hobbits.

Welp, midterm testing’s are over with and I’m well on my way to New Zealand with Karen! It’s been a wack day. We’ve been all over the place. I guess it doesn’t help having two airheads together for a vacation that went to uni club the night before. HA, that being said, we “sort of” packed last night before we went to uni club. We wanted to say our goodbyes to everyone before heading off for lecture recess. We threw together various warm clothes and headed out. Haha, I guess we’re really adapted to the Australian mindset. I would’ve never done that at home. I usually have everything packed a couple days before and itinerary printed. However, neither of us had our itineraries printed out for our flight, or even knew where we’re staying the night once we arrive in Christchruch… Funny thing is, we’re on the plane right now and still don’t know where we’re staying. So, we have to wonder around tonight at midnight looking for accommodation. Hopefully there will be some sort of place open or we’re sleeping on the beach… Or this plane? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind anyway. Hey, at least we thought about it ten minutes before we boarded the plane and called about 5 places looking for any type of open beds! All the hostels are booked and hotels are as well which I thought was strange. Apparently, there’s a ton of damage in town from the earthquake so a lot of hotels and things have been knocked down, but still leaving many places to stay. We’ll figure it out. No worries.

So my day today consisted of running all around, throwing clothes in my bag in hopes that I have everything I need and mailing last minute things to friends/family. I woke up around eight to chat at my supportive, handsome boyfriend. We skyped for a few then I went to back to sleep til ten. I had to get up even though I was still so tired. Time was flying by and I had things to do before I left. I skyped with Ry again when I woke up as I was packing. I had lunch with Lauren & Liz in the midst of things, consisting of a few bites of fish and vegetables. After lunch, I mailed some things to the states and met Karen at her place to catch a cab to the airport. Well, the cab came… and went. Of course we were too busy chatting with Cammie to even notice. We saw a white car turn around, not even realizing it had a lit up taxi sign on the top of it. He was already well on his way back down the street. We rang the cab company again and he came back to pick us up! Whew. We’re in the cab on the way to the airport, finally. I looked at Karen and said, “ Yeah, so I’m pretty sure I have everything we’ll need”. She looked at me with such confidence and said, “I agree, I mean… as long as we have our passports that’s all that really matters”. OH SHIT! Karen, I’m sorry doll, but I don’t have my passport. Cab driver you’re going to have to whip this bad boy around. I’m a complete airhead!! She didn’t believe a word I said because I’m always joking with people. I was like no seriously, the most important thing I need, I forgot. Of course. I felt horrible, it was already 1:35p.m and our flight was at 2:30. I sprinted upstairs and got my passport and headed straight back down. Now we’re on the way! No, really. We get there with some time to spare. I forgot that security is like a walk in the park. You literally can just walk on through with your belt, shoes and all. Odd, right? I sent my backpack through the conveyor belt and forgot to take my lap top out. It came through and TSA told me I’ll have to take my lap top out “next time”. No worries, run along and catch your flight. Whoops, totally slipped my mind. Seems to be the ongoing lackadaisical attitude of the day. This usually happens when I don’t have coffee or Ryan to remind me of what’s really going on in the outside world. Earth to Jenny!! Ah well, we made it through customs and directly to our gate. We chilled for a bit then hopped on the plane to Brisbane. It’s only an hour flight or so. With only a short layover, we didn’t have too much time to spare. We went through International Security again and had to get all checked in. Karen and I walked up to the desk assuming everything would be quite fine without paperwork. The lady goes, “ Ello ladies, just checking in?”

“Well, yes ma’am”.

“Do you have your tickets/ itinerary and did you check any bags in this afternoon?”

“Yes, we have bags checked and no itinerary”.

“Do you have anything?”

“Haha, ummm no not really. We just know we’re flying Air New Zealand and our flight is… soon? Help?”

“So you don’t have baggage tickets?”

“Nope. The lady in Townsville never gave them to us because she said we didn’t need them and our bags would be directly transferred to the next plane”.

“WRONG”.

