A Whole New World.

After the trip to Cairns, we came back to Sydney to move into our apartments.  These accommodations are much better than the hostel we were at the week before.  The apartment is gorgeous, with three bedrooms and two baths.  We have a nice living room, a decently sized kitchen, and two balconies.  Everything is very similar to an expensive hotel's furnishings, but also much more comfortable.  One of the best parts of our apartment has to be the view.  We are staying in Bondi Junction, which is technically a suburb of Sydney, but there are only houses between the city and our area.  Considering we are living on the 7th floor of our apartment building, we not only have a view of the city, but the Opera House, bridge, and harbour are also straight out the window.  In my opinion, I'm living the high-life and I absolutely love it!!

After being back in Sydney for a week on our own, I'm starting to pick up on all of the differences between here and the U.S.  It seems Australia is a lot more culturally different than I had originally thought.

The first major difference is obvious, but also the hardest to adapt to.  Always think LEFT.  Australians drive on the left and walk on the left.  It would seem that this would be easy to pick up on, but after years of looking left, right, then left again to cross the street, it is almost impossible to remember to look right first or a car will hit you.  Also, walking down a sidewalk was a major change; by walking on the right side, I have learned that I always walk into all of the people coming from the opposite direction.  I’m sure it will take me months to get used to this and when I get back to the States I’ll be confused again!

Another difference that most of the students are struggling with is the cost of everything.  It is expensive and I’m having price-shock.  An average lunch, including a sandwich and drink is about $15; did I mention that the portions are a lot smaller, too?  It’s an adjustment that is causing a lot of us to look for jobs.  I’m hoping to be a bartender; I want to meet as many people as possible, and they happen to average about $18 to $25 an hour. 

Speaking of alcohol, Australians tax very highly on products that are unhealthy.  For example, 700ml (about a fifth) of 60-proof Southern Comfort is around $35; tequila is even more at $44.  It is very much a wine country, with a 4.4 liter (about 4-5 bottles) box of wine averaging $8-$15.  Let’s just say, we are trying to stay as classy as we can!  We are also learning that Australian bars are not fans of drunks.  I just took a Responsible Service of Alcohol course in order to become a bartender, and I learned that intoxicated patrons are not allowed in bars or there are extensive fines.  Many bars will refuse entrance or kick a person out if they believe the person is drunk.

The only good news about all of the high prices is that the sticker price is the price paid.  I’m very much a fan of this system because I don’t like figuring out additional tax on U.S. products if I’m trying to pay in cash.  There also aren’t any coins below five cents.  Everything is rounded nicely.  Tipping is also not very common because everyone makes a lot more money per hour than at home; it’s not expected, so it’s not necessary. 

So far, I still love everything about Australia.  The people are amazing; everyone is incredibly nice and friendly.  The atmosphere is very laid-back and it’s a very nice change of pace from the States.  Most places are closed on Sunday and from what I’ve seen, they’re all at the beach instead!!  I live ten minutes from Bondi Beach and it is so much fun to jump on a bus and hang out there.  The beach is beautiful with soft, clean sand and beautiful clear water.  The waves are also awesome; people surf on one side and swim on the other.  So far, everything is awesome… but school is about to start and I’m now remembering that that’s actually what I’m here for! 

Bucket List... Check. Check. Check.

I never thought that I would be able to experience as many incredible things in such a short amount of time.  By short amount of time, I mean one week.  After actually arriving in Sydney, scuba diving the reef, climbing the bridge, and white-water rafting... I got to bungee jump in the rainforest and skydive over the prettiest scenery I've ever seen.  Hello bucket list.. we're making some progress.

The first crazy thing I got to do was bungee jumping.  We were in the rainforest in Cairns and up in all the trees was this big tower!  It was about a 150ft jump into a mini lake at the bottom.  Now, considering I am a huge adrenaline junky, I thought I wouldn't have a problem with this at all; however, it was much scarier and more exhilarating than I thought!  To get to the top we had to climb a bunch of stairs which turned into one of the prettiest views I've ever seen.  Once we were above tree level, there are views for miles of Australian coastline on one side, and big rainforest mountains on the other; it was unreal.  Once at the top, I was strapped in, and told to shuffle to the end of the ledge; looking straight ahead was gorgeous, but looking down looked WAY higher than 150ft.  I was so excited and nervous all at the same time.  I kept thinking "this will be awesome but I'm crazy for throwing myself off a ledge."

