Rain, Cold and Strange Hostels.

So I made it to Adelaide. Met up with Annelise, and we are staying at the strangest hostel ever. It seems like everyone else there lives there. Last night my friend Sarz (from a camp in NY that I worked at two summers ago) came and hung out with us (she lives in adelaide). We played poker and drank a little with these people who are living/working/traveling around Australia. Two of them are from England, one from Ireland, and one from New Zealand. I guess that guys from Ireland and New Zealand are half-brothers (same dad?), but one is 27 years old and the other is 18, and after the one was about 8 the dad left for NZ....so the two had never met, and randomly on facebook found each other, and decided to meet in Australia. (happy story).

It rained all night (which was pretty neat), and we both woke up around 9 am. We're sharing a bunk bed (I have the top bunk, just like freshman year), and so far we've wandered around downtown adelaide. Done some shopping, and just perused the shops. I got a couple more books to read (I'm starting to like Dean Koontz and I got another Diane Davidson book). I also got a super sweet 4 - 5 meter long scarf which is AWESOME, and this hobo hat, which (you guessed it) is AWESOME.

We leave for Kangaroo Island tomorrow, for a 3 day/2 night trip to see penguins! and seals! and eat some kangaroo! So I will have a longer blog post for when we return! Alright I am off! Hope all is well back home! My cold is subsiding, I can fully breathe. I think the cold air actually helped clear me up. Alright, much love. Send warm weather my way!

Obnoxious Girls and Rafting.

Today's theme is apparently obnoxious girls, but before I get into that, a few things I forgot to mention in the last blog. I saw minke whales while I was out diving. As I was swimming back to the boat after my awesome dive at Steve's Bommie, I was in about 4 - 5 meters of water, and all of a sudden to my left, what to my wondering eyes should appear! but a huge ass whale. Just cruising along. And there I was at about equal depth with it just staring at this huge mass of a thing swim ever so gracefully thru the water. How many of you guys can say you not only swam with whales, but dove with them? Huh? I bet not a one of you. :]

Also, as mother and father will remember from the Bahamas....apparently jelly fish LOVE me. I got attacked. My inner knees/thighs/calves are COVERED with stings. :( (super sad face). They itch and are red and puffy, and I have no idea why this always happens to me! Anyways!

Last night I went out with four guys, two from Scotland, two from England. The one british kid and I danced for a little while before I realized I needed to get some sleep for rafting! So we all walked back to the hostel, and Alex W. and I stayed up talking until about 1. His dad lives in Perth, AU, which is neat, and he's been over here for almost a year, and just applied for residency. He just finished his masters degree in "town planning" in Bristol, England, and apparently wants to work/live over here. (I can't say I disagree). So far my tally marks have AU at like 1039857561 and the US at like maybe 3.

Then....at f***ing FOUR IN THE MORNING. These two girls come into my room --- loud. drunk. obnoxious...and to make things worse....they TURN ON THE light. WHO DOES THAT? So I was awoken by bright lights and loud girls. Then I had to wake up (again!) at 6 am to go rafting. I made no attempt to be quiet.

Rafting was AMAZING. My group was a group of 5 + the rafting guide (Vinny). Two people from Belgium (who were awesome) and these two girls (who were obnoxious)....you now see why this was my day theme. THe girls apparently won the rafting tickets from winning a wet t-shirt contest or something like that....and didn't want to be there. They didn't paddle, they complained of being wet (hello....you're going white water rafting....), and from bruises, scratches (and yes...) broken nails...

I fell out of the raft on one rapid...it was the first time I had ever accidentally fallen out of the boat. All of a sudden I was half in the boat and half in the water, and I Just let myself fall. It was freezing, but wonderful at the same time. The Belgian guy (Rul) was quick to save me. All in all rafting was a lot of fun. I think we had the best guide, and we all had a laugh (even if sometimes it was at the two girls expense.) We're not cruel...we just didn't get why they were there. They each weighed probably 70 pounds and did nothing except complain. So we joked with them about crocodiles and such, and I think as the day progressed they got progressively quieter. Perhaps we all did. It was exhausting.

Now I'm back at the hostel. Going to go out for a drink and some dancing before coming back early and going to bed. I fly tomorrow to Adelaide and meet up with my frosh roomie from USC (annelise). Oh! Small world...my roomie for the night is this girl, Carly (from vancouver)...who lived in Annelise's buildling last semester in BRisbane...so we're all enjoying the strangeness this world sometimes thrusts our way.