This went on for a solid fifteen minutes with the helpful lady checking us in. I guess we were only giving her information she asked for. Not really helping out too much to hurry up the process now that I think of it. Sorry lady, but just put me on that god damn plane. We’re just backpackers! No, we’re not taking your precious soil or goodies from Aussie to New Zealand. In the end, she was very helpful and informative towards us. We ended up with our itineraries and arrived at our gate. Our flight was pushed back about 30 minutes, but that’s alright! Everyone at the gate looks like a hobbit I thought to myself. Seriously. I found it quite comical. Once we got on the plane, we were shortly accompanied by a video of Richard Simmons on our personal T.V jazzersizing about safety on the plane. HAHA, google it. We would never have anything like that in the states. Everything has to have a strict regimen and serious, uptight outlook. Booooring. I slowly became more relaxed and de-stressed once I settled in. Thank you Gene Simmons. We made it! Woo!

 Both, north and south Islands of New Zealand are the size of Colorado, meaning that theirs only a population of 4 million spread amongst the two. Just to put that into comparison, the state of New York has a population of 50 million. Mind blowing I tell ya. It will feel like no one is here. We will feel the comfort from mountains, snow caps and breathtaking views over the span of the next 18 days rather than people. I’m going from one beautiful country to the next. What more could a girl ask for? Tea and crumpets? Nope, we already had that along with chicken cordon bleu. Geez, classy little plane we’re on here! I could never complain about anything over here. I’ve only heard wonderful things about this country of absolute beauty. I can’t wait to explore. Tomorrow we have to take a train from Christchurch to Greymouth. It’s about a four hour train ride. I’ll probably be blogging some more about how our night goes. Not too worried about it though, someone will help us out. We only need a few hours rest until we’re off again anyway. Our train leaves at 8:15a.m so we’ll try to get there around 7:30-7:45a.m. That’s what we aim for. Hopefully we’re not too out of it in the morning like we were today. As long as we make it to the train station, we’ll be all set. Fingers crossed!

I’m seriously so excited for this trip. I never thought I’d be able to go to New Zealand. What thrilling experience I have ahead of me for the month of April. What a way to start my new year being 21. I have no regrets and I truly think this is going to be one of the best years of my life. I do get homesick here and there, but I keep telling myself that I’ll be back in two months to spend a long summer with Ryan. I can’t wait for that. We’re both really looking forward to it! As for now, I have a lot of the outside world to explore and it’s all just sitting in the palms of my hands. I look forward to waking up for early morning jogs around the windy mountains. I want to feel the pavement beneath my Nike’s as I gaze upon this bright green, healthy country. What a feeling. Wish me luck tonight, I’ll need it. 

gym therapy

I've had my few not so consistant weeks here frequenting the gym as much as I would like. Say, 2 or 3 days a week rather than 5 or 6. Lets just say, I'm back at it. Full throttle. Intense. What a de-stresser physical fitness is! I love it and I've seriously missed going all the time. I never really knew how much of physical fitness becomes such a lifestyle, more than just something people complain that they "have to do". No one wants to do something they have to, they do it because they want to, because they enjoy it. The means through our twisted, complex ways of life make us happy. You have to create the life you want to lead or accept the status quo. The light switch has been flicked, the neuron has been fired. I'm activating my life just as I was living in the states. What took so long? Was my brain telling me I was on vacation upon arrival? Perhaps. I'm not done here. I have a life to lead over here... a while left doing so actually. I've,finally, completely accepted that I've been picked up and dropped in a foreign country. I'm on the other side of the world to what I know as my home. It's quite hard to explain why it took so long. I don't know if I have an answer. It's been about 7 weeks spent at JCU already. Time is flying by and I can't let this precious time bomb explode without feeling 100% accomplished. I need to push myself in every aspect, whether it be school, finding a job for temporary work, training for a triathlon, a marathon, what have you... I thrive off achieving my personal goals. I believe to have a great matter of determination. Anything thrown at me, I grab by the horns and try my best to succeed. I have a perplex goal I want to gain out of my experience here. It's do-able, no doubt. I know I will achieve what it is I want to do on this beautiful land. I'll be able to look over my shoulder later on down that rocky road with no regrets. I'll be able to tell stories about my adventures for days. I find it exceptionally beneficial being extremely independent. In our culture, many find it weird or uncomfortable to be alone. Why is that? Why do we always feel the need to be accompanied by another companion? I'm guilty of this mindset at times, but we don't "need" someone to with us to enjoy ourselves. At the end of the day, you only have yourself anyway. Get comfortable in your own skin and go enjoy the world independently. It's worth it. I feel like all my travels have made me a more independent woman. It's nice to be by yourself sometimes... to have that time to go out and explore, do things you want to do, go places you want to see. Not somewhere your mate does. I'm not saying I'm always by myself, nor do I venture out places by myself everyday. However, the feeling is gratifying and your experience is something in which only you know. Which, to me, is quite unique. Love yourself and be comfortable with all you do in your skin. Set goals for the present, near and future. So when you watch the sunset at the end of the day, just like I said, all you have is yourself, and you alone ☮

