THE END IS HERE

Just like that, it is over. The last two months of my life have been unbelievable. I have gotten to do things I never even imagined and made friends that will hopefully last a lifetime. Along the way, I have learned a lot about my culture, other cultures and grown as a person. It's been fascinating - every single aspect of it. Enough of that, on to the good stuff.

Friday:

Sorry I have not been able to update sooner. I have been trying to squeeze everything in to the last couple of days here in Sydney and I have not had much internet access. Anyway, this past weekend kicked off on Friday after we checked out. I know I have talked a lot about how nice the Aussies are but the story I'm about to share might be the best example in the history of the world (or at least my blog). So myself, Nick and Bo wanted to go to La Perouse. This was an old military fort right on the ocean in the middle of a port. Honestly, there isn't a whole lot to do there but take in the gorgeous views. The main draw for us though was that one of the most memorable scenes in Mission Impossible 2 was filmed there. You might remember Tom Cruise running across the bridge, saving the world, jumping up and down on a couch, etc. etc. Well in order to get there, we had to take a bus (fascinating, right?). The issue was A) I hadn't purchased a pass yet for the weekend and was going to have to pay for it out of my hard earned and even harder spent money and B) We weren't real sure where exactly we were going. We hopped on our first bus and were in for quite a treat.

We were greeted by a young friendly bus driver - not out of the norm here in Oz. However, he (Lee) wouldn't let me pay him for a bus ticket to where we needed to get to. Instead, he wanted to trade me my Oakley sunglasses and call it even, jokingly of course. I let him try them on and he got a kick out them. He could tell immediately that we were American and started giving us a hard time about being tourist and yankees and blah blah blah. It was all pretty funny and he still was persistent on not allowing me to pay. Whatever, I wasn't complaining. He even faked a phone call to the bus office about the helpless Americans on the bus. Eventually, after much razzing from him, we made it to where we needed to get on the next bus. He jokingly said he was going to get off the bus and show us around. At least, we thought he was joking. He actually got off the bus. Well as it ends up, he was apparently scheduled to get off the bus there. Then, he took the bus he was supposed to drive back to the offices for his break and turned it into a free private charter to La Perouse. He took the entire bus and drove us three right to La Perouse. Along the way, he shared some of his own entertaining stories, mocked people trying to get him to stop (my personal favorite) and took an absurd amount of joy in driving through puddles - nothing like a 12-year old boy stuck in a man's body driving a bus. Needless to say, it was an entertaining commute - not to mention the entire trip was free.

The reward at the end of the commute wasn't too shabby either. The views were spectacular and I could imagine Tom just sprinting across the bridge - so dreamy. That's a joke. In all reality, the views were worth any sort of trip. We walked down and around the base snapped some photos and were even treated to a beautiful rainbow. It was a spectacular site and a spectacular start to a spectacular day. Spectacular.

After La Perouse, we went to grab lunch at the Markets in The Rocks. The Rocks is one of the suburbs of Sydney and might be my personal favorite. It is the old part of town with cobblestone roads and limestone (okay that might or might not be historically accurate - just pick a stone you like, I could have said coal and you would have been forced to believe me) buildings. It is pretty neat. Especially for someone who likes history as much as I do. I got a tremendous Meatball wrap for only 8 bucks. A steal here in Sydney. My day was already memorable and I hadn't even made it to the main event yet.

"James Morrison and 11 Other Trumpet Superstars in...Fun and Brass" at the Sydney Opera House. I had been wanting to go to a show at the Opera House for my entire trip but hadn't found the time or the right show yet. Patience is a virtue and I was treated to a tremendous jazz show featuring the history of trumpet and jazz. My sister is drooling right now. I grew up listening to the shreaking of her weapon of brass destruction. Okay, actually she was pretty good but we all know I was the best musician in the family as well as the most attractive, most loved, most athletic and smartest (or none of the above). With a little bit of an understanding of the trumpet and jazz there could not have been a better show for me to see and that is just talking about the show. The facility is absolutely awe-inspiring. It's beautiful, magnificent. It should have its very own superlative because I can't think of one to properly describe it. I wish I could have/would have gone to more shows. If anyone goes to Sydney, go to a show. Don't ask questions. In related news, I might or might not have recorded the second half of the show on my phone and might or might not be able to send it to you if you're interested. Hypothetically, of course.

The entire day was just awesome. It was the perfect way to kick off my last weekend in Sydney.

Saturday:

We had another busy day scheduled for Saturday. It started out by making a trip to hell, I mean Paddy's market. This is the big huge market that is mandatory for every big city to have where everyone goes, barters and buys cheap crap for cheap. I don't think anyone actually enjoys the experience bust its just something you have to do and we needed to buy cheap crap for all of you, hope you're happy :). We stayed a little longer than expected but it was okay, we still had plenty of time left to make it to Bondi Beach.

We had stopped by the world famous Bondi on our first day here but didn't spend enough time to actually accomplish anything. This time, we went, did some walking around, Nick and Bo did some swimming, did some eating and did some more walking around. Nick and Bo decided to even go swimming in the Ocean. Those silly Americans. They were the only people in the water 1) without a surfboard and 2) without wetsuits. The lifeguard quickly came over and made it aware that there was to be no swimming aka being American. It was pretty funny the way they stood out but hey, "when in rome, do as the surfers do".

After Bondi we came back and decided to go Lord Nelson's for the night. This is the oldest brewery in Sydney. I had stopped by there for one beer earlier in the week but we wanted to get the full experience this time. 6 pints of beer later, we had tried all the beer and gotten the "full experience". My personal favorites were the Old Admiral - a dark beer and the Quayle - a beer (I guess I should maybe figure out what it was so I know what I like, maybe next time?). We weren't done. We decide to go to 3 Wise Monkeys because what would a night out in Sydney be without a trip to the 3 Wise Monkeys. Um yeah, we came, we saw, we danced, we conquered, we stumbled back, we passed out.

Sunday:

So this entire trip I haven't been able to sleep past 9. Not that I really wanted to but my body physically was not capable. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I awoke at 11 on Sunday morning. I did some wandering around during the day, grabbed some lunch and then headed to the Sydney Fish Market. A fish market insinuates two things 1) it is a market and 2) there is good fish. Okay, so my review my be a bit harsh but it was only because my expectations were so high. It was basically just a couple of fish restaurants in one building right on the ocean. The fish was just okay, not near as good as the Fish and Chips I had at Port Stephens. Salivation. Afterwards, we came back to the room then headed right back out to go check out Luna Park.

Luna Park is a little amusement park right beneath the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It has a stupid light up clown face that I think you can see from the moon. The thing is friggin' massive. Anyway, we figured we should check it out before we go so we made the trek down there and it was definitely worth at trip. The park was closed so we didn't get to see much of it but being right there next to the bridge and beneath street level was wild. You don't realize how big it is until you're right next to it. It looked like it was straight out of a movie or like it should be sprawled across a poster. It was very very cool. On our way back, instead of taking the train, Bo and I elected to walk across the bridge. This gave us a great view of the harbor, the Opera House and most importantly, an appetite.

We had been planning a trip back to Harry's Cafe de Wheels since the first time we went during the first weekend. Harry's specializes in meat pies. And when I say specialize, I mean they're world famous meat pies. We made the walk to Harry's and let me say that my chicken and mushroom meat pie was delicious. The best part of the meat pies is the mushed peas. Why don't we have these in America? That's not a joke. I honestly, need someone to tell me why we don't. I am both concerned and upset. What's wrong with our country?

And you thought we were going to stop at 1 meat pie. Ha! We were planning either another meat pie each or some hot dogs. See Harry's also specializes in dogs. I am not a big hot dog eater but Harry's hot dogs are different. I figured, "When else will I get to try a hot dog with mashed potatoes, mushed peas, onions, chilli, cheese and hot sauce. The answer? Never. So I ordered the Hot Dog de Wheels. I think they call it the Hot Dog de Wheels because someone has to wheel you home afterwards. Or maybe, it's because it is part of their name but whatever. Both are true.

Back at the apartment we just relaxed and eventually fell asleep.

