Paradise

This week marks the end of the longest winter break I have ever had, and possibly the least productive extended period of my life… thus far. It has been approximately 2 months and 1 week of nomadic glory, while many of my fellow American mates have been in school for over a month now. While I am a little excited about returning to a normal schedule and making some sort of sense out of my life, I did very much enjoy being a rolling stone, a leaf in the wind etc.

I did however go on one last glorious trip and am very glad to report back that paradise is only a thirty minute ferry ride away from Uni (James Cook). I am not sure if it was the laid-back island lifestyle, the eclectic group of nine ambitious students searching for one last hoor-ah, or the fact that we lived out of a car for three days, but this trip was truly perfect.

The first person I must mention is Jared. He was not only the coordinator and chauffer of this trip, but also the life and the energy. There are few people I have met in my life thus far that could take seven Americans and one Canadian camping, hiking, swimming, drinking, and touring with boundless energy whilst wearing a swanky Colombian hat. I am also a little suspicious that he does not own any shoes, not even one. He is, without a doubt, a true tropical Queensland Aussie.

After a slow start Friday morning, Jared rallied our group and we eventually made it to the island and found the perfect beach to sleep on….

I must admit, I thought sleeping on the beach sounded like a good time….but as darkness came, and the nocturnal tropical animals began to rise, I was just about ready to check into a hostel. However, we were about 2.5 km from any type of civilization so I had to put such thoughts to rest and fall asleep… only to wake up to a huge bite on my ass. Typical Americans, thinking they can brave the bush. Since I was still alive, and thus whatever had bitten me must not have been poisonous, I hardened up (which became the motto for the weekend) and began one of the grungiest and most spontaneous weekends of my life.

The day fell into a routine of swimming…

And hiking…..

And then we found a Koala!

This was by far the highlight of the trip for me.

As evening two rolled around, I was silently becoming more and more concerned about sleeping out in the wild again. Thankfully, nature heard my call, and a cyclone-type rain storm began. This meant it was every man or woman for themselves in terms of a sleeping arrangement. A few people from our group made some friends with extra beds in their rooms at the hostel, I and a few other people slept in the car, and two people slept in a tent. I personally have never seen rainstorms like these anywhere in the world, and I am not sure there is enough money in Australia to get me to sleep outside during one.

When we rounded up the troops in the morning, the two brave (foolish) young men who slept outside were absolutely soaking, along with all of their belongings. If someone had thrown them and their belongings into a pool, I would not have known the difference. They later told us of how they cut water bottles in half and scooped water out of the tent. Americans.

We collectively decided it was it time to return back to Townsville once again, perhaps, however, a little tougher and just maybe a bit more Aussie.

Week One

Seeing as I miss you all terribly and perhaps you all want to know what I am up to, I have chosen to create a blog to keep you updated on the adventures I am partaking in and to record my journey. I am not really sure how often I will be doing these, but it will be much easier than writing a ton of facebook messages.

I have never been one to have a problem falling asleep (actually quite the contrary as most of you know) but for some reason I chose to take some Tylenol PM on the plane with the intention of waking up in Australia refreshed and ready to hit the outback. They should, however, call it Tylenol coma. I popped a couple of them fifteen minutes into the flight and could not find the strength to emerge myself from my trance-like sleep to eat my two complimentary meals. My fellow seat mates seemed a little unsure of this unconscious person who may or may not be alive but were gracious enough to snag me a couple cookies which I ate as I finished up a movie and landed in Brisbane.

Upon landing in Brisbane, two hours late mind you, about one hundred American students had to go through customs, collect their roughly 150 pounds of baggage, run 2 kilometers to the domestic terminal, and then go through security again to re-check the bags.... in ninety degree heat with 80% humidity, in order to catch flight number two. Mind you Qantas was holding the plane for us at a cost of 300$ per minute, seeing as 2/3 of the plane were not present at the estimated time of departure. Needless to say, the pressure was on.

Eventually we made it to Cairns where I was lodged at a backpackers hostile and treated to a very touristy couple of days.

kangaroo feeding:

snorkeling the great barrier reef :

and my personal favorite, learning about the native aboriginals...white collar, blue collar, loin cloth...I mean really though, who doesn't have a gardener these days?

Finally, it was time to join reality again and travel south to Townsville, QLD and move into my college (dorm) and start orientation week. After a four hour bus ride in eighty degree heat with no air conditioner I was brought to my humble abode for the next six months:

I live on a floor with seven people, however I have only met three. There is Judith, from Norway, who lives across from me and is very traditionaly Norweigan. Tenille, from Australia, who is certainly much older than I am and not quite sure what to make of her 20 year old American neighbor. And finally, my personal favorite, Peter. He is from some island two hours south of Australia which I cannot pronounce let alone spell. He is a true islander, with the hardest exterior and softest personality I have ever met. I love him.

Seeing as this is my first year at James Cook University, I am technically a "fresher" again. This means I have to wear a stupid hat all week and if I am caught without this hat, I have to do ten push ups.

One last thing I have to mention, I live in the Jungle. Not a day goes by that I do not see wild animals roaming in the rainforest's around me. I have seen packs of kangaroo, yes, packs, as in more than one. There are countless frogs, bugs, lizards, kangaroo rats, birds and tonight I saw a turtle on my way home from the dining hall cruising down the main street of campus. I have also been warned about the many snakes in the area that like to go inside the colleges and take refuge from the rain, which has forced me to start a routine of checking all corners of the bathroom every time I take a shower.

This video explains it much better than I can: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmRexWQhs3M