time is flying by...

HI! This past weekend was pretty chill. I really enjoyed laying low. Got a little work done and rung in a 21st. It was Kat's birthday so we went to Consordium, a night club, on saturday night. On sunday we enjoyed a very late breakfast at a little quaint place called Bistro One. It was adorable, sort of reminded me of something in Italy. They had a nice jazz band that accompanied our whole meal. I've found my new place for the best coffee yet. I know I seem to bring this up probably every blog, but you just don't understand how amazing it truly is. Breakfast and coffee came and went, but we didn't. We chatted for about three hours, it was nice. After, we headed to the beach before the rain came. It always looks so neat to watch the rain pour in over these enormous mountains. At that time, it was around five and we were pushing it for Kat's birthday dinner at the Tav, which was at six. We came back, got ready and took a cab to dinner with some other mates. There was about fifteen of us there enjoying the relaxing sunday evening. It was quite nice. Our whole table indulged in some strawberry cheesecake (which tastes like strawberry moose, not actual chessecake) that I bought Kat for her birthday from a store in town. It was delicious and everyone seemed to enjoy! Moral of the story, she had a wonderful birthday over the weekend. Besides those festivities, there's not too much going on at the moment. I've slowly been recruiting girls for spin classes which is awesome! Tonight was intense as always, love the instructor! I'm keeping up with that class and continuing to go to the gym five days a week. Tomorrow, Kat & I are trying out a body pump class which should be great for toning purposes. I'll let y'all know how it goes!
On another note, Karen and I DID finalize our New Zealand spring break trip though which I'm sooo excited for! We're leaving the 8th and our bus trip starts the 9th, early a.m. It's pretty sweet how they do it, we'll get to see both north and south island! All over the place. We'll just be taking a bus and doing many, many things! Including a Lord of the Rings tour, whale watching and glacier hiking!
Tomorrow, all I have is class at 1p.m. So, I think I'm going to go into town to check things out and run a few errands. I'm also in the midst of choosing classes for my SENIOR year back home, how mind boggling it is that I'm almost done with college... what happened?! My god. I pick my classes on Wednesday. Karen & I are taking weight training class together, how weird she goes to umd too & I had no idea til I got to aussie. I have to get some reading done now though, I miss you home and friends and family!

Another indescribable trip with the man...

Immaculate. Amazing. Unforgettable. Superb. Magnificent. Prodigious. Impressive. Astonishing. Breathtaking... I just really don't think there's enough words, or correct words to describe my past week and a half with Ryan. What an experience! From the time I could see his feet coming down the escalator to the tears that fell down my cheeks on the day of his departure, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I don't even know where to begin. What a best friend I have. We really did it all... and more. Of course I'd never be able to write about every little nook & cranny on here. I have to keep some secrets anyhow, right?!