Monday:

After falling asleep at about 1:00 a.m., I was up at 5:30 a.m. to go meet Bo and Nick at the Fifa Fan Fest for the Championship game. It was a crazy atmosphere. There were a ton of people there supporting their respective teams. You probably know how the game went. It's soccer, so they did the same thing back and forth for like 8.5 hours, eventually someone did something stupid and the other team scored. If the story line sounds familiar its because you've watched a soccer game before and they're all the same. Honestly, I was hoping for the PK Shootout but FIFA didn't run the whole overtime idea by me. Soccer can now be irrelevant again.

After FIFA we went back and had a delicious breakfast at our hotel and started to pack up since we had to be out of the room by 11. I got packed up and then headed out for a day of exploring on my own. I went back to Circular Quay (Opera House and Bridge Area) one more time and then climbed to the top of one of the columns. This isn't the "bridge climb"everyone hears about but it's about $200 cheaper and offers a comparable view I would imagine. It was spectacular to actually look down on the Harbor. I was lucky too. It had been overcast for most of the day but finally cleared up while I was atop the Pylon.

After the climb, I made one more trip back to Surry Hills just for good times sake and then headed back to the hotel. This is where things get interesting. See, my roommates had left and I didn't want to pay for the hotel on my own for one night and I knew I would be leaving early in the morning so I went ahead and checked out with no plans for Monday night. Unfortunately, this also meant I would be without a shower for the 36 hours leading up to flight. Something, I was not too happy about. I talked to the people at our hotel and they let me into the fitness center to take a shower. I don't know if it was my good looks or charm that made this happen ;). After I was cleaned up, I knew exactly what my plans were.

I had about $75 left, total. In my bank. In all my accounts. So obviously, the only option was to go to the Casino. Duh! But really I was doing this for more than one reason. I knew that if I went around 8 and just took it pretty slow, I could at least make it late into the night at which point I would get a cab to the airport and spend the night or something. Well, that's exactly what I did. I showed up at 8 and just took it pretty slow. I was up some, down some, up some more, down some more. I was wandering around trying different dealers, trying different tables and then it happened.

I got hot. Real hot. Real, real friggin' hot. Not my temperature, my cards. I looked down at my chips and I was at $100, I looked down again and it was $200. I looked down again and I was at $400. I had to step away but I couldn't but I did. See there mom and dad, I don't have a problem. It was about 2 a.m. and I was starving. I went and got some Nachos. Nutritious, I know. I contemplated walking out with my $400+...for about half a second! I wanted to go big or go home. I had no plans, no where to go and I was on fire. So I went and sat back down with the intention of not allowing myself go below $300. I did some more up and downing and eventually when the table closed at 4 a.m. I was at about $540. Again, I thought, "Maybe I should just walk out". And then I thought "Maybe I should just ignore my manhood". Go Big. Or Go Home. I went to the $20 table that was still open. I could smell blood. I got even hotter. Eventually making it up to almost $900. At $1000 I was walking out no ifs, ands or butts. I never got there. Instead, I left at 6 a.m. with $703.50. See, I can stop. I kept the $3.50 as a souvenir. I think I have two new lucky coins! To clear this up though, I went from 5:30 Sunday morning to (I'm assuming the plane flight) without sleeping. That's almost 36 hours. I think my body is going to hate me. Oh well, it was worth it.

It was a crazy night and something I will be telling my grandkids years from now. But then again, this entire trip has been that way. And that's way I have blogged about most all of it. I want to be able to look back at this and remember the trip that changed my life and molded who I am. I don't know if I will continue blogging (my readers will probably have to let me know if they care about my life enough) but I do know this has been a ton of fun for me to recollect and recap our crazy stories from "The Land Down Under". I hope you have enjoyed it half as much as I have. Until next time (if there is one)...

Cheers!


View from top of the bridge.

The Opera House. Before the show.

La Perouse. Sight of Mission Impossible II

Again.

The end of my last night.

THE FINAL DAYS: Making Lasting Memories

Well, my time in Sydney is drawing to an abrupt end. It seems just as surreal as when I first arrived in Australia. I can't believe I have spent almost two months of my life in this country and I can't believe it is all coming to an end so quickly. I have learned a lot about myself along the way. For instance, I really love to travel. I have been fortunate to travel a lot with my family but I didn't realize how much I truly enjoyed the challenges and adventures of traveling until I did it on my own. I also learned that I am a lot more independent than I thought. This has been a great learning experience and I feel like it has proven that I am capable of "fending for myself". I know I'll be able to survive someday in the "real world" on my own.

Okay, enough with that boring stuff. On to the fun stuff. Well, these past couple of days have been pretty lame. We all seemed to forget that studying is part of the STUDY abroad program. Our final papers are due tomorrow. Instead of working on it, I am blogging. I hope you're happy. My paper is a "Cross-Cultural Comparison of Collegiate Athletics." If anyone is really interested, I would be happy to send it to them. I have conducted a lot of research and am pretty proud. It is something I might continue to work on, refine and possibly publish. One of my supervisors is really encouraging it. He thinks that just that paper would make me a highly sought after job candidate almost anywhere in Australia. We will see...it's an option.

My bad luck with my computer has continued. The external hard drive crashed but fortunately, I was able to exchange and I am back up and running again, sort of. Still some minor kinks I need to work out but they will have to wait until I get home - I have spent enough time in the Apple Store here. It is a pretty impressive store though - three stories all glass. Pretty wild. On my most recent trip, my Apple Genius (person who works with you on your computer) didn't have an Australian accent. He sounded American so I asked and ends up he went to IU and is from Fort Wayne. Small world, huh? This led to several minutes of trashing each other's schools (jokingly...kind of) and just sharing stories of Indiana and our experiences in Australia. He was really nice. However, he was about as successful at fixing my computer as Tom Crean has been at coaching the Hoosiers in basketball (how's that feel IU fans?). He tried, I will give him that and he was a nice guy. Anyway, another genius ended up helping me out and getting a majority of the issues solved.

My last day at work was relatively uneventful, fittingly. We all said our goodbyes and I even got a polo as a going away present. I wanted to get a sweatshirt on my way out but they were $80. Instead, I settled for a t-shirt and then promptly left both on the train. I love throwing money away, especially when I don't have any. Oh well, can't take it to the grave. After work, CAPA treated us to a dinner at a restaurant in Darling Harbor. It was a nice dinner and good time to get everyone together one last time. After dinner, I went back to the apartment and was about to settle down to go to bed when I heard a knocking on our door. It was several others from our program asking if I wanted to go out. Under normal circumstances I would have definitely said no but the last days in Sydney are not normal circumstances so out I went. We headed to Scruffy Murphy's for transvestite karaoke. Yeah, you read that correctly. It was um...well...uh...interesting? A little bit too much for my personal tastes. I felt paranoid the entire time - not knowing who was a man, who was a woman, who was a man dressed as a woman or who was a woman dressed as a man, or who used to be a man and now is a woman...you get it, the list could go on. After watching some of that we headed to our old standby, the 3 Monkeys Pub. We enjoyed some live music and then headed back to the apartment eventually.

It was a great night and I am looking forward to several more before I head out for good. As for now, I have to go to our final class and present my paper. And no, I haven't done any preparation. Wish me luck...Until next time...

Cheers!

DAY 45: THE FOURTH IN THE AUS

Do you get it? It's the USA in a different order. Okay, never mind, I know I'm not funny. Well, the start of my day provided some comic relief. I got ready to go grab a coffee and some breakfast with the guys. I was ready to head out the door and I was greeted with a problem. I had not a clue where my jacket or shoes were. Read the last two paragraphs of the previous entry if you are confused. I mean I have misplaced things before but shoes?! How do you misplace shoes. I knew they had to be one of three places: the bar, I was relatively certain they weren't there; my room, I had turned the place upside down and not found them or; anywhere else in the world, I knew they had to be somewhere. I did some asking around but had no success. It would have been much much easier if I could remember the details of the previous night. I ended up finding both my shoes and jacket in my friends Andy and Tyler's apartment - an apartment I didn't remember visiting but um, oh well. I got my shoes, my jacket, a coffee and a muffin in the morning - a great success. Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 4, Jonathan 0. Again, refer to previous blog.

We made the two and a half hour trip to Hunter Valley - Australia's equivalent to our Napa Valley. We grabbed a lunch at a local brewery. I didn't try any of the beer. Just looking at it made me queezy but I did have a Mexican pizza (I'm so cultured -I had mexican pizza in Australia on America's Independence Day) that was very good. Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 5, Jonathan 0 (In my defense, there weren't many healthy options at this place).

