Ketchup

"I come from a Land Down Under". Actually, I don't but that's where I am for the next 4 months! It still hasn't hit me at all and when I wake up in the morning I usually have to remind myself where I am and what I am doing. So I have now been in the great country of Australia for a little over a week and just now I am I posting the blog. So much has happened so we are going to play a little game called Ketchup. Here we go:

Denver to LA, LA to Sydney, Sydney to Cairns

The first leg of the trip was from Denver to LA where the wonderful Leslie Waller came to pick me up and I stayed the night with her in her apartment in LA. The next morning I got the

tour of downtown including Hollywood Boulevard, Forrest Lawn Cometary, Disney and Warner Brother Studios and all the cool places that the stars hang out. I was not fortunate to run into any stars however...

The flight from LA to Sydney lasted 14 hours and after taking two Benadryl I slept most of flight, woke up to eat, walk around a little bit, tried to watch a movie and then went back to sleep. The flight was delayed of course which made our connection to Cairns for orientation a little dodgy. We thought that we could just catch a later flight to Cairns but the next flight wasn't leaving Sydney for the next three days. So we got an express pass through Customs and Immigration and got to the flight that they were holding for us just in time for takeoff. So after jumping through many hoops we arrived in Cairns in one piece, but without luggage. Our bags did not make the journey. But as the Aussies' say it was just "Bad Luck" and everything was worked out in the end. After all, we did get money for our bags being late which made everything better.

Orientation

The first couple of days in Cairns were beyond magnificent. We traveled into the rainforest to a national park called RainForeStation where we got to see all sorts of Aussie animals, plants and got a look into the life of an Aborigine. I got to pet a kangaroo, get my picture taken holding a koala and see some massive crocodiles. We took an amphibious WWII duck tour through the jungle and learned about all the different kinds of vegetation which was very interesting. Then we got to learn how to spear hunt, throw a boomerang, and play a didgeredoo by an Aborigine, followed by an authentic Aboriginal dance show. Very very cool.

The next day I went on another jungle tour. We drove up into the rainforest near the Daintree river. We went to another zoo where saw more animals like the day before. We drove to the river and got to go swimming and went on a Croc Cruise down the river where we saw three wild crocodiles. We were totally safe in the boat but it was still a little unnerving. However they just were basking in the sun and didn't even flinch as we sailed by. We drove through lots of country side all day as we visited the beach and saw sugar cane fields and tea farms and wild animals. It was a long but very fun day.

The last day in Cairns we visited the great barrier reef. We sailed out to a spot on the reef about 2 hours away from shore where we got to snorkel around a sandbar and around the boat and then got to go scuba diving. The coral was spectacular with all the different kinds and colors. There were tons of fish and we even got to see two sea turtles, a sting ray and a huge (about 4 or 5 feet long) parrot fish. It was definitely an amazing experience. After lunch on the boat we went to another snorkel spot where we saw more coral and fish. After our sail back to the mainland it was time for a night out on town with the Ultimate Party Bus. Five different bars that we were driven to on a double decker party bus. Lots and lots of fun and a great end to a wonderful first week in Australia.

Welcome Home

On July 4th (Happy Birthday America) we arrived in Brisbane--my new home until November. Brizzie (hence the name of the blog) is beautiful and reminds me of a city like San Francisco. It is a bigger city with a river that splits down the middle. I will be attending Queensland University of Technology, taking classes and traveling whenever possible. It will take a couple of days to get used to everything but I am willing to take on a challenge. For now I have two weeks to get acquainted with everything before schools starts. My apartment is very nice and has an incredible view. I think that I will get used to living here shortly.

For now that's life. Hope everyone out there is doing as well as I am! Miss all of you terribly and thanks for reading :)