Oh, and just to put things in perspective...every now and then (especially when I go to the bathroom) I feel like I'm back on the boat. And right now, as I type this long blog, I feel as if I'm rocking. I will take that as a sign to get off the computer. Hope all is well back home. Next time I talk to you I'll be in Adelaide.

Mom and dad, sorry I'm not really responding to your emails. This blog and other emails takes up most of my time, but I love both of you very much and miss you too.

Ps. the medicine I'm taking for my congestion sucks. It's all herbal crap (no sudafed or actifed in australia). So I'll do some more searching perhaps tomorrow for a pharmacy and see if they have some better stuff than the super market had. Okay, ! I'm off.

<3 :]

Lionfish, Turtles and Nudibranchs, OH MY! (and why my dad remains the best dive buddy)

So, I just returned back to my hostel in Cairns from my 4day/3night live-aboard dive trip to teh great barrier reef! Overall, it was pretty damn amazing. I was picked up on the 24th at 4:45 pm, and we departed from the dock around 5:15 pm. My first surprise was that I got upgraded from a below-deck 4-share room, to a top-deck double with ensuite (private bathroom!). There was one bunk bed, with a full size bed on the bottom, which my New Zealand roomie, Wendy, allowed me to have. Dinner consisted of chicken and lamb, potatoes, brocolli, salad, and garlic bread (it was all delicious). I went to bed around 8:45 pm, because I was exhausted, after having only gotten 4 hours of sleep the previous two nights.

Day 2:

Wake up was at 0650, but I was up at about 0600. I started off with tea, and breakfast (at 0700) was (as it was every day) scrambled eggs, toast, ham/tomatoe/cheese sandwiches, baked beans, yogurt, and fresh fruit! Our morning dives (at 0800 and 1000) were at Cod Hole. These cod must have been at least 2 meters long. They were huge! My dive buddies were Kyoko (this Japanese woman who didn't speak english...) and C.A. (a Cairns local). We had this giant cod follow us around the entire first dive, so we nicknamed it the puppy cod. I proved myself (as always) to be the finder of eels, as I found a gimongous green moray (probably a good 2 - 2.5 meters in length). We reached our max depth at 30 meters, and when we returned to the boat (which I was pleased to have been able to find), I had about 70 bar left (which is probably equivalent to 700 psi).

Dive two was at Cod Hole, again, but this time it was the Cod Feed, where Yuki (one of the instructor/guides/crew) fed the cod heeps of tuna. They went nuts. After the feed, we were able to swim off on our own. Dive two was about the same as dive one. Lunch was at 1200 and consisted of home made pizza and left over chicken, with pasta salad, and salad. Dive three was at Challenger Bay, where we saw turtles, eels, schools of fish, and beautiful coral. Despite the name...it wasn't really a challenge. I don't know what consists of a challenge for diving, but I guess I was hoping for some swim thru channels of coral.

At 1830, we went on our night dive. I buddied up with Mark, from Dublin, Ireland, and we saw nothing. There was another boat in the area, and as Mark and I were swimming down the reef, all of a sudden it was like star wars, with twenty thousand inexperienced divers swimming towards us. I wanted to strangle them all, and teach them how to dive. We think (emphasis on the thinking) that we saw a shark on the way back to the boat...but it might just be wishful thinking, eh? I spent the rest of the night playing shithead (this silly australian card game) while we all watched blow, with johnny depp. I spent a good hour or so up on the top top deck watching the stars, and felt pretty damn lucky to be there. Finally went to bed around 2300.

Day 3:

Wake up, again, was at 0650, but again, I was up around 0600. Had my tea, and prepared for the morning dives at Steve's Bommie (which were my two favorite dives of the trip). Steve's bommie was this huge mass of coral which was like a giant cylindrical shape whose bottom was at 30m, and whose top was at about 5m. So, we dove down to 30 m and then just swam clockwise around this huge mass of coral. Right at 30m we were greeted by a baby (so cute!) white tip reef shark, shortly followed by two free swimming turtles. Steve's bommie was also home to (oh i don't know), roughly 7 or 8 free swimming lion fish (and dad, even a baby featherhead!). I also found two eels, a cuttlefish (the wanna-be squid), and the videographer of the trip, Chriso found a leafy scorpion fish! Both of the morning dives were there and I went on both of them.

