G'Day Mates!!!

Welcome to my blog! I am a senior at Baylor University and will graduate on December 18, 2010. Before I graduate though, I wanted to experience the educational system in another country…and have a little vacation at the same time :) When I was younger, I always said that if I had the chance to visit any country in the world, it would be Australia… That sounds corny but I’m not kidding. I actually have a survey from third grade that asked... “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?,” and my answer was Australia!

Well, the opportunity arose through Baylor to study abroad in Brisbane, Australia, to teach and assist at Whites Hill State College (a middle school in Brisbane), to independently travel to Sydney and Cairns, and also to travel to New Zealand on the way back to America. The trip will last from November 9 to December 12. Needless to say, I am super excited to travel to Australia and learn about the people and culture in this country!!!

I hope you enjoy reading my blog and I look forward to sharing my adventures with you! G’Day mates! Let’s go to the land down under!!!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

I Found Nemo in the Reef!

This weekend we traveled to Cairnes (sounds like cans). On Friday, we were slightly stressed about finding transportation to the airport. Fortunately, Kelsey's teacher, Robyn (our Aussie mum), arranged for a taxi to pick us up from the school and Whites Hill paid for the charge which was $60! The teachers at Whites Hill have been very thoughtful and considerate throughout our stay here.

Our flight from Brisbane to Cairnes was at 6:40 p.m.. The security at the airport was much different from the United States. Not once did they ask for identification! We also did not have to take off jewelry or shoes when going through security.

When we arrived in Cairnes, the hotel transportation picked us up at the airport. Our hotel was very unique. We literally had to walk through a rainforest to get to our room. At times, we were asking ourselves, "Where the heck are we?" It was raining when we arrived so we sat by the pool for a bit before going to bed.





On Saturday, bright and early, the Reef tour bus drove us to Port Douglas where we hopped on a boat to drive to the Great Barrier Reef site. There are 50 tour boats that you can take to see the reef. While we were at the reef, we did not see another single tour boat. This tells you how big the reef is... REALLY BIG!





On the boat, they served coffee and biscuits. The trip from the shore to the reef was about an hour. Lunch was immediately served upon arrival which included chicken, potato salad, beef stir fry, seafood pasta and fruits. We ate and changed into our snorkel gear quickly.




I have never snorkeled before so it took some getting used to but after a while I was an old pro (with a noodle, haha). A guy working on the boat gave five of us a discount on a tour farther out into the reef. This time I had to leave my noodle behind. We swam for several hours. Let me just say one thing... the Great Barrier Reef absolutely deserves to be one of the 7 wonders of the world! It was incredible and so surreal. Millions of fish are swimming everywhere. There is a whole new world beneath the water that we don't even realize.



We were able to touch a blue starfish, a sea cucumber, a giant clam and learn about many fish and creatures as well. For example, the butterfly fish only swim in pairs, one male and one female. Once they find each other, they are meant to be together for the rest of their lives. If one dies, the other soon dies as well.

Here are a few other interesting facts about the Great Barrier Reef:
-2,300 km long
-Started forming half a million years ago
-Current state of the reef is 8,000-10,000 years old
-Reef grows 3cm every 100 years
-350 hard coral species, 100-200 soft coral species

My trip to the Great Barrier Reef was the best experience in Australia so far!

We arrived back at the hotel around 6:30 p.m. Deanna, Kelsey and I sat on the dock at the pool. Then we ordered pizza from Dominoes (yay, somewhere we actually know!) and relaxed in the hotel. It was a long and exhausting day of fun!



On Sunday, we explored the harbor, casino, mall, market, and shops in the city of Cairnes. We ate lunch along the harbor. Then we went back to the hotel and bought internet for a while before we had to pack up and head to the airport for some more sitting and waiting. We arrived back in Brisbane at 10:15 p.m.. Overall, the weekend was a great success!!!

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