I really wanted him to see my life over here and that's exactly what we did.  We didn't want to travel all over Australia to try and fit all these places in our schedule because that's not us. Too hectic for a week and a half. We backpacked all around Townsville and the island for the majority of the time. It was nice to lay low and really enjoy each others company. It's been such a long time. I took him everywhere I've been since I arrived here. The first few days we spent around campus. Took him to my dining hall, ate some weird food, indulged in fine coffee at foccaccia, scootered around town and went to the river to swam around, jumped off rope swings and had some drinks on the dock. Of course we took the scooter there... on the tiny path! We had to go through a dark tunnel with water trickling all through it. Needless to say, I had to ask Ry to get off so we wouldn't fall over. I don't think it mattered. I was spinning all over the place, it was quite funny. We spent a few nights over at Jupiters... a casino hotel. Neither of us had actually gambled before so we tried it out. No worries at all though, we maybe spent 2 dollars and didn't see the point in it whatsoever. It was just a waste of money, but atleast we can say we've played the slots now! The place was very nice. We figured out that their kitchen was open 24/7 so we ordered a pizza to our room and watched a movie. The next morning, we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast then made our journey over to the island. What a magical little place it is over there. I showed him the hostel I stayed at for diving the other weekend and took him all around. It's quite small, so there's nothing crazy going on, but that's just what we love. We spent some time at the Marlin Bar, which is a bar right on the beach. We stayed a few nights right next door at a place called Shaws on the Shore, what a bargain!! So cute too. The next day, we both saw our first box jellyfish that was caught up in the net. The lifegaurd was playing with it with his thin gloves on so we went over to check it out. Scarry! The tentacles can literally kill you, but it didn't seem to faze him at all. Such a gorgeous beach we were on. We went over to the massive rocks and climbed up as far as we could and just chilled up there for a bit to chat. How peaceful. The whole island is just so safe, I can't get over it. It's so different than home, but I'm pretty use to the ways of life over here now. That friday night, we went to check out the Full Moon Party, which is just a big beach party with super expensive drinks. We were definitely under the wrong impression. It wasn't actually ON the beach and I guess all the Australian guidos were invited as well. We made the best of it with all my friends. Actually, check out this song and you'll see the sort of music they listen to in the clubs.. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3kUrH8dPck&feature=related. Just picture all the huge, jacked up aussie guys jumping up and down to this song. Hahaha. That's how they do it over here, girls too. Ry was soo taken back by what the hell was going on. Everyone in their own little world freaking out to this weird music and doing all sorts of flips all over the place.

After our adventure spent at the island, we came back to townsville to explore some more! As the weekend rolled around, we missed our boat for sailing. Of course. That would happen. It's alright though, we planned a little trip to... go... SKYDIVING ON MISSION BEACH!!!!!! What a feeling that was! We took the greyhound there to find out a storm was shortly following behind us, so it got cancelled for the day. We rescheduled with them for the next morning at 8a.m. There couldn't have been a more perfect time of the day to jump out of a plane. We woke up, had a quick breakfast still half asleep and made our way over to jump! HOW SICK. I never thought I would've done it, but I'm soo glad I did. I can't even describe the feeling. I thought it would've been something relatively close to getting butterflies on a rollercoaster, but it wasn't? Maybe for the first two seconds out of the plane when you jump, but we were literally flying. It was the closest feeling you can get to actually feel like you're flying like a bird. It's indescribable. Wow, we skydived. Haha, I still get goosebumps every time I say that. 14,000 feet looks a lot different when you're about to jump. The guys opened the door out of the plane and I watched the guy infront of me go then I was up next. Ry went third so he got to watch me! I wrapped my legs under the plane and went for it!! Free falling for 60 seconds, absolutely incredible. Please try it if you can! We landed right on the beach. The view going down was awesome, views of little islands and clear water with golden sand. I'll never be able to get over it!! That was the big who-rahhh to our trip! I ran up to Ry right when he landed and just couldn't stop smiling. What an adrenaline rush to experience! We were both freaking out and yelling, haha. SO AWESOME! My god. Whew. So, after the jump we went for coffee (like we even needed the caffeine) and an early lunch. Our bus back was another 3 hour trip so we had some time to kill before we caught it back to uni. We just hung around and shopped a bit. We couldn't stop talking about it and still can't! I have a video and so does he, I just can't figure out how to get it on my computer to show y'all! I will though and when I do I'll post it. It'll do my description way more justice.

Ry's visit came and went, but we truly enjoyed every moment. There's just so much we did, I could never tell all! Half of me feels like he was here for a long time, but the other half feels like it flew by!! The days are much longer here which is nice. I can honestly say I don't know if we'll ever be able to experience such an amazing trip together over here ever again, but who knows! Just like my dad and Ry have told me, all good things must come to an end. I guess they're right, I just hate to admit it! I wish he was still here. I know it'll be a while til we get to see each other next, but we got this! Two and a half months til we reunite once again! What a sweetheart he is, I'm so blessed.