Lunch was at 1200...and I can't remember what we ate...but I'm sure it was good. The afternoon was spent diving at 2 2/3rds (named because it was 2/3rds of the way between ribbon reef number 2....and 3...). My left ear gave me some problems with clearing, and that's when I realized death was coming. (I am now completely stuffed up...and need to run to the super market to grab cough/cold/stuffed up nose medicine). After 2 2/3rds, we headed down to beer garden, for the night dive...but I declined. My nose was dripping and I didn't want to push anything (plus, the night dive the previous night had proven uneventful). I was pleased when people came back and said they saw nothing. From here on out, I will do night dives with my dad only, and when no one else is around.

That night I spent reading books (One Up on Wall Street...by Peter Lynch and The Husband by Dean Koontz). We hit rough weather, and I began to feel a bit queazy, so I took some more dramamine, and laid in fetal position for the rest of the night. I never threw up, and for that, I was very grateful.

Day 4:

Morning dives were at Norman Reef, and I did the first dive, but not the second dive, because there wasn't a whole lot there. I enjoyed just being in the water and looking in all sorts of holes and such and such. Saw some brightly, beautifully colored nudibranchs, a free swimming turtle, a blue spotted ray in the sand flats, and I got the joy of seeing a sea cucumber, which was hanging from an overhang, poop. I literally floated in the water and watched it excrete little balls of what looked like sand. I have no idea why I found it so fascinating...

After the dives we headed back to Cairns, and here I am now. All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and I must come back to do some more diving on the Great Barrier. (and so should all of you who dive!)

Alright, time to go check on my laundry and try and get to the store for some sudafed, or the likes.

Dead Kangaroo and Jumping out of an Airplane.

So we'll start with last night. I went out with my roomie, Laura, from the UK. We went to the "little aussie bum" for dinner, and got a spitroast and two drinks for 12 dollars. pretty amazing. and the food was really good. Also, there were guys in dresses, and hula skirts, which is always awesome. So we stayed there for dinner, and had a few drinks, and met some crazy people, and then moved on the the "mad cow" bar next door. We played 4 rounds of pool, and I'm proud to say I won two of them. Then we went back to the "bum" and were pleasantly pleased to see the guys in male clothing, and then we had a couple more drinks with the staff, and we all decided to trudge across the street to the "rhino bar/nightclub". we proceeded to dance the night away, and it was, all in all, an amazing night. I had a blast dancing to all sorts of music. Finally, we returned home around 2 am to get a few precious hours of sleep before going SKYDIVING.

So, as you know, I went skydiving. It was. AMAZING. I did "jump the beach" which is down in Mission Beach (about a two hour drive). We went up in the plane with 7 tandem jumpers, and 1 solo jumper, and 1 video photographer (for me!), so we were all like sardines in a can. I was fifth to go, and we were high high above the clouds. On the way up, we went through a cloud patch and I lookd at Pierre's wrist height watch thing, and it said 4,500 feet. The clouds were at 4500 feet, and we were going up to 14,000. At 11,000 we threw out the solo jumper, who leaped out of the plane, and it was at that point that I began to get a little nervous. Not to mention, the guy sitting next to me on the plane was shaking because he was so nervous. Finally, we reached the optimal altitude of 14,000 feet. I was fifth to jump, and before I knew it, I was sitting on the edge of the plane, with my hands crossed across my chest, my feet bent back under the plane, and Pierre saying "alright, here we gooooooo!!!", and there I was. Falling towards earth at 200km/hour. It was a ridiculous feeling. I have no other way of describing it. After what seemed a nano second, we were reaching the cloud layer. As a child, I always thought it would be awesome to take a nap on a cloud, and I always thought clouds would catch me if I fell out of a plane, so in some strange way, it was like I was living a child hood dream. The cloud was freezing and wet, and after about 4 seconds I saw the ocean. It was right below me. With Mission Beach and islands scattered in every direction, and POOF! our parachute opens (to my relief). We glided down to the beach, which took about 4 - 5 minutes, and Pierre even let me steer the parachute! It was pretty exciting. And that was it, I was back on land, and I wanted to go back up and do it again. I was in the first batch of jumpers, and there were still two more to go (which took another 3 hours), so I got to hang out on the beach and meet some new people, and of course, watch for falling people out of the sky. I met a few people from the UK, Natasha, Tom, Robert and hmmm I don't think I ever got the fourth person's name. It's Natasha's birthday, and we're all going out for Mexican food at 8, followed by some dancing.

