Finding Nemo and Other Tales...

This entry may be a bit long so please bear with me. I have finally moved into my apartment in South Bank and I am attempting to get settled.






On the 15th, we went to the Great Barrier Reef to go snorkeling and/or scuba diving. I don't know if many of you know but I am not a big fan of the ocean. I forced myself to go snorkeling by telling myself that this is only a once in a lifetime thing. I went with a diver and wearing a floatie. The reef (as they say here) is absolutely beautiful. I do not own an underwater camera nor did I rent one, so I have everything memorized. I got to see Nemo and Dory; well the fish they were based on anyway. :-P It was amazing. I have never seen anything like it -- everything was so close and in reach -- and I am so glad I did it. The coral was not bright pink because it is damaged. It was still absolutely stunning to be swimming with a school of fish and see a clam. We had to wear stinger suits to protect us from jellyfish, and I felt like a superhero in mine. ;-)

The second time I went snorkeling, we went in salt water. It reminded me a lot of the Dead Sea: both the taste (blech!) and the color of the water. This time, I went by myself and without a floatie. Definitely NOT a good idea! I ended up knocking off my fins and somehow losing my snorkel piece, and had to be rescued by one of the boats! Thankfully, everyone here is so nice and the crew wasn’t upset. They even just said, “No worries, we’ll find it tomorrow!” However, prior to losing my snorkel and knocking off my fins, I did swim to this little island and I was pretty impressed I made it there. On my way back, well...that was my rescue incident.


The day after that was the 16th and our Day of Adventure. Lots of people chose not to do anything and a part of me wishes I hadn’t (I’m having phone issues and need to go to the store, which isn’t close to here). However I did really enjoy what I did as my Day of Adventure; I went on a jungle tour. I thought it was going to be hiking in the jungle and as I am not a fabulous hiker, I was a little nervous. It ended up being a nice walk and before that we went to the Wildlife Habitat (similar to the Rainforestation place we went days before). I finally got my kangaroo photo! Yay! After our hike and Wildlife Habitat visit, we went and got ice cream with some strange flavors. One tasted like coffee which I liked and there was one that tasted like wine; there were two others but I can’t remember their names or what they tasted like. We then went on a river cruise and I got to see a baby crocodile and a baby alligator. I also saw the largest tree frog in the world. The last part of our day was a trip to this gorgeous beach. Like many beaches here, you cannot swim in the water because there are crocodiles (and jellyfish, like back home).


That night I was able to meet with my cousins who were in town at the same time I was. It was really nice to see familiar faces before I headed off to Brisbane the next day.

At the Brisbane (pronounced Bris-BIN – I am learning how to get corrected around here!) airport, I bought my first Aussie book. Yes, Mom, it was a young adult book but it was so worth it. I am almost done with it and I promise to have a review up soon.

Later that day after unpacking my stuff in my apartment room, I was feeling homesick so I went by bus (I really need to learn the system; I have no idea what buses I am taking!) to a mall to get some supplies. I ended up going into a Border’s and buying the second and third of the series (Corey, can you guess what books these are?). I guess I was looking a little sad because the employees asked me what was wrong and for some reason their smiling faces compelled me to tell them I felt alone and homesick and because I loved books I came to a bookstore. One of the employees gave me a hug and it made me feel so much better. I asked about how to apply for work (here the minimum wage is $14! – both a good and bad thing, particularly if you are used to friendly waiters and waitresses; they get paid whether or not they serve you quickly so they tend to take their time), and I am going to see how my classes go before seeing if I can apply for a job/have time for one. I also went to Target, just browsed (today I went back and bought some hangers and a reusable water bottle), and went to Cole’s their supermarket. I bought a few items and went home.

I ended up going to bed at 8 pm and woke up at 5.30 today. I am going to try to go to bed at 11 or 11.30 to get back in my regular routine. This 5.30/6.30 am thing isn’t really working for me. :-P

Today I went back to the mall with one of my flatmates (they call apartments here flats) Becca and bought some school supplies at Office Works, and returned a surge protector to the electronics store in exchange for an electrical adapter.

Next week starts school orientation and on the 28th, we begin classes. Hope all is well in the states and abroad!