Jumping off of a 40 meter bridge. . .

Ready?????? 3. . .2. . .1. . . .. .

     I was standing on the bridge- what I would like to call the plank because it reminded me of the planks in movies like Pirates of the Carribean.  (But of course, people walk the plank and die in movies-which was a very reassuring thought when I was about to jump).  I think that the bungy jumping employee was ready for me to jump, so then I would stop asking him questions.  I probably asked the most questions in the two-minute time period that it took for me to "Walk the plank" than I would have thought was humanly possible.  Here are some of the questions that I asked the guide---

1.  Do I jump or Dive? (Either)

2. If I dive, how do I dive? (You pretend that you are diving into a swimming pool!)
3. Man, we are already to the edge of the plank? (This was more of a statement than a question.)

4. What if a boat comes when I am going?

5. Do I close my eyes?

6. When do I pull the rope?

7. (My personal favorite): HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE???

And do ya want to know his response???  He said that he was "filling in" today.  FUNNY.JOKE.  

I was finally ready to jump!  But, before I could go, I had to pose for two pictures

     The guide then told me to hold my hands together and follow my hands.  This was the best advice that I have received because it made it (a little) easier to go.  What seems like a second later, he counted down from 3 and I WENT!!!  

     Though it all went very quickly, I remember the feeling when I was falling.  It was similar to the feeling on the rides in amusement parks that lift people up to the top of the tower and then the metal piece falls many stories to the ground.  It was the feeling in my stomach that was a blend of adrenaline and excitement.

Then I blinked and I was bungy-ing on the way back up.  But I was SOAKING WET!

     I think that I went up and down about 5 times (and every time I went down, the feeling in my stomach came back).  I was pulling the rope attached to my vest because they told me to pull it after I stopped going up and down so it would flip me to a normal position.  The truth is, I tried to pull it but I was too nervous and thought that I would fall down if I did.  So, it was a surprise to him that I was still facing the water when he pulled me up!  Everyone laughed and then he flipped me to the correct way.

    Bungy Jumping was one of the scariest, most-thrilling things that I have ever done.  Afterward, friends asked me if I would ever do it again.  I told them that I definitely would!       

Holiday Planz

Australia has more public holidays than any other country in the world.   (Which, of course, I welcome!)  For example, next weekend is Easter weekend.  Easter weekend is a perfect example of Australia’s love of public holidays!

We get Saturday and Sunday off because it is the weekend, and have Friday off because it is Good Friday.  Total days off so far: 3

On Monday, we also get the day off because it is Easter Monday.  Total days off so far: 4

Problem: Anzac day also fell on Monday this year.  Anzac day is similar to Veterans Day in the U.S and it is where Australians remember the people who served in wars and who gave their life for the country.

Solution to the problem: Pretend that Anzac day is Tuesday and make Tuesday a public holiday.  Grand total of days off next weekend: 5.

5=SWEEET!

And 5= enough time for a fun trip to New Zealand. 

Public Holidays ROCK!

S.C.A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Hunt and Birthday

I really like chocolate.  Especially dark chocolate!  But, I did not realize that all of my friends realized exactly how much I love chocolate.  As it turns out, they know me pretty well.

For my birthday, 5 of my friends chipped in and bought me a dark chocolate bar. . .AND IT IS THE SIZE OF MY HEAD!!!  400g of delicious, smooth, tasty dark chocolate.  I think that I will be set for the rest of my time in Australia, haha.  And if that was not enough dark chocolate, another one of my friends bought me a dark chocolate bar as well! 

I was not expecting them to do anything for my birthday, but my friends were so great!  They decorated the inside and outside of my dorm, bought me a triple-chocolate cake (again-totally perfect!), and created a SCAVENGER HUNT through Manly for that night.

The photo/video scavenger hunt was a blast!  We were divided into three teams and then hit the road.  (I might have gotten a little too competitive and was making my team power walk down the huge hill, hoping that we could fulfill all 21 items in the 2 hour time allotment.  AND WE TOTALLY FINISHED EVERTHING ON THE LIST!

