Surf Camp!

I just got back yesterday from my weekend away at SURF CAMP!

It was so much fun, and an amazing experience! I met the rest of the group (which was, oddly enough, 56 Norweigiens, 2 from Denmark and another American) a few blocks away where we boarded the bus. A 2 hour bus ride took us south of Sydney to the beautiful 7 mile beach. Although we endured rain for the majority of the weekend, it didn't take away from the fun! We stayed at a caravan park that is their permanent cabin location. 4 cabins and a bathroom cabin surrounded a roofed picnic area that had games, coffee and tea, and a tv that always had a surfing dvd playing. The vibe was very laid back and surfer-styled. Palm trees and surf boards everywhere completed the image of a surfers paradise.

We woke up early on Saturday morning, around 7 am, to have breakfast before getting fitted for wetsuits. The suits were sandy and damp and cold at first, but after walking down to the beach and feeling to chilly water, I was very glad I had it. After each person claimed a surf board (my first was 9 feet long!!), we walked to the beach together. Our group of 60 divided into a few smaller groups that each had their own instructors. My group was led by K-bomb and Chaplin, two extremely nice and goofy guys that made everything so much fun. They led a short explanation of what that lesson would entail, gave us some pointers on just swimming out with our boards and paddling, and then we were into the water before we knew it! After our first two hour session, and a bit of encouragment from my instructors, I managed to stand!

After our morning lesson, we all returned to rinse off and grab lunch before heading out to the water again. During lunch, the program leader Mitch plugged the camera he had used during our session into the TV in the picnic area so that we could watch ourselves fall down! He gave us some pointers, and we were off again to the beach. I managed to stay up longer, and Chaplin decided that I was doing well, so he placed me on a shorter, more difficult 8 foot board. Exhausted and extremely excited after a day of surfing, we all crashed quickly after dinner. The food was so satisfying, and the entertainment of watching our second sessions surfing pictures was a lot of fun.

We woke at 7 am again on Sunday to have breakfast before our final 2 hour session. I had nutella on toast, while I watched K-Bomb spread Vegemite (the Australian specialty) on his. I gave him a face and told him I hadn't tried it yet, though I was curious. He offered me one of his pieces of toast, so I took a bite- it tasted like soy sauce! I guess I'm not an Aussie through and through... :)

Although I was extremely sore from the day before, I was determined to catch a few big waves. Chaplin upgraded me again to a 7 foot board, and pushed me out to sea- literally! He was closeby as I was headed out to catch another wave and he waved me over and told me to get on my board. He followed/pushed me out to see with him and helped to set me up for a few huge waves! That particular time, I rode a wave that must have been about 5 feet tall, and although I hadn't learned to turn yet, I still felt like a pro!

The hardest part by far was actually pushing against the incoming surf and reaching a spot that could be surfed from, since you had to push and hold your enormous board the whole time. My entire body is still sore from battling the waves, and I'm hoping this dull ache in my ear is not an ear infection from drowning in salt water for the past few days. Our instructors gave us some tips on how to continue surfing, and I hope that I'll have a chance to surf again before I return home (since the waves aren't as big in Vermont :D ).

I'm a workin' girl now!

So I've had my first week at my internship, and it went really well! I enjoy my time at the office, and although it can't really be considered an early wake up, my only problem is leaving my apartment by 8am. But I've been early for the bus every morning, so, so far so good! I cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge every morning, and without thinking, I always sit on the right side of the bus, so as I cross over I have a great view of the Opera House against the morning sky- it's always beautiful, and I always put my book down to watch it go by.

The people that I work with are all very nice, laid back, and interested in making my time here as fun as possible. I think that half of them are more interested in making sure that I leave with a positive experience in Australia than having me work. I have class every Monday morning and Thursday evening. I work at Parkinson's New South Wales wednesday through friday, and I'll be starting tomorrow at the Brain Mind Research Institute down the road by the University of Sydney! They just finished research on sleep and Parkinson's disease, so I'm sure it'll be really interesting and informative!

I haven't had any grand adventures lately, but I have had a nice, relaxing weekend around Sydney that I wanted to share!