Here was the schedule for rest of the day: Wine tasting, wine tasting, wine tasting and wine tasting. It didn't exactly sound appealing after our previous night but we were all pretty excited. The first winery we went to was really cool. We got to try three reds, three whites and two dessert wines. I knew nothing about wine going into the day and was eager to learn. I learned a lot about the wine and a lot about my own tastes. I discovered that I prefer white wine. My favorite white that we tried at the first place was the Simellon. It was crisp, citrusy and very light. The reds were okay, but not so much my style. Then we had the dessert wines. The Late-picked Trademiner (or something like that) was my favorite wine of the day. it is made to go with a fruity dessert and was absolutely incredible. It was crisp and light and would have gone perfect with or in any type of fruit. Apparently, it is similar to the ice wines of the US. That means nothing to me, I just know it was my favorite of the day.

After that winery, we made a quick stop at the chocolate factory and got to try some chocolate and do a little looking around. Given my sweet tooth, there were plenty of tempting options but I decided to go with a couple of chocolate cover strawberries. Given my options, I would say I earned half a point for this one. Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 5, Jonathan 0.5. After that, it was on to our next winery - Drayton's Family Winery. This was a smaller, family-owned winery. We tried some more wines and then got to try a couple liquors. My favorite was the White Chocolate Liquor. It is not something I would ever drink a lot of but one or two sips was very good.

We had one more stop - the Golden Grape Estate winery. Here he got to try several more wines and a couple liquors. My favorite was the strawberry sparkling wine (that means champagne in Australia) and my least favorite was the chili liquor (fittingly called dragon's breath). It was a beautiful day, we got to try some beautiful wines and it was a uniquely Australian way to celebrate my favorite American holiday. Oh and I capped it off with a salad from the grocery store. Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 5, Jonathan 1.5. You can't win 'em all. Until next time...


In the Valley.


The Grape Estate.


Drayton's...clearly.


Candy Thong anyone???


Chocolate Company


Cheers!

DAY 44: Sharks, Whales and Beers. Oh my!

What a day! It started with breakfast (most days do). A coffee and an orange poppy seed muffin. The muffin (let this be the official start to me trashing my nutritious diet all weekend) was delicious and was an oman for how well the rest of the day was going to go.

The first thing on the schedule (pronounced shej-ule in Australia) was the Australian Ray and Shark Center. There we were able to feed and pet some sharks and rays. Some even put on waders and got in the water with them. I did not want to take the risk of getting soaked and spending the rest of the day wet and smelling like fish so I stayed out of the tank but still got to feed and touch the animals. It was a really great experience.

After the shark and ray center we headed to the sand dunes to do some sand surfing. We were all pretty excited. We got there and had to take some 4-wheel drive trucks out to the dune that we were actually going to ride. The truck ride was just as fun as the surfing. Bouncing over through and around the dunes was enough to get the adrenaline flowing for the main event. We got to the top of our dune and were greeted by an extremely strong wind and cold. It had become overcast and that with the combination of the wind made the sand extremely cold on our bare feet. We were also greeted with the news that we would not be allowed to stand because they had someone break a collarbone and both wrists last week. Gotta love a company that uses its customers as guinea pigs and crash test dummies. We ended up going down the dunes sitting on our board but it was still very fun. However, what goes down, must come up (or something like that). The trek back up to the top of the dune was pretty difficult. Okay, really difficult. After about two or three trips down the dune, being blasted with a cold wind and getting sand in places we didn't even know we had, we were all ready to head back to the port to change and grab some lunch.

I know I have had a lot of "best _________ I have ever had" moments in my trip. Things such as donuts, pancake breakfast, ice cream cone and jumping-out-of-a-plane-experience have filled that blank. You can add fish and chips to that list. We went to a place called "Bub's" for lunch. They claim to have famous fish and chips and were voted best fish and chips in New South Wales. That was enough convincing for me to give it a try. What I was served was a platter of deep fried goodness. Bub's did its best Indiana State Fair impression and fried everything but the plate. I had fried calamari, fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried fish and of course, french fries. It was absolutely delicious. The fish was so tender and the batter was crispy without overtaking the taste of the fish. I'm still drooling just thinking about it. For those of you keeping score at home, that is Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 2, Jonathan 0 - and there's plenty more where that came from. After lunch and checking my pulse (I had to make sure my arteries were still properly functioning), it was time to go watch some whales.

I wasn't sure what to expect from whale watching. I figured I would be tremendously disappointed or tremendously entertained. Fortunate for me, it was the entertained option. The scenery alone was worth the trip as we cruised to and through several islands and inlets. We were also very fortunate from the wildlife aspect. We got to see dolphins and whales - a successful day for the people doing the whale watching and the whales doing the people watching. I am convinced that this is the only reason a whale would ever need to jump out of the perfectly good ocean. Anyway, the whales are enormous, graceful beasts. It is unreal how big those things are. Unfortunately, I don't have the lightning quick photo taking reflexes to catch any whales mid air but you'll just have to trust me.

There was an entertaining side story to the whole trip. It was a windy day and the ocean was pretty choppy. Some people could handle it and some people couldn't. I was just fine but some of the others on the boat weren't. The 1st level lobby was described as a battle field by someone on our program. If it was a battle field, vomit was the weapon of mass destruction and victory was getting to the toilet. It was quite the scene.

After making it back to the port, it was time to head to the brewery. The name of the brewery was Murray's. It is a small specialized brewery that brews 7 beers. 2 of those beers were just released earlier in the day as part of Dark Beer Month. It was an awesome night. We got to see the actual brewing process, learn a lot about beer and taste some delicious beer, wine and chocolate. We even got to mingle with the owners of the brewery.The entire night was one of my favorite things we have done since we've been here. It was awesome because you could tell how passionate about what they were doing and that they did in fact really enjoy it. They also served us some delicious pizza for dinner. Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 3, Jonathan 0 (it gets worse). My favorite beer was the Whale Ale and my favorite wine was the Sweet Red. I had a glass of the Whale Ale with my pizza and then decided to go ahead and get a $12 bottle of the Sweet Red Wine and then things got interesting.

After dinner all of us tipsy college students headed back to the port. Maybe my favorite moment of the night...starting the Purdue fight song on the bus. The majority of the students on the trip were from Purdue but the bus was also carrying students from other various Universities. It even had one student from the inferior college down south and his blood must have been boiling hearing his rival's fight song on the other side of the planet. What'd we do when we got back? What college students do on a Saturday night - went out looking for a place to um, hydrate. We were a little more successful Saturday night than we were Friday night and found a little bar that had live music. It was a great night of dancing, drinking and friends. I'm told I even started the Purdue Fight Song again. That same person also told me I did the Macarena dance early and often on the dance floor. I'm an embarrassment. We all had a great time, didn't get too out of control, didn't cause any physical damage to the bar, and made it home safely. All in all, a great day and great night. Until next time...


The beer.


The sunset after whale watching.


Some scenery while whale watching.


Lunch. Yum.


The hill.


That's not a black hole, that's a two meter ray. yikes.

Cheers!

Oh and because I promised it, Tyler Eger, Alexine Mudawar, Kelly Crismore.

DAY 43: Shoe on the other foot

My time at work is winding down but today was an interesting opportunity that allowed me to talk a lot about America. After spending the majority of the trip trying to learn as much about as Australia as humanly possible, I spent all day Friday talking about America - a fitting way to kick of the Fourth of July Weekend.

I showed up at work wearing casual clothes because I was told I would spend most of the day moving things - essential marketing skills. Well, when I got there, everyone seem confused as to why I was wearing shorts. Apparently, there was a miscommunication or rather, there was just no communication at all. Fortunately, I had packed my dress slacks and shoes just in case and went and changed in to them. When I got back from changing, I was told that I was in fact, going to spend most of the day moving things. It was very confusing. I didn't want to change again and just decided to get my work clothes a little dirty. Poor choice.

I spent the first half of the day moving cupboards, shelves, tables, TVs, and chairs. Everything but the kitchen sink, literally. The interesting part of the day was who/whom (I don't know the difference and my mom has been picky about my grammar so I made this multiple choice, you choose) I was working with. It was two young lifeguards my age. They had not been to America and had a ton of questions which I did my best to answer honestly but as far as they are concerned, our toilets are made of gold and it rains candy. We'll keep the truth between us, they'll never know.