Some of my favorite scavenger hunt items were:

*Getting 21 strangers to hold a sign that said HAPPY 21^st BIRTHDAY LAUREN

*Finding strangers with a tattoo (asking people if they had a tattoo can be a little awkward by the way- but you get hilarious responses).

*Finding someone with a lot of facial piercings.  This was entertaining.

*Enacting a choice of two scenes.  The last supper, and Australian aboriginals.  My group enacted the Last Supper with McDonalds (“Maca’s” here) and I was Jesus with an ice cream cone!

*Dancing on the corso with a guy playing the flute in the background

*Trying to take a picture of someone with an ID from Italy, France, or Germany.  Most people surprisingly did not want us to take a picture of their ID, haha. . .(I don’t think I would let strangers take a picture of my ID either J)

Such a perfect 21^st birthday in Australia!

I’m On a Boat Ya’ll

. . .. I’m on a (small, bright yellow, non-motorized) boat!

Kayaking from beach-to-beach was an amazing way to spend my Birthday morning.  Megan and I rented a two person kayak in Manly and went on a self-guided tour of the Harbour.  Along the way, we stopped at small beaches that I had never seen before (the only way to get to certain beaches was by boat!).  It was a beautiful morning and such a perfect day to Kayak.  Nothing was going to get in our way. . .except for . . .maybe a ferry!!!

The ferries that travel from Manly to Sydney are large ferries.  They sit 1,000 people!  Megan and I were able to avoid the ferries by staying close to the shoreline and near the beaches.  After passing by 4 small beaches, we decided to kayak across the harbour to the other side (we were feeling ambitious).  So, before crossing we looked left, right, left. . .actually right, left, right here- ha, I don’t remember if boats (like the ferries) travel on the opposite side like cars!  And it was CLEAR!!!  Paddle, paddle, paddle.

When I say it was clear, I mean that there were no ferries traveling near us at that time.  There was one way off in the distance near Sydney and another at Manly Wharf, but they did not seem of concern.  When we crossed the harbour, the waves were large and it was so much fun to paddle through them.  We made it to the middle of the harbour and then, to our surprise, started to see the ferry at the Wharf start to steam.  Oh. No. Paddle faster!!!

After around 30 strokes, I looked to my right and the ferry had started to move, but it seemed like we were still in the same place.  So, we kept paddling (very quickly and without a break) to finally get out of the way!  I wish I would have recorded this because 1. I think we would have made the Olympic Rowing Team with that video and 2. We probably looked pretty funny when we were paddling.

And, I don’t know if it was the constant paddling for a long period of time when crossing the harbour or because of the long time that we spent kayaking, but my shoulder was kind of numb the next day!

~*~ Jetboating ~*~

I came prepared.  I had a change of clothes and my hair in a ponytail, and I was ready for anything- at least ready to get wet!  My friend, Kyle, and I were ready to experience Sydney Harbour in a different way- through JETBOATING!  The Jet boat was a lot bigger than I expected (I thought that it would be small, like the ones that people use on the lakes back at home) and it seated around 20 people!  A wide range of ages went jetboating with us and finally, after putting on a huge raincoat and signing a form that said that it was not their fault if we died, we were ready to go!

Our guide introduced himself as “Grins.”  (And, believe it or not, he was grinning when he talked to us, haha).  Mr. Grins said that we should hold on especially when we do super fast spins to avoid falling out of the boat into Sydney Harbour.  Okay, deal!  Then, he proceeded to tell us where to sit.  He assigned Kyle, me, and another younger person to the front seat-scary!- and it seemed like he put the older people in the back of the boat.

Though I did not think about this at the time we started, I now realize why he did this.  He decided to put the younger people at the front so we could have the joy of seeing out the front window----NOT!!!----I think that he put us in the front so we would have the hardest impact on each wave.  (Because believe me, my eyes were closed during some of those waves!)  And, it was probably an added bonus of hearing us scream at the top of our lungs when we raced over huge waves.