On Saturday, I made my way down George street to the Rocks, which is the historical district of Sydney. Every weekend they have a great market, which is not much like Paddy's market, where I go to find well priced souvenirs and cheap vegetables. The Rocks, which was the original area where convicts made their homes during the settlement of the area, is now a pricey place, with cafes selling $6 cups of coffee and $10 strawberry tarts, markets selling $30 hats and a strand of licorice for $5- definitely not a great place for a college student to go on a shopping spree. But the atmosphere is definitely much more enjoyable than Paddy's Markets. There was a wonderful saxophone player in the center of the markets when I went, and the people are much more relaxing. The sun was shining bright, but a cool breeze off the harbour made the day comfortably warm. I walked around and admired the handmade jewelry and fun arts and crafts, tasting a few samples of Outback Jelly and Sydney Fudge. At the end of the markets is the beginning of the Sydney Harbor bridge- the underside, actually. I walked around the giant, 60 foot pillar that holds up on end of the structure and found a few things- first, an amazing, quiet view of the harbour with plenty of grassy areas. Secondly, an ice cream truck. And finally, a wedding. Yup. A wedding ceremony was just beginning, directly across Circular Quay harbour from the Opera House. So, I bought a chocolate dipped vanilla cone, found a nice spot on the grass, and watched the wedding!

Sunday was just as much fun and just as relaxed. Two of my roommates were off to surf camp this past weekend, so my roommate Keri and I decided to try a new beach. We found a bus that went to Maroubra Beach, which I had heard wasn't a popular tourist beach, but was well known with locals. After about a 40 minute ride, we were at a huge, spacious, and beautiful beach. The boardwalk was tidy, and the cafes nearby were simple and well-priced (definitely not tourist traps). It was extremely easy to find a good spot on the beach, because, despite the wonderful 80 degree, cloudless day, there weren't many people on the beach at all. The small waves were perfect for beginner surfers, of which there were plenty in the water, and the breeze made laying out in the sun easy. I fell asleep for a few hours actually! My hours of burning in the past few months must have paid off, because I didn't burn at all! I can't wait to get home to actually see how tan I am- it's hard to compare since everyone here is tan!

This week I'll be busy with my day of research at the Brain Mind Institute, and another 3 days at my internship. Thursday, our program is giving us free food and hosting trivia night in honor of St. Patrick's Day, so I'm very excited for that! I'll also have plenty of pictures and some video to show off of me surfing from this coming weekend! Wish me luck! :)

Back to Sydney city life...

So tomorrow I will begin a 6 week long internship here in Sydney- the second half of my semester here- and I'm very excited! I've already worked with the women who work in the office at Parkinson's New South Wales, so I know what to expect, and I know how wonderful and relaxed they are- I'm not nervous at all! I do, however, know that I will be much busier these next few weeks, since I'm starting my internship and a new class, so I figured I had better finish up my last blog about my trip to Cairns. Strangely enough, I've been back for 4 days and it feels like I was there just yesterday!

Anyways, I left off after our second day- A day out in the rainforest. Well, since the Daintree Rainforest is massive and incredibly interesting and varied, we couldn't just leave it at one day- we went back for a second! Our second day was spent wandering around in the drizzling rain (it was rainy season, did I mention that ;) ... ) and went on a waterfall tour. We visited a few different swimming holes, including lake Eacham, which is a volcanic crater turned swimming hole! Honestly, it's just like a big puddle- our tour guide told us that it has been there for thousands of years, and there are seemingly no rivers running in or out of it! He mentioned that many people believed there were actually springs in the bottom of the lake, and likewise, holes that sucked water out. However, no one wants to get close enough to check for fear that they too will be sucked out.

We also saw a few gorgeous waterfalls and gorges, such as the Josephine Falls and the Mossman gorges. Unfortunately, the water was a little too high to swim in most places, but that made some swimming holes, such as the wonderful and well known Milla Milla waterfall, that much more fun! I was a little too afraid to swim underneath the waterfall (although a few friends told me it felt like an aggressive back massage), but I did stand directly behind this immense, 60 foot tall waterfall, and it felt like a hurricane!