After moving all of those things for the daycare, we went to the sport fields to move some stuff out of sheds. It was unbelievable some of the things we found. We found everything from Canoes to bottles of beer that looked to be about ten years old. Got through all of that and then went back to the office covered in dirt and grime. I only had about an hour left but spent it with one of the marketing directors. He considered going to the states to play hockey in college but in the end decided against it. He was very interested in how the NCAA works so I spent the last hour of my day talking more about America and its collegiate athletics. I could spend days talking about collegiate athletics and he actually wants to sit down at lunch and talk some more about it since it is something the Uni is trying to mimic.

After work, I hurried on home and got packed for Port Stephens. We made the two hour bus ride to the Port and arrived around 10:30. What'd we do? What college students do on a Friday night - went out looking for a place to um, hydrate. Well, the joke was on us. Port Stephens, like the rest of Australia shuts down at about 8:00 p.m. and we didn't know the area real well so we just went back to the apartment and headed to bed. Probably the best thing that happened to us. We had a full day scheduled Saturday and I am extremely happy I was well rested for it. Until next time...

Cheers!

DAY 41: BACK IN BUSINESS...

...sort of. I got my computer back which is good. All the information that was on my old hard drive is now on my external hard drive meaning I am now left with the task of getting it on my new hard drive and in the right place which is bad. Oh well, it is better than no computer at all. It is just going to take some time. Which brings me to my next point.

I am running out of time. I can't believe this unbelievable trip is coming to an end. It is now official that I will be back the 13th of July. Thanks to the hard work of my dad for arranging my flight back. He did all the dirty work AND he is going to be picking me up from Chicago since I couldn't get a flight back to Indy. And believe me, I know that after 24 hours of flying, I will want nothing more than a 4 hour car ride home. Nothing. It will be worth it though. I can't wait to see friends and family. Okay, enough with these boring details. On to my boring week. Get pumped!

Well, this week has been relatively uneventful. I worked Monday, had class Tuesday, worked Wednesday, and had class today (Thursday). I guess the highlight would be the talk that I had with one of my co-workers on Wednesday. As a requirement for our Intercultural Communications class, we have to write a final paper that has something to do with our internship or our major or anything really. The nerve our teacher has to actually make us work. I have chosen to compare the sports marketing techniques between Australia and America. Broad, too broad. So I sat down with him to just kind of talk through some things. He, Matt, really helped give my ideas a direction that they so desperately needed. I have really enjoyed working for him and he has been very helpful. I look forward to keeping in touch with him. He is also planning an extended trip to America at some point and he wants to meet up when he drives through Indiana (everyone DRIVES through Indiana, he might actually stop). One funny thing that we talked about at the end of the conversation was gun control. Random, I know but his attitude was very funny. Guns are illegal in Australia. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that America has gun stores and you can get your hands on a gun almost any time you want. I got to say, Australia seems to figured out a way to make it work. Reason #346 why we love this country. Anyway, I assured him that he would not get shot in America and even gave him some ideas from my own travels within the states. So that's been the excitement of this week but I have some details I left out of my last entry for you now.

I witnessed Australian, and world, History last week. Australia's government is structured a lot like England's which means nothing to me but hopefully something to you. There's a parliament and a prime minister - that much I can tell you. Well last Thursday, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, was basically impeached. He was in the last three months of his three year term and parliament basically voted him out and another person in the span of 2 or 3 hours. In America, this process would take 14 years. The person they voted in? Russell Crowe. Okay, that's a lie but he would have had my imaginary vote. The person they voted in was Julia Gillard. She is the first she Prime Minister in Australia's history. So in the span of a little more than a year, I was present for America's first black President and Australia's first woman Prime Minister. Perhaps I should make a trip to North Korea and see if I can usher in a democratic leader. Honestly though, Gillard wasn't met with near the "hoopla" I think a woman President would receive but it was still pretty interesting to follow the news.

The other less-serious piece of information I meant to share with my readers but forgot to was the basketball game I witnessed. One of the first things I do when I get back is play basketball. I can't wait. Anyway, the Macquare Sport and Aquatic Centre was hosting a corporate olympics event last friday. One of the competitions was Basketball. I walked in to watch one of the games. It. was. awful. Immediately, my skin started to boil and my eyes fell out. It was that bad. These were grown men and women that made my 5 year-old niece look like a hybrid of Lebron James and Larry Bird (she's white, she can't look too much like Lebron). I honestly had to try not to laugh out loud.L Let's just say the emphasis on basketball to a young boy growing up in Indiana is obviously different than the emphasis of basketball put on a young Aussie lad. I just had to remember this is probably what Americans would look like if we tried to play cricket. But we never would, we only play real sports. It's just fascinating how a sport like basketball can be so incredibly popular in America (especially basketball crazy Indiana) and not even be on the radar in Australia. Strange.

Well, that's really all I have for you. Now that I have my computer back I will try to update more frequently. With that said, I will be at Port Stephens all weekend probably unable to update but will hopefully have some good information at the start of next week. I will also return to using some pictures. I have them now on my computer...somewhere...hopefully...probably.

One last request: I hope that in my absence, all my readers will eat an extra hot dog/brat/burger, consume an extra beer, and light something or someone (unintentionally of course) on fire for me on the 4th. I will miss it. Until next time....

Cheers!

DAYS 33-I've lost track: Finally

I’m back…I’m out of blog retirement for now. I’m coming out of retirement like MJ returning to the Wizards, not quite the same as before but still serviceable. Not like MJ figuring out he can’t hit a curveball and returning to win a couple more championships and destroy Pacer fans’ hearts along the way. Brett Favre (I couldn’t think of a joke but couldn’t do a paragraph on retirement without at least mentioning his name).

You see, my computer is still at the Apple store. Apparently, I need a new hard drive … from America. Convenient, right? For now, I will have to do all of my blogging, interneting, and facebook creeping from ACU (where we take classes). This means no pictures, no daily updates and therefore, probably no followers. I can’t blame you. I will do my best to keep things detailed, entertaining and up to date. I know you’re wondering how you’re going to survive right now. Again, I will do my best. Okay enough with the overview of my current situation. Let’s get down to blogging:

Oh where to begin, it’s been a while. Excuse me while I stretch my typing fingers. Okay, so we returned from Cairns late Monday night and we were all exhausted. I know I combined for about 12 hours of sleep in 3 nights – not what the dr. recommends. Not surprisingly, I woke up Tuesday morning feeling terrible. I assumed it was just from the exhaustion but I was wrong. More on that later (this will be a running theme to this entry, try to contain your excitement). I really considered calling in sick but I need to get my hours and I already missed half a day Friday and a full day Monday. Begrudgingly, I went into work. Mistake numero uno. Email me if you want all the exciting details but the moral of the story is I left work feeling worse than when I went into work. I got home, still exhausted, fixed a fast dinner and went straight to bed thinking I just needed a good night’s rest to feel better.

So I woke up Wednesday morning even worse. Again, I wanted to call in but I didn’t and by the end of the day, I wished I had. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Thursday, I woke up feeling a little bit better, thinking I had turned the corner – not the case. Anyway, we had class and then I made my way to a travel agent to figure out some post-program options. Found out quickly I wouldn’t have the time or money to do New Zealand properly and was given some other cheaper options that I now probably can’t afford due to some unexpected expenses. Again, more on that later. Wow, this entry really is boring. My computer crashing might have been the best thing to happen to you.

Okay, so the weekend. Hopefully, this will give my entry a pulse. Friday night we decided to have a “guys night”. It started off with a trip to our favourite sushi restaurant because nothing says “I’m a man” quite like eating an uncooked fish with chopsticks. Right? Wrong. You know what is manly though? Bombs. That’s exactly what we were faced with.

When we turned the corner of the street that Sushisuma is on, we were greeted with tons of police and flashing lights. The section of the street that Suma was on was roped off. We asked what was going on and apparently, there had been a bomb threat at the restaurant right next door. Being American men, we ran into the rescue cut all the right wires, re-wired the thing and saved Australia from the detonation of death with one second left on the clock. Okay, that’s a lie; we went to the bar down the street and enjoyed a drink while we waited. But hey, the first is more exciting and this entry needed some of that.

