. I've also been severely lethargic, reminiscent of sophomore year when I thought I had mono. One of the girls here gave me a pill and the next day I felt 100 times better, if anything just a bit more wired, which is amazing considering I had lacked energy to even stay focused facebooking. I went for a run, did the work I had failed to do during the week, then went to class early.


Today I woke up at 6 A.M. and got onto a bus with Bond's Exploration Society to Mt Ngungun. We were going Rock Climbing and Abseiling in the Glasshouse Mountains. They are named that due to Cook's, one of Australia's premier explorer's, revelation that the mountains, while sailing past, reminded him of the glasshouses in England. I went climbing with Shauna, Libby, and Marisa, it was great because one could climb, one would belay, one would stand as back up, and the other would be the photog! I belayed for Shauna, who stated before she started up: "don't drop me or I'll kill you."  Marisa belayed for me, and helped me all the way up to the top! I can sometimes become scared of heights, like psyched out, but faced with a challenge of reaching the top, my natural competitive spirit was brought out and up I went! The only slight fear I felt was when I looked down while climbing, I loved looking out and across the mountain, it was such a surreal view; however, looking down made me queasy for all of two seconds. We all made it to the top, our groups claim to fame!

Today I've been in the lib and running around getting photos printed. I am a 6th of the way done with my history paper, obviously have more work to do tonight! There is a killer lightning storm occurring outside and I am sitting here with a cup of tea watching the rain fall and dance down. Right before the rain started falling the air smelt so fresh. Like a coconut room spray, without the chemicals. It was the most amazing scent, I just wanted to stand there and get high off of it. Then lightning started cracking, so I quickened the pace back down to my dorm.

Week 6: Whitsundays

Day 1: Jump on a train to Brisbane Airport, with a sinking stomach I listened as one of the 14 boys I was with informed me, "It appears you are the worm in the bird's nest." We got to Arlie Beach and stayed at Beaches hostel. We dropped our things and went to buy some goon to bring with us on the boat. Again, I was the only girl in a room of 10 people. We went to get McDonalds, dinner for less than 5$ is always a great thing. We went out that night, had a blast, and then went to bed. There were two cases of sleepwalking. I was one of them. I woke up apparently at 6:45 got dressed, everyone was up chatting, and then we all went to bed again, myself fully dressed. The other room had a case where one of the boys, drunkenly got into the wrong bed with another kid.

Day 2: We got up and checked in with the boat. We then went to the lagoon for a swim. We got on the boat around noon, a few of the kids were seasick. We went for an introductory Scuba Dive in Macarel Bay, my group consisted of Marco, Nick and Tommy. They were alot of fun to dive with, Marco was cracking us up the entire time. Richie, our instructor informed me that I barely used any oxygen in comparison to the rest of the group because I was more relaxed. I thought this hysterical because I was literally freaking out while under the water, I hate swimming normally, never mind being meters under the water swimming around without being able to see land. Marco told me after that he was cursing me under the water, bubbles would hit his stomach, and he'd freak out not knowing what it was, until he'd spot me swimming underneath him.

Whitehaven

Day 3: I woke up before Dawn, I could not stay below deck on the catamaran. I got up and fell asleep on deck. Took some cool shots, then got dressed for the day. Sleeping quarters were a little cramped, so I waited until everyone was up to actually change. We then got off the boat and headed to Whitehaven, the world ranked beach where "Fool's Gold" was filmed. The sand is not sand, but silica! It's great supposedly for cleaning jewelry.

We then went back to the boat, and went Scuba diving again! We saw a turtle, a bullray, baby fishies, and Nemo! My mask was leaking the entire time. I kept having to blow it clear. I also because of the off breathing was bouncing around like a little yo-yo. Richie, came over to fix my equilibrium. He pumped the red air button twice and then turned around to swim on. I could not swim after him, I was floating up. I lost him, Tommy, and Nick. I was alone. It was all blue, could not even see the reef. Ever have a nightmare when you're alone in open water? Hello, welcome to my second Scuba Dive. I figured it would be better to swim to the surface than swim to find them. I started hyperventilating and forgot to breathe a few times on the way up. I got up to the top, and tried to get my bearings. The last few feet to the top were the worst. It must have been only a second, but it felt like 10 minutes, where I felt as if I'd never reach the top. Richie rounded up Tommy and Nick right away and was up to the surface in seconds. "You alright?" "Yea, I just lost you guys." I also told him my tank was whistling, he said not to worry about it. I kept checking the gauge anyways though, on top of clearing my mask out. We went to the tunnel of love, and ran into another scuba diving group. In the meantime, one of the two boys swam by me and knocked off my mask, just to my forehead. Again, worst nightmare? Not being able to see under the water? I relaxed and just did what I had been doing the entire time, put the mask on, put two fingers at the top, and blew air out my nose like five times. I almost lost them again, but thankfully they had stopped to take photos. Then one of them sank literally while swimming on top of me. I gave the kid a push up as I was already on the ocean floor. Needless to say I did not go on the third dive and went snorkeling instead. Snorkeling was a blast though too. We saw George, this HUGE blue fish. All the guys had their heads in the water, so I looked down too. I jerked back screaming out of the water, this thing could have swallowed my arm no problemo. We learned it was harmless when the captain Harry came to pick us up. The fish still made me nervous, so as we were being towed I looked back down into the water to make sure it wasn't around. Sure enough, it was close enough to give me a kiss. For the second time I screamed, all the boys instantly put their heads back in the water, COOL!