That night we rushed back to a Toga Party Pub Crawl! Our entire 100+ people group fashioned togas from sheets and made our way around Cairns by a double decker party bus! Thankfully, it merely sprinkled that night, although a downpour wouldn't have stopped us. Although tired from the long days we were having, we played funky, hard-to-explain games, ate pizza, and shared pitchers of beer. It was great fun, but when bedtime came, I was very ready.

The next day was free for us to explore the area, so my roommates and I decided to head down to the local beach. Trinity beach was the closest, and still about a 45 min. bus ride away. The public transportation system was much slower and less available in Cairns compared to Sydney, which wasn't very surprising. The beach, like Cape Tribulation Beach, was nearly empty, and was vast, quiet, and beautiful. We were warned pretty quickly by locals that the water was notorious for small jellyfish called Irukandji- these are actually as small as a match, and can kill in only a few hours. Our tour guide told us that they are the most venomous creature in the world. Frightened, we steered clear of the water and thanked God that Irukandji aren't infesting the waters in Sydney. Despite not being able to swim, we enjoyed strolling the beach and picking up shells and sunshine, of which I'm thankfully picking up a lot of lately :)

Later in the day, my roommate Keri and I signed up to go White Water Rafting with a company called Foaming Fury! It was great fun, and although it was more like White Water Tubing, since the largest of the rapids we went over was barely two feet high, it was still a lot of fun, especially our tour guide telling us about the wildlife of the land and playing catch with his football in the water. He also took time during the slow portions of the river to play games with us that would always end with us in the water. One in particular was a trust game- He asked Keri and I to hold our paddle ends and clip the handles against one another so that we would both lean back over the edges of the raft and trust our weights to balance each other. Once we were leaning over the raft enough, however, our guide just hit where our paddles connected and sent us both backwards into the water.

Our final day came sadly and with our entire hostel room smelly musty and wet. We were all exhausted, but I had one thing left to do before I returned to Sydney! One of my closest friends from Vermont, Allie Schellong, had just started her study abroad adventure a few weeks previously in-where else, but- CAIRNS! I hopped on a bus and met her at her school- James Cook University! It was so nice to see a familiar face. Half the time I forget what it feels like to be at Saint Mike's, or in Vermont even! It all feels so far away! Seeing Allie, however, reminded me so much of home, it was like visiting there again! We went again to Trinity Beach and found a jellyfish free section (protected by nets) and swam. We talked a lot about what we still wanted to do while we were in Australia, any cultural differences that we had already noticed, things we loved and disliked about our new home, and things we missed about our old home. I only was able to spend a few hours with her before having to make my way back to the bus to the airport, but I'm so glad that I was able to see her! I'm already excited to land in Burlington and see everyone from home again!

Wish me luck at my internship tomorrow!

Swingin' on vines and such...

So after rejuvinating briefly from a day on the Great Barrier Reef, our group woke up early, 6:30 am, to depart on a day tour of the Daintree Rainforest. Although slightly rainy again that day, the views of the ocean were unbeatable, and the pristine natural setting around us was incredible and seemed to go on forever. I was very excited about going through the Daintree Rainforest because it is extremely well known in Australia and around the world as one of the oldest rainforests in the world! We started at the Mossman Gorges, which are supposedly very dangerous, especially since the water in the area was so high from the rainy season. As we walked on, I was so amazed at the amount of trees, flowers, and plants that I had never seen before! There were vines that snaked up trees like they were painted on. I must have seen about 30 different types of palm plants- some as small as my hand, some as large as my whole body! I saw ferns that were 30 feet tall, and green plants that grew spikey red thorns all over their body!

After walking around the rainforest for a bit, we stopped for a while at a wildlife reserve that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. We saw a Cassowary, which is the 3rd largest bird in the world next to the Ostrich and the Emu, and looks like a dinosaur with his blue and red coloring. Apparently they are very dangerous birds and can kill! We also saw the crocodile pen at feeding time, and watched a 12 foot long, 20 year old Croc climb out of the marsh onto land, which was pretty frightening! The highlight of the nature park, however, was the field of Kangaroos!