Dinner was delicious. Edamame and a California roll. I am man, hear me roar. Okay, so the first part of our night wasn’t the most manly thing in the world but the second was. Gambling (sorry mom and dad). It’s not a problem if you win, right? We headed to the casino at Darling Harbour. I spent four days in Vegas before this trip so I was expecting to be let down by the casino here in Oz but surprisingly, the casino was huge and very nice. We did some wandering around and finally settled down at a blackjack table. Three of us, were playing right next to each other. We started out pretty slow, the dealer (an Adam Lambert look-alike) was killing us. As soon as he left, we started getting hot and it was a good thing because we were running on fumes. Eventually, we all left the table “up”. I’m thinking I should just drop out of school and gamble professionally. Right, parents? On the way home, I found a $5 bill on the ground. I think the Aussie gods are trying to get me to stay here. Earlier in the trip I found a $20 bill on the ground. I now walk around just staring at the ground, looking for money.

On Saturday, we all woke up early and got dressed in our finest attire to spend a day at the Randwick Horse Track. I swear I don’t have a problem – this trip was actually built into our program. Anyway, we were treated to a champagne breakfast at a restaurant that overlooked the track and the Sydney skyline. It was very nice. At about noon, we headed down to the track. We all looked the part. The men were in suits and the women were in dresses. We looked like we knew what we were doing and I would like to think I kind of did. Anyway, we made it in time for the second of 8 races. I placed a bet and lost that one but in the second race, I won $28 on a $3 bet. It was enough to cover the rest of my bets for the day. I ended up right around even. It was a great day. I’m really glad we decided at the last minute to do it. It was different and very entertaining. Afterwards, we received a dinner and then headed back to the apartments and to bed. We had an early, early morning on Sunday.

In the midst of the casino Friday night and the track Saturday afternoon I had started to lose my voice and I still wasn’t feeling a whole lot better. That’s the subplot now back to the plot.

I woke up at 1:30 a.m. (you read that properly) to get ready for Team USA’s match against Ghana at 4:30. A pretty good-sized group of us wanted to go to Darling Harbour for the game to watch it at the FIFA fanfest. I blogged about this earlier but it is a huge screen in the middle of the harbour and only one of six in the world. It’s a big deal. Anyway, we headed to a bar called Cheers at about two in the morning. A couple of screwdrivers (ask a Purdue student who has experienced Breakfast Club if you don’t know what this is) later and we were on our way to Darling Harbour. Well, you know how the game went. We lost. Soccer can go back to being irrelevant for the next three years now. Thank God.

The highlight of the morning: we went to a place called Pancakes on the Rocks for breakfast. I had the most delicious pancakes I think I have ever had. It was banana pancakes with butterscotch sauce and ice cream. Okay, so what if it sounds like a dessert? It was in the morning and there was fruit involved making it a breakfast. Get off my case. I plan on making on more trip back before I leave. It was delicious. I have a picture of my meal I will upload later.

With a full tummy and frozen toes, we headed back to the apartment complex. I got about four more hours of sleep before heading out for the day. Late in the week, my computer stopped working. It is the first time I have ever had an issue with it (there’s my mac shout-out) and it just figures I am on the complete opposite side of the planet. Anyway, I knew it was still under warranty so I headed to the Sydney Apple store to see what they could do. It’s actually a very cool building. It’s three stories with an all glass front. It was pretty neat but still I would have rather not been forced to make the trip. Well, you know how it went. Hard drive issue, shipping a new one, get it back in 3-5days. The crappy part is that I had to buy an external hard drive to transfer all of my information to. It set me back about $140. Investment good. Timing bad.

After that fiasco, I met up with the guys at the World’s Largest Imax. We had tickets to see Toy Story 3D. It. Was. Awesome. Go see it. Don’t ask questions, just do it. It ranks right up there with Finding Nemo, Shrek, the original Toy Story and Monsters Inc. The huge screen and 3D were awesome. It was the first 3D movie I have ever seen. Here’s my take. It’s cool for some movies but I can’t ever see it being anything more than a fad for television. There, I just saved you a $1000 on your new TV. And you thought this was a waste of your time.

So Monday was pretty boring. Went to work, ate and went to bed. That’s my new schedule because I am still not feeling real well. I had to spend $100 this morning on a trip to the dr. and some medication. It better work. For what it cost I think it is made up of ground diamonds. That and my computer have probably cost me any travelling after the program ends. Too bad. Well that’s the update for now. I will try to give another quick update this Thursday and then something at the start of next week. We are making a trip to Port Stephens this weekend. On the schedule: wine tasting, whale watching and sand surfing. Should be a good time. Hopefully, I will have my computer back by the start of next week and can upload a ton of pictures. Until then…

Cheers!

I promise, the skydiving entry is coming as soon as I get my computer back. Hey, I got to keep you guys coming back somehow.

FYI Again

Okay, I know all my readers are just starving for more Boiler Outback reading but unfortunately, my computer crashed last week and it is currently at the Apple store being fixed....hopefully. In an ideal world, I will have it back by midweek and I can finally update everyone but as Dwight Schrute once said, "In an ideal world, I would have ten fingers on my left hand so I could just use my right for punching." I don't know if that quote is really relevant but do with it what you wish. Until I get my computer fixed....

Cheers!

FYI

Just a head's up, I am getting around to the skydiving video I know you can't wait to watch. It takes forever to upload and I am out of time. In the meantime, enjoy my blogs about the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest below!

Cheers!

DAY 32: WITH A BIT OF LUCK

With about two or three hours of sleep under my belt we started day 2 in Cairns with another ammonia scented breakfast at the bar. Thankfully, we were all still in a pretty good mood from the night/morning before and ready to hit the path in the rainforest. After breakfast we went out to get in our tour vans and headed out to the Daintree Rainforest. I didn’t realize it at the time but choosing the correct van was a very big decision. The same guy wasn’t driving both vans (I know, crazy right?) and apparently our van’s guide was the best. I got lucky; he (Peter) was incredibly smart and passionate about the Daintree. He was a trained chemist but gave up his job just because he loved the Forest so much.

Peter was a funny guy. He might have been my favorite part of the entire day. He ended every sentence by saying “with a bit of luck” and before he turned off his microphone between all of his facts he would say “NNNNNoooooooo wawwies” It was awesome. I will do my impression of him when I get home.

Okay, enough about Peter for now and back to our day. Our first stop was Port Douglas. This is a little tiny town just north of Cairns. It is a very up-scale five-star town.

Apparently, a lot of celebrities hang out there. The Clintons are rumored to have a house. Last week, when Peter took a group they saw Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer). I would have pooped my pants had I seen Jack Bauer. I was on the hunt. I didn’t find him but we went to a cool little market and did some wandering around before it was time to get back to the bus for our next stop.



The old wharf at Port Douglas


A part of the market at Port Douglas

The Somethin’ Somethin’ Gorge was our next stop. I probably should have paid more attention; I can’t remember the actual name. Anyway, it was a nice little river running through the forest. There were several little walks you could take. One led us right to a suspension bridge that we spent some time on. One of my first memories is being terrified of a suspension bridge at Turkey Run (I think) with my family. I did much better this time around. It was a cool little stop but again, we had to get back to the bus for our next stop.


Tilt yo head. The suspension bridge.



We made a stop at this lookout point. That bay is actually where Steve Irwin was killed. Peter said "Irwin loved Crocs but kept the sting rays closer to his heart." Too soon? Hey, don't shoot the messenger.

Next stop: Daintree Wildlife Center. This was a cool little center that had some of the animals that are native to the Daintree. We saw a spider that was as big as my face, a huge python, some kangaroos, a couple of wallabies, some crocs and a cassawerry (more on these crazy things later). Peter spent some time working at a Kangaroo center and let me just tell you this, he knows way too much about kangaroos, especially there um mating habits. He was happy to share all of this information with us. For instance, did you know that female kangaroos only need to have sex once every 3 years to be pregnant every year? Did you know that this in turn, leads to raping problems with all the male kangaroos? Fascinating stuff right? Female kangaroos can also choose the sex of their offspring. Nobody knows how but it’s true, Peter said so.