Which reminds me- Mr. Grins had a somewhat scary/unnerving laugh.  It was like he enjoyed when we went high in the air and came down with a huge THHHUUUMMMPPPP!  His laugh reminded me of the Joker’s laugh in Batman!  Mr. Grins (aka Mr. Scary laugh man) also enjoyed doing super fast spins in which the whole boat would get soaking wet!

Jetboating was a blast, and it felt like the 40 minute ride went by so quickly!  Such a great way to see the Sydney coastline. . .and get a little wet of course!

Seein' the Show! (at the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE!)

not an Ordinary experience- getting to see an opera at the

Pretty sydney opera house.  the show was

Entertaining even though I could not understand

the fRench language.  altogether, it was

A spectacular night!

See, doesn't she look like a playa? (this is a picture from
the same cast that I saw perform)

     I don't know what else I need to say after that description of my night, seeing the opera, Carmen.  Other than Carmen is a PLAYER.  She purposely flirts with all guys and leads them on.  And, quite frankly, this is why she died.
(PS IF YOU ARE GOING TO SEE CARMEN, DO NOT READ THIS- it might give away some of the story.)
     This picture is from scene 1 where Carmen dances around all of the guys and gives the rose to Don Jose, her stud-muffin (even though he is supposed to marry another girl!)  Then Carmen gets into a fight and Don Jose lets her escape from prison.  To make a long story short, Don Jose waited for her and decided that he wanted to marry her- but wait- Carmen already had another man by then and did not like Don Jose anymore.  So what did  Don Jose do?  He stabs Carmen in the heart with a dagger.  Ouch.
     Though it was tough to understand some parts, I was able to carefully watch the motions and get the general idea of what was happening in the Opera.  Let me just tell you that when Don Jose came on stage at the very end- I WAS SCARED- and I was sitting high up in the auditorium.  I could just tell that something bad was about to happen because Don Jose had an angry facial expression AND he was holing a dagger.  Those two things don't go well together.
     Poor Carmen- but that is what she gets for being a major player!  (haha, just kidding) 

Semi-Lame random fact:  I downloaded the Carmen songs "Toreador Song" and the Orchestra songs to my laptop so I could listen to them before I went to the Opera.  I would have attempted to hum the tune during the opera, but the notes were too high for me to even hum! 

How (not to) Snorkel

Read this first: Everyone should adjust their goggles BEFORE jumping in the ocean. . .

Whew, now that I got the important part out of the way-

Ready to go!

     Yesterday, my friend and I went snorkeling at Shelly Beach, which is a 5 minute walk from ICMS.  After our guide showed us how to de-fog our goggles (aka spit into the goggles and then rub it), adjust our flippers, and make sure that our snorkel was adjusted, then we were off into the ocean.

Snorkeling was so cool, except that water kept getting into my left eye.  I re-adjusted my goggles and continued swimming- only to find that the.same.thing.happened.

     I decided to try to tighten the goggle straps one more time.  By this time, I felt like I was missing out on super cool fish, or coral, or sharks (the guide said that small sharks were only 100m away!)  So, I tightened them. . .umm. . .too tight.  Yes, my left eye glass popped off and sunk in the ocean- and I could not retrieve it because, oh ya, I could not see.

     So, I had a marvelous idea!  I decided to go to the guide and tell him that water kept leaking into my goggles.  He asked if I had tried to tighten them- yes!- and then asked if I could give it to him to fix.  Let me just tell you how SMART I felt when I handed over my goggles that only had one lens. 
     The guide figured out the problem: water was leaking into my goggles because one lens was missing.
Me: Oh really??? (Trying to avoid the subject that I actually broke them with my hard-core tightening brigade)

And the kind guide let me use his goggles for the whole tour even though we were pretty far away from the beach.  AND I COULD SEE!  Seeing schools of fish was my favorite part,  It was a blast!