When I jumped, I told the instructor that I'd be fine touching the water.  "Touching" was the key word here that he missed.  Everyone that jumped before me that "touched" the water went elbow deep in a streamline position; basically just their hands got wet.  After I took the plunge, the instructor somehow managed for me to go bellybutton deep in the water.  In my mind, the shock of falling was quite a rush, but after the dunk of the century and yelling a few choice words, I felt like I was on an entirely new level.  When I jolted up the first time, I was in such shock from the dunk that I couldn't comprehend what happened.  Once safely on the boat below, I realized how awesome the jump was, even though my hands were still shaking.  I would 100% do it again, and I'm actually hoping to jump 3 times higher if I ever make it to New Zealand!!!

After jumping I decided, "why stop now?"  The next morning we got up bright and early to drive two hours to Mission Beach.  I was about to do something I've wanted to do since I was about twelve... SKYDIVE.  I would have skydived anywhere in the U.S., anytime I would have had the opportunity; let's just say that I'm really glad I waited.  Spectacular doesn't quite seem to describe how beautiful Mission Beach was.

There were a bunch of us on the trip, so it was a very long day of waiting.  I was in group five and it took about five to six hours before it was our turn to head up.  It was also just over 100 degrees with lots and lots of humidity.  It was completely worth the wait!!  I thought that I would be more freaked out skydiving than bungee jumping, but I realized jumping over a ledge was fairly easy to grasp in my mind and jumping out of a plane was not something I could wrap my head around.  There were seven girls in my group, and I was the third one to jump.  We traveled up in this tiny little plane with, what looked like, a plastic garage door on the side.. the exit.  On our way up, I asked about how high we were when we were even with the clouds; I got an answer of 7,000ft... only halfway.  That was about the time I started to get a little nervous.  Considering it was pretty cloudy, when we were flying high above the big, white balls of fluff, I kept thinking of flying commercially in an airplane; I always used to wonder what it would be like to play in clouds so thick they look like mountains, and now I get to.  In no time, we were above the beach and it was time to go!!

The "garage door" opened, group one went, and then the group right in front of me disappeared.  Just like that, they rolled out of the plane and were gone.  Considering I was next, the thoughts that had originally been going through my mind were erased and I was in a state of disbelief.  My instructor said "go-time" and we stood at the edge of the plane; next thing I know, we flipped out (literally did a flip) and I was falling.  If I ever thought I'd get a chance to fly, this falling is probably what it would feel like.  We were traveling at speeds around 200km per hour, but even though the clouds kept getting closer and closer, it felt like I was floating; looking back (and watching the video), it must have been in my head because we were DEFINITELY falling and it was awesome!!

Once we broke through the clouds and finished our 60 second free-fall, the most picture-perfect scene developed.  The water was gorgeous, the beach and coastline were beautiful, and all I could do was look around as much as humanly possible in order to not miss something.  The parachute came out and we floated the rest of the way to the beach.  The whole experience was only about 5 minutes, but it was the most exciting and fulfilling experience I've ever had.  My biggest "crazy" goal was accomplished and I absolutely LOVED it!!!!

I may try some crazy things, but I will always remember the way I feel doing them... it's completely worth it.

Rafting and Reefing in Cairns

After another couple days in Sydney, which included a harbour cruise to finish off the trip, we traveled to Cairns.  The flight was three hours and it was a lot farther away than most of us actually thought it would be.  Compared to Sydney, it is an entirely different atmosphere.  Sydney is a huge, busy city and Cairns is almost like a small, vacation city in Florida, without the beach; the closest one is about a ten minute bus ride.  The weather here is also a little different than Sydney; it’s wet-season, so it storms sporadically about every day for about an hour.  Luckily we haven't had as much rain as normal for this time of year.  The temperature is also MUCH hotter.. it’s been in the mid-nineties and about 75 to 85 percent humidity.

We are staying at Gilligan's, which is a hostel for backpackers.  The rooms aren’t nearly as spectacular as the five-star apartments that we had in Sydney, but they’re fine for the trip!  The rooms have a bathroom and three sets of bunk beds and that’s about it.  The hostel itself though is actually awesome.  There is a lagoon shaped pool out back with an outdoor bar right next to it.  Gilligans also happens to be a nightclub, so right across the outdoor walkway there is a pretty big club.  It’s very convenient to have everything we need right out our backdoor!!