We had such a great time together, but now it's time to hit the books and plan for spring break... which will be spent in New Zealand from April 8th - 25th with Karen! Dream big ☮

WE DID IT!!

great success

Today was another wonderful day in the land of OZ. I woke up around 8:15a.m and caught breakfast before class. It's not too bad. Our college has the "best food on campus", which is nice. Fruit and vegetables for every meal! I had a hard boiled egg, toast with jam, an apple & weetabix! After breakfast, I walked over to foccacia fo' coffee for a hazelnut latte. That place is my favorite coffee place on campus. Really good. Then I had Sex, Drugs & Human Nature class at 10. Nothing has changed, it's still such a weird class. Our professor was lecturing in Cairns so we had to watch him on the projector. It's really odd, I've never had a professor that teaches on two campuses before. I tell myself every week that the class will get better, but it really doesn't. Today we discussed the drug trafficking of opium through out the world. It's interesting at times, but seems to be a waste of my time. That class has so much potential, but our professor proves no justice. After wasting 2 hours in class, I had about a 20 minute walk to my next class. We discussed natural disasters and how they would affect the social norm/groups of the human lifestyle. Would people feel obligated to commit crime because of a natural disaster? When everything is completely gone and you have nothing, would your mindset change? Perhaps, to steal in order to survive or start a war because of differences among groups? Everyone has a different viewpoint, but the general concensus our class came to was that people would act out of line/differently if a natural disaster was to occur. I agree to a certain extent. Anyway, after class I stopped by Nicolette's to say hello and slowly made my way back home. I got back, put my belongings in my room & hopped on my scooter for a ride into town. It was so fun to just drive around & explore the town more. It's nice to get a grasp on my surroundings & community. I went to the Strand & had Subway for lunch. I hate subway at home, but it's so good here. It actually IS fresh, just like they say. Fresh vegetables, actual red tomatoes. It was nice to have a little American meal for once. I finished up & had a walk around town. It's so gorgeous here. I went down to the harbor and gazed out into the horizon. I could see Magnetic Island & a gorgeous sunset between all the boats. It was nice to have some independent time to myself and do things I want to do & see. I explored around town for a bit & thought I should get home before the rain started. It was spitting on the way home, but nothing serious. I'll never drive without my sunglasses again! Such a bad idea. I got home just in time for a little skype chat with Ryan before he was going to bed. I had a 5:30 spin class that turned out to be absolutely phenomenal!! The instructor was so intense, I loved him! I'll definitely be going back. He has two sessions a week on Tuesday & Thursday evenings. He was like screaming at us the whole time, spin class boot camp! Haha. As we were spinning to the last techno song with JT yelling in our face, my laces got caught and totally ripped out of my shoe. It made my shoe so tight & it totally messed up my flow. It's all good though, I tucked them in the side of my shoe and continued on for the remaining 30 intense seconds.  Sooo, yeah. They're broken now :( Wah. Ah well, I can't wait to go back again next week! I scootered back to my college & made it just in time for dinner, a plate of marinated vegetables. It was really good. I've been working on a paper for tonight & just enjoying the night. It's the weekend for me now & I have an open day tomorrow! I'm not too sure what I'll get into, but really looking forward to Ry's arrival on sunday!! I can't believe he's actually coming here, so weird! I'm looking forward to a relaxed weekend.
Cheers!

Days go by... Unfortunately

The six of us about to head down to
Alma Bay for our first dive in our stinger suits :)