     Lesson learned- next time, I will adjust my goggles before I am in the water!  

  

How to-----

------SLEEP ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:

The typical position.  Why it is
Good: People know you are
trying to sleep!

After a long week (or a fun trip), it is amazing to catch up on sleep while you ride in Australia's public transportation.  Whether you are going by ferry, train, bus, or plane, taking a quick nap is perfect- just make sure that you don't miss your stop!

     I have learned to utilize my "nap time" and have provided 7 options for the most comfortable positions for me.  Note: though the pictures are from the train and ferry, these positions work on the plane and bus work just as well!

This is called the "huddle" and if you
are taller than 5 feet, you will probably
need two seats just for a little extra
leg room.

On the Train!  How to do this-
put your knees on the seat
infront of you and tilt head. *This is
awesome for bus rides!

The "head-tilt" rest
To do this, use the top of the seat as the pillow.  Sure, it hurts your neck when you wake up, but it makes it worth it if you look good while you do it (particularly by opening your mouth and/or snoring)

 

  

The. . .uhhhh. . .a little out of it
sleeping position for on the ferry.

 The sleeping bird position.  The benefits: people will give you space (even if that means a whole bench on the ferry!)

The "Arm as a Pillow" Position.  This might
just be the most comfortable!  It is practically
like being on a bed with a pillow except that
you are on a really hard bench using your arm!

My Guidebook.

     DO NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT bring a book to Australia that contains the Australian phrases that are used "all of the time."  (I just put All of the Time in quotes because the book makes the reader think that Australians speak a different language-even though it still is English-and you won't be able to understand them unless you learn the phrases).
      So, I spent most of the flight on the way to Australia reading the book and MEMORIZING phrases that I should use to communicate with Australians.  Most of the quotes compare how you are feeling to an animal.  Like "I am feeling skippedy like a Kangaroo". . .okay, it did not actually say this, but the quotes were like this!
     Thankfully, a kind Australian at the airport looked at the book and told me to Never. Say. These. Phrases- unless I wanted to look like a goober of course! 
     I still have the book (one of my friends let me borrow it for this semester because she what probably trying to play a prank on me and have me embarrass myself, haha.) and last week, my Australian friends found it on my desk.  Let me just say that anyone who is planning on coming to Australia should NOT bring one of these Australian Phrase books!  No matter what!  I know there are tons of lists of what to pack on a trip Down Under, but I think there is one more list that is more important than this:
What not to pack:
Australian Phrase Book.
  

On the Way Back

     Since part of the train tracks were closed on the way back from Katoomba (where we stayed in the Blue Mountains), we had to take the bus and then train to get back to Sydney.  From Sydney, we take the ferry back to Manly.

     The reason that I told you all of the transportation is because on the way back from the Blue Mountains, my friend and I were in a mood where we thought EVERTHING was hilarious.  For instance, since there were 17 people from ICMS on the trip to the Blue Mountains, we all left at different times- and we used this to our advantage.  My friend and I thought that it would be absolutely hilarious if we left "secret notes" at all of the public transportation stops on the way back to Sydney for our friends to find later.  These stops included the bus station, train station, other train station, ferry loading station, and the ferry station back at Manly.  The notes said how much we love our Frandsss and how cool we are.  For one of the pages, I wrote a poem that was amazing and even rhyming!  Pictured above is us making the notes on the bus.

     After we wrote all of the cool notes, we realized a small problem: we had nothing to hang them with!  Being super thrifty people, we decided to make sticky tack with. . .chewing gum. Ya, we got a tiny piece of gum and played with it until it was not as sticky and stuck a little to the back of the sheets to hang.

     We hung 5 notes and guess how many the rest of the group saw??? 1.  Yes, 1.  All of my beautiful drawings and poetry went to waste (but I am sure that lots of other people got a kick out of the random signs at the public transportation stops). 

     Here is one of my drawings. . . .and I know, I know. . ..I should have been an art major!!! ha!