After the wildife center, it was time to cross the river and head into the heart of the Daintree Rainforest. This forest is not your typical forest. It is the world’s oldest living rainforest at approximately 200 million years old. There are more species of plants in 1 hectare of the Daintree than there are in the entire United States. There are all sorts of crazy animals such as, a spider the size of a large dinner plate, a butterfly the size of a man’s chest and the infamous cassawerry. This big ugly is a five-foot tall bird. It is a member of the ostrich and emu family. There are only around 1400 alive today and about 200 or so in the Daintree. According to Peter, they are sort of symbolic with the Daintree. He said it’s very rare but occasionally a group will get to see one in its natural habitat. So there we were cruising along, Peter was in one of his speeches and all of a sudden we here “Aha, lookie there guys, it’s a cassawerry. We got to watch one of these prehistoric looking birds cross the street just feet in front of our van. Peter was pumped, we were pumped and I would assume the bird was pumped.



Crikey!

After seeing the bird and some more driving through the rainforest we made it to our forest walk. It was brief but very interesting. We saw some crazy plants and trees that were very interesting. It was just cool to be in the midst of a rainforest – something I have never done before and might not get to do again. Next, we went to Cape Tribulation to get some lunch.


The strangler tree. It is actually completely hollow. Weird huh. That's Peter at the bottom if you tilt your head correctly.

Unfortunately, we got a little unlucky with the weather so it wasn’t as picturesque as we thought it would be but it was still very impressive. Again, it reminded me a lot of Hawaii with the mountains and beach. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay forever.

When we made it back to the Daintree River, the border between the uncivilized rainforest and the civilized rainforest, we went on a boat tour to hopefully see some crocodiles, snakes, birds and other random animals and plants. Our boat driver was hilarious. Again, you could tell he really loved his job as he was cracking jokes the entire time but also educating us on the plants and animals of the forest. He left the wheel of the boat several times and every time he acted like it was normal as he walked up and down the boat just talking to us. About ten minutes in we saw a croc – Lilly. She was a 2.7 meter croc that has been nesting in the same place for about 15 years. 2.7 meters sounds like a lot for a predator like the saltwater crocodile. However, many crocs get up to 9 or 10 meters. Scary, very scary. Later in the boat tour we saw a very rare bird that our boat guide was stoked about. That guy was crazy, I think he was on something. What was the only thing that could cap off a day like this?

You guessed it, ice cream. On our way out of the Daintree we stopped at the Daintree Ice Cream company. We didn’t have much choice on the flavor as we were just given a scoop of each of their flavors of the day. You might have heard of them: Raspberry, Yellow Sapote, Wottleseed, and Soursop. The raspberry was your typical raspberry. The Wottleseed had a mocha taste to it that I enjoyed. The Yellow Sapote was actually my favorite. It almost had a carmel flavoring to it. I am not real sure the best way to describe it but I really enjoyed it. The Soursop was sour and citrusy. It was refreshing. Well, our day was behind us, we were full and exhausted as we headed back to Cairns.



The "menu."


The result. A wooden spoon for good measure.

We were on our own for dinner Sunday night so a group of us decided that we wanted some seafood. We found a restaurant right on the beach and had a delicious meal. We started it off with an appetizer of kangaroo, crocodile and emu. The kangaroo was good, the crocodile was good and the emu was absolutely terrible. I imagine it tasted something like catfood. The texture was the strangest thing I’ve ever tasted and the taste was equally strange. Glad I tried it, but that will be the last time I ever eat emu. I had a delicious grilled barramundi meal and the restaurant shouted (Australian for bought) us all a glass of wine. Couldn’t tell you the name of mine, it was white and just okay. It was a delicious meal. After dinner, we all headed back to Gilligan’s we knew what was in store for tomorrow. I tried to get some sleep but had trouble relaxing. Why? I was considering jumping out of a plane Monday morning. Until then…

Cheers!

DAY 31: THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

I am going to warn you. I am not sure how to put any of this weekend into words. Words and pictures won’t do it justice. So maybe I just won’t post anything at all. Kidding, of course. I will do my best but if I overuse the words awesome, incredible, crazy, awesome, wild, neat, fun, outstanding, awesome, stellar, you-had-to-be-there, amazing, astounding, surreal or awesome, I am very sorry. So here we go:

If you’ve never experienced breakfast at 6:30 a.m. in a bar, I wouldn’t recommend it. Gilligan’s provided our group with breakfast literally off the bar. They had at least cleaned but I think large amounts of ammonia were used to kill all the nasty germs in the place, which meant instead of smelling toast and coffee I smelled the wonderful scent of bleach or something – I don’t even know. Anyway, I had a huge bowl of chocolate rice krispies and some toast and was on my way.

I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of traveling with my family. I really am blessed. Hawaii has been my favorite destination. I’ve been there three times, once I was too young to remember it though so for all intents and purposes, I have been there twice. I love it. It’s paradise on earth. People say they couldn’t live there, I say sign me up. The point is, Cairns reminds me a lot of Maui. There are picturesque mountains that go right up to the ocean, the waters are crystal clear and the weather is phenomenal. It was a beautiful day as our group boarded the Ocean Spirit boat and headed for one of the seven natural wonders of the world – The Great Barrier Reef.


I'm on a boat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28jBDhqwXhE (censored version)

The cruise out to the reef was worth the trip alone. We were leaving the mountains and city behind and heading into the emerald green and sky blue waters that signal reef. I will upload some pictures but again, they don’t do it justice. The colors were so bright and vivid, it’s a shame the camera can’t capture them all. We made it to our first stop, Oyster Reef, at about 10:30 a.m. We had a quick scuba diving tutorial, were given our time slot and then we were free to do whatever we wanted. For me, this meant snorkeling. Again, I have been fortunate enough to snorkel in Hawaii and I thought that was absolutely unreal but this was truly something special. The wildlife (fish) was much the same - spectacular amounts of fish, color and activity. The real difference was in the volume of coral. There was an incredible amount of color and creatures. I dove down to get some closer looks and snapped a couple pictures with my underwater camera. It was a nice appetizer for the main event – scuba diving.


Some scenery on our way out. Tremendous.

So, here’s a funny story. My swimsuit has a back pocket. Do you see wear this is heading? I jumped in all anxious to snorkel and about 2 or 3 minutes into it, I was hearing jingling. I knew, or was at least fairly certain, that fish don’t jingle and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I just kept swimming (Finding Nemo reference). Two or three minutes later I heard it again. Then it hit me, I had about ten dollars worth of change in my back pocket. But wait, there’s more – I also had my wallet. I made it back to the boat with my wallet in my pocket but unfortunately I made a $10 donation to the Reef against my will but there were bigger fish to fry (okay, maybe not the best timing for that saying) – I wanted to get back out there and snorkel. But wait, there’s more. So at this point, about 10 people from our program and ten strangers on the back of the boat are laughing at the goofy kid who just got out of the water and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. I’m laughing too. The ability to laugh at myself is something I have become very good at it. This skill would come in handy in the next two or three minutes as well. I climb back down the stairs and jump back in the ocean. My flippers decided to stay behind, stuck in the stairs. Now, everyone is laughing harder as I come back to the surface with these stupid flippers stuck in the stairs. I climb back out of the ocean (familiar theme), put my flippers back on and jump back in the ocean. But wait, there’s more. When I put my flippers on I had to put my goggles and snorkel on top of my head so I could see what I was doing. When I jumped back in, I forgot to put them back on and they came flying off as I went under. Now, everyone is laughing even harder at me and I am laughing at my own stupidity. I got them on and FINALLY was able to go get some more snorkeling in. It cut into some of my time but in the end, it’s a fun story myself and about 20 other people will be able to tell.