Our guide said we probably weren't supposed to enter the field, but there wasn't anyone around and it wasn't blocked off, so he said we could go in. Our entire group crowded carefully around the Roos as if they were celebrities that we weren't sure were real! We pet them and they loved it! the first that I pet was medium-sized - about 2 feet tall- and when I scratched under his neck he tilted his head back and closed his eyes because he liked it! I was in heaven! Their fur isn't very soft- it's actually kinda bristly and short, more like a dog than a cat. I also pet a large Kangaroo that I was pretty nervous about going close to, and then there was the baby roo! One kangaroo, the smallest there was, only stood about a foot tall! When I crouched down to get close to him, I reached my hand out slowly to pet him, and he reached out with his little paw and grabbed my hand, pulled it to him, and started to lick it! I was so happy!! I'm sure he liked the salt on our hands from sweating in the humidity. It was still one of the highlights of my week!

We then went to eat lunch at Cape Tribulation Beach, a name that represents the trouble which James Cook (the equivalent of Christopher Colombus in America) encountered in this area, which was one of the first places where European settlers landed. He named the beach Tribulation, meaning Trouble, and the mountain in the rear Mt. Sorrow because of the men lost in conflict with aborigines, at sea, and from sickness. Despite the negativitity in the name, the area was absolutely beautiful! There's something that I truly love about wide-open, secluded beaches that show how small I am and how wonderful small sections of the world can be. With mountains on either side, a huge section of mangroves, and water that may as well have been coming from a hot tub, I could have stayed on that beach for hours. Instead, our group moved onwards!

Our final stop of the day was at a Crocodile spotting tour! Our huge group climbed aboard a few big boats on the murky Daintree River and took an hour long boat ride in search of some large reptiles. We only saw a few, however, one was about 14 feet long and dangerous, so we were told to try to be still and quiet. Besides that one big guy, however, we didn't see much as far as crocodiles go, but we were able to enjoy the beauty of the river. The clouds, full of rain that day, hung low and partially covered the mountaintops. The air was misty, and the area was quiet except for the sound of the water and the birds along the river bend. We saw a great blue heron waiting for dinner in the reeds, and saw a few brightly colored birds and a small python!

This was only the first part of our excursions into the wonderful, enormous rainforest, and I'll write more about our 3rd day tomorrow!

A quick side note, however, I was told on our trip about a huge difference between trees in America and trees in Australia! These differences, of course, aren't geographical but happen because of the climate! We saw a tree trunk on one of our walks through the forest, and our guide noted that there aren't rings on trees in Australia! The four seasons in Vermont and climates like our create rings in the tree, but in areas that don't have four seasons, such as the Daintree Rainforest, which only has a wet and dry season!

Reefs and Rainforests Galore!

I'll have to take the next few days to explain how amazing and busy the last week has been! I've done so much! In a few lines, I have done/seen...

Scuba diving and snorkeling on the great barrier reef, played with giant clams and stingrays, went on a minjin swing through the rainforest, walked through the rainforest, swam through a beautiful, giant waterfall, swung on a vine in the Daintree Rainforest, went crocodile spotting, white water rafting, pet a few kangaroos, and more!

So as you know I went to Cairns from Saturday until yesterday (Thursday) evening. About 60 people from my school group went with a travel group called Phi Beta Dingo, along with another group of about 30 students from Illinois that have been in Sydney. Cairns, in Northern Australia, is smaller than Sydney (only about 100,000 people), but is extremely well known as the hub of the Great Barrier Reef. I'll go over a few days at a time, because I have so much to tell everyone!

We arrived Saturday afternoon to our hostel which was called Gilligans. It was very interesting to meet the different people that stayed there from around the world. Our room was simple but it was all that we needed. It had 3 bunk beds and a small bathroom. We didn't spend very much time in our room anyways! We went to dinner, which was a pizza buffet, and filled us up. We spent a little while hanging around the bar but didn't linger for long because at 6 am the next morning we would be waking and preparing for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef!

