Day 7 23/07/2009

So I haven't been able to blog as much. I have been really busy!

On Day 4 I went kayaking and skydiving! While kayaking I saw a pod of dolphins. It was really great. There was around 15 of them. Skydiving was amazing! Honestly, the greatest feeling ever. I jumped out from 14,000 feet. Craziness. It was over Rainbow Beach. It was so pretty to see the water and the sand. When I landed on the sand I was a little sad. After 65 seconds of freefalling all I could say was WOW! It was fun to sway back and forth like a bird after the freefall.

That was my last day at the beach and since Monday I have been at a farm. Part of the program I signed up for makes me have one week of training at a farm. Haha. Yeah, me. At a farm. It has actually been pretty nice. I feel like I am getting tougher by the day. On Tuesday we rode horses and fed the animals (hogs, horses, chickens). I rode a horse (I am, well, was TERRIFIED of horses). Luckily with my ability to gab I got in good with the people so they put me on a sweet, well mannered horse. His name is Roney. He was so sweet! He was a bit testy at first. Carol talked me through being the boss and letting him know I was in charge. But now I can walk around the horses and not be afraid. That in itself is a major feat. We also put up panels around bulls (not the ones with the crazy horns). Wednesday was chainsaw work and tractor driving. I am not very good with a chainsaw. I can cut a piece of wood, it just takes me longer than the trained professional. I did okay on the tractor, except for the very end when I stalled it. Whoops! Today was pretty fun. We dug holes to make fences and starting putting in the posts. We also learned how to ride on a motorbike. I did okay with that too. After the motorbike we got to play with the billy goats. They were so cute. I held a triplet named Pearl. Tomorrow we are going to wash bulls. Which sounds like a lot of fun. The people at this farm are so great. We have been having delicious meals every night. I like the farm. It's not the life for me, but it's nice in it's own right. I am glad I had this week here. I like that I am all bruised up and dirty. I feel less dainty. I do work in my big ole California sun glasses and pink or purple work shirt. I haven't worn makeup at all. It turns out there has been girls who worked at this farm trying to doll up. We wake up at 6 am and start work at 7 am. Then we work until our job is done. Which luckily for me my group works fast so we have been getting down around 4:30 or 5 pm.

All apart of the learning experience.

I will be flying out to Alice Springs on Sunday. I got a job over there at a Hotel/Restaurant/Pub. So I will be working there for the next three months. I am glad it is not farm work. But I am also glad that I know I could pull my own weight if I were to be stuck on a farm again. :)

Day 3 18/07/09

Day 3



Craziness. I have started losing track of time. Since this is my first free weekend before I start training and work I decided might as well start the adventure. So seeing as this is my 3rd day I feel amazing. I absolutely love it here. The people are so friendly. It's beautiful. This may be paradise.



As for living in hostles, the first two I have been to are great. Not scary like the movie at all. Most of the people in my room are from VisitOz. I have become close to Megan (she's from Scotland) and Flavie (she's from France). We feel lucky to have found each other and we go on outings together. We signed up for feeding wild dolphins together. Afterwards we took our first surf lessons.



Feeding the wild dolphins was great. They were humpback dolphins. They stay in estuaries and bays. I got to feed them twice. I fed Mystique and Harmony (both boys..). Mystique is the older one and the leader of the pack. He got attacked by a shark, so his dorsal is all mangled. It was really neat to feed them. They were sweet and gentle creatures. My mom is right, they are like little Buddhas of the water.



Surfing. Holy cow! Surfing is AMAZING!!! (by the way, as I am typing this I can hear a guy performing on the didgeridoo) I absolutely loved surfing. I even stood up a few times. It was possibly the dream surfing lesson ever. The only thing that could have made it better was to get a private lesson... maybe I should look into that. Our instructor was a young guy named Byron. Just think, tan, blondish hair, I think he had blue eyes.. Accent. Very dreamy. Haha. He was really patient. There was 11 of us learning how to surf. I think I will try surfing more and more. Maybe a couple more lessons, just in case. The feel of the water is breath taking. It's better than snowboarding (in my opinion) cause when you fall it's just water.



So now I am leaving to go join the others drinking and listening to the didgeridoo. It's great so far. I can't wait to tell you about tomorrow!

Day 1 16/07/2009

So Carol and I have been here for a whole 5 hours! Brisbane is beautiful.

The flight over here was amazing! I got lucky and had an emergency exit row (which means lots of room for my feet). The flight was only 13 hours. It seemed to go by very quickly. I sat next to two really nice guys from Brisbane. Michael and Adrian. Adrian gave me his left over calling card which was very sweet. So I got to make a phone call home to my mom. :) I also exchanged info with the guys so now I have two contacts from Brissy.