Since, none of us were licensed scuba-ers (definitely not a technical term), we had to be under the supervision of a dive instructor while we were scubing (again, not a technical term but should be). This meant we went in groups of five (including the instructor and HAD to interlink arms the entire time. Equipped and ready to go we jumped in and took the plunge. Easier said than done. We spent about 20 minutes getting adjusted once we were in the water and diving down to different depths on the side of the boat to make sure we could handle the pressure and what not. I was the first person down to the lower level (2 or 3 meters) in our group and floated there for what felt like eternity. I don’t want to toot my own snorkel or anything but I was just kind of hanging out there while others were going up and down and up and down trying to get adjusted. Our group of five had one member who couldn’t get adjusted (relatively common. Another group had all but one back out) and finally headed out to the reef. We made it to the first huge piece of reef and it was absolutely, phenomenally, incredibly awesome. One of the first things we saw were clown fish swimming in and out of their little piece of coral. My niece, Zayda, calls these fish Nemo fish after the movie Finding Nemo – one of my top five favorite movies. I was armed with my camera and swam off to get a picture. Remember how I told you he HAD to be interlinking arms? Oh how quickly I can forget things. My instructor was not to pleased, to say the least. As soon as I snapped my picture, I was ripped away by the grasp of my instructor on my harness and jerked back into place. She looked at me and said “bubble, bubble, bubble.” Well, that’s not what she said but that’s what it looked like and heard. I’d imagine it went something more like this “Listen here, you stupid Yankee. If you pull another stunt like that, I’ll feed you to the sharks.” Oh well, I got my picture and lived to tell about it. No harm done. The rest of the trip was just as beautiful. We saw giant clams, endless amounts of reef and tons of fish up close and personal. We went up and down and through and around. It went way too fast. I can honestly say, looking up and seeing we were back at the boat was one of the most disappointing moments of my life. I could’ve stayed down there for hours or at least until I ran out of oxygen. Either way though, it was the chance of a lifetime and something I will remember forever. I really want to get certified now and then do some more diving at some point but we will see. I climbed back onto the boat traded my scuba gear for my snorkel gear and headed right back out. I always have been obsessed with swimming and the ocean. I think it might have something to do with the saltwater aquarium I had as a kid but the stuff fascinates me and I couldn’t get enough so back out I went and I stayed out until they practically had to drag me back to the boat. I got back on the boat at about 2:00 but our day was far from done.



It really upsets me that cameras can't capture the colors but this was my effort.

We had one more stop. The Apollo reef and I wanted to get back in the water. We took about an hour to get there and back in I went. This reef wasn’t quite as spectacular but it was still pretty incredible. The water had gotten a little rough which made snorkeling more challenging but nothing to difficult. Again, I spent as much time as they would physically allow me to spend out in the water. I got my money’s worth. Some students got to see a sea turtle but by the time I made it over to where they were, it was gone. It is my personal mission to see a sea turtle in the wild before I die.
Plus, it gives me an excuse to scuba/snorkel some more. After I made it back to the boat, we made our way back to shore. The trip back was a little choppy. We were all sort of bouncing around but the scenery was worth it and we were all so exhausted we didn’t even care.

Just doing some philosophizing (sarcasm) on our way back with our complementary glass of champagne. Great way to end the day.

When we got back to Cairns, we had an hour or two to change and get ready for dinner. At dinner, we went to a Pizza place (on our travel agency’s tab) for some Pizza and pitchers (of water as far as my parents are concerned). After dinner, we went out and experienced the nightlife a little bit. Again, maybe a little too crazy for my tastes but um, well, let’s just say we all had a good time. We went to a place called the Woolshed that was pretty awesome. The dance floor is actually your table. And your table is actually the shelf above your table if that makes any sense at all. After we had all we could handle there, we went back to Gilligan’s for some live music and some more dancing. It was a great night. Something I wouldn’t want to do more than once a month or so but I have no regrets. We made it back to our rooms at around 3:30 or 4:00 (yes, you read that correctly) and passed out. On schedule for the Sunday was the Daintree Rainforest. Until then…

Cheers!

P.S. I am in the process of getting some underwater pictures developed that I can hopefully upload later.

DAY 30: OFF TO WORK AND OFF TO CAIRNS

Work hard to play hard. That’s one of my favorite sayings and something I try to live by. Day 30 of my journey was a good example.

I went in to work and, I’ll be honest, I had other things on my mind – Cairns to be specific. There was work that needed to be done and I knew I just had to get through it then I was off for one of the greatest weekends of my life. With that said, work was relatively relaxing. I made some charts for uniform orders for all the different sport teams at the Uni. In the midst of that project, I got called into the conference room. Apparently, two of the workers are leaving and they threw a farewell party. There was cake – obviously. It felt exactly like the Jim Gaffigan reference to cake. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o-u4IwXkbE. Watch the whole video. “I don’t really know those people. Wait, there’s cake? I guess I should say goodbye.”

After a little more work on that project, I took a lunch and then was given the rest of the day off. I came back ready to work and then my supervisor was just sort of looking at me and finally asked, “What are you still doing here?” I asked if they had anything more for me to work on and she insisted no. I asked one more time then half the office yelled at me to leave. It was pretty funny. I love the Aussie work environment. However, in my hurry to get back to the apartment, I got on the wrong bus and it ended up taking me about 2.5 hours but I made it…eventually.

I finished up packing and was ready to go. The anticipation was killing me. We flew out with Qantas – the official Australian airline. I had heard about some people who flew to Sydney on it and they all raved about it, I was pretty excited. Honestly though, it wasn’t much different. I guess the only real cool part was the fact that they gave us all drumstick ice cream cones after our dinner. Ice cream is the way to my heart and they got to it. We touched down at about 10:30 and then had about a half-hour commute to Gilligan’s Hotel and Resort.

Calling it a hotel and resort might be the overstatement of the year. It was a hostile. It was alright, nothing too fancy but I didn’t mind. I was in Cairns. We were all pretty tired at this point but we were all still American college students so we did what we do – hit the bar. The biggest club in Cairns is attached to our hostile. Gilligan’s club is a little too crazy for my taste but it provided the cheap beer we were looking for and a giant TV that was showing the US World Cup game. We didn’t do anything too crazy – unless you consider streaking after every US goal crazy (that’s a joke but don’t think it didn’t cross our minds). After the game it was about 1 in the morning and we knew we had a busy day planned on Saturday so we headed to bed, or so we thought.

The nice thing about having a bar connected to your hostile is that a bar is connected to your hostile. The bad thing about having a bar connected to your hostile is that a bar is connected to your hostile. You follow my logic? No? Didn’t think so. What I mean is that the dance floor was literally about 75 ft. outside our window, which meant the crazy loud music was the same distance. There’s Nothing like falling asleep to some Jay-Z and Lil’ Wayne. On schedule for tomorrow, the Great Barrier Reef. Until then…

Cheers!

UNITED STATES OF IMISSYA:

Let me preface this entire post by saying that I am not homesick and I am not in stage 2 of culture shock.

When we arrived we got it beat into our head that we would go through culture shock and to be prepared for stage 2. What is stage 2? Well, I couldn’t tell ya and more than halfway through this trip, I don’t think I will know but we were told it would be the homesickness (is that a word) stage. We would get depressed, overeat, overdrink (um, hi we’re college students), cry, want to go home, blah, blah, blah, etc. etc. etc. I was afraid some Stage 2 monster was going to come hammer my head with an American flag or something. However, that has not been the case. I am proud to say, I have survived – I have defeated Stage 2.

With that said, I have compiled a list of some of the things I miss from back home:

Family: Wouldn’t have been funny if I left them off the list? What would they have thought? But seriously, I really do miss my Mom, Dad and sisters. I am fortunate they have been a huge part of my life and I am blessed that they have had such a positive influence on me. That extends (pun) to my extended family as well and my grandma who is fighting cancer right now. My thoughts and prayers are with her.

Nieces and Nephew: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know they technically are under the Family umbrella but they’re special, they get their own bullet point. Zayda, Garrett and Andra. I love ‘em all and miss getting to run around the house with them. I hope they haven’t forgotten who their Uncle J is. I must also mention that both of my sisters are currently pregnant and I miss watching them get fat ☺

Friends: Chances are, if you’re reading this I miss you. If you’re a stranger and you’re reading this, stop. That’s creepy.

Summer: This is a broad and vague category. For you geographically challenged (IU students/grads) Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, which means it is winter here, which means it is around 60 everyday. I miss the heat and humidity of the Indiana summer. I know I am weird but I enjoy the humid weather. I figure if you’re going to be outside working, work up a sweat while you’re at it. I can’t wait to get back in the heat and humidity of the Indiana summer. Now some sub points under summer:

Umpiring: I am an IHSAA licensed umpire. I spent the majority of my summer last year umpiring baseball games. I miss being at the baseball field and most of all I miss the very very good money I was making.
Baseball: I miss baseball in general but especially my FIRST PLACE Cincinnati Reds. Yeah, all you cubbie fans read that correctly. The Reds are on top of the NL Central and actually competing for the first time in about 10 years…and I am on the other side of the planet. Perfect. I don’t think there is anything better than going to a baseball game, with a bag of peanuts and my dad. We share chocolate malt and life is good. I plan on doing this as soon as I get back.

