Footy= Aussie Rules FootballI want to apologize *cough aunt Dede and Uncle Mac* for not writing for nearly two months! So now…where to start?
Let’s begin with the Great Barrier Reef…
So we flew up to Townsville, Queensland and hoped on a ferry to get to magnetic island. I stayed in a town house right on the water with 6 other people- it was a lot of fun. Most days we hit the beach or walked around the island. It was
tropical a very tropical climate. It was hot and humid; I felt sticky all of the time. We cooked our own meals- it was like we were real adults. 
I bought a fishing pole in the hopes of catching a barramundi. When I went to the tackle store and asked the two ladies at the front how I would go about catching one, they looked at each other and laughed. Apparently the barramundi is the hardest fish to catch. They suggested renting a chartered boat, yet even still it would be unlikely that I would catch one. Oh joy. So I went out on the rocks and fished…I didn’t catch a thing. I had no idea what I was doing. Hopefully the next person to rent out the townhouse will have a better go.
We found these HUGE boulders to climb over to get to this secret beach. It took about an hour to climb them. That was definitely the highlight of the trip. It was beautiful, hot, and breezy; my kind of weather. So some of my friends were talking to some locals and told them where we went swimming. The locals said “wait, where did you go swimming?”
My friends replied “that beautiful secret beach where nobody goes to and has no public access and the only way to get there is an hour climb over boulders or down a steep hill filled with prickers and poisonous foliage”. You would have thought the description alone would have given us a clue. They gasped “Oh my gosh. That beach is invested with man-o-wars and Box jellies” Duh. It all made sen
se. We went back anyway.
There were little kids that put out crab traps every morning. As I was walking by one morning, My friend Dave and I noticed all of this motion near the traps. It looked like a big fish near the traps. But we soon realized that they caught something unordinary. We lifted up the trap, and it was a HUGE sting ray. He must have been really hungry because he we completely smashed up against the walls. I have no idea how he even fit! Fortunately Dave found the kiddos and they successfully released him back without getting hurt.
Magnetic Island is beautiful place. There were so many types of cockatoos and lorikeets and it has the largest reserve of Koalas in th
e world! Unfortunatley I didn’t see any because we didn’t go on any bush walks. But we did see rock wallabies! They lived in these rocks right next to our house! They would just pop out and stare at you. I also saw a baby shark as I was taking a walk along the beach one morning. The current was strong, and something sta
rted splashing to get out of the waves and back out to the deep. I couldn’t tell what it was. I thought it was a big fish but then I saw its tale- maybe I’m crazy, but I’m 99% sure it was a small 3 foot shark. Random fact: Did you there are over 800 different types of Eucalypt trees in Australia? You can smell them everywhere.
OH! And I almost forgot about the Reef trip. It was a four hour boat ride out and another four back in crammed boat and it was pouring rain. Let’s just say it wasn’t a pleasant experience. On top of that I was soooooo seasick. I couldn’t even eat lunch. Even when I was snorkeling, I was feeling woozy. The sun didn’t come out until 45 minutes before leaving, so the reef wasn’t as bright and clear as it usually is. Nevertheless, it was absolutely beautiful. There were so many gorgeous fish and coral. There were lots of parrot fish, wrasses, and clownfish. I even saw a sea turtle- she was so slow and graceful; not a care in the world. Some people in the group saw a (small) shark! It’s safe to say- we all made it back safe and sound.
Overall it was a great trip. It was nice to see another part of Australia and another part of God’s glorious creation.
, so I wont be updating for a little while.
pecially the babies! I could have gotten my picture taken with a koala, but I felt bad :( You can just tell that they're in such an unatural habit. People just pet them like cats or dogs- they're not the same at all! It was like koala slave labor. There was a line of people and a guard who was standing near by and switched the koala every 10 or 15 minutes. It just seemed wrong :( But they're cared for very well there, and there are tons of them. Anywoo- I saw lots of cool bir
ds, tasmanian devils, wombats, quolls, and other crazy animals.
ssies came over and brought "Summer Heights High" (an australian series) and we watched the entire season. Its a ridculously crude but funny show. It definitely wouldn't have flied in the U.S. NO way. hahaha- Jonah. Youtube it. I walked to Coles for some tim tams and candy and then I went to the Maundy Thursday service at St. James which was a beautiful as usual.
eek I'm going to catch up on some homework, write a couple of papers, and explore sydney. On Sunday the 12th, I'm headed out to Magnetic Island with 5 other girls and Dave! Magnetic Island is right off the coast of Oz, next to townsville and it's in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef area. We're going to be staying in a house right on the beach! We're taking a day trip out to the reef to go snorkeling, hopefully do a little fishing, and of course, explore. It's going to be such a fun trip.