Wow, sooo it's been a while. Once again. Time just flys by here like crazy! I can't believe it. I spent this past weekend at magnetic island again getting my scuba certification done. So worth it! I still have one dive to do until I'm officially certified. I took my test & everything. I couldn't do the last dive because I was having problems with equalizing going down to the ocean floor. My ear drums were borderline about to rupture so I opted out on the last dive, it's not that big of a deal. I'll just go back to do my last dive in a few weekends! It was pretty intense though, I guess I didn't realize. We were on the go all weekend. We left thursday afternoon to catch the ferry & go over for a diving physical examination. All went well. Ben & I met up with some others to go check out the hostile we stayed at. (http://www.magnums.com.au/magnums_on_magnetic/). It was my first time staying at a hostile so I was a little nervous about it because all I ever see is horror movies on tv about them. It was really awesome though. They had something going on every night at the place, totally catering to backpackers. Great place, but we were all so tired from all the work we did all day. We tried to check it all out, but hit the sack around 10 every night. Every morning we were up by 7:30, getting coffee & walking a few minutes down the road to Pleasure Divers. Being an island, everything is even more expensive. I think I paid the most I ever have for a freakin latte. Yeah, $7.50. Yikes!! Day one, we had to watch videos til lunch time then got a break for an hour to catch a bite to eat back at our hostile. After lunch, we had 6 hours spent in the pool learning what felt like hundreds of skills underwater. There's a lot more to learn than I realized. Every day was pretty much the same. Day two we spent more time in the pool then got to do dives out in the ocean! The visibility wasn't the best because of the cyclone, but bearable. The coral was pretty beat up from it too. Day three was the worse though, I could barely see my fins in the water & the ocean was so rough. It was a gross day & rainy, but the trek continued on... all until I was having problems with my ears! I was pretty bummed out about it. I just wanted to finish the whole certification, but it's alright. The last dive is the easiest too, but I didn't want to risk it. They told me to wait it out, so I'll be back. The test was super easy though. It was just a 50 multiple choice exam & I missed one. Not too bad. We finally finished up our long weekend & caught the 5:20 ferry back to townsville. I missed it! I felt like I was gone forever. I'm always around all my friends here so it was weird not to have any of them out there with me for the first time in like a month. I went with some nice kids from Colorado and New York. We all clicked pretty well. Lauren & Liz made me a peanut butter & jelly sandwich because I missed dinner, how sweet of them. I passed out sunday night when we got back, I was so tired! 8-6 every day of all work in the sun really wears on ya. This week has already flew by! Tomorrow is Thursday, where the heck did the week go & what have I been doing!? I made the best decision yesterday morning since I got here. I hopped on the bus early a.m to head to the Yamaha shop. I've rented a scooter for a month. It's seriously a million times better to be able to have some wheels to scoot around on. Driving on the other side of the road is normal now. It's weird to think of how it is in the states. I hate having to rely on public transportation. Especially because the bus timetables are never correct. They mean absolutely nothing so I just have to go wait and hope that a bus can come soon. It's super annoying when you have places to go & things to do at a certain time. I got there & drove away with a sweet red scooter, 2 seater. It's nice to not have to feel trapped on campus anymore. I got it mostly just to explore my surroundings more. It's a wonderful place, great town, just lots to find out still! I'm trying to make the most out of every day here because I know it's going to fly by & I want to go back home (Or, not go home?) with no regrets what so ever. That's my goal. I'm taking advantage of every traveling opportunity I possibly can. I'm in one of the most beautiful countries in the world & have the great barrier reef in the palm of my hands. I'm loving my life right now, just need to take it slow. The days are longer here which is nice too. The sun rises super early & goes down around 7:30p.m. The seasons just switched the other day so it's now fall here now. But, that means nothing really. I feel like it's even hotter so no changes there! I'm just hoping the humidity goes down soon. It's 100% humidity every day with a whopping 90-95 degree temperature. No worries by me, anything is better than snow. I'm extremely happy with the decision I've made coming here. I was pretty skeptical about it last semester. I've experienced things that I will probably never get to do ever again, which is totally mind blowing to me. I'm loving every moment here, every day is a new adventure for me & that's what I enjoy the most. Everything just really makes sense here. Even the little things. Like the two buttons to flush the toilet, using 1 gallon for pee & 4 gallons for the other. How economically smart & eco-friendly. Or, the lids to coffee cups. It's hard to describe, but it's not flat and a little hole like, say at starbucks. It actually forms upwards and fits perfectly for your lips and doesn't spill. Another thing that makes sense here is healthcare. Shit, it's free. People make their contribution to the health care system through taxes and the Medicare levy based on their income, and through private financing such as private health insurance. The aim of the national health care funding system is to give all Australians, regardless of their personal circumstances, access to health care at an affordable cost or at no cost, while allowing choice for individuals through substantial private sector involvement in delivery and financing. That's that.