Swimming: I love just hanging out at the pool and playing pool basketball with my friends – a favorite summer pastime of mine.

Grilling/cookouts: I love grilling and I love cookouts. I haven’t gotten to do either here in Australia. I hope there is enough summer left for me to enjoy these when I get back.

The 4th of July: Undoubtedly my favorite holiday. I love the season, I love the weather, I love the patriotism, I love eating a burger, hot dog and brat on the same day and I love lighting things on fire. It’s just an awesome time of the year. For whatever reason, Australians don’t celebrate America’s independence. How rude! I hope I can find some fireworks over here. If not I will just light my roommates’ stuff on fire and throw it off my balcony as I sing God Bless America.

ESPN: I miss being able to turn on the TV at any time and getting the latest sport news. They have sport channels over here – four of ‘em actually. Here’s what’s on those channels: Rugby, Rugby, Rugby and highlights of Rugby. I don’t get it and I don’t really have any desire to. Give me my highlights of baseball and golf and my daily dose of Tiger Woods coverage.

America News: We get some American news over here but it’s the trashy gossip celebrity news that I couldn’t care less about. For instance, Katy Perry was on the cover of one of the local newspapers yesterday.

Rascal: That’s my dog. Everyone over here has dogs and they take them everywhere. It just makes me want to have a dog that much more. Rascal may be getting up there in years and more lopsided (he has a fat tumor on one of his shoulders) by the day but I miss him.

Car: You might know him as Charlie. He’s a 2005 charcoal Ford Taurus - a well-oiled driving/transporting machine. I have had my fill of public transportation. I just wish I could hop in my car in the morning, blare some music and make my own commute to work in the morning. Side story. Yesterday, I was on the way to work on one of the buses and had my lunch in one hand and backpack in the other. Next thing I knew, we went around a round-a-bout and I was sitting in a guys lap. Not like the funny accidental bump. It was more like the embarrassing “hi, I’m American. Thanks for letting me use your lap as a landing base.”

INTERMISSION: Take a breath, take a walk. I didn’t know this list was going to grow to this. I just had to check over my shoulder to see if Stage 2 was creeping up on me. It wasn’t.

Mom’s cooking: I have ate very well here in Australia but still, nothing and I mean nothing can ever compare to my mom’s cooking. I can’t wait for some biscuits n’ gravy.
Boating: My family doesn’t have a boat but every summer I find a way to make it to a lake to do some boating. Whether it is with my friends, my sister’s friend, my brother-in-law’s family, my aunt and uncle or just a random connection, I make it to the lake for some tubing and attempts at skiing. My sister just got a boat this winter. I’m thinking I’ll need to test it out this summer once I get back.

Convenience: I made the decision to not purchase a cell phone and not purchase Internet over here. I figured it would help me save money and get more immersed in the Australian culture. I’m not addicted to my iphone but I do miss being able to use it to get updates on sports/news, directions and txt messages from friends and family. I have found ways to get Internet but I haven’t really missed it as much as I thought I would. It’s actually been a refreshing exercise to be “disconnected” at times.

Concerts: Specifically, the Dave Matthews Band concert. I have been going to DMB’s concerts for four or five years now and every year the two-night stand is two of the best nights of my summer. In the past he has came late in the summer such as August or late July. This year, he decided to come in June. I was really upset and then, he announced he won’t be touring next year! I have to find some way to make it to a concert once I get back but the way this is going I will also have to find some way to do that for free. There are also Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn and Kings of Leon concerts I would like to go to but again, not sure that will fit in the budget when I get back.

Purdue University: People say they bleed gold and black. That’s ridiculous and I can’t imagine healthy. I take pride in my healthy red blood BUT I eat, sleep, dream and breathe gold and black. Even when I use the restrooms the colors are typically … sorry I just couldn’t finish that sentence. Use your imagination. I know I wouldn’t be spending much time there this summer and I would probably miss it if I were at home. I miss wearing a Purdue shirt around and people asking me if I go there and responding yes and they kind of raise their eyebrows in the “wow, I’m impressed. I couldn’t get in so I just went to IU” kind of way. I miss being able to bash my IU friends on how bad they are at well, everything ☺ Okay, I’ll stop with the IU bashing. I don’t want to offend anyone (but seriously IU students can’t read so I’m not too worried).

Sports Information: I spend a lot of time working sporting events and office hours during the school year. I am fortunate that I love my job and I really enjoy the people I work with. Not to mention, a steady flow of income would be really nice right about now.

Roommates: Tay Tay, Lewis and Grandpa. I miss those guys and all of our shenanigans. Tay Tay and Grandpa, I will be visiting Tipton when I get back.

Golf: Typically, I spend a lot of time on the golf course during the summer. That has not been the case. I want to play while I am over here but I imagine greens fees plus renting clubs will cost anywhere from $80 to $1million.

Friends’ Birthdays: One of my really good friends has already turned 21 and is currently in Vegas and I am going to miss two of my other best friends’ 21st birthdays. I wish I was there and could “take care” of them the same way my friends “took care” of me on my 21st. As the Aussies would say, “You got fuzzy.”

The “right” side of the road: Right as in correct and right as in the right side of the road. They drive on the left and their steering wheel is on the right. It takes some getting used to. And then there’s the awkward situation where two people are walking right at each other and being American my natural instinct is to go right but that won’t work because the Aussie’s natural instinct is to go left. It’d be less confusing if I could just wear a sign: “Hi, I’m a tourist.”

The empirical system: Yeah, I get it the metric system makes more sense and the empirical system makes no sense what so ever. I don’t care. Give me my inches, pounds, feet, miles, and ounces. And for the love of all things good, can I PLEASE get a temperature in Fahrenheit. I turn on the news in the morning and they tell me it is going to be 18. This means absolutely nothing to me. Can you please just tell me if I can wear shorts? I think the whole world should switch to a universal wardrobe temperature system. I can see Al Roker now, “Today’s high is going to be shorts and a t-shirt with a low of you might want carry a jacket with you.” It’s perfect. I’m copywriting this.

Real Football: It’s almost training camp time and I haven’t heard a word about it. Can someone update me, how many times as Brett Favre retired and unretired since I’ve been gone?

Welcome: Everything is “cheers” or “no worries” here. The “no worries” takes the place of welcome and ends up sounding like “nawawwies” with their accent. I’ve actually started saying “no worries” without even thinking about it.

Money: I’m really glad America doesn’t have coins worth more than a quarter that we use often. I will stand at a cash register with a handful of change look at it, look at the person operating the cash register, look back at my hand and eventually they get the message and take the exact change right out of my hand. It’s easier than me inspecting every coin to see how much it’s worth and then having to do the math.

Money: I miss having money and so does my bank account.
School of Management Council: Lots of great friends, lots of great work. Can’t wait to start another semester.

Basketball: Last year, I spent many summer nights playing basketball. I love basketball. If I could do anything in the world it would be playing basketball. I can’t put it into words. It is not a big sport over here and I haven’t even got to watch the NBA finals. I miss basketball. I need basketball. It’s therapy.

Running: I had enough space for one extra pair of shoes. It was between my basketball shoes and running shoes. I went with the basketball since I knew I was working at a sport center. Bad choice. I haven’t been on a basketball court.

Reasonable prices: It might be a good thing I am not going to have any money when I get back. Otherwise, I would probably just blow it all anyway. I’ve grown so accustom to the outrageous prices here, I would be tempted to blow it all on stupid cheap stuff back in the states.

Cold drinks: The ice over here is terrible. If anyone has been to Europe or Asia, they know foreigners are stingy with their ice. It’s the same here. No ice or very little ice. Bottled and canned drinks are outrageously priced (think ~$30 for a 24 pack of diet coke). All I end up drinking is lukewarm tap water. Wonderful.

Cheap Beer: This one was contributed by Bo Dietrick. I wouldn’t know, I’ve never bought beer ;)

Well, loyal followers that ought to keep you busy for the weekend. I might add more to this list later as I find more but for now, that is all. Until next time…

Cheers!