It was pretty rainy while we were there, but it wasn't awful. It was warm the whole time as well, and I would have rather it been cool and wet than sweaty and 100 degrees all week (we only had that one day). On Sunday morning we rose early and went downstairs for our free breakfast. As a group, we walked to the pier in Cairns and took off to sea!

After about an hour, we laid anchor just off of a small island called Michaelmas Cay. We were there for about 6 hours, and I could have stayed so much longer! Each person was allotted a 30 min. guided scuba dive and unlimited time snorkeling! First off, I'll talk about scuba diving...

It was a very strange experience. I went in my bathing suit, which was chilly, but fine to wear. they strapped a weight around my waist so that I wouldn't float to the surface with my huge tank of oxygen. Everything was pretty heavy, but I only sat with it on for about 2 minutes before they pushed me into the water! The goggles were strange, and it was the hardest part for me to get used to. Because of everything that I had on, it seems like everything is in slow motion. I couldn't use my peripheral vision because of the goggles, and my jaw hurt from clamping down on my oxygen source. It took me about 5 minutes to realize that I was ok. At first I was actually afraid! I didn't think I liked it because it was so strange. Breathing was something I had to think about, I couldn't see all around me, there were fish everywhere, and I couldn't talk to anyone or hear anything! Very strange! After a few minutes at about 5 feet below the water, however, I got used to it and started to be a little more comfortable, and then we were off! I swam with 3 other girls, and we had a scuba guide who made sure we were ok and guided us (literally, with his hand, pushed our tanks in the right direction). We all linked arms for protection and so that it would be easier to guide us, and we swam for about 30 minutes! The reefs were beautiful! So colorful and full of life! I saw a few clownfish in their anemones, a few other larger fish, some parrot fish, and some giant clams! We saw all sorts of different coral, such as the brain coral, and other squishy, worm-like coral that undulated and moved like a bed of fat, loose grass! Overall, it was an amazing experience, but I actually enjoyed snorkeling so much more! I was free of the scuba gear, and only needed my goggles and snorkel and I was off! My favorite fish were small, white fish that stayed in shallower water. Some were only the size of minnows, but most were about the size of my hand. I found out that they eat particles of food that lie in the sand, so they crowded around me in a group of 50 when I would kick up the sand! I played with them for a long time, just kicking up sand and then trying to grab one. I never did, they were too quick :)

I did get to see a few giant clams and a stingray, who was very pretty with blue and yellow spots on his gray body. I really could have stayed out snorkeling all day, and it helped me so much to become more accustomed to the water and the ocean!

That night was extremely exciting as well, as our group returned to our hostel, dried off, and went to the bungy jumping site in the rainforest! The famous A.J. Hackett, inventor of bungy jumping, came out to watch some of our group brave the 60 meter jump off of a platform into the rainforest! Rest easy, though, I didn't do the jump! I was very nervous, tired from a long day, and not interested in paying for the jump. I watched my friend Andres and roommate Sam jump together though, which was plenty of exhiliration watching them! Each person, however, did get to do the Minjin Swing, which is popular at amusement parks in the USA. They strap three people into harnesses, attach them to a cable, and lift them up about 100 feet into the air. I went with a few friends, Katherine and Tori, and as they pulled us up into the dark rainforest, we continued up, being pulled backwards and up away from the ground. We finally reached the top, at about 100 feet, and I could barely see the people in the building below. A green light at the starting station lit up, and Tori pulled a cord that sent us flying! We flew forwards at about 60 mph, through the rainforest, and back up into the air! We swung there for a few minutes until they could slow us down enough, and we screamed the whole time! It was so much fun, and just the right amount of adrenaline for the day! Here's a link to a video of someone doing the same exact swing that I did with Tori and Katherine, so you can see what I did!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIAsNKA9atg

I think that's enough for now- I'm exhausted just reliving the first day! I'll write more tomorrow, and talk about our next few days that took us trekking through the Daintree Rainforest- the largest Rainforest in Australia, estimated to be about 20,000 years old!!