I have some readings & research to do, but will be back with an update shortly. I have to do a debate on MDMA for my sex,drugs & human nature class. I have to argue that it should remain illegal & the other half of the class argues to legalize it. This should be interesting?? What a weird teacher, seriously. Ah well, after my two classes tomorrow I'm done for the weekend! RYAN COMES ON SUNDAY!!!!!!! Do I pick him up on my scooter & let him sit on the back to let his luggage wheel on road on the way home right next to us? HA. I'm filled with excitement. I'm looking forward to my other half being here with me. He's going to absolutely love it which is exciting because I really want him to enjoy his spring break! It's going to be so chill. Can't wait to go sailing next weekend! Some of the girls are going this weekend so they can let me know how it goes. I'm sure it's phenomenal out there on the reef. 
New journeys, new experiences with my life :)

Mags Island

This past weekend, our group of Americans ventured off to Magnetic Island for the day on saturday. We left around 9a.m with two guys that live on maggie island. They gave us a tour of Townsville city some more, but sort of over did it because we've already seen most of what they already showed us. It's alright, we went to Castle Hill in Townsville which is a lookout over the whole city. It's so pretty up there! After the mountain, we made our way over to the ferry in town. We hopped on and it was about a twenty minute ride over to the island. The guys gave us coffee & we had meat pies on the way over! Upon arrival, we had a tour of maggie island. It's only about 7 miles by 4. I can't even imagine living over there. They took us to a few deserted beaches that were absolutely out of this world! We got to feed wild wallabees & check out some sick waterfalls. I accidently kicked a rock in the water that I, clearly, didn't see & got such a huge blood blister on my big toe! It's still there and it hurts soo bad! After the waterfalls, we made random little stops all around the island. We went bush walking & stopped to feed birds that were a million different colors. So pretty! Our day was definitely action packed & turned out a lot better than we all expected. Every tour they do is different & based on the age group. Every aspect of the day was just exhilarating. I had so much fun on the Island with all the Americans! We're such a tight knit group, I love them. At sunset that night, we all enjoyed coffee & nibbles at sunset. It was a perfect way to end the day. We chatted and hung for a bit until we were off to catch the ferry back to Townsville. We all really enjoyed the fun-filled day & can't wait to go back again. I'm actually getting my diving certification done this weekend back on the Island. I'm going with a different group of friends to the islands, they're from Colorado mostly. We have to have our dive examination physical on wednesday morning in town & finish up with our classes for the week on thursday afternoon then it's time to hop back on the ferry for the weekend! The certification is a 2 night//3 day process mostly done in a pool & the last day is in the great barrier reef right off the island. I'm so excited to get it done with so then I can go open water diving whenever I want out on the reef. As for this week, I just have a few readings to do with my classes & going to join the gym tomorrow with kat! Finally, a freakin gym. Slowly, but surely, everything is coming together.

I really enjoyed my day today as well. I woke up around 7:30, hit the snooze button twice... then told myself I'm in Australia & I need to get out of bed to enjoy the morning! I went for a nice jog around campus...until I got stuck in the down pour on the way back. It's been raining ALL.DAY.LONG. It just literally never stops, so weird. I had some breakfast with my oz friends & headed out shortly after to catch my 9a.m class with Mike & Karen. After, I stopped by foccacia fo' coffee & thoroughly enjoyed a hazelnut latte with an extra shot of espresso & skim milk. Absolutely amazing. It was still pouring all through our class and as we left the coffee shop so I stopped by the bookstore to grab a textbook & an umbrella... thank god. Karen & I ran over to uni hall to have some sort of weird lunch. They were serving some sort of weird tortilla thing. It was like meat, chicken, with all these weird toppings they use! Definitely not like our "do-it-yourself" tortilla meal! Haha. It was interesting to say the least. Everything just taste so different here, even the cheese is super weird. Some girls met up with us at lunch then we just hung at Lauren's place all damn day til 9. We literally just chilled & watched a million different types of youtube vids. Karen & I are trying to catch up on America's Next Top Model episodes too! Haha. Anywho, we had a very chill day & it's still pouring outside as I'm about to lay down. Until next time, goodnight loved ones :P