Tomorrow I head off for my dive trip! I'm stoked, especially since I got to see the reef as I was freefalling towards earth.

Oh yeah, and on the way to Mission Beach, I saw my first kangaroo! Unfortunately, it was roadkill. :[ Also, on the drive back to Cairns, the sun was setting over the mountains and it was so beautiful. Anyways, I've gotta go hop in the shower and get ready for dinner. Will write again after I dive on the Great Barrier Reef!! :]

24 Hours Passed.

So I've been here for almost 24 hours, and so far, I love it. I got in yesterday to Cairns around 1 30 pm, and a lady that had been on my flight from San Fran to Sydney and from Sydney to Cairns offered me a ride to the hostel, so that saved me 15 bucks :). Then I got to the hostel around 2, and it's pretty neat. There aren't very many people here, I have a 6-share room to myself now, since my awesome Korean room mate, Milly, left this morning.

I did some shopping yesterday, and was pretty much appalled by how expensive things are over here, but I did some good shopping and managed to only spend 45 bucks on multiple meals, a hair brush, and sun screen. I also managed to keep my eyes open until 10:15 pm last night, without a nap, thanks primarily to two people (one 56 year old lady who's decided to travel the world since her kids are all grown up, and a 19 year old guy from Amsterdam who is studying in Brisbane), so I succeeded at my goal of avoiding the jet lag/time change fiasco. The lady also introduced me to the wonderful world of Tasmanian Apple Cider, with alcohol, which was amazing. Don't fret, I only had one.

I woke up this morning at 7 am, and went for a couple mile walk down by the "beach", if you can call it that. I call it giant low-tide swamp land, with no sand, but it was still beautiful, especially since I was there just after sunrise. I walked around a little bit and took some pictures, and just felt very good to be in Australia.

I came home, read part of my book and then decided I wanted to book some adventure for while I'm here. I decided on "combo thrills", which is a half day of sky diving TOMORROW from 11,000 feet, tandem (attached to the instructor/professional person), and I jump right over the ocean and land on the beach! And then the next day I am leaving for my 4 day/3 night dive trip to the great barrier reef, and the day after I return I'm doing a full day of white water rafting on class 3-4 grade rapids on the Tully River. Needless to say, I am stoked. A little nervous and anxious, for sure, but totally stoked.

The person who booked me for my "thrills" suggested a restaurant, that has super good food and a relaxed atmosphere, so I think I'll check that out tonight. Hope all is well back home, wherever home may be! So far so good, I'm having a great time, but miss all you loads.

Greetings from Sydney.

Well I've arrived. I'm in Sydney's airport right now, and for the brief 30 seconds that I was outside, I wonder if I packed appropriately. It was quite chilly, but I'm hoping it warms as the day goes on. So I got lucky on the flight here. I was supposed to be in a middle seat, but got switched to an exit row window. I had 6 feet of leg room, and no one sitting next to me. I would've lied down, but the stupid arm rests didn't go up :( ! But, being an adventurer, I made a sling out of an extra blanket and tied it to a handle right next to my seat, so I had my legs held up by the sling. I slept most of the flight, which I think will help me with the time change. It's just before eight am out here, and I feel wide eyed and refreshed, so hopefully I don't crash once I get to Cairns.

So I just went to purchase a bottle of water, and didn't have an AU dollars. So I tried buying it with my credit card, but it was a 10 dollar minimum, so this aussie guy behind me said "that's alright mate, i've got it", and paid for my water. I thanked him, and we parted ways. All I know is that no one in the US would have done that so, so far AU 1, USA 0.

Hope you all are having grand ol' days. I'll talk to you later.

The First Post.

I'm not sure how many of you will read this, it'll probably be mostly family, but I figured this would be a good way to keep people (who care) updated on my year off.  As most of you know by now, I graduated last May -- a year early, and am taking off this next year to do some serious traveling.  This includes, but is not limited to, Australia, Scandinavia, Roadtrip to Michigan, a move to Chicago for a few months, and Antarctica.  And this is all that will happen by next February.  

So travel number 1: Australia.  My flight takes off in nine hours, I fly from San Diego to San Francisco; from there to Sydney; and then on to Cairns, where I begin my month stay with a 4 day/3 night dive trip along the Great Barrier Reef. 

I'm not bringing my laptop or cell phone with me, because I'm traveling super light out of a backpack.  However, the hostels I am staying at should have computers, and if not, I'll find internet cafes to keep people updated.  

I hope everyone is having a good summer!