Sunset

Day 4: We got up, went snorkeling, then went sailing back home to Arlie. Back at Arlie we fell asleep on the beach. When I woke up there were Camels walking past me. I went to get coffee and a snack at the Village Cafe and then went back to enjoy it. I have never woke up so pleasantly discombobulated. Yachts, sailboats, camels, palm trees, good company, real life suddenly the dreamlife and viceaversa. I then sat by the water as the boys slept on. It was gorgeous. Somebody then started sending their dogs toy over my head, eventually the dog was playing with me, dropping its little football with eyes that said 'play with me.' Eventually the owner got too close and I got up and left. The boys by this time were up and were watching the situation. I felt alot better, a bit more secure knowing that they were aware. Marco laughing said it reminded him of the Corona commercial, and then proceeded to explain it when I told him I had no idea what he was talking about.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UqZzZWZd-Y I went off again to the beach after chatting with the boys for a bit, and fell asleep on the beach. There were a few hippies and one by one they came to chat. One of the girls, rasta braids, hairy legs, piercings, tattoos, came to sit and chat. She was very interesting, and very friendly. I really liked her, she told me to go to Tamborine Mtn. She also told me how safe/great hitchhiking was, I think its great that she trusts people to the extent she'll jump into a 18 wheeler with a truck driver, and have dinner later with his family, but even after the conversation I do not think I could ever in a million years hitchhike like that. Nick came down to chat also and then the conversation became heated. She turned into an activist, I couldn't handle it and left. She was talking about coke and nestle products. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott
We finally got into a taxi to leave paradise and went to the airport. We got onto the plane, to the train, to the bus, finally took a long shower, and hopped into bed.

Week 5: The OUTBACK!

 



Usual Insanity



Tuesday: Hit up CBD for the first time with a fantastic group of SPOT X girls. Had a great time yet woke up wednesday and went to class hungover for the first time in Australia.

Wednesday: After getting myself together I got on a bus to Robina to catch a train to Brisbane. I got off at the wrong stop, and had to get back on to meet Tina and Tina at the next stop. We stayed at Base X, a hostel for the night. It was incredibly noisy, but the service desk was very helpful. (I had forgotten to grab my booking information, so I had to ask Student Flights to fax it to me. I am now a huge supporter of their company!) Of course we went out in Brisbane first, hit up a hotel bar Vics, and Dunder.

Thursday: 5 A.M. walked to the train that would take us to the airport. Got on a plane to Caines, then a plane to Alice Springs.

Alice Springs is the most bizare little town. It is what I image the midwest ghost towns of America to be like. Obviously tourists and backpackers are what keep the local economy going. Tina looked at me when we passed some friendly constructors and said "I don't know whether people are just really friendly here, or if it's because we're girls" I responded "The later, I don't think construction workers would be as apt to say "G'day," (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT331BRkkP0&feature=related try to get this out of your head) and stop to stare if we were two boys walking around town."
It started to down pour, and was so cold Tina decided she wanted to buy some jeans; in addition, to the bottles of wine we walked into town for initially.


Friday: We woke up at 5 A.M. to get onto a bus for the OZexperience. We stopped at a Camel Farm and rode camels along the way. We drove to Katja and got out to walk the Valley of the Winds. It was my favorite walk of the trip, it was absolutely gorgeous. It was like walking into a hidden world. I don't know what made me think of it, but if someone could pull off a wedding there, it would be surreal. 

 

Not Kidding

We then got on the bus again, heading to see the sunset at Uluru then headed to camp. There was no cabins, no tents. Just a sleepingbag covering called a Swag or a Matilda (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwvazMc5EfE&feature=related) There was nothinggg protecting us from the elements, bugs, mice, grasshoppers, flies, and stars. Thank god it did not rain. We ate Kangaroo steak and Camel sausages for dinner and drank enough wine to think sleeping in a Swag was an ok idea.

                                                  Saturday: Once again we woke up at 5 A.M. went to get breakfast and then watched the sunrise at Uluru, it was FREEZING. We then drove up to the large rock for the first time.  We walked the 9 km around the rock, but did not climb it. I don't think I would have even if it was one of the supposed 90 days it is open out of the year. It holds spiritual value to the Aboriginals, wouldn't want to disrespect their culture any more than we already do. The picture on the right depicts an aboriginal teaching of patience. Those indentations are supposed to be four boys waiting for their elders to return.

Count Your Blessings

Sometimes I forget how blessed I really am. Little things add up and it can feel as if I am running against the wind. It is then that I recieve reminders, of how truly great I have it in this world. A call from my big, conversations with my pledge sisters, crazy emails from my ultimate team, intense messages on my hs thread.

I am so jealous all of you were able to witness the happy union of such incredibly amazing individuals! Love and miss you all. (I teared up in the library, this was really sweet! Thank you, I really appreciate you all thinking of me! Exspecially Miss Em, the creator, it means alot! <3 )

To put it frankly, who else can say they have this kind of a support system? I forget how lucky I am. Adding to this 'jaded' feeling, I continue meeting incredible people! If life is soley measured in friendships and love, I am one incredibly 'lucky lady.'
xx

Week 4

Read on if you want to be bored:
This week literally flew. Like I really cannot piece the week together, to the point I cannot remember where I put my room keys (eee really need to find those)! On Wednesday I gave my presentation on escaped convict Mary Bryant, she'd be proud. I then started working on Ad Journals (essentially four pages of analytical writing), had to update e-portfolio, and additionally had to create yet another presentation. I am working on the project with a Finland native who has lived in Malaysia since he was six! He has led a terribly intriguing life. Thus far thoroughly enjoy working with him, whenever we hit a wall with the project he just chats on about the most interesting topics.
Tomorrow I am waking up to do more work on the Ad Journals. I'm also thinking of starting my history essay. Oh, and I guess I'll take the camera with me so I can accomplish part of my photography assignment, oof, so much to do!

xx