Our first big trip was white-water rafting down the Tully River!!  I would recommend rafting to everyone because it was incredibly thrilling and a complete blast.  We traveled about 14km down the river and hit three or four grade rapids.  The Australian system only goes to grade five rapids and the American system goes to grade six, so technically at home we would have been in four or five grade rapids. (Basically, they were huge haha.)  It was so much fun and our guide was awesome!

Something that kind of shocked me was the drive to get to rafting; it took two hours to get there and we traveled right through the city of Tully, where the cyclone hit the worst.  It was incredible to see the damage that the winds did -- there were sides of building that were wiped off, while some others were just flattened, fields and fields of crops were destroyed, and parts of the rainforest looked like they belonged in our freezing winters because all of the leaves and green was destroyed by the wind.  Remarkably, even though it was as big as Katrina, there were very few lives lost in the storm.  It was scary to see all of the damage that occurred and how long it will take to return to normal.

The day after rafting, we went on a boat trip and snorkeled and scuba-dived the Great Barrier Reef.  I am such a “water” person so I absolutely loved this trip!!  We took about an hour and a half boat ride out to the reef and then visited two different spots.  One thing that sort of freaked everyone out at first was the amount of jellyfish in the water; I got stung three times, but they weren’t that bad.  (There weren’t any of the deadly ones, so it really only hurt for a little bit and then they just itched.)  I have snorkeled many times before, but never in a place like this.  The colors were amazing and the place was HUGE.  I had to keep pinching myself every time I turned my head!  

It also happened to be my first time scuba diving.  As much as I love snorkeling, I would scuba dive ALL THE TIME.  It was so peaceful being underwater the whole time without having to come up for air.  We had a ten-minute introductory dive at the first spot on the reef, and at the second we were under for a half hour.  We went down about 40 feet and I got to do a back flip on the bottom of the ocean!  We were grouped in fours, and our guide was awesome; he showed us a couple Nemos, let us touch different coral, and made sure we had a blast with a bunch of underwater pictures.  There were so many interesting fish and types of coral that I have never seen before.  The whole trip was picturesque; it’s hard to believe a place that amazing exists in the world!!

Here.. Without Internet.

I finally made it to Australia... 3 days ago.  First of all, it's unbelievable.  Not only is it warm here, as in 80 degrees, but it's beautiful.  The problem is that Australia has a unique internet situation where it is never free and happens to be very expensive, so I will not be on the internet very often until about the 23rd of February when I move into my apartment.  The good news is, that the apartments that the program put us in are the coolest apartments I've ever been in.  We are in the World Tower in the heart of Sydney, and our three-bedroom apartment is on the 71st floor; just looking out the window is jaw-dropping. 

 

As for everything that we've been doing so far... We got to Sydney at 6:05 am, on Friday the 11th, and have basically been going non-stop ever since.  The first night I sample Kangaroo for dinner at a restaurant in Darling Harbour; it is one of the healthiest red meats you can eat.  I thought it was amazing and I loved it; the restaurant cooks it medium rare in a Jack Daniels sauce!

Because we were all jet-lagged, we had an early night the first night.  The next morning we had a walking tour around Sydney and got to see the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge!  It was unreal to actually look at it in person.  We also tried a traditional meat pie with mashed peas and mashed potatoes and gravy on top; about 2/3 of the group liked it.  So far, the city is very clean and I can't wait to explore the rest of it.  After the walking tour, we got to go to the Featherdale Wildlife Park where we got to see a bunch of Australian animals.  We played with kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas!!

Today, we just got back from an extremely tiring but fantastic day.  WE CLIMBED THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE!!!  It might have been the best experience I've ever had.  It took three hours and we got to climb up to the top which was about 440 feet over the harbour.  There were 360 degree spectacular views; it will be an experience I'll never forget!  After the bridge climb we took a bus to Bronte Beach where we did a coastal walk to Bondi Beach (the beach I will eventually be living 10 minutes away from).  The paths were right on the edge of gorgeous cliffs and beaches on both sides.  The weather was pretty cloudy and rainy during the walk, but it was so nice to be back around the ocean!!