Keeper of the Map-Blue Mountains

     A week before my Blue Mountains trip, one of my Aussie friends said, "Don't expect much. . .tourists come to the Blue Mountains and are disappointed because they don't see BLUE mountains."
     Before she said that, I had imagined something like Gatlinburg in the U.S, with hiking trails and a small town in the center of the mountains.  I never really considered what the name "Blue Mountains" meant, but I was definitely not expecting blue trees (like apparently other tourists were expecting!).  I learned later is that the name "Blue Mountains" originates because of the blue haze that comes from Eucalyptus trees. . .and just in case anyone was wondering- the trees are green!!! haha

     I don't know if it was the beautiful weather, the people, or the Blue Mountains in general, but this trip was one of my favorite ones yet!  My favorite part was HIKING the trails that go along the ridge, with spectacular look-outs and cool scenery.  The forest was dense in some areas, and one of my friends joked that we were in the Land Before Time.  

     And, since I was so excited about the hikes, I came prepared with a map with the long hike highlighted. I found the way to the start of the trail from our hostel, using my handy-dandy map and gained confidence on my map-reading ability.  All I had to do now was keep us on the correct path in the woods.  Sounds easy right?

     Of course, you probably can guess what happened.  After seeing amazing rock formations- including the Three Sisters- the route had us going down the mountain and along the valley.  It looked like we should take the Giant Staircase to the base of the mountain.  And, since I was "Map Lady," I told everyone that going all the way down the Giant Staircase was a great idea and part of the planned route. 

     After walking down steps for what seemed like hours, we finally asked someone how many more steps we had to reach the bottom.  They said that we were halfway.  (Let me pause right here and say that whoever named the stairs the "Giant Staircase" was genius.  It depicts them perfectly.)  One of the girls on the hike had knee trouble and we decided that it would be hard to continue going down the steep steps to get to the very bottom, so-as much as we did not want to do this- we hiked back up the stairs that we just walked down.

     Now, as I look at the map, I realize that the map is. not. drawn. to. scale!  The Giant staircase is a mere 2 mm, making it look like there were about 20 steps.  There were a bit more than 20 on the way back up. . .I counted and realized that we walked back up 518 steps!!!  All to get where we started! 

    Then, I resigned my position as keeper of the map, and happily handed it over to someone else before I was fired from my position, haha!  Oh well, at least we got some good exercise!  

      

Snorkeling at The Great Barrier Reef!

     The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living thing in the world.  It can be seen from outer space.  And, if that's not enough, it is home to 1,500 species of fish!  Today, it was my mission to see as many of the different species of fish (and all of the amazing different types of coral) in the Great Barrier Reef as I could on a snorkeling tour.
     The boat that we took to the Great Barrier Reef was huge!  The company had a base boat in the Great Barrier Reef that had a WaTeR sLiDe, snorkeling equipment, pool benches, and two small boats.  My friends and I took the submarine boat, where we walked down a staircase in the actual boat!  Another boat that we took was a glass bottom boat, where I could just look down and see the coral and species of fish.  And we spent the rest of the time snorkeling!!!
     At first, I thought it would be hard to see the reef since I would be snorkeling on the top of the ocean, but the section of the Great Barrier Reef where we were swimming was shallow.  It was a couple of feet deep in some places (and others of course were deeper-probably around 20 feet!)  It. Was. AMAZING.  I saw some of the coolest fish, some that were around 3 feet long!  And I also saw a baby octopus!  I particularly enjoyed seeing the hard coral and soft coral and the HUGE clams.
      My friend and I kept swimming. . .and swimming. . .and swimming until the crew blew their whistles at us because the boat was about to leave.  Being stranded 2.5 hours from land was not first on our list, so we quickly headed back to the boat.  On the way back to the base at the Whitsunday's, I learned a very important fact: THERE WAS A SHARK WHERE WE SWAM THE DAY BEFORE!!! 
     I can't decide if I am happy that they waited to tell us this important news until after we spent a couple hours swimming, or if it would have been better if they would have warned us! :)