Carol and I managed to get past Customs. There was a sweet beagle who thought I had food in bag. Luckily there was none. :)

We got picked up and taken to our hostel. We are staying at the Yellow Submarine. We saw some sort of wild turkey there. Haha. So far it has been great!

We got our money exchanged. The money here is so pretty. The $50's are mustard yellow, the $20's are red, $10's are green and blue (my favorite), and the $5's are a pinkish purple. I kind of feel like I am in Hogwarts. (Super nerdy, I know) The money and coins here are so different! There are no pennies!

The people here are all different. There are hippies, the posh looking ones, travelers. All of that fun stuff. It has been a busy first day. It doesn't even feel real yet. Carol and I sat down at The Coffee Stop (or Spot.. something like that. I think it's like our Starbucks. I saw two on one block) and it doesn't really feel like we are truely in Australia.

It's winter here. At first Carol and I thought we were super tough... but those wind chills get cold! So we have decided we are going up North first. It's warmer there. Other than that we are just sight seeing and walking around until we pass out on our face!

We are looking into getting our picture taking with a koala. It just seems like today is not the day for it. We look like we have been on a plane for 13 hours! Haha. We must look horrible cause a salon lady offered to cut our hair. Haha.

The city itself is quite pretty. There is a mix of old buildings and new ones. I love it. There are beautiful old churches and high skyscrapers.

With all the accents I hear now I feel like I am already getting use to them. It's tough for me not to go around trying to copy the way the Australians speak.

Oh! And the cars are all backwards. The drivers seat is where the passenger sits. It's like bizarro world. It was strange to climb in on the left and not have a wheel in front of me. I don't plan on ever driving here. I would always want to drive on the opposite side of the road!

Until Tomorrow!

Today is the Day!

Today is the day I fly out to Australia. In 15 hours I will be on a plane. Phew. The nerves are kicking in. I am still very excited of course. It's just that it seems more real now.

I hope I don't get too ansty on the plane. Last Thursday I flew out to Maine. The 5 hour flight to New York seemed too long. Haha. Maybe it will be better cause I will have Carol on the plane with me.

I am about to start my final attempt of repacking my big backpack. I have to rememeber to make room!

I have had a great past few weeks here. Camping with my girlfriends in Oregon, hanging out with my family, going to San Diego, checking out Hollywood, flying to Maine. I have been busy! It was such a fun time to spend my last weeks "In the States".

I am super excited at all the super neat things I will be seeing Down Under! Oh! That reminds me.. I need to take a picture the the direction the toliet flushes! Haha. I used Fruity Cheerios (One of Gracie's faves!). The toliets flush clockwise here. Now that makes me wonder if the toliet on the plane will switch directions while we are in the air? Hmmm.

Okay that is enough blogging for right now. I have tons to do!

It's almost time!!

Testing! Testing! I am not in Australia yet.. but I figured I should learn how to do this before I am in a foreign country.

So I have 13 days left and since I have left my lovely home in Washington I have been basically visiting friends and family non-stop. It's been a great excuse to see all of them again.

In Oregon I had a great time camping with my closest girlfriends so I feel like I can possibly survive Australia. I chopped some wood. So I must be tough, right? :)

In California I am getting myself use to warm weather and sand under my feet. I am also working on my base tan. I hear there is a huge whole in the ozone down under... Don't worry! I have sunblock!

I am pretty much packed and ready for the trip. I had to pre pack everything before I came to California. I almost fell backwards with my heavy backpack. Haha. Luckily my friends helped me out by grabbing my bag and keeping me upright. I have since gotten use to the weight and can walk a bit with it on. I do not plan on hiking around with this on. That just sounds like torture to me.

Well that is all for now! I am super excited to meet up with Carol (my friend and traveling buddy) and fly out! 16 hours on a plane should go by quick, right? Oh! I should probably mention our plans for the trip. We are traveling with the help of VisitOz which is a company that allows young adults to travel and work all across Australia. I heard of the company from Brittney's (my best friend) aunt. So Carol and I are planning on working in the same towns but the chances of us working together is pretty slim. It will be nice to get a chance to meet new people but still have a familar face to see at the end of the day. We start off in Brisbane and have a week of training. Carol and I signed up for the Hospitality section of our job options. We don't know exactly what and where will be be working. As long as we have our buddy system I am sure we will do great.

Okay. That should be all for now. If you have questions feel free to email me.

Have a great day!