and Ty. It takes about two hours by train to get there. Jess and I sat across from perfume lady....She was on the train no more than 45min and sprintzed 28 sprays of nasty smelling-old baby powder perfume on her wrist (trust me, we were counting). After she got off the train she started spraying the perfume in the air. People are strange... Any how, When we initially got to the train station we waiting an hour
. Within five minutes of the train coming, my three comrads decided to go get tickets. We missed the train. So we waited another hour. When we got to Katoomba we made our way past the quaint little town, down to echo point to check 
out the three sisters- three large rocks. But it was so misty we couldn't see a darn thing. We made our way down to the "giant stairway". This stairway was amazing- by far the coolest thing I've seen on the trip yet. We climbed down thousands of ridiculously steep steps that were built on cliffs in order to get down to the main hiking trails. It takes about an hour to get down and an hour to climb back up. No picture could truly capture how beautiful this area is. We bushwalked for a while, encountered a bunch of bloodsucking leeches, and fell...a lot (at least I did). The forest was like a tropical rainfo
rest. Everything was wet with mist and the air was heavy; it was beautiful. I saw a couple of really cool birds- some blue and red ones and some type of beautiful wild pheasant. We were planning on camping overnight, but Jessie Cakes wasn't feeling well so we trekked back up the cliff before dark and headed home. We were pooped at the end and I'm still sore, but it was fabulous! I am definitely going back before my time in Oz is over! 
Helllllllooo EVERYONE!
YES. I know. It’s been a while!
So it’s time to update you on this past week in the Land down Unda.
Well, School has started to pick up. I’m starting to have projects and papers due which is always fun. The nursing home is pretty fun too. Most of the residents know me now and I am enjoying taking walks and going to exercise class with them.
So I’m having a hard time remembering all of the things that happened this week, so I’ll start with the most recent.
Friday and yesterday, our whole group went to Canberra (pronounced CAN-BRA), the capital. Our phrase of the weekend was “Canberra: it’s what you make it!” Most Australians will tell you that Canberra sucks. When I explained that I was going there for the week-end, I got responses like “God bless ya” and “I’m sorry to hear that”. Lol.
Let me give you a brief background on the city. Back in the day, Sydney and Melbourne were fighting over which city should become the capitol. So the government chose neither, and created a capital that was situated in between the two. Canberra is an extremely quiet city- it’s culture is nothing compared to Sydney’s, but all the same, it’s a great place contrary to what most Australians will tell you.
There is so much to do there and I learned so much from every place we visited. In the two days we were there, we went to the Old Parliament house, National Portrait Gallery, The Indonesian Embassy, the British High Commission, The Aboriginal embassy tent, The ANZAC war memorial, National Museum, and National Gallery of Australia.
It was such a great trip! I saw a bunch of kangaroos and even an emu on the 4hr bus ride there and back! Kangaroos are much more graceful than I imagined. The birds here are amazing too. I’ll look out the window of my room, and there’ll be a cockatoo sitting on the electric wire. Its so cool. I see lorikeets and other colorful birds on a daily basis. Australia truly is a beautiful country.
Well, I know this post is short, but I must get back to homework… hopefully I’ll be able to update you more this week!
You must say peanut butter and JAM sandwich and even so, Australians will cringe. PB&J is not eaten here.
eatin lunch
Sun is coming up
Helloooo my American friends! (and Peruvian friend)
I’ve arrived safely, and it’s been a great experience so far. Sydney is gorgeous! Too bad it’s not in the states. I’ve had a full 3 days of orientation, which included information sessions packed with advice and program expectations, tours of the city and school, and lessons on public transportation (which I’m still figuring out!). So far, most of my learning has been through my mistakes. So contrary to popular belief, failing is not necessarily a bad thing. J You remember how to do things the right way after getting off at a stop 5 blocks early, not reapplying sunscreen every thirty minutes in the only place in the world that has a hole in the ozone layer (producing rays 7x stronger than in the states), and punching a shark*.
Anyway- not too many great stories yet, but I’m sure there will be some to come. Here is a little more detail of what I did yesterday…
We woke up early to catch the bus to school. Our host Dad, John actually came with us on the bus route to explain how the system worked, and to make sure we were able to get to Wesley alright. It is not too complicated, so I should catch on quickly. There’s a target and little shopping area just a short bus ride away from our house, which is really convenient.
When we got to school in the morning, we had a time of worship, and then orientation sessions until lunch time. We walked down to the bay for lunch- it’s such a short walk from the school! After lunch, we went into “the city” (Sydney) and did a 2 hour scavenger hunt in groups. We met back at the walk for a cruise of the harbor. After the tour, we went to a Mongolian BBQ all you can eat restaurant. You go through a line, pick up all the raw food you want, and the chef cooks it up for you in about a minute- very tasty.
Sydney is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. It is by far the nicest city I’ve been to, which is exciting, since I will be here for four months. Its pristine and very laid back. The people aren’t in a hurry, they just enjoy they’re walk instead of pushing past you. Anyway, I’m excited to explore the city more when we have free time.
Our host family is wonderful, and their kids are very sweet. I generally like the group of students, and can tell that I’m going to be good friends with many of them. Also, we’ve been hanging out with a bunch of aussie students, and they are incredibly friendly—I really like them. I haven’t taken many pictures yet- I figure we’ll be here for a while. Well, that’s all for now… It’s been fun so far. Don’t worry everyone- I haven’t met my husband yet ;)
LOVEEEEEE YOU ALL.
<3>
*J/king obviously
New terms of the day
Rubbish=trash
Servo=gas station
Poppers= juice box
Power point= electrical outlet/plug
Swimmers= swimsuit
